Road Trip, Part 1: NJ, PA, OH, IN

Mac and I left for a week-long road trip adventure to Chicago after work on Friday, Sept. 16th. That first night we drove to my Grammy's house in Jeannette, PA and I got to show Mac a place full of many happy memories for me and my family. On Saturday morning I went to Enrico's Bakery, where my dad worked when he was in high school, and got some tasty treats for the road. We also stopped at the restaurant where the Eat'n'Park used to be and had a great Southern brunch complete with grits and even mac and cheese. It was a good quick visit to Jeannette and since it was the beginning of football season, Mac got to really understand what being in Steelers Country means! There was Black and Gold proudly displayed everywhere we went!

After leaving Jeannette we headed toward Mac's grandparents in Sardinia, OH. We took some back roads and ended up stopping at The Wilds. The original plan was to find a place that did ziplining, but it seemed that any options we had in that area were either booked for the day or closed at 4pm, so we missed our chance. Even though we didn't pay to get into anything at The Wilds, we did go to the snack bar and had a good afternoon snack and some local beer while sitting out on the open patio watching wild animals roam around and people zipline through the park. It was a perfect break for a long day of driving. The snack bar also randomly had these huge locally grown watermelons for sale, so we picked up two of those as well.

We finally made it to Sardinia and Mac's grandparents' place later that evening and even though we had told his Grandma that we were stopping to get dinner along the way she had a full meal prepared for us! We ate some more and had some dessert and had a nice evening sitting in the living room and chatting. I was exhausted and ended up going to be kind of early, but Mac enjoyed having the chance to catch up with his Grandma and Grandpa.

In the morning we had a big breakfast with eggs and toast and cantaloupe and then moved on to the activities of the day. First, Mac's Grandpa wanted Mac to look at an old rifle that he had and make sure it was working. So after cleaning up, the best way to make sure it's working is to actually use it. So Mac fired the first shells and then passed it over to me. I had never even been that close to a gun before, let alone actually fired one! But I have to say, it was kind of a thrill to hit a milk jug full of water and watch it explode! Here I am with Mac's Grandpa:

We were shooting milk jugs off of the old chicken coop in the yard:

And off of milk crates. It's amazing what you can do when you own acres of land in the middle of nowhere Ohio and don't have any neighbors close by!

After target practice, Mac and Grandpa and I got in the car and did a grand driving tour of the surrounding area. We drove past a bunch of land that Grandpa owns and he told stories the whole way about different things that happened in different places throughout the area.

The most exciting stop was at the Serpent Mound. It's a serpent effigy believed to be built over 1,000 years ago by Native Americans. It was really fascinating to see. They have an observation tower that's about 2 stories high that you can look at it from above:

The day we were there, there were some scientists doing some sort of research to learn more about what is contained in the mounds. While Mac and I stopped to talk to the researchers, Grandpa decided to chat with these cowboys:

Every curve in the serpent is aligned with a sunset or sunrise on an equinox or solstice:

We enjoyed walking around the park and talking with the folks in the gift shop, too. It's quite a fascinating place and apparently draws quite a crowd for solstice celebrations. That would be quite a sight to see!

We came back from our drive and did a little bit more target practice with paper targets that we picked up along the way and then enjoyed a nice dinner together. After dinner Mac and I walked around the property to look at some of the old buildings and just enjoy the evening. Here are some photos of the old barn:

The former garden, now weed patch, next to the old farm house:

After dinner we went to the local grocery store and picked up a few snacks for the road, including a huge local cantaloupe. We did a little more visiting and then headed to bed. We left after breakfast on Monday morning and drove through Indiana to get to Chicago. We stopped in Indianapolis for lunch at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art. One of the main draws for me was an Art-o-Mat Machine!

They also had an interesting, if broad, collection and a great cafe where we enjoyed our lunch while watching it rain outside. From there, we drove through the rest of Indiana, including this HUGE windfarm that went on for miles and miles in both directions:

After a long day of driving we finally made it to Chicago on Monday evening! Man, I love Chicago...

