Monday, July 16, 2012

Me, my Dad and my dawgs

Towards the end if June, Dad and I took another road trip. This time we went north and covered 8 states, plus DC in two days. Highlights: visiting his old stomping grounds of Fort Belvoir, taking him to the Vietnam Memorial and ending the trip at Eataly in NYC's Flatiron District.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Living in the East Village

Back in the City for a couple of weeks, and this time we are trying an apartment in the East Village. A whopping 550 feet. Two small bedrooms, a living/dining room, 2 baths and a kitchen/laundry.

A terrific dog park/run across the street but most of all we got a glimpse into life in the ever popular neighborhood of the East Village. Famous for its artists, food, shopping and energy it easy to see why it is the backdrop for shows like Sesame Street and Friends.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Chimney Rock, NC

A blast from the past. I had not been there in over 10 years. So Dave and I took the dogs to the top. The park is very dog friendly however keep in mind that there are hundreds of steps to the top and can be difficult for small legs.

We drove around a little bit very touristy but still very fun and very family-friendly. We stopped for lunch at a café that was small but full of personality and good food, right across from the park entrance.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

2010

Now that the first month of 2011 is coming to a close, Bailey & Rembrandt are determined to do a better job of keeping track of their adventures via this blog.  Before starting 2011 adventures, we would like to take a moment to recap 2010 and its highlights and even some of its lowlights.

January 2010
We spent 3 weeks on Aunt Cathy's farm with a new friend, a goat, Dragon, while Mom and Dad went to Las Vegas, skiing at Beaver Creek, California (Dad), Ann Arbor, Michigan (Mom's last Geiger trip).  Dragon was a rescue and only had use of three legs, he ate everything in site and was very gracious to share his cage during the daytime with us and his garage at night.  We became fast friends and played well together.

February 2010
We celebrated Mom's last day at Geiger & Associates and experienced for the first time what it was like to be a family living together and traveling together non-stop as a family.

March 2010
We made our first long road trip to Bensalem, PA where we lived for two weeks and explored the big cities of Philadelphia and Washington, DC.  We ate steak sandwhiches, studied the public art and architecture of these areas and brushed up on our American history.

April 2010
We were away from home the entire month of April.  We drove to Boston first and had our Easter dinner at Wagamama's, a family favorite.  Mom and Dad discovered this place in London and had their first Thanksgiving at a Wagamama's in Dublin.  The Boston location is one of two in the US, the other is just a few miles away in Cambridge, which we visited a few days later.

From Boston we made our first trip to Canada (Montreal, Quebec).  Crossing customs was super easy, all they needed was our rabies information.  Enroute to Canada we crossed off a few more states on our list, Vermont and New Hampshire.  We spent a few days in Montreal and enjoyed the shops and restaurants and practicing our French.  Highlights included:

St. Viateur Bagel at 263 St. Viateur, Montreal considers this to be the best bagel place in the world.  Pronounced B-A-G-A-L, bagels are made on location throughout the day in a wood buring oven.  Visitors can see first hand how the bagels are made and cooked, the smell is wonderful and can be detected blocks away.  As you enter the shop you can immediately feel the heat of the oven and there is always a crowd.

Vieux Montreal - The birthplace of everything Montreal, this is where it all started.  We had dinner in this area with friends at a delcious local bistro, we even got to meet the chef.  After dinner we walked around the cobblestone streets and historic buildings.  This area is also a melting pot of cultures rich in tradition.

Mont Royal - This area is equivalent to NYC's Central Park.  It is a wooded mountain that serves as a park for residents.  We walked around here and met several Canadian dogs, very friendly.  This park was designed by Frederic Law Olmstead and has spectacular views of downtown Montreal and the eastern portion of the city.

Eggspectation - A favorite restaurant that is everything eggs!  www.eggspectation.ca

From Montreal we returned to Boston for a few days and then took a weekend trip to Maine, checking another state off of our list.  We went as far as Freeport, MA and stopped there at the LL Bean flagship store, we also ate lobster rolls and lobster bisque.  On our way back to Boston we drove along the coast and had some of the best views.  We drove into Kennebunkport and stumbled upon the Bush compound.

After we finished work in Boston we made our way to Pennsylvania where we stayed in a cabin in the woods.  While at the cabin we saw 7 different bears that had just finished their hibernation and hiked to the highest point in NY.  Our PA cabin was located in the tri state area of New Jersey, New York and PA.  We worked in NJ, slept in PA and shopped in NY.  There were fabulous antique stores in this area and one of the best philly steak sandwiches at a small deli in a gas station.  We purchased an old train truck at an antique store that was once a church.  This area is known for antiques and many NYC dealers shop this area for their City stores.

