My New Favorite Place

We have great friends.  Great friends who own their own condo at the beach.  Great friends who will let you use that condo in exchange for caramel popcorn with peanuts.

The first weekend in June, we went to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  It's the closest beach to D.C. at about three and a half hours away.  We were going to drive over after Jim got off work on Friday night to try to avoid the weekend beach traffic, which can get ridiculous, but there was severe weather on Friday so we decided to very early Saturday morning.  We left home around 6:15 and I took this picture at 9:48, and we even stopped for breakfast.

It was a beautiful weekend.  We could not have asked for nicer weather, the beach is beautiful and was not very crowded because it was still early in the season.  We even got to play mini-golf (my favorite beach activity) and eat crabs with one of my friends who lives in my computer (hi Laura).  The only thing that could have made it better is if the water had been warmer.  It was icy cold, but Jim went in anyway.

They give you a hat to wear!

Shell We Golf

The beach at night.  Isn't it beautiful?

Cozumel

This is the last cruise related post, I promise. Our final port of call was Cozumel and we went snorkeling. I had gone before, but this was Jim's first time.

After our introduction to snorkeling on land, we all got into the water. Please pardon my no-glasses squint into the sun. That is not our boat in the background, ours was behind it, but it's pretty close. We went with a group of about 10 people and we were probably the youngest of the crowd and the strongest swimmers. It's a good thing, too, because the current was a little strong where we were. Also, I am the world's most awkward person getting into the water, but I do alright once I'm in.

Because of the currents, we swam up the shore so that we did all the hard work first and then just drifted back to where we got in. We did a good job of staying up with the guide, but several members of our group had trouble and needed a kick board and a rest. We both had waterproof cameras to take pictures of fish, but they didn't come out very well. Here are a few that are alright.

Belize

On our cruise, we had two ports of call. The first was in Belize City, Belize, however 'port' is a bit of a misnomer.

The continental shelf around Belize is very shallow. So shallow that the cruise ships cannot actually dock there. They have to drop anchor 5 miles off shore and use tender boats to get passengers to shore.

While in Belize, we took a tour up the Old Belize River. On the boat ride, we saw crocodiles, spider monkeys, iguanas, bats and many birds. Once we got up river, we stopped at a little cafe that I am sure only exists to feed lunch to tourists. We ate chicken that was must have been cooked all day long because it just fell apart, red beans and rice, and salad. I added some local hot sauce to my rice and it was fabulous. I liked the hot sauce so much I brought some home.

After lunch, we went to Altun Ha to see some Mayan ruins. Altun Ha is culturally significant for the Temple of Masonry Altar, which rises over 60ft above the plaza. Thought to be the main religious center of the civilization, the temple houses the famous head of Kinich Ahau: a 10lb (5kg) piece of jade carved into the head of the Mayan sun god.

This temple is also depicted on the national beer, Belikin, which we drank before heading back out to our ship.

LIberty of the Seas

Jim and I just got back from our first cruise and I think we are in love. Neither one of us wanted to get off the boat. We sailed on Royal Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale and went to Belize and Cozumel (details to come in posts later this week). Right now, I want to talk about the boat. The Liberty of the Seas is one of the largest ships in Royal Caribbean's line and there is something to do for everyone.

We boarded at about noon on Saturday and because the staterooms would not be ready until about 1:00, we headed up to the Windjammer Cafe, the casual buffet, for some lunch. When we were finished eating, we went down to deck 7 to see our stateroom. We had an interior room, which was fine, but next time (yes, I'm already thinking about next time) I really want an exterior with a balcony.

From there, we went straight to the pool since the luggage hadn't been delivered yet. We spent most of our pool time in the Solarium pool, since it was adults only. At 4:00, there was a mandatory muster drill to give important information in case of emergency and then we were off. Jim and I went back to our room for a nap, since we had gotten up so early to get to the airport. When we woke up, our luggage was there and we went exploring the ship.

I'll start at the top and work my way down. Deck 13 is the sports deck, with the FlowRider, rockwall and mini-golf. We played mini golf one night at 11:00 in 45 mph winds. It was hilarious watching me try to putt and hold my dress down at the same time.

Deck 12 has the arcade, teen night clubs and kids activities, a jogging track and a Johnny Rocket's restaurant. Deck 11 is the Windjammer, the specialty restaurants, all the pools and the gym, which we never set foot in.

Decks 10 - 6 are staterooms. We were on Deck 7, which is also where the library is located. Deck 5 is the Royal Promenade, which is shopping, bars and places to eat. It's also where they have the Dreamworks parades and some of the evening parties, and The Sphinx nightclub. The casino and several bars are on Deck 4. The Platinum theater, ice rink and On Air (karaoke) bar are on Deck 3. Also, the main dining room is a three level room on Decks 3, 4 and 5. Finally, Deck 2 is the Screening Room movie theater.

Wait, the Bellagio, the Mirage...These are Terry Benedict's places.

Ok, I promised you Las Vegas day two.

On Tuesday morning, we decided to walk around and see some of the casinos and Sara had a bunch of gaming vouchers that she needed to cash. We headed off to the Bellagio, but the thing you have to know about Vegas is that although the casinos looks like they are all right next to each other, they are all a block or two big and you can't walk there without walking though other casinos or shopping malls or both. The point being that it took a long time to walk there, but we really wanted to go for two reasons. One, the ceiling in the lobby of the Bellagio there is a glass flower garden by the artist Dale Chihuly. The second reason is that we saw on HGTV that the largest Christmas tree on the Strip was in the conservatory.

