Summer Vacation - Day 5 - Second day of hiking

Jul 27,

Today we also meant to leave by 8:00am to go hiking, but once again got out of the house closer to 8:20. Lionel really wanted to do a hike called Soldiers Pass but it was closed for some reason. So we went with the airport loop. It was nice but definitely felt long, especially since it was mostly in the sun - 3 miles with very little to no shade. 

After the hike we went back to the Pump house for lunch and did the same thing as yesterday for the rest of the afternoon.

For dinner we went to a place called Hudson that had good, decent food, and pretty views. I ordered a Margarita that was very good but also quite loaded, so after that it was a short evening for me.

Summer Vacation - Day 4 - First day of hiking

Jul 26,

This morning we got up early to go hiking. Our goal was to be out the door by 8:00am. We got out a bit later than that, closer to 8:20, but luckily had no problems parking at Fay Canyon. We hiked for maybe a couple of hours. It was already getting pretty hot by then.

After hiking we had brunch at a place called Pump House, where we also went last time. And we walked around for a bit by the stores. But only for a few minutes because it was really hot.

After showering we just hung out at the house doing our own thing until it was dinner time. For dinner we went to a restaurant called Shorebird. It wasn’t crowded, maybe because it was Sunday, but it was pretty good too.

Summer Vacation - Day 3 - Drive to Sedona

Jul 25,

After our 2 days in Vegas we went back to the airport to get a rental car and drive to Sedona. On the way there we had lunch in Boulder City and stopped by the Hoover Dam. It was crazy hot so we only walked by the bridge, took some photos, and left.

During the drive Bella took a good nap. We got to Sedona at about 4:30pm and went straight to the Airbnb. We dropped our suitcases off, went to buy some breakfast food, unpacked, and then went out for dinner. We went to a restaurant called Elote that Lionel really liked last time we were in Sedona. It is very good, but unfortunately Bella and I lost our appetite since, with the time change, it was past 10:00pm for us.

Summer Vacation - Days 1 and 2 - Las Vegas

Jul 24,

This summer, for vacation, we are roaming around the west part of the country for about a week. Sofia is moving from her apartment to a house with four other girls the first weekend of August, and we are helping with the move, so Lionel created an itinerary around here.

As our first stop we flew from Cincinnati to Las Vegas. This was definitely a Lionel-themed stop. Bella and I are not Vegas fans, but he likes playing in poker tournaments. So we did a couple of days here and tried to make the most of it. We don’t love the crowds, the crazy people, or the overstimulation of the slots machines and the casinos. And it was also ridiculously hot. But at least in Vegas you eat well. Among other restaurants, we tried a place Bella wanted to check out called Din Tai Fung. Lionel had made a reservation somewhere else but changed it for her. And even though it was a TikTok recommendation, it was actually pretty good.

We stayed at Paris but it was actually super disappointing. Documenting it here so we remember and never stay there again. The room was outdated, which I was ready to forgive. But the gym was small, dingy, there were zero wipes to clean the equipment, and the only bottle of hand sanitizer was fully empty.  Extremely disappointing. I couldn’t wait to wash my hands 3 times in a row when I came back to the room. 

Bella and I walked around the first day for a while, especially since we couldn’t check in early, but spent a good amount of time in the room on day 2. The walk to and from dinner was about 30 minutes, so we still got our steps in.

Pottery Painting

Jul 18,

Bella invited me to paint pottery and of course I said yes. It had been forever since we last went, and as it turns out the place we used to go to in Anderson is still there.

Bella painted a fruit themed plate. She knew right away what she wanted to do.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to paint but I settled on a round plate. I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to paint in it, but I saw that one of the sample plates had a lobster painted in it and decided to copy the design. At least the lobster part. Bella seemed sad that I chose that, so I made a point to make it a Rockport and not a Boston plate. 

It usually takes a week to be able to pick them up, so we will get them after vacation. But even without being finished, they both looked cute.

Harvest

Jul 17,

While we no longer have a garden per se,  I did plant a small garden in containers. I have strawberries, tomatoes, zucchini, jalapeños, and sweet potatoes. And I have already harvested a bit of everything except for the sweet potatoes. This was my biggest tomato harvest so far.

Unpreocupied

Jul 11,

The girl completely relaxed.

World Cup Game

Jul 9,

While Lionel was not able to secure a world cup ticket for Philadelphia, he did secure two tickets for him and Bella to go see the France-Morocco game in Boston. So on Tuesday afternoon I flew back to Cincinnati but Bella stayed. Lionel then flew to Boston on Wednesday. The game was on Thursday afternoon.

They went to the game together with Cheryl and while their seats were not together, they “upgraded” themselves to better seats and sat together the entire time. For their happiness, France also secured the win. 

Getting there and back was a whole day affair, but Lionel said it was well organized. They came back around dinner time and Lionel and Bella had dinner at Nebo, down the street from the apartment, before getting back.

Cloud 9

Jul 6,

On Monday night, after work, Bella and I walked to TD Garden for the Megan Moroney Cloud 9 concert, the reason that brought her back to Boston after almost a year. She was really excited about the concert and had bought and decorated a pair of cowgirl boots. Putting light pink ribbons on your boots seemed like just the thing to do.

Bella was really excited about the concert but had a moment of anxiety as she saw some of the mean girls from her old school. It made me really sad and annoyed for her because that was really bad luck. We went inside and took our seats, and she felt better knowing we were now away from them.

The concert was fun and Bella enjoyed it a lot. Megan is still a relatively new artist but she put on a good show. Afterward we got to walk back as well, as it was only a 15-20 min walk. And while it was supposed to rain, we managed to get back on time to not get any rain on us.