Five States, 48 Hours, Farms, Frogs, Friends, Family, and Two Ticks

We left Herndon, VA and headed north to New Jersey on Saturday. We hit traffic almost immediately, which gave us a chance to reflect on the many benefits of living in St. Croix. We survived the scary four-lane highways and traffic jams, and added Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania to our states-that-we-have-visited list, and ended up meeting the Croneys at Joe's parents' house outside of Philadelphia around 4 PM. The house is an old and beautiful farm house with gardens surrounding it and the kids enjoyed swimming in the pool. Then we headed to the Croney's house in Pennington, NJ and the kids played and pretty much wrecked the Croney's house. They were so happy to have some toys to play with. We saw a deer run through the yard and Sabine went out to watch the "horse". I, of course, inquired about lyme disease since the kids were playing in the grass and the woods around the property and there were obviously deer around. Laura said that we should check the kids because they could definitely have ticks. The kids caught fireflies, played, and had a terrific time and we didn't get to the hotel until pretty late after getting lost quite a few times despite using our GPS...

Sunday morning we woke up very early to get ready to go to Cousin David's. We were on track for an on-time arrival, however, I noticed a TICK ON CHE while giving him a bath. I freaked out! It was super small and after quite a bit of research we realized it was most likely a baby deer tick. I really hope we got it off in time...

We arrived slightly late to David and Joanne's house after driving through Princeton's campus (stunning!) and it was beautiful. It is a farm house that is part of a bigger estate with a huge pond with frogs and lily pads, towering trees that Che loved hiding under, gardens, pastures, and even a wooden swing that hung from high up in a tree. It was great getting to catch-up with Joanne and David and Che loved the place and cried when we had to leave. He started out very shy, but by the end of our visit he was asking to hold hands with David. Sabine, of course, had a great time with everyone. It was an incredibly enjoyable visit and we hope we convinced them to come and visit St. Croix!

After we left David's we met the Croneys at Terhune, an orchard/farm, and ate delicious apple cider donuts, drank apple cider slush, picked blueberries, fed animals, and the kids all rode around on mini-tractors. We left straight from Terhune and headed to Westchester. It was a pretty ugly drive, although I got goosebumps when I could see New York City from New Jersey. I pointed it out to Che while we were stuck in traffic FOREVER to cross the George Washington Bridge and he thought it was pretty neat. We arrived at our hotel and Cesar promptly realized that he ALSO HAD A TICK ON HIM. This time it was an adult male deer tick, which (after researching) we found out does not carry lyme disease. I am freaking out though. We will need to take more precautions in Maine.

We then went and looked around different Westchester towns like Mamaroneck, which has a lovely waterfront, and Scarsdale. There were quite a few pretty houses and nice areas, but nothing said "come live here" to me, and Cesar is now more adamant than ever that he does not want to be in this area. We ate at Cheesecake Factory and I have decided I do not need to eat there again for a long, long, time.

When we got back to the hotel we unloaded our luggage and headed up to our room. The only problem was, after staying in three other Hampton Inns in the past week, we forgot not only our room number, but also our floor. It took a few elevator rides and trying a couple of doors before we got to the right room. I think that is evidence that it is time to settle down in one place for awhile.

In all of this traveling from the rural south, to urban areas, turnpikes, and industrialized northern cities, with pockets of beautiful and verdant areas, we have realized how much natural beauty resonates with us. Joanne used the word "bucolic" today to describe their property in Princeton, referencing an ideal rural life--is there a word for an ideal urban life?

We also realized, not surprisingly, that the best times we have had so far on the trips have involved spending time with old friends and family. It has been so enjoyable getting to see so many friends and catching up with them all. Tomorrow
we head to Cambridge where we hope to meet up with yet another one of our friends, Max Grinnell, from the University of Chicago whom we have not seen in ten years.