...and then there was that time Jürgen humped a dinosaur

I guess you really can't say "Poor Blair." Though she really didn't get more than one full day's introduction to the area in which I grew up (actually, now that I think about it, I never really gave her a proper tour of my own house...errrrrrrrrm), she did get to spend Friday to Monday in Ocean City at my Grandfather's condo. So this sight-seeing and introductions trip became more of a vacation proper. Who's really complaining, you know?

We headed down to Ocean City (had to stop myself from writing down the ocean...or "downee owshun" in Bal'more speak) on Friday morning, July 25th and spent the better part of the afternoon introducing Blair to the frigid (surprising in late July) glory of the Atlantic Ocean and it's waves...of doom. She was a good sport, though she spent the majority of the time papoosed to my back, although she never would let me teach her to ride a wave.

We helped some assorted other Hoopers (or Dickerts as the case may be) in the immediate family move their stuff into the condo as we prepared ourselves for the greater question to come: Who Sleeps Where? Thankfully Blair was able to sleep in a bed that evening, though future arrangements were in doubt.

Once everyone arrived we laid out plans for an evening out of typical Ocean City fun: the boardwalk and mini-golf (don't call it "putt-putt" or you will incite much wrath). The crew consisted of my mother and father, Stefanie, Aunt Judy and my Grandfather....oh and the Blürg...don't forget them. In the picture above you also see my brother, Kevin, (in full military regalia no less) who joined us later as a nice surprise since he was in Delaware all week with his military obligations.

We began our trip to the boardwalk by seeking out those staple O.C. (don't call it that) treats: Thrasher's french fries...which, by the by, have really declined in quality over the years. Maybe it was because someone decided to buy the two of us the wheelbarrow size, but I've tasted them at a much higher quality in years gone by. We also ate some pretty intestine-challenging hot dogs as well, but that was to be expected. What next to do but really give your digestion a good swift kick in the...well...gut, but to ride the rides.

Every year the Pier part of the boardwalk, to counteract the fact that its only real attracting is the increasingly purple Ferris wheel, hosts some new and ridiculously expensive new ride. This year's version was a type of human slingshot. Two people strapped themselves into a steel ball and at the conductor's whim would be shot many feet up into the air where they would bungee about three sine waves (who remembers math, huh?) before slowly lowering you back to earth. I declined my father's offers to pay for Blair and me to go - not because I was scared, but because I thought the price was not worth the three-bounce maximum. He, however, took my sister and accepted the challenge. The following is what occurred

We watched their reactions on the little televisions standing to the side of the ride. Personally, I think it alters genuine reactions when people know they're being filmed in all their snot-flying glory below. But I'm just jealous I didn't get to go.

We walked over to Trumper's (I think that's the spelling) Rides, which are, in my opinion, the only decent rides on the boardwalk. We heard through the grapevine that someone's trying to buy these people out to build some hotel down there. We must stop this at all costs. Where would my summer be without the sinking feeling that maybe someone hasn't really made adjustments to these rides since the late 80's, while I'm tumbling over my ankles in the Zipper? What would I do without the Tidal Wave roller coaster reminding me what a migraine feels like as I plow into my headrest time and time again? I kid, but seriously, these things may be overdue for a tuneup. I think it may have only been the dulcet tones of Blair's screaming that kept my mind off the thought of one of the zipper cars hurtling into the night sky, unhinged and free at last. And yet somehow, when my brother arrived, we swindled her into getting on again. It may be dark in the photo but you should be able to make out Blair's true enthusiasm with the ride at hand.

After finishing off this leg of the trip with more O.C. (don't call it that) staples - Dolly's popcorn (sorry, Blair, I was wrong about them carrying cheese popcorn) and Dumser's ice cream - mom, dad, Stef, Kevin and the Blürg went to our staple family mini-golf course (everyone knows this one) on 70th with the dinosaurs outside and the underwater scuba world inside.

Kevin was housing all of us for awhile with repeated 2's, coming in under par just about the entire game, though Blair would like me to mention that she held her own the entire time. Shoot, she did much better than I did. Time was, where I would hurtle my golf club into some bush in a pre-adolescent rage, but those days had passed and now I handled my inability to excel at any sport, no matter how mundane, with grace and poise. Grace and poise which disappears completely in the event that I should ever land a hole in one...and I did.

If you've been to this golf course, and most of you Marylanders have to have, you know the large green T-rex that stands at the course facing Ocean Highway grinning his large come-hither grin. Well I, though there seem to be no apparent embankments to make this possible, landed a glorious hole in one. So surprised was I at my fortune that I hurtled myself headlong onto the thick part of this reptile's tail, and though my mind was asking "Um...hey there Pardner she ain't exactly saddled up there is she?" this didn't deter me in my decision to repeatedly hump the dinosaur. Not completely forgetting (amazingly) the company that I was in, I held my joy to three humps to keep it at that PG-13 level so as to simply embarrass my parents, not mortify them. In my defense...look what he was wearing. He was asking for it. And the grin was noticeable wider when I was through. The little stoner kids in front of us thought it was a riot.

