Glorious day biking, kayaking, hanging out with old friends from Des Moines and Ithaca. I’ve loved Connecticut since my mid-20s when I worked briefly at the Stamford Advocate (newspaper) in the mid-1980s. (I couldn’t afford to stay, professionally or financially.)
On a muggy morning, we biked around Pawson Park, a pretty, narrow peninsula between the Branford River and Long Island Sound, with the Thimble islands in the distance, with red cedar shingled cottages and bright purple hydrangeas in the foreground. Later, we kayaked in the still water, past large shoreline homes, large rocks in the water, the occasional motorboat, the occasional barge in the distant haze.
Dinner tonight was BLTs from The Shanty, a food truck, eaten overlooking the Sound and The Thimbles at the graceful OwenegoBeach club, circa 1847, a lovely sprawling, white wooden building, with a lush green lawn leading down to gardens and a swimming area with white rafts in the seawater. It’s a refreshingly unpretentious and welcoming for a private club. Nonmembers welcome after 5 pm and the Inn offers sweet, affordable rooms for a short stay. see: https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=owenego&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5)
And then came summer. Or close. In the three days we’ve been here the temperature went from blustery 40s to balmy 70s. Today was perfect for a lot of walking south to the Italian market which is actually several blocks along 9th street lined with old food shops and fruit markets.
Italian market
We visited several including diBruno Brothers house of cheese, whose large selection spanned cheese from Francine and Russ’s London (Neal’s yard) to Myra’s beloved finger lakes (Cayuga blue cheese from Lively Run creamery near Seneca Lake.)
Cheesesteak
We had gooey chewy meaty Philly cheese steaks at Angelo’s. I could eat only half of mine, which in of itself was enormous. We ate outside at a picnic table in an open lot provided by Di Bruno brothers.
Bok building view
The Bok building is an enormous former technical high school, art deco, turned into makers and artists studios and some shops, pricey sandals make out of old Kilims. That sort of thing. There’s a club at the top with an amazing deck overlooking the city. Dinner was Filipino at Tabachoy, which we all decided was a little too odd for our tastes. It makes me question again the NYTimes annual list of innovative restaurants. Maybe a little too innovative for my tastes.
breakfast on out last morning was at the lovely Parc, which resembles a French bistro, overlooking Rittenhouse Square. our London pals checked into the Alexander Inn, an old world, well-located place that was a reasonable $165. Next trip:Washington Square. Elspeth place, walk along the river, old prison. But as is, we feel like we got a good feel for this historic old city that is my grandfathers hometown.
We are staying at a great Airbnb on Otis and Holmead in Columbia Heights a few streets north of where Noah lived for several years. The neighborhood is still slowly gentrifying – our snazzy airbnb is one sign, an old brick storefront (we’re guessing) that is now a vertical townhouse with blond wood floors and contemporary furniture and a spacious rooftop deck where I’m lounging on a couch.
The Londoners…and Chicagoan
Dinner was nearby at Trip Khao, a Laotian restaurant. very good. Today Francine and I took the bus to near DuPont circle and the weather was so lovely that we got sandwiches at Call your mother deli and sat in Adirondack chairs around the fountain. perfect dining Al fresco spot.
Going girly
Francine and I got our pre wedding manicure at allure Nails, I lost it briefly at the rehearsal, had excellent pork asada for rehearsal dinner at Mi Cuba and drinks/roast by the couple’s friends at The coupe, where the mashup of people from various chapters of Noah’s life (and mine) was a dizzying treat.
My baby boy is getting married.
We returned to the coupe on a rainy Saturday for brunch and the place was packed. Nice upscale independent market Odd Provisions a few blocks south on 11th for a baguette. The wedding was at the Josephine Butler House, pretty old mansion and worked well for lovely wedding. The day after brush was at the Georgetown Marriott which isn’t really in Georgetown and then a treat – post wedding lunch with the groom/ husband at the duck and the peach in Capitol Hill neighborhood.
On a lovely Saturday morning, with bright blue sky, sunshine, temperatures in the low 70s, we visited Wakodahatchee Wetlands, a natural oasis hidden among huge condo developments. We walked along a boardwalk that looped around wetlands with amazing wildlife, lots of birds – storks,egrets, herons ducks – and spooky looking orange iguanas and green iguanas. Saw a few turtles but no alligators. Although we were told they’re around.
In downtown Delray Beach we ate at LuLu’s, a lively spot with a great streetside outdoor patio and good breakfast and lunch fare, browsed at a farmers market and a few galleries, shared some excellent frozen custard at Whits, and now here we are at the Fort Lauderdale airport, which is very quiet on a Saturday night. Heading back to Chicago and winter after a welcome respite. Thanks Aunt Shelb! 😘
Many traffic jams to, across, and from Miami which did not surprise us. First stop, a little hip oasis with shops and restaurants surrounding a huge decorated banyan tree, with a few thatched roof huts to boot, in an otherwise inner city neighborhood. It’s called Upper Buena vista. Good coffee place and Turkish restaurant.
