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Tuscan Honeymoon

2010-12-01T20:08:00.000-08:00

Wedding Video

2010-06-20T18:02:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone for sharing in our special day! We really appreciate it. Below are some pictures & videos:

First iMovie Video

2010-04-30T21:05:00.000-07:00

I decided to make a little picture slideshow for our wedding reception to show everyone a little history lesson. I first was just going to use iPhoto, but realized iMovie was the way to go since I had a bunch of old video footage. I love Apple software! There's no way I would have been able to do this on a PC. Anyways, here's my first attempt:

Bunnicula

2010-01-01T09:46:00.000-08:00

Got a Flip HD video camera & decided to first film the terror that is Bunnicula:

DC

2009-07-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

My New Hobby

2009-07-04T19:16:00.000-07:00

This summer, I was either going to join the Charles River Sailing Club or buy a kayak. My obvious issues with kayak ownership was a lack of car and storage. But I happened to type in "kayak" at Amazon.com (where I now buy everything except groceries) and got clued in to inflatable kayaks. I was a little skeptical of their quality and durability, but the reviews on the Advanced Element models sold me. I ended up going with a smaller 10.5" model. It's only $399 and folds up into a big, yet portable storage bag.

http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Elements-AdvancedFrame-Inflatable-Kayak/dp/B000J2Q0C6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1246760305&sr=8-4

It takes about 15 minutes to blow up and you're ready to rock. I've taken it out twice on the Charles River thus far - once from Newton to Harvard, and the next time all the way past downtown to where I could go no further (dam). It's definitely not as fast as a "real" kayak, but I'm in no hurry!

Block Island, RI

2009-06-14T17:51:00.000-07:00

We headed out to Block Island, Rhode Island for a nice birthday weekend. After a 90-minute drive from Boston, it's a quick 30-minute ferry ride from Port Judith, RI. Our friend Amanda has a gorgeous house overlooking the harbor and ocean where about 8 of us crashed. Unlike the tourist traps of Nantucket & Martha's Vineyard just up the coast, Block Island is like taking a 50-year trip back in time with its rural and rustic settings.

I was really bummed that I didn't bring my kayak along. But we were able to dig for a bunch of clams right in the back yard before the DNR lady busted us. Next time I'll pay the $20 license.

Bar Harbor, ME - Acadia National Park

2009-05-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

Ogunquit, ME

2008-09-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

Charles River

2008-09-07T18:14:00.000-07:00

Gloucester Whale Watching

2008-08-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

Ireland Vacation

2008-05-01T14:36:00.000-07:00

We flew into Shannon Airport on the west coast of Ireland at 6 am local time (1 am back in Boston). Our intention was to stay up the first day so we wouldn't waste any time in Ireland - that plan lasted about 5 minutes once we arrived at our first hotel in Ennis. We ended up sleeping about 15 hours that day with only a short 2 hour trip into Ennis for lunch. But at least we were well rested for the rest of the trip!

We rented a manual Ford Fiesta for the entire trip. Because I cannot drive stick, Kelly took over the driving duties. Driving on the left side of the road in Ireland didn't actually take that long to get used to. The difficult part was the extremely narrow roads, crazy local drivers, and free-roaming farm animals. If you rent a car in Ireland, get the full insurance package! Everytime a tour bus came within inches of our car, I remembered the rental car lady asking us, "can you afford to pay 18,000 Euro if you wreck the car?" We gambled & won, but tettered on several nervous breakdowns during the trip. It didn't help that on every highway in Ireland they have signs showing how the number of fatalities that your highway experienced the last 5 years.

Our next stop was in Doolin for the Castleview B&B. This farmhouse was right on the ocean & just a short drive to the Cliffs of Moher. The hostess said we could easily walk to the cliffs, but we took a wrong turn & ended up roaming over 10 miles through the Irish countryside. It was a nice walk except for a few stray dogs & mild dehydration. Plus we got sunburnt which is difficult to do in Ireland during April. Aloe Vera has yet to make it to Ireland, so we were red-faced the entire trip.

