Weekend Diaries: Lincoln City
Over Father's Day weekend, my family took a four-day weekend trip to Lincoln City. It had been almost a year since I visited the beach and I was in desperate need of some salty air and sandy toes.
We left Saturday afternoon, taking our sweet time since we weren't able to get into our hotel till 4PM. During the ride, I listened to a few musicals I had been putting off for awhile, but desperately wanted to listen to, and a road trip is a perfect opportunity. I listened to the new Broadway revival of Once on This Island (which is absolutely fantastic) and the original Broadways cast recording of Mean Girls (not my favorite but still a fun listen.) I also enjoyed listening to a few episodes of the Theater People podcast, where the host interviews Broadway stars and members involved in Broadway shows. Very insightful and so much fun.
That evening we spent time walking around the bay where our hotel was and walked to the beach at the end of it. For dinner, we headed to Mo's, which was just a five-minute walk from our hotel.
The next morning, I ended up waking up around 6AM because I didn't sleep super well. But it was a gorgeous morning and so I got a cup of coffee and sat on the balcony and read for a few hours. We had a very chill morning and then my mom and I headed to the Lincoln City outlet malls. We also ran a few errands before heading back to the hotel for lunch. After lunch, my family saw Incredibles 2. 11/10 would a 100% recommend. Such a good movie, a great sequel (meaning it totally makes sense) and just so much fun. After the movie, we went back to the hotel and everyone sort of did their own thing. My mom and I went down to the beach to read for a bit.
The next day, we pretty much spent the whole day in our hotel reading. At least, that's what I did. I finished two books that day and three on the whole trip. We rented Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle on Redbox and I was finally able to watch that. Super funny movie.
The next day we packed up and left pretty early, but of course not without a trip to Pig 'N Pancake. Then we made the drive home.
Overall it was a very uneventful, but relaxing weekend. It was nice just to be able to sit on the beach and read, which was really all I wanted to do. I thought I'd end this post by talking about the three books I read.
Stay Sweet - Siobhan Vivian
3/5 Stars
This book follows Amelia, who works at the Meade Creamery ice cream stand, which was started in 1945 by Molly Meade, whose amazing ice cream brought joy to her girlfriends, all worried about the boys fighting during the war. Now years later, with a tradition of girls running the stand, Molly Meade has suddenly passed away, leaving her nephew (a boy) in charge of the ice cream stand, with a long history and with traditions to follow.
This book was cute. I really liked the background of the stand and it was cool getting to see Molly's life, through the diary entries Amelia reads. The setting of the story was also very cute, making it a very cute contemporary. However, though I liked Amelia as a character and thought she was an okay protagonist, she definitely was very naive and often wouldn't stand up for herself, which was very irritating. Cate, the best friend, was a horrible person and I did not like her at all. The issues she and Amelia go through were handled badly, showing the immaturity of Cate's character. The romance was also very flat. It just sort of felt like it was put in because it had to be and wasn't very believable. The story still does have its perks and I had fun while reading it.
Now a Major Motion Picture - Cori McCarthy
4.5/5 Stars
Iris isn't a fan of her grandmother's hit fantasy series Elementia and isn't particularly thrilled to have to take her little brother to Ireland to the set of the movie adaptation. With hopes of shutting down the production, she finds this world she's been running away from her whole life, isn't as bad as it seems.
I absolutely adored this book. I sort of picked up this book randomly and didn't know much about it going into it, but the title was intriguing to me. This story is just so so good. It has all the fun aspects of a fluffy contemporary that I love, but also has a lot of depth, what with the family issues Iris deals with and the tackle on inequality in the film industry. Also, the love interest is TO DIE FOR. Definitely one of my favorite romances I've read so far this year. I was just really surprised by this novel and am so glad I read it.
Love & Gelato - Jenna Evans Welch
4/5 Stars
After her mother's death, Lina has to spend the summer in Tuscany, Italy getting to know her father, who wasn't around for sixteen years. But Lina's mother sent Lina the journal she kept during her stay in Italy, so along with the help of a charming Italian boy, she finds out things Lina never knew about her mother, her father and herself.
This book was adorable and everything I want in life and also I'm moving to Italy. The setting plays such a huge role in this story and I really felt it come to life off the page. I loved every element of the story and how it was a mystery of sorts, but also just so adorable at the same time. I really enjoyed all the character and now I just really want some gelato.
