Please allow me to get a little out of order here and skip ahead to our Sunday evening in Hollis, New Hampshire, where we stopped to stroll about an old ass cemetery. In Pittsburgh, we don’t have any that are *this* old obviously so I was glad for this chance to ogle some 18th century tombstones, after a full day of Famous Diner’ing, Kpop shopping, ice creaming, apple orchard walking – all of which I will get to soon!

1743!!!!

Blending in!

We all split up and quietly observed the history. I was looking for either mine or Chooch’s birthdates because that’s what we do when we go on walks in cemeteries here and whoever spots theirs first wins. I didn’t see any 7/30 or 4/25, sadly :(

We were obsessed with the fact that GEORGEHENRY’s headstone was bigger than his parents and his dad was A DOCTOR! Probably the ONLY DOCTOR, even!

“What’s that finger-pointing symbol mean? I’m #1?” I asked, only moderately joking.

Hennry googled it and it apparently means that he’s going up to Heaven so I guess he’s the only one, because no one else had that.

Michael Myers in the Cemetery stance.

This one was my favorite.

I love how thin the headstones were back then.

Henry and I actually bonded a little over our shared disgust at the FONT that some of these headstones used, where the S looked like an F.

HIDEOUS.

DISGUSTING!

Repulsive.

We were obsessed with this one because there was a 40-something age difference between these two.

Abigail and Ebenezer – classic.

DEATH BY ACCIDENTAL CANNON DISCHARGE, zzzzzzoinkers.

Lydia is such a great fucking name. Lydia and Enoch. I wonder if they were a fun couple, getting drunk on boot juice and spreading rumors about who has syphilis.

Man, this was a really peaceful, quiet interlude to an excellent weekend. I’m glad that it’s something we call could experience and appreciate together!

I posted a bunch of these pictures on Insta and my friend Maya said, “Lots of genuine happiness showing through in these…” The Internet and social media definitely have so many negative contributions to life, but without it, I may never have made such true, real friendships, like with Alyson, and Bill & Jessi who we also had the opportunity to spend time with earlier this summer. It sucks that there is so much distance between us but when we get the chance to reunite, it’s literally a party and Maya is so right – you can tell that my smile is real in these! And Henry is, well, Henry.

Alyson and Ryan are both FitBit users so they understood my need to meet my step count for the day and suggested that we take a stroll through the nearby Greeley Park. I kept thinking of the metalcore band Greeley Estates and it was making me nostalgic for Warped Tours of yesteryear. Anyway, this park was so beautiful and forest-y.

Henry looks exactly the same in both shots lol.

I was really this happy all weekend!

The main attraction was the FAMOUS BATHROOM that serves as a backdrop for wedding portraits and the like. I can confirm that, for a public restroom, it really had the most majestic facade. Here’s a picture of NO PICTURES, PLEASE Henry.

Alyson snapped this one – we tag-teamed him and he was not pleased, lol. Two people obsessed with taking his picture? Oof!

I mean, I was drunk, but I didn’t think Henry was – this picture says otherwise!

Serious contemplation.

You guys, I love them so much, lol!

Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube People.

We had such a fun time running around like dummies, watching Ryan climbing a tree (Henry, alleged Tree Climber Extraordinaire according to his mom, suddenly “didn’t feel like” climbing the tree. SUSPISH.), and sitting on cannon things!

Henry found one of his beloved TOBY TREES so we all pretended to be pre-teen Henrys, tokin’ on Tobys. (I still don’t really know how/why anyone would smoke these?? I surely never did as a kid?!)

When we came back to the Wilson abode, Ryan and Alyson got to work on some clandestine dinner which turned out to be 순두부찌개 (soondubu jjigae)!!! I could NOT believe it and came very close to crying because it meant so much to me that they were willing to cook something Korean for me (ugh, apparently Henry was their consultant on this matter, but I give Alyson and Ryan all the credit!). I actually haven’t had any kind of 찌개 in quite some time so it tasted extra good and heart-warming!

Honestly, it turned out so great and was the perfect “I’ve been drinking all day” dinner!

And then a FRUITY PEBBLE CUPCAKE! It was so rich, a real chunky boy! Bigger than my fist! The cake itself was lemon, which is my second favorite cake flavor, next to almond, so I was super content. Korean food and a cupcake? The perfect birthday dinner!

As if that wasn’t enough, I was then gifted with the most recent GOT7 album and I screamed, especially when I pulled my bias Youngjae’s photocard! This was Ryan and Alyson’s first time watching a Kpop album unboxing and they were like WHOA.

“No one buys it for the actual CD,” Henry mumbled.

“Yeah, it’s all about the photobook and other surplus items they throw in,” I explained, holding up a sheet of stickers.

Ryan admitted that this was pretty smart marketing and now I want him and Alyson to do a whole boxed set with a photobook and stickers when they record their metal album about the notary stuff. (Alyson let me see her song list and it is EPIC.) She said she wants one of the pictures to be her angrily stamping papers.

I’m high-key obsessed with this album coming into fruition now.

Day One was so much fun! In honor of my new GOT7 album, I will end this with their member Jackson Wang’s new solo song, Cruel, which just came out last Friday and I watched it before we left for the weekend while Henry was doing all the work packing the car, and maybe this is why he forgot our entire toiletry bag and therefore had to make an early-morning Rite Aid run the next day.

Here is what I have been able to snag from various corners of Insta, in addition to whatever crumbs Chooch feels like flicking my way.

They had the actual pinata party thing on week 3. There were a million videos of everyone taking a whack, but none of Chooch, that little jerk!

Yes, yes I am!

I mentioned to Sue at July’s casual lunch that this was something they were going to do eventually, and she was very invested in. I sent her pictures after it finally happened and she said that he should make guacamole for the pie party, and now my mind is spinning with various savory Mexican pies he can make!!

He said his group didn’t win but I even the losers got to enjoy the guac, I’m sure, so to me there were no losers.

I asked him where this was.

“A street.”

Cool!

They did a cooking class thing. This is a screenshot of a video that CIEE Yucatan posted in their story.

I have notifications on and I’m always the first like on all the posts so I imagine I’m always the FIRST VIEW on their stories too. Thirsty but for weird reasons.

I need to ask Chooch what he was talking to that guy about in that small picture up there!!!

