More and more people have been commenting about how we "get around" and "don't sit still very long" or "are just lucky to be enjoying each other". I think all of those are compliments, and true, but really we're just trying to keep from getting too crazy. We were both always busy as individuals, and now that we're together a weekend relaxing at home is almost unimaginable.
We do stay home, but relaxing can never be part of the full 60-hour weekend. Alise enjoys cooking way too much to sit still for long. Lucas - more likely to be found on the couch than his spouse - is always researching something on his phone or computer. Whomever says Wikipedia is unreliable, is either unreliable themselves, or Lucas has learned a lot of made up stuff.
On a stay-at-home weekend, it isn't unusual to find Alise in the kitchen making something that we don't really need (the fridge is full, the husband is full, but the cook must experiement), Lucas with the History channel on (America: the story of us is an instant classic) with the computer on his lap (keeping track of sports scores) and the phone in his hand (skipping from Wikipedia topic to Wikipedia topic).
So, as you can tell, we don't leave the house for weekend adventures because we're bored, but instead because we're already on food and electronics overload. So we can only escape to our Mazda with the moon roof, giving us a sense of open road and fresh air.
After one of those above-described at home weekends to start November, Alise and some girlfriends visited New York City.
Surprisingly to me, of the four girl crew Alise was the veteran New Yorker - having been there twice - while the others made their inaugural trip to the Big Apple. They did it all
and Alise was a great tour guide - at least that's what she told me. They visited many of the normal sites, and also took in a Broadway show - Chicago.
In the meantime, I headed to the Upper Midwest for work in a combo trip to Minneapolis and LaCrosse, WI. I returned on Wednesday of that week, and then planned one of the best impromptu trips we've taken.
Alise mentioned it was time for another oil change (she doesn't even let it get close to 2,999 miles in-between, but that's a different story). The car needed some other work and checks as well, so we took it to the closest dealer in Keene, NH. Since Keene is now 45 minutes away, rather than 30, I started researching "what to do in New Hampshire" just to see if there was something we were missing out on.
For regular readers of this blog - if regular means once per month - you may remember our surprise that there were some pretty nice ocean beaches on the east side of New Hampshire this summer. NH is known for being a conservative state with a small budget. New Hampshirites don't really flaunt or "brand" themselves like Vermonters do. In Vermont, everything is labeled that it is made or produced or touched the holy water of Vermont. It means that Vermont gets a lot more notoriety for its tourism, while NH stays a scenic secret.
Anyway, I found out there is a Currier and Ives Trail that starts just northeast of Keene. Again, being in New Hampshire, this isn't very well advertised and has almost nothing to do with Currier and Ives (though I made Alise read all about Currier and Ives on Wikipedia during the ride since she had no clue what a Currier and Ives print was), I was interested to see some of the scenery. Grandma Ade always fills tins of cookies with Currier and Ives prints on the front, and of course there is the reference in the song Sleigh Ride. After getting on the road, we took the 30.0 mile tour through small old towns with waterfalls, covered bridges, and saw Daniel (the real human dictionary) Webster's birthplace.
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| Daniel Webster's birthplace. Sounded like a good stop at the time. |
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| Statue at New England College, Henniker, NH. Go Pilgrims!? |
But the best part of the whole tour: tasting Bud Light at 36 degrees off the finishing room floor.
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| Such good Bud Light. It was amazing. |
Now, Alise and I do love beer and breweries (in moderation of course), but we aren't huge Bud Light fans. Well, after this tour, my taste buds have adjusted. It is some good stuff.
Okay, so that was just one Saturday in November. A few days later we had Thanksgiving break and headed for Pennsylvania. Luckily, my wife has already blogged about this, so I'll just send you that way for basically our exact itinerary and some pictures here: http://a4kinit.blogspot.com/2010/12/holiday-of-brotherly-love.html We started out in Scranton, PA, eating at the famous Poor Richard's Pub (made famous by The Office), and then went to Gettysburg National Military Park, Hershey World in Hershey, PA, and finally Philadelphia. My wife left out pictures from one of the most important places in history; Independence Hall.
It is worth a visit (especially since it is free) to learn about how this country was founded. Indy Hall is where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were created. Next door is the under-appreciated (in my view) Congress Hall, where the House of Representatives and Senate met from 1790 to 1800 while D.C. was being built. President George Washington was sworn in here during his second term, and then the world witnessed the first peaceful transfer of power from Georgey to John Adams.
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| The U.S. Senate, 1790 to 1800. Sits above the House of Representatives. |
We're excited to head home for Christmas, and looking forward to seeing everyone, and hoping roads are open by then!
Peace and love to all of you this holiday season,
Lucas and Alise
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