#bartended at night but boat tours during the day

[mydemonsdrivealimo]

bryce lahela gave boat tours during his summers off from med school and tbh i will fight yall on that

#btw NOT driving the boat. just giving shitty commentary and jokingly flirting w passengers #bartended at night but boat tours during the day #ALSO he worked at a country club during his undergrad summers off #once again flirting w members to get tips <3 #he was a hit w the older ladies its just a fact #bryce lahela

[villainousshakespeare]

Just one bed fluff with a character of your choosing, if it isn't taken yet?! I'm partial to Loki and Tom, but whoever floats your boat in the moment! Congratulations on 200 followers! You deserve them and more, sweetheart!

Sorry this took so long my dear! Hope it was worth the wait. I decided to do Tom for this. :-)

Kicked Out

Rated T - alcohol use, kissing, implied smut

Lots of fluff!

Tom Hiddleston/Reader

The music pulsed around you too loud for the small space. Mechanically you sipped your watered down margarita, trying to push down the depression that threatened to overcome you. If your friends back home could see you now they would be laughing at how excited you had been. Here you were, sitting alone at a hotel bar. This was not how you had envisioned things at all.

It had not all been bad of course. You loved the play you were acting in. Well, of course you did! It was Shakespeare! Even though you had only a bit role you were understudying Desdemona. And the cast was all first rate. You had already learned so much in just a few weeks! The upgrade in quality from your scrappy theater company where it was a struggle to get male performers who came anywhere near the talent level of the women such as yourself to an internationally renowned ensemble boasting genuine stars more than made up for going from playing the lead to a glorified extra.

If only you didn't find yourself feeling so cursedly shy. You had always had a bit of social anxiety, but until this tour it had never been an issue with castmates before. The theater was the one place you had always felt in your element, confident in yourself and able to mingle with everyone. You wished that were the case now. 

Being assigned to room with Tisha had seemed like a wonderful stroke of luck at first. Like you she was on her first international tour, and was therefore playing several smaller parts in the ensemble. She was bubbly, outgoing, and talented, immediately drawing the attention of everyone around her. Unfortunately for you, that everyone included Michael, the actor playing Othello. He had become visibly smitten with her during the first read through, ignoring everyone else to shamelessly flirt with her whenever the opportunity presented itself. You would have been happy for her if he wasn't married with a child. The situation didn't seem to bother Tisha, who carelessly told you that she saw the whole thing more as a career move than a real relationship. What happened on the road, she breezily said, didn't effect real life, except for possibly leading to bigger roles down the line when he recommended her for future shows.

It was none of your concern, you had told yourself. They were grown adults and for all you knew he had an understanding with his wife. The problem had begun tonight, when they decided to take their relationship to the next, inevitable level. You had assumed that when this occurred, as you had guessed from the start it would, they would avail themselves of his room. After all, as one of the stars of the production he had a large room all to himself. Unfortunately for you, this did not turn out to be the case. As a married celebrity, Tisha had explained to you in hushed tones, Michael's meant had to be careful in situations such as this. He could never be seen having a woman enter his room, much less stay over night! Of course you wouldn't mind vacating your room for a while, would you? She had pleaded with big puppy eyes in a tone that clearly said she did not expect you to say no, and had somehow ushered you out the door, blithely commenting that you should be able to come back in a few hours, just knock before entering to be sure. The door shutting in your face had been cruel and final.

So here you were, sitting by yourself at the hotel bar with a bartender who looked like he would dearly love to cash you out and head home. You could have found one of the other actors to let you crash wish them, but you didn't really know anyone that well yet. The insecurity that flooded you when you thought of knocking on a virtual stranger's door and asking to sleep on their floor was too overwhelming.

"Trouble sleeping?" a voice like melted caramel asked from just over your shoulder.

You choked on your drink, splashing a bit of it onto your lap and the bar in front of you. You would have recognized that voice anywhere. You heard it often enough in your fantasies. But though it had been three weeks since you had begun working with him you still could not believe that you were now hearing it in person as well. Never in your wildest dreams had you believed that you would actually book a show with Tom Hiddleston.

Turning on your stool you saw the man himself standing behind you. He was so attractive it made you want to cry sometimes. You had come into contact with other celebrities over the years, and in almost every case seeing them up close and personal had somehow ruined the fantasy of them. In real life they had each just seemed... ordinary. With Tom, it was the exact opposite. He was handsome on screen or in pictures, in real life he was literally breathtaking. From the top of his burnished gold curls to the soles of his well worn grey boots and everywhere in between he was perfect. 

"You could say that," you laughed uneasily, face turning crimson. You had never spoken to him alone before, and never anything other than vague platitudes at the end of rehearsals or addressed to a group at large. 

"Me too," he said, giving you a half grin. "Would you mind if I joined you?"

What could you do but shake your head and gesture to the seat next to you. Pulling out the bar stool he folded his long, lean frame onto it, stretching his legs out. Your feet dangled like a child's from the stool, but his reached the floor with ease you noticed. Damn, but his legs were long!

"I'm always nervous before opening in a new city," he admitted, signaling for the bartender to come over. He ordered a single malt scotch and another daiquiri for you, requesting that the waiter make it with top shelf tequila.

"Still?" you asked, surprised that he would get nervous given his lengthy resume.

"Of course," he shrugged. "Never trust an actor that tells you he's not nervous. He's either lying or not pushing himself hard enough. The day my nerves go is the day I pack it in. The challenge is everything."

"Well, it's good to know it's not just me," you said quietly with a soft smile. You were nervous of course, even if that wasn't why you were there now.

"This is your first professional show, isn't it?" he asked.

You nodded, surprised that he knew. Was your acting that clunky that your lack of experience showed in just your few scenes?

"I watched your audition tape," he told you, grabbing a handful of bar nuts and arranging them on a napkin. "I wanted to come to the auditions, but Ken thought it might make people nervous. I made sure to watch all the tapes though. You were very good. The passion you put into Lady Anne was remarkable."

You blinked at him, all words deserting you. He had seen that? You were quite proud of your Lady Anne, but he was right. It was hard enough to have Kenneth Branagh watching you audition. If Tom had been in the room, you doubt you would have been able to do it.

"Thank you," you said at last after a long pause while he snacked on peanuts. "I had no idea."

"I like having a say in things like that," he shrugged. "When you're doing a show that's this intense, who you're on stage with is a big deal. Also, both Ken and I are firm believers in giving new talent an oppertunity. After all, him taking a chance on me is how I ended up with my career. What kind of person would I be if I didn't pass on the favor. I was the one who pushed for you to be Desdemona's understudy, by the way."

"Really?" you wished the word didn't come out like a squeak.

"Mhm. In fact, I thought you could have played the part. Producers wanted a name though, and I guess you can't blame them. Have to make their money back. Still, you were quite impressive."

You were saved the trouble of responding by the arrival of your drinks. Tom thanked the bartender and asked to have the drinks, including the one you had had before, charged to his room before leaving a large tip on the bar.

"Thank you again," you said, sipping on your new and much stronger drink.

"No need," he waved it off. "Othello was my big break, you know. I played Cassio in a production with Chewitel Eijifor and Ewan McGregor. It was fantastic, but I always wanted to do Iago. I try not to make dream part lists, I'm a bit superstitious that way, but now that I'm actually doing it I can admit it."

"I would think it would be on any actor's list!" you said, trying to hide the fact that of course you knew about his previous Othello, along with every other part on his lengthy cv. "I would like to tackle it myself some day."

"I would love to see that," he smiled, looking sincere. "You have a great facility with the language. And there is no reason why Iago should have to be male. I must say that I greatly appreciate that we live in a time where the gender barriers for such superb parts are beginning to break down. What other roles do you dream of tackling? I promise I won't tell a soul!"

You weren't sure whether it was the alcohol warming you or the way he smiled and listened to you like you were the only person in the world, but you soon found yourself engaged in a long discussion of Shakespeare that ranged from contentious - you would never agree on who the ultimate Richard III was, with you preferring Ian McKellan and Tom being loyal to his good friend Benedict - to the ridiculous. He had you in stitches when he recounted the story of an actor (he refused to name them) who had so completely missed an entrance on press night for Much Ado that Tom and his scene partner had to improve in verse for three minutes. When the poor man had made it onto stage, he had not had time to put his shoes back on. The review in Time Out the next day had gone on for two paragraphs about the social commentary of having a barefooted Don Pedro. By that point you were on your third drink and laughing like old friends, hunched over and shaking with mirth.

"Oh! Yes!" Tom said suddenly, pulling himself up to standing and holding out his hand to you. "Come on!"

"What?" you asked, totally confused.

"This song!" he replied, enthusiasm shining from his face. 

"It's a good song," you agreed, listening to Michael Jackson's Beat It blaring out from the speakers.

"Well then?"

"What?"

"Dance with me!"

"Tom..."

"I refuse to take no for an answer," he insisted, dragging you to your feet and onto the dance floor.

Tom's energy was infectious, there was no avoiding it. Abandoning the last shreds of your dignity you surrendered to the music and the exuberance of the man spinning you around the floor. He was good of course, you had seen it on videos often enough, but he made you actually feel like you could dance as well. Michael Jackson turned into Prince and then Tina Turner as the two of you made idiots of yourselves in the empty bar.

"Last call," the beleaguered bar tender called, ruining the vibe. 

Looking around you realized that he had put up all of the chairs and wiped down the bar. As tempting as it was to order another drink and prolong the fun, you knew that it was not fair to the poor server. Still, you didn't know what to do with yourself now. Would Tisha and Michael be finished with whatever they were doing? Had it been long enough to go up?

As Tom helped put up the remaining bar stools and finished off his scotch you collected your purse. You stared at your phone, trying to decide whether or not to text Trisha.

"Okay, out with it," Tom said, looking at you with an unwavering stare.

"With what?" you evaded.

"The truth. Why were you down in the bar by yourself? And don't say nerves. I've talked to you enough now to know that you are not the sort to drown your anxiety in alcohol."

"You did," you said, not believing your audacity.

"I came down for tea," he said.

"Tea?" you parroted.

"There was no earl grey in my room. I like to have a cup in the morning while I get ready."

"But you had a scotch! Two of them!"

"Well, I would hardly be a gentleman if I let a lovely lady drink alone," he shrugged. "So. Spill it. What brought you down here all by yourself?"

"Um... it was just... a little crowded in my room," you tried to sound as noncommittal as possible.

"Ah, I see," his quick brain filled in the pieces. "You're rooming with Tisha, aren't you?"

"Yes," you answered slowly.

"So Michael has made his move has he?"

"You know?" you asked, somewhere between mortified and relieved.

"Well, they haven't exactly been subtle," he said with a wry laugh. "Also, he has a bit of a reputation. I had hoped it was just rumor, God knows there are enough of those about me, but it appears in this case there was some truth behind it. Don't tell me they kicked you out?"

"They told me I could come back later," you said quickly, trying for some reason to make them look not quite as selfish and failing miserably.

"Why couldn't they just have gone to his room? No, never mind. Foolish question. You poor thing. I am so sorry you have to deal with this. Would you like me to check with the front desk and get you another room?"

"Oh, no, that's really not necessary!" you said. You could only imagine the talk if that were to happen, trying to explain to the tour manager why there was an additional expense on the invoice. True, it was Tisha and Michael who should be made uncomfortable by it, but you just knew you would be the one to squirm from the scrutiny.

"Well, there is only one thing for it," he said, placing his large hand on the small of your back and ushering you out of the bar. "You shall stay with me."

"What?" for the second time your voice, pride of your acting arsenal, was rendered little more than a dog whistle.

"It's no problem," he shrugged, walking towards the elevator and taking you with him. "I have a large single room all to myself. I'm sure it will be much more comfortable than breaking up whatever your roommate and Michael have going on."

You looked away and bit your lip, trying to decide what to do. It was such a tempting offer. Not that you would ever get any sleep in the same room with this man, but at least you wouldn't have to face the love birds.

"Darling," Tom said, gently turning your face to look you in the eye, "you have no reason to worry. I am not Michael. I would never take advantage of a costar. I just want you to have a comfortable place to get a good night's rest before your performance."

"I never thought... Of course you wouldn't take advantage!" you said with a laugh. As if someone like Tom would try to take advantage of you, you thought. It would be hilarious if he wasn't standing there looking like an overly attentive angel.

"Good, then it's settled," Tom's smile beamed at you. "Come on."

And just like that you found yourself in the unbelievable position of movie star Tom Hiddleston showing you into a large corner hotel room on the top floor. The comparison to your small shared double was insane. You were fairly sure your whole room would fit into his en suite.

"Oh," you gasped, not intending it to be audible.

"What's wrong?" he asked, turning to you all solicitous.

"Nothing," you said miserably, trying not to stare at the giant king size bed. You didn't know why you had expected there to be two beds. He had told you it was a single room. As it was there was not even a couch for you to sleep on. Two large over stuffed chairs took up space on the other side of the room, and hard backed ones surrounded the table near floor to ceiling the windows.

"Ah," he said, perceptively following your thoughts. "Yes. One bed. If you like I can sleep in the chair."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous!" you blurted out.

"I assure you, I have suffered much worse," he smiled. "If you feel uncomfortable sharing, I will gladly curl up in the armchair."

"No, that's just silly," you said, swallowing around the lump in your throat. "After all, the bed is so big you could fit five people in it. As long as you don't mind, that is."

"Not a bit," he said rubbing the back of his neck. "Now, let me find you something to sleep in."

To no surprise you soon found yourself in a pair of long running shorts and a Legend t-shirt. You surreptitiously pinched yourself to make sure this was real. To be dressed in one of the patented Hiddleston outfits was surreal to say the least. 

You walked out of the bathroom to find Tom sitting on the edge of the bed in his own pair of jogging shorts, glorious broad chest bare. Trying desperately not to stare, you shyly walked around to the other side of the bed.

"Left side alright for you?" he asked, always the gentleman.

You nodded and quickly got yourself under the covers, pulling the blankets up to your chin. Tom turned off the light and got himself situated, leaving the bedding down at his waist. In the dim light you could just make out the whirl of hair on his chest as he curled onto his side facing you. Your fingers itched to reach out and feel it, but you managed to keep them to yourself. You could feel the heat radiating from him, like a live fire warming your body. He reached out gently and touched your face with the backs of his fingers, still staying to his side of the wide mattress.

"It was lovely getting to know you, darling," he said quietly. "Rest well."

You smothered the whimper threatening to erupt and rolled onto your side, facing the window as far away from him as you could get without hanging off the edge. Attempting to ignore the pooling desire in your center you settled in for what was sure to be a long, sleepless night.

When the alarm went off you almost jumped out of your skin. Blearily you tried to sit up, but a strong arm around you kept you anchored to the bed. A murmured curse sounded behind you and the beeping stopped. A face buried itself in your hair as you were pulled closer to the wall of chest at your back.

Oh sweet lord! you thought, as awareness of your location flooded into your brain. Gingerly you opened one eye just enough to confirm that you were half way across the bed in the center of the mattress. You must have rolled over in your sleep, you realized. Which of course meant that Tom had also drifted to the middle of the bed to meet you in what could only be described as he the most comfortable and simultaneously uncomfortable embrace of your life.

He felt divine. He body was all pliant skin over hard muscle, Warm and soft and deliciously scented. His obscenely large hand splayed across your waist, just below your breasts, to rest against the stripe of bare flesh where your borrowed t-shirt had ridden up in your sleep. His legs, those impossibly long limbs you had admired in the bar last night, were pressed against you, one rising up to hook over your own. It was heaven. If only it was intentional. Silently as you lay in his embrace your mind cringed awaiting the moment he woke the rest of the way and realized that the woman in his arms was only you, a pathetic cast mate he had taken pity on when she was cast out of her own room.

When you could bear it no longer, you tried to gently pull away from him. Once again his arm tightened around you, holding you close to him. You closed your eyes and tried to think of a way to delicately extricate yourself. That was when you heard your name, mumbled in his honey warm voice made rough by sleep into your hair.

"Stay," he said, snuggling further into you. "Please."

Well, when he asked so nicely! Really, you decided, when would you ever have such a chance again. Surrendering to the bliss, you allowed yourself to sink back against him. You would soak up these moments, you decided. Save them for when you were feeling lonely, or needed a happy memory to see you through a hard time. After all, what could be better than being held in Tom Hiddleston's strong arms?

It was too short a time before the alarm went off again. Tom swore, lifting his arm from around your body to turn it off. You felt him, more fully awake this time, realize the situation you found yourselves in. His body stiffened and his leg quickly slid off of yours.

"I am so sorry," he said, pulling his head from where it had lain in the top of your hair. "Please, darling, forgive me. I didn't mean to take advantage."

"No need to apologize," you assured him, trying to sound as though this sort of thing happened to you every day. "After all, we were both asleep."

"It's just been so long since I've had a beautiful woman in my bed," he sighed, arm rising to cover his eyes. "My body just reacted instinctually."

"Beautiful?" you heard yourself say, a note of disbelief in your voice.

"Can you doubt it?" he asked, sounding surprised himself. 

"Generally speaking," you laughed, thinking that this man calling anyone beautiful was like the sun calling a lightning bug bright.

"My darling, you are stunning," he said, rising up on his elbow to look at you. "You are also intelligent, funny, and delightful. I thought I had a crush on you before I got to know you last night, but now..."

"You have - a crush?" 

"Damn," he said quietly. "Forgive me. I should not have said that."

Slowly, not daring to believe what you had just heard, you rolled over so that you were facing him. Hair mussed and eyes slightly unfocused Tom looked even more devastating than usual. A light growth of stubble shadowed his jaw, and in the dawn light his freckles stood out against his pale skin.

"Did you mean it?" you asked, stunned.

"There are few things as attractive... as sexy as talent," he said quietly, not meeting your eye. "When I saw you act, well, I could scarce keep my eyes off of you."

"You do realize that you are the most talented person I have ever seen," you told him, shock bringing out your candid side.

"You are very kind," he blushed.

"I am very honest," you answered. "You really think of me like that?"

"I think of you all the time," he replied, looking at you at last. "Often like that. I have spent the last three weeks trying to work up the courage to speak with you. When I saw you sitting alone in the bar last night, I thought someone must have heard my prayers."

"I am in a dream," you said. "I am in a dream and any moment now I will wake up and be back in the small black box theater performing for ten people."

"If you are in a dream than I am too," he smiled. "Darling, I understand if you want to leave. Things with me are never simple. It is an unfortunate side effect of the career I have chosen. But if you are willing to try, I would love to court you."

"Court me?" you grinned at his archaic turn of phrase. "Like with flowers and poems and such?"

"If you would like," he said, surprising you once more. "I have written a poem or two in my day, though I am more adept at songs. They are more forgiving. For now, we could perhaps start with breakfast?"

"Breakfast sound wonderful," you said, realizing suddenly that you were in fact hungry.

"I will order room service then," he nodded. "But first, sweetheart, would it be too forward of me... may I kiss you?"

