Memorial Day Weekend 2015

Good Morning,

I don't know why it has taken me all week to write this post, we really had such a great weekend! Last week I was watching TV one more and it came up that there was an airshow over the long weekend at Jones Beach, for some reason that sounded familiar to me but I couldn't put my finger on where Jones Beach was or why I thought I knew it. Eventually it came to me that last summer we went to visit Chris and Samantha and they took us to Jones Beach! See I remember some stuff. I sent Jason an email at work and mentioned that there was an airshow and was I correct in remembering it was by Chris and Samantha's house! Long story short Jason text Chris and asked was it there and had he ever seen it, was it worth the trip. Chris said they didn't have any plans for the weekend that we should come down and we would all go together.

Before I get into the actual weekend though I wanted to quickly share a picture I got while we were out last week getting a few things for the weekend, because I know all of you don't follow me on instagram and its too good not to share!

Crazy right? We were in the store parking lot getting ready to go in! Beautiful night. 

Anyways! I won't lie I was not looking forward to driving there with Jason knowing how traffic was going to be and he is always cranky when there is traffic! It was the Friday of Memorial Day so he made sure to prepare himself because it was bound to be bad! Go figure it wasn't at all, not only did we manage to get on the road an hour earlier than we had expected but we managed to get there like 2 hours ahead of what we had anticipated, you gotta love when that happens! 

I hadn't realized that Chris and Samantha had moved, I knew they had been talking about it but I guess I was out of the loop. When we arrived Chris gave us the grand tour along with his beautiful little nieces. We had a pretty quiet night, everyone was tired and we went to bed early in anticipating of the next day. 

Saturday we were heading to the airshow and instead of driving over to it we ended up taking Chris's boat! I will apologize in advance for the crappy pictures but I am basically uneasy rider on the water and so I was far to paranoid to take my real camera. I don't remember what time we actually got on the water but I couldn't believe how many boats were out there, its funny because there aren't any signs on the water, its not like cars on the street but we managed to get there safely and find a place to drop the anchor. 

I'm not going to lie it was quite chilly on the water, or by the water for that matter. I was in a fleece sweater the entire time we were out there.. although I think I was the only one with an issue because the guys were in shorts and tshirts and Samantha was quite warm she said. 

The airshow was great as always, I swear nothing will ever compare to the one we saw in Alaska but we so look forward to going to one whenever we get a chance. Here are a few pictures I got, remember they are crap quality, I told you ahead of time. 

We didn't stay for the entire show, sadly the tide changed and it got COLD! Literally the wind picked up and simultaneously everyone (on every boat) stood up to put on layers.. it was nuts! We toured along the water back to the dock and decided to head back for a traditional Memorial Day BBQ! We had talked about going out but figured we would have a lot more fun at the house, so we cooked up a huge feast and it was absolutely DELICIOUS! I forget how much I love grilling and we sadly just don't get to do it much. 

After dinner Jason and Chris got a camp fire going which I was pretty excited about and Samantha and I made a trip to somewhere I had never been, and now I am not sure how that is possible. We drove over to Carvel which is an ice cream shop and let me tell you guys.. the ice cream was too die for! Jason didn't want any but when I shared mine with him he said.. and I quote "The caramel is the perfect texture" HA! He wasn't lying! If you ever happen to drive by one of these places, do yourselc a favor and treat yo self! 

Samantha and I didn't last as long as the guys did that night, lets just say they were having a very good time! 

Sunday morning although we were sad to leave we decided that because we were so close to the Hamptons we might as well check it out! We said goodbye to Chris and Samantha, who we are so grateful to for having us over and showing us such a good time, grabbed bagels and hit the road. Traffic again wasn't too bad until we actually got into the Hamptons which we basically should have figured being the kick off weekend to summer. 

Honestly the Hamptons is your typical beach town but more on the posh side. Everything is perfectly groomed everywhere, people we clad in beach bonnets and Lily Pulitzer. Most of the homes were gated, and I did notice that a lot of the homes exteriors were pretty much the same, wooden shingles. The street names were all adorable, Lily Pond Lane.. I mean who wouldn't want to live there?

