Family vacation

We took our first vacation as a family in May this year.  We didn't go far, just to Harrisburg, Pa.  Kate's not the happiest of car travelers ever, so we wanted to make it drive-able in a day, with the opportunity to stop a couple times to take a break and let her crawl/walk around a bit.  We had thought she would be walking by the time we took this vacation, but alas she was not.  She would walk while holding on to one of our hands (she has been doing this since about 11 months), but still not quite brave enough to take her steps by herself.  She waited for my birthday to do this, sweet girl that she is :) 

While in Harrisburg, we took a day to go to Baltimore to the National Aquarium.  Kate rode around in a back pack on Matt's back, and had a great time pointing to all of the swimming creatures throughout the place.  We splurged on an extra dolphin show, and it was definitely worth it!  Kate waved repeatedly to the dolphins, saying "hi" all throughout the show.  Loved every minute of it! 

On the 2nd day in Harrisburg we traveled the 20 min to Hershey, Pa and took Kate through the chocolate making tour.  She was completely entranced and really enjoyed it.  We were concerned it might frighten her, but she really handled it well.  And the best part of all is they gave her the free sample of chocolate at the end, even though she couldn't eat it.  Guess who got 2??

We also visited the Zoo at Hershey Park.  Not a lot of animals there, but just enough for Kate to get a sampling of some different critters.  A nice chance to be outside in the sunshine as well, and it was the nicest day of our vacation. 

The hotel we stayed in had a beautiful indoor pool that was rarely occupied, so Kate got her swim time in every night we were there.  The water was a tad bit chillier than we're used to at the Y, but she loved it all the same.  Good thing Daddy bought her a water ball, she loved throwing it and splashing us in the face!

Each night she slept really well in the hotel, so I think we'll be brave enough to take another family vacation sometime.  How wonderful it was to travel in May when few other families are traveling.  We're trying to take advantage of odd vacation times now that I'm not teaching.  Much cheaper this way to book hotels, and with less people out and about doing the tourism thing means it's easier and quieter for us. 

It was a wonderful time, and just the break we needed.