LUCY BURDETTE: I love reading the travel articles in the New York Times where they describe a 36 hour whirlwind visit, usually to a city. But on the other hand, those trips can sound exhausting-- museums, galleries, shopping, walking, fancy drinks at pubs, dinners out...
How about 36 hours of practically nothing?
We experienced something like that earlier this week and it was heaven. Our occasional guest blogger Pat Kennedy and her husband kindly invited us to join them at a cabin on Long Pond in Massachusetts, along with Hallie and her hub. We didn't do too much planning--except for meals, of course. Without further ado, here's 36 Hours in Long Pond, Massachusetts.
Monday, 5 pm: Arrive in time for a glass of rose on the porch, followed by a lobster dinner, courtesy of the Kennedys. (Claws were gone by the time I remembered to snap a picture.)
Can't fit too much more, but I'd brought almond cake with local strawberries and whipped cream. (Recipe here.) Joe shows us how to squeeze that in...
Tuesday, 8 am: So many choices for breakfast the next morning, it's hard to make a selection...
Banana bread, muffins, cherries, homemade granola. (Recipe here.) Have to sample a little of everything....
10 am: Then a walk through the woods to Halfway Pond...
After that, a canoe ride for Tonka, John and me, while the others read the papers.
12 noon: Mimosas before lunch...
12:30: For lunch, Hallie lays out a gorgeous antipasto with charcuterie and fabulous bread, and then we squeeze in more cake...
1:30 Nap time
3 pm: Time for a dip in Long Pond, with Tonka keeping close watch
7 pm: Dinner at Rye Tavern at the Pinehills. Our favorite things on the menu: brussel sprouts with rhubarb rouille and toasted pine nuts (so crispy and salty!)
And clam chowder with bacon mashed potatoes and whole belly fried clams (It didn't photograph perfectly, but the clams are nestled into the mashed potatoes that lapped into the chowder...so decadent and delicious!)
9:30 pm: Fall in bed with something to read--BIRDS OF PARADISE by Diana Abu-Jaber for me, BEAUTIFUL RUINS by Jesse Walter for Joe, the New Yorker for Jerry, ONE SUMMER: AMERICA 1929 for Pat, THE BULLY PULPIT for John, and THE ORPHAN TRAIN for Hallie.
8am: Quick breakfast then back to our breakneck lives
Do you have a great getaway planned this summer, big or small? And for an extra summer treat, I have a copy of Rhys's QUEEN OF HEARTS (due out in August) for one lucky commenter...something to contribute to your little patch of summer heaven...
KATHY REEL IS THE WINNER OF RHYS'S NEW BOOK!
No getaways for us, I'm afraid. But yours sounds really marvelous! And thanks for the recipe . . . .
ReplyDeleteI had my getaway already. A couple weeks ago, I met up with my family for 5 days in Yosemite. We enjoyed relaxing and hiking to the falls. Nothing too stressful or serious, which was very nice. Not even much reading as I was spending time with all of them.
ReplyDeleteLucy, that fried clam/chowder/mashed potato dish looks great. I've never seen anything like it. Auntie Cha-Cha lived in Mashpee, and we sometimes got over to Long Pond. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteMy summer get away is right here in the back yard, and I'm very happy about it. This is the first summer in many years that I've been able to do anything like gardening. I'm so pleased to be able to fix up my hidden patio where it's cool and quiet. Kendall is enjoying spending time outside with me and relaxing in the shade. The guys can stay inside and watch their games. I love to sit out there and read... my getaway this year.
omg.omg. Lucy/Roberta - this sounds like purest heaven!!! I would have loved every second.
ReplyDeleteWe have some long weekend trips planned, but our "real" get-away will take place in September. a week at the beach, but it's a beach that has little to even less than little happening even at its busiest. And, it's doggie friendly. We love it and rent a house right on the beach there every year and we rarely leave it from arrival to check-out. Just sitting on the deck watching the waves roll in and out with books in hand and coffee close at hand. The crowning touch is one of THE best little bookstores on God's green earth - Quarter Moon Books, where I'll be doing a signing. And this year I'll be carrying along your recipes - Thank You!
Thanks Joan--maybe you'll get away in your mind?
ReplyDeleteMark, you must have been having fun if you weren't reading! Yosemite is lovely...
Reine, so glad you are able to enjoy your garden...
Kaye--that sounds wonderful--a bookstore near by in case you run out:). what state is it in?
It's Topsail Island, NC, Lucy
ReplyDeleteMy getaway is a trip to stay with my daughter and two granddaughters (ages four and eighteen months) for a week and bring them lots of new books. The rest of the summer my getaway is reading my own stack of books!
ReplyDeleteMy house is the getaway place for family and friends, so I rarely go away in the summer. We're having a full house the first half of July -- and then many visitors over the summer.
ReplyDeleteI was away last week -- mostly checking in on family -- but I saw Tyne Daly in "Mothers and Sons" one day.
Absolute bliss, though, was a visit to a friend who has a house right on a lake in Lee, MA. We relaxed and talked, ate, sat by the lake, and spent time at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge. I loved being a guest!!
What a fun time you all had! That antipasto is a work of art, Hallie.
ReplyDeleteI almost need a getaway from all my getaways this year, but I'll have one more before I settle down to the usual dull existence. Driving out to Wyoming, stopping to visit a longtime online pal first, then staying with beloved family members, then picking up my daughter and taking her with me to a fun ranch party. We will square dance, and barn dance, and trail ride, and eat like mad. My husband will join me, then we'll do the whole thing in reverse.
And then I'll probably collapse.
Luckily, there are lots of books to read on my Nook, for the cool nights in the mountains. Ahhh.
My idea of heaven is Long Pond with good friends for guests and lots of time to chat and swim and nap and read....and, oh yes, to eat great meals. Thanks for coming everyone
ReplyDeleteMy kind of getaway--good friends, great food, quiet times! But my 'getaways' are mostly related to work, so home is where I unwind--especially this summer, after that long, long winter. A couple of acres of garden, lawn, orchard, berries, grapes, flowers--birds, heaven with food and close company. If I'm really lucky, there'll be music--both teens at home and jamming together on piano and guitar.
ReplyDeleteDear Lucy, your idea of a fun getaway is my idea of a fun getaway! That sounds absolutely lovely.
ReplyDeleteThe Long Pond getaway sounds perfect. Good friends, good food, relaxing activities, and finishing up with some reading. Excellent!
ReplyDeleteMy upcoming getaway will be in September when an old friend (since kindergarten, which my mother taught) and I will meet in Orlando and drive on down to Key West, or as it should be called Roberta's Paradise. We will be staying four nights, and on the last full day we are meeting other friends off of the cruise boat for a day of absolute fun. These are girls we graduated with from high school and reconnected with during our last reunion in our hometown. As if that wasn't enough, my friend and I will return to Orlando for two nights where (drum roll) we will visit the Harry Potter world at Universal. Woohoo! This friend is the same one who took me to Busch Garden's Halloween event last year in Virginia. We do have a good time.
The getaway that I probably won't get to do this year that I so dearly want to do is the Long Beach Bouchercon. I'm still trying to scheme to get there, but it doesn't look likely. Will be in Raleigh the next year though.
Dear Lucy, that is my idea of the perfect getaway. I might want to sneak in a little more reading, an extra nap, and a hammock... And the food!!! I want Hallie's antipasti!!
ReplyDeleteOur little getaway this summer is going to be at our house. Our daughter and son-in-law are moving in with us today until the the remodel is finished on their new (old) house next door. There is going to be lots of cooking and grilling and stuff from the farmer's market, sitting on the deck with the dogs, and probably a homemade margarita or two.
ReplyDeleteMy idea of heaven is Long Pond with good friends for guests and lots of time to chat and swim and nap and read....and, oh yes, to eat great meals. Thanks for coming everyone
Lucy, that sounds perfect!
ReplyDeleteThat Long Pond sounds heavenly! No big trips planned this summer. I'm too busy getting my parents moved to a retirement community. However in September we're going to meet some friends in Deadwood, SD. I've never been but have been wanting to go check it out. See the Black Hills, Crazy Horse monument, Custer's last stand, Deadwood, Lead. Buffalo herds. All of it. I know I sound nuts but it really appeals to me. If I can't go to Scotland again yet. . .
ReplyDeleteDebs, I'm so envious of you that you will have your daughter living next door to you. I'm only an hour away from my daughter and her family, but it seems way too far when I want to hug one of my granddaughters.
ReplyDeletePat D, my husband and I have been wanting to take that trip, too. I'd love to hear how it goes for you and any tips you might have. My email is Kathy502@aol.com
Nothing planned but your 36 hours sounds wonderful!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely getaway you all enjoyed. And the food looks fantastic! I took my daughter and granddaughters to St Louis for a long weekend. We hit the City Museum (full of slides, tunnels, rides and a ferris wheel on the roof) and the Zoo the next day. The little ones had so much fun, it became a dream vacation.
