So I'm trying something new, hopefully that will allow me to post things more frequently. With my new computer came fun new software, so we'll see how it works. However, this means that it won't be on blogger anymore. I'll be keeping this website up, but all new entries will be on the following website:
http://web.me.com/sfitzwat/Stephs_Bodacious_Boondoggles/Welcome.html
(Note: you'll have to copy and paste the address into your browser, the link doesn't work)
This has been made using a template within my program, so you'll see some photos and elements that are obviously not mine, so please be patient as I'll be changing them soon.
Thanks, and please let me know what you think of the new site and any changes that you'd like to see!
08 July 2009
29 January 2009
Inauguration 2009
**details to come!**
(photos: The crowded metro station; about as close to the Capitol as we got, from near the back door to the National Museum of the American Indian; the crowd near the Washington Monument; and the view from the Washington Monument towards the Capitol (no, you can't see the Capitol, it was that crowded!).)
(photos: The view from the back of the Washington Monument towards the Lincoln Memorial; the crowd near us at the World War Two Memorial; another shot towards the Lincoln Memorial; and the screen on which we watched the ceremonies, just one of the many along the mall.)
(photos: The crowded metro station; about as close to the Capitol as we got, from near the back door to the National Museum of the American Indian; the crowd near the Washington Monument; and the view from the Washington Monument towards the Capitol (no, you can't see the Capitol, it was that crowded!).)
(photos: The view from the back of the Washington Monument towards the Lincoln Memorial; the crowd near us at the World War Two Memorial; another shot towards the Lincoln Memorial; and the screen on which we watched the ceremonies, just one of the many along the mall.)
28 January 2009
Not Working in New Mexico, pt. 2
**more to come!**
(photos: Sierra Blanca and a setting moon in the morning from my dad's back porch; the rental car with the remnants of my drive through the dust storm and tumbleweed bonanza from the day before; dunes at White Sands -- note the bushes on top of the dunes are actually the tops of buried cottonwood trees; me at White Sands; and some visitors hiking across the dunes.)
(photos: My footsteps coming down a dune; a map of the park (outlined in yellow); the roadrunner I saw when leaving the park; the giant pistachio in front of the pistachio/winery shop; and roasted corn chowder... mmmmm...)
(photos: View of Sierra Blanca from the lobby of the Inn of the Mountain Gods; Billy the Kid's goodies; hello, pickelhaube; some of the horse breeds frolicking in a statue in front of the Hubbard Museum of the American West; and a pint of Moose Drool --note the drooling moose on the glass!)
(photos: View of Smokey the Bear Gap in the Capitan Mountains, the gap where the bear cub was found during a fire; Smokey the Bear's grave; hello, cowboy boots; proof that the west isn't dead, if you can ride your horse (or burro) through town in Lincoln; and views of the graves of two victims of the Lincoln County War.)
(photos: The main street of Lincoln, looking just as much the same as it did during its violent heyday in the early 1880s; gunshots supposedly from Billy the Kid during his escape from the courthouse; apparently masons were behind the Lincoln County War, too; the road back toward Ruidoso; and the country-western bar Win, Place, and Show ("W.P.S." by its true fans).)
(photos: Sierra Blanca and a setting moon in the morning from my dad's back porch; the rental car with the remnants of my drive through the dust storm and tumbleweed bonanza from the day before; dunes at White Sands -- note the bushes on top of the dunes are actually the tops of buried cottonwood trees; me at White Sands; and some visitors hiking across the dunes.)
(photos: My footsteps coming down a dune; a map of the park (outlined in yellow); the roadrunner I saw when leaving the park; the giant pistachio in front of the pistachio/winery shop; and roasted corn chowder... mmmmm...)
(photos: View of Sierra Blanca from the lobby of the Inn of the Mountain Gods; Billy the Kid's goodies; hello, pickelhaube; some of the horse breeds frolicking in a statue in front of the Hubbard Museum of the American West; and a pint of Moose Drool --note the drooling moose on the glass!)
(photos: View of Smokey the Bear Gap in the Capitan Mountains, the gap where the bear cub was found during a fire; Smokey the Bear's grave; hello, cowboy boots; proof that the west isn't dead, if you can ride your horse (or burro) through town in Lincoln; and views of the graves of two victims of the Lincoln County War.)
(photos: The main street of Lincoln, looking just as much the same as it did during its violent heyday in the early 1880s; gunshots supposedly from Billy the Kid during his escape from the courthouse; apparently masons were behind the Lincoln County War, too; the road back toward Ruidoso; and the country-western bar Win, Place, and Show ("W.P.S." by its true fans).)
