tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50653618822110605872024-03-14T01:40:08.237-04:00Junebug BPreviously Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14330408955083123952noreply@blogger.comBlogger403125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-85864240390114584422012-04-28T10:13:00.002-04:002012-04-28T10:13:44.728-04:00Santa Fe, Georgia O'Keeffe and heading home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For Monday, our last day in Santa Fe, Ania and I checked out of our hotel and found parking in a garage downtown. We only had a few hours before we had to catch our flights home, but we knew we wanted to pack in a few last stops. The first stop was the <a href="http://www.okeeffemuseum.org/">Georgia O'Keeffe Museum</a>. I've been wanting to go here for a long time and I'm glad that I finally made it. It was beautiful. Not surprisingly, there are no photos allowed inside the museum, so these shots of the outside will have to do.<br />
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There is also one sculpture of O'Keeffe's that's visible from the sidewalk around the corner from the Museum at the O'Keeffe Research Center:<br />
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After the Museum we walked over to the Plaza, and again we had a beautiful day!<br />
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And of course, we looked at all of the beautiful, handmade, Native American jewelry being sold, and yes, we each got a piece to take home. Each of the artists has to be registered and verify that the jewelry they're making is handmade and authentic. Most of the people selling the jewelry also made the jewelry and they can tell you about the stones and how it was made. Very cool to walk along and chat with everyone.<br />
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For our last meal in Santa Fe we headed to Cafe Pasqual's. Ania had been talking about this since we first saw it on our first day in Santa Fe and I'm so glad we finally made it here.<br />
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Everything is local and organic and simply delicious. I had the Mole Enchiladas and they were wonderful! Ania had Chorizo Enchiladas and enjoyed them, too. A perfect send-off as we get ready to wave good-bye to beautiful Southwest weather, sunshine, scenery and food!<br />
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On the way back to the car I spotted this building with the blue sky behind it and I thought that summed up the colors and feel of Santa Fe:<br />
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We packed in a lot for only a long weekend, but there's still so much more to see! I'd love to go back and explore this area even more. Maybe someday....Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-16726850722333443192012-04-28T09:56:00.000-04:002012-04-28T09:56:35.863-04:00Bandelier and Los Alamos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We woke up pretty early on Sunday morning and after a quick soak in the hotel hot tub for me and breakfast for both of us, we headed out to<a href="http://www.nps.gov/band/index.htm"> Bandelier National Monument</a>. It was a bit of a drive, but again, it was a beautiful day with bright sun, warm temps and wonderful scenery.<br />
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The Visitor's Center for Bandelier is in the bottom of the Frijoles Canyon. On the way into the park, we stopped at a scenic overlook at the top of the canyon and got some great views:<br />
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You can see in the photo below that the greenest part is along the bottom of the canyon, where the Frijoles Creek flows.<br />
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This is driving down to the Visitor's Center. You can see some of the caves carved into the side of the canyon:<br />
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One of the first stops on the Main Loop Trail is the large Keva in the bottom of the canyon. This was used as a gathering place for the ancient Pueblo community that lived in the valley. It's actually dug into the ground and would have had a wood and earth roof.<br />
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Here's a view of the village from above. You can see the Keva in the middle and the structures surrounding it:<br />
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The rock in this canyon was formed mostly from a volcanic explosion and is known as "tuff":<br />
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Here I am in one of the rock dwellings that was dug into the side of the canyon:<br />
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Here's a cool shot over the valley. You can see the road we came in on going up out of the valley:<br />
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In order to get up to the rock dwellings we had to go up and then down these steep little steps. You can see the path we started on along the top of the photo and a teeny person in the upper right corner:<br />
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Ania, looking good sporting her baby bump on a sunny day!<br />
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This is from inside one of the rock dwellings looking out:<br />
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And there are petroglyphs here, too! They're a little hard to see, but you can find a jagged line above the holes along the bottom:<br />
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The canyon is also known for having a variety of ecosystems very close together. Here you can see the desert-like sandy soil and cacti very close to the creek bed green plants and Ponderosa pines.<br />
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Here's Ania crossing the creek on our way to the Alcove House:<br />
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And here's the start of the 140 ft. vertical climb up to the Alcove House:<br />
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Ania went first:<br />
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And he's what you find at the top. A huge, carved-out gathering place with a Keva built into the side of the canyon. Ania is going down the ladder into the Keva:<br />
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Ania going into the Keva:<br />
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The view from standing on top of the Keva:<br />
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And the view looking up from inside the Keva:<br />
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Overlooking the canyon from the Alcove House:<br />
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And heading back down. Ania's on the topmost of the 4 ladders we had to take to get up and down from the Alcove House. To the right of Ania's head you can almost see the creek all the way down below:<br />
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Once we hiked back to the visitor's center and had a snack, we took this funny photo of me as a tufted ear squirrel. We actually saw one of these on the way into the park and it looked like a black bunny was hopping up a tree, that's how big their ears are:<br />
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After Bandelier we drove out to Los Alamos and stopped to take in some beautiful scenery along the way:<br />
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Once in Los Alamos, we ended up at the Bradbury Science Museum which tells the history of Science in Los Alamos from when they set it up as a secret location to create and test the atom bombs to it's current state as Los Alamos National Labs. Very interesting history, but you have to take it with a grain of salt since it's totally sponsored by the US Gov't.<br />
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And right next to the Museum:<br />
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When we were at the Museum we asked one of the employees if their was any place in town where we should grab dinner and the woman basically told us that we should go back to Santa Fe for dinner. So we headed out of town. This cheery sign greets you on the way in and out of town:<br />
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On the way back to Santa Fe we had to turn around because a road was closed due to a major accident and the person in front of us, with New Mexico plates, had a magnet on their car from Ocean City, NJ! Kinda crazy:<br />
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Some more amazing clouds and scenery on the way back to Santa Fe:<br />
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We ended up going to Roadside Harry's for dinner, which was really tasty once we actually found it. When we called for directions the woman sent in exactly the wrong direction on the highway. But it was delicious once we finally made it there. And any day in the Southwest wouldn't be complete without a beautiful sunset!<br />
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The adventure continues tomorrow....Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-55552479199366166462012-04-26T23:36:00.000-04:002012-04-26T23:36:00.212-04:00Albuquerque, Tinkertown and Santa FeThis year, the 30th Annual VRA Conference was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was a great conference and the hotel we stayed at was very nice and right in Old Town Albuquerque.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from my hotel window at sunrise.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Balloons from my hotel window.</td></tr>
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My dear friend Ania decided to fly down from Denver to hang out with me for a long weekend following my conference. It was a great chance to catch up and explore this part of the country. She flew in on Saturday, April 21st and rented a car at the airport and drove out to my hotel to pick me up. I didn't have to check out until noon, so we headed into Old Town for a nice brunch at Church Street Cafe. We also took a walk through the plaza and the Annual <a href="http://www.nmhcpl.org/FOUNDING_OF_ALBUQUERQUE.html">Founder's Day</a> Celebration. Albuquerque was celebrating it's 306th Birthday this year! Here are some views from the plaza:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There was an amazing Native American drum circle going on in the gazebo on the plaza.</td></tr>
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On the way out of Albuquerque, we decided to take the <a href="http://www.turquoisetrail.org/">Turquoise Trail</a> and stop at a little place called <a href="http://tinkertown.com/">Tinkertown</a>. This is a great example of kitschy roadside Americana and outsider art. This one guy just took his hobby to the extreme and made this entire world out of found objects, hand-carved figures and lots and lots of glass bottles.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5445vs1vimjy21AHE6DFHl6CWH-9_78SENzLHOHYf6ZU7biySKd9jOEp6XY3T2kp0N5GljyyYUnqOuEGV0aVH4SlQXRP1FtYW-IP5teniP2dLEWRGKDqUlAqi8CVJB8In23zveUB5Gk/s1600/DSC_0180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5445vs1vimjy21AHE6DFHl6CWH-9_78SENzLHOHYf6ZU7biySKd9jOEp6XY3T2kp0N5GljyyYUnqOuEGV0aVH4SlQXRP1FtYW-IP5teniP2dLEWRGKDqUlAqi8CVJB8In23zveUB5Gk/s400/DSC_0180.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgANs8vZkxZ81AKWCHSVxOd-7gJ7XD8-uwxzcICB8ebndGRel8FOYBiiYINhxLczAfne-ujswPtBGu_DLmljGk92tFpnOJFvbxlh-BMfVndWd_FPB4F8PQB2RQlCKDhdUfBEu8dQZWeGVY/s1600/DSC_0181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgANs8vZkxZ81AKWCHSVxOd-7gJ7XD8-uwxzcICB8ebndGRel8FOYBiiYINhxLczAfne-ujswPtBGu_DLmljGk92tFpnOJFvbxlh-BMfVndWd_FPB4F8PQB2RQlCKDhdUfBEu8dQZWeGVY/s400/DSC_0181.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Lady Esmerelda. She came from an amusement park in Chicago and she still works! Ania and I had the pleasure of getting our fortunes told by her for only a quarter!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhILMmB2BWZCKLTQYoytsE-mjiVYBMMeGazwEKclw0so-zraTt6T4lB3LJGOpvXd3aGt4a-e6ZyNHyhWIFyDsMBksVcph0cjECfWzUGBYpkOkvIS4vH2SlIT2xhBaQhHFcpHu8F1aVHlEQ/s1600/DSC_0183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhILMmB2BWZCKLTQYoytsE-mjiVYBMMeGazwEKclw0so-zraTt6T4lB3LJGOpvXd3aGt4a-e6ZyNHyhWIFyDsMBksVcph0cjECfWzUGBYpkOkvIS4vH2SlIT2xhBaQhHFcpHu8F1aVHlEQ/s400/DSC_0183.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is just part of a huge "Main Street" scene that includes hand-carved figures and some found objects.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIOZ4W8DJp-_a6-V4YQqa76c2bcaFiSpAEU0q6wqfLp4YeUQVnigIdvC5fzg97DOmvsY3IQp0XUGh7f88hWuuNslKTYu2t3DYU6ax2XzANsJdSNVTDYBDlHvj_z-BxjAWQy1Co7T_9QqY/s1600/DSC_0184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIOZ4W8DJp-_a6-V4YQqa76c2bcaFiSpAEU0q6wqfLp4YeUQVnigIdvC5fzg97DOmvsY3IQp0XUGh7f88hWuuNslKTYu2t3DYU6ax2XzANsJdSNVTDYBDlHvj_z-BxjAWQy1Co7T_9QqY/s400/DSC_0184.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQY-mQyKpYUmA0C_Lo7JIvSey9jd2vvFrv3W_5RrcS78y7AA_YAeXbUwacOmTgprraEsmuBindx9kxLzyUWZnfklVn3DRKnpxrijEYD1GRU-YdnGUMu3KCMJAMUqu0bcmzaOfIYIO-LGg/s1600/DSC_0185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQY-mQyKpYUmA0C_Lo7JIvSey9jd2vvFrv3W_5RrcS78y7AA_YAeXbUwacOmTgprraEsmuBindx9kxLzyUWZnfklVn3DRKnpxrijEYD1GRU-YdnGUMu3KCMJAMUqu0bcmzaOfIYIO-LGg/s400/DSC_0185.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are buttons that visitors can push to make some of the figures move. When you push one button, this chef chases this chicken around and around with his cleaver. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2mKgtWtddiNptIaW0HAG-ldYL2gq6VFD7mVkTuEGjbPzQmmifEupRsb5_pM7yPyd-U9oM8jcRZLbJLLpzyEeXcOFa40qcLwdtAxa8aGJ6j1IfuKiqJA-Plkf4CfsJX-C_lWf1QH2yNeg/s1600/DSC_0187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2mKgtWtddiNptIaW0HAG-ldYL2gq6VFD7mVkTuEGjbPzQmmifEupRsb5_pM7yPyd-U9oM8jcRZLbJLLpzyEeXcOFa40qcLwdtAxa8aGJ6j1IfuKiqJA-Plkf4CfsJX-C_lWf1QH2yNeg/s400/DSC_0187.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No main street would be complete without the photographer's studio! It's hard to see, but it even includes a crying baby!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgueoUt__jzw8cp1h1FKlPfuUTeshzUWO3bX4O_MF7k4sXRgfEPgaCan4Yyk2kPv230Jq34Yx7rCtS4ceXBesczYS1cvu1npI3nWv-JEyolHDtdu82QJrJEakF-QjU1uWMypmibQGP6CNg/s1600/DSC_0189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgueoUt__jzw8cp1h1FKlPfuUTeshzUWO3bX4O_MF7k4sXRgfEPgaCan4Yyk2kPv230Jq34Yx7rCtS4ceXBesczYS1cvu1npI3nWv-JEyolHDtdu82QJrJEakF-QjU1uWMypmibQGP6CNg/s400/DSC_0189.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A huge collection of wedding cake toppers.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYBPkj74VE6C2quuT-RLz7_nCQLdotsQcw5SmnDi5qfCbIOgMcbKuqvApMTvZp_tdaGZpeZc81ZlFNRoU-TbfbOLjifNbLt11n1-_3FyVgtQ3EfrFkvv060c3AjWNcul9RylmaGxFzUqg/s1600/DSC_0190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYBPkj74VE6C2quuT-RLz7_nCQLdotsQcw5SmnDi5qfCbIOgMcbKuqvApMTvZp_tdaGZpeZc81ZlFNRoU-TbfbOLjifNbLt11n1-_3FyVgtQ3EfrFkvv060c3AjWNcul9RylmaGxFzUqg/s400/DSC_0190.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An outdoor area in the museum.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz74PehCDyszvSHMtb4iAZ3Rnt0d7zhQQFbhhr_NBYcVwpsyLvcqu3rL7MTqXNdWX7YA6CJbWARTbek4Z6-cQGcPuYYhscUFmCi6iXf_G24_3WBs58u1oJ2k16HG5OgV92FSysVt-2w3s/s1600/DSC_0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz74PehCDyszvSHMtb4iAZ3Rnt0d7zhQQFbhhr_NBYcVwpsyLvcqu3rL7MTqXNdWX7YA6CJbWARTbek4Z6-cQGcPuYYhscUFmCi6iXf_G24_3WBs58u1oJ2k16HG5OgV92FSysVt-2w3s/s400/DSC_0192.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wonder Woman looking over the Seven Dwarfs.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT0B1JVwRbmXvko1viqIv9w0F7SGls3hJzAAyB8S3bUrAneVzqCHzdl_6upf4_mUc9lb_nejAleNsS7buvmg464wSlxNPimDMokSoqCg88pOIkYbt4-djIO110uY9J2n_pCVzmSfdnJbg/s1600/DSC_0193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT0B1JVwRbmXvko1viqIv9w0F7SGls3hJzAAyB8S3bUrAneVzqCHzdl_6upf4_mUc9lb_nejAleNsS7buvmg464wSlxNPimDMokSoqCg88pOIkYbt4-djIO110uY9J2n_pCVzmSfdnJbg/s400/DSC_0193.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wonder who I was thinking of here...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNodo1jlePAD2afQkQdoPu6D8oHitOTh_oH-QFlFRIOZ8FX2jQSMxxHZ9hHfW0biJFUf_uKr_ZWffzzGS0-eNdZN6iUvxbu3FTpfYyMYhellfOCURAnbdT5CWmpSCVDlAyJo-vMOb-m8/s1600/DSC_0194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNodo1jlePAD2afQkQdoPu6D8oHitOTh_oH-QFlFRIOZ8FX2jQSMxxHZ9hHfW0biJFUf_uKr_ZWffzzGS0-eNdZN6iUvxbu3FTpfYyMYhellfOCURAnbdT5CWmpSCVDlAyJo-vMOb-m8/s400/DSC_0194.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, Georgia O. The written caption under the photo says "I can mix with any crowd if I need to!"</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh032YxKaFz_rdRlKlFnvR2S0tUqIF6Mw9Brqh9oW97mdCAGO0WpN_CW4cWz8yVbWzglR3pUTQn2P-n9KY1PyqOK0p9MdwwIWof_M4Z0-213tVzCpnv-CCYmxhkSQMaPsHHOddGui0DCvU/s1600/DSC_0197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh032YxKaFz_rdRlKlFnvR2S0tUqIF6Mw9Brqh9oW97mdCAGO0WpN_CW4cWz8yVbWzglR3pUTQn2P-n9KY1PyqOK0p9MdwwIWof_M4Z0-213tVzCpnv-CCYmxhkSQMaPsHHOddGui0DCvU/s400/DSC_0197.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sign next to "Otto, the Automatic One Man Band".</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmAVtXbvNObjaNiVea1pw7WXPkmvXkT-IWRi1YNOjJ7DFH91qpol9v5nNkeCd5AU4a5NG6ZaRwHZPUlOnfP0cMxfjz6hMIKdyrhLaKkDO3MpwLmp3F0TSXtyNUDi61xSkRU5aRT1girLI/s1600/DSC_0198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmAVtXbvNObjaNiVea1pw7WXPkmvXkT-IWRi1YNOjJ7DFH91qpol9v5nNkeCd5AU4a5NG6ZaRwHZPUlOnfP0cMxfjz6hMIKdyrhLaKkDO3MpwLmp3F0TSXtyNUDi61xSkRU5aRT1girLI/s400/DSC_0198.JPG" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brilliant quote from Mark Twain.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc02tkLWQr08_rg_cwaVkk9yb8ZRUZ7z4TCk_PREavxcatHufAx5apx8O7dw67voAkaZ7gylo3yTiqPvGwPFe4kiYkHjooZx3DcBB3zvkaxChX-xb1_UF3pQc9xNL1G5bSgo01UEaG3nY/s1600/DSC_0200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc02tkLWQr08_rg_cwaVkk9yb8ZRUZ7z4TCk_PREavxcatHufAx5apx8O7dw67voAkaZ7gylo3yTiqPvGwPFe4kiYkHjooZx3DcBB3zvkaxChX-xb1_UF3pQc9xNL1G5bSgo01UEaG3nY/s400/DSC_0200.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good Old 66</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_VK0LfEeWJEH2NZuksFiexcndZAKcBoshWB7Je4hjXgBnw6VPRKGxhXl2kEdlet4ThOvp5Ok0XfNp0qscvkH6Q_f81JCtZ8baSyeH-zk4Au9N0sJDIUpbWW7qYNr8Hodn3jbcVecQeU/s1600/DSC_0207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_VK0LfEeWJEH2NZuksFiexcndZAKcBoshWB7Je4hjXgBnw6VPRKGxhXl2kEdlet4ThOvp5Ok0XfNp0qscvkH6Q_f81JCtZ8baSyeH-zk4Au9N0sJDIUpbWW7qYNr8Hodn3jbcVecQeU/s400/DSC_0207.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me at Tinkertown.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYbdLQrERNoP-70fD7LZ8aDOwCd5fi4OB6BLsPe4m68ea6bp-w5K77gzOKmiZIo4H9MngQEc5l9LIHHFEu3-GCUf4GGaReMGNPPuErSziACj0_zbaOmeBhOIzvsAysT2cHgYw3nNUcQlU/s1600/DSC_0202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYbdLQrERNoP-70fD7LZ8aDOwCd5fi4OB6BLsPe4m68ea6bp-w5K77gzOKmiZIo4H9MngQEc5l9LIHHFEu3-GCUf4GGaReMGNPPuErSziACj0_zbaOmeBhOIzvsAysT2cHgYw3nNUcQlU/s400/DSC_0202.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There was a station set up with paper, pencils and crayons for people to write wishes on and stick them in the bottles. You can see some of the rolled up paper in the bottles here.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5QTOp8UnJ0LLvfdURSiSuHSDMhSBvEBUjt3DLvzqSbMG9AlXUs8vBlha__apCwTOPEOha5OjTIEca0n5PT8Dtcqul48-xJP1sPijz-XL4DX-3m12B57t4HZ6at8mXByiOce6kmSuJCw/s1600/DSC_0205.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5QTOp8UnJ0LLvfdURSiSuHSDMhSBvEBUjt3DLvzqSbMG9AlXUs8vBlha__apCwTOPEOha5OjTIEca0n5PT8Dtcqul48-xJP1sPijz-XL4DX-3m12B57t4HZ6at8mXByiOce6kmSuJCw/s400/DSC_0205.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1GQATFh1Uk_ulPUJ0sqDj5j0s09bwe8gOEPuEQRuFAUO0p__N7wwhhyphenhyphenugZiC4-vQgg5Imx4Wv50UL4yW5VrgOosF6jKRTXv96G1ZuE9-nzw_op2p_zSSABr1H8jPNiBxG1tDPnfPi8g/s1600/DSC_0208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1GQATFh1Uk_ulPUJ0sqDj5j0s09bwe8gOEPuEQRuFAUO0p__N7wwhhyphenhyphenugZiC4-vQgg5Imx4Wv50UL4yW5VrgOosF6jKRTXv96G1ZuE9-nzw_op2p_zSSABr1H8jPNiBxG1tDPnfPi8g/s400/DSC_0208.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This note starts with "I wish..."</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ania and her camera, just like the good old days. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Museum continued outside, too.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With tons of hummingbirds! I actually caught this one landed on a branch.</td></tr>
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After Tinkertown, we continued on the Turquoise Trail toward Santa Fe. It was such an amazing day. Here are some views from the road:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You wouldn't know it, but I'm accidentally sitting a little too close to a cactus here! I had to change my pants because there were cactus needles stuck in the back pocket of my jeans after I got up from getting this photo taken!</td></tr>
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And finally we arrived in Santa Fe! We found a parking spot near the State Capitol and walked all over town. We walked through the Plaza and ended up at this beautiful church, the <a href="http://www.cbsfa.org/home0.aspx">Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi</a>.<br />
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If you couldn't already tell from the photos, it was a BEAUTIFUL afternoon. We stopped in at <a href="http://www.sfshed.com/home.html">The Shed</a>, touted as being one of the best restaurants in Santa Fe, and put our names in for a table with an hour-long wait. While we were waiting, we wandered into this little courtyard with these amazing lilacs in bloom. <br />
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The wait for The Shed was well worth it! Ania's husband Ken had recommended the Prickly Pear Margarita, so that's what I got to drink with my dinner. I'm so happy that Ania really likes Mexican/New Mexican food as much as I do. We were happy to eat our way through Santa Fe.</div>
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After dinner we walked through the Plaza again and this group of marimba players was still going strong. We had seen them earlier in the day, too and they added such a great vibe to the Plaza. You couldn't help but be happy with this music playing.<br />
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We then checked in to our hotel, El Rey Inn, and enjoyed a good night's sleep after a long day for both of us. And we had big plans for Sunday, too!<br />
<br />Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-91959324032314207072012-03-11T22:24:00.001-04:002012-03-12T21:54:14.956-04:00Texas! Days 7 and 8<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_UepFA6uHunZBvP47z9BvKZGzjuA5W9TRqWg899xvCVvbd_xfLmlHQGC9iea1y-X7wfRwTI5DuYqYiwyOq0gZgjg9EqnjHMnVGv_V6e4pKKcy7JaJrt4y8gpA0U8zQ33Ugho_QL9oJU/s1600/101_orange.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_UepFA6uHunZBvP47z9BvKZGzjuA5W9TRqWg899xvCVvbd_xfLmlHQGC9iea1y-X7wfRwTI5DuYqYiwyOq0gZgjg9EqnjHMnVGv_V6e4pKKcy7JaJrt4y8gpA0U8zQ33Ugho_QL9oJU/s400/101_orange.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717734352226233010" border="0" /></a>For our last full day in Houston, we (sort of) checked off another item on my list of things to see. The Orange Show is kind of like the Beer Can House. Just one guy with an obsession. This guy was obsessed with oranges (much more healthy than an obsession with beer). <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRW-8bVXVcPOaX1NJpPyuiMzkShEIy8VlMAkladFPv281s9FFNSgwcDIUcE8Bax5TytjFFrpov00xV_rYt0KbLXiu8JmPu9TWOGnxcSu22q-3y9IgK26MH3dkPj1mdoXEuSr9jgK6J58/s1600/102_orange.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRW-8bVXVcPOaX1NJpPyuiMzkShEIy8VlMAkladFPv281s9FFNSgwcDIUcE8Bax5TytjFFrpov00xV_rYt0KbLXiu8JmPu9TWOGnxcSu22q-3y9IgK26MH3dkPj1mdoXEuSr9jgK6J58/s400/102_orange.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717734321012514706" border="0" /></a>Unfortunately, The Orange Show doesn't open to the public for the season until the end of March, so we didn't get to go in, but it was still worth driving by and taking a few photos.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFtyhCOh_zNxKSey-tm7yfMpQ659hzPcs3a2sjkvC6WIcfgzkqAVL0RMLOMT68HHv0J311x5MvlxlPK2QNaI0OjY4Y-DEtVK791H70sdsst6JF9scMY5-T3jG6HCG1QdMwBp7hPAP7wiE/s1600/103_orange.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFtyhCOh_zNxKSey-tm7yfMpQ659hzPcs3a2sjkvC6WIcfgzkqAVL0RMLOMT68HHv0J311x5MvlxlPK2QNaI0OjY4Y-DEtVK791H70sdsst6JF9scMY5-T3jG6HCG1QdMwBp7hPAP7wiE/s400/103_orange.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717734319679202226" border="0" /></a>There's actually <a href="http://www.orangeshow.org/">The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art</a> and it owns both the Orange Show and the Beer Can House, among other things.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjCyRBpZtku0eiBZxFRme37KPVrOi9TFLvoUJrWEcSC3My2FBu-SrZCA4jf8LT_euzBRFEXGMQ-VG2LPcWAXnGjBsIcfkIJXYL8DfGWG_BH8cWuymKiBnZ8Oaplq1KjBpO2jU9CCtqX4/s1600/104_orange.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 317px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjCyRBpZtku0eiBZxFRme37KPVrOi9TFLvoUJrWEcSC3My2FBu-SrZCA4jf8LT_euzBRFEXGMQ-VG2LPcWAXnGjBsIcfkIJXYL8DfGWG_BH8cWuymKiBnZ8Oaplq1KjBpO2jU9CCtqX4/s400/104_orange.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717734315592321698" border="0" /></a>I think the craziest thing to remember about both The Orange Show and the Beer Can House is that they're in regular old neighborhoods, surrounded by (mostly) normal houses. I guess it gives you a little leeway to paint your house a bright color when you've got that down the street, but mostly it's just normal homes. Talk about crazy neighbors!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOMrWzVGRGmnd4QXvyOplh1Br5-W_eWpSFJQUium5pnrPjT0uer2bB1QevTdRTFUJoEQtD6OrE5PjFejB6IaRtRxeXX-mcFHJQ-BKr0uqZK03iTZg_aArjaMixBwwdExzMBFC3sujNdo/s1600/105_orange.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOMrWzVGRGmnd4QXvyOplh1Br5-W_eWpSFJQUium5pnrPjT0uer2bB1QevTdRTFUJoEQtD6OrE5PjFejB6IaRtRxeXX-mcFHJQ-BKr0uqZK03iTZg_aArjaMixBwwdExzMBFC3sujNdo/s400/105_orange.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717734355576108306" border="0" /></a>After the Orange Show, Mac showed me his elementary school and then we headed out to Clear Lake to see Rocket Park and the Johnson Space Center. We stopped by this plane on the way:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0KQeNrcH4ckJPdvJWmdxANTKbg7iPUEjHUuj9v23JFXu0MziQGR3MPFbpPn0VuiaZLjlzqDtBf9a4yxHSGl7ldAMQO97_f43r6Vdn7SgW8zYvUQPGVZC0tyO5Kn2ia2OcG_JoNxZqNU/s1600/106_nasa.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0KQeNrcH4ckJPdvJWmdxANTKbg7iPUEjHUuj9v23JFXu0MziQGR3MPFbpPn0VuiaZLjlzqDtBf9a4yxHSGl7ldAMQO97_f43r6Vdn7SgW8zYvUQPGVZC0tyO5Kn2ia2OcG_JoNxZqNU/s400/106_nasa.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717733919743232082" border="0" /></a>It's lovingly known as the Vomit Comet since they do weightlessness training and experiments on it. Mac went on a similar plane once.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-9Tyb1on6u4jq6PmUtvGwSdwAh4trIstHgajhfyYuZerovsd39g_uInnlkOOqvhpODEeWjgM8oD41BQxfHy4UN540Z963WZyzfuc6L8JbUDrmAZXNdBZoGBT5_p1bUYFKvv9sOkgJzs/s1600/107_nasa.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-9Tyb1on6u4jq6PmUtvGwSdwAh4trIstHgajhfyYuZerovsd39g_uInnlkOOqvhpODEeWjgM8oD41BQxfHy4UN540Z963WZyzfuc6L8JbUDrmAZXNdBZoGBT5_p1bUYFKvv9sOkgJzs/s400/107_nasa.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717733915605794386" border="0" /></a>Then we headed to Rocket Park to see... Rockets!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnqSHjIuwAwbWUIPD3mdvj1aFQB1uEMVI59sCyKC3AwXGf3kdPJziV3BmjRa3FS1R54B2gOZ29jqhFuGlTUbe1NtddWABMJ0Xk_oVWXSywcMLU5H7THLVHVSJCjix8q__74bz7W5IQpkE/s1600/108_nasa.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnqSHjIuwAwbWUIPD3mdvj1aFQB1uEMVI59sCyKC3AwXGf3kdPJziV3BmjRa3FS1R54B2gOZ29jqhFuGlTUbe1NtddWABMJ0Xk_oVWXSywcMLU5H7THLVHVSJCjix8q__74bz7W5IQpkE/s400/108_nasa.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717733911380454418" border="0" /></a>And Bluebonnets!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6WQ2bwKHeeKAxa6jIho6cb_T6aV4AUp2y8qxZrb4XePGPuHCLOsrUDTBMBWnuraFJ3Mt1ah74tSdW4nFilkPAQePcCaufiSOjANVsf6wUgs4l4c1x8HNa-KYnYHZRj2rMox_FjkE1GwY/s1600/109_nasa.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 237px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6WQ2bwKHeeKAxa6jIho6cb_T6aV4AUp2y8qxZrb4XePGPuHCLOsrUDTBMBWnuraFJ3Mt1ah74tSdW4nFilkPAQePcCaufiSOjANVsf6wUgs4l4c1x8HNa-KYnYHZRj2rMox_FjkE1GwY/s400/109_nasa.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717733911738034290" border="0" /></a>And one of Mac's favorite wildflowers - an Indian Paintbrush:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK6waFyKBrelR-_0_o-pq9-tyC1dzpy2Kp5ctjTuUxEq-5D-T1U672fy7qt0cUbztLwc4YG86tcv-5qgmBDABW-r152hH8gU3E_Iw3BfyGcKbKEhiwFbStqELUdHFfx0ZNQWVZkOwlNsI/s1600/110_nasa.