Thou Shalt Eat At The Blueplate Diner, Newport RI

I get very excited when I find a great eating establishment. It’s just one of those things that blows my skirt up.

This diner in Middleton, RI was a great find. The art deco design of the building made Neighbors Susan, Beth and I exclaim, “How cute! We have to eat there!” as we drove by.

Service was fast and friendly and the food was wonderful. I had the Blueplate pancakes, bacon, hashbrowns, juice, and about twelve cups of coffee.

I’m still working it off as of this week…

As you eat you can read the commands as laid out for you by the owners.

“Thou Shalt Eat A Hearty Breakfast At Any Hour Of The Day.” – I agree.

“Thou Shalt Tip Thy Waitress Generously.” – Here here.

“Thou Shalt Not Hang Out And Order Nothing But Coffee.” – and we didn’t.

“Thou Shalt Not Eat At Fast Food Restaurants.” – I’ve been telling the kids this for years.

“Thou Shalt Sit At The Counter.” – had to disobey this one.

“Thou Shalt Eat Facing The Capital Of Providence.” – I would if I knew which way it was.

and my favorite.

“Thou Shalt Not Worship Golden Arches.” – Amen.

I wanted to purchase my coffee cup but I was told that they didn’t have any left. I think they said it was made of pewter. The handles weren’t hot so it must have some kind of insulation in the handle.

Anyway, everything was tickling me about this place.

Thank you for the service. I hope we weren’t this hard on you!

The Williamsburg Room

Grab a drink. Hopefully a martini.

Doesn’t this man look like he loves his job?

And grab a cigar…

Now this looks like a gentleman’s room doesn’t it?

 …because we’re going to the see the Williamsburg Suite.

I’m married to a history fanatic…one who reads every single word on every single plackert on every single display at the Smithsonian. It took us two hours just to get through the stingray display.

So I know that Colonial America didn’t have beds this sumptuous. Though I admit the prints on the fabrics are very close to the period.

Mt. Vernon, as beautiful as it was for the time, doesn’t hold a candle to the Chanler.

This bed was high, just like back then, but I’m sure it’s a thousand times as soft. I was so tempted to just sit down on it. But I couldn’t, no matter how many martinis I had or how many cigars I smoked. Kidding!

It just wouldn’t be right. But it was beautiful, that’s for sure.

Have any of you been to the Netherlands? No? Well neither have I. But I can say that this is a Delft pattern on the tile around the fireplace. So typical of the Colonial time period too. I don’t know why, you’ll have to ask the husband.

This was another gorgeous bathroom, but do you see what’s in the mirror?

It seems there’s a television in very bathroom in this house. I supposed I would spend more time in my bathroom if it looked it this. And I shall wear a fluffy white robe while doing so.

What a gorgeous house!

I have photos of the Regency Room but I will save them. In a few months, I’ll be tired of washing the dinner dishes, cleaning up cat throw-up, and nagging about kids’ messy rooms. Then I’ll post photos of the Regency Room and dream of what can be…

Here’s a link to the Louis XVI room on this blog…
Here’s a link to the powder room on this blog…
And
Here’s a link to the Chanler On The Cliff Walk. You won’t regret it…

p.s. I wanted to add that in the world of paid endorsements, this is not one of them. No one has ever paid me anything for LifeSignatures. Neighbors Beth & Susan and I just happen to have stumbled across this beautiful place while hiking on the Cliff Walk last weekend. And oh, what a find…

A round of Spiced Pear martinis for everyone please…

The Louis XVI Room

We were honored to have been given a tour of the Chanler by a young woman name Lauren who was exceedingly gracious. It’s because of her that I want to go back. I want my vacation to be wrapped around professional, gracious and fast service. And she was the epitome of that…

I really can’t go anywhere without a sneak peek into the kitchen. This was a great chef’s kitchen but you know what? With the exception of the cooks and servers, I like mine better.

But I can’t say that about the rest of the house…

This my dears is the Louis XVI room. He may not have slept here, but he would have wanted to.

Because this bed would have been more comfortable than anything he would have known at the time. It’s fit for a king.

He would have followed Neighbor Beth outside to his veranda…

…where he would have woken to this beautiful view of the Naragansette Bay. I had to say that name many times in my head before I got it right.

