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COVID-19 Journal: Banker Chick Doesn’t Travel…. Exploring Slower Lower Delaware

July 5, 2020April 29, 2023bankerchicktravelsLeave a comment

Make no mistake – I love traveling internationally. I love the challenge and excitement of learning about a different culture. I love trying (usually poorly) to communicate in a foreign language. I love navigating the unfamiliar. I love embarking on an airplane to travel somewhere, anywhere, far away. But sometimes it’s nice, and sometimes it’s necessary, to stay closer to home.

In addition to flexibility in pandemic times, here are some other advantages of a closer-to-home trip:

Bring anything, and anyone, that fits in the car, including the dog or cat!
If you can’t schedule a long trip, a short one still works – even a day trip.
No jet lag or time zone adjustment
No costly airport parking, TSA lines, or mechanical delays
Given proximity and lower cost, frequent return trips are possible if you fall in love with the destination

Just like everyone else, my 2020 travel plans were derailed by COVID-19. This year’s scratched itineraries included a wine tasting trip to Napa Valley in April, a trip to London and the Cotswolds in June, and a trip to Lake Como and Tuscany (more wine!) in September. Instead, I have spent these months of COVID lockdowns and restrictions in a much more accessible location: Lewes, Delaware. We had planned to spend many summer weekends in Lewes this year, but when the virus began its assault on the New York area in March, like many second homeowners in the area, we grabbed our stuff and drove over the giant Delaware Memorial Bridge to our beach escape. Husband and I purchased a second home here two years ago with an eye toward eventually retiring in this tax-friendly state, that has the added advantage of being relatively close to jobs and kids in New Jersey.

Delaware is proud to be the first established state in the US, but remains one of the smallest with fewer than 1 million inhabitants and only covering about 2500 square miles – less than 2% of the size of California. Delaware’s largest city, Wilmington, has only 70,000 residents, and the entire state is still covered by one area code, 302. Our home is located in Sussex County, the southernmost of Delaware’s three counties and the only one with an Atlantic coastline.

Locals happily refer to the area as “Slower Lower Delaware”, or SLD for short. (You will see destination stickers using the letters LSD – cute- but SLD is the real deal). The Delaware Beaches, as they are more officially known, are within a 2 hour drive of the fast-paced, pressure-filled areas surrounding Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and less than 4 hours from NYC, but visitors here enjoy an entirely different tempo (at least in the offseason: October – April). Just to the south is Ocean City, Maryland, a bustling seaside city full of high rise resorts and an amusement-filled boardwalk. To the north, across the Delaware Bay, via a car ferry, is the southern tip of New Jersey and charming, Victorian Cape May.

Dogs are permitted at many local beaches, check before you go

Squarely situated on the heavily populated Eastern Seaboard, the Delaware Beaches seem magically distant, sparsely populated, and full of open space to enjoy. The flat, open land lends itself to the kind of beautiful sunsets I remember from growing up in the Midwest, and I think they are a highlight of the area. Here are just a few recent sunset snapshots:

The area is very popular with hundreds of thousands of summer visitors who flock to the area mainly to enjoy its 25 mile Atlantic Coast, along with beach towns, boardwalks, and the busy Rt. 1 strip with restaurants, outlet malls, mini golf, and a go-cart track. However, just a bit further inland are bays and inlets for boaters and fishermen, golf courses galore, walking and biking trails, serene ponds, cornfields, farmsteads, and dairy farms boasting fresh ice cream.

Fresh from the Cow ice cream, along aptly named Dairy Farm Road

An entrance to the shady Breakwater Junction walking and biking trail

Area highlights include :

Rehoboth Beach is the vacation hub of the Delaware Beach area. In Downtown Rehoboth, visitors will find cute shops, culinarily sophisticated restaurants, lively bars, and a classic activity-filled boardwalk with kiddie rides, games, and beachy snack delights such as french fries, saltwater taffy, and of course ice cream. Dogfish Head Brewery, headquartered in nearby Milton, recently completed construction of a large restaurant and entertainment venue right on Rehoboth Ave, the town’s primary street. And best of all, the lifeguarded beach off the boardwalk is free!

Dewey Beach is located on a narrow strip of land between the ocean and Rehoboth Bay – you’re never more than 1/4 mile from a waterfront in Dewey. Dewey is known for attracting a younger crowd, and has a number of live music venues and clubs.

Heading south down Rt 1 from Dewey through a state park and over the scenic Indian River Inlet bridge brings the traveler to one of my favorite spots, Bethany Beach. Known as the “the quiet beach”, Bethany’s nickname says it all. The town boasts an adorable, small downtown with plenty of shopping and dining options, and a small boardwalk meant for strolling rather than partying. Sea Colony is a large resort complex just south of downtown featuring several pools, a tennis complex, and private beach access.

0987cf9563615023026842732734e7bd_a6e07be0-f42c-9ec8-46e642cc077b748a — Photo courtesy of VisitDelaware.com

Lewes is the transit point for the ferry from Delaware to Cape May, New Jersey, but offers so much more. The “first town in the First State” was founded in the 1600s and served as a launching point for all things naval. It’s a bit less of a tourist destination than the other towns, all of which include an Atlantic coastline; Lewes’ beaches are on the Delaware Bay. The regional high school and hospital are located in Lewes, and in addition to being the northernmost point of “the Beaches”, the town offers a quaint, boating-oriented downtown evocative of Newport, RI or Kennebunkport, ME. In my opinion, it’s the hidden gem of the Delaware beach scene. (it’ also my new hometown, so I’m a little biased!)

Take what you need, Give what you can free food pantry in Lewes

Lightship Overfalls, a museum ship and one of only 17 remaining lightships

Marking the entrance to the Delaware Bay, Cape Henlopen State Park is the environmental gem of the area. With 6 miles of bay and ocean shoreline, CHSP is accessible from both Lewes (on the bay side of the Cape) and Rehoboth (on the ocean side). Automobiles can enter the park for $10/day, but are unable to traverse through the park from Lewes to Rehoboth, presumably to prevent traffic from using the park as a bypass for busy Rt. 1. However, bicycles and pedestrians can access the entire park; a fantastic 16 mile loop takes the rider or walker from Lewes to Rehoboth and back across Gordon’s Pond and down the Junction Breakwater Trail. Bird and wildlife enthusiasts and those seeking solitude can enjoy the pine-edged trails, lighthouses, campgrounds, WWII watchtowers, surfing, fishing, and inland waterway access along with natural, unobstructed beach views.