Unable to speak you nodded your head once. Tom smiled, and reached down to grasp your chin gently between his thumb and finger. With an aching tenderness he brought his lips to yours. The kiss was soft and sweet and full of promise. You felt it all the way down to your toes in ways that far more invasive kisses had never moved you. Your back arched and you molded yourself to him, his free arm encircling you to hold you close. Emboldened by the embrace, you let your own hands find their way around him and to his back where they slid down the naked skin in a caress. With a quiet moan he pulled away, and you briefly felt his arousal brush against your let as he let you go.

"The things you do to me," he sighed, fingers lightly tracing your face. 

"I know what you mean," you breathed, feeling light headed from the kiss.

"I started this leg of the tour irritated at Michael," he confided. "Now I am tempted to send him a thank you gift. What do you thing? Champagne? Chocolates?"

"If we give them all that, won't it just encourage them the next night?" you giggled.

"Ah, now you see my clever plan," he teased. "How else can I hope to get you back in my bed?"

"Tom," you spoke seriously, "clever plans are not needed. All you need do is ask."

"Hmm," he grinned, pulling you close once again. "I am suddenly more happy than I can say that they forgot my tea."

"So am I," you smiled, nestling in against him. "You have no idea."

"Well then," he said. "You will just have to show me. Fortunately, we have months to go, and I for one have never been so happy to start a tour."

As you burrowed back together under the covers you could not help but agree.

@yespolkadotkitty @hopelessromanticspoonie @nonsensicalobsessions @hiddlesholic

#fic #fanfic #milestone challenge #tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston x reader

[travelingtheusa]

NEW YORK

18 Sep 2019 (Wed) – We spent the day getting ready for our move. We went food shopping and stopped in at Bagel Boss for lunch.  I don’t know how that place stays in business.  They are soooo slow.  It must be because they are the only bagel place around.  At 3 p.m.  I drove over to Travis & Sam’s to watch Lincoln.  Sam had work and Travis was taking the boys to karate.  We reviewed their finances and discussed options to resolve their issue.  In the meantime, Paul was watching Caiden back at the camper because Miranda and Kenny went to Meet the Teacher Night.

     It was quite cool this morning.  The heater is not working right.  It turns on and then shuts off.  This is an issue we will have to resolve before the weather gets colder.

 17 Sep 2019 (Tue) – It’s been a fairly busy week.  I attended a memorial service for a member of the American Legion Post on Thursday.  Gus Luhrs, past post and past division commander, passed away at the age of 86. He served 20 years in the Marine Corps and was in the Korea and Vietnam Wars.  He was the bartender at the post for many, many years.  I will miss him.

     We went to a dinner celebrating the 100th birthday of American Legion Post 411 on Friday the 13th.  It was held in the Marconi Lodge; not the post.  I guess they wanted to give everyone a chance to enjoy the celebration and not worry about set up and break down.  I was disappointed that few of the guys wore uniforms.  Not too long ago, everyone would have proudly worn their uniform.  The times, they are a-changing.  There were about 60 people at the event.  The food was ok but the company was great.  It was fun to see all our friends from the post.

     Caiden decided to skip church this Sunday.  Afterward, Paul and I went to the Bayside Clam Bar for lunch. The warm days are waning and I want to enjoy as much of the waterfront as possible before it gets too cold.

12 Sep 2019 (Thu) –I had lunch with my sister, Susan, today. We met at the Cheesecake Factory in Bay Shore and both enjoyed salads.  Later this evening, I attended a memorial service for an American Legion friend, Gus Luhrs.

 11 Sep 2019 (Wed) – Wow.  Things have been very, very busy.  We have spent time watching Caiden which takes full effort.  He likes to play pillow fights and pulls me into these all the time.  It’s either here in the camper or on the couch in his house.  

     I had lunch with my daughter, Gina, today.  We met at Cheesecake Factory and caught up on how things have been going since we last saw each other.

     Later today at 5:00 p.m., Paul and I went to a 9/11 memorial conducted by the Town of Islip next to Town Hall.  There were 15 fire departments represented there.  Lots of firemen and a bagpipe and drum band played songs that left you with a lump in your throat.  

 5 Sep 2019 (Thu) – We celebrated our 48th wedding anniversary yesterday.  We had dinner at the Texas Roadhouse.  We saw a posted sign that said they give a 20% military discount on Mondays.  We now have our new best eatery on Mondays!

    We had my brother, Dennis, and his lady, Denise, over for dinner on Tuesday (September 3).  I made chicken picata, potatoes, and green beans.  Everything came out perfect.  They stayed for two hours.  It was a very pleasant visit.

     Caiden started school yesterday (Noah started the day before on Tuesday and Hudson started on Wednesday).  We all walked Caiden down to the bus stop and waited over a half hour. The first days of school always sees the bus come late.  It was almost an hour late returning at day’s end; although there was a legitimate excuse – the town was out and picking up debris one block over and on our block. That held up traffic all over the area. Caiden seemed to enjoy himself on his first day.  His teacher’s name is Mr. Lolo.  Can’t wait to meet him.

1 Sep 2019 (Sun) – We took Caiden with us to church this morning. He was very fidgety and complained that it was boring.  Not sure how much longer he will go with us to church before he decides it’s not fun. We spoke with Pastor Doug and scheduled October 20 for Lincoln’s baptism.  

     After church, I let Caiden do some exploring and playing on the playground behind the building.  Then we went to the Clamside Bar & Grill at the East Islip Marina for lunch.  We all took a walk around the pier then returned home.

     Paul and I spent the afternoon doing yardwork.  As Paul cleared out some of the brush, I got a good look at the trees down on that back fence.  It looks like a much bigger area was crushed by our neighbor’s tree than it first looked like.  And he still hasn’t started clearing anything away.  I’m not sure what we are going to do about that.

     After naps, we sent out for pizza for dinner.  Hmmm Hmmm, good!

 30 Aug 2019 (Fri)

– Paul and I took Caiden to my sister Susan’s house today.  We spent the day swimming in the pool and visiting with Susan & Bill and Shay & Pat (her daughter and boyfriend).  The weather was lovely.

29 Aug 2019 (Thu) – Good news!  I had an appointment at Sloan Kettering this morning to find out the results of the PET and CT scans I had on Monday.  After only ten days on the chemo, the lymph nodes have already started to shrink.  My response to the therapy has been so good that I don’t have to come back for a month.  I thought I was going to have to go in every week for 5 or 6 weeks.  

     After the doctor, Paul and I went to Red Robin for lunch.  I had a margarita and cobb salad.  Paul had a beer and burger.  We were kind of giddy with relief and thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Following lunch, we stopped at Shop Rite and picked up some groceries then returned home to continue the yard cleanup.

 28 Aug 2019 (Wed) – It was cool this morning.  We had to wear jackets when we walked Bonnie this morning. The summer is coming to a close. There’s a kind of sadness and yet a feeling of excitement as we build up to the holidays.  

     There is a spider that builds a web outside my bedroom window every night.  I first spotted her during that thunderstorm last week.  When the lightning flashed, she was illuminated on her web.  She seemed to be floating in midair.  She comes out every night and stays until early light the next morning.  I watched her this morning as the sun came up and she climbed up and away to her den for a well-deserved sleep.  She is an orb weaver and measures about an inch and a half in length.  What a beautiful specimen of the insect world!

 27 Aug 2019 (Tue) – We went to church on Sunday.  Caiden decided to take the day off so he did not go with us.  Everyone missed him.

     On Monday, I went to Sloan Kettering and had both a PET scan and a CT scan.  They sure keep those rooms cold.  Brrrrr!  Since I had some radiation, I couldn’t go near pregnant women or small children for 24 hours.   I had to wave across the room to Caiden rather than get my Caiden hug.  At 4:30 p.m. today, I was sure to get my big hug. And it came with a great big smile!

     This afternoon, we drove to the V.A. in Northport.  I wanted to establish myself as a cancer patient and see about getting medicine as we move around the country rather than having it mailed to me every three months.  The doctor referred me to hematology.  There was no answer at the department so I have to wait for a call back.  I got an appointment with Audiology for October. Ugh.  I hate the thought of being here that long.  But, unfortunately, I think I will be here.  The doctor wanted to schedule me for a mammogram but I said I’d go with my regular radiologist.  She did schedule me to come back for a pap smear but I think I’ll just see my own gynecologist instead.  She seemed to be somewhat flustered by me.  She wanted to do all this medical stuff and I kept turning it down.  She wasn’t sure what to do.  lol

24 Aug 2019 (Sat) – The air is full of the sound of generators, chain saws, and leaf blowers as everyone cleans up after the storm. Seems like there are tree removal and PSEG trucks all over the place.  A company has been working on removing the trees from the two neighbors on the south side. We think they took out 11 or 12 trees in total.  We finally got power back on around 2:30 p.m.

     We met with the counselor this morning.  Afterward, we drove to the Clamside Bar at the East Islip Marina and had a late breakfast.  It is nice to sit by the water and watch the boats come and go.  There weren’t many people out on the water considering that it was a beautiful, clear Saturday and summer is fast coming to an end.  You’d think everyone would want to be out getting in their last licks for the season.

     When we finished our meal, we went home and took Bonnie for a walk. Then we drove out to Mastic Beach and toured the William Floyd Estate.  What history exists in our own backyard!  William Floyd was one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence.  Nine generations of the family lived on the estate from 1718 until they gave it to the National Parks Department in 1976. They originally had 4,400 acres. Over the years, family inherited the property and divided it among heirs, with just 673 acres remaining on the estate today.  The Floyd family was much involved in politics and several prominent people visited the estate to include George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. During the Civil War, the family fled to Connecticut while the British occupied Long Island.  The house was pretty much trashed when they returned after the war but the Floyds were able to restore it.  The estate began as a two-story, 6 room house.  Additions were made over the years until it ended with 25 rooms, 13 outbuildings, and a family cemetery.

 23 Aug 2019 (Fri) – Wow! We had a hum dinger of a thunderstorm blow through last night.  The phone pinged a warning that a severe storm was going to hit in 15 minutes and everyone should seek shelter on a lower level in the interior of the house. That was different.  I’ve gotten many storm warnings but never one that told me to get to the middle of the house.  They must have expected tornadoes although the warning did not say that.

     At about 9:45 p.m. it began to rain.  Shortly after, the wind picked up.  Then the skies opened up and the thunder and lightning started.  We lost power after about 15 minutes.  We sat and watched the transformer on the pole blow. Then another one blew down the block.

     Finally, the storm passed and we all walked outside to see what kind of damage had been left behind.  Kenny had gotten out of work just after the storm ended.  He reported having to take a crazy circuitous route to get home because of downed trees and wires.  There were trees down at either end of the block.  The next block had a tree land on a car.  Over on the main road (Saxon Ave), there were two trees down at opposite ends, thus closing off the road to through traffic.  People were trying to go down the block.  When they couldn’t get through, they turned and went down our block only to discover they couldn’t get through that way either.  Our neighbor in the back on the south side had five trees go down.  Two landed on our fence.  Another tree came down on our fence in back on the west side.  That tree was also from a neighbor’s yard.  All our trees stayed put for this storm.  lol.

     We had gone over Trap’s house earlier to help him with an electrical problem he is having at the house.  Paul and he worked for over an hour but couldn’t solve the problem.  Sam and I went food shopping with the baby while the two older boys stayed home.  We picked up pizza on the way back home and shared a meal with them before going home.  Luckily, we got home before the storm hit.

21 Aug 2019 (Wed) – The church had their annual outdoor service on Sunday.  We took Caiden with us.  I guess the outdoor setting was too much for him.  He wanted to go play and squirmed and fidgeted throughout the entire service. Afterward, there were all kinds of foods in a potluck meal.  Everything was very good.  I really enjoy those potlucks!

     I really messed up today.  I was scheduled for a PET scan at Sloan Kettering this afternoon.  The test requires you to fast for six hours prior. I was watching Caiden and he asked for something to eat.  I got him a snack out of the refrigerator and without thinking, popped a piece of cheese in my mouth.  Yikes!  When I got to the cancer center, it turned out I was supposed to be there at 1:15, not 2:15 p.m.  Fortunately, the 2:15 appointment had shown up at 1:15 so they let me take the later appointment.  Unfortunately, I had eaten the cheese and couldn’t take the test.  I had to reschedule for next Monday.

     I started chemotherapy on Monday.  I am taking Ibrutinib once a day.  So far (knock on wood), I am not having any side effects.  Reading all the warnings, I have been fully expecting diarrhea and vomiting.  Maybe it will come after the chemical builds up in my body.  I have to admit that I am afraid of this drug.  It interferes with the production of white blood cells. This lowers my resistance to infection. I have to be careful about keeping my hands clean and avoiding sick people.  It is something I have to learn to live with since I now have to take this drug for the rest of my life.

     The saga with trying to get Miranda financial help goes on.  Social Services turned down her request for financial aid as well as food stamps.  The department has a requirement for certain categories of persons to be referred to New York State HQ for examination when applying for Medicaid.  We have to wait and see what happens there.

17 Aug 2019 (Sat) – We saw the counselor this morning.  She was empathetic to our situation and gave us some suggestions for dealing with our adult children and their issues.  Afterward, we drove to Bayside Clam Bar at the East Islip Marina for lunch.  It is a great time of year to sit down by the water and just enjoy the season.  All too soon, the cold weather will be upon us.  

     We stopped by the thrift shop at church and helped move tables and chairs from the storage area to the door.  Tomorrow will be our annual outdoor service and potluck. We were staging the items by the back door where they would be taken down to the yard.  Paul found a pair of super cool looking glasses for Caiden. They look like some kind of futuristic robot apparatus.  They have a battery pack and when you turn it on, blue lights come on either side of the glasses.  They also have a magnifying glass that folds out in front of the right lens.  He loved them!

 16 Aug 2019 (Fri) – It’s been a pretty quiet week.  I got my hair cut this morning.  It was good to see my hairdresser.  She moved down to the Carolinas years ago and comes up about every 3 or 4 weeks.  She said it was too hard to start a new following down south so she just continues coming back to New York to see her customers.  I am glad about that! She is the only one who can get my hair right.

     I went to visit my niece, Jennifer, and her new baby, Ava.  She delivered about a month ago.  My sister, Susan, and her other daughter, Sharon, joined me.  The baby is adorable.   Susan picked me up in her new red Tesla, of which she is very proud.  It rides pretty nice.

     Later at 5:30 pm, we went over Travis & Sam’s to watch the boys while they tore up the carpet in the upstairs hallway and put down new flooring. First we played outside.  Then we followed Noah and Hudson on their bicycles around the block (they rode; we walked).  Then we drove them to a nearby playground and let them play for a while. Interestingly, Noah pulled a book out of the book exchange and sat down on a bench to read while Hudson climbed all over the playset.  Two very different boys!

     Finally, we capped the night with a trip to Carvel.  The ice cream was delicious but needless to say, their parents weren’t too happy about all the energy they came home with after the sweet treats.  It is good to be the grandparent!  You can spoil the babies and not suffer the aftermath.  Sweet!

11 Aug 2019 (Sun) – We went to church this morning.  Caiden is spending the weekend with his other grandma so he wasn’t with us.  It seemed like everyone missed him.  Everybody we spoke with asked about him.  He is pretty popular.

     After church, Paul and other folks helped to unload furniture for the church’s garage sale in October.   I went down to the thrift shop and helped them sort baby clothes.  They got a donation with dozens of outfits. We put them in bundles of six and marked them at fifty cents for the bundle.  It must have been clothing from a store that closed.  There is no way they could have all come from one family. Many outfits were brand new, some with tags still attached.

     We went to Sagtikos Manor for a tour of the historical home.  The land was purchased from the Secatogue Indians in 1692 and a 4-room house was built in 1697.  The home was purchased by a wealthy family and over the years, more rooms were added until it now has 42 rooms.  It was fascinating to hear the history of the property.  The Gardiner family, one of the wealthiest in the area, owned the home in addition to Gardiner Island.  They also had several homes around the Island and in New York City. In 1963, the house was put into a foundation trust.  The property was sold to Suffolk County in 2003.  What used to be 1,400 acres is now just 10 acres of land.  There is a cemetery, a walled garden, a carriage house, and a buttery on the property.  British soldiers occupied the manor during the American Revolution. The newly elected president, George Washington, slept in the house during a tour of Long Island in 1790.  There were many delightful pictures and prints hanging on the walls.  The family kept everything and all the furnishings were from the period.  We really enjoyed the tour.  Here was something in our own backyard that we never explored.

10 Aug 2019 (Sat) – Caiden keeps us amused.  He is a charming, sweet soul.  I went over Trap’s house Friday night and got to read the boys bedtime stories.  It was fun. We went bowling with them on Wednesday. They are two very ener- getic boys! The night was quite interesting. Hudson and I had the same score for almost the entire game.  I pulled it out in the end and broke 100.  I think he got eighty something.  Pretty good for a 4-year old (or bad for a 67-year old).  :-}

     We’ve been keeping busy.  Paul went down to the church and power washed the fence in back and the front entry way. We will be having an outdoor service next Sunday and Pastor Doug wanted the area to look nice.  I helped out in the thrift shop for a couple of hours. There were a couple of boxes with baby clothes in them.  I took them for Lincoln.  

     I went down to Social Services with Miranda.  I am trying to get them some financial aid as well as food stamps and Medicaid.  It took over an hour just to fill out the application form! We left without seeing anyone after sitting for a couple of hours.  An agent called Miranda later and told her she did not qualify for financial aid. Her $160 a week disability check combined with her husband’s $177 weekly unemployment check is considered too much income.  WTH??? That comes to $1,348 a month.  Who can even find rent at that price?  Plus electric, car insurance, phone costs, education loans, etc., etc., etc.  The agent is sending forms to Miranda to fill out and submit.  DIDN’T WE JUST DO THAT???  Talk about aggravation and frustration!!!

6 Aug 2019 (Tue) – We brought the truck down to Safelite Glass today to have the windshield replaced.  We have had a ding in the passenger’s side since 2015 when we were in Alaska.   It often interfered with the pictures I tried to take through the front window.  This year, we got another ding in the driver’s side of the windshield.  It was time to replace it.  We dropped the truck off and walked up to Main Street. The café we were looking for was no longer there.  We wound up having bagels and coffee at a deli.

     At 3 p.m., I went in to relieve Miranda from childcare duties.  I took Caiden to the playground at the local elementary school playground.  He had a great time!  I told him he deserved an Italian custard at Rita’s.  When we drove there, we found the shop closed permanently! What a bummer.  So we drove a little further down the road and “settled” for Carvel ice cream. Caiden was not disappointed.

     We went to Cavanaugh’s Bar & Grill tonight.  We met Joan & Peter, Pat & Fred, Ginny & Milton, and Johanna & Thom at the bar.  The restaurant had a $14.99 special for a 20 oz. porterhouse steak.  It came with onion rings, baked potato, and a vegetable.  The food was very good.  It was a fun evening.

 4 Aug 2019 (Sun) – We gathered up Caiden and headed off to church this morning.  Paul’s sister and husband, Joan & Peter, showed up at church, too.  After service, we went to the Bayside Clam Bar at the East Islip Marina with cousins Lee & Donna and friends Fred & Pat.  It was a beautiful day on the bay.  I took Caiden down by the docks where we watched folks putting in and taking out boats and jet skis.  He was very impressed with the jet skis.

