busy bee

Nothing like being busy and doing lots of fun things! The end of this summer brought with it lots of boat time where i was lucky enough to catch many many sunsets such as these...




The Navesink River and the Raritan Bay connect many little towns and there are lots of different places to "dock and dine" as they call it or to just dock for a swim on a random beach.


Makes it more fun if you have an eager frisbee player along for the ride. Isis was a timid passenger in the beginning, but the frisbee play quickly convinced her that boat rides brought good things.

She's the best.

September walks on the beach are also the best!

Mid September brought a long weekend trip down to South Carolina, just south of myrtle beach, with my cousins, to check out Coastal Carolina as a potential college destination. The eight hour drive seems like half that when you leave at four in the morning! Already deep into Virginia as the sun is coming up...


Stopped for some produce once we hit the dirty south. Love the way this stand transported their fruit! Guess the boxes should have alerted us that this may not have been all local produce!


In South Carolina golf carts are a way of life. I am very jealous of this fact. I want one.


Laying on the beach was the perfect extension of summer and the water was unbelievably warm and clear.


South Carolina remains one of my most favorite places ever and gets a huge thumbs up. Can't wait to relocate there one day...who's going with me?!

For some fall foliage, decided to head with the boys to the cabin in Equinunk, PA, on the delaware river. Friday night brought some beers and a bonfire.


Such a cute, small town. Really in the middle of nowhere. But that's what we love about it!!


Saturday we were driving around and stumbled upon a course in Hancock, NY that was designed by the famous golfer Bobby Jones. Despite having no clubs or appropriate attire, the views were too good to pass up and we rented what few clubs they could scrape up for us. I was just happy to drive the cart around.


It was a beautiful day.

Finally, just last weekend I had the privilege of attending my good friend sam's fabulous birthday weekend getaway to the Dominican Republic. The house he rented was about an hour and a half from the airport, across several mountain ranges and through many small towns. When we arrived at "casa kimball" we were all in awe of its beauty.


That first shot was my view from my room. The Infinity pool was the most amazing thing about the house, and we spent most of our time in it, playing pool volleyball and drinking fabulous drinks that the wonderful Wellington, the full-time bartenter/guest service master prepared for us (he's pictured below). The guy knows how to make the best bloody mary I have ever tasted. Hands down.

More shots of the house:



The food was also second to none and we enjoyed three square meals a day at this fabulous dinner table which rocked twenty people. We were truly spoiled.

We also managed to see some beautiful beaches, one a short drive to Playa Grande and the other a short walk down the cliff by the house.


The last night we were there, three of us ventured out into the heart of the small town Cabrera and watched some truly entertaining salsa dancing. I was forced to partake and learned very quickly that i cannot move my hips as they do. The locals were suprisingly welcoming and friendly. It might be time for some classes.


All in all it was a wildly entertaining four days where we were spoiled by the hospitality of the staff, and by the beauty of the surroundings and the sun.


Can't wait to see what the coming months will bring! Smile!

Ridin 2010

Seems like the summer is a busy one for all of us, but we managed to carve out some time for our now annual motorcycle road trip. With the addition of lovely little Mia, papa Pete came over to Todd's in the morning, so we ended up hitting the road a little later than last year. The other change from last year is that Pete was able to borrow a bike from a friend (sweet!) so that eliminated the need for a rental.
We were a little unorganized this year for some reason, and we hadn't really thought about where we wanted to go. My original plan took us wayyy out in WV and just wasn't feasible in the time we had. So, we set off towards Harper's Ferry. First stop, breakfast. Found this cute truck stop diner.


The plan, as usual, was to take as many back roads as possible and to put in as many hours on the bike as possible. This involves a lot of expert map reading.



We went down through Winchester, VA, and then into West Virginia. Right off the bat, we found some great roads.


Here are some "do-it-yourself" shots by pete. We had made it to Mt. Storm Lake in WV by this point and had stopped to take a breather.

After that stop, it was a game called beat the rain.

Yes, that rain. Luckily for us, we were able to play a pretty good game. We only had to stop twice for rain that was hard but fleeting. First stop was at Alpine's, a lucky find right before a downpour. It coincided perfectly with lunch. This was the inside of Alpine's, a real treat. Nothing like dining with stuffed animals. Yes, that's a bear on the ceiling and if you look closely, there are a few other heads to be found.

But the food was good and the service excellent and we finished just in time for the sun to pop back out.


Oh and that's pete in what we figured was one of the last remaining telephone booths in the east! Hit the road and went down through the Canaan Valley. Some shots:
Had one more emergent pit stop because of the rain, where the people of Dairy Queen were nice enough to let us park the bikes under the drive thru, and then we made it to Deep Creek Lake for the night. Had a great dinner, some beers, and a night's sleep and got back on the bikes in the a.m. headed east. So beautiful and so lush out in western maryland, we couldn't stop commenting on how everything was so green!

Now this is hard to see, but smack dab in the middle of that harley bag, on the top, there lies a piece of gum. That would be todd's gum, that he actually managed to stick there throwing it up in the air while riding in front of pete. Ah yes, the things that amuse us while on the road!

We were only gone for thirty-some hours, but, as always, its some of my favorite hours of the year! Being on the bike is complete freedom, and being with two of my favorite people makes it one hell of a ride! thanks boys :)

CAR SHOW 2010

Once a year in May, Ocean City turns into a hotspot for all lovers of vintage cars, classic cars, muscle cars, street rods, hot rods, whatever anyone may call them. It is quite the scene! This year surpassed all others in the decade in which i have been joining my family for this event, and there were more cars, and more spectators then ever.


THE CARS: My uncle Chris drove the red Oldsmobile on the left down from the Boston area, my uncle pat drove the middle 442 Oldsmobile up from Tampa with his wife, my aunt kay, and the red convertible Cutlass oldsmobile was driven by my uncle butch out from columbia. Yes, these are Oldsmobile people! (i was going to try and give the years of the cars but i am too afraid of the wrath should i mess them up :) )


Thursday and Friday both start out with an early parade down the boardwalk. The weather was perfect both days! check out the ocean - an early morning empty beach is one of my favorite things.



Friday brought out a ton of drivers and a ton of spectators. The boardwalk was packed with people filming the parade and taking photos of their favorite cars.

That's myself, my aunt chrissy and her sister anne. We are the crowd- proclaimed 442 girls! (And likely the only ones in the parade perched in the back of a convertible waving to people like we are beauty queens, but whatever! we have fun.)

After the parade, we chill in the inlet. Everyone gets to walk around and look at all the cars. I also like to sunbathe.

I just think its pretty cool when you are stopped at a red light and this is what you see behind you. Takes me back. No wait, I was never there! Maybe thats why I like it so much, it brings me to an era that I think was super cool.


Here's the clan at one of the show venues, Harpoon Hanna's. From left to right, my uncle butch, aunt kay, uncle pat, aunt maureen, mom, dad (gotta give a shout out to my dad who made it down for the first time, good job dad), uncle chris, anne, steve and my aunt chrissy. And then me with my aunt chrissy.

Something you must have in your car: dice.

Something you may also have? A funny sign:

Oh, I saw what must have been the original smart car! well, not quite. A 1972 honda, i believe, the first honda ever made...tiny.

And one of my favorites...


All in all, it was a great show, a great opportunity to hang with the Higgins side of my family, good times. I wish I had some pictures of the crowds that lined the streets at night just sitting and watching these cars peel out and burn rubber. I also wish i had some footage of the police chasing after them! Anyone ever have an opportunity to visit OC during this show, I would highly recommend it! It is quite the American experience.