5/4/2007
by Leslie
Rebekah, Joanna & I headed off for a week's adventure on the East Coast. We left San Diego around 1 pm on Thursday & arrived about 9:30pm in New York. That time difference is killer when you head east! First stop, New York City, to drop off the girls with their beloved Auntie Jaime & Uncle Mark. They were *thrilled* to meet their "cousins", Nakey & Bella!
The next day, we spent some time at the dog park before heading back to the airport so I could catch a flight to Virginia.
Big Fat Meetup, here I come! A group of homeschool moms who have forged a friendship on our curriculum's Internet forum decided to have a get-together in Colonial Williamsburg, and I was blessed to get to go! Ashley, whom I had previously known only by her username was so gracious to pick me up at the airport, as long as I promised to leave my ax at home (ax murderer jokes abounded as we were planning this weekend). Don't you like her sign? It's in reference to my username!
I immediately settled in to chat with some of the other ladies. You'll notice the pix on forks in the M&Ms. That's yet another long story; suffice it to say that they're pictures of ladies who had to back out of coming at the last minute.
This is nearly all 35 of us, getting ready to play some silly game or another. See, no ax murderers among us!
5/5/2007
Roomie Mindy & I spring for room service for breakfast (a first for me!) It was surprisingly affordable & very yummy!
A bunch of us standing outside the saddlery. All of the shops & stores were very interesting. There were "interpreters" in each restored building, telling the history of it, what it was used for, and other historical information. But where's the Queen? I kept missing her everywhere I went!
The gardens behind the Wythe house. Gorgeous. I could not believe how GREEN everything was!
Mindy & Lisa enjoy the arbor.
This guy knew a little bit about everything, but apparently not much about playing the cello, because he preferred to talk. Some of us got stuck in the room as he waxed eloquent (or not!) about the wallpaper, how it was made, where it was from, who made the flooring, how to sweep it...you get the picture. He spawned the term "loquacious cellist". I guess you had to be there.
A few of us went here for lunch. It's supposedly the birthplace of the dessert "Death by Chocolate".
Doesn't it look lovely?
Well, I couldn't come all this way & not have some, but Andrea graciously offered to help me polish it off (and we STILL couldn't finish it!).
The governor's mansion. Amazing.
Trish, who came all the way from Honduras! She looks lovely standing in the rain!
The Capitol building
The ever-talented Anne! (our fearless leader)
This was the location of our dinner banquet Saturday night.
It makes me smile just to see all these ladies laughing & having a good time. We had so much fun!
Trish FINALLY got a catalog!! :)
I had to try out the hat that I got for Joanna before giving it to her!
And just for Sandy/PP, here are the pictures of the food we had at the Kings Arms Tavern...
Peanut soup (it was actually very good!)
No, I didn't eat the prime rib, but Nat/Geek was so kind to allow me to photograph her food before she dug in!!
Sandy/PP had the vegetarian platter. Somehow I got out of there without taking a pic of my plate (I had a very good stuffed chicken entree).
This lady walked around making sure we minded our manners. Not really, but I think she was a little perturbed that she was trying to tell us the story of her life, and few of us were paying any attention to her!
5/6/2007
Parting day, sniff sniff! These were my roomies: Mindy, me, Ashley & Jenn
2 really fun people! Sandy and Natalie
The lone male specimen at our fine gathering: Daniel, Tawnia's wee one! He was so good all weekend, especially with all the shrieks of laughter & odd hours he had to endure! His mommy was so kind as to give me a ride to northern VA, so that my SIL Sandy could pick me up. So off to Sandy's house I go!
I was greeted by this moose, er, Wolf.
My niece, Elizabeth, freshly bathed. Isn't she adorable? I think her mom thinks so too.
My nephews, Mitch & Christopher. "Who is this lady, and why is she taking pictures of us?!!" (Mind you, they haven't seen me in 5 years. They were very nice, considering I was a stranger to them!)
5/7/2007
The view from Scott & Sandy's back yard. Again I say "IT'S SO GREEN!!"
The view of their house from the backyard. They have a beautiful home, and Sandy has quite a way with paint!
I know I already said this, but isn't Elizabeth adorable?!!
Sandy was so kind to take me into Washington DC for the day. I had never been, so it was quite the adventure for me!
The Capitol building
Me, in front of the Washington monument
The White House
The new WWII memorial. It was very touching, with quotes all around, and veterans walking around looking at things. I couldn't get a close-up of the column with "California" printed on it because there were several workers busily cleaning the monument, perhaps in preparation for the Queen's visit later that day & the next.
Walking along the Reflecting Pool toward the Lincoln monument.
Outside the National Archives. We only had time to go into one building (I was catching a flight back to NYC that evening), so I chose this one so that I could see the Declaration of Independence & Constitution. I wasn't disappointed.
This mural is hanging over the Constitution & Bill of Rights. My pictures are dark because they don't allow flash photography (it could damage the documents).
5/8/2007
Back in New York: the girls were glad to see me, though they had a grand time with Auntie Jaime & Uncle Mark! We decided to ride the subway into the city, which the girls were very excited about!
First stop: the cafe at the American Museum of Natural History, for a "snack"!
Next stop, the Butterfly Vivarium, which was very cool. Immediately upon entering, a butterfly landed on Rebekah's leg, which she was thrilled about!
Another butterfly gets up close & personal with Mark.
The one picture of Joanna at the Museum where she looks happy. She wasn't so thrilled with all the dinosaur bones & stuffed animals. She kept saying "Mama, can we go somewhere that has PRETTY things?!"
Rebekah, on the other hand, was enthralled with the pteranodon skeleton.
We finally left the Museum & headed to somewhere "with pretty things": Toys R Us! (it's behind us)
This TRU is so big that it houses a 3-story Ferris Wheel inside. The girls were thrilled to get to go on it. As you can see, we got the "Toy Story" gondola.
The girls were so pooped that when we stopped at a bank, they both collapsed on the stoop.
Adventuring around the City is exhausting!
"Do I have something in my teeth?" :) That night, we went out to dinner with Mark's mom & stepdad, to a very yummy Italian restaurant. Somehow I didn't get a group pic of us, so this one of Joanna enjoying the dessert pizza will have to do!
5/9/2007
Our last day in New York
We decided to take it easy for our last day. We went to a nearby mall to eat at Johnny Rockets & go to Borders. If you click on the photo below to enlarge it, you'll see that Jaime made t-shirts for the girls that say "Camp Pineda"! :)
Nice hats!
This is what Rebekah does nearly everywhere we go. Don't know where she gets it! :)
THEN OFF TO THE AIRPORT & HOME SWEET HOME! We had a wonderful trip, and made many memories. Thank you to everyone who participated (especially to my sweet husband, whose support made this all possible!)!
(I will post pictures from the girls' time in NY without me as soon as I get them.)
Labels: NewYork