• Days spent at the beach: 5

• Shopping excursions: 2

• Lobsters eaten: 12 plus 2 lobster rolls

• Seagulls photographed: 1
• Racko games played: 24. I never won once.
• Rummy games played: 1. I lost that, too.
• Apples to Apples games played: 2. I don’t think I won this either but the details are fuzzy.

• Drinks consumed: many, many
• Bike rides taken: 5

• Number of sunsets photographed: 1

• Smiles: countless!

We are home safe and sound from our Cape Cod Vacation 2011. Hurricane Irene did cut our trip short by one day but I won’t hold a grudge since we seem to have made it through the storm relatively unscathed.

I have loads of pictures to process and lots of stories to tell you but for now I hope you’ll be satisfied with this picture I took on the beach last week.

That’s my idea of heaven, right there.

See that little spot in the lake, just to the left of the tall tree in the foreground? That’s Little Mark Island and Jo-Ann and Shawn’s house is in the cove to the left of it. Sweet!

As you can imagine, they have a fantastic view of the lake. They also have their own private beach and a boat. It’s nice to have friends with great toys, let me tell you.

While hanging out on their beach we ate lunch, drank beer, and swam. We also go to see the Mount Washington go by and that was very cool.

After a bit we went out in the boat and checked out the sights. I love this sandbar where people park their boats and hang out in the lake.

Dale decided hanging out in the lake would be fun so he gave tubing a try.

Shawn drives the boat very carefully for newbies and Dale never fell off.

He just relaxed and went with the flow . . . errrr . . . wake.

What a fun way to spend the afternoon!

We left after dinner and finally got home around 11pm. We were tired but it was worth it. What an awesome weekend we had!

I found us an adorable little cottage online. It was reasonably priced and available. It was close to a medium size pond and also close to our friends Jo-Ann and Shawn on Lake Winnipesaukee. It sounded perfect.

And it was. We settled in on Thursday night and went out for a quick bite to eat down in Alton Bay. I had delicious fried shrimp and Dale had the biggest piece of fried haddock I have ever seen. It was wicked hot so we also had some ice cream!

On Friday we decided it was too hot for the beach so we headed to Center Harbor and Keepsake Quilting. I got inspired by all the fabric and am now committed to make 3 new quilts. I fell down so hard in the fabric store that I never even went into Patternworks next door. I know, I know, but I have a lot more yarn than fabric so I feel I made the right choice.

We ended the afternoon on the beach and then had an awesome dinner with Jo-Ann and Shawn at the Lyon’s Den. Dale said his swordfish was the best he’d ever had and the setting was beautiful. It was still hot so after dinner we took a boat ride with Shawn & Jo-Ann and their family to the ice cream place. It was the perfect way to end a wonderful day.

The weather was much more moderate on Saturday so we spent the afternoon at our pond. We met some very nice people on the beach and felt very welcomed by the whole area. The pond is very pretty and surrounded by mountains. We swam and drank beer and ate crackers and cheese and it was a great afternoon.

We cooked steaks on the grill for dinner and took a walk back to the beach to see the sunset. We missed the sunset but Dale got to play horseshoes with his new friends so it was not a total loss!

On Sunday we cleaned up the cottage and headed over to Lake Winnipesaukee to spend the day with our friends. You’re going to have to wait until tomorrow to hear about that, though.

We were not disappointed. We both had sandwiches and they were good but it’s the dessert that was truly spectacular. I had lemon meringue pie that was definitely no ordinary lemon meringue pie. It had a regular pie crust (which was fantastic) and then a lot of delicious lemon filling and then – then! – it had cake. Yes, there was a layer of cake on top of the lemon filling. On top of the cake was the meringue and on the outside edges there were crushed nuts. It was such a great combination of flavors and textures and I really need to figure out how to make it.

Anyway. After lunch we headed across the street to the Vanderbilt Mansion. We almost skipped it as the afternoon was fading fast but we decided to visit to not only take advantage of the free admission thanks to the  National Park Service week deal but also to work off that fabulous pie.

I’m glad we didn’t skip it.

We live pretty close to Newport, RI and have visited the mansions there many times so it was really fun to see the Vanderbilts “country” home. It isn’t quite as large as the Breakers since apparently they didn’t do much entertaining there, or at least not entertaining on the scale of those grand summer parties in Newport. It’s still pretty opulent, though, and the guide regaled us with stories and tales of the Vanderbilts and their wealth.

The grounds are beautiful and have a view of the Hudson that’s spectacular.

Of course. Why would the Vanderbilts have a crappy view of the Hudson?

