Best Mini Vacation Evah

So last weekend I took a couple of days off and went to visit my friend Terry at her new home in Stuart, Florida. (She had to move there because of her job, and her hubby and original two cats are still back in Connecticut. So she REALLY wanted me to come visit.) I was there from Friday through Monday morning, although Monday really doesn't count, since I left her apartment for the airport at 8:30 am and got home at around 6 pm. SIGH. (Although I did get to spend time with my sister Sarah, since she was kind enough to pick me up at the Albany airport and drive me home to Oneonta.)

But reader, I had the best time! If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you might have seen some pictures of the amazing seafood we ate (there are no pictures of the wine we drank, but you can assume there was some). Stuart was a lovely little town, and I actually did a lot of research while I was there, since I'm working on a Women's Fiction novel with a setting based on it. Cute, quirky shops (I still wish I'd taken pictures of the shop fronts, because they had the cleverest names), fabulous restaurants, including our favorite which was right on the water, a boardwalk, and fun places to visit. But the best part--besides being with my friend--was the sky. It was amazing. These pictures are real, I promise.

This was at the beach about 20 minutes from her house.

 We only got to spend about 25 minutes at the beach Saturday and Sunday (Saturday we got there at 8:30 in the morning and it was already 90 degrees out), but it was really beautiful.

The clouds were incredible every day I was there.

High tide, around 9 am. All those outcroppings are actually coral.

On the main drag where all the shops were.

Terry, on the pier we visited Saturday afternoon.

Murphy!

 As you might predict from one of my friends, Terry didn't last long without getting a couple of cats to keep her company in her new place. Above is little Murphy (she's probably a Bengal, and this might be the only time I saw her sit still!) and below is Lily, who actually slept with me one night.

Lily

 This was the small, fairly hidden beach about 20 minutes from Terry's house.

Saturday afternoon, we went to the McKee Botanical Gardens. Fabulous plants and a bunch of cool life-sized metal sculptures. (Also a very nice gift shop, where I did some damage.)

Lion!

Then Sunday morning, back to the beach briefly. There were so many shells there, the "sand" was actually made up of tiny crushed shell.

Then we went to the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center, which was very cool. And educational.

Terry, showing off all the fish.

 They had sea turtles. And small sharks. And I got to feed a manta ray (all the little kids were doing it...)

Then it was back to our favorite restaurant, the Stuart Boathouse. We ate there Saturday, and it was so great, we went back for our last meal together on Sunday night. Of course, not only was the food amazing, but this was the view from our table!

My new happy place

Now I'm back to reality, and catching up on all the stuff that piled up while I was gone. But I really needed the break, and I'm grateful for good friends, good food, and of course, OCEAN.

A Trip to Connecticut! Part Two.

If you read yesterday's post, you already know that I snuck out for a mini-vacation to Connecticut over the weekend to visit my friends Terry and Glenn. We crammed so much goodness into two days, it didn't fit into one blog post!

Here's what we did on Sunday:

We started off by driving about 2 1/2 hours to get to the MYSTIC AQUARIUM. I haven't been to an aquarium since I was a kid, and I was seriously "four-year-old-jumping-up-and-down" excited. The Mystic Aquarium didn't disappoint, either. We saw a great sea lion show, beluga whales, penguins, and more. I had a blast. (I even dragged Terry into one of those old-fashioned photo booths, because we're that kind of friends.)

At the Aquarium!

The sea lion show was amazing.

Whale ho!

The penguins were so cute!

Silly friends being silly

Then we went into Mystic proper (I'd never been there) and we had an amazing lunch at the Treehouse restaurant outside on the top of The Oyster Club. Yes, those are oysters topped with cream and bacon :-) And onion rings. Hey--I was on vacation!

Hey, we shared!

These were one of the best things I ever ate in my life!

If you're in Mystic, don't miss this place.

 Then we wandered around town and found all kinds of cool things in all kinds of cool shops. Between Mystic, the beach, and the museum shop from the day before, I came home with all kinds of swag. But some of it was for the cat sitters, I swear!

Mystic Dragon Tea! How could I not get it?

 It was hard to leave on Monday morning, and Terry and I have already exchanged half a dozen emails saying how much we miss each other. But this was waiting for me at home, and that made it a little easier.

Magic, keeping the bed warm.

All in all, it was a fabulous 3-day mini-vacation, and I feel so much better for having taken it. But don't worry...I'm back to work on the Llewellyn 365 Day book and getting ready to dive into all sorts of promo and giveaways for the upcoming release of DANGEROUSLY CHARMING. But man, it was a great trip, and we made memories that will last for a long time.

A Trip to Connecticut! Part One

Some of you might have seen me post something on Facebook or Twitter last Thursday about "sekrit plans" for the weekend. Now that I'm back, I'll share with you where I was and what I did.

I went to Connecticut, in fact, to visit my friend Terry and her husband Glenn. They used to live here in Oneonta, but moved to Connecticut about 18 years ago. They have been great about coming to visit me here at least once a year (either Terry on her own or both of them together), but it took me until now to get my act together to go visit them. And man, did we have a great time.

As you know (Bob), almost all of my traveling is writing/work related--Pagan and writing conferences, that sort of thing. This trip was a mini-vacation. Nothing but fun. (And maybe some research for future books.) I didn't realize how much I needed a break until I finally took one!

I took the bus to Albany Friday morning, and Terry drove out and picked me up there (about 2 hours from her house). We spent the evening hanging out and catching up, and then on Saturday, Terry and I headed to the ocean near Essex. We only got to hang out there for about an hour, because Terry is English/Irish and even with sunscreen, will burst into flame if she is in the sun any longer than that. (Yes, I think she is a vampire too. Shhh...) Still, an hour at the beach makes me VERY happy.

OCEAN!!!!!

This is Terry. Say hi to Terry, everyone.

This is my happy face.

Then we drove to Old Lyme to meet up with Glenn at the Florence Griswold Museum, where we had an amazing lunch at their cafe, and then spent a blissful couple of hours walking around looking at American Impressionist paintings and the cool old house and gardens.

This is Glenn. Say hi to Glenn, everyone.

The view from our table outside...a lovely river.

Lots of celebrating during this weekend :-)

Yes, that IS a lobster BLT.

The museum was small and charming. I highly recommend a visit, if you are ever in the area.

Pretty as a picture

We decided this was a picture of us. Me on the left in the black, of course.

 Eventually we drove back to Terry and Glenn's house (about 2 1/2 hours...I spent a lot of time in the car, this trip, but it was worth it) and had a mellow evening of snacks, wine, and a movie. When it was time to go to bed, their cat Pippa kept me company for a bit. (Her sister would have nothing to do with me, alas.)

This is Pippa. Say hi to Pippa, everyone.

And that was just Saturday! Wait until you see what we did on Sunday. Hopefully, I'll get that up tomorrow, since it was too much to fit into one blog!

Oh, and did you realize that as of today, DANGEROUSLY CHARMING is going to be out in FIVE WEEKS?! Somebody should do some kind of giveaway soon, don't you think? Maybe next Tuesday, when we hit the four week mark. (Gulp.)

Tell me, do you ever take a mini-vacation or a long weekend away? If so, where do you go?