Kelly's Island

I just knew there was a Hauck family sized hole in your life on this lovely weekend!

Possibly even multiple holes? 

Worry not, I'm here to rectify and day save with these crisp snaps of 

our recent road/ferry trip to Kelly's Island. 

Max came home in the best mood from day care - and if you asked him 

where we were going he would respond "Kelly's Island". It was 

kind of precious. We loaded up the car in about three minutes

with everything but the kitchen sink and hit the road. 

(well actually, we stopped at Wendy's and Tim Hortons 

because priorities) but soon we were cruising up route 23. 

 

My well thought out plan was that we would leave at Max's

naptime and he would sleep the whole way there.

But so much for plans - because he kept coughing and

waking himself up and then we hit literally every

traffic light on Route 4 so the constant stop and start

did not lull him like the highway does...so no nap Max

arrived at the ferry ready for a ride!

 

Sidenote:  Traffic violators Papa Rob and Mama also arrived

at the ferry (in a mood comparable to Max's) because we got

stopped by a dear police man in Lyme Township where the

speed limit is 55, not 67.

So, the Hauck family will be making a nice little

donation to the tune of $120 by August 10.

Lucky us.

 

We walked on (and by walked, I of course mean

schlepped, the cooler, two bags, stroller, car seat,

and pack and play) down the dock and on to the boat.

This somehow seemed easier than paying the fee

to bring your car over....

 

The ferry boat ride lasted about twenty minutes

in which we of course went to the bathroom (twice!),

pointed out all the boats, tried to climb the stairs,

and DID NOT like it when the horn blew :)

 

Mema and Pops greeted us on the dock - and we sped

away to great Grandma Marge's house/resort.

We were also joined later by Rob's (step) brother

Nick and his wife Courtney!

 

Grandma Marge's house has a lake front view

(which sadly Max was not that interested in)

but he was interested in hanging out in her convertible

and on top of her tractor (lawn mower).

He was also loving the toys that she kept around (mixers, diggers, and trucks)

and her dog Casey :)

 

Max went to sleep surprisingly easy on Friday night and then

the adults were rewarded with a gorgeous sunset!

 

It's weird - toddlers don't understand "vacation mode"

and so Max was up at the clickety-clack of dawn the next day.

But, I didn't mind too much because there was

hot coffee and a lake front view to be seen! 

We also managed to find a local park, tour the adorable downtown,
go down on the docks (in which we saw a dead fish that
Max still talks about), and look at all the beautiful boats.
 

 

Grandma Marge has an awesome hammock -

perfect for swaying, bouncing, and just general

mischief if you're Max :)

 

 

Max also convinced Grandma Marge to take him

on a ride in her convertible (he said he wanted to

feel the "wind in his hair").  We tooled around the island -

Marge knows everyone and all the hot spots.

At one point, Max said he had to go to the bathroom and wouldn't

let up about it, but thankfully Marge got us to the

Kelly's Island Winery just in time.

 

She was also able to swing by her friend's house

and pick up some sand toys for Max.

These came in super handy because after Max's

nap we headed down to the local campground/beach area!

 

Max LOVED the beach!  This was by far the highlight

for him (and us)!  He squished the sand between his toys.

He threw all the toys in the water.  He dumped water

from bucket to bucket. He made sandcastles

with Mema (and then stomped on them).

He lounged for about 3.2 seconds (just long enough

to suck down an apple sauce pouch). Then it was off

to the water again. He even managed to squirt Pops

with a squirt gun!

 



The beach was so clean and even though there

were lots of people there - it never felt crowded.

The water is also super shallow and clear -

and Max had no problems wading out in it all on his own.

 



Our Saturday ended with a delicious dinner

and campfire - complete with smores!

 

Sunday dawned bright and early - and after

breakfast Pops found a local digger to ride on.

Max kept saying "look at me mommy! Look at me Pops!"

The only way we could convince him to come down

was to lie tell him that other kids were going to come

and it would be their turn.  He bought it - but just barely :)

 



The other highlight for Max was finally getting
to see the tractor in action!  Marge fired it up -
and Max hesitated for about a minute (because he thought he would
get to ride it by himself) and then agreed to ride on Marge's lap.
They did several laps and then he hopped off.

We packed a quick lunch for the ferry - and then it was time to
leave.  We practiced putting our hands over our ears
this time (to drown out the loud horn toot) - but wouldn't you know,
this time it didn't even blast! Max also fell asleep in
the car about three second after we pulled away
from the parking lot. I guess driving a tractor is hard work. :)

This trip was definitely confirmation that while it's a lot of
work to travel with a toddler - it's totally worth it.
I love that he got to see and experience such a special spot!
xoxo