Category: travel.

My sis and I have returned from our vacation at the Jersey shore.

We had several really relaxing days of just chillin’ on the beach.  In other words, chillaxing!

My shore vacation was spent in Ventnor City, New Jersey.  It’s just south of Atlantic City, in fact you can see AC from the beach in Ventnor.  We stayed at my sister’s friend Kim’s shore house which was about 4 or 5 blocks from the beach.  I never did get a photo of Kim’s shore house because I was too busy being enthralled with this little cottage that was across the street.

There was just something about it that made me wish I could save it.  It was in serious need of a fresh paint job, there was a noticeable sag in the roof line and obviously it would benefit from some gardening in the front.  I was dying to know what was behind those dormer windows.  Was there a sleeping loft up there?  Or is it just attic storage?  The back of the cottage hangs out over the “Inside Thorofare”, a little body of water that runs through Ventnor and connects up with Lakes Bay.

Most of the homes in this area were badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy back in 2012.  In case you don’t remember Sandy, it was the second most destructive hurricane to ever hit the United States.  First place of course goes to Hurricane Katrina.  Ventnor was hit hard by Sandy.  Kim lost pretty much the entire contents of her house, plus had major damage to floors, walls and so on.  I’m sure that this little cottage had extensive damage as well and I wonder if it will ever be properly restored.  It seems like most people choose to tear down and build new which always makes me a little sad.  Which isn’t to say that these newly constructed homes aren’t gorgeous …

But they just don’t capture my imagination the way that the older homes do.

Let me tell you, I was totally green with envy over the hydrangeas out there.

They were everywhere and they were stunning.  I like the showy ‘mophead’ varieties.

But Kim preferred the more delicate looking ‘lacecap’ version.

We just can’t get this kind of flowering out of Hydrangea macrophylla here in Minnesota.  They bloom on the previous season’s wood, and in Minnesota that wood generally dies back to the ground in our harsh winters.  We try with the Endless Summer variety, which is supposed to bloom on both new and old wood, but I am lucky to get 3 or 4 blooms on mine.

We headed in to Atlantic City one evening.  I have to say, that sort of thing is not really my cup of tea.  Not a huge fan of Las Vegas either, even though my mom lives there.  But there were some charming scenes, like the rides on the pier.

We also went to Smithville one morning.

Smithville is a little village made up of historic buildings that have been moved onto the site.  They are all filled with shops and restaurants now.  I loved seeing the buildings, but the shops inside were pretty touristy.  We had lunch at a great diner there, my chicken salad wrap was delish and filled with chicken, chunks of apple and craisins.  New Jersey has some of the best diners.

But what I really enjoyed most on the trip was just sitting on the beach in Ventnor.  We had plenty of sunshine and hot weather, and the water was perfectly refreshing. We got up early on the last day of our trip to see the sunrise and get some photos at the beach.

There was a dense curtain of fog hanging in the air that morning though.

Still, it was worth it to get up at 5 a.m. while on vacation … at least that’s what I keep telling myself.

I must admit I feel a little bit like that friend that totally bores you with photos of her vacation, so I’m going to stop now.

But be sure to check back later in the week.  I have a great furniture makeover coming your way, followed by an amazing tour of Kim’s house next week.

Also, congrats to Barb from Missouri whose name I chose at random for the salt water taffy giveaway!

If you aren’t from around here, take a look at a map of the United States and you’ll see that the Twin Cities are located about 100 miles from the southern border of Minnesota and about 300 miles from the border that we share with Canada.  In other words, about ¾ of the state is north of the Twin Cities.  It’s fairly common for people who live in the cities to either have weekend cabins up north, or to spend their summer vacations at a rental somewhere between here and Canada.  Don’t forget, this is the land of 10,000 lakes, so there are plenty of gorgeous destinations to choose from up there.  Around here we like to call this going “up north”.

(photo source)

But I’m not going ‘up north’ for the 4^th of July, I’m going ‘down to the shore’!

