Patrick's visit

My old friend Patrick came to visit!  He arrived yesterday afternoon and will stay until mid-day tomorrow.  He visited back in early May and we had a great time!  However, the ocean water was too cold to go swimming so I suggested he come back in Sept when its more comfortable, and he did.

Yesterday we sat on the porch with Spouse and the dogs and talked until it was time for dinner.  The 3 of us met up with Steven & Thad at Purple Parrot.  Patrick had the prime rib special and I had 1/2 price buffalo wings and 1/2 price nachos which I shared with the table.  This is not on my Fit for Life plan, but I enjoyed it anyway.  It was a beautiful evening so there were lots of folks out and about, and we saw several friends.  It was a fun evening.

Today Spouse went to work and Patrick and I sat on the screened porch with Marvin & Walter for hours, drinking coffee and talking about politics, equality, the glory days when we were in the Concert Choir and Dominants vocal jazz and show choir group, family dynamics, work, and all sorts of other stuff.  We never run out of interesting things to discuss.  Finally we got our beach stuff together and had lunch at Panera before going to the beach.  

Beach selfie

It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the sun and went swimming in the ocean.  It was great!

Once back home and showered, I picked up some subs, drinks, chips, and cookies for our dinner on board the water taxi.  The 3 of us met up with Steven & Thad and Joe P and took the same sunset cruise that I went on last week with my colleagues.  

Photo credit: Joe P

It was fun and we all enjoyed it very much!

Unfortunately tomorrow he'll head back home around noon.  But I know he'll be back again before too long.  That's how old friends are.

Cruisin'

Last evening I went on a charter cruise with my colleagues.  Our broker chartered a water taxi and provided food and drinks for us as a 'thank you' for meeting our goals and working hard this summer. 

The water taxi picked us up at the canal wharf and slowly glided up the canal to the inlet and then up a river.  It was a warm evening but not hot, and there was a nice breeze so the trip was not only beautiful but enjoyable.

 

There were enough seats for everyone to sit but I found myself standing most the time, which afforded me the ability to talk with different colleagues and take in the views from both sides and the rear of the water taxi.

 Photos just can't capture the natural beauty of the river, marsh, and tributaries we saw on our 2 hour cruise.

They don't call it the 'Sunset Cruise' for nothing...

I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would and will definitely do it again before they discontinue service in the fall.

Weekend highlights

We spent the weekend in Philly!

One of the Bobs road with us and the other Bob road with Steven & Thad. We arrived at Bobby Flay's Burger Palace downtown where we met up with Bugs & Roger, Thad's sister Robin, and Thad's friend Alan. We had a delicious and surprisingly affordable lunch at Bobby Flay's. I had the Napa Burger (topped with goat cheese, water cress, and honey mustard) and beer-battered onion rings. Yum!

Then we drove just outside Philly to Merion PA to the Barnes Foundation. Albert Barnes amassed one of the most impressive and valuable art collections in the world with more than 800 paintings by masters including Renoir, Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, and Cezanne. I don't know anything about art, but it was really cool to be able to view all of those masterpieces in one building. The collection is estimated to be worth about $25 billion.

Then we headed back to downtown Philly where we checked in at the Marriot Residence, across the street from the gorgeous City Hall building. Our room was on the 7th floor with a fantastic view of City Hall. I took this photo while laying on the bed.

Then we walked to Reading Terminal Market with Bugs & Roger for a snack. I got a dark chocolate 'wheel' filled with macadamia nuts from Termini Brothers bakery. Then Roger and I split a piece of Pumple cake from Flying Monkey. Pumple gets its name by combining pumpkin and apple: pumple. Pumple cake consists of pumpkin pie encased in chocolate cake (layer 1) and apple pie encased in yellow cake (layer 2), then frosted with buttercream icing. It sounded so intriguing we had to split a piece.

We both liked it, but it didn't have the 'OMG' factor I was expecting. Next we went to the Macy's that now occupies the old John Wannamaker's building. It is incredible! The grand court is open to the 4 floors above it and you can watch/hear an organist playing the largest organ in the world. Learn more about the organ here. In addition to providing music for daily shopping, the organ and grand court are also used for concerts and extensive holiday light shows. Its truly a spectacle everyone should see when in Philly. Then we went back to the hotel room and relaxed for a while before changing clothes for dinner.

Steven & Thad, The Bobs, Bug & Roger, and Spouse & I met up with Alan and Joe P at Knock. I had a delicious dark rum marinated pork loin with grilled mango and rice. The food and service were excellent and we all enjoyed our meal together. Afterward we walked to the Bike Stop bar, Tavern on Camac bar, and the famous Woody's bar.

