weekend trips

A Long Weekend in South Beach

south beach

Three days in South Beach was exactly what I needed before starting my new job. (Don’t get me wrong—I’m thrilled about it, but definitely needed some R&R, especially after the holidays!) I’d been to Miami once before, about a year and a half ago, for Mal’s bachelorette party. While that wasn’t exactly a wild and crazy time, this trip was even more chill—I’m sure I was in bed before the rest of South Beach was going out for the night!

Some highlights/favorites:

EATS

Yardbird

yardbird

butter lettuce and mango salad

On our first day, we ate lunch atВ Yardbird , a hopping, Southern food restaurant with hip decor, run by formerВ Top ChefВ contestant Jeff McInnis. I wanted to eat everything on theВ menuВ (which included deviled eggs, pulled pork and shrimp n’grits) but opted for the butter lettuce and mango salad topped with local swordfish. I also had a few bites of the signature fried chicken and biscuit—and can vouch for both being amazing.

Ola

ola

My mom’s birthday was on Thursday (happy bday, Meme <3!), so to celebrate, we went toВ Ola , a Latin American restaurant that happened to be inВ my hotel. (More about that below.) It was the perfect place for a special dinner—the food and service were superb. The corn empanadas were probably the best I’ve ever had, and the hamachi ceviche was delicious. And the deconstructed key lime pie? Just the right balance of sweet and tart.

Joe’s Stone Crab

jumbo stone crab claws

I left a day earlier than my parents, so they wanted to send me off with a good meal—and I couldn’t have been happier with their restaurant selection. We went to lunch atВ Joe’s Stone Crab , a perpetually crowded, wonderfully old school institution where waiters still wear jackets and bow ties. Stone crabs are in season from October through mid-May and we were in luck: A batch of jumbo crabs had come in that morning. I’m used to eating littleВ Maryland blue crabs, so I was shocked at how large and meaty these guys were. (I’m still dreaming of those claws!)

Other South Beach Eats I’d recommend (from this and the last trip):
Puerto Sagua:В Classic (and cheap!) Cuban food in a casual, diner-likeВ atmosphere. (Perfect for the morning after a night out!)
Dilido Beach Club:В Delicious cocktails and eats—plus impeccable service—at the Ritz-Carlton’s oceanfront bar; great for lunch when you don’t want to stray far from the beach.
BLT Steak:В True to its name, meat is the main event, but the gigantic Gruyere popovers, alone, are worth the trip.
SprisAl fresco Lincoln Road spot that serves thin-crust pizzas.
Sushi Samba:В I’ve never been to the NYC restaurant, but I really enjoyed my late-night rolls and cocktails at this outpost, also on Lincoln Road—plus, the people-watching was fantastic, at that hour!

SIGHTSВ

The Beach

south beach

Obviously. When I’ve left behind freezing, cold NYC for a few precious days in the sun, there are not many things I’d rather do than lie onВ the beachAnd luckily, South Beach, itself, is really nice. The sand is soft and well-kept.В On sunny days, the water is calm and brilliant blue—I find it hard to believe it’s the same Atlantic we have up north! I spent most of every day chillaxin’ in a lounge chair, soaking in the warm weather and listening to the sound of the surf.

Lincoln Road

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2013-01-02 14.01.51

It’s hard to go to South Beach and not end up onВ Lincoln Road , at some point. I love the idea of a pedestrian mall and wish more cities would adapt it; it’s a luxury to walk past shops, outdoor dining, public art and palm trees without the noise and chaos of cars. Lincoln Road isВ quintessentiallyВ Miami and nice anytime of day: in the morning, when you want to take a quiet stroll; in the late afternoon, when you want to shop after a day at the beach; or at night, when the restaurants and lounges fill up!

ACCOMMODATIONS

sanctuary south beach
South Beach has a ton of amazing hotels but, in my experience, it’s not easy to find deals. I booked this trip at the very last minute (just two days before) and it took me about four hours to find a good hotel in my price range, which was around $200/night. (Since I wasn’t splitting the cost with anyone.) I ended up at the Sanctuary , a small, quiet all-suite hotel one block removed from the fancy beachfront properties. The service was friendly—though not particularly polished—and the place had a bit of a motel-vibe, since all the rooms face into a courtyard. Still, I had beach and pool access via its sister hotel, the Shelborne , and my suite was very clean and spacious.

betsy hotel

My parents, on the other hand, stayed at the Betsy , a swank boutique hotel with a retro vibe and gorgeous rooftop. Rooms are small, but have lots of sweet extras, like Frette linens and Malin + Goetz products. (I had a little hotel envy over that!)

loews miami

For Mal’s bachelorette, we stayed at the Loews , which I’d highly recommend. It’s pricey, yet more affordable than many of its beachfront neighbors—and the service was on par or with what you’d get at a W or Ritz.

Have you been to South Beach recently? What are your favorite restaurants and hotels? (I’d love to know for my next trip!)

(Sanctuary photo via SanctuarySoBe.com, Loews photo via their Facebook page; the Betsy photo via TheBetsyHotel.com)

Off to South Beach!

south beach

I’m kicking off 2013 with a big change: I’m starting a new job on Monday! I’m excited (and a little nervous) about this new opportunity, but to celebrate, I’m heading to South Beach for three days. (With my parents—they were nice enough to let me tag along on their vacation!) I’m planning to do nothing but enjoy the warm weather, eat some good food—and relax and recharge for next week. (I’ll post some trip highlights upon coming back.)

And happy 2013—I hope your year is off to a wonderful start!

(Photo by Jetsetter via Pinterest)

Off to New Orleans!

New Orleans
I’m super-excited. I have one vacation day left, and I’m using it to take my last trip of the year: a long weekend in New Orleans.

I’ve never been before! So I’m really looking forward to exploring the city, hearing great, live music and—of course—eating a ton. (We already have dinner reservations here, and a long list of other places to check out.)

Do you have any recommendations about what I should see, do or eat? Please share—I’d love any tips!

Have a wonderful weekend!

(Photo via Pinterest—I couldn’t track down the photographer or original location, but if you know, please share!)

Off to Boston!

trnsprtnation boston

Tomorrow morning, I’m off to to Boston for a super-quick trip. I’ll be in the city for less than 24 hours, but that leaves me enough time to catch up with some of my old newspaper pals and see my favorite dance buddy’s winter performance. (Yay, Jackie!) Then, on Sunday, I’m headed down to Connecticut for a second Thanksgiving with my dad.

When I was living in Boston, the T was the bane of my existence. I was on the green line and hated how there was a station nearly every block—and the trolley had to stop at traffic lights, too. I used to joke that the C line was what drove me back to NYC. But I love TRNSPRTNATION’S typographic illustration of the T system. Each line is comprised of the names of every stop along it, in their respective places.

trnsprtnation boston

Of course, the New Yorker in me was happy to see they have a NYC version, too—as well as London, Chicago and a few other cities.

(Images via TRNSPRTNATION)

Weekend Farm Fun in New Jersey

Just like river tubing is an annual summer tradition, every fall, my friends and I hit up a farm for an afternoon of rural ridiculousness. As a city person, it’s easy to romanticize the idea of living on a farm, surrounded by pretty scenery and fresh produce—every time I’m near one, I debate whether I could transport my life into that setting. But I know how much hard work and uncertainty goes into that lifestyle and know I could never really do it. However, an autumn afternoon filled with farm-lite activities like apple or pumpkin picking and cider doughnuts? That’s really more my speed—sign me up!

This Sunday, we headed to Ort Farms, located in Long Valley, New Jersey. It was quite a ways from the city, so we stopped for brunch at Salt, an awesome gastropub, on the ride there.

While we were still a few miles from the farm, we hit traffic and joked that everyone was headed to the farm, too. And once we arrived there, we saw that it pretty much was true. The parking lot was packed and hordes of people were wheeling wagons laden down with pumpkins or waiting on lines for hayrides and Monster truck rides.

