So, a typical Saturday for many people involves lists and errands, right? Laundry, groceries, cleaning, gym . . . gets a little monotonous. In between groceries and the gym, I stopped at home and threw on the news. Luckily I did! I caught a story about right whales on the coast of Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The reported said the whales were close enough to hear them breathing. I text my trusted travel buddy, and off we went.
For those of you not from the Boston area, P-town is about 2 hours from Boston. We hopped in the car around 11 and made it to Race Point at about 1:20 due lane closure on the Sagamore Bridge. As we pulled into the parking lot, I was surprised at the number of cars. I guess travelkat is not the only one who watches the news! We approached the beach and saw loads of people standing on the beach and surrounding dunes. After about a half hour, all we saw were black blobs in the water; I was more than a bit disappointed :( . Hanging on a bit longer took some patience (my mother's nickname for me as a child), but it was well worth it!!!
All of a sudden an enormous tail splashed into the water. I was like a child filled with excitement for the next sighting. These playful guys did not disappoint; we saw the full body of a whale 4 times as they jumped out of the water. It was absolutely a breath-taking sight to see. There are only approximately 475 right whales left in the world. In the 17th, 18, and 19th centuries, these whales were hunted extensively and were named "right" whales because they were the right whales to kill- they have lots of blubber, are slow swimmers, and float after they are killed. Fortunately, right whales have been protected since 1949.
Since we drove over 2 hours to see these beautiful mammals, we decided to set out to P-town center before driving back to Boston. First great thing about P-town during the off-season? Free parking! What a treat! We wandered around town, meandering in and out of antique, jewelry, and bits and bobs stores. Our favorite store, the Marine Specialties Store, was a true bits and bobs shop; they had giant rubber duckies with sailor hats, gas masks, and jesters' hats to name a few items. We even both a "holy toast" mold to make your toast look like the Virgin Mary. I thoroughly enjoyed playing dress-up like I was a 10-year old. Sailor suit and hat, African Safari hat, like I was hunting elephants in the 1920s. Now, I would never hunt an elephant, don't worry, they are my favorite animal on Earth! Recommendation - go the the Marine Speciality Store, be silly and have a laugh.
Now, I was a bit hungry and cranky at this point, or so my buddy pointed out. I am not fun when I am hungry. We immediately began searching for food and stumbled upon Bayside Betsy's; unfortunately, they do not start dinner until 5:00. So we went back to pounding the pavement. If you have been to the Cape in the off-season, you know it is not easy to find an open restaurant. We went into the Squealing Pig and were told that we couldn't sit in a booth because they kept those for parties of 3 or more. Really? At least 5 tables were empty. The one they offered us was smack dab in front of the door (who likes a draft while dining?). We left. I don't even remember the name of the next restaurant we ventured into. The waitress sat us and then disappeared. After waiting for 10 minutes to put in a drink order, we left. At this point we were 3 and 0. We have this problem often with restaurants. Decision time, get in the car and head home, or head back to Bayside Betsy's? Bayside Betsy's won, and we were glad it did. I would go back there for the staff alone! Our main waiter called us kids; do you know how long it has been since someone referred to me as a kid? Loved it. Betsy, herself, even served us. The onion rings with horseradish dip were out of this world, and the fish (of fish and chips) was perfectly fried. I didn't get that though (for my WW buddies); I just tasted it.
Completely stuffed and satisfied, we headed home.
This summer, I have a boat trip to P-town on my activities list. Provincetown is well worth the trip, even if it is for a day.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Savannah Day 1
I made it home from Savannah on Sunday after a whirlwind weekend. We were there for only 3 nights, but squeezed the life out of our time!
After being delayed in both Boston and Newark, we arrived in at the Holiday Inn Express on East Bay St. at 2:33 AM on Friday morning. The staff were welcoming and got us right into our clean and comfy room. As Buntha kept saying, "this isn't like any of the Holiday Inns I've ever stayed in." Turns out, she has only stayed in one other! The point is, the hotel was fabulous. The beds were cozy, the linens were soft, and they gave each guest soft and medium pillows. Breakfast was included; my favorite breakfast item was the light and buttery biscuits. However, I did not deny myself the warm cinnamon buns each day (well, the four of us shared 2 each day). We couldn't have asked for a more central location. The hotel is right in the heart of this Historic District, a 3 minute walk to River Street, and right on the St. Patrick's Day Parade route.
