Labor Day Weekend in New England

Labor Day weekend in Stonington, Maine. Think about it. Stonington is a beautiful 6 hour drive north of Boston. The first couple of hours are all highway on I-95 and I-295. Make sure to make a quick stop in Freeport, Maine for the home of LLBean and a quick lobster roll. Or my personal favorite - stop in Kennebunkport and have a crab roll or lobster roll on the waterfront at the Clam Shack. Park wherever you can and walk around the few blocks of t-shirts shops and souvenir shops. A store not to be missed however is Carrots & Co for some of the most beautiful New England local souvenirs and knick knacks. Another personal favorite is Scalawags for dog supplies and toys. I stop at both on every trip to Maine.

After a short break, continue heading up the coast and leave the highway just north of Augusta. From there the drive to Stonington is a meandering two lane highway through small towns and ocean views. This trip could take 10 hours if I was willing to stop at all the cute stores and restaurants. Make sure you have a GPS or good directions as the road signs are a little confusing. Eventually, you will reach your final bridge signalling your entry onto the island and Deer Isle and eventually Stonington at water's edge.

Stonington is one of the largest lobster ports on the eastern seaboard and after you've had lobster from Stonington, you won't want it from anywhere else. A short drive back over the bridge and around the waterfront is Castine, a lovely town rich in history and home to the Maine Maritime Academy and the ship State of Maine. The most wonderful seafood lunch can be had right at the shack on the dock and don't forget to order some of Gifford's Blueberry ice cream for dessert.


Stonington is also rich in history and pink granite. This beautiful granite has been used in historical locations all over our country and can be found all over Stonington. Take some time to go to the quarry or buy small pieces at local antique shops and souvenir shops. There is a statue on the waterfront in honor of the history of the granite industry in Stonington.

Summer in South Carolina

While generally I have to agree that summer in the south is not my favorite, I have learned to appreciate humidity and lots of air conditioning. For two of the last three summers, I have found myself teaching at the National Advocacy Center on the campus of the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC. While generally hesitant to go anywhere with a temperature over 80 in the summer, I have come to love this time down south. The University campus is less crowded, the bars are still open and there is plenty to do.


There are two main areas for dinner and drinks in the capitol city of Columbia, The Vista and Five Points. Both are a short walk away from the college campus. I particularly love the Vista. The walk is best taken through the grounds of the campus. Here you will find the State Capitol, a majestic building with gold stars on the outside commemorating the damage General Sherman caused during the War of Northern Aggression.



To the north of the State Capitol building, a monument to Strom Thurmond can be found, including the scratched out number of his children, recently changed to reflect his fifth child, Bessie Mae. It is worth a picture.
While generally it is not safe to go wandering through the State Capitol late at night alone or in a small group, it has gotten safer in recent years as there is a security guard that can regularly be seen patrolling the area as it is a common path home from the Vista to the college campus.

One of the best restaurants on the Vista is the Blue Marlin located in an old train station. Great seafood and a picturesque setting in a great location. Another good choice is The Liberty, located across Gervais Street on the corner. The Liberty has a great bar for watching games and a wonderful outdoor patio if the weather is welcoming. Another fun choice when sports must be watched is Jillian's. It is on the same side of the street as the Liberty, but just a little farther down. This is a chain, but has plenty of room for big groups and has lots of pool tables and activities for everyone to stay busy. On summer nights, a lot of the bars will have live music out on the patio. As long as the weather is tolerable, this is a great choice for spending the late night hours.

By far and away though, our favorite late night place has become the Flying Saucer, located just off of Gervais. It is a popular hangout as the outdoor patio has long picnic tables capable of accomodating large groups. The inside has lots of tv's for watching sports as well as a living room style area with comfortable couches and chairs. The beer selection here is unmatched and every night there is a different special. The final stop of any night on the Vista must be at Uncle Louie's where the owner is regularly found behing the bar serving up the cold beer. We have taken to calling this the Natty Light Bar as they have beers on sale for $1.25 every night. I love that place.

Nantucket June 2010

The yearly trip to Nantucket finally arrived and nothing but fog and rain greeted my arrival at Boston Logan airport! I finally figured out the ultimate way to make the most of my trip east - I took the red eye from Denver to Boston, arriving at 5am where my wonderful college roommate picked me up and drove us the quick drive at that hour to Hyannis where homemade Bloody Mary's awaited us.

