I am on a roll… Actually I am getting used to the iPad and it seems easier to post now that I know how to save my document and not delete it, how to find my site to blog on, and how to copy and paste!

Day 6 we were all tired from our Lady Liberty adventure and we needed a break from driving today. Really though after day 4 and 5 we didn’t care if we did anything more! My challenge was to do something new with the kids for each of the ten days as we travelled. What will day 6 hold?

Well Uncle Ken and Aunt Carol had an idea… They wanted to take us out to lunch at an interesting little spot. So we stayed local and headed out for lunch together. Our kids have never been to a Pub before! They certainly have never been to one like this… Imagine a dining area the size of a gymnasium and then fill the walls with a plethora of taxidermist treasures… Every wall… Animals from all over the states and an African Safari! Giraffe, elephant, wolf, zebra, birds… You name it and it was there. Then as we are waiting for our meals we see a table with a lobster. It was a lobster larger than I had ever seen and I live in Nova Scotia! I guess people go there for seafood and I could see why but being from NS we didn’t go for the seafood because that just doesn’t make sense. Papa ordered a colossal burger and ate the entire thing after posting a picture on Facebook. We took some pictures of the kids with dead animals because that’s a new thing for us and it was rather cool to do.

As for dead animals… Well it’s totally acceptable in our family. My great great grandmother was a taxidermist! My mother also tried to be one when my guinea pig died when I was away in University. She stored him in the deep freeze and then later called to ask if my sister could use him for a Biology project. I allowed it.

Day 7
The time had come to pack our bags and hit the road. We had accomplished our mission and had a great time reconnecting with family and we had a long road ahead of us. We decided to take our time. We decided a stop in Rhode Island was in order so we managed to include one more state… But more importantly we had a good friend waiting to see us and surprise Papa with a Birthday Cake. So we had BBQ and Cake in Rhode Island and a nice visit with friends…. Then off to Hampton Beach for the night.
Day 7 was our first time visiting Jason in Rhode Island. He will be visiting us in July and will likely do another amazing photo shoot with the kids.

Day 8
First thing on day 8 was a swim in the pool, dip in the hot tub, and then after breakfast it was off to stick our feet in the ocean. We really just went for a walk on the beach but we had to get our feet wet too.  I was amazed at the amount of sandy area that bodies will fill while they lay in the sun…. Huge expanse! Then a big drop once you pass the tide line down to where the water was – this means at high tide it would get deep very quickly. So as nice as it was I have a new appreciation for Nova Scotia Beaches. It had been over 20 years since Corey and I had been at Hampton Beach and it was fun to check back in.  
One memory we had was eating fried dough on the beach so we all tried some fried dough… As I ate it I said something like, ” this was better and bigger 20 years ago!” Oh well, it was something fun for the kids to try once.

After spending most of the morning here we hit the road heading for NB. Where we tried one more new thing with the kids. DInner at a truck stop! While there we saw an old neighbor from when we lived in NB and I quickly said hello and yes we have two little kids now have a nice day… I didn’t bother explaining anything. I bet they were scratching heads all night wondering if we have just been having babies for the past 10 years since we moved away.

Ok kids back in the van and I promise this time the drive really will be just a short one!

New things for day 8 included fried dough at Hampton Beach and supper at a truck stop.

This day has got to be easier to blog than Day 4! Writing about day 4 made me cry every time… I said it was an emotional day. Then I deleted it 3 times by accident. Day 5 is less emotional so it should go smoothly….

Off to see an amazing sight. We had told the kids and showed them pictures of the Statue of Liberty. They were looking forward to it. Yes they are 3 & 4 but they thought it was something fun to go see. With GPS set off we went to find the ferry terminal. Tickets in hand we cleared security and boarded the ferry with the statue in the distance. This ferry holds hundreds of people and runs several times a day. The kids were quite happy to watch the water and the statue getting closer and closer. Once on the island we toured the grounds and walked around the statue taking pictures as we went. Then it was time to use our special tickets (only 3000 sold per day!) We had tickets to go to the pedestal which means a lot of stairs or an elevator… Not like going to the crown (only 240 tickets a day) which meant tons of stairs and no elevator. Dija would never have made it to the crown! Before entering there was yet another pass through security. Once inside the pedestal there is a museum to see how the statue was built, then the trek up the elevator and some stairs.
I knew the statue was huge but seeing it made me realize I had no idea just how amazingly large the thing was! We were all checking the view from every angle, kids included. This turned out to be Trey’s favorite adventure of out trip. I understand why but really thought he would appreciate the playground more. He’s full of surprises though.