Not Working in New Mexico, pt. 1
**more to come!**
I was home in Virginia for about a week before going to New Mexico to visit my dad. It took me a little while to get excited about my trip since I spent my time before my trip studying for the GRE and trying to get my grad school applications finished. I was also realizing how difficult it was having a month off of work and trying to pinch every penny. However, once on the plane to Albuquerque, I was grateful to have something to do for the next ten days and not have to worry about spending much money.
I had a brief layover in Minneapolis and was flying into Albuquerque by early afternoon. It was interesting to see the changing landscape from the plane, especially the snow-covered mountains in New Mexico surrounded by the brown of the desert (a combination I realized I'd never really seen before). Dad picked me up at the airport and we went to Old Town for some lunch and a quick look for the chocolate shop we'd visited a few years ago before beginning the three hour drive south to Ruidoso. When visiting New Mexico before, I'd really liked the part I'd seen, but it was a very limited portion of the state. The drive south began by leaving the mountains of Albuquerque for the seasonally-brown Rio Grande valley, with clusters of mountains emerging periodically on the horizon. After an hour or so (and after passing the herd of Texas longhorns) heading south, we exited the highway to start east on a two-lane state highway that cut across the north part of the White Sands Missile Range near the Trinity site (site of the first Atomic Bomb detonation) and the site of the reputedly seventh-best burger in the world (a green chile cheeseburger). Near the town of Carrizozzo, we crossed the Valley of Fire to start into the mountains to Ruidoso, the mountain resort town where my dad now lives. We had about enough time to drop off our stuff at my dad's condo before heading out to his favorite watering hole, Dreamcatchers, where we finished the night.(photos: A view of Virginia's Eastern Shore and the Chesapeake Bay over the Hampton Roads area and penninsula; snowy New Mexican mountains and the desert; Fat Tire, a Colorado beer not often found out east, sopapillas, and green AND red chile posole as my first meal in New Mexico; and a view towards the Sacramento Mountains and Sierra Blanca (our destination); Dad overlooking the Valley of Fire, a valley full of volcanic rock full from a geologically recent lava flow; and a local and popular microbrew from New Mexico (surprise).)
Friday I met my dad at his office before we met his associates for a lunch meeting at a Texas bbq joint (also served with the obligatory green chiles and jalepeños) and tagged along to the tour of a nearby ranch for a military benefit they were all planning. (photos: View towards Sierra Blanca from the Cook Canyon area; snow-covered desert on the way to Santa Fe; La Fonda Hotel, the end of the Santa Fe trail, near the plaza; the nativity scene in the basilica, complete with chihuahua; and the oldest statue of the Virgin Mary in the country (complete with a full head of human hair).)
(photos: The gothic cathedral with its New Mexican influences, still decorated for Christmas; wood and paper flowers; local American Indian artisans in front of the Palace of the Governors selling their crafts; some of the ever-present adobe; and the very understated New Mexican state capitol.)
(photos: Full moon rising over the desert; outside the No Scum Allowed Saloon; music at the No Scum, complete with a banjolin (combo of a banjo and mandolin); awesome elephant-skin cowboy boots; and some of my new friends from the No Scum in front of the portrait of Billy the Kid.)
(photos: A Roswell institution, complete with specially-decorated street lamp; an exhibit in the UFO museum emphasizing the existence of UFOs based on comments from past US presidents; your standard Roswell alien autopsy scene; a map of the Big Room, the largest room in Carlsbad Caverns -- note the scale of the 747 in the corner of the graphic on the sign; and a view of a side nook in the caverns.)
(photos: A view down the Big Room -- note the interpretive sign in the lower right corner for scale; a close-up of a pillar in the Hall of Giants; the same pillars from further out; and a giant statue in a town halfway between Carlsbad and Roswell essentially in the middle of a gas station parking lot.)
I was home in Virginia for about a week before going to New Mexico to visit my dad. It took me a little while to get excited about my trip since I spent my time before my trip studying for the GRE and trying to get my grad school applications finished. I was also realizing how difficult it was having a month off of work and trying to pinch every penny. However, once on the plane to Albuquerque, I was grateful to have something to do for the next ten days and not have to worry about spending much money.
