We woke up today around 7:15. Lucas did a great job sleeping in his tent! So glad we found this idea online. We laid around until 8 and then we packed and got ready to check out. We went to the buffet breakfast in the hotel. It was pretty good but felt very crowded, especially just coming off a pandemic. We had to go to Starbucks for coffee. Then we were on our way to Staten Island to visit Ethan and Pia.
We stopped at Faber Park because we were set to meet up around noon for lunch. Faber Park is right on the water so we could see big shipping cargos on the river. There were a couple of playgrounds but they were right in the sun. Just by chance there was a pool here we asked about it and decided to go in.
The pool had a lot of rules. We could only bring in towels and water bottles, everything else had to stay in your locker. We swam around for a bit then we headed over to Ethan and Pias.
It was really good to catch up with them. We ordered some Mexican food and played with Transformers. Around 2 pm we got back in the car to head to Pearl River NY, where Khris and Jess live. Lucas slept the whole way. On the way we stopped at lookout on the Palisades but we didn’t get out. We saw a deer super close to the parking lot though!
We are staying at Khris’s for the rest of the trip. They have a big bedroom where we can set up Lucas’s tent. We went out to dinner at Murty’s Publick House. It was a nice little Irish place. Don wanted to try Uncle Tom’s Tavern next door but I accidentally went in the wrong restaurant. We saw Khris and Jess for a bit before bed because they were on their way home from Aruba.
Today we woke up and a little breakfast and got ready for our departure to New Jersey. We gave Lucas his new cars from the movie Cars. He was excited. We went to Ohare around 9:45 and the first parking lot we tried to go to was full! We parked in parking lot G and took a shuttle to the airport tram. Lucas was excited to sit near the bus driver. He was doing so good so far. Getting through security was pretty fast so we decided to get some lunch at McDonald’s. Lucas got his first happy meal—chicken nuggets, apple slices, fries, and milk. He ate all of the fries and apple slices but wasn’t a very big fan of the chicken nuggets. He got a little bobble head of Fred from Scooby Doo for the toy. He doesn’t seem to care for it much.
After lunch we sat and looked at plane for awhile. He said “let’s take to the sky!” just like Skye does from Paw Patrol. It was so cute. Lucas was asleep on the plane before we even took off and he slept the whole way.
Everything went smoothly when we arrived at Newark and got our car then we headed to Jonathan and Wighanda’s House so Lucas could meet everyone. It was really fun seeing Lucas interact with his cousins for the first time. He ate a really good dinner of spaghetti, rice, and corn. We also had some chicken adobo that Don’s mom made. The kids played musical chairs, slime, and danced.
After dinner we headed to our hotel. We stayed at Homewood Suites. The room was really nice and we had enough room to set up Lucas’s tent. In the process of moving a coffee table though I somehow dragged it over my big toe. It was so painful!! Lucas was in his tent around 9:50 pm, very late for him but it was a pretty good day for all of the traveling we did.
We just had our first trip in a long time due to covid and having a baby. We went to Texas to see my sister get married. We were very nervous for this trip with our baby but also excited.
We traveled with my parents and luckily the plane ride to Texas was about 2 hours. Lucas had his first McDonald’s to keep him busy. He enjoyed it a lot. He was pretty hyper during the flight but happy. It was hard to keep him in his seat. We didn’t bring his carseat on the flight, we had the CARES Harness. I think that was ok but it looked so uncomfortable for him. I made the mistake of trying to make him more comfortable when he was almost asleep and it kept him up the whole flight. At least he had lots of toys, snacks, and things to watch. He did end up falling asleep on the descent.
Our first night in Austin I was so tired, especially since I just got the covid booster 2 days before. My neck was all swollen and my arm hurt like crazy! We went to Rainey Street to eat at the food trucks. It was a pretty cool area. I had a Mexican pizza that was pretty good, Lucas had a quesadilla, and Don found some Halal food. Lucas got lucky and got to see some firefighters at work. He watched them help someone and then he was given 2 stickers by one of them! I wish we could have stayed longer but we were both anxious about putting Lucas to bed in the hotel room. The Hilton Garden Inn had provided us with a pack-n-play. We made the room pitch black, turned up the sound machine, and Lucas slept. He slept all night!
The next day we went to a little coffee place called Wright Bros. Brew and Brew for a small breakfast. It was really cute and a place I could spend some time in. We did a lot of walking but this area of Austin was not so great. Then met with Kelsey and some of the wedding party for lunch at Stella San Jac. It was pretty good. I had the burger and Don had the chicken and waffles. Lucas loved the fries.
Friday afternoon we went to Blissful Hill, the wedding venue. It was outside of Austin. It was nice for Lucas because he could run around outside, but it was super hot! The set up of our cabin that we shared with my parents was a bit weird. Two beds and a futon in the main room and a bed in the kitchen. From the pictures it makes it look like these are all in separate rooms, not great for sleeping with a toddler. Luckily my sister was able to borrow a pack-n-play for Lucas. So there we were—all in one room playing don’t wake baby haha.
The rehearsal went well. The only hiccup was Kelsey forgot her dress at the hotel back in Austin so she was late and unsure if she would get the dress back. Lucas played with his cars in the dirt and got so dirty it was crazy. But he was happy. We later put him to bed and I came back out for a drink. It was nice to hang out.
