Steph's Bodacious Boondoggles

New Blog Officially Up and Running!

2009-09-08T23:52:00.002-04:00

As per my previous post, I have created a new blog. I've put a bit more effort into it, and it's now up to date. I'm posting this entry as my last post on this blog. I'll keep it with all of its old entries so it can act as a kind of archives for my new blog (it's linked on my new blog in a couple of places).

Please let me know what you think of the new blog! It's a different format that I think I like better...

New blog: http://web.me.com/sfitzwat
(you'll probably have to cut and paste that into your web browser... sorry)

New Blog/Website!!!

2009-07-08T22:04:00.006-04:00

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!

Inauguration 2009

2009-01-29T00:02:00.005-05:00

**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.)

Not Working in New Mexico, pt. 2

2009-01-28T23:07:00.011-05:00

**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).)

Not Working in New Mexico, pt. 1

2009-01-28T19:29:00.010-05:00

**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.)

Holiday Season is Here!

2008-12-15T15:42:00.008-05:00

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.)

End of Fall Teaching -- From Fairfax to Chincoteague

2008-12-14T14:33:00.001-05:00

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.

A Few Halloweens

2008-11-20T01:50:00.000-05:00

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...

A Month in Loudoun

2008-11-19T19:07:00.014-05:00

So after spending my first weeks this school year out in southwestern Virginia, I spent a lot of time over the next four weeks mostly in Loudoun County (the county in the northern tip of Virginia, west of Fairfax County, east of Harpers Ferry, and south of Maryland) with some day trips to Richmond sprinkled in there. After my time (at the same hotel, even), I became friends with the staff of the hotel, with them even lamenting my leaving since I'd become a friendly and "familiar face."

Over those weeks, I travelled with many different staff members and pretty thoroughly explored Loudoun County and its environs. My first trip was just an overnight trip and I barely had time to do much other than my job. However, during my second week, my friend Jeff and I taught in and around Leesburg. Megan and Dirk were also in the area and came to hang out on one of our first afternoons. We went to Harper's Ferry one day and wandered around quite a bit. It had been a while since I'd been there (ten years, or so?) and I enjoyed wandering the streets and seeing a lot of the little shops. We actually ate dinner in the Secret Six Tavern, named after the secret six Yankee backers of John Brown and his raid. (photos: The John Brown wax statue in the window of the John Brown Wax Museum (sorry, it just brought back memories of the manchild...); the armory building, focal point of John Brown's raid, with Harpers Ferry in the background; Dirk, Megan, and Jeff overlooking the junction of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, with Jeff too busy with his camera to socialize; Megan's face of disappointment when the train didn't come on the track immediately next to her, thus crushing her dream to reenact a scene from "Stand By Me;" and the sun about to set behind Harpers Ferry.)

Later that week, Jeff and I heard rumors that Barack Obama was having a rally in town, though we thought it wasn't until the weekend. Come to find out, the Obama for America campaign staffers that were staying at the hotel were actually there prepping for a rally the very next day. Luckily, we made it out of the school, back to the hotel to change, and to the park where the rally was to be held (via walking, luckily avoiding the standstill traffic!) in time to wait in line to make it in to the rally. We didn't have front-row positions, but the rally was held in a hollow between several small hills, so we had a close and elevated position that gave us a great view. The rally itself was fantastic, though also just what I'd expected based on when I saw him in Virginia Beach and from what I'd seen on television. (photos: Waiting in line for the rally; looking back over the hill at the crowd waiting for the rally to begin; Barack Obama comes on stage (my camera didn't have a great zoom, sorry!); the back part of the crowd with those that didn't make it into the rally watching from beyond the security checkpoint; and a different view from the rally.)

The next week, it was Megan and I up in Loudoun. We had a few things up our sleeves, though also trying to lay low and save as much money as possible. One day we went to Harper's Ferry again to finish visiting what we'd missed the last time. We also visited a place just west of Leesburg called "Dinosaur Land." It's an amazingly tacking and enjoyable tourist trap (dubbing itself as an "educational prehistoric forrest") of lots of cement-ish dinosaurs in a wooded area, though complete with a giant shark, octopus, praying mantis, king cobra, and King Kong. Genius. (photos: More fall colors in the return trip to Harpers Ferry; the octopus (from behind) that strangely lives by a cactus; me and my new friend the pteranodon; and a very frog-like protoceratops.)

(photos: Some dinosaurs in their habitat, including some battling in the background; more battling dinos, though we think that the big one was just broken and they added blood to the carnivore to make the "battle;" yup, it's pretty epic; and me with the King Kong, terrified, of course.)

