Paradise in the Florida Keys

There's no place like the Florida Keys. One hundred miles south of Miami and you feel as if you've travelled to the Carribbean. My parents, Grace and Phil, retired to Marathon Florida 10 years ago and we've been down to visit three times a year ever since.

This winter, Delta decided to cancel it's direct flight to Marathon leaving us no choice but to fly in and out of Miami. So, for this year's spring break, we decided to do things a little differently. Our flight arrived late Saturday night into Miami airport, so we stayed overnight and set out the following morning.

For some reason Jack became completely obsessed with a purple glittery purse in the hotel gift shop. No amount of persuasion could budge him from this obsession, and being more concerned with public scenes than gender confusion, I purchased it for him. Con then filled it up with toy soldiers, rocks and other manly things.

The drive to the keys was lovely....we stopped off at for a tropical lunch and then arrived at Phil and Grace's in time for Happy Hour. Over the next several days, Con and I became very well known at the Sombrero Tiki Bar. I replaced my usual Stolio Cosmo with a frozen Mudslide and Con switched to the Rum Runner. We split our time between the Sombrero Resort swim club and beautiful Sombrero Beach, a block from Phil and Grace's . Jack quickly became an expert snorkeler while Chrissy perfected her tan on the pristine white sand. Each night at 5 pm Rosie and Jasper, Grace's Jack Russel Terriers joined us for a sunset swim in the 80 degree water.

The highlight of our trip was an adults only gourmet dinner at the Butterfly Cafe at the Tranquility Bay resort. For the kids it was a swim with the dolphins at the Dolphin Research Center in Grassy Key.

More Fun in South Beach

After a lovely five days in Marathon, we headed back to Miami for our last two days of fun in South Beach.

We spent our days on the beach and nights people watching on Ocean Avenue. Chrissy was ecstatic to be invited into Lenny Kravitz's club at the Delano. Unfortunately, as a minor she had to decline.

Too soon it was time to return home. Jilly was very glad to see us. Her holiday at The Preppy Pup in Summit NJ was fun but she was happy to be home!

Scotch Hills Country Club

Con decided we should find a local course where I could practice without all the stress of a high volume course. We found Scotch Hills Country Club, a lovely nine hole public course with a very interesting history.

The clubhouse, originally the Ephraim Tucker Farmhouse built in the mid-1700’s, became the George Osbourne tavern in 1897. (I knew there was a reason Con was drawn to it). In 1900 the farmland was converted into a nine-hole golf course and the farmhouse into a clubhouse.

In 1921, a group of prominent black investors purchased the property and formed the first African-American owned and operated country club in the United States. The Club became a center of African American society at the time hosting jazz greats Count Basie, Duke Ellington, W.E.B. Du Bois, Joe Louis, Althea Gibson, and Sarah Vaughn. After a tax lien foreclosure in 1938, Scotch Plains Township acquired the property and renamed it Scotch Hills Country Club

Who would have guessed our little "practice" course had so much history?

St. Patty's Day

Quite by accident, Con and I found ourselves amid a St. Patrick's Day celebration.

Born and raised a Brit, it would take more than a little Leprechaun magic to get me to celebrate the day or participate in the somewhat ridiculous tradition of dressing in green. However, a week prior to St. Patrick's Day, we stopped for lunch at a local tavern, the Blackthorn, and were quite surprised to find a celebration in full force with green everywhere (wearing it, drinking it, and eating it). Before we could turn around, we received a huge, friendly welcome from the bar man who in no time had us tipping a pint of Guinness and enjoying a plate of corn beef and cabbage.

I guess there was some of that Leprechaun magic present, after all!

Vegas, Baby

Con's annual sales meeting was held at the brand new Palazzo Resort in Vegas. The resort opened in January 2008 and Con and I were the first guests in our luxury suite. We spent the day pool side and enjoyed a couples massage at the Canyon Ranch Spa before meeting Con's business associates for a dinner in the private dining room at AquaKnox.
I wanted nothing more than a gondola ride along the Venetian's quarter mile grand canal, however that was way too touristy for Con. So, instead, we headed over to Jay-Z's 40/40 club to watch the Seattle - Green Bay game then a fabulous dinner at Tao.

The next morning, I left for LA, leaving Con on his own in Sin City.

Opening Day - Ski Season

This year, Chrissy, Jack and I bought season passes to Mountain Creek. We kicked off the season with a mini-holiday at the Appalachian hotel, right on the mountain. The heated outdoor pool and hot tubs were perfect for soothing our tired muscles. Con came too, though unable to ski with his "football knees", he enjoyed tubing in the afternoons as well as the apres ski scene at Hex's lounge. Jack loved the Kids camp and by the end of the week both he and Chrissy had mastered their skis and boards.

We found a local Irish pub, the Irish Cottage Inn, complete with an authentic thatch roof, installed by "master thatcher" Colin McGhee, which was perfect for a family style dinners.

The Rockettes at Radio City

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular is my favorite Christmas Show. Chrissy, Jack and I have been many times, but this year was Con's first show. The show, updated for the 75th anniversary, still had our favorites “The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" and “Here Comes Santa Claus” as well as Santa's 3-D flight through Manhattan. Our third row seats were a perfect viewpoint for the “Living Nativity,” which revisits the first Christmas with camels, sheep and donkeys. I was disappointed, however with the finale narration, which in it's new format was not nearly as moving as previous years.

Peddler's Village

Christmas is my favorite time of the year and the official kick off of the holiday season is our trip to Peddler's Village in Lahaska, PA to shop the specialty craft shops and view the fantastic entries in the annual Ginger House in the Villlage Gazebo.

At dusk we headed to the Cock 'N Bull restaurant for an early dinner and watch the illumination of the thousands of Christmas lights throughout the village.

Pumpkin Picking at Ort Farm

This weekend was our annual outing to Ort Farm in Chester to pick pumpkins. Jacked loved the John Deere tractor that pulled our hay wagon out to the pumpkin patch. Con's ribs were ultra sore from his recent accident, but he still managed to endure the bumpy wagon ride and help us carry several massive pumpkins back from the patch.

At the farm, we stocked up on fresh apples and apple cider along with some farm made apple and pumpkin butter. Jack fell in love with a new litter of pigs, and petted several other farm animals including goats, lambs, a calf, several chicks and ducks. One animal we did not pet was a very cranky donkey who was busy terrorizing his equine friends.