One Bleepin’ Year Ago, Wot?!

It hardly seems proper — or possible — that an entire year has passed since Ms. B. and I stood on the balcony of our apartment overlooking the Cannaregio Canal in Venice saying silly things like “I do” in front of friends Terry and Beth. While our “legal” anniversary is in June, the “real” ceremony, as far as we’re concerned, took place on October 19, 2021, on that balcony. Terry was specially ordained for the task, and he truly made our experience personalized and unique to us.

Last night, we celebrated our first “real” anniversary with Terry and Beth at Kau, a relatively newish restaurant here in Greensboro at Revolution Mill. We were quite taken with the place and the experience. How delightful to find that bottles of wine are half-price on Wednesdays (and they had Jeff Runquist 1448, which is one of our favorite red blends). The “Hot House” burger I had was wonderful. Brugger went for Buffalo chicken mac & cheese, which made her almost as happy as saying “I do.”

We also opened a couple of bottles we’d brought back from Europe — one from France (a red blend from Chasson Vignoble) and one from Italy (an Amarone from Coali). So, our anniversary celebration might not have been as exciting and wonderful as a trip to Venice, but it certainly hit the notes that needed hitting.

Ms. B. and I hope to celebrate a good many more of these milestones, so beware!

Kau’s “Hot House” burger — bacon, pepper jack cheese, jalapenos, spicy ketchup. Hardly
a nuclear threat, but quite delicious.

Happy adversity to us!

The Old World or Bust! (Part 2)

Ciao di nuovo, Venezia amica mia

Monday, October 18, 2021: Au Revoir La France, Buon Giorno Venezia

Early Monday morning, our gang packed up la voiture — we had to squeeze in so snugly that Ms. B. and I were practically sitting on one another — and hit the highway, bound for Nice Aeroport, about two hours east. Getting past Aix-en-Provence was the usual traffic nightmare, but once we made it to the A8, things picked up and moved along swimmingly. When we arrived at the aeroport, we moved through security and such with minimal hassle, though we never did have to show our COVID-19 test cards, which was actually wee annoying, given the pains we took to actually get the things. Regardless, we had some peace of mind that we remained COVID-free, at least for the first portion of our journey.

We boarded an Easy Jet Airlines Airbus 319 for the relatively short flight to Venice. Upon our arrival, we took a bus ride to the station just outside the city and then hoofed it across the Grand Canal to the island. We had a relatively short walk to our lodgings in the Fondamenta Procuratie, where we met our proprietor, a lovely lady who spoke decent English and made us feel very welcome. Once settled, we headed out into the lovely afternoon and walked. I snagged a couple of caches. One of them was cache find #13,000, at a rather noteworthy location: (Banksy a Venezia, GC8F84J). We found wine. We found food. We retired to our lodgings before very late, but we did sit up with wine and goodies pretty far into the evening.

Banksy art in Venice

Tuesday, October 19, 2021: Bells Are Ringing

The weather was perfect for another early morning walk, so Terry and I went out among the madding crowd and sought a trio of geocaches. I found two, did not find one (though I would discover it later — after a fashion). Once back at our place and regrouped, the gang went out and about for a bit and found lunch nearby at Osteria San Barnaba. There were sights to see and caches to snag near the Rialto Bridge, so we headed for the more eastward reaches of the city. I claimed a webcam cache (Rialto Webcam; GC89135) and an EarthCache (Rialto Bridge; GC7JZRA), as well as a stage of a nearby Adventure Lab cache.

View from the Rialto Bridge

Ms. B. before getting her hair done

Scary folk: the officiant and
the witness

The big event of the day, though, was first and foremost among our reasons for venturing overseas to begin with. Although Ms. B. and I had been legally married back in June, mainly to make sure our asses were covered — financially, legally, and otherwise — as we began merging our households, we really wanted to have our most meaningful ceremony in Venice. Terry had agreed to officiate for us, so all that remained was to determine precisely where and when. Once we had settled into our apartment, we decided it was the perfect location. Our elevated balcony overlooked a scenic canal, and from there, we didn't have to worry about muggles getting in the way of the proceedings. And on this afternoon, the timing struck us as right to proceed. Once we all agreed on this decision, our respective womenfolk decreed that neat dress was required. So, we old men dressed up all nice and such, gathered ourselves in most dignified fashion, and Brugger and I got hitched. Maybe not "legally" in the technical sense, but absolutely and positively as far as our commitment to each other.

Once these somber proceedings were in the can, we decided to remain dressed in our finest finery and go out to mingle with the population. If you guessed there might have been another cache in the bargain, you would be correct. If you guessed there might have been more food and wine in the bargain, you would be correct again. For dinner, we discovered a wonderful outdoor place called Ristorante Fuori Rotta, where I ended up ordering fish (filet of sole) and white wine. If you think that was pretty weird of me, you be yet again correct, but since this combination called to me at the time, it happened thusly. Dinner proved fabulous. As did the day. One could hardly have custom-ordered a better day or more exciting time.

