It's been awhile, but we're back! Home from our latest adventure.
WARNING! This is a HUGE post! Tons - O - Pics!
One night Bob & I were sitting around, listening to music, surfing the net and chatting about the possibility of a summer festival. We checked out some of the local festivals...okay, but the line ups were not knocking our socks off. Then Bob brought up Rothbury.
An art, music & eco-friendly festival in Rothbury, Michigan. Then we saw that String Cheese Incident was headlining! Cheese is one of our favorite bands and they have been on hiatus for four years and we missed them - SOLD! We called Grands Capano who were more than happy to hang with Tripp & Cedar while we were gone and Viola! instant vacation!
Tripp showing off our Rothbury tickets
......but first we had a couple of things to take care. The mini van, who we had named Magilla Gorilla, started leaking power steering fluid and the mechanic said he had to remove the entire drive shaft because it was falling off the van!! The mechanic said finding a new veichle was a good idea! We decided to do just that
Magilla Gorilla
....but 1st, one last night at the drive in with Gorilla.
The drive in is AWESOME! We love it! We arrive early, get a good spot, blow up the air mattress and make our "nest", eat pizza, drink beer, play, socialize with our community and see 2 movies for the price of one! But the best part is, Tripp can go to sleep. So Bob & I get to continue seeing new release movies - it's a date night - beer, pizza, movie :-)
For our last drive in with Magilla we watched UP! Tripp loved it! He stayed up for the whole movie and laughed out loud! His favorite part was definitely the talking dogs...and the squirrels!
The 2nd movie was The Hangover. Perfect. 1st movie for the kids, 2nd for the grown ups......and yes, Tripp drifted off to lullaby land as soon as he realized the cartoon movie was over.
in our drive in "nest"
Back to the car hunt:
We did our research. Checked Consumer Reports, Edmonds.com, CarFax, etc... and we decided to check out several cross over/wagons - Dodge Cavalier, Pontiac Vibe, Ford Focus, etc...but we fell for the Kia Rondo. They call it a micro van. Smaller than the mini van but still lots of trunk/wagon space. Most importantly, the back seats fold down and create a level trunk / wagon, perfect for the blow-up mattress for the drive in! We haven't tried it out at the drive in yet...but soon, very soon.
Red Rover & Stella
Spacious!
We test drove a couple of different Rondos in the area. The big deciding factor - cruise control. Un-negotiable! With a 30 hour round trip cross country drive quickly approaching we decided to go back to the dealer and make an offer the next day. We had a wedding to go to so we walked in the door told them our out-the-door price and told them if they could make it happen in 2 hours, they had a sell; otherwise we would shop elsewhere. We made a deal. Got the car for our price, dropped Tripp off at a friends and headed out to Woodstock, CT for the wedding of our friends Sarah & Karen.
These ladies are awesome. Karen works in the drama dept with Bob and Sarah is a writer, musician, songwriter, handy-lady, etc....Sarah & Karen have been together for 27 years! They both work tirelessly for "Love make a Family" and were very much a part of legalizing same sex marriage in CT. In fact they were so involved that a Republican State Official came to the wedding to present them with a signed statement of support and recognition by our State Reps!
The wedding was at their home. A lovely house in the country with a view of the land and the sunset.
The UCONN Crew
It was a beautiful ceremony and party. Live music, toasts in Navajo, Hebrew, and an Irish blessing too!
We were glad to be there but, could not stay as they celebrated into the wee hours of the night, we had a little man to go pick up!
Tripp had spent the day with buddy Dominic.
The next day neighbor Derick came over to show off his new 4 wheeler. That quickly turned into a plan for the parents to gather for a fire after the wee ones were safely tucked into bed.
I love it when a plan comes together!
...but we did postpone packing for our trip because of it - fire & friends are always worth it!
We woke up early, packed up the car and headed off to Long Island!
Before we hit the road I mentioned that I needed a good pic of my babies to take with us to Michigan. This was the first time we have ever left Tripp for more than 3 days! I needed a good pic! As if on cue, Tripp got up, walked over to Cedar and smiled. I said, "don't move!" and ran upstairs to get the camera.....when I returned....they were both still sitting there! Waiting patiently for me to take their picture.
What Cuties!
We spent a couple of days in NY to help Tripp with the transition. While in NY we made sure to get some PIZZA! They also had homemade Italian Ice - Tripp's favorite! So many flavors!! Tripp chose Canolli Cream. He gobbled it up!
Notice Tripp's necklace? It's mine.
Tripp liked my necklace and asked to wear it..
..then he didn't want to give it back! So during his nap and I made it Tripp size.
The cheesy Mom in me likes to believe he knew we were leaving and wanted a piece of us to keep with him. :-)
During our stay in NY, I turned 33.
Yummy Carvel Cake!
Then we packed up and hit the road for Rothbury!
We decided to hit the road a little early so we could make a quick trip to Chicago. To visit our good friends Tony & Jayme and meet their son Van.
It was great seeing old friends. This was one of the times we really missed Tripp. A music festival the size of Rothbury, is not the right place for a 2 year old...but he would love Van! He is just under 2 and a ham! Bob & I agree that the boys would definitely be instant friends - just like their Dadas.
and he loves the drum!
We were there during the work week so Bob & I showed ourselves around Chicago.
Great Public Art! They also had plans up on display of future art installations!
The Bean
Millinium Field - designed by Frank GehryWe were ther during The Taste of Chicago.
Here's Bob having a "taste"
Lake Michigan
The "fresh water ocean"
While we were gone on our adventure, Tripp was having one of his own with Grands Capano & Uncle Brian.
While we were gone on our adventure, Tripp was having one of his own with Grands Capano & Uncle Brian.
As soon as we were off the property the spoiling began.
Gamma and Uncle Brian took him to Johnny Rockets for lunch.....
Gamma getting licked by a calf.
She really will do anything for Tripp.
not so sure about the Camel
Bunny with GaGa
Piggies! Oink! Oink!
In Rothbury....
We were celebrating with music and friends
Night 1 with Keller Williams
There was installation art everywhere!
In the trees, in the woods, infront of the porta potty, etc...
This is the center of an installation maze. The Heart.
Stinky Hunts
My folks made sure Tripp earned his keep. One of his tasks was the Stinky Hunt. Cedar is getting old and is not so good at going to "the spot" so daily hunts were necissary. Tripp loved it! He knew exactly where the shovel was kept, locate the poopie and step on the shovel with GaGa.
He also had the task of stepping on ants in the driveway.
Tripp likes to make sure he got'em!
Chillin with Grands.
Tripp is a cuddler. If you put on a movie or an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, he will snuggle up on the couch or in a chair with you. Pressed up against you and he usually likes to hold a finger.
In Rothbury....
Hanging with camp friends
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