North Carolina Mountains

View from the Blue Ridge Parkway

Since the end of June I have been living and working and Raleigh, North Carolina.  This new job affords me the opportunity to travel within the state to oversee nutrition education programs with older adults (seniors).  Last week I had my first solo travel experience and got to see the beauty of the Appalachian Mountains of northeast North Carolina.  I traveled to Caldwell County, whose city center is Lenoir.  On the way, I traveled through some beautiful mountain areas and stopped in the really cute towns of Boone and Blowing Rock. 

The area is a large producer of Christmas Trees

My picnic in the park in Blowing Rock, NC

Dessert at Kilwin's Ice Cream

Cows grazing

From Raleigh, Lenoir is almost 4 hours away, so traveling there one day and back the next day was rough.  Driving the one of the state's hybrid cars (Prius) made the trip more bearable (except for the cleaning solution smell when I got the car).  It was my first time driving a hybrid and it was cool to see my fuel efficiency as I drove:

If you look closely, you will see I was averaging about 48mpg and was regenerating energy with breaking (this came from coming down the mountains). Also notice the temperature outside was 99 degrees!  It was interesting to see the changes in temperature as I drove.  Temperature in Raleigh was 102, temp at the base of the mountains was 99 and in the town of Blowing Rock it was 75!!


While the trip overall was enjoyable, it is always nice to be back in the comfort of your own home.  Traveling for work is not the same as for pleasure, especially when you have to drive 8 hours in two days by yourself!  Seeing new things is exciting, but it is always much better to experience these new things with others.

Best East Coast U.S. Beaches

I spent the first 18 years of my life in Rhode Island and was always partial to RI beaches, telling everyone how amazing they were.  Back then, my favorite was Scarborough.  I loved the soft sand and open waters.  There was some surf, perfect for body surfing, but not too much surf.  The beach was long enough to leave your blanket for a while and walk along the beach, but small enough that you saw so many people you knew. 

Since I left Rhode Island, I have visited many beaches within the United States and abroad.  It's too much of a contrast to compare beaches in the U.S. to places like Australia, New Zealand, Cancun, and the Dominican Republic, so this comparison will only be of east coast U.S. beaches.

I've been to beaches in Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida.  The only states I'm missing are Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, and Georgia. 

The best beach I've ever been to regularly is Robert Moses beach on Long Island, NY.  The best beach period is Miami Beach, FL.  Virginia Beach takes a close second behind Miami.

I think beaches are also dependent on the time of year you go.  Miami gets my vote, but I was there in April when the water was a perfect temperature to cool you from a hot day.  Robert Moses is a tried and tested beach, which I have been to at various times of year and have seen lots of water conditions. 

Here's a list why Robert Moses makes the top of the list of tried and true beaches:
1. You can walk west and check out all the campers parked on the beach fishing, or go east for miles and be mostly alone (aside from the few nudists). 
2. There is the freedom to be topless, nude, or fully clothed on the wings of the main beach and no one really bothers you (surprising for NY!).
3. The beach is not only wide from east to west, but the beach from the parking lot to the water is deep.
4. The sand is soft
5. Four out of 5 times in the summer the water is crystal clear and the surf exists but is not dangerous
6. It's only $8 per car and your money goes to the parks department (see reasons for New Jersey beaches not being selected below).

The one downside of Robert Moses is there is no bike path to the beach from the train station like there is to Jones Beach, LI.

Here is my summary of east coast beaches I have visited infrequently:
Maine - water is freezing for almost the entire summer! 
New Hampshire - same as Maine
Connecticut - The east end beaches near RI do not have soft sand

Virginia - Virginia Beach is pretty amazing, and comes 2nd after Miami Beach. Even July at the beach is amazing - just be careful with the hot sand!

North Carolina - I haven't been to the Outer Banks yet, but I wasn't too impressed with the southern coast.
Florida - Fort Lauderdale was not as impressive as Miami Beach.  With the amazing sand, clear water, a great boardwalk, and options to stay where the action is (or isn't), Miami - you are my #1.

Here is my summary of east coast beaches I have been to very often:
Rhode Island - beaches are all way too small and for this reason get super crowed
New York (Long Island) - I thought Fire Island would take the cake, but I was not impressed with our most recent visit to the far east end of the island.  Erosion has taken it's toll on the beach and the water was not as clear as I would expect.  I visited Jones Beach, Robert Moses Beach, and Fire Island/Shirley-Mastic consecutive days and hands down Robert Moses is the best - though all three beat any other beach north of Virginia Beach.

New Jersey - The erosion is too much in the water and on the beach, you walk 2 feet into the water and you are up to your ears!  Plus, $8 per person and you have to wear a button to show you paid - give people a break! LBI is a little better, but the erosion is still a major downer.  

South Carolina - There is nothing cool about Myrtle Beach.  The sand is too hard and the town is a hole.  Charleston is better, but still lacks the soft sand necessary for a quality beach.

When you escape the heat this summer and travel to one of the beaches I love or dislike, be sure to take care of it.  Clean up after yourself, enjoy what nature has provided for us, and try to make decisions in your daily life that protect our land and water.   (My short PSA)

Memorial Day weekend soccer tournament in Charleston - Part 1

Every Memorial Day weekend for the past seven years (except one), I have traveled to Charleston, South Carolina to play in a soccer tournament with my friends from Knoxville, TN.  While I was a grad student at UTK, I played in an adult coed soccer league in the city.  Most of the girls were good friends, but we were all forced to play on separate teams because there were not enough women for a league of our own.  So, every Memorial Day weekend, the women would all join together on one team to play in Charleston.  We were joined by a men’s teams, coed teams and a women’s over 30 team from Knoxville.  With about 70 soccer players from Knoxville all going to Charleston together, it made sense to get several large houses on the beach.  The “young” girls and guys all stayed in one house and the “older” crowd stayed in the “big house.”  While studying at UTK, I got to travel both years with the team.  Since moving to NYC, I have made the trip down four of the past five years.

I always seem to have issues getting down to Charleston when I travel from NYC.  One year, Colin and I drove two others.  We hit so much traffic in New Jersey that we didn’t get to Charleston until 3am.  The first game for our team was at 9am the next morning.  Another year, my flight was overbooked and so I got rerouted and eventually made it to Charleston, but my soccer bag did not!  I borrowed shorts, shin guards, socks and cleats from my teammates (they are so nice!!).  This year’s travels were no exception to the rule.  I arrived at JFK for my 7:30am flight to Charlotte, NC at 6:30am.  Unfortunately, the kiosk didn’t work to print a boarding pass, and so I had to get in the long line with all those going internationally on JetBlue.  Long story short, I missed my flight and had to wait until 4:30pm for the next one.  The worst part was that my ride from Charlotte to Charleston couldn’t wait that long for me.  So, I flew to Charlotte, took the Columbia-Charlotte Shuttle (www.columbiacharlotteshuttle.com) to Columbia, and got a ride from a teammate driving from Knoxville.  We finally got to Charleston just before midnight and were lucky that our first game was not until 1:30pm on Saturday.

Thankfully, my travel back to NYC was much less eventful.  I did the reverse trip back to Charlotte through Columbia and got to visit with my good friend and former roommate Michaela.  My 6:50am flight from Charlotte to NYC went off without a hitch, but it served for a really long day in NYC.  I wish I could sleep on flights, but only being in the air for 2 hours makes it difficult.  I don’t want to pass up snacks and beverage service!!  I was up at 4:30am, in NYC by 8am, at work by 10am, and had to teach after work, so I wasn’t home until 8pm!!  Oh, the things we do to extend vacations and do it affordably!    

Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) (The Official 2010 FIFA ...

Here's to the start of the World Cup 2010 in South Africa.  Let the games begin!!  Check out blogs of two of my friends currently in South Africa attending the games: "Sending Sarah to Africa" and "T's World Travels."  Go USA, Portugal and Brasil (in no particular order!).

Niagara Falls - May 19, 2010

One cool thing about my job is that I get to travel once in awhile.  The program I work for at United Way is funded by the state and the program exists in other areas of the state as well.  Most face to face meetings happen in Albany, where I stay with Colin’s parents and save the state some much needed money.  But in 2008, I got to visit Rochester, NY for the first time and in 2009 I traveled to the Catskills. 

This year our meeting took place in Buffalo, NY.  I have seen photos that prove I have been to Niagara Falls before, but I do believe I was in a stroller at the time.  This business trip offered me an opportunity to see the Falls as an adult. 

The weather was amazing for my trip, so I lucked out in booking a relatively early flight out of NYC.  Arriving in Buffalo early afternoon to a warm 80° and clear, blue skies, I decided to explore the area.  Never really looking closely at a map of Niagara Falls, I always thought the Falls were in walking distance of downtown Buffalo.  When I asked the hotel staff how I could get to the Falls, I was told it was at least a $50 cab ride!!  Apparently Niagara Falls is its own town about 30-45 minutes north of Buffalo.  Per the hotel’s recommendation, I decided to check out Delaware Park, a Frederick Law Olmsted designed park located 3 miles from the hotel.  I was able to take a bus for $1.25 and enjoyed an amazing day walking through the park.  

