Day 26 - Greenville, SC - Sunny Mid 50's:
What a nice day! We slept in very late waking up just in time to see Eric off as he headed back to Charlotte for work. Peg, Andrea, and I went out for a nice walk along the rail trail while Ben and Dave bonded over a bike ride. Upon their return we hung out around the house until we headed downtown to visit the shops and see all the Christmas trees. They have this AMAZING display. After walking around town we headed to dinner. It was quite a decision but we finally settled on sushi/chinese. Peg and I had the chinese while the three daring eaters had sushi. It was a great dinner. We came back and watched The Santa Clause (one of my favorites) before heading off to bed. Another great day with family!!
Day 27 - Jones Gap State Park, SC - High 60's in the sun...Low 50's in the shade:
So in an effort to burn off some of our Thanksgiving dinner, Peg, Dave, Andrea, Ben and I headed out to Jones Gap State Park for a little hiking. We planned to head to out to find some waterfalls and we did just that. The hike turned out to be a bit more strenuous than we had planned and I am most certain that Peg wanted to kill us about half way up the mountain. She and Dave paused for lunch a little before the end while Ben, Andrea, and I finished the hike. We weren't sure if they would make it all the way to the end but Peg ROCKED and finished the whole thing. We ate lunch at the falls before heading back down. Andrea, Ben, and I moved a bit faster than Peg and Dave giving Ben enough time to do a small hike off the trail that he had hoped to do on the way up. We all reconvened at the bottom and headed home. We were quite worn out. After a quick trip to Wal-Mart and the shoe store, Dave and Ben headed into town to pick up pizza and wings!! We all enjoyed dinner before an early night to bed!!
Day 28 - Greenville, SC - Sunny and 70: (no photos)
What a beautiful day!! Not a whole lot to report. Ben washed the car and helped Dave hook up Christmas lights while I worked on Christmas presents. Peg and Andy headed to the Gaffney Outlets! Peg returned and Andrea went back to Charlotte (we'll see her in Nashville for New Years Eve!!). We had a great dinner of leftovers and pork...it was so delicious. Other than that we just hung out around the house on our last day here. It has been so nice to visit with family that we never get to see and to relax from all of our driving. We are off to Charleston tomorrow though to see Kristin!!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Turkey Day
Day 26 - Greenville, SC - Sunny 60's:
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!! Ben and I just wanted to wish everyone a great day! We both realize how incredibly lucky we are to have this opportunity and we appreciate so very much those who have helped us and will help us along the way. We LOVE and MISS everyone back home and hope you have a wonderful THANKSGIVING!!
Love,
Ben and Heather
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!! Ben and I just wanted to wish everyone a great day! We both realize how incredibly lucky we are to have this opportunity and we appreciate so very much those who have helped us and will help us along the way. We LOVE and MISS everyone back home and hope you have a wonderful THANKSGIVING!!
Love,
Ben and Heather
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Relaxing...
Day 22 - Charlotte, NC - Cloudy/Rainy Upper 50's: No Pictures
Undoubtedly one of our more uneventful days yet. We slept in...I didn't get up until 10am (with the alarm) which was a nice change. I headed out to the gym and Wal-Mart while Ben went out for a run around Andrea and Eric's house. After lunch Eric took Ben to his local haircut spot for a desperately needed haircut....we were on the way to a mullet which is completely unacceptable!! Andrea got home from work around 5:30 and after she and Eric met with the window man we enjoyed a great new recipe that she got out of her new Rachel Ray Magazine. It was soooo nice to just be able to take a day and hang out, we've been to Charlotte twice recently and so we didn't feel like there was a ton of stuff we HAD to see and being with family made everything even better.
Day 23 - Charlotte, NC - Cloudy Upper 50's:
Another relatively uneventful day, I woke up a bit earlier and headed to the gym again while Ben stayed home and caught up on Nip/Tuck. After lunch we headed to the US National Whitewater Rafting Center. It is quite a place! They have mountain biking trails, whitewater rafting (all man made), rock climbing, zip lines, whitewater kayaking, and flat water kayaking. Unfortunately they were not running the rapids while we were there but we knew that ahead of time. We went just for the ZIP LINE!!! It wasn't too big but it was a lot of fun. We paid for a one time trip but the guys were nice enough to let us go twice. We weren't able to get any pictures in the air ourselves but hopefully we will have one emailed to us soon as another lady got one and offered to send it to us!! After our zip line experience we headed back to Eric and Andy's where I (with some assistance from Ben) made a chicken parmigiana for dinner. Andrea and I spent the night watching a little So You Think You Can Dance, Biggest Loser, and 18 Kids and Counting while Ben worked on reading The Lost Symbol!
Day 24 - Charlotte, NC/Gaffney, SC/Greenville, SC - Partly Cloudy Upper 60's: No pictures.
Another morning, another trip to the gym. Not exciting to most but to me it's great. The foot is holding up, I ran 2 miles on Monday and haven't been able to run much since. I tried today but traded out for the elliptical...another day of rest and we'll try again. Once we got back we packed up and headed toward Greenville to have our Happy Thanksgiving. Andrea and Eric weren't too far behind and we had planned to stop in Gaffney at the outlets so we anticipated arriving at the same time. We made it to the outlets and did a little more shopping than I had planned. I really needed a couple of things but mostly sneakers which I did not find!! We hit the road again and just a couple of miles away from Peg and Dave's, Ben spotted an Olympia Sports type store. We stopped in and they had my shoes and they were on SALE!!! So now I have new sneakers which will hopefully help my foot as well!!
When we arrived at the Setta home, Eric and Andy had just arrived. We all got settled and then Eric began his BRINE for the turkey. It was quite a process but the turkey is soaking now for the night. Once that was done the boys headed out to pick up their race packets. They are running an 8k in the morning so they wanted to get all their stuff tonight. Dave had kindly prepared dinner for us to put in the oven when we were ready...both he and Peg worked late. We ended up cooking late enough for Peg to join us. After dinner the girls hung out downstairs while the boys worked out with the Wii Fit! Dave arrived home later and we all caught up for a bit before he and Peg headed to bed...they have to work early tomorrow. Andrea and I rented My Sisters Keeper (TEAR JERKER ALERT) while the boys did other stuff. Now we're all in bed, we have an early morning for the race and then a day FULL of cooking and family time. Dinners around 6ish so that all can join us after work.
I LOVE FAMILY TIME!
Undoubtedly one of our more uneventful days yet. We slept in...I didn't get up until 10am (with the alarm) which was a nice change. I headed out to the gym and Wal-Mart while Ben went out for a run around Andrea and Eric's house. After lunch Eric took Ben to his local haircut spot for a desperately needed haircut....we were on the way to a mullet which is completely unacceptable!! Andrea got home from work around 5:30 and after she and Eric met with the window man we enjoyed a great new recipe that she got out of her new Rachel Ray Magazine. It was soooo nice to just be able to take a day and hang out, we've been to Charlotte twice recently and so we didn't feel like there was a ton of stuff we HAD to see and being with family made everything even better.
Day 23 - Charlotte, NC - Cloudy Upper 50's:
Another relatively uneventful day, I woke up a bit earlier and headed to the gym again while Ben stayed home and caught up on Nip/Tuck. After lunch we headed to the US National Whitewater Rafting Center. It is quite a place! They have mountain biking trails, whitewater rafting (all man made), rock climbing, zip lines, whitewater kayaking, and flat water kayaking. Unfortunately they were not running the rapids while we were there but we knew that ahead of time. We went just for the ZIP LINE!!! It wasn't too big but it was a lot of fun. We paid for a one time trip but the guys were nice enough to let us go twice. We weren't able to get any pictures in the air ourselves but hopefully we will have one emailed to us soon as another lady got one and offered to send it to us!! After our zip line experience we headed back to Eric and Andy's where I (with some assistance from Ben) made a chicken parmigiana for dinner. Andrea and I spent the night watching a little So You Think You Can Dance, Biggest Loser, and 18 Kids and Counting while Ben worked on reading The Lost Symbol!
Day 24 - Charlotte, NC/Gaffney, SC/Greenville, SC - Partly Cloudy Upper 60's: No pictures.
Another morning, another trip to the gym. Not exciting to most but to me it's great. The foot is holding up, I ran 2 miles on Monday and haven't been able to run much since. I tried today but traded out for the elliptical...another day of rest and we'll try again. Once we got back we packed up and headed toward Greenville to have our Happy Thanksgiving. Andrea and Eric weren't too far behind and we had planned to stop in Gaffney at the outlets so we anticipated arriving at the same time. We made it to the outlets and did a little more shopping than I had planned. I really needed a couple of things but mostly sneakers which I did not find!! We hit the road again and just a couple of miles away from Peg and Dave's, Ben spotted an Olympia Sports type store. We stopped in and they had my shoes and they were on SALE!!! So now I have new sneakers which will hopefully help my foot as well!!
When we arrived at the Setta home, Eric and Andy had just arrived. We all got settled and then Eric began his BRINE for the turkey. It was quite a process but the turkey is soaking now for the night. Once that was done the boys headed out to pick up their race packets. They are running an 8k in the morning so they wanted to get all their stuff tonight. Dave had kindly prepared dinner for us to put in the oven when we were ready...both he and Peg worked late. We ended up cooking late enough for Peg to join us. After dinner the girls hung out downstairs while the boys worked out with the Wii Fit! Dave arrived home later and we all caught up for a bit before he and Peg headed to bed...they have to work early tomorrow. Andrea and I rented My Sisters Keeper (TEAR JERKER ALERT) while the boys did other stuff. Now we're all in bed, we have an early morning for the race and then a day FULL of cooking and family time. Dinners around 6ish so that all can join us after work.
I LOVE FAMILY TIME!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
NC here we come!
Day 19 - Richmond, VA - Sunny and 70:
Well after we dried out from our camping in the rain we made our way into Richmond, VA for the day. We started out on Monument Drive where we admired statues of Arthur Ash, Robert E. Lee and General "Stonewall" Jackson. It was a beautiful day out so we decided to take a walk and made our way down to the Canal Walk. It's a walking path that took us along the James River. It then took us over the James River via suspension foot bridge to Belle Isle island where we saw an old Civil War Union prison camp. At it's peak the prison held as many as 10,000 prisoners but many died there because of the continuous exposure to the weather. We saw an old hydro electric power station that was used to power the city's tram up until the 1950's. This is also the only spot in America where there is a Class IV rapid within a metropolitan area. It didn't look very fierce from the shore but then again it was nothing compared to the Kennebec on a good day.
