San Diego, New York and back to DC

Originally planned as a week long trip between Washington, D.C. and San Diego to see friends and family, my vacation was unexpectedly extended when my friend Adam from Melbourne informed me that he'd be in New York for a week. At first I was hesitant to give up what was essentially a free ticket bought with miles but after figuring that I would probably revisit San Diego later in the year anyways, I canceled my reservations and booked two one-way flights on different carriers. However I still had the issue of how to get from New York back to Washington, D.C., thus completing my isosceles triangle of travel. For that I turned to Amtrak, whose Carolinian service I am currently on as I write this blog entry.

Rising early on the morning of March 19th, I made my way down to the lobby of my apartment complex to wait for a cab. Normally I would take the Metro seeing as I live so close to Reagan National but due to the absurdly early departure time of 5:45am, there simply wouldn't be enough time given Metro's opening hour of 5:00am. With a single stop in Charlotte, my flight was uneventful and even arrived about 25 minutes early in San Diego. A short drive later courtesy of my dad and I was back in Carlsbad.

The time spent in my hometown was both enjoyable and relaxing. Hanging out with my friends Greg, Jeff and Nicole was a blast and I spent my evenings at watering holes both new and old. My main reason for returning was to attend an Eagle Scout ceremony but that was canceled. I did however attend the locally famous Troop 748 Pancake Breakfast. Fellow scouts that I hadn't seen in years were there and indeed, some had changed beyond initial recognition. Besides Scouting events, spending time with family at Easter was also a reason for visiting and my relatives did not disappoint. Throw in Dad's incredible smoked lamb and you had an Easter worthy of legend.

Tuesday came sooner than I thought it would but with only a four and a half hour flight separating me from the Big Apple, I was eagerly anticipating my travels. The flight was uneventful and taking advantage of the AirTrain service from JFK to Jamaica Station, I then boarded a LIRR train for Penn Station. I had originally planned on taking the E train but several web sources recommended the LIRR as it was faster and more convenient. I ended up booking my hotel stay in a recently remodeled room of the Ramada New Yorker located at 34th and 8th. If all you're looking for is a bed with attached bathroom, versus a communal bathroom, then this is a great choice. A sub $200 room in the heart of the city can't be beat.

During my time in Melbourne, I had the great fortune of befriending a very talented group of people who worked and volunteered at the local community theater known as the Henegar. In the course of the previous two years, several of them had managed to find their way to New York to pursue careers on the stage. One in particular, Vinny, was playing at a cabaret called Don't Tell Mama near 46th and 8th. A small yet cozy club, the show itself was a showcase of six different performers with each doing two songs of choice. Vinny's rendition of "The Best is Yet to Come" was in my mind the best performance that night but then I do admit to a bit of bias.

The next day found me in line early along with Adam at TKTS hoping to score tickets to a matinee show for a reduced price. As it was, tickets for Young Frankenstein were available so we scooped those up and then made our way up to Central Park where we spent a few hours rehashing old times. On our way back down to the Theater District we stopped off at Carnegie Deli so I could finally get that New York-style kosher tongue sandwich I'd been jonesing for. I was not disappointed. I think it's the idea of eating tongue that turns people off to the idea more than anything. But in fact, it tastes and looks similar to pastrami save of course for the still visible taste buds.

Showing at the Hilton Theater, Young Frankenstein absolutely floored both Adam and myself. Based on Mel Brooks' movie of the same name, it follows the comical adventures of a young Dr. Frankenstein (pronounced steen) upon his return to Transylvania. Played by Roger Bart, the part required energy and timing befitting such an amazing actor. Yet I think many in the audience would agree that the character of Igor is what really shone through. With his randomly appearing hump, witty lines and amazing voice, Christopher Fitzgerald, who played the role, stole the show. Despite the harsh critiques the show has received, I highly recommend this to both fans and non-fans alike.

