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United States Trip 2026
  • Elisa Gatti
  • Elisa Gatti

United States Trip 2026

84 days traveling across the United States Read more
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  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Last day at Universal

    May 12 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

    We have been very lucky having all the Universal parks with low attendance and we were able to get on everything and some things a few times. What we also noticed is that there was very little primary and highschool kids and mostly adults and adults families. It was a great time to go.

    We started at Epic to finish Mario as we never got to get to Mine cart madness. Brandon got to do more wand stuff, and then we headed over to Universal so we could finish what we didn’t see and then we finished at island of adventure with everyone finishing off at the VelociCoaster. Inara ended up on it 3 times.

    My favourite experience was meeting toothless from How to Train Your Dragon.

    It was a rainy afternoon but we saw it coming and organised the afternoon around it and into rides that were inside. The rain made the Wizard World dreary and dark so it worked well.

    Brandon got to do most of his wand adventures only missing a few. Some of them took forever as there was lines for the spell or they took a good few minutes to get the spell correctly. It was a highlight for Brandon throughout the visit.

    Inara’s favourite was all three of the roller coasters ; the hulk, veloccoaster and Stardust Racers. Josh enjoyed Hagrid’s ride.

    We had our last walk through City Walk to get back to the shuttle and while we were walking by, there was a large crowd waiting to touch the FIFA World Cup trophy. It was busy!!

    Walked approx 28,000 steps    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Down day

    May 13 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    I made sure we had a down day between the two amusement parks, but if I would do anything over, I’d probably do a down day after two days and scheduled pedicures. Our feet hurt and Josh and Inara seemed to have bug bites all over.

    Inara and I went to the Vineyard outlet mall as she really needs new sneakers. Both Inara and I were successful in purchases from Puma and ASICS. On our drive we saw a self driving car.

    We then drove over to the train station and picked up Charlie, who took a 3 hour train from Miami to come and see us and meet the kids.

    It was a nice chilling day which started at the hotel pool but we didn’t last too long as the rain came pouring down, and then it got windy and somewhat cold.

    We were talking about the many rocket launches and it just so happened that the Falcon 9 launch that was supposed to go off yesterday was pushed back and it was was scheduled for 650pm today. We were about an hour away, so we became spontaneous and the 5 of us got into the car and drove to the coast.

    We didn’t make it all the way to the coast, as about 7 miles away we drove over a small bridge that had a perfect view of the rocket, so we stopped to watch from the bridge along with maybe another 75 or so people, so we figured this was a place to watch it from.

    Unfortunately with a 40% chance of not launching due to the weather and the short window to launch, we are not able to see the rocket launch. This was Charlie’s third unsuccessful attempt to see a launch.

    As we don’t come to Florida ever, we had to it take the opportunity to see a launch. We had a great time with Charlie just doing nothing and catching up. Before we had to get Charlie back to the train we spent some time at the small beach at the bridge where Brandon showed Charlie how to kick and mark a AFL football, which has been under the jeep seats for weeks now and wanting to be used.

    Today starts the day when we now are not just tourists, but here to see friends and family.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Magic kingdom

    May 14 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    As like the other days, it was hot but just more sticky. Kids are still tired even with a rest day from our Universal adventure. This time we didn’t get a shuttle bus, as stayed at Universal, so we had to drive into Disney.

    We had about a 20 min drive, than a monorail from the parking lot into Magic Kingdom.

    It was fun, and kids had an experience but we didn’t see much of any Disney characters and the lines were long and in general it was a hard day. We bought lightning passes ($30pp) for being able to get into a certain 3 rides in the fast pass lane, but we never got to our last ride is it was from 8 to 9pm as we waited over 85 min for Tron and missed our pass time. We thought we would have made it by 9pm.

    We did get to see the 10pm fireworks as we got out of Tron. The fireworks were super low and very loud. Inara was over the day and just wanted to leave.

    The getting out of the park was disappointing, took forever and for parents probably made the experience of the happiest place on earth not so. It was the longest wait time of the day. We had to walk out after the fireworks with the rest of the crowd, get on the monorail to get to our parking spot. I don’t know how they can do it better, but it was just hard. Inara at age 10 needed to be carried out as she was so tired and her feet hurt so much.

