Last Sunday we returned from Fairport and headed to Fort Niagara. This fort was built in 1678 and later expanded during the early 1700s at the mouth of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario. The Fort was built to protect the interests of New France and the important shipping opportunities between the Great Lakes in the New World. During the French and Indian war of 1759, the Fort was attacked by and came under control of the British and did not come to American interests until after the War of Independence. As part of our history tour of Western New York, we went to the fort to witness a couple of battle re-enactments from the French and Indian War in 1759. It was interesting to witness, especially because there were a couple of hundred participants all dressed in clothing appropriate to the time period and "living" in and around the fort.
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| The kids being recruited into the French Army. |
On Monday we celebrated our nation's independence by attending the Gasport, NY annual parade. This small town parade is essentially an opportunity for every fire company and VFW to showcase their vehicles and toss candy out to the kids.
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| One of the fire vehicles showcased their waterworks. |
On Tuesday we headed to Memorial Pool which is where both my sister Kim and I used to be lifeguards [for....years]. Unfortunately, it was not one of the warmest days that we have had, so both the water and the air were cool. But the girls enjoyed the water slide and diving boards anyway. Besides the lifeguards, nothing much has changed over at Memorial....it is still the largest (and now only) city pool in NT:
After swimming, we headed over to my aunt and uncle's house for dinner:
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| Aunt Ellen and Uncle Butch with the kids. |
Growing up, I spent a lot of time at this house with my family. In fact, my Aunt and Uncle are the parents of this cousin, which may explain why we are all so close. In any case, my Aunt Ellen has always been known for a couple of her signature dishes. 99% of the food memories I have which are associated with my Aunt are good ones (I will try to forget the one memory I have of always eating smelt at their house......ick....shudder). Besides lasagna, lemon merengue pie and apple jello salad, the most memorable and delicious food memory I have of my Aunt are her eclairs. And let me tell you....these are not just any eclairs. They are delicious and coveted by all. So it should come as no surprise that when I saw my aunt last weekend I might have eaten 6 eclairs at the first sitting. I had a couple at dinner at her house on Tuesday and at the family BBQ yesterday I might have had....more than a few more. I did feel a little bad when my cousin Rebecca said that she only got to eat one of the famous, delicious desserts. But then I figured she sees her mom all the time and can eat the sweets regularly. Me? I have to get my fill when I can!
On Wednesday night my sister and nephew caught up with us in North Tonawanda and so we took the kids cherry picking to Coulter Farms in Cambria, NY on Thursday:
We picked a couple different varieties of cherries, some of the largest raspberries I have ever seen and two different varieties of snap peas. It was more fun than I think any of us thought it would be.
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| I love this picture of the kids skipping down the lane to hunt for cherries. |
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| Raspberries. |
In keeping with our visitation to many of the local elementary school field trip destinations, we took the kids on Friday to Fantasy Island, a local amusement park which is celebrating their 50th anniversary. It was a ton of fun! The park caters to mostly a local crowd. They have rides and attractions for kids of all ages, including a water park, wooden roller coaster and wild west show that although cheesy, was enjoyed by the boys.
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| Ana and Olivia on the giant slide. |
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| Diego, Nana and Kevin on the tilt-a-whirl. |
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| Kelly, Diego and Kevin on the old fashioned cars. |
It was the perfect ending to another great week in my hometown.
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