tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57346812069163881552024-02-08T01:59:24.598+00:00A Fairly Fabulous DayA blog about life with the Fair-Williams Family."Oh Darling, Let's be Adventurous!"~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.comBlogger188125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-10521677234920708662021-04-27T16:57:00.003+01:002021-04-27T17:08:39.436+01:00St. George Spring Break<p>Just like the rest of the world, we haven't traveled in a year. We all have been going stir crazy and really wanted to get out for a quick get away over spring break. We thought about the beach, but opted for a destination we could drive too: St. George, Utah.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx06RqHdtzyzIjA1Z4KS98_T0KJRe0ejlASK9TaszOoOgDd_u90Qs7Z9dA64CnPSaIGCWhixTCKh4ibcBmjew' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>Southern Utah is magical. There really is no other place on earth like it. The red rock desert mixed with exotic land formations and the occasional pop of green foliage make for a unique and exiting adventure. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6n66kGstSfFT8LBQKulw2IgTx8DSnS2Hd1VBYxCg3aJcQRqy4R4iQvdEkPOuTU2tmoANUCz0OwbyFADABtd0Pmn8nwyXX9gaYpX7zRQj6KmGPr3XawDWGWpkM9ITY9vFrH3-8NaT-XMM/s2684/2021-04-07+10.18.35-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1172" data-original-width="2684" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6n66kGstSfFT8LBQKulw2IgTx8DSnS2Hd1VBYxCg3aJcQRqy4R4iQvdEkPOuTU2tmoANUCz0OwbyFADABtd0Pmn8nwyXX9gaYpX7zRQj6KmGPr3XawDWGWpkM9ITY9vFrH3-8NaT-XMM/w640-h280/2021-04-07+10.18.35-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>We had never actually stayed in St. George. I did a bunch of research of where to stay, where to eat and what to do. I think it turned out really well if I do say so myself. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCy9eyDeGgLnE2StbBiXQ1yigoKdwAByqCh5V_2l1c7vpis9LVPF0oKzCp2Dmw7jT-nnSRRHdhZB2BGvusL7xuKbk5cn4ZdA1B-cDwYuQbRE5MBBiQafHPUgESUYttlWWg-ymciil2Gw/s1600/2021-04-09+21.01.00.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCy9eyDeGgLnE2StbBiXQ1yigoKdwAByqCh5V_2l1c7vpis9LVPF0oKzCp2Dmw7jT-nnSRRHdhZB2BGvusL7xuKbk5cn4ZdA1B-cDwYuQbRE5MBBiQafHPUgESUYttlWWg-ymciil2Gw/s320/2021-04-09+21.01.00.jpg" /></a></div><p>We stayed at the <a href="https://www.stgeorgevacationrentals.com/las-palmas-resort">Las Palmas Resort</a> in <a href="https://www.stgeorgevacationrentals.com/34726?sd=09%252F20%252F2021&ed=09%252F24%252F2021">Condo 1801</a>. This resort and condo are awesome! The complex has lots of pools and hot tubs. Plus there are play grounds everywhere. We were on the bottom floor and our patio opened up right to playground. We would just open the door and let the girls go play while we enjoyed dinner and a glass of wine on the patio. We could just sit and watch them. It was so nice. Also the condo had everything we needed. The bedrooms were nice with big king beds. We had a fully stocked kitchen which allowed us to bring and cook food. There were TVs in all the bedrooms. The girls thought this was so cool! Plus, I got my very own bathroom for the whole weekend, it was magical.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1rXgfw4ZF4o-vyNZn1iFZsuQjyRjmbMl_Ed-gAjPR7GUnBcWlMrFqkOifRmCG3aC4Dp4s-xSjavSs3LYcYhGiGK2x_ZefzsFyhGhnuIJulfZMtaeUabF8gzc9hDJp1UTKsTpxdaX9JME/s2048/2021-04-08+20.00.48.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1rXgfw4ZF4o-vyNZn1iFZsuQjyRjmbMl_Ed-gAjPR7GUnBcWlMrFqkOifRmCG3aC4Dp4s-xSjavSs3LYcYhGiGK2x_ZefzsFyhGhnuIJulfZMtaeUabF8gzc9hDJp1UTKsTpxdaX9JME/w240-h320/2021-04-08+20.00.48.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Day 1:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We drove to <a href="https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/snow-canyon/">Snow Canyon State Park</a>. This destination is incredible. We hiked the petrified sand dunes. These are perfect for kids to scramble up and play on. Even our 2 year old could climb up some of them. After this we went and played in the actual sand dunes that are located just down the road in the park. I think the girls could have played all day. Make sure to bring shovels and buckets for the kids to play with. I also saw kids with big pieces of cardboard "sledding" down the dunes. I'm doing that next time!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqb5DFrE0uf_IiDYpfQ_NPxjvW2Y-2Ya4tU6PgZUYJi0ykmRAdzvfMgxKA0xU6DioivkpLw8Spv1gm1Aj38LmK-hashBrp9ejMcU078oDDGaPPlcxNpvmtK02GGvDuyS5nQVn7JAq1tNI/s1600/2021-04-08+09.11.48.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqb5DFrE0uf_IiDYpfQ_NPxjvW2Y-2Ya4tU6PgZUYJi0ykmRAdzvfMgxKA0xU6DioivkpLw8Spv1gm1Aj38LmK-hashBrp9ejMcU078oDDGaPPlcxNpvmtK02GGvDuyS5nQVn7JAq1tNI/s320/2021-04-08+09.11.48.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAN1wNaM1eJTO_2NXlL8qCOmnpM6gynxHGQSnfI-q2d_FtiUEGIt2xy0tsQF00lQ2v9cDat837IZkhCtk4D_4ns_1IlammQbDgv8Wx_rvF5QKmUnd6pb770sXpfLfVJFBAfpMiprJFMgk/s2048/2021-04-07+22.40.48.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1498" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAN1wNaM1eJTO_2NXlL8qCOmnpM6gynxHGQSnfI-q2d_FtiUEGIt2xy0tsQF00lQ2v9cDat837IZkhCtk4D_4ns_1IlammQbDgv8Wx_rvF5QKmUnd6pb770sXpfLfVJFBAfpMiprJFMgk/s320/2021-04-07+22.40.48.jpg" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHO0ZtMaVWmYQKOzd4z80JW4UykGccuEN5J-37usGiMR4dK6NXmObtEOlZPgre5Muj4JKa2eCXCKerw1AkSWO9ApRZ6nreNSxqS_zMjkdaTuht8T2MeKnrujyTzTbc2RS91WYUrdYcTg/s1600/2021-04-08+09.10.42.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHO0ZtMaVWmYQKOzd4z80JW4UykGccuEN5J-37usGiMR4dK6NXmObtEOlZPgre5Muj4JKa2eCXCKerw1AkSWO9ApRZ6nreNSxqS_zMjkdaTuht8T2MeKnrujyTzTbc2RS91WYUrdYcTg/s320/2021-04-08+09.10.42.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwtBzhojiqlp57Pkv3nqFVC1NszeNnVtC6vbG5PNto-oz3w3KRv3Yf0kc5zbeKreZdErGwwsUlWOYO89GywSQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We spent every afternoon at the pool or local splash pad. We swam in the pools at the resort, but also took a trip to <a href="https://www.sgcity.org/cityparks/thunderjunction">Thunder Junction All Abilities Park</a> to check out the playground and splash pad. After our cold winter/spring I was happy to spend every afternoon soaking up some rays and enjoying my iced coffee poolside. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQQzjFgr2dSA0tPb87adGFJuxDmrwwcVgvsBPWDhdRsv9Lqda0QhSSa55O7N8TdE2V_6ZGnY35LzdzPmCG07DblKaaqTe-lQkaSh2VXQa_FGQPBh_yIcVnOa-Gkj7TUWzG_I8LyHaeuAE/s1600/2021-04-09+21.06.48.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQQzjFgr2dSA0tPb87adGFJuxDmrwwcVgvsBPWDhdRsv9Lqda0QhSSa55O7N8TdE2V_6ZGnY35LzdzPmCG07DblKaaqTe-lQkaSh2VXQa_FGQPBh_yIcVnOa-Gkj7TUWzG_I8LyHaeuAE/s320/2021-04-09+21.06.48.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKrh8wZ0UXF1C-FzUtg-FfFbimxRFj89LG6iaVOwkHLQyVUriP9EkYXVUT1F-vMdIrMuWxz4lvP6EruPg8lQK-oTFKJJAwo4rIiUicvwddNKXmziamEnvAKUSwcmkn3-CGWOCxNOV5w1M/s2048/2021-04-08+12.20.18.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKrh8wZ0UXF1C-FzUtg-FfFbimxRFj89LG6iaVOwkHLQyVUriP9EkYXVUT1F-vMdIrMuWxz4lvP6EruPg8lQK-oTFKJJAwo4rIiUicvwddNKXmziamEnvAKUSwcmkn3-CGWOCxNOV5w1M/s320/2021-04-08+12.20.18.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4UIlEKMws0qkQ6ZUavvQIzzlDdxdnXzHQyIre7b-EJNjIHYFLTHc-dLREuTcXz2kK4xiG7FPlqSEYn-KgZq9ywm1ytxjyTTmIOv34EESXtWS_UmZAtetbqHtm4z_HKNAb-EpCt-hovEg/s2048/2021-04-08+16.48.23.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4UIlEKMws0qkQ6ZUavvQIzzlDdxdnXzHQyIre7b-EJNjIHYFLTHc-dLREuTcXz2kK4xiG7FPlqSEYn-KgZq9ywm1ytxjyTTmIOv34EESXtWS_UmZAtetbqHtm4z_HKNAb-EpCt-hovEg/s320/2021-04-08+16.48.23.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxXZ25Pdt18JE0lXxDyjPMqFKPQy1YAczsN6cDly1PuvWMYXYIdeR72PRhSmktfHKMlQphjVbtMwAz7Wkt1og' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We hit Snow Canyon one more time. We wanted to hike the Lava Tubes Trail and go check out the caves. If you plan to do this, bring head lamps and a strong flash light. Your phone flashlight will not be useful, I though it would be fine. I was wrong. However, the caves were so cool! The first one is a bit tricky to climb into with little people. So we watched others. But the second cave was fairly accessible. Porter climbed down with Elora in his backpack. Aria climbed all by herself. This cave was huge! We had a blast exploring it as much as we could. We want to go back with proper gear and see if we can see the bats who live there. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxtwn6OGVAmgykCrDJhsynw_hpYFPwUsGo8wbsPmtKrNiyFNaNZ6D5kwaJDHmQc4dcWLnGsBTGM10DQVFINzw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHAUTT76l4jwptTHyxCteaOrFYOxyJhOwHELoPpFpbiw1VfP09kg5HP_R_AQlt4VzqmbNFnX_RjKGMWiI6-683h-y2SuFz3AtgaRtgGK9ES2Vogk76HT4uLyjuBY3i9S4YBsAGHiYGq8c/s1600/2021-04-09+21.01.46.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHAUTT76l4jwptTHyxCteaOrFYOxyJhOwHELoPpFpbiw1VfP09kg5HP_R_AQlt4VzqmbNFnX_RjKGMWiI6-683h-y2SuFz3AtgaRtgGK9ES2Vogk76HT4uLyjuBY3i9S4YBsAGHiYGq8c/s320/2021-04-09+21.01.46.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP_3Tr3FzKLNyd9tpbRJjw2xgYiAbsPrl9JrONP2D7Yl5Z2O8epQ7MwecHihR-ert4NeccqnmMEgaxOhVgPv0wJFnTd8Y8iT5UoQCnRdgzU0q-ph-GvjYCvweRkhRHlVxKIzrKWxp_sAM/s1600/2021-04-09+21.03.32.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1199" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP_3Tr3FzKLNyd9tpbRJjw2xgYiAbsPrl9JrONP2D7Yl5Z2O8epQ7MwecHihR-ert4NeccqnmMEgaxOhVgPv0wJFnTd8Y8iT5UoQCnRdgzU0q-ph-GvjYCvweRkhRHlVxKIzrKWxp_sAM/s320/2021-04-09+21.03.32.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><u><br /></u></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH4B-XtDgqWHENLAEWVCTP2TxLeBvOUn91VZudKr3KEPxXmsuIsufsQiA1RPo46b7OT-hier7gI9N4OcpSMmy8LOi2TkxwzqZXZgp4i_DiPYfRE1qIWBit-XpA992C30Lpe2ejNoprITs/s2048/2021-04-09+10.26.56.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH4B-XtDgqWHENLAEWVCTP2TxLeBvOUn91VZudKr3KEPxXmsuIsufsQiA1RPo46b7OT-hier7gI9N4OcpSMmy8LOi2TkxwzqZXZgp4i_DiPYfRE1qIWBit-XpA992C30Lpe2ejNoprITs/s320/2021-04-09+10.26.56.jpg" /></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinkPuK6VAqg2_2JbFKWMTylkaTr7frR7t5enVGHJpyFKb6iDoEVoL51-ux-ZXVIJfgVKlndjIobhlpCQkeXYH690vpasM2M-VZ0rDuMELLJLvORvpkBeO3igOVARkhZiNjIDndTXfH_m8/s1600/2021-04-09+21.05.37.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinkPuK6VAqg2_2JbFKWMTylkaTr7frR7t5enVGHJpyFKb6iDoEVoL51-ux-ZXVIJfgVKlndjIobhlpCQkeXYH690vpasM2M-VZ0rDuMELLJLvORvpkBeO3igOVARkhZiNjIDndTXfH_m8/s320/2021-04-09+21.05.37.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This trip was a quick drive and very doable with toddlers. We had a great time and the girls are already begging to go back!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLb_L-iq7_88JCeqy4BuhIhGW_g2vStpifgu1buus2HnWeRmR2KmgLEo3zp84uFGkQorYG6ERnR5FiKeFGUdRbO6r250WpxUVY1xqe6EEO7MwWJHFxfbuffOTSsKfY4VYhflOzFFP8soA/s2048/2021-04-07+12.06.37.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLb_L-iq7_88JCeqy4BuhIhGW_g2vStpifgu1buus2HnWeRmR2KmgLEo3zp84uFGkQorYG6ERnR5FiKeFGUdRbO6r250WpxUVY1xqe6EEO7MwWJHFxfbuffOTSsKfY4VYhflOzFFP8soA/s320/2021-04-07+12.06.37.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUHx2QZXKE9LtOBPFkjTxsMoR1v8PqOYKRX5PG9-1RZxevmAL8Ve3FjU1feTFyr4ZnGMLf-p75U6yYdA84Am2fLeVNMksuRzQuvE4JuS2_qXs0A2Sz2WqEsiWwi31mnhzr2O730TV67v0/s2048/2021-04-07+22.42.21.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUHx2QZXKE9LtOBPFkjTxsMoR1v8PqOYKRX5PG9-1RZxevmAL8Ve3FjU1feTFyr4ZnGMLf-p75U6yYdA84Am2fLeVNMksuRzQuvE4JuS2_qXs0A2Sz2WqEsiWwi31mnhzr2O730TV67v0/s320/2021-04-07+22.42.21.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> I haven't seen Aria fall asleep at 5pm for a long time. She hiked so much and played all afternoon in the pools she was exhausted by the end of it all. I felt like I did my job as a parent on this trip! lol!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQiIAS_4B-h7ATKd-iMpRXL0h5iPsJeM_1P48bKkGv2WbJMldERIpZkUTL-de957aQI2gsUqzQcfLwePefUudq6q74_OZ3gaQ5NcHQpN4DKFddO9IB13_TSLUvze3tRxBKYUetqfIYCc0/s2048/2021-04-09+19.14.32.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQiIAS_4B-h7ATKd-iMpRXL0h5iPsJeM_1P48bKkGv2WbJMldERIpZkUTL-de957aQI2gsUqzQcfLwePefUudq6q74_OZ3gaQ5NcHQpN4DKFddO9IB13_TSLUvze3tRxBKYUetqfIYCc0/s320/2021-04-09+19.14.32.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0St. George, UT, USA37.0965278 -113.56841648.7862939638211515 -148.7246664 65.406761636178842 -78.4121664tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-85032773297146870572017-12-28T03:02:00.002+00:002017-12-28T03:02:34.958+00:00Italian Babymoon 2016: Venice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Venice. This was the final stop on the Italian Babymoon. We flew in to Rome, and flew out of Venice. I really liked the way we planned this. We didn't have to circle back to Rome to catch a flight, which was awesome! We decided to go to Venice because it is kind of one of those places you just have to see. It was cool, but not my favorite part of Italy. It feels completely different compared to the other areas we visited. Also, everything is way more expensive. So just be prepared to pay a lot more for the same stuff you had in Florence. However, we did have a lovely time.</div>
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Water taxi, canal boat, or walking over many little bridges is how you get around. Porter and I road the water taxi around a bunch to see the sights. It's a great way to get a lay of the land.</div>
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There is one large canal the taxis go around called The Grand Canal, then countless little canals that the little boats go through. It was crazy to think that people would walk out their front door and get on a boat to go about their business back in the day.</div>
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Porter on board the water taxi.</div>
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Venice was likened unto a decaying Disneyland for adult. Which I totally get. There are countless meandering streets, alleyways, restaurants and shops to explore. There really isn't much for kids. It is extremely romantic at night. During the day it was so hot and humid. But once the sun set, all the lights come on, it's gorgeous. I loved eating by the canals after dusk.</div>
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If you go to Venice, you must do a gondola ride after dark. Yes, it's ridiculously expensive, but it's also one of those once in a lifetime experiences that is totally worth it. It was my favorite thing we did in Venice.</div>
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Our cute little gondolier was fantastic. He knew so much about the city.</div>
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Rialto Bridge</div>
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I felt so pregnant! </div>
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We stayed at at the Royal San Marco Hotel. It was a great location. Small room and a bit tired, but we were out and about so much that it didn't really matter. </div>
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The second coolest thing we did was breakfast in St. Marks Square. We ate at The Florian. They had this fantastic band playing during breakfast. It was quite magical. The food was delicious as well. </div>
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Saint Mark's Basillica was beautiful.</div>
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We left Italy in quite high spirits feeling very full, very relaxed, and very ready to have this baby!</div>
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<br />~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-9485277288266453122017-12-08T17:42:00.001+00:002017-12-08T17:42:46.231+00:00Italian Babymoon 2016: Florence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
You Guys! It's been a hot minute hasn't it? So life with a baby is crazy, which is normal I think. I completely abandoned my blog. And middle saga no less. I still have 2 posts to go on the Babymoon. Never mind that the baby bump in this first picture is now almost a toddler, but I digress. I have so many more posts to share of our travels and life. So let's get to it. </div>