    We finally made it back to the hotel about 1230am.

    Differences to Magic Kingdom
    - better for little kids
    - a bit run down
    - no beer/ adult drinks
    - free water is disgusting
    - things didn’t seem to work in the app for reservations as we are from overseas
    - Disney rides are longer
    - there is no fountain drink deal which we expected as Universal had it.
    - cash less society
    - stroller / Pram central

    Steps: 24,500    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Disney Hollywood Studios

    May 15 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    Our last day in Florida! Today was very different to the rest of the amusement park days. It was less hectic and more relaxed.

    We had lightning passes again, and it worked out perfectly. I had to buy passes 3 days before hand and we got pretty much what was left as none of the Star War rides were available so we got Tower of Terror, Toy Story mania and Slinky Dog dash. As Star Wars is the most busier area we started there and got very lucky with lines no longer than 30 min.

    The Star Wars town, Batuu, was so real. The attention to detail was amazing. All the parks had great detail but I really enjoyed Star Wars. The rides were more like being in the movie rather than just a ride with a theme. Brandon headed back into Smugglers run a second time (single rider) as he wanted to be a pilot as the first time he was a gunner.

    We took in more shows than any other park seeing Indiana Jones, Disney villains: unfairly ever after, and little mermaid.

    It was a hot day but not as humid as others. Still baking hot and actually cooled down with a breeze around sunset. We had our lightning passes for 9pm at Slinky Dog dash, and for whatever reason we got off and got asked if we wanted to go again,
    So we went on twice!!

    Leaving the park was so much easier as we didn’t need to take a monorail to the parking lot and we were all in bed by 10.

    Steps; approx 23,000    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti
    1

    Heading north

    May 16 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Josh and I pretty much packed up the hotel room while the kids slept. With the last week having early mornings and late nights the kids are in sleep debt, so we tried to give them as much as we can.

    We left Florida, after a quick stop at Daytona Costco so we could get food and Cutco knives. The trip took us through Georgia and was supposed to be 4 hours but ended up taking almost 5 hours as there was an accident and also looked like construction. We ended up getting off thr highway and going another route which did help with time. The arrival time on the gps kept changing throughout the drive.

    We didn’t want to get to our next destination, Bluffton, South Carolina, too late as I was looking forward to seeing a friend from high school and we need to leave early in the morning so we had limited time.

    Originally we were going to stay at Alayne’s house but her sister , Christina had their rental villa available so we had a lovely night at the villa, and Alayne slept on the couch.

    Josh made dinner (from Costco) and we pretty much just talked. The kids did absolutely nothing but watched TV and they didn’t even want to check out the park as their feet still hurt. We did go to the shops and got Inara epsom salts so she could have a bath which she was looking forward to.

    After dinner the adults went and walked around the neighbourhood . We saw a mini Australian Shepard which I have never seen before and just so happens it was someone Alayne is familiar with at her work. As Alayne doesn’t live in the neighbourhood we did get a bit lost and we had to get maps out. All the houses do all look the same and it was dark, so it was easy to do.

    States: Florida, Georgia and South Carolina (states 8 and 9)
    Miles today: 324
    Total miles:    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Ger and Ed’s

    May 17–19 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    We left early hoping to reach Ger’s house by 2pm but we weren’t successful. Ger had planned on taking me to a 80’s HIIT class/ workshop but unfortunately we didn’t make it. Getting us out of the house by 830 just didn’t happen.

    The next few days we just relaxed and hung out with my bestie!! Wine, fires, s’mores, talking to Nacho (the cow), saw the Sheep Detective at a cinema, Biltmore Winery, and normal everyday life.

    As for the active part Ger and I did a Pilates class followed by a step class, Inara used the pole everyday and Brandon stacked it on the zipstick in the garage. We did short, very short walk in on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The kids weren’t keen on any bugs, pollen and they said they want to conserve their feet for Dollywood.

