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?

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, U.S.

Back in December, Jon and I decided to go on a quick weekend away close by for a "baby moon" while I was 35 weeks pregnant. We were also celebrating Jon's birthday so it was nice to get away for some much needed relaxation and child-free time.

We decided on a bed and breakfast about an hour and 15 minutes away in Charlestown, West Virginia near Harpers Ferry. We wanted something that would have some light walking or hiking and I wanted a bed and breakfast that had a cozy feel with a fireplace in the room. Bonus points, this b&b had a spa and small restaurant for its guests. The bed and breakfast wasn't housed in one building. It was more like many small buildings located on a large piece of land - very quiet and very serene.





We arrived early and stopped at the local grocery mart before chilling for the afternoon. I was a little hesitant to go inside, but this mama needed her snacks and water for the room.





We had signed up for a five course meal at the bed and breakfast that was to be served in the main house seating area. We were in a small room with three other couples (we each had our own table) and feasted on local, fresh food that the chef whipped up for us. It was a great experience and a tasty dinner!

The next morning we drove to Harpers Ferry. The area has gorgeous views of the Potomac and Shenandoah river valleys, as well as the Blue Ridge Mountains. There are a plethora of hiking trails to choose from, and if I wasn't so far along in my pregnancy we would have spent the whole day hiking and admiring the scenery. We chose to walk up to Jefferson Rock since it's right in town, a very short walk up, and has great views of the area. We climbed from the downtown area, went past a church, past a cemetery, and up to the rock. The scenery was breathtaking and was well worth the climb.






Afterward, we walked across the Railroad Bridge Tunnel into Maryland.






We spent some time walking around the cute, quaint town, passing by 1800s reenactments and Christmas caroling. We bought some gifts for ourselves and for Julia, got some food from a local restaurant, and warmed up inside.






We had a couples massage scheduled in the late afternoon at our b&b so we headed back to chill a little in the room. For Jon's birthday we headed into Charlestown and had a big steak dinner followed by some time in the casino where we basically threw away our money at the craps table.

We had a quiet morning inside the room sitting by the fireplace and then packed up to go. This was a great getaway and definitely was a relaxing trip before our little one was born. We'd love to go back and do some of the more strenuous hikes!

Iceland Part VI: Hveragerði hot river and hike, and the Blue Lagoon

July 2015

Before I talk about this amazing day we had, I must start with the idyllic house we stayed in for our last three nights in Iceland. The house is located in between Reykjavik and Keflavik and is set right on the ocean, free of noise and people, with the Snæfellsnes Peninsula in the distant background. When researching for our Iceland vacation I came across a blog that had this house pictured in them. I messaged the writer and she gave me the VRBO link, and we couldn't have been happier with our choice! Our owners Anna and Birgir welcomed us into their home (we had the entire bottom floor of their house), and were so friendly and informative.




Because the sun sets so late at this time of year we had been finding it hard to go to sleep before midnight - though with our eye masks we were able to accomplish this maybe once or twice. Even though the sun does set in the summer (when we were there it set at 11:50pm and rose at 2:45am) it never fully gets dark. If you woke up at 1:30am it would look like dusk outside... it really messes with you if you're not used to it!






We stayed outside for the sunset one night and I have to say it was the most spectacular sunset I've ever seen. One thing about the sunset is that it takes FOREVER to set. It looks like it's hovering over the horizon for over an hour. The colors were striking, especially after the sun dipped below the horizon and stayed just under it for another hour. The sun, coupled with the beautiful scenery from the house made this a really special moment for us to share.





We dubbed our last day in Iceland our "free day". We had accomplished everything we had wanted to do the week before and we had it open to do whatever we chose. We chose to go Hveragerði, which is a town about 40 minutes outside of Reykjavik. The town is known for its intense thermal activity - they have a ton of greenhouses growing vegetables there that are heated from the ground. We had read about a hike just north of the town that leads you to a natural river bath heated from the thermal activity in the ground, but cooled off enough from glacial runoff so people were able to relax in it.





The climb was almost entirely uphill, but you are rewarded with wonderful views, waterfalls, and geothermal pools. It took us about an hour and 15 minutes and our legs were ready to quit... but we knew that just around the bend was the river!




Wooden pathways were a recent addition to the river since it has become more of a "hot spot". Hot steam was coming off of the river and though there were people hanging out in the river, it wasn't crowded by any means. We found an area where we modestly changed into our swimsuits and put our stuff down. Stepping into the water was like stepping into a hot tub. It was so relaxing after an uphill hike! We stayed in the water for about 20 minutes before taking a lunch break on the grass with sandwiches that we packed. We then tried different areas of the water since different parts had different temperatures and water flow.





We had 5pm reservations at the Blue Lagoon so after going back to the house and hanging out for a bit we headed there. It gets pretty crowded here in the summer so it's recommended that you make your reservations a few days beforehand. We decided that we would spend some time in the Lagoon and then eat at the highly rated LAVA restaurant on site.

The locker room was a little crazy... at least on the women's side. It took me a while to find a locker and even then I had to ask a woman if she was leaving and wait while she changed. The set of lockers that I ended up using had a mechanical issue so we couldn't shut or open them. The poor girl next to me who barely spoke English had just finished a shower and couldn't get into her locker to get dressed for maybe 30 minutes. One more thing.. leave your modesty at the door! They always say that they can tell who the Americans are because we cover ourselves up as we get dressed and undressed. So there were naked people everywhere in that locker room! But I have to say it was pretty liberating and I wish that we weren't so uptight in our own locker rooms... it's hard getting dressed while trying to hold a towel around you! Anyway, I digress...

The lagoon is so beautifully done. The hot aqua blue water was so inviting that we couldn't wait to get in. We parked ourselves in an empty area and relaxed in the water. A few glasses of Prosecco for me and a few beers for Jon later and we were very very happy!





We put some silica mud on our skin making it ever so soft and took in a few more of the sun's rays. We probably stayed in the water for about two hours before we were done.




After a shower and getting dressed we met each other at LAVA restaurant for our 9pm reservation (though we arrived early at 8:30). Even though we arrived early and said it wasn't a problem that our table wasn't ready they comped us for our drinks while we waited! We had one of the best seats in the restaurant looking right onto an empty area of the Blue Lagoon. The meal was spectacular and nicely presented.





It was such a nice way to end our fantastic day and our time in Iceland. Up next, exploring the Reykjanes Peninsula before our afternoon flights.