WWII Watchtowers line the Delaware beach shorefront

Although the Delaware beaches offer plenty of activities, daytrips are possible to Philadelphia, Washington DC, Annapolis, Victorian Cape May (via ferry), or Maryland’s eastern shore (Chincoteague Island is a very popular day trip – or camp overnight for a better chance to see the fabled wild horses).

While there are some hotels and B & B’s in the area, the vast majority of lodging for travelers is found in private homes or condominiums rented out by their owners through local realtors or on VRBO, HomeAway, or AirBNB. This type of lodging contributes to the family-friendly nature of the Delaware beaches and keeps costs down, allowing groups or families to rent a multi-bedroom space with laundry and a kitchen for self-prepared meals.

This post would be remiss without mentioning the Delaware Beaches’ alternate moniker: the “Culinary Coast”. While Rt. 1 is full of standard restaurant chains, the towns are full of small, locally owned foodie-friendly restaurants. Cuisines range from prevalent coastal (think crab cakes, lobster, fish tacos, and soft-shell crab), to farm-to-table, to Mexican, steakhouses, pizza, barbecue, French, and Asian. There are also a number of locally established breweries, including well-known Dogfish Head, and even a couple of decent wineries. We’ve done our best to keep them all busy by ordering takeout during COVID. Here is an incomplete list of our favorites, with links and in no particular order:

Agave, Lewes – upscale Mexican – try the guacamole sampler!
La Fable, Rehoboth – French, cabaret-style
Salt Air, Rehoboth – Organic, farm-to-table
1776 , Midway mall, Rehoboth, classic steakhouse
Bethany Blues, Lewes and Bethany- family-friendly barbecue where the bar specializes in bourbon
Striper Bites, Lewes – coastal specialty with a fun bar scene
The Purple Parrot Grill , downtown Rehoboth – the food is good, but come here for the very lively bar/biergarten scene and particularly for karaoke on Friday and Saturdays
Irish Eyes, Lewes – Irish/American dining on the Lewes waterfront, live music many evenings
Rustic Acres Farm Market, Holland Glade Road, Rehoboth – barbecue, bakery, and fresh ice cream
Touch of Italy, multiple locations including Lewes and Rehoboth, reasonably authentic Italian – OMG THE CHICKEN PARM!!!
Chesapeake & Maine, downtown Rehoboth – seafood with live music almost every night, part of the Dogfish Head complex
Matt’s Fish Camp , Lewes and Bethany – coastal / seafood
Houston White, downtown Rehoboth, steakhouse
Iron Hill Brewery, just outside Rehoboth – great for a large party, this small chain out of Philadelphia has a large tented patio and their own proprietary brews
2nd Street Tavern, Lewes – American (fried green tomatoes topped w/ crabmeat is my favorite), lively with live music or sports on TV and big open Victorian porch
Revelation Brewery & DaNizza pizza truck, Rehoboth – like eating in your friend’s backyard (that cool friend who makes their own beer)
La Tonalteca, on Rt 1 outside of Rehoboth – inexpensive but great Mexican, with several local restaurants, colorful seating, and great margaritas

Please note – just because a restaurant isn’t listed above, doesn’t mean it isn’t great! To survive the quiet offseason, you need to be GOOD. We just haven’t visited them all…..

If there’s a silver lining to all of the grief and stress caused by the COVID pandemic, it’s that my job has pivoted to primarily work-from-home. As a result, our relocation to Delaware is now on the fast track, and I’ll be spending a lot more time here. I guess I’ll just have to learn to love biking trails, parks, beaches, quaint towns, a slower pace, beautiful sunsets, and great food. And I’ll have to learn to tolerate all the Orioles and Phillies fans, instead of the NY ones I’ve gotten used to 🙂

Colmar: Soggy days and Indian food – but the Oo-la-la prevails

January 25, 2020January 19, 2020bankerchicktravels6 Comments

The final stop on our fall 2019 trip was Colmar, France, which we reached by taking the “scenic route” Alpine through southern Germany, the western edge of Austria, and Switzerland. Unfortunately the route disappointed due to heavy rain and fog, which obscured the views of the mountains and Lake Constance, and increased the traffic. Oh well, now we have a reason to return… At the very least, it was interesting crossing all of the borders – we had to buy a vignette to drive through Switzerland, and we got confused and bought it in Austria when we thought we were already in Switzerland. Good thing, though, as we avoided a long line at the Swiss border, which unlike the other borders we had crossed was manned with gates and military personnel.

The border exiting Switzerland, back to Germany on our way to France

After the whirlwind of Munich during Oktoberfest, the slower, off-season pace of the Alsace region was just what the doctor ordered. We stayed in an apartment found on Booking.com: Les Appartements Saint-Martin. Tucked away in a courtyard in the shadow of Eglise Saint-Martin, our room was comfortable and well-stocked. It was a bit of an adventure on narrow cobblestoned one-way streets finding the place, and then finding the free parking lot which was about 3/4 mile away, but the location couldn’t have been better for wandering Colmar’s timeworn avenues.

Rue des Marchands, where our apartment was located. Cars can actually drive on these streets (?!)

After 9 days traveling in Germany, we were looking forward to the change in cuisine from pork-and-potato heavy German food to the French-influenced Alsatian dishes and bakeries. Our first night in Colmar, we made our way to “Le Petite Venise”, a scenic neighborhood interspersed with canals, and were lucky to find a table at Brasserie Schwendi, a popular cafe. Here we tried the two house specialties:

un biere et un petit vin – these tall, small glasses are unique to Alsace

Tarte Flambee is a flatbread made with ham, onions, and goat cheese, and Roasti with Pork, comes in a cast iron skillet and was, basically, pork-and-potatoes, but with cream and cheese to make it even more fattening. We weren’t complaining, it was delicious! Oo-la-la!

We had two full days to spend in Colmar before heading toward Frankfurt and our flight home. The first, a Saturday, was spent wandering the little town. It was chilly and rainy, so we took it pretty easy, but my activity app still says we clocked over 6 miles. We performed all the classic tourist Oo-la-la activities: shopping in the stylish French boutiques, stopping for coffee and pastry in a cute bakery, visiting the cheesy gift shops, exploring the church, trying out my very limited French, and taking photos of the quaint little town.

