We saw our first rain of the trip this morning when we woke up. All of us were looking forward to breakfast at The Old Chikahominy House in Williamsburg, and it can get crowded quickly on a Sunday morning, so by 7:30am we were on the road, driving east on I-64 through the light rain. By the time we got to Williamsburg an hour later, the rain had stopped and it was shaping up to be a decent day weather-wise. Adding to our delight, the restaurant was almost completely empty and we were seated immediately.
Road Trip 2011: Day 8 – driving to VA
Our hotel in Norwich wasn’t the greatest, but that’s what we get for making a last-minute change to our itinerary. The new plan was to stop at my aunt and uncle’s house in Stamford, CT for brunch so we skipped breakfast at the hotel this time and were on the road by 8am. Two hours later we were sitting in their dining room having a wonderful, relaxing meal and catching up on family news.
Road Trip 2011: Day 7 – heading south
Our original plan called for us to spend Friday in Boston, maybe taking a harbor cruise or going to some of the places we didn’t get to see yesterday. As we talked about it back in the hotel last night, however, we realized we had seen all we wanted to see and maybe it made sense to start heading south to make tomorrow’s drive (to Richmond, VA) a little easier. So this morning, as we ate breakfast in the hotel room, we made last minute reservations at a hotel outside of Norwich, CT and decided that’s where we would stop tonight.
Road Trip 2011: Day 6 – historic Boston
After breakfast (again) this morning at the hotel buffet, we drove over to Woburn to see some old family places (my mother-in-law grew up in the area). Then went to downtown to the city of Boston. We had pre-purchased tickets online for the Old Town Trolley tours, so after parking the car we walked to the nearest stop and boarded the trolley to see the sights.
The Junior Ranger badge for Boston National Historical Park isn’t nearly as straightforward as some of the other national parks we’ve visited since it involves visiting multiple sites around the city. My daughter really wanted to earn that badge, though, so we knew we were in for a lot of walking and lot of sight-seeing today.
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Road Trip 2011: Day 5 – Vermont and back
We made it to Boston yesterday, but we’re just using it as our base of operations today. We had breakfast at the hotel and then got back in the car for the drive up to Ben & Jerry’s in Vermont. After making through the rush hour traffic jamming the I-95/I-93 interchange, we were on our way. Right across the border in New Hampshire, we goggled at the state liquor store at the very first rest stop.
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Road Trip 2011: Day 4 – driving to Boston
With our now familiar morning routine, we got up early, had breakfast at the hotel, and were on the road by 8:30am. About an hour later, after driving through Allentown (and playing the requisite Billy Joel song), we made a slight detour off the highway in Easton, PA to drive past the Crayola Factory. We really didn’t have time to go through it (and it was paid admission anyway) so after a quick photo opp it was back to the highway and then over the border into New Jersey.
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Road Trip 2011: Day 3 – driving to PA
With Starbucks in hand, we started driving out of Greenville around 8am this morning. In North Carolina we saw our first serious traffic of the trip, but luckily it was going the other direction. The line of stopped vehicles was miles long and had apparently been there a while since people were out of their cars wandering around. Yikes.
Road Trip 2011: Day 2 – Greenville, SC
Day 2 of our summer road trip started with church and then a light breakfast (bagels, coffee/tea, and watermelon) on the back porch on my sister-in-law’s house.
Road Trip 2011: Day 1 – driving to SC
We got up early this morning, grabbed breakfast at our hotel, and were on the road by 8am. Around 11:30am we were getting hungry for lunch and needed some time outside of the car so we stopped at the Ocmulgee National Monument outside of Macon, GA. After my daughter completed the Junior Ranger program and earned her badge, it was back in the car for a few more hours. By 4:30pm we were pulling into my sister-in-law’s in Greenville, SC, where we’ll be staying until Monday.
Road Trip 2011: Day 0 – on the road
It’s summer and school is out which means it’s time for the family vacation! The next 10 days will take us through 17 states as we road-trip to New England and back. It’ll a shorter trip mileage-wise than last year’s but one day longer. We won’t be back home until the Fourth of July.