"Maps"

*

So I finished The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet today. Much like the freight train that T.S. rides out of Montana, the pace at the beginning was languid and by the end it was so fast I thought I must be skipping pages the tale was streaking so fast. By the end, the story had become that of a 12 year old boy in so deep over his head he doesn't really know which way is up. What had been a story about a young man with a gift for illustrating and mapping everything he came into contact with had added a brief flirting with science fiction, and with a century old club of scientists who like to keep their eyes on everything. Also there are big breaks in the middle where we learn about his great grandmother. All this crammed into a book that starts as a boy traveling to D.C. from Montana. I liked the book as fiction, but as a book it is even better.

This is what annotated reading should be like. This is how reading on the Internet should/will be. Like 80% of the pages have small illustrations and notes. There are simple to follow arrows leading out from the body of text when the illustration should be noticed. You can read them right then, wait until the end of the paragraph, the end of the page, or ignore them if the topic doesn't appeal to you. I want more books like this. Reif Larsen is a first time author living in Brooklyn. So look him up and tell him to write me something else when you have the time. Or you could just read his book instead, you know, if you're not into accosting people.


I was not in any of the crowd shots for the The Yeah Yeah Yeah's video above, but...at @ 5:04 in this video
* "...I see you was holdin' me down A homeboy you know all the lyrics I appreciate you, you with the W..." He was talking to Kevin. I was standing next to Kevin hitting him yelling "you, he's talking to you" just in case he wasn't aware that J was talking to him.

"The Candy Man"

Visited Pennsylvania this weekend. We did a cemetery visit and then drove into nearby Hershey PA "the sweetest place on earth". The weather was great, the traffic left much to be desired. We really wanted to eat at someplace kind of nice, but we didn't know the area, so I remembered that most if not all of the non-chain places in Hershey were located as something called the Hotel Hershey.

We parked, took in the awesome view of the park and chocolate factory in the valley and checked out the hundreds of tulips on display before we headed inside. We walked into the second floor right into the tiled fountain lobby. So much cooler than the lame normal lobby we found later downstairs. We were a little under-dressed, but not too bad. As we started looking for restaurants, Colleen looked the hotel up on her phone (An act I still think of as vaguely magic and wonder how much it costs her per second). I found a place that was billed as American casual right as Colleen informed me that we were in a Forbes four star, AAA 4 diamond resort. We almost backed out being light on funds but decided to splurge and have fun.

After an excruciatingly long 45 minute wait, where we were not offered the suggestion of the bar or the adult game room with pool tables, we were seated. The tables were close together and the volume was high for a place with no perceivable music playing. Our server was fantastic though and made the evening. We each ordered a drink, and settled on entrees. I was having steak and Colleen salmon. When they arrived I was blown away by how great everything was on my plate; steak, mashed potatoes, onion rings, sauteed mushrooms, it was perfect. After two or three minutes of rapture I finally dug my head out of my... potatoes and realized Colleen was not enjoying her meal.

So we switched! She was right, her salmon was weak sauce, but I ate it. It wasn't bad, just not fancy dinner out good you know? So she finished my meal and I hers. Then we heroically decided to each order a dessert and share them. We both each of them, but the chocolate pie with a caramel smear was the standout.

So if you find yourself in Amish country, or nearby and want to have a fancy meal but not white table cloth fancy, in a family friendly atmosphere, then by all means: Harvest at the Hotel Hershey. Get the hanger steak, the chicken wings looked good too but we didn't partake, the rye bread made with maple syrup was nice, and finish it off with the chocolate pie.

"Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf"

So now I've been to Kentucky.

Colleen has a number of cousins in Kentucky, one of whom turned 30. The family had planned a surprise get together for her; and Colleen drug me 500 miles to meet people that she hadn't seen in years. The Birthday surprise was in three parts. One: Birthday Girl was sent to the airport to pick up a missionary from India; who turned out to be her cousin from Pennsylvania. Two: Colleen was staying at the same bed and breakfast as the now surprised Birthday Girl and mutual cousin, so we would surprise them at Breakfast. Three: about 30 family members from PA, KY and VA were in town to celebrate, and Birthday Girl didn't have a clue. I am so glad we went.

