New England with the Kiwi Family

Relaxing in NYC

Having been the recipients of many airport pickups worldwide, this was my opportunity to return some of the favors we have received over the years from family, friends and others. I hope I payed back a good portion with my 5 hours of commuting back and forth to New York's JFK airport twice in one evening and making double laps to LBI a week later. After my Saturday evening driving, I had both my parents and the entire Clark family in residence at the Sierpina family household. I might add we arrived only just as the household renovations and decorations had just been finally completed hours earlier.

So a big old NYC family welcome trip on dad's birthday was Sundays activities. A perfect 34 degrees C was a nice welcome to Northern Hemisphere Summer. We planned it Devo-slylz and had a non stressful affair. We saw the main sights of Grand Central Terminal, walked to Bryant Park and the New York Library, and Times Square. We took the subway to the 9/11 Memorial, then walked through Wall Street to South Street Seaport. Unreasonably priced ice creams we had and we found some legit NYC slice pizza for lunch. The Clark children then proceeded to flaunt with the bylaws of NYC and paraded themselves naked through some fountains.  A little bit more walking to Battery Park for a view of the State of Liberty by which time we could see a tantrum coming, so we found a nice bar and got dad a beer to quiet him down.

Newport, RI

I headed to work at 10pm that night, and the next day slept while the adult Clarks headed into NYC for another round, and Amy entertained mum, dad and the Clark children with a trip to a children's science museum. The next day, the Clarks headed off with a rental car to visit some friends and we were off on our mini road trip with mum and dad. Headed for some New England hotspots, we called into Mystic Seaport Connecticut and started the day with a coffee and viewing from afar the Old Port Town. Continuing north to Newport, Rhode Island we set off on foot to view the historic mansions and walk the coastal path. Amy's enthusiasm got the better of us there. As we ended up walking 4.5 miles on a sweltering day. Father was desperately in need of a beer at the end of all that. So much so, that he resorted to drinking a warm oil can of Fosters that I had brought him as a funny gift, which had been baking in the car all day. Other than experiencing dehydration and exhaustion, we enjoyed the early stroll through the old town, saw all the big mansions and had an adventure along the cliff walk. We made it to Boston none the less.

A few coffees a day, keeps these two alive. But ice cream it is right here.

A day on the Freedom Trail it was. Running in reverse from our hotel, the Constitution Inn, it was a quick stop to the USS Constitution Museum, then across the Charlestown Bridge to historic cemeteries, The North Church and Paul Revere's House. Chicken pot pie and Boston go hand in hand for me, so thats what I got at Quincy Market. Coffees for everyone else. Followed by a father-son-off on the free outdoor table tennis. On we went to Faneuil Hall, the Boston Massacre site, more cemeteries and finishing up at the Town Commons by the State House. From that point we knew exactly where we wanted to be, back to the Bell in Hand. Serving beer since 1795, we had a few cold Sam Adams to celebrate the man and his city. Later that night in the urban wasteland of Charlestown, we found a funky little pizza place with a beer list the Urban Hipster would die for.

Boston

Not done with New England yet, we headed slightly further north to Salem. Historic for its witch trials and old port. It certainly gave off that vibe, with its streets rowed with big gothic style houses where you know some funky shit went down. Sadly its seems, the lies of a few young school girls set off an unfortunate event of finger pointing which ended in a bunch of people being hung and burnt alive. The historic port customs house building was very interesting and far less depressing. Even more exciting was stopping into Notch Brewing Company, who contract brews at Two Roads. Their beer is exceptional and meeting the brewer and seeing their new little brewery was cool, especially with a couple of big cans to take home.

And with my nerves building, naat, it was just one more night before heading down to LBI. It was fun to have a group of family and Kiwi friends later that night back in Stratford and at the brewery for a couple of beers. Mum, dad, Amy and I, met by Simon who had been vacationing on our couch while we were away, and Gina and Sean who just arrived into town. We gave a tour and had a few beers before squeezing the seven of us into our little one bedroom apartment. Luckily, Simon and Sean took the adventure of sleeping on the beach, freeing up a bit more space inside.

Notch Brewery in Salem

Wedding Planning

Barnegat Lighthouse

Its all done and dusted, but there was plenty going on to make that smooth and seamless wedding that we had. Luckily for us, that meant getting a good bunch of little preparatory holidays in advance. Long Beach Island was our home for multiple weekends. We made day trips, spent full weekends at the Fornaciari house and even one weekend where we went camping too.