From the river we made our way to the Virginia State Capitol for a tour. We learned the building was designed by Thomas Jefferson while he was in France as an ambassador for the US. The building was designed after a Roman building and has an internal dome. We got to walk through the Virginia State Senate and see how there governmental system works. We left Richmond around three and drove to Chapel Hill to meet Jim and Lynne.
We arrived at Jim and Lynne's around dinner time. Being the FABULOUS hosts that they were, they had ordered pizza for dinner, printed out things that might interest us, and had a room all ready. We were so excited to be staying with them!!
Day 20 - Durham, NC - Sunny in the low 60's:
We took Jim and Lynne's recommendation and made our way to the Weaver Street Market in Carrboro. This was a very organic community and they had a great health food store and many shops. We also visited the farmers market going on and bought some veggies to restock the cooler.
From there we went to the Washing Duke Homestead Museum, which is a old tobacco farm. We had a great guide on our tour that taught us all about how Washington Duke took his small tobacco farm and turned it into the largest tobacco company in the world. We also learned how tobacco is grown, harvested, cured, and dried before it can be sold or processed. It's one of the most labor intensive crops to grow and process. After returning from the civil war Washington Duke realized that he could grow the Golden Leaf Tobacco that was native to this part of North Carolina and sell it for a premium. He decided that selling tobacco was not profitable enough, so he transitioned into processing tobacco and sold his hand rolled cigarettes all over the country. Within a four year period his company had grown so fast that he had to build two different factories growing larger and larger. They soon moved into Durham and founded the American Tobacco Company which turned into the largest tobacco company in the world until the government broke it up. They were one of the first companies to produce machine rolled cigarettes and were the first tobacco company to really advertise. One of their first advertising methods was created by Washington's son "Buck". He decided to put scantily clad pictures of women on cards in the cigarette pack to appeal to men... but Washington being a devout Methodist didn't approve on this and told his son to stop, so instead Buck began putting pictures of baseball players into the packs...hence the beginning of BASEBALL CARDS! We then drove downtown to see the old tobacco factories and had lunch.
From there we went over to Duke University. We started by touring the Sarah P. Duke Garden's. The roses were still in bloom but most of the other plants were not blooming during this time of year. It's an amazing garden and surely must be beautiful in the spring. Next we made our way over to the campus and tried to tour the basketball arena but a there was a game that night and they wouldn't let us in. So, we walked over to the magnificent chapel and tried to look around but there was a private ceremony going on so we couldn't go inside. We could hear the organs from outside and they sound great. We walked around campus a bit more and noticed that everyone that goes to Duke has to wear Duke apparel all the time. I guess they have a lot of school spirit.
We drove back to Jim and Lynne's for a quick nap before dinner. We rode over to Pittsboro for dinner with Jim and Lynne at the Pittsboro General Store. It's a very unique place as all the decorations are from local artist and can be purchased. The Gravy Boys were planning for some dinner entertainment. They were a very southern style band with two guitars, a bass and a mandolin and reminded me of the band from the movie "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?"
Day 21 - Chapel Hill, NC - Sunny and Mid 50's:
We departed our lovely hosts around 9:30am. We were sad to leave as they were outstanding and took GREAT care of us but we needed to finish up Chapel Hill and continue our journey.
After our day at Duke we had to tour the rival and much better (right Gretch and Lynne) UNC campus. We walked through the athletic fields and through the campus. It seems like a much newer and larger campus then Duke. After a couple hours walking around we jumped back into the car and headed to Charlotte to stay with Andrea and Eric for a couple days.
We got to the house in the early afternoon and spent a little time catching up. Eric was able to get us tickets to the Bobcat's game for tonight and watched the Bobcat's beat up on the Indiana Pacers. Very different atmosphere then a Celtics game but still very fun. There were a few special things while we were there. First we got to see Michael Jordan as he was there cheering on his team, there were a lot of UNC fans as Tyler Hansboro was playing for the Pacers, the UNC coach was in attendance, and there were some other former NBA players on hand. We grabbed some dinner after the game and headed back home to watch the Sunday night football game.
It's been a great few days and we are looking forward to some quality time with family in NC!
Well after we dried out from our camping in the rain we made our way into Richmond, VA for the day. We started out on Monument Drive where we admired statues of Arthur Ash, Robert E. Lee and General "Stonewall" Jackson. It was a beautiful day out so we decided to take a walk and made our way down to the Canal Walk. It's a walking path that took us along the James River. It then took us over the James River via suspension foot bridge to Belle Isle island where we saw an old Civil War Union prison camp. At it's peak the prison held as many as 10,000 prisoners but many died there because of the continuous exposure to the weather. We saw an old hydro electric power station that was used to power the city's tram up until the 1950's. This is also the only spot in America where there is a Class IV rapid within a metropolitan area. It didn't look very fierce from the shore but then again it was nothing compared to the Kennebec on a good day.
From the river we made our way to the Virginia State Capitol for a tour. We learned the building was designed by Thomas Jefferson while he was in France as an ambassador for the US. The building was designed after a Roman building and has an internal dome. We got to walk through the Virginia State Senate and see how there governmental system works. We left Richmond around three and drove to Chapel Hill to meet Jim and Lynne.
We arrived at Jim and Lynne's around dinner time. Being the FABULOUS hosts that they were, they had ordered pizza for dinner, printed out things that might interest us, and had a room all ready. We were so excited to be staying with them!!
Day 20 - Durham, NC - Sunny in the low 60's:
We took Jim and Lynne's recommendation and made our way to the Weaver Street Market in Carrboro. This was a very organic community and they had a great health food store and many shops. We also visited the farmers market going on and bought some veggies to restock the cooler.
From there we went to the Washing Duke Homestead Museum, which is a old tobacco farm. We had a great guide on our tour that taught us all about how Washington Duke took his small tobacco farm and turned it into the largest tobacco company in the world. We also learned how tobacco is grown, harvested, cured, and dried before it can be sold or processed. It's one of the most labor intensive crops to grow and process. After returning from the civil war Washington Duke realized that he could grow the Golden Leaf Tobacco that was native to this part of North Carolina and sell it for a premium. He decided that selling tobacco was not profitable enough, so he transitioned into processing tobacco and sold his hand rolled cigarettes all over the country. Within a four year period his company had grown so fast that he had to build two different factories growing larger and larger. They soon moved into Durham and founded the American Tobacco Company which turned into the largest tobacco company in the world until the government broke it up. They were one of the first companies to produce machine rolled cigarettes and were the first tobacco company to really advertise. One of their first advertising methods was created by Washington's son "Buck". He decided to put scantily clad pictures of women on cards in the cigarette pack to appeal to men... but Washington being a devout Methodist didn't approve on this and told his son to stop, so instead Buck began putting pictures of baseball players into the packs...hence the beginning of BASEBALL CARDS! We then drove downtown to see the old tobacco factories and had lunch.
From there we went over to Duke University. We started by touring the Sarah P. Duke Garden's. The roses were still in bloom but most of the other plants were not blooming during this time of year. It's an amazing garden and surely must be beautiful in the spring. Next we made our way over to the campus and tried to tour the basketball arena but a there was a game that night and they wouldn't let us in. So, we walked over to the magnificent chapel and tried to look around but there was a private ceremony going on so we couldn't go inside. We could hear the organs from outside and they sound great. We walked around campus a bit more and noticed that everyone that goes to Duke has to wear Duke apparel all the time. I guess they have a lot of school spirit.
We drove back to Jim and Lynne's for a quick nap before dinner. We rode over to Pittsboro for dinner with Jim and Lynne at the Pittsboro General Store. It's a very unique place as all the decorations are from local artist and can be purchased. The Gravy Boys were planning for some dinner entertainment. They were a very southern style band with two guitars, a bass and a mandolin and reminded me of the band from the movie "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?"
Day 21 - Chapel Hill, NC - Sunny and Mid 50's:
We departed our lovely hosts around 9:30am. We were sad to leave as they were outstanding and took GREAT care of us but we needed to finish up Chapel Hill and continue our journey.
After our day at Duke we had to tour the rival and much better (right Gretch and Lynne) UNC campus. We walked through the athletic fields and through the campus. It seems like a much newer and larger campus then Duke. After a couple hours walking around we jumped back into the car and headed to Charlotte to stay with Andrea and Eric for a couple days.
We got to the house in the early afternoon and spent a little time catching up. Eric was able to get us tickets to the Bobcat's game for tonight and watched the Bobcat's beat up on the Indiana Pacers. Very different atmosphere then a Celtics game but still very fun. There were a few special things while we were there. First we got to see Michael Jordan as he was there cheering on his team, there were a lot of UNC fans as Tyler Hansboro was playing for the Pacers, the UNC coach was in attendance, and there were some other former NBA players on hand. We grabbed some dinner after the game and headed back home to watch the Sunday night football game.
It's been a great few days and we are looking forward to some quality time with family in NC!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
VA is for Lovers...or at least that's what the t-shirts say....
Day 15 - Front Royal, VA / Skyline Drive - Hazy & Mid-50's:
So we got up fairly early to head out of DC and make the drive to Front Royal and the northern entrance of the Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Forest. Heading out we had a couple of stops to make. First we ventured to a little known store in Maine LL BEAN! Ben needed to exchange some slippers and it turned out their is an LL Bean between DC and Front Royal. We were unimpressed when we arrived at 9:45am to find them closed. We felt as Maine residents we should be able to get in because it should be open 24 hours! From there we headed to the grocery store to stock up for our three days of camping. After that it was off to the drive. We arrived an started down Skyline. It is BEAUTIFUL. We had a less than perfect view as it was very hazy but let me tell you, that is the place to see foliage. It must be amazing because there are hardly any Evergreens leaving everything else to change colors. We made a quick stop at the Skyland "resort" to see if they had availability...Kris and Shana were meeting us on their way through to Florida. They did but we ended up recommending that they stay in Luray...closer to where we wanted to be in the morning and cheaper! After that Ben and I headed out for a hike. We did Stony Man followed by Little Stony Man Cliffs. It was a great hike but unfortunately the views at the top were not as spectacular as they could have been with the haze. Once we returned from our hike we headed into the campground....I think I've forgotten to mention the CRAZY number of deer. They were everywhere and completely unfazed by the people and cars. We would drive by and it was like we weren't even there. We stopped at the camp store for some firewood and then set up camp...I meant to take a picture but things got busy. We struggled with the fire as we are quite sure the wood the sold us was wet but we had a great steak dinner with potatoes and green beans nonetheless. We hit the tent early for some reading....it got quite chilly but we stayed warm with our sleeping bags and blankets.
