Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York - March 2024

Our next leg on the road trip was a week and a half in CT, MA and one more night on the way back South in NY.

Connecticut

After spending a few days in TX for Keith's dad's birthday, we flew back into LGA and picked up our car at the hotel where we had left it.  We then drove to New Milford, CT where we stayed one night at the cute B&B, Homestead Inn, that Carmen had arranged for us.  We had a nice room with a king bed on the second floor.  After getting settled in, we walked around town and grabbed a hot chocolate at a cute cafe, River and Rail Cafe.  

Homestead Inn

That evening, we met Carmen and Lew for dinner in New Milford at La Piccolina - a cute Italian restaurant just a few blocks from the Inn.  We walked over and had a nice dinner starting with a pear salad and then ending with a pork tenderloin with roasted potatoes and broccolini.  

Dinner with Carmen and Lewis at La Piccolina

The next morning, we had breakfast at the Inn - a quiche with English muffins which was tasty.  We then packed up and drove to MA.

Massachusetts

We stayed for three nights at Fannie's house (Fuqua alum) - who lives in Newton about 15 min outside of Boston.  She has a three story house (the downstairs is rented out) - we stayed in one of the guest bedrooms on the second floor.  We arrived mid-day and after unloading, we had a salad that she made for us.  We then went to the nearby Planet Fitness to work out and that evening, we went out to dinner to Korean Garden where we shared several yummy dishes.  For dessert, we picked up some mochi donuts at Mochinut and brought them back to the house.  

On Saturday, we worked out again in the morning and then went downtown to the JFK Library and Museum where we spent a couple of hours.  The library was pretty good but not as informative as we would have liked.  We had a little time to kill before dinner so we grabbed a hot chocolate at Tatte, one of Shawna's new favorite cafes (they are also in DC) and then we met Brian (former LivCor colleague of Keith's) at Bar Mezzana for dinner.  We shared a crudo, a couple of pasta and the branzino - all very good.

Dinner with Brian at Bar Mezzana

On Sunday, after our workout, we went downtown again to walk around Harvard for a few minutes.  It was quite cold so we got another hot chocolate, this time at what was supposed to be Boston's best at JP Licks - turns out it was just OK.  We were supposed to go to a museum that Fannie had recommended (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum) but it was sold out so we instead went to the Museum of Fine Arts.  The place was huge so we just went to part of it, seeing the art from Egypt and Greece.  After this, we picked up Will, the son of Jim and Liz (more Fuqua alumns) who was attending college at Northeastern and brought him back to Fannie's where she made us a yummy meal of dumplings and Thai curry.  We also had brownies with ice cream for dessert.  Keith then drove him back while Shawna chatted with Fannie a bit more before heading to bed.

Time with Fannie

The next morning, we had coffee and breakfast with Fannie and then drove to CT.

Connecticut

We stayed near Bloomfield (where Shawna used to work for Cigna) for three nights at the Courtyard Marriott - across the street from the Marriott Shawna used to go to all the time for work.  While here, we caught up with the following former colleagues of Shawna's:

• Union Street Tavern - Had lunch with Cheryl (was on Shawna's team) and her husband Mike.  We split a salad and tacos.  Got to hear all about her retirement plans as she only had about a month left at Cigna. 

Lunch with Cheryl and Mike at Union Street Tavern

• Meadow Restaurant - Met Eric (was one of Shawna's former bosses) for dinner. We shared a hibachi and a Thai basil chicken - tasty. 

Dinner with Eric at Meadow Restaurant

• @ The Barn - Met Jean (was a peer of Shawna's) who is also retired for lunch. We shared the brussel sprout salad and a cheese board.

Lunch with Jean at @ The Barn

• Metrobis - Had diner with Jen and Cindy (was on Shawna's team) for dinner.  It was a three course menu - all of the food was really good. The restaurant is really nice as well.

