The Neverending Quest for Christmas

It's probably pretty apparent but our travel adventures started early on in our long distance dating. I was visiting my then "guy" in St. Louis for a post holiday celebration. For our first New Year's Eve we drove from St. Louis to New Orleans to ring in the new year in Jackson Square. Why there? I read an article about the best places to celebrate New Year's Eve. Mr. Goodin should have known then that it would only get more adventurous. 0ver 100,000 people there to see the fireworks with us. It was so exciting to be standing on a manhole cover surrounded by a few thousand of our closest strangers.

However, my quest for Christmas really started a few years ago....there were multiple factors involved. My birthday, which is inconveniently four days before Christmas and never to be combined with the big day and my wanderlust to find "winter" due to our sub tropic conditions in Florida which make for a horrible condition. This is a well known condition for those of us born in December known as "BirthMas." Somehow a birthday and a holiday a lumped into one. Unfair as it is, I could spend a whole blog on this but I digress. Instead of fighting this, I have decided to embrace it. Mr. Goodin has embraced it as well and we officially have created our tradition of seeking out Christmas. Thanks to the internet searching is easy.  I would look up "Christmas markets" "Winter festivals" "Best places to...." It was a never ending virtual journey. So combining my beloved December 21st birthday with the holidays has led us to some pretty fun places.

After the New Orleans trip, we trekked by truck up to St. Augustine to ride the Holly Jolly Holiday Trolley. A wonderful trolley ride in which we dawned 3D glasses through the historic streets of St. Augustine. The glasses turned regular lights into ice cycles. Magical and fun...but I just liked saying Holly Jolly Holiday Trolley. Fun, festive and fabulous is how I would describe this city at Christmas. Wrapped in a bundle of history, Florida's oldest city was like a visit to the past with a festive twist of holiday splendor.

 

*St. Augustine pictures taken from: www.trolleytours.com/st-augustine/holiday-tour.asp

From St. Augustine we travelled to Charleston, SC by train (on our way to visit family). Charleston at Christmas is a must do. Apparently, the very touristy and crowed city vacates right before the holidays. We stayed in a lovely B&B right off the famous broad street. Mr. Goodin had roses and chocolates delivered to our room. Que romantico! We took a carriage ride, walked through the markets, ate she crab soup, devoured a bucket of steamed oysters, inhaled the pickles at the famous Jestine's kitchen and wandered to the Marion Square at night to see all the Christmas lights. I think I busted into Santa's workshop....shhh...that'll be our little secret. Charleston should be on everyone's list.  I should mention this was the trip that Mr. Goodin actually proposed to me on my birthday. He will never be able to top that...though many trips have come close.

From Charleston we headed to Jamaica for our Christmas/New Years Eve Honeymoon.  Once in your lifetime I highly suggest a Caribbean holiday. I thought living in Florida, we would be the master of a hot holiday, but piña Coladas poolside for New Years is a winner. Not to mention steel drums and a fire eating performer. We splurged on a Sandals all inclusive vacation in Montego Bay, known as MoBay. It was a vacation full of fine dining, beach activities and swim up bars.

From Jamaica we zipped to Quebec, which to date has been the most memorable birthday. I had done a query on festivals only to read about the Festival of Lights in Quebec. Parts of the city were illuminated at night. Sounded perfect to me! It was also an old French city. This was a winner on all accounts. As a Francophile, I couldn't wait to visit the famous Chateau Frontenac. A castle (now hotel) in this port city.

We made all of our flights and arrived safely. Picked up the rental car and drove about an hour through the mountains to arrive at our bed and breakfast. It happened to be my birthday so with two hours left on the clock, we bundled up for a very cold walk through town. Not really knowing where we were, we ducked into the nearest pub for a celebratory cocktail. Happy birthday to me!

The next morning, with an anticipatory excitement, I open the curtains to discover a winter storm of magnitude like proportions had come in the night. We had about 2 feet of drift covering the city including our car. This was a little worrisome but with a determine attitude, we hit the streets. We shopped the local markets and had a warm breakfast in a quaint coffee shop

After, breakfast we had one goal, the Hotel Frontenac. Visible from our hotel, we thought this would be an easy walk.
                                           
However, the winds picked up and it was bitter bone shattering cold. Mr. Goodin's hair was turning into icicles. Time to buy a wool cap, which we learned later he was allergic to. We made it to the Hotel and we were happy to warm up and enjoy the Christmas splendor. We hiked back to our hotel and promptly stayed indoors for fear of hypothermia. We had seen several restaurants near our hotel, right around the corner. We scouted several potential birthday dinner spots. As we departed for dinner, we discovered all the restaurants were closed! Each one closed, closed, yup...closed. Except for one. Perfect. Dinner here with the rest of the tourists who braved the cold.

