Grits in the City - Fitness. Family. Food.
Hope you enjoy all these as much as I do!
I’m definitely not ready to turn the page on summer. I know it technically runs through something like September 22, but it seems like everyone is full steam ahead into fall. Iced pumpkin cold brew in one hand, and a beach towel in the other? Now that I can get behind. Here’s a bit of what’s been going on throughout the month in my world.
Favorite splurge: Summersalt
I’m not sure why it has taken me all these summer Fridays to finally plan this, but the weekend before last I took off the full day to make a trip to Sea Girt and Spring Lake. We have typically taken family trips to Long Branch, but I wanted to see if we should bring the kids here instead.
I made a pitstop on the way down to Sea Girt at the Scone Pony. I’ll admit it was mainly because I liked the name but also because I don’t think I’ve seen another spot focus on scones! I figured it was a nice easy option for something to pickup and take with me to the beach. (I should note I learned no food is allowed on the beach at Sea Girt so I ate it at the tables in front of the Pavilion before I entered the beach.)
I’ve been curious about Bellemara Distillery and Flounder Brewing Company for a long time but we haven’t been that way with some time to visit while they were open — until this weekend on our way back from Snyder’s Farm Food Truck and Music Festival.
Bellemara Distillery currently sells gin (a standard single malt variety in the London dry style with notes of Juniper and orange and a tropical one, including notes of Juniper and tropical fruit). They also sell a single malt grain spirit, which they described as similar to a vodka.
[Read more…]We originally planned to try different breakfast spots during our recent vacation to Lancaster, Pennsylvania but we quickly changed our plans after visiting Agape Cafe in Ronks our first morning of the trip. After that meal, we didn’t see a reason to go anywhere else!
We wanted to dine outside, and the restaurant has a perfect setup for that. Note there are only around eight tables outside, so we would arrive very early to make sure there would be one available.
[Read more…]Yesterday, we headed back to Snyder Farm for the Snyders Farm Food Truck and Music Festival. Unlike when we went back in June for their u-pick blueberries, it definitely was not cool. If anything, we found ourselves frantically searching for some shade!
The live music at the event was much better than I expected. Throughout the day, we heard so many favorites ranging from classic rock to classic country to modern country.
Continuing our recent tradition, we loaded the kids up in the car and set off for an afternoon activity. This weekend’s destination was Long Valley and then Bedminster on our way back home.
We have been to Ort Farms before for pumpkin picking, so this was our second time there. This weekend was their Summer Harvest Celebration.
We recently took a family trip to Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We’d always been curious to give it a try and decided this would be a perfect time to go. We wanted to make sure to go before the kids got too much older since it’s really set up to be more accessible than the typical amusement park for younger kids. We enjoyed going to Hershey Park last year but thought this might be a good option until the kids get a little older.
Beyond having more rides that younger / smaller kids can ride, Dutch Wonderland n general is very accessible for people with disabilities. There is an option for preferred parking to give you the option to park closer to the front of the park. You can also register with Guest Services (inside the castle at the entry) and will give your child and two accompanying guests priority access to rides.
For T’s birthday, I wanted to find a new place for us to go for dinner. I’d always been curious about Stone House at Stirling Ridge, which has often come up in my search so was excited for us to go for another nice night out after our recent date night at Publick House for our anniversary. It often is mentioned for also having separate space for weddings and other events.
This summer we are trying to find some fun yet close options for new places to take the kids. Over Memorial Day, this meant the Bronx Zoo. In late June, it was time for a Coney Island daytrip!
I haven’t been to Coney Island in a very long time. I’m not sure if it was definitely the last time I was there but the above pic with T was from one of the last visits there (this oldie is from 2013.) This was definitely the first time I’ve been in a car!
We started the day at the New York Aquarium. Pro tip: arrive early and you can easily park in their lot for the day. They still time out your admission so good to book tickets early so you can enter at your preferred time. They have been doing some repair work since Hurricane Sandy but have fully reopened since our visit.
[Read more…]For Valentine’s Day back in 2020, T got me an unlimited membership to try out a new local fitness studio in the area – Air aerial fitness. I’ve been dying to take a class there so as many classes in a month as I could make it to sounded like an amazing way to check it out in all its glory.
