Whiteface weekend: the uphill race

Uncle Peter ran his 36th Whiteface 8-mile uphill race this September. Congrats, Pete!

Cora, Silas, and I joined the cabin camping fun along with my mom, who has been visiting Ithaca while Nate was working in Kenya for the month (he comes home TOMORROW - yay!). We stayed at Janet and Peter's favorite spot, the North Pole Resort. Nana Hutchins and Mandy and Skylar were there, along with a group of Vermont family friends (Nan and Howie; Bill, who also ran with Pete; and Sarah and Anne).

Family photo, plus our new friend Beth who ran the race
and was camping alone at the North Pole

Lunch time at Janet / Pete / Judy's cabin

 

The weather was the best I've seen for the race. It was clear enough to see the castle at the top from the winding road below, and there was much less wind than I've ever experienced on that mountain. Pete and Bill beat Pete's previous year's time by 3 minutes. Here are Skylar and Cora (and me) running along with our racers. Turns out Cora is really slow at running uphill, which was frustrating to her. She really wanted to keep up, and announced that when she "gets big" she is going to run the race.

Mandy and Skylar made it to the very top just as the clouds closed in:

Family fun in Wilmington seems to be good for my kids' development. Two years ago, Cora and I cabin camped for the event, and that is where she said her first word, "hot." This time, Silas used his time at the camp to really start perfecting his walking skills. During a rainy afternoon in the resort's community center, we all enjoyed playing games (skeeball, ping pong, Rage) and Silas just happily toddled around from group to group.

4 generations of Hutchins-Keller-Jensen gals

On Sunday, our family group made a side trip to Tupper Lake to visit the Wild Center. The kids loved the otter and turtle and fish exhibits and interactive presentations, and the adults loved the lobster bisque and beautiful exhibits. We'll have to go back again someday to see more of it.