Monday, August 31, 2009
Leon cleans his room
After we threaten Leon with an eviction notice, he got to work and eight hours and two extra large 50lb plastic garbage bags later, the re-arranged spotless room was ready for H&G cover. As a side benefit, he found about $40 in loose change and another $50 in lost gift certificates. We are now accepting bets on how long the new order will last.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Newport, RI
Last weekend, pumped by parent's stories of great white beaches, awesome seafood and quaint picturesque villages of Rhode Island, we decided that it's time to check it out ourselves. Maybe because it is just next door, somehow we never spent any time there (besides a couple of bike races). And because it was just a short ride away, we decided not to plan much in advance and just "wing it". The forecast was so-so - periods of rain and thunder - even more reasons, we thought, not to plan, expecting half deserted town with hoteliers and restaurateurs fighting each other for our business.
We got out of the house late on Saturday and immediately found ourselves sitting on I-95 packed with beach-headed losers in their minivans full of kids, dogs, bikes, boats and other recreational gear.
When we finally made it to Newport, the town was crawling with tourists and their cars. It was hot, humid and stuffy. Tired from a much longer than expected trip, we decided to cool off at some authentic seafood place. We were picturing a whole string of such establishments by the water. After another hour spent now in local traffic, we found no such place anywhere. The much hyped beach greeted us with signs warning of bacterial contamination. The smell of the air and the color of the foam corroborated the signs.
Oh well, we thought, let's find a hotel. There gotta be some food there, right? Deserted town it was not. The only decent place we could book for the night was a ridiculously overpriced "Captain Quarters" suite at Hyatt on the Goat Island.
The hotel looked great from afar. A red brick building on a little island connected to the main land by an elegant bridge. Our waterfront room promised great views off the private balcony. The waterfront view we had. Except that under our balcony, next to the water, we found not a beach, as one would expect, but a coral of garbage containers, A/C unit for the entire hotel and an exhaust from the kitchen. The hotel was hosting a wedding event and we could tell the progression of the celebration from the smell - meaty aromas of main course turning to whiffs of coffee and confections.
We finally got to the water in the hotel's pool. To get to the pool we had to parade in our swimming trunks in front of the well dressed wedding reception, but we didn't care. The fun was back and weekend started to look good again. Until the overjoyous and overexcited Max gaged on the pool salt water and threw up. He and Leon jumped out of the pool at once and watched, laughing, my spastic attempts to get "this shit out". Good thing it was getting dark and there was no one else there. We left the pool re-assuring each other than the filters would "most definitely" clean it up by the morning. We visited the pool next day. The filters must've be off that night...
We started Sunday with a proper room-service breakfast, which we then worked off on the Cliff Walk - a footpath by the old world mansions. Thick and unkept vegetation and hot and humid air reminded me of Volga cliffs in August (sans mansions, of course). We visited "The Breakers" - quite impressive in its opulence and so perfectly preserved.
Giving up on trying to find a beach in Newport, we crossed to the next island - Jamestown, known to Leon and me from the bike races. There, we found an okay beach, built a sand castle and played in the waves with Max, while Leon looped the island on his bike.
In the evening, we went to the lighthouse were we sat with other wave watchers mesmerized by huge waves crashing on the rocks. After some dinner (eh...) and famous local ice cream (double eh...), we headed home. The return trip was uneventful and quick.
It wasn't the most perfectly engineered weekend, but looking back, it was good to get away from the house. We were absent for a little over a day, but coming back felt like returning from a much longer vacation...
We got out of the house late on Saturday and immediately found ourselves sitting on I-95 packed with beach-headed losers in their minivans full of kids, dogs, bikes, boats and other recreational gear.
When we finally made it to Newport, the town was crawling with tourists and their cars. It was hot, humid and stuffy. Tired from a much longer than expected trip, we decided to cool off at some authentic seafood place. We were picturing a whole string of such establishments by the water. After another hour spent now in local traffic, we found no such place anywhere. The much hyped beach greeted us with signs warning of bacterial contamination. The smell of the air and the color of the foam corroborated the signs.
