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Lucas Loves the East Coast!

Exactly 12 months after we met Lucas in DC, he planned another east coast Halloween trip… but this time, he landed in Stamford, CT!! He’s been talking about visiting ever since i moved here and finally he made it a reality.

We started the weekend out with dinner & drinks in lower Manhattan. Then Lee took him out all night in search of some NYC ladies. On Saturday, we were back in CT for a Pizza Crawl. To make it even more interesting, Old Man Winter showed up a few months early in the form of a freak snow storm! But that didn’t stop us from enjoying a surplus of pie at the 4 most famous pizza establishments in New Haven, CT (arguably the best in the nation).

A Priest and a Spaniard walk into a bar...

The snow storm shut down the metro rail so we had no way to get into the city for a friend’s party… but we still got dressed up and hit the streets of downtown Stamford. Per usual, Lucas was in fine form for Halloween (see 2010 archives). And even though our original NYC costume party plans were hindered by the extreme weather, we still managed to have an incredible time that night in below-freezing temps.

 

Brooklyn Bridge

Sunday morning we went to SoNo for a phenomenal brunch at The Brewhouse. We met a married couple from Texas (Brandon & Amanda Lackey) who live in Norwalk. They just moved here this year and they also joined us for brunch, so it was pretty awesome having a table full of Aggies! Sunday evening, Lucas and I went back to NYC to do a little sightseeing. I got plenty of pictures of him, but he hates taking normal pictures. So it was a struggle finding something worthy of this blog post. This is the best i got outta him –>

The weekend was a blast and we’re hoping to make “East Coast” a Halloween Tradition… Maybe Boston next year 🙂

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Mom-orial Day Weekend

Stamford Harbor Live - 2011

May 27th 2011 – Mom and Bellum booked an extended weekend stay in Stamford, CT. Saturday we enjoyed the 1st Annual “Stamford Harbor Live” which was occurring right outside my building. There’s a canal that cuts through our neighborhood and leads into the Long Island Sound. Some very smart individuals anchored a barge in the middle of the harbor and got some good bands to come entertain us. They had vendors selling ice cream and other goodies. But the best booth was Fairway Market’s setup – complete with free chips, salsa and guac! (Fairway Market is an NYC based supermarket that just opened a store here in Stamford. They are the only thing around here that holds a candle to HEB.) This was the first year the event has been held, but it’s such a fantastic idea… so i’m sure the crowds will keep coming back year after year.

Sunday we took the train to NYC and enjoyed our first Broadway Show. “Baby It’s You” was dubbed “a baby boomers delight” by the New York Post, so i figured mom & bellum would love it. And we all did!

"Baby It's You" - on Broadway

It was very entertaining and now i think i’m totally hooked. I have a long list of shows that i want to see very soon. After the show we walked to Carmine’s. In case you haven’t heard of Carmine’s (because i sure hadn’t before i moved here)… it’s this fantastic family style Italian restaurant with a location right in the theater district/Times Square. OMG. don’t ever go there with less than 5 hungry, grown-ass adults. The portions are enormous and the food is absolutely delicious. The food is so awesome that it makes the 1-2 hour wait worth it.*

Rock Center Cafe
inside NBC building

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Monday, we went back to the city to do some sight seeing. We had lunch in Rockefeller Plaza. (They turn the ice rink into an outdoor restaurant during the summer months.) Then we took the trek up to the very top of the 30 Rock building. The “Top of the Rock” observation deck as they call it has fantastic views of the city. {Plus, Bellum loves the show 30 Rock. So he was pretty happy}

Central Park - looking North

I was able to talk mom out of a tour bus – it’s so much more fun walking and stopping wherever you want to. Our last stop was at Canal Street in Chinatown. I’ve heard from multiple people that they were able to purchase designer handbags and discount knockoffs from vendors on Canal Street. So i just wanted to see what this was all about!!

Carmine's

 

 

 

It was such a treat to get to have my family here, even for just a few days. Mom and I shopped, Bellum drank beer with the locals at “Bobby V’s” and i got both of them to try Middle Eastern food at Layla’s Falafel!! Mom and Bellum had to fly out on Tuesday morning at 8am. So i woke up around 4 to see them off from the hotel. I was heading home two weekends later for my high school reunion, so mom held it together as we said goodbye (sorta) … “See you in two weeks… Mommy loves the baby!”

*not according to William Davidow