Since we were flying across the continent, we thought we should probably stay in Cabo for a full week. In fact, at the wedding we won a prize for staying the longest, even longer than the bride and groom who were on their honeymoon.
After saying goodbye to some of those who had to leave that morning, on Monday we relaxed at the pool all morning and early afternoon (you will notice that this becomes a trend). In the afternoon we went into Cabo San Lucas for a little adventure. We walked through the marina to Medano beach and rented kayaks to paddle out to the famous arch where the Sea of Cortez and Pacific Ocean converge. It was a long trip - took every minute of the hour we had the kayaks - but it was great to see the late-afternoon sun on Land's End.
Tuesday morning was another strenuous day that included a breakfast of fresh fruit, chilaquiles (which I had for breakfast every morning), omelets, and chocolate croissants followed by some pool time. Maya and Tyson mentioned taking the afternoon shuttle into Cabo San Lucas and hanging out at one of the bars on the beach. They really had to twist my arm on that one. Lelaine and I had not gone clubbing with the young whipper snappers on Friday and Saturday nights, so we thought this was going to be as close to the true Cabo partying experience as we would get. Worried that I wasn't getting enough exercise, I showcased my new-found running skills by entering a race along the beach, that also may have involved tequila, beer, and spinning around a pole ten times Even after a detour into the water, I managed to finish a respectable second. To protect the innocent all video and pictures of the event have been destroyed.
Maya, Tyson, Lelaine, and I woke up early Wednesday morning and drove to Cabo Pulmo, a coral reef 40 miles northeast of San Jose Del Cabo for a little snorkeling excitement. We found a guide who could take us out on a boat immediately and headed for four different sites. The first was on the reef. The water was fairly clear and there were at least twenty types of fish. The second site was a school of jack fish. It took the captain a bit to find them and in that time, the rocking of the boat did a number on Lelaine's motion sickness prone stomach. When we were told that we were going to see a school of fish, I wasn't impressed. But it was a different story when we got into the water. There were thousands of fish. I have never seen anything like it. All one kind, all swimming closely together. After taking a few minutes to take it all in I realized that below the group I was looking at, there was another massive group of fish. Lelaine was worried that where there are thousands of fish, there might be a shark or two, so we got back into the boat. The rocking up and down was not sitting well with her, so the captain took us back to the beach and the rest of the group went to another reef site and then a colony of sea lions. We should have some pictures when we develop the film from the underwater camera.
Thursday morning, which happened to be Thanksgiving, we were sad because Maya and Tyson - who I'm sure have always dreamed of spending their honeymoon with us - left for home in San Francisco. It was our last full day, so we decided to do what we do best: lay by the pool and mosey down to the beach. After a long day in the sun, we treated ourselves to dinner at a nice restaurant in San Jose Del Cabo. Lelaine had chips and guacamole, grilled red snapper, and a chocolate tart. I was adventurous and had qeusadilas stuffed with flowers and goat cheese, scallops in white mole, and a corn cake for dessert.
It was tough to go home on Friday. It had been a wonderful week, and hopefully we will make it back to Cabo one day.
On Friday we flew to Cabo for Lelaine's cousin Maya's wedding. We were excited to see family, and spending a week in Cabo isn't too bad either.
The wedding was just before sunset. Maya and Tyson are obviously good people as they had quite the turnout for a destination wedding. After the ceremony was a cocktail hour and reception. Being in Mexico, the tequila was plentiful and Uncle Perry decided to partake in a shot or five. That night some of the more energetic in the group went out to party in Cabo San Lucas, but we were pooped and called it a night.
Sunday we developed what would be a pattern for most of the rest of our stay: get up and eat breakfast under a big palapa overlooking the Sea of Cortez then spend the day lounging by the pool with trips to the pool bar for cervezas and margaritas, the snack bar for tacos, and maybe even wonder down to the beach. That night a group of us went to one of the nice restaurants at the hotel for a big meal before several people had to depart in the morning.
