East Coast Trip, Spring Break 2006

As I mentioned last week, with Darrell's family living on the East Coast we try to make as many trips out there as we can. And while I could technically consider all of them "vacations", there is really no need to recap Every. Single. Trip. we've taken out east. But, just for fun, I wanted to highlight this trip because this was my first time traveling home with Darrell. And I really wish I could share some advice and pointers on how to deal with meeting your significant other's family.... But Darrell's family made getting along with them so easy that it felt like we had known each other for ages. It did help that I had talked with them on the phone multiple times (Darrell called home every weekend and I'd sit in on the calls with him occasionally), so I guess maybe that would be my piece of advice.

As far as spring breaks/vacations go, this one was pretty awesome, and--as was par for the course with Darrell and I in college--filled with quite a bit of time in a car. The drive from Waverly to his hometown alone was sixteen hours, and I think I only helped out with about four hours of the driving (I was nervous to drive through big cities/the mountains, so that pretty much ruled out most of the route). Once in NC we didn't just sit around at the house; we spent some time driving two hours north into the heart of the mountains so Darrell could so me the summer camp he worked at (and take me on some awesome hikes). 

Enjoying the view from Pinnacle Point at the camp Darrell worked at in the summers

We also spent some time driving along the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway, where Darrell may or may not have gotten a speeding ticket (to be fair, he wasn't really speeding by very much, but the cop was strictly enforcing the limit because "the conditions were poor" aka there was a little bit of snow on the roads. Unfortunately Darrell was plenty used to driving on snow by this point so he didn't slow down like the cop thought he should have).

View from one of the outlooks along the Parkway

We weren't done driving just yet; lots of Darrell's extended family lives in Georgia, including his grandparents which he doesn't get to see very often, so we headed down there for a few days at the end of our break. I'm quite certain we were both in food comas after his Grandmommy got done stuffing us full with chicken and dumplings and banana pudding (mmm...). We managed to squeeze in another hike though; after all, since I live in the state the proudly claims Mount Rushmore, it was only right to visit the "Mount Rushmore" of the South--Stone Mountain. 

Never even knew such a place existed. The carving depicts the Confederate President Jefferson Davis, along with Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson

I'm going to cheat a little bit and post a picture from a trip out to North Carolina later that summer, but only because it's one of my favorite photos of us. Since we usually only travel just the two of us, and we have a tendency to go off the beaten path, there usually isn't someone we can ask to take a picture of us. So, we've had to master the art of propping our camera somewhere safe and using the self-timer. This was one such shot, and I love how it came out.

I'm going to have to stop there because I could go on and on about our trips out east and how much I love them, but I'd just end up repeating myself a whole bunch: great family, great food, great scenery, etc. You get the point.

Topsail Island

With Darrell's family living (primarily) in North Carolina, any trip to visit them is pretty much a vacation for us. However, we always make an effort to go out there every summer and join them for an actual vacation--a week-long trip to Topsail Island (read my 2011 recap here). This is actually a vacation that Darrell's family has been taking since before he was born, and many of his extended family members from Georgia make the trip up as well (including his grandparents). That element alone sets it miles apart from my family's vacation style--I can not think of a location that we have visited more than once on vacation. But even though it's the same beach and (usually) the same house and many of the same stores and entertainment, going there year after year never gets old.

2007--My first year at the beach!

Because I came from a family with very structured (and busy!) vacations, it took me a little while to adjust to vacationing with Darrell's family. Every day at the beach looks pretty much the same--wake up whenever you want, eat breakfast around nine, hang out on the beach, eat lunch whenever you want, take an afternoon nap, spend more time on the beach, have dinner around seven, and walk down to the putt-putt place for ice cream. Sometimes people will drive to nearby Surf City to do some shopping, sometimes people will head to Wilmington to tour the USS North Carolina, sometimes people will walk or drive down to the south end of the island to hunt for treasures in the tide pools, sometimes people will head down for an afternoon round of putt-putt, etc. Rarely (if ever) is there a gathering of all the travelers to mull through their options and come to a collective decision on what to do; rather, if you want to do something, go ahead and do it with anyone else who's interested!

A fun seashell picture from 2008

If you happen to find yourself on a vacation like this and the lack of structure is actually causing you stress (I secretly want to invite my sister along on a Beach Week some year because she'll just go crazy trying to figure out a "plan"), there are a few things you have to accept. My first year was a little nerve-wracking since not only was I not used to having such a laid-back vacation, but I also I didn't know Darrell's family all that well, so I mostly just followed Darrell around like a lost puppy all week. I wasn't exactly comfortable just hanging out at the house and "going with the flow".

Plug-fishing with Darrell my first year--and I caught a fish before he did!

