Art Deco

Happy Thursday!  I hope this day and tomorrow fly by so that we can get started on the big swim.  That's right, this Saturday is the swim.  Keep the good vibes coming!

But on to more artful things...

As promised, here are some of the photos from our self-guided art deco tour in South Beach a few weeks back.  Mike was so excited to do this tour.  We missed the guided tour by 15 minutes and couldn't find them on the street to try to sneak in.  So instead we walked the strip and decided which things we thought were art deco and took pictures of them.  What can I say?  We're innovators. Right.

So these are some of the spots in the daytime.  My favorite is the tangerine colored hotel.  These places were slammed with breakfast, lunch, and dinner crowds during the day time and then they turn into bars/clubs at night. 

And then we returned for the nighttime neon lights and fan fare.  It was also great.  I must admit however, that I would never actually stay at most of these places because they look like they haven't been renovated or updated since the 50's. I understand that's what the whole theme and vibe is supposed to be, but in the day of mold/mildew, bed bugs, and roaches... no thank you!  I'm happy to walk down and look at these places every day if I can stay in the comfort of a newly renovated hotel with no mold, clean linens, and a full bed bug inspection.  I know. I'm weird.  Mike would L.O.V.E. to stay at The Colony.  If I had to, I'd stay here at The Pelican.  It's more modern and clean looking. 

And then there was nightfall...

And then.... there was the next morning.  After miles of walking, photo taking, frozen drink having, truffle fry eating, we were beat.  And one of us was having some trouble rallying.

Good Morning, Sunshine!  That's my beach hat you're wearing.

I know there aren't a ton of pics, but you get the gist.  It was cool to see the old style and the old school cars parked outside.  I think Mike was more fascinated by it than I was. I was focused on this:

and this:

and this:

I heart the beach.  So while the buildings were neat-o with their art deco flavor, I was ready to hit the sand and swim around in the salt water.  And so I did.

Well, friends, that's all for today.  Have a fabulous Thursday.

Yours in art appreciation (sorta),

Whitney

And then there was P-Town

Happy Thursday, people!

Growing up in Florida, I'd always heard of 'The Cape' and 'The Vineyard' but I'd never been.  See, Floridians take Winter vacations when all the Northeast snowbirds head south. But we rather like our sunshine state and enjoy sticking around in the summer once all of the spring breakers and would-be-sun-worshipers have long departed. SO, I've never been to 'The Cape' (a.k.a. Cape Cod).

That all changed this past weekend when Mike and I randomly decided to pack up after our German beer experience and head, uhhh... East? North? Northeast?  Yea, one of those.  With no plans but to drive to the end of the cape, we packed an overnight bag and hit the road at the lovely hour of 6am.  Of course, Mike packed a backpack and I packed a duffle bag big enough for me to fit in... options, right?

We drove and it was beautiful.  It's not what I expected, but it was still lovely.  I was anticipating open beach island and being able to see the water from both sides, but it's rather wooded and you can't see the beach for all of the sand dunes. But, those dunes were beautiful and I enjoyed looking from right to left, left to right, to be sure I hadn't missed anything.

We decided to camp. Yes. In a tent. In the bed of the truck. Mike doesn't love camping, but I do and I thought it would suit our impromptu and low budget getaway.  We got a tent space at Dunes Camp Ground in Provincetown and went from there.  The camp site was a 10 minute walk into downtown P-Town (as they say) so we were right in the mix without paying out the nose for peak summer prices.

We made it just in time for the blessing of the fleet and the Portuguese festival.   Now for those of you that don't know Mike, he hates the sun and threatens that he's melting if we switch from the shady to sunny side of the street.  That said, we spent every few blocks ducking in to a bar for a cold drink and some cool air. I don't know if this is secretly his way of getting to have a little pub crawl, but it works. On the other hand, I want to be in the sun, have my drink outside, walk the streets and meet people. We compromise. Sometimes.