Friday night Doug and I went up to Philadelphia to see Pearl Jam. It was my thirteenth show and Doug's first. I will spare you all the details, but it was amazing. For sentimental reasons my first show will probably always be my favorite, and yes I realize that is pretty sappy, but this was easily #1b.
A super quick post with our Halloween picture. For those unfamiliar with the 101 Dalmatians, I am Cruella De Vil. Chris and Doug were dalmatians. I wasn't successful turning them into a new fur coat. There's always next year.
Jennifer and I ran the Marine Corps 10k today. It was a nice day, sunny and in the 50s, and we both had a good run. I set a world record...for people with my social security number...coming in at 60:24. It was below my goal of a ten minute mile pace and four minutes better than my last 10k. Jen also was well below her goal, so we were definitely pleased, although she may have preferred it to be a couple degrees warmer (notice the hat and gloves!).
Sunday morning Lelaine, Kellie, Isaac, Nick, David and his boys, and I went out to FedEx Field to see the Chiefs-Redskins game, a true clash of the titans. The Chiefs only make it here once every eight years, so I figured it I had to go, no matter how poorly the team has been playing.
There were a fair number of Chiefs fans in attendance, which was a nice surprise. We weren't really harassed and I even got a few compliments on my Will Shields jersey. To show you how bad it is for the Chiefs this year, Kellie was wearing a Matt Cassell jersey that her mom sent her, complete with a 70% off tag still intact. Pretty sad that you can get a jersey of our starting QB who is in his first year on sale already. As you can see from the pics, the apathy extends to the Skins as there were a lot of people dressed up as empty seats.
The game wasn't pretty but someone had to win, and luckily the Chiefs were that team. The defense played well, or maybe the Redskins offense is just really bad, and our four field goals and a safety were enough to put the game away. Skins fans are pretty distraught by the loss and calling for the coach's and owner's heads for losing to the lowly Chiefs, but I'm just happy we are no longer winless.
Not to steal from Dinner at the Pinks, but I thought I would post a little about our Sundays. With the return of Directv and the Sunday Ticket, we enjoy the 3 Fs on Sunday: food, friends and football. The Manhoffs, Doug and Christy are our regulars. Honorable mention goes to the Todds who were a part of the original Football Sunday at the purple house.
This morning I ran the Army Ten Miler. Finished in 1:48:40, which was one minute and twenty seconds ahead of my goal and I ran the entire way without stopping to walk (in the pic I'm the fat guy in bright green/yellow smiling into the camera).
Being the military and all, it was very well organized. The morning included parachuters and a fly over. On the course there was tons of water and gatorade, a lot of soldiers yelling hooah, and several bands along the route playing music, including one junior ROTC band that was playing one of the songs from Rocky. Part of it was pretty sad: on the backs of a lot of runners there were either pictures or names of soldiers who were KIA in Iraq or Afghanistan, and there were quite a few guys running who had lost limbs, but the money raised went to a good cause and at least at the finish line, everyone seemed to have a good time.
The first stop was the Palace of Wonders, which calls itself the only vaudville stage, museum of oddities, and bar in the world. It was quite entertaining. We say a woman on a trapeze-like contraption, a voodoo guy, a guy who let a mouse trap snap on his tongue and then put his hand in a bear trap, a woman whose waist was so small she could cinch a belt smaller than twelve inches around her waist, a woman would could swallow a four foot long balloon, a woman would did a lot of tricks with a flaming hula hoop, and a woman who did some crazy cirque du soleil type things with two banners handing down from the ceiling. We all had a good time, particularly Brian who had a few rather strong gin and tonics (and he would know, as he is the only person I know who went to school to get a bartending license for fun, not for work purposes). The picture is Brian with "the cincher" and his balloon eating friend.
Saturday morning was a little rough - note Brian wearing Lelaine's sleep mask - but we went to Eastern Market for breakfast and then had a nice day of watching football. Brian eventually headed to another friends place for a birthday party. His flight was at 6am this morning. I wonder if he slept last night or how he was feeling at the airport.
