Big Update: Past, Present, and Future

I would first like to start the post by saying that on April 8th we went to the vet with Trini and unfortunately we came home without her.  Even typing this is very hard for me.  She would have been 19 in July/August.  She's been with me longer than my youngest brother.  Life has seen us through many changes, many different locations, many different relationships, and our personalities have grown and shifted.  She wasn't the easiest cat to love, but I loved her with my whole heart and it broke my heart and I sobbed whenever I had to clean her in her last few days.  All I ever want is to be the best guardian and life-steward I could possibly be to the creatures in my care.  I am a profoundly in love with my pets, even when they make little messes or misbehave.  I know, with confidence, they love me right back.  I've tried my very best to move on and pretend as if everything has been fine, but it has been on my mind constantly.  I consider myself a very lucky person that I've only encountered death a few brief times in my life and it naturally brings up questions and concerns.  J has been a huge support for me in those moments of weakness when I felt I was failing or when I was frustrated with the situation.  I called my parents frequently to give them updates because even though they don't particularly like cats, Trini was a big part of their lives too.  All that mattered to me in those last few days was that I was doing everything I could.  I won't lie, it was very exhausting.  When we took her in, someone in the waiting room said something about how she looked "icky" and any other day I might have walked up to that privileged woman to give her a piece of my mind regarding my life companion but in that moment I could have cared less about others.  It was about me and Trini.  It was hard.  I cried a lot and in front of everyone.  Thinking about it right now makes me teary, so I will wrap this bit up.  All I know is that when I came home, J and I sat on the couch for a long time with the rest of our girls.  Tashi, our 10 year old cat, gave me a lot of attention and I gave her a lot of care, too.  She seemed to understand.  In a very un-Tashi like event, she sat on my chest, maintained eye contact for a long time and then just licked my face a couple of times.  She's mourning in her own way.  Every day is a little better for her.  Every day is a little better for me.  As long as I have my loves, I'll be okay.  Thanks to everyone for thinking about us.  We appreciate it.

Love you, Trini.

~~~

In what was probably good timing, I left to visit my friend E in Galveston, Texas two days after we said goodbye to Trini.  E helped us move down to Miami and set up our apartment back in August 2010.  She really eased my transition from having my wedding to moving two days later.  J had to start school the day after we arrived in Miami and I was unemployed in a jumbled apartment in a brand new city.  She had moved to Galveston with her boyfriend from Madison and I was excited to be her first visitor.  I flew in on a Wednesday and had until Sunday to hang out and explore some of Houston and Galveston.  Here is my trip in some pictures. 

On Wednesday we took it easy.  Houston to Galveston is a bit of a hike and traffic is -dare I say it- worse than Miami.  The drivers aren't as bad as Miami drivers, but there are just more people on the road, so there are bound to be loads of accidents.  We went grocery shopping and made tacos for dinner and planned two crafts we wanted to tackle.  On Thursday we headed back into Houston.  First we stopped at a mall because I had my Sephora VIB coupon for me and a friend (15% off -what a deal!) and then we went to the National Museum of Funeral History and the Cullen Sculpture Garden.  I thought the museum would be a fun, unique Houston attraction and I wasn't disappointed.  It was in a residential area and it was virtually empty, but for $10 it was a nice way to spend a couple of hours.  It was also massive at 30,500 square feed.  That is a lot of history. 

E and I decided to do a quiz.  If you got 90% right you got 20% off an item at the gift shop.  I thought I could bring something funny home for J.  Well, let me tell you- that answer sheet was locked up so tight!  E and I diligently answered the quiz and the cashier pulled the money out of the till, set it right in front of me so that she could "grade" us, and then she proceeded to take HALF points off for things like, "Name an animal represented as a fantasy casket"  I wrote, "Chicken/Rooster."  The answer was "MOTHER HEN."  She offered to call management to see if I could get a full point but we politely told her that it wasn't necessary and laughed our butts off all the way to the car.  It was especially funny because there was a book on Abraham Lincoln's assassination as a part of an exhibit that was labeled as "top secret" but we felt that the answer key to the silly quiz was more guarded.  Still, we learned some really interesting things.  I'll enlighten you with just a smattering of what I learned!

This is a glass casket.  They stopped making these because when they were lowered into the ground the lids would often crack.  It was one of my favorite caskets there because it was so unique and oddly pretty.  Glad it's not see-through, though.

This is a casket for three.  It was a sad story of a couple who lost their young child to an illness.  They commissioned this casket because they were planning a murder-suicide and they wanted to be buried with their child.  They had a change of heart and they moved cities, but they were still charged for this expensive piece.  I've never seen anything like it.

The museum had an exhibit on celebrities and I wasn't that interested in it, but I was really intrigued to learn about Mr. Meinhardt Frank Raabe.  He was a little person and a Wisconsin native.  He was cast as the Coroner in the movie The Wizard of Oz.  E and I couldn't remember a Coroner, but sure enough, he's in it, he sings a couple of lines about how the first witch is really, truly dead.  He graduated from UW-Madison (Go Badgers!) with an M.B.A. and he came up with the idea for the Weinermobile, something near and dear to any Wisconsin-ites heart.

Unlike the first glass casket, this glass casket really creeped met out.

The museum had a couple of international exhibits.  They had a full-sized replica of King Tut's sarcophagus.  This mummy cracked me up, though.  Mostly because, wouldn't it look like a person while it was being embalmed, not like a movie mummy?  I had E take my picture by it, but I looked no better than the mummy, so I deleted it.

They had a lot of stuff on the first embalming techniques.  The "Father of American Embalming" is Dr. Thomas Holmes.  Interestingly enough, I saw a table just like this on Oddities, a show I watch that is on the Science Channel.

I call this picture, "Look out, Abuelita!"  Death is knocking on Abuela's door.  What a creepy exhibit.  This is part of their Dia de los Muertos Exhibit.  It had a little girl in it too, but honestly, she gave me more heebie jeebies than Skeletor over there.

E and I took a ton more photos, but these are just a few.  They had a lot, a lot of hearses and carriages and caskets.  They had an exhibit on presidential funerals, military funerals, Victorian funerals, and oddly enough, an exhibit on "Celebrating the Lives and Deaths of the Popes."  That last one was a huge exhibit.  As neither E nor I were raised as Catholics we didn't understand a lot of the customs or the pomp and circumstance but it was interesting to walk through, nonetheless.  And I got to see the actual Popemobile used by Pope John Paul the II.  It was a 1982 Range Rover, in case you were wondering. 

After that we headed to the Houston Museum District to stop and enjoy the Cullen Sculpture Garden.  It was free.  A lot of the sculptures of people were nekky.  A lot of the sculptures were really modern.  I mistook a jaintor's cart for a sculpture at one point.  I can't take me anywhere.  Then we went to lunch at a really cute place called Barnaby's Cafe.  It is a dog-themed restaurant with ethical food (I think if we had ate more in Houston, there would have been more restaurants like this to choose from).  And then we headed back to Galveston to try to beat traffic and we stayed up past our bed-times chatting and crafting.

One of the many sculptures.  I liked this one because it had a lot of optical illusions (water, reflections, glass).

See? Nekky.  I liked this one, too.  He's missing his ten gallon hat, though.

The rest of the trip was pretty relaxed.  We stayed close to Galveston.  E showed me the numerous antique and thrift shops and The Strand (it was odd, a bit like a shopping street in Universal Studios).  Galveston has an interesting composition.  It reminds me a little of the Keys.  We did a little shopping at Hobby Lobby and Goodwill and the mall.  It is nice to go shopping with a fellow female once in awhile.  J and I are very purposeful shoppers and we have a nice shopping groove, but it is fun to take your time once in awhile and window-shop for the hell of it.  E drove me, yes, drove me to the beach.  It was so weird to see cars and trucks driving along the water.  We went to a couple of neat restaurants (The Spot, Jimmy's on the Pier, Farley Girls). 

It was interesting to note how different the ocean is on the east coast, the west coast, and the Gulf coast.  I found black sea shells for J.  I guess the water is brackish.  I like the color of the Miami ocean but the look and feel of the Oregon coast.  In some places you can see the oil rigs.

An entire serving of raw oysters all for me because no one else likes them?  Oh what a shame.  Who am I kidding, I wasn't going to share with anyone anyhow! :)  How I eat these disgusting things, I will never know, but I love them.  From The Spot.

Okay, so my excuses for this meal at Farley Girls was 1) it's Texas and food there is ostentatious and 2) it was technically National Grilled Cheese Day.  I'll have you know I ate with a knife and fork, barely touched the fries, didn't finish the burger, and the grilled cheese was my favorite bit.  I felt actually pretty bad after eating this meal.  (My tummy wasn't exactly thrilled with my either, J and I eat relatively clean back in Miami.)  But, you go to Texas and eat no meat.  You can't.  Even their salads are chicken salad, tuna salad, bacon and blue cheese salad.  No wonder people are unhealthy there.  I'm no skinny minny, but it was really eye opening to see all of the food, the size of the portions, and the types of food.  Off the bucket list...

Shrimp po'boy from Jimmy's on the Pier.  I liked the tots.  I couldn't finish everything you see here because we also had an appetizer of tots.  J informs me that this is not a real po'boy.  I'll have to try a NOLA one.

It was really nice to see E and visit with a friend.  If you'd like to read her account of events, please check out her blog at:

http://theodoregriffithandco.wordpress.com/

~~~

Now, to address the future.  As you all know, J and I have been taking steps toward moving out of Miami and continuing the adventure of our lives.  I've worked hard at my position as a secretary, but I've always wanted something more for myself.  I really have a passion for learning and I've wanted to go back to school for quite sometime.  (In the future I hope to have Ph.D. after my name!)  I have been attending information sessions and writing away for informational packets for the last two and a half years.  (I've even started a career binder that was thoroughly labeled and color coded.)  There are many things I think that I could be successful at and many things I like to do, but I spent a long time considering what would bring my passion and talent together.  I applied to two schools and J applied to three schools for Ph.D. programs in his field.  We got into all of the schools we applied to and it came down to a long discussion about where to live and how to pay for it.  That discussion was answered when I was offered a position as a Graduate Assistant that would cover a large portion of my tuition in addition to providing me with a stipend.  So... here is the big news... (it's already dropped via Facebook and family, so it's probably not news to most of you, but I haven't said anything yet on the blog...)

J and I will be moving to Seattle, Washington.  As I mentioned, he'll be continuing his studies in Atmospheric and Oceanic Studies and working towards his Ph.D.  I'll be working towards my Master's Degree in Library and Information Sciences.  I'm combining my love of reading, organization (see example of career binder above), information, and learning into a career that is expanding beyond the traditional stereotype of a librarian.  I'll be working with technology, assisting professors with their websites and I'll be taking most of my classes online, but I'll be taking some on campus and I'll be working on campus.  While I am in school, I hope to get some writing done, unlike now, when I come home exhausted from my 9-5 and volunteering.  There are opportunities for me to work with world-class faculty and to study abroad.  UW-Seattle is the ranked the third highest in Library and Information Sciences in the country and I couldn't be more thrilled.  I was very, very bummed to turn down and opportunity to return to UW-Madison, but we feel like this is the best move for the both of us.  We'll be leaving Miami at the end of June (spending a month in Wisconsin before we head out west in August), there is an end in sight for this Midwesterner!  Now we'll just become Pacific-Northwesterners.  Very busy, very tired, very hard working Pacific-Northwesterners. 

Swimming with the manatees

This is Joe filling in for B to write about a fun trip that we recently went on with two friends from my office. Florida is known for a number of tourist traps: Disney, Universal Everglades, South Beach and more, but one lesser known attraction is at Crystal River Preserve on the Gulf coast: swimming with the manatees! We've been in Florida for over 2 years, but we had yet to see one of the famous "sea cows" before we took a weekend trip to Gainesville and got up close and personal with these fascinating animals.