(photo source)

This was totally an impulse decision.  We had my sister and another couple over for dinner a few weeks back.  My sister and one of my other guests, Pat, started chatting about summer vacations at the New Jersey shore.  As it turned out, Pat still goes there nearly every summer!  I knew that my sister went all the time when she lived in New Jersey, and I also knew that she had a friend with a ‘shore house’ (in Minnesota we have lake houses or cabins).  As we were talking, I realized that both my sister and I had taken the 4^th of July week off work already.  Hmmmm … it suddenly occurred to me that we had a free place to stay and time off work, all we needed were plane tickets.  Debbie and I did some googling and found tickets that were affordable.  So now, instead of a staycation over the 4^th, we are going down to the shore!

We’ll be leaving Mr. Q at home to man the fort.  He’s not all that interested in an otherwise all-girls trip to the Jersey shore.  He’ll be going to visit a friend in NYC later this fall instead.

I’m looking forward to some quintessential Jersey shore activities like strolling on the boardwalk, watching the fireworks from the beach, and eating water ice.  I’ll probably have to get some salt water taffy too.

(photo source)

But the main activity that I’m looking forward to is this one.

As you might have guessed from yesterday’s post, I am totally a beach girl at heart.  I love a day spent at the beach complete with salty skin and sandy feet (don’t worry, I wear lots of sunscreen).  Although I don’t expect the Jersey shore to be quite as fabulous as Jost van Dyke, it’s still going to be pretty great.

How about you?  Do you go ‘up north’, ‘down to the shore’, or is there some other summer vacation destination that is popular where you live?  I’d love to hear about it, so be sure to leave a comment about your favorite summer vacation hot spot.  I’ll draw a name from the comments and send that person some salt water taffy from down at the shore!

I promised to share some details of our tour of Glensheen in Duluth.  I’m not always good about following through on such promises, but today you are in luck (or maybe not if you were hoping for another furniture makeover post)!

Glensheen is a mansion that was completed in 1908 at a cost of $854,000 which was a lot of moolah back then.  Wait, it still is, but back then it was really a lot!  It was built by Chester and Clara Congdon.  It sounds to me like Chester Congdon mostly made his money by making smart investments mainly in land speculation up in the Iron Range of Minnesota.  Chester and Clara were both the offspring of clergymen, so I’m pretty sure neither of them started out with much money.

The landscape around Glensheen was designed by a New York City landscape architect named Charles Wellford Leavitt, Jr.  He was instructed to maintain as much of the natural beauty of the property as possible, and he seems to have done a fine job of that.

But there are some more formal areas of the garden as well.

And of course, this property does sit right on the shore of Lake Superior.

In addition to snooping all around the grounds, we took the Expanded Tour of the inside.  It’s the so-called Expanded Tour because you get to see a bit more on this tour as opposed to the Standard Tour, including the 3rd floor and attic.  Another side benefit of taking this tour is that it is limited to 10 people at a time due to the tight space in the attic.  Bonus!  Less people to crowd around and make it impossible to hear your guide.

For those of you who are not local and have never heard of Glensheen, it has a dark past.  In 1977 Chester and Clara Congdon’s daughter Elisabeth still lived in Glensheen.  She was 83 years old at the time and was somewhat of an invalid.  She was murdered in her sleep by her son-in-law, but her own adopted daughter Marjorie is the suspected mastermind behind the crime.  The daughter is still alive by the way and she was never convicted for any connection to the murder.  She has done time for other unrelated crimes however, and most people suspect she has gotten away with at least one and possibly two additional murders as well.

As if to mimic the dark history of the house, the first floor is rather dark and gloomy.  Such was the style back in the early 1900’s.  Lots of heavy dark wood paneling, deep rich colors and ornate furnishings.  All designed to impress guests, of course.  It makes picture taking somewhat challenging. but I think I may have captured Elisabeth’s ghost in this mirror.  See her, there on the right side of the mirror?

The main staircase is quite spectacular.

Can I help it if I really just want to paint some of that dark wood paneling?

The leaded glass window and the view beyond it couldn’t possibly be improved upon though.

The first room we visited on the 2nd floor felt like a breath of fresh air.  Finally we were seeing some rooms that spoke to me.

