We spent last Sunday at Lewes Beach in Delaware! It was our first time at the beach this year, and Mirei’s first time ever. Mio has been talking about the beach a lot lately so we’re so glad we could take her — she had so much fun! She’s been saying, “Go back to beach!” ever since. Here are some photos of all the fun in the sun!
Dan and Mio soaking up the sun.
Going into the water… it was still a little cold, but that didn’t stop them!
Sweet Mirei in the shade of our beach umbrella.
Playing in the sand.
Building things in the sand…
Mirei staying nice and dry.
With our 4 month old chubster!
The sisters together ♥
Mirei giggles a lot lately! Can’t get enough!
Our little family at Lewes Beach
Mio loves getting spun around by Daddy
Getting buried in the sand.
Mio getting some serious air!
We wrapped up our time in Lewes by stopping by to eat crabs for dinner at The Surfing Crab.
Mirei and I waiting for dinner.
Mio was passed out from all the fun at the beach! She slept almost the whole ride home, too.
Delicious blue crabs!
The girls enjoyed the beach so much that we’ll definitely have to go to more this summer!
Last week, we went on a joint family vacation with our friends the Jubbs and the Gotos. The Jubb family lives in London, but had been visiting the States for the last couple months and they suggested we go on a little trip together with our families before they left to go back to England. Nancy’s family friend had a ton of points that needed to be used up with his timeshare in Williamsburg, and was gracious enough to book us three separate units for each of our families — as a result, we didn’t have to pay for lodging during our stay there!
Arriving at the Wyndham resort in Williamsburg.
Dan took Wednesday to Friday off from work for the trip, and Mio thoroughly enjoyed spending so much time with him!
Loving the slide.
Playing air hockey with Uncle Matt.
Hanging out with Yewon and Aubriana in the activity center. There were lots of games and arcades you could play for free.
Enjoying a round of mini golf.
Mio’s first time playing mini golf.
On our second day there (Thursday), we decided to take the kids to the Bounce House in Williamsburg. I had looked up kid-friendly activities in the area ahead of time, and it looks like there’s not a whole lot of fun things to do with kids there… unless they’re old enough to enjoy the theme park at Busch Gardens. The Bounce House was one of the few things I could find, but it was a huge hit with all of the kids! The Bounce House features over ten huge inflatable houses and slides, and for $8/child they can play on them to their heart’s content!
Mio climbing up the giant inflatable slide.
Some of the bouncing action in one of the smaller bounces for the younger kids:
Matt wanted to try the hurricane simulator and Mio insisted on going in with him.
Nancy and Ellie in the hurricane simulator.
Dan and Mio playing the doll claw game.
Mio and I going down one of the giant slides together. I think I was more scared than Mio!
Mio even went on the bungee swing! She was unfazed and didn’t really get scared until towards the end… so proud of my little high flyer!
There also was a Go Kart area attached to the Bounce House. The kids loved riding in them!
The next day, we had a more grownup-friendly activity and visited the New Kent Winery for a wine tour and tasting. The tour guide said she’d never seen so many kids in a group before!
New Kent Winery tour
Barrels of wine.
Mio is all smiles with Daddy!
The tasting portion.
Meanwhile, Joanna (who is under 21) and I watched the kids on the sidelines, as we couldn’t drink the wine.
Dan enjoying the tasting.
Our family in front of the New Kent Winery.
Everyone together at the winery.
We spent a lot of the rest of the time in the afternoons taking the kids to the pool at the resort, playing with them at the activity center, and at night we played board games amongst the grownups once the kids were asleep. Nancy even organized a girls’ night one night where all of the ladies got together to just veg out on cheese and chocolate while we talked, gave each other manicures and face masks. The kids had a lot of fun together throughout the stay and overall, it was a really relaxing, laid-back mini-getaway for all of us! The Jubbs have since returned to London, but we hope that we’ll have a chance to see them again sooner rather than later.
Since making the move to Virginia, I’ve been looking forward to going on trips and vacations together again with my family. When my siblings and I were kids, our parents would always take us to the Shenandoah Valley a few times a year, so much that we grew sick of going in our teenage years. But after spending a decade away from home, I actually came to miss going there with my parents and that time that we could spend together as a family. As I’ve grown older, I have a new appreciation for family trips (especially now that I have my own child), and it’s also probably due to the realization that such opportunities will become more and more rare as we all get older, have our own families, get busy with more of our own obligations, and our parents eventually won’t be as able-bodied anymore. It’s important to take these opportunities while we can, as well as appreciate and treasure these moments that we’ll eventually look back on as fond memories.