The years have taken a toll on this pretty house

We also visited two wine tasting rooms – a great activity for a bad weather day when you aren’t driving! I can recommend both Domaine Martin Jund and Domaine Karcher. We actually ordered wine from Domaine Karcher and shipped it home to stock our wine room with excellent, well priced whites. The wines cost as little as $6/bottle, although shipping costs are high so it only makes sense to send a full case or two.

Although it was decidedly not Colmar’s peak season, it was a Saturday, and there seemed to be many visitors in the town, primarily French and German speaking. We didn’t have a dinner reservation – MISTAKE! – and were surprised that a number of restaurants were “Complet” – full and not accepting more diners, even if we were willing to wait. Some actually had signs on the door – don’t even bother asking. The better restaurants in Colmar don’t try to turn tables the way American restaurants do – they seem satisfied with one seating per table. After trying a number of places in the La Petite Venise area, we wandered back toward our apartment with the intention of finding dinner at a little Italian place just across the street. On the way, though, we discovered Le Maharajah, a small, family-run Indian restaurant on Grand Rue – what a find! Maybe we were just so tired of the pork-and-potatoes that the different cuisine woke up our taste buds, but we really enjoyed the food here. Online reviews of Le Maharajah (which doesn’t have a website) aren’t spectacular, but we are glad we ignored them.

On our second day in Colmar, a Sunday, all of the shops were closed as expected. So we took to the Route-des-vins, the Wine Road that winds through the lower Alsace region. We didn’t go as far as Strasbourg, which is the largest city in the area, because we were a little citied-out after Munich. We intended on visiting a chateau high above the little town of Riquewihr, but once again the weather daunted us, and the chateau was enveloped in clouds so we skipped it. We also tried to stop at the harvest Wine Festival in Eguisheim, but were unable to find parking within the tiny, walled city – it was raining again, and we didn’t want to be too far from the car – so we left in a bit of frustration. Here are a couple of photos from our drive:

Foreground: vineyard Background: Riquewihr

That evening, we ended up back at Brasserie Schwendi – not very creative, but we seemed to hit a wall thanks to the bad weather. We enjoyed meeting a Chinese couple who spoke excellent English; they had been traveling for 23 days throughout France – these are always my favorite travel moments. I’m always jealous of those who can travel for such a long period of time.

Our 3 days and 2 nights in Colmar was dampened by, well, the damp … but we enjoyed it enough to want to return one day in sunnier, warmer weather! We both noticed the not-so-subtle change in culture from Germany to France: Germans are more precise; French are unhurried; Germans will gladly tell you what to do; French will laugh at your mistakes but allow you to make them; French clothing is more chic and polished. I have both German and French lineage and it became a joke that “my German was showing” every time I tried to rush Husband or dictate our next move. I’m not sure what happened to my French blood, because I am definitely not unhurried or stylish! I can’t even bake well. But, I do enjoy wine so… Oo-la-la!

Driving the German Autobahn: Where are the potholes?

November 11, 2019bankerchicktravels1 Comment

Hooray! Husband and I have arrived in Frankfurt, Germany at the start of a new 12 day trip that will take us to several destinations: the Rhine Valley region, a short stop on the Romantic Road, Munich for Oktoberfest, a daytrip to Salzburg, Austria, and the Alsace region of France. We rented a car for the entire trip.

We rented through a US company called Gemut.com, which specializes in European and particularly German vehicle rentals for US citizens. I liked the idea of having a US 1-800 number to call in an emergency, with the promise of an English speaker on the other end of the line. Plus, the price was good – really good. Gamut books German rentals through a consolidator called Auto Europe, for a car rental with Europcar. The price was 10-20% less than booking directly to either of those websites. I also priced out Sixt and Hertz, two other big providers. Gemut was also very responsive when I had questions prior to the trip.

Side Note: I’m a Hertz Gold Club member through ownership of a Marriott Vacation Club property, and their prices are just never, ever competitive. Why is that?

We found the Europcar desk and because we had arrived early, the car I had reserved, a 4 door sedan with automatic transmission in the Premium category (BMW, Mercedes, or Audi) wasn’t available yet. I’m not sure I believe that one would have suddenly become available in the next 45 minutes, but whatever. The major difference in what we got was that it was not a sedan, but a station wagon. Maybe not as “sexy” from an American point of view, but as the Europcar agent noted, Germans looooove their station wagons. This proved true – there aren’t many SUVs on the roads here, but a plethora of high-end wagons. My guess is they are more aerodynamic than a behemoth SUV. Also, the agent waived the usual charge for a second authorized driver – we knew we both wanted to drive here. So, no harm no foul. 5 doors instead of 4. All good. I neglected to take a good photo of our actual car, but here is the general idea (credit bmw.com):

I declined the CDW insurance, after reading and rereading the terms and benefits of my Sapphire card – we were clearly covered as primary insurance, this saved us hundreds of dollars. Always read the fine print though : there are exclusions, such as not having the primary cardholder as the renter, super high-end exotic cars, and tires and windshields. In contrast to experiences I’ve had renting cars in the US, the German Europcar agent did not press us to buy any insurance.

We spent a good 15 minutes in the rental car garage, figuring out the car’s menu, setting up bluetooth, and getting the navigation, etc. to work in English rather than German:

Eventually we got it set up and entered our first destination, tiny Oberwesel on the Rhine River, about an hour from the airport. I don’t like to plan a long drive after a sleep-deprived overnight flight, so I always try to keep the first destination within an hour.

The car ended up having a “pop-up display”, visible to the driver only, displaying the vehucle’s speed, speed limits, and navigational information including directions onto the lower windshield. This ended up being very useful. We drove over 1800 kilometers on this trip – about 800 miles – and experienced road closures, border crossings, lots of construction, small cities with narrow cobblestone streets, and widely varying speed limits.

I was impressed with the car’s technology. In addition to the pop up display, parking sensors, and lane deviation/ correction capability, we were frequently rerouted around traffic, and the car seemed to know where every speed limit change occurred. On the highway, speed limit changes were numerous and frequent, and it wouldn’t have been easy for the driver to notice every sign. This car not only displayed the limit, but on both the dashboard and the pop up window, our speed would display as red if we were over the limit, white if under it.

