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Boston 2025: A Wig Shop and Home

A Burger before home

At The Wig Shop, we ended up sitting across from a male-and-female set of cousins checking out the town.

The drinks had some hilarious names, but I had to have The Traveler’s Chosen, which had both (a) a 23 year old Ron Zacapa rum and (b) sour sop, which is in the same family as pawpaws.

Her: How is it?
Me: Unbelievably delicious. Try some.

She got the Channing Ta-yum, which was made with black pepper, a nice touch that we could taste – but not quite place – in terms of where the heat was coming from.

Luckily, our hotel was pretty close by, so we didn’t have to stumble back too far.

The next day we didn’t have too much planned except I wanted a Boston Tasty Burger before we left.

Her: Wait, there’s one right at the station.
Me: Perfect, we’ll grab one right before we have to leave.

Which is exactly what we did.

Turns out that it was good we ate so heavily because our train back was delayed.

They expected it to be at least 30 minutes late, but we heard from some train staff that it was gonna be much later.

We camped at a mall as we figured things out.

The Firecracker got busy and found out that there was a much faster (and more expensive) train leaving at 2:05.

It’d actually get us home a solid hour earlier if we caught it.

BUT, because of timing, the clerk could only offer it to us for free if our old reservation was 30 min late.

Our original train was supposed to leave at 1:30 so we had to wait until 2PM to get it for free otherwise it was gonna be an extra $300.

So, we waited and hoped.

At 2PM, the clerk told us to run to the train because she was able to get us tickets (!)

So, we ended up getting home on a faster train in business class for the same cost.

A great ending to a great trip.

Me: That was fun. You’re a good travel partner.
Her: Thanks, Logan! Same.

Location: earlier today, Omega, downtown
Mood: full and a bit tipsy
Music: Send me on my way, on my way (Spotify)
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Boston 2025: Dinner with Yvonne

Biking around Boston

The next day, we both woke up at a reasonable time and did a quickie little bike tour around Boston.

One of the perks of the hotel we were staying at was that they had bikes and helmets you could borrow so we took advantage.

One fun thing we found out was that there are alleyways in Boston that span several blocks, if not miles, and are a great way to get around while checking out fancy townhouses.

That was an unexpectedly fun little distraction.

Afterward, we took the train out to check out the Charles River Boat Tour.

Despite the heat, humidity, and the rando rainstorms that appeared outta nowhere and disappeared just as quickly, it was pretty comfortable and cool.

Her: I’ve been to Boston a few times before, but this is my first time seeing it from the river.
Me: Same!

This is the closest I’ve ever gotten to Harvard – both physically and metaphysically.

Afterward, we took the train home, but our plans were thrown off a bit because there was an almost 30-minute train delay.

So, we barely had any time at the hotel before we had to dash off for dinner.

She’d made some reservations at Yvonne, a pretty well-known restaurant on the same block as our hotel, that we had to move back a bit.

It was worth the wait, though.

Both for the absolutely delish food…

…and the amazing atmosphere.

Waiter: …and the bar is the original bar that was created in the 1700s.
Me: Get outta here.
Him: It’s true.

They ended up mixing up some stuff and comping us an additional entree…

…which – shockingly – I couldn’t finish.

It happens from time-to-time.

So, we brought that back to the hotel room before heading back out to check out a speakeasy called The Wig Shop that the Firecracker picked out.

But this is getting long, so I’ll wrap up our Boston trip in the next entry.

Location: home, dealing with flood aftermath
Mood: humid and wet
Music: If this world’s a circle, I got no time for them squares (Spotify)
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Boston 2025: Chinatown

And a Bánh Mì

In my last entry, my buddy CoB posted the following on FB:

What’s funny is that I got no less than three comments that day about my shirt while in Boston and regularly get a couple here and there in NYC.

It’s funny how certain things have a universality to them.

After we got up from our quickie nap, we got ourselves together and walked a few blocks to Boston’s Chinatown, where we first stopped off to get some soup dumplings…

…before we tried to crash a buncha older Chinese people playing cards.

Her: They’re playing Big Two!
Me: We should ask them if you can play.
Her: I’m down!

We ended up not doing that, although I do think it’d be hilarious if we actually did try to crash as the Firecracker plays to win.

I was still hungry though, of course, so we picked up some absolutely killer bahn mi’s from a local joint and some Thai iced tea and brought it all back to our hotel lobby…

…where we got some drinks at the bar and played some Scrabble.

The wild nights of Logan and The Firecracker know no bounds.

In any case, she won.

Like I said, she plays to win.

There was more but we can end this entry here.