     After we dropped Caiden off back home, Paul & I drove to Willie’s Appliances, a scratch-and-dent retailer.  We bought a washing machine for the house.  The one in there now has gotten out of balance and dances all over the room during the spin cycle.  When we got home, Paul switched out the two washers.

3 Aug 2019 (Sat) – Yesterday, we took the three grandsons to my sister’s house to swim in the pool and lunch.  It was like trying to keep ferrets in an open-top box.  It couldn’t be done.  They were all over the place and not as obedient as we would have liked. Having additional adults to help out wasn’t enough.  At any rate, I believe the boys enjoyed the swim time and my sister really went out of her way to provide a varied menu for everyone.

      Today, we enjoyed an unplanned adventure.  While scanning Facebook, I came across a posting of a friend who plays in a band.  He advertised that they would be down at the East Islip Marina playing at the Bayside Clam Bar and Grill from 10 to 1.  We went there for lunch.  I had lobster roll and Paul had fried shrimp.  The music was delightful, the bay breeze was balmy, and the sky was blue. It was so nice to sit and listen to the 3-piece band play while watching watercraft (boats and ski jets) come and go.

31 July 2019 (Wed) – I almost wound up in the hospital today. I took a new supplement – a proteolytic enzyme.  Then I took the dog for a walk.  About ten minutes into the walk, the palms of my hands started itching.  At first, I thought it was one of those lucky itches.  You know, the kind where your palm itches and you’re going to come into money (or pay money)?  But then it got intense, almost burning.  My stomach started in next.  Although I got the heaves, nothing was coming up.  I barely made it back to the camper.  Then the vomiting and diarrhea started.  I was so weak, I could barely stand.  I lay there wishing Paul would come into the trailer so I could have him call an ambulance.  The vomiting finally subsided and I lay on the bed trying to recover.  Next, the bottom of my feet began to itch, then my whole body.  As I sat there trying to scratch everything at once, red blotches started breaking out on my legs.  At that point, Paul came into the trailer and realized I was having a severe allergic reaction.  He ran down to the drug store and picked up some benedryl.  That stuff is great!  It worked almost instantly.  For the rest of the night, I sat in the lounge chair nodding in and out.  It was one scary experience!

     We have been busy working around the house.  The men’s softball league at church had the last two games of the season on Monday and Tuesday.  We went down to watch.  Our team lost.

    Both Paul and I went for an annual physical. My appointment was on Monday.  It turned out to be a Medicare Wellness Check. I spent an hour and a half answering questions from a nurse who input everything into the computer.  I could have stayed home and put the information in the computer myself!  What a waste.  The nurse was very apologetic and said that Medicare does not allow for an annual physical exam.  If you want to see the doctor, it has to be scheduled as a follow up to a condition or an illness.  We went to the desk and changed Paul’s status for his checkup the next day.  I made an appointment to come back for an EKG.  I won’t get any bloodwork but Paul did. What a screwed up system!  I was very happy with my health insurance before they forced us to go on Medicare. I can’t imagine what will happen if everyone gets put on Medicare like the current presidential candidates are touting!

28 July 2019 (Sun) – We took Caiden to church with us this morning. Afterward, we stopped at McDonald’s for breakfast.  We couldn’t get any fries (they don’t cook them until noon), so we cut up a pancake and fed it to the gulls.  There has been a significant change in the kind of gulls prevalent on Long Island. There used to be black backed gulls all over the place.  Now we don’t see any.  There are laughing gulls flying around.  I wonder what happened to the gull population.

     When we returned home, we worked around the property.  Paul cleaned out the gutters on the house and garage.  I bundled up branches from the trees Paul trimmed or cut down.  It was so hot.  We were both drenched in sweat.

26 July 2019 (Fri) – We had dinner with my brother, Dennis, and his lady, Denise, at Chili’s Grill tonight.  Dennis is working as an usher at Island 16 and gave us two free tickets. We can’t use them on a Friday or Saturday and are restricted from going to a Disney movie during the first two weeks of a new release.  Otherwise, we can enjoy the movies for free.  That was a very nice gift.

     My sister’s daughter, Jennifer, delivered a baby girl on July 24.  Ava Shea checked in at 8.9 lbs.  I just love that name!

25 July 2019 (Thu) – We drove to Port Jefferson Station and had lunch with Travis and his family.  He gets an hour for lunch and works close enough that he can go home for his noon meal.  We shared McDonald’s while the boys showed off their pool and playing skills.

     At 6:00 p.m. a French bulldog came running into the yard barking and barking.  It wouldn’t let us touch it but it wouldn’t leave either.  The dog honed in on Kenny and when we all stepped away, it walked with Kenny into the backyard where he secured it.  Paul walked up and down the block looking for its owners (it had no collar), but couldn’t find any.  At 6:45 p.m., Miranda and I drove to Bohemia to Maguire’s Comedy Club to watch a comedy laugh-off.  My brother, Dennis, was performing and we went to support him.  We had dinner and drinks.  The food was excellent.  The comedy was hit or miss.  Apparently, comedy is not easy to do.  We left before the show was over at 9:45 p.m.

     When we got home, Paul told me that the woman across the street claimed the dog.  It is not chipped and they take the collar off when they put the dog in its crate. It somehow got out and they didn’t miss it for several hours.  Oh, well. It’s a happy ending any way.

 24 July 2019 (Wed) – It was a busy day today.  First destination was the TSA Pre-Check booth located in a Staples store.  I brought my birth certificate, marriage certificate, and driver’s license.  The clerk took my picture and fingerprints.   The charge was $85 but is good for five years.  What the pre-check does is to allow me to go through the security screening line at the airport without having to take my shoes and belt off, and to leave a laptop in its computer case.  Next, we’ll have to get Paul the pre-check.

     We then drove back to the camper to get Bonnie.  We took her to the vet to see if we could find something that can be done about her chronic diarrhea.  She has also been showing signs of arthritis in her paws.  The vet prescribed Tylan for the diarrhea and gabapentin for pain.  We’ll see if that helps.

     After dropping Bonnie off at the RV, we went to the dentist where I got my teeth cleaned.  Paul had been there on Monday.  He has a small cavity that will need filling.  My checkup was perfect!

23 July 2019 (Tue) - Well, the parents are back.  Whew!  What a week. There is a reason children are best raised by the young folks.  Our 5-year old grandson sure had us running around from dawn to dusk.  Caiden slept in the camper every other night, alternating with his bed in the house.  We went through an incredible heat wave and, at one point, we just stayed in the trailer all day and night.  Poor Bonnie had to be put out every time Caiden came in.  She does not like him and for some reason, she tries to go after him. That breaks my heart because if she ever does bite him, we’ll have to put her down.  

     Ok.  Some of the things we did over this past week.  I saw a doctor at Sloan Kettering in Manhattan.  The doctor said the disease is well advanced and I should have started two years ago when it was first discovered.  She described the same options that Dr. Ahmed in Texas offered – a pill for the rest of my life, an intravenous protocol as a temporary stopgap and going on the pill after a time, and a new treatment whose performance is not yet known.  I asked to have my case transferred to the satellite clinic on Long Island.  If I had to go into NYC, it would drive me crazy! I had to take a train and two subways to get to Dr. Noy’s office.  I don’t know how people can live like that – like cattle being pushed along by all the other bodies traveling underground.

     We took Caiden to the library where he had a great time playing with the toys.  We also went to playgrounds and chased each other around as his imagination conjured up monsters, pirates, and Darth Vadar from Star Wars.  We drove to Port Jefferson Station and picked up our other two grandsons and took all three boys to the movies to see Toy Story 4.  Poor Paul.  Each boy had to go to the bathroom twice.  Paul would take one while I watched the other two, then he would drop that one off and take the next one.  They all had to go in the middle of the movie, too.  While we enjoyed our time with the boys, we certainly won’t try doing that again unless there is at least one adult for each child and an extra grown up for back up.  The energy level is incredible.  It was like trying to keep ferrets in a box.  Can’t be done.  We took Caiden to visit my sister, Susan, in Hampton Bays.  He loved swimming in the pool.

     We were able to go to church last Sunday and this past Sunday. It was so good to see all our friends. The pastor announced our presence and the congregation clapped their greeting.  We enjoyed catching up with everyone.  

20 July 2019 - Haven’t forgotten you!  Just been super busy watching our grandchild while his parents are gone. My blog will be back in a few days.  Thanks for your patience!

12 July 2019 (Fri) – We got a call from our son at 1:30 p.m. that he had been scalded and needed to be picked up.  Apparently, he had tried to open the radiator cap while the car was still hot.  Our truck was in the shop to have the real pinion seal repaired so we borrowed Miranda’s car and drove to Commack to get him.  He had been drinking and refused to go to the clinic with us.  The car was towed away and Travis just walked away. We left and drove to the shop to pick up our truck.  I cooked dinner tonight.

 11 July 2019 (Thu) – We left West Point at 9:55 a.m.  Although the distance to Bay Shore was only 102 miles, it took us three hours with all the traffic on the road.  We pulled in around 1 p.m.  After set up, we visited with Miranda, Kenny, and Caiden.  Kenny drove Caiden and me to Lake Grove where we got their cell phone problems fixed.  We had pizza for dinner.  

 10 July 2019 (Wed) – It was a lot of driving around today with very little results.  First was the KOA in Plattekill.  We were looking for another campground besides the one we are at that is near West Point.  It was a very nice campground.  The manager said he could also coordinate bus tours into New York City as well as the surrounding area.  That peaked our interest!  We wanted to bring the group to the city but didn’t want the hassle of trying to shepherd 44 people around all the people and traffic.  

     We then drove to the U.S. Military Academy.  First stop was at Thayer Hotel Restaurant.  We went in and had lunch, then stopped by the check-in desk to ask for the group sales manager.  The coordinator came down to see us.  Although she wasn’t the one to coordinate our kind of group (she’s does weddings, birthdays, and celebrations), she gave us contact information for the other coordinator.

     We then drove off the base to the Visitor’s Center.  Although there was a tour desk in the center, they told us to go across the street to the Bus Tours Office.  We went over there and were given a website to check out.  It has the various tour options listed.  Then we drove back on base to the West Point Club. The woman we spoke with was on the verge of going to a meeting but gave us a website to check out for menus and various meal options.  We looked at some of the rooms available in the club.

      After wandering around the grounds for a bit and trying to look in some of the buildings (they were almost all locked), we headed back to the campground. So when we get internet again (the cell phone and wifi signal in this campground is almost nonexistent), I’ll have to investigate the options for touring the U.S. Military Academy.

 9 July 2019 (Tue) – We left Watkins Glen at 8:55 a.m. and drove to West Point, stopping for a quick bite to eat at Wendy’s.  We pulled into Round Pond Recreation Area at 2 p.m.  It is a military campground associated with West Point Military Academy.  We had thought it would be good to have the caravan stay here but this campground would not be good for our group.  It is a little too rustic for some folks, the sites are close in some quarters, and the campsites are spread out around a large pond.  In addition, the water and electric hookups are on the wrong side of our RV.  I’m not sure all campsites have that issue, but ours does.  There are no sewers but they do have a dump station.

     Once we were set up, we grabbed the laundry and threw it in the washers in the laundry room.  There were three machines in the room; one had a sticky note on it that said “Ate $2 July 9.”  I surmised that person lost $2 in the machine today.  So we didn’t use it.  

      After we put the laundry away, we took a walk with Bonnie around the lake.  It is very pretty here.  I love all the greenery.  We have been on the west coast for over a year and around desert and cacti.  I didn’t realize how much I missed the trees. It’s lovely.

 8 July 2019 (Mon) – We drove to Corning Glass Museum this morning. They have really expanded the museum since we were here 48 years ago on our honeymoon.  We spoke with the group sales coordinator and got the information for the museum, a tour, a glass making experience, and a catered meal. We then drove down the street to the Rockwell Museum.  Their tour takes 45 minutes to one hour.  We may leave this museum for folks to go to on their own.  We’ll see.

     We drove by a couple of campgrounds and gathered information on availability for group camping.  The town of Watkins Glen campground – Clute Memorial Park & Campground – looked very promising.  They are located across from the beach on Lake Seneca.

     We had lunch at Sorges Restaurant in Corning.  I had a cheeseburger wrap.  It was ok but nothing I would buy again.  We then drove around Lake Seneca, stopping at a couple of vineyards for tastings.  When we got back to the KOA, we went in and got contact information for the owner. We also picked up a few souvenirs for the grandkids.  It was a fruitful day.

7 July 2019 (Sun) – We packed up and left Bath at 10:15 and drove to the Watkins Glen KOA, which was only 40 miles away.  When we pulled in, we recognized that we had been here back in 2007 when we drove up to pick up our first fifth wheel RV.  The part they put us in at that time was brand new. They have added some other buildings and cabins since then.  They wouldn’t let us into the campground until 12 noon.  We had to keep ourselves busy for five minutes then passed through. The wifi in this park is non-existent. In addition, the cell phone does not work well either.  We must be a valley or something.

      After set up, we drove into the town of Watkins Glen.  It is very touristy.  Watkins Glen State Park was packed with people.  We stopped at CPT Bill’s Seneca Lake Cruises to get information.  There was a restaurant next door that is also owned by CPT Bill’s.  We stopped in there as well to find out about group meal options and costs.  After walking along the boardwalk of Seneca Lake, we drove up into the state park to look at the campground.  It was too tight with narrow turns and lots of trees.  It would not work for our group.

     We stopped for lunch at Nickel’s pit BBQ.  I got ribs and Paul got wings.  We didn’t care for either for the food.  It was overdusted with dry rub and actually seemed to be gritty.  After lunch, we drove to Watkins Glen International. It is a NASCAR race track.  In town, they painted the crosswalks in a checker flag pattern.  The street signs have race cars on them.  We had trouble finding an entrance into the park.  After driving around the place, we finally discovered an open gate.  The office was closed.  There were cars racing on the track – we could hear them. There is a campground at the track and we wanted to find out about it.  Finally, we discovered an employee who answered our questions.  He said they only allow camping during special events. Guess that won’t work for our group either.

 6 July 2019 (Sat) – We went into the campground office first thing this morning to get information about group reservations for the caravan. Then we drove to Letchworth State Park. Letchworth is called the Grand Canyon of the East.  It was over an hour away.  Although we thought it was such a great place when we came here 30 years ago, it didn’t look so great today.  You couldn’t really see the gorge or canyons or river because of all the trees.  I guess having just come back from seeing the national parks out west made us a little jaded.  

     We then stopped at a campground near Letchworth to check out the place for the caravan.  They didn’t have everything we wanted for the group so we won’t be camping there.  We had lunch at the Iris Glen Inn.  It was the house of Mr. Letchworth converted to a restaurant.  The upper falls were visible outside the window.  The food was good.  The drive back was under rainy skies.

5 July 2019 (Fri) – We packed up and left Lockport at 9:15 a.m.  We drove 12 miles to a nearby campground to dump the tanks.  The Elks Lodge recommended dumping at the nearby waste treatment plant but when we went to look at the site, it turned out you would just open the spigot over a grate that covers a collection tank.  The cover had bits of toilet paper and other debris on it.  Ugh!

     It was an easy drive to the KOA in Bath.  We stopped at a Pilot station and got lunch at Subway.  The campground is a little tight.  It is pretty big with over 200 campsites.  We are parked on the grass in a pull through. A couple used to be managers at the Watkins Glen KOA and bought this KOA in Hammondsport/Bath in February.  They were selling pulled pork sliders for dinner. The baked beans were too sweet, the cole slaw was bitter, and the pulled pork was very dry.

     After we got set up, we drove to the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum to gather information for the caravan.  We then drove down the road to Bully Hill Vineyards and enjoyed a small snack in the restaurant.  We sat out on the deck and watched a thunderstorm grumble and growl its way across the sky.  Down the road was the Finger Lakes Boating Museum.  Their complex used to belong to Taylor wines.  We were there about 8 years ago and had a wine tasting.  Since then, Coca-Cola had sold the wine division. Sales decreased and Taylor wines were sold to a couple of different owners until, today, only their dessert wines are being sold (Taylor Flagate and Port).  The Taylor Wines complex is now mostly closed with parts of it being sold off.  The boating museum owns one of the buildings and is in the process of buying another two of them.  It will be a pretty big museum in two years.

     We returned to the campground just before the skies opened up and the rains poured down.  Sheba spent several hours hiding in the closet.      

4 July 2019 (Thu-Independence Day) – It was a quiet day for us. We went over Kevin & Joy’s daughter’s home for a barbecue.  Their son-in-law, Justin, made a variety of delicious appetizers to nosh on before grilling hot dogs, hamburgers, and coonies.  Coonies are a popular barbecue food for the upstate folks.  It is a kind of mild flavored sausage.  That led to all of us talking about different foods peculiar to areas around the country.  It was a funny discussion.

3 July 2019 (Wed) – We went to two wineries this morning.  I found wines I liked (the Niagara wine has a wonderfully distinctive taste) but Paul did not find a good one.  We went to Tom’s Diner for lunch.  It was small but the service was good.  We both had salads that were huge!  At 4 p.m. we drove to Buffalo to visit a campground there. With all the information we are collecting, we are starting to form an idea of how we want the caravan to run in the Buffalo/Niagara Falls area.  Since we are thinking about using a tour bus, we want to keep the cost of the campground down.  There are not many nice campgrounds in this area.  Just the two resorts on Grand Island with sites over $100 each.

     We met Kevin and Joy at Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  The food, as always, was great.  We enjoyed their company very much.  They invited us to join them at their daughter’s house tomorrow for a BBQ.

2 July 2019 (Tue) – We drove into Niagara Falls today.  The intent was to find a nice restaurant in which to have a dinner for the caravan.  It was incredibly crowded and there was construction that made navigation around the area difficult.  We got frustrated and finally gave up.  We drove into town and had lunch at the Pearl Street Grille & Brewery.  It was rated #1 of 234 restaurants in Niagara Falls by Trip Advisor.  I don’t know what criteria they used to rate these restaurants, but this was certainly NOT a #1.  There were six booths, two tables, and six chairs at a counter.  They served pub food.  I got Beef on a Weck.  We’ve seen that on several menus now and I decided to try it.  It turned out to be a roast beef sandwich where they dipped the roast beef in au jus then put it on the roll.  It only made the bread soggy (and I HATE wet bread).  The meat also had some grizzle in it.  Paul got a tuna melt and it came without any cheese.  We really didn’t feel the place deserved to be rated #1.

     After lunch, we stopped at the Underground Railroad Heritage Center.  They mentioned Harriet Tubman frequently but had very little about her in the center.  It was very small and basically boasted of how the folks in Niagara Falls helped escaped slaves cross over into Canada.

     We then drove to Youngstown to Old Fort Niagara.  The group tours manager was not in and the clerk gave us her contact information.  We have to call her tomorrow.  When we stepped out, we saw the Buffalo trolley shuttle.  It provides a shuttle from Niagara Falls to Buffalo with 14 stops along the way.  We asked about a tour and the bus driver gave us contact information.  We’ll have to contact that lady tomorrow, too.  

