Berkshires Vacation - Day 1

It's been a long time since I've written about a vacation and am a little rusty, but here it goes!
We left yesterday, much later than I thought we would but we're on vacation so not that big a deal. Always found just one more thing to do and in all that we realized last night that I forgot my water shoes, but we'd planned on going to a store and getting Shara a pair anyway, so no biggie. We got here when it was time for check-in anyway, which was 4 pm. We stopped along the way for a food break - no sense calling it breakfast, lunch and dinner while on vacation!  Shara wanted me to make her a fluffernutter and she helped me balance the plate, etc. because a working surface wasn't an option with the van loaded with bikes, bags and such. We then went the rest of the way, Shara occasionally reading Harry Potter to me and then just to herself while I had a relaxing drive.

The resort is lovely - not where I thought it was going to be, but perfect. Drinking my coffee on the deck and I'm looking to the left and seeing the fog rise up towards one peek and at about 1 o'clock I see this:


This photo of Vacation Village in the Berkshires is courtesy of TripAdvisor

I'm not sure the problem people have with wind turbines. I'm finding them so calming, at least at the pace these are spinning - maybe a 1/3 of a turn / second, so a full rotation is a 4/4 beat. And they're so far away we can't hear anything. I actually have 7 in my view right now. The room is also more than expected. We got a C rather than the promised B room, which means we have a jacuzzi and full kitchen - oven and dishwasher. So we'll be able to cook in at least one night.

Shara trying out the hot tub

After check-in and finding our room, we had to call maintenance to fix our lock - the battery died on the lock, and they came and fixed it within 15 min. We unpacked, got settled and went to find the pool, which wasn't hard because I can also see it from our balcony. Stayed in it, playing tag for about 1/2 hour, then changed and got Divergent to have dinner and a movie. We were going to go out for Chinese and then see the movie but that would be too much so we found a compromise and got takeout instead. Not Chinese but a Tuscan Chicken (grilled chicken w/ mozzarella and roasted peppers) sub for me and fried calamari dinner for Shara from Gino's Pizzeria, recommended by by the front desk and he seemed honest. Not the best choices. Shara's cole slaw wasn't good at all, but the fries and calamari were tasty. My sub wasn't a grilled chicken breast as I expected but chopped up, seasoned (salty) chicken. The rest of the sub was good, but of course I had to pull off 1/2 the cheese 1/2 way after I realized how much of it there was and that could be part of the salty issue. While we were driving to get the food the sky darkened. I told Shara that back home I wouldn't worry that it would turn into anything but in these parts, we're in for a big one! And it was. I luckily didn't start hard until we were on our way out of the pizza place and continued 1/2 way to the resort, which was only 20 min away but with that rain felt a bit longer. Let's just say when Shara asked if she could put the light on in the back so she could read, I said no. Then another crisis averted when we got back to the room and found the DVD player didn't seem to be connected properly to the TV? Not sure what was going on - I couldn't see behind the TV enough to figure it out, but then realized we could use my laptop to watch the movie and then there was all smiles. Thank goodness! It was getting scary for a minute!

We ended up not getting ready for bed until 11 PM but fell asleep pretty quickly. Scary movies are fine choices since we're sharing the bed anyway. And it's 8:22 with Shara still sleeping. I got up about an hour ago, so great sleep for both of us. No waking in the middle of the night either. Today's plan is to get to the Hancock Shaker Village at opening so we can get on their Young Shaker Tour - "Don a Shaker hat or bonnet and experience the historic Village through the daily work and play of a Shaker child!  Guided by a special interpreter, you’ll engage in a variety of  interactive activities that include picking herbs from the Village garden, ringing the Dwelling House bell, using a quill pen and/or baking a treat in the Shaker Kitchen!" This got Shara's approval and she's very discriminating about how she spends her time.