Dinner with Cindy and Jen at Metrobis

• @ The Barn - Had lunch with Jackie (was one of Shawna's former bosses) who is also retired for lunch. We shared the brussel sprout salad and the mussels. 

Lunch with Jackie at @ The Barn

• Marriott - Met Heather (was Shawna's boss) here for a drink. Stacie also joined us towards the end since we were giving her a ride to dinner.

Drinks with Heather and Stacie at the Marriott

• Treva - Had dinner with Eva and Stacie (were peers of Shawna's). Food was great.  We shared a bunch of dishes for the table.

Dinner with Eva and Stacie at Treva

We drove by the Cigna building so Keith could see where Shawna used to work when she was in town. 

 

Cigna building where Shawna used to work

We also squeezed in one touristy/cultural event by touring the Mark Twain House who lived in the house when he wrote most of his major books.  The house was very interesting in decor and architecture.  

Mark Twain House

New York

We drove to NYC for one night to see Billy Joel at MSG.  We stayed at Mark and Alicia's apartment again.  We arrived mid-afternoon and relaxed a bit before joining them with an early dinner - we ordered in from a yummy Turkish place sharing a salad, lamb patties and dumplings - all very good.  We then went to the concert which was amazing.  Turns out it was his 100th show from this residency so they filmed it to air on CBS a few weeks later.  And to top it off he had two surprise guests - Jerry Seinfeld who came out and said some nice words and then Sting who sang two songs with Billy.  

Sting and Billy Joel

The next morning we had to get up early to drive to NC - took us a little over 12 hours!!

Texas - March 2024

Keith needed to be back in TX for a follow up doctor visit for his toes so we decided to spend a few days there to get some other appointments done and to celebrate Dick's birthday a little early.  Graham also flew in to celebrate with us.  We left some of our luggage at Mark and Alicia's apartment and then left our car at one of the hotels (Indigo) near Laguardia airport.  We flew in on Monday and left early Thursday morning.  While in town, we took care of a hair appointment for Shawna, PCP and dentist for both and eye appointment for Keith.

When we landed, we went straight to the Dallas Botanic Gardens to attend the reception for people who donate money for the flower beds.  Margaret met us there along with her friend and her friend's two twin boys.  Jean and Dick were to also meet us there but they unfortunately got into a car accident on their way there.  While they were not hurt, the car was damaged pretty badly and they were quite shaken up so they opted not to come to the event.  The gardens were beautiful and we had a few glasses of wine with some food - really nice event.  

Reception at Dallas Botanic Gardens

We celebrated Dick's birthday on Tuesday night at Georgie's in Dallas.  Margaret and Graham met us there so we Ubered there and rode back with Graham.  Graham knew the owner so they sent out some appetizers and desserts and a bottle of champagne for us.  The food was very good! We shared the trout tartare, potato churros, and octopus appetizers and we each got a bowl of their onion soup.  We then shared our own entree - the pork tenderloin - and shared all of the sides for the table - roasted potatoes, carrots, asparagus and mushrooms.  

Dinner at Georgie's

We also met up with Peter for dinner on Wednesday night at Nizza Pizza.  It was BYOB so we brought a few beers and then we shared a meatball appetizer and meat lovers pizza - food was good.

New York - March 2024

For the next leg of our trip, we spent 5 nights in NYC, staying at Mark and Alicia's apartment on the Upper East side.  They rent the apartment across the hall from their place which is normally used by their son but he was away at college so we got to use the place.  We got into the city around 2pm and then had to unload everything since we were putting the car in a garage.  After we unloaded and got settled, we walked around the park with Mark and grabbed a couple of beers together.  That evening, we had dinner with Carmen (Shawna's step sister) and Lewis at their apartment - we had not seen them since before Covid.  They served us a healthy and yummy salmon, brussel sprouts and salad with ice cream for dessert.  When we returned from dinner, we had a couple of drinks with Mark and Alicia in their apartment and got to catch up with Cassie as well (their daughter).  

