This is another recipe that is all over the Internet and so I had to try it. It’s completely grain-free which makes it great for Weight Watchers (2 points) or keto.

The recipe is:

3 eggs separated

1/4 tsp baking soda or cream of tartar

3 tbsp nonfat Greek yogurt

Mix the yogurt with the yolks. Beat the whites with the baking soda until stiff peaks form. Put parchment on a baking sheet and form into 6 pancake like shapes. Bake at 350 for 30 min. Allow to cool before you eat it.

It’s easy to make and it looks like bread. The texture is much softer though (hence the name), but still bread-like enough that you could use it for a sandwich or as a bun. I prefer the two-ingredient dough I made previously, but this is definitely a doable option.

This is another recipe that is all over the Internet and so I had to try it. It’s completely grain-free which makes it great for Weight Watchers (2 points) or keto. The recipe is: 3 eggs separated 1/4 tsp baking soda or cream of tartar 3 tbsp nonfat Greek yogurt Mix the yogurt with the … Read more →

I’ve been hearing a lot lately about two-ingredient dough which is a popular bread hack for Weight Watchers. It’s substituted for bagels, pizza dough and more. Most recipes say a serving is 3 Weight Watchers points. Which if you consider that a regular bagel is going to set you back at least 11 points, is significant.

I decided to give it a try. The recipe is very simple. For 4 servings, mix 1 cup self-rising flour with 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt. That’s it! Because we are gluten-free though, I had to substitute, so I made my own GF self-rising flour with 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt mixed with the 1 cup gluten free flour.

You mix it all up and separate it into 4 balls. I decided to make bagels so I rolled each ball into a log then formed it into a donut shape. I brushed them with egg wash and then sprinkled with Everything Bagel seasoning.

Bake at 350 for 23 minutes then take it out and turn the heat up to 500 then bake it at that temp for 3 more minutes.

They were amazing! I cut them in half, toasted them lightly and then I put cream cheese, chives, and smoked salmon on top. I could not tell it was not a regular bagel.

The Weight Watchers app told me this comes out to 4 points, which I think is because gluten free flour has slightly more calories than regular flour.

I’ve been hearing a lot lately about two-ingredient dough which is a popular bread hack for Weight Watchers. It’s substituted for bagels, pizza dough and more. Most recipes say a serving is 3 Weight Watchers points. Which if you consider that a regular bagel is going to set you back at least 11 points, is … Read more →

Before we went to Providenciales in Turks and Caicos, I read that Grace Bay repeatedly gets voted the best beach in the world by various travel sites. I’ve been to a lot of beaches, so I was ready to put this to the test. I was also interested to see if the Grace Bay Club met my expectations. We considered several hotels when planning our February getaway to T&C. The deciding factors for me were that the photos of the Grace Bay Club did not show that tight gaggle of lounge chairs you so often see on Caribbean beaches and the hotel had an adults only pool that is heated. I love to spend time at the beach and in the pool and I want to do so without 400 other people. The hotel’s location also was perfect, right in the heart of Grace Bay and close to restaurants and shops. Another important consideration was the hotel’s reassurance that they had gluten free toast for breakfast. We chose an oceanfront room with a balcony.

Getting Started

Our arrival at the Grace Bay Club was low key. The entrance to the hotel is unassuming. We entered reception and had an awkward greeting where I was directed to sit in a chair in front of the desk while my husband was left standing. We were both offered refreshments and enjoyed the fruit punch, as well as a cool cloth. The check in procedure felt a little weird as the woman assisting us kept coming around the desk and handing us things. My husband was signing things on the corner of the desk. It was just a bit strange.

We were then told we would meet our personal concierge who would show us around the property and to our room. The Grace Bay Club needs to do a much better job with their web site because there was absolutely no mention of a personal concierge on the site or when we called with questions about the accommodations. A personal concierge is not something I wanted as an amenity but it seemed like it could be useful.

Our personal concierge came and took us on a walk through the property which was nice, although she shared so much information at such a rapid speed that it was nearly impossible to follow it all.

The Room

Our room was lovely with a king bed, desk, chairs, and a huge unit that contained the TV, mini fridge, drawers, and hanging space. The balcony had chairs and a table. The view was oceanfront, but the ocean was just past one of the restaurants, so it was not a perfect view.  The bathroom had a separate shower and soaking tub and bi-fold shutters opened onto the bedroom over the tub. This was actually nice since it opened up the bathroom and allowed natural light in.  Our room had a fruit plate (lovely), bottles of water which were replenished each day (also nice), and a bottle of champagne (useless since we don’t drink).

