Second Honeymoon/Babymoon

We decided to go on a little get-away for a belated honeymoon by ourselves. A friend of mine recommended Block Island, RI.

What a treat it was. For $230 we got two nights accommodation at a B&B, two bike rentals for two days, and two round trip ferry tickets. Considering the bikes alone would have normally cost $180 total, we made out pretty damn well! We went midweek after Labor Day, so that's why we got such a great deal.

Leaving Port Judith

Ahhhh, nothing like the fresh ocean air......

.....and getting soaked by sea spray. I hope you appreciate the bravery it takes in posting this picture---all just to get a laugh out of you! 

Gawd, is that what I really look like?

A little overcast, but lovely

This picture is of nothing special. I'm putting this up purely to gain sympathy. Do you see this monster hill I had to climb dragging my luggage in my fragile state?

What? It was a monster hill! And so what if I was all of 10 weeks pregnant. It was hard I tell you!

First meal. Yum. This is the FIRST fish and chips I've heard Paul actually compliment outside of Australia.

The view from our room. Not too shabby.

We did a lot of this during our stay.

So much so that we missed a good beach sunset.....

Paul really loved all the old houses and hotels.

....and the ice cream....

Here's my ice cream....

....and here it is again. See that big ol' booty hanging off the edge of the seat. My goodness! That is one ice-cream-alicious rump!

Oh, phew. Here's a more flattering view of me....please forget you ever saw that one of me on the boat.

Here's a cool restaurant called the Oar. Gee, I wonder where it got it's name.

We did lots of biking. We even biked to go hiking.

Seriously, after all this exercise how is it that I still have such a ample bottom?

It couldn't be all the ice-cream I've been eating these past two months, could it? Nah, don't be silly. That's not it.  

Still biking. I think for a pregnant woman I held up pretty damn well, thank you.

Paul held up pretty well too. He's got a bubble booty too. Our child is destined to be very pinchable.

We got to see a lot of the lovely landscape.

And of course we had to end our journey where we began...YUM!

We really loved Block Island. We both agreed though it was great going off  season and mid-week. There were so few people it was very enjoyable. As we were leaving Friday we saw the crowds pouring in--and we were happy to be going!

Honeymoon Part II

My mom left Sebasco and the four of us (me, Paul, and his parents) continued on to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. We went camping here:

Paul's parents are troopers. Not only did they sleep on the hard ground, but they liked it! This was around the time my picture taking was winding down, so I don't have any pictures of our campsite. We went to Acadia National Park, which was gorgeous.

 

Like father, like son. Paul makes friends wherever he goes....

My handsome husband. Good job, Sandy and Graham. I like your gene pool.

View of the same beach from atop the mountain.

This was a restaurant in the park where we got tea and popovers. Oh. My. Heavens. They bring them out hot with butter and jam and they just melt in your mouth.

Up in the clouds

Paul and I are a couple of weirdos.

Yup, a match made in heaven.

Give us props and a camera and this is what happens....

Downtown Bar Harbor. We were bummed because we wanted to go whale watching but it was too foggy.

I just missed a great moment with Paul and his dad here having a good laugh. There were some really sweet moments of bonding between the two of them. Actually, we all had sweet moments of bonding. This time together was a real blessing for us as a family. We went back to this pub twice because they had great seafood and beer at a great price. By the last day in Maine though I think we'd all had enough chowder, fried seafood, and lobster to last us the rest of the year!

We had to drive home all day in this. Yuck. Nine hours of rain!

But as usual, Paul's parents kept a good attitude. We got home late that night and had a relaxing day at home the next day. We had a cook out with my mom.

Next, we went to the Big Apple. Paul and his mom have been but Graham had not. Our first night there we went to a fancy French restaurant. Ooolala. It was delish. We had a fancy bottle of wine. Paul and Sandy had to hold Graham and I back from ordering another one.

I tell you, that Sandy can pass as a regular New Yorker. She does not look like a tourist at all. At least we were in Times Square where one would expect to see a tourist.

It was when we were walking through Brooklyn at midnight with all her gear strapped to her torso that I worried a bit!

We liked to tease Sandy about her constant picture taking and videography, but she knows one day we'll have to eat our words.

I made them do this. Three Australians in NYC with an UGG sign in the background? Had to be done.

Remember when I said before like father like son? Here's Graham chatting it up with our cab driver.

Now, I know people like to think New Yorkers are rude, but it's just not true. Even in Brooklyn at midnight with all the camera gear strapped on and our I-heart-NY t-shirts (we so obviously didn't belong) they were happy to point us in the right direction.....but I don't think they knew quite what to do when Graham would try to chat them up on the subway. I don't think they were completely prepared for friendliness on this level.