Spring Vacation - Day 6 (last full day)

After such late nights, today Shara slept until about 9:30 AM. It was certainly a leisurely morning and we didn't leave the condo until about 11 AM. We obviously had a late breakfast, which we had at the condo every day but the day we went to Washington, and headed out to GoApe! I found a brochure at the rec. center of the resort and it looked interesting. I am not fond of this sort of activity but I do look for challenges like this and if Shara was into it, which I didn't think she'd be, then great for all of us! She was into it. She thought it looked like a lot of fun. We got there and the first thing we saw was a little girl on the zip line all by herself. That was encouraging.  We went in, read the directions, signed the wavers, and our instructor took us out back for a very short lesson and help putting on our harnesses. That was the easy part. We let Shara pick the order and she wanted mommy to go first (yea!) then Shara then daddy. So up the stairs I went to the first obstacle. It was really hard to do the first round but as we made our way around a second, then third time, the only really scary issue were the bees. Hopefully they won't keep Shara inside all summer!

After GoApe! the activity continued with Alan and Shara going to the resort's pool while I started packing things together to go back home. When everyone was showered, we headed out to eat. We took a chance on a Greek place and it was very good. Unfortunately there was a TV on, with CNN, so Shara got to see the hunt for the Patriot's Day bomber. This did cause some concern, but we had spoken to her about it and answered the unending questions.

Our evening activity was a ghost tour of Colonial Williamsburg where we heard some fun and slightly creepy stories about the families who used to live in the town at its beginning.
Can you see the ghost in the window?

Before it ended, I think we were at the last house, it started sprinkling. Then, before I could get the umbrella out the skies opened and it started raining gumdrops. Needless to say the tour pretty much ended since all the other participants ran to find cover. Shara had her rain jacket on, as did the rest of us, but we were soaked. When we got back to the condo I tried to ring out the clothes and get them a bit dried. Shara only had her one pair of sneakers and it would have been pretty uncomfortable driving all the way home in them. Lucky we had the drier to begin with. I'm not sure what we would have done if we didn't. Maybe the oven?

Spring Vacation - Day 5

We had to wake up early today to catch the bus to Washington DC. I'm so glad we went on a bus trip and didn't have to deal with the traffic. We were able to wake on time and get to the Kmart at 6:30 AM. The bus ended up leaving closer to 7 AM but there were 19 people and they had to collect all the money and get everyone checked in. Normally they use a large van but this time the woman said she had to take out her father's first bus, and I can't remember the name of it. It wasn't too old and as told, she was reliable.

The trip took about three hours to get to Arlington Cemetery, our first stop. We made a pit stop at a McDonalds for breakfast. We got it to go so we wouldn't waste time. That was fine because it gave us something to do while we travelled. We didn't plan very well and couldn't rely on our phones much for entertainment because we didn't have anywhere to recharge all day. This is where having a solar charger would have come in handy. Shara did read a whole chapter book though.

Our driver, John, was very good and gave us some information on Arlington Cemetery and how to get around it and where to go. Good thing too, because we had no idea what to expect. We got there and the place was packed with several other tours, many of which were schools. The cherry blossoms were beautiful and the day was overcast and drizzly, but that didn't detract from how lovely a location this was. It really is amazing how many people have served our country. The graves can be five deep and I didn't realize that family members can request to be buried there as well. John said that they have enough room for another 15 or 20 years. What I found most interesting were the memorials for whole troops, such as this one that I think is TREE #17, Section 48: Jumping Mustangs – Kwanzan Japanese Flowering Cherry.

