Escape from the City, 3 My 31st Birthday

Sunday morning, we woke up determined to make the last day of our adventure the best it could be.  I'm so glad Jerry let me sleep in - I was utterly exhausted from the evening before.  He snapped this cute shot of Zion getting loaded up on Fruit loops.  After packing up and checking out - we decided we'd like to make our Sunday a foodie-themed trip - we'd stop in places along our route home for whatever yummy treats we could find.

 On our way out of Cape Cod, we stopped in Dartmouth, MA.  We just happened to drive by this festive looking cafe called Mirasol's - and we were pleasantly surprised by what we found inside.

 

 For starters - the food we ordered was amazing.  Jerry and I chose tortilla wraps that had been filled with delicious ingredients and grilled like a quesadilla - totally delicious!!  And then - after being less than satisfied with a rather bland mocha - I hopped on FourSquare to discover that everyone was raving about this thing called a Chippi - and there was also mention of PB Cup Cookies.  So glad I went back to the counter and grabbed one of each!

^^ Bland mocha on the left next to my Chippi on the right, below is a melt in your mouth PB Cookie!

Our journey continue as we entered into Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay.  My Father-in-law and I regret not splitting a lobster roll in the little harbor area we took a pitstop in.  Totally unplanned we took a side trip to a couple of lighthouses (Mom is a big fan of them) and Zion got to splash her feet in the ocean for a little while too.

Our morning was rich with gorgeous views of the Atlantic -and the freedom of just exploring places we'd never been.  Our trip wasn't over yet though - for my birthday I had requested a return trip to explore Mystic!

Read Part 1 & Part 2

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Escape from the City, 2 My 31st Birthday

We left Vermont Saturday, around 11:30 or so and hopped on the road in hopes of making it on a boat by 4pm.  We made a couple of stops along the way to stretch, but regrettably didn't stop for a substantial meal (in hindsight this was a critical error!)  We did however stop for a car charger for our i-devices - you know - way more important than eating at the time. Ha!  We arrived at our motel for check-in right around 3pm, and needed a break.  We unloaded the car, changed clothes and rested - then we were off to grab a ferry.

 Zion's First Boat Ride!

 Oh Hey there yacht with a helicopter on it!

We all were really excited to get to Martha's Vineyard, the weather was simply stunning, we had a great boat ride - Zion's first ever, but halfway there (all of us hungry and tired) we were told our boat was being re-routed to Vineyard Haven instead of Oak Bluffs.  Big huge bummer - as it turns out Vineyard Haven shuts down very early.  We ended up settling on a restaurant none of us really were sure about (which turned out to be much pricier than we had wanted to spend) and then the food was just totally subpar.  Probably the worse seafood we've ever eaten - shame on you Black Dog Tavern!

We never fully recovered from the let down of being brought to a different location- that was totally dead - (plus our disappointing dinner)-even with attempting to sweeten the visit by having a scoop at Mad Martha's ice cream.  We spent the rest of our time waiting for the next boat to take us back, ending up stuck on the outside, freezing in our summer clothes in the dark.  A bit defeated we headed back to the motel, and one by one crashed into our night's rest.

Read Part 1 Here.

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Escape from the City, 1 My 31st Birthday

Labor Day weekend we celebrated my 31st birthday (September 1st).  My wonderful in-laws drove from Columbus, Ohio on Friday, and we prepped to leave early the next day for our road trip to Vermont, Martha's Vineyard and Mystic.  Life has been beyond chaos in the weeks following our trip. so I'm finally getting around to share the pictures from our road trip.  Zion did great the whole time (we made sure to plan our drives with her in mind - having the ipad helped too!)

 

Our first stop, was Starbucks, hehe - I had to capitalize on my "Any drink you want" free birthday drink, and so I grabbed the behemoth venti green tea frap.  Not long after we were on our way to our first destination, little lady had passed out next to me.  Our whole purpose of going to Vermont was so that we could essentially check it off the list of states my Mother & Father-in-law have been (they've been to almost every single one!)  My MIL had her heart set on picking up some authentic Vermont Maple Syrup.  Our first drive was 4 hours (a straight Northern journey from NYC).  We left at 5:30am!  And arrived to Vermont just in time for the Brattleboro Farmer's Market.

^^ Scallion Pancake with Farm Fresh Egg

^^ Maple Birch Soda - best soda I've had in my life - this stuff is incredible!

We spent a few hours in Vermont before hopping back on the road - we aimed to reach Martha's Vineyard by early evening.  (Another 4+ hour drive).  It's tricky getting their with Ferry's only running every 30-45 minutes and the last ferry returning to the mainland around 9/10pm.  We hoped we'd make it there with enough time to see a few sites, visit a BBQ Restaurant my MIL wanted to go to for dinner, and still make it back to our hotel at a reasonable hour so Zion could get a good night's sleep.

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