Before you read this, you must know...you should probably grab a latte and have a seat. This may take awhile.
First of all we have a trip I took almost 2 months ago! Yes, 2 months. The only question is, "Where has half the summer gone?!" It's already July 6th and I'm headed into the last half preparing myself for new jobs and new responsibilities, already! Whew!
Alright, so the summer so far...
(Breathe...)
So it started of with a flight to Chicago, where George and I dove right into the cultural hodgepodge of Art, Marine Biology and Natural History. We sampled pizza, $2 beer from Haagen Daaze, walked forever to Navy Pier and got followed by nuns! Our friend Jesse got mistaken for a "Dad", we got lucky with a ladybug and saw the great Chicago skyline! I also left my favorite comb there, in case Thaxton ever reads this. We had great weather, a once in a million thing according to some, and enjoyed Chicago-Style brats by Lake Michigan. Fantastic!
After meeting some more of George's family, we drove up to Beloit Wisconsin to see his sis Jessie graduate from Beloit College. We stopped in for a quick beer and game of pool at the local college hangout, where George showed his pool hall shark skills! I had no idea, but let me tell you...I wasn't complaining! ;)
Graduation Day was beautiful and happened to be the lucky outdoor graduation that hadn't happened in years! Jessie graduated in Anthropology with a minor in Museum Studies. Yes, she's got the bug too! We toured around the campus, did a little rubbing elbows with some important people and discussed the finer qualities of brewing your own home brew with some of Jessie's friends.
That night, we hit up the EconoLodge pub. Fantastic little place...so fantastic that I almost peed my pants when the barkeep told me two drinks only cost $5 buckaroos! She was so delighted at my reaction that she gave out a graduation round on the house. Again, we played pool where George schooled us all, although his dad was getting the hang of it and almost sweeped the table.
After picking up some good Wisconsin cheese, we headed out on the long road trip home! The highlights were many, so I'll just mention the big ones.
1. Corn Palace, Mitchell, South Dakota (let me tell ya, they love their state and will decorate with corn like no one's business!)
2. Badlands, South Dakota (Eat your heart out Bruce!)
3. Mt. Rushmore (actually pretty amazing...)
4. Wall Drug Store (if you're ever there...please let me know...we'll have stories for hours!)
5. The Sinclair in Upton Wyoming!
6. And finally Yellowstone! (truly and amazing sight...)
There is so much to write about Yellowstone and the awesomeness that is...but seeing that I already have so much to say, please feel free to look at the "extended version" of pictures on Facebook. The album is called "The Grand Chicago Wisconsin Plains Yellowstone Road Trip" Dive in at your own will! It's even a sort of "photo essay" if you will...
After making it to Utah, I had a fantastic time visiting friends, friend's babies and family. P.S. Everyone is having babies lately. Just so you know.
Ok, you need a break yet? Feel free.
So after getting back home, we had about 5 days before the month of visitors began. First up was Leslie, who was the infamous one that introduced George and myself. Everyone had pretty much the same response to the fact..."Oh, so you're the one responsible..." (with a slight grin) Ben Gobin actually bowed, but I won't go into that now. :) Leslie, George and I took a trip up to New Hampshire where we met up with a friend named Ross. Ross was awesome and showed us around Portsmouth on bikes, and helped us fly wicked awesome kites on the beach! We won a $25 dollar gift certificate to Portsmouth Brewery thanks to my killer ring toss skills. Yeah, I'm pretty proud.
Next round, the Grandparents! The Aunt and Uncle and cousins as well! So let me set the scene for you:
Boston has been rainy and gloomy for approximately 2 weeks, and it's not waning any time soon.
I pick up Mr. and Mrs. Wonderful at the airport and show them the ropes of Boston subway transit. Little did they know that, it gets pretty muggy down there. Let's just say, the whole train knew how much love was still there when Grandma Sheila spouts out, "You're makin' me hot just lookin' at ya!" Ow, ow! Grandma! Now I know it's your anniversary, but keep the clothes on the T at least! ;) Haha!
After the summer lovin' on the train, we had some cooler dinner at George's place and enjoyed a nice evening. The next day, I showed them around the Tufts campus as well as my exhibition at the art gallery. We stopped at Trader Joes for some provisions and 2 Buck Chuck (thanks guys!) then went out for some fabulously amazing crab and lobster at the Barking Crab. Holy Hayday, it was good! (thanks again guys!) So much finger lickin' goodness.
