Two Words.

Dance. Party.







Til 3am.  For reals.

East Coast - Days 1&2

Aww man I'm already slacking on this trip!  Bad Melissa!

My flight to Baltimore was pretty uneventful. I was exhausted after only sleeping 2.5 hours so I slept almost the entire plane ride!  I read my Kindle for probably an hour total.  My only gripe so far: you have to turn the Kindle off for take off/landing!  So annoying!


I landed in Baltimore a little early, around 5pm.  I was excited to be there and see Ann Marie but it took 1.5 hours to get my stupid rental car!  The process was slow and they were super busy.  I got a Dodge Caliber, the same car i had in Napa earlier this year.  That car is a trip...its very small but when you sit in the driver seat you feel like you are in a full sized SUV!  The seat sits so high. I'm always shocked when I step out.

Anyways, I got to AM's house and we caught the last quarter of the Charger's loss.  After we got some 5 Guys burgers and fries and hung out until 1am talking (and watching the new Dexter!)  I slept in til 10am EST and then met AM for some Jimmy Johns.  I got on the road at around noon, and Google Maps said i had almost 6 hours of driving ahead of me!

The rain was horrible at first, i could barely see the car in front of me. It slowed down after 30 mins.  I made one stop for gas and got to NC by 5pm.  Not bad.  Still raining (with thunder and lightening) but not as bad. The house is HUGE.  It has a theatre room, elevator, pool...i'll take photos tomorrow. The beach looks beautiful, exactly how i pictured it.

I met everyone who is attending the workshop tonight too.  Seems like a really great group of people so far!  I'm rooming with a girl named Maggie Stolzberg who seems really sweet. We have a mutual friend too...a guy I went to college with! 

I'm super excited for tomorrow!  I hope it stops raining.

An iPhone shot from the plane...with the tilt shift generator

Packing!

As usual, I am packing last minute. When I was 14, my parents and I went on a 3 week trip of Europe. I was given a (small) duffle bag and told that I could pack anything that fits in it. That was it. I am so grateful for this because now I'm an awesome under-packer! I hate that airlines charge you for baggage now so I try and carry on as much as possible. Don't forget, I have a ton of camera gear and a laptop too!

Flight leaves at 6:45am. Ugh. I need to sleep.


Oh and I checked...my headlights are off.

The Kindle - My initial thoughts

I was able to touch and play with my friend Jennie's Kindle before I purchased it. I held the Nook and the Sony Ereader that same day and was less than impressed. The Kindle was much more user friendly and even less bulky!

So far I absolutely love it! Its so easy to download books either from the Kindle or directly from Amazon. I love the matte screen, its just like reading a regular book! I am so excited to use this on my upcoming trips!!

Anxiety for this next trip...

My trip on Sunday is for work, not pleasure. I'm taking a 3 day workshop from (in my opinion) one of the best wedding photographers ever, Ben Chrisman. I've been following his work for a few years now and when he offered his first US workshop, I jumped on the (very pricey) chance.

Now my stomach is turning. You see, I know I will meet some awesome people, see a few familiar faces and learn a ton. No problem there. But they are doing a portfolio critique. AHHH It's been since college since I've had that! I am putting myself out there to someone I greatly admire and I'm scared out of my mind on what I will hear. My insecurities run deep, trust me.

I'm excited to see the Outer Banks of North Carolina and to spend some quality time in Balitmore with my best friend. But in the back of my mind that one little thing is looming...

What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right??

Home & Jet Lag

Boston seems so long ago. You know when you are walking fast on a moving walkway and as soon as you step off the moving part you have to find your ground again quickly or else you will fall. I'm in that almost falling stage right now. Full speed ahead in to the end of wedding season..but getting back on that moving walkway again on Sunday when I leave for Baltimore and North Carolina.

Jet Lag

Any tips to get over jet lag?

