In my opinion, there really is nothing better than hitting the open road with the wind in your hair. Last week, I made a much needed escape from my little island and headed south to then head north and thus fulfilled another item on my Fall Bucket List. My first destination was Riverton, New Jersey, better known as the new hometown to my sweet little H and her wonderful family. On the drive down, I decided to make a quick detour to have lunch at Terrain in Westport, CT. Terrain is just one of those places where everything in life seems to be right. After devouring a delicious fall salad of quinoa and farro and sipping on a blood orange spritzer, I decided to do a little browsing for Christmas gift inspiration. But instead, I was more inspired by their kitchen displays. Isn’t this just breathtaking?

My time in Riverton, a mere 20 minutes from Philly was exactly what my soul needed. My girlfriend Sharla is just one of those people in my life who truly gets me. Sitting on her porch looking out at the golf course with the sun on my face, I realized that I am so blessed. We spent a great deal of time talking about what’s next for me. An excellent question indeed. I won’t get into this too much at this time but will just say, I think I am getting closer and closer, which excites me!

I always love exploring a city through its food and Sharla always knows exactly where to take me. The first stop was a breathtaking coffee shop/gourmet food store (right up my alley) called Talula’s. For our last lunch together, we ventured over to the Navy Shipyard to the Urban Outfitters world headquarters. A fun little fact, there is a beautiful cafe there that is open to the public and serves the most delicious food. We enjoyed a vegetarian chili served on a slice of grilled polenta, potato leek soup and a chocolate chip cookie. Yummy! And the coolest part, we were surrounded by all these creative and hip types who work for one of the coolest companies, in my book. Made me realize I want to be part of something grand. I mean, wouldn’t you want to come to work here everyday!

Having to end my visit a bit too soon to head north to Maine, I decided to make a lunch stop at a place that has been on my bucket list for years, Blue Farm at Stone Barn. And how happy am I that I did. Have you heard of this place? Simply breathtaking. An agricultural center with a working farm, a renowned restaurant, a killer cafe and a gift shop that is the most beautiful collection of gifts I have seen in quite some time. For lunch, I decided on the tomato soup (there was a bit of a chill in the air) and their newly released beet yogurt. Yes, you read that right. Beet yogurt. And let me tell you, delicious!

With a quick visit to my home state of good old Massachusetts for the final World Series Game (Go Sox) I headed up to one of my favorite, Portland Maine for my big brother’s wedding. I will share all my Portland picks in a later post but let me just say, what a road trip it was. Until next time, stay warm!