the best "day after Thanksgiving Day" sandwich since the day after Thanksgiving Day…

We left New York this morning as soon as we woke up, which was earlier than normal. I don’t think my parents cared for the city too much. I liked it, would like to see more of it someday.

I used to love tunnels. Now, if it’s a year before I see another tunnel, it will be too soon. There are tunnels in the Northeast like it’s nobody's business, unless it was someone’s business and they had a great connection with the government at the time the roads were being constructed. Here is a picture of a tunnel, somewhere in New Jersey or Delaware. I would hate to be behind an accident in one, and judging by the way they drive in them, there are probably quite a few.

And we’re officially in New Jersey.

Got a pretty good view of New York City from New Jersey.

I started driving right before the Delaware state line so state signs of Delaware and Maryland are courtesy of my mom.

We stopped in Baltimore at the Ravens stadium to take some pictures and get some souvenirs but couldn’t find an open store near by. Baltimore looks exactly like I thought it would, at least this side of town did.

Leaving Baltimore we drove to our hotel right outside of Washington DC. We freshened up a bit and headed to Café Phillips, a sandwich shop that makes the best “day after Thanksgiving Day” turkey sandwich ever. I think both my parents agree with that statement. From lunch we jumped back on the metro and rode to the Botanical Gardens, my favorite spot in Washington DC and one of the stops I was looking most forward to on this trip. It’s quiet and peaceful, and a great place to go just to have a moment to yourself. (Photo courtesy of my mom)

Plus flowers and greenery everywhere just makes it pretty.

Then we walked in front of the Capitol building.

And landed at the Museum of American History. To be honest the only part of the museum I was looking forward to was the pop culture/entertainment exhibit and I was slightly disappointed.

By this time, my parents were getting tired of walking so we hired a pedicab (aka, a guy riding a bicycle with a rickshaw on the back for us to ride in) to take us to the Korean War Memorial. I felt bad for the guy driving us around but man was he in shape. We then caught a taxi to take us to the red line on the metro and rode back to the hotel. Being in the metro reminded me of my internship and of reading Kurt Vonnegut on my way home from work. (Photo courtesy of my dad)

Tonight is officially our last night of vacation. Tomorrow we drive back home to Kentucky. It will be nice being back home. During this trip, I have definitely discovered some spots I would like to travel to again but we’ve run like crazy for the past week and it will be nice to rest. Tomorrow we drive through West Virginia and then home to Kentucky. Until tomorrow, good night!

the city never sleeps, better slip you an Ambien...

Wow. That is all I can say about today. We left Boston this morning in sunshine. The first sunshine we have seen all trip.  Oh, it felt so good!

Took a picture of the front of our hotel in the sunshine.

And of Boston.

Boston is a very pretty city, if only you didn't have to drive through all those tunnels to get there.

From Boston, we traveled East to Plymouth, MA, the birthplace of our nation.

There we saw Cape Cod; which is very pretty.

A replica of the Mayflower. That was actually the size of the original Mayflower. However, it didn't really land in Plymouth. It landed further out, the Mayflower was too big to come all the way into the harbor. I don't remember the whole story but it was very interesting and not like what we learned in elementary school.

Took a self-portrait in front of the Mayflower. Yes, I was there.

Then we saw the actual rock. Yes, this is Plymouth Rock. Today the rock sits to be about one fourth the original size. Too many tourists came over the years and chipped away pieces, plus the people of the town moved the rock around breaking it several times over. Now its guarded by a Greek Revival building and a wrought-iron fence.

From Plymouth, we drove West through Rhode Island. Note to Rhode Island, clear the greenery around your signs, you can't read what the exits are if they're covered by trees, and then you end up missing an exit.

Rhode Island was a short drive. Probably because it's the smallest state in the US. Then it was to Connecticut. State sign shot through the windshield.

In Connecticut we stopped at a hatter in New Haven so my dad could get his hat looked at and his head measured. Little known fact to me, the hatter was just a few blocks from Yale University. I saw Yale today!

Then we were off to New York!!! Surprisingly the traffic wasn't as bad as Boston.

We found our hotel rather quickly (our room is three floors up, above a subway line, we can hear the subway), then went walking around. Went to Times Square.

Took a video of Times Square. Went a little too quick. Sorry. My camera battery was dying.

Walked down Broadway a bit and bought some souvenirs. Grabbed dinner at Famiglia. It's a pizza place that has pretty good pizza.

It was about time now to come back to the hotel and get ready to go see Wicked!! We got dressed to the nines and walked two blocks to the theater. This is a picture of the set prior to the beginning.

And sat in out seats!! (My dad wasn't really sleeping, just caught the picture at a bad time and he wasn't game for another try.) That play was A-MAZING!!!!! I would see it again in a heartbeat. Except next time I would go for near front row seats and pay the $250 a seat for them.

We got back to the hotel kind of late for the night. And now I'm settling in to fall asleep to police sirens and taxi horns. Tomorrow we are headed to Baltimore to see the Ravens stadium, and maybe track down Charm City Cakes, and then to Washington DC.

do you like apples? how do you like them apples...

