January 28th, 2015 - Tanya's Quebec Winter Carnival Trip: Day 4

Elisa's Daily Scoop

Great Winter Day Trips

Howdy!  It's back to school today after a fun and relaxing Snow Day yesterday.  I know the kids were crossing their fingers for another day off, which was not the case.  However, they did have a one-hour delay this morning, which made going back a little easier to handle.

Winter, being what it is - frigid temperatures, short days and being stuck indoors more than I would like, I decided rather than fight it and wish it away, I would embrace this season and do some research into how to better enjoy the next few months here in the NY-Tri-State area.

Day trips are one of my personal favorites.  They are quick, require no packing and in most cases are economical.

Here are a 4 Day Excursions from New York City for my W2GW (Where to Go Wednesdays) Edition to brighten up your Saturday or Sunday during the cold weather months:

* Windham Mountain Skiing
Who says you have to schlepp out west to ski?  Conveniently located a few hours from NYC, in the Catskill Mountains, Windham Mountain Resort has over 50 trails, a spa (for the non-skiiers in the group), an adventure park and three restaurants.

According to the official Windham Mountain Resort site, "Windham Mountain is a mid-sized mountain with BIG mountain feel" with its 1600 vertical feet of skiing.  

The Adventure Park is sure to get a thumbs up from the kids - with zip lining and specially sized snow mobiles for the kids, it also has 8-lanes of snow tubing.

Not bad for a few hours drive for a great adult day get-away or a lively day away with the family.

Lakota Wolf Preserve (courtesy njfamily.com)

 * Lakota Wolf Preserve
A 90-minute drive and a hop, skip and a jump over the George Washington Bridge to Columbia, New Jersey, The Lakota Wolf Preserve is waiting, offering twice-daily Wolf Watch tours.  

Imagine the opportunity, of being able to get up close and personal with these amazing pack animals!  There are two tours available including the Educational Wolf Watch Tour and the Wildlife & Wolf Photography Tour.

* Fahnestock Winter Park
If skiing down mountains is not your thing, how about some great cross-country skiing. Fahnestock is only an hour out of NYC in the Hudson Valley and offers cross country skiing, snow shoeing and inner tube sledding.

Fahnestock has over 18 kilometers of mapped trails for both beginners and advanced skiers, as well as trails for winter walking and hiking.

* Indoor Water Park at Great Wolf Lodge
Okay, so if you and your gang are not looking for something to do in the great outdoors, how about an indoor water park! Just 90-minutes away from NYC in the Poconos in Pennsylvania, The Great Wolf Lodge is sure to thrill the kiddies!!

I have to say, I was duly impressed with the website which details the plethora of activities at the lodge as well as an exciting tour of the water rides and slides.  

The Coyote Canyon features a 40' drop into a cannon bowl! and the Hydro Plunge has a 
motorized track that will hoist you to the precipice of a waterslide with a 52-foot vertical drop!  Of course, there are many more rides, slides and activities broken down for all ages. 

I think I just figured out some ways to help the next eight weeks of Winter be more enjoyable!

And speaking of Winter - baby, it's cold outside!!!  Car registered 13 degrees earlier when I took the kids to school.  Stay warm and safe today!!

-E

Tanya's Daily Scoop

Awesome times had and to be had!

Well, we froze our butts off! 
But we had such an amazing day that it didn't even matter!

Our attempts of making it out for first tracks was a bust, (the program wasn't running yesterday) and we were turned away due to high winds; having a normal start out there in the elements. 

Those are some COLD trees!

With the temperatures at the summit being -32F with the windchill, it was definitely a mighty COLD day, and even when I'm skiing (something I totally love) and it's that cold, I just can't stay on the slopes constantly without taking several small breaks. 
-Where usually I'm kind of an Anti-Break type of Gal.

Adorable Mont-Tremblant Village

Once the lifts had all closed for the day, we wandered the ADORABLE village, went shopping for souvenirs, had partaken in some Apres Ski, and finally headed back to our lodge. 
And while although Cosette had seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself, she was definitely in a big rush for us to get back to our lodge...it was time to try some Maple Taffy! 