I know that money can’t buy happiness but I can’t help but thinking, when I see places like this, that maybe being unhappy in this sort of place might not be quite the same as being unhappy someplace else.

Just sayin’.

Kaaterskill Falls was about an hour from our little barn but so worth the trip. It’s one of the highest waterfalls in the state and it’s beautiful. The tiny parking area is a bit away from the falls and you have to walk around a narrow and windy road to get to the best viewing spot but once you get there it opens up into a spectacular view.

It’s hard to capture just how large an area this is with just a few photos.

Dale made his way down the edge and stood at the base of the falls. I was pretty content to take pictures from above but he turned and shouted to me that I had to come down and stand there. His exact words were, “you have to come experience this.”

So I obliged and he was right, it was awesome. The sound of rushing water fills your ears, it’s quite deafening. And the air is cool and you get rather damp from the water spraying around. It really is something to experience.

I took almost 100 photos while we were there and it was hard to narrow them down to just a few to show you. I love this one with Dale on the side and out of focus while the water fall behind him is flowing and moving.

We stayed and took it all in for quite a while. It was loud and peaceful, energizing and restful, all at the same time. I’m so glad we took the time to visit this spot.

Anyway, the whole reason I wanted to go to this part of New York was to visit Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s home in Hyde Park. I’ve driven by it every year going back and forth to Rhinebeck and last year I read Jean Edward Smith’s lengthy biography on FDR and that made me even more determined to visit his home. As an added bonus, last week was National Park Service Week and admission was free. We still had to pay to visit his library and museum because that is run by the National Archives but still, free admission to the mansion was a very nice surprise.

The place did not disappoint. The grounds are beautiful. And the mansion is mansion-y.

Our tour guide, a local college student doing an internship, was entertaining and did a great job explaining things about FDR and ER and their time in Hyde Park. I knew a lot of it already (did I mention the biography I read was long?) but it was a nice refresher on all things FDR.

President Roosevelt and Mrs. Roosevelt are buried on the grounds and the tomb is surrounded by a beautiful garden. I imagine it’s truly spectacular in the summer when the roses are in bloom.

The library is the only presidential library actually used by a sitting president. His office is still intact, there are lots of photos, and there are relics of his life.

Like this Silver Buffalo from the Boy Scouts of America. I don’t know much about this award but Dale was impressed and asked me to take a picture of it for his dad.

And Eleanor Roosevelt’s knitting needles. I had to take a picture and show you, of course. The card says that she knit a lot during meetings. Smart woman, that ER.

Aside from the mansion and the library, the grounds are lovely. The view behind the house to the Hudson River is spectacular and it’s easy to see why FDR loved spending time here.

As you can see, Dale enjoyed our visit, too.

I think FDR was a great president in a very difficult time in our country’s history. Truly, the more I learn about him (and I learned a lot because [did I say this already?] that book was long) the more I admire him.

Now that I’m home I can fill you in on our fun four days away.  We rented a beautiful converted barn in the Catskills, just outside of Woodstock, NY. I found the place on Trip Advisor and it did not disappoint us at all.

It was basically one large room with a bed in one corner and a living area in the opposite corner.

There was a spiral staircase to an upstairs loft that had another bed.

There were windows all around so it basically felt like being outside without actually being outside.

There was a hot tub.

And beautiful gardens.

And a whimsical sculpture that I just loved.

It was the perfect place to relax and recharge and hang out together. We played games and cards, we took advantage of the hot tub every night, we cooked and drank wine and just enjoyed being together.

It wasn’t all about hanging out at the house, though. Come back tomorrow and I’ll show you the sights!

I only got to spend one late afternoon at the beach last week and it was lovely. Just Dale and I with a margarita (or two) and a swim in the balmy waves. It was probably my favorite hour of the whole week.

There was an evening, though, where we rode our bikes to the beach. We had eaten a late lunch and decided to all take a ride together. The light was gorgeous and I was so glad I had tossed the camera into the basket of my bike.

I was able to get a good photo of everyone.

Hannah on her bike.

And Jess grinning.

Patrick with his long hair getting blown around.

And Hannah and Jess by the shore.

I even thought to have Hannah take a picture of Dale and I.

Family portraits at the beach are a very good thing.

I spent lots of time at the beach.

I read – in fact I finished 2 books.

I knit a lot. I finished a pair of socks and made some progress on a shawl I am knitting for a friend to wear in her wedding next month.

I took lots of photos and created some great memories.

I shopped and ate delicious foods.

I rode my bike and walked on the beach.

I hung out with my family and friends.

The only thing that would have made it better would have been another week of it!