East Coast Trip part 3: Rhode Island

Our second day in Rhode Island we spent exploring South Kingston and Providence. We were going to go running in the morning but I worked out too hard the day before and I didn't want to hurt myself so bad that I couldn't walk around. It ended up being for the best though because we had more time to explore.

Our first stop was the Veteran's Cemetery to visit my papa's grave. This was my first time back in about 10 years so it was really important to me that we go. He loved the Jungle Book so while we were there we played the Bare Necessities :)

We also went out and spent the day in Providence. While we were wandering around we went to Rhode Island School of Design. It started out with the plan to go to the art museum at the school but when we found out how expensive it was, we decided to explore the campus instead which is spread out in downtown Providence. Josh found out they have an industrial design degree so he could do engineering and art, so we talked to admissions and he got some good information and wants to apply after his mission. We also looked at Brown University which lets RISD students take classes there. Both campuses are so pretty and Josh really liked the city. I love all the old buildings and I was also surprised by how many hills Providence has. I was expecting it to be flat but it has some crazy hills.

Brown University

We also went to Roger Williams park. It was really pretty and we had fun. Mike and I rode the carousel because I love carousels and I have been asking Mike to take me on one for a while if we came across one. We also walked by the water and enjoyed the beautiful fall weather. It was super peaceful. Some of the leaves were starting to change but it was still lots of yellow and orange, not much red yet but what was showing was pretty.

One of my favorite parts of the Northeast is that even ordinary things are put in amazing buildings. We were driving down the road and we found this building that used to be the town hall.  I love that most of the old buildings are made of stone. It makes me sad though that we just don't put this kind of effort into many buildings anymore.

While we were in R.I. we found out just how impacted the state was by last winter. We had looked up lots of museums for us to go see but they were all closed from snow damage. One was an airplane museum that we drove to go see and found it shut down. I'm so glad we went though because  across the street we found a little beach that was totally empty and it was so much fun to walk on the beach and climb on the rocks. Because it was sunny the water was really pretty. It was also very cold but it was fun to have it all to ourselves.

No post about Rhode Island would be complete without mentioning our furry little friend at my aunt and uncles house. This is Nelly. She is a very sweet cat but was a bit shy. At first she would run away when she saw us. After the first night though Mike had gained her trust by luring her with a sock to play with. By the next morning she would walk next to us and by lunch she was letting us pet her and jumping up next to us on the couch. She shed like crazy but she was very sweet so you almost didn't mind.

We had a great time in Rhode Island!

East Coast Trip part 2: Rhode Island

We slept in a bit on Tuesday morning but Mike and I started our vacation with a run. My aunt and uncle have a really nice trail by their house. It used to be train tracks so its nice and flat and straight. Its also really shaded which was really nice. We ran almost 6 miles and it was so much fun. It was my first time running that far without any music and talking to Mike the whole time! I was pretty proud of myself :)

We wanted to go to the beach while we were there. The first place we went was Judith Point to see the lighthouse. We found out the lighthouse was blocked off though so we couldn't get close. The coast was pretty and fun but it was super windy.

After we explored the beach, we drove up to Massachusetts and went to IKEA. Josh had never been so we showed him how fun it is. Mostly we just walked around but in the kids section we found this chair that had a cover so you could sit in it and cover yourself. We discovered that each of us fit inside it but I was the only one who could get my shoes in too...kind of sad.

One of the reasons we wanted to go to Rhode Island was to see my grandma who I haven't seen since Mike and I got married. Tuesday night we had a fun dinner with my Aunt Pam, Uncle Barry and my grandma. My aunt pam made her yummy homemade lasagna and we just had fun catching up and skyping with Daniel back home so everyone could see him! (They were a little sad that we didn't bring him)

We had a great first day in Rhode Island!

East Coast Trip part 1

For the past few months I have been looking forward to the end of September because that is when we were going on our East coast road trip! Mike's brother Doug and sister Stacey were flying to Boston and traveling down the coast and we decided to join them. Originally we were going to attempt to bring Daniel but as it drew closer and we planned, I knew that taking Daniel was unrealistic. Fortunately, my mom and dad said they would baby-sit him! We were very grateful for this. Especially me because I was going to stay home and just let Mike go. Since we had an empty seat we invited my brother Josh since he'll be going on his mission soon.

We decided to head up to Rhode Island a few days early to visit our grandma and other family. It was a 15 hour drive up to South Kingston RI. This meant we needed to leave at 4:30am on Monday morning to be able to make it to my aunt and uncles at a decent hour.  It was early but we were excited to get going on our trip!

At the gas station at 4:45am....we look happy don't we :)

Overall, the drive wasn't bad. We had food, movies, books and music so we were pretty entertained. Josh and I also got to sleep a bit and Mike drove the whole time! The worst part of the drive was that it rained from Charlotte, NC until we got to Pennsylvania. The rain was the main reason that Mike drove the whole time. He's the most comfortable with it. We knew that we would need a break from the drive so we made plans to stop in Hershey, PA and go to the chocolate factory! We didn't have time to take the tour (I have done it and it is awesome)! We had so much fun in the huge chocolate store!!!

YUM!!!!!!

We had to get something :)

After the factory we drove for about 6 more hours which was more fun since it wasn't raining and we were driving through cities. After almost exactly 15 hours of driving, we arrived at my Aunt Pam's house in Rhode Island. I still can't believe Mike drove the whole time! Thank you sweetie for getting us there safely. It was a long day but a great start to our trip!