Sunday 9/20 was a big day. In case you didn't have it circled on your calendar for weeks, and I bet you didn't, on Sunday (yes Sunday, not Tuesday) Pearl Jam released their ninth studio album, Backspacer. Not enough listens yet to make the best judgment, but I like what I'm hearing.
We have traveled a lot the last ten days. Last weekend we were in Rye, NY for my cousin Brett's wedding. We saw a lot of family on my dad's side that we don't see often, which was nice. Friday night a bunch of us got together at a bar and we witnessed my dad knocking back beer or two and holding court. An impressive site. The wedding was Saturday afternoon and was very nice.
The drive up - Lake Placid is at the northern end of the park - was beautiful. We stayed at the High Peaks Resort, right in the middle of the little downtown area. It was pretty convenient as we were only a few blocks from everything, including both Mirror Lake right across the street and Lake Placid a couple blocks away. I won't bore you with all the details - Lelaine says my posts are always too long - but we relaxed in Adirondack chairs (naturally); enjoyed the beautiful weather - lows in the 40s and 50s and highs in the 60s and 70s; kayaked around the lake; went out in a row boat (ask Lelaine or Doug about my row boat fiasco, involving me spewing a couple f-bombs and throwing a temper tantrum before Lelaine took the oars from me to guide us out into the lake); hiked up Mt Jo for a good view of the high peaks region; went to the top of the 120m ski jump from the 1980 Olympics; saw the arena where the Miracle on Ice happened; white water rafted with Lori Phoebe, our salty guide who grew up on the Hudson River and had her own songs telling the stories of the loggers working the river back in the day; and consumed surprisingly good food and local beer.
I was really impressed with Teddy Roosevelt's old stomping grounds. While the tallest mountain in NYS is only 5,344 ft, the views from the valleys aren't too much different than some out west as the elevation of the base of the mountains isn't that far above sea level.
That night we arrived in Mystic, CT. Lelaine has wanted to go here for a while to eat at Mystic Pizza. The pizza was pretty good, plus they had the movie playing.
We made it back home Saturday night, hit the sack for a bit, and then woke up early for a flight to KC. My grandparents' 65th wedding anniversary was Sunday and we were headed back for a party. It was our first time in KC this year, so it was nice to see everyone and hear our stories about Mimi and Papa. I also made it out to see a few friends from college that night, which was nice. On Monday we had barbecue with my mom and Glo and then came back to DC. Somehow I failed to take pictures of the KC trip, with the exception of the gem to the left.
Living in DC it is common to be invited to a going away party several times a year. So, another good friend of ours is leaving DC--- but just for a year to do public health work at an NGO in India. (It's kind of hard to be mad at that reason) Thankfully, she plans on coming back after a year (hint, hint: Allen and Heather). We had a lovely good-bye dinner for her and I was flattered by the request to make dessert.
On Sunday I met Vega in Chicago to see Pearl Jam. It was a short trip - left Sunday morning and back Monday afternoon - but we managed to do quite a bit in a brief time span.
It was a good weekend for Team Purple House. Our friend BZ was in town on Friday and the weekend started out nicely with dinner with him, Doug, and Katie, followed by a going away party for a friend who is headed to India for a year. We weren't out too late, but late enough that when the alarm went off at 5-something the next morning to go run, I turned it off and stayed in bed.
The piece de resistance was dinner and drinks at the Dogfish Head brewpub. It was outstanding. In addition to the usual suspects, we had 120 Minute IPA, Midas Touch, and Palo Santo Marron on tap. And Doug and I had them dig into the cellar for a 2004 Olde School Barleywine and a 2006 Immort Ale. There was even a band playing, which we all enjoyed. A good time was had by all, particularly the overserved ~55 year old lady who commandeered the drums during a break and opened the next set.
Before hitting the road, we...and by we I mean Lelaine and Doug...had a brief pit stop for all-you-can-eat crabs. Three hours later we were on the road. Three hours and a stop at Sonic later we were back to the condo and ready for the impending workweek.
For some strange reason we chose not to blog about our housing situation over the past several months. I think, in part, it was an effort to minimize the emotions surrounding a precarious and constantly evolving situation.
