Oh, the places you'll go
Well, where did we leave off? Let's see, the last post I updated on my acceptance to grad school and my decision to be unafraid and dive in wholeheartedly!! We had a lot of exciting plans too...
Since March...we did hit an Eric Church concert in Reading, PA. We love love Eric Church and his totally white boy moves. Great show.
We also had a fabulous weekend in New York City!! We went to celebrate the big 3-0. Hubs and I took the "Mega Bus" into and out of the city....we were too afraid to drive in NYC ourselves and more afraid of the parking fees at the hotel. The double deck-er Mega Bus was very middle school field trip reminiscent. It was really quite enjoyable, we didn't have to fight traffic, we didn't have to pay tolls, and we didn't have to make bathroom stops!
Stepping off the bus, not nearly as fun. We were dropped in the middle of NYC on a street corner which was so packed we could barely hold onto our bags to huddle in a corner and cringe. Now, as excited as I was, my excitement quickly dissipated. I was unable to figure out which way the subway was (because I was relying on my Siri who most assuredly got jipped on multiple functions I was told she'd have) and how to walk without someone running me over. Eventually, we found the subway (there's one on about every corner!) and we ventured down...which, again is hard with 40 lbs of luggage! Whilst staring at the very busy subway map trying to figure out which line would take us to the World Trade Center, where our hotel was located, we were approached by an entrepreneur.
By entrepreneur I mean homeless guy who said he'd tell us where to go if we gave him money and then followed us to every map near by.
Finally, a very nice stranger approached us and said, "You look like you need help." He was wearing a suit and did not ask for money. He had us follow him onto a train, told us where to jump ship, and where to get off again....this took us straight to our hotel!! Very nice. Apparently this guy gets made fun of by his friends and family for taking pity on New York City tourists, but we seriously appreciated this subway angel.
Our hotel was fabulous. We stayed at the Hilton Millennium, which I booked via Hotwire.com.....I would highly recommend this any time you travel! I was worried about "bidding" on a hotel, especially one in the Big Apple. I was not disappointed! I bid on a 3 1/2 star hotel for $160 a night, and got a 4 star hotel over looking the World Trade Center. I'm sure this is because it is still be erected and construction seems to be going non-stop, but from the 19th floor you can see it all and hear nothing! It was truly awe inspiring to see. Plus, the concierge was great with subway directions ;)
While in the Big Apple we caught an off broadway show in SoHo, stumbled upon a fabulous mexican restaurant right before, caught the lights of Time Square (which Hubs had never seen), had a fabulous Parisian dinner, took the Staten Island Ferry like real tourists, and spent hours upon hours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
What I learned from my New York City trip:
I love the city. I could live there for a while, I would only every wear flats or sneaks, I would spend hours in Central Park and the Met, and my husband would probably never live there with me!! The shear amount of bodies pushing to and fro constantly is something it would take a while to wrap my mind around. The metro I love! I love not driving or parking! There are millions, I swear, MILLIONS of places to eat and shop (which I am such a huge fan of eating that's a giant reason in itself to live in the City!) Next time I go, I will not go in my incredibly hot BCBG boots, I will go in my Mizunos, I will pack only a carry on, and I'll buy clothes there to wear the next day ;) We will go back.....eventually.
After New York we ventured the next weekend into Washington D.C. for the Cherry Blossom Festival. We were truly disappointed! Turns out the oh-so mild winter we were happy to enjoy (which was not that mild to Floridians just so you know) caused the Blossoms to bloom early....while we were in NYC!! We totally missed it! So we wandered around....and, eventually were rewarded for our roaming. We stumbled upon an area of maybe 6 cherry blossom trees in full bloom! It was worth the hike ;)
We went back to D.C. to visit Christopher and Abby for Easter. We were blessed with a beautiful day for exploring Arlington National Cemetery. A fabulous Easter dinner, where we learned for green bean casserole it's best to cook the green beans first, and good times with Abby and Christopher at Nordstrom Rack. Which, by the way, is the best place on earth; it's probably best for my marriage that there is not such a place any where near me now!