Things you see on German highways, part 1

I was also impressed with German highways – the “Autobahn” in general. Here, an important side note/ question: am I the only American who thought there was ONE Autobahn? If so, feel free to laugh at me. “The German Autobahn” turns out to be any major highway starting with “A”. And many, many miles of these “A” roads indeed have speed limits, especially through construction zones and congested city areas. But – then you see a speed limit with a line through it, usually in a wide open, rural area – and there it is – the limitless Autobahn of lore. *tingle*

Things you see on German highways, Part 2

We did experience a fair amount of traffic, especially around Munich (Oktoberfest brings in 6,000,000+ visitors so this was hardly surprising) and often there were brief slowdowns caused by construction. It seems as though every 10-20 miles, lanes were closed. Bridges, tunnels, open stretches. Germany is spending heavily on road infrastructure. The result, over our 800-plus-mile journey ? NO potholes. And NO accidents. The highways are correctly graded, with minimal intersections and wide exit and entrance lanes. We dealt with a lot of rain, but no ponding of water on the road. These roads are well maintained.

Things you see on German highways, Part 3

So, want to hear about our little bit of adventure in the limitless Autobahn?
Both Husband and I kind of like to drive fast. We are from New Jersey, after all. But, we also consider ourselves to be safe drivers, never tailgating , minimizing lane changes, and keeping with the flow of traffic. We’re just unlikely to be driving in the right lane, content behind a tractor trailer.

When we hit the limitless areas, we typically enjoyed driving along with most of the other left lane vehicles at 150-170 kilometers per hour ( in the 80-90 mph range). It was rare, however that we could go much faster than this – due to rain, wet roads, and congestion, we hesitated to really test out the BMW’s potential. But , over the course of the trip, each of us got the golden opportunity we were looking for – a wide, 3 lane road , dry conditions, no cars in front of us, and a straightaway with long forward views. When we got that chance …. yep, we punched the gas pedal.

It should be noted that drivers in Germany are much more vigilant about the ‘keep right, pass left” laws that also exist in the States, but are rarely followed, at least where I live. Trucks are almost never seen out of the right lane. And when in the left lane, if a driver sees a faster approaching car in the review mirror, they move to the right. How refreshing !!

Our top speeds were only maintained for a few seconds each, and then we returned to the safer, slightly slower speeds.

The display in kph added to the rush we experienced – seeing “200” on the gauge. Yikes! Husband won the top speed award, hitting 219 kph (136mph!). We were both more than thrilled by the experience.

One final note for those who might be considering driving in Germany, but traveling across country borders. In either Switzerland or Austria, a vignette (toll sticker) is required, and must be purchased either before entering the country, or immediately thereafter in the case of Austria / at the border in the case of Switzerland.

Austrian vignette on top; Swiss vignette on bottom

Vignettes are available at most gas stations and convenience stores near the border. The Austrian sticker cost about $10 for a 10-day pass; the Swiss sticker was only available for the year, and cost about $40. It will be a lucky day for any future drivers who rent the same car and want to drive into Switzerland in 2019, I guess… We were glad we purchased our vignette before crossing the Swiss border, because there was a long line for cars waiting to purchase their stickers.

Our German/Austrian/Swiss/French driving experience was, at times, all of the following:

Enlightening
Exhilarating
Rainy
Scenic
Fun
Exhausting?

It’s a good thing Husband trusts my driving…

Irish beauty and wisdom in Doolin and the Cliffs of Moher

March 31, 2019March 7, 2020bankerchicktravels3 Comments

Finally I’m back to wrap up my summer 2018 Scotland/Ireland trip with Oldest. Apologies for the delay!

After a wonderful three nights in Killarney, we set off on another driving adventure. After a little difficulty rescuing our car from a garage (it wouldn’t accept my Euro note, I had to go back to the hotel to exchange), we headed toward Doolin via the Shannon Ferry (https://www.shannonferries.com). It’s a more direct “as the crow flies” route than driving around the mouth of the Shannon, through Limerick City, and also makes for a p’sretty journey up the Clare coast. The Ferry runs every half hour in both directions during the busier summer months, but we managed to drive up just in time to see one pulling away. The wait was not unpleasant, however, as we enjoyed watching other families stretch their legs along the Shannon as our cars queued.

Shortly after exiting the ferry, we stopped over in the little beach town of Lahinch, where we enjoyed an ice cream and a walk along the beach:

From Lahinch, the winding road into the tiny town of Doolin provided some beautiful views, including this one of Doonagore Castle, with Doolin down below it to the right in the photo:

Doonagore Castle

Our one night stay in Doolin was a return to the friendliest B & B’s at which I have ever had the pleasure to rest. Daly’s House B&B (http://www.dalys-doolin.com) only boasts a handful of rooms, but they are sweet, cozy, with updated bathrooms, and impeccably clean. We were greeted by Susan, who truly seems overjoyed to meet and chat with each and every guest. The first time I stayed here, Husband and I had endured several windblown, rainy days and a treacherous drive through an Atlantic storm to arrive here; Susan’s sunny smile and hot tea made all our crankiness disappear.

This time, with much brighter weather, we were treated to “happy hour” on Susan’s flower-filled patio, with other guests and her tiny dog Ted – short for Teddy Bear, which is exactly what he looked like.

Oldest with Ted – a very friendly doggie!

My sweet room at Daly’s House

After a brief rest at Susan’s, we decided to enjoy the beautiful day by exploring the little town of Doolin by foot. There are probably less than 25 buildings in the town proper, so this shouldn’t take long.

As we walked further out of town, the land became increasingly bucolic. We met a donkey, and some cows. I had decided not to take my phone on the walk – vacation is all about disconnecting, right? However, this proved to be a serious mistake.

As we wandered, I came across a beautiful scene. On a hill upabove us, stood a mother horse and her foal. With a cloud-streaked sky behind them, they appeared to be “kissing” nose to nose. I gasped at the beautiful scenery, reached for my phone to take a photo and…. @@#$!*!$# UGH! What was I thinking? I watched the scene for just a few more seconds, wanting to soak in the image, and then … you guessed it…. sprinted (as best a middle aged banker can sprint) back to Susan’s for my phone, and then back again to the hill with the horses.

You can probably guess how this story ends: by the time I returned, the horses had moved out of position. The foal was lying down. Mom was still on the hill, but at a different angle:

Sigh. I’m glad I was able to capture this photo, at least. Time for a multiple choice quiz: What was the wisdom gained from this experience?

