Brian's NYC

First things first: We made it out of New York with no problem, but then got trapped on the highway in Connecticut for over two hours because of a fatal accident that shut down the entire freeway. People played catch. People walked their dogs. People peed in the woods. It was very traditional. As you can tell by the pictures, I was not happy. Luckily it was unseasonably warm, which made the two hours that we were just sitting there much more bearable, and there are also uglier parts of the highway to be stuck on, so I suppose it would have been a lot worse.

We made it to Goffstown just in time for dinner, with cooler temperatures and even some snowy flurries. Sean had a cold one from the keg that lived on the back porch all weekend waiting for us, and after I introduced Ash to the family and did the whole greeting thing, we settled down for some delicious grubbing.

Then the fun began. The spirits continued to flow, and we busted out our annual game of Mahotte Cranium. This game is always a bit of a challenge with so many people, and it lasted nearly all night. We eventually lost interest in the game, and never finished it, but it was exactly what the traditional evening needed. Ash and I were Team Blue, along with cousins Max & Mia. I think the spirits got to us a bit too much, because we didn't play that well, but still enjoyed bonding and attempting to draw with our eyes closed and hum obscure tunes. And on a side note, have you ever tried sculpting a toy poodle? Not as easy as you'd think (notice the festive t-shirts that Sean & Tina made for the group (all of team blue is representing...except for Max. He had to be stylish in his Hollister threads).

The next day we headed to Salem for some good, old fashioned witch hunting! Every year, the Mahottes take a field trip to a city and pretty much take it over. Last year we dominated a duck tour in Boston, and this year we took on Salem. We explored the shops and the seaside, took a tour of the witch museum, and of course, ate at an Irish pub in town. Ashley and I visited with Joe Maguire, an Otte family friend. Joe is the younger brother of Gregory Maguire, who wrote Wicked, so we chatted about our experiences with the musical.

The next day we hit up an outlet mall in New Hampshire (tax free! woohoo!) for some serious post Thanksgiving shopping. We learned that some of the stores opened at midnight on Thursday night. Isn't that kee-rayzee?! Stores are opening SOOO early these days! More drinking, eating, and fame playing followed that evening with Pop 5, by the makers of Cranium. It's a two team game about pop culture, and even with me on their team, the men lost to the women (who on earth remembers the Lite Brite theme song? Tina, apprently. That's who).

The next day it was back to life, back to reality. We packed up Sean's car and M&D's rental (that we were driving back to the city) with people, dogs (well, 1 dog), luggage, and christmas trees from the backyard. 6 hours later, we were back in the city, unpacking and visiting with our lovely kitty whom we missed so much over the weekend, and settling back into our lives as New Yorkers, longingg for next year's Mahotte festivities.