Helpful Mom

It’s been a fun week so far with a couple more days to go.  On Tuesday we tried out a different beach with the girls.  We went to Ontario Beach Park in Charlotte, NY.  This beach is Free and there’s lots of convenient parking close by.  The beach itself was huge and a bit busier than the one at Hamlin we went to recently, but not crowded.  The sand was very fine and clung to everything, but it was clean and the kids had a blast digging through it, even finding a few tiny shells.  But where the water met the sand was kindof gross, you know the stuff that washing up on shore and such, just kind of mucky.  But since the kids don’t care too much about the water anyways it didn’t affect our goodtimes.  After a while Katrina decided she wanted to walk out to see the “lighthouse”, so we all packed up and walked all the way down

Ontario Park Beach Playground

the pier.  As we went they chased seagulls and spotted “ships”, and even saw a couple of fish jumping out of the water.  When we reached the end of the pier there was a very friendly older gentleman fishing who the girls really took to.  Katrina has been telling us for a while that she wants to go fishing so she was fascinated and full of questions, and he was more than willing to explain everything.  Finally we told her it was almost time to leave and if she wanted to play on the playground we needed to get going.  Which worked well and both girls really enjoyed the very large playground.  It’s very central and is made up of 4 different playground structures plus a couple swingsets.  It was the busiest playground I’ve been to in a while but it is very new and shaded.  Shaded is always nice because the slides and things aren’t to hot to play on.    Also FYI there are a number of public bathrooms that are free and open to use during the park hours.  And there are faucets where you can wash all that sand off before getting back in your car ;P

Ontario Beach Park has many different water activities, swimming is allowed daily 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. during the summer, for water conditions call 585 753-5887. There is also a boat launch off of Ferry Street, for season passes call 585 753-PARK (7275).

Fishing is allowed in Lake Ontario as long as those fishing are age 16 or over and have a fishing license. For fish regulations (size and season) please contact the County Clerks Office.

Monroe County’s historic Dentzel Menagerie Carousel at Ontario Beach Park in Charlotte is open for the 2008 Season. This year is the carousel’s 103rd continuous season at the Park, where it first opened in 1905.

Ontario Park Beach Carousel

The Carousel’s 2008 Hours of Operation are: Noon to 9:00 p.m.

The Carousel’s 2008 Price Schedule is, as follows:

• Single Ride — $1.00
• Punch Card (12 rides for the cost of 10) — $10.00 **Valid Any Time**
• Wrist Band (Ride All Day) — $5.00 **New in 2008**

There are also free Concerts by the Beach that are held every Wednesday night throughout the summer.

For more info and directions check out their website.

Yesterday I had to drive all the way to N. Greece to pick something up from someone from Craig’s list. So I decided we should make a day of it.  I decided that I would take my two girls to the beach for the first time ever by myself.  We have tried two different times in the past to take the girls to the beach with disappointing results.  We were on vacation in Rhode Island, renting a beach house no less.  And our girls were terrified of the ocean!  Here we thought they’d just love it because it’s the ultimate sand box with endless possibilities.  But they were afraid of the ocean itself, the loud crashing waves to be exact.  Our second try was this year when we went to visit a friend in Boston.  It went a little bit better, at least one out of two children liked it, because it was a rocky beach.  She enjoyed filling her buckets with rocks to take home.  The other one wouldn’t even leave the grassy area.

So what made me think I should try taking my kids to the beach this time?  My sense of fun.  I thought if we were that close to Lake Ontario already I should certainly give it a try.  If they didn’t like it at least we had an adventure.  And I can’t believe that I have lived here all my life and I can only count on one hand how many times I can remember going to the lake!  I’ve been to see Niagara Falls many more times than I’ve been to the lake.  And there is one big key difference, instead of trying the ocean again I was taking them to a lake where there are very small to no waves.  And boy am I glad I took the chance.  We had a blast!  I can’t wait to take them again and hopefully for a longer period of time.

We went to Hamlin State Park(north west of Greece, NY).  It is a beautiful state park right on Lake Ontario.  There are sandy beaches with lifeguards on duty.  There are at least 2 playgrounds of the newer plastic variety with rubber mulch underfoot.  There are a number of shelters with restrooms and water fountains about.  There is lots of shaded areas and picnic tables scattered about.  For a Thursday in summer it was fairly empty so you felt like you were nearly alone with your kids.  The beaches are clearly raked out each day and kept pretty clean.  The water was very clean and clear.  And the view was beautiful.  We spent nearly an hour just digging in the sand trying to create moats and riverways to channel water.  It was such fun for all three of us.  And the girls even got their feet wet in the lake!

If you are interested in a trip to Hamlin State Park you should know that it does cost $7 cash to get in.  They don’t take credit cards and the nearest ATM is quite far away so you should come prepared.  Another tip is if you are thinking of taking multiple trips to State Parks you may be interested in the Empire Passport.   The passport provides unlimited day use vehicle entry to most state parks and recreation facilities for just $59.  To pack correctly for the beach you should think of all possibilities.  Obviously they will be playing with sand so you will need a couple shovels and pails, containers to use as molds are optional.  A change of clothes and towels, sunscreen, and enough food and drinks because there’s nowhere near to buy anything.  Also I took my handy dandy Travel Potty with us because the walk from the beach to the bathroom to way to far for a toddler to hold it.