40th Birthday Redo!

I hope this adventure inspires you! It definitely inspired me to get out of my comfort zone. Just a week later it served as a powerful reminder to embrace life as it comes, and don’t pass up an opportunity for an escapade!

A weekend away!

Last year’s 40^th birthday was kind of a flop. Actually, it royally sucked. It wasn’t so much my birthday as events that transpired around my birthday. This year my husband was determined to make up for it.

I’ve always enjoyed the timing of my birthday. At the beginning of March here it’s clear that winter hasn’t lost the battle yet, but If you know what to look for you can see it will soon. I’ve lived in the cold north long enough to notice a different type of snow falls, and the wind starts blowing differently somehow. By the time my birthday comes around I’m ready for winter to be done with, so the little signs matter. I generally don’t have bad birthdays since I’m really just looking at big picture stuff and it seems that nature herself kind of celebrates the season. There seems to be a lot of big celebrations around that time too. Maybe because I’m not the only one ready for winter to be done?

Choices, choices!

Anyway, my husband came up with two ideas this year. One was a weekend at a cabin in Stowe. The other was a tattoo convention at the casinos in Mohican Sun. I chose the Tattoo convention at the casinos for the adventure of it.

I suspect that he was more into the actual tattoo convention than me. I enjoy the artistry of it even if I haven’t gotten a ton of tattoos. There is ton more stuff to do than the actual convention there. I also knew that going on any trip with my husband can lead to a lot of spending. Have I mentioned that I take care of our finances?

I was really looking forward to it though, and knew I had put aside money for something big. This was something I’d never done. I’ve never been to a casino period, or a tattoo convention. I knew there was a ton of shopping and places to eat that just don’t exist in Vermont. Let alone Franklin County, Vermont.

Where to stay?

The first hurdle I came to was finding a place to stay. I have to say here… I was not accustomed to paying the prices for a hotel room that I did on this trip- but I did. It was largely due to the Saturday of the convention weekend, and prices were only going up, so I only researched on two separate nights, and picked quickly. I always try looking on hotel sites on a weekday, and on a weekend. Most of the time I’ve found I was better off searching on a weekday. There were a couple cheaper options, but they seemed pretty, umm… dingy. I was trying to maintain a budget, but it was for my birthday.

How to get there?

We didn’t have to use public transportation to get there. My husband drove. I generally prefer not to drive for long trips myself but have never shied away from being a passenger. I have plenty of practice preparing for long road trips through the years. When I was a kid my sister and I would ride from northern Vermont to New Jersey several times a year, and vacations in Maine were all pretty awesome. Our current car is comfortable, and my husband prefers to drive. It’s usually friendlier on the wallet too. For this trip we just drove down in one stretch, not stopping for anything other than gas, and food.

The Arrival- Destination, or Journey?

We managed getting to our hotel in time to drop off our stuff and see the opening afternoon of the convention. We actually walked to the convention that day. Have I mentioned I generally walk more while I’m on vacation? I don’t know exactly why, but it’s definitely a pattern. When I’m on my own, or with the girls I usually choose not spend money unnecessarily on public transport, and I like to see the place I’m at. My husband has taken to walking for health reasons lately. Both traits led to us skipping the shuttle, and walking to the convention center.

You know the saying about it being about the journey, not the destination? I don’t know if that’s completely true, but it’s worth enjoying the journey. If you don’t you’ll miss a lot. The journey to the tattoo convention was certainly hard to miss because it was also the destination!

The part of the casino we had to navigate to get to the convention was pretty spectacular! Honestly I would have found myself quite distracted if my husband wasn’t there keeping me focused. Of course I knew we had the whole weekend to explore so I did actually want to get to the convention before the first day was done.

New England Tattoo Expo!

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening perusing the isles of artwork laid out for everyone to see. It was quite impressive. There was artwork from any genre’ you could imagine, from cartoon, to realism, to traditional. I couldn’t really take photos of most of the Tattoo Expo though.

Obviously you could get tattoos while you were there from an assortment of artists. There were well known celebrity artists there, as well as local shops, and some who had traveled just to get there work out there. I can’t deny I saw work that made it really tempting, but ultimately, I decided I wouldn’t since I hadn’t arrived with any specific ideas. I have limited space where I can put them since I have a small frame.

Mmmmm… Dinner at MJ’s!

