Boston: Day 4/5

We awoke Sunday morning to a very rainy day.  We knew that part of Sunday would be spent traveling to Manchester, NH where we would be staying the night before our 6 AM flight on Monday morning.  And with the crummy weather, we decided it would be the perfect opportunity to hit the outlet mall!  We found a huge one near the MA/RI border. We shopped for several hours and found some great deals, including some gifts for baby Jacob and big brother, Andrew. Then, we made the drive to Manchester, found a great little Indian restaurant for dinner, and retired fairly early.  We got up at 4 AM (3 AM STL time) and made our way back home via a Detroit layover.  Amelia met us at the airport and even brought us cookies that she helped Grandma bake.  I am not sure who was more excited about the reunion--her or us! It was a great trip and nice to get some couple time together, but it is also so nice to be back home as a family!

Boston: Day 3

Jason awoke bright and early and took advantage of the Starbucks conveniently placed in our hotel's lobby.  He went down to work on the book he's writing (did you know he's writing a book?) I stayed in bed and attempted to catch some extra zzz's until the call came that I had a new nephew!  At that point, we decided to get up and head to the Freedom Trail, a 2.5 mile trail red brick walking trail that leads visitors through 16 nationally significant historical sights. Along the way we saw Paul Revere's house, Samuel Adams grave, and the site of the Boston Massacre.  We even encountered a lean and haggard looking donkey, who apparently has been having a rough time the last 8 years or so.  I took some time to reassure him that better times are on the way!  We spent much of the day walking the trail and enjoying a few detours such as a wonderful Farmer's Market and some pastries at Mike's Pastry shop! Incidentally, this shop had a huge line out of the store the night before, so we decided to get a treat at lunch time instead and still had to wait about 15 minutes to place our order.  We opted to share a Cannoli filled with ricotta cheese filling and mini chocolate chips and a delicious Boston Creme Puff.  Together, the total was only $4 and these were huge!  The picture really only shows about 1/5 of the overall selections. We also stopped for awhile to watch a firearm's demonstration at the Bunker Hill memorial site before climbing 294 steps to the top of the monument.  Whew!

We returned to the hotel for a rest before heading back out for dinner at Regina Pizza, an absolutely delicious hole-in-the-wall pizza place. We enjoye

d our greasy pepperoni pizza and our pitcher of Miller Lite (drank from a Bud Light pitcher, no less, even though they did not serve any AB products). We attempted a recap at Mike's Pastry Shop, but the line was even longer than the previous night so we opted for gelato instead and it did not disappoint! Yum!

Boston: Day 2

After awaking fairly early due to the paper thin walls at the dorm (I seriously think the people below us were moving furniture at about 5 AM), Jason and I packed up, stopped for breakfast, and then made the drive to Boston, MA.  We arrived at our hotel, the Westin Boston Waterfront, around 10:30 and despite our early arrival, they immediately checked us in.  They also gave us some advice about street parking which ultimately saved us $120 by not having to pay valet parking fees at the hotel!  Our room was a stark contrast to the dorm room we slept in the previous night. First and foremost, there was no mint green trim.  We had a flat screen TV in our room and a shower with two shower heads!  (we still aren't sure why there would be two..wink, wink). We had a nice view of downtown and the Boston Harbor and a Starbucks in the lobby.

We decided our first stop should be Fenway Park.  We arrived just in time to grab a hot dog from a street vendor before the next tour started.  It was my second tour of the park and I was just as impressed as the first time.  It is neat to see what kind of history comes from the oldest baseball park in America.  And even know the park is so old, they are still trying to improve it in many ways, by adding more seats and making it more modern.

After Fenway, we headed to the oldest university in America.  We thought it was about time to get started on touring some colleges for Amelia and since we were already in Boston, we made a trip by Harvard's campus.  I was not too terribly impressed with what I saw, but Jason was in awe.  I swear I could sense the tension and snootiness from the moment we stepped on campus (to this claim, Jason just rolled his eyes).  

