Birthday Celebration

So over the past weekend, Jim had a birthday.  The one thing he wanted was to go to Texas de Brazil and proceed to put himself in a meat coma.  If you don't know what this place is, then you need to check out this link.  

However, the one in Richmond was closed the entire weekend.  This was going to be a problem.  Luckily there is another one in Fairfax, which is quite the hoof for us.  But I was determined for Jim to get what he wanted.  So in order to kill time we went to the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.  

We drove something like four hours to get here.  Traffic was a bear! I thought it wouldn't be so bad.  Most people have gotten where they need to be by Saturday afternoon.  Ugh!

Jim and the Corsair (our 1st stop)

So let me bore you with a few pictures from the museum.  We went with a plan.  We always have to see the Corsair (Jim's favorite!) and the Space Shuttle Discovery.  Which is good because we only had a short period of time before or reservations for Texas de Brazil.

A rear view of the corsair

Believe me I actually have LOTS of photos of the Corsair, but I didn't want this blog to be just about it.  Even if Jim could talk about it for hours on end.  And being the good wifey that I am...  I did take copious numbers of this particular aircraft.

Space Shuttle Discovery

A closer look at the nose

Side rear view

Check out the back!

I must say that I geeked out over the Space Shuttle.  I grew up during the time frame when we were still going out to the stars.  So it was REALLY cool to get to get close to a shuttle that had actually been up in space.  You could actually see the tiles on the bottom of the ship that had slightly burnt up on re-entry.  How cool!!

Space ship model from Close Encounters of the Third Kind

They have the model of the space ship from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  I'm drawn to this model, because there are a number of odd things that the model makers put on the space ship.

Can you find R2D2?

 I'm only ever able to find the airplane, R2D2, the cemetery and the mailbox.  There are a number of other things.  I'm sure I'd have an easier time if the lighting in the area was better.  That is my only complaint of the entire museum.

In front of missile

Of course I had to snap a shot of my sweetie in front of a Talos missile.  Jim has a bit of a history with missiles.  That's for another day though.

A sweet end to a sweet day.

 We made our reservation, barely, and had a very nice time with our friends.  At the end of the meal we got dessert and after dinner drinks.  They found out it was Jim's birthday and decorated his dessert.  We didn't say anything, the manager came by our table as our friends were giving Jim a present.  This was done very quickly.  So kudos to the staff at Texas de Brazil in Fairfax!!!  He had a lovely after dinner drink that I had to call up and find out what it was the next day.  It was that good!

If you ever need a nice after dinner drink for sipping, I highly recommend Licor 43.  Slightly sweet and oh so good!

All in all a good day, I think!

Happy birthday Jim!  I hope it was a good day for you!  Here's to many, many more!

Harborfest Day 2

On Sunday we went back to Town Point Park to see the tall ships at Harborfest.  We wised up this time and were coated in sunscreen and had our hats.  For some reason it seemed much hotter than it was the day before.

This time we focused on the tall ships and seeing what vendors were in the area.

So our first picture of the day HAD to be of the USS Wisconsin (just like yesterday actually) only this time we focused on the Marine Corps emblon on the guns.  Something about it just caught our attention.  We're actually behind Nauticus to get this photo.  Nauticus is another wonderful place to visit, if you're ever in the area.

After that we went to look at the Norwegian ship that was docked behind Nauticus.  They did have tours, but we were early and decided after being at the event for a while that we really didn't need to tour the ship.  It was great that it was offered though!  Interesting factoid that I read as Jim wandered around snapping photos.  This ship was named after a Norwegian explorer, Thor Heyerdahl.  These ships are all named after famous Norwegian explorers.

While Jim was admiring the Norwegian ship I spotted the Fort McHenry, so we had to get a picture of that.  As you can see it was quite a bit a ways away.  And just so you know, I did have to zoom in to get this shot.  Needless to say we were TIRED yesterday after our adventures.

It started getting a bit crowded as it got closer to noon.  More people were ready to come out and get tours of the different ships.  Since it was drawing closer to the time most ships had posted that they were able to give tours.

We noticed that one of the foreign tall ships was having Mass.  How beautiful!  It's always interesting, to me, to hear another language being spoken.  Seeing as I can only speak English.

Of course the US Coast Guard's sailing vessel Eagle was there.  The line to get  onto the ship was tremendously long, so we decide to forgo that one.  Neither one of us is for long lines and we've been on the USS Constitution, so we didn't feel like we HAD to go aboard.

And I just loved looking at the ship head on and seeing the golden eagle, so I forced Jim to take a picture for me.  Yes I know I'm a big old meanie!

The Godspeed came from Jamestown.  Which was really cool!

The history around this area is just amazing.  You could spend months checking out all the history and things to do in this area.  

Again why haven't we?