Location: home, icing my ankled
Mood: irritated
Music: We were in love and lovin’ it (Spotify)
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Boston 2025: The pub crawl

Lobster Roll Quest

The next morning, the Firecracker woke up bright and early to check out the city while I slept in.

After she got back, I got dressed and we headed out to Faneuil Hall Square for our Independence Pub Crawl, something else that was part of the Boston package we booked.

Gotta say, it was far more interesting that I thought it was gonna be and 2.5 hours went by pretty quickly.

The weirdest thing was I ran into my buddy Kar’s husband and three kiddos there.

Me: Frenchie! What are you doing here?!
Him: I was just telling [the kids], “Hey, I think that’s Logan.”

Wild.

Me: Isn’t that nuts?
Firecracker: (shrugging) Not really. You know a lotta people.

We caught up for just a few minutes before we had to return to our tour group.

We ended up hitting up four historical pubs and drinking at each of them…

…even ordering some oysters at one of them.

Another traveler: You two got food?
Firecracker: We figured they didn’t have to cook them and we could just down them.
Him: Smart.

After we left the group, we ended up checking out the Boston Public Market…

…where we had a little snack of Boston clam chowder…

Her: Normally, I’d consider hot clam chowder in the summertime crazy, but we’re in Boston.
Me: Yup, I get it. Let’s do it.

…before heading off to Faneuil Hall.

Her: I really want a lobster roll, now.
Me: I don’t have a problem with that, but I wanna sit.

We had originally planned to get her a lobster roll over at the Boston Sail Loft, but the wait was too long, so we headed off to Joe’s Waterfront instead.

Her: Finally, lobster roll!
Me: I need a salad because I feel like a fatty-fat-fat, what with alla that drinking we’ve been doing.

It was only a mile walk back to our hotel and, despite the heat and humidity, I figured the walk would be good for my back, so off we went.

After alla the sun, food, and booze, we both needed a quickie nap before exploring Chinatown at night.

I’ll tell you about that in the next entry.

Location: my superheated room
Mood: sweaty
Music: Forever and not at all, with a boathouse (Spotify)
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Boston 2025: A Tasting by the Harbor

The Godfrey Hotel and Boston Harbor Distillery

A few months back, the kid’s school had a fundraiser that I wanted to support but there was nuthin that really caught my attention.

Was running outta time, so I just bid on a buncha things to do in Boston in the next year.

Welp, I ended up winning that and, this past weekend, the Firecracker boarded the train at Penn Station to head there.

I had some unexpected things to contend with that morning, so she made us sammies for the trip.

Her: Hungry? We could eat the wraps I made.
Me: Great! Did you put some sriracha on mine?
Her: Yup.
Me: (three minutes later and coughing) How… how..much siracha did you put on?
Her: Too much?
Me: (between coughs) You’re trying to kill me!

She got us business class seats, so it was a pretty nice ride there.

All these years decades, I thought that the trains went north on the west side of Manhattan to get to the Bronx.

But it was only this day that I learned that the trains first go east into Long Island/Queens and then make a sharp left to head north.

The trip was fairly uneventful, and before we knew it, we were in a train station in Boston.

Me: Man, this town is just…empty.
Her: It’s amazing.
Me: Glorious, really.

When we arrived, we checked into our room at the Godfrey Hotel, which she picked out…

Her: This is one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever been to.
Me: Agreed – good choice!

…and, because I was starving, immediately stopped by a sushi joint for some cheap eats.

She ate like six pieces, and I ate the rest.

But we barely had time to finish everything before we had to head to the first of our planned activities – a tasting at the Boston Harbor Distillery.

When we arrived, we were checked in by the tour guide.

Her: There will be a LOT of spirits to sample so if you toss some, I won’t be offended.

She wasn’t kidding.

This was batch 1…

…this was batch 2…

…this was batch 3.

I think we ended up getting a half-a-shot of about 18 different spirits each.

As if that wasn’t enough, we got another drink for ourselves, which was actually mixed for us by the company owner, Rhonda Kallman, who was both a sweetheart and a legend.

The place was gorgeous, so we hung around for a bit…

…then grabbed an Uber back to our hotel where we had some drinks at the bar…

…before we took a little nighttime stroll around the city, where we ran into a party just outside the Boston Commons.

After a spell, we headed back to our room to rest up for the rest of our trip.

I’ll tell you more about it in our next entry.

Location: home
Mood: beat
Music: The last hurrah? Nah! I’d do it again (Spotify)
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The Firecracker’s Odyssey

24 hours of delays and cancelations

I try my best to keep this blog about me, directly.

Indirectly, there are all these characters that rotate in and outta it, particularly the kid and the Firecracker.

