Weekends In My Second Home – New York (Part Two)

May 14, 2013May 13, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

Friday night I had planned on staying with my brother in his dorm room. I did it last year, and post-dinner we had just hung out, chatted and gone to bed, which is kinda what I thought we were going to do this year. I was wrong! This year, Greg wanted to take me out with his friends. I’m clearly not in college anymore. His friends were meeting at 11 p.m. to go out … yes, 11, which is later than I typically go out now. We went to a bar only a few blocks away from campus, a bar that gave out free shots of anything (including tequila) if you friended them on Facebook. And then it started pouring out, and none of us had umbrellas. You can tell from those last two sentences how my night was. It was a good time – I enjoyed meeting my brothers’ friends, partying like a college student for one night and getting stuck in the rain.

this is what happens when Greg and I hang out

Saturday morning we woke up pretty early (sleeping on a dorm room floor isn’t easy, even if you have a blow up mattress), and Greg suggested we go for a quick, short run while he waited for his laundry. Another impromptu, unplanned run in New York? Score! After the run, we enjoyed breakfast and then it was time to say goodbye as my parents and B were on their way to pick me up to visit my grandma while my brother studied for finals.

Grandma, dad and me

My grandma lives in an assisted living home with a lot of other elderly people. It was SO nice to see her – it’d been a few months – but it’s always hard seeing her living there, as opposed to the apartment I saw her in when I was growing up. I hope that when I’m old and if I’m living in an assisted living home I take advantage of all the activities they have. Posted in the elevator I saw the schedule for the weekend included crafts, live music, a morning walk, and even some fresh-baked apple pie BEFORE dinner.

After visiting my grandma we headed back up to Albany and went out to a really delicious dinner at a Turkish restaurant. My parents went to Turkey last year to visit my brother who had an internship there over the summer (see how cool he is?) and I’m convinced that since then they enjoy Turkish food more. Anyway, I gobbled it all up before taking any photos because I was so hungry after smelling the warm apple pie cooking all afternoon. I fell asleep on the couch at home (see, this time home means in Albany!) after a tiring but relaxing day.

Mother’s Day Brunch

Sunday I woke up and my parents were getting ready to go for their usual hour and a half walk around the neighborhood. I decided to join them, but go on a run first and meet them halfway. For some reason (perhaps fueled by the amazing Turkish food?), I ran faster than I normally do – my MapMyRun app clocked me at running 4.75 miles in under 42 minutes! After my faster-than-usual run, I found my parents and enjoyed a leisurely walk home with them.

Check out my splits for the run! I’m not typically this fast unless it’s a race.

After our walk/run, we went out to Mother’s Day brunch in downtown Albany. We had reservations at Justin’s on Lark Street, which had a great breakfast and live piano music. I enjoyed a latte, some cornbread and a great brunch of eggs over easy, french toast, bacon, potatoes and toast. I was starving (again!) and finished it all. Post-brunch, the weather looked nice, so we headed over to Washington Park where Tulip Fest was going on. The Tulip Festival happens every spring in Albany and features live music, food vendors, family-friendly activities during the day and other activities at night, and even the crowning of a Tulip Queen. We only had time to walk around for a little before it was time to head back home, pack and head to the airport.

mom dad me tulips

As always, it was sad to leave my parents and head back to Cleveland. But it was such a beautiful weekend and I had such a good time, which made leaving easier. I hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day weekend as well!

And since there are no food photos in this post, I’ll leave you with what B and I enjoyed for dinner after we got off the plane late Sunday evening for dinner – Vietnamese.

I ❤ Vietnamese Food

Some questions:

Do you live in the same city as your parents/siblings? If not, do you visit them often? My family is all in New York, but I try to get out there a few times a year. I also love hosting them in Cleveland!
What time is too late to go out at night? No time – but I think getting ready to go out at 11 p.m. is too late for me now. I guess I’m getting old!
Do your parents work out or have a work out routine that they stick to? Yes! They have for as long as I remembered. We would go to the YMCA as a family when I was young or go on long walks. Which is probably why I have always felt the need to stay active and get in a run or some other activity every day.
Do you enjoy brunch food? What’s your favorite? I typically enjoy the more savory brunch foods like eggs – I don’t really like pancakes, waffles, french toast, etc.

Weekend Update: Last Minute Trip Home

April 29, 2013April 29, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

I had big plans for this past weekend. B was going to be out of town and since it was going to be our first weekend apart in more than a year, I had a big to do list. Lay on the couch, catch up on the DVR, perhaps run the Cleveland 10 Miler (I had done 9 no problem last week), sleep late, eat some Easter candy, bake, read on my porch, go shopping, clean the bathroom and maybe grab drinks with friends. See? BIG plans for when B was rocking out at his post-wedding bachelor party for Mitch (who got married last year). SO when B messaged me on Tuesday that he had seen a great flight deal to New York and asked if I wanted to plan a last minute trip to see my parents, I realized it was a no brainer. I had been missing my family for some time and I’d still get to sleep in, wouldn’t have to clean the bathroom, and as my brother reminded me, I’d get to enjoy some home cooked meals. AND with the weather due for sunny and 60s both days, I would definitely be able to get in a little running.

Friday night after work, my friend Samantha and I headed to Porcelli’s for Happy Hour. My Downtown Cleveland Alliance City Advocates group was hosting a Guest Bartending Event, with tips going to the DCA Ambassadors (you know, those amazing men and women that clean our streets, walk you to your car at night, give you directions, say hi to you when you’re running and ever offer you umbrellas when it’s raining and you’re working to work). It was a good event and I’m glad my fellow City Advocates put it on – I don’t know how much we raised but Porcelli’s was more crowded than I’d ever seen it (confession – I’ve only ever gone there for lunch, not for drinks on a Friday night). Plus, Samantha and I got to meet a few new people that we probably wouldn’t have met otherwise.

guest bartending

Drinks = Tips for DCA Safety Ambassadors!

Saturday morning, I woke up EARLY (4:45 a.m. … which is still later than I woke up Monday morning, ick!) to get in quick run before heading out on an early flight to NY. I’m still trying to make sure that I make my 1,000 mi in 2013 goal (I’m almost halfway there!), so every little run counts. Yes, I’m crazy for choosing to wake up before 5 am to run .. but at least I know I’m crazy.

As soon as I got into NY, my parents picked me up at the airport and before I even unpacked or brought my bag upstairs, we went for a walk. When the weather’s nice (which it was – sunny and 60s both days!), my parents go for longish walks on the weekend, and they asked if I wanted to come with them – of course! Their 6 mile Saturday morning walking route is nice – through some neighborhoods and a park. There was even a dog-friendly Relay For Life going on in the park, called Bark for Life , so we saw tons of people with their dogs.

Bark for Life

After our walk, it was time to walk Queenie. She’s another reason I love coming home. LOOK at that face! How can you be stressed out when you’re hanging out with her?
queenie

Then it was lunchtime. My mom made an awesome veggie soup with zucchini, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots and celery that we all enjoyed. I also got to have some leftover homemade pizza. For dessert, we had some of the caramel, peanut butter, chocolate oatmeal cookie bars that I had snuck on the plane (shh!).

mom’s homemade vegetable soup!

After lunch, my dad put me to work. He had to install a new mailbox. If you know anything about me, you know I’m not the handiest person. I don’t fix things. I don’t install things. There’s a reason I rent our apartment and can easily submit work orders (which reminds me … our tub has been clogged for a few weeks …) as opposed ot fixing things myself. Still, it was fun! I basically watched my dad do the whole thing and then helped him put the new mailbox on, but of course that’s more than I typically do. Then, I watched my dad plant. I didn’t feel like getting dirty but I was a great supervisor!

remnants of the old mailbox

Yes, I’m doing handy work … I helped my dad install a mailbox!

new mailbox is installed!

After relaxing outside on our deck all afternoon and dozing off for a little, my mom and I went to Saturday afternoon Mass. I haven’t been to Mass with my mom in a while, and it’s something i definitely miss. Then, we decided to go to Saratoga to walk around in the nice weather and grab dinner. We ended up going to one of my favorite casual places in downtown, Ravenous, for delicious fries and crepes. We left with clean plates … but of course after walking around a little managed to make some room for frozen yogurt. I gobbled up mine (vanilla, cake batter and coconut with too many toppings to count) before thinking of snapping a photo.

Crepes and fries!

After dinner, we watched The Life of Pi. Confession – I haven’t read the book, but I thought the movie was good, although somewhat sad at times and I may still be slightly confused at the ending.

