Tag: Trips

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Memorial Weekend

This is why I haven’t been posting…

On Saturday my dad came over to show Steve and me how to change a light fixture, so now we have a new chandelier hanging in our dining room. After that took Riley hiking near Lake Thompson and to a strawberry festival at Sky Meadows State Park, then had dinner at the Hummers’. On Sunday my parents came over for lunch after church, and our friend Tim brought steaks to grill for dinner and then we watched a movie. Yesterday we did yard work and cleaned the house to get ready for a cookout last night. We ended up having 17 people come (a new record); the guys played bocce ball and basketball, the girls sipped margaritas and pretended not to notice how hot it was. Then we made pocket sandwiches in pie irons over the fire pit and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for s’mores. It’s the best part of camping without sleeping on the ground.

We had a blast this weekend!

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Barbados!

So about that break I was looking forward to… I just spent the last 8 days in Barbados with my friend Cheryl and had a blast! It was a nice mix of relaxing, sightseeing, flipflop hiking, and eating well. Neither of us usually takes the time to read, but we both worked our way through a stack of chick lit. The photo to the left is the view from our room.

My favorite part was collecting sea glass along the western coast of the island. Even at low tide we really had to work for it – pieces of coral and shell look like pale glass in the crystal-clear water, not to mention that we had to be in the water to find it so we were constantly getting tossed and slapped by the waves. Lots of fun, though!

All in all I liked Barbados; it was a lot like Bermuda, but Barbados isn’t as clean or easy to get around (public transportation is crowded, sketchy, and doesn’t go everywhere). I did enjoy local Bajan-made stuff like Earthworks Pottery and Mt. Gay rum, but I’d like to try a different Carribbean island next time and bring Steve along, too!

boat earthworks house Anne pool

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Moonshine country

Steve and I drove to western Maryland today to pick up a “clothing rack” I found on Craigslist (love that site).

Even though it was overcast we saw some incredible views of the mountains and streams. Wish I had brought my camera to show you the random stuff like a guy selling ducks by the roadside, a slew of gun dealers and taxidermists, and restaurants I wouldn’t set foot inside.

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Back from the mountains

Riley got to go swimming in the pond on Wednesday. Her breed has webbed feet that helps with the dog-paddling. She always wants to go out on the pier, but won’t jump off of it into the water. No pix, but she looks like an otter in the water with the brown head and whiskers.

Asheville was a quick trip on Thursday because it was COLD and windy, but I did score some great lampwork from Beads & Beyond and enameled copper and other stuff from Chevron Trading Post. A lot of restaurants & shops in Western NC are open only on the weekends in the winter, so I’ll have to go back this summer to get the good stuff.

Hope you have a happy Easter! It is the most meaningful holiday to me and it’s nice to be here in VA with my parents & Steve to celebrate.

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Vacation in the mountains

My dad and I have been planning to spend a week in the mountains since the fall, and Spring is a great time to be at the cabin. The drive down was gorgeous, with lime green leaf buds and daffodils against layers of mountains.

IMG_4145bBoth of us had plans to read, clear brush on the trail to the pond, hike, and relax. So far he has been up to his ears in the kind of paperwork involving a calculator and a constant conversation with himself. I put a dent in my stack of magazines while sitting by the fire yesterday, then spent the afternoon taking pictures of bracelets for the website. I’m at a nearby cafe for quiche, coffee, and free wi-fi. Tomorrow I’m going to kidnap Dad and go to Asheville.

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I like Mike’s

I had picked out a table and chairs for our breakfast room and planned a trip with my mom to Ikea (it’s all about the lingonberries). But, in browsing on Craigslist over the weekend I found the exact set I wanted for half off. The only catch was they were located in Arlington, about 90 minutes away barring any traffic situations.

I was reading Kerry Bogert’s blog earlier about her trip to visit jewelry buddies in Northern Virginia (Hey, Cindy!) and their awesome meal at Mike’s. So, Steve and I (and Phoebe) took a road trip to pick up the table & chairs, and I sweetened the deal by taking him to Mike’s afterward. Incredible lump crabcakes and fall-off-the-bone ribs, definitely in our top 10 favorite restaurants.

