Waterside, Wine Fest, and Beautiful Weather

Hey y'all! Where the heck did October go? I was dreading it because it was going to be so busy, then I woke up and it was November! Whew! It least it's out of the way though.

I'm behind. Really, really behind (this is a picture heavy post, so you can skip my blabber to see them if ya like). I have so much to share! October stayed pretty mild for the most part, and fall didn't really hit until the end of October. I walked in the JDRF 5k with the fam, offered blood pressure screenings with some of my classmates at an American Heart Association Heart Walk, picked and painted pumpkins, attended a pharmacy conference, wined and dined at a wine fest, survived Sandy, and did a little gallivanting too. My plan - to share it all throughout this week.

First things first. Thanksgiving. I love it. The smells. The sounds. The meaning. It will NEVER get old to me. And the food ain't so bad either. I'm responsible for the cran sauce this year. What's that? Cran sauce comes in a can? Wrong. My nannie has made some decadent cran sauces over the years, and while mine may not be fancy-shmancy like hers, it will be pretty awesome. You just watch - I'll keep ya posted.

Enough turkey day talk, let's get back to that wine fest I mentioned. One of my very best girlfriends lives just down the street from me at the beach and she has a little part-time gig at Total Wine. When she told me she got this job, all I heard was, "Susan, I got a part-time thingy at Total Wine, so I can get mad discounts on wine for you and share all my wine perks since you're my favorite person in the world." Okay, okay - she may not have said that per se, but she has been sharing the wealth.

The weekend that I painted pumpkins, Sara (wine perk girlfriend) texted me that she might possibly have a Town Point Wine Fest ticket for me for the following weekend. Remember that pharmacy conference I mentioned? Well, it was taking place at the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside, and the Town Point Virginia Wine Fest was taking place just down the street at Town Point Park . . . just minutes after my conference wrapped up. Sounds like perfect timing all around, right? Right! I took it as a sign to attend. She and I used to do so much together, but since pharmacy school kinda took over, we haven't been able to hang as much. This was the perfect opportunity. The weather was absolutely gorgeous that day - even got a little sun on my face.

I called her after my conference was over, and she and her main man (Matt) were headed my way. If you don't know anything about the Hampton Roads area, well . . . there's traffic. Kinda like DC traffic, except kinda worse. If you don't know anything about Norfolk, VA, well . . . I'd call it an urban city (much like Richmond), therefore parking is . . . your worst nightmare. Another cool tidbit - Norfolk is a huge naval hub. HUGE. With all of that being said, I just summed it up that they would be a while - good thing I brought my camera!

I leisurely walked along the Elizabeth River, passed by Town Point Park, finally making it to Nauticus (told her to meet me there). If you're ever in or around Norfolk, please make it a point to visit Nauticus. You won't regret it for a second. It is literally fun for persons of every age. Nauticus is a naval museum that also happens to have the USS Wisconsin Battleship available for you to explore! There are tons of Navy veterans standing around telling you stories and tons of information that only they would know! I've been in the museum and on the ship a few times, and it's always fun for me. Maybe I'm a nerd?

Once I got to Nauticus, I parked my behind on a park bench and people-watched for a good hour or so, and let me tell you - it was some of the best people watching I've done in a while. I knew that this was a busy area, but I could not understand where the hoards of people were coming from! They couldn't all be coming for the wine festival?! I finally figured out that there's a cruise ship port to the left of Nauticus, and people were boarding the cruise ship! Lucky ducks!

Here's where I shut my trap and let the pictures speak for themselves.

This is Navy industry at its best. This pretty sunrise greeted me on Saturday morning before the conference (Portsmouth, VA just over that way).

These items were inside of a financial building that I had to walk through, to get to my conference. I'd love to have a scaled down version of the ship for a nautical themed bathroom. For whatever reason, I couldn't get that idea out of my head all day haha. That neon mermaid may not have a place in my bathroom, but neat none-the-less. 

There's a story about the mermaids. Ever been in a city where there are different statues of the same thing? For example - Richmond has fish, the Outer Banks has winged horses, and Norfolk has mermaids. I'm certain there are tons of other cities that have statues like this, but those are just the ones that I know of. Essentially, the same statue can be found around the city, but each one looks different. Don't ask me how or why, they just do haha.

Here's where my stroll along the Elizabeth River started. Why the black and white of the bridge? This isn't just any bridge. This is the Berkley Bridge. What's special about it? Glad you asked! See the tower in the picture on the left? It contains a watchman because this bridge is scheduled to open up at various times throughout the day. This means that traffic stops, the bridge opens, and ships pass through. It's called a bascule bridge (according to Wiki). Pretty cool right? One of my dad's long-time friends is in the Navy, and one year, we joined him on his ship for friends and family day. I actually got to be on the ship and watch the bridge open so that we could pass through! Pretty cool I'd say. 

