Mike and I have traveled together a lot, but always in and around the Texas area (with the exception of a trip to Ohio with my friends). We are too familiar with the drive to/from Austin and to/from Dallas to visit family and friends. I truly believe you learn a lot about a person when you travel with them, and we certainly have done that through our short trips. However, it was important to me that we go on a trip alone. I did not want our first trip alone together to be our honeymoon (we got engaged in February!). Everyone gave me a hard time about wanting a trip alone and everyone had their own definition of what “alone” meant. Yada yada yada. I wanted an out-of-state trip, just the two of us!
My friend, Steven, and I had planned a trip to Peru in 2020. We all know how 2020 went (*eye twitches*). That trip was rescheduled 3 times. We were finally going to go in March, but Peru had a lot of political unrest and the travel advisories all encouraged us to stay home. Plus, Machu Picchu closed temporarily. It was a difficult decision, but we ultimately decided to postpone the trip indefinitely. I took back some of my PTO, which I will need for the 4 weddings we are going to this year and all of the wedding-related activities for those and now ours, and Mike and I decided to take advantage of his Southwest miles and finally book a trip. (Note: If I had gone to Peru, Mike would have still gone to Phoenix without me, but I am glad we got to go together.)
You may be asking yourself, “why Phoenix?” Well, it all started with hockey thing and with us being hockey people, Phoenix made sense. The Dallas Stars were playing the Arizona Coyotes on that Friday night and we wanted to go for 2 reasons:
The Arizona Coyotes are currently playing in ASU’s hockey arena. The NHL team did not have their own arena after their lease in Glendale ended. They had no where to go, so they landed at ASU for the next 3-4 seasons. This is unique because it makes it the smallest NHL stadium and we wanted to experience it!
If the Arizona Coyotes do not find their own “home” after their lease with ASU ends, there is a chance they will move to Houston. This is a BIG deal. Houston lost their minor-league hockey team, the Houston Aeros, in 2013 after their lease with the Toyota Center ended. I grew up going to essentially every 3rd game for at least a decade. My dad had season tickets 3 rows off the glass behind the opposing team’s goalie (so we could see our team shoot twice) and we made friends with all the season ticket holders around us. It was great. My dad eventually became the guy who led the yell after the Aeros scored a goal. Click the link and watch the video. See the guy who pops up and yells, “Here we go, 1, 2, 3”? That’s my dad, folks! All that to say, Houston getting an NHL team would be *the best* thing to happen. Reason #2 for wanting to go to this game was to scope out our potential new team.
Phoenix also has Pizzeria Bianco, but more on that later. We looked up what else Phoenix had to offer and made a trip out of it. Off we went.
Thursday, March 30
It had been a long, draining week. Elliott had his teeth cleaned the day before and the vet biopsied a small mass he had on his back, so we were dealing with stitches and pain meds. He had a rough few days before that, but both of us got plenty of sleep on Thursday. Finally.
I worked half the day then took Elliott to my dad and stepmom’s house for the weekend. Elliott loves going to their house and they always take great care of him. I had no doubt he would feel better after a weekend with his Baba and Gammy.
I packed when I got home and we left after work. There was a negative mood over the morning, but it had picked up by the time we got on the road. Houston was hosting the Final Four for March Madness and traffic was wild. Luckily, we were kind of in “reverse” traffic heading to the airport. We parked our car and took the shuttle to the airport. There was a family in the shuttle, a man with 2 teenage boys. Based on the way they were talking, it sounded like that might have been the boys’ first time on an airplane (no judgement, just an observation). We did not have a lot growing up, but my parents always made sure we went on vacation and they always had us kids navigate, whether it be at the airport or in the car. Mike and I agreed that we would be sure our future kids go on trips and learn how to navigate and get around.
I mostly travel with United out of IAH so I could not tell you the last time I was at Hobby airport. It was very different from what I remembered: it was nice now! I could walk around IAH with my eyes closed, but Hobby was new for me. Luckily, see above: my parents taught me how to get around.
We breezed through the short TSA pre-check security line. We did not have to show our boarding passes though, and that was odd. After locating our gate, we got a table at Buffalo Wild Wings to have a snack and a drink. After all, it was dinner time. We devoured loaded nachos and some wings and enjoyed a few beers and margaritas. Mike said he loved how I ate nachos: no shame, get in there!
We headed back to our gate and then Mike went off to get us candy. I do not know what it is about airports, but I always want candy when I am there. We discussed our favorite candy and go-to for different situations. See, we were already learning more about each other! I prop my feet up on my suitcase when I am sitting at the gate waiting to board. It is comfy and keeps your bags close. Mike said in all his years of traveling for work, he never thought to do that. Boom. Learning.
Southwest has fancy boarding groups and we were in group A. Mike found us seats in the exit row and I was immediately uncomfortable sitting. (Note: My SI joint has been giving me trouble for months and I have surgery scheduled for mid-April.) Until then, I had to power through the discomfort and pain. I did my best to stretch out and support my lower back, but nothing really helped. I read a book for most of the flight. I am doing the Good Reads book challenge this year and have a goal to read 50 books: I have already read 21.
We landed in Phoenix sometime after 10pm local time. We took the shuttle to pick up our rental car and headed to the nearest Walgreens. Mike needed deodorant (cannot bring aerosol deodorant on a plane) and we both needed toothpaste (we did not have travel sized ones). We also picked up a case of water and some sunscreen. Arizona has that dry heat that sneaks up on you and we did not want to get suddenly dehydrated or burned. The hotel was our last and final stop of the day. We made it to our room around midnight, chugged a bottle of water each, and fell immediately asleep.
Friday, March 31
We attempted to sleep-in but our bodies were still on Houston time and we were up and awake around 4:30am. I slept on and off for a few more hours but eventually gave up. We each had more water and our skin was so dry: are dry cities like this why lotion exists? Seesh. We enjoyed a slow morning reading and watching TV. Our first stop of the day was for lunch at Pizzeria Bianco, so Mike wanted me to watch the Chef’s Table: Pizza episode about the restaurant and head chef Chris Bianco. After the episode was over, I was sold. They said it was the best pizza in the nation and it definitely looked delicious. Our hotel was a short walk away from the restaurant and we wanted to get in line before it opened otherwise we knew there would be a long wait.
Downtown Phoenix was beautiful. The weather was the definition of perfect, albeit dry. We arrived at Pizzeria Bianco at 10:20am and there was already a short line. They did not open until 11am, so we had time to kill. A group of 4 older folks, 2 couples, got in line behind us and we made friends with them. Mario, Anne, Shelly, and Brian were from Canada and visiting Arizona for a few weeks. They were staying in a different city but drove in for the pizza. Mario and Anne had been to the restaurant before, but Shelly and Brian were new. Mario is a chef and owns a restaurant with his chef children in Ontario called Folco’s. Mike, being a food guy, and him had a fun chat. They gave us recommendations on what apps and pizzas to order. We plan on going to Banff for our honeymoon and they gave us Banff recommendations, too. I told them I was nervous about the Canada cold in January and they said maybe we would get chinook winds, the warm winds that come down from the mountain, and maybe it would not be so bad. We will see! They also asked us for Texas recommendations and we made a case for every major city: it all depends on the vibe they would be going for.
By the time the restaurant opened at 11am, the line was long and wrapped around the block. I was so happy we got there early, and talking to our new friends made the wait go by quickly. The restaurant is small and does not hold a lot of people inside, and they had a small patio area out front. We made it to the hostess station and unfortunately, the inside tables were already taken. Thankfully, the host told us the bar next door was open and we could wait there until the patio opened in about a half hour. We were *so close* to being in the first “wave” of people, but a half hour wait was not too bad.
Mike and I ordered a bottle of wine and sat at the bar. Our new friends also had to wait so they joined us a few minutes later. Mario showed us pictures of his restaurant and his friends showed us how he cooks inside a cheese wheel. Wild. The bar started to fill up quickly and it was a small area, but the wait went by fast and before we knew it, we got the text telling us our table was ready. Mario and his group got their text right after us and we all headed back to the restaurant, wine bottles in hand.
We were seated on the patio. The weather was so nice but the sun was beating down us making it a little warm. Poor Mike got a little sunburned. The waiter came by and we ordered the Handmade Mozzarella salad, per our friends’ recommendation. The chef makes the mozzarella from scratch and they insisted we try it. The waiter said we could order as much pizza as we wanted, but that we could only place 1 order. This place definitely meant business. We ordered the Margarita pizza and Rosa pizza, also per our friends’ recommendations. I was not entirely sold on the Rosa: who puts pistachios on pizza?
Our mozzarella salad and bread showed up first. I’ll be damned if it was not the best mozzarella I ever had. It was incredible. Even the bread and olive oil were *chef’s kiss.* We enjoyed our wine and salad while we waited for the best pizza in the nation and watched late-comers be shocked about the wait time. The line had disappeared, but people still came and approached the hostess station. I am not joking when I tell you this: within 30 minutes of us being seated, there was a 2 hour wait. The host said there were 89 people already on the waitlist.
Y’all. Y’ALL. I tried not to hype the pizza up, but Y’ALL. That pizza. It was indeed the best pizza we both ever had. The mozzarella was outstanding, but the pistachio one… oh my gosh. We could not get over how delicious everything was. Mike’s hand was shaking at one point. As I have said, he is a food guy and this was special to him. I was really happy we got to experience it together. (Look at my handsome man in that first picture!!)
If you are ever in Phoenix, you must go try this pizza. Get in line early. By the time we left, there was a 4 hour wait.
Somehow we managed to have some self control and not finish both pizzas. We could have easily done it, but we did not want to feel miserable the rest of the day. We boxed our leftovers, said goodbye to our friends, and walked back to the hotel. We put the precious pizza in the mini fridge and got our car to head to our next stop.
Next up was the Phoenix Art Museum. We both like museums, but as we learned later, we were both concerned about how to “do” the museum because we were both not sure how the other experienced them. For example, how fast or slow to navigate through, how much to read or not read, etc. It sounds silly, but we both want to be sure the other is having a good time and getting what they want. We make it difficult to enjoy it ourselves because we worry about the other. At least now we know how we both like to “do” museums for next time!
The museum had some cool and interesting art. The layout was extremely complicated and a tad annoying, but we made it through.
After the museum, we enjoyed a drink (our classic margarita and beer) at the hotel bar and debriefed the day so far. We were still talking about the pizza! Y’all! It was so good!
We went back to the room to rest before the big hockey game. Mike had never seen 21 Jump Street so we put that on and I immediately fell asleep. Oops. When I woke up, it was time to get ready and leave for dinner and the game. I was a bit grumpy (okay, a lot grumpy) for the first few or 15 minutes after I woke up, but I pulled it together in the Uber because that driver was… something else. He was unbearable with his conspiracy theories and random memorized scientific studies. I nodded along but Mike egged him on. Thankfully, Tempe, AZ was only a 20 minute Uber away. I watched the scenery as he rambled on and on and on and on and on and on and on about everything under the sun and his pet pigeon. It was an experience, and shared experiences bring people closer. Vacation win.
Dinner was at The Chuckbox, a cash-only burger joint and a staple at ASU. It was on several internet lists of best restaurants in the area. It was definitely a hole-in-the-wall place but it was busy with a moderate line, so that was a good sign. Mike and I could not figure out how their grill system worked. At all. It made no sense to us, but I suppose it did not have to. You ordered with the first guy, waited by the grill for your burger, picked up your drinks and sides at the end, and then paid. Condiments were in the center, Fuddruckers-style. I got a Diet Coke to perk me up for the game.
We ate outside to enjoy the nice weather. The burgers were pretty good! Best burger I ever had? Not necessarily. Very delicious? Definitely.
Their sign made us laugh, so I sent my dad, a life-long McDonald’s employee, a picture of it.
We walked through parts of the ASU campus on our way to the stadium. The campus was gorgeous; the scenic views and terrain were nice. Houston is so flat. The students look like newborn babies. Did we ever look that young?
We started seeing more and more Dallas Stars jerseys as we got closer to the stadium. There were so many Dallas Stars fans that it almost seemed like a home game! ASU groups were out there getting the crowd hyped. The drum line was a nice touch.
Mullett Arena was super cool. It had a very intimate and fun vibe. There were bar and food areas every 3 feet (or so it seemed). It had a single level and it filled up fast! We got drinks and found our seats in the only section without seat-backs, 4 rows behind the opposing goalie. We were surrounded by Dallas Stars fan. There was a big group of guys behind us and they were fun. The couple to the left was quiet, but I learned they were from Dallas and living in Phoenix. The couple to the right showed up during the first period and they were something else. One of them was from Dallas, but I do not remember which one. The couple in front of us was wild. They had bright green wigs on and seemed like a good time. Bonus: they made it easy for our families to find and spot us on TV. It was fun to be surrounded by Stars fans and y’all know Mike, he made sure the section was hyped the whole time. I love him!
Mike got to fist-bump the play-by-play guy (could not give you anymore details than that if I tried) and he was excited by that. A 4-year-old saw me in line with my Stars jersey and told me to go back to Dallas. I told him I was not from Dallas and did not live there and I think it broke his little brain. He was like, “but you have the jersey on…” and I said, “Yes, but I do not live there so where should I go?” I appreciate the trash talk, kid, but come prepared. The green-wig girl had warned me about him, too. She ran into him before the game started. This kid was just walking around talking trash. Here for it.
Somewhere in the third period, Dallas scored and when I turned to give Mike a double high-five, I saw the green-wigged couple had toppled forward all 3 rows and landed on a child and grandma. Remember, our section had no seat backs… it was a straight fall forward. I was not sure who fell first but they were both down there. Security came and basically cut them off and gave them a warning. They stayed very quite and huddled together the rest of the game, clearly embarrassed. Huge yikes. It was good that no one was hurt but I really hoped they had not driven to the game.
The game was a lot of fun otherwise and we won! Mike and I had been to several home games and had only seen them win once, so it was exciting to see a win again, finally. It was fun to go to an away game and the green-wigged couple strongly urged us to see them play at the Vegas arena. I was really glad we got to go and experience the unique situation the Coyotes are in. Plus, we both love hockey and always have a good time together at games. I made Mike laugh a lot and I love it when I can make him laugh. He says I always make him laugh but there is a difference between random laughter and laughing because the joke or comment was genuinely funny, if that makes sense.
We walked a few streets away from the stadium before calling the Uber. We goofed around and high-fived other fans as we waited. Our Uber driver back to the hotel was SO much better. He was young and told us about where he was from and the places he had traveled through, Houston included. We enjoyed his company so much more. He recommended a taco joint for us to try after our hike the next day, too. Love a recommendation.
We chugged more water and scarfed down our leftover pizza at the hotel then went to sleep.
Saturday, April 1
We attempted to sleep-in again, but our bodies were still on Houston-time and we both got up early. We lounged and took our time getting up. The newest episodes of Love is Blind were released and Mike hates admitting this, but he was into it. As he left to get coffee from the lobby, I told him I wanted “to talk” when he got back. He did an about-face and walked over to me, looking concerned. I said, “April Fools” and laughed and laughed. He signed and headed for the door and I ran over for a kiss, telling him it was probably a cruel joke but it had to be done. He said he loved it and it was perfect. He attempted to get me with an April Fool’s joke later in the day without any luck. Crushed it.
Our big adventure for the day was hiking the Echo Canyon trail at Camelback Mountain. We got our car and hit the road around 10am. It took maybe 20 minutes to get there, but we clearly did not research enough because the parking was crazy. The lot was small and street parking was not allowed. Half the reason we rented the car was for this hike and not wanting to Uber in sweaty, smelly, dirty clothes, but for a split second we both wished we had Ubered. We followed a group walking to the lot and asked them if they were parked, but they had walked there. Sigh. Instead of leaving the lot and getting back in line, Mike u-turned on the small road between lots. We got VERY lucky because just then, a guy was leaving and pointing at us to take his spot. What could have been a long, frustrating parking process, ended up working out perfectly. We took a bathroom break at the trail-head restrooms and got on our way.
The hike started off easy and simple, clearly designed to build confidence before you got to the rock walls. We could not have asked for better weather (have I mentioned how awesome the weather in Phoenix was?). The sky was a lovely shade of light blue, the temperature was cool but warm but not hot. It was very pleasant. There were plenty of people out, too. All sorts of groups and families of varying ages and abilities.
We turned one of the early corners and learned why the trail was rated “extremely difficult.” There was a massive set of stairs waiting for us. From there, it was no longer a hike. They might have well called it mountain climbing. I am convinced there were more rocks than actual trail areas. This is not a complaint, though. It was fun to climb the rocks, despite my leg hurting. Mike and I had a system: I climbed in front of him on the way up in case my accident-prone and clumsy-self fell, and he went in front of me on the way down for the same reason. I love him for being there for me like that. I love how we naturally fell into a pattern and how he let me lead.
We took breaks along the way to soak in the view. I felt like I was slowing Mike down but he never seemed bothered by it. Later, we learned that we both would have enjoyed stopping a little more and sitting in one place for a bit to enjoy the scenery. The things we learn on vacation!
We were happy we brought our water backpacks and proper clothing. I have no idea how people were doing this shirtless or in cute athleisurewear with no water. Think of the sunburns, folks! There were people in flip flops. Think of the twisted ankles! There were young kids and grandparents. For a split second, I felt bad that I was not dressed “cute” but Mike appreciated my realistic attitude and preparedness. I appreciated his, too, silly bucket hat and all.
It took about an hour to get to the top, maybe a little longer. It was a small summit with a LOT of people and zero safety precautions. You could literally fall straight down the side of the mountain. We took some pictures together and I offered to take some for other groups. We spent a little time up there, enjoying the perfect weather. We took turns standing on the tallest rock so we could be the highest person on the mountain, if only for a brief second. I love that we got to experience the summit’s views and weather together.
I was a little anxious about hiking down. I just knew I would fall. I did not trust myself, especially my legs and bum hip and knee. My leg hurt a lot more hiking down than up, but Mike took his time and was patient with me. I kept my center of gravity low and took it easy. We both slipped a few times but never actually fell. I thought it would take forever to get down given my hesitancy but it went fairly quickly. I got more and more confident as we went and started trusting my legs more and more. I could not believe the people who were essentially running on this trail or the people who were carrying babies and/or toddlers on their backs for this. I am all for family experiences, but doing that hike/climb with a child strapped to me does not sound appealing. Or safe.
We made it all the way back to the “easy” first part of the hike and what do you know… as we approached the final turn, I slipped and fell. I did not totally eat it but it definitely counted as a fall. On the flat, final part of the hike. Geez, Jillian.
We washed our hands in the trail-head restrooms and gave our sweet parking spot to a lucky black truck. This moment made the rental car worth it; to wait for an Uber after the hike would have been miserable. We both felt good and hydrated and not sunburned. The hike was a huge accomplishment! It was so much fun, even if difficult, and I was proud of us. I recognize it was not an impossible hike and as I said, there were people of all ages hiking too. Either way, I was still proud of us and happy we did it together. It was fun working together and climbing on things. My family nickname growing up was “Monkey” and my first AOL screenname was monkeygirl356 (monkeygirl365 was taken), so y’all know I love a good climb.
By this point, we had not eaten all day and were more than ready for lunch. The taco place Earl, our Uber driver from the night before, was called The Beach House. Y’ALL! These tacos were fan-freaking-tastic. Mike grew up in Austin so the man knows tacos, and even he said they were the best he ever had. We each got 3 and they were perfectly sized. Mike threw in a burrito at the last minute which was genius because it was so delicious. The shrimp was cooked beautifully and might have been the best shrimp I ever had. A part of me recognizes that it could have all been so tasty because we were hungry, but objectively speaking, these tacos were incredible. The brownie was tasty, too. We were 3 for 3 on top-notch food. Shout out to Earl for the rec.
We headed back to the hotel after lunch, driving down Roosevelt Row on the way. It was a cute area with plenty of art and shops, but I am glad we only drove down it vs. walking down it and stopping everywhere. Seeing through the car window was sufficient for now. It definitely seemed cooler online, and maybe on another visit it would have been nice to walk down it in the evening, but we were both ready to get to the hotel and get cleaned up. We laughed over the street names all named after obscure presidents. Pull up downtown Phoenix on Google Maps and zoom in. The city leaned-in to a theme.
Our plan after the hike was to swim at the hotel pool. We scoped it out before getting ready and I was glad we did because 1) it was SMALL and 2) the area was PACKED. Hard pass from both of us. We went to our room to shower off and rest for a bit. We watched more Love is Blind then went to the hotel bar to take advantage of our “destination fee” nonsense, enjoy drinks, and play cards. 3 hours later, I had lost nearly every round of Kings Corner. Arizona clearly hated me. We debriefed the hike and trip so far and talked about what we liked and whatnot. This was where we learned we both would have enjoyed stopping for longer breaks while hiking up the mountain. I love conversations like that because I love getting to know Mike more. There will always be something to learn when put in out-of-routine circumstances and I want to explore all of it. For a moment, we both felt lame sitting at the hotel bar and playing cards for as long as we did, but we both also really enjoyed slowing down and just hanging out and talking. It was nice.
We eventually made our way back to our room to get cleaned up for dinner. Our final restaurant, The Arrogant Butcher, was on *several* “best restaurants” lists, even the hotel bartenders said it was great, and was walking distance from the hotel. It was a beautiful evening (have I mentioned the weather…). Downtown Phoenix was my vibe. Once we arrived at the restaurant, Mike realized he had been there before! The restaurant atmosphere was cool, but the food was disappointing. Some of it was okay, some of it was not. The service was also disappointing. I enjoy every meal with Mike and we tried to make the most out of our final activity for the weekend, but overall it was simply disappointing. Going 3 for 4 on restaurants was not bad, though. We will get a perfect score next trip!
The original plan was to go to a casino after dinner, but we were both exhausted and axed it from the itinerary. Go team. The walk back to the hotel was just as lovely as all of our other walks. I love walking hand-in-hand with my fiancé all the time, but especially a beautiful evening after an awesome weekend. We watched Tick Tick Boom on Netflix, a movie about Jonathan Larsen (the brain behind the musical Rent). Mike had never seen it and I knew he would love it, and he did. I struggled to stay awake, but made it through. We were both exhausted and had an early morning and long day ahead of us.
Sunday, April 2
We were up and out the door by 6:30am, right on schedule. We filled up the rental car’s gas tank, dropped it off, and made our way through the airport to our gate. I think I had a hot flash because I got very sweaty for no reason followed by very cold. I hate my body sometimes. Mike got us burritos and we boarded the plane shortly after.
Mike sat next to the most perfect seat-mate for him. They were social almost the whole time, discussing data and charts. I read. When the guy, John, left to use the restroom, Mike whispered to me that the guy just got $1000 of free consulting. When he returned, I was suddenly part of the conversation and we ended up talking about our relationship. He does relationship counseling to some extent and per him, Mike and I are on the right track. We know that, but it was nice to hear from a stranger! I joked that now we had free pre-marital counseling so now everyone was even. I went back to my book and they finished their data conversation.
The plane took off just before 9am but because of the time change again, we landed around 1:15pm. The whole day gone! We got our car and headed home. Unfortunately, it was a short visit home because we had about 20 minutes, and just enough time to say hi to my outside cat, Stormy, before I needed to go to volleyball for playoffs! Mike dropped me off and went grocery shopping while I played. He came to the bar afterward to cheer us on. We played 3 matches and made it to the finals and lost in the 3rd set. It was the closest we had come to winning the whole thing in a while. We all wanted it really badly. I am sitting out the next season for my surgery and I really wanted this win for them. It was frustrating, but we had a good time hanging out with everyone!
As you can imagine, we were completely exhausted by the time we got home. Thankfully, my dad and stepmom agreed to watch Elliott until Monday so we did not have to go pick him up late Sunday. That was so helpful.
Phoenix felt like a random place to visit, but I am so glad we did! It was the perfect trip: great food, great hockey, great hiking, great company. How could I ask for anything more? And now, our first trip alone together will not be our honeymoon. I cannot wait to tackle Banff, and the rest of the world, with him!
We finally were able to take a much needed vacation! Steven and I started planning months prior when nothing was going on and we were excited to go. As the trip neared, we both suddenly had a lot going on: he was in the final stages of a big project and I had a lot going on with me slowly moving in with Mike and getting rooms set up. Despite the chaos, we were still excited to get away!
Our group changed a few times but we landed with him, me, and our friend Aaron. The 3 of us get along like *chef’s kiss* so it was a perfect group!
Wednesday, May 4
I had an early flight and was flustered while finishing up final packing and getting ready. I am always flustered when I leave for a trip. My carry-on suitcase did not have enough room but I was determined to make it work because I am incredibly stubborn. Mike stayed back for work and to watch Elliott; we said our goodbyes and I was off!
Morning traffic was tolerable and unlike my last 2 recent trips to the airport, airport traffic was not bad. I breezed through security and arrived at the gate at my exact intended time. Airport queen. The mask mandate was over despite the pandemic still going, but I chose not to wear a mask. It was weird.
Aaron and I were on the same flight so we met for drinks at one of the bars. We had a gate change and 2 delays… and more drinks. Aaron and I caught up on our lives. He raved about Mike! Hard not to.
We boarded our comically small plane and my bag got gate-checked. Guess I could have brought a larger bag and checked it like Aaron did but I know I would have been worried about it getting lost with the gate change. Gate-checks are easy. If it were not for my large coat to keep me warm in the cold New Mexico weather, my bag would have been the perfect size.
Aaron and I were coincidentally in the same row. It felt like low odds for that to happen but after seeing how small the plane was, I recognized the odds were fairly high. My seat-mate was happy to swap seats with him so he and I could socialize. However, I dozed off well before take off. I blame the drinks. We played Monopoly Deal when I woke up which killed a good chunk of time. Aaron had never played before but picked it up quickly!
Our flight landed about 30 minutes early. The Albuquerque airport was something else. They really leaned in to the southwest theme and I was here for it. We got Aaron’s bag from baggage claim and waited for Steven to arrive from Austin shortly after. We all exchanged hugs and giggles, picked up Steven’s bag, and headed to pick up our rental car, nay, large red truck.
Aaron drove us to Santa Fe, our final destination. It took about an hour and we had fun catching up in the car and taking in the beautiful sites. We stopped at the grocery store near our Airbnb to pick up groceries and lunch for our hike the next day. I had not eaten at all yet minus the airplane pretzels and a kombucha so I was starved and beyond ready for a snack.
The Airbnb was super, super cute. We all settled, unpacked, and finally ate a light snack since we had a big dinner planned. We poured some wine and went on a walk around the area. Was it cold? Yes. Was it hot? Also yes. Did I wear socks with my sandals? Absolutely. Mostly, it was windy and sunny with the most clear blue sky any of us had ever seen. I kept reminding everyone to drink water; we might not have been sweating but I had no doubt we would be dehydrated in the dry heat.
I video chatted with Mike and gave him a tour of the Airbnb. The weather was nice when just sitting on the patio so we relaxed there for a bit. We decided to play some games. Have you ever played “The Mind”? My siblings and I played it a few times and never beat it. Mike and I spent several hours playing it when we first started dating and we went CRAZY when we won. The 3 of us played at the Airbnb and lost our minds just as much when we beat level 2! Ha. We eventually made it to level 6 before giving up. All of us are mostly introverts so we all decided to relax separately before dinner to re-charge. Love that for us.
We left for the evening around 5:30pm to go to downtown Santa Fe for drinks. It was an absolute nightmare finding parking downtown but we figured it out. We passed the oldest house in Santa Fe and the oldest church in the United States which were kind of neat.
Our first official stop was at the Dragon Room bar. The bar tender was *rude* but the drinks were delicious and the bar was cute. We made ourselves comfortable in an empty area in the back and had a full-blown photoshoot. The lighting was great, we did not have a choice.
Steven had made dinner reservations at Arroyo Vino weeks ago so we headed there next. The drive was beautiful and we got to enjoy the sunset from the mountains. Our waiter was incredible and guided us through the wines and menu with ease. The food was outstanding and absolutely worth the hype. It was really nice to get to relax, enjoy a good meal with good people, and laugh all evening!
