Friday, February 12, 2010
Friday, May 29, 2009
One more New England post
So I have one more post to put up regarding the New England Road Trip...just have to figure out how to get the video I took of Mike embedded. I tell you...seeing this video is well worth the wait. Mike is in rare form and watching it last night for the first time brought me to tears with laughter.
Here are some of my favorite pictures from our trip ... http://web.me.com/natlaw01/Site/New_England_Favorites.html
by the way --- I took 1100 pictures :) (There are actually more favorites but there are the favs of the favorites --- does that make any sense???)
Here are some of my favorite pictures from our trip ... http://web.me.com/natlaw01/Site/New_England_Favorites.html
by the way --- I took 1100 pictures :) (There are actually more favorites but there are the favs of the favorites --- does that make any sense???)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
New England Road Trip - Day Nine (Saturday)
how often have you seen a chipmunk???
Pictures from Waterfire Providence
So today is our last night of the trip. We woke this morning and had breakfast and talked with an Englishman staying at the Inn. I passed along some pics I took to Stephen (maybe a few will end up on his site J and we headed to Rhode Island for Waterfire via Purgatory. Purgatory Chasm is one of the coolest and most dangerous places to hike http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purgatory_Chasm_State_Reservation We really got a work out climbing the granite rocks and trying not to fall to our deaths! We did miss out on finding where the cliffs lead to the ocean…so we will have to venture here again.
When we arrived to Rhode Island…boy, was I glad we already had a room booked. Both Johnson & Wales and Brown University had graduations this weekend. It was so cool to see “young adults” dressed in their gradation garbs with proud parents in tow.
Waterfire, also, brought another layer of people to town, including us of course. But it was well worth it. Even Mike had to admit … “this is pretty cool”. Since I did not make any reservations for dinner and all places were packed, we lucked out by finding a bar table at Ruth Chris’. Now, I am not much of a steak person … but whoa! This was the best steak (sans my kitchen) that I have had. It was really good and I found a new place to go when I am craving red meat. We walked around Waterfire for about 2-3 hours and then went back to the room to catch some zzz’s before our drive back home.
When we arrived to Rhode Island…boy, was I glad we already had a room booked. Both Johnson & Wales and Brown University had graduations this weekend. It was so cool to see “young adults” dressed in their gradation garbs with proud parents in tow.
Waterfire, also, brought another layer of people to town, including us of course. But it was well worth it. Even Mike had to admit … “this is pretty cool”. Since I did not make any reservations for dinner and all places were packed, we lucked out by finding a bar table at Ruth Chris’. Now, I am not much of a steak person … but whoa! This was the best steak (sans my kitchen) that I have had. It was really good and I found a new place to go when I am craving red meat. We walked around Waterfire for about 2-3 hours and then went back to the room to catch some zzz’s before our drive back home.
New England Road Trip - Day Eight (Friday)
I am doing alright...getting good grades...future so bright ... gotta wear shades :)
I think ...
I can....
I know ... I can... (other chick I think is saying ... welcome to earth)
I know ... I can... (other chick I think is saying ... welcome to earth)
Honestly, so much to do … so little time. So after much back and forth, we decided to go to the Museum of Science and buy tickets to see The Blue Man Group. In Boston, they have this cool place you can go to get half price day of tickets in Copley Square.
If you go to Boston … you must go to this museum. It is very hands on and easy to spend a whole day there. They had this awesome butterfly exhibit and we saw a 3-D shark movie. It was my first time watching a 3-D movie to Mike’s astonishment. The coolest part sans the butterflies was seeing a chick hatched.
Seeing the Blue Man Group was a bit of a “okay why not”. Everyone you talk to swears by it … and I guess now we are one of those groupies. It is AWESOME. We had great seats but we were a bit nervous that two seats away from us people were wearing rain parkas. All I can say … is see it if you get the chance… Afterwards we found this spot called B&G Oysters prior to going to Pho Republique. We learned a lot about the city talking with our waiter at Pho named Michael. He is a ex-salon owner and actor. He will be starring in an independent movie soon, so we may try to check that out.