The website for the cemetery is amazingly detailed. I recommend visiting it. You can search, browse, view maps, etc. They even have a mobile app which I would love to download and use for a future visit. And I would like to go again when we have more time. That was the good and bad about this trip. It was a nice overview and I'm glad Shara got to have this type of introduction to DC, but we need to come again and be able to see it in more detail.
After seeing most of the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, we started to head over to view JFK's grave site but needed to get to the bathroom instead, so next time we'll see that.
Once back on the bus we were able to get good views of the Pentagon and the very well done U.S. Airforce Memorial. Our first stop took us in the area of the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial and Korean War Memorial. Then back on the bus to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and FDR Memorial. There was hardly time to see the FDR Memorial but it's so interesting we have to come back and take our time going through. It characterizes each of his terms in office. Very impressive. The last leg of the tour was around the city a bit, pointing out Ford's Theater and the various government buildings, as well as the White House. That put us in position to drop us off near the Smithsonian Museums on Independence Ave. We had already decided to go to the Air and Space Museum but needed to stop for some sustenance first. Alan had a hot dog, Shara had an egg roll and I had a pretzel. We pretty much shared everything. So into the museum and it was suggested we start in the kids hands on area to learn about flight and the physics that go into it. Shara liked pushing the buttons and pulling the levers. She did seem to learn about friction and had fun sitting in a Cessna cockpit.

After that we looked at some of the other exhibits, nothing super impressive but nothing disliked either. They had a replica of the space station and we could walk through a section. They also had the original Wright brothers first plane that actually flew. This was cool, and done very well. It was a whole exhibit that gave information on the times as well as the science behind the flights.
We had about two hours of free time so stayed here rather than flit about. We also took a snack break so was able to see most things, at a relaxed pace, and leave with just enough time to go to the bus. What we didn't do was the Planetarium, but we can do that back home at the MOS. We met the bus at the original Smithsonian Castle, which is now an information center. What a beautiful information center! Shara didn't want to pose because of the bees.

 Back on the bus we saw a movie - Daddy Day Camp - lots of bathroom humor so perfect for the men on the bus and an almost 9 year old. It was pretty funny and nice to have a diversion from the driving because there was a ton of traffic, even though we were in the HOV lane. It took us several hours to get back to the car and we stopped at a real truck stop for a break. You could even buy a shower! Shara picked a double bacon cheeseburger and a pack of carrots with ranch dressing for her meal and I kept saying that I couldn't believe I let her have truckstop meat. She loved it - I quote, "livin the life". And she ate it all. Alan and I opted for cups of fruit, which were also surprisingly good and fresh. We thought we'd go out and get dinner back "home". Turns out with all the traffic we didn't get back until close to 8:30 PM and settled on Panera take out for Alan and ice cream (again) for Shara and me. Yup this was a sugary vacation. 

Spring Vacation - Day 4

Alan and not too happy Shara at the Palace

 After a morning of being scared of bees and not wanting to go outside, we made our way to the Palace for a tour. It was told with the background story of the Governor and his family leaving the palace in the middle of the night after worries over the magazine (where the weapons are stored) being raided. Yesterday we heard that part of the story so this was an interesting connection with a different perspective.

the pantry

The sisters' bed chamber

Stairwell - guns and swords displayed all over the house

our tour guide

After the palace, we took a walk to the newer part of the town for lunch. We had a great lunch at the Cheese Shop. Shara had a bagel with lox and cream cheese - her second bagel for the day, and an artichoke salad and some cole slaw. Alan had a combo sandwich - ham & turkey on rye and I had a turkey on french bread. All were wonderful and there were no leftovers.

We also visited the candy store and Shara got a very sour bag of "watermelon" cotton candy. I got a small piece of caramel fudge that was just ok, but I managed to eat it all anyway. We walked around a bit more and made our way over to the museum. This was an interesting place. The entrance was a replica of the original public hospital that cared for the "insane". That led to several questions and an update on how modern medicine has helped a lot of people. Shara also grudgingly enjoyed most of the museum as well. She found the coin display fascinating - these were original coins going back to the 1500's. Then we learned about harpsichords and organs and then an exhibit of folk art that was creepy and funny too.

We didn't realize how late it was when we left the museum but found it was time to head back to the resort. Shara wanted to go in the pool again so Alan took her while I went to pick up more water - the tap water here is undrinkable, and a few veggies for dinner and more caramel apple pie for dessert, which we had in the condo. We had several leftovers. Some of the Turkish food from Nazar's and the southern from Aroma's. All in all, we still didn't get to bed until after 9 PM. We tried to get an early bedtime, at least for Shara, since we had to wake up to catch the bus to D.C. at 6:30 AM the next morning.

