Calgon take me away.

Today was a long, tedious, soul sucking day, as only a Wednesday can be. But rather than whine my way down the page and bore you with the details, I'm going to share some of my favorite places in the world, and regenerate a little.



This is my paternal grandparent's house up in New England. I went up to visit this summer to reconnect with Grammy and Grampy, as I haven't seen them in several years. It was like being a little kid again; even though I'm 40 years old, they spoiled me like I was four. It was wonderful being in that house again, the smells of my grandmother's kitchen always invoke feelings of home. While I was there we had amazing conversations about family I never knew. For instance, I found out my great grandfather kept a giant still in his basement during prohibition and made "TNT" (hard cider distilled down into harder liquor),which he took with him to sell when he went on business trips for his company.

While I was in New England I also had the chance to visit my other grandfather in Gloucester. Again, I have amazing memories of summers up there, going out on Papa's boat, eating steamers (steamed clams dipped in butter),playing crazy eights with my grandmother while watching Johny Carson (oh the illicit thrill of staying up that late!) and swimming in the frigid northern Atlantic. Gloucester is the oldest working fishing port on the east coast, you can walk along the harbor and take in the fantastic views.






Moving on down the east coast, to my own beloved Outer Banks, where every September my best friends and I make the trek out to Corolla, where the horses roam, and the 4 wheel drive is the only way down the beach. This is truly a restorative week. We completely unplug and play cards, work puzzles, and drink ice cold glass bottle cokes on the beach as we watch the kiddies try to drown themselves in the waves.Oh, and did I forget to mention the cocktails? Silly me.




Last but not least, there is Anguilla - a small island in the Caribbean that my parents, in an unprecedented show of love and generosity, decided to take my brother, my sister in law, and myself for a week of lounging by the ocean and rum drinks a couple of years ago. They go every January for three weeks(don't ya just hate them?) with friends of theirs that they have known since they were all in college together. Well, as luck would have it, I get to go again this January (thank you mom and dad!).