Hopefully most of you know that I have been working for the past year on the website ConsumeU.com. ConsumeU allows users to rate TV, movies, books, music and television. Based on your preferences The Professor will provide you with recommendations on items from these categories. The site is also a really great place to connect with people you know to find out what you have in common.
If you have not signed up for ConsumeU, check it out, it is a lot of fun. Also make sure to like ConsumeU on facebook which you can do by clicking the like box in the sidebar to the right. Any support you can give would be greatly appreciated.
ConsumeU has been working with a new company called Falling Pear to create some great media to help enhance the site and the website experience. Check it out below.
Tags: ConsumeU
Seconds after I woke up today, I remembered that we were still in Orangeburg, SC, and it wasn’t just a bad dream. I decided to rally the troops to get us out the door as quickly as possible so we could complete the last six hours of our road trip. We picked through the limited breakfast choices, and I tried to set the speed record for packing the car. Emily even got ready quicker this morning because I think she was excited to get out and get home as well.
Because the breakfast offerings were slim we grabbed some McDonald’s on the road and kept on trucking. Because we have made this drive a time or two before there wasn’t a ton to see. Emily buried herself in her book, Hunter in his movies and me in my thoughts. We stopped in Jacksonville for a quick lunch at Panera and kept the train moving. We ended up getting home around 4:00 just before a huge thunderstorm hit.
We were glad to have traveled and were also glad to be home. Another great road trip is in the books. I can’t thank Emily enough for her awesome planning. Can’t wait for the next one!
Tags: FL, Orangeburg, Orlando, Road Trip 2010, SC
After enjoying a great night’s sleep in our comfortable room, it was once again time to embrace the day. Since we were staying at the Hampton Inn we got to enjoy the delicious waffles that you can cook yourself. Hunter loves waffles and they seem to help him get his day off to a good start. Emily joined us for breakfast this day and it was actually one of the busier hotels that we stayed at during our entire trip. I was just fired up because they had my favorite cereal, Golden Grahams! After three bowls I was ready to pack the car and head out.
Our first stop of the day was yet another train museum in Roanoke. It was set to open at 9:00 and we got there at 8:50 and entered the front door that led to a vestibule to purchase tickets. We were kindly asked to wait outside at which point I thought to myself, I might just leave the doors locked until 9:00 if I didn’t want anyone to come in. But I digress. We spent our ten minutes exploring the outside of the museum as we walked around the back to see a train riding down one of the eight train tracks that lined the back of the museum. Hunter just can’t get enough of the trains. After the museum had opened we headed inside to explore. The museum was pretty cool but not nearly as cool as the others we have been to. They had a small train track set up inside which was really cool. They also had a room from the 50′s with old signs and cars which was neat to see. They had some cool train cars and a few neat ones to walk through but many of the trains were featured on tracks that were lined with overgrown grass. I looked in the gift shop for a machete to finish the tour, but they had sold out of them. Emily also browsed the gift shop before we left and made a few purchases and we were again on our way. It was a perfect stop to start the day because it only took us about 90 minutes to see the whole place.
Emily had done some recon the night before and found that there was a cupcake store that was in Roanoke which we were luckily able to find. Emily went in as Hunter and I sat in the car and waited for her. As she emerged from what would be her new personal heaven she had a huge smile from ear to ear. Apparently this was the holy grail of cupcake stores as it not only had delicious cupcakes, it was also pink (a requirement I was not aware of). Quite frankly I was surprised she decided to continue on the road trip with us, but she agreed so off we went. One quick stop at a little sandwich place for lunch and we set out for South Carolina.
The drive was pretty uneventful as we noticed that we had visually moved into the south. We made good time as we pushed our way to Orangeburg, South Carolina. We pulled up to the Best Western which was our last stop on our road trip. I went to check in as Hunter and Emily waited in the car. It turned out that Emily had made the reservation for the previous day as the ever so sweet front desk lady let me know (with her angry eyes). Being that we were in the middle of nowhere I waited for the tumbleweed to pass between us and I asked if they had any availability for that night which amazingly they did. So we checked in begrudgingly and moved our stuff in one last time. Needless to say I was not a huge fan of the entire experience and it just added for my dislike of South Carolina (excluding Hilton Head).
