I’ve written about my brother-in-law’s house in North Carolina before, and while I love having a place to crash in Raleigh, someday I’d really like to visit the Outer Banks. I’ve been to many of the Northern beaches: Maine, New Hampshire, Cape Cod, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. I’ve been to one of Florida’s beaches. But from what I’ve heard and pictures I’ve seen, North Carolina beaches are especially gorgeous.
Sometimes when I’m dreaming of a vacation, I check out Outer Banks rentals just to see what’s available. I am just in love with this house called “The Seahawk” by Carolina Designs. What a fun place for a family vacation! There’s plenty of room for either my parents or Drew’s mom and aunt if they wanted to come, too (and babysit – heh!). Plenty of stuff to keep the kids occupied and… of course, it’s within walking distance to the beach. I don’t know about down South, but beach parking can be a real PITA at the New England beaches.
Another fun think about staying in the Outer Banks? Maybe I’d have a chance to finally meet some fellow bloggers I’ve known for ages. That would be the best!
looks like a vacation-less summer
Travel August 14th, 2010
And honestly, that’s OK with me. August is winding down, and since my brother-in-law got a new job, we won’t be going to NC this summer. Of course, he said we’re welcome to go down to his place, but I feel weird going without him, you know? When he was looking for a job, we wondered if he’d expand the search from NY/NJ down to North Carolina and were trying to find out what the health plans are down there. I know that Blue Advantage is one of them. In the end it didn’t matter because he was finally hired by a company in the city. I’m sure he was quite relieved! So maybe we’ll be able to go down at some point next year. Something to look forward to 
iggy’s!
Food & Wine, Travel July 30th, 2010
After hearing my parents and my brother talk about Iggy’s down in Narragansett, RI, I finally got to experience it for myself this week! Oh boy, do they hook you up with some good eats. Good think I’m not concerned about my weight at the moment or xyphedrine side effects — no, no diet pills here. Especially not when you’re heading down to the ocean for some deep-fried deliciousness! My brother likes to get the Iggy Burger, a special with fried onions and peppers. I decided to get fish and chips, since that’s something I don’t have very often. Look at the size! This was quite the lunch:
My dad got clam strips, which were amazing:
You can see a little bit of the clam chowder he ordered, but I didn’t take a picture of the clam cakes. The chowder was to die for. Laura could not get enough of it. The clam cakes were really good too, but they were more like fritters — doughy and soft. I imagined they’d be more like a crab cake and that was not the case.
We got there shortly after they opened. Our order was 21. Shortly after we dived into our lunch, they were already calling for order 46! Yes, this place is hopping, and apparently the line often stretches down the street. I’d love to go back, but definitely during the off-season, or first thing when they open again. The food was really yummy, but I’m not sure I’d wait in a long line for it, LOL!
Carolina on My Mind
Family, Travel August 27th, 2009
Our trip to Raleigh last week was such fun! My brother-in-law and his girlfriend J. recently bought a home down there and we drove down so that Drew could help him set some things up. J.’s parents will use it as a winter home and other family members can enjoy it as well.
I’d been to Florida (Miami and Orlando) and Washington, D.C. (for a tradeshow) before, as well as Baltimore (also for a tradeshow), but I can’t say that I ever really got a feel for the south, so I was looking forward to this trip. I was not, however, looking forward to the extremely long drive down there. I can take three hours in a car, max, so this was a real challenge for me. But I managed 
We saw plenty of broken down cars, and plenty of RVs, including one that seemed like it was having some major issues. I wonder if there are special trucks for rv towing? There has to be, I guess.
Although we didn’t do too much exploring this time, I did get to finally go to a Chick-Fil-A. I’ve heard about this fast-food restaurant from bloggers living in the south and the midwest. I have to say… it was really good! The chicken sandwich was so much better than McDonald’s or Burger King, and the peach shake I had was so yummy. I also liked that the toys in the kids’ meals were actually activity books — not something associated with a movie or TV show. That was refreshing.
We spent time swimming, hanging out at the playground, and visiting with a family friend who lives in the same housing development. And what’s a vacation without a trip to urgent care? Jake was roughousing with our friend’s son and he got headbutted in the eybrow. Boys will be boys, right? Luckily, it didn’t require stitches, just some superglue. He made out with late-night McD’s and a set of three new Bakugan toys, so he felt better really fast.