We listened to 90s and 2000s music on the half hour drive home in the dark. Y’all, New Mexico does not believe in streetlights. It was pitch black out, but you could see *every* star in the sky. It felt like being in a planetarium. It was surreal. We know pictures would not do it justice but we tried anyway…
We all showered and cleaned up. It was only 10:30pm in NM (but 11:30pm at home) but we were all tuckered out from a day of traveling and adventure. Steven helped me chase a very loud fly out of my room and then I caught up on all of my rights being taken away (re: the Supreme Court potentially overturning Roe v. Wade) before falling asleep.
Thursday, May 5
I slept like a queen and felt like a new person! I was up by 7:30am and heard someone stirring in the living room. I dozed on and off for a little while longer and messed around on my phone. There was no plan for the morning so I stretched in bed for at least an hour and a half. It was 32 degrees outside and I had no desire to get out from under the covers. It felt nice to stretch. Part of me was getting restless not having a plan so it was a good opportunity for me to practice patience and reframing. Instead of being anxious about the day, I worked on reframing it to be grateful for the opportunity to stretch, have quiet time, and charge up/fill my energy bank for the day. Sometimes, I fell asleep in a stretching posture. Namaste.
I heard the guys talking about their outfits for the day so I got up and got ready, too. I definitely did not feel like I packed the necessary clothes because of my suitcase limitations but whatever. Steven and Aaron were in the living room re-planning the day. We found out about the wildfires a few days before we left for the trip. Turned out, there were a lot of road closures and park closures around what they had wanted to do for the day (hiking and hot springs) so they were coming up with a new plan (hiking and hot springs… somewhere else).
Since we were hiking, they asked me to lead them through some stretches. I never say no to stretching! We finished getting ready, I borrowed Aaron’s A&M hat, we packed up the car, and got on our way to Three Gun Springs trail and hot spring.
The drive was long but beautiful. We lost service a lot; clearly, we were in the middle of no where. The New Mexico landscape was breathtaking and I never got tired of it.
We arrived around noon. I had to pee but there was no where to go… for me. Men have it so easy! The weather could not have been more beautiful!
We hiked for about an hour and a half. At some points, they were tens of yards in front of me. My little legs were struggling to keep up but they were both on a mission to find the hot spring. It was so uncomfortable wearing my swim suit under my hiking clothes so I was struggling a little bit (the top’s tie around my neck was straining!). Whether it was the pace, the altitude, something else, or a combo of everything, I struggled to breathe sometimes and had to stop for water a few times. Hydration, baby! It really felt like we were running up the mountain and I wish we could have gone slower to enjoy it more. Also, who knew we were hiking straight up a mountain instead of a leisurely afternoon hike?! It was nice but it was tough.
We snapped photos along the way. I hate how every picture of me turns out so I don’t know why I bother. I never know what to do with my body or how to pose… plus I look masculine. S’pose that is the consequence for wearing clothes for form, function, and comfort instead of cute. Sigh.
Steven kept saying we were almost there and I 100% snapped at him to stop saying that because we were *never* there. Was I overreacting? Yes, probably. Did I have to pee still and was I getting hangry? Yes. Did they have any idea of where we were going? No. It was a bad combo. I know they were both looking forward to the hot spring more than anything so I did my best to suck it up; the hike was nice, I was fine. There was an older woman hiking down the mountain and we stopped her to ask directions. She said the hot spring was really difficult to get to, off the trail, had no water, and was not worth it even if we did get to it. You could see the life drain from Steven and Aaron; I felt awful for them.
We turned around and found a shaded spot to eat our packed sandwiches and chips. We had some White Claw with us but the idea of drinking anything but water sounded horrible. The next nearest hot spring was in Santa Fe National Park (where we originally planned) but it was an hour and a half away at best. Steven still wanted to go so I hopped on board. He was obviously disappointed but said he mostly felt bad for us since despite me not mentioning it once, he knew I had to pee, and despite Aaron never saying anything, knew Aaron wanted to go in the water. It was sweet of him to worry about us but we were fine!
It took us about 35 minutes to hike down the mountain and get back to the car. Not surprisingly, it was much easier for me to keep up! Everyone had a little more pep in their step on the way back. Steven decided we should do the hot springs another day (smart). Secretly, I had wished he would choose that but I am glad he realized it on his own. My desire to be in water was fairly low.
Aaron and I climbed up a very large rock. Climbing up was easy, Climbing down was a little trickier. We supported each others’ feet like rock climbing nodes and that helped make it easier. So clever.
On our way home, we decided we earned a pitstop at Rumor Brewing Co., a nearby brewery. It was nice to sit, enjoy the weather, and have a drink.
Weed is legal in New Mexico and there was a smoke shop across the way. Steven could not go in because he forgot his license so I was sent in solo while Aaron got the car. Uhhh… I am the *worst* person to send into a smoke shop alone!! I had to wing it. Luckily, the sales guy was friendly and we had a great time picking out some stuff and chatting about yoga (he brought it up, I swear!). I was in there so long that Steven and Aaron got worried about me! Ha.
We listened to our queen, Taylor Swift, the whole ride home and it helped speed the drive up. It was Cinco de Mayo and we wanted margaritas so we stopped at the grocery story. No surprise, they were out of regular limes! They had mini limes so we took a chance. They let me drive the massive red truck the 2 miles to the Airbnb, too. It was fun!
Steven collected firewood and the lighting was perfect for a photoshoot. I made him stop and pose, not that he minded!
At home in Houston, Mike and I make a delicious pineapple salsa from one of our favorite cookbooks, Defined Dish. It seemed appropriate for our Cinco de Mayo celebration so we made fish tacos with pineapple salsa, chips and guacamole, and margaritas with mini limes. We ate, drank, and played Phase 10 all night. My pineapple salsa was not totally correct but it was still good! Steven made our second round of drinks: frozen pineapple jalapeno margaritas. They were insanely good. Color me impressed.
Mike and I briefly video chatted before I went to bed around 9pm. I needed time to wind down. I played on my phone for a little bit and once again caught up on all the latest political bullshit before going to bed.
Friday, May 6
I woke up at 7am with the plan to be out the door by 8am. The original event schedule only accounted for 1 day of hiking so I was not prepared with more clothing for another day of it and ended up wearing smelly clothes from the day before. That carry-on bag was really cramping my non-style.
They guys were over driving so I took the wheel this time and drove the almost 2 hours to the Jemez Hot Springs. It was a quiet drive; I was feeling anxious and Steven was jumpy. The scenery was similar to what we had seen so far but as we got closer to the hot spring, we saw amazing mountains and red cliffs. They were so beautiful. It was a winding road with a very slow speed limit so I was able to soak in the new sites.
We arrived at the man-made Jemez Hot Springs around 10am. Basically, it was a bunch of share warm and hot baths. The place was really nice and the guys were excited to get in the water. I, on the other hand, hate being in a bathing suit these days so was a little less excited. My nieces got me a “Best Gigi” bracelet for my birthday and it would NOT come off. I was worried about it in the water but *spoiler alert* it was fine. Whew. The weather was perfect, again, and it was nice to bask in the sun. It was 67 degrees but never felt like it. We spent about an hour hopping between the different baths. Luckily, we got there early so it was fairly open but there were a lot more people as we left. Glad we got there when we did!
Our plan was to go check out a few of the natural hot springs nearby. Unfortunately, every single one of them were in the national park which was 100% blocked off due to the fires. We had no phone signal and had trouble searing for alternatives. Steven had me pull over at a small country store so he could go in and ask for directions and help, the good ‘ol fashion way. They confirmed everything was closed and we were, in fact, SOL.
Since the hot springs were out, we needed to come up with alternative plans for the afternoon so we drove back to a beautiful dam we passed earlier, pulled over, and decided to explore. It was roped off but a single *rope* was not going to hold us back. It was so lovely! We snapped some photos and soon, others joined us. I guess one group breaking the “rules” gave permission to others to do the same? Our bad.
I stood up too quickly trying to crawl into a cave and busted my head open. The sound was SO loud and it hurt SO bad. We were all surprised I did not crack my skull open; that is how loud it was. It hurt more than I wanted to admit but, spoiler, I was fine. It also was way worse in person than it looked in the photos!
Steven wanted to go into the waterfall despite Aaron and I feeling very nervous about it! I made sure to grab his phone and the car keys just in case he fell in the water. He did great though and safely made his way back to us.
We asked a stranger to snap a group photo; it turned out to be our favorite photo of the trip! Check out our matching sandals! Don’t mind my askew sunglasses… they suffered their own damage when I hit my head.
A driver in a passing car slowed down to wag her finger at us (probably for going past the rope) as we made our way back to the car. Sass. We ended up passing cop cars on our way back to town so maybe someone told on everyone and we left just in time.
Our next stop was the Ancient Ruins of Gisewatowa Pueblo, a historical site we passed earlier. My head was throbbing and bleeding but I persisted. The site was lovely and quiet but we did not stay long. We were starving.
We sat outside for lunch at Los Ojos to continue to enjoy the perfect weather. The place was busy and as with everywhere these days, short staffed. It took forever for our drinks but was worth it! The drinks and burgers were either really delicious or we were just very hungry. My head was definitely getting worse, too.
I made the long drive home. We were all pooped. We got back around 3:45pm and did not have a lot of time to get ready and rest before going downtown for the evening for a wine tasting at Gruet Santa Fe. I talked to Mike a little bit and took ibuprofen before we headed out. Parking downtown was a complete nightmare and it made me really frustrated and flustered. It was my day to pay for things and re-downloading the parking app, resetting a password, etc. was a pain and made me even more frustrated. Not a great start but I kind of blamed my head hurting.
There was no plan before the wine tasting so we walked around, popping into different stores and shops. Aaron bought a hat and we saw a $20,000 couch. The house was great; the couch was yikes! The downtown square was really cute.
We tried to find a bar to hang out in to pass the time but had no luck so we headed to the wine tasting early. Luckily, they were able to seat us! The weather was still great and we had some pretty incredible lighting on the patio so of course we had a photoshoot. We enjoyed the wine quite a bit. None of us were hungry but it felt weird to not have snacks so we ordered some munchies.
The wine was really tasty but eventually I started to feel a little out of it (not in a “I drank too much way”) and we were all drained so we agreed to call it a night and head home. I made, what I thought, was a silly joke to Steven while walking back to the car and he snapped at me pretty hard. It was a very, very awkward and silent drive home. The sunset was absolutely insane. It was a perfect red sun with (sadly) smoke from the wild fire in front of it and a clear sky otherwise. I raced home to try and catch it but missed it by seconds, arriving back just after 8pm.
After the awkward exchange earlier, I did not feel like doing anything else and went to my room. I was convinced I was going to die in my sleep from the head injury so what did it matter anyway? All of the rooms had doors to the patio and since the Airbnb was so warm, I had cracked mine open. Unfortunately, that led to me hearing parts of Steven and Aaron’s conversation outside and it only made things more awkward. I texted with Mike and eventually fell asleep. Rough evening.
I learned later that the guys stayed up pretty late!
Saturday, May 7
I had zero desire to come out of my room in the morning. I was upset about the evening before and felt at my limit. Steven came to talk to me though: he interpreted my joke differently than I intended and felt personally attacked on a sensitive topic. He suspected something else was going on with me, too, and I told him that the lack of structure and plans were taking a toll on me. We talked and we were okay. Best friends are best friends for a reason!
We were out the door by 10:15am for our art-packed day, starting off with the Georgia O’Keefe Museum downtown. It was ticket-only for timed entries and there were no tickets for right that moment but thankfully we were able to get tickets for early afternoon. We walked to an early lunch at Cafe Pasquals since we were all hungry, anyway! The place was packed which we assumed meant it would be delicious. We put ourselves on the waitlist and walked around. I bought a keychain and Steven bought some local art. The wait was short and before we knew it, we were seated in the restaurant.
Lunch was incredible. Steven and Aaron’s meals were both better than mine but everything was great. Aaron and I split a dessert that had a super fluffy, light, cinnamon whipped cream to die for. I can still taste it. Mmmm.
The Georiga O’Keefe Museum was very interesting. I did not know much about her and I have a bad (or good?) habit of reading every single placard at museums so I learned quite a bit. It was a small museum so it did not take long to get through.
Our next stop was Canyon Road, a road outside of downtown filled with art galleries. Again, it took us forever to park but we found a spot. The extra walking is not bad when the weather is nice like it was. We popped in and out of different galleries. Some of the art was really incredible and impressive… some of it was… interesting. There was a large wall-size painting for $225k. Can you imagine dropping that kind of money on a casual, Saturday stroll? Also, where the heck are people putting these things?! It was kind of insane.
It all looked the same after awhile so we stopped at Ahmyo Wine Garden for a break. The place was a little busy but the atmosphere was nice. The bachelorette party ruined the good vibes from the live musician so after a glass of wine, we left. We all agreed it was time to go home.
Aaron and I both, by different parties, told to check out Meow Wolf during the trip. Saturday was our “art day” but it seemed like we were all over it for the day. It would have been nice to power through and go but none of us had the energy. We went grocery shopping at a random local store for local chiles for our second homemade dinner before finally getting home.
We made drinks, played Scrabble (I kicked their butts), watched Disney movies and had a low key evening. Steven made enchiladas – they came out AMAZING. He crushed it. We were all very, very impressed and tried not to eat *all* of them. Yikes.
For not doing a whole lot, we were wiped and called it an early night.
Sunday, May 8
I woke up, got ready to head home, and walked out into the main area into a clean kitchen! Aaron cleaned everything up from the night before on his own; beat us all to it. We definitely should have soaked the enchilada dishes. I was super, super grateful. We all cleaned up the rest of the place and made sure we checked off all of our Airbnb responsibilities. Our flights home were around the same so we loaded up the truck and made our way to the airport. We left earlier than we needed to, but why lounge around doing nothing when we were ready to go?
We had some time to kill at the airport so we shared breakfast, had a few drinks, shared photos, and reminisced about the trip. Aaron and I were on the same flights, in different rows this time, so we said goodbye to Steven; his flight was an hour later.
The plane on the way home had in-seat entertainment so I watched a movie and before I knew it, we were back in Houston. Aaron and I said our goodbyes and I headed to my car. Damn, that Houston heat!
I was happy to get home to Mike and Elliott. It was a short reunion because shortly after getting home, we headed out for Mother’s Day dinner at Zanti. Yum!
Santa Fe was so beautiful and it was nice to get away for a few days and spend time with such wonderful, fun people!
Until next time,
Jillian
PS – I officially moved into Mike’s house the next day! 🙂
I grew up playing volleyball and joined a sand volleyball league in 2015 where I quickly met my awesome friends Todd and Brian (and over time, their significant others, Rachel and Melissa, respectively). The 3 of us played together every Sunday for years until Brian, an Ohio native, moved back to Ohio in 2020 with his wife and kids. Brian always talked about an annual “mud volleyball” tournament Dayton throws and because we missed our friends so much, Todd, Rachel, and I finally made the trip up North. The tournament was a BLAST but I also enjoyed the 5 of us spending time together like old times. I sobbed like a baby when they moved (to be fair, we all did) so of course I have to jump on any opportunity to all be together again!
Thursday, July 15
Per usual, I barely slept the night before traveling. I need to stop booking early flights because I get paralyzed with fear that I will sleep past an alarm and miss it. Per my already-scratched FitBit, I slept 2 hours and 40 minutes. Yikes. I was up and out the door by 4:45am with a sinking feeling that I was forgetting something (narrator: she did not forget anything). My flight was out of Terminal E, one I was not as familiar with but in IAH’s defense, all the terminals have undergone tremendous construction and I am not as familiar with any of them anymore. The federal mask mandate was still in effect, obviously, but I probably would have worn one anyway given the Delta variant. People still cannot wear their mask over their nose though which means at this point, they are intentionally doing that and therefore are crummy people. Namaste. I had a layover in Chicago and I get anxious about losing my bag if I have to change planes so I traveled with a carry-on this time. Security was a breeze because I am a pro and it still amazes me that other people cannot get through without issue, but I digress. I grabbed breakfast and for once, did not have to walk 100 miles to my gate. We boarded on time on an incredibly nice, normal size plane. The seats were so nice and everything looked super clean, new, modern, and sleek. The seat backs had innovative tablet and phone holders so you could stream from your devices easily. Glad to see planes catching up with the needs of the people!
We had a slight maintenance delay taking off because an overhead bin would not close and then we were off. The safety demo guy was way into his job. I always make it a point to watch them because it it a crummy feeling when you are doing your job and no one is paying attention. Did you know they have “water activated lights” on life vests now? Is this new? Am I old?
My goal was to nap without snoring and disrupting everyone and their mom but I gave up fairly quickly. Sleeping was not in the cards for me. I still did not have wireless headphones (but have since bought a pair) which meant I could not charge my phone AND have headphones in but luckily my phone battery survived the journey and I was able to watch the majority of Garden State. I had been listening to a podcast with Zach Braff and the movies comes up ALL the time and what better time to focus on something than on a plane?
I briefly considered ordering an adult beverage to knock me out but decided on a regular Coke instead (gross) specifically for the caffeine. My bladder felt like it was going to burst as we approached Chicago. It was an incredibly turbulent flight and the pilot decided to take the scenic route over Lake Michigan and back around, not triggering my anxiety or anything. How kind of him to fly over water for funsies (I am sure there was an actual purpose). I hate flying over water but I supposed better to do that when it is a bumpy ride than fly over land… higher chance of surviving? What are the stats on that?
The annoying kid behind me who started the flight by kicking my seat a million times turned into a cute little kid once he saw the Chicago skyline and landmarks. He took a bunch of pictures and pointed out the buildings to his family. It was precious. I felt bad my big ‘ol noggin’ was blocking the window for the others in my row to see out. They were a super sweet older couple who I had chatted with a little bit. I loved the way they interacted both physically and verbally. Goals.
I had a little less than an hour layover in Chicago so I took a bathroom break, strolled over to my new gate, and charged my phone. Again, I could not charge AND listen to my headphones so I read Twitter, texted, and stretched to pass the time. There was a brief flicker of PTSD navigating the Chicago airport but I managed. I am a strong, badass woman but I am also a sensitive little emotional, delicate butterfly sometimes. Sue me. I snapped out of it quickly!
We boarded and took off on time for the final leg of the trip to Dayton. This plane was not nearly as new, nice, or clean as the other one and definitely did not have a fancy device holder. I had to check my bag at the gate because there was no room in the overhead compartments for anyone’s carry-on suitcase. I have been on my fair share of tiny planes (hello, Acapulco) but seesh, they always feel like death traps. There were a ton of kids on the flight and a lot of crying but luckily it was a very short flight. I did not even attempt to sleep and instead, read on my Kindle.
The wide open fields and spaces were beautiful to look at from above but I was excited to get on the ground and see my friends. Brian and Melissa got married in Ohio 4 years ago while I was at Bikram Yoga Teacher Training in Mexico and I sadly had to miss it (I was not invited anyway… inside joke), so this was my first time experiencing their home turf. I went to Akron, OH for a work trip a long, long time ago and there was a family trip when our plan coming back from Germany had to re-route and refuel in Dayton (we never got off the plane… the alternate “Friends” ending), but otherwise, this was my first social trip to OH and I was looking forward to it!
Brian picked me up and gave me the grand tour of his hometown. We made a few pitstops at Kroger and a liquor store to stock up for the weekend before arriving at their house. I had seen the house many times on FaceTime so it already felt like home to me. Melissa and I exchanged our hugs before she went back to her home office to finish working for the day and I made my way outside to their incredible backyard to say hi to the dogs, Blue and Billy. They were either really excited to see someone new or totally remembered me from their Texas days! I will assume the latter, of course.
Brian and Melissa visited Houston in May (our first reunion in over a year) but it did not feel like 2 months had passed. We always ease right back into things as if nothing changed. Those are the best kinds of friendships! Melissa and I got the party started by making Pineapple Prosecco Punch and we ordered Bagger Dave’s for dinner and socialized while we waited for the kids to get home. I was starving by then and scarfed my burger down embarrassingly quick.
I was super excited for the kids to arrive! Fiona was barely and year and a half old when they left and Calvin a little less than 2 months old. Fiona was always at the bar with us on Sundays for volleyball so we had all bonded with her quite a bit back in the day. I had FaceTimed with the kids a few times but I had no expectations that they would remember me. They were both hesitant at first but I very quickly won them both over. It was wild to see how much they had grown up: Fiona was a little over two and a half and talking so much, equally sassy and sweet. Calvin was almost a year and a half now and was walking and cracking me up. We did puzzles, ran around the house, played outside, and became best friends (obviously). Fiona loved my rings, specifically my Aggie ring, and I taught her how to do a thumbs up and say Gig ‘Em to Brian. Queen Aunt, right here. Luckily, he did not kick me out for the weekend! Fi helped make dinner and outsourced her labor to me. Example:
Melissa: “Fiona, can you please get the blueberries?” Fiona: “Gigi, can you please get the blueberries?”
We played a lot more after dinner and got plenty of giggles and cuddles before the kids went to bed. I was starting to crash myself but Brian’s volleyball league was in a few hours and I was eager to play. We attempted to go through a convenient store drive-thru (amazing) but the line was long. We drove through the hilly neighborhoods and passed the factory that was the subject of the American Factory documentary before arriving at MVS, an indoor/outdoor sand volleyball facility.
I was incredibly intimidated walking up to the courts. The place was huge and the teams all looked really, really strong. The venue was massive and the drinks were cheap! We grabbed a drink and watched his friends play a few games on the indoor courts as we waited for our turn. The courts were so much bigger than mine at home and there were more “official” rules than my league so I was very nervous. I did not want to disappoint his team! Our game was on one of the outdoor courts and just as we started to warm up, it rained. Of course. There was some chaos on if we would still play or not but it slowed for a bit (and eventually stopped during our first game) and we got started. Brian’s team consisted of him, Barry, Chuka and me. The opposing team all looked to be about 20ft tall, increasing my nerves. I played backrow for most of the game and had some insanely impressive digs, even for me. The few times I did play setter (my normal position at home), I broke the B Division “spin” rule so mostly stuck to bump setting. My serves were pretty solid and I had a few hot streaks. The team complimented me a lot, validating my volleyball skills and making me feel like I am not totally trash at the sport (or just blowing smoke up my butt). We lost the first game, won the second, and won the third. I had SUCH a fun time playing! It was some of the best volleyball I have probably ever played and I felt a little proud of myself. The rallies were long and it was overall really strong, fun volleyball. It was also great to get to play with my friend and teammate again! We only wished Todd could have been there with us. I had met Barry a few times in Houston so it was fun to get to hang out with him again, too.
We have a rule in our leagues for game point serves: if you miss, you buy everyone a shot and if you get an ace, everyone buys you a shot. You will be either drunk or poor so game point serves are important! Barry missed game point so he bought everyone a round of shots at the end. Brian and I got back to the house just before 11:30pm and I was wiped out. It had been such a long travel day on very little sleep. The games had left me feeling on top of the world and invincible, making it a little difficult to doze off, so I listened to music and texted a new beau back home until finally crashing.
Friday, July 16
Fiona let me borrow her room for the weekend and I slept fairly well. I was up by 8:30am and messed around on my phone before heading downstairs to start the day. Melissa had to work a half day and was on video calls so I silently read my Kindle for the morning and tried to re-hydrate. She said “good morning” at one point and I thought it was to me and I replied… until I heard someone on the call say “I guess there are visitors today.” Oops. In my defense, it could have been a lot worse. Once she was finished with calls, we all socialized and planned the day. Todd and Rachel were arriving in the early afternoon and we were pumped for them to get there. I had to re-shower because I slept with my hair wet and it was massive. Brian made eggs and toast and we watched Shameless until it was time to go to the airport. We all started re-watching Shameless together when Brian and Melissa were in Houston and I meant to keep watching it after they left but forgot. Such a good show. I really need to watch it again (note to self: start re-watching Shameless instead of forgetting again).
Todd and Rachel’s flight was delayed coming out of Chicago but once they were in the air, Brian and I headed to the airport to scoop them up. We passed downtown and Brian talked about the history of the Dayton. I love a fun fact so it was all really interesting to me. Todd and Rachel were clearly very tired (we all were) so it was a silent ride back to the house. They were starving so we grabbed Melissa and headed to The Pub for lunch. The Pub’s “signature” dish was traditional Fish ‘N Chips so just about all of us ordered that and we had a few rounds of cocktails. Not surprisingly, a little food and booze perked us all up!
We dropped Todd and Rachel off at their hotel so they could check-in and settle and while we went back to the house. Melissa and I picked up the kids from daycare; Fiona was so excited to see us (and me, duh)! Just then, it started POURING rain. Pouring. POURING. I told Fiona, “Oh no, it’s raining” to which she replied very matter-of-factly, “Don’t worry Gigi, rain cannot hurt you.” True! Melissa and I each took a kid and ran to our side of the car with the correct car seat… only to realize we were on the wrong sides of the vehicle and had to run to swap. We were all drenched and laughing and having a good time with it. Fiona entertained us with a Luke Combs song on the way home and it was the cutest. She mimicked the twang in the song and everything.
The rain lasted only a few minutes and was stopped by the time we got home. Brian picked up Todd and Rachel so they could see the kids before the grandparents watched them for the weekend. It was fun to watch Fiona and Calvin reintroduce themselves to all of us and funny to watch Fiona look at old pictures of her WITH us and realize that we all knew her from back then. You could see the wheels turning in her little head. Calvin would obviously have no memory of us but that little man was happy as a clam just walking around and being silly.
Once the kids left, we planned our evening. The original plan was to go see a Dayton Dragons game because Brian got free tickets from work but with the weather being unpredictable, we all decided it was best to skip and go out on the town. Melissa and I cleaned up and we all headed out to the Oregon District in downtown Dayton. Our first stop was at Lucky’s for a few rounds of incredibly strong drinks. So much for starting slow! Our next stop was at Belle of Dayton Distillery where we only had time for one round before our dinner reservations. I insisted we get a group picture before the sun went down and even though it was a disaster, we managed to get a good one!
Our dinner reservations were at Salar. Brian and Melissa said it was one of the best places to eat and only the best for us! It was a short walk over and we were all feeling really good. Dinner was DELICIOUS. We enjoyed appetizers, entrees, dessert, and a few too many bottles of wine but had the most fun time. The baseball game would have been nice but this was so much better because it allowed us to socialize more. We all laughed so much and roasted each other for every possible thing. Have I mentioned how much I love when the 5 of us are together? We closed the place down, dropped Todd and Rachel off at their hotel, and headed home for the night.
My new beau and I video chatted for an hour before I finally went to sleep. Was it a good idea to do that? Probably not considering I cannot remember what we talked about, BUT it was super sweet of him to *want* to chat with me. He could have done a million things on a Friday night but instead, chose to video chat with my drunk self and I appreciated that gesture. It was nice to feel missed, too.
It rained and stormed all night and I was terrified of a tornado! The lightening was insane. Blue kept sneaking into Fiona’s room and hiding under the bed but I eventually caved and invited him up to come snuggle.
Saturday, July 17
We had an early wakeup time on Saturday, tournament day! I was up at 6:30am and was feeling great with the exception of a slight headache. Nothing Advil could not solve. I helped Brian prep the car for the inevitable muddy mess and became a doctor when I bandaged Melissa’s hurt finger up for the day. I made sandwiches for everyone, one of the few things I know how to do, and we were out the door by 7:30am, right on time. We picked up Todd and Rachel, piled into the backseat, and made our way to the tournament. The forecast had been showing rain and temperatures in the 70s but it ended up being a really decent day. Whew.
Brian had talked about this tournament for years but you had to see it to believe it. Those courts were wild. We parked and made our way to the section Chuka reserved for us the night before (thankfully, right by where our court for the day was). Todd, Rachel, and I met the rest of our team (8 people on a team) and another team of their friends who we were sharing tents/resources with for the day.
There were 35 courts and people everywhere. Several teams were dressed up in themes and having a good time with it. Brian had told us to bring clothes we did not care about but more importantly, to bring cleats that we would need to duct tape to our feet… it was about to get real. Everyone passed around the tape and prepped for the first game at 9am. Todd and I were so excited to play and get started.
The tournament served beer but the unofficial “challenge” was how to sneak in liquor without getting caught. Out of all of the water bottles and water jugs everyone brought, let’s just say only 5% of them probably contained water. We had Gatorade because Brian insisted we hydrate while we dehydrate. Yikes. We played a total of 6 games to 25 over the course of the next 6ish hours. We played flip cup, mud wrestled, and drank a LOT in between games. I cannot believe Brian did not go home to Dayton each year when he lived in Houston to attend this muddy mess. It took Todd and I all of 5 minutes to decide we would be back every single year, no question. I had a lot of fun getting to know all of their friends and it was nice to see Brian’s family again, too. It was definitely a “you had to be there” situation so I will let the pictures do most of the talking for how the day went. It was an INCREDIBLY fun time and I am so glad that Brian and Melissa invited us to join. There were no injuries and only minor sunburns so I will call the whole thing a win.
We rinsed off the best we could and piled back into the car, all feeling very “sauced” and torn up. We got back to the house a little after 5pm and I uncharacteristically went straight upstairs to shower and cleanup without helping unload the car. I still feel bad about that. I must not have been fully aware or assumed we would do it later, I do not know. Bad Jillian. I did the best to get mud out of… everywhere… in the shower and tossed my clothes and shoes into a trash bag. Getting mud and twigs out of my hair was not easy. Once I felt I was finally “clean enough,” I took an hour long nap but honestly probably could have slept through the night. Todd, Rachel, and Steve came over and we all ate pizza and chatted about the tournament and lounged around. They were all drinking but I was done for the day – I needed water, stat. Rachel snapped a ton of pictures (be still, my heart) but I was so upset with out large I looked. Bleh. I knew I had gained weight recently but dang, seeing it like that was disheartening. Granted, I had been drinking, we bloat throughout the day, “who cares,” and yada yada but I beat myself up over it pretty badly. Brian texted me a photo from the day and I noticed that my entire text thread with him was deleted and I racked my brain all night trying to figure out how that could even happen. Oh well.
Todd and Rachel went back to the hotel around 10pm and the rest of us lounged and watched Shameless for a little while longer. Brian felt bad that we were not “doing anything” but I was incredibly happy to just rest and relax. My head was killing me and it was nice to wind down. I blew my nose and it was basically all mud. Something told me I would be finding mud in places for a few days… I eventually made my way to bed. The new beau offered to video chat again but I was beyond exhausted. I, of course, appreciated being thought of!
Sunday, July 18
I did not sleep well but that was not a shock considering I had not slept well in a few days. I gave up around 8:30am and went to shower. I still felt covered in mud and my toenails were a disgusting mess. No fixing those until I got home. A little bit an overshare but I started my period which made me feel slightly better about looking and feeling so huge and bloated in every picture and which definitely explained my incredible headache. I could still stand to lose a few LBs but it made me feel excused for a minute.
I packed and we continued watching Shameless all morning. Melissa made a delicious breakfast scramble/hash, too. She is so good at whipping up something delicious without even trying! Todd, Rachel, and I were all on the same flight home in the afternoon so we picked them up and Brian and Melissa dropped us all off at the airport. It was a quiet ride; we were all exhausted. I was so sad when Brian and Melissa moved to Ohio because I think a part of me thought I would never see them again (insert “people always leave” pity party here) but saying goodbye was easier this time. They came to Houston, we had now visited them with plans to come back. I was confident we would stay in touch and therefore I did not need to be sad anymore!
We masked up and headed into the airport. Even though there was no security line, I still went through the TSA Pre-Check lane so I would not have to take off my shoes and do the whole song and dance to get through. I breezed through and then went to buy water, peanut butter M&Ms (because I clearly forgot how much crap I gave myself the night before about my weight…), and my Ohio keychain while Todd and Rachel made their way through security. We chatted about the weekend and I worked on gathering and organizing pictures from everyone from the tournament. I do not have Facebook and images resize if sent through text message so it was a whole process of getting people to use Google Drive or Dropbox but we all got there and made it happen. I am a freak about collecting pictures so I was really happy to get that taken care of.
It was a super short flight from Dayton to Ohio and I read the whole time. The flight attendant was super kind and encouraging about reminding people to continue wearing their masks. I thought she handled everything like a pro. we had a 45 minute layover in Chicago, only 30 minutes by the time we took a bathroom break and made it to our gate. We somehow managed to devour pizza and 2 rounds of drinks in that brief window before boarding the longer flight to Houston. I was in a different boarding group than them so I left them and boarded the plane.
I must have fallen asleep while we were taxiing because I did not remember taking off. I woke up 30 minutes into the flight and finished Garden State before reading my Kindle the rest of the way. The kid in front of me kept opening my window (which was very clearly in my row) and I felt challenged so I kept closing it. We eventually bonded; it was his first trip on a plane and he was excited. The kid chatted up the guy next to me, too. He was making friends left and right. I debated ordering a drink but when the other two people in my row ordered alcohol, I decided to go for it. Our row clearly was ready to rage. The wine was trash but what did I expect? We landed right on time at 6:30pm but waited awhile before we were at a gate. I turned my phone on and there was a sweet message from Melissa. Apparently, Fiona had asked where all her new friends had gone and was sad when she found out we left! Precious.
We made our way to the parking lot shuttles and said our goodbyes. We all see each other every Sunday so no long, emotional goodbye was necessary! It felt like it took a lifetime to get to my car and eventually to my Dad’s house to pick up Elliott. Everywhere was so busy for a Sunday night but I guess everyone was either getting home or trying to get home (logic courtesy of the new beau). I also got hit on by one of the guys I met at mud volleyball so that was something.
I was at my Dad’s for an hour, catching up with them. Elliott was actually happy to see me this time! He and I made it home just before 10pm. Whew! I was exhausted and happy to be home.
Covid has been a struggle so it was really nice to get away and spend time with some of my most favorite people, playing a sport we all initially bonded over years ago. I had a truly amazing weekend and cannot wait until we are all together again!
Another Fall season, another New York trip. Steven, I promise I will visit over the Summer eventually.
I started working for a different company in January. This company provides an INSANE training budget per person/year and my manager was encouraging me to take advantage of it. I tired to steer clear of any Project Management training since I am CAPM certified (and a self-proclaimed certified badass) at PM but after my manager continued to decline my suggestions, I found myself signed up for an “IT Project Management” course. Hey, the IT part would be new!
The course was scheduled to be 3 days over the summer in NY but was cancelled last minute, likely due to a low class count. I had plans to stay with Steven for the trip; use my travel day on Friday, participate in NY shenanigans all weekend, go to training Monday-Wednesday, and come home Thursday. When the class was cancelled, we were BUMMED. However, I was able to sign up for a later class in October and luckily, that one carried on as planned.
Thursday, October 24
This day was stressful. I had been in Corpus Christi for work all week and got back around 2pm. I had to re-pack, catch up on the work I missed during the 3 hour drive, and hurry to Tomball. I also decided to get my hair cut because I was hating the cut I got a few weeks ago. The lady was so cool and talked me into a style I would have never picked for myself. It still scares me but I am glad I tried something new. I kind of love it! I also LOVE that all the blonde is finally gone. Go in for a trim and some layers, leave with 5 inches cut off.
We all stayed up late watching the Parent Trap (Lindsay Lohan version). This is an important detail for later in this post.
Friday, October 25
I stayed at my sister’s house Thursday night before because they were going to generously watch Elliott for me for the week. On Friday, Jesssica and Justin left for work and I got the girls ready and took them to school. I think they loved having a little extra Gigi time in the morning and having me drop them off since we had never done that before. We listened to Taylor Swift and talked about New York. Olivia asked me to bring her back some chocolate.
From there, I headed to the airport. Everything went smoothly and I even took a nap on the plane. I landed and Ubered to Steven’s apartment, arriving just after 6pm to see him waiting on his stoop for me. I dropped my bags off upstairs, greeted Topher (Steven’s 5 year old mini-Australian Shepherd), and we took off to The Richardson for drinks. The weather was perfect for sitting out on the patio and after a glass of wine, we started our walk to dinner.
During the walk, I told Steven that the Uber had passed a tattoo shop and made me think that we should finally get the matching tattoos we had been talking about getting all year. Steven had no objection and we just happened to be a block away from Rose Tattoo, a tattoo shop he liked so… we got matching tattoos! We each got an ellipsis tattoo on our finger. The meaning is 3 fold:
We mostly talk on GChat so we are typing all day to each other and the ellipsis serves as a chat indicator.
They are on opposite sides of our fingers (his on the inside, mine on the outside) because we are on opposite sides of the country.
They are on the middle finger because… F it.
I had been wanting a Texas outline on my arm for a few years now so in effort to be financially responsible, I got that one done as well. The tattoo artist printed out a Texas outline and I said it looked a little narrow. Steven agreed and the guy said they all looked the same to him on the computer but for us to come pick one. We scrolled and found a big fat one we both liked. After printing it, the guy could finally see the difference between the two. We have both spent the majority of our lives in Texas, we know what it looks like. I appreciated his patience with us though. I am obsessed with tattoos and how they came out! My sister said I was officially the most tatted person in the family and while I did not know we were competing, I will take the win.
After our spur-of-the-moment detour, we walked over to Sage for dinner. They have amazing Thai food and we chowed down before heading home. We tried to watch the movie “Yesterday” but we both fell asleep pretty quickly. n
Saturday, October 26
We woke up super early because we had plans to travel upstate and go hiking for the day. As we got ready, we joked about forgetting we had gotten tattoos the night before (I promise, we were sober when we got them) and tried to get the Topher’s dog hair off of our sleek black hiking outfits. Steven picked me up the cutest North Face jacket because if we were not basic enough, the black North Face jackets would do it.
Our plan was to be out of the house by 7:30am and in typical Jillian/Steven fashion, we were ready early. We took the subway to the Port Authority and was in line for our bus just a little after 8am. It was not scheduled to leave until 8:30am but we wanted to be able to sit together so we had to be in the front of the line. Everyone had printed tickets except for us so I asked an employee what the deal was and sure enough, we needed printed tickets. How dare we try to go digital! Psh. We had to leave the line to print the tickets at the booth and by the time we returned, the bus was boarding and full; we did not get to sit next to each other. I did not grab my phone charger or headphones when we left, assuming I would not need them. Now, I was stuck on a bus for the next 90-120 minutes with nothing! I turned my phone’s battery saver mode on, read my book on my Kindle app, and hoped the battery would make it all day.
We arrived in the adorable small village of New Paltz, NY just after 10am. Seriously, this town was adorable and the weather was perfect for hiking. It was about a 15 minute Uber ride to the Mohonk Preserve where we would spend the day. We purchased our tickets, grabbed a map, and headed out.
The hike was incredible. The initial path up was challenging (no wonder the guy at the tourist center told us it was called the “stair master”) but after that, it was mostly a breeze. The views were breathtaking. The leaves were colorful and crunchy. The rocks and cliffs were stunning. It was an amazing hike; some parts more challenging than others but always doable. I wanted to climb on everything; Steven only could tolerate so much of that!
Steven recently purchased a GoPro so we played with that and got some good snapshots. I do not know why they look blurry here!
When we passed a rock, Steven asked me who it looked like. I immediately said “Grandmother Willow from Pocahontas, duh” and he could not believe that I guessed what he was thinking. For one, it legitimately did look like Grandmother Willow.
Our favorite part was Lookout Cove. It was seriously, without a doubt, the most stunning view. We sat up there for awhile, soaking the experience in. It was refreshing and exactly what I needed.
Our last stop was a lake by a resort.
We hiked for about 3 hours; my phone said it was nearly 17,000 steps. I know I keep mentioning the weather but we really could not have asked for a more perfect day to do this. It was gorgeous.
We had to wait about 20 minutes to get an Uber since we were so far out of town (after it took probably 20 minutes for us to even get signal to be able to request one) at this point (and we had not hiked back to the original point we started). As cars left the resort, we jokingly begged for them to take us with them to town! We were getting cold and hungry. The Uber driver had an USB-C cable and I was able to charge my phone for a little bit which was nice.
Our bus ride back to town was not until 6pm so we had some time to pass. We had lunch at Bacchu’s and visited the local brewery. By the time we had gotten to the brewery, we were exhausted. Steven messed with his phone and I got very introspective about my life. We were quiet mostly, which was fine, but the silence made me get into my head about things. I was thinking about social media and how I was glad to have deactivated all of mine. In some ways, I wanted to reactivate it because it is nice to be able to share photos like we had taken throughout the hike but at the same time, I love not having it. Not having it has helped me stop feeling like I have to portray myself in a way I thought people wanted to see. Not every picture or moment has to be shared with everyone and validated by my family and peers. I never felt true to myself with it and it apparently was kind of a big issue with my last boyfriend, which a part of me can understand. He was on social media but never misrepresented himself or used it an unhealthy amount (that I could tell) and I truly admired that about him and now aspire to be more like that. He lived freely and I wanted to do the same. It is great to not feel obligated to post things or interact in unnatural ways, but I do sometimes feel a little disconnected from people. I just do not think, at this point in my life, I can use it in a healthy way and be myself so it is better for me to stay away. Far, far away. Then, that train of thought spiraled into thinking about that particular relationship again. The fog in my brain got so thick with the emotional mess and everything else that I ended up foolishly texting him. I had only had one glass of wine so I cannot really blame that but yes, I know it was a mistake and no, he did not reply (nor did I expect him to). We broke up nearly 2 months ago so spending my time thinking about him and texting him was ridiculous and I hate myself for doing it. It did not help that Steven and I had pointed out every attractive guy in the village; we are just 2 very love struck, hopeless romantics. All of it made me miss my ex more and more. By this point, I was not only physically exhausted from the hike but mentally exhausted from my own self. Oy.
ANYWAY… We walked around the village and stopped into some local thrift stores before heading back to the bus stop. The town had a bookstore with books on a cart on the sidewalk; it was cute. We had such a wonderful day but we were both ready to get back home.
The bus was a little late and while we did get to sit together, we got stuck in front of some very annoying people who clearly did not understand the concept of shared spaces or volume control. Steven had his headphones so he listened to music to tune them out and I continued to read my book, trying to ignore the incredibly dumb conversations happening behind me. I finished my book (my replacement for social media these days) just as we arrived back into the city; perfect timing.
We were finally back at Steven’s apartment by around 9pm. Steven ordered 3 kinds of dumplings and we snacked on those while finished our movie from the night before. We were both passed out by 11pm; I was shocked we even made it that late.
Sunday, October 27
We had grand plans on Sunday for Steven to go to the gym while I go to yoga. Then, we would meet for brunch and maybe go get facials or do something fun. Instead, we slept forever, ordered breakfast, took naps, and did nothing. It was perfect.
I watched Rocketman; great movie. I finally saw Uyen, Steven’s roommate, who had been having her own wild adventures all weekend. At one point, Steven and I left to go get mimosa supplies and that was basically all I had to drink all day (I tried to keep drinking water). They ordered food but I was not hungry so I snacked on edamame and blogged my Maryland trip from 2 months ago. They both eventually fell back asleep so I watched Welcome to Marwen and continued my blog. It was rainy outside so it was not like we had a lot of outdoor options anyhow. It was SO hot in their apartment (not just Sunday, but like… every day) so that was fun for me *sarcasm* I mostly just felt gross. PS I do not feel bad saying that here because I told Steven every single day it was hot in his apartment!
They were both asleep and I was finally hungry so I ordered myself some Thai food. I took Topher on a walk, too. It was a very lazy day.
Monday, October 28
We got up, ready, and out the door right on time. Steven had to return to work and I had my first day of the IT Project Management training I was in NY to attend (betcha forgot the original purpose of the trip by now). The training was in the city so Steven took the first leg of the trip with me and then we split. He was so concerned about me getting to the right place; it was cute. I did navigate Europe many years ago and phones are smarter now so I felt confident in getting where I needed to go. I figured out why everyone in NY wears black though; with all of the walking and hot it gets in the subway, you are dripping in sweat. Black hides the sweat!. It was brutal. When I finally got back to street-level, I enjoyed the frigid air and breeze between the buildings. I had plenty of time before class started so I stopped at Starbucks which was incredibly dumb because 1. I was already hot and 2. they are bad for you and writing my Maryland blog made me realize how much weight I had gained in 2019 and hot chocolate was just going to make me more fat. I arrived at the building somewhere in the Financial District and still had time so I sat outside, sans jacket, to cool off. I am pretty sure going from extreme heat to extreme cold is how people get sick. I felt dumb walking around and sitting there with my headphones, looking like a rookie for leaving my wireless buds at home. There were probably only 4 other people in all of Manhattan using corded headphones. Tourists, ammiright?
I went inside and found my classroom. There were 7 of us for the course and I was the only woman; this would be interesting. The view was kind of awesome.
I apparently was supposed to bring my laptop even though no information I received ever said that, so I managed most of the class from my phone like I true millennial. I liked school growing up so as awkward and lame as everything was, I was a nerd and answered questions and participated. Partly because that is who I am as a person, partly because participating makes the day go by faster, and partly so the instructor could move on to the next subject. I felt anxious most of the day though and did not feel mentally distracted enough which can lead to spiraling but I will get to that later. The instructor reminded me of things I had heard in the past but there was almost zero new information for me. I was hoping for more of an “IT” perspective on things but it was essentially a regular PM class. Oh well.
There was a Chipotle nearby so I picked that up for lunch and read my book in the lobby during our break. Even though I was hot as hell in the morning, I was thankful to have my jacket at lunch. Tough to keep up with what to wear in NY! I had to pass about a thousand halal carts to get there which reminded me of my ex even more and that sucked. My ankles were really starting to hurt, too; I assumed from the hike but also (like the pessimist I am) assumed from all this extra weight I have been carrying around again. Womp womp.
Overall, the day went by fairly quickly. I took notes to pass the time and tried to ignore the one student who was not understanding anything and making everything more difficult. He released us around 4:30pm and I started making my way to the yoga studio near Steven’s apartment. The route was different than the route I took into the city but I had my phone and made it just fine. I totally felt like I stood out as an “outsider” but I am sure that was just me being overly cautious. I am supposed to be free now, right? Who cares if I stand out?
I made it to the studio, YO BK, and read my book outside until they opened. I had been there once before with Steven so sign-in was easy and they gave me a free class for being a Bikram instructor; just another perk of busting butt for 9 weeks at training. Class was really great but tough, physically and mentally. I did well, which usually happens after a small break, but that means I know I probably pushed myself too hard. My ankles and feet were hurting. It was difficult to look at myself in the mirror and for the first time in my Bikram yoga history, I wore a tank top during class. I think the only other time I wore a top in class was during my first one and it only stayed on me for about 10 minutes. I hate this weight gain. I hate it. I did not feel proud looking at myself in the mirror. Bikram Yoga brings out all the crap and that is likely why I have been avoiding going as frequently. I could not stand looking at myself. I felt disappointed for working so hard all those years and letting it all go to waste this year. Literally, just this year. I beat myself up all class about it. My tattoo was pealing and scared the hell out of me since I forgot it would do that. I also never considered how the hell I was going to put my hair up for class now that it was so short. That made it interesting. I liked the teacher, though, so that was a plus.
After class, I walked to Steven’s house from the studio. For once, a familiar route! I returned my mom’s phone call and managed to not get lost without my map open and in my face so that was a good sign. I showered up and then caught up on work emails and tasks. Steven made a healthy dinner for us which was exactly what I needed. My yoga high started to wear off around 9pm and I decided to call it a night. I got lost in my head again… I still wait for a text from him. I still want him to be waiting at my front door as I come up the stairs to my apartment. I know the damage cannot be undone (my own fault) and that my apologies mean nothing at this point but for some reason, I have hope and that hope is torturing me. For reasons I cannot explain on here, this breakup has been dragged out and painful. I have to constantly interact like everything is okay when it is not. My ex from last year was right in all the ways I and everyone else expected but with this guy… it was different. He was right in all the right ways FOR ME. I felt so much like myself. I felt free and happy. It was private and it was ours and I loved it. I loved him. There are so many things I wish I could say but I know they do not matter anymore. I feel like I failed at communicating and he failed at understanding. And vice versa. This is the hell I unintentionally put myself in almost every night. My brain will not quit because my heart will not let go. I tried to read my book as a distraction and eventually, I fell asleep.
Tuesday, October 29
After arriving so early on Monday, I decided to leave a little later on Tuesday. Steven had to get to work so he left before me and I got ready on my own. I curled my hair which ended up being silly because it was raining but hey, I tried. I was feeling the cut and the new trench coat Steven picked out for me, though.
The commute from his apartment was about 40-45 minutes. The subway was just as hot and I was unfortunately wearing a sweater so as you can imagine, I was drenched. Being trapped down there, packed in with everyone, and warm/stuffy was making me all levels of anxious. I wanted to get off at an earlier stop just so I could get outside and breathe. I stuck it out, though, and essentially ran up the stairs to get outside when it was finally my stop. I slowed down and regrouped before starting the last leg of the trip (the commute was a 9 min walk, a subway ride, another subway ride, and then another 9 min walk). It was nice to be out on the streets with everyone and feel the hustle and bustle. I passed what looked to be teenagers in business suits (probably college grads) walking to their big boy financial district jobs and literal children walking to school on their own. I cannot imagine growing up in the city.
I skipped Starbucks and arrived at my building. I felt disgusting from being so warm and sweaty. There was literal sweat dripping down my arms. I sat outside again, sans jacket again, to cool off. This made me freezing cold so I walked to Starbucks for hot chocolate. I will never learn.
I brought my computer to class and was SO distracted by it all day. It was difficult to not reply to emails and work on things all day. I still had to pay attention and participate in class but I wanted to get started on organizing my projects and doing other things. The instructor would spend WAY too much time on every topic but as Lindsay said, not everyone is as smart as us. There was no new information again, but still good reminders and I was getting ideas of things I wanted to start doing more of at work. The day dragged on a little more than the day before. I will still trying to participate but he would either not hear me or ignore me so I eventually gave up trying.
Next to Chipotle was a place called Just Salad so I opted for that for lunch. It was delicious and I would like them to open one near me in Houston, please. I read my book during break and the rest of the day was about the same as the morning.
We were dismissed around 4:30pm again and I headed back to the apartment. There was not enough rain to warrant an umbrella but definitely enough to want one. I was happy to have my trench coat to keep me dry, even if I was hot underneath. Someone slipped on a grate on the sidewalk so naturally I did not step on a grate the rest of the week.
Steven had a rough day and I was feeling blue so I stopped for wine once I got back into Brooklyn. I got us 2 bottles, just in case. I beat Steven home and took Topher on a 30 minute walk. He was out of poop bags so I felt horrible for not being able to pick up after him on the sidewalk. Luckily, no one was around to see it. If it had been grass, fine, I would not feel so bad but it was on the sidewalk! My bad. Steven got back as we were finishing up our walk. Topher was my best friend the rest of the trip, by the way. You take a pup on a long walk one time and suddenly he worships the ground you walk on. Love that Toph-a-loaf.
I caught up on work and we drank wine and ordered a pizza. He ordered surprise desserts for us (mine was chocolate ice cream with chocolate Teddy Grahams; he knows me so well). Yes, I already complained about gaining weight 10x in this post and then had pizza, wine, and ice cream for dinner. He was sad. I was sad. We enabled each other. This is my problem; drowning in misery with no motivation to get out. We talked about all of our problems and joked about how it is a miracle neither of us have jumped in front of a subway train yet. We got drunk. Game 6 of the World Series for the Astros was coming on right as Uyen was getting back so we set that up and watched it. We used Chromecast to stream it from Fox’s website on my laptop using my Xfinity account. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Steven went to sleep and Uyen and I watched most of it. I called it quits around the 7th inning.
My brain tortured me again before I fell asleep: this time, reflecting on a moment that made me look and feel SO stupid. Someone had asked me about 4 months into the relationship how things were going with me and the guy. I smiled ear to ear, like a fool, and said things were going amazingly and that I was very, very happy. That things were perfect. Not 2 weeks later, he broke up with me. That moment replays in my head and heart over and over again. How dare I be happy. How dare I be confident. I should have never said anything. If I feel THIS strongly for someone who is supposedly not “my person,” all I can hope is that my feelings will be 10x stronger for the man who is “my person.” How can I trust myself though? I continue to be wrong. Either way, you can bet that I will never confidently tell someone that things are going amazingly again. I read until I fell asleep.
Wednesday, October 30
I started to get restless. I woke up and left later but still arrived with plenty of time. I figured out everyone’s secret though: they wear boots and coats but underneath, they must just be in tank tops. How else do they survive the subway??? I had a sweater picked out but opted for a tshirt. It looked ridiculous with my boots but it was raining again and I felt bloated (likely from all that delicious hot chocolate) and miserable so I did not care. I did not get any hot chocolate though, so that was good progress.
It was our last day of training. The screen had been difficult to see and read all week but I finally had enough of it. I just gave up. All of our examples and exercises were based on hypothetical situations and since we all come from different companies who define “projects” differently, it was just a pain. Whenever he asked me for an example, I would provide one but then he would give input and it would frustrated me because he has no other knowledge of the situation. That should not have bothered me but like I said, I was beginning to feel restless and ready to go. My head hurt and I was anxious. I worked a lot and was getting frustrated at this one project that has been going on too long.
Steven said the best salad at Just Salad was this buffalo chicken one so I ordered that for lunch. It was delicious and spicy.
Our course wrapped up at 3pm. There was a guy completely cracked out on the subway. It was honestly a bit frightening. I hope he got to wherever he was going safely. The good news, though, is that by this point I was feeling very comfortable (minus the heat) on the subway so I was able to read and relax a little bit more.
Steven and I had talked about going to yoga together but I think we were both done. I got back to his apartment, walked Topher, then read in bed until I fell asleep. He got back around 5:30pm and I continued my nap after letting him in. City life is exhausting.
When I finally got up, Steven said he had ordered halal for us. I ordered us dessert. Hey, at least we did not have wine this time. Steven went to bed and Uyen and I watched Game 7 for the Astros. We smartened up and this time logged into the Fox app on their Apple TV and it was SO much better. I took Topher for a walk during the 5th inning and painfully watched the rest of the game. Everyone in Houston was about 30-60 seconds ahead of us so Uyen and I had to be careful with our phones. Her sister and/or my friend would text one of us with something disappointing and we would know that something bad was about to happen! Spoilers. Anyway, the Astros lost. Disappointing. It was a late night but my nap helped me survive.
I read until about 1am when I finally fell asleep.
Thursday, October 31
My flight back to Houston was at 10am so I was up early with Steven. I had to pack; how do I always leave NY with more things than when I arrived? My skin was itching ALL night and keeping me up so I did not sleep well. I thought it was maybe because my skin was dry but when I went to get ready, I saw little bite marks all over my arms and chest. They looked like mosquito bites. Ouch.
Steven and I said our goodbyes. It was fun getting to spend a whole week with him and I appreciated him letting me crash at his apartment and invade his space. I ordered my Uber and was at the airport by 7:30am. I grabbed some breakfast tacos and worked until my flight. A guy at the restaurant, who sounded Australian, made a comment about how weird it was that Americans put eggs in their burritos and 2 teenagers who seemingly did not know each other, said “follow me on Instagram” as they parted ways. I love eavesdropping at airports.
I picked up little “I ❤ NY” shirts for my nieces (and chocolate per Olivia’s request) and boarded the plane. I read a little and eventually fell asleep. I finished my book when I woke up, just as we were starting our descent into Houston. Perfect timing, again. For anyone keeping count, I read 3 books on this trip.