I had a brief layover in Minneapolis and was flying into Albuquerque by early afternoon. It was interesting to see the changing landscape from the plane, especially the snow-covered mountains in New Mexico surrounded by the brown of the desert (a combination I realized I'd never really seen before). Dad picked me up at the airport and we went to Old Town for some lunch and a quick look for the chocolate shop we'd visited a few years ago before beginning the three hour drive south to Ruidoso. When visiting New Mexico before, I'd really liked the part I'd seen, but it was a very limited portion of the state. The drive south began by leaving the mountains of Albuquerque for the seasonally-brown Rio Grande valley, with clusters of mountains emerging periodically on the horizon. After an hour or so (and after passing the herd of Texas longhorns) heading south, we exited the highway to start east on a two-lane state highway that cut across the north part of the White Sands Missile Range near the Trinity site (site of the first Atomic Bomb detonation) and the site of the reputedly seventh-best burger in the world (a green chile cheeseburger). Near the town of Carrizozzo, we crossed the Valley of Fire to start into the mountains to Ruidoso, the mountain resort town where my dad now lives. We had about enough time to drop off our stuff at my dad's condo before heading out to his favorite watering hole, Dreamcatchers, where we finished the night.(photos: A view of Virginia's Eastern Shore and the Chesapeake Bay over the Hampton Roads area and penninsula; snowy New Mexican mountains and the desert; Fat Tire, a Colorado beer not often found out east, sopapillas, and green AND red chile posole as my first meal in New Mexico; and a view towards the Sacramento Mountains and Sierra Blanca (our destination); Dad overlooking the Valley of Fire, a valley full of volcanic rock full from a geologically recent lava flow; and a local and popular microbrew from New Mexico (surprise).)
Friday I met my dad at his office before we met his associates for a lunch meeting at a Texas bbq joint (also served with the obligatory green chiles and jalepeños) and tagged along to the tour of a nearby ranch for a military benefit they were all planning. (photos: View towards Sierra Blanca from the Cook Canyon area; snow-covered desert on the way to Santa Fe; La Fonda Hotel, the end of the Santa Fe trail, near the plaza; the nativity scene in the basilica, complete with chihuahua; and the oldest statue of the Virgin Mary in the country (complete with a full head of human hair).)
(photos: The gothic cathedral with its New Mexican influences, still decorated for Christmas; wood and paper flowers; local American Indian artisans in front of the Palace of the Governors selling their crafts; some of the ever-present adobe; and the very understated New Mexican state capitol.)
(photos: Full moon rising over the desert; outside the No Scum Allowed Saloon; music at the No Scum, complete with a banjolin (combo of a banjo and mandolin); awesome elephant-skin cowboy boots; and some of my new friends from the No Scum in front of the portrait of Billy the Kid.)
(photos: A Roswell institution, complete with specially-decorated street lamp; an exhibit in the UFO museum emphasizing the existence of UFOs based on comments from past US presidents; your standard Roswell alien autopsy scene; a map of the Big Room, the largest room in Carlsbad Caverns -- note the scale of the 747 in the corner of the graphic on the sign; and a view of a side nook in the caverns.)
(photos: A view down the Big Room -- note the interpretive sign in the lower right corner for scale; a close-up of a pillar in the Hall of Giants; the same pillars from further out; and a giant statue in a town halfway between Carlsbad and Roswell essentially in the middle of a gas station parking lot.)
15 December 2008
Holiday Season is Here!
So in the midst of my final fall teaching, I was also getting ready for the approaching holiday season. With Thanksgiving, I went with Mark and his family to their annual Thanksgiving dinner with family friends. The weekend previously was also his birthday, with all of the usual birthday celebrations, but we also were planning on camping in the Outerbanks of North Carolina in the days following Thanksgiving.
When the time came to head to North Carolina, we were both fighting colds and decided to cut our trip short by only going for a night and cut out the camping portion in favor of using free hotel points for a room (better than two sick people camping in the cold and rain). We did visit the Wright Brothers National Monument at Kitty Hawk, the giant sand dunes at Jockey's Ridge State Park, and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (the location of the Lost Colony of Roanoke, on Manteo) before heading back to Williamsburg the next day. It was a good little trip and just the kind of mental vacation I needed going into the crazy pre-Christmas season. (photos: Mark in front of one of the many versions of the superstar monster truck, Grave Digger, at its headquarters, the "Digger's Dungeon;" the location of the first flights by the Wright Brothers (the metal track marks their flight path and the stone markers their landing spots); the monument to their achievements; and a statue of the famous photo of one of their first flights that visitors can pose with.)
(photos: The ginormous dunes at Jockey's Ridge State Park; just like why the Wright Brothers chose the Outer Banks for their flights, lots of people use the plentiful wind to fly kites; sunset over Albemarle Sound towards Manteo; the cold and windy ocean by our hotel; and some earthworks from one of the versions of the Lost Colony (but the colony's actual location is still unknown).)
