Port City Party Time

Massachusetts and New Hampshire took a page out of Connecticut’s playbook yesterday in making a true effort to keep me from celebrating my son’s birthday with him.  We were scheduled to head up there to first catch a movie and then a birthday dinner with him along with the MEF’s parents at his favorite restaurant.  We were scrambling to make our departure time when we received a call from the MEF reporting the birthday boy was still suffering after effects of some pre-birthday celebrations (and libations) on Friday night with his buddies.  We didn’t have to scramble at that point but I knew the Saturday traffic heading towards Maine through the Portsmouth bottleneck can get oppressive so I gave myself an additional hour for the trip.  It wasn’t enough.

We traveled at 10 to 20 MPH for a good portion of the trip for no good reason whatsoever.  There were no obstructions or accidents, just oxygen thieves behind of too many vehicles.  The extra hour I planned was quickly (relatively speaking) consumed.  We were up against a movie time that came and went as we inched along I-95 in New Hampshire. We finally abandoned the masses headed for Maine and after some broken field running through the back streets of Greenland and Portsmouth arrived at my son/MEF’s apartment.

Tree Top Hangs With MEF and Son

The delay did provide an opportunity to see a later showing of the movie as well as a nice time on their roof deck on the absolutely gorgeous summer day.  I’d forgotten what a beautiful day it was during my incarceration on the vacation choked highways.  The MEF wasn’t joining us for the movie since the violence within was beyond her stated limits.  Since I do not suffer the same limitations we went to see the movie Lucy after first stopping at the electronic store to peruse tablets.  My son has been stockpiling Best Buy gift cards with an aim towards this latest “need” of his generation.

Tablet Shopping

Lucy was pretty cool.  All the best scenes were shown in the previews.  Scarlett Johansson has an accidental drug induced ability to fully access her brain’s capacity (insert comment here about what an actor’s brain would really be capable of).  The enhancement turns her into a superhero and she starts globetrotting and time travelling to link up with Dr Morgan Freeman to preserve her knowledge before she burns out.

Old Boy himself, who was responsible for the enabling drug is hot on her heels with a seemingly endless supply of henchman.  Since this was a Luc Besson movie the climax takes place in Paris.  Since this was a Luc Besson movie the action is almost non-stop, filled with huge plot holes, and immensely entertaining. 

The Destination

While we were thus entertained the MEF’s parents had arrived and we all crammed into my son’s car for the short drive into central Portsmouth for dinner at The Library.  This is my son’s favorite restaurant and who can argue about dinner with people you love surrounded by books and steaks. 

MEF Parents - Just Great People

While my wife and I love the MEF and already think of her as a second daughter one of the best things about my son finding her was the opportunity to meet her parents.  They almost immediately felt like family and every new chance to get together more firmly cements those feelings; just great people to hang out with.  Dinner passed much too quickly (for everybody except out waitress).  We took an all too short walk around the center of Portsmouth to work off some of the dead animal flesh consumed in honor of my son’s birth day.  Dessert was reserved for slices of his birthday chocolate pie courtesy of his mother.  There were more gifts and in depth discussion of the wedding, now less than two weeks away where the MEF will relinquish her fiancé status.

Dinner Table Inside the Library

While it was my son’s birthday we were the ones provided with a gift yesterday.  The gift of precious time spent with family and friends that cannot be overvalued.  One of those days you don’t want to end but time has this remorseless tendency to proceed even faster on days like this.  At least the late night drive home was exactly half of what the same trip took earlier in the day. 

Birthday Pie!

Of Course there was a Dog-Themed Cad

Wife and a Library Lion

The Beautiful Gals We got to Eat Dinner With

MEF and Son