Weekend: Birthday parties, Columbus Pride, and Aqua
You have to catch Dan
when he's not paying attention
to you.
Originally uploaded by brianr78. I called in sick today on account of the inhuman shade of red that my face is painted with. Yes, I have a wicked sunburn. Actually, the exact words I used (obviously I'm not awake yet) after explaining that I had a sunburn were "and I think my time today would be better spent moisturizing."
I know, right?
But it was totally worth it. What a weekend. I was either drinking or outdoors for most of it. I hardly know where to start. But don't worry, I won't bore you with TOO many details.
Friday
Friday evening kicked off with the first event of "Cari's birthday weekend" - dinner and drinks at the Oakley Pub and Grill. I don't remember what I ate, but it was tasty, as were the many drinks I consumed. We moved from there to The Stand in Mt. Lookout Square (formerly One-Eyed Jack's) and I had one drink before heading home, as I had to be up early Saturday morning.
Saturday
I was out the door at 8:30 in the morning... on a Saturday... to drive up to Columbus for their Pride festivities. I had such a nice time at last year's that I just had to make a return visit. Dan stripedtiger played Julie for the excursion and didn't wig out on me hardly at all ;) We hopped around all the crafts and tie-dye at ComFest and caught the parade with his friends right near the judging/announcing table. I didn't take any photos this year - the parade was nice and all, but I didn't see anything all that original - it all felt like I photographed it last year. Of course it was lovely to see the Gay Men's Chorus do their thing, and artsycub twirling his flag ever so artfully, and demcub drive the lovely Equality Ohio van.
Rather than walk all the way down the festival (and have to walk all the way back up), we hopped to the Arena Grand to see The Lake House, which is plenty gay enough for Pride, eh? I liked the movie - a definite "chick flick" if you couldn't already tell - though Dan and I both decided it was emotionally exhausting.
After the movie we made our way to a 40th birthday party for Dan's friend Wayne. I was nervous having to be at a party with a bunch of people I didn't know, but it was very laid back and I had a good time. I even unexpectedly ran into a friend from b411 that I've been wanting to meet for a few weeks.
Many thanks to Dan for the super day. Needless to say, when I got back home, I crashed :)
Sunday
Early Sunday afternoon I drove to Panama Landing (a mere 7 minutes from the house) and boarded the luxurious Satisfaction II yacht for a 3-hour cruise - including brunch - as part of CMC's major fundraiser for the year - Aqua. The turnout wasn't fabulous at around 65 (capacity 100), but everyone had a terrific time. The weather was perfect and the food was wonderful. I stuck around the after-party for a little over an hour, headed home to pick up a cheesecake I threw together before I left for the day, and drove to Oakley for Cari's birthday cookout. Of course that was fab, and my dessert was a big hit.
So anyway, as I mentioned, I'm at home today moisturizing my face. I hope everyone had a terrific weekend.
And in case you're interested, I took a billion photos:
June 23 & 25 - Cari's birthday weekend - the first group is from Friday, when I handed the camera to Dion. I think you'll be able to tell his photos from mine, but I just wanted to clarify!
June 25 - Aqua