I’m finally back in town after a 9 day trip to the East Coast. I flew with my dad and sister to Newark, NJ, where we found humidity and traffic. A short 1.5 hour drive later, we were standing in the driveway of my Grandmother’s new house. During our short stay in New Jersey, we visited numerous beaches, ran along the boardwalk, stared in awe at the gorgeous beach houses along the ocean, went out for ice-cream, and true to the Whalen nature, read a lot and played games (Mexican Dominoes is our family favorite). We also met up with my Aunt, three of my cousins, and their families.
Taken from the plane on the way to Newark:
I also got to meet the youngest member of our family for the very first time, Miss Lorelei (as a huge Gilmore Girls fan, I absolutely love her name):
She was a bit shy at first, but by the end of the day we were best of friends. She loves tickles, bouncing, and giving hugs.
To New York City we went! We stayed in the upper west side, close to a family friend who showed us around. We visited NYU, Greenwich Village, Columbia U, ran around Central Park, and much more. An important to-do item that we checked off the list: eat a New York bagel. All of our lives my sister and I have heard from my parents that there is no bagel in Spokane that could ever compare to a New York one. Well, mom and dad, you were right. Those NY bagels are pretty darn good.
My sister is absolutely smitten with the city and has declared that she wants to move there some day. Personally, while I loved visiting, I could not imagine myself living in the middle of such a big city.
View from the reservoir in Central Park that I ran around:
The castle overlooking Turtle Pond:
From New York, we headed over to my Aunt and Uncle’s house near Hartford, CT. We were greeted by two engergetic dogs and a delicious dinner. My Aunt spoiled me with a huge fruit salad filled with some of my most favorite fruits: strawberries, raspberries, grapes, and watermelon. I could live off of fruit, and I love that fresh fruit is abundant during the summertime! We had a bonfire in the backyard and had a chance to relax for a little while before heading to Massachusetts the next morning. However, before we left, my Aunt and cousin took us to a nearby running trail. I had to keep up my cross-country training during the trip, and this trail was the perfect place to run. We had breakfast at a nearby bakery called LaSalle’s.
After quick showers, we drove off in search of Cambridge, MA. We found Harvard, bookstores, and a delicious ice-cream shop. We couldn’t stay for long and I was disappointed when we had to leave. I would have stayed all day to explore if I could have!
We got helplessly lost trying to find our way out of Cambridge, but the long, stressful drive was worth it when we arrived at Plum Island, MA. We stayed in a beach house with our MA family and friends.
Doesn’t this photo look unreal?!
There was an incredible sandbar:
I took home a bag full of seashells:
My uncle is an amazing cook. We were treated to fantastic meals! We had fresh lobster for dinner:
Divine sunset:
At the Plum Island beach house we filled our days with playing at the ocean, walking along the beach, playing gin rummy, reading on the hammock, canoeing, and making trips to a cute little convenience store.
After leaving Plum Island, we stopped again in CT before finally driving back to the Newark airport for a redeye flight. Nine days of exhaustive travel meant that home sweet home never sounded so good!
I hope everyone else’s summers have been filled with adventure, sunshine, and smiles.
Until next time,
Virginia
