Leaf-peeping and family meetings
Since this weekend is almost upon us, it seems like time to post info from the New England trip Commitment Monkey and I just returned from.
Summary trip tally (for those not into the crazy LJ epic posts):
Apple pies: 5
Blueberry pie: 1
Strawberry rhubarb pie: 1
Home made doughnuts: many
Home made whoopie pies: lots
Lobster benedict: 2
Lobster stew: 1 (large)
Lobsters: 2
Grammy-made cream puffs: foodgasm
Hours driving together: 14+
Trips to Stone Dog Café: 4
States: 3
Family members introduced to Tom: 18 or so
Migraines: 1
4-wheeler rides: 2
Pictures taken: about 250
Vintage vehicles: 4
Life altering decisions: 1
Pretty pictures for the fully ADD. ;)
The flight to Maine was fairly uneventful. We had a short layover that was just long enough to pee and get McDonald's food, which we ate rather quickly on the plane before we even started to taxi. Yes, I ate McDonald's for the first time in probably 20+ years. And I didn't die.
My brother Zach and his girlfriend picked us up at the Portland Jetport and brought us to my Mom and step-dad, Thomaso's place, where my maternal grandmother, and youngest step-brother plus his girlfriend are also living. I don't think Tom would have been anxious about meeting the family anyway, but a pleasant side effect of having SO MUCH on our minds with regards to career options, where we were going to live, and you know… our entire FUTURE was that he didn't have time to get freaked out about meeting everyone. Besides, they loved him before they even met him just because of how happy I am.
Socializing and a bit of getting to know everyone happened until midnight or so (impressive when you consider that they normally go to bed around 8 PM).
Wednesday we went to the Stone Dog Café for breakfast, followed by a trip out to Two Lights and Portland Head Light. I was pretty pleased to have both Grandmothers' with me. This never happened earlier in life because at different times, they were each married to my Grandfather. (Story entirely too long for this post.) Lobster stew was consumed at Two Lights, and millions of people were narrowly avoided at Portland Head, and then we headed home.
We headed up to Dad and Nanci's place that night. In his typical fashion, Dad had very subtly let me know that he was anxious to see me. :) I love my step-mom SO MUCH; it's as if she had prepared questions in her head that were aimed specifically at making Tom comfortable while getting to know him. She's also my Oprah filter; I have NO desire to watch that show, but she follows it devoutly and fills me in on any really good information she hears.
I also loved it when he excused himself to use the bathroom, and she took that opportunity to tell me how cute he is.
I hated to leave their place, as it's always made me feel good just being there, but we had to head back to Mom's and the uncomfortable bed we were sleeping in to get ready for the trip to Vermont the next day.
Thursday morning (all things being relative), we quickly got ready, borrowed Mom's car, had breakfast at Stone Dog again, and hit the road to Vermont.
From New England Trip
The timing of this trip was just perfect in many ways, not the least of which was the fact that we hit the peak of the fall foliage. There is no better time to be in Maine. This made for an amazing drive across 302 and the Kancamagus Highway. We stopped for pics a few times, but when you're talking about curvy two-lane roads at the height of the leaf-peeping season, you have to be careful. There were a couple of times that we got trapped behind dreadful people going 15 UNDER the speed limit. Once I managed to pass them, we limited our stops to… well, none really.
From New England TripWe drove further and further into the middle of NOWHERE, and finally, to his parents' place. Words and pictures can't do this place justice; his step-dad built it. It's the PERFECT combination of raw wood and beautiful finishings. It's at the top of about a 1.5 mile stone driveway, on a pond, surrounded by hills and wildlife.
We hung out with the family and some old family friends for the evening. Tom's Mom had prepared some beef stew. Now… I'm not normally a fan of the beef stew, but this was so amazing I almost took a picture of it. They dug the potatoes, cut the carrots, and picked the edamame from the garden THAT MORNING. Everything but the cow had been raised on their land and it was amazing. I had seconds. Then pie.
I ended up getting a migraine that night, and I didn't have any of my special migraine drugs with me. As per the usual, Tom took exceptionally good care of me, and I felt functional by morning. The day after an episode like that, I still generally feel pretty awful, and this wasn't really an exception. I did pretty well, though.
After two more pieces of pie and some breakfast, we headed out. We were taking a different route home so we could stop in Littleton, NH to visit the diner Alice and Michael used to own, where Tom had worked and helped perfect the corned beef hash. This, I was told, was the corned beef hash by which ALL corned beef hash must be measured. I've been hearing about it for almost a year now, so there was no way I was passing up an opportunity to get him some.