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Florence was our 3rd stop in Italy. I was so excited to see the sculptures, and eat the gelato. However, when we got to our hotel room, I was in love. Our bed was gorgeous, and the best thing was the fact that they had air conditioning!!! I just wanted to lay in the nice cool bed and sleep. The bump was looking quite on point, so I had to snap a picture of the bump and the room. We stayed at <a href="http://www.hotelartatelier.com/">Art Atelier</a>. </div>
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When Porter was finally able to rouse me from my lovely nap we jumped up to head out the door. However, Porter jumped a little too much and his phone went flying.</div>
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Our very first stop in Florence was to the Apple store to get his screen fixed. But after that we walked around and took in the sights. </div>
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The Duomo</div>
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Florence Cathedral</div>
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The Medici Chapel </div>
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Outside of where the David statue is, there is an exact replica. The statue was originally supposed to be outside, but to keep it out of the elements it was moved inside and this one was set up in it's place. </div>
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There are statues all over of the city!</div>
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Piazza della Signoria</div>
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Uffizi Gallery</div>
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Gallery full of Renaissance Masterpieces!</div>
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The Ponte Vecchio</div>
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Believe it or not, I was sick of Italian food by the time we got to Florence. I could only eat pasta and pizza because of the baby. So when I saw a Hard Rock Cafe I pretty much ran inside and ordered the biggest plate of Nachos the had. Mommy and baby were both happy. </div>
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The next morning we went into a ton of museums, my favorite being the Uffzi Gallery. I LOVE Venus Rising. It's one of my all time favorite paintings. </div>
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Florence was quick stop for us as we jumped on a high speed train to Venice. I would definitely go back to Florence to wander amidst the grand statues with my ice cold gelato. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GZjd8_T1mxmjDuBlYE5uo04ZP02GS05IS3NgJu56POqclFwa57a8wI63V0-NJIXNntStj2tpJt64VvObELKyTaUGuJcbhza8PR4yw1NMAjjVc9997qe6tJEk_TioWWU5w4S2kp51Ecw/s1600/2016-06-24+14.07.34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1201" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GZjd8_T1mxmjDuBlYE5uo04ZP02GS05IS3NgJu56POqclFwa57a8wI63V0-NJIXNntStj2tpJt64VvObELKyTaUGuJcbhza8PR4yw1NMAjjVc9997qe6tJEk_TioWWU5w4S2kp51Ecw/s400/2016-06-24+14.07.34.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-48526918217949227232017-03-28T18:11:00.003+01:002017-03-28T18:26:35.748+01:00Italian Babymoon 2016: Tuscany<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Tuscany, where to begin. This was our favorite part of the Italy trip. Trip Tip: When going to Tuscany rent a car and make sure that it is a manual and that it is somewhat sporty. It is very hilly area and the "well maintained roads" are very scary, gravel/washboard, one lane, death traps. I was happy and relieved to have a travel buddy who was confident driving as I would have just curled up and cried. </div>
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We stayed at a quaint Agritourismo near Castellina in Chianti. This little video is the tour of out private apartment in a rustic Italian Farmhouse. Click <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/12279423">here</a> to see the property on AirBnB ;). </div>
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Something we love about staying in our own apartment is that we can cook ourselves. We went to a local grocer. Grabbed some items and made our own breakfasts. It was perfect.</div>
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Porter cooking on the custom kitchen that was built into a large wardrobe.</div>
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Breakfast on our patio.</div>
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We went to an organic farm that let us sample all of their products. It was amazing!!! <a href="http://www.tenutacasanova.com/">Tenuta Casanova</a> is the name of the farm. If you are ever in this area, do yourself a favor and go here. </div>
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The red rooster is the symbol for the Chianti wine that the region is known for.</div>
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The gorgeous vineyards. </div>
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This is the balsamic vinegar cellar. Real balsamic is the best thing ever. </div>
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Our tasting menu.</div>
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Balsamic on ice cream? Yep, the most delicious topping ever. This balsamic reduction was the same age as me, 30 years old.</div>
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The drive back to our agritourismo. It looks like Happy Valley from Mickey and the Beanstalk.</div>
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In Castellina in Chianti there is a covered walkway that is full of little shops and restaurants, it opened up to this little area full of flowers. One of my favorite parts of Italy was the meandering streets that would open up to little piazzas or a flower oasis like this. </div>
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There was a small keep in the middle of the village.</div>
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />This little village had delicious food!</div>
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Something Porter and I have a hard time doing on vacation is relaxing. Tuscany is a perfect place to slow down, smell the flowers, and swim in the pool. Our agritourismo had it's own pool, and once I got over the crisp water, I was in heaven.</div>
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I loved my maternity swimsuit. I actually felt cute, which at 7 months preggo, is a huge feat.</div>
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I was a human submarine!!!</div>
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Sunset after fantastic dinner out.</div>
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We used one of our days to visit a small hilltop fort town of Volterra. This town was right on top of the hill and you could see everything from the vantage point. We used the Rick Steve's walking guide to tour the city. It was really interesting and a fun way to spend the afternoon.</div>
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The baby needed gelato, who was I to stand in the way?</div>
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There was also an old Roman theatre on the other side of the city. </div>
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Cheers Tuscany, you were our favorite part of Italy. We will definitely be back for a longer stay. </div>
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~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-12626905124464949742016-09-28T12:02:00.002+01:002016-09-28T21:07:08.908+01:00Italian Babymoon 2016: Rome <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Babymoon</b>: </div>
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like a honeymoon, but more of the calm before the storm instead of the relaxation after. </div>
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Porter and I were trying to decided where to go for our summer holiday. Originally we had planned to go a Scandinavian Cruise. However, before booking, Porter called the cruise line to make sure we would have a king bed instead of 2 singles. In passing he mentioned that I was pregnant. It's so good he did. As it turns out, you can't go on a cruise if you are more that 26 weeks preggo. Right?! Who would have guessed? So if we had just booked it, we would have shown up and not been able to get on the boat. </div>
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So this put a kink into our plans. We talked about a lot of destinations and in the end landed on Italy. We had never been and everyone would rave about it. So we got to planning:</div>
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Rome</div>
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Tuscany</div>
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Florence</div>
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Venice</div>
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We are very ambitious travelers when we put our mind to it. But I told Porter we would have to take it easy as I was 7 months pregnant. Our strategy was to get out in the cool morning, see a bunch of stuff then relax in the afternoons.</div>
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Let the Babymoon commence!!! Tropical drinks and lots of Italian pizza.</div>
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Our first day we visited Vatican City. St. Peter's Basilica was amazing! It was huge and very ornate.</div>
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The Sistine Chapel was gorgeous, however, a lot smaller than we had imagined. We listened to a great audio guide that took us through the symbology of the ceiling. There was so much more there than I even knew. The down side of the chapel was it's size and how many people were crowded in it. Being 7 months pregnant, I felt the heat a lot more which made it a bit uncomfortable. </div>
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Vatican Gardens</div>
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This shot was taken near our hotel. We stayed in the north west part of Rome up near a University. If you've been there, we were near the Bologna metro stop. I really liked staying in that area. It felt really nice.</div>
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Dinner at a delicious little Italian pasta joint. </div>
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Day Two: Porter took us on Rick Steve's walking tour of Rome. Our first stop was the Fountain of Four Rivers. "Collectively, they represent four major rivers the four continents through which papal authority had spread: the Nile representing Africa, the Danube representing Europe, the Ganges representing Asia, and the Rio de la Plata representing the Americas." - Wikipedia</div>
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I loved this fountain! My favorite statue was the Nile. It is of a man with his head veiled. The reason for this is they didn't (at the time) know where the head waters for the Nile were located.</div>
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We sat down to enjoy the piazza with an Italian Cappuccino.</div>
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Next stop: The Parthenon </div>
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We couldn't go in as there was a very fancy funeral happening in it. But we enjoyed walking around.</div>
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And then....The Trevi Fountain! </div>
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Of course we threw coins in, and smooched a little. It is a gorgeous landmark.</div>
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We walked around a bit more, and finally meandered our way down to Trastevere, the Medieval Quarter. It feels like the greener, more bohemian part of the city.</div>
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And we found the world's best Tiramisu there! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5LfVplWPsD3x4VqTBlDsULV3GSykWfW5C6XwlwFnFpu1szXJLlHb-wWYi2MWZBUQNK1YUZtV6NRRr1Mc32WFv1Lj0qgwnZCy4ov4P__f9knFiJyNH7eyOaSUjMwFhb1eFKIeFN8MI5Tk/s1600/2016-06-18+16.45.28+HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5LfVplWPsD3x4VqTBlDsULV3GSykWfW5C6XwlwFnFpu1szXJLlHb-wWYi2MWZBUQNK1YUZtV6NRRr1Mc32WFv1Lj0qgwnZCy4ov4P__f9knFiJyNH7eyOaSUjMwFhb1eFKIeFN8MI5Tk/s320/2016-06-18+16.45.28+HDR.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">P.S. Did you know you shouldn't eat Tirimisu when you're preggo?! Ya, me neither. But hey, I'm still alive and baby is great!</span></td></tr>
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I think Trastevere was one of our favorite areas of Rome. </div>
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Day Three: It was a killer, so hot and dusty, but the Roman Ruins made it all worth it, even the blister on my little toe.</div>
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I can't believe I hauled little miss all over Rome with me! </div>
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Porter is always a fantastic tour guide. He reads everything and then gives me a condensed version, usually with a dramatic flair.</div>
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This little pink fan was a life saver for me. I paid 3 Euro for it and I definitely got my money's worth.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yiLjEWaHNKY/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yiLjEWaHNKY?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Behold, the Colosseum! I was so hot and uncomfortable I almost didn't want to go inside it. We went to France a few years ago and saw the second largest Roman arena and it was actually in better shape, so I didn't feel the need. However, Porter really wanted to go in and I'm glad we did. We got to skip the huge line, thanks to Little Miss. I didn't realize that they would let preggo ladies through a secret way. Also, we could use the elevator and not walk as much! This made the heat and trekking around a little more bearable. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhI0wzadIQEIN48GysrWLaag2NUNhBsPtY2zS0kJ7knGc6MUnNykbvN-CSZ-8-uMe8ZbdZBoj3jpBczjazMLf2u28B49s-J6lNza3KDwS33mePj8vdIq2UAAMULIgy9zddhVH0eHfnwYk/s1600/2016-06-19+14.17.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhI0wzadIQEIN48GysrWLaag2NUNhBsPtY2zS0kJ7knGc6MUnNykbvN-CSZ-8-uMe8ZbdZBoj3jpBczjazMLf2u28B49s-J6lNza3KDwS33mePj8vdIq2UAAMULIgy9zddhVH0eHfnwYk/s400/2016-06-19+14.17.42.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I really hope that Aria thinks it's cool that I took her all over Italy.</div>
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Inside the Colosseum. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3snk1SdDtU12WDAEcT6ZV3Ypij7rproX5984M0TxRZShyphenhyphen8IxDz23TgzhoM0ETBsPjWCWuoBGdlKJH0TtWWBQWNIC0qkoqb2Cqtxd5qjQGAAWdHl-dMS0NYSjlcomoVtlLd1aclHRf50U/s1600/2016-06-19+12.24.39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3snk1SdDtU12WDAEcT6ZV3Ypij7rproX5984M0TxRZShyphenhyphen8IxDz23TgzhoM0ETBsPjWCWuoBGdlKJH0TtWWBQWNIC0qkoqb2Cqtxd5qjQGAAWdHl-dMS0NYSjlcomoVtlLd1aclHRf50U/s400/2016-06-19+12.24.39.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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After this epically long day we headed back to the hotel where I soaked my feet. This was the beginning of the swollen preggo feet phase. We had to get ready to leave in the morning for Tuscany. </div>
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~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-43422157088953774812016-09-04T23:38:00.000+01:002016-09-04T23:49:05.375+01:00Maternity Photoshoot in Wales<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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About 6 weeks ago, Porter and I took a quick holiday to North Wales. We stayed in the cutest little B&B, ate great pub food, visited a Welsh Vineyard and Artisan Spring Water company, caught massive amounts of Pokemon on Pokemon Go, and had a great friend of ours take maternity pictures for us. </div>