I headed out and picked us up some delicious food from a local restaurant called Fatz that had some really great food. Unfortunately we don’t have any photos due to our disgruntled state, but trust me, it was good. I tried to get online but the string and tin can coming from the wall didn’t have an Ethernet connector so I put down the computer, closed my eyes and called it a day.
Tags: cupcakes, Orangeburg, Road Trip 2010, Roanoke, SC, Trains, VA
We awoke to yet another warm day in Strasburg PA. We had about a five hour drive ahead of us today to get us to Roanoke, VA, so we made quick work of our morning. Hunter and I headed down for what would be another challenging breakfast without Mom. I basically got Hunter all set up to eat and about 12 seconds later he said he was done and wanted to leave. I told him we would stay until I finished my breakfast which couldn’t have traveled into my mouth any faster.
After breakfast was over I loaded up the car yet another time as we prepared for one of our longer car days since leaving Kennebunkport. We didn’t really have any reason to be to Roanoke by a certain time so we enjoyed the drive as much as people who have been on the road for two weeks could. There were some beautiful spots along our travels that Emily captured through the window. Because we were taking our time we once again went to Urban Spoon for a recommendation on a lunch venue which we found a really cool placed called the Blue Sky Bakery in Lexington, VA. Lucky for us we pulled up a few minutes before 3:00 which was when they were closing. They didn’t have any baked goods left be they did make us some mighty fine sandwiches. After we devoured our sandwiches we decided to head over to the ice cream place that we spotted on our way to lunch. Hunter was quite happy to be having ice cream and I was quite happy to be out of the car for a bit.
We finished our ice cream and bid a farewell to Lexington. We drove steady the rest of the way until we got to our hotel in Roanoke. We arrived there earlier than some of our previous stops which turned out to be a great thing. We had purchased Hunter a train at the store in Strasburg, and he couldn’t sleep knowing that he was going to get to play with it today. We lucked out at the hotel because they gave us this huge room which had plenty of space to set up the train and then some. Hunter was in heaven and it felt good just to have arrived.
We decided that based on the moods of all parties that we would order food and bring it back to the hotel. We got a recommendation from the gentleman working at the desk when we arrived that Hollywood’s is a great restaurant. We took him for his word and I went out to get us some grub. I have to say it was nice to get a little quiet break as I waited for the food. When I got back to the hotel everyone was fired up about eating, and the food did not disappoint. It was also nice to be able to relax and enjoy the food. We got some blue cheese and balsamic glazed potato chips which were TDF.
I also enjoyed a nice swim before bed so I have to say it was a very enjoyable day!
Tags: PA, Road Trip 2010, Strasburg
We awoke to a sunny and warm day in Strasburg, PA. To see Hunter’s face this morning you would swear it was Christmas. He could not get the day started fast enough, so he could get to his beloved trains. Today was all about Hunter and trains. We greeted the day with an extremely average breakfast and Hunter and I tried to make the most of the free grub from the hotel. Mom got to enjoy her quite getting ready time. I would also have to say this was the first day that Hunter really started showing signs of being done with life on the road. I tried to set him up with some food at breakfast and a meltdown ensued because he wanted Mom. A guy walked by me and said, “Yeah that was us yesterday, and probably again today!” Not having Mom and his usual waffle set him off something good. I crammed some food in my face and we headed back up to the room.
Luckily the knowledge that he was seeing trains and his mom helped Hunter regain his composure and he was OK. After Emily finished getting ready we headed to the first stop of the day which was the Strasburg Train Museum. A few months back we visited the train museum in Green Bay which was really cool. We were hoping this one would be at least as cool as that and it didn’t disappoint. The first thing that we all thought was really cool is they had a room of all different toy train displays that kids could play with. Everything from Thomas, to Geo Tracks, to Legos, to you name it, they had it. Hunter was in absolute heaven. He would have sat there all day and played if we hadn’t pried him away from the tables.
