Many people dream of frame and fortune. They imagine their name in lights or becoming a millionaire. Amy Scarborough had a dream, but this dream was much greater than that. Amy dreamed that one day she would be featured on Hayesvision.com. Today Amy, I am happy to announce that we are making that dream come true. We love you Amy!
Every night before bed Hunter and I usually sing a couple songs from a variety of genres. It might be The Only Living Boy In New York (Simon & Garfunkel) one night then Zombie Jamboree (Rockapella) the next night. Since I enjoy show tunes (I’m not proud) we also sing songs from shows that I have seen or been in. One song that we sing quite often is from The Secret Garden called Race You To The Top Of The Morning. It is a really nice song that one of the lead characters sings to his son which makes it fitting. Hunter has become quite good at the lyrics so Emily decided to get out the camera and record him singing it tonight. It was so cute we just had to share it. I also posted an original version below for the many of you who probably never heard of this song. I hope you enjoy.
Hunter’s Version
The Real Version
Although the weather is still warm, fall is near, so we have been spending more time outside on the weekends. Today we decided that we would head to Disney’s Animal Kingdom to enjoy the morning and see some animals. Before we hit the road we enjoyed a delicious waffle breakfast from chef Emily which was delicious.
Since we have been to Animal Kingdom a few times previously Hunter definitely has some of his favorites things (rituals) that he likes to do. After we entered the park we took a lazy stroll back to the Safari and got our Fast Passes. As is our normal routine we then headed to the Conservation Station train which brought a big smile to Hunter’s face. We took the train back to Rafiki’s Planet watch and saw some cool snakes and bugs (Emily was in heaven). After we had our fill we headed back to ride the safari where we saw a ton of animals. Hunter got to see his favorite animal which happens to be the Ankole Cattle.
After we grabbed some lunch we took a walk down the Maharajah Jungle Trek and saw more interesting animals. Hunter loves the Komodo Dragon and the huge Blood Python snake (again Emily was in heaven). We also got to see some tigers which are always impressive. After our expedition we picked up some delicious ice cream snacks and found some shade to eat them in. The weather was heating up so we decided after we were finished we would call it a day.
Animal Kingdom is always a fun time especially when the crowds were as small as they were today. We took some fun photos you can check out below.
Tags: Disney's Animal Kingdom
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
It was with both joy and sorrow that Emily and I prepared Hunter for his first day of pre-school. This was the first time Hunter would be out of the house on a regular basis. Emily was excited for some morning freedom to catch up on life and we were both excited to get Hunter some contact with other kids his age. Hunter got a new train backpack that he was quite proud to sport. Emily and I both took Hunter to school and watched as he quickly headed for the section of toys and began building blocks. We watched for a few minutes and quickly realized that he had no idea of we were still there. We went over gave him a hug and said good luck and headed out the door. The kid didn’t miss a beat as he just kept playing. No tears were shed by anyone which was quite a surprise. It is really interesting watching kids grow up and each milestone pass.
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
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