Day 14 - Unity, Maine

We had a lovely breakfast with the family and extended families on both sides of the wedding party in the hotel before everyone split up. We are staying with cousin Angie and her family in Unity so we started the drive out. What a pretty drive! The landscape is so lush and green. Homes and farmhouses line the roads, we thought of local blueberriesand maple syrup on our way.

The kids were so grumpy and tired that they all napped on our way to Angie's house so when we arrived they were ready to go. We are staying in one of their empty apartments with other family (my parents and sister are above, cousins in their camper outside and my aunt and uncle in another apartment. We got all set up and settled in and headed to the Unity Raceway!

Wow! The races were fast, loud and super fun! They were loud and we were just about to head to the snack bar for earplugs when my cousin Maria showed up with a container of 100 plugs! Just in time too, it was loud and the kids ears didn't need that noise. Everyone really enjoyed the races, and besides the Nasons I don't think anyone in our large group had been to a stockcar race before. The races went on for a long while after we left, we could hear them still racing when we got back to the apartment.

Tomorrow we head to Bar Harbor and possibly Acadia National Park!

Rolling Maine hills!

 Cousins!

 Getting directions for raceway

 The Unity Raceway!

 The San Diego crowd (yes, the whole section!)

 It was loud, earplugs helped!

 More San Diego crowd (yes, together there were about 20 San Diegans, and a dozen Maine Nasons, including 5 San Diego/Maine Nasons!) a big group!

 I was rooting for the mini-van, it lost

 Cousins!

 Marissa, Mom and Dad

Day 13 - Maine, Wedding day!

Today was the day for the wedding of the year! The bride, Erin was so excited! We ran into her a few times during the day as she went from one place to the next gettin ready for her big night.

The wedding was in St Johns Catholic Church which turned out to be a very old church. It was built somewhere near 1856. There were lots of beautiful stained glass windows, an ornate altar set up in an old fashioned way (which is kind of nice that they haven't modernized it), with tall ceilings. It was really pretty. The wedding eremony was beautiful and emotional for all.

After the Mass, we had pictures taken, in true family-style, with lots of pictures in the church. The rehearsal dinner was at the hotel so it was nice to be free to go upstairs if we needed to. The food was great and everyone danced until midnight. Erin put extra effort in accommodating the kids in attendance with special dinners and goodie bags of games and treats for them to do. It meant a lot to us that she took the time, thought and effort to keep them engaged in her special day.

The evening was lovely and we are so glad that we were able to be a part of it. We have never been to Maine so it will be nice to explore and spend time with family discovering new places! Today was a great way to start the week in Maine.

The bride with her Father (Erin & Ralph)

 Bride & Groom (Erin and Bill)

 Proud parents

 Some of the San Diego crowd

 Dancing with Daddy

 Ben and Marissa dancing together

Day 12 - Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine!

We left Rhode Island this morning with one mission: get to Maine. And we did!

As far as traveling and sight seeing today wasn't that exciting (but it was exciting!), our big goal was to get to Bangor, Maine in time for the rehearsal dinner. We tried our best to do it but the roadways were slowing us down with traffic in Boston and road work all the way up the I-95! Boy are they doing a lot of repairs on their roads here...

We were able to have lunch with my Mom and Dad in South Boston. They were on our way and we could use lunch before we drove so we stopped for a bit and that may have slowed us down-but there was a lot of traffic! Visiting with them and just our kids was nice, it isn't something that we get to do often enough...even though they live 3 miles away! We saw the Atlantic Ocean from the road, some lighthouses (& we hope to see more!), breathtaking bridges, and sprawling rivers, lots of green trees and caution signs for moose! We had a mission to drive and we couldn't stop!

We got to the rehearsal dinner just in time to meet the family (and the new family!) and eat dinner! It was a lovely, relaxing evening at the end of a harried day. The kids were happy to see their cousins here too! Now they have someone else to play with besides themselves for a few days.

Working on the iPad

 Boston skyline

 We made it!!!

 Noah and the lobster man

We found a moose in Maine!

Day 11 - New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island

So we got lost this morning trying to get to the Statue of Liberty and GoogleMaps didn't help. Actually it helped us get a little more lost on the New Jersey turnpike. We ended up an extra hour in the car instead of the 15 minutes it could've taken us to get there. But we made it and it was terrific! We boarded the ferry in New Jersey and went to Ellis Island first. Beautiful place. The kids were really interested in the lists of names of all the people who came over. We found some of my ancestors names on the giant wall! It was so awesome!

Then we took the ferry to Liberty island, the kids picked up a packet for the Junior Ranger program and we set off to learn about Lady Liberty. The little tidbit that we all found interesting was that they ran out of funds for the base o the statue so Mr. Pulitzer (from the Pulitzer prize) started to raise funds and take donations. The donations amounts were mostly made of 25 and 50 cents and $1!! They made the goal needed just in time, as the statue arrived from France. Such an incredible story, everyone should know it.

We drove out of New Jersey, through New York and Connecticut and into Rhode Island where we are staying the night. Tomorrow we head to Maine, just in time for the wedding rehearsal & dinner...although we do hope to arrive earlier in the day.

September 11 Memorial on the New Jersey side, this was a very emotional spot to stand. Names of the people who were lost in the attacks line the walls.

My maternal family "The Pugh Family"

My paternal family "Rudolph Dahl and Valpuri Kyyhkynen Dahl"

New York City background

 The statues of liberty

 The kids taking their pledge to help conserve national parks

Day 10 - Pennsylvania and New Jersey!

Today our goal was Hershey, PA! We wanted to get there in time for lunch and perhaps a tour of the factory, mmm chocolate! And we wanted to see how close we could get to the Statue of Liberty today.

