Dessert – Treat Yourself to Travel

The First State in 2019

January 7, 2019January 10, 2019Posted in Read Them All, State CapitolTagged Capitol, Coffee shop, Delaware, Dessert, State Capitol, TravelLeave a comment

Did you see what I did there? Delaware is considered the “First State” as it was the first one to ratify the Constitution of the United States and was also the first state we visited to kick-off the new year! On our Sunday day trip we visited Dover, Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Henlopen and Rehoboth Beach. We got very lucky with a 50ish degree day, which made it a perfect day to be outside and exploring new places. It also meant that because it was January, we had each of these places to ourselves.

Don’t Ditch Dover

Dover is a really quaint capital city. The highlight for me was stopping at the House of Coffi. The coffee house is adorable with lots of unique art inside to match their unique selection. I completely indulged with a cinnamon roll latte and red velvet muffin (yep, muffin, not cupcake)! No wonder this place has 4.8 stars on Google!

After you’re loaded with your caffeine, it’s only about a 10 minute walk to see Wesley College. It’s was the first private college in Delaware and has beautiful brick buildings. The gorgeous Victorian houses along the way really make the walk worthwhile. On your loop back toward the coffee shop, stop by Woodburn, which is the Governor’s Mansion to at least get a picture of the building or gardens.

Across from the House of Coffi is the huge public library and then easy access to all kinds of Federal buildings from the post office to the archives and eventually the huge Legislative Hall (or State Capitol). Coming in January has its perks – like being able to photograph the entire Legislative Hall across the Green without a single person in the pic! Seeing the Old State House is also nice and right next to it is where we found free, unlimited parking for our time here.

In talking with the locals at the coffee house, Silver Lake Park was recommended. The park has a pretty waterfall and some nice areas to walk. While we didn’t try it, McGlynns Pub and Restaurant were recommended to us because of the perfect location in the middle of the lake.

All in all, this is a great day trip from the Washington, D.C. area as it’s only two hours away over the Bay Bridge. If you’re interested in touring any of the historical places or the Capitol, make sure to verify the hours online in advance.

Prime Hook and Cape Henlopen

Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge and Cape Henlopen are great stops on a nice day for some hiking. Prime Hook has tons of trails and it’s free! We hiked the Dike Trail and Boardwalk Trail near the Visitors Center (which was sadly closed due to the government shutdown along with the restrooms) because we were able to take the stroller on both. We only saw one great blue heron, but if you love birds, you’ll want to check the website for which migratory birds will be there and when. We found Christmas Holly, which is Delaware’s State Tree along the Boardwalk path.

Cape Henlopen normally costs $10, but for some reason it was free the day we went. It’s really close to the Lewes Ferry that will take you to Cape May, New Jersey. We drove up to Herring Point which had ample parking. There’s a great view of the ocean as well as access to a beach. The physical structure there has a “spy” history. Across the street from the physical structure are some paths, including a nice boardwalk path along Gordon’s Pond. If you have time, the Visitor Center offers free bikes on a first-come, first-serve basis and there are tons of biking paths to take advantage of.

Sunset on Rehoboth Beach

Rehoboth Beach is one of the many beaches in Delaware (some other include Dewey and Bethany) and popular for retirees. From researching which beach to check out, it appeared Rehoboth would be the best due to the one mile boardwalk. We timed our arrival so we’d get there around 4:30 pm and close to the sunset time. We are so glad we did because the sky looked beautiful. With the exception of a jewelry store, candy store and a restaurant that were open, this place was a ghost-town. While I imagine it is completely different during the summer, I think I would still prefer Ocean City, New Jersey.

We didn’t go, but I read “the Avenue” and the Tanger Outlets are popular to check out due to Delaware being tax free on clothes. Plus, if you’re a AAA member, don’t forget to stop by the Tanger Info Booth and get your coupon book!

If you want to make this trip a full weekend adventure, I recommend reading my article about the East Coast of Maryland called Ponies by the Seashore.

