I just got back from my first trip to LA. I was there for a week, working the first half, and exploring the second half. Overall it was a great trip! Did some shopping, visited the La Brea Tar Pits, went out to a crazy club night with a burlesque show, walked from the Santa Monica Pier down through Venice Beach, and ate lots of good food.

The Pros:

• Amazing amazing cars everywhere! I have never seen more Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, BMWs, Mercedes, tricked out Range Rovers, and more.
• Beautiful People Wearing Amazing Clothes and Shoes.
• Great weather! It was mid-70s and sunny the whole time.
• Great shopping. Dangerous shopping.
• Very friendly people. We made friends everywhere we went.

The Cons:

• The Smog.
• Super slow 3G data service.
• The focus on appearance over getting things done.
• The one-up-ing race of cars, clothes, etc…

I wouldn’t want to live there, but I am looking forward to visiting again!

This year was a much smaller ride, just three bikes: myself, Christian (which Hannah riding with him) and Alex.  All Ducatis, which was fun.  Having a smaller group was easier in many ways and made the whole day a little more laid back, although I did miss the massive group ride dynamic as well.

It was a long day, leaving my house at 9 AM and getting home just after midnight, but it was a lot of great riding, amazing views, good photos, and good friends.  Climbing Mount Washington was amazing as always.  At the top there was a huge glider circling the mountain and leveraging the wind and updrafts.  I shot some video of that.  On the way home at a rest stop in New Hampshire I got some cool photos of the moon behind impressive clouds.

You can see photos and the glider video here:   Mount Washington 2011 Photos

or just look below:

My friend Jon rents a cabin on Sebago lake in Maine over the summer and kindly offered to host the event there. The cabin is beautiful and sits right on the lake, with a long dock, perfect for fishing or swimming. It has a large waterfront screened in porch which is perfect for avoiding the afternoon heat and the evening bugs. There is also a large common room with a fireplace , tons of seating, and a long table. The bedrooms are small but feel cosy and comfortable.

I drove up on Saturday afternoon, settled in, and then the three of us went shopping for food supplies. We did some coding and grilled up dinner and got a fire going in the lakeside fire pit for a while before the dark, cold, and some bugs finally chased us inside, where we lit another fire in the fireplace in the common room, and hung out, coding, talking, and just enjoying the relaxing time with friends by the fire.

On Sunday morning I was first awake, which is prety unusual for me. I took advantage of the beautiful morning on the lake by going for a swim first thing. The lake water was chilly but it was a great way to wake up and soon I was happily swimming around and floating on m back watching the sky. I really love being in the water and I wasn’t about to pass up this opportunity. After a shower I made some breakfast and we all ate some cinnamon rolls and OJ.

More coding in the late morning and early afternoon, and then we headed out to grab lunch and rent jet skis. Ive only jet skied twice before, but it’s always a blast! This time was no exception. Christian and I blasted around at breakneck speeds, getting air off wind borne waves, and generally having a great time!

The afternoon was filled with some fishing (to no effect), RC boat racing, and coding. We cooked up chicken fajitas for dinner and worked by the fire before an early bed time.

Monday was another early morning for me, with a brisk swim and then some fishing. This time I hooked a frisky little 8″ fish, snapped a photo, and let him go. Breakfast was eggs and biscuits. More coding on the deck followed. Our afternoon diversion was a trip to the drivnign range where I learned that I should really just get a 5 wood and a putter and nothing else:).

Two more folks showed up Monday night and we did grilled meat for dinner. We had a big fire by the lake and I invented a great desert. Take a smore but replace the Hershey’s chocolate sections with a Reeces peanut butter cup. It’s amazing. Try it. Now.

Tuesday morning was the earliest morning and the coldest swim. I tried my hand at fishing again after my swim but while I was able to hook a few fish, they all escaped before I could get the back to the dock. I made some french toast with leftover bread and wrapped up a few things on my weekend project before I headed home shortly after noon.

It was a really great time. Getting away from work, chores, bills, and a change of scenery can’t be overrated. It was beautiful and my time was my own. I felt productive and engaged in everything I was doing. I found I needed less sleep and slept better than usual.

I want to go back. For a week or two.

The only downside was it was colder than expected, and once we headed into Northern Vermont, gaining altitude and once the sun had set we quickly moved from chilly to COLD! We started having to stop at gas stations just to warm up a bit indoors before continuing on. We rolled into Montreal about 12 hours after we set out, cold but alive. The bridge we drove over heading into the city gave us a killer view of the night time city skyline. While the ride up was cold, the amazing ride and roads more than made up for it. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

We stayed at the Opus Montreal, sister hotel to the Opus Vancouver (one of Emma and my favorite haunts out there). Other than a rocky start with room service, the stay was great!! We did some shopping (warm gear for the ride back), walked all over the city, hit the casino, did Old Town the next day, some more walking, and had an early night in after some great Italian food.

We rode back on the fourth day, heading back directly on the interstates, which is less fun than back roads, but if you have to ride on interstates I-89 through Vermont is probably the best one for a beautiful ride. We hit Brookline early, grabbed a slice of pizza before rocking the William Gibson reading/signing at Coolidge Corner.

It was a great trip! Amazing rides, great company, and exploring Montreal was a lot of fun!

Here are some pictures from the trip:

Having a little culture shock settling back into real life. Over 2,000 e-mail were waiting for me. Jeez.

Had a GREAT time on vacation!!!! We’ll be posting photos and stuff later!

Emma’s sick so I feel bad that I’m leaving now. On the other hand I’m looking forward to seeing my friends in Seattle. I also have a couple projects I’m looking forward to sinking some hours into while I’m out there. It’s only a few days but it should be fun.

I wish they had Halo Wars for the mac:)

Emma and I went to New Orleans last week to attend my friends Bryan and Jen’s long overdue wedding. I had been to New Orleans once before, about ten years ago, so it had been a long time, and Emma had never been there before.

We stayed at the Sheraton on Canal Street, which is right on the west border of the French Quarter. We spent our first day just walking around the French Quarter, taking a mule carriage ride, doing a haunted sites tour at night, eating at Cafe Du Monde, and soaking up the city. Things were more or less how I remembered them, the only differences I noticed were there were a number of closed business and boarded up building. I’m pretty sure it smelled worse than last time I was there, but I may have just forgotten:)

The wedding rehearsal was on Thursday, and the real wedding was on Friday. The wedding was lovely and took place in an art museum which was amazing. The reception took place at night in an amusement park and was one of the most fun and magical times I’ve had. Being the only couple on the ferris wheel looking out over the city was a once in a lifetime experience.

Photos from our trip to New Orleans 2009!

Photos from the wedding!

While I usually stay at one of the W properties, this time I tried a new place, the GEM Chelsea. The hotel is new, and while the room was extremely small it was very clean and all the fixtures and amenities were very nice. The front desk staff was extremely helpful with everything from finding a good delivery restaurant to arranging for a town car to the airport this morning. The only particularly unfortunate event was Saturday morning. After a nice hot shower I stepped back into the room, and immediately the fire alarm went off, not only in my room, but in the whole hall or possibly the building. A moment later I could hear the NYFD pulling up outside the hotel. Nothing like an ear shattering alarm and meeting hotel staff and firefighters in your towel to really start the day off right.

I had several hours to kill before the bachelor party events kicked off. I walked up the street and got a turkey and swiss on a poppyseed bagel and a grapefruit juice. I hiked up to the huge New York Post Office, and ate brunch on the steps while people watching. Then I walked through Times Square, fighting my way through all the tourists, and grabbed a chai from Starbucks. I headed up to Central Park and strolled around a while, watched birds, watched people, and eventually rolled my ankle while climbing some rocks. I headed back to the hotel where we were all meeting.

Poker was followed by Korean BBQ, and then the Gotham Comedy Club. A good time was had by all.

I slept 5 hours, and headed back to JFK, where I am now, waiting for my flight home to Boston. There will be some Mother’s Day festivities. Hopefully you’re doing something for your mom today too!

I just returned from a week in Hawaii. I’d never been before, but now I definitely want to go back!

Emma, her parents, her brother, his girlfriend, and I traveled to Honolulu via Salt Lake City. We stayed in a house on the ocean on the North Shore of Oahu. The view was amazing all the time. We were just across the road from an airstrip popular with skydivers so it wasn’t unusual to look up and see 4-6 sky divers flying around over the ocean before sweeping back over land and heading to the DZ.

I managed to get hit by a big wave on my first day, which soaked me from my neck down, and killed my iPhone and digital camera, which were in my pockets. Having a week without a phone was very…. good/odd.

I rented a motorcycle which was fun. The roads were amazing, and it was nice to have my own transportation. Riding along, in perfect weather, with the ocean on your left, and steep jungle mountains on the right… it was amazing.

We took surfing lessons one day. Something that Emma excelled at, and I was pretty bad at. It was still lots of fun. Even if you suck at surfing, floating around in the ocean in Hawaii is a good way to spend time.

We went swimming a bunch, went to the Dole plantation, rode the motorcycle around, ate out, cooked in the house, had great breakfasts, read, slept, made awesome sand castles, toured Pearl Harbor and the Bowfin submarine, and generally had an amazing time!

You can checkout photos from our surfing here:

And other pictures from our trip are here:

You can see them all here:

Iceland!

Here are a few highlights: