March Vacation 2012

Indeed we did pick the right year to stay in CT for the month of March because we had temperature highs in the 70s and 80s all week! Megan and I even enjoyed a run through the garden sprinkler one day. The weather also cooperated for our yard projects, the biggest of which was to remove our storm damaged tree - TIMBER! Christina and I experienced quite a thrill as we felled the 30' plus swamp Maple?, just missing the deck of the house and barely nicking Megan's playset. Good thing for youtube, where we learned the proper procedure. Ryan came over to help the next day with cutting up the wood which we transported to former neighbor Bill, just down the road. We're looking at a possible second tree to take down in the near future. By the way, thanks for the chainsaw Nonni!

We enjoyed trips with Megan to the Yankee Candle Company Store and Magic Wings Butterfly conservatory in Deerfield, MA as well as a return trip to the Harkness Park in Waterford, CT to enjoy the ocean on such a beautiful warm spring day.

Our weekend ended with a trip to the CT Science Center with friends Jen, Chris, Jackson, and Lilah, as well as with Uncle Ryan and Johnny.

August Vacation - Storyland, New Hampshire

Although Megan's visit to the dentist for fillings did not work out (she curled up into a ball for fear of the dentist), we still were able to enjoy a couple of days away in Maine and New Hampshire. We visited Storyland in North Conway, NH. We were very pleased both with Storyland (a very clean, well-kept, accomodating, age appropriate theme park based on fairy tales) and well as the town of North Conway (a bustling town center in the White mountains with a scenic operating train station, ornate New England hotel resorts, interesting shops, outlet stores, and quick access to mountain recreation). It is a place for all seasons and all people (bikers, college students, parents, kids, business people, and outdoor enthusiasts alike). We stopped in Maine for lunch on the way up and back to break up the 4 hour drive. The scenery was quite impressive in the White mountains. Before we left, we took a 30 min hike in the national forest to a waterfall of cold Attitash mountain snow melt cascading down over granite ledges that were smoothed over from ages of wear. Megan enjoyed dipping her feet in the clear, cold pools of water.

Ogunquit Vacation

We left on Sunday for Ogunquit for our annual vacation in Maine. We had a nice day of outlet shopping and picked up groceries for the week ahead. On the way up we drove through some of the tornado damage in Sturbridge, Massachussetts. The small part of the damage we saw included one of those scaffolded, overhanging highway signs which was pushed off the highway in a crumpled heap and a swath of trees broken in half as though a lawn mower cut a clear path through them. It was shocking and too close for comfort.

On Monday, we spent time on the beach in our cabana, now that I know how to assemble it (see my first ever post where I failed to put it together on a hot beach in Ocean City, Maryland). In the afternoon, on our walk of the Marginal Way, we ran into a couple of friends of mine from working at Vincent's Pharmacy. They (Lin, Nancy, Paul, and Robert) joined us on our walk to Perkin's Cove where we had dinner at the Oarweed. Megan particularly enjoyed the company of daddy's work friends.

On Tuesday, we met my friends for breakfast at Cafe Amore for a delicious meal. It was nice to have our monthly breakfast at such a beautiful location (often we convene at Mitchell's in Vernon). We then set out for a visit of York's Wild Kingdom Zoo. Later, we walked short sands shops and played on the playground. We finished up with a trip to Nubble Lighthouse to where Megan distinctly remembers as "family rock" for a photo opp.

Wednesday was a day long beach day. We really lucked out with the weather this year. No rain, warm sunny skies. Megan enjoyed jumping the waves and wading in the warmer tidal pools. The clam shells were plentiful for collecting and drawing on back at the room. We had to hit Brown's Old Fashion Ice Cream even though we had to wake Megan from her nap. At night, Megan, mommy, and daddy swam in the pool. Megan can now swim the short length of the pool by herself with swim floats on her arms. This will be good practice for swim class which we will restart on Saturday.

Thursday morning was a scortcher. We left for home without much delay to keep cool in the air conditioned car and to retrieve Bailey from GiGi and PopPop (Megan missed Bailey the most, realizing that her food she dropped from the table wasn't eaten on vacation).

Realizing the enjoyment of having company on vacation, we hope to bring friends up with us next year...