Today started out with some slight sleeping in. Sleeping to the sound of waves became listening to the sound of rain at some point in the night, relaxing nevertheless. We had breakfast at the hotel again, and while it was still raining, loaded the car to leave. We left Kennebunkport at 10am and headed to Boston; we had a Red Sox game to catch at 1:35pm and planned for traffic. 

On our way down we finally saw a Welcome to New Hampshire sign. I guess you have slightly redeemed yourself New Hampshire.

We also saw a welcome sign for Massachusetts but due to the rain, was slightly late taking it.

We got 8 miles outside of Boston when the traffic hit. After what felt like 30 minutes we made it to smooth sailing traffic. The last 6 miles or so turned out to be nothing but endless tunnels. How we found our way through those tunnels, I have no idea.

But we did, making it to the hotel with just enough time to walk around the corner to Fenway Park!

Bought a shirt so I could fit in with the crowd. Got 2 hot dogs, 1 french fry, 3 drinks, and peanuts, all for $31, and we were now ready for the first pitch.

We had pretty good seats (minus the pole).

And there was a huge crowd for a 1:35pm game on a Wednesday.

This was the first time I’ve watched a Red Sox game and there is something to be said about their fans. Just the aura in that stadium was amazing. 

The Red Sox ended up winning 5 to 3 against the Mariners.

After the game, we finally checked into the hotel, which is pretty much amazing!

We had a pretty good view too. Our luggage was brought up to our room and we freshened up. Then it was off to hail a taxi and go have dinner at Cheers.

Cheers was pretty cool, really crowded.

We sat in the portion of the bar that they redid to look like the Cheers set.

Then it was “hail a taxi” back to the hotel and spend the rest of the night in. I have to say, taxi drivers in Boston are somewhat scary. I wouldn’t want to drive in Boston with this traffic and the crazy taxi drivers. But overall I really like the feel of Boston. If I wasn't so afraid to drive here, it would be nice to explore the older parts of the town.

 

  Tomorrow we are going to see a little bit of history, Plymouth Rock, and Wicked on Broadway in New York, assuming we can find our way out of Boston.

but where does the tide go...

Today has been another relaxing day, exactly what vacation should be. I woke up this morning at 5:30, completely by chance. I deemed it either too early or not enough sunlight to get a decent sunrise picture and then went back to bed. A couple hours later I woke up for the day; it's amazing how different 7:00 am feels when it's a vacation day, not a work day. Got ready, then my mom and I made our way down to the hotel restaurant for a breakfast buffet. The buffet is normally $17 but because we are staying here, we got it for free, and boy was it good. 

While we ate, my dad went driving to find a cup of coffee and apparently found a really great place. He came to pick us up and we went driving up Ocean Avenue. Along the way, we stopped at "his" spot, it was a place filled with large boulders right on the beach.

 A video of the beach my dad found. Slightly windy but you can hear some waves. Watch the ducks, they're quite entertaining.

We accidentally came across George Bush Sr.'s vacation home. Notice the Texas flag flying out front. If I had a vacation home like that here, I'm pretty sure I would be here every June through August.

From there we decided to make our way back to the beach. This message is for everyone we had to leave at home. "How I wish, wish you were here."

 The water was still so cold but felt amazing. My jeans got soaked, even though I rolled them up.

My dad and I walked the river lining and ran into a very angry bird. Didn't really want to walk past him, so we sat for a bit.

We stayed there and as the tide was getting higher, got splashed by the water hitting the rocks.

We left the beach and went on the hunt for coffee, stopping along the way in downtown Kennebunkport to buy taffy and fudge.

At this point it was getting time for lunch. My sister told me to check Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives for local restaurant. I did and found a small diner about 20 minutes away. We went and after a wait, sat at the table to try the award winning food.

My dad ordered some kind of lobster chowder and lobster roll, both of which he never had before. If only I had my camera the time he put his spoon in the bowl and pulled out some piece of lobster for his expression. He did offer to pose for me with a bit of his lobster.

We still hadn't seen a lighthouse yet but the nice lady in the diner gift store pointed us in the direction of one. Once we finally tracked it down, about another 30 minutes south, we got out of the car to take pictures. This is Nubble Lighthouse at Cape Neddick. The lighthouse was first illuminated in 1879.

I don't know what it was about that location but boy was it windy. I felt like I would blow right off that rock into the ocean. (You may want to turn down the volume on your computer for this one.) But yay for finally seeing a lighthouse!

We came back to the hotel full and slightly colder. One more trip to the beach before the nights end. This time around we saw a family making a giant sand sea turtle. It was very cute. Wore shorts this time around, still managed to get them soaked.

Sadly, the sailing trip never went out today, fear of an impending storm and too high of waves prevented it. However, the surprise lunch excursion and lighthouse was worth the day trip. Tomorrow we leave Kennebunkport, Maine and head to Boston where we shall watch a Red Sox game and dine at Cheers. Until then, one last night of listening to the waves roll in.