Yellowbanks-Memorial Day Weekend

We had beautiful calm weather in the anchorage.

Friday’s Lunch – BBQ Ham Sliders on Mini Brioche:

And for dinner – Grilled Veal Chops with Tomato-Blue Cheese Butter and Cherry Tomato Salad with Oven-Roasted Potatoes:

Always happy to see Mary Frances!

Mike & Linda and Linda’s cousins stopped by to visit. I think we’re going to need more beer!

Significant Other made it out for the weekend too:

Saturday’s lunch – Cheeseburgers and for dinner – Paparadella with Meat Sauce:

Sunday’s lunch – a beautiful Cobb Salad:

Jim McDermott came out to do some spearfishing and brought us a wonderful piece of fresh-caught White Seas Bass.

Guess what went on the grill for dinner:

I felt ambitious this morning and baked a loaf of rustic bread.  After Happy Hour with friends, we had a simple dinner of fresh bread and cold cuts. Perfect!

Law Day Race

I was walking down the dock and ran into the McDermott family.  Shannon said the family was going to run a 5K, representing Jim’s law firm, in the morning and I should join them. I checked with Wendy Lascher (who works with the same firm) to see if she was entering the race and before I knew it I was signed up to run.  I had my slowest time ever but still placed 3^rd out of 5 in my age group.

Me & Wendy

Visiting Marco

We took a little detour when we left Sacramento and drove to Oakland.  A couple highlights of our visit were helping Marco with his homework - he interviewed Boat Papa for a school project.

 And taking him to school the next morning before heading back home to Ventura.

Chris' Law School Graduation

We drove up to Sacramento to celebrate Chris' graduation from law school.  He worked so hard, working full time as a law clerk during the day and going to school at night. We are so very proud of him!!!

Grandma Linda,Chris & Grandpa

Chris & Linda

Nick, Selena, Chris, Grandpa & Vanessa

Grandpa & Vanessa

Chris & Grandma Linda

Corinth, Mississippi

My brother challenged me to come to Corinth and run in his town's 10K. I said, I would if he would! And before you know it we were making plans to travel to Mississippi.
We arrived starving on a Wednesday night so Tom & Nita took us out to Mi Toro for Margaritas and dinner.  Our first night in the South and we eat at a Mexican joint!!

We stayed in a cute little Bed and Breakfast, The General's Quarters, not too far from my brother's place.

The next day Tom gave us a tour of the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center where he works as a Park Ranger.

We took a break for lunch at a traditional southern diner - Cindy's Place - one of my brother's favorites:

We chose Chicken Fried Steak with White Gravy, Peas, Mashed Potatoes, Fried Green Tomatoes, Corn Muffins and Black Eyed Peas:

Tom continued our Civil War tour around Corinth.  My brother has such a passion for the local area and battles.  A tour by the Famous Thomas Parson is very special indeed!

For dinner we went to an authentic barbecue place - Jimmy's Rib Shack - where we tried fried pickles, brisket, baked beans, cole slaw, toast and mac & cheese:

On Friday we drove to Tupelo (birthplace of Elvis!) to tour more Civil War battle sites.

We stopped for lunch at Romie's Grocery:

Ignoring the fact that I would be running a 10K in the morning I decided this would be a good time to try an Oyster & Shrimp PoBoy Sandwich with Hushpuppies:

 We picked up some fresh vegetables from the back of a truck in the restaurant parking lot and took them back to Tom & Nita's to grill.  We need a fried food free meal!!  Tom put the veggies, steak & chicken on the grill - delicious!

Brett ran out to Dilworth's so we could try Mississippi's version of a tamale:

Saturday morning was the day of the big race:

This was my toughest run to date.  Too much fried food the days before the race, didn't have my regular pre-race breakfast or my race snacks with me.  Poor nutrition, lack of hydration and severe pollen all contributed to my crash at the end of the race.  The cool part was having Elvis give me a high five a few hundred yards from the finish line.  And I was so proud of Tom, Nita & Sarah for finishing the race! 

We did it!!!!!

We had all pretty much recovered by the next day and Tom took us on a tour of Shiloh: