Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Cape Cod trip part 2

It appears we have returned from Cape Cod for exactly a month and it completely slipped my mind that I never wrote about the rest of the trip!

It has been a whirlwind ever since returning from our little vacation, with lots of entertaining and catching up with friends and family. Jeff also just celebrated his birthday and we have our 5th wedding anniversary later this week.


Here it is!!

Sunday Sep10
We left Providence and drove to Newport Rhode Island to visit Mansions and do the Cliff Side walk.
Apparently there are a ton of mansions in that area.  I really know nothing about Rhode Island.
The mansions were meh. I'm not big on big dusty homes that I can't sit down or take a nap in.  And geez, the museum/mansion staff were really uptight.

Then after the mansions, we drove to our final destination, Cape Cod in Massachusetts.  With all the driving and sight seeing, Caitlin did not nap at all this day. =(
the view from the Breakers mansion

the Cliffside Walk.  You really walk along a cliff.
We actually did the walk because Uncle Bruce was GeoCaching, looking for GeoCaches


Monday Sep 11
Lots of settling in and unpacking in our lodge.  The lodge is lovely, with a lake view.
We all went to visit a lighthouse not too far from our town.
After lunch, Jeff, Caitlin , and I retired to the hotel for our afternoon nap while the rest of our party drove 2 hours to the tip of Cape Cod.
Nobska Lighthouse


Tues Sept 12
Martha's Vineyard day!
Funny story. 
We originally were supposed to spend the entire week in Marthas Vineyard rather than Cape Cod, and we even booked our flight and rental car to go to Marthas Vineyard.  But after some issues regarding some people in our party dropping out and us not being able to get a ferry ticket to get our rental cars onto the island, we made the decision to stay in Cape Cod instead (and subsequently changed our flight and rental car).
And you know. I'm glad we stayed in Cape Cod.
I think I would have gotten claustrophobic in Marthas Vineyard. It's tiny and there is nothing to do.  It's very similar to Catalina Island off the coast of LA. 

Sure, there isn't much to do in Cape Cod, but at least I don't feel trapped and I don't feel separated from civilization.
To be able to get a seat on the ferry to Martha's Vineyard (since you cant' reserve seats), you need to get there at 8am to get tickets and wait in line.  Of course, Jeff, Caitlin, and I were all still on Pacific time and we were still sleep deprived from the plane ride from hell, so it sucked getting our ass up at 7am.

We were able to get on the first ferry out to Martha's Vineyard.  When we arrived, it was basically: ok, now what.
We walk around, got  some hot tea, rode the oldest carousel in the world, walked around town some more, grabbed lunch, hopped on a bus to..... AN ALPACA FARM!!! OMG ALPACAS!!!

he caught me trying to take a selfie with him

There is a small farm in the center of the island that breeds alpacas! It's pretty unknown but thankfully, Alice knew about it.  You get to pet them, and you even have the option to take one home for $200. Caitlin loved the alpacas, and she learned the word "alpaca" immediately!  We bought home a mini  stuffed animal alpaca for her, which she sleeps with often. =)
Despite sleep-deprived Caitlin being up so early that morning, we weren't able to leave the island until close to 5pm.  As a result, Caitlin was TIRED (most likely hungry too, and she also didnt want to leave the alpaca farm). She threw the biggest tantrum we've ever seen. I felt sorry for everyone on the bus.  When we finally got back to our hotel past 6pm, and we let her take a late nap and go to bed late.  

Traveling truly is difficult for a baby/toddler that still requires naps.  I give Caitlin kudos for putting up with us adults.

Wednesday Sep 13
Boston Day!
Alice flew out of Boston on this day so we tagged along to Boston, which is a 1-1.5 hour drive.
Of course, Caitlin (and Jeff and myself) wakes up in the morning, while the rest of our party enjoyed sleeping in til 11am.  So we sat around and watched morning cartoons until everyone woke. We finally headed out to Boston around 12:30pm. We arrive at 2pm in Boston and went to the aquarium first. We waited in a long line for tickets, paid well over $100 for tickets for everyone, walked around the aquarium for less than an hour, then we left because Alice had a flight to catch, and it was past 3pm -- Caitlin was tired and ready for her nap.
 Myrtle weighs over 500 pounds.

Upon leaving the aquarium parking lot, we had to pay $38 for parking our car there for 1.5 hours.
And I thought LA parking was steep. 
In total, we paid a little under $200 to play for 1 hour in Boston.  So glad we don't live in Boston. I'm too poor for that place!!!
Jeff, Caitlin, and I picked up Burger King drive thru for lunch and we drove in rush hour back to Cape Cod while Caitlin napped in the car.  It was a cold rainy day in Massachusetts so on our way home, we stopped by a Walmart to buy some warm clothes for me and Caitlin. I was so happy! We dont get to have. Walmart in LA.

Thursday and Friday Sep 14-15
Relaxation time! 
After a hectic and busy last several days, we spent these days living life slowly, the way folks in Cape Cod do.  We visited the beach, ate some local fare (LOBSTER and more LOBSTER), and lazed around.  Now that's my idea of a vacation! woot!!

Saturday Sept 16
I can't believe a week has passed already.
We had a flight out of Boston in the afternoon so we all went out for brunch as our final Cape Cod meal. On our drive to Boston, we stopped by Plymouth for some photos of the faux Mayflower ship and Plymouth rock.
the famous rock.

Our flight back home to LAX went off without a hitch! Thank goodness.

------------------
An update regarding the plane ride from hell:
I wrote Delta a firm email complaining about the hell they put me and my family through, and I was pleasantly surprised that 1. Delta actually replied to me and 2. Delta tried to compensate me with something that wasn't miles.  The provided each flier (so Me, Jeff, and Caitlin) with a $125 gift card (so a total of $375) to any merchant on the Delta Gifts website. We chose Amazon since we shop on there almost everyday.  I am happy with the compensation, so, happy ending. =)

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