Perfection, it was.

Wednesday, October 20, 2021: We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat

I woke up reasonably early on Wednesday, intent on going on a longer-than-customary walk through Venice to seek a couple of geocaches. Terry opted to stay put while I went out, so I pushed myself into an even longer longer-than-customary morning walk. One stop was at a walled park ("Parco Savorgnan," GC58W7X), which was probably the only deserted spot in Venice I encountered during our stay there. I also snagged a puzzle cache I had solved earlier ("Do You Really Know Venezia's Mysteries," GC7R0NH), one of those rare puzzles that was actually fun because you had to match up scenes in Venice to locations on a map to acquire the final coordinates. Once I reached GZ, this one took me a few minutes to find, but I finally managed it.

I wasn't back from my walk long before we headed out as a group to seek lunch. We found it at a little place along the waterfront called OKE Zattere, where we had pizzas — very good pizzas. Then Terry and Beth treated Kim and me to a gondola ride, something of a post-wedding treat. We all managed to pile into the boat without falling out (so none of the dreaded canal sharks got to have a feast*). We did have an excellent gondolier, who spoke decent English and more than politely tolerated our generally clumsy attempts to converse in Italian. We brought a bottle of wine with us, which made for a super-mellow ride through the canals. A first-class time it was. Thanks, Terry & Beth!

*No, there aren't really canal sharks. I don't think.

After this, our compadres retired to our home-away-from-home for a while, so Kimberly and I went out among the peasants to survey the grandeur. She was kind enough to accompany me to a few caches I was keen on finding — one  being a wicked-witch-of-Venice-themed multi ("La Sveglia Della Strega," GC8F85W), and a couple down by St. Mark's Square, my favorite being a particularly audacious little hide at a bas-relief sculpture at the edge of the square (Piazza San Marco, GC8VKZF). While we were there snapping photos, I caught something in one that I didn't quite get. It appears to show five distinct orbs in the sky, just about mid-picture (you can zoom in on the photo down below). No doubt, these were just reflections on the lens, or an odd diffusion of light, or...something.

Maybe UFOs.

Finally, Kimberly and I headed back westward to Piazza San Barnaba, where we met Terry & Beth at a nice little outdoor bistro called Dallo Zio. I had liver and polenta, which I found quite pleasing after so much pasta and cheese. Our dinner ran pretty late, and by the time we were finished, the gang decided to head back to our place. However, I had discovered that one of the caches I had been unable to find the previous day, due to it being missing, had just been replaced. From our restaurant, it was about a half mile to the cache. After the day's activities, I had about 15% phone battery remaining — and I didn't have my spare battery pack with me. Regardless, I set out after the hide. Once at GZ, I finally managed to locate the thing. Whew!

By now, the phone battery was running lower and lower, and though I know the basic geography of Venice, I do not know its labyrinthine streets that well. So, I made haste toward our place, fearing my phone might go dark at any time. Happily, I made it back with power to spare. What a fun outing for this evening. Quite the adrenaline rush there near the end.

Twilight at Piazza San Marco

UFOs over Venice?

Our time in Venice was short, as we were scheduled to leave the following day — for me, not such a happy thing, since both my visits to Venice have been dreams come true. Still, we had several different destinations ahead of us before our eventual return to the States. And our next destination — a century-old villa outside the little town of Monteveglio, near Bologne — certainly held some surprises, almost all pleasant.

Go to "The Old World or Bust!" (Part 1) here.

Go to "The Old World or Bust!" (Part 3) here.

Go to "The Old World or Bust!" (Part 4) here.

Go to "The Old World or Bust!" (Part 5) here.

Tying the Geoknot

Friends Gerry (a.k.a. BigG7777) and Bridget (a.k.a. Suntigres), whom I originally met via geocaching — Bridget almost exactly a decade ago — have been a happy couple for a couple of happy years now. They quite recently tied the knot, at least in the eyes of the law. I discovered this when I read one of BigG's cache logs, which was along the lines of "I had kind of a busy day today. Went to the grocery store, found this cache, got married." Now, this justice-of-the-peace wedding may have been good and legal and everything, but Gerry and Bridget also wanted to have a something of a celebratory ceremony— albeit a small one — to set themselves walking on the path of fate. So they decided to get married at Gerry's castle in Kernersville, which is precisely what happened this afternoon. For reasons I'm not sure anyone can explain, they had the incredibly poor judgment to invite me to officiate their "fun" wedding. And because I am fully capable of making just as poor a decision as the next person, I agreed to do this thing.

