Adventures in Gastronomy

Seriously? Now our fair commonwealth is being threatened by a hurricane, too? What’s left? A volcano?

I must admit that there is a bit of me that is excited at the prospect of a major storm. I’m just having trouble believing that all of these sorts of natural disasters (granted, the earthquake yesterday was not a disaster…but you know what I mean) are all happening in the same calendar year.

Speaking of the earthquake, I did actually feel it. I had just finished lunch and was leaning back in my chair playing “Words with Friends” on my cellphone. It suddenly felt as if a large truck was driving outside my window….except there was no truck and I’m on the third floor. Then I heard some of my knick-knacks (of which I have many shelves full) rattle slightly.

I thought I might have just imagined it, or that it was related to some possible nearby construction. Still, I immediately typed an instant message to Randy asking “Was there just an earthquake?” Not a minute later I started getting emails on the Harvard Law School distribution list asking if others felt an earthquake. Crazy. I was expecting that while I was in Hawaii, not here.

Oh yeah, Hawaii. Back to that.

So we flew Hawaiian Airlines from Kona to Honolulu. Despite the flight being not much more than 30 minutes in duration, they still proceeded to provide beverage service. And by beverage service I mean the flight attendant walked up the aisle with a box filled with sealed plastic cups of papaya (or was it guava) juice. He then immediately walked back down the aisle to collect the empty containers. And ta-dah – we landed in Honolulu.

We stayed at the Hilton Prince Kuhio (AKA Hilton Waikiki Beach), a 37 story hi-rise a block from the beach. We got a room on the 33rd floor with a balcony overlooking the mountains and skyline. After seeing the ocean view rooms I think I actually prefered our view.  After such a spectacular experience on the Big Island, I was a bit disappointed with Waikiki Beach. Within hours of our arrival we were offered drugs and were propositioned by prostitutes. Randy said it best when he said that Waikiki reminded him of Las Vegas mixed with Miami’s South Beach.

For the record, I think he meant that in a negative way. Plus customer service there was the worst I’ve experienced…ever. And that includes trips to North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Service was slow, food was mediocre, and at multiple places they screwed up the orders. I think they realize that their customer base is all tourists who aren’t likely to return anyway so why bother trying.

Waikiki Beach itself was much smaller than I had anticipated. Fortunately, our hotel was near the widest section. But there are actually sections that were so small that the beach didn’t even exist because waves crashed against a seawall at high tide. On the plus side, the water was warm and lovely, and the section of beach we used had a barrier to keep the waves to a minimum.

The next day we met up with Randy’s Australian cousin, Darren, and his wife, Fiona. The day after that we rented a car and decided to get out of cruddy Waikiki and explore the rest of Oahu. That was probably our best decision on the island. Within fifteen minutes were were out of the grittiness of Waikiki and passing by lovely coves and cliffs. We had lunch along the eastern coast of the island at the scariest little dive restaurant I’ve ever been to (complete with a 2+ inch cockroach running by my foot after we’d ordered). But we survived.

We ended up snorkeling along the North Shore (where in the winter the biggest surfing waves can be found) over some really cool coral reefs. Then we got some wine, crackers, cheese, and sweet nibbly things and sat on the beach to watch the sunset. Nearby, 220 lb sea turtles came ashore to rest after an exhausting day. It was pretty damn cool.

On Saturday, I was the worst American ever and skipped their visit to Pearl Harbor. It’s apparently such a popular destination that if you don’t go by tour group you can be stuck in line forever (and if you arrive too late in the day, you can be turned away). The tour they picked required getting up at 5am…on a Saturday…on a vacation. I just coulndn’t bring myself to do it. Plus, it ended up being nearly 7 hours long (including transportation to and from Pearl Harbor) and they weren’t fed the entire time. I need my food at 2 hour intervals or I’m one cranky S.O.B.

Sunday was our last day there (spent at the beach, naturally). Randy’s flight left around 4pm so he packed up and headed out around 2pm. My flight didn’t leave until nearly 9pm so I saw him off and returned to the beach. AHHHHHH.

