We are planning a trip to EPCOT's Food & Wine Festival this fall. We've been planning it for ages, and we've been planning to go with another couple. A kid-free trip, over night. We went 2 years ago, but I was pregnant and not all that into wine, so I enjoyed the food and Daddy Fuss enjoyed the food and the wine. It turns out that the couple we were going with just found out they were pregnant. It remains to be seen if they are going or not.
But we are getting very, very excited about the prospect. I'm researching lots of details - more than I did last time, since I didn't really know what to expect last time. We're budgeting a certain amount, and we're going to have to figure that out so we don't run out of money by 2:00, but overall, I am so psyched.
I really want our friends to go with us, but we will go regardless. I know we can have fun on our own, but it's nice sometimes to have another girl along.
I'm also thinking this is going to be our last chance to get away by ourselves for awhile. The Fuss is getting to the age where she is likely going to notice that we're leaving her behind for fun stuff, and with a new baby around the corner (we hope), both time and money are going to be at a premium.
We had been talking about a long-weekend vacation next year, but who knows how it will work with a potential new baby. If we get pregnant by the end of this year, the bulk of next year will be devoted to gestation and nursing. We won't be getting away from the kids easily, and certainly not to the desired destinations we had in mind. (New Orleans or Seattle)
I'm ready for a break - just some fun, some relaxation, and a break from being on-call all the time. And I love to spend time with my husband. It's nice to know that no matter what, I can enjoy time with my best friend.
Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts
Monday, August 10, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Vacation, Part 2
The Philosopher Lennon said, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."
Sunday we all stayed around the house and pretty much did nothing of consequence. It was lovely. I read a lot, visited with the relatives, watched the kids play together. We threw G-ma a birthday that night. It was nice - full of memories and such.
Monday I went to the Currituck Lighthouse w/ a few relatives and climbed to the top w/ my BIL. It was really beautiful. This is the second time I've been to the top of a lighthouse - the first time I was scared to get close to the edge, but I did a little better this time. :)
Tuesday, a group went to some of the southern islands, but we skipped it. It was going to be an all-day trip (little did they know how "all-day" it would truly be) and we knew The Fuss would likely not do well. We spent the day relaxing around the house again - went to the beach in the morning, splashed in the pool, took a nap... it was very restful. The group who went to Hatteras and Ocracoke came back late - about 8 or 9, I guess. They told the story about how their trip to Ocracoke was not terribly pleasant. The ferry was over crowded and running on a weird schedule and they couldn't get back to the mainland, there are no public bathrooms other than port-o-pottys on the island, the lighthouse there is privately owned and closes at 3 and they didn't get there until later.
But they made it and came back to dinner made by a cousin and a cheesecake that had been delivered as a thank you from the owners of the house, which I thought was a really nice gesture. Their name reminded me of Huntzberger from Gilmore Girls and I kept making jokes to that effect. (It isn't Huntzberger, but sort of similar. I found it amusing none-the-less to think of Logan and his family hanging out on the balcony.)
Wednesday we did some shopping in the local tourist areas - checked out a wine shop and bought some local wine after a tasting. Delicious. I wanted to find a hoodie, but they were really pricey. It was a lot cooler there in the evenings than I had anticipated and I thought it would come in handy. Daddy Fuss talked me out of paying the really high prices that the ones I liked were asking for. We bought a lighthouse shot glass and a Moose magnet. My SIL and BIL made this dinner Wednesday night - "Low Country Boil" with potatoes and shrimp and sausage and corn - it was so good. I'm going to have to try and recreate it since they said it was actually very simple.
On Thursday, we checked out the bookstore that was associated with the blog I've been reading and The Fuss made friends with the owner's daughter who was toddling around at the age of 10 months. She had red hair and her name was The Fuss's middle name, so we thought we'd found a kindred spirit. They played for a few minutes while Daddy Fuss and I looked around. It was a great little store - books and used CDs and crafts and kids stuff. They do a kids craft activity every day during the tourist season which is really great. They were too old for The Fuss, of course, but terriffic for other tourist kids.
We took my MIL out for her birthday Thursday night to a great seafood place - had some really amazing crab cakes - and Daddy Fuss had some steamed oysters and shrimp. A really nice, traditional meal. We had homemade ice cream for dessert at a local ice cream parlor (amazing! We had butter toffee ice cream and oh my goodness was it good).
Daddy Fuss and BIL attempted to go flounder gigging that night, but the weather was all wrong for it, so they came home with no success.
More to come...