Having said that, the Firecracker and I didn’t get to have a real St. Valentine’s Day this year around because she went to go visit her mom in the south the other day.

But we made some pretty cool plans when she got back, alla which went to hell.

Lemme explain: Her trip there was uneventful, but the trip back was…far less so.

For starters, a freakishly strong windstorm moved into the northeast and made itself at home the day she was scheduled to fly back.

This meant that:

  • Her original flight was delayed two times from afternoon to early evening.
  • She drove to the airport at night, some six hours after she was supposed to leave, and was the only person there. After a bit, others came but then, close to midnight, some eight hours after her initial flight, they cancelled it.
  • So, she booked an early morning flight and walked a third-of-a-mile at night to crash at a hotel but, by the time she arrived there, they cancel that flight.
  • She then books another flight heading to NYC but only after a connection in DC. Because we had those plans for President’s Day, she took it.
  • The next day, she finally manages to catch the flight to DC (!!) but, while she was in the air, the airline cancels the flight to NYC (!!!) and rebooks her connecting flight to NYC…for the next day. (!!!!)

Me: Just take a train back!
Her: Yeah, I’ll do that, or I’ll never make it home.

I tried to help by buying her a ticket while she navigated the DC metro to the train station. Except…

Her: Babe. This ticket is for the 25th.
Me: Damnit! Hold on. Glad you saw that.
Her: No worries. I’ll get home, eventually…

And she did.

After 24 hours of plane delays and cancelations, and a 3.5-hour Amtrak ride.

Me: Welcome back!
Her: I need a drink.
Me: Sweeeeeet.

I took her out for a quick bite at a local cafe.

It wasn’t the Valentine’s Day we had planned but it was nice just having her home.

Location: earlier today, my old gym, with fellas I’ve known for over 20 years
Mood: brrrrrrrrrrr (still)
Music: Don’t get lost ’cause I am waitin’ (Spotify)
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Travelogue: Bahamas 2024, pt 3

Tastes like a hangover

After we got back from the Bahamas, we pretty much just ate and hung out at the ship.

We did manage to head to one of the nicer restaurants, even though I could barely taste anything with my stupid cold.

And we also caught a few shows, alla which were pretty good.

Oh, and we made friends with our sever, Harry, who comped us like $200 worth of drinks.

Me: I feel like a leech. I’m gonna give him a few bucks.
Her: Good idea, do that.
Me: What do you think [of the pina colada]?
Her: (shrugging) Tastes like a hangover.

The weather was super windy for some reason.

The Firecracker felt like she would be blown overboard…

…but that meant that we were the only ones outside, which is always a plus.

I don’t know what I’m doing here.

And because we didn’t have some Chinese food on the island, we decided to have some on the ship in one of their specialty restaurants.

Her: What do you think?
Me: It’s good. It’s not Chinese food, but it’s good.
Her: What does it taste like if not Chinese food?
Me: (thinking) It’s what I imagine a Panda Express to taste like.

While Harry kept plying us with free booze, we also hit up some of the other bars for a change of pace.

And drank the rest of the way home.

Her: What about your cold?
Me: I tell myself that alcohol kills germs.

Before we knew it, we were back in Miami and heading back to NYC.

Unlike our trip out, we made it to the airport with a ton of time to spare.

We didn’t fly Spirit, this was just a good pic. Although, they’re actually the safest US carrier, legit.

Arriving in NJ, we were immediately reminded that it was winter back here.

And that’s the story of how the Firecracker and I got engaged.

Again, flip-flops on a ten-mile walk is a terrible idea.

Location: stuck in front of my desk doing work
Mood: still brrrrrrrrrrrr
Music: Got me tripping out like the sixties (Spotify)
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Travelogue: Bahamas 2024, pt 2

Seriously, pooped

Her: Again!?
Me: Evidently.

So, the last time I was on a cruise, I was raunchily ill. This time, I just had a cold but both meant that I couldn’t fully enjoy the trip.

The other thing was that, when we went to Bermuda, we were on the island less than three hours.

This time around, because of rough seas, we were only in the Bahamas for five hours – which, admittedly, is an improvement but not by much.

But, determined to make the most of it, we decided to walk from the pier to Atlantis.

It was a seven-mile, round-trip walk.

The thing was that I found out that the only thing that alleviated my back pain was/is walking.

Her: I guess we’re walking then.
Me: I guess so.

So, we did.

We probably shouldn’t have done it in flip-flops, though.

There’s this German saying I love that goes:

Gutes Gespraech kuerzt den Weg.
Good conversation shortens the way.

Luckily, the Firecracker provides just that.

We first went to the Queen’s Staircase, just to see it.

