Yoga: Why you should think about doing it

In my quest for health (which, if you have been a consistent follower, you will know from my commentary last summer I began taking my health and fitness seriously and *pat on the back* I've kept it up) I've recently stumbled upon yoga. My routine last summer was pretty consistent: running 5-6 days a week. Once the cold kicked in, however, I had to get more creative. I have reactive airways (my lungs act up like an asthmatic under certain conditions) and the cold is just not my friend. I kept up my running until the end of October after my second 5K and then it was time for a bit of recovery. I took approximately two months off from running busying my time with a few weight exercises and Kenpo X here and there.

{Kenpo X is a disc from the famed P90X series... up until recently it was the only disc I would indulge in - 45 minutes of cardio in the form of mixed martial arts, primarily boxing/kick-boxing like exercises}

Shortly after the massacre in Newtown, I learned of a 5K at the end of March to support the victims families and immediately signed up. This meant I had to jump back into running. I joined a gym in January and resumed my running with more vigorous weight training than I had previously been doing. I ran my 5K and then fell into a bit of a slump. With my new career it was very difficult for me to work out with the frequency I had previously been used to since I work an odd schedule, and now that I wasn't tied to an upcoming event I lost my motivation to run.

As if it was a sign from the heavens, my mom called me one day and said "I signed up for yoga!" My whole family was shocked since we had all been ragging on her for years that she needed to get involved in some kind of physical activity because her body wasn't going to get any younger or stronger without it. She told me about it and insisted that I would probably enjoy it too. I knew P90X had a yoga disc, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I decided to stray from my Kenpo X to attempt Yoga X.

The "X" I discovered really does in fact mean "intense". Of course I knew Kenpo would be intense since it is a full body cardio work-out, but I still felt the X was a silly name attached to all the discs for the sake of the series. However, Yoga X is freakin' hard, people!! The first time I tried it, I could barely make it through the first 20 minutes of the work-out... which is a whopping hour and 45 minutes long. However, I really felt like my inner core was strengthened by even that measly 20 minutes. So I continued to attempt, and re-attempt the Yoga X. While I still can't do the entire disc at once, I've significantly improved and I really feel like it has enhanced my strength and endurance. And while the P90X instructor really doesn't focus on the mental health aspect that yoga claims to also enhance, it really does help clear the mind if you focus on the breathing while timing the stretches with the breathing as instructed. It brings your mental awareness to yourself, your body, your breathing, and brings you to the present moment.

Basically, it all boils down to the following reasons why I advocate for this form of exercise: 1. It's challenging and gives you a real work-out, 2. It builds your core strength and flexibility - which will enhance your overall athletic ability, 3. It can serve as a fabulous form of "you time" to workout your body and mind. So if you are looking for an alternative work-out to add to your routine, seriously consider adding yoga! Ohmm.

As an extra tidbit, if you are curious about yoga, I recommend you purchase a $10 video on amazon before you decide whether or not its something you really want to commit to at a studio. Studio yoga classes are ridiculously expensive and you can get a well guided workout from a video.

How to have a successful rainy day...

... Choose to go on an adventure despite the lousy weather report.

This is exactly what two of my girlfriends and I did this week. Since we are still currently between school and work, we've had some time off and have been trying to take advantage of our days. Naturally, given the season, we planned a day of apple picking and shopping at Woodbury Commons, a premier outlet complex. It wasn't until the night before that we discovered the forecast was questionable with a 30% chance of rain all day. We woke up that morning to cloudy skies and decided to take our chances.

We made our way north to a small family owned apple orchard excited to indulge in this fall tradition. Despite knowing that we might get rained on, none of us dressed appropriately - me in leather boots, one in canvas sneakers, and the other in flip-flops. Well, we lasted all of 10 minutes at the orchard before the drizzle started. With our poles in hand we reached for apples taking breaks under the tree branches to avoid the rain drops (we did take advantage of this "down time" to sneak an apple as a snack... they are just so sweet and delicious when they have been just pulled off the tree). Though the rain came and went, and then came again, we were determined to fill our bags - which we ultimately did. Apple picking is always a treat and a must-do activity when given the opportunity. Plus, its and excuse to make fall favorites, such as apple crisp (post coming soon!)