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It was also the first time that I have been legit attacked by seagulls on a pier for my french fries. The fear in Hitchcock's "The Birds"....it's real people, and that fear has a name: hungry baby seagull. </div>
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There was a juvenile just sitting on the pier looking all sad and forlorn, so of course I gave it a french fry. No sooner had I let my guard down and the whole flock swarmed in. I screamed, jumped up, ran away and dropped my whole basket. I accidentally left Porter to fend for himself. Porter started trying to pick up all the abandoned food and trash amidst the chaos. To add insult to injury, a seagull landed on his back! I was laughing so hard at this point that I didn't have my wits about me to shoo the seagull off. So it hung out for a couple of seconds before Porter knew what what going on. He was very annoyed at me to say the least. They ate all of his dinner as well, chicken burger as all, those cannibals! Lesson: never trust a baby seagull when there are french fries involved, his gang is just waiting to jump you.</div>
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Back to the amazing maternity pictures that Rosie at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theprettypicturecompany/">The Pretty Picture Company</a> took for us. She took us all over North Wales: Bangor Pier, the University of Bangor's Botanical Gardens, a beach on Anglesey, and Bodnant Gardens. We loved all the photos! Here are some of our favorites. </div>
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Behold the Bump in all it's glory! ;)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtw8MertnWYE3N0EDiqJf_WZkyI7Pf2Rpt8x9Prk-H4XuO4FTu_8rf9pHktFK63bc_1eTLTsmqPIBi3LRR8QKr0Em5IrXl-Wp33tkUB7wMWwWlVK6egfadC-OxC-DflQzFwfyAZ0rJ42U/s1600/Erin_Porter_207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtw8MertnWYE3N0EDiqJf_WZkyI7Pf2Rpt8x9Prk-H4XuO4FTu_8rf9pHktFK63bc_1eTLTsmqPIBi3LRR8QKr0Em5IrXl-Wp33tkUB7wMWwWlVK6egfadC-OxC-DflQzFwfyAZ0rJ42U/s400/Erin_Porter_207.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJyuyMIBfuw5oL3TiDEwmh8RGMktJVQOQ21RGmZrN2oM2L4tKxs4HWsoqdPROqgqGQ065l7QSR4h5g8Vtrw4co6bqnw-7s7tAJI-pyLuUFzh08dVg7W2ETWfmjWTyvbG3EeapqXjpIpTg/s1600/Erin_Porter_206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJyuyMIBfuw5oL3TiDEwmh8RGMktJVQOQ21RGmZrN2oM2L4tKxs4HWsoqdPROqgqGQ065l7QSR4h5g8Vtrw4co6bqnw-7s7tAJI-pyLuUFzh08dVg7W2ETWfmjWTyvbG3EeapqXjpIpTg/s400/Erin_Porter_206.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkSHXRr1XH8Hv0p7b1xxDY-o1fam5SAqHVDHtDX9iz7N00JW7eMtx5pXM7c06vMkrbRK-JxdlOqa1behyMTizBzAQyQwV5aHkduCsEKv0TuaZYpMubke8ybpfHqaZHU8d0HQ4zWtwX_Ks/s1600/Erin_Porter_028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkSHXRr1XH8Hv0p7b1xxDY-o1fam5SAqHVDHtDX9iz7N00JW7eMtx5pXM7c06vMkrbRK-JxdlOqa1behyMTizBzAQyQwV5aHkduCsEKv0TuaZYpMubke8ybpfHqaZHU8d0HQ4zWtwX_Ks/s400/Erin_Porter_028.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1y37H5KE5dmO0NMO1JXGrIjLzJaJ2UBFIpOp_iFBt1EBd2ldguIXcOTdlqt83YIsAhAk4aM1HBiZyegjysV6bQdlvldyXghSnTuCFEnNe4_QYSjDKB7t8ov43u3VOHQSqF2i4bN9v_14/s1600/Erin_Porter_035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1y37H5KE5dmO0NMO1JXGrIjLzJaJ2UBFIpOp_iFBt1EBd2ldguIXcOTdlqt83YIsAhAk4aM1HBiZyegjysV6bQdlvldyXghSnTuCFEnNe4_QYSjDKB7t8ov43u3VOHQSqF2i4bN9v_14/s400/Erin_Porter_035.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Porter decided to tickle/squish the baby during our pictures....I was not amused, haha!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCOFjjABoJVOnlSD6U437t6NzmZ5Hc059vSZjnyZdxBz6hTwpOIuPUqSgMKdmiwT8jJ9ZLsMCA1OAjNIyi_P2irGAoJWbWes5yupuW0-HqXXOIWrKw12h1i9CIuw1y-wdCSh771l3ufvg/s1600/Erin_Porter_046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCOFjjABoJVOnlSD6U437t6NzmZ5Hc059vSZjnyZdxBz6hTwpOIuPUqSgMKdmiwT8jJ9ZLsMCA1OAjNIyi_P2irGAoJWbWes5yupuW0-HqXXOIWrKw12h1i9CIuw1y-wdCSh771l3ufvg/s400/Erin_Porter_046.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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These are my "Mother Willow" shots. I felt very "nature goddess" in that tree.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6GalWTq8wYAsxS5i8bJtDJykyWJ_oBGoHzW7x0EfBNhMi-miAbX3smzUXTCs-3NfMm9lexA5U3MG6w0kvWc1jgMKGUHv0NX_zfzcC1Tb0DM-O9LgRw2Lu1Z1me1GN_nGUomGHiwZ1Jf0/s1600/Erin_Porter_117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6GalWTq8wYAsxS5i8bJtDJykyWJ_oBGoHzW7x0EfBNhMi-miAbX3smzUXTCs-3NfMm9lexA5U3MG6w0kvWc1jgMKGUHv0NX_zfzcC1Tb0DM-O9LgRw2Lu1Z1me1GN_nGUomGHiwZ1Jf0/s400/Erin_Porter_117.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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33 Weeks!</div>
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Did you know that I am currently a Time Lord?! I know...hard to believe, but it's true. I currently have 2 beating hearts within me. I keep waiting for my hot pink Tardis to show up so I can go save some worlds and stuff, but only after I take a nap, grab a snack and go for wee! (I hope my British friends appreciate that I actually just said 'go for a wee', they all know I hate saying that.)</div>
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I'm now 39 weeks, so baby can't come soon enough! </div>
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P.S. Isn't he just the cutest?! I'm so excited to see Porter as a daddy. I'm pretty sure he is going to rock that baby wrap, diaper bag and sweet little burrito baby.</div>
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<br />~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-83113058687376843122016-02-23T20:22:00.000+00:002016-02-23T20:22:18.946+00:00I turned 30 in Barcelona!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I turned 30 this year! Whoa, me a 30 year old....it's hard to believe, probably even harder for my parents. But onward and upward! Porter told me he was taking me somewhere for my birthday, but wouldn't tell me where. On the morning of my birthday he gave me a card with boarding passes to:</div>
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Barcelona!</div>
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I was so excited to go to a warm beach town in October for my birthday. Our plan: a little R&R.</div>
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Sleep in, stroll the city, have good food and drink, take in the architecture and enjoy the sunshine.</div>
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Birthday Dinner</div>
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Porter booked us at the Melia. I was expecting some budget hotel. Oh no no no, it was a 5 star hotel! We had a beautiful room with an amazing view, and every morning we had the best breakfasts ever. I was in heaven.</div>
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Our view of the Mediterranean.</div>
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We stopped by La Sagrada Familia, a cathedral by Goudi that has been under construction for over 100 years. It is stunning! But if you go, book tickets in advance or you'll have to wait forever to get in.</div>
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Inside the Cathedral </div>
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Casa Batllo another beautiful Goudi piece.</div>
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We found a cool puppet shop. You can see us in the reflection. I had my "Halloween" shirt on, because it was Halloween. But no one else was dressed up at all. I was a little bummed about that. I'm used to Halloween being a big holiday.</div>
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The Cascada is a beautiful fountain, and it's huge!</div>
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So many fun markets and street food.</div>
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Las Rambles: a huge shopping district.</div>
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Porter got to try a Doner Kebab, apparently everyone back home loves these things.</div>
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And I got Gelato! Wandering around the Gothic Quarter with some ice cold yumminess was a great way to spend a birthday.</div>
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We found this awesome little cafe: Salterio. It was fantastic.</div>
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And, of course: The BEACH! It was windy, and everyone was wind surfing.</div>
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Barcelona was Awesome!</div>
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There is a Seagull on top of the fountain. He was squawking and carrying on.</div>
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Getting home was a struggle to say the least. Our flight was severely delayed due to the fog in London. We didn't get home till 3 am. But it was worth it! I'll turn 30 every year if I can always have a trip like this.</div>
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<br />~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-91423387968056220832015-10-24T23:30:00.006+01:002015-10-25T23:06:27.152+00:00Cornwall Bank Holiday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We had a few days where we could go on a quick holiday, so we decided to head down to Cornwall. We had never been, so decided to make the trek. It took a good 6 hours to drive there. We made a few stops along the way to break up the drive. </div>
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Porter hadn't been to Avebury Henge, it's the largest henge with a kilometer diameter. Also, you can touch the stones!!! Porter loved it.</div>
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Porter boosted me up to take this photo.</div>
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After a long drive, lots of traffic around Bristol, several rest stops and 2 bags of peanut M&M's later we made it to Newquay. We stayed at <a href="http://www.dewolfguesthouse.com/">Dewolf Guest House</a>. It was a cute little B&B ran by a couple who own Siberian Huskies. They were very sweet and the location was good.</div>
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The first stop was St. Michaels Mount. It's a town with a castle on this little island by Penzance (yes, like in Pirates of Penzance) that is only accessible at low tide via causeway. We looked at the tidal schedule and got there right before low tide. </div>
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Walking along the path was pretty fun. </div>
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There were also a bunch of big rocks along way you could climb on.</div>
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Unfortunately, when we arrived at the island we found out it was closed on Saturdays. So Porter snapped this picture. We walked around for a few minutes then headed back along the pathway.</div>
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On our way back to the car we ran into a market where we had the best macaroons ever! They were better than any I've had from France. The best flavors were the chocolate and the salted caramel.</div>
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Our next stop of the day was: Land's End. </div>
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It's the farthest point out one can go on England. Next stop, New York!</div>
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This is the little cafe out on the cliff.</div>
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We also stopped at St. Ives. You know the shampoo brand, it's an actual place, and it's beautiful! However, I advise you to park before getting into the town center. We didn't realize this and before we knew it, we were in the middle of the town on tiny cobblestone roads with pedestrians everywhere. Porter was not happy. After a few minutes of chaos and some pretty strong language we made out in one piece. We had to loop the the whole city again to get to the parking areas. But it was totally worth it.</div>
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After our crazy driving adventure we relaxed with a Cornish Strawberry Cream Tea. </div>
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This cheeky little guy was popping up trying to climb on board peoples boats.</div>
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We went crabbing and while I was out near the deep end the seal swam right by me! Also in this picture the tide was coming in...fast.</div>
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I was pretty excited! I was hoping he would swim up next to me on the cement. </div>
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Our final stop of the day was at <a href="http://thecornishcyderfarm.co.uk/">Healey's Cider Farm</a>. It's adorable. You can tour the entire farm, see the orchards, looks at the farm animals, and see how they process their juices and ciders. Porter made sure to inspect their products very carefully.</div>
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The main reason for us wanting to visit Cornwall was to see Tintagel Castle. It did not disappoint, probably one of my favorite castles ever. We loved it!</div>
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Once part of the castle from the coast.</div>
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A view of the caves from the castle.</div>
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A view of the castle from Merlin's Cave!</div>
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Porter was loving the castle. This would have been the great hall.</div>
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We loved walking along the cliffs, they were epic. I pretty much felt like I was on the edge of the world.</div>
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There was this fabulous pasty shop in the town of Tintagel. Porter had been dying to have a real Cornish Pasty, so we had to stop. <a href="http://www.pengennapasties.co.uk/">Pengenna Pasties</a> are amazing! Their flapjacks were the best I've ever tasted.</div>
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It was huge, but Porter was up to the challenge.</div>
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While we were in the area we stopped at Port Issac where the British drama "Doc Martin" is filmed. It was the cutest little port town. We hiked up to get a view of it.</div>
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Up on the hill we found a bench with a sweet inscription:</div>
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"What we keep in memory is ours forever."</div>
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Isn't this the cutest little bus stop?! </div>
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Also we found this sign. It's nice to find little pieces of kindness.</div>
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Doc Martin's House.</div>
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This is a picture of our room at our B&B.</div>
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On our way home we stopped at the <a href="http://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/">Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary</a>. I've been wanting to go here since I learned about it. They save donkeys. You can read all about them on that link, plus they have cameras so you can watch the donkeys in real time. I think they have over 200 donkeys at this location.</div>
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This guy just wanted his rump scratched.</div>
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These ones were adorable! </div>
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Donkey Selfie</div>
