Chautauqua Institution Sleigh Rides

Honestly, we have been pretty lucky this winter here in Antarctica! The weather hasn't been THAT horrendous, no matter how much I complain on Twitter! We didn't even get our first real snow until a few weeks ago! Pretty epic if you ask me. No salt stains on any of this seasons boots, which are usually partially destroyed by January no matter how well I take care of them!

Regardless of how "warm" our winter has been up until now, it's the FL/TX gal in me that makes for the nonstop complaining. I wasn't made for these conditions, so anything below 60 where I actually have to trade my dress in for a pair of pants, I turn into a complete hermit ready to hibernate until springtime! Hence the #Hibernation2016 hashtag I've been using all over social media ;-)

I'm soooo all about that hibernation life unless something pretty fabulous convinces me it's ok to brave a flurry and have a snowflake land on my head just to have a social life.

And then one day I was sent a pretty awesome invite on Facebook!! Chautauqua Institution,which may sound familiar to regulars here since it's a local summer favorite for my lil'family, is offering sleigh rides at the bookstore Saturday & Sunday 1-3pm all winter long!! As much as I hate the cold it was a must! Haylie is My Little Pony obsessed, so to have real live "ponies" pull us in a sleigh?!?! Omg!!! Just had to take her even if it meant freezing to death! Atleast I could die knowing I made sure she had real "ponies" pull her in a sleigh. Her reaction to seeing the "ponies" would be priceless:)

So let's get down to the nitty gritty!

It was a pretty decent winter day the Sunday we made our trek, so there was definitely a wait to get on a sleigh! A steamy 20 something degrees definitely brought everyone out of hibernation ;-)

The good news is that they run TWO sleighs!!! So the longest you will wait is 15 minutes since the rides are 30 minutes long! They run a sleigh every 15 minutes leaving from the bookstore. $4 adult $3 kiddos.

Since the sleigh rides are 30 minutes long, you definitely want to dress warm, so don't forget your hats, mittens, scarfs! After 5 minutes you will be thankful you bundled. Even my WNY native hubby was glad I made him pack his winter hat. He definitely ended up wearing the thing since most of the sleigh ride takes place along the lake equaling wind, even on the "warmer" days.

The sleigh goes by all the fabulous photo opts Chautauqua Institution has to offer so have your phone or camera ready! You will stroll by the athenaeum hotel. the bell tower, the amphitheater, the Edison house, all the churches and chapels! The list goes on! The dude doing his thing with the "ponies" also knew quite a bit of knowledge about the grounds for claiming he knew nothing. He was pointing out houses I never noticed before & even had some town gossip to spill! We were even lucky and had a resident sitting beside us who had all the dirty deeds about the amphitheater drama. Juicy stuff ;-)

And of course we couldn't go to Chautauqua Institution and have me not play photographer with my new DSLR. After the sleigh ride we hopped in the whip and I snapped a few photos of my favorite spots! The Bell Tower & Athenaeum Hotel. Snow can look so pretty via photo.

Can't believe I'm saying it, but I actually had fun in the snowy cold!! Good thing it was a 30 minute ride since that's all the winter I needed to experience this year. Now it's back to your regularly scheduled programming. #Hibernation2016