The Northeast, Midwest and Rockies

September and October have absolutely flown by! I blinked and now it's November!  

This fall I journeyed in various directions across the country. In September mom and I traveled to the Northeast - Boston, Portland (ME) and New York City - and then to Breckenridge and Denver in late October. I also snuck in a weekend trip to Oktoberfest in the Amana Colonies in Iowa. 

The fact that I took a lot of pictures while traveling should come as no surprise. 😎 I decided a photo diary of sorts would be the best way to share about each, with commentary along the way. 

Northeast  

The Public Garden in Boston.

This well manicured space reminded me of Central Park. We had one full day in Boston and spent it walking along Commonwealth Avenue Mall, through the Public Garden and to Boston Common. We also found a couple fun bakeries and Italian restaurants (because of course). 😊

George Washington Statue, Public Garden, Boston

We found Trinity Church and Copley Square, the beginning of the Freedom Trail in Boston. Trinity Church is an Episcopal parish that was founded in 1733. They've been housed in several locations, this final one built in 1877.

I love cool doors and windows, so really enjoyed the houses along the Commonwealth Avenue Mall.

St. Clementine's Eucharistic Shrine in Boston.

Before leaving Boston we stopped by the JFK Presidential Library. While he's not my favorite president, I'm glad we were able to visit. There was a lot of interesting memorabilia, including a gift from Pope Paul VI in 1963.

JFK used this family Bible when he took his oath of office as the 35th President.

Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge over the Charles River, Boston.

Lighthouse at Cape Elizabeth near Portland, Maine! It was so bright out, which made it a little difficult to get a good picture. 

Somebody Feed Phil's episode on Maine is what inspired our trip. One of the places Phil ate was "Bite of Maine," a small food truck at Cape Elizabeth. It was here I had my first lobster roll. 🦞

We took a tour of Portland on a refitted firetruck. It was a good way to learn about its history as we drove around town. 

Another place Phil tried was Duckfat. He visited their "Duckfat Frites Shack," but mom and I went to their restaurant. One of the things we tried was the Sea Salted Duck Fat Caramel Shake, which was absolutely amazing.

We discovered Portsmouth, New Hampshire when driving up to Portland, stopping there again when driving back to NYC. We grabbed some pastries at the Elephantine Bakery and ate them in Prescott Park.

On to New York City!

St. Patrick's Cathedral and Central Park are always on our "must see" list when we're in NYC. 

Lovely fall decorations at the Cathedral.

A picture of a picture while crossing the Hudson.

Speaking of the Hudson, above is Port Imperial in Weehawken. It was right outside our hotel, which made it convenient for crossing over to Manhattan. On a clear day we had a great view of Midtown, but a heavy rainstorm (below) made it disappear!

So much sugar in one picture - a Salted Caramel Waffle and Bacon French Toast from the Carnegie Diner and Café. We ate brunch there one day and dinner another, which is when I ordered the Oreo Cookie Shake (below), which is officially the most ridiculous shake in the history of shakes. In my defense, I didn't know it would come with a slice of cake on it! 😁😆🍰

The Starbucks Reserve Roastery was a fun experience. The aesthetic of the building was really interesting and they had a more extensive menu - both for food and drinks - than a normal Starbucks. I got the Whiskey Barrel-Aged Cold Brew and mom tried the Hazelnut Bianco Latte, both of which were excellent.

We finally found Phil and Monica's bench in Central Park!

Lovely day at the Bethesda Fountain, Central Park.

The Literary Walk, Central Park.

We ran across the new Women's Rights Pioneers monument on the Literary Walk, which features Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Waiting for Into the Woods at St. James Theatre.

One of the other reasons we decided to visit NYC was to see Hugh Jackman in The Music Man! 🎭 Jackman was clearly enjoying himself and having a great time. He briefly broke character twice...the mayor cracked him up and he cracked himself up in the second act, which was hilarious.

View from our seats at The Music Man!

