Day 12

We woke up mid morning on Friday to 65 degrees and sunny weather with a slight breeze. The porch was the hangout of choice so people could do their work while enjoying the outdoors. I opened up On The Road by Jack Kerouac while Mess worked on solving some knots, Rizzo sunbathed, Nick procrastinated writing his story, and Boca read as well.

After noticing my arm being quite sunburn I decided it was time I got out of the sun. Because it was declared that we would get our hair cut somewhere along the trip and we only had a day to go before heading back to Hamilton, I decided I should just try my hand at it. Taking the pair of KitchenAid scissors (because I couldn't find any others) I headed into the bathroom for a mirror. I figured worse case scenario I really screw it up and have to get a buzz cut. Best case scenario: It's a great haircut and I never have to go to a barber again. It turned out to be alright after Boca helped touch up the patches I missed on the back of my head. Exhausted from such intensive concentration, I went to take a nap while the others did work and showered before dinner.

I awoke to the exciting news that we would be going out to dinner for a second night in a row, courtesy of the Messerlys (Thank you Chris and Joanne!). We brought up a list of restaurants and their respective menus so the gang could make a group decision on where we'd end up eating. After everyone read through the options we decided to go for the hip restaurant where the young cool kids hang out. We knew it was the right decision after Jack's interaction with whoever answered the phone. Apparently the maitre d' was the "chillest guy ever." Our 9:30 reservation was no problem for them which allowed us to continue the late mealtime routine we'd been getting in the habit of. Excited for a mix of sushi and "bistro," we drove over to Lola 41. The place had a cool, clubby vibe, enhanced by the bongo club music that was playing (check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHuk19jp5eo). We ordered some specialty sushi rolls as appetizers and then indulged ourselves in some quality main courses. Mess ordered a four cheese mac and cheese with bacon, breadcrumbs, and spinach, Nick got a duck hotpot, Boca, a pork tenderloin, Rizzo chose the gnocchi bolognese, and I sprung for the grilled atlantic salmon. All were delicious, and we all agreed that the tenderloin Boca ordered was probably the best any of us has ever had.

Stuffed and satisfied we got back to the house and decided to play a game of Scrabble. Even though we decided half way through that none of us were entirely invested in the game we continued. Boca and Mess used the knowledge they gained from playing Words with Friends over the past couple days to pull away with a win.

No longer stuffed and satisfied we made our way to the kitchen to cook up the pizzas we were originally going to have for first dinner. Boca did some pushups while we looked around for whatever toppings we had left. One pizza came out great while the other, not so much.

Once again full and sure that we would no longer be eating for the night, we went to the bathroom to get our tooth brushing picture (I'm still unsure why we took this picture.) Tired, we all crashed on my parents bed for a few minutes while the noise machine projected ocean sounds that we could have actually heard only a mile away. One by one, like in Ocean's Eleven, we got off the bed and went to sleep. After two great weeks our trip was finally coming to an end. But what a swell two weeks it was.

Until next time,
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