We stopped and checked out a little restaurant in East Hampton which was really good and toured around. It was actually absolutely FREEZING at the beach, the temperature was only 60 degrees and it was quite blustery so sadly we didn't get a lot of beach time! 

If you are into Winery's, Vineyards and antiques this would be a great place for you to visit. I would have loved to have visited a Winery and done a wine tasting but its totally not Jason's thing and we really only had the day because we were heading back to New Jersey so there wasn't really time. Maybe next trip though! The Hampton's really is worth checking out, its small beach town at its best. 

Our trip back was fine, for some reason we ended up driving straight through midtown Manhattan which is about as fun as it sounds, and in case you aren't familiar... its not fun. But that was really the worst part of our trip. Jason and I were both super tired when we got back to the hotel so we got in bed and ordered Chinese.. it was great. Well the Chinese food actually sucked but the night was great. 

Jason worked on Monday which we knew was going to be the case, I won't lie sometimes it sucks. I wish we had just that one more day to enjoy, explore and make the most of. Its rare that Jason gets a holiday weekend off though so I am thankful for the time that we had. Overall we had a fantastic weekend! 

What did you guys do over Memorial Day? Do tell! 

Long Island Love

Good Afternoon!

I am really trying to be better about getting here on more of a regular basis and on account that I am indoors today to catch up from our weekend away I decided to sit down and make time to tell y'all about our fabulous weekend! I mentioned on Friday that I was preparing for Jason and I to head out when he got home from work and anticipating a long drive ahead. As you can imagine traffic in New York City is never a treat but on top of that a Friday night didn't help matters much!

I will tell you although it will see that I took a lot of pictures I didn't! Truth be told I am sad about that because it was beautiful! But having said that as I mentioned in a previous post about my addiction to my phone I am really trying to curve that! Chris and Samantha were so gracious to invite us up there and we were so enjoying our time to be honest I didn't even think about my phone, and therefore there are a lack of pictures. We'll make do though!

Anyways shall we take a look at the pictures I did take?

Jason arrived home around the same time and I was ready to head out the door! He had a quick shower and we headed out the door! We live basically right beside the Holland Tunnel which was about to be the biggest pisser of the whole drive! Its genius if you ask me that they have 14 lanes of tolls at $13.00 a pop and then it instantly goes down to two lanes, if that's not asking for a cluster screw I don't know what is!

Makes Perfect sense right?

I was anxious to drive through Manhattan, obviously I wasn't actually driving but we have never driven through Manhattan (really it was all smart thinking on our part) in all our years there and driving through New York! Of course our GPS is crap and Jason instantly went into a frenzy which in turns throws me into a frenzy because we have the same argument over the stupid GPS and directions all the time. I'm just saying, our GPS screws up all the time and I insist Jason looks at a map and makes sure he knows where he is going FOR SURE before we get on the road to avoid the same mess we seem to experience every time we travel, and he never does... hence the drama. Thankfully we have phones, which I suppose were helpful.

As soon as we got into Manhattan I knew exactly where we were, and although I am sure the traffic would have permitted it Jason refused to let me out to get a purse on the side of the road! Ha! I seriously would have done it. 

Ignore the fact that these are not the most fantastic quality of pictures as they were obviously taken through the windshield. I didn't feel like hanging out the window was the best decision as there were police everywhere directing traffic, I mean we had somewhere to be an all. 

The traffic wasn't this bad the entire way but we definitely encountered traffic like this on parts of our drive. I didn't think it was too bad though, not nearly as bad as I was expecting! I suppose Jason was the one driving though, I was chatting away about anything and everything and singing away to the radio.. time flies when you're having a good time! 

We arrived to Chris and Samantha's house around dinner time and they were gracious enough to have cooked quite the chicken dinner. Jason was in chicken dinner heaven, that is absolutely one of his favorite meals so things were starting off pretty fantastic! We enjoyed the wonderful meal they cooked and then headed to the beach for sunset! Chris and Samantha grew up on Long Island so naturally they know all the best places to go, and are so fortunate to be surrounded by the ocean and have beaches so close to them. 

We packed a cooler with beer (Priorities!) and headed out the door! If you know me at all you know that I love the beach and what better time to be there then to catch a fabulous sunset.. and fabulous it was!

