Month / April 2014

by preferredfate

Concrete Junglists

imageWith cheesy pasta up to her elbows, eyes fixated on the Robots Blu-Ray playing in front of her, I steal another moment for part two of our Boston Road Extravaganza: NYC!

This was my 3rd time in the Big Apple, and I can say I’ve experienced the city in 3 of 4 seasons, fall being the only exclusion. My first experience was in the heat of late April, and I can say it was my least favourite time due to the warm garbage smells and abundance of Splinter-sized rats running the city. I’m Canadian.. I’m all for recycling.. and I guess it was a bit of a shock to not find the same resources in such a large city. My second visit was in the dead of winter, and I found it the most beautiful and exciting time of the year. Again, I’m Calgarian, so I guess I’m going to favour any sights of sparkling white snow. I’m a helpless romantic, what can I say? (Fine, that might be a lie.)

Back to the present day and our enormously fun family road trip. We had awoken at 7ish in order to hit the road at 8 am. After smoothing over a small hiccup with the front desk (they didn’t have our reservation properly on file due to some computer malfunction), off we were on the road again. It was a painless 4-hour drive, and noon by the time we arrived. Thanks to Kate’s handy pre-planning, we were able to find parking for the day, even saving upwards of $30 due to the coupon she printed out beforehand. I don’t know if it’s every parking lot that does this, but twice when I’d been, an attendant had taken our keys and parked the vehicle for us. All parked, kids snugly tucked into their strollers, peepee breaks accomplished, we are famished, and head towards the famous Shake Shack for some grub. It would’ve been cool had the lineups not been monstrously long :(. Mind you, it was Friday at lunch hour, so this wasn’t much of a surprise. Instead, we turn back the other way, excited to try the Guy Fieri restaurant, Guy’s, which we’d passed along the way.

It was fairly empty, a little strange for such a big-name personality in a metropolitan city, but perhaps I know why. We had some of the snottiest hosts/servers I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting on vacation, even worse than the rude waiters at the Chinese restaurant in Paris. I had sensed we were being frowned upon the moment we walked in and had parked our strollers on the lower level. Our waiter was cold and unsmiling, looking annoyed about our small children, and even having an irritated reaction when one of us asked for a takeout container to bring the meal home. All was not lost, however, because the food was very tasty. I had a shrimp po’ boy sandwich with chicken noodle soup to start, with others having the pulled pork and/or beef au jus sandwiches and rosemary quarter chicken. They were mainly on the lunch menu and not pricey at all – in between $10-15 per entree if I were to remember correctly. Tummies happy and ready to put the nasty experience behind us, we head to Times Square: the gigantic Toys ‘R Us, Footlocker, the Disney store. The NBA store where I picked up a Celtics t-shirt (of course) and a freezable NBA mug that looks like a basketball, which John thinks is so ugly and I am super fond of. Lol. We visit the skating rink at Rockefeller Center, GAP, another sports store, and Uniqlo, and by this time it’s dark outside. Before we head Mashpee-ward, we stop by for some Halal Guys, the famously delicious chicken and rice with their fantastic hot and white sauce. Oh dear. I wanted to enjoy it in the comfort of our kitchen, so I held off on eating mine the entire 4-hour ride home, running in to put it on a plate and devour it in comfort. And for breakfast the next day. Some could not wait, devoured it in the van, and slept peacefully the rest of the ride home. Cannot blame them. The remainder of us stayed awake, telling ghost stories and getting ready for the next day’s adventures, including the Bewitched After Dark tour in Salem, Massachusetts. Exciting!

As Easter Sunday quickly approaches, I’d like to take a moment to give thanks for great friends, happiness, and our safe return. In 4 days I can finally enjoy meat again… It’s been a long 36 days!

Beantown post is next!

by preferredfate

Hot Chocolate and CHOWDA

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As I sit on my cold, hard floor at the insistence of, and beside, my new potty-training-in-training toddler, I seize the opportunity to write of a recent trip I took to Boston and New York with a great group of friends (and family).

It all began with softball (and what doesn’t nowadays, apparently) and the dream of two like-minded, separated-at-birth friends who longed to see a ball game at the legendary Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. A “Green” fan ever since the Celtics won the NBA title in 2008, I was very excited at the prospect. That, and any place oozing seafood is enough to get me anywhere. So after a few late nights checking timeshare accommodations, calling many car rental places to compare quotes, and numerous vacation requests later, we arrive at departure day on a Thursday in the middle of March.

Our happy band of travelers consists of myself, hubby John, daughter Dani, married friends Mark and Kate, their daughter Audrey, also 2.5 years old, and faithful shotgun companion Aaron (who is a bigger person than I, managing to stay awake the entire time).

After collecting the big “Red Car” as the little ones called it (aka the Dodge Grand Caravan) and all of its passengers, we hit the road by 9 am. This in itself was not a seamless process… a chilly morning characteristic of the larger-than-life winter we have had this year resulted in two cranky, wailing toddlers, all within 15 minutes of being on the road. Bless their little souls, because that was the beginning and end of the crying fits for the rest of the trip. Yay, girls!

I shall take a minute to digress and do a little review of the Dodge Grand Caravan. My sister owns a Honda Odyssey, which I always found quite roomy and comfortable. This was not quite the case with the Caravan. Its ease in getting in and out of the middle and last rows via collapsible seats was offset by the cramped accommodations in the back. We had known to pack “lightly” (in either duffels or other soft-shelled packs) so we had enough cargo space, but literally just enough. Don’t plan on packing 4 regular-sized luggages in there. We kept a small cooler with water, juice and snacks in the middle row of the van, headed to Timmy’s for coffee and breakfast (of course), and arrived at our first stop, Walden Galleria, in Buffalo New York, before 11 am. After a visit to Dick’s for softball gear (obvi) and lunch at the Cheesecake Factory (even more obvi), we headed back on the road. With the occasional pit stop for gas and meals (we can also name this getaway the Great McDonald’s and Pizza Feast, because guess what we usually ate roadside), we finally arrived at the Cape Cod Holiday Estates in Mashpee, Massachusetts, about 1.5 hours driving distance to Boston, a little after 1:00 am. After searching through the desk in the entry hall, not finding our package of keys, and instead taking the “Backup Set,” we unload, do a little happy dance at our arrival, toss a softball around, etc. and then head to bed to rest up for the excitement of the next day in NYC.

…to be continued. Dani wants more chicken! 🙂