Valentine's Day in Essex

  If you asked me what the best small town in America was, I would say Alpena, MI. This is because of the memories I have there, though, not because of its charm. Essex, CT was named the best small town in America for various reasons but charm is at the top of the list. This town was established in the 1600's and while today it is a sleepy seaport town, it has a history filled past. Essex is one of the few towns in America that has been attacked by another country. During the war of 1812 the British took over to famous Griswold Inn. The "Gris" restaurant is what brought us to the town and is the oldest running tavern in America. In its history it has only been owned by six different families. Crazy!! Before stopping to eat lunch there we strolled the charming main street spending our time browsing in and out of their unique shops. You could easily see the towns love for water by the nautical decor on the houses and in the shops.

                    

 Keep you posted,

Extra <3 L

Winter Storm Nemo

Nemo.. what a terrible name for a blizzard!  Well Justin and I survived it regardless.  Almost 24 hours of straight snowfall later we are officially snowed in.  Our car has about 10 feet of snow surrounding it as well as everyone else who lives here.  Despite our neighbors' best efforts of digging their cars out with shovels, dust pans, and anything else they could find we are all still here.  The kids here are making great progress on making an igloo!  The snow plow was supposed to have it cleared by noon but no one expected CT to get as much snow as we did.  The snow passed Charlie hours ago and is now up to Justin's waist.  That is saying a lot for a 6'4'' man.  With over 600,000 people without power we are very lucky to still have ours.  Several games of Monopoly, cups of coffee and tea later we have the memories of "The Blizzard of 2013".  We now know exactly what it is like living inside a snow globe.   

 

Keep you posted,

<3 L