Fall Road Trip: Day 1

B had a conference at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA this weekend (10/28-10/30) so the kids and I tagged along to visit with great grandparents and a great aunt and uncle as well as seeing the city B loves. 

The drive was beautiful, I think most of these pictures are in Virginia and West Virginia.  The bottom two pictures on the right are from the same stretch of highway as these first three snow pictures on a different drive.

We got there a couple of hours before B's conference started so he drove us around Pittsburgh before we dropped him off and headed to his grandparents for a quick visit and then to his Aunt G and Uncle D's where we were staying.  We tried to ride on of the inclines with B but didn't have any cash and it required not only cash, but exact change.  The kids and I went back on our own the next day... with exact change.  Little Guy was kept making me clarify.  "You have cash?"  "Yes."  "Exact change?"  "Yes."

Random California Excitement Recorded on the Cell Phone Camera

These are the random pictures that end up on my cell phone camera because whatever we were doing wasn't worthy (such as Disneyland or the beach) of bringing the real camera along for the trip. 

• Eating marshmallows on sticks covered in sprinkles at the Rocky Mountain Candy Factory store at the outlet mall.

• The kids got "face" painted at a church picnic in the park.  Buddy was adamantly against it until Princess Sparkley persuaded him with the dolphin.  Now, almost one week later he's only agreed to two baths and both of those have taken place with his dolphin arm up and out of the water.  It's looking pretty sad... and dirty.  I'm on the hunt for some sort of dolphin temporary tattoo.

• There's a tunnel that goes under the road down the street from my parents.  I loved yelling "echo" in it when we went on walks when I was little, so I showed it to my kids and let them yell "echo."

• Little Guy and Princess Sparkley (who almost got stuck) got to ride in a truck shopping cart at Vons.  They beeped their horns nonstop driving me crazy.

• Buddy worked hard pulling dead flowers and dusting at Grandma's to earn the last few dollars he needed to be able to afford a Lego Star Wars ship.

• I went mattress shopping 2,600+ miles away from where the mattress is needed.  Little Guy enjoyed testing them out.

• And Little Guy has become a fair weather friend to my dad's giant chocolate lab who he's nicknamed Mr. Fenway.  Everyone else just calls him Fenway.

Vacation: Day 1

Saturday (August 6) morning we said goodbye to our townhome (forever) and headed on our Utah/California vacation.  We flew from Dulles to LAX to Las Vegas where my parents picked us up, took us to In N Out Burger, took us back to the airport to pick up a suitcase that missed our flight and then drove us to their cabin in southern Utah, in the mountains above Cedar City.

When we left, we had an application submitted to move to a new townhome, but hadn't yet heard if we'd been approved.  I took this picture since it might be the last time the kids were at the old house.  It turns out it was, B is moving us while we're still in California.  Goodbye!

Airplane.  Princess Sparkley actually has several flights under her belt, but none that she remembers.  This is only Buddy's 2nd airplane trip.  And Little Guy was only a couple of months old when I flew from Kansas for a wedding once, so he doesn't remember. 

County Trip

B's goal for the past several years is to get 100 new counties a year. (He collects counties like some people do states.) The last couple of years he hasn't reached this goal. He hit 100 new counties for 2010 on Friday with a long road trip into Pennsylvania. New county totals: B=12, N=18, the kids=19.





We stopped at Gettysburg and saw the free parts of the museum (bathrooms, gift shop, statue outside). We talked about the kids' great great great great grandpa (John S.) who fought in the civil war, lying about his age to become a soldier at 16.
[Corrections from Grandpa M: Very cool stuff here. John S. was in the infantry for 6 months, got out in May 1863 and rejoined in late July 1863 for the remainder of the war (in a cavalry unit). He missed Gettysburg.]


We stopped in Dillsburg, PA to see B's Great Grandparents' grave. (Isn't it fun that someone who loves the Simpsons as much as B descends from people named Homer and Margaret?) It is a little creepy to see your own last name on a gravestone though.


We stopped and saw their old home (that B last visited when he was 4 years old).




We saw the State Capitol in Harrisburg.


We stopped at the Washington DC LDS Temple to see the nativity displays, Christmas trees, and lights. The trip took longer than expected so we missed the musical performance, but we still got to enjoy the lights and everything else.

Thanksgiving Break: Going Home

Yea! California! Oh, it's California, PENNSYLVANIA.
(Great Grandma M went to college here to become a teacher in the late 1920s/early 1930s)


The whole Ohio trip our kids were hoping for snow. I was not. Then Princess Sparkley decided maybe there would be snow at the high point in Pennsylvania. We didn't think so. But there was!


