Tag Archives: travel

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Day 16…. the trip home.

March 22, 2020 Rivergirl 32 Comments

As we were leaving the resort for the 12 hour plus drive home, I found this behind a door.

Clearly the previous tenants vacationed in the coat closet and didn’t want to be disturbed.

And yes, you read that correctly. This will be my last blog about the Williamsburg, Virginia vacation.

To think it only took me 60 posts to get here!

So…. it was a grey overcast morning the day we left.

And I have absolutely no idea what this was.

But here’s the Washington Monument….

And the entrance to a tunnel.

Was my husband obeying the speed limit?

No.

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He never does, but when you’re riding in a rental Brontosaurus and the lanes get smaller due to construction? My blood pressure ruses when he approaches 100 mph.

I also look out the side window a lot.

Although it’s hard to focus properly at that speed.

Playing with my phone helps…

As does laughing at some slightly painful road names.

Here’s the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

And the toll ticket that cut off our George Washington Bridge exit price on the bottom.

For those of you who have never seen the New York City skyline on an overcast day from the New Jersey Turnpike at 90 mph?

Here you go.

Next up was the George Washington Bridge, where I usually close my eyes and pray to the God of Tequila that I’ll live to see another margarita.

Ironically… as soon as I started filming, the husband slowed down. Which is a good thing since the roads were potholed and in horrible shape.

Traffic was a nightmare.

But it always is.

And every time we pass these massive apartment complexes….

I realize how blessed we are to live in the country.

Was this water blowing off the top of that truck?

No. It was smoke, because something was probably on fire. When we crept up next to it and signaled the driver there was a problem?

He flipped us off.

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Ya gotta love New Yorkers.

The rest of the trip was long, traffic laden and uneventful.

We were even too pooped to make our normal pit stop at the tax free New Hampshire liquor store.

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Technically I took a few more…. but still.

Why is sitting in car doing absolutely nothing for 13 hours so damn tiring?

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The last supper….. in Williamsburg.

March 21, 2020 Rivergirl 20 Comments

This is for the food (and drink) people.

An entire post devoted to our final meal in Virginia. (That’s 2 in 3 days so no more complaining!)

(On a side note, it was Bogart day last Sunday and the husband and I did nothing but eat, drink and watch the classics.

The Maltese Falcon. Key Largo. The Caine Mutiny. African Queen. And my all time favorite movie … Casablanca. I cry at the nightclub scene when they drown out the Germans by singing La Marseillaise… every damn time! Good stuff.)

But back to food.

After spending 8 hours in an antique store that day I was in dire need of a cocktail.

Or eight.

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And when I saw a sign for Eddie Romanelli’s?

I may have squealed.

I didn’t think this was a chain, but there was one in Wilmington, North Carolina we used to make a pilgrimage to every other month when we lived down south. Their Crabmeat Cannelloni in Carolina Shrimp Sauce?

To die for.

We sat at a high top in the bar area because of it’s… ya know.

Proximity to the cocktails.

Prickly pear margarita?

Come to mama….

Sadly the crabmeat wasn’t on the menu, but the fresh baked bread with herbed olive oil was wonderful.

As was the Caesar salad.

And the sparkling Tuscan lemonade. Fresh, crisp and quite delightful.

Husband had a juicy charbroiled steak with garlic sauteed spinach…

While I indulged my inner Italian with some pasta…. drenched in garlic Parmesan cream and loaded with grilled chicken, mushrooms and peas.

Were there more cocktails?

Maybe….

And damn that waitress for not clearing them as fast as I could drink them.

I’m going to blame the cocktail consumption for this last picture I took on the way back to the resort….

Because I have no idea what it is…

Or what it was supposed to be….

But trust me, it was fabulous.

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Coulda, woulda, shoulda…….

March 20, 2020 Rivergirl 30 Comments

If if it wasn’t for this nasty Coronavirus:

I could have been spending a nice long weekend here.

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A beautiful and rather expensive resort on the Maine coast.

I would have been walking these vast halls….

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On the way to our timeshare condo (which go for up to $700 a night in the summer, but which I snagged at the bargain basement off season price of $300 for 4 nights as a surprise for the husband’s birthday) ….

