BBQ picnic platter: Saturday (May 21, 2022)

Yes, it was a lot of BBQ and sides. But we split the picnic and had leftovers for dinner.

Might not have been Texas BBQ, but it was mighty good. A tip of the cowgirl hat to Scoreboard Bar and Grill.
 

Redneck Comedy Tour: Saturday morning (May 21, 2022)

Sure, why not ride around Nashville for 2 hours with Buckshot Red in a camouflaged bus sporting longhorns? 

I don't know who this lady is, but she is forever on the blog. The signs at the front of the bus had us laughing before we left the parking lot.

Uncle Gil and Buckshot Red bantered non-stop, pointing out Nashville landmarks and info known only to locals (e.g. don't wait in the long line out front of Tootsie's Orchid Lounge. Use the back entrance in the alley; no line. Donna and I tried it the following day and it was true! No line, just a security guard who carded us.)
 

Gaylord Opryland Resort (May 20-22, 2022)

We loved our fifth floor room overlooking the atrium. Room C5116 for future reference.

Waterfall, lush greenery, and at night: live music.

Perfectly peaceful for that morning cup of coffee.

 

Nashville: Friday afternoon (May 20, 2022)

Dessert at the Donut Distillery after BBQ for lunch. We had four mini donuts with the coffee cocktail flight: Cold Brew with Irish Cream and Coffee Liquor; Tennessee Coffee (Irish Coffee made with TN Whiskey and donut glaze); Buckeye Brew ( Chocolate, and Peanut Butter Cup Whiskey); and Basic Betch (espresso cocktail with Coconut Rum).

One of the many brides-to-be we saw in Nashville. Seemed to be bachelorette party central.

We had "regular" donuts but could have jazzed them up with a "boozie toot" (injection of liquor) for a dollar.

Nashville 2022 with Donna: Friday morning (May 20, 2022)

I was at ABIA at 3:30 am. for my 6:30 a.m. flight. Donna was at MSY by 5 a.m. for her 7 a.m. flight. Flights on time!  Uncle Herman at Alamo Rental Car upgraded us to a Beamer with a moon roof. Great start! First stop: an 11 a.m. whiskey tasting at Nelson's Green Brier Distillery. 

We especially liked the cairn glasses. When tipped over onto their side, not a drop of whiskey will be spilled (wasted) at the end of the night. Scottish ingenuity. 

Yes, we're finally in Nashville!

 

Obligatory cat photos plus a feral hogs bonus (mid-May 2022)

T.C. and Zephyr on the front porch

Colette and T.C. at the kitchen window

Not the best photo but our first sighting of feral hogs at Cornerstone. Plus one of the turkey regulars.

Meanwhile, back in Austin....(May 5-10, 2022)

Edible? No idea. The mushrooms sprang up in our wood chips after a light rain.

T.C. and T.C.

We missed the Sierra Club picnic. We thought it was at the rock island in Zilker Park, with no idea that the rock garden is a different location.

 Kayak soccer? Kayak basketball? Playing under the MoPac bridge.

The Oculus (May 1, 2022)

Sharon and I were in NYC in 2015, the year before the Oculus opened.  The subway station is next to the Freedom Tower and is designed to resemble a dove (of peace) leaving a child's hands.  My photo is from the wrong angle to show that.  Until this visit, Sharon and I thought the Oculus was a prehistoric animal of some sort. I seriously learn something new every day.

In 2015, Sharon and I wandered inside the unfinished structure, empty except for us and a few security guards. Now, busy, as it is meant to be.

Last day in NYC (May 1, 2022)

Connie had to fly back to Las Vegas on Sunday morning. Sharon and I were supposed to leave at 1 p.m. but American Airlines bumped us to a 9 p.m. flight.  We spent the morning at the City Winery on the Hudson with a Beatles cover band that starred in Beatlemania on Broadway. 

"John Lennon" is a retired NYPD detective who's played the part for something like 30 years.

Sharon and I call this "high heel" island but it's actually Little Island, a floating park with winding pathways, green spaces, and an amphitheater.

The amphitheater.  From the highest points, the Statue of Liberty is visible.

Happy dancer on the musical squares.

A sea of tulips.

 

World's #1 Indian vegetarian restaurant (April 30, 2022)

Connie and I noticed families from India taking selfies in front of this restaurant. We asked about it and found out this is a very popular restaurant chain in India. We had to give it a try.

