We have been jam packed with visitors. It seems like they all came at once, and we LOVED every minute of having a house full of people. We played dominos, ate good food, and just enjoyed being with our family. My parents came in town to visit the weekend of Memorial Day. It was such a great weekend too! The pool opened, mom and I were able to do some shopping, and they explored New England with us one day.
L made it
B made it! Group hug!
Shopping=Disney Store= New Princesses
Some of you maybe reading the last sentence and questioning my sanity on the pool opening, is it warm enough to swim? Luckily for us the weather has started to change. The end of May in Connecticut equals the beginning of the spring, I guess this is just something that I will have to get use to. Things are finally starting to bloom, the grass is turning green, and I am assuming May showers will bring June flowers. So the answer to the question is yes, we are crazy, and no its not warm enough to swim every day. They still open the pool Memorial Day weekend but it is heated. Supposedly the apartment complex has to keep the temperature between 80 and 85 degrees. I would say that is true for the past few time we have jumped in but not Memorial Day. Luckily we had some 90 degree days that week and were able to take advantage of it while my parents were in town. I definitely have two water babies. On another note, the Mr. and I have seen more homes here in Connecticut with pools in the backyard than we did while living in Kentucky for 30 years. Could someone please explain this? I can't imagine owning a pool in a state where it never get THAT warm.
Pool Day #1
Pool Day #2
My parents were eager to do some exploration of New England with us this trip. The past two times they have either a.) moved us here or b.) weren't here long enough to really explore (and it was cold). This time we had some extra days so we planned a trip to Plymouth, MA. Our main goal was to go whale watching, but we had also hoped to see the Mayflower and Plymouth Rock. As luck would have it the Mayflower was in Mystic, CT (naturally) being repaired and well the rock is just that a rock, a small tiny rock! People have taken bits and pieces of it for so many years that there isn't much left. They really aren't even sure if it is the actual rock the pilgrims landed on so many years ago, but hey it will do. Plymouth looks like a pretty cool little town. Lots of restaurants over looking the bay, everything in walking distance. You can go to Plymouth Village and get a sense of what it was like to live as a pilgrim. The Mr. and I may head back up there for a day trip to Plymouth Village or Old Sturbridge Village (essentially the same concept), we just have to get to all the other states first.
Pit stop for breakfast at Cracker Barrel
We booked our trip with Captain John Whale Watching & Fishing Tours. I am not sure what we were expecting this trip to be like, but it certainly was probably the WORST excursion I have planned for my family since we have been here (sorry mom and dad). I am on a roll (eagle train, world's tallest filing cabinets)! If you are even remotely prone to getting sea sick, do not, I repeat DO NOT go whale watching on the Atlantic ocean. Even if you do have sea bands (which we did).
I know there are several ports that offer whale watching tours, and for all I know we picked the one that was the furtherest away from the whales feeding ground, either way it was miserable. I am not recommending this trip to anyone. The boat was super crowded, the ocean was nasty that day, and it was extremely cold. It was so cold that we decided it would be a good idea to go below into the cabin (worst mistake we could have made, but results would have been the same no matter what). With the ocean being the way it was it is no surprise that L was puking within 30 minutes of setting sail (about 10 minutes in she said she was going to be sick). People let me just tell you this was a 4 hour excursion, if you are sick within the first 30 minutes it is going to be the most miserable, longest 4 hours of your life. I feel absolutely terrible for my mom, she even tried taking two dramamines to knock herself out (pretty sure she threw them up before they made it into her system).
God must have been with me, for whatever reason the sea band helped me that day, and I get motion sick!
Elin fell asleep as soon as we got on board, along with Baylor. Once we reached the feeding ground we did see two fin whales. Elin received an Imagination Library book (sign your kid up if you can) a couple of months ago called "Papa's Song" so she was super pumped to see papa. We waited around a little longer to see some more whales, but we didn't have any luck. As we headed back you guessed it my mom was still puking, and as fate would have it Elin began to get "spit up" as she called it (sorry B, thanks for being a trooper, he was covered). The crew aboard the ship were amazing and I seriously feel terrible for them. They have a miserable job cleaning throw up left and right. They moved us to the stern of the boat (the most stable part). The ride was a lot smoother, even though it didn't stop L for puking. Now we were forced outside into the bitter cold (check out the picture of the little shelter I created for Baylor, definitely did not winning parent of the year on this trip). Honestly, I would have paid to get off that boat. When a love one is sick and you one 4 hour trip there isn't a thing you can do for them and it breaks your heart. As we headed back towards land the Mr. said "What the hell were the pilgrims thinking getting in a wooden ship all those years ago?" I have to wonder the same thing, our little trip was only four hours of misery, I can't even begin to imagine what their trip was like. We owe them a debt of gratitude.
View from the stern, much better!
B taking care of the sick
Mom did you bring a blanket? No son I covered you with a nursing cover, put you in my jacket and then wrapped you in my sweatshirt because I am the best mom in the world, ha!
So do I recommend whale watching in Massachusetts? Absolutely not, go to the Mystic Aquarium or anywhere other than getting on a boat and going out to sea. Even if you don't get sea sick your trip literally consist of watching others get sick. There had to have been at least 30 people on the stern of the boat (and those were just for the people who were severely sick, there were others inside). Do I recommend going to Plymouth? Yes, but just go see the sights that Plymouth has to offer. Did we make memories? Absolutely! If you do in fact decide to take this trip, consider yourself warned!
Best picture from the trip!
Not all of our adventures are great and grand, but hey we are still making some memories. You live and you learn. Thank you Christopher Columbus and all the pilgrims kudos to you for taking one for the team!!!
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