On our 5 week summer adventure

We left Bakersfield on July 3rd and drove to Texas. We stayed for a few days in Dallas and then flew off to Newark, NJ where we planned to visit with my brother in law and his family. For 3 days we stayed closer to NYC and visited Manhattan...Staten Island Ferry, Statue of Liberty, WTC site, Times Square, American Girl store, Toys R Us, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park, Museum of Natural History...and all the while we walked, took trains, subways, ferries and buses and the girls did great.

After NYC, we went to stay at my brother in law's in Princeton. One day we went to Morristown National Park and learned about George Washington's encampment in the winter of 1779/1780. The next day, we drove about 2 hours into Amish country in Pennsylvania and spent most of our time in Bird in Hand, PA. We ate at the Good 'n Plenty and the food sure was good and plentiful! The last full day we took a day trip to Philadelphia. There was so much to see, but we managed to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Franklin's (as in Ben) Court, and Betsy Ross' house.

We returned to Dallas just on the 17th and here I am today (July 19th) in New Orleans. Yes that's right I am in New Orleans and I am sans family. The kids will stay with their grandparents for the week I am here, while my husband returns home and to work on Monday. I am here on a mission trip with my church. I'm really looking forward to helping out. I have been wanting to help ever since Katrina devastated parts of New Orleans. Having grown up along the Gulf Coast and spending a lot of time in Louisiana, I feel so tied to this area .