The Tale of Two Cameras

“It was the best of times, it was the annoying-ist of times, it was the age of camera reviews, it was the age age of foolishness,...we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way— right into the arms of another camera”

— Charles Dickens (kind of)

Robert has taken up photography. He is quite talented. But with this new hobby (that he is great at) comes with a new obsession for cameras. His first obsession: the Olympus PEN F.

For four long months, every night and every morning, and every moment in-between was filled with the sounds of countless reviews on THE Olympus PEN F. Its a gorgeous camera indeed. This was a stunning tribute to the original Pen Series of Olympus cameras updated with today's technological advances. All Bob would want to talk about was the vintage design or the full HD video or the 1/8000 of a second shutter speed. Our weekends almost always included us venturing to nearly every Best Buy in a 20 mile radius looking for this camera to test drive.  

After months and month of reviews...finally... he took the plunge and bought it. 

I was assigned to immediately pick up this package upon its arrival. Although it didn't much matter since the moment Robert heard his new camera had arrived he resolved his work day and scooted on home before I could even return from the club house with the brand new camera. Robert was more excited for this camera than he was to receive his new car...

Naturally, Robert did not waste anytime opening the box... nor did he waste time TAKING IT BACK!... Thats right, after maybe an hour hanging out with the camera and MONTHS of reviewing videos about the Pen F he took it back.     

The picture above was taken with the Pen F. One of the few....

But before moving forward we must go back: Robert and taking things back - Bose headphones, Surface Pro 4, his very first camera. Robert looooooves taking things back. In fact, I'd say he get a little giddy when he has the opportunity to return an item!  

Anyways, back to the Olympus Pen F. He took THE Olympus PEN F back...only to purchase the Sony A7 ii. One I didn't even know he was interested in.  But this one stuck and he is incredibly happy with this purchase. And luckily for me, this marks the end of the era of Olympus Pen F reviews and videos. 

Boston

by Robert

Shot up to Boston for a couple of days for work. Do people realize how far away Boston is? Maybe they didn't teach geography at SOMS, but I don't often think of it being that far North. It was 80 degrees in Baltimore and 37 degrees in Boston which was a delightful surprise! 

After meeting with collegues during the day, I jumped on a Ferry (check one more form of transportation off the bucket list) to Hingham to visit Uncle Mike, Aunt Nancy, and Sarah Herde! 

Uncle Mike and I first stopped by the Lobster Pound (hilarious name) to pick a living creature that we would torture, kill, and eat: Fresh lobster. From there we headed to easily the most amazing home I've ever stepped foot in. The tour took an hour and twenty minutes if that helps paint the picture.

We feasted on Lobster, caught up on family stories, and made plans for our next trip to Boston. Thanks Herdes for the hospitality, food, and lodging! I had a great time! 

Saturday in Annapolis

What to do on a beautiful Saturday afternoon... why not go to Annapolis!

First stop was 49 West. A local coffee shop slash restaurant slash wine bar slash gallery slash venue space for local musicians. We checked out their lunch menu and it didn't disappoint. Robert enjoyed a turkey club (shocker) along with a recommended wheat beer. Jordana selected her go-to, a BLT with out the T. Shes good company for us Rixman tomato haters.

The idea was to "look cool"... How'd we do?

Next we moved towards the water. It just so happened that we visited the day of the Annapolis Boat Show. A magnificent display of some of the coolest boats on the Maryland coast. Robert had boat fever and bought a polo from some sailing brand called HH. No Ben, it does not stand for "Hilton Honors," lol.

Woody, green quality, spice driven, slightly creamy, tennis balls, medium alcohol, medium plus viscosity, medium plus acidity, Bordeaux region, 2003 

Red Red Wine was stuck in our heads so we cured ourselves with some wine flights (and a cocktail for me so my brain didn't implode like the hatch in the Lost season 2 finale). Bob toured some Pinots and Jordan explored what the Cabernets had to offer.

Lastly, we went to some dead dude who signed the Declaration of Independence's old house. For just $5 you could walk around his backyard!

And almost forget our obligatory venture to Storm Bros. Ice Cream Factory. A classic orange sherbet on a cake cone!      

