Let’s Hear It For the Northeast!

14 Wednesday Nov 2018

Posted by in Connecticut, Holidays, Maryland, Massachusetts, New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Travel, Washington DC, Weekend, Winter Solstice

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

DC in WinterI love the winter. From its first days being the darkest with the winter solstice, yet brightest with the Christmas holidays, to the freezing storms of February that leave the trees a glistening wonderland, I really enjoy all things winter, especially here in the Northeast. I tend not to get the doldrums as I like outdoor activities as much as I find comfort in lounging on the couch with a cup of something hot — hot cocoa, hot toddy, not mulled cider — and alcoholic to warm my soul.  And, as a New Englander traveling, more specifically driving, in the winter isn’t an issue.

So, I was tickled when I tripped across a USA Today article about the best destinations for cold winter vacations.  The article is based on a WalletHub study that analyzed a locale’s costs and hassle (of getting to/from), overall destination costs, attractions, weather, activity, and safety.  The study looked at more than a 100 destinations and of the top 32, 13 were in the Northeast; woo hoo!! Washington and New York placed in the top 5 (NY ranking highest for attractions), the others are:

6: Boston

9: Philadelphia

10: Pittsburgh

18: Baltimore

21: Rochester, NY

27: Buffalo, NY

28: Worcester, MA

29: Providence, RI

30: Hartford, CT

31: Albany, NY

32: Bridgeport, CT (I’m a bit dubious about this one)

According to the folks at WalletHub, sports are a constant driver for winter travel; however, food (yeah, all things epicurean), heritage, and spa services are growing influencers of travel to cold weather destinations.

While people tend to get depressed with the shorter days, I encourage you to breath deep and take a cold weather trip; you’ll enjoy it. If you do go, safe travels and, of course, bon appetite!

via The best destinations for cold winter vacations in 2018

Quote

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

13 Tuesday Nov 2018

Posted by in Holidays, Massachusetts, New York, Thanksgiving, Travel, Washington DC, Weekend

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

car travelIn my previous life, handling Hertz’s Corporate Communications, I worked quite closely with AAA and their Thanksgiving Travel Forecast was always the catalyst for a slew of media inquiries.  A busy time for us, I was always impressed with the quality of their research.  Below are highlights with some specific details for the Nor’east:

  • Automobiles: The vast majority of travelers – 48.5 million – will hit the road this Thanksgiving, nearly 5 percent more than last year.
  • Planes: The largest growth in holiday travel is by air, at 5.4 percent, with 4.27 million travelers.
  • Trains, Buses and Cruise Ships: Travel across these sectors will increase by 1.4 percent, with a total 1.48 million passengers

For those traveling by car, AAA and INRIX, the global leader in connected car services and transportation analytics, predict drivers will experience the greatest amount of congestion Thanksgiving week during the early evening commute period, with travel times starting to increase on Monday. Drivers in New York City and Boston will see the largest delays – nearly quadruple normal drive times.  That’s right quadruple…insert loud groan here.

Per INRIX, the worst times to hit the road in major Northeast cities:

  • Boston Tuesday 4:00 – 6:00 PM
  • Washington, D.C. Tuesday 5:00 – 7:00 PM
  • New York Tuesday 6:00 – 8:00 PM

By and large, the best days to travel will be on Thanksgiving Day, Friday or Saturday. Drivers should expect increased travel times on Sunday as most holiday travelers will be making their way home.  As you figure out your travels, plan accordingly and think about leaving during an ‘off’ day or hour — i.e. leave on Sunday or early morning Thanksgiving day n(typically my strategy which works well).

Happy planning, safe travels and bon appetite!

Thank You!

12 Monday Nov 2018

Posted by in Christmas, Holidays, Maine, New England, Travel, Uncategorized, Washington DC

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

To all those who are serving or have served in the military, a heartfelt thank you for tirelessly protecting our rights and freedoms and for helping those countries and their people around the world whose rights and freedoms are continually under assault.  Or, as Dan Crenshaw would say, ‘Never Forget.’

Grandpa in Korea - outside bunkerIn honor of Veteran’s Day, I’m posting a picture of my Dad who served in the Korean War (which was a war, not a conflict).  He was a radio repairman and his repair vehicle was housed in the side of a mountain to hide and protect it from enemy fire.  He stands, in the picture, outside of the hidden truck.

For those looking for a more tangible way to say thanks this Christmas season, please consider donating to Wreaths Across America  whose mission is to ‘Remember, Honor, and Teach.’  It’s a beautiful way to remember those who are no longer with us and who have served in our military.  In addition to laying wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery as well as numerous other cemeteries across the country, they do a caravan from their home base in Maine, making key stops along the route to Arlington.  If you’re on close to one of their many stops on their wreath escort route, check out the caravan for an inspiring event.

With that, I bid everyone happy trails and safe travels.  And to those who have or are serving, my thanks, words can’t express my gratitude.

