Whoops, I guess my little mobile blogging experiment didn’t last very long now did it? Well, if the server hadn’t crashed in the middle of this trip I could have told you all the fun adventures we had on the east coast. Alas you will have deal with the cliffsnotes version instead.

Welp, the whole Virginia thing turned into a fiasco for everyone, thankfully we got out of dodge (err I mean Chrysler) before the poop really hit the fan. Its tough to drag small kids across the country to a town where the only good time is the local Walmart and 5 Guys and A Grill diner. We were stuck at the Comfort Inn pool as that was the only attraction in town fun for kiddos. Oh sure Skyline drive is pretty and if you are a Civil War buff Woodstock is the perfect place for you. But if you are there for a wedding with small kids its going to be hell. As someone said, ‘Virginia is for suckers’. Ah well, lesson learned. Hey at least the wedding was a lot of fun.

So our second half in Hoboken was a great time. We finally got to meet the new Swift family and the Douglass family for some fun in New Jersey. ‘Bigger’ Erik (Our Erik was ‘Big Erik’) and Alison were our gracious hosts who let us sleep on the couch for a few nights, thanks guys! Also they became our tour guides into midtown Manhattan where we tromped through about 60 blocks worth of New York in one day, stopping at places like Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Saint Patricks Cathedral and Central Park. Tons of photos are in the gallery. We had a great time and now I am exhausted.

Posted by mobile phone:
Spent today in the pool all morning, hoping to wear out the kids. Seemed to have worked, all currently napping. Wedding is tonight at 6, outside and its friggin hot and very buggy there at the River’d Inn. We’ll see who passes out first.

Posted by mobile phone:
Well, we found beer. It didn’t help, the kids are still driving us nuts. We compensated today by wine tasting and then taking a cranky Erik screaming from the room and going on the world famous Skyline Drive. We drove into the clouds, literally. It rained. Erik napped.

Posted by mobile phone:
What a nerd I am. Thought I would blog this trip as it happens live! Arrived in woodstock VA today. Kids already driving us nuts. Must find liquor store..

My folks, Dennis and Jamie were also with us for the weekend and I think a good time was had by all. Lots of eating and napping , man that hammock is the bomb! Now of course since my body has been trained for an afternoon nap, its been tough to not get sleepy in the afternoon now. Basically we spent lots of time just hanging out, eating farm fresh eggs, visiting Saugatuck and South Haven and the beach. Dad also even took me to the secret fishing hole on one of the many Plumber farms near the house. Damn, those were some big bass!

After that it was smooth sailing, and we arrived at the lake in good time. The next few days again were spent eating and sleeping, and for me a bit of fishing as well. Actually we all went fishing although Erik was more interested in the casting part. Hey, he’s two. As long as he had a good time.

Welp, the mystery tour has been completed, and for those of you who guessed Las Vegas, YOU ARE CORRECT SIR.

As you can see from the photo, we stayed at the Paris Hotel. For a first time visitor, Vegas is very overwhelming! The sights, the sounds, the slot machines..they’re everywhere! And did I mention its dry and hot? 106 on Sunday when we left.Unfortunately we did not come home with more money in our pockets than when we left, but we did come home with some at least. We don’t have to sell the house which I suppose is a good thing. We tried our hand at Blackjack and basically got our asses handed to us in about 30 minutes, there went my $100! Slots also sucked our wallets dry but Saturday night I got hot and won some of it back.

We went and saw Penn and Teller, damn good show and hilarious too. But for the most part, we mostly walked and walked and walked and walked some more in between eating, eating, eating and eating more. Love them buffets. Nothing is free in this town anymore so we really didn’t do too much else. Overall, it was great time. And remember, what they say is true, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” Including one of Trishas shoes. Oh well. We did leave with our shirts on though.

Photos are here.

Holy cow its already July. We’re done blowing things up (except for some of our neighbors who insist on continuing grrrr) and our little summer vacation up to Glenn Michigan is done.

So, heres a brief synopsis of our trip (pictures). The first half of the week was blazing hot, and of course there was no air conditioning so we were roughing it by drinking much beer and eating ice pops. Food was one of the first things on our mind up there, must be the country air. We ate like pigs everyday it seemed, time to do some more running. My folks, Dennis and Jamie were also up there for the first weekend and we all had a grand old time.
Pretty much all we did the rest of the week was to either take naps, read, drink and eat or play on a playground (Eriks new obsession).

We made a couple of forays out of the homestead though. One day we went to Grand Rapids and checked out the Childrens Museum there. We also went to Saugatuck quite a bit to sample some of the “finer” foods and wine tasting. We walked out of there with a case and a half worth of wine no thanks to Fenn Valley Vineyard and Tabor Hill. Mmmmmmm, Tabor Hill…

Anyways, we also went to Holland for a day (booooring) and to yet another park near there. I tried finding a good inland lake to go fishing in but it was too hot so shore fishing was out of the question.

I do have to report we did get a visit from the resident ghost, Betty, in the house on Thursday night. There have been other incidents in the same room with different people but this was my first. We were all sleeping, Trisha and I were in the guest room (apparently this is Betty’s room) and it was still hot so the windows were open. The evening was very windy, the window shades were rattling constantly or the door kept creeping open. I was probably half asleep when I felt someone grab my upper arm as if to try and wake me. There was no mistaking that feeling. I woke up and asked Trisha what she wanted. She said that she wasn’t trying to wake me, so then who was? Ohh man…Insert Twilight Zone music here.

So since we clearly we overstaying our welcome in the house, we decided to leave Friday night instead of on Saturday. No way I’m sleeping in that room anymore! Hey I’m a wus, I’ll admit it.