All in all, the honeymoon was amazing. I never need to see Waikiki again, but would definitely return to the Big Island or to any of the other islands in a heartbeat. Hell, I’d return to Oahu as long as I could spend my time in the quieter parts of the island.

Who wants to join me?

August 24th, 2011
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 1 Comment

Wow. I love bizarre headlines…and this one appeared online in today’s Boston Globe. I must admit, this is probably one of the last reasons I would expect for closing a barber shop in New England. Ah, it never ceases to amaze me what people will do in the name of religion.

Anyway, life has been good since I last posted on here in 1923.

We went on our honeymoon to Hawaii from July 28 to August 8 and had a spectacular time. We were lucky enough to fly first class (believe it or not, it required fewer frequent flyer miles than flying coach). On the downside, we had two connections: one in Chicago and one in Los Angeles. By dinner time on our final flight from LAS to the Big Island, I was so stuffed that I coudln’t even eat the dinner they served. In fact, just thinking about eating made me feel sick so I just slept.

We arrived in Kailua-Kona and stayed in a nice 4-room guesthouse. There were no windows…just screens and shudders completely surrounding the suite. It was night time when we arrived, but we woke up to pleasant views of the ocean in the distance. After breakfast and a quick stroll around downtown Kailua-Kona, we started our counter-clockwise trip encircling the island.

We visited the Painted Church and (I love this name) Pu’uhonua Honaunau National Historic Park, South Point (the southernmost point in the entire United States…even further south than Key West, the southernmost point in the continental United States), Punaluu Beach (a black sand beach), and then arrived in our next destination: Volcanoes National Park.

We stayed in a town called Volcano and visited Kilauea the first afternoon (and went back at night to see the eruption that’s been going on since March (no lava was visible, but the water vapor spewing from the ground was glowing red from the lava below). The next day we returned and did a 2 mile hike over lava fields onto a high hill that provided 360 degree views of the volcanic destruction. Amazing.

After some lunch we drove the Chain of Craters Road (which goes through lava fields from the 1900’s to the present) down the cliff to the ocean where the most recent eruptions (in the 2000’s) closed the road. Wicked cool.

Our lodging for the two nights at the Volcano was in the rain forest and was surrounded by the most enormous ferns I’d ever seen. Beautiful.

The next day we drove to Hilo (the largest town on the island, destroyed twice by tsunami and now rather run-down), Rainbow Falls, Akaka Falls (with a 442 foot drop), and then the Waipi’o Rim.

Ah, the Waipi’o Rim. We stayed at the most spectacular guesthouse. Actually, it’s not even a guest house. It’s a single unit standing atop a 900+ foot cliff that drops into a plush green valley and a black sand beach. It was postcard perfect. I wish we could have stayed longer (and would definitely go back).

The next day we drove through Waimea (where things transtiioned from rainforest to desert) and climbed the Kohala Mountain Road to hit the north coast of the island.

Finally we settled at the Hilton Waikoloa Village for our last few days on the Big Island. The resort was decent enough…and we had a lovely room with a view of the ocean (though nothing quite as spectacular as the Waipi’o Rim). The resort was built on laval flow on the desert side of the island so it’s odd to drive there over desert, then over lava, and end up in a plush resort.

We did go snorkeling at Hapuna Beach one afternoon, but the last few days on the Big Island were lazy. And I loved it.

I’ll write about Oahu next time. That way, I’ll be sure to post to my blog again.

August 18th, 2011
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 1 Comment

It sure has been a busy month. It seems that we’ve been on the go non-stop since Memorial Day (when we went to Maine). Since then we’ve had 8 guests stay with us and got married.

The wedding was great (though, this is probably old news to most of you who also follow on Facebook and have already seen the photos). I think my mother actually cried more than anybody else there. Most of the pics came out well, though some photoshopping needs to be done to remove the sweat stains from the front and back of my shirt. My light blue shirt became increasing navy blue as the day went on.

