Another month of my sabbatical has flown by. We spent 3 weeks during this month on an awesome road trip. Before Covid, every summer for years we would take a road trip, some longer than others, but always something we looked forward to. There is something about driving, the places you get to visit along the way, the things you get to see… I love it.
We left Nova Scotia and spent 2 hotel nights making our way to Paterson, New Jersey. It is considered a suburb of New York City. We found an AirBNB house that was large enough for our family and for the Fisher family to join us a few days later. We had been to New York City a couple of times, but we wanted to give the Fisher’s a whirlwind tour, so we took the train in and showed them the highlights.
The next day was Broadway. This was a Memory Christmas give that the girls received from us and I was so excited to finally attend my first show. We went to see Chicago. The acting, dancing, singing, etc. was amazing. I could go see a play every time we pass through.
After a few busy city days, we parted ways with the Fisher’s and we made our way to Martinsburg, West Virginia. It was our first time in this area and wow, it was just what we needed. It was so beautiful, quiet and peaceful, but big enough that we had everything we needed. It was a great hub for our plans. It wasn’t very far from Washington, Baltimore, etc. It was kind of neat bouncing between States for our day trips. I could honestly live in that area, the Appalachians are amazing. I was able to visit one of my teammates and friends from work as well, she helped me with some of the planning for this part of the trip. It was so great to spend a day with her.
During our week in this area we explored the Luray Caverns, took the kids to the Washington Zoo, National Harbor, Berkeley Springs, Cacapon State Park, Harper’s Ferry and more. 4th of July passed while we were there and I was completely blown away by the amount of fireworks. I am so used to our Valley fireworks being under 10 minutes. The various fireworks there started around 7am and went until midnight. At one point I went outside for a long while and just looked around the sky. All of the area you could see and hear them. It was pretty awesome. Oakley didn’t agree at first, but adjusted fairly well that evening.
I honestly didn’t want the week to end, because it meant we would start venturing back and I really just wanted to stay in that area so much longer. There is something about being away from all the busyness of home. The kids always have lots of the go and so do we, so escaping all of that and just enjoying uninterrupted time together is my favorite part of vacation. Are we prefect? Heck no, but we really do love being together and I couldn’t be more thankful for that.
We made our way to the Hershey Pennsylvania area next. We met back up with the Fisher’s who were travelling back from visiting Sam’s parents in Delaware. We decided to visit the Baltimore Aquarium . We went many years ago, but none of the kids really remembered it and this would be Ezra’s first Aquarium. We also took the kids to Hershey Amusement & Water Park. This was a huge highlight. They had so much fun and I was super impressed with this park. Tons of rides and they mixed little kid rides all around the bigger rides, so it made it easy to keep everyone entertained. So many food options as well. We spent the whole day here.
Speaking of food, I love the options in the US. We have some fav treats and it was awesome to also try some new ones!
The last part of our trip was spent in New England. Sandy & Noah enjoyed the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. They had been wanting to see this for years, it just hadn’t worked out on previous trips. We went to the Franklin Park Zoo. We have gone here a few times in the past and the gorillas are always such a hit. We also ventured into the Boston Commons and the Frog Pond area. Caile also got to try the Levain Bakery, which had been on her wish list.
It was hard to leave New England. We had some things at home we needed to get back to. I felt like I didn’t have enough time there, but that just means we need to go back soon. I am beyond grateful for these weeks. We had amazing weather, so much sun and discovered some new places we hadn’t been. It had been so long since we were able to do this and I am excited to plan our next family trip.
I have less than a month left before I return to work. My nephews will be arriving tomorrow and I am looking forward to spending time with them. It has been almost 2 years since I have seen them and it will be great to see how much they have grown and changed. It will be great to have all the kids together for a few weeks. I hope these next few weeks move at a turtle pace. 🙂
I Dream of Summer 
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