Megan and I finished out the week with pie and dinner with her parents. The following week, I was back traveling by myself for the first part of the week, including on election night (though I enjoyed myself by being able to watch it all and keep tabs on friends and family all over the country). I also found a little British tea shop after teaching one day, complete with British proprietors, delicious British tea, and wonderfully authentic bangers and mash. Once some of my coworkers arrived for a different teaching assignment, Mark S. gave us a tour of Leesburg from his former tour-guiding days at the Loudoun County Museum. Like anything he does, the tour included tales of duels, Revolutionary rebels, and Civil War anecdotes. I didn't go with Mark S. and Jeff to Dinosaur Land the next day (the stories of my and Megan's visit spread pretty quickly), and instead explored Middleburg, a small (and very wealthy) town in southwestern Loudoun with a distinctly British feel. However, despite how much I enjoyed my time in Loudoun, I was very ready to travel someplace else and to get a bit more variety by the end of my final week in the county. (photos: Jeff and Mark S. outside the courthouse in Leesburg on our walking tour of town; downtown Middleburg; I had fun taking pictures of leaves around Middleburg; and more leaves.)

(photos: Famous Americans from Loudoun County (in some way); Oak Hill, James Monroe's house designed by Thomas Jefferson and the place where Monroe conceived of the Monroe Doctrine; and another scene of leaves.)

The Climate for Change

2008-11-12T17:51:00.002-05:00

From the New York Times...

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
The Climate for Change

By AL GORE
Published: November 9, 2008

THE inspiring and transformative choice by the American people to elect Barack Obama as our 44th president lays the foundation for another fateful choice that he — and we — must make this January to begin an emergency rescue of human civilization from the imminent and rapidly growing threat posed by the climate crisis.

The electrifying redemption of America’s revolutionary declaration that all human beings are born equal sets the stage for the renewal of United States leadership in a world that desperately needs to protect its primary endowment: the integrity and livability of the planet.

The world authority on the climate crisis, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, after 20 years of detailed study and four unanimous reports, now says that the evidence is “unequivocal.” To those who are still tempted to dismiss the increasingly urgent alarms from scientists around the world, ignore the melting of the north polar ice cap and all of the other apocalyptic warnings from the planet itself, and who roll their eyes at the very mention of this existential threat to the future of the human species, please wake up. Our children and grandchildren need you to hear and recognize the truth of our situation, before it is too late.

Here is the good news: the bold steps that are needed to solve the climate crisis are exactly the same steps that ought to be taken in order to solve the economic crisis and the energy security crisis.

Economists across the spectrum — including Martin Feldstein and Lawrence Summers — agree that large and rapid investments in a jobs-intensive infrastructure initiative is the best way to revive our economy in a quick and sustainable way. Many also agree that our economy will fall behind if we continue spending hundreds of billions of dollars on foreign oil every year. Moreover, national security experts in both parties agree that we face a dangerous strategic vulnerability if the world suddenly loses access to Middle Eastern oil.

As Abraham Lincoln said during America’s darkest hour, “The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew.” In our present case, thinking anew requires discarding an outdated and fatally flawed definition of the problem we face.

Thirty-five years ago this past week, President Richard Nixon created Project Independence, which set a national goal that, within seven years, the United States would develop “the potential to meet our own energy needs without depending on any foreign energy sources.” His statement came three weeks after the Arab oil embargo had sent prices skyrocketing and woke America to the dangers of dependence on foreign oil. And — not coincidentally — it came only three years after United States domestic oil production had peaked.

At the time, the United States imported less than a third of its oil from foreign countries. Yet today, after all six of the presidents succeeding Nixon repeated some version of his goal, our dependence has doubled from one-third to nearly two-thirds — and many feel that global oil production is at or near its peak.

Some still see this as a problem of domestic production. If we could only increase oil and coal production at home, they argue, then we wouldn’t have to rely on imports from the Middle East. Some have come up with even dirtier and more expensive new ways to extract the same old fuels, like coal liquids, oil shale, tar sands and “clean coal” technology.

But in every case, the resources in question are much too expensive or polluting, or, in the case of “clean coal,” too imaginary to make a difference in protecting either our national security or the global climate. Indeed, those who spend hundreds of millions promoting “clean coal” technology consistently omit the fact that there is little investment and not a single large-scale demonstration project in the United States for capturing and safely burying all of this pollution. If the coal industry can make good on this promise, then I’m all for it. But until that day comes, we simply cannot any longer base the strategy for human survival on a cynical and self-interested illusion.

Here’s what we can do — now: we can make an immediate and large strategic investment to put people to work replacing 19th-century energy technologies that depend on dangerous and expensive carbon-based fuels with 21st-century technologies that use fuel that is free forever: the sun, the wind and the natural heat of the earth.

What follows is a five-part plan to repower America with a commitment to producing 100 percent of our electricity from carbon-free sources within 10 years. It is a plan that would simultaneously move us toward solutions to the climate crisis and the economic crisis — and create millions of new jobs that cannot be outsourced.

First, the new president and the new Congress should offer large-scale investment in incentives for the construction of concentrated solar thermal plants in the Southwestern deserts, wind farms in the corridor stretching from Texas to the Dakotas and advanced plants in geothermal hot spots that could produce large amounts of electricity.