I pretty much just love this. Who says I can't get good bokeh with my lens?

I think they may have missed their boat . . .

This street cart vendor reminded me of an old-timey carnival.

This is my where nautical-themed bathroom idea began to expand . . . every time I snapped a pic. 

See? More mermaids.

Finally made it to Nauticus. Prepare yourselves for the enormity that is the USS Wisconsin.

The last time I was on the Wisconsin (about three years ago), she was still a fully functioning ship - meaning she could still be used whenever deemed necessary (not sure if that's still the case). What's even more crazy? She's only sitting in a few feet of water!

There's the cruise ship I mentioned, just behind the Wisconsin.

Sorry for the weird plant all in focus - this is where I got lazy and people watched. Do you see that long line of people waiting to get on that cruise ship (this is when the line was short too)? Crazy amounts of people! But then again, look at how big that cruise ship is!

Could. Not. Pass. This. Up. These two fellas were a riot. They've probably been friends longer than I've been alive, but they were a hoot.

Here's the museum. Go. Do it. Please!

Nautical-themed bathroom idea took over here. Could you not see this blown up large on a canvas?? It's all I see. Nautical-themed bathroom is a happening. 

Sara and Matt finally found somewhere to park, they found me, and we went on in to the wine fest. People from every walk of life enjoy wine apparently haha. Who knew? There were tons of people - largest wine fest I've ever been to. 

I bought a bottle of the Red Star 2010 from Veritas. I've had their White Star at another wine fest, and absolutely loved it. I've not been to Veritas before, but it's in another very beautiful area of Virginia and has won quite a few awards. Jefferson Vineyards' Pinot Gris still remains my favorite.

The cruise ship was ginormous!! We were at the wine fest for a few hours and it was still in port right before sunset. She finally started to pull away and everyone at the wine fest was waving at them and those on board were waving right back - it was hilarious!

Sara and Matt - take 3 out of like 20. 

The day began to draw to a close, so we headed back to our car (Matt was so kind to be DD) with pizza on the brain. As we rounded the corner, the sun decided to give us a little show, and boy did she!

It doesn't get much better than that, does it? I'm so thankful for friends that are understanding of my chaotic and stressful life - ones that pick up right where we left off. 

-Sue

Flower Tips and Paying It Forward

While we did not lose power because of the storms, many of my friends, co-workers, and Nannie did, and some are still without power. Lucky us because my Nannie has been staying with us for a few days until her power is restored.

Tonight after my mom fixed dinner, she went outside to help my dad with some tree related things before eating, so my Nannie and I waited for them enjoyed dinner together. She has been reading my blog and from the post seen here she let me in on the identity of those flowers. The ones that I termed as "fuzzy" are actually Mimosa Trees, and the "peaceful, white ones" are Queen's Anne's Lace. 

Initially these just struck my fancy as I made my drive to and from work everyday. Little did I know that they would tug on a different heart string for someone else. After explaining to me what each one was, my Nannie told me that as a child she laid underneath a Mimosa Tree that was on my Grandparent's (her parent's) farm on those hot summer days. Now whenever I see them, I will always think of my Nannie laying under them as a kid. 

On another note, I forgot to mention something pretty crazy that happened to me this weekend. On Saturday night I went to the movies with my cousin and decided to swing through the Chik-Fil-A drive thru and grab a sandwich first. I proceeded to the payment window where the employee told me that the woman in front of me wanted to do something nice for someone today, so she paid for the person's meal behind her. Which was me. I was shocked and completely humbled by this woman's actions. I noticed she had pulled into a parking spot just beside the stop sign that I would come to before leaving the parking lot. I got my sandwich and drink and pulled up to the stop sign before going to the movie theater. I looked over her way and mouthed thank you with a huge smile, in which she returned a thumbs up and a huge smile. 

I think this affected me the way that it did because working with the public, no matter the setting (fast-food, restaurants, customer service, cashier at Kohl's or the grocery store, or your legal drug dispenser, a pharmacist) can be extremely trying and exhausting. I'll even go so far as to say that it can sometimes make you bitter - not better. People never cease to amaze me by their actions and the words that leave their mouths - and I DO NOT mean amaze me in a positive way. More of a Icantbelievetheyjustsaidordidthat kind of way. 

I immediately posted on Facebook what had happened to me and was almost just as surprised that so many of my friends liked it on Facebook.

