Monthly Archives: May 2014

May14

Kayaking when the weather isn’t really the best…

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Sunday, 04-May-14

 

So a bit ago I got a full season membership to Charles River Canoe and Kayak.  I also bought a new waterproof camera as a prep-point for taking Spring Break in France.  Combining these two means that I can take pictures out on the water, and that I can get out onto the water for cheap.  So… why not, right?  It’s a medium-warm day in May, let’s get into the Charles!

 

  • Start out the adventure by texting everyone while I’m at brunch… btw, brunch?  Balling.  So good!  The brunch place that I usually go to upgraded its fare – they raised the price and cut out the menu options, but holy crap it was worth it.  Carving station, omelette station, extra snacks… yeah.  I enjoy going to the Foundry.
  • Emma’s the only one to reply, so we aim to meet up after I finish gardening
  • Finish gardening, get ambushed by neighbors (which is nice), and then meet up with Emma… late as always.  I’m sorry Emma!
  • It’s too cold to go in the water :/  Wait, they’re joking!  They call out to us as we’re about to walk away that it’s warm enough now!  Just barely… but they can’t rent to anyone if the water temp is below 55 Deg.F – and it just hit 55.5 Deg.F out.
  • They make us go through a whole slew of cold water release and waiver forms.  Emma’s a bit worried, but we get a really stable Kayak to make up for it.  Tie up the gear, get situated, and head out.
  • The channel is kind of choppy, but nothing too bad.
  • We’re about to get out into open water… Wait, the channel.  The protected, enclosed channel, was choppy.  Shit.  Now we’re out on the river itself…. The river?  3ft waves.
  • Emma starts to worry, but we’ve got this.  Water spraying as we bash through the waves, paddles straining deep.  Cue battle-music and some old grizzled sea-dog screaming orders over a hurricane.
  • We can’t work through these waves… we need to make a break for shore, so we turn toward the esplanade and make landfall on a small dock.
  • Beach in the esplanade, reorganize, and have a snack.  Give Emma my waterproof layer.
  • Now that we’re in the sheltered esplanade, it’s really nice!  We take our time and mosey through the small channels.  The trees are all in bloom, and it’s gorgeous with the cherry blossoms sprinkling down.
  • After we get to the far end, we turn around and head back.  Once we’re out into the river the waves aren’t super bad this time.  The wind died down, I guess.
  • Bike back, via the Harvard Square May Day event.  Listen to some cool music and roll out home
  • Have dinner, have a fire, and relax the night away.  Nice.

 

 

May10

An excellent brunch and an interesting Garden

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Sunday, 04-May-14

After getting home from my folks place slightly later than planned, I didn’t really do much relaxing on Saturday.  So Sunday became my chill out day.

It started as many of my weekends do; getting brunch in Somerville.  Davis Square, this time, at the Foundry.  They always have a brunch Buffet on Sunday mornings, but this time they went all out – see, the usual plan on the chef’s part is to do a halfsies thing.  Partially brunch buffet, and partially a brunch menu.  Both are really good, but neither one is particularly extensive.  This time though, they cut the menu out completely, instead focusing in on creating a full-on brunch menu.  Sausage and gravy biscuits?  Yep, we got it.  Bacon and Sausage?  Ohh hell yes.  Omelette Station and prime-rib carving dock?  Ohh you best believe it’s done medium rare.

So I ate, drank coffee, and was merry playing with my fancy new camera (Ed Note: expect Ben to post some silly “camera review” thing later).  It was nice, and I even had the Chef come out to ask how I liked the new style of breakfast.  I can’t tell if she was just asking everyone, or if I’ve shown up often enough that they think I’m someone important.

Either way, I got an extra little nice surprise on the walk home – I took a slightly different path than I usually take, and it made all the difference… (poem poem poem)

It was open-garden day in Somerville!  Lots of small gardens were open to us plebeians, but this one caught my eye the most – it’s an amazing fusion of a standard Asian scholars garden, and a more rustic New England style; the husband works with rocks, and the wife works with the plants and planters.  I was lucky enough to chat with them for a while, and even get a few pictures…

May10

Another adventure in Connecticut

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Weekend of Friday, 02-May-14 & Saturday, 03-May-14

This weekend was a bit of an ecclectic one – lots of little adventures.  Let’s start out with driving down to Connecticut again…

 

Friday, 02-May-14

  • Bike to and from work, have a nice ride each way, especially since I get to leave work a bit early
  • Relax at home for a spell, have a snack, it’s all good
  • Pack the car up and RIDE!
  • Long and relaxing drive, somehow missing like 90% of the traffic
  • Link up with Big T in Danbury, and we head out for mexican down the street from him
  • Eat, drink, and be merry… though i also forget my credit card at the restaurant.  Damn.  But on the upside, they have some extremely good nachos, and really solid chicken tacos.  So it’s sort of a wash, in the long run.
  • Head back to his place, and tear through a few episoded of “The Angry Videogame Nerd”, followed by Avatar, the Legend of Korra, followed by beers and chatting.  I always forget how quickly one’s alcohol tolerance goes down though – we only have four or so drinks each, but they hit me pretty hard.  In my defense, they were really good / strong beers, but still.  No excuses, I need to brush on on my drink-workouts before I head to France…

 

Saturday, 03-May-14

  • I’ve got a hair appointment this morning at 9:00, and I’ve been a bit late each time I have an appt. there.  So I make sure to set a lot of alarms before going to bed, and even crash a bit earlier than originally planned…
  • Nope, it doesn’t help.
  • I finally wake up in one of those horrid, semi-hungover states… shit I’m late!  Again!  GUN IT!  Get donuts first!  Try to get my card back first!  Ahh shit get on the highway!
  • Finally make it in about an hour late, but thankfully I shot her an email before leaving, and she sort of expects it of me by now, so we’re all good.  Get everything done and then head back into Mass to have a relaxing afternoon with my folks before heading home to the city…