I have heard many people describe Nantucket as magical and I've certainly used many adjectives to describe this tiny island in the past. However, after this year's vacation, "magical" is definitely the way I would describe my favorite place.

Two days of pretty heavy rain were followed by three of the most amazing weather days I've ever had on Nantucket, with blue skies and warm sunshine. We were so impressed with the weather that instead of renting a small Kia, we were talked into the big red Jeep and kept it for 2 days. Once again, Lou, the White Elephant concierge got us a remarkable off season rental rate of $99 per day for the Jeep which comes with its own beach permits.



We changed things up a little this year and headed straight to Bartlett Farm where we knew we could get fresh sandwiches made to order to take to the beach. However, as we were leaving, we finally noticed that Cisco Brewery was right next door. Since we had contemplated going there over the years and had never made it there, we felt we had to stop.



What a beautiful day and what a beautiful location for a stop. The brewery is small and as you approach, there is a patio area with chairs and music playing and two buildings on either side of the patio, the "tasting rooms." We walked in to look at the t-shirts and other merchandise for sale and immediately were greeted by a bartender standing behind a small bar with no more than 5 stools asking us what we would like to try. Turns out they have a tasting menu for $8 where you get to sample all 8 of the local beers in a tiny little beer mug. It was great. I found a beer I liked, ordered the bigger size, did my shopping while I drank and met up with some of the other guests of the White Elephant who were doing the same. They had ridden their bikes out to the brewery and the thought of riding them back into town kept them at the bar longer than they should!

Quite a few hours passed in this fashion and it was finally time to leave as we were missing a beautiful day. We headed straight for Madaket Beach, the westernmost beach on the island as the sun was heading down the horizon. What a smart choice.

This beach is deserted and is now my new favorite beach. We drove to the end of the road where it dead ends into the sand. We had to stop to let the air out of the tires down to the safe 18 lbs and then headed out onto the beach.



There were no more than 3 other cars out on the entire beach. We headed as far west as we could and set up our beach chairs and had a late lunch watching the sun get lower and lower.



As I was afraid of falling asleep, I headed farther west on a long walk where I found the most amazing sea shells and the end of the beach. At this point the sun was setting and I hated to turn around to head back, but I was out of land to walk on.




We quickly headed back to the hotel to change and drive back out to the Galley Restaurant at the Beach as the sun was setting and we had 8pm dinner reservations. As I quickly checked in, I begged the host to let us have a drink on the beach before seating us so we could watch the final minutes of the sunset. Of course, he was most agreeable as that was where everyone was. This is the ultimate location for a drink at sunset on the beach. It just doesn't get any better than this and if I could end each day at this location, I would be a happy girl.



We went inside for our Restaurant Week dinner which I am disappointed to say was almost the exact same menu as last year and not quite as good. However, we were given a wonderful table where we could watch the sky grow dark and as it did, we had a wonderful view of the boats approaching the island in the dark. It was as always, well worth the trip.

The next day we felt we couldn't give up the Jeep as it was another beautiful day and we still had plenty of the island to explore. We started off by having breakfast at a local hotspot, the Downyflake. Known for its donuts, it is a local favorite. I can tell you, the donuts are awesome. Just like my grandmother used to make.

We then headed out of town on Polpis Road towards the Wauwinet. We had decided to head out to Great Point despite the fact that we couldn't drive all the way on the beach due to the conservation lands. We stopped at a little guard shack just before the Wauwinet and bought a special beach permit for $35 which it turned out was well worth it. Here we had to lower our tire pressure to 15 lbs. If you go, be sure to make one last bathroom stop here at the porta potty as there is nothing up ahead!


We drove out on the beach as far as we could and abandoned our Jeep for what was a 3 mile walk (each way) out to Great Point Lighthouse. We knew this going in, but had we not gone together, we each might have abandoned our goal. It was well worth it as we had the pelicans and the seals to accompany us.


When we finally made it to the tip of the island, we got as close as we could to the Great Point Lighthouse.

We had not brought our shoes and the sand was white hot. We were the only ones there as none of the other visitors to the area had made the journey out to the lighthouse. It was perfect.



