Out The Car Window~Blogtoberfest 2012 Day 19

Hi Friends,
During our road trip to Denver and back in August, there were many times the traffic came to a standstill.  Every single state we drove through had construction somewhere.  Usually I would pull out the camera and take pictures.   The zoom lens was great for this.  Here are some of them.

I hope you have a fantastic Friday!

xo Annette xo

More Mountains~Blogtoberfest 2012 Day 8

Hi Friends,
This weekend went by way to fast.  And the weather was summer one day at 85 degrees with lots of sunshine and humidity and the next day was 55 degrees, rainy and chilly.  Crazy!

I think I established that I love the mountains in this post.  Coming home from Denver, well actually from Arkansas, we came through Virginia and the Blue Ridge Mountains.  They are quite different from the Rockies but just as beautiful.  I loved looking out the car window and seeing the farms and the cows and the old trucks.

I would imagine it's quite beautiful here this time of year.  I would love to go back and find out for sure!

What did you do this weekend?

xo Annette xo

The Never A Dull Moment Trip To Denver~Part 3

Dear Friends,

The Denver saga continues!  After loosing a whole day due to forgetting a bag at the hotel, we got on the road on Sunday only slightly rested and definitely frustrated that we wouldn't get to Denver that day.  We were so thankful when we stopped for the night that it had been an uneventful day!  Unfortunately, we couldn't say the same thing about the next day!

That's the trailer tire on the other side!  Yes, it blew too, and this time it was scary.  We heard the loud pop and suddenly we were in the other lane and Michael was fighting to get the Jeep under control.  I was watching in the side view mirror as the tire was disintegrating and the fender was peeling off.  That metal piece to the right is the fender and was still attached by one screw when we stopped.  I'm so thankful there wasn't a car in the other lane and that the semi behind us was able to slow down til we could pull over.  This could have been so much worse.

This time we were in the middle of nowhere in Kansas.  Michael called USAA and initially they told us it would be four to six hours before a tow truck could come.  Talk about discouraging.  However, after about an hour, the tow truck guy called to let us know he was on the way and he even found a place that had a tire.  This time we were back on the road after two and a half hours.  But talk about paranoid!  Every time we ran over something or there was the slightest noise that sounded like a pop, we held our breath waiting to see if it was a tire!

We were determined to make it to Denver and we made it around midnight.  We missed an exit and drove around in Aurora for a bit before finding our way.  That was a little weird knowing the shooting wasn't that long ago and the movie we saw the night before starting the trip was the Batman movie that was playing.  Anyway, we finally made it to the hotel at 1 am Tuesday Morning.   I was never so glad to finally get somewhere as I was at that moment!

In the end, we figured the trailer tires were old, although they didn't have many miles on them, and they were just cheap.  We upgraded with the new tires and didn't have any more problems.  Michael joked about burning the trailer in Sean's parking lot but he was only half joking!  I don't think we'll be making any more cross country trips with it.

I have lots more pictures and things to share but I'll do that over time.  In the meantime, have a fabulous Friday!

xo Annette xo

The Good The Bad and the Three Year Old

My Daughter, Erin, and I decided to take a mini trip after our road trip to Arkansas was canceled due to the flooding of the Mississippi River.  We went to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, one of our favorite places to go when it's not tourist season.  It is Amish country and we have been visiting there for the past 20 years.  Usually it's just a day trip but there's so much to do that we decided to make it four days.  It was not our best trip!

Now don't get me wrong.  It wasn't our worst trip or even a bad trip.  Just not the best!  I forgot what it's like traveling with a three year old who is still in the terrible twos stage.  You know what I mean...temper tantrums, short attention span, temper tantrums, sleep schedule off, temper tantrums!!  And it didn't help that her mama was coming down with a cold either!

We realized by the end of the first day that we weren't going to be able to do everything we wanted to.  So we narrowed it down to a couple of things and tried to enjoy the rest of our time there.  One of our favorite things we did was visit Cafe Chocolate of Lititz.  We had a Dark Chocolate Crepe filled with mascapone cheese, fresh strawberries and dark chocolate truffle ganache, served with strawberries, fresh cream and a dark chocolate drizzle! It was to die for and I don't even like dark chocolate!!

Doesn't it look good? And to wash it down we had a Chocolate Strawberry Lush. It was like drinking chocolate covered strawberries!

We sat outside in the tiny garden and Shylee even helped pick the bluebells that the owner set on our table.

The hotel we stayed at had a playground, a duck pond and a swimming pool, so Shylee got to have some fun too!
These are some of my favorite photos from the trip.

It was nice to go away but it was nice to come home! I think it will just be day trips with Shylee for a couple more years!

Do you have any traveling stories with a 

toddler or preschooler?

Please share!!!

Silent Sunday ~ A Tree In Charleston

Well, maybe not so silent today!  

When we visited Charleston, South Carolina, we went to Magnolia Cemetery and there was this incredible oak tree. It was bent over as if bowing in prayer, and the branches were growing along the ground.  It was huge and fascinating.  The pictures don't do it justice but you get an idea of how amazing it is!

Have a wonderful Sunday!!!

We Went To Charleston SC

To celebrate our thirty second anniversary, we went to Charleston, South Carolina.  What a treat that was on so many different levels!  We stayed at a beautiful B&B and did a lot of walking, shopping, eating and driving around.  The highlight of the trip was seeing our friend, Linda, who introduced us and we haven't seen since 1988!   It was also nice to be in a warmer climate for a few days!

There will be more later!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!!!