Colleen and I left on Friday and about two hours after we left her neighborhood, finally hit the highway. We had some errands to run. And we are slow people. But our trek began nonetheless. Google was our guide, and suggested we hit Frederick MD by way of US15 and then head West to Hagerstown and follow 68 along the MD PA border. After crossing into WV we got on 79 and stayed on it until Charleston. Then 64 west into Kentucky. We took an extra long dinner, and got lost, so we were on the road for about 12 hours. Thankfully, the innkeepers at the Bed and Breakfast we were staying at were very cool about our after 9pm arrival. They showed us to our room and we collapsed on the comfortable bed.


















The next day at Breakfast (sweet potato pancakes, IHOP eat your heart out) Colleen's cousins came down and their was much squealing and catching up as part two of the surprise was sprung. We headed out after breakfast, got lost again, and finally arrived at the location for the surprise.

Now let me be brutally honest here. I liked this family, I liked their house. It was great, and they were hospitable, so the next thing I have to say should not be seen as mean spirited, it is just so that you may get a glimpse into my mind. We visited people who live past the middle of nowhere. I mean if you go through the middle of nowhere, turn right, and go another hour, you get to the far end of nowhere, keep going a little ways and you can get to their house. On the plus side, these are some of the views off of their property.





Gorgeous right? And that's in January folks. Those of us who rarely leave the coasts save for vacations often forget how big the country is.


Anyway, we got to the party, and I met cousins and Aunt's and Uncles and Second Cousins and babies and dogs and all in all had a great time. We ate well, talked a lot, and celebrated with Birthday cake and presents. I also got to pick a little banjo, and let me say that I am not naturally talented at that particular instrument.

We got back late that night, and I went to bed an hour or so later. Colleen and Birthday Cousin and surprise number one cousin from PA stayed up until close to five AM. We got up, had breakfast (individual quiches no cheese on mine thank you very much), took some pictures and headed east.













The trip back let us see more of Kentucky during the day. We drove through Bourbon County on the way back, but I saw no distillery tour signs. I almost ran us out of gas in West Virginia, and we didn't see traffic until we were north of Harrisonburg on 81.

Another long trip for us, and we enjoyed it, so expect more travelogues once it warms up and we have money.

"Bottle of Wine"

Back to the grape again!

In what will no doubt be a continuing trend on this blog, I bring you pictures of a trip to a winery. We went Saturday to the low mountains of Leesburg Virginia, and brought some friends. They were doing a fondue tasting event with The Melting Pot. The wine was alright, the place was packed and in general we all felt a little rushed.






As you can see below, the view was extraordinary.




Some @$$ wouldn't shut up out how pretty it was, dragging everyone down to look at the view



Seriously though, isn't it gorgeous?




Yeah, so that's me with the hat, and the beard, and the ponytail. I don't know exactly what you'd call my current style, but I think my Dad would describe it as "unemployable"


I love you Dad!

Here's a few of our friends, we're all getting a little hungry, and we lost one of the group, so we sent her Husband to go find her.















Found her!
















All together again, we decided to buy a few bottles, head for Wegmans and then home, for a little afternoon of food and wine. Plus we played with a crossbow. But that's not really part of this story.















What's that you say? You don't see the girl in the purple top and the black skirt? Why she's hiding behind my enormous gut! Also, pay close attention, I can't promise, but this might be the only time you can see my legs in a picture all year. I don't rock the short pants that often.

We'll probably go wine tasting again all during the rest of the Spring and Summer. I don't really like wine, but I do like hanging out with my friends in the outdoors. Plus picnics! I've already got at least one on my calender, and knowing my girlfriend, once she realizes there's a free, unscheduled weekend in June, she will fill it with a trip to a winery.

I think I need to start looking for a whatdoyoucall it... not a brewery... distillery! That's it! I've heard that Mount Vernon can now make and sell whisky based on George Washington's recipe. I should go try that out. It seems that as far as wine's go I have an interesting palate. I like really really bold reds. Spicy smoky, whatever, just so long as your average new wine drinker says "whoa nelly"; then that's the wine for me. But whiskey? Man I'll try anything once.

Here's to the weather being great for us all. Get outside! Walk around! It's Spring!

"Goober Peas"

"These folks come for the Festival" indeed.