OMG!  When will the chain open in Austin?  Closest locations are in Katy and Houston. Worth the drive??? I had steamed semolina and veggies with incredible sauces. Connie had a thin crepe stuffed with veggies. We had mango lassi for dessert. 

Eataly, a row of Italian food eateries next to the famous flatiron building, was nearby.  Indulged with a chocolate chip canoli.  They don't fill the shell until you place the order. The shell is crisp, the inside is creamy and sweet. 
 

THE New York Public Library (April 30, 2022)

We've all seen the front of the New York Public Library for years in films.  The lions are Patience and Fortitude.  I'm not sure which one I'm standing beside. Connie and I took in the Treasures exhibit while Sharon rented a CityBike to ride along the Hudson River.

The original Teddy Bear that inspired the Winnie the Pooh stories. Yes, author A. A. Milne's son was Christopher Robin Milne, and the bear on display is the very bear owned by Christopher.  He donated the bear to the book publisher who then donated it to the New York Public Library. I had to see the bear for three reasons: (1) When Mya was 2, she lost Papa Bear at this very library but Brandy got him back. So Papa Bear has his own adventure to recount. (2) Tom and I were supposed to celebrate Eeyore's Birthday with Jim and Jan Roberts on April 30; instead, I sent Jan a photo of the exhibit, complete with Eeyore. (3) We got to meet the inspiration for Winnie the Pooh.

We saw so many treasures: an original page from Mozart's composition; a lock of Beethoven's hair; rare books and letters dating back to the 1500s and earlier.  The architecture itself is a treasure. Had to admire the woodwork in the ceiling.

Patience or Fortitude? Human's head, lion's head, pigeon's head.
 

Springtime all over the city (April 30, 2022)

Brandy's favorite: hydrangeas. Had to send her the photo.

T. Rex among the tulips on Park Avenue.

Wooly mammoth and tulips on Park Avenue.

 

Broadway shows (April 29-30, 2022)

Hadestown, set in jazzy New Orleans, is a modern take on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, Hades and Persephone. The Wikipedia synopsis of Hadestown is that Eurydice, a hungry young girl, goes to work in a hellish industrial underworld to escape climate-change induced poverty before her poor singer-songwriter lover Orpheus comes to rescue her and together show others the way to escape.  I think the play unnecessarily addresses current political issues when the lesson of the Greek myth is timeless and enough by itself.  My takeaway: Basically, keep your focus on the goal. Do not deviate!

I was interested in MacBeth for two reasons: (1) Daniel Craig starred as MacBeth (2) when we studied MacBeth my junior year of high school, English teacher Papa C. J. MacMurdo said he was typecasting me as Lady MacBeth. Did he think I was cold, calculating, murderous? Seeing the play more than 50 years later, I still see no redeeming qualities for Lady MacBeth. 

After the play, the audience crowded outside in hopes of catching a glimpse of Daniel Craig leaving the theater. We didn't wait around as we are all too short to see over the crowd. Ja vel.

 

Botanical Garden orchid rescue (April 29, 2022)

Next Spring, I'm going to try growing tulips in pots for our deck. The bulbs I planted in the flower bed come up every year but only bloomed that first year, 11 years ago, in March, when Fox was a newborn. 

The Haupt Conservatory at the Botanical Gardens is a giant greenhouse filled with room after room of orchids and other plants. 

Did you know orchids are an endangered species, no thanks to destruction of the orchids' natural habitat and overcollection by orchid hunters? Illegally imported orchids are confiscated when possible and sent to Plant Rescue Centers such as the Haupt Conservatory. The New York Botanical Garden, a Plant Rescue Center since 1990, has rescued thousands of plants.

I had never before seen aqua-blue orchids. Are they originally from Australia? India? I couldn't find them on the internet. 

I believe these are lady slipper orchids.  The pouch traps insects so they are forced to climb up past the staminode, behind which they collect or deposit pollen, fertilizing the flower. 
 

New York City Botanical Gardens (April 29, 2022)

At Grand Central Station for the 22-minute/9-mile ride to the Botanical Gardens in the Bronx.

Tulips! Irises! Daffodils! Cherry trees!  Spring has sprung!

Within the Botanical Gardens is the Edible Academy, a place for school children to learn how to grow edible plants.  Children were tending their lettuce plants when we were there. Hopefully the very hungry caterpillar leaves their harvest alone! 

Sharon, TOS (The Other Sharon), and Connie

I'd never before seen cherry trees in bloom. So beautiful! Wondering who will get to pick the cherries.