I left you all hanging, but knowing we were in a good place. After a week of wondering if our little beach house was really ok, Hubby and I packed up and headed down to the beach.  That week I was scheduled to try out a new Ford Escape.   I was looking forward to trying out a car around town for once, but when we got word that the beach was no longer flooded and that the roads were clear, I asked if they wouldn’t mind me taking the Escape down to the beach. Usually my girlfriends are the ones who get to try out the Ford cars that I borrow but this time Hubby was a willing participant. On a regular day he drives a very small car  and on a nice Summer’s day he rides the bike, we keep talking about switching up the smaller car as it isn’t the most comfy for 8.5 hours of driving even though both Hubby and I did it this Summer, but not with the kids in the back.  The Escape was quite a treat.

I am not going to lie, the Ford cars that they give us to test drive are fully LOADED! Something that I truly love because I do drive a vehicle that is fully loaded and although I may be a bit spoiled, when you drive as much as I do you appreciate the comforts that come with that.  I am no longer in my twenties when driving a Chevette from Winnipeg to Ottawa was considered fun I am in my forties and appreciate all the extras that come with the luxuries.  The single most important thing for me is seat comfort.  And I noticed in the Flex in August and again in the Escape that the seats are so comfy that I can just sit molded into the drivers seat and drive.  It takes a few minutes of adjusting but then I can lean my head back on the headrest and enjoy. I don’t get tired at all, which is why I was able to drive New York City – Ottawa- Delaware in one day last summer after driving the Flex. Add to that the fact that the Escape had heated seats and I was in heaven and it wasn’t just high and low, there were five (5) settings of amazing.

After the seats, my next favorite part is the SYNC system by Microsoft. Hubby just could not figure it out, but since this is my fourth time riding in a car with SYNC I was doing pretty good. We had my phone hooked up to play music through Bluetooth, the Satellite stations were set up and we settled on some old ’80s tunes for fun. The maps were fully up-to-date and gave us gas stops and exact mileage (something not all GPS’s do) door to door. We loved the construction alerts that would pop up so we knew what was up ahead and why. I love it! I know there is a lot with the SYNC that I don’t know how to do, but if we owned one it would be a hotspot and we would make good use of all the tools, one week just isn’t enough time to fully figure that out.

Last of all, LEG ROOM! I am all leg at 5’10” and Hubby is not too bad at 6′ once we get into the seats there is usually not much room to spare in the back seat for anyone but Apple since she is still in the carseat.  J was able to sit comfortably (bear in mind they didn’t go to Delaware, but they did drive around the city with me a bit) and he loved the curve of the seat in the back, something he complains about a lot in our other vehicles.

Hubby insists that I include the gas mileage.  With the EcoBoost we should have been getting 6.3L/100km according to their handbook, but I think we weren’t driving 90km/hr the whole time, so we got 8.5L/100km which is about 4L better than the vehicle I drive now. The end result is that we spent $80 less on gas on the trip than we do normally.  The Escape is a 4 cylinder and we drive a massive 6 with a high performance engine, but the only time you could tell the difference was when you were first starting from a stop position.  The Escape was just as quick on the highway when passing as our current vehicle but it used less gas. Hubby was quite impressed and now understood why I say yes whenever I am offered a Ford for a Road Trip.

What did we find at the Beach? Well thanks to some misunderstood directions and amazing neighbours we had almost no damage to the beach house at all, we had one roof leak because our handy man had sealed the roof two weeks before and none of our chairs or tables floated away because our neighbours put them in the porch. Our flag was in the porch as well, so it wouldn’t blow away in the storm.  We had some minor electrical problems that we had to fix while there, but that was something we were going to have to do by next summer anyway, and this way it was easier to do without the kids with us.  All in all most of our time was spent raking and cleaning up debris on the lawn, then checking out neighboring towns and the main beach.  There was an air of quiet jubilation since we were supposed to get a direct hit, but the storm moved a few hours before landfall and hit further up the coast.  Everyone was thankful, but also thoughtful of others that weren’t as fortunate.  You take a chance when you live on the ocean, not something we have taken for granted in the past having been in a few Hurricanes and Tropical Storms, but this was the first time we had to worry about our own property and if it would have been floating out in The Bay. We feel very Blessed to have met so many amazing people at the Beach and knowing they were looking out for us Canadians from afar was quite touching. We received phone calls and notes and feel like part of the community after only one summer.  We just returned from celebrating Thanksgiving as we felt it was most appropriate to be there this year as we have so much to be Thankful for.

A HUGE Thank you to Ford Canada and Kristine at Thornley Fallis for making our post Sandy trip a little more fun and exciting with the Escape. Here is one of my fave pictures of the Escape. This is Surf Avenue at the north end of the Boardwalk, CNN was reporting from this spot several times as this is one of the areas where the waves breached the dunes and as you can see, the sand on the road had just been plowed, only three days before we took this picture the road had been flooded out.

This is looking at the same spot from the beach side. The photo above, the Escape was parked on the right side of this photo just where I cut the picture off (we weren’t parked there when I took this photo as there is no parking, but that is where we stopped to get the shot). The gentleman in the house with the porch wouldn’t evacuate as he is in his 70’s and his wife couldn’t travel well. They made out just fine.

