Weekend Trip #2 - Nantucket

I've taken a much-to-long break from packing trying to get this post up before my computer goes back in its box, into a moving truck, and across the country day after tomorrow.

So here it is.

A week and a half ago we were lucky to have Johnny's two aunts out to visit before we left the East and all it has to offer. We had already planned a trip up to New England for the same weekend, and after telling them our plans, they were all for joining us! We rented a minivan and picked them up from the airport, and didn't stop going, going, going, until we dropped them off five days later!

Day1

Here's a little map of the trip we took:

We picked Susan and Nancy up from the airport, grabbed some philly cheesesteaks, and headed right up to New York City. We gave them a car tour, stopping to let them out in certain spots, and finally parked near Rockefeller Center.

The Aunties took the boys for a couple of hours so Johnny and I could go to the top of the Rock and take some photos of the NYC skyline - something we wanted to do before the move.

In this photo, the big dark spot is Central Park

Can you see Times Square on the right?

After taking photos we met back up with the rest of the group and headed up to Hyannis, MA. Johnny and I may or may not have looked into how long the drive would take us to get there, and we possibly arrived at 3:00am in the morning...

We got up bright and early and headed across the street from our hotel to the Hyannis Ferry that would take us over to the island of Nantucket. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and we were in for a great day!

Drake was SO excited to ride on the Biiiiiig Booooaaaat!

Right off the ferry was the main shopping area where we walked around until lunch.

Johnny dutifully did his job as the husband, babysitting the boys while the ladies shopped.

I'm not sure if that is a cigarette or a spoon in his mouth...

We walked around the town and saw things like this....

and this....(flowers were EVERYWHERE)

Then stopped for lunch at a cute little cafe. I someone managed to eat all of my food, and finish everyone elses. Isn't that the mans job?

Oh wait, I'm pregnant.

Good excuse, I know.

After lunch the kiddos were exhausted (and the aunties) so they let Johnny and I go off and do a little sightseeing on our own.

My knight-in-shining-jeep showed up and whisked me off to roam the island.

This lighthouse used to be right on the edge, but the beach is eroding so they have to keep moving it back. It was a beautiful view!

Aw, cute.

The colors were so vibrant, I didn't have to touch up these pictures at all!

After a long day we said goodbye to Nantucket and headed back to our hotel.

I'm so grateful we were able to see this beautiful place, and I'd highly recommend trying to see it yourself!

Day 2

We woke up to, as Drake observed, lots of "rain on cars outside"

(here is the 30 seconds of them getting along)

Morning Johnny driving the swagger wagon.

First stop today was Newport, RI. I've blogged about Newport before, its one of mine and Johnny's favorite places. There are old, historic mansions along the coast that you can tour, and thats just what we did!

The aunties took the boys again - which was wonderful and I have no idea why they kept offering - and Johnny and I picked two mansions to tour.

The first mansion is called The Breakers because of the waves breaking along the coast in the backyard. It was HUGE. Built by the Vanderbilts in 1893, it was their "summer home" where they stayed a couple months out of the year.

Front view, view from the back porch, and a view from the end of the yard.

They didn't allow any photos in the inside of the house, but I couldn't help it. These were all taken while the camera hung from my neck and rested on my belly, so they are a little skewed, but you get the idea. These people were R-I-C-H rich.

There is a trail along the coast behind the mansions that we took to meet back up with everyone.

Before seeing Mansion #2, we said hello to the Bubbs and Drakie.

We had a few minutes of roughhousing before Johnny and I headed to mansion #2.

The Elms.

Almost torn down to build a strip mall in its place.

I didn't put up pictures of the rooms, because this house was all about the yard. My dream yard.

This is the "guest house"

After our mansion touring, we met back up with the family and said one last goodbye to the East Coast...sigh.

We hopped in the car and headed back home with dvd's and lots of snacks.

