Archive for the ‘Travels’ Category

Del Ray Restaurants

Posted in Food, Travels, Virginia, tagged , on Monday, 23 May, 2011| Leave a Comment »

1) Taqueria Poblano 2400 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22301 (703) 548-8226 ‎

Located in Del Ray, it’s a small restaurant but they do take reservations.  I’ve been there for dinner and brunch (on Sundays) but they also serve breakfast and lunch. Yummy Vegetarian Bean Burritos, friendly & efficient service, tasty margaritas and much more! There’s outdoor seating during warm weather. We found out the hard way that they’re closed on Tuesdays.

2) Caboose Cafe and Bakery on Mount Vernon Street in Del Ray

Across from the Tacqueria Poblano, the Caboose Cafe was our default when we attempted to go to the Tacqueria on a Tuesday night only to find they were closed.  But it worked out just fine because the Caboose restaurant is a delicious mix of Ethiopian food, pastas, Quiche, etc. Very vegetarian friendly and they also have an outdoor seating area during the warmer months. I’ve had the spicy pasta dish, the vegetarian sampler (Ethiopian food) and just recently had the Quiche with salad. All good!  I recommend the house Pinot Grigio as well. Refreshing.  The desserts are OK but not decadent. Not their specialty. 

I would highly recommend either one.  There’s another restaurant in Del Ray (two doors down from the Caboose) which I’ve tried to eat at THREE times now and they are always too busy. Great for the restaurant, but not so good for me. It’s called the Cheesetique and the menu looks fabulous. They are closed on Mondays but open for lunch and dinner Tues through Sunday.  Outdoor seating available. I’ll have to get there right at opening (11 am) so I can finally maybe get a table.

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Mount Vernon Estate

Posted in Travels, Virginia, tagged , , , , on Thursday, 19 May, 2011| 1 Comment »

With Mount Vernon Estates only a couple of miles down the road, we’ve been there many times since we moved to Virginia. I’m glad we purchased the annual entry passes ~ at only $28.00 per person for the year, it has saved us a lot of money.  Mount Vernon is very dog friendly and allows dogs anywhere on its grounds but not in the buildings.  We’ve been there with most of our visitors so I usually skip the house tour.  The regular house tour consists of the first and second floors but during the Christmas holidays, they open up the 3rd floor for viewing.

Recently, we attended the Spring Wine Festival and Sunset tours.  This time the basement/cellar, which is rarely open, was available to visitors. It was small and oh, so musty but I enjoyed seeing it.  The festival featured 17 Virginia wineries.  Unfortunately, I was the designated driver so I only tasted a couple of wines early on in the evening.  As we were leaving, there were lots of taxis waiting for fares so we will surely go that route next time.  Speaking of next time, that’ll be in the late September when they host the Fall Wine Festival.

The tickets cost $35.00 per person so it’s not an inexpensive evening but it sure was fun to attend with a large group. We set up our lawn chair in between the wine/food tent and the house.  Perfect spot with easy access to the wine tasting and we could still hear the band.

Here are some tips if you decide to attend:

  • The festival occurs rain or shine
  • The Mansion, Wine Cellar and outbuildings are open but the gardens, Wharf, Tomb & Museum are closed
  • Security will search backpacks/purses
  • No outside food/beverage allowed
  • Bring a blanket & lawn chair ~ folding tables not allowed
  • Pets not allowed during the wine festival (way too many people)
  • No smoking except at the designated area near the restrooms
  • Photo ID will be requested
  • The festival is an adult event
  • If you’re a designated driver, you’ll get complimentary soft drinks throughout the evening
  • Wine valet is available for case purchases.
  • The festival starts at 6:00 pm and ends promptly at 9:00 pm

Mount Vernon has a lot to offer and I highly recommend it ~ anytime of year.

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US Botanic Garden

Posted in DC, Travels, tagged , , , , on Sunday, 15 May, 2011| Leave a Comment »

After enjoying the flowers in my pretty Virginia backyard, I decided it was time to visit the US Botanic Garden which is located at 100 Maryland Ave SW in DC. It’s between 1st and 2nd streets SW and is adjacent to the US Capitol. We drove into DC and found metered parking on 3rd street. The closest metro stations are Federal Center or Capitol South. The metro bus lines are #30, 32, 34, 35 or 36 which you take to Independence and 1st Street SW. Just walking up to it is so impressive with all the beautiful glass and the US Capitol in the background.

The Garden has been open to the public (continuously) since 1850. There are more 60,000 plants among the gardens collection and it even has historic specimens which date back to 1842.  I enjoyed the different sections which included medicinal plants, garden primeval, children’s garden, Hawaii, World Desserts, Plant Exploration, Rare/Endangered species, Jungle, Southern Exposure and the Orchid room. I spent about an hour in the building and another half hour roaming around outside. You could do it in less but I was taking my time and sat out to enjoy the beautiful day.

         

There is a fun section for kids and the outside garden area was spectacular. Rose section, First Ladies Water park, and benches/tables everywhere in case you want to picnic.  Being from Hawaii, I particularly enjoyed the Orchid Room but have to say, my daughter has been growing orchids which are just as gorgeous.

Favorite Girl’s Orchids:

There’s no entrance fee and the gardens are open from 10 am to 5 pm daily and you’re welcome in the Bartholdi Park (outside) from dawn until dusk.  No smoking allowed anywhere.  Handheld cameras and videos are allowed anytime. Sketching is allowed along with the use of easels, tripods and art material but if you’re using solvents you’ll need to get permission and a permit.