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D'artagnan was this big boy and I loved him. But again, all these donkey's wanted was their butt scratched, ha!</div>
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This pretty much sums up how we felt about our trip!</div>
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<br />~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-1563250208972620762015-10-01T20:47:00.001+01:002015-10-01T20:47:47.756+01:00New Zealand: Blackwater Rafting and Volcano Climbing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
One of the highlights of the trip for us was our trip to the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves. We had arranged to go Black Water Rafting in the morning. But first we had to get checked into our hotel. This was probably the nicest hotel we stayed at, however, upon arrival the receptionist let us know that it was one of the most <a href="http://hauntedauckland.com/site/waitomo-caves-hotel/">haunted hotels in New Zealand</a>....great. Just great, now wonder it was such a good deal. I of course had images of blood dripping down the walls in the middle of the night, creatures lurking beneath my bed, and decapitated ghosts in the bath tub. Yep, that's where my mind goes. </div>
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This was a picture on the wall that was depicting people in the caves, but it looked rather ominous.</div>
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I found the fire! I'm super good at that. If there is a nice hot fire any around and you don't know where I am, odds are I'm snuggled up right next to it.</div>
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The next morning we got up at the crack of dawn (no ghosts during the night, whew!) and headed for the caves. <a href="http://www.waitomo.com/black-water-rafting/Pages/default.aspx">Black Water Rafting Co. </a> is a company that takes groups on caving tours through the glow worm caves. Porter and I signed up to do the Black Abyss tour which consists of repelling into a cave 40 meters, zip lining through the dark, jumping off a ledge into freezing cold water on an inner tube, and then riding that tube on an underground river while looking at the glow worms. There is also a fair bit of spelunking as well. </div>
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We wore lots of gear that was extremely flattering for our figures.</div>
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Our Group before we left.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWzpWmif1DJUknDgJHEwo4kttpWWYEFU4_v04ypK4hZY5k16PeGTvyGY0b5ndXM0ZMYB10RmEBQmBMXbbfm1cQRS7ny3y5c82nqcASeFdRbTDvt-qxeRvGMQcCrC4dMcqxSiB_Y5PGNls/s1600/IMG_9052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWzpWmif1DJUknDgJHEwo4kttpWWYEFU4_v04ypK4hZY5k16PeGTvyGY0b5ndXM0ZMYB10RmEBQmBMXbbfm1cQRS7ny3y5c82nqcASeFdRbTDvt-qxeRvGMQcCrC4dMcqxSiB_Y5PGNls/s320/IMG_9052.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Practicing our repelling technique </div>
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I made Porter go first, he was so excited!</div>
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I look happy, but inside I was a wee bit nervous to lower myself into a little dark, black hole.</div>
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There we go!</div>
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Jumping into the freezing water. It was not a graceful landing.</div>
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While floating in the caves they had me sing a song that went really loud and high. When the glow worms feel vibrations they turn their lights out momentarily. It definitely gave them vibrations, and the acoustics were super cool as well.</div>
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We did this with the lamps on our helmets and our plastic water cups.</div>
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Cecil the eel that was swimming along with us in the cave.</div>
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To leave the cave we had to climb up 2 waterfalls. It's true, we may be a little bada$$. Haha! The truth is we had awesome guides who were fantastic.</div>
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After our 6 hour caving adventure, we relaxed!</div>
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After this day, you would think that we had the adventure bug out of our system. Which would be true, unless your travel buddy decided he wanted to climb a volcano before we flew home. We found a mountain sanctuary that had an old volcano we could hike. Porter told me there were 2 paths, the old path which was medium/hard and then the new path which was easy. </div>
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We started hiking. The two paths sort of came together a few times, so we tried the harder path. It seemed steep, and really damp, but nothing too hard. So when we had the chance to jump back on the new path, we said 'no thank you.' Remember we had just come off our crazy cave adventure the day before and were feeling super hard core. </div>
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As we kept going, the trail started getting steeper to the point where we had to help each other and hang on to rocks and roots. Then the path disappeared and all that was left were these little orange triangles nailed to trees that were growing out of rocks that went straight up. We thought, "oh, we just have to climb up a rock, then the path will reappear." By the 5th time this happened and the path disappeared completely with only orange triangles remaining we were a little freaked out, at least I was. The awful thing was we couldn't turn back because the rocks and roots were so wet and slippery we were afraid to fall. We spent a good few hours working our way up. I wanted to sit down and cry, but I knew that wouldn't help anything and just stress Porter out. So I held it together. And finally we made it to the top! </div>
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But all that crap we had to climb up, we had to go down on the other side. Luckily, the easy path met up with this path a ways down so we could take the easy back. This is how I felt about the little orange arrows.</div>
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Do not be fooled by how pretty this path looks, it is treacherous. </div>
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On our last day we drove around Auckland. </div>
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We found some cool tide pools at low tide.</div>
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Peace out NZ, you were wild, and pretty cool, I will miss you.</div>
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<br />~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-34670655414903604572015-09-30T22:17:00.001+01:002015-09-30T22:17:07.214+01:00New Zealand: Lake Taupo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We took some time to enjoy a fire and warm drinks while we planned the last few days of our trip. Our reception was poor, so I had to do most of the navigating by cross referencing our Navigator to a good old fashioned map.</div>
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Lake Taupo was beautiful. So still and peaceful. The water was extremely clear. You can see the bottom!</div>
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Giant pumice rocks were floating along the edge of the lake.</div>
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We had hoped to go see Mount Doom, but the weather wasn't cooperating, so we headed to the Wairakei Terraces Thermal Pools instead. Basically, there is a geyser with boiling hot water that runs out of it, and these people built a pool mixing that water with a cold springs, but it's still super hot. The highest pool up is the hottest and they get "cooler" as you work your way down. </div>
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I finally got to swim in a hot water fall!</div>
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If you find yourself in Taupo, try to visit this hot springs. It was amazing, and my skin felt so smooth afterward. Hot mineral baths are fantastic!</div>
<br />~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-77831272218381755922015-09-30T22:00:00.000+01:002015-09-30T22:00:54.813+01:00New Zealand: Rotorua<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We did so much in New Zealand that I feel like every day or two deserves it's own post. That's why it's taken me forever to get it all sorted. But, Rotorua, here we go. First off, it smelt like sulphur. And our hotel was totally ghetto. The automatic doors didn't work, so we had to manually slide them. Then the wifi was out on our side of the hotel and Porter had to do work, so we had to change rooms and were down graded. The new room, the heater didn't work and it didn't have any windows. The previous room had a big window looking over the geysers, which was the whole reason we stayed there. But we pushed forward. </div>
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This is Porter's war face. </div>
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We had heard that the hot spots in New Zealand were pretty epic. Coming from the western United States we are spoiled in that Yellowstone National Park was only a 4 hour drive from us. Porter's family used to have a cabin up there. So we've seen hot pots before. However, I'm so glad we went. Hell's Gate was other worldly.</div>
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I felt like we were walking through Mordor. It was said that the Maori people help these places as sacred. I can see why. They were stunning.</div>
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The thing that set it apart from Yellowstone is the lack of safety precautions. Basically there is a little path and they tell you to stay on it. At Yellowstone there are serious walk ways and ropes and "Do Not Enter" signs. It was fun to get really close to super hot, bubbly geysers!</div>
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We found the largest hot waterfall in the Southern Hemisphere. And I made Porter take a smoochy selfie with me. The water was the perfect temperature to go swimming. It was all I could do to keep myself from jumping in.</div>
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This was the Medicine Lake. The Mud here was awesome. It was super fine and squishy. They said it was good to put on your skin.<br /><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2ko7rKNBwuo/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2ko7rKNBwuo?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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We finished out the night at a Maori Experience Event. The dinner wasn't that great, but the entertainment was fun. My favorite part was the Haka.</div>
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Also, we had to choose a chief to make peace with the other tribe's chief. And we also had to choose someone to sing a song of our tribe. I volun-told Porter to. Haha! He got up and sang Hakuna Matata. We thought it was a good peace song. Everyone seemed to like it.</div>
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<br />~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-56295633159463198692015-08-25T11:06:00.000+01:002015-08-25T11:27:12.885+01:00New Zealand: Hobbiton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmRmPdHcWG40cxxITnvtSmmedvY97axlhfNK_OlunEdgMQPEUPa3VR83kNq4qrI9WSx_oFbCvDS4tZLskW-EftbwI_P3hdS2xVWifxYVGkxwViFCesQCdWLNYyWbsjPNKzPQZhTupV5HM/s1600/IMG_8844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmRmPdHcWG40cxxITnvtSmmedvY97axlhfNK_OlunEdgMQPEUPa3VR83kNq4qrI9WSx_oFbCvDS4tZLskW-EftbwI_P3hdS2xVWifxYVGkxwViFCesQCdWLNYyWbsjPNKzPQZhTupV5HM/s400/IMG_8844.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Hobbiton!!! We were so excited to visit Middle Earth and tour around The Shire. The movie set is nestled in some hills; so you meet at a different spot with cafe, gift shop and parking lot. They pick you up in a bus and then haul you to the actual set that is located on a working farm. There are sheep all over the place. In order to protect the set, there is a massive electric fence around the entire premise. </div>
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The original set was located via helicopter. Peter Jackson loved the location because there was no evidence of the 21st century anywhere to be seen. The set for the Lord of the Rings was temporary. The agreement was that it be taken down when filming was finished. However, when they had to rebuild the set for the Hobbit movies, the farmers would only let them use the farm again if they built the set to be permanent so they could make a tourist operation out of it. Very clever farmers!</div>
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There are over 40 hobbit holes on the set. There were all different scales of holes as well to help with the forced perspective as many characters on the movie have different heights.</div>
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Our tour guide. I think he told us that it takes around 20 full time gardeners to keep the place looking ship-shape everyday.</div>
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Looking down on Hobbiton from on the hill.</div>
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By the Lake</div>
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These are just a few hobbit holes that we thought were extra cute. It was amazing the amount of detail that went into each hole. </div>
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Bag End!!! We were hoping to join Mr. Frodo or Mr. Bilbo for Elevensies but alas, no one was home.</div>
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The tree above Bag End is completely fake. The original tree from LOTR was a real tree brought in from a different location, reinforced with steel and then covered in fake leaves in order to achieve the look that Mr. Jackson wanted. However, when filming finished that tree was destroyed. So, for the Hobbit movies, they had to recreate the previous tree. Thus, a completely fake tree. </div>
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Side note: Porter won a leaf from the tree for answering a question correctly, you will see in our video further down.</div>
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Apparently, this is one of the most photographed trees in the world. It is the big tree from the birthday party scene.</div>
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A little movie from our morning.</div>
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After finishing our tour of Hobbiton we headed for drinks and a warm fire at the Green Dragon.</div>
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Porter was excited!</div>
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A giant hand carved green dragon was there to greet everyone.</div>
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Remember how I told you in my last post that there are shop cats every where in NZ? Well, the Green Dragon has a shop cat, and I found him!</div>
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We wore hobbit clothing while drinking apple cider by the fire. It was very cozy.</div>
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We loved Hobbiton!!! If you go to New Zealand, you have to go. It was one of the top 3 things we did there.</div>
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Bonus:</div>
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Porter's audition photo for a hobbit!</div>
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Porter reading a bit of the the Lord of the Rings to me that evening after visiting The Shire while sipping tea. This excerpt is discussing hobbit families and what they say happened to Frodo's parents (he didn't know I was recording ;)</div>
