McLoone's Boathouse, a local eatery and neighborhood gem.

Have you ever found yourself driving home, past an establishment, and saying to yourself, one day you have to check that place out? Did you ever let that thought run through your mind every time you pass by that area and see that restaurant for months at a time? That was me continuously in regard to this place until this year when I finally decided to visit. I must say, the relaxing atmosphere and the upscale ambiance made me regret not going there sooner.  

McLoones' boathouse is an American seafood restaurant located within the South Mountain Recreation Complex, right on the banks of Orange Reservoir. The view it gives its customers is akin to that of a lakehouse, surrounded by a walking trail loop and a section with Swan paddle boats, for recreational use.  It is beautiful, and the only thing that matches the peaceful and serene view of the lake is the inside of the restaurant. It was a mix between your grandmother's home in the south and a long island beach house in the Hamptons. 

Named after Tim McLoone, who was a Musician, Athlete, and Entrepreneur; while he was a philanthropist at heart, he had an affinity for Americana cuisine and beach house decor. Hence why all of the restaurants he owns are either by the beach, by a body of water, or on the boardwalk. Although the boathouse in West Orange was opened in 2011, it was McLoone's sixth restaurant as he already had restaurants opened and successfully operated down the jersey shore and in Maryland.  You can see a snippet of his background here.   

I went one rainy weekend in May, with a couple of friends, like an outing to take my mind off of the tragedy that happened at work.  It hadn't planned to go out that weekend specifically, but took the offer and used it as an opportunity to finally visit. 

I walked in, through two large front doors, towards this fireplace in the middle of the room. The waiters' booth was to the left and as I inquired about the reservation and my friend's seating location, my friend found me and led me to the table. I sat down to being teased about being late and being able to defend myself this time, as compared to my usual track record, I made good time. We talked; looked over the menu and It took me a while to decide as they had so many good options on the menu. Our waiter was fast and friendly and he took really good care of us. 

 I ended up ordering a glass of sangria, with cauliflower bites and a side of fries, and Seared Salmon. The cauliflower bites were more savory and delicious than I expected, (especially when re-heated the morning after) but when I offered to share amongst my friends, they declined, once finding out what it was. I guess some people still don't like vegetables, even in adulthood.  

We shared some jumbo wings for the table, while one ordered the filet mignon and the other shrimp rigatoni vodka. We had multiple drinks and we were so full we couldn't order dessert. There was more than one to-go plate packed. 

While heading out, I made a detour from the exit, as I heard a familiar song being played, in the other room. We walked past the fireplace, by the entrance to see two performers singing a popular Caribbean song, acoustically. I saw the two performers behind the keyboard, drum, and microphone and the large group of people they were singing to, on the other side. 

We made it to the parking lot shortly afterward and spent the next three hours talking and laughing until it started raining and we all ran to our cars and texted each other when we got home. It was a great night with good company and great food. If you're ever in the area of west orange and the south mountain recreation complex, stop by McLoone's boathouse, you'll love the food and ambiance and leave with great memories.

 

Your Stress- Free planning of your family vacation

 

Family trip, takes a day at the beach.

 

How to take the stress, out of distressingly planning your family vacation.

 

Looking to book the best vacation on a budget? Have no idea how to get everyone to agree on the same place? Tired of the lack of input, help, or harmony surrounding this topic? Dreading planning the annual family trip? Since it may take a few tries before finding the rhythm that works for you; here are a few tips to help ease the process of figuring it out. All while fostering a sense of unity and inclusion.

Have all members that are traveling together make a list of all the places they want to go. Encourage them to leave no stone unturned. Every city, town, and country are eligible to make their lists. Then review and read the lists aloud to see if there are any commonalities. Every place that is mentioned repeatedly, circle them and write those down on a separate list. Those places will advance to the next step. The ones that didn't make it past the preliminaries, use those as ideas for the next year.

Family trip strolling through a field

 

Take the new list, with all of the places everyone had in common, and write the pros and cons of each place, next to each of the options that you have to choose from. Depending on the size of your family and the age of everyone involved, this will determine what will be the best choice for everyone. If traveling with young children, you will need to determine if the place is kid-friendly and family-oriented, as opposed to older children you might just need the place to speak your native language fluently, be safe, and have lots of excursions to choose from. This variable also affects which excursions you can book and how you plan on spending your time while on vacation. 

 

 

Then look at each option and determine their relative geographical location to each other. If you notice a trend where everyone is favoring visiting the Caribbean or the islands/ countries that are neighboring each other, decide if you can visit multiple destinations by way of a cruise, or other forms of "country-hopping". For example, if everyone wants to visit Aruba, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Mexico, it might be easier to accomplish that on a cruise as opposed to going to each place separately. If primarily European countries make the list, see if you can plan a backpack excursion and take the Eurail train that spans 33 different European countries. This is the best way to get a taste of each country and, if you fancy a particular place, you can always go back and spend more time there.

 

 

Family Trip through the desert on horseback.

