Roadtrips_featured_ky

Roadtrip Adventures

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Every Christmas we visit my family, and that means a roadtrip down South. Either Mobile, Alabama or Tampa, Florida. This year we went through Kentucky and stopped at Mammoth Caves, one of my favorite national parks. We scheduled a tour and had about an hour to spare before it started so we took a family hike down to the river. It was a crisp day but we enjoyed every minute. Didn’t get too many great shots of the cave, but Maggie would say the highlight was the bus ride to the entrance. Gotta love a 3-year-old’s perspective on the world.

If you ever get a chance, don’t pass up one of God’s greatest wonders of the world.

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Lowe London

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London3 Recently, I had the opportunity to be part of a presentation at our Lowe office in London. I’m proud to work for a company that has a global footprint. Here are a few iPhone sketches of the experience. We decided to get a flavor of the city by walking from Paddington station through Hyde Park to our office in Kensington. While there, we caught a few pubs had a properly pulled pint or two, the biggest fish and chips of my life and a work trip I won’t soon forget!

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Perfect night for a Lobster boil on the beach.

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We were looking forward to all things lobster on this trip and our many lobster rolls did not disappoint. However, my favorite #lobsterfest experience was our impromptu lobster broil on the beach. We were getting an epic lobster roll from the 5 Islands Lobster Company (found through this wsj review on the best lobster rolls in Maine). The location is probably a postcard somewhere. It was beautiful, hard to find and quintessentially Maine. The marina had a fry shack, creamery stand and a lobster shack at the end of the dock where you could buy the “bugs” fresh from the boat. Something new that we saw throughout Maine was the soft shell lobster (only available fresh because they can’t be shipped). The meat inside is sweeter and a bit smaller than the traditional hard shell and it surprised us how easy it was to just break open the shell when cooked.

 

Maggie and Doug picked out the lobsters in the back room. We found a fantastic recipe online as our foundation and added some of our favorite ingrediants, and picking up some fresh clams, sausage, corn, garlic, beer, potatoes and onions. And in about an hour, we had the makings of our feast.

 

We cooked the boil in our condo (because open fires weren’t allowed on the beach). We were only a few steps away from the beach so we packed up the finished product in a box with two wine glasses, some fantastic Vermont Cider and our beach bag.

 

Maggie had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and played in the sand while we had quite the feast while watching the sunset. It was a gorgeous night and the lobster was some of the best I have ever tasted. It was the perfect vacation moment. I felt loved, fulfilled and happy to be with those I love most in one of the most beautiful places in America.

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Recipe: Beer Lobster Boil

Ingredients:

2 Live Lobsters

1 Pound of Clams (Make sure to clean them properly)

3 Garlic Gloves, sliced

Medium Onion, diced

1 Tbsp Butter

1 Can (tall boy) of Pilsner Beer

2 Ears of Corn (Cut in halves)

1-2 Pounds of Small Redskin Potatoes

Half Pound of Andouille Sausage

Lemon

Salt and Pepper to taste

 
Lobster Beer Boil

In a large boil pot, sautee onion and garlic in the butter until translucent. Add quartered sausage and sear for about 3-5 minutes. Add the beer and deglaze the pot. Add corn and potatoes to the pot. Layer the clams and Lobsters on top. Squeeze half a lemon’s juice into the pot. Cover with a tight fitting lid. Steam for about 15-20 minutes or until the lobsters are bright red (make sure they are fire-engine red in order to be done). The clams should also be open (if there are some that are not – be sure to discard). Remove the corn, potatoes, sausage, clams and lobster from the pot and reduce the liquid in the pot for about 3-5 minutes. Reserve a cup of liquid for dipping sauce. Assemble all the elements into a picnic basket with shellfish crackers/kitchen shears. Take a white wine or great craft beer and enjoy boil on the beach with a beautiful sunset view.

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a trip to bring me back

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Standing on the beach tonight reminded me why I love to travel so much. While I agree that it offers an escape, it also helps me see the world as a much smaller place. When I travel from a mountain to the ocean in one day and enjoy the ride with those I love most, it helps me to put life into perspective and see that we all are sharing one connected community. Exploring, adventures and having conversations with strangers along the way is a gift. We met so many people this week while on our road trip through New England. Everyone had a story to share, like the New Yorkers spending their Labor day in Maine in the condo next to us. They helped us carry our cooler up the stairs and played with Maggie. Or the mother/son duo from New Hampshire that is doing a beer themed road trip together that we met waiting in line at Hill Farm Stead. Everyone has a story and often a great bit of advice, from the best beer taps in Maine to the perfect lobster role and even how to tame a wild two-year-old.

 

This week has been an adventure and one full of many stories. I vowed to myself that if the blog ever became a chore, I would take a break. And as a new job, getting our house ready for sale and life got in the way, this summer deserved a break. And now, I have been inspired once again to share my finds.