Category: Trips

Top 5 Memories of 2015

On By careofmonIn Lifestyle, TripsLeave a comment

I can’t believe that 2015 is coming to a close. In some ways, its really no big deal, I just have to remember to write ’16’ when I write out the date. I mean, how do you measure a year? Reminds me of that song from Rent…

Here are my top 5 memories from 2015!

5. Cape Cod getaway- One of my good friends has family on the cape with room to spare, so we headed down on a Wednesday night in August and stayed until Friday. It was so nice to be there during the week, and we managed to do all of our favorite things in that time! We went out to the Woodshed, got lobster rolls at Sesuit Harbor, hung out at the beach, took out our friend’s boat and did some ocean wakeboarding, saw a whale out in the bay, and did some shopping in Chatham.

IMG_0738

4. Memorial Day Trip to Isle of Palms/Charleston- The fiancé, me, and 9 friends rented a house in Isle of Palms for Memorial Day weekend. We were right on the beach, went out in Charleston, and just had the best time goofing around the house. We played an epic country song drinking game, went to a rooftop bar with a pool, and made great memories.

IMG_0369

3. Las Vegas Trip for one of my best friend’s bachelorette and her amazing wedding at the barn where I ride. Two extremely happy weekends with my favorite girls from the barn. We always have such a good time together.

The centerpieces were beautiful fresh flowers in horse show trophy cups. Metallic sandals were the bridesmaid shoe of choice- here are some of our Jack Rogers taking a break while we danced!

2. Hiking Mt. Washington in March- This year I hiked 22 4000 footers in NH!! We headed up Mt. Washington on a really nice March day. There was no wind, which is crazy for Mt. Washington. It was an amazing hike, a hard hike. Hiking in that area, you always look for Mt. Washington from all the other summits. Finally climbing the summit that I had admired for so long, it was amazing.

IMG_0162

1. Getting engaged on the summit of Mt. Madison- ahhhh how to even put this day into words. My fiances favorite summit is Mt. Madison because you pop out of the woods to the most amazing views of the White Mountains. He asked me to spend the rest of my life with him and I said yes. Annnnd then we had to hike over to Mt. Adams, and hike down. It was  quite a day! Still so happy just thinking about it.

P1030123

I hope that you all have a great New Year’s Eve planned, whether its a party or snuggling up on the couch. Thank you to everyone who has followed along this year, I hope that you continue this journey with me into 2016!

Signature 2

 

Some historic homes in Newbury/Newburyport & beer sampling!

On By careofmonIn Lifestyle, TripsLeave a comment

This past weekend I played some beginner polo at Stage Hill Polo in Newbury, MA and afterwards did a bit of driving around/wandering admiring all the beautiful historic homes. There are so many gorgeous federal style homes in the area.

One really amazing home that was on my list of places to see was the Spencer-Pierce-Little farm in Newbury. It was built in 1690 which makes it 325 years old. If walls could talk huh? The building is actually a seventeenth century manor house with a farmhouse attached.  A family actually lived in the farmhouse through the 20th century. The manor house is really a remnant of a time when Newburyport was home to very wealthy merchants that profited from the trade coming in and out of the area. Now, it is a national landmark that does tours and educational outreach. They also have goats, donkeys, pigs, and I think I saw some sheep and a horse too. The animals are all from the MSPCA at Nevins Farm which is awesome. You don’t really get to see this style of home very often in Massachusetts, it struck me as something out of the English countryside, something out of one of my favorite Jane Austen novels.

Spencer-Pierce-Little Farm
Spencer-Pierce-Little Farm
The 17th century manor portion
The 17th century manor portion
Farmhouse attached
Farmhouse attached
Front door of the manor portion of the building
Front door of the manor portion of the building

IMG_1979

The other home that I stopped at was the Caleb Cushing house in Newburyport built in 1808. It’s a gorgeous 4 story brick federal style mansion. So pretty, it has 4 chimneys for the multiple hearths/fireplaces we see in federal style homes. The windows are arranged symmetrically and there is a very nice little fanlight above the main entrance. The home once belonged to Caleb Cushing, a US Congressman from MA and the Attorney General under Franklin Pierce. Now the Historical Society of Old Newbury is housed in the beautiful mansion. Sadly, there’s power or phone lines right on the corner of the street that the house is on…..couldn’t they have considered the aesthetic of the future views of the home when they wired the area? 🙂 Anyway, this checks off a couple places on my list. I probably could have spent a couple days wandering around these two towns admiring all the homes.