Finally, the wedding day was here. We were up pretty early. Don and dad got Einstein bagels for everyone. Lucas loved the egg from one of the sandwiches. Around 9:30 I went to go get ready with all the other bridesmaids. The day went fast and slow at the same time. I couldn’t believe my sister was getting married. She looked beautiful. The wedding was great. The steak tacos and elote were amazing, really one of the better wedding dinners I have had. Don took Lucas back to the room around 8 and I stayed. I danced a lot! It was fun to let loose.
On Sunday we returned home. We had more time in the airport which was good and bad. We were not so rushed but near the end Lucas was breaking down. He slept so good for the whole flight though. This time I did not try to make him more comfortable in his seat. I just let it go.
Just because….here’s my speech I gave at Kelsey’s wedding.
As Kelsey’s big sister, I’ve been telling her what to do her whole life—Kelsey, don’t do that, Kelsey don’t tell mom and dad, Kelsey don’t jump out of that swing! If you didn’t know, Kelsey visited the Hospital ER so much they gave my parents a parking spot. Well, my dad was also prone to injury.
I’ve been someone Kelsey comes to for advice. I tried to give her my best advice on dating throughout the years. One bit of advice I’m glad she took was, “Kelsey, you should date that guy from the pool.”
That guy was, of course, Jared. I met Jared while hanging out with Kelsey at her apartment pool before they were dating. I could see the way they looked at each other. I’m so happy Kelsey and Jared are together. He is the perfect addition to the family. I could stand here and give you thousands of stories about Kelsey, but I want to say, kelsey, I’m proud of you, and we are very happy for you. We are excited to see what your and Jared’s future holds.
Today we woke up early to pack and get ready to leave. Damien had hooked us up with a shuttle to pick us around noon. The shuttle was going to take us to our connecting train in Lisieux, this avoided us having to get the train in Deauville and would be faster. Even better though when the driver got to us he asked if we wanted him to just take us straight to Paris for the same price! He had to go to Paris anyway so it wouldn’t be out of the way. This was so awesome!
Found this weird candy bar at a rest stop. It was good!
We made it to Paris around 3 pm and got on the train to head
out to the airport. It was pouring rain. There was a weird incident on the
train where it seemed we were almost mugged. A guy apparently tried to put his
hand on Don’s bag and Laura said something to him. He had guys around him that
were obviously with him but unfortunately he got caught. After they had some
words they left us alone.
We got to the Hilton near the airport and checked in. I was
super hungry and had a headache. It was still early and our last night in Paris
so we decided to take the train back to the city. This did not seem super fun
considering all of the travel we had been doing and I was tired but when in
Rome….? Just Don and I went and we found a restaurant called Flams. Basically
Flams makes a pizza that has no sauce; it’s like a flatbread with cheese and
other toppings. You can pick a package and just keep ordering different pizzas.
They are like crackers so two people could easily finish 3 or 4.
We walked across the river to get a view of the Eiffel tower. It was a long walk but fun. We watched some kids skateboarding and we saw a group of people doing some weird juggling.
After finding a good spot to view the Eiffel Tower we got some waters and sat down. When the sun sets the tower does a light show and it was very cool.
On the way back we walked through a museum of modern art and saw people dancing. We took an Uber back to the train station so we could go back out to the airport Hilton. We got back around midnight. Tomorrow we leave Paris around 11 am. It has been a good trip.
Not much happened on our departure day. The breakfast buffet
at the Hilton was pretty good. It was so hot in the Paris airport and not a lot
of restaurants where we were. One thing to note, you need your passport to make
purchases like food! I left my passport with Don and waited in line at a
convenient store and couldn’t buy food!! So weird!!
We had to wake up pretty early today because the bus was
picking us up at 9. We went to the town of Giverny where the famous artist
Claude Monet lived out his last years. Greg had gotten us tickets earlier to
see his house and gardens. Everything was very beautiful and it was a nice day.
When we got to the line somehow Don and I became separated
from the rest of the group. We also had group tickets which allowed us to go to
a shorter line. We only had a little under 2 hours so we decided to look around
a bit then leave to get food. The gardens in front of his house were very
beautiful.
We stopped at a cafeteria style restaurant. Don had roasted veal and ratatouille. I had a sausage and fries. It was pretty good! We sat outside and some chickens came over to us. They almost got into a fight under my feet, but they were so cute!!
We decided to go back in and try to go through Monet’s
house. We had time to spare and last time we were in there the lines were just
so long. We also found where the pond was and everything was very beautiful.
The house was cool too. It was crowded though.
We stopped for an ice cream cone on our way out. There were a lot of Porshes in the parking lot because they were all heading to Deauville for the convention.
Next we stopped in the town of Rouen. There was a very beautiful church and many markets.
We mailed our postcards from this town, which was kind of an ordeal but the postal worker was very nice and helpful. We saw where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. There was a church there for her and that was very pretty, with beautiful stained glass.
We made our way back to the hotel where we were supposed to
meet up and had a croissant. When we got back to the house we relaxed and took
a walk to the beach. It would have been cool to swim but it was too cold. It
was warm in the sun though. There were Porsches everywhere because they were
having a Porsche convention thing in Deauville. This made Jim very happy
because he loves the car. We walked around and looked at the cars a bit, very
cool.
We came back and had some sandwiches and salads. Then Don
and I went out again to eat at the pizza place we went to a few nights ago. I
really was craving pizza.
