Chicago, Illinois

Ventured over to the "Windy City", which by the way is the 11th windiest city in the country. Other reasons for the name- politicians with long winded speeches and encouraging travelers to escape the heat and enjoy the breezes off lake Michigan.


Never realized how rough the waters of lake Michigan are!

Chicago offers a variety of sculptures and art for one to explore. The one I was most familiar with was cloud gate, but there were definitely other interesting pieces. Including the one that has faces of residents on it and then spews water every few minutes.


It's like "Where's Waldo?" Do you see me?


Wonder how one got chosen for this...

Had an opporunity to check out the Museum of Art. Which has both very beautiful and interesting pieces, plus I got in for free thanks to Bank of America.


Chicago's architecture is very different from other places that I have been. It seems that they have an anything goes policy here in that there are so many styles of architecture.



Did an architectural tour. Very interesting and fun. Would recommend any one who goes to Chicago to do this tour


Guess if you are going to be a city in the midwest you need a building that looks like a corn cob

Ventured over to Navy Pier which had lots of food and excitement. They have replaced the original 1890's world fair ferris wheel





Chicago is also the start of Route 66. I happened upon the sign indicating this while wandering around

Of course I had to go check out some of the night life. Went to a local Blues club called Buddy Guys



Buddy Guy was there performing that night which I hear is a rare and unusual treat



Also went to Second City, a improv and skit comedy club that has had many famous names walk through its doors including Alan Alda, Steve Martin, John Candy, Steve Carrell etc

Of course couldn't leave Chicago without trying some Chicago style deep dish pizza. Yum!



Great vacation!!! Will have to venture back at some point as there is definitely much more to see. Would like to say thanks to Janeen for taking time to show me around and Justin for coming to "Second City"

Provincetown, MA

Meghan and I took a day trip out to Provincetown or P-town. The ferry takes you from Boston to there in just 90minutes.





P-Town is located on the end of the cape and is a really cool artsy/gay community.



Ha,Ha! Giant penis art.




We had a yummy lunch, walked around town, checked out a bunch of fantastic shops and then went down to the beach and soaked in some sun





We wished we had more time here and decided next time we are spending the night! Provincetown looks to have an awesome night life. Hell, they even had a dance club open at 4pm!





I'm definitely going back! Anyone want to join me?

Fenway Ball Park

Ok, at first I wasn't sure if I should give Fenway its own post. It is after all walking distance to my house.



However, it being the oldest continuely run ball park and well in all honesty really friggin cool I decided it did deserve mention.



Fenway opened in April of 1912. Ok people, especially you history buffs. Am I wrong, but isn't that when the Titanic Sank?



The park is relatively small and even the cheap "bleacher" seats were great!



Unfortunately the weather was not cooperating that day. After an hour and a half of game delay, being soaked, and cold Meghan and I decided to give up on waiting for the game to start. I am sure that redsox fans would be appalled by this : ). Of course shortly after we left they started the game. Being in dry clothes, at the bar with more affordable beer was definitely a great way to watch the game.

New York

Got myself out of Massachussetts and down to New York to visit Aunt Joyce, Uncle Bobby and Scott. They were wonderful to tour me around including a day at the beach. Which unfortunately went poorly due to being bombarded by flies. We were forced to move poolside away from the nipping flies and enjoy some sunshine and cocktails. Lets just say we quickly got over the change in plans







Also made it into NYC. This city is a lot of fun! We wandered around quite a bit and saw several different areas. Starting off with some time in SoHo



While touring around the city we stumbled across a photo shoot for a Tiffany's commercial. Will have to watch for it this winter



Saw a few relatively newer places in the city including Eataly a market place with a variety of restaurants and shops. We then ventured over to Chelsea Market where we had a delicious lunch. After lunch we walked the High Line, an old railway track that has been converted into a green space.



The High Line was featured in one my recent Nat'l Geographic magazines so it was fun to see it.



We then made our way over towards Rockefellar Center. Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse so were forced to seek shelter and couldn't tour around this area as much as we would have liked





Saw Times Square from a distance



Ended the trip by catching up with my friend and one of my original Boston roomies at a bar called "House of Brews". The bartender told me that I was a lush and offered me a beer on the house. Thought this was really funny. I'm sure my mom is going to be really proud : )

Northern AZ

Returned home for a week to soak in the beautiful summer weather of Northern Az. Had a wonderful time. I did not take a lot of pictures on this trip. But do have a few to share with you. One of my closest friend for the past 17yrs tied the knot. I relied on others for pictures at the wedding but do have one. This is behind the Elks Lodge, where the ceremony took place, looking toward the San Fransico Peaks



Kristall flew in form Portland,Or to spend the week. Robbie seemed happy to see her again.

We spent a day in Sedona curing our hangover and soaking in the creek. The weather was beautiful and even though we just opted to go to Red Rock Crossing it wasn't overly crowded.



We had a wonderful time. Catching up with old friends and hitting up some of our old hangouts. The weather is beautiful in Boston today but it just can't compete

Rochester, NY/Niagra Falls, Ontario

Another friend has entered into her "dirty thirties" and we decided to celebrate the big 3-0 with a girls trip to Niagra Falls.



Weekend started in Rochester,NY where she lives. Super cute apartment. Wish rent prices were the same in Boston. Met a bunch of her friends and had a fun night drinking wine/beer and munching on hors d'ouevres (holy crap I'm probably not even close with the spelling of that word. Hope you know what I mean).

The weather was of course cold and snowy, it being upstate NY in Feb. Which meant that exploring the lakes, falls etc was not on our to do list for this trip, but we did make it a Rochester staple... "Dinosaur BBQ"




We then headed to Niagra Falls for a getaway. Just us girls : )



It being the off season we were able to get a great deal on an amazing hotel suite complete with jacuzzi tub, fire place, 2 california king beds and a 2 for 1 deal at the steak house- Yum!!!



Of course we did also manage to get a glimpse of "The Falls" although not as easy in the winter to do. Still they looked amazing this time of year and I'm happy I was able to see them with all the snow.






It was interesting reading about the people who attempted to go over the falls in a barrel. The bravest I'd say is the lady who brought her cat!!!

Portland, ME

After living in the Boston area for the last 6mos, I figured it was time to venture out and explore more of New England. Of course, some may question my sanity on heading north during the winter. Fortunately, my friend Jen was willing to brave a trip to Maine in January and go do some sightseeing with me



We took the Concord Bus line which in under 2hrs got us there. I'm impressed with how close things are here. The ride was smooth and if watching out the window, seeing the small towns of new england or the occassional ice fisher wasn't keeping your interest they also played a movie (Toy Story 3).



When we arrived in Portland one of my co-workers Larry came and toured around us. Yes, he lives there and yes he commutes to Boston for work! It was great to have our own personal tour guide. We went to lunch at local pub called Gritty McDuffs and sampled some of their in house brewed beers. Larry was quite the history buff and very knowledgeable about the city. This was a great city and I'd love to go back and explore more especially once it is warmer out.