It was colder in Houston than in NY but I was prepared. I made it back to my car and then to my sister’s house to pick up Elliott. My brother joined us and we all had a fun Halloween. Justin made a great stew and the girls had fun trick or treating in their Parent Trap costumes. They would get into “Position 1” as we started calling it at every front door. Position 1 = holding up their torn picture so people would know who they were. I was a warm monkey. It is tough to see but in the bottom pictures, Olivia is holding a sock full of coins because she was Hallie and Hallie did that in the movie. Amazing.
I did not officially make it back to my own apartment until 9pm so it was a LONG day. The worst part? Even after a great trip and fun night with my family, I felt empty when I got home. That is my life. Everyone says “make the most of being single” and “be happy with yourself” and all of that and sure, that is great advice but what is so wrong with wanting to come home to someone? With wanting to go on a trip with someone and share fun memories like this with someone? Even with just being at home and doing nothing with someone? Every trip feels tainted by my clinical depression and loneliness. I recognize I have my family and friends and I am thankful for them but what is wrong with wanting more? Normally, I would post a picture from Halloween on social media and say something amazing and sweet about the evening (which would all be true) but that would only be half the story; the other half being trapped in sadness. That is a good example of not being myself on social media and why I needed to delete it. Being myself would be telling people the full story and who wants that mess? I can be open and honest here, but not there.
It really was a good trip. I know I sound like a downer and sometimes I can be but I had a good time and am glad I was able to go. I was reminded of some valuable things during the training and had a great week hanging out with Steven. My other issues will get addressed eventually. I am starting to finally feel motivated to pick up the pieces and get myself together and with no personal OR work trips planned for awhile, hopefully I can stay focused and on track.
As you may or may not know by now, I am a certified Bikram Yoga Instructor. I spent 9 weeks in Acapulco, Mexico training to be able to teach this yoga that I love (and sometimes hate) so much. I was lucky enough to be assigned to the most amazing roommate during that time, Leah.
I am fully convinced I would not have survived Mexico without Leah. We each had our own friend groups and did our own things but at the end of the day, we would vent and laugh and cry with each other. We got closer as the weeks went on and as much as I wanted to be alone sometimes, I was so thankful to share a room with her and have her ear to complain to and her potato chips to snack on. Anyway, I will try not to bore you with our friendship but you can read about it in past posts if you feel so inclined.
Training was 2 years ago but let us flash forward to present day. Leah and I text every few months to catch up but had not had the opportunity to see each other again. It was probably May or June of this year when we were texting and I just decided, “screw it, I am going!” and booked my flights. I had a ton of miles with United that I had been saving up for nothing particular so I figured this would be a wonderful use for them. Booked! I was so excited that we were going to get to visit again! We needed to plan what we were going to do but the trip was still a few months away; there was no rush.
I contacted her studio, Bikram Yoga Works, and told them I was coming to take Leah’s class and wanted to know if it would be possible for me to teach a class so she could take mine, too. Ty, the studio manager, called me and we spoke for a little bit. Ty said they were a DIALOGUE studio and wanted to be sure I used the dialogue, too. I assured that I was 100% dialogue and Leah could vouch since we had studied together so much. Ty said if Leah vouched for me, then everything was good to go. She was so nice and accommodating; I liked the studio already!
The weeks went by and Leah and I planned almost 0% of the trip! Shocking, I know. I picked a random hotel near the studio (which ended up being perfectly located near the studio, her house, and her friends’ houses) and we talked about things we could do but we never really put together a plan. For once, I was okay with that. All I knew was that we were going to do yoga, teach yoga, and have an all-around yoga weekend. I had been absent from the hot room for a few weeks/months (a class every now and then) between being swamped at work, traveling for work, and a clinging to a struggling relationship so I felt like I needed a nice kickstarter to get focused again. Bikram Yoga is so wonderful and amazing but when I am feeling stressed or depressed, I get scared of it and tend to avoid the studio. I know the yoga will bring out the truth in my life and sometimes I do not feel strong enough to face it, so I hide from it. I hide from one of the few things that I genuinely love; how insane is that? I needed our yoga weekend. It would not be the yoga “bubble” I had for 9 weeks but it would be a perfect mini bubble to help me breathe for a minute.
Friday, August 30
I said goodbye to my boyfriend of almost 6 months knowing that we would likely break up, for the 3rd and final time, upon my return. He knew it, too, but neither of us were willing to say it in that moment. We had pretended long enough; what was a few more days? I did as I usually do and cried during the drive to the airport, cried at the airport, and cried on the plane. I loved him more than I have loved any other guy I have dated; I knew the coming weeks would be insanely difficult so I NEEDED this weekend. It would be nice to leave or return from a trip without tears and heartache. I look forward to that day.
My flight was scheduled to land with BARELY enough time to Uber to the studio and be able to take Leah’s 6pm class. The schedule had been discussed when I first reached out months prior but it had been so long that I think we all just… forgot… and Leah had to make some last minute trades with other teachers to get us both on the schedule for the weekend. Unfortunately, that meant she was only teaching Friday evening so if I did not get there in time, I was not going to be able to take her class at all. One of the main reasons of the trip was to be able to teach each others’ classes so we kept our fingers crossed and hoped for the best.
The drive was so beautiful. Maryland is so green. I love how every place I visit is so different. The yoga Gods must have heard us because I arrived at her studio just before 5:30pm. I jumped out of the Uber and hauled my suitcase up the stairs to the studio entrance. Leah was sitting at the front desk and leaped up to greet me! Neither of us understood how I got there in time but we were both excited. There was not a lot of time before class and Leah was doing double duty and working the front desk so she quickly gave me a tour and I got ready for class. Her studio was amazing! It was so spacious and welcoming. Leah introduced me to everyone that came in and everyone was so kind. I loved the vibe there. A lot of the studios I have been to have drama and bad vibes but her studio was special; I could tell. I hope everyone who goes there knows how lucky they are to have such a great space with great energy and that they never take it for granted.
Leah’s class started promptly at 6pm and it was exactly as I had imagined it would be. Like I said, we were roommates and studied together so I had a sense of how she would teach but you never really know. She is an amazing teacher! It was my first class in a few weeks and she absolutely kicked my ass. That studio was H-O-T. I was drenched. I was dehydrated. I was emotional (yoga does that when you are already feeling some-type-of-way). Leah – you are an outstanding teacher and I glad I was able to get there in time to take your class! I love your passion, enthusiasm, encouragement, and knowledge! You exceeded all expectations.
We socialized with everyone after class then got cleaned up for dinner. Her best friend, Yazz, was joining us. They chose a nearby restaurant, Busboy’s. It had a cool vibe and the weather was so nice that we sat out on the patio. We decided to split a bottle of wine and share a few appetizers as our dinner. I had completely forgotten Leah was vegan so I was glad she reminded me when I suggested meat options. I was down for whatever so I had no issue with vegan options; vegan food can be delicious, y’all.
Yazz is a yoga-pro and has considered going to Bikram training before so I did not feel bad that we spent most of our dinner discussing yoga. I usually try to avoid it as to not leave people out but Yazz knew just as much, if not more, than me so it was great. We could all probably talk about yoga forever. Leah caught me up on all of the latest in her life. When we text, we usually do not go into great detail about things but she was saving her juiciest stories for when I was there. Thank goodness because they. were. juicy. The drama was unreal. Leah is such a champ! Whether it was the wine or her entertaining stories, I will never know but we had a great evening. Eventually, they dropped me off at my hotel for the evening. It was only then, did I start to feel crushed again about the impending doom of my relationship.
Saturday, August 31
Leah picked me up bright and early the next morning so we could take the 7am class. Oy! We had grand plans to do a double (back to back classes) but neither of us really wanted to. Ambiya was teaching and I was looking forward to her class. She was Leah’s mentor and had visited Leah at training so I already knew her a little bit. Her class was great! Sometimes, I wish I can record a teacher and say the things they say but then it would not be “my” class; it would be a clone of theirs (womp womp). I loved Amiya’s class though. Leah and I both died at least 3-4 times during class and towards the end, gave each other a look that we both understood to mean “we are NOT staying for another class.” Hell. No. I was so happy when class was over and very ready to be out of the hot room; did I mention that studio is HOT? Whew. Somehow during the 30 minute break between classes, we talked ourselves into staying for the next class. We put ourselves in the back of the room and did our best; the second class is always easier in some ways and more difficult in others. We survived. I am glad we stayed to do a double! I was proud of us for sticking it out and committing to the original plan… even if my body was exhausted. The more frequently my brain could be distracted from the issues at home though, the better.
We cleaned up after class and picked up her friends Yazz and Danni to go to brunch. We chose Busboy’s again since they have a variety of vegan options. Danni also practices yoga and works at the studio so again, we talked all-things yoga among other things. I shared with them my relationship problems and they shared their crazy relationship stories with me. It is always a little scary meeting new people, especially when those people are all best friends and you are the odd woman out, but I felt like I had know them all for years. All 4 of were different in so many ways but we all got along great; very easy and natural. Having only really known Leah in a limited capacity before, I was thankful that everything was so smooth not only with us, but with her friends, too. That might sound silly but it helped make the weekend all the more enjoyable. Leah was very self-protecting at training and even though we were friends, it was obvious she did not open up fully. I had learned more about Leah in less than 24 hours than I had in 9 weeks!
After brunch, we made the short drive over to D.C. to be tourists for the afternoon. I mentioned my blog and they insisted we take touristy photos. It did not last long because we are adults and we forget.
We started at the National Garden. It was hot as hell outside and humid AF inside but we are all hot yoga lovers and managed just fine. The gardens were lovely and we did our best to get some fun yoga pictures.
We snapped some pictures in front of the capitol.
Our plan was to walk around and wander into random museums until we were tired. We went into the National Museum of the American Indian but did not last long in there. It was too frustrating that there was not a lot of acknowledgement that colonists stole everything from them and the established government treated them like garbage. We got too political and had to go for our own sake.
We debated going into the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum but since Leah’s dad works for NASA and I am from Houston, we skipped it. Fun fact: Leah did not know there was NASA in Houston. I reminded her of the very, very famous phrase, “Houston, we have a problem” and she legitimately responded with, “Oh, I thought Houston was a person.” *facepalm* (Sorry, Leah. This was too funny not to share!)
The next stop was the Hirshhorn Museum. The one very cool. It had a lot of interesting artwork and experiences. The most insane one was a room full of large screens playing short videos. Kate Blanchett aws the star of each video but was in such disguise/character that she was not always noticeable. The most INSANE part of the thing was that as we were walking through, suddenly all of the videos synced up and were on a close-up of her character and saying the same thing. It was spooky and gave us all chills. I cannot even explain it.
It had been a long day and our parking was expiring so we decided to be finished. They dropped me off at the hotel so we could all go our separate ways and rest for a couple of hours. I tried to nap but once again, was alone and suddenly consumed with grief and sadness. I had a fun day so it was unfortunate that every moment I was lone left me feeling horrible and depressed.
Leah and Yazz picked me up a few hours later and we went to dinner at Sticky Rice. The service was awful but the food was delicious! We ordered way too much. The dumplings were probably the best ones I had ever eaten and for some reason, the restaurant served tator tots so we chowed down on those and the amazing sauce that accompanied them. Everything was so good. It had been a long day, though, so we kept the evening short. Remember, Leah and I had already taken 2 classes that morning and combined with the amount of walking around we did all afternoon… yikes. It was time to rest.
That night, I pushed him and we broke up over text (the first time was in person and the second was over the phone so this seemed like a natural progression). He insisted on waiting for us to talk until we were both back in town but I did not want to wait. I did not want it to happen ever but if it was going to happen, I did not feel there was benefit in having another face-to-face conversation about it. Maybe that was wrong, maybe it was right. I do not know. Neither of us actually had to say/write the words ending it, but we knew. It was a rough night.
Sunday, September 1
Leah picked me up bright and early again. Neither of us wanted to go to class; I was physically and mentally exhausted from the day before. We powered through! Poor Leah had to do another double because it was finally my turn to teach. We both took Maggie’s class and proving that the world was small, Maggie knew the owner of the studio I taught at in Katy. She went to teacher training with the owner’s daughter! Maggie taught a great class. Ty was not lying when she had initially told me the studio was a dialogue-only studio. I was nervous for my class and how the students would receive me.
Leah introduced me to everyone who walked in and some people looked a little apprehensive about a different teacher (which I completely understand). I was nervous! Her studio did not have a podium and I had never taught off a podium before. They also did not have microphones (which I hate using anyway) so I was nervous about “yelling.” There were 2 large columns in the room I was nervous about not being able to see around. The room was not carpeted which meant for 3 of the postures, the students would have to turn sideways and be on their mat instead of straddling it and I was nervous I would not set them up correctly. I did not know how to use the heat or the fans. Everything was different but I wanted the students to feel like nothing was. Not to mention, I was not feeling 100% present in the moment because of the breakup. I had not told Leah yet and it was weighing pretty heavily on my heart. I was worried I would not be able to give my all to the students because of it. My mind was elsewhere.
I wore my Texas flag leggings and introduced myself to the group. Danni secretly took video and posted it on Instagram later (sneaky). Class was great, though! I felt frazzled but because I had the dialogue to lean on, I do not think the students noticed anything different. Leah helped me run the heat and fans and I told the students to thank her because otherwise, I would have left it alone and they would have “died.” It was very bizarre not being on a podium since I am so short; it was tough to see everyone. I thought it was a great class though; the students there are obviously very disciplined and dedicated. I received compliments after the class so hopefully those were genuine and they enjoyed it! I was glad Leah got to take my class even though she had to do a double to be able to. She had the same feedback to me as I had to her: it was exactly how she expected it to be. All that studying together! We might not have known every detail about each others’ lives but we absolutely knew each others’ teaching style. It is funny how that happens.
I cleaned up after class and because the studio offered other services besides yoga, I decided to take advantage of them. They had Cryotherapy and PEMF and Ty offered both to me at a discounted rate (thanks, Ty). I tried Cryotherpahy first and wow, what an experience. It was 3 minutes in a -125 degree tank. I had to strip down to a sports bra and shorts and wear protective socks/shoes and gloves. I was used to being in a hot as hell room but this was… cold as hell! Freezing. Terri was operating it for me and she stayed and talked me through the whole ordeal. The 3 minutes went by fairly quickly; she was talented at distracting me via conversation. She was also very good at explaining to me all the ins and outs of Cyrotherapy and the benefits of it Y’all, it was cold. Terri gave me my robe before opening the door to free me. It was the most bizarre sensation leaving that tank! I am not sure I would do this regularly but I am glad I tried it at least once. I hate being cold. I recommend it if you want to try something new or have chronic pain but I cannot say it changed my life (although she told me stories of people who swear by it).
Next up was PEMF. Now THIS was something I can get behind. I absolutely recommend this because it completely healed my neck/shoulder issues I had been having for months. All I had to do for this was lay on a table. Seriously. Terri and the table did the rest. The table released electromagnetic pulses that are meant to heal the body somehow. If I thought the Cryo was a bizarre sensation, this topped it. She could control the pulse level and increased it until I felt it was uncomfortable. It was not painful in any way, just a bizarre feeling that I cannot quite put into words (I am not THAT talented of a writer). It was weird. She asked if I had any particular areas that were bothering me and I mentioned the issues with my left shoulder/neck. She placed an extra “pad” on that side to treat it. Normal treatment lasts an hour but because my flight was later that afternoon, I only did 30 minutes so Leah, Yazz, and I could get in a few last minute shenanigans before takeoff. If I knew it would be that amazing, I would have done the full hour. I am writing this post a full 2 months later and I still have not had any shoulder/neck issues since. 10/10, would recommend.
I said goodbye to the studio and thanked everyone for letting me practice and teach there all weekend. Leah, Yazz, and I went grabbed some Thai food for lunch before our next step.
On our way to the Baltimore Pier. On the way, we found some cool graffiti and decided to be basic yogis and snap photos.
The pier was fun to experience and the weather was nice. We did not have a lot of time before I needed to get to the airport but I could imagine someone could spend the whole day there. It reminded me of Kemah Boardwalk here in Texas; a lot of random things to do, eat, and see.
The airport was nearby so they dropped me off after. We all said our goodbyes and I had an easy flight home. It was great to see Leah again and be part of her world for a little bit. It was great to embrace yoga again. It was great to get away. It was a fun mini vacation and I dreaded going home. I cried, per usual. I knew what was waiting for me (hint: nothing, anymore) and I wanted to run away from it.
Thank you, Leah, for allowing me to visit and showing me around! Thank you to Bikram Yoga Works for the traditional classes and unique extra experiences (particularly for healing my shoulder/neck). It was nice to be back in a mini bubble. Leah, you and your friends are welcome to Houston any time!
The idea of turning 30 used to “scare” me but as the years went on, fear turned into excitement. Being in my 20s was SUCH a roller coaster and the idea of having a fresh start, a clean slate, a new beginning… was appealing. I know that things do not magically change overnight, but for arguments sake, let us pretend that at midnight, I levitated into the air, spun around in a glitter tornado in a very Cinderella-esque manner, and landed as a brand new woman in a fabulous gown.
With that said, I had zero desire to throw a big “I’m 30” hoopla; partly because big groups (even of people that I love) are a lot for me and partly because I do not like rejection and did not want my friends to tell me they were not available. I am such an adult. *sarcasm* A few months ago, my siblings and I started doing a monthly sibling brunch where we catch up about our lives and discuss plans for the upcoming months (family events, etc.). In January, my sister brought up my birthday and apparently my suggestion of “maybe do a dinner some night” was trash because she immediately shut it down and instead suggested a weekend in Fredericksburg. I had never been as an adult and only recently fell madly in love with wine so while I had considered the idea to myself, I told her no one would go. She questioned if I had even asked anyone (I had not) and forced me to text some friends. I did… and within an hour, Kelsey had a trip changed so she could make it and Steven had a flight booked to Houston from New York. Jill’s 30th was officially on.
We had 2 months to prep and boy did we use it. Picking a house, meals, wineries, etc. was a part time job all on its own. Thank God for my family and friends because I could not have ever done it alone. Dad, Suzette, Jessica, and I got together one night at Dad’s house and over a nice steak dinner and 4 bottles of wine, we had a tentative game plan and a decently sized hangover. The game plan was shared with Steven and he whipped out one of his famous Google Docs. Invites were sent, a house was booked, wineries were picked, outfits were bought, and it all came together smoothly. This trip 100% would not have happened without the effort of that group; not just for helping plan and coordinate, but for keeping me sane and calming me down along the way.
The highly anticipated weekend finally arrived and I was beyond excited. I could not wait. I had so much to pack and coordinate with my co-hosts on their lists of things to bring but we were ready. I also had to bonus pack for a work trip to Corpus Christi that immediately followed the trip (plus for Elliott, of course). My car was full but I still had last minute errands to run so on Thursday, my boyfriend humored me and let me drag him to several different stores and helped me tackle my list. He treated me to a delicious Korean BBQ dinner afterward so I think we both won! Also, we survived our first time running errands together so that was cute. It was game time.
Friday, March 15
I went to my Dad’s house at 7am to help them pack and get ready but them being them, they were already ready to go when Elliott and I arrived. That little pup LOVES Dad and Suzette. It is so unbelievably cute to watch him scurry into their house and run around searching for them. The excitement when he sees them (and Kelsey, too) is insane. I am so grateful that he loves them but even more grateful that they love him just as much and that he always has a safe, loving place to go when I am out of town. Knowing that he is in good, trusting hands puts me at ease every time and I will never stop expressing my gratitude for them taking on my responsibility as frequently as they have (my new job has required more travel than I anticipated). Dad and Suzette were coming on the trip so Kelsey was the DDM for the weekend: Designated Dog Mom.
If you are a regular reader of this “blog” you know Steven and I have been friends for over a decade. It might shock you to learn that he had only met my parents once our Junior year of High School and my parents had never met his parents. I had to pick up Steven from his Mom’s house that morning and since his Mom lives literally less than 5 miles from my Dad, we all went together and Steven’s Mom and Stepdad met my Dad and Stepmom. Are they new best friends? Probably. We all visited for a little bit and then it was time to leave for the next stop: Kolaches.
Any residents of Cypress here? These Cypress people love Koala Kolache. My family has had it several times and while I have never understood what the big deal is, I do agree they are good. Do I prefer Kolache Factory? Yes. I bought everyone breakfast and we headed over to HEB to put gas in the cars and meet up with Katy and Paul so we could caravan together. Suzette was the only one who had met them before so everyone was shouting hello and introductions through open windows. We are fun.
Finally, we were on the road! Poor Alex got stuck riding with Steven and me and listening to Ariana Grande for 3.5 hours. No joke. Steven and I had planned our playlist weeks ago and there was no changing it. Sorry (not sorry), Alex! He was a trooper.
We all stopped in Giddings, TX for a break and to pick up Sunday’s breakfast from McDonald’s. Kelsey’s (not our DDM, but my BFF Kelsey) Stepmom had the brilliant idea for Kelsey’s bachelorette party years ago to bring McDonald’s breakfast for the last day so breakfast was fast and easy with a quick cleanup. Dad and Suzette had offered to provide all of the food for us for the weekend so Kelsey’s parents offered to donate McDonald’s breakfast to us from one of the stores they own. Thank you, Kevin and Carla!! Our families are so close and are always there for each other so I thought it was so sweet of them to do that for us.
We drove for about 2 more hours and finally made it to Fredericksburg, TX! Steven and I were literally looking at the GPS thinking, “10 more minutes until we have wine, 9 more minutes until we have wine…” and so on. At least it was after 12pm so we did not seem like total crazies.
Our first stop was William Chris Wines. Steven had looked it up prior to the trip and it appeared to be reservation only but we gave it a try anyway. They were busy and we did not feel like waiting it out so we took a bathroom break and carried on. Plus, it was so cold and windy outside! *mentally restarted the countdown clock until we have wine*
Next up: Grape Greek Vineyards. Wow! This place was GORGEOUS! We signed up for a tasting and did not have to wait long. Alex had never really had wine before so he was getting into it. Dad and Suzette have never met a stranger so they were talking the host up while Steven and I just quietly sipped our glasses. It was nice to be out of the car and finally kicking off the highly-anticipated weekend. I am not usually a fan of white wines but they had a really decent one so I was already learning a lot and surprising myself. Must be those well-developed 30-year-old taste buds.
They had a great lunch menu so we decided to eat there. Katy and Paul grabbed an awesome table outside by some heaters (y’all know I am always cold) and we ordered a few bottles of wine. Steven and I split a pizza and it was delicious. Since Katy and Paul were in a separate car, I had not really gotten to talk to them yet so we caught up on the latest happenings. It was so crazy to be hanging out with my friends and family and watch everyone get along so well (note: this was not the only time I had this thought over the weekend). I loved it and it made me excited for everyone else to get there!
The VRBO house was not available until 3pm so we decided to take a group trip to HEB. Dad and Suzette had packed most of the food for the weekend but we all needed some supplies and last minute things. By this point, we had done a tasting and as a group, finished 3 bottles of wine so we were feeling pretty good. Suzette joked about us walking into HEB and having a “Bad Moms” grocery store montage moment and honestly, the odds of that happening were pretty good. If you have not seen that scene, please stop reading immediately and go watch it. I could not stop laughing. The first thing I grabbed at HEB was a bag of potato chips from an aisle end cap… just be happy I did not rip it open and start snackin’. Steven bought a little bouquet of flowers because he is cute AF, we got all the items on our lists, and we were out of there.
I picked up the keys to the house and we made our way to it. The guy did not even check my ID! So trusting. The house had 5 “suites” (each suite had a bedroom, bathroom, and living room with a fold-out couch) so we scoped them all out and made a plan on who would unpack where. The house was cute as hell and had PLENTY of space for everyone. It was definitely a maze to navigate around but we figured it out like the smart adults we are and started getting to work unloading the cars. We unpacked, decorated, and then enjoyed some wine and relaxed while we waited for Jessica, Justin, and Kelsey to arrive. Jessica and Justin got there just before 5pm and Kelsey arrived shortly after. We unpacked their cars and finished setting up decorations and settling.
Just about EVERYONE I had mentioned this trip told me that we HAD to go to Hondo’s one night so when it came time for dinner, that was where we went. Would it had been easier to order food to the house or go somewhere that had a big enough table inside/out of the cold for us? Yes. Did the birthday girl want to go to Hondo’s? Yes.
This place was insane. A madhouse. You order inside in line and then they buzz you to a separate area to pick up the food. The inside was PACKED so the line was a mess of people. Suzette found a table outside and held it down while we all ran around like crazy people trying to coordinate menus and drinks. Steven won the Hondo’s award though because he came up with the brilliant idea to go to the separate bar line and buy 3 bottles of wine so we did not have to deal with a variety of orders and refills (and so we could start drinking and not have to wait). Well done, Steven!
The patio area was awesome. It was chilly out but with the fences around the courtyard blocking the wind, it was not too bad. The food was delicious! Kelsey and I split a burger and Dad tried sweet potato fries for the first time. Everyone was having such a fun time and I really loved being surrounded by the laughter and jokes. Steven tossed me curly fries from across the table and after I think 3 (maybe 4) attempts, I caught one! I was having fun. I think everyone was!
I LOVE THIS PICTURE
Kelsey read my mind at some point and asked what was for dessert that night. We had nothing planned but had already decided to make a fire pit at the house so Kelsey and I suggested we make S’mores. I do not think anyone else cared as much about dessert or S’mores… but Kelsey and I were determined so while everyone went to the house, the two of us went to HEB for supplies. Apparently we were not the only people in town who had the idea because the marshmallow selection was limited and the Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars were GONE. Gone. We grabbed a dark chocolate bar and some Reese’s peanut butter cups as replacements but we still wanted the classics. Kelsey won the HEB award (all my friends deserve awards, honestly) and suggested we go look by the checkout lanes for Hershey bars and BAM, there were more than enough. So freaking smart.
We drove back to the house and they already the fire going. Apparently Steven had wandered off to take photos, as Steven does, and started walking back yelling “I got sticks!” and it made everyone laugh. I love that guy. Justin and Alex built an awesome fire and we gathered around to enjoy the night. It was cold but with the fire, it was a perfect evening.
Y’all, we were a damn mess that night. Dad and Suzette had brought wine and we had all bought some at HEB and we went through ALLLLL of it the first night. ALL. OF. IT. We lost some wine glasses along the way (do not worry, we donated more than we broke behind when we left on Sunday) and it was such a wonderful night. Paul had his first S’more ever, we took photos, and we laughed and laughed and laughed. I love these people. We played a few daring rounds of “never have I ever” which was something else considering my FATHER was there. Facepalm. But, we all kept it mostly clean and it was fun to share stories with everyone. I can struggle with self worth and accepting that people care about me (especially after the last year) but it really filled my love tank up to be with everyone and have such a fun evening. I had no doubt my friends and family would all get along but it was nice to see everyone come together, too.
Over the next few hours, the rest of the party started to arrive. Mom and Robert showed up just in time to get a few drinks before we finished everything. Luke (my neighbor of 3ish years from my last apartment) was next, followed by Alex (my friend I met while volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House at Texas Children’s Hospital) and her boyfriend Bobby. Poor Alex and Bobby got there so late and went straight to sleep! Luckily, I had already set up all the fold-out beds for everyone so that no one had to worry about it after an evening of drinking. I am such a team-mom sometimes (I was also cleaning up bottles of wine and whatnot as we went, hehe). Everyone hung out until about midnight before turning in. It had been a long, fun day and we needed rest for Saturday! Day 1 was amazing.
Saturday, March 16
You would think after a night (ahem, day) of drinking, we would all sleep in but nope, apparently our internal clocks are all permanently set to “work mode” and most everyone was alive and functioning fairly early. Steven and I shared a room and were both up around 7:15am. The plan was to have breakfast at 9am and leave for our first winery at 10am so we took it easy. We enjoyed our pillow talk and laughed our asses off. Friend Alex (not Brother Alex), in the next room, texted me “omg y’all are so cute” because we were giggling so loud. We stretched and talked about the day before. Steven needs to move back home to Houston, stat. I miss him too much when he is gone!