We also had breakfast at the State Farmer’s Market. Drew was in biscuit and molasses heaven! My omelet was really good, too. The omelet itself was cooked paper-thin so I really got to enjoy the filling. Next time I’ll remember the stroller when we go so that we can check out the booths. I had no idea how huge it would be.
All in all the trip was quite fun. Everyone down there is so nice. It was a bit like culture-shock for me, LOL! Looking forward to going back down later this year
Back Home!
Family, Travel February 28th, 2009
It’s always difficult to get back into the swing of things after a great vacation, isn’t it? We had so much fun at Woodloch (as usual!). This time we really packed it all in: Family Olympics, lots of snow tubing (including a couple contests), seeing several shows (including one in which I was picked to stand on a guy who laid down on a bed of nails!), doing lots of kids’ crafts and playing lots of games, and just generally having a lot of fun. Today I need to catch up on laundry. At least the grocery shopping is out of the way. I dragged myself to the store shortly after we got home yesterday afternoon. So I’ll just leave you with some photos from our trip to the Poconos. Happy Saturday!
West Point
Travel August 5th, 2008
Last winter my parents got a new snowblower and graciously gave us their old one, which is much more powerful than the one we had and much better suited for our driveway. As a way to thank them, we had arranged to take them on an overnight to the Thayer Hotel and to visit the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. It might seem like a strange place to visit, but Drew and I had gone before (nearly two years ago), and it really is a great place to go. It’s absolutely beautiful, and as you can imagine it has a rich history as well. And my dad was in the Army in the early 70s (he was drafted), so he was really looking forward to going.
My parents got here early on Sunday morning and we put their luggage in our car and left soon after Drew’s mom and aunt arrived (they stayed over and watched the boys). We headed to the Thayer for their amazing brunch. We sat out on the terrace overlooking the Hudson River and enjoyed the beautiful weather while eating way too much After that we drove over to the Woodbury Common outlets and walked around a bit before going back to the hotel for dinner. The next morning we took a one-hour tour of West Point, which was very interesting. If you have the chance, I would say go for it because you learn a lot of really interesting facts about the school and former cadets. I think my parents really enjoyed themselves — they deserved some time off!
Lake George!
Travel July 20th, 2008
OK, we’re just going to have to do this without photos because I have not had time to sift through the 200+ images I have. Sorry! At any rate, our short trip to Lake George was great! This time we decided to stay someplace other than the family-run motel we’ve stayed at the past four years. We stayed at a great Comfort Suites hotel (there are no Laughlin Hotels out this way). The hotel is just a year old and was totally worth the extra little bit of money. There was a great continental breakfast each morning that had warm foods in addition to the expected cereals, yogurt, muffins, etc. There was a really nice indoor pool that the boys enjoyed, and a very nice playset for the kids as well. The rooms were clean and comfortable enough. I rarely sleep well in hotels because the beds are often quite soft, which I don’t really like.
This year we took the boys to Magic Forest. They had SO much fun! We were there from about 9:30-3:30 and the boys probably would have stayed longer! I guess some of it is a bit dated, but everything was in good condition and well-maintained. We saw the diving horse show which was… interesting. I can honestly say that the horse did indeed jump of its own accord. There was no risky business that either Drew or I could discern. But still it was a little… odd, I guess.
That night we ate at the Adirondack Pub & Brewery which was *awesome*! I had a blue cheese burger and it was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. Drew and I each got a sampler and tried six of their microbrews. We brought home two growlers — one of their seasonal beer (California Steam) and one of their Snow Trout Stout which was soooo delicious. In fact, we’re thinking of going back up for a day closer to Septemeber and just doing these two things again. It’s only a two hour drive, so it’s totally do-able.
We also took a boat ride around the lake on the Minne-ha-ha, which was a lot of fun. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time but obviously you don’t want to be chasing little ones around on a boat. Finally my guys are of the ages where you can do this kind of stuff. The cruise was relaxing (we went on the first one at 10 AM – I’d recommend that one because it wasn’t too crowded) and it was interesting learning more about Lake George’s history, as well as seeing some absolutely gorgeous homes!
It was just a quick trip, but sometimes short getaways are enough. Still, it was hard to get back into the swing of things when we got back. Oh, vacation… if only it didn’t have to end!