1 July 2019 (Mon) – We brought the truck to Ford to get it inspected this morning.  Kevin & Joy met us for breakfast at Bob Evans.  After breakfast, we went back to the campground where they are parked. After a brief visit, we returned to Ford to get the truck.  There were (supposedly) several lights out that they had to replace.  We paid $139.12 and went on our way.  We drove into Buffalo to the Buffalo Naval and Military Park on the Eric Canal.  They had three ships there: The USS Croaker (a submarine), the USS Sullivans (a destroyer), and the USS Little Rock (a missile cruiser).  There was also a small museum on the second floor of the visitor’s center and gift shop.  We spent three hours climbing up and down stairs as we explored the three ships. It was fun.

     We drove to the Pearl Street Grill & Brewery for a late lunch. The food was excellent.  On the way back to the Elks lodge, we stopped at Lockport Locks & Eric Canal Cruises.  They have a very nice program for lunch followed by a two-hour ride on the canal.  It will be a definite venue if we do the New York caravan in 2021.

30 June 2019 (Sun) – We drove to several campgrounds today to check space availability and options.  Of the four we stopped at, two are possibilities.  One charges $102 per night and the other charges $113.  Yeow! That’s a lot of money.  There’s a possibility we can negotiate prices at one of them because we have to call back to speak with the owner.  

     We also stopped at the Niagara Power Plant to see about a tour.  The manager was out and will be in tomorrow afternoon.  We’ll have to call back.  

     We stopped at a restaurant on Lake Ontario for lunch.  We sat up on the second floor out on the deck.  It was too windy to put the umbrella up but there was a brisk wind blowing that kept the sun from feeling too hot.  As we were eating, there was a sudden CRACK and a tree across the street split.  A large trunk with wide spread branches came crashing down.  How it avoided hitting the power line next to it or the cars parked in front of it, is beyond me.  There was a guy walking his dog in front of that tree not two minutes before.  The angels were watching over everybody.

29 June 2019 (Sat) – We left Youngstown at 8:45 a.m.  Although the sky got cloudy, the rain held off.  The drive took us through Pennsylvania into New York.  We stopped at a travel center when we crossed into New York.  It was crazy!  The place was so crowded.  There was only one facility on the west side of the thruway.  Those on the eastbound side had to cross an overhead bridge.  We each got a slice of pizza.

     We arrived in Lockport at 1:30 p.m.  We are staying in an Elks Lodge in the back parking lot.  After set up, we went in and paid for our site.  At 3:30 p.m., Kevin & Joy, a couple who was on our Utah caravan, met us and we all went to an early dinner.  The food and company was good.  After we returned to the lodge, Paul and I went food shopping to pick up groceries and to Pet Smart for Bonnie’s food.  When we got back, we looked through brochures for activities in the area.

[madpanda75]

Summer with the SVU Boys

It’s hot as balls outside and I am sweating like a sinner in church, so here’s a head canon on what it would be like to spend the summer with those tasty snacks known as Barba, Sonny, Mike, and Peter! 

Tags: @amirightcounsellor ❤️

Rafael

-Rafael loves the Bard and you love the theater, so it’s only natural that he takes you to Shakespeare in the Park every summer. Even though it’s hot and humid, he wraps his arm around you while you lay your head on his shoulder wanting to be as close to your boyfriend as humanly possible. On those long summer nights when he is stuck working a case, you head over to his office and persuade him to take a much needed break. Rafael, unable to say no to you, agrees and walks with you down the street to your favorite ice cream parlor where you both indulge in an ice cream cone, your boyfriend plants a sticky kiss on your lips, before he heads back up to his office. Rafael and you often kick off your summer weekends by going out salsa dancing on Fridays. The sexy ADA is an amazing dancer, you love the way his hips move against yours, how he twirls you across the dance floor, his hands on your lower back. Salsa dancing with Rafael is the best foreplay and after a few hot and sweaty hours, he’ll pull you close so you can feel his clothed erection, kiss the sweat off your neck and whisper in a dark tone, “Let’s get out of here.” Feeling bad that he is too busy to take a real vacation, Rafael pulls some strings and takes you out yachting for a long weekend. As a joke, you buy him a captain’s hat for the short trip and on one particularly hot night on the boat, he ties you up and fucks you senseless, wearing nothing but that hat.

Sonny

-Sonny is shocked to hear that you have never been to Coney Island insists on taking you on the Fourth of July where you get the full Coney Island experience. You both watch the Nathan’s famous hot dog eating contest and ride the Cyclone roller coaster. At the end of the night, you two ride the Ferris wheel, when your seats reach the top, Sonny looks over at you, “I love you doll.” You reach out and kiss him, “I love you too, Sonny.” On summer nights, your boyfriend and you love to go to outdoor movie screenings, you both start to watch the movie, but typically end up making out like two teenagers throughout the whole show. Sonny loves to swim, with those long limbs of his, he’s a natural, so on weekends when the heat is unbearable, you two will head to the pool to cool off. You love watching from your lounge chair as your boyfriend swims laps up and down the pool. When Sonny emerges from the pool, water dripping off his body, it takes all your strength not to lunge at him right there. One week in August, the Carisi family heads down to the beach for a huge family vacation. It’s an absolute chaotic blast with everyone sharing a large house but it makes it tricky when you and Sonny want to be intimate. One morning after a steamy sex filled night, Sonny’s niece looks over at you and Sonny from the table, “Y/N, how come you were shouting for Uncle Sonny to go harder last night? It sounded like you were hurt real bad.” You turned beet red while Sonny tried to think of an answer innocent enough for his niece. Bella smacks her brother’s head, “ Seriously Sonny!?”

Mike

-Mike loves to start the day with a run, so to beat the heat he will go on a jog early on summer mornings. By the time you wake up, Mike has returned and is shedding his sweaty clothes, he’ll take you by the hand and ask if you want to join him in the shower, “It’ll help conserve water, babe.” You happily oblige and the two of you enjoy some steamy morning shower sex before you head to work on some shaky legs. Mike is a die hard hockey fan and in the early summer, you both watch all 7 games of the Stanley Cup playoffs. During the final game, you and Mike dressed in your hockey jerseys head to the bar that he used to work at to cheer on your favorite team. You love sitting in his lap, drinking beer while he tells you little known facts about the players on tv. After tossing back a few, Mike persuades the bartender to let him behind the counter so he can show off his bottle flipping tricks he learned on the job. On lazy summer weekends, Mike will bbq and have rooftop picnics with you, sometimes his dad, Chief Dodds, will stop by with a six pack and join you both. You crack up laughing as Chief Dodds regales you with embarrassing stories from Mike’s past. At the end of the night, you two will watch the sunset over the Manhattan skyline, wrapped up in Mike’s arms, you can not think of a better way to spend a summer night. Mike surprises you with a week away in the Hamptons. You two plan on spending the week lounging at the beach, taking bike rides, and visiting farmers markets, but truth be told you spent most of the week having sex on every possible surface in the beach house he rented.

Peter

For Peter, summer means one thing, BASEBALL, since Peter is such an avid fan, you both go to as many games as possible. You really don’t know much about baseball before you met Peter so he teaches you the ins and outs of the game, he even takes you out to the baseball field summer nights when it’s totally empty and shows you how to pitch and the proper way to bat. Watching the way he moves with such confidence and strength is a major turn on. You grind against him as he shows you the proper batting form and pretty soon the two of you are fooling around in the dugout, Peter covering your mouth to silence your moans. On summer weekends, Peter will take you camping in the Catskills, being out of the city gives you both a chance to relax. You and Peter love taking long hikes sometimes in total comfortable silence, just holding hands. At night, after making love in the tent, you both enjoy looking at the stars, you can see them so clearly being so far away from the city. Peter will tell you about the different constellations and you fall asleep in the crook of his neck being soothed by the sound of his voice. For a week during the summer, Peter takes you to Chicago. Being in Chicago with Peter is like having your own personal tour guide, he takes you to Willis Tower, Millennium Park, and Navy Pier. You visit his old stomping grounds, where he proudly introduces you to his old work colleagues and friends. Watching you and Peter, his friends can’t remember the last time they saw him so happy.

#rafael barba #sonny carisi #mike dodds #peter stone #law and order svu headcanon #tasty snacks

[tinyhousegiantjourney]

Sayulita, Mexico, is a small surf town with a hippy vibe, amazing restaurants, and a beautiful beach. Usually, I find myself getting bored in tiny towns when I’m on vacation, but not in Sayulita! And I wasn’t just impressed with the number of activities available, I was impressed with the entire vibe and culture of the town. 

Watch this video of my week-long visit to Sayulita

Getting to Sayulita, Mexico

This surprising Mexican town is located just 90 minutes from the more popular tourist destination of Puerto Vallarta. I flew into Puerto Vallarta and took a local bus, which only cost me about $8 USD. Other options would be to take a taxi (expensive) or rent a car (not necessary once you are in Sayulita). The local bus was a bit crowded, but I was comfortable enough for the short trip. Of course, it’s your budget and your choice. I tend to travel more like a local than a tourist.

  Accommodation Recommendations

Sayulita is a small town, but there are plenty of choices in a variety of budget ranges. If you’re celebrating something special, you can stay at a resort right on the beach and enjoy high-class amenities. If you’re on a budget, there are several hostels right in the middle of town with a social vibe. Personally, I prefer a little more privacy, with a middle-of-the-road-budget. In order to achieve this, I rented an affordable and quirky AirBNB (get up to $40 to try AirBNB here). I didn’t always have hot water, but I was steps from the action, with my own apartment. Again, I felt like a local!

Top 10 Things to Do in Sayulita, Mexico

1). Take a Boat Tour to the Marieta Islands

The Marieta Islands are a series of rock islands located just a few hours by boat off the coast of Sayulita. “Hidden beach” is the most popular destination (if you’ve seen photos, you understand why).  Alas, this gorgeous oasis is super regulated and expensive to get to. Expect to pay 3,000 pesos ( USD) just to explore Hidden Beach for 15-20 minutes! And, at certain times of the year, this beach is closed to the public. That being said, there are plenty of other islands and beaches to explore in the Marietas, and the boat ride is half the fun! Choose between an affordable ride on a fishing boat, or splurge for an all-inclusive (lunch and drinks) catamaran.

2). Eat Your Heart Out

There are so many amazing restaurants and taco stands in Sayulita, but here are a few of my favorites.

Burrito Revolution offers the best burritos and non-street tacos. My mouth is salivating just thinking about those tacos!

Don Pedros is probably the most expensive restaurant in town, but it’s still reasonable. I highly recommend the muscles!

The Blue Corn Mama Cafe for a great breakfast and homemade blue corn tortillas. All sales support the local natives.

Mama Mia for homemade pasta and other Italian dishes ran by (you guessed it) an Italian.

3). Listen to Live Music

I was completely blown away by the number of live music venues in this tiny town. Every night there is a new, eclectic band at several different places! Don Patos, Su Casa, Lucid, and El Attico have great bands on the weekends, and El Attico has live music every single night! Don Pedros has salsa music on Monday nights, which is so popular they charge a cover – $5.  

4). Soak Up the Sun

There are two beaches in Sayulita. The main beach is alive with activity. You can rent a chair and umbrella for a small price, and order drinks and lunch from beachfront restaurants. You can even get a beach massage! That being said, you will get haggled often on the main beach by locals trying to sell crafts, blankets, etc. It can get annoying after awhile. 

The second beach in Sayulita is called Playa Los Muertos. Get there by walking south of main beach (follow the signs). After about 10 minutes, you’ll pass through an authentic Mexican graveyard, which eventually leads to a more private beach. There are fewer crowds and fewer people pressuring you to buy jewelry and knick-knacks, but also fewer amenities on this beach. Don’t expect clean restrooms and bartenders like you’ll see at the main beach.

5). Take Surf or Paddle Board Lessons

One of the main attractions in Sayulita is the surf, which I hear is good for beginners and professionals alike. If you’re interested, there are plenty of vendors on the main beach offering surf and paddleboard lessons. You can also rent a board of your choice and try to master the waves on your own. 

Art displayed at the shop, Evoke the Spirit, in Sayulita

6). Go Shopping at the Boutique Stores

Sayulita offers dozens of boutique shops with hip Mexican-made products (just make sure to check the label). From clothing to leather goods, to art, you’ll definitely find something trendy. And, trust me, the prices are much cheaper than in Puerto Vallarta! Do your shopping here. 

7). Explore the Hippy Market

Located in the heart of town, there is an artisanal market that is self-named as the “Hippy Market.” Every day locals set up booths with handmade goods. You can find straw hats, jewelry, home decorations, hand-sewn stuffed animals, and much more.

8). Get a Spa Treatment

As someone who likes to get massages in countries all over the world, I must recommend getting a spa treatment in Sayulita. In fact, I had two during my week there! It’s affordable, relaxing, and…. hey, you’re on vacation! Treat yourself!

9). Take a Yoga Class

There are a few options for Yoga in Sayulita. I tried two studios during my visit and, personally, I recommend Heart Shala over the more popular Paraiso studio. Both were the same price – about $10 USD.

10). Rent a Golf Cart

I never had a chance to do this, but a popular thing to do in Sayulita is to rent a golf cart to drive around town. You can even keep them overnight if you’re out bar hopping. Many travelers stay on Gringo Hill, which can a challenge to climb in the warm summer months, especially if you do it multiple times a day! There were many times I was jealous of other traveler’s golf carts. 

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More Articles on Mexico:

Costa Maya

Cabo San Lucas

10 Things to Do in Sayulita, Mexico Sayulita, Mexico, is a small surf town with a hippy vibe, amazing restaurants, and a beautiful beach.

#10 things to do #Beach #best things to do #Fishing #golf cart #holiday #islands #Live Music #marietta islands #mexican #mexico #Paddle Board #puerto vallarta #Restaurants #sayulita #Shopping #Surf #tour #Tourism #Tourist #Travel #vacation #yoga #yoga class

[nolaroleplay]

✧ NAME: Asher Grey King ✧ AGE: 27 ✧ BIRTHDAY: August 21st, 1990.  ✧ GENDER: Male ✧ LOCATION: French Quarter ✧ TIME IN NOLA: One year and six months ✧ OCCUPATION: Bartender at Bourbon Heat / Ex-Musician + Lead Singer

TW: accident, death, drugs.

Money. Fame. Glory. The age old story of a boy who grows up privileged and wealthy, and yet underneath it all, he bears a rebellious nature and lust for adventure. Asher was never the golden child, despite his father’s hopes for taking over the family investment company that had taken the world of Wall Street by storm. No, that role was reserved for his older sister, and always had been. Perhaps the pressure and rules placed upon him growing up were a factor in his rebellious nature, but Asher felt compelled to break the rules and rebel against any expectations his parents held for him. The world of galas and benefits and hosting parties for the wealthy Upper East Siders never ignited any fascination within the young blonde. He was the odd one out, the outcast, the boy who flunked school and disappeared at elite gatherings. Asher had always been exactly that — the black sheep of the King family. 

There was one thing in his life that warranted stability in terms of his interests, and that was music. It soothed his soul.. always having an ear for melodies and great tunes, never without his earphones in his ear. Constantly finding himself writing music, and songs, and putting together tracks tracks together on his laptop. That, along with English Literature, was the only class he actually listened in, and studied for religiously. Unfortunately, to the dismay and disappointment of his parents, Asher was now looked down upon as the runt of the family, the one who wouldn’t succeed. It was a constant battle for Edward and Joscelyn, consistently trying to pull him away from what he loves, coaxing him to take a more serious role. But he refused, and this lead to the kicking out of their eighteen year old son. 

And what was he to choose but music? 

Luckily for Asher, he had rounded up a group of like minded New Yorkers and Brooklynites that had been writing music with him for the last two years of high school. The four of them had dreams of making it big, constantly playing in the loft apartment of one of the band members. They had dreams of being on tour and following their dreams — and the instant Asher had no home, was the instant the group decided to move across the country to LA. Surely enough, after two years of going from living out of their car to living in a decent apartment in Santa Monica, playing on the streets to playing in small pubs and bars, the four of them were discovered, and subsequently, ONYX was formed. 

Travelling around America on tour, playing in random bars and small clubs until they grew in popularity, signing with their record label was a dream come true. They acquired a good following, made music that was relatively popular, and has a whole new lifestyle that the four had only dreamed of. Asher was the lad singer and frontman, excelling in guitar and composition. And god, did Asher feel on top of the world, addicted to the voracious benefits of their newfound limelight. Drugs, rock and roll.. you name it. Asher was spiralling into a world of darkness, moving from town to town, city to city. At one point, ONYX found themselves on an international tour, moving from country to country. They were on a complete high — literally, and maybe too much, really. Considering Asher was going out of control, succumbing to a lifestyle that was taking his world by storm.

That was, until he met her — Nora Jean Davis. An artist from a small town in North Carolina with dreams of making it big. He was twenty four now, and she was what could only be described as the girl of his dreams. Sure, Asher had met plenty of girls, and had had numerous one night stands. After all, his lifestyle warranted it — in his eyes. But she was one of a kind. They were in North Carolina, touring there for a few weeks when he met her. It wasn’t until after they got together that Asher found out one of his band members, the drummer — Emmett Anderson, had been into her before him. This led to the demise of their best friendship considering Asher stole the girl from him, watching as their friendship fell apart. The band had been having problems, too, which only meant that Onyx would endure a demise, too. 

Nora was, and always would be, his entire world. From the second he met her, the world around him as he knew it changed. All those years of going in and out of short relationships, quick flings, one night stands.. were over. Everything halted when he met her. Six months after dating, with Onyx practically falling apart, Nora fell pregnant. Gone were the days of partying, of drugs, of rock and roll. His entire world shifted once more, as he found himself in the heart of a relationship that would soon lead to a family. One where he could choose how his child was fathered, and he promised himself, no heavy expectations. He finally saw the benefits of a stable future, one he’d never anticipated he’d want. And yet, he finally felt he had purpose with her. Gone were the days of social media and instagramming, keeping his profile on the down low as they found themselves an apartment, finally settling down. Finally happy.

Until, fate rocked the boat once more. Six months into her pregnancy, the two were driving, fighting, arguing. They were headed towards a dinner with two friends, the weather evidently unpredictable with it’s raging, stormy weather. They were utterly consumed in their arguing that Asher faltered to see the stop sign, which only had a disastrous ending. The words during the argument were the last he’d ever spoken to her, and to this day, that notion haunts him. But that fateful night, the blond lost the love of his life and unborn child. He’d lost all hopes of a happy future.. that perfect, happy family diminishing within seconds. Seconds and decisions he would regret for the rest of his life. 

After his immeasurable loss, Asher spiralled entirely, falling off the bandwagon and immersing himself even further into the drug scene. He’d lost control of himself, considering his future had been ripped out of his hands. Six months later, he was admitted to rehab for addiction to cocaine — a drug he craved considering it left him feeling numb. Rehab worked out for him, considering he’d bettered himself and held onto the notion of his sober chip, sitting readily in his wallet. But, life would never, ever be the same again.. and he certainly wasn’t sure he’d smile, ever again. 

