Tag Archives: food

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Colonial Williamsburg…. the blacksmiths, a test drive, an oak, some cows and yes, food.

February 3, 2020 Rivergirl 36 Comments

Although I hated to end our day, the time was drawing near and my phone battery was gasping it’s last breath.

Naturally the husband had to see the blacksmith’s shop with all it’s rusty tools.

And we were both surprised to learn that women worked there as well back in the day.

So after test driving a wheel barrow…

A few more natural wreaths…

Some private homes…

More wreaths…

And a massive Live Oak that is supposed to have been here when George Washington walked these streets….

We said goodbye to the cows we saw on the way in….

And went back to the car where we had to charge my cell phone long enough for Trip Advisor to point us to our first dinner in Williamsburg.

I love that app.

And I loved this restaurant.

Come on…. they had blue jellyfish lights over the bar.

How could you not?

Cocktails? Check.

Their Orange Crush was made with fresh squeezed OJ and was fabulous.

Hushpuppies and cornbread let us know we were in the south.

And may I just say? I had no idea how much I missed hushpuppies until I started eating them again.

Yeeha!

Dinner was tough to choose.

Husband started with mussels.

And moved on to perfectly pan seared sea scallops with garlic smashed red potatoes and green beans.

Me?

I was in the south, baby! Bring me those low country shrimp and cheesy grits.

Lord have mercy….. they were the best thing I’ve eaten in months.

Husband had room for a New York Style berry cheesecake….

And then we called it a day.

Day 1.

You realize that, right?

It took me 8 posts to get through Day 1 of our two week vacation.

Oh, don’t be so dramatic.

It’ll be fun!

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Colonial Williamsburg… Duke of Gloucester Street

January 30, 2020 Rivergirl 22 Comments

Done with the Governor’s Palace, we headed to the main thoroughfare.

Colonial Williamsburg is a town, like any other.

If all the other towns were full of beautifully restored 18th century historic buildings that is.

George Wythe was Thomas Jefferson’s mentor.

So, you know…. that kind of town.

At the corner? The Bruton Parish Church, established in 1674…..

Still an active Presbyterian presence…

You can almost see George Washington walking amongst the stately old live oaks.

(Yes, he worshiped here.)

Taking a left put us on Duke of Gloucester Street, the busiest section of town.

Every house and business was decked out for Christmas….

With the traditional natural fruit and greenery it’s become famous for.

Another carriage made it’s way by….

And as much as I wanted to take one…. the husband had no interest whatsoever.

I mean, look at them…

They were just waiting for me to climb aboard.

But no. The husband had caught sight of this:

And that was where we went next.

Yay. More weapons…

Okay, the collection was impressive as hell.

And filled with various painful ways to kill people.

And yes…

The armory fellow was well versed and full of interesting facts.

But… but…

Horsies….

Are cuter than cannons any ole day.

And you can’t ride a cannon.

(Or maybe you can… but you probably shouldn’t.)

Next up was lunch at Chowning’s Tavern, where it’s wreath spoke volumes.

A reconstructed public house Josiah Chowning operated in 1766…

The menu of Brunswick Stew, Shepherd’s Pye and Welsh Rarebit reflected the fare of the day.

I opted for the hot smoked turkey trencher which was marvelous…. while the husband continued his French Onion soup trend.

Rum cake?

Don’t mind if I do.

Light, rummy and utterly fabulous.

Hot tea and mixed berry crumble for the other half.

Which to be honest, was so God awful sweet he could hardly eat it.

( Lunch photos just for you Martin.)

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The resort, the Manor, a little bad food…. and geese.

January 25, 2020 Rivergirl 20 Comments

There aren’t too many timeshare resorts that have a Manor House…

But ours did.

And for guests….

The doors were wide open.

So before even finding our condo, we explored.

She was a charming old girl.

And fully decked out for Christmas.

Yes, there was even some funky chicken portraiture.

Ya gotta love that.

Traditional Williamsburg colors took center stage.

And board games were set up on various tables.

It really was quite lovely.

And I certainly wouldn’t mind having a meal or two here.

But we were burning daylight…

So, needing liquid refreshment….

We left the Manor House and were pleased to find a restaurant/bar on the property.

Not all resorts have this, so it was a plus.

The friendly bartender introduced the husband to a local beer, and we ordered some appetizers to test the menu.

French Onion Soup for the other half…. which was absolutely horrendous. Croutons instead of French Bread, over salted broth and a glob of gelatinous cheese.

Blech.

My margarita was made with cheap mix and even cheaper tequila…. and the cheesy crab dip? Tasteless, as well as crabless. I couldn’t find a single piece.

