After wrapping up the first year of my PhD program and multiple successful work projects, I decided to celebrate by taking a break. I haven’t physically left Boston and gone somewhere on vacation in a while. So, last week I went to the Cape and then to New York City. Enjoy my vacation (mostly food) pictures!

Now, I should preface this post by saying that the former part of my trip would not have been possible without my parents and COVID-19. They were originally supposed to come to Boston back in May 2020 to celebrate my Master’s graduation. Being the semi-bougie, older, upper-middle class white folks that they are, they booked a stay at this really nice bed and breakfast on the Cape to enjoy post-graduation festivities. We all know how Spring of 2020 went. They ended up postponing their stay with the option of re-booking at a later time. But since they never really visit me on the East Cost — I like to joke that they only visit when I graduate and that’s why I go through so much schooling — they offered their stay to my partner and me.

Vacation Part I:
Orleans, Cape Cod

We spent four days and three nights at this lovely bed and breakfast called The Parsonage Inn in Orleans, Cape Cod. If you’re not familiar with Massachusetts geography, the Cape is the “arm” of Massachusetts. It may include Martha’s Vineyard (an island to the southwest of the Cape), but I’m not rich enough to know the answer to that question.

After some drama with the car rental, my partner and I finally arrived at the inn on Monday evening. It was super quaint, quiet, and homey. We met both the innkeepers, Jo-Anne and Richard, who were equally as friendly and welcoming. Every morning, we received breakfast delivered to our room. And there was a Keurig and Nespresso machine available for us to satisfy any caffeine cravings as well.

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My partner and I agreed ahead of time that we didn’t want to plan out too many activities on this trip. We did agree on a spa day in Chatham ahead of time, but outside of that, we wandered pretty freely. In Chatham, I tried Nepalese dumplings for the first time. They were super tasty. They reminded me of Chinese 小籠包 (xiao3 long2 bao1) with an Indian flavored filling. Though I also recognize that one, India is large and diverse so that’s probably not that helpful a description, and two, it may have been Nepalese spices but since I’ve never had Nepalese food I wouldn’t know to properly identify that flavor profile.

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Misc. Activities

For the rest of the trip, we went to the beach, met up with one of my partner’s college friends, watched a sunset, and ate more. I will say, reservations on the Cape can be a little tricky because some restaurants are not open every single day of the week and many close by 9 PM. We opted to walk into most places, put our name down, and then walked around while we waited. In general, I thought the food was pretty good, albeit a bit repetitive. Our favorite place we tried was Rock Harbor Grill. We ordered the olives, crispy fried pickles, and dueling poke to start. I got the cajun seared scallops and shrimp and my partner got a burger for our entrées. We were too full for dessert, but imagine it would’ve been great too.

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Overall, the trip proved quite relaxing. I had a great time completely disconnected from work and my partner and I got to spend some quality time together. He’s been so patient throughout the past four years as I’ve worked a lot and pursued different educational goals. We’re going up to New Hampshire to see his family for the Fourth of July weekend (we celebrate our anniversary) and I’m looking forward to spending more time together.

Vacation Part II:
New York City

After a peaceful trip on the Cape, I decided to shake things up and take the train down to New York to visit one of my best friends from college. I’ve visited the city a few times over the course of my stint in Boston, but this stands out as one of my favorite trips thus far. Thursday morning I drove back to Boston to return the rental car and then hopped on the train to New York. I personally enjoy taking trains, and because COVID-19 drove down the price of tickets, I was able to book business class seats for about the same price as normal coach tickets.

As soon as I arrived, my friend as I walked over to a French restaurant close to her apartment. It started off really calm and then suddenly became super busy. Both of us kind of shut down (being in crowded places makes us anxious) and so we got up and headed back to her place. The next day, we went out in Manhattan — I’m sure there’s a more accurate geographic descriptor but I just don’t know it — for some brunch and shopping. I finally went into Everlane for the first time and tried on a few items. I’m definitely a fan. Then, we headed back to her place to prepare for a small get-together (> 10 people).

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The get-together wrapped up around midnight and much to my surprise, I wasn’t tired. I actually wanted to go out and see what was happening in the city. My friend and two other people from the party ended up going to a bar called Jungle Bird in Chelsea. We got two rounds of drinks (plus shots from the bartender – thanks Sebastian!) and spent most of the time talking more. A little before 2 AM, we left the bar and went to a bodega for some late-night snacks. I got my favorite instant ramen, cookies, and a seltzer. By 3 AM we were home and by 4 AM we were asleep.