I have been to the Suffolk, and I have seen the Peanut, and let me tell you, he comes for you and for me my brothers and sisters, uh yes he does.

Weekend 6 of 8 in a row is done. The Suffolk Peanut Fest was not exactly what I expected. I'll give you a run down a little further in the post, but for those of you without patience let me say, I liked it better than my weekend I had to work all week, but not as much as the Highland Games weekend. Not to say it wasn't fun, but I've had some pretty good weekends to compare with!

It started with the drive down. We were on the road for close to four hours. Traffic was bad, and there was a cat in the car. In case I have not made my feelings on cats known (and I know I have), I hate them. In general that is. In specific, I have made allowances for the cat I live with, and the cat that owns my girlfriend. I am ambivalent towards them. This means that when I see them and I am in the presence of humans who love them, I treat them as pets, when their humans are gone I ignore them and they ignore me. Cats are smart, I understand this now. I used to think cats were dumb, what with the pooing in the house and tearing furniture and clothes willy nilly. But I see now that they are smart. Dogs have to go outside in the elements to do their business; cats stay warm and dry. Dogs ruin something and they are swatted and told they are bad; cats have humans that blame themselves for the cat destroying things. But I, as usual, digress.

My girlfriends cat was a little noisy on the way down, not bad really, just a little to much with the whining sounds. We got into her folks house in Suffolk after midnight. The four of us stayed up for a few hours over drinks and then we headed off to bed. I slept in the pop up camper this time. With my recent back injuries and the general out of shape mushiness that is my body, I woke up with a neck cramp and back pains after sleeping too long. Thus began the day that should have been better, but was not so much my best day.

I popped a pain killer and a muscle relaxer before we hit the road. I haven't taken both at the same time since I came back to work after throwing out my back. We brought along my girlfriend's sister, but her brother wanted to stay at home so it was just the three of us. Like I said, it was a late start and that coupled with our slow pace around the festival meant we took a while to get around the whole thing. There was food out the wazoo, various people dressed up in costumes, a fair, two stages of entertainment, and some arts and crafts vendors in a big tent. But you know what they didn't have? Peanut stuff! Now sure, there was peanuts for free around the place, and a vendor selling peanuts and peanut butter, but nothing like I expected. I thought this would be a one stop shop for all my peanut themed Christmas giving needs. No peanut throws and wall hangings, no peanut earrings, no peanut quilts or t shirts or hats. Of course, I might have missed some things, I was pretty doped up by then. :0)

Late afternoon we met up with a couple of friends of mine who were also major players in the Festival hierarchy. We had a good time walking around with people who knew the game and how it was played, and because of them I tried this:



It's called a Bar-b-que Sundae. Baked beans, cole slaw and pulled pork in a cup. They put the coleslaw on the bottom on mine, and thank goodness, because it gave me someplace to hold the plastic cup without burning my hand. The amazing concoction was brought to me by Wood Chick's BBQ, a local South Eastern VA joint run by women. They are a fairly recent entry to the world of BBQ, but I would have gone back for seconds if we had stayed all day. In fact, we ended up missing most of what would have made the Festival cool for me.

We had to head back to do a birthday dinner for my girlfriend, and it was great. Fondue is a rare treat at her house, and even rare-er at mine, so I enjoyed myself. We did not make it back to the festival in time to see the two big name bands or the fireworks, but I hear they were great. Poco and Pure Prairie League are both well known southern rock bands that I would love to have seen, on the other hand; fondue rocks. We stayed up to watch the Indians and the Sox, but started passing out during the 9th inning. So back to sleep out in the pop up.

We did not see the rock bands play, or the high school bands play. We missed the demolition derby, and the Motorcycles. We missed the blues music and Jr. Walker's all stars. We also did not get a chance to ride death defying rides run by real life carnies! I'm sure the Fest was cooler for those people who got to spend a couple of days at it, and who were not doped to the gills.

The next day I woke up to a great bacon and eggs breakfast, and we packed up for the drive back. My girlfriend's parents had given her a GPS thing, so we played with it on the way back. The cat was more annoying than anything had a right to be. I didn't have pets growing up, and made what turned out to be some fairly inconsiderate comments about the cat and so the drive back up was... chilly. Not cold, b/c the trip had gone well, but still not the best weekend we had spent together as a couple.

