Week In Review (Vacation Edition)

• Coney Island--is where we are above. No, not on the world famous "Cyclone." This is aboard the less well-known "Sea Serpent" at Deno's, which has the insane Wonder Wheel ferris wheel. Note the contrast between the hands-free 7 year-old Drew, and holding-on-tight 5 year-old Jacob, who is yelling, "Momma!"

• Bronx Zoo--Okay. To be fair, I haven't been to Zoo Atlanta in about six years. The last I checked it's a well-regarded zoo. But, the Bronx Zoo has to be at least ten times better! The newest exhibit is "Wild Dogs of Africa." They were Drew's must see. Marian liked the cheetahs, Matty the ducks, Jacob the rhinos, and I liked the black panthers. Also, the Children's Zoo area was terrific!

• Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel--This is an amazing bit of engineering . . . 17 miles coastline to coastline. It's been around since '64, but I've never seen it till now. Wow.

• Rest Areas--They're kind of a crap shoot (so to speak), and I think we stopped at the worst and at the best rest areas I have ever encountered. The worst was in Virginia off I-95. There was a huge line of porta potties outside which we of course avoided to use the more civilized indoor plumbing. But oh the stench and flies we found there! Forget changing the baby! And Jacob decided he could wait a little longer! (At least this didn't happen to us, or things would have been much worse!) The best was outside of Smyrna, DL off of Hwy 13. Playground for the kids, complimentary coffee, clean restrooms, beautiful landscaping, friendly staff. I'm planning all future travels through Delaware so I can stop there again!