Sunday morning, I slept in and then decided to go for a run. My parents did their 6 mile walk, so after my run, I decided to run to meet them. I ended up running 7ish miles and then walking about 1.5 mi with them, which put me over my 20+ mile goal for the week and put me at ease knowing I wouldn’t be able to run on Monday before work (I had to get up at 3 a.m. just to make my flight).

After my run/walk, it was time for some more homemade vegetable soup, cookies, and then of course, more baking! My mom, knowing how much I love to bake asked if I could make some blondies for her to freeze.

freshly baked blondies!

Of course I happily obliged … and then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing outside.

How I spent most of the weekend … outside!

For dinner, my mom made an awesome quinoa, cauliflower, chickpea salad, to go with the salmon and asparagus my dad had cooked. I love my parents’ cooking and miss it on a nearly daily basis!

dinner

For dessert we enjoyed some of my blondies, plus ice cream.

Fact: Cookies tastes better with ice cream

Fact: Cookies taste better with ice cream

Monday morning meant getting up at 3:30 a.m. – not to work out, but to catch an earlier-than-should-be legal flight back to Cleveland. I hope I wasn’t too grumpy (little sleep+no workout=grumpy Melissa) at work, but I will be bringing in some cookies this week to bribe my coworkers just in case.

All in all, a great, relaxing weekend at home. This weekend should be a busy one filled with a few activities with B’s family (his cousin’s first communion and party, plus his brother and sister-in-law’s annual Kentucky Derby Party), so I’m glad I got some time in with my family. Hope everyone has a great week!

Some questions:

What’s your favorite dessert combination? (I love cookies and ice cream. Or white chocolate and peanut butter and pretzels. Or white chocolate and ice cream. Or anything with ice cream.
What’s the earliest you’ve had to get up for a flight?
Did you get outside and enjoy the warm temps this weekend?
Are you handy? (I’m not!)
Did you get in a run this weekend? (Yes – I did 11ish miles between Saturday and Sunday, despite not running the Cleveland 10 Miler)

Weekend Update: Cleveland Art Museum Exhibit Opening and Cincinnati Bockfest

March 5, 2013March 5, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

What a week! In the past seven days, I’ve slept in my bed three times. Three times! And driven a whole lotta miles. After a great weekend, it’s good to be back!

The Last Days of Pompeii at the Cleveland Art Museum

My weekend started on Thursday … well, not really. But Thursday night, B and I got an invite to the opening of the Pompeii Exhibit at the Cleveland Art Museum where we got to experience drinks and heavy hors d’oeuvres in the new, gorgeous atrium, along with a free view at the Last Days of Pompeii Exhibit. If you haven’t been yet, you should definitely check it out. The new atrium is beautiful (my pics below don’t do it justice) and the Exhibit was really interesting. I happen to be a slight Pompeii nerd, as I did my LEP (Learning Enrichment Program … another nerd thing) independent study on Pompeii and the city’s growth and demise and read more than my fair share of books about the city many years ago. AND when my family went to Italy a few years back, I begged that we visit Pompeii (despite it being somewhat out of the way) — and we did. And it was awesome. So, needless to say, when B asked if I wanted to go, I of course said yes!

OLD photo of my brother and me in Pompeii (Mt. Vesuvius in the background!) circa 2006

The exhibit was interesting – it was basically a bunch of different artists’ portrayals of what the city looked like during its hey day … and afterwards. It wasn’t what I expected though – it didn’t have really any Pompeii artifacts, or anything like that (as I had hoped), and was somewhat … how do I put this … depressing? I mean, looking at imagery of a city’s demise, and even a few quotes and other things that likened the occurrence to Hiroshima and 9/11 – it was powerful, but not quite uplifting. But the Pompeii nerd in me loved it!

Beautiful Atrium at Cleveland Art Museum

Friday = Cincinnati and Bockfest begins!

Friday I spent the day in our Cincinnati office, having some team meetings and getting to see our space there for the first time. It worked out extremely well, because that weekend, B and I were due to be in Cincinnati to celebrate our friend Dave’s birthday at Bockfest. Being down there on Friday for work meant that we could:

1. Attend the Bockfest Parade

bockfest parade

2. Drink a few Bock Beers (And discover I like them more than I thought I would)

Ladies @ Bockfest! Anson (Dave’s wife), me and Emily (who came all the way from DC!)