Sunday we all stayed around the house and pretty much did nothing of consequence. It was lovely. I read a lot, visited with the relatives, watched the kids play together. We threw G-ma a birthday that night. It was nice - full of memories and such.
Monday I went to the Currituck Lighthouse w/ a few relatives and climbed to the top w/ my BIL. It was really beautiful. This is the second time I've been to the top of a lighthouse - the first time I was scared to get close to the edge, but I did a little better this time. :)
Tuesday, a group went to some of the southern islands, but we skipped it. It was going to be an all-day trip (little did they know how "all-day" it would truly be) and we knew The Fuss would likely not do well. We spent the day relaxing around the house again - went to the beach in the morning, splashed in the pool, took a nap... it was very restful. The group who went to Hatteras and Ocracoke came back late - about 8 or 9, I guess. They told the story about how their trip to Ocracoke was not terribly pleasant. The ferry was over crowded and running on a weird schedule and they couldn't get back to the mainland, there are no public bathrooms other than port-o-pottys on the island, the lighthouse there is privately owned and closes at 3 and they didn't get there until later.
But they made it and came back to dinner made by a cousin and a cheesecake that had been delivered as a thank you from the owners of the house, which I thought was a really nice gesture. Their name reminded me of Huntzberger from Gilmore Girls and I kept making jokes to that effect. (It isn't Huntzberger, but sort of similar. I found it amusing none-the-less to think of Logan and his family hanging out on the balcony.)
Wednesday we did some shopping in the local tourist areas - checked out a wine shop and bought some local wine after a tasting. Delicious. I wanted to find a hoodie, but they were really pricey. It was a lot cooler there in the evenings than I had anticipated and I thought it would come in handy. Daddy Fuss talked me out of paying the really high prices that the ones I liked were asking for. We bought a lighthouse shot glass and a Moose magnet. My SIL and BIL made this dinner Wednesday night - "Low Country Boil" with potatoes and shrimp and sausage and corn - it was so good. I'm going to have to try and recreate it since they said it was actually very simple.
On Thursday, we checked out the bookstore that was associated with the blog I've been reading and The Fuss made friends with the owner's daughter who was toddling around at the age of 10 months. She had red hair and her name was The Fuss's middle name, so we thought we'd found a kindred spirit. They played for a few minutes while Daddy Fuss and I looked around. It was a great little store - books and used CDs and crafts and kids stuff. They do a kids craft activity every day during the tourist season which is really great. They were too old for The Fuss, of course, but terriffic for other tourist kids.
We took my MIL out for her birthday Thursday night to a great seafood place - had some really amazing crab cakes - and Daddy Fuss had some steamed oysters and shrimp. A really nice, traditional meal. We had homemade ice cream for dessert at a local ice cream parlor (amazing! We had butter toffee ice cream and oh my goodness was it good).
Daddy Fuss and BIL attempted to go flounder gigging that night, but the weather was all wrong for it, so they came home with no success.
More to come...
Monday, June 15, 2009
Vacation, Part 1
The Philosopher Jagger once said, "You can't always get what you want..."
How much have I told you about our vacation? I don't remember. I'll start with some background.
My husband is in an extended family of 12 first cousins. His mother's siblings (3 of them) each have 4 kids. Many of them are married, with children of their own. The matriarch of the family, G-ma, turned 80 this year and talk was begun a couple of years back about a family reunion for G-ma's birthday. Lots of ideas were tossed around and eventually it was decided to hold it on the Outer Banks of NC. 18 months later, and my MIL had organized the details and all of my immediate in-laws (Daddy Fuss's 3 sisters, 1 BIL, niece and mom), an aunt and uncle and 3 cousins, their spouses and children were able able to make it. One whole 3rd of the family was unable to make it due to medical issues, money, previous commitments, etc. All in all, 16 adults and 6 kids under 4 rented a big house on the beach in Corolla (pronounced Core-AH-la by the locals) one of the more northern towns on the islands.
There were 8 bedrooms. 4 king-sized beds, 2 queen-sized beds, a room w/ 2 twins and a room with a "pyramid bed" which was a set of bunk beds with a double bed on the bottom and a twin on top. When we asked my MIL what the room assignments were going to be, she basically said she didn't want to be in charge of it. We looked at the layout of the house and made some logical choices based on the locations of the common rooms and the make-up of the couples sharing a room (6 married couples with assorted kids, my 2 single SILs and my MIL and Gma sharing a room).
