A few days in Newport

January 5, 2016December 29, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

B and I just got back from a few days in Newport! After Christmas, B had planned a short trip for us to spend some time on a trip to Newport, Rhode Island. It was a perfect few days to relax, site-see, get in some good food (hooray for fresh seafood!) and a ton of walking.

Newport is a really really cute seaside town with some cute shops, historic spots and a lot to do within walking distance. B and I arrived on the 26^th, parked our car, and didn’t get back in it until we left a few days later – it was so great to walk everywhere!

Some of the things we did in Newport included:

Going for a run. Of course. We got in a 5.5 mile run around the downtown and surrounding areas the first day when it was 50 degrees. We took in the Cliff Walk and some of the historic houses along the way.

running selfie

Tasting all the seafood and chowders possible. Rhode Island clam chowder has a clear broth – which I prefer – but of course I had to sample that and some oyster chowder. And crab. And this seafood stew with garlic bread.

seafood stew crab and oyster chowder

Taking in the oldest pub in the U.S. – the White Horse Tavern! We stopped there for drinks and snacks one afternoon.

white horse tavern

Enjoying the nautical scenery. Our hotel room had a deck that overlooked the water.

boat

view from hotel balcony

And we checked out the Cliff Walk, which had great views of the ocean.

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Viewing some amazing old mansions. In one day, we visited Marble House, The Breakers and Rosecliff. They were all incredible – huge, and some preserved so that we could get a sense of what they looked like in the 1900s. AND since it was the holiday season, the houses were decorated with amazing holiday décor. Marble House had a different decorated Christmas tree in nearly every room (and there were a lot of rooms!)!

breakers selfie marble house inside marble house melissa and breakers brian and the breakers rosecliff selfie

Walking around downtown, checking out local places to eat and of course grab coffee and tea.

walking around historic newport

It was a great trip – a wonderful way to spend a few days after the holidays with B and me before back to reality. It’s hard to believe that last year at this time we were in Hong Kong, just starting our Asian vacation!

Some questions for you:

Have you ever been to Newport?
How do you like your clam chowder – Manhattan style, New England or Rhode Island? (or do you not know the difference:))

Weekend in NY

December 14, 2015December 14, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 7 Comments

Happy middle of December! It hardly feels like that right now because it is so warm! This weekend B and I were in NYC to celebrate my dad’s birthday, and it was nearly 70 degrees. That’s right, 70 degrees on December 13! I can’t complain, though- it made for an even better weekend in the city.

B and I got in Friday night and met up with my BFF Jane who lives in Brooklyn. The plan was actually to surprise my dad with a birthday dinner Saturday night with family. He had no idea that we were coming in, and had no idea about the family dinner planned. I can’t believe we pulled off the surprise!

Jane and me and Mexican food and beers. Yum!

So, Saturday, Jane and I mostly hung out around the city and met up with some of her friends. It was also a warm day and we checked out some holiday markets downtown.

super crowded markets

amazing cauliflower bahn mi for lunch

Saturday night, it was surprise time! We got to the restaurant 30 minutes before my parents and brother and waited… I was nervous! Surprises make me anxious. Luckily, all family and friends arrived on time and when my dad showed up he was so surprised!

Dad and me at dinner

My brother and cousins

B and me

Sunday, B and I had a late flight back to Cleveland, so we were luckily able to meet up with my family again. We met up for a tour of One World Trade Center, which is now an observatory above the city. There were great views of the city all around us! We then grabbed a late lunch before it was off to the airport.

amazing views

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The trip was great. Even though it was short (and we didn’t get in any runs), I got to see Jane AND my family. I hadn’t seen my family in months, and my extended family in nearly a year. And I can’t believe I’ll be seeing some of them again in a few weeks for the holidays! I feel so lucky I got to celebrate my dad’s birthday and am looking forward to seeing everyone again soon. Now, to survive a short week!

Linking up today with Erin for my weekend snapshot post, Katie for MIMM and the weekly wraps.

Some questions for you:

How often do you see your family?
Are you traveling for the holidays?

A Weekend in Dallas

November 10, 2015November 9, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 4 Comments

B and I just got back from a quick weekend in Dallas. Our friend from B’s law school class, Jared, moved to Dallas several years ago and since B and I had never been, had planned to get in a quick trip before the winter. It was a weekend full of lots of food, some sightseeing, a little walking and some football.