It was good, and we got a mug to commemorate the event. We also hit the Littleton Book Store since… you know… the pile of books that Tom hasn't read yet is slightly shorter than me, so clearly he needed more. ;) He had told me about that place as well; how the staff recommendations are fantastic, and he had discovered many of his favorite authors there. Once again, we weren't disappointed.
Back in Maine we had dinner at Sebago Brewing Co. with my step-bro Matt. I may have mentioned before that Matt had a severe head injury when he was a kid, so much of the conversation focused on his former Occupational Therapist's new teaching career, and how he's the focus of most of the class, making a guest appearance at the end. He's got the greatest sense of humor and I love talking about stuff like this with him, so dinner was good.
Saturday my Mom and Thomaso had a big shindig planned at their place. Lots of relatives from lots of corners of Maine were in attendance. Tom and I had planned on skipping out in the AM to avoid the neuroses of Mom in party prep mode, but we overslept and she pretty much asked us not to. So, we hung out, partied, ate a TON, and once the guests left (which was quite early because they're old Mainers or had to work), we went shopping. Sounds not exciting, I know, but shopping in Maine is fun because it's CHEAP. Only the conversation in the car on the way over about saving money because of my likely impending unemployment saved me from spending about a grand on freakin' HOT boots at Macy's. [insert sad face here]
Sunday had been set aside for spending time with Dad and Nanci. We headed up to their place, stopping at Stone Dog of course on our way. There were lots of good conversations, including many focused on… you guessed it… where Tom would work. There were also bees, chickenonthegrill, my Grandmother, setting up Dad's SPOT, and an awesome dinner.
Then there was the Pats/Chargers game. 'Nuff said.
We headed back to Mom's and the uncomfortable bed at half time; I was still fighting some kind of bug, complete with headaches. Plus, who the hell would want to watch that game??
Monday was a trip to Gramp Colb's with Dad. The drive up was fantastic; Tom got to see more of the back-woods of Maine than most ever do. Plus, Dad was in a talkative, story telling kind of mood, which is ALWAYS just terribly entertaining.
Side note: I used to think that my life, and to some degree, my family just wouldn't be all that interesting to outsiders. I grew up in a small town, and my family is from even more rural areas. I've realized recently that nothing could be further from the truth. The experiences of growing up in rural areas have been amazing, and I'm so grateful that I had such a vivid childhood, and my relatives have even more remarkable stories to tell. (Tom couldn't meet a couple of people that I had wanted him to meet because they were racing IN pumpkins down a river that day.)
At Gramp's, we gave Tom the grand tour. The garage, which houses a MINT, 100% original 1975 Dodge Dart Swinger with about 60K original miles, plus a Jeep Cherokee with tracks rather than wheels (for grooming snowmobile trails, complete with a "backup" camera rigged to always be on so you can watch what's behind you). Then the barn: 1929 Mercedes Gazelle, jet boat, snowmobiles, 4-wheelers, 1988 factory supercharged Toyota MR2, old family photos, and a partridge in a pear tree. The 1939 Chevy was parked in the yard on that particular day, along with the crazy old skool camper Gramp just bought for a grand. It had yellow shag carpet and real wood.
Tom and I then took the 4-wheelers around a bit while Dad tried to figure out why one of Gramp's toys wasn't working (the mower I think it was). Tom took off first, and I thought it sounded like he got stuck in a big mud hole out in the woods, so I gallantly took off to rescue him. When I found him, perfectly NOT stuck with a giant grin on his face, the wheeler I was driving stalled. And wouldn't re-start. We headed back to Gramp's and got Dad, who knew what the problem was before we even headed back into the woods.
After spending entirely too little time with Grampa talking about planes, looking at old photos, and his recent Silver Star that he was awarded by the state, we headed back home. I hated to leave and Gramp kept telling us to come back when we could. I can't wait to go back.
Back at Dad's, we said our goodbyes relatively quickly. Nanci (you remember Nanci; she's the Oprah filter) asked about the job situation. As we were standing at the door ready to head out, she said "are you going to regret it if you don't take the Google job?" "Yeah" Tom replied without hesitation.
That was all I needed to hear. The decision was made.
Back down to Mom's we went, stopping for Airborn, Aleve, and a final Italian Sandwich for me. Tom, Thomaso, Mom and Gram had a lobster feed while I happily enjoyed my sandwich and Maine-brand Funyuns.
Sleep, wake up, travel ALL day, sleep in a comfy bed, hate waking up, and still tired now.