A: Never leave your phone/camera behind

B: Enjoy the moment, because it will pass quickly

C: Appreciate something, like the photo above, even when it isn’t “perfect”

D: All of the above

Go to Ireland to find the answer 😉

We enjoyed the rest of the evening at O’Connor’s pub, where we dined on traditional fish and chips and enjoyed a trad session in a bar full of Americans:

The next morning, we woke early to the sound of birds tweeting, cattle lowing, chickens clucking, and horses neighing to herald another beautiful day. After a delicious breakfast at Susan’s, we headed out for our day’s activity: The Doolin Cliff Walk with Pat Sweeney.

Meeting outside of O’Connor’s pub, Pat leads a group of explorers from Doolin town south and rambling up, up, up along the coastal cliffs to the towering, 700-foot Cliffs of Moher. http://www.doolincliffwalk.com . Pat’s website doesn’t specifically state the distance walked, but the walk does indeed take about 3 hours. I’d guess the distance at about 5 miles.

Pat himself, a local 4th generation farmer, developed the trail, which winds along the rising cliffs through adjoining farmer’s lands, as a way to boost the local economy. Doolin is the closest town to the Cliffs, which are probably the most famous stopping point along Ireland’s “Wild Atlantic Way”, and Pat recognized that higlighting this fact would bring more tourists -and euro – to the town. Over the course of 10 years, he convinced 36 farmers – 36 stubborn Irish farmers – to allow a trail to be built along the western edge of their lands.

In building the trail, Pat heeded his mother’s advice, which is sage for anyone, but especially salespeople:

Take no as a maybe!
(Pat Sweeney’s mom)

He was almost 100% successful … but there are a few, particularly intractable holdouts, which results in some fence climbing heroics for Pat’s hikers. Hence, Pat has dubbed his tour the “ADVENTURE TOUR! to the Cliffs of Moher”. I must capitalize ADVENTURE TOUR! because that is how Pat says it. The description is apt. Here are a few photos from our ADVENTURE TOUR!

looking back North toward Doolin, with Irish Flag in the foreground

Pat grew up along these cliffs, and told tales of jumping off of the shorter ones, playing in the wild, wavy Atlantic ocean and tide pools as a boy with his brothers. Hence, he is extremely surefooted, and did not hesitate to test the cliff edges:

At one particularly treacherous point, where a farmer refused access, the trekkers on our cliff walk were required to step over a steep crag, with the cliffs plunging over 400 feet below. One of our group had an unfortunate fear of heights (oops!) , so for him this truly was an ADVENTURE TOUR! But as Pat liked to remind us “I haven’t lost one yet! Hee Hee Hee!” His high-pitched laugh – incongruous for a big, burly farmer – really kept us all laughing despite the heart-thumping nature of the journey.

I waited to take this photo until I had successfully navigated the most adventurous part of the ADVENTURE TOUR!

Eventually, we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher Visitors’ Center , where we enjoyed a snack and toilet break. Then Pat took us even further, to the less-visited southern vantage point, looking back goward the Cliffs:

The Cliff Walk was yet another highlight of our trip. While unfortunately not recommended for the faint hearted, disabled, or those with a fear of heights, the walk is certainly accessible for anyone with a moderate level of fitness. And Pat’s stories, told in his lilting Irish brogue and puncutated by his “hee hee hee” high pitched laughter, made it easy to forget I was climbing 700 feet from sea level to the Cliffs (until the next day, when my legs reminded me!).

Doolin was by far the most rural destination of this trip, and I found peace and wisdom in the broad skies, rocky cliffs, pastoral scenes, and welcoming, “living in the moment” personalities of Susan Daly and Pat Sweeney.

The Ring of Kerry: sometimes those “Best of” lists have it right

January 13, 2019January 13, 2019bankerchicktravels1 Comment

Any search of “things to do in Ireland” will undoubtedly include a tour of the famous Ring of Kerry. It’s often cited as one of Ireland’s top sights to see: #6 on this list, 2nd on this one, and at the top of Frommer’s “best scenic drives in Ireland”. What is the ring? It’s a driving route around the Iveragh peninsula, hugging the Atlantic coast closely and circling through the towns of Killarney and Kenmare, as well as Killarney National Park.

screen shot 2019-01-13 at 10.11.30 am

It’s also offers breathtaking scenery including the ocean, mountains, cliffs, lakes, waterfalls, fields, domesticated animals, and wildlife. And although I’d been to Killarney before, I had never driven the full Ring around the peninsula, only the bit near town and the Killarney National Park. Here is a preview of a few of my photos from the area:

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See? breathtaking!

So you know I’m a planner, but my plans usually leave a bit of flexibility. I was planning to drive the 111-mile Ring myself; many tourists do it every day, and although there are harrowing stories involving oncoming buses, I figured my approximately 20,000,000 hours of commuting time spent on Rt 287 in New Jersey leaves me well prepared for just about anything. I even made a map with scenic pit stops and approximate drive times. But, as the day approached, and as I spent as a passenger on the “wrong” side in Scotland, I realized that if I drove myself, I would not be able to fully enjoy the scenery. So when Dave, our Corporate Transfer driver from Dublin, offered us contact information for his friend Aidan at Killarney Chauffeur, I took him up on it. We booked a day with Aidan and never looked back.

Aidan arrived around 9 am in a beautiful BMW 5 series, which was a nice upgrade from the rattletrap I had been driving. The day started out a bit overcast, but the gloom added to Kerry’s atmostphere (and we eventually found the sun once again). After a brief stop at the Aghadoe viewpoint just outside of Killarney, we drove through the tiny town of Killorglin.

In the center of Killorglin is the statue of a goat, named King Puck. Aidan explained that the goat had warned residents of the approach of Cromwell’s army, earning himself such a royal title. There is an annual “Puck Fair” in his honor as well. A very accomplished goat!

Just beyone Killorglin, we stoped at a roadside display of crafts that Aidan recommended, and once again came upon the sight of a dog… sitting on a donkey. I guess this is a thing in County Kerry?

sbigzbfhqlu1ymrd9x%pgq — Dogs + donkeys. Why?