Some of the highlights included:

Feasting on Mexican and Tex Mex. We started off our weekend Friday night with some delicious tacos and ended up getting Tex Mex for brunch at Pepe and Mitos on Sunday.

first meal in Dallas!

breakfast tacos. YUM.

jared and brian and their mexican food

Seeing Dealey Plaza and taking a trip to the Sixth Floor Museum. I’m not always a museum fan, but I really enjoyed the Sixth Floor Museum. It was somewhat surreal to see the place where JFK was shot and actually stand from the window where the trigger was pulled.

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More food. We of course had to get some barbecue while in Dallas, and B and I got a pound of beef brisket that we split between the two of us. Let’s just say I’ve had enough beef and barbecue for a while. Lockhart Smokehouse was legit.

ready to eat!

All of the meat.

Walking around downtown and a few of Dallas’s neighboring areas. Did you know there’s a giant eye downtown? It’s not far from the original Nieman Marcus.

if you know me, you know what i had to take this picture…

We even went for a run one morning.B and I got in 6 slow (still getting over my cold) miles to a nearby park and lake.

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We also got to go to a Cowboys game. Wow. I’ve been to NFL games before living in Cleveland, but the Cowboys games are quite the experience. The stadium is simply huge! We were able to tailgate before the game and then enjoy some Sunday night football.

pre-game tailgate

The game! It went into overtime.

And that pretty much wrapped up our quick weekend in Dallas.

Some questions for you:

Have you ever been to Dallas?
What’s your favorite Mexican dish?
How do you like your bbq – sweet or smoky?

Girls Weekend in New Orleans

October 26, 2015October 25, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

Last weekend I was lucky enough to spend some time with some of my best friends in the entire world – Jane, Melgar and Alisa. The four of us became friends in junior high, which means we’ve been friends now for 17+ years. It boggles my mind that I’ve known them for so long.

Friends for 17 years! This was approximately 12 years ago …

The four of us haven’t been together since Melgar’s wedding 2 years ago, and it was SO GREAT to be together in such a fun city. We stayed together in a cute hotel in the French Quarter and had no set itinerary for our time there – just to have fun, eat good food, and celebrate our friendship.

Some highlights from our weekend included:

Eating tons of beignets at Café Du Monde. I may have gone there three times during our trip.

cafe dumond2

cafe dumond

Checking out the Garden District and stalking doing an informal walking tour of the beautiful homes.

this house had a corn fence!

Going out on Bourbon Street and Frenchmen Street (yay for no open container laws!)

Out on Frenchmen Street

Bourbon Street before it gets crazy later

Hearing the famous Preservation Hall Jazz Band at the Preservation Hall

I didn’t take this video, but it gives you a good sense of what we saw and how amazing they are:

Going for a run with Alisa and catching part of the humongous Halloween parade

sweatie selfie!

Going out to eat and getting some Creole food at the Gumbo Shop… and non-Creole food at Shaya

gumbo shop jane alisa shaya with jane

Just walking around and exploring the old streets and interesting scenery. Honestly, we could’ve done NOTHING and I would’ve been happy – I love these girls so much.

fountain

cute hotel

What a great trip! It was so wonderful to see my friends and as always, we were able to pick up and start again without missing a beat. I’m so lucky to have these ladies in my life!

Some questions for you:

Do you still stay in touch with any of your high school or junior high friends?
Have you ever been to New Orleans? What did you think?
Where should the four of us go on our next trip?

Linking up today for a weekend update/marvelous monday recap with with Katie and Erin!

Not Quite Camping

August 31, 2015August 31, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

For the last “official” weekend of summer (oh no!!), B and I went camping. Well, not really. We rented a house in the wilderness (40 acres of land!) with 2 other couples (plus a dog and an almost-2-year-old). We had gone camping with them a few years ago, and decided to keep the tradition alive – this time, with a large house. In West Virginia.

Here it is!

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Some photo highlights from the weekend: (linking up with Her Heartland Soul)

Friday night dinner – made by B and me (marinated flank steak, grilled veggies and a corn/bean/tomato/avocado salad) and dessert (custard bars with a fruit compote)

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Roasting marshmallows by the fire (See, it’s like camping!)

