5 Non-Alcoholic Drinks to Order at the Bar {Inspired by Megan Riley}

Megan Riley, the sweet (but also spicy!) main character in Mary Firmin's "Deadly Pleasures" is a recovering alcoholic and her battle with the booze is constant through the book.

{Read my fantasy cast list for the (hopeful) book-turned-movie here!}

How many gals are trying to watch their weight (or over did it the night before) but the pressure (temptation) is put on? Sunday football comes around, and everyone is gathered at your local Irish pub, but you just want to play to cool for the day.

Here are five good girl drinks with some bad boy names, so no one will know you'll taking it easy on the witch's brew.

(Don't worry, Shirley Temple and Roy Rodgers were not invited to this party.)

A Saint Clement's, get the recipe here

{Phil Collins}
7-Up and lemonade.

{Rebecca}
Equal parts: pineapple juice, cranberry juice and soda water.

{Patrick Sweeney}
Red Bull, cranberry juice, Coke and orange Gatorade.

{Saint Clement's}
Orange juice and lemon-flavored drink.

{Thin Man}
Non-alcoholic beer, seltzer and a twist of lime.

Thirty for more? Go here for more delicious mocktail recipes.

{Travel} Washington, DC

{READ}

The White House's website has a list of all the American presidents' by centuries and then (fairly) quick bios on each one. At the end of each bio is a link to learn more about their respective first lady. Got to give the ladies some love.

Holy sideburns!

{STAY}

Chinatown. It's the epicenter for restaurants, bars and anything else pertaining to young adults. Hotel Monaco has great specials and I hear from a city insider that their restaurant is fantastic. Oh! And they are a dog-friendly hotel. Everything is better with a dog around. Watch this video from travel journalist Chris Kohatsu for more helpful information.

{PLAY}

Museums! How can you go to DC and not go to the free museums? Plus walking the 67,492 miles TO the museums and IN the museums will give you firm buns that would make Clinton proud.

Teacher donated his and his dog's bodies to Natural History Museum

They are together forever in the same pose

{EAT}

We stopped into The Elephant and Castle for a pint of witch's brew. It's a cute and clean British pub near the White House. But because it's close to the White House, it closes early, so just beware.

We also ate at Pi Pizzeria, which is a chain on the east coast, but it's good food, exposed brick, great selection of witch's brew and nice staff.

Clyde's is pricey and it's also a chain. But the decor made me feel like the friend of some wealthy East Coast yahter people (that is the technical term, no? Yahter people?)

D and R pic from here

{SEE}

Georgetown and Arlington are not too far off and they are worth seeing. I fell in LOVE with Arlington because it has that Southern charm. I think I lived in the south in another life. Everyone says. "Yes mam," "Yes sir," and I love it.

{Travel} Newport, Oregon

{READ}

To get you in the mood for a trip to this lively, small, Pacific coast town, try reading Sherry Garland's The Silent Storm, my favorite from when I was 13. It's fun to revisit the books you loved when you were a JTT-loving early teen.

And it's super easy to read. When you're going to the beach, you don't exactly want to indulge in the literary masterpiece that is War and Peace, am I right?

{STAY}

Greenstone Inn. The Man-Beast and I pulled up to this cute, beach-side hotel on a Friday night at 6 pm. This is in the summer, mind you. And when the woman behind the counter saw that he and I were contemplating staying there or going to a Best Western, she asked, "How much do you want to spend?"

After we all awkwardly giggled for a moment, we sat there in awkward silence for another moment. The old woman then broke the silence and said, "How about $120?" From the original $160 she quoted us a few minutes before, we took it.

We settled into the room and then took the wooden stairs down to the beach to have a sneaky beverage. When we looked back at the hotel, I counted 20 balconies in total and four of them were lighted up, one of which was ours.

So I think it's safe to assume this hotel needs business. If you get the chance, call them and make your own deal. I would even strive for $100 a night. They really might go for it.

{PLAY}

On the beach!

Like this!

There are fishing boats you can pay to go on. It's super touristy, but hey, sometimes you just have to embrace your inner tourist! This is the fish I caught on our fishing trip.

It was a lean cod and the meat was bright green.

Yum.

There are whale watching tours as well, but we happened to see a whale on our trip.

{EAT}

Rogue Brewery. Well, eat and... let's just say they have more on their menu. We ordered a sampler of... let's call it "witch's brew." And then ordered fish and chips to go. The fish in the fish and chips was made with tuna, though, instead of the usual halibat or cod. And the tuna was caught that morning on the boat right outside the window which we were sitting by.

That boat there!

Cafe Stephanie is just a short walk from the Greenstone Inn on SW Coast Street and they looked busy every morning for breakfast.

Nana's Irish Pub is also a short walk from the hotel and they have a great outdoor patio that was the only lively thing going on on a Friday night.

{SEE}

The coast. Drive on the 101 from Newport to Waldport and just enjoy the view on the drive. Oh, who am I kidding? Get someone else to drive. It's a winding road, so get someone who won't play Jeff Gordon with your car.

There are also the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Hatfield Marine Science Center that would be fun for ocean-lovers of any age.

There's aplenty more to discover at Discoverynewport.com, me matey.