Fall Vacation - Philly

Dave says: On Day 7 it was time to leave NYC and head back towards DC. In between was Philly and I wanted to get out for a bit of an adventure rather than just driving all day. We stopped to the west of Philly for lunch and rented bikes which we rode along a paved river path that took us right into the heart of Philly. I had just visited a year early for a work conference and had heard about this route from a friend. Alisha decided that she wanted to be like Rocky and ran up and down the steps of the Art Museum. We rode down the grand boulevard and took the sights in before looping around and heading back. 

We left Philly around 4:30 but it was already too late. We dodged most traffic on the rest of the trip (even in NYC) with careful route selection and timing but in Philly it was not to be and we got a taste of East Coast rush hour trying to make it south down to DC. I took us on a different route that was supposed to be more scenic and went closer to the water on smaller roads although it was mostly dark by the time we got to the good stuff. Alisha ate crab cakes at a restaurant in Annapolis and eventually we made it back to DC.

Fall Vacation - New York

Dave says: On the afternoon of Day 5 we made it down to New York City. I had never been and had mixed feelings about going to perhaps the most urban and crowded area in the USA. We stayed a ways outside of Manhattan at a Super 8 in the Bronx where we could easily hop on a subway and a half hour later be in the middle of the action. We were the only white people in the area but it was fine and many of the nice people on the subway would offer their seat to Alisha when they saw that she was pregnant.

After checking in around mid-afternoon, we rode the subway to Times Square and hopped on a double decker bus for a city tour. Even though there is a ton of traffic, this is a great way to see NYC because you are up above the streets, the crowds, and the other cars and all you have to do is sit back and look around while your friendly guide tells you about all the stuff you are seeing.

At the recommendation of our guide, we had dinner at a restaurant called Ellen's Stardust Diner near Broadway featuring musical performances by aspiring Broadway actors that were pretty good. After that, we hopped on a different night bus tour that went out across one of the bridges to provide excellent views of the city and the Brooklyn Bridge at night.

Day 6

We took the subway down to One World Trade Center where we saw the impressively tall new building as well as the two memorials for the old buildings. The footprints of the buildings are still there with the names of those who died around the edges and a waterfall flowing down the sides and into an abyss in the middle. Somehow 9/11 doesn't feel that long ago.

We walked down past Wall Street and to the pier where we jumped on a boat tour that was a part of our bus sightseeing package. It was a gorgeous day and a very pleasant hour on the water with great views of the Statue of Liberty and the city from the water.

We then walked clear from one side of Manhattan to another on a seemingly endless urban escapade. Along the way we took occasional stops (once to hear a street bluegrass band that was really good and once for some gelatto) and saw lots of sights. By the time we made it to Central Park our legs were pretty tired. I was continually impressed at how tough Alisha was given that I am not pregnant and yet was perhaps more tired than she was.

In the evening, it was nice to sit down and have a chance to enjoy a Broadway play. Tickets can be super expensive and we actually debated about whether to attend. I'm very glad we did as the performance of Wicked was amazing and at a whole different level than the sort of theater that I'm used to seeing. If we had stayed more nights, I would have forked out the cash to see many more plays as this turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip (despite the fact that we are relatively uncultured in terms of artsy stuff). After the play, we spent a few minutes in Times Square just to take everything in. There's so much light popping out of everywhere that it is quite a place to be at night. On the whole, I thought that I might not like NYC too much but in reality I had a great time. Two days in the middle of the mayhem was enough for me and I wouldn't want to live there but nevertheless there was so much to see that I'm glad that we added this stop to our trip.

Fall Vacation - Connecticut

Alisha says: After wearing ourselves out walking and riding all around D.C. day 4 was basically a travel day where we started driving north in search of great fall colors. Once we got into Connecticut we started seeing some amazing colors. We drove on many small roads through cute small towns. We stopped at Macedonia Brook State Park and hiked up Cobble Mountain through the trees to a good view of the surrounding hills. We continued north checking out cute covered bridges and Kent Falls State Park almost to the Massachusetts state line where we spent the night in a nice bed and breakfast.

The next morning we explored Haystack Mountain State Park. This was probably the most scenic stop of our whole trip. There was a small pond surrounded by trees of all different colors and the water was so still that all of the trees were reflected in the water. Also, we were the only people there so it was really peaceful. At the end of the road is a short hike to a lookout tower that also had really great views of the surrounding hills covered in spectacular fall colors. We then drove to the coast so I could dip my toes in the Atlantic Ocean before continuing on to our next stop, New York City.

Macedonia Brook State Park

Haystack Mountain State Park

32.5 Weeks Pregnant

Fall Vacation - Washington D.C.

