Goodbye 2011

Easily, 2009 could have been called "the year of the concert" - for whatever reason I went to a LOT of concerts that year ("a lot" compared to the none that I usually go to!).  2010 was "the year of the fire departments".  Between visits, activities, open houses, etc., we spent a lot of time in and around fire trucks, fire houses, and with fire men and women.

This past year, 2011, will definitely go down as The Year of the Travel.  I took so many trips this year, I can't even remember where all of them took us!

The boys and I traveled to Long Island for a week in January and to Albany in May to visit Tiffany and Brielle while they were there on a work detail.  The whole family drove down to Pennsylvania in May for a fireman's convention and the boys and I made the trip again in August for a friend's wedding.  We took several trips up North to see family and stay at Grandma and Grandpa's "camp".  We went camping in various locations with numerous friends and frequented many festivals, carnivals, parades, and County/State Fairs.

 NYC, January 2011

 Pennsylvania Fire Expo, May 2011

Alex with Pink Eye in Albany

Albany, May 2011

Pennsylvania, August 2011

The highlight of our year, of course, was our cross-country train trip from NY to Portland, OR.  The boys and I traveled a total of nearly 140 hours on the train trip of a lifetime!!!  It was definitely a trip that will live in my my top 5 experiences of all time!

We had a lot of firsts this year, too...first ice skating trip, first family bowling excursion, first demolition derby, first controlled burn with the Fire Department, first day of school (Kindergarten for Nate and Nursery School for Alex), first swimming lesson, first tee ball game, first tractor pull....We got our first baby chicks who grew up to give us our first fresh eggs.  We found our first baby turtle that we made a friend until he grew up to outgrow his cage.  

I did my first photo shoots for people outside my immediate family, got my first kayak for my birthday, lost a couple classmates from high school, welcomed my new niece, Coraleigh Shae, met some photography goals I had set for myself, and had a stellar year at work with my grant success rate!  This year was also the first year (since getting married 6 years ago!) that Dave and I actually got to spend our anniversary together!!  He got Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off, too...finally his work rotation paid off!!  We'll take it every 6-7 years :)

This coming year I hope to meet more goals, purge more clutter from my life, be more positive, and spend as much time as physically possible with my family and friends.  I hope you all have a great 2012!  

I learned...

While traveling some 2,200 miles on a train with my boys and two of our favorite people, I learned quite a bit.

First and foremost I learned that I am not crazy, as many thought when I told them of our plans.  I knew it would be a challenge with a 2 and (barely) 5-year-old but I vowed to go into it with an open mind and an adventurous soul and was blessed with immeasurable rewards in return.  I want to thank Tiffany and Brielle for taking on this journey with us because not only did it make the trip that much more fun and memorable, but it gave me the courage and support I needed to forge ahead when so many thought I was insane!  Especially since when Tiff signed on for this trip she originally thought I was suggesting a trip to Portland, MAINE.  HA!

I learned that people FROM Oregon, do NOT pronounce it Or-eh-gone as I had, but rather, Or-uh-gin with a soft g sound).

I learned that the people here are all amazing! Sweet. Helpful. Friendly. Polite. Even, dare I say, genuine? Great group of people!

I learned that a city really can be clean and cultured and safe and pleasant all at the same time!!  Portland must have some amazing systems in place because I have never seen a cleaner City.  The buildings were clean, the streets were clean (and liter free!), and everywhere you went they offered "green" options (hold the bag, skip the coffee liner, reduce, recycle, reuse!).  They even had these most fabulous solar powered garbage compost bins.  Throw your garbage in and solar energy compacts it somehow.  Pretty cool.  It must be a healthy city, too...everywhere you went there were bike racks (even little kid ones outside their daycares/schools) and there was a big push for biking, for example, bike trails and bike lanes).  I waited at a stop light in a line of cars that was just as long as the line of bikers on their daily commute.  So cool!

I learned that train travel is so much better than plane travel. Even with the delays and extra time it takes, it sure beats the anxiety and stuffiness of flying. I’d take the adventure over the convenience any day!!  You have to go into it with a flexible attitude but that is just up my alley!  We were treated like royalty and most of the staff were wonderful and sweet!

I learned that traveling anywhere with my two small children is NOT crazy, it’s FUN. They are troopers. They adjust so easily to any circumstance or situation, they’re flexible, they go with the flow and they love the adventure as much as I do. Sure they had their moments when listening, behaving, and taking naps were not their strongest skills, but considering the excitement, the chaos, the schedule, and the time changes, I think they were amazing!!

I learned that I really do have the best family! They are worth traveling across the WORLD for, much less across the country! I have been blessed with a family I am proud to call mine. I wish Marc & Lindsay the best of everything in their new life together and am so glad I was able to make it to their wedding. What a great time! Welcome to the family, Lindsay!!

I learned that this country of ours is gorgeous.  Just as I had made an assumption that certain states were boring (North Dakota was flat, Montana was snowy and blowy), our return trip would show me the beautiful trees "sugared" in freshly fallen snow in North Dakota.  Or I'd get to see Montana on a bright, sunny day with the bluest sky you've ever seen!  And Washington...oh, Washington.  What a beautiful state!  The mountains and the lakes...and how the later reflects the former!  It was a sight to behold!  I could spend days just soaking in the sights of Washington!  Oregon was gorgeous itself - everything covered in the most glorious green you've ever seen.  Coming from the drab brown and stark white of winter in New York, this was magnificent!  

