Part 2 of Our Vacation - Maryland

After our 90 minute ferry ride from New Jersey to Delaware, we jumped back into our car and headed toward Maryland where we stayed for two nights.  Jim made all of the arrangements for the trip so every place we stayed was a surprise for the kids and I.  I have to say, we weren't disappointed for a second!!

I took this at a stop light right after we got back on the road.  So pretty!!

A rather impressive bridge headed toward Maryland.

In Maryland we stayed at the Carousel Hotel.  Ocean City is a very touristy town.  Lots and lots of people.  The beach was crowded and the restaurants were crowded.  As I'm getting older I'm not such a big fan of crowds of people.  It was still beautiful though and the fact that our hotel was right on the beach was fantastic!!!

One sandy girlie!!!!

We spent most of the one full day we were there at the beach.  Herself learned how to paddle on a boogie board for the first time and she loved it!!!

Well hello random hot guy on the beach.  How did you get here??  ; )

We decided it was time to pack up when this rolled in . . .

Crazy, huh???

A little down time before dinner.

A heated game of Uno after dinner.

He had a great couple of days in Maryland.  Loved the hotel.  The beach was a bit too crowded for my taste and reminded me of the Jersey shore except for prettier water.  When you see the photos of the beach at our next stop in North Carolina you'll understand why it is sooooo worth the extra hours of driving to go further south.

Next stop . . .

North Carolina!!!!  : )


Happy Tuesday y'all ~ Wendy

Home Sweet Home on a {Mostly} Wordless Wednesday . . .

We just got back from one of the most wonderful vacations I've ever been on!!  We visited Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee.  A twelve day whirlwind of a vacation with lots of photo taking.  A photographer's dream!!!  I thought I'd share just a few of my favorites from the first leg of our trip.  Most of these were taken in North Carolina with a few thrown in from Maryland and our trip on the Cape May - Lewes Ferry that took us from Cape May, New Jersey over to Delaware.  It's a wonderful 90 minute ferry ride that saves two hours of driving time and gets you out of your car.  This is a good thing when you have a six year old with you.  : )  Although, I have to say, other then her incessant talking, she was was pretty darn good!!! 

Looking forward to sharing our adventure with y'all!!!  Picked up a little southern drawl these last couple of weeks!!  : ) 

On a different note, I can't sign off without mentioning the horrific shootings of our police these last couple of weeks.  Please pray for our police, their families and our country.  We certainly need all the prayers we can get. 


Many blessings ~ Wendy

Next Time We're Headin' North Part II . . .

 On the second day of our trip we took the Metro into the National Mall in D.C.  The kids really enjoyed it and I couldn't help but think of the scenes in the movie Ghost when Patrick Swayze and the other ghost kept passing thru the subway cars.  : )
 

Poor Annie got hit in the eye while her brother and cousins were having a sword fight with the swords they bought the night before. 

When we came up out of the Metro station we saw the sign for the wonderful festival that was being held.  There were tents set up everywhere and lots of different activities and food. 

One of my favorite things to look at was all of the art work people were creating.  Everything from murals to graffiti.

This was phenomenal!!  I honestly didn't see the guy standing in front of this mural until after I took the photo.  The colors were so brilliant that I guess his shirt just kind of blended in with them!!  : )

   

In the background of the festival was the Washington Monument.  This is the first time I've seen it in person.  It looked so beautiful against the blue sky.

The Capitol Building in the distance.

 There's lots of walking and not a lot of shade while you're doing it.  And when it's hazy, hot, humid and over 100 degrees it's downright miserable!!  The kids were so good and never complained so we forged on to the Smithsonian to see the Air and Space Museum. 

The architecture of the buildings is absolutely beautiful!!!!!

 

The Air and Space Museum was a lot of fun for the kids.  Lots of interactive things for them to do. 

"One small step for man . . ."

This is the actual nose of a real plain.  It's HUGE!!!!!!!

 I really wanted to go to the other part of the museum where you could see the different movie and t.v. sets from the past.  In particular, I wanted to see Julia Child's kitchen.  It was just so darn hot that I didn't even care anymore.  We also decided that we'd head back to the hotel and go see the other monuments that we had planned on seeing the next day before we left to go home.  We did make a valiant effort to go the next morning but when the thermometer in the car showed 106 degrees I had to make an executive decision to throw in the towel.  The kids were disappointed but I think once Jim and I promised we'd bring them back in the cooler weather I think they were just as relieved as us to be heading home.  We did get to drive past the White House and the Pentagon which added a little excitement to things.  : )

On the way home, the temperature in the car was so hot and the traffic was horrible.  We traveled only about 12 miles in about an hour and a half.  Megan was crying and our clothes were soaked.  Jim got on the phone and found the nearest hotel with a pool.  The woman at the front desk took one look at Jim and gave us half price to stay when he told them our story and that we only needed to stay until the sun started to go down.  The kids all went swimming and I took a nap and then we ordered room service and got back on the road.  Believe it or not, it was lots of fun being stuck in a hotel room all together.  The a/c was cranking and our bellies were full and Megan was happy and we knew we were finally heading back to New York!!!!! 

I did take lots more photos and I'll share more of them tomorrow on "Wordless Wednesday."  : )


Many blessings for a wonderful Tuesday ~ Wendy