The Mouse

Today started out well. We woke up and spent some time on the campsite beach. It was lovely. The sun was warm and a cool breeze blew over us every once in a while. The water was freezing! ...but we waded through it because, why not?

Then, we packed up and headed back to quaint Connecticut. We weren't looking forward to this because of the smell of our living quarters. When we got back it was just awful. The smell was alive, I tell you, but then so dead. We could not figure out what the smell was. It must be something dead. So, we began the hunt for a dead creature. 

Every slight opening of a cabinet door, lift of a bowl, peek under an item of furniture was a frightening experience. We just knew that would be the moment some deceased animal would surprise us with its cold stare.

While Erica continued to look, I did research on bad house smells. What could this odor be?? Erica was discussing the issue with her brother on the phone and casually opened the cabinet under the sink to throw something away, "There's a dead mouse in the trash can," she said matter-of-factly. 

After realizing what she had just said, she looked up at me and we stared at each other. 

There was a dead mouse in the trash can. 

Where did it come from? How many more were waiting around the house for us? Who was going to get rid of it? How were we going to get rid of it? 

Erica discovered a dead mouse in the trash can! Oh, GROSS! 

I can't describe much more in words what ensued... but fortunately, we have video.

After that, we sat down in the kitchen and had a serious talk about staying at this place. Who knew what other dead things awaited us? The mouse was pretty much the last straw. First the dying, baby bat, then the smell, and now the mouse. Erica's mom didn't want us staying in the house, so she paid for a hotel. 

When Erica and I pulled into the parking lot of the hotel, the place was called, "Comfort Inn." That was exactly what we were looking for that night. 

It was so nice to stay in the hotel room. Like Heaven.

My arm really hurt from sleeping on the hard ground. So that bed was beautiful. 

We watched All About Steve and ate tons of chocolate. 

Erica and I were living like queens!! (It doesn't take much) 

The night turned out much better than the rest of the day. We were so grateful to Erica's mom for reserving that hotel room for us. What a blessing. 

Here are the quotes from our travel journal for the day. Hilarious!

"Nature has been for me, for as long as I can remember, 

a source of solace, inspiration, adventure, and delight."

-Lorraine Anderson

(Apparently she'd never had a run-in with a dead mouse in a trash can)

"A new path lies before us; we're not sure where it leads;

but God goes on before us, providing all our needs."

-Linda Maurice

Sandwich!

Do you ever have those times where you know it's going to be a glorious day?

The sun is out. The air is perfect. Birds are singing. All green lights. Miraculous things happen...

Today was that day. Today was Sandwich day.

After our Alcatraz showers, which involved 20 seconds of water between button pushes and tiny, beady spider eyes watching us shower... Erica and I left for the little town of Sandwich in Cape Cod.

By the time we reached Sandwich, we were ready for some lunch. But first, we stopped at the post office. When Erica and I stepped out of the car, we were immediately greeted by cool, fall weather (in mid-June) and a warm, "Good morning," from a happy, old person. The passersby were in such good moods. It was contagious. We felt like we had taken a step back into a '50s sitcom.

When we got into the heart of the town, we easily found a parking spot and began searching for a place to eat. Erica and I found this cute bed and breakfast called the Painted Lady. The setting was absolutely quaint. They had a table for us out on the front porch where we could watch people walking up and down the street. We split spicy chicken quesadillas and a salmon salad. Oh, and I got attacked by a very sweet, very bipolar cat.

After that experience, we went to  a coffee shop called Paul's Bagel and Bean. Excellent coffee. The owner told us about a boardwalk not too far from there that we could go to. He said it stretched over this pretty marshland and that it was a local secret. Erica and I hung around for a while writing some postcards and reading our Bibles. It was so relaxing and peaceful.

After that, we went window shopping around the small town.

In this stationery store, the women working there talked with us for a while. They were so nice! We walked over to an old gristmill but, unfortunately, it was closed. So beautiful, though.

Then, onto a beautiful surprise: The Sandwich Boardwalk. The guy at the coffee shop told us the parking and entrance were free, so we said, why not? What we were expecting was a boardwalk over the marsh-- which, there was.

What we didn't expect was the beautiful, sandy, rocky, blue ocean on the other side! I couldn't believe it! Such beauty!

We put our feet in the Atlantic Ocean and collected colorful rocks. We walked along the beach. It was so peaceful. We loved it!