While we were lost, we walked past an Irish boy no older than 6 who said hello. When we said "hello" back, he screamed, "you're American!" Is it that obvious?

The Cliffs of Moher were amazing. There was a very touristy gated path that had ok views of the cliffs. But the best view & maybe the highlight of the trip was the much more dangerous ungated path that took you just a few feet from the 700-foot cliffs. At least a few people die each year when wind gusts send them sailing over the edge (what we called "natural selection").

Day 3 we drove the entire Ring of Kerry which is a famous drive through the Killarney National Park, Misty Mountains & beautiful ocean coasts of the Iveragh Peninsula. It may have been the most beautiful scenary I have even seen. Poor Kelly didn't get to enjoy the views as she was busy dodging the huge tour buses coming from the opposite direction on these extremely narrow roads. Wikipedia suggested going clockwise around the Ring to avoid traffic, but I would have rather been behind these buses versus meeting them on an obstructed corner with no guard rails on the top of the mountains. This was where the driving was by far the most dangerous, but the scenary made it worth it.

(At this point my 2nd camera battery died, so I didn't take many pictures the rest of the way except on a terrible iPhone camera.)

Day 4 we went to our 2nd B&B in Clifden, which is just west of Galway. The "Ardmore House" had huge bedrooms, a private path down to the ocean, and most importantly internet. It was situated atop the mountains overlooking the Clifden bay surrounded by sheep farms & abandoned castles. We had the place to ourselves the 1st night, while it was a full house the 2nd night including a couple from Madison.

Day 5 we went to the Connemara National Park. Again, it was gorgeous, but at this point we were getting pretty tired of all the driving (and by "we" I mean Kelly).

On the final day we drove across the entire country to Dublin. We stayed at a brand new Ritz Carlton outside the city next to the Powerscourt House & Gardens. It was by far the best hotel I've ever stayed in. I wish my apartment was that big! Dublin was cool, but I wish we had more time to spend in the city.

All-in-all the trip turned out nearly perfect. It was a great variety of B&Bs vs hotels, rural vs urban areas, etc. And considering the dollar is at an all-time low vs the Euro, the trip wasn't too expensive through the Aer Lingus package we bought. Next time I'd like to spend more time in Dublin, revisit more sites on the Ring of Kerry, and have a fully-insured car with GPS!

Mount Sunapee - New Hampshire

2008-02-01T17:11:00.000-08:00

Xmas 07

2007-12-26T17:31:00.000-08:00

Catching up on some old posts... This was the first year coming home from Boston for Christmas. I flew into Madison late Thursday night after Northwest Airlines missed my connection in Detroit while we sat on the runway for 45 mins. I see why they're still in bankruptcy... So it kind of ruined my plans to meet up with friends at the Brass Ring, but the diehards met me at Pooley's by the airport for some drinks & Rock Band later on.

The next morning it was on to my parent's house. I have to say it's quite festive returning home to small-town Wisconsin in December in the blowing snow. Since Kelly was in Peru for the holiday, I got to spend the entire vacation with the fam. As a Christmas should be, I gained 10 pounds drinking Egg Nog, watched the Packers kill the Lions, hurt my back shoveling the driveway, met up with ol' friends at Tilly's & Silvercryst, and left with great presents.

I definitely get a little homesick returning to Madison & Wautoma while having so much fun & relaxation, but it's time to go back & save for retirement. I'll be returning in June for a quick weekend in Sheboygan but will have to plan a weekend soon in Madison.

2 Nor'Easters

2007-12-16T17:17:00.000-08:00

With a short walk to work, no sidewalks to shovel & no car to dig out, I look forward to snowstorms like a 6-year-old. But the 2 storms the last 4 days were bittersweet.

On Thursday I was supposed to buy a new Canon D80 Digital SLR camera for only $300 from some friend-of-a-friend (it sells for >$1000 on Amazon, so I guess it's "hot"), but he couldn't make it into town because of the snow. It would have definitely made the pics on this blog much more interesting! I'm also babysitting Kelly's car while she's in Peru & now have a couple hernias from digging it out.

