In case you haven't figured it out, our family has been traveling for the last two weeks. Fifteen days, fifteen states, eight state capitols, five national and state parks, three colleges, one Broadway show, an amusement park, at least eight jillion public restrooms (okay, maybe not but with two little girls it felt that way. . . ),and about 2500 miles. Whew!
Needless to say, I've struggled to keep up with PPP but have had some wonderful extra help along the way. (Thanks, Shannon, Merissa & Misty!) I woke up each morning to work from 4-6:30 AM before the rest of my family woke up for the day ~ so thankful that was 5-7:30 Eastern time, but my computer always registered it as 4AM, so I felt like I was working in the middle of the night!
Since I couldn't pop you all in my car and drag you along for the ride (not sure anyone would want to hang out with our family for the last few weeks . . . ), I thought I'd just share a few bunch of pictures of what we did along the way. Because I don't keep up a personal blog, this is also a way for my kiddos to remember what we did one day. 😉 Here's a peek . . .
We did a lot of picnicking at any rest stop that would have us . . .
Saw my nephew in West Point's Parade the day before graduation (and sat in these great seats)
Cheered Christopher on when he graduated (on the coldest, rainiest graduation day in West Point history. . .)
Ate chocolate everything at Max Brenner's in New York City (and also saw Annie on Broadway, but I didn't have my camera with me ~ ugh!)
Looked at the Statue of Liberty
Then decided we should be her ourselves
Visited the American Girl Store
Rode the elevator to the top of the Empire State Building
Checked out Central Park (we were so surprised by it ~ had no idea it would have so many great places to climb and be so big!)
Danced on the big piano at FAO Schwartz
Did a bit of hiking in Vermont
and New Hampshire. . .
(See that tiny speck at the bottom of this next pic? That's shows how big that waterfall was compared to my son, and he was right up in it!)
Drove through a few covered bridges
Saw so many pretty state capitols (Vermont was my favorite because it was just beautiful nestled on the hillside)
Toured the Ben & Jerry Factory (yum!)
Found more incredible stops for picnicking
Ate Lobster in Maine (and visited the 24 hour LL Bean store ~ no deals to be had but so many things to look at!)
Visited Kennebunkport and put our toes in the Atlantic Ocean
And even saw the Bush home (talk about location)
Actually got my kids to all smile at the same time for a picture . . .
Toured Old Ironside in Boston
Found Quincy Market (after we paid $25 for hot dogs at the Boston Harbor ~ we were so mad at ourselves because there were so many yummy places to eat in there!)
Then visited the city of Plymouth
Showed our kids Yale (and promised we'd send them if they could actually get in ~ but with a $59,000 price tag per year, I'm thinking they'd better look elsewhere!)
Ate more PB&Js in Valley Forge
Where my son practiced his photography skills on my hubby and me . . .
As well as a few of the old cabins (where twelve soldiers lived in each cabin during the Revolutionary War)
And finally made it to Hershey Park where we surprised the kids with a day at the amusement park.
(This is what they looked like for most of the trip ~ wild!)
We lucked out and they were giving away free chocolate samples ~ as well as free boxes of brownie mixes and frosting. (We even got incredibly fortunate when we were leaving and they were trying to get rid of extra frosting ~ came home with 16 free tubs of frosting!)
Then met my mom and her hubby before we headed back home today.
Teena Kelly Williams says
Thanks for sharing your fun time with us! Now… I'm ready for a vacation!
Teena Kelly Williams says
Thanks for sharing your fun time with us! Now… I'm ready for a vacation!
Marce King says
amazing! You all look like you had a great time and made some wonderful memories! Miss you all.
Laurie says
Thanks Marce ~ miss seeing you all so much too! 😉
Bonnie says
Awww, thanks for sharing all your wonderful pictures and stories with us!! What an amazing trip to have been on!! BTW, what type & kind of camera do you have? Thanks, again for sharing!! Love your blog!! I have to check it, every time it pops up for me!!!!
Laurie says
You’re so welcome Bonnie! Here’s the camera that I have ~ a Canon EOS (I splurged last summer because of taking food pictures for PPP on it ~ needed them to look better… and absolutely LOVE it!)
Laurie says
You all are so sweet! We did have just a wonderful time… it was so fun to see so many beautiful places, but definitely so good to be home too. Love pinching pennies so we can travel some! 🙂
Mary says
Thanks for sharing!
Jessica Mccoy Johnson says
So glad you went to a show! Looks like an amazing fun time.
Angela says
I am so glad that you’ve had a great time! That picture of you and your husband turned out extremely well! I am happy to see that you dote on your husband. I too have been blessed with a great guy and I am glad to know that I am not the only one who after so many years (20 years for us!) still thinks their guy hung the moon!
Tina says
Love this Laurie !! What a great vacation for ya’ll so many memories! I love the pic of your husband driving my daughter always snaps a pic of my husband driving on our trips .Its a blessing having a great dad/hubby .thanks for sharing
Mary Lucero says
How fun! Looks like you had a great trip. I clip coupons and shop sales for the same reason 🙂
Judu Stutz says
Awesome vacation! Sure do miss the Northeast. Thank you for sharing.
Sheila says
Thank you for sharing your wonderful pictures with all of us. I feel like I have seen some of those places myself now through your eyes. We have been to Hershey park when my son was two and had a great time! He is fifteen now! My two girls are 19 and 20 now! We cherish our pictures of the three of them on that vacation. Great job.
Sherri Rand says
Looks like an amazing vacation!