Category: Family Travel

It’s not creeping, I’m just appreciating good curb appeal.

Oh, but if these houses could only talk…

Our friends at GM were kind enough to send us a loaner, this week. They knew Melisa was visiting with us from Chicago and thought I would probably appreciate playing tour guide in a vehicle that…you know…actually works…because they are awesome, like that.

It was so nice to be able to show Melisa all our favorite places here in Jersey and NOT have to worry about breaking down on an off ramp or, even worse, a jug handle (i.e. traffic circle or rotary).

But that is a different post, for another day.

Here’s the really awesome part: they let me borrow the car through tomorrow, because they are TOTALLY AWESOME like that, so my husband and I took our middle daughter to visit colleges in Boston.

The weather was beautiful and it actually hit 60 degrees on Saturday, which is EVEN MORE AWESOME, considering we’re talking about New England, in mid-November.

I was swiping through the pictures on my cell phone and was once again reminded of my slight addiction to creeping on other people’s houses.

Especially at sunset: when the houses take on a warm and inviting glow and each entryway becomes a prelude to a much deeper story that lies within.

We decided to go exploring around Bunker Hill and, well, here are just a few (seriously, I’ve got a BIG problem) of my favorite captures:

I don’t know about my husband, Garth (not his real name), but I’m pretty much ready to move in…as soon as we hit the lottery…HARD!!!…I could totally see myself living here.

In and around Commonwealth Avenue, not so much. Even a car THIS awesome can’t avoid the efficiency of the Boston traffic police.

P.S. The check is in the mail…damnit.

©2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

I’m NaBloPoMo-ing it, feel free to check out what I’ve NaBloPoMo-ed, so far (PHEW!) and let me know how I’m doing (I mean, 30 posts, in 30 days, really?!?) when you have time, of course!

November 17, 2013

Thanks for the memories, we miss you already.

Melisa and I drove down to Seaside Heights, yesterday. I hadn’t been back since Superstorm Sandy ripped through the Jersey shore a little over a year ago, so it was a bittersweet moment for me. Melisa wrote a beautiful post about our trip to Seaside Park and captures the meaning behind “Jersey Strong,” perfectly.

Which is truly ironic, considering this is her first trip to our neck of the woods and that many folks have openly questioned Melisa why, of all places, she would even consider visiting New Jersey.

It’s okay, we’re used to it. Also, it’s mid-November; if I had my choice, I’d probably pick somewhere a little, you know, warmer to spend my frequent flyer miles, too.

Still, it was very important for me that Melisa was made to feel right at home and I asked my kids to help by treating her as if they would any other member of our family.

We invited her to attend my son’s last football game of the season with us and, after teasing each other, giggling in unison like a bunch of school girls and then huddling close together (it was like Antarctica cold, last night) my youngest daughter turned around to ask Melisa a question.

“Hey mom…wait…I mean, Melisa…”

I feel it safe to say that…THAT alone…was most likely worth the 1,600 miles.

Aaaaaand, it’s okay. I didn’t mind one bit, because anyone who knows Melisa would probably agree with me when I tell you that SHE REALLY IS sort of hard to resist, like that.

Thanks for all of the wonderful memories, we miss you already, Melisa.

I’m NaBloPoMo-ing it, feel free to check out what I’ve NaBloPoMo-ed, so far (PHEW!) and let me know how I’m doing (I mean, 30 posts, in 30 days, really?!?) when you have time, of course!

November 15, 2013

Sharing in a little bit of November magic.

When my husband, Garth (not his real name) heard that Melisa was going to visit with us, his initial reaction was, “Uhhhhhh, okay then, where are you going to take her?”

Considering it is November and summertime is pretty much over on the Jersey shore, after traveling all the way from Chicago, he was afraid the weather would not cooperate and that she would be bored.

Me and Melisa Fall 2013 in New Jerrrrrrrrrrrsey

On the contrary, Melisa and I have been going non-stop since she got here: we dropped her bag at the front door and headed back out to explore the hiking paths that run through Longstreet Farm in Holmdel Park. My kids have been going “to the farm” since they were babies and it is still one of our favorite places to go to walk, talk or just air out our brains, a little.

We hit the beach on Tuesday: visiting the world’s tallest sandcastle (seriously, it was AWESOME!) in Point Pleasant Beach. It was built to help raise money for Restore the Shore and we’re hoping that it will stay intact long enough for Melisa to come back and see it in the springtime…when our faces won’t freeze off…hopefully!

We rode the train into Manhattan on Wednesday to meet up with our dear, sweet friend Patty (she blogs at Enjoying This Life). I adore Patty and absolutely love the pic we took after our lunch date. It took us a couple of tries: it was a very windy day, which is conducive to taking ridiculously unflattering selfies.

