Ladd Photos

Our drive through Vermont and New Hampshire was nearly ruined by a massive storm, but we pushed through. What we could see of the countryside through the clouds and rain was gorgeous.

We managed to visit the both State Houses in Concord, NH and Montpelier, VT, which were closed because of the storm. But, the Ben and Jerry’s factory in Waterbury, VT was open, where we visited the Flavor Graveyard and had some ice cream. Then we drive around Burlington, VT and took a look at Lake Champlain before driving back to Boston.

Before catching out plane to fly back to San Diego, we learned about the history of Massachusetts. On display in the museum was one of the 13 original copies of the Declaration of Independence, as well as an engraving plate Paul Revere made of the Boston Massacre. Unfortunately, they didn’t allow you to take photos of either.

After the museum, we took one final walk along the Boston harbor before heading to the airport.

Enjoying the sunshine on Stearns Wharf and around downtown.

It still feels like home here, even after all the years away.

The boys had fun burying each other.

At first, you just think you are looking at a bunch of dead leaves, until your brain realizes some of them are moving.

We spent the night and enjoyed the water slides for a few days. The brick at Angels Stadium we got the boys for their birthday was finally installed, so we went and visited it.

We visited the Peace Arch on our way to Vancouver, Canada and then walked around downtown after getting settled in our hotel.

We spent the day exploring the entire downtown area on foot, from China Town in the south, Canada Place in the west, the Lost Lagoon in the north, and Inukshuk in the south.

The rain held off for the most part. All the walking really worked up our appetite for some delicious Thai food for dinner.

We visited Stanley Park to take a look at the totem poles on the way out of Vancouver. Then we had a beautiful drive up to Whistler.

It didn’t snow on us up in the mountains, but rained instead. We couldn’t actually see the mountains towering over us, because of the clouds. The boys had fun sliding down some snow near the lifts.

We stopped by Seattle on our way from Canada back to Portland. After looking around the Olympic Sculpture Park, we went and visited the Space Needle.

At midnight, the boys and their cousins rang in the New Year with pots and pans.

Ringing in the New Year:

During the first day of our journey back to San Diego, we went for a hike among the giant Redwoods along the northern California coast.

After a nice drive through the redwoods in Northern California, we paid the Golden Gate Bridge a visit. Then we headed into downtown San Francisco to explore on foot. We had a nice dinner in Chinatown and dessert at Ghirardelli.

After spending the night in the “Garlic Capital of the World” we had to try the local garlic ice cream. It wasn’t horrible.

Then we continued south to the central coast of California, stopping for a while at Moonstone Beach. We had dinner in Morro Bay before finishing the long drive to San Diego.

The total road trip was 3206 miles, which took 60 hours and 49 minutes to drive.

We spent the night on the Queen Mary, which is docked permanently in Long Beach. It was fun to explore the ship and learn its history. The boys were on the hunt for ghosts, and swore they felt some.