Hurricane Irene

Mac and I and some friends had planned on going canoe camping the weekend of August 27-28, but Mother Nature had other plans. She decided to hand us Hurricane Irene instead of a beautiful weekend for camping. Surprisingly, it ended up feeling a little like camping when the power went out at my apartment on Saturday night and Mac and I resorted to wearing head lamps to do our crossword.

The weather was very dreary and windy on Saturday morning, and it started raining in the afternoon. Around 6pm Mac and I went out for a stroll around downtown Princeton just to see how things were going. Most of the stores were closed, but one very nice Italian restaurant was open, so we ended up having a wonderful dinner in a schmancy place while wearing comfy clothes and crocs. Having a hurricane approaching = anything goes!

We made it back to my place before it got really bad, but the power ended up going out rather quickly, then coming back on for about an hour, then going out again and not coming back for two days. This was the view outside my apartment on Saturday night. One emergency light was on in Princeton:

The storm rolled through overnight from Saturday into Sunday and it was still raining on Sunday morning, but by the afternoon the sun had actually come out. Mac and I decided to go check on his kayak, which we had moved to higher ground on Friday evening, and it's a good thing we did! The place were he usually keeps it was completely under water. But this beaver seemed to be enjoying his expanded territory:

This is the chimney were we usually have our bonfires. And that horizontal line in front of it is the top of a picnic table. And this a dozen yards or more away from where the lake usually is. The water was at record levels.

Since we had to move Mac's car, we decided to do a little tour around town to see what else was going on. Here are some rowers looking at the flooded boathouse off of Washington Rd:

And of course, a huge rainbow appeared that afternoon.

We also drove down to Alexander Rd, which was completely flooded out. Here is a little video showing the water rushing under the bridge. Mac and I have canoed under this bridge before. You can tell that at one point the water was rushing over the bridge as well.

And here's a still image of a big log/tree up against the bridge. There was a lot of debris in the water and it was moving really fast. Needless to say, we're glad we decided not to go camping.

And because of all of the local road closures, the University decided to close on Monday and had a delayed opening on Tuesday! It turned into quite a fun and productive weekend. Mac and I cleaned both of our apartments, finished a crossword or two, met up with some local friends, and generally enjoyed a surprise three day weekend.

Cape May 2011

The day after getting back from Christa and Kyle's wedding, Mac and I headed down the shore to Cape May to catch up with my family. They had been there since Saturday, but we arrived on Monday. We took two cars because Mac could only stay for one night.

The week was filled with all of our usual activities: all the ladies going out for tea, spending lots of time at the beach, reading, playing board games, etc... Here's everyone's beach shoes lined up on the picnic table out back:

And the boys always come up with something new to keep themselves entertained. This year Nathaniel figured out how to make a ninja mask out of a long sleeved shirt. He and Sebastian came ninja-ing down the stairs looking like this one morning:

And all the gals went out to get our spa pedicures! The best way to spend a dreary morning at the beach. Ahhh:

We did a lot of walking along the mall and generally enjoying each other's company. Aunt Angie has been able to make it down the past couple summers and it was a treat to have her with us again. Here she is with my mom (her sister - can't you tell?):

And yes, all the boys now thoroughly enjoy spending time in the sand, in the water and at the ocean. We went out early one morning to do our family photo and they really liked conquering this lifeguard stand. They're all getting so big!!

And here we are - the big happy family. Special thanks to Aunt Angie for taking this photo! She took tons of them with all different cameras and this one was the best, and one of the first taken:

On our last morning at the beach, I headed out to watch the sunrise and caught these scenes:

As always, it was a lovely time at the beach. It's something that I look forward to every year. We already have the same house booked for next year...

Christa and Kyle get Married!!