Needless to say we passed on ordering dinner there. (Sorry Martin, that’s all the food pics you’ll get today.)

But ya know what?

The resort was beautiful.

They had a Manor House…..

And geese.

I forgave them their bad food.

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Product Hell.

January 21, 2020 Rivergirl 47 Comments

Have you ever walked through a store and spotted products that make you do a double take?

I do it quite often and always stop to take pictures to rant/blog/post about later.

Here are a few of my latest finds:

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Pickle In A Pouch.

Unrefrigerated and languishing for God knows how long by the cash register?

That’s just wrong.

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But Big Papa anthropomorphized Pickle…

The Portly Pickle who’s arms are open wide and ready to wrap you in his pickley goodness??

So very, very wrong.

Then… there was this:

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A remote control Tom Brady helicopter.

Maybe Bill Belichick will use these to spy on opposing teams from now on, who knows.

But I have to admit…

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I think they got Tom’s shade of lipstick just right.

And finally, there was this wireless keyboard and mouse I ordered from Amazon for the husband.

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Which looked great until we opened it and found it didn’t include a dongle. I went back to the Amazon listing and it said “Just plug and play”, so where the hell was it?

Let’s check the instructions.

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“Keybord”?

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Yeah.

Shame my Japanese is a little rusty.

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P.S. The dongle?

Hidden in a compartment on the back of the mouse.

It’s always the last place you look.

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Cape Cod Day 8…. turkeys, traffic and booze. The way most of our vacations end.

January 20, 2020 Rivergirl 16 Comments

Day 8 dawned bright and sunny and it was time to pack up and head for home. Of course packing means different things to men and women. It takes me considerable time…. seeing that I actually unpack my suitcases and put things away.

Remember? Me unpacked…

Husband’s idea of unpacked…

Men.

You really are a separate species.

The local turkey brigade came to wish us farewell.

And soon we were crossing the famous Sagamore Bridge and leaving Cape Cod.

It was a wonderful trip, and we enjoyed every minute of it. So much to see and do…. I’m sure we’ll go back someday.

Next step?

Boston.

And it’s horrible, absolutely inescapable, bumper to bumper traffic. If you can avoid it?

By all means, do so.

Cruising into New Hampshire on I-95 means one thing. The New Hampshire State Liquor store…. no tax!

If we drive to our vacation? We stop here on the way back…. you almost have to. It’s like a rite of passage for New Englanders.

Snow.

Lobster.

And tax free booze.

What’s not to love?

My haul this time included a few Game of Thrones inspired Johnnie Walker Christmas presents.

Ho, Ho, Ho!

And here’s a bone I’ll throw to all my food lovers.

Lunch.

At a riverside restaurant.

With an amazing beer selection.

And a list that went on and on and on…

To heck with the food…

I could just happily sit there and drink all day.

But yes, food.

Homemade chicken tenders and side salad for the husband.

And a massive portion of Truffle fries to accompany my chicken Caesar salad wrap.

So there you have it, the November Cape Cod trip.

The end.

Finito.

Done!

While I realize it took me until January 20th to finish this series, as I sit here typing this… I still have over 2 weeks worth of Williamsburg, Virginia Christmas vacation photos to sort through and post. So don’t be surprised if you’re seeing Santa and his reindeer right through April….

You’ve been warned.

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Cape Cod Day 7… Highfield Hall, some twigs and the last supper.

January 19, 2020 Rivergirl 23 Comments

Since we were in the area we thought we’d check it out.

The Hall however, had other ideas and was locked up tight.

But there were twigs.

Lots and lots….

Of twigs.

Cleverly wound twigs.

Twigs you could walk through.

Big twigs.

Really big twigs.

Respect the twigs.

Got it.

There was also a sunken garden….

That was mostly dead since it was the middle of November.

But it had whimsical birds on a polka dot tree in the middle, so that more than made up for it.

Photo of the rear of the house we couldn’t get in.

Yes, it was a banner visit.

Good thing there were twigs so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.

Blah, blah, blah… I know, you’re getting bored and are silently screaming for food.

Our last meal in Cape Cod ended up being at the Stomping Grounds Grille in Buzzards Bay.

And while buzzards aren’t usually the best dinner companions…

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This place looked promising.

It was basically a lovely old home…

Retro fitted to a restaurant/bar.

And while I was walking around…

I discovered a theme.

A rock and roll theme….

And when I saw Jerry Garcia on the shelf?

I felt right at home.

See? My kind of place…

The cocktail list made me smile and order a few.

As we chatted with the very personable bartender who told me there was a turntable in the back room with an album collection…. and we could play anything we liked.

