Picture Catch-up Part 1, Culebra Puerto Rico

First, Happy Birthday Aunt Karen.

OK, these picture catch-up posts are going to be incredibly out of order but that's the nice thing about having a blog ... you can do whatever you want.

These are from the second weekend in November in Culebra, Puerto Rico. I went with a great group of people and it was the perfect escape from work and the increasingly colder weather.



The ferry ride from the mainland to Culebra take about 75 minutes and you get to see a bunch of the other islands off the coast of PR




These 2 pictures combine to be the view from our condo's balcony; too bad my phone couldn't capture how truly awesome it was



The ladies of the trip with our bus driver Willy; we had a party bus both nights and he came in with us everywhere we went



Some of the group chilling on our balcony



When there's drinking and available coconuts, the only logical conclusion is a coco-lantern



Our only meal out, at Eden, was excellent (had lobster that was great)



Kirby, Jackson and I after the meal. There's a reason for my face, but I'm not telling here



The group with Willy (my phone's lens had a smudge)



The ferry leaving Culebra



One of the streets in old San Juan; we had time before our flight and decided to take a stroll through

Just Booked - Culebra Trip

I just booked my flights for a trip to Culebra, Puerto Rico and am already excited. The trip isn't until November, but everyone wanted to get everything planned as early as possible. I'm going for a long weekend with a bunch of friends from work, including some that have been there many times before.

Culebra is a small island off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico and doesn't have very much development to take away from the natural beauty of the location. The two pictures below show the islands location relative to Puerto Rico and the lack of development via satellite view.





We are staying in a couple villas by one of the numerous beaches. There is very limited access to these beaches so for the only people around are those staying at the same "resort" as you. Below you can see how the place is surrounded by trees and water with just a small access road leading to it. I really can't wait to get there and have that kind of privacy.



Oh, and the best part? This is the view when you walk out of the villas:



I'll probably post about this periodically as I research stuff to do and buy things I'm going to take.

Pictures from New York

In chronological order:


Dessert (S'mores) at Max Brenner in Union Square Thursday night


Friday afternoon walking along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade


Somewhere after the Promenade on the way to the Brooklyn Bridge


Starting across the Brooklyn Bridge


The East River down toward the Statue of Liberty


I kinda wish I had a nicer camera or an SLR for this one

In NYC

I have been neglecting the hell out of this blog and probably will be posting sparingly over the next few weeks until I actually accomplish something noteworthy to write about.  

I figured being in New York was worth writing about ... especially since I have been having a lot of fun and relaxing.  I walked over the Brooklyn Bridge yesterday and would love to do that on a regular basis if I lived up here.  It was right around sunset when we (my friend Vanessa from college and I) were crossing and the skyline behind the Statue of Liberty was gorgeous.  I'll post some pictures tomorrow or Monday when I have the ability to upload them.  

Tonight I am going to a vegan restaurant to celebrate the birthday of one of Vanessa's friends.  Should be an interesting time trying to figure out what I am eating since I don't know what half the stuff on the menu is other than that it doesn't include anything from an animal.  There is ice cream on the desert menu and I am kinda curious to try it since it doesn't include any milk.  We'll see how this goes.

Labor Day Weekend Wrap-up

My friend Vanessa came down to visit me this weekend because apparently the neighborhood she where she lives in Brooklyn is on the edge of the Caribbean section and the was a big parade/festival thing going on that gets pretty out of hand and she didn't want to be there. Saturday she spent all day shopping and lounging around while I was at the Maryland-Delaware football game. On Sunday she and I went out to brunch with my dad and his girlfriend. We went to Eggspectation in Columbia ... one of the best breakfast places there is. I had a waffle with fresh blueberries and she had their strawberry and banana crepes ... the crepes are so good my dad and gf ended up splitting an order as a dessert.

I was tired from the previous day's activities and headed back downtown to take a nap before dinner. Vanessa's bday was earlier this month so I took her to a nice dinner at Flemming's in Harbor East as a belated gift. We had the "Wicked Cajun Barbecue Shrimp" as an appetizer, they were really good but not spicy as the waitress made them out to be. We both ordered the filet mignon (she got the petite) and split a bunch of a la carte sides; a baked potato, chipotle cheddar macaroni and cheese, and grill asparagus. I had a couple glasses of wine (a Cabernet and a Cab-Merlot blend), she left her ID in NYC and isn't a big drinker anyways. She ended it with chocolate lava cake, no desert for me (not a big fan of chocolate or cakes).

Some of each of the sides and my filet

Does it look like I got some sun at the Terps game? (Keep in mind I generally have a traditional Irish (pale) complexion.

After dinner we walked across the street to the Landmark Theater and saw Pineapple Express. Good movie and a lot more violent than I expected. Reminds me of when James Franco and Seth Rogan were on Freaks & Geeks (great show, everyone should see it)

I dropped Vanessa of at the train Monday afternoon and went to my mom's in Columbia for her bday celebration (it was last Thursday). My friend and former roommate Ali came and we had a great time. Basically this was a weekend of great meals .. better than the ones I had in Vegas the previous weekend (except maybe the Wynn's buffet). My mom's bf made steamed mussels from his "secret" recipe (we have these whenever there is a big dinner at my mom's and they are amazing). My dad and his gf (yes, my mom and her bf and my dad and his gf all had dinner for my mom's bday at my mom's house; my dad's sister was there too) brought the drinks, white sangria with lots of fresh fruit in it mixed with a splash of ginger ale. Both my sisters were there and one brought her bf (the other's bf was hosting a dinner of his own so she came for dinner than left to go back to his cookout). We had steaks from the Laurel Meat Market (one of the best butcher's in the area) cooked on the grill by my dad and seasoned to perfection. There were left-over grilled mixed veggies from my tailgating that we re-heated (on the grill) and added to fresh ones that I grilled at the time. Desert was angel food cake with fresh strawberries, raspberries and blueberries topped with whipped cream. I know what I said about deserts and cake, but there is something about angel food cake that I like, maybe how light it is ... i don't know. My mom opened her cards and gifts and then we all went our separate ways. It was a great end to a great weekend.

Back from Vegas

So, I got back from Vegas over a week ago and am only now finding time to post about it. The trip was mostly relaxing and not nearly as crazy (or crazy at all) as I had anticipated. I blame it on the fact that I have an addiction to poker ... not gambling, just poker. I spent about 16 hours playing poker when I should have been out at clubs or seeing a show or doing something more exciting than sitting at a table with 9 other guys (and the occasional woman) giving my money to each of them in small chunks. On the plus side, my friend Brian that I went with is a food lover so we definitely ate well while we were out there and tried a variety of places. I don't regret the trip because I needed the rest, but wish I chose to go somewhere intended to be relaxing, like a cruise or something. Next time I go it will be like my last trip when I went with a larger group and we tried everything.

The next time I go to Vegas I have decided that the following conditions must be met:
- At least six people going
- Thursday - Monday
- During March Madness
- Someone assigned to keeping me out of the poker room
- Stay at the Wynn
- Go out every night
- Go to at least one show
- Drink fewer triples of SoCo straight up before noon

And now some pictures for fun:

Out the plane's window over the Grand Canyon

View from our room in the MGM Grand (New York New York straight across and Excalibur on the corner)

Last course of breakfast from the MGM's buffet (worst of all the food we had)

One of the lion's from the indoor habitat in MGM Grand

Me in front of the lion habitat

Some of the food from the Wynn buffet that Brian won by signing up for a player's card (the best buffet food I have ever had)

About time

Well ... I know it has been a while since I posted that first post saying I was going to post a lot during the first few weeks and then maybe drop off. Hopefully this means the opposite has occurred and I dropped off early and will not start to post on a regular basis. It's just hard for me to sit down at a computer when I get home from work. I thought about posting several times (is this a repeat of my first post or what?) but didn't have the energy or desire to fire up my POS laptop and hope the keyboard worked. So on that note, let's re-cap what has happened so far in July ... with plenty of occasions forgotten I am sure.

• Went to NYC (brooklyn) to visit Vanessa (V)
• Went to a Staten Island wedding with V - I consider her my default wedding date because we always have fun together (this was also the most elaborate wedding I have been to in my life and I have been to quite a few)
• Saw Hancock with V and Wolfe (V's friend) - Still don't know what I think about it ... what kind of movie were they trying to make ... I think they got lost somewhere in the development and made half of two different movies and decided to connect them
• Did absolutely nothing to celebrate the 4th even though I was in the biggest city in the US that had a $40 million fireworks show (fireworks just don't do it for me unless I am setting them off)
• Went to Spamalot on Broadway (much funnier than Monty Python's Holy Grail I saw for the first time less than a week earlier ... British comedy is like fireworks to me, the dry wit is only funny to me when I am doing it)
• Randomly went out for drinks with Lucas and Nancy (from MD but happened to be in NYC at the same time)
• Left V to go to a "White Party" with Lucas and Nancy (for which I had to buy a white outfit that I didn't have)
• Had fun at said "White Party" on a small boat that took us around NYC till 5 AM
• Commuted back to Brooklyn only to pack up and commute back to Penn Station and catch my train back to B'more
• Worked for a few days then got sick and worked from home for the next couple days
• Went to Roy's Hawiian Fusion in Harbor East with MK (I love this place but when dinner is this expensive it can't be a frequent visit)
• Watched Happy Gilmore for the first time in years, "the price is wrong ... bitch" (one of Adam Sandler's funniest)
• Went out with Brian and Jill for one of their friend's 30th bdays this night included a rooftop deck, Saute (which has some of the best calamari I have had), Claddagh's Pub, dancing on the pool table at Claddagh's (not me), more roof deck, passing out on couch, walking home at 5:30 AM
• Had 59th Bday dinner at my mom's for my dad ... always an interesting time when you get my family together ... I swear it could be a successful TV show
• That brings us to yesterday on my dad's actual bday we went golfing, Waverly does not have enough trees to provide shade for my Irish skin (which is now red), went to Ryleigh's in Fed Hill for Shore night and had crabs, oysters, the best corn on the cob ever, calamari (not as good as Saute's), and ended up in Canton to go to Vaccaro's for desert and show my house to Aunt J and Uncle G (sister's godparents)

So that may be a lot to take in right now and maybe I'll post some pictures from the random events on there (when I get home since I don't have them here at work ... shhh! I'll get back to work now, and by that I mean start setting up my fantasy football league)