The dogs came with us on this trip, so our first stop was Dogwood Park just outside of Gainesville. This is no ordinary dog park, it costs a few dollars to get in but the dogs had about 13 acres of space to run free. Lily and Ruby had fun chasing a tennis ball across a big open field:

It turns out that Gainesville isn't very interesting outside of the University of Florida. The campus is very nice, but the rest of the city had lots of traffic. However, one highlight was trying some Korean food at Garlic & Ginger. We sampled all sorts of traditional Korean food, I really enjoyed my Korean BBQ:

Finally on Saturday morning it was time for the main event. We went with "Manatee Fun" tours, which is basically a private boat operated by "Captain" Broderick. It was nice to be alone on the tour and have some privacy. The tour left at 8 AM so it was a chilly 48 degrees when we headed out. However, Crystal River is a favored Manatee gathering place because of the natural hot springs, which keep the water temperature warm, even in February. The preserve is a very popular tourist destination and there are a number of ways to see the manatees including a nature trail on shore, paddleboarding, kayaking, and of course snorkeling! We opted for the up close and personal experience (that's Becca waving to the camera):

The fenced area to the left is the safe zone where the manatees can go if they don't want to interact with people. There were around 20-30 manatees in the general area. They are very gentle creatures and were happy to come right up to us. We had an old fashioned disposable camera so I quick snapped a picture when a little one came up to say hi to me:

 

I also took a picture of Becca when she was swimming by:

After about an hour, it started to get too crowded, so Captain Broderick moved us to a more isolated location. He was an interesting character, he told us a poem that he wrote to a long lost love among other odd anecdotes. We were...entertained. The private cove turned out to be really cool because we had a private swim with a mother and baby manatee. Swimming with the manatees was a unique and really cool experience for a reasonable price, we would definitely recommend it! We still need to go snorkeling on the coral reef in the Keys before we leave Miami.

On Sunday we make one last stop before heading home: Kanapaha Botanical Gardens. The gardens are an attractive destination because they are dog friendly so the girls could come along. I managed to get Lily to sit still long enough to take a photo:

I also took one of Becca with Ruby:

We really enjoyed our weekend getaway. One advantage to living in Florida is that you can take a road trip in February and enjoy summer-like weather. The dogs also had a great time and were asleep the whole drive home. We'll check out a coral reef sometime this May.

The Emerald City

About two weeks ago J and I went to Seattle for a long weekend.  Instead of writing a long missive (like I have for San Fran) I decided to let the pictures do most of the talking.  It was a whirlwind visit.  Flying from the East Coast to the West Coast twice now in four months has given me a new appreciation for folks who do the LA to NYC commute on the regular.  It is rough.  We couldn't have done the trip without J's dad.  He flew down to Miami to take care of all of our fur babies while we were crossing the country. 

For dinner our first night in town we went to The Brave Horse Tavern.  I'd seen it on Unique Eats.  They have communal seating, which is something a misanthrope like me would usually detest, but their Wisconsin-style cheese curds and dill-pickle dipping sauce helped me get over that quickly.  J liked the artisinal beer selection.  Look at my dopey face.  Can you tell how much I liked this dish?

Another picture of the glorious cheese curds and an excellent pretzel.  I didn't care much for the pimento cheese spread, but J loved it.  They have plenty of other spreads to try.  We happened to get another soft pretzel at Schultzy's Sausage the next day.  I can never get enough soft pretzels. 

J and I in front of Pike's Place Market.  I could have spent hours there.  Just down the hill I ran into one of the adjunct instructors from my department back in Miami.  Go figure!  We also saw a couple with an Italian Greyhound and a French Bulldog.  I usually don't approach pet owners but I had to ask this couple and they were kind enough to answer our questions about how the Frenchie and Iggy got along (we've always wanted a Frenchie!).  Their dogs (both boys) were so loving and gave me lots of kisses.  It helped with the hole in my heart I had from being away from my girls.

The famous fish throwers.

Gorgeous flowers for a really reasonable price.

Amazing selection of produce.  I loved getting all of the samples.  We only saw a small portion of the Public Market and I could have spent hours there.  Maybe someday!

My first chowder.  Probably my last.  I'm sure it was excellent.  The place was packed despite the drizzly weather.  This is actually a scallop chowder.  I just don't like creamy based seafood dishes.  

 

 

 

View from the 73rd floor of the Columbia Tower.  It is cheaper than the Space Needle and higher up.  It is a little odd to be walking through a business skyscraper on a weekend.  Everything was eerily quiet and we weren't quiet sure we were headed in the right direction (we had to take two sets of elevators up). 

My only complaint with the Columbia Tower is that you cannot get a 360 degree view.  But it is still spectacular.  I never realized how big Seattle is.  This pictures don't really do it justice.  The mountains are incredible.

Me looking over Puget Sound.

The Famous Fremont Troll (seen in movies like 10 Things I Hate About You).  I had to see this guy before we left.  It was sort of in an odd location (in the midst of a neighborhood).  He wasn't as big as I was expecting him to be, but he isn't as cute as I expected him to be either.  Right before we found him we stopped at a place called Pie.  I had an amazing Rhubarb Raspberry hand pie.  Across the street I popped into a used book store called Ophelia's books.  (This particular trip was a reading success for me because I finished two books!)

From Fremont we walked all the way to Gasworks Park.  It's a pretty neat park that has some old industrial complex/buildings around it.  That's me way off in the distance.  I added this picture because it epitomizes why Seattle is called the Emerald City.  Living in Miami, I had forgotten what spring looked like.  But I realized that after 21 years of living in Wisconsin, I had never seen a prettier, more story-book spring than a Seattle spring.  It looked like a fairy tale come to life.  Fall might have a run for it's money for my favorite season...

Another view of downtown Seattle.  This is from Gasworks Park.  The Space Needle is on the right side.

Gasworks Park and some of the structures there.  It was pretty nippy noodles outside, but there were still plenty of folks playing.  The sky was over-cast, but all in all, we had excellent weather for our trip.

I need to finish Part 2 of my San Fran post and post about my experience swimming with manatees!  I have been busy volunteering at a local branch of my library in addition to taking steps and making decisions about our future (with J, of course).  I've also been dealing with a very sick cat.  Trini has lost all control of her bowel movements.  We clean up after her and not five minutes later there is another puddle on the floor.  This involves baths and drying her with a blow dryer.  It is particularly messy because she has also stopped using her back legs entirely and she chooses to drag herself everywhere.  Often times this leads to a puddle and then an extensive trail of urine through the apartment.  After she is cleaned up then the floor needs to be mopped.  I've made an appointment for her for a day that I had my own doctor's appointment.  I am dealing with a lot of emotions on the matter of my life-long companion (19 and a half years old!).  One emotion I feel in particular is frustration.  For the last five months I have been in and out of the vet explaining how she has been rapidly and steadily declining (losing weight [6 lbs or less], urinating out of the litter box, hiding) and they insisted on tests, ultrasounds, and medications.  They are excellent vets and I have been very pleased with every other situation we've been in, but I feel that the story of Trini has been unnecessarily prolonged in an undignified way.  I feel terrible for her but on the other hand J and I are exhausted.  After working full time, volunteering, and caring for my husband and fur-family I don't really want to blog.  I'm taking the time to do this on a Sunday because it is the best time for me to do it. 

(Please note, I almost never get comments on my blog, but I did turn off my comments on this post because I've talked about Trini ad nauseum to the people in my life who know about how much I care for her [J, my parents, my Gma F, a handful of friends, my coworkers] and that last paragraph was all I am going to say on the matter until we have a discussion with the vet.  Thank you for respecting my wishes.)

San Fran Adventures (1 of 2)

I have had Part 1 of this two part post written since I was in San Fransisco.  I have just been hesitating on posting it because I wanted to incorporate some of our friend's pictures.  J put them on his computer.  I should have transferred them to my computer, then edited them, and then added them to this post, but as I've mentioned before: I liked to be disconnected from the internet in the evenings.  Thus, I am adding this post quickly during the day.  I'll pop in some pictures that I have access to right now.  Perhaps I will add some additional ones to Part 2 when I get around to writing that...