For awhile I also used Darrell as my "voice"; if I wanted ice cream I would get him to agree to go with me, then let him inform others of our plan and invite them along. And for the first year, Darrell was pretty good about agreeing to do what I wanted so that I didn't have to (gasp!) ask anyone else.

NC isn't exactly known for it's surfing... (Darrell circa 2009)

After that year, though, I was pretty much on my own. I suppose I could have continued to follow him around and just do what he wanted, but that would have gotten old fast (especially with his habit of getting up at six am to go fishing). So in order to enjoy myself, there were a few things that I needed to come to terms with.

A really high tide thanks to tropical storms in 2007

The first thing I needed to accept was that with a vacation style like this, people aren't going to feel excluded if you choose to something that they don't want to do. Nor will they think you are pretentious if you choose not to do what they are doing. This mentality works really well because Darrell's family members aren't exactly ones to have secret agendas, so when they decline to join you for ice cream, it isn't code for "I want you to suggest walking to the sound instead". If they want to walk to the sound, they'll suggest it themselves (truthfully, this is something I'm still working on a little bit; I sometimes still like to use Darrell as my voice when it comes to suggesting things to do).

A mock engagement shoot a month after the proposal (2009)

I've also had to learn that it is okay to have an opinion and state it as such; not everything has to be a question geared toward finding the option that pleases the majority (seriously, when you get my family together, it's like no one has opinion. Everyone's all "what do you want to do?" "I don't care, what do you want to do?"). I don't have to ask "when is everyone else going to be ready to go in for lunch?", but rather I can say "I'm going to head in for lunch if anyone wants to join me". Maybe they will, maybe they won't, but their choices don't have to dictate mine.

And the past few years I've had to accept that when little ones are around, they do a pretty good job of dictating the schedule. And I'm perfectly okay with that. Because when John is ready to go outside, he's ready to go outside. Right. Now. And while he really only needs one willing adult to go out with him, how could you not want to join this smiling face in whatever he does?

Seven-month old John, 2009

Nineteen-month old John, 2010

Two and a half year old John, 2011

One important piece of advice though (which I know all mothers already know)--when you are on vacation with a toddler/infant, nap when they do. Because not only do you not want to miss any great moments with them, but when they are awake, they are totally on their own agenda. And that agenda may not include being quiet and respectful of other people trying to sleep  :)

Pretty Flowers!

Finally time to cross something off of Darrell's 101 in 1001 list!

Yay for random flowers at work!

Florida 2008

Family vacations can always be hard to manage. Because let's be honest, every family has their issues. And my family is certainly no exception. Yet, when push comes to shove and we manage to (finally) make it to our vacation destination, we always end up having a good time. Sure, there are always some tense moments, but hey, they wouldn't be family if you didn't occasionally want to put them in a choke-hold.

Obligatory Florida beach shot

Not only was this a family vacation, but this was also the first time that my siblings and I were permitted to bring our significant others on vacation with the family. So that introduced a new element into the vacation, because it was evident that some of my family members were biting their tongues to keep from blowing up in front of the "guests" (although let it be known--my family all wears their emotions on their sleeves, so no one was really hiding anything, it was just making other people awkward because the issue was being blatantly ignored).

Darrell always has such a great eye for taking photos... Love this shot of the tree and dock!

We did learn a few things on this vacation about finding that happy medium between traveling with the family and traveling with significant others. And while some of the things we learned are certainly reflective of how my family operates, I know there are other similar families out there (at least that's what I always tell myself so I don't feel bad), so hopefully they can take a page out of our book and learn from some of our successes and failures.

One of the most important elements of having an enjoyable family vacation is make sure there is at least one activity that all parties are included in and like to do.

I swear we are actually playing cards, not just drinking

Even if your family is like my family and loves to plan excursions for Every. Day. of the vacation, there will still undoubtably be down time. Plus, if you are all staying in the same vacation home (like we were), it's pretty hard to isolate yourself from the group to pass the down time. Thankfully, my family is one of those families that gets into cards and board games, so we always make sure to have some around (and trust me--cards are great time-killers in airports as well). And, if your family is really like mine and has to do EVERYTHING together when on vacation, make sure to take advantage of the local facilities and attractions to break up the monotony of the same-old same-old activities. Oh, and pitting couples against couples is always a great way to brew excitement in the activity and keep people interested.

Couples tennis anyone?

This is really a location-specific tip, but if you are vacationing somewhere that offers deep-sea fishing tours, you should definitely consider doing one. As long as no one in your family has a strong aversion to fish or bad seasickness, these trips are a blast. Most charters have a variety of trips available as well, so you will be able to select one that best fits your interests. Since we weren't all gung-ho about doing an overnight adventure (although you do have the opportunity to catch some wicked cool fish), we went out on one of their standard day trips where they pretty much guarantee everyone will catch something. And trust me, they don't lie. 

