Two Weeks Back East - Part One

So I'm currently on vacation with the Stewarts. We have visited NY, NJ, PA, and the D.C. area. Here's a breakdown of what's been going on:

Wednesday, July 25th:

Today Ruth and I went into NYC. We went to a session at the Manhattan Temple (I know, wild and crazy fun in NY). We also went shopping, got make-overs at Macy's, went to dinner, and saw a Broadway play (The Color Purple). Loads of fun!! It was an exhausting day. We calculated that we walked over 100 blocks.

Ruth and Me at dinner in Manhattan

Us (more Ruth than me) acting ridiculously silly.

Thursday, July 26th:

Today we traveled from NJ to Pennsylvania. Nothing too exciting, but I did discover that Ryan had TiVoed the entire season of Heroes. I was super happy about this because I've been wanting to watch it since it started, but I didn't have time to add it to my TV watching schedule while it was airing. Now I'll be able to catch up with season one and start TiVoing season two this fall. (Sidenote: Ryan is super geeky when it comes to Heroes. In fact, he's an administer on the Heroes Wiki website. I refer to it as his non-paid job).

Friday, July 27th:

Today we took the boys to the movies. The movie theatre by Ruth and Ryan has free movies for kids. The movies are a little old, but the kids don't know that. We saw Charlotte's Web. Later that night we went to dinner at the Mastracola's home. The Matracola's are in Ruth and Ryan's ward and are pretty good friends with them. They live on a great old farm house!! It's very cool. They raise chickens and have horses. Plus, they have an amazing covered porch. We ate dinner there and watched the lightening bugs light up the corn fields. (It reminded me of Signs). Camie also showed up this night to spend the night with us.

Saturday, July 28th:

Today Camie took me home with her (Yep, a day with weekend dad). Camie now lives in Virginia (She's turned from a hater to a lover. For a better description regarding her transformation, click HERE). While we were in VA we went to my old stomping grounds - Alexandria, VA. We went to King Street to hang out and have dinner. We ate at a fantastic Greek Restaurant, Taverna Cretekou. I had Moussaka and for dessert I had yogurt with honey, apricots, and walnuts. DELICIOUS!! I'm glad I went to Virginia/D.C. with her. It reminded me of the reasons why I loved living/working there and why I hated it.

Sunday, July 29th:
Today I went to church with Camie. I then hooked back up with Ruth and Ryan (they had also come down to the area to see friends and family). We headed back to PA and watched more episodes of Heroes.

Monday, July 30th:
Today was a fantastic day. Ruth and I had an all girl's day. We went shopping (I got great things!!), got pedicures, went to lunch, and to the movies. We saw 1408 - Very Creepy!!

Brief Break from Blogging

Good day to all my faithful readers,
I will be taking a brief break from blogging for the next few weeks. I am going out of town to visit my favorite family (that is besides my own), The Stewarts. Because of this, I will be focusing all of my energies into frivolity and merriment with them, not bemusing each of you.

East Coast - July 11th & 12th

Wednesday, July 11th:

On the 11th we flew into the Newark Airport, picked up our rental car, and drove to Syracuse, NY. When we landed in Newark, it had started to sprinkle rain, but within a few short minutes, we were in a monsoon-like storm. Check out the pictures:

Picking up our rental car - Notice all the rain.

I know this looks like a river, but it's the road!!

Thursday, July 12th:

On the 12th we drove to Niagara Falls. I had been to Niagara Falls before, but my parents never had. Although I drove to see the Falls in 2004 with some friends, we didn't do much but few the Falls. This time, my parents and I did loads of fun stuff while we were there. Here's a few pictures:

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls

My mom and me

(dry before getting too close to the Falls)

Decommissioned Ontario Power Generating Station

For more information, click HERE.

My dad and mom on the Maid of the Mist.

My mom and me on the Cave of Winds Tour.

At the base of the Falls.

My dad at the base of the Falls

(on the Cave of Winds Tour).

East Coast - July 13th

Friday, July 13th:
On the 13th we went to Palmyra to visit church history sites for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I had been to Palmyra twice before, but my parents never had. We also stayed to watch the Hill Cumorah Pageant - this was something I had never done before. It was quite impressive. To learn more about what to do and see in Palmyra, New York, click HERE.

Me at the Book of Mormon publishing site.

Me and my mom at the Palmyra Temple.

Me with my mom and dad in the Sacred Grove.

My mom and me chillin' out
(literally - it was quite cold).

East Coast - July 14th

Saturday, July 14th:
On the night of the 13th, we had stayed in Syracuse, NY. We woke up on July 14th and drove through upstate NY and Massachusetts to the Boston area. We didn't actually go into Boston, but we went to Concord. I love Concord. It is a picturesque town with beautiful country homes and tons of history. Here are a few pictures:

Me at the Minute Man National Historic Park. It was here that the American Revolution began. Ralph Waldo Emerson coined it, "the shot heard round the world." To read all of Emerson's Concord Hymn, click HERE.

The Wayside, Home of the Authors. This home was owned by the Alcott family and Nathanial Hawthorne. While the Alcott's lived there it was known as Hillside. Louisa May Alcott published here first novel from this home. Her novel, Little Women, is also based on her childhood growing up in Concord. Nathanial Hawthorne bought the home from the Alcott's and gave it the name Wayside. To learn more about the Wayside, click HERE.

My mom and I in front of Ralph Waldo Emerson's home. His home was just a short walk from the Wayside. To read more about Emerson and his home, click HERE.

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. I love cemeteries, especially old ones. This was a beautiful cemetery filled with headstones that were old and new, simple and elaborate. Below you will find the headstones of Nathanial Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, Henry Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

East Coast - July 15th & 16th

I went back east with my parents from July 11th - July 16th. It may seem kind of weird for a 29 year-old to travel with her parents, but for those of you who know my parents, you'll totally understand. We had loads of fun, as only the George's can. I'll be doing several posts over the next few days about our adventures. I'm actually going to start with our last two days:

Sunday, July 15th:
We stayed on the border of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. That morning we woke up and drove all the way through Rhode Island (since it's the smallest state, we were done by noon). We stopped on the way and did some antiquing (I didn't buy anything, but saw loads of cool stuff). We then went to my parents' favorite eating establishment in the world, the Nordic Lodge. Here for $70.00 you can eat all the seafood you want. And trust me, I did. I even ate two lobsters. Yep, TWO! Here are a few pictures.

Me on the deck of the Nordic Lodge.

Me with my Lobster, clam, and oyster!!

Monday, July 16th:
This was our travel day home. Nothing too exciting. We flew out of Newark and I finished reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Finally . . . Lake Powell Pictures

My home during the last week of June.

I finally decided to see what all this 'Harry Potter' nonsense was about.

Again, more reading.

Me eating breakfast.

Mindy, Remi, Christi, and Me playing cards.

Me and Christi getting our morning exercise.

Our afternoon relaxation.

On our way to the marina.

Steve, Jaustin, Makayla, and Me at the marina.

Chillin' with the boats.

Ready for fun!!

Warning

A warning for all my loyal readers - especially those who read at work. I have added music to automatically play on my blog (as I'm sure you've noticed). You can pause the music by pressing pause on the playlist which is located on the right-hand side of my blog. I can change this feature so that music won't automatically play unless you press play, but I kind of like that it automatically plays. Let me know what you think. Also, I will be changing the music selection every week or so, so stay tuned. For now I've listed some of my absolute favorites - some old stuff, some not-so-old stuff, but all of it is fantastic!!