It Got Better...

The first stop on the cruise was San Diego.  Yes, that was where we registered.  Yes, that is where our travel buddies and best friends live.  We, knowing the area pretty well and having access to the car we left in the parking lot, set off for a day on our own.  

David disembarked first and went to pick up the car.  He drove to the cruise terminal, picked us up and we headed straight to The South Beach Saloon (first building on the right) in Ocean Beach for the best fish tacos in the country!!!  Yes, we've done this before...:)

We watched the surfers for a while and then ate lunch.

Ocean Beach is always entertaining.  Home of Hodad's and funny signs.

And then headed to Balboa Park to see the rose garden (Kathy's idea of heaven) (and I'm glad we did because there was nary a rose in bloom at Butchart Gardens in Victoria) and the cacti garden.

This rose was as big as my head and extremely fragrant!

We walked those fish tacos off, returned the car to Marge and Dave's garage and called a cab to take us back to the ship. 

Next stop:  Los Angeles.

So Who the Hell Planned This?

We returned Thursday night from an 11 night cruise of the Pacific Coast.  We like cruising and the 'taste of' different locales it affords us.  This past experience, however, was not as positive as the prior cruises.  We should have known this when a few months before the cruise, we could not get a straight answer as to where we were to check in.  Some said at the airport; some said at The Pavillion (a large tent with one portable toilet beside the Sheraton).  The latter is where we were finally instructed to go. 

We checked in for the Celebrity Solstice in San Diego.  It was total chaos.  I don't do well with chaos.  Our experience was not as bad as others', though, and we got through the line in an hour and a half.  We were issued our ship ID cards and assigned to bus 14 which when boarded would take us  to ENSENADA, MEXICO.   Yes, that was where the ship was docked and where we would board.  Why?  See The Jones Act  (also under antiquated, pain-in-the- ass laws).  People were panicked and grabbing boxed lunches and water that we were supposed to get when we boarded the buses.  Giving each person one ticket for their lunch would have taken care of this, but no thought seemed to have gone into this whole process.  We never got a lunch or water; that kind of greed/panic really bothers us and we stayed clear.

Like I said, we made out pretty well having begun the process at 12 and boarding the ship at 4.  Our travel buddies, Margie and Dave, began at the same time and boarded the ship closer to 8 PM.  After standing in line for 4 hours to register, waiting another few hours to board, their driver got lost in Tijuana and then ran out of gas.  It was the trip from Hell.

When a bus arrived in Ensenada, they checked passengers' IDs several times, lined us up to get on the ship where they checked us again and took our pictures and collected our passports.  Our luggage arrived in trucks, was unloaded in front of armed guards, sniffed out by dogs, and then loaded onto the ship.  We watched from our balcony, waiting for our friends to arrive, as they transported and boarded 2880 people.

See the dog in the middle of the luggage???

More about the actual cruise later!!  :)

Where Everybody Knows Our Names Deux

With only a small mention on Facebook today, Clyde's of Columbia re-opened its doors.  We got there at 6:15 tonight to an almost full house.  (The restaurant filled up within the hour.)

We enjoyed the excellent service of our favorite server, Will, and said hello to a lot of old friends.  Oh, yea, and the meal was off the charts.

We started with Thai wraps...

We scarfed two down before remembering to take a photo!  :)

Then we shared a roasted beet salad with the most heavenly light dressing, water cress, and a little bit of goat cheese.

Then, my cute husb, had the "Throwdown Burger".  I usually don't eat red meat, but tasted this -- it was scrumptious!

And me?  I had the lobster roll which was as good, if not better, than the ones we had in Maine.

Anyone want my pickle and fries?

At last! We Needed Sunscreen!!!

It was obvious on Sunday that it had been a long, gray, and raw winter.  The traffic to DC was impossible to navigate through.  Add to the joy of the first predicted warm day of 2013, were the cherry blossoms, ecstatic with the warm sunny weather, and the scheduled Cherry Blossom 10K.

