Honeymooners

Nick and I are huge road trippers and love to do it by the seat of our pants!! So, of course we decided we would rather go to some of the places we have been itchin to see, than head to the beaches of Jamaica (that's another trip). Yes, I am a huge planner, but when it comes to road trips Nick and I both like to see where the road will take us and there is minimal planning!! We had discussed our routes and places we definitely wanted to see and researched some hotels before the trip. We were finally married and ready to hit the road!!

We headed up north through KY and OH and finally hit Michigan!! Now this was the only state that neither of us had been too! It was neat to experience a brand new state w/ my brand new husband!! Michigan was so pretty! The fall foliage was beautiful as well as all the plants growing alongside the interstate.

Once we hit Detroit it was time to cross the Ambassador Bridge into Ontario, Canada!!! We chose this route so that we could experience more of Canada than just what was around Niagara! It was so neat to see the different to see all the different road signs in both English and French. They have a lot of the same restaurants that we do but there is one fast food place called Tim Horton's that is kind of like a Dunkin Donut/Panera mix...weird. Their donuts rocked (which by the way that is your side on a combo haha) but they put mushrooms in their chili-not a fan! One of the weirdest things was when you order your drink they asked "bottle" or "can". Now image two newlyweds in a new country sitting in a drive through getting asked strange questions about their food. Nick had been there before...he should have warned me about this! We finally got into Niagara and checked into our hotel! We had a falls view room that was amazing!! We got to Niagara in time to see the falls lit up. It was so beautiful!!! We decided to trip around the town for a bit and go in search of Poutine. Nick didn't know of anywhere to get it except at fast food places. So we stopped off at the trusty McDonald's...they were out of gravy, can you believe it?! Disappointed we headed back to the hotel to awe at the falls some more!

I cannot describe waking up and looking out the window and seeing Niagara Falls. It was so romantic. I could have propped myself up on the bed and cuddle with Nick all day, just staring down at them! But of course there was so much to see so we had to get on the move. We plored' around near the falls for a "cheap" place to park. I mean come on...It is freezing cold out here and you want me to pay $15 to walk a freakin mile to stand in front of the falls and take pictures with no fingers because they have frozen off by that point. We stumbled upon this great little park that was made out of all these little islands. It was so gorgeous! The leaves were awesome!! We took some pictures there and then headed to get us some Poutine! So you are probably still wondering what this is, if you don't know. It is french fries, covered in gravy and cheese curds. Sounds gross, right? I was apprehensive as well, but once I took a bit I knew what all the hype was about! YUMMO!!! We tripped around Ontario for a little while longer and then headed back to The States, not before stopping off at the duty free and using their free 30 minute parking to get up close and personal with the falls :O)

Once on the American side we found free parking right away and headed down to the falls visitor center. We had planned to take a trip on the Maid of the Mist..but decided against it since it was so cold..I mean it was snowing, No thanks. We walked around the park and took in the breathtaking views and then headed over to the Rainbow Bridge. We stood in 2 different countries at once! It was soo cool! I am dork I know!

After our fun day at Niagara Falls we headed to NYC!! Driving through Up-State NY was nothing like we expected. Both Nick and I were totally amazed at how much farmland there was. We both just assumed it would be more like most of CA..lots of suburbs and stores. Once we got to NYC made our way through the pack of crazy drivers and found a parking spot, we headed to see Times Square at night! It was so weird to be standing there. I had always wanted to go...and there I was. We walked around taking in all the sites and sounds for a while, stopped off for some pizza, and headed to the hotel.

NYC was so much fun! It was so neat to see all those places I had always wanted to see. Our favorite parts were Central Park and Ground Zero. Central Park was amazing! There was so many neat things to see! We took tons of pics! We met the "WTC Guy" who gave us so much info on ground zero. he showed us pics before, during, and after the 9/11/01 attacks! It was so incredible to hear all the history. Did you know that there were actually 7 WTC's that were demolished?? They are rebuilding 5 of them including the Freedom Tower that is 1776 feet tall!!! It is scheduled to be completed in 2013. I hope we will be able to go back to see it someday. We also tripped around in Battery Park, China Town, and Little Italy. We saw everything we wanted to see including the Statue of Liberty! It was such a great experience!!

On our last day we explored Philadelphia, Lancaster County, and Hershey!! It was a packed full day!! In Philly we had some great Cheesesteaks, tried some scrapple (blek), saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and Freedom Financial Stadium-where the Eagles (nick's fave team) play!!! We headed off to PA Dutch country! I have always wanted to see Amish people in their everyday routine. Not bothering them or anything but just drive on the country roads and take it all in. Well we were a little disappointed since it was just so touristy. Yes there were plenty of back roads that we took but it just wasn't how I imagined. Hershey wasn't what we expected either. Since I was a little girl and I heard that the whole town smelled like chocolate I wanted to go there!! Well, I thought there would be more things to do. Nope just the factory, an amusement park, and some Hershey kiss shaped street lamps. Don't be fooled..I dunno I just had always dreamed of it being different...like this cute little town that was just so proud and you could walk up and down the shop lined streets and buy Hershey's chocolate. Hahaha.

We decided instead of heading home we would got to Roanoke for the weekend to spend time with family and rest up. It was the perfect ending to our honeymoon. I must say I miss Chuck & Gayenelle's cooking as well as Bojangles tehehe!! We were able to spend a lot of time with our niece Reagan since Corey & Bobbie's 3rd anniversary was on the 25th Chuck and Gayenelle watched her. She is so much fun and growing up so fast!! I cannot believe she is going to be 2! On Sunday before I came home everyone came over for breakfast and we did our 4th annual pumpkin carving!! I am so glad we were able to make it!!! Nick stayed back in Roanoke to do some side work since there isn't any work here right now. I am not too thrilled about the idea, but we gotta so what we gotta do, right? I cannot wait for Nick to come home so we can develop all the film together, write our thank you cards, & open presents!

XoXo