NH Trip 2014, Part 4

Monday
Monday morning we decided to hang around for the morning hours and take off around noon to take the big boys back to the beach one last time.  High tide was scheduled for 12:30pm, so going earlier wasn't really an option, plus with all the trips we'd been making neither Doug or I had it in us to just rush out the door after breakfast.  It all ended up working out great thankfully.  After breakfast, the boys snuggled up next to Gramma and Koen read a book.  Pretty sweet, simple moment.

It was another gorgeous day and so we got the boys outside for most of the time before we took our car ride to the beach.  We were very excited to see Tavin biking on two wheels in the flesh.  Check it out for yourself...

That's one proud 4-year-old (and one 2-year-old in amazement)!

Tavin although awesome on his bike, was unfortunately really overtired and still pretty snotty from his cold.  Thankfully he rebounded when we arrived at the beach and hung in there to enjoy it (most of the time).  We were delightfully surprised to find out that the water was a much more tolerable temperature this afternoon versus last Friday when it was bone-chilling.  Doug and Koen headed right into the waves and had a blast.

Tavin played in the shallow and was shouting praises to Koen.  I asked him if he wanted to wade out with me to cool off in the deeper water and he said he just wanted to stay there and sing to himself and cheer for Koen.  And that is what he did.  Oh my goodness...too cute.

I did get him to take a picture with me (yes, that's me, not a pirate, just trying to keep my skin safe from the sun).

Doug did eventually coax/force him out into the waves because he knew how much he enjoyed riding them on the boogie board in HHI, but unfortunately it did not end well.  Doug saw a great wave and so put him down on the board before he had gotten fully wet and I think the shock of the refreshing water as well as the big wave (not to mention the aforementioned overtiredness) just scared him to death.  That was it.  No more wave-riding this summer for Tav.  Thankfully he perked up shortly thereafter when I made up a rock-climbing game (climb all the way down the granite rock chunks to the ocean without touching the sand).  He LOVED the climbing challenge and became an expert very quickly!

Koen eventually joined us on the rocks and then later went back into the waves with Doug.  Tav stayed busy either in the shallow water, relaxing in a beach chair or making roads in the sand with his diggers.  I just tried to drink in (metaphorically) the cooling ocean, the gorgeous breeze, the warmth of the sun and the fun of the sand.  It was a perfect last visit to the beach for the year (yet I still shed a tear saying goodbye to my favorite coastline).  Thanks to Gramma for watching Penn for lunchtime, naptime and playtime.  We were so glad we took the big boys for one last visit to the beach!  Also, thanks to Gramma and Grampa for meeting us and treating us to La Carretta's in Manchester on our way home.  Yum!  A favorite spot to share with you both and we were happy to squeeze it in to this trip!

Tuesday
The week before our NH Trip, Dad had sent me an email about "Clark's Trading Post."  He was curious if we'd like to go.  I checked out the link and figured anything in the White Mountains with bears, acrobats and a train ride would be right up our alley.  Well, we were quickly running out of days to go with all the other fun we were having, so we declared Tuesday the best day for the outing.  Doug had to plow away on some work anyways, so it worked out perfectly for Grampa and I to take the big boys up to Lincoln, NH to this unique attraction (Penn yet again stayed with Gramma and they had a blast).  Clark's was about an hour and a half drive from my parents', but it was well worth it once we arrived.  The park is pristine, attractive with tons of flowers, brightly painted, immaculate buildings and a friendly staff.  Even the restrooms were in perfect order (my kind of park).  With the admission ticket you can get into all the main attractions, so we had already planned our visit according to the schedule online.  Bears at 11am, Acrobats at 12pm, picnic lunch break, Train Ride at 1:30pm, Bears again at 3pm.  Nothing disappointed.  It was a fantastic day!  I apologize in advance for the numerous pictures, but how am I supposed to capture this super fun-filled day without a pictorial overview?!  Right when we walked in, they have on display a life-size stuffed bear and cub.  The boys were intrigued by the bears already and these weren't even the real ones! 

The entrance is also the "train station" for the White Mountain Central Railroad.  The boys loved seeing the locomotive puffing and steaming.  The smell is delicious since the boiler furnace's fuel is wood.  Choo choo!!

Next it was on to the bears to get a good seat for the show.  On our way up to the best viewing location, the second level, we got an up close view of some of the performers.  They were very at ease with the crowd and the noise and seemed very comfortable in their "habitat" outside the ring.

Now, I'm going to hold myself back from describing the show moment-by-moment, but I just have to say that we all loved it.  My dad, Koen, Tavin, me...there's something for everyone.  The trainers are Clark family members.  They've been doing this for generations.  The history of the bears as well as the park itself is fascinating.  The bears have an amazing relationship with their trainers and it's really special to see how well they are cared for and how much they enjoy their job.  Not to mention, the bears are so cute and lovable, you pretty much want to take one home at the end of the show.  That wasn't an option though.  Enjoy the pictures and if you want a play-by-play, you'll just have to put Clark's Trading Post on your "must-see" list.  It's worth the trek!  This first bear is Echo, an 11 year old female.  

