Outer Banks - OBX

This week I headed to the outer banks for a memorial day vacation. Any time I head down to the Outer Banks it's a complete crap shoot for how long it's going to take. Traffic around DC is brutal. There's no other way to put it. Since I didn't feel like sitting in stop and go the whole way I took the back way which is taking route 301 to route 17 to I64. We sat in traffic getting out of DC and throughout Maryland but as soon as we crossed into the VA border it was smooth sailing. I’m going to need an entire blog post to explain Maryland drivers suck and their insistence on staying in the passing lane while a parade of traffic is lined up behind them losing their minds.

We stopped for lunch/Dinner in Tappahannock, VA on a hunch at the Riverbank Cafe & Seafood. Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner! What a score this place was. Fresh seafood and amazing sides and what looked to be some of the finest pies and cakes ever made. We were told everything is made from scratch by the owner. I wish I could link to this place but it's a hole in the wall so all we have is this picture. That being said if you are in the area here's a review from tripadvisor and the address. I got the fried flounder dinner with two sides and hush puppies. The hush puppies were the size of racket balls and they were perfectly crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. The also had these things called apple sticks which were basically deep fried hush puppies stuffed with apple goodness and what must be crack. The rest of my posse ordered the catfish, crab cakes and shrimp. Everyone loved their food and it's a must stop if you for some strange reason you find yourself cruising through Tappahannock, VA. Here is a picture of the crab cake & shrimp dinner. The Cucumber salad was also pretty awesome.

This particular trip took us about 6 1/2 hours. The trip is anywhere from 4 ½ to 7 depending on traffic. Once we arrived we were greeted by the rest of the Memorial Day posse with ice cold Miller Chills, I giant tub of cheese balls, a private heated pool and two hot tubs. The house was about 2/10ths of a mile form the ocean. Fifteen minutes after arriving we headed down to the beach to scout out the scene. The water felt freezing that night but gradually got warmer as the week went on. May is a great time to be on the Outer Banks but my favorite time is still September when the ocean water sits around 70-75 degrees. One thing you forget about when you live in the city is how beautiful the sky is when you can actually see stars. The sky was amazing but try as I might I could only point out the little dipper. I have vowed to improve upon this and purchased an astronomy book to rid myself of the celestial ignorance.

We found a great new BBQ place called Fat Crabs that had awesome traditional Carolina BBQ and great steamed shellfish. We also went out and played some putt-putt on a 20 hole (weird I know) all grass course. The course was really challenging and while I enjoyed myself I'd still rather putt one into the clown's nose any day of the week. Can anyone explain the difference between mini golf and putt-putt? I always thought this was a regional thing like coke, pop, soda, tonic...Who knows?

My better half and I stopped in Wilmington, VA on the way home. I was making an attempt to prolong my denial about being on vacation by hitting the waterslides and lazy river at water country USA. We were deterred when they didn't have a half day rate and continued home. Places like this should take a page out of how golf courses do things and run a twilight special because we were ready to shell out some cash but couldn’t see dropping a full day rate for two hours. Come on Water Country get your head in the game! The trip home took only 4 1/2 hours.

The Outer Banks is a place we go to a lot and they have some of the most beautiful beaches in the country. The Sand in Corolla is soft and fluffy and when the tide is out the beach is gigantic. I often wonder if people on the other coasts would have a reason to come to the outer banks or if it's just an east coast thing. If you’ve never been it's well worth the visit and easily one of my top 5 beaches in the U.S. So as I continue to dwell on my vacation being over and already missing the beach I'd like to hear from my handful of readers what your top 5 beaches in the U.S. are so I know where to head next year. Mine have an East Coast bias.

Top 5 U.S. Beaches

1. Whale head Beach; Corolla, NC

2. Gay Head Public Beach (Moshup Beach); Aquinnah, MA

3. Captiva Island; Captiva, FL

4. Ogunquit Beach; Ogunquit, ME

5. South Beach Miami; FL

Sunshine Daydream

Miami: Bring on your finest bedazzled shirts.