The area near the campus, Harvard Square,

was neat and had lots of cute stores and restaurants.  We grabbed a snack before heading back to the hotel for some rest time.

We headed out to the 'Little Italy' section of Boston for dinner.  We went to this intimate restaurant right on the main drag called, Dolce Vita.  Jason ordered his typical Chicken Parmesan, but I went all out and got the Lobster Risotto, which was excellent! Afterwards, we walked the busy streets and headed over to the Haymarket Square/Quincy Market/Faneuil  area.  We spotted 'Cheers' and felt we needed to stop for a drink.  When we first arrived, we went straight for Norm and Cliff's spots at the bar before deciding to sit outside to people watch.  We didn't stay long, though, given the beers were nearly $8 each! 

New Hampshire: Day 1

I feel the need to divide our trip up into days so I don't forget anything and so I don't bore my readers going on and on about the trip.  (I am still likely to do that, but because I am dividing it up in "days" its okay).

After getting about 4 hours of sleep the previous evening, my day on Thursday started bright and early.  I arrived at the airport around 6 AM for my 7:30 flight.  My first flight was supposed to go from STL to Memphis and then I was to take a flight from Memphis to Atlanta.  My last flight would take me into Manchester, NH, where Jason was finishing up at the conference he attended all week.  Luckily, when I arrived at the ticket counter, the agent decided that 2 layovers to get to Manchester didn't make much sense, so she rebooked me on a flight from STL to Detroit and then Detroit to Manchester. 

Unfortunately, by the time I went through security, I still had 2.5 hours to wait for my new flight! This was not too much of a problem, however, since I was armed with 5 books to read in my carry-on bag.  I was very eager to finish the book, "The Glass Castle" and did so before even boarding my first plane!

As planned, Jason met me at the airport where we drove back to the dorms (that's right, I said DORMS and did I mention they were not air conditioned?) where he had been staying for the conference.  The dorms were on the tiny campus of Colby-Sawyer College in New London, New Hampshire.  The area is quite popular in the winter for skiing, so it made for a nice drive.

That night we had a lovely dinner overlooking some of the mountains before Jason headed out to the last round of talks.  I hung out in our dorm room and read.  By then, I was halfway through my next book, "We are All Welcome Here".  I was so tired that Jason woke me from a dead sleep when he returned to the room about 9:30 PM (8:30 St. Louis time). 

I will say that I am not cut out for dorm life any longer.  We had communal bathrooms where I certainly needed to wear my "shower shoes".  The shower was all awkward and there was not nearly enough room to put all of my things.  And check out our room, especially the mint green trim everywhere! Fortunately it had cooled down by the time I arrived, but Jason spent 4 days in 90 degree weather on the third floor on a non-air conditioned dorm room...sheesh.

As promised..

I decided to hijack some pictures from other sites out there since I don't have any of my own yet. Check out this cutie!

Meet My New Nephew!

Congrats to Amy, Derek, and big brother Andrew on the arrival of the newest Banocy!

I would love to show you a picture of my new nephew, Jacob Ellis, but I HAVE NOT BEEN SENT ANY YET (other than the fuzzy shot via my mom's cell phone). Ahem....hint, hint!

Be assured I will certainly post some pictures just as soon as they are in my hot little hands. After much anticipation, Jacob finally decided to make an appearance yesterday morning, June 14. Amy's water broke Friday evening as they were getting up to leave the restaurant where they were eating dinner. They headed to the hospital where Amy was induced. Everyone is doing fine, including Derek who nearly passed out during delivery. Fortunately, the nurses told him to sit down and gave his some juice. He is expected to make a full recovery. Andrew seems to be warming up nicely to his little bro.

Interestingly, we ALL thought this was going to be a little girl. So much for my intuition......

Congrats again! We cannot wait to meet the little man!

As a side note: we return from Boston tomorrow where I will be slowly posting some pics from our trip!