That’s why Dan and I were totally on board when my father suggested we take a family trip to West Virginia during the week of July 4th. We booked rooms at Breath of Heaven Bed & Breakfast in Petersburg, nestled along the Monongahela National Forest and Appalachian Mountains. My brother Ted and Elisa couldn’t come because they were on their honeymoon trip, but it was nice that most of our family could join in this peaceful getaway up in the mountains.
We spent a lot of Wednesday, July 3 traveling to our destination, and upon arriving were greeted by incredibly warm and sweet hosts Geri and Ed, and the quiet, beautiful landscape of mountains and valleys rich with trees. The bed & breakfast was lovely, and there were always homemade cookies and tea on hand and available for guests to eat.
Breath of Heaven Bed & Breakfast, the main lodge area where my parents and siblings stayed.
Here’s a video of the view of the countryside from the balcony of the main building.
Mio spent much of the evening on the porch swing and exploring the premises.
Dan, Mio, and I got our own little cabin/cottage (the owners called it a”cabbage” as a combination of the two) away from the main house. It was so cozy and nice!
Breakfast crepes with sausage made by owner Geri the following morning. I usually don’t like crepes because of how egg-y they taste, but these were delicious!!!
We spent a lot of July 4th hiking in nearby Dolly Sods. My family did a total of three hikes. I had to sit out on the longest one and rest in the car because I’m still pretty queasy and don’t have a lot of energy due to pregnancy.
Dan carried Mio for a lot of the hikes. Thank you Daddy!
Lush green forests and mountains at Dolly Sods.
Mio about to give Daddy a peck.
My dad was in heaven! He loves hiking in the great outdoors.
Mio and I taking a rest together.
Perched on a rock.
Giant rock formations at Dolly Sods.
“On top of the world!”
At the bog at Dolly Sods.
Seneca Rock
In the afternoon, we headed back to the bed & breakfast to rest and freshen up a little bit, and then in the evening went out for dinner and to watch the fireworks show in Petersburg. It was actually a pretty impressive 30-minute long show of fireworks! I think this is Mio’s first time seeing such large fireworks, but she wasn’t scared at all and kept saying “pika pika” (the Japanese word for “sparkly” or “shiny”) and “Wow!” Here’s an Instagram video I took!
The following morning, we were treated to another delicious breakfast by Geri. I think the breakfasts at Breath of Heaven are definitely one of the biggest highlights of the place. Geri is such a great cook!
Mio chowing down at breakfast.
French toast casserole, cheesy potatoes with bacon and onions, and orange slices. The best part is that we can always ask for seconds!
The family enjoying breakfast on the patio.
Mio and I spent a lot of our stay on this porch swing overlooking the countryside. So relaxing!
A family picture before leaving Breath of Heaven.
The Allens with the wonderful owners Geri and Ed. They made our stay so comfortable and enjoyable!
Before heading home, we stopped by a couple more scenic spots in West Virginia. The first was Blackwater Falls, which I’d been to before back in the summer of 2007, right before I moved to California.
Who knew that the next time I’d be back here, I’d have my own family?
The Yokoyama ladies at the falls.
Allen family picture ♥
Yokoyama family picture!
The Blackwater Falls
There were so many beautiful wildflowers everywhere we went, and Dan got some nice photos of them.
Mio getting pretty tired…
…but she perked up again when she got to share a popsicle with Auntie.
Our final stop was Lindy Point, which was a bit of a tiring trek for my pregnant self, but presented some beautiful views.
The view from Lindy Point.
I think we all felt refreshed from spending a few days in the tranquil countryside of West Virginia, getting away from the busy-ness of Northern Virginia and cutting off from technology — we didn’t have phone reception nor WiFi for most of our trip, so it forced us to power down and enjoy our surroundings, which was a good thing. While the scenery there is different from the grandiose spectacles of Yosemite and Big Sur back on the West Coast, it definitely has its own beauty. (No wonder John Denver goes on and on about it in “Country Roads,” his ode to the state!) West Virginia tends to get a bad rap, and while I confess to on occasion having poked fun at the neighbor state myself, I think there’s much to be appreciated in this wonderland of mountains, rivers and trees. We’ll definitely be back!
My best friend Debbie moved up to Philadelphia earlier this year for her postdoc, and I’ve been wanting to visit her for a while now. Dan assured me that he could watch Mio for a weekend while I took the bus up from DC to go hang out with her, so I was able to finally make the trip this past weekend! As much as I missed Mio and Dan while I was away, it was so nice and relaxing to take a break from motherhood for a couple days and enjoy some girlfriend time. I’ve known Debbie since we were freshmen in high school, and my fondest memories are of us hanging out in college together, being roommates and watching movies and just chatting and pigging out on delicious eats. Last weekend felt almost like those good old college days all over again!