Rich(mond) in History

December 31, 2017August 29, 2018Posted in Read Them All, State CapitolTagged Coffee shop, Dessert, Richmond, State Capitol, Travel, Virginia1 Comment

View from Belle Isle Bridge | TeamTravelsBlog

Richmond is Virginia’s capitol and full of U.S. historical sites. It also boasts cool street art and some delicious treats! Spending a holiday weekend during the cold months meant no crowds, easy to find parking and the sites were still open!

Richmond Highlights over New Years’ Eve Weekend 2017

Belle Isle Pedestrian Bridge
Maymont
Hollywood Cemetery
Carytown – Street Art, Carytown Cupcakes, Lamplighter Coffee
Virginia State Capitol
Shockoe Bottom and Main Street Station

After sipping our free hotel coffee, we headed into Richmond. It was a cool morning and we parked near 300 Tredegar Street in order to take the Belle Isle Pedestrian Bridge. The bridge is really unique and gives you some great views of Richmond.

Belle Isle Bridge View | TeamTravelsBlog

After a little exploring, we got back in our car and drove to Maymont. We parked outside the gate and walked onto the property, which is beautiful! The mansion itself is gorgeous, but we didn’t take the tour (I’m 99% sure I did as a kid though, because the whole place felt nostalgic to me). There appears to be a lot to do, like a nature center, the mansion tour, etc. if you have time and are interested.

The Hollywood Cemetery was a must see for us. Before you drive into the cemetery, there’s a map you can get or take a picture of, which we found to be really helpful as we didn’t want to miss any of the historical figures like James Monroe and John Tyler. I think because we were here on a holiday weekend during a cold month, this is why it wasn’t busy at all and even enjoyable to drive around and park where we wanted to take pictures.

We drove to Carytown next and found a free parking spot on a side street. This street is a must see with its cool street art, the delicious cupcakes at Carytown Cupcakes (you really can’t get just one) and the yummy coffee at Lamplight Roasting Company.

Yummy cupcake | TeamTravelsBlog

Caffeine | TeamTravelsBlog

As it was approaching 1 pm, we made our way to the Virginia State Capitol which has pretty short hours on Sundays and is closed on holidays, like New Year’s Day. Again, I think because it was a holiday weekend, we basically had the place to ourselves and one of the docents gave us an excellent tour.

The statue of George Washington in white marble under the rotunda is incredible and has a lot of details that you may not notice without a tour guide or doing some research ahead of time. We had a little bit of time afterwards, so we explored the Capitol grounds which included seeing the Governor’s Mansion on one end and St. Paul’s Church at the other.

Our last stop in Richmond before making the two hour drive home was Shockoe Bottom historic area. We found another side street parking spot and checked out the artwork along the street before making it to the train station. The train station is beautiful inside with an art exhibit, a mini visitor center and because it was NYE, they were setting up for a party upstairs. Don’t miss the opportunity to take a picture with the “Love” sign in the Main Street Station.

Let me know what we have to see next time we make it to Richmond! Did you guess right? The cemetery grave site pictured above was for James Monroe.

Carytown Street Art | TeamTravelsBlog

Hooray for Luray Caverns

December 30, 2017August 29, 2018Posted in Read Them AllTagged Coffee shop, Dessert, Travel, Virginia3 Comments

Reflecting Pond at Luray Caverns | TeamTravelsBlog

They say Virginia is for lovers, so we spent our New Years’ Eve weekend exploring its offerings. Luray Caverns and Monticello were highlights for day one. Read our next post about day two in Richmond, which impressed us more than we expected!

Virginia Weekend Highlights over New Years’ Eve Weekend 2017

Luray Caverns (near Shenandoah National Park)
Staunton (5 Historic Districts, Reunion Bakery & Espresso)
Charlottesville (Monticello, The Pie Chest, Pedestrian Mall)
Richmond (GardenFest Illumination at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden)

We left our place early on Saturday (December 30, 2017) in the morning to drive out toward Shenandoah National Park. We had our National Park pass ready, so we thought after seeing Luray Caverns, it would be nice to enjoy the drive south along Skyline Drive.