I woke up on Wednesday (in early December) morning with anxious excitement.  I was nervous about getting myself to the Fort Lauderdale airport and getting myself out of the San Fransisco airport by myself.  J was already in San Fransisco.  I had very little sleep on Tuesday night because there were so many preparations to make for the trip.  I got to the airport economy parking, took a bus to the airport, got through security, and waited to board.  The other passengers and I boarded the plane only to get off five minutes later because there was an hour and a half delay.  It ended up being closer to two hours, but it wasn't terrible.  The flight was long and slightly boring.  I must say that Virgin America planes are really clean and streamlined compared to the planes AirTran and Southwest use.  I got off in San Fransisco at what felt like 5 o'clock Miami-time, but it was really 2ish San Fransisco-time.  That was a bit of an adjustment for me.   

I was so impressed by the little bit that I saw of the San Fran airport.  It was clean, beautiful, and immense.  I took the Air Rail to the BART station.  I had to ask the attendant for help.  I was confused about how to work the stalls and a little scared of going the wrong way.  At first I sat on the BART for ten minutes without it moving and I was getting immensely anxious.  Then it was a thirty minute ride into downtown.  I was counting the stops on my fingers and getting a little motion sick because I was facing backwards while the tram was moving forwards.  I got off at Powell Street, which is a very busy thoroughfare.  Our friend Emmy picked me up immediately.  I am so glad she saw me right away, I was immediately intimidated by how many people were around and I had no idea of which way to turn.  We walked into the Westfield Mall and she promptly headed me towards the food court because she knew I would be hungry.  She even met me with cookie in hand.  I had some Japanese-style fast food.  It was tofu with steamed veggies and rice.  It was really good: substantial enough to satisfy me after a six hour flight, but light enough that I didn't feel sick (which is how fast food usually makes me feel).   

Papa Beard Cream Puffs at Westfield Mall (they don't hold a candle to WI State Fair Cream Puffs, but Papa Beard is cute)

We walked around the mall for a little while before J would be able to meet us.  It was huge!  After visiting the mall we went straight to Emmy's hotel room with my bags.  We thought about going out for dinner, but by that time, it felt like 8 o'clock to me and I had only gotten five hours of sleep the night before.  We decided that J and I would head to the Fisherman's Warf, where our hotel was located, and meet early the next morning.  While J and I headed to the hotel, Emmy scouted out Chinatown.  I had been sick with a cold and a bit of a sinus headache, and J had run a 5K that morning, so we headed straight to bed and slept for 12 hours.  It was a bit luxurious to stay in bed for so long.  Usually we are up to take the dogs out and feed the cats.  I also know that I've needed rest for over a week, so despite “wasting” my first twelve hours in San Fran, I had much needed rest and my cold was substantially better the next day.

This isn't the best picture, but it gives you some perspective on how BIG Westfield Mall is.  I would never have found Emmy if she hadn't have found me first.  Thank goodness for cell phones.

We started waking up at 5:30 AM San Fran-time, which was 8:30 AM Miami-time.  It was the first time in a long time that I didn't wake up zombie-fied.  We showered and hit the pier for a long morning walk.  We walked a long dock that looked out over Alcatraz and the Golden Gate bridge.  It was a bit of a dreary morning, but I enjoyed the cool air that was moist from the sea.  We took some pictures of the Ghiradelli square and walked back towards Boudin, a bakery.  We ate some breakfast there while waiting for Emmy to arrive.  Nothing was open!  We were up so early and wandering around with nothing to do by sight-see.  Fisherman's Warf is pretty touristy, so we didn't want to hang around too much.  We said “hello” to the stinky sea lions (I could watch them for hours!) and since it would be another hour and a half before anything fun opened we decided to head to the Golden Gate Park.  It was a long bus ride (we had to make a transfer) but we got to see a bit of the famous Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.   

Our good friend Emmy with J.  Alcatraz in the background.

As my friend E knows, I could watch these guys all day.  Too bad they stink so much.

Golden Gate Park is HUGE.  It would take days to explore the whole thing.  I would estimate we saw an eighth of the park.  We entered near the Children's Quarter (we didn't stop to see the carousel) and headed towards the Academy of Sciences Museum.  J had heard that it was good and we thought we would take a look.  Little did we know how much walking we would be doing.  It was exhausting (especially after walking a mile and a half that morning).  The Academy was very expensive to get in ($30 per adult, we got in for $27 since we took public transportation there).  It was very well done, but nothing so spectacularly “San Fran” that I would recommend it to someone spending less than a week in the area.  They had a well-done aquarium (I love aquariums, by the way), a neat rain forest dome that demonstrated the different levels (from flooded forest floor to canopy).  It was a circular ramp that you walked up (more walking!) all the way to the top.  The top was my favorite part because there were the most beautiful birds and butterflies flying around.  There was an earthquake exhibit where you could experience a slight “earthquake” in a scaled down living room.  There was a great African exhibit with a lot of taxidermy.  There was also a room of “snow” which was kind of fun.  After we saw just about everything, we headed towards the Japanese Tea Gardens.  I thought it would be a small building where we would be able to sit, have some tea, and relax after all of that walking.  We walked all of the way there to find out that it was $7 a person to get in.  I would have liked to go, but it was more of a Japanese garden and we were so tired of walking and we had just spent so much money to go to the museum that we decided to skip it.  I have seen the Portland Japanese Botanical Garden, so I didn't feel like I was missing out on a truly unique experience.  Still, if I had more time, I would have liked to go.  We hiked all of the way out of the park to catch a bus.   

Pretty Emmy.  This picture doesn't do her or the fish justice.

J caught a butterfly.

At this point I was having a pretty bad sinus headache and I don't like public transportation, but it wasn't terrible.  We got off downtown and tried walking in one direction to find something unique to eat.  We couldn't find anything and we were all pretty hungry and tired at this point, so we settled for California Pizza Kitchen where we could sit for a long lunch and take our time.  After that, J headed to the conference for a quick check-in and Emmy and I headed back to the humongous Westfield Mall.  We started from the top and worked our way down.  It has six stories, but neither of us are super rich or super shoppers, so we made quick work, stopping into stores only when we thought we might buy something there.  We shopped at the Sanrio store and David's Tea where I got some loose leaf teas that I am excited to try!  Then we shared a cream puff from Papa Beard while J checked directions for the Tonga Room, a famous tiki bar.  What a hike!  

 We walked all of the way up an incredible hill.  It was so steep that I thought my heart would beat right out of my chest, flop onto the pavement, and inevitably roll down the hill.  We had to take two little breaks, it was very intense.  J is fit, so it didn't wind him like it did for Emmy and me.  I am also fairy chubby, okay- fat, and I was practically begging for a ski lift or something to get me up the rest of the way.  Finally we made it to the top and found the Tonga Room.  The Tonga Room is a lot of fun and very kitschy.  None of us had been to a tiki bar before and I am pretty sure that this one is something special.  It has ship masts and a pool inside.  Every so often it “rains” into the pool.  You can get the buffet, but we weren't interested.  We got happy hour tropical drinks.  It was still expensive, so I'm glad we went for happy hour and not at another time.  After taking our sweet time drinking and talking (mostly resting from a crazy walking day) we headed down the hill (down, thank God) towards Chinatown.   

Picture of the enterance to the Tonga Room.  Emmy has some much better pictures of the inside.

J by a mural in Chinatown on the way to dinner.

Emmy is Chinese, so we were very excited to share that experience with her.  We asked her to pick a restaurant and our dinners for us.  She took us to R&G Lounge.  We had to wait a bit, but we were fine as long as we were sitting.  We ended up having appetizers of cold tofu, beef slices, and duck tongue.  Yes, duck tongue.  And yes, I ate one.  Except I ate it the wrong way.  I didn't realize you were supposed to pull out the cartilage.  I chewed mine and swallowed it whole.  It was crunchy and I didn't like the texture or the taste.  But, now I can say that I have had duck tongue.  It is truly the most exotic thing I've ever eaten.  J didn't mind it, he had several.  We also had fried oysters.  They were good, but I prefer mine raw.  And we had a spicy bean curd dish.  That was my favorite.  I loved the oolong tea with dinner.  There is something so comforting about sharing a pot of tea with friends at a meal and drinking out of those tiny cups with no handles.  Dinner with Emmy in Chinatown will go down as one of my most memorable meals.  Perhaps it wasn't my favorite food, but it was an experience that I may never have again.  We parted ways after the restaurant since our hotels were in opposite directions.  Instead of taking the bus we decided to walk the mile and a half back to the Warf.  I'm glad we did.  It was long, but we got to see a different street and have a good talk on the way back.   

