backpackingChick

LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK – Language Spoken: we tawk our own English with lots of w’s in everything through our nasal passages – Location: East Coast, USA 

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What can I say? I grew up in a beautiful place filled with beautiful people, and supposedly the exact place I spent most of my younger days was named the friendliest town in America. Who knows if that is actually true, but I like to think I’m pretty darn friendly. My hometown is a small, quaint clamming town where you can hop off a boat in the Great South Bay and dig your toes in the sand to pick up clams with your toes. Toe clamming is the way to go. You can use other methods, but I prefer the toes, so I can say I understand the orginial purpose of the pants I loathe so much… historically named “clam diggers” now called capris (yuck!). My hometown is West Sayville, Sayville was actually the friendliest town, but we are pretty much the same… although most people in Sayville tend to think the West Sayvillians are not at their status 😉

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HAMPTONS AND MONTAUK

I live about 30-50 minutes away from the famous Haaaaamptons, you need to say it with the accent of the elite. No one really says it like that, but unHamptonites like to say it like that to make ourselves feel better. I’m totally just kidding… kinda. The Hamptons are well known for their beautiful beaches, elite hot spots, summer celebrity sights, wineries, and high end shopping. I believe the Hamptons and Montauk (the very end of Long Island) have the best summer bars and clubs, restaurants, lounges on Long Island.

Montauk has to be one of my favorite places to go in all seasons. In the winter, it is completely dead and it is nice to go to with no crowds although a lot of the businesses are closed for the season. If you can find a hotel that stays open, the rates are awesome and it is very relaxing to get away for a couple days. In the summer, everyone comes from all over New York. There are a lot of tourist spots, including the lighthouse that are full of history and Long Island charm. Locals know the best spots to avoid those crowds and they tend not to share those secret spots.

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FIRE ISLAND

The south shore of Long Island borders the Great South Bay with the barrier of Fire Island, other parts of the shore get the Atlantic Ocean. Fire Island is one of my other favorite spots to enjoy in the summer months. You can take the ferry from multiple different towns (Sayville, Bayshore, Patchogue, Bellport) on Long Island, take a water taxi or boat. Heck, you can even paddle board across, but it’ll take you a while. Fire Island has a bunch of different towns to explore, it is known for its great bars and restaurants, and beautiful beaches. Some towns are poppin’ with people and others are quaint. I grew up going to Sailor’s Haven and Sunken Meadow, but they are not a place to go if you want to party. There is literally only a dock, a concession stand and a big clean beach. You can walk to Cherry Grove to get restaurants and bars, but an FYI – it is a predominately LGBT crowd and some nudity. I grew up going there and I love it, but just to let you know so there are no shockers. Keep your judgments at home! Everyone is there to have fun and be free to love! Cherry Grove is lively and fullllllllllllllllllllllll of great entertainment! The bars are always packed and they have the best pizza around 🙂

The other hot spots on Fire Island are Ocean Beach and Davis Park where there is a mix crowd, sometimes generally early 20s -mid 30s crowd at the bars, but there are most definitely families that go there as well. The best tip I can give you if you plan on going to any beach on Fire Island is to get a ferry schedule because you will need to prepare to come home if you don’t have a hotel room. Ferries do stop running at certain times and you need to be aware of the time. There are airbnbs, houses, and hotels available to stay for the night, but you need to book in advance because they do sell out for the season.

The best ocean beaches along the shore that are public besides the ones out east are Robert Moses, Jones Beach, and Long Beach (cute town to eat, drink, and beach). Most cost money to get into, but once you are in you have the day.

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NORTH SHORE AND FORK

The north shore is known as the gold coast, even though the Hamptons are on the south shore. There are very affluent areas with tons of cute little towns along the shore which borders the Long Island Sound. On a clear day you can even see Connecticut from the shore. Some towns that I suggest visiting are Cold Spring Harbor, Huntington, Northport, Bayville, Port Jefferson, Oyster Bay and the list goes on…. but those are my favorites.

