Tales From the Minivan

It seems that someone at CBC  has been reading my blog and when the time came to do a story on a recent study done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety they contacted me!  Why me though?  My boys are not yet in booster seats.  I think the reporter was surprised at first when I told him my almost 6 year old was still in a 5pt harnessed car seat.  He was intrigued by this fact and asked if I’d be willing to talk to him about this on air…in one hour!  Nervously I agreed and secretly was happy that I actually put on a little makeup earlier!

We arrived at Liam’s school and  the reporter Chris Corday was waiting for us, he interviewed me and I like usual rambled on about car seat safety and my loathing of the 3-in-one seats (which I might add are some of the ones not recommended in the IIHS study).  I told him that Liam who is now just over 40lbs could be in a booster, but I choose to keep him in a harnessed seat, and used a line from our great moderator of CPO’s Car Seat Safety Board TamC  “A step up in restraint is a step down in safety!”   I also said yes he does complain sometimes that he’s still in a car seat, but I tell him that he’s just like a Race Car Driver as they wear 5 pt harnesses just like him to keep them safe!

I wish I had been able to grab the clip that was online to post here, but I was so busy the day after it was on, I didn’t get a chance to!  CBC only keeps their news casts online for 24 hours!

Here’s a couple of pics we took right after the taping:

In the pic above you can see Finn is still happily rear facing, and we borrowed Sarah’s The First Years True Fit seat to try out.  Very nice, I’m still thinking I may have to get one for that extra 5 pounds I can keep Finn rear facing.  Actually Ciaran could be rear facing in one still, he’s still only 33-34lbs at almost 4 years old!

Oh and you can probably see above in the pics the t-shirt on the seat.  This is also another great tip I stole from SarahNB.  It works great to keep your seats clean when you have a walking toddler that’s rear facing.  When the shirt gets dirty,  you take it off and wash it. So simple!

After our busy day in NYC yesterday we thought we’d do a slow paced day and do a little hiking and see some of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.  The Delaware River runs between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Here’s a little something from the US National Park Service website:

“For 40 miles the Middle Delaware River passes between low forested mountains with barely a house in sight. Then the river cuts through the mountain ridge to form the famed “Water Gap.” Exiting the park, the river will run 200 miles more to Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean at Wilmington, Delaware”

We decided to stop into one of the Pennsylvania  Tourist Info Centres to get some kid friendly suggestions of where to hike.  The guide told us about an area an area close to Dingman Falls, called  Childs Park Recreation area.  We decided to have a picnic lunch then take a hike to see the many waterfalls that were in this particular area of the park.   Lunch was great, it was funny another minivan pulled up across from us with New Jersey plates.  Then a family started getting out.  I noticed right away, that a little girl no more than 2 years old hopped out quickly.  I thought that was odd as she would have to be in a car seat?  Then another little boy younger than Ciaran, then another and another.  I stopped counting when I hit 9 people in that Ford Windstar!  The cargo area was completely stuffed as was the roof.  Then about 10 minutes later I hear a cry.  There was an infant there too in an infant car seat carrier (thank goodness)!  10 people were in that van and only 2 of them adults and only one car seat. That made me really mad!

I’m so glad we decided on this area as it was gorgeous!  Here are a few shots:

The kids really enjoy hiking and the waterfalls were the icing on the cake.   After hiking we decided to cross the Delaware River at a place called Dingman’s Ferry.  In 1735, Andrew Dingman from New York State started this crossing at this spot on the River there has either been a Ferry crossing or a bridge in place for crossing over into New Jersey from Pennsylvania since that time.  It is currently privately run and operates as a toll bridge for $1 to cross.  We crossed here then followed the river back through on the NJ side.

It was a little shaky this bridge!  I found out later that each year after Labour Day the bridge closes
for more than a week to allow engineers to inspect the bridge from the tops of the trusses to the underwater foundations, and to perform any necessary maintenance and repairs. Yikes, it’s awfully close to Labor Day!

The kids enjoyed the drive along the river, the roads were very twisty and had what we like to call “Rollercoaster Bumps”!  I was surprised the speed limit was as high as it is.  When I’d see one of the “bumps” I’d speed up a little then let off the gas on the descent, so it would feel like a freefall.  There were lots of squeals coming from the back!

The next cool site we saw was a Self Serve unattended Farm Stand!  I was excited as I saw some fresh corn on the cob.  Of course we stopped and I picked up a dozen.  Was it ever good!  It’s been a long time since I’ve had corn that fresh.  I’m going to make a point to get back to our local farmer’s market when we get home.  I really want to start buying closer to home.

I hopped back in the van after grabbing my corn and we continued on our journey for about 10 minutes or so, then we came across a slight obstacle.

Yes that’s a tree right in the middle of the road!  We got out as did the occupants of the car ahead of us to observe.  We tried tugging at it for a minute or two and took a couple of photos and chuckled.   I accepted defeat and realized that just the 4 of us would not be able to budge this thing.  We took a look at our map and then discovered that this was the only way to go, or we’d have to retrace our steps and drive all the way back up to Dingman’s Ferry.  We decided to go give it a try, by now another vehicle arrived on the other side, and a man got out and started yanking at the debris.  Andrew and I pitched in and we got one side clear enough to pass and we were on our way again!

Just when we thought that was going to be the last strange site on the back country roads of New Jersey we came across this!

and this:

Yes that’s a traffic light right in the middle of no where!!  We burst out laughing but once we started driving we realized why it was there.  The “ONE LANE ROADWAY” was barely one lane, and right along very high cliffs next to the Delaware River.

What a great day, perhaps not as exciting as NYC or an amusement park, but I think it was one of my favorites thus far!