Travel – Page 5 – Eat On Edgecliff

Cincinnati, November 2012

We went on a road trip to Cincinnati last weekend to visit Jack. My parents picked me, Sophie and Grace up at home around noon on Friday and we met Claire and Courtney in Strongsville for lunch as they left right from work at noon. We had a quick Panera lunch and then back on the road arriving at Cincinnati around 5:00. We stayed at the Embassy Suites in Kentucky across the river as we stayed there last time and enjoyed it. We got an extra big room as we knew we had a lot of people. My parents had a room right next to ours. Sean, Jack and Jenni met us at the hotel and we had a nice cocktail hour in our room having the kids running down to get the free drinks. We walked across the Roebling bridge to get to the Moerline Lager house where we had dinner. The Roebling bridge was built in 1866 and is the longest suspension bridge when it was built. It is beautiful and amazing that it is almost 150 years old.

Saturday, 9/10/2012

We had Embassy Suites breakfast and then headed out to Jack’s house as Jack, Jenni, Claire and Sean went to U of C after dinner last night and slept there. Jack is staying in the house next to where he was last year…not as nice but not awful. We went on a walk around the campus as my parents have never been there before. We walked for around an hour checking out the impressive new architecture, the football field, the bookstore and enjoyed walking around on a beautiful Saturday morning.

Jack and Sophie in front of his (crumbling) house.

There are lots of interesting buildings on the campus

After walking around we drove downtown to check out the Findlay market and had lunch there. We went back to the hotel and relaxed in the afternoon – watching football, going for a walk outside and drinking more beer. We went to the Hofbrauhaus for dinner and the kids stayed at the hotel for the night and playing cards and drinking (more) beer. I think beer was the common theme of the weekend 🙂

Sunday, 9/11/12

After another Embassy Suites breakfast we dropped Jack and Sean off at Jack’s house around 11:00, Sean was catching a bus back to Athens, and then we took off. We stopped at the nice outlets between Cincinnati and Columbus and made it home around 5:00 or so.

Trip: Wisconsin, August 2012

Travel

Thursday, 8/9/12

Courtney, Jack, Grace, Sophia and I left Cleveland at 0500 on our way to Wisconsin with a stop in the upper U.P. Claire stayed home as she had to work. We drove to Munising, MI through mostly rain and falling temperatures. It has been in the 90’s and higher all summer so we were happy to be going into cooler temps. It was about a 10 1/2 hour drive with stops for breakfast and a quick lunch. We booked two rooms at the Beach Inn in Munising, Michigan and were pleasantly suprised that it was pretty nice as the details were pretty sketchy. It was right on the bay with all the rooms looking out over a nice big lawn with lots of chairs and things to do. Unfortunately, it was raining the whole time so we just sat on the porch and had some beers while the kids watched the Olympics. We went to dinner at the Brownstone Inn about 10 miles north on the main road. It was a nice place that reminded me of The Cabin in Euclid before it was remodeled after it burnt down. We had a really nice dinner and was nice to relax. We stopped at one of the beaches on the way back to the motel as it finally stopped raining to check out Lake Superior. The beaches are beautiful as well as the scenery. Crashed quickly once we got back as it had been a long day.

lake superior — checking out Lake Superior on the way home from dinner

Friday, 8/10/12

Had a quick breakfast at the motel, checked out around 9:30 and headed to the Pictured Rock National Park for the morning.
Went to Munising Falls – nice trail up through woods and big rocks, then to Sand Point – beautiful beach overlooking city and onto Lake Superior.
Then to Miner’s Falls – about 15 minutes away – another big waterfall and then to Miner’s Castle where you can see the beautiful cliffs and ragged Lake Superior.
Went to great hot dog place in Munising – Johnny’s Dogs. Great menu and great food.
Drove to Jute lake. About three hours arriving at around 4.
Kanwitts there for last day. Went swimming and then had campfire dinner at campsite. Brats, hot dogs and hamburgers.

helllooooo…fries with pulled pork, ranch, barbeque sauce and cheese

Saturday, 8/11/12

Hung out w Kanwits in morning, swimming, kayaking. They took off around 11:00.
We went to Boulder Beer Bar for lunch. Courtney, Jack and I had smoked chicken wings and a pizza and the girls had sandwiches. After lunch we went on the Trout Lake trail for a mile hike. Relaxed on dock on in afternoon.

Sunday, 8/12/12

Went into “Musky Days” at Boulder Junction in afternoon. Mostly crappy crafty stuff. But nice people watching.

Monday, 8/13/2012

Went on hike around Escanaba for lunch. Packed a picnic and hiked in 1 1/2 mile to the lake and picnicked and swam. Great spot. Great afternoon. Hike back is another 1 mile.
Bent’s Camp for dinner

bents camp — bent’s camp – another one of our favorites

Tuesday, 8/14/2012

Courtney went w Maryjo to Minoqua around 10:00 to visit a friend and have lunch.
Courtney and Grace swam across the lake to the other side. Grace made it one way. Courtney made it both ways.

swim — courtney and grace on their away across the lake

Wednesday, 8/15/2012

Lunch at Granery.
Walked around Fallison lake. Beautiful trail with huge sections of red pines and old hemlocks
Scenic drive back via land o lakes. Stopped to buy a few things at the grocery store and stopped at the ice cream stand
Campfire dinner of sausage patties and chicken breasts.

