The Rose City

I'm going to briefly write about visiting Portland, OR.  I'll post later about Washington and L.A.  My Portland trip started with a twelve hour drive from Salt Lake City.  It was a long day driving through the rain in Utah, Idaho and Oregon.  The good news is that I can check two more states off that I'd previously never visited. 

When I got to Portland, I met up with Erika and grabbed a beer at a local bar.  Erika had to work Friday morning so we called it a night pretty early.  The next day, after Erika left for work, I decided to walk around the city.  Erika had informed me that Portland was small enough that I could easily walk across the entire city.  I didn't attempt that.  Instead I went to buy new shoes which were desperately needed.

Erika got done work early so we went to a nice neighborhood to walk around and get some food.  We rode a couple different forms of public transportation.  Seeing 'Portlandia,' the enormous statue downtown was really unique.  After a fun afternoon, we regrouped, had dinner and made plans to go out.  We went to a couple different bars, both with their own flare.  All of Erika's friends were so kind and very friendly to me.

The next day was a walk through Forest Park, a visit to the Rose Gardens and a handful of other 'must see' sites.  That evening, Erika and I took time to visit some of the excellent pub/breweries that Portland has to offer.  We had a blast ordering flights of beers and eating good food.  After a brief respite, we gathered with the roommates again and went to a nice bar and got late night food at 'The Grilled Cheese Grill.'

I was supposed to leave on Sunday, but decided to be lazy and stay another day.  We went grocery shopping, read books, took naps and cooked supper.  What a great day.  That night we watched a movie and went to bed early.  Monday morning, I drove Erika to work and took off for Washington to visit Jamie, Eric and the kids.  Will post later...

Stay Tuned

Sorry for the brief absence.  I haven't had very much Internet access in the past week.  I'm going to try and post later tonight re: Portland, OR and Lacey, WA...

The Top of the Earth

Hello everyone!  Greetings from Salt Lake City, UT.  I'm staying here with my friend Cari and her boyfriend Ryan.  My last days in Fort Collins were a blast.  Having stayed in Colorado for as long as I did, I was able to meet a lot of people and see a lot of great things.  But every good stop leads to another.  And this is no different.

I drove through Wyoming most of the morning and afternoon to get here.  There's not much to see off of I-80 (except a few oil refineries).  But as you get closer to Salt Lake City, the mountains appear and the view becomes absolutely breathtaking.  Without a doubt, one of the most naturally beautiful cities I've ever visited.  The warm, grassy city in the valley is completely surrounded by ginormous snow-capped mountains.  Where Cari lives, you have a great view of Salt Lake City and she's only a short drive from all the ski resorts.

After stuffing our faces at the Cheesecake Factory, Cari and I decided to take it easy, watch a movie and go to bed relatively early.  That put us in great moods to go skiing at Snowbird today.  Snowbird is a huge resort only fifteen minutes away.  We went in the afternoon to save a few dollars and get an afternoon pass.  Without going into extreme detail of the riding I'll say that although the conditions were not 'perfect' I couldn't ask for anything better on my first ski trip out west.  The views were spectacular, the slopes were excellent (snow conditions could have been better) and the lodge/spa afterward was a delightful treat.

We just made it back to the house and deciding what we want to do tonight.  Perhaps the movies.  We'll see I suppose.  Give me a little time and I'll upload some photos I took earlier and post them for you to see.  I hope you are well wherever you are reading this.  Best.

The End of the Earth

Holy cow.  It's been forever since I posted.  My sincerest apologies for that.  I wish I had a good excuse, but it's mostly due to laziness.  I have been busy though, so I'll try to keep this post as 'to the point' as possible.

The last time I wrote was just before I left for Big Bend National Park.  After leaving San Antonio, I made a last minute decision to visit Pat Butterfield in Killeen, TX.  I made the short drive north and spent with night with the family; Pat, Erica and Schuyler.  After a delicious steak dinner, Pat drove me around Fort Hood Army Base where he works.  It was great to spend that time together.  I found out Erica is pregnant and that they're planning a move to Vermont (hopefully this fall). 

The next morning I woke up early and made the long journey to Terlingua, TX, which I now fondly refer to as 'The End of the Earth.'  When I got off I-10 and drove south, I rarely saw other cars and towns were virtually nonexistent.  Terlingua itself, is a very small town located on the Mexican border in the Chihuahuan desert.  It's very difficult to describe this town.

