Rhode Island in Stealth Mode

This past week, Anne and Gwen headed off to Rhode Island on a spur-the-moment trip handcrafted by Eric's mother, Nancy. You see, Nan already was flying "across the pond" from England to visit her mother in East Providence for several weeks. Now would also be the time to mention that Eric's grandmother, Gertrude, is 96 years old and still happily lives on her own with only mild anger at the thought that she can no longer just hop in the car and drive to Boston, etc. She does still drive, however is relegated to the local roads. In any case, a plan was hatched to bring 2 of 3 in the Miller clan to Rhode Island (Eric held the fort out West) and surprise Gertrude with the arrival, being that Gwen had not yet met her great-grandmother. So, Nan promptly picked up the two travelers over at Green Airport and headed for her front door.
The surprise factor was excellent, with Gertrude squinting at her front door, which appeared to have a mirage of the Western segment of family on the other side.

After catching up.....the group headed out to conquer the state. It would help our Western readers to know that RI is roughly 30 by 40 miles. As in several individuals out here may have cow pastures comparable (just lacking the license plates on the cows and wealth of state regulations). Here's a map to help (click on the X in the Address bubble to get rid of it):


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One day was spent touring the coastal areas, including the mansions of Bellevue Ave in Newport, along with the "summer homes" over on Ocean Drive. Anne even hopped out of the car for a particular camera shot that required stuffing her lens through the gilded gate on the "castle's" driveway...all the while knowing that she was right across from an intercom system that, if a particularly mean-spirited caretaker decided to use for a sudden vocalization, would probably startle her right into getting her noggin stuck in the gate. Talk about potentially making a scene. Fortunantly, arrest was not tempted for long before the group of women found other recreational activities, like shopping, feeding Gwen ice cream (when the great-grandmother asks to give her a little, can you really say no?!), and getting to see some of the homes that Nancy grew up in prior to Gertrude's current Cape Cod style home. All in all, it was a great trip and we apologize for not letting our readers in on the little secret until the House of Miller was whole again. Getrude has been known to head to a close family friend's to check the blog, ergo posting something might the blown the surprise.

Gwen traveled quite well as a young hoodlum on all four airplane flights with her 4 month preggo mother. On two legs of the trip, God supplied the pair with young kids ready and willing to entertain and play enough guessing games to make Gwen feel like she really just needed a nap and quiet time. The 6 year old taught her all about the intricacies of kindergarten from Billings to Chicago, then on the way back the 8 year old kindly allowed her to listen to his MP3 player from across the aisle and told her all about Disneyworld. Not a bad deal, considering that they kept each other busy. Going through airport security as a lone parent with infant was a little more tricky. Here's a brief synopsis: Insert child into stroller, show id card/tickets, unload backpack nearly completely for security agents to see the 3-1-1 bag (3oz liquids in one single quart bag), the formula mixes and all the baby food, collapse stroller and grab kiddo, swing purse, shoes, aforementioned backpack and the stroller into conveyor bins, wait patiently barefoot with squirming offspring for the go-ahead to march through the X-Ray scanner, return to conveyor and attempt to redress self, grab all possessions and reconstruct stroller while opening the single bottle of premade formula for the agent to test for drugs/explosives. This proved to be decently managable with a little experience, but complicated by the fact that the mommy was pregnant and so distracted by the restroom and Pretzel Annie's signs that she could have done better. Fortuntly, she had purposely worn the shirts that tastefully screamed her "condition" with the hope that sympathy might get her to the gate faster. In all truth, people were saints when it came to making the trip easier, from the woman that helped fold the stroller on the gateway, to the three grandmothers that offered to entertain the baby, to the stoic looking businessman that made faces at her over his New York Times.

Since pictures are worth a million words (and we already are getting close), here are some shots of the Thursday-Monday trip: