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The house we're renting is solidly built and well-insulated with new double-pane windows, so we were both mildly confused to hear something rattling in the corner of our bedroom whenever the wind really buffeted the house. We both got up and checked the windows, but everything was secure and dry. Our best guess (actually it was Chris's) is that something is loose inside the old chimney. The house was still warm and comfortable so after a few minutes we gave up and went back to dozing before the kids or my alarm got us up.
Both girls have been fighting off various colds over the past few weeks, taking turns waking each other (and us) up in the middle of the night with some rough coughing fits. Last night was the second night in a row they've both slept through, so I was surprised and relieved to wake up and see what time it was. It was nice just laying there listening to the storm (and the rattle) and thinking about our girls and our first house-guests, Chris & Joanna, all asleep under our safe roof.
This is actually their second trip to Wellington since we've been here, but we were still in the hotel during the last one and could only think about how fun it would be to have them stay with us at the house. In a way I think we've dreamed about it since we first visited them in 2004 and got the crazy idea in our heads: Chris & Joanna have helped us all along the way in this adventure, from the initial idea to last-minute planning to lugging our baggage through the Auckland airport. We also used their CRV (an enormous SUV by local standards) to help move all our belongings out to the house. I'm happy to report it was worth the wait and as fun as we imagined it would be to have them come down and stay with us.
Despite all our protests they had to catch flight back to Auckland at 8am, so I got up around 6:30 and put the kettle on. We had a chance to visit a little more before getting into Moon Dog and making the two minute trek to the airport. I drove back in the dark and the rain to have breakfast and a cozy morning in the house. The wind hasn't let up and the rain is still pouring down so we've spent the day inside, and are just getting up from naps now. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday, thanks again for coming to visit us Chris & Joanna!
Our friends Clint, Dawn & Lily left for home today, and we are all sad. Apparently right after we left for the airport, Sophie saw an airplane fly overhead and said, "Look Mama! Lily knew I was sad and came back to say goodbye." (I won't tell you what Eula did to protest their departure, but it was pretty gross.)
They arrived Saturday afternoon and caught the leaves at their peak, and we couldn't have asked for better weather during their stay. We had a blast catching up with our old friends (these are the folks that introduced us almost nine years ago, in case you forgot) and managed to do a lot. Here are some highlights:
Joey's Pizza, the new cigar bar in Endicott (the owner has a plantation in the Dominican Republic and only sells his own), The Brackney Inn, breakfast and apple picking at Apple Hills, Wegmans, spiedies, pumpkin pancakes, Iron Kettle pumpkin farm, Chuck E. Cheese, Lampy's, Cider Mill, Invisible Ink at the Art Mission, Lost Dog Cafe, and the Discovery Center.
Thanks again for making the trip up to see us guys, we can't wait to come visit you again in Austin!
Regrettably, our long-lost camera still hasn't been found but we broke down and bought a new one in anticipation of all our October guests. We stuck with tradition and bought a Canon Digital Elph (SD1000). It has a lot of nice new features, but the default image settings are quite high so we'll have to tune them down for future pics.
Uncle Jesse & Uncle Dan left for Manhattan this morning after a great visit, and we bid farewell to Chris on the streets of Ithaca yesterday. It is sad to see them all go, but we're grateful they made their journeys to see us!
Good news for Clint, Dawn & Lily - thankfully the leaves have been very compliant to our wishes this year and still haven't peaked yet! Also we have an exciting and huge new play kitchen compliments of Uncles Jesse & Dan. Thanks everyone, we had a blast!
This is a work-in-progress equivalent of our Bay Area Visitors page, inspired by our own exploring and Anthony's recent visit. Feel free to make suggestions, we're happy to add them!
