Could This Be a Perfect Summer?

So I've been good... I haven't been talking on here much about the weather, one way or another. But I have to say something now... this year has been crazy nice, at least as far as the temps go. We haven't even hit 90 degrees yet!

Not that I mind the high temps... hitting the nineties is okay, so long at it's not overly humid or consistent. Yes... I admit... I've become a bit of a wuss since moving north. I think I could quickly adjust, if need be. And at the end of the day, I would much rather the 90's verses anything below 50.

But on top of not even hitting the 90's, as we wrap up the month of July today (one of the hottest months, typically), we've even set a record for coolest July on record.

I know... it sounds kind of... well... "meh!" But regardless what the weatherman says about breaking records, it's been nice just being able to be outside and not start dripping in sweat just by breathing. I think we earned this pleasant summer after the horrendous winter we had.

Of course, we still need to get through August. Fingers Crossed.

Just Another Cubs Game

After last weekend, this weekend was going to seem low key, no matter what. Even if we were driving to Chicago.

Mind you, I bought these tickets back in February, WAY before any other plans were in place. THIS was supposed to be my birthday weekend of travel (as I always seem to do). Just a standard weekend in Chicago for a Cubs Game.

Who knew there were Red Sox tickets on the horizon back in February. Not me. Not even a glimmer.

Regardless, I had these tickets in hand, and they were good tickets that I bought outright when they first went on sale. The Cubs verses the Cardinals. Always a good game, even if the Cubs lose... but just because it's the Cardinals. The only problem was that I think Eric and I were still worn out from last weekend, plus playing catch-up at work all week. But I was determined to have a good time.

We left Saturday, late morning. Neither of us was motivated to get up there super early. It was a 3pm (CDT) game, so we had plenty of time. So we thought. We even stopped at Fair Oaks Farm for some grilled cheese sandwiched for lunch. And then the time crunch somehow happened. We ended up driving all the way to Wrigley and parking on Clark instead of going to the hotel, first, and hopping on the Red Line. But it was what it was.

The Cubs... well, they played miserably. Maybe it was the dreary/hazy day in Chicago that killed it for them... or just made it seem worse to us. But they lost pretty bad. And I think there were more Cardinals fans in the stands then there were Cubs fans. Kind of sad... we're barely past the All-Star break... it doesn't get this bad until late August, usually.

Even through it all, though, I still had fun. Got to see some friends (Paula and Eric) and catch up for an inning and had some good noshing food for dinner (wasn't overly hungry, but wanted something). But we still ended up crashing early... we were both still exhausted. Plus, Eric's been killing himself on trying to open a fashion boutique (another blog forthcoming on that). And, par for the course, we went to Ikea on the way home today so he could pick up some items for said store... which stretched the day out a little too long and we got home later than planned... still exhausted.

Here's hoping for a low key week and an even lower key weekend next weekend, where we can both regain our sanity!

Birthday Roadtrip - Part 2

So onto Boston!

We actually got in relatively early... we actually had time to walk around the area we were staying in (Back Bay area), which turned out to be the perfect place to stay with our plans. Boston is a very compact city, and once we parked our car for the two nights, we got everywhere we wanted on either foot or bike. Which we loved. The only bummer was they use a different bike share than Indy, so we actually had to purchase a day pass... but it was no big deal.

So Friday night... walking around Boston and it turned out to be where all the shopping was. It was basically a big outdoor mall, with both major chains and independent local shops. It was pretty cool, actually - could've spent an entire day exploring and shopping the area. If I would've known, I might have made it a point to get into town earlier! But it was still a nice walk around and we found some place to get the obligatory seafood while in Boston.

Saturday was our day to be tourists. We woke up, grabbed a bite to eat at the hotel, then rode over to the Boston Public Garden. It's really quite beautiful... again, compact, but they plant some beautiful flowers, throughout, and the pond in the center is quite an attraction. And right next to it is the Boston Common, which also is a large park, but on a more functional scale. Lots of open green space, ball fields, monuments, a wading pool, playground, etc. And from there, you're right on the Freedom Trail.

This was where we realized how truly compact Boston was. Everything is right there and it truly is walkable. I guess I just never put a scale to the map I was looking at to realize that what looked like 5 miles by my standard map observations was actually only about a mile on this map. Good for us, as we realized we could just dock our bikes and walk around - much easier considering the amount of pedestrians. And we walked just about the entire trail, even across the Boston Harbor to Bunker Hill. Granted, we didn't stop and read every plaque and observe every detail of the historic trail and landmarks along the way... but we still enjoyed it. And some stuff just of the trail, like Mike's Pastry Shop to grab some cannoli... yum! Of course, Eric and I were excited to see the results of The Big Dig, which was much needed to add some more green space to this part of the downtown... we never drove through the finished tunnel, but I'm guessing it was just a modern tunnel (unlike those you see on the PA Turnpike).

