Such a great weekend to kick-off a well earned vacation. Where to start? It all began early Saturday morning…
… after being woken up at 6am because Roscoe was starving to death. Or at least that’s how he’s been acting for the past week every morning around this time. He’ll cry, shred any paperwork laying around the apartment, get on my dresser and pull down jewelry, knock over my water, even chew on my nightgown straps. Needless to say, I started my vacation earlier than expected. And was off to the farm for a day with Joe!
I’ve wanted to hike Vroman’s Nose for a while now, especially after seeing some friends post photographs. Joe is not much of a hiker but I convinced him to join me because of the short distance. And he loved it! Once we got to the top, I could tell he wasn’t expecting the view that was before us, and he was running around (not too close to the edge) like a kid.
Here he is crawling to the edge because he was getting dizzy.
A little tree stand pose.
Joe was yelling at me while I was inching closer to the edge. I was going to dangle my legs off the edge; I think he was more afraid than I was.
When we got home, we had a couple hours to pass until we had to leave for his family reunion, so we headed over to the house. Because the previous owner’s family hasn’t come up to claim their belongings yet, we can’t trash everything in the house. So for now, we started cleaning out the kitchen and getting rid of the obvious junk/clutter. And took some “before” photographs of the inside of the house (soon to be posted on facebook).
Then it was time for the Cantore Family Reunion. Most of these people I had never heard of or met, but I tagged along to the Albany Marriott for some good food and company. All of the Montenaro’s (Joe’s immediate family) we there, which was great because we are all scattered out across the country. After a delicious and typical italian meal, it was time to get our dance on! AND I got to meet Jim Cantore, the guy from the Weather Channel. Yeap, he’s part of Joe’s family. I got a picture with him that I was going to post with the caption “we make it rain,” but typical me was talking while getting it taken, so it’s not a personal best representation of me.
Once we were back in Amsterdam around 10pm, I got a text from one of Joe’s cousins inviting us out for karaoke. I don’t know why I was hesitant, because they are all really fun people, but I was tired. And obviously not thinking straight. Joe simply reminded me that I hadn’t seen them since my roadtrip last year and with them living in three different states (Virginia, South Dakota and Oregon), it would probably be a while until we would all be back together. Back to Albany we went…
… and ended up at Maggie’s Cafe. I have never gone out for karaoke nor have I gone out with all three cousins at the same time. But let me tell you. I haven’t laughed so hard, sang so loud, or danced so much (without being drunk in downtown Saratoga) in a long time! We initiated Joe by teaching him how to light a sambuca shot on fire, in your mouth, and swallow it. Then Pete’s name was finally called- the first in our group to go up. Bad Romance by Lady Gaga was his song of choice. They must not have been expecting the performance he gave because people were impressed. So impressed by all three of their performances in fact that they bought our group a round. We also overheard the DJ talking to the owner? about how to get us back the following week. Gosh, I didn’t know I was out with karaoke pros. Joe got up there and by the end of the night, my voice was gone. As was my sobriety. Apparently the whole ride home I thought the karaoke show wasn’t over and belted out Garth Brooks for the entire thirty minutes. You know it’s love when you put with someone as tone-deaf as me. Drunk. For that long. And not once did he ask me to quiet down. We needed that night out together.
Sunday morning came late and it was lazy. We decided to go work on the house, part of the siding needed to be replaced because of water damage. Other than that, I relaxed. And daydreamed about what the house will once again look like. Joe had to go to work and I had to head home to check up on Roscoe. I was pleasantly surprised not to find a “surprise” on the hard wood floor (what is frequently left when I spend little time with him) and will spend the evening cuddling up with him and catching up on The Office. Any last minute takers on Chicago this weekend to see Green Day, Lady Gaga, Soundgarden and many more bands?