Fried Eggs at Luray Caverns | TeamTravelsBlog

Unfortunately, due to snow, we learned that many parts of Shenandoah were closed. We went ahead and drove directly to Luray Caverns and bought our ticket for the next tour. At this point in time, we had been to a few other caves (Cave of the Winds in Colorado, Wind Cave in South Dakota and Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota) and had enjoyed each experience as every cave seems to have something unique about them.

Make sure to read the rules online about your boots before heading out to a cave (hint: it has to do with bats and the spread of white-nose syndrome). Luray Cavern has many “must sees” including the reflecting pond, the stalacpipe organ and fried eggs. My biggest piece of advice is to make sure you know how to use your phone camera or regular camera in lower light settings.

Your ticket also gets you admission into a few of the nearby buildings, so if you’re into old cars it’s worth taking a walk through the Car and Carriage Caravan Museum or if you’re into old toys you may want to pop through Toy Town Junction which are both in the same parking lot.

We headed south from Luray to a small historic town called Staunton. Staunton is made up of five historic districts (Newtown; Wharf Area; Beverley; Gospel Hill; Stuart Addition). Staunton is home to Mary Baldwin University, the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and the American Shakespeare Center. We parked near both between the Beverly District and Gospel Hill and enjoyed a walk downtown along S New St. This street has a historic store front called Cranberry’s Grocery and Eatery and a nice coffee shop called Reunion Bakery & Espresso. It’s also a short walk to the train tracks and the Wharf District, which has a cool bridge and the nearby Trinity Episcopal Church is worth a peek. Staunton also hosts a Harry Potter-esque world of wizardry weekend every September.

View from Wharf District Bridge | TeamTravelsBlog

For 2018, it’s called “Queen City Mischief and Magic”. While we haven’t been, I have read the city is transformed for this particular weekend. Plus, you’d be close enough to Shenandoah to potentially see the leaves change color! If you love Instagram like me (I hope you’ll follow me @TeamTravelsBlog), tag your Staunton pics with #LOVEStaunton #QueenCity and @visitstaunton .

From here, we continued eastward about 40 minutes to Charlottesville and specifically to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. We made it in time for the last regular tour of the day. This home should not be missed. We took the free shuttle to the house, then walked by the grave site and took a trail back to where the museums, gift shop and ticket counter were located. The tour guides are passionate about his life and sharing information about the house. The views also happen to be incredible!

From here, we went to downtown Charlottesville, where the University of Virginia is located. There’s a “pedestrian mall” which is essentially a car free street with a variety of stores, restaurants and bars. Similar concept to the 16^th Street Mall you’d find in Denver, Colorado, just on a smaller scale. On one of the side streets, I saw a pie place called “The Pie Chest”.

Peppermint Crunch at The Pie Chest | TeamTravelsBlog

O.m.g. this place is amazing!! I could literally make a trip here just for the pie.

As if we hadn’t fit enough into our day, we drove about another hour to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden outside of Richmond. We wanted to see the beautiful winter lights display here called GardenFest Illumination. For many years we’ve gone to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. to take in the free display of holiday lights, which are definitely a must see. But as we were looking for something different to do, this was great! There were a variety of indoor and outdoor displays, animals, storybook characters in lights (see the Giving Tree below), moving lights and changing colors.

Yep, we were exhausted by this point. I found a cheap, last minute deal using Booking.com (use my code and we each get $20) for a place under $60. We crashed and knew we’d have a chance to sleep in and then explore Richmond in the morning. If we took a similar trip, any must-see places you would recommend? Read all about our day in Richmond here!

