Baby's Travels...so far!

Well, a lot has happened since the last time I posted. Chiefly, I birthed an amazing and amazingly adorable baby girl and then moved cross country, FUN! Feel free to read slight sarcasm into that last statement, but really it wasn't all bad. The birth was actually completely painless and quick (unlike the two day road trip), because my little strong-willed diva was not turning for anyone, and decided breach was best, to which the doc and I agreed c-section was best. Oh, and please no comments on c-sections being terrible or any alternative things we could've tried before resorting to that procedure. I promise you we considered all options, and anything you say to rant otherwise about my choice will just read as "blah blah blah" to me, and will just make you look like an internet troll. You or your friend had some turning massage procedure (massage really is a misleading term for it in my opinion) to get your breach baby in proper position for natural birth? Congrats, but I really don't care.

Anyway, as I was saying, I had the cute kid and then moved her (with the help of my husband and parents, but no help from our two dogs), up to Virginia less than 6 weeks after having her. That's right, mother of the year here, but we had no choice in the matter really. We lived out of suitcases for about two weeks and then found a house. We are now all settled in and doing great. It all seems like a long time ago now. We've even vacationed up to Maine since then, took Bundles on her first sailing trip, etc. The kid has already been to no less than 10 states! She's an amazing road warrior, thank goodness. I told you guys that having a baby would not stop us from traveling. I do admit it's way more complicated now, and we definitely have no room to spare in our car with all our baby gear. On the upside, I've become a much lighter packer! Oh, and we haven't tried flying yet, but I think I'm going to wait for her to be on solid food and/or walking before we get that adventurous.

Well, this is my very little humble attempt at a travel blog, so here are my newest recommendations, based on our recent travels:

-Sleepy Hollow, NY, which is the one from the famous legend, and where it's author, Washington Irving, is buried (along with a bunch of other famous rich folks, like a Carnegie, Rockefeller, Elizabeth Arden, and so on).

The cemetery offers tours by appointment in the evenings (which would be fun, and more in depth), but you can also do a pretty good self guided one. They provide maps and such at the front office, but know that the map is not at all to scale, so locating things can be a bit tricky. Located inside the cemetery you will find the made for tourists (but fun for photo ops) Headless Horseman Bridge,

and the Old Dutch Church (original from Irving's time, still open for visitors and services, bring cash if you'd like to make an optional donation towards it's upkeep). Sleepy Hollow itself is a village, but the town is called Tarrytown, and it's a beautiful historic place in the Hudson River Valley that is worth the trip, with lots of interesting things to see. We loved it, and this was just an impromptu side trip on our way back from Maine that only took us 5 min off our route. It's a pretty drive, much nicer than I95. Like any place with a creepy history (real or fictional), I'm sure it's loads of fun around Halloween! In fact, I know they have a storyteller at the Old Dutch Church for the telling of the legend that time of year, but tickets are needed. When you go on a normal basis, at least when we were there, there was a man that either worked or volunteered who was very nice and gave us some history on the church. I found the info about the tulip style German made pulpit interesting (it's gorgeous), and the fact that the whole place is still only heated by an old wood burning stove that they light 3 days in advance of the Christmas service to get it 60 degrees F inside!

-Cape Elizabeth, ME, it's a really pretty place that's a little ways outside of Portland, ME.

You'll find the famous Two Lights park there, as well as beautiful homes and farms on your drive out. I highly recommend grabbing a bite to eat at The Lobster Shack there by the rocks and waves.

That is a real seagull perched on the shack, not decoration, lol.

They offer in or outdoor seating (depending on the season, obviously), but the food is delicious and you can't beat the view (except maybe at Portland Headlight, my personal favorite).  I do suggest going at an off time if you don't want to deal with the lunch rush. It's not uncommon for lines to be out the door, but they do have an outdoor intercom so you can hear your order number being called. Oh, parking is limited too, so another reason to go at an off time.

-Mt Vernon, VA, home of George Washington.

