New York Trip - Hancock, NY September 19

We ended up getting an early afternoon start on our drive to NY last Thursday. I was mentally prepared for a late start, even though I'm typically anxious to get out the door as early as possible. My mental preparation made it a more relaxed morning and departure :-) Taipan and I woke up first and played some Rock Band, then Yuta and Taisim woke up, and we played more Rock Band. Eventually I got dressed, everyone ate, and we put the final things in the van and headed out around 1pm.

We made one stop on the way, and made it to Hancock around 8:30. In case you don't know anything about Hancock, I pulled this from the Hancock chamber of commerce site:

Known as "The Gateway to the Upper Delaware River," the village of Hancock is located at the edge of the famed Catskill Mountains in the Southern Tier of New York State. The village rests at the confluence of the East and West Branches of the Delaware River--where the Delaware River begins--on the border of New York State and Pennsylvania. Hancock is an Incorporated Village of approximately 1,500 people, surrounded by the Town of Hancock, which includes an additional 1,500 inhabitants, both of which lie within the bounds of Delaware County.

Before going to the hotel we stopped by the Beaver-Del, which is where the wedding was going to be. Yuli and Keith's families were there doing last minute wedding stuff. We spent about 30 minutes there, then headed to the Hancock House. Before we even got there both kids were telling us that they didn't want to go to a hotel and that they wanted to be home. I'm still figuring out the best way to deal with this kind of thing, because they really wanted to see their aunties (and uncle Keith) and be in the wedding, but they don't like to spend extended periods away from home. We got through it, and showed them all the neat things about the hotel (elevators! cable TV! Ama & Akon just two doors down!), but every night they told me they wanted to be at home. And when we got back home, Taipan seemed relieved to be with all of his things again.

So the hotel was nice, and on Friday morning the kids woke up earlier than we usually do - our room faced the street, adn there was a decent amount of traffic, so Taipan woke up and said, "Mom - do you hear the cars and trucks outside? The sun is up!" And so Taipan, Taisim and I got up early and with enough sleep to keep the kids going until the afternoon. We played in the hotel room for a bit, and after Yuta woke up we drove to Fireman's Park, which is open fields and picnic pavilions near the bank of the Delaware River.

We passed a flyfisherman on our way to the banks (looked like he was wrapping up), and then walked along the bank and through rocks into the river for about half an hour. Yuta was pretty good at skipping rocks, whereas the kids and I were aiming for big splashes.






After rock throwing we found a McDonald's with a play area. The kids enjoyed going up and down and up and down, while Yuta and I hung out and watched. We were the only ones in the paly area, so that was nice.

Taipan & Taisim fell asleep on the way to Beaver-Del for the rehearsal. Taipan woke up in time to do some exploring, and noticed the disco ball that had been put up for the reception. He couldn't wait for it to turn on, and we checked in on it frequently. Taisim slept for over two hours and missed the rehearsal, which was ok. After she woke up we took some time to let her play and get a snack before we headed over the lodge for the rehearsal dinner.

The lodge was built by some friends of Yuli and Keith, and was really neat - huge, and beatiful inside and out. The basement was set up as a kind of rec room, with a mini pool table and air hockey game, and also a keyboard, and what I think is a dance or yoga studio - all perfect for us! There was also a TV and weight room, and tons of other stuff. We stayed there until 9 or so, then headed back to the hotel - a long day for sure!