I've been going to bed late as usual - but can't sleep past 7:45am! I guess I should embrace it and just get to bed earlier...who knows how long that will last!

But I'm going on 4 hours of sleep and its starting to hit me.............zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Airport Revelations

I spend alot of freaking time in airports. Standing in security lines, annoyed at what people try to pass off as two carry ons. I can still remember back to a time when smoking on a plane was allowed. I was 13 or 14 and we were on our way to Europe. They sat us in the non-smoking section, which was one row in front of the smoking section. Can you imagine what that would be like today?

I have my airport rituals. Mostly its just a People magazine and some sort of gummy treat. Swedish Fish, preferably. I love that most airports are offering free wifi now, helps pass the time since I'm meticulously early to every flight. (Don't let Nichole fool you with the swiss army knife story - she still won't let me live that one down!)

People watching is one of my favorite pastimes. I'm always curious of everyone's stories, where they are headed...who will be there on the other end to pick them up. I love being picked up at the airport, spotting that significant other/friend/family member waiting for you with open arms and on occasion a Jimmy's Johns sandwich.

I'm rambling at this point. Its been a tiring trip.

Irony? California Gurls just came on over the loudspeaker. I'm coming home!!

Day 6 - Chatham, Provincetown, Newport, Mystic and Boston

I woke up in the charming B&B, The Cranberry Inn. I went downstairs for breakfast and the Innkeeper (whom I hadn't met) called me by name. Talk about service! I had some breakfast and checked out soon after.

I drove the 40 minutes to the end of Cape Cod to Provincetown. My friend, Rev Tuttle said it best on my facebook: "It's just like Hillcrest, but with a pier." (haha) It was a super cute town to walk around. Tons of restaurants and small shops. I also got to try my very first Lobster Roll...it was awesome! I am totally hooked now.

I have a thing for Lighthouses so on my way out of Cape Cod I noticed a sign pointing towards one in Truro. I headed over there to check it out! It had an interesting history. Because the cliffs are so unstable they had to move it back quite a bit about 40 years ago. A very cool spot for photos!

The drive down to Mystic, CT was 3 hours from Provincetown so I kept myself occupied with Sirius radio and my P&S camera!

(P&S pic)

I stopped off in Newport RI after my mother wrote me on Facebook telling me we had a family home there. Well, not us, but our ancestors were from there. I went on a wild goose chase to find a certain house only to find out she gave me the wrong info. After getting the right address, I found the house but I'm not so sure it was the right one :( Below, a pic of my car I've been driving all over!

I got back on the road and made it to Mystic with an hour of sunlight left! What a charming little town! I definitely want to come back here and spend a longer amount of time. I found a good parking spot and walked down to the drawbridge in town.

Of course, my whole point of the trip was to eat at Mystic Pizza. I adore that movie and it has special meaning to my Sigma Kappa girls :) I was seriously giddy to be there!

The pizza was pretty good! I have a menu that my parents got for me years ago...I took this one too. I'm curious to see if anything has changed! They had a ton of photos from the movie on the walls. It was a neat experience.

Mystic is a tiny town (where everything closes at 6!) and it was still early so I decided to make the 2 hour trek to Boston. I drove over to Harvard since it was one place I hadn't visited but wanted to. It was too dark to really experience it. Plus there were a ton of students out...who liked to walk in front of your car! I swear I almost hit 4 people! I got frustrated and left Cambridge quickly!

My flight leaves at 1:30pm tomorrow. And I did turn off my car headlights this time. I think.

Day 5 - Portland, York, Plymouth and Chatham

I was woken up around 8am to the loud chatter of the housekeepers outside my room. They made a ton of noise that I couldn't get back to sleep. I mentioned this to the desk guy when I checked out at noon and he took $30 off my room! Not too bad!

He also suggested I check out Dimillo's Floating restaurant for some good seafood. It was easy to find and had free parking. I went for the Lobster Bake which was way too much food! It was clam chowder (best I've had), a salad, 1.8lb lobster, steamers, baked potato, green beans and a blueberry cobbler! Wow! I definitely did not finish it all.

