Terminal Illness

We spent very little time today standing still. So far New York is a lot of waiting around for someone to pick you up and drop you off somewhere else. We arrived in Newark at about 11:30. Then, my friends, we began the real journey. I present to you: How to get from Newark, NJ, to Port Authority, Manhattan, NY, for $4.40.

1. Take the shuttle from your hotel to the airport.
2. Take the Airtrain to terminal C.
3. Go downstairs and outside to lane 2 and take the airport shuttle to P6.
4. Leave P6 parking area and back track, cross the street to the bus shelter.
5. Wait.
6. Take NJ transit bus 107 to Port Authority. (Jon is waiting for the 107 above).
7. Arrive bounced, but not broken in Manhattan for the cheapest price possible using public transportation.

After navigating through the above steps we walked to the Times Square subway station and rode to the end of the line at Staten Ferry. We waited at the Ferry Terminal for a free boat ride past the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Brooklyn Bridge. But you can’t just stay on the ferry to get back. You have to disembark and wait in the terminal for another ferry on the return trip. (But you can’t beat free!)

We walked past Battery Park, but not really in it because of construction in the area, and made our way to Ground Zero through the financial district. While I think we felt like we needed to go there to pay our respects, there isn’t a lot to see right now. The days of mangled wreckage and smoldering steel are long gone and rebuilding is well underway. It just looks like a work zone. We did see the bronze mural, which I think is called the “Wall of Heroes” and a place where people burn candles and leave mementos. To others visiting the city, I would say don’t go to Ground Zero right now unless you feel like you need to. Sidewalks are closed, jackhammers and bulldozers are loud, and it’s a pretty congested area as everyone else is also taking the detours around the construction. The bustle really takes away from any silent reflection or solace you might be looking for.

Again we found ourselves under ground and returning to Port Authority. Once there we explored the terminal a bit to find where we would be catching our bus to get back to Newark. We also went ahead and bought bus tickets for tomorrow and Wednesday, so we won’t have to wait in line again. We ate dinner on 42nd Street and hoofed it to Times Square and took pictures. All this only to return one last time to the Port Authority bus terminal to get back to our hotel (see above instructions, only read them in reverse :) . Luckily the hotel had warm chocolate chip and walnut cookies waiting and a cool, comfortable room.

Eating with Mayor Mike

Captions: Jon at Mayor Mike's, Traffic on the Mass Pike, the Capital building in Hartford, Civil War memorial in Hartford

Our evening in Hartford started off well and ended even better. We got directions form the ladies at the front desk for where to go to find some eats. They gave us map and we started out to Black-Eyed Susan’s for bbq and Cajun food. Unfortunately, the place was closed, so we worked our way up Asylum Street (interesting name…) and found a place called, “Mayor Mike’s.” We took and look and the menu, finding typical American fare and went in without many expectations. Jon ordered the Gorgonzola burger that came with bacon, onion, and the cheese. I ordered the Pesto grilled cheese, which came on Texas toast with tomatoes, cheddar, Monterrey jack, pesto, and cotija. Wow. It was the best grilled cheese sandwich I have ever eaten, and I have eaten my share of toasted cheese. Both of our sandwiches came with fries, but they were more of an after thought. Don’t get me wrong. The fries were really good, but the sandwiches were out of this world.

The bar was hoping at Mike’s but we were alone in the dining room. The manager came over and talked to us about visiting Hartford. When he couldn’t come up with something for us to do Sunday evening off the top of his head, he went and sought out possible activities. He then gave us directions and thoughts for what we might want to do in the morning before we leave. It was an all around great dinner.

We wandered down the block to Bushnell Park and enjoyed seeing the state capital building and a civil war monument in the shape of an arch like one would see in Europe. We also saw a hawk hanging out in the park in a very tall tree overlooking the capital building. Also, I have a new favorite tree—the cucumber magnolia.

We got back to the hotel and watched TV for an hour before going down to the pool. We finished off the evening with a little indoor pool Frisbee. Monday, we are NYC bounding.

There are no good songs about Connecticut

My husband is a master counselor. He can get at the nitty gritty of a problem, dismantling it until it rolls over in submission. Today, we took the dogs to the kennel. Our shot records from North Carolina did not have the dogs’ bordatella vaccines. We knew they were vaccinated because they were boarded in April at their own vet, and the vet would have let us know if one of the girls was due soon. We also asked before we left if the girls would be need any medical stuff during the summer and we were told no. Rather than giving up, Jon stayed with the lady reflecting her feelings and our predicament until she thought of a solution. The “What can we do?” approach.

She took our dogs with a disclaimer we signed that we would not sue her if the girls caught kennel cough. (Kennel cough isn’t fatal, can be treated with antibiotics, and all the other dogs at the kennel are vaccinated so there’s no real risk). This was a huge relief because we were leaving for Connecticut right after dropping them off and we had already paid for our hotel room. The place where they are staying is really nice and there are ducks, goats, and a horse, and other dogs, of course.

Tonight we’re at a Sheraton in Hartford, Conn. It’s breaking up the drive to NYC, and now we can really claim that we’ve been to Connecticut. It’s pretty here, from what little we’ve seen. It’s raining now, so we’ll probably hang out for a bit then venture out for dinner.

Measurable Progress

Jon has successfully completed his first internship as a psychometrician! His project, "A Method for Cooperative Test Assembly for Large-scale Assessment," had great results. The results were so good, in fact, that the president of the company was intrigued. The method, in a very elementary interpretation, basically made selecting test items easier from the start by automatically choosing items that meet both psychometric and content constraints. Interesting, no? The 4 interns made their presentations on Thursday, and each had varying degrees of technicality. The projects will be submitted to the NCME conference to be presented next spring in New York.

We really enjoyed getting to know the folks at MP and the other interns. The interns were like a group selected to be featured in a college brochure with one from the western U.S., the Midwest (by way of Korea), the east coast, and the south. Two guys, two gals. I was like their manager, showing up to dinners and special events but not doing any of the real work--the Miss Elizabeth to their Macho Man.

(The pic at the top is MP. Second, dinner with the interns Eun-Young, Becky, Zach, and Jon. Finally, Jon and I in his cube@MP. Photos from/by Eun-Young. Click to enlarge.)

The Saints are Coming

I saw a commercial for Sunday night football!

Lookin' for a home

Amanda has already covered the highlights of the White Stripes show, but I just wanted to add a couple cents.

First, Jack White is a unique talent. I can't really describe it, but wow. The Presence, the musicality, just the sensibility he has - he really feels it. I have a small man-crush on Jack. And Meg holds it down so well. She's rock and roll.

The songs from the new album were great live. Especially Icky Thump, Effect and Cause, and Slowly Turning Into You (which was my favorite of the night, I think).

I can't say much more about it, just because I enjoyed it so much. Here are a couple of good Youtube videos from the show. The first is a great recording of Jolene, and next is their closer, the old standard "Boll Weevil." Enjoy! We did.

Mainely Moose, Music and Fried Chicken

In our many trips to Maine, we have discovered the use of the word Mainely in many business names, for example: Mainely New Hampshire (a store that sells locally made items), Mainely Auto, Mainely Crafts, etc. This was the inspiration for the title of the post.

When we left for Portland, ME, for the White Stripes show, I found myself watching the sides of the highway for wildlife. Typically, when we are in a rural area and Jon is driving, I help watch for deer. Sunday I was watching for moose. In Kentucky when I was reporting, the police always recommended hitting the deer rather than trying to avoid it because many people would lose control, go into the woods, go into the oncoming lanes, etc., causing a worse accident. Here we saw a bumper sticker that said, "Brake for moose, it could save your life." There is also the sticker, "Break for Moose or die. It's really up to you." A little different philosophy due to the size difference. On the drive, we did see a deer and a fox, but no moose. Though I would one day love to see a moose just hanging out, the last thing I wanted to see was a giant moose in the middle of the road at midnight on a deserted Maine state road.

In Kennebunk, on the other hand, we saw chicken, fried chicken. My friends, it was a Popeye's. We did not anticipate seeing this New Orleans-based chicken franchise so far north.
This ended up being our preshow meal.

The show was great. We sat stage left, opting out of standing on the floor, which was already full about 100' back from the stage. The opening act was Dan Sartain, a rockabilly act from Alabama. I like the song "Gun vs. Knife," and one about spring break 1998--I'm sure what it's called.

Portland kicked off the American leg of the White Stripes' tour. They opened with "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Grounds." We were happy to hear Jack's haunting cover of "Jolene" third in the set. They played a lot of songs from the new album, and the title track, "Icky Thump," was rockin'.

One of the best effects of the show was the big red screen behind the band that alternately showed the silhouettes of Jack and Meg two stories high. They blended the shadows during, "I'm Slowly Turning into You." Check the pics below. Awesome. I kind of wish we had bought tickets to see them in Boston the next night too.

Astro, astro!

