I love lamp

 I mentioned the lamp in a previous post but wanted to tell the full tale. 

When we were in New Orleans there was a shop next to our hotel that sold really pretty glass lamps and collectibles from Turkey. We browsed the store one day, and thought to ourselves that we should cruise around and see if there were dozens of these unique Turkish lamp stores in the city, or, if this was the only one. 

In one or two stores, we saw one or two of these cool lamps. But it wasn't at all like some of the shops where every five feet, there's a store selling all the same things. The day we left, Doug said we should go pick up a lamp as a gift to ourselves. If the price was good and the shipping not ridiculous. Doug usually doesn't act this way - we don't buy stuff for ourselves like this. Or he says this would be a good idea, and then we never buy it. That's just cloud talk. 

So we went into the shop to look and see what we agreed on. When we went in, there were a couple other people shopping, and a dining chair in the middle of the sidewalk, and 3 other chairs standing by the front door of an upstairs apartment access. Royal Street is exceptionally messy in places, so I was not surprised there was a chair just on its side in the middle of the sidewalk. 

There were these amazing ceiling lights that if we had a high entry way, they'd look outstanding. There were floor lamps that had 6-8 globes hanging down on chains, and they could stand in a corner or at the bend in a staircase and be amazing. That was nothing we needed. We went to the tabletop pendulum lamps, and the lamps with bases to see which one we liked most.

The shopkeeper was really nice, and very friendly. He offered us Turkish coffee, which we felt compelled to accept. He brought out these teeny tiny itty bitty coffee cups, and the liquid was brutally hot so it took awhile to get to the point where I could drink it. Thicker than espresso, and no offer of froth/milk, the coffee tastes a little like mud sifted through dirt and set on fire. It is incredibly strong (and I needed the caffeine badly after our Wednesday night trip out to a brewery). 

I guess you are supposed to put sugar in it but we asked for no sugar when he offered, and he laughed. 

Now I know why, and I know better.

A lot of the lamps had eye patterns on them. Turkish culture (and many other cultures) have a history/tradition of using the Nazar eye in art and jewelry, click here to learn a little more. 

The eye is a protection usually in the form of an amulet or charm you wear to protect you from other people's envious glares. The "Evil Eye" as it were. You can buy lots of different colored eyes, each color has special meaning. 

Doug wasn't grooving on all the eyes and eyeballs in the lamps, he thought they were creepy and looking at him. And he wouldn't be comfortable with some eyeball gawking at him while he watches "Better Call Saul." So he picked a pattern that had no eye, and there were fewer of these on the shelf. We settled on one that was mostly just clear crystal, blue, black and purple shapes in a wavy pattern.  

Doug shopped for a few other things (he ended up getting some pretty table trivets to put hot dish out onto) and the shopkeeper talked to me, and talked. And Talked. 

He has a small warehouse up here in Maryland, full of items. He's got this one shop, and is trying to get other shops around the city to also distribute his wares. I told him we saw two shops with similar lamps, he said those shops are in partnership with him, but they sell the lamps for slightly more so we came to the right place. He pays a lot of money every month for the retail space and storage. He lived in DC, but his girlfriend got kind of crazy during the pandemic, so they broke up. He always wanted to live in New Orleans so. He moved there. 

We got his whole life story.

Doug says that I have an invisible tattoo on my forehead that says "please, come talk to me and tell me everything."

We escaped when the police showed up. A guy had thrown a chair into his shop (a ha. That explains the chair!) before we arrived, so he had obviously called the police. He was calm, cool and collected. You never would have known someone caused a fracas before we came in. 

He said he needed to chat with the police, we told him we needed to mosey, shook hands, and went on our way. We heard him telling the story to the cops about a white guy "no shirt on, so skinny that he needs more than a sandwich..." and I laughed. 

Saw that guy freaking out a couple blocks away by the Walgreens cause they threw him out. There's your suspect, officer. 

The lamp arrived the other day while I was in Richmond. It is very pretty. Not easy to photograph. But I like it. He set it up in the livingroom, not where I wanted it but where the nearest outlet is. So that works. 

Here's a picture of food. This was my lunch. Digits below the omelet!

Exercise: Again, stormy rainy day lined up, I doubt we will get out there anywhere.

Blood Glucose: 

9am: 190
5pm: 150
10pm: 154

Food:

Coffee
Water
3 egg omelet with 10 leftover grilled shrimp, goat cheese, avocado. 
buffalo wings with celery & bleu cheese
wine & fresca spritzer (4)
almonds

My Person's Birthday

 Hard to believe but my oldest child turns 30 today. 

I miss spending time together and would love if they were comfortable traveling here. Would love some Jess time here at my house. We get to see them next week when we go up to Massachusetts so that's nice. I'm very looking forward to it. 

Recently, they quit all social media (except the twitter maintained for the cat that shares their apartment) so online updates are few and far between. I guess there's a new cat in the house so ole Doyle's in for a run for her money. It makes me not check Twitter or Instagram anymore because now there's nothing redeeming to look at on the internet. So I don't look too often and then there's like news of something exciting from one of the bands I like and I say "damn it, Jess, why'd you have to quit Twitter!" 

I've never had a super close relationship with my mom. Some of my friends talk to their moms every day, and I can go weeks without touching base. I called daily while my dad was hospitalized several weeks ago to get the updates, and that was the most contact I've had with her since Christmas. 

I have always found it difficult to communicate with her. Everything is about her. Her reactions, her opinions, she doesn't listen to anything I share. If I tell her something about us, she then turns it to "well, when I was once blah blah blah" and it is like, no. Lady. I am trying to tell you about our experience and you're turning it onto what you once did, felt, experienced, but not in a way of giving advice. It's almost like competition, or one-upmanship. It isn't helpful, and it makes me not want to talk to her. 

Knowing this about my mom, I've always hoped to have a more open and chatty relationships with Jess. I was always envious of friends who talk to their moms every week, or go on trips and travel together. My cousin Debi and my aunt Carole went on all kinds of trips together before Carole passed away, and it always made me wish for that kind of a close relationship, not with my mom but with Jess. 

One of the things I try to do with Jess, and with other people too (to be honest), is ask questions about them and their life. And not really interject 'me' or 'I' statements into the conversation. My aunt Carole was this way, and my sister and I would joke around about her being "Auntie Twenty Questions." But when I look back on that kind of discourse, it's very loving to want to know about someone's life and experience, and get the updates. It may feel a little bit like prying or spying, or being nosy though. So I try to be careful.  