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Hiking around the surrounding area – including a river and some waterfalls

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The rocks and lake (we weren’t supposed to swim in it)

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Girls

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Boys

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The whole group

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4 random facts from the weekend:

The Tygart Lake Dam is not open to the general public.

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You can’t go swimming in Tygart Lake after August 27. So we put on our bathing suits and went to go swimming but we couldn’t. (So instead we went for a “hike” down to the “beach” and back up)

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One pair of Chubbies will fit three different sized men.

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Asking people to make a funny face produces a pretty good photo.

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Some questions for you:

Have you ever been to Tygart Lake?
What do you like on your s’mores?

That Time B and I Went Camping

August 17, 2015August 17, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

B & I went on a camping trip this weekend with just one another. That’s right, a solo* camping trip. And we survived… As did our marriage!

Let me start by saying that for those of you who know me, this will come as no surprise, but I am NOT an outdoorsy person. Yes, I had my stint at Girl Scout camp and have gone camping a few times over the years, but it is never something that I would choose to do just for fun. Sleeping outdoors? No showers? Having to walk to bathrooms? Bugs? Animals? You get the idea. But I know be has been wanting to spend some time outdoors for a while, and since he bought a new tent and hasn’t had a chance to put it to use, I openly suggested we go camping this weekend because it was honestly the only weekend we had free for the rest of the summer.

Guess what? It was fun! Would it be something I’d want to do every weekend? Definitely not in the near future. But hiking with B, roasting marshmallows and enjoying homemade campfire meals were pretty great. Some highlights:

first meal there. Grilled turkey burgers (on the fire!) and salad and bread. Starting off great 🙂

Making breakfast. Bacon!

We’re dressed for our hike!

Cucumber falls

Made it to a great viewpoint.

B, taking in the view (shh he didn’t know i was snapping a photo!)

Selfie along the river

<3 Water

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On an old train bridge

Cooking dinner

If you’ve never been to Ohiopyle, I’d definitely recommend it. We stayed at the state park and close enough that we were able to just do a big hike along the trails. We hiked the Great Gorge Trail to Cucumber Falls. Then we took the Meadow Run Trail around the river to downtown. And eventually we made it to the Laurel Highlands Trail. After we made it to our viewpoint, we stopped for lunch and then turned around and hiked back to the park. We had a great day – it was hot (88) but in the trails we were mostly covered and had some great shade. My legs were tired – I had run 12 miles on Friday morning – but really enjoyed the natural scenery!

Some questions for you:

Do you like camping? Any tips for me the next time that me, a non-outdoorsy person, has to go camping?
Are you an outdoorsy person?

Linking up with Her Heartland Soul today again for this weekend update. Have a great week!

*I know this is technically a “couples” camping trip (since it was B AND me) but I think I like calling it a solo camping trip because couples sounds like a few couples and not just one. So a solo couple camping trip is the most correct I guess 🙂

Two Days in Mendocino and a Drive Up North

August 4, 2015July 30, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

(this is part two of a travel recap post – part one can be found here: A Day in Sonoma)

Last week, my family took a trip out to the West Coast to visit my brother. After spending time with family and a day in Sonoma, it was time for our next stop – Mendocino. The road to Mendocino was part of the trip in itself. Greg had helped planned us a route along highway one, with scenic views overlooking the Pacific coast. I’m so glad I was able to go – it was gorgeous, and we even got to stop for lunch in one of the small coastal towns along the way.

GREAT views along the ride.

We arrived in Mendocino just before our B&B’s happy hour, which was great. We stayed at the Inn at Cobbler’s Walk, which is part of Glendeven, and I’d definitely recommend it. The property isn’t too big, is close to a bunch of walking/hiking trails and even has llamas and 100s of chickens on site.

llamas on the property!

After enjoying the local wine and great cheese at the Inn for the complimentary happy hour, it was time for dinner in downtown Mendocino. It’s a small downtown with shops and restaurants, we enjoyed another dinner on a patio before taking a walk around the downtown as the sun was setting.

family selfie at happy hour

The next morning, I woke up relatively early and went for a walk, including to the beach, on a path just a few minutes away from our room.

beach front walk in the morning

We had breakfast served to our room at 9 a.m., which included a three-course meal – yogurt and granola, eggs and a scone. Sooo good!

the amazing meal

After breakfast, we checked out the rest of the grounds – the llamas and chickens and garden – and then headed to downtown Mendocino for a walk along the Headlands and lunch. It was such a gorgeous day!