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<br />~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-19496146268382691382015-08-24T13:23:00.002+01:002015-08-25T11:29:22.789+01:00New Zealand: Auckland, Hot Water Beach, Cathedral Cove<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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New Zealand here we come!!! We thought we had plenty of time to catch our flight from Sydney to Auckland, however we did not know how long the boarder control line would be. We were barely passing through security 20 minutes before our flight was scheduled to depart. To say I was freaking out was an understatement. It was the silent, staring straight in front of me kind of freaking out, where I knew I couldn't do anything but move through the line and then run like a bat out of hell to my gate. When we cleared security, we took off! Running, I'm pretty good at normally, running with a 20 pound backpack, eh, it starts to slow you down. I was doing my best, and we could see the gate in front of us with, may I add, the staff totally making fun of us! They were like, "slow down, we aren't going to leave you." Ha! I guess there were a bunch of passengers stuck in the line so they delayed the flight so everyone could make it. Huge shout out to Qantas Airlines. They were amazing! </div>
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These were our faces after everything, feeling pretty frazzled.</div>
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When we finally arrived in New Zealand ,4 hours later, we were greeted by this big guy. His sign reads, "On loan from Middle Earth." It pretty much made our day.</div>
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We stayed at the Rydges Hotel in Auckland. Porter had a day of business, so I went foraging and found some breakfast then walked around the city before we headed out on our adventure. <a href="http://misters.co/">Misters</a> was a cute little cafe. I even got an edible flower on my porridge.</div>
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We left Auckland behind and headed for the hills. Auckland was fine, but not my favorite city. It just seemed like a normal medium metro. We drove a few hours (in the dark, which was terrifying!) to the Coromandel Peninsula. We stayed at the Top 10 Holiday Parks, kind of like KOAs in the US. We had a little cabin barely big enough for a bed. But it was cute, clean, and warm. I was just happy to be out of the car and off the tiny winding roads.</div>
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In the club house there was this giant cat just chilling on an old, run down sofa. The cat was so cute. I kept trying to pet her and wake her up but no dice. She was fast asleep. I noticed a lot of places in New Zealand had shop cats that just hang around and sleep. It's pretty adorable.</div>
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The next morning we walked down to hot water beach. There is a spot on this particular beach where boiling hot water comes to the surface. You can go out there and dig a little hot tub for yourself where the ocean water mixes with the hot water to create the perfect temperature. We grabbed a quick bite to eat, rented a spade for digging then headed out to the beach.</div>
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The walk was beautiful.</div>
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We started digging.</div>
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Everyone was digging away.</div>
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Porter working hard to find the hot water.</div>
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We kept moving around to find the spot.</div>
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Finally we found it. There is basically only one big spot and everyone flocks to it. The water was so hot it would burn your toes if you stood on the sand too long. Here Porter is helping a bunch of boys fortify the walls of the hot tub as the tide was coming in.</div>
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After beach time we took a hike to Stingray Bay and Cathedral Cove. It was gorgeous!!!</div>
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It took us an hour to hike down to the cove.</div>
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The Cathedral Rock that you could walk through.</div>
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I can't believe we were at the beach in winter and it was this nice.</div>
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This part of the North Island is a bit remote, but totally worth a visit.</div>
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We loved this hike!</div>
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~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-77771947851033483292015-08-18T14:47:00.001+01:002015-08-24T13:30:59.721+01:00The Land Down Under: Hunter Valley <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
After our stay in Sydney, we headed north up to Hunter Valley to stay with our friends, Ian and Janelle. Ian and Porter work together as well. They have an awesome boutique hotel, <a href="http://tonichotel.com.au/index.html">Tonic</a>, right in the heart of Australia's wine country. They live in a home on the hotel's property next to all the buildings that guests stay in. It was gorgeous! I didn't know what to even expect, but I had no idea that I about to spend a weekend in such a beautiful part of the world.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the guest rooms we stayed in. Tonic has a very modern feel. Its very spacious but still cozy and quaint with groovy furniture that is very eclectic and luxurious all at the same time.<br />
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Their fantastic fireplace.</div>
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The view from our bed, what?!?!<br />
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Pretty much the cutest puppy in Australia!</div>
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Ian and Janelle took us all over Hunter Valley to some fantastic vineyards. We even stopped and had a yummy picnic lunch at one. They know all the right places to visit!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking over some of the vineyards that we toured around. It was their winter so they weren't growing at the moment.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hunter Valley</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset at Tonic was amazing! The sky was on fire.</td></tr>
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Now, the icing on the cake of this magical weekend was, in one word: Kangaroos!</div>
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There were wild kangaroos everywhere. In this area, they are the equivalent of white tail deer in the states. But to me they were fantastic creatures I had only seen on film or at the zoo. Ian told me I would probably see them in the morning. So the first night there I couldn't sleep because I was so excited, and then when I actually did manage to fall asleep I had dreams about them. Kangaroos were taking over my brain! I woke up at sunrise and crept outside. This was the view...</div>
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It was stunning! The sunrise with the mist creeping along the ground was breathtaking. I snapped this picture and right after I did the mist engulfed most of my view. I did see kangaroos though! I woke Porter up and we watched some off in the distance hopping along and even 2 males boxing!</div>
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On our last day at Tonic, there were a bunch of kangaroos on the back part of their property. So Ian, Porter, and I went out to see them. Porter snagged this great video of them hopping away. In it you can see a mommy kangaroo hop the fence while her little joey has to find an alternative way out. You also hear my camera snapping lots of pictures (sorry about that).</div>
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A huge Thank You!!! and many hugs to our wonderful hosts, Ian and Janelle and little Brian. They helped make our trip down under pretty magical and unforgettable. Go check out <a href="http://tonichotel.com.au/index.html">Tonic</a> if you want an amazing experience for your next Australian holiday.</div>
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Bonus Material: Porter tries Vegemite...</div>
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<br />~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-62122809425754263792015-08-03T16:59:00.002+01:002015-08-03T16:59:34.046+01:00The Land Down Under: Sydney<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
T-minus 20 hours and counting...</div>
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The longest plane ride of my life (thus far) had commenced. Porter had a business conference in Sydney and I wanted to go to. So we turned it into a 2 week adventure: week one was Australia, and week two was New Zealand. We flew Qantas. They were great, but their veggie meals were not. I think was was served rice at all three meals with a variety of weird gravy and veggies on each dish. </div>
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We had a quick stop-over in Dubai. It's sort of a layover. Basically, they shoo everyone off, clean the plane, refuel, and switch crews while we all go shop for duty free items and Coconut Ritter Sports (Dubai and Zermatt are the only places I've found these little treasures). Then we all got back on board for the long haul to Australia.</div>
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This is us after 24+ hours of travel at 5 am in the Sydney airport, but hey at least we were still smiling! We actually arrived early (4:15 am) but had to do circles because the airport doesn't open until 5 am.</div>
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We got to our hotel and had a super early check in, which was so nice. Porter was able to shower and iron his clothes before he ran off to a meeting at 9 am. I hung out for a bit, then decided I needed to go out and walk the city or else I was going to sleep all day long. I walked all over the place! But finally ended up at this amazing vista where you could see the whole downtown section of the city. </div>
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Sydney is Beautiful!!!</div>
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From this point I could also see the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. I skyped my mom and grandparents from here. It was Monday morning for me and Sunday afternoon for them. I was calling them from the future, which basically makes me somewhat of a Time Lord, right?</div>
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Did you know that Cockatoos are wild in Australia? I didn't. They were all over the park, squawking and flying around doing their cockatoo thing. I was mesmerized and watched them for a while.</div>
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I couldn't get over how pretty it was.</div>
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The architecture was really fun too. </div>
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This is from my Fitbit app, I walked almost 10 miles around that city.</div>
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When Porter was done with work I took him back down to my favorite place so he could see the city. We got an amazing surprise. The sky was a rainbow of fire. I was in heaven!!!</div>
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We also walked along the water by the Harbor Bridge. I snagged a photo while a seagull was working the camera.</div>
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And thus ended our first day. I was already exhausted and we had 2 weeks left....</div>
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Next morning Porter had a couple hours, so we jumped on a Ferry and headed out to Taronga Zoo. This is a view of the city leaving the dock.</div>
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Taronga was really fun. We got to see a lot of Australia's animals: Koalas, Kangaroos, Emus, platypus, Wombats, ect. I even had a little moment in the nocturnal exhibit with a little echidna.</div>
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The little joey was adorable.</div>
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These Himalayan Tahrs were up so high, I was surprised they didn't fall when they bounced around up there.</div>
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The City Hall building.</div>
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While Porter was at a conference, I jumped on a boat and went whale watching. The humpback whales were migrating, which made for a great day out. We had over 50 sightings! It was really cold at sea, so I had 3 layers of various coats on. I was right out on the bow of the boat, so everything was great (I tend to get motion sickness at sea.) But then the captain said we all had to come in so the boat could speed up and head to another pod of whales. So I came in. When the boat sped up I got so sick! But then there were whales. I felt awful, but I wasn't going to miss seeing these big guys. So I grabbed a sick bag and ran. I was puking my guts out (sorry, TMI), but then I would look up and be like "Hey, a whale!" Then puck again. That commenced for a few minutes. And finally, magically, I felt really good. The rest of the afternoon was fantastic. </div>
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Two whales headed for a deep dive.</div>
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Two more whales arching their backs in a dive.</div>
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This is a view of the city from the ocean on our way out to sea.</div>
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On our way back in we went a different way and swung by Luna Park, which is an old theme park from the 1930's. It's cool, colorful, and mildly creepy all at the same time.</div>
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Porter took us to a fun restaurant call "The Rook" that night. They were famous for their burgers and truffle fries. Too bad I had gotten horribly ill on the boat and didn't really have an appetite. Too bad for me that is, not Porter, he got double truffle fries. I also ordered this fun Alice in Wonderland themed drink that changed color when you poured it into your glass. It was excellent!</div>
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The next day I headed to the Aquarium. They had all sorts of amazing coral and sea life.</div>
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This big dude is Pig, one of the resident Dugongs. Apparently there are only 5 captive in the world and 2 are at this aquarium. Both animals had been released into the wild multiple times, but they didn't do well so that is why they are here. They are related to elephants. You can read more about them <a href="http://www.sydneyaquarium.com.au/explore/dugong-island/?gclid=CjwKEAjwovytBRCdxtyKqfL5nUISJACaugG13Ebyjg_2PdhBV_FV47Kez5F1bKXDcCGm_c0R-KOuExoChQvw_wcB">here</a>. I loved learning about them.</div>
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On our last day in the city, we headed to Bondi Beach. I watch Bondi Vet on the telly and wanted to see where it all goes down. It was gorgeous! Porter and I have also decided that we want to learn to surf from watching everyone doing it along the beach.</div>