It's a massive property (but mind bogglingly only a small segment of the property he originally owned), and it's a great place to spend a day. I recommend taking the whole day so you can fully enjoy all it has to offer. Also, while it's largely an outdoor attraction, most things are stroller or handicap friendly with an indoor museum and exhibits. The tour of the house itself is the only thing not friendly to those on wheels, but there's an area where you can park the stroller for that bit. It's a lot of walking, sometimes on steep hills, but there is a tram at the bottom should you wish not to scale back up on foot. That being said, I strongly suggest going in the Fall or Spring. They also offer various dining options and gift shops. There's a fee to enter, that is reasonable, but I suggest getting the annual pass if you are in the position to visit regularly (it pays for itself in two visits, but be ready to have a pic taken). They are open 365 days a year.




Where we live there is so much to see and do that I'm sure I'll be making more posts in the not too distant future, especially with Autumn approaching and the weather being so nice for venturing out. In the meantime, enjoy, and feel free to leave a pleasant comment when you visit this blog! :) I love suggestions on new places to see, or to know what you think of our adventures so far (unless you think they stink, then just keep it to yourself, bud).

Oh, the places WE will see!

Well, I'm not a huge fan of over sharing info on the interwebs, but I am one excited momma-to-be!!! :)  I'm not going to lie though, it's been a rough few months, so far, full of : morning sickness lasting well past that fabled first trimester stopping point, a strong hatred for prenatal vitamins, lots of top knot hair styles (thank God that is a trend right now), and various other unpleasant side effects. Any mother will tell you it's all worth it in the end (even though you feel like smacking them when you're going through it), and they're right, but until you are about halfway through a pregnancy it doesn't feel that way. You know you're growing a child, and you're happy that it will result in a cute baby in 9 months, but for me the excitement didn't kick in as much until we found out the gender. My husband and I seriously didn't care if we were having a boy or girl, but finding out one way or another makes everything very real. You can put a name to the growing bundle, and start making more customized plans. We recently found out we'll be the proud new parents of a precious baby girl!! :) I've gone a little nuts on Pinterest, all our registries, and have already ordered nursery bedding and purchased a bunch of cute little outfits and such, lol. It's so much fun! We picked out a name, too, which was really hard to do for a girl, but for some anonymity I'll just refer to her as "A." Rest assured that it is not on a top 10 list, or the name of a fruit, veggie, flower, or color. We think she'll be happy with our choice, and friends/family seem to approve.

Anyway, getting to the travel part of the post....

I know a lot of parents who seem to think that becoming a parent means you are held hostage for a while, so to speak, because traveling with an infant or little one seems like too much hassle. I can't tell you how many people have told me that we should get all our traveling in before the baby gets here. I definitely understand where they are coming from, because I'm sure it makes traveling much more complicated, but it doesn't mean it's impossible. Even though the baby isn't here yet (so I'm perhaps being a little overly optimistic or naive), I have a belief that most things are what you make them. If we make a good plan for traveling with  A, then I don't think it'll be that challenging. I also don't plan on any overseas ventures with her for a while, but you never know! Being military, we could end up with Germany or something as our next duty station, so it's not out of the question! My own mother and father traveled literally halfway around the world with a tween, toddler, and infant when we moved from Japan to Puerto Rico. One seems daunting, but 3... props to my mom, she's one tough lady! That being said, it seems smart to stick to stateside travel for awhile, and in our case it's pretty inevitable, since we'll be due to move not long after she's born.

I still have a lot of places to check off the travel list (stateside and internationally), so I thought I'd post a list of them for the new year, and new baby:

-Asheville, NC
-FL Keys
-Chicago, IL
-Colorado Springs, CO
-Big Sur, CA
-Mystic, CT
-Vermont
-New Hampshire
-Rhode Island
-Portland, OR
-Canada (Quebec, Montreal, Vancouver, Prince Edward Island)
-Scotland
-Ireland
- more of England
-France
-Coppenhagan, Denmark
-Germany
-Amsterdam, Netherlands

Really, there are far too many to list, but, with any luck, maybe I'll be able to cross a few off my list this year, and give my daughter a few pins she can put on her map. I look forward to the challenge and excitement (even if someone has to remind me I said this later when I'm complaining about having to change a poop filled diaper in the beige cloth interior of our car, or an airplane bathroom).