Day 16 - Luray, VA / Skyline Drive - Cloudy 50's:
We woke up early and packed up the campsite...had a little breakfast at our picnic table before heading to Luray to meet Shana and Kris. We decided to shower in their room as it would be easier and more comfortable than the pay showers at the campground. Once we had all showered and packed lunches we headed over to the Luray Caverns. It had been told to us by Amy, Zach, Nicole, and Lonely Planet that we must see these. We were a bit hesitant but did it anyway. Let me say, they are a MUST see. It was incredible. I will post captions next to some of the photos but these pictures in no way do justice to what is like inside this nature made world. Some of these caverns are hundreds of thousand of years old and grow only centimeters every hundred years. It was just unbelievable and I recommend that everyone does it!! From there we headed back to Skyline Drive and pulled off to do a six mile hike that would take us to the highest waterfall in the park. These hikes can be deceiving. We hiked down almost the entire way to the waterfall because we started so high up...it was bizarre...nothing like Acadia. We then of course had to hike up to get back to the car. Unfortunately there weren't any great views for Kris and Shana to see but it was a wonderful hike and a good work out for all of us. After the hike we headed to drive to some of the outlooks for photos and even took a risk by standing in the tunnel that goes through the mountain...it was pretty cool. It's weird though because the tunnel feels like it's going to suck you in when you get close to it. After all our gallivanting we headed to Wal-Mart so Kris and Shana could get some dinner items and we headed back to the room. Ben cooked dinner for all of us out on the patio...a delicious dinner of chicken, rice, and salad. We ended up staying with Kris and Shana as it was just as cost effective as camping!
Day 17 - Skyline Drive / Crozet, VA - Foggy/Rainy Low 50's: (no photos)
We got up and headed into the hotel for our free continental breakfast before saying goodbye to Kris and Shana...we'll see them in Florida. Ben and I hung out in the hotel for a bit waiting for it to warm up before we headed hiking. We started down the Skyline Drive only to realize that hiking was not in the forecast. It was SO foggy, a BIT rainy, and VERY cold. On top of that Ben started not feeling to hot...he napped as I drove to the next exit from the Skyline Drive and headed toward Charlottesville, VA. We drove around the campus of the University of Virginia...started and designed by Thomas Jefferson before heading to our campsite. As we got closer to our site the fog started to be more of a drizzle. Still we checked the forecast and it said passing showers so we knew we'd be fine. We set up camp and did some accounting before cooking dinner. Tonight we shared a piece of chicken and a piece of steak with some corn and garlic toast. It could not have been better timing as no sooner did we finish than it began to rain. We started a movie in our tent before our computers died and then turned to our books before falling asleep. Now, about these "passing showers" they never stopped passing. It RAINED and RAINED all night. I was awoken on a number of occasions by the loud rain...fortunately our tent stayed dry!!
Day 18 - Monticello, VA - Rainy 60's:
We awoke to our tent being surrounded by a large puddle of water. We waited until it sounded like the rain was letting up and quickly packed up our site. We headed to the showers to clean up before heading to Monticello. This was the home and final resting place of Thomas Jefferson...the writer of the Declaration of Independence. His estate is AMAZING. Gug and Gramma you would LOVE the vegetable gardens and the flower beds. You can smell the veggies and herbs as soon as you walk near the garden. His home is a unique blend of architecture styles and is quite interesting. He started this as an eight room house only to expand it to twenty-one rooms once he returned from France as the US Ambassador. There was so much information given to us that at times it was difficult to keep up. We were not able to take photos in the house and most of the pictures outside are a bit fuzzy as it was raining. A neat feature...all the beds in the house are in alcoves. It was a french space saving technique that Jefferson really liked and so had all his beds built that way...Dolly Madison (wife of President James Madison) did not like it but did enjoy Jefferson's company and so would visit anyway. It was an interesting place to be knowing that the man who said "all men are created equal" had at one time or another 140 enslaved people on his property. In his life he only freed five of his slaves. It was apparently something that Jefferson struggled with but felt it was a battle that later generations would have to fight. Another interesting thing I learned was that there was great evidence that years after Martha Jefferson passed away Jefferson had a relationship with Sally Hemmings (a slave) and even fathered her children! Some will argue one way and others another. Either way I wouldn't be shocked. Monticello was an incredible place to visit even though it rained the entire time we were there. I hope to someday return in the spring. We can now check it off our list of eight places every American should see!!! We are now in a hotel (out of the rain) in Richmond, VA. We will do a bit of exploring here tomorrow before heading to Chapel Hill, NC to visit Gretchen's Mom!!
So we got up fairly early to head out of DC and make the drive to Front Royal and the northern entrance of the Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Forest. Heading out we had a couple of stops to make. First we ventured to a little known store in Maine LL BEAN! Ben needed to exchange some slippers and it turned out their is an LL Bean between DC and Front Royal. We were unimpressed when we arrived at 9:45am to find them closed. We felt as Maine residents we should be able to get in because it should be open 24 hours! From there we headed to the grocery store to stock up for our three days of camping. After that it was off to the drive. We arrived an started down Skyline. It is BEAUTIFUL. We had a less than perfect view as it was very hazy but let me tell you, that is the place to see foliage. It must be amazing because there are hardly any Evergreens leaving everything else to change colors. We made a quick stop at the Skyland "resort" to see if they had availability...Kris and Shana were meeting us on their way through to Florida. They did but we ended up recommending that they stay in Luray...closer to where we wanted to be in the morning and cheaper! After that Ben and I headed out for a hike. We did Stony Man followed by Little Stony Man Cliffs. It was a great hike but unfortunately the views at the top were not as spectacular as they could have been with the haze. Once we returned from our hike we headed into the campground....I think I've forgotten to mention the CRAZY number of deer. They were everywhere and completely unfazed by the people and cars. We would drive by and it was like we weren't even there. We stopped at the camp store for some firewood and then set up camp...I meant to take a picture but things got busy. We struggled with the fire as we are quite sure the wood the sold us was wet but we had a great steak dinner with potatoes and green beans nonetheless. We hit the tent early for some reading....it got quite chilly but we stayed warm with our sleeping bags and blankets.
Day 16 - Luray, VA / Skyline Drive - Cloudy 50's:
We woke up early and packed up the campsite...had a little breakfast at our picnic table before heading to Luray to meet Shana and Kris. We decided to shower in their room as it would be easier and more comfortable than the pay showers at the campground. Once we had all showered and packed lunches we headed over to the Luray Caverns. It had been told to us by Amy, Zach, Nicole, and Lonely Planet that we must see these. We were a bit hesitant but did it anyway. Let me say, they are a MUST see. It was incredible. I will post captions next to some of the photos but these pictures in no way do justice to what is like inside this nature made world. Some of these caverns are hundreds of thousand of years old and grow only centimeters every hundred years. It was just unbelievable and I recommend that everyone does it!! From there we headed back to Skyline Drive and pulled off to do a six mile hike that would take us to the highest waterfall in the park. These hikes can be deceiving. We hiked down almost the entire way to the waterfall because we started so high up...it was bizarre...nothing like Acadia. We then of course had to hike up to get back to the car. Unfortunately there weren't any great views for Kris and Shana to see but it was a wonderful hike and a good work out for all of us. After the hike we headed to drive to some of the outlooks for photos and even took a risk by standing in the tunnel that goes through the mountain...it was pretty cool. It's weird though because the tunnel feels like it's going to suck you in when you get close to it. After all our gallivanting we headed to Wal-Mart so Kris and Shana could get some dinner items and we headed back to the room. Ben cooked dinner for all of us out on the patio...a delicious dinner of chicken, rice, and salad. We ended up staying with Kris and Shana as it was just as cost effective as camping!
Day 17 - Skyline Drive / Crozet, VA - Foggy/Rainy Low 50's: (no photos)
We got up and headed into the hotel for our free continental breakfast before saying goodbye to Kris and Shana...we'll see them in Florida. Ben and I hung out in the hotel for a bit waiting for it to warm up before we headed hiking. We started down the Skyline Drive only to realize that hiking was not in the forecast. It was SO foggy, a BIT rainy, and VERY cold. On top of that Ben started not feeling to hot...he napped as I drove to the next exit from the Skyline Drive and headed toward Charlottesville, VA. We drove around the campus of the University of Virginia...started and designed by Thomas Jefferson before heading to our campsite. As we got closer to our site the fog started to be more of a drizzle. Still we checked the forecast and it said passing showers so we knew we'd be fine. We set up camp and did some accounting before cooking dinner. Tonight we shared a piece of chicken and a piece of steak with some corn and garlic toast. It could not have been better timing as no sooner did we finish than it began to rain. We started a movie in our tent before our computers died and then turned to our books before falling asleep. Now, about these "passing showers" they never stopped passing. It RAINED and RAINED all night. I was awoken on a number of occasions by the loud rain...fortunately our tent stayed dry!!
Day 18 - Monticello, VA - Rainy 60's:
We awoke to our tent being surrounded by a large puddle of water. We waited until it sounded like the rain was letting up and quickly packed up our site. We headed to the showers to clean up before heading to Monticello. This was the home and final resting place of Thomas Jefferson...the writer of the Declaration of Independence. His estate is AMAZING. Gug and Gramma you would LOVE the vegetable gardens and the flower beds. You can smell the veggies and herbs as soon as you walk near the garden. His home is a unique blend of architecture styles and is quite interesting. He started this as an eight room house only to expand it to twenty-one rooms once he returned from France as the US Ambassador. There was so much information given to us that at times it was difficult to keep up. We were not able to take photos in the house and most of the pictures outside are a bit fuzzy as it was raining. A neat feature...all the beds in the house are in alcoves. It was a french space saving technique that Jefferson really liked and so had all his beds built that way...Dolly Madison (wife of President James Madison) did not like it but did enjoy Jefferson's company and so would visit anyway. It was an interesting place to be knowing that the man who said "all men are created equal" had at one time or another 140 enslaved people on his property. In his life he only freed five of his slaves. It was apparently something that Jefferson struggled with but felt it was a battle that later generations would have to fight. Another interesting thing I learned was that there was great evidence that years after Martha Jefferson passed away Jefferson had a relationship with Sally Hemmings (a slave) and even fathered her children! Some will argue one way and others another. Either way I wouldn't be shocked. Monticello was an incredible place to visit even though it rained the entire time we were there. I hope to someday return in the spring. We can now check it off our list of eight places every American should see!!! We are now in a hotel (out of the rain) in Richmond, VA. We will do a bit of exploring here tomorrow before heading to Chapel Hill, NC to visit Gretchen's Mom!!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
A Whole Lot of DC
Day 14 - Washington, DC - Sunny & 70:
SO I am going to recap what we have done in the last two days...it's a lot so if I get tired and write more later, forgive me.