Mom...Dad...I'm really sorry.

Other such incidents included...

Blair gets her ball stuck in the middle of the log, which is next to impossible to do. Sorry for the unattractive photo.

Blair gets her ball trapped under the Brontosaurus.And Jürgen unwittingly drops the pencil, though not his ball, into the blue family recreation water, which is just perfect for little kids to drink or pee in...or.....both....

Good night. I slept well. As for the T-rex.....

Baltimore: Come for the Crabs...Stay for the Treatment

A cheeky title, I know, but I was so proud of my little witticism that I had to include it.

So we'd made it. The google mapsmen said eleven hour and nineteen minutes, but I scoffed at that prediction. I'd see us there in just over ten safe and sound...save the car...which I dented...uh...before we left Chicago. My attempts to get us out of the house in a reasonable amount of time had been thwarted and so maybe I was still a little too overheated to reconsider that quick shift into the center lane and right into some poor lady's Chevy Malibu. I did look, and she was in the lane behind me when I did, but alas, she was the quicker mover and I was to blame. Needless to say the wheel was not surrendered back to me for another two hours. Still, we made considerably good time, and while James and Blair weren't sleeping all three of us enjoyed many road games which have that strange way of only appealing to those under the age of twelve and over the age of twenty-one. NOT I-SPY. That game should be shot...in the arm...at close range.

We arrived at the House of Hooper around 7pm that July 22. My mother made us an amazing dinner, paired at every turn with wine selections by my father. We ate, drank, were merry, toasted the cute new dent Blair's car had acquired, etc. After dinner I took James home, then returned to get some sleep for my Welcome to Maryland outing I'd planned for Blair the next day.

If we had breakfast of some sort I couldn't tell you, but I'm pretty sure we were out of the house sometime between 9 and 10am, which is no small feat when you've spent the previous day up at 5:30 and spent 10 hours on the road. I took Blair first to my college, Towson University to show her around. It was a very nostalgic experience, which is strange considering the Theatre Arts building has been completely renovated since I had graduated and I only recognized about 30% of it. So poor Blair had to constantly hear, "No...you don't understand. There was a door here. This wall used to be a classroom. None of this was here," and on and on and on.

From Towson, we went to my high school, Calvert Hall. This experience, however, bore no feelings of nostalgia. It felt rather empty - not empty in a lonely way, but more like nothingness. So, needless to say, we didn't spend too much time there.

We drove into Baltimore and went to Fells Point, which is a nifty little area of downtown that was a favorite spot of mine through most of college. There are plenty of great places to eat, lots of history to be viewed and, of course, my favorite record shop, which I avoided going into...took some doing. We ate at a place called Bertha's Mussels.

We had about 2/3 of a great meal. The mussels were outstanding, the crabcake was decent (not the best but I've been away so long I wouldn't know where to take her), but the sage-brushed chicken livers proved a poor choice, despite our adventurous natures. We walked around a little after the meal bemoaning the fact that we couldn't spend more time in Fells but we had a schedule to stick to, and of course we had to see...

The Baltimore Aquarium!

Chicago you can keep your miserable little Shedd Aquarium, paying waaaaay too much for too little...and lizards aren't nearly as cool as the many-colored frog displays we were privy to. And let's pit your puny little dolphins against the full bottle-nosed power of our DOLPHIN SHOW!

Can your dolphin do this?

After a great time at the Aquarium we went to my friend, and former professor, Steve's house for a little dinner. Steve and Patrick did a wonderful job with dinner and there was much merriment before a titanic storm came and threatened to wash half of the city away. This, of course, didn't deter me from driving us back down into Baltimore to meet up with some Towsonite friends for a late night gathering at Brewer's Art - a favorite haunt of we Towson alumni.

All in all, a wonderful day.

Shower Time!

These photos and this entry are long overdue, but my mom just now got these photos to me, so what can you do? The week after Jürgen and I travelled to Louisville for our engagement party, I travelled solo to the ville to attend my first bridal shower. What a lovely time it was! It was co-hosted by Glen and Brittany (aka Maid of Honor) Hume and Mollie and Francie Mulloy. We gathered on the evening of July 6th at the Mulloy abode for champagne and desserts (a delightful combination, never fails) for a recipe themed shower. A truly memorable event and I am so thankful to Brittany, Mollie, Mrs. Hume and Mrs. Mulloy for being so generous and for throwing such a fantastic event. Thank you to all who attended...I hope you have been enjoying your recipes! I am enjoying mine!

To see all the photos visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/BlairBRobertson/RecipeShower070808

The lovely looking (and tasting!) cake

Brittany, Mollie and myself before the guests arrive

Ms. Strange helps me cut the cake, I was very stressed about messing it up. Thank you Ms. Strange and CONGRATS on your engagement!
Brittany helps me serve the cake. Way to take charge Brittany!
The present opening begins. I believe I will use this lovely platter when I have my much anticipated and talked about wine and cheese party.
My cousin Amanda Ganz puts her skills to good use to create a gorgeous bouquet for me to use at the wedding rehearsal. Amanda's one year wedding anniversary is approaching next month! Yay!
Brittany was a very attentive MOH and kept the present opening running smoothly and in an organized fashion.
KCD Buddies! Mollie Mulloy, Emily Albrink and Jenni Pollard (Bo we are sorry you left before this photo was taken!)
Us daughters and our stunning mothers!
Pretty Ladies: Mrs. Hume, My Mom and Mrs. Mulloy

Thank you all!!

