Adventures in Gastronomy

Randy and I headed to the Cape this past weekend for one last summer hurrah. Our friend, Roy, was supposed to join us but he flew back to California as a result of his sister passing away (poor guy). Since we had a non-refundable room, we went anyway and recruiting some other friends to join us.

Chris and Pete were already going to be there. So Zach and Jeff shared our suite.

Before the good stuff, let’s get back to this suite. We reserved at the Black Pearl. I’d never stayed there but it always looked nice enough when I walked by. We reserved the Captain’s Suite which was on the top floor. It included a living room, bedroom, bathroom and private roof deck with panoramic views of Ptown and the harbor (of course, that didn’t stop other guests from climbing up one night).

I’d called and spoke with the owners the day before to tell them that there was a slight change in plans as a result of our friend passing away. Before hanging up, the owners told me to check-in to the guesthouse BEFORE going to the beach so that they could enjoy the afternoon without having to wait for me.

So, we arrived a little after noon and the freaking owner snapped at me “You’re early.”. I replied that I was instructed the day before that I was told to arrive early. He just repeated “Yeah, but you’re still early.” OK – strike one.

He brought us to our room and it was the most spacious I’ve probably stayed in in Provincetown, but it was typically Ptown tacky with white and yellow floral sheets, ugly carpeting, chipped paint on the walls, etc…

The guesthouse also boasted of a hot tub. The signs said it ran until 11PM so we got down there just after 10:30 hoping to enjoy the last 30 minutes…only to find that the owners had already turned it off. Randy called and they grumbled something about nobody using it that late normally and people making too much noise when they do. Bregudgingly, they did ultimately come over and turn it on. OK…strike two.

The next morning as we were floating out and about, the owner started questioning the fact that we had our friends with us (even ones that were NOT staying in the suite). In fact, it seemed that nearly every time we walked around the property, an owner would pop out and comment/complain. Obviously, that wasn’t the case. In fact, I don’t recall seeing them at all on Monday (the day we checked out). But on Saturday and Sunday, it really did feel like we were being spied on since they always managed to appear and say something. Not friendly somethings like “enjoying the weather? or “fun day at the beach?”…unpleasant stuff like “how many of you are staying here? or “we need you to move your car”.

The also advertised continental breakfast, which I’ve come to know in Ptown often means cereal, donuts, bagels and cream cheese, and, if lucky, some cut fruit. Oddly enough, they had bagels, but no cream cheese? WTF?

Also on Sunday, after taking our showers, one owner yelled up from downstairs because there was a leak in the unit below us. Yep, our tub was leaking so they had to put this caulking/sealant stuff over the crack in the tub (a leack that already existed and had been repaid at least once before). When we took our next shower there was this large bulbous mound to step on. OK…strike three.

Long story short…the property itself looks adorable on the outside. The room was typical Ptown and did the trick. But the owners were horrible at making their guests feels welcome. Maybe they’re exhausted at the end of a busy summer season. Even so, if you can’t handle this sort of business, then find something new. In the end, I would NOT stay here again.

However, everything else about the trip was great. You couldn’t have asked for better weather. The beach was beautiful, we saw two good shows (Dina Martina and Varla Jean Merman). We saw a few D-list celebrities on the streets (Lea Delaria and Kate Clinton), and had a great time with our friends (we also hung out with our friends Roger and Marin on Sunday night).

August 26th, 2008
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 7 Comments

Our friend, Roy, arrived the night before last and is staying with us until next Thursday. With yesterday being his first full day here he laid low and just explored Cambridge/Somerville. Last night Randy and I brought him to the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) and then walked along the Waterfront and through Quincy Market to get to Beacon Hill, where the restaurant was located.

I’d eaten there before, years ago. Under previous ownership, the space was an affordable little Italian restaurant called il Bocaccino. When I lived down the street we’d go there quite often. Toward the end, they tried to fancy the place up and raised the prices. They also updated their menu and removed my favorite items. Consequently, I stoppped going.

Apparently, I wasn’t alone in my boycott because they soon went out of business. It was replaced by Pierrot Bistrot Francais. I went once many years ago to sample French food before my first trip to Paris. Last night I returned (with Randy and Roy) because it’s Restaurant Week and their menu appealed to me.

