Zip It! Zip it Good!
My brother, my niece, and I did the Zipline at Gatorland in South Orlando. Just enough to get a taste that it might be fun to do the entire course.
K. Dana Morris
I'd rather be swinging at grapefruits than aspirins.
Archive for the category “Family Fun”
Bluegrass State Thanksgiving
Margy and Jane
Bourbon Summit
RUPP ARENA!!
Camp Fire and Hayride at the Roberts’ Farm, Bald Knob, KY
Morris Family Plot at the Frankfort Cemetery
Keeneland and UK Football
Beautiful Fall in Frankfort, KY
Chamber of Commerce Weather
Keeneland Lexington, KY
GO BIG BLUE!
Streets of San Jose
A spur of the moment travelogue
by Michael Morris
Preface
Recently, 5 of my co-workers and I went on a business trip to San Jose, Costa Rica. We were on a mission to learn more about a development company with which we are looking to partner. Enzo and Kenny, owners in the company, had graciously agreed to host us during our brief, but busy stay. Both were warm, welcoming, and just about the friendliest guys you’ll ever meet. We were really looking forward to spending some time in their hometown and getting to know them better. What ended up transpiring over the next 72 hours was so epic in its astonishment-enducing hilarity that I simply couldn’t keep the experience to myself. Every word of what I’m about to tell you is true.
Read my brother’s journal here: StreetsOfSanJose
Memphis 59 and The Clarks
Yet another fun event when I visited DC – my brother plays drums in the band called Memphis 59. They played two shows in two famous venues.
Friday night November 8th was at The State Theatre in Falls Church. It is vintage built in the 30’s and is a movie theater turned concert venue. The place had both table seating as well as a standing area in front of the stage so that I could get close and/or dance. I’d never seen the opening band, The Clarks, live before so that was also a cool treat. The stage was huge which is great because The Clarks have “a lotta dudes” in their band.
Scott, Mike and Toby
Nate, Scott, Mike and Toby
Robbie James from The Clarks joins Memphis 59 on stage.
The Clarks have “a lotta dudes”
Shimmy Low!!
Packed House!
The next day we took off to Annapolis, MD for the show at the famous Rams Head Tavern. I’d never been to Annapolis before so when we drove right past the Naval Academy football stadium I had to get some pics. If I would have known there was a game that afternoon I would have gone. Tons of men in uniform escorting their girlfriends and families to the game. Such a thrill to see!
This venue, The Rams Head On Stage, was really different than any place I’d seen a band show before. It was all table seating. No dancing, no prancing, no shimmy-ing low. I made the best of it mostly because my table mates were really fun. Unless it is a dinner show or a play I don’t really need to go back there. I like to be close to the stage and available to dance at any moment. But the sound was stellar, and the bands both agreed.
Nate, Mike, Scott and Toby
Table mate!
Nate with the girls at my table
Did You See That?
CRUMBLIN’ DOWN
During a few of our Mr. Toad’s Wild Cab Rides and walking the city from fun spot to fun spot I captured these images.
Walking from the Palmer House Hilton to the LaQuinta to
meet up with everyone Saturday morning
Walking from the LaQuinta to the French Market
Taken from inside the cab while on Mr. Toad’s Wild Cab Ride
At Navy Pier
From Navy Pier to the Palmer House HIlton
Just Stuff It!
HURT SO GOOD
Needless to say after a night of boozing with the gang Susan and I had our hearts (and bellies) craving some real Chicago Pizza! Giordano’s was closest to our hotel so we headed out to get there right as they open. It was worth the wait!! My mouth is still watering.
My original plan was to go to both Gino’s East and Giordano’s and do a pizza taste test to compare them but there just wasn’t enough time. So, looks like we will all have to plan another trip so I can do the Pizza Challenge.
It was just us two for the day so we decided to check out the Michigan Ave. Shopping. But…yeah…I had to stop off for a cold beer at Streeter’s.
The doorman was a cutie.
Is this recycling?
Beer pong rules.
CHECK IT OUT
As you can tell from the above photos our ultimate goal was to visit Wrigley Field for a Cubs game. I was all Natted up to show my support of my favorite team (Go Nationals!). No one gave me a hard time which was nice.
At the Cubby Bear Bar before the game.
Pizza and Hotdogs yes, but is Chicago famous for Mac n’ Cheese? Love this town!
Had to get the iconic photo.
Wrigley was all I’d hoped for and more. I don’t know how to describe it but it felt small when I first walked along the lower level promenade. I know it holds 41k+ but I swear it felt very warm, classic and special. I can’t believe this was my first ever visit knowing how long I’ve been a baseball fan.