Walking around the reservoir in Central Park

On Thursday, we went to a nearby gym - Synergy - where we payed for a 5 day pass.  The gym was not fancy but did the trick.  We then walked around the park and grabbed a quick sandwich and bagel at the Bagel Shop.  That evening, we went to the taping of the Colbert Show at the Ed Sullivan Theater.  It was so cool to see the process.  We stood in line for about an hour before they let us in and after we were seated, there was a 'warm' up act where a guy came out to warm up the audience.  Then the band came out and played music.  And then finally, Colbert came out to do a Q&A and then went into the monologue and the show. The guest star was Paul Simon who played two songs - one that was on the show and another one that is supposed to be used for a later show.  Definitely a fun thing to do!!

Colbert Show

While we were waiting in line at the Colbert Show, Shawna got an alert that a table opened up at Blue Hill in West Village - we had wanted to try this place for quite some time so we jumped on it.  After the show, we went here for dinner and had an amazing four course meal - each course usually had at least two if not three dishes.  We also did the wine pairing.  Such a great place!!

One of the courses at Blue Hill

On Friday, we went to the gym and then had lunch with Mark at Chipotle.  We then walked around the park for about two hours and then had a couple of beers at a nearby pub.  That evening, we all met up with John Cronin for dinner at Bocca Di Bacco in Hells Kitchen.  His wife was supposed to join but one of their kids were sick so we didn't get to meet her.  We had not seen John in quite some time so was nice to catch up.  The food was great - we all shared several appetizers and a couple of pastas and then we both shared a fish dish for our entree.  

Dinner with John, Mark and Alicia at Bocca Di Bacco

On Saturday, we went to the gym again and then grabbed a quick lunch at the corner bagel store.  We walked around the park again as well.  That evening, we all met up with Kim and Tom at Thep Thai for dinner.  We shared a bunch of dishes for the table - food was tasty.  We then went to Brandy's Piano Bar where we stayed until midnight, drinking beer and singing along.  We capped off the evening with a slice of pizza!!

Dinner at Thep with Kim, Tom, Mark and Alicia

On Sunday, we slept in - our bodies were not used to staying up so late!!  We then went to Union Square to meet up with Guy (Fuqua alum) and his wife Jean Marie for lunch at Boucherie. Keith got the steak frites and Shawna got the fish - both tasty.  We then went over to Old Town Bar (one of the oldest bars in NYC) to have a few beers since it was St Pat's Day.  Back uptown, we met up with Mark and Alicia at Gerry's Place where they were meeting with a bunch of friends for beers - we were quite tired so we only stayed for one beer before heading back to the apartment to do laundry and pack up!

Lunch at Boucherie with Guy and Jean Marie

On Monday, we left some stuff at the apartment (to pick up again later) and then drove to LGA where we then flew to Dallas for a few days.

New Jersey - March 2024

We spent five nights in Chatham, NJ at Kim and Tom's house where we stayed in Ryan's room.  On our way to their house, we stopped in Easton PA to take Kaley out to lunch at Stoke Coal Fire Pizza.  We shared a pizza and some meatballs - tasty.  She then took us on a tour of campus (Lafayette College) and we got to see her dorm.

Lafayette College with Kaley

We arrived at the Snarr house around 4pm and after we unloaded, we had a few beers out on the back deck.  For dinner, we ordered Indian from Four Monkeys Indian Bistro - food was very yummy.  We got butter chicken and a few veggie dishes to share.  

On Saturday, we had bagels for breakfast and then drove out to Spring Lake to see Kerry and Stuart and to finally see their town.  We also got to see their boys which we had not seen in many years.  We walked around a bit, including the boardwalk, and saw all of the beautiful homes.  We then went out for a late lunch in Asbury Park to Porta where we all shared some salads and pizzas - great place.  When we got back, we watched the Duke/UNC game (Duke lost) and then went to bed. 