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I should have been sitting here…

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Fresh out of the hot tub with a cocktail and an ocean view.

I could have, would have, and should have been doing all of those things. But instead I’m stuck inside the house blogging while hiding from an invisible bug that wants to kill us all.

That’s just wrong.

It’s supposed to be almost 60 degrees today, a rarity for March in Maine.

I could have been walking here :

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The Rockport breakwater, which leads to….

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It’s very own teeny tiny lighthouse.

It’s cute damn it! And I should have been taking photographs for a future blog.

But no.

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I won’t be eating at one of the resort’s 2 restaurants.

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Or having a cocktail at the ice bar.

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Granted, that would probably have been slush by tonight… but still!

I could have, should have, would have been enjoying it all.

But I did the right thing and cancelled the trip so I can social distance, or shelter in place, or avoid the plague…. whatever they’re calling it these days.

But that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.

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Dinner on the waterfront.

March 19, 2020 Rivergirl 41 Comments

This is for all the people who scream about food pictures. An entire blog devoted to a meal.

Though I’m not a fan of oysters….

The York River Oyster Company in Gloucester Point, Virginia seemed like a great spot for dinner.

So we strolled around the marina checking out the boats before heading inside.

It was a little too cold for outdoor seating in December.

So we picked a table with a view.

With a pole right in the middle to ruin any pictures I might want to share.

Yay us.

I started with an Orange Crush which seems to be a very popular cocktail lately.

And then cringed at the thought of anyone wanting red wine in their Mule.

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We started with an appetizer order of simply superb steamed shrimp.

They were perfectly cooked and seasoned and just melted in our mouths.

Cocktail number 2?

An Afternoon Delight.

And I dare you not to have that song stuck in your head all day.

Dinner for me was a crab cake and fried shrimp. The most I can say about them is they were decent. The crab cake could have had more crab and the shrimp were a bit overdone. Which was a shame because the flavor was there.

I don’t know what the husband was thinking with this abomination.

A burger topped with bacon and pulled pork…. for those days when your arteries just feel too clear.

He picked it apart and ate everything separately which probably defeats the purpose, but said it was good.

Dessert was a nice tart Key Lime Pie. Don’t give me those sugary sweet versions. When I order Key Lime? I want my lips to pucker.

Yes, like that.

Night descended while we ate.

And while I’d give the restaurant a solid B minus ……

I have to admit they did have a clever slogan.

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The Lord of Misrule and some happy Christians.

March 18, 2020 Rivergirl 15 Comments

Toward the end of our tour of the Jamestown re-creation settlement, we were startled by a loud noise.

It was the Lord of Misrule and his motley crew.

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Jamestown Re-creation…. the settlement, some rusty tools and a cocktail tease.

March 17, 2020 Rivergirl 9 Comments

The first settlement in America looked something like this.

And I have to admit the buildings were larger than I thought they’d be.

This was the church.

And I swear it’s bigger than the one in my town today.

I loved the thatched roofs on the cottages.

And we enjoyed poking around inside them.

Some of them were simple.

Some a little more grand.

Check out the armor on top of the cupboard.

Nothing like some weaponry over the dining room table to get the gastric juices flowing.

Speaking of that…. there was an armory.

And it doesn’t matter how many times I see these, I still can’t imagine having to wear them into battle. I mean damn, they make my underwire bra look positively comfortable in comparison.

Needless to say the husband was loving all the old tools and farm implements.

Yes dear….

Rusty metal…. I see it.

The last building we checked out was a communal kitchen.

And you know what I found… right?

Wandering at will….

Hoping something would fall off the table.

There were also fake cocktails, which is a rude tease to those of us who happened to be thirsty.

Hell, if these fell off the table they’d bounce.

And that’s not my type of cocktail at all.

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Okay.

Now we’re talkin’….

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Day 14…. The Jamestown Settlement Re-creation. A photography ban, some chickens, and a salty character.

March 16, 2020 Rivergirl 17 Comments

This was the day we explored the Jamestown Settlement which is part museum and part living history re-creation.

The museum section was large….

But immediately pissed me off with the no photography allowed rule. (I took this one just because I’m ornery.)