If none of the places are within the same region, then you can further narrow down the options in a creative way. This is the fun part, as you are in total control of this. You can do anything from playing games to having little family competitions, where the winner gets to pick the place. Playing team games like charades, taboo and dominoes will build and strengthen familial bonds while individual games like UNO, crazy eights, and monopoly will allow the winner to take all and pick the place. My friend and I couldn’t decide between Puerto Rico and the Bahamas and we played an old-fashioned game of rock-paper-scissors. I won, by the way, and we ended up going to Puerto Rico that year. I eventually visited the Bahamas later on that year with my family. 

Implementing this will not only make family trip planning, more fun, creative and inclusive; It also makes the process of planning trips much easier; less daunting and more exciting to look forward to. Try some of these techniques and any you come up with and let me know how they work for you in the comments below.

 

How to handle racism, while traveling to work

 Racism is often a hotly debated topic. However, due to the historical context, prevalence, and cognitive dissonance often associated with it and the level of discomfort it brings everyone. While I have grown up with the privilege of learning all of the nuances and scenarios where Race will inevitably play a role, It never ceases to amaze me when a situation arises. All that you've learned is now put to the test. 

 

Since this societal issue will never go away on its own, I found it best to discuss my latest encounter with this and present some actionable tips you can take should you ever find yourself in a similar situation. Therefore, this post will detail my latest meeting with handling racism on my way to work and what I did as a result. 

While traveling on my way to work, it was a rainy day, and I took a different bus towards the hub train station. While getting on the bus, a gentleman and I entered and displayed our passes to the bus driver. After I walked past him and made it to my seat, I was summoned to return to the bus driver. He then proceeded to embarrass me by asking me about the bus pass I showed him. When I questioned what he was asking me and why he doubled down and played dumb. The interaction went as follows: 

 

Bus Driver: Hey, what's that, that you showed me?

Me: My Rail pass. (Proceeds to show him the same pass, again)

Bus Driver: What is that? I don't know what that is.....

Me: *Sweeping look of confusion crosses my face* Ummm, it's my Train pass; I use it all the time. It's always cross-honored.

Bus Driver: How many bus zones are it? 

Me: It says Two (points to the number) 

Bus Driver: I've never seen that before. I don't know anything about that. 

Me: *Still confused* Ummm, I don't know what to tell you. No one else has complained. Your colleagues haven't told me anything.

Bus Driver: Waves me off. 

 

While I walk to my seat, I see two caucasian male passengers in front of me laughing hysterically. They were both elderly, above 70, and the one who wore the red "maga" hat and had the yellowest teeth I've ever seen. I never knew teeth could turn that color. 

 

I then noticed that the guy who got on the bus behind me was still being grilled by the bus driver before letting him on the bus. The two front passengers were still giggling like school girls. I then noticed that the next woman who got on the bus received the same treatment as me, and another Hispanic man who requested a stop missed it as the bus driver kept driving. When he finally did stop, He berated the man saying, "I don't stop there; this isn't the twenty-one" He then proceeded to drive the bus like he resented his job. Meanwhile, the two front passengers laughed as if they were in on it. 

I took pictures of the bus, the men, and any other identifying information. I then called the transit authority number, filed a complaint, and provided the photos. Despite being met with kindness and understanding, being provided with the complaint number, and a secondary call with an apology, no further action was taken regarding my complaint. The gentleman mentioned that this driver was a union worker, and it's usually a process to get rid of them. While appreciating the apologetic phone call, I was saddened at the thought that this man had gotten away with his disrespectful behavior. 

 

 This is where I want to discuss the importance of taking action each time a situation arises, regardless of the outcome. Cultivating this habit and mindset will remind you that you don't have to tolerate being insulted, but it will better prepare you to take the correct course of action as you will know the proper channels to pursue. 

How Tennessee, became the perfect surprise, travel destination

 On one of my recent trips, I visited the southern state of Tennessee. I met up with one of my good friends and we embarked on a ski trip to the smokies. I flew to Atlanta where she lived; we hung out for the day and the next morning, we hit the road and drove 4 hours to Gatlinburg. Our hotel was in Pigeon Forge, which was 25 minutes away from the mountain and I enjoyed the charm of that town. The locals were hospitable and friendly and the food in the smaller non-franchise eateries were delicious. 

We went during a weekend event being held by The S.E.T, a travel organization that hosted the festivities that weekend. Although disappointed in the event itself, I was able to make up for it, by exploring the town. While I go into more detail about the diaster's of the festival itself here, these are the highlights that helped me to salvage my weekend.  

The Sunliner Diner: 

 

This was right next to our hotel and while I walked into this establishment unintentionally, it was the best detour I could have made that night. They have such a cute 1950's "Happy Days" glamour concept. I loved how upon walking into the establishment, you're automatically transported into another atmosphere. From the menu, to the desserts to the decór, you feel as if you're in another era. The customer service was top-notch as the waitress was attentive, friendly and a courteous. I ordered a BLT, fries and some chilli. I was temped to grab a sundae milkshake as a neighboring patron was enjoying their's. However my lactose intolerance would have cut that enjoyment short. 