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 296px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK6waFyKBrelR-_0_o-pq9-tyC1dzpy2Kp5ctjTuUxEq-5D-T1U672fy7qt0cUbztLwc4YG86tcv-5qgmBDABW-r152hH8gU3E_Iw3BfyGcKbKEhiwFbStqELUdHFfx0ZNQWVZkOwlNsI/s400/110_nasa.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717733921867625426" border="0" /></a>So this is the type of rocket that would have launched the Apollo missions. It's HUGE! You can see a teeny tiny person in the bottom right corner of the photo:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-tdhYzK2iVSrGdOIN_POBlbxHXh3JqXR7-4EWonW4zwX2DnR4z3hLve1-ANNGbWDs_wzPCozP9VQNBNgmhz6YHuA7ha1TdPRCJRmDtsd_xQTeMEKCo5xSQavmpFmcVdB_Vi5xebZW-o/s1600/111_nasa.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-tdhYzK2iVSrGdOIN_POBlbxHXh3JqXR7-4EWonW4zwX2DnR4z3hLve1-ANNGbWDs_wzPCozP9VQNBNgmhz6YHuA7ha1TdPRCJRmDtsd_xQTeMEKCo5xSQavmpFmcVdB_Vi5xebZW-o/s400/111_nasa.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717733648453402594" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfV0WZBc8M45B6Nj-9f-r27Jnh4Bg9gJGXEMcp1zGlEcSRq47Mzay6TnkgLFvAcEO_ad5T_pSZyogVBMe_y4Bu-nliylQBc9-DLDhconje0ACuT0dTQOtmw5jc4CxIs8-EcuwOr8xhk0w/s1600/112_nasa.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfV0WZBc8M45B6Nj-9f-r27Jnh4Bg9gJGXEMcp1zGlEcSRq47Mzay6TnkgLFvAcEO_ad5T_pSZyogVBMe_y4Bu-nliylQBc9-DLDhconje0ACuT0dTQOtmw5jc4CxIs8-EcuwOr8xhk0w/s400/112_nasa.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717733647868540178" border="0" /></a>Mac is dwarfed by just one little piece of the rocket, which looks kind of like the death star, if you ask me:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGlAirF0jm6gDmHFZhAJ_Oh7vVaGP8HnyipAczDyE2eIpheGbAArbCOuHYH-Nn9m79TKDIS7Z20GBjq_nO637X9MDbi3BB8lZubsd1IQ3Tu9-6v8EoXw6n4XUmxFRb16T6L0Ss3_R4pIM/s1600/113_nasa.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGlAirF0jm6gDmHFZhAJ_Oh7vVaGP8HnyipAczDyE2eIpheGbAArbCOuHYH-Nn9m79TKDIS7Z20GBjq_nO637X9MDbi3BB8lZubsd1IQ3Tu9-6v8EoXw6n4XUmxFRb16T6L0Ss3_R4pIM/s400/113_nasa.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717733623181907186" border="0" /></a>And more rockets outside:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYOkox3r_L14UkZrCBAAoQ3eIxTCpYC6RfQU2tS0d_9g6XrsZaSInF28ybjcg_OVWL6pf-NLzVEnwAS_PPUxXKkrf7oZzXAZZ2ENRSLkqdUzQm3PVlEEwCqIJsPepzx_S99PmDwUb9yck/s1600/114_nasa.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYOkox3r_L14UkZrCBAAoQ3eIxTCpYC6RfQU2tS0d_9g6XrsZaSInF28ybjcg_OVWL6pf-NLzVEnwAS_PPUxXKkrf7oZzXAZZ2ENRSLkqdUzQm3PVlEEwCqIJsPepzx_S99PmDwUb9yck/s400/114_nasa.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717733619420652978" border="0" /></a>These guys are a little smaller, but still impressive:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2VoI6H7087FmRAYnY21NmE_ciEW4T-q7Jk0nYe0fiU2vv8-1NE06TjvCwrJSaikj5QaR50rV0kaY2oHL0RfKAuQWC32dNTJfTpKd2B0mYbN7zQqQO5p3U-Tx25w_eQvL8uw19buttZbE/s1600/115_nasa.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 194px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2VoI6H7087FmRAYnY21NmE_ciEW4T-q7Jk0nYe0fiU2vv8-1NE06TjvCwrJSaikj5QaR50rV0kaY2oHL0RfKAuQWC32dNTJfTpKd2B0mYbN7zQqQO5p3U-Tx25w_eQvL8uw19buttZbE/s400/115_nasa.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717733656543575938" border="0" /></a>This is the back of the building with the big rocket inside:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJvEFUcGs8DBIueozoIEwGOSNcEqhMVGH4JHQDtCfKqgBLZrMqDevrvBCuzLPe83MhvAWQdin0EHOtWstoTUWAWhHoSf5uSav4I8HAsA0ZiO-PrhvxWSC8TZjE1oquKy5DuWqV38VEpHA/s1600/116_nasa.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJvEFUcGs8DBIueozoIEwGOSNcEqhMVGH4JHQDtCfKqgBLZrMqDevrvBCuzLPe83MhvAWQdin0EHOtWstoTUWAWhHoSf5uSav4I8HAsA0ZiO-PrhvxWSC8TZjE1oquKy5DuWqV38VEpHA/s400/116_nasa.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717733280909363042" border="0" /></a>After Rocket Park, we headed to a liquor store to pick up something for Mac's friend Jose, who we were meeting for dinner. We walk in the door and who's there? None other than 10 time Olympic Gold Medalist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Lewis">Carl Lewis</a>. He's touting Tequila these days. Who knew? We bonded over our New Jersey connection, oh, and ended up buying two bottles of tequila! So funny!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCTQ-cJ4RUtrm1XpgtfJxbo8NY2_VsJRQIHlxZ4kKNXV5KkgPbMstduJCFB8pOR7IhBp-PNzz3INz4hIjQNdVLxOdb7G0aYOc-oaFpJKQeMxnGcpOEg8MqEzoOlP4XPmJxOY8nfAkm_s/s1600/117_carllewis.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 303px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCTQ-cJ4RUtrm1XpgtfJxbo8NY2_VsJRQIHlxZ4kKNXV5KkgPbMstduJCFB8pOR7IhBp-PNzz3INz4hIjQNdVLxOdb7G0aYOc-oaFpJKQeMxnGcpOEg8MqEzoOlP4XPmJxOY8nfAkm_s/s400/117_carllewis.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717733277840757970" border="0" /></a>We had a great time having dinner with Jose and then drinks after that. It was a great way to spend our last night in Houston.<br /><br />On Saturday morning we pretty much just packed up and said goodbye. I think it was hardest on Mac to say goodbye to his cats. Here's Cowboy hanging out in the St. Francis birdbath in his parents' backyard:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrxcyVn1GbEPEjKMq_f0zpS9UT5HnCHdvfjNAR-6qJX0lwRl1GRVURilTCvEcRo3jdWG9qGYO4KxvQrnz7RGmcdUuyKo0vqehHTlMGvjJuz4mrvrDcJ29HQy-gzQgc4v-EERpf1Oerofo/s1600/118_kitties.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 195px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrxcyVn1GbEPEjKMq_f0zpS9UT5HnCHdvfjNAR-6qJX0lwRl1GRVURilTCvEcRo3jdWG9qGYO4KxvQrnz7RGmcdUuyKo0vqehHTlMGvjJuz4mrvrDcJ29HQy-gzQgc4v-EERpf1Oerofo/s400/118_kitties.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717733272369460722" border="0" /></a>And here's Patches. He might not admit it, but Patches is clearly Mac's favorite. She's the oldest kitty in the house and the most lovable. Little Bit is the other one, but she's pretty skittish and I didn't get a photo of her.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixCu3x5URIDQGoQQ7xlfAXU3cM7LfBe6LFcpKsCCGcX8K82y4osW0KFBYSfWdooKeBLmgFw_qTAa_yI3j7Q3WcszAxsSYM5PYrit6Wb7JSgsFx61utIjtzh7hsvEdlNTw5k0zQVjrzGJM/s1600/120_kitties.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixCu3x5URIDQGoQQ7xlfAXU3cM7LfBe6LFcpKsCCGcX8K82y4osW0KFBYSfWdooKeBLmgFw_qTAa_yI3j7Q3WcszAxsSYM5PYrit6Wb7JSgsFx61utIjtzh7hsvEdlNTw5k0zQVjrzGJM/s400/120_kitties.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717733270252983762" border="0" /></a>Here's Mac giving some love to Patches before we leave.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU0qIuTYe3bLftbWGlT1dHLNRO-t9ByH4kx4GTdJ1SD3pDLRMQD-zUIk9sNIns2bkb3lwLNN068eIOXy98Mwuh3aKfjNUhEU92CNJHaFCe5eW2QsWoj0-pF27zZXBBRajRwK_p-P5-TVc/s1600/119_kitties.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 276px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU0qIuTYe3bLftbWGlT1dHLNRO-t9ByH4kx4GTdJ1SD3pDLRMQD-zUIk9sNIns2bkb3lwLNN068eIOXy98Mwuh3aKfjNUhEU92CNJHaFCe5eW2QsWoj0-pF27zZXBBRajRwK_p-P5-TVc/s400/119_kitties.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717733289286341266" border="0" /></a>I'm so glad we got to spend so much time in Houston and that I got to get to know Mac's family a little better. It was good to see Grandma again, and to see the different places in Houston that hosted some of Mac's formative years. I'm looking forward to going back at some point and seeing anything we missed this time around.Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-42154741793583461282012-03-10T22:16:00.002-05:002012-03-12T21:26:46.842-04:00Texas! Days 5 and 6<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjomPGGqdEoiIUCKjsXdnI87u_hI3wFoIYajILaSMBvs1-JrmWqhi020uM4FFLKOQnPXXqhM1Pt1F7_wi2-Em1K47UpNGzVZsyaO0l2YjM2IrP5aDsl7H-dFBC-RDsSKmEYVQvyVKF4oO8/s1600/058_artcar.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjomPGGqdEoiIUCKjsXdnI87u_hI3wFoIYajILaSMBvs1-JrmWqhi020uM4FFLKOQnPXXqhM1Pt1F7_wi2-Em1K47UpNGzVZsyaO0l2YjM2IrP5aDsl7H-dFBC-RDsSKmEYVQvyVKF4oO8/s400/058_artcar.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717732924617274370" border="0" /></a>After a long day at the Rodeo and Livestock Show, Mac and I took it a little easier on Wednesday. We started out the day by going to the Art Car Museum just down the street from Mac's parents' house.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhccbToJcKc_6BbXWFbjwKqqr6qdnWvj5fL1Gw30apUNrmSHoTt6QNXW6FW9MRTt-0ZrC8N5s-UGVhRRoRDIBModz7QO71enXsRXGEABwVows2lFOTrNRNKP6LffU7Xc3n-ZZLpvlSGyPc/s1600/059_artcar.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhccbToJcKc_6BbXWFbjwKqqr6qdnWvj5fL1Gw30apUNrmSHoTt6QNXW6FW9MRTt-0ZrC8N5s-UGVhRRoRDIBModz7QO71enXsRXGEABwVows2lFOTrNRNKP6LffU7Xc3n-ZZLpvlSGyPc/s400/059_artcar.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717732923075121986" border="0" /></a>Houston is known for its Art Car Parade and the museum does a great job of showcasing some of the cars from previous parades and also showing local art in its galleries. It's a small museum, but it was fun to stop by and see what they had to show.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyju4uZxUhncs1K0eTUjs4FVBk5yGj0JPJeriubsIVmW17wzdkrvthQhsxCE92Th8C9qeUuF3rcJhiNyV6P61zFvo0Vmt4UZovcX_MSitStVs-3BZtl4OwtRmFGs4ry4MN6PZrKuCsCI0/s1600/061_artcar.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyju4uZxUhncs1K0eTUjs4FVBk5yGj0JPJeriubsIVmW17wzdkrvthQhsxCE92Th8C9qeUuF3rcJhiNyV6P61zFvo0Vmt4UZovcX_MSitStVs-3BZtl4OwtRmFGs4ry4MN6PZrKuCsCI0/s400/061_artcar.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717732755109609026" border="0" /></a>Along the way, we stopped at a grocery store and I just had to take a photo of this display of soda saying "Let's Rodeo". Really, the whole town gets into it!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzgIdF0oj9T5rIzGyAZByAQ1lT1mTE9fEfWM8eWFmC_j55NY1N2llw_h2YR5qNqXZv7kJRFOCmh_nf-VTwFNbgX5oM4m2ZoGNHbtpr9EBfGgxNrnQOz7nS0GXamJn_bMzGTl1GCS_ce28/s1600/062_soda.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzgIdF0oj9T5rIzGyAZByAQ1lT1mTE9fEfWM8eWFmC_j55NY1N2llw_h2YR5qNqXZv7kJRFOCmh_nf-VTwFNbgX5oM4m2ZoGNHbtpr9EBfGgxNrnQOz7nS0GXamJn_bMzGTl1GCS_ce28/s400/062_soda.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717732749268602546" border="0" /></a>While we were out an about, we stopped at Taqueria Arandas for lunch and had some really good Mexican food. I think I'm starting to understand the subtle differences between Mexican, Tex-Mex and Cali-Mex. I'll pretty much take it any way, but Arandas featured cactus as one of its "meat" options for its burritos, so I got to try that and it was quite tasty! They also had aquas frescas and I got a cantaloupe one that was outstanding. Yum!<br /><br />That evening, Mac and I headed out to Baytown to go to Cavender's Boot City to see if we could find some cowboy boots for me and a vest and bolo tie for Mac. It was a bit of a drive, but it was worth it. I got a great pair of cowboy boots (I'm amazed I don't have any photos) and Mac found a leather vest, but no bolo tie. On the way home from Baytown, Mac took a detour to show me the <a href="http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/san_jacinto_battleground/monument.phtml">San Jacinto Monument</a>. Sadly, it was closed by the time we got there (after dark), but we did see this great sign posted outside the park:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5sTYdy3E5Oo_VCIvksa6ocL4ntStW17UTwgWTyuCFdeT3bXpDPKHRWp_B5idj4LjuA5wVp8GO2Oa1n55cYX9SzkdCZAhWX-8cCgkB9mG16pdXYOfhVh34fybmTDpFtYGrc8e8q965U3k/s1600/062a_SanJack.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 317px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5sTYdy3E5Oo_VCIvksa6ocL4ntStW17UTwgWTyuCFdeT3bXpDPKHRWp_B5idj4LjuA5wVp8GO2Oa1n55cYX9SzkdCZAhWX-8cCgkB9mG16pdXYOfhVh34fybmTDpFtYGrc8e8q965U3k/s400/062a_SanJack.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717739278613427954" border="0" /></a>And here the barely-lit monument:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDZ0m9NmEbupfj9ICM0_yO17TVJowmLNi_qwVFHEAtIeSSdsOIHIey2c9tYGf5ZshZF_8Ci9obS0yO0DWCPPDrXp1TudC_Xy5n3mgcTNOE5IdcRLp1kt3qKq_E0S-Sg2hH6QQbrYXkM0/s1600/062b_SanJack.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 253px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDZ0m9NmEbupfj9ICM0_yO17TVJowmLNi_qwVFHEAtIeSSdsOIHIey2c9tYGf5ZshZF_8Ci9obS0yO0DWCPPDrXp1TudC_Xy5n3mgcTNOE5IdcRLp1kt3qKq_E0S-Sg2hH6QQbrYXkM0/s400/062b_SanJack.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717739037348820706" border="0" /></a>We'll have to put that on the list of things to see next time I'm in Houston, so I can get the full effect of the reflection pool, etc. And in case you were wondering, yes, it is taller than the Washington Monument and the reflecting pool is also bigger than the one in DC. This is Texas, after all.<br /><br />On the way home from the monument, we got to go over the Ship Channel Bridge and really see all of the industry that's based on the access to the Ship Channel. Most of it is oil-based and it seriously looked like a city skyline, it was so bright!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoKGjwCur3xDboX8oB_BOBLZzMBsMlBvSWJfDJ7adC-QVahSXHs9of0nIKLwptePaNFc29BCpfDiUmtmP507tUsdWxAi4Mh-J0QQyzDgGfYOnSVRvDdyNb6n5FAmainvgkxqGofJ_kIgQ/s1600/062c_ShipChannel.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoKGjwCur3xDboX8oB_BOBLZzMBsMlBvSWJfDJ7adC-QVahSXHs9of0nIKLwptePaNFc29BCpfDiUmtmP507tUsdWxAi4Mh-J0QQyzDgGfYOnSVRvDdyNb6n5FAmainvgkxqGofJ_kIgQ/s400/062c_ShipChannel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717738796406138018" border="0" /></a>When we first got to Houston Mac's dad showed us some articles he's saved talking about some new restaurants in town and one of them sounded particularly interesting. It was called Roost and Mac and I decided to stop for dinner after our little adventure. It was super tasty! We got these amazing "slow breads" that looked and tasted remarkably like huge soft pretzels. We got beet butter and blue cheese butter to go with it.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsG5iGNCpgSVLPY5RX7_g0jz_XUiLhTk85RCsAxk5d37sEeWJzKqwWw35b0batkjeija8CxrcRRkdU49qxFk1ufWjBvN3lH62q2iMlki6XuxjmzaWuZ7ch4mQZ7t5H-BFilSMsIoWS6I/s1600/062d_roost.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsG5iGNCpgSVLPY5RX7_g0jz_XUiLhTk85RCsAxk5d37sEeWJzKqwWw35b0batkjeija8CxrcRRkdU49qxFk1ufWjBvN3lH62q2iMlki6XuxjmzaWuZ7ch4mQZ7t5H-BFilSMsIoWS6I/s400/062d_roost.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717738543366038658" border="0" /></a>We also got a cauliflower "steak" which was just outstanding, a delicious potato soup, a jar of homemade pickles and then banana pudding for dessert. They also had a great selection of local beer, which was tasty, too! I'm so glad we tried this place.<br /><br />On Thursday, March 1st, Mac and I woke up early and got out of the house by 9am to enjoy our big road trip day to Austin! It's about a three hour drive, and when we got to Austin we went straight to the Capitol area. It was a bit of an overcast day, but it's still a beautiful building:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15Pnrpo3DqYjkpfNN82IC-jHJWLKPLnDH3xNEYAaNZVlaGQt4qbkVPpKo0UoZpAl-AA146xqa0XP6kz7C1sgigzlQbObM_NeGa4MteaK8qhCM0cfcSPD1szRnR-7_nP3bhnJbujRGshw/s1600/063_capitol.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15Pnrpo3DqYjkpfNN82IC-jHJWLKPLnDH3xNEYAaNZVlaGQt4qbkVPpKo0UoZpAl-AA146xqa0XP6kz7C1sgigzlQbObM_NeGa4MteaK8qhCM0cfcSPD1szRnR-7_nP3bhnJbujRGshw/s400/063_capitol.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717732746326011986" border="0" /></a>We had lunch in the cafeteria, which is open to the public, but clearly caters to staffers in the building. Then we took a guided tour of the building. Here's a view of the dome, which, by the way, is taller than the dome of the Capitol building in DC (it's Texas, remember, everything is bigger!).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vi9dTcEe1NlgWiqRD8llDxpQr0OtN7q6qoK9issvtVhgQJ2olMrPBk5Of5EUKiD1YIYeRiA_coKT-Ut8-mFEgajyE_9zPbC5zfFSXhFjSlXTLF9AX4fNBn_NBVTHXcoC8URouzY-_nw/s1600/064_capitol.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vi9dTcEe1NlgWiqRD8llDxpQr0OtN7q6qoK9issvtVhgQJ2olMrPBk5Of5EUKiD1YIYeRiA_coKT-Ut8-mFEgajyE_9zPbC5zfFSXhFjSlXTLF9AX4fNBn_NBVTHXcoC8URouzY-_nw/s400/064_capitol.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717732740749485122" border="0" /></a>The details throughout the building were really neat. All of the hinges on the bigger doors looked like this:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWg5x6Yd9pyc1Bp_jNwnnX-Br00EjwxtK6GhZi9bUrMHBrj7UAc08udnUwMKQ0d-ahCJLTsfaWmgP1DrsqWBBNcyUC8wAqmNnkDKx5GuCsf62UkP90q9f9Cey4bnXYjuw8ApHgJNFo21k/s1600/065_capitol.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWg5x6Yd9pyc1Bp_jNwnnX-Br00EjwxtK6GhZi9bUrMHBrj7UAc08udnUwMKQ0d-ahCJLTsfaWmgP1DrsqWBBNcyUC8wAqmNnkDKx5GuCsf62UkP90q9f9Cey4bnXYjuw8ApHgJNFo21k/s400/065_capitol.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717732758642072370" border="0" /></a>And even though it was overcast, it was still quite warm and flowers were blooming around the Capitol. This was a promising sign since our next stop was at the <a href="http://www.wildflower.org/">Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center</a>. Here are some Texas Mountain Laurel blooms on the grounds of the Capitol:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3pOg8Lh7eFfz16_HQGhaFkNTLJ0Hq1x-zbjx2K4QVCfHuCJFjgiS05dQW-0AHRGsmE9LdRsrxXO2oxGxiMXhLBmaACoW0XSBIdQNAzGa0qT0RDhD_XBzZG9rVVrwjwDvKxIiItEc9iao/s1600/067_capitol.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3pOg8Lh7eFfz16_HQGhaFkNTLJ0Hq1x-zbjx2K4QVCfHuCJFjgiS05dQW-0AHRGsmE9LdRsrxXO2oxGxiMXhLBmaACoW0XSBIdQNAzGa0qT0RDhD_XBzZG9rVVrwjwDvKxIiItEc9iao/s400/067_capitol.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717732299598652274" border="0" /></a>After leaving the Capitol area, we drove a little out of town to get the Wildflower Center. Here's some of the highlights from the couple hours we spent there. Here's some wild Phlox:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMyJxL-3p_6DRnFvQm6y4qDov1nQyYhYEx8qZxDKJ14dU_2KsOqm5QTaUfc3nZJKVbfJMJ869vwQbeQxe7WfHSzrSF_-kD8Zx_k5gPMEMd_gL5m61_VXwYNVW5UAW8LGggG3oq_I2YpbM/s1600/072_ladybird.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 388px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMyJxL-3p_6DRnFvQm6y4qDov1nQyYhYEx8qZxDKJ14dU_2KsOqm5QTaUfc3nZJKVbfJMJ869vwQbeQxe7WfHSzrSF_-kD8Zx_k5gPMEMd_gL5m61_VXwYNVW5UAW8LGggG3oq_I2YpbM/s400/072_ladybird.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717732294341030626" border="0" /></a>And Mac taking in the amazing scent of these honeysuckle blooms:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-N33Gh-7JDhBhaomNdgrGKwyTWAutDd00KIcg7kCZoLQrQeOZXVF-dOmVKJU-hlC94ZRFAV3YJqcReU7Ja0JF_zi4ePMllvIgL2YnW2mzzWtTN3OlQaIpt2BhM4G7XLqH8xeCJox_yhk/s1600/074_ladybird.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-N33Gh-7JDhBhaomNdgrGKwyTWAutDd00KIcg7kCZoLQrQeOZXVF-dOmVKJU-hlC94ZRFAV3YJqcReU7Ja0JF_zi4ePMllvIgL2YnW2mzzWtTN3OlQaIpt2BhM4G7XLqH8xeCJox_yhk/s400/074_ladybird.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717732290777587490" border="0" /></a>They also had a butterfly and moth hatchery.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JvS9sYLylnnK8hkbn8HoMcHcKPoPXxdiE7ASklgdMq9-H0fa55-N_DPNI6vUaOuP8hcoEJLsOu40yulMHk2LHka4PeP5EQWJdYTDQ3W0f9PoLf7BRFUxTL5jFL3FAN8LGpCu6uhFWvo/s1600/077_ladybird.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JvS9sYLylnnK8hkbn8HoMcHcKPoPXxdiE7ASklgdMq9-H0fa55-N_DPNI6vUaOuP8hcoEJLsOu40yulMHk2LHka4PeP5EQWJdYTDQ3W0f9PoLf7BRFUxTL5jFL3FAN8LGpCu6uhFWvo/s400/077_ladybird.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717732287209362914" border="0" /></a>And BLUEBONNETS! My goal for going out to Austin was to see some Texas Bluebonnets. We were a couple weeks early to see them in their full glory, but I was so happy to see some blooming!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihhrkff2mt8IvHY2dgpknSEynOZ-lrkU236Rg8yf-rJxV3FEgjvrv5tY8T_JEvRkPSiO_w0XisOPRvmdDrWgPmLIqrElXUDZqnwLnhoXqcMy9WYD80uBs6JKXFhmOypswpjl-tyO3aESc/s1600/078_ladybird.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 337px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihhrkff2mt8IvHY2dgpknSEynOZ-lrkU236Rg8yf-rJxV3FEgjvrv5tY8T_JEvRkPSiO_w0XisOPRvmdDrWgPmLIqrElXUDZqnwLnhoXqcMy9WYD80uBs6JKXFhmOypswpjl-tyO3aESc/s400/078_ladybird.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717732304731123746" border="0" /></a>We also took a walk around the meadow and saw these cool heart-shaped cacti:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEDbtvyAL5TpqWg8utrxJrNT_RT9wkzZTKRgrHu4Mi_4vAPl2n4JOll6o7L1OFHi0IFXahZle5_garhw-4XTVjWgCay5w2ZaGljXB_ENqaHaJVZ7HFEpT-JqN7CEyoo-belN4ggTDC72k/s1600/085_ladybird.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 308px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEDbtvyAL5TpqWg8utrxJrNT_RT9wkzZTKRgrHu4Mi_4vAPl2n4JOll6o7L1OFHi0IFXahZle5_garhw-4XTVjWgCay5w2ZaGljXB_ENqaHaJVZ7HFEpT-JqN7CEyoo-belN4ggTDC72k/s400/085_ladybird.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717731865117096130" border="0" /></a>And MORE Bluebonnets!!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7he4xAU-taZpnh1J6TyLQrG3BmjnVuB6ij4LNJreqTOgNfgFjaQuLmChR3slgXBrql3a31PMZV6BepM_PfozyYVPP3ypOkVen-J_rMnEGwTc-iYNP0kbEc5Md8Htm_W6O5wjrfnQYjQ/s1600/087_ladybird.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7he4xAU-taZpnh1J6TyLQrG3BmjnVuB6ij4LNJreqTOgNfgFjaQuLmChR3slgXBrql3a31PMZV6BepM_PfozyYVPP3ypOkVen-J_rMnEGwTc-iYNP0kbEc5Md8Htm_W6O5wjrfnQYjQ/s400/087_ladybird.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717731858156375554" border="0" /></a>And turtles.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkndjbZz-eHcvqG8al33ocLXs64UWQ0Pz9Ci1p7424kGs5rzS8dXKXa_rN1sEftRZzl-hcQRVOXf9ZXxaj8QUUxJ3K5YYXSZ1uclg1Sqh3kA4rJonQXL3MoD4SVfZ6jn_b0yHZ6mfTY5c/s1600/088_ladybird.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkndjbZz-eHcvqG8al33ocLXs64UWQ0Pz9Ci1p7424kGs5rzS8dXKXa_rN1sEftRZzl-hcQRVOXf9ZXxaj8QUUxJ3K5YYXSZ1uclg1Sqh3kA4rJonQXL3MoD4SVfZ6jn_b0yHZ6mfTY5c/s400/088_ladybird.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717731854452371714" border="0" /></a>After the Wildflower Center, we drove back into Austin to the SoCo (South Congress Ave.) area of Austin. It's a hip little shopping district and we happen to be there for First Thursday, so there was live music and gallery openings and people all over the place. Our first stop was at Bird's Barbershop to get Mac a beard trim. Here's the before photo:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgarXXOxg9kbRQUhD4pGUp3EABXPz1eNy1NCg4-xQfNIFWEf8Vm4VrYYRpvUoXwH9ZJlJQJMOecjn7r8jFu1rIab9H1GxTRnjXGlFZZZkxQ9MW9M816f-jRHtCoROeC5dSMPXPkr14BdJM/s1600/090_soco.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 290px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgarXXOxg9kbRQUhD4pGUp3EABXPz1eNy1NCg4-xQfNIFWEf8Vm4VrYYRpvUoXwH9ZJlJQJMOecjn7r8jFu1rIab9H1GxTRnjXGlFZZZkxQ9MW9M816f-jRHtCoROeC5dSMPXPkr14BdJM/s400/090_soco.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717731846799995842" border="0" /></a>One of the perks of going to Bird's is that they give out a free beer with every service. Since we had to wait, she gave us each a beer! Score!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR7fjYa5LMrH2oC2-3AyH3_Jm8-09YOgCHXjqTikPkKItfORB2RXH75X2XTlc2tWmNeTfgFRP9eZUlTPEuUlfPQ-uJiqGlfmc7puKDGiMZTdiJFDI9jUF8lnNaKhp13rWmC4e_9mZbIVQ/s1600/091_soco.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR7fjYa5LMrH2oC2-3AyH3_Jm8-09YOgCHXjqTikPkKItfORB2RXH75X2XTlc2tWmNeTfgFRP9eZUlTPEuUlfPQ-uJiqGlfmc7puKDGiMZTdiJFDI9jUF8lnNaKhp13rWmC4e_9mZbIVQ/s400/091_soco.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717731870891219042" border="0" /></a>Beard trim in progress!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM35Hrc93QCoQTfauiGg6G14sseWW5G3oJ8DZy43IFJ-c7d59uqg5HpWN4oYS6wb7FpovJKg4nNzCcnsxe5YsGGs5LTiQufsJ5kXhMHM3PT8foqcF2rE3z8zyNzMrkJaZEPvKuSnPW0FM/s1600/092_soco.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM35Hrc93QCoQTfauiGg6G14sseWW5G3oJ8DZy43IFJ-c7d59uqg5HpWN4oYS6wb7FpovJKg4nNzCcnsxe5YsGGs5LTiQufsJ5kXhMHM3PT8foqcF2rE3z8zyNzMrkJaZEPvKuSnPW0FM/s400/092_soco.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717731525946250034" border="0" /></a>And in the end, it only cost him $3. That's right, two beers and a beard trim would have normally been $5, but since Mac is a student, he got $2 off. Quite an amazing deal! And here's the final result. Pretty snazzy, huh?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3GDSHHBzQBGjP8-X9pEy5wifuiAhVO68kE6qn2omeDrpXzHhZ8gDmFy733e6p7WO3MWg_JETh6vi5bwczGpO_u2hHYVWpsYWsLOUaX2a1E1_QOlsVCcnh0nx4GxMNzyVsrfLAwOwpME/s1600/095_socoBW.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3GDSHHBzQBGjP8-X9pEy5wifuiAhVO68kE6qn2omeDrpXzHhZ8gDmFy733e6p7WO3MWg_JETh6vi5bwczGpO_u2hHYVWpsYWsLOUaX2a1E1_QOlsVCcnh0nx4GxMNzyVsrfLAwOwpME/s400/095_socoBW.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717731521272361266" border="0" /></a>We ate at <a href="http://www.mightycone.com/">Mighty Cone</a>, one of the mainstay food trucks of the SoCo area. It was quite tasty - we got an order of fried pickles (in a cone, of course), and then an amazing fried avocado wrap with this wonderful spicy slaw. Yum!<br /><br />We also enjoyed just walking around, doing a little shopping (Mac found an awesome vintage bolo tie), getting a drink, and finally grabbing some dinner.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlGOqEda5WykVT3NPsRAN-g_tALBtdjejE6pVXQv0jajzdJCLk4D8NelJTeuHWqk_QOv9H-qFjSYdj9wPcQmazn_vmfdw85-40Eg60p9FfvaRvlp0d-PFyEkOmaNxVjr8UjdHbkAvf0d8/s1600/097_soco.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 359px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlGOqEda5WykVT3NPsRAN-g_tALBtdjejE6pVXQv0jajzdJCLk4D8NelJTeuHWqk_QOv9H-qFjSYdj9wPcQmazn_vmfdw85-40Eg60p9FfvaRvlp0d-PFyEkOmaNxVjr8UjdHbkAvf0d8/s400/097_soco.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717731521152469826" border="0" /></a>This is outside a little coffeeshop called Jo's where we stopped to get some iced tea and listen to live music:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEaGLHHbzquhadP4Qul_hPIjkxHPUP0zlEEyaS2a8cqVJRSORKKCrweb5zslFzFawqfFJf060sLrYEJbUX4m5SOMC0T4CRqiNvlNqoYejlRY7rkBmp72wSJFFbAZMuueVj76DZW1rDdXg/s1600/098_soco.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 173px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEaGLHHbzquhadP4Qul_hPIjkxHPUP0zlEEyaS2a8cqVJRSORKKCrweb5zslFzFawqfFJf060sLrYEJbUX4m5SOMC0T4CRqiNvlNqoYejlRY7rkBmp72wSJFFbAZMuueVj76DZW1rDdXg/s400/098_soco.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717731516496894626" border="0" /></a>And this was outside a cute little store called "Monkey See, Monkey Do". Mac took the name pretty seriously:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdI1TE4VawKPuYxBZPu4sjZrG_s77rXtEB-iBG1kwD7PNmMuf3tuK3wl6mkim4QLVRV-ONxqbK_9Hja9otz-fsAycSnUzXFjOJcJcRJqyBWqm0uyiUYyaC080hkbZ8En4HRxT2yjZjf2I/s1600/100_soco.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 361px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdI1TE4VawKPuYxBZPu4sjZrG_s77rXtEB-iBG1kwD7PNmMuf3tuK3wl6mkim4QLVRV-ONxqbK_9Hja9otz-fsAycSnUzXFjOJcJcRJqyBWqm0uyiUYyaC080hkbZ8En4HRxT2yjZjf2I/s400/100_soco.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717731533056709298" border="0" /></a>After hanging out in SoCo, Mac had a little adventure to take care of. Our friend Candy has a friend who lives in Austin and she gave Mac a birthday crown to give to her friend, preferably as a singing telegram. So we had an address and a phone number and drove to this woman's house. When we were outside, Mac called her to explain that he was a friend of Candy's and had a special delivery. He went up and did a whole singing telegram for her, doing a great rendition of Happy Birthday. She was thoroughly surprised, for sure! It was the perfect way to honor "Keeping Austin Weird" and a great way to end the day. Then we drove all the way back to Houston, finally getting home sometime after midnight. It was a great little roadtrip!Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-2685725919547544082012-03-09T22:06:00.000-05:002012-03-12T11:25:22.926-04:00Texas! Days 3 and 4<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5EVLoIgk3aSDUfM_2T05tRwQSFcPoyj9oIvKNf1BbyCGrqGty3xZLuFC_6WwcsW1kGfp64mUgEr6YsxCWzLDVdYjfe9UtTanZoXl747Xzq6rFej6WxPOCvSnVufxPg0mblXhAyJ0Fks/s1600/031_monkey.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5EVLoIgk3aSDUfM_2T05tRwQSFcPoyj9oIvKNf1BbyCGrqGty3xZLuFC_6WwcsW1kGfp64mUgEr6YsxCWzLDVdYjfe9UtTanZoXl747Xzq6rFej6WxPOCvSnVufxPg0mblXhAyJ0Fks/s400/031_monkey.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717730762482541090" border="0" /></a><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">When Mac's brother Sam bought his house, it already had a happy topiary elephant family living in the front yard. Mac told him if he bought that house, he would get him a monkey topiary to go along with the elephants. Well, when we were taking the train to the BBQ cook-off, I noticed a garden center with these monkey topiaries hanging outside, so on Monday of our trip, we headed over there and picked one up for Sam.</span></span><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMHHb67GFTtWpsQOADq5oCU8vTc1iXqNFDmjnWJOYA9rpPKGAcsxVkhDab2djsuycCsyxNrYVQgO0vDid1DFZpwQ47Z2S5BW5UmGKCPcVTqXbCd3hq-HJXKlMKgc0q80rY94I7ynfA494/s1600/032_monkey.