Horse races and dinner with friends

After almost a week of discussions with Kelly back and forth about the Queens Cup at Steeplechase, a horse race in Charlotte, the plan finally came to fruition and we actually did end up going yesterday. It was actually really cool. All the women get kind of dressed up in sundresses and hats (think Kentucky Derby), and the men also dress up in sear sucker pants, polo shirts, etc... Mint Juleps are consumed along with other food and tailgate snacks. I went with Kelly, Brad, and their friend Jessica, who knew a group of people that paid for a tail-gating "spot", so we went there to hang with them. Our food consisted of chips and salsa, carrots, whole grain pretzels, two kinds of cookies, and AWESOME turkey burgers on Ezekiel roles (YUM) that Brad and Kelly made. They had apple, thyme, parsley, and onion in them...omg so good!! For drinks we started with mimosas, moved on to white wine, and met another group that offered us mint juleps and some beer, which was good because somewhere in the chaos of planning we all forgot about additional beverages for Brad.  I ended up giving him most of my mint julep and beer. The racing itself was cool, but I think a lot of people went more for the fun of dressing up and tail-gating. I think we will try and plan on getting our own spot next year and having more of our crew come along.

I was sooooooooooooooo tired after a bunch of hours out in the sun. When I got home I took a hot bath, and then took a nap with Clyde for a half hour. I almost never take naps, so I must have been really tired. Once the alarm went off, and Clyde barked at it. I got up and got ready to go out again, as our crew had plans to head to The Liberty for dinner. I'm so glad I came up with the energy to go because it was one of the best nights out I've had in a long time. There were nine of us and we all talked and laughed and ate and drank. I had a yummy crispy goat cheese with strawberries, balsamic vinaigrette on green salad, a side of mac and cheese (of which I took half home), and split crab cakes with my friend Christa. Also had a draft hard cider. I fully enjoyed myself.