Our East Coast trip by the numbers: 3 kids and 2 parents in 1 van visiting 5 states in 14 days to see places we used to live and family and friends we love. In short-awesome and tiring, but way more awesome than tiring.
NJ
Our road trip began (to be clear we flew across the country and rented a van for the road trip-we aren't completely crazy) where all great road trips should begin, at my friend for life's house. Janine and I became friends for life thanks to the Brown Housing Office's excellent ability to place together roommates based on a simple survey of about 5 questions. Neen would tell you that I answered two of those key questions incorrectly and that is how she got stuck with me. The questions in question were: "Do you go to bed before 12pm?" and "Are you organized?". I answered yes to both even though I stay up late at night and at the time I thought I was organized until I met Neen. Who really wants a sloppy roommate that is up all night? Not me! :) Turns out my lies worked out for both of us because we are still friends and godmothers to each other's kids. Oh and the "friends for life" title? A former inhabitant of our room in Keeney Quad knocked on our door freshman year and said that people that live in our room remain friends for life, so you can bet that we returned there each year and told the new freshmen that. Okay, getting back on track now!
In addition to Neen's family of five, our friend Susan, who Janine and I met while studying abroad in Melbourne, was also there visiting with her three kids. Is Susan Australian? No! She is from Ohio but we met through our program and the fact that we lived in the same apartment building in Melbourne. To top it off, our friend Alison, also from our hallway freshman year and a roommate in later years, drove from Brooklyn with her husband Bill and 8 month old son Rowan. Thanks to the Manolakos family for hosting all of us and to the Hunter and Washabaugh families for making the drives!
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| Night one: Riley and Jenna up late giggling. |
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| Maggie & Ben |
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| The dads in the kitchen - Bryan cooking up a storm and Mesh eating. :) |
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| Alison and Bill with the Brown kiddos: Rowan and bottom row from left: Nate, Riley, Jenna, Paige, and Ben. (Neen & Bryan's youngest, Will, was napping) |
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| Brown grads: Mesh, Neen, Meg, Alison |
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| The Melbourne crew and kids! I'm putting last initials with the kids because they were all mixed together - fast friends! Paige M., Ben I., Meg, Jake H., Jenna M., Riley I., Nate, I., Dylan H., Will M., Janine, Maggie H., Susan. |
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Last night in NJ-dads and kids.
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