2018 Recap

Hey, everyone.  It's been a while.  Let's get caught up on some stuff and I'll share some photos and news from throughout the year.

We haven't done a lot of travel per say because we are getting ready for a BIG trip coming up in May.  We'll be making a quick stop over in San Diego later this month but otherwise our focus will be on home projects.  Check the Home blog linked on this site for updates there!

Back to a little bit of 2018...

I bought real cheap tickets to sit behind home plate in Baltimore for Hans' birthday.  The weather was absolutely foul.  It was nearly snowing by the time we left the stadium!  With 7,915 people this particular game was the second lowest attended in Orioles' Camden Yards history, which isn't saying a lot because the least attended game happened when admittance was closed to the public due to the Freddie Gray protests.  Yikes.

 This summer we went out for a fancy dinner in Baltimore for our anniversary.  

A few months later we saw Hamilton at The Kennedy Center and it absolutely lived up to the hype, 

even from the cheap seats.

We adopted an 80-lb giant woof-floof too.  He might be a lab/greyhound mix but we don't care because all we know is that he's a very good boy!  It took several months for the cats to get used to him but now everybody tolerates everybody else.

 Finally saw the latest portraits in DC

 One thing that we found surprisingly enjoyable was the Maryland State House.  It operates both as Maryland's legislative heart and also a very nice museum.  The famous room where Washington resigned his command of the Continental Army has been restored to resemble its early days.

This creature lives in Baltimore's inner harbor and uses the effluent of connecting streams to drive a ramp that removes garbage from the water.  Someone came up with the idea of adding googly eyes and now it is affectionately known as "Mr. Trash Wheel".  Mr. Trash Wheel has been so successful that he is now joined by Dr. Trash Wheel and Captain Trash Wheel.  They have a bit of a fan base, so much that a local brewery hosted a Trash Fest fundraiser.  Below are some photos from the event.

I had an opportunity to see a retired FBI agent John Douglas speak at a true crime festival in DC.  He is a pioneer in criminal profiling and one of his books is the source for Netflix's Mindhunter.  He's definitely got a lot of stories.

As homeowners we're learning how to fix shit.

I can't describe how satisfying that is. 

Once it started to get chilly outside it was time to put out some holiday decorations.  Hans and I stayed home again this year and enjoyed what limited time off of work there was to be had. 

I have resolved that I shall use slightly less ribbon next year!

In September we drove all the way out to Wisconsin to spend time with Hans' family.  

A retroactive post is in the works...

Hope everyone has a fabulous 2019!

Twenty-Four Hours in Chicago

This trip actually happened right before our Mexico vacation!  I had to travel to The Windy City for work and I was there for about 24 hours.  I did not have a lot of time for sight-seeing but I made the most of it!  The weather was perfectly spring-crisp, which was great for hustling around on foot.

After checking in at my hotel on the Magnificent Mile I decided to walk north and see what the shopping scene was all about.  Let's just say that my wallet almost burst into flame.

This store sells thousand-dollar down coats

I wasn't planning on going to the top of the John Hancock Tower*.  I was just going to walk to the base and also look at an old Gothic Revival water tower that is about a block away.  The lobby looked empty.  I could not believe my luck.  I went inside and walked up to the ticket counter and the employees told me that there was no wait for the 1,000-foot elevator ride.  I said "take my money!" and wandered through miles and miles of rope-enclosed hallways with informative exhibits that keep visitors entertained during peak visitor times.

Having been also to the top of the Willis Tower, I think the views from John Hancock are far superior.  Maybe it was because I was visiting at sunset but the views of the Gold Coast to the north and brilliant blues of Lake Michigan were spectacular.  I also recommend their bar.

 

At the end of the night I was tired so I enjoyed a party-of-one with some beer that I purchased around the corner and had Lou Malnati's delivered to my room.  So. Worth. It.

The next morning I had some time to kill so I went for a long walk to Millennium Park, bummed around downtown, and then went to my work thing.  By the early evening it was time to head back to the airport so I walked back to the hotel to collect my bag.  Here are some photos from that day:

Outside of The Rookery (1888), former offices of Architectural Company Burnham and Root 

Interior, showing a portion of original ironwork.  When Frank Lloyd Wright was commissioned to remodel the lobby all of the iron was encased in gilded marble.  What were ya' thinking, Frank!?

** Within the last year the John Hancock tower was stripped of its name for...legal reasons, as far as I can tell.  It is officially named only by its street address but Chicagoans refuse to drop the old name (I'm sure there are still a few Sears Tower fans out there).

Tulum: Cenote Dos Ojos

Cenote Dos Ojos is part of a park that has five different cenotes.  A few are open "pits" but the ones we visited were the two "eyes".  Two sinkholes, about 70 meters in diameter, are connected by a 400-meter underwater cave.  Hans and I only had snorkels so we had to go between the eyes on foot but we were able to see many dive teams with flashlights weaving under stalactites and through the various caves.  In fact, this is one of the most well-known underground river systems in the world.  Going on a SCUBA dive here must be amazing.

That's pretty much all I have to write here.  We took a bunch of photos, paddled around for about an hour, and then went back to the hotel.

We had done a bunch of packing the night before so all we had to do was shower, change, and head to the airport.  Our flight was delayed by a couple of hours so we got home pretty late at night.  Overall this was a fun trip.  Tulum and it's beaches were nice but I was glad we had other activities to fill each day.

 

 

 

 

One of the dive tours 

Goodbye, cute little hotel

Adios, Mexico