But the good news is I made it to my Fantasy finals by taking down Tom Brady who had a terrible game in the snow! (neeeeerd)

I'm adding these to my Amazon wish list for those who haven't bought me anything yet.

Night Canoeing on the Charles River

2007-09-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

Young Boston Alumni Charity Cruise

2007-09-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

Wisconsin & several other schools hosted an alumni charity cruise aboard the Provincetown II off the Commonwealth Pier (I'm embarassed to say that I cannot recall the charity). The large cruiseliner held at least 500 drunks. The cruise took us around Boston Harbor & all the way down to Cape Cod. I'm sure Cape Cod is gorgeous, but the cruise took place after sundown. What's the point?!

Manchester By The Sea

2007-09-04T17:50:00.000-07:00

It's not exactly paradise, but it's as close as you'll find in New England. Manchester By The Sea is just a 45-minute ride on the commuter rail north of Boston. It's a huge beach completely surrounded by beautiful cliffs, making it impossible to sneak in without paying the $5 entrance fee.

New Apartment

2007-08-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pictures of my new apartment. It is a fantastic location as I get more acquainted with the neighborhood. We're right on the subway line on the edge of Brookline & Allston. Thus, I was able to sell my car. It's just a short walk from Harvard, Coolidge Corner, BU, BC & 47 Dunkin' Donuts. The rent is tolerable as far as Boston goes.

I tried to sneak a cat into every picture for some reason.

Fenway Paaaaak

2007-08-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

Let me start off by saying that the Brewers are breaking my heart. You knew this plunge was coming, but didn't want to admit it while we were 8.5 games in first place. I guess it's a blessing in disguise that I can no longer watch the games on TV. Checking the box scores each night is painful enough (just looked - we lost again).

Kelly & I went to Fenway Park to watch the Sox take on the Orioles. I can now understand why it's so difficult to get tickets: Fenway Park is tiny! You grow up watching the Green Monster & the steep right field bleachers on TV, not realizing it's the smallest stadium in baseball. I love it! It's an old fashioned Triple A ballpark: view-obstructing poles, trough-style latrines, no parking, fans that actually pay attention to the game, etc - all creating a much more intimate setting that only Lambeau & Wrigley Field can compete with.

Kevin Garnett, who just the day before got traded to the Celtics, threw out the first pitch. We left in the 6th inning with the Orioles up 4-1. Of course the very next inning the Sox scored 4 runs to take the lead!

I still hold out hope that the Sox & Brewers will meet in the World Series. I'm not sure whether I'd get tickets for Milwaukee or Boston. Anyway, it would be a nice decision to make.

Wyalusing

2007-06-23T22:05:00.000-07:00

We took a camping trip to Wyalusing State Park last weekend. It's an amazing campground at the confluence of the Mississippi & Wisconsin rivers. This was always my favorite campground growing up, but I hadn't been back in at least dozen years & forgot how beautiful the area was. The campground is set on 500 foot bluffs that overlook the river valley below. The views are so vast that is impossible to duplicate on camera. It's so beautiful, it looks fake! Definitely check it out if you get a chance. It's a couple miles from Prairie Du Chien which is roughly 2 hours west of Madison.

On Saturday, we were supposed to get up at 6:00 am to go fishing, but we predictably overslept after a rough night. But we made it out around 11. We found a fantastic fishing spot for bass around all these sunken logs & lilly pads. The bass were taunting us, jumping all over the place & stealing our worms without getting hooked. But we ended up catching 2 (with many other "the one the got away" stories). Steven's catch was worthy-enough for a picture; mine was lucky to be 6 inches.

Yankee Foxtrot Hotel?

2007-06-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

These caught my eye in Chicago. Aren't these the same buildings as Wilco's "Yankee Foxtrot Hotel" cover? Gotta be - they're from Chicago.