Jess is a specific person, but, we've never had very direct discussions about their life. You'll notice the "they/them/their" pronouns and to be honest I only know about it because of Twitter. We've never sat down, and had open honest discussions about "things." And that is okay, if they don't want to. I do my best to use pronouns, and short name Jess. I want to honor the person they are. 

It's really weird though to remember where I was 30 years ago right now. When friends came to visit me in the hospital during and after birth. How my college roommate took Doug to Burger King after a few hours of me being in active labor because he was hungry and how mad I was that they got to eat when I was not allowed. 

Jess is much more introverted than I am, and that came as a surprise to me. I always thought Jess was very friendly, social, engaging. "So much mine" as the song by The Story goes. But they were very good at faking it. And I was often confused when pushback would come at the older years when we wanted to do something, or we wanted them to do something, and they did not want to. I get it now, and I really wish sometimes they'd been more open and honest with us, or, that I was able to pick up on cues to interpret what they need. I blew it a couple times, and got my feelings hurt but I recognize that some of those times were honestly on me. 

Anyway. I give a lot of grace and leeway. If and when they wanna chat about life and stuff and junk, well then. I'm there. Jess will always be my person. I'm very proud of who they are. I wish I could have done more back around 2010 and college, with money and situations. But it was what it was, and now it is what it is, and we can only look at what it can, should, will, or may be. 

There are so many stories and memories. Some my stories to tell, and some theirs. It would take a lot of time to write things out, and to be honest, I should. I sometimes worry about my memory, recollection, historical accuracy. 

I also do not know how they feel about pictures from their childhood. I know a lot of people feel a certain way about not showing pictures from the past because of the fact they are no longer that person. Recently saw someone post "If you knew me in high school, you didn't know me." Because we all change so much, and that's part of life. But some people feel that their "past" existences are dead to them. So I want to be respectful and not post 100 pictures. It's different for me and my sister - we love pictures of ourselves when we were little. But I don't think Jess does. I've never asked, but I just get that feeling, you know? 

 I just went through a number of photos in flickr, and am tempted to share things. Some of them are just beautiful and stunning.

I'll share this one, mostly because the dimensions are great. And it is irresistible. Digits below the photo.

Exercise: it's pouring out. no.

Blood Glucose:
9am: 191
4pm: 171
10pm: 207 (probably because the late after dinner potato roll pb snack)

Food:
coffee
water
1/2 cup greek yogurt with about 8 black raspberries in it (just to get them all out of the way in the fridge)
grilled shrimp over salad with grilled asparagus and 1/2 avocado
chunks of cheddar as snacks
peanut butter on a potato roll

Guster in Richmond Virginia

 Last night, I went to see Guster in Richmond, VA with my friends Sara and Sean, their son Henry, and our friend Deb. It was an outdoor show, and I'm always wary of outdoor shows anymore, because weather. We got washed out, rained out, drowned out in Central Park in NY in 2019. 

Weather for this show was perfect though. It was hot all day but by 6pm the cool down started.

Guster and The Wood Brothers are doing a split bill tour and flipping back and forth for who would be going first. 

Guster was on after the opener, David Wax Museum, and they were outstanding. Loved them. As usual. Debs staked us a first row claim as she beat us to the park, and that was amazing. Got some good photos which will be down below. We got some beer, some merch, some snacks and chilled waiting for the show to start. 

 This was Henry's first full (almost) Guster concert, and he had an absolute blast. There were other kids there, and lots of good vibes and dancing.  After Guster finished, we wanted to see some of the Wood Brothers' performance. Henry was getting bored so Sara took him for a walk while Sean, Deb, and I watched the first couple songs. The lead singer noted that the VIP area was rather empty and encouraged the crowd forward. We got out of there with our lives (barely). 

After escaping the outlaw country stage rush, we gathered ourselves under a tree to the left side of the stage in sight of the buses. Guster's drummer Brian had promised us some after show access because I'd emailed him to ask if Henry could meet the band. There was no real after show area,  But he came out to meet us and chat with Henry. 

I asked Henry this morning if he liked meeting Brian and he said yes, but I shouldn't call him Brian. He's the Thundergod. Never call him Brian. 

It cracked me up a lot.

This is not the best picture, but, we can laugh. Sara wanted a perfect moment picture of her son and his hero. This is the shot. There was no good lighting so I turned the flashlight on my phone to shed something on the moment. Henry looked at me like I was taking a photo instead of at his mom with the camera. That's alright though, this is a good memory! Security wanted us to break it up and move out of the park, so we grabbed this quick snap. 

I have to say, when the show was over and we were waiting for Brian (excuse me, Thundergod) to come over, security was trying to get us to go. But I could see him walking towards us. I said we would be leaving in a minute, once we got a second with this guy. 

They hassled more once he got to us. He said "these are my friends," gesturing to us "we just want to say hi."

I think we had less than 5 minutes, but it worked. We got to say hi, and Henry met his big hero. We all left with smiles on our faces. Someday we'll try for more band members for him to meet but all told, this was a magical night. 

While we were waiting out the Wood Brothers (seriously, I'd love to see them again for sure) Henry was obsessing a little about the moon. I took my phone out and pulled up Google Sky Map so we could look at stars and constellations. We talked about the Zenith and polaris and the dippers. I had Henry put my phone on the blanket to blow his mind. You can see the stars of the southern hemisphere that way. the Nadir and the Southern Cross. He had a blast looking at the stars and identifying things. We couldn't see much because of light pollution and I explained there are places you can go where seeing the stars will blow his mind. 

I kind of love Henry because he makes me think of Geoff, and the energy Geoff had in regards to learning. I wish sometimes I'd done a better job with Geoff but ... he is who he is because of where we were when we were. 

We left the show and Henry later said to Sara that he got to talk to a rock star, not in his imagination, not on a zoom call, but in person. 

And that was my goal for him this show. 

This morning, we ended up going out to lunch in the Scott's Addition neighborhood to Lunch Or Supper, which was delightful and enjoyable. On the West side of town, away from where my cousin lives. I tried to connect with my cousin, but it didn't work out. That's okay. There will be another time.  I recognized the neighborhood where we were as local to a brewery we liked. I thought about us stopping by and grabbing some Ardent to go, but Doug said that he was going to be trying to get back to the low/er carb lifestyle. So I didn't ask if we could stop by. I regret that now.

