Boston, I miss you!

Pretending I'm a Student Again...

Remembrances

11 Years On

September 11th, 2012

Two blocks from the WTC.

Goodbye Summer!

Kicking off Labor Day weekend in Westport with Giselle...

The "Best Burger in NYC" Quest Begins

First stop: Corner Bistro in the West Village. May be the crunchiest bacon on a burger I've ever had. Pairs insanely well with McSorley's dark. Not a bad start to this quest... Thanks James!

American Holi

We wake up at 5:30am on a Sunday and head to the outer edge of Brooklyn for the NY Color Run... otherwise known to us as American Holi!

I can't think of a more fun intro to races... A fun 5km race, punctuated by color stations at each kilometer, manned with enthusiastic volunteers all too ready to throw color on you as you pass (or, in the case of Sue, dance and twirl your way through!).

But the true fun happens after the race, with a giant dj dance party and colors thrown throughout... With a grand finale of colors thrown from buckets from up above. Just like a dance rave, just at ten in the morning!

Paneer Makhani

My first Indian craving since being in the US... Quite the authentic experience, including cricket on tv and the waiter vacuuming the floor under my table while I ate...

Still a magical place...

I heart Harvard Square.

Philosophy from Dr. Seuss

On exactly their 44th anniversary this past Sunday, my parents sold their house, where we've lived for 26 years.  Needless to say, cleaning it out is a fast-charged trip down memory lane -- finding my college thesis, years and years of sheet music, middle school notes passed by my friends, baby shoes...

And not least of all, a bit of wisdom from Dr. Seuss:

The Waiting Place...
...for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of paints
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing...

...Oh, the places you'll go!  There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored.  There are games to be won.

A Hoot

From singing "Whiskey in the Jar" with the banjo, mandolin, and guitar; to dogs galore; to night hiking; to camping in the vineyards, we had an amazing weekend.

Hootenanny Fun

We drive south from San Luis to Amy's family's vineyard: Four Acres Farm. It's the second annual Hootenanny, complete with Amy's homemade wine, Jesse's slaughtered and delicious lamb, and instruments galore. We pass incredible fields of marigold on our way to meet the cutest new member of the Freeman-Cuellar family: Mr. Malloy.

SLO

We drive up from LA to San Luis Obispo with Michael and Ceci, and meet Tyler's friend and former colleague, Anne, for lunch.  In smallest of small world coincidences, it turns out that Anne went to the same elementary and high school as Molly, my roommate in Hyderabad (in the Blue Mountains of Australia!)

We hang out SLO for the afternoon, perusing watch shops and buying a mandolin cover.

Agenda for the evening: drink.

We meet Tyler's San Luis buddies at a bar called Black Sheep, where we proceed to order nearly 200 cans of PBR beer, drinking them entirely out of their can beer supply by 8pm.  The trend continues after dinner, where each buddy ups the ante by ordering 18... then 19... then 20 rounds of a drink at one time.  Oh what a night...

Cheers to Mr. Walt!!

Disney has certainly grown up since the last time I was there! A beer tasting at Ovu Wine Bar and lobster Mac & Cheese at House of Blues with Michael and Ceci.

The Scream

There's a fine line between terror and delight...

We laugh and laugh when we see our Tower of Terror photo... While nearly everyone else seems to be enjoying themselves, Tyler and I are huddled in the back corner bracing for our lives! My scream is girly and shrieky; his is more a scream of disgust: "What are you doing to us?!"

We calm down with some Monsters, Inc., then head back to the park after dinner to check out Soarin' Over California (where wind blows as you "fly" over the water and scents of orange release as you pass over groves). We are quite impressed with the World of Color (think Bellagio fountains, but with color, fire, and Disney films projected on the water). We end the night with California Screamin' - a super fun roller coaster with an amazing view of the night park all lit up.

We leave after the park closes, amazed at our awesome day. Thank you, Mickey!

California Adventure

While we poo-pooed it at first, we fell in love with California Adventure!! Built in 2001, the amusement park harkens back to Victorian era seaside wharfs, 1920s Hollywood, and the romance of Route 66. When Mickey started singing and dancing with the cast of "Newsies", we knew we were hooked! The new Cars Land and Radiator Springs Racer were superbly done, and we were excited to get drenched in Grizzly Peak.

The Happiest Place on Earth