London (the rest)

I think it’s time to wrap up my trip recap, so I’ll just put the rest of the London bit in this post.

Tuesday was our second day in London. George wanted hats, but I’ve already blogged about that. We also did some other shopping and browsing, which was fun.

After we got George a jacket and me some tea at Marks & Spencer, we went our separate ways. I ended up eating a sandwich in Soho Square, where Kristina and Anne and I used to meet for lunch almost every day, 18 summers ago.

The next day, George and I poked around Camden Market (it was pretty dead, being a Wednesday) before meeting a friend for a pub crawl.

Pub crawl!

Yes, this is Pimm’s on tap.

Cool pic of a bridge we were near. Can’t be more specific.

The best meal we had all week, if you ask me: Toad in a Hole!

Thursday was our last full day, so I crammed as much in as I could. Museums, (okay, mostly the gift shops), walking around my old haunts, etc. It was a pretty warm day, and people were covering every inch of grass everywhere. I love London for that.

Friday, we flew home. The end.

London (part 1)

We spent as much time in London as we did in Keswick, but I took about a third as many photos. I suppose it’s because I already have a ton of pictures of London. And by this point in the trip, my shoulders were killing me from carrying around a heavy bag with my camera, so I took most of the photos with my phone.

Anyway, enough excuses.

When we first got to London, we went directly to the Airbnb that we had rented. It was tiny but clean and bright. Perfectly sufficient for our needs, and just down the street from a tube station. I’d say the only downside was the size of the bathroom. The sink in particular was just comically small. Washing my face was…messy.

Anyway, after dropping our stuff off, we headed out to explore a bit. We walked up (and I do mean up – didn’t we leave the hills behind in the Lake District?) to Hampstead, where we hit up a pub (natch) before catching a glimpse of Hampstead Heath.

Oliver is a far more common name over there.

Okay, that’s enough nature.

Just to round out the Lake District portion of our trip…some more photos of sheep, and other stuff we did.

The outside of our B&B

The market square.

Sheep.

A lane across fields of sheep.

George talking to the sheep

The bridge to Portinscale

The river under that bridge

Lots of dogs in this pub.

Mmm, pie.

Clouds over mountains

Cockermouth flooded. A lot.

Mmm. Pimm’s!

Rivers in Cockermouth

The Jennings brewery

Hops

Stuck my head in this, pretty sure I have no nose hair left.

Old movie theater

Going back to Portinscale

I think a mouse must live down there.

Fish n chips

Keswick: Castlehead walk

On Friday, our first full day in Keswick, George and I decided to try a walk. It wasn’t very far, so it seemed like a good one to start with. But we flatlanders forget that maps don’t always show elevation. So it was a little more challenging than we expected, but totally worth it.

Here’s how you tackle a stroll to the top of a ~~mountain~~ hill.

First, you start with a hearty breakfast. What you don’t see here is the sausage, bacon, egg, mushrooms, and hashbrown I ate before taking the picture. (I should mention here that we stayed at the very excellent Stonegarth B&B, recommended by my coworker Rachel. The breakfasts were beyond delicious and the proprietors kind and friendly.)

Next, you walk through town to get to the visitor’s centre so you can get a map so you can get lost before finding your way to the start of the walk. Admire the flowers along the way.

Finally, you arrive at the path in question. Oh look, there’s the lake! Our first glimpse since arriving in the Lake District. This one is Derwentwater.

George and I just hiked to the top of this hill. The views are unbelievable. Not sure how we’re going to get down. Gravity!

Look, there’s our house!

Last night’s episode of NCIS New Orleans was terribly exciting, no? I don’t mean the plot or the atrocious accent of that one guy (HUH?) or just the typical New Orleans cliches they threw at us, but MY STREET!

Just for fun, a few screen shots from the episode, next to the photos I took while they filmed…

My view: The gray SUV that carries NCIS people (I guess) screeches into the driveway of the “coroner’s office”!

On TV: The gray SUV that carries NCIS people (I guess) screeches into the driveway of the “coroner’s office”!

My view: People run out of the building, away from the gunman! (Then they stood in our driveway.)

On TV: People run out of the building!

My view: Scott Bakula and other randoms run to help the security guard who got himself shot!

On TV: The pain is so real!

Okay, that’s enough. You get the idea.

One more screen shot, where you can see our house! And our garbage cans! And a tiny bit of my van! And my neighbor’s house/coffee shop!

Screenshot 2015-04-08 08.47.33 — Handily labeled for you.

Well, I think we’ve proved that my block makes a great place to film things. Now if anyone just needs a cute 7 year old boy and some spares, have your people call my people!

NCIS New Orleans

Watch tonight! It’s the episode they filmed in front of my house last month. You might catch a glimpse of something from one of these scenes… (spoiler alert?)

https://me.sh/azj7mym/1j4-7f3

Those are mostly pictures I took from my desk, so the action was really close. It was cool to see how everything is done, but I also got pretty jaded towards the end.

“Yawn, there goes Scott Bakula again.”

(Look, my mom loved Quantum Leap when I was growing up. This is exciting stuff to have the star on my sidewalk!)

Anyway. Look out for the coffee shop – that’s really my next door neighbor’s living room.

Here’s the preview for the episode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLgPpfecyoM

Shoes ‘n’ laces

I have nothing to report, fitness-wise today, since I took this morning off. All planned, normal rest day, etc. Tomorrow I’ll be back at the gym in the wee hours. Saturday I may go to the gym but maybe not since I have that race on Sunday. We’ll see. I know, zzzzz.