Melisa and I then decided to head into Central Park and, although the weather was still on the chilly side, it really did turn out to be a perfect autumn day and we each found new and exciting things to explore.

Belvedere Castle: the official Central Park weather station .

The tree behind me cast a shadow on the stone of the Belvedere Castle that I think is both cool AND creepy.

Alice in Wonderland, in Central Park

There are many bronze statues found throughout Central Park, but Alice in Wonderland is my absolute favorite.

Bethesda Terrace Arcade in Central Park

We also found another cool staircase, followed it down and…WOW!!!…we were both blown away by the beauty of what we found. There are literally thousands of Minton tiles found in this awesome walkway in the center of Central Park that leads to the Mall and Central Park Lake.

I was also reminded of another reason why I love living in New Jersey: it’s right next door to NYC, one of the most magical places in the world and I am SO glad I got the chance to share it with Melisa, in November.

I’m NaBloPoMo-ing it, feel free to check out what I’ve NaBloPoMo-ed, so far (PHEW!) and let me know how I’m doing (I mean, 30 posts, in 30 days, really?!?) when you have time, of course!

November 14, 2013

Sandy Castle, the world’s tallest sandcastle.

One of the many reasons I love living on the central Jersey coast (yes, ON PURPOSE!) is our close proximity to, well, everything.

Agricultural and dairy farms, campgrounds, hiking trails, lakes surrounded by two state parks and OF COURSE our favorite beaches are ALL less than a 30 minute drive from our front door.

Problem is, I want to show ALL of it to Melisa or, at the very least, do my best to make her…you know…want to come back to Jersey.

Yesterday was our first full day of exploring, so first thing on my list of “show Melisa ALL the things” is: Sandy Castle at Jenkinson’s Beach in Pt. Pleasant.

Sandy Castle was declared the world’s tallest sandcastle by Guinness World Records on October 29, 2013: one year anniversary of Super Storm Sandy.

Sandy Castle was built to raise money to help Restore the Shore.

Although, my brain was too frozen to think about having her stand next to it (the temperature didn’t go above 38 degrees, yesterday) she did manage to snap one off of me…because, she’s smart AND really good at this blogging thing, like that.

P.S. Check out HometownHeroes.org to see all the awesome stuff going on in our community of helpers, here in Jersey.

I’m NaBloPoMo-ing it, feel free to check out what I’ve NaBloPoMo-ed, so far (PHEW!) and let me know how I’m doing (I mean, 30 posts, in 30 days, really?!?) when you have time, of course!

November 13, 2013

A Brief Encounter, With a Doorman, In New York City

Day 1 into NaBloPoMo…[scratches head, blank stare]…and NOW I remember why I haven’t NaBloPoMo-ed since 2011…this blogging every day (even on weekends) thing is hard…YO!!!

The really cool thing about NaBloPoMo-ing is that there are daily prompts to help get my blogging juices going, but today’s prompt was a little too hard (i.e. made me think more than I really care to) for a Friday.

Instead, I’d like to tell you about a brief encounter, with a doorman, in New York City:

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November 1, 2013

Our Stay, Play and Eat Weekend at Morey’s Piers

My family and I were very honored to have been invited, as special guests of Morey’s Piers, to spend the weekend in Wildwood, NJ and meet the famous Morey brothers, in person.

Okay, so I was THRILLED!!!

I got to revisit some of my favorite childhood memories of summertime(s) past: when my twin brother and I would spend our days playing on the beach, as my parents sunned themselves while listening to my dad’s favorite doo-wop radio station (WCBS FM 101.1), and then follow the parade of flip flops, begging our parents for “Please, just one more quarter?!?” to play any one of the dozens of carnival games (it was a long time ago, shuddup!) along the 2 miles of boardwalk, at night.

Okay, great, but what really made this family getaway even MORE fabulous:

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July 2, 2013

Tell Them About My Name

My kids love hearing the stories behind their namesakes and each still pretty much like their given names, except for our youngest: while playing a name game at a friend’s baby shower, Hope insisted she wanted to be called Robin.

“How come my name doesn’t start with a H, like the girls?”

For two reasons: naming your children with the same letter sounds harmless enough, until you try hollering for one of them, and can’t seem to remember their names, without sounding like an idiot…each and every blessed time…because, I’m smart like that.

There is also a pretty neat and totally goosebump-worthy story behind the reason why we chose to name our son, Glen.

One of my husband Garth’s (not his real name) earliest childhood memories was from the summer when he was about 4 years-old: he fell into a rose bush, ten times his size (as he remembers it) when a really big boy from the neighborhood ran over and, without hesitation reached in through the thorns, lifted him out, brushed him off and then walked him home.

