Virginia is for lovers

Yesterday I attended my cousin Brian's wedding on a military base in Alexandria, VA. I had never been on a military base before and was interested to see what it was like. After driving a quarter of a mile down a tree lined road towards the main gate we were stopped and each adult in the car had to show a picture ID. After they were scanned like so many cans of creamed corn, we were allowed thru to drive around an all inclusive self contained picturesque town, not unlike Pleasantville. There was a chapel, a school, a multipurpose activity field with several metal bleachers, and loads of perfect brick houses with American flags adorning their porches while mom's watered the tanbark. We arrived at the chapel in time to congratulate the father of the groom (a.k.a. Uncle Dickie), and then shuffled into the church and crammed into a pew. While waiting for the ceremony to start, I observed the setting and made mental notes of the giant stained glass window of George Washington that occupied the spot on the altar where Jesus usually has dibs, and the neck art of a gentleman in front of me which read "Horn Dog". The ceremony was very lovely and both the bride and groom got through their vows without blubbering like a 12 year old at a matinée of "Titanic". At one point a cup of water from both Wendy and Brian's hometowns were mixed in a vessel as a symbolic gesture of their lives becoming one. I thought it was a beautiful idea, and I wondered later what was done with the united water. I came to the conclusion that their love probably watered a patch of grass in the back of the church. Ahh...the circle of life. Upon leaving the church as man and wife, Brian and Wendy walked under a line of men pointing swords towards the sky and I was relieved when they both made it thru with only a slap on the butt for Wendy with the broad side of the last sword. Very dignified. Next it was on to the reception in a beautiful hall with a panoramic view of the Potomac. Matt, Holly, Ben, Anne and I were seated at a table with a hilarious girl named Jen who indulged Matt in Zombie banter. As the night wore on, the open bar broke loose and my vision turned red from all the vodka and cranberries I consumed. What I do remember was dancing to MJ's "Thriller" with my mom in true zombie fashion, and using all the willpower I had to not place my face in the chocolate fountain. Overall, it was a really great wedding, and I am truly happy for both of them.

Haunted Gettysburg

Saturday Laura, Michelle, David and myself took a trip to explore Haunted Gettysburg. We were a good mix of believers and skeptics, but started out the night with open minds. We got to Gettysburg a little before 6 pm and wasted time antiquing before our table was ready at The Pub. We had a great dinner accompanied by spirits (a.k.a. booze) and then carefully walked down Baltimore Street to begin our Ghosts of Gettysburg tour. We waited for the 8:00 tour along with a horde of other thrill seekers. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized that we were going to be broken up into four smaller, more intimate groups. My relief then subsided when I realized that our tour guide was about as enthusiastic as Squidward Tentacles. Irregardless of our tour guide's story telling abilities and chutzpa (or lack thereof), the tour was very enjoyable. We visited a courthouse that acted as a makeshift hospital during the battle, and saw so many amputations that holes had to be drilled in the floor to release the blood. Next we visited a school house across the street from a prison, both of which held spirits (of the ghost variety, not the aforementioned booze variety). From there we went on to a haunted house dubbed the Twin Sycamores because of the two hulking trees that flanked the front of the house. Only one of the trees still remains to this day. The Twin Sycamores was said to hold a benign child ghost who partook of many hijinks, including organizing toy soldiers into battle formations. At the end of the tour we gathered ourselves together and walked back towards the car. David wanted to see the battlefield because a helpful lady in the antique store said it was "spectacular at night!". We drove around for about 20 minutes wondering how it was possible that we were unable to find a huge battlefield where thousands of people fought and died. David drove down time warped roads that led us nowhere while the rest of us incessantly joked about haunted gas stations, haunted butternut squashes, and haunted flag poles. After a while we decided to give up the ghost (har har) and go home. It wasn't until the next day that I looked at my pictures and saw what appear to be ghosts in almost every one! Some skeptics might call them "water spots", but I'm not the only one to have pictures with them in it. Take a look, and then you decide.

Hooray Beer!

Today I toured Harrisburg’s hometown brewery, Appalachian Brewing Company, with my family in tow. The ABC is housed in an impressive three story brick and timber building that was originally a printing company in the 1920's. Over the years it was reincarnated into several things, including a warehouse for aircraft parts during World War 2, and eventually left derelict after a massive fire. In the mid 1990's it was sold for a dollar to visionaries who conceived that it could be a brewery. We saw the techniques of making beer, from the beginning stages as just hops and barley, thru all the processes it undergoes, including mashing, filtering and fermenting, and then finally bottling and packaging. The tour was very informative and it was amazing to think how much thought and time goes into making my new found favorite nectar. For instance, a lager must ferment for 5 weeks in cold temperatures. Five weeks is a long time, but well worth the wait! After the tour was a round of questions and answers in which our guide explained my mother’s childhood gag reflex when in close proximity to the Yingling brewery, as well as why volcanic rock makes a better filter for beer than a typically used form of condensed Earth. After our questions were answered we were asked if we would like to sample some beers, and an over-emphatic "Yes!" sprung from my mouth. We sat at the bar and drank dozens of samples. Among the highlights were the Hinterland Hefe Weizen, a light beer with hints of banana and cloves making it fruity yet spicy, and Kiponafest, a darker beer with a coffee taste and gentle caramel notes. After learning more about the process of making beer, as well as the many different types produced, I am convinced that beer is the new wine.

