Summer Vacation - Part 7 (the end)

This is our final summer vacation post for 2011. To finish off our vacation we toured a couple new minor league baseball parks: the Tri-City ValleyCats (Troy, NY) and Auburn Doubledays (Auburn, NY) home parks. We also walked around the quaint little Finger Lakes town of Skaneateles. To finish off our vacation, we spent some time with the McEuens again in Painted Post, NY.

Summer Vacation - Part 6

Continuing on with the highlights from our recent summer vacation, the following highlight reel is from our final evening and day in Lake Placid, NY which included swimming at the Crown Plaza Resort Boathouse Club and a hike down a short path to see the High Falls Gorge (this latter activity was a paid hike and a bit of a ripoff - but interesting nonetheless).

Searson Celtic Band

One item I forgot to mention as part of our Lake Placid, NY activities was a free concert in the park by Celtic lady rockers Searson. We had never heard this band before, but we all enjoyed it. Yes, you'd think we'd have our fill of Irish music; but still, they were really good. Here is a brief clip of their performance.

Summer Vacation - Part 5

Continuing on with the highlights from our recent summer vacation, on July 27, while Andrew was at his CanAm Hockey camp in Lake Placid, NY, dad, mom and Abby went hiking in the Adirondack Mountains again. This time we hiked the Balanced Rocks off Pitchoff Mountain. This hike turned out to be one of my favorite hikes yet because the payoff at the end was absolutely stunning with large, bald-faced rocks overlooking scenic valleys and lakes.

Summer Vacation - Part 4

Continuing on with the highlights from our recent summer vacation, on July 26, while Andrew was at his CanAm Hockey camp in Lake Placid, NY, dad, mom and Abby went hiking in the Adirondack Mountains. First we drove up Whiteface Mountain on Veterans Memorial Highway. The end involved about a quarter mile hike to the lookout post up a rocky stairway. Unfortunately, the clouds rolled in and it began to rain. So we left and found a dry trail to hike on Catamount Mountain. This was a great trail, but the end of it was a bit challenging and the girls were too scared to go farther. Still, great views and some interesting colors along the way.

Summer Vacation - Part 3

Here is the next installment of our highlight footage from our summer vacation in New York. This highlight reel is from our time in North Creek, NY (in the Adirondack Mountains). We stayed one night at the Copperfield Inn (near Gore Mountain) in this quaint little mountain town. We hiked a couple mountain trails, went for a swim in the large outdoor pool, walked around the village and had a great dinner at Trappers Tavern.

Summer Vacation - Part 2

Here is part 2 of our summer vacation highlights - Andrew's CanAm Hockey hockey camp in Lake Placid, NY (with the ghost of Herb Brooks in their ears).

Summer Vacation - Part 1

On July 21 the Hollywood Four took a summer vacation. Like last year, we traveled to upstate New York. Our vacation comprised of four major activities this year:

1. Ben (Karen's nephew) and Heather's wedding in Painted Post/Corning, NY on Friday, July 22 (and the weekend around it);
2. CanAm Hockey camp for Andrew in Lake Placid, NY;
3. Hiking in the Adirondack Mountains (mostly Dad, Mom and Abby); and
4. Minor league baseball games at the Tri-City ValleyCats and Auburn Doubledays home parks.

Here is a highlight reel from our activities from category 1) above.

Summer at the Cabin

As was the case in 2010, 2009, 2008 and many more years past, the Hollywood Four (or three this year - no Dad) made the summer trek to the Ott family cabin for some fun, fishing, swimming and relaxation on Lake Miramichi. Here is a short video with some of the pictures that were taken by Mom and Abby.