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Adrienne had a conference (at Google headquarters, no less) in Boston on Thursday, so I took a bus up and met her Friday morning for a short weekend vacation. Before we get to the pics, here’s a quick recap:

Friday afternoon we focused on Cambridge (where we were staying) and Harvard University. Saw and met the Car Talk guys. At the time Adrienne claimed it was the highlight of the weekend, but I think she’s changed her mind. We had some great Afghan food for dinner, and ended up watching some TV in the hotel to finish the night (hey – we never get to do that!).

Saturday we finagled a way to store our bags with Amtrak at the train/bus station (there are no lockers there!): we bought a cheap Amtrak ticket, and then could store our stuff for free with Amtrak, then later got a refund on the ticket. That way we were less-encumbered throughout the day. We headed through the financial district to Boston Commons, where we saw a trombone quartet busking after grabbing a breakfast bagel sandwich. That’s a first! Then through the Commons (really just a big park) to Beacon Hill, where streets are narrow and brick-paved. Adrienne loved the character of it. Almost like you’re stepping back in time. Wikipedia tells me it’s the most prestigious and expensive neighborhood to live in (average salary of a resident is more than $1.5 million), and I don’t doubt it! This becomes Adrienne’s favorite of the vacation.

We loosely follow the freedom trail through downtown and see the many old buildings still in use. Some are re-purposed: the Old City Hall, originally the first public school in the US, is now a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. Parts of Boston feel like Portland, OR to the both of us, with brick-lined public squares and smaller, more intimate blocks than NYC or Chicago. Navigating through Boston is trickier than the grid-layout of most modern cities. We pass over the controversial Big Dig to the North End, where Paul Revere’s house still stands, as do the remains of the heavy Italian influence there: lots of great-looking restaurants, pastry shops, etc.

We make our way back around the outskirts of Beacon Hill to Back Bay. With it’s wider sidewalks, commerce-heavy streets and different architecture, it’s more reminiscent of Chicago to me. Or maybe even Montreal, really. It’s a cloudy fall day, but not too cool, so it’s nice to be able to comfortably walk around and enjoy the fall colors.

Soon enough it’s time to have a quick dinner before making out way back to the bus station to catch our 6:30pm bus back to NYC. We get in town early, about 10:15 or so. A nice little getaway.

Follow the jump for the pics! (more…)

As you probably saw, I’m up in Boston for a quick weekend vacation with Adrienne, who was up here for a conference Thursday. We’re staying in Cambridge, so we decided we’d focus on sightseeing around Harvard this afternoon. We made our way to Harvard Square, and decided to look for a spot to grab a light lunch, before our planned dinner at an Afghan place. There we are, sitting in the square pondering our options, when I hear from a nearby open cafe a laugh that is unmistakable. Distinctive. Immediately recognizable. I listened longer, and then said to Adrienne, “Look over there. See them?”

Voices you may hear every week. Laughing nearly incessantly, as you might expect. Recognize them? Focus on the capped and goateed guys. They’re brothers. Got it yet? On our way out from having a sandwich at the cafe, I introduced myself to the younger one, Ray, and shook his hand. The older goateed brother is Tom. They have a little radio show. 🙂

Adrienne’s been at the new gig a couple weeks now, and tonight on the way to dinner we had time for a short tour. Here’s a pic out of one of the windows on her 34th-floor office that she shares:

Her office is just a couple short blocks from Grand Central. A couple more pics of the insides after the jump. (more…)

On a walk to the library today, I noticed posters advertising a kickball tournament this very afternoon. We decided to take a walk over and check it out. Seems as though all were having a good time. Umpire ‘Crazy Tony’ (as identified by the back of his shirt) kept order, and announced it on the front of his shirt. One odd rule included requiring the use of a very large blue ball for one self-chosen inning. All in all, a nice way to waste an hour of a beautiful fall afternoon.

A couple more pics after the jump. (more…)

Saturday morning I was in early at work, and had to deal with an unexpected water main break right outside our building. But then Adrienne and I headed north in a rented car, planning to do some sightseeing and biking and general cavorting in the area around Hyde Park. After hitting a bit of traffic, we managed to get up there around noon or so. We parked at the Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, and got the bikes out. Ended up doing about 20 miles on Saturday, seeing the sites: the Culinary Institute of America, a Vanderbilt mansion, a nice state park with access to the Hudson River, some quaint towns, etc. We had a nice dinner at a place in Rhinebeck, and decided it would qualify as our anniversary dinner. The terrain there is much hillier than what we’re used to, so we both slept well at an EconoLodge in Poughkeepsie that night.

Sunday morning we had a good breakfast at the Eveready Diner, then did another 10 miles on the bikes. We cut it short to save Adrienne’s butt, but it was good because we got stuck in a heavy downpour. We waited it out under a tree for a bit, and then about two hours under the awning of a shopping center. It lightened, so we took our chances… and guessed wrong. We had about 3/4 mile to go, and got soaked through. Changed clothes and enjoyed some pastries in a little shop. Then got in the car to do some more exploring: up to Bard College, and around the Taconic State Parkway.

We made our way home on the mostly-scenic route 9 on the east side of the Hudson River. Since we had a car, we drove to a Trader Joe’s in the near-suburbs in Jersey, and stocked up with wine and other goodies. We were both hungry by that time (it was about 8pm), and we were close enough we decided to do what has become an annual tradition: a meal at The Reservoir, a nice little Italian restaurant in the cute suburb we stayed in Jersey our first week here. It was one of our first meals in Jersey. So we had our 1-year wedding anniversary dinner up in Rhinebeck and our 3-year ‘being in Jersey’ dinner (I think 8/1 or 2, but don’t remember). So productive!

Oh, we had been searching for a kitchen table to replace the card table that’s served us so well. Outside of something custom-made, we haven’t been able to find anything that is close to what we want. So on the way out of town Saturday, we stopped by IKEA and got the next best thing: a table that’s the size and functionality that we want, but not quite the quality. I got to put that together when we got home.

So, now that you’ve read the narrative, here are the pics!

Adrienne and I got home right about 6 tonight. It was great to see all the family and friends. The siblings minus Andrea had some pretty good Vietnamese in Chicago on Monday night. Here’s what we ordered:

Hope you all have a great rest of the week!

As you can see, a good time was had by all. I’ve created a page with all the pics I took. Check it out here. Please share it with anyone that might care to see!

Our flight to Milwaukee was delayed two hours, but we got in right about midnight. Not much planned for today with Derek, Heidi and Gabby – maybe a visit to Festa Italiana downtown. But they don’t call it vacation for nothing!

Here are some pics from our adventures so far.

I got the suitcase down to start packing for my trip to Montreal. Both cats quickly decided they’d be coming along.