May 2014 & Cece's Memorial Day Weekend in NYC

April snows and showers certainly brought out May flowers in our local park where I walk Mr. Duke every Saturday morning:

The first Saturday in May we visited the Conservatory Garden in Central Park and walked home through Spanish Harlem finding a great lunch spot along the way:

Clay made an awesome Cinco de Seis dinner:

The third weekend in May we went to East Hampton, a great place for rest and relaxation:

Another meal highlight was this fish dinner with The Best Tomato White Wine Sauce:

Clay also started perfecting his short rib recipe this month:

Cece was supposed to arrive Thursday evening of Memorial Day Weekend but her flight was delayed then cancelled due to the weather.  She unfortunately missed an amazing surf'n'turf dinner:

Friday of Memorial Day weekend we visited the 9/11 Memorial, it was really hard being there but the memorial itself was nicely done.  The Freedom Tower, spire included, is 1,776 feet tall which is the year the Declaration of Independence was signed.  We took the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty before swinging by the Financial District to see The Bull, stock exchange, and Federation Hall on the way home.

Saturday of Memorial Day weekend we rented a car and drove out to spend a day in the Hudson River Valley.  We did the Walkway over the Hudson which is the longest (and tallest?) elevated pedestrian bridge in the world, drove through the beautiful mountains of West Point's training areas, ate authentic Texas BBQ and had some great homemade ice cream in Cold Spring.

Sunday of Memorial Day weekend after attending Hillsong Cece and Rachael took the Circle Line boat tour around the entire island of Manhattan.  The photos below are of the Intrepid, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and Battery Park.

It was a gorgeous day to be out on the water:

On Memorial Day we spent a few hours walking through Central Park's Ramble, 38 acres of woodland hiking around 79th Street.  Cece flew home on Tuesday-- it was a great weekend with beautiful weather and we were so happy to spend everyday outside.

The last Friday in May we attended the American Symphony Orchestra's "Forged from Fire" at Carnegie Hall which was based on Germany's occupation of other countries around WWI.

The last Saturday in May we visited the Museum of Modern Art and saw works from van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, Dali, and Warhol.  

What a great month!  We hope to visit a few more parks, memorials, and museums this summer while the weather is nice for being outside.  Our entire month of June weekends is already filled but please stay tuned!

April 2014

April was a great month to see different members of Clay's family!  The first week in April we had dinner with Parker, Helen, and Craig at Lure Fishbar down in SoHo which is located mostly below ground and decorated to look like the cabin of a yacht.

The next week we joined Big Clay, Gina, Brooke, Harrison, and Baby H in Hilton Head, South Carolina for a little over three and a half days!  We're already looking forward to our May 2015 trip!

The next weekend for Easter Clay and I headed to East Hampton and then spent Easter Sunday with Mary and Da in New Jersey for church and lunch.

THEN the next weekend Joanie, Brooke, and Baby H came up to New Jersey to attend a celebration in honor of Dorrell.

Definitely makes us interested in moving South to be closer to family!  We love you!

East Hampton: Easter 2014

On Thursday Clay and I headed out of Manhattan around 8:00 pm and when we arrived at Mary's East Hamtpon home went directly to bed.

Friday we woke up to serenity and the song of birds, it was so heavenly and peaceful!  We didn't leave her house until 11:00 am and headed to the lighthouse in Montauk at the end point of Long Island.  From there we had lunch at The Dock, a really quirky local year round restaurant.  We then walked around the main business district of Montauk where Clay purchased a fishing pole, we purchased a pug wearing a bow tie Christmas ornament, and we found and sampled a fudge store and then a bakery.  We moved our car and stared at the beach until our 4:30 pm massages.  On the way back to Mary's we picked up pizza and watched a movie and read until bed.

On Saturday we again woke up early feeling incredibly refreshed.  We walked around East Hampton before having lunch at the Clam Shack.  After returning to Mary's we sat in the sun and read before going for a long walk along the bay.  We had dinner at a new restaurant called , Bay View Kitchen, or something.... it had a great cold menu and was a terrific location for watching the sunset.  We then read and watched a movie before bed.

