Posts filed under 'Travel'
Another beautiful day so we ventured off for a hike up a small mountain called Mt. Philo. Chris had Aiden in a backpack carrier while I carried all the necessities. It was a steep yet short hike. At the top there was a grassy knoll were Aiden had a ball walking around. He cracked us up as he ran to the top of the hill, sat down and scooted himself to the bottom. Too bad we didn’t have the video camera with us. I guess he thought it resembled a slide because he just recently learned how to push himself down one without any assistance. The views were nice but it was hazy across Lake Cahmplain and the Adirondacks were not super clear. All in all a great way to start off the day.
After going back to the hotel to eat lunch and let the little guy take a nap, we headed back to the Chew Chew Food Festival. Many people were in attendance unlike the night before. We tried some new things and walked around the area. There is a paved bicycle path that goes right along the water, which made for a nice getaway from the crowds. We ventured upon a playground where Aiden was able to stretch his legs a bit. We stayed a bit passed his bedtime, but Aiden didn’t seem to mind.
June 24th, 2006
We all slept pretty good and decided to make the most of the beginning of the vacation. The first three days are family fun days and the last three days will be just me and Aiden at the hotel while Chris goes off to the conference. We are in the Burlington, Vermont area and decided to start off the trip with a tour of Ben and Jerry’s factory.
The tour itself was only 30 minutes and the factory was much smaller than I anticipated, but the best part was the free ice cream. Aiden apparently likes strawberry cheesecake, as do I. Remember the cuteness power I mentioned yesterday? Well, it was in high gear again today as he got an extra scoop of ice cream. Ok, they just had leftovers, but he was invited to take an extra one.
We stopped back at the hotel for some lunch and Aiden took a nap. Gave Chris and I some quiet down time together, it was nice. For dinner we went to the Green Mountain Chew Chew Food Festival on the waterfront of Lake Champlain. It was a cute little food festival where the local restaurants allow you to sample their best foods by purchasing tokens (i.e. some items were 3 or 4 tokens and tokens were 9 for $5). It was the first night of the festival and a Friday evening so there were not many people there, which made it very pleasant to take our time. We had some pretty good eats.
It was a beautiful day in the mid to high seventies and the view of the Adirondacks across the lake was amazing. Made me wish we lived closer to the mountains. Someday I guess. Until then I will enjoy this adorable college town and all that it has to offer.
June 23rd, 2006
Yes, that’s right we are on vacation again. This one sprung up out of a conference that Chris was asked to attend for work. He didn’t want to go initially, but when I expressed an interest in turning it into a family vacation he decided to give the conference a chance. So, we packed the car this morning and drove north.
Aiden was so good during the seven hour car ride. He has discovered the joy of spotting trucks, big 18-wheelers that is. Every time we passed one (or one passed us) he would get very excited and shout out, “Uck! Uck!” and we would respond, “Yes, Aiden, that is a truck. Very good.” Now, let me just say that driving during the day on the NY Thruway we encountered many, many trucks. I mean lots of trucks! It made for an interesting (and loud) ride. Thank goodness we were routed through some country roads as we approached our destination. It was cute though.
When we arrived at the hotel we expected to unpack in a spacious two bedroom suite with living area and full kitchen. I even confirmed it yesterday and called today to say that we were going to arrive later than expected to make sure it wasn’t a problem. “No problem” was what they told us on the phone mere hours before being told that there are extended stay guests who were extending their stay in our suite. So we settled on a one bedroom with separate living area and full kitchen, if a stovetop with no oven counts as a “full” kitchen.
After I got over the crankiness from having to downgrade the suite, we went to dinner at a local restaurant. Aiden was a big hit with the wait staff as he flirted with most of the women. Actually he said “Hi” to anyone that walked by, flashing them his big blue eyes. By the time we were ready to leave he was saying bye-bye to the whole restaurant and no one seemed to mind. My goodness this kid’s cuteness is powerful!
All in all, a pretty ok day. Looking forward to venturing out tomorrow.
June 22nd, 2006
Should the day that you go home really be considered a vacation day? I mean we are leaving the place where there are fun things to do and the really cool hotel room where you don’t have to make your bed to head back home. I’m not sure what to call it yet, as it is a sad day to be leaving all that behind. Possibly Transition Day?
Before getting out of bed, we heard the lovely sound of motorcycles leaving the hotel in droves. Several of them, every 20 minutes or so. They are really loud! Finally Aiden couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to be out of his Pack-n-Play. As I wasn’t ready to get up yet, I brought him into bed. Yes, I know that is a no-no, but we were on vacation, all rules are off. The king size bed fit us all perfectly and we didn’t want to leave.
But leave we must, so we finally got up, ate breakfast and started packing. We thought we would leave after Aiden took a nap, but he wasn’t cooperating, so we left earlier than expected. The drive included a bit more traffic, but nothing as bad as it was going to be tomorrow. We ate lunch at the same Panera Bread that we ate at on the way down to complete the trip full circle.
As always, it was good to be home. I feel if you have some time away you can fully appreciate things (and people), although it was nice to have someone else clean our room and make the bed. I am glad to be home, that is until the next trip!
May 28th, 2006
Today we are attended the Baptism of the daughter of a friend of mine from Junior High. This was the whole reason for us coming down to Dc in the first place. Aiden is still a little sick, but seems to be getting better and after a small freak out from us leaving late we arrived just as the ceremony was starting.
The drive over was shorter than we expected, but Aiden was supposed to take a longer nap which slowed down the getting ready process. We also needed to pick something up as an appetizer and then we drove in the wrong direction for about 10 minutes. Being that the ceremony had just started when we arrived I don’t think we were as late as we could have been. Of course I have a thing for being latek, which made the ride over quite unappealing to Chris.
The ceremony was at my friend’s in-law’s house which is beautiful. It was held outside by the pool and as we stood there watching and listening, Aiden decided to announce that he was hungry. So, during the entire ceremony he was signing and saying, “Eat! Eat!” I tried to quiet him, but he wouldn’t let up. Apparently the fact that it was lunch time was not being overlooked by him. He was hungry and he could not wait. Fortunately the ceremony was short and we were able to feed him. Whew!
It was so nice to visit with my friend and meet her daughter finally. She is a cutie pie (the daughter, not my friend. Not that my frined isn’t cute, actually I would consider her to be pretty, but I was always the cute one of the group. But I digress). Aiden got quite a bit of attention with his blue eyes, curly blond hair and adorable wide-stance walk as he chased their Daschund around. The poor dog couldn’t get out of the door fast enough! We stayed as late as Aiden would let us, although we did want to join the croquet game that was starting as we were on our way out. Catching up with friends is much harder when you have a little one in tow.
As we were there, I did notice how different our parenting styles were. I needed to know where my child was and who was with him if I wasn’t. My friend felt that since there were so many responsible adults around that her daughter was most likely being watched by one of them. I guess I’m not that trusting, even if it was my own family. I know “it takes a village,” but I’m not sure I’m ready to just let the village take over. Too much of a control freak, maybe. I know I will have to let go eventually, but I’m just not ready yet.
Our friends wanted us to stay so we didn’t have to go back to a lonely hotel room while Aiden went to bed early. We left anyway, saying that since Aiden wasn’t feeling well we should let him get some rest. Secretly, we were happy to have the time in the room by ourselves. We were able to put Aiden in the bedroom and close the door. We talked and watched movies and did things we don’t normally do at home because there are just too many things to clean, put away, etc. It was heaven!
Off to bed so we can get up and out tomorrow. I wish we could stay longer, but I am glad to be leaving before the traffic hits on Monday.
May 27th, 2006
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