The Resort

The grounds of the hotel are lovely and green, with winding paths throughout. We had access to two pools. One was for everyone and contained a swim-up bar. The other was adults only with an infinity edge and a clear glass side. There was a third pool we did not have access to – the type of room you have controls your access to the different pools, so we paid a bit more for a room that included the adult only pool. The pools are staffed with gentlemen who will place a towel-like cover on the lounger for you and provide you with towels and water, and also take orders for drinks or food. There is a spa (which we did not visit), a business center (which we did use when our flight home was cancelled due to weather and we had to scramble to get another flight). The hotel also has bikes you can borrow at no charge. This is a nice amenity since you could easily bike to most stores and restaurants in the area, while they might be a bit of a hike if you walked. On the beach there are kayaks, stand up paddle boards, and hobie cats for use for guests. We tried the paddle board and the kayaks and had a great time.

It’s also good to note that if you plan to take any boat excursions (for parasailing, snorkeling, or just a tour), the Grace Bay Club is one of the three spots on the entire beach where people can be picked up. There are ropes in the water designating the swimming area all along the beach and one of the few openings where boats can pull up to the beach is right in front of the hotel.

The Beach

The beach was perfect in every way. The sand is soft and there are almost no shells. The water is that magical turquoise color so ubiquitous in the Caribbean. The water is warm and completely clear. Most days there was just a gentle breeze which kept things from getting too hot but was not enough to disturb you. You can walk long distances in either direction. I can see why the beach is rated so high because it was nearly perfect. The sand fleas were the biggest problem and we soon found we were covered in bites on our lower calves. In general we found the beach not to be crowded but we were there in early February before high season truly kicked in.

There is a shelf to put your shoes on just before the steps to the beach and there are foot showers there as well. The property has a lot of ocean frontage, so the chairs are nicely spread out. They are arranged so that there is an umbrella, two loungers, a table, and two low beach chairs at each spot. Some of the loungers have cushions but you have to get there early to get one. The same gentlemen who work at the pools will assist you on the beach and will set you up with chair liners and towels. Each sitting area has a red flag. If you need something, you stand the flag up in the sand.  While it was clear that many of the elderly hotel patrons enjoyed interacting with the beach and pool workers (who often sat and chatted with them), we go on vacation to be left alone. And the biggest problem with this system is there are only one or two guys working at a time so if you need anything, they are likely busy with someone else. We ended up just grabbing our own linens and setting ourselves up each day, instead of standing around and waiting for ten minutes each time. We learned to just bring our own bottled water from the room because it was about a 20 minute wait to get some. It also became clear that those patrons who brought cash to the beach and tipped these guys each time got great service. We didn’t and so were not in favor.

Dining

The property has several restaurants, including one right on the beach where all the food is served on skewers. The hotel’s bar has the longest beach front bar in the Caribbean. There was a nice fire pit area near the bar where people congregated at night and although our room was near the bar, we didn’t hear loud music at night. The main restaurant serves Italian food and we go to the Caribbean to eat fish, so we did not partake, but it is generally rated highly. There was a beach buffet one evening that was characterized as Caribbean food. We skipped this as well given questions about what was gluten free and because I just don’t want to eat buffet food.

Breakfast was included each morning at an outdoor restaurant next to a pool, facing the beach. The view is lovely from here. Breakfast was a buffet but eggs could be ordered. We found our servers were generally on island time, not interested in taking our egg orders in a timely way and giving us a little attitude when we asked for service. The food was fine with fruit, cheese, pastries, juice, yogurt, cereal, meat, vegetables, and some hot dishes including bacon, sausage, grits, fish and other items. The first morning there was gluten

free bread (as promised). The second morning there was none (when we asked we were told they didn’t have that). The third morning we had to ask for it and the fourth morning it was left out on the buffet. Not exactly consistent or what we were promised.

Afternoon tea was also included (and this was not something mentioned on the web site or in our conversations with staff on the phone). We were told they would have gluten free items there. More on that in a minute. The tea was a self-serve affair at the breakfast buffet area with coffee and tea and a few plates of cookies and crustless sandwiches. Not many people seemed to be partaking in it.