Most people know you need a little thing called a VALID passport to leave the country. I forgot to renew mine ahead of time so it expired. This meant when planning a quick four day weekend getaway Bandway style (check out 4 Day Weekend but throw on your headphones or wait until you get home because it’s definitely NSFW) I had to keep it close. Since I had to stay on U.S. soil and this was going to be short one I wanted to make it easy. A two and half hour non stop flight from DCA (Reagan National) to MIA (Miami International) sounded perfect.

If you’re flying on American Air from DCA it’s much easier to check in curbside if you need to check luggage. I find the folks at the curbside check-in are entertaining and knowledgeable plus the lines to check-in at DCA on the weekend can be really long. Tip the baggage handlers a couple of bucks and rest easily knowing your bags will show up at your destination.

After my wife and I landed at MIA we hopped in a cab ($37 flat rate) and headed to a great new hotel on Ocean Drive in South Beach now called The Betsy. This was originally called the Betsy Ross but hotels on Ocean Drive have to keep the original name. This hotel is absolutely first rate and 5 stars easily. Everyone on staff was extremely helpful and the room albeit smallish was beautiful in décor. It’s also a very green hotel and they’ve made lots of changes to be more eco friendly. They had a nice little book collection on the bookshelf in every room. They also had bookmarks you were encouraged to take home with you that contained wildflower seeds that could be planted, bookmark and all. In the category of way too much information I got to watch the Red Sox close out the Yankees completely naked and in the shower since low and behold they have embedded a TV into the bathroom mirror. To be honest I only turned the bathroom tube on once but I enjoyed knowing it was available. Next to the shower beer this might be my new favorite shower activity.

Most days we would have a brunch in the late morning then hit a snack in the afternoon and a nice dinner at night. I went to the News Café for brunch one morning and the atmosphere was fantastic. It’s right on Ocean Dr and has a ton of outdoor seating. Pretty average bar type food but it did the trick and it's open 24 hours a day. We also tried the 11^th street diner to grab a bacon blue burger. Ask them to make a frozen lemonade/iced tea combo. It’s not on the menu but I asked and they obliged. We also stopped at a little Cuban restaurant called Puerto Sagua. It’s great for a quick lunch and they had some great authentic Cuban meals on the menu.

There was one thing in particular that drove me nuts about walking down Ocean Drive and that is the amount of restaurants that have people outside soliciting everyone walking by to dine at their establishment. Chances are if they are trying that hard it’s because it’s not very good. Seriously, I got hassled less walking down 5^th Ave in Playa Del Carmen. All restaurant owners on South Beach should take notice that this tactic does not work and generally does exactly the opposite of what you are trying to do. Always ask the locals where to eat or do some research on the web don’t get bullied by the help outside of a dining establishment.

Our best meal of the trip happened when we stumbled upon a quaint little Italian restaurant called Spiga. We generally wander around looking at about a dozen different menus before we make a decision. Nine times out of ten we botch this decision using this method. Amazingly we nailed this one. Great outdoor space on Collins Ave. We started with some delicious house bread with olive oil. Then we had some beautiful melon and prosciutto. We ordered the gnocchi and an order of the pasta carbonara. The gnocchi was some of the best either one of us has ever had light and fluffy and melted in your mouth. The carbonara was also amazing. This place is definitely worth a visit!

My worst meal of trip was inside of The Betsy at the BLT restaurant. Chef Laurent Tourondel of BLT Steak ousted out Peter Luger’s in this year as the best steak house in NYC. Having been to Peter Luger’s before I was hell bent on trying BLT. Luger’s is awesome and any place that has a bacon appetizer is all right in my book. Now in all fairness the BLT inside of The Betsy has only been open for about 5 weeks but with that kind of praise my expectations were high. The wait staff tried hard but the food came up short. The sides were average and my rib eye was chewy and fatty to the point where no human molars could grind it into edible bites. The dessert of blueberry lemon meringue pie was the only highlight. Overall based on our dining experience BLT was pretty average and I would take Luger’s any day of the week. We now have a BLT in DC and I’m not rushing out to try it again.

