Back in Town

We flew in Monday night from DC and my arms are still tired.  That’s a preview of the humor level you’ll be experiencing on this post.  I slept about 10 hours a night on vacation, but I get home and I’m up by 6am.  WTF?

We began our trip in NYC, staying at the WestHouse Hotel.  We took our nieces out to dinner that first night.  There was a slight snafu as we got seated at the restaurant we had actually made the reservation at, Briciola.  The kids did not show up, so we called them.  They were already seated at the place across the street.  It was named Aria.  We were puzzled but learned it is the same owner with the exact same menu.  I’m already enough of a babe in woods in the Big Apple without wiseass restauranteurs confusing me.  As we crossed the street, we saw Fido dropping a deuce on the sidewalk, about three feet away from a couple dining outside.  It was promptly cleaned up and it had no effect on our appetite.

The next day the wife and I checked out the West Village via the High Line.  We walked a ton, passing by the Stonewall Inn and other sites of note. My legs will never be the same.  My wife guided us by following the Google map on her phone, signaling that were indeed rubes from the burbs. 

The next day we went downtown again to visit the WTC memorial.  We could not go to the museum as it was closed that day.  We were in NYU territory and sat by a statue of Fiorello LaGuardia.  Can you imagine if your mom named you “little flower”?  I was pissed enough with DJ. My sister directed me to a bar called the Dead Rabbit, where we finished our afternoon.  On the way there we passed the White Horse Tavern, where Dylan Thomas did himself in.

Our big night there was taking in The Book of Mormon, a play that my mother would have highly disapproved of.  We went with my sister and her wife LA.  After that we trotted over to Gallagher’s Steakhouse for our 10pm reservations.  The joint was jumping, and the chow was first-rate.

We also happened to be in NYC when they removed the last functional payphone extant.  Remember, telecom is my life.

We checked out of the hotel and took an Uber over to Grand Central to catch a train up to Sleepy Hollow, where my sister and LA live.  We got the star treatment because this duo is generosity incarnate.  We were treated to a “cafeteria” lunch here.  Calling it that is like calling Gallagher’s a burger joint.

https://www.bluehillfarm.com/

We did a lot of relaxing in Westchester.  We had planned to go up to my old stomping grounds in Kingston but that got rained out.  We did take in a great meal at Red Hat on the River, meeting their favorite bartender and getting a good view of the Hudson and Manhattan from the roof deck.

Our next stop was Charlie’s house in South Hadley, MA, to which we were sent off to with some primo wine from LA.  It was a scenic ride and we lucked into some great weather, not having to suffer much heat. We got to see Charlie’s granddaughter and her moms.  As Seinfeld said, ya gotta see the baby.  But this cutie did not resemble LBJ in any way.

We had a fun time hanging in western Mass with Charlie, taking in the sites.  We had a great outdoor meal at the Blue Heron as well as some good beer at one of the local breweries.  Alas, she had to go to work on Tuesday morning and we headed east.

We landed in Andover, at my wife’s cousin’s house on a golf course.  We had seen them at a wedding a few months ago and mentioned we were planning to stay in a hotel in Beverly.  They graciously invited us to stay with them.  We were in that area to see my old pal Wolv and his new love.  Grill master Wolv provided the grub that first night along with a couple Red Stripe beers.  I asked him if it was cultural appropriation to drink Jamaican beer.  He slugged me.

The next day we took a tour of Essex and Gloucester.  We had a good meal at a seafood joint and then went to check out the drawbridge in the rain at Gloucester.  We were going to cruise there in his ’53 Plymouth but he was concerned about the rain’s effect on his classic car, so we make the trip in his new Chevy.  We took some pics which my wife posted on FB.  The old crew from The Edge chimed in to say how happy they were to see The Wolv, the “nicest guy ever”.

Our last stop was DC and Potomac and the weather continued to cooperate.  We stayed for a few days at the Washington Plaza Hotel before imposing on the in-laws in Potomac.  That first night we took my and #1’s SB1s out to dinner with their better halves.  L’Ardente, billed as “glam Italian” was the place to be seen that night.  We had a couple round of drinks, some foofoo, ample appetizers and tasty entrees.  #1 will be returning the favor on Father’s Day.

That pretty much covers it.  I’ll close by congratulating my nephew John on his graduation from UCLA.  Great things are in store!