We left Saturday afternoon, taking our sweet time since we weren't able to get into our hotel till 4PM. During the ride, I listened to a few musicals I had been putting off for awhile, but desperately wanted to listen to, and a road trip is a perfect opportunity. I listened to the new Broadway revival of Once on This Island (which is absolutely fantastic) and the original Broadways cast recording of Mean Girls (not my favorite but still a fun listen.) I also enjoyed listening to a few episodes of the Theater People podcast, where the host interviews Broadway stars and members involved in Broadway shows. Very insightful and so much fun.
That evening we spent time walking around the bay where our hotel was and walked to the beach at the end of it. For dinner, we headed to Mo's, which was just a five-minute walk from our hotel.
The next morning, I ended up waking up around 6AM because I didn't sleep super well. But it was a gorgeous morning and so I got a cup of coffee and sat on the balcony and read for a few hours. We had a very chill morning and then my mom and I headed to the Lincoln City outlet malls. We also ran a few errands before heading back to the hotel for lunch. After lunch, my family saw Incredibles 2. 11/10 would a 100% recommend. Such a good movie, a great sequel (meaning it totally makes sense) and just so much fun. After the movie, we went back to the hotel and everyone sort of did their own thing. My mom and I went down to the beach to read for a bit.
The next day, we pretty much spent the whole day in our hotel reading. At least, that's what I did. I finished two books that day and three on the whole trip. We rented Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle on Redbox and I was finally able to watch that. Super funny movie.
The next day we packed up and left pretty early, but of course not without a trip to Pig 'N Pancake. Then we made the drive home.
Overall it was a very uneventful, but relaxing weekend. It was nice just to be able to sit on the beach and read, which was really all I wanted to do. I thought I'd end this post by talking about the three books I read.
Stay Sweet - Siobhan Vivian
3/5 Stars
This book follows Amelia, who works at the Meade Creamery ice cream stand, which was started in 1945 by Molly Meade, whose amazing ice cream brought joy to her girlfriends, all worried about the boys fighting during the war. Now years later, with a tradition of girls running the stand, Molly Meade has suddenly passed away, leaving her nephew (a boy) in charge of the ice cream stand, with a long history and with traditions to follow.
This book was cute. I really liked the background of the stand and it was cool getting to see Molly's life, through the diary entries Amelia reads. The setting of the story was also very cute, making it a very cute contemporary. However, though I liked Amelia as a character and thought she was an okay protagonist, she definitely was very naive and often wouldn't stand up for herself, which was very irritating. Cate, the best friend, was a horrible person and I did not like her at all. The issues she and Amelia go through were handled badly, showing the immaturity of Cate's character. The romance was also very flat. It just sort of felt like it was put in because it had to be and wasn't very believable. The story still does have its perks and I had fun while reading it.
Now a Major Motion Picture - Cori McCarthy
4.5/5 Stars
Iris isn't a fan of her grandmother's hit fantasy series Elementia and isn't particularly thrilled to have to take her little brother to Ireland to the set of the movie adaptation. With hopes of shutting down the production, she finds this world she's been running away from her whole life, isn't as bad as it seems.
I absolutely adored this book. I sort of picked up this book randomly and didn't know much about it going into it, but the title was intriguing to me. This story is just so so good. It has all the fun aspects of a fluffy contemporary that I love, but also has a lot of depth, what with the family issues Iris deals with and the tackle on inequality in the film industry. Also, the love interest is TO DIE FOR. Definitely one of my favorite romances I've read so far this year. I was just really surprised by this novel and am so glad I read it.
Love & Gelato - Jenna Evans Welch
4/5 Stars
After her mother's death, Lina has to spend the summer in Tuscany, Italy getting to know her father, who wasn't around for sixteen years. But Lina's mother sent Lina the journal she kept during her stay in Italy, so along with the help of a charming Italian boy, she finds out things Lina never knew about her mother, her father and herself.
This book was adorable and everything I want in life and also I'm moving to Italy. The setting plays such a huge role in this story and I really felt it come to life off the page. I loved every element of the story and how it was a mystery of sorts, but also just so adorable at the same time. I really enjoyed all the character and now I just really want some gelato.
Comments
Post a Comment