Snippets of the weekend 2.6.2023

Weekend started bright and early on Thursday with a 9 am flight to Atlanta after two nights of very little sleep. I saw an old train co-commuter douche causing issues on the flight there with very high maintenance white man shit and my blood was boiling. Gwen's flight landed around the same time so we met up at the Marta and took the train to our hotel (Marriott Marquis) to drop our stuff off and grab lunch at Gibney's Pub. It was raining and that was close. They had no lemons, fries, or White Claw, but we made it through. Mimi arrived soon after and we relaxed in the room then hit Kuts steak house for dinner, also very close due to torrential rain. I was very happy to go the fuck to sleep and slept 10 freaking hours.

Friday we walked to breakfast at Atlanta Breakfast Club and it was fantastic - food, service, music, vibe. I got the chicken and waffles topped with peach cobbler. I am not a typical waffles person but the chicken was seasoned amazingly and I'm glad I did it.

We walked back to the hotel - why were we unaware Atlanta had hills? - then off to Cabbagetown to see amazing street art in the neighborhood and through Krog Street Tunnel. I'm sharing here for my own keeps despite some shadows due to time of day. Skip down past a bunch of collages if you DGAF.

We got coffee/beer at Krog Street Market, then drove to Ponce Market and did a walk around and had lunch at Minero's, which we all thought was Miner's LOLOL

Then it was time to lay down for a minute. Gena & Greg arrived and settled in, Tess arrived and her and Mimi went to get ready, and we walked over to the State Farm Arena. I cannot believe how orderly and nice everyone was. Super different experience than events in Philly LOL. Once inside we split up for our seats. Gwen and I loved where we were, and there was a standing/seated table area right behind us and we spent a lot of the concert there singing and dancing. It was so great to see Bruce with the band again. I saw them on their last tour in 2016, then saw him on Broadway in 2018, and hoped like hell Covid did not kill my chances of seeing him again. He played for 2.45, never left the stage. Still great at 73. We all met up after and hit up Gibney's for two nightcaps. Fantastic day.

Saturday we walked to Apache for brunch. I had eggs over medium with fried pork chops and another stellar food/service/music/vibe situation. Loved it. 

We had tickets for the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, and we did that an hour earlier than planned so as to only do the hill back to the hotel once LOL. An important and heavy experience. To know that it was not that long ago. And how far we have not come.

Back for a period of rest before walking literally next door for dinner at Pacific Rim Bistro. Something Gwen ordered arrived at the table on fire and it was hilarious. We sat in the lobby bar after dinner before saying our goodbyes. This is us in the elevator: 47 floors of a hotel and we were in 3622 and 3621 without planning it at all and checking in a day apart. 

Sunday alarms started going off at 4 and that is just unkind. Mimi dropped us at the airport and the goddamn guy from my train was on the flight again and talked the ENTIRE time and everyone was so mad. MFD picked me up, I had groceries delivered, slept for four hours on the couch, and we ordered cheesesteaks and watched the entire second season of Hacks.

weekending reels on Instagram 

These ladies are my first internet friends that I've known for 23+ years. We used to try and get together yearly, and that spread longer a lot of times over the years for us as a group. Super happy to have weekended with them in May and again this past weekend and we floated Groundhog's weekend next years too, closer to Gwen this time. I was also happy to see Tess in person for the first time in years and meet Gena's man Greg in person, and he fit right in with us. A great weekend with forever friends I adore. 

 

Poking that trip planning muscle memory

Happy Friday! Happy almost spring! 

So great to see people out there planning trips, holidays, family visits, short breaks, etc., after the completely disrupted travel over the past couple of years, with the coronavirus and Covid-19 pandemic sweeping across the world. Many countries either closed their borders or heavily limited passage across their borders, and states within the United States enacted quarantine periods upon arrival or return. With vaccines being rolled out around the world and immunity or resistance against Covid-19 on the rise, travel is back on the table for a lot of people. If you are like me, you both can't wait to get away and also feel rusty in your travel planning and execution skills. Things that felt so natural now feel foreign. We'll start at the top, yes? 

Decisions, decisions

Choosing a travel destination used to be as simple as deciding where you want to go in the world and checking if it was in budget. At this current point in the world, you need to consider a fair amount more aside from where to go. Do you want to fly with airlines still not back to regular service? Is there a war nearby? What is the Covid vaccination rate on the ground? If traveling internationally, you also need to  look into that country’s travel rules and entry requirements. Some places are allowing travel as usual, while many others require certain steps to be taken by visitors like full vaccinations against Covid,  PCR tests to ensure you are testing negative for Covid before your flight, etc.. Make sure that you meet each country’s entry requirements or are willing to be vaccinated and/or tested before settling on that location.

