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.

Water Pics from Panama

On our trip to Panama we also had a disposable water camera. Here are the pictures from that camera (took a couple weeks to get them developed).

Panama Vacation - Days 8 and 9

On Day 8 we left our beach house in Coronado and headed back for Panama City where we stayed at the Marriott Courtyard. While the moms and older girls shopped, Dad, Andrew, Greg, Graham and Camille headed out for adventure ... and that is just what we got. We headed for Gamboa where we were going to catch a boat tour to Monkey Island. However, we decided to take the cheap route and catch a ride with some folks at the local marina (long story). Needless to say, we did not end up on Monkey Island; but we did have a painfully long visit on a small island with the Wounaan Village tribe. This "National Geographic" moment, led to another boat ride to the nearest shore and then a bus ride back to our van. On the way back to the city, we stopped and viewed the Panama Canal.

Day 9 was just the Hollywood Four (our friends left home for Denver one day earlier). After some morning pool time, we took a cab to the Casco Viejo area so we could take Abby shopping for a few small gifts for her birthday (she picked out a bracelet, shoes and couple other small items). We finished off our vacation with a nice dinner at the Market restaurant. The next morning we caught our flight back home. The end.

Panama Vacation - Day 7

On day 7 of our vacation we decided to head back for El Valle for horseback riding, mud baths, and the El Nispero Zoo. Then we returned to our beach house in Coronado where we had an awesome birthday barbeque in celebration of Abby's 15th birthday (a couple days early). To top off our crazy day, we jotted down the road to a local outdoor pub - the Picasso Bar & Restaurante - where the girls sang karaoke and danced (yes, we were bad parents that night).

Panama Vacation - Day 6

On Day 6 of our Panama vacation, Dad and Greg drove to La Pintada in the morning so they could visit the only Panamanian cigar factory - Cigarros Joyas de Panama. After a quick tour, including watching a couple men roll cigars for a few minutes, we bought a few cigars and then headed back for Coronado. On the way we stopped at the beach of Santa Clara where we had a great seafood lunch at Cabanas Las Veraneras. Meanwhile, the girls and kids were performing yoga on the beaches of Coronado. After that they went into to town so the girls could all get manicures. To end our day, we had a very Panamanian dinner out at an open-air restaurant where we all ate the Central American specialty: Paella.

Panama Vacation - Day 5 (part 2)

For the second half of our Day 5 adventure, we ate lunch at a little restaurant in downtown El Valle run by a nice old lady. This authentic Panamanian restaurant had a full menu, a cat, a dog, a parrot and plenty of ants. After that we ventured out trying to find some Square Trees and we ended up on some steep mountain roads in the Altos del Maria area - they were so steep, that our mini-van couldn't even make it up the road (despite Greg's determination to do so). In fact, we were all a little scared that the mini-van might slide off the hill on the loose gravel. In the end, we all stayed safe and it was a fun adventure.

Panama Vacation - Day 5 (part 1)

On day 5 of our Panama vacation we ventured west to El Valle de Anton which is a pleasant little town nestled in the valley of a huge extinct volcano. Our first stop was the Canopy Adventure where we hiked up a mountain trail, rode zip lines back down and viewed the beautiful Chorro El Macho waterfall.

Panama Vacation - Day 4

On day 4 of our vacation, Dad and Greg went golfing at the Vista Mar Resort & Golf Course about 10 minutes south of Coronado - as it turns out, they were the only two on the golf course all morning! While the men golfed, the rest of the gang played on the beach, went grocery shopping and had lunch in Coronado. In the evening, we enjoyed a nice dinner on the patio and usual sunset views on the beach.

Panama Vacation - Day 3

Day 3 of our vacation was strictly a "stay at the beach house" day. After a great, local eggs, salsa, peas and tortilla breakfast, we walked along the beach, played with venomous sea snakes, surfed the waves, drank cerveza and hung around the pool. A few of the kids, especially Abby, got very sun burned in the process too.

Panama Vacation - Day 2

For our second day (first full day in Panama), we lounged around the Hotel Riu pool for a bit in the morning. After that, we visited the "old city" Casco Viejo which is on a little peninsula in the south part Panama City. We walked, shopped and lunched in the heat while absorbing the historic surroundings. Then we packed up our twelve-seat rental van and headed south for our beach house in Playa Coronado. This was an interesting two-hour drive which included a very "local" snack along the way (empanadas and fried plantains). Once we arrived at our destination, it was time to unpack, grocery shop (with our Spanish-speaking cook) and enjoy a beautiful dusk and sunset on the beach - and a few Balboas (one of three Panamanian beer varieties we enjoyed all week long).

Panama Vacation - Day 1

Last week Saturday, March 26, the Hollywood Four departed northeastern Ohio for Panama City, Panama to meet up with our friends Greg, Molly, Macy, Graham and Camille (from Denver) for a week of vacation fun in the sun, including our own beach house in Playa Coronado - complete with a wonderful Panamanian husband and wife (no English) who cleaned and cooked for us all week. Although we got in late, we enjoyed a nice night at the Hotel Riu in downtown Panama City our first night.