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 288px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMHHb67GFTtWpsQOADq5oCU8vTc1iXqNFDmjnWJOYA9rpPKGAcsxVkhDab2djsuycCsyxNrYVQgO0vDid1DFZpwQ47Z2S5BW5UmGKCPcVTqXbCd3hq-HJXKlMKgc0q80rY94I7ynfA494/s400/032_monkey.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717730757776684786" border="0" /></a>We had to call Mac's dad to get the code to get into his front gate, but it was worth it to leave this surprise for Sam. I think it works quite well to have to Monkey hanging off of the big elephant's trunk! The elephants are in a little need of trimming, but you still get the idea.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtaGDIOq_k5UFjR9hsG7f-IaCtsG7Yo5rdB8j54GHdJegu5Kzkdg4A2ftqGTkytrC5eJotaEto3PMAyaVxnm5fCFz7p0LFlsSwm7b0cb-g0Ns0IKnMqJ4Wf5xIHgN7uNLxPaXBpSK_fk0/s1600/033_monkey.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtaGDIOq_k5UFjR9hsG7f-IaCtsG7Yo5rdB8j54GHdJegu5Kzkdg4A2ftqGTkytrC5eJotaEto3PMAyaVxnm5fCFz7p0LFlsSwm7b0cb-g0Ns0IKnMqJ4Wf5xIHgN7uNLxPaXBpSK_fk0/s400/033_monkey.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717730751419416034" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size: 100%; "><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 100%; ">After dropping off the monkey and picking up tickets to the Rodeo for the next day, we had wonderful Greek food at NicoNico's and then went on a mission to find the two art-o-mats in Houston. The one in the Whole Foods was easy enough to find. And it had some good choices for art. I was pretty excited about it.</span></div></span></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrTGDHpsVjmHRX3mJXQzeVPFm0l7pH1G9AF9XK56lrJSdB3h-Z21v6C4vjxW-V8lMnHOrkzuHkrJp2YyzxZvVwOTu5Tj1KqB2wCUpdIIk0wLXdLI5TteztmTi7uK458IzgYRmOi5nuYU4/s1600/034_artomat.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 294px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrTGDHpsVjmHRX3mJXQzeVPFm0l7pH1G9AF9XK56lrJSdB3h-Z21v6C4vjxW-V8lMnHOrkzuHkrJp2YyzxZvVwOTu5Tj1KqB2wCUpdIIk0wLXdLI5TteztmTi7uK458IzgYRmOi5nuYU4/s400/034_artomat.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717730750964075778" border="0" /></a><span >Unfortunately<span style="font-size: 100%;">, after much struggle, we determined, with the help of some Whole Foods employees that the machine was indeed Out of Order. Boo... </span></span></div><div><span ><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFDSC1U-1HuXZHoNmNcZMftrwkWKPzBbaIAWoMhUvEznvuGRGbzTlfIikx95wEhTMP5oiICZkgrH8CiMXaSGayyNiNcB8ViLGVel7mZSTOXaEIRm2S-FpKN1IgD5RCp-RSTKLrIvnpkaY/s1600/035_artomat.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 324px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFDSC1U-1HuXZHoNmNcZMftrwkWKPzBbaIAWoMhUvEznvuGRGbzTlfIikx95wEhTMP5oiICZkgrH8CiMXaSGayyNiNcB8ViLGVel7mZSTOXaEIRm2S-FpKN1IgD5RCp-RSTKLrIvnpkaY/s400/035_artomat.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717730768361810210" border="0" /></a>Lucky for us, there's another Art-o-Mat in Houston. It's much more out of the way, but after a phone call to the gallery and a little help from my phone's GPS, we were able to track down the other machine. It, too, was jammed!</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUUdbF621sV3j-TNUx2G64ESReLdu7uljNh5CYKggUUT8hEDwgFLr4HLO4InQRr7tF-GmfRjGz1R55HrAOchHZBOIXQay8TWwVTWs6r3hR2yqFh66FnH0uzwflNxp1UsX2mIhUfaQYEp8/s1600/036_artomat.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 279px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUUdbF621sV3j-TNUx2G64ESReLdu7uljNh5CYKggUUT8hEDwgFLr4HLO4InQRr7tF-GmfRjGz1R55HrAOchHZBOIXQay8TWwVTWs6r3hR2yqFh66FnH0uzwflNxp1UsX2mIhUfaQYEp8/s400/036_artomat.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717730520603393026" border="0" /></a>But lucky for us, the guy at the gallery was nice enough to open it up and I was able to retrieve our prize:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhjUZDG3dcUiE69jiJMn_bdNiPsDUvBLhMPxjbG6gCPDfQICkUpVEbdD4bWs6AUyD3qO6oth5Uk6NMIIOjIY2hJHLKUWfRESNoJvQ82PvPmLvaO1aYV-CzfP2MXJQyXLXY8FJbYXN1qQ/s1600/037_artomat.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 379px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhjUZDG3dcUiE69jiJMn_bdNiPsDUvBLhMPxjbG6gCPDfQICkUpVEbdD4bWs6AUyD3qO6oth5Uk6NMIIOjIY2hJHLKUWfRESNoJvQ82PvPmLvaO1aYV-CzfP2MXJQyXLXY8FJbYXN1qQ/s400/037_artomat.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717730515967813154" border="0" /></a>A nice little stenciled robot to add to my collection. If you don't know about Art-o-Mats, check out their website <a href="http://www.artomat.org/home.html">here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>One of my favorite parts of being on vacation is the option for taking an afternoon nap. And after running around Houston, a nap was exactly what I was looking for. I thoroughly enjoyed a nice snooze in the afternoon and woke up refreshed and ready to have dinner with Mac's whole family. We went out to a nice Italian place with his parents, grandma, sister, brother and his brother's girlfriend. It was great to have the whole family together and hear some fun stories of them growing up. After dinner we went over to Sam's place and got to hang out for a bit and show him the monkey topiary in all of its glory. It was a fun way to end the evening.</div><div><br /></div><div>On Tuesday, we met up with my friend Lacey, who was my roommate in Chicago, for an early lunch at a Vietnamese sandwich shop. It was super-tasty and great to catch up with her after not seeing her for many years. After lunch, we were still a little early for the Rodeo, so we went to the Galleria and I got to see where Mac learned to <a href="http://iceatthegalleria.com/hockey/">play hockey</a>. It's a huge mall with an ice rink in the middle. I can see how hockey and ice skating can seem appealing when it's over 100 degrees out in the summer in Houston.</div><div><br /></div><div>After leaving the Galleria, we headed to Reliant Park to take in all that the Livestock Show and Rodeo had to offer. Having never really been to a Livestock Show, it was an eye-opening afternoon, indeed. We started out at the Birthing Center where we got to see this one-hour old calf and her mama chowing down on her own placenta. The baby calf is hard to see, but she's in the bottom right corner, curled up in the hay:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVcIpGM-pLBjwVi6aLnPwXJwS8pC0uTJT1y8YRZTYAGNwirtb2hyphenhyphenI8_JEZYgNlOQziidOpD43j6OdED-OrjDgPhka2x63IZUBBKdLv7fIO_YBDPbBlAUm9JI23hjd8Awyfd1HOko3vJ_Q/s1600/038_livestock.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVcIpGM-pLBjwVi6aLnPwXJwS8pC0uTJT1y8YRZTYAGNwirtb2hyphenhyphenI8_JEZYgNlOQziidOpD43j6OdED-OrjDgPhka2x63IZUBBKdLv7fIO_YBDPbBlAUm9JI23hjd8Awyfd1HOko3vJ_Q/s400/038_livestock.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717730511585672802" border="0" /></a>We also got to see 30 minute old goats and some very, very pregnant pigs, cows and goats that were due to give birth over the next few days. It was fascinating.</div><div><br /></div><div>On a slightly sillier note, we got to watch some "celebrity" goat milking. These were local Houston celebrities, like local radio hosts and meteorologists from the local news. It was still fun as most of them had never milked a goat before. There were given a quick lesson from students from the local ag school and then had to milk as much as they could in a certain amount of time. It was pretty amusing to see the milk occasionally get squirted in a random direction, or the bucket knocked over by a less-than-happy goat.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjL8_lgfaOFJq-wbit9wpac_OfJdvd_-XndyptJaZ_DZUgYYuoIZmf7sgKNSdGcLwYNXfeW9Homv24pbUT6eaTa1X5GZLqRZvPJTRMK7D35nVbENRGe5avMDP3nkUYp2AimkoezSUwLs/s1600/039_livestock.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjL8_lgfaOFJq-wbit9wpac_OfJdvd_-XndyptJaZ_DZUgYYuoIZmf7sgKNSdGcLwYNXfeW9Homv24pbUT6eaTa1X5GZLqRZvPJTRMK7D35nVbENRGe5avMDP3nkUYp2AimkoezSUwLs/s400/039_livestock.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717730508228652706" border="0" /></a>We also stopped by a section of the livestock show that had examples of different breeds of cattle, goats and pigs. The longhorn was, by far, the most impressive. All I have to say is: Cows are BIG!</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUY57tUPHQk_F-qK7sGSuer7wDUY939dXvwux_9VOgN20li3S2nO-GDHJJ-ZCjUlPD_X741X1cwa2REtAhWewrOv1HXFVGUG3SW5iBzP2Fwz1My5DTeb3S0wMjMhsFv4owfIrwdhIj51s/s1600/040_livestock.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUY57tUPHQk_F-qK7sGSuer7wDUY939dXvwux_9VOgN20li3S2nO-GDHJJ-ZCjUlPD_X741X1cwa2REtAhWewrOv1HXFVGUG3SW5iBzP2Fwz1My5DTeb3S0wMjMhsFv4owfIrwdhIj51s/s400/040_livestock.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717730524632283122" border="0" /></a>We then moved on to the children's section, which was actually a lot of fun. Lacey had tipped us off to Mutton Bustin' over lunch and Mac and I were excited to see this ridiculous sport. In a nutshell, small children, ages 5 or 6, volunteer to hang on as tight as they can to a slightly pissed off sheep and try to stay on as long as they can. Here's a few photos of one kid's run:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ7vLmAqPfLBiRXtfWCWwe_x_3WjHGUVOi-hAagExvkUrGyZjuNMgDib_IVvTlR9K-P82kcygphw6it6h8zE_4kYD42kdvvhKiDdNT-un0GQVaY2PFwuAnwmjQaL3lDCTgN4AGlAjuJBA/s1600/043_livestock.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 341px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ7vLmAqPfLBiRXtfWCWwe_x_3WjHGUVOi-hAagExvkUrGyZjuNMgDib_IVvTlR9K-P82kcygphw6it6h8zE_4kYD42kdvvhKiDdNT-un0GQVaY2PFwuAnwmjQaL3lDCTgN4AGlAjuJBA/s400/043_livestock.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717729691092873394" border="0" /></a>Hanging on as long as he can:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Hv6tfOS8lqt9e5kh8AAE2E0EPk8ujxEHnrnY8SqTGe7LuWt-5kph0y5FNw8PLVT9cpRC6PcBMpFzooZaDGBTWqBl6pCInuG7ksZQrZnmRXudv4K90PYDoMbTy8Na96H9Sbqi87Z-LxA/s1600/044_livestock.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 329px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Hv6tfOS8lqt9e5kh8AAE2E0EPk8ujxEHnrnY8SqTGe7LuWt-5kph0y5FNw8PLVT9cpRC6PcBMpFzooZaDGBTWqBl6pCInuG7ksZQrZnmRXudv4K90PYDoMbTy8Na96H9Sbqi87Z-LxA/s400/044_livestock.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717729900017294706" border="0" /></a>Most of the contestants slide off to one side, sometimes bringing the sheep down with them:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0DDooO9dpYGnAV9sVpBqTypzLhnHgMC3bnFY5RehTVWj2lM9er7ovrWDgy5DMzWc1jSC0hbCheLxrF8aY_q0_eGyOxSoPhTMBL7pA8sh_d_YRUdHHKsKGXOB3qeLzvMNqqaOSXPol1d8/s1600/045_livestock.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 291px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0DDooO9dpYGnAV9sVpBqTypzLhnHgMC3bnFY5RehTVWj2lM9er7ovrWDgy5DMzWc1jSC0hbCheLxrF8aY_q0_eGyOxSoPhTMBL7pA8sh_d_YRUdHHKsKGXOB3qeLzvMNqqaOSXPol1d8/s400/045_livestock.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717729688260941122" border="0" /></a></div><div>Then, of course, a big wave for the crowd and the camera. Look, Ma, I'm fine!</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8StkdzsaUJjaIjx9zJLR6BihVApdox-FVgDa7jmfVruwNvXU8tDMHoVq5zYzSqmO2DINXznpUYNAPFE1mpRV_EsVhtoXlSOURkTFh4w-SEh3apfH96ArLEnpjHB76BNCUhHt8r5Mv7Eg/s1600/046_livestock.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8StkdzsaUJjaIjx9zJLR6BihVApdox-FVgDa7jmfVruwNvXU8tDMHoVq5zYzSqmO2DINXznpUYNAPFE1mpRV_EsVhtoXlSOURkTFh4w-SEh3apfH96ArLEnpjHB76BNCUhHt8r5Mv7Eg/s400/046_livestock.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717730110064204098" border="0" /></a>At the end, the kid who stayed on the longest got a silver belt buckle, and everyone else got a certificate for participating. One of the best parts was that they introduced each kid as they were getting ready to ride the sheep and they'd say things like "This is Maverick from right here in Houston and he wants to be a ninja when he grows up and his favorite food is nachos and hot dogs!" It was really cute.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rWsug1KbenhH4-ByX7tqCWYIN0ZNoJQMnyJDj6lhgjmjJhcO1oarZCmicBSLAtwQ8eC_fHBLUxZPYDnmPP9RWOVeXMohi71ssSaezYi4ZoZjci16T0nUHsSHccyg89K0q05D-vNZgqY/s1600/047_livestock.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rWsug1KbenhH4-ByX7tqCWYIN0ZNoJQMnyJDj6lhgjmjJhcO1oarZCmicBSLAtwQ8eC_fHBLUxZPYDnmPP9RWOVeXMohi71ssSaezYi4ZoZjci16T0nUHsSHccyg89K0q05D-vNZgqY/s400/047_livestock.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717729689275256882" border="0" /></a>Also in the children's section, we went to the petting zoo. We got one little cup of food to feed the animals and Mac held on to it for most of the time we were in there. The goats were especially greedy and even stood up on Mac to try and get the cup of food that he was holding up. These goats were interested in a little handful:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTMbUer5Kbtt3zKTBxxHtaUf8yt0LxLNkzEWELZamz1CkXFUHFNvkP78eX9QAh68JhdNlhzxr1j6zVlxDJc7xu4qjdxNR8VG4J5fL5myFzpia3AqacR1wPcTcSIuRUFtm1LjVWuNlSQ8w/s1600/048_livestock.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTMbUer5Kbtt3zKTBxxHtaUf8yt0LxLNkzEWELZamz1CkXFUHFNvkP78eX9QAh68JhdNlhzxr1j6zVlxDJc7xu4qjdxNR8VG4J5fL5myFzpia3AqacR1wPcTcSIuRUFtm1LjVWuNlSQ8w/s400/048_livestock.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717729678729636114" border="0" /></a>My favorite was this little white goat who was just super cute and decided that he was going to stand on top of this pig to get a better view. That pig has infinite patience to put up with all of these baby goats:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQouTdA3hlpgyVdpBV4EcWzsa9dEXTgpzsJT-Cq2lYiggTYqKDqgNPTK7PwSlivm2jJiB1aAqEPIALYxG8IhjSkowx1Pr2ils36NXGKBuPuuX9rxhuTlfYSsiyPkx4_cgd2e_uO34D0Jo/s1600/049_livestock.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 362px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQouTdA3hlpgyVdpBV4EcWzsa9dEXTgpzsJT-Cq2lYiggTYqKDqgNPTK7PwSlivm2jJiB1aAqEPIALYxG8IhjSkowx1Pr2ils36NXGKBuPuuX9rxhuTlfYSsiyPkx4_cgd2e_uO34D0Jo/s400/049_livestock.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717729696505421874" border="0" /></a>After doing a little window shopping at some of the booths in the convention center and picking up an official Rodeo pint glass and refrigerator magnet, it was time to head into Reliant Stadium to watch the Rodeo! We saw all the classic Rodeo events including Bull Riding, Bronco Riding and Calf Roping:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgopurkMs-OBHIuxWqv4zdpkXAfgSeH2MwxIPZ2eyOIJi0fy6mFHTyj4lWp5GfPhG8zC23VbFeckCVlETbXd9F_1cNwPwlVfewPSgxKWvcYqcNwdH1M6G6XCqK25Ig7L31xbCjqZiGkXTM/s1600/051_rodeo.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 345px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgopurkMs-OBHIuxWqv4zdpkXAfgSeH2MwxIPZ2eyOIJi0fy6mFHTyj4lWp5GfPhG8zC23VbFeckCVlETbXd9F_1cNwPwlVfewPSgxKWvcYqcNwdH1M6G6XCqK25Ig7L31xbCjqZiGkXTM/s400/051_rodeo.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717729216203683346" border="0" /></a>In between some of the events they had a real wagon race, which was pretty impressive. They were going really fast! It's kind of the same idea as the Pierogi Races at the baseball stadium in Pittsburgh, but much more high stakes. These guys were REALLY racing!</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhADSaUQ6vjfU0UguqKeAKGCesuLuYJSgQnt4K7X7VstoL3uF5nzQiXYIc6_uEKiPk-aLB71aHd1xbnACVfw4CpJEgY44gKwG56Rb4zrwiNVZ3NR7M-PWT8WVkiy-FJBr2xoStAUIQWpt4/s1600/052_rodeo.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 175px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhADSaUQ6vjfU0UguqKeAKGCesuLuYJSgQnt4K7X7VstoL3uF5nzQiXYIc6_uEKiPk-aLB71aHd1xbnACVfw4CpJEgY44gKwG56Rb4zrwiNVZ3NR7M-PWT8WVkiy-FJBr2xoStAUIQWpt4/s400/052_rodeo.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717729211751369458" border="0" /></a>They also had a Calf Scramble, which was a little chaotic, but really fun to watch. Basically, they line up 30 high school kids, then let 17 calfs run into the arena, and the kids have to try to catch and halter one of the calves. If they do, the prize is an actual calf, which is a really big deal for these kids. Here's the beginning of the scramble:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJWOxddnndMs8iqLJsuC7PrSbDqWpjlUue4BlcexkaW64Q62OhYZpp1CjTTeGIruGyRsRn8KJp-jP_lEYduY45xuXT_AdWix3oad_jhwsoQwCq5ocfJee2zYLVuoU2NNK5pXh6bSR3Z50/s1600/053_rodeo.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 264px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJWOxddnndMs8iqLJsuC7PrSbDqWpjlUue4BlcexkaW64Q62OhYZpp1CjTTeGIruGyRsRn8KJp-jP_lEYduY45xuXT_AdWix3oad_jhwsoQwCq5ocfJee2zYLVuoU2NNK5pXh6bSR3Z50/s400/053_rodeo.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717729207908101394" border="0" /></a>And finally after some Barrel Racing and more Mutton Bustin', we got to see them set up for the concert and shoot off some indoor fireworks. We only stayed for the first song of Alabama. They played "You can't play in Texas if you don't have a Fiddle in the Band". It was fun to see one song, but we decided to head out since we aren't big Alabama fans and the people around us clearly were.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGonhoWLNsoNZ1rlCEwFZO4yTIYerETeTmUmKh21tQy2WzbVR7T1Dv_GMq03R7Y6Ghzi2eE4ab_lvbgoK90Ttxd6GdF6DRaFmxnndX_4Gb4Cq_APHEOj26Z5-EDKIIHqfg8_X1vwn0pqc/s1600/056_rodeo.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGonhoWLNsoNZ1rlCEwFZO4yTIYerETeTmUmKh21tQy2WzbVR7T1Dv_GMq03R7Y6Ghzi2eE4ab_lvbgoK90Ttxd6GdF6DRaFmxnndX_4Gb4Cq_APHEOj26Z5-EDKIIHqfg8_X1vwn0pqc/s400/056_rodeo.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717729203502341890" border="0" /></a>On the way out of the stadium we got a nice view of the Carnival:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRB_BC_Tai9Vp5toFyBmEzkt7DOMdtRGt1-MYmZpRR0p00-JyVVyI8hmOZ9irf8I_5knl_6CX_HSCO2vMo-l5Ezzdqkd2PaOsifQlhFANzo-EdIG18tDQa9ckbPxPn16mEVyLpe-Sz67E/s1600/057_rodeo.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRB_BC_Tai9Vp5toFyBmEzkt7DOMdtRGt1-MYmZpRR0p00-JyVVyI8hmOZ9irf8I_5knl_6CX_HSCO2vMo-l5Ezzdqkd2PaOsifQlhFANzo-EdIG18tDQa9ckbPxPn16mEVyLpe-Sz67E/s400/057_rodeo.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717729219253470338" border="0" /></a>After leaving the Rodeo, we stopped by Valerie's apartment and got to hang out with her and her roommate for a little bit before heading back to Mac's parents' place. It was a jam-packed day and such a great way to really see some Texas Rodeo action. <br /><br /></div>Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-37241387157908087572012-03-08T21:34:00.012-05:002012-03-09T15:44:24.833-05:00Texas! Days 1 and 2<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Mac and I flew into Houston very late on Friday night, February 24th. Officially, it was very early on the 25th. With a delay in Newark, we didn't get back to his parents' place until about 3am! But we had things to do on Saturday!</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtl51cJmRBOQlCZS53xm-mGaShF9a3rEZqBuYnKnx_P6TjwsDUqNW9iSPhJoDHWxqlrPlKB5uix3Gez-JOaKyfspgJQV5qGAl1X6zx16Fy9EsZf-3Ms44QhhCD0_ZzkNtNiEwdwrhzSqU/s1600/001_parade.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtl51cJmRBOQlCZS53xm-mGaShF9a3rEZqBuYnKnx_P6TjwsDUqNW9iSPhJoDHWxqlrPlKB5uix3Gez-JOaKyfspgJQV5qGAl1X6zx16Fy9EsZf-3Ms44QhhCD0_ZzkNtNiEwdwrhzSqU/s400/001_parade.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717727878657265842" border="0" /></a><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">The first event was the </span></span><a href="http://www.rodeohouston.com/events/parade/index.aspx" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Rodeo Parade</a><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">. Now, it's hard to explain just how much the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Livestock_Show_and_Rodeo" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo</a><span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> takes over the city during the three weeks that it's happening. It's (by far) the biggest show in town, and the parade is no exception. There are the usual local floats, like the Girl Scouts, and there are marching bands and riding clubs.</span></span><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzQBb05M7WpC6l502KpxNVzGvfX1kJtfTQ95KdnDPJImmpEJh9jWAthsfE5MI-ezix7Zon6XPROy89yXVWChXw15pK_cT4vF7HsxA8ix4BJcJ30x08aaSA2ekEYfyYWp7o82RK3BkHgjU/s1600/002_parade.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzQBb05M7WpC6l502KpxNVzGvfX1kJtfTQ95KdnDPJImmpEJh9jWAthsfE5MI-ezix7Zon6XPROy89yXVWChXw15pK_cT4vF7HsxA8ix4BJcJ30x08aaSA2ekEYfyYWp7o82RK3BkHgjU/s400/002_parade.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717727786732887474" border="0" /></a>But then there are the trail riding clubs that come from across the state. And do they put their horses in trailers to get them to Houston? No. They RIDE them to Houston, some from more than 200 miles away! And most of them have a chuck wagon that rides with them and rides in the parade. There were so many horses in this parade!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicPU03CCAuUqyvqvYKm0gL1CYs5sZeOrL8Fh8QYqcC9ro4Ln8Njo-Hiau6gO4cVXvaB-WBWyve9S-0ulGQapNMDLLZoKDxVhpT-XFWP1KCKV-pgkNqdsQ8DXgXKrXlxYVXlu9xDdEnSw/s1600/003_parade.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 368px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicPU03CCAuUqyvqvYKm0gL1CYs5sZeOrL8Fh8QYqcC9ro4Ln8Njo-Hiau6gO4cVXvaB-WBWyve9S-0ulGQapNMDLLZoKDxVhpT-XFWP1KCKV-pgkNqdsQ8DXgXKrXlxYVXlu9xDdEnSw/s400/003_parade.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717727782491386738" border="0" /></a>And what would a parade be in the land of Tex-Mex without a Goya float?</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWLPqNylaGCXPTjZjVpp6gwzTbd4ZX8a5YvGYT70QlW-BGH3iKgqJngsOggY7-Uy0yjYL4zjKOf2tSw_EUbYGUzpSlWVPmhzQCoCL8T3UrJI7QL3Q_dnp8z3t0S7-w2oxJNrKonP4BwcQ/s1600/004_parade.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 314px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWLPqNylaGCXPTjZjVpp6gwzTbd4ZX8a5YvGYT70QlW-BGH3iKgqJngsOggY7-Uy0yjYL4zjKOf2tSw_EUbYGUzpSlWVPmhzQCoCL8T3UrJI7QL3Q_dnp8z3t0S7-w2oxJNrKonP4BwcQ/s400/004_parade.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717727776664429938" border="0" /></a>Another wagon in the parade. I liked this one because it's from the McBeth Riding Club.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPdqFcP1noRoiveYo6GMeM8KEbI6V8b34WWhU96BKIyFwqnRGBuDoPk_DY81BhjAmyrZa9qe2UftPkzOHWE-iF6Usvsu0xH3Qkhb0Be7a8LYArsZgLuWtHtBumCh0ON8gV-k2jmbk_y9s/s1600/005_parade.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPdqFcP1noRoiveYo6GMeM8KEbI6V8b34WWhU96BKIyFwqnRGBuDoPk_DY81BhjAmyrZa9qe2UftPkzOHWE-iF6Usvsu0xH3Qkhb0Be7a8LYArsZgLuWtHtBumCh0ON8gV-k2jmbk_y9s/s400/005_parade.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717727770669928482" border="0" /></a>And of course, at the end of a parade full of horses, you have to have an army of street sweepers!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5J5dd-FJMJOMvJupF8yFuD5razB6Th6CB-yyscboexvXaSCEJo8cn_Dka5yvVrw9oWV2KULkzbt2hzcPDj9WfpSu8Oq9B4E9BC7RqtuTFWmLqd9Q_v72oQCXJmO4lLT-gZCVQCHrfaY/s1600/006_parade.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5J5dd-FJMJOMvJupF8yFuD5razB6Th6CB-yyscboexvXaSCEJo8cn_Dka5yvVrw9oWV2KULkzbt2hzcPDj9WfpSu8Oq9B4E9BC7RqtuTFWmLqd9Q_v72oQCXJmO4lLT-gZCVQCHrfaY/s400/006_parade.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717727790652806146" border="0" /></a>Once we got home from the parade, we got to relax a little bit and figure out our plan for the rest of the day. Here's Mac and I at his parent's house, in our rodeo hats, with Mac's Grandma:</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitfMSy0uzcR5BwgcJCJQlUPxoAQAAgVLnqMwfjyeJV2GSrJU2oK9F1E_0YQ-fF78RuRMzAMSEsdeeX0PGusxuyv2GF9W8W5vhi356_a2LN1q9mIBCtr3ztLLHnzaVfB_DrbRooQClTK8s/s1600/007_grandma.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 276px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitfMSy0uzcR5BwgcJCJQlUPxoAQAAgVLnqMwfjyeJV2GSrJU2oK9F1E_0YQ-fF78RuRMzAMSEsdeeX0PGusxuyv2GF9W8W5vhi356_a2LN1q9mIBCtr3ztLLHnzaVfB_DrbRooQClTK8s/s400/007_grandma.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717727234834401682" border="0" /></a>Before the trip, I had made a list of things I wanted to see and do while we were in Houston. Mac had already done most of it, so much of it was revisiting things for him, but it was all new to me! Our first stop was a the Beer Can House on our way to the World Championship BBQ Cook-Off.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaoTrAoooeMN53ixuAR8qMOSjnewJI4wWoX_ylzPqOyrpHT-y-trJQG_yaFd6xdoXyBWPiwsgj2RO4xIvTv3-hVi7zXRG25j4TvZBxtIqw4wfSswJt0bda2ISx7Kdv1406iqFtUtEc6eI/s1600/010_bch.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaoTrAoooeMN53ixuAR8qMOSjnewJI4wWoX_ylzPqOyrpHT-y-trJQG_yaFd6xdoXyBWPiwsgj2RO4xIvTv3-hVi7zXRG25j4TvZBxtIqw4wfSswJt0bda2ISx7Kdv1406iqFtUtEc6eI/s400/010_bch.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717727235586528690" border="0" /></a>Now, the <a href="http://www.beercanhouse.org/">Beer Can House</a> is just what you might think: Some crazy guy who drank a lot of beer with his neighbors on his front porch decided that, with the help of some tin snips and a lot of time on his hands, he could cover the entire house in beer cans. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">It has now become a Houston landmark. And it's not just beer cans. The guy had millions of marbles, too and he embedded them in the concrete. And apparently he enjoyed the occasional bottled beer, because those are used, too. It's really quite impressive to see.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiORLexXX0qIfcUvuXxpqo4cIsnKzFPhq32A60TQZc77UHjpyBNHzD7mTO_u_PuxrD1UQ9dJGXhm89YG9aVd-bh4WLXq6330eMSgERC53ydk7oLgZLLEOZzx37yp0RJ_srJMqcAO8C6rRA/s1600/014_bch.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiORLexXX0qIfcUvuXxpqo4cIsnKzFPhq32A60TQZc77UHjpyBNHzD7mTO_u_PuxrD1UQ9dJGXhm89YG9aVd-bh4WLXq6330eMSgERC53ydk7oLgZLLEOZzx37yp0RJ_srJMqcAO8C6rRA/s400/014_bch.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717727232368423154" border="0" /></a>And his wife let him do it!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqdRryZPNy_3iiBILOO7BfEhhiUDARWVeVMnHqxk1XK0wCsaLpFwAfi34tsdY9LmiLnJpeE2hNQ_BIrbrSLs5mH1pKaJUAnKVYtBgqseuPCFHYJmkLnazxnB0oNvPYiOdI0FQPMY4OKxU/s1600/016_bch.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqdRryZPNy_3iiBILOO7BfEhhiUDARWVeVMnHqxk1XK0wCsaLpFwAfi34tsdY9LmiLnJpeE2hNQ_BIrbrSLs5mH1pKaJUAnKVYtBgqseuPCFHYJmkLnazxnB0oNvPYiOdI0FQPMY4OKxU/s400/016_bch.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717727228335392450" border="0" /></a>Here's the front of the house now:</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUfSW3BLDqTqoGdWtm-4v9iFAJCDlP7DUZxQKe8VcS_HJZH9g61pBJYni7oa_lXFPd0X7lRTuhVco9YoBLA4wmEOJCA0YdcA4XykRS6i3ooWADPRTbZw27JeeFYDA6mY-sdqtiPrZ6DDg/s1600/018_bch.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUfSW3BLDqTqoGdWtm-4v9iFAJCDlP7DUZxQKe8VcS_HJZH9g61pBJYni7oa_lXFPd0X7lRTuhVco9YoBLA4wmEOJCA0YdcA4XykRS6i3ooWADPRTbZw27JeeFYDA6mY-sdqtiPrZ6DDg/s400/018_bch.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717727222756613474" border="0" /></a>After taking in the glory of all those beer cans, Mac and I headed to the <a href="http://www.hlsr.com/events/bbq/index.aspx">World Championship BBQ Contest</a> to enjoy some beer (and food) of our own. Here's our shadows with our rodeo hats on the side of one of the tents:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH4ooglaDVPqE3gASfESVmZHDdLDUsMzqvSMN10K0Fus7p44c2iXgFAILZQv4u8220NW7zp407x3d1csVyprknpwOz9kl-uhCINZMIfJsUpzDsdidE234ruUru6FrtGVD_1Dw1mUQrhe4/s1600/021_bbq.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH4ooglaDVPqE3gASfESVmZHDdLDUsMzqvSMN10K0Fus7p44c2iXgFAILZQv4u8220NW7zp407x3d1csVyprknpwOz9kl-uhCINZMIfJsUpzDsdidE234ruUru6FrtGVD_1Dw1mUQrhe4/s400/021_bbq.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717726863149167426" border="0" /></a></div><div><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">The BBQ Contest is HUGE. I don't know how many teams competed, but it took up the space of what used to be parking for the Astrodome. That's a lot of BBQ. </span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">You can also get your boots shined:</span></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCO0qZgc_PtRB0OERWw9QRfHk8aWsHJd3AbaA3gPg1eqL8q9gXOUd1qR382yIr4sFk4yU8Gmzc-m8MRkIStCVXy0JL9XVscooQ7q0JYBtqDtkBwoVLpV2uTT5tum127IFZw-h_JiWmP4I/s1600/022_bbq.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCO0qZgc_PtRB0OERWw9QRfHk8aWsHJd3AbaA3gPg1eqL8q9gXOUd1qR382yIr4sFk4yU8Gmzc-m8MRkIStCVXy0JL9XVscooQ7q0JYBtqDtkBwoVLpV2uTT5tum127IFZw-h_JiWmP4I/s400/022_bbq.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717726859575860706" border="0" /></a>Here's one of the temporary "tents". Probably one of the biggest ones there.</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQkvonhs0tGsO8Z_RNkNljOwNdw5HNp9ghgTMCE3rmwEpjSeLyMfSV_PQNDpnZZcQJfSMntX5j5DOtL_lwocYMPb6P7Gwh6BxTEpERbQroeUzKSQp7wJTVGu-xvUV60rNumunYTpdnt4/s1600/019_bbq.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQkvonhs0tGsO8Z_RNkNljOwNdw5HNp9ghgTMCE3rmwEpjSeLyMfSV_PQNDpnZZcQJfSMntX5j5DOtL_lwocYMPb6P7Gwh6BxTEpERbQroeUzKSQp7wJTVGu-xvUV60rNumunYTpdnt4/s400/019_bbq.