Can't escape vaccines even on vacation

For certain countries, you are advised to get certain travel vaccinations before entering the country. This can protect you from illnesses that are present in that country but not your own, reducing your chances of getting ill. Common examples include cholera, diphtheria, or hepatitis A and B vaccinations. Make sure you get these well in advance of your trip.

Itinerary Queen

I have always been an itinerary queen. I love creating them and I find they help me see and do everything I want to and make the most of  my time away, if that's the kind of trip I'm taking. This doesn’t have to be regimented and militant but if you have traveled with me, you know some days it can be and is LOL. Mine usually have where I'm staying, driving/travel times, tourist attractions, excursions, and definitely restaurants like a good BBQ Restaurant in the area if you're in that kind of place or seafood restaurant if you're in that kind of place. You get the picture. 

Book in advance

Some attractions can see long queues or may be sold out on certain days. I book as much in advance as I can so I know it's done and I'm getting in, and it's nice that they’re already paid for before you even leave.

Right now, I need to do less thinking and talking about trips and more planning of the one we're going to do this summer with my Dad & Carol up through New England. I'm still not into possible airport fuckery so driving feels right right now.

Do you  have any trips planned/in the planning process? 

TWTW - the one away in MA

Friday My alarm went off at the inhospitable time of 5:15. I was sitting in dead stop traffic on 95 by 6:20 after hitting snooze a few times, showering, and getting a DD iced; and had done my before 9 am Friday tasks and sat my ass on a plane by 8:35. Steve picked me up from the airport and I worked the afternoon at Kim's dining room table until she got home from work. We spent the late afternoon and early evening outside with wine, a nice breeze, and late day sun, then moved inside to freaking delicious Sicilian pizza and couch. I was asleep right before 11.

Saturday Started with barbies, coffee, selfies with emotive faces on demand, and crawling my big old ass in and out of a play castle. Kim and I took Libby to soccer and it was gorgeous out but freaking hot. Kim and I were together on September 11 in 2001 and not ever since. We met Kelly for a ladies who lunch late lunch at Earl's in Somerville and it was perfect. I hadn't seen Kelly in way too long, and the temps were just right for sitting outside with 407 different drinks, apps, and a hot chicken sandwich. We ran through CVS then headed home for couch and just being. It's a gift to sit around with each other as adults who live about seven hours apart. We never need to actually do anything, that is the doing.

Sunday All good things must come to an end. Breakfast was a delicious ham egg and cheese on an english muffin and Kim's sweet potato hashbrowns. It was time to leave before I knew it and I was deposited back at the airport at 11ish, got back to my car in Philly before 3, and to the shore by 4, encountering many assholes along the way who either forgot how to act in public or never knew how to act in public. It's been a long time since I did an asshole post since I have not been around a ton of people but I have quite a few entries amassed now. Anyhoo I put stuff away in the apartment, MFD arrived with the animals, I hit ACME, salads for dinner, some cleaning upstairs when last guests (returning long weekenders) for the year left at 8. 

I always love going up to visit my Boston fam. Thanks to Kim & Libby & Steve! I cannot believe Libby is five. So smart and silly and funny and wonderful. Kim and Steve are of course those things too LOL. Until next time.

This is the N95 mask I used to travel and it was super comfortable if anyone is in the market. It's not top of the line/medical grade but it served my purposes and was great for my claustrophobia that is exacerbated on planes. 

Show Us Your Books is tomorrow! See you back here for that. 

Friday check in chat

Coming at you live from Philadelphia International Airport. The last time I was in an airport was March 16, 2020. This morning has simultaneously been foreign and familiar. Foreign in that a lot of things have changed. Familiar in a lot of things remain the same, including new Covid-era things: rolling with last minute changes like the lot where I made a parking reservation yesterday afternoon at 3 is closed this morning and I was redirected, maskholes who think they can put their mask on whenever the fuck they want so I am arguing with people in a small passenger van before 7:30 am. I understand in this life in the time of corona yet still detest a last minute change in airport parking. I always get riled up by people who think rules apply to six other people and not them. Those things have not changed either. 

You might notice some more This post was written for the Life According to Steph audience posts recently. I've accepted more sponsored posts because I've amped up my donations to literally everything, including new Afghan refugee and local Ida sufferer groups as well as some veteran support organizations and Ultraviolet to combat the outright assault on women in TX. If you have spare change or time I hope you help who you can how you can. So many people out there need it and we do not have the social safety net other countries have. I will die on the abortion hill. You can take your arguments about that or vaccine and mask mandates and shove them up your asshole. Not today, and not ever with me. Go elsewhere. 