Sun morning we enjoyed a free breakfast at the hotel and hung around talking for a while. Then we packed up, checked out, loaded our luggage into the cars, said goodbye to Bugs & Roger, and headed to Moriarty's for brunch with some local area guys who will be going on the cruise next month. We met several nice, friendly guys and enjoyed the brunch. Then we strolled through Outfest Pride festival before heading to the cars and leaving for home. We arrived home at 4:30 and just hung out the rest of the evening, and watched some shows on the DVR.

The weather was fantastic - sunny and in the mid/upper 70s during the day and a little cooler at night, which was ideal for all the walking we did. We had a great time and I can definitely see more day and weekend trips to Philly in our future.

Crush du Jour: Drew Pare

Weekend highlights

Our buddies Mike & Clark and Ron & James arrived Fri at 4:30, just moments after Spouse got home from work. We had martinis on the screened porch and chit-chatted until we were hungry, then had drinks and a wonderful dinner at Saketumi. I had a spicy Volcano roll and a California roll. Mmmm! The guys really liked the food, service and atmosphere. Through my friend Chris, I had scored free tickets to 'Hurray for Hollywood', a female impersonator show by Christopher Peterson, so we went to the show after dinner. It was was fun, but very similar to the show he did 2 years ago. Afterward we went for a walk on the boardwalk and some of the guys got ice cream. It was a beautiful night to be out.

Sat morning Spouse went for his personal trainer appointment while me and the guys talked and drank coffee on the screened porch. When Spouse returned we had a light breakfast then we walked to the historical society where an antique show/sale was going on. Spouse & I bought an outdoor rug for our screened porch made of recycled plastic bottles. (It wasn't antique.) Then we browsed some of the shops on Second St. We had a late lunch at Irish Eyes, then relaxed with cocktails on the screened porch and visited. Then we went on a sunset cruise up the canal, through the bay and out to the ocean. It was a gorgeous evening which further enhanced the beautiful scenery. Then we had a delicious dinner at Hobo's. I started with a pear/champagne martini and an appetizer of marinated fava beans with olive tapenade and flatbread. For dinner I had a wild mushroom and brie quesadilla brushed with truffle oil. OMG - it was so deelish! Afterward we went for a walk on the boardwalk and some of the guys had ice cream and funnel cake.

Sun morning we walked to JD's Filling Station for breakfast (I had pancakes), then sat and talked a little while until the guys packed up their gear and we said our goodbyes. We had a really great visit with our longtime friends. Since Spouse hadn't slept well the night before, he decided to take a nap and then go to the grocery store. I headed to the beach where I met up with friends and played 5 games of beach volleyball! It was so much fun! It was a gorgeous day (sunny skies, low humidity, moderate temperature) so it was really comfortable for playing. I also swam in the ocean between a few of the games and really had fun visiting with all the friends on the beach. It was a fantastic day! After returning home for a shower, Spouse & I met up with Steven & Thad, Jack & Alisha, Bob, and Joe P at the Purple Parrot for dinner. I had a pork BBQ sub. Steven & Thad had just returned from seeing Heart in concert in Atlantic City on Sat night so we heard all about the show. After dinner we enjoyed a short walk on the boardwalk then headed home. Spouse watched 'Ice Road Truckers' and 'Mad Men' while I watched 'Project Runway' on the DVR. I went to bed early (10:00) since I'd had such a full day with lots of exercise.

It was an awesome weekend!

Now... is it Friday yet???

Crush du Jour: Lorenzo Martone

Holiday weekend highlights

Finally, I've got some time to share our holiday weekend highlights!

Fri afternoon our friends John & Marty came over to show us the landscaping plan John designed for our yard. Wow - it is amazing! John currently works as a florist and has a seemingly limitless knowledge of plants and flowers. He took our desire for a low-to-no maintenance yard, our favorite blooming plants and flowers, our desire for year-round color, and the soil and climate, and converted them all into a beautiful, casual garden.
There are some hardscapes, a water feature, outdoor art work, and a meandering path - all the things we said we liked. I was expecting a hand-drawn sketch with lots of notes, but John delivered a professional landscape plan made with computer software, and a list of what to buy. Needless to say we were extremely happy and impressed. I want to hire someone to purchase and install everything now, while Spouse wants to have it done in stages. Fortunately we agree that it will need to wait until the house in VA goes to settlement and we have time to meet with a landscape company.