This wasn't even all of the fish we caught!

One of the other great things about these trips is that after you dock, the crew will clean the fish for you and give you tips on how to prepare them. And then you will have some good eatin' that night.

There was one definite area of friction on the trip, however. As I've mentioned, my family has the vacation mindset of "everyone or no one" when it comes to activities. Serious deliberation (usually too much) is put into every decision because we have to all agree on the same thing so that no one feels slighted or left out. There is no splitting up or having people branch off on their own. And when we would travel just the five of us, this usually wasn't an issue. But I soon discovered that when I had my significant other along, I was more inclined to want some down time that wasn't a "full-family" activity. So when Darrell and I decided we wanted to go for a walk on the beach one evening while the rest of the family was sitting down to play cards, we got some pretty displeased looks from other family members (but it paid off in some pretty awesome photos!).

I've since talked with my mom and sister (the two who really cared), and we've come to the understanding that sometimes when we travel, especially with our significant others, the couples might want to spend some time alone because after all, this is a vacation for them as well. So I would highly recommend that if you preparing for that monumental first family vacation with a significant other, make sure you and your family are on the same page with expectations for how and with whom people will spend their time.

If this really doesn't sound like the vacation style of your family and really isn't helpful at all, stay tuned later this week as I recap vacations with Darrell's family--which are about as polar opposite as you can be compared to my family's vacations!

Peanut Butter Brownie Pie

If I had actually been on top of things, I would have posted this (or other recipes) prior to Mother's Day and encouraged you to do some baking for your dearest mother. But, considering I didn't actually make these until Sunday afternoon, that would have been hard to do. So I'm posting this after the fact--and insisting that you make this for your mother or significant other or even just yourself at some point in the near future (And if you happened to forget Mother's Day--or didn't impress with your gift--I'm certain this will smooth things over). Because this pie is delicious. So delicious. It's also ridiculously sweet, and with my sweet tooth, it takes a lot for me to say that. So be sure to cut it into small pieces and prepare to share it with lots of people--and then be ready for lots of compliments as they rave about your delicious pie. Trust me, you won't regret it. Just make sure you have a few glasses of cold milk at the ready--you'll need it for this pie.

Oh, and did I mention it's super easy? As if you weren't sold on it before, I know I have your attention now.

Peanut Butter Brownie Pie
(recipe borrowed from here)

1 deep dish pie crust
1 15.5 oz brownie mix
1/4 cup peanut butter chips
1/3 cup canola oil
3 tbsp water
1 egg
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 8 oz container whipped topping

Preheat oven to 350*. In a large bowl, combine the brownie mix, peanut butter chips, canola oil, water, and egg. Stir until well combined. Pour into pie crust and bake for thirty-five to forty minutes, or until cooked through (if pie crust starts to burn cover it with foil). Cool for twenty minutes, then refrigerate for an hour. In a stand mixer combine the cream cheese, peanut butter, and powdered sugar. Beat until fully incorporated. Fold in the whipped topping and mix thoroughly. Top the brownie with the peanut butter mousse and refrigerate at least thirty minutes before serving. Serve cold.

See? Super easy. We did end up having some of the peanut butter mousse left over, but trust me when I say it'll disappear out of your fridge without any issue. As will this pie.

Enjoy!

10K: Finished

Well, I did it. I ran the 10K--all of it. But it wasn't pretty. Don't believe me?

I'd like to say that I blame the photographer for taking an awkward photo, but I'm quite certain that there wasn't anyway to get a "good" photo of me at that point. But I finished. Not quite as quickly as I would have liked, but I suppose that's what I get for slacking off on training the last few weeks. I do wish that I had been just running the 5K, though; I passed the half-way point of the 10K feeling great and with my second-fastest 5K time ever. But just after mile four I crashed, and it was all I could do to just keep my legs moving at a pace that could barely be considered a run.

The event, as a whole, was quite a success though. It was one of the largest crowds they've ever had for the Avera Race Against Breast Cancer, with over 6200 total participants (500+ in the 10K).

And the weather couldn't have been more perfect; suffering through a 10K was a little bit more bearable with temperatures in the high fifties/low sixties and minimal to no wind (a rarity in SD!).

All in all, I'm certainly glad I stuck with it and finished it (and can now cross it off my 101 in 1001 list), but I think from here on out I'll stick with 5Ks. 10Ks are just a little too much for this former sprinter.

Maine 2006

Yes, you are reading that correctly: Maine. This trip was probably one of my favorite trips that Darrell and I have ever taken, mostly for the shock value of the whole thing. Because really, who expects two college students in Iowa to drive to Maine for the weekend? It was awesome. And definitely a good relationship-tester; we'd only been dating for five months at the time of the trip. There's nothing like a 44-hour road trip to help you find out if your relationship has lasting power.