The Mile High City (and surrounding areas)

Since living in Kansas, my husband and I have taken two trips out to Colorado. We definitely wish we had a chance to get out that way more often, but both times we've managed to make the most of it. This past trip was over the Christmas break (2011, since I'm just getting around to posting this is in 2013, lol), and we found ourselves at various locations, such as: Denver, Boulder, Frisco, Dillon, Copper Mountain, Vail, Beaver Creek, and Keystone. I was guilty, yet again, of not taking many pics, so I'm just going to give you my take on the highlights of each location, and then you can find the websites for each place that include lovely professional pics, okay? Good. : )


Boulder:
It's a fun city, and you definitely need to visit Pearl Street. Yes, there are many tourist shops selling the silly, "This whole city is high!" tees, homeless people, and plenty of street performers (my personal fav being the super flexible yoga man, because how on earth?), but there are also some restaurants, and shops not to be missed. One of my favorite shops is a place called Goldmine Vintage. It sells a little bit of new, and a lot of old, clothing. They also have a lot of fun jewelry and eccentric doodads. The prices, unlike most shops, are super reasonable, if not downright cheap. The staff is also very friendly and helpful, which is a plus in my book. The great places to eat are too many to name, but there is an awesome brewery that serves baked potatoes the size of your head, and tasty beer.

Other places not to miss in the Boulder area (and we've had limited time there, so I'm sure I'm leaving out a lot) include: Various hiking trails through the Flat Irons (bring bear mace for the mountain lions or keep a good eye out), Le Peep for an amazing omelette, crepe, mimosa, some breakfast potatoes, or a cup of coffee, the Planitarium that often hosts fun light shows to music, a Celestial Seasonings tour, and a farmers market (pick one, there are plenty).

Frisco:
This is quite possibly the cutest town that has ever exsisted in the Rockies. It's small and charming, has a delightful little Main Street, and it's about 20 min to any of the big name ski areas. It is the perfect place to stay if you are wanting to ski but don't have the cash to fork over to the resorts. In fact, we rented a place from a site called Airbnb, and a super nice guy named Jason Berman. It was a great deal, and had everything we needed (two bedrooms, two bathrooms, fireplace, cozy/clean decor, kitchen, garage, grill, nice view, hot tub access and a central location), all for $150 a night during high season (his rates may vary, and he's done updates to the property since our stay)!!! Technically, it's in Dillion, but you're equal ways between the two, and we always got off the interstate at Frisco. They have a great little nordic center in Frisco (for tubing, snowshoeing, etc), their downtown also has an interesting little set of musuems, free of charge, and a schedule of fun events throughout the year. We had a great time in this town, and it's way less congested than any of the more popular areas, so you feel like you've found a secret place to escape. Our favorite local place there to grab a bite to eat and drink was Ollie's Pub and Grub, but there is no shortage of places to grab a bite to eat, ranging from casual to fancy. A word to the wise: Make a reservation for dinner at most of the other places, because in a small town the seating can sometimes be hard to come by, especially around holidays. Locals are very friendly as well, so if you have a question, ask!

Dillon:
This is where you'll need to go if you want to shop an outlet mall, visit a brewery, or catch a movie, and it's a nice town to spend the day, or half a day, but we didn't spend too much time here, so my visitor info is limited.

As for all the ski resorts:

I was originally planning to review them individually, but really folks... a ski resort is a ski resort. Sure, Vail and Beaver Creek are definitely your high end areas, offering more shops and luxuries, even for those who don't ski/snowboard, etc., but you definitely pay for them (or look longingly at them through shop windows). We opted to ski/snowboard at the smaller ski areas like Copper Mountain (my favorite). The crowds are less, and they still offer the ski shops/views, and eateries, but for a much more affordable price. We decided just to visit the others for the day, but just as shoppers in the village areas. I'm sure the views from the top vary, so I understand the desire to ski all of them, but I'm with the toddlers on the bunny slope skill wise, so it's all the same to moi, lol.