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Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires...courage.
-
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Naples Grape Festival

Today was the day. We've been planning for weeks(actually months) to attend the Naples Grape Festival this fall, and the day finally arrived. We left here somewhere around 10:30 this morning to make the hour drive to Naples, NY. We enjoyed the scenery on the way there-lots of fall foliage, a beautiful meadow, and Lake Canandaigua. Once we got there, we decided to just park kind of far away and walk most of the way into town because we did not want to sit in the traffic. I don't know if it took less time but it was definitely more fun! And it was way more beneficial for Hailey and Corbin. Along the way, before arriving in town, there are homes and churches and many of them have yard sales or sell grapes and pies, etc. to those passing by. Many also set up parking in their yards and charge $5 per car, so make a good chunk of change. We stopped at a church bazaar...they were selling many different things, from snow boards, to tableware, to stuffed animals, to baby toys. You name it, they had it. Hailey spotted something right away that she wanted. She's been saving her money for roller blades for quite some time now, but she hasn't scraped together enough to buy the ones she saw for $40 at Wal-mart. Lo and behold, this church sale had a pair. She asked me to come over and confirm the price for her...yep, $2! She tried them on and they fit perfectly. There was also a pair for Corbin for $5, so we have 2 pair of roller blades and hours of physical activity for both of them for just $7. I am thrilled with the savings. And even better, Daddy paid for them, so Hailey and Corbin can keep their money for something else! There was a pair there that might have fit Logan but he wasn't interested. I have a feeling he's going to miss out on lots of fun.

It took us a while to get all the way into town to where the craft and food booths were. We decided to grab a bloomin' onion (it really was not very good...a waste of our precious money at $7!). The kids had a hamburger and 2 corn dogs, Karl had a sausage dog, I had a Philly cheese steak sandwich, and Karl bought the kids a caramel apple each for dessert. We were sitting at the table while they ate them....when Corbin says, "My tooth fell out." (We just discovered that he has 4 loose teeth this week, the bottom 2 more loose than the top 2.) All it took was a bite of caramel apple to do the trick. Karl said he can't think of a better way to lose one. ;) I guess we know who will be getting a visit from the tooth fairy tonight...and probably at least one more night very soon from the looks of his other tooth! I'm sure Karl will post a picture as soon as he can, so check back for that.

After lunch we looked around at the craft tables a bit, but didn't find anything we had to have. We noticed pretty shortly that it was beginning to get cloudy and colder, so we headed back to the truck. The kids did great most of the time, especially considering how crowded it was and how long the walk was. The rain held off long enough for Hailey and Corbin to get in a good practice session with Karl and their 'new' roller blades. Then we ate pizza and popcorn, and watched college football.

Emma is already in bed. She didn't really nap while we were out but behaved really well. She was extra fussy tonight though, so I put her to bed earlier than usual. Now, I'm heading up to tuck in the middle two kids. It's been a long, but fun day for everyone. I think we'll just stick around home tomorrow.

1 comment:

really.truly said...

We missed it this year, but loved it last year. Such a pretty area. Makes me want a grape pie!