Fun At 5 mph

2007-06-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

6 more weeks until I move. We rented a pontoon boat on Lake Kegonsa to celebrate my birthday. 27?! That's old - so old, in fact, that when we went swimming, I couldn't get myself back in the boat & cut up my leg on the rudder. I noticed a few seconds later that there was a ladder on the side of the boat... I blame it on the 40 of Colt45.

The rest of the day we spent grilling out at James Madison & squeezing a dozen people in my apartment to play Guitar Hero 2 (which is pretty much the same as every other weekend). By the way, check out this video of an 8-year-old playing "Psychobilly Freakout" on Expert mode. To reach that level of greatness is a Catch 22: wouldn't you go blind? My eyesight has went to sh*t since playing Guitar Hero. You fellow nerds know what I'm talking about.

Rockport, Mass

2007-05-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

I spent Memorial Day weekend moving more stuff to Boston, getting my driver's license & visiting Rockport (3 all-day adventures). Continuing my streak of travel difficulties, my Thursday night flight was cancelled due to inclimate weather in Chicago (I guess... didn't seem like much to me). I had to beg & plead just to reschedule a flight the next morning. Otherwise my original flight plans were revised to Friday afternoon.

Rockport's a cool little fishing village 35 miles northeast of Boston, which is about a 40-minute trip on the high-speed commuter rail from the city. It's a smaller version of Gloucester - in fact, it was Gloucester until it separated in the mid-1800's. The town is basically a few blocks of small gift shops & bed 'n breakfasts on the ocean. It's the place to go for a more romantic, quiet weekend.

According to Wikipedia, Rockport was a "dry town" all the way up until 2005. I guess it took 150 years to recover from the rum revolt of 1856 when a gang of 200 women "swept through the town and destroyed anything containing alcohol". Interesting read

www.peeyourpantsforthebrewers.com

2007-05-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

I've made my pledge. Have you?

"3,992 people have already stepped up to the plate and pledged to pee their pants when the Brewers make the playoffs."

www.peeyourpantsforthebrewers.com

700 Series

2007-05-16T18:53:00.000-07:00

I love bowling. What other sport does your performance actually improve as your alcohol consumption increases? I just bowled my first 700 series with games of 204 257 240. We always drink heavily during bowling league, but for the first time I even went to Happy Hour at Quivey’s Grove beforehand. I love the moral of this story!

I found out that in bowling circles "700" is a magic number. After hearing about it, all these old dudes started buying me celebratory shots like I just got married. I even made Ten Pin Alley’s Honor Roll! It’s sad that my life’s pleasures are coming to this...

I still really don't know what I'm doing. Most dudes in our league bring at least 4 balls for different oil conditions on the lane. Plus they adjust their aim down to an inch based on how their ball is reacting. Me? I just throw it & hope for the best. That's what I like about bowling over other sports like golf & tennis: it's pretty simple if you let it.

My average last year was 167. Then I bought my own ball & was pressured to learn the hook since I was the only straight-baller in our league. My average then reached 200 for one week before settling in the low 190s.

Everybody has a talent - mine happens to be drinking lots of beer & throwing a greasy ball 50 feet. I should retire since I'll never get a 700 again.

Brewers: 24-10

2007-05-10T21:22:00.000-07:00

Best record in baseball - are you kidding me??? While I don't think their.700 pace will continue, I do think the Brew Crew are for real & will win the weak NL Central. The respect has been slow to come, but they're now at the top of the ESPN Power Rankings.

While I've been an on-and-off Bucks & Packer fan, I've been a consistant Brewer supporter my whole life. And trust me, that's a tough hobby! They're the ultimate underdog unable to compete in a flawed MLB system where only the large market teams can compete. But they've done it the only way a small market team can by bringing up young studs from the farm system & signing/trading for undervalued players. Now Prince, JJ, Weeks & Sheets are all entering their prime while Suppan, Capuano, Vargas & Estrada are potential All-Stars. And it's great to see Jenkins having his best year (too bad we'll be trading him in a couple months).