We went through several big tunnels on the Pennsylvania turnpike today and the kids loved it! At one point Rebekah looked like she was getting nervous in the tunnel but then said she thought that it was fun.

The weather is much cooler today, actually we are at 50 degrees cooler than Arizona at 63!! 50 degrees! That's crazy! But it is a lot cooler and much more enjoyable to be outside when we have a car break.

We made it to Hershey! We went on a quick tour to learn about what they make and a little about how they make their chocolate. The kids loved it! And of course the tour spit us out right in the middle of the gift shop so we had to buy something! Corey bought a new t-shirt and the kids bought a little bit of chocolate. I got a new mug for tea, coffee or hot chocolate.

We also made it to New Jersey! We really want to go to the Statue of Liberty so we found a place to stay and are going to tackle it in the morning!

The beautiful side-of-the-highway landscape in Pennsylvania

 A water tower name Jenny (I just had to take the picture :))

 A tunnel!

 Hershey :P mmmm

 giant candy!

 Welcome!

Day 9 - Leaving Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania

We stopped by the Straily family home as we were leaving town and were able to everyone except for Sara again. She left early this morning for a course in Miami, OH and she's checking out the school too.

We passed through West Virginia and into Pennsylvania today. On the road we saw so much but in this part of the country there are a lot of trees and rolling hills that flank the sides of the highways. We do see lots of farmhouses and grain silos. We've seen a large number or trucks too. The first day or two the kids were counting the trucks but I think they've given up on that. There numbers are many. We continue to see corn fields-a-plenty! We are amazed by the number of corn fields in this country, doesn't the US eat anything else besides corn?

A rest stop

Farm land in Pennsylvania

Frisbee for a stretch break

Day 8 - Ohio, Wedding day!

The wedding was beautiful and a great party! We were taken to the location by horse and carriage and that set the mood for the night, it was a very special night. The wedding vows were accompanied by tears of joy and lots of smiles, cheers and . It was beautiful, we are so glad that we were able to make it.

The kids loved the cake cutting, Hannah laughed hysterically when they struggled to get the cake in their mouths. Ben caught the garter! His uncle Dennis gave him $10 and said "thanks for saving me a lot of money" because the two guys who are dating the daughters were in the crowd. They fought for it but Ben came out the winner. Rebekah loved tossing rocks into the river that flowed just outside the reception area.

The kids were a little shy about the dance floor but they warmed up and got crazy. Ben and Noah were breakdancing on the floor, swinging Rebekah around and loving the party. They especially loved the open bar with a bartender who'd fix them up any drink they wanted. They chose Sprite but also got some grapefruit juice. The buffet was awesome, Noah must have had 4 servings of noodles.

Hannah really wanted to dance but was very nervous about it. She loves her cousins and has a special connection to Katy. She wants to make a trip to Ohio often, we told her that we'd do the best we can but in the meantime there are lots of ways to keep in touch. She is very sad to leave but at the same time is excited to head out to our next wedding destination, Maine!

Tomorrow we head back on the road again towards our next destination wedding in Maine!

Horse and carriage ride to the Darby House!

The boys

The girls

The kids all dressed up

Watching 

I DO

Congratulations David and Kellie!!

Day 7 - Ohio, day 1

We woke up and stayed in Ohio today! Actually we are staying in Katy's (our niece) apartment by Ohio State. It is a very cute place in an old brick building, we are so grateful for her cozy place that she's offered us while we are in town. The kids love the giant bunk beds and are taking turns sleeping in them.

The 3 older kids were invited to the movies today with their cousin Katy and some of the other in-town cousins. They saw Brave and they LOVED it. They love spending time with their Straily cousins, getting to know them and hanging out with them. They talk about their cousins all the time when we are home. I'm sure they will continue talking about this trip for years to come.

Tonight was the rehearsal dinner -tomorrow is the wedding!- and it was a great time. The food was good and there was even entertainment! One of the waiters sang an opera song (I have no idea what it was called but it was about love because I heard 'amore' in it!) to the happy couple.

Hannah and I watched fireflies from the restaurant balcony as it got dark. She loves spotting them, they are such a treat!

Noah is ready to party (those are little cups from somewhere we stopped at on the road)

 Rebekah showing everyone her silly face

 Cousins! How they've grown

Day 6 - Illinois and Ohio!

For not having that much sleep last night the kids are doing great! It helps to have the games and activities that they brought to do in the car. We've already bought some new movies for them to watch and and downloaded a bunch of apps for them to play on the iPad. Rebekah really enjoys watching the Curious George dvd's over and over and over again, so we may end up with another one along the way. The older ones get to watch what they want during her naps and in between her shows. So they are keeping themselves busy.

Illinois' landscape was field after field of corn! We crossed a few beautiful flowing rivers and the highway has been flanked with thick forest-like trees but when they clear we see fields of corn growing.

When we got into Indiana we discovered that we crossed another time zone putting us 3 hours ahead of home. So we are an hour behind...again.

We got to Ohio tonight just in time for dinner with the family. Corey's brother Dennis had just ordered pizza for them so we stayed, ate and visited a while with all the other family who are here for the wedding. The kids ran off with the other kids and played until dark and after dark. It gets dark late here, so we are having some late nights, and hopefully we'll be sleeping in because we don't have to run off for some more driving!

The kids caught fireflies in jars and ran around having fun. Just the other day, I mentioned to the kids that we might see fireflies on our trip, they were so excited and I didn't actually know that we would see any. I just happened to mention it and forgot about it until we saw them flying around. Rebekah and Noah were fascinated, Hannah was the first to get a jar and Ben got really good at catching them. It was super fun!

Illinois corn fields

 Passing through

 We made it!