    If you asked Brandon what his highlight was , he would say the 25 min motorcycle ride with Ed on his Suzuki Bandit.

    Off to Dollywood tomorrow

    States: South Carolina and North Caroline (state 10)    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Dollywood

    May 20–21 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    We left the house early to be able to get to Dollywood at 10am opening. We took two cars as we can all fit in one. The girls in Ger’s rental big Toyota truck and the boys in our jeep.

    We got to Dollywood safety as we drove through the Mts which the roads had landslides two years ago or so in a massive hurricane. There was as so many dump trucks and equipment trying to fix the windy road.

    Dollywood was awesome! It was a huge surprise and the roller coasters were amazing. The lines were some what long as there were a bunch of school end of year trips.

    Other than the 8 roller coasters we also got to see the wild bird show but it was limited due to technical issues. Dollywood has done a lot to help the bald eagles numbers sore back in the wild.

    When we finished our last roller coaster the rain started and we decided to head back to our Airbnb that was just beautiful. Wooden cabin with a spa and view of the Smokey Mountains.

    The kids got to sleep in bunk beds on the ground floor and we get to sit on the spa and enjoy the time with friends.

    88 miles

    States: North Carolina and Tennesee (state 11)    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Memorial Day Monday, off to Baltimore

    May 25–27 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    We left the Stayz house by 11, while Danielle and her family left early to beat the traffic. I used the bikes and rode around the neighbourhood with each kid.

    We had to go through DC and Baltimore traffic, away from the beach on Memorial Day so the 6 hour drive was closer to 8 with the Subway lunch stop.

    I drove the Jeep as I am more confident in the cities and the road between DC and Baltimore is the most used highway in the country. With the on and off rain the entire trip, it was a longer feeling car ride.

    We finally got to Sarah, James and Cora’s house in Towson, MD.

    On Tuesday we headed into the city and checked out the aquarium, as well as headed to a trampoline park that late afternoon.

    Wednesday was supposed to be going into DC but the kids refused and we had a very lazy day with kids watching tv and Sarah and I went out and had a pedicure .

    The kids played on Cora’s silks and we finished the lovely evening with smores.

    States: Virginia, Maryland    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    A nice casual stroll

    May 28 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    After a late night at the fire pit, we all had a lovely sleep in other than James who had to go to work. Cora didn’t have school which was perfect to be able to hangout.

    After our slow wake up we finally ended up up at GunPowder River. We had about a half hour walk where we saw many frogs, a few snakes, a craw dad, wild strawberries, butterflies and other bugs.

    We then ended up at the river where the kids were able to float down the small rapids. It wasn’t super cold but putting my feet in was enough.

    It was another lazy afternoon, I went food shopping, kids watched movies and waited for Cora to get home from swimming. Pizza night and movie was a perfect evening.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Baltimore zoo and Summer begins

    May 29 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We didn’t make it to the Smithsonian on wed and we didn’t make it today either. The kids really didn’t want to go to a museum.

    Inara and I went to the Baltimore zoo (after I mowed the lawn for James) and then we headed to the community pool for the opening of the summer season. We had good conversations, met new friends and had a great bbq. James, Sarah and Cora have made a lovely group of friends for themselves and they are looking forward to another summer with the “gang”.Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Short drive north

    June 1 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We left Delaware, saying goodbye to Danielle and family on Sunday night. The kids had a bit of a sleep in at the hotel while I went shopping. (Tax free ). We finally got out of the hotel and made our way to Philadelphia (after a shop at Target).

    Our first stop was the Valley Green Inn. My place of employment and where we got married. We had a lovely lunch and got to sit and chat to Jack, owner and friend.

    After lunch we did a walk on the Wissahickon creek. Brandon and I had a run to the covered bridge, and the total walk/run was 4ks.

    We then headed to Jack and Jen’s house outside of Philadelphia in Norristown. It was a relaxing evening with a swim in the pool and homemade pizza    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Relaxing few days

    Jun 2–3 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Jen motivated me and Tues and Wed and I worked out with her in the morning in her outside gym followed by a cold plunge in the pool. On Thursday I ran almost 5k along the Schkyll river.

