June Trip Recap- Upstate New York

Glenn Beck told Michael Buble to keep a journal, even if it was only bullet points. So that's where I'm at with this trip.

• Niagara Falls
• Palmyra
• Syracuse (Dinosaur BBQ, the best ribs I've ever tasted.)
• Cooperstown (Baseball Hall of Fame for Dev, Farm Museum for Sarah)
• Lake George
• On up to Montreal

June Trip Recap- Philly and Pittsburgh

Philly was really fun. Partly because of the sites and partly because of Devin's family, Sara, Lucy and Jonathan. There is so much history in this town and the Cardons were great tour guides. Highlights: Liberty Bell and Independance Hall, Rocky statue, Prosperity Hill, Reading Terminal, Philly Cheese steaks (wit wiz), Indian food like I've never tasted before (yum!), Valley Forge, Amish country, Manayunk & the Masonic Temple.

In Pittsburgh we stayed with friends Justin, Amelia and Henry Hohl. Pittsburgh is really a beautiful city. It's a lot like Europe the way the rivers run through the city with bridges and steep hills everywhere. Here's a picture of Devin in his element at a Pirate's game.

June Trip Recap- Boston & the NYC

Boston and New York were a blast. In Boston we walked the Freedom Trail and saw all the U.S. history sites. And what trip is complete without a visit to Fenway Park. (We still like Wrigley better.) In New York, we just kicked it. We saw the Bodies exhibit, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, saw a Yankee's game, shopped, sat 1st row for Les Mis and ate and ate and ate. It was more of a restaurant tour, really. Here we are at Lombardi's, the 1st pizzeria in America. Other favorites were Cafe Havana, Gray's Papaya, Saigon Grill (yum-o!) and Mario Batali's Otto. http://www.mariobatali.com/restaurants_otto.cfm There we had the most amazing dessert. Olive oil gelato, salted strawberries, passion fruit granita drizzled with basil oil. It sounds gross but it was the most incredible taste. If you go, try the cheese plate.

June Trip Recap-Quebec & Maine

Quebec City is the best kept secret in North America. That place was so cool. Don't waste your time on Europe. Quebec City is just as charming. We happened to get stuck during their "national party". (They didn't get the you-don't-have-your-own-nation memo). It was like the Strip on New Year's. Maine was beautiful. Here we are in Kenebunkport, home of Mr. Bush.

Caffeine Buzz Numero Dos

Anyone who visited the Palmers between 1997 and 2000 will remember the obligatory journey to the Coke Bottle. For $1 and enough gas to get to the strip, you could enjoy an evening of Coke history and all the coke you could drink. The highlight: tasting about 50 different Coke drinks from around the world. And who can forget the Beverly, an Italian treat that tasted like cough syrup and turpentine mixed together. We all mourned the loss of the Coke Bottle when Vegas made the transition from "fun for the whole family" to "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas". You can imagine my joy when I discovered this: http://www.worldofcoca-cola.com/. Now for $15 (plus $10 for parking) and enough gas to get me to Atlanta, I can enjoy a day in the mother of all Coke Bottles. Memorabilia, Coke art, history, cool new videos, cool old commercials, a motion ride, all-you-can-drink Coke products and yes, the Beverly. What more can I ask for out of a Saturday?

C'mon Gators! Get up and GO!

Football, football and more football. Last weekend we took a 7 hour road trip to Gainesville, FL to visit cousins Justin and Kira. The trip was cool for many reasons. First, baby Evan, the most portable baby in the world. Evan is 2 months old and is every bit as cute as his parents claim. Having a baby has not slowed Justin and Kira down. Evan was happily sleeping in his sling wherever we went. I think he especially enjoyed being worn during mini-golf. Friday night we ate Pan-Am overlooking a gator-infested lake. Then we headed to pre-teen party land for some mini-golf and go-cart racing. Saturday we went out to a natural spring for a little sun and snorkeling. (Beautiful!!) Then to the big game- Florida vs. Tennessee. Again, football on steroids. There is nothing to compare to it in the west. The stadium is huge and so, so loud. The talent was incredible (another national championship on the horizon?) and they killed Tennessee, much to Devin's chagrin. He did a good job of secretly cheering for Rocky Top. Look at me, I'm turning into a football geek. Thanks, Dev.

New Beginnings

Okay, okay, okay. I'll do it. I start blogging already. Now that I'm 3 weeks into my job and finally have a computer, I can now devote more time to what's important. Hey, I can't help it if the work that is supposed to take me 8 hours only takes me 4. So as I try to back track in my blog, let me give you a preview of what's to come. Right now we're a month and a half into our South Carolina adventure. We LOVE it. Devin's classes are going well, especially his golf class, he's been called as the ward Exec. Secretary, we've already moved twice, I found a job that I can actually put on my resume and we're on our way to Florida this weekend. So much to tell. So what you have to look forward to is this: Our trips to the Northeast, Canada, cross-country drive and Myrtle beach. Our life here in SC including... FOOTBALL! That is the only thing that matters here right now. More to come soon....

Who cares?

We finally did it. Blogger has now weaseled it's way into our lives. We'll start posting soon but let's face it, 90% of the people that read this are just going to look at the pictures. So I'll mostly post pics and a few captions. It'll work good for me since I'm a crappy writer anyway. What can I say, its the curse of the gifted and talented, or at least that is what they told me in 4th grade... or maybe that was spelling... so I'm not as smart as I thought.