Spring Vacation - Day 3

Our day started at the Raleigh Tavern for a lesson in manners. We saw how to make and serve tea and a minuet. Shara was happy to be inside since there were big bumble bees about and she was rather "concerned" she'd get stung. We figured an early lunch would be best and went to another of the tavern's.

After we went to the courthouse to view a few trials. These were interesting - they took original trials that went on in Williamsburg and had volunteers act them out - read from cards. The volunteers were very good and showed the social lives of people back then, such as a female tavern owner and another woman who supposedly came in monthly with complaints ever since her husband died. The first trial we heard was for tax evasion. A man claimed he didn't owe taxes because he was inbetween residences on the day they were collected. He was made to pay what he owed for himself and his slave (even though he ran off) as well as fines.

Shara locked in the stocks. She could hardly wait for the picture to be taken. I guess it is very uncomfortable.

Shara, as well as Alan and myself, really enjoyed the reenactments. We got front row stands for this one, telling of the early stirrings of basically marshall law. People were tarred and feathered for speaking out against the new republic.

Alan is conscripted to fight against the King.










After we followed the fife and drum procession from the reading of the Declaration of Independence at the Capitol to the street leading to the Palace, we parted ways. Alan and Shara went back to the resort to go swimming and I stayed in town and looked around the modern shopping area. They met me later for dinner at Aromas Coffeehouse. A jazz band was going to be playing and I planned on grabbing a table. I did, but it ended up being outside because inside was too loud. We had a very nice dinner. Shara had the pulled chicken sandwich. Alan had bacon/bbq chicken mac & cheese, and I had the BBQ shrimp w/ grits. It must have been full of heavy cream. Everything was great. Shara had to wait a little while for her sandwich but they awarded us with a huge slice of chocolate cake!

Spring Vacation - Day 2

We had great fun at Colonial Williamsburg, even with it being a bit rainy, chilly and overcast. We all loved playing their Lion & Unicorn spy game. You go around the town looking for clues, text them in, and get more. It took us to various spots in the town but also got us thinking and reading to solve the clues as well. It came with a booklet, some "money", a scarf to identify us as players, and once it was solved, Shara got a cool collectable coin and card. The other game she played was collecting punches in a map. With five punches for visiting five locations and/or trades, she could get a pin. She's going to continue playing today.

We had lunch at Chowling's Tavern. Shara had Thomas Jefferson's mac & cheese. It came with applesauce. She had homemade root beer and skipped the dessert. Alan had the french dip with a cup of Brunswick Stew. The stew was very good. I had the BBQ pork sandwich, baked beans and coleslaw. The slaw was like any other commercial slaw and the pork was pulled very fine, but the flavor of it was good as were the beans. I also tried the hard pear cider, not realizing it came from Vermont. I enjoyed it anyway.

In the evening, we had leftovers for some dinner and then Shara and I headed to the indoor pool. It was crowded but Shara had so much fun swimming around. She can really swim even without any floaties, bubble, noodle, etc. She can't go for a really long time, but she wasn't touching the ground for long lengths. The water wasn't too warm and I had to say time's up before she was ready, of course. We got back to the rooms and watched a movie on the disney channel before going to bed.

Spring Break - Day 1

Today we went to Monticello to see Thomas Jefferson's home. It was really fascinating. I never realized he was such an inventor and we got to see many of his contraptions first hand and even got to see how they worked. The walk up to the house wasn't appreciated because there were a lot of bumble bees and being outside was very scary. When we got up to the house it wasn't so much different, but once we got inside the tour was interesting enough that it made the rest of the day more enjoyable too. Shara didn't want to go on another tour about the slaves - she said they spent a whole day at school learning about them, and she did hear about Sally Hemings before. The tour guide spoke about their relationship a bit and we got to see where the slaves had lived and the working part of the house. We did take the shuttle back and she enjoyed that more. Then we stopped in the museum (not so exciting, surprisingly) and the shop (way more exciting) and surprisingly no interest in the kids discovery center.