Thursday, 8/16/2012

Drizzly, much colder morning. Stayed in bed and read until pretty late.
Attempted walk around jute lake with Courtney and Craig. Prob walked around 5 to 6 miles and only one quarter around.
Went horseback riding for an hour at the stables near Boulder Junction. Nice ride through the woods. Had macaroni and cheese and take out fried chicken for dinner

Friday, 8/17/2012

Carrie and two of her friends arrived around midnight last night as they are going to a nearby Lake for a bachelorette party.
Courtney and I canoed around the lake at 7:30 A.M. Beautiful, bright blue skied day with lots of sunshine and cool.
Had a cookout breakfast of bacon, sausage, pancakes and eggs. Everything very good.
Hung out on dock reading, swimming relaxing. Kids went to Bent’s camp around 1:30 for wings but we stayed home as still full from breakfast.
Courtney and MaryJo went to Red Pine Camp function for dinner.

Saturday, 8/18/12

Left Jute lake around 5:00 and drove through downtown Chicago and got home in exactly 12 hours. Almost a record.

Trip: Saugutuck, Michigan

Travel

Sunday, July 15th 2012

We cruised out of Chicago with no problems on a late Sunday morning after dropping Jack off at the bus station. An easy 2 1/2 hour drive. We have never been to Saugutuck before, we were looking for somewhere to stay for a few days in south western Michigan after Chicago. We stayed at the Ship and Shore Motel – right out of the 1960s. We had a pretty small no frills room to share between the five of us, but we dealt with it especially after having such nice digs in Chicago. We walked around the town in the afternoon, lots of nice shops, places to eat, galleries and of course ice cream stores. The motel was right on the river with a balcony looking out over the pool and the river so it was nice to just hang out. The weather was hot hot hot the whole time we were there, getting close to 100 degrees in the late afternoon. We went to dinner at a bar called Wally’s that was nice and casual, went to the corner ice cream place for ice cream and fudge after and then strolled back to our motel and hung outside until it go dark…not until 10:00 or even later.

crazy ferry that crossed the river right next to the motel. it operated by a kid cranking a chain to get from one side to the other.

Monday July 16th, 2012

After breakfast chez motel we took off for the beach. We went to Oval Beach which was just on the other side of the river from our motel, but you had to go a round about way to get there. Oval Beach is one of the best fresh water beaches according to many. Beautiful sand, large sand dunes, fresh, clear water and no buildings at all. Really quite amazing. It was great to sit and relax after such a busy wedding weekend. Courtney and I went on a long walk to the end where the river went in and then went swimming where we were the only ones. It was wonderful. We ended up getting lunch at the beach as they had a really nice concession stand with lots of different things. We stayed all morning and went up around 2:00 or so. We took a drive to Crain’s Pie’s that we read about that was about a half hour away. We each got a piece of pie and hung out for awhile. We stopped at a winery on the way back that we passed and had a tasting and bought a couple of bottles. Went back to the motel, hung out, went to dinner late at an Italian place across the street, had more ice cream of course and then hung outside in the heat until bed.

….followed by wine tasting. not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

fee — fenn valley winery – in the middle of nowhere.

Tuesday, July 17th, 2012

Off to the beach again in the morning. This time we went to Saugutuck Dunes, which was just a mile or so north. This beach was interesting in that you had to hike a half mile to get to the beach through the woods and sand dunes. It was worth the hike. While not as big as Oval beach it was still very nice. We stayed at the beach all morning again and then hung out at the pool, went shopping and relaxed. We went to the Butler for dinner which reminded me of a 1960’s version of the Cabin back here. We had a nice last vacation dinner.

sophia enjoying her arizona at the butler

walking back along the river after dinner

Wednesday, July 18th, 2012

We headed home around 9:00 or so. We stopped at Ikea in Ann Arbor on the way home for just a quick stroll through and stocked up on our usual Ikea purchases. We had lunch there too – the first time we have ate at an Ikea after going to them for so many years. The lunch was good and cheap. The swedish meatballs were the best of course. Made it home with no probs and happy to be home after a nice time away.