We were having such a good time I almost forgot to take pictures of the food, but here’s their stellar broccoli cheese soup. Soooo good.

Secret ingredient? Nutmeg.

I’m afraid I don’t even remember what the husband had…. but here’s my crab cake burger with side spinach salad and cole slaw.

Yum.

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Cape Cod Day 6… antiques, cocktails and dinner on the water.

January 15, 2020 Rivergirl 15 Comments

Because you know no road trip with my husband is complete without a visit to an antique store…

I’d managed to make it almost 6 full days without one, but my luck ran out.

He scoured the stalls…

Thoroughly perused the cases…

Chuckled at the creepy mid century Santas.

And then….

Bought a folding freight sled.

And if that wasn’t bad enough? The damned thing was from Maine!

Jesus wept.

And I drank.

It was the only appropriate response.

So we ended the afternoon at a wonderful waterfront restaurant…

Called Fisherman’s View.

Where I worked my way down the cocktail list.

Have you ever had Casoni 1814 in a mixed drink? Ooh la la!

I hadn’t… but will be looking for it soon.

Food?

Yes, they had that too. But since it was late afternoon and I wouldn’t be cooking when we got back, we opted to stay and wait for the dinner menu…

And watched the non stop crabbing…

As well as some tugs escorting a barge through the Cape Cod Canal.

Crab cake appetizer for me….

Butternut squash and apple bisque for the other half.

And as evening rolled around…

Neither one of us managed to get past that night’s specials.

Scallops Spaghettini for me…

Beef tenderloin for the hubs.

Both were superb…. and I cursed the the fact that we hadn’t found this place earlier in our trip.

Replete…

We took a short walk around the harbor.

Enjoyed the sunset.

And the view of that wonderful restaurant lit up in the distance.

Back at the resort condo, the husband was knee deep in the impeachment coverage on MSNBC.

A guaranteed way to kill my buzz…

So I escaped upstairs to my nook overlooking the living room to read….

And (not quite) drunkenly play with my phone.

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Cape Cod Day 5…. P’town in the rain.

January 12, 2020 Rivergirl 23 Comments

Done with our climbing for the day, we explored Provincetown.

In the rain…

From our car.

If I’d had foul weather gear like this fellow…

I might have been more inclined to wander.

P’town is tourist mecca in the summer.

Jam packed with people and bumper to bumper traffic.

On a rainy day in early November?

A veritable ghost town.

Oh well…

At least we didn’t have trouble finding a parking spot for lunch.

At the Squealing Pig.

Good drinks…

Great clams…

What more do you need?

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Cape Cod Day 4. Farewell to Martha’s Vineyard, hello to Bad Martha’s beer. And then some Italian.

January 9, 2020 Rivergirl 36 Comments

While we’d planned on taking the 8:30pm ferry back to Woods Hole…

We arrived early and were put on an earlier freight run.

Yay! Third car on, I figured we’d be the third car off.

I was wrong.

So very wrong…

But it was a gorgeous night for a boat ride.

And for some full moon photography.

Even if some of the shots went a little wonky.

Before we knew it we were pulling into port.

And the doors were opening…

Damn.

Do I take fascinating videos or what?

Naturally, we were almost the last to leave.

But that’s alright, it was a wonderful day and a memorable adventure of a fabulous place.

Next stop?

Beer.

We’d passed this place in Falmouth a few times during our trip and decided that night we’d stop.

Bad Martha’s, a brewery from Edgartown on the Vineyard… from whence we just came, but managed to miss while we were there.

It was a fun space.

Loud and exuberant…. probably like Martha herself.

We did a flight.

And sadly weren’t impressed with the beer, the really uncomfortable metal tractor seats or the small menu. Basically a few pizzas or a cheese plate.

So we moved on to Mashpee and found a great little Italian restaurant.

Cranberry margarita in hand..

We drooled over the menu.

Veal Portofino for me…

(Okay, 2 cranberry margaritas in… I admit the quality of photography tends to decline.)

Chicken Florentine for the husband.

And a classic on the television at the bar.

(I still have my original album, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. Hey Bartender!)

Dessert was a shared Limonatta cream cake. Husband said he didn’t want any and ended up eating 2/3rds of it.

Light as air and positively delicious, how could he not?

One more slightly inebriated photo later…

(It was a nice looking place, you’ll just have to take my word for it.)

Day 4… over and out.

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Cape Cod Day 4, Black Dog Tavern, Vineyard Haven.

January 6, 2020 Rivergirl 33 Comments

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If you live in New England, I can guarantee you’ve seen numerous bumper stickers, t shirts and assorted swag with the ubiquitous black dog silhouette.

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