Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Part 2

On the Subway

On the roof of Steph's apt

So, to continue our adventures of the month of December, our fourth trip was to visit my cousin Stephanie in New York for a few days! We had sooo much fun! We packed our bags, jumped on the train, and ended up in the Big Apple! It was kind of neat to be a "resident" of New York for a few days. Or at least it felt that way :) My cousin lives in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, overlooking the Hudson River and NYC/New Jersey, Beautiful at night! We decided this trip was not going to be our typical "see everything we can" kind of trip. We wanted to relax, since we did the touristy thing with our friend Nicki last time.

Rockefeller tree at night

So the day we got there, we did the whole Times Square and surrounding areas, mainly to see the Christmas decorations. We went to eat at a sushi bar near my cousins apt, and ended the night hanging out The Underground meeting some new friends. The Tree at Rockefeller Center was Crazy big, with I think 30,000 lights on it (Hayley looked up that fact). Our second day in NYC, we did our Christmas shopping. We went to China town! That was a cluster, but fun to haggle with the men and women of China town. We tried to buy some fake handbags, but they were asking too much. I mean come on, they were fake! That night we ate Chinese with my cousin Stephanie, and then walked around Midtown to see all the decoration lit up at night! Very pretty. Then it was off to bed :)

Coney Island

Nathan's Hotdog

Our last day, we decided to head to Coney Island. Stupid me did even think about the fact that it was not even season for an amusement park. Oh well, we had a fun little adventure anyway. We ate at Nathan's Hotdog, walked around the boardwalk, and of course took the hour long subway ride out there and back.Our cell phones were working in overdrive on that subway ride, lol. It looked like it would be a fun place to be during the summer, but I bet it is crazy crowded. After Coney Island we decided to go to the biggest department store in the country, MACY'S. Seriously the biggest store I've every been in! 8 stories with restaurants on each floor! That place gave us major anxiety, so we left after about 15 minutes (but not before getting a milkshake from Ben&Jerry's :) Then it was time to say good-bye to the big city and head back to Wethersfield! What a fun trip we had!

My mom came up the Sunday before Christmas to spend a week with us. It was great having her here! We went back to Newport one day and did a tour of 3 of the Mansions open during the winter season. They were all decorated beautifully for Christmas! It was a fun mother-daughter day trip! The next day Mom, Hayley, and I went on a tour of Yale. I really enjoyed the tour, except for the fact that it rained! Of course, just our luck that it rained right! Ugh, still a very pretty and impressive campus.

Quechee Gorge

Me and Mom at Gorge

Powell came up the Thursday before Christmas, but we still had no plans for that Friday and Saturday. He had been looking at the weather for snow all week, and on Friday morning we decided to head to Killington VT to do some skiing! We got a hotel for the night and were on our way. First stop was the Quechee Gorge http://www.vtstateparks.com/htm/quechee.htm. Next stop, Woodstock VT. This was the cutest little town with wonderful Christmas decorations. We walked along the streets as it snowed, it was awesome!!!  We ate dinner and then headed to our Inn. After dropping mom off, the three kids (I'm including Hayley) headed to rent our ski's. Then Hayley and I had to find something to wear while skiing, since we didn't have any ski pants to bring. We found a Walmart, ski pants, and a coat for Hayley! We made our way back, and then it was off to get some snooze for our day of skiing tomorrow!

Skiing

Powell and me at the top

Breakfast at this Inn was awesome! Pancakes, bacon, eggs, french toast. Man, so much for "continental breakfast" :) After stuffing our faces, we went to get our ski's and headed up to Killington Mountain to do some skiing http://www.killington.com/winter/index.html. I won't bore you with too many details of our skiing adventure. Basically Powell is good, I'm okay, and sorry Hayley but you are bad (jk, just need some practice). I did, however, make it to the top with Powell, although I skied the green and blue trails, while he skied the blue and black diamond. Oh well, it was fun non-the-less with me hitting the snow (aka:busting my butt) only twice. Hayley on the other hand hit the snow a few more times :) Powell of course I don't think fell at all. After our long day of skiing we were ready for some grub. So after returning our ski's to the rental place and my feet thawing out, we went in search for food! We finally settled on a pizza place and had an AMAZING Chicken Ranch pizza! Delish! Last stop before hitting the road back to CT was a souvenir shop to pick a few things.

Hayley and me 

Christmas day Hayley and I had to work, but leave it to my amazing mother and brother to cook a yummy lunch and bring it to us! I was happy that some people at work got to meet my mom and Powell though. We set up lunch in the family room, so it was like our own little Christmas dinner, much different from every other year, but just as special! Powell left to go back to GA Christmas afternoon so I had to say my goodbye at the hospital! Mom didn't leave till the next morning, at 6am! So, at least I had one more night with her!