One Sunday we drove down to The City for worship at Redeemer Presbyterian, where we were led by Tim Keller during one of their jazz services.

From the tri-state area we headed north to Rochester, NY.  We were here for about two weeks and this was not our favorite spot at this time of year.  By this time we were tired of the cold, grey skies and were eager to get home to Spring.  We made the most of it and had fun hiking around along the Erie Canal and sampling the garbage plate at Nick Tahou Hots.  Rochester is know for this unusual dish which is a combination of cheeseburger, hamburger, red hots, white hots, Italian sausage, chicken tender, fish, fried ham, grilled cheese or eggs; and two sides of either homefries, french fries, baked beans or macaroni salad.  Then you have the option of mustard, onions, ketchup and Nick's famouse hot sauce, a greasy sauce of spices and ground beef.  Its then served with rolls or Italian toast from the bakery next door. We had cheeseburger with homefires and macaroni salad.  Luckily Mom was not a big fan so we got to taste it!

May 2010
We spent a lot of May at home on the boat testing out the waters of the Flint River, Lake Talquin and Lake Blackshear.

June 2010
In June we went south to Clearwater and spent some time at the beach and exploring smaller areas of Dunedin. This downtown is cute and has great ice cream.

July 2010
For the first half of the month we were busy with VBS, by the middle of the month we found ourselves back on the road driving back up to New York and Connecticut where we found our second home in Danbury, CT.

July, August, September 2010
We lived in Danbury and made a couple of trips home, but during this time we watch the area enter into Spring and transition into Summer.  We enjoyed the waters of the Hudson River and Lake Candlewood via the tubes of our boat. We explored the Hudson Valley and took the train into the City numerous times, eating some of the best flavors. Two of our favorite friends joined us for a tour, Lorie and Melissa and we spent a lot time with our new friend Jerry and out dear friends at DiCiccos.  Some highlights included:  Walking the DiCiccos, Brooklyn Bridge, Wicked, Stew Leonards, Central Park, Sleepy Hollow, American Eagle's Times Square Store, Terrytown and Dobbs Ferry.

July 4th we did make it home for some fun time on the River, the Flint River that is, with friends and family.

In September we were back to Rochester for a little while and got to catch the first glimpses of Fall in the Finger Lakes.  We also discovered DELI and also spent a day on Lake Ontario.  One day we drove to Buffalo for the Bill's season opener and ate wings at the Anchor Bar, Home of the Buffalo Chicken Wing.

NOT FINISHED

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Family's First

Early March we made our first journey as a family under our new arrangements.  It started in Ocala for a morning appointment and then we quickly traveled north to the Philadelphia area where we spent over a week, staying in Bensalem.  Below are the treasures we found, the travel tips we discovered and our end of the tour evening raid on the D.C. Mall.

Just as we arrived in Pennsylvania so did the first signs of Spring 2010.  In order to celebrate, Rembrandt (left), Bailey (right) and myself took a stroll along the Delaware River.  It was the middle of the day, in the middle of the week and the park was busy with others stretching their cabin fever legs.

Bailey

Rembrandt


A place I stumbled upon, a great coffee shop inside, kind of an outdoor market.



This is an artist community, filled with live-in artists, their studios and shops, another great coffee shop and cafe.

Rembrandt go into my bag.

Rembrandt after getting into trouble. Retreated to under the steering wheel.

Pat's Steaks, one of the establishments that fights for the title of the most famous steak sandwich.  They don't call it Philly Steaks there, at Pat's and other restaurants in Philadelphia, they are just steak sandwiches, and yes it is covered in a nacho cheese sauce.  It is delicious and I ate ever bite.

Since we are in the city of 'brotherly love' I stated my love!




Philadelphia has more public art than any other American city, according to the Smithsonian Institute. Aside from the Rocky statue and Claes Oldenburg's Clothespin (1976), this was my favorite outdoor art piece.  I don't know the name of it or the artist, but I just like the concept and the movement.  It reminds me of Michelangelo's Releasing Prisoners series in Florence which line the hallway to David in the Galleria dell' Accademia.  Michelangelo's believed his job as a sculptor was to release figures imprisoned by the stone and his Prisoners piece is a prime example of this philosophy as each one appears to emerge from the stone just as the piece above illustrates the escape of a figure once frozen.