Once we made it back to the hotel, we had lunch and then got ready for massages. This was almost the best part of the whole trip. I found a groupon deal for the spa in our hotel, Oleksandra, so I snatched it up. The spa was absolutely beautiful and very relaxing. Jim and I had a couples massage and it was his first massage. I was kind of surprised that he wanted to go, but he really enjoyed it.

Then it was on to see Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand. We saw the show KA, and it was by far the coolest thing I've ever seen. I can't even begin to describe it, but it was great and if you ever get the chance to see a Cirque show, please do.

After the show, we took the monorail back to Harrahs and got off there to walk the rest of the way back. We stopped at the Mirage to see the volcano show. Then we were back to TI for some more video poker. We were hoping to see the pirate show, but they don't do the last show in the winter and we didn't know it, so we missed out. Next time.

Since no trip to Vegas is complete without some Elvises, I'll end with this.

Viva, Las Vegas

This year was our first Christmas without my Mom. My sister and I were kind of at a loss as to what to do, since we usually spent the holiday at home. We were tossing around ideas and decided to do something completely different, so we went to Las Vegas.

We flew out on Christmas Day and had three hour layover in Milwaukee. We were really lucky that the weather was mild (we were worried that we would get stuck there with snow) and even more lucky that a friend of mine was able to come out the airport to meet us and let me monopolize her baby.

We got in very late on Sunday night and had Christmas with my sister and room service. We stayed at Treasure Island. She had been in Vegas for about 8 hours already and had done all kinds of reconnaissance for us. Then we crashed.

Monday morning, Jim and I went on a tour of Hoover Dam. This was really an amazing sight. The construction process and how they had to divert the Colorado River is just a marvel. We took the tour of the power plant and got to go 540 feet down into the dam. On the way back, we stopped at Ethel M Chocolates (the M is the Mars candy people). Unfortunately they weren't making candy because of the holiday, but we still got a sample and bought some chocolates.

Monday night, we had a fantastic dinner at StripSteak in the Mandalay Bay casino. Big thanks to whichever friend it was that mentioned the Black Friday deal on Restaurant.com, because we never would have eaten there otherwise. They brought us an amuse of duck fat fried potatoes with matching dipping sauces and Sara ordered the bacon lobster fritters appetizer. Jim had the biggest slab of steak I've seen in a long time. I had the loup du mer (sea bass) and my sister had an absolutely divine waygu rib cap steak that melted in your mouth. We all shared a side of bacon creamed spinach and scalloped potatoes.

Tomorrow, I'll tell you about Tuesday.

Vermont Weekend

This weekend, Jim and I ran away to Vermont. Yes, I know we spent almost as much time on the train round trip as we did in Vermont, but it was so worth it. Plus, I like taking the train. We were basically disconnected from technology for the whole weekend. There was no wi-fi on the train, but we had cell service; there was wi-fi in the Inn, but no cell service, and no television anywhere.

We arrived in Bellows Falls, VT at about 6:00 Friday night and paid a ridiculous amount of money to be driven the 12 miles out to Grafton. I should be happy that there was, in fact, a taxi in Bellows Falls, but I swear that he charged an insane amount because he knows that we are out-of-towners and have no choice.

Anyway, this is the Old Tavern Inn in Grafton. We plunked our stuff upstairs in our room and then walked around a little bit before heading the Phelps Barn Pub for flatbread pizzas with local Vermont cheese (it was a cheese intensive weekend).

Saturday morning, we slept in and then had breakfast. This is my very favorite part about staying in a bed and breakfast. Jim had the omelet of the day (maple cured sausage and cheese) with toast and home fries. I had the bacon quiche (which incorrectly came with a salad - I ate it too. Bonus salad for me.) and a bowl of fresh fruit. They also put cranberry scones on the table.

After breakfast, we walked around town for a bit taking pictures of everything. We went up to the elementary school, which actually has a tower where a bell would go, and the forge. Then we took a nap. Yes, it was 11:00 in the morning. We don't care.

Grafton Elementary School

Then it was lunch time and cheese buying time, so we headed over to Mack's Place for sandwiches - I had a grilled turkey, bacon, tomato and cheese and Jim had a cheese steak. Yum! Then we decided to walk out to Plummer's Sugar House, which the town's website and the innkeeper said was about 1.5 miles out of town. We walk and walk forever and never find it so we turn back, with a detour to find our very first out-of-town letterbox. Once we got back, I plugged the address into Google Maps and found out it's really three miles out of town! We went about 2 miles before we gave up, so with our extra hike for the letterbox, it was about a 4.5 mile walk.


This is me stamping our book once we found the letterbox and the view from the site.

For dinner, we had a Vermont cheese board to start. I loved the jalapeno cheddar. Jim had the sweet pea and mascarpone ravioli and I had the salmon that was the special of the day. The fish was great, but the rice was over cooked. Neither of us was very impressed. After our late dinner, we went to the game room and played pool.

Sunday breakfast was omelet again for Jim (ham and cheese this time) and french toast for me. Then back to Bellows Falls and the train home. I've uploaded more photos to my photobucket account here.

Things I Learned in Vermont
1. Never trust the information on the website. Holy crap, my feet still hurt!
2. I still don't like blue cheese
3. I'm ok without two of three links to the outside world.

Road Trip

Today, I am supposed to blog about whatever tickles my fancy.

I get these updates from a couple of websites that sell luxury goods for a discount. A couple of them also have travel deals. I saw a discount rate for The Old Tavern inn in Grafton, Vermont on one of those sites and decided that we needed to take a weekend get-away. I booked a couple of nights in May and we are going to take the train up. This is a picture of the inn.

Grafton is near the mountains in southern Vermont. There is hiking, biking and all kinds of winter sports, a local cheese maker and maple syrup farm (I guess that's the right word for it). There's even a covered bridge. I'm just looking forward to some quiet time together with my husband.