Best. Day. Ever.

Our trip to Old Forge last year was kinda lackluster. I can never say that a trip is a waste because we always seem to have fun regardless of the situation, so it wasn't a waste and did rejuvenate. But, between the rather cool temperatures (for August), rain, and just general stuff like that, it wasn't great.

So, we gave it a go again this year. We only took a handful of pictures, but it was a lucky happenstance that we hadn't cleaned off our phones' memory; we were able to enjoy the moment far better. Especially since we fit in so. Much. Fun.

We left early enough to grab some discounted tickets to Enchanted Forest Water Safari, extra cash and breakfast on the road. This was the first year we were going to try hitting up the park with the little guy, knowing full well that most of the rides weren't for him. Being some of the first in the park definitely helped - we were able to meander around the storybook area (PERFECT for a kid his age), check out the petting zoo (the animals bummed us out), do the few "dry" rides (first time on a merry-go-round!), hit the little kid splash pad area, and try the Lazy River together by noon.

Bam. We could've eaten and headed home at that point and it would've been an awesome day.

But, nope. We went on a walk to try Nutty Putty golf (something Dave and I used to do as children, then years later when we started dating), which was probably the "low" part of the day. Hadley was clearly getting tired, which made for lots of tripping and falling on the uneven parts of the "course." But, we all seemed to have fun, followed by some ice cream before heading back to our car to get the stroller.

So, the fact that the little man took a nap in the stroller mean a) he must've been EXHAUSTED and b) some sort of miracle must have occurred; he hasn't done that in a long, long time. We had a chance to look around the hardware store (SO much more than a hardware store!), do some Christmas shopping, then wander over to rest and watch ducks swim around.

While naptime continued at the bench, a little dramatic duckling rescue ensued. We observed a mama duck with her three ducklings go to a chained-off area of the lake next to a drainage waterfall area...with two babies taking the leap. Off ran Dave (I wanted to, but had to stay with the little man), along with two young guys, before the mama duck attacked one of the kids for interfering. Before too long (although our hearts were in our throats, seriously), she showed them how to hop back up where they belonged.

Whew. After that, we hit up The Mill Restaurant, another place Dave and I visited in our dating days. By the way we headed home, we all were exhausted but happy. A rain shower even produced this view (that happens to be my school, LOL)...

I mean...seriously. Lucky, lucky, lucky.

Not the most eloquent description on Earth, but it was an AWESOME day. Hadley's asked several times why we can't go to Water Safari EVERY day. Good lesson to learn.

Oh, and while we were still on the "having fun" kick, I upped the ante with some blueberry picking the next morning. Best. Weekend. Ever. (Even if Sunday was "let's do some crap around the house" day. They can't all be winners.)

    

Knowing that next summer may look different (okay, definitely...it's definitely going to look different) with another little one in the mix, we've totally been making this summer count.

How have you guys been enjoying your summers? :-)