TOP TEN - New England Road Trip

1. The Bite

A classic crab shack on the side of the road on Martha's Vineyard. We ordered fried shrimp, fried clams, fried bites and clam chowder. It was one of my favorite meals and the best fried shrimp I have ever had. Great. . . . .  Now I'm hungry.

2. Whale Watching

Awesome experience! Such beautiful, large animals.

3. Travel with Xan

Grant and I had lots of questions about how traveling would go post-kid. What could we do? Where could we go? Take Xan? Leave him at home? I was thrilled with how well he handled it all. He seemed to really enjoy the activity (and his backpack - see item #8). I hear that he will get harder to 'manage' as he gets older. So, I guess we'll take it one adventure at a time.

4. Red Sox game

Xan got lots of attention at the game. "Raisin' him right" seemed to be the general consensus.

5. Nantucket

Beautiful Island! It really looked like a postcard.

6. Driving

With a 6 month baby in the house Grant and I don't have time to hang out like we used to. Since this was a road trip we had time in the car to talk, sing along with the radio and just be goofy.

7. Plimoth Plantation

Setup to look like a 16th century English settlement including the people. You could wander through the village and interact with the settlers as they worked in the gardens, tended their animals, built homes, etc. I spent 30 minutes visiting with Stephen Hopkins (a Mayflower passenger) in his home. It was like really being there.

8. Xan's backpack

Xan loved this backpack about 90% of the time. He could look around, see what was going on and even sleep in it.

9. Yale and Harvard

College visits with Xan. It's never too early to start :)

10. Newport Mansions

Massive, elaborate homes build during the US Guild age. I would love to see more.

TOP TEN - Las Vegas Road Trip

10. Ethel's Chocolate Factory

We took a long taxi ride out to the factory on New Year's Day. They were open but not making chocolate! I did get to purchase chocolate in the gift shop before taking a taxi ride back to the strip. The whole trip took 45 minutes and too much $$. While walking through the Flamingo later in the week I saw an Ethel's chocolate store. I'm glad Grand had a good sense of humor about my mis-adventure

9. New Year's Eve Fireworks

8. Brazilian Restaurant

As if my cholesterol intake wasn't high enough on this trip, we visited a Brazilian style restaurant (all you can eat meat). We tried everything but by the end would only except filet or roast beef.

7. Best Buffet search, winner: Bellagio!

We did serious research, looking for the best buffet. The winner was clearly the Bellagio. I had lots of Kobe top sirloin and 3 creme brulees. Magnific!!

6. Le Reve

A water based Cirque du Soleil show at the new Wynn Hotel and Casino. It was amazing!

5. First Class

Since I was 7 months pregnant on this trip Grant got first class plane tickets so I would be comfortable. It was so much fun!!

4. Hacienda Nicholas Bed and Breakfast

I have already talked about the AWESOME B&B in Santa Fe. I loved it!!!

3. White out at the Grand Canyon

1 mile down, 10 miles across and 1/4 mile visibility. Needless to say we couldn't see a thing but we did enjoy walking along the canyon rim in the snow storm

2. Jersey Boys

The story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. I LOVE their music!

1. Grand Canyon

We arrived for the last of sunrise. It was beautiful, covered in the untouched snow

TOP 10 - San Diego

10. The City itself

There is a great vibe to the city. I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was.

9. Ocean

So beautiful and blue but the water is COLD! I am spoiled by the Gulf's warm temperatures.

8. Sunset

You could see the sunset over the ocean from Lydia's backyard. Awesome!

7. Kerry's Baptism

We were invited to the Baptism of one of Lydia's roommates while in San Diego. She chose to do this in the ocean. It was a really special experience. Don't forget that I mentioned the frigid temperature of the water.

6. The Food, specifically breakfast

My favorite meal of the day. Lydia picked out some great spots.

5. Personal Chauffeur

Lydia was gracious enough to cart us around the city including the Zoo (a total of 4 times)

4. Wild Animal Park

An off-shoot of the Zoo, this facility concentrated on breeding programs and animal conservation. We were able to ride a large jeep through the animal habitat area.

3. Old Town Candy Shop

An old time candy store in official 'Old Town' San Diego. Lydia, Grant and I had finished off all of the homemade toffee and caramel by the end of the day. We should have gone back for more :)

2. The famous San Diego ZOO

This zoo reminded me a lot of Disney's Animal Kingdom. The fences blended in with the surroundings and the animals were in a natural looking habitat.