Friday morning, being the early bird I am, I woke at 7 and asked the hotel staff for a good running route. She directed me to Forsyth park, and I am certainly glad she did. If you are a runner or walker, I suggest you get up early while traveling in a new place. You get a whole different feel for a place before the rest of the world is up. In this case, I got to run through 4 or 5 of Savannah's famous squares including Ogelthorpe Square. Ogelthorpe founded Savannah in 1733 for King George of England as buffer between Spanish Florida and the British Colonies. The squares at this time of day, were peaceful and shaded beneath the canopy of Spanish-moss covered trees.
When I hit Forsyth Park, I wasn't disappointed. The perimeter of the park is about 3/4 mile. I went around twice, taking in the natural and architectural beauty in and surrounding the park. I could have easily run around again, but headed back as the 2 Guinness and 2 Baileys from the airport the night before were beginning to make themselves known!
When I got back to the room, we all got our acts together and headed out to do "touristy" things for the morning. After walking around for a bit and asking one person about tours, we decided to jump on board The Old Savannah Trolley Tour. Red Sonia, our driver was awesome! She was knowledge about Savannah's history and kept us entertained with her own tidbits on Savannah's most famous sights. I would recommend this tour over other trolley tours in Savannah because it is a locally-owned company and the tours are unscripted. You can also hop on and off all day for only $25.00.
After our tour, we couldn't resist of pull of the festive atmosphere of River St. There were people and vendors out enjoying the gorgeous day. We soaked in the sun and scenery of River St. with a couple of beers before walking to Blowin' Smoke BBQ on MLK Blvd. It was well-worth the 20 minute walk. Buntha, Carolina, Matt and I share 2 Holy Smoke Platters. They were out of this world! The ribs fell of the bone and the jalapeno corn bread melted in my mouth. I also tried my first fried pickle and realized I am so grateful they don't have them up North because I would be in BIG trouble!
At this point in the day, it was only about 5:00 so we rambled back to the hotel to go for a dip in the rooftop pool. It was small, but had fab views of the river and the jacuzzi was totally relaxing.
Showers and change of clothes by all before we made way to our next dining destination. (Ok, I am beginning to realize that we ate a lot on this trip; I promise I am not obsessed with food although Caro pointed out that I plan meals 3 days in advance!) Anyway, we had a 9:15 reservation at The Olde Pink House which was literally around the corner from the hotel. It is an old pink mansion built in 1789 and one of the few buildings that survived the fire of 1796. Each room in the restaurant is small and separate from the others. The service was good, and the food was delicious. Now, I should clarify, shockingly, I didn't eat much. I was WAY OVER stuffed from our BBQ lunch. However, I would go back to there just for the BLT salad. This was the most amazing salad I have ever eaten, and our waitress informed us it is unique to The Olde Pink House. The ingredients were perfectly cooked bacon, scrumptious fried green tomatoes, and lettuce. Seriously, it was AMAZING. I barely touched the flounder that was my main course, but it too was tasty.
By the end of the meal I was definitely reading for bed and luckily we stumbled out the door to our hotel. Day 2 of the trip with photos to follow shortly!
After being delayed in both Boston and Newark, we arrived in at the Holiday Inn Express on East Bay St. at 2:33 AM on Friday morning. The staff were welcoming and got us right into our clean and comfy room. As Buntha kept saying, "this isn't like any of the Holiday Inns I've ever stayed in." Turns out, she has only stayed in one other! The point is, the hotel was fabulous. The beds were cozy, the linens were soft, and they gave each guest soft and medium pillows. Breakfast was included; my favorite breakfast item was the light and buttery biscuits. However, I did not deny myself the warm cinnamon buns each day (well, the four of us shared 2 each day). We couldn't have asked for a more central location. The hotel is right in the heart of this Historic District, a 3 minute walk to River Street, and right on the St. Patrick's Day Parade route.
Friday morning, being the early bird I am, I woke at 7 and asked the hotel staff for a good running route. She directed me to Forsyth park, and I am certainly glad she did. If you are a runner or walker, I suggest you get up early while traveling in a new place. You get a whole different feel for a place before the rest of the world is up. In this case, I got to run through 4 or 5 of Savannah's famous squares including Ogelthorpe Square. Ogelthorpe founded Savannah in 1733 for King George of England as buffer between Spanish Florida and the British Colonies. The squares at this time of day, were peaceful and shaded beneath the canopy of Spanish-moss covered trees.