We returned to our NJ hosts rather tired that evening and a little crispy from the sun.

Day 4 was our day to visit Grandma Ann. This is the reason we made the trip. Corey’s grandmother will turn 96 this month. We haven’t seen her for several years because of travel limitations…citizenship issues… Small details like Corey wouldn’t have been allowed back in Canada! So with our passports in hand we were eager to go somewhere and figured Cuba will be around next year but going to see Grandma Ann was pretty important for us.
We considered going alone and leaving kids home but then thought about how excellent it would be to introduce the kids to Grandma. So then the trip was planned around this one event.
It was a 2 hour drive through New Jersey to get to the complex where Grandma lives. Then finding her… We just sort of wandered into an entrance and must have looked “new” to the place because we were immediately greeted by very friendly staff who showed us the right corridor to go through to find the room we were looking for. There sat Grandma waiting for her special visitors from Canada!
The kids once again amazed us with wonderful behavior. They have never been in a senior complex, let alone a huge amazing place like this. Dija kept asking about every old person she saw, “Is that another grandma?” Trey was a great help pushing Grandma’s wheelchair around the halls and out in the garden. While we were out in the garden the kids entertained any residents who came nearby. We were told several times how lovely the children were. Grandma shared stories with us out in the garden and then some more over lunch in the little cafe. I had a favorite…

When I was a girl we used to go by bus to the beach. It was an hour drive by bus. We used to wear slippers on the beach. Beach Slippers, that’s what we wore. Well this day I lost one of my slippers in the water. This boy said not to worry because he would find it. He went in the water and he brought me my slipper. Then one day he rode his bike all the way to our house to visit me… It was a very long bike ride! Thats how it all began. So that is my Cinderella story…

I loved hearing Grandma talk about history that is a part of who she is and a part of Corey’s history as well. This was a highlight for me but I know it meant much more to Corey.

We took Grandma back to her room and ended the visit in a very special way. Corey grabbed a hymn book along the way and asked her which songs he could sing with her. The kids acted like this was normal and just played a bit while we sang. Then Corey prayed for Grandma before we went on our way. As I hugged Grandma before we left she quietly prayed for me in my ear. Speaking a blessing over me as we left and prayed for me as I care for these wee kids. It was a special moment and very emotional for me. Her almost 96 asking for strength for me! Wow.

For day 4 the new thing for the kids was meeting someone from 4 generations back in our family and visiting a seniors complex. It was very special for all of us.

We landed in NJ and had a great time meeting some of Papa’s family on the evening of day 2. So the next morning were ready to hang out local and be inside with air conditioning because the heat was a shock to our systems. Great day to go to the mall. The kids were happy to check out all the new sights and just hang with us wherever we went. Corey needed new shorts and kids needed new shoes… First we got Papa taken care of at J.C.Penny. Then we found sandals for the kids. They were so funny finding what they liked and trying everything on as if they were professional shoppers.
Then as we walked down the mall Papa asked me if I really didn’t notice the Apple store or was I just saving that for later. I can’t believe I walked right past the best store in the mall! So my new thing of day 3 turned out to be my iPad! I’m hooked up and happy about it… Ready to retire the laptop.

After a food court lunch with the kids (another first for us) we went to check out the new adventure for the kids… Movie on the big screen! We sat in the theatre with the other 3 people and enjoyed the Kung Fu Panda 2 movie. Kids mostly enjoyed it but funny as it seems, Dija found it a little loud. The very same child who gets scolded for hurting our ears found the movie loud! Trey has already decided what he’s going to watch next. We can’t wait to go see more movies with them!
Day 3 was a nice relaxing day with very little driving and a whole lot of happiness in the form of technology for me!