After Thanksgiving, there were a few get-togethers with friends and also the annual staff Christmas Party. I joined an annual cookie-baking day with Mark's mom and her friends, coming home with about 10 dozen cookies. In the midst of all of this, I was still having to get shopping done before going home to Michigan. (photos: Tyler, Mark Summers, Matt, and (part of) Mark discussing Mark Summers' new congressional campaign -- since they looked the part, it seemed appropriate; and later, the staff escorting the candidate to his vehicle.)
The night before flying home, I got a call from Northwest Airlines informing me that they'd cancelled my flight and rescheduled it for a day later. I was up almost all night trying to get a hold of someone to see if there was an earlier flight out of Richmond, all fruitlessly. In the end, I went to Richmond the next morning to simply plead my case and look for a flight, which they quickly provided me an hour later (as opposed to the following day, when the airline had scheduled me). I was exhausted, but at last got to Detroit, and after a yummy German meal, got home to Lansing. (photo: A snowy Detroit gave me a glimpse of what I could look forward to back in Michigan.)
I had a few days before Christmas to help my family get all of their shopping and decorating done in the midst of my annual dentist/eye doctor/etc. appointments. Christmas Eve we had our annual snackfest at my grandma's house and went to bed with mountains of snow outside. On Christmas itself, we exchanged gifts, watched "Ironman" (which made Mom's day, she loved it so much!), and cooked like crazy before going to my grandparents' house for dinner. It was a laid-back and scaled-back Christmas, but still quite enjoyable. (photos: Grandpa, Josh, and I on Christmas; Uncle Dirk, Grandma, and Aunt Penny; and all of the cousins.)
The day after Christmas, we were supposed to go to Grand Rapids to have a get together with my dad's side of the family. However, that morning, I got quite sick and spent all day watching my mom's new copy of "The Tudors." Luckily, I was also trying to recover before my GRE test the next morning. Still coughing, I woke up early and went to the test, only to have the national GRE system crash part of the way through and have my test rescheduled a couple of weeks later. I was still sick for the next couple of days and took it easy, only venturing outside rarely (though the snow had melted just after Christmas). (photos: Dad (wearing his award) and Josh at Chuck E. Cheese for their fantasy football league's award session; my cousin Allison and Uncle Mike with some of the trophies; and Mom and Leslie with their goodies.)
Just before returning to Virginia, some of my friends from high school and I got together, some for the first time since high school graduation. We met at one of our old favorite restaurants, chatted, and some of us continued on to hang out more downtown. It was great to see everyone, with many of them either engaged or moved away. The next morning, it was up to pack before leaving for Virginia (and to fit the theme of most of my trip home, half of my luggage didn't arrive). (photos: Ryan, Janay, and Karli at our Cheddar's high school gathering; Andrea, Pattí, and Wendy; and Paddy, me, and Andrea.)
The next day was New Year's Eve. I relaxed and readjusted to Virginia for the day before going to Mark's house to help him prepare for his party. It was a small, but very fun party. Jack even brought caviar, which I'd never tried until then. The holidays were over at last, after Mike and Christine's nearly-gluttonous "A Christmas Story" Party a few days later. I didn't have much time back in Virginia before I was soon heading to New Mexico to visit my dad... (photo: Mark trying caviar, with gusto.)
When the time came to head to North Carolina, we were both fighting colds and decided to cut our trip short by only going for a night and cut out the camping portion in favor of using free hotel points for a room (better than two sick people camping in the cold and rain). We did visit the Wright Brothers National Monument at Kitty Hawk, the giant sand dunes at Jockey's Ridge State Park, and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (the location of the Lost Colony of Roanoke, on Manteo) before heading back to Williamsburg the next day. It was a good little trip and just the kind of mental vacation I needed going into the crazy pre-Christmas season. (photos: Mark in front of one of the many versions of the superstar monster truck, Grave Digger, at its headquarters, the "Digger's Dungeon;" the location of the first flights by the Wright Brothers (the metal track marks their flight path and the stone markers their landing spots); the monument to their achievements; and a statue of the famous photo of one of their first flights that visitors can pose with.)
(photos: The ginormous dunes at Jockey's Ridge State Park; just like why the Wright Brothers chose the Outer Banks for their flights, lots of people use the plentiful wind to fly kites; sunset over Albemarle Sound towards Manteo; the cold and windy ocean by our hotel; and some earthworks from one of the versions of the Lost Colony (but the colony's actual location is still unknown).)
