Post-thaw Weekend

Ben and I had a fun time this weekend, despite having all of our lovely snow melted and/or hardened into a rock-like crust...skiing was out, so we went to Plattsburgh on Saturday...we had to return Gail's ski boots and although I was expecting a minor-league battle (the receipt is somewhere...), the guys at Play it Again Sports couldn't have been more laid back about the exchange...

After lunch at the nearby McD's with a playplace, we went shopping and then to a movie...



We had a fun time in the movie, and grabbed a quick bite of supper before the drive home...Ben was hard asleep when we got home...he burrowed under the covers in his parka while I unloaded the car, grudgingly got up to pee and brush, and then ran back to bed and was asleep again by the time I caught up with him...



We hung out with Mommy (who's been working like a dog this weekend) a bit this morning, before heading out to the Wild Center in Tupper Lake...above, you can see Ben playing with a wind/sand machine that simulates the conditions of blowing snow on mountaintops...




We met this great raven that is in the process of being rehabilitated after getting hit by a car a couple of years ago...



Ben thought that this turtle was a non-living part of an exhibit until it eventually moved...


Ben loves the computer-controlled interactive displays/exhibits in the central hall, because they allow so much choice in what you see and learn...




One of the best things about the Wild Center is the tank full of otters...it never fails to grab the attention of anyone who visits...the otters swim and twist and play and really seem to enjoy interacting with the people who watch them from the other side of the plexiglass...



There's a big tank of big fish, including sturgeons like these guys, and you can explore all sides of this tank and really check out the fish...




There are tons of tanks throughout the museum that get you, or Ben, up close and personal with the fish...in this case Ben was leaning over a tank teeming with rainbow trout...in fact, just before I took the video above, he started to reach in (just short of elbow depth) to try and grab one...


On our way back to Lake Clear we stopped at the Tupper Lake Elementary School to play in their playground for a while...gift horses and all of that, but the bumble-bee color scheme left a little to be desired, and the "chips" under the playground elements were actually chipped up tires, and although very cushy, they got Ben's hands dirty and smelled a bit petrochemically...ahhhh, Tupper...


When we got back, Ben ran in to give Gail her present from the museum gift-shop, a very soft and cuddly bear...Mommy likes her new bear...