Our December has been crazy busy, but we've enjoyed every moment! Christmas was different this year, but I must say, as an adult I think this one has been the most memorable! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and also a Happy New Year! Till Next Time

~Hayley and Elizabeth~

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Part 1

At "The Breakers"

So, I know its been almost a month since we last blogged (thank you Edwin), but we are back, haha. In the past month we have been to Newport RI, Boston MA,  New York and Killington VT. Also, my boyfriend, Jose came up to visit. So pretty much, we've been super busy the month of December :)

Our Beautiful Sunset

In Newport, we toured one of the Vanderbilt's summer homes called "The Breakers."  If that was my summer house, I don't think I'd EVER leave! It was absolutely beautiful! http://www.newportmansions.org/. After our tour, we drove down Ocean Ave, and saw the most beautiful sunset. After our little drive, we met my friend Julie (from nursing school), for dinner and then started our long drive home to pick up Jose from the airport. Unfortunately I read his flight schedule wrong and we were an hour late picking him up. Ooops, I felt so bad! At least he wasn't mad, just tired :) 

Statue of Liberty

Jose and Me at dinner

Top of the Rock

The next morning, Jose and I dropped Hayley off at work and we headed to catch a train to NYC. Our friend Carter rode a bus up from DC to meet us for the day. It was both of their first time in the city so it was kind of fun seeing their reactions. We did the whole touristy New York thing, while making Hayley a little bit jealous, since she wasn't able to be with us :( I think we probably walked 5 or 6 miles that day, but we sure did see a lot and have fun! I loved having 2 of my best friends in NYC :) The next day, we took it easy, doing a little shopping and ending the day with some Italian with Hayley! YUM YUM! Unfortunately Monday came, and it was time for Jose to go back to Bama. We had a fun weekend!

Good thing for Umbrellas

Our Rainy day in Boston

Of course it rained while we were in Boston, as it has rained everywhere we've gone except New York. Our friend Emily (whom we work with) came with us to be our tour guide. While in Boston we walked the Freedom Trail http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/. It was a great way to see the city along with seeing some major historical landmarks. Harvard was very disappointing though. It not only is extremely small, but it has a fence all the way around and each entrance is guarded. I guess you either had to have a scheduled tour, or be a student to get on the campus. We had a fun day anyway, as we always do :)

These three trips were extremely fun, but the next two might be even better :) Stay tuned!

~Hayley and Elizabeth~

Philly Cheese, Please!

Liberty Bell

Independence Hall

Hayley's friend Leia invited us to come down to Delaware and spend a few nights with her, so we decided to take her up on that offer last week. So, we decided to head down there on Tuesday, and come back Thursday. Of course we didn't look at the weather until last minute, and yet again, rain was in our future! At least this time it wasn't freezing cold and rainy. We ordered some rain boots from target (since we've had such bad luck lately), but they didn't come in before we left. Just our luck!

The drive down wasn't too terrible. We did, however, take a wrong exit and drove through the Bronx. Is it Bronx, or "The" Bronx? Who cares, right? Anywho, we finally made it to Delaware, met up with Leia and her husband, and after about a 30 minutes deliberation, decided on an Italian restaurant for dinner. Of course the server had to ask where we were from (we get that almost everywhere we go). It was pretty good. I took my leftovers to go and left them on the table, then in Leia's car and finally at her apt. Apparently I really didn't want it. We stayed at a friend's across the street (we love free places to stay!). So after our long day of driving and late night dinner, we called it a night!

Inside Macy

Our Philly Cheese steadks

When we woke up the next time, we were happy to see that it hadn't started raining yet (I believe the forecast called for 80% chance of rain. But of course our hopes were shattered when it started raining one we got into Philadelphia. Parking was much easier than Boston, so we found great parking at the visitor's center. We started the day at the Liberty Bell, then to Independence Hall, next was Betsy Ross's house, followed by the US Mint, then Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Lunch (philly cheese steaks) at Sonnie's steaks, then walking several blocks to City Hall, Macy's (largest department store in the country at it's opening), back to the car, driving to the Muter (pronounced Mooter) Museum, and finally ending at the Rocky Statue in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (was that just one really long run-on sentence?).

