Who Dat?

So for the long weekend in January (MLK Day), LawyerX and I went down to New Orleans. When he lived in Nashville, he used to go down to NOLA all the time and he loves it. I had been there once for work, a real touch and go type trip, so I really didn’t get to explore the city that much. So I was game for another visit. And anything that took us out of the cold weather of DC was definitely a plus.

So we took the afternoon flight down to NOLA on Friday and after catching a cab down to the French Quarter, we settled into our hotel. LX had used some points to get us an upgrade and we had a nice little suite. After we unpacked and refreshed, we hit Bourbon Street. Now if you haven’t been to NOLO, Bourbon St is the main drag. It’s jammed back with bars, strips joints, bars, restaurants, and a few bars. And since there is an open container law in NOLA, you can buy say a hurricane in one bar, walk down the street drinking it, and then wander into another bar. It’s just a little bit crazy. We headed to Pat OBrians and had a hurricane to start our trip off right. It was sprinkling and a little bit chilly, but we were cozy at the bar and having a good time chatting. And it was early, so I suggested another drink before dinner. Which in hindsight was not a good idea and sadly a typical problem I seem to have. The first drink is so delicious! Let’s have another. And then half way through the second drink, I’m hammered. Hey, I’m a lightweight. So feeling more than a little bit buzzed we hit a restaurant and sampled some fine creole and Cajun food. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to change before we hit the gay clubs. But LX lay down on the bed, I snuggled up to him, and the next thing you know it’s midnight. And that’s all she wrote. So much for a wild Friday night in NOLA!

Who Dat?

Saturday, we got up and hit the gym and then had a fabulous brunch at Brennan’s. Brennan’s is a famous restaurant in NOLO and my parents went there when they lived in NOLA when my Dad was going to Tulane. It really was quite amazing and we spend most of the afternoon wandering the art galleries on Royal St, Jackson Square, and the old market trying to walk it off. We did stop at Café de Monde which is a requisite tourist stop for coffee (or hot chocolate) and begniets. They were good, but we had better ones later that weekend. We did wander back to Bourbon St and wandered up to where the gay bars were. The Saints were playing that day and the gay bar was packed with guys watching the game. We stopped there for a beer to two to watch the game. And the clientele. We both loved the little twink with the Saints jersey and the pink feather boa who would do a little prance when the Saints scored. It was quite amusing.

At some point we left the bar and headed back to the hotel. LX had lined up a culinary adventure for the evening and we wanted to go back to rest a bit before dinner. Needless to say, even though we were two blocks off Bourbon, I can tell you the exact time the Saints won the game. Dinner was amazing. There was a section on the menu called, “Feed Me”. You pick the number of courses (I think we did 4), the chef comes out and asks what you like or don’t like (spinach, mushrooms, anchovies), and then he goes back and whips up a little culinary feast for you. It was really, really, really good. After dinner we changed into the proper gay attire and went back to “our” end of Bourbon St. The Bourbon St Pub was packed downstairs and hopping upstairs. They even had a drag show (which was just okay). Standing on their balcony, we looked down Bourbon Street and it was just a mob scene with everyone celebrating the Saints win. After a bit, we wandered over to Oz, the dance club. And while it was packed, I was not impressed with the DJ. When you play some good dance music, you just don’t play one or two lines of the hook and then minutes of just percussion. They started to play some really good songs, but I could never get into it because they wouldn’t play the rest of the song. So bad DJ, bad!

Who Dat?

The next day, we had sort of a leisurely get up. I say sort of, because we had to change hotels (long story, but Sunday and Monday night were free), and we had a spa appointment. And I have to say that the scrub and massage I got at the Hotel Monteleone was amazing. It was just fantastic. I’ve got some freaskishly dry skin (TMI) so getting sanded down and then plied with some lemon grass oil was just fantastic! After our spa treatment, we headed to Central Market to get a muffalata sandwich. Another one of the requisite tourist things. And as we were walking, I’m like, are you sure it’s open on Sunday? I had tried to go there during my last trip to NOLA and it was closed. And sure enough, it was closed. But we ended up eating at this dive (and when I mean dive, I mean DIVE!) that was just amazing. It was some classic southern/Cajun food and it was just amazing. After lunch, we caught one of the cable cars out to the Garden District. This is where Tulane is located and the neighborhood is fascinating and very, very pretty. LX and I just wandered around the park and then just walked for a bit and talked about all sorts of things. It was really fun. After wandering for a couple of hours, we headed back to the hotel for a little disco nap and then we headed up beyond Bourbon St to a place famous for its burgers. We had to wait a bit since it was packed, but the burgers were phenomenal. And instead of fries they did baked potatoes. Just yummy. After eating we decided to see if the gay bars were hopping on a Sunday night. As we approached Oz, I heard a familiar song and I basically pulled him into the club and onto the dance floor. It must have been a new DJ because the music was FLAWLESS. David Guetta, Black Eye Peas, Madonna. There was this amazing Lady Gaga/Annie Lennox remix that rocked the house. We burned up the dance floor for a good hour before finally retreating to our hotel. It’s not that we’re old, it’s not. We just had a full day planned for Monday.

Who Dat?