Until we have time to properly blog about the White Stripes show in Portland, ME, Sunday. Here are some pics. Note the big screen in the background. It was like watching a movie of the show. Very cool. The last pic is Meg singing, "Cold, Cold Night."

Absence makes the heart grow fungus

We've been off the blog for a few days here due to a bout with sinus issues. Jon is congested and I've had a sinus headache for several days. I'm feeling better, but Jon is still pumping the vitamin C.

We had a great date on Friday despite a lack luster dinner experience. We ate at Newick's, which is a local favorite, and we were not impressed. Now, we shared a cup of the thick and creamy chowder, which was really tasty...probably because it's made with cream, thus is not so good for you. I had a haddock sandwich and Jon had haddock nuggets. We left feeling greasy and too full though neither of us finished our meal. It was just a fried oily meal. If you're going to eat at Newick's, make it a part of a progressive supper and just get the chowder.

After dinner we went to Hampton beach and walked while the sun set. Being on the east coast, this just means the ocean gets dark, but it was so relaxing and the waves were pretty. The water is still very cold, 64 degrees. (SIDENOTE: Jon was looking at a survival guide at the bookstore today that said in 64 degree water you lose feeling in your extremities in 15 minutes and can only survive swimming in water that temp for about 1-4 hours.) We walked back to the car on the boardwalk, enjoying the summer vacationers, henna tattoos, and ice cream stands.

The sites at the beach made us wonder if we're tourists. We do live here, but we do a lot of tourist stuff. Plus, we live live in North Carolina. But I take a lot of pictures, but neither of us own Bermuda shorts. Thoughts?

Before we take our first breath

As mentioned below, Amanda recorded my open mic performance last night, and I think this particular clip is pretty good. It's a cover of BNL's "What a Good Boy," and I feel like I sang it pretty well.

Amanda says I should be more specific in my blog entries, so: this was shot at Top of the Chop in Dover, NH on 7/16/07. Enjoy!

People here are nice, and my former roommate is both talented and diligent

1. I played again last night! Same place I've played the last couple of times, but this time the crowd just really seemed to love it. I got some genuine-sounding compliments, and it was nice. I see it less as a reflection of my playing and more as a reflection of the supportive atmosphere musicians have for each other here. That's one thing I really wish was around at home. In a dream world, I'd talk Snuzz into hosting an open mic at a decent hour in Winston, and there would be a lot of nice, talented songwriters that would come out and do their thing. And I could find someone to come up and do "Yankee Bayonet" with me.

Amanda, wife and friend extraordinaire, once again filmed the performance, so I'll but a song or two up soon.

2. If you read this and aren't Brendan, take a minute to check out Anacrusis, Brendan's constrained-writing project he's been doing for quite a while now. Every day, he writes a story with exactly 101 words, and today he posted his 1,001th entry. Pretty awesome. The milestone entry is actually an audio story read by a bunch of folks, myself and Amanda included (we're the bookends). But yeah, check it out and celebrate the milestone. You should read the archives too. My favorites are the celebrity stories.

Pics from York, Maine

Not old or new just York

We took a little trip up to York, Maine last night to check out the beach that many of the locals go to. We arrived after dinner and parked along what we thought was the main drag. There were silver shops, ice cream shops, candy stores, and the weirdo t-shirt shop that all the teens like to hang out in to buy hemp necklaces and incense.

We walked along the shore and enjoyed a beautiful setting sun, but our walk only took about 5 minutes, and we couldn't figure out why all the Dover-ites were so crazy about York Beach. On the way back to NH, we took 1A South, which led us to the actual beach. As it turned out, we were at a little access point in an inlet and not at York Beach proper. The differences were striking, and we will be going back to York soon to enjoy what we now call the real beach.

Though unintentional, we took an alternate route down the shore on 1A-S to 103W and then to 236W. It was a beautiful drive. We would round corners and see the ocean between beautiful seaside cottages. We crossed the Piscataqua bridge back into NH just as it got dark, and we could see all the lights from the harbor and downtown Portsmouth. We really fell in love with Maine last night.

I've got blue hair, and I talk like a puppet! I'm a freaking blueberry!

Apparently Maine is famous for blueberries, but who needs Maine blueberries when you can have New Hampshire blueberries?

We started out this morning for Emery Farm in Durham, NH. Established in 1655, you just can't get much more family farm than this place. We picked a pint of blueberries from several bushes and several different rows. Jon nearly picked a chipmunk! The store on the farm had a variety of fresh vegetables--potatoes, sweet corn(picked this morning in western Mass. NH corn won't be ready until August), squash, zucchini, raspberries, and lettuce. I also saw a hothouse full of tomatoes that were nearly ready.