 

Brick and Spoon: 

Now, this place holds a special place in my heart. While looking for a place to have Brunch on Sunday, My friend looked up this spot and we decided to experiment with it by trying it out. They have a softening salt scrubber in their bathroom and I loved it. Their menu presents a good variety of food that feels like your enjoying Grandma's secret family recipe with the feel of a close-knit family restaurant. The food was amazing. I had Banana's in Pajamas' for the first time, and that fosters' sauce I ordered doubles of. I also had crab cake eggs with hollandaise sauce and shared in some of the homefries my friend ordered with her meal. Needless to say, we were stuffed when we left. I highly recommend it. 

Marcos'  Pizza and Panda Express:  

These two establishments are franchises that are not considered Mom and Pop "niche" shops, however, Marcos is exclusively in the South. The title suggests that it's a pizza shop, but I was able to order wings, breadsticks, and other Non-dairy items to make a meal for myself. It was a pleasant surprise. The customer service was reminiscent of the "southern hospitality" culture and I enjoyed how freshly made the food was. I can imagine their pizza is just as good. 

Panda Express we visited it through the drive-thru and while this can be found up north, it's been years since I've tried their food. The menu options have definitely changed and now have more vegan options for those who have changed their diet since the last time they've been here. 

 Ober Gatlinburg: 

This was the highlight of the trip. The lodge was beautiful and had plenty of activities to do both inside and outside of the venue. I noticed from the waterslide at the bottom of the hill, that this place must be open during the summers as well. Getting there was quite the adventure as it entailed driving up a steep cliff on a very narrow road with no guardrails. I literally held my breath the whole ride, while my friend drove 5 MPH to make sure we survived the curves and turns in the road. It was one of two "close-calls" experiences that happened to me that weekend. When I spoke to one of the mountain lodge staff members about how dangerous that road was: He laughed stating "You're not from 'round here, huh?"

If his accent wasn't so loveable, I would have taken offense to his statement. 

Music Hotel Road: 

This is the hotel that I called home for a few days. My room was comfortable and spacious and the view of the river from the balcony was very peaceful and serene. They have a heated section within their pool while the neighboring Hot Tub was relaxing because of the powerful jets and the sauna-like temperatures. I spent most of my time in the pool, however, as I prefer to swim and I take advantage of every opportunity I get to do so. My friend however enjoyed that hotel luxury and spent most of her time there. We spent our time in the indoor pool as it was during the winter season that we visited. Due to covid restrictions, they did provide masks in the lobby upon request. They were selling them for Two-Dollars a piece, which I found ironic since no one in the lobby was wearing one. as a matter of fact, very few people were wearing masks down there. It was surreal to see.  

 Our final stop before heading home happened at one of the gift shops located on the 440 parkway. It was 9.99 or less, a.k.a. Souvenir City. I walked in and bought a navy blue smoky mountain mug that had a cork bottom. It was the only thing in that store that was unique enough for me to buy. I was taken aback by the confederate flags that were plastered on the walls and on clothing items. To my surprise they were courteous to me and my friend while we were shopping; however, she wanted to get out of there ASAP. I can't say I blame her. 

So if you ever find yourself traveling through the south and are curious enough to pass through Tennessee, I would recommend visiting the 440 parkway strip in Pigeon Forge for a few days as there is plenty to do. From shopping at the Tanger mall outlet, riding the coasters, visiting the upside-down museum to feeding the bears, you are guaranteed to have a memorable adventure.

 

The massage you never knew you needed, and have to try

 I never used to take self-care seriously as it was initially promoted to me as a fad, a trend, the next cool bandwagon to jump on. It was never talked about as something of importance, it was often discouraged as anyone seen participating in it, were perceived as lazy time wasters. As a result, whenever my friend would invite me to the Spa with her I wasn't very enthusiastic about it. 

I still went, as I wanted to hang out with her, but I'd never initiate this as an activity for us to do. She always liked to get massages and exfoliation baths, while I enjoyed the bathing pools and saunas.  I didn't utilize the other services as I thought it to be a waste of money. I could do my nails and feet in a nail salon; I exfoliate at home and I prefer to soak in baths that I put together. Massages never did anything for me so I didn't bother with them.  The few times I gave them a try I was often disappointed as both Spas and Massage Parlours would leave me feeling "beat up" and worse than before. I learned to live with the aches and pains as the tension was never relieved so I didn't see the point in getting massages regularly. 

 I was maintaining until my left shoulder started throbbing in excruciating pain. It felt like my shoulder was physically separating from my body. As if it had been bluntly cut by a saw-blade and was now falling away from my neck.  The worst part is it would happen suddenly and randomly. It would start out as a minor pull, then that discomfort quickly grew to a painful knot. 

It always happened while I wasn't doing anything strenuous. While I was sitting at my desk at work, in my car, on the couch, anywhere and time where I was sitting still it happened. On the off chance, it happened during a workout, my shoulders would tighten up and squeeze together. It would slowly loosen once I stretched. No longer being able to endure this, I reached out to my friend Johnny and asked if he had any openings. He scheduled me in for Sunday; and although I didn't believe in what massages could do, I didn't know what else to do.