We got up early on Saturday and headed to Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast before heading into town! We only had a few things on the agenda but they were GREAT!
Holocaust Memorial/Museum - I believe that everyone should visit this memorial/museum. It is incredibly overwhelming and takes an incredibly long time. We were there for 2.5 hours and there is no way that we saw everything. They do not allow photos so you won't find any here.
The Capitol Building - We were able to tour the Capitol which was really neat. I have done this once before but it was in 4th grade so getting a new perspective was nice. If you look at the pictures of the Rotundra painting look at the one with all the ladies. There is one man there...can you find him and do you know who he is. We were able to see/learn that on Inauguration Day there is a Marine helicopter waiting in the back of the capitol to take the departing President away. We were able to see the hall where the new President walks and is inaugurated. We went into the hall of statues where we stood in hot spots. Here you can whisper and someone across the room can hear you clear as day...it was so weird. Our tour guide was great as Zach and I have finished The Lost Symbol and Nicole is about to do so...she was sure to point out all the different features that are in the book for us!
The White House - You can't come to DC and not visit the White House. It is a beautiful home and looks even more impressive at night. Ben and I each got a view that we had never seen simply by walking around the building. Obama wasn't home but we could see a few people watching TV inside. We had attempted to get passes through Olympia Snowe's office to tour the White House but we didn't start the process early enough and were unable to go inside. Until next time I guess....
Five Guys - A great burger joint. They were DELICIOUS and all it was hyped to be by Nicole and Zach!
On Sunday we woke up to the smells of Nicole and Zach making us breakfast. We had egg sandwiches that were DELICIOUS. From the apartment we headed in for another day of exploring the history found here!
Smithsonian Museum of American History - Not quite as exciting as I remember it from my childhood but we did get to see the FIRST American Flag (no pictures allowed), Kermit the Frog and the Ruby Slippers! We toured Abraham Lincoln's life which was impressive as I'm sure you all know. We then headed to the basement to view Julia Child's Kitchen!! Gug can you believe that with all her money and fame she loved her $429 stove so much....We only had about an hour to spend here and so we didn't get to see it all. I would love to come back and devote an entire day to each museum.
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History - Here we spent all of our time in the Gems/Stones/Mining exhibit. Again we only had about an hour to spend in the museum but it was well spent. They have some of the most amazing gems I have ever seen. I swear that I have been to this museum ever year of the Freedom Tour and have gone to the Hope Diamond every time but for some reason I never made it to the gems and stones section. Ben and I really want to get back here in the near future to futher explore this museum in particular.
STUDENTS - Visit this part of the museum, it is so cool to see how the gems grow!! Some of them look like hair, like columns, it's nothing like you would expect and yes even boys will appreciate the beautiful diamonds....they're ENORMOUS!
Washington Monument - This was something I have not done since I was in the 4th grade and I was so happy that we did it today. Rising up 500ft above Washington, DC is so impressive. The layout is beautiful and is not truly displayed in photographs. Inside the walls there are commemorative stones from different cities, states, and people who helped when the funding ran low during construction. They have done a great deal of work to make the monument a beautiful place for visitors. Be sure to get there early for tickets as they are FREE but often gone by 11am.
Memorials - From the Washington Monmument we made our way to the WWII, Lincoln, Vietnam, Korean, Jefferson, and Franklin Roosevelt Memorials and Monuments. All of these are so moving and impressive to view first hand. The Lincoln, site of the MLK I Have A Dream Speech really makes you feel empowered. Looking out over the reflecting pool the Washington Monument and the Capitol truly shows what America stands for. Without question my favorite memorial is the FDR. It is beautiful and spread out with lots of fountains and quotes. Ben also enjoyed this very much!
Marine Corps Memorial - I never really had a grasp for what happened at Iwo Jima until I went on the Freedom Tour and listned as Joel and Phil (the tour directors) read this story. I then watched Flags of Our Fathers which I think everyone should watch before visiting this memorial. STUDENTS it is something that you should watch with your parents permission and company! This is an incredibly powerful memorial once you understand the true magnitude of what occurred.
Pentagon Memorial - We visited the Memorial to those who died at the Pentagon on September 11th. This includes those who were on the plane as well as those who were in the Pentagon. The memorial is incredibly unique and will likely not make sense if I explain it on here but I will try. The benches are in chronological order starting with the youngest victim to the oldest. The benches have the name of the victim on the end and face two directions. They name faces the building if they were killed on the plane, this is so when you look at the name you are looking at the direction the plane came from. Below the bench in the water will list who the victim was traveling with on the plane (they have their own bench as well). The names facing away from the Pentagon are those who were killed in the building so when you are looking at their names you are looking at the building. There is one victim who has a memorial at the Pentagon as well as in NYC this is because they were killed at the World Trade Center but in fact their office was at the Pentagon. It was a beautiful memorial representing each person individually but together as a mass.
-------------
We are now back at the apartment. We made nachos and pulled pork sandwiches to watch the Patriots/Indy game. We have had amazing hosts for the last two days and are sad to leave them but tomorrow we are off to the Shenandoah National Forest for hiking and camping. We are supposed to have great weather for Monday and Tuesday so we should have a great time. We likely won't have internet again until Thursday so we'll catch up with you then.
Love!
SO I am going to recap what we have done in the last two days...it's a lot so if I get tired and write more later, forgive me.
We got up early on Saturday and headed to Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast before heading into town! We only had a few things on the agenda but they were GREAT!
Holocaust Memorial/Museum - I believe that everyone should visit this memorial/museum. It is incredibly overwhelming and takes an incredibly long time. We were there for 2.5 hours and there is no way that we saw everything. They do not allow photos so you won't find any here.
The Capitol Building - We were able to tour the Capitol which was really neat. I have done this once before but it was in 4th grade so getting a new perspective was nice. If you look at the pictures of the Rotundra painting look at the one with all the ladies. There is one man there...can you find him and do you know who he is. We were able to see/learn that on Inauguration Day there is a Marine helicopter waiting in the back of the capitol to take the departing President away. We were able to see the hall where the new President walks and is inaugurated. We went into the hall of statues where we stood in hot spots. Here you can whisper and someone across the room can hear you clear as day...it was so weird. Our tour guide was great as Zach and I have finished The Lost Symbol and Nicole is about to do so...she was sure to point out all the different features that are in the book for us!
The White House - You can't come to DC and not visit the White House. It is a beautiful home and looks even more impressive at night. Ben and I each got a view that we had never seen simply by walking around the building. Obama wasn't home but we could see a few people watching TV inside. We had attempted to get passes through Olympia Snowe's office to tour the White House but we didn't start the process early enough and were unable to go inside. Until next time I guess....
Five Guys - A great burger joint. They were DELICIOUS and all it was hyped to be by Nicole and Zach!
On Sunday we woke up to the smells of Nicole and Zach making us breakfast. We had egg sandwiches that were DELICIOUS. From the apartment we headed in for another day of exploring the history found here!
Smithsonian Museum of American History - Not quite as exciting as I remember it from my childhood but we did get to see the FIRST American Flag (no pictures allowed), Kermit the Frog and the Ruby Slippers! We toured Abraham Lincoln's life which was impressive as I'm sure you all know. We then headed to the basement to view Julia Child's Kitchen!! Gug can you believe that with all her money and fame she loved her $429 stove so much....We only had about an hour to spend here and so we didn't get to see it all. I would love to come back and devote an entire day to each museum.
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History - Here we spent all of our time in the Gems/Stones/Mining exhibit. Again we only had about an hour to spend in the museum but it was well spent. They have some of the most amazing gems I have ever seen. I swear that I have been to this museum ever year of the Freedom Tour and have gone to the Hope Diamond every time but for some reason I never made it to the gems and stones section. Ben and I really want to get back here in the near future to futher explore this museum in particular.
STUDENTS - Visit this part of the museum, it is so cool to see how the gems grow!! Some of them look like hair, like columns, it's nothing like you would expect and yes even boys will appreciate the beautiful diamonds....they're ENORMOUS!
Washington Monument - This was something I have not done since I was in the 4th grade and I was so happy that we did it today. Rising up 500ft above Washington, DC is so impressive. The layout is beautiful and is not truly displayed in photographs. Inside the walls there are commemorative stones from different cities, states, and people who helped when the funding ran low during construction. They have done a great deal of work to make the monument a beautiful place for visitors. Be sure to get there early for tickets as they are FREE but often gone by 11am.
Memorials - From the Washington Monmument we made our way to the WWII, Lincoln, Vietnam, Korean, Jefferson, and Franklin Roosevelt Memorials and Monuments. All of these are so moving and impressive to view first hand. The Lincoln, site of the MLK I Have A Dream Speech really makes you feel empowered. Looking out over the reflecting pool the Washington Monument and the Capitol truly shows what America stands for. Without question my favorite memorial is the FDR. It is beautiful and spread out with lots of fountains and quotes. Ben also enjoyed this very much!
Marine Corps Memorial - I never really had a grasp for what happened at Iwo Jima until I went on the Freedom Tour and listned as Joel and Phil (the tour directors) read this story. I then watched Flags of Our Fathers which I think everyone should watch before visiting this memorial. STUDENTS it is something that you should watch with your parents permission and company! This is an incredibly powerful memorial once you understand the true magnitude of what occurred.
Pentagon Memorial - We visited the Memorial to those who died at the Pentagon on September 11th. This includes those who were on the plane as well as those who were in the Pentagon. The memorial is incredibly unique and will likely not make sense if I explain it on here but I will try. The benches are in chronological order starting with the youngest victim to the oldest. The benches have the name of the victim on the end and face two directions. They name faces the building if they were killed on the plane, this is so when you look at the name you are looking at the direction the plane came from. Below the bench in the water will list who the victim was traveling with on the plane (they have their own bench as well). The names facing away from the Pentagon are those who were killed in the building so when you are looking at their names you are looking at the building. There is one victim who has a memorial at the Pentagon as well as in NYC this is because they were killed at the World Trade Center but in fact their office was at the Pentagon. It was a beautiful memorial representing each person individually but together as a mass.
-------------
We are now back at the apartment. We made nachos and pulled pork sandwiches to watch the Patriots/Indy game. We have had amazing hosts for the last two days and are sad to leave them but tomorrow we are off to the Shenandoah National Forest for hiking and camping. We are supposed to have great weather for Monday and Tuesday so we should have a great time. We likely won't have internet again until Thursday so we'll catch up with you then.
Love!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
We're off to see the President?
Day 13 - Washington, DC - Overcast & 60:
Blog to come...enjoy the pictures! Anna if you read this and have any advice on the blurry night photos we'd love to hear it!!
Blog to come...enjoy the pictures! Anna if you read this and have any advice on the blurry night photos we'd love to hear it!!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Headed to DC
Day 12 - Mt. Vernon - RAINY and 50's:
Hi Everyone -
We started the day in Greenbelt, MD and headed into Zach and Nicole's place to pick up passes to Mt. Vernon. They were gracious enough to share their passes so that we wouldn't have to pay to get into the grounds.
We had a great day exploring Mt. Vernon, the childhood and adult home of George Washington. We were able to explore his mansion, the grounds, the farm, view his original tomb and see his current resting place. We were even able to go into the basement of the mansion with the National Treasure 2 Tour. A small portion of the movie was filmed at Mt. Vernon. After lunch the rain let up a little we were able to get a better view of the grounds. The view from his porch was INCREDIBLE.
Once we finished at Mt. Vernon we headed back towards DC. We decided to visit Arlington National Cemetery as it is not far from Zach and Nicole's. We were able to visit the Kennedy Graves, the Space Shuttle Memorials, the Mast of the USS Maine, and the changing of the guard. Once the guard changing was done we were politely asked to leave as after 5pm the cemetery becomes a military area only.
We met up with Nicole and Zach at their apartment and headed out for some dinner and drinks. We are now back at the apartment watching some tv before hitting the hay. We've gotta be up early for our Capitol Building Tour.
Check Ya Lata!
Hi Everyone -
We started the day in Greenbelt, MD and headed into Zach and Nicole's place to pick up passes to Mt. Vernon. They were gracious enough to share their passes so that we wouldn't have to pay to get into the grounds.
We had a great day exploring Mt. Vernon, the childhood and adult home of George Washington. We were able to explore his mansion, the grounds, the farm, view his original tomb and see his current resting place. We were even able to go into the basement of the mansion with the National Treasure 2 Tour. A small portion of the movie was filmed at Mt. Vernon. After lunch the rain let up a little we were able to get a better view of the grounds. The view from his porch was INCREDIBLE.
Once we finished at Mt. Vernon we headed back towards DC. We decided to visit Arlington National Cemetery as it is not far from Zach and Nicole's. We were able to visit the Kennedy Graves, the Space Shuttle Memorials, the Mast of the USS Maine, and the changing of the guard. Once the guard changing was done we were politely asked to leave as after 5pm the cemetery becomes a military area only.
We met up with Nicole and Zach at their apartment and headed out for some dinner and drinks. We are now back at the apartment watching some tv before hitting the hay. We've gotta be up early for our Capitol Building Tour.
Check Ya Lata!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Leaving Philadelphia...
Day 11 - Philadelphia - Rainy and low 50's:
No photos today! We spent the day walking the streets of Philadelphia (insert music here). We went into the Reading Terminal Market...so cool...and bought some fresh fruit and vegetables for our dinner.
Once we had our food we headed out for Greenbelt, MD. We made a quick pit stop at the Christina Mall in Newark, DE to visit April for a few minutes. She hung out with us at the mall until she had to go and get ready for work. It was a quick visit but as always nice to see a familiar face!
We are now in our hotel room at the Residence Inn in Greenbelt, MD. I am becoming a big fan of this style of hotel as it has a kitchen, FREE breakfast, and laundry. We are currently doing our laundry and just finished eating a DELICIOUS stir-fry made by Ben. Tomorrow we head into DC. Nicole and Zach have left their passes to Mt. Vernon so we can pick them up and head out there for a visit. Then it's back into the city and meet up with Nicole and Zach. We'll try to report tomorrow but it may be tough.
Talk to you later!
No photos today! We spent the day walking the streets of Philadelphia (insert music here). We went into the Reading Terminal Market...so cool...and bought some fresh fruit and vegetables for our dinner.
Once we had our food we headed out for Greenbelt, MD. We made a quick pit stop at the Christina Mall in Newark, DE to visit April for a few minutes. She hung out with us at the mall until she had to go and get ready for work. It was a quick visit but as always nice to see a familiar face!
We are now in our hotel room at the Residence Inn in Greenbelt, MD. I am becoming a big fan of this style of hotel as it has a kitchen, FREE breakfast, and laundry. We are currently doing our laundry and just finished eating a DELICIOUS stir-fry made by Ben. Tomorrow we head into DC. Nicole and Zach have left their passes to Mt. Vernon so we can pick them up and head out there for a visit. Then it's back into the city and meet up with Nicole and Zach. We'll try to report tomorrow but it may be tough.
Talk to you later!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Philadelphia 11.11
Day 10 - Philadelphia - Cloudy and Showers - Mid 50s:
After seeing the weather report last night, we decided to have a bit of a rest day today and slept in and just lounged around the hotel room in the morning and made sandwiches for lunch. After lunch we headed out to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to find the Rocky statue. The statue used to be at the top of the steps made famous during Rocky's training run in the movie but the "fine art fanatics" did not think the statue was worthy to be in front of their museum, so Rocky has been moved down to the bottom right part of the stairs. We then did our best Rocky impressions and ran up the steps to pose for victory pictures at the top. Then we walked to the Philadelphia City Hall and posed with the LOVE sculpture and the many board game pieces laid out about the square.
We then headed to the Reading Terminal Market which is a great indoor public market with lots of food vendors and fresh produce, it reminded me of the old Portland Public Market but about twice the size. We decided that we will head back to the market tomorrow to pick up some food for the next leg of our trip.
From here we walked about two and a half miles to the nearest movie theater and watched Michael Jackson's This Is It movie. Even though I'm not the biggest Michael Jackson fan it was a good movie and give us a glimpse of the music genius he really was. The whole movie goes through the different songs and rehearsals he was preparing for his London tour. I would suggest the movie to everyone even if your not a huge fan.
For dinner we headed over to the famous Jim's Steaks so I could get a Philly cheese steak. I have decided that they really are better in Philly.
Now back in the hotel packing up and getting ready for our next adventure in Washington, DC.
Take care everyone
After seeing the weather report last night, we decided to have a bit of a rest day today and slept in and just lounged around the hotel room in the morning and made sandwiches for lunch. After lunch we headed out to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to find the Rocky statue. The statue used to be at the top of the steps made famous during Rocky's training run in the movie but the "fine art fanatics" did not think the statue was worthy to be in front of their museum, so Rocky has been moved down to the bottom right part of the stairs. We then did our best Rocky impressions and ran up the steps to pose for victory pictures at the top. Then we walked to the Philadelphia City Hall and posed with the LOVE sculpture and the many board game pieces laid out about the square.
We then headed to the Reading Terminal Market which is a great indoor public market with lots of food vendors and fresh produce, it reminded me of the old Portland Public Market but about twice the size. We decided that we will head back to the market tomorrow to pick up some food for the next leg of our trip.
From here we walked about two and a half miles to the nearest movie theater and watched Michael Jackson's This Is It movie. Even though I'm not the biggest Michael Jackson fan it was a good movie and give us a glimpse of the music genius he really was. The whole movie goes through the different songs and rehearsals he was preparing for his London tour. I would suggest the movie to everyone even if your not a huge fan.
For dinner we headed over to the famous Jim's Steaks so I could get a Philly cheese steak. I have decided that they really are better in Philly.
Now back in the hotel packing up and getting ready for our next adventure in Washington, DC.
Take care everyone
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Philadelphia 11.10
Day 9 - Philadelphia - Cloudy Near 65:
Day one in Philly. The day began with Ben heading out for a run and I headed to the hotel gym. Ben ran to the famous Rocky Steps!!! He ran up them and down them looking for the Rocky statue which he was not able to find...we're going to head back tomorrow to see what we can find. Once we both finished our workouts we ventured into the city.
Our first stop was the US Mint. It was clearly a slow money making day as it wasn't until the end of our self guided tour that we actually started to see THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of pennies being created. We were also able to see some special medals being created as the Philadelphia Mint makes many of the special medals for the US. We learned a great deal about money making. For example: It take 60 tons of pressure to create a quarter, 30 tons to make a penny, and 46 to make a dime. The Philadelphia branch also makes almost all of the pennies in the US. Lastly, at one point it took 3 years to make 1 million coins at the mint...today it takes 30 minutes.
From the Mint we headed over to the Federal Reserve building. Here we went through the Money In Motion exhibit. At any one time the Philadelphia Reserve has between 6-7 billion dollars in the vaults below where we were standing. Something interesting, the average one dollar bill stays in circulation an average of 21 months while the hundred dollar bill lasts 8 years. This begs the question what happens to the other dollar bills? They are shredded. The Reserve shreds on average one hundred million dollars each week! As a parting gift we were each given $100 dollars in shredded money. We considered gluing it back together but it just wasn't working!!
From there we headed over to see Benjamin Franklin's final resting place. He along with four other signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried within steps of where they signed that important document! Next we went to Independence Hall we were able to tour the actual building where both the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were signed. An interesting note, George Washington did not sign the Declaration of Independence because he was busy with the war at the time (think Valley Forge). Again as with Valley Forge, knowing that you are standing in a place where the great men who created our country truly stood is an awe inspiring feeling. We then headed over to the Liberty Bell. As you head toward the bell you are able to see the history of the bell and many neat artifacts from the years of history that have followed the bell.
Another side note you may have noticed a picture from Valley Forge that looked like the Liberty Bell. That was actually the Justice Bell. It is an exact replica of the Liberty Bell with the world Justice added. This traveled the country during the time that women were trying to get the right to vote. The bell never rang until the day women were granted that right.
After the bell we headed toward Franklin Court. We got side tracked for a minute at Carpenter's Hall where the US Congress first met. It was here that the first documents ever created by a US Congress were signed into law. We got back on track and took a tour of Benjamin Franklin's property. It is a neat sight because they have plexi-glass that looks down into the ground where you can see pieces of the original foundation of his home.
Our second to last stop of the day was the National Park Services Living History Center. Here you are able to see archeologist working on piecing together history. They have tons of small pieces of dishes/glasses/furntiure that they are putting back together. We learned that they do not generally dig for the sake of digging but rather they dig when new construction is beginning. Most of what they have are from a dig done when they were building the Constitution Center.
We ended our day at Washington Square viewing the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. While this is different from the one in Arlington, it is in memory of all the men buried below the park who fought during the Revolutionary War.
After Washington Square we made our way back to hotel room for a little rest before we headed out for dinner. We managed to find a nice sports bar where we ate and watched the Bruins game!!
We are now back in our room where we are getting ready for sleep!!!! Tomorrow who knows...
Thanks for reading!
Love.