So we got up, hit the gym, and then got our rental car. Our destination was Oak Alley and the plantation homes that are about 90 minutes outside of the city. It was a gloriously sunny day and a good day to head out of town. Our first stop was Oak Alley Plantation. We got there just in time for the tour from a woman in period costume, but definitely no southern accent. Kind of weird. So the viriginia oaks were planted over a hundred years ago in parallel lines creating this “oak alley” that really was quite beautiful. The house itself, and it’s history was interesting as well. I loved how the guide would talk about skilled slaves. I’m sure they were skilled. But they were still slaves. But let’s just skip over that. Apparently the wife of the owner stayed at the house during the Civil War even after it was shot at by a passing Union ship. So just kind of interesting. After a mint julep, we headed out to lunch and then another plantation house. This one was also a B&B. Kind of interesting, but there is NOTHING to do in the surrounding area, so after one night for the experience, I’m not sure why you’d want to stick around. We got back to NOLA in time to change for our last fantastic dinner, at Commander’s Palace. Commanders Palace is a tradition in NOLA and is consistently ranked as the best restaurant in the city. We had a fantastic meal taking advantage of the tasting menu with the cocktail pairing. It was just fantastic. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to pack up and crash. Our flight left at 6AM so it was definitely an early get up.

Who Dat?

So seriously, everywhere we went, people would say, “Who Dat?” “Who Dat?” “Who Dat?” And if you aren’t from NOLA, you’re saying: “I don’t know, who is it?” And can’t you people speak English. Well it’s from a famous saying “Who dat dink dey gonna beat dem Saints.” And apparently it’s just “Who Dat?” for short. Fine, I’ll play your game. “Who Dat?”

Go Saints!!

And As The Snow Ends

As I was walking Shiva after the snow stopped, I noticed the sun setting. The sky was clear and the color of the sky was just amazing. It was an odd yet beautiful color of turqoise. Just really pretty.



Afterwards, I headed back to O St to try to clear some of the snow off my car. Needless to say the streets are pretty ugly.


Oh, this is my car. If you can see it under all the snow.


This is about as much as I couild clear off. It will be well into next week before I can get that car out of my parking spot.

Visions of the Snow-maggeden

Got to love it!

Snow swirling around a light post late at night.

Branches covered in snow at night.

Logan Circle at night.

Another pic of Logan Circle at night.

LawyerX and Shiva in their natural habitat.

Tweet of the Day

H/t to JMG:
And this is why I have a love/hate relationship with JMG:

http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2010/02/i-will-hold-you-ten-times.html

Warning: keep a hanky near by.

My Weekend Guest

So Lawyer X went out to Denver to join his sister at a hockey game. Yes, I know, but he likes it. So I ended up with dog sitting duties this weekend. Which I don't mind, don't get me wrong. I love Shiva. As long as I've moved anything that I don't want destroyed out of her reach. And so far I've been successful on that front.

How is she adjusting to living at Chez Trey's? What do you think?

Yeah, feel free to just snuggle up in my bed thank you very much.

Jumping the Broom

“Jumping the Broom” is an expression that dates back to when black slaves couldn’t marry. Instead, they would have a small ceremony with family and friends and then the couple would jump over a broom to symbolize their marriage.

Now why do I know this? Because a couple of months ago we had “Bad Gay Movie” night and we watched “Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom.” Based on a TV series on Logo, the movie was about a wedding by two of the characters (it’s an all black, all gay movie). The movie was bad. On a “Bad Gay Movie” scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being semi-decent and 10 being the gay equivalent of Ishtar, I’d give it a solid 4. Anyways, the movie went back to Nextflix and I filed this piece of information in my brain under “Useless Trivia.”

Until Tuesday.

Since the Supreme Court is lame, they’ve decided that the Prop 8 trial in California can’t be televised. It’s a non-jury trial. Considering the impact this case will have on MILLIONS of Americans, I really think this case needs to be televised. Even if it’s a delayed broadcast via YouTube. But they are scared/lame/useless and don’t agree.

So I’m stuck reading the live blogging that the Courage Campaign is doing. It’s riveting even if I don’t understand it all. But I’m trying.

On Tuesday as I was reading the blog and the issue of marriage and slavery came up. Proffessor Nancy Cott, who has studied the institution of marriage, testified:

“The ability to marry, to say I do, is a civil right. It demonstrates liberty. This can be seen in American history when slaves could not legally marry. As unfreed persons, they could not consent. They lacked that very basic liberty of person to say I do which meant they were taking on the state’s obligates and vice versa. A slave could not take on that set of obligations because they were not free.

When slaves were emancipated, they flocked to get married. Marriage was not trivial to them by any means. They saw the ability to replace the informal unions with legalized vows that the state would protect. One quotation, the title of an article, “The marriage covenant is the foundation of all our rights,” said a former slave who became a northern soldier. The point here is that this slave built his life on that civil right.

Informal relationships of black slaves were totally treated with abandon by white society. They were broken up all the time. The rush to marry by so many slaves after emancipation was a common sense approach to obtaining civil rights. White employers would often demand that black families and children work in certain ways. The former slaves assumed that once married, they’d have a claim of certain basic rights.

People remain unaware that in marrying, one is exercising the right of personal freedom. They don’t tend to equate the civil rights aspects to it. It’s only those who cannot marry at all who are aware of the extent to which marriage is an expression of basic civil rights.”

Slaves had to “jump the broom” since they couldn’t get married. And then once they were freed, they rushed to get married. They welcomed marriage not only as a symbol of their love, but as a way to claim their basic civil rights.

There’s a lot riding on the Prop 8 trial. It could be a miraculous win with an impact as far reaching as potentially overturning DOMA, or it could set back gay rights for 15 years. It’s a very risky case. But if the trial were televised, if the trial were on YouTube, then people could see and hear the testimony of both sides.

People would hear the truth: Marriage is an expression of basic civil rights.

Look, I'm Not Judging . . . .

I swear.

But do you really think it's a good idea to vogue to Lady Gaga on the elliptical at the gym?

First of all, I thought you were going to hit me a couple of times when you flung your arms out.