I think this was on my birthday, when he Facetimed me!!

And then whatever this is!

Man, I’m so excited to see him this weekend!!!

Maybe at some point I can get him to do a recap on here of his favorite moments, LOL j/k we all know that’s not going to happen.

Ahhh I’m so excited for these upcoming recaps but also sad because it means the weekend is over. OK, lemme set this shit up for:

I always get depressed on my birthday – not because of AGING, although that’s NOT GREAT. I feel like I whine about this every other year so we’ll skip the history of my birthday depression this time and go right into the remedy: planning something fun so that I have a thing to look forward to. This year, Chooch would be missing my birthday because he chose Mexico over me, so I decided that I wanted to go somewhere for the weekend just to get away and have All of the Fun. I can’t remember why but my friend Alyson and I were engaging in our patented giddy texts – probably something about Hot Naybor Chris or Henry crossing the street, who even knows with us! And it got me thinking that I haven’t seen her in way too long! I had to go back in my blog to find the exact year, and I’m pretty sure it was the winter of 2014 when she was in Pgh to see a band she loved/was friends with and I hung out with them later in her hotel room, where we drank good wine and ate chocolate made by BOBBY BLITZ’S wife.

That was her third time here in Pittsburgh, visiting, and we had only gone to visit her in New Hampshire ONCE so it was definitely our turn. I asked her if she’d be up for it and she said YES and when my birthday weekend was one of the options she suggested, it felt like it was meant to be!

We’ve known each other since 2005, where we met on LiveJournal and I am so thankful that our long-distance friendship has managed to stay solid over all of these years. It’s not often that someone else scream-laughs over the same senseless shit as me!

We left Friday morning and the plan was to get to our hotel in Nashua around 9pm that night and meet for breakfast in the morning, but if you read my liveblog, then you know I managed to stretch Friday out until near-snapping point and we didn’t arrive until 1AM. LOL, sorry Henry.

When we got to Alyson’s Saturday morning, I ALMOST cried. ALMOST. I was just so emotional! Every year, I would write, “MAYBE <INSERT NEXT YEAR> WILL BE THE YEAR WE SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN!” and finally, 2022 was the magic year. YEAH. BOI.

The only request I had for the whole weekend was BREAKFAST AT PARKER’S MAPLE BARN. Alyson took us here in 2013, where she famously grilled Henry about TED NUGENT. 

I was irrationally mad that Henry and I both wore purple. Especially since his shirt is the shade of purple I like most. Ugh.

First we had to sit in the quarantine room and wait for a table. The hostess even came and SHUT THE DOOR and I started to panic because there was no handle on our side of it!! But then Alyson got the TABLE READY text and Henry strode right up to the door like he had built it himself with tools he carries around in his trunk, and wrenched it right open. We were so in awe.

J/K, no one cared.

But then as one of the hostesses was gathering our menus, she was talking on the phone / bluetooth the whole time about what sounded like personal matters. I was like, “Wow, I don’t want to say this out loud and bring down the mood, but this broad is being super rude.” When we got to our table, Henry kept going on and on about “was there in a hole in the floor?” and finally I snapped, “OMG what are you talking about??” and he was shook that we didn’t see the other hostess behind the register, laying on the floor.

“Oh, was that who our hostess was talking to?? I thought she was on the phone. I was going to say, wow she’s so rude” and Alyson said she was thinking the same thing!

I dunno, I just asked him about it again and his story is awfully convoluted. I have no idea what was happening. “Maybe there was a downstairs,” I don’t know,” he just said exasperatedly so now he has the hostess standing on steps to a storm cellar instead of laying prone on the wooden floor.

We saw SAID HOSTESS a few minutes later, walking about like she hadn’t just been allegedly lying on the floor, so I’m not sure what the hell Henry thought he saw. But now I’m obsessed with knowing.

The main reason I wanted to come here was for the maple coffee – I had never even *heard* of or considered the possibility of maple coffee before  my first visit to Parker’s and scoffed a few years later when STARBUCKS came late onto the maple scene.

It was just as divine as I remembered!

We all had delicious breakfasts but I think Henry won the fast breaking game by choosing DEEPFRIED over grilled when the waitress asked him how he wanted his side of French toast cooked. Holy shit I never want non-deepfried French toast ever again after tasting that.

Henry, post-bathroom emergence.

Henry took this so it is v. unflattering toward me but I need every picture of Alyson and me together so I did not delete! Also, one of the signs is in Korean! It’s the one on the righthand tree, all alone.

Basically the same picture but this filter always tickles me.

Alyson took this of Henry exiting the gift shop, where we bought maple syrup for Chooch and some candy.

After breakfast, we went the long way back to Alyson’s so that we could stop at a nursery called The House on the Side of the Road, I think? It was so cute! They give you small bags of freshly popped complimentary popcorn to eat while plant-perusing!

I bought these two babies and Henry said he was surprised that was all I walked away with. Trust me, I was eyeing up so many more!

Back at the Wilson Residence, we finally met Ryan, who put mimosas in our hands and we proceeded to have the most relaxing / sloshy afternoon, chatting about everything, watching Alyson angrily highlight a misspelling in her cocktail recipe book, and watching the wildlife in their backyard. Also spying on their neighbors, so you know I felt right at home!!

I brought Alyson some Narcisi wine because she was the only person who thought my brother Corey’s and my obsession with this place was funny. She and I alone killed this bottle, plus I took copious swigs of all the delicious frozen drinks she was serving up to Henry.

Yoooo, I was plastered! I drink so infrequently these days that even one drink hits me hard. But, it was my birthday and we weren’t going anywhere, so I kept drinking!

Then, and I can’t even believe this happened and Henry swears he didn’t tell him to do it, but Chooch Facetimed me from Merida!! He was at the beach with his friends and he even let one of them talk to me! I was probably slurring but he’s used to me being weird on the phone so he probably didn’t notice. Alyson got to talk to him too!

This is a good spot to end Part 1!

Today was all car, all the time. We left Nashua around 8am after splitting a leftover birthday cupcake (thanks, Alyson!

), agreed on an audiobook, and settled in for the long-haul drive. (A bit over 9 hours, plus all the inevitable stopping.)

I didn’t LiveBlog since we were audiobooking but I probably should have because the book was a ZERO STAR for me, son.