Dad and Suzette started on breakfast and put Luke to work helping. They made eggs with sausage and biscuits and it was all delicious. We also had mimosas and bloody mary’s, of course. Most everyone was awake, ready to go, and fed by 9am! I had fun getting ready with my girls in the morning too! We were so ahead of schedule so we enjoyed the leisure time until it was time to head out. PS – I had been so worried about the weather but it was a slightly chilly and beautiful day! We got lucky!
Our first stop was Becker Vineyards for our 10:30am tasting. Todd and Rachel were meeting us there with his daughter and son-in-law but were running a little late coming in from Austin so we got started without them. I assumed each tasting would be about an hour since we had such a large group but it was over so fast! Too fast. I liked some of the wines and did not like some others, typical. I was kind of worried about making sure everyone was included and participating but I think it was an unnecessary worry, it was fine. I just did not want anyone to be left out!
After the tasting, we purchased some wine and went outside to enjoy the property. Steven had picked this one because of how beautiful it was and he did a good job! The wine was average but the land was nice. I wish we had explored it a little more versus staying in one area but I wish that about all the wineries we went too. A large, drunk group can only do so much! My sister later told me that she thinks some of us (me included) forgot that the day is a marathon, not a sprint! Basically, we went too hard too fast. No shame in my game, boo. Todd and Rachel joined us and it was nice to see them! They had not met most of the people there either (at this point, not shocking since all of my friends are in different groups and no one knows each other) so we did introductions and hung out.
Our next tasting was not until 1pm so we decided to throw in an impromptu additional winery: Signor Vineyards. Y’all. Y’ALL. This place was SPECTACULAR. It was hands down my favorite winery of the weekend and it was the one place we had not planned to go. I love how that turned out! The property was breathtaking and the way they had it designed and decorated was so inviting. We did a tasting (Kelsey and I shared, thankfully) and the guys, Sammy and Aaron, were so casual and fun about it. The wine was great and I genuinely just loved this place. I wished we could have stayed there all day but with the next tasting looming, we only got about an hour and a half at Signor.
I had looked at the photos from Becker and hated that the sun was making everyone squint so I forced another round of photos. I love that they humor me!
I cannot wait to go back to Signor and spend a much more significant amount of time there! Favorite. I wish I had bought one or two bottles of wine from them.
The next stop was Hilmy Cellars. Hilmy was… a mess. This is where we all started to fall apart and the drunkenness shined. I kept going behind the bar during the tasting, probably annoying the hell out of our host, Marshall. Todd and Rachel’s daughter, Monica, and her husband, Zaid, joined us. I had not met them yet but I have known Todd for several years and had heard so much about them both. They were awesome and while I was skeptical at first, I am so glad they came! It was great talking to them.
I mean, there is not a lot to say about Hilmy except that we were all over the place. I kept leaving the tasting to go outside and dance, then would go back inside and snack on the free popcorn and rejoin the tasting. Everyone was just sharing glasses. I had no idea which wine we were on and who was doing what. Marshall probably hated us! I somehow ended up with Katy’s hat? Yes, that question mark is intentional.
The owner (or someone of importance?) caught wind it was my birthday (/Dad chatted him up) and offered us a tour. No doubt he regretted that immediately because corralling all of us and explaining things to us was probably not easy. The tour was as short as our attention span. Luke had a family event to go to so we said goodbye to him. I was happy he could join us; I had missed hanging out with him since I moved in town a few months ago.
Shout out to Rachel for taking so many photos!
By the time we left Hilmy, it was nearing mid-afternoon. We needed to eat. When I picked up the keys to the house on Friday, it came with 18 vouchers for a free breakfast or lunch at one of the 6 listed locations. Us being us, we OBVIOUSLY were going to utilize those so we picked a Mexican place and and all enjoyed a free lunch. Most of us used this is a time to take a break from drinking and hydrate but some just kept the party going and I love them for that! The food was decent (or we were just very hungry) but the waitress was the true star: she kicked ass.
After lunch, Kelsey and I took Friend Alex and Bobby back to the house. They needed a break. We met everyone at our last winery of the day, Pedernales Cellars, for our 5pm tasting. This was Dad and Suzette’s choice: it is their favorite. I loved the wine and the property’s views were so nice. It was a great winery to end the day at! I was definitely gone by this point but I remember sitting there with the group outside and watching all the different conversations going on and feeling happy. I know I have said it a lot but everyone clicked so well and it made me feel good to be surrounded by such a wonderful group of people: both in that moment but in life at home. The last year was something else for me and they were ALL there for me throughout the whole thing. They encouraged me, supported me, and got me through a pretty rough patch in my life and I could not be more thankful for them and our day together!
After Pedernales, most of the group went back to the house to start on dinner. Monica and Zaid had to go back to Austin so we said goodbye to them. It was so great getting to know them! Kelsey (who 100% needs to be recognized for driving us all day!) took Katy, Paul, Steven, and I to HEB. We had depleted our water and wine supply Friday night. Kels dropped us off and we got 3 cases of water (unnecessary for ONE night left but ya know) and 7 bottles of wine (also unnecessary since we were having margaritas with dinner). Mess.
We got back to the house and I changed clothes into a dress because I felt like it. We took photos and snacked on chips and guacamole until dinner was ready. Dad and Suzette made the most outstanding enchiladas and street corn for everyone and we had more than enough food. I am so thankful that they provided food for everyone all weekend; I know it was a lot of work on their part and we all appreciated it so much! Justin makes an amazing margarita so he was on marg duty all night for everyone (I think… I honestly do not know how my glass kept being refilled). I attempted a speech to thank everyone but it was awkward as hell and I still refuse to watch the video of it. I showed my boyfriend and all he did was laugh that I started it by SAYING “ding ding ding” instead making the noise with a fork on my glass. Lord help me! I might not know what I said but I did know that I was going to cry and I was so determined NOT to. I have always cried at birthdays and was so sure I would at some point over the weekend but I had made it that far and held it together. Hooray for evolved emotional intelligence. Anyway, my heart was bursting and my love tank was overflowing and I was happy to have everyone there and enjoying a fun weekend away. It was wonderful.
It was too cold to be outside again all night so I elected to stay inside. Some people went back out and hung by the fire all night but I was more than content inside. For every birthday, Suzette asks each of us what we want for dessert. A few years ago, I said I wanted cookies. She one-upped my request and made a cookie skillet and it was BOMB. Think a BJs Pizookie but better. For this birthday, I had to have a cookie skillet and she one-upped me again and made two! The smell of the cookie must have lured everyone back inside so they sang and we devoured the dessert.
The rest of the night was chill. Everyone had gone hard all day and it was time to relax. I have no idea what the group outside was doing but inside, Dad, Suzette, Todd, Rachel, Kelsey and I talked around the kitchen table. Dad and Suzette totally clicked with them and I think they stole my friends from me… but I can share. I opened presents (even though I specifically requested no presents because their presence was a gift by itself). Steven and his mom got me 2 cute rompers and some fun goodies and Katy and Paul got me essential oils! Thank you!
When I finally made my way outside, it appeared everyone had already gone to bed! They were spent and I was too. I said goodbye to Todd and Rachel (they were staying nearby) and made my way to bed.
Sunday, March 17
Somehow, we were up and moving fairly early again. I hurt a little more than I did Saturday morning but hey, worth it. The morning was simple: eat, get ready, clean up, hit the road. The McDonald’s breakfast was perfect. Dad was heating up pancakes like a boss. I was not very hungry but I knew food would help me feel a little better so I ate them up. I think a lot of people were not feeling great because we had a LOT of breakfast left over!
There were no house rules on how to leave the house so we used our brains and left the place cleaner than when we arrived. Everyone gathered sheets and towels up into the laundry room and we took down decorations. The weekend went by WAY too fast and I was sad to have to pack everything up so soon. Teamwork for sure makes the dream work though because everything was finished and we were on the road by 10am, an hour before our 11am checkout time. I did not want to leave!
It was a long drive back. With the excitement over and our energy low, it was quiet. We chose Taylor Swift albums to entertain us on the way back but even then, it was just a draining drive. My car stopped at Sonic for a snack and again at Bucee’s for a break and gas. At Bucee’s, I ran into Friend Alex and got to sneak in some bonus hugs!
We made it back to Steven’s house around 2pm and we said our goodbyes. I am SO, SO happy he was able to come to town to celebrate my birthday and I cannot wait to go visit him in NYC for his big 3-0 in a few weeks! This trip would not have been the same without him.
I dropped Brother Alex off at Dad’s house and while I had originally planned to NOT go inside and see Elliott, I could not help myself. I had to snuggle that face of his. I double, triple, quadruple thanked Dad and Suzette for everything they did for all of us this weekend. They went above and beyond by offering to provide and prepare all of our meals and it meant a lot. I could not have executed everything as smoothly (and deliciously) on my own so I am very thankful for them. Everyone needs to give them a hug next time you see them.
I had about 2 hours before I needed to be at my office to leave for Corpus Christi for a work trip so I utilized my time wisely and visited my boyfriend. If you are wondering why he did not go… I would not subject a new relationship to meeting ALL of my family and the majority of my closest friends at the same time over the span of 3 days. I have a heart, people. I repacked my suitcase and reorganized my car and relaxed for what little time I could. I desperately needed a nap. The visit was short but I was happy to get in some QT.
From there, I drove to the office and then spent 3 hours in the car trying to be a good passenger and stay awake. Jessica had created a Dropbox folder for everyone’s photos and I guess I said 100 times that I wanted photos because everyone was incredibly prompt about sending me theirs! It was awesome and just another reason why I love them all so much.
So, I know I have said a ton of thank yous throughout this but I need these people to know how much I appreciate them for everything they did for this birthday trip:
Dad and Suzette – doing 100x more planning than I could ever do to pick out great recipes and grocery shop, pre-making meals for the weekend during your already-busy lives, cooking, cleaning, and generally taking care of us all weekend
Jessica – encouraging me to do something fun and enjoy myself and keeping me calm when I got stressed out, getting everything done and keeping us moving all weekend
Justin – I love your margaritas
Steven – Google doc-ing this whole thing, picking wineries, picking outfits, being my sounding board for every decision and moment for 2 months
Mom – contributing a generous amount to the cost of the house so that it was affordable for everyone and everyone had a nice, comfortable place to stay
Kelsey – volunteering to stay back and take care of Elliott all weekend (he loves you!)
My friends – you are awesome: Kelsey left Liam for the first time to come celebrate with me, none of y’all knew each other going into this and all clicked so well, for driving 4 hours to be a part of this with me after a long work week, and for always supporting and loving me even when I am a pain in your asses
It went by way too fast but I had the best weekend. Thank you to everyone for everything! My heart is full. I love y’all!
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As for the rest of my birthday…
I spent Sunday night-Wednesday (Wednesday was my birthday) afternoon in Corpus. We had a ton of meetings and it was exhausting in a number of ways but it was a good trip. Ryan and Caleb took me to get a pizookie Tuesday night (they had also never had one before) and they reluctantly sang to me. It was awesome.
When we got back to Houston, I noticed I had a flat tire on my car. That tire had been giving me trouble so it was only a matter of time something happened. At least it did not blow out while I was driving to and from Fredericksburg! It could have been worse. My awesome boyfriend met me and changed it for me. Swoon. I spent the next 2 hours at Discount Tire before spending another 1.5 hours in traffic to drive to Tomball to have dinner with my family.
We had pizza, more wine (hehe), and cake (thirty, flirty, and thriving!). They spent all weekend celebrating me so it felt good that they tolerated me for one more bonus celebration with my nieces and grandparents. The girls even let Dad and I stand on their photo “stage”!
My nieces singing me happy birthday! This never gets old.
My boyfriend came over in the evening and brought me my favorite flowers in my favorite color and an awesome #flatearth shirt (inside joke).
I am back in the office today and my boyfriend sent me Tiff’s Treats!
Tonight, he is is taking me somewhere for dinner (he is keeping it a surprise). Update: we went to Taste of Texas and it was delicious! I felt special!
Tomorrow night, Lindsay and I are going to a nice dinner to celebrate each other (her 30th birthday is today and we have been friends for 15+ years!).
Turning 30 was wonderful. The BEST birthday so far.
After a couple of rough and emotional weeks and during a much-needed phone call with my amazing friend Steven one late September night, I ended up booking tickets to go visit him in New York for early November. We had been socializing about his upcoming visit to Houston but decided it would do us both some good for me to take a trip there, too! When Steven first moved to NY after college, I went every other year to see him. It had been 4 years since my last visit though because, ya know, life gets in the way… so, a trip was long overdue (and emotionally necessary).
My first two trips to visit him had been in late November or early December and were always beyond freezing. Winter had already set in NY both times, trees were already bare, everything already frozen. Steven suggested we target a slightly earlier visit so we could go “leaf peeping” and enjoy the actual Fall season. It was the best idea he had and it was a relaxing weekend! And before you all come at me with comments: yes, Steven and I are the cutest couple of all time but we have one major thing in common… we both like men. So, enjoy our adorableness as we are! 🙂
Friday, November 2
My flight was for around noon so I woke up, finished packing (Elliott’s disapproving eyes watching the entire time), and headed over to my Dad’s house to drop Elliott off for the weekend. The poor little pup HATES seeing my suitcase. After two 4+ week trips, can I really blame him?
We arrived at my Dad’s and were greeted by him and a puppy he had found. Oy. It was clearly a house dog but there was no tag with a phone number. That little dog was playful and energetic but sure knew the word “No” when I had to stand up for Elliott since Elliott does not know how to stand up for himself. Dad and I searched for the owners for a little bit then loaded up my car so he could drive me to the airport. We brought the new dog with us so he could stop at a Vet office on his way home and check for a microchip (flash forward, we found the owner on their NextDoor app and Dad dropped the lost puppy off at his rightful home that afternoon). There was some serious traffic that forced us to drive the opposite way down an access ramp of the highway but we made it to the airport with plenty of time. I thanked my Dad approximately 100 times for watching Elliott AGAIN (and for driving me… again) and headed inside.
The flight to NY always seems to go by quickly and I arrived in what seemed like no time at all. I caught an Uber to Steven’s new apartment. He and his roommate, Uyen (who also went to High School with us but graduated a year after us), had moved to a different area of Brooklyn and I was excited to see their new place. It was around 5:30pm so traffic was a little… trafficky… but the Uber ride was short. The Uber driver was a young student and was so friendly. I am so horrible at starting conversations with strangers after the friendly initial greetings but he was really good at keeping it going. I enjoyed talking to him!
I got to Steven’s apartment shortly after he got home from work – perfect timing. He, Uyen, and Topher (his cute mini Australian Shepherd) greeted me and gave me a tour of the new place. As expected, it was perfectly decorated and totally fitting to their style. The place seemed smaller than their old one but their kitchen and bathroom were HUGE upgrades compared to the old apartment. It was lovely!
Steven and I changed and freshened up and headed to the city to meet Meghan, Steven’s co-worker, for dinner and drinks. I had purchased the most awesome trench coat and was excited to wear it! We headed to the subway and I did not even realize we had crossed into the city until Steven mentioned it days later (I assumed we were in Brooklyn still) – goes to show how much I get turned around when I am there. I can navigate the world but get to NY and always feel upside down! Our first stop was The Immigrant, a wine bar. It was a low-key place and we had a round of drinks and got to know each other. I was a little anxious about there being another person there (and someone I did not know!) but it was great. Steven is always so good at making sure everyone is included in the conversation and comfortable. I appreciate that quality about him!
After drinks, we went to dinner at John’s at 12th Street, an Italian restaurant that Steven and Uyen had raved about. Expectations were high and were 100% met. Italian is not typically my favorite type of food but I got the Chicken Parmesan and it was everything. The restaurant had been on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” on the Food Network so you know it was good. The portion was HUGE so I gladly shared some with Steven. The vibe there was really cool and they had these candles that had burned forever which reminded me of an old cash-only bar in downtown Houston I had visited once. This restaurant happened to be cash-only too. Must be a thing!
Dinner was amazing and once we were stuffed, we headed to one more bar for a final round of drinks at Pierre Loti. It was another wine bar and it was completely packed so our time there was short.
Steven and I headed home and obviously had a photo shoot in the subway. Obviously.
We had a few more drinks at his fabulous kitchen table and I briefly video chatted with my friend Andrew who was in Mexico for Bikram Yoga Teacher Training. I know what it is like to be there so I always make sure to answer when he called – it takes some serious support from friends and family to survive that training and he was totally there for me when I was away so I wanted to reciprocate.
It was late so we called it an evening. It was quite possibly the first time I felt distracted and remotely happy in weeks and for a few moments, I felt like I could breathe again. I was grateful to be there and peacefully fell asleep with ease; my anxieties of life completely erased, even if temporary.
Saturday, November 3
Steven had a long day planned for us! Past visits had taken us into the city and being a part of the hustle and bustle but this time, he planned a trip upstate to an outdoor sculpture park and some wineries.
Uyen was joining us so we all got up and got ready for the day. I struggled getting out of bed in favor of snuggling with Topher just a little longer but eventually managed to get myself up. Steven and I walked to pick up the rental car from Enterprise; he had made the great decision to drive ourselves versus taking trains and cabs everywhere to get up there. It was going to be a nearly 2 hour drive so we wanted to be comfortable. The walk to Enterprise was a little longer than I anticipated and even though it was cold and incredibly windy out, I had started to warm up! Plus, I was feeling all sorts of dehydrated from the night before and was nursing a decently sized migraine. I stopped to buy water for the day to try and get ahead of any issues.
We drove back to the apartment, picked up Uyen, and started our drive. The park was in NY but we had to drive through New Jersey first and we passed some of the most amazing color trees I had ever seen. It truly was Fall.
Realizing none of us had eaten, we stopped for breakfast at Matthew’s Diner. Steven wanted a “real diner” experience and this was the best we could find along our route. It was in the town of Waldwich which we had all immediately decided was haunted. Something about it just gave a haunting feel! Brunch was decent. I think we all spent more time trying to get a good video of Steven pouring syrup onto his pumpkin pancakes than we did eating. His poor pancakes were drenched by the time we got something decent! So extra.
On our way to the diner, we had passed an amazingly vibrant red tree. As silly as it sounds, I had never seen a tree that color in my life. We circled back to find it so we could take a photo of it. I had a fabulous red leather jacket on and I wanted to get a photo with it! When we arrived back at the tree, the owner of the house was outside and giving us looks for even stopping to take a photo of it so we decided not to have a personal photo shoot. He clearly had no idea what a special tree he had!
We arrived at Storm King Art Center shortly after 1pm. Storm King was SO cool. Uyen referred to it as a “an Instagram millennial thirst-trap” because of how gorgeous the property was and how large and beautiful the sculptures were. It was true though, there were a lot of opportunities for photo ops. If I was still on Instagram (I deleted it a few months ago), I would have been all over it.
Y’all, THE. WIND. It was so, so windy. We braved a little bit of rain on and off when we first arrived but it was mostly sunny. It was just so. unbelievably. miserably. windy. My Houston, Texas, hot-yoga-loving, self was not cut out for that. Steven had on a sweater and Uyen’s jacket did not look THAT much warmer than mine so why was I teeth-chattering cold? The property was large and we did a lot of walking so that helped warm me up as time went on, though. Whew. Had it not been so windy, I probably would not have felt like I was in a walk-in freezer so I tried to escape the wind when I could.
We walked around for a few hours, soaked up the art and fresh air, and had mini photo shoots where appropriate. It was nice to be out of the city and somewhere so peaceful. There were muddy areas that we had to battle but overall it was just a beautiful, carefree afternoon full of laughs and jokes. I would find myself getting “in my head” about little things here and there but did my best to snap back to the present moment and enjoy where I was.
Our last statue was one that everyone loved to pose under. I made a comment about doing a headstand underneath it and was encouraged to try… and try I did. I struggled to get into and fell a few times. People were watching and I was feeling nervous with their unintended pressure! Plus, it was cold. I never fully got myself into position but Steven managed to grab a snap where it LOOKED like I did, even if my pale stomach was on display and I looked a mess. People had encouraged me to keep trying but after a few attempts, I had to throw in the towel and move on.
We left Storm King after a couple of hours and headed toward Brotherhood Winery, America’s oldest winery. On our way, we passed a bridge with a gorgeous view. None of our phones could capture how breathtaking it really was. The picture on the right is CLEARLY edited to try to show its true beauty but even then, it was more magical in person.
The winery was nearby so it was a short drive to it. Uyen and I rinsed the mud off our boots in the bathroom and then we all went in to do a wine tasting. It was after 4pm so tours of the winery were no longer available but we really only wanted to be drinking wine so the doing just the wine tasting was plenty. The whole property was like a small town and very quaint. They were setting up for a wedding and I completely understood why someone would want to get married there. It was lovely (even though I have almost zero pictures of the place and only one of this one barn).
We went inside and unfortunately got stuck behind a large group of girls. I say girls because even though they were of age to be doing a wine tasting, they acted and seemed like children. They all looked and dressed the same, it was kind of funny. We hoped to avoid being in their group but did not get lucky and ended up at the same counter as them. We positioned ourselves as far from them as we could get, ha.
The guy running the wine tasting was great. He was knowledgeable and funny and we enjoyed his company. He clearly did not like the group of girls either – they talked while he talked and constantly asked him to repeat himself. Whether true or not, he told us he was pouring us and the rest of the group more than he was them. I appreciated the little token of gratitude. We asked questions and learned a lot about wines and the history of the winery. I remember nothing… ha. That is what happens when I do not take notes for my blog!
We had 15 wines to taste so each flight, we would each try to get one of the 3 options and then try each other’s. I have never been a fan of white wine and I do not think that has changed. I also tried Honey Meade for the first time – also not a fan. I did try a chocolate liquor though and that was absolutely amazing; significantly more delicious than I expected. I liked a lot of the reds they had to offer but I like a red, so that was expected! It was a fun time! The only ever wine tasting I had done was in Italy and I was not a wine drinker at that time so this experience was definitely different in that I was more open to trying everything.
We decided to go to another nearby winery, Palaia Winery. The vibe there was VERY different. We could hear a party going on as soon as we parked and opened the car doors. It was much more of a dive-bar-type and “cool” environment. We did their wine tasting and I am sorry to say that I really did not enjoy any of their wines. I loved the place, but the wines were all… not for me. Not my taste. I cannot speak for Steven or Uyen but I downed my glasses just to get rid of them, not because I enjoyed them. If we did not have such a long drive back to the city, we probably would have stayed there longer and joined the piano bar crowd on the patio but we decided to be responsible and start heading back to the city.
It was a looooooooooooong drive back to their apartment. We were all exhausted and traffic was a mess. We entertained ourselves though and made it back safely!
The plan was to go to dinner so Uyen made a reservation at a restaurant for around 9pm. Uyen and Steven left to go get a bottle of wine and during their short trip, I managed to fall asleep… oops. My head had been hurting all day so it was only a matter of time, really. When they got back, they suggested we order-in instead and I was 100% on board with that idea! We ordered some delicious Chinese food. They shared wine and I stuck to water – Steven and I were taking a Bikram Yoga class the next day and I knew I needed to start hydrating.
We ate and hung out for awhile. It had been a long day and we were all completely spent. We started to watch “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” on Netflix; Steven made it about 15 minutes in before he left to go to bed but Uyen and I finished the movie because if you have not seen the movie, it is fantastic and worth watching no matter how tired you are! Once it was over, we both headed to sleep. I was out instantly.
Sunday, December 4
It was a wonderfully slow morning. Steven had to get up to walk Topher and return the rental car but I slept in. My body was sore so in preparation for yoga that afternoon, I started stretching in bed… but I kept falling back asleep. Eventually, we all got going and decided to go to brunch. It was impossible to get to the place they originally picked because so many streets were blocked by the New York City Marathon! We changed plans but took a quick break outside (the weather was perfect!) to watch the runners at the mile 12 marker. So many flashbacks of my half marathon came rushing back… I watched them in awe, cheering them on at their almost halfway mark. It was unbelievable how many runners there were; they kept coming and coming and coming!
After awhile, it was time to eat. We went to Cherry Point for brunch since that was the place we were originally going to have dinner at the night before. I passed on the morning drinks, still preparing for yoga, but the food was amazing! My avocado toast… so bougie.
We parted ways with Uyen and went to get Topher to take him to the dog park to enjoy the weather. Topher has SO much energy and definitely knew where we were going because he was very excited the entire walk. Once we arrived, he ran around like a mad-dog. Elliott is not a real dog because when I take him to dog parks, he sits next to me. Topher, however, was born for dog parks. The park was small and grass-less but it was full – there were plenty of dogs for Topher to play with and boy, did he try to play with them all. He would bring us gross tennis balls and just beg for us to throw them. I did not want to touch it so I kicked it like a soccer ball and he would take off, searching for it in the leaves. If it ever got mixed up with other tennis balls, he would look for the perfect one and bring it back. It was adorable. Topher is a real dog! I loved watching him play. We walked across the street to meet up with Steven’s friend who also had a dog so that they could meet and play. His dog was more like Elliott – reserved and unsure about the whole ‘dog park’ thing. Dog personalities are so fascinating.
After about an hour or so, Steven and I needed to go home to get ready for yoga. We dropped Topher off and packed our things and started the trek. My Bikram Bestie from teacher training, Lidia, teaches at a studio in Brooklyn but it was an hour from Steven’s apartment! The hour actually went by really quickly which was odd considering how excited and eager I was to see Lidia. I had not seen her since January when she visited me so I was ready to give her a hug and especially ready and excited to take her class for the first time!
Once we arrived in Bay Ridge, it felt like we were in a totally different area (besides the fact that we were, indeed, in a totally different area). It was still Brooklyn but felt like a different city! The vibe was just different in a way I cannot really explain. We walked a few blocks to Lidia’s studio and she greeted us excitedly at the door! We hugged and hugged and hugged some more. I introduced her to Steven (who, by the way, was taking his FIRST Bikram Yoga class!) and she showed us around the studio. He and I went to the basement to change and get ready for class then went back upstairs to set up our mats. She had told us where the ‘hot’ and ‘cool’ spots in the room were and Steven chose a cooler spot – I allowed it since it was his first class! Hehe. Lidia’s class was amazing. It was not what I expected at all from her but I loved it and she kicked our butts, just like Bikram taught us. She is such a good teacher and I could tell the students love her, how could they not? She was so compassionate, encouraging, and cute! I loved it. I loved getting to finally take her class and seeing her again!
Steven did great and survived, even enjoyed the class himself and that made me happy. I never know how someone will feel when I bring them to class and I always secretly hope they love it as much as I do so I was glad he had a good experience. We waited for the room to clear out after class and then of course, took a million photos.
Once everyone else left, Lidia joined in with us!
We cleaned up and then headed to dinner nearby.
Lidia picked the place, Cebu Brooklyn, and it was delicious! The restaurant was massive and the vibe inside was really cool. Lidia said the place looks totally different during the day but at night with the lights dimmed, it was nice. We had a few rounds of drinks and did family-style dinner; ordered several things and split. It was great catching up with Lidia and talking yoga but unlike Steven, I am not very good at keeping everyone “in the loop” during conversations. I tried, though! I am sure he felt left out during our yoga moments but Steven is also good at actively participating so maybe it was not as bad for him as my head made it out to be. When yogis get together, it is tough to NOT discuss yoga!
Steven and I had a long commute so we said our goodbyes and started the journey back home. We were both exhausted but also sad that the weekend was coming to an end.
Monday, December 5
Monday was a travel day! Steven had to leave for work as I was getting up. I was out the door an hour later and headed back to the airport to go home. I was sad on my way to the airport because I missed Steven already! The weekend was packed full of fun but did not seem long enough; it never does, right?
I had time to waste at the airport so I got something to eat, chatted with my dad, and watched Netflix. Steven and I still texted all morning about how sad we both were and I sent him this photo: airport vibes.