Trip: Chicago, July 2012

Travel

Courtney’s brother George got married in Chicago ~~last weekend~~ – two months ago…(yikes…a bit behind! ) so we went on a long weekend trip.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Courtney, Claire, Grace, Sophia and I left home around 6:15 AM and had an easy drive to Chicago in six hours. We drove directly to the Hotel MileNorth where we were staying and were able to check in early which was nice. We had two mini suites that were great. A queen bed in one section, a couch and chair in another section, and then a couple steps up to a desk and the door to the hall way. Courtney and I stayed in one and all the kids were in the other (hurray). We decided to go on a boat tour on Wednesday afternoon as the weather forecast was calling for hotter weather as the weekend progressed. We have always wanted to do this but never had the chance. The boat was only a 10 minute walk and we were able to get on with no probs. It was a beautiful afternoon with bright blue skies so it was great to look at all the amazing architecture and learn lots of things that we didn’t know about. The ride lasted 90 minutes and was enjoyed by all, even the kids. We wandered back to the hotel, stopped at a few places on Michigan Ave (nice Apple Store of course) and relaxed for awhile. Courtney’s long time friend Christian Rieben (check out his web site: http://christianrieben.com/) met us at the hotel for drinks and we sat around catching up, and then we wanderered around looking for somewhere for dinner. We ended up at Giordano’s, which we’ve been to before, and had a nice dinner with lots of cheese on our pizza. We wanted to try and catch the fireworks that were going on at Navy Pier, but didn’t finish with dinner until 10:00 so didn’t quite make it.

merchandise mart. largest building in USA before the petagon was built.

the green curvey building on wacker ( I forget what it’s called…but its a beauty)

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Courtney and I went for a walk around 8:00 or so while the girls were still sleeping. We walked up Michigan Ave to Chicago and walked to the lakefront trail along Lake Michigan. It was another beautiful day with all the Chicagoan’s out running, walking, biking and swimming on their beautiful lakefront. They even have lane markers in the lake for people to use. We walked North about a mile or so and then headed back downtown. We happened upon a cool street called Astor Street that had hundred year old beautiful brownstones and lots of beautiful gardens. It was quite amazing. We made if back to our hotel, roused up the sleepy heads and headed out for breakfast. We had breakfast at a place called Yolk a few blocks south that was really good. We ate outside and were able to enjoy a nice leisurely breakfast. After breakfast we headed down town, walked around Millenium park, walked around the loop checking out the architecture with our new found expertise, checked out the Rooker building which we have never been to, walked back through Daily Plaza and then went to the old Marshal Fields on State Street – now unfortunately known as Macy’s – blahhhh. I was the good consumer and bought a new pair or shoes and a skinny black tie for the wedding and of course we had to get a box of frango mints. We headed back to Michigan Ave where we met Dan and Emily in their luxe room at the Peninsula and then had a (really) late lunch with them at a sub place. It was nice to see them as we haven’t seen them in a long time. After lunch we went shopping a bit more and then back to our hotel for a brief siesta. Alissa arrived soon after we got back to the hotel and Carrie stopped up to say hello. We all walked to dinner at Lou Malnati’s about 1/2 mile away. Jack arrived from Cincinnati that evening and met us right at the restauraunt. It was fun to all be together at last. George seemed excited for the weekend ahead.

cbh — walking along the lake in the morning

another nice pot and interesting doorway

flw — an early Frank Lloyd Wright building

interesting window box. love the caladiums.

Friday, July 13th, 2012

Jack had an interview with an Architecture firm in the morning near Navy Pier so we walked with him and then got some bakery and stuff and had breakfast out on Navy Pier. We headed back along the lake back to our hotel. The girls all had a ladies bridal luncheon followed by manicures at Neiman Marcus for the afternoon. Happy that we are not women, Jack and I headed out downtown first to a jazz record store that Jack wanted to see and then the the Art Institute. A Roy Lichtenstein exhibit was going on that was very interesting. There is a new contemporary wing that I have never been to that has recently been added and it is beautiful. Interesting architecture, bright and wide open with nice views. After spending an hour or two we went to the Taste of Chicago that was going on in Grant Park for lunch. We each tried lots of different things but our favorite was still the Chicago Style Hot Dog. Just as we were finishing a huge storm was rolling in and everyone was forced to leave…quickly as they were nervous with all the tent and lighting. It was surreal being part of thousands of people all leaving at once. We were able to duck back into the Art Institute to wait out the storm. We ended up staying another hour in the museum exploring the new contemporary wing more closely. We met the girls back at the hotel and rested a bit. The boys had a cocktail on the nice lounge at the top of our hotel and then we all got into taxis and headed to the rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal dinner was at Topo Giggio, probably about 100 people. Nice place, nice bar, good food, nice speaches. Courtney’s family hasn’t been all together for a long time so it’s nice to have everyone together. After dinner the kids went back to the hotel and the adults went to the bar next door. It was packed with twenty and thirty somethings so interesting to see the hook ups. We didn’t stay late as we were tired.