We’d spent the last 2 weeks visiting museums filled with amazing artifacts and fine art, but this…. fake trees and cheesy dioramas…. was off limits? Go figure.

Okay….

Fast forward to the full immersion cinema we were learning were common in these parts.

Admittedly, when you’re there?

It’s pretty cool.

Especially when the smoke starts rolling along the floor.

Finished with the film, we headed outside.

Past whatever this was.

And into a Native American village.

It was basically the same thing we’d seen at Plymouth Plantation earlier this year.

Except there were no bare chested young Indian men to chat with.

Boo to that.

There were more huts.

And a couple of people making baskets.

And of course, because I find them everywhere…

Chickens.

Aggravated roosters…

And fluffy butted hens.

Next up was the harbor…

And the reconstructed vessels that brought the first settlers from England.

We toured the deck.

The husband chatted up a crew member.

We toured down below.

Where accommodations were small….

And pretty basic.

Unless you were the cook.

Who got his own room.

Of course it was also the kitchen, so there is that.

The husband chatted up another crew member.

And we enjoyed the views.

While marveling at how more than a hundred people could travel together for months on end in these small spaces.

And mind you, we were on the large ship.

The whole time were touring?

There was a soundtrack….

He was quite a character.

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Portraits continued…. funky hair, warts and finally, food.

March 15, 2020 Rivergirl 21 Comments

Crossing back over to the DeWitt side of the museum, things got a bit more formal.

And a trifle bizarre.

I think a little 18th Century photoshopping was in order here.

Okay then.

I saw the portrait of the gentleman on the left and thought, “What’s with the hair?”

And apparently I wasn’t the only one who asked.

It was an extensive gallery.

And according to George…. will be even more extensive soon.

Another sad statement of the times.

This couple struck me as a little odd.

Is it me or does the wife’s right arm look a wee bit…. off? As in, did the creepy husband chop it off and line it back up for the portrait?

We’ll never know.

At the far end of the gallery there was a video that was oddly mesmerizing.

And then on the way out there was a chair, which I forgot to photograph.

But George didn’t like it.

Chairs that were no good for sitting.

Excellent.

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Through with the museum, we realized we’d not only skipped lunch but were now ready for dinner.

When I asked the husband what he was in the mood for, he said anything… so I picked a well reviewed barbecue restaurant in Williamsburg.

And the husband didn’t like it from the minute we stepped through the door.

Why?

Who knows.

They brought us yummy cornbread to munch while we looked at the menu.

Which he also didn’t like.

Pulled pork sundae? Come on… what’s wrong with that!

I managed to talk him into staying for appetizers.

So he had a chili he didn’t like either.

I went with some spicy steamed shrimp.

And while the rest of the customers were enjoying large platters of succulent looking food, he told me to pick another place because all they had on the menu was barbecue.

Gee. Who woulda thunk it?

People always think I’m the picky one, but when it comes to eating out my husband will drive you to drink.

Which in my case isn’t necessarily a negative…. but still.

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The second restaurant that night was Italian.

Everyone raved about Sal’s, so I figured, why not?

He couldn’t complain about the menu being small.

It went on for multiple pages.

The garlic knots were perfect.

(Okay, I ate 4. Don’t judge.)

The salads were fresh and tasty.

My veal Marsala was tender, perfectly cooked and filled with wine soaked mushrooms.

He certainly couldn’t complain his chicken parmigiana was a small portion.

Good God, it was huge.

But you know what? He didn’t like this place either.

And heck, I’m the one who should have been complaining….there were no cocktails!

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A study in portraiture, some funky hairdos and a watermelon on wheels.

March 14, 2020 Rivergirl 17 Comments

The portrait gallery was large…. and filled with strange and marvelous things.

Can’t say I’d enjoy having her as a Mother in Law.

They are smiling?

Perhaps the weight of that elaborate hair is pulling their lips down.

Oh my.

They say all babies are cute, but I beg to differ.

This is a girl.

And this is a boy.

No, I haven’t had too many margaritas.

It was explained to me that folk art paintings of little girls have cats… and folk art paintings of little boys have dogs. The hoop is also a boy’s toy, never played with by girls.