Spring Break Road Trip (Part 2)

About 10 minutes away from the Homestead, right across from the Jefferson Pools, in the town of Warm Springs, is the nice Milk House Market that carries lots of Virginia products (above), and makes nice sandwiches.

Our next stop was Staunton, VA, a cute little town with some good antiquing, a great chocolate shop, a nice health food store that served food as well, and a camera museum. Worth pulling off the highway for, for sure.

Delicious chocolates from Cocoa Mill, above, and the Camera Heritage Museum, below. 

In the health food store, we noticed they carried Polyface products, which is a renowned "beyond organic" farm, that we wished we had known we were driving past. It is in Swoope, in the Shenandoah Valley. After our hour in Staunton, we hightailed it for Richmond, and checked in to the amazing Jefferson Hotel.

It's very grand, and the rooms are nice and comfy with great beds and huge tubs. It has an indoor pool, and a great gym. And they gave a sweet welcome basket to Clara--that had a stuffed version of their mascot, an alligator, which harks back to the days when they actually had real alligators in their fountain.

California Week: More Central Coast

When one of my colleagues heard we were driving up the coast, he pretty much insisted that we check out the Cass House Inn. It's in the sleepy beach town of Cayucos, which is just about 5 miles north of Morro Bay. It's just over the hill from Paso Robles and all the wineries of the central coast.

The property is beautiful, a block off of the beach, with gorgeous gardens (lots of weddings happen on weekends). The house rooms are suitable for couples, but since we were three, they put us in the beach cottage, which was fantastic. It had a proper bedroom, living room (with the most comfortable pull-out couch our daughter has slept on), kitchen (with everything you need and more--from s&p to olive oil--even cupcake accessories should you feel so inspired), washer and dryer. Great California beauty products in the bathroom, cookies for us from a local cookie shop...super thoughtful details.

Easy Getaway: Bethlehem PA

One weekend we decided to take a detour on our way to Binghamton, NY and went through Bethlehem, in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. I had read about this restaurant there called Bolete, and figured the only way to experience it, was to spend the night, because the last thing we wanted to do was eat a meal, and then drive a couple of hours. We made a booking at the restaurant, found a hotel to stay in, and hit the road. Other than being excited for Bolete, we had no expectations.

Bolete was amazing. It's in a 200 year old stone former stagecoach inn, and it's owned by a husband and wife team, Lee and Erin. He's the chef, she runs the front of the house. They are so kind and gracious, and made us feel at home immediately. But it was pretty clear that everyone there felt a part of their family. (Maybe the fact that they live upstairs has something to do with it?!) The food, the drink, everything was really stellar. They source everything from farms in the area, and have very close connections with all of the farmers--it was super exciting to see that the Lehigh Valley has so many great farms growing and raising responsibly. After dinner, we drove to the Hotel Bethlehem, and checked in.

Maine Week: Around Portland

We had one full day in Portland, primarily because after we checked out of Chebeague, and took the ferry back to the mainland, we had a 6pm reservation at Fore Street Restaurant.  It's so good, it's reason enough to go to Portland. I think it's like the Zuni of the East Coast. If you're going to be in the area, call and make a booking, even if it isn't the day or time you want--and then several days before they often call you up and can give you the timing you need.

 The chefs have a small room where they can choose whatever came straight from the farms that day.

Just a 10 minute drive north of Portland is a magical walk on Mackworth Island, where you can see fairy houses, and make your own too.

