#10 - Go to a New State

It was only a night, but it was a super fun night with one of my favorite people in the world exploring my thirty-third state, the little green one in the upper, right-hand corner.

I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I hate my birthday and always try to leave town with a minimum of one friend in an effort to be present with them and have a great time.  It's always a great time, and Laura Masters has joined me for 5 of the last 8 years!  Very impressive commitment to adventuring on my birthday :)


2009: Las Vegas, NV
2010: Louisville, KY
2011: Kalamazoo, MI
2012: Hollywood, CA
2013: San Juan, PR
2014: Catalina Island, CA
2015: Kona, HI
2016: Portland, ME

This year, I'm in Boston, and a lot of my friends couldn't make it work.  Boston is a lot further from Michigan and Chicago, where a lot of my friends are, and almost the furthest you can get from San Diego.  However, I'm super broke from this stupidly expensive town.  I am so thankful Laura Masters, champion of life, booked a flight early and put my mind at ease.

Great drinks and vibe at the Bearded Lady

However, I was so preoccupied with trying to make ends meet in Boston that I never booked anything despite loads of ideas: Nantucket, the Cape.  Then, one of my coworkers suggested Portland, Maine, as the most fun place to visit within driving distance of Boston.  (Keep in mind New Englanders have a different definition of "driving distance" than I do, but that worked out great for this trip.)

Laura and I went out with Boston peeps for a super fun Friday night.  Then, on Saturday, we searched for hotels and booked a night in Portland.

It was a lovely 24 hours filled with delightful drinks, lobster rolls, and conversation.  Some foodie highlights were the cocktails at the Bearded Lady and the lobster rolls at J's Oyster.  So delicious and reasonably priced.  The owner and two bartenders at the Bearded Lady were super fun, attentive, and had a killer playlist.  J's Oyster was had a dive bar vibe, which I dug.  The lobster roll had huge chunks of fresh lobster and was served with butter and mayo, so the lobster was the star.  I would definitely go back to Maine... at least Portland!

Yum!

UPDATE:  I honestly cannot remember if I've ever been to Connecticut before.  It feels like I probably should have, but I can't remember, so I might as well add it in here as my official thirty-fourth state.  Or maybe thirty-fifth state...  I also can't remember if I've been to West Virginia.

I only made it 6 months as a New Englander, so when I got an invite to Peggy's tree decorating party, I couldn't pass it up.

I spent a lovely evening in the Salisbury home.  Spending time with camp friends always warms my heart and makes me feel more like myself, so some quality time with seven camp friends was even better.  In addition to just being happy to be with everyone, the highlights were 4) watching the very risky game of Beanboozeled, 3) the goodbye hugs from Katherine & Ruth, 2) this badass ornament that Anthony designed -- he did not care that I liked it, and 1) Maryanne's "I'm Batman."  Thank you for having me!

Coolest ornament I've ever seen