Now on the north shore on the east end (north fork), there are a TON of stunning wineries. You can do a wine tour, wine pedal on a bike, go to a few in one day by taxi/limo/bus or just park it for the day at one to enjoy the scenery. My favorite wineries are Bedell, Sparkling Pointe (sparkling winery), Croteaux (rose winery), and Wolffer Estate (my FAVORITE). There are also plenty of breweries for the non-winos that I have been to that most people enjoy. I just hate beer, so I can’t give you a 100% true review on them. At the end of the north fork is Greenport, which is an adorable little town full of life and summer attraction. My tip for north fork fun if you are staying in the area, but don’t want to pay east end prices is to stay in Riverhead. There are a couple hotels in the area and then you can uber out to the fork to be safe. Riverhead is a bit cheaper and not nearly as nice, but there is shopping and hotels if necessary. Riverhead also has some fine breweries, with a cute town, an aquarium, and restaurants.

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Towns that are good for nightlife and dining on Long Island: Long Beach, Patchogue, Huntington, Montauk, Bayshore, Hamptons Bay area, Port Jefferson (I’ll keep adding)

Towns for nice dining: Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Cold Spring Harbor, Sayville, Babylon, Bridgehampton, West Hampton Beach, East Hampton, and South Hampton.

Best Wineries in my opinion: Bedell, Sparkling Pointe (sparkling wine winery), Croteaux (rose winery), and Wolffer Estate

Towns to Stay: East Hampton $$$ Southampton $$$ Riverhead $$ 

Breweries: Blue Point Brewing Company (Patchogue), Moustache Brewery (Riverhead), Long Ireland (Riverhead), Greenport Brewery (Greenport), Great South Bay Brewery (Bayshore) and more

Vodka Distillery: LIV (Riverhead)

Hotels are available all over the island, but they are mostly near the highways. Although they are much more affordable, you will not get the “typical” Long Island experience. If you don’t mind just staying in a hotel then jetting onto the highway for a bit to get to the nicer places then that is a good affordable option. 

*$$$ Expensive $$ Expensive but affordable during summer months

 

 

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – Language Spoken: English – Location: Southwest, USA

Toasty even in March. I was loving it! The sun was always shining and I could sit outside to eat my lunch because it was a warm 75 degrees with a slight breeze. I was all over the place in Phoenix, Mesa for the first part of the week. A really awesome part about Phoenix is that the Ubers were mad cheap. I would go ten minutes to the store and it was legit $5!

Craziest thing about Phoenix is that everything is the same color. Their color scheme was quite limited, just like Malta, and I dug it. I like monochromatic – it helps my OCD personality feel comfortable because everything looks nice, clean, and neat!

There is something about enjoying life in the warm sun that makes everyone happy. I wanted to be active, go for bike rides, and pick oranges from the tree outside! The main purpose of this trip was to visit family and watch a preseason baseball game at the training facility (no, I am not a sports fanatic but my friends are).  It was KILLER hot in the stadium, but I continued to soak up the rays because a girl needs her vitamin D! The necessity for sunblock is at an all time high because the sun is strong and fierce.

The other sporty thing that we did, I got to scratch off my bucket list… TOP GOLF! I must admit I was a golfer in my high school days, so this is something all little golfers dream of doing… it makes golf look cool. Seriously, if you’ve never gone to one then you definitely need to even if you don’t golf. It is entertaining for everyone because it is a competition that anyone can really win. I personally think the real golfers in this situation struggled the most because we were overthinking the whole thing! Plus, you can drink and eat while you do it!!! How is that not awesome?!

We also visited the Pioneer Living History Museum, I enjoyed it although the people I was with thought it was pretty lame. I’m a sucker for geeky weird things like that. Grown people dress up like there were in those times and even perform a shoot out… a fake one obviously. I dunno about you, but how does that not intrigue you? I always think people who have enough guts to put themselves out there and be what society would perceive as bizarre are utterly intriguing. No judgement at all! I like people who are different than myself and I love people who can be proudly strangely silly.