Oh well, we thought, let's find a hotel. There gotta be some food there, right? Deserted town it was not. The only decent place we could book for the night was a ridiculously overpriced "Captain Quarters" suite at Hyatt on the Goat Island.
The hotel looked great from afar. A red brick building on a little island connected to the main land by an elegant bridge. Our waterfront room promised great views off the private balcony. The waterfront view we had. Except that under our balcony, next to the water, we found not a beach, as one would expect, but a coral of garbage containers, A/C unit for the entire hotel and an exhaust from the kitchen. The hotel was hosting a wedding event and we could tell the progression of the celebration from the smell - meaty aromas of main course turning to whiffs of coffee and confections.
We finally got to the water in the hotel's pool. To get to the pool we had to parade in our swimming trunks in front of the well dressed wedding reception, but we didn't care. The fun was back and weekend started to look good again. Until the overjoyous and overexcited Max gaged on the pool salt water and threw up. He and Leon jumped out of the pool at once and watched, laughing, my spastic attempts to get "this shit out". Good thing it was getting dark and there was no one else there. We left the pool re-assuring each other than the filters would "most definitely" clean it up by the morning. We visited the pool next day. The filters must've be off that night...
We started Sunday with a proper room-service breakfast, which we then worked off on the Cliff Walk - a footpath by the old world mansions. Thick and unkept vegetation and hot and humid air reminded me of Volga cliffs in August (sans mansions, of course). We visited "The Breakers" - quite impressive in its opulence and so perfectly preserved.
Giving up on trying to find a beach in Newport, we crossed to the next island - Jamestown, known to Leon and me from the bike races. There, we found an okay beach, built a sand castle and played in the waves with Max, while Leon looped the island on his bike.
In the evening, we went to the lighthouse were we sat with other wave watchers mesmerized by huge waves crashing on the rocks. After some dinner (eh...) and famous local ice cream (double eh...), we headed home. The return trip was uneventful and quick.
It wasn't the most perfectly engineered weekend, but looking back, it was good to get away from the house. We were absent for a little over a day, but coming back felt like returning from a much longer vacation...
It's a Mac!
Sorry, PC.
Last week, Leon, tail between legs, fessed up that his old beat up Thinkpad is pretty much no more. Fed up with cantankerous Vista, we decided to switch sides and we got him a Macbook...
My Thinkpad tried to protest my placing the order by blue screening (how typical!), but we got it through and few days later, it arrived. Yeah, take this Lenovo, which took 6 weeks to deliver...
Last week, Leon, tail between legs, fessed up that his old beat up Thinkpad is pretty much no more. Fed up with cantankerous Vista, we decided to switch sides and we got him a Macbook...
My Thinkpad tried to protest my placing the order by blue screening (how typical!), but we got it through and few days later, it arrived. Yeah, take this Lenovo, which took 6 weeks to deliver...
Monday, August 17, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Кулинар 2
Over this summer, Leon fully mastered the art of making a proper Grilled Cheese (hot pan, butter, bread, secret mix of three cheeses).
In an interview with our food critic, Leon said that he was inspired by Sponge Bob Square Pants.
Now, he is getting ready for the next culinary challenge - perfect French Toast.
In an interview with our food critic, Leon said that he was inspired by Sponge Bob Square Pants.
Now, he is getting ready for the next culinary challenge - perfect French Toast.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Team "Starbucks"
For the past two weeks, in the evenings, Max and I teamed up biking / running to Westport downtown, joining there Irene, N.B. and occasionally Leon for a Starbuck.Alas, all good things come the end and with N.B. going home last we
ekend, our team rides ended.Also, after well-caffeinated Max couldn't get asleep one night, we imposed a 5PM curfew on "grown up" drinks for him.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Nine
Max's birthday this year fell on Sunday and we celebrated it with a large friends&family gathering. It was pouring rain up to the moment where people start arriving so we had to move the festivities indoor, but it worked out just fine. Max got tons of new Legos and stayed up late, well past midnight, churning out the assembled toys like a little factory. All it was left by the morning was a pile of empty carton boxes and clear plastic bags.
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