huge jazz record store off michigan ave somewhere

watching the storm inside the art institute

Saturday, July 14th, 2012

Wedding Day! Courtney and I got up early again and went for a walk. We walked toward the river, walked around the loop and then headed back. We picked up breakfast on the way back and ate in our room. Courtney, Grace and Sophia were off to get Grace and Sophie’s hair and make-up done. Claire, Jack and I walked down MI avenue, walked north on the lake and ended up at the volleyball tournament that we saw getting set up a couple of days ago. We stayed and watched for a bit, then headed back, stopped and chik fil a for lunch, more shopping and then it was time to get ready for the wedding. We walked to the Peninsula to catch a shuttle to the church…and of course it started pouring rain. It ended by the time we got to the church. The ceremony was very nice. Very hot. I thought for sure George was going to pass out. Sophie and Grace did a great job. After pix at the wedding we shuttled back to the hotel to rest for awhile and then to the reception. Everything was amazing. Cocktails on a beautiful patio. Amazing flowers. Amazing food. Awesome band…best ever. We danced all night. Fun. Fun. Fun. Thanks George and Carrie.

flash mob in front of contemporary art museum doing bollywood dance

mi a — on michigan ave on the way to the peninsula

cbh and g — courtney with her little brother

Sunday, July 15th, 2012

Everyone was beat the next morning. We walked to the corner bakery for breakfast, got Jack on a cab to get to the bus station as he had to go back to Cinci on the mega bus, said goodbye to everyone and then took off to Michigan for a few days….

Kelly’s Island, July 2012

Travel

We received a call from the Monroe’s around church time two sundays ago to see if we wanted to go on an adventure instead of going to church. well duhhh. We decided to take a road trip to Kelly’s Island. We left around 10:30ish, got to the ferry around noon and were on the island for lunch time. We had a nice leisurely lunch at a place on the water with all the hung over boaters, drinking beer which officially makes it vacation of course, then took a cruise on our official golf carts, checked out the gracial grooves, had a nice swim at the beach, and checked out the winery. This was our first time on Kelly’s and it is much more relaxed than Put-in-Bay… which is a good thing. A few pics:

on the ferry getting ready for some island fun.

Sophia and Aidan relaxing at the bar (much better than being at church of course)

the glacial grooves….verrryyyy mysteriousssss

wine tastying — wine tasting. N.A.S.T.Y. Why does island wine have to be so bad???

grace and john — Grace and John relaxing at the purple table.

Washington DC June, 2012

Travel

Thursday, 6.7.2012

Left home at 5:30 and had an easy drive to DC. We decided to go to Arlington Cemetary on the way into the city as Courtney has never been there and I haven’t been there since I was a kid. We got there at 11:30. We walked around for about an hour and 1/2 checking out the changing of the guard, Lee’s house, the Kennedy graves and everything else. It was a beautiful sunny day and nice to walk around after being in the car all morning. It is a sobering place to walk around but the grounds and views are meticulous and beautiful.

After touring the cemetary we easily drove downtown and checked into the lovely Hotel Harrington. Patty P was very generous and we had two suites for just the three of us. Very nice. After checking in and parking the car we went to a sandwich place down the street and split a salad and a sandwich. We were hungry. After lunch we walked a few blocks to the Smithsonian Portrait and American Art Museum which we have never been to before. The museum is the old U.S. patent office and they recently redid the atrium with a unique roof. It is a beautiful spot. The Cleveland Museum of Art is doing something similar in their current renovations. I hope it looks as nice as this does. We explored the museum for about an hour looking mostly at the portraits. You could easily spend hours and hours. The third floor of the museum was particularly interesting as the main lobby was beautiful full of old woodwork, stained glass windows and ornate tiles. It used to be the exhibition hall of the patent office where they displayed the original cotton gin and things like that. There was a terrible fire in the early 20th century that gutted the building. Also on the third floor is the Lincoln Gallery that was the location of Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural ball – it was the largest room in the city at that time, and is now a contemporary american gallery that has beautifully been redone. Very contemporary, bright, and full of interesting stuff. We both enjoyed the museum and wish we could have stayed longer but we were due to meet Jack back at the hotel.

atrium — the courtyard in the middle of the museum.

stopped for a cupcake on the way back to the hotel

We met Jack at the hotel with all his stuff. He was living in a hostel for the past couple of days as his lease ended at the end of May. We hopped on the Metro and went to Dupont Circle. We had tickets for the Phillips Collection as Thursday evenings they have jazz in the galleries, cash bars and appetizers and a new Jasper Johns exhibit just opened that week also. We sat in the courtyard when we first got there and had a cocktail and caught up with Jack. We then checked out the Jasper Johns exhibition – not too exciting – and then toured the rest of the museum. On the first floor of the old mansion they had a jazz trio playing, some food and another bar. We got some more beer, and something to eat and did some people watching. Everyone is so young in DC. We went out to a dinner nearby at Firefly – here – and then back to the Hotel Harrington around 10:00. We were tired as we started at 5:00 AM.

Friday, 6.8.2012

Courtney and I got up early, let Jack sleep in and went for a walk around the mall. We walked toward the Capital, going up to the front checking out the pool in front, the big Grant statue and then walking around the balcony on the capital. It was another beautiful day and the crowds weren’t out yet so it was nice. We walked around the botanical gardens, the american indian museum and then back to the Harrington via the mall and 11th street. After getting Jack up and getting dressed we headed to au bon pain for breakfast and then out for the day.