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717726864507169954" border="0" /></a>And here's a team showing off their BBQ talents by smoking an entire pig. I swear they were moving it onto a gurney:</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSDPnT33cxnkOEGkR2Xnc4hepb5nsIfu22X54UYf72z9ZOVM3HSaNVFKG93l00oF2zmy3IseYdEDQEm4nuySXKiYPuth5nbyfbFWL34SRToK4hS0brCOqp-vLU0rl-i5NhRCIgeO7XZY/s1600/025_bbq.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSDPnT33cxnkOEGkR2Xnc4hepb5nsIfu22X54UYf72z9ZOVM3HSaNVFKG93l00oF2zmy3IseYdEDQEm4nuySXKiYPuth5nbyfbFWL34SRToK4hS0brCOqp-vLU0rl-i5NhRCIgeO7XZY/s400/025_bbq.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717726851511923762" border="0" /></a>And the air is completely filled with BBQ smoke. We weren't 100% sure which stop we got off at on the train, but when the doors opened and we spelled BBQ we knew we were in the right place. My clothes, hair, everything smelled like BBQ by the time we got home.</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNjKCY7pdaGes7eRD3wKPMN5iGRuKfHDXtt1MvXOg1KhemEWvsKLLX_OKjRcqX2EZJWo0hUqKf80u8wDxrx37f-Zj4Q08lelAiPVMXdG7zVxUEdmAqjOyrS4tKvouhBejphsBaZZl6ik/s1600/026_bbq.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNjKCY7pdaGes7eRD3wKPMN5iGRuKfHDXtt1MvXOg1KhemEWvsKLLX_OKjRcqX2EZJWo0hUqKf80u8wDxrx37f-Zj4Q08lelAiPVMXdG7zVxUEdmAqjOyrS4tKvouhBejphsBaZZl6ik/s400/026_bbq.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717726850211335186" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; ">So how it works is that each BBQ team erects a temporary structure that includes a BBQ pit, a bar, a buffet, a dance floor, a stage for the live music and a few tables and chairs if you're lucky. Each team gets sponsors, and in return those sponsors get invites to their tent. Thankfully, one of Mac's friend's boyfriend's company was sponsoring a tent, so we got invites to get into the Tejas Barbacoa tent. Here is their pitmaster showing off their enormous brisket:</span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3x1R9hMjdNscqBzp1MoXydZt2hUv3ZL8uqM-ahduJ4NJR1yajjEwwbKZ9GBJcy0tX1i-Y12G54yHVK19a-V80sULfCaeCncqqT2tGacaRY3wyXE_s9HdnaZZwENFMNx02mH8fIS4h6oI/s1600/027_bbq.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 274px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3x1R9hMjdNscqBzp1MoXydZt2hUv3ZL8uqM-ahduJ4NJR1yajjEwwbKZ9GBJcy0tX1i-Y12G54yHVK19a-V80sULfCaeCncqqT2tGacaRY3wyXE_s9HdnaZZwENFMNx02mH8fIS4h6oI/s400/027_bbq.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717726651604841410" border="0" /></a>They also had smoked oysters and BBQ quail. While we were getting the backstage tour of the pit area, someone said that we were looking at over $4,000 worth of meat!</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSjgkL1XeW5GKVOgVDA2cqWzlweq2FTmfPmD361i-lT8YTgrXQ_Q2qC8UaJYdf0lpF04wCxGumHoyQJI-ih2jHL_BvoA88zLVr9iLZDO9shIKsiCfSHNnnQTL4FtRNYygG-rfCW_Xwwsc/s1600/028_bbq.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSjgkL1XeW5GKVOgVDA2cqWzlweq2FTmfPmD361i-lT8YTgrXQ_Q2qC8UaJYdf0lpF04wCxGumHoyQJI-ih2jHL_BvoA88zLVr9iLZDO9shIKsiCfSHNnnQTL4FtRNYygG-rfCW_Xwwsc/s400/028_bbq.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717726646469490050" border="0" /></a>It was quite impressive. And even though I didn't eat any of the BBQ (thankfully they had beans, wonderful potato salad and even a green salad to go along with it), I have to say I was impressed with the whole craft of BBQ. These guys were seriously dedicated to making this the best damn BBQ ever.</div><div><br /></div><div>With full bellies, we headed out of the BBQ area and wandered around the carnival a little bit, even waiting in line to get some beignets (I can't believe we ate more food!). It was a great evening.</div><div><br /></div><div>The next morning we met up with Mac's brother Sam and his girlfriend and Mac's sister Valerie for brunch at an old pharmacy/soda shop that's now a junk store/restaurant still called Yale Pharmacy. It was a fun meal and sadly, I didn't get any photos of Mac's brother. But after brunch Mac, Val and I stayed in the neighborhood and did some shopping on the old main drag, 19th Street. There were tons of vintage clothing stores, antique shops, junk shops, etc... Sadly, I didn't find any second-hand cowboy boots in my size, but Mac found an aviator's cap! It was the perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon. Here's a fun shot of Mac and Val at a local coffeeshop:</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4HDQpo6uKuq7NQvec-Rm2-Wa7_3SlKDElv3WkS-db0Y3fDmlcbhwNVey7mNJ1U73JFSUjz-hY5m37uIdf6sPZZwdM8lPxD4XHhDa5_Qun4BmmxkI1mhl1k9LxlhaXwKt4stfJfo3LGlg/s1600/029_valmac.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 287px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4HDQpo6uKuq7NQvec-Rm2-Wa7_3SlKDElv3WkS-db0Y3fDmlcbhwNVey7mNJ1U73JFSUjz-hY5m37uIdf6sPZZwdM8lPxD4XHhDa5_Qun4BmmxkI1mhl1k9LxlhaXwKt4stfJfo3LGlg/s400/029_valmac.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717726641582685074" border="0" /></a>And a nice shot of Mac's big blue eyes!</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrd6_iwrHG8wL7uKKQJPJzvPRePLviD8ofGnE2vR2ELgvHWy2K22nD0PvEaFkuxI6qhSKxiaLwhFqnujFwiz7ql_CYiRk9KrLWPn7C8iaycHIkLHnrgcXQavBPMiUk3KxZxt9BbPIkvLM/s1600/030_mac.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 293px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrd6_iwrHG8wL7uKKQJPJzvPRePLviD8ofGnE2vR2ELgvHWy2K22nD0PvEaFkuxI6qhSKxiaLwhFqnujFwiz7ql_CYiRk9KrLWPn7C8iaycHIkLHnrgcXQavBPMiUk3KxZxt9BbPIkvLM/s400/030_mac.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717726640251489794" border="0" /></a>After a fun afternoon, we drove around a little and Mac showed me his high school and some other locales from his time growing up here. Then we picked up take-out Chinese for everyone and headed back to his parent's place to watch the Oscars and eat dinner.<br /></div>Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-49334128079301780202011-12-27T15:41:00.008-05:002012-01-03T22:18:30.544-05:00Homemade Gifts<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgexTrp3ALZjkeYrA3qhSP2A1EAASUqEoTtM20X7TYsOTkMoRf21vL7gliFLHOkUDL1Jcy4za3LsfUKDGumkSTG11cw9cbRgf9psPrhCbOx8KPyMqxK7i_LfqqsrP4_u7n-wlzcPlDHWWE/s1600/BeetsCauliflower.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgexTrp3ALZjkeYrA3qhSP2A1EAASUqEoTtM20X7TYsOTkMoRf21vL7gliFLHOkUDL1Jcy4za3LsfUKDGumkSTG11cw9cbRgf9psPrhCbOx8KPyMqxK7i_LfqqsrP4_u7n-wlzcPlDHWWE/s400/BeetsCauliflower.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691266973400972114" border="0" /></a>Now that Christmas has come and gone, I can fill you in a little bit on a project that's kept me busy since August. I've been making preserves from home-grown and farmer's market produce. I've been making cucumber refrigerator pickles since last summer when my cucumber crop went crazy, and this year I decided to step it up a little bit and move into hot water bath canning. This makes the food shelf-stable instead of having to keep it in the fridge. This is helpful since there's only so much room in my fridge and at the end of the summer about half of it was taken up with pickle jars!<br /><br />So on to what I made, and gave as gifts, this year. I didn't have the forethought to photograph the process or the finished gift baskets before they were opened, but here's an idea of what my family got for Christmas this year:<br /><br />Pickled Beets! This was especially for Jill. She is the resident beet lover in the family and I thought she would like this new way of having them. And they're SO pretty! This photo doesn't even do it justice. The color of the beets is just outstanding.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIwilqoncyCzPUBEuxg0IvGucSHzspWWXySp9UbE7J9b9wLJ9SpDmuu9BM7uEab8exoar6rJL5bk6QGdyxI0Cqx5nCC7-flL1w66SIy3JyP12jX1albCsByQXiCntBYB94gXmQm3zLfiI/s1600/Beets.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 347px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIwilqoncyCzPUBEuxg0IvGucSHzspWWXySp9UbE7J9b9wLJ9SpDmuu9BM7uEab8exoar6rJL5bk6QGdyxI0Cqx5nCC7-flL1w66SIy3JyP12jX1albCsByQXiCntBYB94gXmQm3zLfiI/s400/Beets.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691266967686252290" border="0" /></a>Another brightly-colored concoction was the <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=Sz0qmb3meAAC&pg=PT324&lpg=PT324&dq=put+em+up+curried+cauliflower&source=bl&ots=NhvbxjukL-&sig=rXu77egQJJD_TRvPyJ2G6Hu8Ct4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=d0sBT93pEaLo2QXYi6yeAg&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false">Curried Cauliflower</a>. I love curry spices with cauliflower and this just appealed to me, and again, the color is outstanding.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4PybrTl_jC5LkkeGMu2GKIM9qAN9R9ah9mAL6Op9z0kMqlFDGgbedoaY9bHXz6kCFoy6aJsgTHyxUv8GU3DNQEnaT2Bin1oAtXF-Wab97pMUB8rCXperMSQdM6w1esgv2j0pi30_kk0/s1600/Cauliflower1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 327px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4PybrTl_jC5LkkeGMu2GKIM9qAN9R9ah9mAL6Op9z0kMqlFDGgbedoaY9bHXz6kCFoy6aJsgTHyxUv8GU3DNQEnaT2Bin1oAtXF-Wab97pMUB8rCXperMSQdM6w1esgv2j0pi30_kk0/s400/Cauliflower1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691266966244790818" border="0" /></a>Both the Pickled Beets and the Curried Cauliflower recipes came from a book titled <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Put-Up-Comprehensive-Preserving-Creative/dp/1603425462"><span style="font-style: italic;">Put 'Em Up!</span></a> My friend Trinity used a few recipes from there and I thought they sounded good, so I looked for the book at my public library and didn't see it. So I requested for them to purchase it for the collection and lo and behold, they bought it! Yay!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6aESuVNCOrdNmweXD04KgZKnQ20w_SuR69oDi6QDAbMAStt3WqoUR6EeMS36t6PgzjUQ3sTL8Y9cCm7xh9qIPQFMjVeHOiGAfTWMl9v2FFHcTfOWOQoyIEEyeuYyo4d9wEsqDNmkXbJE/s1600/Cauliflower2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 274px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6aESuVNCOrdNmweXD04KgZKnQ20w_SuR69oDi6QDAbMAStt3WqoUR6EeMS36t6PgzjUQ3sTL8Y9cCm7xh9qIPQFMjVeHOiGAfTWMl9v2FFHcTfOWOQoyIEEyeuYyo4d9wEsqDNmkXbJE/s400/Cauliflower2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691266963129744562" border="0" /></a>Something that I made just a few days before Christmas was this <a href="http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/12/holiday-snack-mix/">Holiday Snack Mix</a>. It's basically just nuts and pretzels with a salty/sweet/spicy glaze, but it's SO good, and super easy to make, if you have the ingredients on hand.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLnr8ntpx1Ltlf-VRDHiIeEvL2EFN23CuVlmBjxcUdMocT8wdyqxe-s4o0GlKia6gOOpxkChrgMC8xNkls7_Ec3tKqZYEWV043FViW8lgZt9_poZKZqv8wNTDxLJh9sV7FC7tGOeoiPI4/s1600/00SnackMix.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 260px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLnr8ntpx1Ltlf-VRDHiIeEvL2EFN23CuVlmBjxcUdMocT8wdyqxe-s4o0GlKia6gOOpxkChrgMC8xNkls7_Ec3tKqZYEWV043FViW8lgZt9_poZKZqv8wNTDxLJh9sV7FC7tGOeoiPI4/s400/00SnackMix.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691266244445340114" border="0" /></a>I put it in these cute little jars I picked up at the Crate & Barrel Outlet with snowflakes and snowmen on them. It made for a nice presentation and even as a stand-alone gift.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRUQ3_V-Vds2ep8upFlwJ_H03ZNDvZVbLP-ia61oZp9FDP39_HEQb6TLoJc1lihcpEj2TAaF68599_jG8bZ23TpXC0mWHmDyALgNXo6hQlo0UiJFfKXBc9MfS_p8RWZR-ou3QFFTD_OA/s1600/01SnackMix.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 359px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRUQ3_V-Vds2ep8upFlwJ_H03ZNDvZVbLP-ia61oZp9FDP39_HEQb6TLoJc1lihcpEj2TAaF68599_jG8bZ23TpXC0mWHmDyALgNXo6hQlo0UiJFfKXBc9MfS_p8RWZR-ou3QFFTD_OA/s400/01SnackMix.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690911735467016082" border="0" /></a>Another recipe from <span style="font-style: italic;">Put 'Em Up!</span> was the Corn Salsa. This is a perfect way to preserve end of summer tomatoes, corn and peppers. The corn was from the farmer's market, but the tomatoes and peppers were from the garden.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTUTQYDnTSnLb5po7WCMX73HMSUwTZZwtGgz22tNa_Rw6zMlJFp2yK4p42LCBNAAvsS3NkHvHth4QelrwixjKQaOKAjsRl7HLOtdRhNcroIIAmH4yDp4ib9sdsWOOPUOan4MFi38LLY3Y/s1600/02CornSalsa.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 394px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTUTQYDnTSnLb5po7WCMX73HMSUwTZZwtGgz22tNa_Rw6zMlJFp2yK4p42LCBNAAvsS3NkHvHth4QelrwixjKQaOKAjsRl7HLOtdRhNcroIIAmH4yDp4ib9sdsWOOPUOan4MFi38LLY3Y/s400/02CornSalsa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690911730448818866" border="0" /></a>I've already eaten some of this that I saved for myself and I have to say, it's quite tasty! I also got a review in, the day after Christmas, from my nephew who gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up! That must mean it's good.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZacJPYVY_mZZcfcSJ-dcyuVdpqHlMELSPQlJMdcl_2DZxt6q9_-GZIF5sH_WzoET2MJfI4gZmOCr6yVYjaa8ghJlw_ImQj4ZAXGogeb5TqmnG6e62842muxauY9A27-pI2y5x_CDH0E/s1600/03CornSalsa.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 354px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZacJPYVY_mZZcfcSJ-dcyuVdpqHlMELSPQlJMdcl_2DZxt6q9_-GZIF5sH_WzoET2MJfI4gZmOCr6yVYjaa8ghJlw_ImQj4ZAXGogeb5TqmnG6e62842muxauY9A27-pI2y5x_CDH0E/s400/03CornSalsa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690911729429141810" border="0" /></a>And some notes on the packaging: I got all of the fabric from the Crate & Barrel outlet. They sell remnants of very expensive <a href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/the-marimekko-shop/">Marimekko</a> fabrics for 99 cents a pound! These fabrics normally sell for $35 a yard! And a pound of fabric is more than you might think.<br /><br />I used colored business card paper from the Paper Source for the tags and the "Handmade By" stamp was also from them. The twine is good old baker's twine and the jars are mostly Ball jars except for the snowflake ones from Crate & Barrel, which were not suitable for canning. It was fun to decorate all of the jars, but more time consuming than I imagined! But I was happy with the end result.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZI3HlX7yzBhUDnGuytQMhBG4nNfiak-YR2ayJCJ0lOoGb5oyMJi6_0yr6t7lw46Ay3Mo4D68036mvf6BnN-2aWWMuVT0P5dh1O-q5CErW0nLxAAV6ffuX26CkhHxhBcoDBe4ygpTOia4/s1600/04CornSalsa.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 396px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZI3HlX7yzBhUDnGuytQMhBG4nNfiak-YR2ayJCJ0lOoGb5oyMJi6_0yr6t7lw46Ay3Mo4D68036mvf6BnN-2aWWMuVT0P5dh1O-q5CErW0nLxAAV6ffuX26CkhHxhBcoDBe4ygpTOia4/s400/04CornSalsa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690911724718715410" border="0" /></a>I also made Pear Chutney with a lot more than just pears.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5HlDIO8wGA3xkUiYmBCWyjwYQIbG98XGSAI-qVNC6o1-Ge_x6LwpUqY5If20CIxslHNDLhMoZ44VbfDgRt4BKtMygbhcSC9ruh2kAM79oBN3RHVYns_uM168s_cPvbHUpqPKez3jxWKg/s1600/05PearChutney.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 303px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5HlDIO8wGA3xkUiYmBCWyjwYQIbG98XGSAI-qVNC6o1-Ge_x6LwpUqY5If20CIxslHNDLhMoZ44VbfDgRt4BKtMygbhcSC9ruh2kAM79oBN3RHVYns_uM168s_cPvbHUpqPKez3jxWKg/s400/05PearChutney.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690911717080993954" border="0" /></a>It's a chunky, tangy, savory, sweet mix that's quite appealing. This was a bit of a stretch, but I hope the people who got this as gifts find a good use for it. I would try it with just about anything and see what fits. It's a unique flavor and could add a little zip to an otherwise boring plate.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_SNee5nL4dc4OIOGrZ1Y479-XltRNZ4LAqVZqnN7TtMPIjoAU0bBmQJ-kzL6Fk-LGbbEIc-npbj-vyWNMY3cYFk-eQ5KNX6vE5UUgRXrdhoSuPJkKcV60BIgNEbdP-FOQyElAeKLjr1w/s1600/06PearChutney.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 370px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_SNee5nL4dc4OIOGrZ1Y479-XltRNZ4LAqVZqnN7TtMPIjoAU0bBmQJ-kzL6Fk-LGbbEIc-npbj-vyWNMY3cYFk-eQ5KNX6vE5UUgRXrdhoSuPJkKcV60BIgNEbdP-FOQyElAeKLjr1w/s400/06PearChutney.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690911561561813282" border="0" /></a>With an abundance of pears, I also made Pear Butter. I had no idea how many pears go into so little Pear Butter. I got four of these teeny jars from a whole pot full of pears. It's pretty amazing. The result is a smooth spread with a concentrated pear flavor (with some other spices included). It's really nice, but holy cow did it take longer than I thought it would. I'll have to budget some time if I decide to do this again.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7GEv_5KdCPhu323qglTJj6gK8I6SbtItMIwC2z7oD7aqbHe1VHxKkuDiMVThq-nqhYbfGlgveW08BraVVa3GJtkEi3PrH0QVgApBpARnJR8weXJnkfZVkLusKpDYOpNjCR4lrJR8VKQ/s1600/07PearButter.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 312px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7GEv_5KdCPhu323qglTJj6gK8I6SbtItMIwC2z7oD7aqbHe1VHxKkuDiMVThq-nqhYbfGlgveW08BraVVa3GJtkEi3PrH0QVgApBpARnJR8weXJnkfZVkLusKpDYOpNjCR4lrJR8VKQ/s400/07PearButter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690911554399387762" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQjOcG_kx4KF3rTIF_LkgJZhRKzBzr3tLTU_bG0y3gulwc13j0JAMnQv8r0-gozoosNdKFUBF8VZAesO63CNb3PdvixoE3fja1PWkUz8H1X7W-i-1TGRj57uwR5MZnmjlXD4YIRmS-k3I/s1600/08PearButter.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 380px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQjOcG_kx4KF3rTIF_LkgJZhRKzBzr3tLTU_bG0y3gulwc13j0JAMnQv8r0-gozoosNdKFUBF8VZAesO63CNb3PdvixoE3fja1PWkUz8H1X7W-i-1TGRj57uwR5MZnmjlXD4YIRmS-k3I/s400/08PearButter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690911548898184946" border="0" /></a>The tomato crop this year was especially nice. This was a great way to use up some of the San Marzano tomatoes that I grew in my garden this year. I had made quite a bit of tomato sauce for the freezer at this point, so I decided to try something different and went with this Bruschetta in a Jar. It's kind of dangerous to can oily or dairy-based things, at least in hot water bath canning, so this requires a little work to make it great. You just have to add some olive oil and a little bit of fresh mozzarella to make it just the perfect thing to spread on little toasts or crackers. I've already gotten a thumbs-up review of this as well. I'll have to keep it on my list of things to make again next year!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNJXehVwYIVFBiEOkmGeUyNcL2Cl-r7kLhmrtiBWbDX5KGF_9h4v8uzqFlRCKrqhJwozV5eH7ahjfXq4gLab75a7vTUUyTzCaPNyL42m2T-99dhdLDnaqOAzTseluh4A2HRggXQNWmIk/s1600/09Bruschetta.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNJXehVwYIVFBiEOkmGeUyNcL2Cl-r7kLhmrtiBWbDX5KGF_9h4v8uzqFlRCKrqhJwozV5eH7ahjfXq4gLab75a7vTUUyTzCaPNyL42m2T-99dhdLDnaqOAzTseluh4A2HRggXQNWmIk/s400/09Bruschetta.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690911541262721314" border="0" /></a>My community garden had an abundance of abandoned late-summer jalapenos, so picked some and pickled them! I didn't pick a peck of peppers to pickle, but I got enough to make a few jars. They're great on nachos!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcH9kUp3D3Ui0m4OcaZPhyphenhyphennbweXaWYT542U-U_HNx-UIDHPAVlgHpMnqYHW_2DI5ih8jzclDWq-N-2JbHslVUNV6H_c7UFa-t0juhru3ZbtkBsMigOM_ZZsulCbY4WIlJJoQgVDAB3CHk/s1600/10Peppers.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 393px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcH9kUp3D3Ui0m4OcaZPhyphenhyphennbweXaWYT542U-U_HNx-UIDHPAVlgHpMnqYHW_2DI5ih8jzclDWq-N-2JbHslVUNV6H_c7UFa-t0juhru3ZbtkBsMigOM_ZZsulCbY4WIlJJoQgVDAB3CHk/s400/10Peppers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690911540449145586" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhpM_CXHC8p-Q-LGEMShGiGerr33FitpY1MthwXd0SXun4Fr0qmkfsT6xUd9bcNriQy8BcJw4-AQjNI4dA1_wJpK5IewYr0JI1tAO2lnzptaFVfb5nLwiaBNfdfnO4M9_KRvvOikyg3Tw/s1600/11Peppers.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 384px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhpM_CXHC8p-Q-LGEMShGiGerr33FitpY1MthwXd0SXun4Fr0qmkfsT6xUd9bcNriQy8BcJw4-AQjNI4dA1_wJpK5IewYr0JI1tAO2lnzptaFVfb5nLwiaBNfdfnO4M9_KRvvOikyg3Tw/s400/11Peppers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690911343806277442" border="0" /></a>The peaches! Oh, the peaches this year were just amazing! I can't go on enough about how much I loved this year's stone-fruit crop. Every week they were in season I bought enough to have one almost every day. At the peak of the season I bought more peaches than I thought I could ever use and yet again discovered that it takes a lot of fruit to make jam. It also takes the effort of peeling all of them, which I'm still figuring out the best method to use. But the result was pretty outstanding if I do say so myself. This jar was one I gave my parents and it was opened on Christmas morning to accompany our breakfast. I love it with cottage cheese and of course it's great on toast or an english muffin. Yum!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3D93w8IGJ3gD5YOUgxAezK44GE90ABr8Zq76J5jlao2wFT98Nq7SnVLQGbruoVrvrzARCuNjWRqGqjliOMNdAe1FWrO8EMUgoT1rmC8JPFs8K3FKCTPHULPwsosft4X6_1NTeA4hyphenhyphen9j0/s1600/12PeachJam.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 279px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3D93w8IGJ3gD5YOUgxAezK44GE90ABr8Zq76J5jlao2wFT98Nq7SnVLQGbruoVrvrzARCuNjWRqGqjliOMNdAe1FWrO8EMUgoT1rmC8JPFs8K3FKCTPHULPwsosft4X6_1NTeA4hyphenhyphen9j0/s400/12PeachJam.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690911301064789490" border="0" /></a>Also, the week of Christmas, I made a couple batches of Molasses cookies. These made it into each gift basket and I also filled another of the snowman jars with them to give to my 94 year old grammy, who has a huge sweet tooth. She approved whole-heartedly and kept complimenting my cookie-making skills, which I know are far inferior to some people I know. But I'm glad she liked them. She had already taken the jar home by the time I got around to taking photos, but this was the fabric and tag that went on the jar:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFk_tmkSSWwC9QVamf5RRWNINsyCIW7mQ-OabXWCy3m6KsaaB5QhvK57nWXajfazlqDQryFkp9AG5LjRacfufE6-Jh-L6GXes0-n12vqdZeSzOMRiwi17GY3FJsi1KiUgI20BS8M_n9YE/s1600/13Cookies.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 295px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFk_tmkSSWwC9QVamf5RRWNINsyCIW7mQ-OabXWCy3m6KsaaB5QhvK57nWXajfazlqDQryFkp9AG5LjRacfufE6-Jh-L6GXes0-n12vqdZeSzOMRiwi17GY3FJsi1KiUgI20BS8M_n9YE/s400/13Cookies.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690911293648510146" border="0" /></a>Here are the elements that were included in the basket I gave my parents, all lined up in a row.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilm33MUNo8_kVmV9hUHpeRNACC_a0e04ghhSrODo3np5zgBfbqa48vfQbtD-w2K0kTrk7Vi5ltUDBSChvwrFhVAaGd33UwxAscw2_EYQZ6humjV4n4NSNwDyARTlpr3qAaflkKjvudB3s/s1600/14Basket.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilm33MUNo8_kVmV9hUHpeRNACC_a0e04ghhSrODo3np5zgBfbqa48vfQbtD-w2K0kTrk7Vi5ltUDBSChvwrFhVAaGd33UwxAscw2_EYQZ6humjV4n4NSNwDyARTlpr3qAaflkKjvudB3s/s400/14Basket.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690911294615495714" border="0" /></a>And here it is in the basket. I also got the baskets at the Crate & Barrel Outlet and to finish wrapping it up, I got a roll of clear cello and put the bow on top. I was really happy with the end result and I think everyone was happy with their Christmas gifts!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjip9psjQFVmYJ3KfWRH5tuSw2F5WHmUeWNGOgVVOeqCd_aeSWaAQync9WAG1n9CSn3l6pIFStTIWrwZJyolzpQW9PLt_2p8dvm1LFFo754BrwDMPh0gqcO861rsR3YjNJwROuv5irfvyQ/s1600/15Basket.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 365px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjip9psjQFVmYJ3KfWRH5tuSw2F5WHmUeWNGOgVVOeqCd_aeSWaAQync9WAG1n9CSn3l6pIFStTIWrwZJyolzpQW9PLt_2p8dvm1LFFo754BrwDMPh0gqcO861rsR3YjNJwROuv5irfvyQ/s400/15Basket.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690911288557727330" border="0" /></a>And to anyone who thinks that homemade gifts are the easy, cheap way to go, I have to heartily disagree! I put way more effort, time and energy into these gifts than I would have if I had gone out and purchased something. But the end result is totally worth it! Already looking forward to trying new things next year.Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-8693175258133690212011-12-09T08:34:00.010-05:002012-01-02T00:58:49.516-05:00Prairie Home in NYC and the Phaal of Fame<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6CKFz6LK9ZANe-lTGTr229YtgmFvxrYfGF6gqTvNLAhvMNAxV3ZPSo0xcsFZxzvcVlbGMPBunEaUWQH9OVTExZu4OvZu7PoGCslwhxir1pBL-Dq1fO-Xx2qKxrJcZDUTuODSRgeGwoI/s1600/01Celcius.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6CKFz6LK9ZANe-lTGTr229YtgmFvxrYfGF6gqTvNLAhvMNAxV3ZPSo0xcsFZxzvcVlbGMPBunEaUWQH9OVTExZu4OvZu7PoGCslwhxir1pBL-Dq1fO-Xx2qKxrJcZDUTuODSRgeGwoI/s400/01Celcius.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684132033187852882" border="0" /></a>Mac and I headed into NYC for a fun-filled day on December 3rd. The main purpose for going was to attend a taping of A Prairie Home Companion, which was a late birthday/early Christmas gift for Mac. But before going to the show, we squeezed in a few hours of metropolitan fun. Our first stop was Celsius at Bryant Park. It's a restaurant that overlooks the ice skating rink and it was a great place to grab lunch. And after eating we wandered around the Christmas market for a bit. There's always something interesting going on in Bryant Park. The above photo was taken while the ice was being Zambonied, that's why no one's skating.<br /><br />While walking around to the front of the library building we came across this wonderful little view of the Chrysler Building with the moon right above it. It's funny, it was one of those things where you see someone taking a photo, so you look up and then think "That is a good photo" so you lift your camera and before you know it everyone is stopped on the street taking a peek at this scene. Sometimes it's hard to look up when you're in the city, you don't want to trip or step in something, but I'm glad we got to see this little moment.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtEQItUlbk1dNRRTNDiNGIiUSNmgzj133hr7mvt4WNdPyyphSN4CkTO_eJjG3ofdEL1q2RNOGGPTgU5qt0lpPiSSsD9qIFGZjyEudk7VVz-PMI_XxpRSHV-Da2l-TBmxDD7QaEyVEQoIs/s1600/02ChryslerBldg.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtEQItUlbk1dNRRTNDiNGIiUSNmgzj133hr7mvt4WNdPyyphSN4CkTO_eJjG3ofdEL1q2RNOGGPTgU5qt0lpPiSSsD9qIFGZjyEudk7VVz-PMI_XxpRSHV-Da2l-TBmxDD7QaEyVEQoIs/s400/02ChryslerBldg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684131971269088066" border="0" /></a>When we got to the front of the Public Library there was a cute little group of kids caroling. I really do love Christmastime in NYC. We also enjoyed the "Best Of" exhibit in the library. It was like a greatest hits show of their treasures to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the building.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFLd6W674LVvTZf81DstiDf0nOAawnW8T4sTiKm3qafDtjWFpN3Jr4eGf0MF5Y25LlUDntYWFIESi2WLzq4dl1QFNvdWrtQny245UGyjMsGGvLXdYaJM8eqz3laz_k_1pawEG2J6iugA/s1600/03NYPL.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFLd6W674LVvTZf81DstiDf0nOAawnW8T4sTiKm3qafDtjWFpN3Jr4eGf0MF5Y25LlUDntYWFIESi2WLzq4dl1QFNvdWrtQny245UGyjMsGGvLXdYaJM8eqz3laz_k_1pawEG2J6iugA/s400/03NYPL.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684131968295899634" border="0" /></a>We also stopped in at The Princeton Club of NYC. We happened to be walking past it and just popped in to see what it was all about. And it's all about flaunting your Princeton pedigree. Super posh, members-only, etc, etc... But it was a trip to go in and see it, especially when they gave Mac info about becoming a member. We read it on the train ride home, mostly in disbelief that such a place exists.<br /><br />We also stopped at the International Center of Photography, which is conveniently right around the corner from the theatre where Prairie Home was happening. We stopped in for some art and a snack. It was a perfect little break before the show.<br /><br />Then on to Prairie Home! We had very good seats and thoroughly enjoyed the show with musical guests Nellie McKay and Heather Masse. And of course, Garrison Keillor is just such a great storyteller. It was a great way to spend the afternoon and a perfect excuse to go into the city. Here's the outside of Town Hall:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0ZCSC1aypCKjs4GLyvsHfhJRbxIz2Mmmxl0MbEnNlHGxpS1vucyDHH0eFOBlB7frndhq6XKWyLLNbE0s0xrBHxIRIgjwqkRZM3BvXYsn66UwVXDMTkLOzZTUOvJftwgaTo9uspybsvA/s1600/04TownHall.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0ZCSC1aypCKjs4GLyvsHfhJRbxIz2Mmmxl0MbEnNlHGxpS1vucyDHH0eFOBlB7frndhq6XKWyLLNbE0s0xrBHxIRIgjwqkRZM3BvXYsn66UwVXDMTkLOzZTUOvJftwgaTo9uspybsvA/s400/04TownHall.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684131947759306226" border="0" /></a>And a shot I snuck in at the end of the show:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJK0BjTwhsS1ZtrMwSNspadusj11KgXZSAHlL1sjvdFTCpyuo96j-GfhHp3G20sK2x1FH5LSv9kLhGSf5LmRO0ZAEVNIH6MCZZFMbrYUKys9WdYqH3rA1jzAn7az0Li27-jhWFYIwyzqg/s1600/05PHSonstage.