After I picked up the boys from school yesterday, I had to take them to the shoe store so Miles could get a new pair. I swear, I feel like I am always buying them shoes. And I’ve discovered it doesn’t matter if I buy them cheap sneakers or more expensive ones, they destroy them just as quickly. So off to Payless we went.

The boys still don’t know how to tie laces, and it’s one of those boring things I’m not really interested in teaching and getting frustrated with and they won’t go to college unable to tie their shoes, right? But as they get bigger, velcro shoes are becoming less common, so I had to bite the bullet and buy lace up shoes.

I’ll admit, they also look a lot nicer. But I’m not looking forward to either tying six laces every morning or teaching them how to do it. If anyone has any great ideas or resources, I’m all ears. I’ve watched a few YouTube videos that supposedly will teach me how to teach them, but I’m not sold. I think learning how to teach someone to tie shoes is like knitting – I have to be shown in person how to do it, I can’t watch a video. Maybe a book instead?

(Note about the photo at the top: Linus got new shoes, even though he didn’t really need them, but I bought them a half size bigger so in theory he can wear them longer. But because he didn’t need them, I would only buy him the clearance shoes, which are the uglier shoes on the left. Of course, he thinks they’re cool. But he’s a 7 year old boy.)

Tank.

The boys have this friend, Ethan. Well, first, George and I were friends with his parents. Well, before that, I knew his dad. But anyway. Ethan is about seven months younger than the boys. He was born almost three months prematurely, but considering his nickname at the daycare he went to with the boys was Tank, you really hardly would have known.

Ethan is just an awesome kid. You know. He’s like one of my own, he fits right in with my boys, and they all run around like goons when they get together. (When Miles and Ethan were both Luke Skywalker for Halloween a few years back, epic battles ensued. I guess Ethan isn’t as used to seeing a clone of himself as Miles is.)

Anyway, due to Ethan’s prematurity, he was diagnosed with a form of Cerebral Palsy called Spastic Diplegia. It affects the way his brain communicates with his muscles and causes tightness and weakness making it difficult for him to walk and balance even while standing still.

There is a surgical procedure that has helped other children with Spastic Diplegia called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR). SDR treats muscle spasticity caused by abnormal communication among the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and muscles, and Ethan will be having the surgery this summer at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

This is a spinal surgery, and Ethan will require lots of physical therapy for six months after the surgery.

So it’s a big deal, and it will be life-changing for Ethan. He’ll be able to walk without falling, and without tiring so easily. (Not that I’ve ever seen Ethan complain. He gets up, brushes himself off, and keeps on running.) But it’ll mean a lot of expenses for his family. So let’s help!

There’s a GoFundMe page here, where you can donate.

Or come to our garage sale on April 18 and buy snacks and beverages from the boys (don’t worry, I’m not going to let them actually make them or anything. But they’re in charge of selling.)

You can also sponsor Heather as she does the Ironman in New Orleans on April 19.

There will be other fundraisers to help raise money for Ethan’s surgery, so keep your eyes open for those!

Vegas, baby

Man, for someone who is going to be giving a talk on Making Blogging a Habit in three weeks, I’m not doing a stellar job, am I?

Well, I’m here to remedy that with a little recap of my trip to Las Vegas. It was Kristina’s 40th birthday trip, and I flew there Saturday morning to meet up with Kristina, Mike, and a few other couples that they’re friends with. (I joked that I was the 9th wheel, but I really never felt like it.)

I arrived early Saturday afternoon after a couple of thankfully uneventful flights. Got to the hotel and rested for a few minutes while I waited for Kristina to get back from another casino. The rooms at the Aria had automated lights and curtains, but I found the system somewhat buggy. I was just sitting there relaxing, and the TV and lights went off and the curtains closed. Oooookay. I guess they were trying to tell me to get out of there.

The view was nice, though…

Basically, we ate a lot. Had lunch at a Mexican place in the Aria that had delicious pineapple margaritas. Then dinner at Bazaar Meat, where we ate a lot of amazing, um, meat. And Bill and Whitman surprised us by driving in from Los Angeles!

Fancy mixed drink. Or witch’s brew.

Kiki and Whitman. Surprise!

Dessert!

Whitman with his dad and uncle

That’s where we ate.

Cotton candy around a bit of foie gras.

An olive, and an “olive”.

Meat! Before we ate it.

Sunday we had breakfast, then the ladies went to the spa. I didn’t get any treatments, but relaxed in the jacuzzi, steam room, and sauna. I also hung out in a “salt room” that was supposed to improve my upper respiratory system, or something. Whatever. It was chill.

That evening, we went to Ka, a Cirque du Soleil show. It was crazy. The set was immense. So fancy. After that, we ate at Yardbird, where I ate the most delicious fried chicken I’ve ever had in my entire life. Holy cow (or chicken.) So good.

Some more random photos from my trip…

Made it home last night without too much travel drama. Just a little bit.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Hard to imagine, everywhere else, it’s just Tuesday.

Hermes!

Parade

Friends

Lots of high school friends

610 Stompers

Parade!

Sweet smile

Me and Anne

Tired of parades

Dancing ladies

Best birthday party ever!

Linus helping with the king cake.

This lady drives us to school?!??

Mary Catherine and the Pussyfooters

Mardi Gras (so far)

Last night, I went to Muses with a bunch of friends (including a couple of kids, but not my own) and had so much fun! Muses is probably my favorite parade. And honestly, at this point, if I didn’t see any more parades, I’d be fine.

Their signature “throw” is a glittered shoe. Literally, a shoe they cover in glitter and jewels and other sparkly things. (So you can imagine how that might appeal to me.) I was lucky enough to get TWO last night! So fun. Yay!