After breakfast we walked to the Renwick art museum which is just north of the White House. It was the first art museum build in DC in the late 1800s. It was originally the Corcoran art gallery which grew out of the space and built a new larger building a couple blocks south. It is a small, intimate museum with great rooms and interesting art work. I liked the large gallery that was set up like the large European art museums with paintings hung all over the place. After spending about an hour in the museum we decided to walk to Georgetown as it was such a nice day. Probably about a two mile walk or so. We checked out a couple of stores in Georgetown, sat down by the waterfront and had a nice lunch. We took the Metro back, still a long walk to the Metro stop though, and took a siesta for an hour or so. Around 5:00 Courtney and I went to the National Gallery sculpture garden as they were having Friday Jazz in the park. There were hundreds and hundreds of people there enjoying the music, the sun and the $18 pitchers of beer and sangria. Again, it’s amazing how many mid 20 year olds there are. It was fun to people watch and drink cold beer. We went back to the hotel around 6:30 to freshen up for our dinner at Graffiato which was fun. After dinner we walked down to the mall to walk around. Courtney couldn’t find a bathroom so she walked back to the hotel but Jack and I walked around the Washington monument and the WW2 monument before going back.

hanging out on the Georgetown riverfront

ww2 — world war two monument fountains at night

Saturday, 6.9.2012

We got up early as we wanted to leave early and drive to Charlottesville for the morning. We packed up and were out at around 8:00 or so and had to navigate out of the city the hard way as there was some sort of race going on and all the streets were blocked off. We made it out with not too much trouble and had a nice drive through Virginia. It took us about two and a half hours to get to Monticello. At Monticello we got our tickets and checked out a couple of the exhibits at the museum while we waited for our house tour to begin. I vaguely vaguely remember being there as a child. It was very interesting to go through the house and hear the history. Compared to Mt. Vernon, where we visted a few years ago, Monticello was much more sophisticated. After touring the house we walked around the stables, kitchens and gardens. The vegetable gardens terraces into the side of the hill were impressive. I’m jealous of their warmer climate where they can grow so many things. After spending about an hour and 1/2 at Monticello we drove to Charlottesville, just a few miles down the road. We had lunch at a nice burger place and then walked around UVA for about an hour. I’ve never been there before. The main quad is pretty amazing with all the little rooms, columns and different buildings. It must cost a fortune to keep it going and going as a university. Much of it was under construction when were there. We walked around and checked out some of the gardens in the back of the buildings that were all connected. Very cool. There was a wedding going on in one of the gardens also. We hit the road around 2:30 or so and drove all the way to Cleveland. It took us 8 hours. Nice trip where we packed a lot of stuff into just three days.

Cleveland, May 2012

Travel

To celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary we took a trip to downtown Cleveland last Friday night. I surprised Courtney and instead of taking a right turn on the way home from work we took a left turn and drove to the Ritz. I was surprised that Courtney was surprised because it took a bit of doing to arrange everything and to keep the girls quiet. We were very happy once we checked in to find out that we were upgraded to a beautiful two room corner suite with a huge sitting room, two bathrooms and great bathtub.

a plate of chocolate covered strawberries awaiting us in our room

After unwinding and having a glass of wine in our room we headed down to the lounge in the Ritz for a cockail. We then took a stroll around downtown on our way to dinner.

the arcade is still as beautiful as ever

inside arcade — inside the arcade. no one around at 7:00 on friday night. how do we change this?

e 4th — just across the street though East 4th was hopping.

lola — creeper shot of the cool bar at Lola where we had dinner. see http://www.EatOnEdgecliff.com for all the delicious details

we took a walk after dinner to try and relieve our food coma. ended up hanging out at the soldiers monument on public square that I don’t think I’ve ever really looked at too closely before. It was a beautiful night

came back to a turned down bed with chocolates on the pillow. nice.

We took another stroll downtown the next morning before breakfast. We walked around the new convention center/ medical mart construction area, down to the rock hall / voinovich park and then back up 9th to Euclid. I am so happy to report that I am optimistic about downtown Cleveland after a long time of not being so. I hope it lasts! Michael Symon had a nice bit today in the Huffington on Post about Cleveland. Let’s hope that all this positivity keeps on going. Article here.

public square entrance of tower city in the early morning.

the fountain on the mall by Key with the sun coming up

Grayton Beach Florida, 2012

Travel

Courtney, Claire, Grace, Sophia and I went to Grayton Beach Florida for one week. This is the third time we have been here in four years and had a great time as always with perfect weather.

Friday, 4/6/2012
We left home at 0308 after packing the car the night before. We stopped for breakfast in Kentucky at Denny’s, and stopped for picnic lunch at rocket rest stop at beginning of Alabama. We stayed in Montgomery, Alabana for the evening and arrived around 345 cst. Went to bakery John and Alissa recommended and got some pound cakes, cookies and cheese straws. Good stuff. Stayed at nice Embassy Suites on river. Went for a walk about an hour in nice sunny weather. Odd empty town. No one around, kind of creepy, although it’s Good Friday. Had cocktails at hotel and went to dinner at Dreamland BBQ place which was a little touristy but the BBQ was great. Back to hotel and asleep by 8:30. I was wiped out.

cool architecthure in Montgomery, Alabama

group montg — Hanging out on the waterfront in Montgomery

happy hr — Yeayyyy Embassy Suites Happy Hour!