Happy Father's Day!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Beantown Countdown

So, I thought I'd be all clever tonight and come up some cutesy post about Boston, given that I am leaving bright and early on Thursday morning to head out that way. It is a city I've been to before, although quite briefly, several years ago when I worked for the State of Missouri.  I was part of a rather adventurous group of state employees that thought it would be wise to take 10 male juvenile offenders on a 28 hour bus ride half way across the country.  These juveniles were between 13 and 17 years old and they had committed fairly minor crimes, like drug possession, robbery, involuntary manslaughter, and assault.  (Just the kind of group you would like to take on said trip).  The original plan was to take the "kids" to Washington, DC, an area of the country that they had been enthusiastically studying for an upcoming competition against other area offenders.  (A competition they won, by the way, thanks to their hard work and the dedication of their brilliant teacher, yours truly). But, the facilities manager (my boss) had the brilliant idea to add Boston, Cooperstown, and a drive through NYC to the trip as well.  I mean, as he explained, we were already out there, so why not? Needless to say, it was an interesting adventure to say the least.  

I somehow think this trip to Boston will be a little different.  Things should be more relaxed, its only taking me 8 (yes, I have two freakin' layovers) instead of 28 hours to get there, and I shouldn't have to count to "10" incessantly to make sure all of the juveniles are alive and accounted for.  We don't have too much of a plan.  We booked a hotel on the waterfront for two nights and have vague ideas of places we would like to explore.  Freedom trail, Fenway Park, and of course, everyone's favorite bar from the 80's--Cheers.

So, hear is where I was planning on inserting some great quote or fact about Beantown, but much to my delight I started finding things like this:

"I have just returned from Boston.  It is the only sane thing to do if you find yourself up there."

(Fred Allen, comedian)

hmmmm........and this:

"When I go abroad, I always sail from Boston because it is such a pleasant place to get away from" (Oliver Herford, writer)

um, is he dissin' Boston? (And did I just write "dissin'"? And is that how you spell it because spell check did not care for it?)

Well, regardless of what Mr. Allen and Mr. Herford say about Boston, I am pumped to be going and apparently I will be pumped to return as well. I mean what's not to love about the city that raised Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, President Kennedy, and Steve Carrell.....and birthed bands like Aerosmith, Guster, The Cars, NKOTB, and Boston (oh, the irony)....and allowed shows like Cheers, St. Elsewhere, and Real World: Boston be filmed among its streets? On that note, I think it may be time to call it a night.

The blogs might be slow-going for a bit as I am not cool enough or organized enough to have a bunch of pre-dated blog entries scheduled to be published while I'm exploring Beantown. But, Amelia wanted me to tell everyone to be sure to look for a special Father's Day post on Sunday.  Apparently she has something up her sleeve, gosh she is growing up fast!

Feelin' hot, hot, hot!

Amelia broke in her new sprinkler over the weekend.  This is one of the many wonderful gifts she received for her birthday.  I'm not sure if its really hot already or if I am just longing for the mild Chicago summers, but it already feels sweltering in St. Louis!  Jason and I had to tag-team the lawn mowing duties on Sunday because the heat was nearly unbearable.  Luckily, Amelia had the brilliant idea to bust out the sprinkler.  She played for quite awhile, even feeling brave enough to "smoocher" the ladybug sprinkler (and then promptly getting a shot of water straight up the nostril.  She didn't make that mistake twice!)  After getting all hyped up sprinkler hopping, Amelia decided to chill out with some baby yoga moves.  Check out her amazing balance while doing "downward dog"--on the landscaping wall, no less!  Such poise and grace!  No clue where she gets that from...... 

Birthday Bash, round 2

Amelia's good friend, Miss Natalie Rose, turned two on Sunday and threw quite the beach party bash on Saturday to celebrate. The definite hit of the party was the blow up "whale" pool where the girls spent hours upon hours splashing around.  

There was also a sand and water table, a lawn mower bubble blower, and a gigantic beach ball sprinkler to keep the kids busy.  

The food was excellent and the menu even included homemade ice cream with sprinkles and an impressive beach ball cake.

The girlies got along great!  They've been friends for nearly one year now!  There have been a few bumps along the road with their little two-year-old-tempers, but they had a great time partyin' it up on Saturday!