Next, we stopped by the beach in Rossbeigh, which looks across to the Dingle Peninsula. Somehow I’m still surprised to see beaches in Ireland.

rfv9tkvmtuwt2skc8xvbcw — checking out a portion of Rossbeigh beach

Aidan offered us an educational tidbit here and there, including a brief explanation of common town name origins around Ireland:

Kill = church

Bally = Town of

There are a number of ancient ring forts around Kerry, and we had told Aidan we were interested to see one. He took us to Cahergall Stone Fort, which we were able to climb and take a few fun photos:

ocbdr4a3ramd+ypaajdsbw — I’m the King of the World!

Just outside the fort, I took one of my favorite photos of this trip. This home is so peaceful looking, I think I could live here, very happily:

Valentia Island was our next stop, offering dramatic, steep cliffs and views back to the larger island. Aidan took us by the Valentia slate quarry, bored deep into a mountain: qjs+mnnfqvyncme8hvdmua

You may or may not have noticed in the photo above, but Mary watches over it all:

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Beyond the quarry, we stretched our legs by hiking up to Bray Head on Valentia:

el25km4zsrqnix+rhemwmq — Skellig Michael, filming site for Luke Skywalker’s home in “The Last Jedi”, in the far distance

XgMM%1l0RnGVxBA%jT23ig.jpg — Looking across toward Portmagee

After a stop in Portmagee at The Moorings for a very pleasant lunch, we arrived at the Kerry Cliffs. By now, Aidan had figured out that we like taking photos on cliffs. We worked off our lunch hiking to the top, which was only about 2/3 mile from the parking lot, but fairly steep. Also, the sun came out while we were at lunch!

+lazm4l3tx2y+aqfof7ukw — Skellig Michael, closer now, in the distance.

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On our way to put those calories back on at the Skellig Chocolate Factory, I spotted an abandoned cottage that I tried photographing from several angles. I thought the sky, clouds, and shadows seemed almost surreal. I do need to photoshop out the antennae, but I love these photos. You tell me which is best:

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We completed our trip around the Ring with stops in Caherdaniel:

t9888jzysmanttgxi3cw5g — Mary is very popular in Ireland

8xwlgzd+szshrkkvzpzqew — Somehow, we will pass that car, and no one will fall off a cliff

The bright little town of Sneem:

dzxxif4jqvs7gewe6drtvg — Just the cheeriest looking pub ever

And a few views across Killarney National Park:

xxhhfkp2qqqihlza101deg — An overlook known as Ladies’ View, where Queen Victoria’s laides-in-waiting visited in 1861

Now, 111 miles may not sound like a lot – here in America, barring traffic, it’s an easy 2 hour drive. But attempting the ROK in anything under 6 hours is a foolhardy endeavor, due to a combination of low speeds; windy, narrow roads; and the absolute compulsion to photograph nearly everything in sight. My iphone says I took 133 photos on our trip around the ring – and it wasn’t enough. Guess I need to go back!!

Dingle All the Way

January 7, 2019January 13, 2019bankerchicktravelsLeave a comment

From our base in Killarney, Oldest and I next headed to one of my favorite spots in Ireland: the Dingle Peninsula. While it’s definitely worthwhile to spend more time here by staying in Dingle Town, about 1/2 way out the peninsula, it would have been too many overnight destinations for us on this trip. The drive from Killarney was a surprisingly easy and uncomplicated day trip.

Just past Inch Beach on the R 561 (“R” roads are very narrow, twisty, and “interesting!”, only to be surpassed in treachery by “L” roads), we had to slow down for this lovely lady and her baby, who can barely be seen behind mama:

Farmers mark their sheep with different shades of paint

Since my primary goal was to show Oldest the Slea Head Drive, at the peninsula’s tip, we set our Google Maps directions straight for Dingle town, where one of the first sights we came upon was …. a dog … sitting on top of a donkey. Hey, why not?

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We wandered around the busy town for a bit, enjoyed an early lunch, and downed a pint of Crean’s, the local beer. Crean’s is named after Tom Crean, an Antarctic explorer who hailed from the Dingle Peninsula.

cwphjmvvrbomxn29dt2whg — Heading to the Beer Garden at Danno’s

Glad it wasn’t Monday, but this sign is cute!

Only one, though, because I was back to driving – and now the roads became quite narrow. While it’s possible for two cars to pass, it’s not necessarily advisable:

Oldest took this one from the passenger side.

Slea Head marks the end of the peninsula, and, like many points on the west coast, the locals will tell you when looking east “The next stop is America!”. We continued to benefit from nice weather, so we were fairly active in our exploration of the peninsula, first walking from the parking area down to Slea Head Beach, at sea level:

View of Slea Head Beach, from above. The “arrow” in the sand must be pointing to buried treasure. Right?

p9fqmrvnqeqnuxg2aqensg — This sign did not stop the swimmers

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Then we hiked back up, and further up, to Dunmore Head promontory. Nearby signs told us that some filming for Star Wars took place here, although it is not the more famous Skellig Michael island,which is off the coast to our south.

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Walking up to the Head required climbing over an old stone fence, which didn’t work out so well for yours truly, who lost her balance and skinned my knees in a pretty gruesome way (I’ll spare you the yucky photo). It was still worthwhile, though, just for these photos, looking back at the peninsula. It was my 3rd trip to this spot, and each time I want to lie down and never leave these soft, rolling, green hills. Although I imagine I might feel differently in, say, December.

o9itr2pvs0skdtvchlu0wq — Oldest with one of the two “Devils Horns” at Dunmore Head

gadlvyowrk61th8mg5g6fq — Beautiful, even when seen with bloody knees

In three trips to Ireland, I have managed to make it to the Slea Head drive on the Dingle peninsula every time. It is truly one of the most peaceful places I have ever visited, and I truly enjoyed sharing it with Oldest. I have no doubt I will return again.

We are not cool enough for South Beach (but we had fun anyway)

December 8, 2018January 1, 2019bankerchicktravelsLeave a comment

The day after gorging ourselves on a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with the kids, Husband and I departed LGA to MIA bound for our Norwegian Getaway cruise. Thanks(giving) to his Million Miler status, one of our tickets was upgraded to First Class. This is why Husband is awesome: he gave me the seat. Does he know me or what? Happy wife happy life! The flight was short, so I would not have used miles for a first class seat, but I have to admit it was comfortable and I enjoyed the flight. Thanks honey!

