Summer Vacation 2011 - Part 6

We rounded out the week by meeting Grandpa in Philadelphia for a Phillies game. We're about ready for another vacation.

Summer Vacation 2011 - Part 5

Most of Friday was spent in the pool, but in the evening, everyone ambled down to the local fire house for wing and beer night. It was fantastic.

Mercer and Elle.

Mercer checks out some of Elle's apps.

House rules.

The gang.

Mercer and Elle had a glow stick fight on the way home.

Summer Vacation 2011 - Sparklers

Summer Vacation 2011 - Part 4

Thursday was the hottest day of the week, with temperatures reaching around 104. We thought it would be fun to cool down by visiting nearby Penn's Cave. At first, Mercer didn't want anything to do with a spooky cave; especially one that was only accessible by boat. But we calmed him down and he wound up enjoying himself. He helped us find interesting rock formations that looked like shark fins, the Statue of Liberty, chicken feet, and bacon.

Here is the unassuming visitor's center. We had some time to kill so the kids looked around the gift shop. Elle tried on a hamburger hat for me.


Finally...to the cave.


There were 3 or so boats going all the time; always packed. I guess a lot of people had the same idea we did. The cave is continuously around 54 degrees and the water even colder. We took a bunch of pictures, but they all look about the same. We'll spare you, but the cave is pretty great and the tour guides very knowledgeable.



Mercer looking a little upset still about the situation he's found himself in.

Summer Vacation 2011 - Part 3

On Wednesday, the gang took it easy. In the morning, Mercer and Dad took a ride up to Lewisburg (home of the Bucknell Bison) to visit the weekly farmer's market there. It was great to walk around and see all the local produce, handmade pretzels, and prayer stations.











After the market, we stopped off at the Shikellamy State Park overlook, which provides a nice view of the confluence of the West and North branches of the Susquehanna River.







We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at Alyssa's aunt and uncle's pool. Mercer had fun playing with Riley and Elle and everyone stayed cool. Dad sampled some of Steve's great homebrew and everyone ate burgers, chicken, and hot dogs. When it got dark, we took a break from swimming and made s'mores over a fire pit.