I woke up at dark o’clock to go into DC and take the bus from Union Station up to Philly, and got there in the late morning. We promptly headed over to Chinatown to get some dim sum!
Dim sum at Ocean Harbor. We ordered a lot more on top of this, but the dumplings are always my favorites!
After brunch, we got us some bubble teas and walked around some of the parks in Philadelphia and UPenn’s campus.
Domino sculptures in Philly
Giant gamepieces
In the city of brotherly love!
Cool structure in the middle of UPenn’s campus
Later in the afternoon, we went to the movie theater and watched Sofia Coppola’s latest film The Bling Ring. It was really interesting, especially because it’s based on true events and how accurate its portrayal is.
Stopping by Magpie for some delicious pie!
The menu at Magpie. So hard to choose!
We settled on Berry Lavender Crumb.
Digging in!
For dinner, we had gourmet banh mi with slow-cooked chicken and duck confit. So amazing!
We stayed up late chatting and watching criminal documentary shows like 48 Hours, and reminiscing about high school and college days! It felt like we were in our old dorm room 251 Slusher all over again (except Debbie’s apartment is much much nicer!). We got to sleep in until almost 11am the following morning (unheard of these days as Mio is usually sure to wake me by at latest 8am), and then we went out to get some lunch before I had to catch the bus to go back down to DC.
Eating shabazzi fried chicken from Federal Donuts at Rittenhouse Square.
Goodbye Philly, it’s been a fun (and delicious) weekend!
Many thanks to Debbie for her awesome hospitality and taking me around to eat so many delicious things and see such cool sights in Philadelphia! I felt like we ate so much in a short weekend — my tummy, heart and soul returned to DC full and happy. ♥ Thank you so much bestest!
I’m finally wrapping up on posting on our trip to California from earlier this month! Besides getting to spend a lot of time exploring San Jose, Monterey, and the San Francisco Zoo with Dan’s parents and visiting our dear friends in El Cerrito, we got to also spend some time seeing some of our favorite familiar faces in the area and eating at our favorite spots! There were some delicious eats that I had seriously been missing and craving, so I’m so glad we could get a fix while catching up with some of our dearest friends!
Catching up with Uncle Ted in Alameda over lunch.
The samosa salad at Burma Superstar. Never disappoints!
Another favorite from Burma Superstar: garlic noodles with BBQ pork.
Checking out the toys at Tot Tank in Alameda.
Bay Area newcomer Junko trying pho for the first time!
I’m so glad we could see Junko in Sunnyvale! We hadn’t seen each other in almost five years, since our wedding back in 2008!
A trip to the Bay is not complete without a visit to our favorite taco truck in Oakland!
It was great visiting the Kims so we could catch up with Sung Kook and Kayo…
…and see their adorable sons JinWoo and SunWoo again!
Sung Kook loves Mio, and she can tell… she was stuck to him the whole time we were there!
I really missed their pomegranate chicken, among their other delectable bites…
And since we were on College Avenue in Berkeley, we had to stop by Ici for their amazing frozen desserts!
So happy to be reunited with Tarrin in one of our favorite spots in Berkeley… 🙂
Lovely foil stamped labels for my baked goodies, cherry blossom pen, and macaron-shaped trinket case, all wrapped in matryoshka doll wrapping paper to boot! Thank you Tarrin for somehow gathering all of my favorite things. â¤
We also got to try the awesome yÅshoku restaurant Usagi in San Mateo and see some of our favorite faces from Nakayoshi! Special thanks to Sam for organizing the dinner and making the reservation.
ボンゴレ（ã‚ã•ã‚Šã®ãƒ‘スタ）~ Some of the best vongole pasta I’ve ever had!
We missed this beautiful couple!
Mio with Uncle Graig. Probably one of her most favorite people in the entire world… 🙂 She’s always giggling and smiling ear to ear when she’s with him!
Loved seeing everyone again!
It always feels like our time with friends is too short (especially taking into consideration toddler bedtime), and we wish we could have stayed longer with each of our friends, but we were so happy that we could see them again even for a short time! We are truly sorry for all of those who we were unable to see because of our limited schedule, but rest assured that we will be back soon enough to visit again! :) Thank you also to all of our friends who showered Mio with such thoughtful and generous early birthday gifts… it was totally unexpected and so sweet of everyone. ♥ Our family is so blessed just to have the pleasure of knowing all of you!