We also had Randy’s mom, dad, and aunt visit for 6 days (plus my parents and brother came up and stayed nearby).

Last weekend we had a smallish reception for some friends at a local bowling alley (there was absolutely nothing traditional about this wedding). We had a great time (as did most people, so it seems). We left cameras out and other people used them to take pics (which are posted on Facebook, too). Our friend, Peter, though, seemed to fancy some guy at the bowling alley who was not part of our group because we seem to have more photos of him than of anybody we actually know. Seriously…there are probably 20 photos or more of just him. If we were still using 35mm film I’d probably be pissed. Instead, I just deleted the bad ones and kep the good ones.

So now life is back to normal as the last of our guests left yesterday. Randy and I are both exhausted and can’t wait for the honeymoon to Hawaii. The first few days will be busy exploring the Big Island (Volcanoes National Park, Waipio Rim, etc…) but the last 6-7 days will be at resorts, beaches, and pools.

Calgon – take me away!

July 20th, 2011
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: Comments Off on Hands Off – He’s Mine!

Seriously? How the hell did a full month pass since my last post?

Things have been a bit busy since then (though, admittedly not so busy that I coudn’t have posted). We went to Portland and Peaks Island, Maine, for Memorial Day weekend. The following weekend we had a guest from New York stay with us for 3 days. Then Randy went to Tennessee to visit his brother while I went to the Cape to visit my parents.

And then there has been all of the wedding preparations. We really thought we were organizing the most low key wedding you could imagine: small, immediate family only, no tuxedos, etc…. But as the date keeps approaching we’re either realizing that no matter how small you make it, it becomes time-consuming. Who knew that deciding on what sort of casual clothes to wear could be a job that take multiple weekends worth of shopping? I guess Randy and I have different ideas of what constitutes casual. I’m wanting timeless casual…something we can look back on in 10, 20, 30 years and not have people laugh hysterically at our clothes (think 1970’s prom).

My idea of timeless casual is on the preppy side (Oxford shirts). Randy says that’s too Cape Cod preppy.

Hence multiple weekends.

But I think we’ve figured it out. And now Randy’s family arrives tomorrow for 6 days. Then my family arrives in the area (though staying elsewhere) on Sunday for two days.

mmm – Hawaii is looking more and more appealing right now. One month from today! WOO HOO!

June 28th, 2011
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 1 Comment

Does anybody else out there think that Harold Camping (the freakazoid crazy-man who “predicted” the rapture in 1994, then again May 21, 2011, oh, wait, now October 21, 2011) should be arrested? Here me out.

If you cry “FIRE!” in a crowded theater, it’s against the law. Harold Camping has essentially done that. But not to a theater of a few hundred, but to hundreds of millions. He caused uneccesary panic. Granted, it was only panic to a naive, stupid, ignorant useless portion of society that, to be honest, we’d probably be better off without anyway, but it’s still panic.

Now I’m hearing on the news that people spent their life savings over the past few months since they figured they’d be dead. Some have spent upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars to actually help him spread the word. There’s also been a few people who have killed themselves out of fear. In particular, there’s a mother who slit the throats of her two children on Saturday (unfortunately failing at slitting her own) all because she was afraid of the rapture.

Mr. Camping, I call that manslaughter. Not for the mother (what she did was murder in the first degree), but manslaughter for you because you’re an asshole who put fear into the minds of the easily manipulated. You didn’t “pull the trigger”, but you were the reason behind it. You’re an accomplice, the mastermind, the ring leader. If this was the mob, you’d be the boss.

You disgust me. You should be put behind bars for your irresponsible behaviour and I hope that somebody, somewhere, has the balls to call you out on it and lock you up.

May 25th, 2011
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: Comments Off on Will Somebody Please Press Charges?

