Vacation Day 2 - Monday

Here's the rundown of Sunday night:

Wake up. Hear rain.

Wake up. Em's moving around. Hear rain.

Wake up. What's that noise? Em's kicking me. I think I still hear rain.

We had watched the forecast Sunday night and rain was predicted again for Monday. I kept hoping that they were wrong. Monday morning, Grammy and Anna came into my room and Grammy told me that it wasn't raining out. Yeah, no, it was still raining.

We weren't sure if Story Land would even be open but as it turns out, unless it is pouring rain, they are still open. They do close some rides when it is raining. (Only one ride was not operating when we were there and the girls were too short to ride on it anyway.) My one big concern was the shoe situation.

I had brought the girls' sandals with us in addition to their sneakers. They had worn their sneakers Sunday afternoon and their shoes were completely soaked. It would be easy enough to throw them in the dryer but I knew they would be soaked through again within five minutes of us being outside. If you have three year olds, you must know that they insist on jumping in every puddle they see.

Here are some pictures from that morning at the house. The ceiling in the living area is lofted so I was unable to bounce my flash. I bumped my ISO up as high as it would go (1600) and kept my f stop low and I still had to take these with a very slow shutter speed (1/30.) You can see how dark it was in the house due to the rain.

Em is facing the sliding glass doors.

There is an outlet mall in North Conway, which is about 10 minutes south of where we were staying. We decided to head to the outlet mall before hitting Story Land. I wanted to purchase rain coats and boots for the girls. This is an outdoor mall with stores spread out so we drove around and stopped at the first children's store we came to. Osh Gosh.

I ran in and found the rain jackets and boots. We then brought the girls in to allow them to pick out their jackets and try on the boots. I just love how the jackets were 40% off. I am actually being sarcastic because the original cost was $46. I would never pay that much for a children's jacket. Ever. Grand total for jackets and boots was $144. Much more than I would have paid had we not been desperate and in a rush.

We made a second stop at Old Navy and I totally would have returned the $144 of jackets and boots if I had found any in Old Navy but they had nothing. I picked up a hoodie, which I need anyway, and some socks. I was absolutely freezing Sunday night and had not brought any socks. I have a "touch of Raynaud's" (as my doctor diagnosed it) and when my feet are cold, my toes turn white and numb. Thankfully Grammy had a spare pair of socks but with the rain, I wanted to have back-ups in the van.

We finally arrived at Story Land right before lunch and Em was already complaining about being hungry. Allie wanted to visit with Humpty Dumpty first. It looks like she believed me when I told her that he wouldn't bite. She even asked me to pick her up so she could touch his moving eyes.

Now, the food here is expensive. I didn't see any restrictions on bringing in your own food but we weren't that organized. You can also leave Story Land and return within the same day with a hand stamp. This is what was purchased for lunch:

*2 pulled pork sandwiches (very big and could have been shared) with potato chips (not a bag, thrown on the plate)

*1 cheesesteak sandwich (very big and could have been shared) with potato chips (not a bag, thrown on the plate)

*2 hot dogs

*3 chocolate milks

*3 small sodas

That cost $32.

If you wanted to purchase a full pizza - $18.99. Cheeseburger and french fries - that would set you back $8.29. Beverage not included.

After lunch, we rode the safari tour. No real animals here and really lame for adults but it kept the attention of children, which is the real reason we were there. I wish I had been able to get a better picture of this but moving children get me every time.

We walked back to the front of the park so that the girls could drive the antique cars. This seems to be a popular ride and the only longish line that we ran into that day. The cars are slow to unload and load.

Anna and Grammy

Allie and Daddy

Tip: If your kids want to drive the antique cars, don't wait until the end of the day to do so. From what I observed both days, the lines were the longest at the end of the day. This is due in part to folks arriving after 3:00 and heading over that way because it is at the front of the park and from those who have been there all day and have made their way to the front of the park again.

There is a small indoor theater which hosts performances three times a day. Rich kept referring to it as "story time" and I thought it would be similar to the library's story time. Not so much. It was basically a mini musical. Let's just say that it kept the girls' attention. Not interesting for adults at all but great for little ones.

We brought the girls on the Flying Dutch Shoes - one adult and one kiddo per shoe. They LOVED it. I was a bit surprised (and pleased) with their fearlessness. We did ride the Tea Cups again and Allie wasn't looking too good in the middle of the ride. I told her to close her eyes and she did. She made it through to the end of the ride without incident. We also went on the ferris wheel but the girls didn't seem too excited by it. The Whale ride was a big hit.

The girls wanted to see Cinderella again so we headed back over to the castle.

This Cinderella was not so believable. The girls were skeptical and Anna didn't want to have anything to do with her. I kind of wanted to whisper to Cinderella, "You may want to step it up. These three year olds know that you aren't really Cinderella."

Now, the girls have never been to Disney but they are starting to learn/understand what Disney is. So I heard the following comments from them:

"Cinderella doesn't talk like that in New Hampshire."

"Cinderella's shoes don't look like that."

"But we didn't see the other princesses. Where are Jasmine and Ariel?"

"And what about Mickey?"

We had to keep explaining to them that we were not at Disney and that Cinderella vacations in New Hampshire during the summer months.

There is a small circus at the back of Story Land with performances three times a day. Let's just say that the shows are entertaining for young children and not too long.

More on expensive food. I spent almost $20 on two 12 ounce Icees and three small Dots ice creams. $20.

By the end of the day, I sure was glad that we had purchased those rain boots because the girls jumped in every single puddle they came across.

We left Story Land around 5:30 and decided again that the girls were probably too tired and wired to eat in a restaurant. We ordered take-out from the Red Fox Bar & Grille and it was delicious.

The girls were sound asleep by 8:15 and Mommy, Daddy and Grammy all went to bed at 9:00.