Strathlachlan

Adventure #2 - February 2010

This year's monthly adventures began with a trip to NYC. They continued in February, but some technicalities and bad weather almost messed it all up.

Adventure #2 — Plan B in Boston

The original plan for February was supposed to be a little closer to home. I managed to get my hands on two front row tickets to see John Mayer in concert on February 8th at the North Charleston Coliseum. The wonders of the Internet and some cold hard cash got me the tickets and some autographed posters.

So me and a co-adventurer set off to catch the show. I realize that a lot of people don't care for Mr. Mayer. I think he'd be better off just playing music and not doing interviews. The show was pretty good and the seats "did not suck." There's no substitute for people who know how to play music and have a passion for their craft.

The next day I was informed by several people that this didn't count as my February adventure because I didn't leave Charleston. I didn't establish any rules around all of this, but apparently people think it's not an adventure unless I'm out and about somewhere in the big wide world. So I needed to come up with Plan B.

For those of you living on the East Coast of the USA — you know that the weather in February has been rough. My alternate adventure was supposed to be a trip to Washington, DC, but that got snowed out. In fact, I had 10 canceled flights and two trips to NYC all get snowed out. Travel insanity.

So I had one last chance for an adventure thanks to a trip to Boston. It turned out that having a dreaded travel day on Sunday to make an early Monday morning meeting was a good thing. I was joined by my work-spouse and veteran co-adventurer from places like Vancouver, New Orleans, and a tattoo convention in Augusta, Georgia. (Future blog post material on that last one.)

I have been to Boston a ton of times since I was a kid. So I wanted to try and do something a little bit different this time. We set off in the early afternoon and fueled up at The Black Rose near Faneuil Hall in the heart of Beantown. (And the site of the infamous 2am shot of Jameson Irish Whiskey on my birthday a few years ago.) The bartender gave us some possible adventure options while using profanity like a poet. The guy next to us was from Glasgow and I made the most of my skills learned from The Patter. (No need to show my Scottish ink this time.)

During the ride into town I noticed a sign for the Trolley of the Doomed. It looked like a fun trip, but upon closer inspection it was closed for the winter. And it was at that moment when a ho-hum adventure turned into a great adventure. A sidewalk promoter for the City View Trolley Tours approached us about his differentiated offering. I wasn't sold and we were really hoping to take the Trolley of the Doomed. That's when the sales guy told us "hey, you might be doomed, it's not like we're licensed for this." That did it for me — plus getting the children 12 and under pricing on the tickets.

Then we met our trolley driver / tour guide, let's call him Frank. He was a native Bostonian and we were the only ones on his tour. It took about 5 seconds before we started asking Frank a lot of questions. How long did it take to get to Cape Cod? Why was the Sam Adams Brewery tour closed on Sundays? Why do they call it Boston? How long has he been doing this? Where can you get the best chowder in the city? That kinda stuff.

Before we moved 5 feet it was clear this wasn't going to be a normal tour of Boston. Frank tried to answer some of our questions and the tour quickly moved back and forth between history, landmarks, and Frank's personal adventures. We started in the North End and learned about Paul Revere, his two wives, and 16 children. We also learned about some good fish restaurants and Frank's encounter with the Boston police in 1983 — and his stint in rehab. Frank also let us know that we could get to the Maine state line in about an hour and we could visit his sister. We almost got him to take us there but instead we drove by the USS Constitution.

The next hour was filled with history and hilarity. Stories about political scandals, chowder options, burial grounds, listening to your doctor, summer traffic patterns to Cape Cod, the Big Dig, why the Yankees suck, good spots for retail therapy, helping other people in rehab, what St. Patrick's Day and the British leaving Boston have in common, how to avoid trouble with the Boston police, and a lifetime of wisdom about living in Boston. It was hands down the best guided tour we had ever had.

Then it was time to say goodbye to Frank and spend some time using our "feets of freedom" on the Freedom Trail. We took a few random routes to places like the Old North Church and a house with a very small door. It was a short hike back to the hotel where I managed to catch up on emails and some Olympics action.

Later that night we added another co-worker to the adventure and he happened to be from the Boston area. The obvious spot for dinner was Giacomo's in the North End on Hanover St. I've spent my past two birthdays there and lots of great meals over the past few years at that place. (Thanks to Ryan Frere for recommending it many moons ago.) There are three things you need to know about Giacomo's: No reservations. Limited seating. Cash only. But the food is amazing, the staff great, and something about that place always produces a lot of laughs and good times.

Giacomo's doesn't serve dessert, but that's ok because Mike's Pastry is just down the street. There is always a line in the place ready to feast on cookies, cakes, and canolis. And they hand tie each box of sugary goodness with a piece of string. We each got a little something for the walk back to the hotel — I went with an M&M cookie.

Then it was cold walk back to the hotel where we watched some of the USA vs. Canada hockey game and everyone called it a night.

The Plan B in Boston turned out to be a good adventure. I can't wait to see what happens in March...and I am taking applications for co-adventurers.