(It says "Road Trip 2010" Lol)

Also, the planks on the boardwalk had names written on them or phrases. There was one that said "Jesus Saves." We loved that one! We love Sandwich. We definitely want to go back.  

Plus, Erica saw her first blue ocean! Cool! After Sandwich, we got stuff for hotdogs and s'mores at the campsite. We built our own fire, yes, by ourselves, and had great conversation. 

Yay day! 

P.S. No movie tonight.

Newport Vineyards and Cliff Walk!

Today, we woke up and drove to Newport, Rhode Island. It was a bustling town full of confusion. We denied them ten dollar parking and walked down the streets looking for a restaurant. My iPhone spoke of a deli down the street and while on the hunt, Erica and I passed the most strikingly, frightening woman. She was a tall, sharp build with piercing eyes. I caught her stoney glare and I think my heart stopped for a second. It seemed she was chilling my very soul. Quite scary. She didn't even smile at Erica! Now that's crazy.

The deli was pretty delicious. We sat at the front of the little store and watched the people walk by. Erica and I tried to guess which ones were travelers and which were local.

After lunch, we drove to a winery called Newport Vineyards. We got a tour of the place and then did a wine tasting. They showed us the vineyards and the huge barrels where they store the wine.

The wine tasting was super fun. They gave us a long list of wines and we got to check off which ones we wanted to try. We tried about five reds and whites and two dessert wines. I enjoyed the whites.

The Pinot Grigio was my favorite. I'm not a huge red wine fan, but I liked their Gemini for the reds.

When our wine tasting experience was over, we giddily found our way to the cliff walk. It was a beautiful walk along the coast. We went through creepy tunnels and such. There were so many interesting smells. Some wonderful... and others like rotting seaweed. Best of both worlds.

Our destination for the next day was Cape Cod, so Erica and I drove to our next campground: Jellystone Park! Before we got there, we rented Did You Hear About the Morgans.

We really like watching movies, if you can't tell. :) It's so relaxing.

Burlingame Park: The Sequel!

Well, a neighbor took care of our bat problem. We got up late today, stepped outside, and... voila... bat gone. Thank you, Jesus!

Erica and I planned to leave for camping around four. Then, it happened like it always does, we had all this time to get ready and still left an hour late. Ha. Good thing no one was waiting for us.

On the way to the campsite, we ate at the Wilcox Tavern again. Got the same stuff, and surprisingly it wasn't as good as it was before. Hm. Maybe next time we should go for some variety? Erica and I just remembered how wonderful the restaurant was the first time and we wanted that experience again. However, the cheesecake and coffee was... there are no words to describe how delicious it was. Well, lesson learned:

Here's to brand new experiences (not recreating past ones)!

Since we weren't going to have internet at the campsite, Erica and I went to the coffee shop we had visited the first time we came round, parked, and bummed internet from there to download a movie. The coffee shop was closed because it was quite late, so I placed the computer right next to the back door for a better signal. Erica and I waited in the car and to pass the time, we watched Jim Gaffigan and Brian Regan videos on my iPhone. Haha.

When the movie was downloaded, we left Dave's Coffee Shop and drove to Burlingame. Our favorite! We slept in a cabin because there was a chance of rain and watched the old Parent Trap. It was simply delightful.

And then what happened...

We were planning on going camping today, but motivation was low and weather was rainy. Not a good day for camping.

So, we went to Barnes and Noble to catch up on travel journal and do random stuff. Erica wanted to do some research on Cape Cod: our next adventure.

She went on a walk through the mall after research and I worked on my Revelation book. As I was typing, a shadow covered up the pages of my Bible. I turned to see who it was and, as I did, something hit me in the head and everything went black.

When I regained consciousness, my eyes opened and focused on my surroundings. I was scrunched into the trunk of a car and could see a little crack of daylight shining. At first I started to panic, but then I remembered what Carman did when he got scared... He got righteously indignant and made evil pay. I knew I could do the same thing.

I ran my hands along the sides of the trunk to see if there were any possible defense weapons. That's when I felt a crow bar. I wrapped my fingers around it and then began to search for a possible latch to the door.

As I was doing this, the car stopped and I waited. The door slowly opened and I sprang out of the trunk, crow bar in hand. The mysterious man toppled back surprised. His hands went in front of his face as I started pounding him with my weapon.