(P&S pic)

The restaurant

(P&S pic)

I hopped on the road south soon after lunch. After a few last minute decisions, I drove to find the Nubble Lighthouse in York, MA. I was a bit bummed because I thought you could walk up to it, but it was far away on an island. I didn't stay long!

(P&S pic)

(P&S pic)

Road to York

It was super windy!!
(P&S pic)

I got back on the road and was on my way to Plymouth! Unfortunately I didn't think about the Boston traffic and ended up in a jam for over 2 hours :( I felt like I spent a ton of time in the car today which was a bummer.


I got to Plymouth just at sunset and the sky was beautiful!

THE rock

(P&S pic)

I was hungry at this point so I checked Yelp for a good casual restaurant. I went to Mamma Mia's and got a pizza (what they are known for) and a Mayflower beer, again the waitress had no idea what kind it was. I wasn't a fan, tasted like an IPA.

(P&S pic)

I arrived in Cape Cod pretty late...9pm. Most of the places to stay were closed! I was able to find a cute B&B in Chatham called the Cranberry Inn for way more money than I would have liked to spend, but at least I have a bed and internet! If I come back to the Cape, I'm definitely going to plan more accordingly for a place to stay! Excited to explore the area though!!

Day 4 - Salem, Portsmouth, NH and Portland

I woke up in Boston, but soon after check out I headed to the airport to pick up my rental car. A Ford Fusion, not a bad little car. I did the short 30 minute drive to Salem to do some witch-hunting...I mean exploring!

I went to the Salem Witch Museum. Yelp had pretty bad reviews and I can't say that I disagree. It was pretty hokey. But it gave a good overall recount of the Witch Trials. Bummer that the outside of the building was getting work done, it looked like it would be pretty!

On my drive in, I spotted a large bar (Tavern on the Square) on one of the streets and decided to go there for lunch. It was quite large and had a ton of people watching the Pats game. I sat in a sunny spot with a good view of outside. I ordered a blueberry beer and it was wonderful! For food, I had sesame salmon, sweet potato fries and garlic mashed potatoes. All so good!

(P&S pic)

Love the blueberries in my beer!

(P&S pic)

After lunch, I wandered around town some more with no destination in mind. I stumbled on the Lyceum Hall which is where Alexander Graham Bell first demonstrated his findings of the telephone! So neat!

And the Bewitched statue!

The Town Hall

Just behind the Town Hall is an ice cream shop (yes I indulged!) and also a Goddess Shop. I wandered around the shop and discovered there is a psychic there and she did Tarot Card readings. I remember my mom having Tarot cards growing up (but not using them?) and I had never had a reading so I made an appointment. It was $30 for 15 minutes of her time. You ask particular questions about something going on in your life then choose 6 cards from a deck. I asked her 3 questions and the outcomes of every single question came back extremely positive! She said that she was very impressed with my positive energy and should go on a retreat. I didn't tell her that was exactly what I was currently doing! Very strange. I'd be happy to share more of the experience, but its sort of personal, so if you want to know just ask me in private.

I left Salem soon after in a great mood. I pointed the car to the North and just began to drive. My plan (if you can call it that) was to check out Portsmouth, NH and Kittery Outlets. I drove through both, not feeling like stopping at either. I got back on the road and plugged in the city of Portland in to my GPS.

A cool roadside cemetery in Portsmouth, NH

I noticed a few rain sprinkles on my drive, but it barely got the car wet. The sunset was incredible though!

Shot while driving...hey at least I wasn't texting too!