Since I turn 40 next week I think I qualify as being old enough to rant. Besides, we even received an AARP magazine in the mail last week. Granted, it was addressed to somebody else and arrived in our mailbox by accident, but I know there must be some sort of higher power out there reminding me that I’ve reached that point in my life where more hair will grow on my shoulders, back, nostrils, and ears than will ever again grow on the top of my head.

So, before my arteries clog or I break a hip, here goes:

1 – How the hell are there people out there who honestly believe that the rapture takes place tomorrow? I mean, the quack who predicted this already predicted it would take place back int he 1990’s. He was wrong then, he’ll be wrong now. Somebody on Facebook made a funny comment that he hopes the guy is right and that all of the believers will rise to Heaven and leave the rest of the earth for the rational thinkers.

2 – Last spring had a very wet beginning in March but all of that rain and warmer temperatures provided for an early and wonderful spring. A year later and it’s May and we’ve had only about 30% of our normal sunshine. In fact, it’s been nearly a week of constant drizzle, clouds, and fog (when there aren’t sudden downpours). Randy has always said that he could see us living in Portland, Orgeon, someday. After this week, I don’t see that ever happening. A week is enough, I can’t even fathom an entire season of this.

3 – Is it just me, or does American Idol kinda’ suck this year? I admit I’ve been watching all season. And normally the final three is when I pay the most attention because there’s at least some suspense involved. This year, I could care less and have actually been fast-forwarding it. It’s like we’re left with three McPerformers with no personalities (though, Haley does seem like a diva-in-waiting). And I actually like the new hosts….but all season I can’t recall a single instance where they negatively critiqued a contestant. Things must sound very different in the auditorium, because on TV I thought Jacob consistently sounded like shit. Yet they loved him. What am I missing?

4 – Can people please stop talking about the Governator’s love-child? I mean, whether you liked him as governor or not, did this in any way affect his performance as governor? No. Did Bill Clinton’s tryst with Monica in the blue dress affect his performance? No (until time and money was wasted working toward impeachment).  I think the only case where infidelity has affected job performance was with New Gingrich. Actually, it was the reverse, he claims devotion to job caused him to cheat on his sick wife (so much for his conservative, Christian values). But whether Repbulican or Democrat, what happens in their bedroom really shouldn’t be a factor in whether they are capable of completed unrelated job.

5 – National debt. Ok, we’ve hit the debt ceiling. Can we please just look at reality for once. Democrats need to allow more cuts in services (but not social security or medicare). Republicans need to allow more tax increases. It’s insane that income taxes for the wealthy are at historic lows. It’s stupid that people stop contributing to social security after earning  about $108,000/year. I’m bullshit that companies like GE, Chevron, and Mobil didn’t pay a penny in taxes, yet still raked in money hand over fist. And I resent that the majority of residents in this country don’t end up having to pay any taxes as a result of credits or other reasons. And why do people who have lots of kids get tax credits when they’re the ones needing the most resources from the government? Shouldn’t they pay more?

6 – So, this isn’t so much a rant as a comment. Arlington Town Hall is a gorgeous old building, Randy and I were there a week ago and it’s got that turn of the century (20th, that is) look with high ceilings and great old details. And it hosts a beautiful auditorium with fancy wood ceilings and details. Who knew?

7 – But did you know that the folks in the Town’s Clerk office (which is staffed by ladies who called everybody “hon” and “sweetie”, which I’ve always loved) still uses typewriters for forms? I actually saw the woman using a typewriter to comlete our marriage license (oh yeah, by the way, we’re getting hitched…more on that later). I’m surprised that Massachusetts hasn’t standardized their forms electronically yet.

8 – I was bored at lunch the other day and browsed real estate online. I discovered that the home of a childhood friend is on the market now at $16.5 million dollars. The listing showed nearly 8,000 square feet of living space with 6.5 bathrooms.  The weird thing is that as a kid I never noticed that we didn’t live like everybody else. Our simple house with 1 bathoom felt no different to me than the mansions my friends lived in. I just recall thinking it was cool that this one house had an elevator because I’d probably only been on one a half dozen times in my life at that age.

