Fleeing for Vacation

I can't believe how long my family has waited to take our trip to San Diego, which started as a conference I was supposed to attend last May that we cancelled when Jenn's mom past away. But with the use of frequent flier miles, Hilton Honor points, and school's winter vacation, we decided that this would be the perfect time for us to head west. And with the risk of snow for Saturday (and the stress of getting up a running 3 hours on the Mass Pike to reach Logan airport, we headed out the night before to take advantage of a Park, Stay and Fly offer.

So we got the kids out school (Jacob even got a haircut), dropped off the dog at Doggie Hotel, and headed East. We made good time, but were going to hit Boston at rush hour, so we stopped in Framingham for dinner. And since I do the planning, I typically get to pick the locations. So this stop was John Harvard's brewpub (https://www.johnharvards.com/locations/framingham-ma), a chain that offered decent beer and food and was easy off/on from the highway and offered plenty of parking (although just barely after last weeks blizzard). Jenn enjoyed her chowder (tender clams, creamy soup, and even a spicy cook) and I enjoyed my tuna melt served with guacamole (a trend that I plan to continue all week). For beer, I got a sampler that highlighted a cask called Stormcatcher, an IPA dry hopped with Cascade hops. The Blueberry Muffin beer was accented with cinnamon sugar on the glass was a hit with Jenn  I also got the Bamberger Swine Beer, a rauchbier "dry hopped" with 10 lbs of crispy bacon (yes Greg, bacon beer). My favorite was the 50 Shades of Earl Grey (great name), an IPA brewed with tea that was delicious.

We actually enjoyed rush hour to the hotel (Boston is beautiful at night with the Citgo sign and Prudential building being our favorite landmarks), and got a primo parking spot at the hotel (had to squeeze it in). The kids and I enjoyed the pool for relaxing (another trend I hope to continue all week) and quietly rested through the night.  I can’t wait for our journey to begin. – 6311/13513

“Well you see, Norm, it’s like this… A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo.  And when the herd is hunted, it’s the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first.  This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole because the general speed and health of the whole herd keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members.  In much the same way the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells.  Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells.  But naturally it takes the slowest and weakest brain cells first.  In this way the regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells making the brain a faster and more efficient machine.  That’s why you always feel smarter after a few beers.” – Cliff Claven of Cheers