1 Trip - 5 States

Well we've had quite the Christmas break, which is still yet to be finished. We took a visit to the temple to see the lights. Saw the live nativity, and went inside the visitors center to enjoy the
Nativities from around the world. We also stopped in on a live performance from a local group singing in one of the theatres.

Our vacation really began as we started on our trip to the much raved POCONOS!!! We woke up early and sped our way into Pennsylvania in order to make it to the complimentary breakfast buffet. Over the course of two days we downed a combined 12 plates of "free" breakfast and dinner, maybe the best part of our stay. Of course we had to take our picture next to the giant champagne glass.

As we pulled up to our room it didn't look like much more than a local motel inn. The room was smaller than expected, but had the awesome heart shaped jacuzzi (Connie's favorite) w/ a red dimming light above. Just to the left was our round king size bed w/ a ten mirror headboard. Overall the place was super cheesy and in desperate need of some "hotel flipping."

We were most excited for the snow tubing and snowmobiling that was part of our "all inclusive" stay. Though there was sufficient snow, they had yet to set everything up so tubing was closed and snowmobiling consisted of a short lived circle. So we had to make due w/ the other plethora of activities. We enjoyed some minigolf, iceskating, a shuffleboard table (our favorite), bocce ball, pool tables, and archery. All in all a good trip for what we paid for. Had we paid full price it would have been a disappointing start to our first Christmas vacation.

With the Poconos in our rearview mirror we set our sites on The Big Apple, NYC. We passed through New Jersey where we had our gas pumped by the friendly attendant. Connie didn't believe me when I told her it was illegal to pump your own gas in NJ. We stopped to see the Statue of Liberty before hitting the city. As you can see we were pretty far away, but walked around the park to get a closer shot. (The close shot also has the Brooklyn Bridge, far shot has Ellis Island). We entered NYC crossing the state line in the Holland tunnel which Connie was flabbergasted over the 8 dollar toll.

Our hotel was nestled right smack in the downtown bustle, was just a half block from the Empire State Building. The city was packed w/ tourists, and we got right to it and set out to see the sites. Connie was most looking forward to the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. It was freaking ginormous, but really cool. The whole city was decorated, and everywhere you turned there were lights, decorations, or something to catch your eye.

We stayed on the streets that night and saw numerous statues, cathedrals, radio city, the world's largest maceys, the Disney store and took another stop at Time Square.

The next day proved to be troublesome as it rained all day long. The umbrella vendors sure made bank that day as we too bought a large $10 umbrella from one of the street vendors. We rode the crazy NYC metro that day and made stops at Grand Central Station / Bryant Park, Central Park, and the Statin Island Ferry center at the lower tip of Manhattan. Even though our planned Central Park picnic was ruined, we did enjoy a small stroll through the park and had a fun time feeding the ducks. Connie was reluctant to use our Bugles, but as the ducks flocked around us she couldn't get enough.

We planned on getting a shot of the Statue of Liberty from the front, but as you can see Con was a bit upset w/ the hazy view. The statue was unfortunately barely visible through all the rain and fog. But lower Manhattan did offer a fantastic view of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge which brought back some jolly smiles.

The smiles didn't last long though as we left the city getting stuck in some of the worst traffic imaginable. We travelled less than one mile in an hour and a half. Intersections were jammed, horns were honking, people were yelling (Christmas cheer was nowhere near). The highlight was when I got cussed out by an angry New Yorker. He got out of his car cussing and flailing his arms all over the place. I wish I could have gotten a

picture of it. We did, however, get a picture of a bus inching diagonally across traffic just inches from numerous bumpers. I had to give the guy mad props for making it through there w/out hitting anyone. We passed through Delaware on our way home to Maryland completing our 5 state adventure.

Well, the fun never ends as we're off to Utah tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for all the gifts, and hope everyone's having as good of a Christmas as we are.

Our 7th 6th grade concert

Jordan invited us to his Christmas concert- our 7th Highlands 6th grade Christmas concert. As you can see (hear), they have improved a little since the days when you played Jolly old St. Nicholas 5 times in a row. I hope this clip works!

Christmas Elves

Since I still haven't decorated, I needed the help of some Christmas Elves. They graciously agreed- rather insisted- on putting up my tree and decorating it. Here they are fast at work.

The Pilgrims and the Indians

Because of the absence of family, we accepted an invitation from the Robinaughs to spend Thanksgiving with them. It proved to be a good choice as Sister Robinaugh is a far better cook than I am. I made some delicious cranberry orange rolls, mashed potatos and an apple pie. The rest of the feast was provided by the Pilgrims, and it was delicious.

Jazz it up Taddy!

Last night, Annette and I took some time out of our busy internet TV watching schedule to go to Tad's rockin' jazz concert. It rocked hard! They played the theme from Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers which were ok, but we liked the first and last songs the best! Tad had 2 solos planned and the first was kind of less than stellar, but then he rocked the second one. The movie clip is the second solo. Then, for the last number the director asked if anyone wanted to solo and I yelled from the seats- Tad!!! Following my promptings(good boy Taddy), he volunteered to solo and did it up!! His last solo was pure cause he was just feelin' the music! He rocked so hard that we took him out for ice cream at the BYU creamery after the concert. Yum!

A Wierdly Awesome Thanksgiving

Preston's in Las Vegas this month for a trauma surgery rotation, so I drove down there for Thanksgiving. It was a little wierd and a little awesome.

WIERD PARTS:

1. We had to stand in line for 45 minutes to get our thanksgiving meal(unfortunately we had starved ourselves all day so that we could cram in the turkey, so the line was not a happy moment)
2. There was no other family there - wierd.
3. NO PECAN PIE! For most of my life I have avoided this pie because it looked wierd, but about 5 years ago I discovered the deliciousness of it! Ever since then I've been trying to make up for the many years when I didn't eat it, by eating as much as possible every thanksgiving. so I guess next year I'll have to eat a whole pie :)
4. I had to go day after thanksgiving shopping by myself and stand in line at Kohls for 1.5 hours because my dad wasn't there to stand in line for me :)
5. My arm suddenly hurt after shopping and I thought for sure it was a blood clot - but it was actually just a sore bicep from holding all my stuff while in line for hours!
6. My anatomy lab final was the monday we got back from break, so the whole time I felt like I should be studying.


AWESOME PARTS:

1. We were staying in a REALLY nice house, basically nicer than any hotel we've ever stayed in, for FREE!
2. Thanksgiving dinner was everything it should be and more! WE went to a buffet at Golden Nugget, which had Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and pies; but also prime rib, steak, ham, shrimp, bread pudding, sushi, sorbet, mac and cheese, salmon, and chicken! Naturally I didn't drink anything and crammed in as much meat as possible to get my moneys worth.
3. Preston won $1.50 gambling, but then made me gamble it until I lost it (which didn't take long) because he felt guilty leaving with a profit.
4. I got some SWEET deals at Kohls and JC Penny.
5. I didn't have a blood clot!
6. Instead of studying for my final, I spent most of my free time watching "Top Chef" on Bravo!

All in all, it was a wonderfully strange Thanksgiving break.

Check out the Tadster!

Not the greatest pic, but my camera was dying and it was dark and tad runs fast! But he's the white blurb in the picture. Unfortunately they lost their first tournament game, but at least I was there! They played a good team and they played well. It was really fun to watch! GOOOOOO Taddy!