The flight home was uneventful. It is always bittersweet coming home. The Uber ride to my Dad’s house was long but I was happy to see Elliott and snuggle him!
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I am so happy Steven suggested I take a visit up there. Not only was it long overdue, it was just good timing. Steven and I have been such good friends for years and as all friendships go, there are times of closeness and times of distance. We have never been distant but I have felt especially close with him in the weeks leading up to (and after, since I am writing this a month late). His support, friendship, understanding, and compassion during a difficult and trying time in my life has been more than I could ever want from a friend and I am truly grateful for him. I have plenty of friends and family that have shown similar support and love to me right now (and I am forever grateful) but Steven has a deep understanding in a way I do not think many others could completely relate, and I have relied heavily on him. I love that we have maintained such a beautiful friendship over the last 10 years and that we can travel and vacation together so well. I look forward to many, many more trips in our future!
The trip was needed and while I enjoyed it, there were random moments that were tough for me; little reminders here and there (the Wasco sign I saw walking to Enterprise on Saturday nearly took the wind out of me) that triggered the feelings of sadness, pain, and loneliness that I was trying to escape but I pushed on and tried to put those feelings behind me. I did not want Steven, Uyen, or Lidia to notice my little struggles. As I thought about writing this blog post back during the trip, it sounded so depressing even though I was having a good vacation. As I actually put pen to paper (fingers to keyboard?) now, I remember those feelings but feel less hindered and paralyzed by them and with the clouds lifted, recall the trip in a much happier, positive way and for that, I am thankful. I only want to remember the good.
I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Michigan with Bobby and his family for their annual week-long vacation at their family lake house off of Lake Superior. When they lived in Illinois, it was a short drive over but they all live in Texas now so a few years ago, they rented an RV to travel there together in-style. We decided to do that again this year but at the last minute, the guy we were renting from had to cancel. With no time to find a new one, Bobby’s friend (who works at Enterprise) hooked us up with a large Expedition for the trip.
I had heard so many amazing things about Michigan and we had planned it for so long that I was really looking forward to going! It ended up being a wonderful week with many firsts (my “firsts” are highlighted in pink along the way).
PS – you can click on images to enlarge them.
Friday July 27, 2018 – Day 1
On Thursday night, Bobby and I made the 3-hour drive from Houston to his parents’ house. We knew we would have an early morning start on Friday and a long day in the car so I was glad we decided to get a jump-start the day before. On Friday morning, Bobby and his dad, Kevin, picked up our rental car while his mom, Cathy, and I got the house ready. When they got back, we packed up our extra large Ford Expedition with our bags, tents, dog supplies, and coolers/snacks. My suitcase was ridiculously large and incredibly embarrassing but being that I had never been to Michigan and had no idea what I was getting into (activities we were doing, hot and cold weather, etc.), I needed to be prepared for anything. I have gone on longer trips with smaller suitcases so I hated that I over-packed and hoped no one would judge me! Now that I have been, I will know better next time and be able to pack more appropriately (but as a side note, I wore most of the things I brought). Bobby had a cool Starbucks to-go cup that we thought we had lost weeks ago at his or my apartment but magically found Friday morning at his parents’ house… and then re-lost while loading the car. After we re-found the cup, we we started our cross-country drive. Start time: 9:37am.
The first leg of the drive was short: a quick 5 minute drive to the local Veterinarian’s office. We needed to pick up Brian and Spike’s, Bobby’s parents’ little papillon dogs who were making the drive with us, medicine in-case we needed to lightly sedate them. After all, it was going to be a 24+ hour drive. It was not ideal for the dogs or for us to drug them, but after only a few minutes we realized we had no choice. There was no way they were going to be able to handle a drive like that without a little “assistance.” It was already a tight enough space with us and our luggage, we did not need their excited and cute selves roaming around the car for 2 days.
We stopped for breakfast at Whataburger about an hour later and kept on with the drive. Bobby had never had a Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit before! Game changer. The next 5 hours went by very fast. It was still technically a workday for Bobby so he worked to keep himself busy. I napped a little bit but we all mostly entertained ourselves and socialized the whole time. I somehow won/earned 6 hours of unlimited lives on Candy Crush so that helped. We made it to Bryant, Arkansas before we stopped for gas. Everyone got a bathroom break, including the dogs, and we made ourselves sandwiches for lunch. Brian and Spike had settled down quite a bit but still managed to shed so we made another stop at a nearby Target to get a handheld, cordless, pet vacuum to help clean up the fur. It made me thankful Elliott does not shed! We also looked for a handheld buzzer so we could play the Family Feud board game later in the week but we came up empty handed (we never actually played the game while we were there). Cathy treated us to some dark chocolate peanut butter cups and we were on the road again.
Kevin pointed out things along the drive that all helped the time go by. He pointed out various businesses and landmarks like a steel company, ammo company, Highlands Milk, the Arkansas River and gave us fun facts like how that particular stretch of road has the most trucks on it because it is the only way to get to Memphis and how Arkansas is a huge rice producer. It reminded me of something my mom would do! A little education along the way never hurt anyone.
Arkansas River
We drove through Tennessee and stopped in Missouri at the Missouri Division of Tourism Hayti Welcome Center (e.g. a rest stop). The sun was starting to set a little so it was pretty nice outside. The dogs got another break but we were all starting to worry about little Spike. He is an older dog and we were worried the medicine might have been too much for him (spoiler alert: he was fine!). Cathy busted out the wine and she, Bobby, and I enjoyed a much-needed glass!
Bobby was finished working so we decided to watch a movie on his iPad: “Game Over, Man.” It was difficult to share headphones and be comfortable in the backseat the way we had it set up so that did not last very long. It did help pass a little bit of time though and it made us laugh… even if it was kind of a dumb movie.
We crossed the mighty Mississippi River shortly after and made it to Mt. Vernon, Illinois around 9:15pm for dinner. The weather had significantly cooled off so I was glad I did not pack my jacket up in the trunk with everything else and instead had it readily available. Little win. We went to the Steak and Shake in the area but when we walked in, the waitress told us that she had just sat 3 large parties and it would be awhile before we would get food, so we left. Part of me appreciated her giving us a warning but part of me was annoyed that she did that. She turned away business! That is not good company practice, IMO. It was late and there were not many options in the area and we did not want to wait until we hit the next town, so we settled for Hardee’s across the street. Womp womp. The service in there was odd and questionable and the food was mediocre at best. I had never had Hardee’s before and to be honest, I would not care if I never had it again. It was fine for the night’s goal but I think I can cross Hardee’s off my list of places to revisit.
Mississippi River
Mississippi River
Earlier in the drive, Bobby booked us hotel rooms in Effingham, Illinois via Hotwire. Effingham was an hour away from Mt. Vernon so we ate quickly and got on our way. I think we were all exhausted by that point. Kevin had driven the entire time so it was probably good for him to rest, too. We got to the Baymont motel only to be told that they booked us with 2 smoking, non-pet-friendly rooms (i.e. the exact opposite thing we needed). We left but wanted a refund so while Kevin re-fueled the car, Bobby got on the phone with Hotwire for a refund. That was a total nightmare. We were on hold for basically ever and when we finally got an agent… oh boy. That guy was something else but Bobby handled him and the situation so well, way better than I would have which is one of the many things I love about him. Long story short: he called the hotel and the receptionist there told him that there WERE rooms for us and because of that, Hotwire could not issue us a refund. We did not want to lose the money so we turned around and tried to check-in again. The whole ordeal from the time we arrived there the first time to the time we actually received hotel keys was just about an hour. That was the last thing we all needed after already being in the car for 13 hours! But, we got rooms and that was all we could ask for. While we were unloading the car, the receptionist ran back over to us and told there was someone in one of the rooms she gave us and swapped keys with us. Yikes! That could have been bad… walking into someone’s room in small-town Effingham? That is how Dateline stories start. I was glad to avoid that situation. I skipped the shower, regardless of how gross my skin and hair looked like by that point, and opted to go directly to sleep in the smallest double bed of all time. We were asleep probably just after midnight. Not the best hotel we have stayed in… but not the worst. Again, it got the job done.
Total travel time: 14.5 hours
Saturday July 28, 2018 – Day 2
I felt like the second my eyes closed, my 5:45am alarm was already going off. We decided to leave at 6:30am so it was another early start for us. I took a much-needed shower (What is it about traveling that makes a person get so gross? How does sitting in the car, or on an airplane, or at a hospital doing nothing do that to a person?!) and re-packed. Bobby re-vacuumed up the pet hair and we all re-packed the car. We had to reorganize just a little bit because Bobby was our new driver which meant I got to be in the front seat. The front seat was not nearly as comfortable as the back seat but I think it ended up being easier with the dogs because both dogs wanted to be with Cathy and Kevin and with them sitting in the back, there was a lot less dog-roaming. It worked out! We stopped at Starbucks for breakfast and coffee and officially kicked off day 2.
Bobby had everyone choose an album to listen to at some point and we all had to listen to it regardless of how anyone else felt about it. It was a risky game but I liked it. Cathy picked a pretty good one (I forget which one) and when it was my turn, I picked Jo Dee Messina’s “I’m Alright” album. I told them how that album was my first real-taste of country music (with the exception of my 5th grade teacher’s obsession with Clay Walker), how my aunt had bought it for me, and how when I was younger and had a CD player it was basically the only CD I would listen to when we went on family vacations. To this day, something about travelling makes me want to listen to this album! I was nervous about my pick but it was received well! Whew. Bobby picked his album and then we listened to Jim Gaffigan and a few other comedians. I had started to fall in and out of sleep at that point but it was tough to sleep in the front seat. Also, I had the big responsibility of holding up Illinois’ version of an EZ Tag in the window as we went through tolls.
We saw the Chicago skyline in the distance around 10am. When Bobby and I visited Chicago, he pointed me in the direction of the town he grew up in but I did not realize at the time just how close it was. We were now in Wadsworth, his hometown. Kevin made a comment about visiting their old house but quickly dismissed the idea. I was glad when Cathy suggested we go anyway because I wanted to see Bobby’s hometown. I had given him the grand tour of where I was raised (old house, my schools, places I went, etc.) and I had hoped one day to see his so I was happy when we exited the highway for the short detour. They told me all about the area, the wetlands, and The Shanty (a restaurant owned by a family they know that was on Diner’s, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network). They pointed out different places they would go and I really enjoyed hearing about it all. Kevin kept saying, “we are just giving you stuff for your blog.” While that may be true, it made me feel included and welcomed, maybe even a little bit special, for them to give me a tour and take me there.
Cathy called their old neighbors to tell them we were in the area and see if they were home so we could visit. They were there so we made a pit-stop. The weather had warmed up so I changed from leggings into shorts and we all visited outside for a little bit. Their neighbors were very kind. It was very obvious to me that everyone was happy to see each other and how close their friendships were. Bobby’s old childhood home was literally next-door so they told me all about the house and things they added and whatnot. The neighborhood was so different from the neighborhood I grew up in: no fences and more spaced out. It was beautiful. Bobby told me about just being able to walk through the trees in the backyard and be at his best friend’s house and pointed out where he and his friends would adventure to. Cathy shared stories and memories about the two families growing up together. I loved it all. It seemed like a really nice place to grow up and I was grateful they shared it with me. I also kept thinking to myself how much my brother-in-law would love the area and raise a family there (but he is not allowed to move my sister and nieces that far away from me so… irrelevant).
In an effort to get to our final destination while it was still light out (so we could set up tents easily), we said our goodbyes and got on the road again. About 2 seconds later, we were in Wisconsin. I had no idea we were so close to the border! Kevin noted the Bristol Renaissance Faire which sounded pretty comparable to the Texas Renaissance Festival I had been to before. A quick Google comparison shows Wisconsin’s at 4.8 stars and Texas’ at 4.6 stars (with a difference of only 20 reviews between the 2) so Wisconsin might us beat in that market!
We stopped at Woodman’s, a local/popular/apparently cheap liquor store to stock up for the week. Our car was already at max capacity but when you find 2 cases of water for $5.75 (70 bottles total), you buy it and find room! We bought more than enough alcohol and kept on our way. Waze proved to be the real MVP of the trip because as we approached traffic, it re-routed us to side roads and we probably saved ourselves from sitting in 30-60 minutes of nearly stopped, bumper to bumper, traffic.
At about that time, my sister had posted a picture of everyone setting up for my niece’s 5th birthday party. I had debated a LOT before leaving for Michigan about missing her party but made the tough decision to skip it this year, the first one I had missed. I was confident in my decision but seeing those pictures made me sad; could not help it. I decided to video chat them before the party started. Bailey asked me if I was coming and if I was going to see her on her real birthday instead and it literally ripped my heart right out of me! The connection was bad so it was a short conversation but she seemed SO excited and happy and that made me happy too, even if I cried behind my sunglasses after we hung up. Shh. Luckily, Cathy was on the phone with Bobby’s aunt, Nancy, discussing the traffic we had just bypassed and how to get around it (Nancy and her family were driving up in an RV and scheduled to arrive shortly after us). I was thankful everyone was distracted so I could gather my emotions and kept on with the day.
It was a little after 1pm as we approached Milwaukee so we voted to stop at the Portillo’s in Greenfield (just South of the city) for lunch. Bobby took me to the Portillo’s in Chicago during our trip and at the time, I got their popular Italian Beef sandwich. It was my first Italian Beef and it was delicious! He had told me they also had amazing hot dogs but suggested I wait until our baseball game that night to try one so I missed out on the Portillo’s version. Who knew I would get a chance to try one this time around? We all got Chicago-style hot dogs and it did not disappoint at all. My hot dogs always either had ketchup/mustard or chili/cheese so one with “the works” was very different but very tasty. Their french fries were delicious and Cathy even ordered a piece of their famous chocolate cake for us to all share. Yum! (PS – we always did drive-thru on our stops or someone waited in the car, we never left the dogs alone in the car!)
We continued on. It was a lot of driving but still seemed to be going by fairly quickly. We made it to Sheboygan, WI and passed the “World’s Tallest Symbol of Freedom” (a 400ft flagpole). Site note: I just read that article and it is only the 6th tallest flagpole in the world but is the tallest in America. We made it to Green Bay around 3:30pm and saw Lambeau Field from a distance. Bobby and his family are all Packers fans but I still like them anyway! I started to sleep on and off again but do not think I managed to get any productive rest out of it. Somewhere along the way, Bobby suggested we play the ABC game (of which we did not know the official rules so we made our own: find a word that begins with that letter of the alphabet). Cathy was making me laugh because she said we had an unfair disadvantage by being in the front seat! Not wrong, but she did beat us on a few letters. It was a scenic drive through some cute small times (shout out to Crystal Falls for being adorable). We made it all the way to the letter X before we gave up. We never found an X. However, it did kill a LOT of time and before I knew it, we were in L’Anse, Michigan at 6pm. We made a quick stop (and our last one before arriving at the lake house) at the grocery store. Joan, Bobby’s grandma/Cathy’s mom, wanted us to grab what she had been told was “the best frozen pizza”: Lozza Mozza. We picked up a few and kept on.
Tallest Symbol of Freedom
Lambeau Field (in the distance)
We were in the home stretch now and everyone was pointing out everything to me! They took me the scenic route and we saw the sun start to go down off of Keweenaw Bay off of Lake Superior. We passed the local bar they go to and that I had heard a lot about: The Finns. I was a little overwhelmed because they were all so familiar with everything and while I absolutely wanted to hear it all and see it all, it was difficult to keep up! They all have SO many fond memories and experiences in the area and it is clearly a place they understandably hold dearly in their hearts! (I loved the place too, I get it.) Finally, at 8pm local time (our time zone changed to be an hour ahead) we arrived in Skanee, Michigan in the UP (upper peninsula)! Bobby put the car in neutral and coasted down the road and into the driveway of the celebrated lake house on Huron Bay. My phone had officially lost signal somewhere between the grocery store and the lake house so I put it in airplane mode for 7 days and only used my phone as a camera; I was committed to true off-grid vacation!
Joan and Hal (Bobby’s grandparents), were there anxiously ready to greet us. We said our hellos and let the dogs start to explore as we unloaded the car. They gave me a tour of the house and property and it was all so beautiful. The weather, the view of the water, everything. The amazing sunset definitely did not hurt my opinion! Kevin asked me if it was what I expected but honestly, I had no expectations. I had only heard so much about the memories there instead of descriptions of the property so I was going in blind. Bobby had told me about the stairs to the dock once before so that was the only part I was slightly familiar with but either way, I did not know what to expect. Bobby took me down to the dock and we soaked up the view for a little bit but we needed to get our tent setup before dark so we headed back up.
I forgot to grab the extra tarp (to put under the tent) out of his car when we initially loaded up the Expedition on Friday… and by “forgot” I mean, I did not know it was there to take… so we searched for a spare tarp on the pontoon and started on the tent. We (he) bought the tent on Amazon the week before: an “instant” one. It did not disappoint! We had that thing popped up in 10 seconds. It barely fit our queen-size air mattress but that was all the room we needed. We were not going to be spending hours in the tent so it only needed enough room for sleeping, which it had. Bobby picked a great spot for it: in between an area of trees, facing the lake.
Cathy had bought us all matching “happy camper” shirts from her last Colorado trip to wear when we initially were supposed to be in the RV so we changed into those and got a few pictures. Joan snapped a group photo for us. They were very comfy shirts and I love a good matching outfit! It was sweet of Cathy to think of us all and get those.
We poured a drink from the bar on the screened-in patio and then Bobby suggested to head to the park for the last bit of the sunset. He checked the bike tires in the garage to see if we could ride them but they were flat so we drove over instead. The park was really close so it was a short drive, I do not think either of us wanted to be in a car for a long time anymore! We sat on a bench right on the water watching the sun and enjoying a drink. It was so calm and peaceful. The water was still and looked like glass. That was definitely worth the 24+ hour drive.
There was a raspberry bush we picked teenie tiny raspberries off of and ate. They were small but delicious. He also wanted me to see how cold the water was so I pumped the well and it. was. cold. Deceivingly cold!
When we got back, we all sat on the patio and drank more and ate dinner. Joan made Italian Beef and it was so good. I had been craving it since we talked about it at Portillo’s so I was happy. We snacked unnecessarily (a theme of the week), shared stories, and played games. Cathy was really good about keeping me caught up and included: she would explain something or tell me who someone was off to the side so I could follow along. Becky (Bobby’s friend) did the same thing for me when we visited Chicago. It must be a woman thing to recognize another woman is lost and want to help include them! Either way, I appreciated it. We tried playing Triominos, a game I had played a few times as a kid but never really understood. It was horrible and we hated it. Next. We switched to poker and that was when I learned all about “pokes.” Each person had a poke: a jar with money in it only to be used to play poker. They have all had their jars forever and have their names on them and silly things like “keep out” and “don’t touch” graffitied on them. Some people have a lot of money (mostly coins, some bills) and some have very little. We needed to get me a poke so I could play and funnily enough, there was a jar for one of Bobby’s ex-girlfriends. Mine now! I stole her money and wrote my name on the lid over her’s and after a few jokes about how the next girl will have a hard time covering my name yada yada yada, we played some Texas Hold ‘Em. I won a few rounds and managed to take quite a bit of money from Bobby, too! It was a fun first evening.
Bobby’s aunt, uncle, and cousins were scheduled to arrive that night but it was after 1am and we could not wait up any longer: we were exhausted. We got ready for bed and climbed into our cozy tent. It had cooled off a lot outside so the tent was actually very comfortable! I fell asleep quickly. The only downside of sleeping in a tent: when you have to take a late-night bathroom break, you have to layer up/put shoes on and run inside (unlike guys who can just step outside the tent and go for it – boys, ammiright?).
Day 2 Travel Time: 13 hours
Total Travel Time: 1 day, 10 hours, 30 minutes
Sunday July 29, 2018 – Day 3
Waking up in the tent was magical. Bobby got up around 9am but I hung back and slept another hour; I was so comfortable, I did not want to move yet. The air mattress had deflated a little bit which was not noticeable when we were both on it but once he got up and I sank to the ground, we knew we had a problem.
When I finally got moving, I joined the crew inside. The rest of the group had made it to the lake house around 3am so they were all still sleeping. The lake house had 2 bathrooms but only 1 shower so in an effort to keep the bathrooms open, I showered “across the street” (i.e. 10 feet away) at the “neighbor’s house” (i.e. Bobby’s grandpa’s aunt’s house on the same piece of property). My conditioner had exploded somehow so I cleaned up that mess before finally washing off the long drive from the day before. I felt so much better! When I returned to the main house and opened the patio door, EVERYONE was sitting there and turned to look at me. I mean, everyone. It was so awkward and so intimidating. It was my first time meeting Bobby’s cousin Jake and his girlfriend Kellye so I said hello to everyone and awkwardly introduced myself to them and then made my way into the main part of the house to finish getting ready, something I now wished I had done at the neighboring house. Oy. I joined them when I was finished and we all hung out for a few hours while people took turns getting ready. The best line from the morning was from Cathy when she found out Bobby and I had a double sleeping bag: “y’all are gross” (said in a loving way, of course).
Sunday was also my niece’s actual 5th birthday so I called her to wish her a happy birthday. The lake house has a land line but you have to use a phone card which was kind of retro for it being 2018. My sister did not answer the first time, probably because it was a strange number, but I called again and got a hold of them. Bailey told me about her party and what her birthday plans were. I did not want to use too many minutes on the phone card so it was a short call but I am glad I got to make it. #auntlyfe
After everyone was ready, Nancy led their first ever family meeting. She wanted to go over general stuff: how you cannot have more than one kitchen appliance on at the same time or the power will go out, shower schedules, activities people want to do and how to accomplish them all, meals, etc. She wanted to get everyone on the same page so we could all make the most of our week. Hal took out hearing aids and eventually left, making us all laugh. Everyone was making jokes and having a good time with it (I jokingly suggested a talking stick and we ended up throwing around an old, circular, dust-filled pillow across the room to be able to speak, making us laugh more) but despite our jokes, I think everyone was glad she organized it because it was actually very helpful, especially for a new person to the group like myself. We also decided on our first group activity of the week: Slate River Falls.
Family Meeting
Family Meeting
Bobby, Cathy, Scott (Bobby’s uncle), Jake, Kellye, Emily (Bobby’s younger cousin), and I all left for Slate River Falls at 2pm (everyone else went to run errands and get groceries, which was greatly appreciated!). It was a short drive to the area and a small hike over to the falls: a slow incline, a hike along the ridge, and a very steep decline to the river/falls. It was a fairly easy hike/climb overall and we all made it in one piece. This was Bobby’s favorite place and somewhere he had frequently talked about before the trip. Also, one of my favorite pictures of him was taken at Slate River Falls so I was excited to see it. It did not disappoint! The whole area was so beautiful and peaceful. There were a few other people swimming in the area in front of the falls so we waited by the river in the rocks to take photos of the falls. Emily swam in the water which was brave because not only was it cold, but Cathy had mentioned leeches once! Yikes! Bobby taught me how to skip rocks and while I was not very good (I mean, I was horrible), I did have a few good skips. The other group eventually left and we all hung out there taking photos, relaxing in the area, and skipping rocks. It was a great time and I could see why Bobby loved it so much. We left around 4pm. That steep decline to get down to the falls was much more difficult to climb up than down but again, we all made it. Jake dropped some trash so he slid back down to get it, cutting his arm along the way, but he made it too.
Our next stop was The Finns (the local bar). We were going to meet the other half of the crew for the bar’s 50% off pizza night but they had all eaten somewhere else earlier in the day. We were starved, however, so we ordered a few appetizers to share and a couple rounds of drinks to satisfy us for a little longer. I had a vodka grapefruit that I enjoyed a lot but my 2nd drink was not my favorite, at all. I ordered the same thing but it was a different waitress and she used a different grapefruit juice and I did not care for it. Everyone else thought it was fine but I had to really woman-up to drink it. The original waiter (not sure but he may have been one of the owners or managers?) came to ask us how things were and everyone suggested I return the drink for a new one but I did not want to be rude or cause problems so I said it was fine. I guess he felt bad so he brought me a small token for a free drink. As he called it, “it can either be a free drink or a cool souvenir.” I so badly wanted to keep it as a souvenir… but a free drink would be nice too. I saved it for another time and after pre-ordering a few pizzas for 2 hours later, we headed home.
At the lake house, we played cards, drank more, and took a few rounds of schnapps. Jake is a bartender in NYC so he was making drinks for everyone as we enjoyed our game night, passing time until it was time to go back to the bar for our pizza. At 7:30pm, we crowded into the Expedition (I sat on the middle console in the front seat…) and went to The Finns only to be immediately told that their pizza oven had broken for the night. Sigh, back home we went. Luckily, we had those Lozza Mozza pizzas and leftover Italian Beef so there was enough food for everyone. The Lozza Mozza did not live up to the hype but the Italian Beef was just as delicious as the night before. We had established a rule during the family meeting that whoever cooks does not have to clean so Kellye and I took clean-up duty after dinner. We bonded over being the outsiders and took guesses at where dishes went in the cabinet.
It was a casual night but I felt like I needed a little breather outside so I headed to the dock for a small mental break. Bobby joined me a little later which was sweet of him. It was already 9:30pm but still looked like 7pm outside. The mysteries of the UP! We moved to the fire pit to enjoy the beautiful sunset and had a few more drinks before the mosquitoes got to be too much and we headed back to the patio for another poker night. I had taken Bobby’s money the night before and had to lend him money to get started but not to worry, he won it all back and then some. Kellye, who had learned how to play earlier in the day, won the most. You have to watch out for those quite ones! Sneaky. It was really fun and we all had a lot of laughs before calling it a night around midnight. We tried to look at the stars but the moon was too bright apparently so no such luck. Bobby and I put more air in our mattress (instead of replacing it entirely with an extra one Kevin brought and offered to us) and went to sleep.
Monday July 30, 2018 – Day 4
I woke up a few times feeling a little sick, possibly from eating and/or drinking too much the night before. Oy. The tent was warmer than the first night but still incredibly comfortable. You cannot beat that Michigan air! The mattress had deflated a little again but we sort of just made it a habit to re-inflate it every night. I should probably toss that thing out. Anyway, Bobby and I got up around 8:30am because during the family meeting we had volunteered to make breakfast for everyone. I decided to take a quick shower while everyone was sleeping to get ahead of the rush later while Bobby started breakfast prep. Together, we made an amazing breakfast in the cramped kitchen using just one appliance at a time. We did somehow manage to short circuit something anyway and the oven went out but Kevin quickly fixed it and we were back in business. We made: hashbrowns, bacon, sausage, eggs with peppers/onions/sausage/cheese, and eggs with just cheese. I toasted up a few tortillas and we put out all the works like salsa, sour cream, and cheese. When Bobby and I first started dating and would work from home together, we got in the habit of making elaborate breakfasts. We eventually toned it down a few notches (i.e. eliminated the potatoes mostly) but I still think we are the King and Queen of breakfast. Also, I love breakfast food and will eat it at any point in the day. As we were wrapping up, people started waking up and helping themselves. Everyone loved it and thanked us and that made me feel good.
It was another beautiful day and after everyone was fed, had their coffee, and cleaned up, we started organizing for the day’s adventure: a pontoon ride to Lake Superior and to the Mouth of the Huron. It was decided the night before that we would leave at 10am but that might have been a tad ambitious; the alcohol might have skewed our ability to come up with a realistic time. By the time lunch was packed in coolers, drinks were organized, and everyone was in their beach gear, it was 12:30pm. We loaded up the pontoon and headed out. The group consisted of: Bobby, Cathy, Kevin, Nancy, Scott, Jake, Kellye, Emily (and her deaf dog Kip), and me.
We made a quick pit-stop at Witz Marina to get more gas for the boat. Apparently it was going to be a long ride over to the beach (an hour or so) and we needed to be sure we had enough to get there AND back with some to spare. The last thing we needed was to get stuck in the giant Lake Superior and disappear into the abyss… but Scott and Hal were of course not going to let that happen. Us “kids” went into the marina store and looked around. Bobby and I planned to come back to get a few souvenirs later.