I started off with a yummy salad with warm goat cheese (and a delicious oil dressing). My dinner was a pork loin in a red currant sauce (which appeared to be the hit of our table as everybody kept trying it).  For dessert, I kept it simple with creme brulee, though i was equally impressed with Randy’s chocolate mousse and Roy’s dark chocolate tart.  All in all, it was a great night…

…until we go home. Roy received a phone call from his brother-in-law back in San Diego because his 40-something sister suddenly collapsed while teaching. It appears that it was a brain aneurysm. It happened at 2PM their time (5PM for us). When they spoke on the phone at 10PM she was still alive.

Unfortunately, a phone call came around 2AM (our time) announcing that she’d died.

Poor Roy. His first trip east in over 3 years and then this happens….a day after he arrives in perhaps the farthest major US city that he could be possibly be in. I lost a cousin to a brain aneurysm myself a few years ago. It’s so difficult because it’s one of those things nobody sees coming. There was no prior suffering. There were not hints, no warnings given by doctors. In my cousin’s case, she had a lovely dinner with friends and stepped out onto the porch to enjoy the beautiful September evening. She collapsed and was confirmed dead just hours later.

I can definitely feel for Roy. I’ve dealt with a great deal of loss since the 90’s (my one remaining grandfather, four aunts, four uncles, two cousins, a 3 year old niece, and a VERY close friend). It’s difficult and makes no sense. I just want him to know that I feel for him and, as much as anybody can, I know where he’s coming from.

August 22nd, 2008
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 3 Comments

It’s now official: Randy and I are going away for Labor Day Weekend. There was a great deal on flights (using frequent flyer miles) to Toronto. Only 17,500 miles per person for direct flights. We’re going to head out next Friday and come back Tuesday morning (and go straight to work). I found what appears to be a decent hotel just outside the Gay Village and overlooking Allan Gardens (whatever that is). The subway is just over two blocks away, but the streetcar stops right at the corner.

And for this 4+ day trip, I’m only having to use one vacation day. Which is a good thing because I’ve developed this obsession with maintaining a decent number of vacation days in the event of an emergency (if I get fired or quit, it gets paid out to me in my final check). My pool of days is actually at the lowest it’s been in a few years: after Ptown this coming weekend and Toronto next weekend, I’ll have 18.92 days remaining.

I know, I know – that’s a damn good number of days to have. I guess I still recall my childhood when my parents only got 2 weeks per year…even after decades with the same employer. And I remember my first jobs when I had 1 week for the first year and 2 weeks after that.

It’s the same thing with savings. My parents never had a pot to piss in (okay, we could afford a pot, but it leaked) so savings was a fantasy for us, not a reality. My first decade after college was the same. Between Boston rents and college loans and all of the other every day expenses, I never had much to fall back on. I fortunately never lived paycheck-to-paycheck (I was able to maintain at least $1,000 at all times), but the amount in savings never increased. It was my nest egg and I tried to never touch it.

Now that I’m in my, gasp, late 30’s I finally have an actual nest egg, thanks to having purchased and sold former condos. It’s a nice feeling to know that I’m covered if something happens. I may tap into it on the rare occasion, but always keep it above a certain level and replenish what I took out whenver I can.

And that’s how I treat my vacation days, I guess. I’m willing to use them (I think vacation time is extremely important and am disgusted at how little this country offers) but I also want to keep a bank of 15-20 days at any given time…just in case. In some ways, I suppose it was beneficial for me to grow up lower-middle class and to start off my career with jobs that offered pitiful benefits. Not only does it make me appreciate the amazing benefits I have now (and the ability to put a bit into savings each check), but it makes me not take these things for granted, either.

August 21st, 2008
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 1 Comment

Deano came over last night for our Tuesday Scrabble match. It ended up being the closest game I’ve ever played. He won….285 to 283. That means just ONE tile would have ended the game in a tie (since his score would go down one point and mine would go up one point).

And then the unimaginable happened. As we were putting the game away (and I was pouting, of course) Deano noticed that an “S” was left in the box and not used during the game.

Of course, my first instict was that this invalidates the whole game. But then I thought about it more…Deano was the last person to be able to grab tiles from the bag. When my next turn came, there were none left to grab. However, if that lost tile were in play, there would have been one tile left for me and I could have grabbed the “S”.

