{Weekend Adventure} Celebrating Hubby

Phew! What a special weekend!

After a long (in so many ways) two years, Hubby earned his Masters in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. 

The graduation ceremony was held at the historic Carlisle Barracks, the nation's second-oldest active military base, and we were so excited to head up and celebrate him and all of his hard work!

B, M and I (L is at camp) booked it up to Pennsylvania on Thursday night in preparation for the graduation ceremony Friday morning.

What a beautiful morning!

The graduation ceremony took place on the historic parade grounds...

with all graduates walking through the picturesque Wheelock Bandstand to receive their diplomas...

I am so thankful they were allowed to walk AND that guests were allowed to attend, as well...

We are ALL so proud of him!

After the graduation festivities, we grabbed lunch and popped in for a short visit with my Aunt B, Uncle P, and cousin R before continuing up to visit with Hubby's brother and his family in New York. We got to meet our dog niece, Z, too...

So thankful to have Hubby in the driver's seat as we crossed the George Washington Bridge this go 'round...

as driving into the city is not my favorite thing to do. I've only done it twice (driven out of it only once), and the last time was by complete accident!

The next morning, we had a great breakfast before catching the train into the city!

We headed straight to the Flatiron District for a special, celebratory lunch...

at Gramercy Tavern, a neighborhood restaurant that borders the beautiful Gramercy Park neighborhood...

It was both delicious and fun...

{*It's just grape juice, fancy style!}

After lunch, we did a little shopping before heading over to the recently redeveloped Hudson Yards area where we got our first look at The Vessel...

We were hoping to get up to The Edge, but didn't get our tickets in time... Oh well, next time...

Instead, we did a little more shopping. A favorite stop was a store called Camp that had many interactive areas for kids...

From there, we decided to head down to the Financial District and stop by the tomb of Alexander Hamilton (+ Eliza and Angelica, too ~ we've already visited Peggy)...

Unfortunately, the cemetery was closed due to an ongoing renovation. We did get a picture from outside the fence, though...

but it remains on our list for next time...

Lastly, we walked over to one of my favorites, El Vez, for dinner...

a nice ending to a fun afternoon, celebrating in the city...

We caught the train back to Hastings-on-Hudson for another quick visit with family before hitting the road and making it back down to Pennsylvania for the night.

Thankful to be home safely from another adventure, and looking forward to being a family of FIVE once again later this week!

{10 Trip} Celebrating TEN ~ Georgia!

Much like we did with both our oldest and our middle, we wanted to plan a special one-on-one trip with M in celebration of her turning 10. M's Ten Trip should have been in May 2020, but we ALL know how 2020 turned out. I tried to get it done before she turned 11, but we didn't quite make it. I really think she was losing hope! So, we set off early Thursday morning for a couple of days away...

{"But Mom, I'm 11 now!"}

When I think of M, I think of adventure, animals, art, and architecture/interior design... She also loves cooking and really appreciates a good (or simply "fun") meal. She's the sweetest caboose in our family of five, and oh so easy to celebrate!

We crossed into Georgia...

and grabbed breakfast at a bagel shop I've wanted to try for quite awhile, The Bagel Hole...

on the way to today's adventure!

I actually gave M a choice of what to do today, and I wasn't a bit surprised at what she picked!

She chose a day at Six Flags Over Georgia (instead of a day at Zoo Atlanta)...

While we were *hoping* to ride every roller coaster + the fun waterish rides too, it was a bit stormy today, and we had to deal with several coasters being closed for large chunks of the day. It was fine, and we still had a BLAST. We rode several roller coasters, and M discovered that Thunder River is one of her favorite rides ever... We rode it alone about 7 times total (and got sopping wet)!

A list of what we rode...

Dahlonega Mine Train

Twisted Cyclone

The JOKER Funhouse Coaster

Thunder River (A LOT)

BATMAN: The Ride

Blue Hawk

Goliath

{Note: STILL wet from Thunder River hours ago!}

and what we might need to come back some day to get!

Dare Devil Dive (not sure we wanted to try it just yet)

Georgia Scorcher (closed when we were in the area)

Great American Scream Machine (closed for maintenance when we arrived and got in line)

Log Jamboree (closed all day)

SUPERMAN: Ultimate Flight (we were never in the area)

The RIDDLER Mindbender (new and improved coaster not yet reopened)

We certainly have our work cut out for us the NEXT time we visit!

WHAT a DAY! 

We left, witnessing a magical full rainbow on the way out of Atlanta...

and capped off the night with dinner in Athens at Your Pie (a favorite chain pizza spot)...

We got up early the next morning and hit the ground running (or should I say jumping???)...

Unfortunately, our planned breakfast stop, The Grill, was CLOSED! Boo...

We grabbed Chick-fil-A from a couple doors down instead...

From there, we went mural hopping...

Downtown Athens - Hey Baby - Taylor Shaw

Downtown Athens - Hope - David Hale

Five Points - untitled - Vivian Liddell

We stopped by the Tree that Owns Itself...

before making a few quick school and home stops on the "Mom Heritage Tour"...

From Athens, we travelled to Fayetteville to grab lunch at Truett's Luau (the only Hawaiian-themed Chick-fil-A)!

From there, we continued on to Eatonton to make a stop at the Uncle Remus Museum...

Miss Georgia was our docent, and she is an absolute treasure...

We spent the night in Savannah and started the next day...

with a delicious breakfast from Back in the Day Bakery...

before doing a little more mural hopping...

Starland District - untitled - unknown

Historic Downtown - Welcome to Savannah - Kipper Millsap

and taking a tour of the SCAD Museum of Art...

We loved the fun outdoor art installation, SCAD Beach...

We went back out to the Starland District to grab lunch at The Vault...

Everything, literally EVERYTHING, was just delicious!

After lunch, we toured the Davenport House Museum...

{One of the houses my parents built in Athens was modeled after this historic house.}

I've always loved this house for obvious reasons, but learned today of its real importance, that its preservation is what started the movement to preserve the rest of Historic Savannah...

We ended our trip with a sweet stop at the iconic Leopold's Ice Cream shop, but not without waiting in a very long line to get in...

We said goodbye to Savannah and headed home...

What a wonderful trip through Georgia with my most favorite 11(!) year old!