Short answer?  Laziness.  Or lack of gumption on my part.

A game of cards

 Something else that I thought was really cool was the landlocked set up of the inside of a ship.  For those with small ones who didn't wish to head up the gangplank, you could see bits and pieces of what a sailing vessel would look like on the inside.  Complete with hammocks, cannons and of course grog!

Grog anyone?

I loved that they had people in period costumes that showed how life was lived back then.  They even had a small area set up with different tents showing you how things were made.  Like a blacksmith, a cooper, a laundress and the like.

Very educational!

They also had different bands playing at different times.  We caught the show of three guys playing steel drums.  Also one of the ships crews came out and played as a marching band.  Which was so awesome!  They had skits that were acted out by pirates and people in period garb.  The skit I caught a bit of had pirates who used the audience in their act.  Something that delighted the crowd.

Around Nauticus they had remote control ships in various stages of build for you to view.  Jim spoke with one of the guys who had a submarine on display.  He even has little missiles to launch from it.

How cool!

They had two guys in the pool around Nauticus demonstrating how the remote control boats worked.

We just had to get a shot of this one.  You can even see that it's anchor is down.  The attention to detail is just absolutely amazing!


And of course, I had to add a picture of Miss Azalea.  She's in front of Nauticus and if you'll recall from my earlier post part of the Mermaid Parade.

What can I say?  I'm a sucker for mermaids.  Kind of the point right?

There were tons of vendors there.  People selling food and drink, artwork, clothing, chairs, toys...  You name it.  We're in the firm belief that our friend, Phil, should have a spot there next year to sell his artwork and do caricatures.  We think he'd do very well.  And he knows he could stay with us during the festival.

And of course I couldn't end this post without a photo of one of us.  And luckily my sweetie was willing to pose for me.  Isn't he a great guy?

I think so!

So if you're ever in the area in the first part of June, I highly recommend you take some time to go to Harborfest!

Harborfest Day 1

Harborfest began more than a quarter century ago when the Norwegian Tall Ship Christian Radich came to call on Norfolk, a waterfront community that had no city-owned property on which to dock a ship. The ship was docked three blocks from Town Point at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and 13,000 people crossed her gangway in just one and a half days. Over the next two years, City planners and leaders created berthing to accommodate more ships, and a waterfront public park was planned. Norfolk Harborfest® was born. Today, tall ships from all over the world frequently call on the City of Norfolk and nearly half a million visitors gather on the downtown waterfront each year for this annual celebration of our region’s rich nautical heritage. The traditions of the East Coast’s Premier Waterfront Festival are celebrated with nautical history, maritime events, visiting vessels, children’s activities, local, regional and national entertainment. Festivities stretch from The Waterside Festival Marketplace to the Historic Freemason Harbor. 

USS Wisconsin

So now you have the history.  Every year this happens and I'm ashamed to admit that I've not gone.  I haven't even watched the tall ships sail into port.  My neighbor was just telling me how he was going with friends and they were going to have rum infused slushies while there.  What?  How did I not know about this?  Because I live in this area and just have ignored it.


Well no more!


We decided to check things out on Saturday morning.  The weather was nice and we figured we'd avoid a majority of the crowds if we went early enough.  Harborfest had been going on since Wednesday.  They had most of the area closed down to traffic and it was fairly easy to find parking.  We started out at the USS Wisconsin and headed in the Fort Norfolk direction.


They did provide shuttles, but the weather was nice and we wanted to walk.  I'm pleased that they did offer this free service, because I'm sure it was a tremendous help to the foreign sailors.  And their were numerous foreign ships there.  Things were well organized.  There were people dressed in period costumes from 1812.  This is the bicentennial of the War of 1812, which explains the re-en actors.  We were able to see some re-en actors in their camps and they shot off their cannon.  

One of each please

Since we hadn't expected to stop by Harborfest, I forgot my camera so all the photos here are provided by my trusty little iPhone 4S.  Much better photos than my old phone could provide, but I'm still kicking myself for forgetting my camera.  

Another wonderful thing about the Harborfest is that you can actually tour most of the ships.  Their were military ships as well as tall ships.  Today we just checked out the military ships.  We were lucky enough to tour the Fort McHenry.  At this point Jim took over with the photo taking.  We were more interested in the equipment the ship could carry than anything else.  


There were loads of photos to choose from but I only chose a handful.


I just had to have this photo so you could see how big most of this equipment is.


The  diver on the Search and Rescue helicopter gave us a talk about this.  Being the smarty pants that I am I had to ask if the pilot could speak.  He smirked and said yes, but he was there for decoration.  LOL


We were also able to see a PC (patrol craft) which brought back good memories for Jim.  Lots of remember whens sort of thing. This ship pictured is from the Naval Academy.  

While walking back we saw this sign and had to chuckle.  