But Brewer fans have been here before & remain skeptical whether we can resign these young studs once their contracts expire. But this time the empty pockets of the Selig family no longer remain. Attanasio, the new owner, has raised the payroll from just $27 million to $70 in just 3 years!

We went to the Brewer game last weekend against the Pirates. This time we actually got in the stadium before the 7th inning stretch! The Crew won 6-3 with Suppan winning his 5th straight game & JJ hitting his 10th home run. I believe it was a sellout with 41,000 fans.

Afterwards we went to the only bar in Milwaukee that was showing the De La Hoya/Mayweather fight. I was stunned that it was a split decision! Mayweather was just toying with Oscar the entire fight.

2007-04-27T06:54:00.000-07:00

2 Feet of Snow

2007-02-25T15:24:00.000-08:00

This is why I parked in the city ramp the last 2 days:

Boston Again

2007-02-11T14:41:00.000-08:00

Went to Boston again to take care of blind Kelly during her lasik eye surgery. Per usual, I ran into some traveling difficulties on the way to the airport. It was snowing & there was a 6-car accident the last turn before the airport. I was the 6th car join the mess. The bridge was covered with ice & I slid into a truck that was completely stopped. Luckily I clipped the median & it slowed me down enough to not cause any front end damage when I rear ended the dude.

I got out of the car & nearly fell from the ice on the road. It turned out some lady struck a light pole which caused the pileup. I pushed the light pole out the road & drove off. Am I a fugitive? I had to catch my flight! This was my 3rd incident in as many weeks. When I got back from Boston, I finally bought new tires (too late I'm afraid).

Michigan Ski Trip

2007-02-01T21:13:00.000-08:00

For the 3rd straight year, we trekked up to Powderhorn Mountain for some skiing. In reality, it was more of an excuse to get away, relax, drink and play Guitar Hero for 18 hours a day.

We lost a few people this year with only 8 people making the trip (Kelly in Boston, David in the Seminary), but it allowed for more High Gravity Old English 40s for myself & more stage time on Guitar Hero for everyone.

The skiing was fantastic; the driving not so much. The huge snow storm created the perfect powder conditions. But I learned that when it has snowed over a foot and you're driving on ice with old tires, you best take turns with care. Otherwise the "wrecker" will come to the rescue (see 1st picture below). We planned on going snowshoeing the final day, but temperatures dipped below zero. This was a far cry from the record 50-degree weather we enjoyed the last couple years.

It sounds like this will be the final trip up to Michigan with kids, jobs and relocations on the way. It's been fun and no one got hurt!

January 15th - Finally some snow is Wisco!

2007-01-16T19:10:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!

2006-12-31T21:59:00.000-08:00

Xmas

2006-12-26T19:09:00.000-08:00

Have you guys watched "The Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore yet? Like Robert Ebert said, "You owe it to yourself to see this film." If you need more proof of unnatural global warming, Wisconsin has no snow on Christmas yet again! That's my quick rant. Now here's some pics of some gorgeous kids!

Chicago

2006-12-08T17:54:00.000-08:00

When you pay $150,000/yr for a piece of business software, they treat you quite well during their annual user conference. If only QRM was headquartered in any other city besides Chicago! They rented out the Science Museum (largest T-Rex in the world below) and Ditka's on consecutive nights. It was tough waking up at 7:00 am for our daily classes. Those mortgage nerds sure know how to party...

Rented Out "The Pipe" in Janesville

2006-11-17T21:58:00.000-08:00

These were taken 6 days ago and I still can barely walk. Buying a half barrel and renting a skate park might not be the smartest combo.

Halloween

2006-10-29T17:48:00.000-08:00

No State Street for me this year. I'm too old for that. Plus after all the riots that last few years, they charged an admission fee just to enter. I guess only 35,000 people showed up this year compared to 100,000 the last few years.

