vacation edition - all over New England ????

Hello!

Last night Jessie and I walked out the door of our restaurant in Burlington, where we'd just finished a delicious dinner. Our eyes were immediately caught by a huge, glowing red circle hovering over the horizon in the distance.

We were minutes from the shore of Lake Champlain if we sprinted.

We looked at each other and took off running!

Oh and we had our pup, Tigger, with us. She was all too happy for the excitement and burst of energy!

We made it to shore and stared at the absolute beauty of the evening sun. The red glow emanated across the sky making the horizon an orangish pink. It was a magical sight.

If you've ever tried to capture the sun setting or the full moon, you know that the picture can not compare to the real thing. That's the case here...

Vermont is the fourth New England state I've been in since I wrote you last week.

On Thursday Jason and I were in Maine for a friend's wedding. We stayed at the Cliff House Maine , which I'd stayed at before on my roadtrip up the Maine Coast to check out all of the luxury hotels. Read about that trip here.

What do I love about the Cliff House?

• The views!
• Lobster rolls at Nubbs.
• Walking along the jagged rocks next to the ocean.
• If you are bringing bigger kids - ie college kids or young adults - they have rooms with 2 king beds which is a rarity in hotels.

The Cliff House is a place I would recommend for some travelers but not everyone. It is one of the few options for a luxury resort in Maine on the coast.

Our friends' rehearsal dinner celebrated the blend of the couple's two backgrounds - the groom from New England and the bride from Texas.

Signified by lobster ?? and cowboy boots.

With perfect weather, trolleys as transportation, lobster rolls and BBQ pork for dinner, a fun band and lots of friends, it was a perfect evening.

The next morning we woke up early to take a walk from the picturesque coastal town of Perkins Cove on the Marginal Way. The path curved with the coastline showing off views of fisherman casting from rocks, sailboats passing by, paddle surfers waiting to catch the next wave and little kids playing in a sandy cove.

I highly recommend this walk if you are in this area of Maine!

Then we were off to Boston to meet Jessie and friends for the Noah Kahan concert at Fenway.

Oh what a night!

We were on our feet dancing the entire time. He started strong with Dial Drunk, played many more songs including many favorites - Northern Attitude, All My Love, You're Gonna Go Far and then ended with Stick Season - where his mom, dad and family joined him on stage dancing! It was so fun to see!

As he finished up fireworks exploded and he began singing Sweet Caroline, the quintessential Fenway classic.

I can not imagine what it's like for Noah, whose meteoric rise from a small town in Vermont brought him to selling out this iconic stadium. After seeing Taylor Swift in Madrid and Noah Kahan at Fenway, I am making an intentional plan to add more concerts and live music in my life.

They make me happy!

We stayed overnight in Boston because my brother and sister in law were in town on their way to the Cape. We took out one of those city rental bikes and rode over to MIT and Harvard Square. Cambridge was hopping! Boston is an enjoyable city in beautiful weather! We are planning to come back for the Head of the Charles crew race this fall - another great event to see in person.

Lastly Jessie and I came to Burlington, VT because Jessie's internship is based here. I'm never one to turn down a fun adventure, so we packed up Tigger and came here for a few days. It's been a while since I've been and I've loved revisiting favorite boutiques and discovering new places.

Passing by the Flynn Center for the Arts, I saw a poster for Patton Oswalt's upcoming show and have already suggested to Jason we return. And when we do we will eat at the restaurant we ate at last night again! I loved it so much that I will include it as a Highlight when the full newsletter is on again in August. Along with several other recommendations for this area and all over New England. So many places worthy of a summer adventure!

Last week's most popular article was Condé Nast Traveler's 11 Trips in Europe Everyone Should Add to Their Bucket List.

This week's inspirational articles include trekking across Switzerland only guided by locals' hand-drawn maps, Italian road trips, the 6 best hiking trails in Europe, must visit independent bookstores around the world and the 22 best things to do on the Amalfi Coast.

And I LOVED the NYT's Oh, the Ordinary Places You’ll Go! with great insights about having ordinary experiences when you travel - to help you get to know a place like a local.

The informational articles include traveling safely with food allergies, staying cool while traveling in a heat wave and walking trips for baby boomers.

The Olympics are starting!

What event are you most looking forward to?

For me - so many! Watching the marathon, particularly the very end, always makes me tear up. Although I've run only one marathon in my life, I know the training it took for that (at a pace exceeding double the professionals!) so I get overwhelmed by how much effort and heart they put into their training. But that's true for all of the Olympians.

I'm excited for our clients who are there watching in person and I can't wait to plan my next trip to an upcoming Olympics!

Enjoy watching!

Where do you want to go next?

Warmly,

Mimi

P.S. a reminder through the month of July we are in "vacation mode." The full length newsletter format will be back in August.

Click here to continue reading this week's newsletter.