Adventure #1 - January 2010

This year I turn the big 35. My life and my world are very different than when I turned 25 or 15 or 5. So I've decided that each month I'm going to take a little (or big) adventure. I'll blog about where I go, what I see, and what I do.

Adventure #1  —  Three days in New York City


When I say that I'm originally from New York people usually wonder why I don't have any accent. That's because I grew up in Upstate New York — Jamestown, to be exact. But I have always liked spending time in the "big city" and this is where my first adventure began.

After checking into 70 Park Avenue, I walked a few blocks to Madison Square Garden. The route took me past Madison Avenue and the Empire State Building. No sightings of Don Draper or King Kong. Then it was into "The World's Most Famous Arena" to catch a NHL game between the New York Rangers and the Ottawa Senators. I have been a Rangers fan my entire life, but never managed to catch them playing at The Garden.

So with center ice tickets in hand and a new t-shirt and hat the game was on. I got there early enough to catch the pre-game warm-up and relax with a few beverages. Then it was time to drop the puck and enjoy the game from Section 78, Row G, Seat 3. The game was scoreless with just over a minute to go in the third period when Ottawa scored. Ranger goaltender Henrik Lundqvist wasn't too pleased and smashed his stick to the ice afterwards, breaking it in two like a toothpick. The Senators added an empty net goal and time ran out on the blueshirts. It was a bit colder walk back to the hotel.

Up early the next morning to check some email and head off again. I managed to get a VIP ticket to see Seth Godin do the first talk about his new book Linchpin. I've been a Seth fan for a long time and my bookshelf at the office has almost all his books and an action figure of the marketing guru. The Linchpin Session was a one hour talk by Seth about his latest book and the importance of being an indispensable artist, not just a worker at a factory. Then after a short book signing there was a two-hour Q&A session for people that purchased a VIP ticket. I was fortunate enough to get to ask the first question. I took a ton of notes and at some point I'll get around to writing them up. Oh, and the book is pretty good too.

Later that night I had dinner and drinks with an old friend. I don't think we'd seen each other in about 15 years. Apparently my sarcasm and her wit haven't changed much. I do a lot of writing and painting and other things to flex some creative muscle. But compared to some of her creations, I'm amateur hour.

The last morning in NYC finally left some time for a few extra zzzzs. I took some time to stroll through Central Park. It's that big green area in the middle of all the steel, concrete, pavement, and glass. Then it was time to pack up and head off to LGA. Odd celebrity sighting of note at the airport: Martin Short.

That was it for adventure #1. Just warming up for many more to come.

Emerald Isle Adventures

I made some time during my most recent trip to London earlier this month to jump on a short plane ride over to Dublin, Ireland. I spent two great days exploring the city and took a lot of photos.

Dublin is full of sights, sounds, history, and great people. The views of the city, mountains, and sea from atop the Guinness Storehouse are amazing. The Guinness ain't too bad either. St. Stephen's Green is a great place to sit, relax, and reflect. Grafton Street is a wonderful mash-up of people, shops, buskers, and culture.

Merrion Square has a particular charm with its statue of Oscar Wilde, just across the street from his childhood home. St. Patrick's Cathedral and Chris Church Cathedral are full of history and provide a moment to pause. Temple Bar is a fun place to go at night and Phoenix Park is somewhere you could probably spend an entire day.

I'm already working on another trip back to Ireland. And this time I plan to venture out into the countryside to do some other exploring. 

NFL RedZone Channel will Change Sunday

The 2009 NFL season is officially underway thanks to an overtime win by the defending world champions Pittsburgh Steelers.

The big news so far is the addition of the NFL RedZone Channel. Every time a team goes inside the 20-yard line the NFL Network channel will switch to the game. They will also show kickoff and punt returns, field goal attempts, and replays of scores as they happen. No need to flip from channel to channel to channel. And no need to buy some other viewing package.

And the best part — no commercials. The NFL RedZone Channel is a dream come true for football fans with ADD. They are constantly switching to and from games the entire day. The NFL Network can do this because the league owns all of the broadcast rights.

NFL RedZone Channel just might be the best football broadcast invention since the virtual first-down line in 1998. It will change how football is watched on Sunday.

Summer Adventures

Summer is coming to an end. Although the heat and humidity of of Charleston still remains.

June was a good combination of work and play. That and I hunkered down and hammered out a book chapter. Some much needed vacation time found its way into the schedule. A staycation can be good when the beach is a short drive away.

July was busy with a trip to London for a conference and a short trip to The Netherlands. Amsterdam was a fun place to visit and the Dutch are great people. I've become a fan of hagelslag and now need to get some shipped over here. Fun fact: The Dutch eat about 31 million pounds of hagelslag per year on about 850 million slices of bread.

August was August. I picked the most humid month of the Summer to not travel. Wrapped up a lot of book editing. Caught up on some movies and books. Finished some paintings. Got back to playing on the drumset. Had to renew the passport. Has it really been 10 years? And I got back to what most people would call a "normal" life. I've not known normal for a very long time now. The verdict is still out on it. August was August.

