I Hear You Went Up To Saratoga, And Your Horse Naturally Won

Or didn't...I think it has been decided that no Hogan should bet....on anything...ever.

We spent last weekend with our dear friends, Coley and Anne-Marie, in their new home in Saratoga Springs, NY along with some old and newer friends: Lisa, Minda, Deirdre, Dan, Jon and Tom. Anne-Marie and Coley are the kind of people who just immediately put you at ease. We all know a couple - you know the one - who just try to hard, putting on more of a stage show than living their life with authenticity. Coley and AMC are the exact opposite of this. They exude a quiet and confident love, a calm assurance, that envelopes everyone around them and makes you feel so blessed to be part of their life.

It was one of those weekends where, every once in a while, you step back and look in on the scene and think about how lucky you are, and how happy you are for your friends' joy. I'm in the process of putting together a photo montage - but for those who will not be in it for the longhaul, here are some highlights:

Lisa, Dom and I started out on one hell of a fantastic roadtrip

Somewhere along the way we discovered the wonder that is beef jerky, and also bonded with Lisa over future career plans

In no time at all we were at Chez Campbell, which is beautiful beyond words

We settled in almost immediately to the credit of our hosts and headed into town

We were joined by Dan and Minda, and later in the evening we discovered that we had 2 more bodies than we did seats in the car....but that was a problem easily solved among such close friends.


As you can see...Lisa is extremely flexible and a glutton for punishment. She had to be revived shortly after this picture was taken, but at the time it seemed imperative that we get a reference shot to prove how crowded the backseat was.

Then there was all kinds of this


Which led to us feeling like that

And seeing the world like this

Then before we knew it, Race Day was upon us!
We assembled our fabulous hats and got all fancy

And Nancy Kerrigan's mother was there....oops, nope, just Dan


In order to be observant of the "plastic only" rule at the track, certain measures had to be taken

Coley led the way

And we placed our bets

The pink cowgirl knew all the best picks...ok not really, but can you believe this outfit?

Some of us won

Most of us didn't

And somewhere in the middle Lex Luther joined us

But at the end of the day, it's all about laughter, good friends, good food and drinks...and we had that market cornered!

Saturday night the Campbells made a delicious feast and we laughed and talked into the wee hours of the morning.


The following day was spent eating delicious greasy brunch (read between the lines) at a lovely cafe.

Our party had to be separated, which led to some great stalkerazzi photos of Deirdre and Jon!

And then the sad business of parting ways and beginning the long journey home

It is always difficult to leave good friends, but the joy is in anticipating your next adventure!