Nautical Nomad: August Activities

The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer,
like the highest seat of a ferris wheel when it pauses in it's turning.
//Tuck Everlasting

I love August. I think it is my favorite month, for many different reasons, but mostly because it is the absolute height of summer. I always try to make the most of every August day, because before you know it, fall will be here to rain on your summery parade. It ended up being such a busy and fun month for me, filled with tons of activities, but also lots of work. All in all I think I was able to maintain a good balance and I really feel like I lived it to the fullest. A couple days after getting back from Moosehead and dealing with the post-vaction blues, Nick and I had tickets (he surprised me with them after reading my Summer Bucket List post) to Kings of Leon! I love them, and had never seen them before, so I was really excited. I was also extra spoiled because he came over early after work and made me his salmon ceviche before we went to the show. It was so fresh and delicious, salmon is one of my most favorite foods.

He used all sorts of fresh veggies like cucumber, tomato, carrot and onion. And then let it all sit with the salmon in coconut milk for about and hour. It was so light and fresh and the salmon was ever so slightly cooked from sitting in the liquid. So good!

After eating we headed to the concert venue early for a little tailgating in the Prius. It was the perfect cool summer night and it was nice to watch the sunset, listen to some tunes and have a couple beers before we had to go in for the show. We even managed to score a $3 bag of peanut M&M's off a little boy raising money for "school". (P.S. The Jacko-O-Traveler Shandy is definitely the best pumpkin beer.)

I was extra excited for this concert because not only was I excited to see Kings of Lean, but I was excited for BOTH openers as well. It's not every show where you really love all two or three acts, so this was very special. Kongos came on first, they were really good and put on a good, upbeat show.

Next up was Young the Giant, who I love love love! I had seem them before as headliners at Terminal 5 in NYC (my fave venue eva) and they were awesome then and awesome now. The lead singers voice is so powerful and I really like all of their songs. They played all of my favorites and it made me extra happy.

As you can see, Nick and I are REALLY ~~awful~~ good at taking selfies in the dark!

Best photo of us, ever.

And last but not least it was Kings of Leon. They also happened to play all of my favorites, I was on fire that night calling out which songs each of the bands were going to play. It was a great setlist and I was so glad I got to hear jams like Family Tree, Notion, Temple, and so on! So happy I got to check them off my must-see concert list, as well as my summer bucket list. Thank so much Nick for surprising me and taking me!

I suffered through Friday at work very tired, and then had a lovely two-hour turned 5-hour drive to Boston. Gotta love summer Cape Traffic. I've said it before and I'll say it again, nothing chips away at your sanity quite like the Mass Pike. If I could see the total hours I've spent on that highway, I'd probably puke. Needless to say, I got to the South Shore absolutely exhausted and drained, so it was pretty much right to bed as I had a big wedding the next day on Saturday in Nantucket. We didn't have to be at the hotel until 2, so I got to sleep in a bit and then went for my usual morning drive to hit up Marylou's for coffee and the secret spot for a bagel. I parked at Minot and just sat in peace and quiet staring out at the ocean for a good half hour, just relaxing my brain and getting ready for all that wedding-day-photography brings. It's such a nice way to start a hectic day, and I try to do it whenever I can if we don't have to be at a wedding until the afternoon.

Minot is so gorgeous, and means so much to me. I could sit there for hours staring out into the deep blue. It was so warm with the perfect little morning breeze. I was however missing my Minot-partner-in-crime, Lea Marie... but she was there with me in spirit!

MLou's and secret spot everything bagels... can't beat it! Each of the benches is dedicated to a person or family, or has a nice quote on it. A nice place to rest your bum! Tons of people walk the whole seawall every morning, exchanging "Hi's" and "Good Morning's" as they pass by me.

It was so hard to leave that morning to go and get ready for the wedding, but ten hours later, I was DONE! Weddings and wedding photography are a thing of their own, theres nothing quite like it. It the most intense mental and physical ordeal that you really can't understand until you have experienced it. Or in my case, experienced it 250+ times. Eight years of weddings under my belt, and it's something new yet completely the same every time... if that makes any sense? Anywho, highlight's of the day included riding in a mini-van with the groomsmen to church and catching the ring bearer reading the flower girls diary. And the ever-glamourous post-wedding selfie. "Get me outta here!!" (note my stolen bag of candy from the candy-bar)

Sunday morning I headed over to my bff Lea's for her Moms famous Sunday breakfast and Mimosas. I don't know what she does, but she always cook up the most delicious breaky and her mimosas are so good... she has secret ingredients. They are like family to me and I love them dearly.

It was such a nice day out so I just spent some time laying on the lawn reading and drinking Mlou's because I really didn't feel like driving home right away and spending the best part of the day in the car in traffic.

We stopped at TK's in Scituate for a drinky-poo. It was SO HOT, and I was sweating so bad. It was rather gross, but I love summer so I can't complain. And this giant strawberry margarita definitely helped the overheating situation. The view at TK's is one of the best restaurant views around. 180 degrees of Sciuate Harbor and the lighthouse leading out to the ocean.

I finally made it home Sunday night just in time for dinner, which happened to be one of my (along with every else's in my family) favorite summer meals. Tomato pie. To put it in perspective, I don't even like tomatos, but I friggan LOVE tomato pie. I will definitely have to share the recipe at some point because it is really something everyone needs to try. And NO, it's not pizza.

A couple other random happenings from early August include getting this awesome gift from Nick's Mom from their vacation in outer banks. I haven't taken it off since.

My Puppy Elle after she inadvertently participated in the ALS ice bucket challenge. Poor hunny.

We hit the 100 DAY COUNTDOWN for our trip to Hawaii!! Woo woo. As I type this it's already down to 77.... it's creeping up fast and there's still so much to do to get ready.

The next week was really nice weather so on Wednesday night I headed down to the shore to stay over my Aunt and Uncles since I work from home on Thursdays. It was a really great night and our family friends from growing up were down as well, they live two houses down, so it was really nice to see them as well. Spending time with people you grew up with who have known you since childhood is always the best, its definitely a close bond that keeps you close no matter how long you go without seeing each other. Liam lives in NYC and Paul in New Mexico, so we always try to see them during the few weeks they are down in the summer.

We played several rounds of corn hole on Jen's fabulous handmade nautical set. We switched partners each round, and I lost every round with each new partner. It was actually pretty funny. Who wants to be on my team!? :-)

We just sat on the neighbors deck with our cocktails and watched the sun go down. So relaxing, its my happy place.

We decided to do a little neighbor-kid photo shoot for old times sake. The original OG Jordan Cove kids.

After dinner we just chatted and played cards for a couple hours. So nice to laugh and reminisce on old times!

Paul had the low tide itch really bad, it was so gross. It is a parasite that cycles between snails and water fowl, but it can enter humans at low tide if you are walking in tide pools or still water. It gets under your skin but then cant survive so they die and it creates these super itchy welts all over. My Grandma used to have it nicknamed as "The Creeping Crud".... we were all nervous to go in the water after that.

Jen's new house is absolutely gorgeous. My Aunt and Uncle did such a nice job designing it and decorating it.

The entire right side of their garage is all going to goodwill, so my Aunt said I could look through to see if there was anything I wanted or needed for my future abode. I snagged a few pieces and nautical notions, such as a really cool antique railroad light that used to be over a train bridge on the water.

Saturday we all went to the beach for the morning as it was a picture perfect day. It was the last time I would see Paul and Liam until next year, so it was nice to spend time with them as well. Liam is going to be a junior in high school this year and Paul is finishing up college in Montana. They make me feel so old!