The next morning upon waking, I began to think some more about what the woman had done. In a psychology course that I took in undergrad it was mentioned a few times that various studies have been (and I'm sure still are) done to see people's reactions/responses to different situations - like if someone were lying "injured" on the street or if an "elderly" person needed help crossing a busy intersection, what would you do? This made me think that maybe this woman was doing something similar - let me do something totally random and kind for someone and see if they even acknowledge it. Perhaps she was doing one of those let me do something to better mankind things for 365 days - an attempt at bettering the world with hopes that each person/thing that she does gets noticed and transcends. Or maybe she was just doing something nice, and expected nothing at all. 

Either way, we should all live with this mentality. Maybe she will see this and realize that she affected someone more profoundly than she had planned. Maybe she won't. At the end of the day, we are responsible and will be held accountable for our actions no matter what.

What will you do to pay it forward?

-Suze

Lock Me Up

Disclaimer - Content/picture heavy post.

It's no secret that I recently went to Philadelphia. There will be another post in the near future with some of the usual touristy photos from Philly because I visited late last October and that's when I.fell.in.love.with.Philly. 

So yes. I finished my rotation a few weeks ago, and hours after giving my decent fantastic presentation (if I do say so myself) on a patient with unknown liver failure origin and induced renal failure, I headed for Philly with my roommate and her sister.

The drive up was far from pleasant. It was Friday. On I-95. At 6pm. In rain torrential downpour/storms that we drove in the entire trip. We did see some stunning rainbows/double rainbows while sitting in traffic.

We finally arrived. Went on a goose chase to find our hotel/reception site (they were at the same location - SO smart if you have a big drinkin' family/family flying in from all over). We found it. Then we were starving. So we dined at the finest establishment open at 12am. Hooters. Personally, I like Hooters' grilled cheese. Just saying.

The next day was absolutely gorgeous. Could not have asked for a better weekend. I'm not a fan of hot weather/humidity. AT.ALL. 

I kept seeing huge magnolia trees everywhere. We have them in Virginia, in fact I have a yittle one in my front yard, but magnolias take years to mature and produce flowers, and you're lucky if you can get a pretty one that hasn't fallen off the tree and begun to wither. Jackpot. I did. 

We were so conflicted about what to do that morning because the wedding was at 2pm and the reception wasn't until 6pm. Strange kinda but I actually ended up liking it honestly. It gave the bride and groom a little reprieve as well as guests. The reception site/hotel was located outside of Philly about 35 minutes or so, and the church where the wedding was at was only about 20 minutes from there in Upper Darby, so going into Philly to do things we had planned wasn't entirely do-able. 

Instead, we decided to embrace our food loves of Philly. We trekked to Pica's on that beautiful Saturday day and made it back just in time to eat gorge ourselves and get dressed for the wedding. If you've never had Pica's, you may not like it. It's like no other pizza honestly. It does however remind me of a cross between Ellio's Pizzas and the box Chef Boyardee Pizza Kits from when I was a kid (except eons better). Please tell me y'all have had both of these? If not, go buy both and make them. Then go to Pica's in Philly and order a cheese pizza extra sauce. You'll thank me. 

So we gorged. Then did the wedding shindig. Then we had time to kill. My roommate's dad insisted on WaWa pretzels (they're freshest in Pennsylvania because WaWa's originated there) and her sister stopped for a Philly hoagie at one of the multiple places to get one in Pennsylvania. If you've never had either of these, put it on ya' list. Not so much the pretzels, just WaWa in general. We have them in Virginny, but they're far more quaint and cute in Pennsylvania and I love them. All of them. 

We got back. We freshened up. We prepared to party. Then. We partied. Hardy. Had an absolute blast at the reception. Probably the most fun that I've ever had at a wedding. Crashed at some point. Woke up on Sunday. Got up pulled myself from the mattress, showered, packed, checked out, and hit the road for Philadelphia. 

The plan was the Philadelphia Museum of Art and then head back to Virginia. Well. That changed. Because this was going on. All roads near the museum were shut down and there were cyclists everywhere! Ev.er.y.where. We finally got parking squared away right across from this (about 10 blocks or so from the museum).

We definitely lucked out because we parked in the cutest darn neighborhood which happened to be right next to Eastern State Penitentiary. We had mentioned it before in passing, but hadn't really thought about it otherwise. So we fit this in first! 

Just a little side note, the Fairmount area of Philadelphia is to die for. There are tons of local little restaurants, row style homes similar to those in Richmond, DC, and Baltimore, and the nicest, prettiest, most tattoo-ed folks everywhere. I die. Lock.Me.Up. I'm moving. Watch me. I know, I know. Southerner on Northern soil? I think it could maybe work.

Back to ESP - yes it's on the ghost tour thing, yes it's the one you've seen on tv, yes it's creepy/spooky, yes I loved it and want to do it again in the dark, yes Al Capone stayed here, yes you should put it on ya' list, and yes the rest of this post will be tons of photos of doors, locks, and windows. 

But first, flowers. Duh. Strangely enough, ESP is surrounded with the prettiest little flowers. Their attempt at making it more appealing hardened criminals?

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

ESP was built in the 1820's if I remember correctly and advanced as technology did. It closed in the 1970's, so if you think about it, that wasn't that long ago. We did the audio tour of the place and listened to eerie stories about the construction of the penitentiary, as well as stories about various inmates that they housed. In fact, ol' Thomas Jefferson wanted to visit ESP just because of the architectural design that ESP possessed. ESP was designed with a watch tower in the center with arms that extended off of it termed "cell blocks." Each cell block was built as the inmate population grew. I think all but one of them was built so that you could see from one end to the other. 

The center watch tower.

Cell block one.

The cell blocks that were designed to be long hallways of sorts so that guards could see from one end to the other.

Standing inside one of the cells.

Bet they didn't sleep on memory foam.

Food door (that was later blocked in).

Loo anyone?

The light within ESP entered solely through these skylights.

Doors on the outside of the cells.

Probably why my throat hurt so badly after leaving.

Wouldn't want to drop your soap in there.

I believe this may have been a barber's chair.

Some of the outside ruins.

Cell block 3 where the hospital was located.

Al Capone had his tonsils removed here.

Some of the ornate locks located within ESP.

In the "New York" type cell block within ESP.

Just in case they wanted to clean up a little. HA!

Inside the cell block that housed Al Capone.

Al Capone's cell (yucky picture, little chil'ren running around in front of me, beside me - you get the idea).

Outside the cell blocks within the walls of ESP.

 

Just in case you wanted to hang around for a few and ponder life's mysteries where inmates once had.

Buttons from the only mechanical type cell block located at ESP. Most of the inmates scheduled for the death penalty were kept here.

Pillows that withstood the test of time.

 Miscellaneous.

All of the walls at ESP had paint just peeling off in sheets everywhere. I can probably assume that this paint contained copious amounts of lead, in which case I probably have a small tumor growing inside me now.

My how visitation rooms have changed over the years. Just a thin screen between you and your inmate.

 Leaving ESP.

Our view from lunch.

Speaking of lunch. By the time we were done at ESP we were famished could finally stomach food, so we headed for the closest restaurant we could find. We decided on Jack's Firehouse which happened to be right across the street along with various other cute eateries. It reminded me so much of a hometown favorite, Station2 (get the fried pickles if you visit). We sat outside on their charming little patio and feasted on these first.

Biscuits of course! They also brought a cornbread type muffin and another muffin of sorts. The biscuit wasn't awful, but the butter and homemade cherry stuff was to die for. It wasn't a jam and not really like a compote either, mostly just cherries broken down in a liquid-like glaze. Dee-vine though. For my meal, I had the southern omelet with organic sausage, peppers, and cheddar with a side of killer cheesy grits. Two things I'll admit - I hate when eggs are overdone (I have won an egg cook-off before) and I love me some grits. Well . . . the omelet had cooked too long and the grits were on point. One point was awarded. The roomie had the filet mignon benedict with spicy hollandaise over biscuits, and she didn't seem to have any complaints. 

After lunch we headed for the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We got caught in a small rain shower on the way and stumbled upon the Perelman Building first (there's the main building and this building below that comprise the Philadelphia Museum of Art). We passed on this one and ventured to the main one.

First glimpse.

We made it!

Now this may look familiar to some as being the steps that Rocky Balboa ran. Well you're right. Here's a little flashback for anyone that wants. Naturally, we had to visit his statue.

Next, we followed suit (ya' kinda have to, to get in the museum), and the steps weren't bad at all (maybe if it's snowing and I were running I would feel differently haha).

There's a decent shot of City Hall. In my future post the pictures will be from City Hall and LOVE Park looking towards the Museum of Art.

The ceiling and pillars of the main building.

Some of the beautiful glass pieces inside the museum.

The Agnew Clinic by Thomas Eakins (a native from Philly - a lot of his work was on display). I really wanted to see The Gross Clinic, but it had been taken out temporarily for another exhibit to be displayed.

Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen.

Camille Roulin by Van Gogh.

Brillo Boxes by Andy Warhol.

Four Jackies by Andy Warhol.

Still Life with a Pipe, a Violin, and a Bottle of Bass by Picasso.

Glass of Absinthe by Picasso.

We spent about three hours inside and only covered the first floor! You could definitely spend all day there.

Boy do I love Philadelphia.

Get ya' lists ready and head to Philly!

-Suze