Sunday, July 28, 2013

Jeannie: Days 1-4

Since Stacy and Abby have done such a good job retelling our daily adventures, I thought I would just add some details and personal insights.

We call it “Thelma and Louise” because it’s a girl’s road trip, just like the movie.  However, we are doing our best to stay on the good side of the law.  I bought matching Thelma and Louise sunglasses for each of us and we’ve been taking self-portraits in various spots wearing our sunglasses.  Kim has really gotten into this and has us posing it in all kinds of places and positions.
















Saturday, July 27, 2013

Stacy: Before you hear it from someone else...

EDITED 7-28-13

And before anyone gives you evidence and tries to sway your opinion on the facts: the whale watching tour was both uneventful and eventful at the same time.  No whales, but, yes, my breakfast did become food for the fishies following in the boat's wake. The only railing you were allowed to vomit over was the aft railing, where it was noisiest, and most accessible.

I'll have you know that I was feeling 85-90% fine for 2/3 of the boat ride, and then, for whatever reason, everyone decided to go downstairs.  I decided to follow, and then began to feel sick after about 15 minutes. 

So. Yeah.  There you have it.

Luckily, our hotel has a crappy breakfast, and I only had two donuts to eat...

More on the whale tour tonight.  Not that there's much more to come from my mouth.  *rimshot*

Abby: Day 2

Left early in the morning again! Saw a giant blue bug by the side of the road! We went to the Providence State House. It had beautiful rooms! It was freezing cold, and we wore coats the whole time. We went to the Lizzie Borden House. We toured the house. I got to lie on the floor where Abby Borden was murdered. I got a strange feeling lying there on the floor! We also went to the graveyard to see the Bordens’ graves. We went to the American Girl Store for dinner. At the American Girl Bistro I ate cheesy pretzels, a mini picnic, a sparkly drink, and 3 brownie pops. They had special chairs for the dolls to sit at the table and eat with you! They also have doll holders in the bathrooms so it can keep your doll safe and dry. The food was delicious, and we were glad we were not in the pouring rain! At the end of the day we went on a ghost tour of Salem. We visited many houses, hotels, and stores. We had a day full of girls, stories, and hauntings!  






Stacy: Day of the third!

NOTE: Again, we have horrible Wi-Fi at our hotel, so I had the foresight to Swype this whole thing on my phone. See how much I love you all??  Everyone else will contribute when they are next able. We will be in this hotel tomorrow night as well, but this is the last time we have reservations for this hotel chain for the duration of our adventure.

Today, we were able to take the day at a leisurely pace.  We "slept-in" until 9am, and took advantage of the hotel's free breakfast (we only booked hotels with free breakfast and Wi-Fi), and made our way to the House of Seven Gables.

I don't remember who lived there, etc, but it was a really neat, historically accurate, of house, originally built in the 1600s.  Everything in it was as close to the original ___ (fill in the blank--fireplace, "toaster," built-in alcohol cabinet) as could be.  Even the bed linens had a thread count accurate for an affluent master bedroom between 1600-1800.  The most exciting thing for me, though, was going up a real secret staircase!  It was probably no more than 30 inches in width, but it went directly from the first floor to the third.  The guide said one of the owners liked to act mysteriously and mischievously, quietly slinking between floors in order to startle people.

We then drove back to Salem, MA, so I could buy a Salem-specific trinket. All the stores were closed last night since the ghost tour started at 8pm.  We ended up walking around the area for a while longer, and it was really pleasant.  The drizzle burned off, and it warmed up.

Since we were later in leaving Salem, MA, than we had planned, we postponed America's Stonehenge.  They close at 4pm; we would have arrived too late.  We may be able to hit it in the way home, though.

So, we drove to Maine!  We geo-cached in each state we hit along the way.  I even found some wild raspberries near the New Hampshire Welcome Center cache.  They were tiny berries, but oh boy were they flavorful!!

Right after entering Maine, we stopped at York Beach, and saw the Nubble Light House.  I think light houses are just ok, but OH BOY was the cape the most beautiful I've ever seen!  Huge, granite rocks, strewn about by God from digging a hole on the other side of the world, with small, beautiful waves crashing over and around them.  Once again, we spent more time there than we originally anticipated, but it was well worth it.