The beach in Miami was actually a big surprise to me. I’ve been to South Beach before but it was more of an overnight in a trendy little boutique hotel. We never even got to the beach. South Beach is HUGE. I had no idea. It’s also very topless friendly so if you find that offensive you should maybe head somewhere else and leave it for the rest of us heathens. The water was a brilliant turquoise blue and I’ve been to a dozen islands in the Caribbean and haven’t seen much better. There were some decent rollers and in the afternoon when the tide was heading out a river/sand bar gets created. It can make for some pretty brutal rip tides but since we frequent the Outer Banks of NC we were pretty familiar with them. If you ever get caught in a rip tide you should always swim parallel to the shore or optionally float with the current. Swimming parallel to the shore you won’t have to swim as far to get back to the shore. They’re not usually larger than a hundred feet. You can learn more about them from this wiki. The water was a little chilly at first but after a couple of minutes got really comfortable. You could easily porpoise in it for hours.

MIA Tip: When we were flying back to DC the MIA American curbside check-in guy gave me some good advice for the MIA terminal. If you are flying out of C or D terminals go all the way to the right until you can’t go any further and then follow the path to the security line. Once I weaved through a quick hallway I came upon a welcome site. No long security line. In fact there was no line at all.

There are some unbelievable travel deals right now. I came across this video containing the Conde Nast Hot List which had a bunch of hotels for under $200 per night. I highly recommend the South Beach area for a quick and easy weekend getaway. The Betsy was amazing and the beach is breathtaking. Pack your sunscreen.

All Aboard!

I've been contemplating starting a blog for what seems like years. I've been doing the research including this helpful little list of 29 tips to starting a blog. I realize there's a decent amount of work to keeping blogs updated so I needed to choose a topic I was not only familiar with but passionate about. I know this might sound strange but I love my job and could easily post about the exciting work we do but who wants to read about someone's job? I'm also interested in education and learning new things but I'll leave that up the folks that know a lot more about this than me, mainly teachers and educators. I was going to do a music blog but I figured I can mix this into my other favorite hobby/activity which is why I chose to write about travel.

Now I can't say I am a travel expert but that's mostly because I'm not sure where the certification for this could be acquired and who would administer that? Maybe LearningZen.com? I can tell you that I have been lucky enough to travel/vacation all of my life and for the last ten years I've been traveling a ton for my work. I try to remind myself that traveling for work and traveling for vacation are two very different animals. My business needs are at the forefront when I travel for work and I care more about whether there is wireless and how far my hotel is from the client's site. When I'm on vacation I want to be able to walk to the beach or the city and need to have access to some good eats.

I figured this blog would give me the chance to share my experiences and be honest and open about the best airlines, hotels, restaurants and bars everywhere I go. I'll talk about the coolest cities and hot spots to visit. I'll do my best to post a bunch of pictures and let you know what was good and what sucked. No hard feelings if I bash your city because there's nothing to do, no good food or no nightlife. I live in a city that's very well known for it's culinary delicacies but I challenge you to try and get a decent sub or slice of pizza in this town. Impossible.

As a frequent traveler I still struggle with which hotel to choose and where to get a bite to eat. This usually leads me to Trip Advisor and Orbitz. For dining rather than go with a fairly reliable site like Zagat's I tend to ask the locals where to go and often check the Food Nework sites for help. I'll make an effort to always let you know where I stayed, what airline I flew on and where I happened to dine. If I happen to hit the bar scene and tie one on I'll be sure to include all of the details. When I go to a club I'll tell you about the drink specials, the sound system and what the vibe of the crowd is like for each club.

The travel industry has changed a lot over the last ten years and so have I. I used to like flying but now I need to take Xanax just to get on a plane. It's a long story but one flight to Australia changed me forever. I am also bummed I can't show up to the airport 30 minutes before my flight like I used to. Most other countries rely heavily on train travel but not here. Why is that? It's kind of like soccer. I used to be happy staying at any hotel with a bed. Some of those two stars came with free entertainment courtesy of the crazy guests and paper thin walls. Now I seem to need at least three star hotels to even get comfortable. The one thing that hasn't changed is my love for delicious affordable food and beer.

Whether it's Dylan or The Hold Steady Can You Please Come Crawl Out Your window?

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