Since I began the process of road trip planning, I've fallen in love with reading (for the millionth time, probably) all over again. My family reads. When we were kids, my siblings and I would look forward to stopping by Barnes & Noble with dad before or after our movie at The Promenade to read a quick chapter or check out the latest Archie comic book. I never used to read as much as my siblings in the beginning though. I was a little behind in starting the Harry Potter series, and I didn't actually develop a love for books until I began those. I was more of a read-Calvin&Hobbes-while-eating-cereal reader than a read-a-book-for-the-love-of-reading reader. And then I fell in love with books & never looked back. Now I love to read everything, and my road trip research has allowed me to enjoy this hobby even more recently.
If you follow my blog, then you've probably noticed that it's been a few months since my last post. It's not because I forgot about my blog or because I was lazy. It's because I was feeling uninspired. I have several entries saved as drafts (as per usual & this will probably never not be true), as I have continued to research and take notes, but I was feeling like posting on my blog was a chore instead of something I enjoyed.
I want this entire road trip process, from planning to execution to recalling epic stories after the fact, to be something I enjoy. POSITIVE. In recent weeks, writing wasn't something I found pleasure in. But reading was and continues to be something I find most enjoyable. So I will continue to read, and in doing so, research. And I will share my findings, and my thoughts & my hopes for my trip. But I will not allow sharing to become a chore. I do want to keep myself accountable, and I think this blog will help me do so, but I will only reach for a pen & paper (or a keyboard) when I feel compelled, inspired to do so. Not because it is something I feel I have a responsibility to do. :)
Sunday, January 19, 2014
SSS: New Jersey
New Jersey tends to have a bad reputation because of how it's portrayed in movies and on television, and the state's infamous tolls don't really help their case either. But as someone who always tries to see the good, I'm hoping to find some hidden charm in this "Garden State" (and I have no doubt that I will!)
After some research, things I might want to see/do/eat:
-Palisades Interstate Park (riverside hiking trails & shoreline)
-Jersey Shore
-Prudential Center aka "The Rock" in Newark
-Ironbound (Portuguese-Spanish neighborhood)
-Hoboken, Frank Sinatra's hometown (see an alternative-rock show at Maxwell's)
-Atlantic City
-Eat some salt-water taffy at Atlantic City's boardwalk (where the treat was invented in the late 1800s)
-Enjoy some blueberries (the first in the US were farmed in New Jersey)
-Asbury Park & rock bar Stone Pony
-Canoe the Delaware Water Gap on the New Jersey/Pennsylvania border
-Wetlands in south New Jersey
-Revolutionary War monuments
-The Pine Barrens region
I can't wait to drive along New Jersey's advent of highways while listening to Springsteen's "Born to Run!" :)
Visit NJ
After some research, things I might want to see/do/eat:
-Palisades Interstate Park (riverside hiking trails & shoreline)
-Jersey Shore
-Prudential Center aka "The Rock" in Newark
-Ironbound (Portuguese-Spanish neighborhood)
-Hoboken, Frank Sinatra's hometown (see an alternative-rock show at Maxwell's)
-Atlantic City
-Eat some salt-water taffy at Atlantic City's boardwalk (where the treat was invented in the late 1800s)
-Enjoy some blueberries (the first in the US were farmed in New Jersey)
-Asbury Park & rock bar Stone Pony
-Canoe the Delaware Water Gap on the New Jersey/Pennsylvania border
-Wetlands in south New Jersey
-Revolutionary War monuments
-The Pine Barrens region
I can't wait to drive along New Jersey's advent of highways while listening to Springsteen's "Born to Run!" :)
Visit NJ
Attitude of G R A T I T U D E
The following entry was written on 11/14/13.
I'm sitting on the bed in my room with the fan on, my favorite quilt covering my legs, Rocco sleeping under the covers with his head resting on my shin, a cup of coffee on the headboard behind me, a small dish of almonds sitting on the pillow next to me, and Alexi Murdoch playing from my Bon Iver Pandora station in the background. & Today I'm overcome with this deep feeling of gratitude. And sadness. And excitement. And simple nostalgia. But mostly G R A D I T U D E. I am SO overcome with gratitude.
The amount of people & things & experiences I have to be thankful for is overwhelming. I am SO blessed it makes me what to cry a river of joyful, gracious tears. And maybe that's just what I'll have to do, because this feeling has rocked me to my core and I can't even begin to explain how lucky I feel; in every aspect of my life I feel lucky.
That's not all to say that my life is perfect. It's not. It's far from perfect actually. Nor is this the happiest I've been, because that's not true either. In fact, the past several months have been hard for me emotionally. I've struggled with friendships, plans for my future, family stuff, health problems, and other very personal issues. But I am A L I V E. I am living and breathing and experiencing life.
...