Other nearby ideas if you’re planning a similar trip:

Shenandoah National Park
Staunton (Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, American Shakespeare Center)
Charlottesville (Ash-Highland Estate)
Orange (Montpellier)

“Santa Barbara and the PCH Pacifically”

November 14, 2017December 12, 2017Posted in Read Them AllTagged California, Coffee shop, Dessert, Travel, USA Travel4 Comments

Sunset at Malibu State Park | Teamtravelsblog

Santa Barbara and the Pacific Coast Highway, California Highlights over Veterans’ Weekend 2017

Pacific Coast Highway – Malibu State Park, One Thousand Steps Beach, Carpinteria Bluffs, El Matador State Beach and the Malibu Pier
Stearns Wharf and State Street
Gaviota State Park via El Camino Real
Solvang for dessert and Sides for lunch
Lizard’s Mouth in the Los Padres National Forest
Sunset from Franceschi Park
Sunset by the Four Seasons Hotel

I can’t complain about the LA traffic, coming from the DC area. We left LA and headed west on the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) toward Santa Barbara. Since the sunset was shortly before 5 p.m., we found a free spot along the PCH near a veterinarian hospital and walked into the Malibu State Park. The reflections and cranes in the water were beautiful. We walked to the beach and found a tiny obstruction blocking a clear picture of the sunset as the tide was rolling in. This didn’t stop us from enjoying it or getting pictures.

We turned our attention to the water behind us and found fish jumping out of water and all kinds of birds! It was fun to watch along with the surfers on the ocean side. After the sunset, we continued our drive, to State Street in Santa Barbara. This is the happening street with the restaurants, shops, bars, etc. and we found free parking on Chapala Street. We walked to Stearns Wharf and saw (and heard) the party ships on the ocean. The boardwalk is nice to walk along and the seafood restaurant toward the end has live lobsters and crabs you can catch a glimpse of in the window. Reminded me of trips to Publix as a kid when my brother and I would watch the live lobsters when we were grocery shopping with our Dad. Before heading to our friends’ place, I got an evening coffee at the Santa Barbara Coffee Roasters which was the only open coffee shop I could find on Saturday night.

We met our friends at a gorgeous mansion about 15 minutes from downtown Santa Barbara. They rent a room and bathroom is a beautiful home with eclectic art work, an expansive backyard and multiple fireplaces! We got to stay in the amazing loft! The place felt like a dream!

Gaviota State Park | Teamtravelsblog — Gaviota State Park with our friends | Teamtravelsblog

After a restful evening, we ate a delicious breakfast and then drove to Gaviota State Park via El Camino Real. We parked up the hill from the park, in a free spot and took a nice short hike. We then walked into the park for a view from the beach. From here we drove about 20 minutes to Solvang. This city is amazing!

It was founded over 100 years ago by 3 Danish men. There are tons of bakeries, cute shops and details to see like old red phone booths (we couldn’t help ourselves) and windmills. After exploring the town, we were starving! We at a place relatively close by called Sides. The food here was literally, the best we’ve ever had! The burger, fish tacos and butternut squash soup were incredulous!

We knew we wanted to walk off our food, so we drove through Los Padres National Forest and headed for Lizard’s Mouth Rock. Prepare yourself for the windy drive to get here! This was a short, but amazing walk! The large rocks overlooking Santa Barbara and the Pacific Ocean are a must see! We took endless selfies! We made our way from here to the One Thousand Steps beach before high tide. Luckily, it wasn’t literally 1,000 steps to the beach. The beach is covered in beautiful rocks.

One Thousand Steps Beach | Teamtravelsblog

As it was getting closer to sunset, we made our way to State Street. We got coffee at Dune and explored Paaseo Nuevo, saw the McConnell’s ice cream store and then drove to Franceschi Park. It was crazy to learn that the surrounding houses had banded together to get approval for an illegal gate to block visitors from visiting this park months prior. We didn’t have any issues, parked in one of the limited spots and took in a gorgeous purple sunset! We also explored the abandoned looking mansion.

