More Than DC

in a trying gauntlet planning and satisfying obligations of Steven's Birthday and Jen's family I was able to find a compromise in having it all come together in the same geographical location around DC.  We got some time with our grandma, with Jen's Fam, and with Steven for his 30th birthday, thusly spreading myself too thin amongst my obligations and neither making anyone happy nor mad.  I'm basically the tilapia of a friend/brother in law/grandson, you won't love me or hate me i'll just be that middling thing that's on your plate.

Old Ox brewery in Virginia.  We played cornhole with a dude that's in a league and he said is you're not throwing down at least 3 corn holes per round then you can't survive in the league.

Darts at Ocelot brewery in VA

the ski thrown and corn hole at Lost Rhino brewery just over yonder from Stacy and Phil's house in VA.  You walk across their complex, cross the highway, part the grass and you see this monument of commerce, a shopping center.

Steven wanted nothing more than to get a lot of nature in and swim in a swimming hole for his 30th so we obliged and went to Shenandoah National Park and did the overall run hike, eventually.  It took 6 hrs.  We talked about life, philosophical quandries, and of course disgusting things.  I can't remember if Bob got a good roasting but if he was hanging out with us you can bet that it happened eventually.

the mushroom of fate.  Remember that red leaf bob placed back there for photographic beauty purposes because it will come into play later.

main trail maker

of course we had beers.

all of the sudden this guy rears his head and we are like 15 feet away from him.  

we caught a few pokemon along the way 

wouldn't want my food to stomp down into there.

we were looking for the swimming hole the whole time and we should have seen it within 30 min of getting there but it turns out we missed it and we noticed this mushroom after someone fatefully stopped to tie their shoe or something.  We had made a full circle like 3 winnie the pooh's but now had our bearings.  Thanks mushroom, and sorry you had to pay the ultimate price.

we made it and it was freezing

we were hoping this was a copperhead so we could say we saw one and not have to have been in danger but it turns out it's just a Northern Ring Neck snake that's not poisonous.

Happy Birthday Mr. Hedley.
After 6 hours and a bunch of beers.  I also forgot to add that 10 minutes after we got there Steven and I both had bowel movements in the forest and felt very very ashamed.  We used yelp to find somewhere to eat and landed on Mama's Country Kitchen in Front Royal.  We passed several Confederate flags along the way.  It was horrible food probably from a Cisco bag.  What did we expect from a town where Confederate flags are the norm.  

In short we were destroyed after the hike, went back to Vienna VA to our grandmother's house, showered and took the train for an hour to DC and went to a bunch of bars for Steven's 30th, met up with Liza, and ended up at Ben's Chili bowl scarfing down chili dogs.

Winery/brewery then Korean barbeque then karaoke for 4 hours with stacy and phil and bob and steven and me and jen

Again with the Hot

salt and pepper porkchops

raspberry mead on tap at Hops Hill

Bethel Baptist Church

it's been Steven's lifelong dream to fire off an arrow so we went to Gotham Archery in Gowanus and all of us had a great time and want to go again.  Steven's been back already.

the hero shot

Kubb (a swedish game from the time of vikings tossing skulls and bones) for free in Bryant Park

a productive time at Bryant Park

Ping Pong at downstairs of Alma

This Is Fine

"This is fine" is a panel from a comic by KC Green that has become a meme for when a situation becomes so bad you glaze over and accept it.  This summer it was also like this cartoon literally.  A heat wave with the hottest day being 96.  It got to 93 degrees inside our apartment because we have no AC (by choice).  It made working from home pretty unpleasant

the next day me and bob attempted to have a nice day in the park only to be rained on suddenly and super hard.  Eventually we found ourselves huddled in a bathroom and just had to get totally soaked and run home in the warm summer rain and kiss by the fire.

back at the park later that day.  This lady has been at it since I was going to FIT in 2002.

its ok for you to hate young people at times like this.

tried out Taiwan Pork Chop House on Pell street and I've been back again since.  It's good stuff!

a new section of Brooklyn Bridge park that is less trafficked. 

the heat wave kind of broke so I made this braised beef brisket noodle soup with soy sauce eggs.  The next day the heat wave was back.

Jacob Riis beach next to Fort Tilden where we posted up at

At the BK bridge park basketball courts, privilege at work?  We were drinking in public but if we were black would we get the same looking the other way treatment?