After Thanksgiving, there were a few get-togethers with friends and also the annual staff Christmas Party. I joined an annual cookie-baking day with Mark's mom and her friends, coming home with about 10 dozen cookies. In the midst of all of this, I was still having to get shopping done before going home to Michigan. (photos: Tyler, Mark Summers, Matt, and (part of) Mark discussing Mark Summers' new congressional campaign -- since they looked the part, it seemed appropriate; and later, the staff escorting the candidate to his vehicle.)
The night before flying home, I got a call from Northwest Airlines informing me that they'd cancelled my flight and rescheduled it for a day later. I was up almost all night trying to get a hold of someone to see if there was an earlier flight out of Richmond, all fruitlessly. In the end, I went to Richmond the next morning to simply plead my case and look for a flight, which they quickly provided me an hour later (as opposed to the following day, when the airline had scheduled me). I was exhausted, but at last got to Detroit, and after a yummy German meal, got home to Lansing. (photo: A snowy Detroit gave me a glimpse of what I could look forward to back in Michigan.)
I had a few days before Christmas to help my family get all of their shopping and decorating done in the midst of my annual dentist/eye doctor/etc. appointments. Christmas Eve we had our annual snackfest at my grandma's house and went to bed with mountains of snow outside. On Christmas itself, we exchanged gifts, watched "Ironman" (which made Mom's day, she loved it so much!), and cooked like crazy before going to my grandparents' house for dinner. It was a laid-back and scaled-back Christmas, but still quite enjoyable. (photos: Grandpa, Josh, and I on Christmas; Uncle Dirk, Grandma, and Aunt Penny; and all of the cousins.)
The day after Christmas, we were supposed to go to Grand Rapids to have a get together with my dad's side of the family. However, that morning, I got quite sick and spent all day watching my mom's new copy of "The Tudors." Luckily, I was also trying to recover before my GRE test the next morning. Still coughing, I woke up early and went to the test, only to have the national GRE system crash part of the way through and have my test rescheduled a couple of weeks later. I was still sick for the next couple of days and took it easy, only venturing outside rarely (though the snow had melted just after Christmas). (photos: Dad (wearing his award) and Josh at Chuck E. Cheese for their fantasy football league's award session; my cousin Allison and Uncle Mike with some of the trophies; and Mom and Leslie with their goodies.)
Just before returning to Virginia, some of my friends from high school and I got together, some for the first time since high school graduation. We met at one of our old favorite restaurants, chatted, and some of us continued on to hang out more downtown. It was great to see everyone, with many of them either engaged or moved away. The next morning, it was up to pack before leaving for Virginia (and to fit the theme of most of my trip home, half of my luggage didn't arrive). (photos: Ryan, Janay, and Karli at our Cheddar's high school gathering; Andrea, Pattí, and Wendy; and Paddy, me, and Andrea.)
The next day was New Year's Eve. I relaxed and readjusted to Virginia for the day before going to Mark's house to help him prepare for his party. It was a small, but very fun party. Jack even brought caviar, which I'd never tried until then. The holidays were over at last, after Mike and Christine's nearly-gluttonous "A Christmas Story" Party a few days later. I didn't have much time back in Virginia before I was soon heading to New Mexico to visit my dad... (photo: Mark trying caviar, with gusto.)
14 December 2008
End of Fall Teaching -- From Fairfax to Chincoteague
Photos to come...
After a month in Loudoun County, I actually was able to teach in other parts of Virginia (not that I didn't enjoy Loudoun...)!
First up on my schedule after Loudoun was Accomack County, the more northern of the two counties on the Eastern Shore of Virginia (the little dingy of land dangling off the eastern half of Maryland and often left off generalized maps of Virginia). I was quite excited for this since I had the fun schedule: though not a full week, I got to teach at Chincoteague Island (yes, the same island from the book, for those "Misty of Chincoteague" fans out there) and Tangier Island (the little Mackinac-esque -- i.e. no cars and mostly tourist-based economy -- island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay). After a lovely drive across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and past NASA's Wallops Island center, I arrived to the small tourist town of Chincoteague accessible by a causeway and small bridge undergoing expansion and thus tons of construction. Chincoteague is a small town, since not too many people venture this way in mid-November, but I was glad to not have too many tourists clogging the small streets. I went that afternoon out to explore the southern end of Assateague Island National Seashore, a 37-mile-long barrier in both Maryland and Virginia. I hiked to the cool brick lighthouse and along the shore, excitedly calling family so that they could hear the ocean without needing a seashell. However, it was pretty darn cold that close to dusk and during a snow-wielding cold front on the beach, so my walks didn't last too long. Being on the Eastern Shore, an area known for its seafood (one of the main industries other than agriculture, which wasn't too much in season in November), I felt I had to find some for part of my dinner, which I did with some ridiculous oysters rockefeller (or something like that) before returning to my hotel for my usual evening (while on the road) full of trashy television.
