*TRAVELOCITY* PART I (Rhode Island & Maine)

Oh, summertime... seems so far away now that we're in the in the midst of the Pennsylvania winter, where "warm" means over 20 degrees (at which time the students break out their shorts and flip-flops!) and "wintry mix" is part of the weather forcast every morning from October until April! :)

BUT ... once upon a time it WAS summertime and this PAST summertime Jonathan and I took a terrific road trip to two states we'd both been wanting to visit for a very long time: MAINE and RHODE ISLAND.  J, in fact, (list-maker and list-crosser-offer that he is!) has been keeping track of all the states he's visited and these were numbers 48 and 49 on his list!!!  That's right folks - one more state and he will have visited them ALL!  Speaking of... anyone out there want to treat us to an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii...?!?! ;-)

Anyway, eventually we'll get to Hawaii, but THIS particular trip to States #48 and #49 was pretty fantastic in and of itself!  The scenery was even more gorgeous than we'd expected, and the photo-ops were PLENTIFUL, to say the least!  Here are some favorite travel photos from that particular trip...

Newport, Rhode Island

Bar Harbor, Maine

***first glimpse of a whale!***

~AMAZING~

(please note that EVEN THOUGH I apparently get quite seasick... note to self... this was STILL an amazing sight!!)

Nobody loves the ocean more than this guy.....

view from Acadia National Park

atop Cadillac Mountain (MAINE)

I try to refrain from posting these cheesy self-photos on the Blog, but... I just love the background in this one!  What a spectacular view!

~pensive~

The stunning Salve Regina University campus, also in Newport, Rhode Island.

The beautiful beach just outside of Providence, Rhode Island ~ so many shades of blue!

~~~

Stay tuned for ANOTHER travel post coming soon from another of our favorite trips of 2009 (to a state that starts with "Cali" and ends with "fornia!")!