Category: Travel
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Disruption Can Be Good
We spent the last week visiting family out of town. For Baguette, routine is king–but this morning, I was reminded of why disruption can be good.
The trip was great, and I’ll write more about it later. But it was also exhausting, because we were constantly on the move, seeing new places and spending time with people who Baguette doesn’t know all that well yet.
Last night, after we got home, Baguette used more full sentences than we usually hear in a week. And they were new ones, like “Mommy, get the ball” (it had rolled under a piece of furniture) and “Mommy, I want green Play-Doh” (more typical is simply “Green Play-Doh”)
This morning, she started reciting the alphabet. This is not unusual, but here’s what was: She was also signing it. All that time this week she spent playing with the Baby Sign and Sing app we’d bought her?
She’s been teaching herself ASL.
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Sunday Snow Play
It rained in L.A. yesterday. With the colder temperatures we’ve been having, that means that the mountains got snow. And that means that today we went to the mountains.
Baguette even had her first snowball fight. Which she started.
A good time was had by all.
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Solo Travel: A Weekend of One’s Own
Sick = short on posts. Fortunately, Ginger of Ramble Ramble has another prompt: Do you/have you traveled solo? What do you like about it? What don’t you like? What makes it so different from traveling with other people?
I’ve traveled a lot–I’ve been to 49 of the 50 states, and every continent except South America and Antarctica. But nearly all of that travel has been with family or friends.
When I moved to New Jersey, I thought I’d travel a lot. Airlines (at least at that point) offered great last-minute weekend fares to Europe–and I’d be so close to JFK!
But then the California-based Mr. Sandwich and I started our long-distance relationship, and that meant that if my flights weren’t taking me to San Antonio to visit my parents and brother, they were taking me to Los Angeles to visit him.
Before that, though, I did manage to plan and go on one weekend getaway.
Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I was able to find an affordable work-in-progress B&B right on the Hudson River, in a town called Rhinecliff. (Rhinecliff is just a couple of miles from the–at least locally–much better-known town of Rhinebeck. Neither of them is pictured here.)
The drive up is aptly identified as scenic, and I took my time driving along the back roads (not even Route 9, but 9-D).
Based on a brief stop that I never repeated, the town of Cold Harbor (also not pictured here) may be my dream spot. If it isn’t, keep it to yourself.
At this juncture, I can’t tell you much about either Rhinecliff or Rhinebeck, but I did visit a number of historic houses: Franklin D. Roosevelt’s childhood home of Springwood, where he is buried; the Vanderbilt House, which is so rigidly symmetrical that it is ugly; and Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt’s retreat where I apparently took no pictures.
Springwood: a lovely place to grow up and be buried 
Sure, the Vanderbilt House looks innocuous enough from this angle, but it actually gave me the creeps in person. 
But the gardens were very nice. I also spent one day with one of the co-authors of a textbook I was editing; when she learned that I was going to be in the area, she insisted that I drive over and join her. She was prickly on paper, but I really had a great time with her and a couple of her friends who were also visiting.
My main memories of the weekend are that I got to explore an area that I might otherwise not have (it was a little far for a day trip, particularly with that many sites), that I was able to choose what I did and to set my own pace, and that it was a little lonely, particularly in the evenings.
And in spite of the loneliness, I wish I’d done more of that while I was in that part of the country, because there are places I meant to explore but never got anywhere near (Finger Lakes, Montauk, the Adirondacks).
So I guess I’ll have to go back someday and discover them with Mr. Sandwich and Baguette.
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Top 5 Vacation Locations
Thanks once again to Ginger at Ramble Ramble for providing today’s prompt: What are your top 5 vacation locations?
Can I just list Kauai five times?
1) Kauai. Well, clearly this was going to be on the list. Mr. Sandwich and I went here on our honeymoon and have gone back twice since. The only thing keeping us from going now is the third plane ticket–and our reluctance to inflict plane travel on Baguette and Baguette on plane travel. (Fellow passengers: you’re welcome!). We’ll get there when she’s a little older. And I will drink more of this.
2) Santa Barbara. Much more accessible than Kauai, and a wonderful place to vacation with small children. We’ve been there three times–a week each in the summers of 2011 and 2012, plus a long weekend earlier this year–and enjoy speculating about where we’d buy a home there if we won the lottery. So I guess it’s not that much more accessible than Kauai.
3) The Grand Canyon. Mr. Sandwich and I spent a long Labor Day weekend there in 2003. We splurged and stayed in the tiny Bright Angel Cabins. When I called to book them, the reservation agent must have said five times, “Now, you understand that the cabins do not have a view of the canyon.” I finally said, “Am I allowed to go outside of the cabin?” She laughed and said, “Yes,” so I replied, “Then we should be fine.” They must get a lot of complaints. Which is ridiculous because the cabins are maybe 30 yards from the rim of the canyon. Seriously, people, calm down and open the door. It’ll be fine.