Happy with our adventure! 

In nice weather, Woodbury Commons is packed with hustle and bustle. The people swarm along the cobblestone paths though the different clusters of shops. With over 200 stores, this is a place where you could easily get lost. If you live in the Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam county region of New York - this is an adventure you should take... hopefully on a nice sunny day. Unfortunately, the rains picked up just as we arrived turning from a drizzly rain to a downpour. We first made our way to the food pavilion to warm ourselves up with some hot soup. Before we left the food pavilion we made a plan to go directly to the stores we wanted to go in, no meandering in this weather. We darted around to Nine West, American Eagle, Gap, J. Crew, Puma, and Loft outlet before calling it quits... By the time we had gotten that far, we were pooped. Next time, hopefully I'll have better material to write about with out the weather stealing the show. All in all we still came home with apples and new goodies from the outlets :)

Our drive to Woodbury Commons

Fulfilling a dream

While at the Big E last week, I was able to live a dream: to ride an elephant. Really my dream was to ride any exotic animal. I made an attempt at the Bronx Zoo to take advantage of the camel rides, but when I got to the Asia exhibit, there were only 4 year-olds in line causing me to bail out of my mission. However, as we walked by the elephant rides at the Big E my excitement could not be contained and I convinced my friends to join. Here are some commemorative pictures of the event for your viewing pleasure:

The Big E

The Eastern States Exposition began in the early 1900s as a way to boost the agricultural economy in New England and has since turned into one of the largest state fairs today known as The Big E. To call it a "state" fair is a bit of a misnomer, as it is a fair for all of the New England states.


The Big E is a well known attraction to those in New England; however, this was the first year I've ever attended despite spending my teenage years as a resident of Connecticut. For those of you who've been, you know its a never-ending display of food, games, rides, shopping, farm animals etc. For the first timers, its admittedly a bit overwhelming. The first few hundred feet into the fair grounds it seems like just a normal northeastern carnival: the tents are colorful, the food trucks are ostentatious, and the rides and games are twinkling with gaudy light fixtures. As you continue walking you realize the fun seems to go on for miles (and I assure you, we walked miles that day around and around - to the point of waking up sore the next morning).

I'm sure my experience was fairly traditional, but lets relive it, shall we? It was a crisp September morning when me and two lovely ladies departed from southern CT on a mini road trip to meet our long lost buddy from PA school who moved back to MA after graduation. We had been plotting this trip for a while and were looking forward to a food-filled day of fun (that's what the repeat visitors to the Big E were looking forward to anyway).

The first thing we encountered upon arrival were the Budweiser Clydesdales... humongous, majestic horses famous for their appearances in Bud commercials throughout the year, and mostly during major football events later in the season. I have always loved horses and as a child I begged to take riding lessons; however, my mother never caved in on that request. As you can imagine, these horses were quite a sight as they are literally huge. In commercials they are often accompanied by their canine friends, dalmatians. I guess the Big E wanted to do things right so on cue at the back of the tent where the horses were kept were two dalmatians arguing over a bone.

We then moved through the warehouses to take in all the goodies being sold by various vendors. There were gadgets and gizmos of plenty, whosits and whatsits galore. There was even a mini winter wonderland to walk through with blasting air conditioners and falling 'snow.' One of the warehouses was entirely devoted to farming and contained pigs, chickens, vegetables, llamas, alpacas, and landscaping displays. My favorites: the piglets and chicklets. 

As for the food, you can get almost anything deep fried at the Big E. Fried pickles, fried zucchini, fried dough, fried twinkies, fried chicken, fried cookie dough, french fries, and so on. The two that I was lucky enough to indulge in were fried oreos - bangin - and fried cheese curds - not so bangin. The cheese curds were the brain child of our one friend; let's just say I won't be having those again anytime soon. In addition to carnival food is a multitude of carnival games rides; however, those are not my specialty so I'm not going to discuss them. Just know that every carnival ride known exists at the Big E.