It’s been two years since his loss. He’s sober, and, though he’s had a few relapses, he’s trying to work on himself. Settling into the city of New Orleans has been an easy feat, one that makes him feel like he finally has a real home again. Moving in with his roommate Talan, too, has made the entire experience worthwhile. And though he’d never expect to be working behind the bar whilst the people around him were readily chasing their dreams, he’s been trying to figure out what that is exactly. What are his dreams now, after everything? Once upon a time, he knew exactly who he was, where he was headed.. more than comfortable with the idea of spontaneity. But now, he wonders where his interests lie, or what his future will entail. He hopes to rekindle his love for composing music, for trying his hand at doing what he loves most.. that maybe, through that, he’ll feel normal again. He doesn’t believe he’ll ever get over the loss he suffered, and it shows in the way he avoids relationships at all costs. But there is still hope in the name of music, and only time will tell whether it’s his saviour. 

Asher has always had a humorous nature, a love for laughing and anything comedic. He undertook the somewhat bad boy musician persona during high school, and that carried on ‘til this very day. He’d always been a party animal, with a love for going out, and playing in front of a crowd. His life had been music and the energy a good, atmospheric crowd could offer.. and he certainly thrived off of it. He roams around with confidence, seemingly sure of himself even in his stature. The blond takes care of himself, especially his hair. Don’t touch the hair. However, considering all the events and trauma he had endured, ridden with guilt and suffering.. his personality has changed. Asher has become a little more reserved in nature, angry, untrusting of others.. cynical of the world and all it has to offer. Looking down upon himself as below others has essentially become second nature, with the heavy burden he carries and the more negative outlook on life. Despite this, there’s still a spark of hope left in the guy who broods around town, and it certainly doesn’t mean he can be charismatic, when he wants to be.

ASHER’S FACECLAIM IS DOMINIC SHERWOOD AND IS PORTRAYED BY TEE.

#dominic sherwood fc #dominic sherwood rp #oc rp #city rp #town rp #c #m #asher king #french quarter #bourbon heat

[jaimejoshi]

The Year In Review

January

Celebrated J’s birthday in Islamorada and ate a cheese plate on a boat. 

Celebrated J’s birthday in Boston where we saw Kings of Leon, ate a shitload of Italian food and walked around in freezing weather. 

Trump was inaugurated as 45th president of the United States. Like his administration and family, he remains to be goblin shit.

February

Did yoga in the sunshine at Meyer, served dinner at Quantum House, bought some bad-ass new furniture that looks like it could belong in an Andalusian villa, ate amazing gnocchi at Cafe Boulud and wrote about my favorite cover songs. 

March

Celebrated my 34th birthday and awoke the next morning to literally the worst hangover I have ever experienced in my life. Holy shit, guys. Do not mix red wine and champagne and vodka and gin and whatever the fuck else I was stupid enough to drink that night. 

Yeah. Yuk it up, Giggles. You’ll be praying for death (and soup) tomorrow.

Celebrated the four year anniversary of coming home and celebrated the four year anniversary of being with J. I didn’t actually do anything for these events but quietly acknowledged how much better my life is as a result. 

Became a card-carrying member of the ACLU and Planned Parenthood. 

Discovered My Favorite Murder, came up with an excellent idea for an Indian fast casual joint where I can roll up and order saag paneer wrapped up in garlic naan, watched Martina Hingis play tennis and listened to a lot of Arctic Monkeys.

April

Watched good friends get married, hung out with friends from PA and introduced them the straight-up magic that is West Palm, brunched a lot and discovered charcoal masks. 

Went to Colombia. Rode a horse in the goddamn jungle, tubed down a lazy river to a secluded beach, hiked to a waterfall, ate lots of maracuya y platanos and tacos on the beach at sunset and realized once more that I want to spend the rest of my life traveling with J. 

May

Sunfest: Flo Rida, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, The Naked and Famous, Blink 182, St. Paul and the Broken Bells, Weezer, Snoop. Drank lots of blueberry lemonade, got seriously tan, don’t know how I survived. 

Watched Sally Yates testify before a senate subcommittee. Watched The Handmaid’s Tale. Realized this is true:

Watch more good friends get married in Nashville and listened to Gregg Allman’s Ramblin’ Man in a barn during a thunderstorm. Introduced J to pani puri at Chauhan’s Ale and Masala House, stayed in East Nashville and drove around in a big-ass pick-up truck. 

Decided mole nachos need to be a thing, cried a lot because I was tired, watched Hasan Minaj’s Homecoming King and wrote about #NewBrownAmerica.

June

Took Roxy to the beach, discovered great huevos rancheros at Hurricane Cafe, threatened to destroy the universe if a local establishment no longer had bean burritos, broke my laptop, cried and found a great spot to fix my laptop and ate so much cheese.

July

Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones.

Murica’d at the appropriate level by setting off a shitload of fireworks and listening to a lot of Bruce Springsteen.

Watched even more good friends get married in Colorado. Hiked around a national park, went to the top of Flagstaff Mountain, drank tea at a teahouse built in Tajikistan, experienced altitude sickness for the first time, fell even more in love. 

August

Went to St. Thomas to celebrate the life of J’s Nana and to say our final goodbyes.

Fed dog biscuits to fish, stayed on top of a mountain, drank banana daiquiris and bushwhackers, swam in turquoise waters and ate a truly delicious chocolate-chip cookie. 

Learned how to make beer bread, had my car broken into, drove up to Melbourne to watch the Game of Thrones finale with J. Finally watched it at 11:30pm, woke up four hours later to drive back home to go to work and went to see Coldplay in Miami that night. 

September

Survived Hurricane Irma with little property damage and little power failure. Realized just how damn lucky we were. 

Became a mom to Indiana Bones.

Went to goat yoga, saw Jay and Silent Bob live but most important is my boy...who is currently 52lbs and sitting next to me while noisily munching on a bone. 

October

Watched yet more good friends get married and joined them as a bridesmaid, went backstage at Kings of Leon, worked a lot, slept a little. 

November

Wore a sari and heels and didn’t break my ankle, had literally the best Thanksgiving ever because Mom is a phenomenal cook/human woman, cuddled with puppies, more goat yoga with two of my favorite people and discovered my favorite lipstick. 

December

New Orleans for Birthday Celebrations - walked over eight miles on day one, visited the WWII Museum, ate a lot, drank a lot, wore masks, sang Christmas songs and visited my favorite bar with my favorite person where I drank a Southside, tasted a Dark and Stormy that tasted like the world’s best gingerbread cookie, met a great dog and watched a dude give the bartender three tabs of acid as a tip.

Created truly excellent Christmas cards, aimed to create a hygge Christmas experience, toured gorgeous homes in Northwood, found out Indy Bones is a German Shepherd/Mastiff/Great Dane/American Bulldog mix, drank lots of hot chocolate with Amaretto and made plans to watch Scrooged and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang because they are my favorite Christmas movies. 

I believe in celebrating the good shit, so this rundown is filled with the things I love most - travel and good food and dogs and hanging out with truly excellent people. 

But 2017 was also filled with a tremendous amount of stress. RA flare-ups, concern about what the medication is doing to my body and gasping sobs over whether I can have children. A palpable sense of fear over the policies put into place by a kakistocratic government. Stress over the everyday life stuff - bills and work and juggling schedules. Not getting enough sleep. 

I’m not a new year’s resolution kind of girl but in 2018 - I strive to be more politically engaged. To do more to support causes that matter to me. 

I strive to go to yoga more often and barre when I can afford it. 

I want to travel more - Denmark, a trip to Philly with J, Portland, Seattle, a road trip to the Georgia mountains with the dogs, Ireland...

And I’m seriously considering blogging about learning how to cook Indian food.

I’m going to make sure that the people I love know they are loved, I’m going to kiss the hell out of J, I’m going to write, I’m going to listen to live music, send more cards and read more. 

I am going to live my best life - brimming with hope, kindness, mischief and really fucking good food and cocktails.

I hope 2018 plays out the same way for you too. 

P.S. - And Impeachment because seriously - Trump is an asshole. 

#new year #hope #2017 #2018 #year in review

[secret-captain-swan-blog]

Castle on the Hill

English Literature PhD student Emma Swan just needs money to pay for her last semester of grad school tuition. Killian Jones has always dreamed of opening a bookshop but has never been able to afford it. So when the small principality of Misthaven is looking for their lost princess, the pair decide that this might just be the perfect money making scheme.

A Multi-chapter Modern Day + Lost Princess (think Rapunzel/Anastasia-esque) + Book Lovers in a Coffee Shop AU

Rating: T

Word Count: 30905/ ?

Prologue (Part 1 + 2) // Ch 1 // Ch 2 // Ch 3 // Ch 4

Read on: Ao3

They wander out of Mamie’s just as the sun is beginning to set. Golden hour, Emma thinks it is called.

“So, how much have you seen of Misthaven?” Asks Killian.

Emma frowns, thinking of the Misthaven University library and the endless bowls of cappuccinos at Mamies.

“Hah,” Killian laughs, “That’s what I thought. Too much time with our darling friend Blanche Neige, and hardly any time spent exploring the thriving metropolis of Misthaven.”

Emma chuckles. She thinks of the past few hours she’s spent with Killian in Mamie’s. They’d exchanged favorite quotations, scenes, and characters from Blanche Neige. They discussed all of their other favorite reads. It seems that Killian is quite well read, his favorite books spanning from Dickens to Rushdie. She’s discovered that he’s not just ridiculously good looking, he’s also thoughtful and has a soft spot for literature.

“Hey,” Emma protests, “I have a lot riding on Blanche Neige right now.”

“Yeah, right, your whole future, I know,” Killian snorts, “But you can take one night off from books.”

Emma’s eyes narrow. What does he mean one night? They just agreed to be friends, not to-

“Emma, just an hour or two of sights in the city,” He offers, “Just that. I’m not planning on coming home with you after, if that’s what you thought I was on about. I mean, we could arrange that too, if you wish.”

Does this guy ever stop with the flirting?

She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms, but manages to let out a little smile, “Okay, fine, one evening off. And nothing more.”

Killian grins. He’s so open with his emotions. He wears his heart on his sleeve in a way that Emma has never done. She can tell how he genuinely feels about each of her responses, whereas she lives to be an enigma.

“Have you been on a river boat tour?” He asks, “They’re quite popular for tourists, but they really are good fun and a nice, proper tour of Misthaven.”

Emma shakes her head, realizing how little time she’s taken to enjoy Misthaven.

“Let’s do that shall we?” He suggests, “At sunset, the city will be very photogenic.”

She swears that the French bit of his trace-of-a-Misthaven-accent comes out a little more as he talks about sunset. And yeah, it’s kinda doing something to her. Stupid attractive voice.

“Yeah, sure,” She agrees.

They walk along the quay to where the tours leave from. Killian buys two tickets and they step onto the boat.

Emma hasn’t been on a lot of boats in her lifetime. One time a group home went on a boat tour of Boston Harbor. She doesn’t remember much of it, only that her hair was in a braid that day and one of the more annoying boys kept tugging on it as she tried to look out at the city. When she was in high school, on her trip to New York with Ingrid, she remembers taking a ferry to the Statue of Liberty. She remembers seeing the skyline of New York on the way back, stately and ruthlessly modern against the sky.

Both of those boat rides were rocky, lurching violently as they traveled, but this boat is smooth. She and Killian find spots upstairs, on the outdoor deck. They lean against the rail, watching the Misthaven flag that hangs off the back flap gently against the backdrop of the river and hills.

“So,” Emma says, turning to Killian, “Obviously, you know all about my life as a student and my thesis- but what about you?”

“What about me?” Killian says, crossing his arms over the rail with smirk.

“I don’t know,” Emma shrugs, “What do you do?”

“It’s going to sound a little dim, after our discussion about literature,” he says, scratching behind his ear nervously.

Why is that so attractive? Calm your loins, Emma Swan, he’s literally scratching his ear.

All the same, she feels weirdly hurt by his admission. She’s never been the kind of person who things herself above others. She’s spent most of her time at Duke feeling less than her peers who lived far more privileged lives than her.

“It’s okay,” Emma says, placing a hand on his shoulder, “Remember the bad childhood thing? It’s made me significantly less judgey than most people in academia. I got really lucky and that’s the only reason that I’m working on a PhD and not cleaning toilets.”

Killian nods, his face solemn and a little gentle, “I’m a bartender.”

“Nice,” Emma says, not waiting a beating, not wanting him to feel bad, “Does that mean that as your friend I get free drinks?”

“Hmm,” he says, his easy smile returning, “Not because we are friends, just because you’re hot.”

Emma dramatically huffs, because it’s her instinct to react that way, but there is a small bit of her that relishes that he thinks that she is hot. Okay, maybe more than a small bit.

She has to stop it. She can’t be swooning over this guy, even if he is charming and attractive and loves her favorite author. She doesn’t date at all. It’s self-preservation. And if she is going to survive finding funding and finishing her dissertation- she needs a much self-preservation as possible.

“What about before that?” Emma prods, trying to distract herself from becoming a love-sick puppy.

“I thought we weren’t getting into the dark childhoods today, love,” Killian said, his face becoming solemn again.

“Sorry,” Emma said, pulling an apologetic face, “I was just curious. Mostly about your accent. It’s more English than Misthaven.”

Killian nods, “I moved to the UK when I was twelve.”

That revelation helps her to connect the dots of confusion that have been mingling in her head about Killian’s backstory.

“Oh,” Emma blurts, “Is that why your name is funny? Killian isn’t a very Misthavian name.”

“It’s an Irish name,” Killian explains, “My mum was Irish. But that’s not why I lived in England.”

“Oh,” Emma says, softer. She notices the was, where she thought there would be an is. She realizes they are hedging along the topic of sad childhoods, a conversation that she definitely doesn’t want to unpack. She’s known Killian for two days, she definitely doesn’t want to be recounting the orphan story to him.

“She, uh, died,” Killian says, “Not long after I was born. My brother took care of me. He had an Irish name too- Liam.”

“Hey, you don’t have to tell me the sad story,” Emma says, noting another past tense where she expects a present one, “I’m sure you want to enjoy this boat ride without dredging up every horrible memory you have.”

He gives her a grateful smile.

It really is beautiful, the boat ride- though his smile is too (not that she’s thinking about it). The city drifts behind them. The opera house is glowing in the evening light. The adorable old town buildings jut out in angles as they creep up the hill, looking like a child’s town toy set. On the other side of the river, she sees the sunset reflected in the windows of more modern office buildings. She can see students lofting on the quadrangles of the campus. Misthaven is beautiful at sunset. Killian was really right about that.

“But, if you were wondering, before that,” Killian says, returning to her question, “I worked at a bookshop in London. I really miss that job.”

Emma looks up at him. The light brings out the flecks of red in his stubble and she marvels in this discovery.

“I think the best jobs are ones where you are surrounded by books all the time,” Emma says, dreamily, stretching.

“It was great,” Killian says, becoming animated once more, his hands suddenly moving as he talks. “I could recommend books, read behind the counter during lulls. There was a coffee shop in it too. I learned to make really nice cappuccinos.”

“The smell of coffee and books?” Emma says, “Sounds like the dream.”

“I really was,” Killian says.

“Why’d you leave?” Emma asks.

Killian shrugs and she assumes it’s part of the long sad story he isn’t ready to tell. Her heart breaks a bit at that. He seems graceful now, happy enough, with a lost look that lurks behind his eyes at moments when he isn’t paying attention. She knows he must have been through some hard things.

“I decided to move back to Misthaven after the Dark Time ended. I missed home. But, I’d love to have a bookshop of my own,” He confesses, “I’ll die happy if I can open my own bookshop.”

Her heart now melts a little bit for him. It’s such a gentle dream to come from man as disarmingly attractive and hopelessly charming.

“That’s what I was going to use the money for,” He tells her, “Why I wanted to go into that deal with the man in the pawn shop.”

“For your bookshop dream?” Emma asks. She had imagined that he’d want the money for personal use, maybe a nice house or an easier life, but not to open a book store.

He nods. She smiles at this idea. She thinks her motivation of wanting a PhD in literature was soft, but Killian’s dream also eeps a sort of gentleness as well.

“We are such nerds,” Emma laughs, “Wanting a large fortune to spend on our bookish dreams.”

Killian gives her a tight smile. In a flash, she feels as if they are kindered souls. They’ve both had really tough lives. They’ve probably spent a lot of time alone, without families, fighting for their own selves because there wasn’t anyone else to. But books are their solace, the bit of hope, the passion that kept them from giving up. She knows in a second that Killian understands her fierce love of literature in a way that her privileged university peers, or even Belle, could never truly understand. Killian knows what it was like to be saved by book. To have books as your only companion.

In this revelation, Emma feels something bubble up inside her that she can’t restrain. A whole glob of feelings for Killian. She doesn’t want them. She isn’t ready for boyfriends or dating or relationships. But yet the feelings explode into her world, unable to be quashed, unable to be brought back in.

So, she does the only thing she’s good at: bottles it up. The feelings go into a bottle, into the wall of bottles.

“Tell me about what the bookshop would be like,” She says, pressing further into the rail of the boat, watching the ripples that the wake makes as it coasts through the water.

“I don’t want anything huge,” he says. “Just a small shop would be lovely. Two floors, I think, with a coffee bar in the back.”

She nods, imagining it already. She pictures it in rich dark wood, like the belly of ship.

“I think I’d like to have reading groups there,” he continues. “Maybe workshops for aspiring writers, or readings from local authors.”

“I’ll be there the second you get Blanche Neige to read,” She says.

“Believe me, if I ever get her, or discover her identity, you’ll be the first to know,” He vows.

“Same,” She agrees, letting herself bump into him (in a purely chummy way).

He looks back at her with an expression of tenderness, of kinship- that she feels herself draw away again. She moves a fraction over, but just enough to feel the space form between them. It’s a game she constantly plays- don’t get too close, don’t let those feelings out.

They are silent for a moment and the boat leaves the river to move into the channel. The skyline of Misthaven turns to silhouette against the dusky rose sky. Emma can trace the top of the opera house, the university library, the cathedral tower. She can see in the distance the taller, modern buildings of the business district. But her eyes linger on the castle, perched on the hill, hovering over the city.

She thinks again of Emma, the other Emma. Princess Emma.

She thinks of the revolution, the story that Professor Hood told her of his time in hiding, his wife’s death.

“Were you here during the Dark Times?” She asks, turning to Killian, trying to fit his story into the history of the country.

His eyes are fixed on the castle as well, “A bit yes.”

He runs his hand through his hair, ruffling it adorably. There is pain in eyes as he looks at it.

Emma sees him open his mouth and she stops him, “Hey, we aren’t talking sad stories, remember? You don’t have to tell me about it.”

He shakes his head, shrugs, and reveals, “You should probably know, well, because I think this is how the whole thing the other night came to happen- I used to live in the castle.”

All of a sudden, Emma can picture Killian as a child- almost too well. She imagines him with a mop of dark hair and freckle smattered face. She pictures him dressed in finery, the kind of thing you’d wear at a castle.

