Day #2 Arriving in Provincetown

Leaving Harrisburg in the cloudiness - with the top up - proved to be advantageous as the temperature got hotter as the day progressed.

We did take the bypass around New York City - but could still see the skyline/Empire State Building in the distance.  Driving in/near NYC was still absolutely C-R-A-Z-Y even with our GPS.  If you think drivers in your town drive nuts, you should visit NYC.  When we got done going through NYC, we were both nervous wrecks!

The geography began to change from a midwest type of tree/plant to a more traditional northern type of tree/plant with more variety of pines.

We made the long trek up the "arm" of the Cape, past noted towns such as Chatham, Hyannis, Orleans and then finally to Provincetown.  A town that is only 1 mile wide and 3 miles long, population 3400 and shares a good bit of real estate with the Cape Cod National Seashore.

Our hotel stood at the top of a small hill - majestically showing off the beautiful landscaping.  With parking nearly non-existent in this town built before cars, Jim circled the hotel several times before finding the teeny parking lot. The main house contains the dining room and kitchen, check-in desk and several rooms.  We were personally guided to our room in the Garden.  A cobble stone path and lovely landscaped yards lead us to our room 306.  Here were individual rooms, about 6, in one building each with their own exterior door, porch and outdoor table and chairs.  Inside this beautifully furnished room was a large screen tv, fireplace, king bed, small fridge, and huge bathroom with a giant jacuzzi tub/shower.

Because we were extremely tired, we decided to sample dinner a the hotel's Bistro.  First we were treated to crackers, cheese, veggies and wine reception (daily from 5-6pm) then dinner.  Jim had the chicken breast on risotto with glaze and asparagus.  I ate the steamed mussels (steamed in butter and white wine) with potatoes gratin.  Then it was back to the room for a much needed night's sleep!

Day #1 To Harrisburg we go!

Hope on I -70 east and you will traverse all of the rest of Ohio, a little tiny portion of West Virginia and a whole lotta Pennsylvania!

Along the way, we sampled many a Starbucks and hopped onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike, a toll road.  This brought us directly to our friends' home in Mechanicsburg, just outside of Harrisburg.  The Brady Bunch have been our friends for what seems to be forever.  Their eldest, Stephanie and our youngest, Erin were friends from Junior High through high school, then college and Stephanie was in Erin's wedding in 2009.  Steve (the Dad) was in the Air Force like Jim and Jenny is the Mom, with Heather and Matt as Stephanie's siblings.  Now living in Mechanicsburg, it was great to see them last night and wonderful to have dinner with them.  It was really generous of them to cook us dinner!

It was a very exhausting 8 hour drive and we were happy to see our bed at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Day #2 will see us getting all the way to Provincetown Massachusetts!

And so it begins!

Ok this is so cool. I can update the blog from the car. Little thing but cool nonetheless fie a tech geek! On the road at 10 am!

T- 2 Days!

Ok, so I AM married to a rocket scientist so yes my title sounds a tad bit like a count-down.  Well it is of sorts.

We are getting very excited.  We have found many, many extraordinary websites to help us find the really good stuff in the Cape Cod area.  Plus Portland too. Some are historical and, for example, I read that the Pilgrims did NOT land first in Plymouth. They landed in Provincetown, which is where we'll be staying for a few days.  Of course, pictures of Plymouth Rock are forthcoming!

  Of course, we'll put into the GPS every single Starbucks along the way - besides, we each have 2 freebie postcards from Sbux: one for a treat and one for a drink!

Since today is our Son in Law's birthday - we'll be prepping for that - we get to party with him tomorrow.  A big BBQ (yes, rain, you will just have to hold off for that).  Jim gets off work a little early and we'll be doing some last minute packing before the party.  Cos it is up bright and early on Saturday for the beginning of the BIG TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!

Another Stop Along The Way

Jim loves LL Bean.  Sooooooooo, since we'll be in the neighborhood, we will be visiting the LL Bean flagship store in Freeport Maine, just north of Portland.  I want to have my picture taken by the huge work boot in the front of the flagship store!

However, I also found the LL Bean outlet.  So I imagine we'll be stopping there too.

We also found a list of the restaurants featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri.  Yes, we plan on hitting as many of these fine eateries as possible.  You know us, we are true Foodies!

Route 66 in 2012

Due to circumstances way beyond our control, we've had to delay the Route 66 trip until 2012.  Sad, yes but we are going on a shorter road trip this year.

This year - Cape Cod!

We'll begin our adventures with a stopover to Harrisburg Pennsylvania to see our friends, the Brady's: Steve, Jenny, Heather, Matt and perhaps Stephanie.  We met them when Erin was in Jr High; their daughter, Stephanie was Erin's classmate.  Their friendship continued into high school at Carroll High School and the CHS Band.  Stephanie was in Erin's wedding in 2009.

We are staying at the Crowne Point Historic Inn and Spa in Provincetown Massachusetts!  In a place by the bay and near to Cape Cod, the rooms are delightfully individual with views that are said to be wonderful.  We'll see!

The grounds are professionally landscaped and our room is supposed to have both a fireplace and a jacuzzi tub - plus a deck with a water view.  Nice to be celebrating our 33rd anniversary - yes but a little early.

We plan on touring Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket - whale watching and perhaps a trip to the JFK museum.  Lobster rolls and walking at the Cape Cod National Seashore are also planned.

Stay tuned as we begin the adventure and post pictures daily!

Trial Run #1 ~ Brown County Indiana

While it didn't follow the Mother Road, we decided to go on a 3 day trial run.  We spent last weekend traveling to Brown County Indiana in the Pony (plus it was our 32nd wedding anniversary gift to each other)!


Much to our amazement, we (actually Jim) did an OUTSTANDING job of packing and got an incredible amount of stuff packed into the Pony.  Of course we had our traveling suitecase minis but I was able to pack all of my hair products and makeup in the mini also.  Our new Purdue insolated cooler served us well in keeping us well hydrated (and subsequently keeping the homemade fudge we purchased from melting in the unseasonably warm fall weather).  We took a snack bag, which was fine, but found we needed extra napkins and wetwipes - added those to our growing list of supplies.

But once the Pony was packed for the trip, it left, what we thought, little room for purchases made on the road....like the case of blackberry wine we purchased or the Purdue Scoreboard Clock we found.  Oh yes, BIG stuff.  Not little stuff......sigh.....


So, more rearranging we (actually Jim ) did to fit everything in and didn't have to leave anything behind!  We learned some valuable lessons about plotting bathrooms, packing and getting gas when cheap!  We also learned that I may need to get a new camera, as my old Sony has limited space ~ I think it is about 8 years old.  Plus we may need to take a laptop to dump pictures when the memory cards get full.  And they surely will!