We left w/ the blueberries and one squash and a zucchini and promised to return for all our vegetable needs. Our total bill $2.41. Fortunately we were not charged for the berries Jon ate while we were in the field. :)

Our goat friend

Before I arrived in NH, Jon told me about a goat he often saw at the park with its owner. He said the lady treated the goat a lot like a dog. The park is about a block from our house and the goat lives between our house and the park. Until this weekend, I had not seen the goat. I told Jon he was a goat story teller, specializing in tall tales about goats. Then I saw it--riding in the front seat of the lady's old Ford truck.

I have since apologized.

We would like to identify the type of goat, but I've only seen its head. Jon said it's short and has a long beard and it has a huge head and big horns. We will be scouring the internet to determine the species. Right now, I'm thinking mountain goat.

UPDATE: The Goat is already a Dover celebrity! His name is Binx, and he has a web site. I'll add some pictures, and he is not a mountain goat.

Seafood is A+ Food

We had a celebration of the sea this weekend with leisure-filled overtones. We started out Friday at Bob's Clam Hut in Kittery, Maine. Maine is very close to where we are, and Kittery is locally know for it's outlet shopping. At Bob's, I had the fried clam strip roll as recommended by the Phantom Gourmet. Jon had the famous fish and chips. Little more than a roadside stand, Bob's serves up some of the best fried seafood in the region.

We tried to outlet shop. We really did, but we're just not into brands and couldn't figure our where we wanted to go or what we wanted. The only store we really enjoyed was the Trading Post that is a lot like a Bass Pro Shop that features a huge Maine section with all things Maine for sale. We came back to Dover in time to hear a few songs at the Cocheco Arts Festival Summer Concert Series. Friday was the United States Air Force band accompanied by the American Belles, three singers from New York.

The real highlight of the weekend was our Saturday night date at Jumpin' Jay's in Portsmouth. We started the meal with the house specialty Steamed PEI Mussels with jalapeños, tomatoes, and garlic in a ginger saffron creme. I'll include a photo.

For the main course, Jon went with a house specialty again in the Haddock Picatta baked in breadcrumbs with a lemon, white wine butter sauce. I had a special of the night, Parmesan and Crab encrusted Blue Trout. All entrees come with lightly steamed green beans, vegetables, and lemon grass rice.
For dessert, "Portsmouth's Best Key Lime Pie," with fresh whipped cream and blueberries. It made for the perfect ending to a great meal.

After dinner we took in a local band with a New Orleans, blues sound that was playing as a part of the Portsmouth summer music series.

It was a wonderful evening.

The microphone was not actually open

Here are some videos from the last open mic I played a couple of weeks back. Sorry about the quality of the video, it was really dark in there, but I think the sound is pretty good.

Here's Ghost:



Here's Wait:

Flatbread

I must take a moment to blog about the Flatbread Company in Portsmouth. With a huge brick oven in the dining room where you can watch the grillman on duty shift your dinner around an open fire, the atmosphere of Flatbread is fantastic. Everything they serve is organic, free-range, local, made from scratch, nitrate free, etc. They keep it simple with three basic things on the menu:
1. A mesclun and sweet lettuce salad with an option for cheese and a house vinaigrette.
2. Flatbreads with garlic and herbs and toppings.
3. Flatbreads with wood-fired cauldron tomato sauce and toppings.

Simple and yummy. We shared a #1 (no cheese) and #2 with free-range, fire roasted chicken, black beans, corn, tomatoes, mozzarella,a sour cream dollop, and a lime.

We will be going back because they make their own sausage...

Sure, they look cute

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, and they play in the Eastern League. I thought this was an interesting mascot, so I looked it up. This is a Fisher cat. This is what they do.

I will have a nightmare about a fisher cat.

Piscataqua is not a dirty word

On Sunday we started out the morning in Portsmouth at Friendly Toast. Jon had wonderful blueberry pancakes and I had the French toast. Probably the best French toast I have ever eaten. My mouth is watering thinking about it. The atmosphere was a lot like Lynn's Paradise Cafe in Louisville. (See pic of Jon with statue behind him). Our only complaint was the non-existent service. We had read the service was bad at Friendly Toast, but, wow, it was really bad. If we eat there again, which we might because the food was awesome, we will bring our own drinks.

Sunday afternoon we returned to Portsmouth for the harbor cruise. The cruise starts in the harbor on the Piscataqua River and makes a loop around the small islands off the shore. We saw submarines at the Naval shipyard, a couple of forts, whaleback lighthouse, and Wentworth by the Sea, an historic hotel.

