Massachusetts

Day 1

October 4, 2022

I traveled to the great state of Massachusetts to visit some customers and spend time with my local sales rep. I once again was leaving from Houston’s IAH (aka George Bush International) airport. I had to arrive around 7:00 AM in order to hold my weekly 1-1 team meetings at the United Club lounge at Terminal C. I love this lounge due to the private “phone rooms” found in the back of the sitting area. By being inside these rooms no one has to hear all the bad words from the sales reps or myself for that matter.

Around noon I boarded my United flight and four hours later landed at Boston’s Logan Airport. This airport is well run but getting to the rental car location can be somewhat of a hassle. After getting my suitcase I had to huddle outside the baggage claim area with a large group of fellow travelers looking for a local bus to arrive. Luckily Boston was experiencing a warm fall day which made the 15 minute wait time bearable.

As I was leaving the airport a strong craving for a Lobster roll came into my mind and stomach. I thought to myself, “when in Rome you should try the local delicacies.” I used the trusty Yelp app to find the Alive and Kicking Lobster restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Needless to say it was worth the stop and satisfied my craving. I then headed out to my final destination the Doubletree Hotel in Milford, Massachusetts. This is one of those large hotels that was designed in the 80s and provides to me a nostalgia of a time when we were all less busy and living without so much technology.

As I was driving into this city the remnants of Hurricane Ian were still being felt as rain was constantly falling on my rental car’s windshield.

After a long day of traveling it was great to Facetime with the family before finally going to sleep.

Day 2

October 05, 2022

I started the morning by meeting with my sales rep, Andy Speer, at the local service center. We had a great in depth discussion about his territory before going to meet with our first customer.

After a productive meeting Andy recommended we try some Peruvian food. I went back to the Yelp app and found Sazon Peru in Lawerence. This restaurant seemed to be in a tough neighborhood but those tend to be the best places for ethnic foods. Andy and I had a great time trying out multiple menu options and left the place very satisfied.

Afterwards we headed to back to Milford before making a stop at the Nashoba winery.

This orchard is unique because you can have wine, beer and whiskey all made from apples.  As I walked into the vineyard’s tasting room house I noticed how quaint and nice all the wood around the place felt and looked.  It really reminded me of a vineyard in Grand Junction, Colorado but instead of peaches its apples. I ended up buying one of their liquors to take home. The server recommended trying to combine it with bacon and for some reason I couldn’t get the idea of this sweet liquor and bacon grilling together and hitting my taste buds.

Afterwards I made my way to the Longfellow Tennis Club where I had signed up for a tennis drill. This is a very nice facility where the instructor was able to effectively manage four courts and 14 players.   The lesson of the day was focused on movement and consistency.  The instructor said that this was the main difference between a 4.0 and 4.5 player.  I was surprised to hear that power was not one of them.  I will make sure to keep this in mind during future practices and matches. Honestly, I feel that this is one of the best things to come out of a training class in a while.

This is a link to a video highlighting some tennis drills you can do to improve your consistency.

Day 3

October 06, 2022

Andy and I made our way in the morning to New Haven, Connecticut to meet up with another customer and visit their project.  

After having a great discussion and meeting with some of amazing people we were told that New Haven is a well known hub for American pizza. It has many restaurants where you can go have, how do they say, “Apizza.” Their claim to fame is that they cook their pizza with coal instead of wood or in an oven.   Our customer recommended several places and we settled on Frank Pepe.   This establishment is famous within the American pizza community and here is a video of a review of this restaurant.  Andy had the white clam pizza and I got a typical pepperoni pizza.  It was good but I still prefer a Margarita pizza cooked in a wood fire stove.

If you are ever in Houston please visit Impero Italiano as it is the most authentic and tastiest pizzas outside of Italy, at least here in Houston.

On the fourth day I made it back to the Logan airport before boarding my flight to Houston.  I left Massachusetts with a warm feeling and remembering fondly of when I used to live in Somerville. It really has to be one of the best cities in this country and am looking forward to coming back with my family one day soon.