Unexpectedly, Adam's friend Johnny managed to score us free tickets to an evening showing of Legally Blonde playing at the Palace Theater. Not being a show that I would ever buy tickets to, I went with an open mind hoping for the best but expecting anything. To say the least, I was throughly impressed. I had seen the movie once before but didn't have any particular attachment to it. The musical though brought an energy and audience rapport that simply doesn't translate to the silver screen. Armed with song, dance and love, the leading lady, Elle Woods, gains matriculation at Harvard Law to win back the affections of her now ex-boyfriend Warner. She soon realizes though that she will never be back together with him and dives into her studies for their own sake. Fending off unwanted advances from her professor, she strikes her own path and uses her Harvard-trained mind in tandem with her Malibu-honed social skills to win her client's trust and freedom. When the curtains came down, the audience was in rapturous applause giving the cast a standing ovation for some minutes. This is another show I would highly recommend.

Having made my goodbyes to Adam, I decided to make a stop before going back to my hotel. Junior's, famous for its cheesecakes, operates a restaurant at 45th and 7th in the heart of Times Square. Sidling up to the bar, I ordered an orange liquer and coffee concoction along with a lox and bagel sandwich. I topped it off with a chocolate swirl cheesecake, the same that I've enjoyed for years thanks to freeze-dried packaging and overnight shipping. Satiated beyond measure, I made my way back to the hotel and hit the sack. If there were a theme to this vacation, it would be friends and family both of whom I appreciate more and more in my life as I get older.

A trip to New York with the Brazilians

Early last week I received an urgent message from my Brazilian buddy Tony imploring me to come to New York for the weekend to hang out with him and his brother Beto who had been working there for the previous six months and wanted to spend his remaining weekend there partying. At first I protested but by Wednesday I'd gone ahead and purchased a ticket for myself on the very convenient Chinatown bus.

As 2 o'clock on Friday afternoon approached, I quickly gathered my belongings for the short one block trip to where the bus would pick me up. A quick scan of the printout with my reservation number by the bus driver and I was in a comfortable chair awaiting the four hour journey to The Big Apple. Traffic coming out of Washington, D.C. was light and within the hour we were through the Fort McHenry tunnel near Baltimore, M.D.

Drifting in and out of sleep while reading the latest issue of the New Scientist, I awoke with a start to see the Empire State Building far off in the distance. Yet my excitement was quickly tamped down by the reality awaiting us outside the Lincoln Tunnel: traffic the likes of which I hadn't seen in some time. After nearly an hour of crawling through a jungle of blaring horns and red taillights, we emerged onto Manhattan and made our way to 34th and 8th near Penn Station to be dropped off. A short subway ride later to the 50th St. stop and I was standing outside Beto's corporate apartment.

Relatively speaking, my first night in New York was calm. We started off the evening at a nearby street vendor to savor what Beto called the best gyro in the city. Indeed, to judge by the line which stretched half a city block, this particular vendor had good reviews. I myself was quite impressed with the mixed combination gyro and the accompanying yogurt sauce. Eventually we made our way to East Village and after wandering through several bars in the area, we settled on a honky tonk joint called the Mason Dixon. After an hour or so there, we caught a cab back to Midtown and stopped in for a night cap at a place called Vintage not too far from Beto's pad.

The next day started around 1pm at a place called Nero's in the Meatpacking District. Barbara, a neighbor of my friends from back in Brazil and who was now working in New York, met us there along with her boyfriend Adriano. The brunch advertised was two hours of all you can drink with a choice of meal included for $20. Not bad for Manhattan prices. Well over two hours later, heads buzzing from copious amounts of champagne, we wandered out of the restaurant and into the nearby multi-story Apple store in Chelsea before finally making our way back north to the apartment where I enjoyed a much deserved nap.

That evening Tony insisted that we head to Central Park so we could ice skate on Donald Trump's famous Wollman Rink. Admittedly I was a bit hesitant to engage in an activity which a decade previous had left me with a slight case of amnesia after taking a fall and hitting my head. But I nevertheless took those tentative first few steps back onto the ice and was surprised at both the natural sense of balance I enjoyed and the speed with which my long-dormant skills returned. Within ten minutes I was racing around the rink relishing the feel of the cold air on my face.