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Bradenton Beach

We’ve had great weather, so much of our time has been doing beach stuff like sitting on the sand or by the pool, eating ice cream, and poking around gift shops. It took us a while to get into vacation mode after a busy week. We’ll be sitting and reading and I’d interrupt the sound of waves and seagulls with, “Maybe we could put the green dresser in the foyer” or “Remind me to call the cable company to get our service transferred.” And then I’d go back to my magazine and just enjoy relaxing.

Highlights:
Eating grouper at the restaurant on the fishing pier and liking it (never mind that it was smothered in hollandaise and crabmeat)

The second-floor heated pool right outside our room (hotels.com hooked us up – the resort was amazing)

Riding the free trolley up and down the island

All-you-can-eat pancakes & sausage

Mr. Bones BBQ (are you sensing a food theme?)

Watching sunsets on the Gulf

Bathing suits during the day, jeans and a fleece in the evening

More seafood on a different pier (Thanks for the tip, Brenda!)

Turtle sundae with coffee ice cream

Playing mini golf on I-Drive (I hit it in the water more than once)

Subs from Publix

More Tijuana Flats before we flew home

De-stressing together (priceless)

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Little Miss Sunshine

Steve had a conference this week in Orlando, so yesterday I flew down to join him. After delays at the airport on both ends, I was able to meet my friend Sarah for dinner at Tijuana Flats – one of my favorite people and one of my favorite sources of Mexican food. We met in college and get together whenever we can; she’s one of my friends who a) we can pick up where we left off and don’t have to stay in constant contact, and b) didn’t lose her personality or interests after she had a baby. Great example to follow!

Since I got here at night, it seemed chilly, nothing like summer. The weather channel said today was supposed to be in the high 70s and I didn’t believe them or remember what that felt like. I went and got breakfast at Downtown Disney in jeans and a t-shirt and had to change by 10am.

For the weekend we’re heading to Bradenton Beach, but first I am sitting by the pool until Steve gets finished with his conference. Working on a scarf for my pal Cheryl, but it does seem weird to be knitting here. I also have a stack of magazines to look through before moving. Even if I’m not decorating a house, I love tearing out ideas of stuff to do in the future. As a result of the organizer coming in December, I am working on getting all these tear sheets into accordion files. But I’m on vacation, so I’m not worrying about that right now…

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The Bluegrass State

Steve and I were in Kentucky this week visiting my brother and his family. The weather there is about the same as here – winter at last! We relished the opportunity to relax because it seems like we’ve been going and going with no immediate relief in sight. Travis is a joy, smiles a LOT, and is growing with leaps and bounds — or rather bounces, because he loves his jumper. Riley stayed at Camp Kenn while we were gone, but we got to play and snuggle with Harper.

On the way to their house from the airport, Steve was using his new GPS to find a gas station. We chose the closest one from our selected location, which took us winding on this back road down the hill toward the Ohio River. So Phoebe (the name I gave the GPS voice) narrated our trip saying, “Turn right. . . In 1.1 miles turn left. . . Go .8 miles. . . Board ferry.” We laughed so hard. It hadn’t crossed our minds that technically the closest station was across the river in Cincinnati. Phoebe is smart but doesn’t have much common sense.

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Weekend

I had a free Saturday, which is unusual and precious, so Steve and Riley and I piled in the car for a drive. It was another warm day for November and the last of the leaves were clinging to the trees. We decided to drive around beautiful, rural northeastern Maryland and finish up at Wegmans in Hunt Valley. For those of you who think Wegmans is just another grocery store, you should visit one and grab a coffee while you peruse items they have like pickled kumquats, truffle mushrooms in a locked case, and bulk candy (Steve’s favorite). Here is a photo of HALF of the olive bar. There is also a bruschetta bar, and all this is next to the cheese shop with hundreds of varieties to choose from. (Yes, Riley was in the car!) And there’s the pastry shop with fruit tarts and the fish and meat counters with… I digress… We used to live 5 minutes away from the Wegmans in State College, PA and sometimes we’d go just to walk around. Now the closest one is about an hour away. Steve grew up near Rochester where every town has one, so I’m sure his parents think it’s a little weird that we always go to the grocery store when visiting.

The weather today was pretty gloomy, good for watching football so that’s what we did. Or at least what Steve and Aaron did while Becky and I tried not to interrupt.

Oh, and kill the fatted calf because I found my swirl stamp.