Catching Up - Connecticut

This summer has felt long and short at the same time. Work starts again in a couple of weeks. It sure has been nice to have a break. But before we get into the thick of work, football, pep band, etc., I thought I better get our summer updates on the blog. I still owe updates from Christmas!

The last day of school (Friday, May 25th) was a half day. We packed up and drove down to Utah after school, stayed with Erin & Bryce, and flew to CT the next morning!

On the plane! Charlie slept almost the entire way there.

Taking a break to get some energy out at the Baltimore airport. 

We stayed in CT for about a month; partly because plane tickets were so expensive, we wanted to get our money's worth! It gave us plenty of time to do everything we wanted to do. (Except that one week when it rained...)

We kicked it off by going to the annual ward Memorial Day Picnic at Watrous Park in Cromwell:

Mom, Mollie and me. Lots of food. Yum!

We went to Gillette Castle:

View of the CT River from Gillette Castle. 

On a train car from Gillette's estate. Well, it's a good picture of Mollie.

We also spent some time lounging on the grounds of the castle.

Giant tadpoles in the pond.

We went to the U.S.S. Nautilus:

Mom firing a deck gun.

We went to the Mark Twain House in Hartford, CT:

We rode in old cars and saw this French soldier in Lebanon, CT on free open house day:

Free ice cream and rhino noses.

We went to Boston and walked the Freedom Trail:

Skyline

On the swan boats in Boston Common.

Ha.

Old North Church

U.S.S. Constitution. A.K.A. Old Ironsides

Where we finished

Stop along the way for some pastries. I got a Napoleon that was less than stellar. I guess I should have had a cannoli since that's what they're famous for.

  We left Charlie with mom and dad and spent a couple of days in New York City for an early anniversary.

On the train eating Subway.

On the rooftop of our hotel - The Pod.

Mollie's feet on the rooftop of our hotel. 

Times Square

We ate delicious baklava on our way to the show.

This is the show we saw Sunday night. It wasn't that great (skip it!) for a "Broadway" experience (Chad's first), so we got half price tickets to see Phantom of the Opera (classic!) on Monday night. It made for a verrrry long day in NYC, but I think it was worth it.

We were there on the night of the Tony Awards - this was a Tony watching party set up in Times Square. 

We ate at a little restaurant in Hell's Kitchen called Vynl. Mollie's friend Sean told us about it. It was YUMMY!

My dinner - chicken and waffles.

Chad's dinner - sesame chicken. Also delicious!

Mollie and her friend Sean - he's going to med school in NYC.

Times Square again. 

The next morning, we were up bright and early to go see the Today Show.

Encounter with Al Roker! He talked to the baby right in front of us. Too bad we couldn't have brought Charlie. He totally would've gotten on TV.

The set of the Today Show.

Rockefeller Plaza.

Us with Matt Lauer's cardboard cutout!

Mollie got us tickets to the 9/11 Memorial: Note to anyone who plans on visiting - they do a full security check like at the airport (except I think you can keep your shoes on) but they send your bags through xray machines and you through a metal detector. I didn't know this when I showed up carrying my overnight bag.

The Freedom Tower

We ate lunch at South Street Seaport and went to the TKTS booth nearby. We rode the Subway down to Battery Park and took the Staten Island Ferry. (FYI - They make you get off at both stops now)

I think the grumpy guy in the back looks like Mike.... only taller.... and with hair.

Ellis Island

Mollie and the Statue of Liberty

  That night we went to Phantom of the Opera. Woo!

This picture is not zoomed in! That's how close we were. A little pricey, but fun! We were all impressed with the technical effects.

With a sighting of the Naked Cowboy and the mounted police, our trip was complete, and we hurried to catch one of the last trains out of NYC, getting back into New Haven around 2:00am. Thanks for picking us up, Evan!

We went to New York state for a weekend so Mollie could go to a wedding. We stayed at the Howard Johnson's where they were holding baptisms in the hotel pool! We went on a Hudson River Boat Cruise, hung out at the hotel, toured a cool lighthouse, and drove through Woodstock.

Watching TV at the hotel with Aunt Mollie.

Mom would want you to know that there is a backpack behind her.

Rinsing off in the bath after swimming in the pool. Only included because Charlie looks cute.

Dad, Charlie and me in the lighthouse.

We also took a day trip to Newport, Rhode Island to see the mansions. It was HOT! Pictures aren't allowed in the houses, so we only have a few.

 We took a trip to the Dinosaur Museum in Rocky Hill, CT.

Chad is dying from global warming.

We also spent a day at the beach. We are not really beach people. We're a little high maintenance because we require complete shade at all times or we burn. Growing up, I never really thought anything about going to the beach - but now I live in Idaho where there are no bona fide beaches. So we went to Hammonasset, and we were all surprised by how rocky the sand was!

That's as close as Mollie ever got to the water.

We also spent a day at Mystic Aquarium but we only have videos from that. 

We enjoyed food you can only get in CT/on the east coast.

Vecchito's Italian Ice

Not pictured: Devil Dogs, Friendly's ice cream, Freihofer's chocolate chip cookies.

Charlie got to hang around with grandma and grandpa, and meet his Aunt Mollie and Uncle Evan. While we were there, Charlie started scooting (using his arms to pull himself around), and tasted his first solid foods. He's an eater!

New toy from Lizzie McKeever.

 Goodbye Connecticut!

 Goodbye Grandma!