New England

I got the chance to take an amazing trip with some of my favorite people last week.  Katie moved to New Hampshire last year and we all miss her so much!  I was talking to Katie when she was having a hard day and feeling homesick and I told her I needed to come visit her.  I felt this need to be with her and help her feel how loved she is.  I started looking into flights and I was really surprised at how "cheap" they were.  I paid almost as much to fly to Oakland as I did to fly across the country.  Anyway, Tiff had some vouchers and after a lot of trouble trying to book tickets and make everything work it ended up working out that me, Tiff and Audrey could all go.  Our husbands are all wonderful and encouraged us to do it.  Keith is so amazing.  He is so supportive of me and always willing to help anyone.  He always encourages me to do things for myself and never complains. 

I have heard that New England is amazing in the fall and it did not disappoint.  Here we are in front of Katie's house.  I am glad that I waited until I was older to take this trip so I could appreciate all of the beauty.  I have officially turned into my mom and I am constantly pointing out how pretty things are to my kids.

Tuesday night Tiff and I flew out on the red eye.  We went to JFK and then to Boston.  Audrey had to take a different flight and we met up in Boston on Wednesday morning.  I was able to sleep more than I thought I would on the plane.  It was so exciting to be there.  We spent that day in Boston. 

Our first stop was the temple in Boston.  It was beautiful.  We had planned on parking near the temple and taking the train into the city, but the lot was full.  We drove into the city and saw a sign for parking for $19, Katie was excited to find it for that price so we went in there.  When we pulled up we saw that there was tiny print on the sign that said that price was valid before 8:30 AM.  By the time you see that you are stuck and you have to park there.  It cost $36 to park, crazy!

We started out by Boston Harbor.  We had a guy talk us into buying trolley tickets.  He gave us a good deal and you can get on and get off so it was the perfect way to see everything.  I'm really glad we did that.  Our first driver did tell us to be quiet, but luckily we didn't ride with him very long.  The next driver was really funny and very knowledgeable. 

I cannot believe how many buildings they cram into such a small place.  I would have been terrified to drive in Boston.  The trolley drivers pretty much rule the streets and pull out in front of everyone and stop whenever they feel like it.  We started out at Faneuil Hall.  We got some lunch and looked in some shops. 

After that we took the trolley to the Old North Church. The church had a plaque on it that said, "The signal lanterns of Paul Revere displayed in the steeples of this church on April 18 1775 warned the country of the march of the British troops to Lexington and Concord."

We stopped at a cemetery on the way to the church.  I love the changing leaves. 

 After that we rode the trolley around the whole city and looked at everything from the trolley car.  It was starting to get late so we didn't have time to stop everywhere that we were planning on.  It was nice to be able to relax and see everything while the driver told us all of the history that went along with everything.  We walked around some more after that and then we were all pretty tired and ready to head home. 

We all went to bed as soon as we got home.  I may have slept until noon the next day.  I woke up once, but went back to sleep.  I had some catching up to do.  The weather cooperated with us the whole time.  We were planning on taking it easy on Thursday.  It poured rain all day Thursday.  We went over and saw Ben's parents house that day.  It was interesting to see because it is over 200 years old.  I snapped this picture in their yard.  I loved looking at all of the beautiful trees. The trees are everywhere and they are so pretty.  Thursday night we stayed up and watched a movie and just took it easy.

On Friday we went to Hampton Beach.  It was only about thirty minutes away from Katie's house.  I would love to live that close to the ocean.  It was gorgeous. 

We took off our shoes and walked on the beach. 

The water was freezing on our feet, but I loved it!  I loved seeing Boston, but I would pick the beach any day.  It was so relaxing. 

After the beach we went to Exeter.  It was a really cute town.  Look at those trees, beautiful!  We looked at some shops and then went down by the water.

Kiara and Boston were such good sports about going sight seeing with us that day.  When Ben got home from work that night he kept the kids so we could go to dinner and shopping. 

On Saturday we packed up and left Katie's house because we were flying out of Portland Maine first thing Sunday morning.  Katie ended up coming home with us to surprise her family for her nephew's baptism.  We rented a car and stayed over night in Maine.

We stopped at Nubble Point on the way down.  I fell in love with this place.  It was gorgeous and so peaceful.

I love the sound of water.  I think I could have sat there all day.

The waves were huge and I loved watching them splash on the rocks.  It was raining on our drive up there, but it stopped raining when we got there.

The light house was so pretty. 

I liked the view from the other side with the houses right up against the water.  We were talking about how beautiful God's creations are.  You can't help but be amazed by the earth's beauty when you are surrounded by it.  I have been feeling pretty down about myself lately and I had the thought that I am one of God's creations too and all of his creations are beautiful.  I need to write that down so I don't forget.  I wish I could take my family here, it is just amazing!

After that we got some dinner and went to our hotel.  We tried to sleep because we had an early flight, but I don't think any of us got as much sleep as we would have liked! Our flight left at 6:00 AM Sunday morning.  It was such a wonderful trip, but I was ready to see my family.  I really missed them.  I'm so glad it worked out for us to take this trip.  It was probably a once in a lifetime thing and it was awesome!