On Sunday, while on our little bar crawl, we met Peter and Bob, who took us in, showed us the ropes in P-Town, and gave us the inside scoop on the local things to do, places to eat, and general run-of-show.  Mike and I have a knack for meeting new friends most places we go, but I must say that this find, these two amazing fellas, they took the cake. We laughed, we gossiped, we caught up as if we'd known each other for 10 years or more.  Love.



Peter and Bob told us about the Tea Dance at Boatslip and assured us that it would be a fab time. They were right. Mike and I rolled in, not sure if we'd totally fit in with the crowd, but as soon as we hooked in with our new friends and their group, we felt right at home.  A bit of dancing, some lemon drop shots because.. why not?  This group of gentleman took us in, showed us P-Town the way it's meant to be seen, and won our hearts.

Us with Bob and Peter!

 With bellies filled with yummy drinks and plenty of lobster, we strolled back to our camp ground and had a great sleep, high atop the bed of a Ford F150.  We awoke to the sun and the chirping of birds and the smell of salt air.  I felt at home. Ahhhh... longing for Florida.

We stopped in to Newport, RI on our way home.  It's our favorite place.  We hit up a few old standbys for food and fun and then made the trek back to CT where our vacay came to an end. Bittersweet. What fun we had for not having a plan. What amazing people we met: Paul 'the mayor', Peter and Bob, P & B's friends.  This was one for the memory books.

Yours in gulf coast dreams,

Whitney

Hooray for Vacay

I was so tired by the time I got home last night that I couldn't bring myself to write.  A fabulous, impromptu, and random vacation will do that to you. There are so many great details to share, but I'll start with Friday and work through it over the next day or two.

As I said yesterday, Mike is out for summer. Yay for him, boo for me.  I can tell you with 100% honesty that I can't even fake being happy for him that he gets to sleep in as I'm getting ready for work.  When the alarm goes off now, and it's only for me, I am peeved!  I know, I know... teachers work so hard, teachers deal with a lot of stuff, blah blah blah... so do I. And, from June through August, I'm still waking up for work. I didn't get 9 snow days this year, I didn't get 2 spring breaks, and I definitely don't get 2 months to bask in the sun, plan play dates with friends, and go boating all summer. What's that you say?  I'm bitter?  No, never.

Back to the vacay.  Since I took a few days off so as to not feel sorry for myself, Mike planned a few random days of fun.  Friday, we started out for a drive along the shoreline of CT headed East.  We stopped by the Henry Whitfield Museum in Guilford, CT- it's one of the last standing Stone Houses in the country: http://www.newenglandtravelplanner.com/go/ct/ct_shore/guilford/whitfield_muze.html and it was pretty cool.  Mike also took the time to have a portrait made while we were there.  What do you think?

Mrs. Whitfield, is that you?

Or do you prefer this one?

Mr. Whitfield, why so serious?

After this great little trip down history lane, we drove. And drove, and drove. We travelled route 1 from Branford to Groton, only getting on the highway when necessary to cross major bodies of water.  It was beautiful.  We stopped for drinks and snacks at different pubs along the way.  Finally, after a day of exploration, we ended up at http://www.caferoutier.com/ for some dinner and drinks.  We love this place and highly recommend it.  We ran into a few CrossFit friends and then, in true Whitney and Mike style, made friends with an older gentleman named Paul.  He's self-dubbed the 'Mayor of Chester' which is a sweet town in the middle of CT.

We talked with Paul until late into the night and then made our voyage home for some rest.  What a day!  We followed Friday, with a celebratory outing to East Side in New Britain (some of you might know it as Hard Hittin' New Brittin'- indeed, it is.  Our friends Molly and Jeremy had their parents in town which surely meant we needed to take them to the most random German establishment in the middle of a rough city for  gigantic glasses of beer and kraut.  Right?  It was obvious to you, too, huh?

The Beer- over 12inches high

Princess for a meal

Uhhhhhh.....

down sizing to 'testers'- the Germans really know how to drink!

After some fine German beer, some edible food, and Jeremy being spanked with a large oak paddle, we considered the day a success and headed home. Alas, Mike and I had another big adventure planned for the following day. More on that tomorrow.