Upper buena vista
On to Wynwood walls, a large urban art installation that seems to have spread out in every direction since we last visited seven years ago. More buildings covered in graffiti, more shops and restaurants, more South American touches. I don’t remember having to pay to see the original murals/walls, which we skipped. But so many old warehouse looking buildings and new sleek modern buildings have graffiti murals.
Smoke & DoughWynnwood walls
We drove way west for over an hour in traffic to Smoke & Dough, a bbq place that was one of only three Florida restaurants on a list in the nytimes 53 “exciting” restaurants for 2023. It turned out to be in a nondescript strip mall, which was affordable for the young entrepreneurial couple that opened the place. We tried a little of everything. Excellent – ribs, brisket, pulled pork, sausage made with a cheese, corned bread, fries, coleslaw. No weak item and the flan, with a slightly smoky taste was deliciously rich and creamy. We got a few empanadas from the “dough” part of the little restaurant to take back to aunt Shelby’s. The mushroom one was particularly good. They were also making some sort of Venezuelan (I think) bread pudding that looked interesting. I love the South American vibe in Miami!
Upper buena vista
Our last stop was the Miami beach north of south beach called Surfside. (Yes, it’s the place where there was a tragic collapse of a high rise last year that killed many people.) The beach was gorgeous. And it had a Hasidic crowd, as it turned out.
As winter weary Chicagoans, we are getting a welcome dose of sunshine, Palm trees, manicured green lawns and golf courses, blue sky, and mild temps (low 70s) here in southern Florida visiting my wonderful self-chosen aunt! Dinner was pleasant at J. Alexander’s, which was packed on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. Good grilled artichoke, cheeseburger, salad with crispy chicken, and key lime pie.
Dune patio
Today, we had a lovely lunch on the back patio overlooking the beach and ocean at DUNE in Fort Lauderdale – good poke salad and flat breads and sushi. Good service. I saw another side of the spring break crazy Fort Lauderdale, quiet and classy.
Atlantic Dunes State Park, Delray Beach
This evening we drove along the Oceanside highway A1A past astonishingly nouveau Spanish and Italianate mansions, chockablock, blocking the waterfront view, that looked like knockoffs of the Versace mansion in South Beach but we managed to find a Atlantic dunes state park that offered the rest of us access. We could park on the west side of the highway and then cross the highway and walk through a woods along a boardwalk to a gorgeous stretch of sandy white beach that was largely empty at dusk. The water was surprisingly warm and the waves tame, certainly compared to our last Atlantic visit in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Dinner was fun, sitting at a high top table at Kapow! a design-heavy noodle bar with a fun, funky vibe, lots of colorful graffiti/anime graphics. The food was good inventive and traditional Asian – pad Thai, waygu beef potstickers, charred edamame in a tamari-based sauce. kapow! Its among several restaurants in Mizner Plaza, a high end outdoor shopping mall in downtown Boca Raton. A later dinner at a cozy Italian place called Dorsia was also good.
First two days here are for work so had some lunch meeting dining. Good crab cakes at Row 34 (and ridiculously expensive parking – $42 for day) in Fort Point area, seaside in Boston with lots of glittering high glass and steel buildings (Including the contemporary art museum.) Flour bakery is a great lunch and coffee spot near my publisher’s office on Farnsworth.
Harvard square installation 🥲
Finn for seafood in Salem. Lunch today at Toscano in Cambridge – good pasta and thin crust pizza near Radcliffe’s Schlesinger library where I had a great morning looking at old diaries including one written on toilet paper. Single ply! Also went to an excellent craft gallery: Cambridge Artists Cooperative. And saw a sobering tribute to the people kidnapped in Israel.
There is nothing like old friends and it was a particularly wonderful treat to see old friends Art and Nell after some very trying times. On a warm fall day we wandered around several lovely towns along the coast north of Boston on Cape Ann (Gloucester/Rockport), soaking in the scenery and catching up after over two years apart.
Rockport
We started at a little coffee shop in Gloucester, which seemed a tad less touristy than Rockport, but both are on breathtaking spots on the ocean. We splurged on a lobster roll (hot, buttered) at the Fish shack in Rockport, which has big picture windows overlooking the water and walked on the big rocks that form a walkway into the water. Lots of art galleries, old Yankee monuments and wood frame shingled homes.
In Marblehead, my favorite, we walked down narrow streets lined with multi colored (powder blue, navy blue, mustard yellow, rust red, Forest green) wood shuttered and shingled homes from the 1600s to the 1800s with historic plaques telling us who lived here and there (yeoman et. Al.). Our friends found a charming inn in historic Marblehead (Harbor Light) with an outdoor veranda overlooking the small garden and pool. (They also found a good is place in Gloucester: Ocean House Hotel at Bass Rocks.