We'll be going to Maine together in August. and I'm looking forward to more time with him, and thinking of things we can all do. 

Anyway, here are some pictures! And the daily digits below.

Digits!!!

Exercise: mostly in the car traveling home today

Blood Glucose: 
9am: 223
5pm: 192
10pm: 262 

Food: 
water
soft taco leftover from last night's taco bell order
Lunch at LunchorDinner
fried green tomatoes with a pimento cheese sauce
crab dip and homemade crackers
big spinach salad with shrimp and goat cheese
3 strips of fried fish & 4 hush puppies from Captain D's (brought home and heated)

vodka tonic(s)
lots and lots of pretzel chips (i'm a bad girl. yes.)

The Adventures of Michelle and Christine - Locked in the Horse Farm Brewery

Michelle and Mike, as mentioned in previous posts, are here visiting. Mike is here for a new job based just north of us, and Michelle came along to check out the area. He loves his new job, and can work remotely until October when they really want everyone to be living in the area. So they have some time to make decisions and get organized. 

With Mike at work yesterday, I went and got Michelle and we spent some time driving around the county. They've decided they want to live in the county north of us, but, I still wanted her to dig on this area. I picked her up and we drove around. We went to gawk at a local landmark, and another local landmark. We drove into downtown and past the 3 breweries there. We came back here to the house and hung out with Doug for a little bit. Michelle liked our house and how it is laid out. They're looking for something with at least one more bedroom for her office, and Mike wants a garage for his motorcycle. There aren't a lot of garages around here, in this neighborhood, but if they go north, there are plenty.

It the occured to me that I basically know my way around this area in terms of where breweries are. So three downtown, then up over to the north to the two up in the woods, then over by another one, oh and there's a nice brewery over here but we won't drive over to it. 

I was able to give her the total downtown experience, and the in the woods experience.

We ate lunch at Brookville Beer Farm. The only food they serve is pizza, but, it's so good. And we're technically in Pizza Jail here in Maryland, there is no good pizza. But they have beautiful sourdough crust, hand thrown and cooked in a great oven. They upped their oven game since our last visit before the pandemic hit. It was an adorable stone pizza oven, wood fired, classic. But they could only cook one or two pies at a time. So they've got a better, bigger rig. No waiting. We had our pizza in less than 10 minutes. It was wonderful. 

While we were up there, I wanted to drive her by another brewery called Waredaca. I thought we could just pull in, look at the grounds, see if the horsies were out, walk about, drive away. The brewery isn't open until 4pm but I figured yeah, we can go be lookie lous. And then drive down to another brewery nearby. There are so many good ones!  

The gate was closed, but there was a sign that said to pull up to a certain spot and the gate would open. So we did, and it did. Cool... 

There were a couple of horses out, and someone was riding. We noticed that the path to the tasting room itself was blocked off saying for employees and handicapped parking only. So we looked at the area, I told Michelle we'd bring them back, and we went to leave. 

But the gate didn't open from the inside. There is no sensor to trigger, and Michelle got out to see if she could manually push the gate open and it didn't budge. 

We started laughing, and did some Ken Burns style narration of "my darling Douglas, we are now trapped these 15 minutes inside the gate of the brewery in Maryland. We do not know when the horror will end..." 

I was about to do a 20 point turn to get us pointed back to the tasting room, park in the lot and walk up to see if anyone was there with a suggestion on how to get out when a car pulled up to the gate and triggered it to open. He drove in, waved, and we drove out laughing. 

Of all things in life, I'm super glad I have friends who don't get mad when stupid things happen. It was a good laugh. 

We then drove back roads and woods-routes, past farms and horses and more farms, and I realized I literally had no idea where we were. I expected at any moment we'd be approaching Gaithersburg or Germantown or something, and finally put on Waze to pinpoint where we were. For the first time in a long time, I was somewhere unfamiliar, and while not lost, I was on roads I've never seen. It was kind of cool. 

I dropped Michelle back at her hotel, came back here and got dinner ready. Our plan was grill and then build a fire and chill. But the weather decided to go pear shaped, a giant thunderstorm rolled in just after 7pm when Doug had finished grilling. We ate inside and sat at the dining table talking for hours. Michelle and I looked at house rentals in the county north of us, where they pretty much have decided they'll land. They may be an hour away based on where they are looking. But that's fine - they'll be close. And it will be nice to have them locally. 

I said to her one of my big regrets is that I sometimes don't spend enough time hanging out with people I love, and after leaving Massachusetts, it was apparent to me that I took my friends for granted, and I miss all that social aspect of things. 

Tomorrow they fly back to New England. Mike has to be back her in mid July, and Michelle isn't sure she's coming. We'll at least get to see him, and talk more about places to live. I told him to buffer the trip with some weekend time on either end - stay here with us and we'll toodleaboot. 

And maybe get stuck in a brewery. 

Still waiting on Sara for our ride to Richmond, speaking of spending time with friends. She just texted me to ask if I wanted anything from Starbucks but I am all set. I've been packed and ready since 10. She had a meeting this morning and said they'd leave immediately after it was over. But. I know how they roll. 

"We'll be there before noon" is code for "Maybe by 1:30" and that's perfectly alright. We aren't in a hurry today. Air bnb is booked, we have VIP seats instead of lawn, the weather forecast is supposed to be priceless and perfect. No sign of rain, 0% chance. Not like yesterday when we got blasted out. 

I'm always a little wary of outdoor concerts after our Summerfest 2019 experience in Central Park when they got 4 songs or so into the set and the sky just opened up... Tonight should be pretty alright. 

Part of my plan was I thought maybe I'd go spend Friday and Saturday with my cousin. But he's got a houseguest coming on Friday that he forgot was coming because (like me) he forgot what weekend it is. I am not mad. I'm happy to gome home. 

Doug wants to go over to Community Forklift and see about obtaining some new kitchen chairs. We're down to 4, which is hard if you want to entertain at all, have a couple friends over for dinner. 

And the garden needs attention. Farmer Chris has been very lax.

Today's picture is in honor of Mike. He's a huge Iron Maiden fan, and brews his own beer. He reversed engineered one of the beers (maybe more) they make, and it is pretty good. Essentially what Guster is to me, Iron Maiden is to Mike. I like it. 

This beer pictured is from Fair Winds brewery in Virginia, and Doug picked up a bunch of it when he and Geoff were out that way recently. Just for Mike. And he loved it.

Now I just need my Guster Brewery started and we'll have plenty of suds! 