When he came back in the room to get ready to bathe, he would have admired his antiques and beautiful linens and textures…

And he would have found Neighbors Beth and Susan admiring his bathroom.

I’m sure he wouldn’t have minded at all.

One last, closer look at the antiques…

…and then it’s time to get whisked away to the soiree in his horse and carriage, or in this case, a Mercedes SUV.

They’ll pick you up at the airport by the way.

The Chanler At Cliff Walk

We were told by “people in the know” that we should do the Cliff Walk while we were in Newport, RI last weekend.

And I’m telling you…you should too when you visit. Notice I didn’t say if.

We came across this railing nestled in rose bushes.

We followed the roses up the stairs.

And we saw my future home at the top.

It’s called the Chanler at Cliff Walk and I’m moving there next week.

After Neighbors Beth and Susan and I finished our hike along the cliff we stopped to have a bite to eat and an afternoon cocktail on the veranda.

This is obviously not my house but a girl can dream. I want to show you some of the gorgeous rooms inside.

Before I do though, I want to give you a tour of the bathroom. It’s the most gorgeous bathroom I have ever seen, and I’ve seen many a bathroom in my lifetime.

This is me taking a photo of the mirror. I’m sure this stance looks familiar to some of you bloggers.

You can use a washcloth to clean your face after a grueling five mile hike in the salty air, all the while catching up on the news.

Do you have a fireplace in your bathroom?

I had to show you this…using the word “stall” would be a total insult.

Every detail - I mean every detail - was absolutely, breath takingly, gorgeous.

I intended to sit here just for a few minutes to catch my breath and take it all in. And I ended up sitting there for ten minutes. I literally didn’t want to leave the bathroom.

I will show you some other rooms in the hotel/bed and breakfast/castle throughout the week. You won’t believe it.

I absolutely intend to go back and stay. And the husband has agreed. Or rather he said, “Uh-huh” which is good enough.

Posted on Wordful Wednesday at Seven Clown Circus.

June 8, The Ocean State

I’ve been away…

I spent the weekend in Newport, RI, also known as the City By The Sea and the capital of American Society during the Gilded Age.

It was a wonderful girls’ weekend away. There was a lot of laughter, a lot of walking, and a lot of gawking at incredible mansions. Mix in a cocktail or two and a ghost tour and it was quite a full trip.

Back to reality now…

Today I’m at A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday.

The Great Mesa Grill in Las Vegas

If you’ve been following my ramblings over the last year or more (and thank you if you are), then you will know that the husband and I are foodies at heart. We will take vacations just to eat at some of the restaurants owned by celebrity chefs.

Because that’s the way we are. Bobby Flay (no introduction necessary) has a restaurant in Las Vegas (what celebrity chef doesn’t), (there’s a lot of parentheses in this post already isn’t there?)

Where was I?

Bobby Flay has a restaurant in Las Vegas called the Mesa Grill in the very fabulous Ceasar’s Palace on the strip. It did not disappoint.

What a gorgeous place. The ceiling was a fiery mural (can murals go on ceilings?) Bobby Flay has a reputation for spicy food, another reason for us to try his restaurant.

The waiter however, was a hoot. He knew a ton of trivia about Maryland. Did you know that Edgar Allen Poe and John Lennon both died at the age of 40? And that the Baltimore Ravens were named after Poe’s famous poem? I didn’t, and I live in this state.

He asked he could take our photo. I obliged and he took my camera and ran off. The husband and I looked at each other inquisitively…hmmm…Then I saw him in one of the balconies. What a hoot! Hey! There we are!

He made his way off the balcony and disappeared for a while again.

When I downloaded the photos I saw that he snapped a few of the kitchen.

I loved it! The guy should be in show business.

Before we ate, the boy called from home and said to me, “Mom, you’re gonna laugh.” Another story for another day.

What did we order?

Wild Mushroom Quesadillas – it was heavenly
Rough Cut Tuna Nachos – we like raw fish, probably from our time in Japan
Sixteen Spiced Chicken Salad – it was very good but I wished I had something more substantial. All that walking made me hungry.
New Mexican Spiced Pork Tenderloin Sandwich – the husband loved this

Someone explain the cut off letters to me please? I thought half the lights weren’t working. In spite of my confusion, it was a fabulous time…and a fabulous lunch.

