last summer, before i was hired for the school year we figured it would be a year of subbing and whatever else. so we decided that in order to have adequate time to plan and get excited we'd wait until the fall of 2014 when i wouldn't have a job anyway. we thought new england and the east in september or so sounded nice, plus we'd have less people to compete with. if, by chance, we had a child before then we told ourselves we'd still go. then i got hired and we thought i'd have that job until the kids finally came. we decided we still wanted to plan on going, but instead of going in the fall, we'd have to go in the summer. it was determined that we'd leave the week after school got out and go in early june while at least some people were still in school.
then of course there were some unexpected changes causing us to be unsure if we should postpone our trip to the fall or if we'd even go at all! everything was refundable except the airfare and if we didn't go we'd just use the tickets in another way. the only other thing we'd paid for was our statue of liberty tickets. about three weeks before we were scheduled to leave we decided for sure that we would be going and not to postpone - partially because will had found us such good rates on all our reservations and partially because we couldn't see the future to the fall because we still haven't found a crystal ball! this, along with the end of the school year, did make it hard to have the same kind of anticipation i am so fond of leading up to trips and big events, but i did my best!
so now, the moment we've all been waiting for! a series of posts about our trip so 1, we have it recorded, 2, we can tell about it in one place, and 3, you can all see how cute we are : ) (cute can be interpreted oh so many ways.... : ) just remember the humidity was through the roof! that and we didn't always get a ton of sleep...
day 1 - traveling!!
to oakland to chicago to baltimore to boston. yes, all in one day! one very long day!
the day before we left was a temple tuesday morning so i'd already woken up early (like 3:55). we did our last minute preparations and packing then went to bed excited and knowing we NEEDED to get rest, so naturally we had a hard time falling asleep. wednesday, june 4 my alarm went off at 2:42 am.... rise and shine, sleeping beauty! it's time for vacation!! we were on the road by 3:15. here's our first trip picture!
we were trying to document our multi-state day. if we were a little crazier we would have jaunted over to Pennsylvania also to make it a 9 state day, but we settled for an 8 state day. it looks like all our pictures for the first day were just out-the-window pictures of where we were... i don't know that it even crossed my mind to take a picture with us in it that first day! oops!
we drove to the oakland airport and things went smoothly with our long-term parking. though, when they have a "bus stop" outside, where else are we supposed to expect the shuttle bus to pick us up to take us to the airport?! a nice lady told us we'd be waiting a long time and where to go instead. check-in and security went smoothly as well and we were to the gate by 5:something for our 6:20 flight. the world looks good when you're up and at 'em early like that : )
we flew to chicago for a layover. since it was a "longer" flight they had "better" snacks, not just peanuts and pretzels. so that entertained us : ) they had cheese filled ritz cracker packs, fancy wheat thins, and little "cookie crisp" things that were really just like sweet crackers with "chocolate chips." so we had a nice discussion remembering the "cereal" that was cookie crisp and the commercials they had. we also tried to sleep as much as we could on the plane. (like all my quotation marks? : )
the complimentary drinks as well as our banana milk we'd drank between the time we'd left home and going through security (trying to use up our milk and bananas before we left!) caught up with us... i really didn't want to have to go on the plane. it's not so much the tiny bathroom, but climbing over your neighbor and parading down the aisle that i'd rather not do! i had been telling myself that i would just wait until we landed because the mental part is half the battle! eventually will decided he'd rather go and we may as well go at the same time so we'd only have to climb over our new friend so much. i guess i wasn't listening at the beginning well enough because suddenly i was unsure if i was breaking rules to stand there and wait while will took his turn. i stood back a ways making sure not to make eye contact with anyone and telling will (in my mind) over and over to "please hurry! please hurry! please hurry!" then i will admit while i tried, myself, to hurry, and despite my (irrational?) fears that someone would come open the door, it was like a little vacation in there and the most personal space i'd had all day on the plane!
our layover in chicago wasn't that long. just long enough for another picture, bathroom break, and walk around... and a little waiting.
on the second flight we watched part of "an american tale" that will had loaded on the tablet. it was fun to see the statue of liberty stuff knowing that we'd be going... and anticipating the lack of cats and streets made of cheese! (you have to see the movie : ) we hadn't started it right away, though, so we had to turn it off (and return all seats and tray tables to upright position) when there was 10 or so minutes left. i guess we still haven't watched the rest, but we did get to see them "wewease da secwet weapon!!!!" haha : ) for me it was a fun throwback to the good old days. i don't think will had ever seen it, though, so that was fun.
