Wienies and Operas and Cocktails, Oh my!

My brother and uncle hold a charity golf tournament every year in August.  It is a really fantastic thing they do.  I was lucky enough to go last summer because it was during my time off between jobs, but this summer it fell between performances that are a week apart.  Stressful travel, but perfect timing.

My sister and parents also flew out to Michigan for the tournament, which they usually do.  And it was another successful year, but more importantly my family and I had a great time together.  We get on each other’s nerves constantly.  It’s sorta adorable, and we’ve learned to roll with it.  Ya know, we’re family. 

We all stayed in my brother’s house on Lake Pontiac, and when I flew in on Sunday (after a 6 am flight from Albany - ugh), we went right out on his brand new pontoon boat.  It’s freaking sweet.  And the whole time, all I wanted to do was scream, “I’m on a mother-f---ing boat!”  However, my mom and dad would not have appreciated my pop culture reference.  However, I did say it quietly to my brother who got a kick out of it.

The golf tournament on Monday went smoothly.  I actually played pretty well (It’s only a scramble, so there’s no pressure).  I birdied (2 strokes on a par 3) #18 by myself with a slamming shot off the tee within 10 feet of the hole, and then I sank the putt myself.  WHAT!

Tuesday, we went to a Tiger’s game for about 4 innings.  It was 90-something degrees out and on the baseball stands, it felt like 115.  Then, of course, we had to go to the casino.  My parents’ favorite pastime the last few years is gambling at casinos.  Don’t get me wrong, they’re usually playing penny slots or, at most, quarter machines.  They have a good time together, so we had to go when we’re that close to one in downtown Detroit.  It was fun for a little while.  I ended up just going to the bar, grabbing a long island, and texting Ryan (that is after I quickly blew the money my mom gave me to spend -- love feeling like a 10 year-old).  My aunt and uncle joined us at the casino as well, which was great because we used my uncle’s casino points to get dinner at the largest buffet known to man.  My guts were hurtin’ after that; it was awesome.

Now I’m waiting in the airport to fly back already.  It was such a quick trip, packed with fun stuff, but the best part was just hanging out with my family.  We only get to be together all five of us a few times a year, and we each cherish that time.  Sometimes I wish we lived closer together.  My sister and parents live in PA, my brother lives in MI, and I currently live in TX.  It’s not an easy commute, but we make it work.  I love them and missing them already.

Boarding…

I recently had a wonderful two-day trip to Ithaca with the fabulous Tulsa Savior.  It was such a great vacation to see my beloved city of higher education.  The lovely Pineapple Painter hosted us, which was especially gracious due to the last minute decision to embark on our adventure.  The Pineapple Painter’s boyfriend also hosted us (He even took Tulsa Savior out on a motorcycle ride).

We did quite a bit considering we were only in Ithaca for about 24 hours.  We arrived around lunch time and started off the trip with an exceptional meal at Moosewood.  Tulsa Savior, being a vegetarian now, really loved the menu and cookbooks.  The food and drinks were fantastic as usual.  After our delicious meal we headed to Taughannock Falls, where we walked the trail to the bottom of the waterfall.  Did I mention the weather was perfect?

Going to a few wineries was on my list of things to see and do.  So we then hit up three different wineries along Cayuga Lake.  Nothing like trying over 15 different Finger Lake wines.  After our little wine trail, we headed to the Commons for dinner.  We started off with a cocktail at Simeons, which brought back some hilarious memories from college (Anybody remember tech of Seussical?).  Dinner was at Taste of Thai with Pineapple Painter and her beau.  Since we’ve been in Cooperstown where the restaurant choices are slim, it was nice to be in Ithaca and have some great ethnic restaurants available.  Loved the pineapple fried rice!

After dinner, we went to Moonshadows, which was a favorite college bar for IC students.  I was floored when we walked in.  They tore down the wall opposite the bar and doubled the size of the room.  The added space was turned into a dance floor and area for a DJ, who kept us dancing all night long, although he mixed music about as well as a blender mixes golf balls.  Tulsa Savior and Pineapple Painter also made some friends on the dance floor, and that kept me entertained the rest of the evening.

After spending the night with our generous friends, we headed to College Town Bagels (of course the one in College Town), and then toured around Cornell for a second and took a look at The Maze, which was my house my senior year of college.  I wasn’t about to visit Ithaca and not at least take a look.  I then selfishly dragged my friends to Ithaca College to visit the Theatre Department.  My mouth just dropped when I saw all of the renovations.  Practically the entire building has been gutted and refurbished:  new classrooms, new offices, 2 new studios, etc.  Those kids are extremely lucky.  It was reminded me of how lucky I was to go to IC.  I wouldn’t be where I am today without that education.

After I spent way too much time inspecting every little detail that had changed in the Dillingham Center, we headed to Wegmans.  Typically a grocery store would not be on a list of hot spots, but let me tell you Wegmans is awesome.  I can’t do it justice.  If you’re near one, go.  After our little excursion to Weggies, we said goodbye to our lovely host and went to Aladdin’s for lunch, another great meal at another great Ithaca treasure.  It was the perfect way to end a lovely vacation.  We had a blast, and I am so happy that we found the time to visit.  Ithaca is Gorges.