Highest Point in Pennsylvania: Mount Davis (3213 feet)

A deer hunter stopped us as we parked the car to ask if we were heading up to the observation tower. Then told us we were going to freeze. B told him how we froze at West Virginia's high point the week before and he asked how high West Virginia's high point was. Then said WV had them (Pennsylvania) beat. Sort of a fun competition.


It was cold. The "hike" was little. Little Guy didn't want to raise his arms (hence the two pictures). The plaque behind us says it's the highest point. You can see the observation tower in the background.


We hiked to the top of the tower. Our kids were a little nervous but very brave. And for once, all of us our looking at the camera (perhaps just to see if the wind was going to blow it over).


After climbing down, B saw a US Geological Survey marker on a large boulder and had his picture taken standing on it. Since he was climbing, Little Guy was climbing too. The picture of the kids with their hands in the air is on the neighboring boulder.


[Keep in mind that you can see these collages larger if you click on them.]

Thanksgiving Break: at Grandparents'

What was going to be just our family of five, B's parents and B's little brother with his wife and new baby, turned into a family reunion with all 23 Ms present.

The kids had a great time with their cousins. I saw Buddy for about ten minutes each day. Usually for a food request, or because he needed to use a bathroom and they were all occupied. He was in the basement playing the Wii or in the "Lego Room" building Lego creations.

Little Guy got along great in the Lego room, or hanging out with his cousin Danny, just 6 months older than him.

Princess Sparkley was in heaven with her two girl cousins and getting to hold the newest girl cousin, 4 month old Amy.

We over packed on shoes and socks because we barely left Grandma's house. B went and played football with Grandpa's ward Thanksgiving morning and went on a 10 county solo trip to Indiana on Black Friday. When he got back, he and I hit a few stores. And we went to church on Sunday. That's about it for leaving the house. Otherwise we played games, played Rockband, chatted and ate.


Grandma/Grandpa and their 13 grandkids.
B and M family. H and G family. B and N family. Not pictured: B and L family.

Thanksgiving Break: Going

After traveling to B's parents' in Ohio last January and dealing with cold and snowy driving, we decided this year we'd make our holiday trip to Ohio in November, hoping to miss that. And we did. No snow. Yea.

B skipped his Tuesday night class and we left Tuesday morning around lunchtime. Because it's B... we of course picked up counties on the way**. 10 of them. (12 for Little Guy.) And we got a new highest point**: West Virginia's Spruce Knob (4,863 feet), the tallest mountain in the Alleghenies.


After winding up and around this mountain road past deer hunter after deer hunter, we finally made it to the top. And it was windy and COLD.


Here's the lookout tower.


Here we all are celebrating on top of the lookout tower. And freezing. And almost being blown off.


Since there was no clear marker for where the high point was, at least that we could find, we also took our celebratory pictures with the sign.

We listened to every Weezer album on our drive starting with the Blue Album and ending with Raditude. (We got to our hotel before we could listen to Hurley, and their two newest albums (released in November) are only on our cell phones). B gave them the behind the scenes info on the band (like how there is a big space between the Blue Album and Pinkerton because Rivers (the lead singer) had surgery to lengthen one of his legs).



We stopped for the night in Bridgeport, WV. Little Guy got to sleep on a chair.


*B keeps track of how many counties he's been to.
**And now we are trying to go to the highest point in each state.

Trip South

We headed to B's sister's house on the 5th of July. As always, we had a great time and the cousins mostly enjoyed playing with each other.


At Kangaroo Jac's... a place filled with all those giant air filled slides and jumping things.



Everyone loved this place, but Little Guy LOVED it. He ran all over the place, didn't care if a sibling, cousin or parent was anywhere near him and was covered in sweat by the end. Unfortunately I didn't get any more pictures. We also went swimming at their neighborhood pool after dinner. Fun times.


The freeway we drive on to get there and back is a pretty major route for east coast, north/south travel. Our family has always been pretty good at the license plate game but especially so in the last 6 months or so. Buddy got this board for his birthday. He's an expert and most days beats B for the most license plates... this is an incredible feat that I've never accomplished. He even saw a Hawaii last week!! In Virginia. We had to drive back through the parking lot and make sure he wasn't lying to us. There is was, Hawaii. And we saw 2 Alaska plates at the Potomac Mills mall last week, which, according to my new book, Virginia Curiosities, is the most visited tourist attraction in Virginia. That's sort of sad.