Before we got settled in our seats we happened upon some awesome live music and, well, a few Old Style Beers.
And then there was the food! And such great fans. I’ve always heard that Cubs games are sometimes more about the fans than the actual game. I’m pretty sure I agree!!
Why, yes! I’ll have my nachos in a hat.
This little guy had a mohawk, and then painted Cubs on his head.
As we were doing our walkabout we headed towards center field. But, you can’t get there from here. You have to have a ticket to get out there else the guard says everyone and their mother would go out there to party. I said, “Well, that isn’t the end of the world. So…can I get out there?” The answer was no but I snuck a picture from as close as I could get to the field.
At the bottom of the 8th it was tied 6-6. A single scored Beltran, then Molina yanked a dinger and the game finished Cards 10 and Cubs 6. The news announcers were all kinds of excited about all of the hits (31 total) and runs. No better way to spend a Sunday evening!
Peace and Power
While Susan and I were walking around downtown Chicago we came up a protest in response to the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman trial verdict that was announced July 13th around 10pm. Here are some of the shots of the very peaceful and VERY powerful march.
Tourist Douchebaggery
SMALL TOWN
Oh yeah, we did it. We totally planned a day of stereo-typical touristy stuff. For lunch we went to the French Market. At first I wasn’t too keen on the idea because I wanted Chicago Pizza for every meal but because there are so many choices we all got something we liked. And gelato for dessert! Then we headed off to Navy Pier for the Jet Boat Ride. We were going to go all out and do the Extreme Thrill Ride but heard that we would get soaked and didn’t really care for that. We opted for the Speedboat Lake Tour and it was fun! We were so hot waiting in line to board the boat that when the captain went full-throttle we had never been happier – the cool breeze was more than welcome.
Kevin, Regan and Susan after Mr. Toad’s Wild Cab Ride.
The guy that Kevin is looking at totally walked right in front of our group posing for a photo. We got a kick out of his response.
Griswold Chicago Family Vacation
One part of the trip that we all commented on was the music that played during the trip. They had tunes pumping really loud and it really made the ride more of an experience. What a nice way to cool off. Between the boat ride and walking everywhere we had used most of the day and needed to head back to get showered up and ready for a fancy dinner at a very local joint.
But first…we met at Richard’s Bar next door to the restaurant. What a cool dive bar! I hope everyone knows calling a bar a dive bar is a compliment.
We popped over to La Scarola and I couldn’t have been more excited! THIS was exactly what I was wanting to do in Chicago – go to a REAL Italian restaurant! To me it was not decorated with all the bells and whistles but had a very authentic atmosphere. Very homey. I felt like it was a “family” place that doesn’t even have to advertise because the food speaks for itself. And it did!
We loaded up our table with wine and appetizers – we just sort of picked 5 or 6 dishes and shared them. Same for the entrees. Food was everywhere! Dishes covered the entire table and we had no problem mowing our way through it. Meatballs, Chicken Parm, Sausage and Peppers, Pasta, all the traditional dishes. It was just amazing. Kevin made sure to tell the waiter that “the gravy is good tonight!” The waiter loved it. We got such good service that I felt like we had our very own staff of 3 hovering around us to make sure we all had full glasses and plates. To top off the perfect dinner two desserts came (topped with candles) to celebrate Michael’s and Kevin’s 40th Birthdays. We got the whole back room to sing happy birthday with smiles all around. Such a perfect dinner with best friends!!
CHERRY BOMB
Bart, Regan, Jenny, Mike
Kevin, Dana, Amy, Brian, Bart
Being from Kentucky, everyone knows we love our Bourbon. Bart had planned ahead and took us to The Bluebird in Bucktown. Great place where Michael and the guys knew their way around the bourbon menu. Drinks were flowing and chatter filled the room. We still had a little left in us so we went for nightcaps at The Blueline Club Car Bar. Somehow or other (thanks Bart) we ended up with a jalapeño mojito? Or Martini? Something with jalapeños in it. Anyway it was certainly the topic of conversation as we passed it around to taste. It was really cool to sit and relax and watch the guys reminisce. They have been friends for such a long time that it was very, very special for them to all be together again. And I am so glad that I’ve become friends with my little brother’s crew. Such a great group of smart, funny, thoughtful, and classy guys. Oh, the wives are great, too – haha!
Sibling Weekend
Jenny, Mike, Dana
Mike, Bart, Brian, Kevin
Happy 40th Birthday!!
K. Dana Morris 