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 243px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJK0BjTwhsS1ZtrMwSNspadusj11KgXZSAHlL1sjvdFTCpyuo96j-GfhHp3G20sK2x1FH5LSv9kLhGSf5LmRO0ZAEVNIH6MCZZFMbrYUKys9WdYqH3rA1jzAn7az0Li27-jhWFYIwyzqg/s400/05PHSonstage.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684131932184472482" border="0" /></a>And Mac and I outside the theatre after the show:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl1z0FBU0_JoBMGlEGUAZMAbPaVBWC8di8X5gNZca54yuwvjd7KYtmpuOHVuKYgaMnLZfNR158BummQn8-nNOH4ciELFm-w6pdXQ8mTRaquxr_RNec1HQ5-mERdpsnc9cLKoXbg-1H3eQ/s1600/06PHC.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 324px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl1z0FBU0_JoBMGlEGUAZMAbPaVBWC8di8X5gNZca54yuwvjd7KYtmpuOHVuKYgaMnLZfNR158BummQn8-nNOH4ciELFm-w6pdXQ8mTRaquxr_RNec1HQ5-mERdpsnc9cLKoXbg-1H3eQ/s400/06PHC.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684131918311170978" border="0" /></a>Our second mission (or at least Mac's mission) was to go to Brick Lane Curry House to eat what is supposedly the hottest curry in NYC. Read the description below to get an idea:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDhZF2S77JmVbuuHRyNDs2-1Sp5JpEjlkqDbaW7TSQ7zpyb9goIZxQrbKeRqTYihH_t2-0qRsHx4kDNc4WxeAoF7uwApb1Cw8cYGr_8pZJ3EHxMFYICOS3O6AaFhfm-Mj-IsmVN-J_Dh8/s1600/07Phaal.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 135px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDhZF2S77JmVbuuHRyNDs2-1Sp5JpEjlkqDbaW7TSQ7zpyb9goIZxQrbKeRqTYihH_t2-0qRsHx4kDNc4WxeAoF7uwApb1Cw8cYGr_8pZJ3EHxMFYICOS3O6AaFhfm-Mj-IsmVN-J_Dh8/s400/07Phaal.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684131719368845586" border="0" /></a>Mac has been excited about trying this since he saw it featured on Man v. Food on the Travel Channel. I was more nervous about this than he was. When I asked if he was ready for this he said, "I was born ready." Here he is trying the first bite:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYa9t9GBWaq6zP8j5v3pXkm0q4Mq04BharJmUvz3TCWbmWzxHvKM_FTblCxm0e3eQD5l9JdCDH_7QZyCKkQa02eoxaLUlHZxZRI86UM3d_PTiNlU57aNlMWKx0DzGGDlPMkOgqEqGH9s/s1600/08FirstBite.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 262px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYa9t9GBWaq6zP8j5v3pXkm0q4Mq04BharJmUvz3TCWbmWzxHvKM_FTblCxm0e3eQD5l9JdCDH_7QZyCKkQa02eoxaLUlHZxZRI86UM3d_PTiNlU57aNlMWKx0DzGGDlPMkOgqEqGH9s/s400/08FirstBite.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684131705979055362" border="0" /></a>And here's the last bite. He polished it off in about 10 minutes. No Naan. No Water. No Rice. Just straight up hot, hot curry. I was thoroughly impressed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYqOiCaVaCE1SS83UNaP6oK8ovVjIZpqefL4YzcbarpcI7hAnhGpSYNx1WJuOba5g7suCJqS5zclu2RXe8HQvt1b_P89ED9sPm9WNFivJZQFsc07MeIP9z-2YP1PYw34e6DYPWO6mbqY/s1600/09LastBite.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 273px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYqOiCaVaCE1SS83UNaP6oK8ovVjIZpqefL4YzcbarpcI7hAnhGpSYNx1WJuOba5g7suCJqS5zclu2RXe8HQvt1b_P89ED9sPm9WNFivJZQFsc07MeIP9z-2YP1PYw34e6DYPWO6mbqY/s400/09LastBite.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684131693992281634" border="0" /></a>And here he is, proud of his clean plate. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisAbxo2AbWFCfzv3IetLmLQ142kppTmlmagr3f1xPQoCQHkug5eawX48gxODZVf4ouPKMqwjQ6R-C98WjZhZslUVpDRza5Tkyi0Cu8Q-dGchuclIS1ISj1KltB6ADe__dsN8EY6rZKcEU/s1600/10Done.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 251px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisAbxo2AbWFCfzv3IetLmLQ142kppTmlmagr3f1xPQoCQHkug5eawX48gxODZVf4ouPKMqwjQ6R-C98WjZhZslUVpDRza5Tkyi0Cu8Q-dGchuclIS1ISj1KltB6ADe__dsN8EY6rZKcEU/s400/10Done.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684131669679617458" border="0" /></a>This is his expression after the waitstaff congratulated him:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRSwLSqG6kV-7k5X2Cl5t9lnLLTWrO4K2SadnSlZ0DVf9byMu2f199587C57bThNF0RQsu92xHDF4BOhIpN8udlminAJv6-6-rc_aXlDyq9v7SHoPPrO8T-7GEMwKMB2Y_o6S77ccxhc/s1600/11PhaalSmile.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 255px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRSwLSqG6kV-7k5X2Cl5t9lnLLTWrO4K2SadnSlZ0DVf9byMu2f199587C57bThNF0RQsu92xHDF4BOhIpN8udlminAJv6-6-rc_aXlDyq9v7SHoPPrO8T-7GEMwKMB2Y_o6S77ccxhc/s400/11PhaalSmile.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684131664087381218" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXDP60r2U26O8cjl-I3-KO0rLNP01rG_TzG8DD_cfZ5iVmpJhT_4gG74lIvrR1LJh_yIWFV0YNkuUs-ClyXya2im7WpLiDMwvXcRz9J47FK5LWPnQGEXmAMEpvzzkvKNM49LFEvdfIl78/s1600/12Empty.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXDP60r2U26O8cjl-I3-KO0rLNP01rG_TzG8DD_cfZ5iVmpJhT_4gG74lIvrR1LJh_yIWFV0YNkuUs-ClyXya2im7WpLiDMwvXcRz9J47FK5LWPnQGEXmAMEpvzzkvKNM49LFEvdfIl78/s400/12Empty.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684131291849380418" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: left;">And our server presenting him with the official "Phaal of Curry" certificate:<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitKXwq_3tHTKR5rTVjnywcg57Xg6yeEaqMp15bHVaneJRuV1JkGSaAzZknm6ECUf5DYVdEtbUfW_So13fe3fv9MDlKF3pBkHhRzK_XoEHERqzzyv-xOyPEE1h6sSvr8ep9KBWAzOtKynQ/s1600/13Congrats.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitKXwq_3tHTKR5rTVjnywcg57Xg6yeEaqMp15bHVaneJRuV1JkGSaAzZknm6ECUf5DYVdEtbUfW_So13fe3fv9MDlKF3pBkHhRzK_XoEHERqzzyv-xOyPEE1h6sSvr8ep9KBWAzOtKynQ/s400/13Congrats.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684131280075676818" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: left;">He's a Phaal Curry Monster!<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCihMh57HjrFQxoqevT8uPnEOOVzDvzOMD0_ALojzJWK1sxDL0sy2xFkXNJnlc6Dal8TIhUEyS__Y4XBqKclDfSe1CFZijUUE1TM9G-hn6usBbDvGDcYJvjKFLT07rbRZWT5QNnzQJ-Io/s1600/14Certificate.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCihMh57HjrFQxoqevT8uPnEOOVzDvzOMD0_ALojzJWK1sxDL0sy2xFkXNJnlc6Dal8TIhUEyS__Y4XBqKclDfSe1CFZijUUE1TM9G-hn6usBbDvGDcYJvjKFLT07rbRZWT5QNnzQJ-Io/s400/14Certificate.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684131274245061218" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: left;">After dinner we walked back to Penn Station via Rockefeller Center and all the craziness of seeing the big Christmas tree. It was too crowded to go inside, but we walked down the block and got a couple photos.<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigSfjHZj5dKdga11eDFZYMQC0r0Gzx1McVFmwqs6mb-X_YfeB2_e-RqPDwgzZqykS7KkVtc40EE45dzzrwBl3bDyho622RXN-STOfl2JaCpp8mNO_ocqMtRGQQXOgUwwmhsEYqRuo5bKE/s1600/15RockTree.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigSfjHZj5dKdga11eDFZYMQC0r0Gzx1McVFmwqs6mb-X_YfeB2_e-RqPDwgzZqykS7KkVtc40EE45dzzrwBl3bDyho622RXN-STOfl2JaCpp8mNO_ocqMtRGQQXOgUwwmhsEYqRuo5bKE/s400/15RockTree.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684131265434310210" border="0" /></a>We also walked through Times Square just for fun. It's always an experience to see all the lights and hubbub.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigSfjHZj5dKdga11eDFZYMQC0r0Gzx1McVFmwqs6mb-X_YfeB2_e-RqPDwgzZqykS7KkVtc40EE45dzzrwBl3bDyho622RXN-STOfl2JaCpp8mNO_ocqMtRGQQXOgUwwmhsEYqRuo5bKE/s1600/15RockTree.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq19tT6z_wiRA-RBAiyV7qGX91jCWJFS4IgqhLSPrF82spVbwqSD-OaIU5VXdxaMY2Q4yaedaGj-f7jBctkPidRMxZinGaYBecoXMgbEn8wmZSoqk1-Q3qbyrq8XLStPcTmOWjrSf6XsQ/s400/16TimesSquare.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684131256587106146" border="0" /></a>After a very full day, we got back on NJ Transit and headed home. It was a great way to usher in the craziness of the holiday season and something fun to do together. For as close as we are to NYC, we don't find ourselves going there very often, but when we do get up there we always try to make the most of the (kind of expensive) train tickets and cram in as much fun as we can. I think we were successful in this, yet again.Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-42729329215816232362011-11-23T10:00:00.002-05:002011-12-27T15:51:37.405-05:00Tiger Trot 2011<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjDnj8XHjdSawiv5UgAEBJB9iZEvKYiqhajz5NL6ZFLZOwas6b3L43d2fHDBzBFtg2jREuOUVV7JcvR_Nu2tI8tTjtR2oMOh-mvEc6NXKTx7w6D3ChaPiGN-pSw9jRb74WM2snss7ph-k/s1600/TigerTrot2011.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjDnj8XHjdSawiv5UgAEBJB9iZEvKYiqhajz5NL6ZFLZOwas6b3L43d2fHDBzBFtg2jREuOUVV7JcvR_Nu2tI8tTjtR2oMOh-mvEc6NXKTx7w6D3ChaPiGN-pSw9jRb74WM2snss7ph-k/s400/TigerTrot2011.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678206828101941314" /></a>This year I convinced my co-workers to join Mac and I for a 5K being held on campus. It was a pretty easy sell: the "entry fee" was a canned good, it was on a Friday afternoon and the starting line was about 100 yards from the front door of the library. We all did well, even though it was a bit of a chilly day and the route definitely had some hills on it. I ran my best 5K time yet, and all of us finished without heaving too hard. It was great to get everyone out of the building and doing something fun together. <div><br /></div><div>And because we had 6 people on our team, we were awarded "Intramural Champion" t-shirts because we had the biggest departmental team at the race. So for one canned good we got two t-shirts and an afternoon to remember.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mac ran this race as well, but he was running for Wilson College where he's a Residential Graduate Student, so he didn't count as part of our team. He finished faster than me and actually ran back to meet me for the end of the race and cheered me on to the finish line. It was fun to cross together even though he had already finished. </div><div><br /></div><div>It was a great day and for a good cause. All of the food went to support a local food bank in time for Thanksgiving.</div>Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-85645846343624098722011-10-31T10:33:00.004-04:002011-11-12T09:53:32.201-05:00Pumpkin Carving 2011 - in the dark!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZQlrMihXyyQgqC0hmV8ka81Wl-8SEngIQ7qtXHE6FPjGbbk15s820RECGGUjYZ6WoSpitWosCmUAqUGgQkHrwKyB3R00Ck_kOUXqiTglNFBTSmiUeJJCcSBHneWLPC4UAycBqIhJTKs/s1600/Pumpkins.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZQlrMihXyyQgqC0hmV8ka81Wl-8SEngIQ7qtXHE6FPjGbbk15s820RECGGUjYZ6WoSpitWosCmUAqUGgQkHrwKyB3R00Ck_kOUXqiTglNFBTSmiUeJJCcSBHneWLPC4UAycBqIhJTKs/s400/Pumpkins.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669664786808810194" border="0" /></a>Right as I was leaving my parent's house on Sunday afternoon, Mac called to let me know that the power was out in my apartment. That was around 3pm, and people were showing up to carve pumpkins around 5pm. So, I headed back to Princeton and sure enough, when I got to my apartment there was still no power. In fact the power stayed out through the entire party, but we still had a great time carving pumpkins, and got some wonderful results! Here's me, Mac, Kim, Nicole, Tyler and Kim after carving:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_y9eZAW8i3Dgx-MeAjp1mPHIJTOKS36G7aBB95Wp-LbYZn6hfEKAlwhCVW2UdkTFSzz1DMQjUihZW7cKK3tLnKJOYYkYTNMKxmrafSQhyphenhyphen-lr6Lt7Ts423PF_y5RRwvsVsG9tOdAldng/s1600/People.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_y9eZAW8i3Dgx-MeAjp1mPHIJTOKS36G7aBB95Wp-LbYZn6hfEKAlwhCVW2UdkTFSzz1DMQjUihZW7cKK3tLnKJOYYkYTNMKxmrafSQhyphenhyphen-lr6Lt7Ts423PF_y5RRwvsVsG9tOdAldng/s400/People.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669664780592294738" border="0" /></a>With the really long exposure that's needed for the dark conditions, I had the camera on a tripod and someone took this ghostly photo while everyone was getting ready to go:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqH3DLlV3UUcP60yj4micFh0EJ32xEULrJqqgO6sEbStMtxkvCJDgyhkZTD1vrd4qolgT3fIS0HmUXGVBRbo1EyYJY9sW9WoQKSQrj-nGBcmkXBSh_cYifBq3ZB6ZV1xiLYF7CXueXl5Y/s1600/Ghosty.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqH3DLlV3UUcP60yj4micFh0EJ32xEULrJqqgO6sEbStMtxkvCJDgyhkZTD1vrd4qolgT3fIS0HmUXGVBRbo1EyYJY9sW9WoQKSQrj-nGBcmkXBSh_cYifBq3ZB6ZV1xiLYF7CXueXl5Y/s400/Ghosty.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669664776944120962" border="0" /></a>The original plan was to have dinner at my house, but we ended up going out to get sushi instead. This was certainly a memorable way to celebrate my 12th annual pumpkin carving party!Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-55053844357571754392011-10-31T09:35:00.001-04:002011-11-12T09:46:07.870-05:00End of October Family Birthday Fun<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjosvU053rNfI-tquiJg32lqVSnyYsuDUoXoCWe6NHRvtB2WvO7RqdrrVdjeLvziFFoh5aLQH_VL498g4lhCbFsc5AGUk6PSNsQFLfPHK4JeNz4u4tr_GEA_DdyBurJGM2sg257fmiKljU/s1600/CandleLighting.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjosvU053rNfI-tquiJg32lqVSnyYsuDUoXoCWe6NHRvtB2WvO7RqdrrVdjeLvziFFoh5aLQH_VL498g4lhCbFsc5AGUk6PSNsQFLfPHK4JeNz4u4tr_GEA_DdyBurJGM2sg257fmiKljU/s400/CandleLighting.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669668041888731074" border="0" /></a>On Sunday, after the snow, everyone came down to Mom and Dad's house to wish Dad and Dan Happy Birthdays. It was a fun excuse to get everyone in one place, which the kids especially love. We had a little cake and ice cream and sang Happy Birthday, and John played along on his saxophone:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsGnHHs7Gjqr4q-yH9z8Gmk3bw-jcp9schHoB_mS1TCOcK6-ETnl1UwN0ojdPHTJKZPKz5IgQQqQk4tdLiD1LtB3uoZ7mrRafAkv_ia-AWwQmmvAatFTLLkkSeqJDegELW8gfa8qoor34/s1600/JohnSax.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 244px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsGnHHs7Gjqr4q-yH9z8Gmk3bw-jcp9schHoB_mS1TCOcK6-ETnl1UwN0ojdPHTJKZPKz5IgQQqQk4tdLiD1LtB3uoZ7mrRafAkv_ia-AWwQmmvAatFTLLkkSeqJDegELW8gfa8qoor34/s400/JohnSax.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669667204325358466" border="0" /></a>And did a really great job!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif9VE8O9cHWUKICnyNn7HJz4xGNFITidIWXwaMZosL0HWQX_dA1OP9RWdQtfmDF34bvnP2AW0uD7DZZ20DK92HyvzppINNItoQBBQ1MCHrvUWNULmtbgwd6jayeqoRXp8EPonJ_wgx6S0/s1600/JohnSaxSmile.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif9VE8O9cHWUKICnyNn7HJz4xGNFITidIWXwaMZosL0HWQX_dA1OP9RWdQtfmDF34bvnP2AW0uD7DZZ20DK92HyvzppINNItoQBBQ1MCHrvUWNULmtbgwd6jayeqoRXp8EPonJ_wgx6S0/s400/JohnSaxSmile.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669667199409937154" border="0" /></a>Here are Dad and Dan blowing out their candles. Unfortunately, Mac wasn't able to make it, otherwise he would have joined them.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEileAtL2qGc_vRPcq7Q9nGxjcfbaGgDYWfU4HvfoggwsqqREuA4fMmNdM9x-XdfXJ5Ux1SQnQzH60dd7MED3YOoQaO2U5JNyyblSn7J8zFhy-04OCBTkRH56Fc6inMTaKOfJ1axKy0Qch4/s1600/CandleBlow.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEileAtL2qGc_vRPcq7Q9nGxjcfbaGgDYWfU4HvfoggwsqqREuA4fMmNdM9x-XdfXJ5Ux1SQnQzH60dd7MED3YOoQaO2U5JNyyblSn7J8zFhy-04OCBTkRH56Fc6inMTaKOfJ1axKy0Qch4/s400/CandleBlow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669667185963866898" border="0" /></a>This year, I got Dad a headlamp. The idea came to me after they were without power during Hurricane Irene and I told them how much Mac and I liked having headlamps in a power outage and Mom thought it was a good idea. So here's Dad and I with his headlamp:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFJnpEp6sC3ID71SdCdLKx5Voq2psjpI7qhrY-vpnWwFbr0xt1G42K4jzI37dx5wk1DDrenhCAXkF8iuNwj6i0Ooorkv-OuvcL29GZU2oFbLffjPLRt9RhqZdwoLyyCkRA39Y3SoT8_PU/s1600/DadHeadlamp.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFJnpEp6sC3ID71SdCdLKx5Voq2psjpI7qhrY-vpnWwFbr0xt1G42K4jzI37dx5wk1DDrenhCAXkF8iuNwj6i0Ooorkv-OuvcL29GZU2oFbLffjPLRt9RhqZdwoLyyCkRA39Y3SoT8_PU/s400/DadHeadlamp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669667181943055314" border="0" /></a>I hope it comes in handy!<br /><br />It was also the day before Halloween, so I had to bring treats for the boys. Here they all are with me and their goody bags. I promise, they're all in there somewhere...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfOmdvRFKndHJkyi7KOuURPuPBprediToD9V98D74DpYM6SuDGrG7xBgZLq3AE-j6QvHEib7yk4y1CPXb2kcsorC5o79bCeNnx0lGwNMSQFQkpGuPN-QdtiY0AgEbN9LGD4oAXbquxUAs/s1600/AuntBeth.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfOmdvRFKndHJkyi7KOuURPuPBprediToD9V98D74DpYM6SuDGrG7xBgZLq3AE-j6QvHEib7yk4y1CPXb2kcsorC5o79bCeNnx0lGwNMSQFQkpGuPN-QdtiY0AgEbN9LGD4oAXbquxUAs/s400/AuntBeth.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669667180749796114" border="0" /></a>Everyone else stuck around for dinner, but I had to leave in the afternoon to get back up to Princeton to host my Pumpkin Carving Party.Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-76218586553632099972011-10-29T22:44:00.001-04:002011-11-12T09:38:18.503-05:00October Snow!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBeGMn0bIbkh98zy3pXWAILgof4lkpHK4XFjSkS4XOn_nBok9cBzoZOUxnsGM3hUBK2HFI8CEh4poENTNTS4NXLSf3qZ_5w6P8Hj2DsM33s9SsRTz59DdL7Gb0FpZcpM6VeNNPwutu6J8/s1600/WitherspoonSt.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBeGMn0bIbkh98zy3pXWAILgof4lkpHK4XFjSkS4XOn_nBok9cBzoZOUxnsGM3hUBK2HFI8CEh4poENTNTS4NXLSf3qZ_5w6P8Hj2DsM33s9SsRTz59DdL7Gb0FpZcpM6VeNNPwutu6J8/s400/WitherspoonSt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669669035682577330" border="0" /></a>Of course, the day that we have a big family birthday gathering planned, it decides to snow! This was a freakishly early October snowstorm on Saturday the 29th. Princeton got about 5 inches of the white stuff, but the biggest problem was that many of the trees had not yet lost all of their leaves, so this heavy wet snow stuck to the leaves, weighed down the branches and snapped limbs on many trees in town. In the photo above you can already see that there isn't too much snow, but limbs from the huge pear trees on Witherspoon had already snapped. <br /><br />And a little tree outside my apartment building didn't fair so well either:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIUcZdgeTm-YieKKF70Sxkdf_t9kdlX-qGP8fz4W73MBxxPCE0mvKZfGBw5jPKI88pPpFWjq-wq8mMxVlc2ycNiUfli__53MJnL6wtcX8DOI5AqkjU5t4BejypgBObp0AWqIYfmDraU9M/s1600/Tree.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 282px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIUcZdgeTm-YieKKF70Sxkdf_t9kdlX-qGP8fz4W73MBxxPCE0mvKZfGBw5jPKI88pPpFWjq-wq8mMxVlc2ycNiUfli__53MJnL6wtcX8DOI5AqkjU5t4BejypgBObp0AWqIYfmDraU9M/s400/Tree.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669669029144710354" border="0" /></a>In order to save the trees in the courtyard of my building, Mac and I went out and shook the snow off the branches a couple times and watched them spring back up once the weight of the snow was off of them. Here's another view of Spring St. with some of the damaged trees:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB19MZu_JSR_hjhyHF-w5aDHwBxWZdKj0kKSOXZJcop3Wp5XhUOj0WACUFtMve_qkKRb2hCnhYiPM3MIRq947rTut81ZFU2z9H7CnLsSL-zufuf7DyYazFc10Nfz8vKUMz3Nhp1GkOjRc/s1600/SpringStreet.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB19MZu_JSR_hjhyHF-w5aDHwBxWZdKj0kKSOXZJcop3Wp5XhUOj0WACUFtMve_qkKRb2hCnhYiPM3MIRq947rTut81ZFU2z9H7CnLsSL-zufuf7DyYazFc10Nfz8vKUMz3Nhp1GkOjRc/s400/SpringStreet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669669024394172818" border="0" /></a>Thankfully the next day was much nicer and most of the snow on the roads had melted. We were able to reschedule the family birthday fun AND I got to squeeze in my pumpkin carving, too.Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-25397444045525856082011-10-24T10:24:00.001-04:002011-11-12T09:30:25.752-05:00Mac's Birthday weekend<div style="text-align: left;">Mac's birthday is October 25th, but this year he had to be at a conference that day, so we celebrated the weekend before. It was another beautiful fall weekend in NJ, so we took advantage and did some outdoor things along with some fun indoor things, too.<br /><br />One of the highlights of the weekend was going to the Howell Living History Farm during their "pick your own popcorn" event. On our way out to the popcorn field, we came across this lovely scene of one of the farmers using a team of horses to plow a field.<br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIcs667AGxpkqaMnRvgI4peOtUxdFJ1Nz34iFREclw8L3jibHIMqHSJN_JSBWF1TGYwNjEMtIejee8s0DUOxuK4WXdJ9Y_E1p-fX02cW_vLHkjHaDTFmIXMkUSKkvTHl4NeE8u9QgtQKY/s1600/HowellHorsePlow.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIcs667AGxpkqaMnRvgI4peOtUxdFJ1Nz34iFREclw8L3jibHIMqHSJN_JSBWF1TGYwNjEMtIejee8s0DUOxuK4WXdJ9Y_E1p-fX02cW_vLHkjHaDTFmIXMkUSKkvTHl4NeE8u9QgtQKY/s400/HowellHorsePlow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669663972883547282" border="0" /></a>Once we got to the field with the popcorn, we were pretty much given free rein to go through and pick any ears that we thought looked good. Mac and I found a good trove in the middle of the field. Mac didn't seem to have any problem getting his ears off the plant:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIcs667AGxpkqaMnRvgI4peOtUxdFJ1Nz34iFREclw8L3jibHIMqHSJN_JSBWF1TGYwNjEMtIejee8s0DUOxuK4WXdJ9Y_E1p-fX02cW_vLHkjHaDTFmIXMkUSKkvTHl4NeE8u9QgtQKY/s1600/HowellHorsePlow.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigktLPtrgg8JfOGcu48ELi31ftdfS8TfNp-b2gnfOV6bMjcELLW3xGmTPZOYtE1833VPlVndBaRwCs8-CaqzxpGoHDh7FYpfZKnaKJ8WOWu3Au-mtFlqr8wwkdjz5JhMO3gQs_9ZZ7fDM/s400/CornMac.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669664072600649266" border="0" /></a>I, on the other hand had a little more of a struggle. Here's me posing for a photo:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPOI8p5h99YpVhloqbZUrw3FhEy58t_1y-0vhJy6Dg-5wI2xNMBGEwWcf6AP0Z4oR_dkZTwuOqb5q3KI5edLlfyaELgabP9qi7FEgnilZ0qZIQF9WFWz7qbByWQJgG2Io6x8mv8DfM-EE/s1600/CornBeth1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPOI8p5h99YpVhloqbZUrw3FhEy58t_1y-0vhJy6Dg-5wI2xNMBGEwWcf6AP0Z4oR_dkZTwuOqb5q3KI5edLlfyaELgabP9qi7FEgnilZ0qZIQF9WFWz7qbByWQJgG2Io6x8mv8DfM-EE/s400/CornBeth1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669663971630294194" border="0" /></a>Here's me after having to yank so hard on the ear that my sunglasses fell off:<br /><br /><div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAiWfQ-G4kDSVJ6aYjCrDO-_7yHT8E7IiaGKXNturyutGFFlo21YjT_tM4MDhx4uAhAa5IrKu4KyDTxo6Ei1QpiDu_J3_Z2Xx9NLDSeBEEms0_sUuk-o8W0H4-3M458R5ks8pHQr7yHG8/s1600/CornBeth2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAiWfQ-G4kDSVJ6aYjCrDO-_7yHT8E7IiaGKXNturyutGFFlo21YjT_tM4MDhx4uAhAa5IrKu4KyDTxo6Ei1QpiDu_J3_Z2Xx9NLDSeBEEms0_sUuk-o8W0H4-3M458R5ks8pHQr7yHG8/s400/CornBeth2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669663883190490482" border="0" /></a>Here's me laughing about the whole scene:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxXbNaIk2T1SqKLjmNm2K5ZnFnyskxRxbpLeOTGMgbUZQu2uVaLLEx4kKwyd0blrZAvzBcD5mHK7DhzMaWW6erc3IxtMrnCCWsRA8gb2KjEQjRYOxMIORY2xQwmvQFNyGp4qpUO4qGltc/s1600/CornBeth3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxXbNaIk2T1SqKLjmNm2K5ZnFnyskxRxbpLeOTGMgbUZQu2uVaLLEx4kKwyd0blrZAvzBcD5mHK7DhzMaWW6erc3IxtMrnCCWsRA8gb2KjEQjRYOxMIORY2xQwmvQFNyGp4qpUO4qGltc/s400/CornBeth3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669663876037361298" border="0" /></a>And here I am, finally victorious with my sunglasses in the right place and a big ear of popcorn!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI28WELi7HKquJ21GhvsuOKTQKoYKkzbYVm1nhaAqrUQFI8hBbyGONThIFyugBJuU9makZYm5xElpd6iVdvcdsffsbuDRJetVhc1-CE9cBnwM6sc1q4XdMjvBXBjvBvAqkN__gDVpZ04A/s1600/CornBeth4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI28WELi7HKquJ21GhvsuOKTQKoYKkzbYVm1nhaAqrUQFI8hBbyGONThIFyugBJuU9makZYm5xElpd6iVdvcdsffsbuDRJetVhc1-CE9cBnwM6sc1q4XdMjvBXBjvBvAqkN__gDVpZ04A/s400/CornBeth4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669663871060987714" border="0" /></a>We also got to see a demonstration of how to pop popcorn over an open fire (you need a popper to put it in), and learned about how popcorn is a specific type of corn that can't be eaten like a sweet corn because the hulls on each kernel are so hard. They said even the deer don't like to eat the popcorn growing in the field. But it's this extra hard hull that traps the steam inside and makes popcorn pop. On the flipside, you can't just dry out any ear of corn and try to pop it. It will basically just steam and never actually pop. We also walked around the rest of the farm and picked up a nice big pumpkin before we left.<br /><br />On Saturday night we went to a student production of MacBeth on campus and Sunday morning we saved what we could of this half-moldy pumpkin:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAwiWIfIRb51mhaZbux_QRFQmcHAd_g-RHP5A7_8XQsdwI8vfHGu3NXHon-YpyxKneGstdwDSn1GJL2-isjy_Qv5vZvP0wX9_86VMKe6VcDZErUl9t2vM0Cj3RS5UF58gP8bXUxvevDVA/s1600/MacPumpkinCarve.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAwiWIfIRb51mhaZbux_QRFQmcHAd_g-RHP5A7_8XQsdwI8vfHGu3NXHon-YpyxKneGstdwDSn1GJL2-isjy_Qv5vZvP0wX9_86VMKe6VcDZErUl9t2vM0Cj3RS5UF58gP8bXUxvevDVA/s400/MacPumpkinCarve.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669663862034881810" border="0" /></a>It was a pumpkin that Mac had brought back from Maryland at the beginning of October and a teeny little spot on the back blossomed into quite a large moldy area, so we did a little surgery and cut off the entire back half of the pumpkin to end up with this guy:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5I8lzKo8hVuLm82UsPZ8l0cvhFhoswMzAMNj7lWSMd9iRfPzadFFGi5q_VlpvTRj9uFW5UiBY7HtwTZqS6L12mgqEJHLzL8iYwqzt2q9ORI2sQLW1nfPic0-G-NeJOGRJT1GuxAe7hCk/s1600/MacPumpkinMask.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5I8lzKo8hVuLm82UsPZ8l0cvhFhoswMzAMNj7lWSMd9iRfPzadFFGi5q_VlpvTRj9uFW5UiBY7HtwTZqS6L12mgqEJHLzL8iYwqzt2q9ORI2sQLW1nfPic0-G-NeJOGRJT1GuxAe7hCk/s400/MacPumpkinMask.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669663862996987362" border="0" /></a>It was quite a project, but I'm glad we saved what we could. Mac really wanted to dry it out in the oven to make it more of a shriveled pumpkin mask, so he took it from there. You can see the results of his efforts in the photos from the Pumpkin Carving Party.<br /><br />Also on Sunday we went to a curator-led tour of an exhibit of Hogarth prints that's up at Firestone Library and after that we had a wonderful dinner at a local Indian restaurant. It turned out to be a wonderful, cultural, indoor, outdoor adventure of a weekend. I'm bummed I couldn't celebrate Mac's birthday with him on his actual birthday, but I think we did a pretty good job of making him feel special before he left for his conference.<br /></div></div>Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-13363470639428687352011-10-17T10:23:00.001-04:002011-11-11T09:30:14.921-05:00Fall Camping in the Pine Barrens<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGDFBf0ATYmMHftAkFxHOlTuk0jjZtkzsY6AS7BvU-cyHomu_6Eur3vHSbga4SyUwaQlTFIuuCAHNvTRZBzk4rKv7rXkzOjyVAxlx0pIr8fu6uHK4gREymrzgIzWFrj0V5cKPROT2cx1Y/s1600/campingOct11.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGDFBf0ATYmMHftAkFxHOlTuk0jjZtkzsY6AS7BvU-cyHomu_6Eur3vHSbga4SyUwaQlTFIuuCAHNvTRZBzk4rKv7rXkzOjyVAxlx0pIr8fu6uHK4gREymrzgIzWFrj0V5cKPROT2cx1Y/s400/campingOct11.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669662063505416738" /></a>Last Friday Mac and I packed up the car with firewood and camping gear and headed to <a href="http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/byrne.html">Brendan T. Byrne State Forest</a> in the Pine Barrens for an overnight camping trip with Mac's friends Jen and Rich. It was kind of a dreary day, and we hit some sprinkles on the way out of town, but by the time we got to our campsite it had stopped raining and because the ground there is so sandy, it was relatively dry at our site. We got there before Rich and Jen and set up our tent and got the campfire going before they had even arrived. It was a beautiful starry night and so enjoyable to sit around the campfire. Jen and Rich made a great gumbo for dinner, some with veggie sausage for me and then we had s'mores around the campfire. It was a lovely evening.<div><br /></div><div>In the morning we made breakfast at our site, enjoyed another campfire, and then packed up our stuff and headed to one of the parking lots where we could pick up a trail and do some hiking. We took about a 6 mile hike, the first half was on an ADA accessible trail, which meant wide, clear paths. The second half was on part of a much longer and much more rustic trail that lead us a little deeper into the woods and felt a little more like hiking. It was a beautiful day to be out and about. After our hike we ended up having a picnic lunch by the lake in the photo above. It was a quick overnight trip, but lots of fun to catch up with Rich and Jen and a great excuse to get some fresh air. Looking forward to doing it again sometime soon.</div>Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-90968994914552246742011-10-12T10:17:00.002-04:002011-11-10T09:43:52.727-05:00Wildflower Walk at Bowman's Hill<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSWPP59UJWKwvgqzSgVM5yWYxriFO1d7HZWlI8M36Xe08d9DSUYmJxnoQHW76xYz_B9QJN1Pkx255R2vX5WD5jM00s59CO5pL81uKvZ_lLtzxFzSGXixtAHKr9RSjzVfzwec94Rg8IOE/s1600/Bridge.