opening day [squeezed in versinon]

readers of this blog will know that many of my posts involve keeping traditions going.  i love how keeping favorite events or activities going on year after year, give a sort of rhythm to your life.  it provides a structure for memories in a way.  now i'm in no way oppose to new experiences, but i like a few favorites dotted in throughout the year.

one of those is the opening of  "portland lobster company." besides a couple of years during covid, i believe ive been at every opening day for the past 7 years.  it's a sign that spring is finally here.  a time to put that winter coat away and emjoy patios again.  this year was to be no different.  there was one big item that i had going on in my life, so this year's opening day consisted of just one beer on the patio.  

but it still counts!

drift[wood]

 excited to have one of my best friends visit for a couple hours. life has changed for both of us over the past few years, but one thing remains the same.  wood can still talk a lot! thanks for visiting bud.

[college]friends

not sure if it's true for everyone, but the friends you make in college are some of the best you ever make. 

now there could be a lot of reasons for this but in my case i know it's because we all went through architecture school together, more specifically, studio.  all crammed in together, weeks upon weeks of working on projects, pulling all nighters to finish, cramming for tests, being cut off socially from the rest of the student population and then celebrating at the end of a project.  we went through a lot together.  it's no wonder my architecture friends stay in close contact to this day, texting almost daily on one long, continuous, rambling group text, that proves we've achieved lot since college but have matured only slightly.  but always being there for each other to celebrate the accomplishments and there to support each other through the difficulties.

all that being said, my college friend ryan was passing through town, so we took that as the perfect chance to get off the text chain, enjoy some beers in person and celebrate his first kid coming into this world very soon

 

 

bbq and [besties]

another year older and another year celebrating with bbq.  i'm not complaining about either....

i entered 38 with a surprise gathering my wife planned at one of my favorite places to eat.  she knows too well some of my favorite things in life are well done burnt ends and good friends.  the only downfall was i was so busy chatting and catching up with everyone, i didn't have time to enjoy much bbq.  i did however snag a few smoked chicken wings from a friend which have know entered my top five all time best wings i've ever had in my life.

much like the wings i have a feeling 38 is going to be one of the best years of my life.

snow [bowl]

as i’ve written about before, to get through a maine winter one must find themselves a hobby or three.  one that i’ve taken up is bowling.  it’s on an architecture, engineering, construction bowling league but it's a bowling league nonetheless.  the season goes from january  through march which takes a nice, healthy bite out of the winter months.  it’s not so much about bowling as it is about networking, making friends and doing something, anything, to get out of hibernating in your house for a few precious hours. 

i joined a team that had recently taken last-place in the league.   however this year we had a few new people join the team who seemed to be pretty good.  as the season went on we find ourselves getting more and more competitive. by some miracle, we snuck into the semi finals by a half a game.  by  yet another miracle we beat the dominant number one team to make it to the finals.  during the final game we kept her cool against a construction team who had won before.  at the end the night we came out the winners. 

i’m no athlete. in my life there have been very few teams i’ve been on let alone on teams who have won a championships.  we did get a trophy recognizing our teams accomplishment this season, but all in all the best prize was making new friends and strengthening those relationships with friends i already had. 

...that and having something to do during this long, dark, bitter cold and miserable season we call winter here in maine.

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[bar] chart

sometimes there's no better way to get to know a place than to go to where the locals hang out. the neighborhood bar.

it's also winter in maine so you have to find activities to keep you entertained...


wanting to discover and get to know the city of south portland a little better , as well as just get out of the house, some friends and i planned out a south portland bar crawl.  to keep it interesting, it was a mix of breweries, restaurants and dive bars which provided us a mix of craft beers, cheap drafts, appetizers and meals.  some of the places were warm and welcoming and will find us visiting again, others gave us the vibe that non regulars would be better off at applebee's.  shady looks aside it was a successful bar crawl which basically means memories were made and good times were had. 

not only do we know sopo just a tad bit better now, but it was great to get out of the house.


the route we took:

foulmouthed brewing
rj's pub
evelyn's tavern
spring point tavern
elesmere bbq

 

 

 

