After the better part of a week in the hotel (oh, and by the way, we SO recommend Homewood Suites in Newport)…
We said goodbye to our sweet friends and neighbors…
and recreated our very first photo as we said goobye to our home:
june 2013
july 2012
J drove the girls to Providence to meet my mom. I missed them right away but seeing pictures like this puts my mind right at ease. BB time is always magical.
Saturday afternoon the big girls flew to TX…
and bright and early Sunday morning we packed up the car said goodbye to Newport.
We vowed to not rush this trip. It’s all about stopping when we want to stop and taking the scenic route.
So when we saw these outlets right down the road, we had to stop. ESPECIALLY when I saw they had this store:
and y’all…I hit the mother lode. All handbags were half off. I promptly decided (and J agreed, even if he was chuckling when he agreed) that I needed a new bag for Italy. And we all know my affinity for obsession with Kate Spade.
After the outlets we had lunch at Danny’s Drive In. SO good. The burger was delicious. I totally recommend this as a road trip pit stop.
Side Note: I’m using the Best Road Trip Ever App to help us find quirky attractions and non fast food restaurants. It rocks.
Then it was over the Tappan Zee bridge:
Through NY, NJ and some of the most beautiful land I’ve ever seen in PA, 5 or so minutes in Maryland…there was a very brief foray into West Virginia and then we ended up here.
Winchester, VA at the George Washington hotel. Note: rooms are 77 dollars right now and it’s really nice.
You know J is dying at all the Civil War battlefields around here. In his element.
So as I type this we are in VA. Today we book it to Nashville. We have lots of fun places to stop along the way.
Our first stop is Natural Bridge.
Wish us luck, see you soon. On the road again…
xoxo
S
I miss VA so much!! So glad you are having a great time. Hugs friend!!
Stop by Knoxville if you have the chance! The twins can play with my kiddos and we can do coffee 😉
I love that you are sharing this with us! Have fun! Be safe!
i love it.
it just kills me that you aren’t heading through NC!
le sigh.
(if i say it enough, maybe your drive will spontaneously change! HA! LOVE YOU.)
xoxoxo.
That app looks way cool! Enjoy your travel! 🙂
My parents new land is basically in Winchester!!! Isn’t it GORGEOUS!! You’ll drive straight through my college campus (JMU) if you take 81 and you have to swing off at the JCrew processing center in Lynchburg(I think) if you’ve got time! Every sing item that is returned via mail is sent there to be sold at 75 to 90% off! sending hugs!!!
Sounds like so much fun! You have a great husband letting you stop at the outlets. My husband would never agree to that (haha!). I love that you are stopping along the way at fun stops. I hope you are able to keep sharing pictures of the beautiful places in the country. Thanks for the app idea! McDonalds is great, but for long trips it’s nice to try other places.
I love Natural Bridge! I went to college near there…ugh, I miss it badly! I hope you all had a great time!
Enjoy Natural Bridge, I actually live about 20 minutes from there, we have gone there quite a bit, it’s beautiful, lots of quirky tourist attractions that are fun for the kids… enjoy the rest of your trip!
It will be interesting to see how your wardrobe changes after one year in Italy. They love black and leather. I remember wearing my tan winter coat in Germany at Christmas and you could pick me out of the crowd with no problem.
Enjoy your time together! I love Nashville and we live close enough to visit. Nicks on I-40 on the west side of Nashville has AWESOME BBQ! I stop there whenever I vist my mom.
Thanks for sharing your journey with us. I’m seeing some things I have never (and will probably never) seen. The (little) girls are getting so big and you can tell they are really showing their personalities. I see some “Harper” in one of them. Be safe! Keep blogging!
Great approach to a road trip! Can’t wait to see what else you see/find along the way! 🙂
So fun. Awesome grandparents are the BEST. So blessed the my kids have them too. Enjoy your trip.
My sister took us to a natural bridge in Kentucky when she lived there. Totally FREAKED ME OUT! But then I have issues with things like that.
And your mom looks like an awesome grammy.
Enjoy! The memories your kids, well all of you, will have are priceless!
(Love the Masonic Lodge pics! My grandfather was a Mason.)
Thanks for taking us along on your adventures!
Safe Travels!! Love reading what you are all up to!! Looking forward to what you have time to share!! Thanks!!
isn’t it weird spending some time with the littl’uns only?
So so so excited for you girl, Though this post has brought a tear to my eye, I know it is silly but I am going to miss your house so much, i just love that deck, my dream deck…. one day 🙂
Beautiful pics, drive safe, and enjoy your road trip! I would have to agree- any girl going to Europe would need a new bag! DUH!
Looks like a great trip, such a great relaxed approach!
Enjoy Nashville! (TN is “home” for us, it’s GORGEOUS!)
Love the Day 1 report! Ahhhh, Clinton Crossings – that’s basically where we lived when we lived in CT a few years ago while DH was attending grad school (as an Army guy). 🙂 LOVED Clinton Crossings. I lived about 10 minutes from there.
Safe travels and enjoy your trip! I’m looking forward to pics! God bless, Love from OKC
Wishing you safe travels!
oh dang Steph – this is making me sad – i never did see you in RI – and you drove right by me I’m sure in CT – maybe we’ll visit dh’s famiglia in Italia – and we’ll say hey – you never know!
What a special time for you and J with just the little girls! And I’m sure H and S are having a BLAST with your mom! Have fun and thanks for sharing with us.
Having fun watching your road trip and taking notes….we are road tripping from NH to Atlanta some time this summer!
Love, love, love the new bag! Gorgeous color. Kate is my weakness 🙂
Have a safe, relaxing trip with the littles…can’t wait to read your posts when you guys end up in Italy!
is it just an Iphone app? I looked it up in google play and couldn’t find it…
It all sounds so very exciting. Lucky you going on such a fantastic adventure, and with Italy at the end of it all! Wonderful.