S T E part 2.... it didn't kill me!
Well, I finished round two of my travels around the US this summer, and I seem to have returned to Huntsville unscathed. Our first stop was St. Augustine, FL where all 18 members of my dad's immediate family crammed into a beach house for the week. Not only did we not kill each other, we had a REALLY great time! We played in the waves, explored the old city, made crazy jewelry out of seashells, and even managed a few trips to the gym. We celebrated my dad's birthday with bubbles and crazy hats, and a few of us ventured to an alligator farm and a kayaking adventure. Dan was quite brave and joined me for this trip. Not only did he have to live with all of us, he had to meet the entire family. They all loved him, and I think he enjoyed himself too. whew!
From the beach, my mom, sister, and I, along with the nieces headed north to our farm in West Virginia. We stayed in the old yellow cabin on the river for a week and hung out with mom's family. The farm is a novelty in this century...no TV, internet, or cell phone reception for a week. It was awesome. We went swimming in the river, painted rocks, did crafts, hiked, had camp fires, and just chatted up the cousins. My cousin Jason came down and took us for rides on the four wheelers and fishing up at the pond. We all ate our weight in fresh produce and homemade pie, and my friend Lauren even made it out for a night!
After a week of rest in the hills, the girls all headed home to Alabama, and I flew to Washington to spend time with Dan's family. Dan's parents have a cabin on Lummi Island, just off the coast from Bellingham in Puget Sound. You have to take a little ferry to the island, and I must say it is a little distracting to drive onto a boat, but it was fun. I met his sister and nephews for the first time, and we had a great time just wandering around the island. We went to a little lake for swimming since the ocean is so cold, but we did at least wade and throw some rocks on the beach. :) We also took an excursion to Fairhaven, an artsy little town on the mainland, to shop and look around. I think my favorite part was sitting on the deck and looking across the water at Mt. Baker. It was just beautiful there.
Dan and I left Washington together to spend a few more days in Kansas before I returned to Huntsville. We did some normal date night things together like cooking dinner and going for dinner and a movie. It's still funny to me how novel a normal date night is for us. :) I also decided I needed to do at least one day this summer of Kansas tourism, so Dan took me to the WWI memorial and museum, where we strolled through the park and had great views of the city. Afterward we went to the River Market. It was established in the early 1900s, and continues as mostly a farmers' market. The coolest thing to me was how ethnically diverse the consumers were there. I heard many different langauges and admired native clothing from all over the world. Dan and I ate lunch and then picked out a bunch of produce to make a pasta dinner. It was fun and yummy. We also found some local wine and beer. :)
I'm now back in Huntsville after traveling for 33 straight days. This includes staying in seven different houses, ten different beds, and taking four different methods of transportation. Yes, I'm tired, but mostly I'm sad. I leave for Germany in a week, and that adventure will be completely exciting and consuming once I start it, but for now I just get to contemplate leaving my family, friends, and Dan. Again. sigh. I can't complain though. All in all, this summer has been quite the vacation. :)
This slide show is a compilation of pictures from all the trips mentioned. I narrowed it down from over 300 to less than thirty. Enjoy!
From the beach, my mom, sister, and I, along with the nieces headed north to our farm in West Virginia. We stayed in the old yellow cabin on the river for a week and hung out with mom's family. The farm is a novelty in this century...no TV, internet, or cell phone reception for a week. It was awesome. We went swimming in the river, painted rocks, did crafts, hiked, had camp fires, and just chatted up the cousins. My cousin Jason came down and took us for rides on the four wheelers and fishing up at the pond. We all ate our weight in fresh produce and homemade pie, and my friend Lauren even made it out for a night!
After a week of rest in the hills, the girls all headed home to Alabama, and I flew to Washington to spend time with Dan's family. Dan's parents have a cabin on Lummi Island, just off the coast from Bellingham in Puget Sound. You have to take a little ferry to the island, and I must say it is a little distracting to drive onto a boat, but it was fun. I met his sister and nephews for the first time, and we had a great time just wandering around the island. We went to a little lake for swimming since the ocean is so cold, but we did at least wade and throw some rocks on the beach. :) We also took an excursion to Fairhaven, an artsy little town on the mainland, to shop and look around. I think my favorite part was sitting on the deck and looking across the water at Mt. Baker. It was just beautiful there.
Dan and I left Washington together to spend a few more days in Kansas before I returned to Huntsville. We did some normal date night things together like cooking dinner and going for dinner and a movie. It's still funny to me how novel a normal date night is for us. :) I also decided I needed to do at least one day this summer of Kansas tourism, so Dan took me to the WWI memorial and museum, where we strolled through the park and had great views of the city. Afterward we went to the River Market. It was established in the early 1900s, and continues as mostly a farmers' market. The coolest thing to me was how ethnically diverse the consumers were there. I heard many different langauges and admired native clothing from all over the world. Dan and I ate lunch and then picked out a bunch of produce to make a pasta dinner. It was fun and yummy. We also found some local wine and beer. :)
I'm now back in Huntsville after traveling for 33 straight days. This includes staying in seven different houses, ten different beds, and taking four different methods of transportation. Yes, I'm tired, but mostly I'm sad. I leave for Germany in a week, and that adventure will be completely exciting and consuming once I start it, but for now I just get to contemplate leaving my family, friends, and Dan. Again. sigh. I can't complain though. All in all, this summer has been quite the vacation. :)
This slide show is a compilation of pictures from all the trips mentioned. I narrowed it down from over 300 to less than thirty. Enjoy!
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| Summer 2009 Slideshow |
posted by Claire | 10:47 AM
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