(It was “All I Want” by Darcey Bell, in case you care. I will probably have lots of mean things to say about it in my August book wrap-up.)

Anyway, that picture is from a NY rest stop. I thought the flowers were pretty, because I am 43 now and these are things that delight the Elder Eyes.

For lunch, we went to Apple Valley Restaurant in Milford PA (?). This was after we stopped at a Pilot where some tractor trailer had the audacity to block the exit and one of the Pilot guys had to continually get on the loud speaker to call out the truck # and chastise the driver in an overly friendly tone about how it’s rude to do so and other truckers are now blocked in and he is GOING TO HAVE HIM TOWED IF HE DOESNT COME OUT AND MOVE HIS DAMN TRUCK. Then he went back to showers today look for him there! The other guys working the counter were weighing in on this, how they can always tell which driver it is by the guilty look on their faces but how they will never come forward, and it was really quite something. Trucker drama. Wow.

I actually didn’t understand what the guy had done and Henry explained it to me but it sounded stupid aka I still didn’t understand.

But yeah Apple Valley was not our first or even second or third choice but the one place looked permanently closed, the other made me feel uncomfortable when we pulled in the lot (it was fast-foodish but there were a lot of people eating outside and the inside was packed), but Apple Valley claimed to have a veggie burger so winner winner.

Immediately I was mad because Henry asked for a booth and the only one was right by the lobby so I didn’t get to see the bowels on this wood-paneled eatery. I pouted about this for some time and then pretended to act like I was balking at the prices just to see what Henry would say and when he was like “we can leave…” I snapped, “OH OK SO YOU THINK WE ARE TOO POOR TO EAT HERE THEN?”

We stayed and it’s a good thing too because my veggie burger (which I was expecting to be OUT OF STOCK because supply demands / economy stuff I don’t put attention to etc) was actually pretty delicious. It had avo and also some wonderful pesto mayo on it.

Thick Boi! It was thicker than Henry’s Real Meat Burger!

Also I loved the fancy metal plates.

Our waiter was a young guy named Derrick but Henry thought he said Dick. He was ok but kept disappearing and the hostess had to go looking for me because he was probably out back filming TikToks.


Afterward, we checked out the adjacent candy store where I ended up coming face to face with what is now known as Megan’s Birthday Present, and then I spotted a Mr Gray Guy outside who turned out to be a Mrs Gray Girl so Henry went to the car to get peanuts and I fed her!!

Flying J is next to PA mountains, therefore making it an ok place to stop.

Me in the bathroom looking haggard because I’m 43 now and road trips are now very tiring for me.

We only stopped at one (1) Sheetz if you can believe that!!

But it was memorable because Siouxsie and the Banshee’s “Kiss Them For Me” was playing and I can’t remember the last time, if ever, I heard that in the wild?! This was after we getting gas at Pilot earlier and the gas pumps were ensconced in the synthy majesty of Running Up That Hill.

And not nearly as unexpected but equally as audibly delicious, S vussudio was playing at some point too today – maybe at a Love’s?! Henry clearly tries to hit them all.

We finished the book about 30 minutes outside of Pgh and ranted about it angrily until we got home. The end.

P.S. The lowlight was the book in case you couldn’t tell.

Hello from Nashua, NH! Yesterday was my 43rd birthday and it was a very special one because I got to spend it with my dear friend Alyson and her husband Ryan whom I finally got to meet and he is the post awesome counterpart to Alyson.

We had a mist excellent breakfast, bought plants (because we are all Middle Ageds), day-drank myself nearly under the table, went on a scenic walk, ate delicious homemade Korean food, unboxed a GOT7 album, got a surprise FaceTime from Chooch on the beach in Yucatán, cooed at a family of skunks.

It was such a memorable day and I will OBVIOUSLY be back to do a full recap but today is another day spending time with the Wilsons and I am so ready for it!

Good morn’. It’s 9:00am and we’ve departed for our latest weekend adventure. It feels like we left the house an hour ago but we got tied up in a long Dunkin drive thru line and are currently only in Cranberry. Lame.

I convinced Henry to take a slightly longer route to our destination, which will take us through NY instead of across the entire length of Pennsylvania. I’m so sick of making that same drive over and over. I did have an ulterior motive though – this route takes us through Buffalo and I want vegan füdz for lunch.

I brought this book along for the ride. I can go either way with Riley Sager (Henry hates his books) so we’ll see where we land with this one. You care.

I just held the door open for someone at GetGo and as I was making a gloating face to Henry, I almost crashed into the guy I held the door open for so now Henry is clowning me.

Henry got a Krispy Kreme at Get Go and I took a small bite because I don’t often have these things. I think they’re fine but I still don’t understand why people hyperventilate over them. I remember when my hometown got its first location and my family, who had grown to love them thanks to all the car show road trips they went on without me, the Family Pariah, went fucking nuts. Mostly my dad, who was obsessed with these breakfast sweets that are neither crispy nor creamy. This was back when my dad and I hated each other so I think I probably intentionally went into it being a bitter Betty, pre-hating them because I refused to agree with my dad on anything then lol oh teenage Erin. You were a fucking delight.

11:06am: We’re almost in NY! Lake Erie has been on our left for quite some time. I have been quietly reading my book like a precious Princess while Henry houses palmfuls of trail mix.

Made the mistake of asking Henry why gas prices vary by state and now he’s droning on about taxes, totally ruining Taemin’s “IDEA” which is currently playing, so I said “I’m bored now” as I looked longingly out the window.

“Always nice talking to you,” he sighed.

11:40am: a gaggle of Hell’s Angels just puttered past us and I was tempted to flip them off to see if Henry would defend me once we pull into the next rest stop and see them waiting for us. He asked me to please not. Now we’re talking about who kills more people: them or the Pagans and Henry said probably them because they’re “more nationwide.” I wonder if he knows that from when he was studying them to pass the admission test that he ultimately failed because he has NARC written all over him.

“Their leader just died,” he said (why does he know this?!).

“Was he an out of shape slob like the ones that drove past?”

“Well no. He was very skinny because he had cancer.”

That killed the convo.

12:03pm: at my fave rest stop in New York.

He was mad because I yelled HENRY just so I could take this lol. Some kid stood at the glass and got a passing by truck to beep and I cried I WANT TO DO IT TOO but Henry muttered “come on.”

