Rhode Island & Massachusetts

At the very beginning of this year, Scott and I started talking about wanting to take a fun vacation this year so that we could fly one last time with Hannah for free before she turns 2. We quickly decided that we wanted to visit my uncle in Rhode Island. It was a very good decision. This past Saturday we got back from our fabulous, week-long vacation to Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

The pics...


Day 1: Flight to Rhode Island, Hannah's motion sickness, & Pizza

I actually don't have any pics of this day because my camera was going berserk and was erasing all the pics I was taking. Just know that Hannah did really well on both of our flights, with the exception of puking all over Scott at the end of our first take-off. Poor Hannah. And poor smelly Scott. We arrived safely in Rhode Island and were greeted with love and pizza by my Uncle Zen and his husband Jon.


Day 2: Church, Walk on Beach, Chatting, & Good Food

Scott, Hannah, and I attended a Young Single Adult ward in Rhode Island, which was pretty interesting. We then enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of talking and getting to know Zen and Jon on a deeper level. What a blessing! We also enjoyed a nice walk on the beach that is a block-and-a-half from their home. We then enjoyed a delicious meal prepared and grilled by Jon.

What a cutie! She loved the sand but not the water this time.

Jon, Hannah, Scott, & Zen

Hannah sure loves her daddy! There were way more shells on this beach than on the beaches in California.

Day 3: Burn, Boston, & Seafood

After 20 months of successfully making sure that Hannah never got near my hot hair straightener, she grabbed it when I thought Scott was watching her and burned herself pretty badly. Luckily, Zen is a doctor and helped us try to treat Hannah's burns (she would not let us put on any band-aids). After the burn incident, Scott, Hannah. and I took a train into Boston and managed to have a great day there. Zen and Jon later took us out to dinner at a nice seafood restaurant. The food was delicious, and the company was fabulous. Scott even joined me and Zen to try his first oysters. Yum!

This pic was taken 3 days after she got burned. Poor Hannah. Ouch!

Boston Commons had a few leaves on the ground.

We walked along most of the Freedom Trail.

We had some yummy Indian food.

And Hannah looked cute in her red, white, and blue dress.

This was Hannah's favorite part of the day--neighing at Paul Revere's horse. :)

Day 4: Cape Cod

It was a day full of driving and beautiful scenery and quaint little towns.

 Our first stop was the now-abandoned grocery store where Scott worked for a Summer many years ago.

Lunch on a bench in Woods Hole...

...with a beautiful view of the ocean and Martha's Vineyard.

Nobska Lighthouse near Woods Hole. So pretty.

 The beach in Chatham. Hannah has been to both coasts within the last couple of months. Lucky girl!

The ocean was beautiful but dangerous there.

We were hoping to climb the lighthouse in Chatham, but it is only open every other Wednesday. And we were there on a Tuesday.

 We stopped for ice cream, and Hannah's favorite part was the kid-sized table and chairs.

 Our last stop was in Provincetown, which is a bit less green than the rest of Cape Cod but is still a fun beach town.

 We had fish and chips for dinner there.

Day 5: Adventures in the Pouring Rain

I had initially wanted to go to Plymouth and Plimouth Plantation on this day, but Scott didn't like that idea, so we decided to drive to Newport, Rhode Island, instead. We had a lazy morning waiting for the downpour of rain to stop, but it never did (thanks to the remnants of Hurrican Isaac). We finally ventured out around noon, and we soon regretted it. After going through several humongous puddles (even worse than in Venezuela) and seeing a few cars get stuck, we decided to go back home after a quick stop at the store. That evening, Scott cooked dinner for all of us, and we enjoyed more quality time with Zen and Jon.

I took the rainy-day opportunity to take some pics of Zen and Jon's beautiful home.

 

 This is our comfy guest suite...

 

 ...with a cute attached bathroom.

 This is the front of the house...

 ...and this is the pretty fish pond that Zen and Jon built in their gorgeous backyard. Hannah absolutely loved looking at these fish multiple times a day.

This is Zen and Jon's beautiful private lane leading to their house...

 ...and the view of the ocean from the end of their lane. It was a little too cloudy to see clearly.

 

Hannah loved taking a couple of baths in this "swimming pool." Splash-a-mania! :)

Day 6: Salem, Massachusetts

We drove a couple of hours to Salem to see the sites.

We ate lunch in a cute park.

In the Salem Witch Museum, we learned a lot about Salem's history and the famous witch trials. 

 This is one of the old cemeteries there.

Scottie must have been naughty. :) 

Scott thinks I look right at home here.

Hannah's favorite part of Salem was this awesome toy store, which we let her play in twice. She certainly practiced her screaming both times we had to leave.

 Our fam with Samantha from "Bewitched."

We got home in time for Hannah to spend time playing with Jon...

 ...and Zen! :)

Day 7: Brown University, Zen's Work, & Red Sox game!

Scott, Hannah, and I drove to Providence and explored Brown University.

 It is a beautiful campus.

 Then we drove to Bradley Hospital where Zen works as one of the 2 head child psychiatrists who supervise medical students from Yale, Harvard, and other good universities. We didn't get to see Zen in action, but I know that he is an amazing doctor. He is absolutely great with kids, and he is just so gentle, patient, and kind with everyone.

 Hannah wore her Cubs jumper for the first half of the day.

 We took a walk to the beach.

Hannah still didn't want to wade her feet in the ocean. :)

We took the train to Fenway Park, and Hannah enjoyed spending some time with her uncles.

 We were a little late and fortunately missed a good portion of a rain delay.

 Ya gotta love Fenway--even if it doesn't compare to Wrigley. :)

Hannah brushed up on her Red Sox knowledge. Love those eyes!

These two wonderful men continued their habit of spoiling us rotten.

 Hannah got a new Red Sox shirt and a stuffed Wally, the Green Monster.

Go, Red Sox! Too bad they lost.

Hannah zonked out on the train ride home.

Day 8: Pack, Chill, & Fly Home

We packed, and then Hannah said good-bye to Zen and Jon's two cute little dogs. All week Hannah loved the dogs from a distance but then screamed bloody murder whenever they went near her. Poor doggies.

 

Hannah was sad to say good-bye to her uncles, and she even waved good-bye to me and Scott.

 Hannah did well on the flights home. No throwing up this time. She was fortunate to get her own seat on 3 of our 4 total flights. She loved coloring and "reading" the airplane magazines and pamphlets.

 And she enjoyed staring out the window. Our only excitement on this flight was when some drunk dude lit up a cigarette and ended up with 4 Homeland Security officers waiting for him when he got off the plane in SLC.

What a snuggly sweetie pie!

We had an amazing vacation! We started missing Uncle Zen & Uncle Jon as soon as we drove away from their house! :)