Tim had a party at his place. I must say Beer Pong is an evil game. I feel lucky that it wasn't yet popular when I was in college. Otherwise I would have struggled to graduate. These pictures were taken before Joe DiMaggio started dumping beers on Superman.

Homecoming

2006-10-21T17:09:00.000-07:00

Of course the Badgers won! I think we're 7-1 now. Homecoming really doesn't mean a whole lot when you're still stuck in the same town where you went to school. But it is a cool time to see old college buddies who did "make it out". Who knows, next year I may be one of them.

Colorado Springs

2006-10-07T14:17:00.000-07:00

Went to Colorado Springs for a quick weekend wedding trip. Actually it turned out longer since I missed my return flight Sunday night in the Denver airport. United switched the gate on me but didn't bother announcing it.

It was a busy trip, so I didn't get to take any pictures except for when Kelly & I took the dog for a poo walk. That's Pike's Peak.

Redneck Weekend

2006-09-18T08:18:00.000-07:00

Went up to Minocqua for some fishing, camping, go carting, bowling, gambling. Caught my first fish probably in 15 years! But none of us knew how to de-bone/fillet fish, so we had to throw them all back. Probably didn't matter since my fish would have struggled to create one single fish stick (check out the beast in the bottom left).

With my fishing skills, my friend Justin thought it would be more appropriate to take some seaweed to the taxidermist & have it mounted for my wall-of-fame.

I'd never been to Minocqua during the summertime. Usually we just pass through during the winter on our way to the ski hills in Upper Michigan. Paul Bunyan's was actually open! That's a must if you're passing through.

If you head over to the Lake of the Torches Casino to play some poker, don't be confused. That foldup table in the hotel lobby? Yes, it's their "poker room." It was $1/2 no limit. People were raising 10x the big blind preflop! I would have loved to take these guys down, but didn't have enough cash for a no-limit table. So we went back to our campsite & played online on our laptops using the wireless internet. I love modern campgrounds!

Newport Rhode Island

2006-09-07T16:50:00.000-07:00

I'm 2 for 2 in planning vacations during hurricanes on the East Coast this year. First Alberto in July, now Ernesto during this past Labor Day weekend. I guess technically speaking they were both Tropical Storms when they passed through New England, but "hurricane" sounds more impressive.

We visited the little ocean town of Newport, RI this weekend. This was the summer hot spot back in the late 1800's/early 1900's for the New York elite. We got to visit these "cottages" as part of the Newport Mansion Tour. In reality, they were castles.

The biggest was the Vanderbilt family home called "The Breakers". It was 138,000 square feet! My 500 sq ft apartment doesn't feel as cozy anymore. We couldn't take any pictures inside the homes due to copyright restrictions. But gold ceilings, diamond chandeliars & famous paintings get boring after awhile anyways... It's amazing to think they only spent 8 weeks a year in this castle.

The rest of the town was gorgeous, but we didn't spend too much time outside with the 60 mph hurricane winds pounding the beaches.

Denver

2006-08-31T19:58:00.000-07:00

Went to beautiful Denver last month as Kelly was giving a speech at the National CDC Conference. We stayed the first 2 nights at the Adam's Mark downtown. Our original room was nice to begin with, but after Kelly spotted a cockroach, we were upgraded to the pimp suite on the top 29th floor. I guess I'm so used to living with cockroaches that they don't even elicit a second look.

Travel tip: when using Priceline.com, "Downtown" Denver doesn't necessarily mean downtown. I thought I was getting deal when we got a place for $60/night for the rest of the trip. But once the bus dropped us off in the middle of the ghetto, the buzzkill was on. And I don't mean some run-of-the-mill ghetto, I'm talking about the "sit next to the dead guy on the bus stop" ghetto. I thought Denver was an innocent Western town? If this was a 3-star hotel, I'd hate to see the 2-stars. Needless to say the cockroaches were the least of our worries.

That's why I don't have very many good pictures for the trip - the last couple nights we were too scared to leave the hotel.

