CT day 2

We are home! I love a good quickie trip - recharges the mind and soul. Laundry is whirring away, kids are sleeping - let me journal it quick before life happens!

Ben fell asleep pretty quick after his head hit the pillow. He was right on the edge of the bed and at one point while Em was trying to get comfortable she reached out for him - I swear it looked like she was trying to push him off the bed - but she swears she was worried because he was too close to the edge and she was grabbing him to pull him back. Daddy swooped in and repositioned him, Em still took forever to fall asleep. Finally Daddy put on some mellow music and WHAM - outskees. Note to self, get a CD of mellow songs in Emma's player for future night owl nights.

He still made his way back to the edge...

At one point in the middle of the night Ben burst out laughing. I knew he talked in his sleep from past "sleepovers", but this time I was cracking up - I thought at first he was crying, but when I realized he was giggling and giggling and giggling, I got the giggles, too, and couldn't fall back to sleep! Then just as I was dozing off, Em woke up with itchy eyes and a stuffy nose. I got up and gave her an allergy pill and about 20 tissues which she filled (possibly due to us getting the "pet" room - not quite sure how well the room gets vacuumed after each furry guest).

They both woke up promptly at 7am asking to go swimming. Greeeeeeeeeeeat. It was cloudy and chilly but that did not deter these kids! They suited up (I did not) and jumped right in!

The before...

The after!

Needless to say, they braved the chill and swam the early morning away. At one point they were very excited to realize that "Hey, in water I can pick you up and you are not heavy!"

After the swim, we FORCED them to exit the pool to go sightseeing - they were not at all happy about this. I've realized at this age we could probably just check into the local hotel with a swimming pool once a month and these kids would think we were vacationing every 4 weeks! So fancy!

We checked out of the hotel and headed into downtown seaport Mystic. It was only 9:30am and most of the stores / shops don't open until 11am, so we wandered the streets in vain. Why in vain? Emma was OBSESSED with finding a "souvenir shop" as she needed a tangible memory of the trip. The only store open was - surprise! - a toy store with no "souvenir" type goods, just toys and crafts and goodies that I was determined NOT to buy them. They both pouted but Ben got over it pretty fast. Emma - not so much. She whined for HOURS that we did not buy her anything from that dang toy store. Argh.

Daddy holding onto her ponytail so she doesn't jump in her misery.

HOOOOOONNNNNNNK! Wait, what? The draw bridge is going up!! Sweet!! I'll forget about the toy for a few minutes and smile!

Their first drawbridge...

After the drawbridge returned to it's normal position we excitedly walked across it to see how it works.

Look, Mom, the wheel part!

How cute is downtown Mystic?

Super cute! This pic does not do it justice.

We headed out of Mystic and traveled East towards Rhode Island. We pitstopped in this adorable old village named Stonington, CT, to see this awesome bit of history.

 War of 1812 memorial.

Emma was still bawling over the toy store incident of 2014, so she stayed in the car 10 feet away while we enjoyed the memorial and the beach.

My handsome fellas.

Daddy likes to eat - no secret - and he enjoys a good foodie show. So when he realized we were only 45 minutes away from this Diners, Dives, and Drive*Ins recommended place, we hit the road- literally and drove into Rhode Island.

I'll call this a Dive.

We arrived at 11:30am and there was a wait list. This usually means it is going to be a pretty yummy place! Daddy got the gorgonzola burger and I got the salmon burger wrapped in phyllo dough.

Um, YUMMMMM. Definitely worth the drive and worth the wait (and the whining by Em).

After lunch we let the kids get a few wiggles out at a park next door:

Wiggle it, just a little bit.

...Before hopping back in the car and driving to New London, CT where we were catching a different ferry line back to Long Island. We had about three hours to explore before our ferry left so we started out at the waterfront and played around in this whale's tail fountain. Super cute!

Can we take our sandals off? NOOOOOO!

This Civil War memorial was next to the whale tail - so much history to explore in New England!

Take my picture, Mom!

We headed over to Fort Trumbull and were happily surprised to realize we could wander the grounds.

What's this place?

Fort Trumbull is known originally for protecting New London from attacking British. Ben was soooooo excited to see the cannons.

Daddy teaching the kids how they rolled to aim.

A little "scale" for you. Can you see the children?

Defending the fort from PIRATES!

After enjoying an important piece of history, we headed onto to our scheduled ferry only to be very surprised it was a teeny tiny one - unlike the beasts we usually take across the sound. Adventure!

Pick our minivan! (Center left)

Ben enjoyed doing the ferry kids book until he realized it was too much like "school" and promptly tossed it aside...

Back to school in 4 weeks?? WHAT?

We made it back to Lond Island Orient Point (about 90 min from home) around 6pm and stopped for dinner near the ferry. We had clam chowder (outstanding) and calamari (boring) and stuffed mushrooms (eh) for dinner. The trouble with having a chef for a husband is I don't enjoy restaurant anymore... The food isn't nearly as good as I get at home for 1/3 the price. Go figure. Ben ate nothing - but that shouldn't surprise you! Emma HOUSED her clam chowder - that's our adventurous taste bud girl.