The next day I was up and teaching before a bit of afternoon exploration and some more fun at the National Seashore. This time, I found some of the loose wild ponies for which the island is known (every summer they make a herd of the ponies "swim" from the barrier island to Chincoteague as a re-enactment of when they used to take the ponies to market to sell). The next day, I was supposed to teach at Tangier Island, and to get there, I'd have to rendezvous with the marine police for an early morning boat ride to the island. However, the boat ride was weather-permitting and it became clear the night before that the weather, with that pesky cold front, would be too rough for me to go the day I was scheduled. I was given a small teaching assignment (two classes and a district visit -- a piece of cake day) and, after staying an additional day, would try to get to Tangier Island again. I did the additional teaching which was carved from the scheduled teaching of two other coworkers teaching the mainland schools in the county. The school we taught at shocked me when I found this school, in nearly a ghost-town of a community due to the dying railroad industry, seasonality of farming, and threatened fishing industry, had a school dentist just like most schools have school nurses (probably because this community both didn't have a nearby dentist and that most people in this community probably couldn't afford one). They were good kids, and after, I met with my coworkers also staying at my new hotel in Onancock (the town I was in a year previously with the ship and from where I'd catch the boat to Tangier Island the next day) and went to dinner.
The next morning I was again up early and down at the marina to meet the boat. The officer picked me up before we went to pick up the county DARE officer and a group of hospice workers who all go to the island weekly. Apparently, they were all surprised that we were making the trip due to the conditions of the bay, and the ride met the reputation. I was excited for a choppy ride, just as I'd always been excited when taking the ferry to Mackinac, and loved that the boat was bouncing all over as it hit each wave. After the delay of picking up my fellow passengers and the hour boat trip, we arrived to the small island. During the summer, it sees a fair amount of tourists (no where near as many as Mackinac since it's more like a quaint B&B destination in the bay and has plenty of golf carts for transport on the island), but most of its residents are watermen who rely on the reduced and threatened fishing in the bay and are thus hurting even more than most people with the economy. I wheeled my box of artifacts the quarter mile to the k-12 school where, due to time constraints, I had to combine the 3rd and 4th-grade programs (there were still only 12 students total, and that was with a student from each grade absent). After, I had lunch with the kids (cafeteria-style chicken and dumplings and canned beets) who were thrilled that I ate at their table and took repeated votes of who was the coolest historical figure we'd discussed and debated historical questions (I loved it!). Then, the DARE officer and I went back to catch the boat back to the mainland. The ride back was not quite as choppy, but with my hurried lunch, I felt the ups and downs a bit more and was grateful for the minivan drive back home.
The week after Thanksgiving, I was scheduled up in Fairfax County near Alexandria, where both Megan and I stayed. We had fun wandering through Old Town Alexandria (my first time there), having a fantastic dinner in an Irish pub, and finding all sorts of tacky inauguration paraphernalia. We taught together the next day and then set out for Arlington to the Drug Enforcement Agency's museum. The DEA museum was both free and small and gave us the history of both drug use and drug policy enforcement in the country, including such fabulous artifacts as a recreated 1990s meth lab, copious opium den photos, grenades and tommy guns from early 20th-century agents, and a pair of alligator-skin platform shoes from undercover agents -- fabulous! We explored the area a bit more before heading back to the hotel to discuss a possible hiking trip to England in May when we'll both have a month off. I taught at a different school than Megan the next day since she was heading home, but I met my friend Callie (who had just moved to Alexandria a few months previously) for dinner and Christmas Tree shopping. I was a bit sick the next day and ended up teaching just part of my schedule and returned home for some rest before making an appearance at the staff holiday party (covered in a different entry).
The next week I taught with Dorothy in Pittsylvania County (staying in Danville, just on the border of North Carolina) for a few days. It was a typical trip, but I did have fabulous classes and even met a friend's niece in one of my classes. We had some yummy barbecue one day and laid pretty low for the few days we were out there since the weather was pretty nasty every day we were there. On the way back to Williamsburg, we absent-mindedly missed our turn and were stuck on nearly flooded back roads the entire way back. I only had one other local teaching assignment, but spent every other day I was in the office preparing for staff training and getting things ready before my month off beginning at the end of the following week. It was busy, but everything got done and I was very much ready for some time off.
