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| Kurt and I spent the last day of 2011 driving from Orlando, Florida to Fayetteville, North Carolina. We have had such a WONDERFUL 2 week vacation. Our travels took us on a Southern Caribbean cruise to Aruba, Curacao and Princess Cays. Upon our return, we drove down to the southernmost point of the U.S., Key West, Florida. What a fun place to spend Christmas Eve. We spent Christmas Day walking on the beach in Miami and lounging in our hotel room. Our final adventure was Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. We spent one day in each park, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. We encountered record crowds and all of the parks were full to capacity each day by 11:00 am. We had a fun time, but, needless to say, we were DONE by the last day. On our way home, we stopped at Flagler Beach, Florida (where this photo was taken), then spent New Years Eve watching movies and eating pizza in our hotel room in Fayetteville. Very relaxing - just what we needed! What a whirlwind year this has been! We are both looking forward to more adventures in 2012. It will be interesting to see what life has in store for us in the coming year. |
One last walk along the beach before we drive back to Virginia.
My partner in seashell seeking.
Our quest to find Kurt's beloved Sweet Lebanon Bologna was successful today. Personally, I don't see what the big deal is, but he and his co-workers are huge fans.
This afternoon we checked out the Atlantic City Boardwalk. It reminded me of Santa Cruz with casinos ;-)
I love the ocean.
Kurt and I drove to Atlantic City today. He was scheduled for training meetings and I thought it would be fun to tag along. 
We were happy that the hotel upgraded us to a 2 bedroom suite!
It's always a bonus to stay at Marriott Hotels!!
Our Saturday adventure took us to Great Falls National Park today. With all of the recent rain, the Potomac was at flood stage. You couldn't really even see the falls because the river was so full. It was beautiful though. Can't wait to go back when the river isn't raging.
All ready for his training. Gotta love a man in a tie!
It snowed all night long. Ugh!
....and I'm COLD!
My project, while I hung out in our hotel room, was to clean out my inbox. How'd I get over 10,000 emails? I managed to delete or move 5,000.
I tagged along with Kurt to a site visit he had in Pittsburgh, PA this week. We stayed at the Embassy Suites. What a beautiful hotel.
We stopped in Valley Forge on our way back to Virginia today. We thought we'd wander around for an hour or so, but ended up staying for about 6 hours! What an amazing place! Tomorrow is President's Day - I can't think of a better way to celebrate than to walk where George Washington once walked. This weekend we not only learned about the Civil War (Gettysburg), but the Revolutionary War too. I have a much better appreciation for those who sacrificed for my freedoms.
I crossed another item off my Bucket List today! I have wanted to visit Lancaster County, Pennsylvania for as long as I can remember. I have read everything I can get my hands on having to do with the Amish and Mennonite way of life. It fascinates me. I love their minimalist lifestyle, their hardworking attitude, and how they work together as a community. I have collected Amish cookbooks, Amish quilt patterns, and have ALWAYS wanted to own an Amish handmade quilt. We stayed in Lancaster, but drove through Intercourse, Blue Ball, Bird In Hand, and a few other little towns with equally interesting names ;-) We wandered through an Amish Farmer's Market, went in search of covered bridges, and even went into the home of a nice Amish family to see the beautiful quilts the women had made. I can't wait to go back when I have more time. Next time, I WILL come home with a quilt!
Today we drove to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and spent the day at Gettysburg National Military Park. It was a day I will never forget. I have never seen so many monuments in one place. I learned more today about the Civil War than I ever learned in school. We spent time in the visitor's center and then spent the remainder of the day driving and walking through the park. We saw where the bloodiest battle of the Civil War took place and even stood where Abraham Lincoln stood when he gave the Gettysburg Address. Abraham Lincoln is my hero!
Who says there's no leg room on Southwest Airlines? We had a nice flight today. My favorite part of the day was when we were checking in at Washington Dulles. The ticketing agent burst into song:
I'd never really seen the salt close up. I had no idea that it wasn't as fine as what comes out of our salt shaker. It looked like hail.
Salt for as far as the eye could see! Alyssa and I had to wash our shoes off after we walked in it. It stuck to everything!
Kurt, catching some Z's before he drove the last leg of our trip.
Jack, dressed in the little white outfit we bought yesterday. It was hard to find something small enough for him! He's using the blanket I made when Kelsey was blessed. Abbey was wrapped in it on her blessing day too. (It was much cooler when they were blessed).
Jack is such a sweet little baby! This may be the only time all weekend that he wasn't held by someone! It's hard to put him down, he's such a cuddly baby!
We had a feast! I'm so glad Angie married someone whose family loves food as much as we do!!
Greg and Angie Carlson with THREE kids! Oh my!
My mom and Vicki drove up for the blessing. It was so nice to see them. Scott was here too, but he moved in the photo and it's blurry! (You did that on purpose, didn't you Scott?)
Kurt and his youngest brother Bruce. They look more and more alike every year.
Bruce and his boys - J.M., Peter and Michael.
Greg's family - from Green River, Heber City, Logan, Layton and Provo.
Angie's family. We missed having Tyler with us. Next time for sure!!!!!
Kelsey and Abbey waving goodbye when we left Utah.
