Block Island

(Amy) Dave and I feel like we spent two days in heaven while we were on Block Island Monday and Tuesday.  We went as a late celebration of our first anniversary and had a blast!  Here's the rundown of what we did while we were there:

We ferried ourselves and our bikes out and arrived at Block Island at 9:00 AM Monday morning.  We first checked in at our place (The Seacrest Inn) and then hopped on our bikes and headed to the beautiful Southeast Lighthouse.   

We rode our bikes a little further to a lookout with some steps down to another beautiful place....

.....The Mohegan Bluffs.

There also was a fantastic beach there with beautiful sand; Dave and I set up our towels and relaxed here.

We both did some reading and I also did a little napping in the warm sun.

Dave also got in the ocean and was able to do a little body surfing.  Such a fun spot!

We just rode our bikes around without any agenda and saw a lot of fun houses, the island's cemetery, and the Block Island State Airport.   They have a fun diner there.  Several people (and some dogs) were passing the time watching the small airplanes take off and land!

We loved the salt water taffy we bought at this place so much that the next day we made a special trip back to get some more! 

We rode our bikes to several smaller beaches.  We were the only people at this one, it was so peaceful.

We did some more reading and this time Dave took a nap!

In the evening we went downtown and did some shopping and had a delicious dinner topped off with dessert at The Ice Cream Place.  Back at our hotel we watched Pride and Prejudice together before calling it a night.  Talk about a perfect day!

Tuesday morning we rode our bikes to the northern tip of the island to see North Shore Lighthouse.  The island ends in a sandbar where the waves crash from both directions.  Check out the video below to see how amazing this place was!

I really like this picture of Dave standing at the junction of the waves.

We took a moment to stop at this labyrinth, which you are supposed to walk through and contemplate your journey here on earth.  Kind of a random thing, but it was interesting and neat.

Another beautiful beach, we're pretty sure this was Scotch Beach.  It was very picturesque here and the water was beautiful.  We both got in the water and read and relaxed on the beach some more.

We ate lunch at this great place called The Oar.  The place is decorated with oars all over the ceiling and walls.  They have great food too!

I loved the beautiful homes that we saw.  The stone fences were striking.   Can you imagine living in a place like this?

Before we left, we had to stop at the Cheesecake Castle to have some of their made-from-scratch treats.


 

We had chocolate chip and raspberry lemonade cheesecake. A perfect way to end our stay at Block Island.


 

Here's a parting shot of downtown Block Island from the ferry as we were leaving. We definitely will make the effort to come back to Block Island in the future!

Our Little Place

(Dave and Amy)  In order to save money, we moved to a smaller, one-bedroom apartment at the beginning of the month.  We really like our new place and love how cozy it is, it's perfect for just the two of us.  We created a video tour of our place tonight and hope that it gives you an idea of how great our little place is!

Those Canaan Days

(Amy) Our two weeks with Mom, Dad, and Cor here seemed to fly by. Our last days with them were full of food, games, and sightseeing. I worked over the weekend and missed the family's outing to Yale and the Divinity School, I'll allow Dave to post about that when the mood strikes him.

  

   On Monday, Dave, Mom, Cor, and I (Dad returned to Arizona on Saturday) ventured to New Canaan to see the fancy homes and do some window shopping.  We found the shopping center of New Canaan to be delightful with so many stores to tempt us with their beautiful clothes, china, and antiques.

We also discovered there was no end to beautiful, upscale homes in the area.  We picked this home as our favorite!

I was pleased to find they had named one of the finest streets in the area in my honor! :)

On our way home we stopped at Bill's Carousel in New Haven.  They serve 24 flavors of soft serve ice cream there!   Here Dave and I are pointing at our flavor choices, cheesecake and blackberry.

That soft serve ice cream was so good, I want to try all 24 flavors!  :)

It was so fun with Mom, Dad, and Cor here.  I can't believe how fast the time went with them here.  I'm already counting down to our next time together at Christmas!  Thanks for coming and I love you all!

