Nurse Your travel thirst
Find Quality Eats, Drinks, and More in Random Places Across the US of A
There are five crucial questions a journalist must ask (and, ideally, answer) when researching and developing a story: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. These Five W's, along with a bonus "How" for further clarity, will preclude each blog post to provide proper insight into this weird, wild nomadic journey. The Five W's + H: Who: The Page Fam: Christina (life saver), Sophia (travel despiser) and DJ (word spewer) What: Top 5 places to drink up Where: Phoenix, Arizona When: November 2021 - March 2022 Why: Our expedient expeditions were just too easy, I suppose, so we prepared ourselves for the distant journey from Bean Town to The Grand Canyon State. Oh, and we stopped off in Houston so that we could jet off to Cancun and get hitched with fam and friends. No big deal. + How: There are roughly 3000 miles that separate Boston, Massachusetts from Phoenix, Arizona. While the total mileage appears daunting, as touched-on above, we did have a three week break between treks. Houston to our new Peoria palace was roughly 1200 miles and 19 hours of drive time. This leg of our journey was a familiar sight, as we've puttered through El Paso and passed through Phoenix a handful of times already over the course of our travel nursing journey. Five Places to Drink Up: Phoenix, AZOsteria Mia (2530 W Happy Valley Road Ste 1271 Phoenix, AZ, US 85085) Quotable: "Casual Italian eatery with elegant eats." The surrounding Phoenix area features an abundance of quality Italian dining options. A favorite would have to be Osteria Mia, nestled at The Shops at Norterra located in far north Phoenix.
Foodies would be wise to start your meal with the Fritto Misto (pictured above). Tempura battered zucchini, summer squash and artichoke hearts are crisped to perfection and, since they're veggies, are virtually guilt-free since you're basically just eating a deep-fried salad.
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This blog is dedicated to my Mom, Tina: the toughest, kindest, most willful and perseverant person I've ever known. She is immensely missed. There are five crucial questions a journalist must ask (and, ideally, answer) when researching and developing a story: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. These Five W's, along with a bonus "How" for further clarity, will preclude each blog post to provide proper insight into this weird, wild nomadic journey. The Five W's + H: Who: The peripatetic Pages: Christina (MY WIFE), Sophia (MY CAT) and DJ (MY SELF) What: Top 5 places to drink up Where: Boston, Massachusetts When: April 2021 - October 2021 Why: Having already spent three months in Baltimore, it was time to move on to the nearest major "B" city in the alphabet. The opportunity to explore another east coast hub that neither of us had been before was one we could not pass up. + How: This was a third consecutive relatively quick trip at roughly nine hours and 450 miles. We rode gallantly northeast: hugging the coastline, heads protruding out of each window, gleefully announcing "The Pages are coming! The Pages are coming!" Countless confused glances later, the Pages arrived for a mini-vacation in a small town off the coast of Rhode Island. After our brief vacay in Easton Bay, it took only about an hour and a half to make it to our final destination: Brookline, MA. All-in-all, we passed through seven states: Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and finally Massachusetts. Despite the relatively short drive time, our compact trek hammered home the fact that the Northeast is jam packed together. (Note: Despite the fact that literally anyone can get the vaccine quickly, easily and completely free, the plague continues to rage on and impede a normal lifestyle. Luckily, Massachusetts (and most of the Northeast as a whole) is one of the most vaccinated areas in the country. We continued to exercise caution while eating out at the restaurants on this list, as we dined predominately outdoors and only indoors a handful of times with the restaurant at open air. Mask up, stay safe and, most importantly, get all the damn jabs already so we can return to normalcy safely.) Five Places to Drink Up: Boston, MABlossom Bar (295 Washington St, Brookline MA 02445) Quotable: "Family style Sichuan meets award-winning cocktail concoctions." A second-generation family eatery, Blossom Bar is a seamless blend of old school and new. The menu is stocked with traditional Chinese dishes, along with some American favorites, too. These plates are served family style, and a few must-haves include the Eggplant with Garlic Sauce (Japanese eggplants, green peppers and spicy house garlic sauce) and the Chinese Broccoli (Scrumptiously, yet simply, seasoned with garlic, chilis, peppercorn and salt). Pair with a hearty side of starch like the vegetarian Fried Rice and/or House Lo- Mein and you're set to feast.
There are five crucial questions a journalist must ask (and answer) when researching and developing a story: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. These Five W's, along with a bonus "How" for further clarity, will preclude each blog post to provide proper insight into this weird, wild nomadic journey. The Five W's + H: Who: The traveling trio of Christina (the fiancé), Sophie (the cat) and me (the writer) What: Top 5 places to drink up Where: Baltimore, Maryland When: December 2020 - March 2021 Why: We had a great six month stay in Chicago, but it was time to escape before frigid, frosty weather engulfed the Windy City. We narrowly evaded sub-zero temps and arrived in Baltimore welcomed by more survivable 30 and 40-degree days. Aside from more bearable (slightly) weather, moving to B'more felt like a great opportunity to discover a new city we had only experienced through HBO’s The Wire—a great show but not exactly indicative of everyday life for many in Baltimore. Curiously, I did not, in fact, link up with Marlo Stanfield and secure my own corner slanging rocks, nor did I join a team of ragtag police officers building cases via wiretap. Pretty disappointing really. + How: Saving ourselves from the grind of one painstakingly long drive through the Midwest, we cut our roughly 11 hour and 700-mile ride into two treks. The first leg of this relatively brief journey (for us, at least) passed through South Bend, Indiana and Cleveland, Ohio before we called it a day just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This set up a brief morning drive across Pennsylvania, through Maryland and to our new home in the Harbor East neighborhood of Charm City. (Note: As of this writing, Covid-19—aka the plague—has infected more than 29 million people and killed at least 525,000 more here in the United States alone. As a result, for the first month or so in Baltimore, restaurants and bars were shut down and limited to takeout only. After eateries began to open, and the weather started to cooperate, we were finally able to dine out (outside, of course) at a few places before leaving. We were able to visit about half of the spots on this list, and the rest we enjoyed takeout or delivery. Luckily, none of the restaurants on this list have been forced to board up their doors and, per usual, all of these restaurants feature outdoor eating areas and/or offer to-go ordering when open for business. Hopefully, with vaccinations ramping up and people practicing safer social interactions, we are primed to finally escape this dire pandemic. Let’s continue to mask up, stay socially distanced and be safe out there.) Five Places to Drink Up: Baltimore, MDQuotable: "Dive bar with elevated cuisine." After a month or so waiting to find a quality place to venture for an outdoor meal, we started small at a tavern-looking restaurant called Barley's Backyard. Serving brunch, lunch and dinner, this Fells Point transplant has the look and feel of a dive bar yet features surprisingly elevated cuisine. Let's break down what makes Barley's Backyard one of the best bars in Baltimore:
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DJFreelance writer being dragged (somewhat willingly) around the country by MY WIFE (a travel nurse). Archives
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