On Sunday we drove back from East Hampton to attend church and have Easter lunch with Days and Mary.  The message was so awesome and I loved how relaxing it was to catch up over lunch.  We then went to Da's for a few minutes before dropping Mary off and returning to the City.   Easter is about everything important so I'm glad we got to share it with family.

Hilton Head: April 9th-12th, 2014

Clay and I were able to join Big Clay,  Gina, Harrison, Brooke, and Sir Bubs the morning of Wednesday, April 9th until the afternoon of Saturday, April 12th in Hilton Head, South Carolina.  Big Clay rented a house with an amazing location in an area cut off from the main beach by a jetty creating a private beach.

Wednesday Clay and I had an early flight and made it to the house around 10:30 am.  We hung out on the back porch before going out to lunch.  Clay and Harrison bought fishing poles which we messed around with that afternoon before we went to dinner.

Thursday morning we went as a family on a two hour fishing boat ride where Clay caught a red fish, Gina caught a shark, and a few of us caught waiting fish.  When we came back ashore our captain gutted and filleted the fish and Harrison and Clay cooked it on our beach and we had it for lunch!  The guys continued fishing while Big Clay, Gina, Brooke, Sir Bubs, and I walked up and down the main beach.  When we returned we ordered Thai and watched the dolphins feeding in the bay from our back porch.

Friday morning the guys went golfing so Brooke, Sir Bubs, and I went on a beach walk while Gina did yoga on the back porch before we took Sir Bubs to a friend's pool to play.  We then went to Salty Dog Cafe for lunch.  Afterwards we returned to the house and Big Clay, Gina, Brooke,  and Sir Bubs went on a beach walk while I read on the back porch and the boys fished.   They caught a few more whiting fish and Harrison caught two mating horseshoe crabs.  We ordered pizza and again enjoy watching the dolphins and sunset from our back patio.

Saturday morning we had to vacate the house by 10:00 am but on the way out of the neighborhood Clay and Gina booked the same house for the family vacation next year starting on May 2nd!  We are all looking forward to this special time next week!  We then hung out around the marina and ate at Salty Dog's again so enjoy our last few hours before we were dropped off at the airport.

Just hanging around the house was fun enough because of our great location and the amazing wildlife!  Next year we're looking forward to additionally possibly renting kayaks, paddleboard, and bikes as well as visiting the petting zoo and nature preserve.

Ski Trip February 2014

This past weekend Clay and I went skiing at Hunter Mountain, located a little over two hours north of New York City, with three other couples from our Hillsong Connect Group.  We stayed at an adorable mountain motel, Phoenicia Lodge.  

from Phoenecia Lodge's Facebook page

My first and last time skiing was over 10 years ago and I was worse than I expected to be while Clay tried snowboarding and had a pretty rough time of it.  We were both very sore after one day of being on the slopes so went snow tubing the next day.

me in the white jacket while our friend tripped over me and is upside-downhill in the green/purple

snow tubing!

Hillsong Family!

We saw people ice climbing all over the place!  How amazing, beautiful, and awe-inspiring is this!

We stopped by Lucky Chocolate in Saugerties, New York on the way back to the City.  It is definitely a business I quickly became passionate about supporting in the long term-- maybe by purchasing their chocolates to be shipped to friends.  

From their website:

Lucky's Cafe!

Visit our cafe for a seasonally changing simple menu which incorporates local produce and organic ingredients. In summer, salads, fresh juices & paninis, in winter, chilli, quiches, soups & paninis are available.We always have a good supply of savory & sweet croissants, and pie to warm & revive you during holiday shopping. (Our pies and quiches are also gluten-free).

Handmade, luxurious, small batch chocolates made from organic and fair trade chocolate.

Fair trade chocolate is made from cocoa beans bought directly from growers co-ops. The money goes directly to the farmers, by-passing the corporate middle-men, allowing farmers to be paid a living wage and avoiding slave and child labor.

I had the BEST ice cream sandwich ever!  Two thick vegan, grain free chocolate chip cookies with New York made Ronnybrook Farm Dairy ice cream!  The ice cream was unbelievably good with a homemade taste and texture!

We are returning to Hunter Mountain with another couple sometime in March to use up our extra day of lift tickets and ski rentals.  Pray for us! :)