Travelling Lore

Last weekend my boyfriend and I flew to Boston to make a surprise appearance for his brother's surprise birthday clambake.  We had such a wonderful time both exploring new parts of the area and surprising his entire family.  Happy tears were shed and of course the fun-filled weekend came to an end much too quickly! We started off our long weekend by exploring the Boston Harbor Islands .  They're just a hop and a skip away on a short ferry ride, which was perfect for a day trip.  We docked at Spectacle Island first, bought lunch, and hiked to the top of the island for a wonderful view of the Boston skyline. There's also a beach by the Visitor's Center where you can scavenge for sea glass (though they do request that you leave what you find on the island for others to enjoy). Then we hopped on over to Georges Island , which is home to the Civil War era Fort Warren, which is truly a magnificent structure.  It's impossible to get a photo of the entire

I love weekends where I get to try out wineries in the area and if I get to go two weekends in a row, well, the more the merrier!  Last weekend I went to Breaux Vineyards , which is the seventh largest winery (in terms of grapes produced and bottles made) in Virginia.  Unfortunately I didn't take any photos, but this winery had a very pleasant layout that allows you a good view of some of their grape vines.  They are also dog and picnic friendly.  If you don't want to pack your own picnic, they have fresh baguettes, cheese, and other morsels for purchase. The place was a little busier than I expected, but it didn't really take a long time to snag a tasting.  We were taken to what I assume is the overflow room in the back for a tasting.  The gentleman in charge of our tasting, a retired engineer, was quite lovely.  He was very patient for those of us who had questions (me!) and wanted a repeat of the wine information.  He even threw in an extra tasting for us of Jennife