Boston - Day 4

After another morning of work, we headed into Cambridge for some walking and culture. After walking around a bunch of old houses, we walked through Harvard. We checked out the Peabody Museum and saw lots of Native American stuff. We then perused the amazing glass flowers and plants in the Natural history museum.
The rest of the day and evcning.was spent visiting various drinking establishments:
The Tavern - a little sterile, but decent selection of craft beers from across the US.
The Plough & Stars - awesome dive bar with good beer, bartender, and music
Sunset Bar & Grill - huge, huge selection of beer and food. The beer was from just about everywhere in the world, but not too many local micros. The food wasn't great, but better than expected for bar food.
Miracle of Science - their food menu is written up like the periodic table, but their menu isn't. Beer selection is limited, but locals are included.
Beers:
Newport Storm Hurricane Amber Ale - easy drinking, malty, bready
Sea Dog Blueberry Ale - like a liquid Blueberry muffin.

Boston - Day 3

The day started off rather slow, mostly due to the fact that I had to do some work, but we went for a short jog along the Charles River. Then we headed to Fenway Park for a tour of the Red Sox' home. While waiting for the tour we stepped into a brewpub, Boston Beer Works (across from Fenway). We tried a sampler and the beer was decent, but generally lacked body.
The Fenway tour was lots of fun. The tour guide was an old crazy Sox fan, and we got to see the park from lots of great seats. I highly recommend the tour for even the most casual fan.
After the tour we wandered the city looking for some fresh seafood to fix for dinner. We didn't find anything, so we just headed to Whole Foods to grab supplies. We wrapped up the day with a quiet night in.
Beers drank:
BBW Sweet 16 - malty mild
BBW Boston Red - good balance, very smooth
BBW Back Bay IPA - good bitl eness and hops but too little body
BBW Muddy River Porter - roasted flavor and aroma

Boston - Day 2

The sightseeing continued, in the rain, with a subway ride to the Boston Commons. It's one of the oldest parks in the US and was rather wet ana cold. First stop was an old cemetary, and the second stop was across the street from the park at the bar that was the inspiration for 'Cheers'.
We then headed into into the Back Bay area to look at fancy houses and to do some window shopping along Newbury Street.
We ended up at Bukowski Tavern, Back Bay, where we grabbed some tasty hot dogs and some good beer. So far, this is the best beer bar in Boston. They have a great selection of local beers on tap and a cool 'wheel of beer'. So if you just can't make up your mind, the 'wheel of beer' gets spun and you have to drink what comes up. The possibilities range from Lone Star to various Belgians.
Later that night, dinner at Chateau d' Mark featured a pre-meal spraying of beef juice onto the kitchen ceiling, table, and floor.
Beers tried:
Harpoon IPA - good balance, subtle hop flavor/aroma
BBC Heller Maibock - stong malty german-style beer
Ipswich Ale - mild pale ale, less hopped version of Sierra Nevada

Boston - Day 1

So we woke up from our post-travel naps rejuvenated and ready to explore Boston. We're staying in Cambridge with Mark and Sarah, and we all set out to explore the Boston Aquarium and the North End.
The aquarium highlights included a large central tank with a spiraling ramp, a jellyfish exhibit, and some cold, murky water displays of the local marine life. Lowlights included squealing kids and a closed penguin exhibit. The real fun began with a foray into the Italian dominated North End.
We first stopped at a swanky bar/restaurant called Bacco. We refreshed ourselves with a few adult beverages and watched some of the Red Sox/Yankees game. We then found a great little italian restaurant, called Trattoria Il Panino, where we were able to get a table with only a 10 minute wait. Anyway, the food, service, prices, and ambiance were perfect. After dinner we picked up some cannoli from Mike's Pastry, and then headed back to Cambridge. We and our cannoli then stopped for some beer at an odd communist themed beer bar named People's Republic. It had a good selection of beer, dive bar ambiance, and a large bomb on the wall. A few beers later we called it a night.
Beers tried:
Long Trail Alt - smooth malty ale
Magic Hat Seasonal (IPA) - good hoppy IPA

East Coast Bound

Cross country red-eye flights are not fun. We survived, but barely. Ginny had a 6-year old kick, elbow, and poke her for the full 5 plus hours. I had my knees shoved up to my chin and was completly immobilized for the full flight. Other than being miserably uncomfortable, the flight to Boston went fine. We arrived to find cold temperatures and rain, so after a quick beakfast with Sarah at a local coffee shop, we all took naps.

