Quidditch, Bacon and Squirrels (or New York, New York!)

This past weekend was THE weekend. Probably one of the most important events in any person's dating life. It was the weekend I .... MET HIS PARENTS. Because of the fact we met on the internet and my parents wanted to make sure I wasn't dating a psycho killer with a chainsaw and a hook, Jeremy met my parents on our second date and luckily, all went well. Needless to say, I was pretty nervous about meeting his. We'd been planning this trip for weeks after being invited to the Quidditch World Cup by one of Jeremy's old friends. I'd take the Amtrak up to Baltimore-Penn station as per normal, we'd take a 3.5 hour long bus up to New York and then take the train to New Jersey where his parents live. Despite all this planning, I was still nervous as all hell.

When I arrived at Penn Station, gave Jeremy a big hug with running start and nuzzles, we had some time to spare before we had to leave to catch the bus. So as most normal couples do, we sat in there in Penn Station and fixed my computer. Poor Locab (Lots Of Crying And Begging, my trusty Macbook Pro) had had trouble with his left fan for months and this was the time to fix it. The operation was successful and took about 40 minutes, leaving us just enough time to get to the bus station. On our journey to NYC, we stopped at a rest stop at which Jeremy won me a stuffed lion cub we dubbed Simba at a claw machine. An onlooker was astounded that someone actually won at that game.

We arrived late at night so there wasn't much time for a proper introduction. Just a simple hello before retiring to sleep after pumpkin pie. Yum, pie.

The next day (after a delectable lunch at Nathan's Hot Dogs where I tried and loved my first knish) was the Quidditch World Cup, a haven for Harry Potter fans to come and watch an intercollegiate tournament based on the sport from the books. It was AWESOME! I supported the Badassilisks from NYU. One of the matches between two other teams dragged on forever because the track runner who was the Golden Snitch for that game had run into Subway and was eating a sandwich while the players were tackling and wrestling each other. As Jeremy was dressed for the occasion in a wizard robe, a newscaster from France interviewed him and hopefully, we shall be appearing on French TV. YAYYYY!


We decided not to stay for the entire tournament as there was much left of NYC to explore. First stop was Washington Square Park. Jeremy took a nap on my lap while I watched the big fat squirrels scurry and play. By God, they could have eaten most other squirrels and yet they still retained their agility and flexibility.

After squirrel watching, we wandered throughout SoHo, window shopping at curiosity shops. When dinner time came around, Jeremy took me to what he calls "the best unknown restaurant in New York City". The restaurant is a lovely little Greek place by the name of Snack. We had stuffed grape leaves, braised lamb stifado and a cheese dish called saganaki all for $40. It was absolutely delicious. After this marvelous repast, we went to an Italian gelato place called Dante's where we split a Zuppe Ingles. I can't quite remember what was in it but it was really good. My boyfriend knows all the best places to eat in New York City. =)

The next day was time to say goodbye to New Jersey and New York City. I left Jeremy's home, hopefully leaving a good impression on his parents. Before catching the bus to Baltimore, we bought lunch at one of the stalls New York is famous for. Note, aromatic food bought from a stall does not travel well on a bus or sit well in your stomach. Another note, I saw rainbows in the clouds. They were beautiful.

Yeah, it was kind of like that.

When we arrived in Baltimore and headed back to the station, we happened to pass by Sofi's Crepes where I saw a sign outside advertising their special, The Hog's Heaven - a warm crepe filled with bacon and chocolate. At the time, we were rushing to make sure the frightened high schooler we were with got to a taxi safely. Once she left, our eyes met the clock. We had 45 minutes left before my train even started boarding. Upon the utterance of this realization, we started running back towards the crepe place where we ordered one Hog's Heaven to split. As luck would have it, I had exact change in my pocket. Hurriedly, we walked back to the station letting the crepe warm our hands and the smell of bacon fill our nostrils thereby making the wait to chow down ridiculously unbearable. Our will was strong enough that we didn't take a single bite until we sat down inside and oh how gloriously we were rewarded! Heaven was a fitting name for the chocolatey-bacony goodness that was in our hands and we ate ravenously amongst joyous cries of "Oh God, we are such fatties!"

A perfect ending to a perfect date.

Tell me: what was it like when you met your significant other's parents?