Romeo 8-17-16

The Romeo gang met for lunch on Wednesday, August 17 at the Marina Restaurant and Pub (formerly The Wharf) in Revere at 12 noon.  The Marina is located at 543 North Shore Road (Route 1A).

Go to www.marinaathewharf.com
or more information.

 There were 8 present including Joe Pignatiello, Steve Winter, Paul Girard, Jim Terlizzi, Ed DeShuytner, Mark Ryan, Brother Tim Paul and Joe Lapiana.  You can see photos at my Picasa Website .....

Romeo 8-16-16

We were seated at a round table near the window. It was windy out so we sat inside but you could see all the beautiful boats docked at the Marina. Maybe next time we will go out on my Yacht? Ha.

The waitress brought loaves of crusted bread and dipping oil to the table and water. She then took drink orders which included Margaritas, beers and cokes.

We looked at the menu and found a lot of choices including entrees, pizza and sandwiches. Most ordered the lobster roll, breaded haddock, fra diavalo with pasta and mussels and chicken sandwich. We also got salad and chowder.

The conversation was lively as always about sports, Olympics, politics and trips.

We started with Donald Trump's latest news flash. We are all still wondering how he got this far.

Joe P will be going to London in October and Jim gave him some pointers. 

Brother Tim talked about flying to Sanford, Maine to a diner with great food. I flew there for my pilot's solo flight and had to have a instructor pilot there sign my log book. He signed "arrived alive".

Tim also talked about students enrolled at St Johns because there families want them to go to college. A lot of Asian students there who work hard. Tuition is $30,000 plus finding room and board in the community.

Ed talked about the rise in enrollment for online courses at NECC and drop in day enrollment. Also he said it was hard determining student honesty when taking weekly tests at home online. Was someone other than the student taking the test.

Joe L mentioned that the Western avenue artists will have a Artoberfest on October 1+2 at their studios. 300 artists will open their studios. A beer garden and activities for all. Check it out at http://westernavenuestudios.com
Mark mentioned that he participated in an author panel held at the Wilmington library. He discusses his book and sold a few. He also wrote some funny poems which you can see online ...

Http://Poems.MarkRyanBooks.com

Mark also gave out some bags of cherry tomatoes he grew in his garden. Joe L had a good crop as well as Bro Tim. Ed said squirrels were getting into his garden. Mark has an electric fence to keep out critters.
Mark talked about cost of hearing aids. At his audiologist they were costing $2000 to $4000 for just one ear. Walmart and Costco sell them. Costco has them for half price and good quality.
We will meet next month on Sept 28. Jim will send emails.

Comments welcome ..... Markryan82@comcast.net

Romeo 7-26-16

The Romeo gang had lunch at 12 noon on Wednesday 7-27-16 at the Boston Yacht Club in Marblehead. Click on link below:

https://www.bostonyc.org/   You can see a live web cam on the web site.

There were 6 Romeos present including Steve Winter, Joe Pignatiello, Paul Girard, Joe Lapiana, Ed DeSchuytner and Mark Ryan.  You can see photos at the Picasa web site…

 https://picasaweb.google.com/108806068200291783388/6314243716270502113

We all sat on the deck overlooking the harbor. It was a beautiful day with a light breeze. You could see hundreds of moored boats of all sizes and also ones cruising the harbor. In addition young teens were taking sailing lessons in small sailboats.

I would like to thank Paul Girard for arranging the lunch at the club as his guests. Paul has been a member of the BYC for years and has participated in the Race Week along with Jim Terlizzi. Boat races are scheduled for the next month  August 3 to September 5.  You can see the info on the web site. https://www.bostonyc.org/racing

The waitress gave us menus and took drink orders which included beer, margaritas and cola. Most ordered the lobster roll and one Fra Diablo with pasta and mussels. We also ordered chowder or beef vegetable soup.

The conversation was lively as usual and centered on politics, sports and the weather. The Red Sox were going down the tube and I mentioned that all the old players were gone. I only recognized David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia. Maybe next year ????

I started getting some tomatoes and zucchini from my garden and Ed and Joe L. also had some pickings from their gardens.  Joe L. said he put a sprinkler in his garden off a house well and timer. The timer never shut off and the well ran dry. He had to call a plumber to restart the pump which cost him $175. Trying to save water with a timer and conservation sometimes doesn’t work.   Well they say Sh…t happens.

I said I went on a few day trips with the Wilmington Senior Center. We went on a Wine tour in Vermont , A Lobster Bake and Harbor Cruise in Gloucester and a trip to Norman Rockwell museum in September. Great trips for a small cost.  Joe L. also went on trip with his senior center to Sand Castles at Revere Beach. The senior centers certainly have a lot of activities.  I use to think that they were only for “OLD PEOPLE”.  Da? 

Joe L. also went to Spinners Game in Lowell. The Class-A Red Sox affiliate. http://www.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t558   Cheap tickets ($7) and great parking in Lowell. A great venue. Always entertaining ball game with plenty of activities for the kids.  Joe L. went to a game with his Senior Center. He entered a lottery at the game for a brand new car. He was one of 10 winners in the final round to receive a tennis ball with a car key inside. One by one they were asked to go down to the field a try to start the car. Unfortunately,  Joe’s key didn’t work but one lucky winner’s did. What a prize!

I also said that I saw an article in the Globe about people living on their boats in Boston Harbor. Slip rental was $1400 per month. That’s  cheap compared to apartment or condo prices. Ed said his son lived on Beacon Hill last year and paid $2000 a month. When he moved out the rent went up to $6000 a month. The new renter is Bri Eggers , weatherwoman at Channel 7 news . https://www.facebook.com/BriEggers

Steve went on an Alaska trip (Plane, Train, Boat) and saw a lot of moose and bear. He has family in Oregon. I said that we have bears in NH where I have a camp. Last year a bear sat at a fire pit in the next campsite licking the camp fire rocks which had drippings of marshmallow. Joe L. said a neighbor put an electric fence around a bee hive to prevent bears from eating the honey.

Joe P. asked Joe L. about the Lowell Folk festival. He said it was a great venue. It was last week and a great event. See list of all the activities in the Lowell Sun. http://www.lowellsun.com/latestnews/ci_30175427/2016-lowell-folk-festival .

Joe L. also said the Western Avenue Art Studios now have a lot of attractions too. There are 300 artist studios, a beer garden and outside eating area.  There is parking at nearby school and bus shuttle available. See the web site below.    http://westernavenuestudios.com/

We decided to go for lunch next month at the Wharf in Revere. Jim will send email with info.

Comments and suggestions always welcome:  markryan82@comcast.net