FAST Dinner!

Grilling on a Fall Afternoon!

As promised, I would write a post about the amazing FAST Dinner we gathered for in late September!  Sunday night, we drove out into the Burgh Burbs to try some grilling and get to know our faculty advsior and meet his adorable family - who recently returned from my favorite place in the states.... Yellowstone. Ahhh, I would give anything to get a trip to Yellowstone in my schedule!

The boys flexing their muscles at the grill!

As always with any FAST gathering the laughs were abundant.  I couldn't keep myself contained, and I laughed from the moment we put 4 adults in my car and made our way to the Burbs, just hoping we hadn't left anyone behind.

The famous banana cream pie, apple can't hurt either!

Drooling... double ice cream please!

The dinner was excellent, G and the boys were out flexing their muscles at the grill, while I snacked the night away.  Everything was delicious.

Our next FAST event will hopefully be a bowling outing, or curling!  We keep talking about how we'll have to find a time to go curling, just so we can appreciate the art of sliding a massive rock on the ice.  I hope to make t-shirts, and I can promise you that a future blog post will be dedicated to these adventures!

Pirates No Hitter!

After going through my email, I realized I had a coupon for two seats to a Pirates game!  I had to use them soon as the season was drawing to a close, well that meant a Friday night game against the Cincinnati Reds!

The view in the Pirates Stadium is always photo worthy!

I cannot say we were necessarily expecting the Pirates to win, but we were expecting to grab a small bite to eat with good company.  Some of my buddies from school were at the game for a FAST event.  Even though we arrived a bit late, we were able to see the rest of the game which turned out to be a NO HITTER!  What an opportunity!  I think I need to bring Paul to more baseball games, because he always brings a string of good luck!  Last time we went to a game together, Paul caught two MLB balls!

Paul enjoying the rooftop deck!

 After the game, we decided to grab a drink at a fancy establishment near PNC Park up on their rooftop deck.  The view was beautiful, and Paul and I had a nice time chatting the chilly fall night away.  Overall, a wonderful Friday night date!

Boston Vacation - Part 2

Our second part of our Boston vacation started off with a delicious brunch!  Ashley booked a reservation at a new restaurant close to Harvard's square.  We woke early in the morning to get ready for a day of hiking, fueled by a delicious brunch.  I ate so much tomato soup that I could barely move.

After brunch, we took a walk around the Harvard campus and were able to take a sneak peak into the beautiful library.  The architecture in the library was breathtaking.  I cannot imagine studying there, I would be distracted staring at the marble ceilings and pillars all day.  We also found another little library, the Nathan Marsh Library, who knew I was famous?  Harvard campus was spectacular.

We made our way out of town to a nearby hiking area to get a view of the colors from above, and the city from a distance.  The trees where just about to change, and we caught the colors early in the season.  The hiking was intense!  Ashley and I were crawling up cliffs and our men were 100 yards away scaling another mountain ahead!

Ashley and I hiding in the rocks, a few of the larger on the trail.

Boston in the distance, the colors are just about to turn.

After following poorly marked trails in the woods, we found ourselves somewhat lost in the thick of things.  Most of the people we came across also had no clue where we were headed.  Foley had taken a snapshot of the map when we entered which was a life saver, and brought us back out in one piece.  Don't worry though, the whole time we were in the woods enjoying the view, Paul and Foley were receiving constant updates from their fantasy football teams. 

Our fantasy football navigating team...

That afternoon, we made our way back to the apartment just in time to see the football games unfold and watch the Packers take a hit. Ashley and I took a shopping trip for dinner and prepared a delicious dinner of homemade pizza and salad.  It was a delicious Sunday evening.

Paul and Red Auerbach, chillin'.

Monday morning, Paul and I woke up to coffee ready to brew (thank you Ashley!) and spent the morning walking around the area and packed up to head back to up for Pittsburgh!  We had an absolutely wonderful time in the Boston area, and we are so happy it worked to find a weekend that worked between two busy schedules!

Hopefully see you two again in the Burgh, or Wisconsin would be another fine destination!  Thank you both for your hospitality!

Welcome to America.

Boston Vacation - Part 1

Paul and Foley leading our walk in the park with the dog walkers!

After my second cardio exam, Paul and I made our way to the airport to catch a quick flight to Boston.  Paul managed to get some discount vouchers off of Craigslist which helped us to fly to Boston for cheap!  It worked out much better than we anticipated!
 

Holy Cannoli!

We got to Boston just in time for Foley to get off work to pick us up at the airport.  That evening consisted of getting settled, having a local pumpkin brew, and heading downtown to get some Italian food!  Foley and Ash picked a wonderful restaurant.  Paul got an excellent seafood pasta dish, and we were able to catch up over dinner.  What a great way to start a vacation!  But, the evening got even better after we made a stop to Mike's Pastry to each grab a cannoli!  I also bought a fresh biscotti for our morning coffee.

Ashley and I during our mid morning stroll, after some amazing coffee!

Saturday morning, we woke up and went for a walk around the city.  We put on some miles and saw some of the most amazing sights.  We walked up quaint city streets and through Boston's beautiful parks.  It was the perfect day to walk around the city.  I was snapping photos the whole day.  Paul and I were in awe of the scenery - it's a bit different than Pittsburgh.  The city has so much history and the buildings and architecture are beautiful!

We walked through a beautiful park with plants that made my apartment flowers look like the neighborhood weeds.  While in the park we saw some of the famous sculptures including the ducks, adorned with small children riding the ducks!  We also had the chance to see the city center, Mass General and we took a small coffee break by the river to soak in the view.  A perfect way to spend the afternoon.

That afternoon we went to Beantown Pub to get a Lobster Roll and fully embrace the Boston tradition.  Before the pub we went across the road to see the famous Granary Burying ground to visit the grave of Mother Goose, Samuel Adams, and John.... I mean HERBY HANCOCK!  We walked through the graves that dated back to the 1600's!

Paul, Foley and Ashley enjoying coffee on the river

 

We finished the walk around town with some time at a traditional Irish Pub!  It was a wonderful day, and we returned home exhausted from seeing the city!  The night finished with pizza and relaxation.  It was the perfect first day in Boston!  We didn't think it could get much better!

I'll toast to that!

Paul Revere - "The British are Coming!!"

Foley is amused by the grave of Mother Goose...

Ohhh, Herby Hancock.

We stumbled upon a local bike race!

Boston, MA

 Oh, and that's just part one.  More of Boston to come!