East Coast Camping Extravaganza!

A couple of weeks ago we went on a totally awesome camping trip up the East coast. Two nights in Rhode Island, two nights in Maine, and two nights in New Hampshire.  We were supposed to spend our seventh night back in Rhode Island, but we opted to join the Chad Tobler family at their home in Waltham, MA.  We spent several afternoons on various beaches, visited multiple lighthouses, and ate lots of good seafood.  I can't go into any more detail because I'm tired and cranky and we don't have power and I feel like we're camping...again.  More on  our current situation later, though.

Our trip started off with two nights of camping in Naragansett, Rhode Island.  The beach was packed despite our trip beginning on a weekday.  We learned that if you wait until after 4 pm, you can park and enter the beach for FREE. Much better than paying the $28 fee.  So that's exactly what we did.  Both days.

Clark may have been one of the whitest bodies on the beach. I was probably the second whitest.

Judith Point Lighthouse.  Perhaps I have never declared my love of lighthouses on the blog.  I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM AND HOPE TO ONE DAY RESIDE IN ONE.

So much so, in fact, that Clark allowed me to have a personal photo shoot with the lighthouse. He's so sweet.

Our second day we drove up to Providence.  

And we ate some awesome fish and chips back in Naragansett...

 Overlooking the ocean.

We also visited the Fisherman's Memorial, which apparently isn't built to withstand strong winds (or so I assume).

Before we headed back to the beach to watch the sun set, we ate some ice cream at Aunt Carrie's.

Our third day we drove up to Maine, and immediately after setting up camp we hit Old Orchard Beach.  It was beautiful and the water was so clear compared to the water at the beach in RI. I'm not saying I didn't like the beach at Rhode Island, because I really did.  But, let's be honest here.  I prefer clear water over murky water, and long stretches of white sandy beaches are mighty fine, too.

Before leaving for dinner, Clark secured our tent to a nearby tree.  Good thing Clark took this precaution because it ended up getting nasty during the night!  Meaning, we had plenty of wind and rain.

Later that evening we drove to The Lobster Shack for some fresh and local Maine Lobster!  This restaurant was featured on Man v. Food, which is one of the reasons we chose to eat at this establishment.  It was packed.

The Two Lights Lighthouse, which can be seen from The Lobster Shack.

DANG, that is a fine looking lobster. The meal was complete with two biscuits, fries and cole slaw.

Clark wasted nothing, and played with his food, too.

As I mentioned, it poured buckets our third night, so our fourth day started out a little drizzly.  So we took the opportunity to drive up to Freeport and visit the flagship L.L. Bean store.

Luckily for us, the weather cleared in the afternoon and we were able to walk around Portland without any worries of being drenched and miserable.  Portland is such a cool city, and we both agree that it has a Northwest feel, like Seattle or Portland, OR. I could see myself living in Portland, Maine.

 Before heading down to New Hampshire on our fifth day, we drove out to the Portland Head Light.  It is so picturesque, and I probably took at least 50 pictures of the lighthouse alone.  

And later in the afternoon, after we had set up camp in New Hampshire, our much anticipated camping buddies arrived! We loved camping with Chad, Janet, Violet and Lucia!

That night we were supposed to have grilled corn and shrimp, however, the weather turned in an instant and drowned out the fire Clark so carefully started!  The rain poured and unfortunately, we only feasted on a dinner of chips and cheese dip.  

The next morning we waited out the rain, which eventually stopped.  So we headed to York, Maine for some beach time and to see the Nubble Light House.

The beautiful Nubble Light House.

York Beach, Maine. Though it was mostly cloudy, it was still in the mid 70's and enjoyable.  

That night we were able to enjoy fine conversation around the campfire.

 Thank goodness for coolers.  We were also able to enjoy the shrimp that we were supposed  to eat the night before.

As we all prepared to depart on the seventh day, Chad and Janet realized that their van had a flat tire and their keys were locked in their van.  See the pole in the car? Somehow that pole managed to unlock the van.

Chad and Janet were able to get back to Waltham but the next day as we drove out to Wingaersheek Beach, the tire went flat again.  

We noticed the tire was flat at a convenience/sandwich store.  The sandwiches were remarkable, by the way.