Sunday, Sunday

11 Sunday Nov 2018

Posted by in Christmas, Holidays, New Jersey, Travel, Yeast

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Here I sit, watching a Christmas movie — this one with Dogs and Kids, always a winning combination. I’ve yet to bake for Thanksgiving (in a nod to Ms. Scarlet, ‘I’ll worry about that tomorrow’).  Unfortunately, while I  cross referenced my baking list with the ingredients in the pantry, I forgot one key item — wax paper.  While I don’t mind being adventurous, making a pumpkin roll without wax paper isn’t high on that list. My husband and I did make bread dough, however.

NYC From Lambert CastleYes, we make our own bread.  Tony adheres to a Paleo diet which prohibits processed food, essentially eliminating flour and sugar from his diet.  While I’m not completely on the bandwagon, by default I’m also following a Paleo lifestyle. Tired of being breadless, a sad and unacceptable state, my husband started researching for, quite literally, ‘low carb bread that doesn’t suck.’  That, coupled with a few recommendations from his nutritionist, lead us to ‘Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day.’ And, what do you know?  Following the book, its gluten free flour mixtures and master dough recipes churn out some darn good bread, that is actually pretty easy to make.  This is our second go-around making the dough and as I become more familiar with the wonders of yeast (I still haven’t figured that one out), we’ll dive deeper into the book as it has a fair amount of recipes — everything from white sandwich bread, to brioche and even flat bread and pizza doughs. #yummy.

Lambert CastleEarlier in the day we went to Lambert Castle in Patterson, NJ.  Yes there is a castle in Patterson of all places.  Home to the Passaic County Historical Society, their annual fundraiser is a holiday craft fair held throughout the month of November.  Driving up the side of Garret Mountain, we came upon what truly is a castle, built back in the late 1800s by a local silk baron (Patterson used to be known as the silk capital of the world). Walking into the castle itself, we were quickly submerged into all things Christmas as the building was stuffed to the rafters with all kinds of goodies — from provisions to ornaments and festive holiday decorations, to clothes for the kids and on and on and on — three floors of ‘on’ to be precise.

It was a fun day.  Not as productive as it could have been, but fun none-the-less.

At some point this week, I”ll bake.  Until then, happy trails and bon appetite!

Don’t Take My Word For It

11 Sunday Nov 2018

Posted by in Holidays, Massachusetts, New England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Thanksgiving, Travel, Uncategorized, Weekend

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Don’t take my word for it, but I’m pretty darn good at finding fun and unique things to do no matter where I am.  One of the first rule of thumbs is knowing who you’re catering to — is it just yourself, your family, a persnickety friend — and their interests.  From there, planning a 1/2 day, day or even week-long adventure becomes a relatively easy task.

Flight 93 MemorialI did this on a recent trip to Pennsylvania. We took an extended weekend — we usually do a get-away for our anniversary — to visit the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, PA.  My interests were fulfilled; but what about my husband?  What would I do for him?  For him, with a bit of legwork, I found the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, our ‘hub’ for the weekend, and a fantastic hat shop, Killer Hats, in Lancaster County where he bought his first Stetson (yes, Tony is a hat guy).

Last night, as we were figuring out what to do today (he typically works on Sundays, so spending the day together is an oddity); I mentioned a craft fair from my Christmas ‘Things to Do’ list.  He didn’t completely puke all over the idea and begrudgingly committed to going.  That’s when the conversation got interesting.

“I usually find really good things for us to do,” I exclaimed at his lame-ass “OK.” He conceded, “Yes, actually you do; you do find great things to do.”  How do I do this?  How do I know that a Shakespeare in the Park performance at some random park in some small town in the middle of Maine is taking place?   Well, I’ll tell you:

  1.  I dissect where I’m going, who I’m going with, why I’m going and how long I will be somewhere.
  2. I head to the state, county/region, and city tourism sites — some little towns don’t have a proper tourism bureau and that’s OK.
  3. I check out the local chamber of commerce, specifically their events page .
  4. I peruse the Arts and Entertainment calendars of the local papers.

While this isn’t an exhaustive list of what I do, this is the foundation and it’s a solid foundation.  I actually did this for our Thanksgiving trip to Warren, MA.  Last year, we kind of just went there — my thought being ‘cabin in the woods, fire place, goats…this is going to be great.’  We had nothing to do anyway and I was recovering from an operation so sitting by a fire was just fine.  This year, however, is a different story and I’m anticipating at least one afternoon of antiquing, a meal or two at the Salem Cross Inn, and perhaps checking out Bright Nights at Forest Park in Springfield — all things I found using the simple steps noted above.

Tomorrow, I’ll be checking out the holiday boutique at Lambert Castle (Patterson, NJ), shopping and making my desserts — I must bake tomorrow; I must bake tomorrow; I must bake tomorrow…Oy.