LEAVING THE REST AREA AND SPOTTED THE HELLS ANGELS. this was the best shot I could get because Henry didn’t want to get killed.

1:24pm: Just left Sunshine Vegan!

Ok, I loved it. Black-owned vegan establishments just do it better. That’s facts. First of all, we walked in and the owner’s son joyfully greeted us with the announcement that it was his moms birthday and I was like Lord what’s it like to have a kid who cares about your bday?? It was just such a welcoming atmosphere.

I got a po’boy (I’m obsessed with vegan shrimp done right and this was it), Henry got some type of veggie sub (he thought it was a burger lol), and we got a carrot “tuna” salad dip to share. It was all so delicious and I didn’t feel like shit afterward.

And oh my LORD whatever that green sauce is, I wanted to lick every runaway drop off the plate.

This dog’s name is Dinero and he hated Henry! Yessss.

2:14pm: Made Henry detour to some village called OAKFIELD for donuts at some okay donuterie called Sweet Ally’s. I actually couldn’t finish my fruity pebble donut and gave it to Henry but the few bites I had were ok. Nothing to write home about except I guess that is what I’m technically doing??

The best part was this small park behind the donut place that gave walking prompts!! I won at it.

Actually the highlight of this was when Henry was struggling to get SIRI to understand that he needed directions to Sweet Ally’s. She had us going to Utah at one part. I was laughing so hard and he legit yelled at me which made laugh harder.

3:22pm: Stopped in Seabreeze Park land to do some Lake Ontario stuff!

The public restroom here was like a prison cell!

4:03pm: Back in the car. Here are some pictures from our LAKE ADVENTURE which wasn’t much of an adventure but it was still nice to get out of the car and sit on a large rock above splashing lake waves while pretending it was the ocean.

Ok, stay predominating, preDon’s.

Anyway, Henry and I are actually really enjoying each other’s company amazingly even though I did at one point snip: “Why can’t you just do what I want and keep your mouth shut about it?” He was like WOW but then proceeded to do what I want hahaha.

Also!! I asked him if he got me something for my bday (tomorrow!!) and he said yes but that he can’t give it to me until Chooch is back and if that’s my present…I mean, yay! But also, can I have STUFF too? I’m a very STUFF-centric bitch.

6:39pm: We’re at Eddie’s in Sylvan Beach for dinner and regardless of how the food ends up being, this restaurant is MY STYLE. It got mediocre reviews on Yelp for being DATED and LIVING IN THE PAST and NO RENOVATIONS SINCE THE 60s which is how I knew it was the right choice.

That vinyl / carpet combo!

Also, our waitress’s name is Hannah and of course it is because she looks like every Hannah I’ve ever known. (She is very nice.)

News flash: Henry chose PEPPERCORN as the dressing for his salad. I have never known him to select this?!

And then it looked like bleu cheese and he said no it’s peppercorn so I was like HOW DO U KNOW ITS PEPPERCORN and he said because he could taste the peppercorns?! What do they taste like?! Peppery corns?!

Before we ate, we bought some tickets because GALAXI was running this time! Sorry Chooch but we snagged a coaster credit that you don’t have. (Although, he got a country credit that I don’t have so I think he wins this round lol.)

I thought Henry was holding his nose because he too was bothered by the STRONG currents of B.O. being tossed around on this carnival coaster but I guess he just had an itch. It was a really strong stench. Anyway, we thought this was going to be tough and janky but it was surprisingly pleasant! I was a fan.

Couldn’t pass this up! Did it get worse than last year somehow? It just felt like we were mostly in the dark and the “scares” were barely lit. Oh well, I only ride it for that nostalgic aroma of must and grease, and the sound of the pretzel cars turning corners. It’s a vibe.

After eating, I demanded that we walk around some more to digest. Because of all this LOLLYGAGGING, our ETA in Nashua is now 12:18am lolololol.

Today is just “casual driving day” or as Henry calls it “Never Gonna Get There” day lol.

I can’t believe I got milquetoast Henry to do this.

The ride operator was oiling the track!

“I bet he had to sign waivers for that,” I said.

“I bet he didn’t,” Henry said in his I KNOW THINGS tone.

Same day, different lake. This is Lake Oneida! I fell in love with Sylvan Beach when we were visited last September and that love is still going strong. It is such a cute little vacation town! I’m already pining for it.

Anyway, when we left, Henry made me drive for almost TWO HOURS. Ok, 90 minutes. But that was annoying because he always sleeps when I drive so I’m basically driving alone. And I wanted to read my book some more but now it’s 9:23 and dark so thanks Hank.

Well, I’m going to post this now since it’s going to essentially be tomorrow when we check into our hotel. I’ll update if anything noteworthy happens!!

11:50pm: Still in the car as expected but I just realized who our waitress reminded me of:

HOLLY J from DeGrassi, also can a Look be any more early-2000s?!

1:00am: we’re here. Good fucking night.

Yo! For the first time since….possibly pre-COVID??? I had a weekend where I was social every single day. It was actually incredible that I was able to string semi-sensical words together. But, I persevered and ended up having the best weekend!

First off, on Friday night Henry and I went to Megan’s for a porch party. The theme was pineapples and “Meet the New Boyfriend.” I was lowkey a little bit nervous because the pandemic has made socially awkward ass downright Martian’s First Day on Earth. We stopped and picked up some tropical-flavored cider on the way and I did my best to act like that I talk to people, like, all the time.

Um hello, I don’t know why I even had a FLECK of anxiety because Megan is awesome (we became fast friends when she started at The Law Firm in 2019) so I should have known that her friends would also be in that same category. I didn’t feel like an outsider like I normally do when I’m the only one who doesn’t know everyone at social events!

Not only is Megan’s boyfriend Eric wonderful and friendly (um hello anyone who likes the Cure and asks genuine questions about my time in South Korea is A+ in the How’s My Boyfriend feedback system), but her friends are hilarious, down-to-earth, and totally inclusive.

I think they liked me more than Henry which is great because usually people think Henry is SO MUCH BETTER THAN ME.

Anyway, I’m so glad that Megan invited us and I’m still laughing because Henry and I were both kind of tired after work on Friday and I said, “Well, we’ll just go for like an hour” but then we were having such a great time talking to everyone that one hour became almost 5 and we were one of the last ones to leave, lol. I actually felt like myself that night and it’s good to know that the old, friendly, outgoing Erin is still in there somewhere.

