There was a lot going on this fall. Three points make a plane thus a three-legged table is always balanced vs. a four-legged table which could wobble. I've always viewed "life's" three points as personal, professional, and passion. One of those points fluctuated so much this fall that I've come to the belief that a three-legged table can wobble. Fortunately, the passion point provided much needed relief.  
We had a very late "summer" trip to Ocean City this year which felt like we had a very long summer and a somewhat abbreviated fall. A September week in Ocean City was quiet and peaceful and fortunately the ocean temperature was still warm and the rides were open on the weekends. We checked all the typical boxes (pizza at Manco and Manco, riding bikes on the boardwalk, donuts and sticky buns from Dot's, Johnson's popcorn, boardwalk rides) with a few new ones like Charlotte's first hermit crab, which she appropriately named "Pinchy".
Dad heard a lot about Story Book Land, a small theme park less than thirty minutes from Ocean City. The toddler-centric rides tend to be nursery rhyme themed. We spent a solid four hours exploring the park. On a weekday in September, the park had few visitors allowing us to immediately get back on a ride as soon as we exited. Beyond the rides, the park abounds in great photo opportunities.
Tough weekend but we did our best to stay busy. We finally scratched the Wyck House off our list of historical Germantown Houses. I think this was the last one we needed to see. The Wyck House hosted a bee festival with craft vendors offering all types of bee-related products. We picked up some Roxborough Honey. Then we went to an Oktoberfest at the Erzgebirge Club in Warminster. Charlotte wasn't into the cuisine but had a good time in the bounce castle and inflatable slide.
There's many times that I'm reminded of how fortunate it is to live in a community with parks and neighbors that enjoy bringing their children to those parks to play with other children. It was a quiet afternoon at the playground, then the Eagles' game ended, and the playground came to life. Everyone wanted to play with the princess and chase the princess around the playground. A stop at Scoops was the perfect end to the day. Life seemed to get back to normal from here on out.
The Goddard School had a picnic lunch. Dad came prepared with a basket and all sorts of goodies. I'll always remember this day and event because it was the first time Charlotte gave me a true "I love you" - an unsolicited, unprompted, not responding to an "I love you" from me. A true "I love you". It felt like our lives were back on track.
Charlotte's second haircut:
What's Fall without a few road trips? Dad has been wanting to spend a weeknight overnight in Jim Thorpe. We spent the last Thursday night in September in town and it was eerily quiet. Restaurants and stores that you'd think would be open, we mostly closed. Then comes Friday morning and all of a sudden it's the crowds and mayhem you associate with Jim Thorpe. No idea where these people came from. We stopped at a cool spot called The RiverWalk for a light afternoon snack on the way to Jim Thorpe.
A crazy thunderstorm came through Jim Thorpe - we found cover in the Molly Maquire tavern then walked around the deserted streets of Jim Thorpe afterwards. The town was already decorated for Halloween but none of the skeletons or scary monsters could frighten Charlotte.
The next day we went on a pet friendly train ride. Huge disappointment. Just a straight up boring train ride. The track runs along a mountain and a river but there's trees blocking the river so no views. Glad we did this and that this train ride didn't build up with anticipation in my mind but this was a one and done. Next time will look to ride my bike on the trail that goes beside the train tracks. That seemed to be the better option to experience the scenery. Charlotte had fun and Annie was chill despite other dogs in our carriage.
For six weeks our Monday nights were filled with soccer class. Charlotte made tremendous progress from week one to week six - going from not wanting to get on the field to controlled dribbles indoors in cowboy boots.
Another road trip. This time to Lancaster / Strasburg. Dinner at Cork & Cap followed by chocolate ice cream at Strasburg Creamery. 
We spent the night at the Red Caboose Motel - where as the name suggest, you sleep in a caboose. Truly a unique accommodation. We may need to look into getting Charlotte a bunk bed. Small showers. Small bed. Small everything. But for a night? Can't be beat and highly recommend a one-night stay.
