Sunday, September 04, 2005
Bon Voyage!
I can't believe I haven't mentioned our trip before now. It's been a long time in the planning. Maybe because, for some reason, I'm not really excited about it is the only excuse I have for not mentioning it. You see, we're travelling with the kids, which means, you guessed it - not a lot of difference from my everyday life and a whole lotta extra work. They're just too young to do much with, especially since both of them still take naps and all. And restaurants? Puh-leese! Lauren is a demon and it's just exhausting for all involved. So an extended trip across the country with my offspring doesn't exactly conjure images of fun, frivolity, and enchanting sight-seeing. To me, I have visions of excruiatingly long plane rides, long car trips, cranky kids having to adjust to a 3 hour time difference, and being a perpetual house-guest having to constantly monitor and pick up after my children. Not exactly an idyllic vacation for Mr. Chick and I, lazing away on some tropical beach sipping chilled cocktails after a morning spent scuba diving.... although we will get one night alone, away from the kids.
The impetus for this trip is the wedding of some law school friends. They met and fell in love during the first year. She's from the West Coast, he's from the East. They will be building a gigantic house in Wyoming after the wedding, which is taking place at his family's estate in New Jersey. That's the reason we're travelling - their wedding. But it's an awfully long way to go for just a wedding, so we thought we'd kill a couple of birds with one flight, so to speak. We have several friends who live in Virginia, and this is just the perfect excuse to visit. So that's what we're doing. We're stretching one wedding in NJ into a 10 day trip to VA. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it? I mean, aren't all the "little" states on the East Coast pretty close to one another? So going from one to the next is pretty easy, right?
We leave bright and early on Tuesday and fly into Dulles. Our first friends live just outside Washington DC in N.Virginia. They will be picking us up and letting us stay with them for a few days. Like us, they also have two young kids - younger than ours by 6-10 months. We met these friends on our honeymoon and we share an anniversary. It's pretty cool, actually. So while we're with them we'll be trying to do the whole Washington DC thing. I've been to DC a couple of times and really like it. I've just never been there with young kids... These friends are totally setting us up - they have an extra car they're letting us have for the duration of our trip. Plus they're letting us use their extra carseats, saving us the hassle of dragging ours across the country. AND, the best part, is they will watch the kids for 2 days/1 night so Mr. Chick and I can attend the wedding up in NJ. It's a 5 hour drive, we're told. We're planning on leaving early the day of the wedding, stay that night in a hotel, and head back the following day. It's a "no kids" event. We would have loved to spend more time in the area and sight-see in NYC, but we can't stick them with the kids for longer than we already are. C'est la vie. After we pick the kids up, we're driving an additional 4 hours or so south to the other end of the state to stay with some dear friends. Mr. Chick has been buddies with this guy since grade school. He was best man at our wedding and is Nicholas's Godfather. They have a baby girl who shares Lauren's birthday, one year younger (so not even a year old yet). We've never met their daughter. I'm not sure what there is to do in the Charlotte/Richmond area, but I'm sure we'll find something.
So, it will be a nice trip, but not an exciting one. It's great that we'll be able to see some friends and reconnect that way, but again, it's not a big break from my everyday routine. I will still be trying to find things to do that are kid-friendly, helping to cook 3 meals a day, picking up after my kids, doing some laundry, etc. We're just doing all of that in other people's homes is all. Except, of course, for the one night we get to escape into a very upscale wedding and hopefully celebrate Mr. Chick's passing of the Bar, along with all his law school friends who will also be at the wedding (results come out on the 8th!). Did I mention the bride and groom are both trust-fund babies? This is gearing up to be a very society wedding. I'm going to wear the bridesmaid dress I wore recently for my sisters wedding, and brave the fuck-me pumps as well. Wish me luck there - my feet were killing me last time.
I will probably not have much of an opportunity to post until we return late on the 15th. We're not even home until the 16th. So look for me then. Until then, don't forget about me! I hope to have some exciting news about Mr. Chick passing the Bar, and maybe a few funny stories from the trip. Kids are always good for a few of those!
Cheers!
The impetus for this trip is the wedding of some law school friends. They met and fell in love during the first year. She's from the West Coast, he's from the East. They will be building a gigantic house in Wyoming after the wedding, which is taking place at his family's estate in New Jersey. That's the reason we're travelling - their wedding. But it's an awfully long way to go for just a wedding, so we thought we'd kill a couple of birds with one flight, so to speak. We have several friends who live in Virginia, and this is just the perfect excuse to visit. So that's what we're doing. We're stretching one wedding in NJ into a 10 day trip to VA. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it? I mean, aren't all the "little" states on the East Coast pretty close to one another? So going from one to the next is pretty easy, right?
We leave bright and early on Tuesday and fly into Dulles. Our first friends live just outside Washington DC in N.Virginia. They will be picking us up and letting us stay with them for a few days. Like us, they also have two young kids - younger than ours by 6-10 months. We met these friends on our honeymoon and we share an anniversary. It's pretty cool, actually. So while we're with them we'll be trying to do the whole Washington DC thing. I've been to DC a couple of times and really like it. I've just never been there with young kids... These friends are totally setting us up - they have an extra car they're letting us have for the duration of our trip. Plus they're letting us use their extra carseats, saving us the hassle of dragging ours across the country. AND, the best part, is they will watch the kids for 2 days/1 night so Mr. Chick and I can attend the wedding up in NJ. It's a 5 hour drive, we're told. We're planning on leaving early the day of the wedding, stay that night in a hotel, and head back the following day. It's a "no kids" event. We would have loved to spend more time in the area and sight-see in NYC, but we can't stick them with the kids for longer than we already are. C'est la vie. After we pick the kids up, we're driving an additional 4 hours or so south to the other end of the state to stay with some dear friends. Mr. Chick has been buddies with this guy since grade school. He was best man at our wedding and is Nicholas's Godfather. They have a baby girl who shares Lauren's birthday, one year younger (so not even a year old yet). We've never met their daughter. I'm not sure what there is to do in the Charlotte/Richmond area, but I'm sure we'll find something.
So, it will be a nice trip, but not an exciting one. It's great that we'll be able to see some friends and reconnect that way, but again, it's not a big break from my everyday routine. I will still be trying to find things to do that are kid-friendly, helping to cook 3 meals a day, picking up after my kids, doing some laundry, etc. We're just doing all of that in other people's homes is all. Except, of course, for the one night we get to escape into a very upscale wedding and hopefully celebrate Mr. Chick's passing of the Bar, along with all his law school friends who will also be at the wedding (results come out on the 8th!). Did I mention the bride and groom are both trust-fund babies? This is gearing up to be a very society wedding. I'm going to wear the bridesmaid dress I wore recently for my sisters wedding, and brave the fuck-me pumps as well. Wish me luck there - my feet were killing me last time.
I will probably not have much of an opportunity to post until we return late on the 15th. We're not even home until the 16th. So look for me then. Until then, don't forget about me! I hope to have some exciting news about Mr. Chick passing the Bar, and maybe a few funny stories from the trip. Kids are always good for a few of those!
Cheers!
// posted by MP @ 3:18 PM 
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