The next bear was Tula, a 4-year-old cub.  She was super sweet and a little more mischievous than Echo.  Look for her beautiful marking on her chest, it looks like a butterfly.

After that wonderful show, we stretched our legs before returning to the same performance ring for the Chinese acrobat troupe.  There's plenty to wander around and see at Clark's.  We spent a few minutes in the old-fashioned fire station where they have lots of vehicles and other old-fashioned by-gone era items.

We wanted to have good seats for the acrobats, so we again sat down a little early.  The boys (especially Tav) were a little confused about what they were waiting for, but once the performance started, they were entranced!  I don't think these pictures do the acrobats justice, so you'll just have to trust me that they did an amazing job with their different physical feats, a testimony to discipline and hard work for sure.  The first thing they did was  lion dance which really showed off their talents for storytelling, synchronization and teamwork.

Next were these girls that could manipulate wooden barrels and jugs with their feet.  It really showed off some intense core work.  I'm guessing under all that pink are some abs of steel!

I skipped taking pictures of the contortionist, mostly because she was behind a post from my vantage point, but also because it was kind of gross.  Koen couldn't believe it and held his hand over his mouth for most of her segment in amazement.  The last part of the act were these gymnast/tumbler guys that did all sorts of jumps through different size and height hoops.  Very impressive and very action-packed for the boys.

So another entertaining performance!!  At this point, we took our lunch break and then walked around some more to explore.  We found a playground with a big sandy area with diggers.  Tavin was excited and set right to work!

Right next to the playground area is a view of the river that runs along the Trading Post grounds.  So White Mountain-esque, I had to take a picture.  The bear trainers mentioned too that they've had a wild black bear visiting them from the other side of the river lately.  I was sort of hoping I'd spot it. =)

Next on our explorations we discovered the water blaster boats.  The boys didn't ride the boats (because Tav was too short and I really didn't want to get soaked), but they had a "blast" using the water cannons at the edge of the ride to squirt the participants.

Next it was on to the 1:30pm train ride.  At this point, K & T were kind of all over each other.  Too much quality time I guess.  We managed to get a few photos of them looking like they were keeping their act together.

There is kind of an odd aspect to this part of the park.  As you go on the train ride, there's a side story about a "Wolfman" who is hiding in the woods.  He makes appearances and he's miked, so you can hear him threatening the train, etc.  Tavin was a little scared and therefore very reserved on the ride, but Koen just ate it up.  He knew the Wolfman was just a story, but he got totally sucked into the spoof and loved the intrigue.  It was cute to watch him enjoy it so (sorry, Tav).  Here's Koen keeping a lookout for the Wolfman!

There's his jalope (which actually runs and races the train through the woods!).

There's the weird Wolfman character.  He shot his gun off from that small distance away.  Koen loved the excitement, Tavin hated it.

Grampa was a good sport and totally got into the Wolfman story with Koen and was helping him spot the mountain man at every turn.

The Wolfman apparently doesn't like the train visitors because they disturb the mine he works in near the tracks.  Check out his final attempt to blow us off the tracks and scare us away!  Koen was impressed!

With us back over the covered bridge and river (apparently Wolfman doesn't like water or heights) we were safe enough for Tav to relax.  Such a sweetie!

After our exciting adventure on the train, we let the boys enjoy the playground/digger area and the water blaster cannons some more.  Grampa got a real kick out of watching Koen do the water cannons and I hung out with Tav at the diggers.  It was a gorgeous day and so wonderful to be outside for the bulk of it enjoying this unique spot!  Our last stop of our visit was back to the bears for their final show at 3pm.  I didn't take any pictures of the first bear because it was Echo again, but I was so glad we attended a second showing because we got to see another bear in the second half of the act.  This one was a 450 lb., 11-year-old male named Pemigewasset.  He was huge!!  Again, I won't do a play-by-play, but here are some pics to give you a sense of his part of the show.

So cute!!  After that we had to hit the road to make sure we were home for dinnertime.  But first we did head North just a few miles to show the boys the famous Franconia Notch where the valley is just wide enough for one two lane road to fit through and where the Old Man on the Mountain used to reside.

Beautiful!!  Thanks so much, Grampa, for taking us on such a great outing.  The boys and I loved it!  Our day wasn't over there though, we got home around 5:30pm, had a lovely family dinner around 6pm and then headed down to the backyard for a fire and some S'mores and toasting marshmallows.  The boys loved it (that includes Doug who's always been a fan of fire-making).

Cheese face! 

S'more face!

Intense, serious roasters.

Happy with the outcome of course.

Phew!!!  Another beautiful, packed day!  Thanks to Grampa again for all the effort on entertaining these big boys and thanks to Gramma for palling around with sweet Penn Rye!