This was definitely a fun, memorable weekend! While I wish there were more opportunities to see my Besties from back home up in New England, at least I was able to spend more fun time with my family than usual. Every year my family hosts a Saint Patrick's Day party on the Saturday before Saint Patrick's Day. This year that Saturday happened to fall on March 16th. I don't even know how many years my family has been doing this, but it's definitely been at least 15. These were much larger attended before the pandemic, but all good. I'm definitely more than okay with our attendance being closer to 30, than closer to 100. My family prepares 16-18 pounds of corn beef for the party extravaganza. Even though I often forget to eat it, (don't worry, with how much our family and friends love it, this doesn't go to waste,) this year I actually did remember to have some corn beef. My family has been working on this like a science for years, once they perfected the recipe, it was important to never look back. I've been told by many that making corn beef is not necessarily easy, and not everyone loves it anyway. My family had at least 5 crockpots going from Thursday through Saturday getting ready for the big day. The second I walked through our front door Friday night, all you could smell was corn beef. Thank goodness I don't mind the smell, because it was intense. This is probably similar to all the folks that say the second they walk through a door on Thanksgiving Day all they can smell is the turkey cooking in progress.
I was able to take some vacation time Friday and leave work here in Jersey a little early. Friday happy hour was likely the only chance I had to enjoy a happy hour beer with my Dad (Padre, though this past weekend I always change his name to McPadre,) and sister Suzanne (Zannie.) Traffic on my drive from Jersey to Massachusetts up 84, The Mass Pike, and 495 was a little odd. The traffic wasn't great, but not awful either. The bad traffic pockets were just in different places than I had ever seen them before during my travels. I hate to use that phrase that sometimes "people just forgot how to drive," but in some cases this definitely seemed to be true. When I was exiting the Mass Pike (90,) to get onto 495, everything seemed normal until I was two miles from the exit ramp. Traffic came to a bumper to bumper standstill. Figures! I'm soooooo close yet still far away, only 40 minutes or so away from home at this point. I figured there must've been drama on 495 the next highway everyone was driving towards. Friday afternoons these days you just never know where or why the traffic might be happening. I was looking ahead to 495 trying to see how bad traffic must be on there. I was wrong. It was merely people apparently struggling on the exit ramp that was turning from two lanes into one while on the ramp. Not going onto the ramp, merely simply on the ramp. This honestly should have been a simple process. The folks whizzing by on 495 like any normal Friday helped prove this. Ah well.
Friday happy hour was terrific at Bog Iron Brewing. I had a great time with McPadre and Zannie while running into both of our friends who were there working, and customer friends as well. Gabby and Liz wanted me to try their new IPA beer. I liked it, but my favorite the past couple of years has been their Soul Cellar New England IPA. I explained to everyone there are only so many chances I have a year to enjoy Soul Cellar right from the tap. I bring home canned Soul Cellars sometimes straight from Norton, Massachusetts to Vernon, New Jersey, but still not the same for me as fresh on tap. Everyone agreed. Padre said "to be fair Steve, you just drove four and a half hours. Nothing wrong with wanting to relax and enjoy a Soul Cellar.
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Saturday morning I went to the Bike Path in Mansfield, Massachusetts. It's only a quick drive away from my parents. I love it. They didn't build it until after I graduated from Bridgewater State, but we sure are lucky to have it. It's almost similar to White Lake Field in Sparta, just instead of the convenient track-like circle it's straight. It's always clean and fun.
I was quickly reminded in the sunny, but brisk morning that running outside and running on the treadmill are so different animals. I have always much preferred the treadmill, where the ground moves for you! Basically the AlterG Treadmill I do at Trinity Rehab in Sparta, that one is easiest on your joints. After that, a regular treadmill is a little tougher. After that, running on the road of course is much tougher. Whereas I have been usually running 2 miles in 16 minutes on my 5K race comeback attempts lately, this outside experiment probably didn't even last a mile. That's okay. I was able to run and walk, most importantly getting a few steps in before the weekend festivities began. I knew there would be tons of delicious food and beverages all weekend. The more steps, the better!
Saturday late morning, I was able to go over and see my Grammy. This was a pleasant surprise I didn't know about ahead of time, our friend Dennis who we hadn't seen in over 20 years was in town for a visit. We had so much fun catching up on the past 20 years and also reminiscing fun memories from when we were neighbors in Plainville, Massachusetts where I lived until the age of 7 years old or so. Big wheel races (that little Stevie apparently always cheated at,) Batman, WWE, and so many wonderful memories. Most of the memories were often hilarious. I really hope we get to see our friend again soon.
Saturday late afternoon time for the party. Everyone was very happy enjoying so many different Irish food and beverages. Corn beef, sauerkraut, Irish soda bread, Guinness, Smithwick's, Harp, and more. We had a little bit of a lower turnout than some years especially those pre-Covid years, but that was alright with us. Padre pointed out that the lower key party with just our family was a nice change of pace.
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Sunday morning I was able go to out with McMadre, McPadre and McJDawg for brunch at Flynn's Irish Pub in Mansfield. We went at 11am and they were PACKED. We were still seated immediately! We unfortunately were seated at the table closest to their live entertainment. Their one man band is a terrific performer, we were just in a tough location to hear each other over the music. I swear, not trying to sound like old man "get off my lawn." If we were just 4 tables further away we probably would've been great. Their team of employees was absolutely terrific. They were all very proactive and always smiling the whole time, despite the controlled chaos. Shout out to Flynn's in Mansfield! We then ran into our neighbors at Flynn's! It was great running into Carol, Dan, Karen and Sam. We had great laughs with them there, and at home later that afternoon too! It was great catching up with each of them.
Sunday afternoon I went to Fall River, Massachusetts. You might be thinking, "Steve? Fall River is one of the biggest Portuguese areas in all of America. What brought you THERE on Saint Patrick's Day, Irish Christmas for many?" The answer: family.
My cousin Brandon is in a band called "Joey T And The Dirty Burners." You can hear their work on YouTube by clicking right here. Full disclosure I'm biased, and also think they're terrific. They played at a wonderful brewery on the Fall River waterfront called "Canned Heat." I really enjoyed the IPA there called Juelz. You can see more about them by clicking here.
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Monday it was time to hit the road back to Jersey. I was able to do a goodbye lunch with Madre, Padre, and Leisure Uncle Paul at Fitzy's in Plainville. We had a terrific lunch together. These teary goodbyes never stop. Madre and I joked that we were trying to not cry because I'll try my hardest to make it back home again in just a few weeks, hopefully late April.
I made a pit stop in Worcester getting to see my friend Kim and meet her boyfriend Patrick. Between Kim growing up originally here in Jersey, and Patrick growing up in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, it's like we were finishing each other's sentences about life both in Jersey and Massachusetts. We had so much fun observing the fun differences and similarities. We did one drink in just over an hour, and were probably laughing the whole time. It was awesome.
I made it home by almost 8pm last night. I'm ready for a nap! Time to start planning next weekend, where I hope to see you at Weis Markets in Franklin Saturday. It's our annual Backpack Snacks For Kids food drive, where everything we collect stays local. You're helping kids and their families in a huge way. Thank you!