Services

Our private concierge Tranay gave us a very strange little inexpensive cell phone we were supposed to use to contact her if we needed anything. This sounded great – immediate access. She offered to make dinner reservations. We called her soon after checking in with a dinner reservation request. She told us the place we wanted was not “the best of the best” and wanted us to dine at the hotel instead. I knew I wanted to go there (and it was a lovely meal) so we insisted ( couldn’t help but feel she was got a kick back if we ate at the hotel). Things went downhill with her from there.  She told us afternoon tea would have gluten free options. We stopped in the first day and they did not. We mentioned this to her and to her credit she made sure they did have options moving forward, however she called us the next day and pressured us and basically told us we “had” to go since she made sure they had options for us. When we said we weren’t sure we would go, she insisted on bringing a plate of food up to our room. When there was no gluten free bread the second day at breakfast we let her know and she took care of it, but it took many phone calls with her.

She was not able to get us a dinner reservation at a popular restaurant and she called us three or four times a day on that little cell phone for various reasons – often just to check in (it seemed to me the concierges must be mandated to make contact with each guest each day). We left it in the room since we had no need to be constant contact with her. One day she told us that when we didn’t answer she went looking for us at the pool and the beach (we were not on the property at the time) which felt over the top. We found her to be pushy and aggressive. I went on vacation to get away from constant phone calls and people who want things from me.  It seemed that she was trying NOT to be a laid back island person, but she went too far in the other direction and became an annoyance. That being said, if you are a person who wants to have someone managing your vacation for you – telling you where and when to eat and scheduling activities for you, this might be a good situation. We were looking for rest and relaxation and not complicated interactions with people on our trip.

My final beef is she told us to leave for the airport four before our flight. The airport is about half an hour away and we needed to drop off the rental car and ride a shuttle to the airport. It is my experience that Caribbean airports often have ridiculously long lines (for no good reason), however there were no lines at all at this airport and we ended up sitting at the airport for three hours before our flight. I would expect a concierge to have a handle on what the wait times are like.

We encountered a few problems with other services.

Housekeeping left dirty dishes in our room several times. We requested a bucket of ice from room service be delivered at a specific time and it arrived half an hour later than we asked (island time apparently). I understand that having an ice machine down the hall is tacky, but I would so much rather buzz down the hall to get some ice myself than have to make phone calls and wait for people who don’t show up.

Despite my picky grievances (which mostly have to do with the service), this is a lovely, wonderful property on a magnificent beach. The facility itself is completely top notch – it was the staff that caused some bumps in the road for us. I would highly recommend a stay here simply because it was so gorgeous and perfect.

 

Before we went to Providenciales in Turks and Caicos, I read that Grace Bay repeatedly gets voted the best beach in the world by various travel sites. I’ve been to a lot of beaches, so I was ready to put this to the test. I was also interested to see if the Grace Bay Club … Read more →

I’ve always kept my recipes in binders. I have different binders for different categories (entrees, breads, cakes and pies, cookies and other desserts, and then other). Each binder is divided into subcategories (for example, the other binder has apps, soups, veggies, potato, pasta, condiments, beverages and more). Once I started my blog, many of the recipes I created ended up being posted there, as well as recipes I’d tried and blogged about. I find it really convenient to just come to my blog and search for the recipe I want. However, the bulk of all of my recipes are in the binders. And sometimes it takes me forever to find something since the recipes themselves are not alphabetized or sorted in any way. Often I just kind of know where the recipe I am looking for is placed within the section, but sometimes I page through endlessly trying to find something.

So I’ve concluded I need to convert to a more modern system. But what? Here’s what I’m contemplating:

• I could scan in every last page I have and then save them by name and create folders for the different categories. It would take me months to scan in the recipes in those giant binders though.
• I could start to save recipes digitally now so that at least moving forward things will be easy to access, and just leave the print recipes in the binders. That makes it hard to know where to look when I want a specific recipe though.

A big sticking point for me is that when I want to find a recipe I am usually in the kitchen. My computer is upstairs. Yes, I could save it all to Google Drive, but I find that things can be hard to see on my phone, particularly if I’m looking at a scan. I could use Evernote which would allow me to create tags which could be useful, but it’s the same problem with trying to see it on my phone. So I’m not entirely satisfied with the digital option, at least not as it stands today.

How do you organize your recipes?