Second, we should begin the planning and construction of a unified national smart grid for the transport of renewable electricity from the rural places where it is mostly generated to the cities where it is mostly used. New high-voltage, low-loss underground lines can be designed with “smart” features that provide consumers with sophisticated information and easy-to-use tools for conserving electricity, eliminating inefficiency and reducing their energy bills. The cost of this modern grid — $400 billion over 10 years — pales in comparison with the annual loss to American business of $120 billion due to the cascading failures that are endemic to our current balkanized and antiquated electricity lines.

Third, we should help America’s automobile industry (not only the Big Three but the innovative new startup companies as well) to convert quickly to plug-in hybrids that can run on the renewable electricity that will be available as the rest of this plan matures. In combination with the unified grid, a nationwide fleet of plug-in hybrids would also help to solve the problem of electricity storage. Think about it: with this sort of grid, cars could be charged during off-peak energy-use hours; during peak hours, when fewer cars are on the road, they could contribute their electricity back into the national grid.

Fourth, we should embark on a nationwide effort to retrofit buildings with better insulation and energy-efficient windows and lighting. Approximately 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States come from buildings — and stopping that pollution saves money for homeowners and businesses. This initiative should be coupled with the proposal in Congress to help Americans who are burdened by mortgages that exceed the value of their homes.

Fifth, the United States should lead the way by putting a price on carbon here at home, and by leading the world’s efforts to replace the Kyoto treaty next year in Copenhagen with a more effective treaty that caps global carbon dioxide emissions and encourages nations to invest together in efficient ways to reduce global warming pollution quickly, including by sharply reducing deforestation.

Of course, the best way — indeed the only way — to secure a global agreement to safeguard our future is by re-establishing the United States as the country with the moral and political authority to lead the world toward a solution.

Looking ahead, I have great hope that we will have the courage to embrace the changes necessary to save our economy, our planet and ultimately ourselves.

In an earlier transformative era in American history, President John F. Kennedy challenged our nation to land a man on the moon within 10 years. Eight years and two months later, Neil Armstrong set foot on the lunar surface. The average age of the systems engineers cheering on Apollo 11 from the Houston control room that day was 26, which means that their average age when President Kennedy announced the challenge was 18.

This year similarly saw the rise of young Americans, whose enthusiasm electrified Barack Obama’s campaign. There is little doubt that this same group of energized youth will play an essential role in this project to secure our national future, once again turning seemingly impossible goals into inspiring success.

--------
Al Gore, the vice president from 1993 to 2001, was the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. He founded the Alliance for Climate Protection and, as a businessman, invests in alternative energy companies.

Sea Venture Podcast

2008-11-09T21:10:00.002-05:00

Here's the sea venture podcast that we made at work, what I think is our best effort thus far. Enjoy!

If you want to see more of our videos, like our other podcast or passionality videos, click on this to see the video (also available in higher quality) on YouTube and check out the Foundation's channel. This will also soon be available for download as a podcast on iTunes!

Awesome Video!!!

2008-10-28T20:49:00.005-04:00

So this was made by middle school students, and after seeing it on CNN, it blew my mind.

Please enjoy!

Also, this video's page on YouTube includes the lyrics (over on the right-hand side with the "more" link), and the following video has a great interview with the students!

Starting the School Year in Appalachia

2008-10-12T00:14:00.000-04:00

My first trip of the season was with Jeff to Lee County, the farthest west of all the counties in Virginia, nestled between Kentucky and Tennessee. We left on a Sunday to drive the seven or eight hours to Pennington Gap, home of the Convenient Inn (our hotel, the nicest one in the area of our teaching), which had just gotten wireless internet service though still required us to bring our own alarm clocks.

We taught Monday morning and afternoon (including the farthest school in Virginia) and had the afternoon to explore the area around Cumberland Gap before finding dinner at a small (and strangely unmarked though delicious) pub near the state line. We hiked up to the “Saddle of the Gap” (the actual gap part of Cumberland Gap) and the tri-state peak where the three states came together. The next day after teaching, we were back exploring the town of Cumberland Gap and on Wednesday visited Martin’s Station, a living history fort at a state park. Martin’s Station was the last stop before settlers on the Wilderness Road crossed Cumberland Gap and included interpreters that seemed more than delighted to see visitors that also could talk history and interpretation with them (they followed us around like puppies). After a day of exploring and history, we also ended up at a karaoke joint with the karaoke DJ, his wife, another family (obviously regulars), and later their daughter’s friend and mom. While obviously from out of town, they did greet us very warmly, but with the comment “It’s mostly country music, I hope you don’t mind.” We definitely had fun and Jeff especially became buddies with the DJ. Thursday after teaching, we took a day off from exploring so that we could rest before heading to the fire station square dance that we’d visited that spring when we taught in Wise County. Friday after teaching, we were off on our journey home after a long week and both very excited to be home.