    The kids didn’t want to do much other than play in the pool but the idea of taking off the jeep roof helped get them to go on our casual stroll.

    We headed to Phoenixville on Tuesday to walk along the canal and we got to see deer, a bald eagle nest and lots of turtles. Jack and the kids saved a little baby turtle from drowning in moss. That night we had a fire and smores, and Brandon and Jack played video games.

    Wed was a relaxing day not doing anything much. In my mind I thought we would go down into the city, but the kids just wanted to play in the pool. They both slept in and I reached out to my friend Steph who was free and we had a hour long coffee catch up, which was so wonderful as it was so last minute.

    That evening we met friends Lisa, Bill and their grand daughter for dinner near the King of Prussia mall. It was amazing to see them and I wish we had more time.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    New Jersey shore

    June 4 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    From Philly we then headed to the jersey shore. When I lived in Philly I went to the shore a few times so I didn’t experience it and it was great to come down and share the experience with Josh and the kids.

    We left after 10am so that we would miss the Philly traffic bur there is always traffic. We got down to Surfing Pig, Wildwood , to have lunch with my friend Deb. She took a half day off and it was great to catch up. We then walked around the rock wall and saw Dolphins playing in the waves. There was at least 6 of them and had darker fins than others we have seen.

    About 4pm we then drove 10 min and headed to Jen’s holiday rental which is where we are staying at. It was a luck that she had no rentals and that Deb lived so close.

    That night we ordered takeaway and then went mini golfing, followed by ice cream and a walk near the boardwalk.

    It was a late night for us all!!

    States: Pennsylvania to New Jersey    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Wildwood Pier

    June 5 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    The kids had an awesome day, another amusement park and water park. Penny has a season pass so the kids were able to get a friends discount which was helpful.

    We walked from one end of the boardwalk down to the middle pier. They started with the waterpark for 2 hours and then to the third pier and the end of the day (about 8pm) ended at the first pier with the wooden roller coaster. We ended up with 28000 steps and very tired kids.

    While the kids were in the waterpark we sat ourselves at Pig Dog, a trendy bar overlooking the waterpark and the beach.
    I did some shopping on the boardwalk and walked around. Jen’s cousin does social media for the Mudhens Brewery and has a partnership with Pig Dog, so she got Jen and Josh to do some photos drinking the IPA.

    After lunch the kids got in line for a swag bag pop up for “The Terrifyer” movie which Spirit Halloween marketed it, which Jen works for. We got some awesome promo items and it was a good time out for the kids just to wait in line.

    We had a late dinner at Mudhens brewery which had lots of games for kids but they were exhausted. Josh took the kids back home to sleep while Deb met myself and Jen for a drink.

    It was a very busy day with lots of activities    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    The longest beach ever

    Jun 6–7 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    As we had a massive day yesterday, we had a bit of a sleep in and then used the sunny warm day to hangout by the beach.

    The beach walk from the boardwalk to the ocean is a good 5 min walk and half of the walk is on wooden slats.

    The water wasn’t super cold so I even got in the Atlantic Ocean to play with Inara. The kids played some volleyball on the sand.

    It was a low key day, even having a nap on the front porch after the beach. Josh made Mexican, Alan, Jen’s husband , drove over to say hello as he has been working, Isabelle came over and did laundry.

    On Sunday we had to head out north to the Cape, and we said our goodbyes! We are very grateful for the fun few days!!

    We had our longest drive (8 hours or so) doing most of the coast from NJ, through New York (above the city) , Connecticut, Rhode Island and final destination Massachusetts.

    Auntie Lisa and Uncle Dan had pizza ready for our arrival, as we visited their holiday home in Yarmouth Port on Cape cod.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Yarmouth Port, Mass

    June 8 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Auntie Lisa and Uncle Dan have this very cute house as a holiday home. There was plenty of space and we all had a bed. It had a big backyard and was a perfect place to relax.

    Today we spent being tourist around the Yarmouth Port/ Cape cod area.