ReplyDeleteSometimes those spur of the moment getaways are the best!
We have a house in Ellsworth, Maine and there is a lobster pot across the street!
ReplyDeleteWe used to go to Maine every summer to visit friends who live on Moody Mountain in Searsmont (inland from Camden). Then we got out of the habit when we got our children. Flash forward many years--My husband and I are driving from the Bangor airport south to Bar Harbor, planning some R&R before getting our daughter at camp. As we are driving, my husband is thinking, "I love Maine. It's crazy, but I'd love to have a house up here. Wonder what Libby would think about that?" At this moment I turned to him and ask,"What would you think about getting a house up here?" We almost went off the road!
We've never regretted it. It was such a great idea. We've met a bunch of wonderful people.
Why I didn't read? I'd read 2.5 books the week before, so it was nice to do something else.
ReplyDeleteThe bigger reason? My 4 almost 5 year old niece and my 18 month old nephew were there. I was enjoying spending time with them, and they do love Uncle Mark. When they were in bed, the entire family was playing games.
I mentioned we were having fun, right?
At some point this summer, I'll be taking the train to NJ, to my sister's home. The next day, we (my sister, her hubby, the 2 kids) will be on our way to Chincoteague VA for a week. We've been doing this since a year before their older child was born, and he just turned 22. On occasion, we've missed a year or two, due to financial or health reasons, but we go there often enough that all of us think of it as our second home. My sister's family spends most of the time on the beach. (They live in central NJ and don't often get to the beach. I live in a shore town in CT and I drive along the beach to get to and from work each day.) I spend about half my time in Chincoteague at the beach, and the other half at whatever house we've rented for the week, reading. When I'm at the beach, I walk on the trails or go to free programs at the visitor centers. It's great to have so much time to read, either at the beach or at the house. I bring about half a dozen books with me and buy more in Chincoteague. All of us are readers, and we make it a point to rent a house that's within walking distance of at least one store that sells books. Except for a couple of Used bookstores, most of the places there that have books also sell other items. We know ALL of these stores!
ReplyDeleteLast year my niece, who is a gifted artist, usually stayed away from the beach the same days that I did. She drew, while I read. Sometimes I went for walks downtown. When I would return, she'd often show me her drawings.
I'm getting homesick for Chincoteague as I write this! I'm going to check the calendar to see when our next trip is!
Love all your ideas, Reds--St. Louis, Deadwood, Chincoteague, Wyoming, home... and of course, Key West!
ReplyDeleteYour get away seems divine!
ReplyDeleteI had one at the beginning of june with 2 of my brothers. We went to Varadero for a week. As it was slow season, we had the place almost to ourselves. Every morning we would sit on the beach and my brother Alain would say : quelle vie sale (what dirty life ) , sarcastiic for WOW Wonderful... The last time we went together on vacations was 15 years ago, it was fabulous. But as we were in Cuba, the food was not as exquisite as yours.
Kathy Reel, ok I've got your email address. I'll report in when we've made the trip.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pat. It always helps to get advice from someone who's been there.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fantastic getaway
ReplyDeletenone planned here this year as we took 2 week vacation in May to head west -
a week in Idaho with my BFF since 1967 and DH headed to Calgary after dropping me off to spend time with his Uncle and cousins - then his brother drove up to Montana to border and all of them spent a day together before DH drove back to Idaho,
we spent my last day there with Cher and Paul.
Then DH and I did a marathon 2 day trip through Yellowstone and 1 days in Tetons before getting back on interstate to head home.
Got to spend a few hours each way with a dear online friend of 8 years who lives not far off interstate
other than spending so much time in the van, it was an awesome trip
I guess that was our Summer w/e away :)
I'm not going anywhere but I always have a great book to read with me at all times. Thank you for this opportunity! :)
ReplyDeleteMy vacation for this year is going to be to San Diego. It might not sound like much, but it is the one place on earth that makes me super happy. We are going from the 18th-21st of July, the 19th is my 30th Birthday - so this year it is going to be even more special. We are going to be going to this beach side restaurant for some really amazing calamari, a day at sea world and then some fun at Old Town. It is no castle (which is my DREAM to visit) but it works!
ReplyDeleteEvery summer, the week before I resume my duties as an adjunct law professor, I flee to a tiny cottage in Truro near Great Hollow Beach. I bring books, journals, magazines for collaging and lots of pillows. The screened porch at the cottage is as big as the rest of the whole house. There, we eat, drink, read, write and notice each year that less truly is more.
ReplyDelete