Open Road

Take three best girlfriends in a Mazda 6 rental car (aka Sexy Seis) on the Pacific Coast Highway. Add hundreds of miles of long, open, winding roads, beautiful beaches, spectacular cliffs, a cabin in the middle of the redwoods, reflective hikes, a beach full of elephant seals, a sourdough turtle from Boudin Bakery, smores by the fireplace, a newfound script and "a ponytail that just won't quit" - and you've got the roadtrip of a lifetime.

On President's Day weekend we took a trip up to Newport, RI with our good friends Steve and Maria and our new friends Jordan and Jen. Steve and Maria we've known since law school. Jordan and Jen, who live in Brooklyn and who, despite Jordan's driving, are pretty darn cool, we've recently met through Steve and Maria. I know, it gets confusing. Just try to keep up.

If I were to guess, Doug would claim the best part of the weekend was the polar bears. I, on the other hand, thought it was the puppies.

Doug, Steve and Jordan were stupid enough (errrrr, i mean courageous enough, boys...) to take a dip in the ocean with the local Polar Bear club. Let's pause right here and review. A dip - meaning they walked out into the ocean wearing nothing but swim trunks and submerged themselves. The ocean - meaning the freezing cold waters of Newport, Rhode Island in the middle of February. The local Polar Club - meaning the crazy group of 60+ year old men in Newport who come out every Sunday to put themselves through this misery. As soon as Doug came out of the ocean, he told me it was the most miserable experience of his life. About an hour later, he was making plans with the boys to do it again over New Year's Eve.

Now on to the puppies. Steve and Maria and Jordan and Jen are two fantastic couples. But what's even better about them are their dogs. I was in heaven when I got to spend the weekend with Steve and Maria's dog Miles, with whom I have some history, and Jordan and Jen's new puppy Murray, who is just about the most precious little creature ever. Upon first meeting me over the summer, Miles shunned me, took no interest in me, couldn't be bothered. However, after spending a weekend together, Miles and I grew to be close friends. Murray and I spent some quality time together on the rides to and from Newport. I also found it hard not to pick him up and snuggle with him every chance I got throughout the weekend.

Besides playing with puppies and practicing the art of Polar Bear'ing, we spent the remainder of the weekend trekking around Newport, eating delicious seafood, playing Celebrity, watching Bear Grylls and having a blast with our friends.

The boys joining the Polar Bear Club

Murray Strauss

Miles Linares-Klaffky