(photos: The view from one of the schools in the western end of Lee County of the white cliffs on Cumberland Mountain (the sign to the settlers on the Wilderness Road that the Gap was only about a day away); BBQ sauce and Rebel Roy; Cumberland Gap; view West over Cumberland Gap to the mountains of Kentucky, with the Tri-State Peak in the foreground; and me with mountains.)

(photos: The view from another one of our schools, with mountains on the other side of the valley; building in Cumberland Gap; potentially the second-oldest magnolia tree in Tennessee; a PBR ad from a WWII-era Life magazine; and a house that was used to house workers from the Manhattan Project, moved to Cumberland Gap.)

(photos: Me with a Daniel Boone marker along the Wilderness Road trail, made from iron from the USS Maine; Jeff in an old iron furnace gaining his super powers from a bottle of Cumberland Gap spring water; the sign from in front of one of our schools; a horse at Martin's Station; and a view of part of Martin's Station.)

(photos: The interpreter and Jeff talking shop at Martin's Station; the gunsmith showing us the gun he's making (he makes everything but the lock and the barrel!); a buffalo at Martin's Station, though he was far from the only one in Lee County; one of the many tobacco barns in the county; and Jeff's new favorite karaoke joint.)

The following week, after a weekend that didn’t seem long enough, it was back on the road with Dirk to Scott County, the county right next to Lee County. On the way out, Dirk mentioned the existence of a place called “Foamhenge,” some guy’s reproduction of Stonehenge out near Natural Bridge. Our hotel was equally awesome, being a Comfort Inn completely decked out in a hunting theme. The kids were just as fabulous as the kids in Lee County, though teaching was a bit more challenging this week due to my cold I was fending off. However, it was also spirit week in Scott County, including Sports Teams/Favorite Fictional Character/Nerd Day and Pajama/Camouflage/Superhero Day. After teaching, we explored some parks and trails, found the grave of the last living Confederate soldier, a rather dilapidated and closed farm museum, and the Carter Family Fold (the school we taught at down the street had autographed photos of June Carter and Johnny Cash!). Thursday night we found an awesome bluegrass jam session at the Lay’s Hardware building in Coeburn. After teaching on Friday, it was again a long drive back to Williamsburg, not getting back until after 9.

(photos: A statue of Merlin at Foamhenge (read the sign about his face for something pretty weird...); Dirk at Foamhenge; a view of the mountains in Scott County; a monument near the grave of the last living Confederate soldier, who died in 1956; and the view through a former swedish-built train tunnel.)

(photos: Mountains in the morning from a school; some of the closed farm museum that we explored; a creek in the woods in the mountains; the old Carter family store at the Carter Family Fold; and the bluegrass jam session at the Lays Hardware building.)

The week after, I didn’t travel overnight, though taught some in Richmond and will be starting the portion of the month of me heading to Loudoun County (Northern Virginia) for a couple of weeks in a row…

I should also mention that I lost my little plastic soldier named Rebel Roy that I'd been photographing on my outreach travels a la Flat Stanley. There have been a couple of photos of him, including the one in this post with the BBQ sauce. I think I lost him after one of the hikes we took or at breakfast one morning in the hotel, and I was crushed. Mark made a tribute computer wallpaper that I'll try to post soon on here. I also chose another plastic soldier to replace him, though also decorated him with a black "armband" (Sharpie band on his arm) in memorium. Rebel Roy, I will miss you.

Approaching Fall and its Fun

2008-10-11T20:05:00.003-04:00

August finished in a frenzy. Besides gearing up for the travel season in September, we were trying to finish our podcasts so that they could start the review process before we would be gone for weeks on end. In all of the goings on, I was very excited to go camping for my birthday over Labor Day weekend. Mark and I were heading towards the Mt. Rogers area in southwest Virginia (where we’d hiked in the spring), one of my favorite parts of the state. After a hectic drive to the campsite, we pitched my new tent amidst a see of campers and pop-up trailers. The next day we went exploring the area, including Damascus (the only town the Appalachian trail runs through); Shady Valley, TN and the House of the Snake; Boone, NC; Bristol; and ending back at The Tavern in Abingdon, VA for my birthday dinner. Though we didn’t hike much on Saturday, we tried to find a trail on Sunday, though couldn’t so much find the proper trailhead. There were other fun trails nearby, though the hiking was interrupted by rain and we instead drove into Damascus to find dinner before attending a bluegrass concert at the park that night. Monday, it was back to Williamsburg as we fought the traffic back across the state. Overall, the weekend was a much-needed break and a great place and way to spend my birthday weekend.

(photos: Touchdown Yosef at Appalachian State University in Boone; an add for he coming musical "Batboy," apparently based on the Weekly World News' tabloid Batboy; a nice red barn near Mt. Rogers; a rocky stream in Grayson Highlands State Park; and Mark at the Listening Rock Overlook with the mountains of southern Virginia and Tennessee.)