My husband, who had worked in DC for years, and knows the roads well, tried to get into the National Zoo from the back end -- along Rock Creek Park, which was closed.  After making three illegal u-turns, riding across a medial strip ("Hold on and nobody complain") we were the last car allowed in the lot at the bottom of the hill.

We were there to celebrate Ariana's fifth birthday.  So hard to believe.

We had a wonderful day, walked at least six miles around the zoo and Ariana never complained once.  What a trooper!

The lions were happy to be out...

As were the turtles...

This ape enjoyed his hammock

And this one gave a show with his cape...

This big boy enjoyed sunning himself...

Waiting for Godot...And Spring...

That baby is sleeping so I have a few minutes.  When he awakens, I'll give him lunch, but there will be no walk today.  It's windy and cold, although relatively clear, and we still have a lot of snow.

Everyone is amazed at the weather and hoping for spring temps, including me.  I'll try to remember this when we're suffering with 90° + temps and equal humidity.  The DC Cherry Blossom Festival has been pushed back about a week or so and this morning I noticed that it's colder in Atlanta than it is here!  Crazy!

This is what we woke up to yesterday...

It was standing room only at the bird feeders...

And our back yard was far from welcoming...

Sitting on the patio would have been a bit uncomfortable...

But inside, the herbs and amaryllis are thriving, the lemon tree is full of blossoms, the Key lime is happy, and the clivia is blooming.

Dallas, Anyone?

Last night I watched Dallas (On Demand)-- specifically the farewell to the character JR and the actor, Larry Hagman.  I must admit I was a real fan when this show was on in the late 70s to the early 90s.  It got a little weird toward the end, but it was interesting watching the Machiavellian contrivings of this very wealthy family and the good vs. evil battle between the two Ewing brothers.  I also must mention that the theme is a very beautiful horn piece that makes me want to gallop (on a horse that is) into the wide open spaces across Texas.  I was curious as to how they would handle Hagman's death.

A few things came to mind as I watched this rather touching episode.  No matter what anyone says about the character JR Ewing -- yes, he was a scoundrel,  bitingly sarcastic, and inordinately bright --  there was very little if anything socially redeeming about him. What good deeds he might have done,  were totally over-shadowed by his ruthlessness.

It's easy to see why this show dropped in popularity.  I think, perhaps, that Americans tired of seeing the machinations of this very wealthy family, when many of us struggled to make ends meet.  (This may be why Dynasty also fell out of favor at this time.)  Furthermore, frankly, in the company of the Ewings, 'good' always seemed to take a real beating; even the good guys were really rough around the edges.

Now JR has been replaced by other dark and evil characters -- among whom is his son, John Ross.  I don't know who this actor is -- he is strikingly handsome -- but he is guilty of mawkish, over-acting -- perhaps due to maudlin, under-writing?  If this family is as evil as they appear, might I suggest that under no circumstances should ANY of them breed.

Beware of Sweet Little Ones Bearing Gifts

See these two?  They look innocent enough, don't they??  :)  Well they are, but as the saying goes, little ones are petri dishes.  And our sweetnesses are no different.

We had a lovely today together on Tuesday.  Both children were healthy.  Our son, Tyler's dad, was sick, and recuperating from a killer, head-filled-with- cotton-cold.   On Wednesday, my throat was raw and my eyes began to water.  Thursday I developed a dry cough.  Friday was more of the same and today I feel like I've been run over by a bus. 

It's been a very gray winter here in Maryland, which is really hard on the psyche.  The substantial snows have missed us, but I can't remember a year that was more GRAY than this one.  And today is no different.  I've been knitting scarves, reading, and playing Words With Friends.  Consequently, my derriere is the size of Montana -- no disrespect to that beautiful and wide state.   I think the time spent at the computer is directly correlated to the width of the seat and I've been here a lot.  It's my connection with the world!!

Just today I received lovely emails from Religious Mingles, people who wanted to increase my husband's anatomy,  someone selling me Canadian pharmaceuticals, a respected lawyer wanting to know if I'd like to sue over my mesh implant (don't have one),  a prince from Somalia who wants to deliver a substantial bank deposit to me, and Dr. Oz selling green coffee pills guaranteed to shave my rump from Montana to Rhode Island.  (They didn't.  If anything we're looking more like the Louisiana Purchase).  Maybe Sensa?