    First stop was Grays beach not far from the house at all. It was almost low tide and when it is low tide you can walk across to another beach, which looked like fun to do. There was also an Osprey nest.

    We then headed to a lighthouse at Nauset and also saw the three sisters lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1838. All of them have been moved over time due to erosion.

    Below the lighthouse on the ocean was the Marconi Beach which is part of the Cape Cod National Seashore. The shoreline was rocky so it wouldn’t be the best to play around but it was lovely and we had a perfect day for viewing.

    We then headed into Chatham where we had lunch at a baseball themed restaurant. I very much enjoyed the chicken salad sandwich which I have not yet had on the trip.

    We then got Lisa and Danny also to be tourist as we headed to Chatham Pier Fish Market where we got to see a harbour seal colony and while most of them were on the sandy island across the pier, a few of them were close enough to watch. We watched from the pier, and then moved to the public floating dock to get super close.

    Our last stop was the Chatham beach where we saw some marine life including beautiful jelly fish and horseshoe crabs. There was also some seals farther out in the Chatham harbour.

    We had a lovely bbq hamburger dinner at the house followed by a 10 min drive to Mayflower beach to see the sunset.

    We got super lucky with the whole day, sunny, comfortable weather, seal sighting and a lovely evening.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Sunset views

    June 8 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    We had a yummy bbq dinner cooked by Danny on the grill, but Brandon helped cut up the veggies with Lisa (for food tech class).

    We had to hurry up dinner to be able to head over to Mayflower Beach so the very colourful sunset.

    For being a Monday night it was pretty busy and we got there just as the sun hit the ocean. Brandon and Danny kicked the AFL footy and by the end Inara and Brandon were walking into the ocean.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti
    Lisa and Dans house in Yarmouth PortBaby Stevie

    Family time

    June 9 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    After seeing the low tide at Grays Beach yesterday, the plan was to head back and walk the low tide across to the other beach at 8am but I read the time table wrong and it was high tide not low,. We did get to see a Osprey in the nest at the beach. We were also able to pack up and get going around 10am, leaving beautiful and quaint Yarmouth Port going through Boston.

    Lisa and Dan not only hosted us at their holiday home, but also we get to stay two nights at their home, which we are grateful for. We transferred our bags to the house and then we headed to Rockport about 30 min away.

    On our way through the curvy small roads in Rockport we saw an otter run across the road, which got hit by the back of the car in front of us.

    Uncle Tom along with three dogs, Mac, Daphne and Clark, greeted us at the Rockport home. Cousin Juliette joined us along with 2 month old baby Stevie, followed by Auntie Claire and then Juliette’s husband for dinner.

    We spent a few hours chatting, having some drinks, and eating dinner which was lovely home cooked bbq dinner of cheeseburgers, corn on cob and Josh also tried a lobster roll.

    It was great to see them, but of course never enough time.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Gatti family day

    June 10 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Today was a revolving door of family coming to see us, which is such a nice feeling.

    Cousin Jackie joined us for breakfast before she had to start a full day with a drive up North for a wedding. Auntie Dina, Aunty Lynn and Uncle Scott also joined us as Auntie Lisa put on a spread of bagels and breakfast foods. Brandon, with the supervision of aunty Lynn chopped up the watermelon.

    Later cousin Terri came around with her three kids, Whelan age 4, Rosie turning 2 this week, and Kip just 2 months old. Inara and Brandon played with the kids and was a bit exhausted after it all.

    Later that evening we met the Bona family at dinner in a cute little town, Newbury Port where my cousin Joe lives. Joe, Katherine and their three boys, twins Charlie and Theo and baby Will, along with Auntie Dina and Uncle Steve, Cousin Stephanie and Auntie Lynn. The only one we didn’t get to see was Cousin Nick who tried but work as a cop has inflexible hours.

    We had dinner at Sea Level, oyster bar followed by very yummy ice cream at an ice cream parlour. We said goodbye to the family and then the four of us had a walk at the boardwalk to see the harbour.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti
    MollyMittens

    Dad/Nono & Barb 2

    Jun 11–13 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    Cousin Jimmy was at the house nice and early to say a quick hello and get a coffee before he went to work. He wasn’t able to join us for dinner but it was so great that he came early for a quick visit.