“Were you royalty then?” She blinks, the reality of his confession hitting her. He must have been pretty important to live at the castle. She knows he is a bartender now, in the way that the revolution made paupers out of many greats from Misthaven, but she imagines he must have been very distinguished to have lived in the castle. Maybe a duke or lord…

He shakes his head, giving her a half grin, “No, Emma, I wasn’t anything like that. My brother was a guard at the castle and the royal family was kind enough to let me stay with him in the castle. We had a small room in the basement. It wasn’t much, but I took lessons from the royal tutor and we got better food than we would have on our own.”

“Your brother Liam was a guard?” Emma asks, her mind still caught up in his previous statement, tracing the words over and over in her head. They brought back an echo to her, of something. It’s like she’d spoken the words before.

“Yeah,” Killian says, “Why?’

Emma shakes her head, brushing off the sense of déjà vu, “Sorry, it just sounded familiar. Something about that.”

“It’s because he was with the princess when she disappeared,” Killian explains, before swallowing hard, “He fled with her to America, to take her into hiding. But something went wrong, his remains were found in the Hudson River.”

“Oh,” Emma says softly, reaching out to Killian, “I’m really sorry, Killian. Truly.”

“It was years ago,” He says, “I lost him when I six. But you’ve probably read it in an article somewhere. Everything about the lost princess seems to mention Liam in it somewhere.”

“So, you knew her then?” Emma asks, “Princess Emma?”

He smiles at her, “I knew a little girl who’d run down corridors and play silly games with me.”

“You were friends?” Emma asks.

“I suppose,” Killian says, “When you are the only two kids in the castle, you stick together. She was younger than me though, so we weren’t terribly close.”

Emma nods, silently, her eyes still looking up at the castle on the hill. The pieces start to come together for her.

She looks enough like the lost princess. She has the right name, the right accent. Damn, she even has that scar. She’s desperate enough to need the money, still despite everything.

Killian knew the princess. Killian has the connections to really sell their story. The queen might actually listen to him.

Maybe she was wrong before. Maybe this is the fairy godmother opportunity that’s fallen into her lap again. She’d been foolish not to try for it.

“What if we really did this?” Emma asks, turning from the rail to face Killian.

“Sorry?” He says, “Do what?”

“Convince the Queen I’m the princess,” Emma says, “We could do it. Between your history with the crown and my uncannily good looks, we might actually be able to pull this off.”

Killian pushes his lips together, a small frown forming, “We aren’t going back to that man. That awful, impish man. Let’s not return there.”

Emma shakes her head, “We don’t need him. We can do this just the two of us.”

“How would we even begin to do that?” Killian asks.

Emma smirks, as the boat loops around and heads back into the river, their horizon turning to nothing but sea before them.

“I’m going to let you in on a little secret,” She says, letting her smirk turn to a grin, “I’m like really good at research.”

“Ha,” Killian says, following Emma off of the tour boat, twenty minutes later. “You said you said you weren’t going to invite me home after our soirée, yet here we are Swan, heading back to your place.”

“Oh shut up,” Emma says, fake annoyance in her voice, “You told me that you don’t have Wi-Fi at your place, so we are going back to my apartment to research. Research, Killian.”

He chuckles, glad that Emma is sassy enough to match him. He’s only picked up the flirting and innuendos after bartending. He realized that his good looks coupled with a few compliments and an eyebrow wiggle are enough to garner a few extra tips and sometimes drinks from his female (and some male) clientele.

“Ah right, research,” He says, smacking his head, “Thanks for reminding me Professor Swan.”

She rolls her eyes, as she seems to adorably do frequently, and he follows her in the direction of the tram.  It’s just across the river from where the boat docked. They cross a bridge towards it. It’s a cute bridge with ornate iron designs and one covered with love locks.

“I thought this was just a Paris thing,” Emma says, nodding to locks.

Killian shrugs, “No, apparently, they are littered all around Europe on bridges and benches.”

“Seems kinda anticlimactic,” Emma remarked, “Like oh hey, let’s put a love lock on a bridge- but not the bridge, not even in the City of Love, just another random bridge in another random city.”

He laughs at her rant, “Well, Swan, if I had thought about getting you a love lock before, I’m scratching that thought now.”

She hums a bit, surprising him with not rolling her eyes.

They finish crossing the bridge and head to the tram station. Emma swipes her metro card moving through the turnstile to the awaiting train. Killian pushes himself above the barrier.

“I could just swipe you in, you know,” Emma offers.

“Nonsense, Swan,” he says, flashing her a smile. “I’ve yet to get caught. Besides, we are about to convince someone that you are a lost princess as part of a money-making scheme- we’ve got other things to worry about.”

He thinks he sees her shiver and he regrets bringing up the devious nature of their scheming. He doesn’t want her to feel guilty for it or anything akin to that. She was crafty to think they could pull it off on their own. He thinks she’s right, with a little research it’s very possible. They have a right, he thinks, to pursue the possibility of this. There is too much lining up for them not to try.

He takes a seat beside Emma and the train moves. He doesn’t know where Emma lives, but he isn’t surprised when they get off at a stop in one of the young neighborhoods not too far from the university.

“You’ve got a place here?” He asks.

“I’ve swapped with a student who is in the states for the semester,” Emma says, “I was surprised by how nice it is.”

He’s surprised as well when she leads him up the apartment. Once she flicks on the lights, it reveals a bright, white space with a few house plants and vintage posters on the walls. There is a large bookshelf, where Emma’s books have neatly been added beside some that the previous apartment owner left behind. There is a funny contrast between her tome of Infinite Jest and an old biology textbook in Dutch. He admires her full row of Blanche Neige books, each and every one there on her shelf.

“Make yourself at home,” Emma says, “Would you like some tea?”

“Wouldn’t mind a cuppa,” Killian remarks, as he sinks into her sofa.

He watches her fuss over the kettle. A few strands have escaped from her bun, and trickle loosely around her face. She’s hung her red leather jacket by the door, so she wears only her romper now. The thin, dark straps create a contrast against her sharp collarbones. She’s lovely.

He’s thought that for a while now. As they chatted over coffees, as he watched her in the golden sunset, as they chatted on the boat, as they giggled on the bridge- she’s truly lovely. She has hard edges, shaped by a mysterious past, but underneath it all she’s full of passion and creativity and drive.

She returns to him with two mugs of milky black tea.

“Thanks, milady,” He says.

“It’s your royal highness, to you,” She corrects, laughing.

“That’s the spirit,” Killian says, taking a sip of the tea.

“So, where do we start?” Emma asks.

“I think we need to figure out a way for you to befriend the queen,” Killian says, “She’s quite approachable for a queen. I’ve met with her since she’s returned.”

“You have?” Emma asks.

Killian flinches, “At Liam’s funeral.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Emma says, putting a gentle hand on Killian’s arm.

“No, it happened a very, very long time ago,” Killian says.

“Well, I think we should start by researching the queen then. If we figure out where she goes in town, where we can find her- maybe then we can negotiate a way to make her acquaintance,” Emma says, her practical academic voice kicking in.

“Right on, Swan,” Killian agrees.

She pulls her laptop out of the bag and flicks it open. He’s surprised at just how fast she types, as she taps in, “queen of misthaven.” She instantly clicks on a wiki article that appears first in the search results.

Killian watches as a familiar picture of Queen Mary Margaret fills the corner of the screen, a description detailed beside it describing her life.

Emma makes a little choking noise as she looks at the screen.

“Swan, are you alright?” He asks, lifting a hand to stroke her back.

She puts the laptop down on the coffee table in front of her. She tucks the wisps that escapes from her bun behind her ear.

“Wait, that’s her?” She manages, “That’s the queen?”

“That would be correct,” Killian replies, “Our royal majesty, your mum, in the flesh.”

Emma purses her lips together, picks at her nail for a moment. He can tell that she’s thrown by the discovery.

He wonders for a moment if she really is the princess. Maybe she is the princess and she’s startled because she remembers. Maybe everything is coming back to her. Well, it would certainly make everything easier if Emma was actually the princess.

But then she says, “I’m sorry, it’s just that I know her.”

“You do?” Killian asks. His heart skips a beat.

Could she really be her? The Princess? He’d believe it.

“I met her at the opera,” She explains.

At the opera? Emma’s never struck him as the opera going type. He’s always written it off as a posh thing that was out of his league. But then again, Emma is a PhD student. She is out of his league. She’s the kind of intellectual type that doesn’t spend time with scum like Killian.

“I got a free ticket from the foreign student association,” Emma says, “It was actually pretty horrendous. But anyway, I ran into this woman in the bathroom and she was trying to convince me to come back to the opera even though this one sucked. She offered me free tickets to a ballet on Friday and I accepted them.”

“And this woman was the queen?” Killian asks.

Emma nods.

“Well, Emma, I think our plan just got a lot easier,” Killian says with a grin.

“I think so,” Emma says, and he can tell reality is hitting her. They really do have a chance at this.

“You said the opera was Friday?” Killian asks.

“I have two tickets,” Emma replies with a nod.

“Hmm, well, Emma Swan, fancy an opera date?” Killian suggests.

“Ugh, with you?” She jests, “I guess.”

“Oh sod off,” he tuts back.

“It’s sod off, your royal highness,” she corrects again.

“I really need to start working on that,” he laughs.

“Yeah, you do,” she says, her voice full of confidence.

His brain starts churning, thinking through the reality of this plan. They’ve nearly accounted for everything- expect for one thing.

“Emma, before we do this,” he says, hesitant, “There is one thing we should do.”

She cocks her head, “What is it?”

“Well, as much as I hate that man, he was right. You do need a scar to match the one the princess has,” He says.

He hates to think of marring her porceline skin with a knife. He hates to think of doing anything that the horrible man wanted them to do. But it would be a shame for the whole plan to fail just because of a small, but crucial detail.

Emma dips her head demurely. “Well, actually, we might not have to.”

She moves to reveal her opposite shoulder. His eyes drift from her lovely sharp collarbones that he noticed earlier, to where a small silver line begins at its base and travels over the curve of her shoulder.

“I’m not sure if it’s the right shoulder,” Emma begins.

“It is,” Killian says.

Her eyes widen.

“I remember the day she got the scar,” He says lightly, “She was on her pony and had a fall, cut her shoulder on a rock.”

“Oh,” Emma says.

He reaches out a hand, letting a finger trail along the slightly puckered skin. Emma shivers and he worries that’s gone too far. Maybe his touch is an unwelcome memory of the hooded man.

“Why? How did you get yours?” He asks her.

Emma shrugs, “I don’t know. I’ve had it as long as I can remember.”

“Emma,” He says, smiling, “You realize we are hardly going to have to lie to pull this off. You are truly the perfect woman for this opportunity.”

There is a part of him that wants to say something more. He wants to tell her that she’s beautiful, that she’s clever, that’s she’s the perfect woman in general. But he holds it back. They are going to be business partners. She already has enough on her plate between this scheme and her academic work. She doesn’t need his unwanted affections. Maybe another time. Maybe in the future when she’s finished her thesis and he’s financially stable. Or maybe never. She’d likely be better off without him.

“Would you like another tea?” Emma asks, shaking him from his melancholy.

“Oh no, Swan, I should be off,” He says.

He stands to head to the door and she rises beside him.

“Well, I’ll see you Friday, then?” She asks.

“Yes, Friday indeed,” Killian says.

She goes to open the door for him, but then pauses, her hand lingering on the knob.

“I’m really glad we’ve become friends, Killian,” She says.

He lets himself smile a full grin, “I am too, Emma.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who cares about Blanche Neige as much as I do,” She says, a little blush gracing her cheek, “It’s nice to have someone to talk about this stuff with.”

“Likewise, Swan,” He says, “Truly, I’m very fortunate that you’ve come into my life.”

“Thanks for the boat ride,” She adds, “Maybe you could show me more of Misthaven sometime. You know, when we aren’t coming up with money making schemes.”

“I’d like that very much,” He says, “I’ll think up something.”

“Well, till Friday then,” Emma says, opening the door.

“Till Friday, Swan.”

Tagging: @sambethe @lenfaz @pocket-anon @the-corsair-and-her-quill @kiwistreetswan @princesseslikepirates @timeless-love-story @katie-dub

#cs ff #cs au #captain swan #emma swan #killian jones #cs mc #cs ff au #cs crew #cs mafia #cs fic

[keywestlou]

TONIGHT.....KEY WEST LOU PODCAST AT 9

Love tuesday nights! Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. My show, my time. I can rant and rave to my heart’s desire.

A multitude of items to be discussed. The Mueller Report, Attorney- General Barr, Trump continuing to bring us to the brink of war, Pompeo and Bolan dangerous warmongers, Conch Republic Sea Battle saturday night, etc.

Fun time for me. Hopefully, interesting to you.

Join me at 9 my time. A fast moving half hour. Guaranteed you will enjoy. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Night of nights last night! A fun evening!

Began at 5 with a manicure by Tammy. Lee Nails in the Habana Shopping Plaza on Flagler.

Love Tammy! She and her husband have been working hard for 15 years. Manicure, pedicure, etc. business. Own it today. About 10 employees. Tammy works 6 days a week from 9 in the morning till 9 at night. Even sundays when an employee might be out sick.

Tammy an immigrant. From Vietnam. In the U.S. 15 years. Went to work right away. Today a proud U.S. citizen. Besides the business, owns a lovely home with her husband. Two children. Two cars.

The American dream fulfilled.

Tammy is representative of the immigrants Trump seeks to keep out.

Surterra Wellness has opened in Habana Plaza where Tammy’s business is located. Surterra a medical marijuana store.

I decided to take a look inside.

How beautiful! The anticipated cash flow must be terrific. Tons of money went into the renovation.

Staff professionally attired. Business attire.

One of them came up to me. I told her I was there to look. She asked if I had a medical prescription. No, I said. Just curious.

I must have dulled her enthusiasm. I was not a live customer! Only could be with a prescription, which I did not have.

She gave me a quick tour and bid me adieu.

A money maker. Had to be at least 10 people wandering around selecting purchases. The store has it all!

Amazing! Two years ago people were arrested, many sent to jail for pot possession. Today, legal if medically prescribed. Two years from now, will be legal for recreational purposes.

The world is in constant change.

Next stop the Chart Room. I had an hour to kill.

John bartending. A small crowd of locals. We chatted the time away.

Vino’s at 7. Another celebration of Frank Holden’s life. The place packed.

I rarely go to Vino’s. Clayton and Valerie run a terrific business. In fact, they now have 4 additional wine bars in other parts of Florida in addition to the Key West one.

I do not drink wine. Nor beer which they sell. I am a hard liquor man.

interestingly, I never drank till I was 45. Not even beer. Went on Dr. Atkin’s diet. Carbohydrate free. After 2 weeks, could drink scotch or gin. Both carbohydrate free.

Bought a bottle of each. Disliked the scotch. Gross. Love the gin! The medicinal taste. Plus gave me a quick kick.

The gin was Beefeaters. I have drunk nothing else since.

Great diet!

Knew many in attendance at Vino’s. Jean and Joe among them.

Joe told me something I never knew. Before my Chart Room days, Valerie was bartender at the Chart Room for 5 years.

Alan Randall stopped by to introduce himself. From London. Has taken a home in Key West for a few months. Reads my blog.

We had a short but interesting conversation. Hope to run into him again before he returns to London.

I must admit I am embarrassingly pleased when people introduce themselves and tell me they read the blog. Touches my heart!

Met the lovely Kellee. An interesting woman. Has had her battles with cancer. Enjoyed spending time with her.

I was still on the go. Dinner scheduled at 8 with Mary at La Trattoria.

Carrie bartending.

A light pasta meal. A couple of gins.

Besides Mary, ran into Dink. He introduced me to Linda.

Grunt’s was a bar at 409 Caroline (between Duval and Whitehead) for years. At least 20 plus. Not always open. The owner had money. Did not enjoy working full time. Was reluctant to sell.

It appears Linda is a person who either bought the building or is renting. The bar now a restaurant of sorts. Inside and out. A food truck in the back.

Linda has renamed Grunt’s Hank’s Hair Dog Saloon. After her golden retriever.

She is proud of the establishment. Provides good food and fine music.

A third person with Dink and Linda. Rob Benton. A musician of some notoriety.

I got confused at this point. Billy the Squid and the Sea Cow Drifters came into the conversation. A new name to me. A popular musical group. Perform at Linda’s new place.

My confusion is whether Benton and the Squid group are part and parcel or separate. I think separate. If I’m wrong, I apologize.

Getting back to Linda for a moment, she lives on Sunset Key. Bought her home about the same time I purchased mine in Key Haven. 1998.

Back in ’98, a lot and newly built home on the waster on Sunset Key cost the same as the one I bought in Key Haven, gutted and renovated. I was reluctant to buy on Sunset Key. Access was only by boat. Did not turn me on.

Linda made the right choice. Twenty years later, a Sunset Key home was worth twice that of a Key Haven home. However, still had to take a boat to get from Key West to Sunset Key.

Key West is in the midst of Conch Republic Week. Today the 37th anniversary of the establishment of the Conch Republic. On this say in 1982, the newly elected Prime Minster Dennis Wardlow officially announced Key West’s secession from the U.S. and the birth of the Conch Republic.

Learned something new. Seems I always am. Concerns Harry Truman.

Harry Truman loved Key West and Key West to this day continues to love Harry Truman. During his Presidency, he spent 175 days over a period of 11 trips in Key West.

So what’s new?

Discovered there is a Harry S Truman Presidential Bridge near mile marker 61.0 off US 1. Duck Key area.

Easy to find. Turn off US 1 onto Duck Key Drive. One mile straight ahead and you are on the bridge.

The bride so named because in March 1964 Truman visited Duck Key and walked across the bridge. The bride short and narrow. Cow Key Bridge huge in comparison.

Duck Key renamed since then. Now Hawks Cay Key.

In addition to the Truman Presidential sign, there are 2 others. One “No Fishing From Bridge.” The other, “Golf Carts 10 MPH.”

I wrote yesterday concerning Christians being under attack world wide. Sri Lanka and China having motivated me.

I follow up today with factual data.

A study indicates that 105 Churches and/or Church buildings are attacked and burned every month. Such breaks down to a little more than 3 a day.

The study further indicated that 345 Christians are killed for faith related reasons every month. The number not stable. Continues escalating.

The study agreed that the news media continues to ignore the problem.

Don’t forget to join me tonight on my podcast.

Enjoy your day!

    TONIGHT…..KEY WEST LOU PODCAST AT 9 was originally published on Key West Lou

[neptuneyachtsdubai]

Learn How To Celebrate Birthday On The Yacht

Ever thought about celebrating your birthday on the yacht? Nothing better than being with friends and family to have fun, entertain and celebrate another year of life, is not it? But have you ever wondered where you are going to make this special meeting? After all, it needs to be in style, differentiated and exclusive. So, how about the idea of celebrating a yacht birthday?

You and your guests know new places and paradisiacal scenery, make unforgettable trips and, by breaking, have the best records of this party that will go down in history! Are you curious to know more about how to hold your event on the high seas? So check out our tips and get inspired!

Use a yacht rental platform

For starters, the first tip is for anyone who wants to Rent Any Boat or Yacht in Dubai, but is not sure how to proceed.

With a yacht rental platform, you optimize your time, simulate rent values according to your desired location, find different offers that meet your needs (number of crew, type of tour, etc.) and close deals directly with the owner - thereby reducing brokerage costs.