The train museum was by far the best set up train museum I have ever seen. Not only could you walk by all of these trains indoors but you could also walk on a walkway above the trains and also there was a place where you could walk down steps and be under a train. There were a ton of displays and a number of trains that you could walk on as well. Hunter loved being able to go on the trains and walk through them. After we toured the museum for a couple hours it was time to catch the Strasburg Railroad train ride that departed every hour, just across the street. It was a nine mile train ride that was ridiculously over priced but a really cool experience. We got to ride in an open air car and take in the sites and sounds of Strasburg (which there weren’t too many of except horseys and bug-bugs). Hunter enjoyed the ride but was losing steam as we got close to the train platform. After we finished our ride we watched the engine couple with the trailers for its next ride. After the train departed we headed back to the hotel for a nice long nap.
After Hunter’s nap we decided to leave dinner up to Urban Spoon, and it found us a buffet that was a few miles from the hotel. Emily wanted to eat some good Strasburg Amish food and try some desserts so this seemed the best place to do both. The restaurant was called The Hershey Farm, subtitled a “smorgasbord,” and it really did have some great food. We ate way more then we needed to, but had a great time doing so. After dinner Hunter and I took a walk down the rock path as Emily looked through the gift shop. It was a beautiful night for a walk so we enjoyed it very much. Another great road trip day. Just watching Hunter light up as he went through the day made the entire trip worthwhile!
Tags: PA, road trip, Road Trip 2010, Strasburg, Trains
Thanks to our good friend Jon, we knew that if we could just get the car packed, delicious bagel sandwiches would be within our reach! Hunter of course was hungry, so he and I headed down to get a quick bite
before we hit the road. Hunter met one of the hotel employees named Louisa (who he later would also call his girlfriend). Louisa seemed entertained by Hunter as he interrogated her with his normal line of questioning. It provided for some great laughs over waffles and cereal. After we finished eating, we hustled to get ready and packed and we said goodbye to yet another hotel.
We arrived at the Tettambel residence in about 45 minutes due to the morning traffic (another thing that sucks about NJ). The bagel sandwiches were as delicious as we remembered them. All that have visited Jon can attest to how unreal these things are. We ate every last morsel off of our plate because we knew it would be some time until we could enjoy these again. We hung out for a bit and let Hunter play as we visited. Jon had a meeting at 9:30 so that was our cue to continue on our journey. It really is great seeing old friends.
We were very much anticipating getting across the New Jersey border as we continued on our route. The next stop for today was at the Crayola factory so we could all see how crayons and markers were made and Hunter could explore and create. The Crayola tour was in PA just minutes over the NJ border. It was located in a neat downtown square which provided a great place for some photos and walking. The tour was neat. They had old crayon machines that showed how the crayon making process worked. There was also of ton of different places set up that allowed kids to create using the assortment of products that Crayola makes. Hunter had a great time as did we and the other 8000 people who were visiting. After the tour we grabbed a few hot dogs and toured the downtown area. We completed our stop with a visit to the Crayola store (who would have guessed?) where we got a few neat things. Emily planned yet another awesome stop.
After the Crayola tour was done, we headed on to Strasburg, PA, where we would be setting up camp for the next two nights. We were staying at a hotel that was located directly across from the Devil’s Amusement park (the name escapes me but based on the drive in it felt like we were in hell). The hotel was perfect and it was located very close to the train attractions that Emily had on the itinerary. This was the first reservation that had been canceled due to my lost credit card. Lucky for us they still had a room.
After we got settled, we headed out to dinner. Emily found this really cool place online that was a restaurant that was inside of a train car. Hunter was fired up to be going there. It was actually a motel where each room was located in a converted train car. It was really cool to see, especially for the train lovers in this group. Dinner was nothing that you would see featured on the Food Network but the atmosphere (aside from the disgruntled waitress) was really great. We watched out the windows and saw the Amish “horsey and bug bugs” (as Hunter would call them) ride by. After dinner we toured the motel train cars and climbed up in a lookout tower (which due to our poor physical conditioning would have our legs rendered useless for days).