I’ve always kept my recipes in binders. I have different binders for different categories (entrees, breads, cakes and pies, cookies and other desserts, and then other). Each binder is divided into subcategories (for example, the other binder has apps, soups, veggies, potato, pasta, condiments, beverages and more). Once I started my blog, many of the … Read more →

One of the blogs I follow is Living Large in Our Little House by Kerri Fivecoat Campbell. Kerri and her husband their six dogs (yes, you read that right) live in a tiny house in the woods by a lake in Arkansas. She also has a separate writing studio/guesthouse. When I was a little girl, I loved dollhouses. I never had an actual dollhouse, but I had plenty of Barbies and loved collecting tiny things to put in my Barbie townhouse. The tiny house movement appeals to that old fascination of mine somehow. Over the years, Kerri has shared lots of tiny houses on her blog, all of which make me appreciate the aesthetic of paring down and living in a small space. Some of these homes are simply ingenious.

Kerri now has a book out with the same name and it’s terrific. Living Large in Our Little House not only tells the story of how Kerri and her husband joined the tiny house movement (it was largely unplanned) and how she manages in such a small space, but she also shares lots of photos and stories from others in small homes. Once you’ve satisfied your voyeuristic urges, you’ll also find that the book is packed with helpful information that people from all walks of life can tap into. She has tips on how to stock a small kitchen, how to deal with family heirlooms and “stuff,” even how to work from home and maintain friendships while living in a small house.

I was particularly interested in seeing the CAD drawing of the plans for her house. It really helped me understand the space. Kerri is a small house veteran and she knows what works and what doesn’t. The book is packed with tips based on her experience (in fact, she would have made her house a bit bigger if she’d known then what she knows now).

If you’re considering downsizing (or are going to be helping a parent downsize), want to live in a small house, or are just entranced with the concept as I am, this is a book you should pick up.

 

 

One of the blogs I follow is Living Large in Our Little House by Kerri Fivecoat Campbell. Kerri and her husband their six dogs (yes, you read that right) live in a tiny house in the woods by a lake in Arkansas. She also has a separate writing studio/guesthouse. When I was a little girl, … Read more →

Do you have halls in your home that are empty and you don’t know what to do with them? I have two space like this in my house that I’ve been pondering. One of them is connected to a remodeling project we have been working on. We recently remodeled our family room and there is a small hallway, really half of a hallway since it only has one wall and the other side opens to the family room. It’s complicated even further by the fact that there is a closet that opens into the space, so I can’t block the door. When we first moved into this house I painted a tree mural on the wall. When we repainted the room, the mural was done and gone and I needed something to make this little space work for me.

I thought about this little space for quite a long time until I came up with a great solution. The theme of our new family room is travel (a post about this room is coming soon) so I wanted something that would relate. Everywhere I go, I try to buy a coffee table of photos of the area. These books ended up stacked on tables and never were displayed to their potential. A bookcase would be perfect, however the wall it could go is behind where the closet door opens, so it would have to be very narrow. So narrow in fact that the books would need to face out.

I did a lot of searching and even considered putting up some narrow shelves and just leaning the books on them. Then I stumbled on this bookcase.  Initially I thought the bookcase would hang on the wall, but when it arrived, I realized it is meant to stand on the floor and be attached to the wall so it won’t fall forward on children (and yes, it’s technically a child’s bookcase!).  It is the perfect depth. I can open the closet without an issue and it fits the space perfectly. All of my travel books fit and I can see their covers and titles. I’ve also stuck in a few photos for variety and plan to add a few things other than books as time goes on. I hung a painting we bought on our honeymoon above it to complete the space.

A bookcase ended up being the right solution for my space, but here are some other great hallway solutions.

Do you have halls in your home that are empty and you don’t know what to do with them? I have two space like this in my house that I’ve been pondering. One of them is connected to a remodeling project we have been working on. We recently remodeled our family room and there is … Read more →

We’ve always stayed at big resorts when visiting the Caribbean. When planning our trip to St. Lucia, I wasn’t satisfied with the options. The nicer resorts are to the south, near the Pitons, but far away from a lot of the restaurants and attractions up north. Many

of the resorts on this island do not have rooms close to the beach at all (at Sugar Bay you have to ride a cart to get down there. Hotel Chocolat isn’t even a waterfront property, nor is Jade Mountain: both take you to the beach by shuttle). We ended up choosing to stay at Villa Beach Cottages, on Choc Bay. It looked too good to be true from the photos on their web site, but I was pleased in general.