The weather was perfect for the occasion and we had a very gorgeous boat ride. We passed Lightfoot Bay, Point Abbaye (where the bay essentially turns into the lake), and saw some of the islands on the lake in the distance. We passed all types of other lake houses and campsites and the group shared stories about past trips. Scott shared fun facts along the way about the water and the lake, discussing how deep it can go and just how large it really is. I was also asking him a lot of questions… hopefully my curiosity did not annoy him. Cathy, who had gone to Michigan every year since she could remember, could not recellthe last time they took the pontoon over to the beach instead of driving. They really pulled out all the stops for us (Kellye and me, the newbies) and I appreciated it.
Lightfoot’s Bay
Point Abbaye (in the extreme distance)
The Islands (in the distance)
We arrived to “the mouth” just before 2pm. Jake and Bobby anchored the pontoon and Kip jumped off as fast as he could to play in the sand and water. We unloaded our belongings and got settled. On our way over, it was pointed out that no one brought a lighter or matches to start our fire to be able to make our hot dogs for lunch so, the first thing Nancy did was go greet a stranger and borrow a lighter! Bobby showed me around the beach and I got in the freezing cold water despite not wanting to be in the freezing cold water. I do not like being cold but I was not going to miss out on the opportunity to swim in Lake Superior for the first time and he was so excited to be there and swim that I did not want to let him down. Thankfully, the water there was crystal clear and you could see the bottom which helped me feel a little more comfortable. I was still freezing though so I only went about waist deep. Bobby, Jake, and Kellye all went under the water and hey, good for them! After a quick dip, Bobby and I collected sticks to help start the fire pit and people started eating lunch. I was not hungry so I soaked up the sun (even got a sunburn later despite putting on sunscreen) and enjoyed the scenic view of the beach and lake. It really was breathtaking. After lunch, Bobby and I walked back over to “the mouth” again (where the lake meets the river) with Cathy, Jake, and Kellye. Bobby swam to the other side of the river and as much as I did not want to swim over there because of the cold water, I finally stopped over-thinking and just went for it. I was freezing but Bobby was proud of me. The things we do for others! We all frolicked over on the other side of the beach for a little bit and then swam back over to our side where I did my first shotgun. Yep, you read that correctly. I had never shotgunned a beer before, mostly because I do not like beer, but I figured why not? If I could get in water I did not want to be in, I could do that too. I lost and only drank about 85% of it but hey, I tried. Better luck next time. (There is video of it but I need to track it down!) Around 4:30pm, we packed up the pontoon and headed back toward home. I truly loved going to the beach and seeing where they had all spent so many summers. I do not have their memories so it was different for me than it was for them to be there but I still enjoyed it all the same and was glad to be able to visit a place I had heard so much about.
Once on the boat, Scott decided to take a detour home and go “swing by” the nearby islands for a minute. Bobby once made a comment about how the lake was so deep that if you ever sank, they would never find you…. so the idea of “crossing the lake” to see the islands seemed a little risky but by that point I had a nice buzz going so I was up for it. Plus, I really did want to see the islands. What we thought were just 2 islands in the distance ended up being 3 with a few little ones. We never got off the boat but we got pretty close to one of the islands and learned it was the Huron National Wildlife Refuge. It was beautiful (how many times have I used that word now?).
The coast was so off in the distance now that I could easily understand now how someone could get turned around out there and get lost. I trusted Scott and the regulars to get us all back safely. I could see Point Abbaye so it was a nice landmark for where we were headed. Scott brought us up close to see it, too. It was a long boat ride back with the detours and towards the end, I genuinely thought my bladder might explode. The guys took turns peeing off the back of the boat but us girls suffered. When we docked back at the house after 2 hours on the boat, I RAN upstairs. I went back down to help everyone unload our things then we all relaxed for a bit. We took more shots and watched Scott and cousin Rus (who had come to visit everyone) chop wood for the fire. Little Duke, their grown-man neighbor, had brought over some cherry liquor and mixed it with redbull for us to take shots of. I volunteered to pass them out, hoping there would not be enough for me, but when I ran out, Bobby poured me one. Almost got out of it! It was actually good, though.
Eventually a few of us made our way inside to play Mexican Train, a game my family enjoys and plays frequently that I introduced to his family at his parents’ house back in Texas. We taught Jake to play and made it through a few rounds before dinner was ready around 9pm. Kevin had fired up some steaks and Joan had made twice baked potatoes. There was also salad and of course bread. Everything was delicious and because I had skipped the lunch at the beach, I was starved. The twice baked potatoes were so amazing that it is worth mentioning them again.
Depending on the weather, the patio would sometimes be a little stuffy and it had started to get a little gross so we sat outside by the fire for fresh air and to watch the sunset. Once the mosquitoes came out and it cooled off outside, we returned to the patio to finish our game of Mexican Train from earlier. Cathy had us laughing HARD with an attempted Ronald Reagan impression. It was amazing. It was a fun, low-key night filled with a lot of laughs and good times. Bobby got weirded out when I called him Bob but when everyone else in the family was calling him that, it was difficult for me to not call him that, too! We played a few rounds of Phase 10, another favorite game of everyone’s, and called it a night a little after midnight. Even when you are not on vacation, getting ready for bed is the worst part of every night but when you ARE on vacation, it sucks 10x more. But, you do it nonetheless!
Tuesday July 31, 2018 – Day 5
I slept SO hard and good again but for the second night in a row, had a really bad dream. All of my dreams in Michigan had been incredibly detailed and vivid which was interesting on its own but it was unfortunate they had been bad ones. I woke up around 3:30am thinking it was real and that was not a good feeling! But, it was not real and everything was fine. After my bathroom break, I fell back asleep and went straight back into the dream where it had left off. That Michigan air, y’all. I shook the bad dream off again when I finally got up around 9am. We had biscuits and gravy for breakfast and lounged around as everyone slowly got ready for the day’s adventure: Big Eric’s Bridge. But first, Jake and Kellye took the kayak out and needed to go launch it into the water at the park so we took a ride over to the park in Hal’s truck then Bobby and I walked back to the house from there. It was warm out but not in a painfully hot way like Houston. It was a nice walk and way to start the day.
We still had some time before we were leaving for Big Eric’s so I went down to the dock and did a little yoga. My body needed it and it was peaceful down there. I made it to Triangle pose (I was doing Bikram Yoga, obviously) before Bobby came down to hang out and then the two of us sat in the water on the pontoon under the canopy for a little bit. It was so nice with the water rocking us. I was so comfortable with his arm around me in the shade that I kind of dozed off for a little bit! It was one of my favorite moments of the trip so far.
It sounded like people were getting ready to go so we headed back up. Cathy was setting up a game so I helped her and then we all began packing our lunch and drinks for Big Eric’s. I made sandwiches for everyone, wrapped them, and put their name on them despite them all consisting of the same ingredients. We grabbed other snacks and got on our way around 2pm. The group consisted of Bobby, Cathy, Jake, Kellye, Scott, Emily (and Kip), and me.
I LOVED Big Eric’s bridge. Loved. The area is a campground with a river running through it but where they usually go is right where the bridge is. The whole area is covered in rocks with the water nearby and it was amazing. I loved climbing on the rocks and walking through the shallow water. It was peaceful back there, too. We walked around and then took a break to enjoy our sandwiches. I tried to hop from one rock to another, mis-judged the distance, and one foot fell into the water. The fall hurt my hand a little bit and I was bummed to have one of my new Sperry’s soaked but I guess on the bright side, it was finally broken it. The first scuff on a new shoe is the worst but once made, you do not have to be so careful anymore. Plus, the point of Sperry’s is to be able to get wet so it was fine. Cathy suggested I dip the other shoe in water so the color dried evenly which was a good idea but then I would have two wet shoes… so I did not. Looking back, I should have because yep, my two shoes are slightly different colors now.
We hung out at Big Eric’s until around 3:30pm and then went to find our next adventure. Bobby had found a waterfall, Quartzite Falls, on Instagram that he wanted to go find in real life but some of the group wanted to head home so we dropped everyone off and the two of us went off to find it on our own. Bobby had a general knowledge of where-ish we were going and we found the road we thought would lead us there. The car path was blocked so we parked, hopped the chain, and went into the woods by foot. To be fair, the chain did not have any indication of private property or warnings to not enter so it seemed legal. Bobby found us walking sticks and we hiked through tall grass, weeds, thick forest, and somehow found our way to the river (Slate River). It was really fun but I was slightly worried about poison ivy, bears, and ticks. However, we were so deep into the woods that we would not be able to do anything if something happened anyway so I might as well not worry about it and enjoy the hike.
The path down to the river was tall and steep so we hiked along it until we found something with a slightly lower gradient. We made our way down to the water and then hiked up and down the river as far as we safely could in both directions looking for the falls. The water and views were gorgeous despite it being a little humid down there. We never found Quartzite Falls but we found what we later learned was Kukuck’s Falls and it was just as great. We thought about hiking further down the river to Slate River Falls and then down to The Finns bar but then our car would be so much farther away so we decided against it. We had to travel through water, slippery rocks, and all sorts of interesting paths in my now very-worn-in Sperry’s but Bobby led the way and helped me along and it was a really fun time for just us. I loved making our own paths, climbing trees, and just having a good ol’ adventure. The mosquitoes were out in full force but miraculously, neither of us got bit. It was a beautiful river with plenty of scenic views and we took a lot pictures. Later, we did a bit more research on the river and the various waterfalls on it so that we could be more prepared next year.
We made our way back up the river bank, through the thick woods, and down the over-grown road back to the car. We never saw any wildlife (except for what looked like an animal footprint at one point) and with the exception of a few scrapes on our legs, made it out tick-free in one piece. It was a great hike and a fun afternoon exploring together. I love that we can be adventurous together and how he could encourage me despite my apprehensiveness. Teamwork.
Our next stop was back to Witz Marina to get souvenirs. Bobby got a long-sleeve shirt for the cooler weather coming in, I got a hat, and he bought his niece and nephew a little something each. I loved that he thought of them and wanted to get them something! So sweet.
Before the trip, Cathy had suggested that everyone pick a night to make dinner so that no one person or set of people were always responsible for it. That never officially panned out but I took it to heart and Bobby and I came prepared to make chicken enchiladas for everyone (like, I brought enchilada sauce from home with us on the drive). It was our night to cook so we headed home, rinsed off, got a drink, and started on dinner. Joan made 2 trays of wet burritos and we made 2 trays of chicken enchiladas and a gigantic bowl of guacamole. Nancy made a delicious Mexican salad and corn on the cob. We had PLENTY to eat! Everyone complimented the enchiladas which made me feel good. It was a little nerve-wracking to cook for my boyfriend’s whole family but it turned out well. Nancy had done the hard part though: she cooked and shredded the chicken for us while we were out for the afternoon which was VERY kind of her! It made our part pretty simple. Kellye was vegetarian so I made her separate tofu enchiladas (I had never cooked with tofu before) and she said I did a good job. There were more than enough leftovers at the end of the night.
We all relaxed for a bit and then decided to take a booze cruise to visit the Sunken Docks around 8:45pm. Basically, there used to be a massive dock in the bay that sank many years ago and you can still see the thousands of pieces of wood pillars/slats/cribs under the water. Bobby had described it as “super creepy” so I did not know what to expect. I guess I was imagining a smaller dock but when we reached the area after a short boat ride, it was clear that I was so wrong. Those pieces of lumber were massive. The water was so clear and you could see deep into and the wood just kept going. They looked like sunken Lincoln Logs. It was farther off of the coast than I imagined, too. We had a lot of discussion about what the docks used to be for and how they sank but no one really had an answer. I did my best to Google search some history on it and thought it might be called Ore Docks. Bobby piggy-backed off my research and now we think it was more-likely called Bush-Been Sawmill but we could not find more than just a picture. Neither article, however, explains how the entire dock just sunk to the bottom of the bay which is the one thing I am most curious about. Either way, it was very cool to see and yes, it was super creepy. We were gifted with the most beautiful sunset for our cruise, too!
We sat by the fire when we got back. One of the house rules was to separate “burnable” trash from other trash so at night, we burned what we could in the pit. I got to be a little bit of a pyro for a little bit and kept an eye on it while others set up for our outdoor movie night. Scott and Nancy’s RV had an outdoor TV and Cathy had downloaded movies prior to the trip so just about everyone gathered chairs and huddled around the TV to watch The Greatest Showman. Ozzie, Scott and Nancy’s dog, and I had just about zero interaction all week but at one point, she jumped in my lap and snuggled with me. The mosquitoes got to be beyond awful so we took a break and sprayed bug spray over all of us and our blankets (and in a circle around us) which helped. Nancy made banana pudding for everyone so we also had a brief intermission to enjoy that! The movie was good but felt rushed and unfinished. It had elaborate productions and outstanding music but it seemed as if it was made to win creative-arts Oscars and nothing more. It was enjoyable though.
The sky was much clearer so after the movie, Bobby and I went to lay on the dock and see if we could find a shooting star. I had never seen one before so I did not know what I was looking for. I was scanning everywhere and soon enough, I saw a shooting star fly by. It was awesome and I was so excited. I know it is dumb but when you have never seen one before, it is pretty cool. We eventually saw 3 others fly over, all equally as cool and exciting, before calling it a night around 1am.
Wednesday August 1, 2018 – Day 6
I slept amazing, probably because of the cooler weather that crept in overnight, and finally had a positive dream. We got up around 9:30am and literally did nothing all day. It was supposed to rain and already overcast. Ozzie got stung by hornets while she was roaming near the stairs to the dock and that was a scary moment for everyone. I was just coming out of the tent for the morning when I saw Scott chasing Ozzie across the yard and hollering for Jake to grab her. I saw probably 10ish hornets swarming her still. Jake and Scott were trying to swat them off of her but dogs do not understand what is going on so she, of course, was trying to run from them. She is an older dog so once they got her and picked the hornets off, they all went into full life-saving mode. Someone found Benadryl and gave her some while Nancy and Jake got in touch with a local vet. They all rushed her over as soon as they could. Long story short: Ozzie was fine after a 3-hour observation and some medication. Whew.
While their family was helping Ozzie, Bobby, Cathy, and I hung out at the house playing games while the rain started. Cathy taught us how to play Rummikub. There were a lot of moving parts and it was very confusing at first but once I got the hang of it, I really enjoyed it. My mom would like that game. We played a few rounds of Sequence which was fun but I do not think it was anyone’s favorite. We also played poker, of course. The day was mostly spent eating and drinking way too much and staying warm and dry on the patio.
We had talked about going bowling all week so we figured a rainy day would be as good as any to go do it. Kellye and Bobby called the placed a few times throughout the day to see if they were open but never had any luck. Bobby persisted though and he eventually got a hold of the owner who said he was normally closed but that he had a bowling league there doing a make-up game for the next 3 hours so if we wanted to come, we could. Lucky us! The other half of the family was still coming down from the morning’s commotion with Ozzie and the hornets (which sounds like an awesome band name, IMO) so Kevin, Cathy, Bobby, and I left around 6pm on our own to go bowl.
The bowling alley, Whirl-I-Gig, was awesome. It was fairly close by and was so much more than just a bowling alley. It had a huge dance hall on the main floor and in the basement, 6 lanes of bowling, pool tables, skeeball, arcade games, ping pong, shuffle board, you-name-it. It had a full bar and food, too. The bar was huge and shared the same space as the games; very dark-lit and old school. The bowling area was a place straight out of the 70s; carpet on the walls, very retro. The owner later told us he restored the place to have that vibe saying, “the locals do not care but visitors really like it.” We had trouble getting the computer going with our names and the local league players helped us out a bit. It still would not work properly and after the owner’s attempts to fix it, we decided to take score by hand. None of us were upset about it and luckily, Cathy and Kevin used to be in a bowling league and knew how to do it. It made the night just a bit more retro and different!
Bobby won the first game and Kevin won the second. They were both pretty decent bowlers and I was impressed. I placed last both games, not shocking. I did, however, manage to get 1 strike and that was exciting enough to help me forget about my horrible losses.
The owner told us that if we call next year and leave a voicemail for him, and if we had a group of around 10 or so, he would open the whole place up for the group. He told us that business was much slower in the summer so a group that size would be worth it to open up for. With how much the place has to do and offer, I could easily see everyone spending a whole afternoon there eating, drinking, and playing games. It would be a fun time. He was a nice guy and we were grateful he let us come play for a bit; it was nice to get out of the house for a few hours. The best part was that for 6 beers, 2 vodka drinks, 2 rounds of bowling, and 4 shoe rentals, it only cost $42!
The 4 of us went to The Finns afterward. I still had my free drink token and while I really, really wanted to keep it as a souvenir, I went ahead and used it to get a drink. We also ate delicious pizza (their pizza oven was working again) and talked about all sorts of things before heading home. I love spending time with Bobby (of course) and his whole family (of course) but it was nice to get to spend time with just him and his parents and get to know them more. We spend time with them in at their house in Texas but it was somehow different in Michigan/on this trip and I liked it. They are fun people and I am glad we all get along so well. Hopefully they feel the same way!
We got back home around 10pm and played a few rounds of Gin before calling it a night. Bobby and I curled up in an armchair together (cue the awws) to watch The Great Outdoors. We took turns getting ready for bed during commercial breaks but eventually fell asleep in the chair. I liked the movie though and need to go finish watching it one day. Around midnight, we moved to our tent but it took me awhile to fall asleep. That cool, Michigan air was starting to dry my skin out and my legs were itchy and keeping me awake. We had dried off our damp bedding earlier in the day so at least we had warm blankets for the night!
Thursday August 2, 2018 – Day 7
I must have needed sleep because I slept until 11:30am and I enjoyed every second of it. I remember Bobby getting up and I had told him I would be there in a few minutes but I must have fallen back asleep because it was over an hour before I joined him and everyone else in the house. I was showered and fed by 12:30pm and everyone hung out playing more games for the first part of the afternoon. It was another chilly, overcast day but at least there was no rain.
Around 3pm, we loaded up the pontoon with food and drinks and headed to Lightfoot’s Bay. It was much colder being on the boat! We docked and got settled. Bobby and Jake tossed around a large styrofoam glider plane and a football. Emily dug a hole in the sand for the fire pit and Scott got it started while I gathered more sticks and twigs. We did not forget the lighter this time! We made hot dogs and drinks and kept warm by the fire while we ate. There was no swimming in the water this time around. Nancy had a little photoshoot of Jake and Kellye then came for Bobby and me to do one of us. I will never say no to more photos of the two of us! She posed us and snapped away. It started getting cooler so we left and were home around 5:30pm.
Bobby had found a really cool fire stick at the bay so he started to whittle it smooth. He let me do it for a little bit and despite Hal thinking I would cut myself (valid comment), I came out unscathed. We went inside for a few rounds of shots before going back outside to continue whittling. It was cold out and I was feeling kind of down and the weather sure was not helping so I went inside and ended up falling asleep in the living room.
I randomly woke up around 7pm, just in time for us to all head over to The Finns for wing night. We ordered all sorts of wings and the fries were free so they kept them coming. The table next to us was celebrating someone’s 21st birthday so they shared their chocolate cake and carrot cake with us which was nice! We ate, drank, and socialized there until around 9pm before heading home. Cathy, Bobby, and I finished our game of Mexican Train from earlier in the day while everyone else kind of did their own thing for the night. Bobby’s aunt/uncle and their side were leaving the next day so they started to pack up and get organized. Bobby and I downloaded another movie using the WiFi next door while we watched the rest of our movie from the drive up. It was a crazy movie but funny. We eventually started “How it Ends” on Netflix and that was a tragically awful movie. If you want to watch it, just do not. Would not recommend to a friend. We fell asleep watching it (and later forced ourselves to finish it on the drive home). I had seen a mosquito in the tent and thought I had killed it but never found where it went so I was suspicious of that all night, too. I found it the next morning… after it was too late and I had been bitten too many times.
Friday August 3, 2018 – Day 8
I got up around 10am, an hour after Bobby. The tent was freezing so I did not want to get out of the sleeping bag and take the short walk to get inside the house. It was warm in the sun but our tent was in the shade so it did not have an opportunity to get warm. Since it was already nearly lunch time, Cathy and I had lunch for breakfast: turkey sandwiches. The RV crew was nearly packed up and our crew started dismantling tents and preparing for our trip home the next day. Scott snapped a group picture of all of us and they headed out. An RV trip takes longer than a car trip so they needed to get a head start on us.
After they left, Kevin, Cathy, Bobby, and I decided to go hike to the peak of Bald Mountain. We stopped at Witz Marina on our way so we could all get shirts like Bobby’s and then made the short drive over to the base of the mountain. We drove pretty far in to start the hike. When we parked, there was a perfect walking stick nearby so I grabbed it and we found more along the way for everyone else. I was glad to have it but even more glad to have worn leggings and a long-sleeve shirt for that hike to help protect my arms and legs from the overgrown forest. We had to go through forest and across a river before we could start scaling the mountain rocks and it was there where I fell in the water. I doubt we were even 10 minutes into the hike when Bobby crossed a log over a small river. I somehow misjudged it or slipped or something because the next thing I knew I was nearly knee-deep in mud and wilted vegetation. When I tried to get out, my other foot slipped and now both legs were covered. Cathy thought I was in quick sand! The whole thing happened so fast and I got myself out quickly but was understandably upset by the situation. Cathy and Kevin made it across fine and everyone made sure I was okay. Physically, I was. What started out as a few tears behind my sunglasses turned into an hysterical sob in only a few minutes. My pride was definitely injured… and my feet were cold and wet. I was worried about ticks and leeches, too. They suggested we turn back but while I was uncomfortable and mortified, I was not going to let it ruin the adventure. Onward.
We passed animal poop (signs that there was wildlife out there that I wanted to avoid) and dead animals but made it to the top of the mountain. It was gorgeous. In one direction, you could see more forest and mountains. In the other, you could see the lake. I took the opportunity to towel off my leggings and let my socks and shoes dry out a little bit. No leeches or ticks, thankfully. We soaked in the views and perfect weather for about half an hour before making our way back down. I was a little worried about Kevin’s bad knees on the hike to the bottom but he insisted he was good to go so I took his word for it! There was a little debate about which way was the correct way but Bobby navigated us well and got us out on the same path we came in. Bonus: I managed not to fall in the river on the way back. The mountain peak was around 1,000ft. and the whole hike took about an hour and a half (minus our break at the top). Once again, I was happy to have made it out without seeing any wildlife!
When we were at Witz earlier in the day, I grabbed a brochure about Michigan’s highest point. Bobby and I had seen a sign for it earlier in the week and had talked about going so I grabbed the brochure on our way out. After Bald Mountain, we decided to drive over to Mount Arvon and do another hike to see the highest point in Michigan. It was a long drive up the mountain and the brochure was kind of confusing. We thought we would be hiking again but the instructions took us straight to the top. We had seen a hiking entrance but once again, the confusing brochure did not make it clear where to go. Next time, we will hike it. Anyway, we drove to the top and parked. The “highest point” (1,979ft) was about a 2 minute walk into the woods and marked by a sign and a mailbox. A short walk away was what they called the viewing area and it was basically a small area between trees where you could kind of see the lake. The whole experience was a slight let down but we can now say we have all been to the highest point in Michigan! It was all of their first time being there too which was cool. They all have been to Michigan so many times and have their own list of things they normally do so it was nice to be able to experience “a first” all together. We ran into a couple out there who took our picture and while Kevin socialized with them, Bobby carved our initials on a tree that already looked to have a heart-shaped piece of bark missing. Granted, I suggested he do it but I loved it nonetheless.
We drove back down and headed straight to The Finns again for burgers and drinks. We were home by 6:30pm and after an active afternoon, we were all spent. There was no time to rest though: we needed to pack up our tents and as much as we could so we could start our drive home early the next morning. We also had to take the kayak back to the park so we could get it out of the water and put it back in the garage. Only Jake and Kellye had used it so far and I had been wanting to go so I was happy to take the quick kayak trip over. Kevin met us at the park with the truck, helped us load it up, and drove us all back to the house.
I wanted to rinse off from the hike and get ready to go to the nearby casino with Bobby. Y’all. I went into the bathroom, took my shirt off, and saw a TICK ON MY BODY. It was on my stomach and I may or may not have panicked. I cracked the door open and hollered for Bobby who was thankfully still in the house. He came running and I pointed to the tick and kept repeating, “get it off of me, get it off, get it off!” The look on his face is something I will never forget! He grabbed a piece of toilet paper and pulled it off of me and flushed it. Thankfully, it had not buried itself in my skin yet. Who knows how long it had been there! Was it from Bald Mountain? Mount Arvon? Outside just packing up tents? Bleh!! It gave me the heebie jeebies and I felt squirmy all night because of it. I did a quick check everywhere else, especially in my long hair, and determined I was good to go but I still felt like there was one on me. Bobby had one on him earlier in the week on his leg that he was so casual about and I wished I could be that calm!
After the tick debacle, Bobby and I headed to the Ojibwa Casino. I had never gambled before so when he suggested we go, I of course said yes. When we first started dating, we played cards a lot and he had a deck of cards from the casino. Every time we played, he would tell me about the casino so it was once again, cool to be somewhere he had told me about. We got there a little after 8pm and set some ground rules: we would each take out $100 and that was it. After an hour, whatever we had left would be whatever we had. We played blackjack the whole time. I used to deal blackjack in college for a party rental company but I never really learnt the strategy behind it all. Bobby (and the dealers) helped me along the way and I started to get the hang of it. I was down, up, and back down a million times but ended up breaking even for the night (minus ATM fees). Bobby had given me chips along the way whenever he won big so that helped too. He finished with an $85 profit! The first dealer really took his job seriously but the second one was kind of quiet and not as fun. I did not like crowds of people standing around the table but we were more in the corner so it was not too bad. A guy next to us split on 10s and ended up getting 2 blackjacks out of it which was exciting for everyone! We also decided that we might need to visit Vegas for my 30th birthday next year seeing as how the only time I had been there before was when I was 19 and could not do anything. TBD! On our way out of the smokey casino, we asked about how to get a deck of cards to take. They told us the cards were free and asked how many cases we wanted… what? I thought we were just going to get a single deck. It turns out, you can literally have as many decks as you want! We took a “box” of cards meaning a dozen decks. I think we are all set on cards for awhile. It was a fun first gambling experience.
We gassed up the Expedition on the way home, almost hit a deer, and were back just after 10pm. We finished the night with Rummikub and a round of last-night shots. Since we had packed the tents up, we all slept in the house the last night. Bobby and I shared the double bed in the back room (we wanted to use our sleeping bags as to not dirty sheets and create laundry for his grandparents) and let me tell you, that bed was awful. It sank in in the middle and with the slippery sleeping bag, it was tough to get comfy. I also felt like there were bugs on me (probably because of the tick earlier) so I might have been a little paranoid. Eventually, I managed to doze off.
Saturday August 4, 2018 – Day 9
It was easily the worst night of sleep of the entire trip. I remember waking up and just praying for the alarm to go off so I had an excuse to be awake. At 5am, I was the first one up so I showered and packed. Everyone was up shortly after and got ready and loaded up the car. Bobby found a tick on him (ahhh!) which did not help my paranoia. Brian, one of the dogs, sat by the car, unwilling to move as if we were going to forget him or something. It was pretty cute.
Joan and Hal got up to say goodbye to us and by 6:30am we were on our way home. We could not find Bobby’s sunglasses so we circled back to look on the patio but ended up finding them in the car. It was only a 10 minute delay to the morning but worth it to be able to have sunglasses for the drive, especially since he was taking the first driving shift. The sunrise was beautiful and I was tired. I turned my phone off of airplane mode and slowly started receiving emails/texts/notifications. I liked having it off all week and was overwhelmed with responsibility so I ignored most of the things. It could wait. Bobby suggested to the group that we drive straight through to Texas without a late-night hotel stop and we all agreed: the goal was to get home.
