Anniversary in St. Louis

+Lauren Uyeshiro and I take turns planning our anniversary celebration. This year, she thought of something she was really proud of. In the weeks leading up to this past weekend, she was bursting at the seams trying to keep the secret. (It's never been her strong suit). All she revealed was that we'd be flying somewhere -- but not too far; and that we'd be spending time outside -- but "more like a park than like a jungle."

Eventually, the morning of July 4th arrived, and after stepping out of the cab at Midway, I finally got to learn our mystery destination: St. Louis.

St. Louis, people!

St. Louis occupies an odd psychic space, for me. Before we moved to the Midwest, I knew that St. Louis had the arch, and that Washington University was there, and that the University of Washington was not there. But that was about it, and the city itself never really came up in conversation. Like, ever.

As with so many things though, the story with St. Louis is different if you're in the Midwest. I would guess that a majority of my Chicago friends and colleagues have family in St. Louis. Many of them grew up there. We talk about the city, its charms, and its BBQ all the time at work. Heck, rooting for the Cardinals is even the baseball-hipster thing to do here in Cubs-dominated north Chicago.

So, having heard so much about the city for years, I was really excited that we were finally making our way down there.

During our time in St. Louis, we visited...

...the crowded, sunny, and beautiful 4th of July fair right under the arch:

[Pro tip: if your wife's politics are anything like Lauren's, do NOT thank her for "taking you to Sarah Palin's 'real America'" on your anniversary.]

...the really impressive Botanical Gardens...

[the "Climatron" was clearly constructed by the Dharma Initiative].

...the science center, where we saw a retired Blue Angels jet and where Lauren finally made good on my 8-year request to go see a laser light show at the Laserium...

...and of course, the City Museum, which was at the top of everyone's must-see list in St. Louis.

We also had fantastic meals, ice creams, coffees, or other assorted stops at Bridge Tap House, Rooster, Shaw's Coffee, Blondie's, Gelateria Tavolini, and the Schlafly Tap Room. Fancy anniversary dinner was at Charlie Gitto's on the Hill.

Assorted memories for us to hopefully chuckle about in our old age:

• Lauren's craving for a turkey leg leading to 30 minutes of patient queueing, only to see the person immediately in front of us purchase the last 6 turkey legs at the fair.
• Napping. Lots and lots of napping.
• Traffic double-whammy during our Friday evening with the rental car: the fair was still underway near the arch, and a Cardinals game let out just as we were finishing dinner. In the amount of time we spent at a dead stop in front of Hooters, we could have gotten out, ordered and consumed some wings, spoken to the Hooters waitress about The Patriarchy, left a generous tip, and sauntered lazily back to our car.
• It was hot, but in a good, nostalgic way for us Hawaii and Florida natives.
• We each finished at least three books. This was a really nice, relaxing trip. :-)

Whew! Thanks again to +Lauren Uyeshiro for never settling for dinner-and-a-movie, and for planning a great anniversary trip while we can still travel easily.

Last but not least, here's a link to the full photo dump from our weekend (mainly of interest to +Ellen Robinson as usual, but others may enjoy).

Thanksgiving in Hawaii, 2012

Lauren and I traveled to Hawaii for Thanksgiving this year. The focus was on spending quality time with all of Lauren's family, as it should be. I was very happy to catch up with members of my extended in-law family, some of whom I hadn't seen in a year or more.

Lauren and I did manage to sneak in some sightseeing time and a few cool photos as well, including the Spitting Cave near Portlock:

The view from the lighthouse near Makapu'u:

...and a birthday treat of dinner at Chai's Island Bistro, where we got to hear the Brothers Cazimero perform live in a really small, intimate venue(!):

Thanks and aloha once again to all of the family for being such gracious hosts!

Ireland/Iceland Trip, day 10: Sunny morning in Reykjavik, and farewell to Iceland

We awoke to the first truly sunny day we'd had in Iceland, and we made the most of it by wandering outside, taking in the buildings, the waterfront, and the impressive Harpa concert hall.

We had time for a stop by the Culture House where some of the oldest copies of the ancient sagas are on display, along with some contemporary Icelandic artwork on the upper floor....

...and then, sadly, it was time to make our way to the airport, enact the incredibly sketchy (though undeniably convenient!) rental-car return plan, and wing our way back home.

We had an amazing time on this trip.  And although this was a great chance for the two of us to strike out on our own a bit, our "real lives" back home were always close as well.  We felt the support and generosity of so many friends with us in spirit each day, as we ventured to places and met people that we never would have known except through our friends.

Normal life starts up now, with Lauren returning to law school and me returning to work.  But we're so grateful to have had the opportunity to have this adventure together.

Ireland/Iceland Trip, day 9: Iceland's "Golden Circle"

This was our day for cross-country driving and nature sightseeing in Iceland.  Again on Solveig's excellent advice, we toured the Golden Circle (well, thanks to slightly wonky GPS, call it our "extended, special" version of the Golden Circle).

Our first stop was Þingvellir, the meeting place of the Icelandic parliament for hundreds of years.  The Icelanders are rightly proud of their status as one of the earliest democracies to survive into modern times.  When chatting with us the day before, for example, Kjartan was quick to mention the 11th-century writings of Adam of Bremen, who described Icelanders thus: "They have no king except the law."

Wandering around the volcanic rock and dramatic streams and lake of Þingvellir, it was remarkably easy to picture representatives gathering to create and recite the law of the land here more than a thousand years ago...

The next stop was Geysir, from which English derives its word "geyser."  Impressive bubbling and shooting pools, with boiling-hot water sloshing around.  Also, a surprisingly cool cafe where we grabbed lunch and watched vintage videos showing matches and instruction in Glima (Icelandic wrestling), which is the national sport.

Then, it was on to Gullfoss ("golden falls"), which felt like an up-close-and-personal Niagra to me.  Also an important spot for the modern conservation movement in Iceland, since an early conservationist successfully worked to prevent the damming of the falls.

We then moved on to the Kerið crater, whose dramatic reds were a little muted on this gray and drizzly day.  Quite a sight, nonetheless.

It's easy to focus on the sightseeing destinations on a day like this, but I think the thing I'll remember most is just the look and feel of the Icelandic landscape sliding by during our long stretches in the car.

After returning to Reykjavik, we enjoyed a dinner at Solon, where we had a drink combination that was likely the beginning of a lot of great (or terrible) nights for Arnar and Solveig in days past ... [brennevin in front, Egils Gull beer waiting in the wings]:

We then relaxed and chatted late into the night at a few local spots, including the Lebowski Bar (some concepts transcend all geographic boundaries, clearly).