Location

Location is everything and this mini-resort lived up to its photos. It’s located on the main road between Rodney Bay and Castries. I was a little nervous when I realized our hotel was on this busy four-lane highway. The driveway was hard to find: we missed it once and had to circle back. Once you find it, you pull in and suddenly you are in a quiet retreat. You don’t know the road is there at all (and I still can’t believe this, but it was true). The parking lot is small and right next to the two story villas. The villas are simply charming, done in a Victorian gingerbread style. They’re pastel colored and landscaped with lush vegetation and flowers. The grounds are small, but incredibly well-kept.

The villas all look out over the wooden deck and pool area to the beach below and it is a stunning view. The ocean is just outside your window and if your window is open, you can hear the waves (which is a dream come true for me). Choc Bay is a lovely long beach. To the right is simply open beach with undeveloped land. A small restaurant is directly next door but

beyond that is just vacant land. Locals use some of it as a park, with a volleyball net set up. To the left is another empty lot where there was some weed smoking and partying happening at night. Beyond that is the Sandals resort. The beach is incredibly soft sand with warm, calm water. We took lots of long, relaxing walks on the beach.

Castries is about a 5 minute drive to the south and Rodney Bay is about a 10 minute drive north. There is a grocery store almost across the street, with a much nicer one in Rodney Bay. There were lots of great restaurants in the area. We did take a day trip down to the Pitons and it really is an entire day to get there, do some things, and get back. There is no direct and easy way to get there, with narrow, steep, winding roads through the hills. You do need to select one area of the island and just stay there because you can’t simply pop

down south for dinner one night.

 

Our Room

We were traveling with our adult daughter and were pleased to rent a unit with two bedrooms, two baths, and a kitchen

and living area. We generally stay in full service hotels in the Caribbean and have never had a self-catering situation but we found it quite handy. We made our own breakfasts and lunches which made hanging around and enjoying the beach easy. We stayed on the second floor. All the units face the water and all have a balcony that looks out to the beach. The second floor was definitely the best choice here because you could see the beach. First floor units open up to the pool area and you

have people walking past you as you sit on your porch.

The bedrooms were comfortable. The master bedroom opens to the balcony and the beach and we left our window open at night to hear those waves. I do wish the French doors to the balcony had drapes or blinds you could open. They didn’t move and they only way to see the view was to open the doors, and then the air conditioning was overpowered. The bathrooms were large with no counter space. The towels were a bit

threadbare. The other bedroom felt a bit dark because it faced the parking lot and was in the shade of a giant banyan tree.

The kitchen and dining area was fine. We could have used a few more eating utensils – 4 of each kind was a bit skimpy. But the kitchen had sufficient plates and pans to cook. The dining table was large and beautiful. The sitting area left something to be desired. An old couch and chair that had been recovered were uncomfortable and musty. The living area was dark and had no air conditioning (each bedroom had its own wall unit). We spent almost no time in here though. We ate all our meals on the balcony and used this room only for cooking.

Before we arrived, I inquired about having some basic food supplies placed in the unit before our arrival, since the web site said this was an option. I merely asked what was offered, and the cost. I never said I wanted it. When we arrived, the food was in our refrigerator. We ended up using it and it was fine, but I would have been displeased to be charged for this if I had not asked for and did not use it.

The balcony had a table and four chairs, as well as two loungers. There were some birds making a nest in a nearby light fixture so we enjoyed watching them, but had to shoo them away from our food.

Our building was a quad – there were four units (2 up and 2 down), so there was another family right next to us, and we could hear them when on the balcony. The balcony has a screen though so there is some privacy. On our other side was a walkway that separated us from another building.

We had wifi but it was spotty and the connection was pretty slow. We never actually turned the TV on so I’m not sure what channels were available.

The Facilities

The resort has two small pools. One is small and one is just about the size of a bathtub. The outside common area is quite small, but

there was a hammock, lounge chairs, and two gazebos. We visited in April, which is a shoulder season, so the resort was practically empty. There were at most 3-4 other families there. This resort has 20 units. If all the units were full, it would be quite crowded in this area and I don’t think there would be enough

lounge chairs (they may have had extras in storage though).

This is a perfect place for families with small children, because the area is small and enclosed – there are even gates on the stairs to the beach. You could let your kids run, and if you had a first floor villa, you could sit on your porch and just watch them. The smaller pool is perfect for small kids. And staying in a unit with a kitchen is an absolute must when you have small children, so this would be perfect.

