If you want to see some really great photos from our time in Friendship, Wisconsin, you should check out the TBTL Instagram account, which is carefully curated by Jon Sklaroff. If you want to see a collection of weird photos from last week that weren’t good enough for the gram, keep reading. 

Hello, by the way! This is Andrew, from the Too Beautiful To Live podcast. I hope this email finds you well. 

As you know, Luke, Jon and I had a wonderful time during our visit to Friendship. And, as I tend to do after a fun trip like that, I’ve been finding myself scrolling through my camera roll, looking back at a bunch of random photos I snapped. These are not the type of photos that most people find useful, for the most part; There aren’t a lot of selfies or photos of us enjoying ourselves. I tend to take photos of things like walls. And rocks. And pizza boxes. And then more walls.

But since we don’t have any other pressing news to share with you today, I figured I’d use this space to say a final goodbye to the wonderful town that adopted us for a week. 

We didn’t arrive at our AirBNB until pretty late our first night in town. We got there right after the sun had dipped out of sight. But I was able to grab this pic of Luke and Jon checking out the view right as we rolled up: 

After we got settled, we ran to the grocery store, where they sold something called Patriot Pizza in the freezer section. I was convinced that if we bought any other brand of pizza, we might end up on a government watch list. As it turns out, Luke got a DiGiorno, and I don’t think he tripped any alarms. (That we know of.) 

Here’s the sign that hangs outside our favorite bar in the area. It’s called “Five O'clock Somewhere,” and I knew I loved it before I even set foot in there. 

But it’s not just about pizza and beer, you guys! We had hard work to do, too. Well, at least Jon did. Here he is toiling away at his temporary desk inside the historical society:

Later that night, we held our TBTL Zoom party in the same room. I took this candid photo of Luke and Jon talking to folks who joined us from across the country. I feel a little bad about this photo because I didn’t catch Luke in the most flattering moment. (It’s hard to get a good photo of someone when they’re talking.) But I love this capture so much, I hope it’s okay that I included it here. 

Here’s a photo of a wall inside the Family Affair Restaurant, where we often ate breakfast. I’m only including this because I told you I take a lot of photos of walls. 

Here’s a better photo from the Family Affair. This is our wonderful server showing me the toy rat that hides behind the counter: 

Here’s a photo of The Adams Theater late at night. They show free movies on Thursdays! (You do have to pay for the popcorn, though, according to Hariet.) 

Speaking of our new friend Hariet, she asked us to walk her home after she shut down the bar with us on Friday night. She said it was only two blocks. Jury’s still out on that. 

On our way out of town, we stopped by our billboard one last time to say goodbye and pose for a final pic. I had no idea Luke and I were posing the exact same way. I wonder if he knew. (Shout out to Jon for this photo, by the way):

Well, I have more photos -- one of some rocks next to a lake, another of three beer cans in a hotel ice bucket -- but I think I like them more than you would. So let’s just leave it here for now and call it good. 

Thank you all, one last time, for going on this journey with us last week. It was really special, and I’ll look back on these memories for a long time to come. 

But Luke and I will be back on the podcast Monday to make some new memories with you! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. We’ll talk to you then.

-- Andrew

PS -- I just realized, this very moment, that I never sent out last week’s newsletter! It was all done and ready to go, I just never hit “send” in the flurry before the picnic! That means you haven’t seen Luke’s video tour of the historical society yet. So, please enjoy this belated Hey Dummies from last week.

What’s your name and where do you live? 
Annie Secrest. San Luis Obispo, CA

When did you start listening to TBTL? How did you find the show?
I’m not sure when I first started listening, but I know that it had to have been by 2014, because that is when I started a new job. About two months after starting that job, I shared a room for a week for a work conference and subjected my new colleague (who would later become my friend) to TBTL. I remember asking her if she minded that I played a new podcast I was listening to, and she and I both fell in love!

How would your friends describe you?
A lady in the streets but a freak in the (spread) sheets who’s definitely bumping strip club rap music in her AirPods while she designs the next decarbonization plan for her workplace.

What was your favorite cereal when you were a kid? Is it still your fav? 
My mom spent like Susie B., so we rocked whatever had a sale sticker. I can say my favorite cereal now is Lucky Charms or Reece’s Puff. Both delightful AND gluten free!

What food do you love to eat the most of?
Chips n dip!! A thick kettle cut potato chip and French onion dip.

What’s a special skill that you have?
I can correctly identify the flavor of any Albanese gummy bear with my eyes closed. I spent two hours on a train inviting people to challenge me. I remain undefeated on the Santa Barbara to San Luis Obispo line!!!

If you were driving down the street and you saw Luke and Andrew on the sidewalk, what would you yell at them as you drove past?
“Follow me to the bar!!!”

Hey, it’s Andrew here again. Just a reminder that you can find our Ten of the Week form here! If you’ve never been a TOTW before  (or if it’s been a really, really long time) fill out our little questionnaire. And check out our Ten of the Week archive here!