Now that the first month of 2011 is coming to a close, Bailey & Rembrandt are determined to do a better job of keeping track of their adventures via this blog. Before starting 2011 adventures, we would like to take a moment to recap 2010 and its highlights and even some of its lowlights.
January 2010
We spent 3 weeks on Aunt Cathy's farm with a new friend, a goat, Dragon, while Mom and Dad went to Las Vegas, skiing at Beaver Creek, California (Dad), Ann Arbor, Michigan (Mom's last Geiger trip). Dragon was a rescue and only had use of three legs, he ate everything in site and was very gracious to share his cage during the daytime with us and his garage at night. We became fast friends and played well together.
February 2010
We celebrated Mom's last day at Geiger & Associates and experienced for the first time what it was like to be a family living together and traveling together non-stop as a family.
March 2010
We made our first long road trip to Bensalem, PA where we lived for two weeks and explored the big cities of Philadelphia and Washington, DC. We ate steak sandwhiches, studied the public art and architecture of these areas and brushed up on our American history.
April 2010
We were away from home the entire month of April. We drove to Boston first and had our Easter dinner at Wagamama's, a family favorite. Mom and Dad discovered this place in London and had their first Thanksgiving at a Wagamama's in Dublin. The Boston location is one of two in the US, the other is just a few miles away in Cambridge, which we visited a few days later.
From Boston we made our first trip to Canada (Montreal, Quebec). Crossing customs was super easy, all they needed was our rabies information. Enroute to Canada we crossed off a few more states on our list, Vermont and New Hampshire. We spent a few days in Montreal and enjoyed the shops and restaurants and practicing our French. Highlights included:
St. Viateur Bagel at 263 St. Viateur, Montreal considers this to be the best bagel place in the world. Pronounced B-A-G-A-L, bagels are made on location throughout the day in a wood buring oven. Visitors can see first hand how the bagels are made and cooked, the smell is wonderful and can be detected blocks away. As you enter the shop you can immediately feel the heat of the oven and there is always a crowd.
Vieux Montreal - The birthplace of everything Montreal, this is where it all started. We had dinner in this area with friends at a delcious local bistro, we even got to meet the chef. After dinner we walked around the cobblestone streets and historic buildings. This area is also a melting pot of cultures rich in tradition.
Mont Royal - This area is equivalent to NYC's Central Park. It is a wooded mountain that serves as a park for residents. We walked around here and met several Canadian dogs, very friendly. This park was designed by Frederic Law Olmstead and has spectacular views of downtown Montreal and the eastern portion of the city.
Eggspectation - A favorite restaurant that is everything eggs! www.eggspectation.ca
From Montreal we returned to Boston for a few days and then took a weekend trip to Maine, checking another state off of our list. We went as far as Freeport, MA and stopped there at the LL Bean flagship store, we also ate lobster rolls and lobster bisque. On our way back to Boston we drove along the coast and had some of the best views. We drove into Kennebunkport and stumbled upon the Bush compound.
After we finished work in Boston we made our way to Pennsylvania where we stayed in a cabin in the woods. While at the cabin we saw 7 different bears that had just finished their hibernation and hiked to the highest point in NY. Our PA cabin was located in the tri state area of New Jersey, New York and PA. We worked in NJ, slept in PA and shopped in NY. There were fabulous antique stores in this area and one of the best philly steak sandwiches at a small deli in a gas station. We purchased an old train truck at an antique store that was once a church. This area is known for antiques and many NYC dealers shop this area for their City stores.
One Sunday we drove down to The City for worship at Redeemer Presbyterian, where we were led by Tim Keller during one of their jazz services.
From the tri-state area we headed north to Rochester, NY. We were here for about two weeks and this was not our favorite spot at this time of year. By this time we were tired of the cold, grey skies and were eager to get home to Spring. We made the most of it and had fun hiking around along the Erie Canal and sampling the garbage plate at Nick Tahou Hots. Rochester is know for this unusual dish which is a combination of cheeseburger, hamburger, red hots, white hots, Italian sausage, chicken tender, fish, fried ham, grilled cheese or eggs; and two sides of either homefries, french fries, baked beans or macaroni salad. Then you have the option of mustard, onions, ketchup and Nick's famouse hot sauce, a greasy sauce of spices and ground beef. Its then served with rolls or Italian toast from the bakery next door. We had cheeseburger with homefires and macaroni salad. Luckily Mom was not a big fan so we got to taste it!
May 2010
We spent a lot of May at home on the boat testing out the waters of the Flint River, Lake Talquin and Lake Blackshear.
June 2010
In June we went south to Clearwater and spent some time at the beach and exploring smaller areas of Dunedin. This downtown is cute and has great ice cream.
July 2010
For the first half of the month we were busy with VBS, by the middle of the month we found ourselves back on the road driving back up to New York and Connecticut where we found our second home in Danbury, CT.
July, August, September 2010
We lived in Danbury and made a couple of trips home, but during this time we watch the area enter into Spring and transition into Summer. We enjoyed the waters of the Hudson River and Lake Candlewood via the tubes of our boat. We explored the Hudson Valley and took the train into the City numerous times, eating some of the best flavors. Two of our favorite friends joined us for a tour, Lorie and Melissa and we spent a lot time with our new friend Jerry and out dear friends at DiCiccos. Some highlights included: Walking the DiCiccos, Brooklyn Bridge, Wicked, Stew Leonards, Central Park, Sleepy Hollow, American Eagle's Times Square Store, Terrytown and Dobbs Ferry.
July 4th we did make it home for some fun time on the River, the Flint River that is, with friends and family.
In September we were back to Rochester for a little while and got to catch the first glimpses of Fall in the Finger Lakes. We also discovered DELI and also spent a day on Lake Ontario. One day we drove to Buffalo for the Bill's season opener and ate wings at the Anchor Bar, Home of the Buffalo Chicken Wing.
NOT FINISHED