A dark cloud followed us back down the beach along with the seals to our Jeep so we headed out to Surfside Beach and got the famous burgers from the shack there which we enjoyed on the beach until a brief rainshower hit.

After heading out to Sconset to visit our favorite little store and shop the real estate in that area, we finally discovered the third and final lighthouse on Nantucket, Sankaty Lighthouse.

After our 2 day Jeep adventure, we took advantage of having the Jeep by having dinner out of the downtown area and then returned to town to see a movie at the Starlight Theatre. If you can, try and see a movie here. It has its own restaurant and bar and you are more than welcome to bring your drinks in with you. It is a classic theatre and a perfect way to end the night. www.starlightnantucket.com.



I want to end with a couple of photos of what I see every morning on my walk from the White Elephant out to the Galley Restaurant on the beach area. I love this walk and I never get tired of the views.

This place is indeed magical.

Spring Break is all about Baseball!

When I think of spring break, I think of baseball spring training in Arizona. For years, I have been going to the Cubs spring training facility in Mesa, Arizona to watch games. Every year I take my nephew for his school spring break, but I have also started going at the beginning of spring training by myself or with the girls. Adults deserve spring break too!


From Colorado, it is a quick and easy flight to Phoenix with remarkably cheap airfares on Frontier and Southwest. If you plan your trip by January, it is easy to get a round trip flight in the neighborhood of $139. I generally stay in the Scottsdale area as most of the good resorts are in that area. For the past few years, we have been meeting friends from Chicago there and have discovered lots of good family resorts with great pools. One of the early favorites was the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak (www.hilton.com) as it has a remarkable water park on the premises. It even has a Coyote Camp where you can check the children in for the day. If you book far enough in advance, you can get great rates. But it fills up fast as most of Chicago and other areas have the same spring break and they all come down for spring training with the family. Because of the water park, it is a popular choice.

For a few years, we ventured farther north to the Desert Ridge area of Phoenix, up by Kierland and all the new shopping destinations. We stayed at the JW Marriott and it's sister property, the Canyon Villas which are condos and timeshares just a short walk across the parking lot. In the early stages of the Villas, it was a nice enough property as there were no crowds and staying there gave you full access to the JW Marriott. However, as more and more condos have been built, the crowds have come. But if you're travelling with a family and want the convenience of a full kitchen, this is a good choice. It's farther away from some of the ballparks, but easy access to the 101 freeway offers many other choices of activities and sporting events.



After many years exploring, I've found my home in Scottsdale and it is the Arizona Biltmore. (www.hilton.com) It is a property rich in tradition and history and the service is impeccable. The Biltmore was previously owned by the Wrigley family and there is still a Wrigley Mansion on the grounds which is open for lunch and dinner and free self guided tours. The grounds on which the hotel sit include a golf course, walking and running trails and lawns with every flower imaginable. The hotel is extremely spread out with 8-10 buildings and 4 or more swimming pools hidden between the buildings. It would take a day just to stay at the hotel relaxing and exploring.



But of course spring in Arizona is all about baseball. The Cubs spring training facility is located at HoHoKam Park in Mesa, AZ, just a short 15 minute drive from the Biltmore and the nearby Phoenix Airport. All games are at 1pm and the field opens at 11am. Parking can be had on the grass outside the stadium for $5 and lawn tickets currently are sold for $8, up from $5 just a couple years ago.

Between baseball games everyday and the pool at the hotel, it's hard to find time for anything else while on these trips. But there is plenty to do in Phoenix this time of year. Two years in a row, the NCAA March Madness Tournament was in town and we were able to get tickets at the last minute and even attend UCLA's practice session the day before for free. Visiting other teams ballparks has become a new favorite as there are so many to check out and some are brand new. One year we were able to attend an ASU baseball game and tours of the new football stadium in Glendale are a not to miss event.

A worthwhile side trip if you haven't been is the Grand Canyon. Located just past Flagstaff, it's a good 3 hour trip from Phoenix but well worth it. I had forgotten however, that there are no fences along the side and it is extremely easy to slip and fall, so wear good shoes and keep the children tethered.


Don't forget a trip to Trader Joe's and a burger from In N Out and it's a perfect getaway from the snow and winter up north!

