A Farewell To The Summer Of 2020.

Although the summer of 2020 was not what we were expecting and just downright bizarre, I'm still a bit sad to see it go. But we made it work. We made it to the woods in Maine, and to the beaches of New England. We made it to the Jersey shore and spent simple moments outdoors as a family. We made it to the drive in theater and made numerous trips in the city that was once the epic center of the virus. Spent time in Dumbo and ate ice cream, shake shack, and Juliana's pizza. And the times we went the lines weren't long! Such meaningful and wonderful moments that will be etched in my mind for always. I do look forward to fall and hope for the best this season, but in some weird way summer of 2020 will always be remembered. Always. 

Here are a few photos from a bit of summer spent in one of my favorite spots in Brooklyn. They had a really cool installation in Brooklyn bridge park which is a reverberation bell which indicates that by pulling it summer is ending. 

Maine In The Summer Of 2020.

Our summer vacations this year were absolutely nothing that we thought. Due to the 14-day quarantine requirements we decided to stay close to home and explore more of New England. Specifically Maine. We spent a few days in Nantucket in July and this month headed to the outskirts of Maine. There is so much to do in this part of the world and as much as I wanted to visit my mom and niece in Texas and sister in Florida those states are swarming with corona and with school starting soon didn't want to have us cooped up in the house for another quarantine. Going to Maine was the perfect getaway for us. The outdoors is something that we love and being that Jon is an eagle scout was excited to have gone to the LL Bean wilderness camp with Noah. It was really a cool camp and wish the boys would have stayed here forever. Chelsea was jealous and wishes that girls camp was held here. Or that we just lived here period! That could possibly be arranged but we drove everywhere from Portland to York to Freeport where the famous LL Bean boot resides. We shopped till we dropped, ate lobster rolls, and lots of ice cream and with an abundance of caution distanced ourselves from others. It was a nice little get away. Because I captured so many moments you can view many images on my Instagram. Here are a few photos from our trip....

Belmar Beach In The Summer Of 2020.

Going to the beach twice last week was a blast but I gotta tell you that Saturdays are not the best time to go. Especially in the middle of a pandemic. Although the beach was pretty crowded we were lucky to have found ourselves a spot within a distance and managed to be in our little bubble. 

Chelsea's long time friend Amiyah has been staying with us for a few days and hadn't gone to the beach all summer! I can tell she was longing to go and so we braved the crowds on the busiest and sunniest day of the week and brought her. We probably broke all kinds of rules when it comes to socializing but luckily for us we stay to ourselves when we've ventured out and Amiyah and her family haven't really gone anywhere in months so I think we're good. But both she and Chelsea needed girl time and it was nice for Noah to have someone to play with other than his sister! We all had so much fun on this day and hope to squeeze in another beach day before school starts but for now here are a few photos from the beach! 

A Day Trip To D.C.

Since school trips were canceled this year due to Covid we decided to do our own "homeschooling" trips so a couple of weeks ago we decided to take a day trip to Washington D.C. to see the sights. We have been bringing the kids here since we moved to the east and yet these pieces of history never get old. We love coming here to refresh our minds of what our forefathers have done for us as well as remembering all the troops from long ago who died fighting for our freedom. It's nice to continue to bring the kids here no matter how old and "bored" they get. We have come here in the past to see the Martin Luther King memorial and many other sights. There is so much to do and see here. It's good to continue to bring the kids here so that they can appreciate this place. The national zoo is another place we love going too and the fact that it's free is a bonus! In case you plan on going you have to reserve tickets in advance. We truly are fortunate to live three hours away from the nations capitol. Hope we can continue to make more day trips here! 

Now for a few photos...

Beach Scenes From Long Beach Island.

The beaches in the summer of 2020. 

As summer began the beaches became more and more crowded which means we didn't go as much this year. A tad bit sad, but as much as we would love to go to the beach two to three times a week we just didn't do it this summer. We are however gracious enough to have been able to have gone a couple of times, and when we did the kids always have a blast. We did go twice to two different beaches this past week and it was awesome. Although I posted a few pics and a little vid of the sound of the ocean I also wanted to write a little bit about it. We usually go to Bel Mar beach but Long Beach Island is another fun beach to go to. We went to Long beach Island on a weekday which means not too many people so it was nice. I captured some moments of the kids and Chelsea wanted to take some photos of me. She said that I'm hardly in any of the photos and so this time she wanted me to get a taste of what it feels like to have your picture taken! LOL! 

Deep Cut Gardens.

Another simple summer moment was going for a walk inside the Deep Cut Gardens pretending we were in a scene from Edward Scissorhands. I recorded a little vid of it here. This is our second time coming here and it truly is breathtaking. It's a perfect garden and there is so much to explore outside the garden. There are small trails and on this clear evening Noah even managed to chase fireflies. We came late in the evening which made it perfect with social distancing and less crowds. We practically had the whole place to ourselves. Loved every minute of this evening with my small crew. I also feel that the blurriest photos have the best moments...don't ya think? 

Peter Whitmer Farm & Palmyra Temple: Summer 2020

Such a peaceful trip this was being isolated from people. Not that we don't mind crowds but this trip was completely different. Empty parking lots. Empty temple grounds. No cars. I didn't see the need to wear our masks throughout our time in Palmyra while looking at the sites. Although we are used to wearing them the entire time I have to be honest. It was nice not wearing them being that the temps were in the 90's. Sure it cools down in the late afternoon but during the day it was pretty hot. I captured a few moments with the kids at the temple and Noah roaming free around this reconstructed log house at the Peter Whitmer farm. He had the time of his life being that there were no tours going on. He just ran amuck like a little pioneer kid from the 1800's picking up sticks and rocks. It was simplicity at its best and I loved every minute of this trip. If we could only live simply like the pioneers did back in the day. How nice it would be!

Hill Cumorah & The Sacred Grove: Summer In Palmyra 2020

The Hill Cumorah pageant may have been cancelled this year due to Covid-19 but tradition is tradition and we still made the trip up here. We absolutely love this place with or without crowds and as you can see by the photos on the hill cumorah there was like zero people! This was definitely the place for social distancing and to take in the peace and joy that these historical sites give. I am so glad we made the 4.5 hour drive up year. It is soooooo worth the drive to feel all the vibes that these places give especially in their 200th year! What a blessing it is to be here and to continue this tradition with our two youngest children who on their own motive love to come here. I honestly think they enjoy this trip  because we always grab some lunch at Mark's pizzeria and eat dinner at Tom Wahl's burgers. Oh, and staying at The Palmyra Inn is always their favorite part of this trip! I captured a few photos atop from the hill cumorah as well as the The Sacred Grove. We probably saw five people which were all missionaries from the church in the grove but it was so nice to have some major quiet time to ponder all that happened here 200 years ago! Such special places! 

Lucy The Elephant!

The first time we met Lucy was in 2011. We had only been living in Jersey for a couple of years and wanted to explore every part of the Jersey shore. She is a national landmark and she recently celebrated her 139th birthday! She truly is an old iconic gal! The kids and I have been wondering about seeing her again and since we love this part of the Jersey shore took the time to drive out and see her while getting some sun and having fun in the ocean. It literally was a hawwwwwtttt day which meant that there were hardly any crowds which made social distancing easier. Tours are open and they last about 45 minutes. We were lucky to have been in a group with about five other people. I have so many wonderful memories of when we all came here for the first time as a family. It was nostalgic and wonderful and loved every minute of being here even in 98 degree weather! 

Here are a few photos of Lucy and some from the edge of the ocean!