[a]typical maine saturday

in a town famous for craft beers and delicious food, heading to a brewery on a saturday seems like the perfect way to enjoy an early fall afternoon.  on the recommendation from several people we decided to check out "oxbow blending and bottling."  we met up with friends and enjoyed an afternoon full of sours, pilsners, ipa's and duckfat fries which are a gift from the food gods themselves.  not only was it great to catch up with everyone, but it seemed like the entire city was enjoying the weather.

i feel every city has a rhythm to it, and i'm starting to sync with portland's.  a lot of this cities beat is based on where best to enjoy a pint; by the ocean, at 'camp', on the patio or inside by a fireplace.  this particular weekend, being too cool to be by the ocean, but also too sunny to be inside, it was for sure patio time in portland.

parents [week]

remember in kindergarten when you would have an open house and your parents would visit your school so you could show off your classroom?  it was your chance to show your mom and dad your desk where you do all your work as well as the location on the mat where you eat your snacks.  it's a time to introduce them to your school friends and show them where you hang out at recess.  it was a whole night dedicated to showing your parents this whole new "school" life you were a part of; a different and exciting new world outside your home.  i remember how great of a feeling it was to share all this with them.

well, i can tell you as a 37 year old man it's still possible to have the same feeling.

i live nearly 2,000 miles from where i grew up and i don't get to see my parents nearly enough as i'd like.  maybe that's why after they drove up this summer to visit my wife and i, just like in kindergarten, i was excited to show them this new maine life i've created.  i may not have been able to show them everything, but it's only because this new northeast life is a slightly larger floor plan than my kindergarten classroom, but i did my best.

the major event was taking a trip to boothbay harbor to show them the town we love so much.  we spent two days eating at our favorite restaurants and meeting the friends we had made up there.  by the end of the boothbay trip, they shared our love of the town.  back in portland, i introduced them to the sandwich known as a maine ham italian, took them to trivia night at a brewery, ate at one of my favorite bbq spots and of course, just like in kindergarten, showed them my desk where i do all my work.

to say i enjoyed having them up for a week long visit would be an understatement, it really was fantastic.  just like when i was young, it was wonderful to show off this new world to my parents.

whether it's a 15 minute school bus ride, or a four day, 2,000 mile road trip, distances seem shorter when there are shared memories, and this trip created several.

bright lika a [great] diamond

even with summer making it's end more official with labor day weekend, we took the opportunity a three day weekend gave us to explore another new spot in maine; great diamond island.  we had heard about a great new restaurant called "crown jewel on the island and decided to check it out.  a short 45 minute ferry ride brought us to our destination; a very cute and very pink establishment.  as expected the food was great.  the burgers we both tried paired well with the miller high life "ponies" they offered.

i'm not sure we'd ever pick up one evening to go and grab dinner there, but for a lazy summer sunday, it was a gem of a spot to try out.

just a few [b's]

the older i get, the less i need to be happy.


and it's not even like i'm *that* old (although this birthday puts me closer to 40 than i'd like) i think what i mean is that as life gets more complicated and sometimes more stressful, little things mean more to me than they use to.

all these thoughts came about when my wife asked me what i'd like for my birthday.  after some thought i told her, "bbq, beer and basketball."

one of the absolute best things about my birthday is that it falls during march madness and this year my alma mater was playing in the elite eight.  so for my birthday my wife took my to my favorite bbq place, found me a great spot at the bar right in front of the tv and with a little sweet talking she got the bartender to put on the game....which no one else in the place cared about.  upon hearing it was my birthday, the bartender even gave me a beer on the house.  so there i was, another year older, beer in one hand and a fork full of brisket in the other, a little bit of bbq in my beard, watching college basketball and grinning from ear to ear.

although my team lost, it was a wonderful night.  who knows, if this "appreciating the small things" trend continues, maybe all i'll need to be happy at 70 is an ice cold dr, pepper!

and for those damn kids to stay off my lawn.

rain[break]

sometimes taking a break can be a good thing.

for my bachelor party, the only thing i wanted to do was to see a game at wrigley field.  i'm not a huge cubs fan but as i've stated earlier i do love baseball stadiums and i wanted to cross wrigley field off my list.