On Saturday, I met Jeannie and Wendy for our first breakfast since before Covid! I have seen them numerous times since then in various work settings, etc. but it was so awesome to get to hang out casually like old times,  not talk about work, and eat a good breakfast! I should have taken more pictures, but we went to the Upstreet Diner, which replaced one of the Pamela’s locations we sometimes went to (in Squirrel Hill) and I thought it was pretty decent! It’s a Turkish-inspired place that only just opened in April and while Pammy’s is still so so so hard to beat on that breakfast tip, this was something different and unique – we all agreed that it was a good choice.

(Oh, who chose it? THIS GIRL, you’re welcome.)

I had pancakes that had melted brie on it! I really liked it but my one critique was that I wish that I had brought me extra syrup rather than pre-pouring it for me because, and I’m not a big syrup slut by any means, but they didn’t put enough on it so the bottom pancake was really dry.

Wendy had a Turkish take on eggs Benedict, which had no meat (!!) and came on a cheesy phyllo pastry which was DIVINE and probably what I would order next time. Jeannie had salmon toast and she loved it. It looked substantial, too! I was considering getting the vegan avocado toast but worried that it wouldn’t be enough, but after seeing the size of her toast, I think I would have been OK!

It was really nice to just chill, drink endless cups of coffee (our waitress was so laid back and didn’t make us feel rushed), and catch up. I missed these breakfasts and having them harangue me for parking several blocks away because I prefer to park in a lot rather than drive around looking for street parking!

This doesn’t really count as SOCIAL ACTIVITIES but on Sunday, Henry and I got take-out from ShadoBeni and ate it in the cemetery.

This was a fried mushroom sandwich that I considered making out with in between bites. Holy shit. Thebun was a coconut bake! I LOVE SHADOBENI.

And this cassava tart thingie to share for dessert! I also had sea moss punch which is my fave ShadoBeni bev. (ShadoBevi???)

Social interlude: Henry spraypaints a TV for the very first time. Shucks, I love watching him do al the things on my List.

Later that day, Janna came over and we walked to the Hollywood in Dormont to see Nope.

It was….well…

…a NOPE for me, Simon.

This really kills me to admit that too because I have loved Jordan Peele’s other movies. At first I was like, “Maybe I’m not understanding the social commentary of this one” but I went home and read some shit and no, I understood it just fine. I just sadly didn’t like it. I should disclaim that I went into it knowing nothing because In Peele I Trust, but had I known what the subject matter was, I would have known that I wasn’t going to be into it.

I just don’t fuck with that trope. It doesn’t interest me at all, nor does it scare me :/

And the pacing of this movie was so weird that I was straight up bored out of mind at times, and I found myself wanting to reach for my phone but then remembering that I was in a theater and catching myself at the last minute!

But the upside is that Janna came over a little early so we at least got to hang out beforehand and talk about how much we miss Chooch lol. If he was home, he would have went with us! He always goes to the ‘wood with us!

Well, I think that about covers the highlights of the weekend. Tomorrow, we’re leaving for our road trip to New Hampshire so…look for a live blog probably!? Lol. Apologies in advance.

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Now that Chooch has a “squad” in Mexico, we’re getting less and less updates from him and that’s FINE, let the boy live his life, etc etc. But damn yo it’s excruciating being a mom over here waiting to be fed, yanno?

He sends us the dumbest pictures too and then doesn’t even tell us what they are so basically we’re at the mercy of the CIEE Yucatán insta. Let’s see what they shared during week 2:

Except for this! Chooch sent it to me because he went ice skating and had to exchange his skates multiple times and then got a BIG BLISTER. This was right after he went to the beach and got a BIG SUNBURN.

On Monday of Week 2, they made pinatas!

I was definitely a little jealous because my Monday just consisted of screaming into the void, which is also known as Monday thru Friday.

Then one day, they went to a museum to look at ART and I did not know this until CIEE posted pictures.

Last weekend, they had an overnight trip to Vallodolid, where they went to the 7th wonder of the world, Chichen Itza, saw spider monkeys which he didn’t tell me about until I ASKED, and swam in a cenote. They ziplined too!

You guys, this is apparently his squad! Why was I worried about him going on this solo trip and being miserable? He always makes friends so fast!

I *am* annoyed that he was one of the few that didn’t have on the CIEE shirt. I’m sure he wasn’t paying attention and missed the memo, which is very on brand.

I think this is his Level 2 group. I’m pretty impressed that he’s only taken one high school year of Spanish and managed to place himself into the middle of three levels!

I was laughing though because he told Janna before he left that he didn’t know any Spanish and she seemed concerned about this. I was like, “He’s probably trolling you, Janna” and she was like, “You’re probably right.” I mean, whose son is he?!

It’s so weird, but over the weekend I was going through some boxes of photos that I brought home from my grandparent’s house in 2016 and there was a stack of photos from when my Aunt Sharon visited the Yucatan in the 90s. Then, the same day, I was watching one of my favorite YouTubers and she was showing some stuff from her closet that she was donating to ThreadUp She held up a dress and said, “Here’s the dress I wore recently when I visited Chichen Itza” and then a picture of her from there popped up in the corner and I was like, “Wow. That’s a sign of something, I guess.”

Chooch’s squad again!

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He’s only got one and a half more weeks to go and I have a feeling he’s going to be Mr. Miz when he comes home. I always fell into a deep depression/mourning as a kid when I would come home from big trips. Henry was like, “You still do though??” and then I remembered the Post-Korea Depression and laughed sadly. Yes, I still do.

Anyway, I’m excited to find out tomorrow on the weekly CIEE blog post what Chooch has been up to this week because as usual, no info. Which is fine, you know, live your life, bro. Be in the moment, etc etc!

Henry mentioned that Kennywood was giving away free ice cream last week to pass holders and I was like, “I’m down for some free ice cream” so we went to  Kennywood after work on Thursday. Of course, it was a day that I actually went into the office, so by the time I came home and changed, it was after 6:30 when we got to Kennywood and because amusement parks have lame hours now, the park was set to close at 8. Boo hiss.