Day 7 Denver, CO to Avoca, IA

We head out from Denver not really sure where we're going, just aiming for somewhere between Omaha and Des Moines. Not a whole lot of excitement just a lot of driving and crappy road food for lunch. We've taken to stopping at truck stops for massage breaks and come to realize that all the truck stops now have wireless internet. Yippee! We arrive in Omaha around 8pm looking for somewhere to have dinner. According to the map, which admittedly isn't very detailed, it looks as though most of the businesses are on the other side of the bridge in an area called Council Bluffs. We stop in a pizza place which is closing and ask the woman working there if there is a restaurant nearby that would be open - "well, there's a Red Lobster and an Applebee's right down the road near the Wal-Mart" not to be a snob but this isn't exactly what we're looking for. We decide to disregard this lady's advice and head back over the bridge into what we later learned is the heart of Omaha. We come across a Cajun Jazz club that looks promising - we go inside and ask them if there's a good pizza place nearby. They direct us to the old market district a few blocks away. Unfortunately the pizza place they recommend is closed, however, there are tons of other restaurants still open just down the street. This little area of Omaha is actually really cool - restaurants and bars line the cobble stone streets and people were actually out eating at 9:30pm on a sunday. We decide on a "contemporary Italian" restaurant called Vivace that looks pretty nice. As an appetizer we are offered a watermelon and strawberry soup with tarragon and champagne that is absolutely delicious. I have some goat cheese pizza and Marc some scallop ravioli while we eavesdrop on the older couple next to us as they get their fortune read. We are very pleasantly surprised with Omaha, but decide to push on a little further so we can make it to Chicago at a decent hour the following day. As soon as we hit the road a huge electrical storm starts. The sky is lighting up every couple of seconds with bolts of lighting. It's really pretty cool looking minus the fact that I'm driving and it's happening right over my shoulder in my blind spot. Marc's bi-minutely exclamations of "Wow, did you see that?" directly in my ear don't really help things for me. Coming to realize that there's not really a whole lot outside of Omaha, Marc gives Young Dave a call for some internet assistance. Dave directs us to a town called Avoca which apparently has some hotels. We pick the first one we come to after getting off the freeway which is run by an Indian couple and smells strongly of curry. Our room smells a bit like cherry cough syrup but we settle into bed anyway. Good times.

Day 6 Casper, WY to Denver, CO

I've been way behind on the blogging - no internet in the French countryside- but now I've got nothing but time.

We wake up after a great nights sleep in a real bed at the Parkway Plaza Hotel and take some much needed showers. It occurs to me that we spent Friday the 13th in a town called Casper - as far as I know there were no ghosts - however my toilet kit did fall off the shelf by itself in the middle of the night. Hmmmmm...... We go downstairs and have a solid breakfast of omelette and pancakes, which we get for free as the front desk woman was feeling friendly. We hit the road for Denver and a return to civilization. The drive is pretty uneventful, minus lots of road work which seems to be the trend on this trip. We pass through a town called Cheyenne which is notable because it seems an alleged murderer is also passing through at the time after killing his wife. Yeehaw. We arrive in Denver around 3pm and meet up with Jacquie, a friend of mine from my trip to Barcelona. Jacquie takes us to meet up with her brother and friends and together we head to the Denver Art Museum. The building is pretty cool looking though very much a Frank Gehry ripoff. Who the hell are you Daniel Libeskind? Anyway they have an exhibit going on that is the personal collection of Vicki and Kent Logan, contemporary stuff that focuses on people and spans the globe. I think it's all pretty awesome, in fact there are few pieces within the exhibit that I don't like. Apparently I am the only one - Marc and Jacquie do not agree. Whatever, y'all just don't appreciate art. After the museum we head to dinner - to a "Mediterranean" restaurant called Soleil. Marc and I are in dire need of something un-fried that does not resemble a hamburger so this place is perfect. Apparently mediterranean means Spanish so we have some decent paella and cava and are completely satisfied. As it is Bastille Day we decide that we need to do something French so we cross the street for some dessert crepes and then head to the liquor store for a bottle of French wine. Jacquie takes us to Washington Park near her house - a really nice place with a little lake with lots of ducks. We sit on a bench for an hour or two drinking our bottle of wine and talking about life and love etc. Very French indeed.