Recent pup shots

Sweatshirt Singer

Get-together Singer

Pooped get-together Singer and bestie

Hello, Autumn.

NOLA v.2

Food pics and other such things.  I was a little light on pictures this trip around, but more to come!

This was the calm meal before the storm.  After I ate my late breakfast, I walked over to the gate, where I promptly heard my name over the PA system.  Apparently, I'd left my ID "where I came from" and had 20 minutes to get to Terminal A and back to Terminal C if I wanted to make my flight.

Bojangles in Charlotte.
-1 for the breading color.  +1 for flavor.

 Sushi chirashi entree at Rock-n-Sake.  Two bowls of soup (sub for the side dish of rice), a salad and this monster was a lot for one person.  Even a famished person.  My plea for an ikura substitution went unheeded.

No ikura.

Google chat session with Singer from the hotel room.  "Where's mommy?"  was met with a trot to the stairway, and then confusion.  :(

Aww, those bat ears.

The after-hours dinners at the conference were second to none.  The first night was spent at Muriel's, where they had a photo booth, tarot card reader and palm reader.  The second night was spent at a private dinner at Domenica's.

Fried Kale, roasted cauliflower
and lamb shank at Domenica. (c) Laura C.

Post-conference adventures.  One of our first meals on the town: Butcher!

Muffaletta @ Butcher.  Pays to know the butcher!

Halloween dinner at Irene's.  Great restaurant, even better service, and surrounded by fine diners in fine costumes!

Menu @ Irene's.  Probably the best service
I've ever had at a restaurant.

Winter Caprese.  I took the picture too late.

What's the soup du jour?
It's the soup of the day.  

Cioppino. And a julep.

Soft shell crab pappardelle.  

Camera shy people, places and things: Coop's Place, Cafe du Monde x2, Cooter Brown's.  The upper lobby at the Westin.  The Mississippi River.  The "Friday or Halloween" game.  Gator bites.  Sauteed frogs legs.  The muffaletta at Central Grocer.  The Halloween party... Wakin' Bakin'.

Rorie is one of my favorite things in New Orleans.  I was sad to have to say goodbye again.  :(

Yes, Rorie.  I love you too.

On the way back.

Dallas.  And soon after, frantically running
through the terminals at Dallas. 

Kart fail

Fourth race in a row ending in mechanical failure... Peace out, plastic trophy.  It was nice almost getting to know you.

Never even got to the first qualifying heat.

Piston chunks.

Beautiful Bermuda

Not too shabby!

A few months ago over drinks at Cuvee, we hatched a plan to reward ourselves for making progress on the living room and kitchen.  At the time, that meant paint, furniture and organization.  The conversation went something like:

Land of relaxation and mediocre food.

"After we make some real progress, let's take some time away."
"OK!  Where do you want to go?"
"Up to  you!"
Travel junkie that I am, I upped the ante: "Does it have to be driving distance?"
"No.  My friend just went to XYZ hotel, he liked it."
... "I've already been to SD a few times.  If we're flying 6 hrs west, why not 6 hours east?  Want to go to Europe?"
"Sure!"
"You like beach vacations, right?"
"Yeah, I like relaxing ones."
"Ever been to Greece?  Beaches!"
... and so the plan to go to Greece was hatched.  As all plans go, the Greece plan eventually went out the window and we ended up in lovely Bermuda.

Farewell Feet @ Fairmont

We ended up splitting our time between two different hotels: The Grotto Bay and the Fairmont Southampton, which has its [much nicer] private beach adjacent to the famed Horseshoe Bay.   Reviews of both hotels will probably come in a later post.

Why does it taste

like dust?

Birthday sunset... before the epic public transportation fail.

Embellished. ;)

By circumstance only, the trip coincided with my birthday, making it the third year in a row that I've been out of the country on, or very close to my cake day.  Unlike last year, the hotel did not spring for a
surprise cake.  I did, however, receive the best and most awkward birthday serenade ever while being presented with the driest, thinnest slice of birthday cake known to man a very shy Indian waiter at a British themed Bermudan pub specializing in sushi, with a three piece band covering Train's "Marry Me" with Irish 50-somethings dancing their butts off.  Cake pic or it didn't happen:

View along the Railway Trail

BTW, if you ever find yourself thinking about a trip to Bermuda, go ahead and take a picture at Horseshoe Bay, then take a 5 minute walk westward.  Unless you really really want to relive the Jersey Shore experience, it will be worth your while.  Since the cruise ships don't dock in Hamilton anymore, cruisers have limited time to hit the beaches.  Nearly every one will spend their precious shore excursion time at Horseshoe Bay.  EVERY SINGLE OTHER BEACH to the west of Horseshoe will be less crowded.  If you're there during the shoulder season, you'll have your own private beach to do as you please. Want to make a tent out of towels?  Go for it.  Want to run into the beach wearing nothing but a hat?  No one will see you.  Want to collect all of the pink sand to make sand art when you go home?  That too.

