I just rolled in –literally- after spending three weeks on the road. The suitcases are still in the car and I haven’t even thought of what we’re going to do for food, but first, I had to sit down and blog about where we’ve been.

This year, my family and I combined back-to-back, work-related conferences that were geographically near each other with our vacation. The result was a five-state, twenty-one day road trip that I’ll probably be blogging about in pieces and parts for weeks.

For now, I’ll give you the general rundown of where we’ve been and what we did:

First stop on the Thompson family tour was North Carolina. My folks live there and they agreed to keep our dog while we were gone. We were also able to coordinate a small family reunion while we were there. It was so nice to see everyone and catch up. The mountains are beautiful and the weather was great. I managed to sneak in a fabulous hike with my father – something that’s become a tradition when we get together in NC. Good times!

After that, we took off for Washington, D.C. The Romance Writers of America’s national conference was there this year. So, while I was “working,” (oh, how I love my job!) my family took the opportunity to see the D.C. sights. I managed to play tourist a bit myself – I went with my family to tour the White House (more about that in a future blog) and to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. Two things that have been on my “must-do” list for a long time.

The RWA conference ended on a Sunday and Pyro Boy (that’s my hubby’s new nickname… since everyone seems to have cute pet names for their DHs, I’d been wracking my brain for one that fits mine… after years of watching him become a ten-year-old boy on the 4th of July, it became apparent this year that “Pyro Boy” was the perfect moniker for him – sorry, Honey!) Anyhow, Pyro Boy’s conference, which was in Boston, didn’t start until the following Friday. So we took the opportunity to go to New York City for a few days. We had such a good time! We got a two-day Gray Line city tour, hop-on hop-off bus pass and spent an incredible couple of days getting the lay of the land. Despite how touristy it sounds, it really was the perfect way to see all of Manhattan. We sat on top in the open air (even in the rain) and planned our course of action. Some of the high lights: We ended up going to the site of the World Trade Center to see the progress of the new project (a very emotional experience); we did the Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty experience and went shopping in SoHo, among other things.

Next, we headed to Boston. While Pyro Boy conferenced, the family and I had a crash course on American History, with an emphasis in the American Revolution (of course). Since we had such a fabulous time on the New York Gray Line city tour, we decided to snag the Boston “Bean Town Trolley.” While I don’t regret it, let’s just say I’m glad we only shelled out for the one-day pass in Boston. Perhaps it’s just the nature of the beast, but in NY, with every lap we made, I gleaned more and more interesting Manhattan factoids and probably could’ve kept riding and gleaning for days. But in Boston… For a city so rich in history and culture, the tour’s delivery sort of left me scratching my head. Especially when every tour guide (different guide each time you hopped off and back on a trolley) felt compelled to point out the largest parking garage in Boston… Okay. Good to know. They’ve got the parking garage covered, but they didn’t utter one word about the Boston Tea Party… which set me on a mission: to discover the location of the historic event. No one seemed to know (because the waterfront had been built out by landfill over the years). Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED Boston and I’m not judging it by the tour. I plan on spending more time there in the future… I guess I’ll just have to do more on this in a future blog post, too.

We took a day trip – twice – to Concord, MA. Suffice to say, I left my heart there. I communed with Thoreau at Walden Pond, saw Emerson’s “Old Manse,” and marveled over how the spot where the Revolutionary War began still is unspoiled and perfectly preserved. I imagine that today it looks very much the same as it did back in the day. Except for the obviously new footbridge and the monuments (as my daughter so aptly pointed out – Thanks for the buzz kill – Actually, no, she didn’t ruin it for me… It was that good!). But the stop that took the cake for me was the visit to Orchard House. Home of the Alcotts – as in Louisa May Alcott, author of “Little Women.” What a treasure, Orchard House. Many of the Alcott’s possessions are on display in the house – including the desk where LMA wrote “Little Women.” I had a personal guided tour by Sally Cody, manager of retail sales for the House and wealth of knowledge on all things Alcott. As, I’m sure you’ve guessed, I’ll be writing more on fabulous Concord in the near future, too.

Our fifth and final stop (before heading back to NC to pick up the dog) was Gettysburg, PA. We did a whirlwind tour of the battlefield. Not enough time to pay sufficient homage, but it was awe inspiring to set foot in a place of such historical significance. Will definitely go back.

I fear that you’re going to be hearing about my Big Fat Summer Vacation for a few posts to come. But I hope you’ll find what I have to share as exhilarating as I did. And there will be pictures, too… as soon as I can unearth the camera! Stay tuned.