Birthday at the Broadmoor

My good friend Kari celebrated a birthday this past weekend and of course, we all joined in for a wonderful weekend at the Broadmoor. Sometimes you don't have to travel hundreds or thousands of miles to experience 5 star hotels and luxurious living. Sometimes it's right in your own backyard. In this case, it's found at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs.

The Broadmoor is one of just a couple five star resorts in the entire state of Colorado. Given its lack of proximity to the ski resorts, it's surprising to have a resort and conference center hidden on the south side of the Springs. But many organizations hold their conferences here as well as weddings and golf tournaments. However, in the downtime after the holidays, good deals can be found. We booked a winter getaway package with standard rooms in the West Tower for $160 which included 10% off discounts at some of the more popular restaurants and a 15% discount at the shops.

The Broadmoor is spread out over many buildings lining the golf course and the lake. The West Tower has its own valet and entrance on the west side of the lake. At first, I was discouraged by this, but it is infinitely more accessible. There is a check in desk on that side as well as a small bar and lounge area. It was just perfect. Our room was spacious and featured mountain views with a large patio. The amenities were what you would expect from a five star resort with the exception of slippers. I really needed those and expected to find them in my room. We had a room with 2 double beds and they were quite small beds but with plenty of down comforters to make up for the size.

After a brief happy hour in the room, we headed over to the Hotel Bar across the lake. This is a wonderful indoor-outdoor bar that offers a huge outdoor fireplace on the patio with plenty of seating overlooking the lake. In the warmer months, the floor to ceiling windows/doors open to make the indoor area more of an outdoor patio. After happy hour, we headed to The Tavern for our birthday dinner reservations. The Tavern is my favorite place at the Broadmoor. It is a restaurant that has 3 different seating areas, each with its own style. Farthest from the door is the garden area with a glass ceiling and plants and flowers surrounding diners. Just inside that is a quieter carpeted area which features my favorite place to eat, the lunch bar, for lack of a better word. Here you can sit quietly watching the chefs prepare the meals and stay warm from the pizza oven before you. The most popular area during the dinner area is the bar area closest to the door where live music is played during dinner.

Included with the live music is a small dancing area and believe me, it gets used.

We sat in this area and were immediately pleased to recognize the server was a friend of our birthday girl. Dinner and drinks were wonderful and Kari was even served a birthday cake complete with the band singing Happy Birthday. Kari was thrilled! :) Not.

After dinner, it was on to the Summit, the highly touted newer restaurant at the Broadmoor. The Summit is located across the street from the main entrance to the hotel and is attached to the conference center. Since we had just had dessert, we settled for after dinner drinks. We tried to finish the night at one of my favorite bars, the Golden Bee, but unfortunately it was closed for renovations. But we hit every bar and restaurant open that night, so felt we had celebrated Kari's birthday properly.

The next day, after sleeping in and reading the two Sunday papers courteously left on our door, it was time for Kari to head to the spa while the rest of us shopped and wandered around. The Broadmoor is a city unto itself and there is plenty to do. James was able to get work done while Kari was pampered and Joanna used her coupon to buy the family presents. Joanna quickly became starving, so we headed back to the Tavern to belly up to the lunch counter for some pre-Super Bowl snacks and beers.

Snow had started falling early that morning and the grounds of the hotel were transformed into a winter wonderland. The Broadmoor offers an all encompassing Sunday brunch for $35 and it includes unlimited champagne and just about every type of food imaginable. We decided against that as it was Super Bowl Sunday. We headed over to the Golf Club and ate at the grill. I had never known the grill was here before and absolutely loved it. There is a dining area with windows overlooking the golf course or a bar area with red leather bar stools and tv's. We chose the bar area. After one last wonderful meal it was time to head out to beat the weather to get to our Super Bowl parties.

We walked the long way past the lake on the west side and wound up entering the West Tower at the far southern end. In doing so, we discovered hallways filled with photos of all of the famous people who had stayed at the Broadmoor. It was fun seeing this part of the Broadmoor's history. Given that the Ice Hall had previously laid claim to famous figure skating events, there were many sports figures representing U.S. championships won. Not to mention all of the famous golfers and celebrities who attended the championships held at the club. I'm glad we took the time to peruse the walls.

