Well this was certainly an Epic Weekend In Pictures that we will never forget! I took Awesome Girlfriend Megan to Boston so we could see Luke Bryan Countryfest at Gillette Stadium, and we had an amazing time. Even though Meg and I aren't exactly country music diehard fans, it was still one of our best nights ever. We enjoyed our first ever Countryfest, time with my parents and sister, and made it home in one piece. Along the way, our friends at The Irish Cottage Inn helped take mine and Meg's relationship to a new level by engraving us in Guinness foam. More on that later.
We will start with Friday. Awesome Girlfriend Megan and I rented a car because my Jeep Compass lease is almost over my allowed mileage total. My lease doesn't expire until December 31st, and I'm already at 41,000 miles of the 45,000. I drive a ton. Hopefully we'll be getting me into a new lease soon. Meg was able to get a better deal on a rental car in Hackettstown than I was in Vernon, so she picked it up Friday morning. This ended up being quite the battle. Meg refused to let me pay the $13/day to add me as a driver, so she had to drive the whole time. I felt horrible that poor Meg had to drive from Hackettstown to Vernon, 54 minutes, then all the way from Vernon to Boston on Friday. She also had to do this reverse drive on Sunday. The other issue with this? I'm a major control freak and am always the one driving. I apparently go crazy if I'm not driving and we know where we're going. I'll admit, if I don't know the area I'm totally fine not driving, but if it's somewhere in my normal radius, it's a very challenging time. Shout out to Awesome Girlfriend Megan for not killing me. On the way to the show through pouring rain, we were almost side swiped by a tractor trailer truck who almost went in our lane. This can definitely be classified as a Near Death Experience, and Meg handled it as well as anyone could. That drive from Vernon to Foxborough, Ma in the rain for 5 hours took a ton out of us.
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Friday afternoon, we made it to Gillette Stadium! Meg was able to meet my cousin, Timmy Brown. Timmy is an up and coming country artist who put on a fantastic show during the Luke Bryan Pregame party. Gillette Stadium has several nice restaurants and a mall all around it, so you have options if you're not able to tailgate. Meg and I opted for that since tailgating out of a rental car in the rain isn't the most amazing time. We were able to enjoy Timmy Brown and then explore other pregame parties.
I almost had a major embarrassing social media moment. Meg and I saw our Boston iHeart Country station, 101.7 The Bull doing a live broadcast. They were doing a great job, and then a gentleman went over to see their afternoon DJ and the crowd went wild. I quickly google imaged Cole Swindell, who was opening right before Luke Bryan. I was just getting ready to tag him on Instagram, when the afternoon DJ announced "hey everyone, let's give it up for Jon Langston!" Whoops. In my defense, they both have beards and were wearing baseball caps. I'm very happy I didn't accidentally tag the wrong country artist.
Friday night, 6pm, now we're into Gillette Stadium. Brett Young and Cole Swindell are absolutely terrific live performers. Even though we didn't know many of their songs, we still greatly enjoyed them. Then after them, time for the Countryfest headliner Luke Bryan. WOW. Luke Bryan was one of the best live shows we have ever seen. I've been to so many concerts over the years, and am not too easily impressed. Luke Bryan put on a fantastic show. Maybe he brought his A Game even more because this was the only stadium show that he's doing this year. My new plaid shirt that I bought for the show trying to fit in worked out great! Luke Bryan then brought out Rob Gronkowski from the Patriots, and the crowd of course went wild. Luke was great even though he overthrew a football to Gronk by about 15-20 feet. Everyone cracked up. I highly recommend seeing Luke Bryan live if you can, and he's playing at Bethel Woods in September.
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Saturday we were able to see our besties from home, The Benvies. This was my first time seeing my beloved niece Bella in a few months. I can't believe how much she's growing up. Nothing beats hearing her excited to see me screaming "Uncle Steve!" We enjoyed a yummy lunch while we were at it too.
Saturday afternoon, we were able to go with Madre and Padre to Bog Iron Brewery in Norton, Ma. This is a regular spot for Padre, he goes there every Friday afternoon. We were able to enjoy two delicious beers and then be on our way. Meg requested for us to have just a chill Saturday night in with pizza delivered, and it was a fantastic decision. We were in jammy pants and in comfy chill mode by 7pm. Just family hanging out, relaxing and laughing. My Wicked Awesome Sister Suzanne was able to join us after she got out of work, making the night even better.
Saturday night there was something that Meg and I were missing. At The Cottage in Franklin, they were having a Guinness engraving event. This is where they somehow are able to scan your picture image into the foam of a Guinness. Even though we weren't able to attend due to our Boston vacation weekend, my friend Damian was still able to make it happen. Seeing me and Meg in Guinness foam was pretty wild, I must admit.
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Sunday morning, time to leave my family and return to Jersey. Meg and I were able to make a pit stop at Buffalo Wild Wings in Danbury, Connecticut. While they may be a large national chain, I am always impressed by the organization structure of Buffalo Wild Wings. Quite often I stop there because then there are usually only 90 minutes left of our trek from Boston to Jersey. They always have your meal out very quickly, and never seem to make mistakes. Meg was happy I took her on this journey, even though she was able to pay for lunch quicker than me. We are fiercely competitive.
Sunday night, yes! Kite's then Moonshine Poolside Bar with my besties, JG, Brad and Steve. The weather was gorgeous, so Tiki was absolutely packed. We went up to Kite's, had more space, enjoyed Happy Hour drinks, then made our way down for an outdoor last drink nightcap. Absolutely fantastic time. The beauty of recapping each other's weekends, while busting on each other all night is a luxury I don't take for granted. We are very blessed to have our friends.
Overall, Meg and I had an amazing weekend. I hope you had a wonderful weekend too. Time to start planning next weekend!