Hello Connecticut!

915 miles...

16 hours...

and 1 very long day took us from Milwaukee all the way to Stamford, Connecticut!

We were lucky enough to take a week off in between assignments and were super lucky enough to have my parents and sister Kim come and visit for that week.  We knew we were in for some good times but had no idea how much we really would enjoy this mini vacation!  All week I kept thinking to myself, how am I going to get all of this into one blog post!?!?

Well, I'm at least going to try!  

Day 1:

Unfortunately there were major storms on the east coast which delayed flights from both Kim and my parents.  Kim was able to get in town at least the same day but Mom and Dad had to stay the night in Atlanta until the weather cleared up.  Jason, Kim and I decided to still take advantage of the day we had and ventured into New York City!

We of course started off lost...

Jason and I knew our first stop was the Shake Shack in Madison Park.  Lines here can be up to a 2 hour wait!  Luckily we only had to wait 30 minutes!

After Kim took her first bite, she became a believer in the Shake Shack burger as well!  Yum!

A great view of the Empire State Building taken right from the park!

After lunch, we all decided to take the subway uptown to Tiffany's and Central Park.  Well, after jumping on not one... but TWO wrong subway trains, we ended up at the Brooklyn Bridge.  For anyone familiar with Manhattan, that is absolutely in the WRONG direction that we wanted to go!  

It was very beautiful and we decided it was a fortunate accident anyway.

After some lost time in the underground of NYC, we had one stop to make before heading back to pick up Mom and Dad...

The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck!

Jason found the location on Twitter and we booked it to Union Square!

Thats some good stuff.  We recommend the Salty Pimp.  

Mom and Dad finally landed and after picking them up from the airport we decided to celebrate in Rowayton, Connecticut and get them a big bottle of wine to relax!

The restaurant was right on the Five Mile River and looked exactly like how I pictured Connecticut in my mind!

The Family

Doesn't Mom look relaxed now?

Haha.  Sorry Kim, I really like this picture!

Day 2:

Now that everyone was here, relaxed, ready to go, and the weather was cooperating 

we decided to take the ferry to Long Island and go see the Hamptons.

  

The ferry took off from Bridgeport, CT to Port Jefferson, NY

It was a fun way to get there because we could enjoy the ride on the water instead of just sitting in the car.

We even had time to take some modeling photos!  Here is Dad's and mine :)

And the girls...

The view were amazing and only got better as we pulled into Port Jefferson...

After a quick drive to the other side of the Island our first stop was the Green Thumb Farmstand.  This is a place frequented by Ina...  Just a hint, you might see a theme in most of our stops in the Hamptons!

And then there was Tate's Bake Shop... another one of the famous Barefoot Contessa sites!  

We tried the famous chocolate chip cookies and had a coconut cupcake and a Mostess cupcake which were both ridiculously good! (see the theme yet?)

After stuffing our belles, we took a ride around South Hampton trying to peek through all the hedges to catch a glimpse of the biggest mansions we had ever seen...

And then stumbled upon the most beautiful beach we had ever seen!  Well, maybe not in Hawaii, but at least in the continental U.S.!!

Of course, we had to take some more modeling photos.  I think Kim won on the Baywatch impersonation, don't you think?

And now, the moment I had been waiting for ever since we decided to go to the East Coast...

Hmm, such a non-descript front gate...

But I know what is behind it!!

INA'S HOUSE!  

I fully admit to stalker status, but it was just so fun to see the location I have watched so many times on the Barefoot Contessa!  I mean, you can see in the right picture where she has her outdoor dinner parties!!  In the left pic you can see her garden!  My family said I was squealing with excitement when we were there.  I think it was more like lady-like laughter, but who knows? :)

Ok, now I will move on, I promise...

A few random shots I had to add in...

On the left, a duck.  Yep.  There was a sign in a little town we were driving through stating it was the home of the duck... "What the heck is a duck?"  we all asked... Seconds later, we found out.  It was literally a big duck.

And on the right, I was just excited to see the Jitney.  I don't think I will ever take it, but it was neat to see it driving all around.  I felt the need to state "I'm taking the Jitney out to the Hamptons!" Just a few times.

Our next destination was Montauk at the Eastern edge of Long Island.  It was a long drive but the views were amazing...

A fishing boat with some stragglers looking for a meal...

We decided to go up the Montauk Point Lighthouse and get a good look at the views...

If you can't read the sign, the lighthouse was commissioned by George Washington!

There were 137 steps to get to the top, but the views were worth it!

And with views like this, I couldn't resist some more modeling photos!

After the lighthouse our last stop before heading back to the ferry was some roadside seafood...

The place was this little dive... But with the perfect weather...

And the excellent seafood (even I could admit it was good, and I hate seafood!)

We all agreed it was a worth while stop.

This was probably the best day I have had in a long time and I am so happy I got to spend it with my family (minus Kate, sorry Kate!)

As you can see this week was a whirlwind and I have only made it through the first 2 days!  I am dividing this entry up into two posts.  Like I said, I took over 1,500 pictures!  More to come in the next entry... A little hint of what comes next?? NYC!

Current Location:

Stamford, Connecticut