Second, I mean . . . . and again I'm not judging . . . . . . and yes it's a gay/gay friendly gym . . . . and good for you for living out loud . . . . but maybe you can figure out a better way to work your upper arms.

And I want to make clear that I love The Lady. It's all about Bad Romance. The dance remix of course!

So yes I'm back at the gym. After eating our way around the Mediterranean, then Las Vegas, then Disney, then France, and then the holidays, it was time to start to battle the bulge again. As I said to LawyerX, "Love Made Me Fat."

So it's back to the gym and back on Atkins.

LawyerX is trying to be supportive but he's not a fan of the effort. And to be honest with you, as cold as it has been in DC this winter, it's hard enough getting up and going to work, much less going to the gym.

Anyways, I've lost almost 4 pounds. I hope to lose a couple of more before we go to New Orleans for MLK weekend. Yes, there will be a diet hiatus while we are in New Orleans. Can you imagine going there and not eating or drinking? The horror!

But afterwards, it's back to the diet.

Home for the Holidays & 2010

So the trip back to Colorado was actually less unpleasant that expected.

Mind you, United didn't help. Despite several attempts to try to upgrade LawyerX, I failed. So I flew in first and he flew in economy plus. I did get him that. But the guy next to him spilled coffee on him. See, I can't win. And I loved the puddle jumper flight from Denver to COS, especially when we had to make three attempts to land in blinding snow when the instrument landing system was down. So the trip started well.

Now I have to say, LawyerX's insistence that we stay at the Broadmoor was actually a good idea. While it was far away from my parents and his sister, it was just awesome! Such a wonderful resort. And it had a fabulous spa which we took advantage of as well.

The parental units and LawyerX? It went better than expected I think. Between Mom's ingrained southern hospitality and Dad's health issues (improving, we think), I just don't think they had it in them to have a fight. Quiet denial (or acceptance) was more the way it went. But I think overall it went well.

Christmas Day before we went to the Broadmoor we went to visit my Aunt & Uncle who were visiting my cousin who lives in COS. So we're sitting there chatting and we're talking about the brunch at the Bmoor and Mom goes, "Well Special K, LawyerX, and Trey went to the Penrose Room last night." Which of course lead to the question from my Aunt: "Who is Special K and LawyerX." Yep, I've just been outed by my Mom. So I say, "Oh, Special K is LawyerX's sister. And LawyerX's the guy I've been seeing for around a year." Cause I'm not going to lie. So then we had some more conversation, none of it ugly mind you. We don't do that in the south. We're raised right, we talk about people behind their backs. So I'm sure the telephone/email lines were buzzing with the news. Oh well. It was going to come out eventually, I just hadn't expected it to happen so soon, or that way. I'm not close to my cousin or Aunt, so I'm not that worried about.

Afterwards, we headed to the Broadmoor for Christmas dinner with Special K and LawyerX. It was a little later than we usally do Christmas dinner, but it was fantastic. The dessert buffet was like 18 feet long. Just insane.

The flight back? Well as my Dad says, "If you have time to spare, travel by air." Our flight from COS to denver was fine. But as soon as we landed I got an email saying that our flight to IAD was cancelled. Oh joy. So United put us up in the Marriott at the airport. And when I say "at the airport" I mean 12 miles away. It was okay. We were re-booked in first class (both of us) which was nice.

As for New Years? I'm really not a NYE fan. LawyerX says NYE is for amateur drinkers. And I agree. But it's also just a haze of crowded bar and just not fun. So I sort of opted for a quiet dinner kind of early and then we had an after dinner drink at my place while we watched the ball drop on TV. Yes, I'm old. But it was nice, relaxed, and low key.

New year's day, we had our monthly brunch at the Four Seasons in Gtown. We did it last year and it was a blast. And we had several drinks so I had a nice buzz going. After that, we went to see Avatar. Absolutely amazing.

So that's Christmas and NYE. Pretty thrilling eh?

43 (Or Officially Middle Aged)

Well, in theory I was going to have a combined bday/holiday party in early December. But then I caught a cold. And I decided that I didn't want infect my guests, so I cancelled it. Instead of having a ton of people over sampling my newest alcoholic delight (Elderflower Cosmos), I was sucking down herbal echinacea throat soothing tea. Lovely.

Now, my party wasn't actually on my birthday. My company's holiday party was on my real bday, so I wanted to have a party that was fun, with my friends at it, but instead, I ended up celebrating with my "friends" at work.

And did I mention this was the first time I was bringing LawyerX to a work function. So it's like a 2fer of fun!

Now mind you, everyone loved him. Of course. And we did have a fun time. And even though we had an open bar (but no top shelf liquor), we didn't get too trashed. Which isn't to say that I didn't have an adult beverage or two before my speech.

Oh yes, my speech.

There were several people there who knew it was my birthday, so I decided to take control of the situation. After dinner, I grabbed the mike from the DJ and said: "First of all, I want to thank everyone for coming to my birthday party. It's not every day that you turn 39, well I guess technically it's the 4th time, but I still want to say thanks for coming out to help me celebrate. I especially want to thank D (my CEO) for hosting the party, the open bar. D, you didn't need to wear a tux, but it was a nice touch. And I want to say thanks also for the great gifts (the door prizes that were being raffled off). Not sure how I'll get a 52" TV in a cab back to DC, but I'll try. And while I really do appreciate the gifts, would it have killed you to get them gift wrapped? I'm actually not on vacation next week, or on travel, so I'll be in the office next week if you want to stop by and say Happy Birthday to me personally." It was really funny and everyone was laughing. I got several high fives as I walked back to the table.