We finished the weekend with my folks, grilling steaks and watching the Patriots dominate the over filled Cowboys. FSU also lost this weekend, not a good week for football for my Dad. Fortunately, he only really likes football, and is not one of those rabid fans who talk about "we just need to" or "I can't believe we". Dad will go to work this morning and be fine. Many other men I know who's Alma matter and favorite pro team lost this weekend will be grouches today. Notice to these people: go outside and read a book to your child. Also, stop refereing to your favorite team as "we". Unless you are on the payroll, stop talking as if Dan Snyder or Jim Tressel takes your calls.

It might seem odd to some of you out there that after a C+/B- weekend with my girlfriend, that included time with her folks; I would want to finish it out with my own. My parents are like my battery charger. No, that makes them sound boring. My parents are like my alternator. No, not enough people will get that. They are my rock makes it sound too religious, or alternately, too much like that Bob Seeger song that sells trucks. But I think I've made my point. Your weekend should fill you with energy enough to get you through the week. My weekend was fun, but a little tiring and straining to get me through all five days. Enter my parents; watching football, listening to new stories about old friends, grilling out with Dad, and Mom pushing home cooked food on me as I walk out the door. That's good for a least three or four days.

Answers to the last quiz later today or tomorrow!

"Rare Old Mountain Dew"

Just a few pictures that my cailin deas took of the grounds during the wine tasting this weekend.


Cool rolling hills we wished we had brought a blanket to sit on.


Our cheese and wine break.


The vineyards.


Good view of the hills to the North East


Last picture of our trip to the winery.


Alright, I'm going to put up the answers to the last quiz tonight or tomorrow, so tell your friends and family to get their guesses in! I thought maybe you all could use some help. Two of the quotes are in movies staring Julie Andrews. Two of the quotes come from animated films. Eight of the quotes come from films that have sequels. Only one of the guesses so far is wrong.

"Lilac Wine"

Another weekend, another cool travel story.

This time I didn't really go far, but did have a great time. This weekend was a double birthday weekend; my sister and my girlfriend. Actually, it was also the birthday weekend of an aunt in Florida and a cousin in the Southwest. But we're not here to talk about them.

Friday night got to a late start and didn't really perk up. In fact, due to general bad feelings all around, and a tendency not to want to fight in public, my girlfriend and I drove south on 28 for a while. A good long while. Eventually we talked, turned the car around, and ate "dinner" late at Denny's in Fairfax. I don't know exactly when we left, but it was well past the witching hour. Heck, we didn't even get back to the Fairfax area until close to 1:00 AM. But all was well in the world and we were planning on an "early" (for us that means 10:00 AM) start Saturday morning.

I'll spare you the details, but I was up by 6:30 in the morning and in lots of pain. I should not eat greasy breakfast food and drink coffee at 1:00 in the morning and expect to be cool like I was at twenty. So by the time I talked to my girlfriend, I was tired and in pain and ready to bail, except that it was her birthday so... I bucked up and got in the car and drove. It was the right decision, I felt fine throughout the day. I'm really glad I didn't wuss out.

So I told her to dress for outdoors in the sun, comfortable clothes and good shoes for walking. I still hadn't told her what I was doing for her birthday. Hee hee! I love surprises. Clarification: I love surprises when they are not on me. Note to others, I hate surprises on me. When she got in the car she was on the phone with her godmother. Later I would learn that she had been on that call for an hour. So we got in my car and drove west on 50. When we passed the Loudon County Parkway I looked over, and gave her a slightly peevish look. She made her apologies, hung up the phone and I wished her Happy Birthday. She had been on the phone for 94 minutes. With one person. I don't know how girls do that. After refusing to tell her where I was taking her, she got on the phone with her folks and they wished her a happy birthday. I could hear her telling them that I was taking her somewhere and she didn't know where. She began to look around and declared it "bupkis Virginia". That's when we passed Gilbert's Corner. That's the corner of 50 and 15 by the way. So, not really bupkis, in fact, not even Middleburg yet, but because we live in NoVa, we get really used to seeing a Starbucks every block or two. US 50 just gets rural really fast. Take a look at Google Maps and see how dense the suburbia is on 50 to the east of Dulles Airport, and notice how fast it changes when you go west.