Saturday = Bockfest 5k, Jungle Jim’s, Birthday Celebrations and Giant Jenga

Saturday morning, B and I got up early to run in the inaugural Bockfest 5k. I needed just about 5 miles to make it to my goal of 20 for the week, and we ended up running more than 3 if you count the mile-ish run to the starting line and back. Plus, we got a great medal – a bottle opener!

Saturday afternoon, we found ourselves heading out to Jungle Jim’s International Market in Cincinnati. I had been hearing about this place that is supposedly a food-lovers paradise, and it didn’t disappoint. There were aisles and aisles of food and produce and more from every single region of the world, a whole cheese section, a honey display (I LOVE HONEY!) AND a big candy area. I could’ve easily spent hours just perusing each section. They even boast more than 12,000 labels of wines and 1,200 beers! B and I ended up buying some honey, some candy, some candied ginger for me and some of his favorite cheese – Epoisses – that we haven’t been able to find since our dinner at L’Albatros.

jungle jims

Saturday night we hung out with Dave and Anson’s families and attended a birthday party for Dave. After the party, we headed back to Bockfest to celebrate the last night of our trip. The night included some arm wrestling, a few games of Giant Jenga, impromptu Les Miserables singing, and of course – a visit to Skyline Chili.

group in front of Giant Jenga

We drove back up to Cleveland Sunday. Phew! A fun, and tiring weekend – but hopefully a great way to ring in Dave’s big birthday!

A Canadian Christmas Getaway (Part One)

December 31, 2012January 1, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

After spending the holidays with my family (which goes by waaay too fast), B and I had planned a little winter getaway. We had thrown around a few tropical ideas – returning to the British Virgin Islands, Hawaii, the Bahamas, and even Florida – but we ended up somehow in the complete opposite direction: Canada! B had never been to Montreal, a beautiful city just a few hours away from my parents – and I had never been to Toronto, “on the way” home from Montreal – so it was a perfect, easy trip to plan.

Montreal

B and I got to Montreal just before dinnertime and checked into our hotel in Old Montreal. How cute! Everything was in French and very charming. And of course B had found us the perfect hotel, just a few steps away from the Notre Dame Cathedral. We had plans to walk around and then meet one of his coworkers (Who is from Montreal) for drinks. After bundling up and going outside, it became apparent there wasn’t going to be MUCH walking around – I was frozen! We made it a few blocks, hit a coffee shop and decided to just sit inside for most of the time before meeting up with B’s coworker at Gaspar Taverne.

cathedral 2

in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral

The Taverne Gaspar was cute – we were greeted with a “Bon Soir” as we walked in and then an immediate “Hello – English?” as we both looked slight confused. Our bartender asked where we were from and began to immediately teach us some French phrases that would come in handy. B’s coworker and her friends arrived and we enjoyed a drink with them before heading off to find someplace close (Brr!) for dinner. Dinner was also in Old Montreal, as we opted for a place that served baguettes with brie and chicken, and poutine.

Inside Taverne Gaspar

Poutine. Aka fries with gravy, cheese and bacon.

Practiically the only drink I could pronounce on the menu

Practically the only drink I could pronounce on the menu

The next morning we woke up to snow. And not just a little snow – a blizzard! That day, the day we were supposed to walk around Old Montreal and downtown turned into the largest snowfall Montreal had ever had in 24 hours – yes, a record-breaking 50 cm or something like that. Needless to say we probably didn’t walk as much around as we would’ve liked. We walked a few blocks and grabbed crepes for breakfast (YUM!), checked out the indoor market in Old Montreal, and then trudged along a few more miles toward the downtown area to find the underground mall that Montreal is known for. We spent most of the afternoon walking around the snowy streets and moving back toward the underground city/mall (called RÉSO). While it wasn’t ideal (we would’ve gotten way more siteseeing done if it hadn’t been snowing so much), it was a fun way to spend our day in the city. A few blisters later, B and I grabbed an easy lunch – a baguette and some fois gras and then a three course dinner at a prix fixe French restaurant. Fun fact – the waiter called us “King-makers” when he heard we were from Ohio – because “we’re the ones that choose the king [President] in the U.S.!”

Crepes for breakfast!

2nd course of our french dinner

obligatory love photo (in the snow)

The morning next we strolled, slightly easier because the snow had stopped and the streets were somewhat plowed) through Old Montreal one last time and visited their indoor market and a maple shop before heading out to Toronto!

record-breaking snowfall!