Basically, at the end of April we found out that our landlords were going to be foreclosed upon (despite the fact we’ve paid rent every month) and the condo we lived in was going to be sold at auction. One of the worst things about finding out that news was that we found out through a notice sent to use by the DC government and not by our landlords. However, our landlords tried to make up for it by offering to sell it to us at a really great price…a price we couldn’t refuse in high-cost real estate city of the District of Columbia.
I think we were a little awe-struck at the idea that we could be homeowners, not be house-poor and possibly sell the place for a profit to help us buy our next place. Plus, there was this $8K tax credit we heard about that didn’t sound so bad either. So, we decided we would go for it. Thus, begins our adventure with preventing a foreclosure, short-sale with two bad mortgages and an inept real estate agent named Vicki Lee Bauer (landlord’s agent).
To keep the blood pressure down, I’ll just say having a good real estate agent (our agent) and lots of patience are key to being sane if you are pursuing a short sale. Another point I feel like we should make is that if you are in the landlords’ situation, surround yourself with knowledgeable people you trust. This isn’t the time to find someone from an ad in the mail or a blind internet search. Unfortunately, this is advice I think our landlords didn’t have.
But without further adieu, we are proud to announce we are now the owners of our condo! We are very excited, but unlike some of the shows on HGTV like “My First Place” it is a bit anti-climatic. We get to basically go back to the same home we’ve had since 2006. But, after a few quick looks on craigslist at apartments, we are happy not to move and to stay in the same place with all of our amenities.
We celebrated America's 233rd birthday in the Outer Banks in North Carolina. We left Friday morning and made relatively good time, at least for a holiday weekend. After checking in at one of the lovely Days Inns in Kill Devil Hills, we spent the afternoon on the beach.
To combat treadmill and running fatigue--in more ways than one--I decided to get some swimming personal training sessions. I can swim and I am comfortable in the water, but I never had formal lessons. Since my gym has endless pools I've tried several times to swim for a half hour, but the first time I nearly passed out and the second time I think I drank more water than exercised. 
Saturday morning I ran in a 10k. It was a continuation of the training for the 5k I did in May. Only twice the distance, but it felt a heck of a lot further. As you can tell from the picture, I was tired after finishing (and notice how no one else seems to be that worn out).
As a city snob, I have to share this great YouTube video a guy named Remy did about a local suburb of D.C. called Arlington. Admittedly, I have spent some time in this area (It was the only place with lululemon! ), but I will distinguish from the fact that I don't live there.
On Saturday, Doug, Lelaine, and I went to Savor. Savor is like a prom for beer geeks. Get dressed up (for beer people, this means no shorts) and mingle with 67 of the country's best craft brewers, each offering two of their best beers - often doubles or imperials - paired with gourmet food. The purpose is to stress that beer is more complex and better complements food compared to wine.
Another interesting moment was early in the evening when we were sharing a table with a reporter who was taking notes. She told me that earlier in the day she had lunch with Jim Koch, the Sam Adams founder, and that he had opened a "pretty limited edition bottle". She couldn't really say exactly what it tasted like, so I went ahead and asked if it was a Utopias. A bit of background. Utopias is probably the most sought after beer. They run very limited batches. They sell on ebay for $200+ per bottle. Getting to try a Utopias is like driving a Rolls Royce, flying a space shuttle, or winning the lottery. And the reporter, who couldn't even remember what it was called, got to try it. Lucky duck.
While I saved most of the room in my stomach for beer, Lelaine immersed herself in the food. She particularly enjoyed the cheese table and the oyster bar. In addition to the cheese, I sustained myself on steak sanwiches and chocolates. It was a very tasty night. Luckily for me, a few of the brewers are sticking in town for a few days and putting on a smaller reception on the Hill on Tuesday.
I signed up to "run" the Marine Corp (wait for it...) 10K--not marathon-- 10K. After a hiatus from last year's race and some questions about my next so-called next race, I felt it was time or felt guilty and knew I had to do something.