I’d never been there, despite my being to the Bahamas at least four times previously.

From there, we walked to Atlantis, where we stayed for just a few minutes, got a Starbucks, and then took the long trek back.

Her: (enjoying her coffee) That was totally worth it.

Me: I’m fine with not seeing the beach; honestly, you seen one beach, you’ve seen them all.
Her: Agreed. Plus, I like not having to get sand outta my shoes for the next day or so.

On the way to Atlantis and back, though, we saw:

Not one, but TWO metal detectors just in the middle of the sidewalk, and unplugged…

…a cat deep in the hunt for some birds…

…a lamp that had seen better days…

…and a rando Chinese restaurant.

Her: You should stop in and say, hi.
Me: It’s not like we all know each other, baby.
Her: (laughing) That’s not…
Me: I’m joking. But, nah, then I’ll get into a conversation and the only person I wanna talk to is you.

These are the kinda exciting things that happen to you when you’re with me.

We ended up making it back to the ship and man, were we pooped.

Seriously, pooped.

The rest of the trip was just us eating up a storm.

But I’ll tell you about that in the next entry just because I’ve got a ton of pics to share.

Location: a kid’s playground, for the third time today
Mood: exhausted
Music: it was only us when it was only us (Spotify)
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Travelogue: Bahamas 2024, pt 1

A quick cruise to the Bahamas

The next day, we woke up and grabbed a cab to the Miami cruise terminal.

The main reason why I picked a cruise for the two of us was because it actually fit our schedule perfectly and we both love cruising.

It was a real quick four-day one on a pretty small ship but she was still pretty excited to go.

Unfortunately, while I was ok in Miami, by the time we boarded the ship, I was sick again.

I’m pretty sure that that French kid that was coughing up a storm while I was traveling back from NJ to see the Firecracker, got me sick.

In fact, that was one of the reasons I booked this cruise in the first place; I felt I missed out on a solid 1/3 of that cruise because I was sick.

Me: This stinks. The last cruise, I was out for the about a 1/3 of it, and this one looks like it’s gonna be the same.
Her: Sorry, baby. But let’s make the best of it.

So, we did.

Me: If nuthin else, I’m eating less than I normally do.
Her: You’re eating less? You’re still ordering all the appetizers and two entrees per meal.
Me: (puzzled) Yeah. Like I said, I’m eating less.
Her: (shakes head)

Unlike last time, it was pretty much non-stop eating, reading, and sleeping for me.

Which is my idea of a perfect vacation.

It didn’t hurt that the Firecracker was there with me.

My sleep was pretty awful the entire time because my cold ended up being the kind where you cough all night and don’t end up getting a single good night of sleep.

That was super annoying.

We didn’t do much, at all on this trip but I have enough pics to put them into a second entry.

So, I’ll see you for that.

Until then, here’s a cool video of our departing the port – it’s sped up 10X, so this is a ten-minute video in exactly one minute.

Location: evidently, the arctic
Mood: frigid and tired
Music: it was only us when it was only us (Spotify)
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Travelogue: Bermuda 2024 Pt 4 – Home again

All good things

The last few days, we just lounged around, and I caught up on alla the eating I missed out on in the first few days.

And then some.

Even ended up having some peanut butter, which I’d not had for five days, probably the longest I’d gone without peanut butter in over a decade.

Waiter: Just peanut butter?
Me: Yup.
Waiter: (brings over a small tablespoon) Here you go.
Me: Thanks! Oh…we’re gonna need a lot more than that.

There was some unpleasantness with the kid, who was probably cranky from lack of sleep – he loved everything about the trip and just refused to nap and also got argumentative at night.

But he still had a grand time and ended up making a buncha friends there.

And I kept catching up on eating.

Although I did also get to see more and more of the ship, since I wasn’t able to see it the first three days or so.

Here’s a cool video I shot from the exterior elevator.

Plus, Firecracker and I also got to sneak in (a tiny bit of) time to ourselves.

Then the next day we were home.

Him: I don’t wanna go.
Me: All good things – and bad things – have to come to an end, kiddo. And here we are.

Saw my brother, who was in town, later on that day but that’s a completely different story.

Me: Whoa, I lost close to six pounds on the trip! That’s shocking because of alla the carbs I had the first few days and that I didn’t work out at all.
Her: (laughing) It’s not that shocking considering how many times you went the first few days.
Me: Yes but…six pounds!

Oh, and it turns out I did shoot the birds on our balcony after all.

Location: my old gym, shooting some more Scenic Fights videos
Mood: un-rested
Music: Once bitten, twice shy, don’t leave me high and dry (Spotify)
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