Happy July 4th! Monte and I are packing for two days and nights on the lake. It’s going to be great! As we were getting ready I heard the Stars and Stripes blaring down the street. We went outside and caught our neighborhood’s annual parade. I love it. Small town awesomeness in the middle of Austin! They do this every year, but this is the first year we have been home on the 4th to see it (!).
why yes, that IS a mop&linen Statue of Liberty going down the street. Don’t you have one of those?
We have lots of funny movies we love to quote for moments that would only be funny to others that share a love for the same movie humor….. from Caddyshack, Captain Ron, The Princess Bride, So I Married an Axe Murderer, Young Frankenstein, to name a few. One movie quote that comes to mind tonight is from My Big Fat Greek Wedding:
Aunt Voula: What do you mean he don’t eat no meat?!
[the entire room stops, in shock]
Aunt Voula: Oh, that’s okay. I make lamb. 🙂
Yesterday Monte de-boned and marinated a leg of lamb, and tonight he put it on the grill. Add some quick pasta and insalata caprese (with basil and tomatoes fresh from the garden), and VOILA! I think Aunt Vuola would approve.
Oh, and also: TGIF!! It’s been about a month since we’ve been out to the lake, given our travel schedules. Tomorrow we will make up for lost time.
After brunch today we said our goodbyes to everyone and dropped Gene at the airport on the way back into the city. We ended up staying an extra day, so we’ve decided to spend some of it getting more acquainted with Nashville.
We stopped by the original home of the Grand Ole’ Opry, the Ryman Auditorium.
We took the tour and got to see the stage up close:
And a view from backstage: 
It’s a beautiful venue. Amazing to think about all the stars that spent so much time here…
One more shot from the balcony: 
Then we wandered off to the nearby bars on Broadway. We ended up at Jack’s BBQ for some brisket and pork shoulder – and it was delicious.
Nashville is the “Athens of the South,” and in 1897 they built an exact replica of the Parthenon for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. So, of course, we had to see it. Unfortunately, by the time we made it to Centennial Park, the landmark was closed for tours, so we did not get a chance to see the statue of Athena. But we did get a great view of all 4 sides.
We made it to the Bluebird Cafe, but didn’t get a photo (!)
We ended up a great day at the Pla Mor Lanes. Monte kicked my butt 2-1 … even with the badminton injury 🙂
Looking forward to a leisurely morning tomorrow and (especially) spending the weekend on the boat. More exploring tomorrow, before heading to the airport for our flight home.
Good ‘night!
Just a few of the fun characters gathered this weekend for our bi-annual family reunion. Fun!
We’re most of the way to the end of the week! These are the awesome margarita glasses Julie gave us. We feel compelled to use them as often as possible. 🙂
And, Happy Birthday to our friend, Teri!
Back home now, trying to focus on work. At the same time, Monte and Dan are sailing the catboat up the coast on a 200 mile adventure that I wish I was there for, but will have to be content with providing support from afar when needed. I wonder how they did this, back in the day, without cellphones, gps and google maps?!
Sunday already!? Today we all rolled out of bed for mimosas and crepes.
Then checked out around noon.
Back in Austin the skies were colorful; remnants of today’s rain showers:
I picked up Keeto after I got home, and we enjoyed catching up on our favorite crime dramas…
I wish tomorrow was not Monday!! 
We had a blast last night. Today we set out for Balboa Park in the morning, and Coronado in the afternoon.
One of my favorite places in Balboa Park is the botanical gardens:
And its lily pond:
We strolled over to the rose garden:
A great morning spent amongst the beautiful San Diego architecture:
And over to Coronado for lunch at the Sheerwater @ the Hotel del Coronado:
Then we went to a nearby art street fair, and grabbed a late dinner at the bar in the hotel.
A LOVELY day, indeed!
After a busy year, Julie left to spend a few weeks at home for the summer. She gave us some awesome margarita glasses, and a Thank You card that is right up my alley. 🙂 L.O.V.E. I.T.!!
Looking forward to having her back in the Austin hood.
It’s JUNE already! Where did the year go?! Today is Dave’s 40-something-th birthday. Happy to celebrate with him.
Here’s to the rest of the year!
Tonight is Julie’s last night in Austin before heading home for the summer. So we declared it Pizza Night, of course. This is a close-up of one of the pies tonight. Delicious!
The full Flower Moon.
We spent a nice day on the lake. We pulled anchor today and brought up a tree stump. I wish I had taken a picture but there wasn’t time. This stump was about 10-12 inches in diameter. A good 2 feet high. With roots, one of which was about 6 feet long. The windlass couldn’t handle the weight so I got to pull it up by hand. Whew!
We set anchor in the same cove tonight. Let’s see what we pull up tomorrow!
Gettin’ our weekend on! Happy Saturday.
I headed into Seattle today to visit Pat & Nga and the kids. Before I hit the road I stopped by a park on the puget sound shoreline where attended girl scout camp back in the day. I remember camping, cooking, clamming and making sand sculptures here over several summers here. I dare say it has been 35 years or so since i last stood on this particular stretch of beach. It is still amazingly beautiful.
I drove my mom’s car. Not your typical dashboard.
When i got to seattle, we drove to a park on the *other* side of the puget sound to fly the kites that I gave the boys. They are master kite flyers. One shot with both of them:
One shot of Nicky:
And one shot of Will:
A great day. Back to Austin tomorrow. Goodnight!
Sheila365 