If you go to Boston … you must go to this museum. It is very hands on and easy to spend a whole day there. They had this awesome butterfly exhibit and we saw a 3-D shark movie. It was my first time watching a 3-D movie to Mike’s astonishment. The coolest part sans the butterflies was seeing a chick hatched.
Seeing the Blue Man Group was a bit of a “okay why not”. Everyone you talk to swears by it … and I guess now we are one of those groupies. It is AWESOME. We had great seats but we were a bit nervous that two seats away from us people were wearing rain parkas. All I can say … is see it if you get the chance… Afterwards we found this spot called B&G Oysters prior to going to Pho Republique. We learned a lot about the city talking with our waiter at Pho named Michael. He is a ex-salon owner and actor. He will be starring in an independent movie soon, so we may try to check that out.
New England Road Trip - Day Seven (Thursday)
Yum ... lobster from Three Sons (www.threesonslobster.com)
Picture of an alley of the side of Chestnut Street in Beacon Hill
Along our walk with stop by the Public Gardens. This is a picture of the giant alliums in the garden.
Okay the best part about staying at B&Bs is the breakfast. No surprise … right. But gosh, we have had the best breakfasts. At Belfry we had cinnamon vanilla French toast, berry and banana pancakes, chicken sausage with pepper omelet and an omelet with basil, red onions and tomatoes. And, today, pumpkin almond pancakes with maple sausage. Yum, yum, yum!
We had a great conversation with other guests. We met an ex-professor of law from Seaton Hall who happened to be a retired VP General Counsel of AT&T and was one of the lead attorneys from when the Baby Bells were broken up. Another woman and her best friend were going to their 50th College Reunion. Lastly, we talked with a woman who was a retired school teacher. It was really cool to sit and talk with people from different areas and learn about people’s background.
After breakfast...we greedily had a light lunch at Three Sons Lobster and Fish. This is Maine lobster at its BEST!!! It is a fish market for lobster. You buy by the pound depending on what you want … a chick, a cull, special, etc. And the prices…my gosh…am I buying lobster or catfish. We essentially got the 6 plus pounds of lobster, butter, bibs, a cooler, crackers for $60! The service was great too! We had 1 ¼ pound lobsters with butter and had them pack up some lobsters for us to eat later that evening. Also the ladies who work here are awesome. Could not ask for better service or just nicer people to interact with!
Off to Boston. I slept most of the way since I downed half a bottle of sangria with my lobster.
We did not do any stops along the way as we wanted to get to Boston as soon as possible and enjoy the day there. We got a little turned around which enabled us to cross over the Charles River and see M.I.T sailboats in the water. Clarendon Square Inn is another fabulous place to stay. The decor is to die for. Mike wonders what type of jobs we need to get, what offer we need to make to Stephen (inn owner) to sell the house with all the furnishings! It is that nice. Our room is on the top level. Whew…it is a hike up but well worth it.
Stephen gave us a great walking map of Boston and mapped out a suggested path in order to see what should be seen. He said it would take 3 hours to walk. So with it being 4 pm…we decided no time like the present. We walked from South End to North End through Back Bay, Theater District, Boston Common and Beacon Hill. We stopped at this happy hour at the miniBar which was awesome due to the $2 Kobe Beef Burgers. They were delicious! And, I found a new drink --- a Lychee Martini. Actually, I found a new fruit, as I think I can eat of bowl of lychees with no problems. We continued on our walk and in the end walked about 6 miles over about 3 and a half hours. Afterwards, we went to this neighborhood South End bar (Coda) and had mussels with beer and French fries. This was the pre course to our lobster ... which was divine at room temperature with piping hot butter!