Dave says: We decided that it was the right time for one last big adventure before the baby arrives. Rather than our usual biking/hiking trips around the West, we decided it would be a good time to head back to the East Coast and see some of the sights. Our timing was perfect as we enjoyed great fall weather with a lot of sunshine and pleasant temperatures. The only bad weather that we experienced was on the flight to Washington DC as a storm cause the airport to be shut down and we were rerouted to land at a different airport and then waited for a few hours for the storm to clear before we could fly in. It was a long travel day but we were excited to arrive and woke up bright and early the next morning to start seeing the sights. We had not previously used Uber as a means of transportation but on this trip we found it to be a very effective way to get from our hotel to the sights and back with drivers who were readily available and more friendly than taxi drivers. 

 

We started on the National Mall at the Lincoln Memorial. There's a nice view and corridor to look down with the reflecting pool and Washington Monument in the background followed by another open space with the Capitol building at the end. The White House is also nearby and we walked past various war memorials, gardens, and other smaller historical sights on our way around the White House and through the related visitor's center.

After the White House it was time to start checking out the Smithsonian Museums. They are all free and are some of the best museums that you will find anywhere. We started in the Museum of American History and then made it to the Air and Space Museum which is cool because they have huge planes and rockets hanging from the ceiling and mounted everywhere. Alisha wore her GPS watch and was recording 10 to 15 miles of walking on some of the big days of our trip like this one. By the evening, we were in need of a rest break and watched a one hour film in the Smithsonian's IMax theater on space travel. 

Throughout the day, parts of the mall were quite crowded as it was the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March and there was a huge gathering on the mall by the Capitol. We avoided the crowds throughout most of the day until the event ended and there were people everywhere. We ate dinner at an Indian restaurant called Grand Trunk with some of the craziest decor we've seen anywhere. Finally, we finished off the day with a night time visit to the Jefferson Memorial.

Day 3

After a huge day 2 on our feet, we knew that we needed to mix things up a bit and so we rented bikes and headed into the countryside on a big bike path loop. We rode past crazy old graveyards, along narrow winding paths following a river, down a railroad grade, and finally back along the grand Potomac River and back into the heart of the city.

We left the bikes behind for the afternoon so that we could see this famous WWII memorial as well as Arlington Cemetery with it's endless rows of white tombstones. There were some notable points of interest here such as JFK's grave and the tomb of the unknown soldier. By the time we walked from Arlington across the Potomac bridge and back to the mall the sun was setting and we were getting tired. We found a delicious and healthy veggie restaurant with the somewhat ironic name of Beefsteak (although it is after this type of tomato) where we found some of the best food of the whole trip. Then it was back to the hotel to chart out the next part of the adventure.

Spontaneous Fun!

Alisha says: We woke up early Saturday morning and set out for what we thought was going to be a hike on a trail near Saquaro Lake, but when we got there the trail was closed for maintenance. So we adapted and still ended up having a really fun morning. We first found a four wheel drive trail near where we were going to hike and drove our subaro through some sandy washes and around through the desert to a little hidden cove/beach. We then made our way back to the marina where we rented a little fishing boat and went trolling around for a little bit. It was fun to get out on the water and I was tempted to jump in but ended up staying in the boat, maybe next time.

In the afternoon we got some baby practice in when Christine asked us to watch 6 day old newborn Jonathan during the afternoon session of conference. It was fun to hold and snuggle him and I am glad that our baby will have a cousin that is so close in age. I can't believe that in less than nine weeks and we will have our own little one. I still feel like I have a lot to do to get ready.

Tonto Natural Bridge State Park

Alisha says: Saturday we took a trip to Payson and visited a cool little state park called Tonto Natural Bridge State Park. It is believed to be the largest natural travertine bridge in the world, who knew? We did the little hike/scramble down Pine Canyon, under the bridge and up the other side. It was a fun area to see.

 And a 29 week pregnant picture.

Labor Day Weekend Fun

Alisha says: We spent the long three day weekend with Christine's family in Flagstaff. It was great to escape the heat and hang out in the pine trees for a few days. Highlights from the trip include:

Hiking the Old Cave Crater Trail: This is a short hike just outside of Flagstaff. Dave and I took Christine's girls aged 4-8 and this was a great hike for them. There were a few small caves for them to explore at the top.

Walnut Canyon National Monument: This is a cool monument where you can easily look across the canyon and view about 80 cliff dwellings built by the Sinagua between 1125 and 1250 AD.

Mountain Biking on Campbell Mesa and part of the Arizona Trail by the Snowbowl. These are the easiest, smooth, non technical trails around Flagstaff. I never thought I would still be doing any mountain biking at 27 weeks pregnant but I am still feeling great, my belly is getting bigger but it's not in the way yet.

Exploring the Flagstaff Lava River Tube Cave: It is an impressive one mile long lava tube that is spacious enough to handle the steady stream of people that were there on the holiday weekend. I wasn't sure about taking all of Christine's kids in the cave as the ground was really uneven and you had to do some rock scrambling but they all did great.