Franceschi Park Sunset | Teamtravelsblog

As if we hadn’t packed enough into one day, we drove to the Four Seasons Hotel in Montecito to see the last bit of the sunset. Back at the SB mansion, our friends introduced us to a game called Exploding Kittens*! It was such a blast.

Monday morning we woke up at the crack of dawn and drove to Carpinteria Bluffs. We love seeing animals in their natural habitat and after a leisurely walk, we found the sunbathing seals! We’re glad we didn’t give up – it really was only a matter of continuing to walk north with the ocean to your left until you see them.

Seals at Carpinteria Bluffs | Teamtravelsblog

The Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) is exactly what we hoped – a relaxing drive with non-stop beaches to pick from. We stopped at El Matador State Beach, Zuma Beach and Malibu Beach and Pier on our drive back to Los Angeles. El Matador was our favorite as we saw a perched pelican, tons of curlews (type of bird) and two beach photo shoots! The rock formations are really incredible here too.

Pelican at El Matador State Beach | Teamtravelsblog

Curlews at El Matador State Beach | Teamtravelsblog

If you want to read about how we spent the rest of our Monday in Los Angeles or our day prior to Santa Barbara, check out my previous article titled, “Ve-nice to Hollywood”. Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and the connecting Pacific Coast Highway are completing doable on a long weekend! I hope you picked up some tips!

Us at the Lizard's Mouth | Teamtravelsblog — Us at the Lizard’s Mouth | Teamtravelsblog

Ve-nice to Hollywood

November 11, 2017November 21, 2017Posted in Read Them AllTagged California, Coffee shop, Dessert, Travel, USA Travel, Weekend Trip, Zoo1 Comment

Lots to see in Los Angeles and it’s more than the rich and famous! Hiking to the Hollywood sign, seeing the Melrose Avenue street art and taking in the Venice Beach sunset are among the highlights!

Los Angeles, California Highlights over Veterans’ Weekend 2017

Santa Monica Pier
Venice Beach (sunset, street art and bread pudding)
Venice Canals
Third Street Promenade and Sidecar Donuts
Hike to the Hollywood sign and Bronson Caves
Graffiti at the Old LA Zoo
Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard
Street art on Melrose Avenue and Alfred Coffee on Melrose Place
View from the Griffith Observatory

When we find a great flight deal we go for it! We took a direct Spirit flight from Baltimore (BWI) to Los Angeles (LAX) and arrived shortly after noon on Friday, November 10^th. We picked up our cheap rental car from Payless since we got a great deal through CarRentals.com. While it wasn’t the fastest service and we caught them trying to charge us the wrong price, everything ultimately worked out and we were on our way without being upsold on any of the extras. We parked the car at the Convention Center by the Santa Monica Pier and met our friends. (Traveler tip: If you go on a weekday, park at the Santa Monica mall instead. The Convention Center is a good cheap spot on the weekend.) The pier was fun to walk along – enjoyed the street performers, checked out the roller coasters, got our picture with the “66-End of Trail” sign and saw the fishermen at the end of the boardwalk. We especially enjoyed watching the sunset here.

We moved our car to Ocean Boulevard street parking part way between the Santa Monica beach and Venice beach to a meter that was free after 6 p.m. We walked along the pedestrian and bike path, which was lit. When we got to Venice beach where all of the stores are, we found lots of homeless and seemingly homeless people. While we felt safe, it didn’t seem like our kind of scene (read to the end to see how our opinion changed on our second visit here). We continued from here to the Venice Canals. The houses along the canals are beautiful and if you’re lucky, people will have their lights on so you can get a peek inside their living rooms. I’d love to find an AirBNB here!

