Monday, June 28, 2010

Martha's Vineyard

Loved Martha's Vineyard!
These gingerbread cottages were built in the 1870's and they are the cutest things! They circle a Methodist tabernacle, where church meetings are held every summer. Learn more about them here.
And the flowers!
Took the ferry back to the mainland.

HAMMONASSET BEACH STATE PARK, CT

We pulled into Hannonasset at 11pm and they said that it was after quiet hours and we would not be able to camp. The nice guy at the ranger station said we could go ahead and park in the visitor parking lot and pitch our tent in the tree-line. It was odd, but it worked. Cindy asked for a picture of bumblebee tent and here she is in all her glory.
After we got up we went to the beach. 

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Carlo's Bakery AKA: Cake Boss

On our way up North, to cooler weather, we stopped in Hoboken to taste Buddy's famous cannoli. The line to get in the door was around the corner, but we were in the doors in about an hour.
Once inside, we saw the youngest sister: Lisa, Maddalena: the second sister, Danny: the mule and Buddy Jr. See their bios here. We checked out their cake case.
We went for the large cannoli! Yummm!!

Friday, June 25, 2010

Where in the World?

Where are we? Guess in the comment section below.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Guess who's back?

Monkey's back!
Make sure you comment on Monkey's blog to let him know that we missed him!!

Shenandoah National Park

On the way to DC, we planned to make a quick stop in Shenandoah National Park for a picnic. We found it so nice and cool that we decided to camp. We had booked a hotel in the DC area and they let us cancel, even though it was past the deadline. We picked a pretty little campsite by the Appalachian Trail and set up our BumbleBee tent. We are good at setting up tent, as we practiced in the front yard before we left. In the park brochure it says we have to store our food properly so the bears don't get into it, with a picture of a guy hanging his food in a tree. It was getting late, so we started looking around at the trees. There were no food bags hanging in our neighbor's trees, so we went over to ask the ladies in the camp next door. They let us know that storing food in the car would suffice to keep the bears away. After chatting with us a bit, they invited us to share their campfire and we went back and got our chairs. While sitting around the campfire, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I looked over to find a cute little skunk about a yard away. He was just scampering around looking for something to eat. Both Victoria and I froze and the ladies just laughed. They have been camping for years and a skunk was nothing new to them. After some chatting, we all went to bed. The next morning we took an early morning hike to Dark Hollow Falls. Victoria climbed up to the falls for a few pictures. She is a mountain goat like that. The whole way we were looking for critters. They can be seen in our Shenandoah National Park flickr album.
When we got back to camp we found that our phones were out of juice. Victoria went up to the bathroom and found an electrical outlet. She came back to camp and got a chair and both phones and with the intent to watch the bathroom to make sure no one took off with our phones. By that time, I was reading a book in BumbleBee tent. BumbleBee has a removable cover that once removed, tent becomes a screened-in area. This is key, as there were swarms of gnat-like creatures that would constantly move around your head if you were stationary too long. After about half an hour, I started to feel bad that Victoria had to sit outside of the bathroom with the gnats. I decided I should go keep her company. As I approached the bathroom, what do I find? The princess in a tower. Turns out, she met a man who offered to let her sit in his very nice and comfortable screened-in pop-up. They were chatting away. 
Shenandoah National Park was filled with beautiful nature and nice people. 

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

I might have O.D. (Over Dolly'd)

Dolly's Tour Bus

Inside Dolly's tour bus. This reminded me of the time that we had extra fabric from Reba McEntire's bus and mom made pillows for everyone for Christmas. Dolly and Reba must have had the same idea of pretty.
There are lots of craftsmen in Dollywood, including a wagon maker. You can buy a handmade wagon from $3000-$8000. 
The food was just what you would imagine. Full of fat and delicious. 
I was most impressed with the rides at Dollywood. 
I've never been on a ride like this before; I was laughing and crying at the same time. Looking back on the experience, there should have more than a seat belt to hold you in.