Block Island

There’s no doubt that vacations are fun. But every once in a whole you find that unexpected really fun place. Block Island kind of sneaked up on me. It was really fun.

Martha's Vineyard

This was the trip that an unknown dog used my sweater/bag as his bathroom, on the ferry.  No joke, it happened. It was gross. 

Moving on however, the rest of the trip was a success.  The weather was awesome, warm and sunny.  We made it to the farmer’s market, The Newes, Nancy’s top deck for drinks, and to Chappy.  

The dogs enjoyed digging and hanging around too!

Vacationland, Part II

Bar Harbor, ME (Acadia National Park)

Wow… that’s a drive! Good thing we only had to do the long leg once! And, there was a Trader Joe’s on the way.  Nothing can really beat 14 bags of pasta and a few cases of wine…except for maybe the sunset view from the house.

Vacationland, Part I

Biddeford Pool, Maine

365 days later...

Portsmouth, NH

To ring in our first year of marriage we took our first trip to Portsmouth.  We drive by Portsmouth often on our way to Maine, but had yet to make a stop there. 

Oh how I love you MV

You can’t beat a trip to MV. Although this one started out shaky…

First, the boat was booked going the wrong way (home from the vineyard on Friday, back to it on Mon).  Once that was thankfully handled, we headed out to catch the ferry a little behind schedule… however, karma was on our side.  We hit absolutely no traffic, made it to Woods Hole in 2 hours 15 min and were on the boat, without a hitch. 

We enjoyed 2 days of not-even-a-cloud-in-the-sky sunny weather. 

We made it to Long Point Beach on Saturday followed by dinner and drinks in OB.  (Dinner at Offshore Ale, drinks on the docks).  No apple fritter this year; the line at Back Door Donuts was about 45 minutes! 

Sunday we woke up and headed to South Beach.  On the way home we visited Morning Glory Farm to get some goodies to make guac and pick up a strawberry rhubarb pie for dessert.  Nothing would prepare us though, for the the scene that we came back to.  Two (angry) woman sitting on our porch, sipping champagne.  Long story short, Vera double-booked Sunday night and we were out of luck.  They so kindly packed up our stuff and shoved us out the door…homeless.

After some quick yelp and tripadvisor searches, we found a room at theVineyard Harbor Motel in downtown Vineyard Haven.  After a few cocktails to calm the stress we headed to Menemsha for the sunset.  Picnic dinner on the beach courtesy of The Bite.

We spent the rest of night chatting and drinking and eating pie back at the hotel beach. 

Sunday we explored Aquinnah and Gay Head beach. 

Walked around Edgartown…grabbed lunch in Vineyard Haven at The Black Dog, and ate ice cream at Mad Martha’s.  We hopped on the boat an hour early and headed back to reality. 

Until next time…

A Trip Back in Time: New Hampshire

July 8-10

This past weekend we went back to the lake, after at least 15 years. 

We had 2 beautiful sunny days.  We swam to the raft, took a windy canoe ride, grilled, ate s’mores, drank beer, and relaxed.  No TV, no internet, no phone.

AND…Sully learned to swim! Having never swam before, he was coaxed into jumping off the dock. He jumped, sank, bobbed back up and swam for the dock.  Although the picture looks graceful, it was the opposite.  Once on dry land, he swiftly tucked his tail between his legs and ran to the door. Poor beast. 

Here are some other highlights.

The plan for next year... get a boat!

Key West, FL

June 25

Key West is like the island version of New Orleans AKA party town.

We flew into Ft Lauderdale and rented a beautiful mint green Ford Focus to drive down to Key West.  It was a nice, yet exhausting drive.  Took about 3 1/2 hours with a pit stop for lunch.  We found lunch at The Wreck and Galley Grill with Yelp on the way down.  It was the best fried fish I had all week. 

We stayed at The Almond Tree Inn. It was a small place; courtyard with pool, loungers, etc. and offered breakfast and happy hour.  It suited all our needs.

Holy Moly, Jay Turns 30!

April 30

Holy Moly, Jay turns 30!

This was mine and Pete’s first trip to Newport.  The drive was endlessly long.. or seemed that way — all back roads, like a million of them.  We stayed at the Jailhouse Inn. 

We ate dinner at a really cute, eclectic Mexican place right next to the hotel. Can’t remember the name. Pitchers of sangria and great food.  Deep fried avocados.

Sunday we did the Cliff Walk and dreamed of the houses we’d never own.

Honky Tonkin' Nashville

January 14-17, 2011

For sure one of my favorite places. Can’t wait to go back. It’s all about the live music AT ALL TIMES! Doesn’t matter the day or time, there’s music.

Not a heels and blazer place…wish I’d known that before the first night out. Nothing goes better with a PBR than a white tee, which Pete so tastefully rocked all weekend.

Food Must Do’s = Pancake Pantry, there will be a line. It was worth the wait (see below!). Jack’s BBQ.

Bars of Note = Legends Cafe, Tootsie’s, The Stage Belle Meade Plantation, Opryland Hotel also worth the trip.

Trip Details: Marriott Vanderbilt, RCA tour, Cabana, Blackstone Brewery, Big River Grill