Dreams deferred no longer

This week has been unofficially dubbed "The week of hockey and dreams fulfilled". Both Laura and I won tickets to see two different Philadelphia Flyers games due to some strange vortex in the cosmos. On Monday Laura, Christian and I went to see the Flyers vs. the Devils, and sadly the Flyers lost miserably. Not to worry, we had tickets to Wednesday's game vs. the Capitols. Both Laura and I took half days off of work to go down to Philly early and see the King Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute. We wandered around looking at ancient shiny pretty things, and were nonplussed to find that the mummified remains of the boy king were not on the premises. Instead we oohed and ahhed at the tiny sarcophagi lined with inscriptions of the book of the dead that at one time held his liver, and the doll sized chair that served as his throne when he ruled at the tender age of 9. I have always been fascinated by ancient Egypt and have wanted to see this collection for as long as I can remember. I even went to Chicago, in part to see the collection, only to find out that days earlier the exhibit had moved to Philadelphia. After seeing Tut in his last week before being moved to London, I felt I had crossed off a major "To Do" on my list. Sweet satisfaction. After visiting ancient Egypt, we toured the giant heart, and then left the museum to walk thru Rittenhouse Square and then down to Chinatown for Laura's initiation at Vietnam. We indulged in crispy spring rolls and chicken vermicelli buns, and then made our way to the Wachovia Center for the Flyers game with Steve and Alex. We arrived a little late, having missed the first period, but were still in plenty of time to make memories. Another of my life long dreams was to be on the Jumbo-tron at some sort of event. What can I say? I reach for the stars. Luckily for me, a camera man was standing by and made my dream a reality for the low price of one kiss with a gay man. Steve was a trooper, and acted the part by putting his arm around my shoulders and planted an ever so manly (aka horrible) kiss on my mouth. I laughed so long and hard, I thought I would cry. Two dreams fulfilled in one day. How did I get so lucky?

I heart New York

Saturday was spent in New York City. We arrived at 10 am and trekked it to H & H Bagels. I had the most incredible everything bagel with chive cream cheese. There was nowhere to sit down and eat inside, so we took our breakfast riverside and sat in the rain enjoying the warm, crunchy yet chewey, deliciousness, and learned firsthand that they truly are "Like no other bagel in the world". After our breakfast the rain subsided and the skies opened up and made it the most beautiful day ever. We hopped a cab to 5th Avenue and poshed around in Dior. I tried on the most gorgeous $650 limited edition shades, and even got some pictures before the saleslady clickety clacked her way over to tell us that pictures were strictly forbidden! We apologized profusely and then ran out of the store giggling. After taking in the wonders on 5th Avenue, we went to the Paley Center for Media. It's basically an archive of television and radio programs since the beginning of each medium that you can access and enjoy. First you buy your ticket, then you go to a selection room filled with computers and check their database for something you want to watch. You select your programs and then go to watch them in a viewing room. I watched "Jim Henson's Storyteller's : The Soldier and Death" and an episode of "In Living Color", while Steve enjoyed the painful hilariousness of "Tales from the Crypt" and "Bossom Buddies". Classic. After our hour of rejuvenating television watching, we made our way over to 6th Avenue and wandered around a street fair, ate a crepe, bought some awesome metal art and discount "cashmere" scarves. Next we subwayed it down to SOHO. We got lost on our way to the Puma store and stumbled into many treasures. The first was an Armani underwear model that Steve fondled after conning him into posing for a picture. Next was a street vendor selling what I thought were knock off but turned out to be authentic Puma bags. I bought one for 20 dollars and then hid it in one of Steve's bags so as not to be ashamed of my ghettoness when I arrived at the real Puma store. We found the Puma store, and I got these beautiful shoes! The next few hours were spent strolling around SOHO being snobby and unhelpful to other people. Oh, New York, you feel like home! After SOHO we took a cab ride to Chocolate Moderne, a "high end" chocolate shop. Well...we arrived at the address, and found it to be a nondescript apartment building. We cautiously took the elevator to the 9th floor and found a hallway filled with apartments and a note on the door that said "Chocolate Moderne. If no answer here, please knock on door 905". I tried the door and it was locked. I looked at Steve, and we both came to the consensus of "Hell to the no!" and we bolted. There's no way I'm sneaking around Manhattan for hidden "chocolate" inside the belly of this building with walls so thick that no one could hear me scream. I was unsure if a Wonka-like wonderland lay just beyond the door, or if it was more like some guy selling old Easter candy that he kept in his bathtub. I guess I'll never know. We were starting to get hungry, so we made our way over to Cafeteria and indulged in some good old fashioned comfort food. Steve got their famed mac and cheese, and I got an early taste of Thanksgiving with a turkey, mashed sweet potato, garlic green bean and walnut cranberry sauce plate. Amazing. After dinner we visited a Korean grocery store where I found an economy sized bottle of Sapporo, my favorite Japanese beer, and then stopped quickly at a boulangerie run by authentic Parisians, and drooled over amply stuffed cream puffs and flakier than Jessica Simpson croissants. We cabbed it back to 50th and Broadway, snapped a few shots of Times Square at night and boarded the bus back to the Burg. It really was an incredible day. It felt like we did everything and nothing all at once.

Paris, Je t'aime

Last Friday Steve and I ventured to Palmyra to see the opening night of "Paris, Je t'aime". We were the only ones in the theater...surprise surprise. It was a good thing though, because it allowed me to laugh and sob uncontrollably without regret. The movie is comprised of 18 different love stories all filmed in different arrondisements of Paris. It showcased all different types of love and different types of people, including love between a mother and a son, young love, old love, cross cultural and cross religion love, gay love, straight love, and love between a woman and a city. My favorites included the hysterical Tour Eiffel segment that focused on two mimes, and the heart wrenching Fauberg Saint Dennis clip about a young actress that breaks up with her blind boyfriend over the phone and his fast forwarded account of their love. The movie has been released for several months, but it only just now made it to the wonder that is Central PA. The DVD is coming out soon, and I intend on buying it and watching it repeatedly in anticipation of my upcoming trip to Europe.

I found my dream dog