    When we were here 8 years ago, Jimmy played with Brandon and so Brandon wanted to kick the footy with him. Normally Brandon would kick the ball over the fence but this time Jimmy did and it was funny to watch them get the ball from the neighbouring pool.

    We said our goodbyes to all our aunties and we had about a 2 hour drive to dad’s house in Western Massachusetts. We got to dad’s in time for lunch and for the first time met his partner Barb (as he says Barb 2). We were also greeted by Mittens (cat), Molly (Doberman), Onyx (cavoodle), Snoop (spaniel) and Harvey ( rescue terrier). The house was a bit crazy, and we weren’t used to the dogs on couches and beds. Josh and I were given the guest room, where the dogs normally sleep, and the kids got the colder downstairs basement on the super big couch.

    It was a super hot day and even though we were there for just a couple hours we got back into the car and drove to Sturbridge (40 min) to see my highschool friend Ali, her daughter Lou and hubby Ken. It was so cool just to wade in the lake while the kids enjoyed the fresh cool water, drink beers and talk.

    When we got back to dads, we had a lovely grilled steak, all over 300 grams. My dad makes the best grilled steak and he didn’t disappoint. Inara was super impressed and even went back for more. We didn’t go to bed too late and had a nice sleep.

    The weather was just so hot, dad couldn’t do much. We stayed at the house and played a card game, Phase 10, and then we headed to the bowling alley. Dad can’t physically play but be watched us and joined in with the celebrations of a good turn.

    That night Barb and I went and got fish (haddock) and chips from the grocery store. There was so much food, we probably only needed 4 serves.

    This is the first time meeting Barb, and only have had limited conversation until then. She is a lovely strong women and is taking care of dad. She doesn’t take any bullshit and they both treat each other with respect. For the first time in a long time seeing dad, there was no yelling and he was on the calmer side.

    That night we watched the US win against Paraguay play in the first round of the FIFA World Cup. Australia played and won later that night but it was too late to watch it. That night Inara slept with me in the guest bedroom and we had Mittens visit us throughout the night.

    The next morning we said goodbye and headed on our way to Watkins Glen, NY at the KOA.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Watkins Glen, NY

    Jun 13–14 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We headed off North West to a bit cooler area in New York State. The next few days we spent outside with the fresh clean air.

    We arrived about 330pm, and shortly after that my friend Jackie Nightengale and her sister Kathy and her brother in law Mike joined us.

    We picked Watkins Glen as a place to visit for a few reasons. One, is that we needed to get from Mass to Ohio and needed a stop in between. We could have stopped closer to where I grew up but really the only person I wanted to see what Jackie and she was happy to take a few days off and enjoy glamping. Second reason was that my mom’s biological sister and brother live in Watkins Glen and I thought it would be cool to meet them. And third, I have never been there and thought it was time we needed to get back to nature and mentally relax for a few days.

    We had a normal cabin, and the others got a deluxe cabin. In hindsight we could have all just had a cabin together as there was room for us all and we were at their cabin for most of it. We got our steps up walking back and forth!

    First night was a catch up, listened to the live music at the club area, outside down from the cabin, and enjoyed the fire (which was pretty much flaming the few days). We even got to see fireflies in the dark woods at the live music.

    The next morning Inara got a trim, Brandon got to go fishing with Mike at the local pond behind the KOA, and at 2pm Kathy and Mike (my moms biological siblings from the maternal side) along with their spouses came over to Jackie’s cabin to meet us. They brought food to share, drinks and even camping chairs to sit in.

    They didn’t leave till about 6pm, with time going by and not knowing how late it was. We had great conversation, learned about my biological grandparents, how the secret of my mom got out, and all the rest you chat about when you meet brand new family members. It was a very cool experience and it’s nice to add to the family, even though we will probably never see them again.

    That night it stormed and lots of the campsites throughout the KOA had flash flooding, but it was all dried by the time we woke up.    Read more