The last day I saw a totally different side of Phoenix. My crazy adorable cousins joined me at church then escorted me to all these hot spots of Phoenix. First, they took me to this chic restaurant in Scottsdale. Scottsdale was beautiful in its own way, but it was definitely built to be an aesthetically pleasing city. It looks like a beautifully made and well manicured man-made city. This was definitely the more affluent area of Phoenix and you could tell by the clientele and also the stores that were around. I dug it. I always dig feeling a little wealthy now and then. I can blend myself in really well 😉

Next stop, we went to this RIDICULOUS spa/bar/restaurant/gorgeous setting for cocktails. The Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa is TOPPPP NOTCH! If I recommend anything to do in Phoenix it would be to go to this exact spot and park your bootie there for a long long time, possibly days upon days. Sometimes even now when I’m stressed, I daydream about going there and staying forever. If you go, have a glass of Prosecco or Moscow Mule for me 🙂

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Places Stayed: airbnb home (email me for link)

Places Visited:  Pioneer Living History Museum, Top Golf, Goodyear Ballpark, Hillsong Church, Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa 

Purpose of Trip: Explore, baseball game, and family fun

 

PORTLAND, OREGON – Language Spoken: English – Location: Northwest, USA

When I think back to my visit in Portland, I’m still confused. I don’t know what was so confusing about it. I don’t know if it was because I just wasn’t from there or what, but I never felt like such an outsider in a city before. The city was cool, but weird. The vibe was chill, but weird. I like weird. I thought it was weird that I thought it was weird. Why did it make me feel so weird? I still don’t know hence why I’m still so confused.

I visited my cousin because she was living there at the time. She had a cute little house with her baby boo kitten and was loving her life there. She took me to some awesome places to eat and drink – she knows the keys to my heart. Sun, food (lots of cheese), and Prosecco … maybe a Moscow Mule here and there too.

As I waited for my cousin to take her lunch break one of the days, I wondered around downtown Portland in search for some answers, but ended up with more questions. I thought Starbucks was a safe place to collect my thoughts. Boy, was I wrong. I couldn’t understand why there were so many homeless people, actually they aren’t even just people… they are teens and some with pets. Confused. I have a heart for people, serving people, loving people, meeting people, watching people, just people. People intrigue me because we are all so darn different. Like, isn’t that crazy that we’re all soooo different? Like human snowflakes. So anyway, as I was standing on the line at Starbucks, I felt my heart not in the nicest spirits because I was judging and looking at these teens like… why? Why aren’t you in school? What happened to you? Then immediately I felt overwhelming grief… why so mean, Lucy? This child may be hurt, desperate, and hungry. I looked down at my Starbucks app and it read $6.66 … that demonic number confirmed that I needed to buy that kid outside with his “Coffee Please” sign something to drink and stop being so NOT Lucy. So, I did just that… I wasn’t going to let Satan in my head, instead I would buy this kid a darn coffee because that’s all he really wanted. The smile on his face when I asked if he needed cream or sugar stained my brain. Not because Lucy did a good deed, it was because I too get a little selfish and assuming when I’m too busy looking at the surface of things. I need that little reminder that I AM NO ONE TO JUDGE, WHO KNOWS WHAT THIS KID HAS GONE THROUGH. My job here on this globe is to love everyone and to serve no matter what the situation may be.

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Place Stayed: With family in a suburb of Portland

Places Visited: Downtown Portland 

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – Language Spoken: Beachboy English – Location: West Coast, USA

San Diego is one of those towns on the West Coast that have so many little pockets of differences, so you have to keep exploring to find the spot you click with. I come from a boating town, so of course I liked the area downtown that was a mix between spotlight pubs, restaurants, and a walk along the docks BUT one of my favorite spots is Windansea beach, it has the best feel. There are little boulders on the beach that make it a little different than what I am used to, plus cute surfers (guys and babes) all running around.

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The vibe in San Diego is chill. Seriously, it is so OK to make silly mistakes because everyone is super laid back, sun-kissed, and salty – my favorite things to be.

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Balboa Park was one of my favorite spots in San Diego. It is full of majestic gardens, parks, and history. There are museums you can explore depending on your interests. I went at night and it was much more magical without all the people and hustle. They hold a ton of events there and you can check on their website to see what will be held there during your stay.

The Gaslamp Quarter and Seaport Village were one of my favorite areas of San Diego, but I must say at times it is at a very high tourist area. Again, I went to many things at night so it wasn’t so ridiculously busy except for a convention that was going on there. I really liked the old Police Headquarters in Seaport Village. I have an infatuation with old jail cells because I always wonder about what happened in there… if walls could talk. There are nice restaurants and shopping in both those areas.

