Last week, Mona and I went to the Radiohead concert at the Blossom Music Center which is tucked away deep in the hill near Peninsula. This was by far the largest concert I’ve been
to which took about a half mile walk just to get to the amphitheater. We ended up on the grass, sitting on our
beach towel and listening to the music.
I think this is the last concert that I felt like I really needed to see
live. We had tried to get tickets twice
at the Hollywood Bowl and in both cases they sold out immediately. I would love to show you pictures but we can’t
seem to find our camera charger so no images from either of our trips:(
A couple of days later, we took a trip up to
see Nick and Tonya in Washington DC.
This turned out to be another great trip and it was wonderful to see
them both. Since we had already seen
most of DC, this trip was more about hanging out and talking. On the first day, we had a picnic on the Potomac
River and Nick and I played with a Frisbee.
The next day was Mona’s birthday
and we spent that nights hanging out on the patio drinking wine, playing on the
tight rope, and just talking. Nick
cooked some of the best steaks I’ve ever had on the barbeque and Tonya made
some potatoes with herbs from her garden.
The rest of the night was spent
eating and talking in the backyard. Mona
said it was her best birthday ever.
The next day, we headed to Arlington National
Cemetery which is one of the only things I hadn’t seen in DC. The day was hot and humid but we made our way
up the hill to see John F. Kennedy’s (and his brother’s) grave. After that, we walked over to see the Grave
of the Unknown Soldiers which had some really nice views of the city. When we got home, we just relaxed. That night, we all went to see Mogwai in
concert. Beforehand, we walked around this
really cool neighborhood and I had a chicken curry wrap at a local shop. The show ended up being really good and the
venue was nice.
The next morning, we took our time getting
ready and headed to Baltimore. We
stopped at one of my favorite bookstores in the downtown area and I was able to
get some books. I really love parts of
Baltimore and the city has tons of potential.
Unfortunately, the city also has problems such as horrible traffic and
old neighborhoods that haven’t been maintained.
As far as the US goes, it’s one
of the more original cities. Some of the
country side is also really pretty and quaint but you have to find the right
areas. We spent the first day doing some
shopping at a mall that was going out of business and we got some major
deals. Mona worked the next day and me
and the kids hung out in our hotel room watching TV and relaxing.
On the way home, Mona and I spent a lot of
time discussing whether we want to buy a boat.
We’ve talked about getting kayaks but it would be hard since we would
have to get a babysitter just to go out.
I had looked at boats in the past and a new one can cost about $30,000 which
is way too expensive for something you can’t use year around and you’re not
even sure how much you’ll enjoy it.
However, you can buy a used one for more than half that price. At the moment, we are thinking about getting
a cuddy boat which means we would be able to camp, fish, snorkel, and go
tubing. (Picture below is a cuddy boat).
If I’m not mistaken, we would
also be able to go wakeboarding and water skiing. The one we’re looking at also has a bathroom,
stereo, small cabin, and stove. I think it would be
worth having a boat just to have the memorable experiences. Plus, it's definitely within our budget and this is one of the reasons we moved here. While we could barely afford to have a one bedroom apartment in Hollywood, this place gives us a lot more freedom to travel and have our little adventures.
In other news, my diet now consists of mostly
vegetables which I’ve never been a fan of.
Growing up, vegetable meant steaming large pieces of broccoli, carrots, and peas and
eating them plain. No herbs, no butter,
no toppings. In the past couple of years, I’ve
been eating veggie burgers to get my vegetable intake. In fact, I call vegie burgers my “vegetable
delivery device.” Now I’m roasting vegetables
with herbs and spices which I'm loving. I’m
even trying new recipes and having to return to Trader Joe’s every couple of
days to get more. I’m sure nobody cares
about my dietary habits but I’m excited.
