update (from blogspot)
my original intent with this blog was to capture all my thoughts and feelings, good or bad, and lately, there's been all good. which is such a change to a couple months previous.
anywho... here's the update on mine and ryan's trip to mystic and the rest of the weekend since.
we left thursday night, with georgia in the care of alma and urban and arrived at the days inn around 9pm. we found a nearby pizza place and ordered a pie and ate it while watching "how i met your mother" with the hotel's free internet. glorious.
friday morning we slept in and then walked a half mile or so into town and had lunch at the friendly's. [i had forgotten how good the watermelon roll was.... mmmmmm] and then we trekked up the hill to the Mystic Aquarium/Institute for Exploration. we had intended on doing the penguin encounter and getting to actually touch the penguins, but the website failed to mention that it's an extra $80 per person to do so. so we opted to touch manta rays, crabs, starfish and hermit crabs (for free!) instead.
the aquarium was seriously awesome. we were surrounded by families with young kids and elderly couples but it was such a good time. soooo much to see. we saw a kickass sea lion show... and learned lots of cool sea lion facts, we tried to feed these australian birds in this enclosure, until we realized our chances of being pooped on were really great. so we got out. fast.
the penguins were great...awkward football-shaped creatures, with the big beaks and crazy eyes.
in the sea lion section, ry and i stayed for a long time watching 3 sea lions, one who just kept belching really loudly, one who was sleeping underwater and had to keep coming up to breathe, and another who had fallen asleep with its head on a giant rock. the sea lions reminded us so much of puppies. the aquarium also had this amazing titanic exhibit. and we got to see these huge beluga whales and this cool lit tank with jellyfish inside, with florescent lighting behind it. it really was a day i won't forget... and i know i won't for a while because i had chipped one of my teeth on some rock candy there. so that will be a constant reminder of our fun day at the aquarium... at least until my tooth smoothes out.
that night, we walked back to the hotel, watched some more "how i met your mother" and then walked back into town and saw "vicky christina barcelona" at this tiny movie theater. it made both ryan and i want to (1) visit spain for a while and (2) purchase and wear some flowy dress shirts. after dinner, we walked over to a pub and got burgers and crab cakes and i got to try a local beer, cottrell ale. pretty good... very similar to sam adams. then we drove back to the hotel and fell asleep.
saturday, we slept in a little and got free breakfast at the hotel and then went on a 2 mile hike through the woods. we made lots of pit stops, to have a picnic lunch by this tiny pond, to find walking sticks, to sit at the duck pond, to sit at this tree house in the woods made for bird watching and we also found these cages with owls, who can't make it in the wild, who are being taken care of by the nature group that owns the trail. it was such an unexpectedly nice day.
after our hike, you guessed it, more "how i met your mother" at the hotel and then we ate at this seafood restaurant. and we ate way too much food. and went to bed early.
we awoke sunday at 5:30 to check out at 6am to make it back to nyack to feed and walk georgia for 8am. ryan was such a trooper, he let me press snooze a couple times in the morning and then let me nap most of the drive back. after reuniting with georgia, we got breakfast at art cafe and then left for bedford hills, where one of ryan's favorite professors from the seminary was speaking.
dr. widbin did an incredible job. he's an amazing speaker and storyteller and the whole congregation was on the edge of their seats during this whole sermon.
after the service, dr. widbin's family invited us back to their house for lunch, where their daughter, who ryan knows from school, had cooked this egyptian feast. once we arrived, we all got to help with the meal and it was such a time of fellowship. we got to spend about 4 hours with the family, eating and swapping stories and it just felt that that's what sundays should be.
the weekend was exactly what we needed... lots of relaxing and eating and walking around. and buying a pound or so of fudge helped too. it was our best vacation yet. (of the 3 we've taken... ha)
so, after my awesome weekend, i went in to work today in such a good mood. me, and my co-worker and manager were laughing and joking all day. it hardly felt like a monday.
and i guess that's all i can hope for, unexpectedly good times spent with those i love... it makes all the difference. and all it took was a hike, an aquarium, friends to step up to take care of georgia, a moving sermon and a shared meal... and i'll be reeling all week.