1/19/14
Have you ever heard of The Secret? My family and I have been exploring the idea of it more often lately, and The Secret is essentially that. ^^ To have a constant attitude of gratitude. To be thankful and grateful for everything that you already have while hoping (& ASKING) for what you want. To consciously be putting positivity out into the Universe, because positive attracts more positive. (& the same is true of negativity.) The secret to a happy life is being grateful for everything that you already have, asking for what you want, believing that you will get it, receiving it, and then being grateful all over again. We have the power to give ourselves a happy life. We just have to believe that we can have what we want, ALL we want, and we will be blessed.
I want to road trip across the United States of America. I want to have the time of my life exploring my country & experiencing everything this great nation has to offer.
...And you better believe I WILL. Because I do. ;)
I'm sitting on the bed in my room with the fan on, my favorite quilt covering my legs, Rocco sleeping under the covers with his head resting on my shin, a cup of coffee on the headboard behind me, a small dish of almonds sitting on the pillow next to me, and Alexi Murdoch playing from my Bon Iver Pandora station in the background. & Today I'm overcome with this deep feeling of gratitude. And sadness. And excitement. And simple nostalgia. But mostly G R A D I T U D E. I am SO overcome with gratitude.
The amount of people & things & experiences I have to be thankful for is overwhelming. I am SO blessed it makes me what to cry a river of joyful, gracious tears. And maybe that's just what I'll have to do, because this feeling has rocked me to my core and I can't even begin to explain how lucky I feel; in every aspect of my life I feel lucky.
That's not all to say that my life is perfect. It's not. It's far from perfect actually. Nor is this the happiest I've been, because that's not true either. In fact, the past several months have been hard for me emotionally. I've struggled with friendships, plans for my future, family stuff, health problems, and other very personal issues. But I am A L I V E. I am living and breathing and experiencing life.
...
1/19/14
Have you ever heard of The Secret? My family and I have been exploring the idea of it more often lately, and The Secret is essentially that. ^^ To have a constant attitude of gratitude. To be thankful and grateful for everything that you already have while hoping (& ASKING) for what you want. To consciously be putting positivity out into the Universe, because positive attracts more positive. (& the same is true of negativity.) The secret to a happy life is being grateful for everything that you already have, asking for what you want, believing that you will get it, receiving it, and then being grateful all over again. We have the power to give ourselves a happy life. We just have to believe that we can have what we want, ALL we want, and we will be blessed.
I want to road trip across the United States of America. I want to have the time of my life exploring my country & experiencing everything this great nation has to offer.
...And you better believe I WILL. Because I do. ;)
Sunday, November 17, 2013
SSS: Connecticut
"The Constitution State"
Things to see & do:
-Long Island Sound shoreline
-Hammonasset Beach State Park
-Mystic Seaport
-Norwich's Mohegan Indian Burial Ground
-Housatonic River Valley
-Housatonic Meadows State Park
-Quiet Corner farm country
-Mystic Aquarium
-Essex Steam Train & Riverboat
-Stonington lighthouse museum
-Scoville Memorial Library-- the first free public library in the U.S.
-Long Wharf & Schubert Theaters
-Peabody Museum of Natural History
-Yale University Art Gallery & Yale Center for British Art
-Old State House in Hartford
-former homes of Mark a Twain & Harriet Beecher Stowe
-Wadsworth Atheneum & Bushnell Performing Arts Center
BUT MOSTLY:
*EAT in New Haven.
-Louis' Lunch Wagon (old-fashioned burgers)
-the "grinder" (hot Italian sandwich)
-"apizza" (thin, brick-oven pizza, best with clams & garlicky white sauce)
[Apparently, Frank Sinatra enjoyed New Haven pizza so much that he had it delivered to NYC (two hours away) rather frequently.]
:)
Things to see & do:
-Long Island Sound shoreline
-Hammonasset Beach State Park
-Mystic Seaport
-Norwich's Mohegan Indian Burial Ground
-Housatonic River Valley
-Housatonic Meadows State Park
-Quiet Corner farm country
-Mystic Aquarium
-Essex Steam Train & Riverboat
-Stonington lighthouse museum
-Scoville Memorial Library-- the first free public library in the U.S.
-Long Wharf & Schubert Theaters
-Peabody Museum of Natural History
-Yale University Art Gallery & Yale Center for British Art
-Old State House in Hartford
-former homes of Mark a Twain & Harriet Beecher Stowe
-Wadsworth Atheneum & Bushnell Performing Arts Center
BUT MOSTLY:
*EAT in New Haven.
-Louis' Lunch Wagon (old-fashioned burgers)
-the "grinder" (hot Italian sandwich)
-"apizza" (thin, brick-oven pizza, best with clams & garlicky white sauce)
[Apparently, Frank Sinatra enjoyed New Haven pizza so much that he had it delivered to NYC (two hours away) rather frequently.]
:)
SSS: Rhode Island
RHODE ISLAND
"Ocean State"
Rhode Island may be the smallest state in America, but their motto is "Hope" which makes me love it already. :) & Since Rhode Island is so small (48 miles long & 42 miles wide) I'm planning to see pretty much everything this tiny state has to offer. ;)
Block Island:
-Mohegan Bluffs (200 feet high)
-Block Island Beach Rec Area
-New Shoreham (the island's only town)
Bristol:
-Colt State Park
-Coggeshall Farm (replica of 18th century working farm)
-Roger Williams University
-Blithewold Mansion & Gardens
-Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology
-Brown University (Native American Arts & cultural items)
-Herreshoff Marine Museum & America's Cup Hall of Fame
Newport:
-Tour a mansion on Bellevue Ave
-Hammersmith Farm
-Friends Meeting House
-Touro Synagogue National Historic Site
-Fort Adams State Park
-Old Colony House, Washington Square
-Gooseberry & Easton's Beaches, Sachuest & Third Beaches
Pawtucket:
-Slater Mill Historic Site
-Blackstone River National Heritage Corridor
Providence
- "costume jewelry capital of the nation"
-Ivy League Brown University, the Museum of Art-- Rhode Island School of Design, Providence College, Rhode Island College, & Johnson and Wales University
-first Baptist Church in America
-Benefit Street's "Mile of History"
-Roger Williams Park
Warwick:
-known for its malls & outlet stores
-Warwick City Park
-Oakland Beach
Westerly:
-villages: Westerly, Watch Hill, Bradford, Avondale
-beaches between Watch Hill & Weekapaug
-The Flying Horse Carousel at Watch Hill
Woonsocket:
-Museum of Work and Culture
"Ocean State"
Rhode Island may be the smallest state in America, but their motto is "Hope" which makes me love it already. :) & Since Rhode Island is so small (48 miles long & 42 miles wide) I'm planning to see pretty much everything this tiny state has to offer. ;)
Block Island:
-Mohegan Bluffs (200 feet high)
-Block Island Beach Rec Area
-New Shoreham (the island's only town)
Bristol:
-Colt State Park
-Coggeshall Farm (replica of 18th century working farm)
-Roger Williams University
-Blithewold Mansion & Gardens
-Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology
-Brown University (Native American Arts & cultural items)
-Herreshoff Marine Museum & America's Cup Hall of Fame
Newport:
-Tour a mansion on Bellevue Ave
-Hammersmith Farm
-Friends Meeting House
-Touro Synagogue National Historic Site
-Fort Adams State Park
-Old Colony House, Washington Square
-Gooseberry & Easton's Beaches, Sachuest & Third Beaches
Pawtucket:
-Slater Mill Historic Site
-Blackstone River National Heritage Corridor
Providence
- "costume jewelry capital of the nation"
-Ivy League Brown University, the Museum of Art-- Rhode Island School of Design, Providence College, Rhode Island College, & Johnson and Wales University
-first Baptist Church in America
-Benefit Street's "Mile of History"
-Roger Williams Park
Warwick:
-known for its malls & outlet stores
-Warwick City Park
-Oakland Beach
Westerly:
-villages: Westerly, Watch Hill, Bradford, Avondale
-beaches between Watch Hill & Weekapaug
-The Flying Horse Carousel at Watch Hill
Woonsocket:
-Museum of Work and Culture
Sunday, November 3, 2013
SSS: Massachusetts
I'm not sure why, but I am beyond excited to visit Massachusetts! I've been there before, but for some reason researching Massachusetts makes me so happy! The plan is to be there for Halloween 2014. :D
This website, Massachusetts Vacations, has SO much fantastic information including sections all about holidays in Massachusetts... And of course my favorite is HALLOWEEN! :D
This website, Massachusetts Vacations, has SO much fantastic information including sections all about holidays in Massachusetts... And of course my favorite is HALLOWEEN! :D
SSS: Maine
MAINE
Also known as: "The Pine Tree State" OR "Vacationland"
Trademarks (& things I don't want to miss):
-lobsters
-blueberries
-moose
-rocky shores
-lighthouses
-mosquitoes (these I wouldn't mind missing)
^^ According to The USA BOOK
Acadia National Park
Mount Katahdin
Baxter State Park
Allagash Wilderness Waterway
Sand Beach
Camden Harbor
Moosehead Lake
Portland & West End
Mostly I want to eat seafood chowder containing Maine's famous lobsters & potatoes. And maybe some blueberry pancakes & muffins too. Also, apparently it's a Maine tradition to enjoy "popovers with strawberry jam served on the lawn at Jordan Pond teahouse." So that'll be happening too. ;)
Also known as: "The Pine Tree State" OR "Vacationland"
Trademarks (& things I don't want to miss):
-lobsters
-blueberries
-moose
-rocky shores
-lighthouses
-mosquitoes (these I wouldn't mind missing)
^^ According to The USA BOOK
Acadia National Park
Mount Katahdin
Baxter State Park
Allagash Wilderness Waterway
Sand Beach
Camden Harbor
Moosehead Lake
Portland & West End
Mostly I want to eat seafood chowder containing Maine's famous lobsters & potatoes. And maybe some blueberry pancakes & muffins too. Also, apparently it's a Maine tradition to enjoy "popovers with strawberry jam served on the lawn at Jordan Pond teahouse." So that'll be happening too. ;)
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