Maine Week: Hidden Pond Resort

Hidden Pond is the kind of property that makes me long for Cookie Magazine, where we got to write stories about properties that were 5 stars for being perfect for families. This place would have not just made the cut, but have been one of our favorite stories, and here's why: First of all, you get your own cottage, with lots of space around it--with plenty of trees and plantings grown in so it feels private. I think they're also spaced out enough that your kid could be having a meltdown, or you could be having an argument, and nobody would hear you. Which is good, since the other families staying at the property will become your friends pretty quickly.  Although we arrived at about 8:30pm for check-in, we let Clara go for a late swim. Within 60 seconds, she had befriended Catherine, a girl the same age, and we were talking a mile a minute with her parents (we are still friends and visited them in Virginia over spring break). In the distance, there was a bonfire, with smores being cooked up by other families. Back in the cottage, which was a lovely two bedroom, the beds were perfect--great mattresses, great bedding. A screened in porch perfect for hearing the sounds of a summer night. A full kitchen so you can make your own coffee in the morning, or help yourself to wine whenever you like. We didn't cook in it, but it was nice to know we could if we wanted to. Every morning a light breakfast is delivered to the front porch--along with the newspaper. There's usually some fruit, yogurt, and a pastry/muffin. Now back to the macro reasons of why you would love this place: Technically, the property is in Kennebunkport (which all I knew about it was that the Bush family has a home there), but actually, it's on a quiet rural road, and is actually a 10 minute drive from "civilization". You feel like you have options if you leave--plenty of them--from exploring just in Kennebunkport town (just to park in the Honor System parking lot and to go to Daytrip Society, both adult and kid stores, and Anniebells--or to dinner at The Ramp), or to the Goose Rocks beach, which Hidden Pond is affiliated with, so you can have lunch on the beach and just sign it to your room. Or you could drive up to Portland and have lunch at Eventide, or dinner at Fore Street, and do some shopping in between (if it's a rainy day!). But you'll probably just want to sit tight, hang by the pool, and just relax. There's also the Tree Spa, the fantastic spa on site--where you can have a treatment in a treetop room, with products from Farmaesthetics (from Rhode Island). (I had an amazing therapist and treatment!) There are bikes for all sizes that you can use during your stay. And definitely have dinner at Earth, a special restaurant--it is definitely not casual dining, so you might want to spring for a sitter if you go. It's definitely one of my favorite properties I've ever been to (Clara still talks about it and is dying to go back) and it's just amazing that they could successfully create a proper 5 star property/experience, that you'd be happy to go to no matter where it is.  But it's in Maine, so you get all the pluses of getting to explore the pine tree state at the same time.

Maine Week: Marston House

One of the many reasons I love the blogosphere is when it introduces me to really magical places and really lovely people. Several years ago, someone had recommended Katy Elliott's blog to me, and I remember seeing The Marston House on it. I think I later saw in on another favorite blog, Designtripper. I spoke to the owners at one point, but was unable to visit as they are only open from May to October. Well last year I was able to visit it with Clara, right before the 4th of July. We spent two nights there (it's in Wiscasset), and not only did we love the Marston House, but we fell in love with the owners, Sharon and Paul Mrozinski. They couldn't be kinder, or more interesting, or have better taste. The rooms they let are so tastefully appointed, and the basket of breakfast is perfect. It's just up the street from Red's, the lobster roll place that causes traffic jams and always has a line. There are plenty of great things to do in the area--so this is a good base. We returned later in August, as I wanted Matt to meet Sharon and Paul, and we found even more things we loved in the area. I promise to write about our November stay with Sharon and Paul in their apartment in France, which they rent out. Beautiful.

Kinnikinnick Farm, Illinois

I can't say enough good things about the Kinnikinnick Farm, which is about an hour and a half outside of Chicago, on the border of Wisconsin. We were there to check it out for Martha Stewart Living, and got to stay over for one night, on our way to do a shoot in Wisconsin. It's a part of the Featherdown Farms network—in a nutshell, very cool tents that are completely styled out by a Dutch company, in lovely farm settings. Farms in the Netherlands and the UK, and now in the US, buy into this network, and the agreement that comes along with it (basically that they have to offer a number of amenities, which all vary depending on the location). Guests are guaranteed that the style is of a high standard, and if they go to more than one Featherdown, they'll recognize the look is the same in each tent.  But beyond the lovely tents, what we loved about Kinnikinnick was meeting the owners, David and Susan, who immediately made us feel a part of the family. We had pizza night with their kids and grandkids, and then bagels the next morning. Goats were fed, eggs were gathered, hay bales were jumped on, and even a homemade rocket was launched.