Friday in Seattle: we went shopping and had a nice lunch. Later in the afternoon, we found an Internet cafe’ and found a place to stay, this site seemed to have the best deals and the best hotels. We were here for a wedding, so after we found and checked into our hotel, we had to head over to the wedding rehearsal that was at the Clise Mansion. That’s were we met the rest of the wedding party and was briefed on our roles and responsibilities by the pastor.

Then it was time to head off to the rehearsal dinner at the Red Hook Brewery! Yes! We knew there was a reason we were here! What a great place, and that’s where we finally got to really get to know the wedding party members better. There’s nothing like alcohol to make everyone relax from the stress of the wedding plans and let loose!

Saturday morning, we tagged along while the groom got a haircut and a manicure, we then had lunch with him and his parents, his grandparents and all his siblings. Then we made our way to the wedding. It was amazing that the sun was shining, which was superb, because the wedding ceremony was outdoors at a garden. The ceremony was perfect and I cried. Dang! I don’t know what it is about weddings that make me cry.

Afterward, at the reception, we drank, ate and danced for hours. Then the entire wedding party headed back to our hotel, because we weren’t ready to stop partying, and all met up at the lounge. We finally made it up to our room somewhere around 4am, but only after saying goodbye to the newlyweds who were heading off to their honeymoon suite at a hotel not far from us. For us, instead of sleeping, we went out on the balcony of our hotel and watched the sunrise.

Traveling through Texas takes a lot of planning, considering exactly where you want to stop and when, what time you want to head out to arrive at your next destination.  Many times, I found myself coming in from New Mexico, and through Lubbock, Texas, to get to where I wanted to go; it wasn’t until recently that I slowed down and actually found a place to stay the night that I appreciated the city’s real value.

Lubbock, Texas, after all, is actually a rock and roll icon.  The city is the birthplace of Buddy Holly, and the town embraces this with the Buddy Holly Center.  You’ve got to love a city that devotes museum space to honor the late, famed singer, even to the point of including his old high school bedroom suite.  The museum also encourages the growth and awareness of Texas Music and attempts to bring together art and music in a series of exhibits and events.  It includes, too, the Texas Musicians Hall of Fame, where you’ll find the aforementioned bedroom.  The center has outreach and educational programs, such as classes and workshops, even visiting artists programs.  For the casual visitor, though, it’s the museum itself that should aid one in learning more about musicians in Texas and their influence on the larger world.

If you’re traveling with a family, there’s a number of activities in town that would be ideal.  There’s an amusement park known as Joyland Amusement Park, for the kids.  If you’re traveling with adults, in addition to the Buddy Holly Center, you may want to check out the Silent Wings Museum, especially if you’re a World War II buff.  This museum is dedicated to the pilots and gliders of the World War II military glider program!  If you never knew the military had such a program, this is definitely the place to find out more.

Tommy really wanted Denise to move with him to Columbus, Ohio. It’s not that living in the city has always been a dream of his and he’s not from there or anything. He just recently received a great job offer from an architectural firm in Columbus and he feels as though it would be a great career move. He originally sent his resume just as a hopeful fluke and then when he was granted an interview he was almost floored. However, once again he didn’t believe in his chances but decided to go to the interview because he felt it would be good practice, or something he couldn’t remember now. The point is that the last thing he actually anticipated was to be offered the position, which once it happened he saw no logical way he could turn it down.

This meant that he and Denise would either have to engage in a long distance relationship or she too would have to move. Or of course they could break up, which neither of them wanted to do. Tommy talked Denise into going with him to visit the city. He needed to find a place to live and he hoped that she would fall in love with Columbus and they could find a place for both of them. Everything got off to a great start on their first morning as they woke up in the hotel room and the weather was perfect. They opened the door to the balcony and a beautiful breeze blew in that wasn’t too chilly.

They got ready and headed out to visit different neighborhoods and stopped for a late breakfast on the way. They happened to pass by Victorian’s Midnight Café and decided to try it. They sat out on the open patio and enjoyed a great cup of coffee before their breakfast plates came out. While they waited they looked around the place, which seemed to be a combination of eatery and nightclub. They noticed the stage and looked at the schedule of live bands and decided they should stop back by some evening. Just then their plates arrived and Denise had the buttermilk pancakes, which she thought were great. Tommy had the Vic’s breakfast with bacon and was also impressed. As they were paying their bill Denise mentioned she thought this could be one of their standard favorite breakfast spots and Tommy was encouraged as they set out to look at homes.

The idea of an outdoor kitchen immediately conjures up images of picnics, those carefree times in the summer when friends and family gather around to laugh, enjoy each other’s company, and make new memories.  You’ll have the equipment to do just that, any day of the week.  It’s not just for summer either.  Our built in bbq grills have spectacular engineering, so that food can be cooked with extreme precision.  This means that you can enjoy the warmer months hanging out by the grill and making a regular evening into a fantastic social event.  It also means that in the cold months, you can use your grill to prepare a fast and perfectly-cooked meal that has an outdoor zing that’s heavenly when it’s frosty out.

You’ll soon discover all the benefits of having an outdoor kitchen, and the social part of cooking is among the finest.  Our set-ups are designed for people to entertain, so that you can prepare food for large groups, and either be discretely in a corner, or in the middle of the action.  It’s a wonderful feeling to feed people that you care about, and it’s awfully handy, too, for throwing a last minute party for no good reason whatsoever.  It’s always nice to have the ability to serve steaks perfectly marinated with your special recipe, soaking overnight to let the flavor permeate every millimeter of the meat, but when it’s a quick decision, there are fantastic bbq sauces that can be prepared in just a few minutes.

Here, you’ll want to keep a supply of ketchup, mustard, vinegar, worcestshire sauce, and molasses and brown sugar.  With these staples, you can always pull off something magical with a large group and a few steaks.  There are plenty of other optional ingredients, but these essentials are all you really need for a fast bbq sauce.  Of course, there are plenty of offerings at the grocery store, and some really stunning ones on the market these days, especially from some of the mom and pop restaurants around the country, and it might be hard to tell the difference between the store bought and your own.  Thankfully, with your own grill you’ll have plenty of time to do some serious experimentation and find out what’s the best for you.