A little back story on how this whole trip came about. Somewhere around spring mid-terms (of my sophomore year and Darrell's senior) we were sitting around with some other people in our dorm complaining about school and tests and work and everything else. Someone made the passing comment that we should just go to Maine, because doesn't it seem like life would be so much better and stress-free there? Plus fresh lobster just sounded delicious. It became an on-going joke for a week or so, and then after one particularly stressful day Darrell came into my room and said "That's it. I'm done. Let's just go to Maine." My response? "Okay". So we left.

Old Orchard Beach, Maine

About twenty minutes down the road we realized the futility of our plan. We hadn't even packed anything, and both of us were supposed to work at least two shifts in the next few days. But as we turned to head back to school, we made the decision that we would go--and not tell anyone. After checking our calendars, we found out that with a little rearranging we could both be free the following weekend. We planned a route, made hotel reservations, and set a departure time. And on the following Thursday around five pm we were off, with not even our roommates aware that we were heading to Maine (Darrell's roommate thought the trip was totally awesome; my roommate was livid. Still not sure why though....)

We couldn't get over how perfect this slogan fit in with the purpose of our trip

Part of the other impetus behind this trip was a completely random goal of mine to visit all fifty states. So our trip didn't just include driving to Maine and back; we actually spent all day Saturday looping around back roads and driving through as many New England states as we could manage. In fact, I think we were only in the actual state of Maine for about eighteen hours, and at least ten of those hours were spent sleeping (we had driven all through the night on Thursday night).

We may or may not have driven in and out of Rhode Island two or three times just to make sure we got a good picture of the sign

This is a shot of Boston--through the back window. Unbeknownst to us, the interstate we were on actually went under the entire city. While it was certainly the fastest and easiest route, it would have been cool to drive through Boston. Guess we'll just have to go again sometime

As fun as it is to relive this awesome trip (and dream about doing something like this again....), I do have some practical things to share about this trip. Namely, some useful pieces of advice to help you survive a road trip. Because I realize that for many people road trips are arduous tasks, not something to look forward. Obviously the most important piece of advice I can give is make sure you enjoy your company (something we took a little bit of a gamble on with this trip since we'd only known each other five months). And the next most important thing is being able to (sanely) pass the time--a harder task at times than others. I know this will sound counter-intuitive, but we really found that the drive home, when we were taking backroads versus interstates, was actually way more enjoyable than driving through main roads. Sure, going through small towns slowed us down a little bit, but as long as you work a little extra travel time into your schedule, you just might discover that the small towns presents lots of fun distractions (ie--a town with banners in their downtown that had giant red dots on them proclaiming "you are here"). And I guarantee you won't find signs like this along the interstate.

Legit

Another nice thing about traveling with a casual time frame is that it gives the navigator room for error. Since we only had a general idea of the route we were going to take, we carted our atlas around and used it to determine our next course of action. I won't say how many times we decided that we were going to turn onto another highway within five or so miles, but then got distracted and forgot to exit. But since we didn't have a pressing time commitment, we just pulled our map out and recalculated our route.

One of the best things about traveling without a tight time commitment is that it allows you to be able to stop if something interesting strikes your fancy... Or if George Mason is about to beat UConn in the Elite Eight of the NCAA March Madness Tournament and you just need to stop somewhere to watch the end of the game.

Oh random bar in Utica, Illinois, how grateful we are for thee

We also "created" a few games/challenges to help us pass the time as we were driving, many of which utilized our awesome atlas (I'm convinced these are necessary for all road trips). For one, we quizzed each other on the state capitols (multiple times) and also tried to predict the nicknames of each state (and then proceeded to quiz on these). We also took over/under bets on state/city populations, and discovered that South Dakota is the only state in the continental US that does not have an interstate running through its capitol city. My favorite activity was planning out a country-wide road trip and plotting out a very extensive list of what cities/landmarks we would want to visit in each state (and yes, I do still have the list. And yes, we do plan on completing that road trip. Someday. Maybe when we retire).

And in case you can't tell from the randomness of these pictures, we also entertained ourselves taking pictures. We made it a little bit of a competition to see who could take the best/most random scenery picture. Of course, some of the most random things we weren't able to catch on camera (like the lady pulling off the highway outside Chicago at eleven in the morning to puke), but we did manage to land a few solid scenery pictures. And while I won't concede that Darrell won the competition, he did land a pretty solid one as we drove across the Mississippi into Iowa.

Props if you made it all the way through that.... Apparently I had way more to say about that trip than I thought I did. But hopefully you (at the very least!) picked up a few new tips to help with your next road trip!