Time is playing tricks on me these days. This year seems to be flying by at a maddening pace. And I also find myself doing a lot of counting. Counting back days. Counting back years. Saying "it's been a long time" with a lot of people. But better later than never. And now it's off to the next adventure...

 

Work, Work, Work, Work, and Play

Busy year. Strange year. Lots of speaking. Lots of thinking. Lots of writing. Not enough of everything else.

Working on a book. It's about a lot of things, but my big focus is on measuring success online. Editing several other chapters at the same time. Should hit bookshelves early next year.

Holiday time next month when this is over. Trip to the UK and maybe somewhere else too. Still plotting and planning.

Now back to writing...

So Long 2008

Wow! What a year. 2008 went by very fast, but so much happened. I blogged the profressional side of life in 2008 over on Connections.

Here's the professional/personal abridged remix version:

Travel, travel, London, speak, travel, paint, speak, meetings, meeting, meetings, travel, travel, New Orleans, speak, travel, Australian GP, meetings, travel, San Diego, speak, travel, meetings, travel, Boston, speak, birthday, Giacomo's, meetings, meetings, reading, man cave, travel, Halifax, speak, reading, meetings, travel, travel, Montreal, speak, speak, painting, hello new car, goodbye old car, bad news, travel, meetings, secret meetings, travel, man cave, travel, NYC, speak, travel, Monaco GP, travel, secret meetings, secret meetings, secret meetings, secret meetings, secret meetings, secret meetings, secret meetings, secret meetings, Kintera acquisition, travel, speak, travel, meetings, meetings, meetings, meetings, early morning phone call, meetings, meetings, meetings, travel, NYC, speak, travel, meetings, meetings, meetings, meetings, travel, Boston, Giacomo's, speak, travel, meetings, meetings, meetings, meetings, meetings, meetings, Dave Matthews Band concert, tattoo, meetings, reading, meetings, meetings, travel, DC, speak, travel, San Diego, meetings, meetings, meetings, travel, Rush concert, meetings, meetings, meetings, meetings, BBNC v5.5 ships, travel, travel, travel, travel, Australia, meetings, Australia, meetings, Australia, speak, speak, speak, Australia, travel, travel, travel, glad to be home, time warp, reading, time warp, meetings, roadmap, roadmap, roadmap, travel, Chicago, speak, travel, roadmap, frustration, roadmap, travel, Disney, pancakes with Pluto, speak, travel, meetings, travel, DC, speak, travel, Annapolis, meetings, travel, roadmap, roadmap, roadmap, meetings, meetings, backlog, backlog, travel, London, walking, walking, meetings, speak, speak, speak, train to Paris, walking, Paris, walking, Paris, train to London, travel, travel, burnout, meetings, burnout, Brazilian GP, meetings, NTEN board, meetings, writing, meetings, Charleston conference, speak, speak, meetings, meetings, meetings, meetings, meetings, travel, Boston, speak, travel, meetings, strategy, strategy, meetings, travel, DC, travel, meetings, bigfoot, frustration, meetings, new book, meetings, BBNC v5.6 ships, thinking, writing, Il Cortile del Re, travel, holidays, reading, vacation, reading, vacation, drum set, rest, rest, rest, and smiling.

The City of Lights

A few weeks ago I had the chance to spend two days in Paris. An early morning train ride from London to the City of Lights was just what I needed. I took a lot of photos on the trip and here are a few of them:

Photos from Paris steve.maclaughlin's Paris photoset

2008 Formula One World Championship

A long season came down to one last race, one last lap, and one last corner at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo, Brazil. In the end, it was Scuderia Ferarri Marlboro's Felipe Massa that won the race and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton that won the FIA Formula One World Drivers' Championship for 2008. Ferrari won the Constructors' Championship over McLaren.

Hamilton becomes the youngest World Champion in F1 history and McLaren wins their 12th Drivers' Championship. Hamilton overtook Toyota's Timo Glock on the last corner of the last lap in raining conditions to take fifth place in the race and to secure the title by one point. It was probably the most exciting finish to a Formula One race and season we'll ever see.

This was also the last Grand Prix race for David Coulthard, who crashed out in the first lap of the race. I've been a fan of the Scotsman for many years now and it is sad to see him retiring from the sport. But a new champion has been crowned and Lewis Hamilton has many bright years ahead of him in the sport.

A McLaren driver last won the title in 1999 when Mika Hakkinen took home the title. It has been a long drought for the team and Hamilton nearly won it in Brazil last year. And I've been a long suffering fan all these years watching Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, and Kimi Räikkönen win championships.

The Silver Arrows of McLaren Mercedes finally break their losing streak and win the greatest prize in motorsport. It was well worth the wait.

Back from the Other Side of the World

Two great weeks in Australia. And a week to recover. A lot of work. A lot of fun. A lot of pictures.

www.flickr.com steve.maclaughlin's Sydney, Australia photoset