Tuesday

I don't have a case of the Tuesdays when it's spent ON THE BEACH! 

Sharon has a drive-on beach pass for Chappy, so we took full advantage. We loaded up beach chairs, wacky noodles, boogy boards, ice chests, and snacks and spent the better part of the day buoyant, boozing, and basking in the sun.

Lemon parfait with granola and raspberries. Mmmm. Perfect beach brunch

Oh, also, champagne with an OJ and stawberry popsicle. 

After our grand day at the beach, with perhaps a little too much sun, we grabbed a beer and some nachos before making our way to the movie theater to see Finding Dory. I ordered popcorn and my first Dr. Pepper since March (this year..?) for the occasion!

Boston

I. Really. Love. Boston. A lot.

Growing up I always thought of Boston being on par with NYC, which I have traveled to a few times. Both times I've been to Boston I've asked my friend (and tour guide) Stephen where downtown really was. I was expecting the conglomeration of ridiculously tall buildings, horns and miscellaneous noises crowding the air, and bustling people in business suits running into you on the sidewalk. Boston is not like that in the least. 

Without having all those negatives of a big city I think it has a lot of the highlights- a great selection of cuisine, events happening all the time, public transportation, a huge airport, etc. Stephen lives between Chinatown, the Business District, and the Boston Commons with the Paramount and shopping district right down the street from him. It is an ideal location for me to get to crash on his blow up bed!

I was so excited to go on a mini vacation and to hang out with my hilarious, upbeat friend that I didn't even care what we did. But, it's Stephen and it's Boston, so we had a full schedule of great activities. 

We began with a fabulous dim sum feast and lots of catching up.




Then we headed over to the Museum of Art where I was floored with their fabulous collection. The museum, though definitely well attended, was not packed. It was quiet and there seemed to be a respect amongst the visitors that other museums lack.

Van Gogh anyone?

How about Monet? 

Renoir fit your fancy?

The museum has a Chihuly piece- nothing in comparison to the Oklahoma museum of art!

Sangria was definitely a theme of this trip; I could think of worse themes for sure.

Brick oven pizza for the win

I think this pastry was my favorite part of Boston. I have thought about it many times a day since enjoying it. Uncle Kee, is this the relationship you have with cinnamon rolls? I have since been to two places on island to try to get a comparable pastry and BOTH were out of cinnamon rolls when I went! The travesty! 

We went to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. I wanted to visit both the Natty history museum and MOFA on my last trip to Boston, but there just weren't enough hours in the day (we did SO much stuff i.e. 15 miles on the Freedom Trail). I was really glad Stephen was up for trekking around Boston's museums with a natural history AND art fanatic. That takes a real friend.

I'm really missing this little oasis! Back to island life for me. Though I have the beach at my fingertips I'm without AC, CVS, the T and all those other great letters they have in the USA.

One of my good friends from high school, James, came back from a family reunion in DC Sunday, defended his thesis (he passed!) on Monday, had breakfast with me Tuesday, and moved to Wisconsin for a fellowship on Wednesday! Even though my trip didn't coincide with a RedSox game (just wanted to go for the experience), it did coincide with Stephen's day off and getting to see James. I'll call it a win.




 

MV Sharks

In typical The Ritz fashion, Emily, Sharon and I met the coaches of the collegiate baseball team at our favorite bar a few weeks ago. Since then we've decided to support the local Futures league. 

It may sound like we're not really sacrificing much by attending evening baseball games where we watch the sun slowly set in its full spectrum of colors over the forest while eating ice cream, but you're wrong. Plain and simple.

Sharkey, the sombrero and sunglasses clad shark mascot, hates us. 

Yep. You read that right. The mascot seeks our unhappiness. The shark gives out giftcards to the most enthusiastic fans in the crowd between innings. Have we ever won a giftcard? No. Is Emily the most enthusiastic fan when presented with the idea of a $50 grocery card or $125 massage? You betchya. 

Additionally these games pose a threat to my easily bruised skin and very expensive teeth. (Think 5 years of braces, two rounds of double root canals, a couple crowns, and a handful of oral surgeries kind of expensive). Around the second inning we had a foul ball land in the (luckily deserted) row behind us. This close call put us all on edge. Emily and I decided to venture off for ice cream around the 5th inning. While waiting in line a foul ball came way over the 1st base line and hit near the snack shack. We laughed at how the fouls seemed to be following us. After an unnecessarily long wait in line (think middle schoolers trying to count their change and high school girls flirting with the snack shop workers) we walked away with our already melting ice cream. As we headed back to our seats a foul ball comes whizzing over the fence directly into us. We were in a large expanse of dirt and gravel - deserted within 20 feet of us- yet the ball chose my thigh as its final destination. No permanent damage was done physically and I think Emily and I lost a few pounds with all the laughing on our way back to our seats. I don't know if the Sharks won the game or not, but we had a memorable night. 

Regardless, I think we will continue going to the games. I would say we're being true locals by supporting the purple sharks, but in all honesty I don't think many real locals go to these games. Let's just say we're true Ritz fans to be supporting out fellow drinkers.

Hoftie Potluck

Potlucking (yes, it's a verb) is a great way to bring people together over food while finding out a little about them based on what dish they make. The Hofties (noun for residents of Hoft Farm) hosted a potluck and invited all of our bosses and interns. 

The turn out was good, the food scrumptious, and the company pleasant.

Fresh quahogs!

 It's blueberry festival time here on the island 

Kate made some nice flower arrangements for the party
 


Album cover, family photo, or Hoft farm biologists?