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!!

Boston - April 2022

Steve and Helen were to be in Boston for almost two weeks for the marathon, so Keith used the opportunity to meet Steve for a weekend after eight years apart!

Before leaving for Boston, Chris, Steve, and the kids were at the house so Kieth was able to spend a bit of time with them.  He then took the 10am flight to Boston and got to Steve and Helen's VRBO by 2:30pm.  There were a lot of hellos as it was Keith's first time meeting Helen.  Keith and Steve then went for dinner at Prezza in the North End - it was great just to catch up the two of them.

Saturday Keith walked around Boston with Steve and Helen.  It was great to get some steps in and see the city.  Despite not trying to, Keith saw OneCanal Apartments several times as well as Elevate, the new deal that Keith was to spend the day at on Tuesday.  At the end of the day, Keith picked up an Avis rental car for use on the Sunday.  It was back to the house for some relaxing before heading back to Boston for drinks and dinner.  Drinks started at Jaho Coffee Roaster and Wine Bar, followed by dinner at The Q, an Asian Hot Pot restaurant.  Dinner was excellent.  

Sunday we used the car to leave the city.  First stop was Plymouth so that Steve and Helen could see the famous rock.  After the rock, we walked over to the Mayflower II.   The Mayflower visit far exceeded the disappointing rock!  Steve needed his dose of coffee.  The first attempt was Cafe Nicole which Steve deemed a total disappointment so we tried again at Leyden Street Coffee.  Much better!  We then opted to make the 1.5 hour drive to Provincetown at the tip of the Cape.  Lunch was at Ross Grill - following which we walked a bit around the town and then drive back to the VRBO.  We stopped by Whole Foods for some ingredients so Steve and Helen could make pasta for dinner - Steve's final carbo-load for the marathon!

Plymouth Rock

Monday morning Keith drove to the city to drop off the car and check-in early to the Canopy hotel.  Great hotel and he was able to work most of the day before seeing Steve about an hour after he finished the marathon.  The final event of the weekend was the post-marathon party at Fenway.  Steve and Helen went back to the VRBO and Keith headed back to the hotel - it was a great weekend and hopefully we see Steve and Helen again for Chicago Marathon '23!

Steve after the marathon

Boston - St Patrick's Day - March 2008

Boston Waterfront

This was our second year carrying on the tradition of celebrating St. Patrick's Day in another city with John and JoAnna.  This year, we decided to go to Boston.

Shawna, JoAnna and John took a cheap flight with Skybus from Greensboro to Portsmouth, NH and then took a bus into the city.  Keith was traveling for work and met them there.

Accommodation:
Hyatt - We used Keith's points and shared a room at this hotel, located downtown.

Activities:

Sam Adams Grave

We arrived late on Thursday night and met Keith at the hotel.  We kicked off the weekend with a few drinks at JJ Foley’s.

On Friday, we walked the Freedom Trail - we did it leisurely as we stopped along the way for beer.  The highlight of the trail was visiting the Park Street Church Granary (where Sam Adams and Paul Revere are buried) and drinking a Sam Adams across the street at Beantown Pub while looking at Sam Adams tomb.  Along the trail, we saw Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market (where we stopped for a beer at Cheers).  We didn’t make the last stop (Bunker Hill) on the tour, but instead took the Ferry from the Charlestown Navy Yard back to Long Wharf. 

State House

From there, we ate and drank our way through downtown Boston.  We walked back to Faneuil Hall Market and had chowder and appetizers at the Salty Dog Seafood Bar & Grille.  After that, we headed toward the Garden to catch the Duke/Belmont game.  On the way, we stopped for a few beers at the Purple Shamrock and the Bell In Hand.  Following the game, we had more beer and appetizers at The Fours and then stopped at Hurricane O'Reilly's for beer and hurricanes.  We met Nick (JoAnna's brother) and his friends at the Boston Beer Works.  At one of the bars, JoAnna and Shawna scored Leinenkugel tukes (knit hats) which they seemed quite excited about.  On the way back to the hotel, we stopped for a night cap at Jose McIntyre's for beers and margaritas.

John, JoAnna and Keith at Cheers

On Saturday, we went to Legal Seafood for lunch, and then went to find a bar to watch the Duke/West Virginia game.  We stopped in several bars like the Black Rose and Coogan’s, but finally settled on Clarke’s.  They had everything you could ever want on the appetizer menu, but all we had was beer.  Nick and his friends joined us again.

JoAnna and Shawna Sporting Their Tukes

That evening, we headed to North End for dinner at Al Dente’s.  After dinner, we wandered around North End and ended up at Modern Pastry where we met up with Nick and his friends for dessert.

Is That Beer?

On Sunday, we went to Quincy market for lunch and had a yummy mac-n-cheese dish which prompted Shawna to want to open a mac-n-cheese restaurant in Chapel Hill until we did the math and determined it would not be a huge money maker.  After lunch, we went to the Aquarium.  On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at JJ Foley’s for a final beer.

Keith, JoAnna, John - Looking Happy

Due to all of the calories consumed, it definitely took us a few weeks to recover from the weekend!

Restaurants and Bars:
JJ Foley's Bar and Grill - Located close to our hotel - we had a few drinks here.

Beantown Pub - A very popular pub.  You can drink a Sam Adams while looking at Sam Adams tomb across the street.

Cheers - Where everybody knows your name.

Salty Dog Seafood Bar & Grille - Located in Faneuil Hall - we had apps and chowder here.

Purple Shamrock - Irish pub - had a few beers here.

Bell in Hand - Irish pub - had more beer here.

The Fours - We had some appetizers here.

Hurricane O'Reilly's - Had to try the hurricanes.

Boston Beer Works - More beer and appetizers.

Jose McIntyre's - Mexican themed Irish pub - go figure.  Had beer and margaritas.

Legal Seafood - Located on the waterfront - had lunch here.  Good food.

Black Rose - Another Irish pub.

Coogan's - Another Irish pub.

Clarke's - A sports bar located at Faneuil Hall Market.

Al Dente's -- Located in the North End.  We had an awesome Italian dinner here.