Red Hook/ Run Through Central Park

We're way late getting to this one from a weekend in early November.  Whoops!

Thanks to Carly and Luke Parsons, we enjoyed a lovely Friday night dinner at Locanda Verde.  The restaurant is located in the Tribeca neighborhood that we haven't explored that much so it was fun to check it out.

The following morning was beautiful so we decided to head directly south of our neighborhood to an area called Red Hook.

Pic of our street on a Fall morning.  Our goal is to do one for each season to see the changes.

Had brunch at Kevin's in Red Hook.  Gregg's Cornflake-Crusted Challah French Toast was delicious! 

Cutesy cups that we split our Stumptown French Press in

Doing hipster stuff (channeling Jane McGuire)

Pier in Red Hook.  Can you see the Statue of Liberty, Jersey City and One World Trade?

The blocks say "Red Hook"

Fort Defiance, our next Red Hook brunch spot

A cool exhibit of an old railcar behind a grocery store

"What's the hold-up?!"

Lehigh Valley Water Museum 
There is a family of four that live on this Barge.  Under the main floor there are four bedrooms and storage.  There is also a stage on the main floor where the host performances and holds "pirate" camps for kids during the summer.

Inside the barge/museum.  Note the functional kitchen in the background.

There's a catering company on the pier and they grow some of their own produce right outside.

Welcome to Red Hook Winery.  We had no idea Red Hook had a winery, but now we do :)

They had very festive decorations.

Classic truck outside of a cool BBQ trailer

Botanica. Way more crowded in the summer but we didn't mind the peaceful atmosphere.

Cacao Prieto

Inside a distillery next door to Botanica.

Widow Jane

Thanks, Cass, for the swag.

The nice weather continued into Sunday so we headed to the City for a run through Central Park.

Jekyll & Hyde Restaurant

Doing the touristy thing and running along Poets Lane in Central Park

Ran into an organized exercise class.  We think it may have been some type of fundraiser. Instead of a run, they were doing aerobics with the instructor in the bandstand.

Topped off our day by doing some browsing at Brooklyn Flea. 

Charleston

With the incentive of a screaming deal that we saw on JetBlue, we booked flights to Charleston, SC for the first weekend in November.  We were hoping to catch some warm weather and learn a thing or two about how things are done in the South. 

Good Morning, Charleston!

 Our flight landed around 10am on Saturday, Nov 1st, in 50 degree weather, 20 mph winds, and light rain .  Waiting in the taxi line outside the airport, we looked at each other and thought, isn't it supposed to be warmer here?!  In the taxi we went, determined not to let the weather affect our trip.  Our awesome taxi driver, Earl, who was born and raised in Charleston, was full of fun facts about the city and even provided maps and guides for us.  We dropped our luggage off at the hotel and headed out to explore.  The first stop, brunch!

Warming up after our long wait to get into Hominy Grill.  It was a very popular spot with a line around the block.  We were so hungry that we ordered everything on the menu, or at least it felt like we did.  Gregg got the Charleston Nasty Biscuit and Meg got the Huevos.  Although the biscuits were quite tasty, Gregg said the gravy ain't got nothing on Grandmas'! :)  For sides, we ordered the cheesy grits, a biscuit, bacon, and the green fried tomatoes.  I told you, we were hungry!

After we ate it was time to explore the city!

A lot of shopping on King Street

Plenty of clothing options for a Southern Gentleman

An interesting variety of building styles in the downtown area

Had to check out the highly recommended Pearlz Bar. Enjoyed our fair share of seafood.

Oyster shooters...when in Charleston!

More oysters...

Luckily, the bad weather had enough after one day and gave in to blue skies!  Now it was time to pull a classic Brad Irving photo-tourism move a retake every photo from the day before!  Just kidding, but we did redo a few :)

In Marion Square Park

What a difference a day makes!

Entrance to The Charleston City Market

Great spot to get a coffee and eat after our morning run

The Charleston Library

King Street

This building was across the street from our hotel and is a theater converted from a meatpacking facility. We missed the closing show of Macbeth by 1 night!

The H.L. Hunley submarine (replica)

There were churches everywhere! And each was unique.

Rainbow Row

Peeking into the houses.  There is a courtyard through the other gate.

We couldn't get enough of the houses and buildings around Charleston so we took a lot of pictures of them.  Here are just a few:

This building is home to law offices now

The waterfront area at the southern tip of the peninsula had a peaceful park and has some of the most expensive houses in the state.

We felt like we were in Sausalito for a second here!

The tip of the peninsula, at the Battery

Carriage tours were a popular way to see the city and went right through the neighborhoods and parks

We noticed a lot of detail in the metalwork around town and found out that the "Gates of Charleston" are a unique characteristic of the city.  Here are a few examples:

The College of Charleston is right off of King Street so we decided to check it out.  One of the most gorgeous campuses we could ever imagine!

They apparently had some event in front of this administration building the night before but, equipment aside, a beautiful scene

The English Department (and most others) were in old converted mansions

#gocougs

Sunday night dinner at Husk!

We had to wait on the porch for a few minutes but we didn't mind!

We booked an afternoon flight home so we could spend more time seeing the Charleston area.  So we rented bikes and set out for the Arthur Ravenel, Jr. Bridge (aka the Double Diamonds)!

Made it to Mount Pleasant.  After grabbing a quick bite at The Village Bakery, we explored the neighborhood in search of the most beautiful house.

This was taken in a park that consisted entirely of a long pier that extended out a few hundred yards into the marshlands.  Pretty unique and great views along the way!

Ended our trip with some rooftop relaxing, before we headed off to the airport.

Bye bye Charleston!