The next day, we headed back to the airport. All was fine until the flight from JFK was cancelled which caused a ripple effect on our flight. All of a sudden, we had no seats home on standby. Not only were we implementing a plan B..but a C as well. Mr. Goodin needed to get home so sadly, I told him to go and leave me. I ended up staying in a hotel until the next morning when I could get out. I always joke and tell everyone that he left me in foreign country on my birthday...to which he replies in jest "it was Canada for goodness sake!" Still I had to use my passport I remind him. Oh! As for the "festival"....not sure I ever really discovered one. There were some illuminations but nothing to write home about. I did say that I wanted to come back...but only in the summer.



Then there was the Viva LasVegas BirthMas celebration....and as the old adage goes, "What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas". Let's just say it was fun! I will saw that I mastered the roulette wheel pretty quickly and felt like a Vegas native in no time. I was smart enough to walk away a winner. The lights, the shows, the va va va boom of the strip were mesmerizing. Vegas lived up to all the expectations that I had in my mind. It was bustling and bright. It is truly a city that never sleeps.

So my quest for Christmas continued with a special return trip to Charleston this year for a low country celebration. Let's just say we relieved our favorite moments from our first visit, however Mr. Goodin outdid himself.  Flowers delivered, dinner at Magnolia's for upscale low country cuisine and a trip to a botanical garden.We walked through the bustling city markets and enjoyed local foods that make Charleston special. The streets adorned with greenery and lots of red ribbon. At our bed and breakfast we enjoyed our afternoon sip of sherry while chatting it up with other guests. Quiet times and memories made that made this Birthday/Christmas magical.

My wish for all is that you never stop finding your Christmas magic. Whether at home or away, memories are there for the making and the taking. May your new year be the brightest and best one yet!

Summer Lovin'....Had Me a Blast

I confess. I am a bad blogger. Yes, somehow I let a whole summer season pass by without a word or a picture. Now, fall is upon us....pumpkin spice lattes, chilly nights, changing leaves and Halloween. Just a gentle reminder that life goes on and time stands still for no one. For the purposes of a catch up blog, I have decided to write a backwards blog or a golb (kidding of course). My attempt at humbly distracting from the fact that I have neglected my poor little travel blog.

Summer was the season of my life sabbatical as Mr. Goodin calls it. Time off perpetuated by several changes in my life. So instead of sitting around idly, there were visits to friends and family, a celebration of our third year of marriage, the addition of an herb garden, a butterfly garden, and a few house renovation projects which kept us busy. It was time that I had to reflect on my goals and next steps and to dream a little. So grab your PSL, keep calm and travel on. Here are just a few highlights of my summer travels in the "LifesGoodin" travel series.


#LifesGoodinNY - September
The last part of the summer friends and family tour was a visit to upstate NY. We decided to build a little day adventure into the visit. Instead of flying into Albany, our normal airport, we flew into Newark. We thought we would wind ourselves through the mountains of upstate New York taking the long route to see the leaves changing on the way to my Mom's house. Indeed, fall was starting to peak. Along the way we spotted farms of pumpkins and sunflowers.

As we climbed into higher elevation the leaves were turning various shades of yellow and red. As we approached the town of Oneonta, we spotted roadside produce. Must stop and investigate. Mind you, this is a system built on the honor system. Pick your produce and leave money in the jar. Nothing is better than veggies from the garden. Somehow, you are just looking for the camera...gotcha! No camera. Just a nice way of doing business. Grabbed some corn, a squash and a pumpkin for Mom’s porch.

After a few days of visiting, we were on the road to home but not without a quick adventure Goodin style. First stop was the pumpkin farm I spotted a few days prior. As we were poking around the tables of pumpkins and gourds, I hear mooing. I go to investigate. I look inside and hear, "C'mon in"....so I peek in and see a barn full of dairy cows. Then I see out of the corner of my eye two calves. The farmer tells me they were born at midnight. As he says that both of them struggle to stand. I watched as I see them take their first steps. The farmer is unimpressed by this miracle of life, but I was so excited that I forget to take pictures! We leave the farm with picture of pumpkins and gourds but no cows. Carry on. 

