road trip, part III

i'm not really a sports person.
i can't follow most games, and don't have the energy or interest to keep tabs on any particular team.

i do, however, really enjoy going to baseball games.
while mike and i were in the bay area, i got hooked on really cheap seats at a's games.
as part of my commitment to making philly my home, i've started going to phillies games.

the thing is, baseball is 1) easy to follow and understand and 2) not particularly aggressive or violent. both of these things appeal to me.
going to baseball games means hours of 1) enjoying beautiful summer weather 2) eating garlic fries 3) socializing with friends. who can argue with this?

we went to an a's vs. oriole's game on our road trip. here's some pics from the game and the awesome fireworks afterwards. thanks hiram for hooking us up with great seats!

road trip, part II

babies i fell in love with on this trip...
this is my friend kg's baby.
as you can see, he's a busy guy.
eating fresh pasta his fabulous parents just made.
making phone calls.
smiling at new people and giggling for his mom.

this is sophia. she's also a busy baby. here she's exploring her feminine side - holding my purse and grabbing my earrings and generally being charming. that's her dad in the picture to the left and her grandad on the right.
i love watching people i care about parent. i give a big shout out to all my friends who are parenting with amazing patience, grace, humor, thoughtfulness, bravery, and love.

road trip, part I

back in philly after a rejuvenating, relaxing road trip.
i have lots of stories and a few pictures to share, so i thought i'd give you a report back over the next few days and posts.

my first few stories revolve around signs.

on our way to visit friends in lynchburg, virginia (what a horrible name for a town!) we passed many businesses with signs such as "our prayers are with the falwell family" and "god bless jerry falwell." for those of you who are not familiar with mr. falwell, he is the founder of the moral majority and was a major force on the reactionary right who founded liberty university, near lynchburg. he was a sexist, racist, homophobic bigot. these signs reminded me that i was no longer at home. my circles tended to react to falwell's death with more of this kind of sentiment than pure, unadulterated sympathy.

after leaving lynchburg, VA we had a long drive to hilton head, SC. i was awed and grateful for the many beautiful patches of wildflowers growing in the median of the highway. while craning my neck to get a better look, i caught a sign that let me know that i could thank NCDOT's Wildflower Program for these wonderful bursts of color in the middle of the highway. i didn't get pictures of the more beautiful patches because i was just smiling and laughing and enjoying them, and then they were gone. but here's one i did get. it amazes me how much simple joy flowers can bring.

we finished our trip with a visit to f.pea and grady in raleigh, NC. f.pea had suggested that we meet up at neomonde, a bakery/cafe with mediterranean food. mike and i couldn't find the place, so stopped at a wafflehouse to ask directions. four employees and one customer politely informed us that they had never even HEARD of this restaurant. we called f.pea. it turns out that the restaurant was RIGHT BEHIND wafflehouse, only hidden by some trees and a railroad track. isn't it funny how we all have our routine, our favorite places to gather and eat, and how easy it is to be ignorant of those places and people outside our usual circles? this incident reminded me that there are amazing surprises right under my nose if i can open my eyes.