“It looks like we hit the hick jackpot!” my friend exclaimed.

Ort Farms

We decided that the corn maze was the most appealing of all the attractions, so we paid our admission…

corn maze

…received our very accurate “map” to help us get through it….

corn maze map

…and set off on our way.

corn maze

We got a little lost and attempted to consult the “map” for help…

consulting the "map"

…but in the end, it didn’t take us very long to find the way out. (Little kids helped us out a few times—they seemed perplexed as to why four adults were in the maze, sans children.)

corn maze

And good thing, too, because by that point we were ready for cider and doughnuts from the farm stand. They were delicious—though I unfortunately didn’t get any shots of them, because I was too eager to fight my way to the trays of fresh doughnuts to remember to take photos!

What’s your favorite fall tradition?

So Not Ready for the End of Summer!

How is it already September? This summer has flown by! And yet, somehow it feels like it lasted for ages–which, in my opinion, is definitely a good thing!

Every year, I say that I’ve had the best summer, ever. This year is no exception. From mid-May through today, I’ve been lucky to have tons of good times with the people I love the most.

I spent many beach weekends in Maryland with Mal and Peter…

mal and peter

…and friends…

mal, heather, reen

mal, virginia, heather

…and family.В We spent lots of time lounging on the beach, but also hit up ridiculous places likeВ Seacrets, lol!…

seacrets

…andВ devoured mountains of crustaceansВ atВ our favorite blue crab joint.

blue crabs

We also discoveredВ Jules, which, not counting theВ crabВ places,В is definitely the best restaurant in the Ocean City area. We went there with our parents, in mid-July, on Mal and Peter’s last weekend in the area.

e and meme

And then, Mal and Peter left Maryland…

ocean city

…and were back in New York, much to my delight!

mal and heather

Especially since now they’re only a half hour away and I can see them as often as I want. And rope them into things like river tubing. рџ™‚

tubing

I didn’t leave NYC during August. At first, I wondered if I could deal with that much time in one place. But it turned out to be a great month. I spent lots of time studyingВ SpanishВ and rehearsing a piece from “Les Sylphides” for the dance show I performed in last weekend.

Photobucket

Photobucket

Now I’m off from work for 16 days–and savoring the last bit of NYC summer before I leave for Guatemala early tomorrow morning!

mal and peter

heather and mal

Are you also sad about the end of summer?

River Tubing

Every year, for the past three Julys, a group of us has gone tubing on the Delaware River. It’s really the perfect summer tradition: lazily floating downstream while surrounded by pretty scenery and sipping a beer. In my book, there are few better ways to spend a hot afternoon.

The first time, we went though a company,В in Frenchtown, NJ, that provided tubes and a ride back upstream to the starting point. But then, one of my friends realized that you can just buy cheap inflatable floats, park at the Frenchtown boat launch, travel along the same route–and bring drinks and snacks along. Let’s just say that the next year was way more fun.

On Saturday, we made our annual trip. The afternoon was bright and sunny but not too hot–perfect weather for our nearly 6 mile float between Jersey and Pennsylvania.

delaware river tubing

tubing

mal, peter, doug, alex

The current was slow, so we had plenty of chillaxin’ time as our makeshift flotilla bobbed downstream. The guys even made BBQ brisket sandwiches right in their tubes!

peter tubing

mal tubing

heather tubing

doug tubing

Along the way, we saw another group of tubers launching themselves off a rope swing. I was too short to reach the rope (boo!), but Alex and Peter went for it.

alex and rope swing

alex on the rope swing

delaware river tubing

Next year we’re thinking of trading up our round floats for wacky ones like thisВ or these–gotta up the ridiculous factor a little more every time!

(P.S. – On the way home, Mal and I had dinner at the Lovin’ Oven, a super-cute place with great food, just a minute away from where we launched our tubes.)

What’s your favorite summer tradition?