This is Marjorie’s room (for added confusion, this is the Marjorie that was Elisabeth’s sister and for whom Elisabeth’s murdering daughter was named).  We were told that each of the Congdon children were allowed to decorate their rooms as they wished.  Although calling them ‘children’ is misleading, all but the youngest two children were adults who no longer actually lived at home when the mansion was finished.  So Marjorie never actually lived in the room, but she would have stayed here when she visited as an adult.

So kudos to Marjorie who decorated her room with gorgeous white woodwork paired with a lovely soft blue.

And just check out this sweet little room. You entered into the room where I am standing to take the photo, but the bed and desk are in a little alcove of sorts through the arched opening.

Isn’t this painted furniture totally charming?

Now, you are probably going to think I’m goofy, but I was really most drawn to the bathrooms!

I’m sure that many people find them quite utilitarian, but there is so much that I love about them.  The white tile on the walls, the fabulous sink, the gorgeous grille over the radiator … and did you notice?  a blue ceiling!  Yeah, baby.

I love the hexagon floor tile in this one, and how about those subway tile walls?  Over 100 years later and these features still have a timeless appeal.

What I was truly amazed by though were the stand alone showers!

What the what?!  It was 1908!  My house was built in 1904 and there definitely wasn’t a shower of any kind, just a tub.  And are you checking out all of the body spray nozzles, and can you just see the giant rain shower head at the top of the photo?  These people were definitely ahead of the game on the shower front.

Interestingly enough, in this mansion the servants also had rooms on the 2nd floor, unlike Downton Abby where the servants were all relegated to the attic.  At the end of the hallway was a door that opened into the servant’s area.  Granted, things were not as posh, but they definitely had some light filled rooms with beautiful views.

After touring the 2nd floor, we headed up to floor number 3.  That was where the boys rooms were.

They were filled with classic items that most boys love, a telescope, hunting trophies, games …

And you can imagine that a little drool escaped me when I spied all of the cameras and movie making equipment.

But further down the hall, here is what really had me drooling …

Oh my goodness!  A storage room full of vintage luggage.  Be still my heart.

We next made our way up to the attic which was far too gloomy for photos, but lets just say it was filled with cast off furniture that I would have loved to get my hands on!

We then headed back to the main floor where we visited the kitchen which didn’t retain much of its original fixtures, but had a couple of fun details like the system for summoning the servants …

and the original intercom system …

The tour ended in the basement laundry room.  I’d love to get my hands on that laundry table …

And that indoor drying rack system would be incredibly handy here in Minnesota in the winter.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of Glensheen.  If you are local and are ever in Duluth, it’s definitely worth a visit.

Meanwhile, I’ve got several pieces of furniture underway this week and hope to get them completed this weekend, so be sure to check back on Monday!

I know Andy Williams would have us believe that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, but I beg to differ.  I say it’s Autumn.

First of all the scenery is simple stunning, especially if you have been lucky enough to plan a trip to Duluth at the peak of fall color.

Second of all, the weather is frequently absolutely perfect in fall.  Not too hot, not too cold, not at all humid, and often bright and sunny.

My sister, niece, Mr. Q and I drove up to Duluth last Friday morning to take in some of this amazing fall bounty.  Duluth is about a 2 1/2 hour drive north from the Twin Cities.

  We visited Canal Park to see the lighthouse, the maritime museum and to watch the lift bridge go up and down a couple of times (snore).

If you aren’t from around here, Duluth is situated on the shore of Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world.  That’s right people, the whole world!  It has 2,980 miles of shoreline.  We tried to figure out how long it would take to drive all the way around the lake and ended up concluding that it would take longer than we would want to be in a car.

And gosh darn it, I should have known there would be love locks in Duluth!

Why didn’t Mr. Q and I bring a spare padlock along?  Oh that’s right, I decided these were a bad idea and have given them up, remember?

We popped into a few shops and found Mr. Q’s namesake beverage.

None of us were particularly excited about trying a sparking cucumber beverage though, so we didn’t actually buy any.

We stayed in a gorgeous two bedroom condo right on the lake.  My sister was kind enough to knock on my door at some god awful hour on Saturday morning to make sure I got up to see the sunrise.

It was pretty amazing, so I tried not to hold it against her for the rest of the day.