I just adore this picture of Sandy. So lovely. 

Our last night there we went to see Chicago on Broadway. Of course I didn't want to disturb the performance, but here I am at intermission enjoying my wine. No more of that for a while. Boooo.

The next morning Paul and I dropped his parents off at the airport and we were on our way. A trip to NYC just isn't complete without a good traffic jam. We got up to 25 mph here. WhoooHoo! Way to end our vacation!

We were sad to see Paul's parents go (and I was sad to have to go back to work). We made so many great memories. Oh, and we made a baby too!

Honeymoon!! Part I

Since this is a travel blog and since Paul's parents, Sandy and Graham, are featured heavily in these posts I think it's worth noting that Graham has a fear of flying. After deciding to brave the long trip out to America for the wedding, his parents decided to make a whole trip of it. First, they stopped in Hawaii (lucky devils), then did a whole west-coast of America tour, followed by our wedding. They hitched along on our honeymoon (we were glad to have them), then finished off their trip in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Perth before going home to Adelaide.

I think for a man who was scared of flying he did pretty well. As they say in Australia "Good on ya, mate!"

It's a really good thing that I'm writing this because if I tried to say that out loud I would sound like THE biggest dork.

Ok, now to the honeymoon. Paul's parents and my mom headed up to Maine a few hours ahead of us. We got on our way in the early afternoon after running some errands. It was a five hour drive, so we had to find ways to amuse ourselves. Paul was super psyched to get this back as change from a toll booth.

Tootsie girls taking in the view...

Let me just say, it helps to have an Australian husband. Americans love, love, love Australians. They love all that "g'day mate" and kangaroos business. Pretty much every American I know wants to go to Australia and just adores Paul's accent. He could tell them they were a steaming pile of shit and they'd smile. Luckily he's a nice guy, so coupled with the accent he gets stuff. He gets out of speeding tickets. He gets late fees waived. He gets free upgrades. When we arrived at the resort, Sebasco we had the best room in the lighthouse! Check the view:

We just put our feet up, relaxed, and enjoyed the view.

 

Let me tell you what, the views at this place were beautiful.

...and so was this one.

We had a beautiful dinner our first night there (without the parents)

So, so, so romantic....

I think we had our fill of clam chowder and lobster and it all started here. YUM!

So sweet and mild mannered....and dorky in that bib!

GET IN MY BELLY!

...and back to sweet again.

The next day we enjoyed a boat tour with the parents.

 

They don't look like tourists at all do they?

So while we were out we saw this boat! It all happened so fast that I didn't even get to take any other pictures until it was too late....

JUST KIDDING! Hahahahahaaaa! Two different boats, two different places. I just couldn't help myself.

We were only at Sebasco a few days, but I would highly recommend it. If anything, go up for a few days to use their salt water pool, enjoy their activities, or just read a book with a beautiful view...but be sure you're there on a Wednesday.

Why Wednesday you ask? Well on Wednesdays this happens:

Lobsta bake. Yeee-freakin-haw! Hallalujah! Amen!

See how there's eggs on the lobster bake? Well here's an interesting little fact: the eggs help the chef know when the lobster is done. When the eggs are cooked, so is the lobsta!

This was for sure a highlight of our trip. I mean, the food was out of this world. They had coleslaw, potato salad, clams, corn on the cob, rolls, clam chowder, 2 free alcoholic beverages, and blueberry pie.

Excuse me a moment.....

Ok, I was salivating just thinking of it. Pull yourself together, woman!

I wasn't the only one who enjoyed myself....just take a look at this happy face:

Graham enjoyed what he came to call chow. That's Australian for Chowder. Kinda like how Paul calls Stop & Shop "Shop & Stop." Often you'd hear something along these lines:

"Sandy, you know what I like? I like that chow. That's bloody delicious! Beautiful! Kids, where can we get some chow?"

Paul: "It's chow-der, dad. Chowder. Get it right."

"I don't care what it's called. It's bloody beautiful. That's what I want for dinner."

The whole time I'd be giggling in the sidelines.

Ahhh, good times. We all enjoyed the lobsta bake.

 My mother doesn't eat lobster. How do you go to Maine and not eat lobster??

 It was a beautiful start to our honeymoon and we were so happy to have the time to bond as a family. I really lucked out in the parent-in-law department. They are good people and they get along ridiculously well with my mother. How often does that happen? I shudder at the horror stories I've heard about in-laws. No, we are very lucky. It's hard not to recognize that with a view like this and a belly full of lobster.