If you'll  excuse me, I have more scarves to knit...

♫Where Everybody Knows Our Names...♫

Situated on one of the three man-made lakes in Columbia,  a staple in this community since the 70s has been Clyde's -- an American bar with the emphasis on local produce and expert preparation.  Clyde's, part of a  DC-based restaurant group, opened when the restaurant choices in the area were really slim.  Since then, a plethora of chain restaurants and individually owned bistros have graced our area, but Clyde's remains a favorite.  We were regulars (every Friday night at 5:30) there with Margie and Dave, our best friends and travel buddies, until they moved to San Diego.  We have a favorite table and favorite servers:  Tammy, Will, Gary, & Michael and a few who have moved on to other establishments, and a favorite manager, Paul.

Clyde's Columbia closed on February 3rd for much needed renovations which, we're told, should take about 8 weeks. We took a "walk" (I say this euphemistically as I'm still in a boot -- but it was really good to get out!!)  yesterday down at the lake front to witness the progress first hand.  We're excited about the new place, hopefully new comfortable chairs (Paul, I hope you see this!), (the cinnamon bun bread pudding) and the great seasonal menus -- and more importantly running into so many  friends.

Our favorite table is/was straight ahead, on the other side of the steel railing... The bar was along the right wall.

The front of the restaurant will be 'bumped out' a few feet.

Checking In

Thought I'd check in as it has been quite a while.  It's raining, sleeting, gray and raw here in Maryland.  I'm so glad I went outside for a short time yesterday and sat in the afternoon sun, even though it was in the 30s.  

It felt good to look up at the crystalline, blue sky.  Spring will be here in about four weeks.  My predictions about not having much snow have so far been correct.  We've had a few dustings, but nothing like those in New England have had.  It has been cold and we are on our fourth cord of wood.  I'm wondering if the cold we've experienced will be enough to decrease the burgeoning population of stinkbugs.  I hope so...

Two weeks ago I learned that I broke a bone in my foot.  Actually, I did this the first week of December putting up Christmas lights.  I slipped and my foot turned under me.  I truly saw stars for a few minutes.  Since then, I've noticed that after walking or working out, I had quite a bit of pain and burning so I asked for an X-ray and when that didn't show anything, an MRI which did show   a thickening of marrow around the 5th metatarsal.  I'm supposed to be in a boot until the first week in March, but it is cumbersome, so I don't wear it around the house.  I'm careful, though.  And for those of you who have lost weight, you don't have to worry about where it's gone.  The really good news, though, is that the lights looked pretty good this year.  

Today I'm watching Tyler who is now a year old.  The game has definitely changed as he's walking running.  He was rubbing his eyes so I put him in his Pack and Play.  Now I'm listening to him "nap".  He's a sweet, happy baby.

Luckier Than Many

We weathered the storm and came out relatively unscathed.  We sat in comfort on Sunday night, just hours after taking the photos of the preceding post; fires going in the family room and sunporch, hot tea in hand, and everything went black.

We both uttered, "Uh oh", being the original folks we are, and reached for handy flashlights and candles.  The lights flickered and on came the heat pump, TV, and the lights.  The power was on long enough for me to run around and re-set the clocks, check the power surge protectors, turn off the computers and the heat pump, and then died with a bang.  For the next three days...

On Tuesday, after we resigned ourselves for a longer outage than originally expected, our Michael brought over a generator which we put outside and ran extension cords to a couple of lights, our chargers, and alternately, our refrigerator and freezer.  Luckily, the winds had died down a bit so we could protect the generator from the rain, of which we received nine inches.








We lost a little siding and Michael and Jennie lost the pool house



 but these are inconveniences.  We did not suffer as so many in NJ and NY did.  And yet again, we hear of the heroes, like the NYU nurses who carried NICU babies down nine flights of stairs in the dark when the hospital generators failed, and all those who ran extension cords and chargers out to the street so folks without power could charge their phones; such a simple but profound kindness.