Road Trip to the Northeast

Day 1-2 

We set out on our first big family road trip.  We had a 25 hour drive to Boston.  We left at 5 am in order to get a chunk of the trip done early.  We drove 16 hours that first day.  It was a lot!  But, that meant we only had 9 more to go the next day to be in Boston.

I almost missed the Massachusetts sign, the one we'd been waiting for.

We ordered pizza from a local place and swam that night.

Day 3

The next day, we met Makenzie and her parents at a farm/petting zoo.  It was a great place to meet because we could take our time and get to know them.  Makenzie was shy for about a minute.  Then she was running and playing with the kids.

We've always thought she looks more like the boys, but her hair is exactly what Monroe's used to look like.  Her personality reminds us a lot of Monroe at that age.

Then we went to a market for lunch

We said good-bye to them and headed into Boston for our evening adventure, whale watching!

This picture doesn't do them justice, but the hydrangeas in Boston were so blue!

Before leaving, they kept announcing that it was going to be a really rough ride.  We were told it would go 4 feet up in the air and 4 feet back down every 7-8 seconds, and that we should reschedule if we could.  The tour was four hours long, so I was nervous it was going to be a rough afternoon.  Adding to that is the chance that you don't see any whales.  We decided to risk it and go anyway.

 

Thankfully, the water was not bad.  All of us had medicine, but none of us were bothered at all.  

One of the first things we saw was a breach!  Breaches only happen on 10% of their whale watches.  We ended up with 7 breaches in all.

We were also surprised when the whales came really close to the boat. 

Whale watching was incredible!  We felt so lucky to see everything that we did.  The host told us to never come on another whale watch because it would never be as good as this one.

Day 4

The next day started at the Boston Aquarium.

This was Makenzie waiting for her first train ride into the city.

touching the sting rays was a favorite part

Monroe got Makenzie a gift

Big sis/lil sis bracelets

After the aquarium, we parted ways.  We went to lunch and then went to our historical tour.

We were early so the kids cooled off in this wading pond

our tour guide

Paul Revere's house

Day 5

The next day we left Boston for the White Mountains in New Hampshire

We stopped for a few hours at the ocean

The only other time the kids have been to the ocean, it was a cold, rainy day, but the water was warm.  This was a gorgeous day, but the water was very cold.

They spent their time collecting shells from the water

The boys had lunchables for the first time

We got to our condo in New Hampshire.  

Jen's mom left us a basket of goodies and information and filled our fridge with things for breakfast!

Day 6

The next day we met the Smiths at a swimming hole only the locals know about.  The water was cold, but not like the ocean. We ended up spending 4+ hours there.

the same river by our condo

That evening we met at a local pizza place.  It was amazing!

Makenzie loved this swing.  She would tell us whose turn it was next.

Day 7

The Smiths took us on a hike that we could handle.

a tiny tree frog

This picture is so crazy to me.  Makenzie and Graham have very similar facial features.

That night, Zach and I went out to dinner with just Jen and Ryan.  It was a wonderful time together!

We came home to our three watching a movie in Monroe's bed.

Day 8

July 4th

We spent the morning at Canmore, a nearby ski resort with a lot of summer activities.

This was a seated zipline.

The boys were not old enough to ride the mountain coaster by themselves.  Graham asked the lady running it if he could try it, and she let him.  After that, they each rode many times by themselves.

We rode the ski lift to the top of the mountain.

While we were at Canmore, Makenzie was at a parade

For supper we went to Jen's parents' house.  They prepared a tradition July 4th lobster feed for us!

Our extended family

I love this picture of Jen.  She had fun teaching us how to eat lobster.

Monroe and Graham each tried it

The lobster was delicious!  Zach and I ate 3 between us.

For dessert we had homemade strawberry shortcake

It was hard to say good-bye to everyone not knowing when we will see them again.

Day 9-11

The next morning, before leaving New Hampshire, we hit up a highly recommended bakery and a bridge gift shoppe. Then, we drove to New York.

The next morning, we went to Niagara Falls.

Ready to ride the Maid of the Mist

(We were told it would be a 2 1/2 hour wait, but we only waited an hour)

If you go to Niagara, do the boat ride.  It is worth it!

I love this picture!

We took three days to get home in total.  We were all ready to get home to Huxley.

Monroe stole all of the covers

Pierce's cushion bed

There were a couple nights of extreme weather in Hastings while we were gone.  One night, our neighbors,  who watched our dog a few of the days, had to go get Huxley and take him to their house.

And...we're back!

We had the best vacation.  Driving was not bad at all.  We had so many cool experiences as a family of five.  And, we loved all of our time with Makenzie, Jen, and Ryan.  Thank you to the Smiths for spending the week with us!