Me and Rocky

So our trip to Delaware/Philly was fun, but also rainy! Why is it that it rains almost every trip we take. We never had to worry about that in Arizona or California! Now if it was snow, I wouldn't be complaining :) Anyway till next time

Hayley and Rocky

~Hayley and Elizabeth~

Lighthouses and Lobsters

Spring Point Ledge Light

Portland Head Light

So, pretty much every trip we go on is "on a whim." We either wake and up and decide to go somewhere, or the day before we decide since we are off work, we should take a day trip. That's exactly how Maine was decided on. We were at work, new we had the next day off, didn't want to sit around the apartment, so Hayley had a wonderful idea of driving to Maine for the day!! So that morning we were going to wake up early, but you know how that goes. We didn't end up leaving until after lunch, but that was okay as long as our goal of seeing a few lighthouses and eating fresh lobster were met!

Spring Point Ledge Light

Me and My town sign :)

So we headed on our 3 hour drive to Portland, ME, passing through 2 more states: New Hampshire and Maine (we missed the New Hampshire state sign :( Oh well. The first place we wanted to go was Portland Head Light Lighthouse. It was in Cape Elizabeth (yes I took my picture with the sign). This lighthouse was beautiful. The pictures we took looked almost like a painting. We explored the grounds, took some pictures and headed back to the care to find a few more light houses before dark (it was already around 330, only 1.5 more hours of sunlight). We found one finally called Two Lights. It was in a neighborhood, so I just took the picture from far away, using my zoom lens :) I guess it had to lights on top and that's why it was called Two Lights? The next and final lighthouse we found was Spring Point Ledge Light. It wasn't as pretty as the first, but we could walk right up to it. It wasn't the easiest walk. The walkway was uneven rocks. We met a nice couple and they suggested a few places for us eat some lobster! So we took a few pics, and then headed to dinner. But, before we decided on the place to eat, I had to take my pictures with the Cape Elizabeth sign. I was posing it up as cars drove by. It was kinds funny. Anyway, on to dinner!!


We decided on eating at Dimillo's. It's a floating restaurant that used to be a ferry. When we walked in, we thought "this place is too fancy." But we didn't sit in the main dining room, so we felt a little better. Plus, when I saw a man in a jogging suit, I thought our jeans weren't so bad after all. Mission for dinner, eat an entire lobster! We ordered our lobster and told our waitress we had never had it before. She was so kind to bring us a "how to eat lobster" guide. I read it, but didn't really help much. You basically just start crack it. But of course we had to take a few pics with our new friends before we mutilated them. After our lobster shoot, we "dug in." I ate the claws first, using what appeared to be a nut cracker, while Hayley tackled hers tail. After eating all of our lobster we were thoroughly satisfied and so excited to have eaten lobster in Maine! Yes, cheesy, but that's us! After dinner we started our 3 hour drive home, stuffed and ready for bed!

Our New Friends, Sebastian and Sebastian

~Hayley and Elizabeth~

Big Lights Will Inspire You, Part 1

Arriving Grand Central
Station

So, I’m running behind on our blogs again! Oops. I say this is part 1, because I am sure we will take several more trips to NYC. Nicki (our new friend from Missouri) was going to head there two weeks ago (during the power outage) for the day and see Phantom of the Opera, so we decided to invite ourselves along. We were kind of sick of being in the dark and having absolutely nothing to do. Nicki of course loved the idea and off we were on a Thursday morning at the crack of dawn and headed to NYC! We took the train from New Haven so we wouldn’t have to drive in the city! The train is so convenient! So once we got into Grand Central Station, Hayley and I of course took our first picture of NYC!!!  It was Hayley’s first time to the city (I went in 2007 with Lauren), so it was fun to see her reaction! Then we took the subway and headed to Times Square to get our Phantom tickets! After standing in line for a few minutes, getting cussed out by rude people, we finally got our tickets. We then headed to find a bathroom (of course). We went to a deli/bakery and felt bad we were using the facilities, so we bought a cupcake, German chocolate that is! It was delish! We then headed to Bryant Park, passing some Disney characters along the way. We were going to go ice skating, but since there weren’t many people there, we decided against it and headed back to Times Square and found ourselves roaming around Toys R Us. Yes we are dorks, but we let the inner child come out and play J. So after enjoying our time in the toy store for an hour, we left headed to Rockefeller Center to check out that ice skating rink. We took a few pictures, got in trouble for sitting on the wall, then decided to find some food!!!  We ate at a yummy pub that was actually priced pretty cheap (we’re cheap remember). Each of our meals was only $9! How amazing is that?! My cousin Stephanie came and met us for lunch, we visited for a few, then off to the Phantom of the Opera! It was so awesome! The Venue was great and the singing was amazing. Nicki and I thoroughly enjoyed it, not so sure about Hayley though. Maybe it was because she fell asleep during it, hahahaha. Oh well. Once the show was over, it was about 430pm, and we decided we should at least see Central Park. While there, we were talked into taking a stupid bike tour. It cost us $60, and I think we could have walked faster than we were biked, and would have been more comfortable. All three of us tried to fit into a two person carriage. Not our brightest idea, oh well it was an adventure in itself! So once our hour long bike tour finished, we headed back to Grand Central Station, go some dinner and hopped on the train back to New Haven. On the train ride back, I sat next to a guy whose wife is from a small town near Mobile. How random is that?! This was a very fun trip, and we can wait to have more NYC adventures! Till’ next time,

Helly and Lizzy

Time Square

Our German Chocolate Cupcake!