We spent a lot of our last few weeks at Susquehanna State Park, Gunpowder Falls, and Rock Seat Park. These places are beautiful. I cannot explain enough how gorgeous Maryland is. I am convinced only God could have created something so beautiful, and equally convinced I am not cut out for the cold weather enough to enjoy living there for a real winter.
Our last weekend in Maryland we trekked to Ocean City, Maryland and a beautiful place called Assateague National Seashore. Wow. First of all we were so impressed with both (minus the cloudy, windy weather on the shore) that we were literally depressed it was our last weekend in Maryland. Assateague is like Cumberland Island Georgia, only slightly larger and with tons of wild horses roaming and grazing everywhere! There are so many wild horses here that the state does a round up every summer and auctions the horses off (not to glue factories, to legit horse loving buyers). It's gorgeous, we cannot wait to go back and camp sometime there. Ocean City....a little different. It's like a Coney Island. Outstanding little board walk and a wonderful hideaway called Seacrets. At this Seacrets place in the summer you can float in the ocean on your raft/tube/whatever you'd like and the wait staff actually comes to you in the water. Unfortunately ,we were unable to partake in this experience being that even though it was a mild winter it's still about 60 degrees in late April.
So, between all these little trips we were taking we had to discuss where we were going to spend our next three months......Texas, Virginia, California?????
I was leaning heavily HEAVILY towards California....
Hubs was hoping for College Station to catch the very first Texas A&M vs Florida Game!!! Either would have been fun.
By now though, most of you have most assuredly realized we are not in either of those places.....we are back in Florida.
So at this point I suppose it's only right that I let you all know that hubs and I told a little bit of a fib.....well, a lot of a big fat lie really. We cut our travels short not due to the high taxes in California, or the long drive to Texas, nor was it really because of grad school.
We are back because home is where the heart is.
Since March...we did hit an Eric Church concert in Reading, PA. We love love Eric Church and his totally white boy moves. Great show.
We also had a fabulous weekend in New York City!! We went to celebrate the big 3-0. Hubs and I took the "Mega Bus" into and out of the city....we were too afraid to drive in NYC ourselves and more afraid of the parking fees at the hotel. The double deck-er Mega Bus was very middle school field trip reminiscent. It was really quite enjoyable, we didn't have to fight traffic, we didn't have to pay tolls, and we didn't have to make bathroom stops!
Stepping off the bus, not nearly as fun. We were dropped in the middle of NYC on a street corner which was so packed we could barely hold onto our bags to huddle in a corner and cringe. Now, as excited as I was, my excitement quickly dissipated. I was unable to figure out which way the subway was (because I was relying on my Siri who most assuredly got jipped on multiple functions I was told she'd have) and how to walk without someone running me over. Eventually, we found the subway (there's one on about every corner!) and we ventured down...which, again is hard with 40 lbs of luggage! Whilst staring at the very busy subway map trying to figure out which line would take us to the World Trade Center, where our hotel was located, we were approached by an entrepreneur.
By entrepreneur I mean homeless guy who said he'd tell us where to go if we gave him money and then followed us to every map near by.
Finally, a very nice stranger approached us and said, "You look like you need help." He was wearing a suit and did not ask for money. He had us follow him onto a train, told us where to jump ship, and where to get off again....this took us straight to our hotel!! Very nice. Apparently this guy gets made fun of by his friends and family for taking pity on New York City tourists, but we seriously appreciated this subway angel.
