Sean & Gail's Visit

 Sean and Gail had the excellent idea of visiting in the summertime to experience NYC at its peak.  Luckily for us, their work schedules aligned on a weekend in early June and they armed themselves with hot-weather outfits and positive attitudes for a trip out East.  Gail arrived first on Wednesday to take care of some business meetings while Sean landed late Thursday night.  

As luck would have it, our hometown heroes, the San Francisco Giants, were in town playing the Mets and we got tickets to the Thursday evening game with Gail.

The Giants may have lost but we sure enjoyed ourselves! And some Brooklyn Brewery Lagers!

After the game, we headed to JFK to pick up Seano.  We listened to the Warriors game on the radio and waited on pins and needles in the Cell Phone Lot.   Sean landed just in time to see the Warriors close out a statement win, then it was time to head back to the apartment.  Meg took Friday off to spend a fun-filled day with our visitors exploring the Upper East Side, eating at the delicious Meatball Shop, and enjoying some rosé in Sheep Meadow. But first, they started the morning off with some coffeeeee at Ted and Honey!

Friday night the whole crew was together for an INCREDIBLE meal at The Grocery on nearby Smith Street in Carroll Gardens.  The 5-course, family-style, wine-paired dinner was an instant all-timer in everyones minds. The chef came out before every course to introduce the dish and the associated wine.  She even came out with the light plates that were served between the main courses! Everyone had their favorites but everyone agreed, TOP NOTCH! We enjoyed ourselves so much that we hadn't noticed we were the last group still there and we'd shut the place down! We left with full bellies and great memories.

On Saturday, Gregg unfortunately had to go the hospital for call but the crew had more plans to check out the Brooklyn "scene".   They headed to Williamsburg to explore the 'hood and enjoy treats at Smorgasburg.  They had a nice beer garden that we popped in for a beer and in classic Gail style, she ran into a fellow Kansanite.  We took a loop around the 'burg and each found something that appealed to us.  We found a spot on the grass and enjoyed the view of Manhattan across the East River.  

With such gorgeous weather we wanted to enjoy as many activities outside as possible and headed to Juliette to experience their rooftop bar.  Sunshine and cocktails led to some deep conversation :) As we made our way back to the subway station, a sandwich board sign caught our eye: it read, "Croatian wines this way ->".  Our curiosity was piqued and we followed the signs to a cutesy spot and a memorable man named Chris who served us our wine...



Meg saw an opportunity and she took it.  Hipster Gail.

Cuties!

Sissies

We headed back home and decided to pick up some pizzas and vino for some chill time at home with some movies.  Unfortunately our favorite spot, Lucali, was booked for the night and they couldn't do take out, but we ended up finding a very worthy substitute at Sottocasa, another great pizza place in our neighborhood.

Gregg came home early Sunday and we set out for one final meal (brunch!) before our guests had to head to the airport. A great spot nearby in Carroll Gardens called Buttermilk Channel does a fantastic Southern take on brunch which sounded right up our alley.  Luckily we had some time to relax at the apartment before their departure and we took the opportunity to goof around and take some family photos.

Squeeeeeze in!

It was a fantastic weekend and we had an awesome time together. Already looking forward to the next visit!