The first preliminary winter trip occurred in January for just a day trip with the future in-laws Diane and Ted. The mission was to lock in the venue mostly, and secondly sort out some rental houses. We had an idea of a few venue locations, but Aunt Margaret Fornaciari had recommended the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, so after a look online, and a talk on the phone about prices, we were pretty certain that this was our place. We walked around the venue, we loved the view and the flexibility they offered. That they are a non-profit foundation was a plus too, rather than just money grubbing wedding scammers. We found houses and had time for a quick lunch and a minute walk in the sand on the mild but cool winter day.

February was the visit where Amy made appointments to meet with a caterer, a bakery, photographer, florist and tent rental company. She had put good effort into sussing these different vendors out throughout the previous month, so she knew basically the ones we wanted to use. We had an incredible dinner tasting 10 different items at our food tasting, and locked everyone in. Making a good weekend of it, I brought the water sport equipment, however it was a tad cold. Thankfully there were no waves, as I probably would have gone in, and likely frozen solid. We were also celebrating our 6 year anniversary that weekend, so we popped open a bottle of champagne that we were gifted at our engagement party back in 2014, and made some fondue.

In April, Amy and the ladies made a day trip down to LBI for a Wedding Roadshow. Although most things were all booked in by then, it was good for them to walk around and check out all the other vendors on offer, and to talk again with the ones we had booked in, trying the free food and drinks and enter some contests. They looked at the reception site again, and talked over set-up and on the way home learned Amy had won a basket which came with homemade blueberry thyme simple syrup which we used for our mimosas at the wedding.

 

During this time, Amy spent almost every weekend wedding dress shopping with her sisters and mom. It seemed like a never ending process, which was becoming more stressful by the day. She looked at almost every shop possible in Connecticut, and even a few in NYC, but was unimpressed with the prices, although her mother was willing to pay. She also became frustrated with how ornate some of these dresses were, and how even after the crazy price tag, you were expected to pay more in alterations. Finally, she tried on a dress in the wedding dress line of the casual/preppy store of J.CREW, and fell in love. She ended up ordering 5 different versions online, and returning them to the store in Connecticut, just to get the perfect fit.

With a few months following with no trips, it was nice to see warmer weather arriving and a long weekend in June was a good time. We booked this trip in to have our cake tasting, but also because we were invited as VIPs to the Long Beach Island Foundation's summer kick-off cocktail party. We planned to meet with our caterers again to go over tiny details and hand over more money, and to talk to the photographer. On our first morning, I caused us to be late for an appointment, as I was out surfing and getting some good waves. Luckily, Amy managed to reschedule for later in the day. And hey this is why we sorta like this place, they couldn't blame me, its the beach remember! We had our cake tasting that day, choosing from the four pages of options we did eventually narrow it down. We then left a bottle of Two Roads' Unorthodox Russian Imperial Stout for them to make us a dozen cupcakes to take back to work, which we were completely blown away with. That night was a big fundraising event for the LBI Foundation. Lots of wealthy sorts giving big bucks after being schmoozed with liquor and food, good plan! It was good to see the space we were going to use all set up and it looked good.

We decided to head down the last weekend in July to finalize all the last details. Unfortunately, the Fornaciari house was unavailable, but we found a campground just about 20 minutes away on the mainland. We baked in our little tent, however it was interesting staying off the Island where we could explore the surrounding area a bit more. We were happy to enjoy some local beers from the Pinelands Brewery in Little Egg Harbor Township. Their dirty hazy Pale Ales were not my thing, however they made a dank ass Brown Ale and Oyster Stout. The downside to being off the island was having to get onto it across the causeway. We ended up being 45 minutes late for our first appointment, because everyone arrives to the island on Saturday in the peak season and we were with them. At the foundation we were shocked to see construction machinery all over the beach where we were planning on having our ceremony. We talked to the project manager who said they weren't going to be gone anytime soon. A bit freaked out, but knew we would work something out. After several location changes, we settled last minute for a beach just north of the original location, which worked perfectly. 

Sunset from the LBI Foundation

The OOB

Old Orchard Beach Pier

Old Orchard Beach, Maine, known to New England locals as The OOB was a bit of a funny place with its strong hick American vibe blended with a strong influence from French Canada. Being just a few house drive away, the Canadian vibe is not surprising, although it was. We stayed in a very pricey campground for two nights, but it was kitted out,  with pool, table tennis and a fair bit of peace and serenity for a pack spot. The beach was just a 10 minute walk away, along with the amusement rides, right on the side of the beach, with a rickety pier and its shack style buildings all over. The water was deadly cold, seriously, but its was truly just beautiful, with some nice little swells rolling in. Perfect for body surfing, just had to let your head defrost after every few dunks underwater.

Portsmouth, NH

We left early Friday morning after I was done with night shift. Was a bit of a tough day running for 24+ hours with no sleep, but it gave us a super long weekend. We took the interstates direct to the New Hampshire boarder, where we stopped at the town of Portsmouth for a picnic lunch and a look around. Followed by following the Post roads Route 1 North making a few stops along the route at Kittery Fort and the beach town of Ogunquit, which we both noticed were incredibly clean and pristine. The water at the beach in Oqunquit was blue as could be, but the amount of people littering the beach is always a bit of a downer. On route to Portland we also stopped in at the most photographed lighthouse in the country, the Portland Head Lighthouse and yeah its pretty photogenic.

Portland Head Lighthouse

We made The OOB our base for a bit of exploration. We were particularly excited to head to Portland, Maine. After the recommendation by one of the brewers we contract brew for, we embarked on a brewery adventure in the ultra hipster/alternative city of the north. Six brewery's to speak of on our visit, we started at Foulmouthed Brewpub in South Portland. We met the brewer of the brand new facility, enjoyed a flight and some extremely flavorsome bites to eat. Shipyard Brewing Company next, with their ingenious chalk board flights, filled us with good quality beer. Rising Tide Brewing operating out of large roller doors was a chilled location with a great pale ale with rye. Its was a shame we didn't get time to visit the craft distillery next door, because up next was Bunker Brewing Co. Now this place is what a true craft brewery should look like. As if it was put together by a bunch of madmen with welding equipment inside a building that looked like it survive a nuclear holocaust. The beer was great, the prices were as fair as they come and sitting in the industrial wasteland setting on the warm July Saturday afternoon a few beers in, it was just good news.

Bunker Brewing Co.

 A short walk further found us at the Urban Farm Fermentory, which just sets the bar of hipster alternative-ness. Fermenting liquid only of the non-hopped variety and I don't just mean few hops, they mean no hops, e.g not beer. Cider, Mead, Cambucha as well as herbed liquid (beer basically) is their thing. A bold move, far away from the big selling profit making pale ales and pilsners, these guys are going a different route. For what their beverages were, they were good, but I would have loved a pale ale is all. Last brewery of our tour was the oddly named Liquid Riot Bottling Company. Alternative in the general American sense, though for this part of the woods, I guess it was just coming across by the book. Good beer, bistro pub food and right in the heart of the tourist trap of downtown seaport Portland.
 

Ending off the trip we ventured west into New Hampshire aiming for Lake Winnipesaukee. With no expectations, we were blown away with how beautiful this place was. The large clear evergreen lake was set within the tree covered rolling hills. You could nearly even justify some as mountains. We stopped at the lakeside Wolfsboro. A quaint New England holiday spot, perfect for a huge ice cream with your toes in the water, motor boats cruising, flower baskets hanging from shop eves and a relaxed air. We circumnavigated the northern lakeside, driving right waterside some of the time and other times climbing over hills past cabins and mansions alike. At Meridith there was more boat parking than car parking. A huge lakeside bar and restaurant was the attraction. A nice lakeside path which wound into a boardwalk jetty, I was surprised to see no 'No Swimming' signs so I took the opportunity to take a last dip, 'Thomas Style'. The water was absolute perfection. New Hampshire and Maine have a reputation for being green, and they certainly seem to make an effort to protect their waterways, at least in this instance. To cap of the weekend, I headed straight back into work at 10pm after a 30 min nap. 

Thomas and Amy at Lake Winnipesaukee

Rhode Island

Narragansett Beach

Making the most of a four day long weekend, we joined my workmate Steve and his misses Barbara who had booked a holiday house for the weekend in Narragansett, Rhode Island. There were about eight people there, with some more coming and going over the weekend. We had a bed one night and then a couple nights out in the tent in the back yard as well. On the mild nights, it was just perfect, "glamping" like we always do. Sleeping in the outdoors but with all the comforts of a house otherwise, theres not much better than that. Being the 4th of July, it was an all American affair. We grilled, lit off mad fireworks, baked our asses off on the beach along with heaps of glutinous eating and drinking.

RIP ripped shorts

Playing games with the beach officials, we ventured early to the beach to ensure we didn't have to pay a entrance fee. A few got into trouble when they were deemed to have jumped over the wall after the free admittance time of 8:30am. They seemed to turn a blind eye to me and Amy though, not sure they wanted to swim out and get us as  we headed straight for the open ocean on the stand up paddle board and surfboard. Other than having to pay, it is a really nice golden sand beach and we have enjoyed visiting over the years. Unfortunately, the waves were micro at best, and the crowds were unbelievable. But we always enjoy the crystal clear, cool water though.

Fireworks galore, it seemed like it was nearly a contest. As you would let a few off, more would erupt off around you from each and every direction. Which neighbor had the biggest fireworks, I'm not sure. But none would have been legal anywhere other than America I'd assume. Seeking out a real display we went for a bike around the wealthy headlands to catch a glimpse of Jamestown R.I. letting some big explosions off in the distance. Our last morning we even ventured out at some ungodly hour to watch the sunrise back at that same spot, its was pretty beautiful.

With Barbara and Steve

Work, Life and Summer

With the come of summer meant the biggest relief for Amy, that her daily commute to Stamford working at her school was over. The short term position she had taken turned into a full time position throughout the school year. A great addition to her building list of experience working in schools, she was sad to have to finish up after making friends and relationships with teachers and students. But, the 5 minute bike ride around the corner to Knapp's Landing, a local seafood restaurant over looking the inlet, is more her style of a commute. Working events and festivals at the brewery as well she is a busy girl, but that's nothing compared to sitting in your car 10+ hours a week before your work hours even begin.

At the Road Jam festival at Two Roads

Thomas showing Ted the Hopnick, for dry hopping

For myself, as I rotate through my two monthly shift rotations each comes with its own positives and negatives. Morning shifts were busy action packed 6am starts where the day just flew by. We were short staffed and I have never been in a situation when I have managed to multi-task so much at one time and coordinate so seamlessly with my fellow cellarmen. Running the cellar meant 8 hours of controlled mayhem sending and switching over beer to packaging, running the centrifuge, cleaning tanks, assisting the brewers, dry hopping, and basically dealing with anybody's mess ups and problems. By 2:30pm we were deserved of a beer and most days we would head up to the bar or into the beer garden for a fresh pint or two. Second shift and the later start coming at 2pm started off in a similar manor of a shit show as the morning shift however, the evening would slowly progress where all the damage and mayhem of the day was dealt with and taken care of. With the over night shift being much quieter and the most productive in terms of knocking beers out, CIPing tanks and processing beers for the following days packaging.

This rotation creates a varied sleeping pattern and has meant Amy and I would often see a lot of each other at times but then go for a good while where it seemed we were living two separate lives. Once the spring weather finally kicked into gear, we have tried to make the most of the spare time we have had. Wedding planing has been Amy's main past time, but that's another story, literally another whole blog. We have found two local-ish Frisbee Golf courses that are challenging and entertaining. I have played regular golf right across the road from our house. We have taken trips to New Haven to visit my workmates and were left in awe at the super hipster bar scene in the Yale University town. There are also two large rock outcrop parks overlooking the city, good for a drive and a walk. I enjoy stretching the RX7s legs on the stretch of road up the Housatonic River, that also leads to lakes and state parks.

A few other events including a joint Australian themed birthday party for Stevo, Ryo and Tomo on a very unsummery day at the beach. Zinc on the nose still, because we all know the sun still burns through the clouds. We have had a couple good play sessions with the wee man Brady. I try give him a bite of the adventurous life, he has free range with uncle Thomas. 

Aussie mate

We have had two special trips into NYC. The 5 Borough Bike Tour, again on a disappointing spring day, however the 40 mile ride through the five Boroughs of NYC was still incredible. Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten from the Battery to the top of Manhatten. All on closed roads, it gave a perspective unattainable in any other way than cycling. Riding on the motorways and over bridges at our leisure, with 32 thousand others, it was pretty epic. We are also lucky to be among the few to see the hottest show on Broadway, "Hamilton." I felt a bit bad for those that are so desperate to see this show as I was just going along with the flow. It was amazing though and we very much appreciated the quality of performance and writing of Lin Manuel Miranda's masterpiece. Good work Diane for having the connections, beats waiting a year for tickets and paying over a grand each. I guess we are lucky to be right on the door step of the Big Apple.

The end, with the Verrazano Bridge behind

And thank the lord baby Jesus for ESPNs on-demand coverage of the rugby, keeping me connected with home and a good way to disconnect from this part of the world where every person thinks they are the most important and whatever they have going on is priority, and don't get me started on how they drive. Stop signs, traffic lights and the speed limit, I'm sure they have a super legit reason for their complete and utter ignorance of the fact. This just had to be said.

Atop West Rock looking out to New Haven

The RX7

My very own, rough and ready RX7

I always dream to follow in my father's footsteps. More than anyone knows, I just want to be like my cool old man. Back when he wasn't so old and I wasn't either, cool we were as I used to ride shot gun in my booster seat in dad's black 1979 Mazda RX7. From that moment, as an infant, I have always been destined to be a Rotary enthusiast.

Not me, but John and Mum, with dad's RX7. Time to get an RX bro, its in the family blood.

Swapping bills for slips.

Finally fulfilling my dream, I very nervously purchased for a very fair price, my own 1985 Series 1 Mazda RX7. Anxious I was, as I was in the the depth of the Bronx in New York City, handing over cold hard American cash to a nice but stereotypical Puerto Rican American. Sigidfiedo assured me that the car was a gem and had been well looked after, and after a test drive through the industrial back streets, I was happy to find myself not mugged or murdered and now the proud new owner of this classic dream.

As I am aware that Rotary engines come with certain mechanical particularities, I was a tad worried. I am happy to report that the car has functioned well above my expectations, with few mechanical issues to speak of. Any that have come up, I have been able to take care of myself, both cosmetic and mechanical. Learning as I go I have successfully replaced the carburetor and exhaust gaskets while fixing an engine housing coolant leak. Removed the air conditioning components from the engine bay, for increased aesthetics, rolling with windows down at all times now. Replaced the master and slave clutch cylinders, while successfully working with the most difficult to reach bolt on the vehicle. Nervously removing meters and meters of now unneeded wires from the engine bay and an unfortunately disappointing effort repainting the front bumper, however some very successful reconditioning of the black exterior trim. A lot of this maintenance could be seen as unnecessary, that it is, however I have taken a lot of pride in my successes and in what I have learnt.

This car is everything I ever dreamt of. Its quick and nippy, it gives feedback and feel through every gear change and input, it growls and purrs and gets a lot of attention every time I'm out on the road. Thumbs up and toots from passerbys will never get old.

Living the Stratford Dream

Autum Lordship.....

We had stretched out the hospitality of our Colorado host Phil while trying to settle in Breckenridge. So after things unfortunately not falling into place, we had to return 'home' to Connecticut. Fall into place they eventually did though, as we returned back to the East Coast. I had contacted with a local brewery while sending resumes to every corner of the country and following a few interviews, I was now a Cellarman on the brewing team at Two Roads Brewing Co. in Stratford, CT. With Amy taking on a short term substituting role, we could now be considered to be real contributing members of society once again.

and then winter.

A few towns up the coast from Amy's family in Stamford, we were quick to scout out accommodations of our own ending up with a lovely third floor apartment right at the beach in the suburb of Lordship, tagged the 'town within a town'. We have a little balcony overlooking the golf course and out over Long Island Sound. With the weather cooling outside, amenities were under utilized after our first month of December. Cold it was despite it being the warmest winter on record. I still managed to sneak in a few rounds of golf and a paddle-board before the year was out and the cold truly came. Walking on the beach continued through winter, as we are suckers for sunsets and we always had the place to ourselves.

 

We easily accumulated a household of furnishing, all hand me downs or unwanted items from others. This being the first time we have had a place of our own to make our own it was somewhat exciting to decorate with our own true style, with maps, Amy's artwork, framed photos and collected pieces lining the walls. I used some waste structural cardboard from work to build some shelves and a side table and piled cases of beer to make end tables, as well as providing additional beer storage.

A casual walk in the blizzard

Although I have a quick 10 minute bike ride to the brewery, Amy unfortunately has continued to commute back to Stamford. Seemingly along with every other person from the East Coast also heading South West towards NYC. It takes her an hour or more in each direction to get to school as her position as the reading specialist at Springdale Elementary has been continued through to the end of the school year. Seeing small groups from Kindergarten to Fifth grade age children, she really enjoys her job. She has a lot of responsibility and has quickly adapted to the role of creating lessons and finding resources as she works on reading skills with struggling students. 

We celebrated all the holidays in true Sierpina family fashion, with the big family Thanksgiving, Christmas tree farm tree cutting down ceremony, a night into NYC to check out the light displays and the big day of course. Amy hadn't been home for Christmas in three years, so that was very nice for her. I even got my own stocking to hang with the rest of the family's, which Diane handmade made for me. 

Short Beach Sunset