We had a great conversation with other guests. We met an ex-professor of law from Seaton Hall who happened to be a retired VP General Counsel of AT&T and was one of the lead attorneys from when the Baby Bells were broken up. Another woman and her best friend were going to their 50th College Reunion. Lastly, we talked with a woman who was a retired school teacher. It was really cool to sit and talk with people from different areas and learn about people’s background.
After breakfast...we greedily had a light lunch at Three Sons Lobster and Fish. This is Maine lobster at its BEST!!! It is a fish market for lobster. You buy by the pound depending on what you want … a chick, a cull, special, etc. And the prices…my gosh…am I buying lobster or catfish. We essentially got the 6 plus pounds of lobster, butter, bibs, a cooler, crackers for $60! The service was great too! We had 1 ¼ pound lobsters with butter and had them pack up some lobsters for us to eat later that evening. Also the ladies who work here are awesome. Could not ask for better service or just nicer people to interact with!
Off to Boston. I slept most of the way since I downed half a bottle of sangria with my lobster.
We did not do any stops along the way as we wanted to get to Boston as soon as possible and enjoy the day there. We got a little turned around which enabled us to cross over the Charles River and see M.I.T sailboats in the water. Clarendon Square Inn is another fabulous place to stay. The decor is to die for. Mike wonders what type of jobs we need to get, what offer we need to make to Stephen (inn owner) to sell the house with all the furnishings! It is that nice. Our room is on the top level. Whew…it is a hike up but well worth it.
Stephen gave us a great walking map of Boston and mapped out a suggested path in order to see what should be seen. He said it would take 3 hours to walk. So with it being 4 pm…we decided no time like the present. We walked from South End to North End through Back Bay, Theater District, Boston Common and Beacon Hill. We stopped at this happy hour at the miniBar which was awesome due to the $2 Kobe Beef Burgers. They were delicious! And, I found a new drink --- a Lychee Martini. Actually, I found a new fruit, as I think I can eat of bowl of lychees with no problems. We continued on our walk and in the end walked about 6 miles over about 3 and a half hours. Afterwards, we went to this neighborhood South End bar (Coda) and had mussels with beer and French fries. This was the pre course to our lobster ... which was divine at room temperature with piping hot butter!
New England Road Trip - Day Six (Wednesday)
Lobster Traps in Boothbay Harbor
Picture of Barn in Maine
Picture of Room in Portland
We woke early … again and decided to hit the road for a leisurely drive to Portland. We stopped in Freeport again to go to the Coach store. A girl can not resist a peek at a Coach outlet. No big purchases, but did pick up a cool pill case holder which comes in very handy. Also stopped off at Crabtree and Evelyn and picked up the makings of some cool Christmas gifts!
We stopped off in Boothbay Harbor Maine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boothbay,_Maine . Very picturesque town! The only downfall is that many businesses in “beach towns” don’t open until the Friday before Memorial Day since Memorial Day kicks of the summer season. So the Lobster Dock --- we I wanted to have lunch --- was closed L We had lunch at this other spot and, again, Maine portions are unreal! We had nachos and lobster quesadillas and we could not finish. Mike had order a bowl of soup which never came and we were both happy the waitress forgot since we actually left about half of the food on the table (except I did pick out every piece of lobster out of the quesadillas J
We arrived to Pomegranate Inn around 4.00pm. Our room is gorgeous. The inn is decorated in an eclectic Victorian style. No stuffiness here and the character jumps out at you --- in a good way.
Prior to having dinner at Street & Co. we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood and find the downtown area. Portland right now is in Spring time mode. Lilacs are in full bloom, crabapple trees, tulips and hyacinth are blooming. It is so cool to experience a second spring. We walked for about a half an hour and noticed the neighborhoods taking on a different dynamic (okay I told Mike --- ah --- this looks sketchy and then we walked some more and Mike saw a heroin spoon). We realized that Portland like many cities is a block by block type of town, so no different than DC … just that we know DC and don’t know Portland. We hopped in the car and drove around. Found our dinner spot for tonight and lunch spot for tomorrow. Dinner at Street & Co was great (especially due to discovering mignonette sauce for eating with oysters). We are a bit tired, so we went to bed early. Being Wednesday, there is not much to do and the few bars we passed were pretty empty.