But the one good thing about getting there so late is that hordes of people were exiting when we were walking in, so even STEEL CURTAIN, that cursed coaster, only had a 15 minute wait. AND there was a nun AND a priest in line, AND it was running two train ops! MIRACLE?? Maybe.

THERE THEY ARE!! ^^^

Anyway, Steel Curtain is pretty great. My opinion fluctuates a lot because I want it to be a little bit better than it is and also maybe not so rattle-y considering how new it is. But I do like it overall! It just doesn’t have that WOW factor, and I mean, it really should because it still currently holds the record for the most inversions on a coaster in North America but you don’t really get off the thing feeling you just rode a record-holder, you know?

And in our case on this evening, you don’t get off the coaster until after maintenance fucks around and keeps your train parked out on the brake run in a knucklefucking downpour.

I mean, it was some heavy rain, people, and we were totally exposed, like sitting ducks. And the wind was kicking up all around us too so I was terrified that we were going to slammed with airborne projectiles. YOU NEVER KNOW. Don’t fuck with weather! Some broad died at Kennywood years ago when a microburst blew through!

Yeah, so were pretty fucking angry about this. I don’t know what was going on but as soon as we hit the brake run, one of the JOCKOS as Henry would say made an announcement that “SOMETHING SOMETHING BLAH BLAH 20 MINUTES” so the empty train in the station just sat there and ours couldn’t pull in. Thank god whatever was happening didn’t take the full 20 minutes and we eventually got to get off the damn thing after about 5 minutes, at which point the ride operator (who is ALWAYS there), chirped a quick and totally insincere “sorry” into the mic and I honestly wanted to kick him.

2 for 2 getting stuck in a rain storm at an amusement park that week! I was having a really great hair day too oh well.

“Do you think God was pissed that his people were riding coasters on his time so he made the sky open?” I hypothesized giddily.

“Well, no, because they were on the train in front of us and didn’t get stuck like we did!” Henry rationalized.

“Henry, even GOD fucks up, everyone knows that!” I mean, he allowed DONALD TRUMP to happen, didn’t he?

Steel Curtain: Not a Bad Ride.

The rain didn’t last for very long so we were able to ICE CREAM AND CARRY ON.

Um, hello, Henry failed to mention that it was only free to the first however-many passholders! So we had to pay. I would have opted to just go to Golden Nugget but it was already closed, and honestly this was still just as satisfying. I haven’t had true soft serve at Kennywood in a hot min.

After ice cream, we got in a ride on our beloved Phantom’s Revenge (walk-on!), attempted to ride Swingshot with five minutes left before the lines closed at 8pm but it started pouring down rain again as soon as we sat down and they were like “We can’t run the ride in this but you’re welcome to stay on the ride.”

….?

Why would we want to sit on a non-running ride while sheets of water poured down on us? N-n-n-no thanks. Of course, a few minutes later, the rain ended.

Honestly, Steel Curtain, soft serve, and Phantom’s Revenge in less than 90 minutes wasn’t the worst way to end a random Thursday evening in July.

And now, I’ll leave you with this apropos dulcet tune by Yangyang, Kun, and Taeil of NCT. <3

The month was June, and these books were read.

1. The Family Chao – Lan Samantha Chang

Leftover from Asian Readathon. Three stars. I only cared about the dog.

2. The Last Mrs. Parrish – Liv Constantine

Solid domestic thriller! I love it when a book blindsides me and this one definitely did.

3. Once Upon a K-Prom – Kat Cho

Nothing ground-breaking here, just a cute YA centered around Kpop – it was just the light, fluffy read that I needed, like a palate cleanser before moving onto meatier books. My favorite part about this is that each member of the Kpop group had their own page of member facts and it would list who their idols were growing up (G-Dragon was mentioned for one!) and who their friends are (NCT and Stray Kids came up a lot for this!). I loved also that BTS was not mentioned AT ALL but I did kind of feel like the fictional Kpop group was based off of them, except that one of the members was American which is not the case with BTS. I always appreciate when other Kpop groups are name-dropped because BTS is such an obvious, lazy, boring choice.

4. Yerba Buena – Nina LaCour

OK. Nina LaCour is like, the little fucking darling of Booktube, right?

But I tried one of her other books and hated it so much. When I got this book from the library, I didn’t even realize it was hers. However, I believe this is her first foray into adult contemporary (she typically writes YA but it’s the super pretentious, navel-gazey kind that makes me roll my eyes). Um, ha. Whoa there. Consider my opinion changed BIGLY. This book was so beautiful, the characters were emotional in a way that they felt 100% real to me. I just wanted the best for everyone and I couldn’t wait to see how the two narratives were going to collide. The most sublime and believable Sapphic love story I’ve read in quite a while. I’m crying just thinking about it.

5. The Last Final Girl – Stephen Graham Jones

When am I going to quit trying to love this fucking guy? Horror movies are my absolute fave so the references were not lost on me, but this book just wasn’t it. Written like a movie script, I get what it was trying to do but it was confusing and hard to follow. So fucking cheesy.

6. Greenwich Park – Katherine Faulkner

Really twisty domestic thriller – kept me hooked and entertained on my daily walks!

I think I’m starting to prefer British thrillers over American at this point. Far less duds!

7. A Deadly Inside Scoop – Abby Collette

I apparently gave this book a four, but my knee-jerk reaction to seeing this cover was that I only moderately enjoyed it. Lots of over-the-top characters and suspects which I anticipated going into this but the thing that most bothered me was how many times people were like, “YOUR ICE CREAM SHOP IS OPEN IN THE WINTER?” Um, people eat ice cream all the fucking time, no matter what season, and also in the book I’m pretty sure it was only October?? I couldn’t get past that. It was so strange. Aside from that, it was cute. I don’t think I’ll be continuing the series though. I think what I’m learning about myself if that I prefer sinister, dark mysteries over the cute and cozy lot.

8. Version Zero – David Yoon

I hated this book so bad that I don’t even want to review it.

But I will say that where I changed my negative opinion of Nina LaCour after reading her first foray into adult novels, my positive opinion of David Yoon based on his two exceptional YA books was tarnished a bit for me after reading his first adult novel. A caveat: I should have steered clear from the get-go because I do not like sci-fi / techy books and that’s exactly what this was. Also, the characters were very poorly written and I was stunned because typically David excels at character development. This just made me feel so uncomfy and bored.