Exercise: limited due to car ride, but concert steps are good.

Blood Glucose:

9:30am 178
xpm n/a
11pm 228

Food:

Coffee
iced coffee
water
5 or 6 kalamata olives
prosciutto & mozz wrap-ups (left over from the crudite yesterday)
jimmy johns turkey and bacon sub
diet coke
2 beers
2 tacobell quesadillas with extra chicken
icewater icewater icewater.

Out of Office Message ... Set!

(Entry started Tuesday, finished Thursday morning) 

Geoff went to the market for some things Monday (we actually ran out of coffee and milk, impossible!)  He came home with beer, hard seltzer, and wine. We're having our friends over Wednesday night for dinner, so he got things prepped out for entertaining. Got the cooler pulled out and will buy ice tomorrow. Geoff knows how to throw a party.

As much as I really truly want some wine, I'm passing. Another literally zero carb day for me. Tomorrow I'll probably have wine and diet 7up or maybe one of the seltzers Geoff got. But I'm hanging tough. The good thing is I like stupid boxed wine, but Geoff bought the wrong kind, and it is one I do not like. So. Doubtful I'll dive in hard. 

A great strategy with me is buy stuff I do not like, and I will not eat/drink it. I like mixed nuts but the habanero wasabi spicy almonds, no thank you. I like regular triscuits. If you buy like garden vegetable and olive oil, no. 

Because my friend Sara is going to be here (this is now Thursday) shortly to grab me so we can go see Guster in Richmond tonight, I'm not going to write up the adventures of Christine and Michelle just yet. I'll save that for the next entry. 

But here's a picture of the snacks I put out for when Michelle and Mike got here last night. You'll notice Triscuits. My downfall. 

Tuesday June 7

Exercise: none to speak of

Blood Glucose:

9am: 182
6pm: 133 (woooooooo!!!!)
10pm: 155

Food:

Coffee
Water
Giant BLT Salad (with cucumber and onion thrown in for fun)
green beans, chicken thighs (bone in/skin on, cooked in the oven)

Wednesday June 8

Exercise: Small walkings about, more steps than the whole rest of this week

Blood Glucose: 

9am 191
5pm 202
11pm 228

Food:

Coffee
Water
pizza and a beer at Brookville Beer Farm
Steak, asparagus, salad w/tomato, red onion, cucumber, goat cheese & balsamic vinaigrette
3 beers

Having the beers yesterday bumped me up out of my under 200 experience. Let's see how we do today. 

Dinner with M&M

A couple months ago, my friend Michelle messaged me and asked "Do you like where you live?" After a beat, I jokingly replied, "Why, you thinking of moving here?" She called me to let me know her husband Mike was in the final stages of getting a new job, waiting for a counter offer from his current job to see if they'd meet him at a place where he'd consider staying. The new company is based in Rockville, literally 5 miles from our house. 

After a few weeks of negotiations, his current company couldn't meet him where he needed them to, so he accepted the offer with the new company.  They will be relocating in October, so they're going to start getting used to the area, and start looking for possible neighborhoods where they want to live. It's all very exciting. 

He's here for in person meetings this week, and Michelle came with.  Doug and I met them for dinner last night, and we had a great time.  I'm kind of excited to have them on our horizon. The one big thing I miss about back in New England is hanging out with friends for dinner every once in a while. We haven't made friends like this down here, and to be honest, 30 years of friendship with Michelle through her marriage to Aaron, and our two kids and just being a super part of each other's' lives for so long, Well, this is for keeps. 

Mike is an avid griller, and he and Doug are always discussing recipes and coming up with fun things to do for dinner. They are going to come here for some grilling on Wednesday night, so Doug is planning his offerings well. Hopefully this beautiful weather will stick around.

On Wednesday, I'm going to go pick Michelle up to go drive around the area, neighborhoods, and places. They know what they'd like to rent, just have to find it (they are not selling their house in NH, they're going to rent it out and if things do not go well here, they've got a place to go back to...). She and I will spend time together and have some fun. I am looking forward to it. And then grilling and bonfire here after. 

Today's divider picture to separate the blog post from the digits, for those not interested: 

On the left, 2017 and the right, 2022.
Ladies room in the Avenue Pub, New Orleans. Slightly different artwork, slightly different human. Gotta admit, the 2022 hair is grey but shining and I like it. Considering I don't wear lipstick, this is kind of amusing to me that I'd take the time to do this selfie.

Exercise: 

Blood Glucose:
8:30am - 190
4pm: 166
10pm: 165

This is the first day where all readings are under 200. whew.

Food:

Coffee
iced coffee
Water
tuna salad on a salad (romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, mayo; tuna, celery, salt & pepper, topped with toasted almonds)
4 grilled sausages over bed of peppers & onions in a cheese sauce
almonds 

Back on My Bullshit

 The entire time we were on vacation, I tried to just do the right things with food. I didn't have muffaleta or po'boys. I had salads. They were good salads. I drank hard seltzer, a few of them were shit, but I have to recommend High Noon seltzers. The best I've run into. The peach one was amazing. 

And I didn't even drink every day. Did I even go to New Orleans?

Even though I was walking walking walking and burning off the sugars, my blood glucose was astonishing. Well over 200s, and one day at 310. I hated it. I thought to myself, did I forget to take my meds?  Am I going to die or pass out from something other than the heat? 

Anyway. We're home now. And I've got to go get blood work after June 26th, so I'm back to working on this dieting, low carb, and tracking. 

Apologies if you're here on this blog and don't care. I'll leave the tracking information further down the page under a picture so you can ignore the stats. 

Here's a picture of a piece of art in the Crescent City Brewing Company bar. I want it. 

Today being June 5th,  Here we go. 

Exercise: Aside from house cleaning, none yet really (as of 1pm)

Blood Glucose:

last night at 1pm: 210
10am: 191
4pm: 188
10pm: 241

Food:

Coffee
water
spoonfuls of chicken salad (chicken, mayo, cream cheese, almonds)
peanut butter on a potato roll

(we went out to eat with our friends Mike & Michelle)
buffalo wings
chicken on wedge salad
3 beers* (see 10pm reading)
water

"Hey, where you folks in from?" - New Orleans 2022

I don't think I've written a post like this in quite a while. So. Buckle up. Here's the full tale of the trip to New Orleans, with pictures and all that jazz. Pun Intended. HA! 

Doug is usually a man who doesn't like going back to the same vacation destination more than once (unless family is involved). I need to point this out because this is the third time we've been to New Orleans. 

