2007 Family Vacation: Day 6

Whew! This morning we packed everything up and met the wedding party and guests at ABC (The Atlantic Beach Club) for brunch. Brunch was buffet style and had all the normal breakfast items and also included a fish dish, salad, fruit, etc.

From Sightseeing a...

After the kids ate they went out to the beach for another look at the RI coast. Roger had some albums for Bob that we took and hid away in the van.



We said our good-byes to everyone, promissing to keep in touch once we got back to our busy lives. Jim and Diane took Bob and Gail to the airport to catch their flight at 2:30.

We left and went back to the little tourist stores to buy some souveniers. Since it was Sunday morning, there weren't many stores open. The kids got some little toys and shirts with RI on them. Kathy got a signed cookbook by a local artist - Behind Newport Doors: A Cookbook by Muriel Barclay de Tolly.

From Sightseeing a...

We drove around looking at the big houses on the coast before fueling up and heading to our second leg of the vacation - Cape May!

2007 Family Vacation: Day 5

Today is wedding day! We slept in this morning and really took it pretty easy all day. We went by the Hyatt to see "the gang" who were hanging out by the pool, eating seafood and sipping Coronas.

We went back to the room and began to get ready for the wedding. Everyone needed showers, so that took awhile. We got to the lighthouse at the Hyatt at 4:30, a half an hour before the ceremony.

From Before the We...

Despite the pervious days' forcasts of rain, the weather was perfect. A little windy, but what do you expect right on the coast?

The ceremony was very beautiful and touching. After the bride and groom kissed, I'm sure everyone's mind was on the reception!

From Chris and Rac...

The reception was also held in the hotel. We were assigned a table with some of the bride's family, but were right next to the dance floor. The kids really got into it, dancing with everyone in sight! It must have been the Shirley Temples and Roy Rogers they were drinking that go them going.

From Reception

Bob was doing real well, out on the dance floor with Gail and every other pretty bridesmaid he could find.

From Reception

At about 11:00 or so, we followed Bob and Gail up to their room to get some breakables to take home in the van so they wouldn't have to worry about them on the plane. We went back to the Days Inn and crashed.

2007 Family Vacation: Day 4

I got up early this morning (around 9:00) and got some Dunkin Donuts for the kids, picked up some milk and OJ at Shaw's and swung by Starbucks to get a couple Venti Mochas for Kathy and me.

We picked up Bob and Gail at the Hyatt around noon and drove them to the beaches and to Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge we saw the day before. As we were driving around, we noticed a castle-type building and followed the road to St. George's School. We drove around the campus until security started following us.

From St. George Sc...

On the way back, we stopped at the beach again and let the kids slosh around in the water. The water had to be 50 degrees! Freezing!



We decided to get something to eat, and Kathy noticed an ad in the Hyatt's map for a local brew pub just down the street from our hotel. Coddington Brewing Company had several tasty beers to go with our lunches. Even Kathy had one - the Blueberry Blonde. Wasn't bad, really.

After lunch we went to Walmart so Bob and Gail could get some munchies for their room. We bought an inflatable raft so Nicholas would be more comfortable on the floor.

We dropped Bob and Gail off around 4:30 and went back to the room to rest before the Rehersal Dinner at 7:00.

We got to Sardella's a little after 7:00 and saw Chris's brother, Todd and his wife Michelle for the first time in a few years. We found a table and mingled and ate appetizers for an hour. The girls were drinking Shirley Temples and Nicholas got hooked on Roy Rogers. All three kids found the other kids and were hanging out on the terrace.

From Rehersal Dinn...

Dinner was "family-style" and was served on a three tier platter. On the bottom was chicken with a red sauce, the middle had fish with a white sauce, and the top held cheese ravioli in an Alfredo sauce. It was really very good. At about 10:30, we took Bop and Gail back to the Hyatt, then went back to our hotel.

Tomorrow is the wedding and reception.

2007 Family Vacation: Day 3

Finally, a day not on the road for umpteen hours.

We woke up around 9:30 and all took showers - once the hot water started working and I got extra towels from the front desk.

We ventured out at 12:00 to get some brunch, but really looking for breakfast. Rebecca had her heart set on a cinnamon roll, but McyD's wasn't serving breakfast anoymore. We were planning to go to IHOP, but decided on a what I thought was a local dive called The Creamery. They weren't serving breakfast anymore either, so we compromised and let the kids (and Kathy) get a waffle w/ ice cream and a topping. I had the clam chowder in a boule. I had hoped it was "authentic New England clam chowder" but I think it came from a can. Still, it was OK.

From Goat Island, RI

From there we went to Goat Island where the wedding/reception will be - and where everyone else is staying. We found it in within 15 minutes and walked out on one of the docks (once we found a parking place that wasn't valet or restricted.

We went into the Hyatt to look around and ran into Diane, Jim, Chris and Rachel. Everyone introduced themselves and it was the first time Chris had met the girls and the first time we had met Rachel. The bride-to-be had a hair appointment, so we promised to get together for dinner and Chris told us where the "beach" was.