Random Disney Characters!

Woody!

Big Tootsie-roll pops we found in Toys-R-US

Rockefeller Center

Phantom of the Opera

On Our Central Park Tour

At the end of our Central Park tour. Pooped and cold!

Outside cooking

Outdoor Refrigerator

Outdoor Kitchen

So I'm sure everyone knows about our snowstorm (whether you heard about it on the news or read about it on our blog). Well, we were out of power for an entire week, so of course we did not want our mean to go to waste. We made our own refrigerator outside out of our cooler and snow. But, by Wednesday, the weather had gotten a little warm, and our snow/refrigertor had melted and warmed up. Time to cook up our meat, I mean meal! So, e grilled/sauteed our hamburger meat, sausage, and cubed steak. I think in all it took a total of  2.5 hours. We invited our friend Nicki over for lunch (we didn't want this meat to go to waste of course) and then packed the rest up, took it to Nicki's (she still had power) and then off to shop! The next day, we were off to New York, but I will save that for another blog :) Until then!

Hayley and Elizabeth

SNOWTOBER!!!! (compliments of Stacey Thomas)

Witch graveyard

Our Pumpkins. Hayley's is ghost , mine
is bat and jack-o-lantern

Scary monsters

So, Our time here in Connecticut has started out kinda rough! The first two weeks were pretty good. We began scrapbooking our previous assignments, decorated the apt, and even carved some pumpkins!  But the easiness ended last week. We had already tried to plan a trip to Salem, MA 2 weeks ago, but it rained so we scrapbooked instead (yes we are dorks). So last Wednesday we knew we were going to be off Thurs and Fri, so we decided we were heading to Salem rain or shine. Well of course it rained the entire time! It rained so hard, we had to buy umbrellas. It was a neat little town, and we learned about the witch trials. Our last event of the evening was a "Tales and Tombstone" tour, where we learned about the most haunted places in Salem. Pretty neat, although we didn't pay to close attention b/c as soon as our trolley took off the rain turned to snow!!!! Our first snow in New England, and it wasn't even Halloween yet! Never-the-less we were totally stoked!!!  By the end of the night, our jeans were wet up to the knees, our feet were frozen solid and we were so very tired! The next day we went to Boston which was a complete disaster, never go there without some kind of plan. So we basically ate lunch and then headed back home.

Outside our apt the day
after the snowstorm

Snowing outside of Hospital

               The disaster started the next day! I went to work this past Saturday like any normal day. We all knew snow was coming, but no one expecting what happened. I believe it started snowing around lunch time. It was sooo cool to watch it start accumulating, even if it was from the hospital window. Hayley was texting me, letting me know how much was coming down. Then I got a text around 4pm saying we lost power! AAHH poor Hayley, sitting there in the dark and cold just waiting for me to get home. On the drive home, it was still snowing like crazy, there were trees down everywhere, and probably at least 4-5 inches of snow on the ground! CRAZY! Our first New England Snowstorm! So, once I got home, we were going to head to our friend Nicki's apt to take showers (since she still had power), but with in 5 minutes of being home, we were already "snowed" in. We called the hospital and let them know what had happened and didn't know if we could get to work the next morning, so we called staffing and set up for security to come pick us up. Sweet, no driving tomorrow for us! We figured out we still had hot water, so we showered, layered our clothing and headed to bed. The next morning we woke up to a true winter wonderland. It was absolutely beautiful!  Too bad we couldn't play in it! Security was 2.5 hours picking us up (an whole story, but too long to type), and we finally got to work around 815 am. They day wasn't too terrible. Security ended up taking us home also, back to a cold, dark apt. That night, on our way in we saw our neighbors who we had seen using a shovel the night before, so I asked if we could borrow it. There we were, Southern Alabama girls, trying to shovel snow. I think we did a pretty good job! So here we are, it's Thursday and still without power. I'm sitting here at Panera Bread alone "blogging", and Hayley is at work.  I really hope we get power back real soon, I have laundry that needs to be done! Anyway's until next time!
~Hayley and Elizabeth~