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Our second night we stayed at a different place, this time with cabins and adjoining rooms so that we were all able to hang out and watch a movie – Beetlejuice – at night. This inn had goats this time.

Peanut Butter and Jelly, the goats!

We had a great dinner that night – we ended up wandering back downtown and hit up the MacCallum Inn. This week’s WIAW shares some of eats – wine, cheese, ratatouille and blackberry soufflé. SO good.

DESSERT.

The next morning, we took a short walk around the new inn, and then hit the road for breakfast in Fort Bragg followed by a drive through the Avenue of the Giants. It is SO cool to ride among those SUPER tall trees! We also had time to stop for a hike along one of the trails. I love a good, easy nature hike!

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What a great trip – I hope we can do it again soon!

Some questions for you:

Have you ever been to the Redwoods?
Do you like hiking? Nature? I enjoy hiking, but i’m not a HUGE nature fan. I’m scared of bugs, snakes, animals, etc.
Have you ever seen the movie Beetlejuice?

A Day in Sonoma

July 30, 2015July 29, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

After our weekend in NY, we were headed to California to visit my brother! We flew out early Sunday, and got to San Fran early enough so that we had nearly a whole day to spend. Our first day? A trip to Sonoma. We had a tour and tastings, visiting two wineries in the area.

winery #1

Family at winery #2

Followed by dinner in downtown Sonoma. We were staying right near downtown and were able to walk to dinner at LaSalette, a great Portuguese place with outdoor dining. If you’re ever in Sonoma, I highly recommend staying near their downtown. There was a cute little square with a lot of shops and restaurants, as well as a biking/walking/running path not to far away.

downtown Mendocino

Greg and me at dinner

Feijoada!

The next morning, thanks to the time difference, I was able to wake up early enough to enjoy a run around town, even among wineries. A 5 mile run through fields of lavender and vines of grapes? My idea of pretty pretty perfect!

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After the run and hotel breakfast, we headed to our last winery, Matanza, which is known for its field of lavender. Oh my goodness- as we pulled up, we couldn’t help but smell the gorgeous aroma of lavender and see the purples everywhere! We were lucky enough to have an informal impromptu tour (we had missed the one formal tour of the day) and share a wine tasting as well. It was pretty perfect – it was my mom’s birthday AND she loves lavender, so it was a great way to start the day.

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Then, we were off. Onto our next destination – Mendocino! (more to come)

Some questions for you:

Have you ever been to Sonoma before?
What’s your favorite kind of wine? Reds or whites?

The Fourth in Photos (My Long Weekend Update)

July 6, 2015July 6, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 9 Comments

For those of you that follow me on Instagram and Twitter you probably noted I’ve been tweeting from vacation. That’s right, B and I spent the Fourth of July long weekend in a romantic getaway in tropical Milwaukee! It was a great time – we were there during their music festival, Summerfest, and had such a great time. I love live music. So. Much.

Instead of one long blog post about our trip, here are just a few highlights from our Fourth of July, with mostly photos (starting in Cleveland):

Wednesday night: We met up with some friends for the Orchestra’s free concert outdoors downtown and fireworks. We packed a picnic and enjoyed an amazing start to the holiday weekend.

Picnic on the mall

Selfie during the Cleveland fireworks

Red, white and blue for the orchestra

fireworks over downtown CLE

Thursday: B and I hit the road to Milwaukee. Our first stop, however, was a night in Chicago. We met up with B’s sister and her boyfriend for dinner at a cute BYOB Brazilian restaurant. I ❤ farofa wayyyy too much.

awful picture but amazing food- feijoada and farofa

view from our hotel

Friday: We started off Friday morning with a 5 mile scenic run around Chicago. I love running in Chicago – I love the city and waterfront. Running along the water is so peaceful.

Running. On the beach with the Chicago skyline behind us

Then, we were on to Milwaukee! We enjoyed stopping off at my second favorite cheese place – the Mars Cheese Castle – on the way. Once we got to MKE, we hit up Summerfest! So much live music. Love it. The night ended with some more fireworks.

Cheese castle!