Finally, you can't really talk about the Big E without mentioning the state houses. Along one strip in the fair grounds are six old style brick houses dedicated to the states of New England: Connecticut (holla), Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Each house contains select food and vendors from the state. In Connecticut, the big deal was the Pez. The United States Pez factory is located in Orange, CT. Each state house had something different to offer - maple syrup, soaps, lobster rolls, cotton candy, sweatshirts, hats, and other paraphernalia. I purchased some all natural soaps and some Vermont maple syrup for my boy during my tour through the houses. Overall this was a very successful and exciting adventure.

From Boston to Houston - Part 5, the finale

July 21, 2012 (Day 5-6, Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri)

It’s Saturday evening and J. Rho and I have reached our destination – Houston, Texas.  But before I tell you about Saturday’s drive, let me fill you in on Friday’s adventures. 

J. Rho and I woke up around 7am on Friday morning, refreshed from the eight hours of comfortable sleep we had received.  After an amazing breakfast (eggs, bacon, biscuit, homefries, and fruit) we were off for our fifth and final baseball game in St. Louis.  We arrived in St. Louis around noon and met our high school friend, Marlow, who currently lives in St. Louis.  Marlow showed us around his neighborhood including a delicious pizza place named “Pi,” that served one of the most amazing deep dish pizzas I had ever eaten. 

After the three of us had lunch it was time for …….. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES!!!!  I will spare you my critique and detailed opinions of the movie because I assume: 1. You don’t want to hear them and 2. You don’t want me to spoil the movie.  However, all in all, the movie was amazing.  Although, there were a few things that differentiated from the comic that didn’t please me, the finale to the batman series was a success.  Additionally, Christopher Nolan pulled another rabbit out of his hat casting Anne Hathaway as Catwoman.  She wasn’t obviously as good as Nolan’s first surprise casting, Heath Ledger, but she still played a credible Selina Kyle. 

The movie ended at 6pm and, therefore, it was time to make our way to Busch Stadium (Cardinals home).

Stadium:  This pains me to say…. actually, since I am in Astros fan, so it really doesn’t - Busch Stadium is a stadium and to be completely honest, I was expecting much more.  For starters, I hate baseball stadiums where you have to go through a tunnel to get into your seats.  In my opinion, there should never be a divider between walking around and picking up food and the actual baseball game.  Second, although the stadium is clean and nice, it’s a bit unimaginative and just seemed like a carbon copy of other baseball venues.  Third and last, Cardinals fans suck.  The End.

Food:  Another huge disappointment.  The only good thing at this place was the nachos, which were actually pretty good.  Besides that, Busch Stadium had nothing to offer more than mediocre hot dogs and Hardees.

The Cardinals played the Cubs, which was great to see because they are big rivals.  The Cardinals ended up winning 4-1 with most of the runs being scored in the first couple of innings. 

J. Rho and I had a 14 hour drive from St. Louis to Houston on Saturday where our parents threw a small party for J. Rho’s return to Houston.  This means we had to be on the road by 5am to hopefully arrive in time for the scheduled party time of 7pm.  This could have proved quite impossible, especially because our friend Marlow took us out to see the St. Louis night life.  Did we get up in time?

NO! We didn’t.  Marlow took us out and we ended up socializing until 3am.  J. Rho and I did, however, mange to get up at 6am and hit the road around 6:30am to arrive in Houston by 8:30pm. The end.

If you have been following my posts, I truly appreciate it.  If you haven’t……I have nothing to say to you.  

From Boston to Houston - Part 4

July 19, 2012 (Day 4 – Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri)

As the sun sets over Cincinnati, J. Rho and I come alive.  Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s time for NIGHT DRIVING!!  After the Reds game, J. Rho and I saddled up for the 10 hour drive to Kansas City.  I know what you’re thinking, “why not just stay in Cincinnati for the night and get your spaghetti topped with chili in the late morning before embarking to Kansas City?”  I wish it were that easy folks.  A comfortable bed with the thought of that spectacular Cincinnati treat would have sounded delightful, however, the Royals have a day game tomorrow and this is a baseball trip. 

