Swan Lake

My husband surprised me with a weekend trip to Cape May, NJ.  We stayed at a lovely Bed and Breakfast and spent the weekend relaxing.  On Saturday we took a walk along the coast and found a small lake.  There was the most beautiful swan swimming along with the ducks.

I was told there are three types of Swans in the northern part of the country where I live.  This particular swan is called a Mute Swan.  It won't make a lot of noise but will hiss if aggravated.  It was absolutely beautiful!

Sunflower Field

There's something about a sunflower field stretching for miles upon miles that makes you feel like you're chilling on cloud nine. People from across the region, including us, flocked to a field off of Main Street to see and photograph the gorgeous fields of yellow.

The beauty of the sunflower field put me in such a good mood.  All the way home I sang "You are My Sunshine".

Washington DC

Friday, the 20th of January is Inauguration Day. Instead of focusing on the politics, I thought I'd share the trip we took this fall to Washington DC. 

 Students from Great Britain took a two week trip to visit our country.  Todd and I hosted one of the teachers who came along to chaperone.  My favorite day trip we took was to see our nations Capitol.  It was a gorgeous day and I enjoyed walking throughout DC to see all the monuments.

 Mr. Trump recently opened a hotel in DC.  We happened to pass by on our way to lunch.  It just looked like another hotel with flashy gold signs everywhere.  Honestly I wasn't that impressed.

With all the uproar during this years election, the British visitors were fascinated with our presidental  debates and learned a lot about our political process. 

In fact, I learned A LOT during this election too. It was inspiring to see all 3 of my boys get involved with politics and have civil conversations about it.  

 The most excitement we had was getting caught in the middle of a protest in front of the White House.  We got to see Secret Service men run across the White House lawn chasing someone down.  You could see the sharp shooters on top of the roof from where we stood.  It was difficult to get photos because of the extra security blocking tourists off from getting too close to the gate.

Whether we like it or not, Mr. Trump will become our 45th president and will take up residence in the White House for the next 4 years.
I just hope there won't be gold glitter and neon flashing signs in the lawn.

Rain Forest Cafe

 I've never heard of the Rainforest Cafe.  

It sounded like a cool place to go to eat with the kids.  

We went to a location in Atlantic City, NJ,

The Rainforest Cafe restaurant is designed to depict some features of a tropical rainforest, including plant growth; mist; waterfalls; and figures of rainforest animals, including elephants, frogs, gorillas, jaguars, tigers, and tropical birds. Cool part of the theme is that some of the figures are animatronic.

 We celebrated Max's 11th birthday with a volcano cake!

  Most of the family was here.  

Two of my boys (Ahren and Zachary) couldn't come on vacation this year.

I love this photo of Brandon with his grandparents!

Gator Crossing

Cape May, NJ has a fabulous Zoo.  It's not huge like some zoos, but it is very family friendly.

Each summer we spend a week in Ocean City, NJ.  Cape May isn't far from there, so we take a day trip to the zoo.  It's one of my favorite places to visit each year.

 Gators creep me out!  They always look like they are up to no good. 

Sneaking up on you, waiting to grab you in their powerful jaws.

I learned a few facts from a report my son had to do when he was in elementary school.

They can live 30-50 years old!  

Zoo's feed them rats.

It is Florida's official state reptile.

Even though some gators were taken off the endangered species list, they are still considered endangered because hunter cannot always tell the difference between the different types of gators.

Visit the National Parks Conservation Association to donate towards endangered species.

 Cape May Zoo 2004

Pictures courtesy of Todd Miller

Cape May, NJ

During our vacation we spent a day in the lovely town of Cape May.   In fact, it's one of our country's oldest vacation spot.  I would recommend this gorgeous town as a top place to visit.

Cape May began as a vacation spot for people from Philadelphia in the early 1800's.  In 1878 a huge fire burned down many homes.  The homes were re-built in a victorian style.  Cape May is designated as a National Historic Landmark because of the victorian home.  The details of the homes are stunning.  My husband and I walked around the town and tried to capture the beauty in these homes.

A lot of the homes have been turned into Bed and Breakfast's, but some are still private residences.

Could you envision yourself sitting on this rocker, relaxing during a cool summer day?

I love this hammock!  

 I hope you enjoyed the lovely view of Cape May.