The Real Dave

(Amy)  As we were driving home from the Poconos, Dave was eating fruit leather and being a goof singing to Coldplay's "Viva la Vida."  Dave appears to be so scholarly and serious, but those who know him know that he is a really hilarious guy!  He always makes me laugh, I love this boy!  Click the video to see a glimpse of this crazy (he thought I was just going to take a picture and didn't realize I was recording him):

Year in Review

(Amy) Here's a video tribute I made for our first anniversary reflecting on the year we've had together.  I tried posting this to our blog days ago from youtube, and it finally showed up tonight!

Togethering

(Amy)  Dave and I moved to a new apartment on July 31st, thank you SO much to all who helped with the move.  We'll post pictures of our new place soon!

  Tuesday, August 5th, Mom, Dad, and Coralee arrived safely at the Hartford Airport for a family vacation out here with us.  After picking them up at the airport we went to downtown Hartford and saw some of the sites. 

At the Old State House we took an audio tour of the building that explained the history of the area and of the building.  

 Outside the Old State House Mom and Dad  were put in the stocks! :)  We learned during the tour that there were a lot of witch trials in the Hartford area in the mid-1600's.

The Old State House also included a Museum of Curiosities including this two-headed calf.  

We also visited the Mark Twain house where the celebrated author lived from 1874 to 1891 and where The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were written.  It's a beautiful house and has a really fun gift shop

Wednesday and Thursday (August 6th and 7th) we spent in Manhattan.  We took a big bite out of the Big Apple!

We started the morning at the American Museum of Natural History.  Dave and I have probably now spent a total of four hours there and still have only seen about one-tenth of the exhibitions!  Afterwards, we walked through Central Park and we went window shopping on Fifth Avenue.

Wednesday night we saw The Phantom of the Opera, it was fantastic!

Thursday morning we went to Chinatown.  At lunchtime, Dad was eager to find a good place for beef noodle soup.  We were not disappointed with Dumpling House and went back for dinner there as well.  Having served a church mission to Taiwan, Dad felt right at home in the streets of Chinatown!

We also walked through Little Italy and had some gelato there.

We walked the Brooklyn Bridge and loved the view of the city and the Statue of Liberty from there.

We walked to the Financial District and saw the New York Stock Exchange as well as Trinity Church.  

Friday (August 8th) we were back in Connecticut and drove up to the northwestern part of the state to see the covered bridge of Cornwall.  What a beautiful spot!

That evening, we saw the Tokyo String Quartet perform with the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.  They played music by Debussy, Beethoven, and Webern; they were phenomenal.

Sunday (August 9th) after church we drove to the Poconos region of Pennsylvania.  It was such a beautiful drive through upstate New York.    Monday was a really rainy day.  We stayed inside our fun cabin and watched Hairspray and the Olympics and played games together.   On Tuesday we took a hike at Bushkill Falls ("the Niagara of Pennsylvania").  It was such a fantastic hike, part of it was on a beautiful wooded walkway that only added to the natural beauty of the area.

Our short hike featured seven waterfalls.  Here Dave and I stand in front of Bridal Veil Falls.  

After our hike, we took a drive and purchased some produce from this roadside stand.  Later, we played mini golf and went swimming then watched more Olympics!

Here's our fun cabin.  It was the perfect size for the five of us.  We loved how it was raised off the ground and how cozy it felt.

Here's the view out the living room window of the trees and lake.  We were constantly on the lookout for wildlife outside the cabin, but we only ever saw one fox.   We did see lots of deer and some wild turkeys in the surrounding area though!

Dave and I had to return home to New Haven on Wednesday for Mutual and for work on Thursday.  Fortunately, our time with Mom, Dad, and Cor is not over yet.  They will be coming back from the Poconos tomorrow to spend a few more days with us here in Connecticut!