In Celebration of...

LYNN SQUARED! This morning Kevin and I walked in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Kevin's mom and a great friend of mine are both survivors and we walked in celebration of the two of them this morning. The 5k walk was through The Garden of the Gods and was absolutely incredible! There were over 7,000 participants who have all been impacted by breast cancer in one way or another. It was an extremely emotional, but incredible experience and I am glad we were able to be a part of it. I would love to make this an annual tradition for us!

At the start of the walk. I could not believe how many people were there!

About 1/2 way there! Absolutely beautiful!

We "ran" into Lynn, one of the two survivors we were celebrating! Lynn, you are a true inspiration! So great to see you!

Portland

Last weekend Kevin and I went up to Portland to visit our dear friends Molly and Carl. We arrived around 11am on Thursday morning and left on Monday afternoon. On Thursday afternoon we picked blackberries, plums and pears in the neighborhood and then made a delicious blackberry cobbler and plum syrup! It was incredible to see all the gardens and fruit trees/bushes that were so accessible. We had a great dinner with an old friend of Kevin's and called it a night fairly early so Carl could get up in time for work.

Picking blackberries

All of the blackberries, plums and pears that we gathered!

Making delicious blackberry cobbler!

On Friday we did some shopping! We went downtown to an incredible bookstore called Powell's. This book store was HUGE! It was a full city block and 3 stories high. I was in heaven! I spent almost 2 hours and had to force myself out! We drove over to Hawthorne street and did a little more shopping there. Later that evening we went to a night club called Tony Starlight's. We had a wonderful dinner and then some great live music. The night was dedicated to Billie Holiday and we had a blast!

Outside the country's largest independent bookstore! So amazing!

The gang all dressed up before our double date at Tony Starlight's

Saturday was a much slower day. The weather was pretty crummy, so we just relaxed for most of the day. We finally left the house around 4:30 and did some shopping on Antique Row and then met some of Molly and Carl's friends for dinner. It was another early night. The weather really made us all pretty tired.

On Sunday we went to 3 different wineries, all within about 2 miles of each other. We started at a very fancy winery called Archery Summit, then went to Du Ponte, and then finished up at Winter's Hill. All of these wineries were in an area called Dundee Hills. We sampled 14 wines and made a few great purchases. Unfortunately, because it was Labor Day Weekend, none of the wineries were providing tours along with their tastings. I guess we will just have to go back and actually take a tour!

Such a beautiful view of the vinyards! The grapes had not been harvested yet from most of the vinyards we passed.


Close up of the grapes on the vine! So cool!

Inside the cave at Archery Summit.


And the whole gang this time!

Overlooking the vinyards at Archery Summit.

The last winery we visited - Winter's Hill.

We had an incredible trip and will definitely be returning sooner rather than later! I hope everyone else had a great holiday weekend!

Venezia

Kevin and I left for Venice last Thursday, August 6. We flew from Colorado Springs to Atlanta, and Atlanta direct to Venice. When we checked in in Atlanta the ticket scanner beeped at us, and we both were quickly presented a ticket in FIRST CLASS! We were upgraded for free...THANK YOU KEVIN! The minute we got settled on board we were given a glass of champagne, and a bottle of water. Once we were up in the air they took our order for dinner and we were served an incredible 4 course meal! The first course consisted of soup, salad, and crab. For the second course we could choose between 4 cheese tortellini, fillet of beef, salmon, or Mahi Mahi. We both of course chose the beef that was served with a Bearnaise sauce, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Finally we had the choice of a cheese and fruit platter and/or ice cream! I definitely chose both! Then we kicked up our foot rest and layed down flat and slept for the remainder of the 10 hour flight. What a treat! I could definitely get used to that life!