Upon returning to Williamsburg, it was back to work and preparing for the involved travel. On the weekends, I tried to balance the necessary errands and chores with taking it easy around town, including going to Hallowscream at Busch Gardens and trying to find ways to stomach the Michigan Football season (though there indeed have been some amazing moments, just a lot of the opposite as well). I did have a trip to the emergency room when I sliced my finger on a stationary can lid while washing dishes (it was nothing serious, I just got to get the clear glue stuff on my slice and was able to watch my finger close!). Also this September, there’s been a bit of tropical weather, including my first tropical storm. We had to storm-proof the office, like covering our computers in trash bags in case of water damage and moving vehicles away from possible falling tree limbs. Some friends and I had a hurricane party even, but the storm ended up being pretty tame. We did have a beer-brewing and ice cream-making gathering one evening that was more delicious, at least. Not much else has been happening around home, but I have been keeping busy doing something as I feel like my list of intended accomplishments never gets much shorter. More about work to come…

What I did on my summer vacation...

2008-08-25T01:47:00.000-04:00

At the end of June and beginning of July, I was able to get about a week of vacation, during which I was able to head home and to the Island, with a few other stops along the way. Mark and myself left Williamsburg in my car for DC on a Saturday morning, staying with his friends in the city. We took the afternoon (and braved the intense and disgusting heat) to explore the Folklife Festival before making our way to a Nationals baseball game with his family. The game was fun, and became even more eventful when a giant storm rolled in, causing the game to be put on hold and us, quite drenched, to leave and head back to his friends' apartment for more matches of Mario Kart (on Wii and a super huge HD tv!). The next morning, we were up and on the way to his grandparent's house northeast of Pittsburgh, and then on the next morning to Ann Arbor.

photos: The National Mall with the 2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival (the same festival that I worked at last summer), this year featuring Texas, Bhutan, and NASA; the inside of the Bhutanese buddhist temple on the Mall with a Bhutanese monk; the new Nationals stadium; the view from above the first base line (by a couple of tiers) of the stadium, complete with a view of the Capitol in the background (our seats were under the big scoreboard in center field); and a staple of a Washington Nationals game -- giant-headed presidents that run around.

Once back in A2, we met with Mark's friend Craig (with whom we were staying), gave Mark a tour around town and campus, before meeting up with Cadi and Brian for some time at Dominick's (ah, the sangria), trivia night at Connor's, and a couple of stops at Ann Arbor Brewing Company and Ashley's before turning in for the night. The next day, we met Lee May for breakfast before heading to Frankenmuth to meet my mom, dad, and sister for lunch at the Bavarian Inn and some shopping around town. Then, at last, I was back in Lansing, feeling a bit exhausted. The next day (Wednesday) we both slept in, swam a bit in the g-units' pool, found some fresh ice cream and cheese curds at the MSU dairy store, met the family at dinner at the pub, and chilled with the family for a final evening, before both we left for the North and my dad left for his new home and job in New Mexico. Thursday morning had us up, packed, breakfasted at Flap Jack, and on the road north.

photos: Mark's friend Craig's Optimus Prime transformer poses with the Colonel (Mark's version of Rebel Roy), handing over his matrix of power (I think that's what it's called); the g-units and me in Lansing; Joe and his girlfriend, Sam; and Mom, Leslie, and Josh.

Before heading to the Island, we stopped at Leg's Inn for a good polish meal after driving the tunnel of trees. It was fun to see all the island folks, even though I'd seen some of them just weeks before at Beth's wedding. We hiked, ate, blacksmithed, wandered, and relaxed. The 4th of July at the fort was just as good as always, though odd for me since it was the first that I'd attended that I didn't have to work. We also got to hang out with the Pub Runners, which was and is always fun. We were up early the next day to head off the island and downstate, having to drive all the way to Bruce's new home in Ohio. We made it (after stops for lunch and Meijer shopping), albeit late. Sunday we were definitely exhausted and had a difficult time leaving the delicious and local breakfast and relaxed atmosphere of chilling on his farm. However, we did leave and made it back to Williamsburg that night, with me ready for work the next day.

photos: Wildflowers on the back patio of Leg's Inn in Cross Village, MI; Ben Bever showing what he thinks of non-Deere tractors; Katie and Maria find a carnival ride in the woods; the Colonel's horse finds a companion at the Pink Pony; and Mark up at Fort Holmes.

photos: The view of the Fort from the Rifle Range; the guys sing a bit on the 4th; the girl scouts raising the flag on the 4th;
the Michigan volley during the 38-gun salute; and the crafties during the salutes.

photos: Me, Mark, and the Pub Runner's #1 fan (I promise, there are indeed photos of us not making these faces -- it's not a permanent thing); Bever worried that he might have lost his "boob inspector" badge -- classy, Bev...; Bever just like we remembered him; a stop at Bruce's house wouldn't be complete without frolicking dogs; and Bruce's family farmstead.

All in all, it was a great trip and a lot of fun. Thanks so much to all of you that helped us and hung out with us along the way!

