Where Have I Been?

As I’ve been reminded a few times by #1, it has been a while since I’ve posted, a month and a day to be exact.  There’s been no shortage of things going on, just a lack of motivation.  I guess that makes sense when you are in retirement mode.

We had driveway cocktails at our house in mid-August and I wrote some notes on that, but never managed to get anything up here. One of the dudes that joined us thought I asked him “Are you Dennis?” I had to clarify with him that although we are not extremely close, after 20 or 30 these get-togethers and living near each other for 25 years, I’ve managed to remember his name.  And the other guy was busting my chops relentlessly.  Since he just had a hip replacement, I briefly thought about jumping him, but since I move about as well as he does in his current state, I thought the better of it. The food was good for this event, salads all the way around, taco, watermelon and shrimp.  We did the shrimp, which I grilled to perfection.

Our daughter has been around a lot recently, first for the Banker’s daughter’s bachelorette party and then for the wedding of one of her college hoops teammates. She’ll be back at the end of the month for another village wedding. During her first visit she suggested a ballgame, so we got to see Thairo Estrada’s first career walk-off homer to beat the Pirates.  Then the wife and I took in the Padres game on the last day of August, which we had planned a while ago.  We had primo seats but were in the sun. Mama Bear and Papa Bear then changed seats about five times until we had a good combo of shade, view and not taking someone else’s seats.  We left early to catch the train but did not miss much as the Giants lost.

As for village weddings, we went to the Banker’s daughter’s this past weekend and had a great time.  We got into San Diego Friday and checked into the Kona Kai, which was also the wedding venue. We were treated to a boat ride that evening with lots of good chow and drink and great views. I was going to try a Titanic picture pose but fortunately they roped off the bow.

The main event was Saturday at four.  We got to see the bride with her mom earlier when we were at the pool, and they were on their balcony.  The bride was beautiful, and her mom beamed proudly. It was a bit warm when the ceremony started but we got a good breeze. I teared up a bit as I usually do.  The officiant was one of the bride’s teammates from the Tufts hoops team and she did a great job.  This impressive couple has been together since those Tufts days.

After cocktails on the beach, we moved over to the dinner venue where a live band was rocking. I was behind the crowd during the first dance so could not see it too well live but caught the graceful steps a little later on video.  The speeches went well, with the Banker and his wife doing a great tag team job. I’m sure everyone enjoyed their meal as much as I did.  I heard there was an after party but I’m too old for such things.

There was a get together the next day at Mission Beach.  We wisely got there early as parking was at a premium.  I hopped into the water for a bit and then hung on the beach until it was time to say our goodbyes. As we left, we saw miles of traffic heading towards the beach, but we were off to my wife’s cousin’s house in Coronado. She graciously put us up until we flew out Tuesday.

Since I’ve disappointed my vast fan base by not posting in over a month, I am hereby committing to a daily post through Friday.  I hope I have the stamina to create a couple paragraphs daily, especially since my equanimity has been upended by all the drama surrounding Don’t Worry Darling.

Another NFL season is upon us so I will share my picks with you.  I am 0-1 after Buffalo took it to the Rams, but I’m hoping to bounce back tomorrow.

LAR NO Car SF Cin Phi Ind NE Bal Jax Ten KC LAC GB TB Den