I didn't think it could get any better.

Wow was I wrong!  Friday at the aquarium was fantastic but Saturday and today were so close I can't even point to the best day ever for this vacation. 

Saturday we slept in a little bit and then once we got going the day was just full of good food, good friends and laughter. 

Lunch took us to the Irish Rover Too. 

I started off with this yummy glass of hot cider with rum.  I couldn't finish it.  The rum was SOOOOO strong.

Lunch itself was comprised of cordon blue bites, cottage pie, and sticky toffee pudding. Talk about rich!!! After that it was time to move around.  Do anything!

So we went to the used book store.  I love used book stores, they're like heaven to me.  Yet, somehow, they seem to have lost some of their magic since I got my Kindle.  I found myself checking to see if I could get the books I was interested in on my Kindle and only buying it if I couldn't find an e-book version.  I still walked out of there with three books.  And I grabbed another one today

One of these things is not like the other... I am trying to be more conscious of my spending habits and learn more about different investment options and, in flipping through "Nice Girls Don't Get Rich" and "Get a Financial Life," I found that there was some definite base knowledge in these that I could definitely benefit from.  "Working with You is Killing Me" is about avoiding emotional traps at work and I know I need to work on not entangling my personal life and my professional life. 

"Diary of an Emotional Idiot" is just pure devious reading pleasure.  From the Amazon description:

"As the novel opens, the clean and sober Zoe is holed up in her ex-lover's apartment fantasizing about chaining him up and making him perform menial tasks. From this vantage point, we see flashbacks to her former life as a heroin addict frequently repulsed after a few days with a new boyfriend, writing porn novels for a living, and even cleaning her drug dealer's toilet for a fix."

This may not sound like fun to other people but I love novels that show people just utterly devolving and then, hopefully, redeeming themselves.  I can't wait to get in to reading this so I can see just how "bad" it gets for Zoe.  It's like watching "Black Swan"... but it's a book!

After that we hit up the Peddlers Market which is like a flea market but fully enclosed and you purchase everything through the main desk like a normal store.  The amount of incredibly tacky, racist, and sexist crap we found in that place was just... appalling.  It was also funny as hell. we had a good time wasting an hour walking around and checking stuff out.  It even turned in to a competition to see who could find the most ridiculous item possible.  Chip won.  I was a very close second.  Scary stuff.

From there we drove in to Indiana to do dinner with my other family.  I've known K and J&M since I was like 13.  We met over the internet on a MUD we played on at the time.  They were two of the most caring and nurturing people I'd ever met and they were all the way across the country in California.  We became close over the years and finally got to meet, face to face, 5 years ago.  They now have two lovely children who call me their sister.  I adore them all more than I have words for. 

For dinner we all met up at the Charlestown Pizza Company.  For serious... their food is absolutely amazing.  I think everyone just about licked their plates clean.  I, for one, said to heck with worrying about carbs, and ate MASHED POTATO PIZZA.

DROOOOOOOOOOOOL!

That's a yummy 8" crust, brushed with garlic butter and then topped with mashed potatoes, bacon, cheese and chives and served with a side of sour cream.  I was dead from the delicious.

Dessert for the night was a Butterfinger Rice Krispie treat.  Other options?  Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding and Oreo infused brownies. Talk about a sugar coma! I had half of one of the brownies later in the evening and it was worth the sugar crash.

We spent the evening being silly and celebrating Feztimus.

After dinner, we retired to their house for beer, wine, snacks and gift giving!

I got two more awesome books.

EEEEE!

And the sweetest homemade card from A. 

I totally teared up.  She is by far the sweetest kid on the planet. 

The adults were up until way late drinking and talking and I loved getting to meet one of K's best friends and getting to bond with her and her husband.  So much good times.  K and I finally went to bed near 4am. 

We slept in a bit and when we got up they made a delicious breakfast of french toast and bacon and sausage.  SO tasty!

It was sad to say good bye to my Indiana family.  I can't wait to get to go see them again.  Waiting a full year is just not fair!

After we headed out, we hopped over to the Frazier History Museum to check it out.  So much cool stuff.  I was utterly fascinated by the statues that they used to highlight the big events.

Creepy realistic!

After that it was off to lunch at Qdoba where I ate chicken and veggies and black beans and queso.  Probably the closest thing to a healthy meal I'd had in 24 hours. 

Now we're back at the house hanging out and grilling burgers for dinner.  After dinner I'm going to be working on repacking stuff and getting ready to head home first thing tomorrow morning.  I'm sad to head back to the real world but, dear heavens, if I don't miss my bed and my cats and my own space. 

I also miss routine and being totally 100% in control of what I eat. I'm going to eat nothing but veggies for like 2 days when I get home.  I am craving spinach and squash and zucchini.  I think dinner Tuesday is going to be a giant vegetable stir-fry.  Heavy on the water chestnuts, please!

This has truly been the best vacation I think I've ever had. 

Best. Vacation. Ever.

Yesterday was a lovely, perfect day of just chilling with friends.  When we finally left the house we went out to run errands, picked up a few bottles of wine and some beer, did some Christmas shopping, and came home to relax.

Lunch yesterday was so fricken amazing.  We went to a place called The Cheddar Box and I scarfed down a cup of sausage and bean soup and a plate of black bean ravioli in chipotle cream sauce and ended the meal with an amazing slice of creme brulee cheesecake.

The cheesecake didn't exist long enough to be photographed. Teehee. I will learn to make that ravioli at home.  The chiptole cream sauce was just delicious and the onions and peppers in the mix were still a little crunchy and added amazing texture to the meal.  So good!

After that the day was spent lounging on the couch, talking, and reading.  I read an entire book in one day!

Dinner was homemade whiskey chicken, asparagus, and mac and cheese and was equally as delicious to lunch.

Today was the day to end all day though.  We hit up the Newport Aquarium for a day of me being a 12 year old.  I heard they had an awesome penguin exhibit but was giddy when I found out for an extra fee you could PET. THE. FRICKEN. PENGUINS! That's right.  Pet them. I went for it.

When we got to the aquarium we ate a late lunch of sandwiches while looking out at the levee.

It was chilly but it was nice. Very relaxing.

Then we went in to the aquarium.

Gratuitous self portrait of Matt and I!

We watched the Scuba Santa Dive Show!

I got to sit on a big blue phrog!

Then we went and played with the penguins! Marshall and Chip went and did other things while Matt and I went on the Penguin behind the scenes trip. 

Paula the Penguin

Meet Paula the penguin.  She was very fond of me and spent most of the visit right where you see her.  She loves shadows and we played games and she chased the shadow of my hand around.

I also got to pet her!  Penguins actually feel like kind of oily short haired dogs.  Their feathers are so tiny that it feels more like hair.  On the end of their wings it feels like tooth brush bristles!!!

PENGUIN LOAFS!

I did not know that penguins did the loaf position cats do so frequently.  This made me giggle.

Paula and Simon 4-EVER!

It turns out that all of these penguins are female and they all have their very own penguin BFF.  Paula's?  Simon, obviously.

Penguin conga line!

So cute! Each penguin had their own crazy personality and I loved every second of the time spent with them! 

Matt, Sam and Green Bean the Penguin

This is Green Bean.  Talk about a diva! Green Bean was all about the posing.  It's no wonder she's their picture penguin!

I cannot describe how awesome of an experience this day was.  I love penguins so much and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to get to sit there, learn about them and play with them.  I so appreciated the experience.  If you're ever near the Newport Aquarium I highly recommend going!

After all the excitement at the aquarium we went out to dinner at Skyline Chili.  I had a 4 way potato with beans and a chilito with habanero cheese.  Unbelievable.

Now we're back to chilling at the house watching some teevee.  Going to hit the sack a little earlier tonight.  Tomorrow is going to be a super full day and I want to be very well rested before going to see my other family in Indiana.

As far as Weight Watchers?  Still working on activity points and my daily points.  I may get out of this vacation with maintenance yet!

Enjoying the ride.

For those of you who know me in real life it will not shock you to find out that I didn't do a lick of driving yesterday on our long haul to Kentucky.  Marsh, Matt and Chip are my designated drivers unless it's just not possible.  Why?  I don't know but it just happened that way over the last few years.

I don't like driving at night because headlights kill my eyes but I do love the feel of relaxing, listening to music and just driving.  I used to revel in that hour commute back and forth to my job at the hospital and back and forth to school my senior year. 

Now, I'm lucky if I drive myself to Zumba because Matt worries about me driving after dark.  It's sweet that they care.  Also, I think everyone is safer for it!

Yesterday we got up early enough for me to hit up TurboKick with Karen at the YMCA before hitting the road. After class I rushed home to shower and make sure I hadn't forgotten anything (which I still did anyway!) and we were on the road a little after 11. 

Relaxin' in the back seat.

We drove in to Durham and had the most awful experience trying to find a parking space.  We found one and off to Cosmic Cantina for lunch.  A burrito with pinto beans and vegetables was consumed.  A chicken quesadilla was procured for eating at a later time and we were back on the road.  At which time I took a carbohydrate induced nap.

I woke up in time to eat the last little bit of chocolate and powdered sugar covered chex and see the sun start setting over the mountains of Western NC.

Must. Have. More.  It's delicious crack!

So pretty! I wish the colors had come through!

After much more driving, a dinner at Panera Bread and several more mini naps, watching several episodes of Community on my iPod and lots of bad jokes. we finally arrived in Kentucky about 12 hours after we started our journey. 

A good nights sleep was on tap before getting up around 8:30 this morning to the smells of Chip making breakfast. We've just been kind of lounging since we got up, just messing around on the internet and taking turns getting ready for the day.

Matt gives me a foot rub while I talk to you all!

Shortly we are headed out to do some shopping in a nearby town before returning to the house to hang out and be lazy some more.  I plan on learning at least 2 new Zumba routines while we hang out though.  I have big plans for the Zumba crews at the Y, ABC and T2T in 2012.  Woohoo!

Most importantly, I'm trying to just be in the moment, enjoy the ride, and enjoy my travel companions.  This trip only happens once a year and I want to enjoy every moment of it!