Spring Break Adventure: State Capitols

When planning our drive from Boston to DC, we realized that we would be passing through numerous state capitols. Brandon and I decided that our new "thing" would be to take pictures in front of every state capitol building. Anybody want to build a custom photo frame for us in the shape of the US?? Here is a look of some of the stops along the way:

Providence, RI

Fun fact, two seconds later, a meter maid was writing Brandon a ticket. He dashed back across the street and said, "No we weren't parking, we were taking a picture," and she let us go! Another pit stop we made was for breakfast, at Diners, Drive-ins and Dives featured, Louis Family Restaurant.

Jeila bravely ordered the Poached Passion, without even asking what it was! Turned out to be a winner - English muffin topped with tomato, spinach, poached egg and topped with cheese. I had a basic two egg breakfast. The prices were dirt cheap and we got to eat alongside Brown's tree-hugging co-eds.

Then we were off to see more capitols:

Hartford, CT

Trenton, NJ

And finally we arrived in Philadelphia where we met up with Raha and Lindsey for dinner at Iron Chef, Jose Garces' restaurant, Village Whiskey. Yum!

Spring Break Adventure: Boston

From Buffalo and Niagra Falls, we decided to take the long way to Boston. And by long, I mean looong. Brandon had to cross off Vermont and New Hampshire from the states he's driven through list. But before we left New York we made a stop in wine country - the Finger Lakes - and made a pit stop at Montezuma Winery. They are known for their Cranberry Bog and their BEE Vodka. They let us try six wines and had a large gift shop. Brandon has been to this part of New York once before when he visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. We were stoked to learn about the Cooperstown Beverage Trail, so now we definitely have to come back to the region and explore some more. In NH and VT we drove through some very pretty mountains but once it got dark, the roads had me a little nervous. 

It was so exciting to see the city lights as we pulled into Boston. Jeila is a Junior at The Boston Conservatory. It was also her Spring Break. She let us stay in her sweet apartment.

Brandon has a life goal to drive through all 50 states. So the next morning he suggested a quick drive north to Maine. Unlike Brandon, Jeila and I were not going there without making a stop. So breakfast in Maine it was. We stopped in the first town along the interstate, York, ME:

Our brunch spot was at The Stolen Menu Cafe. This place was busy with the after-church rush. The menu had so many choices. Jeila and I ended up sharing the juevos rancheros because it was something we've never had before and it was a little spicy. OMG freaking delicious. Drive there now. Brandon had the sticky bun french toast.

In desperate search of a Maine souvenir, we headed over to the Kittery Trading post. We ended up with a Christmas ornament and a picture with the giant moose.

Black bear photobomb!

Then we had to drive back to Boston to make it in time to meet my friend from elementary school, Elin.

Jeila lives near Fenway Park so we met up at Boston Beer Works. We did a flight of beer. My favorite was the Blueberry Ale which came with fresh Maine blueberries floating in the glass. Unfortunately, the bar snacks we ordered - pretzel bites and spinach artichoke dip - were disappointing.

After beer and munchies, the weather was so wonderful we decided to walk over to the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. Yes, the hotel where Brandon and I met in August of 2006. Loved the nostalgia of it. Someday we will come back as guests.

We said goodbye to Elin, and headed to Newbury St. for ice cream at JP Licks. The next day we saw on the news that JP Licks was closed for business, at least that location. We were their last customers!!

The next morning we started by taking the T to the Samuel Adams Brewery. Our tour guide was a total geek and talked our ears off. The highlight was the tasting room where we got to taste 3 samples.

From there we got back on the subway and hopped on The Freedom Trail. There we so many great sites along the way.

Another Capitol

Our evening ended at The Barking Crab where we wanted to indulge in some New England seafood.

Fish n' Chips

Lobster Roll

The restaurant was a bit pricey but it was right on the water. The city skyline was gorgeous. We also saw someone order the the 10lb lobster at market price - $215 - yowzah! Dessert was had in Cambridge with John Harvard in the dark - tea and cupcakes!

The next morning we were off to DC!

Spring Break Adventure: New York

I'm back! My whirlwind Spring Break road trip has come to an end. We left Carbondale Friday after work and drove through the night. Our friend Caitlyn in Columbus stayed up and we got to visit her at 1am! It was a short but nice visit. By morning, we had made it to Buffalo, NY. We looked up a place to have breakfast and chose the Lake Effect Diner because it was featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

The 1950s diner was saved and moved from Pennsylvania to Buffalo. So cute but very tiny! We started with the fresh-squeezed OJ. I ordered Eggs Benedict. Great decision!

My only complaint was that the hash browns could have been a bit crispier. Brandon had the Blizzard Breakfast, it was huge!

His sausage was house-ground and tasted delicious. It also came with a pancake topped with a big ball of sugary butter.

When we were done, it was a short drive to Niagra Falls.

Brandon Jr.

We explored the visitor's center first.

Then we headed outside, where we froze our butts off. But the view was worth it:

The mist turned into the snow that was falling on us.

Both Brandon and I had been here with our families before but it was our first time there together. We were glad we stopped and checked it off our list (and added it to the map).