Alas, after only an hour or so Tony and I were both tired and so we journeyed back to Beto's apartment for some rest before getting ready to go out again, this time to a place called Katra on the Lower East Side. A Middle Eastern-themed 'lounge', it was extremely crowded which made getting to the bar difficult at best. But seeing as I'd been drinking for the better part of the day, I wasn't interested in getting drunk. So after a few hours of that, we made the journey once more to Midtown.

Sleep came just before dawn but I wasn't asleep for long as we had made plans to head to Connecticut that day. My hosts, Brazilian to the core, were family friends of another Brazilian nicknamed Toninho (Little Tony) who lived in Westport about an hour north of the city. Dragging ourselves out of bed and down to Grand Central, we rushed to buy our tickets and hopped on the 12:07pm heading to New Haven. The commuter train itself was quite nice and proved a smooth enough ride for me to nap for a spell.

Shortly after arriving in Westport, Toninho was there to pick us up and take us to his exquisite house just a few miles from the station. In many ways, it reminded me of visiting my Brazilian friends' family back in Sete Lagos what with the chattering in Portuguese, the Samba music in the background and of course the feijoada. Brazilian beer in the form of Skol was also there in addition to several types of cachaça. Despite how wonderful it all was we couldn't stay there forever so when evening rolled around we hopped back on the train for the hour-long ride back to New York.

Our last night in New York was a poignant one and we spent it at an Irish bar just a few blocks away. Guinness and old stories were what was imbibed and we enjoyed each to the last drop. I called it early so as to avoid missing my bus the next morning and as I walked back by myself I couldn't help but think how much I loved this city, despite the 2°F wind chill. And I know that someday, hopefully when it's warmer, I will come back.

Trip to California

Day 1
Despite the early departure time from Washington, D.C. we arrived in San Diego fairly awake and ready to get on with our vacation. First time was Milton's, a wonderful Kosher deli and restaurant located in Del Mar. Over the past few years it has become my unofficial welcoming pad, the first place I stop at to address the hunger pangs a six hour flight induces.

Between my previous visit in December and now, my parents got what I thought they never would: a dog! And not just any dog mind you but a huge hulking Leon Berger mix. We immediately went for a walk on the beach so as we could all get to know each other better. Walking such a dog was a bit of a challenge at first. He kept wanting to walk directly in front of me thus forcing me to hold the leash to my left side. It's safe to say that after about 20 minutes of this anybody would feel some fatigue in their shoulders as a result.

Evening came quickly and with it, an incredible meal at Gregorio's, a local Italian restaurant situated in the Neiman's complex of shops. Since I hadn't seen my buddy Jeff in so long, I invited him to join us. Being the amazing agent that he is, he kept us enthralled with stories of heroism in the escalating real estate wars that are gripping this country. Afterwards Jeff gave us a brief tour of Carlsbad in his exquisitely maintained Lexus LS400, pointing out the best places in town to invest in for real estate.

Day 2
I hadn't been to the Wild Animal Park in several years so I was glad to see what changes, if any, this visit to the park would hold. Surprisingly enough, there were some big changes. The electrified tram which was a hallmark of the park was no longer there and had been replaced with a gas-guzzling tractor which pulled passenger carts behind it. The new setup wasn't altogether bad but was just different than what I'd been used to in the previous 20 years of visiting.

That night we went to one of Carlsbad's newest 'chic' restaurants. Honestly, when I walked in I thought I'd been teleported from my sleepy home town to some new dig in Midtown. My Grandpa Gene treated us to a fantastic dinner and several bottles of Mark West Pinot Noir, an excellent accoutrement to any meal.

Day 3
Our third day saw us jumping in the car in the morning for a trip south to Balboa Park near downtown San Diego. Having just seen the Wild Animal Park the previous day, we were not interested in the Zoo but instead the Museum of Man. I hadn't been there in decades at the very least and was looking forward to seeing what was in store.

Built in an old Spanish colonial style, the museum resembles many of the missions scattered throughout California. On display inside were mummies of various cultures throughout history, human evolution over the past 7 million years and a collection of life-sized replicas of Mayan stonework. Reaching several stories high, this latter exhibit was by far the most impressive.

Being only early afternoon and with no particular place in mind to go, we decided to take a leisurely drive up the coast. Starting in Torrey Pines and heading north on the 101, this is by far one of my favorite drives to do in San Diego and is rivaled only by a jaunt through the windy roads of Rancho Santa Fe.

Upon returning to Carlsbad we picked up my friend Greg for some drinks at Coyote's, a popular local watering hole. Afterwards, not wanting to return home without something to show for it, we made a quick stop by Greg's house to pick pomegranates, avocados and any other fruit that looked ripe enough to eat.

Day 4
We started out the day at the Carlsbad Outlets for a bit of shopping. This was followed by a requisite trip to In-n-Out burger where I fully enjoyed a cheeseburger, chocolate shake and fries. I'm not sure what it is about how they make their burgers, but In-n-Out's burgers are truly some of the best in the world.

One of the primary reasons we went to San Diego was for my ten-year high school reunion. Hosted downtown at the Bristol Hotel, it was only a 30-minute drive from Carlsbad. We arrived soon after it started and within minutes, ran into an old friend of mine named Derek. From there it was a whirlwind of mini-reunions as I met up with people I hadn't seen, nor heard from, in ten years.

By the end of the evening, I had reconnected with at least twenty folks that I had fond memories of from high school. In some ways it was rather cliché in that the jocks seemed to have ended up with the bleach blond bimbos and hadn't done much else with their lives. In contrast, my fellow nerds were all fairly successful or well on their way to it.

All in all, the evening went very well and though I had hoped to see a few more souls it was a great time nonetheless. It leaves me looking forward to the next ten year reunion.

Trip to Boston

Day 1
Our flight took off from Reagan at about 10:30 am and aside from some minor turbulence the flight was fairy smooth. Upon arrival at Boston's Logan International Airport, we immediately set about finding a shuttle that would take us to the nearest T station, which is how the subway here is referred to. As it turned out, the blue line would be our savior by delivering us to the green line via Government Center whereupon we would take that line for one stop before transferring to the red line at Park and heading out to Kendall/MIT where our hotel was located.

Looking at a map of the T, I was struck by how similar it was to Washington D.C.'s own hub-and-spoke Metro system. That's about where the similarities end though. Built just before New York started laying their own subway tracks, it's the oldest underground mass transit system in the country. Like the Big Apple's use of uptown or downtown to refer to train direction, all cars on the T are either 'inbound' or 'outbound'. Also like the New York subway, the stations that serve as transfer points are fairly complex to navigate thus demonstrating their iterative construction over the eleven plus decades the system has been in service. As well, some of the lines, such as the green line, share a fair portion of their tracks with street traffic meaning that both light rail (street cars) and heavy rail (subway) trains share the tracks making for a hodge podge of train types that can show up at any given platform.

Our first stop in Boston was the Samuel Adams brewery. Located just off the Stony Brook stop on the orange line, it is not, contrary to popular belief, run by descendants of the revolutionary himself. In fact, it was started in 1985 by a member of the Koch (pronounced 'cook') family which had made a name for itself in brewing during the 19th century. The tour itself was fairly informal and included a brief history of the brewery, a highlight of the four main ingredients of Samuel Adams beer (hops, barley, water and yeast) and finally a sampling of three different types of this native brew. Our tour was lucky enough to get a taste of their Boston Lager, Summer Ale and Märzen, the latter being unique to this brewery and not available to the general public.

Day 2
The morning started off at Boston Common, a public park of 44 acres set aside by the original Puritan founders. Our tour started from this central location and followed what's called the Freedom Trail, a path laid out nearly 50 years ago that traces Boston's historic moments. The tour guide himself was an older fellow dressed in the style of the late 1700s, tricorne hat and all, and emulating a minor player from the period who was friends with the biggest names of the revolution. Flair and knowledge combined to produce a tour that was both entertaining and enlightening. Though the guided portion ended at Fanuiel hall, we decided to continue on across the Charles river, stopping by the Bunker Hill monument and finally ending at the USS Constitution.

