Queens, NY

I recognize these travel posts are getting closer and closer to home. Maybe that's part of my plan. Then this can just be a normal blog without my having to admit it. Nonetheless, a quick post on an unexpected day of activities in the outer borough that is Queens.

I attended the U.S. Open today with Imelda. She could get discount tickets through the Paper (so it was basically me and a bunch of sports editors) so I figured what the hell. My interest in tennis has slowly faded since I moved back to the States from England. But when I lived in London, Upstate Dad and I would trek to Wimbledon every year, buy ground passes, and cross our fingers that people would give us their tickets to Center Court on their way out. As I recall, it worked three out of four times. (And we never even asked - people seemed to want to hand their tickets to a 10 year-old American kid...) But in short, I'm no longer up on tennis figures. Beyond the top five seeds, I hardly recognize anyone's name. But Imelda knows everything about sports and is good to have at your side in any arena. Today she proved informative on everything from who might be most entertaining player due to lack of anger management (Marat Safin) to where the group of people in matching t-shirts cheering "James, James, James" were from (James Blake's hometown in Connecticut).

In addition to watching parts of the Safin/Haas, Federer/Gicquel, Nadal/Youzhny, and Blake/Bergych matchups (a wrap-up of the day's play can be found here), I also caught a few minutes of Martina Navratilova playing women's doubles on the grandstand court. Navratilova is truly amazing; she was playing back at Wimbledon when I was 10 and she's still at it 18 years later. I watched her from the stairs to the adjacent Louis Armstrong Stadium and could hear people noticing her as they tromped up and down during the headline Nadal/Youzhny match (more than a few felt the need to comment that her continued athleticism was "good for her!").

Our crew planned to continue the Queens day with dinner and drink at a beer garden in Astoria. It was just a short subway ride away. Yet some of us missed the last outbound N/W train ("track problems...") necessitating a transfer to the A19 bus and a long and uncertain ride through Queens. We did, however, eventually make it to the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden which had excellent Eastern European food and drink (and a live karaoke band!). Highly recommended as long as you don't have to plod up 21st St. on the A19...

Fifty-Four Hours in Portland, ME


Just Before Our Landing

Interspersed among our photo essays on Tanzania and Germany, I though I'd provide a quick update on our impressions of Portland, ME. One of the friendliest cities I've ever visited, it actually lived up to all the hype provided by the the West Village Roomies (who got married!). Highlights of our visit:

- A meal of lobsters, oysters, and clams at the locally beloved J's Oyster - It doesn't get any better than this. We were really hungry when we found this hole in the wall that a store clerk recommended (we spent the late afternoon on our first day wandering the eclectic stores of the "Old Port"). So while we waited for a table along the Bay, we sat down at the bar where we enjoyed oysters, beer, and conversations with the locals (seriously!).
Dinner outside consisted of more seafood (the aforementioned lobster with clams on the side) followed by more drinks with the former Roomies at a pre-wedding gathering down the street.

- Outletville - Mom would be proud. Despite a childhood spent arguing against stops at any outlet malls (any such breaks on a family road trip could only mean hours of boredom while Mom and Sister shopped) Wabes and I headed to Freeport, where we visited the mammoth L.L. Bean Store and even poked around in a few of the other outlet stores (I did need a black belt for the wedding since I forgot to pack one...)

- Lighthouses in the rain - The remains of Tropical Storm Ernesto hit New England on Sunday afternoon, just as we headed out to see the lighthouses south of the city. So instead of sunny scenery, we captured quintessential photos of waves crashing into Maine's rocky shores next to the likes of the Portland Head Light. Wouldn't have it any other way (well, maybe a little less wind so that our umbrella was a little more effective). It provided the proper scenery for stoic shots in my new Navy overcoat (purchased on the cheap at one of the aforementioned stores of Old Portland).

- Watching the Roomies wed. One would think it rare to attend a wedding in which two of one's roommates marry each other. Yet this is my second. I'm totally on a roll...

Why I Really Like Berlin

Another Quick Trip Now That We're Home

We're both finally back in the states. But after struggling for approximately one day in our new "shared" apartment (there's not a lot of extra room, though some shifting, storing, and donating should provide the required space) Wabes and I have hit the road again. We're now in Portland, Maine for my former roommates' wedding.
Portland has proven a fun and incredibly friendly town. Rarely have I met people at stores and bars with such ease. It's a little strange - unlike the citizens of most towns I feel Portanders might be nicer to you when they find out you're a tourist.
Though we're home from the big trip check back here for future photo essays on mainland Tanzania, our Safari, and Zanzibar.