Decide the script of the celebration

One of the many advantages of renting a yacht is to have autonomy to mount the script itself and not have to worry about the clock. After all, you choose which unique beaches and islands to visit and how long each tour lasts.

So, plan the schedule for your birthday celebrating the opportunity not only to get to know new places, but also to do different activities, especially during the stops, such as diving and fishing.

Plan the vessel decoration

If you choose to have a yacht decoration, it is worth planning ahead of time the details that will make a difference at the party and ensure that everyone on board enjoys the space while feeling welcome and comfortable, such as:

·         Lighting - especially if the event occurs night in;

·         Sound equipment;

·         Decorative accessories;

·         Personalized inflatables (buoys, mattresses, spaghetti etc.) and floating to the open sea - to be used during shutdowns;

·         Special costumes (sailor, pin-up, Hawaiian etc.) - to distribute among the guests and make more memorable records.

Hire a specialized team for the party

In addition to what has been said, it is interesting to make a budget to have an average of values and hire a team specializing in attending offshore events with waiters for the buffet / finger food / cocktail party,  bartender , chef, DJ, photographer professional etc.

That way, you lessen the worries during the party and you can enjoy the birthday with your friends and family. Another important issue is that if you do not have nautical skills, it is imperative to hire a sailor to sail!

Stay tuned for the event buffet menu

The fifth and last tip is due to the buffet of the event. If you choose to set up the menu with your family - even to be something more personal and customized - it's important to look at a few points:

·         Talk to the guests and question them about possible allergies to certain foods;

·         Avoid high-fat dishes with high concentration of seasonings as they increase the chances of malaise.

·         Invest in fruits, especially citrus (orange, mandarin, lemon, etc.), as they prevent nausea and reduce gastric problems;

·         Give preference to light meals with fish, seafood, tray of cold cuts, whole grain breads and oilseeds (hazelnut, walnut, chestnut etc.).

As for the beverage carton, distillates and sparkling wines have a preference in hot weather and in harmony with the foods mentioned above. Other than that, never forget to provide enough water for everyone to hydrate.

Now that you know everything it takes to celebrate a birthday by yacht, follow our tips and organize an unforgettable day!

If you are interested in our Luxury Yachts Rental Dubai services then get in touch with us via call [phone] or mail [email protected]

#Rent Any Boat or Yacht in Dubai #Yachts for Rent in Dubai #Yacht Rental Dubai #Yacht for Rent in Dubai #Luxury Yacht Renting Dubai #Luxury Yachts Rental Dubai

[heyitsnikki]

SIQUIJOR TRIP 2K17

Okay, so this is my first write up for 2017, please bare with me, I haven’t been writing for a looonnnggg time. Okay?? ;D

I actually don’t know where to start. lol

Okay.. Okay..

Just last week, me and two of my friends (Marc & Bien) decided to go out of town and chose to visit the Echanting Siquijor. It’s our first time going there so we basically did some research and asked Mr. Google everything we need to know before leaving. So, the first thing we did was to book a room. Since, were not familiar of the place and we don’t know anybody living in Siquijor or knew anyone who just went there (to get us ideas), we decided it would be the safest thing to do. I’ve searched online for cheap guesthouse or homestay, we don’t really need a fancy one since were gonna be mostly out for the whole day, so we just wanted a clean & decent place to put our stuff on and have a good rest during the night. 

I booked a 3D2N stay at DASTRAUM GUESTHOUSE via booking.com. It is located at Siquijor, Siquijor and just 2 kms away from the Siquijor port. We booked a non-ac room for our first day since ac rooms were already fully booked on the day we arrived. The room was quiet enough for us 3 with own CR, tv & a fan (though its really not warm in there during the night), it has a King sized bed (we didn’t asked for an extra bed since there’s no more space to put it in.. and the bed is big enough for the three of us too). We then transferred to an AC room the next day, bigger room, queen sized bed & two extra beds (a double deck & a single bed) - the room is good for 4-5pax, with own CR & a sofa. I can say the place is affordable, we spent less than Php 1,500 for our 3N stay, we split in by 3 and yeah it’s a pretty good deal. ;D

DEPARTURE DAY

I rode an Uber from my house (Pusok, LLC) going to the South Bus Terminal. Our call time is 8am. I woke up late :D I just got home from a whole day tour at Bantayan Island (I’ll write about it later..)  I paid the ride for Php 159.00 plus Php 10.00 for the terminal fee if you wanted to be dropped off inside the terminal. Luckily, my friends were already on the bus waiting for me & saved me a seat. hehe :D We took the Ceres AC bus going to Santander via Liloan Port, just in time of my arrival, the bus took off #luckygirl :) We paid Php 200.00/pax for bus ride ride and dropped off at Liloan Port. The bus ride is around 3hours but really felt forever. haha! We arrived at the Port and took a fast craft going to Sibulan Port in Dumaguete. I think we paid around Php 70.00/pax for the boat. It just took around 30mins to arrive at Sibulan Port. We then took a multicab going to the city proper to ride a tricycle going to the Dumaguete Port. We paid Php 10.00/pax for the multicab & Php 8.00/pax for the tricycle. It was just a short ride, maybe less than 25mins. We then arrived at the Dumaguete Port, paid Php 150.00/pax for the fast craft going to Siquijor. Their port was really nice and big (better than Cebu Port, no offense), we paid for the terminal fee around Php 30.00/pax (Sorry I forgot, but I’m sure less than Php 50.00). We had our lunch inside the port, they have food stalls inside with combo meals & coffee fraps :) We then took the boat ride for an hour and finally arrived at Siquijor at almost 6pm. THE SUNSET IS AMAZING!!!!! You can check my IG photos for proof lol. We took a tric going to our hotel, paid Php 10.00/pax. Beware for abusive tric drivers who asked for a bigger fare. 

We arrived at the hotel, checked-in, get settled then head out for dinner. Since  the hotel has no restaurant, we need to head out to look for a place to eat. It was only about 7-7:30pm and it was literally nobody on the road, no trics, no street lights, even the houses are lights off. We are all starving so we don’t have a choice but walk. It was indeed an interesting walk. We passed by a local hospital with the morgue located just in front of the road :D As I’ve said, no street lights, only using our phone flash lights. Its very quiet, not even a sound of a tv on the houses that we’ve passed by. I wasn’t scared at all, I just walked in between Marc & Bien with their arms tied to mine, not looking back and singing a Shine Jesus Shine song. Yeah, not scared at all. LOL

We finally found a small carenderia few walks away from the very creepy hospital, perfect for a horror movie, no offense. Our belly's are finally full. We are the last costumers btw, they closed up the store halfway on our meal. haha Anyways, still creeped out from our night walk, we decided not to go back on our way but walked straight ahead going to the city proper (near the port) to find another place to hangout and have a few drinks before snoozing. We found this fancy restaurant just near the Church called BELL VIEW. They have a bar & a wine cellar but doesn’t have a drink menu or a bartender. They only sell bottles, they don’t make drinks. So, we just had Mudshake Vodka single bottles for Php 100 each. Cheers!! We decided to head back to our hotel around 8:30-9pm and luckily found a tric on standby near the port (We don’t really wanna walk back in there, not at this hour, no offense haha). Arrived at our hotel, cleaned-up & snoozed. Lesson learned: Always get back to your hotel before 8pm or else you’ll walk on your way there.

DAY 2: Whole day ISLAND TOUR

We met our driver/tour guide, kuya Reycard (people calls him Richard, easier to remember then Reycard) on the port from our arrival yesterday. We booked him for our tour today using his tricycle for Php 1,000 for whole trip not including food & entrance fees though. We split it up to 3 so it’s a pretty good deal. The more the cheaper. Anyway, I would not discuss further about the tour coz it would take me forever. All I can say is that we LITERALLY CIRCLED AROUND THE PROVINCE. It was amazing!!!! Tiring but so worth it! I’ve never expected siquijor to be that beautiful. And I’ve noticed, most of the visitors were Europeans, Chinese & South Americans (Latin people), haven’t really seen an English Speaking foreigners in there. Anyway, we got back to our hotel past 6pm, too tired but hungry, so we washed up & head out to the Boulevard to have skewers for dinner. We walked on our way out & luckily found a tric, few meters from our hotel. We ate our dinner fast, left the boulevard before 9pm, started to walk and look for a tric, failed, walked again, finally found one, got home around 10pm. I think it would be better to rent a motorbike since tric isn’t really readily available during night time. They let you rent it for Php 200/day. Just ask anyone, everybody lets you rent their motorbikes.

DAY 3 - Dumaguete Stop before heading back to Cebu

Woke up around 8am, just had bread and coffee for breakfast, checked out and head off to the port. Took the 10am boat and arrived to Dumaguete around 11am. Had a sumptuous lunch at Lantaw Dumaguete and bought the famous Silvanas at Sans Rival for pasalubong. We then took the 4:30pm Ceres AC bus ride going to Cebu via Santander. Paid Php 170.00/pax for the bus and Php 25.00/pax for the port & another Php 70.00/pax for the roro.

It was a looonnggg & rainy 4 hour bus ride from Santander to the South Bus Terminal (Cebu City). 

Arrived to Lapu-Lapu City at around 9pm.

Photos of our trip is on my FB account as well as on my IG account.

#siquijor #the_ph #philippines #itsmorefuninthephilippines #pilipinas #ph #visitphilippines #2017 #wowphilippines #asia #travel #travelblog #blog #thebisayavagabond #nikkielbanz

[skinnydrunkhoe]

Your twenties are a time to go on adventures, try everything once, fall in love, drink too much, and grow into the person you are meant to be. Whether you are going backpacking for the summer, or just spending a week or two exploring a new country, traveling helps you to expand your mind and find new respect for people of different cultures.

I followed my heart all over the world for most of my twenties. I believe that traveling in your twenties is the most fun when you steer clear of fancy hotels and opt for social hostels, cheap eats, and wild parties. You can do the fancy thing in your later years! I’ve been living in Europe on and off for five years now, and these are my picks for the best cities to visit in Europe during your freedom years. Since we can’t really travel at the moment, it’s fun to spend some time planning the next big trip.

Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona is the place for culture, food, and lots of fun. It’s a hotspot for staying up all night in nightclubs, roaming winding streets with your friends, and lounging the day away at the beach.

There is so much to see and do in Barcelona, you could easily spend several weeks in the city. I would recommend a stay of at least three nights, to ensure you have a proper taste of what it has to offer. Check out the seemingly never ending shopping on La Rambla, explore the hidden vintage shops down the winding side streets, and try tapas everywhere you go. Catch a tan on the beach before heading out to have a few drinks and getting your boogie on in the late night clubs. If history is your thing, there are museums all over the city to stop by, and historic cathedrals and monuments to cool down in. There is really something for everyone.

Exploring Gaudi’s Park Guell

Where to Stay: St. Christopher’s Inn – Central hostel with a bar/restaurant attached; book directly on their website for a discounted rate

Where to Eat: Casa do Acai – Brunch; fresh acai bowls and salads Quimet y Quimet – Lunch and dinner; standing room only authentic tapas and wine La Malandrina – Dinner; affordable steak house 

Where to Drink: Nevermind – Cheap happy hour beers; has an indoor skate park!  Two Schmucks – Cocktails; small cocktail bar with incredible drinks and bartenders

What to Do: Magic Fountain of Montjuic – Gorgeous fountain that dances along with music La Sagrada Familia – Gaudi’s famous unfinished church with stunning views inside; book online for discounted tickets and shorter wait times

The magic fountain in action

  Check out all of the trips and experiences offered by Stoke Travel while you’re in the city. They run boat parties and nights out that are the perfect way to meet like-minded young travelers.

Budapest, Hungary

Ahhhh Budapest. I’ve spent several weeks in this city, and yet have so much left to see. It’s a city unlike any other, and it’s so affordable, making it a perfect destination for twenty-something travelers. Again, I would recommend spending at least three nights here to soak it in.

I recommend staying at one of the many party hostels in the city. They can take you along on one of their legendary bar crawls to all of the hidden hot spots in the city. It is important to stay safe in Budapest, as the city is not known for being particularly safe.

Budapest has a rich, turbulent history that is reflected in the architecture and layout of the city. Catch a free walking tour to get your bearings on your first day in the city, before heading out into the nightlife. Enjoy a drink in the spas, watch live music in one of the ruin bars, and ride the Jager train in your hostel’s basement.

Embracing my inner festival girl at Sziget 2016

  Where to Stay: Grandio Party Hostel – The king of Budapest party hostels; keep an open mind and you’ll have a ball

Where to Eat: Trofea Grill – All you can eat… and drink, for about 12 Euros. Enough said. Bors Gastro Bar– Located right next to Szimpla Kert, this soup and sandwich shop is notorious for its quality, cheap eats. Cash only, and very small, but very worth it.

Where to Drink: Szimpla Kert – An eclectic indoor/outdoor bar where you can enjoy a beer while sitting in a bathtub

What to Do: Sziget Festival – Seven days of music, sunshine, parties, and art; one of the most affordable music festivals in Europe; August Szechenyi Spa Baths “Sparty” – It’s a party, in a spa. You’ve gotta try it.

Berlin, Germany

Burgermeister, my long lost love

After I worked at Oktoberfest in 2016, I took a cheap Flixbus up to Berlin and stayed for almost two weeks. Berlin is one of the most hip places I have ever been. The people in Berlin are just so cool. There is an abundance of art, cool bars, history, and great food. The nightclubs are open 24 hours, and people tend to be very free and open about nudity and sexuality inside. 

I’d recommend staying in Berlin for 5-7 days. There is so much to explore, you would have an amazing adventure every single day. From the traditional stuff, like walking the Berlin wall‘s art gallery and visiting Checkpoint Charlie, to the more unique experiences in the clubs and abundance of abandoned buildings, there is really something for everyone. And as an added bonus, I found that Berlin is actually quite cheap.

Checkpoint Charlie

Berlin Wall

Where to Stay: 36Rooms Hostel– Affordable hostel in a good location in East Berlin. It’s surrounded by bars and restaurants and is a good base camp for exploring the city. 

Where to Eat: Burgermeister– I literally ate here for breakfast and lunch most days. It is incredible. It’s just a small burger shack in what used to be the toilets of a train station, but it’s some of the best food I’ve had in my life. I still think about it often.

Where to Drink: Berghain– This is a nightclub that is notoriously hard to get into. Even if you don’t get in, its an experience to just try. And if you get in… it’s an experience. (Note: I did not get in.) Klunkerkranich– This is a really unique bar located on the top floor of a parking garage. 

What to Do: Free Walking Tours– My favorite was the Berlin street art tour, but there are tons that cover the historic sites in the city as well Spreepark– So, you’ve got to break in to get into this abandoned amusement park. We did, and it was so eerily cool. The Ferris wheel still turns, on its own… There are a bunch of other cool abandoned places around the city to check out! 

These are just a few highlights from these three incredible cities, entirely based on my own experiences visiting them! I feel as though I barely scratched the surface with all three places, so please feel free to drop your own recommendations into the comments! Counting the days until we can all travel again… sigh.

    The Best European Cities to Visit in Your Twenties Your twenties are a time to go on adventures, try everything once, fall in love, drink too much, and grow into the person you are meant to be.

#backpacking europe #millenial travel #Travel #travel guide #travel in your twenties #twenty something

[mastcomm]

Who Needs a Caribbean Yacht When You Can Take the Ferry?

Orion was shining brightly in the dark sky above Anegada in the British Virgin Islands. But the constellation had some electric competition in the band of bright mast lights bobbing offshore — “like a bejeweled Orion’s belt,” observed a new acquaintance who introduced himself as Spoons, the pilot of one of those yachts. He and his crew of five friends from the Boston area had paid $10,900 for eight days on a 45-foot catamaran to sail from island to island.

Chartering a boat is one way to island hop in the B.V.I. — and a popular one. According to the tourism board, slightly more than half of all visitors to the British overseas territory’s 60 islands and cays stay on yachts.

I, on the other hand, chose a far cheaper way to travel between islands. Using the B.V.I. ferry system, I spent $140 — not including accommodations, which added about $700 to my expenses — over a five-day trip, reaching four ports in bargain, connect-the-dots style.

In the Caribbean, several ferry companies offer opportunities for multi-island vacations, such as the L’Express des Iles, which cruises from Guadeloupe to Dominica, Martinique and St. Lucia. Others offer domestic service, including ferries from St. Vincent to some of the outlying Grenadines, and those that link the United States Virgin Islands.

But few Caribbean destinations offer a ferry system as extensive and convenient as the British Virgin Islands’. The tourism board details schedules and links to seven islands on an interactive web page devoted to island hopping.

From my first childhood ferry trip to Mackinac Island, Mich., where cars are banned, I have had a romance with ships that fill in for roads, carry vital cargo and allow communities to thrive in isolated places. They are buses for commuters, trucks for suppliers and relatively cheap maritime thrills for travelers.

Yes, cruise ships can actually be a rock-bottom ticket to the Caribbean — on my trip, I met a couple from South Carolina who spent only $600 each on an 11-day Norwegian cruise — but as an independent traveler, I find those affordable ships too big, and small charters too expensive. The ferry system seemed just right to this backpacking Goldilocks.

Seeking a winter warm up and a budget tropical vacation, I went to the B.V.I. in January to test the convenience and cost of the ferry system, hitting the cruise hub of Tortola, the mountainous beauty of Virgin Gorda, and remote Anegada.

Have passport, will ferry

Often, the cheapest flights from the United States that arrive nearest the B.V.I. land in St. Thomas (in the United States Virgin Islands), which is where I caught the 8:30 a.m. Road Town Fast Ferry from downtown Charlotte Amalie to Road Town, the B.V.I. capital, 50 minutes away on the island of Tortola ($60 round trip; the United States dollar is the official currency of the B.V.I.).

A mix of day trippers, business commuters, yacht renters and one friendly couple from Tortola who helped me with my immigration form joined me on the windy trip aboard the 82-foot passenger ferry BVI Patriot. With four-foot waves and occasional sprinkles, I sat on the upper deck inside the cabin, which was both strangely ordinary — two flat screens tuned to CNN delivered news of the Democratic presidential debates and a snowstorm in New York — and wildly exotic as we passed leggy cactuses growing out of rock islets, forested hillsides of undeveloped islands and a few stands of barren mangroves, evidence of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, which struck in 2017. (The damage inflicted by those hurricanes brought the hotel room inventory to about 1,500, down from 2,700.)

Two cruise ships in the harbor dwarfed the 149-passenger BVI Patriot when we arrived. After clearing immigration, I hired a taxi driver, Conrad “Dodgy” Lewis — “Dodgy doesn’t describe my driving,” he insisted — to take me from the congested capital over the island’s mountain spine to Cane Garden Bay, one of Tortola’s most popular beaches, and back several hours later, in time for my late-afternoon ferry to Virgin Gorda for $50.