Day one in Philly. The day began with Ben heading out for a run and I headed to the hotel gym. Ben ran to the famous Rocky Steps!!! He ran up them and down them looking for the Rocky statue which he was not able to find...we're going to head back tomorrow to see what we can find. Once we both finished our workouts we ventured into the city.
Our first stop was the US Mint. It was clearly a slow money making day as it wasn't until the end of our self guided tour that we actually started to see THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of pennies being created. We were also able to see some special medals being created as the Philadelphia Mint makes many of the special medals for the US. We learned a great deal about money making. For example: It take 60 tons of pressure to create a quarter, 30 tons to make a penny, and 46 to make a dime. The Philadelphia branch also makes almost all of the pennies in the US. Lastly, at one point it took 3 years to make 1 million coins at the mint...today it takes 30 minutes.
From the Mint we headed over to the Federal Reserve building. Here we went through the Money In Motion exhibit. At any one time the Philadelphia Reserve has between 6-7 billion dollars in the vaults below where we were standing. Something interesting, the average one dollar bill stays in circulation an average of 21 months while the hundred dollar bill lasts 8 years. This begs the question what happens to the other dollar bills? They are shredded. The Reserve shreds on average one hundred million dollars each week! As a parting gift we were each given $100 dollars in shredded money. We considered gluing it back together but it just wasn't working!!
From there we headed over to see Benjamin Franklin's final resting place. He along with four other signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried within steps of where they signed that important document! Next we went to Independence Hall we were able to tour the actual building where both the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were signed. An interesting note, George Washington did not sign the Declaration of Independence because he was busy with the war at the time (think Valley Forge). Again as with Valley Forge, knowing that you are standing in a place where the great men who created our country truly stood is an awe inspiring feeling. We then headed over to the Liberty Bell. As you head toward the bell you are able to see the history of the bell and many neat artifacts from the years of history that have followed the bell.
Another side note you may have noticed a picture from Valley Forge that looked like the Liberty Bell. That was actually the Justice Bell. It is an exact replica of the Liberty Bell with the world Justice added. This traveled the country during the time that women were trying to get the right to vote. The bell never rang until the day women were granted that right.
After the bell we headed toward Franklin Court. We got side tracked for a minute at Carpenter's Hall where the US Congress first met. It was here that the first documents ever created by a US Congress were signed into law. We got back on track and took a tour of Benjamin Franklin's property. It is a neat sight because they have plexi-glass that looks down into the ground where you can see pieces of the original foundation of his home.
Our second to last stop of the day was the National Park Services Living History Center. Here you are able to see archeologist working on piecing together history. They have tons of small pieces of dishes/glasses/furntiure that they are putting back together. We learned that they do not generally dig for the sake of digging but rather they dig when new construction is beginning. Most of what they have are from a dig done when they were building the Constitution Center.
We ended our day at Washington Square viewing the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. While this is different from the one in Arlington, it is in memory of all the men buried below the park who fought during the Revolutionary War.
After Washington Square we made our way back to hotel room for a little rest before we headed out for dinner. We managed to find a nice sports bar where we ate and watched the Bruins game!!
We are now back in our room where we are getting ready for sleep!!!! Tomorrow who knows...
Thanks for reading!
Love.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Lancaster & Valley Forge 11.9
Day 8 - Lancaster & Valley Forge - Sunny Near 70
So we started our day in Lancaster County, PA. It was a beautiful sunny day and we ventured into Amish Country. We began with a horse and buggy ride through the country and stopped at a local Amish Farm. (While interesting, I do not reccommend this as it was more expensive than we anticpated and not quite worth it). Once we finished the tour, we took a beautiful car ride through the sprawling fields of farm land. It is amazing to see homes that have no power lines attached to them, where homes have clothes lines full of laundry, and where children play outside. I am jealous of their lifestyle in so many ways and then of course realize the luxuries I have and would not want to be without.
A few notes about the Amish.
1. There are two variations. Amish and Mennonite.
2. The Amish use no electricity, the Mennonite do.
3. The Amish drive gray buggies, the Mennonite black buggies.
4. The Amish have church in their homes, the Mennonite congregate a churches.
5. There are Amish and Mennonite who drive cars.
We finished our time in Amish Country with lunch at the Squireside Cafe. It was nothing special but good nonetheless.
Once we left Lancaster County we headed toward Philadelphia. I took a brief nap and awoke to Ben pulling off to visit Valley Forge National Park. He saw the sign and decided to stop. It turned out to be a great stop!
Valley Forge became famous during the Revolutionary War as the winter encampment for George Washington and the Continental Army. No battles were ever fought here but it was a turning point in the war without fighting. We were able to tour George Washington's home as he lived in it when he came here as Commander in Chief and the General of the Army. It was really special to know that as we walked up the stairs to the bedrooms we were touching the same banister (the exact same one) as George and Martha Washington, Benedict Arnold, and most likely Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and a host of other important historical fixtures. After our guided tour we headed out to tour the entire encampment. It wasn't a long trip but the mounds built for protection during the Revolutionary War are still there. *Side Note: There are an incredible number of deer. We probably saw 35 deer in the hour that we drove around the park.** After driving around we went to Washington's Church. The church is still in service today and has a congregation. As you can see in the pictures the pews have army men carved into them and Washington's name carved into his pew!
The church was our last top in Valley Forge and we actually used the parking lot as our repacking station. We got things organized so that when we got into Philadelphia we would be good to go. We arrived at the Latham Hotel (thanks to Joyce and Ashley). We made sandwiches in the room and watched a little t.v. before hitting the hay!
Enjoy the pictures!
So we started our day in Lancaster County, PA. It was a beautiful sunny day and we ventured into Amish Country. We began with a horse and buggy ride through the country and stopped at a local Amish Farm. (While interesting, I do not reccommend this as it was more expensive than we anticpated and not quite worth it). Once we finished the tour, we took a beautiful car ride through the sprawling fields of farm land. It is amazing to see homes that have no power lines attached to them, where homes have clothes lines full of laundry, and where children play outside. I am jealous of their lifestyle in so many ways and then of course realize the luxuries I have and would not want to be without.
A few notes about the Amish.
1. There are two variations. Amish and Mennonite.
2. The Amish use no electricity, the Mennonite do.
3. The Amish drive gray buggies, the Mennonite black buggies.
4. The Amish have church in their homes, the Mennonite congregate a churches.
5. There are Amish and Mennonite who drive cars.
We finished our time in Amish Country with lunch at the Squireside Cafe. It was nothing special but good nonetheless.
Once we left Lancaster County we headed toward Philadelphia. I took a brief nap and awoke to Ben pulling off to visit Valley Forge National Park. He saw the sign and decided to stop. It turned out to be a great stop!
Valley Forge became famous during the Revolutionary War as the winter encampment for George Washington and the Continental Army. No battles were ever fought here but it was a turning point in the war without fighting. We were able to tour George Washington's home as he lived in it when he came here as Commander in Chief and the General of the Army. It was really special to know that as we walked up the stairs to the bedrooms we were touching the same banister (the exact same one) as George and Martha Washington, Benedict Arnold, and most likely Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and a host of other important historical fixtures. After our guided tour we headed out to tour the entire encampment. It wasn't a long trip but the mounds built for protection during the Revolutionary War are still there. *Side Note: There are an incredible number of deer. We probably saw 35 deer in the hour that we drove around the park.** After driving around we went to Washington's Church. The church is still in service today and has a congregation. As you can see in the pictures the pews have army men carved into them and Washington's name carved into his pew!
The church was our last top in Valley Forge and we actually used the parking lot as our repacking station. We got things organized so that when we got into Philadelphia we would be good to go. We arrived at the Latham Hotel (thanks to Joyce and Ashley). We made sandwiches in the room and watched a little t.v. before hitting the hay!
Enjoy the pictures!
The Battle of Gettysburg 11.08
Day 7 - Gettysburg - Sunny and 70
So, I guess I'm slacking by not posting on this blog the minute that anything happens on our trip. I'll try to be more on top of it so I don't keep all our fans waiting.
To re-cap we spent a glorious day at Gettysburg National Historic Park on Sunday. We started the day at the visitor center and debated on whether to take a bus tour or doing a CD guided auto tour. We decided to go with the CD auto tour because it would give us more freedom at the sites and enjoy some more time in the car together.
The Battle of Gettysburg was fought during July 1, 2 and 3 of 1863 and was one of the critical and bloodiest battles of the entire civil war. The Union army lost 23,000 men while the Confederate army lost 28,000 men over the course of the three day battle. We started the tour on McPherson's Ridge where the battle started and then moved onto the Eternal Light Peace Memorial which was dedicated in July of 1913 when 50,000 Union and Confederate men came back for the 50th anniversary of the battle. The monuments flame has burned since the dedication in 1913. We then made our back through town and over to the North Carolina and Virginia Memorials. Heather really had to use the bathroom, so we stopped for lunch at the amphitheater and had a nice picnic lunch out of the station wagon.
Once back on the road we stopped at the numerous monuments along the outer left edge of the battlefield and then made our way to Big Round Top which is the highest point in Gettysburg but not a great place to fight because it was a heavily wooded area. We stopped and hiked to the top where we saw the 16th Maine regiment. Heather of course wore sandals and her broken foot was not feeling that great from the hike. We head back to the car and onto Little Round Top where the famed 20th Maine regiment lead by Joshua Chamberlain fought and "held the line at all hazards." This was a turning point in the war because the were able to drive back the Confederate's and keep the left end of the battle intact. We then moved onto the Wheatfield which was the spot of the bloodiest fight over the course of the three days and it was said if you fell in this field you would fall onto the body of another soldier. It took almost four days for some of the wounded to be found and treated in this field. We then raced past the Peach Orchard and Plum Run to the Pennsylvania Memorial which is the largest monument in the park. There happened to be an Indian wedding taking pictures, so we got to see a different type of wedding with a lot of men and only the bride. We then lost some history steam and made our way over to the eastern part of the battlefield and Culps Hill. Finally we drove to the Angle and High Water Mark where the Union army defeated the Confederate army on July 3, 1863. That was then end of the CD auto tour and we learned a great deal about the battle and the historic national park.
Heather then lead us into town to the David Wills House where it's believed that Abraham Lincoln finished the Gettysburg Address and then to the Soldiers National Cemetery where Lincoln delivered his speech.
After a full four and a half hours of history we were tired and drove to Lancaster for dinner and the night.
So, I guess I'm slacking by not posting on this blog the minute that anything happens on our trip. I'll try to be more on top of it so I don't keep all our fans waiting.
To re-cap we spent a glorious day at Gettysburg National Historic Park on Sunday. We started the day at the visitor center and debated on whether to take a bus tour or doing a CD guided auto tour. We decided to go with the CD auto tour because it would give us more freedom at the sites and enjoy some more time in the car together.