anywho... here's the update on mine and ryan's trip to mystic and the rest of the weekend since.
we left thursday night, with georgia in the care of alma and urban and arrived at the days inn around 9pm. we found a nearby pizza place and ordered a pie and ate it while watching "how i met your mother" with the hotel's free internet. glorious.
friday morning we slept in and then walked a half mile or so into town and had lunch at the friendly's. [i had forgotten how good the watermelon roll was.... mmmmmm] and then we trekked up the hill to the Mystic Aquarium/Institute for Exploration. we had intended on doing the penguin encounter and getting to actually touch the penguins, but the website failed to mention that it's an extra $80 per person to do so. so we opted to touch manta rays, crabs, starfish and hermit crabs (for free!) instead.
the aquarium was seriously awesome. we were surrounded by families with young kids and elderly couples but it was such a good time. soooo much to see. we saw a kickass sea lion show... and learned lots of cool sea lion facts, we tried to feed these australian birds in this enclosure, until we realized our chances of being pooped on were really great. so we got out. fast.
the penguins were great...awkward football-shaped creatures, with the big beaks and crazy eyes.
in the sea lion section, ry and i stayed for a long time watching 3 sea lions, one who just kept belching really loudly, one who was sleeping underwater and had to keep coming up to breathe, and another who had fallen asleep with its head on a giant rock. the sea lions reminded us so much of puppies. the aquarium also had this amazing titanic exhibit. and we got to see these huge beluga whales and this cool lit tank with jellyfish inside, with florescent lighting behind it. it really was a day i won't forget... and i know i won't for a while because i had chipped one of my teeth on some rock candy there. so that will be a constant reminder of our fun day at the aquarium... at least until my tooth smoothes out.
that night, we walked back to the hotel, watched some more "how i met your mother" and then walked back into town and saw "vicky christina barcelona" at this tiny movie theater. it made both ryan and i want to (1) visit spain for a while and (2) purchase and wear some flowy dress shirts. after dinner, we walked over to a pub and got burgers and crab cakes and i got to try a local beer, cottrell ale. pretty good... very similar to sam adams. then we drove back to the hotel and fell asleep.
saturday, we slept in a little and got free breakfast at the hotel and then went on a 2 mile hike through the woods. we made lots of pit stops, to have a picnic lunch by this tiny pond, to find walking sticks, to sit at the duck pond, to sit at this tree house in the woods made for bird watching and we also found these cages with owls, who can't make it in the wild, who are being taken care of by the nature group that owns the trail. it was such an unexpectedly nice day.
after our hike, you guessed it, more "how i met your mother" at the hotel and then we ate at this seafood restaurant. and we ate way too much food. and went to bed early.
we awoke sunday at 5:30 to check out at 6am to make it back to nyack to feed and walk georgia for 8am. ryan was such a trooper, he let me press snooze a couple times in the morning and then let me nap most of the drive back. after reuniting with georgia, we got breakfast at art cafe and then left for bedford hills, where one of ryan's favorite professors from the seminary was speaking.
dr. widbin did an incredible job. he's an amazing speaker and storyteller and the whole congregation was on the edge of their seats during this whole sermon.
after the service, dr. widbin's family invited us back to their house for lunch, where their daughter, who ryan knows from school, had cooked this egyptian feast. once we arrived, we all got to help with the meal and it was such a time of fellowship. we got to spend about 4 hours with the family, eating and swapping stories and it just felt that that's what sundays should be.
the weekend was exactly what we needed... lots of relaxing and eating and walking around. and buying a pound or so of fudge helped too. it was our best vacation yet. (of the 3 we've taken... ha)
so, after my awesome weekend, i went in to work today in such a good mood. me, and my co-worker and manager were laughing and joking all day. it hardly felt like a monday.
and i guess that's all i can hope for, unexpectedly good times spent with those i love... it makes all the difference. and all it took was a hike, an aquarium, friends to step up to take care of georgia, a moving sermon and a shared meal... and i'll be reeling all week.