9. Delilah Green Doesn’t Care – Ashley Herring Blake

This romance was fucking presh. I loved the small town vibes, strained family dynamics, chaotic wedding planning, snappy dialogue. I WILL be continuing this series!

10. All the Wrong Places – Joy Fielding

OK Joy, I see you, and I’m sorry that I never heard of you until last month when I snatched this book from a nearby Little Free Library. What a sick, fast-paced thriller about a serial killer who snags his victims from online dating sites. Seems like a tired concept, sure, but this one is very much focused on the relationships and lives of four women so you’re just waiting for the other shoe to drop the whole  time. I was pleasantly surprised with this one!

***

You have now finished reading WHAT I READ IN JUNE. Please enjoy the rest of your day.

1. Plant Stuff

I blinked and my cactus in the Cure Corner sprouted two tall growths.

2. The only way I can get Chooch to respond to me is to send him pictures of the cats.

3. Coney Island Peep Show

I got stuck talking to Hot Naybor Chris yesterday morning after he busted me negotiating in the backyard with one of the Mr. Gray Guy squirrels (I am so close to earning their trust, I can feel it), and he said, “You know, not everyone can say that they can look out their kitchen window and see Coney Island. I gotta come over sometime and see the whole set up.” This is weird because we’ve lived next door to each other for 20 years (!!) and he has not once been inside our house. SHOULD I CHARGE AN ADMISSION FEE?

ALSO OH GOD WHAT ELSE DOES HE SEE DO I NEED TO UP MY CURTAIN GAME.

4. Rad new kitchen addition!

Megan gave me some early birthday presents at work on Thursday (we were in the office for CASUAL LUNCH) and this sparkling cassette thing is the perfect vessel for my coffee cart straws! (NOT PLASTIC STRAWS, FYI – these are biodegradable.)

5. Ridic TBR

This is my current TBR stack – two of them are currently being read, but I am drowning! So many of my library requests came in at once and I am trying to stay calm about it, lol ugh.

6. Downtown Jesus

Speaking of CASUAL LUNCH, when I was coming down from the designated lunch room with Nate and Amber, we saw Downtown Jesus in the lobby of our building! Nate gave me a knowing glance and it almost felt like the old days.

It’s effing humid in my house. The end.

Hi it’s me, the one who can’t stop typing words about amusement parks but so sorry that it’s prime park time and I’m trying to get in as much as I can because YOLO if YOLO is still cool which it is not but either am I which means I can still use it.

Anyway, I already told you that Henry and I went to Waldameer in Erie for a few hours on Sunday. It was…actually fantastic. We’ve been there numerous times but never JUST THE TWO US so it was like a date which is what everything has felt like lately and it’s weird and cool but also sad because it’s basically a taste of what life will be like once we’re empty nesters and I don’t want to be an empty nester because that will mean I’m OLD?!

I mean, because that will mean that my BABYKINS, MOMMY’S BEST BOY, etc etc will be in college, and then eventually, out of college…and OK Erin. Stop. Stop it.

Back to Waldameer.

There are several great reasons to go to Waldameer:

1. it’s right on Lake Erie
2. it’s free admission so if you’re not into rides but want to chow down on some fair food and people watch, you can march your ass right on in through those gates with authority
3. RAVINE FLYER II is one of the best woodies in PA.
4. WHACKY SHACK.
5. parking is free
6. they have SIMPLY DIVINE cookies
7. it’s just a really cute little park with something for everyone, ok?

We go mostly for Ravine Flyer II and Whacky Shack, but you do you.

Here are pictures of the Ravine Flyer II as taken from the tRaIn:

I lied – this last one was taken from the fErRiS wHeEl.

(You guys it’s 100 degrees in my house and it’s making me be weird.)

Carousel mirror selfie!

I just realized that somehow, we didn’t fight at all. Not even when it was carouselfie time.

When we were riding the dumb train, it started storming, like with thunder and lightning so A REAL STORM and we were sitting in the front seat of one of the cars so even though there was a roof, there was actually very little protection. We were soaking wet by the time we got off it and ended up just chilling in the station afterward, waiting it out and watching a family of skunks terrorize a group trying to have a picnic at a nearby pavilion. It was exciting! Skunks are cute! SHOULD I MOVE ON TO SKUNK WHISPERING AFTER I CONQUER THE MR. GRAY GUY SQUIRRELS??

The Scrambler was actually still operating in the storm which I thought was questionable.

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I’ve only ever eaten pizza at Waldameer and it’s pretty good! I could have easily BEASTED a second slice, to be honest though.

“I just took a picture of that guy taking a picture,” I wheezed to Henry, delirious with giddy self-satisfaction.

“Cool..?” he said, going back to ignoring me on the train.

It did eventually stop raining though and we got to enjoy rides again. We were the only people on the ferris wheel!!

I did start to rain again though when we went on the Tilt-a-Whirl but this ended up being the best experience I might have ever had on this dumb ride? Henry was super into it suddenly and had it spinning really hard and I was laughing so hard that my laughs kept catching in my throat. I was so fucking giddy on this day! If you had told me like, 15 years ago that Henry and I would still be together in the year 2022 and having so much fun that my face would feel like it was going to split open, I’d think you were a horrible fucking liar. I used to call him Hoover because he sucked the fun out of everything, for Christ’s sake! And now I prefer to spend all my time with him because we’re always doing fun shit?!

Life is wild.

There’s always country music playing in this side of the park but country music is ONLY tolerable in these kinds of settings so I didn’t hate it too much.

LOLOLOL.

I’ve only ridden this once, probably the first time we were there when Chooch was like 5 or 6 and I forgot that it’s actually a pretty cute/fun log flume! There’s a tunnel with storm effects! We got really wet all over again!

I love that there’s a huge ass tree that the Comet station and track was built around. Also, Comet was running pretty smoothly! This is a great little family woodie.

Literally one of my favorite dark rides ever.

I think that’s basically it. We left around 4:30, went to Hank’s in Meadville for some custard and there were two large groups of super annoying people in front of us that I really hated, and the flavors of the day weren’t anything special (strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla) and I immediately regretted getting a cone once I heard Henry order an apple pie sundae, but it was whatever.

Overall, a really nice day with my dumb Henry.