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSWPP59UJWKwvgqzSgVM5yWYxriFO1d7HZWlI8M36Xe08d9DSUYmJxnoQHW76xYz_B9QJN1Pkx255R2vX5WD5jM00s59CO5pL81uKvZ_lLtzxFzSGXixtAHKr9RSjzVfzwec94Rg8IOE/s400/Bridge.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669661778434862146" /></a>On Tuesday, Oct. 11th, my friend Karen and I played hookey for the afternoon to get a guided tour of the <a href="http://www.bhwp.org/">Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve</a>. It was a bit of an overcast day, but it was still fun to be out and about in a beautiful natural setting. <div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7LSxnvhpx-gD26ZMzSztVyENrhg_8QIWnWX3-1EyE2oyUkbG0AG2IXIFdpkxlf-maMv9sDgF2zjPa5iSv5WN6cD-d8WE2Af1id4m89urBqZyZGo8J_6hc6h6m9UXtH_Nke5p6Y7Mfhxg/s1600/Berries.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 335px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7LSxnvhpx-gD26ZMzSztVyENrhg_8QIWnWX3-1EyE2oyUkbG0AG2IXIFdpkxlf-maMv9sDgF2zjPa5iSv5WN6cD-d8WE2Af1id4m89urBqZyZGo8J_6hc6h6m9UXtH_Nke5p6Y7Mfhxg/s400/Berries.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669661721541609362" /></a>While it's not exactly prime blooming time for most wildflowers, we did get to see some pretty things along the way. And these asters were happily in bloom for us:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYjw47ASq9MUQFkK4W0AURKHO6OZz2B8GkyZQk7EoasbofBATIqUijWghuQMHZNkrj78IVMJ1xTTMwhqVAh1nivSh5-MUCcb0-KAKdVx3XoI3eBRGeAGULM95sPYZs56wXowh8QAT8uGI/s1600/Flowers.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 396px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYjw47ASq9MUQFkK4W0AURKHO6OZz2B8GkyZQk7EoasbofBATIqUijWghuQMHZNkrj78IVMJ1xTTMwhqVAh1nivSh5-MUCcb0-KAKdVx3XoI3eBRGeAGULM95sPYZs56wXowh8QAT8uGI/s400/Flowers.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669661710466787426" /></a>Karen, with her eagle eyes, also spotted this little snail on a twig, which was cool:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0HGu1pAXO4ffpdonxf0yq2NSUXkQuF0Lb-aaaOR3CnZ9x75biiNGQEuG698uZM-ql-UmGANTxZH732XLB9hgtd89TpflnUcgHdzp9soQjtNit8alM_Yda9oyAOAiYoGh5XfvBnwzPlSA/s1600/Snail.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0HGu1pAXO4ffpdonxf0yq2NSUXkQuF0Lb-aaaOR3CnZ9x75biiNGQEuG698uZM-ql-UmGANTxZH732XLB9hgtd89TpflnUcgHdzp9soQjtNit8alM_Yda9oyAOAiYoGh5XfvBnwzPlSA/s400/Snail.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669661702442646962" /></a>And who knew that these prickly pear cacti are actually native to NJ?</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95klCfceLuZ1wzmo66b8W4GDZjoAtAkDlvZLJTBwEYerNo4ruweFIrgi1gx0iE99acCTKTBIesKErtTfCXEdMaNYQ42SbjOUdq6zOOK0egXPxMeywAZfwOoHSoiPhyphenhyphen9L35Jgrmah5ABM/s1600/Cacti.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95klCfceLuZ1wzmo66b8W4GDZjoAtAkDlvZLJTBwEYerNo4ruweFIrgi1gx0iE99acCTKTBIesKErtTfCXEdMaNYQ42SbjOUdq6zOOK0egXPxMeywAZfwOoHSoiPhyphenhyphen9L35Jgrmah5ABM/s400/Cacti.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669661697675932562" /></a>Here are the two other women on the walk and our docent walking ahead of us. It's really a beautiful place and I look forward to going back in the spring when more flowers are in bloom.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjtYtywqBDx5bPpHtmqEOU7jEls7xIRaUOGGf_3jESRuhj6WPjTCZcBQVHGmUYWyppIshzK_VbSQtyXOY2S461qXcltZ6rGXkRRVMAx8TOG5NxJOxAgtJpnlu39MNCTQXZ31rDWpRoels/s1600/Path.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjtYtywqBDx5bPpHtmqEOU7jEls7xIRaUOGGf_3jESRuhj6WPjTCZcBQVHGmUYWyppIshzK_VbSQtyXOY2S461qXcltZ6rGXkRRVMAx8TOG5NxJOxAgtJpnlu39MNCTQXZ31rDWpRoels/s400/Path.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669661692127054162" /></a><br /></div>Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-66493180486828788042011-10-02T10:12:00.002-04:002011-11-10T08:14:41.784-05:00Wheaton Arts Craft Fair<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw1B-2EwkMnQjt5jmBm_49laU_H8ReTY_TChIwydg4oD7vlCUuoaMkvsVM0J8oT-MXZXefbERoXPfzFdqG_FBnlnCedcRhgNFPubDG-wlMklQrnZKq32PLybf-HXVoAqaC2XbLqCVZKMg/s1600/GlassPumpkins.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw1B-2EwkMnQjt5jmBm_49laU_H8ReTY_TChIwydg4oD7vlCUuoaMkvsVM0J8oT-MXZXefbERoXPfzFdqG_FBnlnCedcRhgNFPubDG-wlMklQrnZKq32PLybf-HXVoAqaC2XbLqCVZKMg/s400/GlassPumpkins.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669659718123539410" border="0" /></a>On Saturday, Oct. 1, my mom, sister-in-law Mo and her mom all went down to Wheaton Village to see their annual juried craft fair and glass pumpkin patch. Wheaton Village has been a glass-blowing capital for centuries and most recently houses a restored historical village, a glass museum, folklife center and artist studios. Every fall they have a craft fair and the highlight is their glass pumpkin patch. Hundreds of pumpkins are on display and for sale in all shapes and sizes and colors. It was really fun to see.<br /><br />It was also cool to see the glass blowing demo from the father/son team:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7OjTWs30zrlIWnrx_vzPrqM7QnrbTUqKeLXhZWZAyqQ0EfQfMMuJOGCIWpL_hOGAb74UIaoxfLTjwUW179aKm805zCQU5keHFu6IkafGBWo5uSdpxdtRCFSxYwGQjVl1OFEnEzUJW_9U/s1600/GlassBlower1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7OjTWs30zrlIWnrx_vzPrqM7QnrbTUqKeLXhZWZAyqQ0EfQfMMuJOGCIWpL_hOGAb74UIaoxfLTjwUW179aKm805zCQU5keHFu6IkafGBWo5uSdpxdtRCFSxYwGQjVl1OFEnEzUJW_9U/s400/GlassBlower1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669659710004162242" border="0" /></a>The dad has been doing it for decades and is now apprenticing his son to take over at some point. It's an impressing skill, that's for sure.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Os3jWXkQh4uT0mbiLSyS1xBzdgmYdgn8DBj6QelojdSC6HhkhfAdk1lDpIrtyc-WzkiEEwa4WU1B5xPb7hn37Oa_2msIOeonj_1NhHTVkU76cAfcMeWiUn5yfr8nq3efFIZYr9xZvmk/s1600/GlassBlower2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Os3jWXkQh4uT0mbiLSyS1xBzdgmYdgn8DBj6QelojdSC6HhkhfAdk1lDpIrtyc-WzkiEEwa4WU1B5xPb7hn37Oa_2msIOeonj_1NhHTVkU76cAfcMeWiUn5yfr8nq3efFIZYr9xZvmk/s400/GlassBlower2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669659703312231058" border="0" /></a>It was a beautiful day to be out and about and enjoy the sunshine, some beautiful crafts and good company.Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-7521828306320495092011-09-29T09:52:00.001-04:002011-11-10T08:04:58.324-05:00Road Trip, Part 4: Heading Home<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJkIU2jE9Y-eLOW-dGs9hVYhmev-8qT37YiwdUzOxSP4J9uF5z-EgUPd7_kchjZRx88UKD1X7gQ08ElLWZmn5tyqIXXKnYP41mCSEhPuECDV8IVrXHmQUNAuP5Z0z6T336S4M8rda4L4/s1600/Part4001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJkIU2jE9Y-eLOW-dGs9hVYhmev-8qT37YiwdUzOxSP4J9uF5z-EgUPd7_kchjZRx88UKD1X7gQ08ElLWZmn5tyqIXXKnYP41mCSEhPuECDV8IVrXHmQUNAuP5Z0z6T336S4M8rda4L4/s400/Part4001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669658966609210114" border="0" /></a>Mac and I drove out of Chicago early on Saturday morning, Sept. 24th. We had two days of driving ahead of us before we made it back to Princeton, but we still had folks to see along the way. Our first stop was in Lansing, MI to see Mac's friends Joanna and Mark and their baby Edward. We stopped by their house in Lansing first and then we followed them over to East Lansing to get lunch at this great Thai place. Along the way we saw M.A.C Ave. and when we asked Mark and Joanna about it, they said that Michigan State used to be Michigan Agricultural College and that the name of the road never changed. We also realized once we got into East Lansing that there was a home football game for Michigan State, so we got to see a lot of tailgaters and Michigan State pride since they had already won the game. There were lots of people in town, but we still got a seat at the restaurant and enjoyed catching up. After lunch we took a little stroll around campus and got to see some of the sights. After spending a few hours there, Mac and I got back in the car and headed toward Cleveland to stay with his Aunt Chris and Uncle Nick who live just East of the city.<br /><br />We got in after dinner time, but still enjoyed some amazing baklava that Mac's aunt had made. It was fun to get to know some more of Mac's family. After a long day of driving we went to bed fairly early and then the next morning we were treated to an amazing breakfast spread. Aunt Chris sure knows how to cook! Then we spent some time talking about gardens and getting a tour of their thriving backyard vegetable and herb garden before packing up and getting back on the road.<br /><br />We drove a little south and picked up I-80 all the way across Pennsylvania. It was a trip neither Mac nor I had been on before, so it was a little bit of an adventure, and we got to see the start of some fall color in the mountains:<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil3ZEgrvkGk8Vxp1BILg_N2Z35z0R_pNExMlGaXRIC0jG0lgrNyvFN59IfBgaBC0m1xm0eJyPfrBwndtC-Wke3IpvccS0FwICIMMLPPrULEtRWH8K5ak2SHhZwBzhhbWz5DXCFH7l1vE4/s1600/Part4002.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil3ZEgrvkGk8Vxp1BILg_N2Z35z0R_pNExMlGaXRIC0jG0lgrNyvFN59IfBgaBC0m1xm0eJyPfrBwndtC-Wke3IpvccS0FwICIMMLPPrULEtRWH8K5ak2SHhZwBzhhbWz5DXCFH7l1vE4/s400/Part4002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669658963068122418" border="0" /></a>We also drove past an amusing exit in the middle of nowhere PA for a town called Jersey Shore:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrRmm1PMNinyLW4nJ1T9JQYYWJBwilX4Th42-x5HDb-1yIkqwoedDGWNgiTyhgqpHq2ss1NYh6FZO_EnjkM-L_yV6KvYjP__WzdpsgcupIOj6xF7bFntU011iJtGU1pPWADGs7CxmHC7E/s1600/Part4003.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrRmm1PMNinyLW4nJ1T9JQYYWJBwilX4Th42-x5HDb-1yIkqwoedDGWNgiTyhgqpHq2ss1NYh6FZO_EnjkM-L_yV6KvYjP__WzdpsgcupIOj6xF7bFntU011iJtGU1pPWADGs7CxmHC7E/s400/Part4003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669658956986995554" border="0" /></a>The rest of the trip involved a detour through Jim Thorpe, PA and then a fairly direct path home. We were both pretty exhausted from over a week on the road, but it was all worth it for such a fun trip! Now the only question is where will we go on our next trip?Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-67865717878734911922011-09-28T16:38:00.002-04:002011-11-04T11:38:39.709-04:00Road Trip, Part 3: Chicago, Part 2<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwxzoJhAzBEAWsVDBAP4ik7bE6Jn_7lidgnvea7rwTch40GeIQB0AQTP8jwcNMgaRQwqghNGWDe-YUnxixxx5-7gk8QfYGG1BOXHXCqDfhpiD8alD9yJuhvd4bm7Tha0y0c-WJ_hdDekI/s1600/Part3001.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwxzoJhAzBEAWsVDBAP4ik7bE6Jn_7lidgnvea7rwTch40GeIQB0AQTP8jwcNMgaRQwqghNGWDe-YUnxixxx5-7gk8QfYGG1BOXHXCqDfhpiD8alD9yJuhvd4bm7Tha0y0c-WJ_hdDekI/s400/Part3001.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668650216086968114" /></a>On Friday, Mac and I took the Green Line to the <a href="http://www.garfield-conservatory.org/">Garfield Park Conservatory</a>. It was a bit of a cloudy day, but it only sprinkled on us a little bit while we were walking to the train. The Garfield Park Conservatory is one of my favorite places in Chicago (there are so many favorites!) and I was sad to hear that earlier in the summer they had suffered considerable damage due to a hail storm. Parts of the glass houses were still open, but many areas were closed with ongoing repairs. It was a little sad that Mac couldn't see all that the conservatory has to offer, but I was glad to go and show my support while they're still recovering. And the parts that were open were still beautiful as always! I just love this little pineapple:<div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFbNYn5LB3swovgHzgCVlvb4YPrVfrO45EmjQ-sszGAKZUDDeTbEalRXuQxso1jeCXfXNEWKQeKmmI-TN3RBwsRD3lDBone5PWO7i9U0MtRR0eN9hngwx8SpHQGW5qE9OJH31KxMzwGk/s1600/Part3002.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 271px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFbNYn5LB3swovgHzgCVlvb4YPrVfrO45EmjQ-sszGAKZUDDeTbEalRXuQxso1jeCXfXNEWKQeKmmI-TN3RBwsRD3lDBone5PWO7i9U0MtRR0eN9hngwx8SpHQGW5qE9OJH31KxMzwGk/s400/Part3002.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668650205530884322" /></a>All of the outside parts of the Conservatory were open as well, including the labyrinth, which is one of my favorites to walk, and the beautiful lily pond:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3WzubZ3r1BJiDdrZ2SqNrX5_WhDcRE8i3gzHCg33GNaePnEXF7TdT4X9k2Niw_j3x98y_KdnfrgKhX5r9JkcLPon0laURO_skVBm9A3XCo1Yd_a8BP_QFdbKbBGmDZ-a0ZQI2OzaSIUE/s1600/Part3003.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3WzubZ3r1BJiDdrZ2SqNrX5_WhDcRE8i3gzHCg33GNaePnEXF7TdT4X9k2Niw_j3x98y_KdnfrgKhX5r9JkcLPon0laURO_skVBm9A3XCo1Yd_a8BP_QFdbKbBGmDZ-a0ZQI2OzaSIUE/s400/Part3003.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668650205565099074" /></a>We enjoyed walking around the meadow and chasing grasshoppers off of the path and following this beautiful butterfly:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzbFVOSsVaeacfpQporIK-t5PB5w2pZ10IsPG7Yeai5WakvjT_b1ddQ8CQ6drNrRAEQKl2hitAro81OOSUeAoJ4Q1wLp-YdtAeMivS2mxyt0xd2OAfUiDp0tFCTKIwwSgcrpy5Ol-L3Xk/s1600/Part3004.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzbFVOSsVaeacfpQporIK-t5PB5w2pZ10IsPG7Yeai5WakvjT_b1ddQ8CQ6drNrRAEQKl2hitAro81OOSUeAoJ4Q1wLp-YdtAeMivS2mxyt0xd2OAfUiDp0tFCTKIwwSgcrpy5Ol-L3Xk/s400/Part3004.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668650067560134162" /></a>You see some of the damaged windows in the background here. All of the darker spots are holes in the glass roofs of the nursery greenhouses:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRtRkqe2pGt_HD9ecmrvjjNis5vKzT6F84vGl_AMl_Nzf5lWw9gO59sEzj-rrqt7FEZIJoDku17KdI7QBVm4XElE4TUCOvXJNRclb6RZrJ8Au1IMdc_6gk2Hg5-7SGwaiQowK5b2LZHSI/s1600/Part3005.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRtRkqe2pGt_HD9ecmrvjjNis5vKzT6F84vGl_AMl_Nzf5lWw9gO59sEzj-rrqt7FEZIJoDku17KdI7QBVm4XElE4TUCOvXJNRclb6RZrJ8Au1IMdc_6gk2Hg5-7SGwaiQowK5b2LZHSI/s400/Part3005.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668650063273402850" /></a>Here is one part of the conservatory where all of the glass has been removed and it's now ready for replacement glass.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCR1JuL5Sw2ssh46Bv_ZfLJtejYWyvUHFKUb5fPGrozv8HMPPXW6Z0n5NPFwsY_oxQFAG60hZXCQtiJ2tvbs-47-SAly4zHuT8-XeC-1cM59ttWETaRYJgXieDiamA6wXCxJZUJ0tYfsw/s1600/Part3006.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCR1JuL5Sw2ssh46Bv_ZfLJtejYWyvUHFKUb5fPGrozv8HMPPXW6Z0n5NPFwsY_oxQFAG60hZXCQtiJ2tvbs-47-SAly4zHuT8-XeC-1cM59ttWETaRYJgXieDiamA6wXCxJZUJ0tYfsw/s400/Part3006.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668650049603477234" /></a>After the Conservatory we headed downtown for a quick trip to Millennium Park. And when you're there you have to take a few photos at the Bean (officially titled Cloudgate by Anish Kapoor):</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxl3JLRckXKe_l6g7b1P1TH3vbx0bGFOrZZA8UeUfgcT34oW08D_AA4mcjhiTwGNOjqCi_DRrXBnSvDM6lMEK89QR7PEqFbbS3V4I75aVvEAR9wLTNn0koghtbKgZbWvBxrAgmnvcs3c0/s1600/Part3007.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxl3JLRckXKe_l6g7b1P1TH3vbx0bGFOrZZA8UeUfgcT34oW08D_AA4mcjhiTwGNOjqCi_DRrXBnSvDM6lMEK89QR7PEqFbbS3V4I75aVvEAR9wLTNn0koghtbKgZbWvBxrAgmnvcs3c0/s400/Part3007.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668650039851481042" /></a>Mac wanted to make sure his moustache was looking good:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xqPtBsifHwZmGI8LRbBGx-Z3foDWAA310_6Kd9IhN010LvDn5d82SzIvhvvyve68JnDcq0b7REgzJovFkprpLMahftVCJbzADfMcXQlfVfVZ7Au-WEl1bs_xpABoUdpA0vYoSSBaBjo/s1600/Part3008.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xqPtBsifHwZmGI8LRbBGx-Z3foDWAA310_6Kd9IhN010LvDn5d82SzIvhvvyve68JnDcq0b7REgzJovFkprpLMahftVCJbzADfMcXQlfVfVZ7Au-WEl1bs_xpABoUdpA0vYoSSBaBjo/s400/Part3008.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668650035768396242" /></a>That's one happy handlebar moustache!</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtJ84Urkwvv-xT02QP4iMvafcodxWgY6MU_1K8OpBGtkoO7RwusXHSZrvq625WZn_njqfC6-scYqOQ3D6C32Lqeqv7PHpgZcYDLn2urFWwH2atzzCxTgg7He5kOytTK1-sFiS8KhF_Xks/s1600/Part3009.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtJ84Urkwvv-xT02QP4iMvafcodxWgY6MU_1K8OpBGtkoO7RwusXHSZrvq625WZn_njqfC6-scYqOQ3D6C32Lqeqv7PHpgZcYDLn2urFWwH2atzzCxTgg7He5kOytTK1-sFiS8KhF_Xks/s400/Part3009.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668649790092528914" /></a>Can you find us here?</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcyIhiWD1DfxPJFzDaJiQbN66mKaj6LahLgmBgRuIP3_tlpAtnyPO1IR9A1EAZ_Qz1ce70Jylu9vWaTVBaSmvmnvtf0-KqSeNDQ11rSzG8rfGiPW-3RIUDtbt4XF33V1tUyn0Qys7qUAU/s1600/Part3010.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcyIhiWD1DfxPJFzDaJiQbN66mKaj6LahLgmBgRuIP3_tlpAtnyPO1IR9A1EAZ_Qz1ce70Jylu9vWaTVBaSmvmnvtf0-KqSeNDQ11rSzG8rfGiPW-3RIUDtbt4XF33V1tUyn0Qys7qUAU/s400/Part3010.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668649782674172658" /></a>We enjoyed a nice stroll through the rest of the park and then headed back up to Mike's apartment to pick up the car, and Mike, and head up to Andersonville for the rest of the day. We took Lake Shore Drive straight up and got off at the Foster exit. Instead of going left and heading into Andersonville, we stopped at the Foster St. Beach since Mac had yet to get a good look at Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful greenish-blue color and a just a lovely day to be by the lake:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4r-ChSmCeeeV94IuzvfUax0z924UxvxN2UxK0EWNKpl1XI8xMh4iJtYyqPSZGp_rvhzZG8HDHGwg_n6t6ID8CeoeMlnl0H6luH5yo4f2bowdksT3EyAvWWzoRhh40PmnCBayzSlHBjHA/s1600/Part3011.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4r-ChSmCeeeV94IuzvfUax0z924UxvxN2UxK0EWNKpl1XI8xMh4iJtYyqPSZGp_rvhzZG8HDHGwg_n6t6ID8CeoeMlnl0H6luH5yo4f2bowdksT3EyAvWWzoRhh40PmnCBayzSlHBjHA/s400/Part3011.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668649779410898146" /></a>Another moustache fix:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgae6nsRisZCQHGm07_oQxoXoNHdIn8cjlb792rzpxvvCzzusiO02xXTYSXfu8DlGNK_QsoG6jzaM0SQ0IqYx2ACs2WO1CaT9RTgoBrLTm27baw3rPTFt_2tojzoeq9pg8OOSuPVFo5E9E/s1600/Part3012.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgae6nsRisZCQHGm07_oQxoXoNHdIn8cjlb792rzpxvvCzzusiO02xXTYSXfu8DlGNK_QsoG6jzaM0SQ0IqYx2ACs2WO1CaT9RTgoBrLTm27baw3rPTFt_2tojzoeq9pg8OOSuPVFo5E9E/s400/Part3012.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668649769639551074" /></a>And a cute shot of Mac and I with the skyline behind us.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJF2EFyPigS7ljXAdHVbEhKh75RyFMEDZ2DWnAjlaCOosKcMTERWypRR2AP1bW4N0IShvZ335vDY1JgwPX_jcBosh7W2bh15FhEcDHLV1r4DMHJhyphenhyphenb0BPiPY_vZoFqRCeZ7i0RHZD9lXI/s1600/Part3013.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJF2EFyPigS7ljXAdHVbEhKh75RyFMEDZ2DWnAjlaCOosKcMTERWypRR2AP1bW4N0IShvZ335vDY1JgwPX_jcBosh7W2bh15FhEcDHLV1r4DMHJhyphenhyphenb0BPiPY_vZoFqRCeZ7i0RHZD9lXI/s400/Part3013.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668649764899657570" /></a>And these two good lookin' fellas:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjbcH1kGkE-GhVlWR2sv0K9YMeQYLZCAOxct7LLjNCJT4nJpjo9YXPDQRZXnO_rG6LL01NdfV30w30w6km_RNAGruVzZ6JhdXWn46TjV1AlkWyrH9l3VSccK0TSXXos4kPGkv9YGlfJFo/s1600/Part3014.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjbcH1kGkE-GhVlWR2sv0K9YMeQYLZCAOxct7LLjNCJT4nJpjo9YXPDQRZXnO_rG6LL01NdfV30w30w6km_RNAGruVzZ6JhdXWn46TjV1AlkWyrH9l3VSccK0TSXXos4kPGkv9YGlfJFo/s400/Part3014.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668649606158455138" /></a>And beautiful Chicago:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8eXlIUcWwgtU5iP3rKDJ_Od9uOUmPMIRuWYqZdS644og5hA-3BDYeNYZXP24AcxUqS2cj_zLcMQSafMiiZE0NOoTuu_1SvYffM9ear7YwcrGnVYX7ktB54fpQfphV_RcUMA0D9Cni0X4/s1600/Part3015.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8eXlIUcWwgtU5iP3rKDJ_Od9uOUmPMIRuWYqZdS644og5hA-3BDYeNYZXP24AcxUqS2cj_zLcMQSafMiiZE0NOoTuu_1SvYffM9ear7YwcrGnVYX7ktB54fpQfphV_RcUMA0D9Cni0X4/s400/Part3015.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668649600037528866" /></a>After finding a parking spot on Balmoral in front of my old apartment, we walked down to Huey's Hot Dogs. It just happen to be Hot Dog Happy Hour, so we all got a dog, fries and drinks for $5 each. And these are some real Chicago hot dogs: charred (not steamed), mustard, pickle spear, huge tomato slices, celery salt, onions and hot peppers on a poppy seed bun. True Chicago-style goodness:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYJifLRAg2t4wHI48BMClihUcXTU5mMX0D7UqzLeQHD2Z7YCD4GM3zbLSIiTTldWKQA4I1ofyTyv2hB8WTcdwy3vZoyyQSlJcwYMP3vmPAQXWSDWpHRhRwrkTacxm8QkrpY-ZHQhRj0c/s1600/Part3016.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYJifLRAg2t4wHI48BMClihUcXTU5mMX0D7UqzLeQHD2Z7YCD4GM3zbLSIiTTldWKQA4I1ofyTyv2hB8WTcdwy3vZoyyQSlJcwYMP3vmPAQXWSDWpHRhRwrkTacxm8QkrpY-ZHQhRj0c/s400/Part3016.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668649589341140658" /></a>I cheated a little bit and got mine as a veggie dog with no onions or hot peppers, but holy cow it was good. Even just looking at this photo again makes me want to go back and get one! I think Huey's should open a second store in Princeton!</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEB7oiZTx_imc9ezWT46vi_X4nWuymZf_Yi2Lla6nv1ZLuZOaQu9iFLRvKLT3Ve_zUQIciHw7Q_nkRlqiPDwcWgLobzXFKsShtkvvwInqPtP8rcRJC6dAxY0Pq5iOYqYwhJEk7XfVRdnQ/s1600/Part3017.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEB7oiZTx_imc9ezWT46vi_X4nWuymZf_Yi2Lla6nv1ZLuZOaQu9iFLRvKLT3Ve_zUQIciHw7Q_nkRlqiPDwcWgLobzXFKsShtkvvwInqPtP8rcRJC6dAxY0Pq5iOYqYwhJEk7XfVRdnQ/s400/Part3017.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668649586129494402" /></a>After hot dog eating, we wandered around Andersonville poking around different shops, seeing what's new (a lot!) and what's still there from the good old days. Lots of my old favorites still exist: Kopi Cafe, Middle East Bakery, the Persian grocery, Andie's, Women and Children First, and CAS hardware, among others. I spent some time (and money) at Women and Children First while Mike and Mac got some caffeine at Kopi. I met up with them for an awesome Mango Jet Tea and was surprised when the server asked me if I wanted vodka in it! One new addition is that Kopi got a liquor license! I opted out of the vodka option, but we always said it would be so great if we could get beers at Kopi and now you can! </div><div><br /></div><div>We also stopped at Middle East Bakery to pick up some snacks (I love those little savory pies!) for the drive on Saturday and some other treats, too. We then headed to Hopleaf and actually found a table on a Friday evening (miracle of miracles) and enjoyed a few pints before heading to the Neo-Futurarium to see Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, another old favorite. Here are Mac and I after the show:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9DuQwjBbxf6X5gHtYdaceajxw0nG4twSji88EGVERhzeZbGZYuw7sIBq60twXR-i01nJPJ13E-fTIPc74bplXwZtUbP-AlOtuG19Mquwq4zxLGFAQzNCXpnFQbnmcDsHqRj0DkB8TByY/s1600/Part3018.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9DuQwjBbxf6X5gHtYdaceajxw0nG4twSji88EGVERhzeZbGZYuw7sIBq60twXR-i01nJPJ13E-fTIPc74bplXwZtUbP-AlOtuG19Mquwq4zxLGFAQzNCXpnFQbnmcDsHqRj0DkB8TByY/s400/Part3018.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668649583564083810" /></a>It was such a wonderful way to top off our trip to Chicago. I was so happy to be able to show Mac my old neighborhood and revisit so many of the wonderful places that were a part of my everyday life from 2000-2006. Can't wait to go back!!</div>Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-80927889347453947452011-09-27T15:55:00.002-04:002011-11-03T23:19:45.046-04:00Road Trip, Part 2: Chicago, Part 1<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEXn76K25wg633CZ7RPNDk7T4DK5qdiY4_0V8-x3iB6hL9nRV6uKEoPWwEntQmPATpVt861NtBcubSYIwyP7x1JnTVCJCU6CyPHH6TnPPHkWfv_kE8pq1wvVb7ZpZ2IbvGM_szPkz9Xe4/s1600/Part2001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEXn76K25wg633CZ7RPNDk7T4DK5qdiY4_0V8-x3iB6hL9nRV6uKEoPWwEntQmPATpVt861NtBcubSYIwyP7x1JnTVCJCU6CyPHH6TnPPHkWfv_kE8pq1wvVb7ZpZ2IbvGM_szPkz9Xe4/s400/Part2001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668645150182255666" border="0" /></a>On Monday evening we rolled into Chicago and before stopping at Mike's apartment I took Mac on a quick tour downtown and then came back up Lake Street to Mike's place on Canal. He greeted us with open arms and we unloaded our stuff into his apartment. What a view!! We got there just as the sun was setting and it was just awesome! Here are Mac and I on Mike's balcony after our long drive:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjirIhe3IZfw4D9rqnCPx-hoXxn89uGMxxP04T5sdEQdD3xQlRiAP2C9XGzO8R6qKg97KrxdfzesR1APFYA_7GQvP-ZzbFksbdO2MfwTICl6dWwrzNtHENq_sgH2MYbRw-YDwOsDH7Vnj8/s1600/Part2002.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjirIhe3IZfw4D9rqnCPx-hoXxn89uGMxxP04T5sdEQdD3xQlRiAP2C9XGzO8R6qKg97KrxdfzesR1APFYA_7GQvP-ZzbFksbdO2MfwTICl6dWwrzNtHENq_sgH2MYbRw-YDwOsDH7Vnj8/s400/Part2002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668645085727859426" border="0" /></a>After putting our stuff down we all went to dinner at one of my favorite places in the city: <a href="http://www.bitecafechicago.com/">Bite Cafe</a>. The food was amazing, even better than I remembered it! Mike and Mac were also blown away and the most memorable part was that Mike ordered a lamb shank it came out like a caveman cut of meat, still on the bone with a ready-made handle. He didn't even use a knife and fork. Mmmm.... SO good!<br /><br />When we got back to Mike's apartment this was the panoramic view from his balcony (click the image to make it larger). I just couldn't get enough of how awesome this view was. And totally different from living on the north side in Andersonville.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDrLfQVTeoeIGlwFgMty5QRRBADI0dJYwJ78yGhDSEjLV_ecck4QLJjDAcieq9wxfTb8SuBWzjeGRgZgpBWjuzY3SnWpIZqiLnzSXSwvf8ey9XH7N77ejHrT0tTeZPYO6HcP1wA0tl98/s1600/Part2003.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 112px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDrLfQVTeoeIGlwFgMty5QRRBADI0dJYwJ78yGhDSEjLV_ecck4QLJjDAcieq9wxfTb8SuBWzjeGRgZgpBWjuzY3SnWpIZqiLnzSXSwvf8ey9XH7N77ejHrT0tTeZPYO6HcP1wA0tl98/s400/Part2003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668644877231112466" border="0" /></a>We didn't stay up too late since Mike and Mac had to leave fairly early for their conference on Tuesday morning. They woke up before I did, but I was out of bed by the time they were getting ready to go. Here's Mike on his balcony with his "Good Morning, Chicago" face:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOjYtM3IVjKpWDfijkIVgp4F-2rBtdXdwpxtL3PxrMyXli31A-aSvLEbN_tHZVDpO3YiQuQkqkliQk_tCztGPVjeU62uufY4BzIc42G5vIpYet2t-j2u3csadE0so8r1s_JLNTfidMi0/s1600/Part2004.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOjYtM3IVjKpWDfijkIVgp4F-2rBtdXdwpxtL3PxrMyXli31A-aSvLEbN_tHZVDpO3YiQuQkqkliQk_tCztGPVjeU62uufY4BzIc42G5vIpYet2t-j2u3csadE0so8r1s_JLNTfidMi0/s400/Part2004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668644870429831106" border="0" /></a>And Mac was actually smiling in the early morning, which rarely happens, so I had to get a photo:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDIC7XDu5OJQANEmsdabJHHBx7kCsVxuVKp5NDKqb2RJJOkqeaCEcFOlUgG8mlhudqzLEvsM6ptifX7zjk1J2ryQra2B0O3yss4nqc91-KNgtG7Z3hDFbpC_EkvTiZIs9OBLlEbCQs9w/s1600/Part2005.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 260px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDIC7XDu5OJQANEmsdabJHHBx7kCsVxuVKp5NDKqb2RJJOkqeaCEcFOlUgG8mlhudqzLEvsM6ptifX7zjk1J2ryQra2B0O3yss4nqc91-KNgtG7Z3hDFbpC_EkvTiZIs9OBLlEbCQs9w/s400/Part2005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668644863082629794" border="0" /></a>The went off to their conference at Argonne and I got to have a lazy morning enjoying the view:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPVhHMf1hyGoUa2Yn9WOMb6sPshM4ph7WkvTkxgoHYdgH-FU2oAVD-UFrCT0ogKJP6ZeN0xiGh74ARMPet3nhQh9Umofq3c79yFJv1KVs_kRAwUspwE7FrF6HyWBBpbzp39Inz3ngIvlc/s1600/Part2006.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPVhHMf1hyGoUa2Yn9WOMb6sPshM4ph7WkvTkxgoHYdgH-FU2oAVD-UFrCT0ogKJP6ZeN0xiGh74ARMPet3nhQh9Umofq3c79yFJv1KVs_kRAwUspwE7FrF6HyWBBpbzp39Inz3ngIvlc/s400/Part2006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668644857450981426" border="0" /></a>My day started when I met my dear friend, Nisara and her husband Ryan for lunch. Nisara and I went to both high school and college together and then both lived in Chicago for a bit as well. It was great to see them, but especially fun to see Nisara since she's pregnant! We all went to lunch at one of Rick Bayless's restaurants called Xoco and it was amazing! Ryan had to head back to work, but Nisara and I enjoyed catching up over some wonderful churros after a delicious lunch.<br /><br />Then we took the train north a few stops and got off near DePaul and walked down toward the Lincoln Park Zoo to hang out in the Lily Pond that's there. It was a beautiful afternoon and just a great chance to hang out with someone I rarely get to see. Here's a couple fun shots of a very pregnant Nisara:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjCvr1IlKgevqggXmSIYUXe1Dd0cYPM0ZoOuZ0HKXBrn8Qd78g6qtNk8R-UL9xZLjCxxQPWJuDYRoWfAp_ZC9mQJFPf7uabn-6FxCwxEu0my3270CNV_37ISbM4ziXRlK_Ob1tfV6SuuM/s1600/Part2007.