We made it to Iron Mountain, Michigan around 7:30am (we were back in CST and had moved the clocks back 1 hour) and then stopped to get breakfast at the first McDonald’s we saw and in Stephenson, Michigan by 8:45am. Stephenson was a cute down which is why I remember it! We listened to different podcasts to past the time and I did my best to stay awake in the front seat. After about 5 hours on the road, Kevin and Cathy took over the front seat and Bobby and I headed to the back.
Someone mentioned there being a Giordano’s in Guernee, Illinois and since we were scheduled to be there around lunch time, we decided it was a good place to stop. Bobby had taken me to get their amazing deep-dish pizza on our Chicago trip and was absolutely down to eat there again. Their pizzas take a long time to cook so to help us keep our stop short, we called ahead to order. We arrived at exactly 12:30pm and our pizza was ready just a few minutes later; perfect timing. Cathy, Bobby, and I scarfed down the pizza and ordered an Italian beef sandwich to-go for Kevin.
We were back on the road by 1pm and made it to a rest stop in Salem, Illinois around 5pm for a stretch break. Cathy found a cell phone and did the nice thing of tracking down the owner and we were on the way again, focused on getting home.
We crossed the Mississippi River around 7pm and stopped at Boomland, a huge gas station and fireworks store, shortly after. Think of it as a less-cool Buc-ee’s; it had all sorts of home decor, snacks, etc. with a million fireworks. We stopped again somewhere in Missouri around 8:45pm for McDonald’s. The mosquitoes were out in full-force and attacked me (specifically, my ankles). It was torture. Spike took a nap in my lap which was cute and I secretly loved it. We tried not to drug the dogs on the return trip but ended up having to do it. They each got less than half of their original dosage but it proved to be all they needed. Anyway, after some attempts to sleep, we gave up and played Cards. I beat Bobby one-too-many-times at Gin before we decided to finish our crummy Netflix movie from earlier in the week. It really was a horrible movie.
Around 11:30pm in Little Rock, Arkansas, Bobby and I switched back to the front to drive the last 5-hour shift. Kevin cleaned the windshields and the mosquitoes were just as bad as in Missouri. Luckily, Cathy’s Calamine lotion was within reach and she let me borrow it. It helped SO much. The front seat was tough to sleep in but that was good because I needed to stay awake with Bobby. We listened to more podcasts while his parents napped in the back. I dozed in and out every now and then but was awake for most of it, despite what he says. There was a long 200-mile stretch that he says I was asleep for the majority of but I wholeheartedly disagree!
We crossed the Texas border at 1:48am. Home stretch! Around 2:30am, we ran over a skunk and had to smell that horrible smell for longer than we would have liked. That woke everyone up. I could tell Bobby was exhausted and doing his best to stay awake and we were all just ready to get home. I cannot speak for his parents but both of us had barely slept the night before and did not get a lot of sleep in the car so I do not know how he was still functioning. It probably was not safe but we did make it back safely. The closer we got, the longer it seemed to take. We finally arrived at the house at 4:50am! It was an exciting moment. We unloaded the essentials from the car and all immediately went to sleep. While we were laying in bed, Bobby said, “Am I really in bed right now or am I dreaming that I am in bed but actually am still driving and we are about to crash?” Ah! Yes, it was real. Whenever my eyes were closed, I felt like we were still moving in the car. It was a weird feeling but I fell asleep quickly, happy to be stretched out and resting.
The best sign
Total drive time: 23 hours
Sunday August 5, 2018 – Day 10
We woke up without an alarm around 11:30am. It was not a ton of sleep but it was what we needed. Cathy and Kevin had already been up and cleaned out the rental car and put stuff away. That was very kind of them to do for everyone! It made our day a little smoother because all we had left to do was clean out Bobby’s car, load our stuff, and get on the road back to Houston. We said our goodbyes around 2pm. Bobby drove the rental car back and I drove his car to meet him. I had to circle back to the house to pick up a few things I instantly noticed we forgot (I hate when that happens but at least we were still close) and then I met him at Enterprise. Bobby drove the 3 hours back to Houston, we picked up Elliott, and finally headed back to my apartment.
Bobby collapsed onto the couch. He had driven so much that he had more than deserved it. I cannot stand having a packed suitcase at home so I started laundry (I was also worried about ticks being in our laundry!) and unpacked before joining him on the couch. We finished the evening by watching National Lampoon’s Vacation, a movie I had never seen before. It was a great ending to a great vacation.
—
I had such a great time in Michigan. It was everything they had hyped it up to be and so much more. I loved getting to spend time with Bobby and his family and feel special and grateful to have been invited and included. I appreciated them putting up my insanely large suitcase and being so kind when I cried about falling into the water. While an RV would have been fun, our suburban worked out perfectly, just like everything else about the trip.
A special thanks to:
Bobby’s parents and whole family for including me in the trip and being so welcoming (and for being open to learning/using Google Photos so they could share photos with me for this blog).
Dad and Suzette for watching and taking such good care of Elliott (again and again and again). I do not know what I would do without their constant help!
My brother for watching my car and apartment for me.
Bobby and I decided to take our first real vacation together to visit Chicago! He grew up in Illinois and lived in Chicago for several years after college and all of his closest childhood and college friends still live there (or in the area) so it was a great chance to meet the important people in his life and learn more about his life. Since it was his city and his friends, I took a step back from my normal “Type A” planning and let him arrange everything. That is pretty huge for me, y’all.
June 1, 2018 – Day 1
Our flight out was at 6:19am so we got up very, very early. I had dropped Elliott off at my dad’s house the night before so that was one less thing we had to worry about in the morning but man, we were cutting it close. Bobby had a work social the night before and was out late so it was a late night of packing and getting ready. I had looked up the weather the week before and it said the temperature all weekend would be mid-90s but when we checked Thursday night, it was saying 60s! I was NOT prepared… I packed mostly tank tops and sun dresses and it was too late to go back to my apartment to adjust. Such is life, right?
We managed to get up and out the door a little later than I was comfortable with but I had no doubt everything would work out and we would make our flight. At least, I kept telling myself that. They say you should get to the airport an hour before your boarding time but I knew with a flight that early and the fact that we were not checking bags would mean we had some flexibility. We parked the car and took a very slow, frustrating shuttle over, breezed through security, and made it to the gate with a few minutes to spare. Unfortunately, we did not have time for breakfast!
Bobby was nice enough to let me take the window seat while he braved the middle. He had to work and the guy next to him would not let him put the armrest down, so I know it was not very comfortable for him. I appreciated the window seat so much though because it allowed me to get a little nap in during the flight. As usual, I was freezing so I did my best to stay warm with what I had.
It was a smooth flight. We navigated the airport easily and purchased our train tickets for the weekend. Bobby told me a story about how he once accidentally bought 10 tickets so he stood at the ticket stands and sold them all off to make his money back. Sure enough, while we were in line, that happened to someone else. Apparently that is a common thing! Those machines were kind of wonky though so it did not surprise me too much.
We hopped on the Blue Line, headed towards the city. Our first stop: FOOD. We transferred to the Red Line and surfaced in the city. It. Was. Freezing. I got my jacket out but it was not enough. The cold and wind are not for this southern, hot-yoga-loving, gal. Luckily, Portillo’s was only a few blocks away. Bobby had told me all about them for weeks so I was excited to finally be able to try it (not to mention, we were both starving at this point). I was told they have great hot dogs but since we were going to a White Sox game in the evening, I should hold off on the Chicago hot dog. He said the best thing to get was the Italian Beef so I ordered it exactly how he loves it and it did NOT disappoint. I had never had one before and with the added mozzarella cheese and jalepenos, it was delicious. We shared some fries in an attempt to be ‘healthy’ and somehow managed to walk out of there without ordering a slice of their “famous chocolate cake.” 10/10, would recommend to a friend.
Our Airbnb host was meeting us at 11:30am so in an effort to save time, we took an Uber out to Roscoe Village. We had booked our flights weeks in advance and when we went to book our lodging, we learned that there was a huge conference of some sort going on and all of the hotels were booked and/or had an insanely high nightly rate. Luckily, Bobby managed to find an affordable Airbnb just outside of the city which worked out perfectly for us. The host gave us a quick tour of the place before heading out. Bobby needed to work and I was so exhausted so I took a 3 hour nap while he was much more productive.
I woke up (albeit, a little groggy) to get ready for our White Sox game. Bobby had coordinated with about 12 or so of his closest friends to all meet up before the game to tailgate and then go to the game as a group. I had been very, very nervous to meet everyone but also just because sometimes large group settings make me semi anxious in general. Bobby is a social, friendly guy so I knew his friends would be too… but they are important to him and he is important to me so I wanted to make a good impression and be liked. No pressure. We cleaned up and headed out the door in our Sox gear.
Unfortunately for me, the weather had not warmed up at all so our Uber took us over to a nearby North Face and I bought a little fleece. It turned out I would end up needing something a little warmer by the end of the night but for the time being, it was perfect. Bobby had packed a light jacket and was clearly so much better at braving the cold than I was.
There was a bar nextdoor, Northside Bar & Grill, so we stopped in for a quick shot of Bobby’s favorite: Jameson. Maybe a little buzz would warm me up some?!
We hopped on the train and headed towards Guaranteed Rate Field (where the White Sox play). What an interesting name, right? The area itself was a little sketchy but we were not there to tour the area, we were there to tailgate and go to the game! Some of his friends had staked out some spots in the parking lot and already had food and drinks flowing. I was still a little nervous walking up to everyone but they were so incredibly welcoming and made me feel right at home. I met his 3 best friends and a few other very close ones. Over the next couple of hours, more and more showed up and everyone was social and nice. Everyone made an effort to talk to me and ask me questions about myself (and tell me how great a guy Bob is). They were totally selling him to me but little do they know, I was already sold on him a long time ago. *awe*
The tailgate was great. In the sun I was warm and in the shade I was cold so I kept taking the jacket on and off, on and off, on and off. We snacked on chips, chicken wings, sausage, and burgers. I only had some chips and a chicken wing because I was holding out for the ‘best hot dog’ inside the stadium. I also managed to get… a little drunk in that time. We had already had a shot of Jameson before getting there but once we got there, Big James made me a vodka/soda. When that was empty, he made me another. I caught a glimpse of his bar-tending skills and he sure did have a heavy pour! No wonder I was feeling so good. The group took a round of shots, too, and I obviously could not sit out for that. When Becky and Brad showed up, she offered me a little to-go wine and I had that too. I was good to go. Becky was also nice enough to share her dual-layer jacket with me. Everyone was dressed like it was 80 degrees outside and I was shivering! I tried to not look cold but I guess they could all see it on my face and everyone was trying to keep me warm and block the wind. It was sweet.
We made our way inside the stadium and as promised, our first stop was to order the hot dogs. James (not Big James, there are 2!), Bobby, and I found a booth and I ordered one the same way they did as to fully experience the greatness. Two natives would know more than I would! I skipped ordering a drink and chose water instead; I know my limits. Everyone had kind of gone their own way so we made our way to our seats. The hot dog was amazing and I spilled mustard on my jeans (not surprising). Everyone spent the next maybe 30 minutes coming and going, eating and drinks, and “watching” the game. (Note: I do not think anyone actually watched the game.). A few guys had gone to the bar below the stadium so after it got too cold, the rest of us joined them. It was much warmer out of the wind so I was glad to be down there. They drank and we all socialized until the game was over. This group was a hoot. I really enjoyed talking to everyone and getting to know them and hear stories about Bobby.
Just before the game ended, half the group (who lived outside of the city and who had driven to the game), took off. The rest of us decided to head out to Old Town to go to a bar. As we left the game, fireworks started (the White Sox surprisingly won 7-3)! It does not matter how old you are, fireworks are always nice. We waited at the train with everyone else and managed to grab some seats once on board. They were all reminiscing on old memories and sharing stories so it was difficult for me to keep up and know what was going on but Becky, the only other girl there the whole night, was very good at pausing and catching me up to help keep me in the loop. Girl power.
By the time we made it to Old Town, I had sobered up a bit and was back to feeling like a popsicle. My teeth were chattering, loudly. I do not know how everyone was managing with just a lightweight jacket. Becky shared one of her layers with me again which helped but by that point, I could not stop the chattering. It was so embarrassing.
Andy chose the bar for us, a place called Benchmark. I prefer a more dive-y place but it was a fun time. It was packed and it was loud but Andy knew everyone it seemed and had drinks ordered for everyone in matter of seconds. Impressive. I got a glass of wine and we went to the upstairs section and grabbed some tables. Over the next who-knows-how-long, we all went from drunk to dRuNk. Everyone probably had at least 2 drinks and Bobby bought a round of shots so things were getting dicey. I got to witness Bobby’s amazing dance moves and the whole group was making me laugh. Me being me, I started getting hungry and asking if we were getting food. Brad started a food countdown but when he got to the 3 minute mark, Bobby randomly decided it was time for us to head out. Looking back, that was probably a good call. It was definitely time to go.
He and I made our way through the crowds to the streets. I did not know enough about the trains to navigate our way home so I thought it would be best to just take an Uber home. That turned out to be way more difficult than I thought because I had no idea what the address of the Airbnb was! It was a struggle getting but I eventually found the place in my own email’s Trash folder and we were in a car shortly after. Whew. Bobby instantly fell asleep. After only 3 hours of sleep the night before, no nap on the plane, no nap before the game, and then a night out… I was surprised he had made it as long as he had. It was impressive. The Uber driver was chatty and I barely remember what we talked about and before we knew it, we were home. Bobby and I both had a set of keys, thankfully, and after a brief struggle between the door and me, we made it inside. We both fell asleep the moment our heads hit the pillows. Out.
June 2, 2018 – Day 2
As you probably could imagine, we slept in late. We needed it. When we finally got going for the day, we made our way back to Old Town to have brunch at Happy Camper. Thankfully it was much warmer outside. This place was pretty cool, very trendy, very hipster. It is a pizza place but since we were going to go to a real Chicago pizza place later, we shared a pulled-pork brunch dish and mozzarella sticks (which, to our surprise, were not fried cheese… but instead bread with cheese on a top and a side of marinara). We ate, had a morning drink, and watched Tiger Woods play golf. I had been hungry but after we started eating and drinking, my stomach was kind of achy. I have never been good at being hungover!
By this point, it was mid-afternoon. We decided to start our walking tour and made our way over to Navy Pier. We walked past the Trump Tower, walked along the river, and explored parts of the city even he had not been to yet. I loved strolling through the city, aimlessly wandering, hand in hand together. We people watched and just enjoyed each other’s company.
Eventually, we made it to Navy Pier and walked along it. It was warming up and the sun was starting to come out so it was nice. Lake Michigan was amazing; it really did look like an ocean, just going on and on forever into the distance. The Pier had several fun activities, restaurants, and all sorts of things to do on it. We opted out of those things in favor of just walking and soaking in the sights and people watching. There was an indoor section that we decided to go in and inside was the most beautiful 6-foot tall atrium. It was Bobby’s decision to go inside initially so I credit him for that great find! On our way out, Bobby came THISCLOSE to being pooped on by a bird. It literally landed mere centimeters in front of him. Thankfully, he dodged that bullet!
We had made our way back the front so we decided it was time to head out. We cut through Jane Addams Memorial Park and walked down Lake Shore Drive along the water. Our plan was to grab a drink at the Hancock Tower then maybe meet up with some of his friends again but we were both feeling a little exhausted from the night before that we decided to just keep it the two of us for the time being and check-in with his friends the next day. I struggled with helping make that decision because while I loved the idea of it just being us for the day, I did not want to be the type of girlfriend who held him back from seeing his friends the one time he was in town. It all ended up working out though.
Our walk continued through Lake Shore Park, past the Museum of Contemporary Art (we did not stop inside), and then over to the Signature Room at the 95th in the Hancock Tower where we enjoyed very expensive but very delicious drinks. The elevator took us up and we exited in the restaurant. From there, we wanted to see the view so we went to the windows instead of going upstairs to the bar and we were politely told to go directly upstairs (e.g. we got scolded in a nice way). We sat at the bar and socialized for a bit. The views were tough because it was a bit cloudy but they were still amazing. I ordered a Rose Sangria which quite possibly could have been the tastiest drink I had ever had in my life and Bobby got his favorite: an Old Fashioned. My stomach actually started to feel better after that drink so maybe it was a bit magical, too.
Our next stop was the Water Tower Place (a large, indoor vertical mall). We stopped inside the mall and went to a few different floors just to look around. I ended up buying a pair of shorts at Express before we left. It was a completely different style of mall than I had ever seen so it was cool to see, but at the end of the day it was just a mall so how much time could we actually spend there? Both of us were children though and put our hands in the water fountain as we went down the escalator. The water looked so perfect… we just had to touch it!
We passed the Historic Water Tower, one of the few buildings to survive The Chicago Fire. As we would pass things or through our conversations, we constantly kept saying to each other, “let’s look that up later” and learning about The Chicago Fire was one of them. Bobby was mostly sure he knew the whole story but he wanted a knowledge check.
By this point, it was getting late and close to dinner time. We headed toward Giordano’s, his favorite pizza place, but made a quick pit-stop at Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap for a shot or Malort first. Bobby and all of his friends had talked about Malort and how awful it was but because taking a shot of it apparently made you a “real Chicagoan” so I did not have a choice. Bobby ordered a shot for both of us (that was nice that he was willing to torture himself with me) and immediately the bartender laughed. GREAT. Great first sign. He brought the drinks over and asked what the occasion was. Another bartender heard Bobby say it was my first time having it and asked if she could watch me take it! Bobby even wanted to record a video of my “Malort face” as I took it. Just HOW BAD was this stuff? The bartender brought me a small class of Coke to help “wash it down” too and a glass of water. I was genuinely scared of what I was just about to drink but I was no wuss and took it like a champ. Bobby ended up not getting video (whew) but apparently I did not make a “Malort face” so it would not have been an exciting video anyhow. Anyway, the shot was complete garbage. It was not a burning shot or initially bad, it went down easily. The “gotcha” was the most foul, horrendous, lingering after-taste. Oh my gosh, it was awful. I do not drink soda and I drank that Coke just to help wash the taste out of my mouth. What in the hell was that stuff? Instead of adding it to the list of things to look up later, I immediately googled it to learn about the poison I just digested. Was I going to die? Was this a trap?! It turned out it was not poison and I was not going to die but you can read about it here. I was a real Chicagoan now! Bobby downed his shot and told me he was proud of me. The things we do for love.
Now, it was definitely time for dinner. Not only were we hungry but we needed to get that bitter taste out of our mouths immediately. Giordano’s was across the street so thankfully we did not have a long ways to go. The place was really cool with a fun environment. Bobby is so picky about his pizza in Houston (which makes sense if you come from a place known for pizza) so I was very much looking forward to finally trying his beloved Giordano’s. Last time I was in the city, I tried Gino’s East which apparently is not as good but hey, how could I have known that? We ordered right away because it takes 45-60 minutes to make the pizza. We also ordered a cocktail to cap off the evening.
While we waited, we discussed the components of pizza, the big pizza debate of Chicago (which is better: Lou’s or Giordano’s), and the bizarre couple next to us. When the pizza arrived, it looked so amazing. The couple next to us laughed at us for taking a picture of it and taking a boomerang of the “cheese pull.” Rude. We could have been MUCH more touristy if you ask me but that is fine, at least we entertained them. Finally, we dove in and it did not disappoint. Wow. That was some truly amazing pizza. I understood why it was his favorite and could agree that nothing in Houston compared. The closest thing would be Star Pizza, which we often frequented back home. But even then… Star Pizza had nothing on Giordano’s. It was well worth the wait! We each had 2 slices and took the last 2 home with us, knowing we would enjoy the leftovers later.
Our bellies full, we started to head home. Bobby surprised me and suggested we go back to Portillo’s to try the famous chocolate cake. YES! We got on the train then realized we had actually already been near Portillo’s so after a quick turnaround on the train, we arrived. We ordered a piece but waited until we were home to eat it. On our way home, we finally looked up everything on our “let’s look that up later” list. I love that we both share the need to look up and learn more about things we do not know.
We made it home and devoured that cake in a matter of seconds. Yep, it was just as delicious as they advertised and as it looked. Even Bobby, someone who does not prefer chocolate, admitted it was great. I loved it.
It had a been a long day with a lot of walking so we called it a night and tried to watch a movie. The Airbnb did not have cable and the local channels had nothing on. Netflix was not working. Everything was broken! Just then, it started to rain. We fell asleep to the sound of the thunderstorm, a perfect way to end the day.
June 3, 2018 – Day 3
We got a little bit of an earlier start as to fit in as much stuff as we could for our last day. We split a breakfast at Wishbone, a cute restaurant nearby that the Airbnb host had recommended to us on the first day. It was a great breakfast but we did not want to get too full so we could enjoy a nice lunch in town.
After breakfast, we walked over to where Bobby’s old stomping grounds. He pointed out all of his old hangouts and important places along the way. That was probably my favorite part of the trip as I really enjoyed seeing him in his element and hearing more stories about when he lived there. We arrived at his old house: The Bro-lagio. You could tell he was happy to be back in the area. He took a few pictures out front and we continued on. I loved looking at all the different houses and brownstones. We were constantly looking up the prices of ones for sale and talked about which ones we liked and did not like. It would be a different way to live but I can appreciate the appeal of it. My favorite thing were all of the trees arching over the streets; it made for a beautiful walk.
We made our way down Clark Street through Wrigleyville and past Wrigley Field. I was not allowed to take a picture in front of it because “we are White Sox fans” but that was fine, I did not care either way. It was a great little area though! He told me all about how much it had changed since he lived there and we explored the area a bit. Although, is it exploring when he knows where everything is? The weather was perfect, in the mid-70s, so it was nice to walk around.
Our next stop was the Willis Tower to be tourists and visit the Skydeck. They said it would be about 2 hours and they were not wrong; our total time there from start to finish was just barely over 2 hours. The line to the top was short but the line to take photos instead the Skydeck was insane. In line, it was revealed that I had already been up there before and if I had, then why would I do it again? *oops* I did feel bad for dragging him up there but you cannot argue with a great view of the city from every direction and a cute Skydeck picture together, right? Again, the things we do for love! It was a long, miserable wait but we survived and I appreciated him for being a trooper and doing that with me. It was great people watching, if anything. Of course I had to buy the professional photos, too.
It was early afternoon and because of our light breakfast, we were starved. We made our way back to Old Town to meet up with his friends Brad and Becky again. Everyone met at The Rabbit Hole where Bobby and I grabbed a quick bite to eat. We all enjoyed some drinks, of course. Bobby ordered a “mystery beer and shot” which was kind of fun. The place was cute; the windows were open to the outside so it was nice to have the sun on us and there were table-top games (that we did not end up playing).
Afterward, we started our afternoon bar hop. Our first stop was Declan’s Irish Pub where everyone got Jameson and I got a lemon drop martini because I do not like whiskey. We hung out there for a bit, again a half indoor/half outdoor place. I liked how all the restaurants and bars were able to “open up” to the outside when it was a nice day. I know they cannot do that when it is freezing outside but on a nice day like it was, what a great option to have!
Next up was The Fireplace Inn where we all had “Huge Ass” vodka lemonades; their popular item. Those were very delicious but large and strong! Uh oh. It was nice to sit outside and hear all about their time working together in Chicago and more stories. Unfortunately, we were sitting in the shade so we made our way to a sunnier location.
I did not catch the name of our 4th place but there, I had my first Irish Car Bomb! We made a huge mess on the table when we dropped our shots but we were outside so it was fine. We also ordered cheese curds because I had said they sounded gross but they all called me on it and said I only made that accusation because of the word “curd.” Busted. We ordered them and they were fantastic. Y’all got me.
Our last stop was Woodie’s Flat where Becky and I finally contributed and bought a round fireball shots. The waitress asked me if we wanted a sparkler with it and I obviously said yes. No one knew though so it was a surprise to everyone when they came out with sparklers!
The sun was going to be going down soon and I wanted to be a tourist one more time an visit The Bean so we all said our goodbyes and parted ways. I had heard so much about them and loved getting to know them more. They were very kind to me and I appreciated how welcoming and inclusive they were. It was a great afternoon but the one thing I learned from it was that I cannot drink as much as a Chicagoan! I cannot speak for Bobby but I was preeeetty buzzed by that point.
We went to Cloud Gate (the Bean) and took some touristy photos. I had been there once before but it really is a great piece with the reflection of the surrounding buildings and whatnot. It was a beautiful night and a gorgeous sunset. I somehow managed to grab some kind of awesome snapshots of the skyline.
We had strangers take some photos for us and hung around the area for a little bit. We enjoyed one last drink at Park Grill and watched Game 2 of the NBA finals. I had a frozen something (no idea what) and from what I remember, it was good. It was the drink that pushed me over my limit and getting home was kind of rough. The bumpiness of the train was making me feel nauseated!
We made it home and instantly heated up the leftover Giordano’s. Not shockingly, the microwave did not work so our drunk patience was tested with having to wait on the oven. There were only 2 slices and it was definitely not enough; I think we both could have eaten at least one more slice. It was probably best that we did not have more though after how much we had ate and drank all weekend.
June 4, 2018 – Day 4
Our last day in Chicago was much more relaxed. Our flight was not until the evening so I slept in while Bobby got up and worked a little bit. We cleaned up, got ready to go home, and packed before the Airbnb host came by around 11:30am to pick up the keys. We made our way to the Brown Line one last time (the Paulina stop had been our nightmare all trip because the train always took forever). Our train pass was expired so we bought a one-way to the airport and made our way. It was quite the ride out there! I did not remember it being that long on the way but to be fair, we did stop for lunch on the way in and then used an Uber. We eventually made it to the airport.
Before our trip, we both registered for TSA-Pre Check. Our approval and travel ID did not come in time for our trip to Chicago but we had both received our official emails the day before so we were able to utilize our new fancy Pre-Check for the first time! Talk about a time saver. It was great to breeze through security.
We split chips/queso and a buffalo chicken sandwich at Chili’s before getting in line to board our flight. Our timing for that flight was perfect and made me much more comfortable than our one the other day. It was great to not rush or feel anxious. Bobby went to get us water and then we boarded swiftly, this time I took the middle seat. Teamwork.
WiFi on the plane was not working so Bobby could not work and instead, we worked on the in-flight magazine crossword puzzle. I had actually never done one for-real so he was teaching me and we were helping each other. I knew how they worked but it there are definitely tricks to filling it out. Afterward, I lent him my Sudoku book and taught him how to play it. What a bunch of nerds: doing crosswords and playing Sudoku the whole flight. I loved every second of it. When we landed, we stopped to buy me an easy crossword puzzle book and him an easy Sudoku book (flashforward: we both use our books just about every night now). Bobby also surprised me with a cookie he bought for us when he went to get the water. My hero.
We picked up the car and headed to my dad’s house to pick up Elliott. I always appreciate my dad and Suzette taking care of Elliott while I am away. He loves it there and I can trust he is loved in return.
Bobby and I decided to start the Keto diet after our trip so to finish off a weekend of poor eating and have one last carb-loaded meal, we stopped for Pei Wei on the way home. Worth it.
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I had been told it is important to be able to travel well with your partner so I was so thankful that we had a fun, successful trip. There were moments I wish we had (or I had known of) more of a plan instead of winging it but I trusted him and it always worked out. We never ran out of things to talk about and I loved getting to see where is was from, meet his friends, and share the city with him. For some reason, I had always been a fan of Chicago and it did not let me down. My first time (and only ever time before) to the city was just for part of one day so to be able to experience it in its entirety with someone who knows it so well was perfect. I was worried about the weather but after the freezing Friday night, it warmed up and it was just as I hoped it would be. Everything was!
Thank you, Bobby, for taking me and inviting me to share in that part of your life! It was a wonderful trip and hopefully our first of many.
jillian goes... 