My Epic Weekend In Pictures: More Grilling In The Elements

So much happened this weekend. WOW. I'll get into one of my favorite Kobe Bryant stories, and also my takes on The Grammy Awards towards the end of our Weekend recap. This weekend was so epic, we again have to start it on Thursday night. I started my weekend off with a fantastic massage from my favorite massage therapist Elaine V in Vernon. She's my favorite healer, and must have popped 27 knots I had between my neck, shoulders, back and caboose. Wow. Just listing all of my trouble spots makes me instantly realize how lucky I am that Awesome Girlfriend Megan has taken me on LOL. You can find Elaine at 973-534-7478 and tell her my caboose sent you LOL.

Thursday night I was able to have a couple of drinks with Kelsey, our iHeartRadio Hartford Regional Digital Director. We've always been kindred spirits, and it was great to talk about all things radio and digital. Together, Kelsey and I came up with some fun ideas for this year that I can't wait for you to see. One upcoming video will be me learning to ski at Mountain Creek. Another one over the summer might have me swimming with Koi Fish. #WhatCanPossiblyWrong

Friday night we ended up going to a massive taco party at Jasen and Brendan's on Campus in Vernon. Even though I had party anxiety because I don't eat tacos, we still had so much fun all night. Just one of those wonderful nights where it's all best friends busting on each other, the way life should be. With Jasen, Brendan, Carrie, Chris, Christine, Bryon, Kate and Spooner we just kept laughing all night. Carrie got an amazing cake for everyone that was a Kit Kat Cake. Intense!

Despite me being able to dodge the tacos, I was able to wolf down soft red licorice bites Brendan got from Whole Foods, which are my ultimate vice. I'm not a sweets person by any means, but soft licorice bites are definitely my KRYPTONITE!

Saturday back to work! I did my monthly live broadcast with my friend Wally Darwish at Audi Of Newton on route 206. Wally always has such a contagious positive energy, he makes these much more fun. What you hear from him on the radio is really what you get. He's Wally 24/7. We were very happy to be indoors at the Audi dealership and not outdoors in all that rain. I went to Marshall's for a little retail therapy and bought a new pair of gloves for my future Learning To Ski at Mountain Creek video, and an upgrade bathroom travel bag. It's much classier than my current one, and my current one has had a broken zipper the past few years.

Saturday afternoon, I took Meg on a new adventure. I took her to Homestead Restaurant on Route 94. Believe it or not, I've only been there once and that was 6 years ago when I first moved here. Truth be told it was a mediocre date, and I never felt a need to hurry back there. I wanted to take Meg somewhere that was new to her, and have a fun time changing my palette for it. We had fun. We did wings and fries of course, splitting them, knowing that I was going to be grilling my world famous burgers Saturday night.

Saturday afternoon Meg and I were able to watch on Netflix "Killer Inside, The Mind Of Aaron Hernandez." I'm a diehard rabid Patriots fan, so I felt that I probably wouldn't be learning too many new details in this story. As this was happening from 2013 on, I always said it was like watching a real life movie. In 2010, there was a knock on Bill Belichick that he couldn't draft Tight Ends. Then he drafts Gronk and Hernandez in the same exact draft. Two of the most talented tight ends in NFL history, and it looked like they would be dominating together for many years. In 2013, everything changed. All of the sudden Aaron Hernandez gets charged for orchestrating an execution style murder. Unreal. They did a phenomenal job with this documentary. I highly recommend it to football and nonfootball fans. I don't like those documentaries that seemingly glorify murderers. This didn't glorify him. The series did a fantastic job showing the many, many, many factors that likely led Aaron to becoming what he had become. Many factors. Not to spoil, but one of his best friends towards the end said "despite everything that happened, Aaron still made the decisions he made though."

Saturday night, time to grill! Awesome Girlfriend Megan was craving one of my world famous cheeseburgers, so we had a chill night with our bestie Carrie watching the rest of the Aaron Hernandez special. We were riveted. Last weekend, I was grilling Meg a steak for her birthday in 19 degree weather. This weekend, I grilled Meg a burger in freezing rain. Electric grill outside in the rain, what can possibly go wrong right? I wiped it down really well with a towel before I started grilling. The burgers came out great.

Truth be told, I wasn't happy with how mine came out. I love my burgers, steaks, everything to be medium RARE. I love juicy! Meg's came out perfectly medium rare, and mine came out medium. My burger was still great, but definitely not as good as when I nail the medium rare. I even always put my beef on the front portion of my grill because we've learned it doesn't cook as fast when it's towards the edge. Still a mystery to me how that happened. Ah well. I'll give Steve Andrews my leftover burger for lunch. Small victories.

Saturday night after the grilling we went to Kite's and had a couple of drinks with our besties Brad and Steve. It was great to catch up with them of course. We'll be back to our normal Sunday Happy Hour routine in a couple weeks after football season is officially over.

Sunday I took Meg to The Cottage in Franklin for our Sunday farewell drink. I always hate having to say goodbye to Meg every other Sunday, but at least I know I'll get to hug her soon again. I then smoked a stogey on my deck and watched skiers for a little while. One of the many amazing benefits to living exactly where I do.

Sunday my friend texted me alerting me of Kobe Bryant dying in a helicopter crash. I'm still stunned. Being a diehard Celtic fan all of my life, Kobe Bryant was often an arch nemesis who you knew very well. He was always amazing to watch. Despite the rivalry, he was always classy with Boston athletes and fans. Last year when I went to Paul Pierce's retirement night, Kobe Bryant did a phenomenal video tribute for his friend. Bill Belichick has had Kobe Bryant visit and speak at Patriots training camps.

One of my favorite stories showing how fiercely competitive Kobe is? Kobe grew up near Philly, and hated my Boston Celtics. When he was brought in for a predraft workout, it's common for players to wear the team's practice uniforms. Kobe Bryant REFUSED to even wear Celtics practice uniforms! Even at 16-17 years old he was that fiercely competitive. That helped me respect him even more. He has done so much both on and off the court.

Sunday night I watched The Grammy Awards, and I think they did a great job with the show this year. Quite often I feel at the Grammy Awards they get too political, and don't focus on playing the hits. This year, they did a great job of honoring Kobe Bryant, playing the hits, and not getting too political. I think this was one of my favorite Grammy Award shows. Congratulations to all of the winners. My niece Bella would probably smack me for saying this, but I feel "Old Town Road," should have beat out Billie Eilish for Record Of The Year. Ah well. Congratulations to all of the winners for sure.

We had an action packed weekend. I hope you had a wonderful weekend too. Time to start planning next weekend!