After much discussion and gnashing of teeth, my MIL decided to throw out our suggested plan (we didn't pick the best room for ourselves, btw - as a matter of fact, we offered to take a room that was a 2nd or 3rd choice because The Fuss can usually sleep through anything and this particular room was right off the game room which was likely to be used late into the night). At the last moment, she declared that G-ma would be taking the king-sized bedroom on the top floor and everything else was first come, first served. Daddy Fuss was peeved, but as we were the first ones there, we decided to make the best of it. I pointed out that his mom was as selfish as the rest of them, since she would benefit from whatever benefit G-ma got.
Anyhow, we checked in, selected our room and moved our stuff in, plus all the groceries we had hauled up, etc. The Fuss was all screwy because she was sick of being in the car, was off her schedule and was in an unfamiliar place where her parents were running around trying to get settled, etc. We were going on more than 24 hours without sleep (we drove through the night and each caught very short naps in the car, but it was not nearly enough to do more than keep us from falling over.)
My MIL, who until 2:00 in the afternoon was under the impression that she was the only one who would be allowed to check in with the rental agency (thankfully, this was not the case) didn't start early enough from the hotel on Saturday morning, so she was hours late for the original 4:00 check in. As it was, we were able to do the check in and we were allowed to check in at 2:30 since everything was ready for us. Others began arriving around 4:30. Relatives poured in and claimed the various rooms. When my MIL and SILs arrived with the rest of the dinner fixings, we had dinner and some people walked down to the beach. Daddy Fuss and I finally got shower. A crazy card game got started and I read and relaxed until I went to bed, where I fell into a dead sleep.
More later. Pictures to come!
How much have I told you about our vacation? I don't remember. I'll start with some background.
My husband is in an extended family of 12 first cousins. His mother's siblings (3 of them) each have 4 kids. Many of them are married, with children of their own. The matriarch of the family, G-ma, turned 80 this year and talk was begun a couple of years back about a family reunion for G-ma's birthday. Lots of ideas were tossed around and eventually it was decided to hold it on the Outer Banks of NC. 18 months later, and my MIL had organized the details and all of my immediate in-laws (Daddy Fuss's 3 sisters, 1 BIL, niece and mom), an aunt and uncle and 3 cousins, their spouses and children were able able to make it. One whole 3rd of the family was unable to make it due to medical issues, money, previous commitments, etc. All in all, 16 adults and 6 kids under 4 rented a big house on the beach in Corolla (pronounced Core-AH-la by the locals) one of the more northern towns on the islands.
There were 8 bedrooms. 4 king-sized beds, 2 queen-sized beds, a room w/ 2 twins and a room with a "pyramid bed" which was a set of bunk beds with a double bed on the bottom and a twin on top. When we asked my MIL what the room assignments were going to be, she basically said she didn't want to be in charge of it. We looked at the layout of the house and made some logical choices based on the locations of the common rooms and the make-up of the couples sharing a room (6 married couples with assorted kids, my 2 single SILs and my MIL and Gma sharing a room).
After much discussion and gnashing of teeth, my MIL decided to throw out our suggested plan (we didn't pick the best room for ourselves, btw - as a matter of fact, we offered to take a room that was a 2nd or 3rd choice because The Fuss can usually sleep through anything and this particular room was right off the game room which was likely to be used late into the night). At the last moment, she declared that G-ma would be taking the king-sized bedroom on the top floor and everything else was first come, first served. Daddy Fuss was peeved, but as we were the first ones there, we decided to make the best of it. I pointed out that his mom was as selfish as the rest of them, since she would benefit from whatever benefit G-ma got.
Anyhow, we checked in, selected our room and moved our stuff in, plus all the groceries we had hauled up, etc. The Fuss was all screwy because she was sick of being in the car, was off her schedule and was in an unfamiliar place where her parents were running around trying to get settled, etc. We were going on more than 24 hours without sleep (we drove through the night and each caught very short naps in the car, but it was not nearly enough to do more than keep us from falling over.)
My MIL, who until 2:00 in the afternoon was under the impression that she was the only one who would be allowed to check in with the rental agency (thankfully, this was not the case) didn't start early enough from the hotel on Saturday morning, so she was hours late for the original 4:00 check in. As it was, we were able to do the check in and we were allowed to check in at 2:30 since everything was ready for us. Others began arriving around 4:30. Relatives poured in and claimed the various rooms. When my MIL and SILs arrived with the rest of the dinner fixings, we had dinner and some people walked down to the beach. Daddy Fuss and I finally got shower. A crazy card game got started and I read and relaxed until I went to bed, where I fell into a dead sleep.
More later. Pictures to come!
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