After breakfast, coffee, a stop at Lancaster Cast Iron (a wonderful home goods store with all locally made products), a stop at an apple orchard, we finally returned to Strasburg for a ride on the Strasburg Railroad. Unlike the Jim Thorpe train ride, this ride scenic. We went through cornfields, watch Amish school children play baseball, and enjoyed seeing the country side.
Next stop was Cherry Crest Adventure Farm. Dad was thinking we'd pop in, quickly check out the activities, grab a pumpkin, and be on our way. We approached the entrance and Dad scoffed as soon as he saw the $30 admission fee - this place is charging to pick up a pumpkin. Dad thought about turning around then thought let's give this place a try and see how big of a rip off it is - whoa was Dad ever wrong. This place was amazing. It was like a theme park meets an amusement park. Dad was sure that if this place existed when he was a kid, Lola and Papa would have brought he and Uncle Pete out every fall. Dad thought maybe we'd spend an hour here...we were here for five hours and only left because it was getting late. We will definitely return next year.

There was a tractor turned into a slide. Instead of a sandbox there was a corn kernel box.
We could have spent all day going down the burlap sack slides but there was so much to see and do.
The Conshohocken Halloween parade:
Carving another fearsome jack-o-lantern.
A day trip to the Edelman Fossil Park in Glassboro, NJ. The fossil park opened about a year ago and is a best-in-class type facility. A stunning building, with stunning views, with stunning exhibits inside, although I will say that unless you plan to do a fossil dig, which I'd recommend, you'll blitz through the museum in an hour or so. It's a spectacular museum but not a ton of depth.
Is that a rock or a fossil? We found plenty of both.
A crowded weekend at Sesame Place.
Charlotte's re-designed bedroom. I hope she likes it.
The Goddard School Trunk-or-Treat was a lot of fun. There are some very creative and committed parents within the Goddard community. Dad is planning a trunk-or-treat costume for next year. The trunk-or-treat was a good alternative to the Halloween parade - the parade was so large last year that the traffic that ensued before and afterwards meant the parade could not repeated.
Ott's Exotic Plants is Instagram famous for its Mountain of Mums. The Schwenksville nursery has been the place to get mums for years but in the age of social media it's turned into a must-visit Fall destination. Dad came for the indoor plants.
Another road trip, although hotel prices turned this into a day trip. First stop was at Hawk Mountain...where the hawks decided they didn't want to fly on this otherwise gorgeous fall Saturday. We've seen more hawk's in Lola and Papa's back yard.
The main destination of this road trip was Fighter's Heaven, a camp where Muhamed Ali trained for fights. The camp has largely remained as is since Ali's training days. I'm surprised this isn't more of an attraction/destination, particularly on the way to/from other attractions in the area like Yuengling's. We had the place to ourselves which made it feel like a more solemn experience, like the spirit of Ali was watching over you as you toured the site. Charlotte quickly picked up on Ali's techniques and was ready to jump into the ring should a challenger appear.
A morning in St. Peters which felt like a light, let's say very, very light, version of Jim Thorpe. Good coffee spot. A short hike. Then we were on our way to lunch in Phoenixville. It was a good fall, Friday morning.
Emu's, a corn maze, and picking out pumpkins at AGA Farms in Perkasie. Charlotte was a great guide through the maze - so good we went through twice.
Halloween in Conshohocken - best place for trick-or-treating in the area.
Halloween weekend we watched K-Pop Demon Hunters in the theater (and twenty-five more times at home) and created a leaf pile at Mary Wood Park.
Dad knows all the secrets. A Thursday night at Thrillz Adventure Park - we had the place to ourselves.
We picked up a pass to the Academy of Natural Sciences from the library - always a good move. We started in the dinosaur room where Charlotte once again proved there's no one more fun to travel with than her. From imitating T-Rex to being bitten by T-Rex, Charlotte loves to have fun. Good dioramas. A large slice of pizza at Benny P's.

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