Summer fun in the 'Burg

2008-08-24T01:47:00.008-04:00

This summer has been a mix of fun, work, and money-saving. Work-wise, we've been busy with a summer teacher's institute and also producing podcasts and videos for the Foundation (check JYF's website, linked on the right of my blog, and look for our passionality videos!) On Flag Day (the day I came back from Beth's wedding), we had a cookout at our house, complete with encouragement to guests to dress in clothes inspired by Flag Day. While I wore overalls, a bandanna, and pigtail braids, others got a bit more creative with their outfits, as you can see in the photos...

photos: Mark Summers embraces his flag day outfit; Carla, Matt, Mark, and Mark Summers; Mark and Summers apparently having fun; Ryan, Scott, and Joe also apparently having fun; and Caroline, Green Mark, and Jack definitely having fun.

Also, one weekend day we did some festival-hopping, beginning with a microbrew festival at Colonial Downs, one of the main horse racing tracks in Virginia. I'd never been to a horse race, so it was a fun atmosphere in which to enjoy it (live music, microbrew beer tastings, and festival food). Later, we visited a couple of cookouts before attempting to go to the county fair (turned out to be cancelled...). Still, good times all around.

photos: Jack trying to figure out his bets; and Mark and Jeff getting ready for their pizza-eating contest (Mark in plaid, Jeff in yellow) -- they didn't win, but they got a free meal.

By mid-August, we had a party at Mark's house featuring a band of our coworkers. They hadn't played in public since the last staff picnic, so it was fun to hear them again and to hear their improvements. Also, a couple of weeks later, Dirk (a coworker) had a kind of housewarming party, fitting in the pattern of summer cookouts and gatherings.

photos: Sally, Kris, Varia, and Jamie at the Lords of Misrule party/concert taking a break from all of their dancing; Jeff enjoying some Mexican candy that paints your tongue; Scott, Green Mark, and Jack trying to stay out of trouble; the Lords of Misrule (Duane - Guitar, Jaie - lead vocals and keyboard, Todd - drums, and Graham - bass); and the guys getting into trouble at Dirk's house.

Beth's Wedding!!!

2008-08-23T01:46:00.001-04:00

In June, Beth and Travis (friends from Mackinac) got married on the Island. Jenny and I were both in the wedding as bridesmaids, with Jenny as the maid of honor. I had a whirlwind trip back to Michigan, meeting Jenny at her house on Wednesday night and both of us heading to the Island on Thursday, just in time for a bit of visiting before the rehearsal. The wedding was quite lovely on Friday June 13th at Stonecliffe. We were kept very busy, but it went well and we had a ton of fun. After the wedding, we enjoyed a lovely reception (complete with Michael Jackson dance battle!) before heading downtown to the pub and Pink Pony (Myk Rise was playing!). Here are some of the photos, but also check Katie and Trace's blogs for more photos and my YouTube page for videos to come.

photos: Dave the blacksmith and Jenny at Fort Mackinac; Beth and Travis in costume, preparing to give a tour to their wedding guests; Beth and Travis get a card at their rehersal dinner; Jenny trying to open the champagne for a "bachleorette" toast (she wanted to go to bed early that night, so no big party); and Jenny, me, Beth, and Lindsay about to have a really classy toast with plastic cups and all.

photos: The back lawn at Stonecliffe where the wedding will take place; Jenny kept finding photos of us on brochures, etc. all over the island; Jenny practicing putting Beth's veil on; our tacky sweatshirts match our lunchbox desserts; and Lindsay (Beth's brother's girlfriend) shows off her sassy 'do for the wedding.

photos: Andy Anderson, the videographer and our new friend; Travis' sister and fellow bridesmaid Eliza sneaking a bit to eat before the wedding; Andy taking his turn bowling at The Woods, which we all did to kill time and let loose before the ceremony; we had to walk from the condo to the wedding, so Jenny carried Beth's train while the rest of us kept a lookout for the Travis and the boys; and me trying not to get fall down the stairs or get my shoes stuck in the grass.

photos: Beth and Travis after their vows before walking back down the aisle; the wedding party; the Mackinac crew; Beth and Travis on their way to get some photos done; and the setting for the wedding, after the ceremony.

photos: Beth getting really excited to get her ride in the carriage and show off as a bride (at least, on the way to the fort for photos); Dave and Maria at the reception; Beth and Travis, with T trying on Joe's helmet and reliving the good-old-days; all the tables had oragami, and Katie and I learned to create a awesome paper crane; and a Lead photo (all lead interpreters at one point) with Katie, Maria, Joe, and me.

photos: The standard self-portrait of Katie and me; sunset from Stonecliffe over the bridge; Dave and Myron looking on and plotting how best to avoid dancing; Joe, Bever, and Trace doing what they do best -- posing; and a crafty photo with Katie, Jenny, Beth, me, and Maria (Joe snuck in there at the bottom).