Albeit, the last time was him piggybacking on me going to a conference September 2019. He flew down to join me for a couple days at the end of things, we stayed in a gorgeous VRBO near Frenchman St., which sadly is no longer available. And we had a great time on that trip. 

The first time was April 2017, and I didn't do a detailed entry about that visit but made some sweeping observations that still pretty much stand. Go read it and enjoy if you like.

There's a lot to really love about New Orleans, but there is also a lot of grossness about it. I kind of want to write a whole other post about that. But. Here's the thing that is the most gross for me. It is hot. So hot. Each of the entries I posted in the past mention the heat and how much I hate it. This is the end of May/beginning of June so it is the "hottest" that we've visited. August has got to be a gateway to hell and I do not think I'd ever want to be there to experience that. 

Everyone told me how pleasant the weather was while we were there. I thought they were joking. 

They were not. They meant it.

Saturday
We flew early on Saturday morning and took a taxi straight to our hotel, arriving there at 10am. 

The plan was to ask if we could concierge our bags and go walk about the city unencumbered. They told us they had a room ready and we could just check in. Nice! How convenient!

Our hotel was on Royal Street a half a block away from Canal, if you're familiar with the city. It's kind of far from the Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral, which I consider the heart of the city or at least the heart of where I'd like to spend time. 

Decatur, Chartres, Royal, Bourbon, Dauphine, all lead over to Esplanade which kind of divides the city, French Quarter to the Fauborg-Marginy area, and then there is the Bywater beyond that.  

I am not a fan of the Bourbon Street scene, and think the better place to hang out and have cocktails and hear jazz is over at Frenchman Street beyond Esplanade. It's a lot more fun for me. I don't need the hand grenade or cock-shaped take out daiquiris, the dirty t-shirts like "I got Bourbon Faced on Shit Street," or the bars playing rap or country music at top volumes, or the strip clubs. 

Walking each of those streets listed above is very different.  Of all of them I think I like Dauphine the best. 

Fewer bars, beautiful homes, kind of like the it spot if you wanted to live in town. Personally, I would like the Garden District or Irish Channel, far afield but accessible within minutes and then back away when ready to not be there anymore. 

The courtyards we could see when peeping down the alleys were gorgeous oases with pools and palm trees. Fronts of houses facing the street are often not too exciting, shutters are closed and things kind of look abandoned. But once you catch a glimpse through the wrought iron gates, you can see yourself living there and enjoying the space with your (hopefully) cool neighbors.

Anyway. 

We were ready for lunch because our bodies thought it was 1pm by the time we got back outside, so we went around the corner to a bar we'd been to many times in the past (I won't even mention the name because I don't want it to be found in a Google search or anything). 

It simply was not as good as we remembered it. We were disappointed. Like, the last two times we were in New Orleans I kind of thought to myself, wow... this could be my familiar if I lived here. But now I actually think if I went back I wouldn't even bother visiting again. 

After two lame cocktails and not the best lunches, we walked back to Royal and over to Frenchman Street and Decatur to Brieux Carre brewing. The beer was spectacular, but it was hot hot hot as fuck out in the patio, and I was feeling super uncomfortable after a while, so we headed back. 

Doug can walk for 20 miles and the heat doesn't impact him at all. I was feeling super sick and couldn't wait to get back to the hotel to rest a bit before dinner. We took naps and Doug woke up realizing our reservation for dinner was 6pm, not 7. 

Oops. it's 5:30. Awesome. 

Rushing to dress and get ready he called the restaurant and let them know we were running late, would they hold our reservation for an extra10 min. They were very kind. 

Dinner was at Copper Vine, which is a half mile away from our hotel and totally walkable, but we had to Uber over to be there on time. Dinner was very nice. Doug was very much looking forward to wine and charcuterie, so we started with that, and both of us had big beautiful salads which were lush and rich and full of all kind of goodness. And more wine.

The heat had kind of broken, and sitting on the patio was incredibly relaxing after the heat of the day earlier. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of the food and drink, but it was a beautiful way to end a busy day.

Sunday
We got up with the hopes of just getting a cup of coffee and hanging out by the river for a while. Our hotel didn't have a coffee service, which is horrible if you ask me (scandalous!). And we quickly discovered the grab a cup of coffee philosophy doesn't exist in New Orleans.

The lines at the beignet places were out the door and around the block. Starbucks and McDonalds - same thing. Holy shit, I just want a cup of coffee. the hell?  

We wandered around forever until we found the PJ's coffee past the casino, where the line was long, but at least it was inside. I want coffee, but I'm not standing in a line 50 people deep to get one. Fuck that shit. 

Finally, with coffees in hands, we walked over to the river and sat by the Aquarium and watched the ferry over to Algiers and the big huge ships make their turn around Algiers point. It's one of my favorite things about sitting on the river in New Orleans. The suns shifted, and we walked a little further down to find some shade. There is hardly any in that area, so finding a bench under a tree is like a pearl in an oyster. 

We walked into the French Quarter again, walked and walked, and came back to the hotel for a bit. We decided to go over to The Avenue Pub. 

We were there once upon a time, and loved it. Spent a whole hot day there. 

It used to be open 365/24/7 back in the day but now is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so we figured if we were going to go there, it would have to be that day. 

We wanted to take the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar, but there was literally a mile long wait, and the streetcar was not showing up. So we got an Uber over. We enjoyed a tremendous lunch, with me trying hard not to drink beer. 

Our waiter came over after we ordered and were eating our lunches, he came back and told us there was to be a Chimay tasting with their 3 "levels" of beer (white, red, and blue) and a cheese board featuring Chimay's own cheese.

 Well. Okay then, twist my arm!  

We'll have second lunch! It was worth it and wonderful. The Chimay distribution rep was in house, so she came over to chat with us about beer and we had a great time. 

My only complaint was the grapes had seeds. 

Everything else was gorgeous and perfect. That cheeeeeeeeese. It's like if cheddar and brie had a baby. More please.

Here's a selfie of me in the bathroom. I took the exact same picture a couple years ago. Here is 2022!

And .... here is 2017!

The paint job got a little refreshing over the past couple years, but, the same feel!

Full of cheese, lunch salad, some hard seltzer, and beer (I only had a couple sips off Doug's chalices and the seltzer is harmless according to Doug) we walked over to the Lower Garden District via Camp to Magazine. 

