It was Monday afternoon, and after doing our morning errands, my daughter, Madison and I were in the Glenmoore area of Chester County, and we decide to take a relaxing drive through Springton Manor Farm.
We got to the farm without issue, and proceeded do drive around for a little bit, and finally ended up at the Butterfly House, where the grass parking area was empty, except for a ranger’s truck.
After parking, we walked down the small incline, and got to the Butterfly House just as a tour was beginning.
Since we did not have reservations, we did not join them, but we did comment to one another, that we needed to return with the rest of the family, or with friends, and on a cooler day.
We walked around the exterior of the Butterfly House, and read the various stages of a Butterfly’s Life, and then headed back to the car.
Back out at the main road, we turned and continued further down the road, till we reached the yellow gate posts, and turned around, eventually finding our way to the demonstration farm.
After parking, we quickly surveyed the farm, and made note of the hours, pricing and the reservation policy for the guided tour.
Even though we did not take full advantage of our visit, we did do enough scouting to see that we do want to return at another time, especially when it is cooler.
During the Fall, when the leaves are in full color, Springton Manor will be a great place for a Nature walk with the kids!
If you do wish to take the tours, they are $2.00 per tour/per head, so a family of four would be $16.00.
and don’t forget to bring a blanket and a picnic lunch!
When I was woken up, I was presented with Father’s Day cards, and a special banner that Amy, Madison and Logan had worked on just for me!
What a nice way to start the day!
From there, I was allowed to watch my Sunday morning programs with a hot cup of coffee and an omelet in peace!
So far so good!
And peace was a relative term…
I could hear the kids up stairs running back and forth in the upstairs hallway, screaming and giggling…
It was also not hard to realize, they needed to get out and burn off some of the energy that is perpetual when the two of them are together!
Since it was Daddy’s Day, I got to say where we were going! Yeah!!
I did not have to compromise or negotiate, especially when the kids heard that Mommy was going to come with us!
Marsh Creek Reservoir looking North (Panorama 01)
My plan was slowly taking shape!
(Insert “Mad Scientist” Laughter)
Now the hard part… Where?
I wanted to try some place that I have not been to before, but keep it close by.
I knew because of the heat and humidity, I wanted to be near water.
Based on that, I looked up Marsh Creek State Park.
Am I suggesting that I have never been to MCSP before? – NO
Along the trail (20110619 Marsh Creek 107)
I have been to the Pool and Water Park area on the east side several time, and I have been Mountain Biking before in the south-west part near the Brandywine before, but I did not think anyone but me would be interested in that adventure.
So I had to figure out some place new, so I took to Google Earth to fly around a little to scope out a trail, and in doing so, I remembered the damn in the southern park.
So I gather up the troops, jumped into the car, and headed out, and about 30 minutes later, we were parked and heading down the trail.
There are many small coves that surround the lake, and as we approached the first one, there were some folks fishing and a dog that was having a grand time in the water.
Not to be out done, Logan and Madison pleaded with us to be allowed to go in the water and play with the dog.
Who am I to say “No”?!
We let them play for a little bit, and then called for them to join us on the rest of the walk, and all we got was “Awww…”, but finally we were off again!
I should have figured that as soon as we were on “open” trail, Logan would be running down the trail, and the parents calling out to him to slow down and be careful! Soon to be followed by his sister, trading back and forth who would be our guide, calling out rocks and roots so we would not fall.
Very cute, but after the first 50 “obstacles ‘… Well, what do you say as a parent…
We finally got to the over-flow drain, and the kids were having fun walking on the grate, looking down into the rushing water as it fell in, but Amy was a little more apprehensive about the whole situation.
Butterfly on the Damn
Then we crossed over the main damn, where we were pasted by several Mountain Bikers as they headed to the trails on the far side. I reminded both kids, that we needed to work on getting them off of training wheels so that we could start doing the same thing.
At the edge of the meadow, we stopped and rested, saw a Red-Winged Black bird, and agreed that it was time to head back.
Tree Stump and Ferns (20110619 Marsh Creek 110)
On the trip back, Madison made sure that we all knew she was the guide, but after some time, she relinquished her lead, and Logan scampered to the front.
As we returned the swimming cove from earlier, both the kids just ran into the water without evening asking, and happy played until it was time to leave once again.
On the car trip home, there were talks of baths and then fun that we had on our Father’s Day Nature Walk.
To be honest, I had never heard of this event before and over the next couple of weeks, I tried to help keep the topic alive in my “social” network.
That being said, when Saturday arrived, the kids were very eager to go, and were having a hard time understanding that we were going to be leaving later in the day.
Our plan was to be there for the “Mass Ascension Hot Air Balloon Launch”, which was scheduled to start at 6pm.
Getting there was a breeze, and parking was the typical off-road and on to the grass arrangement.
We got there early enough that the real crows had not gathered, so we were able to leisurely walk around and check up the some of the vendors and get some food.
As we relaxed and ate some dinner, we sat in the field that was allowing folks to walk into semi-inflated interior, and watched as some people climbed into another tethered for a quick ride into the sky..
The starting time for the “Mass Ascension Hot Air Balloon Launch” neared, and we headed toward the viewing area, and managed to squeeze into a small spot.
Both Madison and Logan stretched their necks to see the balloons slowly gaining size as the handlers blew up the balloons with hot air.
Handlers adding hot air to the balloon
We watched as each colorful balloon gained its final shape, and lifted into the air.
Balloons being launched into the air
The last few balloons were taking much longer then the traditional ones to fill with air, and kept may new comers guessing what they were, but it was apparent that they were something complex.
Finally the Clown Head and Haunted Halloween House had taken shape, and in the spirit of the balloon, the crew added a little extra touch to the moment!
Skeleton in the Haunted House balloon
The kids had a great time, and we do plan to go back next year!
A view from the Ferris Wheel at Exton Square Mall Spring Carnival
I finally got time to stitch these panoramic together, and I am actually surprised at how well it came out, considering that it was hand-held in a moving Ferris Wheel!
It has been several months since I have had a chance to sit down and pull a collection of images to submit to Panoramio for Google Earth.
So this morning, while I was drinking my coffee, I slowly went back through my catalog of images, and pulled together a series of 22 images that I thought would be a good selection for submission, including late Fall, Winter and Spring images from:
If you care to see what I have selected, as well as my other images that have been accepted, they can be found on my Panoramio (Google Earth) account.
As always, please feel free to add comments!
– Andrew
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Update on Panoramio submissions
6/6/2011 – Wow! The folks that monitor submission seem to be working overtime!
Normally, or at least from my past experience, it usually takes 3-5 days for any news on images being accepted, but by late Sunday night, ALL 22 of my images have been approved! (I now have 135 images on Google Earth!)
