Throwback Thursday - Girls' Trip to PA

I'm back for another "Throwback Thursday" post!  Today I wanted to share a fun trip I took with Scarlett, my mom, and my sister this past summer at the end of July.  We decided to plan a trip to Idlewild Park, a small amusement/water park in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, about a 2.5-hour drive from home.  I went to Idlewild Park as a child, and I believe even my parents went when they were young.  It's an amusement park geared toward very young children, perfect for Scarlett's age.  On top of that, they recently revamped their "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood" attraction and turned it into a "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" attraction.  Being that my little peanut is pretty much the world's biggest Daniel Tiger fan, we knew this would be the perfect place to visit.

We spent an entire Saturday there, and it was absolutely perfect.

It was a beautiful day!  And the setting of the park is just gorgeous.

Daniel Tiger!!!! Scarlett was freaking out!

She could not believe she got to see Daniel's house and knock on his door.  (This is where there Daniel Tiger show is located in the afternoons).

The best part of the day: A trolley ride through Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.  Seeing her excitement and wonder was one of my favorite moments of the summer.

 

They have a cute "Storybook Forest" area too.  Unfortunately, Scarlett was having a meltdown when we first arrived and we had planned to try again later.  But by the time we got back, it had closed!  We were bummed, but Luke and I actually ended up taking Scarlett back to Idlewild later in the summer, and were able to see it.  But more on that in a future post!  Anyway, it was a cute area. 

And here's a flashback to 25 years ago in the exact same spot! (Although they have obviously repainted the big book). Here's little me with some family friends (I'm wearing the polka dots.  And I'm pretty sure that's a mullet.  it was 1990, after all.):

Anyway, back to 2015.  Here are Mom, Julie, and Scarlett waiting for the Daniel Tiger show to start

Katerina showed up...Scarlett's favorite!  She was beside herself.

...But she totally froze up for the meet and greet afterwards.  Ha!  I have to admit, Daniel Tiger and Katerina Kittycat at that size were a bit creepy.

 Later, we went to the waterpark, and Scarlett found her own personal puddle.  This kept her busy for at least 20 minutes.

And then we rode the teacups a few times

We topped off our day with some ice cream, dinner later at Panera, and swimming in the hotel pool.  

The next day we went to a local animal park called "Living Treasures Animal Park." We purchased a bag of carrots there, and were able to feed most of the animals there by hand.  A really fun experience, especially for my sister, the animal-lover. 

The Wallabies were our favorites. 

If you look closely, you can see a little Joey in her pouch.  So cool!

I had so much fun with my mom, sister, and Scarlett!  I hope we can have more girls' trips in the future. 

If you live in the area, I would highly recommend both Idlewild Park and Living Treasures Animal Park.  They're both very unique and fun places to visit.