The really big boy was a 19-year old, his name was Glen Bates — a few months later, he was killed in Vietnam.

But wait, my story is about to get a whole lot goosebump-ier.

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April 29, 2013

Our Mother/Daughter Weekend, Gone Ugly Cry

I feel extremely lucky to have experienced (what I consider to be) once-in-a-lifetime type moments, via my little corner of the internets and feel very blessed to have a strong online network of friends and peers (yes, they know about it!) most especially, when dissing them during the Type-A Advanced blogging conference in Philadelphia to spend the rest of the weekend, with my oldest daughter.

it’s our first mother/daughter weekend away, can you tell?!?

While my friends Amy Clark and Jo-Lynne Shane fed my inner-squirrel…I mean, what I meant to say was…encouraged my love of Pinterest (heh) and Maria Bailey had me pretty much convinced that I really do need to improve my vlogging skills (or lack thereof), my oldest spent the day taking herself on a walking tour of Philadelphia.

We’ve been to Philadelphia as a family, but it’s been a while since our last visit and this time I did not have to worry about maneuvering through the crowds…with a stroller…yeah, it’s been a looooong while.

Later, Holly confessed that she was also much more relaxed, not having to worry about keeping an eye on her siblings and, well, she is (and always has been) more like a mother to them…than I am…apparently, I don’t have a very good inside voice OR follow cross-at-the-crosswalk-type rules, very well, either.

Kid is a tyrant, I tell ya!

Even later, while I was checking in at work during a break in between sessions, Holly limped back into our hotel room, and, well, The Franklin Institute is about a 50 minute walk from Independence Hall…one way…just so you know.

I know what you’re thinking (maybe), but she didn’t want to spend money on a taxi, even though she was wearing the wrong shoes, especially for such a looooooooong walk, and, well, I wonder where she gets THAT from?!?

[face palm]

Even later still, I got a text from Holly: poolside 😀

I texted her back, asking if the water was warm: no 🙁

It was an indoor pool, but the hotel had just opened it up the day before, so 🙁 indeed.

Then, the conference came to a close, I headed out to spend the rest of the afternoon exploring Philadelphia with my kid.

Holly in her secret pretend victorian garden.

We are both BIG fans of early-American history — not to mention historical romance novels — and had LOTS of fun pretending to walk in Poppy Hathaway’s unconventional shoes…along the grounds belonging to the roguishly-handsome entrepreneur, Harry Rutledge…an American-born enigmatic hotel owner in London and inventor with wealth, power, and a dangerous hidden life…aaaaaaand…ummmmmmm…what, not a big fan of Lisa Kleypas, eh?

Right. Soooooo, then we got hungry.

Aaaaaaand, boy did we eat! EVER!!! The great thing about visiting Philadelphia (or any metro-area city, really) is, of course, the food and we found a little hidden treasure in Pizzicato located in Olde City.

mother/daughter weekends: this is how we do it.

Then came the moment we’d BOTH been waiting for: getting back to the hotel, ordering dessert and a movie in, where we cried the ugly cry and blew through an entire box of tissues.

“I love…[snort-snort]…the relationship we have…[choke-choke]…and that we could…[gasp-gasp]…do this, together…[choke-choke]…Mom.”

Aaaaaand, considering the fact that she knows, that I know, that she knows, I am a total dork (we’re BOTH okay wit-it) that right there, my friends, is my MOST favorite part of this ENTIRE weekend and totally worth the over-inflated price of an in-room movie…YO!!!

[lump, meet throat]

On the way home, I asked Holly what she enjoyed most about our weekend away?

[one beat, two beats]

“Taking a nice, long, hot bath WITHOUT having to worry about someone knocking on the door OR the hot water running out.”

Yep, she’s my kid a’ight 🙂 She’s gonna be a really great mom, one day, don’tcha think?!?

New and improved with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

April 23, 2013

New York’s Finger Lakes: The Canandaigua Wine Trail

Eagle Crest Wine and newly constructed outdoor pizza oven!

I had the extreme pleasure of being invited by new friends at the Finger Lakes Visitors Connection in Ontario County, NY for a girlfriends weekend getaway and join them as guests of the Finger Lakes Foodie Awards.

We were treated to a wonderful foodie tour and met with some of the most amazing folks spearheading the farm to table (a.k.a. field to fork) food revolution.

Our 4-day visit was packed with SO MANY wonderful experiences, so I am very excited (and most eager) to share with you the fun things to see and do in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, including the mirepoix of good times: wine, food and friends.

I’ve decided to create a series of blog posts to help us along in our journey — I don’t want you guys to miss a thing — so, I thought today maybe we could focus on wine…yes?!?

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March 22, 2013