Laundry, Tourist Attractions, Tents, and Pop Rocks

I've neglected the blog because of this:


Of course, if that were completely true, the pile of laundry wouldn't be there; all of the items would be neatly folded and put away. But certainly between roadtrips, camp-outs, outside play, and sports camp, the washing machine has been running almost non-stop.

We had a big roadtrip last week, an unplanned one, but one that was a whole lot of fun. Simel had some issues with his visa to take care of and a friend in DC who could help him, so last Wednesday we made the 5 1/2 hour trip down to our nation's capital.


Wednesday night I dropped Simel off at this friend's house, and we met back up on Thursday. We had a wonderful time seeing the sites, but the best part of all for me was that some friends from Atlanta happened to be in the area on the same day, so we got to see the sites together.








There was one shot I was SO excited to capture...yes, the one that EVERYONE captures. But, alas, it was definitely not meant to be:


I did get a little bit of the monument in the reflecting pool. Of course it was a mud puddle that captured the reflection, but anyway...










Remember that 5 1/2 hour drive down to DC? Well, it took us 9 1/2 hours to get home! I can't stress enough how nice it was to be home. Since we've gotten home, the kids have enjoyed a night camping in our backyard, and they have also been participating in sports camp at church.

We also had an outing of sorts yesterday. I saw Fizziwigs Candy Factory pinpointed on a map of Connecticut and thought it sounded like a fun place to visit. I assumed it was going to be a bit like Dylan's Candy Bar in NYC. Not really. We could have just gone down to the local drugstore for the same sugared assortment, but the experience gave me a good picture anyway:

A note to Simel's mom: No, I did not buy that giant lollipop for him; it just served as a great prop for the photo.

AND...the experience also afforded me an opportunity to give Simel a new experience: Pop Rocks. A must-do for any visitor to America! The jury's still out on whether or not he enjoyed the fizzy candy.


So the pile of laundry grows higher...it's been busy around here, that's for sure. Someday I will see the bottom of that mountain of clothing!

Disney 2011 - Getting There

While I miss being so very far from the warmth of the Sunshine State, I have to admit that a 2 1/2 hour plane ride down was a whole lot more enjoyable than an 8-hour road trip. The airplane is still a bit of a novelty to the kids; the car, well, it is not. Needless to say, they were excited to head to the airport last Saturday to board the jet.

We didn't leave until mid-afternoon, but we got there early enough to have a little time to hang out at the airport.











We did not go to Disney straight from the airport. Since we didn't arrive until evening, we decided not to use any of our Disney Vacation Club points for a few hours' sleep. So we used our Marriott points instead and stayed a a Courtyard. Honestly, I didn't care where we stayed; I was just happy to be in tropical paradise again!

The Final Details About What We Did in NYC

The first thing that grabbed me as we drove into the city, of course, was the architecture. I'm a sucker for a photo of interesting buildings, and I took a few hundred. Here is a sampling:

Part of Trump's Empire.

I love the colorful apartments with the fire escapes.




And I love the water towers that sit atop many of the buildings.


We checked into our hotel Friday afternoon. We were treated to a very fancy hotel in which we had 2 adjoining rooms. Mark's brother had free vouchers and was going to join us but at the last minute couldn't make it. Someone had to use the vouchers, and though it was a tough call, we volunteered to be that someone.

Parking cost a fortune at the hotel, but we turned the keys over to the valet anyway because we didn't know any better. Later we saw other parking options that were cheaper, but the penalty for taking the car out of valet parking and moving it elsewhere would have been greater than just leaving it there, so we just chalked it up to Lesson Learned for Next Time. Because I witnessed this kind of parking option in action on The Amazing Race a couple weeks ago, I was fascinated to see the real thing.


After we got settled in our room, we decided to head out into the frigid, gusty wind. We fought our way through it to Times Square.


On the agenda for Times Square: ToysRUs on steroids.


An enormous ferris wheel sits just inside the revolving doors.


And there is a section called Candyland which hocks, you guessed it, candy.


Having grown up in a third world country, I always experience a mixture of emotions when I observe overdone things like this ToysRUs. There is always still just a tinge of amazement, almost like a little culture shock to see so much. There is also disgust at the indulgence of Americans, the way everything must be over-the-top and way more than necessary. Last, there is just a little bit of amusement as I imagine the reaction of any African over such, well, what can only be tagged absurdity.

Following Times Square, we walked further to Rockefeller Center

where the kids visited the Lego store, and I enjoyed the tranquility of St. Patrick's Cathedral.


And following our long walk back, we searched for a place to have dinner. Clearly New York City is not made for families our size because there seemed to be few eating establishments that would accommodate us. We finally settled on a place that looked larger than the others and that offered some familiarity for us as well. It was called Southern Hospitality, and it served BBQ. Not the best BBQ in the world, but we did remind ourselves that we were in NYC, not Atlanta, plus we got to enjoy fresh brewed sweet tea with our meal.

The next day, we spent the morning at The Sea, Air, and Space Museum followed by our taxi drive to 59th and 3rd where we visited Dylan's Candy Bar.






The kids were permitted to pick out one item. With so many choices, it was a tough decision to make.


After our subway trip back to Times Square, a walk back to the hotel, and a few moments to catch our breath, our tummies were growling. Time for the dinner hunt again. Around the corner from our hotel is the Hell's Kitchen area, so there were a lot of choices, but again, such tiny little restaurants. We noticed driving in 3 Thai restaurants, all with the same name but with 2-4 storefronts separating them. We found that odd but later heard from our concierge that they are indeed the same restaurant and probably share a kitchen underground or in back somewhere, but they just couldn't get enough property all clumped together. So we went into one, made reservations for another, and then went back to the hotel to wait for our reservation time. It was worth the wait - the best Thai food we've ever had! A great way to end the evening...

...and to end our trip. Because when we woke up leisurely the next morning, it was time to head back home to the country. By contrast anyway.

Hershey

Linking up with You Capture (Black & White Expressions).

While the highlight of our Pennsylvania trip for me was our visit to Amish Country, the kids' favorite was definitely Chocolate World in Hershey. I think I already mentioned we visited Chocolate World two days in a row!


The great thing about Chocolate World is that admission is free. And, really, unless you get sucked in by any of the extras, you can have a great time without dropping much cash. In fact, there is even a ride that is free. The ride takes you through a tunnel of various animated displays that tell the story of chocolate.


Of course, there is also an obnoxious song that plays and gets seared into your brain forever after much like It's a Small World at Disney World. And the fact that the kids want to ride the ride over and over and over doesn't make clearing your head of the song any easier.






We did take advantage of some of the "extras" as well. We took part in a chocolate tasting event. And we saw a 3D movie, which was actually 4D with delightful smells filling the theater, splashing water, and creepy things tickling our feet.



I think perhaps our favorite activity was the creating our own treats.


Alex and Michael each whipped up a wicked cup of chocolatey, creamy, marshmallow-y hot chocolate, which they stirred with a chocolate-covered spoon.



Audrey decorated a giant basketball cookie, and Jacob created a deluxe S'More.




We had an extra fun trip because some friends of ours from Connecticut came along. Matthew also tried his hand at the S'Mores. Here he bit off a bit more marshmallow than his little mouth could chew, but his expression is priceless.



Overall, it was a very fun outing. And, although, we were a little bit weary of chocolate by the time we left, that weariness does not last forever!


Because, really, who could live without chocolate?