they died like they lived – dancing to lori’s playlist! (only bops and bangers on her playlists.)

since i failed to blog yesterday, here’s an update!

thursday

our list of things to do really dwindled down as the week wore on. the thought of sitting in a car for “norm wallace” hours was not too appealing, so we scrapped out state tour trip. while disappointing, it also meant that we weren’t driving around for 8 hours on thursday. instead, we opted for visiting connecticut for supper. but before that, i ended up going for two runs, and liz and doug and i drove into newport to check out the little shops while jane and lori lounged around the condo.

that evening, we drove – sans lori (who had a headache) – to stonington connecticut to the breakwater restaurant and had one the best meals of the trip! i have spent more on food this trip than i had ever expected. but while you’re on the east coast, you’ve gotta eat seafood. we were on the ocean and the sunset was fantastic.

had scallops with risotto, then a blueberry bread pudding for dessert. delish!

that dining experience was a 13 stars. decision to not go on a state tour that day? 11/13 stars. i would’ve liked to have been able to say i’d been to those states and to see salem, but it was a lot to do.

friday

oh no!! last day!

we briefly entertained driving up to salem, but that would’ve been a long day. in the morning, we headed to see the marble house, another gross display of opulence at the turn of the century. the gold room, below, was lined with 14karat gold leaf.

i appreciate visiting historical landmarks like these, but man it’s just a testament to excess and makes me wonder what people could accomplish if we were a little more socialist. marble house was a 10/13 historical experience, and a 2/13 life experience.

lori and i took a walk to down town jamestown. met a crossing guard who helped us across a couple streets to the post office to buy some postcard stamps. on the way back, we stopped at a graveyard that had gravemarkers from the 1700s. we checked out a couple shops where i FINALLY found a gift for nate. thank goodness! lori found a couple pups to pet. our place is in a really out of the way place on a dead end road, and somehow there was a traffic jam 300′ from the driveway! a landscaper was on parked, then an uber showed up, and the USPS truck decided to make an appearance. then lori and i were in the middle of it all! i’m giving that traffic jam a solid 13/13.

the last place we checked out for food was flo’s clam shack, a true seafood dive. we got so much food! but we ended up trying conch, and got some crab legs and tons of fried foods. plus two pitchers of beer, so it was a really good way to finish up the trip. 13/13.

now we’re packing! i had a much better packing experience this time than when jane and i were in CA. i only had to dig around for one shirt after i had packed it. that’s always the worst, but always bittersweet. as i was walking along the beach today, i thought about how i was missing the frogs croaking in my pond and backyard, the peonies about to pop open, my normal running route. my bed. sigh.

but i do think i’m going to find some zone 4 hardy azaleas 🙂 azaleas get 13/13.