Birthday explorations: Coney Island Park

My precious....

Highlights of the trip included snagging the best table, and view at The Pointe, swimming in a cave (a real live cave!), feeding and catching fish, John Smith's beach, enjoying a swizzle on a pirate ship, hitchhiking with a pair of semi-locals, getting stranded in St. David's on my birthday, reenacting "Wipeout" on the water skillet of death (and then conquering my fear of drowning). The drinks at Port O' Call.  Skip their fish chowder.  Being given a free ride by a kindly cab driver.

Nope.

Definitely worth mentioning: Jamaican Grill (the best bang for your buck on the island that will remind your taste buds to keep fighting the good fight), the fish chowder at the Frog & Onion and the free ferry ride between the Fairmonts.

Lowlights: All of the other
food.  Oh, the food.  Go ahead and skip most restaurants that have been highly recommended.  I won't name names. Snorkeling at Church Bay.  If you've been snorkeling before and have seen tons of colorful coral and fish, you might be disappointed.  I saw two parrot fish. They looked tasty.

All in all, it was quite a memorable trip, even if it was not my typical vacation. 

Not great, but way better than
"the best sushi on the island".

Gorgeous views, fantastic server.  $33 of
"does your stomach feel funny too?"

Virgin sand.

The Tough Mudder and Maine

The Mudder was a lot easier than I thought it would be, but I probably would have had a lot more fun and been in less pain if I'd actually trained.  The jaunt to Portland brought a visit with my new nephew Silas, Eventide (the BEST lobster rolls ever to touch my lips), Glidden Point, and the Lobster Shack at Two Lights.

Great Northeast - August 2014

My adopted boys!

Lobster with a view.  And shockingly expensive clams.
You know when the bill comes and
you think you've been given the wrong check?
Never order the large tray of clams.  

Heaven.

More heaven.  Or Maine is heaven.  I'm not sure.

Another Doggie Hike!

Dog leash limbo

Tired Singer

Camo Singer

Delaware is Dangerous!

Observation tower at Cape Henlopen. 

We ended up taking a semi-impromptu trip down to Delaware in August to visit family and do that thing people call 'relaxing'.  I only made two lists in preparation for said relaxation.  We ended up visiting Slaughter Beach, Rehoboth, Cape Henlopen (in Lewes), and Ocean City.

By the numbers:

Beaches traversed: 4.

Horseshoe crabs seen: a bajillion.  

Human-car collisions: 1.  

Near human-car collisions: 1.  

States accidentally entered: 1.

Episodes of Homeland accidentally dozed through: 1.

Horrible gas station purchases: 1 pickle in a bag.

Times I made a to-do list: 0.

All in all, a good time was had.  

Ocean City, MD: Who needs 'feet in the
foreground'  pictures  when you can
 have "no-feet in the foreground" pictures?

Let's go hiking!  I think the hiking trail is this
way.  No, I think it's that way.  (FTR... "that
way" did not  lead to hiking.  It lead to the
  beach, where I almost got run over by a truck.)

Karting updates

I've been remiss with the updates!  Since the last update, Ralphie has suffered from a snapped throttle cable (taking me out of a feature race [insert sad, sad face]), suffered from broken seat struts (taking him out of commission), been dismantled and reassembled onto Genevieve's chassis (even though Ralphie's chassis used to be Genevieve's chassis), and suffered from a stuck throttle cable, bent tie rod and steering collar. I've broken PR after PR (but never in the feature race), and am inexplicably, third in the point standings!

The "new" Ralphie

Right angles inappropriate for tie rods

Didn't know it at the time, but the last
 picture ever taken of Ralphie

TAG SENIOR
		Total
Syed Hyder		415
John McCusker		387
PoweredByPuppies		365
Austin McCusker		342
Nick Landi		307
Mike Doty		272
Alfonso Perri		272
Joe Pizzuto		207
Garrett Johnston		206
Bryan Hedian		182
Gene Manteith		158
Michael Terkildsen		147
Jeremy Warren		126
Masshus Guylion		100
Carson Rapica		50
Giuliaro Damiano		0

Windy Wellington and Wedding!

So this is what happens when foodies get married...

Kiddies!

Like Norway, but on a different hemisphere.

Wedding favors.

Love the lights.

Beauties by the water.

Te Papa Museum.

Remember that time a stranger approached you
and tied your wrists?  Me neither.

Lamb carnage.

Nino's Fish. Apparently, he's a family friend.