IMG_1992 IMG_1982 IMG_1983 IMG_1985

From there, my fiance, Jon, and I headed over to Nashua/Amherst NH area to shop for wedding bands and grab some food & drinks at Martha’s Exchange (careful hashtagging this one as it can look like Martha Sex Change). We tried all 8 of the beers that they offer, and they were all really good. My favorite was the Volstead. We swung up to Able Ebenezer’s ale room (no food) after and tried their beers…..I’ll be honest, Martha’s had better beers in my opinion. Martha’s also had awesome food and a candy/sweets counter to visit on your way out, delicious truffles.

Sampler at Martha's Exchange
Sampler at Martha’s Exchange
Sampler at Able Ebenezer's, my favorite was the Auburn, all the way to the left
Sampler at Able Ebenezer’s, my favorite was the Auburn, all the way to the left

My fiance and I are getting married this spring and then we will be house hunting. Part of me wants the old historic home because I admire them so much, but I also know they are a ton of work! More posts to come on Stage Hill Polo & my lovely Sunday at Equine Affaire out in Springfield! Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Signature 2

 

Head of the Charles Recap from Sunday

On By careofmonIn Lifestyle, Trips1 Comment

In my experience, fall head racing is full of amazing rows in gorgeous scenery AND some really cold windy days. I started rowing the summer before my senior year of high school, and rowed in the Head of the Charles my junior and senior year of college. I volunteered at the regatta 4 years, three before the year I rowed in it, and one the year after I graduated from college. The swag for the volunteers has really improved. When I was volunteering, Charles Schwab was the big sponsor and we got long sleeve shirts, and then Nautica took over and we had fleece zip ups. Now that BNY Mellon & Brooks Brothers runs the show, the volunteer jackets are awesome soft shell fleeces. I gotta volunteer next year.

We had a bunch of former and current WPI rowers to watch. There were alumni in the master’s singles races, the Director Challenge quad races, an alumni mens 8, and then the current varsity mens in the collegiate 8. The women’s team didn’t send a boat…..I guess they are going through some restructuring, getting back to basics, and are just focusing on the spring. Kinda sad though because I remember how big a deal the Charles was. I would have been bummed to miss out.

It was really cold and windy on Sunday. My essentials for survival are below:

Barbour Jacket, crew fleece ear warmers,LLBean Flannel & Boot Socks, Woolover cashmere/cotton crewneck sweater, bean boots, & LLBean thermos
Barbour Jacket, crew fleece ear warmers,LLBean Flannel & Boot Socks, Woolover cashmere/cotton crewneck sweater, bean boots, & LLBean thermos

My Barbour was amazing at protecting me from the wind, and we filled that thermos with tomato soup, which was a life saver. It also saved us from buying clam chowder for $10, eek!

I did stop by the Brooks Brothers tent to check it out. The KJP team was there hand painting your choice of oar blade design on leather bracelets. They were cute, but I really want a painted oar bracelet custom made with the oar blade design. It might be possible, I will probably be looking into this for a Christmas/bday gift 🙂 They were all super nice just in case you follow them on instagram and have always wondered what they were like IRL. They also loved Mizpah, who doesn’t though?

In front of the Brooks Brothers tent with Mizpah. Nice single behind me huh? One of a kind!
In front of the Brooks Brothers tent with Mizpah. Nice single behind me huh? One of a kind!

Going to rowing events make me miss rowing so much. The excitement of rowing to the start, the togetherness of the struggle through the race to the finish, and then the camaraderie after the race. Its just something you can’t replicate. We hung out with some of our former coaches, got to see some alumni, and blasted the heat in the car pretty much all the way home to warm up! Here are some more pics from the day!

