Family 2012
Dad ordering meatball (w/ spaghetti).
Parents these days with their cellphones at the table...
An amazing read
Sunday, May 20, 2012
OIB 2012
The Bentley Family met for the 29th (or 30th?) year in a row at OIB last weekend. We stayed in a new place, although it seemed familiar. The weather on Saturday was perfect beach weather. I read a rather interesting story about swashbuckling pirates and treasure hunting. It was the classic novel Treasure Island, something a 29 year old should read. Being 29 and mature, I was able to read it in one sitting. Mom, Rachel and I walked to Poo Babe (Is that really how it's spelled?). We had a wonderful Mother's Day dinner at Robertos. Mom especially loved the Texas Toast, and the salads were worth writing about so they will forever live on in blog history.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
2nd Annual Golf Outing
Me and the boys had our 2nd annual golf outing a few weeks ago at Myrtle Beach. After our successful inaugural trip last year, everyone wanted to get in on the action. We increased the group from 4 to 10. Cody's father-in-law has a condo in Barefoot Landing and he let us stay there for free which was nice. Unfortunately it only slept 4, but we made it work with a few air mattresses and some good attitudes.
Pat and Alan showed up early and we played a practice round in Raleigh on Friday. In Myrtle, we played two courses, the Wizard and Man-O-War. They were very nice courses, which we got a good deal on through our friend Jeff. Adam won the Saturday round with a 92, I came in second with a 94, and I think Bobby placed last with a 120 or so... but looked good doing it (see pic). After the round we relaxed at the pool before heading to eat and play some mini golf. At about 11pm we called it a night which was surprising for this crew, but we did have an early tee time, so I won't blame it on old age yet. On Sunday me and Adam tied for first place with a 101... it was a tad tougher and we were all pretty tired. I think high scores were in the 140s... yikes!
We all had a real good time, and can't wait for our next group event. Looking forward to the 5th year trip to Pebble Beach! Sean should have his PhD by then, so we'll have him finance that one ;)
Group photo before our second round began... from left to right: Alan, Adam (worked with Sean), Pat, Sean, Cody, Jason, Me, Bobby, Jeff (from Greenville, friends with Bobby and Pat, and fan and frequent attendee of 6 Inch Voices shows), Ricky (lived in the townhouse off Kaplan with me and Bobby during the summer of 2003).
Bobby dressed stylishly for our first round. Too bad it didn't shave off any strokes from his game.
Pat, Cody, and Jason on Sunday
Sean and Jeff.
Cody, Adam and Bobby enjoying some Mini Golf
Group photo at the finish.
Pat and Alan showed up early and we played a practice round in Raleigh on Friday. In Myrtle, we played two courses, the Wizard and Man-O-War. They were very nice courses, which we got a good deal on through our friend Jeff. Adam won the Saturday round with a 92, I came in second with a 94, and I think Bobby placed last with a 120 or so... but looked good doing it (see pic). After the round we relaxed at the pool before heading to eat and play some mini golf. At about 11pm we called it a night which was surprising for this crew, but we did have an early tee time, so I won't blame it on old age yet. On Sunday me and Adam tied for first place with a 101... it was a tad tougher and we were all pretty tired. I think high scores were in the 140s... yikes!
We all had a real good time, and can't wait for our next group event. Looking forward to the 5th year trip to Pebble Beach! Sean should have his PhD by then, so we'll have him finance that one ;)
Sunday, April 8, 2012
the patio
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Here is the patio---I put the before picture at the end and I don't know how to move it to the top. |
Monday, March 19, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
London, Day 14, The End
Today was our final day in Europe... It's been a long adventure.
We started off the day slow again, but we really didn't have much of an agenda. It was a nice blue day out, but cold in the low 50's. We started out by heading over to the National Gallery which is London's free version of the Louvre. We were pretty much done with art from the early periods so we headed to the galleries of Monet and Van Gogh. They had about 7 or 8 paintings from each. There were also a few Rembrant's that were easy to spot... colorless portraits (all were confirmed authentic). Next we headed to the Tower of London. We traveled by metro again. All of the metros have been very nice compared to what the NYC subway looks like. We got in line for tickets which were £21 a person! As we were waiting, a nice gentleman came up and asked if we wanted a buy one get one free coupon. Being wary of strangers, I declined. He looked very surprised, shrugged, and threw the coupon in the trash can. At that point I realized he was just a nice guy, so I did a little dumpster diving... Made one pass, spotted the coupon, second pass I nonchalantly threw away some paper while reaching in. Surely no one saw me... :) It was genuine and we saved £21 which was nice! We listened to the free tour by the Yeomen that live and work there. It was very interesting and entertaining. After the tour we headed in to see all the sights; the crown jewels, the armory, and a few of the towers.
We crossed the Tower Bridge and then headed back to the hotel. We went to our new favorite Italian restaurant that we discovered in Italy, Rossopomodoro. They have 8 locations. 5 in Italy, one in London, NYC, and Tokyo. It is truly the best pizza.
So that is it, we are done. Our transfer agent picks us up tomorrow at 8:50 and we head home. It will be sad to leave, but I'll be glad to get home.
The train station
Westminster Abbey
Big Ben at night.
Our hotel... Super nice.