The Battle of Gettysburg was fought during July 1, 2 and 3 of 1863 and was one of the critical and bloodiest battles of the entire civil war. The Union army lost 23,000 men while the Confederate army lost 28,000 men over the course of the three day battle. We started the tour on McPherson's Ridge where the battle started and then moved onto the Eternal Light Peace Memorial which was dedicated in July of 1913 when 50,000 Union and Confederate men came back for the 50th anniversary of the battle. The monuments flame has burned since the dedication in 1913. We then made our back through town and over to the North Carolina and Virginia Memorials. Heather really had to use the bathroom, so we stopped for lunch at the amphitheater and had a nice picnic lunch out of the station wagon.
Once back on the road we stopped at the numerous monuments along the outer left edge of the battlefield and then made our way to Big Round Top which is the highest point in Gettysburg but not a great place to fight because it was a heavily wooded area. We stopped and hiked to the top where we saw the 16th Maine regiment. Heather of course wore sandals and her broken foot was not feeling that great from the hike. We head back to the car and onto Little Round Top where the famed 20th Maine regiment lead by Joshua Chamberlain fought and "held the line at all hazards." This was a turning point in the war because the were able to drive back the Confederate's and keep the left end of the battle intact. We then moved onto the Wheatfield which was the spot of the bloodiest fight over the course of the three days and it was said if you fell in this field you would fall onto the body of another soldier. It took almost four days for some of the wounded to be found and treated in this field. We then raced past the Peach Orchard and Plum Run to the Pennsylvania Memorial which is the largest monument in the park. There happened to be an Indian wedding taking pictures, so we got to see a different type of wedding with a lot of men and only the bride. We then lost some history steam and made our way over to the eastern part of the battlefield and Culps Hill. Finally we drove to the Angle and High Water Mark where the Union army defeated the Confederate army on July 3, 1863. That was then end of the CD auto tour and we learned a great deal about the battle and the historic national park.
Heather then lead us into town to the David Wills House where it's believed that Abraham Lincoln finished the Gettysburg Address and then to the Soldiers National Cemetery where Lincoln delivered his speech.
After a full four and a half hours of history we were tired and drove to Lancaster for dinner and the night.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The Battle of Gettysburg 11.08
Day 7 - Gettysburg - Sunny and 70
I am refusing to post this blog...Ben MUST do it. I'll put the pics up though!
I am refusing to post this blog...Ben MUST do it. I'll put the pics up though!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Mmmmm Chocolate 11.07
Day 6 - 11.07.09 - Sunny Near 60
HERSHEY is a little piece of heaven on Earth. The smells of chocolate are everywhere. We started our day at Hershey World. We went on the Hershey Factory Tour where naturally at the end you are given complimentary chocolate...today it was Mr. Goodbar. After this we decided to take the Hershey Trolley Tour. It was a great tour of the town where we saw the birthplace of Milton Hershey, the mansion he built for his wife, the largest chocolate factory in the world, and the school he created and endowed his entire fortune to.
It was very enlightening and I learned that this was built as a "Model Town". Mr. Hershey designed this town as a place that his workers could come and raise a family. He designed the park, the community center, and all that surrounds the factory as places for his workers and the community to thrive. It is an incredible place and I recommend that all visit and take the tour to learn the history of Mr. Hershey's ideas.
Mr. and Mrs. Hershey were not able to have children of their own and so the started an orphanage for boys where they would come, be educated, fed, and clothed at no cost to them. Over the years the school has evolved to what it is today. A school for students aged 4 to 18. In order to be eligible to attend you must be living in a situation where you are not being well cared for, have no parents, or are in serious financial situations. They come to the Milton Hershey School where they are housed, educated, clothed, fed, and given insurance. They only restrictions are that you must be able to learn, be in no trouble with the law, and be a US citizen. Upon graduation students receive an $80,000 scholarship to use at any university in the world. Their only task is to take what they learn and put it to use making their community a better place just as Mr. Hershey did. It was the most amazing place. They have a theater that seats 2,700 and has a stage larger than Radio City Music Hall. I could go on for a long, long time about this place but I recommend visiting the website and/or visiting the school. The most incredible thing. The school owns 78% of the Hershey Chocolate Company and 100% of Hershey Entertainment which owns the parks and museums. This was thanks to Mr. Hershey who died penniless as he gave everything to "his children."
After visiting Founders Hall at the school we headed to The Hershey Museum where we went through The Hershey Story and The Chocolate Lab. When we arrived we ate lunch at the Zooka Cafe. Zooka was apparently a special candy that they sold at Hershey years and years ago. After lunch you will see in the pictures that Ben and I were able to make our own chocolate bars with our own special ingredients. Neither of us have tasted them but we will! Once we were done in the chocolate lab we headed up to the museum where we were able to learn more and see artifacts from Milton Hershey's life. We also designed our own chocolate labels and sent them to our Mom's!! Our last stop was at the picture booth where as you'll see we made the front page of the paper.
It was a great day full of chocolate and education in Hershey. We are now back at the hotel, Ben is in the hot tub and I am watching some TV. Tomorrow we are off to Gettysburg for the day!
Hope all is well. We're supposed to be getting weather near 70!!!
Love!
HERSHEY is a little piece of heaven on Earth. The smells of chocolate are everywhere. We started our day at Hershey World. We went on the Hershey Factory Tour where naturally at the end you are given complimentary chocolate...today it was Mr. Goodbar. After this we decided to take the Hershey Trolley Tour. It was a great tour of the town where we saw the birthplace of Milton Hershey, the mansion he built for his wife, the largest chocolate factory in the world, and the school he created and endowed his entire fortune to.
It was very enlightening and I learned that this was built as a "Model Town". Mr. Hershey designed this town as a place that his workers could come and raise a family. He designed the park, the community center, and all that surrounds the factory as places for his workers and the community to thrive. It is an incredible place and I recommend that all visit and take the tour to learn the history of Mr. Hershey's ideas.
Mr. and Mrs. Hershey were not able to have children of their own and so the started an orphanage for boys where they would come, be educated, fed, and clothed at no cost to them. Over the years the school has evolved to what it is today. A school for students aged 4 to 18. In order to be eligible to attend you must be living in a situation where you are not being well cared for, have no parents, or are in serious financial situations. They come to the Milton Hershey School where they are housed, educated, clothed, fed, and given insurance. They only restrictions are that you must be able to learn, be in no trouble with the law, and be a US citizen. Upon graduation students receive an $80,000 scholarship to use at any university in the world. Their only task is to take what they learn and put it to use making their community a better place just as Mr. Hershey did. It was the most amazing place. They have a theater that seats 2,700 and has a stage larger than Radio City Music Hall. I could go on for a long, long time about this place but I recommend visiting the website and/or visiting the school. The most incredible thing. The school owns 78% of the Hershey Chocolate Company and 100% of Hershey Entertainment which owns the parks and museums. This was thanks to Mr. Hershey who died penniless as he gave everything to "his children."
After visiting Founders Hall at the school we headed to The Hershey Museum where we went through The Hershey Story and The Chocolate Lab. When we arrived we ate lunch at the Zooka Cafe. Zooka was apparently a special candy that they sold at Hershey years and years ago. After lunch you will see in the pictures that Ben and I were able to make our own chocolate bars with our own special ingredients. Neither of us have tasted them but we will! Once we were done in the chocolate lab we headed up to the museum where we were able to learn more and see artifacts from Milton Hershey's life. We also designed our own chocolate labels and sent them to our Mom's!! Our last stop was at the picture booth where as you'll see we made the front page of the paper.
It was a great day full of chocolate and education in Hershey. We are now back at the hotel, Ben is in the hot tub and I am watching some TV. Tomorrow we are off to Gettysburg for the day!
Hope all is well. We're supposed to be getting weather near 70!!!
Love!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Last Day in the City 11.06
Day 5 - 11.06.09 - Sunny Near 60.
So a quick bit about yesterday's activities. Ben and I slept in a bit...a nice change. We went to breakfast with Amy at Mo'Joe's a cafe right near her house...the eggs and home fries were a nice change from our daily English muffins.
We ventured into the city after that to explore the West Village, Greenwich Village, SoHo, Little Italy, Chinatown, the East Village, and Union Square.
We started in The West Village/Greenwich Village. It was SPECTACULAR. It is amazing how in between the craziness of times square and the financial district are these amazing neighborhoods it reminded me of Boston quite a bit. I could see myself, and Bryleigh for that matter, really enjoying life in those neighborhoods. Not to mention the AMAZING shopping. All of my favorites Ralph, Tommy, Charlotte, 7 for All, Lucky and more were right at my fingertips. Fortunately or un depending on your opinion, there is no room in the clothing section of the car for additional items!
While we were in the West Village we stopped in at Rocco's where we got Amy and Alan thank you Cannoli's. Word is they are the best around. After that we went to Magnolia's (where they went on Sex and the City, which made me think of Amber) to get "the best cupcake" in the city. I was an immediate non-fan the icing wasn't my style. Ben ate his and said it wasn't bad. He wouldn't go back but it was tasty and I actually think he is going to eat mine tonight!
Once we were done on the west side, we headed to Little Italy for lunch. We ate at a little corner joint where Ben had soup and we shared a pizza. The fresh mozzarella is so delicious!! I would eat their pizza everyday if I could.
From there we headed to through the remaining neighborhoods keeping our eyes open for celebs as the East Village is where many of them reside but only managed to see some very wealthy teens/college kids/and young execs. We also so tons of nanny's as this is where they rich call home. Union Square was especially fun as there were street performers, vendors, and lots of activity.
After walking around we walked back up to Penn Station to catch the train back to Amy's. When we got back we packed up sandwiches for dinner and then headed out to Harrisburg/Hershey for a good nights rest.
So a quick bit about yesterday's activities. Ben and I slept in a bit...a nice change. We went to breakfast with Amy at Mo'Joe's a cafe right near her house...the eggs and home fries were a nice change from our daily English muffins.
We ventured into the city after that to explore the West Village, Greenwich Village, SoHo, Little Italy, Chinatown, the East Village, and Union Square.
We started in The West Village/Greenwich Village. It was SPECTACULAR. It is amazing how in between the craziness of times square and the financial district are these amazing neighborhoods it reminded me of Boston quite a bit. I could see myself, and Bryleigh for that matter, really enjoying life in those neighborhoods. Not to mention the AMAZING shopping. All of my favorites Ralph, Tommy, Charlotte, 7 for All, Lucky and more were right at my fingertips. Fortunately or un depending on your opinion, there is no room in the clothing section of the car for additional items!