We swam in the larger pool which was fine with just us, but once anyone else got in, it was crowded. If kids were splashing, it was unusable. There was a hot tub, but there seemed to be some confusion about it. There were no visible controls to turn it on. Twice we tried to use it and asked for help. The controls

are under the deck below it. The first time it was turned on for us. The second time we were told it would go on in 15 minutes, but it never did.

Lounge chairs can be taken down the steps to the beach and we spent a lot of time enjoying the empty beach. We were approached only once by someone trying to sell us something, but there was also a guy who regularly walked up and down the beach carrying a glass jar of pot, clearly available for purchase.

Massages are available by reservation in the gazebos, but I wouldn’t recommend it since we had a complete view of them from our balcony and there is little privacy.

The resort has no restaurant or bar, but they can arrange for a private chef to cook for you. I cannot go to the Caribbean without having a virgin strawberry daiquiri on the beach, but fortunately there was a blender in our kitchen and I was able to make my own.

The Staff

The staff was minimally friendly upon our arrival. Our room was still being cleaned when we got there. We were shown to our room, then told that the manager wanted to personally welcome us the next day and that we needed to schedule a time to do this. I was not about to schedule a meeting on my first day of vacation, so we just ignored this. We were then hunted down the next day and asked to come meet him. He was busy then though and we were told they would call us

to come over when he was available. Again, this is not exactly my idea of a relaxing vacation. It almost seemed like there

was going to be a sales pitch. Finally my husband went and met him and he just wanted to give us a map and talk about where to go and what to see and where to eat. This would have been great information to get when we arrived, but not really something we wanted to take half an hour for in our first day on the island. It would be so much more useful to write all of this down and give guests a brochure rather than spouting it all out and hoping they remember it.

Our room was cleaned the first day of our stay but never again and no one asked us if we wanted housekeeping services. Towels were never replaced. There is a small convenience store on the property, but a sign says you must ask the front desk to open it, so we never bothered. I can’t imagine anyone does. The property has two security guards on duty all night. One stays in the parking lot and one mostly hangs out in a gazebo, but regularly walks the property. It felt very secure.

Overall we were very pleased with this resort, but I think it would be a very different experience in high season if every unit was occupied. The beach and pool areas

would be very, very crowded and I don’t think they would have enough parking. I loved its location directly on the beach and we enjoyed having a large two bedroom unit with a kitchen. I highly recommend it but caution about what it could be like in high season.

We’ve always stayed at big resorts when visiting the Caribbean. When planning our trip to St. Lucia, I wasn’t satisfied with the options. The nicer resorts are to the south, near the Pitons, but far away from a lot of the restaurants and attractions up north. Many of the resorts on this island do not … Read more →

Merry Christmas! To end my Christmas tree celebration I am sharing our living room tree. We add pink lights to this as well as pearl garland which is now 25 years old, and pink bunting. The tree

topper is Lenox and was bought the first year we were married on a Valentine’s Day trip we took to Corning, NY.

The ornaments all have sentimental meaning to me.

Many were bought on trips. Some were my grandmothers’. Others were purchased for each other or from my mom. I love unwrapping them every year

and reliving all the memories. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing all of my trees!

Merry Christmas! To end my Christmas tree celebration I am sharing our living room tree. We add pink lights to this as well as pearl garland which is now 25 years old, and pink bunting. The tree topper is Lenox and was bought the first year we were married on a Valentine’s Day trip we … Read more →

I recently stumbled on this quick little online piece about the 10 Most Disappointing Travel Destinations.  I started to write a Facebook post about it but realized I had far too much to say. First, I agree that some destinations are overrated, but travel is always what you make of it.  I think that when you visit a place that has a lot of hype, your job is to find the things that appeal to you. I almost always have a good sense of what I’m going to like about a destination before I go. The key is to listen to your instincts and follow your interests. That being said, I can’t help but comment on some of the destinations in this piece:

Niagara Falls, NY. Yeah, I’m all over this one. I live in Buffalo and the Falls are in our backyard. While it’s true that you can get better panoramic views of the Falls from Canada, there are things you can do on the American side that aren’t available in Canada. The Cave of the Winds gets you as close to the Falls as possible – almost underneath it. You ride an elevator down to the base of the Falls then walk across stairs and platforms where you are absolutely doused by water coming over the brink. You look up and see the Falls coming down. It is absolutely spectacular. Also on the American side there is a platform that takes you out over the gorge with an amazing view. The American side is less crowded and you can actually find a place to park. So I don’t agree that this is overrated. If you go, you’ll want to experience the Falls from both sides and you’ll realize they are completely different, but equally fun.