Florida Vacation

We picked the right year to return to St. Pete's Beach to enjoy the warm weather and visit GiGi and PopPop in Florida. Escaping the record snow fall at home and missing last year's cooler temps in Florida, we lucked out. Megan enjoyed herself and was obviously able to do more than 2 years ago when she was only 1 year old. Now, she walks everywhere (minimal stroller use, sand doesn't bother her feet, less riding on daddy's sore shoulders). Here's a breakdown of the week's activities:

Sunday: We arrive around noonish and make our first stop at GiGi and PopPop's for a lunch that they had waiting for us: Megan's favorite: fresh strawberries and blackberries, sandwiches, pickles, etc. We sat at the table with a welcome breeze of fresh air and relaxed. GiGi and PopPop took us for a walk around their large community. We then left to check in and shop for groceries for the week.

Monday: We revisited the Lowry Park Zoo to see what we didn't have time for last time. Megan did great with walking, but we also rented a stroller for her needed rest also. We ate at a fine family restaurant with a view of giraffes, elephants, zebras, etc.

Next, she was so brave, she fed a giraffe out of her hand, rode a camel with daddy, and rode her first rollercoaster with daddy! Can you guess which event scared her to tears?

Tuesday: Another warm, sunny day so we spent the morning at the beach, then took a drive to the shops at John's Pass. We ate at Hooter's for lunch, watched the pelicans dive for fish and the dolphins play near the boats. I made a stop at the Spice store to pick up some goodies: a madagascar vanilla bean, some coconut sugar, sassparilla root, and pesto mix. Megan picked out some beach toys.

Next, we went further north to Tarpon Springs - a cute greek village where they dive for sponges and make olive oil soaps. We ate a greek dinner and got treats at the greek bakery. I learned that real greek salads have potato salad at the bottom and are delicious.

We spent the night at our pool where Megan swam with mommy, then used her inflatable arm swimmies to swim by herself for the first time!

Wednesday: Another warm, sunny day- we spent more time at our pool - Megan loved swimming. We took a drive to the St. Petersburg pier (not too eventful), so we returned to the beach at our hotel.

Thursday: Morning thunderstorms. Did laundry and dishes. Went back to visit Gigi and PopPop. They took us to the botanical gardens and then to Savory's restaurant for dinner.

Friday: One last goodbye to our beach. We revisited GiGi and PopPops to say goodbye until the end of April. We then ventured into the city of Tampa. We headed to the Glazer children's museum for a few hours. Being by the riverwalk and an outdoor ampitheater/park, Megan enjoyed playing in the warm sun, playground, and fountains again.

Saturday: Nonni and Papa returned to our house with Bailey, who Megan missed very much.

Now that we are unpacked, we can figure out how to display all of the beautiful shells that we collected at the beach. We are happy to see almost all of the snow gone here in CT, however we are also anxious to plan a return trip to Florida soon (Megan did very well on the plane)!

Fall Vacation in Delaware

For our fall vacation, we travelled approximately 900 miles in 3 days as we made a trip down to Grammy and Grampy's house in Bear, Delaware. On Monday, we dropped Bailey off at the Turley's and began our trip toward NY where Grammy and Grampy came up to meet us at the Bronx Zoo. Megan's second trip to the zoo included the new Dora the Explorer 4D Adventure. I went to the US Open tennis tournament for the 3rd time in the last 4 years. That night, we proceeded to Delaware.

The next day, Christina and I visited Philadelphia's Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and Reading Terminal Market. Megan made a trip with Grammy, Grampy, and Rosemary to the Please Touch Museum in Philly. That night we ate dinner at Jamie and Steph's and got to see Rhys.

On Wednesday, we went to Camden, NJ for the Aquarium, but Megan fizzled after her second Dora 4D adventure and we realized that the travel was making us weary. Late that afternoon, we headed home, got Bailey, and made it home happy to be out of the car.

It was nice to see everyone and to see Philly. Megan loved playing with Rosemary at the Touch Museum.

Maine Vacation 2010

We were lucky to have 3 straight days of sunny weather to enjoy the beach in Maine for our yearly vacation there. Thanks to new found courage (probably from gymnastics classes), Megan wanted me to take her climbing over the rocky cliffs to the edge of the sea. Christina watched on nervously from the Marginal Way. Megan liked having snacks on her Dora the Explorer beach blanket, calling it a "picnic". We also visited the York Wild Kingdom Zoo. Megan enjoyed feeding the goats, deer, and ducks.

What we did on our March vacation

It was a tough decision not to go down to Florida again this year to visit GiGi and PopPop. We wanted to save a little money since we've spent so much on the house lately. So, we missed them and sacrificed our rest and relaxation. However, we also had a project in mind and the weather really cooperated, and so... we now have a PLAYSET! It took 4 full days worth of work and help from our parents. I also had bronchitis all week, but I'm glad it's done. Megan seems to appreciate it - she is very active and needs a place to spend her energy.