He fell to the ground and I seized the opportunity. The driver's side door was open, so I hopped into the front seat. The key was still in the ignition. I revved it up and flung the car into reverse, accidentally running over the guy.

Luckily, I was familiar with the area. I pulled the car up to the mall and went back to my seat at Barnes and Noble. Erica wasn't back yet.

I picked up where I had left off with my book until Erica showed up. We ran by Target to get her a cardigan and tried to go to the post office. Then, for dinner: Taco Bell! Yum.

I talked to some people on the phone when we got back and Erica had a lie down (she slept). When she got up, we watched While You Were Sleeping...

...and ate ice cream and popcorn. Then we watched a mystery movie. We can't remember what it was.

The Bat

Today, we got up and discovered a baby bat struggling for life on the front porch. Yes, a baby bat. The thing had fallen from its home above the front door and was now writhing on the door mat. Ants were crawling all over it. *Shudder* It was disgusting. I tried to find a male on the premises to get rid of it...but no luck. So, we left it there.

Erica and I could still hear it squeaking in the kitchen, so I shut the windows and turned on some music to drown it out. I know... cruel. But they have diseases! And they're really gross.

At night, we had the privilege of going to a wine tasting party at Karen's friend's house. Erica and I brought brie and crackers. Sooo good. We met some very nice UConn people. One girl from Houston. Represent!

The wine was good... the cheese to die for! Ha. I love cheese. The weather was a little cold but compensated with good conversation. Overall, good and busy day.

We watched The Women later that night.

Pretty funny.

Craig Day

Today, we got up and packed for Craig's. McDonald's was the lunch choice where we tried a Mac wrap...it's a cheeseburger...in a wrap. Very interesting. Definitely would not be my first choice if I had to do it all again.

After McDonald's, I napped on the bed while Erica packed. Then, it was time to go pick up the key to Craig's house. We got the key from Karen and she took us to Craig's.

Craig's house was better than expected in some ways...and smelly in others. It was an older house with a basement so there was a moth ball aroma floating in the air.

For dinner, we went to Jack Rabbit's. They had this awesome burger with, and I quote, "Buffalo Blue cheese sauce, Gorgonzola cheese, lettuce, and celery salad." It was basically amazing.

After dinner, we discovered three different malls that had been hidden away. It was raining off and on. I believe we evaded wet pant legs. Thank goodness!

Erica and I got candles for Craig's house and Febreeze. It was very needed! And it kind of worked. A few blogs from now, I'll give you a run down of all the deodorizers we used and which ones were most effective. :)

That night, we watched Made of Honor. Very entertaining...

And then... bed.

Wickham Park

Today, Erica and I explored the many wonders of Wickham Park.

We made a picnic lunch to eat out in beautiful nature... but ended up eating it in the car because gnats were swarming around our heads outside. Plus, it was a little cold.

There were several gardens at the park. One catered to all the senses. They had different plants that had various textures, smells, tastes... we didn't eat any of it. Don't worry.

There was a... bird? garden. That one was pretty cool. It had these beautiful peacocks that spread their tails out to reveal awesome colors! Well, one was all white, but possibly even prettier than the colored one.

Another garden we went to was a Japanese garden. There were ducks there, which I'm sure is completely natural...

...And I couldn't resist. When there is a group of birds hanging out one must chase them. I think it's an unwritten law.

Our favorite garden was the English Garden. There were all these beautiful flowers, archways, and gazebos. Perfect place for senior pics!

Another special moment at the park was when Erica and I spotted a statue of St. Francis of Assisi! I love that guy's writing and his life story so I had to take a picture with him. I mean, how often does one see a celebrity like that?

After Wickham Park, we went to a very cold Starbucks (not the weird one). We stayed there for a few hours working on Texas stuff. Erica and I went to Taco Bell for dinner and it was delicious as usual.

We decided to go to a movie and the prices were outrageous! We saw Letters to Juliet.

It was cute and mildly entertaining. However, on the way back to Karen's we were both feeling very lost and down. Erica and I felt as though we had lost our original vision for this trip. We couldn't figure out why we thought we needed this much time for vacationing. What was next? So, when we got back to Karen and Paul's, we worked on our New England bucket list.

We put in a calendar a general idea of what we wanted to be doing. It felt good to plan again. The next day is goodbye Karen's house and moving on to Craig's.