Travel By Bus

The New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF) started on Sunday morning, and I had to be there at 9:00 to man the booth for my day job. Since I didn't really want to leave my apartment at 3 in the morning, I left at 3:30 pm on Saturday. I got the the city around 8:00 pm and then it was just a 20 minute walk to my cousin's. 

 

This was my view about an hour into the trip. 

I got to the trade show on Sunday morning right on time, and it was a delightfully busy day. I've been the NYIGF twice before (last January and then again in August), but I was there for the end days which are much slower. I also worked the show on Monday, before hopping on a bus back to Boston. 

Honeymoon

We went on our honeymoon in December, and we took a lot of photos. Here are the highlights!



What's the best vacation you've been on?

A NJ Surprise Party

My grandparents (on my mom's side) turn 80 this summer. Their 5 kids threw a surprise part for them this past Saturday, and quite a few people showed up!

The party was in New Jersey, so Eric and I drove down Friday morning. We arrived at my other gramma's house around 2:30, and spent some time with her before heading to a friend's apartment in Weehawken for the night. When spent a wonderful evening (into the early morning) just chatting with our friends and eating homemade pizza and brownies. At one point we walked a couple of blocks to Hamilton Park to see the grogeous view of New York City (click the picture for a larger view, as always).

Saturday was party day, and my parents and brother arrived in NJ around lunchtime. We went to the restaurant early to decorate and prepare for the big surprise.

I didn't get pictures of every guest, but as you can see it was well attended! The birthday boy and girl are in the top left corner (click for larger view). A delicious dinner was served, and then my family broke out the musical instuments and microphone for a little entertainment. What happened next brings these R. Kelly lyrics to mind:

Crystall poppin in the stretch Navigator
We got food every where
As if the party was catored
We got fellas to my left
Hunnies on my right
We bring em both together we got junkin all night
Then after the show its the (after party)
And after the party its the (hotel lobby)
And round about 4 you gotta (clear the lobby)

The party was supposed to end at 7:30. After 8:00, it was announed that it had been extended to 9:00. Good thing, since cake was just being served! Then there was an announcement that we had the restaurant until 10:00. We didn't leave the parking lot until 10:45, when a bunch of us headed over to the hotel to continue the fun. We stayed there until well after 1:00. Hahaha. We didn't get back to my Gramma Horty's until after 2:00.

So we had 2 very late nights after a crazy-busy week in San Francisco and a red-eye flight, but it was worth it! Eric got to meet my cousins and some uncles he'd never met before, and I got to see people that I usually only see at Thanksgiving. I only wish my sister had been there.

Sunday, it took us 6 1/2 hours to get back to Boston. Ugh. That was the worst, and it was completely draining. But we made it, and I think we've finally recovered from all of the activity.

Today is Thursday, and Lost In Thoughts is inspired by black & white this week. I've also featured a photo of my cousin Rachel singing at the party, so check it out here.

Back In Boston!

We landed in Boston on Wednesday morning, around 8:00 AM. It was cloudy, just like when we left, but it was warm.

We flew all night, and I'm so proud that I actually managed to sleep for quite a bit.

Have I mentioned yet that San Francisco was freezing? It was sunny for most of our stay, and it looked like it should be about 100° out. Felt more like 45° or 50°. Maybe Eric will write a post about the weather and the science behind it. I'll just say sometimes there was fog, the rest of the time there was wind.

Luckily, we packed appropriately. I wore a t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, and either a hoodie or my windbreaker or both almost the whole time we were there! It felt more like October than July. (I think I still have a few more things to tell you about the trip.)

Anyway, Wednesday I had a meeting at 5:15 PM. I napped a little during the day, but I had trouble sleeping. I was a little groggy at the meeting, but I'm glad I made it there because I had a good time.

Thursday was hard. Eric slept a lot, but I just couldn't stay in bed. Plus, I had to write Lost In Thoughts! Even so, I think I was a little out of it all day.

Friday morning we got up and headed to New Jersey. Yeah, more travelling! I'll write about that adventure next time!

Presidio, Marina & Pier 39

Even though we couldn't see Kristen on Tuesday (she had other people to see, of course), we switched our flight to the Tuesday night red-eye because it was significantly less expensive (about $400 less) than the Monday night flight. That meant we had an extra day to explore the city.

I had a 2:00 pm ET phone call (11:00 am PT), so we didn't really do much besides get some breakfast until noonish. At that point, we met Drew for lunch in the Financial District, near his office building. From there we walked over to the Ferry Building, and just looked around a bit. We'd also been there briefly on Saturday for the Farmers' Market.

Then we caught a cab to the Presidio to have coffee/water with a friend from college. The Presidio is a national park that used to be an army post. Now the old houses are used as offices, and our friend works in one of them. We were in an odd sort of behind-the-scenes-looking business section, so I didn't even think to take any photos. Nuts!

After coffee, we basically crossed the street and we were at the Marina. Wow, what a view of the Golden Gate Bidge! It was really windy on the beach, and we saw two guys getting flown by a kite. It looked like a lot of fun until one guy crashed into the ground big time.

We took a bus from a Divisadero Street stop at the Marina over to the North Beach side of town and went to Pier 39. I took pictures of the carousel, the sea lions, and the hilarious tourists (and their dogs).

After a long day, we had dinner with Drew and headed to the airport. We took a cab to the financial disctrict because he was headed back to work (seriously), and then we took BART the rest of the way to San Francisco International. Our flight was scheduled for 11:25 PM, but we took off around midnight.

Mission: Failed

Yesterday morning I set out on a mission. And I totally failed. oh well, it happens. 

I headed over to DeLafayette Avenue in downtown Boston fully intending to photograph dancers in line for the So You Think You Can Dance auditions. I don't know if I was too late, if nobody in Boston wanted to try out, or if they were all inside registering and keeping warm and dry, but there was nobody there! On TV the lines are always down the block and around the corner. I did see two large bouncer-looking men standing outside an open door with a very tiny sign that said "So You Think You Can Dance Auditions," but they were intimidating and I was afraid to take a picture. 

Since I was downtown I decided to do some walking around. I stopped by a really old cemetery, called the Central Burying Ground, within Boston Common. I'd never been there before, and it was really cool. I'll probably go back. 

Then I made my way over to Charles Street and passed the Make Way For Ducklings sculpture.

I went to a super cute stationary store called Rugg Road Paper Company and had a nice little chat with owner. 

When I left, I took a picture of Black Ink's (neighbors with the paper store) window display, because it featured gnomes. I didn't go in, but I've been there many other times and it's always fun.

Finally I made my way over to the Library to pick up a few books that I had on hold. Then I got on the T and made my way home. 

So even though my mission was technically a failure, I'd say the outing was actually very successful! I enjoyed myself immensely (in spite of the cold, damp, dreary weather). 

Do Two Negatives Equal A Positive?

Today is April 15th, known as tax day here in the U.S.  I've had my taxes done for a while, in order to apply for FAFSA loans for business school.  Most people know that April 15th is tax day, because, well, most people wait until the last minute to do their taxes.  What many people don't know is that April 15th is also the day Lincoln died.  Not exactly an uplifting piece of trivia, but might as well get all the bad feelings out of the way today and start fresh tomorrow.

Map

We have this map of the world that I've marked with the places we've been and the places we still want to go. Since The Schwarz and I went on a cross country road trip in 2005, we've visited many amazing places in the US.  This country is huge, so we haven't come close to seeing everything. Plus, there are many places we'd love to revisit. And then there's the rest of the world! 

P.S. Check out the gorgeous photo my mom took and sent as a valentine this year. I get my love of the holiday from her; she always makes the most amazing valentines.