J. Rho took the first leg, driving through Kentucky, which borders Cincinnati, before going into Indiana through the city of Louisville.  J. Rho was able to take her into Illinois before we switched around 2am.  By 2:30am (We had gained an hour crossing into central time) we had reached St. Louis and I was getting pretty tired.  Not to mention St. Louis was our destination the following day so I was upset to pass it (St. Louis did not have a game Thursday so we bypassed it to get to Kansas City).  Although I was tired, it was still amazing to go over the Mississippi River and see the St. Louis arch lit up.  For anyone who hasn’t seen it, the St. Louis Arch is a beautiful monument and happens to be the tallest man made monument in America and tallest accessible building in Missouri. 

At 4:00 am J. Rho couldn’t take it anymore and was famished, so we stopped into Missouri’s favorite, HARDEES!  People….I love Hardees.  In my opinion it’s amazing.  I stepped up to the register comfortably and confidently and ordered a chicken biscuit meal with a side of gravy.  To say the least and to spare you the juicy details, it was amazing.  Afterwards, we were back on the road on our way to Kansas City for a 1:10pm Royals game.  At 6am, J. Rho and I were too tired to carry on, and we decided to stop 5 miles from the stadium to get a hotel and get some much needed sleep.  I should fill you in, Carlos was packed to the gills so that J. Rho’s front passenger seat could not recline even an inch, making it hard to get some Z’s.  We found ourselves a nice Hilton and slept until 11:30am. 

Stadium: Kauffman Stadium is probably the most unique baseball stadium I have ever had the pleasure of visiting.  For starters, the stadium is a true park.  There are no true grandstands in the outfield, everything is open, and there isn’t a bad seat in the house.  Additionally, the waterfalls and fountain systems in the outfield make this place truly fantastic. 

For those of you who do not know baseball well, the Royals do not draw a huge crowd.  Furthermore, as it was a weekday day game, the crowd was even smaller which gave us an opportunity to purchase the cheapest tickets and sit anywhere we wanted. 

Food:  This is where it gets good.  I have been to plenty of baseball games and stadiums.  I have eaten all kinds of baseball food and one of a kind hotdogs, however, the hotdog I ate at Kauffman Stadium was the best I have ever had.  Let me set this up for you.  Kauffman stadium has a specialty hot dog place in their right and left field respectively.  They have about five specialty dogs, ranging from the classic Chicago Dog to the Texas Dog.  When I saw the Texas dog (chili and cheese) I knew that’s what we were going to get.  I stepped up, ordered the Texas Dog, and the guy taking my order said the greatest thing I had heard thus far on that road trip: “Not many people are coming today so I will let you get whatever you want for no additional charge.”  OH DAMN!  I replied, “If you insist, I will have the foot long hotdog with chili, cheese, pulled pork, spicy brown mustard, onions and jalapenos.”  Delicious. 

After the game, J. Rho and I went to a Casino outside of Kansas City.  All I will say is I didn’t do as well as I hoped to do.  Although I had that humungous hotdog earlier, around 7pm J. Rho and I were getting hungry again so we decided to eat……..what else but some Kansas City BBQ. 

Tangent: As a born Texan, I love barbecue.  I will spare you the definitional differences between real barbecue and what northerners call hamburgers and hotdogs and simply say there are 4 capitals of barbecue in America.  The first and the greatest is obviously Texas, which does everything beef.  The second, Memphis, prides themselves on their exquisite dry rub and pork ribs.  The third, North Carolina, perfected the pulled pork sandwich and the vinegar based barbecue sauce.  And the Fourth, KANSAS CITY, packs an all around barbecue punch with supposedly GREAT sauce. 

J. Rho and I went to Gates, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint.  J. Rho and I each got a monster chopped beef sandwich and split a side of smoked sausage which we smothered in barbecue sauce.  The barbecue sauce was so good that I even bought two bottles to bring home.  The meat was fantastic too, however, not as good as the brisket in Texas. 

After our stomachs were once again full, it was back to the hotel for some more sleep.  A short drive to St. Louis tomorrow, stay tuned.  