Walking the full length of the Freedom Trail didn't leave any time for a mid-afternon nap so immediately upon arriving back at our hotel in Kendall, we had to get ready to meet up with family that lived in the area. We rendezvoused at a place in Beacon Hill called Fig's which is known for its gourmet pizza. My choice was the spicy chicken sausage while the other types sampled included one smothered in portobello mushrooms, one crested with arugula and another known as the Red Sox which had its own spicy sausage topping. We did our best to work off the enormous meal by walking back to Cambridge via the Longfellow bridge over the Charles river instead of taking the T.

Day 3
The day started out bright and relatively early at the nearest Starbucks with a cranberry-orange muffin and a soy mocha. From there, it was a quick jaunt down to 3rd St. and over to Charles St. to get to the Museum of Science. We'd been warned that it was juvenile and outdated but I was interested in the Jane Goodall exhibit that highlighted the famous anthropologist's work with chimpanzees. Admission was relatively cheap at $16 and while much of the displays were indeed juvenile and outdated, there were also some real gems. The chimpanzee exhibit was interesting but I felt it was far outshined by the electrical exhibit. Every two hours, a show took place that used the world's largest Van de Graaff generator. Harmless and beautiful static discharges, lethal yet fantastic lightning bolts and even the eerie St. Elmo's fire were put on display with each being eloquently explained.

Our next stop was the Langham hotel which was hosting the Chocolate Bar. A local favorite among Bostonians, it features a buffet of nothing but chocolate. Some of the highlights were chocolate banana paninis, chocolate crepes, and chocolate fondue. Consisting of enough chocolate desserts to make a French pastry chef blush, it was a true chocolate lovers paradise. Three dishes in, I was feeling slightly woozy and had to resort to eating fruit, sans fondue, if I was going to avoid getting sick.

Early evening saw us wandering the Harvard campus taking in its beautiful environs. Despite being summer, it felt like a regular school day with college-aged kids packing the the streets and impromptu sidewalk concerts filling the air with music. Eventually we made our way over to a small restaurant called Casablanca. Located below street level, it was festooned with scenes from the famous movie and featured unique Mediterranean inspired dishes on its menu. While I had the venison rare with risotto, she ordered the soft shell crab on a corn and arugula base. We washed it down with an excellent 2005 bottle of zinfandel. After dinner we meandered through Harvard Square slowly making our way back to the T station.

Day 4
Being our last day, we decided to take things a bit easier. After having checked out of our hotel at a leisurely 10 am, we took the T to the New England Aquarium. The main enclosure was approximately four stories tall and consisted of a round central tank which was hugged by a spiral ramp that gave patrons an unfettered view of the countless fish that inhabited it. The main enclosure itself had a square ramp running inside of it and at each level, there were a series of tanks housed that highlighted a particular aquatic habitat. Contrasting it with the world-famous Baltimore Aquarium, it was quite a bit smaller but their penguin exhibit was worth the visit alone.

Being so close to Boston's historic downtown, we retraced some of our foot steps from the other day and made our way to the Green Dragon which had come highly recommended by my buddy Georgios, a native of the area. Established by a man named John Cary in 1657, its name was well-known as a local watering hole by the time the Sons of Liberty started using it for their secret meetings in the days leading up to the revolution. After a light meal of mussels and beer, we started back for the hotel so we could pick up our suitcases and head out to the airport.

My overall feeling about Boston is that it is a great town that would be a fun place to live. But because of the harsh winter it is unlikely you will ever find me living there. As well, the disorganized street layout can make navigation difficult as opposed to Manhattan where everything is laid out in a grid fashion. Yet it should be noted that the majority of Boston's activities are centralized making them easy to get to and completely negating the need for a cab. And the T, while older and somewhat more confusing than D.C.'s Metro, really does take you anywhere you need to go. So for those of you looking to spend some time in a classic American city without the hassle of renting a car, I would highly recommend Boston.

