Well, It's the latest addition of "Where in the World is the Hatcher Family..."

Keeping the kids busy in the summer is a lot of fun, and we take advantage of every chance we can to get out for free or cheap.



We got free passes to Midway Park for Media Day. The park was a breath of fresh air.

This isn't a paid advertisement, but more of a thank you note to the park giving my family a weekend we'll remember forever.

The park is situated in Maple Springs, NY, right along Chataqua Lake.

The lake was beautiful as usual, and a large number of boaters were out on the water in Saturday's heat. We showed up to a complimentary chicken barbecue, which according to the park's owners, is a secret recipe passed down through the generations.

The park is full of mostly Kiddie rides, and for families with small kids especially, the park is exciting.

The antique Carosel was a blast.

The horses appeared to be made of some kind of cast metal. Most of the horses I've seen are fiberglass...

My wife and kids took off in the bumper boats.

And the hand paddle boats...

The favorite was definitely the bumper cars though.



While bigger parks like Darien Lake are a lot of fun, we had a million times more fun at Midway, without the lines, without the fear of losing the kids. The park workers were all polite and helpful, making sure all the kids had parents nearby...

There's also an arcade, with skee-ball and Whack-a-Mole and all teh old fashioned games for 25 cents each. Most of the games gave tickets that could be traded in for prizes. We took a family photo in the picture booth for a buck (as soon as I get it scanned in I'll post it online.)



And afterward we splurged and stopped at a really graet restaurant on the way home called "Guppy's" It wasn't cheap, but the food was really really good.




So be sure to check out the Midway Park Website at: http://www.midway-park.com