La Jolla and Bird Rock are obviously the must see spots of San Diego. Again, I am not one for touristy places, but it is a gorgeous city. There are so many attractive places to explore just in this small area that are not flooded by tourists. One of the attractions I did really like exploring was Sunny Jim Sea Cave. It’s modesty priced and pretty cool to experience. You can also do some mini hiking/walking around la Jolla that is easy and free.

Encinitas was one of those places I just needed to see. It is like a mini surf town and the beach was EMPTY! I drove there on the way to my other family’s house just for the afternoon to catch some quick rays. The beach was literally empty. Maybe that is why people like it or I was in a really inhibited area. I changed into my bathing suit in a hotel bathroom because I wasn’t about to sit on the beach in jeans. It was way too hot. Travel tip: Act like you are staying at the hotel and use their lobby bathroom in an emergency.  I parked my car on the street and prayed that I wouldn’t get a ticket because I didn’t understand the sign or maybe I didn’t want to understand it. I personally didn’t see what all the hype was about maybe because I was in the wrong area of Encinitas or I was there during the week at a low time, but there were minimal people around completely even in the town that looked like the town.

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Places Stayed: With family in El Cajon and Poway

Places Visited: Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, Windansea, Bird Rock, La Jolla, C3 Church (Clairemont), Encinitas, Mission Bay, Balboa Park, Gaslamp Quarter, Seaport Village

Purpose of Trip: Visit family and friends; explore

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – Language Spoken: tough English – Location: East Coast, USA 

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Some go for the history, some go for the cheesesteaks, me – I go for the coffee shops and the cheesesteaks. For some reason, cheese steaks don’t hurt my gluten intolerance (lies, lies, lies) so I tell myself every time I return to this gem of a city. I’m not a big fan of my hometown state city, NYC, because I can’t afford to love it the way it should be loved. There are most definitely rough patches of Philly and I have experienced shootouts first hand, BUT PLEASE DON’T be scurred. Seriously, I have no problem with areas bordering bad areas because I like to stay cheap, so don’t worry most of the city is rather safe. It’s just like every other city- know your surroundings and don’t be an idiot.

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Philly is like the cool, cute, sassy, intelligent cousin of NYC for the

rest of the middle incomers of the world.

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Girllllll, the cheesesteaks are freakin’ deeeee lish!!! I feel like most of the time I’m in Philly, I’m usually eating or looking for something to eat.  I mean the cheese steaks melt in your mouth and keep your hunger soul begging for more. Your taste buds have a Philly Phiesta in your mouth. Da da da daaaa, chaaa chaa chaaa. Personally, I don’t love the traditional Philly cheese steak if it’s not drenched in liquid cheese, I’m more of a Italian pork with provolone kinda chick. Oh man, my mouth is a wattataring! Cheesesteak, get in me belllll eee.

So, if you’ve ever been to trendy, hipster coffee shops that just know how to do it, this is like the Mecca of those to me. Their coffee shops are ah maze ing and some are super huge! I like having my own space at cawfee shoppes because I eavesdrop too often. If I’m too close to someone, I will totally be all up in their conversation literally putting my uninvited two sense into it.

Reading Terminal Market is one of the best indoor markets I could experience in the states. It has aisles upon aisles of yummy, delish food. There are aisles of desserts, aisles of pizza, aisles of cheese, aisles of meat, aisles of different kinds of food with a place to sit your bum down to eat in the middle. My favorite cheesesteak place in the terminal is in the aisle all the way to the right if you are coming in from the front. They have great cannolis at Termini’s too!

While we are on the subject of food, I need to mention Ralph’s Italian Restaurant. This restaurant has been open since 1900 and it still has the feel of a good old Italiano restaurante that is lip smacking good! It is very authentic and it makes you feel like you are meant to eat all the cheese, pasta, and sauce until you explode. The mussels there are ridiculous, if you don’t get the red and the white then you’re not my friend.

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Places Stayed:airbnb in Fairmount, airbnb in Kensington (email me for links)

Places Visited:Reading Terminal, Liberty Bell, Rocky Steps, Eastern State Penitentiary, Magic Gardens, Rittenhouse Square

Purpose of Trip: Travel and family