Montreal / Boston

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Toughing The Weather

After the California thing didn't work out, I ended up back home to figure things out. Since I have been back, I have organized a job, and am currently working on getting a second one, and I bought a car from my friend Jake. I am planning on starting school in the fall, but I am making sure that I can do some of it online.

Sandra had come to the US for two weeks to visit. Arriving on a Sunday, Katie (sister) and I had picked her up from Logan airport. Our first mission was to bring her to Hooters, or as she would say, a "Hooters Cafe". They don't have anything like that in the area that she lives in Germany, so she was interested to see what it was all about. I myself had only been there a few times. The food was alright, but I will say, the food isn't what has caused that business to succeed haha.

Anyway, the thing that was unfortunate about her visit is she was sick for more than half of it. I guess, not being used to the Maine weather didn't help much. Nevertheless, she didn't feel good for more than the first week she was here. But, we still made the best of it, and discussed some of the things that we will be doing in the next couple years. Plans, needs, etc. It's hard to stay apart from each other but we are doing pretty good at it. Of course, it's always horrible to leave each other after visiting, but we are definitely making the best of it. We both have such busy lives, so that makes it a little easier. In the long run, I think being apart helps us to be closer when we finally do see each other. So, not much happened the first week. I worked, she was sick, we went out to dinner. She loves Applebee's and Ruby Tuesday of course. More restaurants that are a different experience for her. Very american,

Visiting Richard In Montreal

The second week she was here, Katie and I took her to Montreal. A good friend of ours that we met in New Zealand is currently living there, so we wanted to visit him. I booked a hotel right in the city, and we drove about six hours to get there, arriving in late afternoon. The drive was nice though, heading past Sugarloaf and crossing into Canada from western Maine. It was a nice drive. Very scenic.

When we got to Montreal, we met up with Richard and checked into our hotel. Katie doesn't travel much, so she was a bit more anxious to get out and do something, of course. So, Richard directed us to Saint Catherine Street where there's a frenzy of shops, clubs, restaurants, etc. We went to a nice little place right on the main strip, and had dinner, and a couple beers. Katie was happy because the drinking age is 18, and she's never drank in public before. We got some Caesar Salads, and an appetizer, and chilled for a little while.

Once we left, we wanted to go to another place to have a couple drinks, and maybe see a little bar band or something. We walked for a little while and found a couple more bars that looked fun. One had a live band, but we didn't stay because the place was packed. We eventually found a bar that had a nice balcony overlooking the street. We went up and sat down on the railing side, and talked for a bit. It was nice because we could smoke up there, since it was outside, and they had these little heaters, so it didn't get too cold. We stayed there for a little while and then left in search for a strip club. I had only been to one strip club in my life, and that was in Tijuana. It's always different then it is in the movies. Katie wanted to go to one out of curiosity, so we found one and went in. The cover charge was two dollars a person, which isn't bad, but then we got inside and the drinks of course were like ten dollars. Nine dollar Coronas. We stayed there for a little bit, and then left because it was getting late. One stop at Burger King, and our night was over.

The next day Richard walked around the city a little bit with us before we left. He took us to this under ground mall that is under Montreal. Biggest mall I've ever seen. It was huge. We found a food court that had some sweet Asian Food and grabbed some lunch. Sandra and Katie did a little shopping. They found a store that took American Currency, so they went on an hour shopping spree. They didn't spend that much though, just a shirt for the both of them. Not bad. Then, we said our farewell to Richard, and hit the road. The drive home was alright, except for the one and a half hours that they held us up at the Canada/Vermont border. They always stop Sandra and ask her millions of questions whenever she crosses into America. But, whatever, we deal with it. At the time I was pretty annoyed though. Finally we made it back home.

Bringing Sandra To Boston

The day finally came that she had to leave, and go back to Germany. Katie offered to drive us down to Boston to bring Sandra to the airport, and then Katie and I hung out in the city a little bit.

It was sad to say bye, of course. She plans on coming back in October for Josh's (brother) wedding. I will try to organize a trip to Europe before that though. Hopefully this summer. We're past the point where we can stay for long periods of time though. Both Sandra and I have jobs so we cant take off for months at a time like we did last year. But, I'm at least fortunate that I get to see her as much as I do. It could be worse.

Once she crossed the security and walked into the terminal, Katie and I left and drove into the city. It was kind of busy because the Red Sox were getting ready to have their opening game, I believe it was the next day. So, everyone had Red Sox hats and whatnot. We found a nice little Irish Pub in the city, and had some lunch. It was these Chicken Panini with a Pesto Aioli. It was really good.

Not much happened after that. We walked around for a bit and then headed back home. Not before hitting up a Dunkin Donuts for Katie's coffee addiction, of course. Good Times....

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Photos

Forrest Gump Shot
Montreal

Forrest Gump Shot
Boston

Katie
Dunkin Donuts Queen