A Show of hands...

I was very excited to shoot my first ever hand modeling job a month ago. The joys of working at a photography studio! It's funny, for years my mom has said "you have such lovely hands, you should be a hand model." I hemmed and hawed about it and could only find flaws in my clappers, but last summer (while working at the photo studio) the producer asked to look at my hands, and apparently she liked them. I was whisked upstairs to shoot a Pampered Chef catalog. This gave me the courage I was seeking to contact the print department of my agency to be considered for hand modeling jobs. After a few weeks a meeting was set and I went in to have my hands judged. According to my agent "It takes two seconds, it's either a yes or a no, and nine times out of ten it's a no." (encouraging!). I placed my hands and as luck would have it they were a yes! Felicitations! Shouts of joy! However, he was quick to point out that my knuckles were a tad "rough" and I need to be more diligent about using hand cream. Well ok, since you said it so nicely. Nothing came of this meeting for awhile, until recently and now I have a legitimate comp card. Hopefully (nicely filed and polished fingers crossed) I can embark on a new career path! I will keep you posted. (thank you for the awesome appendage-genetics passed onto me from my grandmother, Annie)

More James Photos

Day three of Flanagan's Chicago Expedition was spent expanding our minds and stomachs. We traveled to Hyde Park to visit the Museum of Science and Industry where a fully functional "Green" home has been built in the courtyard of the museum. It is the most eco-friendly and efficient home out there and we had a great time exploring it. From the recycled deck, solar paneled roof, Chardonnay glass tiled shower and the dual flush toilets it was interesting to learn about how we can make changes, big and small, to make our homes more safe, efficient and enviro-friendly. If you are in Chicago from now through January 4th (hmmmm.....) be sure to check it out!

After the home tour, we traveled north to show James the Chicago History Museum, which is of course the site for our upcoming reception. We had a little too much fun with our camera on the old time El car.


Um...excuse me while I grope your leg and take your stuff.

After our museum trips we stopped at Chicago Oven and Pizza Grinders, a local haunt specializing in pot pie pizza. In a word: delish. After which we rolled ourselves home and tried to force ourselves back into hunger as we had dinner plans that evening with Ira. A few hours later we succeeded in making a yummy Summer bouillabaisse with smoky rouille. The recipe is forthcoming! Followed by more hoopla and another favorite game, Apples to Apples.

Mr. Flanagan has arrived!

The weekend of July 19th heralded the arrival of the infamous James Flanagan, creator of the word Blürg, and best man for the impending nuptials. Sadly we did not document our first night with James, but we will tell you it was filled with succulent mussels, fantastic beer, a rousing game of mini-golf (which Blair won by the way) and many games of Hoopla on Blair's deck, certainly waking the neighbors. Day two we spent the late afternoon attempting to see Lang Lang, a piano virtuoso at Ravinia only to have our plans thwarted by lack of parking (Blair was not pleased about this). Proving ourselves to be adaptable (well sort of in Blair's case) we instead payed a visit to the Chicago Botanical Gardens, which are actually located in Glencoe but let's not fight with semantics. It ended up being a lovely evening as the gardens are stunning and the weather was cooperative. Here are some photos of the day! More can be found at

http://picasaweb.google.com/jurgenhooper/JamesVisit

Blair calms down when she enters a beautiful garden
James heeds the advice: For your safety please do not climb on the fountain
Blair does not: Rock on!
Not. A. Good. Picture. At. All
Take two, much better!
James and Jürgen take time to "sense" the tree in the sensory garden.
An arty photo through the arches. So deep.
The esplinade. Kinda pretty if you ask me.
Look Ma, a catfish, can I touch it?

After our trip to the gardens, we drove back to Blair's abode and played more hoopla. Everyone needs to know about this game.

Happy 4th O' July (many days late)

(I am sad this photo is dark, but I like it nonetheless)

Alright I will admit that we have both been very lazy when it comes to updating the Blürg. We hearby solemnly swear to be better about this henceforth and promise to bring you many updates and images from the life of Blürg! Several weeks ago (I cannot believe it is almost August) Jürgen and I had the extreme priviledge to attend a fantastic fourth of July party held on the 16th floor of my dear friend, and voice teacher's, lovely condo in Chicago. Now it must be noted that for some reason Chicago always hosts their annual fireworks display on the third of July, not the conventional fourth day of the month. Why this is we do not know, nor did we spend much time speculating about it because there was much merriment to be had. Jürgen and I had the great honor of attending this soiree last year, and we were thrilled to receive an invitation this year. Thank you John and Pasquale for hosting such a lovely affair! Below are some pictures (which turned out to be very small) of the fireworks and the amazing view: