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“It’s Better In The Bahamas” When I was young that was the slogan friends and I can tell you I agree! This summer instead of heading to the beach in New Jersey or taking a “history” trip as we’ve done the past two summers we grabbed our passports, poured sunscreen into appropriately tiny travel bottles and headed to the airport to meet my sister and brother in law. It was quite a travel day waking at 3am for a 4:30am car, arrival at Newark Liberty by 5:15am for an 8:15am flight. The best part was landing in Nassau at 11:28am. Woo Hoo!

We stayed at Margaritaville One Particular Harbour Luxury Residences. We enjoyed the view from our 7th floor corner balcony of the ships entering the harbor in the morning and turning around and heading out to sea at the end of each day. The only day the port was empty was Friday.

Since we were staying in One Particular Harbour we had access to all the amenities of Margaritaville, plus the pool at One Particular Harbour and the private beach next door at their sister property British Colonial. You can see a bit of the pool and the beach in the image above.

THESE VIEWS!!!!

I woke early and watched ships enter the harbor as the sun rose.

Fins Up Water Park is adjacent to the Margaritaville Hotel. It has slides, a lazy river and a high jump. Our pool was relatively quite and steps from the beach.

Here are some image by my husband from our balcony.

We ventured into town and I was thrilled to find a Benetton Store! Later that day our niece joined us and we enjoyed lunch on the pier.

We spotted a few turtles.

We visited the Straw Market and then The Queen’s Staircase.

My sister and I both love the film Now Voyager and in the film Bette Davis and Paul Henreid spend time in Nassau and visit the Queen’s Staircase. My phone’s map took us up to Fort Fincastle, then we walked back down and found the entrance to the staircase. Only my niece braved the walk up the 64 steps.

Our days were filled with beautiful views.

My son was thrilled to find a shell unfortunately, there was a very much alive conch inside so back in the water it went.

There were many mojitos and piña coladas from the Pool Bar.

THE CREW!

The sky our last night.

A panorama our last morning.

Friends this vacation consisted of a few trips into town, lots of time in the water - be it a pool or the beach all while enjoying laughs, great chats, yummy drinks, island foods all with beautiful views. Truly the most wonderful trip with our favorite people!

Til next time be well and I’ll see you over on the Gram!

To learn more about the Bahamas click here.

Hi Friends I always love sharing where I’ve been and the end of last month I spent a few days with my sister in Lenox, MA. The purpose of our trip was to visit Edith Wharton’s estate The Mount. We lucked out with the weather!

This is the first official image of our get-away. My sister Noreen snapped this of Bulls Bridge in Kent, CT. We stopped in Kent and enjoyed a delicious Sushi lunch at Kent Kitchen. After we shopped a bit. I found this postcard of a 1944 image of Broadway, NYC. I do so LOVE a good postcard!

Next we stopped in Stockbridge, MA what a noteworthy town. So many shops and the Library is also a Museum filled with local history. I had the best time in Berk Cheers Boutique and in Williams & Sons Country Store.

Then we made a beeline for the Red Lion Inn. We shopped - their gift-shop is filled with such a vast curation of items. We enjoyed walking around the first floor of the historic Hotel and capturing just a taste of it through these images before grabbing a libation and sitting on the back porch.

When we exited the Inn we found a collection of classic cars parked at the curb - mostly Packard with a few exceptions.

There are wonderful historic structures dotting Main Street.

We arrived at our hotel Element by Westin settled in and then headed into downtown Lenox to Cello for a sensational dinner.

When we arrived at The Mount Edith Wharton Cultural Center - we saw this sculpture and the stables. We walked down the curving drive to the Mansion.

The staff was setting up for a gala for the next evening and the entrance to the Mount was blocked by the tent structure.

The 1902 mansion has three floors - the ground floor - (the home is built into rock so there is no basement) with Entrance Hall, Kitchen, Scullery, Gift & Bookstore - the main floor with Butler’s Pantry, Dining Room, Drawing Room, Library, Teddy Wharton’s Den and Gallery and the Bedroom floor with Teddy Wharton’s Suite, Edith Wharton’s Bedroom, Boudoir, Guest Bedroom Suite.

After the house tour we enjoyed a yummy lunch on the terrace.

The view is glorious!

We went back inside and took in the exhibits located in the Guest Bedroom Suite. Edith Wharton published 41 books. The first The Decoration Of Houses in 1897 with Ogden Codman Jr.

Then we marveled at the beauty of the gardens.

Lime Walk features an allée of trees. The branches are trained to intertwine.

There is an Italian Walled Garden with a beautiful fountain.

A Stunning view looking back at the Mansion.

Next we toured the French Cutting Garden.

That evening we enjoyed one of the best meals I’ve ever had at Alta Wine Bar in downtown Lenox - it’s across the street from Cello.

Our last day we visited Ventfort Hall. This gilded age mansion was built in 1893 by Sarah Morgan the sister of JP Morgan.

The entry hall was a ballroom for parties. The balcony was built specifically to house an orchestra. Originally the curved windows held stained glass.

The mansion has on-going restoration. It has been the backdrop over the years in such movies as The Cider House Rules, The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot and Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls.

We stopped in Stockbridge again; its such a charming spot friends. We grabbed lunch and visited The Stockbridge Library and Museum.

I never knew until this trip that there were 70 summer cottages located in Lenox and the surrounding area. There was a direct express train to New York City from Lenox. The Mount Edith Wharton Cultural Center, Ventfort Hall and Chesterwood welcome visitors. Canyon Ranch Lenox the famous wellness resort was previously the private mansion Bellefontaine.

It was a wonderful trip and I recommend visiting Lenox. The only down side to the area was the lack of cell towers. It was a bit ridiculous how bad service is especially for such a busy tourist area - the locals chuckled about it.

Til next time I’ll see you on the Gram!