We also checked out some other historic spots, like America's Oldest Tavern, The Bell In Hand Tavern. Had to grab a beer there, just to say we did just that. And then there was the Bull and Finch Pub, which is now better known as Cheers, as it was the bar the TV show was based off of and took outside camera views of. This is actually right across from the Public Garden. There were just so many cool places to check out... really wish I had another full day in Boston (though Eric would've been struggling with another day from work).

But alas, it was time to do what we really came to do... the whole reason this trip even happened... it was time for a Boston red Sox game. Remember back in April, when I mentioned I won something at the Make-A-Wish Big Wish Gala? Well, this was it. Tickets to this game. No other travel arrangements... just the tickets. So that is how this vacation came to be. It was a night game, too, which was nice, since it game us the rest of the day in Boston to explore. But I can officially check Fenway off of my travel bucket list. Wrigley Field is my home field, but with Fenway Park being a couple of years older, I've been wanting to go for awhile now. And I gotta say, it's a nice ballpark! I hope Wrigley is taking Fenway as its inspiration as it moves forward with some of the modernizations/renovations they're planning, because Fenway did it right. Still feels like a historic park, as it should. But you have the modern amenities you've come to expect when you're at a large event, such as this. So we walked to Fenway from our hotel and I'm happy to say that I even got to see a win, with them beating the Royals 2-1. Our seats were amazing, as I had hoped they would be (for the pretty penny I paid for them... for charity). They were the 2nd level, right behind home plate. Couldn't have asked for better seats. I'll probably never be able to go back there for a game without being disappointed by my seats! LoL Nah... I'd gladly go back, no matter where the seats are. It was an awesome experience.

As was the entire trip. But this pretty much wrapped up the trip for us. Sunday was a driving day. All. Day. Driving. We left around 6:30am, though we were shooting for a little earlier. But we were counting on about a 14 hour drive, straight though to Indianapolis. With a stop for dinner, it was about a 14.5 hour trip. Not too bad in the big realm of things, but it wore us out, none the less. I, thankfully, took today off... and I could probably take another day off to just sleep. But no... it's back to the real world tomorrow.

If you want to see all the photos I took (there's a lot!), go to my Fotki page to check them out.

Birthday Roadtrip - Part 1

Here's something crazy... I took a trip for my birthday!

Okay... so maybe that's not so crazy. But this was a bit more than my typical trip to Chicago I try to take around my birthday every year. So much, in fact, it's going to take more than one blog entry. I actually took time off for this one... and so did Eric!!

It started last Thursday... my actual birthday. We left crazy early for our little roadtrip... 4am!! But with good reason. We had one event planned that actually was a bit time sensitive, as we have to be in the middle of Pennsylvania by 1:30pm. It was right around a 9 hour drive, straight... which is impossible. We would need gas and food at some point. So we had a half-hour 'cushion' to play with, plus the fact that they almost always over-estimate the time length on these trip calculators. It was surprisingly pleasant to be on the road that early in the morning. And we were surprisingly awake! I think it was the adrenaline and excitement. For me, at least.

Our first destination (the time sensitive one) was the Yuengling Brewery in Pottsville, PA - the oldest brewery in America. They only gave two tours a day during the week, and the 1:30pm one was the latest one, so we thought it was worth a shot to get there in time. And we did... barely. Literally walked in as the tour was starting. Nan had actually once suggested that Eric might enjoy this tour since he had come the enjoy the beer while working so much in FL. It was unique in the fact that it was built into the side of a mountain and they actually utilized a spring in a cave for their water source. We even got to see it and go into the cave area, which isn't used the way it used to be, but cool, none the less. The tour, itself, is unique in the fact that you get up close and personal with all the actual brewing process and canning/bottling happening - it's a pretty small set-up, for the scale of brewing they do, and as an older facility, they don't have the 'predetermined tour routes' set up on platforms with 'models' set up of the brewing process... you get right in there and the workers just step out of the way, momentarily. I'm sure this is why they only have a couple of tours a day, too! So, needless to say, it was a cool tour and if you find yourself in the middle of Pennsylvania for some reason, it's worth a stop.

After leaving Pottsville, we didn't really know what to do with ourselves, since we no longer had a time obligation. But we were hungry, and virtually in the middle of nowhere. So we worked our way back to the interstate and found, of all places, a Cracker Barrel. I can't remember the last time I ate at one of those. Did you know they actually have a 'healthy' menu now, where they tell you the calories?? It surprised me! But it turned out to be the prefect stop after all the driving for the day (and still more to go).

From here, we had just a couple of hours to drive until we got to Newark. Yes, you read that right, Newark, NJ was our destination for the evening. But it wasn't for Newark.. it was for it's connection to the train into New York City, which is where we were going to start the day on Friday morning. But first, it was time to pass out from our long day of driving.