Local Sights
Salt Springs State Park
Ross Park Zoo & Discovery Center
Roberson Museum & Science Center
Corning Museum of Glass
Finger Lakes Wine Region
Day Trips
Cooperstown
Saratoga Springs
New York City
Jacques Torres' Chocolate Factory
Festivals
Spiedie Fest
Montrose Blueberry Festival
Harford Fair
First Fridays
First Night
Maple Fest
Food
Spiedies
Wegmans Market
Lost Dog Cafe
Oak Hill Avenue Restaurants
Lone Maple Farm & Farmer's Market
The Cider Mill
Night Eagle Cafe
Dinosaur Barbeque
Saranac
It's been a little while since we've had time to post, so I'll try to fill in some recent details. This week we were blessed with some visitors, one from New Zealand (Chris) and another from California (Anthony, pictured above with me). It was really great to see both of them, and perfectly timed given our adjustment to having two kids.
For dinner with both we had spiedies, sweet corn and salt potatoes, local fare that you'll have to try if you're ever in the Southern Tier, and Chris was lucky enough to get some delicious homemade rhubard pie (compliments of my step-mom). Anthony had a final piece of Chris's birthday cake that Trina baked and beautifully decorated (I wish I had taken a picture!), the little bit that we didn't have for breakfasts and desserts during Chris's visit. Since Chris had an extra night we also got takeout pizza from Joey's in Endicott, our new favorite thin-crust pizza in the area.
Tuesday night we crammed in a brief bonfire with Chris before he had to leave, even though the wood was wet from all the rain we've been getting it was a decent little blaze. Of course we also enjoyed a fair amount of Saranac and even a little of my favorite scotch since the weather was cool.
Thursday morning we met Anthony at the Park Diner for breakfast, a decent little place with a nice view of the river and downtown. Afterwards I gave Anthony the nickel tour of IBM Endicott and Oak Hill's restaurants, old Endicott-Johnson plants, downtown Binghamton and Riverside Drive's old mansions.
Thanks to Anthony and Chris for making time to see us on their trips to the East Coast, and to Dad & Sue for providing space for us visit with them!
text coming soon
We're in the midst of big update detailing our weekend (see below), but the short version is that Sophie had a blast with her cousins, aunt and uncle. We had a great time too and feel like we had a very compressed but fun-filled summer vacation.
We had great weather, hit almost everything on our list (notable exceptions were Kodiak's and the Zeum), and even managed to get a date out of the bargain (we saw Wedding Crashers Sunday night.) Thanks again for watching Sophie for us, Aunt Sarah & Uncle Anthony!
In preparation for the entry details, we put up all the pics last night: if you like to open presents early (not to name names or anything, Sarah and Brandie): check em out!
text coming soon
http://www.baykidsmuseum.org/
You never know what you're going to get at the beaches here: it can be 90 and beautiful inland, and 50 and foggy at the beaches. To make things worse, if it's fogged in you often can't tell until the last few miles of the 45-minute drive out, and then you end up freezing in 50-degree, overcast weather in clothes suitable for the sunshine you left behind.
After checking the weather report we decided to try our luck Saturday morning, and hit the jackpot: it was completely clear and sunny, and warm enough for shorts and short-sleeves. Apparently the fear of an overcast morning kept everyone else away, because we literally had the whole beach to ourselves. Some seals making their way along the coast popped their heads up to look at us, which was pretty neat.
We grabbed breakfast at Brandie's favorite bakery on our way out, and made it back home in time for a late lunch of BBQ tri-tip sandwiches and chicken from Petaluma Market. Everyone showered all the sand off, then we met Mark and Julie for dinner at Boca. It was a lot of fun, the food was great and we got to sneak in our Hog Island oysters without actually driving to the Farm or the city.
After a big day of driving (out to Jelly Belly and then San Rafael), everyone seemed up for a day of relative inactivity and relaxing. The weather was also pretty warm, so we opted to try out the pool near our office. It turned out to be very nice and hardly crowded at all, as the pictures pretty much show.
I had to work again so I met at the pool there for lunch, and got to witness Sophie's first real swimming pool experience. As soon as her feet hit the water she stooped down to put her hands in too, and then had a blast kicking around while we held her. She looks very focused in the pictures, but she really did seem to enjoy it.
That evening we had an early dinner, then walked around our downtown and got ice cream at Baskin Robbins.
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