After a month in Loudoun County, I actually was able to teach in other parts of Virginia (not that I didn't enjoy Loudoun...)!
First up on my schedule after Loudoun was Accomack County, the more northern of the two counties on the Eastern Shore of Virginia (the little dingy of land dangling off the eastern half of Maryland and often left off generalized maps of Virginia). I was quite excited for this since I had the fun schedule: though not a full week, I got to teach at Chincoteague Island (yes, the same island from the book, for those "Misty of Chincoteague" fans out there) and Tangier Island (the little Mackinac-esque -- i.e. no cars and mostly tourist-based economy -- island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay). After a lovely drive across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and past NASA's Wallops Island center, I arrived to the small tourist town of Chincoteague accessible by a causeway and small bridge undergoing expansion and thus tons of construction. Chincoteague is a small town, since not too many people venture this way in mid-November, but I was glad to not have too many tourists clogging the small streets. I went that afternoon out to explore the southern end of Assateague Island National Seashore, a 37-mile-long barrier in both Maryland and Virginia. I hiked to the cool brick lighthouse and along the shore, excitedly calling family so that they could hear the ocean without needing a seashell. However, it was pretty darn cold that close to dusk and during a snow-wielding cold front on the beach, so my walks didn't last too long. Being on the Eastern Shore, an area known for its seafood (one of the main industries other than agriculture, which wasn't too much in season in November), I felt I had to find some for part of my dinner, which I did with some ridiculous oysters rockefeller (or something like that) before returning to my hotel for my usual evening (while on the road) full of trashy television.
The next day I was up and teaching before a bit of afternoon exploration and some more fun at the National Seashore. This time, I found some of the loose wild ponies for which the island is known (every summer they make a herd of the ponies "swim" from the barrier island to Chincoteague as a re-enactment of when they used to take the ponies to market to sell). The next day, I was supposed to teach at Tangier Island, and to get there, I'd have to rendezvous with the marine police for an early morning boat ride to the island. However, the boat ride was weather-permitting and it became clear the night before that the weather, with that pesky cold front, would be too rough for me to go the day I was scheduled. I was given a small teaching assignment (two classes and a district visit -- a piece of cake day) and, after staying an additional day, would try to get to Tangier Island again. I did the additional teaching which was carved from the scheduled teaching of two other coworkers teaching the mainland schools in the county. The school we taught at shocked me when I found this school, in nearly a ghost-town of a community due to the dying railroad industry, seasonality of farming, and threatened fishing industry, had a school dentist just like most schools have school nurses (probably because this community both didn't have a nearby dentist and that most people in this community probably couldn't afford one). They were good kids, and after, I met with my coworkers also staying at my new hotel in Onancock (the town I was in a year previously with the ship and from where I'd catch the boat to Tangier Island the next day) and went to dinner.
The next morning I was again up early and down at the marina to meet the boat. The officer picked me up before we went to pick up the county DARE officer and a group of hospice workers who all go to the island weekly. Apparently, they were all surprised that we were making the trip due to the conditions of the bay, and the ride met the reputation. I was excited for a choppy ride, just as I'd always been excited when taking the ferry to Mackinac, and loved that the boat was bouncing all over as it hit each wave. After the delay of picking up my fellow passengers and the hour boat trip, we arrived to the small island. During the summer, it sees a fair amount of tourists (no where near as many as Mackinac since it's more like a quaint B&B destination in the bay and has plenty of golf carts for transport on the island), but most of its residents are watermen who rely on the reduced and threatened fishing in the bay and are thus hurting even more than most people with the economy. I wheeled my box of artifacts the quarter mile to the k-12 school where, due to time constraints, I had to combine the 3rd and 4th-grade programs (there were still only 12 students total, and that was with a student from each grade absent). After, I had lunch with the kids (cafeteria-style chicken and dumplings and canned beets) who were thrilled that I ate at their table and took repeated votes of who was the coolest historical figure we'd discussed and debated historical questions (I loved it!). Then, the DARE officer and I went back to catch the boat back to the mainland. The ride back was not quite as choppy, but with my hurried lunch, I felt the ups and downs a bit more and was grateful for the minivan drive back home.
