At the beginning of June we took our annual trip driving up and down the East coast to Salisbury, Ct. Unlike all our previous trips it was summer. Bob’s parents live on a lake, and with this trip we were able to spend pretty much all of our time there.
And like last year’s trip, I would call it a lovely success. Just lovely.
Here are some pictures:
Zoe and Lucy walking down to the lake, armed with wetsuits and bread for the fish.
Lucy’s got a stick. Mount Everett, Mass. in the background. The place Bob grew up is not an ugly place.
One day we hiked to Campbell Falls in Mass. — absolutely beautiful place. Here, Zoe and Lucy are building a dam with their super cool cousins Val and Olie.
I’ve been feeling very un-photogenic for a while. But talented Bob fixed that — I’m not ashamed to tell you that I love this picture.
Zoe climbing out of a cavelike overhang at Campbell Falls. I love the color in this picture — the contrast between Zoe and everything else.
Lucy climbing on the rocks. Sweet.
+ + +
Now that we’ve finally figured out that we should visit Bob’s parents in the summer instead of Christmas, I might even go so far as to say that this is becoming a trip we’re {gulp} enjoying! We stop at a great little unheard of Zoo on our way up. Baby animals galore this time — baby giraffes, baby goats, baby bears (playing animatedly with a teddy bear), baby lemurs, baby camels, etc. Last time we stopped there, we saw two white tiger cubs. This time, we saw two white tiger teenagers. It’s a great place and a perfect road stop. Way better than Cracker Barrel.
The other highlight of the trip was Bob’s high school reunion. His expectations were extremely low, which left room for him to thoroughly enjoy himself, far beyond his expectations. It was a weekend-long affair and he went alone one night and I joined him one night. I even had a great time, and Bob went to an all-boys high school. This leaves us both looking very forward to my reunion this fall. Who knew?
And as usual, no East coast trip would be complete for us without a stop in Arlington, VA, at the home of the world’s best hosts, the Brunsvos. We ended up spending the night this time, so our kids got to play together from about 5pm until 10pm and then again the next morning. It still wasn’t enough. We could probably enjoy ourselves there for about a month before any of us felt ready to go. And since we’ll be taking this trip from now until the end of time, I hope they never move.
Because we spent the night in DC, we didn’t pass through Durham at 2 in the morning. Instead we hit Durham at lunchtime, so we snuck in and ate at our beloved Elmo’s and had dessert at the sublime Locopops. The highlight of that quick visit was getting to meet sweet little Anna for the first time.
And for the week after we got home, Lucy and Zoe were suffering from trip hangover. Too many nights in a row of staying up a little past their bedtime, lots of road.
But then! Just in the nick of time! Day camp started!
Stay tuned. I know you’re on the edge of your seat.
damn, those are cute wetsuits.
on another note, i hate to be the bearer of bad news, but…that baby giraffe you’ve been visiting is just a plaster statue. sorry.
I love the shot on the dock. There is something so quintessentially summer about that. It is the kind of picture that the girls will look at as adults and remember being kids on summer vacation.
Great photos. I can’t imagine taking a drive that long with two children. What are your secrets for survival?
Beautiful photos! The one of you should be in a contest. The one on the dock should be in a book. And I love how Lucy and Zoe are always holding hands. Love it.
that’s just it, LHM. the goal is survival — nothing more.
once your standards are that low, we find just about anything that keep the peace goes. new things are grand, too. new books, new markers, new audio books (this year i tapped into podcasts for kids — people reading stories to my kids? for free? um, yes please), and of course new movies. we don’t have a dvd player in the car, but we rig up our laptop and it works just dandy.
also for the big first day push where we drive from nc to ct in one day, we pack and eat lunch in the car, but dinner at a restaurant. then, after dinner, we run ’em. (have races outside the restaurant, window “shop” etc. anything to stretch their legs.) then pajamas. then back in the car for the final leg.
Looks like a really great trip! The girls look so grown up!! The lake looks beautiful! Sounds like the beginning of a yearly cherished tradition at the Smithwicks. Sweet!!!