So, as I wrote above, Randy and I decided to get married. Ironically, we’ve chosen Independence Day as the day to end our independence. It’s going to be a small family-only event in Arlington. A few weeks later we’re going to Hawaii. We’d had the trip planned before deciding to marry, so have since decided to make it the honeymoon.

In other travels, we came thisclose to going to Europe last week on a business trip (me tagging along) but it never happened. Instead, we drove out to the Berkshires with friends and visited MassMoCA (meh), Williams College, and The Bridge of Flowers.

For Memorial Day we’re taking Amtrak up to Portland for the weekend and visiting my childhood friend, Missy. I’m looking forward to it – even if the weather is still crappy. It’ll be fun catching up.

May 20th, 2011
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 5 Comments

Argh! So I was writing in jest about my cavity filling being major surgery last week. But now it truly does feel like major surgery – at least from a financial perspective.

I received the pre-estimate yesterday from my insurance company (Delta Dental). Apparently the cavity (determined to actually be between teeth, so technically two teeth receiving a filling side-by-side) is located in what’s called a pre-molar. The dentist proposes using the white fillings, but the insurance will only cover silver fillings on “back” teeth.

The teeth in question are the FIRST teeth beyond the scope of what the insurance will cover for white fillings. Consequently, my out-of-pocket expenses are to be $404.85 versus about $50.

Now I’m in decision mode:

Do I fork over the money for the white fillings to maintain my beautiful smile (barf)?

Do I go cheap and get silver fillings?

Do I just wait and deal with it later? (which feels ghetto and makes me imagine myself 20 years from now letting all my teeth rot because I’m afraid to get work done).

This isn’t something I’d planned on for this year so I didn’t take out extra money in Flexible Spending. Maybe I’ll schedule it for January and budget appropiately for next year. Besides, I already have a huge gap in my front teeth…what would be the problem with a few more gaps?

Otherwise, life is good. I’m still in trip planning mode. Now that our next schedule trip is finalized (Hawaii in July/August) I’m working on the next one. We were thinking of Chile in November, but are now thinking perhaps California Gold Counrty and saving Chile for next year. And possibly London for Christmas break. I don’t know…decisions, decisions.

April 12th, 2011
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 6 Comments

Ok, so I suppose most people wouldn’t call it major surgery…but I went to the dentist yesterday and learned that I have a cavity. But this is traumatic for me. I’m one of the few people that doesn’t hate going to the dentist. I suppose a major reason is that I rarely get cavities. In fact, my last filling was 4 years ago and it was only because a childhood filling had popped out and it needed to be replaced. And the fillings before that were also replacements…and also approximately a decade ago. This is an actual NEW cavity (in a “pre-molar”…whatever that is).

I feel digusted in myself…like I failed a test or caught an STD. It’s like I’ve somehow been irresponsible and this is my punishment.

If I ever need a root canal the dentist better have smelling salts on hand when he/she tells me because I’m sure I’ll pass out.

Ugh – a filling. I wonder if my dentist offers laughing gas? Seriously, this is freaking me out. It’s like when you haven’t flown in years and you freak out when it’s time to next fly. You fear the unfamiliar. Maybe I can put it off? Or, what’s wrong with general anesthesia?

I’m having “Little Shop of Horrors” scenes playing out in my head (remember the sadistic dentist?…but at least he bursts into song and offers laughing gas, I suppose).

Sigh.

March 31st, 2011
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 2 Comments

We’re back! OK, we’ve technically been back for 3 days. But I’m not sure I mentioned on here that we were going anywhere, let alone that we’d returned.

A week ago last Friday we boarded a plane and flew to Minneapolis where we spent one night before catching our connecting flight to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Our friends, Ben and Sandy, invited us to share their timeshare for a week. This was our third time at the property, but this time in a newer building.

We had a great time…the weather cooperated, with only the day after we arrived as the one cloudy day (it did clear up around 4:30pm). Otherwise, we had nearly non-stop sunshine until we flew back Sunday afternoon.