Back to the liquor. Let me tell you two words you never want to hear together. Smirnoff cosmo. Ugh. It was really awful.

And I did actually win one of the door prizes. Not the 52" television of course. By the time my name was drawn, the options were a Snuggy (no, I'm not joking), a chess set, or a $50 gift certifcate to PF Changs. So I went for the PF Changs gift certificate.

After the door prizes, there was dancing and LawyerX and I had a good time. Despite the DJ's attempt to hit all of the one hit wonders of the 1960s and 1970s, we did request some songs from this century. To include Beyonce's "Single Ladies" which was an homage to the recent engagement of our HR director. But I'm not sure anyone got it.

Anyways, it wasn't a bad way to celebrate #43.

Two Very Different Flights

So LawyerX and I just returned from France. He got to meet my sister and her family. And he had never been to Paris, so it was really a great trip. But before I go into details on the trip, I've got to describe the very different flights we had coming & going.

I used miles to upgrade LawyerX and myself to business class. He does seem to whinge a bit about flying overseas in economy seat, something about being 6'5". What-evs. Just to keep him quiet I figured I would do it. Plus, what a great way to start the trip.

We got onto the flight and we found our very large, comfortable seats and presto there is a flight attendant with a glass of champs. We both took one and it was a great way to start our vacation. I ended up shifting to vodka & cranberry (to help me sleep!), but Lawyer X, who can't/doesn't sleep on the plane stuck with the champs. Well the little menu that describes the dinner for the flight also mentioned that there were two different kinds of champs. So he decided that he wanted to sample the other type of champs. Well, they only had the one type, so the flight attendant actually went up to First Class to get one of their bottles so he could sample another type of champs. And that was really cool. Needless to say, he had a really good flight.

On the way back to the US, we upgraded again and got settled into business class. I was excited because there were several movies I wanted to watch. I decided to avoid any alcohol (cause it's not like we didn't have enough wine in France!) and as we watched the movie a flight attendant would come fill up our water glasses. I started to get a headache and thought I would ask for a Diet Coke. Sometimes caffeine will help stop a headache. So when the flight attendant came around, I pulled one of my headsets off and said, "Can I get a Diet Coke?" She said something to me that I didn't hear, so I took my headset completely off and said, "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you." And she replied, "Can I get a Diet Coke, *please*." Lawyer X, hearing this exchange looked at me incredulously. I said, "Can I get a Diet Coke, *please*." She said of course and when she brought it to me, I said thank you. Now I say thank you all the time. I really do. And I should probably say please more than I do. But I really don't think it's appropriate for me to get chastised for not saying please by a flight attendant when I'm just asking her to do her job. The whole thing was a bit surreal and just very unprofessional. It kind of ruined the rest if the flight for me and put a damper on the end of a really great trip.

Oh, and LawyerX isn't a big fan of my airline, so this didn't sit well with him at all.

It really is amazing how different our flights were based on the actions of the flight attendants.

World AIDS Day

I woke up at 4AM today. Still recovering from the jet lag from the Paris trip (more on that later I promise). I got up, turned the Mac on and started to get my blog fix. My first stop was Joe.My. God and I had forgotten it was World AIDS Day. But Joe didn't forget.

http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2009/12/membership.html

And I cried. And it would be the first of many times I choked up today as I read story after story about AIDS.

I fled the gay blogs and went to one of my favorite Episcopalian blogs who was remembering the death of Harvey Milk 31 years ago and I watched this:

And there is hope. Hope for the fight against AIDS. Hope for the fight against discrimination, intolerance, and violence. Hope for a better tomorrow.

And today there was a small sliver of that hope shining here in DC when the City Council voted to approve same sex marriage.

And there was a sliver of that hope shining in Clevelan, OH where their City Council voted to approve a transgendered rights bill.

And there was a sliver of that hope in Massachusetts where the Episcopal Bishop authorized the clergy in his diocese to solemnize marriages for same sex couples.

Know Hope!

Certifiably Insane

Tuesday Night: A Street Car Named Desire at the Kennedy Center.

Wednesday: Fly to San Diego. Work all day.

Thursday: Work all day. Red Eye to DC.

Friday: Arrive DC. Unpack. Do Laundry. Pack. Go back to airport. Fly to France.

Yes, LawyerX and I are going to France for the Thanksgiving week. He's never been to Paris and he'll get to meet my sister. Plus we're going to spend a couple of days down in the Loire Valley. And we've got some fantastic dinners planned in France to include dinner in the Eiffel Tower.

I can't wait. Just dreading the insane jet lag whiplash I'm going to have.

I Hate People

I do.

Seriously.

Just in general terms, I hate people.

To be more specific, I guess hate people who are useless, annoying, obstacles to progress, irrational, and ignorant (wither intentionally or not).

Today, my hate goes to Mr. No.

"Well I don't want to tell anyone how to suck eggs." My what a lovely phrase.

Let me translate that for you:

"Well, I don't want to tell you how to suck eggs." See that sounds so much better, right?

But let's try one more translation:

"Sure, I'm the technical expert on this process but I'm not really going to give you any real information that would actually be helpful because then I might actually have to do my job."

Well, that's a loose translation, but I think you can figure it out.

Do you see why I hate people?

Get Me To A Day Spa, STAT!

If you aren't watching Glee, you're missing one of the best shows on TV. Just LOVE IT!



Current fav song from Glee?



And since this looks like it's going to be an all You-Tube post, I have to say that this brought me to tears.



If you know anyone in Maine, please tell them to vote No on 1!

Oh, back from France.

Work was good.

Seeing my sister and her family was good.

