Maple Syrup Weekend and More!

Yesterday I took a day trip with Matt, his sister, and some of her friends to New Hampshire to go to some of the maple sugaring places. I’m a big fan of maple syrup, so this was a lot of fun.

Two years ago, Matt and I went to Sugarbush Farm in Vermont. We got to sample different types of maple syrup and cheese, too! Their syrup and their cheese is great. They also had this amusing goat who lived there and acted more like a friendly dog than a goat!

The first place we went to was Parker’s Maple Barn. It was a little touristy, but still fun. It had a restaurant, where we got pancakes and enjoyed them with Parker’s syrup. We also got a tour of where they turn the sap into maple syrup.

Afterwards, we went to The Maple Guys. This was a much smaller place…basically just two guys who make maple syrup together. They had maple hot dogs, which were actually quite tasty and I’m not a big hot dog fan! We watched them tap a maple tree too.

We visited a few country stores in the area, and then headed down to Woburn to see Velvet Elvis. They played a benefit show for a school, so we went to go see them. Velvet Elvis is closely affiliated with Beatlejuice, and contains many of the same members. They threw in a few Beatles covers as a tribute to Brad Delp. It was really touching, and everyone had a great time.

Filed under Music, New England, food | Comments (3)

The Nicest Guy in Rock & Roll

As I’ve written before, Matt and I were big fans of the local Beatles cover band, Beatlejuice. We saw them regularly and always had a lot of fun. They were scheduled to play a show last night and a show tonight, until lead singer (also of the band Boston) Brad Delp tragically and unexpectedly passed away.

Boston took their website down and just left this on their website: “We’ve just lost the nicest guy in rock and roll.”

It couldn’t be anymore true. After seeing Beatlejuice many times, we got to know the band. Every time we’d see them, Brad would make a point to wave at us, even if he was on stage in the middle of a song when we came in. He would always make time to talk to Matt and I after a show…he’d greet us with a hearty hug and genuinely thank us for coming. No matter how busy he was after a show, he’d always give us a loving greeting and talk for at least a few minutes. Matt had grown up as a HUGE Boston fan, so to get to see and talk to the voice behind “More Than a Feeling” was exciting.

I’ll always fondly remember hanging out with Brad last May at another friend’s band’s show, Velvet Elvis, where we just got to chit chat and be silly for a while. That picture was from that night. He was always so kind and friendly to us, and I always looked forward to the Beatlejuice shows not only because of they great music, but also because it was fun to talk to Brad.

I will miss Brad very much, and Beatlejuice, too. My thoughts are with the family, friends, and band-mates of Brad.

Rest in peace, Brad. Or at least, start up a rousing jam session with John and George.

Filed under Current Events (other), Greater Boston (General), Music, My Life, celebrities | Comments (4)

Snow tubing this weekend!

I’m going snow tubing! For the first time since my fifth grade camping trip!

My excitement has prompted me to transcribe a journal entry of mine [misspellings included] from February 19, 1992:

The trip was fun. I liked snow tubing.

Sherri and I were partners. The guy working there, Dave, said, “Do you want a specail?”

I said, “Well, Sherri, it’s up to you.”

Sherri said, “It doesn’t matter.”

Dave said, “Well, your getting it!”

He spinned us around. We were going so fast I closed my eyes. I was clinging on to Sherri. I was nervous and excited. I had butterflies in my stomach. Even snakes! My eyes were closed tight.

Clinging on to Sherri. Butterflies and snakes. Chilly and hot at the same time. We were zooming!

We slowed down. I was sinking through the hole. I was cold and wet. I fell out!

Sherri was getting up brushing the snow off. I got up. Sherri said, “We fell off.”

I got up and took the tube. Sherri and I were tired as we walked uphill.

I told her, “I didn’t know what happened.” We giggled.

Sherri’s face lit up like the lightbulb was turned on in her head. She said, “When we get up we can yell, ‘NO SPECAILS!’ to Dave.”

I said, “When our turn comes next.”

It was our second turn. Sherri whispered to Dave, “No specails.” He didn’t hear. Sherri said, “I’ll say it if you do.”

I said, “When our turn comes up.”

Unfortuntly, our second turn was our last turn. “Oh,” I said to Sherri. “Too late.”

Sherri smiled as we went to the snowball fight.

Man, what a little drama queen I was! And that wasn’t the only drama that week. We also got in big trouble in the girls’ bunk for screaming during Light as a feather, stiff as a board, and I cried because my fingers got cold during “outdoor survival games” due to wearing inadequate mittens. We had just learned about hypothermia from Voyage of the Mimi the year before, and my classmates thought I had it from my fingers being so cold.

Wonder if I can get “the specail” when tubing this weekend!

Filed under nostalgia | Comments (3)