After dinner we drove back and checked out some of the neat train activities that we would be doing the next day. We got back to the hotel, grabbed some delicious chocolate chip cookies, and went to bed.
Tags: New Jersey, NJ, PA, Road Trip 2010, Strasburg
The best part about the Best Western in Keene is that we were able to park our car right behind our room with a sliding door, so loading the car was a breeze! Before we set out for our next destination we headed down to the lobby for a nice breakfast, which it actually was. It was weird actually seeing the lobby of this place and not have it feel like a mosh pit! The food was good and we were ready to set out to our next destination, so we bid Keene adieu and got back on the road.
The final destination for the day was New Jersey because we wanted to visit with Jon, Kim and Mason Tettambel. This would be our first timing meeting Mason, and we also hadn’t seen Jon and Kim in quite some time. The drive from New Hampshire to New Jersey was beautiful for the first 3/4 until of course we got to New Jersey. Sorry for those of you that love the state, but if it weren’t for the Tettambels and the bagels I am not sure I would have any reason to ever return to that state. One of the things that absolutely drives me up the wall about NJ is that you aren’t allowed to pump your own gas there. It’s not that they provide the service if you want it, you literally are unallowed by law to pump your own gas! I am not sure if people of NJ don’t know how to pump gas (with Snooki as a spokesperson this theory might be true) or if they are just too lazy, but I am not a fan. What drives me crazy is that it takes about 3 times as long because there is one attendant helping a lot of people. Often times you are waiting for them to return to give you your receipt so you can leave. I think it is stupid and inefficient. It is a waste of resources that could be used for something better. But I digress.
Ah, I feel better now. Anyway, back to the road tirp. Emily had a spot for lunch pegged for us that we were both excited about, Emily a bit more than me. Because Emily is a Food Network junkie, she wanted to eat at Bobby’s Burger Palace that was just 30 minutes from our hotel. This sounds all fine and good except our initial ETA was 1:00 which meant we weren’t going to be there until 2:30 at the earliest. Emily wanted to stay true to plan which ended up being an awesome idea. The burgers there are absolutely amazing. The cool thing BBP does to their burgers is that you can get them crunchified. This means that they will put a layer of potato chips right on the burger for you! Delish! I put them up there with Five Guys which are also unreal. BBP had more of a gourmet burger so they aren’t actually the same type of burger. It was incredibly delicious. If you see one near you, you have to check it out.
After our stomachs were full, we of course had to go in a couple stores because the BBP was attached to a mall. I was going through some shopping withdrawal so I felt much better after a little shopping! We left the mall (purchase free!) and headed to the hotel where we checked in and and brought out stuff to the room. We were getting the room prepped so we could go visit the Tettambels for dinner after which we could come back to the room and crash. We got to hang out at Jon & Kim’s for a few hours and catch up on life. Mason had fallen just before we arrived, so he had a mighty scratch on his face. Poor guy. It didn’t seem to affect him, though, and he was super smiley and cute. Hunter and Mason had fun running around the playground for a bit while we caught up with Jon and Kim. After the playground, we headed inside for pizza from Rocco’s (I think) which Jon grudgingly let Kim choose because she is pregnant. We don’t know what Jon’s choice would have tasted like, but Rocco’s makes a darn fine pie! Jersey has got the corner on pizza and bagels, for sure! It was great to see them and since we were such huge fans of the bagel sandwich, Jon offered for us to meet at his place for breakfast and he would pick some up for us.
We wrapped up for the evening, headed back to the hotel and called it a night! Another great day on the road.
Tags: BBP, Keene, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Road Trip 2010
The last day in Kennebunkport is always a sad one. Not only is it one of our favorite places to visit, but it also marks that we are more than half way done with our road trip and are headed back to Florida. Lucky for us, Emily has planned a lot of great stops along the way!