the game tickets were purchased, the airbnb reserved and flights were booked.  all the planning was coming together beautifully, however one thing we couldn't plan for was the weather, and it ended up being incredibly nasty the day of the game. so nasty in fact that the game was canceled.  i was pissed and disappointed.  the only thing i had wanted to do to celebrate my "single-dom" was to touch the ivy and it wasn't going to happen.  luckily for me my friends rallied and found several places for us to chill in chicago.  one of the spots was the chicago athletic association, which  had a floor filled with pool tables, shuffle board, classic board games and a boccie ball court.  the afternoon was spent shooting pull, throwing boccie balls and drinking beer.  in the same building we ventured to a roof deck featuring amazing views of millennium park.  later that day we found a fantastic brewery and a phenomenal taco place.  later on in the night the details get fuzzy but judging by the pictures on my phone, a good time was had by all.

slowly waking up the next morning with a slight hangover and the smell of stale beer in the apartment i realized something.  the rain out the day before meant the cubs players could take a break in a busy schedule.  i was taking a break from the craziness of wedding planning to hang with my friends and my friends were all taking a break in their lives to celebrate with me.

breaks can be a good thing.

breaks were the whole reason i got to spend a quality weekend hanging with some of the best guys i know.

and hell, it's kind of nice to still have that bucket list item unchecked.  it just means i'll have to take a break some other time in the future and see wrigley.

heading back to maine at the end of that weekend i knew life was going to get hectic the next two months as the wedding date got closer.

game on.

party [local]

i've been living in portland maine over a year now and i realize that i've basically been living as a glorified tourist.  i've seen some sights, tried some restaurants and have gone to a few events but i haven't done anything more than a summer tourist could do. that was until the other weekend when i partied with some g.o.b's.

that's right, some "good ol boys." 

i was invited to a bonfire out in the woods by a friend of mine.  upon arriving and looking at the number of pickup trucks in the driveway i knew i was in for a treat.  we barbecued, told stories, drank beer and kept the fire roaring.  by roaring i of course mean that a few of the g.o.b's saw the fire getting low, went to their trucks and fired up chainsaws.  i of course, having left my chainsaw at home, was on the porch enjoying an amazing plate of baked beans.  heading back to get another scoop, i heard a large thud outside.  looking out the window i saw an entire tree down.  minutes later the trucks pulled up and delivered three full beds of the fallen tree to the bonfire.  a half an hour later the fire was much bigger and i was stuffed with baked beans.

as the night went on we found ourselves moving down from the deck and towards the flames.  the closer we got the better the stories.  we heard all about portland in the 60's and 70's and how great munjoy hill use to be, back when it was "filled with hookers and crack." their words, not mine.  we heard stories from bars long ago forgotten and other adventures around the area.  

i felt at home and homesick at the same time.  this was the kind of thing we use to do all the time growing up.  although the burnt smores of my childhood were replaced with cans of coors this night, hanging out in the country, around a bonfire, felt like old times.  

there's just some shit you can't do in the city...

although from the stories i heard that night, in the 70's you might have been able to.

the winter of my [disorient]

i think i survived my first [real] northeast snowstorm...but just barely.


mid february found maine hit with three back to back snowstorms, which meant that by the time the last snowflake fell, we were left with about 2 feet of snow on the ground.  i was in awe.  i had never had to deal with that much snowfall in my life!  i really wish i could have told you was able to get out of the house and enjoy it, but i can't.  i hated it actually. it was beyond annoying.  for the first time in my life i had to shovel the snow off my car. not scrape, not dust off, but legit SHOVEL it off, and not just once either!  i didn't want to leave the house either, because it sucked to walk in. plus i was tired from the car shoveling.  also, if you were lucky enough to get to a clear sidewalk, the 6 foot snow banks the plows left at the intersections kept you from going more than a block.  it sucked.

on a positive note however, the snow allowed me to partake in another new england winter tradition; walking to your neighborhood bar to ride out the weather with your neighbors.  making it to my local bar also let me witness, for the first time people skiing into a bar, that was not on a mountain.  i wish i could share more interesting photos with you, like people sledding down the eastern promenade, or historic buildings in a blanket of white, but that would have meant i would have had to go outside and trek across town, which wasn't going to happen.  nope, the only photos i have to share with you from the storm are the ones i took on the few block walk the bar, which was enough of a winter adventure for me.