Friday morning we were up pretty early, considering the day we had before, and jumped on the train into Penn Station, NYC. We just had a couple of things we wanted to see here... the plan was to be back at our hotel before checkout at noon. Once we got off the train, we walked a couple of blocks over to The Highline to check out the new 'park' that has graced the west side of Manhattan in recent years. Eric learned about it in his quest to better the neighborhoods he has been working in, and has been wanting to have a chance to check it out. Since we were there so early, we had the place to ourselves, so we strolled from one end, all the way to the other. They did an awesome job converting this old elevated train line to a greenway for all to enjoy. if it wasn't for the skyline views, you'd almost think you were on a standard rail-to-trail project!

From the south end of The Highline, we walked to the nearest subway station and took it down to the 9/11 Memorial. We just wanted to see the final product, and it was spectacular. Well done. We didn't go into the museum or anything, but just walked around the site and the fountains, found the Survivor Tree, and just took in the somber memorial that it is. I'm sure it'll be even better once the new tower is done, as well as the transit station. But even with the walking detours around the construction, it's something worth detouring to see.

And just like that, our NYC list was done. We got back on the subway and headed back to the south end of The Highline, and walked the length of it again, from south to north this time. It was SO busy now, it was kind of crazy. Mostly tourists, of course, but we were glad we were there earlier so we could really enjoy it without bumping elbows with everyone else gawking at it. It is, at least, well used! But we finally made it back to Penn Station, and then back to our hotel to check out. It was time for our drive to Boston... the reason this trip even came to be.

Nan's Turning 90!

My grandmother turns ninety this week! NINETY! What a huge milestone. I only wish I could be there to celebrate with her.

My family kind of threw a last minute celebration together for her, which includes my uncle and aunt picking her up in PA and driving her to FL, where she'll stay for a few weeks. All of this happened after Eric and I had plans to go to Boston next weekend, which is when the actual party will be. We were initially planning on driving out to Boston and stopping by her place to do a small celebration with her, but obviously, the bigger visit for her trumped our little plan, especially since ours wasn't firmed up yet. No biggy... just meant I wouldn't get to wish her a "happy birthday" in person. But I still wanted to be part of the celebration.

My mind was spinning for ideas and it occurred to me that I could put together a photobook for her, a kind of 'This is Your Life' look back type of book. Of course, this creative inspiration hit me late, as usual. So I scrambled and got some older photos from my family and put together a timeline, as best as I could. I was pretty happy with the way it turned out, even though it was apparent I was missing a good decade or so in the late 50's and 60's. Basically, when my dad and uncle were teenagers. I know there are pictures out there, just no one had them as quickly as I needed them. But the rest filled in quite nicely. I actually couldn't quite get as many of the photos as I wanted into the album that led to it being to heavy in one era, but I think I still portrayed everything pretty well. You gotta love the 'here and now' technology that we have to be able to do things like this to preserve memories, now. it was so much fun going through some of these old photos and I'm so glad I have them in this form, now. Some stuff is just not worth losing.

Now I only wish I could be there when she opens it next weekend. I've told my family that they'd better take lots of pictures since I can't be there... hope they do just that. I can't wait to see the finished product, myself (Well, I kind of have, but that's another story). I'm just hoping I can still get it there on time... here's hoping this isn't the time FedEx lets me down!

Holiday Weekend?

Most 'normal' families take a long holiday weekend and enjoy some down time and cook outs, and just generally enjoy time with family and friends. We, on the other hand, rent heavy equipment.

This time, it was a rather large backhoe that barely fit in our yard. The goal was to get rid of the old garage foundation in the rear of our yard, and trench in the utilities for the garage. But it wasn't just a backhoe, it was a truckload of gravel to backfill the trench with.

Once again, we lucked out to a long weekend of great weather. No rain and not too hot - weather you can actually work in without being drained of energy quickly. Granted, Eric did most of the playing on the backhoe. I kid you not, he had a smirky smile on his face whenever he was operating the thing. And I'll even admit, it was kid of fun to operate. But he was just like a kid with a new toy to play with.

The good news was that we got the job done, for the most part. There's a little left that Eric will hopefully knock out before they pick it up on Thursday. But we won't have use of our backyard for awhile. It's amazing how the dirt expands when you dig it out - there's not way we'll get it all recompacted to its original state. Plus, some was displaced with the gravel. But, we weren't expecting much use once the garage starts in a few weeks, anyway. I just hope we get to reseed the grass in the fall so we can have a functioning backyard next year.

In the meantime, it's like off-trail hiking to get to our back door, complete with hold you can fall in and break you ankle in. But we're one step closer, and that makes me pretty excited. It also make me excited that there's no more heavy equipment to rent. Small stuff, like a trencher, yes... but nothing else that fills out entire backyard.