Friday, December 31, 2010

Windmill Time!

While there are many culinary delights to be had at the Jersey Shore, this particular delicacy has a very special place in my heart (and my Mom's, who is a big fan)... it's the Windmill Hot Dog.

Now it may look like your average hot dog, but it is far far superior to your standard NYC dirty water dog. It must be magic but they manage to make the outside of the dog all crispy and crunchy and the inside is delightfully juicy and flavorful. Add that to the fact that they have sauerkraut available for topping your dog (and like 10 other fun toppings)- its the perfect dog. The dogs at Yankee Stadium come in a close second in the hot dog wars, but their main draw is ambiance, so the windmill dog really tops the charts.

To firmly cement the restaurants superiority, they also serve this amazingly delicious side...

Oh yea, krinkle cut french fries and ooey-gooey cheese sauce. Healthy? No, not so much. But delightful? Oh yes, they are mouth-wateringly good. I am rarely a fries fan, but these make me drool (and make me think of the required miles on the treadmill after this indulgent meal). 

Oh Windmill..... we love you. 

Thursday, December 30, 2010

A Snowy Shore

Well, we made it to New Jersey! It wasn't the smoothest holiday traveling we have ever done, but I suppose you cannot hope for much when you choose to fly the week between Christmas and New Years. After our 6:00 flight finally departed at 8:30, and with our perfectly packed carry-on rollers deposited under the plane as forced checked-baggage, and after multiple hours of being serenaded by a wailing baby, we made it to Newark and to Bradley Beach by 3:00am. We woke up this morning and had the long-awaited Bradley Beach bagels (oh so good!) and then headed out in to the snow to check out the winter wonderland.
The front porch of the beach house. 

Where'd all this white stuff come from? 

Le Chateau Curtiss

Just a little snow on the dunes. 


Considering testing out the water to see how cold it is. He reports that it is in fact very cold. Shocking news. 

Just a little snow. We quickly decided that forging our own path was not going to be a good idea. 

Just taking a break, this snow walking is tough work. 

JUMP!

Hello New Jersey!
Can you see Dave behind the 6ft pile of snow on the corner? 


Pretty pretty snow on the sand dunes. 

Hello from New Jersey!



We had a lovely time stomping around in the snow and only came in when my Uggs were totally soaked. I always seem to forget that they are not actually appropriate snowy weather attire. 

Thankfully when we came home, a fire was started and hot cocoa was served, the boots were laid out for drying purposes and a relaxing afternoon is being had by all. 


Rocky Mountain High, Colorado

We were shocked to realize that after all the times Dave has visited Colorado, we never managed to take him up to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park! I guess we usually got our mountain fix with our ski trips to Breckenridge, but since we didn't end up hitting the slopes this year, we had time to show him a Colorado favorite!
On the way up the canyon, we happened upon this fellow and his friend. 

It was coooooollllllddddd up at the higher elevations. Brrrrr. 
Dave was a little irritated that I hadn't suggested he dress warmer, opps. 

These elk were literally right by the side of the road. The tourists and cars didn't seem to bother them at all. 

Hello. Nice rack =) 
One of the best parts of Estes is the Salt Water Taffy Shop. Yummy sticky goodness. 

Oh and don't forget the famous caramel apples! Look at all those sweet treats. 

Dave and I enjoying an apple snack. 

Love the mountains!

Rosie, the best red bug ever.
We decided we needed a little winter photoshoot and managed to climb up some ice and snow to achieve this lovely pose. Dave managed to look only moderately miserable in this one, unlike the first 5 where he looked like he was going to cry because I made him sit in the snow. 

We heart Colorado. 

Unfortunately, when we were climbing up to the *perfect* picture spot, we didn't calculate how difficult it might be to get back down to the car.
While it looks like I am mid-fall, I am actually mocking Dave and demonstrating my superior balance and coordination skills while he shuffles himself down the slope.

Me, attempting to get in to bow pose in the background. 
Am I am show off? Maybe. But when you've got skills, you've got skills.
Notice Dave, still shuffling his way cautiously down the snow. 

Turns out bow pose in Uggs on ice was not the best idea. My first Bikram teacher used to tell us in class that bow pose was not a party trick, guess she was right. 

Decided that walking wasn't cool and took the sledding approach to the descent back to the car. 

Yup, I made it. And I am sure no permanent damage was done to my tail bone. 

Try to ignore how cold we look =) 



So now Dave can say he has been to Rocky Mountain National Park, which, in my humble opinion, is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I think he would prefer that our return trip either be (a) in the summer or (b) involve a winter coat, gloves and a hat. 

XoXo- E



Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Family Love

Every family has there own traditions, and this is one of my favorites. The Davis family three layer German Chocolate Cake. It takes a looooong time to make, and is a bit of an art form, but (licking my lips thinking about it) the finished product is tasty! 
Mom, stuck with the task of icing the cake. Not the easiest job. 

Nearly finished product. Delish! 

This is the newest member of the family...
actually I suppose Dave joined a little bit after her, so we will call her the littlest. 
I swear I would have taken more pictures of her equally adorable older brother Charlie, but he was busy playing video games in the basement with the big cousins until his poor little eyes were glazed over from PS3 overload. So he missed his photo shoot and Mae got the full paparazzi attention. 
Good thing she didn't seem to mind. 

Sisters. <3

Cousins. Lane is thrilled to have his picture taken, as per usual. 

4 Generations of Hands. Mae, her Mom, Grandma Davis and Great-Grandma Davis

Me and Grandma. 
(Love you Grandma!)



Santa Clause Came to Town

I love Christmas.

And we had a WONDEFUL Colorado Christmas.

The day started out with breakfast and present opening with my Mom and Grandma.
Check out those stockings! Santa treated us very well this year. 

I made the traditional Erin's Cinnamon rolls. Yummmm. 

Santa brought Dave some Velveeta Shells and Cheese cups! 
Grandma, taking a break from the presents marathon.

Someone looks pretty happy that they got an iPad for Christmas. (Maybe he will leave mine alone now!)

Mom- loving her new watch. 

And Santa brought me a Garmin running watch! 2011 is going to be the year of running! 
Exhausted from all the festivities. 

After breakfast, we moved on to my cousin's house to do it all over again. 

This is Mae, doesn't she look thrilled to have gotten clothes for Christmas? 
Don't worry, we made sure to buy something fun too. We know the key to a mini-cousin's heart is toys. 

Isn't she cute? 

More pictures of Christmas fun after the jump.....