When it came to eating dinner I decided I wanted to do better than the cafeteria that night, and get a little more exploring in. I had done my research, and discovered a very interesting place to eat. At first I thought I’d wait for Saturday to mention it, but I knew I wanted to eat there, and wanted it to be a surprise to my husband…

We ate dinner at MJ’s. It’s basically the pub side of Michael Jordan’s steakhouse.  I got lobster, that always makes me a pretty happy girl. My Husband grew up admiring Michael Jordan. I knew I couldn’t in good conscience know it was there, and not have that be one of our experiences. I couldn’t complain either. Once I saw the menu I knew I would have to go even without him as company!

Margaritas- the drink of the weekend!

Oh, and the margarita! Mmmm! The margarita turned into a thing for the whole trip. Margarita day had been just a couple weeks before. I had one each day I was on this trip. Friday, and Saturday I had the restaurant specials at MJ’s and Comix, the comedy club. I had to try the dragon fruit one at Bobby’s place before we left on Sunday. I had seen some guy leave the casino with one the night before. If I generally judged books by the cover I would have guessed he’d refuse the girliest drink I’ve seen in a long time. Instead he couldn’t let go of it when he left! I figured out why though…

Sorry, I got distracted for a minute! This was an amazing trip, and honestly many highlights weren’t related to the convention, but I had predicted that. Don’t get me wrong, the convention was definitely fun, but there were so MANY distractions at a casino. Oh, and I only spent like an hour in the actual gambling part.

Shopping, shopping, shopping!

Saturday Morning the big event was shopping in Foxwoods. I usually don’t feel the need for big elaborate shopping trips. I avoid unnecessary trips to the store on a regular basis because I know they only lead to spending more money than I need to. I prefer to put aside the money and spend it more purposefully. I knew there were some really stand out outlets near Mohegan Sun though. And yes, I spent more than I wanted to but no more than expected and came home with some real treats! Oh, and I just finished paying myself back for my trip too!

Seriously, beauty all over!

The whole time I was in Foxwoods though, one thing kept coming back to me. The architects and designers who build in this area are really know what they are doing!

Don’t miss the unexpected!

On Saturday we missed seeing Cris Nunez, but we did see Alakazam The Human Knot. I’ll admit I was skeptical, but he was amazing! I really wish Middle Girl could have seen this one in person. She loves this type of thing. We did miss the beginning, but got drawn in with his sense of humor as he squeezed through a tennis racquet, and then a toilet seat. His big finish was balancing atop a very high platform while juggling swords, and a chainsaw! Just watching him get atop the tiny platform was a show. I often have a hard time watching these “death defying acts” but I really, truly, enjoyed this one! If you get the chance, it’s worth watching.

And more shopping!

We did some more wandering through the Casino, and the convention on Saturday Afternoon. I waited till this afternoon to make purchases at the convention since I knew if I just purchased as I saw stuff I would quickly spend all my money. We got some tee shirts- one company that donates to veterans stood out- My husband and I each got a shirt there.

Comix, for the food

For dinner we went to Comix. We didn’t attend a show though. Just ate some good food. I already mentioned the margarita. I had that with a small steak. My husband got a porkchop- he’s trying to stick to white meat. I’ve been more about portion control and limiting starches in my more conscious healthy food choices. I like to enjoy my food! (Plus this was a celebration!)

Not quite ready to leave.

Sunday was our last day. We did a little gambling before we left. I could see I wasn’t having much luck, so I kept it pretty limited- I did manage to be ahead when we left, but it was by about 5 bucks… I had an amount I was planning for this little foray, but I didn’t even spend it all before I decided it just wasn’t my thing. A least not on that day.

Last outing for a while, glad I made the most of it!

I got the pink dragonfruit margarita. We got Burgers at Bobby’s place for lunch and they were delicious! I usually don’t have a margarita with lunch, especially on a Sunday, so that felt pretty celebratory- or rebellious?!

Seriously- As if I needed a reminder to live life to the fullest?!

All this went down JUST before the current events leading to most of us being homebound. It’s a solid reminder to get out and live life when the chance comes. Make the chance come to you to the best of your ability. Do something for you! Try something new. Learn about something you’ve always wondered. You really never know when life is going to throw you a curve ball. Heck a curveball thrown your way might just be a blessing in disguise!