Anyway... after Gilbert's Corner comes this tiny town called Aldie. From the road, Aldie appears to support itself by being quaint. They had signs for various fall festivals, an old mill you could tour and take pictures of, and more antique shops than any person could reasonably visit in one day. Even the closed gas station looked more like a set piece than an actually out of business company. Just past Albie we made a left onto Champe Ford Road. Calling it a road is a bit generous. It was not only not paved, it wasn't even graveled. So we drove about a mile and a half down a dirt/mud/gravel path that was wide enough for two cars except when it wasn't. Finally we found it: Chrysalis Vineyards.

There's a little lake, and fields of grapes, and it was beautiful. They were throwing a wine tasting and bluegrass festival. The bluegrass was fun, they did some good traditional pieces, and a great cover of "Don't Let Me Down". I think it was the same band for the whole time we were there, just taking some breaks. We tried nine wines at the tasting, and another two or three at various points during the day. The food was really nice, and the people were smart and friendly. The festival was to celebrate and focus on the Norton grape, an American grape (most wine is made from European grapes even here in America) said to resemble a blueberry. The winery is really proud of it's Norton grape wines, and all of its reds. I do not drink wine. But may I just say, I liked the whites, and could not finish many of the reds. Less than an ounce of wine and I was still passing it to my girlfriend. Oh well, I'm not a wine snob. Maybe the reds were just above my palate.

We stayed for a few hours, generally having a great time. She bought some wine, I bought some candy (a truer insight into our vices has never been put to paper) and we headed back to Reston. She changed clothes and then I gave her her present, a pair of earrings that I had bought at the Highland Games while she was distracted. I was particularly proud of both the purchase and the giving, but neither story writes well. You'll have to trust me that I tell I very humorus version of how I bought the earings right under her nose. They look like this but silver, and on her ears. Then we drove to my place, and I changed clothes.

We went to Coastal Flats in Fairfax. Good stuff. Same family of restaurants as Silverado, Sweetwater, Mike's and the rest. We were seated quickly and our server was a very easy to relate to guy. We had an appetizer that ultimately I would not order again. It was a crab imperial with what amounted to pita chips. I forget how much it was, but it was "OK". The entrees however were great. On my suggestion, my girlfriend got the Sauteed Shrimp & Creamy Grit Cake. I really dig this dish, but it is a little salty. She enjoyed it. I tried something new, the Short Smoked Salmon Fillet. Great fish. It was cheap considering the rest of the menu, and really good. The flavor was like it was right off a wood fire, and it flaked in large pieces perfect for my fork. The side was mashed cauliflower. Let's face it, it was cauliflower. I am not a fan. But mashed was something new, so I ate it, and it's better for me than mashed potatoes. We passed on dessert and walked around Fairfax Corner. They are not done with the construction of the water fountain no mater what the website says. We had a good time just walking and talking, dipping into stores to look for something for my sister the next day, and then headed to Ben and Jerry's for ice cream.

Ultimately I did I good job on the birthday planning thing, and am really glad she had a good time. She is one of those people always cursed with crummy birthdays; but we're all about breaking trends.

The next morning she helped me pick out a gift for my sister and we were at my folks for birthday appetizers and dessert. This is kind of a Cruz favorite. We all love a nice spaghetti dinner, or taco night, or what have you, but we are also fans of the Americanized version of tapas. We had cracked pepper cheese slices on bread slices, fresh guacamole, port wine cheese spread on crackers, hummus on bagel chips, POCs with dip, and then grilled a couple of brats and Italian hot sausages with sauteed peppers and onions. With the almost record high temperatures it really felt like summer rather than the first week of October. So of course the really cool winter cape I gave my sister is going to sit in the closet for weeks. But she liked it so I'm happy. For desert we did ice cream sundaes.

We left soon after, and my girlfriend went back to her place, and I went to game. Great weekend, and next weekend I'm headed to the Peanut Festival! We did take some pictures, and I'll try to get them up soon.

Don't forget the quiz in the post below this one. Three brave souls so far!