First trip to New York

Friday morning began early at 6am with a short Metro ride to Reagan National airport where we awaited our direct flight to LaGaurdia. Unfortunately icy weather kept our plane grounded longer than expected and what was supposed to be a brief journey lasted quite a bit longer, thus delaying our arrival in Manhattan until early that afternoon. Once we dropped our bags off at the hotel though we were off. As it turns out, we were located less than a block away from the U.N. which was a source of unmitigated joy for me. Those of you who know my penchant for politics should understand my reaction.

The late arrival of our flight meant that both of us were absolutely famished. Fortunately her friends Becky and Elliott were there to take us to lunch, a small BBQ place called Duke's. Afterwards, Becky gave us an afternoon tour of Midtown including such highlights as Grand Central, Times Square and the New York Public Library. The early morning wake-up combined with all the afternoon's activities required a return to the hotel followed by a brief nap. We then met up with them again that evening in the Upper East side at a place named, coincidentally enough, Becky's Pub.

Saturday began in earnest for us with a trip to the American Museum of Natural History. We'd used the Subway briefly the night before, thus giving us a heightened confidence in its use. This morning's ride would prove a much different beast. To start off, the orange 'V' line we had planned on taking was out of service as was the blue 'C' line, our backup plan. The downtown blue 'A' line was the only option left to us, but when we attempted to transfer at the 50th St. station we found ourselves in a bit of a pickle. Apparently, and this is something known only to New Yorkers and adventurous tourists like us, some stations require you to actually leave the station and walk a few blocks to get to the uptown line. This is something we discovered only after a lengthy and frustrating walk around the rather sizable station.

The museum was fun albeit very crowded. We actually spent the majority of our time there in the Hayden Planetarium. After leaving the museum we headed for Central Park looking forward to a leisurely afternoon stroll. Lazily we made our way towards the Midtown entrance on the East side stopping to snap photos of particularly picturesque settings. Eventually we came out near the Central Park Zoo whereupon we quickly headed towards the hotel to prepare for that evening's activities. Nighttime saw us at a nearby French restaurant called "Deux Amis" followed by a showing of Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic theater. It was an incredible show, one that I've always wanted to see. We followed up with dessert at Junior's, a local restaurant known for their amazing cheesecakes.

Feeling a bit stung by the previous day's issues with the Subway, I approached our trip to Lower Manhattan Sunday with a bit of trepidation. As it turns out, I had nothing to fear. The No. 6 Green line was operating just fine and took us to Canal St. without any issues. Upon exiting the station, we stepped into what was truly a foreign world. Everywhere we looked signs covered in Chinese characters and decorations for the Chinese New Year dominated the view. We wandered through what seemed like endless blocks of this vastly larger Chinatown in comparison to our own D.C. version. Lunch was had at a small seafood restaurant while just outside revelers celebrated with drums and poppers.

Ground Zero was our next stop. We approached from Broadway so the first thing we saw was the large memorial photo display at the PATH station. To see those photos with the very hallowed ground behind them was truly moving. As we made our way around the perimeter of the site we stopped at various places such as the Ladder 10 and Engine 10 firehouse which lost five firefighters on 9/11. After making a complete circuit we hopped onto the blue 'E' line running back uptown to our hotel.

Monday was President's Day as well as our last day in New York city. We had hoped to tour the U.N. but it was closed on this seemingly average American holiday. Therefore we decided to go to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). It was bitterly cold, much more so than it had been on any previous day of our trip. What were muddy slush puddles the previous day had frozen overnight to become well-camouflaged sheets of ice making walking all that much more precipitous. But the trip was well worth it as we were treated to such incredible pieces like Warhol's "Campbell's Soup Cans", Dali's "Persistence of Memory" and Van Gogh's "Starry Night".

That afternoon we had a wonderfully long lunch at a Greek restaurant called Meltemi located at 51st and 1st. I then hailed my last NYC taxi and we headed to LaGuardia airport. As I look back on our trip, it is the hectic pace of the city that stands out in my mind. This fast lifestyle that gives New York its motto as the "City that never sleeps" is what makes it so exciting and will keep people like myself coming back.