I saw a picture of the Sidecar Donuts on Instagram and I knew I had to try one! We parked on 5^th Avenue, paid the meter and made the short walk. I tried the maple bacon donut and it was SO GOOD! From here we walked down the Third Street Promenade. It reminded us of carless streets like the 16^th Street Mall in Denver. We watched more street performers here, saw a Barnes & Noble with the old school signing and found huge hedge dinosaurs. We also poked our head down 4^th Street which had trees decorated with colorful changing lights. Before calling it a night, we took a quick detour to Rodeo Drive and saw all of the fancy designer stores.

Instead of carsleeping this trip, we stayed at our friends’ place nearby, ate a lovely homemade breakfast, got serenaded by their 3 year old with Let It Go and headed out the door by 8 a.m. We arrived at 3200 Canyon Road by 8:30 a.m. and were able to secure a parallel parking spot for free. It’s a steep hike, but a rewarding hike from here to the Hollywood sign.

While it was a bit foggy, we did enjoy seeing downtown LA from the top too. Before returning to our car, we made a left past the Smokey the Bear sign and made the very short trip up to the Bronson Caves. They’re cool to walk through and if you walk all the way around, you’ll get another view of the full Hollywood sign. We were back in the car by 11 a.m. and made a short trip to the Old L.A. Zoo in Griffith Park. The parking was plentiful and free. After a few minutes of seeing the old cages that were abandoned in the 1960s, I was ready to go and didn’t see the appeal. It didn’t look like the Instagram pictures I had seen that showed graffiti. The trick is you have to climb the stairs in the second exhibit or come down from the top. The graffiti work is really cool and it’s a bit eerie to crawl through what used to be animal enclosures.

From here we headed to see the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Blvd. Luckily we found two hour free parking on Emmet Terrace. Hollywood Boulevard is extremely touristy with some inappropriate stores, but for us, we had to at least see some of the famous stars. We enjoyed calling out names and noticing the different symbols depending on the person’s industry (e.g., entertainment, music, television, etc.).

After we got our fix and checked this off the list, we headed to Melrose Avenue. We found free street parking on North Orlando Avenue nearby. I really liked the vibe of Alfred Coffee on Melrose Place and they had nostalgic Lisa Frank cup sleeves. Melrose Avenue was perfect for taking pictures! We headed up and down the street so I could take pictures of the pink building, the famous wings, “Made in LA” wall, comedian wall by the Improv, the Marilyn Monroe portrait and much more!

Marilyn Monroe on Melrose | Teamtravelsblog — Melrose Avenue Street Art | Teamtravelsblog

From here we spent two days around Santa Barbara and the Pacific Coast Highway. Check out my next article to read more about that part of the trip. On Monday afternoon, we returned to Los Angeles and drove to the Griffith Observatory. The Observatory was closed, but we paid $4 to park and take in the view from here. The Observatory is beautiful and the walk around the building is superb! Even with some light fog, we still got some great shots of the skyline. You’ll get another chance to see the Hollywood sign. We also spotted a mom and two baby deer wandering around.

LA from Griffith Observatory | Teamtravelsblog

Baby deer at the Griffith Observatory |Teamtravelsblog

With a few hours left on our trip, we returned to the Venice Canals. We parked for free on N. Venice Boulevard near the LA Public Library. Since we made it before sunset, the lighting and reflections were perfect! The houses are all really unique and beautiful. Lots of people own little boats and we even saw a flamingo paddle boat!

Venice Beach | Teamtravelsblog — Venice | Teamtravelsblog

We walked back to Venice Beach and found ourselves having a completely different experience from our first one. Venice was a happening place! We found amazing street art along the strip and closer to the water. I ate the most amazing classic cinnamon and salted caramel bread pudding from Espresso Yo’self. The skate park is a must see! Watching the skateboarders is completely mesmerizing as they dodge one another, flip their boards and stick their landings. By 5 p.m. the sun had set and the sky changed to the most magnificent colors. I couldn’t put my camera down!

Before we knew it, it was time to return our car to Payless, shuttle to the airport and fly home on the red eye flight. California is incredible and we will be back! Remember to check back to read about our two days around Santa Barbara and the PCH.