summer never left

Ahoy,

In my neck of the woods these days, it really feels like summer never left. But if it had left, I would regard this past weekend as a welcome back party for summer. Saturday was spent running around doing errands, chasing bike parts, and eating a la fresca. It was delightful, and hot. For some reason, the RRS felt it prudent to trade in his convertible for a hard top black Mercedes Benz. The male species continues to puzzle me.

We launched from home on Saturday with bicycles for Ciclavia. This event happens 2 or 3 times a year where a stretch of streets are closed from traffic for bicycles, rollerbladers, skateboarders, etc. to meander. It's not a race, it's just a way to give the street to alternative modes, introduce folks to this fun way to move and get people more comfortable with a non-car dominant society. This time, the trail went right by us on Venice from downtown to the sea. A lot of it was super, duper crowded and it was stop and go because of traffic lights too. I guess there really is no way to beat traffic in LA. It was a really good way to people watch. There were dog carts, tall bikes, unicycles, a REALLY tall bike as tall as the highway overpass. 

There were a lot of parts that were not shaded, making the ride super hot and sunny. Thanks to all those nice folks who came out to water us (because it sure looks like your lawn hasn't been watered in forever). I'm positive my hairline got sunburned and the inside corner of my right elbow. All my long bike rides in the past were early in the day, so I was done before noon, and overcast, but today was sunny and we didn't start until 11. You all should know by now I'm weak sauce for the desert. We stopped downtown at Bottega Louie to get the best pizza in LA and run into Darren Criss, who was super cool and gracious when I'm sure I was being super dorky and starstruck. The RRS was hellbent on making the whole course twice, which didn't happen due to traffic, stopping, time constraints, probably also because I was determined to not run down all the people or cause an accident. In my defense, he did make me carry everything. 

We ended the day gathering some friends and grilling on the patio. RRS's idea, which means I was sous chef for once. We got some barbecue tools that are pretty much cooking tools for men, because men only cook by grilling. They look like they could be Medieval weapons, which is the best way to get them to think cooking is cool. A lot of food went on the grill and immediately into our bellies. It turns out only the girls used plates or utensils (we didn't have enough for everybody anyway). This was the first time we ever worked with pineapple. No longer pineapple virgins! Good thing I watched a top chef video on how to master them. We're forever grateful for everybody else's contributions. 

Being an adult means you can have a party whenever you want for whatever reason, 

but it also means you have to clean up.

chronically smokey,

jt

let's not get too ahead of ourselves

Ahoy,

After getting a season pass to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway last weekend, I realized that I've never had an annual pass, no less season pass to anything. Upon this revelation, I instantly became more excited about being in the desert. The RRS spent most of his life as an annual pass holder to Disneyland. Such deprivation - he spent his formative years in.

But it's still the desert, one can only be so excited before one remembers it's the desert and it's blisteringly sunny. We rode the tram up a couple thousand feet and began the hunt for the birthday boy.  We got a cake that morning for our friend we were planning on meeting there, and then we promptly spent the day hand carrying it up and down the mountain looking for him. We never did, and ended up eating the cake ourselves. I have a suspicion this was the plan of the RRS all along because mousse is his favorite.

The girl to guy ratio this time was the highest I've ever seen in all the climbing trips he's dragged me on. And the RRS completed the climbs he's been talking about for forever, Swing Dance V7, and Power Windows V6. These climbs had taken over his life to the extent that bedside chatter, dinner conversation, online videos, etc. involved tramway lingo. Our life had been consumed by this endless stream of meticulous strategizing. But in all seriousness, he looked solid on those climbs - smooth and easy. And I'm so glad!

The car ride home was not as endless as other car rides. It was livened up by a big dust storm, which was incredibly scary and exciting and sooooo cool! We rolled into the San Gabriel Valley for dinner and Taiwanese dessert. Driving through that area, it seemed like all the cars around us were banged up in one form or another. You should all take that as a warning to drive with extra caution and be wary of cars in general (that's what I did).

dustily garbed,
jt

been too long

Ahoy,

Finally! The trip I've been waiting for! Words and exclamation marks cannot describe how excited I've been to return to NYC. This place has everything! We stayed in Flushing this time because we came for a wedding that would be held in Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadows. I'd been to Flushing Meadows once before with this friend whose wedding I was attending. Chinatown is within walking distance, which was great because we could stop for bao every morning on the way to the subway, and get boba every night coming back. So it turns out Flushing Chinatown stays up later than Manhattan Chinatown.

We redeyed into town Friday morning, drowsy and sleepy - we made it to where we were staying and napped for a bit. Didn't even turn on the tv before he conked out. We left for bao in Flushing, hopped on the train to the East Village for pizza and coffee. Can't forget the coffee, I got to use my free punch on my Joe's card. We stopped at the farmer's market for pretzels on the way to my favorite kitchen store, Fish's Eddy. You don't know it yet, but it's your favorite too. We picked up some breakables, because we are so well aware of what we should and should not carry 3,000 miles across the country back to LA. We stopped to get items we forgot for the wedding like a belt and sweater, even though I never wear sweaters and will never wear it ever again. We got some pub food at Bayard's Ale House with a college friend. We ended the night here because we were going to get doughnuts the next morning.

The famed green tea matcha doughnut may be only famed in my head, but it would be famed in everyone's head if they knew what they were missing. I'd made several trips to the Doughnut Plant when I was living in NY and it remained elusive for a number of reasons until my last week in NY. I've been dreaming of it ever since. Had I discovered it earlier, I might have spent far more money and expanded my waistline far too many inches. We made it this time, and it remains famed in my mind. The RRS purchased a new workbag and desert boots, again, because we have such clear ideas of how much spare luggage space we have, judging by his struggle to close his bag on the way here. We ended the trip for the day with dumplings and duck sandwiches from our favorite hole in the wall Chinatown spot and booked it as fast as weekend subway schedules would take us back to Flushing.

We nearly ran the 2.4 miles to the wedding. because that park is so obnoxiously large. It was beautiful and simple, and my first grown-up wedding. When I was a child, I was allowed to wear Winnie-the-Pooh denim overalls to a wedding (which I probably still fit). But I resisted. Only the RRS can tell you how much agony it was to decide on my outfit. I will not recall it for you, and hopefully it will never happen again when I attend your wedding. There was a continuous flow of food and libation. Everything was perfectly timed, and I was not bored at any moment. Lovely night.

On Sunday, we slept in and I tried for cartoons on the tv. We decided that we hadn't spent enough time eating and shopping. So we went back to Manhattan for a stroll through the Park from the Upper East Side. We stopped on a rock to watch the kids clamber up and their parents freak out. Count the no fun folks and the fun folks. We enjoyed some take-out of char siu and roast pork we picked up before our train ride in Flushing and climbed the rock. And now you think we're bad examples, more like where the fun is, though. We looked for trouble in Midtown and 5th Ave. and continued back to the East Village for dinner at my favorite hole in the wall falafel. People watching in Manhattan is best done at an intersection so you can watch all the people almost get run over. Washington Square Park is good too. We ended our food exploits with Pommes Frites, which I'm sure you've all heard about.

Our last morning, we debated over our departure time, per usual. We picked up bao and banh mi for the trip, some more food - this shouldn't surprise you at this point. The RRS was more than pleased to be back where jackets are optional and we don't have to be tackling ladies and their purses with every step.   NYC is fun to visit, but living there is not for long term. I miss it and then I don't. You should all know our dirty little secret is that we live to eat and shop, obviously.

windingly windy,
jt

Red Rocks, for real this time

Ahoy,

We spent the last weekend of March in the depths of the desert, I don't know why. Everything I have ever learned in my life tells me to stay away from the desert, no less live in one (LA). The things I do for handsome men. We left Culver City under the dark of night on a Friday. We drove through the darkness going to nowhere, it seemed to me. Sometime late into the evening, we emerged from crossing the universe onto a strange place. The width of the roads and number of lanes was alarming. We drove down the strip, which was not my decision. It looks like Times Square but more obnoxious, and the people definitely seem less sober and self contained than those in NYC.

At the Las Vegas Hotel, it seemed like we walked around forever and a day to get to the lobby. We checked in and I jumped on the beds. It was pretty late, approaching 2am, and we were hungry still. We went to look for food, but you'd think it would have been easier to hunt for my own food. With meager sleep, we drove out to Red Rocks after resisting McDonald's. I completed my first outside V2, called Potato Chips. I'd like to thank the potato chips I had for dinner the night before, I couldn't have done it without them. We continued shuffling from climb to climb, as I crouched under shade at every boulder. Thank the heavens for the clouds that came our way sporadically throughout the day.

After stuffing out besotted bellies at Sushi Koma, we returned to our hotel to nap or shower or both. I just wanted to watch hotel tv. Commercials are something of a luxury in my mind now because I no longer spend my days with the tv on for lack of a tv. We then embarked on a journey that I'm sure no one else signed on for when we got on the monorail. The RRS and I were on this mad power-walk to see everything in the world and as many casinos as possible. Meanwhile, our ragtag group of friends were quickly falling in step and lagging in spirit as this road seemed never-ending. Hats off to these troopers that put up with our shenanigans. Needless to say, tonight was a good sleep.

The final day we went back to Red Rocks and climbed on a particularly windy boulder. I felt like a sailboat when I was wearing the crash pad, it was just as fun as that sounds. We hiked up this hill that looked like it was just a big pile of boulders. It was super, duper windy at the top and we scrambled around looking for I don't know what because there were only rocks, rocks, and more rocks. The only way was up until we had to go down to drive back to LA.





aridly dusty,
jt

before I forget

Ahoy,

Three weekends ago, we made the trip to Santa Barbara for a climbing day. This was probably the biggest failure of a climbing day to date for everybody on this trip. The park was called Brickyard, and it wasn't too far away compared to other trips. The RRS immediately lost enthusiasm because he thought we were going to Red Rocks in Vegas that weekend. Turns out he had to go to work to make things explode anyway, which was probably far more productive than anything we did.

Everybody each hopped on a few climbs, and as the sun crawled across the rocks - we all felt the creep of shiftlessness come over us. Think like Snorlax. We spent most of our time gossiping on top of the rocks. I got a healthy sunburn, and everyone else got several shades darker.

I brought some bomb (not arrogant, confirmed by real people outside my own head) focaccia bread I made the night before and it made my bag smell like rosemary and garlic the whole time. After scrapping our climbing plans due to heat stroke and a lack of motivation, we ventured into town for a visit to the Pizza Guru. And topped it off with a stop at McConnell's for ice cream. We lounged around watching hotel tv with some friends staying in the area.

All in all, we were unable to say we did anything besides eat and nap all day. 

heighteningly deanfened,

jt