Plum Island Adventure

 Plum Island day dawned sunny and chilly.  Still, we packed the car full of coats, hats, and snacks and headed out for adventure.  First stop was Hellcat Observation Tower overlooking the marshland.  After the long drive to get there, the girls were thrilled to get out and run!

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 We climbed up the tower, but it was way too cold to "observe" anything.  We took this photo and got down as fast as we could!

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 Instead of the wide open and windy marsh trail, we took an inland hike on the boardwalk through the reeds and grasses.  I promised a dollar for the first one to see a frog or turtle, and $2 for a snake sighting.  We didn't see any of those, though.  Just some beaver dams and trails, geese, ducks, a swan, and a woodpecker.

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 They say "It's not a party til something gets broken".  I say, It's not an outing til you get a cheesy self portrait!"

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 These two gave a hearty thumbs up for the boardwalk trail.  We were the only ones there for the most part, so the cousins whooped and ran like little banshees.  Hmm.  Maybe that had something to do with the lack of *other* wildlife sightings.

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 The girls got a workout from all of their running and climbing.  Here they are looking a little hot and windblown.

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It is piper plover nesting time, so much of the public beach on the island was off limits.  There was a nice long boardwalk and stretch of shore to explore, however.  We found several types of shells, some driftwood, a piece of clear beachglass, and a dead crab.  Sophie filled her coat pockets with treasures!

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On the way off the island, we had lunch at the BEST seafood shack ever.  Bob's Lobster is a place we will definitely be seeing again!  I'm ready to go back right now :)

Weekend Getaway

Back in early December we planned a mini trip for this past weekend 180 miles south to Virginia Beach.  My mom and dad met us there, and we had a chance to visit with my aunt and uncle, 2 cousins, and their spouses.  We packed so much into a short trip that I don't have a makeover to share with you today.  BUT, I do have some trip highlight photos for you!

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 We were so excited to have an oceanfront room with a little balcony.

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 The "unobstructed" view from the room.

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 Hey look!  Mom and Dad's room is just a few down from ours!

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 We were driven back into the hotel room by the cold, and by the seagulls hoping for a snack.

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 On Sunday we headed to the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center.  They have an IMAX movie theater, and we got to see Wild Ocean in 3D.  It was incredible!

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 I had never seen a bobwhite before.  How cute are these little softball sized bellies?

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 This guy cracked me up.  He stood here on the bottom like this the whole time we hung out at this display.

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 Komodo dragons- roar!

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 We all sat in this aquarium tunnel reef exhibit for quite awhile as Sophie tried to locate all of the different tropical fish on her chart.  Nana is always grinning from ear to ear when Sophie is around!

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 Jellyfish are such amazing creatures.  I don't care to see them beside me in the ocean, but watching them gracefully swim around the tank was really nice!

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I hope you enjoyed my little tour :)  Now I'm off to pack packages, grocery shop, and do the trip laundry.  Did you do anything fun this weekend?  Anything big on tap for this week?  Do tell!

Thursday's Treasure

We took a little family trip the other day to a favorite attraction just outside of Gettysburg, PA: the historic round barn.

Here it is from the outside...

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...some of the beautiful hanging plants they have for sale ...

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... and the inside, chock full of freshly picked fruits, all manner of crafty goods, and loads of homemade salsas, jams, and butters. 

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Sophie purchased 5 feed apples for $1 to give to the goats, donkeys and horses out back.  She had big plans of doing it herself, but once she saw the size of the horse's teeth, she let my dad do the honors.

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Read all about the barn history HERE.

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Don't forget to enter the Price is Right game below... you have until 5 PM EST tomorrow to leave your guess :)