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We were super excited to find legit tacos at a pub on the beach.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnObGg1prls4CmE_GmOxpmzLtudgMXBYoUvH9WhB3VIW0PUWyNV6mmaxfJQ6K-6DAuogSmClzyS3u2E__gOkS-UKL_ulWOz9Vy3KJ62Jdx0Oh23hVawWxAoIsjG1lv0ksaeROHjf3abx8/s1600/IMG_8586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnObGg1prls4CmE_GmOxpmzLtudgMXBYoUvH9WhB3VIW0PUWyNV6mmaxfJQ6K-6DAuogSmClzyS3u2E__gOkS-UKL_ulWOz9Vy3KJ62Jdx0Oh23hVawWxAoIsjG1lv0ksaeROHjf3abx8/s320/IMG_8586.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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This is a quick little video I threw together of some spots we visited in Sydney.<br /><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/24-T0qR721E/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/24-T0qR721E?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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Farewell Sydney, I'm pretty sure you and London are now tied for my favorite city in the entire world.</div>
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<br />~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-2022721159083612162015-07-10T09:00:00.000+01:002015-07-10T09:40:24.931+01:00Flower Crown Photoshoot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
My lovely friend Caty and her husband Connor have been in London for the past year. You might remember Caty from my post on Switzerland. She was one of the fabulous SwissMisses. She and Connor were getting ready to move back to the USA, so before they left we decided to have fun with a couple of photoshoots. Caty is an amazing photographer. We wanted to do something really girly, and I ask you, what is more girly than a Flower Crown Photoshoot?</div>
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So we hoofed it over to Morrison's and about £20 later we emerged with a crap ton of flowers. Caty could barely carry them all!</div>
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We hiked up to Canizaro Park near Wimbledon Common. I crafted Caty's crown and did her photos, she designed my crown and did all my photos. And then we put the camera on a tripod and used my remote to do some group shots. It took pretty much all afternoon, but it was such a good time! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photocred for all the pics of me: Caty Gainer</td></tr>
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I love how this pictures of Caty turned out. She looks like a Greek Goddess!</div>
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Afterwards, we had a flower crown destruction party. These images capture how excited we were to take the flowers out and go home.</div>
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<br />~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-84253354959504834622015-07-09T08:21:00.000+01:002015-07-09T08:21:52.250+01:00Spring Break to Utah<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
After Houston, we caught a plane to Utah. Going home is great. We get to see friends and family that we miss in England. We eat all the food that we can't find in London (good Mexican), have late night campfires, make s'mores, and go shopping at all our old stores. However, there is also a downside to going home: the dentist. We still go to our Utah dentist because we love them, and they are great, but this last visit, I had to get a crown. ... ... ... ... ... I felt like my mouth had betrayed me! I take really good care of my teeth. But I guess it's genetic? That's what they said anyway. So I went 3 different times to get things sorted. I'm glad my US dentist could help me, but now I'm a bit obsessed with my teeth, like tons of brushing, flossing, mouth wash, oil pulling. I'm becoming a crazy lady, but I do not want a repeat to last time.</div>
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We always go stay with our friends Ali and Jon for a night. We eat great food, play games and have a fabulous time. Ali always has the cutest guest room set up!</div>
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We saw a double rainbow at their house!</div>
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And then Ali made the yummiest breakfast. I love her frittatas!</div>
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We had some good family time as well. This was after a little jam session at my Dad's girlfriend's house. She has a lovely baby grand piano. We all took turns playing and singing.</div>
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Rachel and I got pedicures. It was heaven! </div>
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I had an blushing purple and her color was electric watermelon.</div>
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We had to grab some Utah hiking before we left. This was up Lamb's canyon near Park City. We told Kyle we wanted a nice easy walk, so he took us up a mountain... However the view was great once we made it up.</div>
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Goodbye Utah! Until next time.</div>
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<br />~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-56453097902248575002015-07-08T16:38:00.002+01:002015-07-08T16:59:53.267+01:00Houston: A Forecast of Thunderstorms and Jolly Good Times<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Twice a year we get to fly home. Our semi-annual trip was approaching and we decided to include a quick stop to Houston to visit our friends Brendan and Tiffany. They had come to London to spend Christmas, so it was our turn to visit. We were so excited for some beach time and board game time!</div>
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Porter loves reading comics to pass the time on the long air plane ride. I actually think we are getting pretty good at long plane rides. We flew Virgin Atlantic this time via Delta, and loved it! Just FYI if you are looking to fly to Europe.</div>
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However, long flights are still long.</div>
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One of the first things we did was go sailing! Brendan and Tiffany are training to become pirates. They had some pretty mean sailing skills.</div>
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We were rained on pretty hard, so Tiff and I hid down below, while trying not to get sea sick.</div>
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"A Beautiful Day for a Beautiful Sail"</div>
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Porter and I snuck out to the bow of the boat for a fun Titanic moment and photo opp.</div>
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Another good thing about Houston: TexMex!</div>
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These tacos were amazing, I still dream about them sometimes.</div>
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Taco Face!!! Because, let's be honest, you can't eat a taco without making the face. Go on try it, I know you are thinking about it now.</div>
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Porter's Taco Face</div>
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We went treasure hunting on Hipster Row at all these fabulous second hand shops. Our favorite was a men's shop that was full of manly man stuff like fancy boots, jerky, and mustache wax.</div>
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Beach time with this Bathing Beauty! We had so much fun splashing around at Galveston Bay. However, RIP to Tiff's sunglasses. We were diving into waves, and the wave ate them.</div>
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Catching some rays.</div>
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Tiffany made us the best watermelon juice. That is one thing they really don't have a lot of here in England, is good watermelon. Utah has amazing watermelon, as does Houston, so this was a welcomed treat!</div>
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The pirate ship that Brendan and Tiff are going to sail later this year.</div>
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An old movie theatre turned TEXMEX!</div>
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The last night of our stay we decided to go for a fancy night out at <a href="http://www.underbellyhouston.com/">Underbelly</a>. This restaurant is amazing. If you go to Houston, promise me that you will go. Anyway, during our dinner it started raining. We didn't think anything of it. Just a normal thunderstorm, right? Wrong. When we were eating, at the exact same moment, everyone's phone when off with a flash flood warning for our area. It was wet out side but we still weren't concerened. However, as dinner ended and we got in the car to drive home, we soon realized this was not just a thunderstorm. More like Thunderstormageddon. The roads starting flooding, fast. The bayous were filling up like crazy. We drove around for almost 3 hours trying to get the car home, but in the end, we had to park the car on high ground and walk home through the water. Porter and I had never been in a tropical thunderstorm with flooding, so it was very exciting and a bit scary for us. </div>
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This was us waiting for Tiff to bring us provisions for our walk home. </div>
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The flood waters rising.</div>
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One of the bayous.</div>
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We loved our time in Houston and plan to go back soon, but for now, I prefer to be above the Thunderstorms, not below them.</div>
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Bonus Footage!</div>
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We always play epic boardgames with Brendan and Tiff. This was some of our Battlestar Galactica Game with the Bounty Hunter Expansion. I love this game, but it stresses me out. Brendan was a bounty hunter coming after our wanted crew! If only my favorite crew members weren't so naughty and getting themselves in trouble with the law. This is the real reason we have to go back. We need a rematch. ;)</div>
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~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-38161635470632192792015-07-08T15:19:00.000+01:002015-07-08T15:19:08.405+01:00Kyle visits the Motherland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Porter's Dad, Kyle, told us he had bought tickets to visit us the last week in April and the first week of May. He is the first of our parents to make it to the Motherland, so we were pretty excited to see him. The morning he arrived we met our lovely friends: Tom, Vicki, and Susie for brunch.</div>
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We have had a lot of company lately and have been traveling a lot, so we were very relieved when Kyle let us know that he was fine taking it easy. We did a lot of hikes around the city and Wimbledon. We ate lots of yummy food, played some music, visited some maritime museums and Kyle also did a bit of sailing in south west England around Plymouth.</div>
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I took Kyle to an old bookstore. He loved it, and I found some fun old sheet music.</div>
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We, of course, had to do the walking tour around Big Ben, the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, and Exhibition Row. The walk is roughly 5 miles. We also took the dogs, and they LOVED it! However, the tube ride home was during rush hour. I was super impressed with how well the dogs did on the train. They just sat, squashed among fifty other bodies, and waited for our stop.</div>
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We stopped by the palace for some tea with the Queen.</div>
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We took Kyle to one of our favorite Indian restaurants, Curry Royal. I think he is a fan.</div>
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Puck was super excited to have a new human to snuggle.</div>
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Kyle is very into sailing. He lived on a sail boat for a few years, and frequently spends winters in Mexico sailing around. He actually has his own <a href="http://no-bad-days-kyle.blogspot.co.uk/">blog</a> where he talks about all his adventures. We all took a trip down to Greenwich for a visit to the National Maritime Museum.</div>
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They loved looking at the ships.</div>
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GBK is one of our favorite burger joints. Kyle ordered a burger that was almost as big as his head, haha! But really, we go there for the rosemary fries. You can see them at the bottom of this picture.....pure heaven!</div>
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We hiked all over Wimbledon Common. The dogs had a blast with all the walking they got to do. </div>
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We finally discovered a nice stream where they can play without getting too muddy, and without chasing ducks. On one of our hikes, the dogs were off leash, and we accidentally let them go into a pond where different birds were nesting. There was a lot of excitement (from the dogs), yelling, splashing, and frantic grabbing, but we got them out with out any ducks becoming chew toys. Phew!</div>
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On our way up to Wimbledon Village.</div>
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Long hikes deserve long naps.</div>
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Nitro ice cream from Camden Town Market. I told Kyle we should split it, but he said no. He was ready to face that ice cream sandwich all by himself!</div>
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Porter and his Dad in front of our Local, The Dog and Fox.</div>
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We found a funny little Mexican place with a real life, plush, Mexican giraffe.</div>
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Walking under the Thames.</div>
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Kyle also spent a weekend dingy cruising around Plymouth. He has a whole <a href="http://no-bad-days-kyle.blogspot.co.uk/">blog post</a> on it. I stole a few pictures from Facebook to put on here. It looks beautiful!</div>
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We loved having Kyle visit! And the dogs loved going on 5 mile hikes every other day. Hopefully he can come back and do a little more dingy cruising.</div>
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~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-40453719749250786762015-05-18T15:43:00.001+01:002015-05-18T15:44:28.497+01:00A Little Trip Down Memory Lane in Helmsly, England<div style="text-align: center;">
After our little stint up in The Lake District we made a slight detour to Helmsly where Jon and Ali had eloped about a year and a half ago. They wanted to show their family the spot where it all went down. And Ali wanted a few family pictures there.</div>
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Their wedding was beautiful!</div>
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This is the same swing they took pictures on. Isn't that adorable?!</div>
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The same big house in the back.</div>
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I think everyone enjoyed Helmsly. The only sad part was that the exact spot where they were married was under construction and we couldn't get to it. That was a little bit of a bummer, but it was still really fun to be back there.</div>
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Afterwards, we headed over to the same little cafe where Jon and Ali had their wedding lunch. They have amazing cakes! </div>
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Everyone enjoying the little cafe.</div>
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We took a brief stop at an English Heritage site, Brodsworth Hall. It was an old world beauty full of vintage glamour from the 1920's. It fell into disrepair in the past 50 years and is currently being restored, very slowly. It still was lovely to see. Can you imagine pulling up to the front doors for a party like in the Great Gatsby, in a classic car wearing your new beads, feathers and a glitzy flapper dress?! It would be amazing.</div>
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A little fountain coming alive in the new spring.</div>
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Just roaming around the gardens.</div>
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That night we stayed in an old barn from the 1600's that had been converted to a little cottage. The original wood was still intact. The ceilings were pretty low, especially for Jon. I don't think he could stand up straights except for in the kitchen and the vaulted part of the bedroom. We watched Superbad and ate awful Chinese take out. There is something great about watching silly movies and eating bad food with your friends late at night that is just magical. I love it!</div>
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The final part of our friends stay was in London. They had a family wedding that week. So we just poked around town for the last few days. Porter and I picked up a nasty cold in the Lake District so we weren't feeling very good, but we made it through. It's awful to not feel good when you have guests that you want to show a good time. London takes a lot of energy to see. I ate probably a bag of cough drops a day and was basically chugging cough syrup. But I made it, and we had a fun time. </div>
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Ali and I braved the tube with the stroller. She worked that think like a pro. </div>
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I took them to see Camden Market, which they loved. This doughnut cart was just too much. I mean, look at it!</div>
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We all headed to Big Ben to take in the views.</div>
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This is my favorite picture of the London Eye that I have taken.</div>
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We also took a stroll through Hyde Park to see the famous Peter Pan statue.</div>
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It was so much fun having our friends visit! I hope they come back soon! ;) </div>
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~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-69614049004941142632015-05-14T16:16:00.004+01:002015-05-15T14:13:14.905+01:00The Lake District<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjikjt0N8KxjSXwSxY7x4lexKIFpvdB1J5m39EJLLeUXWVx7J0B0JZZAfprjz78epDT7NHWt9St9riimqoMbFXE_mVo3Ks5I5oBEB_AYPPN8Ukp-Sg3llehHofO6UdrOUWtx16huMKaiBw/s1600/2015-04-12+21.50.41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjikjt0N8KxjSXwSxY7x4lexKIFpvdB1J5m39EJLLeUXWVx7J0B0JZZAfprjz78epDT7NHWt9St9riimqoMbFXE_mVo3Ks5I5oBEB_AYPPN8Ukp-Sg3llehHofO6UdrOUWtx16huMKaiBw/s400/2015-04-12+21.50.41.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Derwent Water: The lake right by Keswick</td></tr>
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On our first trip to England 2 years ago we meant to visit the Lake District. However due to our lack of knowledge on how long it really takes to get around in the U.K. we opted to save ourselves an 8 hour drive from there to London and skip it. We said "ah, we'll hit it next time" not realizing that we would actually have an opportunity to have a 'next time.' So when Ali told me they were going to come visit it was a given that we had to go to the mythical Lake District to see what all the fuss was about......it did not disappoint.</div>
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Our fist stop was Lowther Castle. It had been abandoned for years, so it's a just a shell, but seriously, what an beautiful ruin! When we looked in, there was a backhoe doing work inside. All the funds they make from entrance fees are going toward a massive restoration. The grounds are huge and full of gardens and hidden little coves that they are still uncovering.</div>
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Naturally we had to stop for a little photo shoot action. </div>
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Next on our list was Aira Force, a gorgeous waterfall Ali and I had both pinned. When we plan trips we make little boards on Pintrest to help us organize our thoughts and give us ideas of what to do. It's a really fun way to plan a trip. Aira Force was just as beautiful as we were hoping. It was a super easy hike up to the falls and then down to the vantage point at the bottom. If you look about midway down the falls there is a rainbow!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBU_UAY29DID7z6W3qAZcvpVPdqPwXLq6XB4O5VIwSpV0EVyXL9MBSBZ2Shmqmk1Ey2tlcnRB0q7SomkrIdjoebpkh-_smk7xraWJSHAh6jlPVkfM-x-bfzYHCLhMMvAroaNNv9cKpJs/s1600/2015-04-10+18.09.45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBU_UAY29DID7z6W3qAZcvpVPdqPwXLq6XB4O5VIwSpV0EVyXL9MBSBZ2Shmqmk1Ey2tlcnRB0q7SomkrIdjoebpkh-_smk7xraWJSHAh6jlPVkfM-x-bfzYHCLhMMvAroaNNv9cKpJs/s400/2015-04-10+18.09.45.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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This is a little Slo-Mo video I did of the falls with the good ole iPhone.</div>
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzPq4-LAPkAmyfXgsyYfzkvRNd6JBbp8V6_bhxU0lAYReIqzo6-RiwaSdBUpVmV49s8UkLrAGKdNqrPxiWUWg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
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We were very excited to visit <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlerigg_stone_circle">Castlerigg Stone Circle</a>, it'a neolithic site that is over 4,500 years old! It's just up on a hill, anyone can visit. The view from up there is spectacular. It's also pretty cool to think that you are walking where people walked thousands of years ago and you are touching the same rocks that they lugged up a mountain. I kept hoping that the circle was magical would transport me back to Medieval times so that I could meet King Arthur. Then I would show the court my cell phone and they would think I was a wizard! Which would mean they would probably burn me at the stake so maybe it's best that the stone circle didn't transport me back in time.</div>
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The only downside to our trip was that Porter and I both came down with a nasty bug. He had a fever with violent shakes two of the nights we were there. We had to take it easy. Luckily, on the morning that Porter felt the worst, it was pouring outside. So we stayed inside and played Lords of Waterdeep.</div>
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After a few cups of hot tea later, Porter was feeling a lot better, so we ventured out. We stopped at the World of Beatrix Potter. It was ADORABLE! The little kid in me was doing backflips. We read all her stories as kids. The center is very similar to Disneyland. You walk through all the stories with the characters greeting you around every corner. It's done so well, and was fantastic. If you visit Windermere, you must promise me that you will visit <a href="http://www.hop-skip-jump.com/">The World of Beatrix Potter</a>, you will love it.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jemima Puddleduck was one of my favorites!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peter Rabbit Garden</td></tr>
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Just up the road from Windermere is Grasmere. Our friend Jon was in a play called "Grasmere" in college and we all saw it and loved it. The famous, romantic poet, William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy lived in <a href="https://www.wordsworth.org.uk/home.html">Dove Cottage</a> right by Lake Grasmere. So we popped in to the museum and then took a tour of Dove cottage (where the play, "Grasmere," is set).</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dove Cottage</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-SyEMJLucOvg6EtU1bWevvCFioBoXsytoPjaf6L9NcdRHCFIbXJHVsjTtIjTU3Ebs_D-BaeHLnW5wbAZcCA1HA0La7qINtdKV5uMcDbi6m9AA9baA-ToWEYOjPN3Gekz3SrUHVXrOBlU/s1600/2015-04-11+11.48.07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-SyEMJLucOvg6EtU1bWevvCFioBoXsytoPjaf6L9NcdRHCFIbXJHVsjTtIjTU3Ebs_D-BaeHLnW5wbAZcCA1HA0La7qINtdKV5uMcDbi6m9AA9baA-ToWEYOjPN3Gekz3SrUHVXrOBlU/s320/2015-04-11+11.48.07.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learning to do Calligraphy with a quill and ink. It was hard! I wrote a letter to my Grandma.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the sitting room where the Wordsworths would have composed their poetry.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Out in the back garden behind Dove Cottage.</td></tr>
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We were told that Grasmere, the town, has the best gingerbread on the planet. Of course we had to go hunt it down! </div>
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There is a little tiny shop next to the church yard, and it's the only place where they make and sell this delicious biscuit, it's not a cookie, but more of a chewy ginger bar. We bought a ton of it and pretty much stuffed ourselves for the rest of the trip with it. Because it's baked fresh, it doesn't last long (at least that's what we told ourselves). <a href="http://www.grasmeregingerbread.co.uk/">Grasmere Gingerbread</a> is amazing! And I think there is a chance if you follow the link, you might be able to order some online if you want to try it without a road trip.</div>
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We headed over to Wray Castle, an 1890's vanity castle, which means that it is a much newer build but was built to look like an old castle. It was beautiful to look at. Jon and Ali took a tour inside and we headed down to the lake to check it out.</div>
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This is the other side of Lake Windermere. We really wished that we had a sail boat, the conditions were perfect for day out on the water.</div>
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I loved driving and walking around this area. You literally could not take a bad photograph, it was that beautiful!</div>
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This was the B&B we stayed at. It was fantastic! Our host, Heather, was lovely, and she made the best breakfasts. Plus, this view! I wanted to take her cherry tree home with me. Bonus points if you can find Porter in this picture :) Here is the <a href="https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/1560125?checkin=16-10-2015&checkout=20-10-2015&s=R3_u">link</a> for the booking site, if you want to stay there.</div>
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Little Benny did great on the trip. He is such a good baby. And that little mustache, how can you not fall in love with him. He made so many friends. He smiled at everyone. Our host at the B&B said that she though he a had a sweet way of making you feel really special. Which he does. He looks right at you and gives you big grin. This was at a pub while we waited for dinner. I think all that friend making had tucked him out.</div>
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One of William Wordsworth's most famous poems is titled "Daffodils." His sister Dorothy inspired him when she was describing the beautiful spring flowers to him one day. There were a ton of Daffodils when we were there.</div>
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Daffofils</div>
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By: William Wordsworth</div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">I wander'd lonely as a cloud</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">That floats on high o'er vales and hills,</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">When all at once I saw a crowd,</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">A host of golden daffodils,</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">Beside the lake, beneath the trees</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">Continuous as the stars that shine</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">And twinkle on the milky way,</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">They stretch'd in never-ending line</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">Along the margin of a bay:</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">Ten thousand saw I at a glance</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">The waves beside them danced, but they</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: -</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">A poet could not but be gay</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">In such a jocund company!</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">I gazed - and gazed - but little thought</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">What wealth the show to me had brought.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">For oft, when on my couch I lie</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">In vacant or in pensive mood,</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">They flash upon that inward eye</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">Which is the bliss of solitude;</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">And then my heart with pleasure fills</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px;">And dances with the daffodils.</span></div>
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The Lake District is a pretty magical place to visit. I am actually really glad that we didn't make it there on our original trip as we had only set aside one day for it, and it really needs a good three days to experience it. I hope I make it back there, I need more gingerbread!</div>
~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-7789695144394445772015-05-10T20:05:00.002+01:002015-05-14T19:10:50.390+01:00Ali, Jon and Benny, Oh My!<div style="text-align: center;">
Our friends Jon and Ali and their little Benedict came to visit London. We were so excited to have more friends come see London. They came to London to play with us in the city, and they were also here for a family wedding. We had a great (almost 3 week) visit. The first thing we did when they arrived was walk them around Wimbledon and take them to our favorite pub, The Dog and Fox. We even snagged the fabulous place by the fire.</div>
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I kept trying to get a picture with Ben, but the warm fire crackling next to us was way more exciting.</div>
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Porter tried out a pot of steamed mussels. He said they were not quite what he was expecting but still pretty good. He is so funny because he will always get random seafood items at restaurants, but he never likes them as much as he thinks he will. However, the chips (fries) at Dog and Fox are delicious!</div>
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I got to do a little baby sitting. The dogs, especially Puck, were very into Ben. They LOVED him. Our animals have never been around tiny humans before. We were a little nervous about how they would react, but they did great. They liked Benny almost too much.</div>
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Puck just wanted to snuggle all day, all the time.</div>
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We all hung out in Wimbledon and London for the first few days before our trip to the Lake District. We also did some little day trips out of the city. Our first stop was Leeds Castle.</div>
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I loved the moat. Leeds had more black swans than white swans. However this next picture has a white swan.</div>