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 249px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjCvr1IlKgevqggXmSIYUXe1Dd0cYPM0ZoOuZ0HKXBrn8Qd78g6qtNk8R-UL9xZLjCxxQPWJuDYRoWfAp_ZC9mQJFPf7uabn-6FxCwxEu0my3270CNV_37ISbM4ziXRlK_Ob1tfV6SuuM/s400/Part2007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668644851354499298" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvy1-LuDzAb77pyKcCmt6J4LE3C9btTuwSQpP3mYkPk_u4omnLv8pg8gkZpmFHsVH-9GmyQa-6-xYeb-BaXuJrYcKieky7jFvm2CVtZ4OBrGkplY2GBY4nbgUUGqiuP4PPkFY9-pn8jc/s1600/Part2008.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 276px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvy1-LuDzAb77pyKcCmt6J4LE3C9btTuwSQpP3mYkPk_u4omnLv8pg8gkZpmFHsVH-9GmyQa-6-xYeb-BaXuJrYcKieky7jFvm2CVtZ4OBrGkplY2GBY4nbgUUGqiuP4PPkFY9-pn8jc/s400/Part2008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668644602532143458" border="0" /></a>After saying goodbye to Nisara, I went back to Mike's apartment and packed my overnight bag since I would be staying that night with Matthew on the North Side. I drove up to his apartment and got to hang out with him for a bit and then we met up with Mac for dinner at <a href="http://fountainheadchicago.com/">Fountainhead</a> in Lincoln Square. It was a tasty meal and a good chance for Mac and Matthew to get to know each other better. Matthew gave me a key to his place and headed home to continue packing since he's moving shortly.<br /><br />Mac and I headed over to the Grafton Pub next to the Old Town School to enjoy an evening of folk music and catching up with folks. Unfortunately, not as many folks as I was hoping were able to meet up there, but I did have a chance to catch up with Sarah, now an awesome 20-something who used to be in the Girl Scout troop that I helped with when I lived in the city. It's amazing how these kids grow up! It was great to see her and eventually Mike made it all the way up there to hang out for a bit and drive Mac home since I was heading back to Matthew's place for the night.<br /><br />On Wednesday I headed up to Evanston for the day. In the morning I met up with a colleague who works at Northwestern and enjoyed a library tour and some good professional catching up. We also took a lovely walk along the shoreline and got one of my favorite views of Chicago from up there. It was a lovely morning.<br /><br />For lunch I met up with a photographer friend, Katie, who I hadn't seen for years! (And we did't take any photos while we were hanging out!) It was great to get the scoop on some local photographers and see photos of her kids from the last 4 or 5 years. We did a little shopping and then ate lunch at <a href="http://cozyevanston.com/">Cozy Noodles</a>, again one of my favorite places to eat! I got my favorite Rama Special, which I literally dream about sometimes, but no one does it like Cozy. Mmm...<br /><br />(As an aside here: I tell people when I think about Chicago the first thing I think about is all of the awesome people I know there and the second thing is the food. There is so much good, affordable, delicious, unique, wonderful food in Chicago! I'm so happy I got to go back to some of my old favorites and try some new places, too.)<br /><br />After having lunch with Katie, I met up with another old friend, Mariko and one of her friends in downtown Evanston. It happened to be Mariko's birthday, so we enjoyed a sweet treat and a lovely walk around town. It was a particularly nice day and great to be out and about. She had to get along to previously planned birthday events and I had to head back down to Chicago to meet up with Matthew.<br /><br />Once we reconnected, Matthew and I headed down to Hyde Park to pick up our good friend Suz from work and head to dinner at <a href="http://www.medici57.com/">Medici</a> in Hyde Park. We got to sit outside on their patio (have I mentioned it was a beautiful day?) and thoroughly enjoyed our meal and catching up. Here's a quick photo of us after dinner:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9IfN9SzL1pkymlOV4AqmozZ6tEEz5RyGDk2euOhYAoCs9iiPhVUf0f8OhJOR-7XRFchWIMkvp0cSp_I231vqPX3UBeAhbNjEQSYalWksI-UmOJFfW8_qOHtnSGKiDWMwmQxzwM-HTIcs/s1600/Part2009.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 366px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9IfN9SzL1pkymlOV4AqmozZ6tEEz5RyGDk2euOhYAoCs9iiPhVUf0f8OhJOR-7XRFchWIMkvp0cSp_I231vqPX3UBeAhbNjEQSYalWksI-UmOJFfW8_qOHtnSGKiDWMwmQxzwM-HTIcs/s400/Part2009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668644599058135170" border="0" /></a>After dinner, Matthew dropped me back off at Mike's apartment and I caught up with Mike and Mac who were just getting back from their conference for the day. They hadn't eaten dinner yet, so I joined them on a lovely walk through Mike's neighborhood, the West Loop and we found a great Indian restaurant that was nearly empty and had a wonderful music selection. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Mike and Mac had one more day of conferencing to attend to on Thursday, so we pretty much headed to bed fairly early.<br /><br />Thursday was another early morning for the guys and also one for me. I met up with Amanda and her twin girls for brunch at the <a href="http://www.thebongoroom.com/">Bongo Room</a> in the South Loop. They are regulars there and when I got there first and told the hostess that I was meeting up with my friend and her twin girls she knew exactly who I was talking about and set me up at their favorite table! The last time I had seen the girls, they were only <a href="http://twojunebugs.blogspot.com/2008/06/meeting-monisha-and-sonali.html">teeny babies</a> when Amanda and I both happen to be living in Cambridge, MA.<br /><br />Well, now they're 3 years old and have wonderful little personalities of their own! We walked from brunch to the Shedd Aquarium and got in for free since Amanda had thought ahead and gotten the pass from the library. It was quite a fun visit! Here's one of the crazier images of the day: a cricket on a frog on a frog:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid0SHsYcsuLUJK0mwXiA0tWi92e15wxxmDcf59eYaeQy9raUj2juGKbKEnWNmZfx5EWK8o1wRcu3_03U1OtUPI0quvgEmoltxhi2j0SMsdmX6jPCNt7xZ13h2nQYTExpZiMzujDiYZES8/s1600/Part2010.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid0SHsYcsuLUJK0mwXiA0tWi92e15wxxmDcf59eYaeQy9raUj2juGKbKEnWNmZfx5EWK8o1wRcu3_03U1OtUPI0quvgEmoltxhi2j0SMsdmX6jPCNt7xZ13h2nQYTExpZiMzujDiYZES8/s400/Part2010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668644587254066194" border="0" /></a>Here are the girls watching the big fish go by:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjViAFN78PafKtkX7sSAtuqEeiDaz-M3n4OiSUvsS73d_t9Rtyix3QfjyUYSZuuRhY3VRZ5HoJLzIizAo7m_H03yYX0sdii380KOIt0RxJoVW-2qMZlZt-zbgec7Zh7ZDaKqg8rrYKV2pE/s1600/Part2011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjViAFN78PafKtkX7sSAtuqEeiDaz-M3n4OiSUvsS73d_t9Rtyix3QfjyUYSZuuRhY3VRZ5HoJLzIizAo7m_H03yYX0sdii380KOIt0RxJoVW-2qMZlZt-zbgec7Zh7ZDaKqg8rrYKV2pE/s400/Part2011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668644581839107938" border="0" /></a>Here's a shot of me outside the Aquarium with the beautiful skyline behind me:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8pKAOxr6HyFRj_IZSQVU83bkjV1BV8-seVWy8TuWeF5UD6jArlxajkzhDg2PnPH8ejXfZw1GHfMEq6fGR54oCycYqMzYpHZKoVEU-lb87FGht267Mc6VGutKjxAcdQgtwmcZbVyQrIb4/s1600/Part2012.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 194px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8pKAOxr6HyFRj_IZSQVU83bkjV1BV8-seVWy8TuWeF5UD6jArlxajkzhDg2PnPH8ejXfZw1GHfMEq6fGR54oCycYqMzYpHZKoVEU-lb87FGht267Mc6VGutKjxAcdQgtwmcZbVyQrIb4/s400/Part2012.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668644576664988418" border="0" /></a>And here's a cute shot of Amanda and the girls after our Aquarium visit:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX2hd05GB7iicZn5vl2-jc5No6jM9lG3OgWU_T9fZTD2f1d0rlsEGjyBbJPflXAs7eUeTZvP8qFVu8ziuoX10u34SeO_J1916PdMmpdjGeuR2kmBz7mb3HirUBN90daaYjirMZbXTzn8M/s1600/Part2013.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 243px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX2hd05GB7iicZn5vl2-jc5No6jM9lG3OgWU_T9fZTD2f1d0rlsEGjyBbJPflXAs7eUeTZvP8qFVu8ziuoX10u34SeO_J1916PdMmpdjGeuR2kmBz7mb3HirUBN90daaYjirMZbXTzn8M/s400/Part2013.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668644307235797874" border="0" /></a>And those cute, smiley girls!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0sFQa5W6RVujiTcjr2FlYnmx3rJA-h3mTuKAY7A019AnTfdSyyrnDUGsr_tBnmK-B40_mC4Znh9KASuyo6Ibp5ob1duRQjm-V0r7wHxFjq7SawVFHiopyF2B0mNOf0A2bmdC3t0MzwK0/s1600/Part2014.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 338px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0sFQa5W6RVujiTcjr2FlYnmx3rJA-h3mTuKAY7A019AnTfdSyyrnDUGsr_tBnmK-B40_mC4Znh9KASuyo6Ibp5ob1duRQjm-V0r7wHxFjq7SawVFHiopyF2B0mNOf0A2bmdC3t0MzwK0/s400/Part2014.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668644229413854258" border="0" /></a>After the aquarium, we walked back to their apartment and had a fun time playing and reading stories and attempting to put them down for a nap, which worked for a little bit and gave Amanda and I a chance to catch up, but the girls were not in a napping mood and were soon up singing songs and showing us dances. It was so fun to get to see them. And they have a great view, too! Here's a shot of Grant Park and Navy Pier from their apartment! Wow!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYhrEnykkLIIlXq9Ocq-NSK58aadtVy9ecAPuvgdLSbL_4iINMBBdsf8okSXc-r9neT1jQeTpPKLYvXJUW0sLP0xadTll8Y3wYm3UeG8zwhfq55K3OtOvD0kakPZcKPXmiMFYBbg1bjY/s1600/Part2015.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 227px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYhrEnykkLIIlXq9Ocq-NSK58aadtVy9ecAPuvgdLSbL_4iINMBBdsf8okSXc-r9neT1jQeTpPKLYvXJUW0sLP0xadTll8Y3wYm3UeG8zwhfq55K3OtOvD0kakPZcKPXmiMFYBbg1bjY/s400/Part2015.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668644220391577314" border="0" /></a>After spending the morning and early afternoon with Amanda, I headed back up to Mike's apartment and met up with Mike and Mac. After Mike serenaded all of Chicago from his balcony, (again - the view!):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZFqPwX3QLRgrYeS9zDU3UBmUyoFomSQZhM50Ttoc5cYL2G-kWxgjmc4wSWnz3qBI9YRZ5aGuXVSVffcxYrnz8Gh7tRemiJb0z8LPMVNFm8i2hqqeqjAc1JLNCSz1fuHpFXPJIG9h3tZ0/s1600/Part2016.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 163px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZFqPwX3QLRgrYeS9zDU3UBmUyoFomSQZhM50Ttoc5cYL2G-kWxgjmc4wSWnz3qBI9YRZ5aGuXVSVffcxYrnz8Gh7tRemiJb0z8LPMVNFm8i2hqqeqjAc1JLNCSz1fuHpFXPJIG9h3tZ0/s400/Part2016.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668644212541330162" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwrXFHhnpi7Q-9hNiY5oAVq0_BoBLdcJ3x2CCjO8Ri_zIj7Dz_Yw0GXPqic-IEjQLBW8dVx-FbAWgEnLcI0psCanAaKoSuZpIy9OWk3w2j9ElnP-mNSDLMhjfdWMzJKgPRL411ewWUIHc/s1600/Part2017.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwrXFHhnpi7Q-9hNiY5oAVq0_BoBLdcJ3x2CCjO8Ri_zIj7Dz_Yw0GXPqic-IEjQLBW8dVx-FbAWgEnLcI0psCanAaKoSuZpIy9OWk3w2j9ElnP-mNSDLMhjfdWMzJKgPRL411ewWUIHc/s400/Part2017.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668644205141791842" border="0" /></a>we headed out to another great place, <a href="http://handlebarchicago.com/">The Handlebar</a>, for dinner with my friend Nick. I introduced Mike and Nick because they were both recent PhDs, Mike from Princeton, Nick from MIT and both ended up moving to Chicago. They've hit it off nicely and seem to enjoy each other's quirky personalities. It was a really fun dinner and afterwards we took a nice stroll through Wicker Park and ended up stuffing ourselves into this British phone booth:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLHBtFlULi0gc7nAP_yDbrSxXekEdoDZD0UkEd2AA5P_87Hq_ETM932DJKL0eDsm36Rx2vG2cTWG-FmM7wNV6xe1Z7AYR45Ltf61edlcbYVhGNgjpo2pwwqXNtWfAkEjw2KKe3VywioKo/s1600/Part2018.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLHBtFlULi0gc7nAP_yDbrSxXekEdoDZD0UkEd2AA5P_87Hq_ETM932DJKL0eDsm36Rx2vG2cTWG-FmM7wNV6xe1Z7AYR45Ltf61edlcbYVhGNgjpo2pwwqXNtWfAkEjw2KKe3VywioKo/s400/Part2018.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668644200837722978" border="0" /></a>and then getting a sweet treat and some coffee at Wormhole. This coffeeshop is super 80s-themed and even has a Delorean in the front window (a la Back to the Future). It was quite fun. So after hanging out there for a bit we said Good Night to Nick and headed back to Mike's place for another early bedtime.<br /><br />Even though Mac and Mike had to go to their conference Tuesday through Thursday, it was a great chance for me to catch up with tons of folks I hadn't seen in way too long! It was so fun to be in one of my favorite cities again, but what I was really looking forward to was getting to show Mac some of the city and my old neighborhood. That's was Friday was for!Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-45806779012380130782011-09-26T15:36:00.000-04:002011-11-02T16:58:09.877-04:00Road Trip, Part 1: NJ, PA, OH, INMac and I left for a week-long road trip adventure to Chicago after work on Friday, Sept. 16th. That first night we drove to my Grammy's house in Jeannette, PA and I got to show Mac a place full of many happy memories for me and my family. On Saturday morning I went to Enrico's Bakery, where my dad worked when he was in high school, and got some tasty treats for the road. We also stopped at the restaurant where the Eat'n'Park used to be and had a great Southern brunch complete with grits and even mac and cheese. It was a good quick visit to Jeannette and since it was the beginning of football season, Mac got to really understand what being in Steelers Country means! There was Black and Gold proudly displayed everywhere we went!<br /><br />After leaving Jeannette we headed toward Mac's grandparents in Sardinia, OH. We took some back roads and ended up stopping at <a href="http://thewilds.org/">The Wilds</a>. The original plan was to find a place that did ziplining, but it seemed that any options we had in that area were either booked for the day or closed at 4pm, so we missed our chance. Even though we didn't pay to get into anything at The Wilds, we did go to the snack bar and had a good afternoon snack and some local beer while sitting out on the open patio watching wild animals roam around and people zipline through the park. It was a perfect break for a long day of driving. The snack bar also randomly had these huge locally grown watermelons for sale, so we picked up two of those as well.<br /><br />We finally made it to Sardinia and Mac's grandparents' place later that evening and even though we had told his Grandma that we were stopping to get dinner along the way she had a full meal prepared for us! We ate some more and had some dessert and had a nice evening sitting in the living room and chatting. I was exhausted and ended up going to be kind of early, but Mac enjoyed having the chance to catch up with his Grandma and Grandpa.<br /><br />In the morning we had a big breakfast with eggs and toast and cantaloupe and then moved on to the activities of the day. First, Mac's Grandpa wanted Mac to look at an old rifle that he had and make sure it was working. So after cleaning up, the best way to make sure it's working is to actually use it. So Mac fired the first shells and then passed it over to me. I had never even been that close to a gun before, let alone actually fired one! But I have to say, it was kind of a thrill to hit a milk jug full of water and watch it explode! Here I am with Mac's Grandpa:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp2zU0qNUL6sDoWkRpvhygn0QWhl_PkF3S5m9hh573GLaw2_fFNGWznPTIAOjxxyjvW5jZav7XIgr43QuRYTVglp7zBP4v7fMkMvksz6ij9yBtwhyphenhyphenABjp-APVr47oPlVX-u-wvGFu5vXM/s1600/Part1001.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 307px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp2zU0qNUL6sDoWkRpvhygn0QWhl_PkF3S5m9hh573GLaw2_fFNGWznPTIAOjxxyjvW5jZav7XIgr43QuRYTVglp7zBP4v7fMkMvksz6ij9yBtwhyphenhyphenABjp-APVr47oPlVX-u-wvGFu5vXM/s400/Part1001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668633659132229922" border="0" /></a>We were shooting milk jugs off of the old chicken coop in the yard:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTp7sRuevMKPeiny5DCRNRCxQgZ0-7QZh0DR0YLC7mkEHxJn4FwQ0knZC6j_IQvPdbz-YjN_xy6ZNPnFAwXYeKJP1TSrfc61ruZROJTMMzkHJJ_sCPXuDB3wciix1TxTsCuLWiqK76Qds/s1600/Part1002.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 283px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTp7sRuevMKPeiny5DCRNRCxQgZ0-7QZh0DR0YLC7mkEHxJn4FwQ0knZC6j_IQvPdbz-YjN_xy6ZNPnFAwXYeKJP1TSrfc61ruZROJTMMzkHJJ_sCPXuDB3wciix1TxTsCuLWiqK76Qds/s400/Part1002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668633656908666034" border="0" /></a>And off of milk crates. It's amazing what you can do when you own acres of land in the middle of nowhere Ohio and don't have any neighbors close by!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcq_wU_mMnHMwKsLZwnUUke_bMAOAlgP_SO4NeIVZ69sMA-sJZuoOzMKR6D6aFCMZadXaxWkY5AiNdgw4XXaD3_W-kcv4eSYz4tLtGHNlNWQBDG73dPOK4j2FRnXqvwp7MO1e9Hn_lxqI/s1600/Part1003.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 361px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcq_wU_mMnHMwKsLZwnUUke_bMAOAlgP_SO4NeIVZ69sMA-sJZuoOzMKR6D6aFCMZadXaxWkY5AiNdgw4XXaD3_W-kcv4eSYz4tLtGHNlNWQBDG73dPOK4j2FRnXqvwp7MO1e9Hn_lxqI/s400/Part1003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668633544463823554" border="0" /></a>After target practice, Mac and Grandpa and I got in the car and did a grand driving tour of the surrounding area. We drove past a bunch of land that Grandpa owns and he told stories the whole way about different things that happened in different places throughout the area.<br /><br />The most exciting stop was at the <a href="http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/places/sw16/index.shtml">Serpent Mound</a>. It's a serpent effigy believed to be built over 1,000 years ago by Native Americans. It was really fascinating to see. They have an observation tower that's about 2 stories high that you can look at it from above:<div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikImeOgfEO4lNCQ1vaceRqtiB5xMeZ_-FMq5ZZUZyrTC71G8ByCgiHmzYETOnmUaFlAhpGiBJL89Xo_7Jquyeh4nVLMMpo8z3zzZitem7Io8-AkH18DIStPUdCA_DPFEP-1RqIwX9Od38/s1600/Part1004.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 383px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikImeOgfEO4lNCQ1vaceRqtiB5xMeZ_-FMq5ZZUZyrTC71G8ByCgiHmzYETOnmUaFlAhpGiBJL89Xo_7Jquyeh4nVLMMpo8z3zzZitem7Io8-AkH18DIStPUdCA_DPFEP-1RqIwX9Od38/s400/Part1004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668633537776572018" border="0" /></a>The day we were there, there were some scientists doing some sort of research to learn more about what is contained in the mounds. While Mac and I stopped to talk to the researchers, Grandpa decided to chat with these cowboys:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVff-OHqRR3_uUQt3laQbHjyzz0SKl8oU-Wlv-3Ld9-j1dYUR8_q0-CbfqKvQVIXawVrxbAw__hl36g6rUz0Rxo0cNDTYxQGHuEnDAbMZE5dQcXxYKqlHbzCrHa8xW0gTUIwTtMbbRP2w/s1600/Part1005.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVff-OHqRR3_uUQt3laQbHjyzz0SKl8oU-Wlv-3Ld9-j1dYUR8_q0-CbfqKvQVIXawVrxbAw__hl36g6rUz0Rxo0cNDTYxQGHuEnDAbMZE5dQcXxYKqlHbzCrHa8xW0gTUIwTtMbbRP2w/s400/Part1005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668633534185928418" border="0" /></a>Every curve in the serpent is aligned with a sunset or sunrise on an equinox or solstice:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3wCbz_hJkGVESF6-87oZsSaXPa-wRjJjoodYch1bKVugzTKDAkXYTJgzjng7YTp9J8D-oXuGnJLHcQlQUFKP39vBqF_XTq9jFymIXs4JPZObe3EZRE5oE2y92_6lp0Dz0mMR3JxUcJQw/s1600/Part1006.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3wCbz_hJkGVESF6-87oZsSaXPa-wRjJjoodYch1bKVugzTKDAkXYTJgzjng7YTp9J8D-oXuGnJLHcQlQUFKP39vBqF_XTq9jFymIXs4JPZObe3EZRE5oE2y92_6lp0Dz0mMR3JxUcJQw/s400/Part1006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668633523893927650" border="0" /></a>We enjoyed walking around the park and talking with the folks in the gift shop, too. It's quite a fascinating place and apparently draws quite a crowd for solstice celebrations. That would be quite a sight to see!</div><div><br /></div><div>We came back from our drive and did a little bit more target practice with paper targets that we picked up along the way and then enjoyed a nice dinner together. After dinner Mac and I walked around the property to look at some of the old buildings and just enjoy the evening. Here are some photos of the old barn:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrr3a9YHuSnbWPaA_YtqBVHZRH5_rSB9QIlx4o3zV8AaD-AF44Cu5R8yQEt7h0esrKrYit0OjhvuYN1HZJljd8ztDjnkzIp1PjxljKjbcsqtXLhGdR0O3PIIXcNmE14qpRgKaShoGip7g/s1600/Part1007.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrr3a9YHuSnbWPaA_YtqBVHZRH5_rSB9QIlx4o3zV8AaD-AF44Cu5R8yQEt7h0esrKrYit0OjhvuYN1HZJljd8ztDjnkzIp1PjxljKjbcsqtXLhGdR0O3PIIXcNmE14qpRgKaShoGip7g/s400/Part1007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668633519598285874" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT6RWsNvrjb0rNyLSUREkp2Jct7Q7wb16uxebTeISvSvLrzpSeOy16nUcnA6eOEXQzOkuxgJzex3y_YzpUw-_mtr5zpXdwDWC2xCIMHc1O8AFLIZ_ieUyHlqj7TC7cXW12wgFQeDqVmqE/s1600/Part1008.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT6RWsNvrjb0rNyLSUREkp2Jct7Q7wb16uxebTeISvSvLrzpSeOy16nUcnA6eOEXQzOkuxgJzex3y_YzpUw-_mtr5zpXdwDWC2xCIMHc1O8AFLIZ_ieUyHlqj7TC7cXW12wgFQeDqVmqE/s400/Part1008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668633307771973058" border="0" /></a>The former garden, now weed patch, next to the old farm house:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEKS2xr1RR5Wu0lvSlISAEpUNQdfdVOO5Fmn-RUASMhed7t3i9rRYF70mB6ywi_N0bcdpWYCwtQs75HWYiUN_0nWXY9_aRoZAZHkzSt1f2ChmbEYywLWdq-l-1QyqALtbE3zAEM0FsNBw/s1600/Part1009.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEKS2xr1RR5Wu0lvSlISAEpUNQdfdVOO5Fmn-RUASMhed7t3i9rRYF70mB6ywi_N0bcdpWYCwtQs75HWYiUN_0nWXY9_aRoZAZHkzSt1f2ChmbEYywLWdq-l-1QyqALtbE3zAEM0FsNBw/s400/Part1009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668633300241685970" border="0" /></a>After dinner we went to the local grocery store and picked up a few snacks for the road, including a huge local cantaloupe. We did a little more visiting and then headed to bed. We left after breakfast on Monday morning and drove through Indiana to get to Chicago. We stopped in Indianapolis for lunch at the <a href="http://www.eiteljorg.org/">Eiteljorg Museum</a> of American Indians and Western Art. One of the main draws for me was an Art-o-Mat Machine!</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbNM5d0c-T5Kb8pt7ncwTHRjnCqlia2h7quyLZwTj58w4umq7J7r9kV6Bg8gGM1n8p15VKYgbYqzbQB2fkXLtoHf2JZQptx6tKXJ2uyAVetV3fuEfh8TwSyXkg0UVHv4bf9Cw2DuPYE2c/s1600/Part1010.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 311px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbNM5d0c-T5Kb8pt7ncwTHRjnCqlia2h7quyLZwTj58w4umq7J7r9kV6Bg8gGM1n8p15VKYgbYqzbQB2fkXLtoHf2JZQptx6tKXJ2uyAVetV3fuEfh8TwSyXkg0UVHv4bf9Cw2DuPYE2c/s400/Part1010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668633288307696146" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6J_nFdvOLhoYYu1Ok-tnW4f6FEyjDPAkQ4zBSdzCfE5al5IxG6SmmvoU4p7t9NirF10w-v8u1dcuhqJxHwTTuZw6mYWHvuzRMsg5Gs_8b1U5nx1rDtU5EMPXVNYKZy_Zm40b8pVvE-Eo/s1600/Part1011.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6J_nFdvOLhoYYu1Ok-tnW4f6FEyjDPAkQ4zBSdzCfE5al5IxG6SmmvoU4p7t9NirF10w-v8u1dcuhqJxHwTTuZw6mYWHvuzRMsg5Gs_8b1U5nx1rDtU5EMPXVNYKZy_Zm40b8pVvE-Eo/s400/Part1011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668633285561118610" border="0" /></a>They also had an interesting, if broad, collection and a great cafe where we enjoyed our lunch while watching it rain outside. From there, we drove through the rest of Indiana, including this HUGE windfarm that went on for miles and miles in both directions:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUG9stWvBLRQbSw456nc9lfNrz90XPoxhdeGxMNsGb4kytBffRRmQqpqDMLomQFPO8a8anacJg1bsjL6rg7kgNLitbKz-0ADBtQsLGMmFqt7cOkwuuGfQ4EdtrybgX2glyV52m-r53Y28/s1600/Part1012.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 175px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUG9stWvBLRQbSw456nc9lfNrz90XPoxhdeGxMNsGb4kytBffRRmQqpqDMLomQFPO8a8anacJg1bsjL6rg7kgNLitbKz-0ADBtQsLGMmFqt7cOkwuuGfQ4EdtrybgX2glyV52m-r53Y28/s400/Part1012.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668633282489613314" border="0" /></a>After a long day of driving we finally made it to Chicago on Monday evening! Man, I love Chicago...</div>Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-42015329522236229862011-09-02T08:48:00.003-04:002011-09-28T10:20:34.066-04:00Hurricane Irene<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1YKhMb6Os1X_hiDySkmjayV8cilQnOr-EpPHmepwmhHk40drTTucNEvD2zuY5rGpvg_sCdus7PwTUTI9zvAW6ZtHNtVfTCUaaarsOfiYF9xgCZo7d7p4-94e3jBtFWPBPBkiEh1yemCQ/s1600/MacHeadlamp.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 311px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1YKhMb6Os1X_hiDySkmjayV8cilQnOr-EpPHmepwmhHk40drTTucNEvD2zuY5rGpvg_sCdus7PwTUTI9zvAW6ZtHNtVfTCUaaarsOfiYF9xgCZo7d7p4-94e3jBtFWPBPBkiEh1yemCQ/s400/MacHeadlamp.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652287989914437986" /></a>Mac and I and some friends had planned on going canoe camping the weekend of August 27-28, but Mother Nature had other plans. She decided to hand us Hurricane Irene instead of a beautiful weekend for camping. Surprisingly, it ended up feeling a little like camping when the power went out at my apartment on Saturday night and Mac and I resorted to wearing head lamps to do our crossword. <div><br /></div><div>The weather was very dreary and windy on Saturday morning, and it started raining in the afternoon. Around 6pm Mac and I went out for a stroll around downtown Princeton just to see how things were going. Most of the stores were closed, but one very nice Italian restaurant was open, so we ended up having a wonderful dinner in a schmancy place while wearing comfy clothes and crocs. Having a hurricane approaching = anything goes!</div><div><br /></div><div>We made it back to my place before it got really bad, but the power ended up going out rather quickly, then coming back on for about an hour, then going out again and not coming back for two days. This was the view outside my apartment on Saturday night. One emergency light was on in Princeton:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2yPly5QrNa3PTxZ6Jk1YdsDbdZHmY-8LBzpgTP9XwCSrt7fArDuBwgP5RVu4MtJMAdCK-RQUD9lSpUnbEWRqdEXCSnzB_e1iQUwPUKH_oHS_eBy6t1yQaVaV2NGGBy1qKRQsxZH5cgUg/s1600/DarkOutside.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2yPly5QrNa3PTxZ6Jk1YdsDbdZHmY-8LBzpgTP9XwCSrt7fArDuBwgP5RVu4MtJMAdCK-RQUD9lSpUnbEWRqdEXCSnzB_e1iQUwPUKH_oHS_eBy6t1yQaVaV2NGGBy1qKRQsxZH5cgUg/s400/DarkOutside.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652287982886961026" /></a>The storm rolled through overnight from Saturday into Sunday and it was still raining on Sunday morning, but by the afternoon the sun had actually come out. Mac and I decided to go check on his kayak, which we had moved to higher ground on Friday evening, and it's a good thing we did! The place were he usually keeps it was completely under water. But this beaver seemed to be enjoying his expanded territory:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr2E5CcGbiI62TarNjHSZxJjVbzkVaczS40HUWebK43HcznUa0h9uyIEFPvKc6jRpEJ5cZGgA8TFKLysNs5u6kPdkeZwRvxIGsuHGCh0i-eI9Lm6dt0x4WRZslLwBYM4OTNFt0gxjp48A/s1600/Beaver.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 359px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr2E5CcGbiI62TarNjHSZxJjVbzkVaczS40HUWebK43HcznUa0h9uyIEFPvKc6jRpEJ5cZGgA8TFKLysNs5u6kPdkeZwRvxIGsuHGCh0i-eI9Lm6dt0x4WRZslLwBYM4OTNFt0gxjp48A/s400/Beaver.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652287582758041970" /></a>This is the chimney were we usually have our bonfires. And that horizontal line in front of it is the top of a picnic table. And this a dozen yards or more away from where the lake usually is. The water was at record levels.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1B7SdZ0CoxKU62DKlwDW3JvZvCvdkoHbsyez-GtYYXCWijkfV2vJXHcImpVG4hhu6Jwl44iRnjeUZJYfqrU7RHqjqXL-VtPZtpiBhezFU9rJb4M4TfH-XUilx7J1Mng05BLAn8BNBas/s1600/Chimney.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1B7SdZ0CoxKU62DKlwDW3JvZvCvdkoHbsyez-GtYYXCWijkfV2vJXHcImpVG4hhu6Jwl44iRnjeUZJYfqrU7RHqjqXL-VtPZtpiBhezFU9rJb4M4TfH-XUilx7J1Mng05BLAn8BNBas/s400/Chimney.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652287578052135554" /></a>Since we had to move Mac's car, we decided to do a little tour around town to see what else was going on. Here are some rowers looking at the flooded boathouse off of Washington Rd:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3_sJFej2dxlOssR_tpFNt2Q5yrLo5qhpJVf5_-aiSpwSmWKabcWUmzvTTBFxRDoKk8m5acUHnJSS_Yhoj5HZuRKE28XEvdjnOOOuvwbW6LZsGpJKnqsuIeH_ALEJr15e2mct8J_dvuNk/s1600/Rowers.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3_sJFej2dxlOssR_tpFNt2Q5yrLo5qhpJVf5_-aiSpwSmWKabcWUmzvTTBFxRDoKk8m5acUHnJSS_Yhoj5HZuRKE28XEvdjnOOOuvwbW6LZsGpJKnqsuIeH_ALEJr15e2mct8J_dvuNk/s400/Rowers.