We started the day with the usual french toast sticks and cereal that we consumed the last few days. Hunter appeared un-phased by the repetition, so who was I to say anything. After breakfast Hunter and I did the last tour around the hotel to make sure our stick and rock piles were in order. We were awaiting Mom’s daily preparation so that we could catch the 10:20 trolley ride with Grandma. Colonel decided he wanted to go rogue again and decided not to take the trolley ride. Needless to say Hunter was stoked to be riding the trolley.
The trolley showed up on schedule and we purchased our tickets and took our seats in the open air section at the back of the trolley. Hunter sat with Grandma and Emily and I sat together. The trolley ride was awesome as the driver gave us some history on Kennebunkport as we drove through the downtown area and out to the beach. The weather was amazing again and the drive was beautiful. The trolley ride took exactly one hour as we returned to our hotel.
We waived goodbye to the trolley full of travelers and headed back to the room to pack our remaining items. Emily was excited to have all of our bags out of our room at the Crumb Line. Grandma and Pop Pop decided that they would come into downtown KBP and have lunch with us at Henry VIII Carvery one more time because we enjoyed ourselves so much the first time. They delivered yet another delicious meal as we were all quite pleased. Emily couldn’t leave KBP without one last attempt at shopping so we headed to a few shirt stores looking for a sweatshirt for her. We found one at the third store that we went to, which might be a record for Emily (she normally needs to go to five stores before she can pick out toilet paper). Grandma and Colonel were nice enough to hang out with Hunter as he ran around the grassy area outside the restaurant. On our way back Emily grabbed on more berry ice cream because she loved it so much the other day.
The time finally came for us to get in the car and hit the open road so we said goodbye to Grandma and the Colonel who would be spending one more day in KBP. Emily set us up for a short drive and stay in New Hampshire so that we could avoid 95 on our way to New Jersey. The drive was only about two hours and change which was just perfect because we had gotten such a late jump on the day. It was a beautiful drive through twists, turns and neat little towns.
We arrived in Keene, New Hampshire, around 4:00 in the afternoon. We checked in at the Best Western that was having possibly the most successful blood drive on the planet. I was expecting to see The Jonas Brothers performing live based on the number of people in attendance. After we plowed our way to the front desk we checked in, loaded our bags into the room, and headed to the downtown area to explore and find a place to eat.
The downtown Keene area was OK but nothing to write home about. We saw there was a park that we thought Hunter could run around in so we parked the car and walked. When we got there the park was quite a bit smaller than expected. I think there are prisoners who would turn down the chance to lift weights in this space. We stretched the legs a bit and headed to Margaritas, which was recommended by the guy at the front desk. The food was really good and it was just what we needed.
After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to get a bit of swimming in before bed. The pool was absolutely perfect as we enjoyed it alone for about 3 minutes. After that we were bombarded by tons of people who were not looking for a quiet evening swim. We knew we were in trouble when we saw a dozen “water noodles” heading our way. We swam for a bit and called it a night but not before some delicious hotel chocolate chip cookies!
Tags: Keene, Kennebunkport, Maine, ME, NH, Road Trip 2010
I am sounding like a broken record at this point, but today was yet another beautiful day in Maine! Today was the day that Hunter, Emily and I were going to explore downtown Kennebunkport and eat the famous fried clam strips from The Clam Shack. Grandma Curly and Pop Pop Colonel were going to visit Grandma’s Uncle Stanley who lives about 45 minutes outside of Kennebunkport, so we were on our own for the morning. After another averagely consistent breakfast, we got dressed and headed to downtown KBP. It was really fun exploring with Hunter because he pretended to be our tour guide and was giving us all of these made up facts about the city. It was such a great day to be outside and exploring.
We were eagerly anticipating lunch because we were going to eat fried clam strips for the first time this trip. This is one of the have-to-stop-at places because the food and atmosphere are equally great. The food was delicious as it always is and we enjoyed our lunch on the lobster crates that we made into benches. Hunter got a grilled cheese as only they could make and we enjoyed our food and our freshly squeezed lemonade as we watched the cars drive down the main drag. After lunch we headed down the street again to get another fill of ice cream to wash down our delicious lunch. There is something really fun about watching kids eat ice cream. Upon finishing our ice cream we headed back to the car, drove down Ocean Ave. and back to the hotel so that Hunter could catch some zzzz’s.
Since Hunter was so over tired he ended up sleeping for 3 hours. If only I was smart enough to nap too! After Rumple got up from his nap we all got ready and headed to the Maine Diner for dinner. We ate at the Maine Diner last time we were in Maine and the food was absolutely delicious. Emily got the lobster pie, and I swore if we ever came back I would get it no questions asked, and I did. It was the most delicious dinner we have had on our trip so far. Everyone seemed quite pleased with their meal so the 40 minute wait was was worth it.
We had one last stop before we headed back to the hotel. We had been promising Hunter a trip to the beach while we were in Maine and this seemed like the perfect night to do it. We traveled down the coast on our way back from the diner to our hotel but most of the beaches required a beach parking pass to park there (which I think is a stupid idea), so we weren’t able to park at any of those beaches. There was a beach back near downtown Kennebunkport that was open to the public and had free parking. This beach turned out to be absolutely perfect. We got out of the car and all took our places; Grandma her her shoes off and feet in the water (she didn’t mind at all that her toes were blue because the water was so cold), Hunter to his spot as chief beach digger, Colonel and I wandered with our cameras and took photos and Emily bounced around between everyone enjoying her visit! It was an absolutely perfect end to our last full day in Maine.
Tags: beach, Kennebunkport, Maine, Maine Diner, Road Trip 2010, The Clam Shack
We awoke to another amazing day in Maine. So far on the trip, we have had outstanding weather. Today was the day that Emily had been waiting for for the past few months. Today was the day she got to go shopping with Grandma Curly without the assistance of her son Hunter. Emily loves Maine and she loves to shop so putting the two of them together can be quite dangerous. Emily sprang out of bed as if it were Christmas morning and got ready for her shopping trip. Hunter and I headed down to eat some breakfast, which happened to be the exact same breakfast we had the day before. Lucky for me Hunter is a big fan of routines, so he welcomed his french toast sticks for breakfast.
After our breakfast we explored the hotel grounds and dug rocks and looked for sticks. It was so entertaining watching him explore the grounds and tell stories as he was doing it. To bad he can’t blog because I assure you it would be much more entertaining than this. After we had sufficiently explored the entire property, it was time for us to head down to the farmers market that we saw a sign for the previous day. We really didn’t know where it was but KBP isn’t that big so it wasn’t too hard to find. It took us about 6.5 minutes to explore the twelve tents, 10 of which were plants. We got some crappy muffins and headed back to the hotel for Hunter’s nap and Emily’s shopping spree.
After the prince got his rest, Colonel, Hunter, and I headed to downtown Kennebunkport to meet the ladies for lunch at King Henry VIII Carvery. We had eaten here the last time we visited and thought the sandwiches were delicious. They delivered again. If you are in KBP and are looking for a break from seafood, check this place out. We demolished our sandwiches and headed out to check out the town. There was a large grassy area in front on the sandwich shop that Hunter enjoyed playing in while we found some time to relax. After Hunter expended some energy Emily suggested that we take a carriage ride around KBP. This seemed like a good idea to most so we took the tour where Hunter shared the tour duties with our carriage driver.
We enjoyed our ride and headed back to the hotel to relax a bit before dinner. This was one of the few dinners that hadn’t been planned since 2005, so we decided to go to a restaurant that we had seen in our travels by The Hannaford grocery store. The restaurant was called Sebago Brewing Company and if you are in the KBP area I will give you directions to avoid it. It was very average food and since Maine is full of great food, don’t bother. After dinner we visited the toy store that was just across the street and got to watch Hunter run around the store and point out everything with four or more wheels. He loves trucks.
After the toy store Hunter and I called it a night and Emily and her parents went back to the Hanaford food store (did I mention that Emily loves food stores?). Hunter and I drove back to the hotel with the windows down and enjoyed the beautiful Maine night air. Aaaaah.
Tags: Kennebunkport, Maine, ME, Road Trip 2010
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