After the bright and early wake up call and some free breakfast at our resort, we hopped in the car to head even further north.  After a brief stop in Two Harbors, we continued on to Split Rock Lighthouse.  After briefly joining a guided tour and deciding there were way too many people on it, we left the group and headed down the trail to the shore.

It involved this staircase …

That’s Mr. Q down there near the bottom!

Down there is where I was able to get the most beautiful shots of the lighthouse.

We did eventually make it back up to the top and waited in line to see inside the lighthouse.  Personally, I didn’t think it was worth it, but Mr. Q was pretty fascinated by the mechanical workings of the light itself.

After leaving Split Rock, we headed back south again to Gooseberry Falls State Park.  Somehow we managed to be fairly oblivious to the fact that it was the most crowded weekend of the year to visit this park.  I just assumed most people visited State Parks in the summer.  I was very wrong.  Gooseberry was absolutely jam (pardon the pun, gooseberry, jam, get it?) packed with people.

 

Despite the crowds, it was still gorgeous scenery.

It almost had a ‘Disney fake’ vibe to it.  Everything was so clean and well kept.  The trails were all immaculately maintained.

These trails were all originally laid out in the 1930’s by the CCC.  Are you familiar with that bit of history?  The CCC, or Civilian Conservation Corps were developed to provide jobs for young, unmarried, unemployed men as part of Roosevelt’s New Deal during the Great Depression.  In the case of Gooseberry Falls, as many as 200 young men lived in barracks in the park and developed all of the infrastructure for the park.  You can read more about it, and see some great photos here.  I bet those guys had some great times living and working in this beautiful setting.

After we’d hiked around Gooseberry Falls for a couple of hours, we were all pretty much wiped out.  We drove back to Duluth, had a lovely dinner at the Black Woods Grill and then returned to our condo to put our feet up.

You’ll have to stay tuned next week to read about the conclusion of our Duluth trip and our visit to Glensheen Mansion.

Meanwhile, check back on Friday to see the drop leaf table transformed!

In a comment last week, someone mentioned that I seemed to be making up for lost time now that my sister and niece live here in Minnesota … and that is absolutely right!

Whenever my niece has time off on a weekend, we make plans to do something.  We have become tourists in our home town.  This past weekend was no exception.  We all went on the Nooks & Crannies tour of the historic courthouse in Stillwater, the birthplace of Minnesota.

The courthouse also just happens to be Mr. Q’s workplace.  He’s only been working there for a few months now though, and I had never actually been inside.  So this particular tour, which is only offered once a year, seemed like a great opportunity to see where he toils his days away.  It also was the perfect outing for a gorgeous fall day.

The cool thing about the Nooks & Crannies tour is that, well, you get to see all the nooks and crannies that you don’t see on the normal tours.  We toured the cellar where we could barely stand up (we are all tall, except for my sister).  I really enjoyed seeing the old jail cells.  Why?  Because they were painted the most awesome shade of vintage green.  And they had left a bunch of circa 1970’s graffiti on the walls which was quite amusing.

Our guide was very knowledgeable about the history of the building.  It was fascinating to learn that the Sheriff’s house and the jail are actually attached to the courthouse.  And get this, the Sheriff’s wife was responsible for cooking 3 meals a day for any prisoners, as well as doing all of the prison laundry and emptying the slop buckets!  Can you imagine?  Not only that, but she didn’t actually get a salary of her own for this work.  The poor woman.  She was in a prison all of her own!

But of course, the highlight of the tour is getting to go up in the cupola for a bird’s eye view of Stillwater.

It’s the perfect vantage point for a view of the St. Croix River.  You can see that we don’t really have our fall colors yet.  They are just around the corner though.

We also saw some great views of the surrounding steeples.

Is it becoming apparent that I torture my poor family with lots of “OK, everybody get close, say cheese!”?

It’s true.  And every once in a blue moon I tell myself that I’m not going to take my camera.  I’m just going to enjoy the day and not worry about taking photos.  Then of course I have to pull out my phone and just end up disappointed because I only have bad photos from the day.

Next time we play tourists, I’m bringing the real camera!