Don't want to get on another plane any time soon.

Growing a beard.

Mainly to hide the fact that I've gained like 15 pounds.

Must get back to the gym.

Sigh.

I Survived the Disney Death March

but barely.

So Lawyer X warned me that this was going to be a death march through Disney World. And I'm like, right. How hard could it be? Hard. And unbareably hot as well. See Orlando was having just the most disgusting heatwave. Hot, humid, and oppressive. So trekking across Disney did indeed become a death march. But it’s one of the things you do for love.

Day 1: Disney's Hollywood Studios. I passed on the Tower of Terror, but I did do the Aerosmith Rockn' Rollercoaster. Am I getting old, or are roller coasters just not as fun anymore. Wait. Don't answer that. If you're familiar with Disney, then you know it's all about the FastPass. We had run to the Toy Story ride and gotten fastpasses for that. Lots of fun. Kind of a shoot em up game. LawyerX beat me, but not by much. Not bad considering I'd never done the ride before. Have I mentioned how hot it was? It was miserable. But that didn't stop us. When we started to fade, we would hop into a store for the air conditioning. And to shop of course. We stayed @ Disney's Hollywood Studios till about 3PM before we headed back to the resort of a quick disco nap. Because that afternoon (like around 5PM), we headed to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. It’s a special night at the Magic Kingdom where all of the characters dress up in Halloween costumes, there’s a special parade, and there’s trick or treating. Yep, in addition to the most delicious, but seriously not good for you food, we were trick or treating. And while we didn’t have costumes on LawyerX’s sister got us devil horns that had red lights in them. Very cool and the added bonus of helping to keep track of our party amidst the hordes of Disney. More food. More rides. More candy. Just more of everything. The fireworks and laser show at the Magic Kingdom was amazing. When we finally bailed around 1130PM I was ready to admit defeat.

Day 2: Slept in. Thank God. And then we had a lazy day planned by going to Blizzard Beach. It’s one of the water parks at Disney. And the fact that it was another hot, humid, sunny day was actually a good thing. The first thing we did was the lazy river, or whatever they call it. Just riding around the park in an inner tube. It was the perfect way to start the day! We then discovered the rafting slides at the backside of the park. In the singles slide, it’s completely enclosed, dark, and you’re slip-sliding up and down and all around. Just a ton of fun. I don’t think the doubles was meant for adult kids like LawyerX and I. Yes I’ll start my diet on Tuesday, but with our combined mass there were a couple of times I thought we were going to go over the slide. It was dangerously close. And fun. After we did that four or five time (no lines!) we headed around to the front of the mountain for some more slides. This time on rubber mats facing forward. LawyerX and I raced down, but he beat me. Oh well. After a couple of runs, we grabbed a bite to eat and then it was back to the lazy river to relax. The only way it could have been more perfect was if we could float around the park enjoying an adult beverage of our choice. But not so much. No food or beverages allowed at all. Bummer. After a loop or two, we took the chair lift up to the summit to do the Summit Plummet. It’s a 12 story water slide drop. The line was kind of a haze, but great views from the top of the summit. And you know it wasn’t until we got to the top that I started to get scared. Oh well, too late to back down. It was over before you had a chance to freak out too much. I did have to extract my swimsuit from my buttocks after I finally got down. Hmm, the ride was okay. Been there, did that. Done. After the park, we headed back to our resort (Old Key West) for a shower change and then we were meeting up with some folks for dinner at a new Greek place. The chef there was a famous chef from Iron Chef. Anyways, it was good and the drinks were flowing, and then it was time to roll into bed.

Day 3: In theory we were supposed to get up early to see the Animal Kingdom, but we both slept in and then we just decided to head to Epcot. Today was the glutton day. The Disney International Food and Wine Festival. So at Epcot, there is a big lake and around the lake are little stores, restaurants, and rides from countries around the world. So each of the countries has a little amuse bouche (sometimes bigger) plus wines, beers, and other delicious beverages. But the food would have to wait. First it was a fast pass for Soarin. And then we hit the Test Track ride. Eh, it was okay. Then we *had* to do Mission Space. Now I had done this a couple of years ago when I came down for a work conference. I did the Orange, “more intense”, training and I was wrecked for the rest of the day. I didn’t get sick, but I was pretty miserable for awhile. So this time I did the green, “less intense” training and it was fine. The special effects at Disney are really top notch. After that, it was time for Soarin. Very cool ride and special effects. And finally it was time for “2009 Disney Drunk & Grub Fest”. People had actually made t-shirts that said that! Loved it. We started at San Juan and headed counter clockwise around the lake. Have I mentioned the heat. OMG disgusting. Good food, good drinks, and then just the life getting sucked out of us by the heat. I passed on the escargot at France, but we had this frozen Parisien cosmo that was to die for. We pretty much ate, drank, and shopped (for the blessed air conditioning) all after noon. Around 4 PM I had to raise the white flag. I was more than pleasantly buzzed, stuffed, and just drenched in sweat. I needed a break. So I went back to the resort for a quick disco nap, a shower, and a clean set of clothes. When I got back LawyerX, his sister, and his aunt were all winding down their trek. I did get to partake of some of the last food items (perogies from Poland, egg rolls from China, and a fiesta margarita!). Then we stayed for the amazing fireworks and laser shows. It was great and we had a great spot to watch it all. Afterwards, we all headed back to the resort to crash.

Day 4: A surprisingly early get up, which was good since it took a while to pack. LawyerX was taking some of my stuff back to DC since I was heading to Europe directly from Orlando. After a leisurely AM, we hit Downtown Disney for a list bit of shopping and lunch and then it was time to get on the Disney Magical Express back to the airport.