Lunch at Porto with Kerry, Stuart, the boys, Kim and Tom

On Sunday, we had bagels and frittata for breakfast and then went to play paddle / pickleball at the local Fish and Game club.  We then cleaned up and went to Morristown for an early dinner at Agricola. The food was great - we shared a salad and cauliflower appetizer for the table and then we shared the short ribs for our entree.  We stopped for one more beer at The Homestead and then went home to watch most of the Oscars.  

Shawna and Lily

On Monday, we worked out at the YMCA in Madison - the place was huge! And then did some admin/planning stuff.  That evening, we went for a walk with Kim and Lily (their dog) and then Shawna made dinner - spicy lentil tostadas.  Keith took Tom to the airport as he had to fly to CA for a family funeral service.  On Tuesday, we went back to the Y to work out and then had dinner at the Summit House with Mike (former Aimco colleague of Keith's) and Rebecca which we had not seen since we lived in Denver.  Dinner was yummy - we shared a butter tasting and cauliflower dish for an appetizer for the table, halibut for our entree and then the apple cobbler and olive oil cake for dessert for the table.  

Dinner with Mike and Rebecca at Summit House

Wednesday was our last day here so we went to the Y again and then ran a few errands before we packed up and then drove into NYC for the next leg of our trip.

Washington DC - March 2024

The next stop on our East Coast trip was eight nights in Washington DC.  We rented a one bedroom AirBnB in Dupont Circle so we could get some alone time and do some cooking a few nights.  The apartment was on the ground floor of a brownstone, located on a quiet street (N between 21 and 22).  There was one large room with a kitchen, living room and table and a decent size bedroom with a queen bed and a nice bathroom.  The place was not the best for cooking (kitchen was limited) but great for size and location.  While there we got a weekly pass at a nearby gym which was great - Balance Gym in Foggy Bottom.  We went there each morning.

While here we did the following activities:

• Air and Space Museum (Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles) - We stopped here on our way into town as we needed some time to kill before we could check into our AirBnB.  This place was amazing.  There are two very large hangars filled with all sorts of aircraft artifacts - most noteably, we saw a few Bell helicopters, the Enola Gay, a SR71 Blackhawk, the Spaceship Discovery and the Concorde.  We didn't do any of the IMAX movies but they looked good.

Spaceship Discovery at Air and Space Museum

• Stop Making Sense - We saw this Talking Heads movie which is a recorded concert they did 40 years ago.  We went with Vivienne and Jamie - held at the Lincoln Theater.  It was much better than we thought - we knew more of the songs than we had remembered and was interesting to watch the band jam.  The audience danced in the aisles!

• Walked in Rock Creek Park - mostly follows the road so was noisy.

• National Museum of African American History and Culture - We visited this amazing museum - packed with tons of history and information.  It's multiple floors and while we were there for over two hours, we did not get to see everything.  Definitely worth it!

National Museum of African American History

• Walk C&O Canal - We walked along the canal in MD with Betsy for about an 1.5 hours, seeing Great Falls.  It was a beautiful walk with nice views of the river.  

Walk C&O Canal with Betsy

• DC at Dusk Monument Tour - We did a three hour tour at night of the monuments.  Our bus only had 10 people and it was surrounded in glass from waist up so we had good views while driving.  We stopped at about 8 places and got to see all of the major sights as they were lit up at night - really cool!

Dusk Monument Tour

• Tour of US Capitol - Keith had pre-arranged this through one of our TX representatives (Beth Van Duyne). We first had to go to her office on the 7th floor of the Longworth House office building and then we were escorted by one of the interns to the tour.  The tour lasted about an hour, seeing the main rotunda and a few other 'halls' with statues and portraits.  We then got passes to see the House and Senate chambers but the Senate chamber was closed so we just went to the House - very cool to see (no photos allowed).  

