I'm Back!

Hey hey hey everyone! So, what a week! Kurt and I traveled back to the east coast to see my family last Saturday. We flew Virgin America, which I still love despite that they fly into Dulles. But it was cheap and I love that when you want food, you just order it on the screen in front of you and they bring it to you. The seats are comfy too.


So, we arrived Saturday evening and had dinner at Fuddrucker's on the way home. I love the buns there! I think mostly because they are grilled with butter. Yummy. We got home late where my sister, Amy, was waiting to meet us. She had not met Kurt before (my parents did last summer when they visited here) and was anxious to do so. We chatted for a while before heading to bed.



Sunday, Pete, Daisey, Kurt and I went to Fort Delaware. It's a Civil War fort that was used as a POW camp for Confederate soldiers. When you take the tour, all the people you meet act like it's 1864 so it's really quite educational and interesting. It looks like a castle because it has a huge moat around it and it's on this island that you can only get to via ferry. So, you can see why it made a good prison. We ate the worst hot dogs ever at the concession stand there, but Kurt did get singled out to help with a reenactment of firing a cannon. He got to scream out all the orders to the other "participants" and give the command to fire. And he got to wear a fun hat! That night we went to Amy and Cecil's (her boyfriend) house for dinner. A very yummy dinner of smoked bbq pork roast and mac and cheese. Yummy.

Monday, we went fishing on Cecil's boat, but only caught three fish. Stupid fickle fish! You never know when you're going to catch any. It was windier than we had wanted, but it was still a nice day just relaxing on the boat. That night, Daisey made my favorite Chicken Pot Pie for dinner.

Tuesday, we went to Rehoboth Beach to shop a bit at the outlets (I got some new luggage which is going to be my Christmas present), walk around the boardwalk, eat some Thrasher's Fries (yum again) and have dinner. We headed back home that night and my friends XL (Jon) and his wife, Cathy, stopped by to visit. It was great to see them.

Wednesday, it was back to the airport, but we did meet up with Seth for lunch on the way at Macaroni Grill. He met us halfway, we ate, and then he drove us back to the airport. Thanks, Sethie! Daisey only cried a few tears. I think she's getting better :-)

I went back to work briefly before Kurt's friend, Rodrigo came in for the weekend. We had some great meals while he was here at Conduit and then at El Dorado Kitchen when we went to wine country. Sonoma was great even though I was designated driver. We rented a little Mini Convertible through zipcar which was a lot of fun, but I got a farmer's tan! Curses! The rest of the weekend, we shopped, ate, drank, and went to a street fair.





And then Monday, I had to go back to vacuuming and work and teaching math class :-(

But it was a great trip overall. I was reminded of what a wonderful family I have. They are so openminded and accepting - the true definition of unconditional love! And it was wonderful to see friends I hadn't in a while. And it was great traveling with Kurt, as always, and spending time with his friends, who are also incredible. I hope you enjoy the pictures from our adventures! I know I need to figure out how to arrange them better!

Visiting the Swains

Tomorrow morning, Kurt and I travel east to visit Pete, Daisey, Amy and Cecil. I'm excited and sure that good times will ensue. I'm still packing. Nothing like waiting until the last minute.

It will be good to get away, even if it's brief. The summer went by so quickly and I feel like I need some time to breathe. I'll miss all you SF readers and will post again upon my return!

Portland - Day 2 and 3

First of all, apologies. I took no pictures! Kurt did take a few, but I don't have them yet to post. The rest of Portland was fun. Saturday night we had another really nice dinner at a restaurant called Ten 01. We had almost the same exact meals as before except Kurt got chicken instead of steak. This restaurant was super good and highly recommended if you go to Portland. Then we went to a street party for the gay softball teams which was fun and then we checked out a couple of other bars before heading home.

Sunday morning we got up and had breakfast, but Kurt did not feel well, so he laid back down and I went to the Portland Art Museum which was really nice. It was interesting too, because it wasn't very busy so there were times when I was the only one in a gallery. A little spooky. The museum was much larger than I thought it would be. I checked out the exhibits of some local artists they had as well as some of their permanent contemporary collection. I also viewed the Klaus Moje exhibit. He does some really interesting glass work.