From RI National W...

We drove down the Newport coast and found two beaches, both charging $10 per car to park. Public beaches but private parking? Whatever. We kept on driving to the end of the road and came upon the Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge. We walked around and found this wonderful rocky point where the kids collected all kinds of stones (good thing we didn't fly).

From Newport, RI B...

We did stop at one of the beaches on the way back to the hotel so the kids could get their feet wet in the cold Atlantic for about 20 minutes.

We drove back to Days Inn where the kids catagorized their rocks and shells while Kathy and I took a 30 minute nap.

Bob and Gail's plane arrved on time and we went over the the Hyatt to meet them at 7:30. We decided to go to the Black Peal Tavern instead of Chris's suggestion of The Red Parrot because they were still waiting in line to be seated (they arrived at 7:15).

Jim treated us to dinner. Kathy and I both had the bluefish with bernaise sauce, while Nicholas had the bacon cheesburger (go figure) and the girls each had a grilled cheese and cup of tomato brisque. Chris, Rachel and a few of their friends came by at the end of dinner and we talked for awhile before getting back in the Hyatt's shuttle.

We went up to Bob and Gail's room for a 10 minute visit and came back to the hotel by 11:00.

Tomorrow we drive Bob and Gail around and have the rehersal dinner at 7:00.

More tomorrow night.

2007 Family Vacation: Day 2

From Day 2 - Misc

Destination:Days Inn, Middletown, RI 02842
Distance: 363 milies
Driving Time: 6 hrs. 27 min.
We knew when we left the hotel at 11:30 (on time really) that were were going to travel more miles than what we planned. A quick detour to Hershey, PA was in the agenda, but other than that we were going to wing it.

From Hershey, PA

We did get to Hershey, PA right at noon and went to Chocolate World for a free tour and some yummy samples (parking was free too!). We drove by the new, massive, Milton Hershey School which is still under construction. Back on the road by 1:15.

From Roadside America

On the way into New Jersey, we stopped at Roadside America, a tourist trap where a replica of "America" is constructed in miniatures and toy trains. Kinda neat inside. Very patriotic and leaned heavily on God's overseeing America's development. Very 50's.

It is interesting to note here, as I did to Kathy, the contract between Chocolate World and Roadside America. Hershey is very commercialized - an air of "Hershey is great, worship Hershey, make us richer.." Roadside America, while commercial in that it charged admission, it stopped there. The "city" was a labor of love and really focused on America's grit and patriotism.

From Byram, NJ

Kathy wanted to show the kids where she grew up in Byram, NJ, so we detoured 30 miles to go by her old house. When we got there, two people were standing out frot looking at the house. The street number had changed, so Kathy wasn't positive it was her old house. We pulled up to the curb and I asked if the house was for sale (hoping to get a tour), but the lady out front told us she and her husband purchased it a year ago and were planning on remodeling. We told her that Kathy grew up there 30 years ago. She offered to show us around, but Kathy declined. Too weird, she said.

We left New Jesey and drove straight through New York into Connecticut. Stopped in Stamford to find some snacks - bad move. Got a little lost in downtown Stamford. Added an hour to the trip. Ugh! Kathy did get a neat picture picture of a pair of signs that kinda spells my name.

From Day 2 - Misc

Got to the Days Inn at Rhode Island at 10:30. Checked in then got some McD's.

More tomorrow.

2007 Family Vacation: Day 1

From West Virginia

Destination:Days Inn-East/Airport, 800 S. Eisenhower Blvd., Middletown, PA 17057
Distance: 540 milies
Driving Time: 8hrs. 32 min.

Today was the first leg of our trip to Newport, RI to see Kathy's cousin's wedding. Ideally, we wanted to leave at 10:00 or 11:00 am which would ideally get us to the hotel at around 8:00 or 9:00 pm with stops to eat, bathrom, etc. True to the Norton spirit, we left at 1:30 pm in the 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan we rented.

With three kids, every rest area is a tourist attraction, so we stopped at (almost) each one. We got into West Virginia at 4:00 pm and stopped at the rest area to get a map and stretch. West Virginia speed limit is 70 mph, so we would have made really good time if there wasn't so much construction going on. Before we left WV, we stopped at a Subway and had dinner around 7:00 pm.

From Maryland

Crossed the border into Maryland around 8:00 pm. Stopped at the rest area, but the welcome center was closed. Stretched and left. Construction was heavy again. didn't make very good time.

Crossed into Pennsylvania at 9:30. No rest area because we were on a state road (US 220). We were supposed to go on US 220BR (Business Route), but road was closed. We backtracked 12 miles and finally made it to Pennsylvania Turnpike, where we were the only passenger vehicle on the road. More construction. Ugh!

Made it to the hotel at 12:00 am. We unpacked and are going to bed. Going to Hershey, PA tomorrow as a side trip before we end up in Newport, RI. Pictures and more blogging then.

In the Register

Made the paper today by receiving a $500 grant from a local company for a construction class at my school. See the highlighted story here or the original Richmond Register story here.