RockportRockport
Harbor Light was a Great place for an evening drink, admiring the sky and stars. The occasional flight heading to or from Logan, I gather. We had a good dinner at the popular Five Corners Kitchen in Marblehead.
Gorgeous fall weather here in Burlington where we are visiting my cousin who lives in the “new north end” by the shoreline of Lake Champlain, with spectacular views, a sandy beach you get to though a staircase in the woods, and a shady greenbelt bike path that unfortunately we didn’t have time to ride. Next trip.
Lake Champlain
We visited some fun hipster drinking spots including St. John’s Club, a private drinking spot, with a back lawn overlooking the lake, and dinner at Burlington Brewery (burgers, salads, a Mexican stew). Breakfast was Montreal-style bagels (chewier than US style) at Myer’s, including good breakfast sandwiches (ex: scrambled eggs, cheddar, sausage). It’s in a former warehouse district along the water that’s turned into arty shops and restaurants.
About a half hour east in the hamlet of Duxbury, tucked into the tree-carpeted hills is Moose Meadow Lodge, run by family friends. It’s a sophisticated but cozy contemporary log-made lodge high on a wooded hilltop with amazing views and rooms with handmade, one-of a-kind bent twig furniture, petrified wood sinks, and decorated with weathered snowshoes, ancient sleds and taxidermies mounted on the walls. Even the refrigerator and dishwasher are camouflaged in birchbark and bent twigs. Behind the lodge is the treehouse, a dreamy two stories, electrified with a fabulous outdoor bathroom/shower in the woods overlooking a gentle pond.
At Leunig’s A Moose Meadow viewWaitsfield, VTDuxbury
In nearby Waterbury, we had excellent nachos with chunks of barbecued brisket and Vermont cheddar on the dog friendly patio of Prohibiton Pig Brewery, aka Pro Pig. In the sweet smaller town of Wainsfield, we visited the covered bridge, the Vermont Artisans Store (the art and crafts here are good quality but pricey) and a little outdoor cafe, The Sweet Spot, in a pretty rock garden beside a sun-dappled stream flowing under the covered bridge. Classic Vermont. The leaves are starting to change, with a few reds and oranges and purples. In another week or so, they should be a full spectacle. We didn’t have time to visit another small town, Warren. Next trip!
Dinner with old friends who live in Burlington was fun at Leunig’s, an old fashioned “Burlington institution” specializing in steak frites and beef Bourgignon. As we were walking there, along the pedestrian mall I spotted a local celebrity…”Mrs. Bernie” (Bernie Sanders’ wife Jane.)
Amazing weather again! Perfect for walking along the pristine beach at Hunting island State Park, looking for shells in the surf, watching the fishermen with their poles stuck into the sand and the pelicans dive bombing into the water. Dirck found a perfect sand dollar! Behind the long expanse of soft tan sand, there’s a dense forest of sea pines.
Lunch was on the back deck of the Foolish Frog overlooking a marsh — shrimp poboy, fried oysters, seafood bisque, bottomless lemonade. The country road to the beach is dotted with farm stands and seafood markets. We stopped at one to buy shrimp for dinner.
We went to Penn Center, part of the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, in Saint Helena Island’s Corners Community where we learned about the struggles of former slaves after the Civil War and the work of two white women from Pennsylvania (hence the name) who came to the Sea Islands in 1862 to provide education to the children of “formerly enslaved people” (the correct terminology these days) at what was called the Penn School. The school survived the Jim Crow-years, when the advances of the reconstruction stalled, and became an organizing spot during the civil rights movement during the 1950s and 60s. Today, it’s a quiet place, with huge live oaks scattered on a long lawn on either side of a country road and old white buildings in various states of repair/disrepair. Martin Luther King Jr. liked to visit and reportedly wrote several of his most stirring speeches here and hoped to retire in this peaceful place.
A young tour guide showed us around the property and talked about life during reconstruction and the Gullah-Geechee community, who are descendants of African people who were enslaved, with a distinct language, culture, cuisine and folk art, which we saw at a nearby gallery with colorful flat folk art paintings. The community remains along the coast from Wilmington, N.C. To St. Augustine, Fla.
In Beaufort, we went to another history center that shared the story of Robert Smalls, a local civil war hero for the Union side. In 1862 Smalls, a black man, piloted a ship out to Charleston harbor and delivered it to the US military. He used his cash reward to buy a house in Beaufort (the first to hold a secession meeting). He later became a 5-term US Congressman.
At Penn Center
In the late afternoon, our host Laurie zipped me over to the gorgeous pool in her golf cart (dirck rode in the car with our other host Brian) for a brief swim and soak in the sun. in the evening we rode the golf cart to a perfect spot to watch the sun set and watch dolphins frolicking in the distance.
TakeBetsywithyou 