Part 2 coming... eventually.

I also have to add pictures of our adventures of swimming with manatees.

2 years, 6 months, and 1 week

That is how long J and I have been married.  2 years, 6 months, and 3 days is how long I have been living in Miami.  Personally, that number is 6 months and 3 days too long, but c'est la vie!

I have really been dragging on posting about San Fransisco, I know, but I avoid sitting on the computer at all costs in the evenings, so I haven't had the desire to sort through and edit photos.  I also need to blog about our recent manatee swimming trip.  That was a lot of fun.  I'll get there, maybe I'll put it on my to-do list for the weekend.  In the meantime, here is something short and sweet to celebrate two and a half years of being married to my best friend.  (I borrowed this idea from Carolina Charm: http://northcarolinacharm.blogspot.com/)

Me to J: Honey, answer these questions, just for fun.
J to Me: Ain't nobody got time for that.

How long have you been married?
2 years and 6 months
2.5 yrs

Where was your first date?
Mini Golf
The Last Kiss movie on New Year's 2006 (WRONG!)

Where was your first kiss?
Elizabeth Waters Hall, Dorm Room
dorm room

Who first said, "I love you"?
Moi
Becca :-)

What were your wedding colors?
Raspberry/Purple/Green
Purple and green

What is her most commonly used phrase?
Probably a cuss
My head hurts (TOTALLY RIGHT!)

Who is her celebrity crush?
Sherlock Holmes (BBC)
Nobody right now

If she was ordering drinks for both of you what would you each get?
Beer and Cranberry Vodka
Diet Coke for her, water for me

What is the best meal she has ever cooked you?
Breaded Pork chops and/or Dumplings and Mushrooms
Those dumplings were good :-)

What is the worst meal she has ever cooked you?
Seaweed Pizza
Seaweed pizza

What is the most-played song on her iPod?
Florence + The Machine or Say Anything
Something random and old b/c she doesn't update it (TOO TRUE)

What would she say is your most annoying habit?
Singing those horrible songs in snippets
Farting or singing random song lyrics or leaving messes

What is the last thing she does before she goes to bed?
Moisturize and Lotion
Reads

If you could throw out one item of her clothing what would it be?
Nothing
She already threw out everything

What would you say is your favorite thing about her?
Humor
She's my best friend

What's her go-to drink at Starbucks?
Chai Tea Frappuccino
Chai tea latte

What's her blog's name?!
Midwestern In Miami
Midwesterner in Miami

And for even further, funnier insight into our partnership:

Joseph:  there you go yum yum

 me:  Thank you!

 Joseph:  sorry your fav. drink is the frappachino, not the latte

 me:  Oooh, I'm going to have to edit some of your answers.  First of all, some of them are wrong.

 Joseph:  which one is wrong?????

 me: Date: wrong.

 Joseph:  was it mini golfing?

that doesn't count

 me: Mini golfing does count

And if you want to get technical, it was Rumor Has It

 Joseph:  oh yeah

 me:  Not The Last Kiss

 Joseph:  f***

lol

 me:  Wrong frigging year.

 Joseph:  no the year is right

jan 1 2006

 me:  Wrong drinks.

 Joseph:  what drink is wrong

 me:  Supposed to be alcohol.

 Joseph:  oh

 me:  Other than that, I loves it.

Ookay, thanks for doing that.

 Joseph:  you have to do one?

 me:  I did it.

 Joseph:  send it already

 me:  I'm putting our answers on my bliggity blog.

 Joseph:  probably a cuss

lol

 Sent at 11:43 AM on Wednesday