I’ve lost track of how long we have been working on our house at this point…. but, Richard was hard at work last week putting crown molding up! He conquered the bedroom, finished the living room and dining area, and we are in need of volunteers to paint more crown for the kitchen and to finish up the back room.
Overall, I am thrilled! It looks amazing and really finishes the wall off. It is still in need of some caulking and touch up on the paint, kudos to my hubby!
…where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.
Happy 4th!
Richard and I spent the day with Reid and Wendy… and had a great time! Lunch was Green Iguana and we headed out to the St. Pete / Clearwater area, and down to the beach we were married on! This time, the beach was covered with cars, and vendors were all over the place selling foods and goods. Dinner was at Sloppy Joes, http://www.sloppyjoesonthebeach.com, and it was GOOD food, as usual. We headed down to the beach, the boys played frisbee and Wendy and I FINALLY got to catch up. Fireworks started late, and went on for about an hour or so… we had a great time, and started planning for next years celebration… in the North Carolina mountains! Here’s hoping it all works out!
18 – 21 June: Although a work sanctioned trip, Heather and I had a blast!
Although a very quick trip to Boston, we squeezed so much into the 2.5 days we had. By the time we finally arrived and got settled into the hotel, and catnapped, we finally headed out to the area around Boston University. We picked up tickets to see “Marina and the Diamonds,” http://www.marinaandthediamonds.com at the Paradise Rock Club, which turned out to be a cool little venue! We headed across the street after the show for a bite to eat, and found Sunset Cantina, which had some awesome sangria. The best part about Boston has to be the availability of public transportation. I could not believe the ease of getting around town!!
Tuesday was the start of our touristy experience! We headed into the area of Boston Common, and started out with the Massachusetts State House and the Freedom Trail. The architecture that is found in Boston is unbelievable. I was amazed at the time and energy and history that is in the buildings around the city. Over several hours, we made our way through the first eleven sites of the Trail, from the Commons to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. We found some pretty amazing old churches, that stood as pillars in the community for many years, and were the sites of many firsts, http://www.parkstreet.org/history. Really neat to be standing where history stood!
From that area, we walked to Long Wharf, Harbor Walk and the North End. The Long Wharf area has an amazing view of the harbor, and we found a great restaurant, Joe’s American Bar & Grill, where adult beverages were consumed and people watching commenced. Dinner was at an amazing little Italian restaurant, that I can’t recall the name of, and of course, we hit up Mike’s Pastry, http://www.mikespastry.com. AH-MA-ZING!
Wednesday was rainy, but still fun. First on the itinerary was Boston Public Library, http://www.bpl.org/central/walkmckim.htm. It was so unlike what I expected for a library… I probably would have spent more time at USFs’ library, if it loked like this one did! The stained glass, murals, and the architecture was really unusual with lots of history, and then walk out onto the Courtyard. I could study there forever. After the library, we hopped on the Upper Deck Trolley Tours bus, which was a narrated tour of the city.. it was much easier to get around than by foot, especially with the weather being unpredictable. We finished the day at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum, http://www.jfklibrary.org, which was a lot larger and full of more information than I expected. It was neat to follow his path from being a teenager through his death and to learn how much he was involved in and created or supported the startup of. For example, the first man went to the moon while he was in office, mental retardation was looked at with more sympathy and research began, rather than just putting those who were sick in homes or hospitals, the Berlin Wall came down, and the Peace Corps was put into play.
Below is a short slideshow of the trip!
15 – 17 June: My first trip to New Orleans, LA. It was great!
Mom and I went…. courtesy of some comp tickets I “earned” last year while involuntarily giving up my seat to get to Bar Harbor. Not that I am complaining, it was an awesome trip, made better by free airline tickets and super cheap hotel rooms (courtesy of mom’s job.) Gotta love good deals!!
We arrived late Wednesday night, and after finally getting settled in a room, headed out to Mulates, http://www.mulates.com, for dinner. Food was good… but I think the highlight was the entertainment and seeing everyone dancing in the middle of the restaurant! We walked along the Mississippi River, the Riverwalk was its official name, and it was really neat to see some of the old steamships that used to be in service only to bring supplies up the river. Now, they are used for rentals, dances, dinners, etc. And they certainly take Mardi Gras seriously! These statues were all over the city! We also wondered up to Bourbon St. Now, I know this is a highly talked about location, especially for Mardi Gras… and maybe I am a bit naive… but, I had no idea this was the red light district! Holey moley. Did that ever open my eyes.
We spent Day 2, Thursday, acting like real tourists. We walked around the vicinity of the hotel in the morning, and found Lafayette Square, which was founded in the 1700’s as a public meeting place. We also found this amazing fountain, Piazza D’Italia… which I have since learned is a dedication from the Italians. And the inscription means something to the effect of: St Joseph’s Fountain, Given to the citizens of New Orleans as a gift to all the people, and you can read more here: http://www.idehist.uu.se/distans/ilmh/pm/moore-piazzaditalia.htm
After a little bit of walking/exploring, we headed out on a bus tour of the city. This actually turned out to be really fun, and we learned a LOT. Definitely more than walking around on our own… we went on a bus/trolley tour of the city, and through a portion of the Ninth Ward, if you remember, this was the site that was utter chaos after Katrina and the levies flooded. It was really sad to seem some homes that have been left in a state of disrepair, and how others in the neighborhood have been able to regroup and clean up. I just can’t imagine what those people went through.
We saw some highlights, Jackson Square, the Old US Mint, St Louis Cathedral, St Louis Cemetery, City Park, and the Garden District. I think the highlight of the mini-vacation was probably the food! We ate at Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, and twice at Cafe du Monde. The beignets were amazing. So amazing, in fact, that we walked back to the Cafe the morning we left just for a treat!
Below is a slide show of some of the pictures from our short, two day trip.
