September to Remember

My mind is absolutely blown that is has been 2 full months since I left LA.  I am slowly adjusting to the changes in lifestyle: less driving, more weather considerations, decreased social life - but otherwise things are great.

I started the month of September with a visit to Providence and Boston.  Last year on the cruise portion (http://www.azamaracruises.com/) of our Greek/Turkish/Italian adventure, Tuck and I met Jill & Dave.  Turns our Jill is a psychotic Red Sox fan (so obviously she blends with a lot of my LA peeps). When I finally made the decision to move, I contacted Jill and promised that we would go to a Sox game at Fenway before the season was over.  We settled on Labor Day weekend and I booked my ticket to Providence, which is 45 minutes south (not north) of Boston. (side note: I also just learned that Delaware is east of Maryland, not up near New Hampshire.  I guess my west coast bias is presenting itself in my glaringly obvious lack of geographic knowledge)


 

Did you know where these states are?

Double bonus, my former roommate Amanda, also lives in Providence, so I called her up too.  We started the evening with a lovely seafood extravaganza at Hemenway's Restaurant (http://www.hemenwaysrestaurant.com/) while admiring the beautiful river views.  Thanks to my ladies in Supper Club, I have developed a mild obsession with oysters and fortunately Dave was up to the task to share some with me (to go along with his Jules Verne-esque sized lobster dinner). I had some paella, which is in the Portuguese style, not the traditional Spanish style (a little soupier, no crust burnt-ness).  The entire meal, including the company, was spectacular.



from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea




Jill, Me and Amanda

 










Saturday morning we headed out to Boston.  We started at the North End, which is an Italian area and went to Mike's Pastries, where I snarfed a chocolate dipped "Boston Cream" cream puff and Jill & Dave had some tasty looking canolis.  We then started walking and walking and walking.  I saw Boston Common. I saw Cheers. I saw Quincy Market.  I saw the fancy shopping district. I saw EVERYTHING.  Boston is beautiful.

Re-enactment at Quincy Market

We dropped Dave off at the metro and Jill and I headed the last mile to the ballpark. I had my awesome baseball fan moment.  I dragged Jill into the Cask N Flagon (http://www.casknflagon.com/) and had a Sam Adams beer (yes, I know I don't drink beer, but that's what you do in Boston).  We walked down Lansdowne Street and Yawkey Way.  I lost my mind when I saw the Citgo sign, and the we walked into the stadium.  Jill treated us to some AMAZING seats behind first base, and I almost died when I walked through the tunnel and saw the Green Monster for the first time.  Yes, I cried. 

Yawkey Way

Enjoying a beer with Jill



Outside the best bar in America

 After I managed to get myself in check, Jill and I went in search of sustanence, since all we had eaten that day was a pastry.  We bought 50/50 tickets from a vendor and he showed me his 2004 World Series Ring.  Then I loaded up on snacks.  Final consensus: Fenway Franks don't hold a candle to Dodger Dogs, but their pretzels are phenomenal.  To complete my baseball fan experience, I bought a program and kept score.  I told Jill I had a good feeling about the game and I was right: The Red Sox smoked the Rangers 12-7.

Even the vendors get real rings

Sweet Seats

Preztel Thumbs Up, Dog Thumbs Down

I had to leave early the next morning to make a couple of work events.  On the plus side, the Dodgers were in DC for a 4 game set against the Nationals, so I went with some new friends to the Labor Day game.  It was sooooooo freaking hot that day we couldnt even stay in our seats and ended up moving to a covered patio restaurant over left field.  In the 9th inning, I noticed that it cooled down dramatically (in like a 15 minute period of time), to which I was informed that this meant it was about to rain.  And rain it did...like apocalyptic rain.  20 minutes later we were outside at a beer garden playing a game I was calling "tossy-toss" which apparently called "Cornhole" (which I cannot say without laughing, so tossy-toss it shall stay) when the skies opened up. It was raining so furiously you'd think that Washington DC called Mother Nature fat or something.  The craziness lasted 10 minutes.  We went back to playing tossy-toss but a giant puddle formed in front of my board, and my friend Deanna is not a skilled tossy-toss player, so I ended up splashed like I was front row at the Shamu show.  Nonetheless it was a great time.



The running of the Presidents




(outside the Stadium w/Deanna)



Tossy-Toss (aka Cornhole)



Don't piss off Mother Nature



I went to my first USC game watching party at this bar/restaurant called BlackFinn (http://www.blackfinndc.com/) with my new buddy Steve (thanks to Beau Grabner for the friend referral).  There I realized that I am one of the oldest alums in town.  But, amazingly I ran into a guy who was a year ahead of me at USC who I used to work with at the bookstore for 3 years.  I remember him as a total stoner slacker...now he is an attorney with the Securities and Exchange Commission (http://www.sec.gov/) .  I laughed heartily at that one.

The following week, my mom came for a visit.  It was tough to juggle being a hostess along with being in Back to School mode for work, but miraculously, I did not kill her or end up arrested by the federal government, so we will call it a win.  Actually we had a good time.  Since I had started working immediately upon my arrival to DC, I hadnt played tourist yet, so I got to see some sites. Because mom did not heed my warning of only bringing comfy walking shoes, we had to make an emergency shoe shopping excusion (note: 3 inch wedges are not good for walking on 300 year old cobblestone streets).  I took mom to see Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Korean, WW II, & Vietnam Memorial, Georgetown, The Capitol (we even sat in the House of Reps Gallery and got to see Dennis Kucinich (http://www.kucinich.house.gov/) speak on a bill in front of John Boehner (http://www.johnboehner.house.gov/)  - he got a standing ovation from people in the gallery), The Folger Shakespeare Library, The Supreme Court, The National Portrait Gallery and the Spy Museum.  Mom also went back to The Capitol and sat in on a Senate session while I was at a Law School Fair.  She even managed to take the metro back to my house without getting lost or mugged.  I also took mom to an SC game watching party, where she promptly practically married off my new friend Ashley who had brought a guy who she was on her first date with.

Korean War Memorial

WWII Monument w/The Washington Monument

Mom in front of the White House

My favorite contemporary art installation (see description at bottom)

The Constitution on 50 license plates (one for ea state)

The Famous Spiral Staicase in the Supreme Court

The Golden Spike from the Union Pacific Railroads

Me and Mom at the White House

A couple of days after mom left marked the official beginning of Practice Test season in DC.  That means big events every weekend from Sept 24th through Nov 6th.  The first event was at Howard University (http://www.howard.edu/) , where we encountered a power-crazed secruity guard who refused to let us into the auditorium we booked for our MCAT Practice Test.  We ended up having so many people show up that we had to split the MCATers into two rooms, which meant that yours truly had to lead an MCAT event.  It had been 15 years since I had taken Organic Chemistry and Physics, but I still managed to teach back a couple of problems from the test (thanks to an excellent teacher's guide and the google app on my phone).

Me and Meredith with Jack the Bulldog at Georgetown

What's on tap: October will bring 4 more practice tests, a free trip to LA to train my replacement, and a visit from a friend of mine when I lived in Dallas.  Tuck is taking me shopping for my winter wardrobe and there may be an official visit to the Pirate Bar down the street and possibly a drunken quest for waffles with Steve. I guess you'll just have to wait to find out.

I miss you all!!

Love,

Kerry

PS: My favorite art installation is called The Electronic Superhighway. The TV screens play images of what the artist felt each state represented.  Where Washington DC is, is a small handheld TV and a video camera that is recording the gallery and projecting the images on the handheld device.  It was super cool.  http://americanart.si.edu/education/rs/artwork/