Escape from the City, 4 My 31st Birthday

And then, there was Mystic.  I fell in love with Mystic earlier this year when Jerry surprised me with a romantic one-night getaway for our anniversary.  Our time spent their in June felt like a bit of a tease compared to our several hours spent on this perfect Summer evening.

 ^^ The Sea Swirl is known for its clam strips - and now I know why! Best I've ever had!

^^ Zion sucking on a Lemon - she loves them (weirdo :P)

 
 

We had to visit Mystic Pizza while we were here this time.  We split a Pizza - I totally forgot what toppings we chose for our half - my in-laws got creative and made theirs pastrami and onion - loved it!

 ^^ One thing you should know about me - I hardly go a day without ice cream and never a day without coffee!  The flavors I chose above were: Kahlua Mocha Fudge & Chocolate Reese's PB Cup

   

We finished our day as the sun began setting over Mystic Seaport.  If you've never been to Mystic - there is something just magical about the whole area.  Its beautiful, its warm, inviting, friendly...we had such a great time.

 

 Zion sure loves her Grandma & Grandpa.  <3

Our adventure for the weekend ended as we cruised on home - miraculously avoiding any major traffic!  Such a great birthday weekend/holiday/visit with family.  <3

Read Part 1, Part 2, & Part 3

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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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