US Capitol

• Supreme Court - We popped in and walked around a bit for a few minutes and then peaked into the court itself. 

Supreme Court

• Presidential motorcade - On our way back to our apartment, we saw the Presidential motorcade driving into the White House. 

• Embassy Row Walking Tour - We did a two hour walking tour of Embassy Row in Dupont Circle, learning about the history of this neighborhood and of some of the houses that were owned by the elite in the late 1800s / early 1900s before they became Embassy offices.  Tour guide was great!

Embassy Row Walking Tour

• Georgetown - We walked around campus, stopping to see the places Shawna stayed during her sophomore, junior and senior years and to see the student center where she worked at the bookstore and at the credit union.  

Georgetown

• White House Tour - Keith had also pre-arranged a tour of the White House through our TX congress woman. We first went into the visitor center and then stood in line for the tour for about 30 minutes before we went through the multiple rounds of security. The tour itself was self-guided taking you through about six rooms, all really nicely decorated.  

White House Tour

• Club Corp - We walked by Keith's old job where he was a matre'd at this private dining club. Someone who used to work with, Ian, still worked there so we got a tour of the place.  We then walked by Keith's old apartment that he had in Dupont.

Club Corp

And ate at the following places:

• Abuare Bar & Restaurant - We went to dinner with Vivienne (Fuqua alum) and Jamie at this Ethiopian restaurant.  It was Shawna's first try of the cuisine.  We went early since we were doing the show later that evening.  We shared a few samosa like appetizers and then a combo platter (various meets, lentils and veggies) with the traditional 'pancake' to scoop up the food.  Food was tasty and not as spicy as we thought it would be.  

Dinner at Abuare with Vivienne and Jamie

• Our Mom Eugenia - Keith had lunch here in Arlington with Andy, a former colleague at Aimco. Keith had a greek salad with lamb - yummy!

Lunch with Andy

• Tatte Bakery & Cafe - Beautiful, airy, large cafe near our AirBnB.  Shawna had lunch here (while Keith was at lunch with his colleague).  Great place with lots of yummy dishes.  She had the lamb platter which was very tasty.  

• Pisco y Nazca Ceviche Gastrobar - We had dinner with Jim (Fuqua alum) and Kerry. Fun, lively Peruvian restaurant.  We shared a few apps for the table (ceviche and pork bau buns) and we shared a mixed meat/seafood sizzling platter for our entree.  We then shared a few desserts (flan and thres leches) for the table.  Everything was very tasty.  

Dinner at Pisco with Jim and Kerry

• O'Lardon's - We had early dinner with Cheryl and Irene (friends of Keith from when we lived in DC).  We picked up Cheryl at her apartment and then drove 1.5 hours into MD to meet Irene here.  It's a typical Irish pub - Keith had a lamb burger and Shawna had fish and chips - pretty tasty.  We had a few beers and sat for a few hours while we caught up.

Dinner with Cheryl and Irene at O'Lardon's

• Wild Tomato - We had lunch with Betsy (former colleague of Keith's from Aimco) before we walked along the canal with her in MD.  Cute little cafe - we had the mussels and each a salad.

• The Tombs - We stopped here for lunch, one of Shawna's hangouts while she was at Georgetown.  We had a beer, a bowl of chili and a salad.  We were disappointed in everything but the salad!

Lunch at The Tombs

• Mama Tigre - We had dinner with Manish (Fuqua alum) and Priti in VA.  This is a Mexican restaurant that has some Indian slant to some of their dishes.  We had chips and queso for the table and then we shared the chicken tikka fajitas.  Food was yummy.

Dinner with Manish and Priti at Mama Tigre

• Vue Rooftop - We had lunch here (rooftop restaurant at Hotel Washington) with nice views of the White House and south lawn.  We shared a charcuterie board and tasty seabass for our entree with tres leches for dessert.  Food was surprisingly good.  

Lunch at the Vue

Now on to NJ!