This girl likes ice cream

Our Week in Photos: Vol 3

After our trip to New York, it was back to the daily grind. Nothing too crazy so we are just going with the old fashioned lazy photo recap. But first lets recap Draper's week:

Wow, what a week! So many productive activities. So may goals accomplished. A real inspiration. 

Annapolis

We met a new friend in the apartment complex (Hey Jordan!) and we all hopped in the Subaru and road down to Annapolis to gawk at the hot Navy guys and have dinner and drinks at a spot called Dry 85. 

This classic Old Forester Old Fashioned was prepared to perfection... Sorry this photo wasn't good enough Arty. 

Leslie's Bourbon Fizz - bourbon, Amaretto, fresh squeezed lemon, egg-white, cranberry bitters

You may remember the Surf and Surf from Baltimore Eats 2. This burger could have been called the Turf and Turf AND Turf as it was beef, bacon, and pulled pork topped with bbq sauce. Yes I ate every bit. Yes I loved it. Yes I hated myself afterwards. 5 crabs out of 5 for Dry 85!

Finally bought a new pair of shoes that don't have holes in the bottom. 

On Sunday we joined work colleagues for a Make A Wish 2K walk around the National Mall. Its always good to kick it with BO.

Can't see the forest for the trees

Can't see the forest for the Draper 

Yes we celebrated Mamba Day. We're not heathens.

Day 1 O's fan right here. Ever since I was 26 years old, I've been reppin' my O's. 

Look who just woke up! He must have been fueled by the haters and my criticism earlier in the blog post. 

Friday Night Date Nite

Headed back into the big city for a Friday night of restaurant hopping. This was our first time exploring Harbor East. 

"Yeah, we summer in Baltimore. Its not that big of deal."

Maybe we should buy a boat. 

Baked Chesapeake Crab Dip at Loch Bar for dinner #1. As you can see, the bowl was made of delicious toasted bread, and as you can guess, it was absolute fire. Another crab bites the dust! RIP, but it was for a good cause. 

Leslie sippin' on Gin and Juice at Ra Sushi Bar for dinner #2 because we treat ourselves. 

Our second visit to Ra Sushi Bar didn't go as well as the first. I'd describe this roll as "A sodium snow storm topped with salt." [Leslie is offended by this caption and wants the record to state that she ordered and enjoyed this roll]

Welp thats a wrap... sorry this one was a little bit lazier than previous posts, but we will be back and better than ever next time!

Looking for more? Check out Our Trip to NYC

Crabicurious in the Big Apple

Now that we are hip urbanites, a weekend in the Big Apple is only a short (typically) train ride away. Not to mention it's still Leslie's birthday season and it turns out there are almost endless ways to celebrate! The following is the true tale of a weekend full of twists, turns, foods and photos:

"I Hopped on a train at BWI  with a dream and my Old Forester cardigan"... I think that's the lyric.

Making F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

The hijinks started almost immediately. My work-friend invited us to local restaurant pop-up called Urbanspace. Although she texted me detailed directions, anyone who knows me can attest that I am debilitatingly reliant on Google Maps for any kind of direction. So I punch it into the app and we start blindly following the GPS ten blocks to the south. We don't see a lot of signage, but do find the address and walk into a nondescript high-rise. I say "Urbanspace?" to the elevator attendant and he sends us to the roof where we seat ourselves. After about 10 minutes of looking around awkwardly we decide to ask somebody where the food and drinks are... "This is the Urbanspace corporate headquarters. You're sitting in our break room." 

Ohhhh! That explained all the offices and conference rooms we passed... Well, this just gave us the chance to ride the New York Subway on our way to the real Urbanspace, a bustling bazaar of trendy restaurants.

Urbanspace (corporate headquarters) 

Urbanspace (place with actual food and people)

Leslie got a sushi burrito (!) and I got some pork tacos and we recounted our hilarious misunderstanding to some new friends who probably thought we were idiots. Here are a few more pictures from the afternoon: 

Friday Night Lights

From there we blended in with the masses and headed straight for Times Square. It was dark now, and the glow from our desired destination was radiating through the streets. As we approached we were greeted by nearly every Disney and super hero character. It was one of the few places often dipicted in moves and TV shows that was even more impressive in person. As a marketer of fine products, I was a little discouraged when I asked Leslie to name just one memorable ad of the 100s and nothing stood out. 