Then, we drove down the street and had ice cream for dinner.  Yum!  We drove a little further and got to see how taffy is made.  Oh.  And then we had dinner.  ;o)

Last, but not least, we began to listen to the "Anne of Green Gables" audio book on our way to the hotel.  Now?  SLEEP.  All this traveling and walking around is quite tiring!  Plus, we have an early day tomorrow:  6am wake up for whale watching tour!

Friday, July 26, 2013

MAINE

We are officially in Maine!  We've already made friends.  They are so friendly here!

Abby: Day 1

Left an hour later than expected! the journey begins! we watched a beautiful sunset in New York City! we've already gone through six states, and it has only been one day!



Stacy: Day de Dos

I am rather exhausted right now, but today was a fun day.  We started in Providence, Rhode Island, where I had my photo taken in front of the State House while wearing my PHS t-shirt.  That can now be crossed off my bucket list!  It was cold and drizzly (remember: it is rarely below 85 degrees in South Texas for 9 months of the year).





We also walked around the town.  It's a really nice, little city!

I think we then rushed to the Lizzy Borden House.  Now, THAT was a neat tour!!!  I was the volunteer chosen to "play" the corpse of Abby Borden, Lizzy's step-mother.  I got down on the floor, in the exact spot that her body was found.  While the carpeting has been since changed out, the wood floor is still stained with her blood (hearsay).



You could totally see her body from the stairs... but if you weren't looking in that room, I can understand how you could miss seeing her body.  I also laid down on the couch in the same room and position that Lizzy's father was found.  The couch was not the original, but the original does still exist.  In true Stacy fashion, the keepsakes I purchased were postcards (one each) of the crime scene photos (of the bodies).  :oD  Recreation of the crime scene photos for your viewing pleasure:





We then had an extended birthday celebration for Abby by dining at the American Girl Store in Boston.  It was a neat experience, and a fun and tasty meal with The Others, but I think it's safe to say that there are some major differences between my tastes and my niece's (this is not necessarily a bad thing!!!).

On the way to the AG Store, the sky completely opened up on us and did not close until we were mostly at our next destination.  Poor Kim.  We then drove to Salem, Massachusetts, where we went on a neat ghost tour.  Abby held my hand a lot, but no ghosts were sighted, no mini-hauntings occurred.  It had still been drissly and cold when the ghost tour began, but towards the end it was just cold.  We were all pretty chilled and still very happy we had our jackets/coats/whatever!!  We attempted to find a geo-cache at the Salem Witch Memorial, but we couldn't find it.  We'll try again during the day, when we can actually see stuff!

All-in-all, quite an exciting and haunting day!!  :oD  Sorry for any incomplete thoughts.  I am now going to become unconscious................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

P.S.  The WiFi at this hotel is crappy, so this is being posted the morning after Day 2.  :o(  I'll try to edit this post tomorrow evening, after we reach our next hotel.  I believe that's when Mom and Kim will both be able to upload their photos.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Stacy: The Journey Begins...

So, I'm not exactly sure how many states we drove through today, but I know The Others told me.  I think, five???  I was too busy looking out the van windows, enjoying the beautiful GREEN plants (south Texas isn't exactly "green").

I have never driven higher than Pennsylvania, so seeing the New Your City skyline for the first time was pretty neat. I think that was probably the highlight of the day.



We hit several geo-caches in several states!  One was in a busy rest stop, and several people looked at us funny.  Another was at a gas station, and was obviously missing.  Abby and I put our drivethrough dinner (McDonald's) on hold to go searching for this thing.  We raised the plastic covers off of those cement car-blocker thingies up looking for it... Kim and Mom thought it was hilarious-looking.

Tomorrow is going to be neat--I attended Providence High School (years ago), and I have always wanted to visit Providence, Rhode Island, to take a photograph there, in front of a landmark, in my PHS t-shirt.

That's enough for tonight!  Signing off...

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Our Journey Begins...

Our jam-packed adventure begins on July 24th, 2013.  Look forward to daily updates from all four of us!