So all in all it was a good weekend. If the temperature had been a little bit cooler, it probably would have been great. I will say that while I’ve always suspected that there is a little 8 year old kid inside of LawyerX, now I know it’s true. And I’ve seen him come out at Disney, while on a ride, or eating a ginormous turkey leg, or getting a picture taken with Doug (from Up!). Squirrel! Just too cute.

My next death march is work related. Orlando to Frankfurt. Frankfurt to Nice. Taxi from the Nice airport to the Nice train station. Train from Nice to Toulon. And then taxi form the train station to the hotel. I’m in Toulon for 2 days for work. Then a train to Paris. Work Friday. Spend the weekend with my sister. And then fly back to DC on Monday. And then I don’t want to get on a plane for a long time. Atleast a month if I can swing it.

Currently in Frankfurt. I got bumped up to Business Class on the Lufthansa flight. See, it pays to be a United Mileage Plus whore. Just need to stay awake till I get to Toulon. Then I can crash.

Fantasy Gay Weekend in Las Vegas

So I recently complained to LawyerX that we don't do anything gay. And yes this was less than 10 days after coming back from a gay cruise in the Meditterean. He kind of looked at me like I was crazy. Umm, guilty.

So Lawyer X really scored some big points when he got us tickets to see Kylie in Vegas. Now mind you, our fall travel schedule is crazy, but when Kylie comes to the United States, you fix your schedule around her tour dates. So we did. And last weekend we headed to Las Vegas for our fantasy gay weekend!

The trip out to Vegas went fine and we got the Encore late in the afternoon. We had just enough time to take a quick shower and sample the buffet (check that off the tourista list) and then headed to the Bellagio to see O. It was actually my first Cirque du Soleil show and it was really amazing. Just too cool. After the show, we checked out the water fountain show at the Bellagio and then sort of wandered down the strip.


We did take a dangerous detour into the Forum Shops at Caesar's where we stumbled upon a John Varvatos store. Danger Will Robinson, Danger! We both found coats that we absolutely loved. Unfortunately, they really didn't fit us that well. Nothing that a couple of stomach viruses couldn't have solved, but still. In the end, no matter how much I loved it, I just couldn't rationalize spending that much for a jacket.

We tried to sleep late the next day, but we were still on east coast time. So we got up and promptly went to the pool. The pool area was just amazing. Several pools and actually some good music. While Lawyer X was working on "The Lost Symbol", I was laughing my way through "Official Book Club Selection." Hey, I did say it was a gay weekend. After a rough afternoon of laying out, we went back up to the room to nap before the main event. We had dinner at Society at the Encore and then headed to the Pearl to see Kylie.

The concert? Just amazing. Fabulous. Fantastic. Keep adding adjectives until you run out. It was that good. Probably one of the best concerts I've ever seen. She looked awesome. She sounded amazing. And I knew almost all of the songs. We had great seats so we had a good view for the improvised shower scene:


Love the song. Love the hot dancers. Love it.

Oh, best t-shirt of the night: "Do these jeans make my cock look fat?" I love my people. They are just too funny.

After the concert, we headed back to the hotel to drop off our concert souvenirs and then we headed to the gay club in Vegas: Krave. It was hosting the Kylie concert after party (of course) and was filled to the brim with the gays. So we had a good time getting our groove on and dancing up a storm.

Waking up way to early the next morning, we hit the spa for the sandalwood scrub and hot stone massage. It was OMG expensive, but totally amazing. Just so wonderful and relaxing. Which was good because the flight home was not fabulous. After a quick bite to eat, we headed to the airport. Our flight to St Louis actually arrived 30 minutes early, but our flight to DC was late. And then once we go on board, some moron in first class shoved something so hard into the overhead compartment that it broke the light bulb behind the compartment. It took them almost an hour to fix it (it involved removing the overhead panel) so we were really late getting back to DC. We didn't land until 0130AM.

Vegas? It was good. But kind of overwhelming. And kind of expensive. Totally worth it to see Kylie! Otherwise, I'm not so sure. We'll see.

But that was our fantasy gay weekend in Las Vegas!

And yes, I still need to work on the cruise pics.

Rome (BC=Before Cruise)

So both Lawyer X and I have been to Rome a number of times. So we weren't in a hurry to do the forced march through Rome to see the Coliseum, the forum, the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, etc. We kind of wanted to take it easy.

The flight over was okay. LX was constantly whining about flying in economy. He's 6'5" and he always flies business class for work. But the business class seats were outrageously expensive. And as a premier executive, I could get us economy plus. And when he finally sat down in the seat he did grudgingly admit that it wasn't as awful as he thought it was going to be. Anyways, we arrived in Rome on time but then had to wait forever for my luggage (marked priority). As we would say over and over during the trip: TIB. That's Italy Baby. LX had arranged for driver for us into the city to our hotel which was really nice. Our friends whose flight was delayed ended up taking the express train and were not happy about it. LX had gotten us a room at the Sofitel in Rome and it was very, very, very nice.

After a quick disco nap, we headed out for a quick lunch down near the Spanish Steps and then LX had gotten us tickets to the Museo Borghese in the Borghese Gardens. It was blistering hot as we hiked through the gardens so spending some time in a pseudo airconditioned museum. Lots of statues and great frescos. It was very cool. Afterwards, we wandered back to the Spanish Steps and hit the Via Condatti, the premier shopping street in Rome. Home to Prada, Gucci, Hermes, etc. All high end stores. Very high end if you consider how sucky the dollar is these days as compared to the Euro.