We were able to make it to the beach, and while Chad figured out the tire situation, we all got to frolic in the sand and on the rocks.

The tide went out and you could walk nearly a half mile out.  It was so neat and yes, Chad and Janet, that beach is fantastic!

View of the beach as we walked out with the receding tide.

We had a blast on this trip and are so glad we were able to see so much of the East Coast.  I am also thrilled that I have fulfilled my childhood dream of visiting Maine.  Next time we visit Maine, we'll go farther North and see the Acadia National Park. Also, I think 6 days of camping might be a few days too many.  After about three days our linens were permanently damp and sandy.  Yep, I think three days of camping is probably the max from here on out.   Thank you, Chad and Janet, for camping with us and for allowing us to stay at your home for a couple of nights!

Grad school is officially 75% complete

One semester left!  I cannot wait to be finished.  I know Clark can't wait, either.  I am a beast when I'm stressed out and I sure feel bad for my husband sometimes.  He is a super trooper to put up with me.  I once toyed with the idea of pursuing a PhD, but I just don't think I'm mentally cut out for it.  Nope, I think I'll be satisfied with a master's degree.

Anywho, the semester officially ended Friday, but I got started with celebratory festivities early! Reason being is that I completed all of my clinical hours ON TIME and our last class was Wednesday!  My good friend Andrea is getting married in Newport Beach in one week,  so we went out for her last hurrah!

Started the night with some gelato....

Sauntered over to the Piano Bar where we were informed that the dueling pianos will not be resumed until the start of fall semester...so we got some appetizers and plotted our next stop...then subsequently drove around trying to find live music on a Wednesday night...

And we ended up at the Yakitori Boy karaoke bar in Chinatown!  It was definitely the place to be on a Wednesday night.  That place was happening and we had so much fun belting out a variety of tunes. It was on this night that I learned that Mormon bachelorette parties can be fun!

Andrea and Annie dancing with the women from  South Korea.  The woman in the center liked to hike her dress up to the point where her underwear was exposed.  She was a bit inebriated....

The next day started off early with an amateur bridal photo shoot for the bride to be.  She looked so pretty in her dress and I know she'll be a radiant bride the day of her ceremony!  Hopefully she won't forget to wear earrings ;)

We parked illegally on the South Street Bridge to get some shots with the Philly skyline.  I think people were understanding since she definitely was in full wedding garb!

Work it on the South Street Bridge, girl!

Then in the afternoon Clark and I joined her and her fiance for some swimming at their apartment complex's swimming pool.  I cannot tell you how excited I was to actually get to swim in a real pool.  It was heavenly. I think my calling in life is to lay by a pool every summer day for the rest of my life.  Dang it, why could I not be a trust fund baby?

Andrea and her fiance, Rex.

We can't take a normal picture if our lives depended on it.

Here sits my wonderful thermos.  It travels with me everywhere.  Clark likes to make fun of it.

But he also likes to use it, so I think he's just jealous he doesn't have a butterfly themed thermos. And I can't even remedy his subconscious desire to own one because it is completely out of stock.  I got it while the gettin' was good.

Ohhh, don't mind me.  I'm just enjoying some refreshingly cool water from my awfully cute thermos!

We even got to enjoy cookies in the pool.  It was a glorious afternoon.  

Review of Date Nights

In the past month, we've had a couple of really spectacular date nights.  

I almost neglected to post about our first ever Roller Derby experience.  How could I ever forget! Luckily, my SIL's blog reminded me since she and her husband also attended their first bouts recently!

So, Clark's band-mate's fiancee is a roller girl for the Broad Street Butchers (Broad St is the street that runs through the middle of the city).  Bouts occur once a month in Philly, so mid July we found ourselves on Temple's campus attending our first bout.  It was a lot more fun and exciting than I anticipated.  Volunteers were walking around with signs that read: ask me about Roller Derby! and the commentators were hilarious. Between the bouts there were hula hoop entertainers, there were very alternative looking  cheerleaders, and the Broad Street Butchers even had their mascot wandering around. No lack of entertainment at these bouts, let me tell you! 

Cheerleader and the mascot.  The kid above is holding the mascot's cleaver.  Awesomeness.