when we landed in baltimore sometime around 4 will rushed out to find the shuttle bus to the light rail that he'd take to the stop closest to the car rental place. we are aware that you can rent a car from the airport... but are you aware that you can save some money if you get it elsewhere??! my job was to get the baggage and wait for him... i'm not a very fast person sometimes, but my job was much faster than his. he was rushing so we could get moving asap, but also because he had to get to the rental place before they closed. so i'm hanging out with a backpack, cinch sack, purse, and two large suitcases discovering that i have poor cell service in the baggage claim area... this makes me a little nervous since now i'm on the other side of the country waiting for will. i didn't want to go outside before i needed to because it was warm and humid. i was able to get him a text saying i had poor service and if nothing else i'd just go out and wait. the passenger pick up area was right outside, so i didn't have to go far. i waited inside trying different locations, people watching, and only had to deflect one "stranded" person trying to guilt me into donating to their cause. i can't remember for sure, but i believe he started with a patronizing term, so if he was ever going to have a chance he lost all hope with that. i was able to send will a few more texts and he was able to give me a couple updates. finally i went outside and didn't have to wait much longer out there. he showed up in our white impala with the ac blasting since he had had to run from the light rail station to the rental place to make it in time. phew!
the next leg of the day was driving from baltimore all the way up to boston. we knew this wouldn't be a "short" drive, but again, renting a car and returning to the same place is much much cheaper than a one-way rental. plus we were excited!! we passed through maryland, deleware, new jersey, new york, connecticut, and massachusetts! we had fun seeing how the scenery, road signs, restaurants, etc were different from what we're used to in the west.
we also experienced the joy of toll roads. several months in advance we had ordered ourselves an "EZPass" so we could put money on it and just drive through tolls. that was convenient and fun... if your idea of fun is your money magically disappearing as you keep driving!! ha : ) i don't know that we understand them completely (or i don't, at least)... they have some weird things about adding money... like it will automatically add money for you but only if you're in the state it's registered in? (not sure...) it all worked out, though! sometimes we went through the lanes where we could pay with cash too, just in case, but the EZPass worked every time!
the land of will's nativity!!
in connecticut we'd run out of our packed snacks, so around 10:00 we stopped off at a service area where they have gas and a couple fast food options all conveniently together like a rest area is in the west (like, not off on streets by a neighborhood or other shopping complex). they had a subway so i was supposed to order some sandwiches while will got the gas. do you realize the kind of pressure it is to order someone else's subway??!! it's been long enough that i know what will likes and doesn't like - mostly.. but he surprises me sometimes! i felt like i was doing pretty well, but was still glad when will came in time to say his own veggies. because of the road construction and lateness of the hour will was anxious to keep moving. i could tell that he didn't think the nice young man making our sandwiches was going quite fast enough. however, for me, my heart went out to this guy as i watched him work because i could tell he was a kindred spirit! i watched how he carefully placed each tomato slice and gave attention to detail. i don't know how to really put it into words beyond that, but i had a real appreciation for this guy! : ) i tried to be especially nice. then as we're walking out to the car will asks if they were on sale because it seemed like we hadn't paid enough. i realized he was right but thought maybe there was some deal after a certain time of night. we decided we should go back to check, just to be sure. we had to wait while he finished the sandwich of another guy, but since this guy (unbeknownst to him) and i were practically bosom buddies at this point i was worried he might get in trouble for having not charged enough so we waited. turned out he had just hit the wrong thing on accident and felt like he had to apologize, but then sent us on our merry way. i tried to explain to will in the car how well i could identify with and appreciate my pal! i think he kind of got it... : )
as we got into massachusetts it was fun, but a little weird too, to see the names of places on signs that we've become pretty familiar with in our research. those new england states are little, but still pack a good drive! the music was up, there was singing, lame jokes, and whatever else we could do to give ourselves the illusion of energy! we finally got to our hotel/motel? in danvers on the north side of boston at about 2:30 in the morning. there was the time change, of course, so it wasn't a full 24 hour day, but it was still plenty long! it was, really, about a 21 hour day and we were ready for sleep! we were excited and having a fun time, though! day 1 in the books!
So excited to read about your trip. . . . I can't wait for the next installment. Thanks for sharing!
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