Kurt was feeling better by this time so we went and had lunch in and explored the Hawthorne district, which I would equate to San Francisco's Haight. It was a much more residential area and had a lot of little shops, second hand stores, music stores, bars, etc. We then headed to the gym and out for one last dinner at a yummy Peruvian tapas place. Overall, a good day. I would suggest heading to Portland if you've never been. It was a nice walkable city and it made for a great weekend trip.

Day 1 in Portland

So, Kurt is napping and though I tried my hardest, I have a hard time just sleeping in the middle of the day. So, I'm in the nice lobby, next to the fireplace, drinking a free glass of wine (they have free wine every day at 5) and checking the news.

An eventful day yesterday. Even though we were only flying to Portland, since they were free tickets with miles, we had a layover in Eugene. Well, the first leg of our flight was delayed to the point where we'd miss the second leg. So, we had the choice of taking the first leg and getting stuck in Eugene for the night. Or we could change to a direct flight to Portland 5 hours later but we still wouldn't get our luggage until this morning because it was too late for them to pull our luggage off the plane. I was angry and got a little rude with the woman (I know! Me....rude! Amazing!) because she said it was weather related which was a crock of...well, you know. They only say it's weather because then they don't have to do anything about it. Anyway, we opted to come to Portland direct without our bags. I then felt bad for being rude and apologized....big surprise there.

But we were lucky and got on an earlier flight on standby so only ended up getting to Portland about an hour later than we were supposed to. AND our bags somehow miraculously made it here with us. The nice United baggage guy told us that they say they can't do it just in case they are unable to, so people won't be disappointed. Then, if they are able to do it, people are pleasantly surprised. Which we were! THEN...we got to the hotel and they gave us a complimentary upgrade to a "Starlight Room" which is on the top floor and has a huge window that looks out over the city. Very nice.

We found out there is a gay softball tournament here this weekend because there were tons of guys in the lobby when we came down for dinner and of course, Kurt got hit on....well, I did a little too. So, that was fun. And the little free wine social last night was crowded and busy. Then we went to this great French restaurant Fenouil, and sat outside. It overlooked a park with a big fountain that kids and dogs were frolicking in. I got Steak Tartare and yummy scallops cooked with bacon (I like all my seafood to taste like pork....yummmm) and Kurt got Tuna Tartare and Filet Mignon. We shared a side of Truffle fries. Delish.

Then we ran off to the fireworks and watched them - which were really good and not far from our hotel. Then we were beat and headed to bed.

This morning, Kurt got a facial and massage and I got a massage. I like massages of course, but I get annoyed when spas try to hock their products a bit too much. He started the massage by saying he was going to take me on a "scent journey" and I thought I was going to crack up but I contained myself. Then we went to lunch and wandered around shopping and now...well, napping and blogging. Later - dinner, and the bars I think. I'll fill you in next time I get a chance.

Off to Portland

Kurt and I leave today for Portland for the holiday weekend. We both have Monday off as well. So, it should be fun. I'm hoping not too much rain. We hadn't been to Portland to explore really (I've been there briefly before for a conference) and thought it would be a good weekend trip, so we'll see what we discover. I'll report back when I return!

Gay Retreat 2008

So, for the past three years, a group of friends and I have gone up to the Russian River for a weekend just to relax and enjoy time together. The Russian River, for those of you not on the West Coast, is an area up in Wine Country that's very rural and lots of people have vacation homes up there. Anyway, we use the home of some friends of ours who are generous enough to allow it. This year, since the house was larger, we expanded our group to include four more friends: Todd, Rand, David, and Alan.

We grilled burgers, sat in the pool and hot tub, drank some M. Night Shyamlemonade (again, DO NOT SEE THE AWAKENING) and played games (Trivial Pursuit, Smart Ass, Loaded Questions, and Celebrity). Overall, it was a very relaxing weekend, although it could have been a bit warmer. I can't believe it's July already. Summer's going too quickly.