The harbor has held significance throughout American history, and with a facility to build nuclear submarines it maintains its importance. During World War II, many German u-boats tried to enter the harbor to steal Naval secrets, some succeeded in entering.

We saw an old military prison, as well, where Walt Disney once served as a guard. No one ever escaped from the prison, and guards were told that if someone did escape on their watch the guard would have to finish out the sentence.

Toward the end of the tour, several helicopters flew over, which may have been Marine 1 carrying the President and Russian President Vladimir Putin who spent the weekend in Kennebunkport, Maine.

A little more Boston

Hahvahd and The Green Monstah

We made a second trip back to Boston on Saturday to see a few things we didn't have time for on our first go round.

We started the day at Harvard Square where we took the Unofficial Hahvahd Tour. The story of how the unofficial tours got started is interesting. The company is student founded and student run. The students had to jump through some hoops to be able to give their own tours, which is what led to the name, "Hahvahd." The students had to give their tour a name that didn't infringe upon the copy write the University has on its name.

The tour uses a two person team to lead you around campus. In the top picture here, Jon and I are near the new yard with Memorial Hall behind us. There is also a picture of Memorial Hall without us. The Science Center is the crazy looking building made to look like a Polaroid camera.

There is also a shot of Memorial Church where the names of every person associated with Harvard who died while serving his country is memorialized.

After the tour, one of our guides, Megan, recommended B. Good as a good place to grab lunch. The restaurant is a burger and fries joint that uses good, healthy ingredients. Jon's burger, El Guapo, had bacon, ranch, and only 486 calories. It was good, and not bad for us.

We then took the T to Fenway to take the afternoon tour. The 2 o'clock was leaving and the 3 o'clock was sold out, so we ended up on the 3:30 tour and the last tour of the day before the game. The last tour before a game is an abbreviated tour. Oh, no! You may be thinking, but it was actually, oh yes!, because we got to watch batting and fielding practice while we toured. The park is so small, third smallest in the majors. The tour takes you to sit in every section in the park and gives all types of insider info like what the hidden messages are in the green monster scoreboard. Did you know there is no air, heat, or plumbing in the scoreboard den behind the monster? Did you know the monster used to have advertisements all over it? The players complained about not being able to field the ball, so Mrs. Yawkey, (the owners wife), suggested they paint the wall to match the grass. The green color is now owned by the team as Fenway green.

We struggled, and I mean pained, over the decision to go to the game or not. Tickets are hard to get and those you can get are expensive. ($80 each for standing room, $125 each and up to sit far away). Jon read about all the ticket getting strategies and how to haggle with the scalpers, but in the end we decided to save our money for our NYC trip in August.

We went to Faneuil Hall in downtown to browse and enjoy the people. We ate dinner at a Panera Bread like place called, Au bon pain. We ate on the sidewalk in a very commercial area in downtown just off the Freedom Trail. We then walked back to Boston Common, the best place to park in town at $10 for all day on the weekends, and turned toward home.

BBQ in NH

We had a huge weekend. One I shall divide among multiple posts. For now, I shall focus on the front half of Jon's days off.

So let me first say that Jon was suffering from a serious barbecue jonesing. This led us to try to most reputable bbq joint in Portsmouth, Muddy River Smokehouse. Now, knowing this area is not known for barbecue, nor really has any barbecue restaurants, we proceeded with caution. Mistake #1, Amanda assumes they will have real ice tea. There is no such thing as fresh brewed, ice tea here. It just does not exist, even, apparently at a bbq joint. It was Nestea with lemon...eww. Our first good move was ordering the Gator Eggs as an appetizer. The jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese, battered, deep fried and served with a sweet vidalia sauce were a hit. As an entree, Jon ordered a pulled pork sandwich. Muddy River uses a whole pork shoulder and a tomato based sauce that they put on the pork post smoking. It had a hickory, smokey flavor. (Our favorite place in Lexington, NC also uses only the pork shoulder, but also uses oak chips and is smoked for 3 fewer hours than that at Muddy River). Jon said, "The meat was very tasty. There was too much sauce. The sauce was very sweet and very tasty, but there was too much of it. But overall, I give it a positive."

Jon, how does is compare to Lexington? "It doesn't."

The sauce totally hid the flavor of the meat.

Because I very seldom will even eat bbq if we aren't at my dad's or in Lexington, I played it safe with a catfish sandwich (after the tea incident), which was really good. The batter was described as "seasoned." I describe it as delicious.