First timers at Maple Taffy

Let me start be telling you how much of a Maple syrup fan that I am! 
(Kinda think Will Farrell in ELF - but I'm definitely not going to pour my treasured syrup over a plate of my spaghetti!)

Next, let me tell you how much I enjoyed this experience - it is a MUST DO while in this region! 
So much so that I am doing an article about it - and will link to this page once I've published it! 
And probably needless to say that we are soooo getting more Maple Taffy today! And each and every other time that I see it!!!

We then took a short break back in our room, before heading back out to the slopes to go tubing, but had I known the absolute BLASTEROO that I was going to have - we would've definitely went out to play even sooner than we did!

Ugh - blurry, but soooo much fun!

HOLY COW - I was screaming and squealing in delight! This was the most fun I've ever had tubing and boy oh boy did it show! I couldn't stop laughing, or smiling! It was an awesome awesome time! And of course the kids had fun too! 

Now for a special Quebec City edition of W2GW (Where to go Wednesday):

Check out:

Village Vacances Valcartier
is a year round destination park offering camping and so many more fun activities! 
In the winter they have a winter playground, in the summer they have a water park, and rafting!

And since we are going for the winter playground, I'll share with you some of the information on what to expect:

More than 35 snow slides
Skating paths
Snow Rafting
The Tornado -
Board the Tornado—a unique invention exclusive to Valcartier Vacation Village—and whirl down the slopes. The Tornado accommodates up to 8 people and is equipped with a special mechanism that makes it swirl. Even when you stop, it keeps on spinning.
Children's playground
5000 inner tubes and 17 mechanical lifts
Himalaya -
Thrillseekers—look no further for an experience you'll never forget! Speed down our four longest and steepest slopes while enjoying the breathtaking scenery of the Jacques-Cartier River and Valley. You can reach up to 80 km/h in those slopes!

IT'S THE LARGEST WINTER PLAYGROUND IN AMERICA! And I can't wait!!!

Of course you know that the original reason for this trip was to go to the: 
Quebec Winter Carnival, which happens to be the LARGEST WINTER CARNIVAL IN THE WORLD in it's 60th year! 

Here are just a few of the fun activities that we'll be experiencing:

Castle Conquest - 
Two teams of 3 to 5 knights compete to conquer the castle. With the help of fifteen balls per player, the teams will try to hit the targets of the opposing castle. The team that gets the most balls into the opposing team’s castle targets will be declared the winner!
Giant Table-Soccer Game -
Be part of a 9-person team and play a real table soccer game…on the human scale! As in the real game, the players are attached together in rows of three to long metal rods that cross the field. They can only move sideways, if they all agree on which way! On the weekends, a funny referee hosts the game and makes sure that everything goes as planned.
Night Parades -
The winter celebration takes to the streets before close to 100,000 live spectators and 400,000 television viewers. Marching bands, clowns and amusements of all kinds are also part of the show. Every year Bonhomme closes the parade on a new float built to his tastes. This is a golden opportunity to experience the magic of the Carnival and see the Carnival atmosphere at its best.
Skating with Bonhomme
Sleigh Rides
Snow Bath -
Major chills fight it out! The public is on hand to applaud the brave bathers. Those who are sensitive to the cold should abstain! Seventy-five courageous souls confront the cold and snow with only one weapon : a bathing suit. Three dips in the snow are planned, with a return to warmth between each. These courageous participants come out of the event with new energy and the feeling of having conquered the forces of nature.
Snow Slides
International Snow Sculpture Competition
And much much more!!!

The fun starts in 2 days, I'm already so excited about it that I can hardly wait! 
I can also already tell you that this might be my first visit, but it certainly won't be my last!

Well, it's time for me to go have some more fun!
Hope that you make time for fun in your life too!

Catch ya back here tomorrow, or playing in the snow today!
-T