While we were in the West Village we stopped in at Rocco's where we got Amy and Alan thank you Cannoli's. Word is they are the best around. After that we went to Magnolia's (where they went on Sex and the City, which made me think of Amber) to get "the best cupcake" in the city. I was an immediate non-fan the icing wasn't my style. Ben ate his and said it wasn't bad. He wouldn't go back but it was tasty and I actually think he is going to eat mine tonight!
Once we were done on the west side, we headed to Little Italy for lunch. We ate at a little corner joint where Ben had soup and we shared a pizza. The fresh mozzarella is so delicious!! I would eat their pizza everyday if I could.
From there we headed to through the remaining neighborhoods keeping our eyes open for celebs as the East Village is where many of them reside but only managed to see some very wealthy teens/college kids/and young execs. We also so tons of nanny's as this is where they rich call home. Union Square was especially fun as there were street performers, vendors, and lots of activity.
After walking around we walked back up to Penn Station to catch the train back to Amy's. When we got back we packed up sandwiches for dinner and then headed out to Harrisburg/Hershey for a good nights rest.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
NYC 11.03 -11.05
Sorry for the lack of updating....we've been pretty busy and tired.
DAY 2 - 11.03.09 - Sunny Near 50:
The drive from Grant & Rama's was rather uneventful. We stopped twice. Once for lunch/gas/groceries and once to get the car organized and pack our bag for Amy's. We figured easier to do at a rest area than on the side of the street.
We arrived at Amy's house on Tuesday at around 1:30ish. She lives in a very nice neighborhood in Mineola (Long Island), NY. Her husband Alan works as a resident at the hospital (conveniently) located across the street and she nanny's here in the apartment. She wasn't working when we arrived and so we chatted, toured the neighborhood and just hung out. We decided rather than go into the city we would hang here and make dinner. I had my first turkey burger!! It was delicious.
Day 3 - 11.04.09 - Sunny Mid-50's :
We all got up early and headed into the city (well everyone except Alan as he was working). Our first stop was the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The trip over the the Statue wasn't bad but the line to get in was forever. If you decide to go make sure you prepare ahead of time and order "Crown Tickets" I was very jealous of the people going all the way to the top. Oh and wear sneakers as it is a long climb with no elevator. After the Statue we headed over to Ellis Island to explore where many of our ancestors likely passed through at one point. Amy and Ben both took the "Citizenship Test" it doesn't say whether they got it right or wrong but I'll say they didn't get a 100!
Once we finished at Ellis Island we hopped a cab to Katz Deli. It is so delicious and unique. I recommend it to all who travel to NYC. The meat is real, the people are friendly, and they let you taste before you buy. An important note: unless you have an appetite like Ben, it's best to share a sandwich with a friend. From here we headed into town walking around and exploring. We had a few neighborhoods we wanted to see (which we struggled to find) but we saw a lot nonetheless. Our last major stop of the day was Dylan's Candy Bar. IT IS AMAZING. They have every candy you can imagine...they have retro candy containers, fudge (see the fudge man in the pictures), and ice cream. I could have spent a long time in that store but fortunately I refrained from eating!
A quick stop in Times Square to see the lights before heading back to Amy's house for a good nights sleep.
Day 4 - 11.05.09 - Sunny Near 55:
Heard it snowed all day in Maine....NOT HERE!! It was a beautiful day. Sunny and mid-50's!
Today we headed into the city bright and early again. Ben then escorted me to PS146 an elementary school in East Harlem where I did some observations. It was quite interesting in a number of ways. Their class sizes average 25-30 and their school has 400 students. The classes here aren't referred to by their teacher but rather their grade and room number. For example, I was observing class 4-301 instead of Mrs. Colloza's room. I was in a 4th grade class which was fun and they were doing math which made it even better. They are very smart kids, they already know and use mean, median, and mode A LOT and they were learning bar graphs having just finished line plots. Their recess is unique in that they have no grass and instead play on tar. This school I learned was lucky as they had a space. You'll see in a couple of pictures schools where they block off the street and the students have recess right in the road. I have lots more info but I'm sure it interests no one but the teachers so I'll save it for later.
While I was doing this, Ben went for a run in Central Park. He has wanted to do this for some time and so I'm glad he got the opportunity. Fortunately he found a gym with day memberships so he was able to store his stuff during the run and shower after.
We met up in Central Park where we had a picnic lunch and saw some sort of movie being filmed. From there we walked through the park to the zoo! Amy gave us her pass and so we got to explore which was so great. It was just amazing to see all those animals in the middle of Manhattan. I was sad that we did not bring our bigger lens as we didn't think we would need it for the day...man were we wrong.
From Central Park we walked down 5th Ave. Stopped at the Apple store to look at the technology and in Tiffany's to look at all the diamonds!! We headed to Rockefeller Center next so Ben could get a Dunkin' Donuts fix at the train station. We then headed to the TKTS counter in Times Square and got half price tickets to Oleanna....see details later.
Once we had our evening plans we headed back over to Rockefeller Center to get dinner. While over there we happened upon a taping of "30 Rock" if you look in the pictures you can see Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. We had dinner at Rockefeller Center (there's a great soup place underneath the building) while we watched the skaters on the ice.
We did a bit more walking around and sightseeing before heading to see Oleanna starring Julia Stiles and Bill Pullman. It was a two person play that left me very confused/upset/angry. It was nothing like a musical but it was great.
Now we're back in Mineola, Ben is watching one of his favorite TV Shows while I do the dirty work. I'm going to make him write the next one!! Let us know if you have any questions. Talk to you soon.
Love! (click on the Day headings for pictures!)
Freedom Tour Spots Visited So Far:
Battery Park
Ellis Island
Rockefeller Center
Times Square
Katz Deli
Central Park
DAY 2 - 11.03.09 - Sunny Near 50:
The drive from Grant & Rama's was rather uneventful. We stopped twice. Once for lunch/gas/groceries and once to get the car organized and pack our bag for Amy's. We figured easier to do at a rest area than on the side of the street.
We arrived at Amy's house on Tuesday at around 1:30ish. She lives in a very nice neighborhood in Mineola (Long Island), NY. Her husband Alan works as a resident at the hospital (conveniently) located across the street and she nanny's here in the apartment. She wasn't working when we arrived and so we chatted, toured the neighborhood and just hung out. We decided rather than go into the city we would hang here and make dinner. I had my first turkey burger!! It was delicious.
Day 3 - 11.04.09 - Sunny Mid-50's :
We all got up early and headed into the city (well everyone except Alan as he was working). Our first stop was the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The trip over the the Statue wasn't bad but the line to get in was forever. If you decide to go make sure you prepare ahead of time and order "Crown Tickets" I was very jealous of the people going all the way to the top. Oh and wear sneakers as it is a long climb with no elevator. After the Statue we headed over to Ellis Island to explore where many of our ancestors likely passed through at one point. Amy and Ben both took the "Citizenship Test" it doesn't say whether they got it right or wrong but I'll say they didn't get a 100!
Once we finished at Ellis Island we hopped a cab to Katz Deli. It is so delicious and unique. I recommend it to all who travel to NYC. The meat is real, the people are friendly, and they let you taste before you buy. An important note: unless you have an appetite like Ben, it's best to share a sandwich with a friend. From here we headed into town walking around and exploring. We had a few neighborhoods we wanted to see (which we struggled to find) but we saw a lot nonetheless. Our last major stop of the day was Dylan's Candy Bar. IT IS AMAZING. They have every candy you can imagine...they have retro candy containers, fudge (see the fudge man in the pictures), and ice cream. I could have spent a long time in that store but fortunately I refrained from eating!
A quick stop in Times Square to see the lights before heading back to Amy's house for a good nights sleep.
Day 4 - 11.05.09 - Sunny Near 55:
Heard it snowed all day in Maine....NOT HERE!! It was a beautiful day. Sunny and mid-50's!
Today we headed into the city bright and early again. Ben then escorted me to PS146 an elementary school in East Harlem where I did some observations. It was quite interesting in a number of ways. Their class sizes average 25-30 and their school has 400 students. The classes here aren't referred to by their teacher but rather their grade and room number. For example, I was observing class 4-301 instead of Mrs. Colloza's room. I was in a 4th grade class which was fun and they were doing math which made it even better. They are very smart kids, they already know and use mean, median, and mode A LOT and they were learning bar graphs having just finished line plots. Their recess is unique in that they have no grass and instead play on tar. This school I learned was lucky as they had a space. You'll see in a couple of pictures schools where they block off the street and the students have recess right in the road. I have lots more info but I'm sure it interests no one but the teachers so I'll save it for later.
While I was doing this, Ben went for a run in Central Park. He has wanted to do this for some time and so I'm glad he got the opportunity. Fortunately he found a gym with day memberships so he was able to store his stuff during the run and shower after.
We met up in Central Park where we had a picnic lunch and saw some sort of movie being filmed. From there we walked through the park to the zoo! Amy gave us her pass and so we got to explore which was so great. It was just amazing to see all those animals in the middle of Manhattan. I was sad that we did not bring our bigger lens as we didn't think we would need it for the day...man were we wrong.
From Central Park we walked down 5th Ave. Stopped at the Apple store to look at the technology and in Tiffany's to look at all the diamonds!! We headed to Rockefeller Center next so Ben could get a Dunkin' Donuts fix at the train station. We then headed to the TKTS counter in Times Square and got half price tickets to Oleanna....see details later.
Once we had our evening plans we headed back over to Rockefeller Center to get dinner. While over there we happened upon a taping of "30 Rock" if you look in the pictures you can see Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. We had dinner at Rockefeller Center (there's a great soup place underneath the building) while we watched the skaters on the ice.
We did a bit more walking around and sightseeing before heading to see Oleanna starring Julia Stiles and Bill Pullman. It was a two person play that left me very confused/upset/angry. It was nothing like a musical but it was great.
Now we're back in Mineola, Ben is watching one of his favorite TV Shows while I do the dirty work. I'm going to make him write the next one!! Let us know if you have any questions. Talk to you soon.
Love! (click on the Day headings for pictures!)
Freedom Tour Spots Visited So Far:
Battery Park
Ellis Island
Rockefeller Center
Times Square
Katz Deli
Central Park
Monday, November 2, 2009
Boston 11.02.09
Day 1 - 11.02.09 - Sunny Upper 40's
We made it to Boston and are at Grant and Rama's! They made us a great dinner and now we're playing cribbage...well they are while I write. It was a busy day as we got off to a late start but we're officially on the road now. I'll try to write tomorrow night and post pictures as well.
Love!
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