The Winner's Circle

Does everybody know what the above photo means? It is official: Erica from America (the horse) is a winner. Yes, my equine counterpart has finally won a race. It was all very exciting. Her odds were six to one when she came in first yesterday at Calder. I'm not sure what that means, but I'm happy she's doing her namesake proud. Also, how fun is it that her jockey wears a pink satin jersey?

Anyone who's met my step-grandfather (that means Lauren and Cory) will recognize him in the winner's circle photo at the bottom. Huzzah! For those of you confused by this post, read here to learn more about who Erica from America (the horse) is and how she came to be such an incredibly famous racing horse. No sarcasm, I assure you.

Ou est Eze?

Cory and I are gearing up for a European adventure next week, of which I will write all about. In preparation, I'll be doing a few posts about our European trek from this time last year. These adventures were not previously written about, as at that point I was still wrapping up my posts about the List of 52. I'm making up for the oversight now!
In 2007, I watched an episode of "Passport to Europe" on the Travel Channel. For those who haven't seen it, it's hosted by a lady called Samantha Brown, a lady I am often very jealous of. She was in Nice for that episode, but half the program was dedicated to a little village just outside Nice, somewhere called Eze.

The place looked magnificent. It was a tiny medieval village on top of a mountain, a place that had remained unchanged for approximately 800 years. I was in love with it. I didn't know how or when, but I promised myself I would one day find myself in that charming little haven.

It was serendipity that finally brought me there four years later. Cory and I were on a Mediterranean cruise that would be making a one day stop at a port called Ville Franche sur Mer. Whatever that meant. I did a bit of research pre-cruise to see if there was anything interesting nearby that we could visit, and was delighted to discover there was. Eze!

For anyone who's seen "An Affair to Remember," you'll recall Eze as the beautiful spot where Debra Kerr goes with Cary Grant to visit his grandma.



Getting up to that mountain wasn't the easiest of tasks. We took an incredibly perilous cab ride around the mountain. Once up there, though, I forgot all about our cab driver nearly careening off a cliff. It was blissful. Check out the photos below, in which I do my best Debra Kerr impression. Cory looks pretty un-Cary Grant in the last photo, however. I snapped his picture once we reached the bottom of the mountain, and I think he was done with my photo-taking by that point.






Here's a video we took of a pretty little spot. It looks like we're in someone's private back yard, but we're not. This is what the whole village looks like. Also, strain your ears to hear Cory warn me about not falling off the mountain. We have a lot of conversations like that.

Accio Orlando!

Does everyone know the theme music to the Harry Potter movies? Bah bum bah bum bum, bah bum bum, bum bah bum bum bah bum...Please think of that music as you read this. Also, I apologize to those of you who haven't read the books or seen the films. It's going to sound like I'm speaking a foreign language from here on out.

Lauren and I are crazy people. To prove this to ourselves, we decided to turn the premiere of the eighth and final HP movie into a holiday extravaganza. In the past, Lauren and I have shared many a Harry Potter memory together. It's been a while since we've lived in the same city, however, and it has reduced the number of times we can dress up as wizards and frighten our friends. So, last fall we made a vow to each other that whatever else was going on at the time, we would find a way to be together for the last film. And together we were.

We spent the weekend of July 15th in Orlando, deciding that visiting Universal Studios' Wizarding World of Harry Potter was the perfect way to spend our downtime in between frequent viewings of the film. We were those crazies who camped out for the midnight viewing, and we aren't at all ashamed about it. Cory joined us a day into the trip and we got to experience the 3D version, which, unsurprisingly, was a lot like the 2D version.

When we weren't sitting in a movie theater, we were giddily skipping up and down the streets of Hogsmeade. I should note that Lauren and I made a trip to the place last year for the grand opening, so we were seeing it with experienced eyes. It hadn't lost its luster.


Here's a photo of us in the Hog's Head Pub. The Hog's Head Pub! Notice Lauren is drinking a Butterbeer while I'm enjoying a Hog's Head Brew. We have different taste buds.



The theme park has a neat little store based off Ollivander's wand shop from the books. You have to wait quite a while to get in, but it's worth it. Once inside, one person per show gets picked to go through a custom wand buying experience. Lauren and I almost died with excitement when we realized Mr. Ollivander was eyeing her up. Here's a video of Lauren getting fitted for her wand, as all students getting ready for their first term at Hogwarts must. I didn't capture our squeals of joy as we exited the shop, but I'm sure you can imagine for yourselves.

Now, here are some random pics of the trip. Cory weathered a quintessentially-Florida downpour by playing Ms. Packman. Also, enjoy a photo of what I would look like as a Nascar driver. It's in my future, I'm sure.