The beach was amazing and the weather was perfect for a night at the beach! Not too hot and not too cold! Sadly there was no bathroom so us ladies kept are drinking to a minimum, like hell I was going to pop a squat in the middle of the beach, especially with the lack of privacy. Although lets be honest I wouldn't do it if it was completely desolate. It was great to be out on the beach in my bare feet, I absolutely love summer and we really have been taking advantage of it as much as we can but let me tell you there is nothing better then beaches and boats for the summer!

Once the sun was completely gone and the bathroom was much needed we headed back to the house for drinks! It was great to catch up with Chris and Samantha, we haven't seen them since Alaska so there was lots to catch up on! They are in the midst of planning their wedding and its really such an exciting time! We thoroughly enjoyed the night and headed to bed excited for the next day on the boat!

We woke up the next morning to the best New York bagels ever! I was pretty happy to start my day that way! While everyone was finishing getting ready we headed to get some deli sandwiches for our day at the beach. Unfortunately the day was overcast but still warm so we were anxious to get out on the boat, it did my heart good to see Jason so happy. He had talked about going and visiting all week and being on the ocean in a boat is really his happy place.. it honestly could have been pouring rain and Jason still would have insisted on going! 

I was so excited to get in the boat, the water was calm and I was anxious to see what our day had in store! Some of the beach houses were absolutely incredible, but there were also a lot that were damaged from hurricane Sandy and it was so awful to see. On our trip to the beach Chris told us so many stories from his childhood and it was bitter sweet! I love being with someone in their hometown hearing about their childhood and listening to stories.. its so wonderful, but it was bittersweet because of a lot of his memories were in places that were destroyed by Sandy. You don't really understand the devastation until you see it first hand, we were in Alaska at that time and I remember it being so hard for them to be away from home at that time and although you hear stories and see pictures its nothing like seeing it in person. 

These wonderful ocean side restaurants and bars are just gone. Sandy brought so much destruction and devastation and rebuilding wasn't always possible. Its sad to think that lack of funds or fear of what may come took away these wonderful once full of life places. 

The boat ride was great and we soon arrived at our destination. Another pro to an overcast day was the fact that the beach wasn't busy at all.. oh, and did I mention it had a bathroom? WINNING! Chris and Jason got the boat set up and our stuff out while Samantha and I set things up on shore! 

The beach was fantastic! We had a great day, and it really didn't matter that the sun didn't come out! We so enjoyed being out the beach and just hanging out! It really was a fantastic day! We headed back to the docks around 5:00pm so we could get ready to do to dinner. As if Jason wasn't already having the time of his life we were going to Texas Roadhouse for dinner! 

The rest of our weekend was fantastic, we are so grateful to Chris and Samantha for the invite and the fantastic time we had! They were so wonderful to us and we really hope to get together again soon! Sadly Sunday Samantha had to work and although I didn't believe it would happen after Saturday night Jason was up on Sunday morning and ready to hit the road in order to avoid the traffic! Sunday's weather wasn't much better in Long Island so we headed out. 

The traffic wasn't that bad believe it or not! We had moments but the drive seemed to go by super quickly!

On the way home we had some great views of the city! I may not want to live there anymore but there is no denying the beauty of that amazing city! On our drive we ended up going over the Koscuisko Bridge on the Brooklyn/Queens Expressway (yes that's the correct information, I made Jason look it up to make 100% sure! Anyways while we were driving over this bridge we saw the most magnificent graveyard! Now don't get your knickers in a knot, its not morbid! It was extremely beautiful, a wonderful eternal resting place! Its called Calvary Cemetery. 

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The place is just amazing, the headstones are works of art, the back drop is incredible.. and area is vast! This place is nothing short of amazing! 

So that was the deets on our wonderful weekend! If you are in New York visit Long Island, you won't regret it! See the beaches, have the bagels and love every minute of it like we did! 

I am headed off to finish laundry and all the fun stuff that comes along with Monday's! I started ready a fantastic book yesterday and will most likely finish it tonight so I will try to review it this week, also stay tuned for my great burrito debate, which ones are worth your time.. seriously, take my word for it, I am an expert!

Happy Monday all!