Don't worry, it wasn't a 14 day vacation or anything like that! I'm condensing everything into 3...I think!
Blogger seems to be cooperating and my internet at home has been fixed (faulty phone jack) so I'm back in business!

Our vacation was now almost 2 weeks ago and began on a Sunday with an 8 hour drive (give or take an hour!), ending that night in Easton, Pennsylvania.
We had gone on this little excursion twice before. The first time was because I had heard about a Sesame Place park so we went with the intention of just going to do that for a couple days and coming home but we found all these other things to do once we got there and just went "willy-nilly" all over the place. The second year we went, we planned everything a lot better since we knew what we wanted to do and this year was much the same and everything went like clockwork.
Our first stop Monday morning was the spot Easton is most famous for...the Crayola Factory.
This place is very cool..you can learn about the history of Crayola, see how crayons are made and then as you go through there are different activity and craft stations...so much for the kids to do! It's not huge either so you can see and do everything in a few hours.
Some of the activities include working on a Crayola computer program, creating with Model Magic clay, making paper bag puppets, treasure maps and creating a "masterpiece" with different colours of hot wax (melted crayons).

Of course there was also a spot to just sit and do some old-fashioned colouring with regular old crayons!

The Crayola Factory is located in a building they call Two Rivers Landing and on the two floors above Crayola is the National Canal Museum. It's also very "hands-on" and educational. There are displays about how canals evolved, how bridges and cranes are built, and explanations of locks on waterways. Jesse really enjoyed it here.


Look what else Easton is famous for....the EASTON MUSEUM OF PEZ DISPENSERS!
I used to love Pez dispensers when I was a kid (ok, still do)! This place is so kitschy...basically it's a store full of Pez, some new, and some discontinued that are quite expensive. Then off to one side is a little archway with a curtain across and for $4 you can go through the "museum". Emily and I decided to go through it this time...so the teenager who is a cashier in the store then becomes the tour guide...struck me funny! The museum is basically one big room with all sorts of different collections of dispensers. Actually, it was quite interesting..the cashier/tour guide was very knowledgable. We learned that Pez were invented in Austria in 1928 and didn't come to the U.S. until 1952. They were originally invented to help people stop smoking. The first heads to be put on the dispensers were Casper, Mickey and Popeye.






Some other sights of Easton...

Yes, Jesse insisted we watch the local paving crew. It didn't matter that it was 104 degrees out, it was one of the highlights of his day! He also insisted I take lots of pictures, which the paving crew got quite a kick out of, waving and blowing kisses...how embarassing...oy...the things I do for my kids!

After leaving Easton, we headed to the "artsy" little town of New Hope for a train ride. According to Emily's notes (she brought her journal along..I was very proud of her efforts to learn things and record them) the steam engine that pulled the train was built in 1925 and the car we rode in was built in 1913.

We then carried on to our "home away from home" for the next 4 days...a Sheraton hotel in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.