Going on Vacation

So a few weeks ago we prepared for our first family vacation. Vanessa enjoyed every step of it. She packed Mommy's backpack to leave a day or two early. (We had been on a hunt for a special backpack for Vanessa because she loves them, and Mommy's was just a little too long and big to move easily. We found an Elmo backpack in Bethany. It's awesome.)

I told Vanessa that it would be helpful if she were to choose a few stuffed animals and books to pack. She left my bedroom and returned with her mini Brutuses, putting them in the toiletry bag. I thought it was pretty special she wanted to take her OSU-themed treasures with her. She has her priorities straight. :)

We woke up early to get on the road -- aiming to leave at 4AM. Vanessa was confused and insisted that we couldn't go anywhere until the sun woke up. "The moon needs to go to bed and the sun needs to wake up!" She cried as we told her that it was okay to travel in the dark and the sun would wake shortly. But once in the car, Vanessa was amazed by all the nighttime happenings. "There sure are a lot of circles at night." She was referring to all the lights. She went on to name the different colored lights she saw. Much like her mother, she talked and talked and talked out of excitement.

Somewhere on the eastside of Ohio I encouraged her to go back to sleep since it would be a long ride, but in no way was that happening -- the girl didn't sleep until Pennsylvania, and then she only slept about 45 minutes . . . there was too much to talk about and see! (She only slept about 20 minutes on the return trip, but was absolutely amazing to and from.) At one point she decided to go through her state stickers. I assured her that was a good idea and that it would be really neat for her to find Delaware since that would be the state we would be spending most of our time. Now I know it was purely coincidental, but can you bet she found Delaware and held it up!

We stopped in Baltimore on the way out. We had lunch and spent a little time exploring the downtown and port areas. We were served lunch by a very friendly waiter who had just moved there from New York. He commented on how slow and quiet Baltimore is. I couldn't relate. :) Vanessa identified a song playing at the restaurant as a Bob Marley song. She told the waiter she loves Marley songs. Workers were so tickled by her enthusiasm that they vowed to play Marley during the rest of our lunch. The manager had to come out to meet her.

We crossed over Lombard Street, which made me think of my grandparents. So I had to take a picture to acknowledge that they were in our thoughts too.

The port and ships were neat to see. Vanessa enjoyed watching the water. She was most interested in a red sculpture closer to the parking garage, though. Go figure! :)

(Here you're looking at the length of a submarine.)

We finally made it to Bethany and you could see the excitement in Daddy and Vanessa as they explored the backyard to our condo.

Our time together as a family was unforgettable and quite enjoyable. There was so much peace and happiness in having us together all day for several days, disconnected from the rest of the world, and even with Vanessa waking early each day ready to explore. Vanessa is still asking to go back on vacation, even when reminded of the really long drive.

"The love of a family is life's greatest blessing." ~ Unknown