The end. Well, really just another beginning.
Summary trip tally (for those not into the crazy LJ epic posts):
Apple pies: 5
Blueberry pie: 1
Strawberry rhubarb pie: 1
Home made doughnuts: many
Home made whoopie pies: lots
Lobster benedict: 2
Lobster stew: 1 (large)
Lobsters: 2
Grammy-made cream puffs: foodgasm
Hours driving together: 14+
Trips to Stone Dog Café: 4
States: 3
Family members introduced to Tom: 18 or so
Migraines: 1
4-wheeler rides: 2
Pictures taken: about 250
Vintage vehicles: 4
Life altering decisions: 1
Pretty pictures for the fully ADD. ;)
The flight to Maine was fairly uneventful. We had a short layover that was just long enough to pee and get McDonald's food, which we ate rather quickly on the plane before we even started to taxi. Yes, I ate McDonald's for the first time in probably 20+ years. And I didn't die.
My brother Zach and his girlfriend picked us up at the Portland Jetport and brought us to my Mom and step-dad, Thomaso's place, where my maternal grandmother, and youngest step-brother plus his girlfriend are also living. I don't think Tom would have been anxious about meeting the family anyway, but a pleasant side effect of having SO MUCH on our minds with regards to career options, where we were going to live, and you know… our entire FUTURE was that he didn't have time to get freaked out about meeting everyone. Besides, they loved him before they even met him just because of how happy I am.
Socializing and a bit of getting to know everyone happened until midnight or so (impressive when you consider that they normally go to bed around 8 PM).
Wednesday we went to the Stone Dog Café for breakfast, followed by a trip out to Two Lights and Portland Head Light. I was pretty pleased to have both Grandmothers' with me. This never happened earlier in life because at different times, they were each married to my Grandfather. (Story entirely too long for this post.) Lobster stew was consumed at Two Lights, and millions of people were narrowly avoided at Portland Head, and then we headed home.
We headed up to Dad and Nanci's place that night. In his typical fashion, Dad had very subtly let me know that he was anxious to see me. :) I love my step-mom SO MUCH; it's as if she had prepared questions in her head that were aimed specifically at making Tom comfortable while getting to know him. She's also my Oprah filter; I have NO desire to watch that show, but she follows it devoutly and fills me in on any really good information she hears.
I also loved it when he excused himself to use the bathroom, and she took that opportunity to tell me how cute he is.
I hated to leave their place, as it's always made me feel good just being there, but we had to head back to Mom's and the uncomfortable bed we were sleeping in to get ready for the trip to Vermont the next day.
Thursday morning (all things being relative), we quickly got ready, borrowed Mom's car, had breakfast at Stone Dog again, and hit the road to Vermont.
From New England Trip
The timing of this trip was just perfect in many ways, not the least of which was the fact that we hit the peak of the fall foliage. There is no better time to be in Maine. This made for an amazing drive across 302 and the Kancamagus Highway. We stopped for pics a few times, but when you're talking about curvy two-lane roads at the height of the leaf-peeping season, you have to be careful. There were a couple of times that we got trapped behind dreadful people going 15 UNDER the speed limit. Once I managed to pass them, we limited our stops to… well, none really.
From New England TripWe drove further and further into the middle of NOWHERE, and finally, to his parents' place. Words and pictures can't do this place justice; his step-dad built it. It's the PERFECT combination of raw wood and beautiful finishings. It's at the top of about a 1.5 mile stone driveway, on a pond, surrounded by hills and wildlife.
We hung out with the family and some old family friends for the evening. Tom's Mom had prepared some beef stew. Now… I'm not normally a fan of the beef stew, but this was so amazing I almost took a picture of it. They dug the potatoes, cut the carrots, and picked the edamame from the garden THAT MORNING. Everything but the cow had been raised on their land and it was amazing. I had seconds. Then pie.
I ended up getting a migraine that night, and I didn't have any of my special migraine drugs with me. As per the usual, Tom took exceptionally good care of me, and I felt functional by morning. The day after an episode like that, I still generally feel pretty awful, and this wasn't really an exception. I did pretty well, though.
After two more pieces of pie and some breakfast, we headed out. We were taking a different route home so we could stop in Littleton, NH to visit the diner Alice and Michael used to own, where Tom had worked and helped perfect the corned beef hash. This, I was told, was the corned beef hash by which ALL corned beef hash must be measured. I've been hearing about it for almost a year now, so there was no way I was passing up an opportunity to get him some.
It was good, and we got a mug to commemorate the event. We also hit the Littleton Book Store since… you know… the pile of books that Tom hasn't read yet is slightly shorter than me, so clearly he needed more. ;) He had told me about that place as well; how the staff recommendations are fantastic, and he had discovered many of his favorite authors there. Once again, we weren't disappointed.
Back in Maine we had dinner at Sebago Brewing Co. with my step-bro Matt. I may have mentioned before that Matt had a severe head injury when he was a kid, so much of the conversation focused on his former Occupational Therapist's new teaching career, and how he's the focus of most of the class, making a guest appearance at the end. He's got the greatest sense of humor and I love talking about stuff like this with him, so dinner was good.
Saturday my Mom and Thomaso had a big shindig planned at their place. Lots of relatives from lots of corners of Maine were in attendance. Tom and I had planned on skipping out in the AM to avoid the neuroses of Mom in party prep mode, but we overslept and she pretty much asked us not to. So, we hung out, partied, ate a TON, and once the guests left (which was quite early because they're old Mainers or had to work), we went shopping. Sounds not exciting, I know, but shopping in Maine is fun because it's CHEAP. Only the conversation in the car on the way over about saving money because of my likely impending unemployment saved me from spending about a grand on freakin' HOT boots at Macy's. [insert sad face here]
Sunday had been set aside for spending time with Dad and Nanci. We headed up to their place, stopping at Stone Dog of course on our way. There were lots of good conversations, including many focused on… you guessed it… where Tom would work. There were also bees, chickenonthegrill, my Grandmother, setting up Dad's SPOT, and an awesome dinner.
Then there was the Pats/Chargers game. 'Nuff said.
We headed back to Mom's and the uncomfortable bed at half time; I was still fighting some kind of bug, complete with headaches. Plus, who the hell would want to watch that game??
Monday was a trip to Gramp Colb's with Dad. The drive up was fantastic; Tom got to see more of the back-woods of Maine than most ever do. Plus, Dad was in a talkative, story telling kind of mood, which is ALWAYS just terribly entertaining.
Side note: I used to think that my life, and to some degree, my family just wouldn't be all that interesting to outsiders. I grew up in a small town, and my family is from even more rural areas. I've realized recently that nothing could be further from the truth. The experiences of growing up in rural areas have been amazing, and I'm so grateful that I had such a vivid childhood, and my relatives have even more remarkable stories to tell. (Tom couldn't meet a couple of people that I had wanted him to meet because they were racing IN pumpkins down a river that day.)
At Gramp's, we gave Tom the grand tour. The garage, which houses a MINT, 100% original 1975 Dodge Dart Swinger with about 60K original miles, plus a Jeep Cherokee with tracks rather than wheels (for grooming snowmobile trails, complete with a "backup" camera rigged to always be on so you can watch what's behind you). Then the barn: 1929 Mercedes Gazelle, jet boat, snowmobiles, 4-wheelers, 1988 factory supercharged Toyota MR2, old family photos, and a partridge in a pear tree. The 1939 Chevy was parked in the yard on that particular day, along with the crazy old skool camper Gramp just bought for a grand. It had yellow shag carpet and real wood.
Tom and I then took the 4-wheelers around a bit while Dad tried to figure out why one of Gramp's toys wasn't working (the mower I think it was). Tom took off first, and I thought it sounded like he got stuck in a big mud hole out in the woods, so I gallantly took off to rescue him. When I found him, perfectly NOT stuck with a giant grin on his face, the wheeler I was driving stalled. And wouldn't re-start. We headed back to Gramp's and got Dad, who knew what the problem was before we even headed back into the woods.
After spending entirely too little time with Grampa talking about planes, looking at old photos, and his recent Silver Star that he was awarded by the state, we headed back home. I hated to leave and Gramp kept telling us to come back when we could. I can't wait to go back.
Back at Dad's, we said our goodbyes relatively quickly. Nanci (you remember Nanci; she's the Oprah filter) asked about the job situation. As we were standing at the door ready to head out, she said "are you going to regret it if you don't take the Google job?" "Yeah" Tom replied without hesitation.
That was all I needed to hear. The decision was made.
Back down to Mom's we went, stopping for Airborn, Aleve, and a final Italian Sandwich for me. Tom, Thomaso, Mom and Gram had a lobster feed while I happily enjoyed my sandwich and Maine-brand Funyuns.
Sleep, wake up, travel ALL day, sleep in a comfy bed, hate waking up, and still tired now.
The end. Well, really just another beginning.