Joshua Tree and Palm Springs (Nov. 2021)

 

Since we had been to LA so many times, we wanted to check out somewhere new that we hadn't been to before. Joshua Tree is only about two hours away from Dan's house (when you leave at the right time!). We left in the morning and went straight to the Joshua tree visitor center to get a map and some hats for the kids. It was already pretty hot outside. From there we went to our first hike called the Hidden Valley Nature Trail Loop. This is a one mile loop that circles a small valley surrounded by large boulders. There were signs along the way explaining the different plants and animals. We even saw a group of people scaling the large rocks! This was our favorite hike due to its kid friendliness and scenery! 

We drove a short distance to The Discovery Trail. This is a 0.7 mile loop that was actually designed by kids, for kids! As you walk on the path you pass through a series of washes and canyons, and of course there was plenty of boulders for everyone to climb on. 

We then drove to Keys View Trail where we were welcomed with beautiful views of the valley and Palm Springs in the distance. The kids love a good view and they were pretty impressed! We didn't stay long, but it was plenty of time to take in the beauty of the area. 

After that we drove about 45 minutes to the house we rented, just outside of the park. The kids took a well deserved nap while we enjoyed the quiet!

The next morning we loaded up the 9 of us and drove to Skull Rock. This was supposed to be a fairly easy 1.7 mile hike through the rocks, but all of the kids (plus Dan) kept getting distracted by climbing the rocks. They exerted so much energy that they didn't want to hike the rest of the trail! So the four of us, plus A decided to push on. Except that everyone was complaining about being too hot and tired - we made a decision when we got to the road to follow it up to the car. It took a little longer than expected... 

This is the only picture I got of the actual Skull Rock 

The whole crew

Me and Dan the Man

Walking along the road... 

From there Dan's family and J went home and we drove to Cholla Cactus Garden. This garden was so cool! The cacti looked like they were glowing from the sun. I've never seen anything like it. M had a good time running through the paths! I think J would have loved it, but she was allured by a car ride and other kids! 

We went back to the house and hung out for a bit before going out again just before sunset. The kids played in the sand and climbed rocks while we tried to get some great pictures and just enjoy the scenery. We stayed until just after sunset and then drove to an area where it was empty and we could see every star in the sky. I've never seen so many stars before.. it was unreal. 

The next morning we packed up and drove to Palm Springs. We had a couple of hours to kill before our gondola ride up to the top so we found a restaurant that could accommodate the 9 of us outside. It's a good thing we got there early because this place filled up! While we were eating, the waiter asked if he could take some promotional pictures of us. He wanted to show that real people ate at the restaurant and not just celebrities, ha! After our delicious meal they gave us a whole bunch of free pastries and desserts! 

My favorite picture of the kids (4/5 of them!)

We drove to the aerial tramway and Dan made it JUST in time. This is the worlds largest rotating tram car and goes up 2.5 miles over ten minutes of breathtaking views. The kids loved it and so did we! When we got to the top, called Mountain Station, at over 8,000 feet we could feel the difference! We walked around a little.. down a windy trail and up to the observation deck. There's over 50 miles of trails that we didn't get to go on. By this point the kids were tired and cranky and we couldn't enjoy it the way we would have if it was just us. Nevertheless, we were able to see spectacular views of the entire area. 

After that we got in the car and returned to LA. We had such a great time during this MUCH needed week of travel and family togetherness. 

Los Angeles, CA (November 2021)

This is our first airplane trip in a year and a half! I truly thought that the kids would have at least one Covid shot before getting on this plane, but that was wishful thinking. But at some point we just have to go and move on. We were so excited to get off the east coast and to see Dan and family! This is a trip that had gotten rescheduled twice before so we were really looking forward to it. 

Our first full day (when the kids woke up around 3:30am) had us going to Point Dume in Malibu. This was a short easy walk on the cliffs on Malibu with wonderful views. 

This day was also Halloween and the kids were beyond excited to go trick or treating in their scary costumes. It was so odd trick or treating with palm trees around! We're so used to colder weather and leaves falling off the trees. 

The next day we went to Santa Monica Pier. It was empty! Which I was grateful for. There were absolutely no lines and the kids had the run of the place. 

The kids (and us!) really needed a chill day the next day. J wasn't adjusting to the time change as quickly as M or us so she was pretty tired. From Dan's house we walked to the La Brea Tar pits. We had taken J here before in 2015 since it's so close to the house. We walked around and explained to the kids what they were looking at. They were fascinated! 

We then walked to LACMA and walked around the outside. We truly were trying to stay outside as much as possible so we didn't go inside the museum. But the outside has enough to look at that everyone was satisfied. And we showed them where we had a picnic in 2017 with them (not that they remember...)

That about wraps up our LA time! We spent the rest of the time in Joshua Tree. 