That night we had a nice quiet dinner not far from the hotel. We mad a quick dash to see the Trevi Fountain and to get some gelatto and then we headed back to the hotel to crash. We were heading to Civitavecchia in the morning to catch the ship.

I'm Back

So I'm back from vacation to Europe with Lawyer X. We had a great time. It was interesting spending so much time with him and I think we learned a little bit more about each other. I think I only snapped at him twice. ;-)

So here's the deal. There is just no way I can write a trip report. Work is going to suck my will to live. So I'm going to try to post one photo a night and try to write a little bit something.

Oh, here's the deets for the vacation. Cruise with the Gays (see below), and then we went down to the Amalfi Coast for a few days to relax. One final day in Rome. And then back to DC. Had a great time. Ate way to much (Atkins started yesterday!) and spent too much (I do NOT want to see my Visa bill), but it was an amazing trip.

Victoria BC

So after scoring a prime parking spot the section of the marina right in front of the Empress, we got settled in and then LawyerX and I headed up to the Visitor Center which was just at the top of the causeway. We wanted to find out some information on getting to the Buchart Gardens. Which we did. And then I said to the cute-ish guy behind the help desk at the visitor center, "So where's the nearest gay bar?" And he's say, "Oh, it's not far. I can't remember it's name, it just changed it's name, but I can show you where it is on the map. It's not far at all." Yes, *it*. As in singular. Sigh. I thought Victoria was a little bit larger than that, but apparently not. As he's pulling out the map to show us where it is, he goes, "Now, I remember, it's called Paparazzi." And both LawyerX and I say, "Of course it is."

Fully armed with information for our stay in Victoria, we proceeded to explore the very cute downtown area which included a quick stop to Roger's for a carmel milkshake for me and a rootbeer float for LawyerX. Sorry, it had to be done. Afterwards, wegot our shopping on. We went to "The Bay" which is their version of Macy's I guess. All of the stores had Olympic gear in addition to the normal touristy stuff for sale. The 2010 Olympics are taking place in Vancover, so the Olympic marketing machine was in full gear. I did find the cutest little shirt for my niece that has all of the Olympic mascots on it. And since I got her something, I had to get the nephew one as well. And then I felt left out in the shopping so I bought one as well.

After shopping, we returned to the boat for evening cocktails and then dinner. Post dinner, we were ready for adventure into the exciting gay nightlife of Victoria. So we headed to Paparazzi! Well, the best thing I can say is the the bartender was kind of hot. Located in the basement, it had a fairly decent size dance floor considering, a smallish bar, a little sitting lounge area, and then some pool tables. As is typical for small town gay bars, they try to be all things to all people and don't do any of them really well. But we grabbed some drinks a

nd proceeded to watch the other dozen people in the bar. Sometimes it's all about the people watching. But it had been a long day and I bonked hard and we ended up leaving fairly early.

The next day, LawyerX and I got up early to walk the long walk to the showers. We changed clothes, went to get our tickets for the Butchart Gardens and then quickly walked to the buss that left at 0900. We got their at 0859. Atleast that's what time our ticket said. So we were cutting it close. I tried to pay attention to the bus ride, but really didn't. Once we left the city, it looked like the country side was pretty nice. It took a little over 30 minutes to get to the gardens. Now LaywerX kept saying that he was going to "drag me" to the gardens and despite the fact that I really did want to go, I wasn't sure what to expect.

Think of a Disney World for gardeners and flower enthusiasts.

It really as spectacular. Originally a quarry, the owner's wife worked to transform the quarry and then the surrounding area into a collection of different gardens with different themes, plants, flowers, etc. It was really incredible. And we were there at the perfect time of year. We were probably just past the full bloom of most of the flowers. And I took lots and lots and lots of pics. As you can tell. It really was quite amazing. And I'll say one of the best things about getting to the gardens so early was that it wasn't *that* crowded and we did get to wander quite a bit looking at all of the fantastic flowers, plants, and trees. And LawyerX and I got to spend some quality alone time and just talked as we wandered. So that was really nice.

After we wandered our way through the gardens we headed

back to Victoria where we had lunch at a small little bistro we had spotted the previous night. Bon Rouge was just a block off the main drag in downtown Victoria, but it had this open terrace area where LawyerX and Ijust sat and ate some

really good food and drank some really good beverages. And since it was Friday, it was $5 martini's. And who were we to say no to that. So we probably had one of the most leisurely and decadent lunches I canremember. And it was fantastic. Afterwards, we headed back to the boat so we could change in time for tea at the Empress.

The Empress is one of those famous old hotels that has been renovated several times and it's famous for it's high tea. So before we had set sail, we had made reservations for tea. So we all got dressed up in our "smart casual" wear and headed across the street from the causeway to the Empress Hotel. There was a very nice selection of tea, but almost all of us decided to go with the house special blend, "The Empress Blend", and I took mine with some milk and a couple of sugars. It was really delicious. In addition to the tea of course, you get the all of the little finger foods. AndOMG they were delicious. So tasty and if you liked one, you can ask some more of them. So we asked for seconds on the cucumber sandwiches (so light!) and the chicken curry sandwhiches (spicy, but not too spicy). It was very much a fantastic afternoon and we sit and chatted for while as we sipped our tea and noshed on the nibblies. Unfortunately between the very nice lunch and the fabulous tea, I was heading towards a very hard food coma. So we headed back to the boat where I proceeded to take a much needed nap. When I woke up, the sun was beginning to set in Victoria Harbor and the light was just amazing. I quickly snapped some photos and then went back to the ship to indulge in some more cocktails. And if you haven't gotten the clue that this trip involves a lot of eating and drinking then you aren't paying attention.