The last weekend in July was one of my favorite of the whole summer! My dear friend Christa got married to her best friend Kyle on a beautiful farm in Western Massachusetts. Mac and I arrived on Friday afternoon and got to work helping out with the wedding prep. We arranged flowers, set up tables and chairs, and did pretty much anything that needed to be done to make their day perfect. We also got to hang out with some amazing folks including the bride and groom and college friends Jerri and Mark and their daughter Zoe. It was a bit of a humid, dreary afternoon, but we made the best of it and ended the evening knowing that Saturday was going to be a beautiful day. Mark, Jerri, Zoe, Mac and I all headed into Northampton to get dinner, but Jerri ended up taking Zoe "home" to put her to bed, so Mark, Mac and I enjoyed our dinner at Haymarket, got some take-out for Jer and then picked up some beer for the wedding.

We all ended up staying at a co-op community were Christa's friends Steve and Lena live. Mark, Jerri and Zoe stayed in their house and Mac and I stayed in the spare bedroom in the community house. It all worked out for the best and we were even able to store the beer in the community house fridge.

Saturday morning we all went out for breakfast at a little coffeeshop in Amherst and then headed over to the farm to finish prepping. Mac helped out getting things set up and I took some pre-wedding photos of Christa and Kyle and their families. In the photo at the top of this post you can see Christa and Kyle and the beautiful barn where they held the reception. As you can see, it turned out to be a beautiful day!

The first thing that Christa and Kyle did for their guests was serve them homemade pie. It was their way of saying Thank You to everyone for coming and supporting them.

Here you can see the adorable aprons that someone made for them, and all the delicious pies:

Once everyone had a chance to eat some pie we all made our way to the wedding ceremony site, which was just a short walk down the farm on a beautiful hillside. The ceremony was very unique and included a Ring Warming. The rings were passed around to all of the guests and they were asked to hold them and give them their blessings and warm wishes. The rings were held in the wings of this adorable hand-made bird:

Christa and Kyle sat together during the ceremony, facing the guests:

Guests were also asked to share their thoughts and well-wishes with the couple in a way that was similar to a Quaker sharing. Whenever you felt moved to speak you just said what you had to say, or in Jerri's case, sang what you wanted to sing:

Mark also chose to share:

Then Christa and Kyle exchanged vows that they had written themselves, put on their gorgeous rings and were MARRIED! It was a beautiful ceremony on an absolutely perfect summer day.

After the ceremony we got the Syracuse crew together for a quick photo. Mark, Mark, Jerri, Christa and I were all RAs in Shaw Hall:

Mac took a nice shot of me with Christa and Kyle:

And Kyle returned the favor by taking a nice shot of Mac and I up at the ceremony site:

Once most of the guests had left the site I got to do a few more photos of just Christa and Kyle at the ceremony site.


On the way to the archery field, Mac stopped to show Zoe how seeds come from sunflowers.

And then we all got to shoot a few bows and arrows! Kyle and Christa teach archery at the farm, so they decided to have it available for the guests between the ceremony and the reception.

It was so fun!

After archery, we all headed back to the barn to watch a fun skit that their families had put together about Christa and Kyle. Then we were all treated to some live bluegrass music and a home-cooked meal. It was great to catch up with friends and do some dancing during the reception.

Once it got dark, we all wandered over to the bonfire site and watched a fire dancing performance which was really cool, then sat around the campfire and made smores and told stories. It was the perfect end to an awesome day.

On Sunday we all met up back at the farm to help clean up and eat some of the left-over food. Once the clean-ups were done, a bunch of us headed to Puffer's Pond in Amherst to take a dip in the water and enjoy one last hurrah with good friends. We spent about an hour at the pond and then went into town to get some ice cream.

It was the perfect end to a really lovely weekend.

Then Mac and I got in the car and drove all the way back to Princeton so that we could do a load of laundry, re-pack and head to Cape May on Monday morning to hang out with my family.