My 29th Birthday Celebrations

Two weeks ago, I approached my 29th year of life.  For the big birthday, I went out to eat at Bamboo, a hybrid Chinese/Japanese in Burlington with my younger brother Keith and his girlfriend Malorie.  My meal consisted of chicken wings, veggie egg rolls, and sushi.  The two types that I had for my supper were the California Roll and The Red Sox Maki, which consists of spicy king crab and mango, which is topped with tuna.  I have been to Bamboo in the past and have enjoyed their food very much.  To top off the night, I had my favorite kind of cake, a chocolate mint cake from Lakota Bakery in Arlington. I had a piece of the cake, along with Lakota cookies and a few pints of Ben and Jerry’s Boom Chocolatta! Cookie Core and Empower Mint ice creams.

The next day, Friday, I headed down to Marshfield for my vacation week. During the vacation week, I spent most of the days at the beach with my parents.  On Monday, the 22nd, we did a day trip to the beautiful Cape Cod town of Chatham.  In Chatham, I got to see the beaches and dunes, the local Lighthouse, and the exteriors of the exclusive Chatham Bars Inn Hotel.  The dunes and beaches were very majestic with beachgoers on the premises and additional tourists hoping to get a nice view of the ocean.  Later on that morning, I purchased a Chatham T-shirt with a whale on the back side and a Martha’s Vineyard Black Dog at a store in Chatham Center.  Chatham was lovely, and I hope to visit more Cape towns like Wellfleet, Dennis, Orleans and Truro in the near future.

On Friday, the 26th, I headed over Amanda Smith’s, my brother Brian’s fiance, family’s house in Hingham to have dinner with them before Brian, Amanda, and I headed to the Bruce Hornsby concert at the nearby South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset.  Our supper was made up of steak tips, corn, vegetables, and salad.  As always, Amanda’s parents, Lisa and Jim, were happy to see me, as well as the family dog, a golden retriever named Summer.  After dinner, Brian, Amanda, and I headed over to the Music Circus to see Bruce Hornsby perform.  Originally, my cousin Kaylene and her boyfriend Kent were going to attend the concert with me, but Kent had to serve at a friend’s wedding down The Cape, so he and Kaylene couldn’t make the show.  The three of us got to see Bruce Hornsby himself make his entrance into the venue.  It was an exhilarating experience getting to witness Hornsby enter the arena.  During the show, Hornsby played a mix of his classics and newer songs, including “The Way It Is”, “Every Little Kiss”, “Look Out Any Window”, and even a song that he co-wrote with Don Henley and played piano on called “The End of the Innocence.”  We also got to see Amanda’s Uncle Billy and Aunt Amy outside the concert and socialized with them for a little bit.

Finally, on Saturday, the 27th, I had my 29th Birthday Party at the beach with friends and family.  Brian and Amanda visited me, as well as Brian’s friends Rich Kei and Mark Aldo, and relatives including Aunts Noreen and Karen, cousins Luke, Henry, Sean and Matt, and my friends Nate Baynes and Keith Anderson with his girlfriend Meghan Levy and their cute white golden retriever puppy, Bradley.  The beach was really nice that day and I dove in the ocean quite a few times with Brian, Amanda, Rich, Mark, and Sean.  The ocean floor was filled with large rocks and decent waves.  It felt refreshing to go in the water on such a warm day in the late summer.  Keith and Meghan’s puppy, Bradley, was very playful and enjoyed hanging out with me and my friends and family.  It was such a glorious day at the beach and I look forward to more birthdays look this one.

I received a good amount of gifts for my last year in my twenties.  Perhaps, the most interesting that I received was an inflatable dog named Reggie from Rich and Mark.  With Reggie, I have found a new companion to have in my life. I have also received gifts including a Shipyard Pumpkinhead plaque and Amazon gift card from Matt, a Vineyard Vines outfit and gift card from Brian and Amanda, pumpkin beer from Uncles Larry and Kevin, and a Newbury Comics gift card from Sean and his wife Debbie.  To top off the day, I had a delicious vanilla almond cake from a local bakery in Marshfield called Sweet Cakes, which has always been a favorite of my family.  My 29th birthday was such a wonderful time and I hope to have many more exciting birthday celebrations in the future.