4) North Fork Campground. It looks like this is now members-only, but we camped here (okay, maybe somewhere near here) at least twice when I was a kid, and we didn’t belong to squat (except a summer swimming pool, because joining was the only way to get into a swimming pool). But I have fond memories of floating down the river on inner tubes, and a less fond memory of spotting a snake. Actually, I should broaden this to 1970s-era family campgrounds in general, because that’s mostly how my family vacationed back then, visiting historical locations like Harpers Ferry while participating in miniature golf by day and square dancing by night. With that in mind, here is a photo of a totally different location.
5) The British Isles. My first big international trip was to England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. My parents and brother and I toured England (my mother saved up for years for this trip), and my dad’s parents joined us once we reached Scotland. After a week, I branched off with my grandparents to tour more of Scotland and Northern Ireland while my parents and brother returned home. Now, if you’re thinking, “Northern Ireland–that sounds dangerous,” then let me point out that while we were there, Lord Mountbatten was assassinated. So, yeah, I guess maybe it was. But we were fine, so that’s worth keeping in mind in a week of State Department travel alerts.
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What’s In a Meme?
I got this from The Harried Mom. Read. Write your own post. Pass it on.
1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
2003. Really? That was 10 years ago? I guess so, because Mr. Sandwich and I were well into our long-distance dating relationship, but not yet engaged (that came later in 2003–July 4th, to be exact). This time that year, my dad and I were preparing for a railroad trip through the Canadian Rockies. Awesome trip, BTW.
2. What 5 things are on your to-do list?
- Get our passports.
- Take boxing lessons.
- Organize our home office.
- Declutter the house.
- Take Spanish lessons. Again.
3. What are 5 snacks you enjoy?
Macadamia nuts, honey wheat pretzels, shortbread cookies, ice cream, chocolate chip cookies
4. Name some things you would do if you were a millionaire.
Pay off our mortgage; save for Baguette’s education; work part-time and shorten Baguette’s time in day care; pay off my brother’s mortgage (I’m assuming more than $1 million here–is that okay?); buy a vacation home in Kauai; hire a cleaning service
5. Name some places you have lived:
Maryland, California, Texas, Virginia, New Jersey. Several of them more than once.
6. Name some bad habits you have:
Bad housekeeping, too easily distracted by the computer. Mr. Sandwich would add “stealing the covers.”
7. Name some jobs you have had:
Door-to-door doughnut sales, newspaper delivery, editing, project management, social media manager, marketing
So, what about you?
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5 Things I Found While I Was Looking Around
36 Tips for Surviving the Family Road Trip on Parenting Squad
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We’re going to need these more and more. I can tell.
Stalking in the Snow on Desire to Inspire-
I don’t think the exterior lives up to the interiors (particularly with views), but who cares?
What DNA Actually Looks Like on Mashable
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There’s a lot about science I don’t know, but I sure love what it can do.
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Is this real? And can I go to it?
Parmesan Garlic Biscuits on Coffee Break with Liz and Kate-
I may have to make these. Soon.
Photo by jikatu, via Flickr.
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Bragging Rights
This week’s entry in Monday Listicles is “10 Reasons I’m Great.” Honestly, I think this is something that not just moms, but women in general, often lose track of. Certainly there are plenty of conceited women out there–I have had my moments, I know–but all too often, we downplay our accomplishments and contributions. So what’s so great about me?
1) I wrote a full-length novel in high school. It’s never going to be published, and I’m fine with that–but I did it.
2) One of my friends read my M.A. thesis. For fun. Twice.
3) I will defend my loved ones from wildlife.
4) I do not faint at the sight of blood.*
5) In fact, if you sever your fingertip, I will not only locate it, but properly package it and drive you to the ER. While pregnant.
6) I’ve traveled to 49 of the 50 states (I have yet to get to Alaska.)
7) I’ve traveled to 5 of the 7 continents (South America and Antarctica, I’m coming for you. Eventually.)
8) I am really good at building fires.
9) I make good desserts. Not fancy, but good.
10) I’m an excellent wife and mother. (I’m not saying I’m better than you. I’m better than you for my family. And I’m similarly confident that you’re better for yours than I would be.)
*Does it undercut this post if I say that I do, however, shriek reflexively and stereotypically at the sight of a mouse?
Photo by .reid., via Flickr.
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5 Things I Found While I Was Looking Around
I haven’t done one of these in a while, but I haven’t forgotten.
Our Story in 1 Minute on The Kid Should See This
We should all see this.
A ‘Spaceship’ for Power Naps in the Office on DesignTAXI
My office could totally use one of these. Couldn’t yours?
Glow-in-the-Dark Highways Coming to the Netherlands on Mashable
This is where the aliens will land. Not Nevada or New Mexico.
Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse on Public Health Matters Blog
“You may laugh now, but when it happens you’ll be happy you read this.” Bet you thought the CDC didn’t have it in ’em.
New York’s Hidden Subway Station on Travelettes
Keep this in mind for the aforementioned zombie apocalypse. If you have to hide from the zombies, you might as well do it somewhere pretty.
Photo by Patrick Hoesly, via Flickr.