Maria Jenness did a great job at showing me around.  We spent time hiking and walking around the national park.  Interesting fact: Big Bend National Park is the least visited national park.  The hiking was great and the views were absolutely gorgeous.  I have photos, but they're not on my computer.  (Check facebook later).

The people were amazing and one of a kind.  I had the feeling that people moved to Terlingua to escape something, whether it be a person, finances, the government, etc.  You would never pass through this town because it's not on the way to some other place, so the only people there are one's who decide to visit or make it their home. 

After a few days, I hopped in the car and headed north again to New Mexico.  This was the first time I stayed in a hotel.  I stopped for an overnight in Santa Fe.  If I'm being completely honest, I didn't care for Santa Fe very much.  Granted, I was only there overnight, but it still didn't impress me a whole lot.  I didn't find the people to be very friendly and the city itself was pretty boring.  The best part was getting an oil change the next morning where the mechanic gave me a free bottle of water.

Since Thursday of last week, I've been in Fort Collins, CO.  My buddies Sam, Brian and Dexter all live together.  I'm staying with them.  Driving through Colorado Springs was interesting because my father lived there for four years when he was a young adult.  I've been to Denver twice since I've been here.  But I've mostly been hanging out in Fort Collins.  We've had fun going out at night and site seeing during the day.  All the boys work, so I make most of my days.  I've gone all around town, visited some tourist attractions and today I'm going hiking.

I'm not sure when my departure will be from here, but I've made some plans for the middle to end of April with various friends and family.  That gives me about two weeks to explore.  If you have any suggestions, please comment and let me know. 

Sorry again, for taking so long.  I'll be better from now on.  I promise.  I look forward to hearing from you all.  Best.

Brief Update

Hey everybody!  Thanks for following my posts.  And thanks for the messages from everyone (Jamie, Maria, Brandi, etc.)  I know it's been a long time since I posted in San Antonio.  I'm going to wait until tomorrow to make a full post.  In the meantime, know that I'm alive and doing well in Fort Collins, CO.  I have a lot of great stories since my last post.  Check in again soon. 

I-35

So much has happened since my last post.  This has been my first period of time at the computer to post though.  My apologies.  I'll attempt to keep this as 'to the point' as possible.

Wednesday was spent exploring Dallas.  I went out on my own to explore.  As I'm sure most you know, Dallas is where President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald (supposedly).  I spent most of the day at the Sixth Floor Museum where Oswald shot Kennedy.  The museum was informative and a bit unsettling.  I learned a lot, though, about the history and legacy of JFK.  The rest of the day, I ventured in and out of a variety of free art museums, strolled through the parks and took a trolley ride around town. 

That night, Alyssa, Colin and I went for Tex-Mex where I ordered Enchiladas en Mole.  Excellent.  Afterward, we listened to live music at The Grange and tried some fun drinks at The Black Swan. 

The next day was hellish.  I had intentions on leaving for San Antonio but accidently left my keys in Colin's car from the previous night.  That meant that I spent the entire afternoon taking Dallas/Fort Worth public transportation to Colin's work and back.  I made it San Antonio four hours later than I wanted.

Since I've been in San Antonio, the Castle family has shown a tremendous amount of hospitality.  Caitlin took me around San Antonio on Friday.  We visited The Alamo, took a boat tour on the San Antonio river, had guacamole and prickly pear margaritas on the river walk, visited some nice gardens and had a Mexican Coke.  We did all of Caitlin's favorite things!  Friday evening, we saw an amazaing flemenco music/dance performance at a small restaurant.  I'd never seen flemenco before.  The dancers were great and the music was incredible. 

On Saturday, we drove to Austin to visit, Ashley (mentioned in my NYC post).  She happened to be in Texas as well, so we made a point to catch up.  The day was spend strolling through Austin's shops and food joints.  Specialties include a cole slaw with fried shrimp filled tortilla and a massive donut topped with brownies, hot fudge and ice cream.

The Barton Springs are a natural spring in Austin where people go to cool off and swim.  Because Caitlin and I didn't have our bathing suits, we dipped our feet in.  Ashley and Dan were able to enjoy the full pleasures of the cool water.  Austin is a unique city in that it has a different atmosphere and feel to it.  There is a large hipster community that was very present at the springs.