At Cane Garden Bay, lounge chairs and umbrellas colonized the sand in front of a series of restaurant terraces and beach bars, welcoming travelers from the cruise ships, arriving in open-air buses. On an overcast day, I walked the beach between sporadic downpours to the more than 400-year-old Callwood Rum Distillery where Matthew Callwood, a distiller, bartender, tour guide and member of the family that has owned the distillery since the 1800s, led me and two cruise passengers on a tour ($5) of the mostly outdoor distillery works, including a 19th-century sugar cane crusher originally powered by harnessed donkeys.

“There used to be 28 distilleries on the island, and now there’s just us,” he said, pouring shots of Callwood’s four rums, including white, spiced and the smoother aged version he recommended. “It’s good for sipping, or putting in your coffee in the morning.”

I stashed a pint ($12) in my pack and moved on down the beach, watching divebombing pelicans on the water and free-ranging chickens on land. Beachfront restaurants teemed with day drinkers, but I followed Dodgy’s advice for lunch and went to Banana’s Bar & Grill, a polished bistro where cabdrivers were stopping in for takeout chicken soup. I learned why. Inexpensive and delicious, my $9 bowl brimmed with root vegetables, spinach and large tender pieces of chicken, bones and all.

If I had had time, I would have enjoyed outlasting the cruise passengers and staying on Cane Garden Bay at a place like Myett’s Garden Inn on the Beach, running $250 a night on Airbnb. But I had a ferry to catch.

Of bubbles and baths

Racing to make the late afternoon Speedy’s ferry to Virgin Gorda ($30 round trip), I was joined by a day-tripping set of cruise passengers, another American couple bound for a week at a luxury resort, uniformed schoolchildren and several returning islanders clutching bunches of stuffed shopping bags. One visitor leaned over the port railing, welcoming the warm wind in his face for the entire 30-minute passage toward Virgin Gorda, said to have been named Fat Virgin by Christopher Columbus for its pregnant profile.

You can tell a lot about an island by its ferry cargo. There were pallets of bottled water on the boat to Tortola. On Virgin Gorda, Speedy’s deckhands unloaded cases of Veuve Clicquot and Cakebread Cellars wines.

Virgin Gorda has long attracted the rich and famous. Taxi drivers pointed out Morgan Freeman’s former home and Richard Branson’s two nearby islands. Recently reopened after the hurricanes forced substantial rebuilding, Rosewood Little Dix Bay has catered to the affluent since Laurance Rockefeller developed the resort in 1964.

Consequently, a solitary backpacker seemed an usual sight in Spanish Town, the main settlement on Virgin Gorda. I declined taxi offers in favor of a 15-minute walk to Fischer’s Cove Beach Hotel, where blossoms were tucked in conch shells and towels in my tidy and spacious room ($175 a night). Only when I stepped onto the flamingo-pink patio and looked up did I realize there used to be a second story above, where rebar now pierced the blue sky. The Flax family, owners of the hotel, are gradually rebuilding after the hurricanes.

Tropical foliage has sprung back on much of the mountainous island, home to a series of national parks, including Gorda Peak National Park, with its panoramic trail to 1,370 feet elevation. Staying overnight on Virgin Gorda offers a rare opportunity to visit its best-loved beauty spot — the Baths National Park, protecting a dramatic stretch of shore where massive granite boulders as big as 40 feet in diameter cluster in the shallows — before the cruise ship crowds arrive.

At 7 a.m. when the first blush of light began pinking the clouds, I started down the park path past cactuses and the occasional orchid to Devil’s Bay where a septuagenarian foursome was quietly skinny dipping. I waited out a 10-minute rain shower in a shorefront cave weathered by the action of the waves. The path continued over and between the Baths’ boulders, sometimes with the assistance of steps or rope holds bolted into the rocks, walling off calm, shallow, swim-inviting pools.

I saw evidence of other early birds at the Baths — “M + M 2020” seemed freshly written in the sand — but I never saw them until I completed the roughly mile-long circuit and returned to the entrance at 8:30 a.m. where a line was already forming.

Lobster, yachts and empty beaches

“Tortola is the big city to us,” Dawn Flax, one of the family members who runs Fischer’s Cove, told me when I checked in. “We go there when we need to go to the bank or the lawyer.”

A day later, I ran into her at the ferry terminal on Tortola, returning home after a banking run. It was an unintended stop, but when the Wednesday departure from Virgin Gorda to Anegada was canceled, I was forced to the B.V.I.’s hub to catch Road Town Fast Ferry’s 300-passenger Lady Caroline from Tortola to Anegada ($50 round trip).

Of the six of us scattered among 30 seats on the outside upper deck, five were returning islanders, quizzing two with roll-aboard luggage about their vacation abroad. Children scrambled up and down the stairs for vending machine snacks and teenage couples leaned into each other, sharing earbuds. But the high seas soon quelled conversation, abandoned to the rush of the wind, the rhythmic rise and fall of passing boats under sail and the shifting view of outlying islands.

Sandy and flat where its sibling islands are steep and rugged, Anegada — the most northeastern island in the B.V.I., and the only coral island in the volcanic chain — resolved into view like an overgrown sandbar during the one-hour crossing.

From the concrete ferry pier, I got the vaguest of directions to my hotel — walk down the pier and take your first left — which turned out to be accurate. By late afternoon, the outdoor, oceanfront bar at the Anegada Reef Hotel was packed, not solely with guests of the 10-room hotel (from $155 a night), but also with sailors from the many yachts moored in front of it.

Other than the pre-sunset rush for rum-based Painkiller cocktails, the nightly hotel barbecue featuring the island’s renowned spiny lobster, and a D.J. blaring “Love Shack” from a bar at Potter’s by the Sea down the beach, Anegada is quiet.

“You come to Anegada to swim and sleep under the sea grapes in the shade and wake up and swim and eat and drink and sleep again,” explained an islander at the bar. “No one will bother you.”

I hoped not, especially when I rented a scooter the next morning for $50 a day from Michael Hastick, the co-owner of L&M rentals. He gave me, a scooter novice, a quick lesson in operating the vehicle and when I asked the speed limit, he smiled.

“There’s only one cop on the island,” he said, pointing to the empty street. “It’s Anegada, and this is rush hour.”

Technically, the speed limit is 30 m.p.h. And the occasional traffic obstacles were goats. Michael marked up a small map indicating where I would see the island’s flamingos (distantly, in an interior pond), its endangered Anegada iguanas (in conservation cages next to the police station) and its best beaches, especially Loblolly Bay on the north shore, home to beach bars for castaways (Flash of Beauty) and party people (Big Bamboo).

Despite an open sign, Flash of Beauty was deserted at 10 a.m. Conch shells lined sand paths through the dunes to the beach, strafed by surf despite the barrier of distant Horseshoe Reef, visible in a line of frothy waves. I plunged in and immediately saw conch shells and rainbow-colored fish schooling around coral heads, but with the strong current I decided that as much as I love solitude, it wasn’t safe to swim alone. It was, however, completely safe to leave my cellphone, wallet and scooter keys, and walk for miles down the deserted beach, returning to find everything as I left it, Flash of Beauty still closed and no other visitors.

Chased by another downpour, I stopped at nearby Anegada Beach Club, home to intriguing palapa-roofed beachfront tents, a kite-surfing school and a poolside restaurant where I met Paula and Michelle Mau, a couple from Omaha who regularly visit the island.

“Anegada is the end of the world,” Michelle said. “There’s no one here. It’s magic.”

The Maus spread some of that magic by inviting me, after just a five-minute chat, to join them on a private boat they had chartered to snorkel around the uninhabited east end of the island. We saw four-foot barracuda, green sea turtles and shy puffer fish. We froze in another pelting downpour and dried out in the sun. We cruised by 12-foot-high islands composed of conch shells that harvesters, dating back to the indigenous Arawak, cast off after taking the meat, creating pearly pink mounds where terns posed in profile. They wouldn’t take a dime in return, though the four-hour trip cost more than $300.

Before leaving on the next day’s 8:30 a.m. ferry to Tortola and onward to St. Thomas, I walked the beach to Neptune’s Treasure resort where the aroma of cinnamon rolls from Pam’s Kitchen served as an olfactory siren to sailors aboard the 50-some yachts tied up offshore.

The Caribbean is rarely a thrifty destination. Food can be expensive (I paid $40 for half a lobster at the Lobster Trap on Anegada). There were unexpected fees, including a B.V.I. environmental tax of $10 upon arrival and a $20 departure fee. My hotels would have been a better deal if split with a companion. I spent close to $1,000 on the trip.

But the compensation of taking the ferries went beyond financial. I traveled with commuting islanders of all ages, passed the time in terminal waiting rooms with women doing word search puzzles and joined them in bringing my own lunch aboard. These regular sailors knew to sit starboard to avoid the sun on the afternoon Anegada run and to move to the exit before docking to beat the disembarking crowds at Tortola.

Still, no one seemed to take this special means of transportation for granted. Like me, they tugged on sweaters, sat in the shade and watched the successive hues of blue streaming in and out of sight between water and sky.

Elaine Glusac is a frequent contributor to the Travel section.

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About The Book:

Murder at the Million Dollar Pier (Three Snowbirds) by Gwen Mayo & Sarah E. Glenn

“Never waste good rum on a bad night.” – Teddy Lawless, February 1926.

There are many bad nights ahead for Teddy. Shortly after she arrives at the newly opened Vinoy Hotel in Saint Petersburg, she comes face to face with her ex-fiancé, Ansel Stevens, in the dining room. Cue the slap that was thirty years in the making. Unfortunately, her ex-fiancé dies during a yacht race shortly thereafter. Conclusion of the authorities: poison. His family closes ranks, leaving Teddy as the prime suspect. Worse, Teddy’s hair comb is found on the deck of Ansel’s boat, leading to her swift arrest.

Can Cornelia Pettijohn and Uncle Percival save fun-loving Teddy before she goes from the grand hotel to the big house?

Book Links:  Amazon Paperback / Amazon Kindle / Barnes & Noble 

  The Bee’s Knees

In the 1920’s, “the bee’s knees” was slang that meant ‘the best.’ The Prohibition-era cocktail was a gin sour blend of lemon juice and honey that was created to mask the harsh “bathtub gin” smell. The earliest book to publish the recipe was the 1930 edition of San Francisco bartender and author Bill Boothby’s cocktail compendium World Drinks and How to Mix Them. However, the blend is believed to have originated in post-World War I Paris, where sugar was in short supply. The true origin of the drink is the subject of much debate and so far, there is no definitive answer.

The Vinoy Hotel’s Bee’s Knees, so sweet you could have it as dessert.

There are several existing versions of The Bee’s Knees, including one that is still served at the Vinoy Park Hotel. They differ in some ways, but all of them agree on three basic ingredients: honey syrup, gin, and lemon juice.  

Recipe: 1 Cocktail shaker of crushed ice. 2 oz. gin 1 oz. honey syrup 1 oz. fresh-squeezed lemon juice Shake the liquids with crushed ice and strain the drink into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon or orange twist and/or a sprig of fresh basil. (Honey syrup is made by thinning honey with hot water. I recommend every 3 ounces of honey be thinned with one ounce of hot water. If you prefer a less sweet When drink use honey and hot water in a 1 to 1 ratio.)

  A vacation to St. Petersburg for Cornelia Pettijohn, her uncle Percival, and fellow war nurse, Teddy Lawless, takes a turn for the worse when Teddy runs into her ex-fiance and promptly wallops him. That action among other reasons is why she becomes the prime suspect when the man turns up murdered a few days later. While his family plots against Teddy, it is up to Cornelia and Percival to track down the real killer.

Roaring Twenties historical fiction is a favorite of mine. It is the time when the rules for proper behavior began to be challenged and in many cases ignored. This showed most in women’s fashions and their push for independence from their families. There are wonderful examples of this in all of the main characters in this story. You have party girl Teddy who is no longer a girl contrasted with her more staid friend who would love to be so free but can’t quite bring herself there. There are also the Stevens girls, who despite a domineering father are pushing to make their own choices.

Descriptions of 1920’s St. Petersburg and its surroundings along with the upscale seaside hotel, The Vinoy as a backdrop for the story become almost characters in the story themselves. The spirit of building a new community comes thru superbly and I enjoyed the trips around town almost as much as solving the mystery.

I haven’t read the first book, but it is obvious that Cornelia and Teddy have a shared history and are quite close. This read well as a stand-alone. I am looking forward to further installments in this series.

Be sure to scroll down to the tour section to click the big red button for your chance to win a copy of this book

I received a complimentary evaluation copy of this book. All opinions and insights are my own.

  About The Authors:

Gwen Mayo is passionate about blending the colorful history of her native Kentucky with her love for mystery fiction. She currently lives and writes in Safety Harbor, Florida, but grew up in a large Irish family in the hills of Eastern Kentucky.

​Her stories have appeared in anthologies, at online short fiction sites, and in micro-fiction collections. She belongs to Sisters in Crime, SinC Guppies, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and the Independent Book Publishers Association.

Gwen attended the University of Kentucky on a poetry scholarship but has an associate degree in business and a bachelor’s degree in political science. Interesting side note: Gwen was a brakeman and railroad engineer from 1983 – 1987.

Author Links: Website / Blog

Sarah E. Glenn loves mystery and horror stories, often with a sidecar of humor. Several have appeared in mystery and paranormal anthologies, including G.W. Thomas’ Ghostbreakers series, Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, and Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology. She belongs to Sisters in Crime, SinC Guppies, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society.

Her great-great-aunt served as a nurse in WWI, and was injured by poison gas during the fighting. After being mustered out, she traveled widely. A hundred years later, ‘Aunt Dess’ would inspire Sarah to write stories she would likely not have approved of.

Author Links: Website / Twitter

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Guest Post and #Giveaway : Murder at the Million Dollar Pier by @SarahEGlenn & Sarah E. Glenn #cozymystery Great Escapes Book Tour @dollycas About The Book: Murder at the Million Dollar Pier (Three Snowbirds) by Gwen Mayo & Sarah E.

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Miami to Key West Road Trip Stops

Miami to Key West Road Trip Stops: Things to Do

Miami to Key West Road Trip Stops is the best way to enjoy your vacation and have a gala time. Driving the entire Florida Key means you will come across some perfect pit stops. This is the classic American road trip. The entire road trip is filled with scenic beauty. Driving down this amazing highway is a thrilling experience. There are plenty stops and you can make the most of your trip.

John Pennekamp State Park

This is known to be the first underwater park of USA. This opened in the year 1963. In fact, the underwater park’s border has a shorefront which is three miles out into the sea. Thus, you can enjoy a swim in the tranquil and clear water. As a matter of fact, you also have the option to go scuba diving or snorkeling. You will be able to check the crannies and nooks of a Spanish shipwreck. If you do not want to get wet during your underwater ride, you can avail the glass bottom boat.

When you plan for Miami to Key West road trip stops, you will not have the time to enjoy the John Pennekamp State Park completely. Nonetheless, if you stay somewhere, you will be worth the money. This is a stunning park and you will simply love it. If you cannot, you can visit while you are on a separate trip to Miami.

The Tiki Bar

You should know that this bar has a relaxing environment. However, this is a common stop on your Miami to Key West road trip stops. Here, you can take a break and stretch your legs. The bar offers a famous cocktail known as the Rumrunner Cocktail.   It is potent and refreshing. The story of the cocktail invention is pretty interesting. One night the local bartender had excess of rum. Thus, he came up with creative idea to use it. In case you have not tasted it before, taste it on your road trip.

Seven Mile Bridge

The bridge present along the Overseas Highway is used for several advertisements’ backdrop. You will be thrilled to drive across it. Hence, having a convertible car will prove to be beneficial. You can put down the top and allow the wind to whip your hair while your favorite song plays on the stereo system. In fact, you also have the option to walk on the old bridge to the Pigeon Key. Seven Mile Bridge is the longest bridge. You can stop Miami to Key West road trip stops for some photos.

Bahia Honda State Park

This is the home of one of the most pleasant and best beaches in USA. This is the ideal place to stop for a swim. In fact, you can paddle through the warm water or take a stroll on the sandy beaches. You can take walk to the Big Pine Key. Here, you will come across the National Key Deer Refuge. You will little deer. You can spot them roaming around the island.

Key West

This is the ultimate destination on your Miami to Key West road trip stops. This is one of Florida’s largest towns. It is about 90 miles away from Florida. This place has a unique blend of America, Cuban, and Latino culture.

You will be spoilt for choices when you consider the things to do in Key West. However, plan your trip to avoid the heavy traffic days. Thus, way you will be able to enjoy the trip to the fullest.

The post Miami to Key West Road Trip Stops appeared first on Miami to Key West Tours Guides.

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Miami to Key West Road Trip Stops

Miami to Key West Road Trip Stops: Things to Do

Miami to Key West Road Trip Stops is the best way to enjoy your vacation and have a gala time. Driving the entire Florida Key means you will come across some perfect pit stops. This is the classic American road trip. The entire road trip is filled with scenic beauty. Driving down this amazing highway is a thrilling experience. There are plenty stops and you can make the most of your trip.

John Pennekamp State Park

This is known to be the first underwater park of USA. This opened in the year 1963. In fact, the underwater park’s border has a shorefront which is three miles out into the sea. Thus, you can enjoy a swim in the tranquil and clear water. As a matter of fact, you also have the option to go scuba diving or snorkeling. You will be able to check the crannies and nooks of a Spanish shipwreck. If you do not want to get wet during your underwater ride, you can avail the glass bottom boat.

When you plan for Miami to Key West road trip stops, you will not have the time to enjoy the John Pennekamp State Park completely. Nonetheless, if you stay somewhere, you will be worth the money. This is a stunning park and you will simply love it. If you cannot, you can visit while you are on a separate trip to Miami.

The Tiki Bar

You should know that this bar has a relaxing environment. However, this is a common stop on your Miami to Key West road trip stops. Here, you can take a break and stretch your legs. The bar offers a famous cocktail known as the Rumrunner Cocktail.   It is potent and refreshing. The story of the cocktail invention is pretty interesting. One night the local bartender had excess of rum. Thus, he came up with creative idea to use it. In case you have not tasted it before, taste it on your road trip.

Seven Mile Bridge

The bridge present along the Overseas Highway is used for several advertisements’ backdrop. You will be thrilled to drive across it. Hence, having a convertible car will prove to be beneficial. You can put down the top and allow the wind to whip your hair while your favorite song plays on the stereo system. In fact, you also have the option to walk on the old bridge to the Pigeon Key. Seven Mile Bridge is the longest bridge. You can stop Miami to Key West road trip stops for some photos.

Bahia Honda State Park

This is the home of one of the most pleasant and best beaches in USA. This is the ideal place to stop for a swim. In fact, you can paddle through the warm water or take a stroll on the sandy beaches. You can take walk to the Big Pine Key. Here, you will come across the National Key Deer Refuge. You will little deer. You can spot them roaming around the island.

Key West

This is the ultimate destination on your Miami to Key West road trip stops. This is one of Florida’s largest towns. It is about 90 miles away from Florida. This place has a unique blend of America, Cuban, and Latino culture.

You will be spoilt for choices when you consider the things to do in Key West. However, plan your trip to avoid the heavy traffic days. Thus, way you will be able to enjoy the trip to the fullest.

The post Miami to Key West Road Trip Stops appeared first on Miami to Key West Tours Guides.

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