This is the 4^th Olmsted park I have visited, having seen Central Park in Manhattan, Prospect Park in Brooklyn and the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.  The park had a nice little walking trail around the lake.  It was very warm and I didn’t have a lot of water with me, so I kept my exploration to a minimum. 

After an enjoyable meal at a nice restaurant in Buffalo called the “Wine Thief” a small group of my colleagues and I took a trip to the Falls.  It was nearing dusk and I just kept hoping the whole drive that we would get to experience the sun set on the Falls.  I was sure to bring my camera.  Unfortunately, we just missed the sun, but the sun’s reflection on the clouds made for some great effects.  We walked around a few areas and it quickly got dark.  Some areas of the Falls were pretty scary.  You could almost lean over the ledge and see how far the water travels from the top to the bottom.  I kept praying we would not experience a rockslide!!  My colleague Christine was a great hostess and gave us some interesting facts about the Falls and chauffeured us around Buffalo.  It was great to tie in a little vacation with my meeting and get to see such amazing natural beauty.

This next one is my favorite photo.  The sky is pretty amazing!

5 Boro Bike Tour - May 3, 2010

Back in 2006, during our first year in New York City, Colin and I heard someone talking about a 42 mile bike tour around all five boroughs of NYC.  We were at our friend James’ birthday party and the girl was talking about doing the tour the next day.  When we asked about her training and preparation for the event, she said she hadn’t really done anything.  It surprised us that the event could be completed with little training.  Upon further discussion, it sounded like an awesome bike ride.  Colin and I vowed to do it one day.

On May 3, 2010, Colin and I participated in our 4^th “5 Boro Bike Tour.” Just like the girl said, it really does not require any preparation to complete – except buying some padded shorts!! 

It really is an awesome ride.  You start in downtown Manhattan, near the World Trade Center site and ride up 6^th Avenue, through Central Park, up through Harlem, briefly into the Bronx, down the FDR (a highway with no cars!), over the 59^th St/Queensboro Bridge, into Astoria, along the East River through Queens and Brooklyn, on the BQE (another highway with no cars!), and to top it off – you ride over the Verrazano Bridge!!  The first 3 years we did the tour, we rode mountain bikes and kept our sanity by stopping at every rest area.  There is one every 7-8 miles or so.  Because there are so many people and things to see, you really don’t realize you are tired until it’s all over.  At each rest stop, there are snacks, water, and bathrooms.  In addition to the rest stops, the only “hills” are getting over the bridges – which include the Queensboro and Verrazano – so most of the ride is very flat. 

This year was the first time Colin and I rode our fancy new road bikes.  Last summer I got a Specialized Dolce bike and Colin also got a Specialized single speed road bike.  The road bikes are so much easier than mountain bikes for the ride.  For extra motivation, my bike has a computer on it, telling me my speed.  Last year when we got the new bikes, we did some pretty serious riding, but we really haven’t done much since the fall.  Regardless, we still completed the ride much faster than we have any other year.  We decided not to stop at all the rest stops this year, because we didn’t need as many breaks.  Since there are 30,000 people who ride, it’s hard to go fast, but our pace was a pretty steady 12 miles per hour.

The weather in NYC was also amazing on May 3rd!  We were really lucky in both 2007 and 2008, but last year we were soaked and miserable for most of the ride.

If anyone who is reading this blog is intrigued, I recommend you do it!!  Check out http://www.bikenewyork.org/rides/fbbt/index.html for details.   

Here are my tips for doing the tour:

• If you want to start at the starting line, get there very early or else you will wait at least 1 hour to start and will get stuck at bottlenecks along the way
• Don’t eat too much before you ride and don’t eat too many snacks at the rest stops.  The snacks are usual high in fiber (fruit and Lara bars) and will leave you bloated if you have too much.
• Wear padded shorts/pants/capris.  Riding 42 miles is no joke on the gluteus maximus!
• Don’t try to race through the ride.  It is a tour and there are many really awesome sights along the way.  Enjoy the NYC sights and the fun costumes/decorations other riders wear and keep yourself from colliding with others.
• Enjoy the amazing feeling you get knowing you just rode 42 miles and indulge in those extra calories you enjoy but can’t eat all the time!

