Brandi and Michael's Wedding- Aug 20, 2010

Brandi had a beautiful wedding here in Cincinnati.  Her and Michael are a beautiful couple and it was a fun party with a bunch of us from the residency.  It was a reunion of sorts as Lauren, Crystal, and Tamara came back in town.  While we didn't know most of the songs, we still danced the night away.

Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and other Randomness- Aug 8, 2010

On our way back to civilization, eg Cincinnati, we wanted to stop by infamous Gatlinburg.  To get there we drove through Pigeon Forge which is like a little Vegas of random entertainment and home to Dollywood.  Gatlinburg itself was smaller than I thought it would be and reminds me a little of Branson, MO.  Everything from the tie dye t-shirts to kitsch-filled shops to Ripley's Believe It or Not.  It was a fun cap to our weekend in Eastern Tennessee.

Katy and Erik's Wedding- Aug 7, 2010

Katie looked absolutely beautiful on her wedding day.  It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony with the reception immediately following in the out-of-the-ways, literally, locale in the middle of Eastern Tennessee.  While our cell-phones didn't work, our dancing shoes did.

Great Smokey Mountain National Park- Aug 7, 2010

After breakfast at a local cafe, Kim and I spent the morning and afternoon before the wedding exploring the national park, driving at 0.1mph, seeing bear cubs in the wild, and hiking the steep Chimney Tops trail in light speed time.  My leg and hip muscles definitely paid for it the next day.

La Boheme- July 23, 2010

A classic Italian opera by Puccini, I've always wanted to see it and luckily it's one of the highlights of the Cincinnati Opera's season at the Music Hall this year and Cathy was game to go.  It was pretty good.   I can definitely see how Rent was based off it.  The set itself was amazing, really fantastic.

King's Island- July 17, 2010

Another place on my bucket list was King's Island, so Cheryl, Dave, JT, Sapan, and I braved the hot muggy weather and the long rollercoaster lines.  The Diamondback and Firehawk were my favorites and the Vortex was cool.  The Beast was kinda painful though, I'm pretty sure I bruised my arms from the jostling.

Chalk B-Day Dinner- July 15, 2010

For a

Tara and Ndidi went out to dinner with me on my actual birthday, a last minute affair as I was on jeopardy.  But my belated celebration was dinner at Chalk.  A cute restaurant in Covington I'd always wanted to go to, it did not disappoint.  The duck fat fries were delicious and the choose your own adventure surprise 4 course meal was a lot of fun too.