Midwest

Oktoberfest! 🍻 Our group of 8 Nebraskans joined in the Amana Colonies' festivities - we watched a parade, visited the Christmas, General, Antique, Furniture and Toy Stores, the Chocolate/Coffee Shop (twice!), the Wool Mill, two restaurants, a bar, a wine tasting and one beer hall. Polkas were danced and soft pretzels (sauerkraut & wiener schnitzel) were eaten. Overall, a great way to kick off Fall & October. Prost! 🧡 🍻 🥨

Outside the General Store, taking advantage of the Fall background.

Philip, Sean and Jordan at breakfast in their lederhosen.

Cheers for more beers! 🍻

Sam, Jordan, Sean and Philip turning from the bar when a guy at the checkered table called "hey, guys in the suspenders!" 😆 The dude saw Emily was trying to take a picture and so got their attention for her.

The Oktoberfest Beer Hall!

Our wine tasting palette, which ranged in flavor from grape juice to straight up disgusting. I liked the presentation, though. 🍷 😊

The photographer with the band got some fun pictures of the group. This one of Jordan and Katie is my favorite. 😊
Photo credit: Paul with Musikmeisters 

All the polka!

Photo credit: Paul with Musikmeisters 

I wish they'd gotten a pic of me smiling! Whenever you see my face in the dancing photos, I'm concentrating so I don't mess up, but there were plenty of times when I was beaming while twirling my way around the dance floor.
Photo credit: Paul with Musikmeisters 

The gentlemen claimed the couch after winning Codenames.

Rockies

"The mountains are calling and I must go." -John Muir

Mom and I scheduled a restful trip to Breckenridge and Denver the week of my birthday. Our goal was to take it easy and enjoy the fall colors.

Mission accomplished! 🍂

A lot of the aspen had lost their leaves already, but there were still some lovely ones in downtown Breckenridge.

Sporting my "all the fun fall things" sweatshirt.

Another lovely view off Main St. in Breckenridge.

Mom and I discovered a new restaurant in Breckenridge - Radicato - where I had one of the best ravioli dishes I've ever tasted. Filled with robiola (creamy goat cheese), it was served atop butternut squash puree, and finished with Medjool dates and pumpkin seeds. Sweet, savory and perfect for fall...it was absolutely stunning. 🧡

The view along our hotel...more trees and mountains.

I've followed White Pie Pizzaria in Denver on Instagram for years and finally got to eat there! 🍕 We tried the House Puff Bread, House Greens Salad and three pizzas (yes, there were leftovers!) - the Butternut Banger, Three Meats and the Fromage a Trois. Everything was delicious!

This was the small house salad. Can't imagine how big the entrée must be!

House Puff Bread. 

We may have gone back a second time for more puff bread and to try another pizza. 😁🍕

I try to visit the Botanical Garden whenever I'm in Denver and this trip we attended "Glow in the Garden." Everything was decorated in lights, candles, pumpkins and skiing skeletons.

Oh, and punny headstones.

On my birthday we went to two of my favorite restaurants - The Original Pancake House (above) for brunch and North Italia (below) for dinner. 💗 We also went to Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and did a little shopping in Cherry Creek.

In the middle of the all fun and travel, we also lost our little cheweenie, Joey. He was almost 16 years old and had a stroke while we were out of town. It's been over a month now since he passed away and it's still kinda weird coming home and not seeing his little face. While I don't miss him waking me up annoyingly early every morning, I do miss his waggly tail, excitement over anything edible (except lemons) and how he liked to snuggle in a cozy blanket. RIP, Joe-Joe.

November and December typically go by quickly, between celebrating the holidays and preparing for the start of session in January.  Hopefully next Tuesday I'll know who I'm working for specifically...no recounts allowed!  😳 My plan is to go a movie with mom that gets out late enough that some of the results will already be in, which keeps me from refreshing the Secretary of State's election results website every two minutes post-8pm! 

Don't forget to vote on Tues., November 8th! 

~ Katie Q. 🐧