Just Another Saturday Morning Nazi Rally

2006-08-31T07:37:00.000-07:00

I went to my first Nazi rally this weekend! To join the protest of course... But I arrived late and missed most of the fireworks.

Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. After receiving a few curious looks from the protesters, I soon realized it might not be the best idea for a bald-headed, pasty, Norwegian/German like myself to be hanging around a Nazi protest. I felt like saying, "I'm on your side, I swear!"

But it's comforting to see our First Amendment at work. Both sides were allowed to voice their opinion with no violence. Maybe this was only because they fenced off the entire Capitol Square to fend off the protesters. Otherwise the Nazis wouldn't have felt as secure.

Brew Crew

2006-08-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I went to my 3rd Brewer game of the year. It was supposedly 95-degrees. But tailgating on those concrete parking lots in the midst of thousands of charcoal grills, I believe 110 would be a more accurate number.

The game was crazy. The first 4 innings, the not-so-cheery home fans were booing every chance they got; probably because the crew are going through a tough stretch and just traded Carlos Lee in a questionable trade. But they came back from a 3-0 deficit to win 6-3 behind blasts from Billy Hall and Prince "Buffett" Fielder.

The highlight had to be the 40-year-old drunk guy (see picture to the left) who ran out on the field in the 6th inning & made it all around the bases before being tackled by security. The sausage race was cool too since we were in the front row by 3rd base. It was the first day of the new "sausage participant", the Mexican Chorizo. Is it me, or is his costume a little racist?

The day was almost ruined when I couldn't find my keys while walking back to my car after the game. I went back inside the stadium, but saw them nowhere. I frantically sprinted all the way back to the car only to find them dangling from the car door! Luckily no one drove off with my car. I didn't think I drank that much before the game. But looking at the picture below, maybe it wasn't that surprising...

Vacation in Boston

2006-07-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

Just got back from Boston. The rain ruined most of our plans. When taking off from Madison last Wednesday night, I was delayed 3 hours on the runway after O'Hare suddenly halted arrivals. Then we flew into Tropical Storm Beryl at 2:00 in the morning at Logan Airport in Boston.Back home that same night, storms were rumbling through Madison. The tornado-like wind gusts busted my patio doors open & blew my bathroom door shut. Why do I mention this? Because my cat's litterbox is in the bathroom. A cat with no litterbox for over 4 days? You could imagine what my apartment looked & smelled like when I got back yesterday! Needless to say, I had to throw away my favorite rug. I still haven't found where she urinated... I'm glad I'm moving out in a few weeks.Back to Boston, most of our plans were cancelled due to rain. But whale-watching in Gloucester goes on rain or shine! Doesn't Kelly seem thrilled?

We did see a ton of whales, but I didn't snap many good pics on my still camera. My video camera has all the money shots, but I'm not sure how to post a video on this blog.

Late one night when the rain finally stopped, we decided to drive down to Cape Cod & sit on the beach. We passed a sign for Plymouth Rock & decided to drive out of our way to see the birthplace of America! Well, don't plan your vacation around it. While I always appreciate when local governments choose not to "commercialize" their historical landmarks, I was nevertheless left wondering, "this is it?!" It's just a rock & a small sign. It's easy to miss!

Misc Summertime Pics

2006-07-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

Every time July 4th passes, depression sets in. Summer is already half over?

Moving Kelly to Boston

2006-06-07T05:59:00.000-07:00

Even doped up on her medication, Hazel was a wreck the entire car ride.

But she eventually calmed down when out of the car.

Here's the results after unloading the entire U-Haul in the rain & climbing 5 stories about 100 times. This is what $1400/month gets you in Boston.

The views of Comm Ave & Beacon St from Kelly's apartment in Allston. It's right on the subway line to downtown.

Downtown Boston

The last night, we saw Radiohead at the Bank of America Pavilion on the South side of downtown by the docks. The venue was a giant blowup bubble. The acoustics were amazing. But with barely any slope, the short folks couldn't even see the stage over the people in front of them. But the concert was great for me!

2003-01-01T09:17:00.000-08:00