My wife has had a couple weekends or nights away from Jordyn, so we decided it was time for a guys weekend. So after months of trying to figure out a weekend and spot, we settled on Portsmouth New Hampshire. Not knowing much about Portsmouth we quickly located the breweries and had mixed results..
We left on Saturday morning and our first stop was Smuttynose brewing, originally we were going to the hotel but traffic ran us closer to our tour time at Smuttynose. Smuttynose is off the beaten path and basically you arrive at the back of old warehouse. The tour is free but they do recommend a donation to local charities. The tour is short but informative and they offer plenty of free samples. Beers on tap were pretty good with the short run Rye IPA being the best in my opinion. Stay away from the big bottle beers, we were talked into purchasing two at $12 a piece and were completely disappointed. Even with that Smuttynose is worth the stop and time.
After checking in to the hotel we needed lunch so we hit the local Margaritas for some apps and drinks. So after few drinks and apps we headed back to the hotel for a few more drinks and then would take the shuttle back into town and plan to take a cab back. There were quite a few stories in between all but we will keep those for another time.
The shuttle ran every half hour so at 6:30 we hopped on the shuttle and next stop Portsmouth Brewing. Most of the reviews on Yelp were positive while a lot of locals claimed the place has gone downhill between food and lack of beers on tap. We planned on a long seating time so we would hang out at the bar, but to our surprise the wait was only 30 minutes and turned out to be about 15. They offer a beer sampler which features 10 beers and 4 of them being Smuttynose so we knew what to expect. Still the sampler was very worth it and we ended up getting two for the 4 of us. We washed those down with nachos which we pretty good. I had the pastrami on rye which was pretty good and stacked with meat. Overall the food and beer were good, the staff was friendly and quick. So no complaints and I recommend a stop if you are in the are.
We walked around the town which is really a throwback to the classic little coast line towns. Lots of mom and pops shops, small alleyways and lots of local events. We came across a couple bands playing on the streets and a kids play of Willie Wonka on the water in a park which was packed with people. We stopped at a small place called The Station with was a garage with a bunch of picnic tables and more beer. They had a very good selection, but close early. It was almost 10 and they were closing up shop so we only had a couple beers and started walking. We hit one more place called the Fat Belly which is more of your typical bar and where all the freshly 21 year olds hang out. No cover which was a plus, but the place was packed upstairs, after one drink we decided to head back to the hotel.
After a night of crappy sleep, I was quickly reminded I am not in my 20's anymore and made a few visits to the bathroom. We decided to hit up a local baseball game on Sunday in Manchester, so after making sure I could hold down water we hit the road to the Fisher Cats game. For a minor league stadium it was pretty nice, except the smell off the river. They have an awesome Sam Adams grill that over looks the field and all the seats are good. The only downfall was you need to keep your eyes open because pretty much all the seats are in foul ball territory and we seen a small girl wear a line drive. The prices are reasonable and the visit was fun, so I am def going to try and do it again...
The trip was great and a lot of stuff went down that I can't post about here. It was a needed break from reality which don't get me wrong is great, but sometimes you just need to step away and breath. Hopefully we plan more of these and not only once a year...
Monday, July 23, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
First Big Trip
So we recently took our first big trip, a 4 hour drive up north to Vermont. As much as I was looking forward to the trip I was dreading it, our daughter is the most active child I have met. We have a couple friends with girls around the same age (13 months) and they sit and play... Not Hurricane Jordyn, she goes goes goes..We made a two hour trip once and it felt like 4 hours, so I am thinking 4 will feel like 8.
My wife and I come up with a great game plan, pack everything. You name it we loaded it into the back seat, two different sippie cups, goldfish, cereal bars, wheat thins, new toys, old toys, DVD player and books. We kept it simple on the first leg since we would be making a stop at the Harpoon Brewery about two hours in. Don't worry they serve food for the kids. About 45 minutes in she starts shifting and whining a little, so we give her gold fish and pop in Little Einsteins..We were golden for an hour easily and just as she got bored with it we were rolling into Harpoon. Which if you ever stop there I recommend The Vermonter sandwich and Red Squared Leviathan, it's a little heavier in content but goes down smooth.
For the second leg we went straight to Finding Nemo which she loved and put her to sleep for the last couple hours. She seem to like the bright colors even though there was not much music it held her interest till she feel a sleep. I am guessing she was quite tired because even the back dirt roads of VT didn't really wake her up.
My next worry was sleeping at night, she just started sleeping through the night at home and now in a new surrounding with 15 other people 10 of which were sleeping in the same cabin and our camp fire outside her window, I am thinking no chance this kid goes to sleep before midnight. Her normal bedtime is 7 so if we went till 9 not a big deal. It was really only the first night I was worried about because we had to be up early the next day to climb Mt.Washington.
We put her down around 9 and not a peep all night, we got up around 6 and I think she would have slept longer if we didn't make so much noise getting ready. The second night she got up once in the middle of the night, but I think it was due more to a night light issue rather than actually getting up. Third night she slept through till about 7 and then slept in bed with us till about 9. One thing with our daughter is she got tired of her pack n play, she would not sleep in it even at home. So we went out and bought a portable crib, while not as portable as the Pack N Play it does fold nice and she has slept great in it. Well worth the money.
All in all, I worried much to do about nothing, she was good the entire trip and a lot of our friends commented on how great she was. She looks pretty happy in the picture right? I still stick with "Hope for the best, expect the worse".. We are going to the Outer Banks in N.C next month for a week so I am already worrying about that...
My wife and I come up with a great game plan, pack everything. You name it we loaded it into the back seat, two different sippie cups, goldfish, cereal bars, wheat thins, new toys, old toys, DVD player and books. We kept it simple on the first leg since we would be making a stop at the Harpoon Brewery about two hours in. Don't worry they serve food for the kids. About 45 minutes in she starts shifting and whining a little, so we give her gold fish and pop in Little Einsteins..We were golden for an hour easily and just as she got bored with it we were rolling into Harpoon. Which if you ever stop there I recommend The Vermonter sandwich and Red Squared Leviathan, it's a little heavier in content but goes down smooth.
For the second leg we went straight to Finding Nemo which she loved and put her to sleep for the last couple hours. She seem to like the bright colors even though there was not much music it held her interest till she feel a sleep. I am guessing she was quite tired because even the back dirt roads of VT didn't really wake her up.
My next worry was sleeping at night, she just started sleeping through the night at home and now in a new surrounding with 15 other people 10 of which were sleeping in the same cabin and our camp fire outside her window, I am thinking no chance this kid goes to sleep before midnight. Her normal bedtime is 7 so if we went till 9 not a big deal. It was really only the first night I was worried about because we had to be up early the next day to climb Mt.Washington.
We put her down around 9 and not a peep all night, we got up around 6 and I think she would have slept longer if we didn't make so much noise getting ready. The second night she got up once in the middle of the night, but I think it was due more to a night light issue rather than actually getting up. Third night she slept through till about 7 and then slept in bed with us till about 9. One thing with our daughter is she got tired of her pack n play, she would not sleep in it even at home. So we went out and bought a portable crib, while not as portable as the Pack N Play it does fold nice and she has slept great in it. Well worth the money.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The Change Up
One of my best friends who has one child and second on the way told me be ready for change. I never really gave it much thought because my wife and I were through the late night partying phase. Being that I am 31 and she is 30 we were tired of the bar hoping scene. Being an avid fan of "Scrubs" I always went back to when Dr.Cox told Carla and Turk having a child was like having a dog that learns to talk... So with that said...
Having a daughter and being over protective I think it changed me more mentally rather than from a physical standpoint. I view the world from a different perspective now, I now no longer get caught up in petty stuff and basically let things role off my shoulder. In the past I was always concerned with what friends were happy with my decisions. Yep I based my decsions on what I felt other people wanted, now having a child everyone can basically kiss my ass. It might seem selfish but I can no longer worry about who is mad about not being invited to dinner, movie, etc. My world revolves around my daughter now and everyone else is on the backburner.
Now of course only my friends with kids understand this thinking because they have been through it. Having a child will change your life one way or another. In my case it has been for the better and I wouldn't change it for anything..
Having a daughter and being over protective I think it changed me more mentally rather than from a physical standpoint. I view the world from a different perspective now, I now no longer get caught up in petty stuff and basically let things role off my shoulder. In the past I was always concerned with what friends were happy with my decisions. Yep I based my decsions on what I felt other people wanted, now having a child everyone can basically kiss my ass. It might seem selfish but I can no longer worry about who is mad about not being invited to dinner, movie, etc. My world revolves around my daughter now and everyone else is on the backburner.
Now of course only my friends with kids understand this thinking because they have been through it. Having a child will change your life one way or another. In my case it has been for the better and I wouldn't change it for anything..
The back story
I am not a great writer so work with me, my wife and I welcomed our first child to the world in June 2011. After my wife returned to work, we had my father and his wife watch our daughter 3 days a week and my worked from home the other two. While the schedule was a little hectic we were not paying for daycare so it was worth it.
In Jan of 2012 my father decided they were moving to S.Carolina, so this put us in a tough spot. My wife and I make decent money as two full time working adults, but if we decided to have a second child it would make a dent in our income, plus you always hear the horror stories of daycare.
After many discussions we decided I would cut my hours to 20 a week and stay home with our daughter. This was a major change in our life's but we felt it was more important to raise our daughter our way and sacrifice some of our income. It was met with skeptisim from friends,family and co-workers, but so far it has worked out well and allow's us to see her grow in front of us rather than at daycare...
In Jan of 2012 my father decided they were moving to S.Carolina, so this put us in a tough spot. My wife and I make decent money as two full time working adults, but if we decided to have a second child it would make a dent in our income, plus you always hear the horror stories of daycare.
After many discussions we decided I would cut my hours to 20 a week and stay home with our daughter. This was a major change in our life's but we felt it was more important to raise our daughter our way and sacrifice some of our income. It was met with skeptisim from friends,family and co-workers, but so far it has worked out well and allow's us to see her grow in front of us rather than at daycare...
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