From Boston to Houston - Part 3

July 18, 2012 (Day 3 – Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati, OH)

Cincy! Cincy! Here I come.  J. Rho and I awoke on a beautiful Tuesday morning, showered, got coffee and embarked for our next destination, Cincinnati.   J. Rho took the first leg while I took Carlos into downtown Cincy to complete a very mountain filled 8.5 hour drive.  As a Texan, I hate driving through the mountains.   I just don’t understand why people enjoy it.  I mean, it’s quite beautiful here and there, however, it’s painfully inefficient.  Up and down, swerve left, swerve right; it’s quite exhausting.   In Texas, highways go straight so what really should be a three hour drive doesn’t take five hours. 

To recap the ride, J. Rho and I went through Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania before finally getting to the great Buckeye State of Ohio.  After stopping at the Ohio border for Taco Bell at noon (don’t hate on the BELL), J. Rho and I arrived in beautiful Cincinnati at 4:30pm.  We parked Carlos in a lot and made our way to Great American Ballpark (Reds home).   Sadly, right as we bought our ticket, it started pouring, however, the stadium opened early and Jeff and I were able to wait it out.    

Stadium: Ladies and Gentlemen, Great American Ballpark is a park.  The energy of the crowd was fantastic and the turf and outline of the infield was beautiful.  Although we sat predominately in the outfield, the view was still great.  There was, however, one touchy usher who wouldn’t let J. Rho and I sit by the third base dugout even though no one else was sitting there.  I tried to dodge him but obviously wasn’t as shifty as I needed to be and we ended up getting kicked out of the section. Oh well, our outfield seats were still great!

The coolest part of the game: After every Red’s pitcher to throw a strike out, the fire work stacks in center field would roar with a flame that resembled a dragon’s nostrils.  It was awesome, especially since it was sprinkling and about 65 degrees the whole time. 

Food: NOOOO!!!! Skyline in the ballpark does NOT have the famous Cincinnati spaghetti and chili.  This deeply upset J. Rho and I as we planned to eat the iconic Cincinnati meal when we first mapped out this trip.  To make matters worse, Skyline’s coneys were painfully PITIFUL.  They ended up being small little terd hot dogs with too much cheese and not enough chili.  Although Skyline was disappointing, the sausage I had in the sixth inning was splendid and sort of made up for my disappointing earlier meal. 

The Reds played the Diamondbacks and ended up getting killed 1-7, way to go Mat Latos (Pitcher on my Fantasy Team).  Next stop, Kansas City.  

From Boston to Houston - Part 2

July 17, 2012 (Day 2 - Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.)

To me, this is the true beginning to our road trip.  Boston to NYC is simply driving home, NYC to D.C., now we’re talking.  Personally, this is also a special drive.  At the ages of 5-10, I lived in the D.C. area and frequently visited my grandparents who live in Hackensack N.J., a town a short 10 minutes away from the G.W. Bridge.  As I watched my parents make the drive from D.C. to Hackensack many times, it was especially meaningful to make the drive myself as an adult.

J. Rho and I awoke early Tuesday morning and decided to take a quick trip to my gym to burn some calories.  Since we are going to be eating plenty of hotdogs and fast food over the next four days, this seemed like a bright idea.  After visiting my grandparents in Hackensack, we were back on the road.  The drive was amazing.  We passed the iconic (iconic for me at least) Delaware Bridge, went through Baltimore and its tunnels, and saw the huge Mormon Church in Northern Virginia before arriving at our destination in Falls Church, VA, our lodging for the night. 

One hour later, we were on the Orange Line to D.C. for our second baseball game of our journey.  The ride was uncomfortable to say the least.  It was 100 degrees outside and we unluckily chose the only car without air conditioning.  Besides the lack of air conditioning, the D.C. Metro is fantastic.  It’s fast and efficient and I love how each station looks the same.  The tunnels also have a futuristic look that makes me feel like I am in the Matrix (Yes, I know perfectly well “in the Matrix” doesn’t make any sense but the tunnels reminded me of the movie).

Stadium:  Nationals Park is a true park.  The stadium is very open and the main entrance is very inviting.  As an added bonus, the fans were very into the game and the stadium was packed.  I, however, credit this enthusiasm to the winning record the Nationals currently have.  My father and I visited this same stadium three years ago (when the Nationals were awful) and barely ten thousand fans were present. 

Food: The locals eat Ben’s Chili Bowl so, naturally, that’s what we ate.  We ordered a “Half Smoked,” which consisted of a sausage in a hot dog bun topped with chili, cheese, onions, and jalepanos. It was amazing. 

The Nationals played the Mets and ended up winning in extra innings on a wild pitch.  Tomorrow Cincinnati, stay tuned. 

J. Rho - day 2:

I haven’t worn a regular t-shirt in two days because it’s hot everywhere. It’s hot in Carlos, it’s hot on public transportation, and it’s hot at the baseball games. We saw the Washington Nationals host the Mets. We ate an hour before the game so I wasn’t hungry.  I was just going to get a regular dog in the 6th, but we saw the half smoke on the menu and asked a local what it was. She said it was great and that if you are visiting, you had to try it.  What gave it away that I was a visitor? Was it my wifebeat? My moustache? My Mexican complexion? So I ate it. We slept over at Joel’s house, a college buddy of mine, and had a quick beer to catch up. Thanks for letting us crash at your place.  I’ll see you at my place in TX, meet half way in Nola, and/or your place in FL.

From Boston to Houston - Part 1

Howie has been interested in writing some guest posts for a while now. He has decided the time has come to dazzle you with tales of his journey on a baseball oriented road trip across the country. Enjoy!

July 16, 2012 (Day 1 - Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY)

The day has come; day 1 of a road trip I will undoubtedly remember forever.  But before I go into specifics about our adventure, let me give you some background into the significance of this trip. 

To make a long story short, J. Rho has been my brother since I was 15.  Coming from a high school where most people stayed in state (Texas) to attend college, it made the transition to the northeast a lot easier knowing J. Rho was going to Boston.  Since then, I have visited Boston countless times; going to Fenway and taking every opportunity to hang out with my best friend.  So when J. Rho decided to make the move back to Texas and proposed a baseball road trip down, it was a no brainer I would join. 

We packed up Carlos (J. Rho’s 2000 Ford Explorer) and left South Boston at the scheduled time of 11am, taking a minor detour to the Prudential Center’s food court for one last clam chowder.  After that “Boston last meal” we were truly on our way.  The drive to the greater NYC area, the location of my residence, was a quick three hours - the shortest of our scheduled drives.  We hung in my apartment for a couple of hours before heading to Yankee Stadium, our first of five baseball games. 

The Yankees were playing the Blue Jays and I was excited to see Edwin Encarnacion (misspelled) and Jose Bautista, who sadly got injured during the game.  Tied up in the 8^th inning, Ibanez hit a grand slam and the Yankees ended up winning 6-3.

Stadium:  For those who haven’t been to Yankee Stadium, it sucks.  As a baseball purist, I separate baseball stadiums from baseball parks.  Stadiums are gaudy concrete structures that feel more like a corporate event than a true baseball game and in comparison; parks have that nice simple baseball feel.  In my opinion, Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium, a huge slab of concrete that doesn’t fit well with the Bronx neighborhood.

Food: For this trip, J. Rho and I decided we were going to sample the unique food each specific stadium had to offer.  In New York, unique means one thing, Nathan’s hot dogs.  J. Rho and I both ate three of these (original casing) before also polishing off a nice hot sausage and peppers, another NY staple. 

As I live in New York, there is not much else to say.  Tomorrow we go to Washington D.C. Stay tuned.

J. Rho:

Before embarking on the road trip, I took Carlos to the Ford dealership for a check-up.  Everything checked out okay and systems were a go; except for the driver side passenger door that does not open anymore.  If Carlos makes it to Texas, he gets a bath, oil change, and that left wing fixed. For my last meal I had clam chowder. It was good, but I prefer “five alarm chili” instead.  Take care MA.  

Beantown

I've been to Boston a handful of times but yet I couldn't have told you one thing about this city until this past weekend. As a child I can tell you I went on a field trip to the science museum there, but I don't remember anything about the trip. As a college student, I drove into the city once to meet a friend for lunch at BU; the only thing I remember is the drive was a nightmare and I was lost 90% of the time. I also took an impromptu drive from Philadelphia to Boston during the NCAA basketball championship to cheer on the Villanova Wildcats in a crazy run to the Final Four. This trip was of course a there-and-back trip in which we drove 12 hours and were in Boston for about 3 hours.

This time would be different. This time I would be old enough to pay attention and have enough time to explore. The trip was planned around visiting friends. Our drive got us off on a bit of the wrong foot; driving from the NYC region to Boston is long and traffic-filled. It took us a bit over 4 hours and we hit mild traffic in every major city in Connecticut. We arrived late afternoon and had dinner scheduled on the waterfront.

If you're in Beantown, we'd recommend Joe's American Grill. They have more than one location: Newbury Street and Atlantic Avenue. The latter is located on the waterfront near the wharf. They have a beautiful, large outdoor patio and the weather was perfect for outdoor dining. Their cocktail menu is extensive for "girly drinks" and the dinner menu is quite varied. I had a fabulous tuna burger with wasabi aoili (sounds adventurous, but it wasn't spicy at all) and sweet potato fries. It was delicious and definitely hit the spot.

The next day we explored the famed Quincy Market, also referred to as Faneuil Hall. In the heart of downtown, this local has always been a market place and meeting hall for the city of Boston since the 1700s. Unfortunately we neglected to go inside of the Faneuil Hall, but Howie tells me there is a huge sweets shop in there. On the first floor of the Quincy Market building is the largest cafeteria I've ever seen. Outside surrounding the cafeteria building are additional restaurants, bars, and trinket shops with carts selling all sorts of souvenirs and goodies. 

The thing to do at Quincy Market is of course eat! But more importantly, if you want the Boston experience, you need to eat certain things: Lobster Roll, Clam Chowder, or another seafood variety. Despite the fact that this is what you are supposed to do, the cafeteria has any food you could imagine: "philly" cheesesteaks, "NY" pizza, bagels, gelato, gyros, paninis, cookies, thai, everything. In addition to the food, there is also entertainment. We ran into a living statue and a duo performing magic tricks. I could have easily spent an entire afternoon or even the majority of a day hanging out here. However, my biggest recommendation would be to go during a cooler time of the year one a weekday. It was extremely hot, and being a main attraction, it was very crowded. All in all - this market is definitely an excellent thing to do and see if you are visiting Boston.

The Street Fair

Every June my town has a street fair. Street fairs are one of my favorite things to visit, mostly because they only come around every now and then and you can always find something cool to add to your life, whether its home decor, jewelry, clothing, etc.

The one in our town is said to draw thousands out of the woodwork to hang out in the sun for the day. The main street is lined with over a hundred vendors selling arts, crafts, clothes, jewelry, trinkets and treasures. Oh, and food... street food. This year's fair was at the end of June and Howie and I were up and ready to roll at the start - we had been looking forward to it the whole month.

This fair always has a car show (the only thing worthy of picture taking... sorry this is all I have for your viewing enjoyment). The cars are varied, old, new, and unique. In addition to the ones pictured, there was an old fashion L.A.P.D. vehicle, a brand new flashy pick-up truck, and a pale yellow convertible that could have come out of the movie Grease complete with props mimicking a picnic at the drive-in.
  

From way back in the day

I imagine this to be a mobster car.

We took our time meandering from vendor to vendor. Of course, Howie had his eye out for the gyro truck, which happened to be all the way at the other end of the line from where we started. However, we did run into several other food stands that we considered choosing from. There were beverage vendors selling bubble tea, lemonade, and even Dunkin Donuts came through with frozen treats off their menu. The local pizzeria was selling zeppoli's, sausage and peppers, and Italian ice. Rita's made an appearance. Restaurants along the main strip were outside their front doors with buffet meals, including the Thai place, an American market, and a Caribbean-Southern American fusion barbecue joint. We'd actually never heard of this barbecue place, so we decided to give it a try. They had a huge smoker out in the street and a passerby noted to us she saw it out in the parking lot smoking last night while walking her dog. This was enough to convince Howard the this barbecue might be "legit." He had brisket, I had chicken, we both got mac & cheese - it was pretty good and absolutely satisfying comfort food.