Saturday, 4/7/2012
Woke up at 0615 after sleeping poorly. Something triggered my allergies and it kept me up all night. It could be the sprinklers on the floor above us that someone set off last night. There was was water coming through the ceilings when we came back from dinner last night. After the requisite Embassy Suites breakfast we were on the road at 0745. It was a bright sunny day and only a three hour drive through back country roads to Grayton beach. John and Alissa and their boys were already there since Tuesday and were staying until Sunday. We walked down to the beach to say hello to the ocean and then had lunch – BBQ from seaside that Alissa got that was good. We called after lunch and our cabin was ready. We are in 7a on the second loop. Kanwitt’s are in 6a. We moved in quickly and hit the beach. Was a nice sunny day in high to mid 70s. Courtney and I saw a shark close to the creek inlet towards Grayton beach. We went up around 4:00. Went to the pizza bar in seaside to celebrate Graham’s birthday. Great food. Sat outside watching all the teens parade by. Sophie and Grace went shopping around Seaside with the Kanwit’s while Claire came with us on a whirlwind grocery shopping trip. Had cake and sang happy birthday to Graham and then in bed by 8:39 (at least I was).

walking to beach — happy to be walking to the beach for the first time

boys on beach — wish we had more time to spend with these guys

Sunday, 4/8/2012. Easter
Woke up around 7 after sleeping pretty well. We had nalgene water bottles filled with candy for the girls for Easter. Kanwit’s came over and we made breakfast of pancakes, sweet rolls from bakery, and bacon for breakfast. Went down the beach for a bit with the boys as John and alissa packed up. A truly beautiful day on the beach. Crisp blue skies, ocean was calm, absolutely clear and bright blue. Sunny and no wind. Probably the nicest it’s been in the three times we have been here. Hung out for an hour or so and then had to go up to put sunscreen on as it was getting warm and we didn’t want to burn our white winter skin on the first day. Said goodbye to John and Alyssa as they left around 1030. Their plans were to drive to Memphis. We spent the rest of morning on the beach building our first sand castle and going for a nice walk. Up for lunch of leftovers at 1:00. Courtney and I went on a bike ride to the state park. Drove around the campground which is supposedly a good one…doesn’t look like much fun to us though. Checked out the beach there and then stopped at the corner store for some charcoal and lighter fluid. Went back down the beach and stayed until 530 or so. Built our first sand castle with Sophie. Nothing better than the sand here. Had a beautiful fire on the grill and grilled some chicken thighs that we marinated in teriyaki. Also had rice and veggies to round out our Easter dinner. Didn’t make it down to the beach for sunset as we were still eating. Played dominoes for an hour and we were in bed around 9 or so. I am on a really bad trend And haven’t been reading anything at all.

Monday, 4/9/12
I went for a bike ride by myself around 730 as everyone was still sleeping. I got a coffee at the starbucks in Grayton beach and then drove around the town for a while checking out the properties. It looks like it would be nice to stay on the south west side facing the brush. It looks like there are several rental properties there and good beach access. I also liked the full time residents places that were on the opposite end on the river with cool looking patios and ramshackle places. We made monkey bread for breakfast and decided to go on a field trip to check out St. Andrews state park that is in Panama City. We left at 930 and it took around an hour to get there taking the scenic route along the coast through all the beach towns. There were several towns trying to be like Seaside but not quite achieving it and then you hit Panama City which is just awful. High rise after high rises that look like public housing. It seemed like there was hardly anyone there so can’t imagine the sense in it. It really is terrible that it was allowed to be built up like that. The state park was ok, nothing special. We pulled off at one spot and saw a couple of alligators which was cool. We went to the main beach and hung about there for about an hour or so. There were some shells on the beach which was nice as there are absolutely none in Grayton so Sophia liked looking for them. We took the highway back which was 1/2 of the time and decided to go to the Red Bar for a late lunch. We got there around 130 and had a nice lunch. After taking a short 30 minute vacation siesta, me, Claire and Sophia headed down to the beach. It was a bit windier but still nice and sunny and warm. Sophie and I built another nice castle and Claire went for a walk. Courtney eventually made it down, Grace stayed up to nurse her sunburn, and we ended staying down the beach until after 6. Nobody was very hungry so we had leftovers for dinner which was just fine thank you very much. After dinner everyone played blackout which we haven’t played forever and grace and Sophie had never played before. Courtney won but it was a close game until the last hand. The girls stayed up playing cards but Courtney and I went to bed around 930 or so.