I arrived in Portland after dark and drove aimlessly around the city a bit. I checked Yelp for a good hotel and found one just outside the city for a decent price. The room is nice and quiet. It was only 8pm and I didn't want to call it a night yet so I went to see Going the Distance at the local movie theatre, the Nickelodeon. The theatre was so tiny, the smallest I've been in! And I was the only person in there, I felt special. The movie was really good, I totally adored it! The city was pretty quiet when I left the theatre. They have the most bars per capita than any other city in the US, I thought it would be a bit more social! Maybe not on a Sunday night!

Not 100% sure what I am doing tomorrow. Probably will head south and hit up the Kittery outlets. Then maybe try to make it to Cape Cod? Stay tuned to find out! haha

PS I saw a little bit of color in the trees today! Not a ton, I was hoping for a bit more, but I'll take it!

Boston Day 3

I'm not quite sure when this trip turned in to a total beer tour of Boston (or when I became my father's daughter) but I have drank more beer in the last three days than I have in months!!

One thing I love to do is check out different brewery's across the country. I got up early (9amEST) and took the T to the Sam Adam's Brewery.

Outside the brewery (P&S pic)

I made it in time for the next tour. There were about 30 other people so a lot of the tour it was hard to see what they were doing and explaining. They passed around some hops and barley and showed us all the tanks. The brewery is extremely small because its just their local brew and testing facility. The mass brewing ones are in two different states.

On the tour (P&S pic)

After the tour portion, came the tasting portion. We sat at these small tables (I met a few fun people from NC) and tried three different beers. Boston Lager, Summer Ale and a local one you can only try in Boston, Santarana (I think that was the name? I can't find it online). Summer Ale is an awesome beer I drink in Cali, but you can't find it anymore! I was happy to have some of the last bit for the year. The coolest part? It was a free tour (well, they ask you for a $2 donation to charity) and you get to keep the 7oz tasting glass!

The hops growing in the beer garden (P&S pic)

Entry (P&S pic)

After, i was incredibly hungry so I took the T to the Haymarket station. I jumped on the trolley and rode to Cheers, aka The Bull and Finch Bar. Upstairs they have a bar that is a replica of the movie set, complete with the original lighting from the show. Downstairs is the original bar that was the inspiration to the show. But only the front of the bar was used in the actual show.

P&S pic

It was extremely busy, so I grabbed a seat at the bar. I ordered an Octoberfest and Carla's Petite Burger. I was less than impressed with the food. The fries are okay, but I would probably not eat there again.

My view to the bottom of my glass :) (P&S pic)

I hopped back on the trolley and rode to Fenway Park. There was no game, but a huge blood drive going on. I walked around, hoping to find a tour to take, but the park was pretty dead.

P&S pic

P&S pic

P&S pic

My clients showed up about 4:45pm and picked me up from Fenway. We drove over to the Boston Common to start their engagement session. Ashley contacted me the week after I booked my trip to Boston. I wasn't planning on working at all, but it couldn't have worked out better than it did! We both joked it was fate! I'm shooting their July 26 wedding in San Diego next year.

A few sneak peeks!
The Boston Harbor

Boston Common (such gorgeous light, I was in heaven!)

After the shoot, we had dinner at an Irish pub called Kitty O'Sheas. Our waitress was hilarious, she had the thickest Boston accent, we had a hard time communicating. This was our conversation:
Me: Do you have a local brew on tap?
Waitress: Yeah Kitty O'Shea's beer
Me: What kind of beer is it?
Waitress: Ummm...light beer?
Me: *stares* Ok I'll have that.

We had a good laugh at her expense. She would have fit in well at the Jersey Shore. After dinner, we walked near Fanueil Hall and I grabbed some night shots with my camera.


We stopped at the Purple Shamrock and Adam's best man, Joe met up with us. They had $1.50 Coors Light, but I opted to spend a little more and drink good beer ;-) We stayed and laughed and danced until midnight.

Best Man Joe in his V-neck

Ashley

Such a fun day in Boston! Today I check out of my hotel and go get my rental car. I'm heading to Salem to check out the Witch Museum!