The week after Thanksgiving, I was scheduled up in Fairfax County near Alexandria, where both Megan and I stayed. We had fun wandering through Old Town Alexandria (my first time there), having a fantastic dinner in an Irish pub, and finding all sorts of tacky inauguration paraphernalia. We taught together the next day and then set out for Arlington to the Drug Enforcement Agency's museum. The DEA museum was both free and small and gave us the history of both drug use and drug policy enforcement in the country, including such fabulous artifacts as a recreated 1990s meth lab, copious opium den photos, grenades and tommy guns from early 20th-century agents, and a pair of alligator-skin platform shoes from undercover agents -- fabulous! We explored the area a bit more before heading back to the hotel to discuss a possible hiking trip to England in May when we'll both have a month off. I taught at a different school than Megan the next day since she was heading home, but I met my friend Callie (who had just moved to Alexandria a few months previously) for dinner and Christmas Tree shopping. I was a bit sick the next day and ended up teaching just part of my schedule and returned home for some rest before making an appearance at the staff holiday party (covered in a different entry).
The next week I taught with Dorothy in Pittsylvania County (staying in Danville, just on the border of North Carolina) for a few days. It was a typical trip, but I did have fabulous classes and even met a friend's niece in one of my classes. We had some yummy barbecue one day and laid pretty low for the few days we were out there since the weather was pretty nasty every day we were there. On the way back to Williamsburg, we absent-mindedly missed our turn and were stuck on nearly flooded back roads the entire way back. I only had one other local teaching assignment, but spent every other day I was in the office preparing for staff training and getting things ready before my month off beginning at the end of the following week. It was busy, but everything got done and I was very much ready for some time off.
20 November 2008
A Few Halloweens
So between working trips this fall, I've been trying to lay low and save money. However, there's been quite the run-up to Halloween as well. Some of us went to Busch Gardens' Hallowscream a couple of times. Also, Mark's friend Stephanie (fantastic name!) had a Halloween birthday party, where I debuted my costume as a lumberjack and Mark went as Superman (though I was worried it seemed to normal, but that just might be the Michigan in me, having seen people dress like this on a normal basis). The following weekend on actual Halloween night, we had friends over at our house to watch scary movies (including classics such as "My Bloody Valentine" about a crazed miner angry about Valentines Day parties and Jason 8: Jason Takes Manhattan) and dress in either costume or scary face paint. The day after Halloween, a coworker had a Halloween party at his house with the Lords of Misrule playing. I was pretty excited about my costume for this party, as you'll see below. There were some great costumes, including the second Sarah Palin of the season, a Dark-Knight-esque Joker, a pair of late-18th/early-19th century British military explorers complete with pith helmets, and a dead Alexander Hamilton. Here are some fun photos...
Halloween #1:
Mark taking in some quality literature between birthday party and karaoke (yes, in a Barnes & Noble in costume)
Lumberjack me and Superman Mark
Superman and Sarah Palin #1 (who sang her own version of "Redneck Woman" at karaoke, which a lot of Palin supporters loved and actually began talking politics with her to figure out if her song was a parody or a tribute)
Halloween #2:
Matt (he'd already partially taken off his costume) and Sally (covering up her makeup with her apparently annual tradition of stealing other costumes for photos)
Halloween #3:
Me (as Jack, complete with hedgehog) and Jack (thrilled to have his own tribute)
Scott's sister-in-law as Sarah Palin #2 and Jack
The Captain and Scott
Brian and Loren as Clint Eastwood and one of his movie cohorts
And a tribute to Mark Summers' costume as Alexander Hamilton (I couldn't pick just one):
Mark dueling with Jeff (rather gleefully)
Showing of his on-hand copy of the Federalist Papers
And if you didn't get it yet...
Halloween #1:
Mark taking in some quality literature between birthday party and karaoke (yes, in a Barnes & Noble in costume)
Lumberjack me and Superman Mark
Superman and Sarah Palin #1 (who sang her own version of "Redneck Woman" at karaoke, which a lot of Palin supporters loved and actually began talking politics with her to figure out if her song was a parody or a tribute)
Halloween #2:
Matt (he'd already partially taken off his costume) and Sally (covering up her makeup with her apparently annual tradition of stealing other costumes for photos)
Halloween #3:
Me (as Jack, complete with hedgehog) and Jack (thrilled to have his own tribute)
Scott's sister-in-law as Sarah Palin #2 and Jack
The Captain and Scott
Brian and Loren as Clint Eastwood and one of his movie cohorts
And a tribute to Mark Summers' costume as Alexander Hamilton (I couldn't pick just one):
Mark dueling with Jeff (rather gleefully)
Showing of his on-hand copy of the Federalist Papers
And if you didn't get it yet...
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