After purchasing a few trinkets for ourselves, our day was complete. We retired home to nap for 2 hours with our full bellies. Not bad for a lazy Sunday.

Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks...

Our most recent sporting event took place last week: a very belated birthday trip to Citi Field for Howie. If you live in New York, like baseball, or are passing through and wouldn't mind stopping off for something fun to do, I recommend visiting this ballpark. Its got a very cozy, intimate feel, which makes me favor it over the ostentatious Yankee Stadium.

Our seats in left field

Back to the story: As usual when traveling to Citi Field, we went separately - he took the subways from the city and I drove from north of the Bronx. This ended up being a fiasco filled with traffic, bridges, construction, and generalized game-day confusion in Queens. By the time I made it to the parking lot, I was quite agitated, worsened only by a poor cell phone connection trying to coordinate our respective locations. Eventually I was able to hear Howie well enough to make out a "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM SHAKE SHACK - TEXT ME!" before loosing each other again. Finally having gained some useful information, I went directly to Shake Shack to order my delicious burger. 


This was actually the highlight of my trip, as I previously had no idea that there was a Shake Shack at Citi Field, and Shake Shack happens to be one of my favorite "fast food" burgers (Five Guys is second and last on the list of fast food burgers I will eat). 

Shake Shack - Yum

After the chaos of our arrival, we sat down with our dinner just as batting practice was wrapping up (much to Howie's dismay). We had a very nice time watching a laid back game between the Mets and the Orioles on a humid hot summer's night. The game wasn't the most thrilling I've ever seen, but it was nice to sit back, be outside, and not be studying or stressing for a couple of hours. We did have a bit of excitement after the 6th inning when there was a very mini fireworks display that coincided with a Verizon commercial. Overall, it was a great time-out for us to have a little date. 

  

What to do in Ft. Lauderdale

It seems to be the general consensus among those far and wide that Miami is the place to be in Floridafor vacationing as a young person. However, being full time graduate students, we had no money to spend in Miami. Ft. Lauderdale was the place for us to be, though more reserved and "conservative" as our airport shuttle driver noted. Some of my friends have previously visited the area and knew the beaches are nice and that there would still be enough entertainment for us for the 4 days we would be there. 

What is there to do in Ft. Lauderdale you may ask? Aside from the beaches (which are beautiful), here are 4 recommendations if you are going to be in there area, in order of importance. 

1. Location: Stay within a 2 mile radius (1.5 miles is better) of Las Olas Blvd. We stayed at a cheap beach hotel (secured with just the necessities) on Ft. Lauderdale Beach Blvd, which is also N. Atlantic Blvd, about 1.2 miles north of Las Olas Blvd. Our resort was beach front and the beach was in spectacular condition. Las Olas is apparently the "happening" place and the stretch on N. Atlantic surrounding Las Olas contains the bars, restaurants, and general entertainment.

2. H2O Cafe: End of story. This cafe had the best meal of our vacation: scrumptious breakfast consisting of french toast, waffles, and egg sandwiches. It also had excellent coffee. We went there a second time for dinner, and although the menu looked tantalizing, the prices were a bit out of our budget range so most of us just got the fish taco appetizer. Even that, however, got rave reviews.

3. Spirit of Lauderdale Sailing:  This was a 3.5 hour trip on a catamaran that took us to the ocean, a wildlife sanctuary, and on a tour of the mansions. Cocktails and complimentary snacks were available on board. We found it in a marina a block inland on Las Olas Blvd during a walk we took on the "cloudy" day of the trip - though at least half of us all seemed to get burned while out on the boat.

4. Beach Place: Just north of Las Olas is a complex called Beach Place. It contains multiple restaurants and shopping and was the location where we raided the huge CVS (which contains clothing, food, beer, and wine in addition to the usual CVS commodities), ate 2 of our meals, and started out one of our nights. The food is not outstanding, but still solid and at the right price, and you have an excellent view of the ocean from all of the restaurants.

Not my own picture - but conveys the complex
http://www.thorequities.com/portfolio/beach-place