We Ubered from MIA to our hotel, the Cadillac Miami Beach, located oceanfront in the mid-beach section of Miami Beach (about 1.5 miles north of the famed South Beach strip). The hotel was newly purchased and renovated by Marriott as part of the Autograph Collection, having opened about 8 weeks prior. The staff had a wonderful energy about them. Thanks to Marriott promoting the new hotel, we got a fantastic deal on a 2 night stay in an oceanfront room with a balcony. We immediately enjoyed that ah-I’m-finally-on-vacation drink at the pool bar:

NmPxEyWDTsCbnnp9InV5Rg — Cadillac pool deck bar/restaurant

wHHFbJ6iSf6TQso6Uqi13g — Husband wears Sunglasses at Night

We’ve both had our share of stress over the past year, and this was our first lengthy getaway in quite awhile. Our cozy room led to a great night’s sleep after a hectic day. I’m an early riser, and was greeted the next morning with this view:

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We greeted the day with a brisk walk along the oceanfront boardwalk on top of the dunes. Other than that little burst of activity, we lounged by the pool and beach the rest of the day and were generally very lazy. The pool was small, but we had no problem finding a lounger. We liked the artifical grass – it was less hot & slippery than pool tiles can be.

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We had a 7pm reservation at Gianni’s, the restaurant at the former Versace Mansion in South Beach. The mansion, now called The Villa Casa Casuarina, has been converted into a hotel, but anyone can dine at the restaurant in its courtyard. To give you an idea, a room at the hotel in January runs upwards of $700/night. This is a high-end experience, so dress up and enjoy the service – it’s a great place for a special celebration, and we saw no less than 3 proposals take place! Husband and I? We’re just celebrating life and getting away from the daily grind! We made reservations on OpenTable exactly 30 days prior to our preferred dining date – this is recommended during Miami’s winter high season.

cJLBg5cDQNyBMPuJFJ6EVQ — Gianni’s Courtyard with lit fountains in the background.

rt1XTgxTRZCY88sCgPE2iw — Guests mingling in the central atrium of the mansion.

Now we come to the best activity there is in South Beach: PEOPLE WATCHING. With its latin, party vibe, South Beach is chock full of beautiful people doing beautiful things. There may have been some fake boobs, lips, and tummy tucks involved.

The Versace Mansion was just the start; we made our way up fabled Ocean Drive to the Breakwater Hotel, in front of which was a open-air Cuban cafe with sidewalk tables called Havana 1957. The pictures below don’t really capture the vibe – music coming from every direction; open-top Ferraris coasting by; couples (of all orientations) holding hands; scantily dressed dancers, bright colors and an endless energy.

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9GHUYKVbS82CSt7U6u7Tzw — street life South Beach, view from our table at Havana 1957

We enjoyed a couple of “Ultimate Mojitos” – these were very, very large and delicious drinks. And we had a couple. So the beautiful night was, shall we say, a little fuzzy the next day. We did get a kick out of a street performing magician, who in addition to some great card tricks managed to remove both of our Apple watches without us even realizing it! Glad he gave them back 🙂

Tomorrow: We board the Norwegian Getaway!

When you play the Game of Thrones, you win or ….you are really entertained

November 4, 2018January 1, 2019bankerchicktravels1 Comment

This was a day Oldest and I had looked forward to for months. Not long after deciding that Scotland and Ireland would be our graduation trip destination, we also decided that we needed to do a Game of Thrones tour. In fact, I arranged our entire itinerary around this highlight.

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Originally, I had thought of spending a couple of days in Belfast, because the GOT sites are all located in Northern Ireland. Between difficulty finding a direct flight between Inverness and Belfast, and planning for further destinations in southern Ireland, we ended up flying into Dublin and opting for this tour: Game of Thrones Dublin Winterfell tour – as far as I could find, the only one originating in Dublin. I promise to return to Northern Ireland and visit Belfast! This was a very difficult decision.

Oldest and I are both very big GOT fans. I initially read the books in 2007-2008, during that dark and dreary winter following the banking crisis that seemed to last a dozen years, like in the novels. Now, I am a big reader, but I am not generally a fantasy fan. While I read an average of 30-40 books a year, I have not read all of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, nor have I read all of the Harry Potter books. It’s just not my thing; I prefer historical fiction and crime/murder mysteries. In fact, I tried at least 3 different times to start the series, and couldn’t get past the first 50 pages. Eventually, though, I plowed my way through about 1/3 of the book and – ta da – I was completely hooked. Finally, after two seasons of the HBO series, I ended up re-reading all 5 books to jog my memory about the minor plot points skipped over by the TV version. That’s how much I enjoy it.

**Rant warning** Finish the d*mn books, George R.R.! **End rant warning**

So, it was quite a thrill to see the setting for Winterfell:

Castle Ward, the setting for Winterfell. They use a lot of CGI to make the walls look larger

ekpgSHYhS2q5yNbkFjTDhg — The yard at Castle Ward

Dress up like a Stark:

jVIktlYFTnGmsOX++Cim7A — Oldest trying to look mean

zPRd13gXTpaGrBIrGoQKLg — Getting my Stark on

and meet two of the beautiful dogs that played the Direwolves Summer and Greywind in the HBO series.

QgfLqhf4Q7O8mG%EJmahyA — BEAUTIFUL, and patient, dogs

Our tour guide Lady Aenne was extremely knowledgeable about both the show and the settings.

t5reJRCVS9qSRFcXLQ2oOg — Lady Aenne showing us THE STUMP that can is visible in the series’ opening scene

She was also a FAST walker. Winter may be coming, but I was sweating my butt off, especially with the heavy Stark-esque cape I wore. I ended up carrying it for much of the walking parts of the tour.

We enjoyed lunch at The Lobster Pot in Strangford, which hosts the tour group daily with this hokey but fun drink menu:

Pretty much everyone on our bus was also a fan (there are always a few bored but willing tag-a-long partners). We played a GOT trivia game, the winner of which was crowned “King in the North”, to whom we later bent the knee and swore our fealty. Of course! Oldest and I thought we did fairly well on the 20-question quiz, but this guy was on a whole different level – he got all 20 questions right. Impressive. I swear fealty, milord.

The tour was a long day – we met at 7:45 am, and returned to Dublin right around 6:00. There was a fair amount of time on the bus, but the tour kept us entertained with behind-the-scenes videos, the trivia game, and, on the way home, the first two full episodes of GOT.