Saturday called for a Super Duper Walking tour of Boston, starting with the Museum of Fine Arts. We cultured ourselves, then went up to the Top of the Hub for a fancy cocktail and to look at the view. We lucked out on the rain, it was pretty dry the whole day. Grandma did have to get some alternate shoes at CVS though, I know the feeling. I've gone through so many shoes here. It is the walking city you know!
We had a cold Sam Adams while looking at a cold Sam Adams...eh eh? Along with all the dead revolutionaries, we saw most of the city with the exception of the North End. Seriously, you have to come back for this...it's awesome up there. Instead, we happened to be surprised with tickets to Beerfest. (I'm just noticing how much beer has come up in this post...I blame it all on George!) Anyway, we grabbed our silly hats and headed to the Trade Center for some tastings of delightful hops! The funniest thing about that night? Grandma, who started with the idea of not liking beer too much, ended up saying, "Alright guys! We need to stand in line while we're drinking, come on, more beer!"
Ok, that's probably not verbatim. But, I'd like to think that's the gist of it. :)
After the brew, Sunday brought brunch, Becky, Rhett, Jake and Alex. I was so happy to see everyone! We feasted and then headed to the Red Sox game. Although misty, we enjoyed the usual peanuts and beer (there it is again!) and watched a home run in the beginning and a walk off homer against the Braves. It was a great day of baseball, and I even think we may have swayed Jake a bit to become more of a Sox fan instead of those dang Yankees!
That night we feasted on some pretty amazing supper. Jake and Alex had "the best noodles and butter ever!" Or so they say. Mmm...a big thank you to Val for being and amazing chef and hooking us up with a pretty good deal.
Monday was the last hurrah. We started off at the Museum of Science, where we caught a Duck Boat Tour. Tim Burr was our tour guide as he showed us the way of the city in a huge military vehicle. The best part was one, counting to see how many umbrellas would get turned inside out in the torrential Boston wind, and two, Jake and Alex drive the Duck on the Charles River. Alex couldn't stop giggling and Jake got hounded with Yankee questions by Mr. Burr (obviously trying to trip him up...) Let me say though Jake, I didn't even know all those players!
After the tour, George showed everyone the cute, fuzzy, furry, scaley and stinky animals in the Live Animal Center, a usual stop for any Boston guest. Shortly afterward, I was sad to see everyone go...but I hope you all had a wonderful time and come back soon! (And not only that, but to try and get others to follow in your footsteps, word of mouth fellas, word of mouth!)
The very next weekend, we had a visit from George's friend Carl Edwards and a surprise addition, Dennis McMillan. Old college buddies of his, and very awesome indeed. We had a quick weekend of fun full of grillin' and chillin'.
So this brings us to the Fourth of July!
Seriously.
Ok, so we headed up to New Hampshire with good old Ben Gobin! He was back in town from St. George and had a lot of catching up to do! After the good north, we came back down to Boston for a rousing game of KICKBALL! Woo! I haven't played kickball in forever, and let me say...it really works out some odd muscles. I'm still sore!
More grilling and a little Independence Day watching left us itching for some real fireworks, so we headed to my roof and watched the city light up with color! It was a fantastic view and I couldn't have asked for a better 4th in Boston. I did miss Park City, as always, though I was so happy to get picture updates of the Grandparents starting their own silly hat collection. Damn, we're good. :)
Well, so that puts us to about now and what do you know? I'm leaving on Wednesday to go camping at the Finger Lakes in upstate New York. Spoiled I know. But you know what? I deserve it! As crazy and busy as this summer has been so far, I've worked and been working really hard to have a little fun. So watch out mini NY mountains, I'm gonna come and hike your booty off! (and stop for a little wine on the wine trails along the way...heck yes!)
Thank you to all of you reading and keeping up with me, even if it's been few and far between. I love to let you know what's going on over here and also for me to recount my time in Boston, because you never know when it's going to end.
Peace and see you after camping!
We started of the day with swimming in the lake, well more like wading. I was the only one to get all the way in! Since we had 2-3 functioning scientists/engineers, we had a blast turning over rocks to find sneaky little crawdads! Equipped with nets and strawberry plastic containers, we collected enough to have for the next morning's fish bait. (and yes, George caught a fishy with a crawdad the next day! But still was too small to keep...)
