August 22, 2011
In
Honda, News & Updates
10 days till honda hybrid pick up
Are you as thrilled as I am?!
Exciting stuff brewing behind the scenes…
Honda
August 19, 2011
In
Honda, September 2011 BLR Honda Adventure
who do you think i should meet?
My meeting with Dub Infinity the NYC street vendor yesterday is a perfect segue to an announcement about my upcoming BLR Honda Adventure!
On this trip I will be looking for people to interview. Characters from all walks of life and every color of the rainbow. No rules, but that they will have to be around New England/Northeast as that’s where I will spend the 17 days touring. I’ll be posting daily details and feedback I am sent, but for now put your thinking caps on and send me your ideas!
Who do you think is super interesting, insightful, hilarious or off the wall that I just must meet?
One teaser so far for a road character on the list so far? Someone who makes some very sweet treats in Maine. Yeah! A woman after my own heart.
Click on the Facebook, and Twitter icons above and submit/see votes there, or drop a comment here.
Oh this is going to be so much fun.
33
Today is my birthday and the beginning of 5 weeks of mega-adventure. You could say that I am feeling like a million bucks. YIPPEE!!!
I woke up from the best sleep I have had in weeks and in a most special spot after 12 hours on the road yesterday. In birthday tradition when I am here, we love finding the local diner breakfast spots, which we did this morning:
We had stuffed ourselves silly, but couldn’t resist an offered on the house birthday treat hot out of the oven from the super sweet staff:
I was so full they packed this to go for me, but the test bite I took was so good, and the staff was so nice, I had to stay for a 3rd cup of coffee and to finish off this red raspberry crumb cake deliciousness. How could I not after the owner came out to sing to me with the manager? (Thanks for everything Matt!)
We stopped at Finger Lakes Distilling on the way home:
A little tasting of Vintner’s Wild Berry Vodka:
…and some Blackcurrant/Cassis:
…was fun just because you can do that at 1pm on a Monday when it’s your birthday and not feel guilty about it.
They even had a Canine Tasting Bar- how funny!
Off for a run and patio dinner and wine with good friends. Thank you everyone for all the Birthday messages, calls, cards, packages, wishes and love. I am one lucky woman!
Coming up this week:
*The Big Apple. (Rooftop decks, exploring, old friend reunions, celebrations of life, chocolate restaurant revisit, and more.)
*Catching up here on the BLR, as I sit on the dock. (What a great office!)
*Honda trip mania. (Voting tally, a few announcements, and some surprises.)
Year 33- here I come!
never stop exploring
Yesterday was a short work day for me. As I have on most of those short days, I exited, looked left, right and just started walking. I think one of the best treats about living in a city (especially in summer) is the ability to to be able to walk everywhere. To me this provides continuous, fantastic free entertainment, and a great way to get extra exercise too! People watching, talking to strangers, wandering in and out of shops, taking photos, sitting on a random bench to write or daydream for a while, stopping for a treat like Garrett’s Popcorn because you can’t resist the enticing fresh-popped smell:
…accompanied by truthful napkins:
I nibbled and walked and nibbled and walked and still had this much left when I got home:
(and that was the smallest size they had!)
…ahhh. A perfect afternoon.
I have put some serious miles on my flip flops these past few months. In 4 days I take off to start putting some more serious miles on the BLR-Mobile, and my loaned 2012 Hybrid Civic for a while. I can’t wait! By foot or by car, exploring is what gets my heart racing, especially when there is no plan. That’s always when the best stuff happens.
I wonder if I will go left or right (north, south, east, west?) on this trip. Which way do you think I should go?
August 5, 2011
In
Honda
let the voting begin
The polls are open!
Honda has just posted on their Facebook page about the Blue Lollipop Road September Adventure. Check it out here. Whoop whoop!
Time to start spreading the news and getting your explore on with me. I will be tracking votes and asking for feedback regularly, so come on back and keep making suggestions!
Only 27 days to go until I pick up the car. Oh how fun this is going to be…
August 2, 2011
In
Honda, Maine, News & Updates
one month from today…
…I pick up the 2012 Hybrid Honda Civic and hit the road to Maine to kick off the Blue Lollipop Road Fall 2011 Adventure! Whoop whoop!
Who out there has some serious scoop on what’s not to be missed in the whoopee pie-lovin’, lobstah-eatin’, costal-filled gorgeous state of the Vacationland?