Our hotel was fabulous. We stayed at the Hilton Millennium, which I booked via Hotwire.com.....I would highly recommend this any time you travel! I was worried about "bidding" on a hotel, especially one in the Big Apple. I was not disappointed! I bid on a 3 1/2 star hotel for $160 a night, and got a 4 star hotel over looking the World Trade Center. I'm sure this is because it is still be erected and construction seems to be going non-stop, but from the 19th floor you can see it all and hear nothing! It was truly awe inspiring to see. Plus, the concierge was great with subway directions ;)
While in the Big Apple we caught an off broadway show in SoHo, stumbled upon a fabulous mexican restaurant right before, caught the lights of Time Square (which Hubs had never seen), had a fabulous Parisian dinner, took the Staten Island Ferry like real tourists, and spent hours upon hours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
What I learned from my New York City trip:
I love the city. I could live there for a while, I would only every wear flats or sneaks, I would spend hours in Central Park and the Met, and my husband would probably never live there with me!! The shear amount of bodies pushing to and fro constantly is something it would take a while to wrap my mind around. The metro I love! I love not driving or parking! There are millions, I swear, MILLIONS of places to eat and shop (which I am such a huge fan of eating that's a giant reason in itself to live in the City!) Next time I go, I will not go in my incredibly hot BCBG boots, I will go in my Mizunos, I will pack only a carry on, and I'll buy clothes there to wear the next day ;) We will go back.....eventually.
After New York we ventured the next weekend into Washington D.C. for the Cherry Blossom Festival. We were truly disappointed! Turns out the oh-so mild winter we were happy to enjoy (which was not that mild to Floridians just so you know) caused the Blossoms to bloom early....while we were in NYC!! We totally missed it! So we wandered around....and, eventually were rewarded for our roaming. We stumbled upon an area of maybe 6 cherry blossom trees in full bloom! It was worth the hike ;)
We went back to D.C. to visit Christopher and Abby for Easter. We were blessed with a beautiful day for exploring Arlington National Cemetery. A fabulous Easter dinner, where we learned for green bean casserole it's best to cook the green beans first, and good times with Abby and Christopher at Nordstrom Rack. Which, by the way, is the best place on earth; it's probably best for my marriage that there is not such a place any where near me now!
We spent a lot of our last few weeks at Susquehanna State Park, Gunpowder Falls, and Rock Seat Park. These places are beautiful. I cannot explain enough how gorgeous Maryland is. I am convinced only God could have created something so beautiful, and equally convinced I am not cut out for the cold weather enough to enjoy living there for a real winter.
Our last weekend in Maryland we trekked to Ocean City, Maryland and a beautiful place called Assateague National Seashore. Wow. First of all we were so impressed with both (minus the cloudy, windy weather on the shore) that we were literally depressed it was our last weekend in Maryland. Assateague is like Cumberland Island Georgia, only slightly larger and with tons of wild horses roaming and grazing everywhere! There are so many wild horses here that the state does a round up every summer and auctions the horses off (not to glue factories, to legit horse loving buyers). It's gorgeous, we cannot wait to go back and camp sometime there. Ocean City....a little different. It's like a Coney Island. Outstanding little board walk and a wonderful hideaway called Seacrets. At this Seacrets place in the summer you can float in the ocean on your raft/tube/whatever you'd like and the wait staff actually comes to you in the water. Unfortunately ,we were unable to partake in this experience being that even though it was a mild winter it's still about 60 degrees in late April.
So, between all these little trips we were taking we had to discuss where we were going to spend our next three months......Texas, Virginia, California?????
I was leaning heavily HEAVILY towards California....
Hubs was hoping for College Station to catch the very first Texas A&M vs Florida Game!!! Either would have been fun.
By now though, most of you have most assuredly realized we are not in either of those places.....we are back in Florida.
So at this point I suppose it's only right that I let you all know that hubs and I told a little bit of a fib.....well, a lot of a big fat lie really. We cut our travels short not due to the high taxes in California, or the long drive to Texas, nor was it really because of grad school.
We are back because home is where the heart is.
I knew it! I am so excited for you both. I noticed you were pinning nursery ideas on Pinterest. Now I know why. :) Congratulations
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