Sitting in First Class before we took off for Venice

We arrived in Venice around 11am on Friday. We got on a bus from the airport to Piazza le Roma (the car park station) and then boarded our water bus to the hotel. There are no cars on the island so if you drive you have to park your car at the Piazza. All transportation is by foot, or boat. It is pretty awesome! We got a little lost walking to the hotel but finally found it around 1:30pm. We couldn't get into our room yet, so we went to have lunch near the Rialto Bridge. We checked in around 2:30 and slept until about 6:30. Then we went out to explore.

This is the Santa Maria della Salute Church. It was under construction when were were here last year, so it was great to see!

St. Marc's Square

In the middle of the plaza


St. Marc's Basilica. Just exquisite!


Over looking the Grand Canal near St. Marc's Basilica

The grand canal and the Santa Maria Church again. So Beautiful!

A cool statue overlooking the Grand Canal


The Rialto Bridge


Rialto Bridge again.

St. Marc's Basilica at Dusk.

The gondola's at rest.

We got back to the hotel around 10pm and tried to fall asleep. We had a few problems staying asleep, but nothing too bad. On Saturday, we went to the ship(s). We did a routine maintenance check on one ship and then signed on to the second ship to do some texturing. The ship was docked overnight so we had plenty of time to work. We did not know how long it would take for the paint to dry so we went a day early in case we needed to go back the following day. It turned out that the paint dried within 15 minutes of application, so we did not have to go back the next day! We worked until about 6pm, went back to the hotel to rest a bit, and then met up with some of the people from the ship. It was another great day!

Working on the ship.

Fabulous Italian dinner by the Rialto Bridge.

Under the Rialto.

Overlooking the Grand Canal.

St. Marc's Square again. No one in sight!

On Sunday we slept in late. We finally got rolling around 2 and grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading off to Murano. Murano is another island near Venice that is famous for Glass blowing and making. We unfortunately did not get to see any glass making, but we did a good bit of shopping. The items they made were incredible.

A glass comet. It was huge!

A glass haystack! Incredible!


Flower pots made with glass flowers.


Being silly with the rusty gate in Murano.

We stayed on the island for a few hours and then Kevin and I went back to Venice and went out on a date! We sat along the Grand Canal with a bottle of wine and played cards. It was perfect! We had a late dinner and then went back to the hotel to pack.

On our date :)

We left the hotel on Monday morning around 7am. We got on the water bus again, then the city bus, and arrived at the airport around 8:30. Our flight left at 10:30 to Frankfurt, then onto Denver and then into the Springs. It was a long, but uneventful day. We had another incredible trip!

Kevin on the water bus

Gondola's on the Grand Canal

Santa Maria della Giglio. Another beautiful church along the Grand Canal.

Lucky Number 23!

On Monday, August 3, I celebrated my 23rd birthday! The festivities began on Sunday when Kevin took me out to dinner at the Mona Lisa. Dinner was so delicious! We had such a nice and relaxing evening. He is so good to me!

Eating our chocolate fondue at the Mona Lisa. So delicious!

Monday was also a nice a relaxing day. It started with a 90 minute massage, and then some shopping, and then a fantastic dinner at the Tavern at the Broadmoor. It was a perfect day!

Yummy dessert at the Tavern!

After dinner we went over to the Golden Bee and had a blast! Kevin and I each tackled a full yard of ale with some great friends, and mom of course! It was a great day and I am so happy to have spent it with great people! THANKS!

The full yard!

Great friends: Amy, me, Kevin, and Mandy

About 2 hours later....finally at the bottom!

The birthday festivities continue, as Kevin and I are off to Venice tomorrow! Not a bad way to celebrate! I will try to post some photos while we are over there.

Summer in the City

So this post is really late, but I definitely wanted to fill you all in! Last week mom and I went back to New York City and we had a blast. We arrived late on Tuesday evening (about 4 hours later than planned) and went straight into Times Square. We stayed at the Belvedere Hotel on 48th and 8th, so it was a very short walk to Times Square. We got some ice cream and people watched for about an hour and then went to bed.

Mom in the middle of Times Square

On Wednesday morning we went to see the live recording of Sirius/XM live on Broadway. Unfortunately Seth Rudetsky (the normal host) was out of town, but it was still neat to see how it all works. Come to find out, nothing is ever really live.

Heather Laws, Derek Keeling, and substitute host Julie James at Sirius-Live on Broadway

We left the recording a bit early to get over to see Hair. We went to the matinee and again had a blast! There was an understudy for Berger, one of the main characters, and we were pretty bummed, but he was phenomenal! I love that show and I would see it again and again! After the show we went to the stage door, but because it was a matinee most of the "leads" didn't come out. We were slightly bummed, but we saw the whole cast a few months ago, so it was fine.

2009 Tony award winner for Best Revival. Such a great show!

The cast members loved my tie-dye!

We had just a few hours before the next show, so we had a great Italian dinner and then went to see In the Heights. This show won the 2008 Tony for Best New Musical. It was another great show. The music was so different from anything I have ever heard and it was a very nice change! There was another understudy for the lead, but again, he was phenominal. It was only his fifth time playing the lead role, but it seemed like he had done it every night.

With my signed playbill. I love the stage door experience!

While we were standing at the stage door for In the Heights we saw one of the Billy's from Billy Elliot just standing around. He was just too cute so I wanted to get a picture with him.

David Alvarez - one of the 3 Billy Elliot's

We also went to the stage door for Billy Elliot to see who we could see. We found the second Billy - Trent Kowalik. Later in the week we also saw the third Billy walking on the street - unfortunately we were unable to get a photo with him.

On Thursday, we went to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). We only spent about 4 hours there, but it was enough to see what we really wanted to see.

Van Gogh - Starry night

Andy Warhol

Modern Art at its finest.....



.....a room full of visitor's height measurements.

Thursday night's show was my first straight show on Broadway - God of Carnage. This is the show that we saw all of the famous people at last trip during the Opening Night. See here for more details. The show is about 2 couples who meet to discuss a playground fight between their sons. "At first diplomatic niceties are observed, but as the meeting progresses and the rum flows, huge tensions emerge and the gloves come off, leaving more than just their liberal principles in tatters." With a cast made up of Marcia Gay Harden, James Gandolfini, Hope Davis and Jeff Daniels, the show was bound to be good - and was great! We also sat about 4 seats away from Jane Krakowski! It was very exciting. I tried to get a picture after the show, but didn't have much luck.

Hope Davis


2009 Tony Award Winner for Best Actress - Marcia Gay Harden

Jeff Daniels

James Gandolfini

The final God of Carnage poster.

After God of Carnage we went back to the stage door for Hair and to the stage door for Next to Normal. We saw Alice Ripley from Next to Normal and she was the most genuine person we had ever seen. Mom took her picture with Alice Ripley that night so I could take my picture on the following day after the show.

Mom and the very talented Alice Ripley! 2009 Tony Award Winner for Best Actress in a Musical.

On Friday we took the subway down to SoHo and Greenwich Village. It was pretty hot out so we left a little earlier than planned. We went up to The American Museum of Natural History for a few hours to get out of the heat and then we went to see Next to Normal. Next to Normal was absolutely incredible! I think it is definitely one of my new favorites!

While we were down in the Village, we went to Washington Square Park.

The American Museum of Natural History

Just inside the Main Entrance of the Museum.

That is one big whale!

This show was phenominal! I can't wait to see it again!

J. Robert Spencer - Origianl Nick Massey from Jersey Boys and Dan the Father/Husband in Next to Normal.

The brilliant Alice Ripley again! She was the most genuine person I have ever met. Example: the night before when mom got her picture with Alice my hair was curled under. Alice asked me on Friday night if I got a haircut! It was just amazing to me that she would remember that! Words just cannot describe how incredible this woman is as a person and performer! She certainly earned her Tony!

We left to come home on Saturday. Three planes and many hours later we made it home. We had another incredible trip and I look forward to returning in the future! I feel like I belong in the city, and will take any opportunity to get back there! Mom is a great person to share all of these experiences with!