Part two of this blog post is here.

Ireland Adventure Recap: Part One – Dublin

July 19, 2012July 21, 2012 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

As you may have gleaned from the past few photo posts, B and I just came back from an amazing European vacation, where we traveled around Ireland and visited London. It was a GREAT trip, even better than I had expected.

Let me start by admitting that Ireland had never been on my list of places to visit. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to visit it – I love traveling and had heard many great things about the country – it was just that I’m not Irish and my list of places to visit have included Asia (yes the whole continent), New Zealand, Belgium, Turkey, the Caribbean, Spain, and so on – but never Ireland. BUT I am SO glad we went. Ireland was beautiful, breathtaking, pastoral, etc. and the people were more than friendly. So what did we do? Here’s an outline of our itinerary, some of my favorites, and some photos for you to enjoy.

Part One: Dublin

Dublin Day One: B and I flew out of Cleveland late Tuesday and arrived in Dublin just in time for breakfast on America’s birthday- July 4! We somehow made it from the airport to our hotel and dropped off our bags. I felt pretty gross and tired from our 7ish hour plane ride and no shower, but the adrenaline and excitement of being in the new country kept me going! We walked around Dublin, starting at St. Stephen’s Green, a beautiful park area right next to our hotel. After that we happened to literally run right into Grafton Street, Dublin’s shopping and music hub – in front of the shops on the cobblestone walkway are tons of musicians putting on performances, trying to make money and get discovered. Have you seen the movie Once? It’s where the two main characters first meet… beautiful!

photoshoot at Trinity College

After some window shopping, we found Trinity College and took a tour of the campus and its library, which meant we got to see the famous Book of Kells and the Long Room. I did sit down at one point in the Long Room and found myself almost passing out – which meant it was time to go, so B and I headed to find his sister Katie, who was in Dublin working for an organization called Friends of the Elderly. We found her, dancing with some elderly people during their Fourth of July celebration, which was pretty amusing to see. Are you picturing this? A bunch of elderly Irish people, dancing with Katie, to some American-style marches, in a room decorated with red, white and blue, and of course, tea and scones.

After meeting up with Katie, we finally headed back to our hotel and were able to freshen up and take a quick power nap. For dinner, we met up with Katie at the Brazen Head – the oldest pub in Ireland! I enjoyed a lamb stew, while B got his fish and chips. After our food and drinks, we headed to Kearney’s for some live music, dancing (including to the song Galway Girl!) and whiskey tasting. Not a bad first day!

The three of us outside the Brazen Head

fish & chips (and B’s favorite – mushy peas!)

irish whiskey tasting

Dublin Day Two: B and I slept in and then enjoyed coffee and brunch right off Grafton Street. After brunch we decided to walk as much as we could before our feet fell off to check out some of the other places on our to do list, including: Dublin Castle, the free museum at the castle – the Chester Beatty Library (which I HIGHLY recommend – it was really cool and filled with tons of artifacts!), the Guinness factory, St. Audeon’s and the Kilmainham Gaol. We almost didn’t make it to the old jail – after walking around and around (and of course not asking for directions) we finally made it there JUST as the last tour was going on!

B, in Jail

Dublin Castle!

Enjoying a Guinness at the Guinness Factory Tour

After a long day of walking around and touring, we met up again with B’s sister for drinks and traditional live Irish music at the pub, Cobblestone. Not realizing the place didn’t exactly serve food, B and I grabbed some shawarma on the way back to hotel that evening. I love street food!

Dublin Day Three: B and I slept in again and then decided to take the bus to see UCD, the campus where his sister was living. Well, we actually were going to leave our bags with her while we were in London (Spoiler alert!) but realized then that we wouldn’t be able to get them upon our return to Dublin so our trip wasn’t really necessary. So we returned back to the city center and went shopping! I bought myself a pair of earrings, some post cards I never sent, and continued to peruse stores looking for souvenirs. We then braved the pouring rain and headed to Dawson Lounge, what’s “probably the smallest pub in the world” (as they claim) for a drink before catching our flight to London! (to be continued …)

Dawson Lounge – “probably the smallest pub in the world”

Another Ireland Collage

July 15, 2012 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

Because I’m tired from traveling, a busy weekend, unpacking and thinking about going through emails … here’s another lazy post – a photo collage of some of the photos I took of the beautiful Irish landscape. Enjoy!