The ceremony kicked off about 1 o'clock in the p.m., with just a handful of friends and family. As the ranking geocachevangelist, I delivered a short but sweet set of vows for them to live by, and things went fairly swimmingly. Brugger had transcribed a portion of the vows I wrote onto one of her beautiful pieces of artwork, friends Terry and Beth provided a nice frame, and we presented it the happy couple following the ceremony (see image below).

That portion of the vows reads: "I have known Bridget for almost exactly a decade now, and during these years, I have seen happy Bridget, sad Bridget, mad Bridget, energetic Bridget, exhausted Bridget, and 'I'm gonna break both your arms' Bridget. Until Gerry came into her life, I had never seen wonderfully, deeply, contentedly in-love Bridget. I see that now every time I see her. And having come to know and respect Gerry in these past couple of years, I see a warm, generous, and unselfish gentleman who deserves every bit of happiness that I pray will come their way."

I do hope these two will find the lasting happiness they both deserve, and in all seriousness, it couldn't have meant more to me that they asked me to officiate at their wedding. They have become a couple of my dearest friends in the world, and I consider it a true honor to be included in their celebration.

Down in the Boondocks

A lucky couple got hitched this weekend — no, silly, not Ms. B. and me, but our friends Bryon Nelson and Mary Miller — out in the wilds of Tennessee. For us, getting to the ceremony would have been prohibitive, but the reception in West Jefferson, NC, at Boondocks Brewhaus, was eminently doable, so yesterday afternoon, Brugger and I loaded up the wagon and set our sights on West Jefferson. On the way, we made a relatively brief stop at Laurel Gray Vineyards, an old favorite of ours, for a wee spot of wine. As you can see in the photo above, I opted for a white — their Chardonnay — which, if you've ever taken note of my wine preferences, is kind of like the Pope opting to sport a hijab. But Laurel Gray's Chardonnay is oaked and buttery and, for me, quite delicious. Ms. B. tends to prefer a crisper Chardonnay aged in stainless steel, but she also prefers boneless chicken to filet mignon, so that can just speak for itself.

Did I stop for a few geocaches? What a silly question.

This was our first visit to West Jefferson, and we both found ourselves taken with the place. Technically, there are two communities here — Jefferson and West Jefferson — but they are basically Siamese twins, and where one stops and the other begins, who the heck knows? Anyway, the setting, right smack in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains, near the Blue Ridge Parkway, could hardly have been more beautiful. For such a small community... er, pair of communities... there are numerous eclectic shops, pubs, restaurants, historical sites, and geocaches. Upon our arrival, we checked ourselves in at the Days Inn (in the Jefferson that's not West Jefferson) and then made haste to the Brewhaus.

An appealing, mid-size establishment, Boondocks Brewhaus makes a wide variety of beers, a couple of which I sampled. My favorite was a barrel-oaked Belgian ale called Truth Serum, which was even oakier than Laurel Gray's Chardonnay. It was kind of like drinking a tree. A damn good tree. The reception itself was appropriately festive, with damn good vittles, an excellent DJ, and lots of rocking tunes. Bryon and Mary showed the world how to dance a romantic dance, and Bryon's dad — our good friend Terry — showed the world how to do tequila shots and cut a rug with a friend. Indeed, the spirit (or spirits) had gripped just about everyone at the place, and at the end of it all Bryon summed up the evening's exuberance with "I can't even find my keys, and they're in my pocket." Of our group, though, absolutely no one who should not have driven did drive, and I'm certain a safe and happy evening was had by all.

This morning, I rose much earlier than our sleepy Ms. B. and went out to clean up most of the caches in the Jefferson/West Jefferson area. There are some fun ones to be found there, and with that bit of business taken care of, Ms. B. and I went in search of breakfast, which we hunted down and killed at The Hillbilly Grill. I went for the stuffed French toast (with strawberries & cream) and bacon, and Ms. B. had a couple of pancakes that were bigger (and probably better) than a giant barrel jellyfish. The service was a bit slow, as Sunday morning is clearly a busy time, but the food and coffee hit the spot. The decor is kind of fun — the flatware comes in little brown paper bags, and customers often doodle on the bags and pin them to the walls. I did not.

On the way home, I found a few more nice geocaches, though the relative cool of the mountains was giving way to the scorching heat of the Piedmont, so I didn't tarry at any hides that took more than a minute or so to get out and grab.

I trust Bryon and Mary are off and running in the happiest and best relationship they've ever known, and that friend Terry managed to find a suitable hangover remedy. Bonne chance to all.

Rejects from Game of Thrones? At "Don't Let the Power Get to You" (GCMYPB)

The walls at the Hillbilly Grill, decorated by customers' doodles on the paper flatware bags

Ms. B., you shameless hussy!

"We out here doing bad shit."

Don't take this road.