I added up the scores, and the winners are listed above. I had to remove Blue Moon Bistro because I accidentally linked it to the menu for a place in MA, not NC…oops. I replaced it with the Spouter Inn; hope that’s ok with everyone- we have a reservation to sit on their outside deck by the water, which I thought would be fun. Thanks for voting

 Menus:

Rucker John’s
Riverside Steak & Seafood
Bistro by the Sea
Cafe Zito (click on menu)
Amos Mosquitos (karaoke at 9pm that night!)
Spouter Inn (sitting outside on the waterside deck)
Fairway

Of course, we can always change our plans if these don’t look good to you guys!!

Some quick (but important) info. for the beach trip:

Check-in Time: Dave, Heather, Sam, Doug, & Nate will plan on going to the Bluewatergmac office to pick up the key at 2pm; assuming we’ll be able to get it, plan on getting to the beach house anytime after about 2:15 on Sunday, Aug. 31.

Beach House Address: One in a Million Beach House
                                         116 Bogue Ct.
                                         Emerald Isle, NC 28594

Driving Plans: Dave, Doug, and Heather will probably be driving to DC to pick up Sam on Friday night & staying at his condo that night. Then, we’ll drive (in 2 cars because Doug will be driving straight from Emerald Isle to Ocean City at the end of the week) to New Bern, NC, where we’ll spend the night on Saturday (we’ll also be picking up Nate at the airport on Saturday). Sunday morning we’re probably going to drive from New Bern to Beaufort to have a late brunch and then we’ll check-in and get the key to our house.

Jess & Jason will be driving down themselves; not sure what their plans are. My brother is 95% sure he’s coming too, but he’s going to stop in Charlotte on the way down, so he’ll be driving himself too. Not sure what Barb, Lena, & Nick are planning to do…

Feel free to email me if you need anyone’s phone numbers in case you get lost on the way down or need anything! Let me know if you have any questions!

I’m going to post the winners of the restaurant vote soon as well as the restaurant schedule (I’m going to make reservations if we’re allowed to ahead of time); check back!

I called Bluewater GMAC today and linens (towels & sheets) will be provided at our beach house- just like last year. So, just bring your beach towels & beach blankets! Doug & I also bought a volleyball & we’ll be bringing it & the net to play again this year. But, we need a boombox & CD’s! Can you all bring CD’s so we can have music at the beach this year? Let me know if you have a boombox!! Also, bring any fun board games/beach games/workout videos/movies, etc. that you want!

To save time when we get to the beach & involve everyone in picking restaurants for dinner each night, I’ve compiled a list of great places to dine (all thoroughly researched…you know I don’t mess around with my dinner). I created the map (above) so you can get an idea of where each restaurant is (especially for Jess & Jason, since it’s their first year going). Our beach house is located in Emerald Isle (which is starred on the map). To give you an idea of distance, Beaufort is only 37 minutes from Emerald Isle.

Take a look at the restaurants below and leave a comment with your top seven choices in ranked order (#1 being the place you can’t live without). I’ve split them up by location. Try to pick some new places in addition to old favorites!

($)- Budget
($$)- Ballin’
* = restaurant we’ve never eaten at

EMERALD ISLE (right in our own backyard)

1. The Fairway Restaurant ($)- looks like a shack, tastes gourmet
Menu

2. Rucker John’s ($)- tasty salads, good breadsticks; a better version of Applebees
Menu

3. Kathryn’s Bistro ($$)
Menu

4. Bushwacker’s ($)
Tripadvisor Review

BEAUFORT (very pretty seaside town)

5. *Aqua Restaurant ($$)…known for their tapas (small plates)
Menu

6. *Blue Moon Bistro ($$)
Menu

7. Clawson’s ($)
Menu (takes awhile to load)

8. Beaufort Grocery Co. ($$) featured in Southern Living Magazine
LATE ADDITION; ADDED on Aug. 10, AFTER DAVE VOTED!
Menu

MOREHEAD CITY

9. *Bistro by the Sea ($$)
Menu #1, Menu #2  ($$)
Menu

10. *Cafe Zito

11. *Cox’s Family Restaurant ($)?
Tripadvisor Review

ATLANTIC BEACH

12. *Amos Mosquito’s Restaurant & Bar ($)?…Fun atmosphere
Chowhound Review

SWANSBORO ($$)
Tripadvisor Review

13. *Gourmet Cafe

14. *Ice House ($)…chill atmosphere
Tripadvisor Review

15. *White Oak River Bistro ($$)
Tripadvisor Review

16. Riverside Steak & Seafood ($$)…awesome muffins that come with your meal
Review

Beach Rooms: 

1.   Level Two Master suite with king bed, private bath, balcony, & water views- Dave & Heather

2.   Level One Master suite with king bed, private bath, deck access, & water views- Doug

3.   Level Two Master suite with king bed, private bath, balcony, & water views- Jess & Jason

4.   Ground Floor Master suite with king bed, private bath, & water views- Lena & Nick

5.   2 bunk bed suite room with private bath w/ shower stall- Nate & Sam (*possibly Mike, share bath with Doug)

6.   2 bunk bed suite room w/ private bath w/ tub/shower combo- Barb

7.   Media room with pull-out queen bed- (*possibly Mike, share bath with Doug)

New Bern, NC

Hello Jess, Jason, Sam, Dave, Nate, & Doug! As your beach vacation trip planner, it is my duty (that I take quite seriously) to ensure that we eat tasty food while each night during our trip, and I need your help!

Our first decision is where we want to eat on Saturday night when we stay in New Bern (home of Nicholas Sparks). I’ve done the due diligence to find five yummy restaurants to pick from, so take a look at the menus and leave a comment voting for which one you want to eat at. If you want to get really specific, you can even rank them (this is more for Nate than the rest of you ) All of the restaurants are within walking distance from our hotel:

Choices (click on the restaurant name to see the website & menu):

1. Morgan’s Tavern & Grill

2. Captain Ratty’s

3. Fred and Claire’s

4. Famous Subs & Pizza

5. The Kitchen on Trent

My parents like to email me junk mail forwards. I equate this to the fact that they are just beginning to use the internet, so they are in the “mass forwarding is fun” phase. I too went through that phase…when I was in elementary school. Now I’m in the “your junk mail is clogging my inbox” phase. Nevertheless, I can’t resist opening their forwards when they’re “IQ” tests of some form. I found this one to be really addictive.

Here are the rules & link (copied straight from the email):

Since I suck at games like this, the best I could do was a 28.

Government to Unveil Fitness Test for Adults

updated 9:59 a.m. ET, Wed., May. 14, 2008

WASHINGTON – If you didn’t get a Presidential Physical Fitness Award in school, the government is giving you another chance to prove you’re in shape.

An adult fitness test is being introduced Wednesday by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. It will incorporate several of the exercises that millions of students undertake each year as they aim for a certificate signed by the president.

“What were trying to do is inspire and motivate Americans to move their bodies more,” said Melissa Johnson, executive director of the council.

The test involves three basic components: aerobic fitness, muscular strength and flexibility. The test is for people 18 and older who are in good health. It was inspired by scores of baby boomers who kept asking council members whether there was a fitness test available today that was similar to the ones they took as students, Johnson said.

The aerobic component of the tests consists of a one-mile walk or 1.5-mile run. The run is not recommended for those who don’t run for at least 20 minutes, three times a week.

Push-ups and half sit-ups make up the strength test. The push-ups are done until failure. The sit-ups are done for one minute.

A stretching exercise called the “sit-and-reach” is used to measure flexibility.

The scores from all four of the fitness tests can be entered online. Other information, such as age, gender, height and weight are also part of the equation.

You won’t get a presidential certificate, but the results will then show where you rank among people of the same age. For example, if someone scores in the 75th percentile for push-ups, that means 75 percent of the scores fall below your score.

The fitness test incorporates height and weight to give participants their body mass index. Generally, a BMI score above 25 equates to being overweight. However, for people who do exercise a lot, the BMI score can be high because of their extra muscle mass, not because they have too much fat.

The test will allow people to easily record a baseline that they can work from through their exercise routine.

“The point is to do consistent, regular physical activity and these are good check-in points to see how fit people are,” Johnson said.