Six month teaser

So much for providing updates.

The "settling down" reference was that we've had a baby. (!) Meet Parker Everlee:

She was born April 16 and is perfectly healthy. She is now 16 weeks and Dru is going back to work next week, so we'll see how that goes.

The Travel Retrospective

Since January, there hasn't been too much because of baby Parker. We visited Portland, Maine, for a wedding. It was Parker's first plane ride (though second wedding) and she did great. The trip was great, but we managed to (almost) not have a place to stay our last night in town, due to some poor planning on our part.

Portland seems to be the Portland (Oregon) of the east. Cool city, great restaurants, a lot of beer, and everything is happening downtown. The Old Port core of the city has a very old-world feel with winding streets, tall brick buildings and open plazas.

We visited Sebago Brewing's new pub downtown (the beer was OK) and the meal highlight of the trip was lunch at Duckfat. Highly recommended if you visit.

Now there is one more bit of excitement, which I'm not quite at liberty to discuss yet. By the end of next week though, I'll have a big announcement for the world.

It has been entirely too long

...to go without posting, as noted by new Twitter friend @kateo.

So what's happening? Do Ben and Dru still...

• like food? Check.
• make and consume potent potables? Natch.
• travel? You bet.

Over the last year plus, we've traveled like mad, trying to see the world before settling down. Christmas 2009 through New Years in Aruba, Valentines day weekend in Paris, 4th of July in Portland, Oregon, and an October weekend in New York. Beyond that, I got to see the country from San Francisco to Maine for work.

The super summary by city, Twitter style

Aruba: sunny beaches, quiet island, and I got to read eight books over seven days. Drive the island and stay away from the tourist high-rise cluster.

Paris: three of the best meals I've ever had, incredible museums, long walks, and chilly weather. Food, wine, and strolling.

Portland: saw the Old 97s at Wonder Ballroom, had a great afternoon biking, eating tacos, and drinking at Amnesia Brewing

NYC: The New Museum = blah, MOMA = great; walking = COLD; Fatty 'Cue and Momofuku Ssäm Bar = divine, and hung out with Dru's sister Casey and my friend Becca.

Beyond that, I've adopted twitter @benheartsbeer, switched roles to work in marketing (for the same company), and "settling down" is imminent.

Updates to follow.