MuseumMan, Lawyer X, a

nd I headed back to Bon Rouge for some more drinks and a light dinner before hitting Paparazzi's. Our experience at Bon Rouge the second time was not a good. Despite there being a cute bar area, the whole interior of the bistro was reserved for a private party, so were back on the terrace. Which is fine, except the private party had a singer in the restaurant. A very loud singer. It was not too bad on the terrace when the doors were closed, but when one of the doors opened you couldn't hear the person next to you. They must have been deaf inside. Anyways, we had some more good food and $5 martinis before heading to Paparazzi's.

Now LawyerX and I had take some 5 Hour Energy shots, so we were flying. We get to the bar and it's a little bit more crowded. It is Friday night after all. But it's also "Friday Night Sass!" Yes, we're there on lesbian night. Well, ish. It was definitely mixed, but still mainly female. But that's okay. We're having a good time. We order our drinks and are a little surprised by the less that fabulous quantity of alcohol. While the drinks are cheap, we were expecting our martini glasses to be filled to the brim. Not so much. Because here in Victoria, you can only serve 2 ounces of liquor per drink. And no, you can't do doubles. So we started calling that the "Victoria pour." After a bit, the music started to improve and we actually got up to dance once or twice. The music was all over the place but they did play a couple of my favorite songs of the summer. But . . . I'm used to the extended dance versions of these songs. Long enough to really get into them and to work up a sweat. No so much here. Both of the songs were strangely short and didn't include some of the fun chorus or anthem parts of the songs. So we started calling them the "Victoria Mix." When you recognize the song, but the song is sort of short and a little bit tragic. We ended up bailing a little after 1AM and headed back to the boat.

The next AM, I got up early to take some early morning photos of Victoria Harbor. It was very quiet in the AM which was kind of nice and I did get some good shots. But it was an early departure from Victoria because we needed to get to Roche Harbor by early afternoon so we could get a good moorage there. So we said farewell to Victoria, BC and headed back to the United States.

DC to Victoria

So last year Museum Man invited me on his family's annual sailing trip up to the San Juan Islands in Washington state. We had a blast and it was so relaxing. And so this year he invited me again, and LawyerX as well. It would be the three of us, his Mom and stepdad, and then a couple they know from Wenatchee, Washington. And while LawyerX and I are going to Europe later this month, I really wanted to go. So we did.

Let me tell, first class is the only way to travel these days. Since we procrastinated in buying our tickets, I ended up using miles to get two first class tickets to Seattle. LawyerX is like 6'5", so he needs the legroom. And with a direct flight from Dulles to Seattle, we didn't have that OMG early get up that morning. Now I was a little concerned

about this trip because LawyerX hasn't seen me in my airplane mode. I see air travel as a series of obstacles to be overcome as quickly as possible and I never really relax until I'm actually in my seat on the airplane. But I think I managed to be fun and not to

o stressed. Mind you, we walked up to the gate and got immediately on the flight. So we were doing the just-in-time thing. Now they had switched out aircraft on us, so we weren't sitting together which kind of bummed me out. But, instead of seats, we got these kick ass little pods that actually let you lie flat. So nice. And some good quality entertainment with movies, games, and music. And the screwdrivers we had weren't bad either. We got to Seattle a couple of hours before MuseumMan, so we had lunch and then got manicures. Yes, we're that gay.

Once MuseumMan showed up, we got our bags and his Mom picked us up and we headed north to Anacortes which is the hopping off point for the San Juan Islands. Most of the north west ferries leave out of there and just on the opposite side of the ridge from the ferry

landing was the little marina where we picked up our boat. The Sienne. A 50 Bennato. For those who know those things. It was very nice and fairly spacious. And I say fairly because while we did get one of the

larger cabins, LawyerX is kind of big, and I'm not exactly petite myself. Needless to say there was a lot of banging of heads. But I digress. We loaded up the boat and started doing inventory while we awaited the rest of our party. They finally showed up and everything was squared away for a departure the next AM. That evening we had a fine dining experience at the Brass Lantern. Think small town dive bar/restaurant. I will have to say the fried olives were delicious!

The next day we got up, showered at the facilities at the marina (reminded me of being in a barracks!), had breakfast and then prepared to get underway. Since we had such experience sailors on board, they let us go without a ship check so we got underway a little

bit earlier than planned. Which was good because our plan was to bee line to Victoria so we can get a good moorage (parking spot) in front of the Empress Hotel. The weather was a bit cold and overcast. After a week of over 100 degrees heat which is really freakish for them, the pendulum swung the other way and we had highs in the lid 60s. So kind of chilly on the water. But of course, I loved it!

Anacortes is actually a little bit north of Victoria, so we had to swing a little bit south and sail just under Lopez island and then started to hug the coast of San Juan Island so we could cut straight across Haro Straight to Victoria. We did raise the sail once, but the wind wasn't really that strong and we had a mission, so we used the motor most of the day. As we approached San Juan Island, we got the binoculars our because that's where we would see whales if we were lucky. And boy were we lucky. We actually saw quite a few whales including one killer whale that breached, jumping out of the water, to slam itself back into the water. Quite spectacular. And I wish I had caught it on film, but I wasn't quick enough with my camera. But I did get a few semi-decent shots. Plus we did see some other wildlife. But eventually we had to leave San Juan Island and head to Victoria.

Sailing into Victoria is always so great. Such a pretty little town on the water. There were a couple of cruise ships who were there as well, but the sun had come out and the weather was great so it was a great trip into Victoria. After clearing Canadian customs (something we couldn't do last year, long story, don't ask), we got the princess parking in front of the Empress Hotel. Yeah!