Tuesday, 4/10/12
Woke up around 0700 and Courtney and I went on a bike ride around 0730. We biked to Seaside where we got coffee and a scone and sat outside for awhile. It was a perfect morning again. Bright blue sky and warm. We walked down to the beach and went on a short walk and then biked around the Seaside neighborhood for awhile. I like the houses and the concept of the condensed neighborhood and all the porches and outside furniture. If we lived in the south somewhere and had lots of money it would be an ideal place to have a second house. We stopped at the corner store on the way home to load up on beach beer and ice. We were gone for about an hour and a half. We quickly got things together and headed down to the beach where the ocean was calm, crystal clear and not much of a breeze. Perfect day. Me and Sophie’s castle was still standing so we kept adding on to it. Our castle skills continue to improve everyday. Went up around 100 for lunch and siesta. Sophie and I went back down at 230 to continue castle building. The breeze picked up a lot and it started getting cloudy around 3. Courtney came down around 330 and Sophia went up and went biking to seaside with Claire. Courtney and I stayed down reading until around 500. We had dinner of tacos but after getting everything ready we decided to go down the beach to watch the sunset. It sets very early…around 700 pm. Beautiful and took lots of pictures until my battery pooped out. Came back and had dinner. Played blackout again and Grace redeemed herself and won this time.

Wednesday, 4/11/12
Grace and I went for early morning bike ride to Seaside again. Had coffee and pastry at same place and sat in front hanging out on this beautiful morning. Courtney had pancakes waiting when we got back and we headed to the beach by 1000. Another perfect morning with clear blue ocean and clear blue skies. It was probably the hottest it has been. The girls went up around 1230 but Courtney and I stayed down until around 130. After lunch and siesta we decided to take a break from the beach and go to the outlet mall outside of Destin. We have never driven very far going west and it is more populated than I thought. Most of the developments look pretty upscale as well. The outlet mall was huge with just about any store you can think of. I got some things from Jcrew and the girls got some things from the Gap. We were there until 530 so we stopped at Stinkys on the way home for dinner and had a good dinner there. We got home around 800 and just hung out and read…and fell asleep early….again.

Thursday, April, 12th
Courtney and I went for a walk to Grayton beach around 0830. We walked around some of the houses in that neighborhood and then walked back home on the beach. It took us around an hour and a half. We were hoping the girls would meet us on the beach with chairs and things…but no dice. So we walked up to the cabin. Courtney and Sophia went to the grocery store and Claire, Grace and I went to the beach. Another perfect day on the beach. Clear ocean and bright blue skies. Courtney and Sophie brought us lunch and we stayed on the beach until 2 or so. Went up for a bit of a break and then back down until 530. We grilled strip steaks outside on my expertly prepared charcoal grill. Also had rice, zucchini and peas and finished off with a Publix key lime pie. The girls and I went down to watch the sunset and take some pictures. Back by 830 and went to bed.

Friday, 4/13/12

Claire woke up with a pain her stomach that she had all night, not getting any sleep. She seems to be ok now but still not feeling well. Courtney and I went on a bike ride at 830. We first checked out the development right next to where we are staying as we have never been back there. It looks like there are lots of rentals and it looks nice and quiet. We then biked to Watercolor and rode around there. We didn’t realize what a large development it is. There are two others phases besides what you can see on the road and the houses are huge and very very nice. Would be a nice place to have a second house if you didn’t want to be directly on the beach. Courtney stayed up with Claire and organized our stuff as we are leaving tomorrow. Me Sophie and grace hit the beach for a couple of hours. Once again the weather is perfect. High 70s clear blue sky. Stayed down until 12 ish and then back up. Same as every day. Went back to the beach around 2 and came back up at 4. I think we’re all beached out. We went to Seaside for dinner and had a great time. It’s the perfect last day of vacaction meal. We got back as it was getting dark and quickly packed up the car as we were planning on leaving as early as we could.

Saturday, 4/14/12
Left Grayton Beat at 0300 and it took us 15 hours to get home which is a new record. It’s the first time we have driven all the way and it wasn’t too bad. We made only a few stops and had both breakfast and lunch as takeout and ate in the car which sped things up as well. It started raining as soon as we got in Ohio…of course…and rained the whole rest of the trip. Great trip and I’m sure we’ll be returning.

Washington D.C. 3/24-3/6/12

Travel

Saturday, March 24th, 2012

Jack is doing his first co-op in Washington D.C. so I drove him down and spent a few days in D.C. We woke up at 6:00 AM on Saturday and were on the road by 6:30. It rained the WHOLE way to D.C. but we still made it there in around 6 hours. Jack’s friend Andrew came to Cleveland the night before from Chicago. He is also doing a co-op in D.C. and hitched a ride with us. We dropped Andrew in Silver Spring, MD and then drove to downtown DC where we were staying in the always lovely Hotel Harrington. Our room was ready and we had a room on the top floor in the corner with a nice view. We dropped our stuff off and went to the National Building Museum just a few blocks away.

Lo and behold there was some sort of kid festival going on and there were a million kids running around. The building was built around the Civil War and has a huge open atrium with humongous columns filling it. This is where all the kids were but we were still able to check it out. We decided to buy admission and check out some of the exhibits. The exhibit on plans for building monuments and museums that never got built was very interesting as well as the original plans for the famous ones and the competing drawings that didn’t make it There was also a cool exhibition of lego buildings and the gift shop had lots of cool stuff. We then trucked down a few blocks to the mall in pretty steady rain and went to the modern wing of the National Gallery. I don’t think I have been in there since I was a kid so it was fun to explore.

We didn’t check out too many of the galleries, just walked around the galleries and admiring the I.M. Pei
architecture. One exhibit that we did enjoy was an exhibition by Mel Bochner that were all large paintings of synonyms. They were really interesting. We walked through the underground tunnel that connects the modern to the traditional National Gallery and then went out through the mall side and walked towards the Washington monument. It was pouring rain out and pretty lousy out so we walked back to the hotel to take a rest before going out for dinner. There was a large demonstration going on on the mall but we couldn’t for the life of use figure out what they were demonstrating for or against. (Not a very effective demonstration) We looked it up later on and it was something about atheists / secularists etc…lots of crazies. After resting our weary feet for a few and watching NCAA we metroed it up to U street to have dinner with Stephanie Maxwell. Details here.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

We left the hotel around 9:15 and headed to Capital Hill neighborhood to check out where Jack will be working and then meeting my Aunt Ellen and Uncle Wally for brunch. Jack’s firm is an easy two blocks from the Metro and is in a nice neighborhood.

We met Ellen and Walt just around the block at Matchbox. After brunch we walked around with Ellen and Walt around the Eastern Market. Not as nice as the West Side Market but nice, and they had a lot of stuff outside which was nice.

flowers at market — flower market at eastern market

Said goodbye to Ellen and Wally and then decided to go to the tidal basin as the cherry blossoms were still out. We took a weird way there which ended up being the scenic route as well but eventually made it there. It had been raining for the past 24 hours so most of the blossoms had just fallen off. It was pretty cool as there was pink confetti blossoms over everything.

jph blossoms — jack 1/2 way around the basin

We walked around the whole basin: Jefferson Memorial, FDR Memorial and the new MLK memorial which was cool to see. It was nicer than I thought it would be and quite moving.

Jefferson Mem columns — artsy jefferson memorial columns

jeff mem interior — jefferson memorial interior

We walked back to downtown and did a bit of shopping at the Macy’s and got back to the hotel around 2:30 to rest for awhile and watch NCAA basketball. We got motivated again around 4:00 and metroed to Dupont Circle to go to the Phillips Collection and have dinner. The Phillips collection is an art museum in the family’s old mansion. It was really great and reminded me of the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum in Boston and the Frick Collection in NYC, two favorites.

The exhibition that was going on looked at when photography first started in the later 19th century and how some of the post impressionists used photography in their paintings. It was very interesting. We haven’t heard of most of the artists and especially enjoyed the works by George Breitner and Henri Evenepoel. We were in the museum for probably about 1 1/2 hours and bought some things in their giftshop as well. It was FINALLY turning into a nice day outside so we walked around the Dupont circle neighborhood for awhile looking at the nice row houses and their gardens. We went to dinner at Hank’s oyster bar that I read about and had good reviews. See food blog for details. It was funny watching people as we were eating dinner outside on their patio as it was a very gay neighborhood and there seemed to be a kickball tournament somewhere close bye as all these young guys in short shorts and striped socks kept walking by. After dinner we were tired and Jack’s first day at work was tomorrow so we metroed back to home sweet hotel harrington.

Dupont Circle metro — going down into dupont circle metro station

Monday, March 26, 2012

Up early, packed and checked out by 7:00. Had breakfast at Au Bon Pain and walked with Jack to Metro and said goodbye for two and half months as he was off to his first day of work. I spent a few hours walking around as it was a beautiful morning with a bright blue sky. I walked down to the mall and walked to the ww2 memorial, walked down to the Lincoln Memorial passing the Korea monument. Then went to the Viet Nam memorial and then took the long route back to the hotel past the White House. The most amazing thing was I was the only one at all the memorials. They are usually thronged with tourists and and as it was early in the morning I was all by myself. It was really great and so much nicer. The Viet Nam memorial was especially moving walking by it with no one around, no noise and the thousands of names with the sun reflecting off off them. I also have failed to mention that I just got a new iphone and all of these pictures are from that phone. I have been getting better at figuring it out and I think the pictures from this morning are especially good.

linc mem columns — lincoln memorial columns

lm shot — lincoln memorial looking at capital

viet nam to wash mon — washington monument from viet nam memorial

You have to admit that it is pretty amazing that there aren’t ANY people, let alone asian tourists, in any of these pictures! And I am quite impressed with the camera on my new iphone. I made it out of downtown DC without any wrong turns all by myself which is so impressive I must say. The ride home was easy, blue sky and loud music the whole way. I decided to make a pit stop at the Pittsburg IKEA on the way home and was happy to discover that it is not out of the way at all for future reference.