After another night of dance practice, the Queen and I hit the town for a few hours to unwind on a Friday night…
The real question is – where did we go?
Hint: we’re downtown…and the name of the place is a state in New England.
Just a really nice spot with an “adult” crowd as in no baseball caps and everyone has their pants pulled up.
Any guesses?
BTW…Nice boots.
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After a year and a half of dating between Erie and Los Angeles, Heidi and I decided to tie the knot in Erie on October 23, 2004.
We were married at the beautiful Church of The Covenant on Sixth Street, and our wedding reception was at what once was the Waterfront Restaurant (it’s the Cove now.) It was really kind of weird to watch them demolish the place just a few months after our honeymoon…I think we were their last really big party. It was awesome.
Allburn Florists transformed the place from top to bottom, and the marina looked stunning through the windows at sunset…guests were there from across the entire country, some we haven’t seen since.
Our video guy – Dale Evanoff – did a spectacular job AND he was smart enough to take the entire 2 hours of video and condense it down to just these few minutes…
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Check out Heidi’s cousin.
THIS is why everyone should video their wedding because we never even saw this taking place at our reception due to our being so busy…imagine our surprise when we saw this a month later!
We laugh SO HARD every year at what might just be the single best wedding dance done by a male in the history of weddings.
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Every year, Heidi and I make the time on our wedding anniversary to watch our wedding video.
I am SO thankful that we decided to have that day recorded. If you or someone you know is getting married, I can tell you that having it video taped is the best investment you’ll ever make.
Just seven years later, kids have turned into adults, people have passed away, and babies have been born…it’s a lot of fun to see the biggest day in your life again.
One of the highlights of our special day was my son Matthew taking over “Tennessee Back Porch” for a few minutes.
Enjoy!
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During our weekend getaway, we had to travel to Dayton for a “big” training gig for the Queen. (BIG=$$$$).
Having nothing to do on Friday, I made the very short trip to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, which was – to say the least – a great way for me to keep myself entertained for three hours.
I saw planes, jets, bombs, missles, more jets, more bombs, Apollo spacecraft, nuclear bombs, thermonuclear bombs, and more jets and planes. For the first time in my entire life, I actually completely managed to fill my entire camera memory and toast a set of batteries at the same time.
I ended up taking the last shots with my camera phone!
Best part? Free admission!
So here’s to you, Mr. Jet Engine and Nuclear Bomb Guy: This Bud’s for you.
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You know that there is a right way and a wrong way to foster more clients…if you’ve had enough and really don’t care anymore, just use this checklist to let it all hang out during the upcoming holiday season. Send it to whoever is in charge of your next business or networking meeting, and reap the rewards.
Networking Checklist For Holiday Season
In order for us to place you in a seat which will best suit you, we ask you to complete the following questionnaire and return it to the our office as soon as possible.
1. I would prefer to sit in the . . . (Check one)
______Gossip section
______Non-gossip section
2. If gossiping, which category do you prefer? (indicate order of interest)
_____ Stock market
_____ Sports
_____ Medicine
_____ Member’s secret medical tragedies
_____ General gossip
_____ Specific gossip (choose)
_____ The host
_____ The host’s voice
_____ The host’s wife or husband
_____ The host’s “secretary”
_____ Fashion news
_____ What others are wearing
_____ Why they look awful
_____ Your neighbors
_____ Your neighbor’s relatives
_____ The President
_____ Sex (Preference:______)
_____ Who’s cheating on/having an affair with whom
_____ Other:
3. Which of the following would you like to be near for free professional advice?
_____ Doctor
_____ Dentist
_____ Nutritionist
_____ Psychiatrist
_____ Child psychiatrist
_____ Mother in law
_____ Pilot
_____ Podiatrist
_____ Chiropractor
_____ Stockbroker
_____ Accountant
_____ Lawyer _____ Criminal _____ Civil _____ Estate agent
_____ Architect
_____ Plumber
_____ Buyer (Specify store:_____________)
_____ Sex therapist
_____ Golf pro (tentative: we’re still trying to find a Jewish one)
_____ Other:_____________________________
4. I want to be seated (Indicate order of priority)
_____ On the aisle
_____ Near the exit
_____ Near the window
_____ In Aruba
_____ Near the bathroom
_____ Near single men
_____ Near available women
_____ Near anyone who’s available – I’m bisexual or just not particular
_____ Where no one will notice me sleeping during the meeting
_____ Where I can sleep during the speaker’s presentation (Additional Charge)
6. Please do not place me anywhere near the following people (limit of 6 names):
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
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Just in case your life is a little boring lately, you can read about mine…
Heidi and I got back into dance lessons a few weeks ago, as in taking swing-dance lessons at the downtown “Y.” Since we’ve taken these on-and-off again for years, it’s been a real help to add a little polish to our dance-moves, as well as a great way to connect as a couple. One nice aspect of the lessons is that because they’re on Friday nights, we hit the town afterwords for a few drinks and a light dinner…which does kind of bring up some issues as we really struggle sometimes to find somewhere different to go. Here’s the run-down so far, and it might serve as a little bit of a “review” if you’re over 40 and want to “hang out” in downtown Erie on a Friday night. The only caveat that we have is that we like a little “atmosphere,” so here goes:
Week One: Went to the Vermont, which was really really quiet at 8:00 PM. Our server’s name was Mike, and he was very nice and polite. We listened to an acoustic band who was finished at 8:00, like 10 minutes after we walked in. I’d give you a link but apparently the Vermont does not know about this new thing called the “internet” and therefore does not have a web page. Hard to believe, isn’t it? It’s, like, 2011…you gotta be kidding me. But further research does turn up a Facebook Page, which of course – is free.
Week 2: Back to the Vermont, and things were a bit more lively, as we ran into a few friends and even a few business associates. Obviously, the Vermont is very close so it’s easy to go there first.
Week 3: Headed to Matthews Trattoria, which was one happening place on this particular Friday night…can’t go wrong with the shrimp cocktail (the cocktail sauce has a little mango in it, nice touch), the bruschetta, and a bowl of the crab bisque. It’s a great way to eat “dinner” without actually paying for “dinner.” Guys, take your woman there and order those 3 things and you won’t be disappointed. PLUS, Matthew’s is STILL the nicest lounge in Erie after all these years. Just a great place to hang out, and they even had live jazz that night, no cover. Hats off to Chef Matthew for not charging a cover…I “get it” when you go into a dive-bar, but nice places shouldn’t do it. I knew the old Papermoon (which I still miss) was in trouble when they started charging a cover at the end. They were out of business within 3 months. Hard to believe, no website for Matthew’s either – gave up after searching 3 pages on Google for it. Maybe the new trend is to dump your website and just use FaceBook. Don’t get it.
Week 4: Had 2 drinks at the Vermont, and picked up Thai food downtown and brought it home…as of this point, nothing on the menu at the Vermont is calling my name. I wish they’d just add shrimp cocktail to the menu, as it just seems like any good restaurant should have it available. But that’s just me.
In between: My Queen had a very good week, landing her third big client in the Netherlands. Time to head to one of our favorite spots, 1201 Kitchen. Fresh sushi and the Kobe steak melts in your mouth. The only problem that I have with this place is the wine is crazy expensive. Sorry, $9 a glass for wine that is $8 a bottle at the local Wines and Spirits store is a little rough. We’d go there a lot more if 2/3 of our bill wasn’t for 2 glasses of wine apiece. At least they have their own website – yay – here it is: http://1201restaurant.com/
In the news: I see the Erie paper today covered “Occupy Erie,” the local effort to bring hippies and malcontents together. Several of them expressed their anger at the direction the country is going. Note to “occupiers:” there IS a way to make a change within the next year, it’s something called elections. On the other hand, it’s nice to see that somebody actually wants to occupy Erie.
Finally: Nice win for Penn State on Saturday over Iowa, which as beaten PSU 8 out of the last 9 games heading into this one. A very big test, and they pulled it off.
I hope I don’t sound too picky when it comes to this restaurant stuff, but I don’t get paid to do this stuff and hey, might as well be honest about it. If we hated these places, we wouldn’t keep going back, right? But – sorry – a FaceBook page just ain’t a website. Who tells these restaurant owners this junk?
Just my 2 cents.
Have a great week!
Categories: Dining, Dining / Entertainment, Life In Erie, Night Life |
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After a very long and hot summer, I for one am basking in the cooler weather and really enjoying one of most beautiful sites I know – autumn in Erie, PA.
Over the years, Halloween has really started to take over the season starting around the first week in October, with a lot of Erieites really getting into the decorating thing…complete with headstones, giant spider webs, and other stuff that generally makes their houses look like something from a horror movie set.
Either way, I took a ride over to Mason Farms on Peninsula Drive today, not knowing (or forgetting) that they convert the entire place into Pumpkin Town and there were like a million people there today…but, it was SO nice out that nobody really cared. Picked up some corn stalks, a beautiful pot of mums, and – how about this – a Penn State pumpkin! Not too shabby.
It’s funny that as you get older, you start to appreciate things like flowers…the mums were absolutely spectacular today and they spice up your front porch or yard. Now if I can just remember to water them.
Is Heidi really melting? Naaa.
Mason Farms – take a ride over there this week and even if you don’t buy anything, it’s worth the trip just to enjoy this great time of the year.
I’ll be adding some more shots as the leaves start turning. We’re always a few weeks behind down here by the lake, which keeps the trees green a little longer.
Categories: Life In Erie |
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