East Coast Extravaganza! Part 3

[buzznwoodysmom]

It's been almost 2 weeks since we've been back so I'll just try to give a few little overviews of our trip.

Our first week in New Jersey ended up being a sort of "slow" week. We spent the first two days getting settled in. DH left us on foot for the first day to get all his stuff in order. Once he got a rental we had to do some grocery shopping for the two weeks we would be there, and I did all our laundry from DC, so we were off to a very slow start. It was also just the boys and I this first week and the plan had always been to wait to venture farther out once my mom arrived.

Then the rain came. Rain was in the forecast just about each day for the first week. Sometimes the forecast was calling for 50-60% rain for the locations we were planning to go.

We did make it over to the Pocono Mountains one day. It reminded me a lot of Gatlinburg. It's a really "old feeling" mountain town. We actually think Gatlinburg is nicer, and we don't really love Gatlinburg to start with. LOL. We visited Great Wolf Lodge and the boys begged to return later to spend a night, but I decided against it. We have a Great Wolf Lodge we frequent closer to home so I didn't want to do that on this vacation.

I HATED the driving up north. I have driven all over the country, from Louisiana to Colorado, to Orlando, to Georgia, once from South Carolina to Kentucky. I have never had any issues with driving, but driving in New Jersey and the surrounding areas was just aweful! The roads there were so confusing to me, their ticketed toll system stinks, and the other drivers are CRAZY!!!!!

We spent a good deal of the week on post, and in close by neighboring cities once I realized I didn't want to drive any farther than I had to. We went to the movies and the mall one day, did some stuff on post another day, and just relaxed a lot. I know I am making it sound awful, but it was really nice and relaxing for the boys and I.

We tried to go to the beach several times, but with the weather looking like a chance of 50-60% rain we never made it to the beach that first week.

Up next: We really get going!

[Dulcee]

I

I HATED the driving up north. I have driven all over the country, from Louisiana to Colorado, to Orlando, to Georgia, once from South Carolina to Kentucky. I have never had any issues with driving, but driving in New Jersey and the surrounding areas was just aweful! The roads there were so confusing to me, their ticketed toll system stinks, and the other drivers are CRAZY!!!!!

This made me laugh. I'm born and bred NJ girl. I had heard people complain about NJ drivers but never got it. Then we moved to NC about 4 years ago and both DH and I have a hard time driving in our old neighborhoods when we go to visit family now.

I spend a lot of trips to visit holding on to the car door handle griping about safe following distances and speed limits. It seems I've lost my jersey driving edge.

[NJGIRL]

I also had to laugh about the driving....but I did warn Denise....we have no patience and are very fast paced, always in a hurry. lol

[buzznwoodysmom]

I also had to laugh about the driving....but I did warn Denise....we have no patience and are very fast paced, always in a hurry. lol

LOL, In a hurry you think??? More like ready for lift off!

[NJGIRL]

LOL, In a hurry you think??? More like ready for lift off!

..It's our way of life and we don't even realize it. We even walk fast.
I remember vacationing in Williamsburg years ago. I asked a women at one of the outlet stores for directions and I thought I was going to jump over the counter and shake her....she was speaking so slow lol....we weren't used to that.

[Hammer]

This made me laugh. I'm born and bred NJ girl. I had heard people complain about NJ drivers but never got it. Then we moved to NC about 4 years ago and both DH and I have a hard time driving in our old neighborhoods when we go to visit family now.

I spend a lot of trips to visit holding on to the car door handle griping about safe following distances and speed limits. It seems I've lost my jersey driving edge.

Your response made me chuckle. I have the opposite issue. I go down to visit my Mom in Tampa (originally from there) and having to drive there gives me such a case of road rage! My sister and I think at least once a visit "These people don't know how to really drive!"

You need to get back up north and gain back your edge !

[buzznwoodysmom]

..It's our way of life and we don't even realize it. We even walk fast.
I remember vacationing in Williamsburg years ago. I asked a women at one of the outlet stores for directions and I thought I was going to jump over the counter and shake her....she was speaking so slow lol....we weren't used to that.

That's funny because there were a few times in NJ that I felt the same way. We got groceries at Target and I wanted to shake the young check out clerk because he was taking sooooo long. Same thing happened at the movies in NJ. Every single employee was so slow. Or maybe it just feels that way when your in a hurry. I don't know. But yeah, the movies is where I encountered the rudest people, as odd as that sounds. I didn't notice any other occasions where there were a lot of rude people or people in a huge hurry. Except on those darn roads.

We are way down south where it's mostly a slower pace, but we always have people from other places tell us we talk way too fast.