A picture of a picture of a place with lots of pictures

I thought Elmo was Justice League...

BUY BUY BUY 

Once we had quenched our thirst for classic tourist activities for the day, we desided to blend in like locals and do some bar hopping. We started at The M Hotel where we had a delicious fresh marg with spring rolls. From there we headed to The Refinery for a rooftop bar. $17 well cocktails? Yes please! Jokes on them, Leslie didn't even drink her cocktail!

And of course the night wouldn't have been complete without some street meat. For those counting at home, yes we know this was our third dinner, but it was so good! And we didn't regret it in the middle of the night either... 

The She-Wolf of Wall Street

The next morning we awoke to a rainy, slightly chilly New York morning. Our first stop was the World Trade Center memorial. 

The atmosphere was very somber and the memorial site was astonishing with the gentle waterfalls flowing in what looked to be an endless hole in the ground. It was crazy to image what that day must have been like in New York. The sight of stunning and pristine World Trade One did lift our spirits, however. 

The World Trade Center Memorial was super somber.

World Trade One. 

Since we were already downtown, we hedged and walked a few blocks to Wall Street where Money Never Sleeps. Leslie was pretty bullish on the George Washington Monument while I was bullish on moving to New York and becoming a billionaire overnight. As the weather spread was getting volatile, we ducked into a little bar called the Bullpen where we unloaded on some blue chip fish tacos. After that, it was time to "short" Downtown and get back Uptown for the rest of our Saturday.

For those playing the Crabicurious drinking game, take a shot! (Our third different Washington Monument, this one to commemorate where POTUS #1 took the oath) 

 Bout to go put it all on red... that's how the New York Stock Exchange works, right? 

"Ah! The smell of appreciating stock prices." -Phil Hanlin

30 Rock 

Next, we headed to Rockefeller Center to pay $35 each for the privilege of standing on a roof. 

But what a roof it was! 

Central Perks

Seriously we are on some kind of tourist roll! Next we walked through Central Park. We sat down on the benches where every romantic comedy has a scene and ate some roasted nuts. 

Within Central Park there is a Zoo because this is New York and anything is possible. We worried it was going to be a tourist trap, but it was a pretty legit zoo and the animals were out and about and very active. 

Into the Wild

Don't be surprised to see some of these pics in National Geographic:

FlamingBRO 

This wild bird was out and about and just following the trainer around. It was neat! 

We couldn't leave the Zoo without our traditional smashed penny! And this little guy made the cover!

I bet this lemur's name is Draper (you know because they both stay lounging)

Leslie's face when she learned the petting zoo closes at 5:00PM

A vicious snow leopard that they wouldn't let me pet

A Lively Saturday Night 

Finally it was time for the grand finally; a top-tier New York eatery called Lexington Brass (because its on Lexington Ave, not because of the place in Kentucky lol). And it didn't disappoint. It had all the Leslie and Robert staples: Mules, avocado, truffle fries, mac and cheese, ribs and Brussels sprouts. 

Leslie DYING to dig into the mac and cheese.

Crabicurious Rating: 5 crabs out of 5

So we thought that was the end of the fun, but anything is possible in NYC! We were walking back from the restaurant and an NBC page handed us a stand-by card and whisked us into the heart of Rockefeller Center to be in the audience for Saturday Night Live!!!

It was nerve-racking as we wined through the hallways adorned by Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, and other NBC stars while being barked at by the security guards who were savage, yelling at people on cell phones and throwing out anyone who looked at them funny. But we made it through, right to the entrance to the doors of Studio 8H... when we were informed that they were now at full capacity and we were no longer welcome. :( But it was a cool experience. 

Travel Woes

Just like our weekend in NYC, this blog post is going on longer than you planned... The train before ours ended up derailing outside Philidelphia when it ran into a backhoe. Thank goodness we weren't on it. This delayed our train a few hours. It also only went as far as Philly where we finally found a rental car and drove the rest of the way to Charm City.

Mercifully, THE END

Looking for more from Crabicurious? Check out our Visit with Phil and Sandy as well as our Dinner with a Doctor.

Latest from the Louisville Beat: Zack on the state of televesion and Bryson's review of Batman v Superman.