Friday, 08-May-2026 through Wednesday, 13-May-2026

It’s been a bit since I’ve been out to New England – and what better reason to go back than to celebrate Mother’s Day? I’d been meaning to go back to visit my Mom and Grandma, and this was the perfect opportunity for not only a good family visit, but also for a bit of an escape from Ireland – a road trip, and catching up with friends…

Taking long walks along the river is nice. Catching up with old friends is nicer.

Finding an unexpected outhouse in the woods is… something. Not sure where to categorize that one, I’ll just leave it in the “TBD” category.


New Hampshire.

After New York, I drove East again, to visit my friend Brian at his new apartment. See, he’d come to visit me as soon as I moved to Oregon, and then again as soon as I moved to Ireland… and as he’s wont to remind me (very reasonably) I never did make it out to New York City to visit him while he was there.

I wasn’t going to let this new move of his pass me by. So I drove.

I drove through Vermont, stopping to grab some cheeses and syrup for Andrea and I.

I drove into New Hampshire, remembering the glorious halcyon days of my time driving up and down I-93, to and from the NUHOC Loj. We met at the Tilt’n Diner, that place from my own legends, and had a milkshake that felt like it came straight out of my memory… alongside a burger that was nearly (but not quite) as good as I remembered.

Then? We kept the theme. We relaxed. We went for a short walk (and then an ice cream) with my friend Michelle. We all relaxed and caught up. We drove down to see this new apartment. We went out for drinks, and I got absolutely fleeced by a fake promotion on martinis.

It was… calm. Quiet. It included a walk along the river in the morning, followed by a drive down into Boston in the early afternoon.

It was a good day, capping off a very good visit.