 
The next part of the adventure was inspired by friends who had recently done a wine tour of upstate NY....I suggested to Mr. Goodin that we do the same. A quick internet search led us to the Brotherhood Winery. It is the oldest winery in the U.S. It was on the way to the airport in Washingtonville, NY. With time for one winery tour we made the last tour and tasting of the day.

With a purchased bottle of wine in hand, we headed to our bed and breakfast....which happend to be a castle. Yep. A castle. Thank you to hotels.com for this gem of a find. Located on a mountain, in the heart of a botanical garden lies a mansion known as the Castle at Skyland Manor. Knowing we were headed in to the woods with limited internet, we stopped for provisions aka cheese and meats at the local market. After we settled in to our room, we took our wine and provisions to the Library. I am pretty sure we were two of 6 people staying there that evening. A very skiddish family poked their heads in to find us enjoying a game of Scrabble. They thoughts we were ghosts. Nope. Just us, Lord & Lady Goodin. Carry on. We departed in morning. Four days of fun filled fall activities.

 

#LifesGoodinStLouis - August

Baseball, apple pie and one Arch to go please.  It doesn't get more American than that. So when I married Mr. Goodin, I married a St. Louis Cardinal fan. In return, he became an Oakland Raiders fan. Two sports and at least one of them was a winning team. Every season we attempt to see the Cards play in Miami, but this year it didn't work out. So if the mountain won't come to us, we will go to mountain of St. Louis.

With airline tickets, a packed overnight bag and a sense of optimism we headed to the airport. Standby Gods were kind and we were on our way to make the 7PM pitch! After a small train delay in St. Louis we made our way to the hotel to check in and change. My stadium hot dog was getting closer. We met up with one of Mr. Goodins friends for a pre-game walkabout. Then it happened...the National Anthem. Time to go in and watch this team on their 19 game winning streak. Not only was I there to cheer on our team but I was on a culinary hunt for churros. I searched high and low....no go. Carry on I suppose. The hot dog smothered in everything offered at the cart would have to suffice. The Cards won, the streak was safe and we returned to the hotel full and happy.


                               

Before heading home in the morning, we managed to squeeze in one touristy thing. The Arch.  In all the times that I visited the town while dating Mr. Goodin long distance, he had never taken me there. So before our 24 layaway was over we went to the top.  No worries. If you get  lost or turned around look down.

I will have to admit, it really pretty awesome up there and I highly suggest it if you are in town. Architecturally (no pun intended), it is a serious piece of engineering work. You will meet new friends as you cannot avoid it on the way up. Your knees will bump with strangers in your Arch Pod and you will bond.  Carry on.

#LifesGoodinCapeMayNJ – August

Summer in the Cape. Not Cape Cod but Cape May, NJ. While on a beach sabbatical at the family condo in Ocean City, Maryland, I casually mention that a day trip to Cape May, NJ would be nice. I had been there over ten years ago when I spent my summers in Dewey Beach during grad school years. So look up the ferry schedule and we are off to explore for the day. What I remembered most from my prior visit were the gingerbread houses that the island was known for. After a relaxing hour ferry over, we were ready to explore. It’s funny how your memory plays tricks on you. Everything I remembered looked completely different at initial glance. Granted, I am sure Cape May has evolved….nothing stands in the way of progress. We spent the next few hours winding in and out of streets looking at the homes that would never pass the by-laws of my homeowners association. Beautifully colored houses with decorative eaves and meticulously manicured lawns.

It’s a lovely beach community that prides itself on being gracious and old fashioned while managing forward progress....and maintaining a sense of humor for us wandering tourists.

After walking for most of the morning, we enjoyed a nice seafood (of course) lunch on the promenade lined streets with candy shops, popcorn shops and ice cream parlors. Yes, please I will have one of everything.

We made the afternoon ferry and watched as the sun was setting on the Cape. Mr. Goodin and I typically have a rule that we like to visit places neither of us have been, however it was as if we had just visited for the first time.

So like the sunset, comes the end of my summer blog. It was full of ups and downs....but mostly ups. I am ready now to fall into well, fall. See you on the next trip. As Mr. Goodin's Dad used to say..."Have a Good-un".

And if you just didn't get enough pictures....here is the link to all 112 of them. Stay and linger as long as you like.

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