Something New, Something Cherished - Part 2

Last week, I shared our "new" England experiences, this week I'll share some of our cherished England revisited!

As you know, we're foodies so of course we had to get all of our favorites!!

Ooops, someone got so excited to dig in they forgot to let me take a photo first.  This may or may not be MY plate! lol

Can't have the fish without the chips and mushy peas!

Steak and mushroom pie

Sticky toffee pudding - just one of many we had - and not the best - that honor belongs to those made by our cherished friend, Dani.

One simply must have tea and scones when in England. Yorkshire scones are huge and delicious but were missing and essential ingredient - clotted cream!  We remedied that - MANY - times during the second part of our trip - but the very best ones were at Vintage Blue Tea room in Lavenham. Which also served Eton Mess- another family favorite.

The Vintage Tea Room not only has delicious food, its adorable!

 More fish and chips - in Whitby.  We enjoyed eating them outside in a seaside town.  Our family did a taste test and decided we are a "haddock" family and preferred it over the cod.

When we lived near Cambridge, the girls were a little small for punting on their own so we made a trip back to let them give it a go.  Our smallest member was the best punter.  Our cherished friend Joe joined us and in addition, to providing us with this great photo, provided us our best adventure and a great day of memories!

London West End shows are definitely a family favorite.  On this trip, it mean rising at 5:00am and driving 5 hours in the rain to get to a tube station to make our way into the city but it was oh so worth it!!!!

As you can see my family and I are quite passionate about England and LOVE it. I would love to help you plan a trip there and experience all that is special about it!

Something New, Something Cherished -Part 1

My family had the privilege of returning to our beloved England this summer.  During our 3 years living there, we'd never made it to the North Yorkshire Moors so decided to spend the first part of our trip there and experience a "new to us" part of England.

It did not disappoint!!  A gorgeous drive across the moors with its fields of purple heather - not quite at their peak but still beautiful, brought us to our cottage at Church House Farm where we enjoyed spectacular views from our garden and from our walks.

Local Fairy house

While there we enjoyed a couple nice day trips - including a visit to Whitby Abbey and the town of Whitby.  Do you know the literary significance of Whitby Abbey?  Answer below...

199 Steps from Whitby Abbey to the town.  We started at the top and went down - and took the shuttle back UP!

Whitby was inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula.

What's a summer vacation without a beach day?  Apparently many others agreed because we began our day at one beach and had to abandon our plans when we couldn't find a single parking spot anywhere in town, and moved on to Runswick Bay which was stunning. The walk down was very steep but my chivalrous husband  played chauffeur and dropped us and picked us up at the bottom.

I want to live in that white house all the way on the end but I got vetoed!

On our way home from the beach, I wanted to catch the Hogwarts Express - but alas I missed it!

I did get to visit the station for a bit.




We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the Moors and have a new "cherished" portion of England to love!  In Part 2, I'll share our cherished favorites revisited!

Mother Daughter Time

As a mother of five, I tend to get very busy in the small details of day to day life: menu planning, schooling, after-school activities, cleaning, laundry, diapers, college applications, etc. So when my husband suggested I take our oldest daughter on a vacation, my jaw dropped to the floor. I wasn't even sure how to process his comment. After picking up my jaw and discussing it more, we decided to start a family tradition. The year that each child turns 18/graduates, they get to go on a vacation with mom. Just the two of us. Yay!

Our oldest turned 18 and graduated this past year, so we got to plan our trip. Given this daughter's personality, I knew going somewhere warm during the winter months (we live in Minnesota) would be a fabulous choice for her. So we started throwing around some ideas that mostly involved flying somewhere warm and renting a car and exploring. Sounds fun, right? Then Kristy suggested a cruise. Wait, what?!? I can't afford a cruise. But after looking into it, I was surprised to find that we could totally afford a cruise. They are way more reasonable than most people realize!

We decided on a Royal Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas. What an experience! This was a first for both of us, so every little thing was new. Being out on the ocean was pretty amazing and ridiculously good for the soul. The food was incredible; the beaches were beautiful; the food was delicious; exploring Nassau was breathtaking; the food was drool-worthy; the ocean was soothing...and did I mention the FOOD?

Visiting the private beach destination, CocoCay, was one of our favorite parts of the cruise. Sitting on the beach, soaking up the hot sun, drinking out of pineapples-- Paradise. Seriously. My feet miss that sand.

My daughter's highlights were seeing the beaches and all the cute Bahamian shops, along with the amazing cuisine served on the cruise by the same waiters every meal. My highlight was the food and history tour we went on while at port in Nassau. I was shocked at how much fascinating information and delicious food was packed into just a few short hours. That went above and beyond my expectations. Our tour guide, Joy, was full of interesting information and was clearly very passionate about her homeland and its rich culture and diverse cuisine.

The ship itself was filled with endless entertainment and fun things to see and do: nightly shows, comedians, pools, hot tubs, a rock wall, bungee trampolines, an arcade, shops, a spa, an orchestra, live bands, theme nights, game shows, a casino, movies on deck, dancing, restaurants, classes--the list goes on and on.

I am so glad my daughter and I were able to go on this adventure together. Making memories like this is my favorite thing to do.

Baltimore

Sometimes when you are local to an area you take it for granted.  It's only when you leave and return as a tourist that you can appreciate what a city or destination has to offer.  Having grown up in Maryland with many forays into Baltimore to watch the O's games, to shop, to see a show, to visit the Aquarium or the Inner Harbor, I never really saw it from a tourist point of view.   However, this past weekend changed that.  Visiting for an art exhibition, we decided to live like tourists.  

As a born and raised Marylander, no visit is truly complete without eating steamed crabs, so our very first stop in Baltimore was Nicks Fish House where we split a dozen crabs between us.  As that was not enough to actually satisfy our hunger we also ordered crab dip and crab pretzels!  Crabs don't get much better than this!!

After cleaning up (a definite necessity!) we headed to the Inner Harbor where we'd booked a room at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel.  

 The hotel was beautiful and perfectly located.  The lobby was hopping with activity and people enjoying themselves visiting with friends, or drinking their Starbucks and reading or working at a table.

Our room was modern and very comfortable....

With a spectacular view of the Inner Harbor which was just steps away.

On Saturday morning, we walked more than a few steps (about 6 blocks) to get to a "cafe with character" my husband had discovered searching on the Internet.  It definitely  had character and my first impression was that it was a bit too macabre for me...

 but he told me think of it as a nod to Edgar Allan Poe and to embrace it - so I did! We even sat beneath this Raven! lol

I can not tell you enough how truly AMAZING this breakfast was.  I was super glad we walked the 6 blocks to get there (although 600 blocks may have been more necessary for all the calories! lol!)  The portions were huge so we shared.

Cap'n Crunch French Toast is a specialty and a customer favorite - for very good reason. It is DELICIOUS!!

Sweet Baby Jesus was our other choice.  Hash browns, tomatoes, lump crab meat, eggs and hollandaise sauce made up this scrumptious plate of food.

The coffee was the only weak link in our breakfast - as I prefer mine stronger - but the mugs had enough attitude to make up for the weaker coffee.

A few hours later we all met up for an Inner Harbor Sightseeing Cruise.  It was a super hot day but the AC interior and the breezy top made it an enjoyable way to see the sights of Baltimore.  Choose seating on the starboard side for the best viewing! 

There are games aboard too for those who want to be entertained by more than just sightseeing.

My favorite part of the cruise was passing Fort McHenry as they played the Star Spangled Banner.  This proud AF wife may have had something in my eyes during that portion!

Speaking of Fort McHenry, we stopped by there for a couple hours before heading to the airport to drop off our oldest daughter.  Its part of the National Park service so offers free admittance for active duty servicemen, and disabled vets get a free lifetime pass for themselves and up to 3 adult guests.  Thank you National Park Service!  As our time was extremely limited, we appreciated this perk very much - however, normal entry fees are a reasonable $15 for guests over 16.  (Under 16 is free)

Be sure to catch the movie about the Battle of Baltimore.  The ending is a moving experience!