Road Trip - March/April 2010

Unfortunately, the “Millers on the Road” blog has been lacking in details on our lives.  I apologize for not updating regularly.  I have set a goal for myself to write weekly and will try my best.

Let’s go back a few weeks and start with a short trip I took almost two months ago.  At the end of March, I had an opportunity to visit Raleigh, North Carolina.  It was a last minute plan, so flights were pretty expensive.  I had to be in Raleigh on Friday and decided to take the week off and visit with friends and family along the way and down in North Carolina.  Unfortunately,  I don’t have any close contacts in the D.C. area, so I had to drive all the way to Chesapeake, Virginia on the first day.  The weather for the drive was awful – raining on and off the entire 7 hour drive.  Thankfully, I didn’t catch much traffic getting out of NYC. 

Jud, or Jeffrey Underwood Dinsmore (JUD) and Lori are good friends of both Millers.  I credit Jud with being among the people who brought Colin and I together back in college.  We all worked in intramural sports at The University of Vermont.  Colin was an intramural referee, I was an intramural supervisor, and Jud was our boss.  During the first few weeks of 2001, during intramural basketball season, Jud scheduled Colin and I for almost all of the same shifts.  Little did he know about his match-making skills at the time!  I believe Jud and his wife Lori are also a recreational sports couple!!

I only had an evening and overnight stay planned with Jud and Lori, so we spent much of the time catching up with the happenings of each other’s lives.  Lori always cooks such amazing meals, and this visit was no exception.  We had a Mexican fiesta, followed by a Rockband jam session.  Since we are all athletes, it was not surprising Jud had a volleyball game to play, so he left after rocking out and Lori and I wound down the night by watching “Dancing with the Stars.”

Tuesday morning it was off to Southport, NC.  I had debated driving down the coast (along the outer banks), but since the weather was still not great, I decided to head slightly inland and down the major highway, I-95.  My destination in Southport was St. James Plantation to visit with Colin’s aunts and uncles (2 sets).  I stayed with Aunt Mary-Ann and Uncle Mike, Colin’s father’s sister and brother-in-law.  They have a beautiful house in the “plantation,” right on the intercoastal waterway. 

Living a few houses away, are Uncle Bill and Aunt Lois, Colin’s father’s brother and sister-in-law.  On Tuesday, Aunt Mary Ann showed me around the development and cooked a wonderful dinner of Quinoa, pork chops and salad.  Wednesday was a beautiful day, with the sun shining and temperature around 80.  Aunt Mary Ann and I spent a large part of the day driving around in their convertible, with the top down, checking out the beach and downtown Southport. 

That night, Uncle Bill and Aunt Lois came over for dinner.  We had a wonderful evening getting to know each other better.  Although all four of them are in their mid to late 60’s, it was clear to me that they are still very much enjoying life and living each day to the fullest. 

Thursday I headed to Raleigh to check out the city.  Colin and I have talked about moving there, so I took some time to drive around and see the different areas of the city.  Not knowing much, I drove around North Raleigh, North Carolina State University (NCSU) and downtown.  My hotel was in northeast Raleigh, so I did see a little of that area.  NCSU reminded me a little of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville (my alma mater), except the main road appears to be undergoing a serious renovation.  Downtown reminded me a lot of Providence, RI with lots of new development, sidewalk cafes, etc.  Being reminded of areas I enjoyed made me confident in our choice to look forward to a future in Raleigh. 

On Friday morning, I drove to an area called Lake Lynn to enjoy a short 2 mile walk around the lake.  Both Thursday and Friday were beautiful days, so I tried to enjoy them as much as possible.  

For lunch, I stopped into Durham to eat at a local foods restaurant called Piedmont.  The food was great, but it was a little awkward dining alone.  I was not that impressed with Durham, but didn’t get to see much of it.  The restaurant was on a road that didn’t have anything else to offer.

From Durham, it was a 9 hour drive back to Forest Hills.  I debated going back to Chesapeake to visit Jud and Lori, but it was Easter weekend and I wanted to get back to Colin.  Unfortunately, because it was Good Friday, there was so much traffic in the D.C. area.  I was stuck in it for about 2 hours!!  I also tried to see if Colin could take a bus to D.C. and we could spend the night there enjoying the Cherry Blossom Festival – but it was too late to make those plans as Colin was already in Manhattan and had no change of clothes.  So much for being spontaneous!!  So, I sucked it up and got home around 11pm – exhausted.  It felt amazing to be back in my own bed after such a long day!