The boardwalk got a lot of sand, but the dunes and the new beach did it’s work and the breaches only happened at walkways like at this one, they pushed all the sand to the side so people could walk, and brought the benches back out so we could sit and survey. It was strange to see the rocks up on the beach, but they came up the walkways as well.

The beach was still wide, which is a blessing since the replenishment only happened last summer, the one good thing is that the Jetty’s were once again visible, they were buried in the replenishment last year and it was a little disconcerting to be allowed to swim everywhere but to not know exactly if you were standing on a jetty that could reappear at any time. Here’s hoping they get to stay!

If you would like to look at more photos of the beach, I have a flickr set with more here.

Some images I tweeted out @Beach_Mama. I got to drive!!! The Escape in Rehoboth Bay, which was under water three days before we got there, The Escape packed for the ride home and one last stop at the Boardwalk, Driving through some snow on the way home.

I have been trying to think of a way to share and post all about my amazing trip to New York City and after many edits and corrections, I decided the best way to start would be with an iPhone visual. I have so many amazing images both from my iPhone and my Nikon and I just wasn’t sure how to start.
As much as I would have loved to title this post ‘BlogHer’12‘ that is not what my trip was all about. You see my girlfriends, Krista and Brie, and I decided we wanted to go on a little girls weekend away. It just so happened that we enjoy attending conferences together so we combined both a girls weekend and a conference all in one in New York City.  We made sure we attended events connected to BlogHer’12 but we also did things in New York City that we wanted to do, mostly for me because although I have been to New York twice in the last two years (prior to this visit) I really had not seen much of the city.  I wanted to be sure to see more than the conference location and Times Square and I do believe that we accomplished that and more. We arrived before the conference began and left after it was over, taking our own time to explore and discover. Our only sad part is that one of our traveling companions had to change her plans at the last minute, but she was with us in spirit and was definitely missed.

A HUGE thanks and shout out to Ford Canada for the Ford Flex that we drove down. Hubby and I are interested in changing up one of our cars, so having the opportunity to try out several different vehicles from Ford for more than just a test drive around the block is very helpful in our decision making.  I will admit straight out that when they offered me a Flex to drive into New York City I thought they were crazy! The Flex is very roomy and very long, so I was a tad bit worried we were going to get sideswiped by a local driver. Thankfully with a few smiles a wave of my hand and an Ontario tag on the vehicle most native New Yorkers jumped at the chance to get out of my way.  The Flex is an amazing vehicle and if I could get away from the exterior looks I am sure we would be driving one in a minute.  We had both the legroom that I need and the power to pass a semi that I love. The Ford Sync is an awesome tool, we had three different temperatures going at one time and with a touch of the hand we could pull up our maps or bluetooth music.  I think the only true complaint would be the lack of luggage room, it is truly not meant for you to bring large suitcases and extra shoes. The drivers seat was super comfy, so much so that I didn’t realize that my right ankle was swelling on our drive down, thus the photo of my feet below. I should also say that I drove home from New York City (7.5 hours) switched suitcases and jumped into a teeny car for a trip to Delaware (8.5 hours) all in the same day, since I was so comfortable in the Flex, I was able to turn around and drive without any trouble at all, my ride to Delaware was definitely not as smooth, thus the interest in changing up one of our cars.

While in New York City, I had drinks with my good friends Jennifer and Laurel, attended a Tweetup with Kristie from Phoenix at the Roger Smith Hotel and saw Times Square both at night and during the day. I got to taste Magnolia Bakery, twice! See Grand Central Station, Shopped on Fifth Avenue, visited the New York Public Library, attended a party with amazing Canadians on a rooftop in SOHO thanks to Mom Central Canada, dreamed of a dress from Anthroplogie, had my nails done at the Four Seasons, ran in to my good friend and neighbour from home Allison (ok, we may have danced our pants off). Attended an amazing luncheon at Ruth’s Chris with Glamorous Moms. Saw Martha Stewart and Katie Couric in person and watch President Obama address attendees Live.  I learned a few new things at the sessions I attended and had a drill sergeant make me work hard like I was in the Army. Thanks to Pepsi we had dinner at the Rock Cafe in Rockerfeller Center and thanks to StumbleUpon I saw St.Patrick’s Cathedral and learned how to navigate North and South in NYC.

Thank you to One2One Network and The Moms for inviting me to the Premiere of “Won’t Back Down” where the stars of the movie, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rosie Perez and Viola Davis arrived after the movie to talk about it and answer so many questions. I have so much to say about this amazing movie that it deserves a post of it’s own for sure. When it opens on September 28th you should all be in line for tickets. Make it a girls night out and bring lots of tissue. These amazing actresses show you how important it is to finish something you start and to not back down, no matter how many people tell you no when it is something you truly believe in. Based on true events you can only imagine parents and teachers needed to band together to fight for their children.

Phew.

I am sure I am missing so much, but really I could go on and on about the amazing six days I spent in New York. I ran into great friends and acquaintances and I got to drive in New York City, again! I look forward to my next visit and perhaps the next time I will have the chance to see a Broadway show or Late Night with David Letterman, I imagine I will need a few weeks to see the whole thing, so best not do it all at once.

A special thank you to Krista, Brie, Megan and Carla without you my trip would not have been the same.

It is amazing what people will do for just a smile and some kind words.