Goodies from the Cheese castle. Beer, cheese curds and meat stick. #healthy

Corn on the cob at summerfest … when in Milwaukee …

pretty gorgeous fireworks above the lake

Saturday: We had a busy day! The morning started off with a run around Milwaukee. Again, loved running throughout the city and their lakefront. We also hit up some local coffee shops, the beach, Public Market, Historic Third Ward, and Summerfest again. We ended the night seeing Weird Al and Matt Nathanson. Matt Nathanson put on an amazing show, even doing covers – including Under Pressure!

Started the day with a run

Then we got some coffee and pastries!

Stopped by their public market

Hit up the beach

grabbed drinks in the Third Ward along the water

#selfie

hit up summerfest again!

Rocked out to Matt Nathanson

Thanks Matt Nathanson for amazing Summerfest

A video posted by Melissa Koski Carney (@koskim) on Jul 4, 2015 at 9:39pm PDT

Sunday: After a quick trip to the hotel gym and my first day off running in 40 days (my running streak ended 4th of July), we hit up the local coffee shop again and then were on the road for the long drive back.

last coffee shop stop before the road

Are you still there? Thanks for checking out this super long post. A few questions for you:

How do you take your coffee?
Scones – prefer them sweet or savory? Sweet all the way!
Have you ever had cheese curds? What do you think of them?

Linking up with Running N Reading and Her Heartland Soul today!

Easter Weekend in San Fran!

April 8, 2015April 7, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

How was your weekend? I know it’s a little late for a weekend update, but I’m still getting over a really great weekend in San Francisco with my family.

My little (but taller than me of course) brother moved out to San Fran last year and it’s pretty hard to be a whole coast away. So, when my parents mentioned they were thinking of going out to visit him for Easter, I jumped at the chance to join them, and B came along too!

Me and Greg ❤

We got in early Friday so had the whole day to catch up with my brother, see one of my bffs who lives just outside the city and also get some work done. Oh, and the weather was sunny and in the 60s, so I really couldn’t complain!

cute cafe for work on Fri.

And they had a garden!

Friday started out with a little work, some coffee and getting post-work drinks with Melgar and my brother. My parents didn’t get in until late, so we enjoyed a late dinner before all of us passed out – jet lag!

Melgar!

Saturday was a long but great day. B and I started it out early-ish with a 7.3-something mile run throughout the Presidio and Crissy Field to the Golden Gate Bridge. Stopping to take photos on runs during my vacation is just what I needed. Note to self – there are a lot of hills in San Fran so don’t be discouraged if your “race-pace” run turns into more of interval running.

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We also went for a great hike with my parents. We started through the beautiful Golden Gate Park and then ended with a route through Lands End. My brother had planned the hike for us and it was a great way to see the outskirts of the city, the beach, and great views of the water and the bridge.

Golden Gate Park

Oh, and we got Umami Burger. I am in LOVE with their food now – their veggie burger and ahi tuna burger (my mom and I got both and split it) were so good, as were their sweet potato fries. And beet salad. #Stuffed

ahi tuna burger

Sunday was a rest day, but rest we did not. After Easter Mass, we enjoyed some breakfast and then another walk throughout downtown! We started off where my brother lives in the Presidio and then walked to downtown until we got to the Ferry Building. We were meeting up with some of my extended family – my dad’s cousin and his wife – for dinner. Our Vietnamese family style 3-course meal at the Slanted Door was amazing – definitely not what I typically eat for Easter but SO SO good!

salad and spring rolls

Some of my entrees

dessert!

extended family

After dinner, we walked around downtown until it was time to meet up with my brother’s friend Phyllis for drinks. We grabbed lounge seats in a really cool place, The Original Joe’s, and enjoyed cocktails and wine. I loved my dark and stormy 🙂

drinks!

Monday was a road trip day! After a 5 mile run and breakfast, we were on a mini road trip.

scenes from our Monday morning run

breakfast at a cute coffee shop

We took a car and headed to Pescadero and then Capatola. We enjoyed lunch (fresh fish and pie!) and a short walk while taking in the sights and beautiful water and beaches.

Love the scenery!

Capitola – colorful in the background!

It was a great end to our trip – we got in some walks, some beaches, a lot of great food and quality family time. Even with taking a long weekend, it went by waaay too fast! I can’t wait to do it again.

Some questions for you: