Visiting the 50 states, part 2

This is part 2 of my goal to visit all 50 states. See part 1 here!

When my parents and I were discussing what to do with the day they were going to be in Boston after my recital, I told them that I really wanted to visit Maine and New Hampshire, since they're so close and once I move out of New England, they won't be as accessible. My mom loved that idea, and so we started making plans. When I mentioned it to my brother, he got time off of work to fly out to Boston for my recital and for the trip. And Tim was here too! So, on Friday morning, we all met at my apartment first for bagels and cream cheese. Then, we piled into the rental car and got going! The three "kids" slept almost the entire ride to Maine...oops!

#3b: Maine

We started out in Portland, ME, where we almost locked the keys and something else in the car.

We walked around Old Port and finally found ourselves starving, so we looked up "lobster" on Yelp and found a place close by that came highly recommended.

My mom's lunch

I ordered a lobster roll, which I felt like a needed to get since I was in Maine! It was really tasty. 

Both Max and I had a fun time playing with the lobster that my mom ordered...

The restaurant was on the water, and it was a great place to experience Maine lobster! 

Next, we went to Cape Elizabeth to check out the lighthouses. We got a little lost, but ended up right next to the water and explored for a while. 

There was a line of quartz running through the rock!

Then we finally found a lighthouse at Fort Williams, which was a military base in the first half of the 20th century.

Thus concluded our time in Maine!

#3c: New Hampshire

After we went to Maine, we had to go through New Hampshire to get back to Boston. We stopped in Portsmouth for a pizza to share and some drinks.

Restaurant! 

Night street view in Portsmouth

3/18 done with #3!

A Non-Classical Musical Experience

#4. See Mumford and Sons, The Fray, Gregory Alan Isakov, and/or the Punch Brothers live in concert.

As a classical musician, I go to a LOT of concerts. But they're usually classical concerts (sometimes jazz), and I've found that going to non-classical concerts--"rock" concerts"--is a hugely different experience, one that I enjoy immensely. I fell in love with Gregory Alan Isakov's music two years ago during a rough patch when a friend introduced me to his song Big Black Car. I started listening on Spotify and in February when I saw he was coming to Boston this month, I had to buy tickets. After what seemed like ages, April 14 finally arrived--show time!

Emilie and I arrived at The Sinclair in Cambridge 30 minutes before the doors opened, so we bought an appetizer from the restaurant next door (somewhat associated with the venue) and talked while we waited for it. There was a line already for the doors to open, so we joined and waited patiently. Even though it was cloudy, at least it wasn't raining!

The most AMAZING deviled eggs: dinner!

We didn't have to wait too long until they opened up the doors and we went inside. We were early enough to grab one of the very few chairs at a table up on the mezzanine level. Otherwise, we would've been standing the whole time!


The opener went for about 40 minutes, and then Isakov came out with his whole band. I was surprised because I thought it would just be him. But there were also 4 guys playing drumset, violin, cello and guitar/banjo.

An Acoustic Moment

They played for almost an hour and a half, and came out after they were "done" to play another song, this time with the opening act. It was a great way to end the concert.

Emilie and I both had a great time! For now I'll consider this crossed off my list. But that doesn't mean I won't go to other concerts by my favorite artists (and blog about them too!)!

3 done. 27 to go!

Visiting the 50 states

#3. Visit all 50 states.
This one is going to take a bit of time to complete. I was lucky enough earlier in life to go on a lot of family road trips that took me all around the country. Today, there are only 18 states I haven't visited!

#3a: Connecticut

I've been a little dormant on my list lately, partly because we haven't had any more snow days. But last weekend, I took a trip to NYC to take my NRO audition (and it went really well!). I took a train to Stamford, CT, and it just so happened I had never been to Connecticut before. I met up with two dear friends from high school (who hosted me in their Peekskill apartment) and one of their friends for lunch in Stamford, allowing me to feel ok with crossing "visiting Connecticut" off of my list! We had some really great BBQ at a restaurant called Dinosaur BBQ:

After lunch, we stopped at a car wash. I figured lunch and a car wash was enough to say that I'd been to Connecticut!

1/18 done with #3!

Blizzard Writing

#2. Write a letter to myself to open when I’m 30.

Right now it's snowing/blizzarding, as we're in the middle of winter storm Juno. BU ended classes early last night, cancelled classes for today, and Boston has basically shut down. The normally buzzing street outside of my apartment is essentially deserted, with the number of snowplows and other snow removal vehicles I've seen far outweighing any other vehicle. Every now and then the T runs, but it must just be clearing snow from the tracks: all of the cars are empty, and the MBTA said it was suspending service today anyway. From my window it looks like we've already gotten about two feet of snow, with drifting because of the winds, and it's still snowing. In any case, that gives me a great excuse to complete something else on my list (and take a break from Netflix)! 

I think when I put this idea on my list, it was a better idea in my head. I keep a journal anyway, so I'm not sure how effective this letter will be (and by the time I had signed it off, I was already thinking of other things I wish I'd written!). But, as long as I can keep track of it for the next five years, it might be fun to see what I was thinking today.

2 done. 28 to go.

Crafty #1

#1. Make a cross-stitch project that is acceptable to hang in a public place.

When I was maybe 10 or so, my grandma introduced me to cross-stitching and gave me a whole kit: a bunch of different colored thread, needles, patterns, the whole shebang. I was immediately intrigued and created various projects, but at some point I lost interest (as most ten year olds do) and everything was put into its box. It stayed on the high shelf of my closet in my childhood home for about a decade. I had pulled it out every now and then while "cleaning" (read: shuffling things around) in my closet, but this past winter break I actually cleaned out my whole closet and decided to give cross-stitching another chance. There was a pattern of Santa that was small and definitely looked manageable for returning to the craft after so long. And, someone (maybe me?) had already started it, though who knows how long ago that was.

Anyway, I resumed the project over break...here's Santa in his early days, and then once I was done with everything except the outlining:

And the final product, finished tonight!

I had some trouble attaching it to the cardboard that came with it so I can put it in the frame...it's the only time gorilla glue has ever failed me! For the time being, I put some Scotch tape on it just so I could see how it would look:

I'll have to figure out a more permanent solution, and once I do, it will be up in my apartment next holiday season!

1 done. 29 to go.

The first post!

Well hi there, everyone! I've created this blog to document my list of "30 before 30." In the following 5 years (!!) I'll be keeping you up to date with everything I've done to try to complete my list of things to do. Some things are simple, some are expensive, and some will require a lot of planning. Here's to the next 5.5 years of adventure!