What else...the second to last airport experience I had before the world changed was also to Boston. Kim was stocking supplies and I had no idea what was even happening because I was up to my ears in work deadlines and pulling 12 hour days. Kim and I were together in the afternoon of September 11 20 years ago and this might be the same time we've been together on that day since. I'm looking forward to spending the weekend with her and Libby and Steve.

Did you know Auntie Anne’s has breakfast sandwiches?

The pineapple is the new pink princess bed, which Billy Hicks has gotten in the mix on. We have a pink princess bed at the shore and in Philly and both get daily, consistent use. We have a shark at the shore instead of a pineapple and so far only Billy has been in that but Ben and Mae love the pineapple. 

Yesterday I woke up to the realization I had forgotten to make coffee, which I made the day before obvi since I make iced coffee. My work day was packed and I was doing some extra since I had an afternoon appointment, plus it was raining so I was not in the mood to go get some. Flex time has been amazing yesterday and will be again today. Anyhoo I sulkily drank a smidge of MFD’s hot coffee and made it a point to get a medium this morning with plans to get another when I land. 

Show Us Your Books is Tuesday. Join me & Jana & our online reader crew.

Have a breather of a weekend.

A brief respite in Manchester, VT

It’s been a while since we found ourselves somewhere we’ve never been. It’s important for me to get out of what I know, see different things, take the temperature of the world outside of my area, expand my worldview…which is hard to do when the world is shut down.

We spent a few days in Manchester, VT, in August, trolling around within an hour of that spot, taking slow drives and feasting with our eyes. MFD did a little fly fishing and we spent some time at the table of a friend and his family. We also sort of formatted our days so we spent half of them doing and half of them just being, reading, resting, swimming, lounging, talking to people. We of course spent time creeping on other people’s flowers, drinking OPC, having fabulous meals at local restaurants, perusing antique stores, and sampling the local fare. 

The cherry on top was having no service a lot of times when away from the Inn at Manchester, where we were staying. This was our first time staying in a bed & breakfast and I loved it. The old Inn building felt at home given the age of our house at the shore. There was also a newer carriage building. The staff was excellent and the grounds were relaxing and lovely. It was clean, comfortable, had great services and spaces to hang outside of your room, was in a great location, and was extremely reasonable. 

Breakfasts were 10/10 and you sat with who you were with, not like sitting at one table with people you don't know which is my fucking nightmare. Monday was scrambled eggs with spinach and Vermont cheddar with bacon, Tuesday cottage cakes with sausage, Wednesday eggs over cheesey, and Thursday was buttermilk pancakes, which I do not eat so MFD's are pictured. I swapped for eggs over medium and called it a day. You can swap for eggs any way or just yogurt and granola and fruit if you aren't up for whatever the standard is that day.

Sunday we left Philly at 12:15 (initial estimated time of departure was 10:30 but we were on MFD time and nearly started off killing each other over that LOL). The drive up was a beaut despite having raggedy andy as a copilot during my drive time. We got to Manchester at 6 after two stops. We settled in, walked to the store for shit we forgot, and were asleep early.

Monday I went to a local coffee shop, MFD met Charlie for coffee and to check out Orvis Fly Fishing (Charlie is the documentary film student who followed MFD's last campaign for a project), and I got OPC at Charlie's Coffee House, putzed around some antique shops before hitting Northshire Books and the Manchester Library. I make a point of hitting an indie bookstore and the local library when possible on vacation. 

We spent the afternoon at the pool then reading in the shade, splitting a shrimp Caesar from Mulligan’s. We had dinner outside at the historic Ye Olde Tavern complete with someone’s wheel falling off down the block as they were driving. Thankfully down the block so it didn't skitter into our seats. The food was fine? Old timey. Cool setting and we had a nice conversation with table neighbors. If I had planned ahead more I would have made reservations elsewhere but this is what we got and it was fine. We finished the night out Southern Vermont Art Center sculpture garden and getting ice cream at Stewart’s where there was grand drama because the woman could not scoop the vanilla for MFD's root beer float. Back at the Inn we sat outside in rocking chairs until the mosquitos chased us in.

Tuesday we did the Mount Equinox Skyline Drive, which was gorgeous. It's cool to see the road end on your car map. We hit the Chiselville Covered Bridge after where a crew of bikers dicked around for an eternity doing their photo shoot. 

Lunch was from Amy’s on the Road, which is a food truck in an airstream and I had a bacon, lettuce, onion ring, tomato BLORT for lunch. It was DAMN GOOD. That was immediately followed up with a visit to Mother Myrick’s for some amazing sweets as they are in the same parking lot. After a rest, MFD went fly fishing and I went to TJ Maxx to get shampoo then back to read more in the shade. I mostly shop TJMaxx and Marshalls for Homegoods and beauty so when in another location I will almost always pop in, just like I will always pop into a local library to see what they have on display.

I made my way out Arlington to Bridge at the Green, a covered bridge in Arlington that leads to Norman Rockwell's homestead and a little church and green to wander, which I did. MFD was fly fishing there with Charlie and a guide. 

When they were done, we drove down some gravel roads to Charlie's for dinner with him and his parents. An amazing setting, great food, great dog, and great people we definitely align with on so many fronts. We drove home in the dark and called it a night.

Wednesday we drove around and landed at the Vermont Country Store (like the catalog, yes), then meandered back, filling up on Americana sites along the way. I spent the afternoon at the pool reading while MFD had a meeting. We had an early dinner at Zoey’s Double Hex then lolled around luxuriating in not having to get up ever to let dogs out. I chose the restaurant for the name but the food was really fucking good and there's a little garden up top with flowers and an owl. 

Thursday we checked out after breakfast and headed to pass through covered bridges (The Burt Henry, Silk Road, and Paper Mill), see the Bennington battle monument, and secure cheese at Henry's Market in Bennington before leaving the state. GPS took us well through the backroads home complete with deer grazing on the roadside in small towns and all and that was fine with us. Of course we were sick of God, the world, and each other by the time we picked Gus up and made it home in the excessive heat. But such is the nature of road trips. I love you, but get me out of this fucking car. 

Thanks to Sarah, Mark, & cousin Harry for watching Gus and Deionni for watching Bruce, Ben, and Mae. Traveling is a deterrent because of Gus alone so dog care is essential to us.

We're already planning to pass back through Manchester with Dad and Carol to or from Maine next year (along with checking out VT further north), and I am getting my ass reservations at Silver Fork (new location in the old library) because I waited too long to get them this time, managed to get on the waiting list in case someone cancelled, then missed the damn call because I was in the pool. Pit of the trip for sure, which was easy because it was very peaky. It was a nice, chill town. And that was nice because I really winged it this time - it was only a few days and moderately last minute for us so no excessive planning which is my usual. It was cool. Most things shut down by about 8 or 9, and that suits us just fine.

That's that on that. A bit rambly because I'm out of practice of both traveling and organizing my thoughts around presenting it. Happy Tuesday!

TWTW - here, there, and everywhere

Friday Began with Toegate 2021, in which I lifted a big mama heavy outdoor trash can up onto the curb except it went directly into my big toe instead. A bloodbath ensued, I was in a cold sweat and had to lay the fuck down. I worked until 3, my Dad and Carol arrived for the week, and my brother brought the kids down so I hit the beach for two hours with them - Lola is out there killing it in the water! - then we did dinner at the promenade, the rides, mullet examination, ice cream, the arcade, and they left. The remaining adults collapsed on the porch and were asleep by 10.

Saturday I was up around 7:30 and we were in the house by 9 since our guests left the night before to beat the traffic. Dad and Carol were awesome helpers and I was on the road back to Philly by 11:30. I made corn dip and did the most with my nails. We went to MFD’s cousin Col’s house for a nice afternoon with the Doyle crew. It has been a very long time since we’ve seen everyone so it was nice. I was so busy talking I took literally one photo. Home to pack haphazardly, finish a book, and frantically attempt to make reservations at midnight. 

Sunday Up and getting shit moving by 7:30: showering, final packing, changing and washing sheets, to Rite Aid to pick up toe supplies. MFD dropped Gus off and had to do his shit, so I made Crescent rolls with cream cheese and chocolate chips and did a lot of WTF let’s go. If you know MFD, you know. We finally left at noon (planned departure was 10:30a, and hit some traffic and did two stops so arrived in Manchester, VT, at 6. We checked in and took a little walk and were in bed early like the seniors we are. I’m probably going to bring back Shit MFD Says or Shit MFD Does because this MFer was using king size twizzlers to make himself raggedy Andy and other shit on the way up and taking photos and killing himself laughing as I was driving. 

I hate doing blogs on my phone because the photos are off but whatever this week. Quite seriously, whatever. My Out of Office is well fucking on. 

Show Us Your Books is tomorrow! Check back here for that. 

How do you record your travels?

The driving reason I have maintained this blog since 2011 in whatever posting frequency fits my life at the time is so it serves as a digital journal. The first few years I did this, I had no real notion of anyone reading it aside from me for myself, and the few people who knew I kept it. I obviously don't put everything here because I have personal boundaries between me and whoever might read it, but it has served well for me as a digital journal or planner of sorts. The best thing is that literally anyone can do this, keep a  digital journal of daily (weekly? monthly?) life. It's also a great place to store recipes and travel itineraries and such without the need for a bunch of papers or word docs. As I try to wrap my mind around traveling again in this big beautiful world, I am already thinking ahead of how I use my online tools to plan but also to remember trips to come. 

Blogging

Creating an online journal is really simple. Free platforms such as Wordpress (I do work sites on WP) or Blogger (I keep it simple personally here and use blogger) give you the opportunity to create a blog to store your memories. WP is much more customizable than blogger, but there are definitely plenty of ways to customize on either. They both provide storage as well although I don't really use blogger for that. If you are only journaling for you, not for the world to see, you can set your settings to private. Of course, if you change your mind and want to share, you can always switch those settings and share your life and travels with the world. 

Storing online

If the thought of creating a blog to store everything on doesn’t float your boat, you can just organize your itineraries, reservations, travel photos, etc online using storage. Of course you lose the opportunity to add little stories and memories that accompany the pictures. However, if you are hyper organized, you can manually change the names of the photos and add little stories that way in google photos. I find it annoying to do that, but maybe you don't. The frustrating thing about this can be the amount of duplicate photos that you discover. If you read the post about removing photos, you will learn how to remove those duplicates and free up some space. Of course, sometimes I keep all of those 50 photos of the sunrise but whatever. Dupe photo removal is on my To Do list this year. .

Write that book

They say that everyone has a writer inside them, so why not take advantage of that? Using free software like Google Docs, you can easily create make a trip you take into a book. In this format, you may be tempted to fill the page with more writing than pictures but at least there is an option to include both. It's easy to keep track of days on trips like this since you can open a fresh doc everyday, label it with the date, and capture your experiences and thoughts. One of the reasons I love to travel is the way it expands my mind and worldview, and I am someone who likes to jot those down as I go. I have done this for most of my life with a travel notebook, which I still bring along, but I also keep notes on my phone during trips now. Some phrases pop into my head and are gone in a blink if I don't write them down.

Create a digital scrapbook

Hang on, isn’t that what we have been talking about this whole time? Yes and no. The thing about scrapbooking is that it is a specific craft that combines a series of elements to tell a story. Some of those elements are the photos, but it also includes pieces of memorabilia and a specific theme or mood. Adding those elements such as cute backgrounds and digital stickers are kind of hard to do in Google Docs, especially if you want to create a scrapbook vibe. Sites such as Canva allow you to mix all of the traditional scrapbooking elements into a digital format. And if you really like what you have, you can get it printed into a photobook. I used to be a physical scrapbooker but lost my taste for it. 

Try a digital diary

There is an abundance of sites and apps that are designed to help with the journal process. These places are about more than throwing words and photos at a screen. They can be programmed to help you write about different things too. Some of these apps have the option to add the temperature or the weather, as well as the option to share it. The sharing options can also allow other people to add to your journal and share their memories about meeting you. I'm considering doing this on my next trip.

YouTube

Video journaling is a perfectly valid form of recording your travels. Some might argue it is the best way. When we say YouTube, the last thing we think of is using it as a journal. As we use video more and more, we need a place to store our stuff. YouTube offers unlimited storage for free, and you don’t have to make your videos public. Instead, you can set them to private or share. This means that you can send the link to your friends and family but don’t have to share it with the world. Of course, you could edit some videos into interesting highlights and make them public rather than share your entire hour-long ramble. 

Voice notes

Am I the only person who has wanted to carry one of those small pocket reporter recorders around forever but has never actually done so? Yes? Anyway voice recording is a great middle ground between writing and videos. You can sit down at the end of the day and ramble on about what you have seen or done. You can talk into the mic while walking. Hell now you don't even need the cool little pocket recorder because most phones have a voice recorder and access to cloud storage. This is you recording your own personal audiobook. 

There ar so many options when it comes to creating a digital journal for your travels. The beauty of digital means you can mix and match these with ease. You can add photos and voice notes to your writing, embed videos into your blog posts, and even print everything off if you want to make a physical backup copy. The opportunities to create a unique digital travel journal are almost as endless as the places to travel to. 

It's so nice to think about travel and trip planning again.

Happy Friday! Where are you thinking of traveling to next?