Most importantly, I learned that if you don't DO what you dream, then you're just hollowly TALKING about your goals.  And talking about it doesn't get you any closer to actually living your dreams.  I am so glad to have made this trip and look forward to many more adventures to check off my "bucket list"!

  

The story of how our cross country journey came to be...

Oh, where do I start? What an amazing trip to Oregon!  Many friends/relatives following my trip on Facebook asked for details on how this trip came about and how it was planned.  So I thought I'd tell the "story" of how the trip came to be...

When I first got word that my cousin, Marc, was getting married in March in OREGON, I thought there was NO way I'd be able to make it across the country for the second time in less than a year.  I had just flown to Arizona for my cousin, Todd's, wedding in April 2010 and was quite sure that finances and time off would preclude me making another trip of that caliber.  Then I got the official (fabulously funky) invite in the mail and a sweet, handwritten note from the bride that said she understood it was a haul but that she'd really love it if I could make it because I had made her feel especially welcome when she met our family the previous year.  How can I say no to that?!?  It moved me beyond words and I knew I had to be there to see my cousin make this genuinely fantastic woman his wife!  

So I started thinking about how I would pull it off.  My husband had zero interest in going to Oregon.  So I figured I'd be going it alone.  I definitely couldn't finagle another trip (like Arizona) without the kids so whatever my plan, it had to involve them.  I knew flying would be expensive (not to mention STRESSFUL) so I googled some info on distance and travel times and thought driving might be an option.  Of course that would be an adventure and when I think ADVENTURE, I think of my person, Tiff....so I texted her and asked if she'd be up for a 40 hour road trip to Portland, OR.  She immediately "signed on".  Of course she thought I meant Portland, MAINE, so she couldn't understand why it would take 40 hours but once we got THAT straightened out, she remained committed to my crazy plan and the excitement and planning began!  

After doing some research and running some numbers, Tiff suggested the train option and I was intrigued.  We came to the conclusion that it would cost about the same to take the train as it would to fly all 5 of us there, but in contrast, what an experience the train would be!  I had reservations about flying with my children anyway and really didn't want Nate to get on a plane, arrive across the country 8 hours later and never fully comprehend how very far away from home we had traveled.  So, we opted to pay for the adventure of an experience we could learn from and remember forever over the convenience of getting to our destination in 8 hours or less.  As they say, the fun is not in the destination, but in the journey!!

Enter skepticism and overall negativity and you hear a whole lot of people telling you you're crazy for embarking on such a trip.  Friends of mine thought 63.5 hours on a train with two small children sounded horrible.  My husband thought I was insane for even wanting to do this much less for doing it via train.  Someone even told me the whole plan sounded like three days of hell!  

Needless to say it was none of the above.  I am so thankful to have taken this trip and forever grateful to Tiffany and Brie for coming along!  Not only would I never have had the courage to go it alone, but it quite simply wouldn't have been the same without them there!  They are an extension of us and it just feels natural to experience these things with our family there!  I wonder where our next journey will lead us....?

Portland is...

Portland is...

Clean

(GORGEOUSLY)  Green

(and environmentally GREEN)!!

Intellectually Stimulating

Friendly

Beautiful

Cultured and Artsy

 Fun and Funky

I want to go back and spend another week just perusing books at Powell's or checking out local hot spots like Voodoo Doughnut!  What a fabulous place!  Everything was within walking distance or trolley!  Everyone was friendly, helpful, polite, patient, and kind.  

There seemed to be a lot of homeless vagabond types roaming about but even they seemed happy and content with their lot.  Unlike the homeless here who I believe are generally down trodden, out of work, disabled, and/or mentally ill...the homeless people we saw (everywhere!) generally seemed to be young, nomadic hippie types who relished this lifestyle.  I could, of course, be wrong...but even their homeless population seemed to fit right in and be accepted by the culture there.  Very bizarre.  

Portland is a very healthy and green place.  People ride bikes in such great quantity that they have bike lanes on every road, bike racks outside building (even a kid-sized one outside the Montessori School) and at one red light we sat at there were as many bicyclists waiting for the light as there were cars in our lane.  It was amazing to me.  I can't wait to go back to explore some more!

GREEN with Envy

Oregon has to be the greenest state I've ever seen.  Apparently because of the moist climate, everything here is so lush...Moss and vegetation grow plentifully everywhere.  The roads are green, the trees are green (NOT just the leaves like back home - the WHOLE tree!), even walls, mailboxes, roofs, and signage is green.  There is green as far as the eye can see.  It's GORGEOUS!

Since green is my favorite color, I particularly love this state.

Tiffany and I traveled through Washington Park today and I was in awe with the sights to behold.   Everything was so beautiful.  And when the sun came out, the green almost glowed.  I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to drive around and snap some photos of the beautiful scenery.  It fed my soul.