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: Cheryl Pickens
Date: June 8, 2011 6:23:55 PM ADT
To: cherylpickens@eastlink.ca

Day 1 -Road Trip 2011
I knew Trey was excited about the big journey because Sunday morning behaviour at Church was less than acceptable. Enough said about Sunday… we spent most of the afternoon organizing and packing the van then off to bed hoping for sleep before Day 1.
Monday morning at 4am I woke up to the sound of treehouse tv – the kids were awake and quietly watching tv until we woke up. They were ready to leave. We tried to stay in bed until 5 but resistance was futile. After making coffee and filling the cooler we loaded into the van and hit the road at 5:30… surely the kids will nap on the way. We drove and drove and somewhere in Maine we pulled into an Elementary School playground and had a picnic and let the kids play. Then we drove and drove some more. The kids were mostly just happy hanging with us and eating treats now and then. I packed some brown paper bags with candy and toys inside in case I needed rewards or bribery. We only administered 2 bags of bribes on day 1. The kids were pretty well behaved for being trapped in the van all day. We stopped at Hampton Beach where Papa used to go for childhood vacation then headed on to our hotel for night #1 of Road Trip 2011.
The new thing with the kids was spending a night in a hotel all together… one room… Now that was an adventure! I took kids swimming while papa made supper. Well, he picked up Pizza because what’s a slumber party without pizza? The kids thought they had it made with pjs and pizza. Around 10pm I checked in with my sister Tanya with a little video chat to find out what the real time was… is it 9 or 10? My kids were still awake at 10pm after being up at 4am??? It made her laugh anyway. It didn’t take long after lights out for them to be in la la land.
Sleeping arrangements were planned by the children and I got stuck with Trey and Papa got stuck with Dija. I knew they were thrilled with the plans and since they were so tired I knew they’d sleep in really well too. Sure. 5:57am was the chosen wake up time. I tried to encourage them to stay sleeping at least til breakfast was available. It was only a little frustrating for me. Aside from Trey pretty much pushing me out of bed in the middle of the night and Dija rolling onto Papa’s side and when he got back in bed he crushed her for a quick second… we all survived and felt somewhat rested. They better nap in the car!
Day 2 – Road Trip 2011
This is the day we will drive in 5 States… that alone is pretty cool. We left NH at 9:30am after breakfast in restaurant with kids (I think that’s a new thing too but it doesn’t count). Next we encountered a bit of a gridlock in MA so we headed west into CT and then made a quick decision on route. Dija was napping so it was quiet enough to think clearly. No treats had been administered yet today and kids were travelling really well. I read the name Valhalla, NY on the map and asked Corey who it was that lived there even though I knew the answer… so we’re going there right? He wasn’t sure if we were planning a stop there. I quickly entered the address in the GPS and we were there in no time. Memory Lane. Papa told the kids about that house that doesn’t look like it used to. His Papa and NeeNee used to live there but he called them Grandpa Mark and Grandma Edith, his father’s parents. Papa often spent summer vacations here. Then we went down to the Park by the Dam and played on the playground and had a walk and then it happened… our new thing of the day!
We were walking by the Dam and Trey heard the sound – it was an Ice Cream Truck playing music! I knew immediately that we were getting ice cream because we don’t have trucks like that in our home town. How cool is it to buy ice cream out of a musical truck? A cone with sprinkles for Trey and a dish with sprinkles for Dija… both ice creams were too large to finish even though I asked for small ice creams. So we enjoyed a little musical ice cream treat in Papa’s old stompin’ gounds. I think Papa enjoyed it the most but we all had a great visit in Valhalla.
The final leg of todays Journey took us to NJ where we were greeted by Papa’s cousin and we were all very happy to get out of the van.
For my mom – today we saw 3 deer roadside (resting in peace) and Corey’s quick reflexes helped us avoid losing a headlight to a coyote.
We’re all looking forward to the fun planned for days 3 &4…