Hi friends! How are you?! Good I hope! I'm crossing all my fingers for a week of sunshine over here. I know Alex really wants the rain back home, and I don't blame him, it saves us from having to water the plants, but man it's a lot nicer to travel in beautiful weather, isn't it?!
We had pretty nice weather during our whole New England trip. A bit too hot some days, but still beautiful. The whole trip went by much too fast. I thought I would want to run and hide from my mother after a few days and that our two weeks there would feel like four months (sorry mom). But no, it was fast-fast. One of the weekends we were there, we decided to have a little ladies overnight trip. We threw around a couple of ideas but settled on Rhode Island--- one of my favorite places. I lived there for three and half years in college. So yeah, just long enough for me to almost graduate ;)
After three years I had had enough of the weather, of school, of everything, and decided to leave. To this day, I still think this was most likely the best option. I don't know what my mental state would have been like if I had stayed. I missed the amazing friendships I had made, the big fluffy clouds (Rhode island clouds seem better than all others), and the tiny state itself, but I like where I am today. And I dont think I would have been here today, had I stayed. And I dont mean that in a morbid, I might be dead way.... certainly not, but I wouldn't have met Alex or been a mom to Marlowe and who knows what state or country I'd be in now. I'm happy how life worked out. Sometimes I wish I could go back and do it all over again--- be who I am now, but back then. But thats not how life works. Now I would treat myself better, I wouldn't be destroying my gut with candy bars and processed fake meat. I would have enjoyed it a lot more had I been this self aware, then. But whatever.
Rhode Island is still my favorite. And I'm so grateful for the memories I have of them and the friendships I made while there. And grateful for those big fluffy clouds-- they definitely kept me sane ;)
So yeah, we decided to do an overnight trip in Rhode Island. I wanted Marlowe to see all the cute things, pretty things, and fall in love with the state too. The first stop we made was The Fantastic Umbrella Factory. To explore, shop, and eat food too. I have no recollection of what I used to eat while visiting, but I knew they had vegan options, so this seemed like the perfect first stop :)
healthy stuff.
I want this.
and maybe this.
Afterwards we decided to head into Jamestown. I must have driven over this bridges hundreds of times for work. Maybe it's weird, but I really love bridges. I really, really love them. We then checked into our little cabin. I booked, maybe 10 million (more or less) airbnb's this summer. this one was the most expensive. sort of too expensive, to be honest. (the places I booked in france were a third of the price!) but still super cute. We headed to the beach so Marlowe could feel real New England water. This, being the bay was a bit warmer than real New England water, but still, much chillier than home nonetheless. She collected shells and rocks and all sorts of things to take home. (But who knows where they are now, heh).
For dinner, we went to Crazy Burger-- which I KNEW had vegan options. Funny story--- the first time I was actually introduced to the idea of veganism was at Crazy Burger! This must have been in 2003. I went there with my mom one time when she was visiting from school and say the word vegan on the menu and stopped to ask what it was. When I was told there would be no cheese, I said 'NO WAY, NOT FOR ME' and ordered something else, haha. I was so naive to food back then. So so so naive. Even my mom thinks its so funny to see how I was then as opposed to now. Never would either one of us believed how my diet would be now, had you told us. There's no way.
We headed back to our cabin (basically glamping) for the night. My mom and I laughed and laughed that night about our sleeping situation. I promised her next time I would spend that much money on a hotel with a bathroom and not cabin, haha. Don't get me wrong, the place was adorable, but we probably could have spent the money better haha. But thats coming from me-- who likes to be super cautious about money... with most things ;)
In the morning we woke up and were happy that e all mostly survived.
We made a quick breakfast. Just puffed millet cereal for M, some fruit, coffee, nothing too exciting.
We then all got dressed, I was the only one who opted to use the outdoor shower... and we went on our way for more food and then the short(ish) drive home. We all had a great time. Marlowe asked if we could take Alex back with us next time-- which of course we would. Other than our immense (justified) fear of ticks--- we all had an amazing time. But yeah, note to self--- my mom and I do better where we don't have to worry about ticks, haha. After last summer, I'm happy to stay far away from New England woods in summer ;)
Hope you guys are having a great week! We had a lonnnnngggg day traveling back home yesterday, but we made it! Happy to long at home, get work done, and just be together today! It's mostly cloudy over here, but a bit of sun too. We had the most amazing time in Guatemala, I cannot wait to go through all my photos. Hands down the most beautiful place ever. Alright, friends! Off to eat delicious food and cuddle :)