Temple Bar, Dublin. I didn’t find this to be overrated because it is what it’s advertised: a bunch of bars. There are some street performers which make it fun and you can see the Halfpenny Bridge. If you’re in the city at night, it’s worth a stroll just to see it. If you’re expecting something else, you will be disappointed.

Nassau, Bahamas.  Paradise Island, usually known as Atlantis, is a giant tourist trap. But it’s unfair to lump the entire area together. We stayed outside of Nassau on Telegraph Beach and it was simply gorgeous and very quiet.  Get outside the man-made sites and see the rest of this beautiful island. Go to the Fish Fry, see the marching flamingos, drive around and see the other beaches. We did spend an afternoon at Atlantis where we saw the aquariums, had lunch and did some shopping. It was fine for a few hours, but not a place I would want to stay.

Liberty Island, NY. We loved visiting Liberty Island. Getting up close and personal with the Statue of Liberty was awe-inspiring and being able to go inside the statue was something we will never forget. Don’t go in the middle of the summer on a weekend. We went on a fall weekend and the lines were not bad at all. The ferry ride there is fun. Be sure to go to Ellis Island as well, a place I could have spent hours in, where you will learn all about the immigrants who entered our country through this island. I don’t think there is anything overrated about Liberty Island. In fact, it’s a must-see on my list.

Walt Disney World, FL. I hated it here. Passionately. But I have friends who love to go because their kids are happy and the parents can just relax by the pool and not worry. We had fun on a couple of rides but the lines were outrageous. Epcot did not excite us, although we had a fun meal at a Moroccan restaurant. I knew going in I was going to hate it, but we went because we really believed our kids deserved to go. It’s almost a rite of passage in this country.

Las Vegas, NV. I think the key to Vegas is to set your expectations and plan your trip. We don’t drink or gamble, but enjoyed our visit. Our hotel had a lazy river the kids loved. We saw the Mac King magic show which was just perfect for families. We saw the tigers and the dolphins and looked at the fountains and took a gondola ride. We drove by the Pawn Stars shop. My husband and son went to a pinball museum. We had some fantastic food off the Strip. It was one of those places that I thoroughly enjoyed, but would probably never go back to.  I didn’t find it to be overrated because I found the things our family would enjoy and did those. My biggest complaint was that EVERYTHING smells like cigarette smoke. You leave Vegas and realize you absolutely stink because it is on you and all of your clothes.

I haven’t been to the other places on this list. A Facebook friend of mine commented that she would add Times Square to this list. I admit I am confused by Times Square. There is nothing to actually do there. It’s fun to walk through it at night once but I couldn’t imagine planning it as a the highlight of my trip.  I found Florence, Italy to be overrated (and one of my friends will vehemently disagree!). I thought it was an ugly city with not a lot to do. Hilton Head, SC was overrated in our view. The beaches were great (except for the jellyfish which meant we got stung then never went in again).  Because of the jellyfish, the pool was wall to wall people. There was nothing to do on that island at all – a family destination with absolutely no activities. We ended up driving into Savannah almost daily.

So now it’s your turn. Tell me what you thought was overrated as a destination.

I recently stumbled on this quick little online piece about the 10 Most Disappointing Travel Destinations.  I started to write a Facebook post about it but realized I had far too much to say. First, I agree that some destinations are overrated, but travel is always what you make of it.  I think that when … Read more →

Our CSA sent home a lot of delicata squash this fall and I’d never cooked it before. When confronted with a pile of five of them, I decided I’d better get serious about using them. This is an adaptation from a recipe in The Glorious Vegetables of Italy by Domenica Marchetti. It’s super simple and the best part about delicata is you can eat the peels, so it’s very easy to prepare.

This turns out brown and bubbly and oh so tender. It will look like you worked a lot harder than you did.

 

Our CSA sent home a lot of delicata squash this fall and I’d never cooked it before. When confronted with a pile of five of them, I decided I’d better get serious about using them. This is an adaptation from a recipe in The Glorious Vegetables of Italy by Domenica Marchetti. It’s super simple and … Read more →