Gettysburg Biker Buds

2008-08-22T01:46:00.000-04:00

In mid-April, I drove up to Gettysburg to meet Bruce, Blake, and Bruce's friend Jimmy for the weekend. They'd driven down to Gettysburg as part of their fall motorcycle trip, and I just went to hang out after a week of teaching. We stayed at a little motel run by a guy who actually used to work on the Mackinaw Coast Guard ship, and I think was just thrilled to have people to talk to him. We all got in Friday night, explored the battlefield on Saturday (and Jack and Ashley had driven up to join us for that part of the weekend), and all left on Sunday. It was a bit whirlwind, but still lots of fun. Riding on their bikes definitely made me want one!

photos: a very satisfactory meal after the long drive to Gettysburg, complete with improvised poutine; Bruce and Blake after dinner; a memorial to Mississippi soldiers on Seminary Ridge; Bruce taking photos of the view across the Pickett's Charge battlefield; and Bruce and me on his bike.

photos: Jack by the memorial to Longstreet, complete with some eerie resemblance; Little Round Top from Devil's Den; a tree on top of Devil's Den; Jimmy, Blake, and Bruce taking a break and taking in the view; and Blake and Bruce debating historical nuances.

photos: The view from Little Round Top; the grave of Gen. Armistead on Cemetery Ridge; Jimmy and Blake in front of Bruce and Blake's bikes; a Kilwin's shop, complete with a version of my favorite kind of ice cream -- I was super excited!; and ridiculous souveniers.

photos: How we spent the last evening; Bruce in front of one of his favorite Gettysburg businesses; Blake and Bruce gearing up for the rainy ride home around 6am; and Jack trying to pretend that he's cute and harmless.

New Passionality Video

2008-07-27T16:30:00.003-04:00

So, at work, myself and a handful of my coworkers have been working on not only making a podcast for our museums, but also making these shorter "passionalities" (videos based on the Virginia.org's passionality campaign). Here's our more recent (and much better) video of our friend TJ. There will be more to come, so keep checking JYF's website (www.historyisfun.org) or their channel on YouTube (username: historyisfunorg).

UPDATE: As of August 24, We've since produced three more new passionalities, and are going to be redoing our first one in the near future. Also, we're currently making two podcasts, which could be up and running on places like iTunes as early as the end of September. Check them out!

Test Video!

2008-06-24T15:59:00.003-04:00

This is a video that I made while trying to learn to use a video editing program for work. Since our camera hadn't yet arrived, I was using footage from my 2006 Europe trip (thanks to Trace for the footage as well!). Just in case you wanted to see it, as well as testing to see if I could view it elsewhere, I uploaded it here and on my YouTube channel...

Busy Season: Spring Teaching

2008-05-26T20:04:00.000-04:00

From mid-February through til June, I was gone quite a bit traveling every week for work. Most of my trips were four- or five-day trips to various places in Virginia, from the farthest corners of the southwest, to the suburbs of DC, and to everywhere in between, I was kept moving and pretty busy. Here are some photos from some of those trips

Rockingham County:
photos: A nice quilting rack at the Valley Brethren/Mennonite Heritage Center in Harrisonburg, VA; and the inside of a house at the Mennonite Center in quite lovely pastels.

Washington County:
photos: Neat architecture in Abingdon, VA; daffodils in Abingdon; Daniel Boone and company stayed in what became Abingdon on their way to the Cumberland Gap; the Tavern in Abingdon (one of the oldest buildings west of the Blue Ridge), dating back to 1779; and a mastadon skeleton at the Museum of Middle Appalachians in Saltville, VA.

photos: A skeleton of a creature I'd read about but never seen -- a giant beaver; Dirk and Sam checking out the tribes of Southwest Virginia, including one that should be more famous than "that Pocahontas person" (according to a docent) since the Spanish wrote about her before the English even founded Jamestown; Dirk trying to look completely innocent; me in front of one of the many lakes in southwest Virginia created by damming; the House of the Snake, where we discovered the wonder that is Dr. Enuf (described to us as an "old timey energy drink, but natural").

photos: Rebel Roy (my version of a kind of Flat Stanley, but cooler and communicated to friends through text messages, not in reports to elementary students) in front of the sign on State Street in Bristol, VA (literally one side of the street is Virginia and the other is Tennessee); downtown Bristol; the Legends of Country Music mural in downtown Bristol; and live old-timey and bluegrass music in Bristol.

Prince William County:
photos: The cherry blossoms in DC and the Jefferson Memorial, which was the first time I'd seen them; more cherry blossoms; sunset in DC with the blossoms and Washington Monument; my and Megan's artwork hung on the wall in a pub to join the rest of its art; and Sam and Jeff showing their buddy status and love for fishbowl margaritas.

Pulaski County:
photos: A fun country store in downtown Pulaski; that same store sold this awesome cane that was also a sword, complete with "ornamental" handle; Mark riding a dinosaur (there's obviously tons of stuff to do in Pulaski on a weeknight); and the view of a nearby vineyard in Wythe County.

