FAMILY trip

Our trip was, by plan, filled with family time. We cherished it and made the most of it. The kids, in particular, had a great time together, and it was so much fun to watch them. We had a great time drinking coffee together, sipping beer or wine, and eating. The beaches were so beautiful, but the water was a little too cold to do much without a wetsuit.

We took a lot of trips and rode a lot of transports, but we made the most of the time and used it to chat and eat and play games.  We watched the scenery roll by and noted what looked familiar and what was new.

The kids behaved as if they'd never been apart.  They were best friends.

It wasn't the best food, and the service was worse, but the company was great, the drinks were fine, and the view was to die for.  In the end, it just goes to show that the only thing we really need for a good time, is a place to come together.

The family at the wall.  Undivided.

Our German family!  

Headed home.  Headed home.  But home is wherever we're together.

Planes, trains, and automobiles - the vacation of a thousand means of transport

Rather than post chronologically, I thought maybe we'd take a look at the 2018 Harrington family combined European Vacation thematically.  For the first installment, I submit to you the many ways we got from one place to another.  The Bassington family portion of the trip started with a 3+ hour car ride from Ithaca to NYC, then a 7 hour flight, followed by a taxi ride to Paddington Station to catch a train to St. Ives.

Sarah and I did very little sleeping on the plane.  Emmett, on the other hand, got a full 8 hours in, it seemed like.

Like everyone else, Emmett was curious about the airplane food.

Watching the sunrise over Ireland.

On the train to St. Ives!  Whole family in tow.

This was probably everyone's favorite single day of travel.  Under a bluebird sky, we rode the upper deck of a double deck bus from St; Ives to Lands End.  The streets were so impossibly narrow... 

Counting cows

Another bus, another activity from the bag.

While we didn't technically get a ride in this cherry, it was a favorite of many of us and so it gets to make an appearance here, plus, I missed one or two transports.  This can be a stand in for a few buses, a couple trains, and a taxi, at least.

At Oma and Opa's house this tractor was a favorite.  If you couldn't find Emmett right away, the sandbox was always a safe bet.

On the autobahn, doing like a thousand miles an hour.

Not technically a vehicle, but we all did a ton of walking.  Emmett's stair skill markedly improved over the course of the trip.

My beautiful babies.

Cool architecture in the train station in... hard to say... maybe to or from Tubingen... did we take a train?

Old pro.

We even crammed in a boat ride in Hamburg.

Hamburg is an active port city, so there is lots to see.

Have another theme suggestion for the next post?

Late Spring/Early Summer 2018

Going back through the photos, I'm just amazed at how much we get done. Not all of it is particularly productive, as our house can attest, but it is good fun.  And we spend so much time outside.  And now, with the snow on the ground, the warm summer days seem so far away, but I know they will be back again in a flash.  The seasons are truly marvelous.

Nakie-birding in the field

Safety first!

Learning with Papa

Helping Papa.  This is between POS cars when Veneta was kind enough to loan us her F150.  We still haven't sorted what to do with the Subaru...  or the Frontier for that matter.  What a life.

These were a gift from a friend at school.  They belonged to his daughter.  They got kind of a slow start, but are now in the daily rotation.

Countdown til the trip to Europe!