Last night, we grabbed barbecue with friends of Caitlin and had a few drinks before coming back to San Antonio.  I did get to see the capital building before leaving, though.  An enormous and beautiful structure.

Today, I'm on my way to Killeen to visit Pat.  Tomorrow I journey deep in to Big Bend National Park with Maria.  I'll fill you in soon on those adventures.

The Lone Star State

Hey y'all!  I made it to Texas earlier today and am very excited about it.  But let me fill you in on yesterday's fun adventures first.

Rather than waking up early to go kayaking, Uncle Ivan decided to let us all sleep in.  We had pancakes and eggs for breakfast, packed up the kayaks and headed for the beach.  That afternoon was amazing.  Uncle Ivan, Nikki, Regan (so for spelling 'Reagan' in earlier posts), Lianna and I had such a good time.  Kayaking around the sound was fun and challenging.  Especially going around the second time with Nikki.  But we made it through alive to tell the story. 

Yesterday evening we dined at the Ruby Tuesday where Desirae works and had an excellent meal.  After a quick stop at Baskin Robbins, we made our way back, got settled in and called it a night.

This morning I slept in later than I wanted to, but still took time for pancakes with the family.  I packed up my stuff and left Florida at 11am.  I already miss the gang.  But I passed through Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana before I finally made it to Texas.  Texas is the first state I've visited thus far that I've never been to before.  I'm excited to spend the next week for so visiting the sites.  I'm in Dallas Alyssa and Colin, two friend from IC.  I got in around 9pm so we went out for a bite to eat and a few drinks so far.  They were kind enough to make me a list of possible activities for tomorrow while they're at work.  Afterward, I think we might catch a few local folk/country bands.  We'll see though.

I have this dream of visiting a real old fashioned, western honky-tonk.  The kind where people say 'You ain't from 'round these parts, are ya?'  Perhaps my dreams will come true this next week.  We shall see.  Stay tuned.

I-95

The past few days have been such a blast.  So many milestones on the trip have occurred.  I hit 1,000 miles since I left Vermont on Friday and I hit 2,000 the very next day! 

So for those who weren't aware, I decided to make the long trek from D.C. to Orlando in one day.  After only a few hours of sleep at Kaylan's home, I departed at approximately 6:30am.  Several hours and seemingly endless 'South of the Border' signs later, I arrived in Orlando to visit my buddy Ty and his girlfriend Jess.  These two are simply the greatest.  Upon arrival they showed me their new place which is gorgeous and I met their dog Piper.  They were gracious enough to treat me to dinner at an excellent steak house only minutes away by foot.  Afterward, we grabbed beer at a small wine bar and had the opportunity to catch up and laugh about the old days. 

The next morning, we woke to the sweet aroma of blueberry muffins.  Jess had prepared a smorgasbord of delicious treats for a trip they were taking later that day.  Luckily, Tyler and I got to reap the benefits and call it breakfast.  Then we took a stroll through a Jazz and Art Festival that was taking place nearby.

As Ty and Jess headed west to Tampa, I took off north to Pensacola to visit the Florida DeLaBruere's.  I hate to sound redundant, but these guys are the greatest too.  Though Joel and Desirae were both working when I arrived and Uncle Ivan and Nikki were together at a retreat, I went to the house and spent the evening with Reagan and Lianna.  As the night passed, everyone came home one at a time (except for Nikki who stayed over at the retreat).

So between getting pizza with Desi, playing video games with Lianna and learning about CityVille with Reagan, I certainly got my fair share of one-on-one time with the gang.  After Lianna went to bed, we got hooked on watching The Green Mile.  The movie was so long and it didn't get done until 1am.  That meant with Daylight Savings that it was really 2am when the movie finished.  Joel had come home from work at that point and we chatted as he packed for his week-long road trip with his girlfriend Sylvia.  By the time everyone else had gone to bed, Joel had packed and I brushed my teeth, it was almost 4am. 

8am came pretty fast.  Uncle Ivan took the typically fatherly role of waking the family up for church.  So I got up and got ready.  We went to mass at their church where I saw Nikki for the first time.  Uncle Ivan did not mention that I was here so it was a surprise to her.  After church was a fellowship where I met so many people.  I enjoyed talking to the people after the meal while I was doing the dishes.  Always gotta pitch in.

