Since this was a trip for all of us, everyone got to have a say in what we saw and what we did. One of Tegan’s general requests was to visit animals. We weren’t able to make it to any zoos when we were in New York, so we decided to visit the little Zooquarium in Cape Cod. Fish, birds, zoo animals, and reptiles….. and the girl was happy.

We followed the zoo with another afternoon at the beach, a trip to Provincetown, more food (have I mentioned we’re doing a lot of eating??) and mudslides over a few rounds of a board game called A to Z.

Like the Path Less Taken on Facebook

Our desert kids took to the beach like.. well, like fish to water.

Like the Path Less Taken on Facebook

The last time we went to the Cape with Mike’s family was around 17 years ago. We were married but didn’t have any children yet (we were still very much kids ourselves), and both of Mike’s brothers were still teenagers.

This time we share it with our own four children, and his family’s families as well. 16 people in all. 8 adults, 8 kids, and one vacation house. The first day was spent continuing that eating, visiting, and catching up from yesterday. We also did a family portrait – all sixteen of us, the first time all together since we moved in 2005 – on the sand dunes. It went quickly and smoothly, even with the kids being… well, kids. There was more than one shot with the girl off to the side happily digging in the sand and/or flashing the camera.

Tomorrow, the beach!

Like the Path Less Taken on Facebook

We had just a three hour drive today, and for the second time this trip, we found the shorter ride to somehow feel longer than the lengthy, dozens-of-hours days. It wasn’t a bad trip by any means. Just… long. Lots of stops, lots of antsy-ness. It was with great relief that we started seeing the old familiar signs: Worcester, Weare, Brimfield, Warren, Palmer. We were almost there.. Spencer, Massachusetts, where Mike spent the first 18 years of his life, and where I spent 50% of my senior year weekends (the other half, he drove the 2 hours to see me in Alstead, NH)

We arrived mid-afternoon, and spent the rest of the day and evening eating, visiting, eating, catching up, and eating.

The best part of the day – besides the aforementioned visiting and eating – was watching Tegan and Ayla (3 and 4 years respectively) instantly playing like the very best of friends instead of what they really are: cousins who live on opposite sides of the country, who have only met each other twice in their lives.

Like the Path Less Taken on Facebook

Some of my greatest childhood memories are that of visiting my grandmother, aunt, uncle, and cousins in New York. We were there for Christmas every year, for graduations and weddings and family reunions. More than once I spent weeks with them in the summer. And even though I grew up hundreds of miles from where they live, seeing that house and that street again almost feels like seeing home.

It’s been nearly a decade since we’ve been there, and we received a warm and gracious welcome from everyone, including the four new little cousins we were meeting for the very first time. The visit was wonderful, but too short, and we all went to bed feeling happy, pampered, and content.

Like the Path Less Taken on Facebook

With the exception of Niagara Falls, we so far hadn’t really done much of the touristy thing. Today though, we were unabashed, card carrying tourists when we went to see the sights of the city. We did it right too, very possibly packing as much into one day as physically possible.

We rode the ferry to see the Statue of Libery and Ellis Island, both of which were very cool to see in person. We’d pre-purchased our tickets, and despite the websites warnings about the long lines for security and boarding, it all went smoothly and quickly. The only low point? Mike realized that he still had his pocket knife in his short’s pocket when we were standing in line to go through the airport-style scanner/x-ray security. Now he doesn’t have a pocket knife.

We also saw the Freedom Tower at Ground Zero, passed the United Nations, and drove through China Town. We went to FAO Schwartz, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, and Times Square. We walked through the M&M store.

We had lunch at the famous Katz Deli… both the place where the When Harry Met Sally “I’ll have what she’s having” scene was shot, and another Man Vs Food destination. A few items of note: It was literally the BEST pastrami sandwich I’ve ever eaten (this coming from a non-meat eater), it was our most expensive meal to date on this trip, and the food and the novelty of the experience was worth it. But don’t use the bathroom. Oh, and if you park on the street, be careful not to put your ticket upside down in your windshield, because you’ll get a $65 ticket. You won’t have to pay it though, because the meter maid will mistakenly enter the wrong state for your license plate and they won’t be able to find you. Shh.

The only thing we really skipped was the Empire State Building (too hazy to see anything).

We capped off the day with a very late dinner at Applebee’s, where we enjoyed food, wine, and laughs. The kids were exhausted, but held up very well, and continued to be the troopers they’ve been this entire trip. They are rock stars.

We were all glad that we’d gotten to experience the city (confiscated knives and rude strangers aside) It was a fun and exciting day, and when I close my eyes I still see the Statue of Liberty, crowded streets, and giant pastrami sandwiches.

Like the Path Less Taken on Facebook

Kaaterskill Falls

Local pizza.
Hiking.
Grilling.
Margaritas.
Good day.

Like the Path Less Taken on Facebook

Old Friends

Like the Path Less Taken on Facebook

A couple of truths about traveling: Some legs are going to take about 20 times longer than you anticipated; and even the closest of siblings are going to surpass a certain level of tolerance for each other after a long enough time within close quarters. Today we experienced both.

We headed for Niagara Falls from Fort Wayne, IN… a drive that our Trip Tik assured us was 6 hours, but one that ended up taking over 9. We left our hotel at 5:00 AM, so we were a tired bunch when we finally arrived.

The overwhelming opinion once we were there? Totally worth it.

Everett was a little bit nervous about the Maid of the Mist.  He doesn’t like storms, and wasn’t sure about the mist and wind he knew we’d experience once we were close to the falls.  But he wanted to try it, and was thrilled that we had, as were the rest of the kids.

Tegan got a little duck, appropriately equipped with his own Maid of the Mist raincoat, and our party abruptly slowed down by a factor of 100, while the duck walked, crawled, climbed, and rappelled around the park:

After we’d all enjoyed the falls, we stopped at another Man Vs Food restaurant called the Silo, which kept us more than tided over until our next stop in Saugerties (where we arrived just a few minutes before midnight)

Mike’s “holy trinity of ‘dude food.'”

The final few hours in the car were crazy ones, as we finished up what turned out to be another 19 hours on the road.   Tegan kept us amused, and on our toes, with her own never-ending stream of Teganisms.  Just a small sampling:

I just licked my baby.
Do you smell my fart?
I wish I could walk in the clouds.
Daddy, what color is Mommy?
Everett, your sister is getting very angry with you.
Where is my body?

We were all happy and relieved to finally reach our friends’ house and set up roots, even if just for a few days.

Like the Path Less Taken on Facebook

Today saw two more states:

A little bit more geocaching:

Lunch with friends in Champaign, IL:

And finally an evening meeting with more friends (from back home in Phoenix) in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

And I’m tired.  I was very nearly a walking zombie when I rolled myself out of the car at the park at 8:00.  A nice visit revitalized me, as did arriving to a reasonably comfortable hotel bed a few hours later.  The kids, also tired but possessing that Energizer ability to go go go, played hard and strong into the evening.   They are finally still, relaxing in front of a little Nick at Night.

Tomorrow morning (5:00 AM no less) starts a new leg of the trip, one that will see us staying put in one place for 4 whole nights, something we’re all looking forward to.

Like the Path Less Taken on Facebook