This is what the board looked like at the end of the trip. The license plates still visible are the ones we didn't see. Those that are red, Buddy got. Blue are ones that PS and I shared. The ones flipped over so you can see the state capitol name are B's. Little Guy just yells out whatever we yell, most often California because there's a mini van from California that is always parked on our block and the kids fight over who spots it first each day when we get in the car.

The end of day five: heading home

We left Philadelphia around dinner time (after not having any room for dinner). And stopped at the highest point in Delaware.




Buddy assured us he didn't want to stick his arms in the air. But he did.


The sun was setting and the lighting was bad.


Yea! Arms in the air.


The highest point is on a super busy street and cars were driving past on their way home from work. I think I like the more secluded highest points better if B's going to make us all raise our arms in the air.

the Holidays: day five - Philadelphia

3/9/10


We started out our morning at Independence Hall.


Independence Hall.


Buddy and PS with Independence Hall.


Baby X with Independence Hall.


Pennsylvania Assembly Room in Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution were written, ratified and signed.


PS took our picture.


Congress Hall (next to Independence Hall)


The Liberty Bell. Horrible picture lighting. The sun was shining directly in the windows... and the other way, it's back lit, so none of our pictures with Liberty Bell turned out well.


The Bell.




PS took our picture again. I need to stop having a skeptical look on my face as she attempts to use the camera.


Declaration House where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence on a lap desk (that we just saw at the Museum of American History a couple weeks ago).

Then we ate lunch at Reading Terminal. Mmmmmmmm. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures in here... I guess I was too busy taking it all in. The kids had YUMMY pizza. B got a pork sandwich from a different vendor. I had a beef and bean burrito from yet a different vendor, and nachos for the kids. Then B and Baby X walked around while I finished eating and brought us back cookies (chocolate dipped ones for the two bigger kids). YUM!


Benjamin Franklin's cemetery. I'm thinking this is the only time I've seen an entrance fee for a cemetery (we didn't pay to go in) and a gift shop at the entrance to a cemetery.





The joy of sticking a digital camera through the fence.


PS and Buddy wanted to be in a picture too.


One of the famous Americans Buddy is supposed to learn about in Kindergarten this year is Betsy Ross. And of course, PS wanted to see her house too since she's a girl and she sews.


They wanted a picture next to the Virginia colony marker on the fountain in Betsy Ross's courtyard.


Baby X and PS next to the gift shop to house corridor.


Betsy Ross's grave marker in the courtyard of her house.


PS and Buddy in front of her actual house. Buddy loved the tiny spiral staircases. $3 for adults, $2 for student. Baby X and B waited outside during our self-guided tour.



Elfreth's Alley is one of the oldest, continually inhabited residential streets in the United States, from the early 1700s. It is a National Historic Landmark. A few of the houses charge a fee to tour them, but most are private residences (some even for sale... I wonder how much they go for).


Looking back from the other end.





Christ's Church. One of the oldest churches in Philadelphia.


PS and Buddy in front of Christ's Church.


Market Street Houses at Franklin Court. Benjamin Franklin built three out of these five houses.


Cute Baby X peeking at me.


He was happy to be free from his stroller for a bit.


These frames mark where Franklin's house was built and there are windows to underground brick walls and foundations that were actually from the house. This is right outside the Benjamin Franklin National Park building where we watched an old Disney movie called "Ben and Me" (part 1 and part 2) about Benjamin Franklin and a mouse named Amos. The kids (Baby X included) loved this.


First Bank of the United States.


Independence Hall from the Second Bank of the United States.


Second Bank of the United States.


Buddy and PS inside Carpenter's Hall. This building hosted the first Continental Congress in 1774. Baby X and I stayed outside because he'd fallen asleep in the stroller, and strollers weren't allowed inside.

Then some gift shops and back to the car.


Thaddeus Kosciuszko's house. B wanted to see this but we ended up just driving past it this time.

We were on a mission to get Rita's Water Ices. Our friend Tiffany had told us how great they were, and once the kids figure out what they were, they hounded us for THREE DAYS about them. So, still full from lunch at Reading Terminal a few hours earlier, we found a Rita's Water Ice. The big kids got lemonade flavored. B and I got raspberry. And Baby X got vanilla because I wanted to try it. Yum.







The next stop was supposed to be either Pat's or Gino's... across the street from each other in south Philadelphia, they compete for the best Philly cheese steak sandwiches. We ended up just driving past because no matter how badly I wanted one, none of us had any room to eat anything else. We'll have to hit them next time. And maybe try making some at home... I'm thinking cheese whiz on a sandwich could taste fantastic, or strange and I want to find out which it is.