Had another lazy morning, and decided to loaf around the hotel room until Liz was available for lunch. We decided to hit up a nearby place called The Green Goddess, thanks once again to the great Huffencooper Guide to New Orleans (courtesy of Cinnamon Cooper and Andrew Huff).
Here’s what totally helped: I looked around online, and many other people had reservations about this particular segment of the program. Many folks were giving the same advice: slow down. Slow it WAY down. So though I looked like a senior citizen with a limp, we kept things slow and I was able to keep one foot moving in front of the other. Time enough to work on speed and distance… for now, my goal is time-based.
This morning, Liz and I woke up early (although not Flea Market early) to go to Vintage Garage. We were meeting up with several of Liz’s friends: Lauren (who’s from Nashville and was in town with her boyfriend Landon), as well as Tasha and her partner, Mel.
Liz is meeting up with several sewing/knitting bloggers this weekend for a get-together, and as a treat… she wanted to make a batch of macarons for them to have, during their outing on Saturday. So by the time I got home on Friday, she was already a whirlwind of activity in the kitchen.
One of the things we did a lot of, while in Atlanta, was spend time in the pool. Oftentimes in the past, we’ve visited mostly during Christmastime (and not really swimming weather).
With the sun out and the weather as nice as it was… any chance we had to go in the pool, I was there.
On the first full day we were in Atlanta, Liz’s dad arranged for a canoe and kayak rental, and made plans for us to spend the day going down the Chattahoochee River.
I know going out on a river was on Liz’s to-do list this summer, so it worked out perfectly. The day was gorgeous, and we joined a large throng of people who had the same idea.
I was doing a bit of an inventory – looking back on the things I’ve done, the things I’m planning to do, the things I haven’t done yet. “Sad” is too strong a word, and “bummed” a little too light of one. Somewhere in between.
When I mentioned this to Liz, she stood up and said I’ve got something for you. I wasn’t sure what it was, but she went into the office, came back, and handed me this:
On Sunday, Liz and I trekked down to Frankfort to hang out with Tricia and the kids (who are in town for a week, visiting from Georgia).
Shortly after we arrived, the girls got changed into their bathing suits and a mini-pool was filled up in the backyard. Despite the warm weather, the water from the hose was pretty icy cold. Despite several pitchers of hot water from the kitchen, it was still a pretty icy in there.
On Saturday, we were invited over to Ben and Allison’s place to hang out, sink some beers, and a little game we like to call Ballsdurdash.
For much of the weekend, Jake would throw sticks into the water for Tus to fetch. At first, she was hesitant to get in the water… but once she realized it was ok (after Jake tossed her in), she started diving in on her own. According to Jake, this was the first time she had ever jumped into a lake totally on her own – you could tell he was really proud of Tus.
Lisa and James are back in Chicago for a few days, and originally Jake, Liz and I were going to go out for a weekend of camping. Given the heat and the storms predicted, we ended up heading to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, where we were able to stay at the lakehouse that belongs to Jake’s dad.
Over the weekend, Liz and I traveled with Julie and Bob to Iowa. This weekend was a surprise birthday party for her great uncle Bruce, and several Denlers (including Uncle David, Aunt Beth, cousins Lauren and Brandon) made their way out to help celebrate.
This photo probably gives the best view of the sheer size of the dune. Every other photo I took makes it seem like an easy hill. It was super steep, and I had to stop several times to catch my breath.
I should say this at the start: my family never, ever goes on vacation. We did a bit in the past, but our vacations always seemed to include a trip out to visit relatives. Or a wedding. Early “vacations” to me were always events that pulled us out of town. I think of my family as one that rarely travelled just to travel together, for the sheer sake of taking a trip.
Which is why it was great that my sister, on a whim, decided to rent a house for a few days in Sawyer, MI and invited my parents, me and Liz up for a few days. No agenda, no relatives to visit, no events to attend… just show up, relax, and hang out.
After a pretty eventful morning (I went to go take photos at Warrior Dash, Liz went to the Frankfort Flea)… we met up in Frankfort, to hang out with Julie and Bob for Father’s day.