We stopped into a couple little shops just to cool off, and make new friends like this giant possum, and then took a break at Tracey's for some water and a quick beer for Doug, just so we were buying something while taking up real estate. 

After a couple more blocks I called an audible and said we had to stop and head back. It's funny because I thought we were actually walking back towards downtown but nope. Further away. Ugh. 

No way we were going to walk all the way back to the hotel, or to our 5pm destination. Doug had made plans for us to see the Palmetto Bug Stompers at d.b.a. bar on Frenchmen. 

We had a very adventurous Uber ride, and arrived to a virtually empty bar which surprised us. Doug had made reservations to come see the band, and the bartender laughed a little like that's so cute. I guess they "suggest" it but ... you don't need them. 

We settled in with drinks and the bartenders and regulars were mingling around. As usual, we got to talking to folks at the bar.  Lots of regulars seem to hang out there, and I kind of hoped we'd get an invite to a pool party one guy was planning for the next day with ceviche and everything (sadly, he did not invite us). 

There was a couple there who own Downtown Tattoo a couple blocks away, Terry and Hayley. Terry and I had a great discussion about NPR and the local public media scene (both NPR Member station and non-NPR stations). 

We talked craft brewing with Julie behind the bar and she recommended we head to Zony Mash on Tuesday night for the Rebirth Brass Band show. Duly noted. 

This was a great experience, the bar staff was wonderful, the band was amazing. We were surprised hardly anyone was there at 5 but the band did 3 sets, 45 minutes each, and by the end of the third one the place was packed with dancers and revelers. They were truly fantastic. So much fun. 

We enjoyed drinks and music and drinks and music and some more drinks and music. 

After the show, we headed out and crossed the street to Dat Dog. The line was out the door and the balcony was closed, and that was where we wanted to sit. 

Disappointing. But I get it.

We were both pretty hungry so we went to Willie's Chicken Shack across the street and slammed through some fried chicken. Hot. Fresh. Hot .... just what you need when you've been listening to jazz and drinking a lot for hours.

We got frozen daiquiris, but I got such a giant brain freeze off of mine that I couldn't finish it. Walking back to the hotel was a long and brutal trip at this point between the drinking and the lots of miles on the feet.

We took our time, resting along the way as some blisters were forming on my feet and killing me. Oy. And whew... we made it. 

And I got to see my friend Touchdown Jesus behind the cathedral. 

Hello, old friend. You are the best.

Monday
Each time we've visited New Orleans I've wanted to take a riverboat tour. Doug has always pooh poohed doing that, but this time he thought sure .... let's go. 

There are a few options out there, so he picked the history tour on the Creole Queen which goes down to the Chalmette Battlefield in Jean Lafitte National Park. 

The tour guide was a riot, kind of like William Shatner meets Zapp Brannigan (Futurama) with lots of bad jokes, Doctor Who references, and good history. 

We had a brief stop at the battlefield, and would have liked longer but this would be a destination that we'd probably want a car to go to and spend a full day. 

We learned a lot about the Battle of New Orleans and the many changes of hands the city went through for years and years. 

I mean, look at this color, the clouds, the sky, the grass. I can feel how hot it is just looking at this. It was a good and relaxing way to spend the day. 

Dinner was at Coterie, a few blocks from the hotel.

We'd walked by a couple times already, and it looked good through the windows. It was starting to rain so we jumped in before crowds started flowing in. The rain will bring everyone into the bars and restaurants for a drink and to ride out the storm. 

The service was slow and a little painful, although our waiter himself was charming and delightful. 

 I had crab egg rolls and a salad, and the egg rolls were almost as good as this place in Baltimore that I love, but not quite. Still. Very nice.

We waited forever for the chargrilled oysters and our second drinks. The oysters were supposed to be Doug's appetizer but he got his entree first. With apologies. And my second cocktail was free because the bartender was way behind, and the waiter comped it to us because of the wait. 

Doug wanted to watch the Rangers game which started while we were waiting for his food. So he was a little annoyed that we didn't get to place a bet on the game. After dinner, we headed over to the Harrah's Casino to sit at the bar, have some cocktails, play video poker, and watch the hockeys. 

We got there to find the spot closed that we wanted to go to, and the other spot was full. But a lady passed out and fell on the ground so we were a little astonished. A bunch of people left, so we took their seats. Ha. And I watched the staff and EMTs deal with the passed out lady. It was a little sad. Her husband just stood there as she wrapped her arms around his calf.

The Rangers were crushing the Hurricanes and it was kind of a non-game, which was sad, extra sad as I sat there thinking on the passed out lady on the floor. 

The bartender pretty much was ignoring us and the game was no good, so we left him a tip (the drinks are gratis as long as you're playing the video poker. You stop playing, you pay) and we got up and left. 

We wandered over to the penny slots and found a two-seater Hobbit game. Doug was very hype for it. We each had 100 bucks alloted to spend (we have our limits and this is an indulgence) so we sat down to play. 

The graphics and sound were amazing, and usually I get tremendously bored with casinos but this had my attention. 

The entire time I'm thinking "What on earth would JRR Tolkien think about this!?" And then I pressed the play button again.

At one point, I managed to be up by an extra hundred dollars and was ready to cash out victoriously when Doug ordered a cocktail, Hmmmm. So I kept playing. My goal is never to fall under that starting $100. Leave with what you came in with, kid. 

There was a feature in the game that spat out bonus spins of 8, 10, 12, 20, and 40. I hit for 8 a couple times and that was a nice payoff, but once again I was slipping down towards my limit of 100 dollars and was ready to cash out, break even. 

I hit the 40 bonus spins dealie. Huh.

And the machine went to town. I just sat there and watched Martin Freeman and the dragon and cast of all characters and flames shooting all over the place and orcs and all kinds of shit just doing stuff. 

Holy Moly. What is happening. WHAT WOULD JRR TOLKIEN THINK OF THIS!!!!

Next thing I know I'm up like 600 bucks and then some. There was a woman who had been loitering around us yelling about how great this is going for me and how it was amazing. I'm in my mind begging her to not bring attention to my situation. She kept yelling "Every time I come here, someone's on this machine and I want to play it, but look at you go!" Another woman came over to see what the commotion was all about. And they were yelling about how great this was.

I said "Lady, it's yours as soon as this is done because it isn't going to get any better for me. I'm going to cash out." 

She told me her name was Della, and she wanted to press the button "let me try! let me try!" it was like having a five year old hanging out with me. 

So I let her press the button. And she was thrilled. 