Most of our time was spent by the pool, or out and about eating at various restaurants in Nuevo Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta, and Bucerias. But on Thursday I FINALLY talked Randy into doing a zipline (canopy tour) over the Sierra Madre mountains. In case you don’t know what that is…it’s essentially gliding between mountains while dangling from a wire. You’re harnessed in so it’s safe (well, it felt safe, at least). There’s the main harness connector, a back-up connector, then a handlebar which I guess is like a third safety precaution. The longest line was 1/4 mile long and 550 feet above the river. After 11 zips, we were at the bottom of the valley floor and finished the adventure by taking mules up to to the top again.

Actually, that’s a lie. I think a bigger adventure was the ride back to the resort in an open-air “bus.” It wasn’t so much of a bus as it was a large pick-up truck with five rows of benches in back (very narrow benches, I might add) with no sides. It was bad enough driving down the mountain on a bumpy dirt road, but then to be in this “vehicle” on the damn Mexican streets with their speed bumps every 10 feet…well, let me just say I’m glad I used the rest room before we left. At one point, Ben and I were airborne (he banged his shins on the bench in front of him leaving scapes/bruises on both legs).

On Saturday, we left the resort and Randy and I stayed at a charming boutique hotel in downtown Puerto Vallarta. We were quite lucky as the city was celebrating Carnival that night and we got to watch their Carnival parade. It was nothing like Rio or Mardi Gras, but it was quite entertaining.

While we were away, the contractor installing our hardwood floors was supposed to re-finish the stairs that he screwed up initially (he used a water-based finish and didn’t sweep well enough so there were bumps of dirt/wood dust in the finish). Our vacation was the perfect time for him to re-finish it properly with oil-based finish since it requires that nobody walk on it for a day.

Well, we got back and the idiot just put the oil based finish on top of the water-based finish without sanding. So, the bumps were still there. Now he has to come back tomorrow and do it again…which is terribly inconvenient since a) we’re back from vacation and b) this damn project has been on-going since January. Worst contractor I’ve ever dealth with.

Knock on wood (pun intended) work will be done by Saturday and we’ll be DONE with home repairs for a long while. YAY!

March 10th, 2011
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 2 Comments

After over a year of talk, we’re nearly finished with having hardwood floors installed. From the minute we first stepped foot in our townhouse to tour it with the real estate broker over 1.5 years ago, we said that we thought the upper levels would look better with hardwood floors versus the off-white carpet that was currently there.

A few months after moving in and getting settled we had a contractor come out and prepare a quote. Actually, we had multiple contractors come out (some for hardwood, others to replace the hideous carpet with more attractive carpet). We ultimately decided to go with hardwood floors.

Then Chris moved in for a while so we put the project on hold untiul he left in November. More quotes were sought, then the holidays happeend upon us (who could have predicted those were coming?).

Finally, work began in January. The floors on the 3rd and 4th floors were completed with hickory. AHHH – pretty (and a dusty process). Then the delays started. Whether it was weather (damn snow), social calendars (parties, company), or an irresponsible contractor (who does things piecemeal), the stairs still aren’t complete.

But they’re close! He’s been here almost this entire week putting the wood on the stairs. Now he’s in the sanding and finishing stage. The hope is that he can finish everything next week (re-sanding, re-finishing, painting the risers and trim).

YAY! Then we’re going to have to have the place cleaned…big time. Despite keeping doors shut and placing towels under each door, there is dust everywhere. I never knew it could cling to walls…but our walls are covered, so you can just imagine what the horizontal surfaces are like!

I suppose it will be worth it in the end.  Whether or not it increases our re-sale value (our broker thinks it will), it will at least look nicer than those stained carpets. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…but who picks out off-white carpet? In New England, of all places. Even though we took our shoes off downstairs when we were home and the carpet was on the 3rd and 4th floors, they still looked horrible (at least to us).

But not any more!

February 25th, 2011
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 1 Comment