Virginia, the State of Elizabeth

Cory asked me two weeks ago if I wanted to go with him to a concert in Charlottesville, VA. I said yes for one reason: The drive from DC to Charlottesville is very, very pretty. I know this because Cory is a big fan of the Dave Matthews Band. This is an understatement. I have no words to describe how much he enjoys DMB. He's like those crazy people who follow The Dead (sorry Becky!). Cory has been to over 200 shows and, because of his fervor, I myself have been to five DMB concerts.

Here's a photo of Cory and I at a Dave concert in London, my first one:


A year ago, we went to a DMB concert in Charlottesville. It's Dave's hometown and he plays there a lot. It's cute; his Mom usually shows up and he chats with her from the stage. The last time we went we rented a car for the trek. This was a wonder, as Cory and I have lived without a car for years. Having a car makes us feel drunk with power. More to the point, I was enamored with the DC-to-Charlottesville drive. It's chock full of pretty scenery. And so, I agreed last minute to this adventure across the state.

One of the best parts of the drive is a stretch called Constitution Highway. I don't know why that's its name, it should really be referred to as Civil War Way. There are all sorts of spots related to battles and homes of Confederate leaders. As you drive along you pass signs describing what significant occurrence happened at that site. I'd like to point out that the sign below, titled Stewart-Lee House, refers to a Stewart man who was of Scottish origin. I come from a family of Stewarts and in this post I talked about how I'm convinced I'm related to the old Stewart-Scottish monarch, Mary, Queen of Scots. The sign describes how this particular Stewart helped out Robert E. Lee. Obviously, he's the black sheep of the family.


Constitution Highway also has leftover canons from some of the battles, just hanging out by the side of the road. I imagine they are unloaded.


Leaving Constitution Hgwy you enter some country roads snaking through Louisa, VA. This area is incredibly beautiful. It's filled with old barns, working farms and plenty of vineyards. In fact, Dave Matthews designed the label for a vineyard here, called Bleinham. We've had a bottle of the vineyard's wine before and, if I remember correctly, I found it tasty. All of this scenery is set against a backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I discovered I love the mountains during a trip to Tennessee, first written about here. I was delighted to discover I could enjoy mountain vistas a bit closer to home, as well.



Here's Cory and I, sitting in the lovely sunshine and waiting for the concert to start:

And now a series of videos I took trying to capture the majesty of the Virginia mountains. It comes off more as me being impressed by green stuff. Indeed, it's a testament to how city-brainwashed Cory and I have become. We were enthralled with all we could do with a car, most important being a trip to a Virginia Wal-Mart. I mentioned in this Utah post how I like to visit WM when I can, as I'm starved for budget shopping in DC. We wandered the aisles of the Charlottesville Wal-Mart, imagining all we could do if we had space for things like hammocks, grills and dining tables. We dream big.

You'll notice in this video that Cory takes a moment to point out some "hard woods." We received a bit of real estate advice from a Louisa cabbie on our trip, informing us that we needed to buy property in Virginia...and that we needed to look for land with hard woods, not pines. We still have no idea what the distinction is, but Cory feels he's now an experienced Virginia tobacco man.

And here I am again, trying uselessly to video the pretty mountains. Oh well. At least professional videographers the world over can rest easy that their jobs are secure.

Earthquake II: Revenge of the Quake

I hail from Florida. As such, my only knowledge of earthquakes comes from the Universal Studios ride of the same name. With such a vast amount of know-how under my hat, I've never given much thought to how I'd react if actually caught in one of the things. Living in DC now, I assumed I could operate under the same ignorance. Who's ever heard of earthquakes at the White House?

My inexperience was the scariest part of the earthquake that hit DC today: I had absolutely no idea what to do about it. First of all, this is an earthquake was the last thing I thought of when the shaking began. It followed a list of ideas such as:

1.) My neighbor is doing some thorough renovating.
2.) A rogue wave is sweeping the city, threatening to drown us all.
3.) The British are coming.

By the time these options had been considered and rejected, the earthquake was over. I can now report that when faced with the possibility of the Earth opening up and swallowing me alive, I stand frozen in indecision. This does little to recommend my chances of surviving an apocalypse.

Here in DC, the day was only slightly disturbed. The Capitol and Pentagon were evacuated. More importantly, our gym was closed, forcing Cory to miss his racquetball game. Here's my best proof that it even happened:


Joking aside, it was pretty unnerving. Thanks to all the family and friends who checked in to make sure Cory and I were both okay!

In other news, we're about to be hit with a hurricane any day now. I thought I left that sort of behavior behind in Florida...call this the week for wonky weather. Fortunately, my upbringing has prepared me for this force of nature, even if DC is right in what my mother calls the projected "cone of death." If I remember correctly from my hurricane party days, a situation like this calls for emergency supplies of beer, cheez doodles and a wave board. Everybody keep your fingers crossed!