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652287577470377714" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">And of course, a huge rainbow appeared that afternoon.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga086uvf3TvqsDZLvVXAjxsJ-ov8vSCfY5sGpIKjPboAjqdoqhaitfxibPuE8y9nrENyKCDNpYeHG8rqQ4babuW7SaGAC5nxpUUCBJ06zhiTcEdqg2IkFM0N1IPk45fBZb_AGV-hwn-0s/s400/Rainbow.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652287570699668722" /><div style="text-align: left;">We also drove down to Alexander Rd, which was completely flooded out. Here is a little video showing the water rushing under the bridge. Mac and I have canoed under this bridge <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAb_T2g26AGlU2288CC_G_CldND4CojLTVbh36GKYbQSnKOve23BGDuFO7bsjyDzOWgj7hfnMjnLGRWACLYcaI1eRZjtl6XiO62zhTLXC1waOhIFs9tbPqvgd6Kdx7N9flKaFp6uzekA/s1600/CanoeingBeth.jpg">before</a>. You can tell that at one point the water was rushing over the bridge as well.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyU1oRVsB5qhhvhufM3AMYK_abDCIZPGkjsD7stEk7V8CGAQCbc6QOimB69mXhUnByGlEFMm-QawdGDVrYu9g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><div><br /></div><div>And here's a still image of a big log/tree up against the bridge. There was a lot of debris in the water and it was moving really fast. Needless to say, we're glad we decided not to go camping.</div><div><br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-Th9A91T8mcXa9i9mqz5-7B1-nn4JIAK9N4NZKkNctGAc3WOfiKDfZSLLmOXZiYBOeh6bJ4AQYICVhJ0gsfmlOotDa6Bns36MmotMJJ_2GG1_NmajnI8UY9VeVlBdYU9Aft794WVuFM/s400/AlexanderFlood.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652197619135161826" />And because of all of the local road closures, the University decided to close on Monday and had a delayed opening on Tuesday! It turned into quite a fun and productive weekend. Mac and I cleaned both of our apartments, finished a crossword or two, met up with some local friends, and generally enjoyed a surprise three day weekend. </div></div>Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-49652697039193582652011-08-14T08:34:00.000-04:002011-09-14T15:15:03.543-04:00Cape May 2011<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvF3pIDkekNfCpuM4tR7RMI5_WfG2-tXvviKftxfo5OZ1VLaiG3wGtDn4fF5CrQZ4CVczigxyjdNwBMQmhIweiywcM9ApYcEMgQc7VTEFf-7nXSAcCNQOTyLsZ5iio9Y_SBoLl8bwUIw/s1600/01FiveBoys.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 388px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvF3pIDkekNfCpuM4tR7RMI5_WfG2-tXvviKftxfo5OZ1VLaiG3wGtDn4fF5CrQZ4CVczigxyjdNwBMQmhIweiywcM9ApYcEMgQc7VTEFf-7nXSAcCNQOTyLsZ5iio9Y_SBoLl8bwUIw/s400/01FiveBoys.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652194324244212322" /></a>The day after getting back from Christa and Kyle's wedding, Mac and I headed down the shore to Cape May to catch up with my family. They had been there since Saturday, but we arrived on Monday. We took two cars because Mac could only stay for one night. <div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAQEeZ1lATMjT9vfZHHiqRVQHht5q_FSWX5YnnNOX0QNQGeruLPukcAMDAg2bJN3MYBRkvIWfOTNSUneftVn9CgrUYiaCuMf0nzAGNHckJ9xzBvYK7ehiYCtm4e3aMHYojEZ98CrH1Km4/s1600/02LadiesTea.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAQEeZ1lATMjT9vfZHHiqRVQHht5q_FSWX5YnnNOX0QNQGeruLPukcAMDAg2bJN3MYBRkvIWfOTNSUneftVn9CgrUYiaCuMf0nzAGNHckJ9xzBvYK7ehiYCtm4e3aMHYojEZ98CrH1Km4/s400/02LadiesTea.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652194318583771394" /></a>The week was filled with all of our usual activities: all the ladies going out for tea, spending lots of time at the beach, reading, playing board games, etc... Here's everyone's beach shoes lined up on the picnic table out back:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Th7kUInkOIYZRwJjas1Go-e5QqpDrXHIEYMYR4RHhNFSjqnmTO0jQoa-UKxdkozBTLZPD0Xp4forWlVsJltUGUanow6hAeUQobNy4uOT6igxKtbl5IrQNybWPZ8Cb3tRfppKQuqzI2A/s1600/03Shoes.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Th7kUInkOIYZRwJjas1Go-e5QqpDrXHIEYMYR4RHhNFSjqnmTO0jQoa-UKxdkozBTLZPD0Xp4forWlVsJltUGUanow6hAeUQobNy4uOT6igxKtbl5IrQNybWPZ8Cb3tRfppKQuqzI2A/s400/03Shoes.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652194230791747986" /></a>And the boys always come up with something new to keep themselves entertained. This year Nathaniel figured out how to make a ninja mask out of a long sleeved shirt. He and Sebastian came ninja-ing down the stairs looking like this one morning:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-t52F0xT0NDfHVOWTKhoR0DQO-dwg2HYkFOrqm2sj38JNlyhmuqTBsOrYmOP7Sjff-1MJmApuNNga3KvI9X4M_GNuRLEIyxuwzgDFGHu0iBaBGwhw9lRhE3wFGGK2zg-n4_xEJphX5dI/s1600/04Ninjas.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 363px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-t52F0xT0NDfHVOWTKhoR0DQO-dwg2HYkFOrqm2sj38JNlyhmuqTBsOrYmOP7Sjff-1MJmApuNNga3KvI9X4M_GNuRLEIyxuwzgDFGHu0iBaBGwhw9lRhE3wFGGK2zg-n4_xEJphX5dI/s400/04Ninjas.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652194176758805666" /></a>And all the gals went out to get our spa pedicures! The best way to spend a dreary morning at the beach. Ahhh:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWgnfcPwsp8T0yGoEmYdXYfkVkzAhy6QMcwee9DWY1uqHsYV0TOXC8ER_02sM9_Q673oSoNCWAjeDKIXoziNi6y5hDCk3DhI0l1t6J_qWErncRs7HclSw5W-BzYvNzLD68tZRHvB8yoJQ/s1600/05Toes.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 207px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWgnfcPwsp8T0yGoEmYdXYfkVkzAhy6QMcwee9DWY1uqHsYV0TOXC8ER_02sM9_Q673oSoNCWAjeDKIXoziNi6y5hDCk3DhI0l1t6J_qWErncRs7HclSw5W-BzYvNzLD68tZRHvB8yoJQ/s400/05Toes.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652194132258103170" /></a>We did a lot of walking along the mall and generally enjoying each other's company. Aunt Angie has been able to make it down the past couple summers and it was a treat to have her with us again. Here she is with my mom (her sister - can't you tell?):</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGGwK3qxXAO7jK2y16P07q2eXtW7NNDkVYi2wf7gR0W2gk6ZiM94uvSMdDPgcNYg3Hc4Bk9ibgmzh7xxLFcPHnKwnbBkqWz4KgwAXh6LWCjl56g59MVMqFoS_8no8LvKIXSQoQbnpiIY/s1600/06MomAng.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGGwK3qxXAO7jK2y16P07q2eXtW7NNDkVYi2wf7gR0W2gk6ZiM94uvSMdDPgcNYg3Hc4Bk9ibgmzh7xxLFcPHnKwnbBkqWz4KgwAXh6LWCjl56g59MVMqFoS_8no8LvKIXSQoQbnpiIY/s400/06MomAng.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652193911827459090" /></a>And yes, all the boys now thoroughly enjoy spending time in the sand, in the water and at the ocean. We went out early one morning to do our family photo and they really liked conquering this lifeguard stand. They're all getting so big!!</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcohU4dVngtlGAg2cFrN4D_ckbkCb5P_dqOsrNqQ3mS-usVveziTiE7ykFYWHetm4lXZxS3ZglKmaIqGiEbx4x5q5zS8dpVMkD3Nr0ZGWPNNtP6OdvXaEC349YMKbCG47H9b5PeAiRJX0/s1600/07Boys.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 292px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcohU4dVngtlGAg2cFrN4D_ckbkCb5P_dqOsrNqQ3mS-usVveziTiE7ykFYWHetm4lXZxS3ZglKmaIqGiEbx4x5q5zS8dpVMkD3Nr0ZGWPNNtP6OdvXaEC349YMKbCG47H9b5PeAiRJX0/s400/07Boys.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652193908354398034" /></a>And here we are - the big happy family. Special thanks to Aunt Angie for taking this photo! She took tons of them with all different cameras and this one was the best, and one of the first taken:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhahv95vPUMPCNPk0RfgxOyK_FQGniAs_XGE4o9dr-GfU0XQ1tmwGv1TF5mG8VPnsMzMKXGUeW0pXYD2n9N-cyUhI3vFDZjyhkPGCXdhObRMoWSD3XK7bTKtu4FUKkEcvh6fl8yqDAndhs/s1600/08Family.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhahv95vPUMPCNPk0RfgxOyK_FQGniAs_XGE4o9dr-GfU0XQ1tmwGv1TF5mG8VPnsMzMKXGUeW0pXYD2n9N-cyUhI3vFDZjyhkPGCXdhObRMoWSD3XK7bTKtu4FUKkEcvh6fl8yqDAndhs/s400/08Family.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652193661770626594" /></a>On our last morning at the beach, I headed out to watch the sunrise and caught these scenes:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4quZ7BgHwpUKTAnPWVXNtK4DZqW9XTF51f4glhS4YIw9L6Z2RC4z_UrgIQ6ZQLVHaI1q9SD5Re-myDzwjgPy8Ru_oOw_sqfWvJwrIyReAHSI-luxzF0ZbewCYc0g-dEtu5diKySoy8o/s1600/09Feather.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4quZ7BgHwpUKTAnPWVXNtK4DZqW9XTF51f4glhS4YIw9L6Z2RC4z_UrgIQ6ZQLVHaI1q9SD5Re-myDzwjgPy8Ru_oOw_sqfWvJwrIyReAHSI-luxzF0ZbewCYc0g-dEtu5diKySoy8o/s400/09Feather.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652193661743482466" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-i_WQGcFWLg_h3b2eSE56H__1X2rZiIzkDI7gra_k3by_WyDINrtfJRO0bL_LX6SBx3a43km1YM9FOd0E_iRqoxymn7ZyWyNbnJtkxeAETA2FZuWVT8fAUGjlWlbaldlfw_Nek1f5rkk/s1600/10Sunrise.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-i_WQGcFWLg_h3b2eSE56H__1X2rZiIzkDI7gra_k3by_WyDINrtfJRO0bL_LX6SBx3a43km1YM9FOd0E_iRqoxymn7ZyWyNbnJtkxeAETA2FZuWVT8fAUGjlWlbaldlfw_Nek1f5rkk/s400/10Sunrise.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652193659109998962" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-P9_kXEPgjmnzoZo0aLDf8wNcu84xEG1qyI0vFNAVsVF_2aISOQ4JDboIhjXVwYnLOq3TNqIFht8Xpq61OX3Ep3Vp_wReJHCebeam-6-reNg3la0dyzHJx0vE6NZ6CwSxl6rg972Ncc/s1600/11Beach.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-P9_kXEPgjmnzoZo0aLDf8wNcu84xEG1qyI0vFNAVsVF_2aISOQ4JDboIhjXVwYnLOq3TNqIFht8Xpq61OX3Ep3Vp_wReJHCebeam-6-reNg3la0dyzHJx0vE6NZ6CwSxl6rg972Ncc/s400/11Beach.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652192886731371714" /></a>As always, it was a lovely time at the beach. It's something that I look forward to every year. We already have the same house booked for next year...</div>Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-40527393990694346932011-08-01T15:59:00.002-04:002011-09-13T10:31:34.023-04:00Christa and Kyle get Married!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxG6FrUTcl3rp5j55csm0b1mhOR2ORl3lUYPJzbiQWlcj_YzbxDxMJsdcUldXUl_DWf9rtiJk3qCA-4eqvcJoa7msvietlyUHeRWHtOVYRHRleRQ7ukEMG7U4-wq601E42-671p2fhAvU/s1600/SatBarn.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 342px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxG6FrUTcl3rp5j55csm0b1mhOR2ORl3lUYPJzbiQWlcj_YzbxDxMJsdcUldXUl_DWf9rtiJk3qCA-4eqvcJoa7msvietlyUHeRWHtOVYRHRleRQ7ukEMG7U4-wq601E42-671p2fhAvU/s400/SatBarn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651566213478327826" border="0" /></a>The last weekend in July was one of my favorite of the whole summer! My dear friend Christa got married to her best friend Kyle on a beautiful farm in Western Massachusetts. Mac and I arrived on Friday afternoon and got to work helping out with the wedding prep. We arranged flowers, set up tables and chairs, and did pretty much anything that needed to be done to make their day perfect. We also got to hang out with some amazing folks including the bride and groom and college friends Jerri and Mark and their daughter Zoe. It was a bit of a humid, dreary afternoon, but we made the best of it and ended the evening knowing that Saturday was going to be a beautiful day. Mark, Jerri, Zoe, Mac and I all headed into Northampton to get dinner, but Jerri ended up taking Zoe "home" to put her to bed, so Mark, Mac and I enjoyed our dinner at Haymarket, got some take-out for Jer and then picked up some beer for the wedding.<br /><br />We all ended up staying at a co-op community were Christa's friends Steve and Lena live. Mark, Jerri and Zoe stayed in their house and Mac and I stayed in the spare bedroom in the community house. It all worked out for the best and we were even able to store the beer in the community house fridge.<br /><br />Saturday morning we all went out for breakfast at a little coffeeshop in Amherst and then headed over to the farm to finish prepping. Mac helped out getting things set up and I took some pre-wedding photos of Christa and Kyle and their families. In the photo at the top of this post you can see Christa and Kyle and the beautiful barn where they held the reception. As you can see, it turned out to be a beautiful day!<br /><br />The first thing that Christa and Kyle did for their guests was serve them homemade pie. It was their way of saying Thank You to everyone for coming and supporting them.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0BkzvRsz4XoHzXQ5u0p4qaS5vOvftDz-ZFSfjanx3VIKsbBLHVG0qf6C1q5umvWQXG_QJ6bxuB32MMrhlrKpZVa0m8RopDKv5TBMmNQZhFsR8xp8tIt2oJ3AkjELKBKg0vFEu5zHdmnk/s1600/SatBe.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0BkzvRsz4XoHzXQ5u0p4qaS5vOvftDz-ZFSfjanx3VIKsbBLHVG0qf6C1q5umvWQXG_QJ6bxuB32MMrhlrKpZVa0m8RopDKv5TBMmNQZhFsR8xp8tIt2oJ3AkjELKBKg0vFEu5zHdmnk/s400/SatBe.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651566212615853106" border="0" /></a>Here you can see the adorable aprons that someone made for them, and all the delicious pies:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjEeWkTyODNp58-xBwY6bM088Dl7nmF8kOFBB_PGtEn7nKJ-uXH7Gg5zvBT3GUd3PZjBR60RPd7Np0U-IrmfUVa5sGcyULtoMJOtdguMd_XqXPtGWytcBzUQspaxNfrGFQid4Vtkdxhg/s1600/SatBe1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjEeWkTyODNp58-xBwY6bM088Dl7nmF8kOFBB_PGtEn7nKJ-uXH7Gg5zvBT3GUd3PZjBR60RPd7Np0U-IrmfUVa5sGcyULtoMJOtdguMd_XqXPtGWytcBzUQspaxNfrGFQid4Vtkdxhg/s400/SatBe1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651566207708062818" border="0" /></a>Once everyone had a chance to eat some pie we all made our way to the wedding ceremony site, which was just a short walk down the farm on a beautiful hillside. The ceremony was very unique and included a Ring Warming. The rings were passed around to all of the guests and they were asked to hold them and give them their blessings and warm wishes. The rings were held in the wings of this adorable hand-made bird:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhltnBpn9AAHshYjU_W5cOqWVTApvw_4OWo_VbRIcuSGGBXPvXzIriiVD4FQrlYnkYeevAU0A0If0xdDRFgxtEhi_tm9oL-ZWo0cVzY8JhxlLEpOhw2esrohRtzupSiNvR0T6ItZp_KCRU/s1600/SatBird.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 354px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhltnBpn9AAHshYjU_W5cOqWVTApvw_4OWo_VbRIcuSGGBXPvXzIriiVD4FQrlYnkYeevAU0A0If0xdDRFgxtEhi_tm9oL-ZWo0cVzY8JhxlLEpOhw2esrohRtzupSiNvR0T6ItZp_KCRU/s400/SatBird.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651566200105570082" border="0" /></a>Christa and Kyle sat together during the ceremony, facing the guests:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFslEH1RVVvFY7ysVMvdMVnVGbhvzOZummCizzQoZnN90eNFNFVv_U9120-v-VYGGRXC7tMGlri-2bngIgffPXCOTpyhevhIJNgRjxrGijRgXalBM4vrz-zVXyzBC0mmJ1rgxYJlaTxwc/s1600/SatCeremony.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFslEH1RVVvFY7ysVMvdMVnVGbhvzOZummCizzQoZnN90eNFNFVv_U9120-v-VYGGRXC7tMGlri-2bngIgffPXCOTpyhevhIJNgRjxrGijRgXalBM4vrz-zVXyzBC0mmJ1rgxYJlaTxwc/s400/SatCeremony.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651566199289604754" border="0" /></a>Guests were also asked to share their thoughts and well-wishes with the couple in a way that was similar to a Quaker sharing. Whenever you felt moved to speak you just said what you had to say, or in Jerri's case, sang what you wanted to sing:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi3rZmvU88BQH3m1N_OtvRIgvvZT9cgVKIcOkgdZXvoRCTA0_k7bGJ3cgLuGlNl6Vm3m-ISgiO05Aehc1x3irbLhaz-SOErof71BgXgnM5p31n9-20pU10LOvfNYImdLVWJJfqIKuKn1E/s1600/SatJer.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 276px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi3rZmvU88BQH3m1N_OtvRIgvvZT9cgVKIcOkgdZXvoRCTA0_k7bGJ3cgLuGlNl6Vm3m-ISgiO05Aehc1x3irbLhaz-SOErof71BgXgnM5p31n9-20pU10LOvfNYImdLVWJJfqIKuKn1E/s400/SatJer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651566044674621698" border="0" /></a>Mark also chose to share:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj1lerrbHyRSjCfYV5r1em-66EVwRfSsYlesmvO2fK8uNf4sBminFWgjYyklZO6t4X_-Q_TJ8cyS4tGqnUwWXlYAHR8t7u8iExoRNWfPv93VUr0ejR7_Iwl_4xAlwGq3gCCqNrC9Qu_6M/s1600/SatMurf.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 252px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj1lerrbHyRSjCfYV5r1em-66EVwRfSsYlesmvO2fK8uNf4sBminFWgjYyklZO6t4X_-Q_TJ8cyS4tGqnUwWXlYAHR8t7u8iExoRNWfPv93VUr0ejR7_Iwl_4xAlwGq3gCCqNrC9Qu_6M/s400/SatMurf.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651566034982979714" border="0" /></a>Then Christa and Kyle exchanged vows that they had written themselves, put on their gorgeous rings and were MARRIED! It was a beautiful ceremony on an absolutely perfect summer day.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSNt_OA0FDkl1Yl0Uw6EDMhDAvpvHFFytG_ps4tgpX25RK450tUsBw2vNCOBClQ7-qOxpf29nKlm2QazALH8EIIHxn5KiE0kD8KMUjj6UJj25smRwSpYRPXvkoOSjOJp9lqUfnABmnyk/s1600/SatN.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 347px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSNt_OA0FDkl1Yl0Uw6EDMhDAvpvHFFytG_ps4tgpX25RK450tUsBw2vNCOBClQ7-qOxpf29nKlm2QazALH8EIIHxn5KiE0kD8KMUjj6UJj25smRwSpYRPXvkoOSjOJp9lqUfnABmnyk/s400/SatN.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651566028658351106" border="0" /></a>After the ceremony we got the Syracuse crew together for a quick photo. Mark, Mark, Jerri, Christa and I were all RAs in Shaw Hall:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVEBv6cCDKGffwQVShNx1EIAZxnN1nmGy6gPOfniUstlcCZUEUMTNIhj6oqLRsLbMusIoqylu-8TPTGWJaMjZ9d8Qruivt_bLVqf2lz4QKP1hGMWYX885222ctZqB4Wb1iEDMjdNlOfFs/s1600/SatO.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVEBv6cCDKGffwQVShNx1EIAZxnN1nmGy6gPOfniUstlcCZUEUMTNIhj6oqLRsLbMusIoqylu-8TPTGWJaMjZ9d8Qruivt_bLVqf2lz4QKP1hGMWYX885222ctZqB4Wb1iEDMjdNlOfFs/s400/SatO.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651566024749468802" border="0" /></a>Mac took a nice shot of me with Christa and Kyle:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2DLryt-UgnJZEVjbgIOt7UMbAJFGEfseMCbE8ouYRdlZtm2EZBpJ5j9ccBKnSbaSdpJn3HNotVTQXDiUx06inKzkcMahUmxSEHzS1tLV3ZYzo6xh15QVBO2bi5Kc4BHMQpEc6eLqvGHs/s1600/SatP.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 304px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2DLryt-UgnJZEVjbgIOt7UMbAJFGEfseMCbE8ouYRdlZtm2EZBpJ5j9ccBKnSbaSdpJn3HNotVTQXDiUx06inKzkcMahUmxSEHzS1tLV3ZYzo6xh15QVBO2bi5Kc4BHMQpEc6eLqvGHs/s400/SatP.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651566025732482466" border="0" /></a>And Kyle returned the favor by taking a nice shot of Mac and I up at the ceremony site:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkdnZshlTUpV2bFudKbWjYFG9oBc4NFPXpDOHIZjrAeuh5LzkRDGtA0X6-TH0KrSr54DEK995Nls21RdRTylODRA0sjZ_s6bwNkiV6YcbAstTvWEPhMzX1u4PBH4J2OU1NSJyuR0238g/s1600/SatQ.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 248px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkdnZshlTUpV2bFudKbWjYFG9oBc4NFPXpDOHIZjrAeuh5LzkRDGtA0X6-TH0KrSr54DEK995Nls21RdRTylODRA0sjZ_s6bwNkiV6YcbAstTvWEPhMzX1u4PBH4J2OU1NSJyuR0238g/s400/SatQ.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651565862284540034" border="0" /></a>Once most of the guests had left the site I got to do a few more photos of just Christa and Kyle at the ceremony site.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkis7DZqkktPhdYHQIB-m2Qo5MO1qSe8ZOtFQ7RcvKqeZ46uOF0vHQ__bIwRNBqqKx5fH3bH9peZzj19IPf2HXrRGCzm2MhOWMSgmcAHVUhyphenhyphengMjE86fqbcprRg4DfWw3hPyMxyI5zC1PE/s1600/SatRings.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkis7DZqkktPhdYHQIB-m2Qo5MO1qSe8ZOtFQ7RcvKqeZ46uOF0vHQ__bIwRNBqqKx5fH3bH9peZzj19IPf2HXrRGCzm2MhOWMSgmcAHVUhyphenhyphengMjE86fqbcprRg4DfWw3hPyMxyI5zC1PE/s400/SatRings.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651565863997199938" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoWpq_LKvXqXCz5u1YDaJM-qwRJFAX35hW_70mC5P3ty8Mf5Ruk_c_24_iM9l573-BWI6u3wR5CkAjfr2QnUMrmktG5O6A8K-y2g3q1CT_XWoiPMOKAfzOUhMExFSGzSk6f9t_qcP73Qo/s1600/SatSweetChristaKyle.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 322px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoWpq_LKvXqXCz5u1YDaJM-qwRJFAX35hW_70mC5P3ty8Mf5Ruk_c_24_iM9l573-BWI6u3wR5CkAjfr2QnUMrmktG5O6A8K-y2g3q1CT_XWoiPMOKAfzOUhMExFSGzSk6f9t_qcP73Qo/s400/SatSweetChristaKyle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651565857362791234" border="0" /></a>On the way to the archery field, Mac stopped to show Zoe how seeds come from sunflowers.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbgUKUwaA3FWZD4ZdsIdSmQMd5F8Jyme-5oZzwVq1FK2Yr0MY1z-kuhL0ba0GZfTFCxm1qBRAwGAu2sbL9a3LLleznXYQbk2joF1IgSLISWnTLKklBxQNPSptdKS1TaKqAyNhEgCmmeo/s1600/SatTaDa.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 249px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbgUKUwaA3FWZD4ZdsIdSmQMd5F8Jyme-5oZzwVq1FK2Yr0MY1z-kuhL0ba0GZfTFCxm1qBRAwGAu2sbL9a3LLleznXYQbk2joF1IgSLISWnTLKklBxQNPSptdKS1TaKqAyNhEgCmmeo/s400/SatTaDa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651565856033548706" border="0" /></a>And then we all got to shoot a few bows and arrows! Kyle and Christa teach archery at the farm, so they decided to have it available for the guests between the ceremony and the reception.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZEj3YQNjvvSQN2pOXzb7_7oDkp5oFabHNGdzwIVEf29mxBC9wBXrFICmRSXknZWiCplfcBYYSzJWZRe_i6b8_hFwwqso-BQ9DkTXp5wJT0PIHYJ9nzkgWdHAFKEcEu8zZOoXK6m5t5E/s1600/SatTeeHee.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZEj3YQNjvvSQN2pOXzb7_7oDkp5oFabHNGdzwIVEf29mxBC9wBXrFICmRSXknZWiCplfcBYYSzJWZRe_i6b8_hFwwqso-BQ9DkTXp5wJT0PIHYJ9nzkgWdHAFKEcEu8zZOoXK6m5t5E/s400/SatTeeHee.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651565850510917378" border="0" /></a>It was so fun!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzopKRn4byoVMDU80F3IWKmtxiv_X_g2wmXzeIUf_f24pseC_nrYx6WBnXgCMn4IWfhjg5RFYuCf3qjMHx25xqJSZ1qsK4KwDgMD-OeCwRPd54GfifYzjLD-qNUDJGjs8DYXXeExxMEgg/s1600/SatU.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzopKRn4byoVMDU80F3IWKmtxiv_X_g2wmXzeIUf_f24pseC_nrYx6WBnXgCMn4IWfhjg5RFYuCf3qjMHx25xqJSZ1qsK4KwDgMD-OeCwRPd54GfifYzjLD-qNUDJGjs8DYXXeExxMEgg/s400/SatU.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651565683749448882" border="0" /></a>After archery, we all headed back to the barn to watch a fun skit that their families had put together about Christa and Kyle. Then we were all treated to some live bluegrass music and a home-cooked meal. It was great to catch up with friends and do some dancing during the reception.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6n9JfTCpo3fcoQayk4CnlshiCvFtSFCd6XkwtR27Vy9-g4hz3woHg-0T0QyCODyGcXNl9YHHGBO0ege8OGGn2S3h2L_CKlobplrHU64Jvq06B6Tm03j6xYq2xStE_M-TWnl9kBb3f0E/s1600/SatVeryFunny.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6n9JfTCpo3fcoQayk4CnlshiCvFtSFCd6XkwtR27Vy9-g4hz3woHg-0T0QyCODyGcXNl9YHHGBO0ege8OGGn2S3h2L_CKlobplrHU64Jvq06B6Tm03j6xYq2xStE_M-TWnl9kBb3f0E/s400/SatVeryFunny.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651565677147199986" border="0" /></a>Once it got dark, we all wandered over to the bonfire site and watched a fire dancing performance which was really cool, then sat around the campfire and made smores and told stories. It was the perfect end to an awesome day.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJsDCWiF2ZmVy5GeFXgoZOLmFalSGw8Vl4-Gmb7wbJ6ogHXNplI23Qv7IkzLTUs9PRnk05dv2kaS57K779urgVNvpdDJ0kQaAJSbPsN0uN2gk5ty_Z2YtNwX39-o7VOtA2hEz9SIhjobc/s1600/SatZ.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 352px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJsDCWiF2ZmVy5GeFXgoZOLmFalSGw8Vl4-Gmb7wbJ6ogHXNplI23Qv7IkzLTUs9PRnk05dv2kaS57K779urgVNvpdDJ0kQaAJSbPsN0uN2gk5ty_Z2YtNwX39-o7VOtA2hEz9SIhjobc/s400/SatZ.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651565678346704242" border="0" /></a>On Sunday we all met up back at the farm to help clean up and eat some of the left-over food. Once the clean-ups were done, a bunch of us headed to Puffer's Pond in Amherst to take a dip in the water and enjoy one last hurrah with good friends. We spent about an hour at the pond and then went into town to get some ice cream.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9y-mdvDdUtslWkukHh_7CNvY-9BE9RPqJVwyEgQlBpdmvRkCridd6hE2133ov4snrqDCpU11SBKF7BM98nWSkk2wB2JwGtRpZJwGd3cqMHMVvuDlV91p3tXKKhBUB0i8TdqPdS3PvSOM/s1600/SundayMarkZoeJer.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9y-mdvDdUtslWkukHh_7CNvY-9BE9RPqJVwyEgQlBpdmvRkCridd6hE2133ov4snrqDCpU11SBKF7BM98nWSkk2wB2JwGtRpZJwGd3cqMHMVvuDlV91p3tXKKhBUB0i8TdqPdS3PvSOM/s400/SundayMarkZoeJer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651565675667512946" border="0" /></a>It was the perfect end to a really lovely weekend.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJsaBjDXvG3TIiBMTazvM5mWaEGGcgYBlm-IwjKo-PK30wLpLGmM701xm5XuJMGwtihJN_3kHMFbJhee-mTLd3f7dyi4p-drL2szJxwjL4kkm8Lc0LLChDRB1Qhhqd0GmNE1R6YjdJq58/s1600/SundayJerBethChrista.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJsaBjDXvG3TIiBMTazvM5mWaEGGcgYBlm-IwjKo-PK30wLpLGmM701xm5XuJMGwtihJN_3kHMFbJhee-mTLd3f7dyi4p-drL2szJxwjL4kkm8Lc0LLChDRB1Qhhqd0GmNE1R6YjdJq58/s400/SundayJerBethChrista.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651565664972254850" border="0" /></a>Then Mac and I got in the car and drove all the way back to Princeton so that we could do a load of laundry, re-pack and head to Cape May on Monday morning to hang out with my family.Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5065361882211060587.post-69180014207656533552011-07-31T15:58:00.003-04:002011-09-12T16:48:26.554-04:00Mystic before the Wedding<div>Mac and I took our time getting up to Christa and Kyle's wedding in Western Mass. The wedding was on Saturday, but we left on Thursday to see some sights on our way. Our first stop was to see some of my colleagues and friends at Yale in New Haven, CT. We got a tour of the Haas Arts Library (no relation to Mac) and an insider's view of the Beinecke Rare Book Library and where they digitize materials. We had lunch at the food trucks in New Haven and then headed on our way. It was the perfect way to break up our drive.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mac's extended family was vacationing in New London, CT, so we stopped to see them on Thursday for dinner and enjoyed a beautiful evening. It was great to get to meet more of Mac's family. After dinner and lots of catching up, we drove to a B&B in Mystic to spend the night. The highlight was the hot tub! We sat in there and watched shooting stars and satellites go by above our heads. It was great!</div><div><br /></div><div>This was our view from outside the B&B. It was in the more "industrial" part of Mystic, right down by the water:</div><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBeyDH_bAJ7-gNNNqRiSilCuyG-AHzkSoHgkEld1iHcurYdAMI_c7rV-zqJeNvtDuow0TFtDiFxbx3wmbCKch8JuatNREDcNLx7jerB0WUPFyce4Ci3pa8F38tfNuzL3MM6irv91qO5c/s400/01Harbor.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 245px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651565210475785458" />After checking out from the B&B, we drove to Stonington, CT, which is only a few miles from Mystic to have breakfast at a great little place called Noah's. It was recommended to us by my friend at Yale and it didn't disappoint. After breakfast we walked all over Stonington (it's not that big) and then drove back to Mystic to check out Mystic Pizza. Mac had to deliver on a bet that was made long ago and actually mailed a slice of Mystic Pizza to a friend in California. It was pretty hilarious. The pizza itself was HORRIBLE!<div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKTF740uppogW9duCJVik5H0TE7-T7AciATzcyRDKsYrTsp1i2bc3DpKUbb62oax4qWLCo9hTv8xHb7z7xpkdpCfz6SGAfoaH3k3ixSnOFbumYUW_G6jcjHuhfLQj1uF5ip7C4fZXVdtQ/s1600/02MysticPizza.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 326px; height: 400px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKTF740uppogW9duCJVik5H0TE7-T7AciATzcyRDKsYrTsp1i2bc3DpKUbb62oax4qWLCo9hTv8xHb7z7xpkdpCfz6SGAfoaH3k3ixSnOFbumYUW_G6jcjHuhfLQj1uF5ip7C4fZXVdtQ/s400/02MysticPizza.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651565205528101538" /></a>After mailing the pizza slice, we took a little bit of time to walk around downtown Mystic and see the sights. This is the view of the drawbridge:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkYo8jIQ0MeXxte5IYm2SCeloM5APZXYVz5E5UYz288F7KlrwtzZ1Z70oC8HPdPvz9nnCXVdK7JDeL6SrgbAden-l-Js8XAhsX0ituchHQ-VrNl8IwtvpbddSeCk4N8Jbp7AYcx3FP18/s1600/03MysticBridge.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkYo8jIQ0MeXxte5IYm2SCeloM5APZXYVz5E5UYz288F7KlrwtzZ1Z70oC8HPdPvz9nnCXVdK7JDeL6SrgbAden-l-Js8XAhsX0ituchHQ-VrNl8IwtvpbddSeCk4N8Jbp7AYcx3FP18/s400/03MysticBridge.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651565204096540706" /></a>And this is Mystic Seaport. </div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjES1WJM2TbnvdLBKqtf7NztmKOVPir5_q6RCa1xyQXEn7doCytK1oIOnW5G6msNcF7j5XG27tQ2q54uFIUK5vsuzGwmADaYj1Kj0kGZsaqcnryH9wnySEB_sF1K6Of2PTkamVEZY0QIGY/s1600/04MysticSeaport.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 163px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjES1WJM2TbnvdLBKqtf7NztmKOVPir5_q6RCa1xyQXEn7doCytK1oIOnW5G6msNcF7j5XG27tQ2q54uFIUK5vsuzGwmADaYj1Kj0kGZsaqcnryH9wnySEB_sF1K6Of2PTkamVEZY0QIGY/s400/04MysticSeaport.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651565100300776338" /></a>We didn't have time to actually go to the museum or the village because we had to get up to Western Mass to help Christa and Kyle out with setting up for the wedding. It was a bit of a dreary day on Friday, but you'll see from the photos of the wedding that Saturday turned out to be beautiful!</div></div>Junebug Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07244744832459064122noreply@blogger.com1