We started off the day slow again, but we really didn't have much of an agenda. It was a nice blue day out, but cold in the low 50's. We started out by heading over to the National Gallery which is London's free version of the Louvre. We were pretty much done with art from the early periods so we headed to the galleries of Monet and Van Gogh. They had about 7 or 8 paintings from each. There were also a few Rembrant's that were easy to spot... colorless portraits (all were confirmed authentic). Next we headed to the Tower of London. We traveled by metro again. All of the metros have been very nice compared to what the NYC subway looks like. We got in line for tickets which were £21 a person! As we were waiting, a nice gentleman came up and asked if we wanted a buy one get one free coupon. Being wary of strangers, I declined. He looked very surprised, shrugged, and threw the coupon in the trash can. At that point I realized he was just a nice guy, so I did a little dumpster diving... Made one pass, spotted the coupon, second pass I nonchalantly threw away some paper while reaching in. Surely no one saw me... :) It was genuine and we saved £21 which was nice! We listened to the free tour by the Yeomen that live and work there. It was very interesting and entertaining. After the tour we headed in to see all the sights; the crown jewels, the armory, and a few of the towers.
We crossed the Tower Bridge and then headed back to the hotel. We went to our new favorite Italian restaurant that we discovered in Italy, Rossopomodoro. They have 8 locations. 5 in Italy, one in London, NYC, and Tokyo. It is truly the best pizza.
So that is it, we are done. Our transfer agent picks us up tomorrow at 8:50 and we head home. It will be sad to leave, but I'll be glad to get home.
The train station
Westminster Abbey
Big Ben at night.
Our hotel... Super nice.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
London, Day 13
No wi-fi again so no pictures, and hopefully this works. We made it to London by way of the Eurostar through the Chunnel. We thought our trip was only an hour, but we changed time zones so it was actually 2 hrs. We arrived at the train station and were met by our transfer agent. We made it to the hotel in a few minutes. It was a nice, after the last two travel days.
It was drizzling out when we got in around 1pm, so we headed to a Starbucks and read for a while. We headed out for a walk in the afternoon. We were close to Westminster Abbey so we stopped by for a few pictures. We headed over to the Parliament building and saw Big Ben. Next we headed to Trafalgar Square, where a St. Patricks Day festival was taking place with live music. We checked it out for a little, but there were no bands that looked interesting so we kept walking. We headed through St. Jame's Park and up to Buckingham Palace. So we pretty much saw it all in an afternoon.
Tomorrow we'll probably head over to the Tower of London and London Bridge.
We headed back to the hotel and stopped by a restaurant recommended by the hotel. Unfortunately it was booked due to St. Patricks Day. We headed to the restaurant in the hotel and I just had a good ole burger and fries.
It was drizzling out when we got in around 1pm, so we headed to a Starbucks and read for a while. We headed out for a walk in the afternoon. We were close to Westminster Abbey so we stopped by for a few pictures. We headed over to the Parliament building and saw Big Ben. Next we headed to Trafalgar Square, where a St. Patricks Day festival was taking place with live music. We checked it out for a little, but there were no bands that looked interesting so we kept walking. We headed through St. Jame's Park and up to Buckingham Palace. So we pretty much saw it all in an afternoon.
Tomorrow we'll probably head over to the Tower of London and London Bridge.
We headed back to the hotel and stopped by a restaurant recommended by the hotel. Unfortunately it was booked due to St. Patricks Day. We headed to the restaurant in the hotel and I just had a good ole burger and fries.
Location:Caxton St,,United Kingdom
Friday, March 16, 2012
Paris, Day 12
We got off to a slow start today because we needed a rest. Unfortunately, we are only in Paris for one full day so we couldn't lounge around too long. We started off by viewing the Arc de Triomphe. I could have watched the activity in the traffic circle for hours. With all the scooters around and high speeds, I'm surprised we haven't seen any wrecks yet.
After the Arc, we headed to the Louvre. We spent a few hours there, but it was so massive there was no way to see it all, and unfortunately we had kinda reached art overload. The highlight to me was the hand sketches by Delaroche and the corresponding paintings. We saw the crowd favorites Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, but they just kinda leave you wondering why are they so famous compared to the others... some statues still had arms. I had a ham and cheese baguette at the museum and it was so good we found a sandwich shop for dinner as well.
After the Louvre, we headed to Notre Dame. The stained glass was incredible and looked good since it was another nice sunny day. The colors really came out in the pictures on the camera, not so much on the phone...
We walked a little to find "the best ice cream in the world" at Berthillion. It was very good, but did not live up to the description. We took a stroll down the Champ-Elysées and then called it a day.
We definitely needed more time in Paris... It's a very spread out city. We had to take the metro between every location and still ended up walking many miles.
We have really enjoyed all the cities so far. Maybe it's because it's out of the typical tourist season, but everything seems safe, uncrowded, and everyone has been extremely nice. The weather has been perfect as well. It's looking like rain in London, but we'll see...
After the Arc, we headed to the Louvre. We spent a few hours there, but it was so massive there was no way to see it all, and unfortunately we had kinda reached art overload. The highlight to me was the hand sketches by Delaroche and the corresponding paintings. We saw the crowd favorites Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, but they just kinda leave you wondering why are they so famous compared to the others... some statues still had arms. I had a ham and cheese baguette at the museum and it was so good we found a sandwich shop for dinner as well.
After the Louvre, we headed to Notre Dame. The stained glass was incredible and looked good since it was another nice sunny day. The colors really came out in the pictures on the camera, not so much on the phone...
We walked a little to find "the best ice cream in the world" at Berthillion. It was very good, but did not live up to the description. We took a stroll down the Champ-Elysées and then called it a day.
We definitely needed more time in Paris... It's a very spread out city. We had to take the metro between every location and still ended up walking many miles.
We have really enjoyed all the cities so far. Maybe it's because it's out of the typical tourist season, but everything seems safe, uncrowded, and everyone has been extremely nice. The weather has been perfect as well. It's looking like rain in London, but we'll see...
Location:Rue Boissière,Paris,France
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