New England Road Trip - Kent, CT (Days 1-2)

 

When I decided I was going to plan a New England Road Trip, I wanted to find a quaint Connecticut town.  Back when the show Gilmore Girls was airing, I was a huge fan.  Actually, I still am a fan.  I could sit down and watch an entire season in one day.  The show always makes me feel warm and fuzzy. Part of the reason for that is because of the writing of Amy Sherman-Palladino, with her witty characters, such as Lorelei and Rory.  But the other reason is because of the picturesque setting of the fictional town Stars Hollow, and all of the quirky towns people that come along with the small Connecticut town with only one stop light, a book store, Kim’s Antiques, Luke’s Diner and of course the Dragon Fly Inn.

 

In my research, I found a real Connecticut inn that had the look and feel of what I was wanting, placed perfectly in a small Connecticut town. The Inn at Kent Falls was definitely pricy, but the website had me sold with its charm.  Was it really worth the money?  Probably not.  We wouldn’t go back again, if that’s what you are asking, but that’s simply because it is priced really high.  I have no regrets going for one night for one time in my life though.  It was a lovely little bed and breaskfast.  Breakfast was very mediocre, considering the high rates. The inn itself was just a large home converted to a B&B, but they did an excellent job with the interior design.  It had a very "Pottery Barn" feel to it.  We were the only guests there for our one night stay, so we had the whole place to ourselves.  The room was small, but the bathroom was to die for!  I loved that claw foot soaking tub with the old fireplace right beside it!

 

The town of Kent was small and quaint with only one stop light, making it a charming sleepy little New England town.  Kent Falls State Park was a five minute drive from the inn.  The park was small, with a lovely little trail leading to the top of the falls. The falls were a perfect place to sit with a picnic, enjoying food and conversation with the one you love.

 

Below is our itenerary for Kent, Ct. and a few pictures from that part of our trip.

 

 

Summer Vacation

New England Road Trip

Day 1

Sunday, June 16, 2013 

Leave the house at 4:00 a.m. (12 hrs. / 735 mi.)

             Breakfast and Lunch on the road

             Bathroom break around Scranton PA 

Stop at Alexis Diner for take-out at 4:00 p.m. ($20)

              www.thealexisdiner.com

              5023 Rte. 9W. Newburgh, NY

Drive to The Inn at Kent Falls and check in at 5:30 p.m.

(1 hr. / 43 mi.)

                   www.theinnatkentfalls.com

                   Lake Suite - $350 a night

                   107 Kent Cornwall Road, Kent, CT 06757

              860-927-3239

Spend the evening enjoying the inn and the grounds



Summer Vacation

New England Road Trip

Day 2 Part 1

Monday, June 17, 2013

Breakfast at the Inn

Spend the morning enjoying the inn and grounds

Checkout around 10:00 a.m.

Pack a picnic and explore Kent Falls State Park

              462 Kent Cornwall Rd, Kent CT 06757

              Free on the weekdays

 

 

 

 

 

 

New England Road Trip Overview

 

Last night Matt and I were reminiscing about life before the babies.  Our conversation led to the vacations, road trips and weekend getaways we always made time for in our five years of marriage before we had kids. We have babies now, so those kind of trips are done for awhile. For one, I want to be a stay at home mom, so those kind of trips are not in our budget now that I am no longer working. Secondly, any vacations in our future will probably inlcude Holiday Inns, theme parks and chicken nuggets.   While I have blogged about many of our travels, I ended up getting pregnant not long after we got back from our New England road trip last summer. That trip never made it up on the blog, so this week, I’m going to take myself down memory lane and blog about our New England road trip.  Preparing for this week's blog posts, made me realize how much I'm going to miss our romantic adventures before we had kids.  At the same time, I'm looking forward to the new adventures that await us and our growing family. 

 

As with previous trips, whenever we travel I spend hours beforehand researching, planning and preparing for a romantic adventure for two.  The New England trip was no exception.  The budget for our vacations always varies.  This trip was one of our more expensive vacations, with a budget of about $1,500 plus the cost of gas.  That budget went mainly to our lodging.  Whether it was a bed and breakfast in Connecticut, a boutique hotel in Boston, a cottage in Maine or an inn with a romantic seaside view on Martha’s Vineyard, we wanted to take a timeout from our busy lives back home and escape on an adventure with the sole purpose of reconnecting with one another and rekindling our love. This particular trip involved a lot of driving, so food and gas come in close together for second and third place on our list of expenses.  While exploring New England, there was a lot of sea food in our cuisine, since much of our travels led us to the coast.  Experiencing the places we travel too is the least expensive part of our journey.  The only experience we spent money on for this trip was whale watching. Sightseeing and exploring God’s beauty is usually free, and it also just happens to be one of our favorite things to do.

 

Here is how our New England road trip was broken down into days.  I’ll be blogging about each destination in the days ahead.

 

New England Road Trip – Kent, CT (Days 1-2)

New England Road Trip – Boston, MA (Days 2-3)

New England Road Trip – Kennebunkport, ME (Days 3-4)

New England Road Trip – Martha’s Vineyard, MA (Days 4-6)

 

Below is an overview of our trip via my Instragram.  I can’t wait to share more of the planning and preparation with you as I share the daily itinerary for this trip, along with my personal reviews and more pictures from our travels.

 

Parenting Twins - The First Year (Month 3)



Development:

Three months old today!  This month they are showing great head and neck control.  They love to sit up and look around.  They smile alot and are beginning to learn how to laugh.  Their baby jabber has also increased this month.

 

Weight:

Birth – 5.7 (A) 6 (E)

Home from Hospital– 5 (A) 5.8 (E)

One Month –6.14 (A) 6.12 (E)

Two Months –9.4 (A&E) 
11 Weeks - 10.1 (Aaron)

 

Feedings:

No major changes in their feedings this month.  They are still taking 3 oz every three hours.  The only change is that they will go anywhere from 5-7 hours at night without waking up to be fed.

Sleeping:

They still sleep quite a bit and are getting used to taking an afternoon nap in their cribs, in hopes of making the nightime move from our room to their room a little easier.

Activities: 

We have a pretty solid daily routine.  In the mornings, I feed and change them, and then let them play on the baby gyms while I tidy up and grab myself breakfast.  From there I put them in their bouncy seats and either get a shower or do chores around the house.  We then attempt the swings.  Before I know it, it is time to feed them again.  From there we take a walk around the neighborhood or a car ride if it's raining.  When we get back I grab myself some lunch before watching TV with them on my bed, where they usually crash for a mid day nap.  And then before I know it, it's time to feed again.  And then we go from gym mats to bouncy seats to swings to attempting an afternoon nap in their cribs while I try to make dinner.  Then it's time to feed them again right before Daddy gets home.  After daddy and I eat dinner, we do tummy time and play with them.  We do evening baths before putting them in their bassinets after their night time feed around 8:00.  And that is a day in the life a mom with three month old twins.

 

 

Colic:

The colic is pretty much gone, just as it should be by about three months.

Teething:

Yes, I said teething.  It's really early, I know.  I even took Aaron to the doctor at 11 weeks incase it was something else, but the doctor confirmed that we have entered the teething stage.  Just when we got through the colic, the teething began.

 

Mommy and Daddy:

Well, I certainly stay busy and rarely take a moment for myself.  We are still tired and probably will be for the next few years, but overall, our life is getting easier.

 

Week Nine

 

 

Week Ten

 

 

 

Week Eleven

 

Week Twelve

 

 

 

Week Thirteen