That would mean the last word I played, which was “in” (using my own “I” and an “N” already on the board) could actually have been “sin.” And that would have brought us to a tie.

So, Deano has a choice…he can say we tied, or that the game didn’t count. I’m happy with either option.

August 20th, 2008
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 4 Comments

Typically, I’m the person in the relationship who is constantly planning the next big trip. It seems the past two years have been a never-ending planning processes (often times I’m planning a future trip even before a more imminent trip has taken place).

After all of the travel I’ve done this year, I’m enjoying this lull between trips. For a brief period of time, I had no trips planned. Yeah, Randy and I are hoping to go somewhere the week between Christmas and New Years (since my office is closed), but even that trip hasn’t been hashed out yet. Otherwise, I’m fine with spending fall at home.

But that has suddenly changed. Randy wants us to visit his brother’s family in Nashville in a few weeks. Not only that, he’s craving a trip on Labor Day weekend. He’s not even particular about where…it just can’t be here, apparently.

I never realized the travel bug was contagious – but it apparently is!

August 19th, 2008
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 2 Comments

The most amazing thing happened on Sunday: the sun came out. And based on the day’s name, it couldn’t have happened on a more appropriate day.

True, there was some sun on Saturday…perhaps from about noon until 3PM, but then the clouds (and storms we’ve had almost daily) came through. We did manage to do a bit of shopping on Saturday (completely forgetting that it was the tax-free holiday) and went to see Sex and the City at the Capitol Theatre that night.

But Sunday was the day. We headed out just after 11AM to go to Crane Beach on the North Shore. They were turning cars away because it was so crowded. I’ve had this happen before…but you combine what feels like 12 consecutive weekends of bad weather together and have the first completely storm-free weekend day all summer, and EVERYBODy does the same thing. Damn conformists.

So, since we were already on the North Shore, Randy and I drove around until we found another beach (yay GPS). Still, we didn’t arrive until nearly 2 hours after leaving the house (my longest attempt to go to the beach…ever!

This one was in Gloucester and had a long Indian name. It was a small beach (compared to Crane) but was in a rather lovely setting. Straight ahead of you was the Atlantic Ocean with a lighthouse perched at the end of land sticking out on the right. To the left were houses and trees and big rocks. To the right was a river (or narrow harbor) with some beautiful buildings on the other side (presumably mansions and clubs/boat houses). The beach had the softest sand we’d found in New England, but at the end there were enormous rocks you could climb. As the tide went out, you could walk great lengths to wear people had anchored their boats for a day at the beach. But as the tide got lower and lower, boats were stranded on land.

But being stranded didn’t matter to these folks, because the further you walked (away from the beach parking lots) the more it felt like a college kegger. Seriously…people tied boats together so there was a continuous wall of 25-50 boats. People were blasting music and I saw more public consumption of alcohol than I had in my entire life (considering it’s illegal in Massachusetts).

It was somewhat disconerting since all of these partiers were eventually going to get back into their boats and navigate around while drunk. And it was somewhat shocking that police weren’t interfering. However, since this section of the beach was behind the rocks and around the corner from the family-friendly, lifeguard-protected area, I suppose the city may turn a blind eye.

Besides, this was the first nice weekend day we’ve had in ages so it was worth celebrating.

August 18th, 2008
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 1 Comment

After scooting to work this morning I turned the scooter off and started to park it. Since it has to lock to a bike rack, and the scooter is too big to fit into the standard bike rack, this often involves some lifting and shifting of the scooter.

Today, in doing so, I managed to break the key in half in the trunk (I stupidly left the key in the trunk key hole as I was shifting). Yay me. Fortunately, it came with a spare key (that I carry with me).

I wonder if I can gorilla glue it back together again? Otherwise, I suppose the sharp edge could make a decent weapon.

August 14th, 2008
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 2 Comments

I’m on Facebook. I’m also on LinkedIn and Friendster (though, now that nobody uses the latter site my profile merely exists and doesn’t get updated).

I love the ability to connect with old friends. I’ve always been this way. I’m reconnecting with many more high school friends via Facebook, and I do love the games (WordTwist, Scramble, formerly Scrabulous), but I still think I liked Friendster better.

Friendster did exactly what I wanted it to do: let me view people’s profiles and determine if they’re friends or not. Facebook does that, but it’s got too many other things going on at the same time (aside from the games, of course).

I keep getting these bizarre requests for “Lil Green Patch” or to write on a wall, or to join strange groups (bad british teeth?). Then I feel guilty for not responding to such requests. Well, I feel only slightly guilty because I never do end up responding.

This is the same reason I never could get into MySpace. Between the ads, and the clutter, I couldn’t figure out how to use the damn site (I feel so old). And speaking of feeling old, everybody on MySpace seemed to be a teenager. Ew.

I’m not sure where I’m going with this.

Oh, and the suns out again! For the first time since, I believe 1943, we have sunshine. It’s amazing – I should have brought my camera.

August 13th, 2008
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: Comments Off on Getting It, but Not Getting It

I woke up this morning in a mood. I can’t really describe it. I’m just enveloped in a world of “blah.”

I suspect it has a lot to do with the weather for the past, well, entire season. It’s a never ending pattern of clouds and rain, clouds and rain. Every trip I’ve taken since spring has been affected by similar weather patterns – even as far away as the Pacific coast and even Europe.

At least, I’m sure that’s a part of it. Last night I had a most peculiar dream, too. I was still living in my childhood home in Osterville when a storm started coming through one night (not surprisingly, I’m guessing that has to do with the actual weather pattern we’re contending with). Anyway, the thunder/lightning started getting incredibly severe and the next thing you know, the winds picked up and it appeared and I witnessed a tornado strike the two houses across the street. Ironically, these are the same two houses that suffered fairly substantial damage when Hurricane Bob struck in 1991…when I saw five 70+ foot tall trees literally pull up the ground (and street) and fall onto the houses. However, in last night’s dream these houses had windows blown out, roofs pulled off, and then explosions (gas?).

I ran downstairs to my parents bedroom and grabbed my Mom just as the roof and 2nd floor of our house got sucked off. We ended up grabbing onto a post to secure ourselves (my parents bedroom in real life had no such convenient post) and then the storm was over just as quickly as it hit.

What does this say about me?

August 12th, 2008
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 4 Comments

The weather this summer has been historically terrible. It seems we’re exceeding every average in the book (except, fortunately, for hottest summer). We’ve exceeded the typical July rainfall, we’ve exceed the typical August rainful and we’ve exceed the typical number of thunderstorms in a given YEAR.

And it doesn’t appear to be ending. I suppose I can take some comfort in knowing that we’re not alone. For example, we suffered identical weather for almost the entire trip to Maine. The long 4.5+ hour drive up was in almost a constant torrential downpour. Our return home yesterday included patches of the same every 50 miles or so. On the actual days of our vacation, we had rain every day but Saturday (which still started off as clouds but cleared up rather nicely by afternoon).

Anyway, we arrived Wednesday night at about 7:30PM, unloaded out belongings into the cabin, then quickly headed out for dinner. After all of that driving, a nice meal seemed perfect. We bypassed a bunch of local/walkable restaurants for a place a few miles away on top of a hill (come to think of it, Top of the Hill may have actually been the name of the place). The bread was good, but nothing else with my order seemed to go well. The food took an hour and a half from the time we ordered until it arrived at the table (did I mention we were starving after the long ride?). The veal piccata I ordered was cooked in oil that should have been changed ages ago and was over-cooked. The brownie a-la-mode dessert that came with Randy’s entree arrived with a burned bottom. Scott and Deano’s food came out okay, though (it’s difficult to screw up pasta and burgers too much).

We returned to the cabin and played games (RummiKub). Considering that it had been cold (50’s), rainy, and that the cabin had no heat or lockable doors, we slept rather well.

Oh, I should describe the cabin. It definitely looked like the website. Perched on a hill, along a dirt road in the middle of the woods, the cabin had a open living/dining/kitchen room as the main portion of the cabin. There was a wood stove for heat. However, you had to go outside and around to the back of a deck to access the bathroom and bedrooms. The bedrooms had no heat or fireplaces. And the walls weren’t insulated. In fact, they were just planks (boards) nailed to periodic studs. From the outside, the cabin looked like it was a wooden cabin. From the inside, you saw the studs and bracing (since, like I said, there was only one thin piece of wood separating you from the outside). Consequently, it could get mighty cool in those bedrooms. Fortunately, I’m a human heater and kept Randy warm. Unfortunately, you had to walk outside to access the bathroom to pee in the middle of the night (or any time, for that matter). And the single-ply walls provided quite an array of insect/arachnid life to join us. Every shower I took I was joined by at least 3 spiders or daddy long-legs.

But the most disconerting part was that the doors had no locks. Any time, day or not (even when we’re not there) somebody could just open the bedroom doors and walk in. The living room section of the house did have locks so that is where we kept our laptops, iPods, cell phones, etc… Having been a city boy for 20 years, a locked door is just something I’ve become accustomed to. Still, I did manage to fall asleep.

It’s funny, on our last night there Randy and I had a romantic little dinner at this delicious little restaurant in Southwest Harbor called Fiddler’s Green. It looked like a typical house but was actually a restaurant that had some views of the harbor. I had an amazing scallops entree with asparagus, spinach, and orzo (by far the best meal of the trip). Anyway, we were chatting up the owner and she asked where we were staying. We told her the place and her response was classic: “Oh, those cabins sure are, um….rustic.”

The next day it rained on and off and was completely cloudy as we drove around Acadia National Park. We did the loop road and took hundreds of pictures of the spectacular coast. Scott took some really nice ones of us which was great since Randy and I normally travel alone and have so few photos of us together (it’s usually just one or the other). After driving around all day we reached the southern portion of the island and, lo and behold, some blue sky started breaking through the clouds!

Randy, Scott and Deano took advantage of the light to take some more photos. Meanwhile, with three other more qualified phototraphers in my presence, I opted not to take photos that would simply duplicate theirs (and with inferior quality).

That night, Randy cooked some yummy chicken and marinated veggies for dinner and we played more games. Unfortunately, the last game became more competitive than it should have and it put a damper on activities for the rest of that evening…and the following two days. (for the record, and this may come as a shock, but despite my fiercely competitive nature, I was not the source of the problem).

It poured the next morning so we hung around the condo and began having the sort of day that I had craved: a lazy game-playing day filled with naps and reading. As the afternoon approached, everybody decided to go to Bar Harbor (the only big town in the area). We got there, had lunch (yet again, a mediocre meal but at least the space was fun), and walked around the shops. Though, after making the loop around the shopping district it began to rain heavily. I opted to return to the car to read (I brought magazines for that very reason) and they continued picture taking. When they returned, the previous night’s game tension still existed so we returned to the cabin to rest a bit.

Eventually, Randy, Deano, and I rode out to view a lighthouse at sunset (though, with the rain there was no sunset to see…just a lightouse). Scott stayed behind to nap, and eventually take a bath before heading to bed. The rest of us had some dinner (thanks again, Randy) and rested.

On Saturday, Deano and Scott went on a sailboat ride (I passed…as you may recall my history with sailing). The sun started shining by mid-morning so Randy and I grabbed the bikes and rode the carriage trails in Acadia National Park. By the afternoon, we’d done nearly 19 miles. We chose some trails that ended up with us climbing some of the smaller mountains. There were two portions where I actually had to walk my bike. But we picked some wild blueberries for nourishment and got to see some pretty vistas. We even frolicked in a waterfall!

Despite my thighs burning for the rest of the day, that may have been the best time I had on the trip. We later drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain and took some photos before returning to the cabin. Scott had decided to head back Saturday night (he’d been there 3 days longer than the rest of us…which meant he had to put up with 3 more rainy days than we had to) so he and Deano finished packing up and headed out (Scott was Deano’s ride).

That night was when we had the amazing meal at Fiddler’s Green (I highly recommend it). We came back to the cabin, lit the fire, played RummiKub, drank wine and relaxed. Then we went outside to head to the bedroom for our last night’s sleep.

We ended the trip by exploring the western portion of the island and then laying out on the beach at Echo Lake for an hour or so. But then, you guessed it, storm clouds started approaching so we packed up and began the ride home.

Now we’re back home….and the weather IS THE SAME!

August 11th, 2008
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 1 Comment