Best Life

 Happy birthday Mom!  I'm so glad we were all able to spend the day together!                                                       Me, Mom and Karen                                                  (Eventually we'll figure out how to do a selfie!)  The new boardwalk at Sand Hill Cove Beach - well worth the wait.  Just over a quarter mile long it has plenty of places to sit and relax and also plenty of ramps and stairs to both the parking lot and the sand.  A beautiful day to stroll and enjoy the ocean breeze and the autumn sun.  No rush with nowhere to be - perfect. And Mom surprised us with her flower arranging skills.  Unbeknownst to us Mom attended ...

 We are back in Lincoln this evening.  Somebody missed us! (Although by her face one would think we just told her we are leaving!) Our ride home from Western Pennsylvania started beautifully.  A bit cooler than we have been at just 70 degrees but the sun was shining and the roads were clear. With only a couple quick stops and a couple slow downs in traffic, we made good time.  In RI by 230pm with cloudy skies and temps in the high 60s, we were happy to finally be home.                                                   Governor Mario Cuomo Bridge in New York Cooking dinner at home (cheesy chicken broccoli pasta) - a joy.  Glad to help since Isis has class tonight and Kevin has work. The plan - can wait until the morning! September 30, 2003:  We took the kids to The Big E Fair (Eastern States Exposition) in West...

After another semi-late start and meandering around Washington and through rural Pennsylvania, we barely covered 500 miles.  I so prefer watching farmland and mountains to cityscapes and power plants.  We landed in Hamburg, Pennsylvania for the night and with a bar/restaurant attached to the hotel - no long drive to find good food.  This leaves us just over 300 miles in the morning to RI.  Dinner was at Pappy's T - friendly staff and locals with good food.  And tonight was Taco Tuesday!!!!                                                                      Mine - beef soft tacos.                                              ...

  Tonight we landed in Fayetteville, North Carolina.  Just over 400 miles from Daytona, we are truly dogging it.  With continued rain in New England - we have no desire to arrive before the sun! Our biggest hurdle when stopping at random places - finding dinner.  After circling the city for more than 30 minutes we entered Twin Peaks Restaurant.  Cute exterior with a Canadian mountain theme we thought it would be okay.  Until the hostess came to seat us.  Ugh.  Hooters turned Canadian.  Thanks but no thanks. Then we found Logan's.  Turned out to be a great choice.  Friendly, efficient (and fully dressed!) staff, great BBQ and a quiet room.  Perfect after a full day of driving.                                                    Hot, soft, buttery rolls with cinnamon butter - yummy! ...

 Disembarkation.  Just the word sounds exhausting.  Thousands of people with hundreds of pieces of luggage all trying to get off the ship and to their plane, car, uber, shuttle, hotel etc all in just a few short hours while also going through immigration and security. We were slotted for self disembarkation between 800am and 830 am carrying our own luggage.  After a quick cup of coffee (and I managed to download 8 days worth of posts), we headed to deck 3 to wait.  After just a few minutes and before 730am, we were sent on our way.  Yea!  And because we only take the stairs (rarely taking elevators) we surged ahead of everyone.                                                      The lobby was eerily quiet with only a few travelers.                ...