A quick clip of Schuylkill Navy's Boat House Row.

As a former rower, I immediately had a connection to this place, one because I love rowing and two I love history.  The above clip was captured from the car as we drove by on a rainy day, but I actually walked the length of the Row with Bailey and Rembrandt a few days prior when the weather was absolutely beautiful.  It seems to be a favorite spot for locals too.  The sidewalk was super busy with tourists and locals enjoying the sun, but unfortunately very few boats were out in the water.  

This area has a great story, it is made up of 15 boathouses housing social and rowing clubs and their racing vessels, other boathouses along the river in other locations also encompass Boathouse Row.  Each house has its own history and personality and together they are a National Historic Landmark and entered the National Register of Historic Places.  It is located on the east back of the Schuylkill River and each structure is at least a century old.  Within the rowing community, Philadelphia and specifically Boathouse Row is considered one of the major centers of the sport



Independence Hall, I don't really have to explain this one.  



The Liberty Bell viewing room.  The significance of this picture, aside from the bell, is the individual in the grey shirt and short, the one and only Mike Cook, my parent's other grandson.


Picasso was the all the buzz at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  These are of course the infamous stairs in Rocky.  Another bit of info, beyond these doors are actual works of Rembrandt, one of the most famous, Christ Crucified Between Two Thieves, which is considered to be one of the most ambitious and celebrated prints by the Dutch artist.



It took me awhile to wrap my head around Philly.  The city and surrounding area are sprawling and traffic is always, always crazy.  You have to factor in a long drive time, especially if you are not familiar with the area.  The GPS is one of the best investments we have ever made.  TRAVEL TIP #1 - PURCHASE A GPS!  However I also recommend having a paper map too, a print out from MapQuest or an online service does not count.  I don't trust these guys like an good ol' fashion road map.  A paper map is a must, one because you need to maintain your navigational skills.  In our world of technological advancement we need not loose our map reading skills.  But, also, the printed maps sometimes have details/landmarks that are needed and necessary.  Mr. or Mrs.  GPS (every GPS must have a name and gender assignment)  isn't always correct either, but they are helpful non-the-less.  The GPS, also helps the marital relationship or whatever the road ship partnership maybe, it takes out a lot of the guessing and uncertainty.  Enough about all that...

Back to Philly, to say this area is rich in history is an understatement.  American history oozes here, along with art, food, shopping and nightlife.  I was there for well over a week and that was enough time for me as a visitor.  I'm sure if I lived there I would continue to dig and discover, but as a visitor I was happy with my time frame.  The visitor's website www.visitphilly.com/ was super helpful and provided much needed guidance and recommendations.

At the end of our time we started driving south with the goal of stopping for dinner in Washington D.C.  If you are driving through the D.C. area and only have a short period of time, I highly recommend a stop on the Mall.  I have been through D.C. countless times on I-95 and stopping at the D.C. Mall is a ritual, like throwing a penny into the Swannee River every time you cross it, the Mall never gets old. It was around 8:30 p.m. when we made are stop and we had a great time, walking the dogs and taking in the sites.  It was the night after a big Human Rights Rally and you could still feel the excitment and buzz in the air from the days events.


Sniffing things out at the Washington Monument




Sniffing out the White House, this is as close as we could get that night.


Rembrandt and the Lincoln Memorial.


Bailey and the Lincoln Memorial, but she was really interested in the tourists and hoping they would come over and say "hello" to her.


"Just let me sleep,"  -Bailey



Friday, September 3, 2010

Livin' on the road...

Being on the road has been my way of life for the last seven years, it wasn't planned exactly, it just transpired.  First it was because of a job overseas as a staff member at FSU's London Study Centre introducing students to London and assisting them in their travels across Europe.  Then my first "big girl" job out of graduate school had me on the road on a monthly basis researching and investigating parts of the United States to then introduce my findings to members of the media as part of a marketing program.  Then eight months ago, my life took a new turn.  My husband (who travels more than I do with his job) and I decided that it was time for me to resign from my position and join him on the road since our entire married life of three years had been spent apart due to our travel schedules.   So for a majority of the last eightish months Dave and I have been traveling along with our two bassett hounds, Bailey and Rembandt sharing in adventures and learning how to live together on the road.

Over the course of this blog I hope to share our adventures, antics and tidbits of information that we find while livin' on the road...I hope you enjoy!