Mar and Mel take on Boston

This weekend one of my best friends from college came to visit me here in Boston. The weekend could not have been better.

We started off with grabbing dinner and drinks at the Sunset Cantina. Their margaritas were outrageous - huge variety and so delicious. Their food was really good too and it was great to be able to catch up over dinner since we don't get to talk very often (minus daily M Club texts).

(Us with our Cantina Classic and Red Malibu margaritas. I went with Red Malibu in honor of my Melibu.)

Saturday was a day jam packed with adventures all around Boston. After getting our Starbucks fix and a minor moment of panic where Mary thought she lost her Charlie Ticket, we were off to the Sam Adams Brewery. I have now been on both the Harpoon Brewery tour and the Sam Adams tour and I liked them both equally. Harpoon allows you to see a bit more of the brewing process while Sam Adams has a bit less to look at but a more relaxed environment.

(Tasting our first beer at Sam Adams.)

The tour was great because not only is it free, but we were able to sample three different beers and then hop on a "party trolley" to take us to Doyle's. The party trolley was driven by a man named Jason, who had one of the thickest Boston accents I have encountered. In addition to playing fantastic music, providing a disco ball and light show and driving while standing up, Jason gave us a great pop-culture history lesson of Doyle's. He ended every sentence by saying some variation of "DOYAUL'S!" or "LET'S GO TO DOYAUL'S!" or "DOUBLE FIST PUMP DOYAUL'S!" (Please note, all of this happened before 1 p.m..)

Doyle's was really great. Mary and I shared an order of the best onion rings I've ever had and each had a cup of some fantastic New England clam chowder. And when you show your brewery tour ticket and order a Sam Adams beer, you get to keep the pint glass it comes in!

(Can I get a double fist pump for Doyle's?!)

After our beer adventure, we headed back in town and spent some quality time shopping and wandering through the Boston Commons and Newbury St.. Aside from being a bit windy, we couldn't have asked for nicer March weather to wander around downtown aimlessly.

Post-naps and showers, we rallied again and made our way downtown once more to Faneuil Hall for dinner. Faneuil Hall is one of my favorite areas in Boston and I unfortunately don't go there enough. The area feels so historic and has such a great colonial-Boston vibe. We were able to meet up with Laurissa, Alyse, Jimmy, Karl, and Dave to grab dinner at Clarke's.

We next headed up to Fenway so we could watch the MSU vs. Harvard basketball game at the MSU bar - The Baseball Tavern. To be honest, The Baseball Tavern is not one of my favorite bars, it's not really anything special; just a run-of-the-mill sports bar with far too much Red Sox paraphernalia. But I do love being surrounded by fellow Spartans on game day. Glines came and met up with us as well and it was fun to cheer on another Victory for MSU together.

(This photo is a result of trying to take old-fashioned family portraits.)

Mary's plane left Sunday evening but that still left time for us to grab brunch at Daedalus and take a quick tour of Riverside Boat Club. All and all, it was a fantastic weekend and I'm sad to see her go.

Recent Reads: The Boys In the Boat

The current book that my two-women-long-distance-book-club is reading is The Boys In the Boat by Daniel James Brown. I really like this book but I might be biased because I really like rowing. (I was a coxswain for one season in high school and then coxed the men's team at Michigan State for four, since then I have done a little bit of coaching and coxing in an effort to stay involved with the sport.)

I'm only about a third of the way through this book. It chronicles the story of a crew from the University of Washington in the early 1930s as they strive to make and win the 1936 Olympics held in Berlin, Germany under the reign of Adolf Hitler. More than that, it gives the reader a brief history lesson on the Great Depression and World War II.

What I particularly like about the book is the descriptions and history of rowing. Much of the sport's history I did not know and I love learning about one of the things I'm most passionate about. As for the descriptions of rowing, most of it is all things I've learned or experienced in my time with the sport but I still find fascinating to read from someone else's perspective.

The book, for me at least, is definitely a bit of a slow read. Lots of information and descriptions and background information to get through. I'll be honest, I found the first 60 pages a little dull but think it gets much better as you go on.

The Art of Storytelling

Yesterday, I went to a storytelling competition. I'd never been to anything like it. I've never been to a poetry reading but I'd imagine it would be somewhat similar. This competition was put on by Massmouth who's mission is to promote storytelling in the 21st century.

This particular competition was hosted in Club Passim in Harvard Square. (Club Passim shares a space with Veggie Planet and oh my gosh did their food look amazing - unfortunately, I had just eaten Tasty Burger and didn't get to try any of it.) The venue was a very small, intimate room with a small stage in the front of the room where each of the storytellers came and told their story.

The competition involved 12 storytellers competing. Each had to tell a 4 minute, 30 second story that fell into one of 6 categories. These stories were in all honesty nothing very grand - memories from their childhood, anecdotes from their daily lives, life-changing experiences - but the skill in which each storyteller was able to convey their story to the audience was amazing. It was hard to believe you had heard so much detail in only four minutes and thirty seconds, but their ability to truly paint you a picture - to show, not tell - was amazing! Each storyteller was than ranked by the judges and at the end of the night the audience also voted for their top pick. (I voted for my friend's friend who had told a funny story that fell into the category of desire and working hard for what you want most in life, unfortunately she did not win.)

Additionally, in between the 12 competitor's stories, audience members volunteered to go up and tell a one minute story on the spot.

Now, this is not something I think I will ever be ballsy enough to do - get up and share a personal story with a room full of strangers and then be judged for it? No, thank you. However, I truly admire these people's ability to deliver a message and tell a story. I know that I am much better at communicating through a written message than through actual verbal communication. I think in our digital era many people feel this way - how many times do you send a text to a friend because you find it easier? And while I'm not saying I have any plans on changing how I communicate, it is definitely some food for thought and I definitely admire those who can convey their message through a well told story.

Spring is Coming! (And so are a lot of other exciting things!)

February is hands down the worst month of the year. Its cold. Its depressing. Nothing exciting happens in it. I wish I could just hibernate through it.

But we've made it through. March is here!!! March 1st always make me want to scream, "Hope is insight! Spring is coming!" Looking forward to spring is great because there are so many great warmer weather things to look forward to: no more snow, sun dresses, flip flops, beach trips, summer getaways, longer days, etc.

I'm also really excited because not only are there only 20 days until the official start of spring but I also have some really exciting events coming up.

I love having things to look forward to and have downloaded one of those silly countdown apps so I can keep track of the exciting things I have coming up!

Below are the current countdowns I have happening:

(This photo was taken shortly after Mary told the Taco Bell employee not to give me a spicy, crunchy burrito because I wouldn't like it.)

(I'm pretty proud of this picture I took last year at a Tigers' game.)

(This is my new favorite photo of all time. I mean, how could it not be?)