When I hit Forsyth Park, I wasn't disappointed. The perimeter of the park is about 3/4 mile. I went around twice, taking in the natural and architectural beauty in and surrounding the park. I could have easily run around again, but headed back as the 2 Guinness and 2 Baileys from the airport the night before were beginning to make themselves known!
When I got back to the room, we all got our acts together and headed out to do "touristy" things for the morning. After walking around for a bit and asking one person about tours, we decided to jump on board The Old Savannah Trolley Tour. Red Sonia, our driver was awesome! She was knowledge about Savannah's history and kept us entertained with her own tidbits on Savannah's most famous sights. I would recommend this tour over other trolley tours in Savannah because it is a locally-owned company and the tours are unscripted. You can also hop on and off all day for only $25.00.
After our tour, we couldn't resist of pull of the festive atmosphere of River St. There were people and vendors out enjoying the gorgeous day. We soaked in the sun and scenery of River St. with a couple of beers before walking to Blowin' Smoke BBQ on MLK Blvd. It was well-worth the 20 minute walk. Buntha, Carolina, Matt and I share 2 Holy Smoke Platters. They were out of this world! The ribs fell of the bone and the jalapeno corn bread melted in my mouth. I also tried my first fried pickle and realized I am so grateful they don't have them up North because I would be in BIG trouble!
At this point in the day, it was only about 5:00 so we rambled back to the hotel to go for a dip in the rooftop pool. It was small, but had fab views of the river and the jacuzzi was totally relaxing.
Showers and change of clothes by all before we made way to our next dining destination. (Ok, I am beginning to realize that we ate a lot on this trip; I promise I am not obsessed with food although Caro pointed out that I plan meals 3 days in advance!) Anyway, we had a 9:15 reservation at The Olde Pink House which was literally around the corner from the hotel. It is an old pink mansion built in 1789 and one of the few buildings that survived the fire of 1796. Each room in the restaurant is small and separate from the others. The service was good, and the food was delicious. Now, I should clarify, shockingly, I didn't eat much. I was WAY OVER stuffed from our BBQ lunch. However, I would go back to there just for the BLT salad. This was the most amazing salad I have ever eaten, and our waitress informed us it is unique to The Olde Pink House. The ingredients were perfectly cooked bacon, scrumptious fried green tomatoes, and lettuce. Seriously, it was AMAZING. I barely touched the flounder that was my main course, but it too was tasty.
By the end of the meal I was definitely reading for bed and luckily we stumbled out the door to our hotel. Day 2 of the trip with photos to follow shortly!
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Hello World!
So I got the travel bug when my 2 wonderful parents forced me to go on a high school trip to Europe. They were awful, weren't they!!! Lucky for me, it turned into a lifelong desire to see everything I can. Recently, I have really picked up my travel efforts and my destinations have become more eclectic. What is a girl to do with all of this experience and fun? Share it with you!
Now, I know the way to do that. My friend, Pam, recently started her own blog, Yummocook (yummocookbook.blogspot.com), where she posts yummy recipes she herself has tried. Pam's new endeavour inspired me to give it a shot!
Just a little about me. . . I am a third grade special education teacher, an avid runner, and traveler. As a teacher, I am very fortunate that I have time off to feed my travel bug. Since July 2011, I have been to Peru, Bolivia, Ireland (2 times out of 25 in total), New Hampshire, Cape Cod, Maine, and Mexico. Next weekend, I will be in Savannah, Georgia to celebrate St. Paddy's Day. So look for some great tips on things to do in Savannah!
Please be patient with me; I am new at this blogging thing!
Now, I know the way to do that. My friend, Pam, recently started her own blog, Yummocook (yummocookbook.blogspot.com), where she posts yummy recipes she herself has tried. Pam's new endeavour inspired me to give it a shot!
Just a little about me. . . I am a third grade special education teacher, an avid runner, and traveler. As a teacher, I am very fortunate that I have time off to feed my travel bug. Since July 2011, I have been to Peru, Bolivia, Ireland (2 times out of 25 in total), New Hampshire, Cape Cod, Maine, and Mexico. Next weekend, I will be in Savannah, Georgia to celebrate St. Paddy's Day. So look for some great tips on things to do in Savannah!
Please be patient with me; I am new at this blogging thing!
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