Doesn't it just look like a blast!?  We'll miss August's bouts but hopefully our schedules will align and we can attend some more roller derby action in September.

Moving on, Clark has been desperately trying to find the best bbq establishment here in Philly.  We've tried a couple of places, but nothing seems to live up to his standards.  Last Saturday we tried Sweet Lucy's in NE Philly, which people rant and rave about here.  Ketchup based and not impressive. Not bad, but not great.  Nevertheless, we didn't let the inadequate bbq dampen our moods...we had a show to get to!  From Sweet Lucy's we drove over to the Electric Factory to watch The Lumineers and Old Crow Medicine Show. It was AMAZING.  It was a sold out show, as nearly every show The Lumineers have played has been.  Though Old Crow was headlining, I think most the spectators were there to watch The Lumineers (us included).  However, Old Crow did not disappoint, and they sound phenomenal live.  And at the very end, Old Crow brought The Lumineers on stage, as well as the Milk Carton Kids (the opening act).  I just love when there is cameraderie between bands.  It was such a blast and I'm so glad Clark and I got to spend such a fun night enjoying good music. Someday I'll risk bringing the DSLR to shows.  Someday.

The Lumineers playing Ho Hey.  They ended with Stubborn Love, which was brilliant.

Old Crow Medicine Show

I sure do love successful date nights that don't just consist of dinner and a movie (which is how ours usually go!).  

I throw fits over stupid things

like trying to print my damn signature.

For a specific purpose in our lives, we have to send a document to an undisclosed foreign country for an undisclosed reason.  And our signatures on the document must match our previous signatures that this company has on file.  Oh dear. I have always had terrible penmanship, and my signature has been...evolving...for the entirety of my adult life. That's a nice way to say that it is never consistent.

Let's just say we had to print out multiple copies of the same document so I could try to get my signature correct.  I was nervous because I wanted to ensure that my signature wouldn't vary too much from the one on file, but then I started to freak out and take out my frustration on Mr. Clark.  At one point (I was probably on my fifth attempt) I thought he was crowding me and yelled can you please not hover over me?!  He was like four feet away from me. Not even near me.  I am a terrible wife sometimes.

Luckily, we got though this situation successfully, got the document off in the mail, and then Clark took me to IKEA to buy us a dresser.  He is the best.

Three cheers for having a nice husband AND having a dresser that will match our bed frame! 

A haircut in an unexpected place

 Boy gang, I'm really pleased that my google search did not lead me astray.  I googled best place to get a haircut in Philadelphia, and a lower-end, highly rated Chinatown salon was the fourth option to pop up.  The yelp.com reviews were unbeatable, so I decided to give Perfect Cut Hair Salon a chance. The reviews were also helpful in identifying who to request to cut your hair and who to stay away from.  Whew. Glad I didn't have to find out the hard way.    

Many of you are probably thinking uhhhhh, ok... so what did she do to your hair?  The answer is: nothing very drastic, but she did honor my requests of keeping my length, adding several layers, and thinning my thick hair.  Ahhhh, it feels so much lighter and has so much more volume!  It's so nice to find someone who knows exactly what they are doing and actually listens to their customers!  Best $20 I've spent all year.

Now if only I can convince Clark that bangs are a good idea again... but he feels that I look too much like Velma from Scooby-Doo with the glasses and bangs combo.  So until I don't wear glasses anymore I am not allowed encouraged to have bangs.

teaching Clark a lesson

You may be wondering why I would ever take and post a picture of a roll of toilet paper.  Welp, today Mr. Clark learned a valuable lesson.

Clark is someone who likes to use the last of the toilet paper, and then set a new roll near the holder but not replace the old roll. Know anyone like this? It just kind of annoys me.  Today Clark learned that he too must take on the adult responsibility of replacing the old roll of toilet paper on the holder.  Whew.  I've been holding out for a while, and he acknowledged my lack of consistency this afternoon: 

Clark: Hmmmmm, it looks like you aren't replacing the toilet paper roll any more.

Me: Yep.

Clark: You haven't been doing it just so I would start doing it.

Me: Yep.

I'm grateful for this recent opportunity to teach Clark that as a spousal unit we must share the responsibility of replacing new rolls of toilet paper.  It's only fair, and our marriage will be strengthened because of it.