NYC and CKS

Ta dah! Yes, faithful readers (you know who you are), the time has finally come. It's the "Channeling Kevin Spacey" post! Did the above logo give it away? I've been promising for some time (in posts like this and in frequent real life conversations with Cory) to devote an entire blog post to the off-Broadway sensation that is CKS.

As some of you know, Cory and our friend Elan are the writers of an off-Broadway play. CKS is playing at the St. Luke's Theatre at 46th and 8th on Saturdays and Sundays. Starting next week, the show will also run on Friday nights, and there was a bit of prep work to do for the new schedule. So, off to the city we went last weekend for a quick visit.

Here's the show's stars, Jamil Chokachi (left) and Justin R. G. Holcomb (right).

These guys are a riot to watch onstage, which is good, as it's a comedy. And you don't have to take my biased word for it. Here are a few links to some reviews:

Theater Mania
Backstage

The play's been showing since April and has an open-ended run. As for what's next, I'm making a push for a West End opening in London. Nudge, nudge. For anyone who's interested, here's a link to the play's official site, CKStheShow, and a link to buy tickets on Telecharge.

Before the play opened, Cory and Elan took some publicity photos. I find them humorous so I'm including a few. Here's a candid shot of the two of them writing in Times Square. You know, the spot where most people go to get serious work done.

Here's Cory throwing Elan into oncoming traffic. It's a daily occurrence.

I'm not sure what this is. It troubles me how happy they look.

And, since this post was slightly related to our past weekend visit, here's the lone photo taken over the trip. We stayed with Cory's sister Lindsey in Queens and here we are in a deli bodega. I call this photo "I Have an Abnormally Large Head."

Streets of Philadelphia

Yes, it's the City of Brotherly Love. Which is why it was fitting that Cory and I met up with so many friends when we were there one recent weekend. While technically in town for a wedding, we managed to fit in plenty of other friend time, as well as a fair amount of sightseeing.

We stayed at Club Quarters. Nothing too much to report about the hotel, except that its location on Chestnut Street was great. The hotel did have these nifty water machines on each floor, though. There were stacks of new, empty plastic bottles that you could insert into the machine to fill with water. The weather outside was HOT, and these came in very handy.


Friday afternoon before the wedding we shot over to McGillin's, the oldest Irish pub in Philly. Then it was time to go back to the hotel and get pretty for the wedding. I'll let you imagine lots of images here of a Catholic ceremony followed by lovely reception at The Ben ballroom. Mazel tov to Mark and Merydith!

Saturday Cory and I toured Philadelphia. We'd both been there before so we didn't feel pressure to sight see like crazy, which is my usual attitude when travelling. I just realized I spelled travelling the British way. I mean traveling.


We visited City Tavern, which was the tavern folks like G Wash and T Jeff used to hang out at. We got to sample brews made from original recipes of our founding fathers. It felt pretty historic. I was pleased that City Tavern served water in pewter goblets. This photo is titled "Erica Morris and the Goblet of Water." Anyone?

Also, check out Cory's Rocky impression below. Yes, we were those people.

Saturday evening we met up with Becky and Sarah, aka the Forand sisters. You may remember the three of us took an ill-fated trip to Barcelona and Italy in 2009 (read more about that here and here). Sarah's been living in Hong Kong for the past two years and was home for just a few weeks to visit, so I felt pretty lucky to get a moment with her. And Becky of course!

The blurry shot of a man hunched over a stove is our trip to Jim's for a cheese steak. My Dad went to medical school in Philly and assured us this was the place to go.




We spent Sunday with our friends Ben and Kacey, who recently moved from NYC to Philly (first posted about here). We took the pair to Elfreth Alley, the last spot on my list of things I wanted to see that weekend (okay, perhaps I did feel the touring pressure). It's the oldest residential street in the US and was very quaint. I think the others liked it as well. As Ben put it: "This is great. Just think of all the money we're saving by not having a good time."

Fine. We began having a good time. We conducted a thorough inspection of Old City's bars, stopping for some games of darts and shuffle board. Yes, shuffle board. It's not just for seniors anymore.



Check out John Kerry refereeing our game of skee ball.

Now, for your viewing pleasure, here is a video of Cory, Becky, Sarah and I waiting for our cheese steaks at the very normal hour of 2 am. Jim's on South Street makes a tasty steak.

Also, here is a look at Cory taking on the Rocky steps. Note: That is not me humming the Rocky music at the beginning, that is a stranger. Plus, the video cut out on its own at 55 seconds. If it had been up to me, this video would have been even longer.

PS: Please know the camera lens has recently been cleaned and subsequent photos should be much less blurry. Should be.