A Week Off … Cape Cod 2012 (Part One)

June 5, 2012June 3, 2021 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

A few months ago, B booked us a week at a cottage in Wellfleet, Cape Cod. It would be his first time in the Cape, and my first time staying in Wellfleet. Growing up on the east coast, I had many fond memories of spending summer weeks on the Cape with my family, but this would be my first time going just with B and to the Lower Cape.

I was not disappointed. The house was just as VRBO had suggested – down the street from the beach and the perfect size for a week’s retreat. AND without Internet or great cell reception, which meant we were truly able to unplug (at least for the most part).

Friday evening we left Cleveland and then drove into Albany and spent the night with my parents. Saturday morning we got up early, enjoyed a quick breakfast with my parents, including our year-old wedding cake (which was still absolutely delicious! How is that possible?!), and then we were on our way to Cape Cod for the week! Well, sorta – we had to stop at the most amazing place first – Prime Outlets in Lee, Mass.! I miss this place so much. (Sidenote – yes I know we have “outlet” in Northeast Ohio, but show me one with J Crew, Polo, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, GAP AND Brooks Brothers in one place!)

380-something day old wedding cake

I knew I was back east when I saw BC gear at Brooks Brothers…

As soon as we got to the Cape we checked out our place, walked to the beach, and then enjoyed a typical casual Cape Cod meal on the harbor – lobster rolls and fried oysters. Delicious! I gobbled up the food before grabbing a photo – but was able to get in a quick pic of our scenery.

Outdoor dining – with a great view!

Sunday, the weather was gorgeous so B and I spent most of the day outside. In the morning, we walked to the nearby French bakery and split a Parisian sandwich (again, no photo.. too delicious!) and bought some lardon et fromage bread to go. Then we hit the beach. I lay down outside, enjoyed my newest reading material (11/22/63 by Stephen King. Run, do not walk, to your nearest bookstore to get this. It’s no 50 Shades, but it’s impossible to put down!) and got in a healthy dose of Vitamin D (hey, doctor’s orders, right?). That evening, B and I checked out Wellfleet’s Main Street and then enjoyed a seafood dinner and drinks at the Bookstore. We split a dozen oysters on the halfshell (A Wellfleet specialty! The restaurant literally walks across the street to the harbor twice a day to pick them fresh) and I enjoyed the Fisherman’s Dish which was cod mussels, shrimp and clams in an awesome broth.

One of many seafood dishes

Monday, B and I spent some more time on Main Street and visited all the galleries and shops. But on the way, PJ’s Family Restaurant caught our eye – I’d heard that it was known for its lobster rolls, so we had to stop and check it out. B even loved it – and he’s not a lobster guy! After our delicious lunch, we headed to the downtown area. Fun fact – besides being the first place in the world to have wireless telegraph technology – and not the phone wireless technology – (Did you know the Titanic’s SOS signal went to the wireless station in Wellfleet?) Wellfleet also is known for having an abundance of galleries and being extremely welcome to artists. We enjoyed an afternoon ice cream on the harbor and a few drinks at Winslow’s Tavern, another great eatery on Main Street. For dinner, I was craving lobster so we returned to PJ’s where I got the lobster dinner and B got a burger. Are you keeping track of the lobster? That’s 2 lobster rolls and one 1 ¼ lb lobster so far …

Waaay too excited for my lobster

Tuesday we decided to check out Provincetown and then go whale watching! I could write a blog post on whale watching alone. While Provincetown and its shops and ice cream were great, whale watching was spectacular. We went on a 3 hour cruise with the Dolphin Fleet Whale Watch, led by an amazing naturalist. We saw 20+ whales (and some of them, multiple times) and a few dozen dolphins. It was amazing to watch them feed and just hang out in the wild. We even saw a baby whale play around while his mother fed. Some photos and video from the trip:

At night B and I decided to eat dinner in our cottage – and we chose fresh lobster from the local seafood shop. New lobster total: 2 lobster rolls and 2 lobsters.

More to come on the fabulous week we had .. and possibly some more lobster!
(Part Two of the post can be found here)

Wordless Wednesday: Cape Cod Collage

May 30, 2012May 29, 2012 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

I’m on vacation this week – so until I get back and have time (and motivation) to work on a full recap, here are some photos from my trip so far. And yes, as usual, it’s mostly involved food.