For detailed information, go to: US Botanic Garden

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Destination: Northern Virginia

Posted in Travels on Sunday, 13 June, 2010| 3 Comments »

Looks like we’ll soon be onto a new chapter of our “moving adventures.”  By mid to late August, we’ll be moving to Northern Virginia. Favorite Girl and I already took a trip to the area to check it out and look for a house. Love the area but, wow, it’s expensive.

Life sure is keeping me busy ~ work has been crazy, Logan and I are spending as much time together as possible (tennis/Zumba/Friday night dinner out), house hunting, job hunting, taking care of my mom’s estate and now we’re getting ready for the return of Favorite Man and his Battalion.  This is the fun part: welcome home ceremonies, making welcome home signs, decorating the fence line, etc.

Whew ~ just looking at the list makes me tired 🙂

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Betty ~ My Mom

Posted in Travels on Saturday, 3 April, 2010| 7 Comments »

Mom in Hawaii

This is the hardest post I’ve written ~ I originally started this blog while we lived in Guam so I could keep my mom updated on our lives there since it was too far for her to visit.

My mom had a stroke on 19 March and passed away 24 Mar. The in-between days were a nightmare. The first day, we had high hopes she would recover but on the second day, she took a turn for the worse and …

Thankfully, we have many, many fond memories of her ~ and I’m so glad we were able to spend so much time together in recent years. Had we stayed in Guam for the full three years, we would have missed out on a lot of time together.

Now if I could just stop reaching for the phone to call her ~

I miss you, Mom!

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Long Weekend in Woodstock, Vermont

Posted in Travels on Saturday, 20 February, 2010| Leave a Comment »

What a fabulous winter break!

Favorite Girl and I traveled the six-hour drive, through the Adirondacks, on Saturday and spent two wonderful days visiting with family friends and skiing. OK, FG was the skier and I hung around the lodge a lot. Why is it the hot chocolate tastes so good at ski lodges?!

We also enjoyed seeing the beautiful sights of Woodstock ~ it’s a quintessential New England town and I can only imagine how gorgeous it must be during the fall colors. We were super spoiled  by our friends who indulged our vegetarian lifestyle with fabulous meals. We did eat at the Woodstock Inn.  So yummy especially the ‘smore dessert. Lovely.

Another nice feature of the trip was their house doesn’t have cell reception, I didn’t take my laptop and we only watched a couple of Winter Olympic highlights. It was nice to be unplugged for several days.

Once I returned to Fort Drum, I worked half days for the rest of the week ~ left the office by 1:00 and love it.  I really like my job but wish it were part-time ~ it’s so nice to get home when it’s still light out and I still have energy to spend time with FG, cook and clean.  At least the days are getting longer and spring is getting closer by the day.

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Middle Schoolers Book Blog

Posted in Travels on Saturday, 20 February, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Favorite Girl is back to blogging about books for middle schoolers. Check it out http://logan25.wordpress.com/

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Winter Blues

Posted in Travels on Wednesday, 10 February, 2010| Leave a Comment »

It’s mid-February and I’m so ready for spring. Unfortunately, in the North Country, spring means May or June so we’ve got more than a few months to go.  The good thing is work, school and other activities keep both Favorite Girl and I very busy so the time is going by fast which brings us that much closer to the redeployment.

Last Friday, our office had an “team building” day at the local ski area. I was able to bring Favorite Girl and we had a fabulous afternoon skiing! Loved spending the time with co-workers and FG. This Sunday, FG will try snowboarding for the first time.  Hope she likes it ~ it looks like a lot of fun. I, for one, have no desire to try it. I’m too busy trying to get down the hill with skis on.

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New Year Update

Posted in Travels on Saturday, 16 January, 2010| 1 Comment »

A lot has happened since my last post:

Favorite Man deployed in mid-Oct and has been doing well so far. I’m thrilled three months are done and it’s all that much closer to him coming home.

Favorite Girl is excelling at school. I was a little worried about how she would react to the deployment since the last deployment proved to be detrimental to her school work. This time, since she’s older, she’s better able to understand what FM is doing and she knows a lot of the Soldiers he’s working with there.  At the beginning of the school year, FG started playing the Viola and LOVES it. I’m certainly not a music expert but she sounds good to me. Her orchestra teacher told FG yesterday she’s been chosen to play the viola in the “solo” concert so she must be doing something right.

My mom has been visiting since Thanksgiving and, as always, she’s been spoiling all of us ~ dogs included. We’re going to miss her a lot and hopefully she’ll be back before we know it. Maybe when the weather gets warmer.

I continue to enjoy working although there are days I would rather be a part-time employee 🙂  So far my goal for getting into great physical shape hasn’t happened but I have met a financial goal already so now I have no excuse not to concentrate on EXERCISING. It’s just so darn hard to do in the cold.

Another goal is to update the blog at least once a week so if you’re still a reader of this blog, come back again. It’ll motivate me to update.

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Our Fall Staycation

Posted in Travels on Monday, 12 October, 2009| 2 Comments »

We thought about going away for the long weekend but, since it’s Favorite Man’s last weekend in NY for a year, Favorite Girl wanted to spend it here at the house. And so we’re having a great “staycation.”

I’ve especially enjoyed sleeping in until 8 each morning. Normally I get up at 5:15 am. Yesterday at church, the priest called up all deploying Soldiers so they could get a special blessing and scapular. No not spatula but scapular. It was sad to see the 13 Soldiers standing there but that’s one thing about Fort Drum ~ there’s always Soldiers deploying or coming home.

Even though it’s back to work and school tomorrow, we’re enjoying the beauty of these fall days.

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