I suggested that we take a little day trip to Waldameer Park on Sunday because why should Chooch get to have all the fun, amirite. Ravine Flyer II got some retracking done recently and I wanted to try it out for myself.

It takes about 2 hours to get to Erie, and we spent most of the time listening to a Megan Miranda audiobook that I ended up finishing on my own a few days later and do not recommend. I think it was called The Perfect Stranger. Who cares?

Anyway, we had a really nice time at Waldameer and I will get into the nitty gritty at a later date but not right now because it’s hot AF and I want to go to bed soon so instead let’s look at an array of Henry’s dumb faces at Waldameer.

Standing in line for Steel Tiger.

Standing in line for Steel Tiger: Portrait Mode.

Standing in line for Comet.

CAROUSELFIES aren’t the same without Chooch :(

Getting ready to wash down that pizza with a soft pretzel.

Henry, trying not to fall asleep on the train.

Henry, thinking about the impending 2 hour drive home.

Standing in line for Tilt-a-Whirl after waiting out a thunderstorm (evidence: my hair).

The “I Haven’t Ridden a Tilt-a-Whirl since 1987” face of impending regret.

That’s all for this sweltering Wednesday evening. I have nothing else to give, so sorry.

Saturday was a pretty chill day. For alibi purposes, here is what went down:

I spent a million hours at the salon getting babylights. I went to a new-to-me place called Bad Apple because my friend goes there and posted about it on Insta and I was like, “That place sounds nice and the name matches my tattoo” so I made an appt because the last place I went was only out of convenience and being panicked about going back to work after two years of WFH’ing and I needed something done FAST.

I liked it but they only did partial highlights without me even realizing what was going on and the gray coverage was NOT good – the whole front of my head was like a billboard for gray hair recognition! And the broad who did my hair was not really my style. She was more like, Big Hat at Coachella vibes and I wasn’t comfortable with that.

I’m picky. We all should be when it comes to our hair!

Anyway, I really liked Bad Apple a lot and the girl who did my hair (Carly) was SO CHILL and easy to talk to. Definitely my type of person. My hair isn’t like, IN YOUR FACE, different since I only just recently had highlights done, but she did a full highlight and blended and toned it SO WELL. I didn’t even need a cut and she was gushing about how healthy my hair is and that like, never happens, so I am crediting that to Vegamour (which I was going to cancel but now I’m like SHOULD I??) and Jennifer Aniston’s Lolavie product line.

After spending nearly all day in The Chair (9:30 – 2ish ugh this is why I’m like the ONLY GIRL in the world who does not enjoy going to the salon. Sitting still is not in my wheelhouse), I came home and scarfed down a quick salad and then Henry and I went to Allegheny Cemetery so I could walkwalkwalkwalkwalkwalkwalk.

We took this to send to our AWOL son.

Shortly after, I saw a fun photo op and asked, tentatively, for Henry to help me achieve said shot. Of course, he blundered it bigly, resulting in A Fight because honestly his lack of even the basic, most RUDIMENTARY photo skills drives me nuts. So then he had the audacity to get mad at me for getting mad at him and I was like YOU KNOW WHAT, JUST LEAVE AND PICK ME UP LATER and then I performed a perfectly-timed storm-off down a brick path while he stayed on the road.

I made sure I waited a long time before tossing a furtive glance over my shoulder to see if he was following me.

HE WAS NOT.

Which equal parts pleased and angered me.

THIS IS CHOOCH’S NEVER SHOUT NEVER SHIRT :(

Well I was off on my own, I paused to take some pictures of my new Korean Vans <3. I’d like to point out that they were shipped from South Korea on a Sunday, and I had them on my feet by the following Wednesday.

South Korea does NOT fuck around with shipping. When you hear expats saying that South Korea has THE BEST delivery service, believe.

Meanwhile, Henry was commenting whiny things on my Instagram for all to see and I was like OMFG this man is so desperate so I made my way back to the car and then he had to play his little hiding game with me which is so annoying. I should have just left him there – I had my car key on me….

…but not my house key. Dammit, I’m always missing something!

I felt bad for Henry because he clearly cannot survive without me so I accepted his groveling apology but only because I wanted to go to the Grant in Millville because it’s been years since we had a slice of the best coconut cream pie in at least the whole state if not the UNIVERSE.

We got there right when they opened at 4, us and all the Olds! We were relegated to the BACK ROOM which isn’t as woodsy and Bavarian-esque as the main dining room so I was pissed. I guess we weren’t OF AGE enough. (Henry probably was but then I lowered the average.)

I like this picture up there though because Henry sort of looks like he’s smiling at me. Smrobly a fluke though.

We decided to get dinner while we were there too even though we weren’t really hungry but it’s a good thing that we did because our food took a really long time to come out – I didn’t mind so much because we didn’t have any where we needed to be and this was basically just helping us build up an appetite, but our waitress was so stressed about this delay and she kept reporting back to us and making sure we were properly hydrated. I fucking LOVED her. Honestly, we didn’t care about the wait at all because we were super engrossed in receiving updates from Chooch (this was when he was suffering through the off-the-cuff vegetarian burrito made from pineapples and cactus, lol) and we were obsessed with the ongoing plight of the young host/busboy who kept trying to sit down and take a break in the corner only to immediately be summoned. My favorite part was when he tried to seat people in our dumb room and one of the waitresses came back to say, “They want to sit in the front room.” He went back to retrieve the menus from the table and as he walked past us to go back to the front room, I heard him huff under his breath, “of course they do.” It was fantastic.

Anyway, our waitress ended up comping us one of the slices of coconut cream and I was like, “This was not necessary – Henry leave her a giant tip” but when she came back with the check, she wisely gave it to me which was good because Henry is a shitty tipper.

Oh man, we ended up so stuffed from eating a dinner that we weren’t really hungry for but that pie man. THAT PIE. It is a religious experience. I am a FIRM believer in the Book of Whipped Topping Coco-Cream. Meringue is for pariahs.

Waiting for Henry to pee on the way out. This is the room I wanted to sit in. :(

HENRY, POST-PEE.

Well, those were the highlights of the day. We came home and spent most of the evening rearranging Chooch’s room. We really want to have that fucking attic cleaned out and painted before he comes back so it can be an extension of his room (like the lounge area) but I don’t think that’s happenin’ hot stuff.