Doug was up about $70 from his starting hundo at that point too, so I told him I was ready to leave. 

I cashed out of the machine, handed my cheerleader lady 20 bucks as a gift for bringing me good luck, and it was like someone gave her a Ferrari or something. 

I wished her the best. 

Luckily, someone near us hit for something crazy because their machine was about to explode, and security was around them while they waited for the floor manager to come over. And to kind of protect him from the attention he was getting.  

We cashed out with about $850 or so, from our starting 200 bucks. We casually exited the casino. Canal Street is super sketchy all day and night. I honestly started to get a little anxious. It was a half mile walk to the hotel and I was wondering who watched us inside, and reported to someone outside. Maybe my new friend Della who was so excited for my win was an informant to someone standing on the corner of Poydras and Canal to approach us.  

I've actually never been paranoid like that before, so it was a wild fear. Only one guy hit us up for change so he could get the streetcar home. Doug had 2 bucks handy in his pocket, so he gave it to him and we kept walking. 

Basically half the trip was paid for with this win. Kind of a fun experience. 

Tuesday
We went up Chartres towards Decatur Street and over to the New Orleans Jazz Museum through the French Market in the shade. 

Doug had managed to get some coffee at McDonalds for me so we started the day fueled up a bit with me feeling less murderous. 

The Jazz Museum was pretty nice. There was a security guard at the desk saying that the regular admission is $8 but the cashier was on break so we could just "drop whatever" we wanted into the donation bin, he didn't have access to the cash register. I think they made out better because, of course, we only had $20 bills and no smaller change to put in. Good job, security guy! 

We spent a lot of time in the Louis Prima exhibit at the museum. I love that guy.  What a showman. There was a lot of photography and art by local artists (including portraits of the washboard player for the Palmetto Bug Stompers and Chaz fest, which was a neighborhood alternative to Jazz fest, and is sadly no more). 

They had a live jazz ensemble playing outside on the balcony, but the blazing sun was brutal so we walked back to Frenchman Street to decide what to do next. 

We stopped at the Spotted Cat Music Club, which held a small crowd watching a trio playing with guitar, violin, and sax. The bass player showed up and rounded out the band. 

They were very good but kind of all over the place. The combo of the fiddle and sax was really nice. You could tell how practiced those two were together. 

The guitarist referred to themselves as "The Backstreet Fuckboys" and that they didn't have a name. After a couple beers we called it and moved along when the band finished. The one really cute thing was the guitarist went over to a lady in the crowd and encouraged her to go play the piano. Something must have happened or been said before we got there, but she laughed and reluctantly went over and played for a while. As we were walking out the door, she finished, and everyone clapped. It was really kind of sweet. You could tell (even though she had a mask on) that this was thrilling for her.  

As we were encouraged by Julie at d.b.a to go over to Zony Mash, we did just that. 

They had a food truck, tacos and quesadillas. Some of the best we've ever had. We got there early to eat, and hang out. The heat had broken down again and there was a gentle breeze. I'm pretty sure the pebble stone courtyard and outdoor seating area is a devilish kiln during the day, and in the next 2 or 3 months it'll be brutal, but it was just stellar to be sitting out there having a couple beers waiting for the show. 

Julie was right. Rebirth Brass Band was amazing and the craft brews were great. 

They have a lot of sour beers, which were all so good. We got to chat with the sax player between the sets, and he said this is their residency, every Tuesday, right here. I thought it was slightly under attended for how good they are and he laughed. It's a lot more crowded when college is in session in New Orleans. "Tulane kids are always here." 

The people in front of us were having a blast dancing, even though they both kind of sucked at it. So they were delightful to watch. I kind of laughed at the guy a bit. And they were together but didn't dance together, which I thought was so weird. 

They had a pinball machine area, which was free... and Doug had a lot of fun in there. 

Wednesday

Up again and back to "The Quarter."

Still in search of coffee, we ended up wandering down a couple of alleys where we thought we remembered coffee shops, but they were gone. 

We got caught in a downpour and stood under a balcony outside someone's condo or house in one of the alleys, and waited it out looking at the blue sky and clouds in the distance, and the pouring rain on top of us. 

A guy came out of the shop across the street, he was obviously working on it (and working hard) and asked us where we were visiting from. 

Everyone always asks "where you folks visiting from?" 

We told him and he was super friendly so we got to talking a bunch. 

He is ... putting in a coffee shop.  Not open yet. but. Now we know. 

Jean Laffite Trading Company will have this physical location on Exchange and should be open by September. And this is duly noted because fuck waiting in a line to get some burned ass espresso mess when I just want 20 ounces of iced. I feel like this guy will deliver. 

"The beatings will continue until I get my coffee" is what he said he's going to have painted on the wall inside. Nice.

After the rain stopped, it was lunchtime so we stopped in at Napoleon House. We'd been there before, famous, blah blah blah, etc. 

We had a really unfriendly waiter, and a weird experience with an unripe avocado. Not worth even thinking about but I was kind of disappointed in the experience overall when I could have had lunch other places.

We ended up at the St. Louis Cathedral, went inside to look around. They have mass at 12:05, so it had just ended and we sat in the pews just soaking in the large air and coolness. I lit my usual 4 candles for people I know who are catholic and very religious, and spent time praying for everyone who is not. 

Leaving the cathedral, we went and sat in Jackson Square and played Pokemon and people watched. 

The dude on the bench next to us lit up a huge fat joint and passed it around to his two friends and we were down wind of it. 

I'm sure pot used to smell better, once upon a time. But lately every time I'm near it, it just smells like burning grass that has been hit by piss and skunk spray. What happened to you, pot? 

Because this is now June 1st, and it is our wedding anniversary (31 years, yo!) we had plans for dinner that night at a very nice place. We started walking down Decatur again, and I had wanted to walk up to the river and along there but again, no shade and brutal sun and blah blah blah. 

There were also some pro-Trump noodleheads up on the top of the steps trying to unfurl a giant rainbow banner that said "Trump Pride" on it to mock Pride Month, and they had flags and Let's Go Brandon stuff and I was just not feeling it. I could hear them yelling and chanting at the tops of their lungs. 

No one paid any attention to them. And they were recording themselves with their phones, hoping someone would either join in or start to challenge them. It was kind of amusing that neither thing happened.

We stayed down on the street so we could walk in the shade, and we stopped at Crescent City Brewhouse for a beer. Even though we just had lunch, Doug liked the idea of some oysters. 

Unfortunately they didn't have a shucker handy so no oysters. Oh well. God's way of saying don't spoil dinner. We each had a couple beers and enjoyed the ambiance of the space and the artwork. The sign here is a lie. There was no such thing.

We napped after getting back to the hotel, and then got up and ready for the anniversary dinner. 

Doug had made reservations at the Pelican Club, which is both fancy and casual at the same time. We were dressed up nice, but there were dudes in there in jorts and cabana wear shirts. It looks like the kind of place that has a required dress code, like Antoine's for Jazz Brunch, but aside from cut off shorts or sleeveless t-shirts on the gentlemen, it seems like your money is welcome here if you wanna eat! 

This is the kind of "special occasion spot" that a lot of people plan their big moments for. We were ushered to our seats and the waiter took up my napkin and laid it on my lap... "for the lady," he said. Old school and kind of fun. 

Our waiter was a very nice man from Queens who lives in Vegas half the year and New Orleans the other half. A seasoned server and very professional, he pulled out all the stops. Doug had told them it was our anniversary so we were welcomed as such, and treated like the best people on earth. We watched him decant a bottle of red wine into this huge beautiful crystal decanter at the table next to us, cradling it in his left arm and pouring it up high out of the spout, not missing a drop or getting any on his white dress shirt and creamsicle colored tie. 

Compared to the horrid waiter and lame experience at Napoleon House earlier, this was amazing. They don't mess around either. Literally no waiting  for anything. Beer? Boom. Here you go. Cocktail? here it is. Appetizer? Violia! We were kind of done in less than 75 minutes, and the dining room was now full. 

The only disappointing thing was I had creme brulee for dessert, and I thought they'd come burn it at your table in front of you like a big show. That'd be amazing. But. It was perfect and delicious and chilled, so it made sense. Cracking into that crust though, that's a joy I haven't had for a long time. 

Back to the hotel. Change out of our nice clothes into more casual stuff, and off to the Courtyard Brewery. This was our last night in town, and we had a list of breweries we wanted to get to, but. Not enough time. 

We had a blast at the Courtyard. A little out of the way but it is a delightful little brewery with a great experimental menu. 

I had maybe one too many beers, to be honest. I'd been doing really good with not having a lot of beers on this trip but lo and behold waking up the following morning with a hangover and the lowest blood sugar of the trip, maybe avoiding the beers is what's killing me. 

Ha. I kid. 

Thursday
Time to go. We slept a little late, we dragged our asses around, we packed. Got organized. Our flight wasn't until 4:40pm but there we are, with bags and shit. Let's concierge them. 

Walking around, we saw these signs plastered all over store fronts, on June 2nd. For a wedding on June 4th. Like they're already married (oh hey, that's today! Congrats you guys!) We never saw them, but wish them well. 

Doug had seen a lamp he liked in this little shop next to the hotel, so we went in. The guy running the place is from Maryland, via Turkey. He whipped out his driver's license to prove it, like we would not believe him. 

He made us Turkish Coffee, and we felt obligated to enjoy it since he offered. After a while we were starting to get a little antsy because there was shit we wanted to do. Places to go! People to see! Finally we paid for the lamp and set up the shipping, and Turkish Coffee is some strong stuff. 

We walked around some more, had lunch at Pere Antoine's (we had breakfast there one day, I forget which one. One of the "I don't have any coffee please get me coffee or I will kill someone without coffee" days). Lunch was really nice and  it was cool to sit and people watch the corner.

We headed over to the Sazerac House to see about a tour, but I wasn't feeling like I wanted to go through three floors of history and the smell of the whisky and everything in the air was not making me feel great. I told Doug to go explore so he did. He ended up getting in trouble for going upstairs because he didn't have a wristband on for the .... free tour. So they escorted him downstairs like he was some sort of criminal. Some underaged little shit trying to get into a bar. For a place with a .... FREE  TOUR. 

Oy. We left. 

Our hotel had arranged for a taxi for 2:30pm so we started walking back that direction. We went to Jimani Bar around the block from the hotel. This was much more the vibe that the other bar that we used to love had, except the interior isn't quite as cool and there's sportsball on the TVs. Perhaps we should have come here to see the Rangers game, but, we wouldn't have hit the big bucks on the penny slots. I was feeling dehydrated and hungover, Doug was happy to drink more beers. But overall I was feeling bloated from lunch (as much as I like jambalaya, it was a bad choice with too much rice!) I was ready for either a nap or the flight home. Seeing as the first wasn't an option, the second would come soon.  Our cab driver called me at 2:15 asking where we were. I was like dude, not until 2:30. "I'm here now though," he says. 

Ugh. good thing we're a minute away. We didn't want to lose him, Taxis are fixed price to the airport whereas an Uber can be a lot more. So we paid up, scuttled back to the hotel, got the bags, tipped the doorman and concierge, and got rolling. 

Flight home was easy. Geoff picked us up at the airport but screwed up where we were so he was driving all over the place looking for us.  We were exceptionally patient with him, because honestly, there's no better way to learn your way around somewhere than when someone is being patient with you. 

There had just been a line of tremendously dangerous thunderstorms that went through, so timing wise for him and for us I was incredibly happy we missed it all.

He finally found us, we got home, and crashed. And that's the trip to New Orleans. 

I have other pictures, like we met some cats on our walks, and there was all kinds of street art, and so much beer. I took a ton of pictures for my Untappd account, so they're all up there. I'll do a beer blog even though I'm not supposed to be drinking beer. You know how it goes, though.

All told, I enjoyed myself greatly. Should have had the surf & turf po'boy instead of the jambalaya for my last meal in town but I can't change that. Missed out on Dat Dog which I love, and I'm happy to be home. 

We walked a lot. I had found my fitbit and recharged it and started wearing it again. My goals around here are 5k a day and I'm maybe hitting 3k if I don't go to one of the Pokemon Go supply spinners in the neighborhood. We pretty much did 5-7 miles the first 4 days and on Wednesday I asked that we just not walk as much, and I almost hit 10k by not walking as much. My feet were kind of swollen from the heat, and I was just sore. And it was our anniversary, so Princess Chrissie needed a break. 

Regretfully we didn't go and sit by the river enough. We only did that one morning (Sunday) with our coffee. And I wish we'd done that. But it was so hot. So very hot. 

Enough about the heat. Here's the fun stuff we did.

If you made it all the way here, congratulations. Here's a balloon animal. You earned it.