The ride back was as uneventful as the ride there. We figured out where to go for dinner - Nazars, a Middle Eastern restaurant. We were the only ones there and the food was good, but had many different flavors than we were used to. We discussed going to D.C. and what if there were bees, which there would be, and that most of the day would be spent outside, etc. and we agreed we'd "man up" and deal with it. We then checked out the closer ice cream place and had a huge laugh on our way home when Shara said, "and they have a CVS too!" and I mentioned, "yes and a PNC bank". Shara said, "that's hysterical!" and a few seconds went by before I got it, then started laughing and she started laughing and that went on for about 5 minutes.

Shara taking a picture of the stables

random beauty

us and tom

standing by the lily pond

awaiting the shuttle

Spring Break

Got a bit of a late start but we're about halfway to Virginia. Just going over the Delaware memorial bridge. Stopped for a good lunch in a jersey diner. It's been a pretty good day. Shara's got to see the NYC skyline but was more impressed with the Newark airport and the low flying planes.

The trip took a very long time - about 12 hours. We stopped for an hour for lunch and maybe three bathroom breaks, which were pretty quick, but traffic wasn't very cooperative. We didn't have any meltdowns though. Shara read two books and played several "hanging with friends" pass and play games with Alan. Lunch was good. We stopped at the Phily Diner near the end of Jersey. Alan wants to go back. Next time I think I can be confident splitting a meal with Shara will work out well. I gave her some of my turkey patty melt and cole slaw, she ate her fries and some soup, didn't touch her grilled cheese. Much too much food, but we'll know next time. Assuming we want the same thing, of course!

We got to the resort, checked in and went to the condo/apartment/room. 

tv, real fireplace, and little compartment to hide in.
What more do you want?

Shara's cabbage - contest to see who can grow the biggest.
So concerned she wanted to bring it on vacation to tend to.

Sums up Shara's take on the place.

Dinner was yogurt for Shara, caramel apple pie for Alan and Laurie. But she'll probably have a slice with breakfast. We're on vacation, you know, and I imagine the sugar quota will be high this week.

Morning ritual - Shara still sleeping.

Day 1 - fairly good nights sleep - king size beds are great for three. The size of the condo is rather large. We did get one of the renovated rooms. It still amazes me that anytime we've gone to a timeshare, the condition of the room is poor. A hinge is coming off our bathroom door. The cover over the microwave vent is missing, etc. Yet a decent hotel room shows hardly any signs of these issues. Anyway, love sitting, having coffee and not being in a rush to get out the door (we are letting Shara sleep in after a very early morning and a very late night).

Quebec 2012 - Day 6

For our last day in Canada, we decided we should go back and do some shopping and looking around Quebec City. When we went for the tour, we didn't really go into any of the cute shops and I had a restaurant or two I wanted to check out. We had fun. Shara said she liked "window shopping" and I explained that now it means to go into the stores to look around but not buy. She was enjoying just looking into the windows. We had a very delicious lunch at Le Petite Cochon Dingue. When we went into the cafe, the hostess asked if we were going to eat in or take out and if we'd ever been to the restaurant before. She explained the menu, which wasn't too complex really. There was a lunch special of a sandwich of the day and it came with soup or salad and a drink. Alan and Shara both had the sandwich special - roast beef, cornichons, mustard, cheese, lettuce & tomato. I don't remember what the cheese was, but the sandwich is toasted, before the lettuce & tomato. Alan had the mushroom soup, Shara had the salad, for me. I had the roast pork, brie & caramelized apple sandwich. It was wonderful. The thin slice of brie was the perfect amount. I assume there was mayonnaise on it, but not too much. Alan & I both had the ice tea. I was surprised it was sweetened. I was also surprised I liked it. We ate on the patio, which was on the sidewalk, next to a pretty busy road, but also facing docked ships. The weather, as it had been all week, couldn't have been more perfect. Mid-seventies, sunny, breezy, amazing! We had a relaxing lunch and then more relaxing while I peeked back inside to take a couple of photos. Alan & Shara hung out on a bench while Shara tried to drink more of her sparkling lemonade.