The afternoon was spent at the mall shopping.  I had to get a pair of sandals badly.  Then it was spaghetti dinner at home.  Lastly was an evening with Desi and her friends.  They were enjoyable to be with.  They reminded me of friends from home and it was great to meet them all.  Tomorrow starts with a morning kayak trip with Uncle Ivan and Reagan.  I fear that the wake up call is going to be crazy early.  It's after 1am now and with the little bit of sleep I got last night, we'll see how energetic I feel.  I'll try and post again tomorrow not that I know I have internet here at the DeLaBruere abode. 

As always, thanks for all the comments.  Keep checking in.  I'll be heading to Texas for about a week starting Tuesday...

The Garden State

So I haven't posted in quite a few days.  This is mostly due to lack of free time and internet access.  I will attempt to be as concise as possible in order to prevent extreme boredom. 

I believe my last post was about last Saturday's awesome visit to Pommes Frites.  On Sunday, I was privileged to dine with some fellow MTV Interns.  Afterwards, I made my way downtown to Duplex and met Sunny.  I caught a snippet of a cabaret and got some drinks afterward.  The company was exciting and entertaining.

On Monday, I slept in late.  In the afternoon, I packed up my car and left Brooklyn.  After passing through New York, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland I landed in our nation's capital, Washington D.C.  That evening, I grabbed dinner with Meg, Janelle and Vince.  Janelle and I followed that up with a few drinks at a local pub then we retired to Janelle's house.

On Tuesday, Janelle and I spent the day 'on the mall' and visited the Smithsonian American History Museum.  The nerd in me loved the American Presidents exhibit.  After a day on the town, I took the D.C. subway to Virginia to visit Heather.  Heather and I spent the evening with her cousin Alicia.  Alicia is also from Vermont and graduated from North Country in '03.  We had fun flipping through old yearbooks. 

Wednesday, Heather and I grabbed lunch in Shirlington and I was on my way back in to D.C.  That night I got the chance to see the Washington Capitals play the Edmonton Oilers at the Verizon Center.  The game was great.  Meg and I sat in the nosebleed section and watched the Capitals destroy the Oilers, 5-0.  Although I'd normally route for Montreal in hockey, I wore red and cheered with the home crowd for one night.

I woke up early today, then took a nap, then woke up late today.  After a lazy afternoon at Meg's apartment, I grabbed my car again and drove out of D.C. to visit Kaylan in McLean, VA.  This evening was also very special.  She was gracious enough to cook me a delicious pork dinner, let me do my laundry and visit with Brandi via Skype.  It was the relaxing night I needed after such an exciting week.

Tomorrow, I'm planning on an early rise in order to skip morning traffic.  As of now, I'm hoping to make it to Orlando by tomorrow evening to visit Tyler.  I realize this means passing over a great chunk of the south.  There are however only small windows to see certain people so I've made the decision to speed things up temporarily.  I will come back to Charleston, SC some day though.  More on that in a later post. 

Pommes Frites

What an eventful weekend in New York.  I suppose that's a bit of an overstatement.  The weekend was a blast, but I didn't really do a lot of site seeing or 'New York' things.  Friday night after I posted, I went back to Manhattan to catch up with the IC gang at a bar called Scratcher's.  This place is totally up my alley.  The mood was chill, we were able to get a table and drink prices weren't half bad.  We had a blast making references to the classic movie Clue and started a rousing rendition of Hava Nagila at one point. 

At the end of the night we made the obligatory food stop at Pommes Frites.  This was my first time ordering from the french fry vendor so I didn't stray too far from my comfort zone.  I ordered a poutine!  It was actually made correctly and was really delicious.  I would recommend this place to anyone looking for some junk food late at night. 

Yesterday, Colleen and I moseyed around the Bedford Street stop off of the L Train.  It was a fun neighborhood with some neat street vendors.  I stopped to check out some vinyl albums and was going to buy one for Nate, but I wasn't thrilled with the selections.  Sorry big guy.  We then made our way to Central Park and took a wonderful voyage from the southeast corner to the upper west side with Ashley and Dan.  Those two are the best.  They seem to really be enjoying New York life.  It was great catching up with them.

Then a quick stop on the upper west side to eat and have a drink with Jess.  Note: The Dead Poet is a nice little establishment with a good selection of draft beers but the wings were not good.  After what seemed like and endless trip back to Brooklyn, I hung out with the gang here.  KT came over.  We eventually made it back in to the city for a bit where we saw Josh and Matt.  After a while, Nick and I came back to the apartment, watched some Arrested Development and called it a night.

Today has been super lazy.  I haven't left the apartment.  I have plans to meet up with my former co-interns at our old stomping grounds later.  Good times are certain to ensue.

NYC or Bust

Hey all.  For those who don't know already, I'm in New York, New York.  After my last post, I visited Scott at his seminary in Providence.  They were gracious enough to let me dine with them.  The seminarians were very kind and genuinely interested in hearing about my trip.  I know Scott is in a good place with great company. 

On the highway to New York, I called Mom and Dad then chatted with my friend Ashley.  Getting in late on Wednesday, I had a glass of wine with Colleen and called it a night.  The next day I had the pleasure of catching up with an old friend, Jesse Wingate.  I worked with Jesse in middle school on a VT History Day project.  We also went to North Country together.  At Starbucks, we were able to catch up and talk about how life has been.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, this sort of interaction is a true testament as to why I'm on this voyage.  I was grateful to have spent those hours with Jesse and learning about him since I saw him last.

Last night, I caught up with some IC friends at a bar.  Andrew, Luke, Colleen, Rachel, Neil, etc.  We attempted to go to a show where our friend's band was playing.  The cover was twenty dollars so we moseyed to a small place for margaritas then called it a night.

Today has been the laziest day of the trip so far.  I slept in late, surfed the web, read some of my book (Vonnegut) and took a shower.  I just got back from visiting my friend Matt in Manhattan and am getting ready to eat at Colleen's.  Lasagna.  I plan on spending the whole weekend here so I should have some fun stories to post along the way.  As always, thanks for checking in.  Please feel free to pass the address to blog to whomever you desire.

Ri Ra

As anyone can tell, my trips have not been long at all.  This one was no different.  I made the short journey on I-95 to Providence, RI.  I went immediately to Anthony's apartment and spent the afternoon playing with his gorgeous daughter Amelia.  She's going to turn one year old on St. Patrick's Day.  Ant and Carrie are the best parents and it's clear that Amelia loves both of them very much.

That evening I went to the Providence Place mall.  Perusing the stores was fun, but ultimately I made my way to the movie theater and watched Hall Pass... by myself.  That was a first for me.  I really wanted to see The King's Speech, but it wasn't playing at that time.  Hall Pass was funny but not great.  It was set in Providence though which made most of the people in the theater excited when they showed the city exteriors and skyline.

That night was relaxing at that apartment.  I got to catch up with one of my best buddies about work and life.  It was definitely a testament to why I'm on this trip. 

The next day, Ant made us all pancakes and bacon then we packed up Amelia and went out on the town.  I went to the Brown Bookstore and bought a couple books for the trip.  We walked up and down Thayer Street which is loaded with small shops and restaurants.  It was reminiscent of Church Street except it's not 'pedestrian-only.'

The real treat of this step was last night.  Anthony made a gourmet meal; pork chops, garlic mashed potatoes, squash, etc.  My friends Corey, Jackie and my cousin Scott all came over.  After we ate, we went downtown to Ri Ra for drinks.  Again, it was so great to catch up with the gang and friends from back home.  I hadn't laughed that hard in a while.

Today I'm on the fence of whether or not I'm going to travel to New York or spend another day in Providence.  Check in tomorrow to find out!

Beantown Fun

The past two days have been a blast for me.  Since Deana picked me up on Saturday, I've done so much stuff and seen so many people.  First off, I was lucky enough that Nikki (Deana's sister) was in town too.  While getting ready for a night on the town, I got to visit with the girls and even got to see Yaicha whom I haven't seen in years.  It was a real treat and I'm glad that everything's going well for them all.

Saturday night, I tagged along with the WNEC crew.  We met up at Steph's house in Southie and had a few drinks before taking an awesome cab ride to Faneuil Hall.  I say it was an awesome cab ride because our driver, Louis, was a cool Jamaican guy who chatted with us along the way.  Once we reached our destination it was live music and dancing.  The band was awesome and covered a lot of great songs.  Especially a bunch of 90s hits.

As an extra note for those who are keeping count of people I've seen from home, we met up with Tara at the bar.  I tried to get Anya to come out, but it just wasn't in the cards.

Sunday was truly a lazy day.  I slept in late, watched a movie in the afternoon, said farewell to Nikki who had to go home before I finally decided to take a shower.  From there, we ran a few errands to get food and pick up cars.

Once I got my car, I headed to Revere for the next bout of fun.  I arrived at Sarah Madey's to watch the Oscar's.  It was so good catching up with Sarah.  We reminisced about the old days and talked about the future.  But most importantly, we got a pick on all the celebrities who gave bad speeches or wore horrible dresses.  Thanks Sarah for letting me come over.

That brings me today.  I'm about to clean up and pack my bags.  I'm not taking a long trip by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm heading to Providence, RI.  Hopefully I'll catch up with Ant (and the family), Scott, Corey, Jackie and any other surprise guests.

Thanks to everyone who's visited the site.  Feel free to pass it along to anyone.  I hope that once I start making bigger leaps, the content won't be so much like a journal entry, but perhaps a place to write about ideas and thoughts that I come up with along the way.  As always, much love to you all.

Knick Knack Paddy Whack

So I just got a break to post.  Since I got into Boston yesterday, I've been hanging out and staying with my friend Rachel.  I did drive around the wrong neighborhood for a while, though, before I found the right place.  Thanks GPS.  The weather was horrible yesterday so we stayed in and watched movies/TV for the most part.  We did, however, venture out to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant called Giacomo's.  The small trek through the rain was worth the reasonably priced, extra large portion of pasta.

After dinner, we got ready to go out with Rachel's work friends.  At this point the rain had turned to snow and the wind had picked up.  The girls in their fancy shoes was a sight to see.  Once we had arrived at The Tavern, we quickly met up with several other work friends and enjoyed the sports bar atmosphere.  Drinks are a little more expensive in Boston than in Newport, VT, but I guess that was to be expected.

This morning, we walked around the city.  We made it to Boston Commons and passed by a fairly large group of protesters yelling chants pertaining to the current state of affairs in Libya.  I wanted to join, but I forgot my Libyan flag at home.  We grabbed a hot chocolate instead and made our way back to the apartment.

Tonight, I'm meeting up with some other friends and I'm sure good times will ensue.  I'll keep you posted.  And don't forgot to comment with any ideas regarding a better name for this blog!

Blog Name

As a brief follow-up, I don't particularly care for the title of my blog, "Lucien's Big Adventure."  I'm putting it out to you to decide.  Come up with any idea(s) and post them in my comments.  I'll read through them, see which ones I like and go from there.  Thanks.

The Gallagher Abode

Hello to any followers that may decide to read this blog.  As I'm sure you're aware by visiting this site, I left Vermont recently to go on a journey across the United States.  I promised a blog and here it is...

It became comical before I left about where my first stop would be.  "St. Johnsbury," I replied to most people who inquired.  Well, after a brief stop in St. Johnsbury, I actually headed south on I-93.  It didn't take long to really comprehend what I have just begone to undertake...

As it turned out, I traveled about three hours and landed at the always inviting home of Scott and Melinda Gallagher to pay a long overdue visit.  After little debate over pizza, we came to the realization that I hadn't visited them since Scott's graduation party in 2009.

Aaron stops eating to take a picture with me.

Overnight was a blast.  Their two kids are the nicest, sweetest, most energetic children.  Allyson (almost two years old) greeted me with a big smile.  Aaron (four) was just the same.  After what seemed liked a million 'belly pokes,' it was apparent how much Allyson loved her Tickle Me Elmo.  And Aaron was allowed to stay up past his bedtime to watch Wipe Out with Mom and Dad.  Although his attention may not have been completely there, I know I enjoyed watching the family duos continuously get hit and fall repeatedly into foamy water. 

Allyson takes a break from 'tickling Elmo.'

This morning, I woke up with Scott, Melinda and the kids.  Even though I've got some young relatives close at home, I feel like I learned a lot about TV programming for children; Chugginton, Thomas and all the trains, Oso, etc.  And on the ride to school, we all got to listen to 'How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food' on audiobook.  The kids seem to enjoy school and they both took time to show me their classrooms.  I know that Scott was happy to have a day to relax after not feeling well yesterday.

Thanks Scott and Melinda for letting me crash on your couch and have fun with your wonderful family.  I love you all very much.

I left Manchester in a blizzard and arrived in Boston in a torrential downpour.  Stay tuned for a post about my weekend in Bean Town.