Finally, it was time to say our goodbyes and pack up the car. Remembering we had only been at the hotel for one night, a short 24 hour period, I had to take a photo of James with all of his and Kari's luggage. Clearly, he overpacked and wished he didn't have to leave. Who needs a bellman's cart for an overnight stay 45 minutes from home?? :) Either way, we all had a great time and are glad Kari chose this way to celebrate her birthday! On to London for the Big 4-0!!!

Spring on Nantucket

The reservations have been booked now that 2010 has arrived. Nantucket awaits the beginning of June! A friend and I started a girls trip to Nantucket a few years ago as a way to reconnect after not having seen each other for years after law school. She leaves behind her husband and children and I leave behind my dogs. We meet in Hyannis around the first of June year after year and have lunch dockside at Baxter's before boarding the fast ferry to Nantucket. We are always on the 1:55 ferry which arrives just in time to check into the White Elephant.

When we started this trip, off season rates at the White Elephant were $135 a night which was just unheard of. Now they are $195 but still a deal. The rates are available Sunday - Thursday before June 15 and not generally over Memorial Day weekend. We have learned over the years to go as late as possible, hopefully after the holiday weekend. More of the stores and restaurants are open, the weather is warmer and generally it is a better start to the summer season. But believe me, there are no rules when it comes to the East Coast in June. One year, there was a horrible heatwave and it was 100 degrees in Boston and a very steamy 85 on Nantucket. That was the first year I was actually forced into the cool ocean waters in a bathing suit that early in the year. Believe me, it was refreshing. And there have been years when it has been cold and rainy the entire time. But most often we get a nice mix of both which makes it the perfect time of year to go.

Each year that we go, we learn more about the island. Our research and a wonderful concierge named Lou at the White Elephant have shown us parts of the island that we have come to love which keep us coming back year after year. It took us 3 years to finally rent a car for a day to go exploring. That was good and bad. Bad because apparently we were too lazy to leave the downtown shops and restaurants and explore and good because we had enough to do for 3 years before ever needing to leave downtown. Believe me, renting a bike was never in the cards for us. Too old. But most people do. There are bike rentals all over the docks and no reservations are necessary. You can rent by the hour or the day. The island is full of wonderful bike paths to take and you can easily tour the entire island by bike in a day. That just wasn't for us.

However, last year when we rented a car for the day it was the best day I've had anywhere in a long while. To begin with, the rates for car rentals are cheaper in the off season as well, another perk. Since it was off season, I didn't make a reservation in advance, but waited until I spoke to the concierge. Good thing I did because he hooked us up with a great rental and gave us a coupon to boot. We used Affordable Rentals which is just around the corner from the White Elephant. They have a wide variety of cars available from the always popular Jeeps to Mini Coopers to the more basic and very cheap Kia that we rented. We paid $60 for the car that we were able to keep for 24 hours. The White Elephant has a small and free parking lot right across the street from the main entrance which made having a car especially convenient.

After getting bottles of water, beach towels and beach chairs from the front desk at the White Elephant, we set out for a beautiful day exploring the island. We had a list of places we wanted to find after reading about them in Elin Hilderbrand's books. We drove around downtown orienting ourselves and checking out the beautiful old homes that had been there for centuries. We quickly figured out there are only a few main roads and all lead back to the same location. We finally found a main road out of town and headed out towards the ocean to discover beaches and surf that would scare the best surfers.

After getting out to explore the wind first hand, we wound up driving past the most beautiful cemetery at the top of a bluff overlooking the sea. What a peaceful location. Our first main stop was Bartlett Farm. This is a huge farm but it's also a grocery store with an attached greenhouse. Everything was so fresh and wonderful. We bought hand made sandwiches from the deli for our day at the beach, sampled the pies that had just been made fresh, bought stoneware, perused the flowers and plants outside and didn't want to leave. If I lived on that island, I would buy my lunch fresh there everyday.

After purchasing lunch, we headed to the beach. I had always wanted to go to Surfside Beach. From the books I had read, it seemed like the most popular beach and the best for spending an afternoon. And it was. It is my favorite place to be on the island. There is a huge parking lot, a testament to the popularity in the summer months of that location. And as our concierge Lou promised, there was a little snack shack at the top of the stairs to the beach. He told us that shack served the best cheeseburgers around which was obvious given the amount of locals that drove up, got lunch, ate and left, never once heading out to the beach.

We took our beach chairs, towels, lunch and magazines and headed out to the beach. The wind was really blowing hard, but this beach faces south, so the sun warmed us tremendously. There weren't more than 5 or 6 people on the whole beach and it was beautiful and clean. It was as if it was our own private beach. I could have stayed there forever. After napping in the sunshine and watching the planes fly by from the airport, we reluctantly headed out. There was more island to explore and we wanted to hit as many beaches as possible!

We next discovered the high school, the airport and some more local housing areas. It was fun to see the non-vacation areas of the island. This island has almost 10,000 year round residents, so despite its small size, there are many locals who live and work there. We headed out past the airport to 'Sconset. A year before, we had taken one of the local buses out to 'Sconset and fell in love with the area.

The local buses are extremely reasonable and a good way of getting around the island if you know where you're going. We picked up the bus right downtown, just past the main street. I believe it cost us $2 for the ride out to 'Sconset. The bike paths follow the roadside past the cranberry bogs and the golf course and it is a good ride for those who wish to explore.

What we had discovered in 'Sconset the year before and again this time with our car was that it is a tiny little town filled with small cottages and roses everywhere. There is a central location where the buses do their drop offs and pick ups and a few steps away is a deli/store, a liquor store and a sandwich shop. The first year, we picked up lunch at the sandwich shop and walked over the walking bridge down to the beach and sat on a bench and ate our lunches. This is another wonderful quiet beach. This time we stopped at the store for some trinkets and a snack and headed over to the beach in our car.

The one word I think everyone uses to describe 'Sconset is quiet. It is such a beautiful place where most of what you hear is the wind whistling through the trees. I love it. This is the place where I would want to live on Nantucket. There are public restrooms hidden in a building about a block north of the deli. Since we had the car, we explored more of the area and found some bigger homes on more acreage out to the south of the town closer to the Coast Guard. Once again, quiet.

On our way back from 'Sconset, we were determined to go to Altar Rock despite having a low rider Kia to travel through the bogs in. We had our map and knew we were looking for unmarked turnoffs from both of the two main roads. After numerous U-turns, we finally found a road that led to Altar Rock off of Polpis Road. It was bumpy and untamed, but the Kia held up and we made it to Altar Rock. This is said to be the highest point on the island and a frequent choice for wedding celebrations. Once again, it was in the middle of nowhere and so peaceful and windy. Just beautiful.

As the sun was setting, it was time to head back to the White Elephant and figure out our dinner plans. We had remembered our concierge Lou telling us about a beach location where we wanted to end the day and have drinks at sunset but couldn't remember where it was. Turns out it was The Galley Restaurant, just down the street from our hotel, due west. We dressed for dinner and the White Elephant van took us there. It was just a few blocks past Jetties Beach where we take our morning walk. The road dead ends into a parking lot for the Galley Restaurant and the Cliffside Beach Club. The minute we pulled up in the van we knew where we were - The Blue Bistro and The Beach Club - locations made famous in books by Elin Hilderbrand of the same name. We were beyond excited. The Galley is immediately recognizable because of the dory out front filled with flowers. It is beautiful.



Another planning tool to remember is that Nantucket generally has a Restaurant Week in both spring and fall. It is a week during off season that a number of local restaurants participate in where they offer a prix fixe menu in addition to a regular menu. The prices are extremely reasonable and it is a great opportunity to try out the cuisine at new restaurants. The Galley was participating and had a wonderful menu. As it was sunset, I left my friend at the table in the dining room and had to head out to the beach front bar area just to enjoy the sunset. We took photos and I vowed to return for a proper cocktail hour much earlier next time.

Unfortunately, once again, the time flew by way too quickly and with only one day left, we spent it shopping and rushing about trying to take everything in before another year's vacation was over. We vowed that next year if it rained we would finally spend an afternoon at the Whaling Museum and the library and already had a list of all of the restaurants we needed to try out next year.

The good news is, next year is finally here and we will once again be on Nantucket this weekend! More updates soon....