New Haven, CT (May 2021)

Ok, so I may have been trying to recreate our November trip during the Memorial Day weekend trip. And it would have been just as wonderful, if it hadn't rained the. whole. time. From the minute we got there Friday night, until the minute we left Monday around 11, it rained. There was probably a total of 2 hours total that it wasn't raining. And that's when we were able to leave the house haha. It was unfortunate because we all had such a fun time later. But we made do. 

We went to the Pez factory nearby in order to get the kids out. They had fun, while I was nervous about being inside with too many people. 

We were still able to eat the amazing food so there's that! 

Local Skiing all Winter (Mohawk, Mt. Peter, Shawnee)

No trips out west for us this year, but we checked out some ski resorts that we hadn't been to yet or in a while! The kids are really improving and it's a great activity to do together. Hopefully we'll make it out west next year! 

New Haven, CT (Nov. 2020)

So this is the week we had planned to go to Italy, but... Covid. And since we didn't want to be on a plane to go somewhere in the US, we checked out short driving trips from our area. Let me just say that this trip was fantastic! The weather was amazing... high 60s and sun in the beginning of November?? Yes please! 

We rented a house directly on the beach. We could open the back door and we were on the sand. And with the beautiful weather we were able to sit and relax while the kids played on the beach the whole time. 

We ate delicious food, namely lobster rolls and clam chowder and drank wine on the deck. The kids LOVED this trip and I have to say that we did too. 

The Poconos (Aug. 2020)

Whew, 2020 sure has been fun hasn't it! After months of staying home we decided that we had to get out of New Jersey and go on a little trip. We settled on a house (with an amazing game room!) in a lake community on Arrowhead Lake. This community had two outdoor pools, a lake where we could kayak, a playground, nearby hiking, and a lovely neighborhood to walk in. 

Our first day there we drive to a hike called the Poconos Heritage Land Trust Trail. This was probably a 2 mile easy hike that passed through rocks and a creek. The kids had fun splashing in some water and we got some great outdoors time. Another hike we did on the last day after leaving the house was the Hemlock trail and the Woodland Trail. This provided a nice break from the car, although we think the kids were done with hiking!

We went to the pool a few times. We had to make reservations ahead of time in order to reduce how many people were let in due to Covid (although it still seemed pretty crowded!). 

One morning we rented a four person kayak for a couple of hours and paddled around the lake. We had so  much fun! We stopped on the other side of the lake to get out and play and enjoy the scenery! 

And of course, no lake or hiking trip would be complete without a firepit with smores! 

We never would have come here for a summer getaway had Covid not been around and I'm so glad that we did! 

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (Jan. 2020)

Jon's mom, Lori, had a big birthday this winter and to celebrate they took the whole family to the Nickelodeon resort in Punta Cana. Woohoo! This was our first time going on a hot weather vacation in a long time! And our Florida trips to see the grandparents don't count. I'm talking about sitting on a pool chair or laying on the beach all day while someone brings me a ton of pretty alcoholic beverages. It was a much needed vacation for all of us and it was nice to spend the quality time with the family.

We slept at an airport Marriott the night before since we had an early flight. I'm going to emphasize the had part. After we boarded on time and everything was out of the bags for the kids to settle into their seats, the pilot announced that there was a mechanical issue and that everyone had to deplane! Um, excuse me? And we had to take everything with us since they weren't sure if we were going to use that plane. So off the plane we went to then wait in the gate area for over an hour. That was fun. We finally boarded the plane again and we arrived safely in Punta Cana!

We were able to give the kids some pool time before dinner while we watched some very inebriated British group try to take an action photo at the pool. It was pretty entertaining!

The next day we went to a fabulous buffet breakfast, changed into our suits and plopped ourselves in front of the pool for the entire morning. The kids had a blast at the pool while we drank a ton pina coladas. Seriously, I think I had about 8. And then we started asking for a side of rum. We all had such a great time!

That afternoon we went to the water park on the other side of the resort. This is where the "kid" side is. I think if M was a little older then Jon and I would have had a great time there, but because we had to watch her every step of the way and help her a lot we really couldn't enjoy or relax the way we wanted to. Such is life with young kids, right? There was a lazy river that we did get to go around in and of course we had the pina coladas keep on coming! J got to meet spongebob and two of the ninja turtles, which she was excited about!

The rest of our days there were about the same, except we didn't go back to the waterpark side. The kids were very content playing in the pool the whole time. We made our way to the beach one morning, but just to dip our toes in and play in the sand. One night there was a little festival outside in the square where there was music, vendors, and street food. 

A tip for anyone that wants to visit this resort... go longer than 4 nights/5 days! The time flew by and we left feeling like we needed just one more day. But isn't that always the way when you're having a good time?