The places we've been

  • Colorful float with many riders

    Pride, Jazz, and Art in the Big Easy

    Looking back, it’s hard to believe that a person could do SO MUCH in just one day. You may remember that it started off with a tour of St. Louis Cemetery, the home of the Voodoo Queen and the future home of actor, Nicholas Cage. We ended the day walking two miles back to our hotel sometime just after 3am. In between, we experienced pride, jazz, and art in the Big Easy! Join us as we unpack one helluva day in New Orleans. Trolley Ride and Lunch Though it was barely 11, the temperature was hovering right around 10,000,000 degrees. Thankfully, the street car had air conditioning and we were…

  • Picture of actor Nicholas Cage, holding a goblet of red wine. He's wearing all back clothing, red sun glasses and red beads.

    Visiting the Voodoo Queen and Nick Cage in the Big Easy

    Ah, New Orleans: The great melting pot of the South. Years ahead of the rest of the country, people from all different backgrounds came together to make one community. Nowhere is that more apparent than the day we went visiting the Voodoo Queen and Nick Cage in the Big Easy! If you’re a taphophile, like me, or someone who just likes to share an adventure, get comfy, grab a beverage and join us for some fun stories while walk among the tombstones. First thing you should know…you have to go with a tour Thanks to the abuse the cemeteries have endured over the years, the arch-diocese of New Orleans no…

  • Yellow two story building with a balconly

    Chasing Ghosts (among other things) in the Big Easy

    I don’t know about you but sometimes I feel like life can be…a lot. You feel me? And last month was extra much. Though I tried to compartmentalize and take things as they came, Stephen could see I was carrying a lot of stress on my shoulders. Knowing me like he does, he planned a curated weekend around all the things I love…history, ghost stories, folk lore, live music, great food, art, and alcohol. If that sounds like fun to you too…join us as we unpack our first day in New Orleans and go chasing ghosts (among other things) in the Big Easy. First, let’s talk about where we stayed…

  • Woman standing in a red telephone booth

    London – the Rest of the Story

    Though we were in London for the marathon, we did make time to see a few fun sites about town before we had to skip back across the pond. Of course, we did manage the secret bar crawl in the evenings during the week, but we took advantage of THE WHOLE day Saturday and we want to share the highlights with you. So grab a cup of your favorite beverage and join us for a look at London – the Rest of the Story. First…Finally saw Ben in ALL his glory So this wasn’t our first time in London. In fact, this was third time I attempted to see Big…

  • Man running in a road race. Lifting his arms in victory

    The London Marathon – The Last of the World Majors

    It’s been over nine weeks since I completed the London Marathon, becoming the first kidney donor to earn the coveted Six Star Finisher medal for completing all of the Abbott World Marathon Majors. We finally had a little down time for me to get around to writing a recap of the historic race. Before we get into all that, I’ll provide a little background info on what happened leading up to the race. So grab a cold one, kick back, and relax. Here is the recap of the London Marathon – the last of the World Majors! The Pre-Race Injury As many of you already know I injured my back four…

  • Crowded bar in room with a low ceiling that has old wooden beams.

    Checking Out The Hidden Bars of London

    The Boston Marathon was behind us and we hopped the pond to jolly old England. Though the main purpose of our trip was to have Stephen run the London Marathon and earn the Abbot Six Star Medal, we had one other important mission in our minds – checking out the hidden bars of London! The Inspiration Since we’d been to London before, we wanted to find some new things to experience. We looked into some museums and shopping areas. And since we were near Whitechapel, I even looked into some “Ripper-themed” excursions. But then I found it, an article on The 15 Best Speakeasy Bars in London*. With this itinerary…

  • Image of a pint of light beer with a Tokyo Marathon Finishers medal on it. The bar beneath it is marble.

    How to Celebrate Surviving a Marathon while Concussed

    Our journey through Japan is coming to a close and in case you missed it, last week we shared about the “Great Cookie Toss at the Tokyo Marathon”. This unfortunate incident was caused by a significantly small room and one wrong move. But this week we want to share with you how to celebrate surviving a marathon while concussed. Hopefully you’ll never need to apply this to your life, but just in case, be sure to book mark this page. The Victor Returns Cold, concussed and triumphant, Stephen made it back to the crevice after completing the Tokyo Marathon in 3 hours and 20 minutes. After he unpacked the story…

  • Tokyo Marathon Finishers Medal in front of a cherry blossom tree

    The Great Cookie Toss at the Tokyo Marathon

    If you’ve been traveling with us on our journey through Japan, you know that each day has been leading us closer to the reason we were there. We visited grand toriis; drank sake in a roof top igloo. We played with snow monkeys and rode on fast trains. It’s been an amazing ride but now we need to unpack the great cookie toss at the Tokyo Marathon. First, remember the Collision at the Crevice In case you missed it, let me recap. Our hotel room in Tokyo was small. How small was it? If it were any smaller, the bidet could have doubled as a shower. It was so small…

  • Zoomed in look at Godzilla's head and claw above a building

    Visiting Godzilla on the Way to the Tokyo Marathon

    It was race day – 1 in Tokyo and time to ACTUALLY take it easy. But never fear, we still have a few fun things in store for you. Walk with us this week as we go visiting with Godzilla on the way to the Tokyo Marathon. Breakfast and a Covid Test As usual, our morning started at the Italian restaurant attached to our hotel (aka The Crevice.) And we had our typical Japanese breakfast of salad, rice with curry gravy and coffee. Frankly, I was REALLY into it by this time. What WAS new this day…taking a Covid test. Stephen had to upload two negative tests in order to…

  • Sumo Wrestling: The Best Way to Start Your Day

    With the Tokyo Marathon quickly approaching, we decided to slow our roll just a bit. This week join us as we unpack one of our last two days in Japan including visiting the restaurant wrecked by the Crazy 88s, and walking the Shibuya Crossing. Oh and of course, Sumo Wrestling: The Best Way to Start Your Day! Starting the Day by Running with the Sumos Traveling in the off-season has it’s benefits: But it also has some down sides, like missing out on some of the big draws of tourist season. For Tokyo, this included the blooming of the cherry blossoms and for us, watching Sumo wrestling. Not wanting to…