1. Grant Feeding the Giraffes

It's a well established fact that Grant loves animals so he was definitely into this activity. He was fun to watch as the long gray giraffe tongue reached for the treat

Top Ten - Spain

10. Madrid - Rowing and relaxing in the le Retiro (park) lake

I love to row. Didn't know this before Madrid.

9. Monastery of Montserrat hike or maybe just the view from the top

The hike was quite a challenge but the view from the top was worth it!

8. Hotel in Cordoba

The San Miguel hotel was located on a pedestrian street in the old city of Cordoba. Our flowered filled balcony overlooked an old church square and all the rooms surrounded a courtyard. It was a beautiful place.

7. Sneaking into the Alhambra in Granada

Never put anything past Grant. If he wants something, he will figure out a way :)

6. High speed trains (and the 1st class couchette)

5. My birthday, I'm 30!

I spent a wonderful day in Granada and had a traditional Spanish dinner in old town Cordoba

4. Bullfight (Go Bulls!!)

A unique but barbaric experience. We cheered for the Bull!

3. Grant's attempt to learn Spanish

I have to say I was impressed with the amount of Spanish Grant picked up. He was testing his new found skill on everyone: waiters, people walking down the street, the animals he encountered, etc.

2. Costa de Sol

The beautiful Mediterranean coast!

1. Spanish lifestyle

Late to rise, Late to bed and that was the norm

Top 10: Washington D.C.

10. Animals - Grant's love of animals is unparalleled. I have 15 pictures of a National Mall squirrel
9. Korean War Memorial - My personal favorite war memorial. I had to add it to the list
8. Wailing in line at the National Archives - We had to wait 1.5 hours to get into the National Archives (home of the US Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence). To pass the time we played all kinds of games. The people around us were very entertained
7. Air & Space Museum - Off course I had to include this. I stood around the Space Shuttle exhibit in case anyone had questions. No bites
6. Botanical Gardens - Beautiful place to go on a rainy day
5. Union Station food court - Grant's favorite. There were several Asian restaurants that would give out free samples
4. Washington in Bloom - Cherry tree blossoms, tulips and lots of flowers I didn't recognize but it was beautiful
3. Games - We played name that tune, raced up and down the escalators, paper/rock/scissors and cross the street with Grant (Grant is very fast. To follow him you take a chance. You might make it across before hit by a car and you might not)
2. Pentagon - Bobby McCaleb, a Colonel in the US Army, took us on a tour of the Pentagon (Bobby and I are from the same home town). It was AWESOME!! Pentagon tours aren't available to the general public. You can only be taken in by someone who works there. It was by far the coolest thing we did.
1. Tour de Pentagon - Did I mention our tour to the Pentagon? It was so good, I had to mention it twice

I sleep like a baby on Trains

Grant and I just returned home from our Great Canadian Adventure. It was cold but we had a blast! Below are my top 10 favorite things about Canada and several pictures from our trip.

10. High Tea in Toronto - I tried so hard to be fancy and eat all the food served but I almost lost my cucumber sandwich on the white tablecloth
9. Ice canyon walk - On New Year's Eve we took a hike through a frozen river canyon. It was awesome
8. Underground system in Toronto and Montreal - You could walk around the whole downtown area and never go outside. In the tunnels where mall, food courts, movie theaters, Doctor's offices, grocery stores, etc.
7. Animals - We didn't see as many animals as Grant wished but he did get up close and personal with an Elk.
6. Hockey game - We saw the Montreal Canadians vs the Toronto Maple Leafs play. GO HABS!
5. Canadian Rockies - Half of our pictures are of the mountains
4. Beautiful Banff (and Jasper) - These towns were made to look like postcards
3. Snow :) - everywhere, piles and piles. I have never seen so much.
2. The Canadian people - The people where so incredibly generous. One group helped us scalp tickets to the hockey game
1. TRAIN!! - I loved the train ride. We had our own little (I mean small) cabin and ate all of our meals in the dinning car.

What next? Maybe the Orient Express!!

Canyon Ice WalkNiagra Falls

CN Tower - Toronto (I am laying on the glass floor looking down 147 stories)
Dinning Car on the Train