2012 Summer Adventure

View New England Summer Trip 2012 in a larger map

So much left to do and so many things I still want to do before we leave.   Hard to believe that 2012 Summer Adventure is already here.  Seems just yesterday I was writing about our exploits in Colorado last summer.  As is always the case, the trip continues to evolve almost until the moment we leave and this year is no different.  But the itinerary is basically set and I'm happy to share our map with you in hopes you'll follow along as we explore New England.  

Why New England in 2012?  Read this post from my old travel blog (which is in the process of being folded into this one) if interested in more detail as to how we go about deciding where to travel each summer.  We don't think of it as a vacation.  It's more of an opportunity to be in a region long enough to get to know its people, understand differences in culture, take in the things of which they are most proud, visit locally owned/produced industries, farms, businesses, and of course, take full advantage of the chance to be outdoors.  In a nutshell, we have a list of possibilities that are best visited in May/June because until Mr. B retires, those months are when we are free to take an extended trip.  Mr. B (for those of you joining this blog from the old one, this is just the way I've always referred to my spouse rather than using his real name), has lobbied for New England the past several years, but sometimes May/June can be rainy and muddy in early spring, not to mention the possibility of running into the dreaded New England Black Fly Season.  We decided to bite the bullet and go anyway. 

We've been in the area twice (Northern NE in 2002, Southern NE and Nantucket in 2006), but always knew we wanted more time for hiking/biking.  These previous trips also happened before we began focusing on the goal of visiting all the state capitals. So although we've visited several of these cities before, we have ZERO pictures of the capitol buildings.  On this trip, if all goes well, we will visit a record breaking TWELVE state capitals plus we'll be in Washington, DC so include our Nation's Capital in that.  

So here's your first piece of trivia for this trip............I wanted to be sure I was spelling state capital correctly.  Is it "capital" or "capitol?"   Anybody know???   A quick Google search informs me that a state "capital" refers to the city which bears the designation while state "capitol" refers to an actual building.  So guess I'll put myself out there and see who catches me in a misuse of the word first.  Probably won't take long!

I have much work to do in order to be proud of my Google mapping skills, but the map gives a general idea of our planned route along with the time we'll have at each place.  Clicking on the placemarks should provide a little more detailed information.  I try to blog more frequently while we are traveling keeping updates current.  Sometimes that works out, sometimes it doesn't.  Because hey, the bottom line is we are out seeing and doing what there is to see and do! 

So, one week from yesterday, I'll be on my way to my first stopping place near Dulles Airport in northern Virginia.  There are several things I wanted to do in that area and thanks to very early planning along with a wonderfully cheap airfare, I should get to do them.  Mr. B will fly into Dulles at dark-thirty on Tuesday morning and we will immediately head for state capital #1 (on this trip), Annapolis, Maryland.  Not quite the roadtripper I am, he was more than happy to forgo the first leg of this trip in the car and cover 478 miles in 1 hour and 20 minutes arriving in plenty of time to eat MY breakfast at the Residence Inn!! 

My friend, Tish, who blogs at Incremental Improvements, and I are hoping to complete something we began in October, 2010.  We rode 33 miles of the 45 mile W & OD Bike Path from Leesburg, VA to its end in Shirlington, VA.  Hopefully, next Monday, Tish and I will be able to complete the trail riding from its beginning in Purcellville, VA past Leesburg (where we began in 2010) and directly to my hotel near Dulles for a total of 21 miles.  Tish beat me to it by riding that section last year with her hubby and she tells me it's very pretty.  I don't know which I'm MORE excited about - spending some more time with Tish or completing the trail.  How fun that we get to complete it together!

Anyone who knows me at all is aware of my fascination with grocery stores and farmer's markets.  Also very near my hotel is a Wegman's Grocery.  Visit any list of favorite or best grocery stores and it seems Wegman's always comes out on top!  Gotta check it out and see what the buzz is all about.

And given any extra time at all, I'd love to revisit Great Falls Park and Harper's Ferry.  Think I can do all that in a day and a half?   Of course not, but I'll do what I can and leave the rest for another time. 

In other news, I've just got to take a moment to brag on my sweet husband who was named Outstanding Full-Time Faculty Person of the Year at the Community College where he teaches.  I might be showing a tiny bit of favoritism, but I do know that there is no one who works any harder or cares about his students more, so IMHO, he totally deserved the award this year.  I am so proud of him.  I had actually planned to leave on Friday instead of Sunday so I'd have a better shot at getting all those things done in Virginia, but am so thankful I hadn't made any reservations that were unchangeable.  Part of the honor given to the Faculty Person of the Year is the privilege of leading the processional at the graduation ceremony and then delivering the final remarks.  I wouldn't miss that for the world!  

Thanks so much for reading.   Hope you enjoy our adventures!

Any travel or vacation plans for you this year?