Lessons learned on this trip?  Besides bring the camera?  Be sure to have plenty of sunscreen.  Wear a hat.  And PLENTY of water!  The heat and all the walking we did made us feel a bit dehydrated.


It was still a fantastic day though.


And I just couldn't end this without a shot of one of the mermaids that we came across during our journey.

Warbirds Over The Beach

Corsair Dolphin

 So on May 19th we were lucky enough to go to Warbirds Over the Beach in the Virginia Beach area.  It was held at the Military Aviation Museum.  This is an awesome place to go even if there isn't an air show going on.  If you are EVER in the area and love old planes, I highly recommend it!

Honestly we have TONS of photos from this, but I just chose a few because I'm really not that good with names of planes and such.  That's more Jim's area of expertise.  And he had control of the camera that day.

 We got a snapshot of the artillery gun that they had on display.  I told Jim to snap another photo of the guy explaining the gun because he was in a World War II uniform.

Which is another thing that I loved.  There were tons of people in clothing from the 1940s.  I desperately wanted to get some pictures of the women that had some fabulous dresses on, but we only managed to get them as they were walking away.  Note to self...  Be bold!  Ask those lovely people if they would mind if you snapped a photo of them.  I bet they would let you!

We also managed to snag this great photo of the planes lined up.

It was really cool to get to watch the planes in flight.  The airstrip is grass and their is no control tower.

We got to see the Corsair (Jim's favorite) take off and fly.  Plus we saw a PBY take off and in flight.  It's a big honking thing, but it does look graceful while in flight.  Although you wonder if it's ever gonna get up and go, because it's so slow!  LOL

So I'll end this with a photo of the Corsair  with it's wings up and the F4F Wildcat is the one with the wings down. (edited with the help of the hubby)

Monsters On The Beach

A classic old truck.  Love it!

So back around May 13th (I know I've really fallen behind on my blogging) we happened to go to Virginia Beach during the Monsters on the Beach.

Pure luck on our part.  We didn't stay for demonstrations or anything.  Just did a quick walk up the boardwalk and peeked at some of the trucks.

The monster truck course.

A monster firetruck.  Get there in style!

I'm really not into monster truck rallies or anything, but thought I should snap a few quick photos.  With my iPhone no less.  And make mention of it happening.

Not something you want to meet in a dark ally.

Smile for the camera!

Ingleside Syrah 2007 Release

Ingleside Vineyard's Courtyard

Add caption

So on April 29th we were able to go to Ingleside Vineyards for their release of the 2007 Syrah.  2007 was a wonderful year for Virginia red wines so we knew we HAD to give this a try.

Also I worked at Ingleside during this harvest so I felt a sort of attachment to it.  So color me tickled that it was finally released!

Darby wants to see what's on the table

For this trip we decided to take our sweet little dog, Darby, with us.  She doesn't travel well so I had to get some puppy relaxants for her.  It was a 2.5 hour drive.

Needless to say, she did fantastic.  She really seemed to enjoy it this time around.  And I didn't have to deal with cleaning up barf.

She really enjoyed her adventure and getting to see our friend, Phil, for a nice long visit.  Darby loves to love and be loved upon.

And really how can you not love that sweet little face?

You know you can't.

We were able to call ahead and reserve a cheese platter for the day.  It came with three types of cheese, salami, fruit and a baguette.  I also got us a glass each of the new Syrah.

Let me just say that the wine was MUCH better than the cheese platter.  For what you paid I expected a bit more.  Oh well.  At least the wine was good!

And of course I did have to get a photo of the servers out in the courtyard.  A touch of class to be sure!

Afterwards we were able to stop in and visit our favorite artist, Phil McKenney, and visit for a while.

Darby had a fantastic time and really wants to know when we will be doing this again.  Although, next time she wants to be able to have a glass of whatever it is we're drinking.

Food Quest: Peel

So while I was in Illinois visiting my family I was able to catch up with a buddy from high school.  She took me to Peel in Edwardsville.

I always LOVE going somewhere I've never been before and this was a treat!

We started out with a baby spinach salad.  My mouth waters at the mere thought of it!  Baby spinach with walnuts, sunflower seeds, goat cheese, dried figs, balsamic reduction and extra virgin olive oil.  If felt oh so decadent, but really not bad for you in the grand scheme of things.  *sigh*  My mouth was so happy!

We shared a wood fired pizza.  You can't go to this place and not get one.  It was fantastic!  I can't find it on the menu now, but I loved it.  It was a steak with a Cabernet marinade of some sort and topped with sage.  Oh such goodness!

Pros

Family friendly atmosphere

Fantastic food!

Well lit (as many know this is a peeve of mine)

Kid menu

Great service

Fantastic food (did I mention this one?)

Con

Very popular (so be patient)

Thanks again Denise for taking me here!  I loved it!