Not of This City

Editor's Note: Pretend like this came out on March 23rd.  That will make it all seem better and ultimately cooler.  And if you can't see the pics, click on this link to see the post on the website.

Today, I will take you to a little unknown land down south, a land where Spring hits sooner than later, a land where sweet tea flows like wine, where pancakes and bacon line the breakfast table: a little town called "Charlotte, North Carolina."

Christine and I took a much-needed mini vacation down to visit our long-lost friend, none other than Keller Schnier.  Before we speak of times in the warm southern air, let us first acknowledge the fact that we hadn't left New York City metropolitan area for quite some time.  Christine went to Nashville in the Fall, but I haven't left the area (besides D.C., which doesn't count because it's still a 'big city') since July of last year!!  As much as I love New York, there are times when an escape from the City is necessary.  

Highlights of the trip include: high-stacked chocolate chip pancakes, sweet tea with a bigger-than-life burger, 67 degrees, driving in a car!!, and a late-night Taco Bell run.  In typical New York fashion, it was kind of stressful getting there.  We took a train from Penn Station to Newark's airport after we both had, more or less, an overly stressful week at work.  But as soon as we stepped on foreign soil of the southern United States, our stress and worries were left behind.  (Funny side note: I was telling our receptionist at work that I was leaving for Charlotte, and at first she didn't know where it was.  Then, she was telling me her friend was also going close to North Carolina to "either Arkansas or Oregon, or one of those other countries."  Yes, she's from Queens and has never left New York.)

  

Keller was happy to see us, and lent his humble abode for our uses for the weekend.  We ran each morning, we slept in (a bit), and we stayed out kind of late!  I don't know what else you could want in a weekend.  We even got to take a nap and watch some of the NCAA tournament!  Friday night, my other roommate, Lance, and his wife Sara came up from Spartanburg, South Carolina to hang out for the evening.  We hadn't seen them in a long time either, so it was a great get-together, reminiscing of college days of old and yore.  This is where the "late-night-Taco Bell run" occurred, mainly because all Lance was doing was talking about Taco Bell and the gloriousness of what it truly is.  'Glorious' can not even explain the explosion of taste a Crunch Wrap supreme offers its eater during a late-night run.

On Saturday, Keller took us on a lovely tour of Charlotte, complete with the St. Patrick's Day parade and everything!  Yes, that Saturday was March 21st, not the 17th.  You see, Charlotte freaks out when it's below 60, so they postponed the  parade from the following week because it was "too cold" out.  Good news for us!  The City was great - as can be seen from some pictures posted.  

  

Saturday night we hung out, played guitars, and did work, after we ate a ridiculously good burger with sweet potato fries!! Keller's friend Jake had us back to his house for rock-age, and from there we hung out at a bar for the evening's festivities.  Then we slept harder than most rocks are.

Sunday was a day for the Lord, so naturally we went to church then ate brunch at the Pancake House.  Naturally.  At 70 degrees and sunny, Keller and I got a little cornhole-age in, something I've dearly missed since my move to the Big Apple.  For those wondering - yes, Keller and I still have it in cornhole, and we will totally dominate anyone who dares play us.  Fact.

It was a sad goodbye leaving Kell-dog, but a great trip, and a much needed break for the two of us.  Until next time, when work is again done!!

The Single Greatest Thing in the History of the World

I realize that I have been more than lacking in updating our New York blog. I'm sorry. Would you forgive me if I told you that I had been real busy, and been doing these totally sweet and awesome things that have needed all my attention? Well, we have been busy, but it hasn't ALL been awesome. But some of it has, and here's a recap of some of the awesomeness.

Our good friend Dave Adams decided it would be a pretty good idea if he came up to visit us. For those of you who don't know Dave, he's about to start his tenure as a member of the Peace Corps efforts down in Jamaica, from which he won't return for 2 years. Basically, his weekend up here was our last chance to hang out with the dude. And work was done. Or completed. Or, "we hung out a lot." He arrived on a freezing cold Friday night, so naturally we thought it would be a great idea to go and walk around a little bit before landing at our dinner spot. We ate at this great cheesesteak place in the West Village, called Wogie's. Christine and Dave and I had gone there back in 2005 when we visited Christine as she was co-oping. It was so good that we remembered it and wanted to come back. De-LI-cious! Jeremy showed up and ate with us two, and he and Dave got along famously. The cool thing about this place is that they play awesome music. The first time we went, they played the entire What's the Story (Morning Glory)? album by Oasis. (BTdub - great album!) This time they were rocking some classic 90's rock. It's great to find a place that knows some good tunes in this City. And what's better than cheesesteaks and rock n' roll? Nothing. The answer is, there's nothing better than it.

We made the distant journey to our next destination for the evening, which was located conveniently across the street. Greenwich Treehouse was the name, a bar overlooking busy Greenwich Ave in Greenwich Village. Ben and Jenny joined up with us at the bar, and a night of fun, festivities, and fortitude ensued. The West Village, much like Samuel Adams, is "always a good decision." We went home, and utter and sheer domination also ensued by me over Dave in Wii sports. We crashed so hard it was crazy. That Saturday was all about eating, walking, and watching the UC basketball game. We at the Seinfeld restaurant, then headed back down to the West Village to meet up with Ben and Jeremy to watch the UC game. UC lost, like it seems like happens too much nowadays, but it was still a good time hanging out. After seeing a hilarious protest, we walked around Central Park, where I was read to by the late and great Hans Christian Anderson. We eventually made our way for a lovely dinner in Hells Kitchen, with the night ending in typical fashion at Blockheads, the greatest single bar (or place) in New York City. More often than not a weekend somehow makes it way to reside there, and this weekend was no different. Sunday was the Big East Track and Field meet, which was taking place up in Washington Heights, and the UC women's team was competing. We ran into many old friends, AND got to see an awesome track meet. Nuttin' better den dat.

Dave left us feeling sad, yet happy for such a great weekend. It was great to see such a good friend one last time before he left for two years, and even better to have a great weekend to do it on.

This past few weeks have been pretty busy for us. I ran a 5k race, finally content with my finish, and I feel like I'm back in the mix of running again. Christine and I have been pretty busy with work, church, and trying to have a social life. It's crazy to think we only have like 2 and a half months left till the wedding, and a month until we come home for Easter. CRAZY!! I vow to update this again soon, and until next time.........ummm, enjoy?