Roast Pork w/ Brie & Caramelized Apples

Roast Beef

Pastry case

cramped quarters - chaotic ordering but it worked.

cute

We spent the afternoon looking around, listening to music, enjoying people watching, and even rode the funicular. Some more pictures from our shopping in Quartier Petit Champlain.

Mural - taken by Shara

Adorable entrance to Le lapin saute

Alan & Shara enjoying an erable pop and listening to music

Quebec 2012 - Day 5

This day was a relaxing one, travelling around the I'Ile d'Orleans, the island just to the east of Quebec City. It has been the main source of produce for the city and markets the island as one for foodies. A wonderful article is available at: Taste Report. The first stop though was to check out Le Parc de la Chute-Montmorency. Shara was very opposed to walking uphill and was only interested in the lift going up the hill. We compromised and walked down the hill, but first needed to go up a couple of staircases to get over the bridge to the other side, where we walked down a large set of stairs and then got splashed good by the mist.

Our day on the island began at La Boulange, since the toasted cranberry, raisin and apricot bread and apples and strawberries didn't seem to fill us up enough at breakfast. Actually, by the time we got there it was close to lunch time. Alan and I shared a three cheese, basil and olive pizza, and a bowl of delicious and well flavored, herbie, vegetable soup. It came with a thick slice of white bread that we all shared. Shara loved and devoured her jamon and fromage croissant with cornicon and dijon mustard.

Shara's artistic interpretation of our pesto pizza

We took a little walk up the road and stopped in a gift shop of mostly pottery, another shop that had interesting wooden sculptures and some stained glass work, and a shop on the list that sold cassis products. We learned about white, red and black currants. Tasted a few vinegars and purchased a bottle of the black currant wine vinegar. We then headed back to the car, which was parked across from the boulangerie. Alan and Shara went to the car while I went back in the bakery to use the bathroom and buy some snacks. I couldn't resist a frambois danish and picked up another cinnamon bun. They were so big! They also had some imperfect breads for sale and I got a wheat sandwich bread to put in the freezer. As far as I can tell, it just has a little strip of black on the side, probably from touching the fire. When I got back to the car, I could see Alan and Shara off in the distance, down by the water. We were parked in a lot next to a beach near the river. The beach wasn't sand but looked like sandstone, stripped red and beige, and when wet, like clay. They had gotten a few shells and rocks. When I got down we switched. Shara wanted to show me the beach and we made our way down, closer to the water. It was another perfectly beautiful day. Mid-seventies, full sun, gorgeous.

We went to several but our favorite was the Chocolaterie, which we saved for the end. We all had ice cream - Alan and Shara both had a caramel toffee and I had a waffle cone of the caramel toffee and an almond. It was wonderful and refreshing and not too heavy. It was some of the best ice cream I've had, though now I'm reading the soft ice cream dipped in chocolate is what the real treat is. I assumed it was just what was available at all the other hundreds of lateries in the area - but it's not. This place makes their own soft ice cream with very few ingredients, all natural, no preservatives. And the chocolate is actual melted chocolate, not the commercial product. Regardless, our hard ice cream was fantastic too.

relaxing at the Chocolaterie

After a day of snacking, we had a light dinner and then headed back out! This time to the free Cirque du Soleil show! We wouldn't have known about it had we not taken the tour on the first day. Apparently the students at the cirque school are the performers. It starts at sundown and is right under a highway overpass. Crazy - the cars & trucks are going by as the show is running.We got there right on time and got places up at the front. Alan held up Shara through most of the performance so she could see. It was a real treat. More special than any of the ice cream.