We stopped off in Boothbay Harbor Maine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boothbay,_Maine . Very picturesque town! The only downfall is that many businesses in “beach towns” don’t open until the Friday before Memorial Day since Memorial Day kicks of the summer season. So the Lobster Dock --- we I wanted to have lunch --- was closed L We had lunch at this other spot and, again, Maine portions are unreal! We had nachos and lobster quesadillas and we could not finish. Mike had order a bowl of soup which never came and we were both happy the waitress forgot since we actually left about half of the food on the table (except I did pick out every piece of lobster out of the quesadillas J
We arrived to Pomegranate Inn around 4.00pm. Our room is gorgeous. The inn is decorated in an eclectic Victorian style. No stuffiness here and the character jumps out at you --- in a good way.
Prior to having dinner at Street & Co. we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood and find the downtown area. Portland right now is in Spring time mode. Lilacs are in full bloom, crabapple trees, tulips and hyacinth are blooming. It is so cool to experience a second spring. We walked for about a half an hour and noticed the neighborhoods taking on a different dynamic (okay I told Mike --- ah --- this looks sketchy and then we walked some more and Mike saw a heroin spoon). We realized that Portland like many cities is a block by block type of town, so no different than DC … just that we know DC and don’t know Portland. We hopped in the car and drove around. Found our dinner spot for tonight and lunch spot for tomorrow. Dinner at Street & Co was great (especially due to discovering mignonette sauce for eating with oysters). We are a bit tired, so we went to bed early. Being Wednesday, there is not much to do and the few bars we passed were pretty empty.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
New England Road Trip - Day Five
Okay...Mike woke up at 5 am...don't fall out of your seat! I woke up at 4.30 am. Okay, what miracle brought this one? Can you guess? Sunrise today was 5.06 am. Do you know how surreal it is to wake up at 4 frikkin 30 in the morning and think you overslept???
So we got up...in the frakkin cold...scraped off the frost on the window of the Element and went to the bridge so I could take some pictures. I am so glad for my baselayers and warm jacket! I got some cool pictures of the mist floating across the water and some birds.
We went back to the room...took a cat nap and off to white water rafting.
IT WAS A BLAST!!!!! I AM HOOKED!!!!
We had a great group of people and a kick a double s guide (Pam). Thank goodness though we all listened to the training ... cause I saved 2 people today and Mike saved 1. No seriously.... You know when you are on the plane and you DON'T listen to the flight attendant give all those instructions...yeah... Glad I did not do that here. There were three boats and one of the boats capsized. So being the closest boat we pulled in 7 rafters from the other boat. That was so surreal. One of the guys, a father with his two sons from California, scratched his hand and cracked his helmet. Oh...know when you don't wear helmets (yeah, saw why helmets are important). Several people...okay ... a lot of people lost their shoes. (We were all wearing wet suits with booties because the water was 36 degrees). I helped pull in one of the sons and one of the girls in the cabin next to ours. It was wild. We were on a Kennebec River which has class 2-4 rapids.
The rest of the trip was great! Several of the guys in the boat with us decided to jump into the water --- remember the water is 36 degrees--- and floated down the river. We, also, saw a bald eagle. Unfortunately, my water resistant disposable camera was all used up by then…but it was a cool and serene sight to see the eagle gliding so gracefully overhead.
Had another great meal in the pub during lunch ... we were stuffed! So, alas, no nachos tonight with dinner. In fact, I had pre-paid for dinner and we were stuffed after the salads (which were fresh and delicious). I got a shrimp with pesto…yum, but will have to finish it off tomorrow. To full to consider eating all of this.
Tonight is a chill night after all that excitement...I am tired!!! Tomorrow off to Portland.
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