"My Old School"

This past weekend, my girlfriend and I packed up and headed to Williamsburg. We left the NoVa area a little late, and stopped for dinner, and so ended up hitting Williamsburg around 1:15 AM. I got out, shook hands with her parents for the first time, and went to bed an hour later. Her parents were very nice, but it was very late so I don't even remember what was said other than " I hope you brought earplugs".

We stayed at Anvil Camprgrounds in Williamsburg.

View Larger Map

Notice the train tracks convieniently located only 50 yards away? No matter how much warning you give yourself, or how deep your earplugs are in, when the train comes at 4:30 in the morning, the animal part of your brain starts screaming:

"Run!!!!"
The rational part of your brain responds with:
"Where are we, why are we awake?"

"Run away!"

"We are naked in a tent, why should we run and what is that noise anyway?"

"Death!!!!!! Run!!!"

"OK, that's the train they were telling us about, we should lie back down and get in the sleeping bag, it is very loud but it can't hurt us."

"Loud Death, Run Now!!!!!"

"Seriously, I'm already back in the bag, and the train is passing now, it did not hit us, let's sleep now."

"Run!!!!"


It seriously was scary as hell.

We all woke up a little groggy, had a cup of coffee, brushed our teeth, and talked small talk for a brief 2 and a half hours until someone fianly said "Let's go"

Let's go ment IHOP, and then finally the Highland Games. I was excited, but worried that we would miss all the games. But, even though we did not get to the Games until 1:00 PM on the second of two days, we did still get to see a few events, plenty of pipers, and lots of cool vendors.

In fact, about 15 minutes after we arrived, they set up for the event I wanted to see the most, the Caber Toss.

In Caber tossing, an otherwise normal man picks up an 18 foot telephone pole weghing roughly 100 pounds and throws it end over end, trying to get it to land at a "12:00" angle from where he is standing. Distance does not matter, but you have to be a strong son of a gun to flip the dang thing. [all pictures taken by my girlfriend]



Caber catchers push the Caber to a standing position for a contestent.


A large man in a kilt picks up a tree, and after balancing it, runs a few steps.


He then plants his feet and pushes.


The Caber is away!


These guys are bringing it back to start again, pictures of a tossed Caber look like a log on the ground, so I skipped those.

We wandered all over, and drank some cool beer, ate homemade icecream, avioded the Haggis vendor like the plague, and bought stuff. Later they threw a sack over a goal post with a pitch fork, but we missed most of that. Then for the last event, they brough out a 50 pound weight. The men had to throw it up over a bar, and perhaps most importnatly, not get hit by it when it came back down.


Gearing up for a throw.


Aww crap I lost it in the su...


My girlfriend and her sister saw these scetchy people all over the games. Not even one of them in a kilt, or plaid at all. (Hint, I'm the one with the most hair.)

We left as it was closing down, a great time being had by all. I had drank a few beers, comletly forgetting that I was on my back pain meds b/c I had been sleeping in a tent. Appaeerntly I was drunk by the end, and yet managed to not tip my hand to the 'rents.

Back at the campsite by the tracks, we told stories, grilled sausages and made Smores. We also substitued Reeses cups for Hershey Bars on some of them. Smores are awesome, but my beard ate most of mine.

We went to bed late that night, the trains did not come, and after waking up to another beautiful day, I went to Dunkin for breakfast. We finished packing up the campsite and rolled out at 11:00.

I really enjoyed meeting my girlfriend's parents and sister ( I already met her brother) but this was a weekend for us as well, so we headed for The College and CW.

I walked for 5 hours on Sunday; around William and Mary, and all over Colonial Williamsburg. If you have never been, I am sure it was nice, but I was really dissapointed. Big name stores have taken over much of the small town feel of Colonial Williamsburg. the Drugstore, where grilled cheese and sundaes were top notch and cheep, and the location where I became aquainted with cigars, has become a William Sonoma. I like William Sonoma, but who would come to CW for a trip and then buy a melon baller? Across DOG street from William Sonoma was a Talbots. Lots of places were still there though, and we had a great time.


Statue in William and Mary. She's reading a note from a boy asking her not to forget him while she's away at college.

Crim Dell Bridge.

Then we drove back up, and made good time eating fudge from the candy shop.

Next weekend there are birthdays, and the weekend after that, back to southern Virginia.