Harvard's Newell Boathouse...we tried to stop here once for a bathroom break and their sprinklers to keep the geese away turned on!!
Harvard’s Weld Boathouse…we tried to stop either here or the Newell once for a bathroom break and their sprinklers to keep the geese away turned on!!
Me and Miz hangin out
Me and Miz hangin out
View of Northeastern's Henderson boathouse
View of Northeastern’s Henderson boathouse, pretty much at the finish.
Henderson Boathouse, where I learned to row in 2001, and where WPI has the privilege of launching every year
Henderson Boathouse, where I learned to row in 2001, and where WPI has the privilege of launching every year
LLBean everywhere....and Miz chewing a bully stick
LLBean everywhere….and Miz chewing a bully stick
view of the Eliot Bridge, last bridge before the finish...lots of collisions here
view of the Eliot Bridge, last bridge before the finish…lots of collisions here

We did end up paying $20 to park in the Harvard Stadium lot. Without the dog, we would have parked at Alewife and taken the T in, but I don’t know how Mizpah would do with that. We brought sandwiches, water, and the tomato soup in the thermos, so we didn’t buy any food, which was awesome. It was awesome to go support alums, reminisce about past years, and hang out with some awesome crew people. If you are ever in the Boston area for this weekend, I can’t recommend coming out to the river enough. Layers though….warm layers ha. The two years I got to row in it were both choppy, cold days. One year it was so bad, they shortened the course to stay out of the choppy basin. My fiancé asked me if I would have wanted to row in the cold yesterday, and I think the answer is yes, with the cold weather and all. I hope everyone got to do some fun fall activities wherever they were this past weekend!

Signature 2

 

Down the Cape: Wellfleet Oysterfest 2015

On By careofmonIn Lifestyle, TripsLeave a comment

I love Cape Cod and get down there every chance I can get! During the summer, I wouldn’t really ever do a day trip because of the traffic, so I am super fortunate to have some friends with houses down there. In October though? No traffic. Saturday we breezed on into Dennis, and carpooled with friends over to Wellfleet. We were really lucky and got a free parking spot with this view……

View from our parking spot #capecodlove
View from our parking spot #capecodlove

….and then we caught a shuttle to the action!! It was warm for October on Saturday, high 50s and sunny. I wore my J Crew Factory navy vest, a Woolovers cashmere/merino cable sweater, and a button down with jeans and sperrys. My best friend wore a cream Irish knit sweater and an Emily Bond Barbour jacket. It has a beautiful equestrian scene like wallpaper on the lining. Her friend got it in the UK for really cheap, some girls have all the luck 😉 She also wore her Dubarry Galways in walnut. This two outfits basically encompass what everyone wore to this!! It was really funny, so many quilted vests and Barbours.

Cheesin in front of Winslows
Cheesin in front of Winslows

This festival is put together every year by SPAT, an organization that promotes sustainable enjoyment of Wellfleet’s aquaculture. There were definitely some craft/jewelry tents there, but for many of us, it was all about the food and drink! We had clam chowder, lobster bisque, fried dough, french fries for food…..and then we had beer, wine, and hard root beer from the alcohol tent. There was seafood, sausages with peppers, pulled pork, chewers and bisques, lobster rolls….just everything. OH and there were oysters ha. The line for oysters was kinda crazy so unfortunately we filled up on other stuff while we were waiting for it to die down, oops! We did get oysters later at Chapins though, one of my faves in Dennis. It was so dead there compared to the summer, it was like being in a different restaurant ha.

The whole day there was an oyster shucking tournament going on up on a stage set up, some really fast shuckers!!! It was such a fun day, but very crowded. You have to go in there with the mindset that finding people is hard, waiting in lines in a given, and you will more than once turn around and start talking to someone who isn’t friend because the crowd is nuts haha.

All in all, it was an amazing day! They don’t allow dogs at the festival, so we left around 6 to get home to Mizpah and get ready for the Head of the Charles on Sunday. I would have loved to have stayed over the night, I am sure the crowd at the Woodshed was crazy!!

We definitely spent some dollars on food and beers, but it wasn’t too bad. Tickets for entry to the festival are $5 which goes to SPAT, and then we got free parking. Gas of course has to figure in, but we drive just as far to go hike for a day as we did to get to the cape and back, so its not crazy for us at all. Tomorrow I will post about my lovely but cold Sunday at the HOCR!!! Made it through Monday everyone, woo!

Signature 2