This was probably one of the greatest little vacations Johnny and I have ever taken. It was such a joy to have Johnny's aunts with us, who are two of the most down to earth people I've ever met! I love that they loved being with the boys and were so generous in wanting to watch them. (I promise they offered and we didn't just take them to be full time sitters!)

We loved every minute of it and I'm so glad we went!

Weekend Trip #1

Alright, I've finally gotten around to putting the pictures together from our little vacation Memorial weekend.

Around lunch time on Friday I put together a plan for a weekend trip consisting of places south of Philly that we'd been wanting to see. After a little of convincing, Johnny agreed to it and we packed our bags and headed out Friday night.

First off, this is the Steelman's, Sam and Stephanie. Sam (who's real name is Ryan) and Johnny have been friends since high school in Montana. They were with us the whole trip and it was GREAT! It was so fun spending time with them, and the two extra set of hands to help with the boys was probably the greatest thing ever. We got to their house late Friday night and stayed with them.

Day 1

Saturday morning, Sam and Steph showed us around their town, Baltimore. We walked along the docks and stopped for lunch at Hard Rock.

Drake was thrilled to be on a bridge hovering over chocolate milk.

After lunch, we headed down to Washington, DC where the United States Botanical Gardens were. This was high on my list of things to see, and I'm so glad we did!

Drake loved the children's garden! In the picture on the bottom left, Johnny put Drake in front of a fish then pushed a button to shoot water at him. Johnny also kept doing that to innocent bystanders walking by, right in the pants.

There was a spot in the ceiling that slowly dripped water. This is Drake waiting for the next drip, that got him right on the forehead.

We then went around and saw these different sites:

Capitol Building

Jefferson Memorial

Washington Memorial

Lincoln Memorial (from across the reflection pool)

All of the walking was exhausting but well worth it!

Day 2

After seeing the sites around DC we drove down to Charlottesville, Virginia and got to our hotel late that night. The next morning, we headed to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home.

His home sat on top of a huge hill with amazing views.

Here is a little glimpse at the gardens. They were perfectly kept, and Johnny picked lots of the vegetables and ate them along the way.

This was a little nook in the gardens where Thomas Jefferson would go to read and think. I loved it and wish I had something like that.

Here are Drake and Bubbs discussing how Jefferson idealized the independent yoeman farmer as an exemplar of republican virtues.

We walked around the grounds and this place was amazing. We also went inside, but I wasn't allowed to take photos.

Gravesite.

In the afternoon, we spent time in Historic Williamsburg, a fun little town with little shops. During the day they have people dressed up like the old days but we got there too late for that.

Our first stop, while there, was a candy shop for Drakie. I guess I should appreciate that out of all this candy, he just wanted a Hershey Kiss. I got him and Bubbs a lollipop which kept him, Bubba, and Johnny sticky the rest of the day.

A few stops on our walk around town (I love this kind of stuff):

Right before the sun went down we saw Jamestown, which was founded in 1607 and is regarded as the first permanent English settlement in the country. You know, where the whole John Smith - Pocahontas thing happened.

Day 3

Memorial Day we headed up from our hotel in Norfolk, VA to Ocean City, MD. The weather was PERFECT!

This was Bubba's first real time at the beach, and he LOVE LOVED it! He told me eating the sand felt like a soothing massage on his aching, teething gums, so I couldn't help but let him eat a few handfuls.

Every time he saw a hole someone dug, his ostrich instincts kicked in and he'd try to hide his head in it....Maybe I let him eat too much sand.

Bubba also decided to give surfing a try and was a natural. Sadly, after losing his binky in the ocean, he called it quits and vowed to never surf again.

More pics of the boys beach day.

Bubba attacking Johnny with sand kisses while he was too buried to do anything about it.

Nice shells.

Stopped in traffic on the drive home, they were all exhausted and snoring.

Cute.

This was such a fun little getaway and we're so glad we did it! I'm so thankful the Steelman's put up with us the whole weekend and we loved spending time with them, seeing these amazing places.