Great Escapes Goes Under the Sea

Last Sunday, we found ourselves eye-to-eye with the sharks at the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ.  From having water squirted on us during the SpongeBob Squarepants 4-D movie to posing with Gill, the aquarium mascot to touching the jellyfish, we had a terrific time learning more about all the underwater creatures and spending time with our Starlight friends.   

**—Huddleston Farm Event—**

For our July event, the Huddleston family opened up their home–actually their very large yard– for a Starlight cookout. We couldn’t have asked for a better day to be outside. It was beautiful as we took turns riding one of the two horse around the ring. Many of the kids even got comfortable enough to hang on while the horses trotted. The Huddleston’s almost had their very own petting zoo–where we fed a donkey, goats, and saw a very pregnant cow (The Huddleston family snake also made an appearance at the event and though I’m not fond of snakes, he was quite well behaved so I wouldn’t want to leave him out). We quickly learned that there was no shortage of cows on the farm as we ventured off on a hay ride. Out in the pasture there were cows and we even got to see a barrel of hay pulled apart and fed to the cows. A couple calves stood close to their mothers. They were so cute! Many of the kids were interested to learn where the cows got their drinking water. We learned about quite a fancy system. These cows don’t drink from any old pond! The best I can explain is that there was this black box with two blue balls on it and somehow the cows learned how to press the balls down with their heads. Inside the box they found clean drinking water that stays cold in the summer, never freezes in the winter and is always protected from that yucky green algae that grows on the surface of ponds. Back at the house, two moon bounces–one with an obstacle course, climbing wall and slide. Lunch was a good old fashioned hot dog and hamburger cook out–not complete without a tray of Grandma’s pickles and mushrooms and a nice big bowl of candy. It was a great time for the whole family to spend together and also to catch up with Starlight friends!