Ghost Skier

My kids are fascinated with ghost shows and ghost stories.

They love these pictures of ghost skiers.

Here I am, captured on a lift, a lone ghostly rider.

They say many people capture images like this, and make other people believe they have seen a ghost.

After I saw the above picture, I purposely set out to capture more ghosts. My camera was set on auto mode with the ISO speed set at 1600. The focal length was set at 200mm. I laid the camera on a ski rest and when a skier (ghost) went by, I clicked it. It gave me these images with the snow (mostly) in focus but the people out of way out of focus. This exercise also gave me another fun “Ding-now-I-get-it-moment” about my lens that I’ll share another time. It also kept me entertained as I waited at the bottom for the family to find their way out of the fog.

Skier’s Paradise – Day 2

Day 2 of our ski vacation is really Night 2. We got to the mountain late because we had to visit with family, nothing like family encroaching on our ski time. The mountain was near deserted, perhaps because no one else but us really wanted to risk life and limb.

On this night, I was determined not to be left out so I threw my skis on and hopped the lift. I wasn’t sure how I was going to ski down the mountain holding my camera but I would figure it out when I got up there. I was riding with the girl and was snapping away, which made her very nervous and worried we may not make the jump at the top.

She ditched me the rest of the night and rode with her dad up the lift. We’re here! Tips up!

I made it off the lift in one piece and our next decision was…

which run to take. See the black diamonds? We didn’t take those.

Lost and Confused Adolescent Teen Daniel has an interesting technique,

and the boy’s pants kept coming down, causing him to constantly hitch them up.

I tucked both poles in one hand and had my camera in the other. It was the epitome of sports photography.

It was also a blue hill…

Anyway, I followed everyone down and truly, most of the pictures didn’t come out. Hey, give me a break, I was skiing and taking pictures at the same time…at night.

But I did get some pictures like this…

And this…

And this…notice the girl is the only one standing…

At least it wasn’t foggy…

and finally, there’s the lodge. It’s big and beautiful…beckoning us with some hot chocolate and French onion soup.

We skied until the lifts close again.

And even when it closed, the boys walked back up the bunny hill to slide down on their boards.

“Excuse me sir, but you are going to have to leave the mountain now.” It’s a good thing it’s just my little – um big – nephew. It’s good to know people in high places. He’s working there this winter.

In spite of the cold and ice and expense, I really love to ski. I’m glad that the kids are taking to it too. I’m not a speed demon nor do I do moguls, I just love being out in the cold and going downhill. Call me strange. Although I know the inherent risks involved, I think you can still enjoy the sport if you do it like you drive, defensively. That being said, I did dislocate my knee and my shoulder as well doing this…that’s another story all together. I didn’t say I was a great skier.

Thanks for letting me share. Can’t wait to do it again.

Culture Shock

The husband was in the Air Force for 23 years. Of the 23 years that husband was in the Air Force, he spent a total of 8 (eight) in the US of A. Eight out of twenty three years (Hawaii doesn’t count as the continental US).

We did come back occasionally, for family visits etc. And we did come back home to get married. But we lived overseas, somewhere else.

Every time we came home to visit, we were always astounded by the abundance – of everything. Food, clothes, tv shows, everything. Things that people who live elsewhere just do not have the ability to have.

Once we went into Wegman’s Supermarket and almost passed out. We spend a half an hour at the bread section trying to pick out toast. We were literally overwhelmed. Every time.

Our very first American meal in the U.S. after seven and a half years straight of living abroad, was at the Cracker Barrel.

We were gorging ourselves on baked apples and biscuits and gravy when we realized one very strange thing…we understood the conversation going on around us.

We can hear the people at the next table talking and it took a while…but we realized they were speaking English. It was something so new that we actually stopped, forks in mid-air and looked around. In wonder.

We are so proud of our country and living overseas just reinforced it. We threw ourselves into those cultures, took language classes, ate the food (gladly), visited every nook and cranny, and made friends.

But the United States is special.

She’s also filled with the most compassionate people on earth.