Marty & John joined us for dinner with 'the usual suspects'. We had our largest dinner group so far with 16 people! In addition to John & Marty, there were 2 other visitors. Olivier & Francois are 2 French Canadians vacationing from Montreal. They were nice guys whose English was much better than my French. Occasionally I tossed in a word or simple phrase in French in an attempt to make our visitors feel welcomed. I asked them if they liked Poutine and they seemed a little surprised I knew of it. One of the Americans asked what it was, and I felt slightly superior since I was able to describe it and pronounce it correctly, thanks to Tornwordo.

We had such a fun time on our 'night out on the town' with Doug & Jim a few weeks ago we decided to do it again, sort of. As we drove into Rehoboth Beach it was quite apparent it was Labor Day weekend. The little seaside resort town was absolutely packed! We drove around for nearly 40 minutes looking for a parking place. We decided to skip cocktails at a bar and have them at the restaurant instead, while we (undoubtedly) waited for a table. Sure enough, there was a 30-40 minute wait, so we squeezed into the tight bar area and ordered cocktails.

After a brief conversation with these 2 guys from Pittsburgh who looked like Sopranos caricatures, we were eventually seated. Lupa di Mare is a great restaurant, as are the rest of Matt Haley's restaurants we've visited. The 4 of us had exceptional dinners and desserts.

Sun morning Rick & Nick came over for breakfast. Spouse made blueberry oatmeal pancakes and scrambled eggs with cheese and sausage.

We enjoyed chatting with them about vintage cars, politics, and made plans to meet at the beach the next day.

That afternoon Spouse & I went to a BBQ at George & Steve's in Dover. They are sweet guys who invite us to their BBQs every Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day, only we are never able to go because we always have company on those holiday weekends. So our company cancelling actually allowed us to finally join these friends for their famous BBQ.

Upon returning from Dover we fed and walked Jordan the dog, then walked to the canal where the charter boats are docked. Doug & Jim and Rick & Nick met us there for a evening boat cruise at 7:00. Until Doug suggested this, I didn't know they offered an evening cruise. I thought they only took fishermen out for saltwater fishing. The evening cruise was just $15. and lasted an hour and a 1/2, which we all agreed was a terrific bargain. We enjoyed seeing the Lewes canal and Delaware Bay from an entirely different perspective. We saw several lighthouses and the breakwater, which controls the tides from entering the bay from the ocean. And then there was the sunset. It seemed like one of the most beautiful ever, with its hot oranges, peaches, pinks and salmons against the steel blue-grey watery horizon.
After the cruise Rick & Nick went home and Doug & Jim asked us to join them for dinner at Beseme, just across the canal from the boat. I remembered a kumquat and soba noodle dish I'd seen the last time we ate there, but I ordered something else because I was afraid it might not be enough to satisfy me. But this time I wasn't as hungry so I thought the kumquat and soba noodle dish would be perfect. Unfortunately they were out of it! Guess I'll have to go back. A guy was playing the guitar and singing, so that was a nice treat with our meals.

On Mon Spouse & I met Rick & Nick on the beach around 12:30. It was a beautiful day, with a gentle breeze and not a cloud in the sky. Not surprising, there were a lot of people on the beach since it was Labor Day. We had a great time and stayed until 3:00. Spouse & I had angus burgers and Deitz & Watson hot dogs cooked on the grill for dinner, which we ate on the screened porch while listening to Bette Midler sing the Peggy Lee songbook. Delightful!

Spouse watched TV and I watched a Netflix DVD called 'Love Affair', the 1939 film starring Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer. Its about 2 people who meet and fall in love on a cruise ship, only both of them are engaged to other people. They decided to meet at the top of the Empire State Bldg in 6 months, after they've dis-engaged themselves from their respective fiances. But Irene Dunne's character is struck by a car on her way to meet her true love. I liked the film and Irene Dunne a lot. I don't recall having seen her in any other films, although she made a bunch of them and was nominated 5 times for an Oscar.

And finally, I must plead with everyone to STOP SAYING "summer is over" just because Labor Day has passed. I lost count of how many people I heard say this over the long weekend. I love summer and am not ready for it to be over yet. Our a/c is still turned on, I'm still driving with my convertible top down, and people are still coming to the beach. Here in the mid-Atlantic region we usually experience Indian Summer well into Sept. Last year we were still going to the beach in early Oct. You may begin saying "summer is over" when the leaves are changing colors, and no sooner.

Crush du Jour: Anderson Cooper