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The next day we headed out to Dover Castle, the White Cliffs, and Walmer Castle. I have some posts from last year from those places so I won't post many pictures of it. But Dover is so cool! We love taking friends out there.</div>
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This is a musician performing at Dover Castle</div>
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The next morning was an early one. We were driving all the way to the Lake District in one day. We felt bad that Benny had to be in a car seat for so long that we broke it up wit ha few stops. The main one being Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's hood. This church is where he is buried.</div>
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His whole family is buried inside. This carving is thought to be a pretty accurate account of what he looked like as it was done right after his death. And his family over saw the carving of it.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Prospero: </span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Our revels now are ended. These our actors, </span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">As I foretold you, were all spirits, and </span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Are melted into air, into thin air: </span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">And like the baseless fabric of this vision, </span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">The cloud-capp'd tow'rs, the gorgeous palaces, </span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">The solemn temples, the great globe itself, </span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, </span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, </span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff </span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">As dreams are made on; and our little life i</span><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">s rounded with a sleep.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.enotes.com/tempest-text/act-iv-scene-i#tem-4-1-166" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-decoration: none;">The Tempest Act 4, scene 1, 148–158</a><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span><!--EndFragment--></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">Shakespeare's Grave and behind it the most beautiful stained glass window.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjafvS_o2kMOjIBh7VJ-cf5YDrzq1SGiOnJc9V6goT7to_qZgoeDgWxY7cRnAA0GyfB50SARFYsJitFUGNHo_r-jfFMJvELMGnxPzSVwW6PkcDljFaoH5wOO5j_7BciR9wkiqSUqjXLLQQ/s1600/IMG_7277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjafvS_o2kMOjIBh7VJ-cf5YDrzq1SGiOnJc9V6goT7to_qZgoeDgWxY7cRnAA0GyfB50SARFYsJitFUGNHo_r-jfFMJvELMGnxPzSVwW6PkcDljFaoH5wOO5j_7BciR9wkiqSUqjXLLQQ/s320/IMG_7277.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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After viewing some more houses related to Shakespeare and his family we stopped at <a href="http://www.hathawaytearooms.com/">Hathaway Tea Rooms,</a> aka the best tea time ever! Seriously, if you visit Stratford-upon-Avon you must promise me that you will go here and get the afternoon tea.</div>
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The house that Shakespeare was born in.</div>
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The room where Shakespeare was born.</div>
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This is one more of the houses associated with the Shakespeare's family. Stratford-upon-Avon was our final stop before another 3 hour leg of our road trip, so we made the most of it. We were really happy that we stopped in there, so many cool places to see.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were trying to look at serious and Elizabethan here.<br /> </td></tr>
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<br />~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-30437957765103312502015-04-01T18:17:00.003+01:002015-04-01T18:21:57.288+01:00We are moving to Australia!<div style="text-align: center;">
We are moving to Australia. Or at least that is what Porter thought for about 5 minutes. Just kidding.</div>
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<span style="color: lime; font-size: x-large;">April Fool's!!!</span></div>
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I had an idea this afternoon about how to prank Porter. I usually pull off pretty good stuff. However, Porter expects it of me, so I have to get other people involved. So I emailed his awesome boss, and asked if he would tell Porter that the company needed him to move to Australia in June. He said he was in! So I waited....</div>
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We went to dinner, and Porter said he had to make a call to his boss really quick. I was only too happy to oblige. While on the phone the conversation went perfectly. They talked about some accounts in APAC and how well they were going. The conversation shifted. Then Porter stopped talking and this was the look on his face.</div>
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I feel like I can see the thoughts about doing another international move in such a short time flitting across his face. Keep in mind, we've just gotten settled here in London. Now it's not like we wouldn't be super excited if a real opportunity presented itself, in like a year or two. But thinking about packing up again so soon would be stressful. As you can see by the pictures.</div>
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Afterwards, this is what I happened. I was holding my phone so he didn't realize it was on, that what's why it's a little off center and wobbly.</div>
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He had no words for me when he was done! One of the best April Fool's EVER!!! And it couldn't have been done with out the help of the the Fabulous Darren Jaffrey. </div>
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Until next year, Darling.</div>
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~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-66926951516783544872015-03-28T23:52:00.001+00:002015-03-29T00:17:11.149+00:00Swiss Misses Road Trip 2k15: Part 3<div style="text-align: center;">
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The last 2 days of our trip were a little more relaxed than the first part. We spent one day in Lucerne and the final day in Neuchatel.</div>
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Lucerne is a dream. We started with the monument of the dying lion. It was carved in memoriam of the men that died in the Swiss Guard that was defending the French King. Is a beautiful monument. It is also a stunning little oasis in the middle of an urban center.</div>
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We spent the rest of the morning strolling by the river and walking on the wooden, medieval bridges throughout the city. I will just let the pictures speak for themselves. Like I've told some friends, "You can't take a bad picture of Switzerland."</div>
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The largest medieval bridge </div>
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We stopped at a sweet little cafe along the river to soak up some sunshine and have snack.</div>
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A little trip recap.</div>
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I don't think any of us wanted to leave, so we didn't! We strolled around town, chatted...a lot, and bought a boatload of chocolate to take home with us. But the time did come to tootle on down the road. So I said goodbye to one of my favorite cities.</div>
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Later, we pulled into Neuchatel. It's a quiet little town on a lake. We spent the evening walking along the beach watching the swans and people on our way.</div>
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Neuchatel had a nice "old town" section. We wandered the little alley ways looking for breakfast. It was Saturday, so not much was open early. Nicki found us a delicious crepery. And I couldn't leave without a pastry for the road, so we also found a bakery.</div>
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On the way to the airport we stopped at Chateau Neuchatel.</div>
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We made it to the airport, happy, tired and excited to get home to our own beds.</div>
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This was an amazing experience. It was fun, stressful, exhilarating, exciting, scary, and such a memorable time with some really amazing ladies. Switzerland, keep it real! I will definitely be back.</div>
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<br />~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734681206916388155.post-52251809453003915042015-03-26T13:45:00.000+00:002015-03-26T19:41:28.315+00:00Swiss Misses 2k15 Road Trip: Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This was the reason for our pilgrimage to Switzerland: The <a href="http://www.alpentherme.ch/en.html">Walliser Alpentherme</a>. This amazing spa is up on top of the mountain and is filled with geothermic water from the Alps. It was amazing, to say the least.</div>
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But before hitting the spa, we needed a breakfast of champions. The little sandwiches they had at the the cafe, were covered in the same gelatin that is used on fruit tarts. The lady at the shop told me it's to keep them looking good all day. It also keeps the garnishes in place. I just liked it because it was the prettiest little egg salad sandwich I had ever eaten. And my drink, with a cute little heart, I was dying.</div>
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I bet all the people there thought we were crazy bringing our cell phones and camera by and in the pool. But seriously, how could we not take pictures? It was so beautiful. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by: Caty Gainer</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Vicki Pleasant</td></tr>
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I loved my swimsuit by Unique Vintage from <a href="http://www.endlessindulgence.com/">Endless Indulgence</a>!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVG1a2b9BwaQ3N1ixpC-R4xAyxGH-xoW-5ywJ5P9fhexTa0vNZkg7emYIm5HLtT4oWx6Nja_5f0UlDZmmAoP1kG7NBm4FI_kqTMjGvu6X2ulUg4xH9pUsAF7Nt4hqfdomE9V0xXNnkfuE/s1600/IMG_7931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVG1a2b9BwaQ3N1ixpC-R4xAyxGH-xoW-5ywJ5P9fhexTa0vNZkg7emYIm5HLtT4oWx6Nja_5f0UlDZmmAoP1kG7NBm4FI_kqTMjGvu6X2ulUg4xH9pUsAF7Nt4hqfdomE9V0xXNnkfuE/s1600/IMG_7931.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by: Caty Gainer</td></tr>
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We spent the whole morning lazing about in the pools. It was pure bliss. I could do an entire vacation in Leukerbad.</div>
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We said goodbye to the luxurious water and made our way back down the mountain, on our way to Interlaken. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlJhZdbWNiCA6LxpoSo4Gfxj3jMUrEHGvPNZkIyOU2zwU_xi7kG9tZnDw91JewtXTGc_hd2ReAqHczPcgGn8JGxfFCOqOlEfgiHQboXzAJOFjj3NUS1QIZIpVehzv4p5bFxJizu5cPL5Q/s1600/IMG_7910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlJhZdbWNiCA6LxpoSo4Gfxj3jMUrEHGvPNZkIyOU2zwU_xi7kG9tZnDw91JewtXTGc_hd2ReAqHczPcgGn8JGxfFCOqOlEfgiHQboXzAJOFjj3NUS1QIZIpVehzv4p5bFxJizu5cPL5Q/s1600/IMG_7910.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip5903Nvj3G5M8eu22hgTjaMJNmQeR5y47bhqzU8_oQn9Nyv1jVHdLDxYS_2Vv9aVcnXnXycdxDBMRptrIJcxR38cj8_bVpJKXvdOFyxqdnhyphenhyphen9_cNQuw-VIIEqEqdSAOj9026Mm4p3pgo/s1600/IMG_8091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip5903Nvj3G5M8eu22hgTjaMJNmQeR5y47bhqzU8_oQn9Nyv1jVHdLDxYS_2Vv9aVcnXnXycdxDBMRptrIJcxR38cj8_bVpJKXvdOFyxqdnhyphenhyphen9_cNQuw-VIIEqEqdSAOj9026Mm4p3pgo/s1600/IMG_8091.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
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The next part of our story gets exciting and scary all at once. I was using the GoogleFu to navigate our course. I thought I had it all work out. It was basically a straight shot through the mountains. What I didn't realize was that we were in fact on course to go right through a mountain. The road stopped and there was a toll booth, but there was not a road on the other side....only a train track. We were supposed to put the car on a train and ride in the car, on the train, through a mountain. Let me say that again. Ride in our car, on a train, through the mountain, in the rain. It sounds bit like a Dr. Seuss book! We were nervous, and excited, and scared. </div>
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This is a picture of the car train. You just drive down it till you come to the back of another car. Then you put on your parking break and say a little prayer that the break will hold, because all the cars are stacked really close together.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8i4VFh5cljU/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8i4VFh5cljU?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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The best part of the tunnel was when Nicki sang us the creepy Willy Wonka Song in the pitch black tunnel while the train was accelerating with great speed. </div>
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We finally made it to Interlaken after the tunnel. The town was nice, but not our favorite. In retrospect we should have gone on a gondola ride there up to a mountain village. We will just have to go back I guess!</div>
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The beautiful ladies checking out the city. </div>
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More pictures of the epic views from the mountains.</div>
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We headed to our hotel near Lucern. This was another GoogleMap adventure. Something to note about the GoogleFu is that it takes you on the closest, shortest route possible. When we were driving we had to reroute as we overshot our exit. The Google then proceeded to take us up a narrow, dirt, mountain goat path, up into the hills/mountains. I am amazed that our little car made it up. There was one point where the road went to a very steep incline and I was like, "Nicki, make the car go up better!" And she was like, "It's not me, I'm trying, it's the car!" I was afraid the car would roll down the mountain, backwards. But we had just survived the crazy tunnel of Wonka, we couldn't die now! Luckily, we finally made it. And apparently there is a much easier way that is paved, it was just on the other side of the mountain.</div>
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We were on top of Switzerland!</div>
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Our Hotel: <a href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/ch/himmelrich-luzern.en-us.html?aid=318615;label=New_English_EN_GBIE_5226314545-RnYQj%2AqnIkYg15Re%2ASD5mgS46932887305%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1%3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap1t1%3Aneg;sid=6b333e7db5a21d4cda000a2079ddb641;dcid=4;ucfs=1;srfid=566cd585eb13392f340d21b6f8d021c194c25909X1;highlight_room=">Hotel Himmelrich</a></div>
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Swiss Chocolate is to die for! I pretty much ate my weight in it while we were there.</div>
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I thought I could do this trip in 2 posts, but it looks like I need another post for Lucerne and Neufchatel.</div>
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To be continued.... </div>
~Erin~http://www.blogger.com/profile/02584304616273891351noreply@blogger.com0