Please post comments here, send me an email to: diane (@) blue lollipop road.com, visit me on Facebook and drop a note here, or post a tweet to my Twitter account here.
Want to head down the Blue Lollipop Road with me? Stay tuned for some news on the possibility of jumping on the bandwagon!
July 28, 2011
In
Honda, News & Updates
the vacationland state
In 35 days I pick up my 2012 Hybrid Civic in the Garden State and head out for another big adventure! Time sure flies when you’re having fun and then going for more.
Guess where we are going to go to the tippity top of with a couple surprises along the way?
Maine kept popping into my head when I started thinking about a fall 2011 trip. No rhyme or reason, just a gut instinct that I should be there. Wouldn’t you know it, once again that gut feeling never leads me astray, so Honda and I are working on a meeting with quite a character as part of the adventure and he just so happens to be in Maine. September will be the perfect time of year to explore that Northeast landscape I love. You all will be voting on a whole lotta other stuff I do, see, and even what I eat while I am in Maine and other neighboring states. (Side note; Did you know Maine is the place for whoopie pies? I missed this festival already, but you know how I love my chocolate and treats, so a famous Maine whoopie pie stop will be a must. Yeah!)
You all know I am as transparent as saran wrap, so it is hard for me to hold anything back or ever be evasive about anything I am uber excited about, but this is where I will practice being “cool” about giving away too much information for now. I did chat with Honda yesterday, and can share that we’re planning to start the official polling on all Facebook pages next week, so get your Northeast/East Coast thinking caps on for all the things I can’t live without seeing or doing. This is promising to be one heck of a trip!
And who knows- you might be able to be right there with me. (Wink, wink.) More on that to come…
July 20, 2011
In
Honda, News & Updates
hello there honda civic tour
More fun news just in:
While I am road trippin’ with my sweet Honda Civic Hybrid in September, I get to go check out the Honda Civic Tour with Blink 182 and My Chemical Romance. Yeah!
-And a few other things, hints, teasers on where I’ll be going, what I’ll be doing and things you might see. (Are you kidding me, this gets better?!):
*Did somebody say lobstah?
*Interesting characters to meet
*A Green Mountain state
*Gee, I bet a partner in crime would be fun
Stay tuned, “like” the Blue Lollipop Road Facebook page here, and get ready to come along for a great ride!
July 12, 2011
In
Honda, News & Updates, Photos, September 2011 BLR Honda Adventure
how far can you go and how much fun can you have on one tank of gas?
I’m dancing a jig (actually, several of them) this morning as I am thrilled to announce:
I HAVE RECEIVED A 2012 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID ON LOAN FROM AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR COMPANY FOR A SEPTEMBER, 2011 ADVENTURE!!!
Check out this gorgeous environmentally-focused vehicle I will be driving:
ROAD TRIP!!!
The title of today’s post is the theme of the upcoming Blue Lollipop Road trip:
How far can you go and how much fun can you have on one tank of gas?
We all know the best things in life are often free (or very inexpensive.) People always ask me how I’ve afforded to travel so much over the years, then are shocked when I share the minimal cost of my previous trips. Typically my biggest expense has been gas, which of course with all the Hondas I have owned over the years, has been affordable because they get such great gas mileage. With this new hybrid I will have coming up the gas mileage will be even better! Honda will be covering some of my travel expenses for the upcoming trip as well, which is an extra special treat.
Today’s announcement is just the beginning of some big time fun. In the coming days and weeks I will be taking votes as to where all of you think I should go, see, do, eat, etc. so stay tuned and get ready to participate! Honda and I will have voting polls on Facebook, and of course some other social media fun too. The trip will start on the east coast on September 2. From there the sky (or road) is the limit!
Can I get a whoop whoop?! We are going on the open road again baby!
adventure #876
(My friend Bethany threw out that # yesterday as I was doing road trip phone catch-ups. I think it fits.)
I drove 525 miles on Sunday, then 900 miles yesterday. The BLR Mobile ran perfectly as usual, without a hiccup while turning over 158,00 miles. Here’s a photo of my partner in crime this morning, still shining and ready to go for more:
Good thing it’s great on gas too, because here’s one of the places we stopped for gas last night:
OUCH. Let’s just say I am very happy the Alaska or Bust trip happened last summer instead of this one. Holy expensive gas! I am very excited to be using train transportation daily starting this week. The Civic will get to rest a bit. She deserves it, she has worked very, very hard for me this past year.
Hello Windy City. Here we go!