As I write this, I still honestly can’t believe I stayed out that late. I’ve never been a huge partier or a fan of bars + bar culture, but I really enjoyed myself. Sometimes I wonder if that’s the type of life I’m ~supposed~ to be living as a 26 year old, but then I remind myself that there is no particular lifestyle I need to subscribe to.

Saturday Festivities

Saturday morning, my friend and I woke up fairly early and headed out to explore Chelsea Market and grab food. I’d never been to Chelsea Market before, but their concept is similar to Fanueil Hall in Boston. It’s essentially a more worldly market where you can get all different types of food and other goods. Funnily enough, we didn’t end up eating there but instead went to Momofuku for sushi. Then we headed to The Greens, a rooftop establishment at Pier 17 with music, drinks, food, and an amazing view of Brooklyn. Hopefully I’ll make it over there next time!

I honestly forget that New York City is a coastal city at times because the buildings kind of block you in. But it was really nice to be by the water, and it reminded me a little bit of San Francisco.

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Saturday night we went to dinner at Craft. It cost a pretty penny but it was definitely worth it. We got the burrata, scallops, duck, and risotto along with some sides. I was skeptical about the burrata being worth it (you can find burrata everywhere), but the server highly recommended it. He instructed us to smell the dish for 30 seconds to really take it in. Being the good students we are, we followed instructions. Honestly, I just smelled greens, citrus, and dill, but it was still a fun activity.

We wrapped up the evening with a few laughs at the Comedy Cellar and then went home. It was pretty wild to see comedians I’ve seen on YouTube and Netflix so close in person, but I guess they’re just people at the end of the day.

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Sunday Festivities

Sunday morning my friend had work, so I picked up some breakfast for us and hung out while I waited for her to finish. We decided to go to a workout class at 305 Fitness that afternoon, and on our way there, accidentally ran into the Pride Parade. I’d never been to NYC’s Pride (only SF), but the energy was palpable and so cool to be around. The fitness class kicked my butt, but our instructor was really fun and the overall environment was really welcoming. When the class was over, we headed back to her apartment to get ready for dinner at Atoboy.

Atoboy is a Korean tasting restaurant in New York. The menu was prix fixe, but they offered the option of ordering adds-ons if you want. My friend and I tried the fried chicken add-on and it was delicious. I’ve been watching a lot of K-dramas lately and the fried chicken in the show always looks so good. I can’t wait to go to Korea and try it there! After dinner, we ended up walking back to her apartment. It was a beautiful night and it was nice to leisurely walk home through the city after eating a good meal.

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Heading Home

Monday morning my friend and I popped out for a quick bite and then I left to make an early afternoon train back to Boston. While going home was bittersweet, I know I’ll be back in the city soon.

I feel so fortunate to be in a position where I can take vacations like this. I know it’s an immensely privileged thing to be able to do. For the past few years, I’ve been working, going to school, and maintaining a pretty narrow focus on my goals. Financially, I could not really afford to take trips like this. While I’ve managed to have plenty of good times in between, in a way, this felt like my first real grown-up vacation. I rented a car for the first time, ate at nice places without worrying too much about the cost, and was on an itinerary that was completely set by me (with the collaboration of my partner and friend). There were no parents to tell me what to do or when to be home by — and there were also no parents to pay for anything. ‘: )

As a final note, traveling during COVID felt pretty weird. Though I did decide to get the vaccine and am fully vaccinated, going out and being around people still made me a little nervous. I did my best to keep my mask on indoors, but I know I wasn’t perfect.

I have no idea what the future of the world will look like. All I can say is that it was nice to feel some sense of normalcy for the first time in a while.

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I am so grateful I was able to enjoy this time away before refocusing on my Summer goals and tasks. I will be escaping Boston again in a few days (after New Hampshire) to go home to the Bay and see my family, but I will continue to work while I’m there. Do you have any trips planned? How are you feeling about traveling given current COVID conditions?

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If you have feedback on anything I said, or the way I said it, please let me know. I am still learning and growing. I know that even if I had no intention of being hurtful or harmful in my writing the impact might be different.