I highly recommend this tour and tour company, Game of Thrones Tours– offering the only GOT tour choice out of Dublin, literally; when I return to Northern Ireland I’ll eagerly try one of their “Iron Islands” tours from Belfast.

Next up, we will return to the 21st century and – gulp- drive on the “wrong” side of the road!

Delightful Dublin

November 3, 2018January 12, 2019bankerchicktravelsLeave a comment

After 8 days in Scotland, now it was time to revisit an old favorite: Ireland!

We had a ride to the airport through Inverness Taxi. A cheery, punctual driver picked us up in the morning for a ride to Inverness Airport. It’s a small, easy-to-navigate airport, and we encountered no security line whatsover. The tiny LogainAir plane required a walk on the tarmac – thankfully, again, it wasn’t raining. We climbed up the stairs and performed a royal/ presidential wave as we embarked.

After a short, pleasant flight to Dublin Airport, we opted for a taxi into the city. My research told me that this was the lazy person’s way out – the Green 747 Bus would have taken us within 1/4 mile of our AirBnB – but we didn’t care. The taxi ride almost became embarrassing, however, when we found out that the driver didn’t accept credit cards, and didn’t think he could make change for my €100 bill. Having just now entered the EU, we hadn’t had a chance to break our larger bills yet. Um, you’re charming and all, but I’m not giving you a €70 tip! As I prepared myself to make a big old Jersey Girl stink, the driver magically found change.

Another mention of politics vs. World Cup fandom from the cab ride. Although our driver was 100% Irish, he supported England in the World Cup. This, honestly, surprised me. I could understand the Scottish having divided loyalties. His explanation: “they helped us with cash when we needed it in the recession, no one remembers that”. I think he is referring to the post-2008 banking crisis. Oh, and also he is a Liverpool FC fan, and several Liverpool players were on the England team. Now THAT makes more sense!

We were too early to check in to our AirBnB: AirBnB Sir John Rogerson’s Quay , so we had a pub lunch down the street at the Ferryman pub. Guinness pie – always a favortie in Ireland. Once again, the AirBnB proved to be a hit, on the first floor with two nicely sized bedrooms, and walkable to all our Dublin targets.

Our next stop was the Jameson Distillery on Bow Street. We’ve both done the Guinness factory before, and Oldest recommended this instead. We enjoyed the short tour, which was less cheesy than Edinburgh’s Scotch Whiskey Experience.

After a brief history tour, we got right down to business with our free drinks at the bar. There they conconted some excellent and varied cocktails using Jameson’s. Oh, and the bartenders were cute (whoops did I say that out loud?)

Drinking having commenced, we wandered toward Temple Bar. We got a kick out of finding the famous Temple Bar webcam and waving to Dearest Husband, who we texted to look us up, and then sent us a screenshot of us. Technology! Yay!

fullsizeoutput_45c4 — Look! there we are on the webcam!

We enjoyed an excellent dinner at Fade Street Social on Drury street, which Oldest had picked out on Yelp. It was a definite foodie joint, and a welcome upgrade from the heavy fare we had generally been enjoying. The venue includes both an upscale restaurant and a more casual, loud gastropub. Since the restaurant was packed, and even the gastropub booths were full, we ate at the tapas bar overlooking the open kitchen and enjoyed drinks while watching the staff prepare the tapas-style meals. When a man in a leather jacket arrived toward the end of the evening, observing the chefs, having discussions with the manager, tasting the food as it was prepared, and generally seeming in charge, we googled the restaurant (technology! yay!) and found that he was indeed the restaurant’s proprietor, Dylan McGrath, a star of MasterChef Ireland.

A great day/evening in Dublin ended fairly early because we needed to rest up for …. DUN dun dun dun DUN dun dun dun DUN dun dun dun DUN dun dun dun duuuuunnnnnn

(what the heck is that? find out in my next post 🙂) When you play the Game of Thrones, you win or ….you are really entertained

The sun never sets on Inverness (in early July, anyway)

October 21, 2018January 1, 2019bankerchicktravelsLeave a comment

Having successfully located Nessie, we enjoyed the remainder of the day and evening in Inverness. We gathered with locals at the Castle Tavern (located, unsurprisingly, next to Inverness castle) to watch a very exciting World Cup match with England vs. Colombia, which resulted in an English victory via penalty shootout.

8smaxMBsQGC3MB42GmoK8w We wondered: Do Scots root for the English team, as loyal members of the United Kingdom? Or is it a rivalry based on a history of war between the two countries? The answer we found, by asking tour guides and pub patrons, was both. As we were educated by John Alasdair Macdonald, our Hebrideaen Explorer tour guide, Scotland’s history began well before its famed wars with southern neighbors and Hadrian’s wall. While today there is most definitely a Scottish identity, the history of the people inhabiting Scotland is not as clear cut. In addition, many modern Scots, such as John, have spent time studying or living in England. So, our very unscientific poll revealed that while many Scots eagerly rooted for England’s opponent, just as many cheered their UK brethren. We just enjoyed watching them.

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Dinner was at the Black Isle Brewery, which we had walked past several times during our time in Inverness and always seemed lively & busy. As the name implies, this is a craft brew house, but with an organic twist. We were a little bit beered out by this point so we chose the organic wine, which was delicious. Black Isle is also famous for its pizza, but Oldest is non-dairy so we chose a vegan pizza with pesto – I will admit to being doubtful, but it was delicious. Highly recommended, and one of our better meals in Scotland, especially if you are growing tired of traditional pub fare.

After enjoying some traditional music at Inverness’ most famous pub, Hootananny’s, we took one last stroll along the lovely River Ness. By this point in our trip, I had successfully “closed my rings” (Apple-speak for getting enough exercise) for 7 consecutive days, and I wasn’t about to stop now. By now it was fairly late: in fact, it was midnight. And yet, off to the southwest, was a bright glow. Indeed, this far north, and less than two weeks past the summer solstice, Inverness’ sky never really darkened, and it was as bright as day by 3:00 am. If you travel to Inverness during this time of year, bring an eye mask if you like your mornings dark!

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sstn7O3mRZu6H905kjsh8A — Timestamp on this photo is 12:01 am

Thus ended our visit to Scotland. The country’s wild beauty, combined with its residents’ fierce patriotism, heartiness, and charm, won us over completely. We may not have become whiskey connoiseurs, but we will undoubtedly return.

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