Wise County:
photos: Something about the Army partnering with Earth Day seemed a bit odd to me; redbuds near one of the lakes we visited; the same lake that had Jeff and Dirk really excited to fish; an entire truck of one of my new favorites -- Dr. Enuf (apparently pronounced "EE - nuff"); and the view from Flag Rock over Norton.

photos: Donna and Jeff climbing rocks; their view from the top of the rocks; the view towards Kentucky from High Knob and the mountains around Norton; and bluegrass and square dancing in Lee County.

Manassas:
photos: I really freaked out my coworkers when we passed this street and I had them pull over to take the photo, just south of Manassas; Manassas National Battlefield (from the battle otherwise known to us yankees as "Bull Run"); blossoms off a tulip poplar, which helped me to finally understand its name; and Megan and Donna on a bridge in Prince William National Forest, which had recently been flooded with the debris behind on the bridge as a remnant of that.

Busy Season: When I'm Not Teaching!

2008-05-25T20:05:00.014-04:00

**At long last, here are some updates... I'm adding the photos, since their uploading is the time-consuming part. I'll try to come back and add more text later. In the mean time, enjoy the photos and make up your own stories to go with them!**

So this spring was pretty busy, though very fun. Morgan came up to visit for a weekend, and we went with some of the crew down to Norfolk for the Greening of Ghent, an annual St. Patty's Day street party. While she was here, I also introduced her to the reenacting culture at the annual Military Through the Ages event at Jamestown Settlement. It was great to see her after so long! Since the Greening of Ghent was the weekend before St. Patty's, the actual holiday we spent at a local bar that actually did have an Irish band playing. Our local "Irish pub" had closed in January, so it was good to see the evening actually be quite fun. Also in that part of spring, Jeff had his birthday and we celebrated the following weekend by all going out to a local bar for karaoke night. With the closing of our pub in January, we were at a loss to find a new chill place to all hang out and have fun. This new bar was fun, but was swarmed with the greek crowd from William and Mary, making the chill and conversational aspects of hanging out more difficult. However, on Jeff's birthday, it worked well and was a blast.

photos: Katie and Morgan in Norfolk for the Greening of Ghent (St. Patty's Day street party) marvelling at a wind-up sushi toy; Megan and Mark Summers in Norfolk, Summers getting his inspiration from Ireland and not just the color green; Lindsay and David at out for Jeff's birthday; Callie making a face that's apparently the face to make on Jeff's bday; a replica of the Ark of the Covenant in Marion, VA; and fun tuliips.

At the end of March, Megan and I went to the Daffodil Festival across the York River in Gloucester. Yes, there were daffodils, though there was also a classic car parade, a clown with a sketchy name, funnel cake, lots of different live music, local booths of people talking about topics from water conservation to animal psychology, and (my favorite) an Elvis impersonator. We had tons of fun, until we almost fell asleep watching the orientation video in the local museum, which we felt guilted into watching by the lonely volunteers. I'm not sure what it was, but Megan and I were inspired to buy some legal moonshine (I know, it instantly makes it more lame), which we discovered wasn't as delicious as we'd hoped.

Later in April, Mark and I went camping in southwest Virginia after a week of teaching. We ended up in Marion, VA at Hungry Mother State Park, which was indeed as great as Jack always said it was. Friday after dinner and finally pitching our tent, we decided to go to the drive-in theatre down the road from the park. The only problem was that the movies being shown that early in the season were awful, but we tried anyway, only to both fall asleep during parts of the movie (that recent Jackie Chan movie about the time-travelling teenager -- awful!) On Saturday, I really enjoyed exploring the town, so much so that we got a late start on our hike up Mt. Rogers, the tallest mountain in Virginia. Although we had been hearing horror stories about impending rain, the day started out nice enough that we thought we could miss most of it. We made it up the mountain, had a great lunch with an awesome view of at least ten different ridges of mountains and hills into the distance, and made it to the summit in a decent time. On the way down, we saw the clouds begin to roll in, though we still had time to enjoy the wild ponies we saw. With about an hour left on the hike, the rain came at last and completely soaked us. There was even a crack of lightening, seemingly right over our heads, that really terrified me. We got down the mountain as quickly as possible, went to the nearest campground to change into something dry, and made our way back to Marion to find something warm to eat. There, we met a very strange but very nice man who told us outlandish stories about politics, religion, and even his own life. We took our time leaving on Sunday and I got back to Williamsburg late that night, only to have to turn around and leave for a week the next morning.
photos: An Elvis impersonator at the 2008 Gloucester Daffodil Festival; the Daffodil Festival; a poor photo of red trillium on Mt. Rogers, the highest mountain in Virginia; and the view from Mt. Rogers toward North Carolina (there were about ridges of hills and mountains visible into the distance).

photos: The top of Mt. Rogers -- a plaque on a boulder in a clearing of trees with no vista, a bit anticlimactic; wild ponies on Mt. Rogers; the Discovery in the James River from the Godspeed sailing for Landing Day 2008; Lindsay and Callie doing what you do when you find giant red boxing gloves; and Megan and Mark, outreach homies.

photos: Grace and Michael; delicious scotch eggs at the Virginia Renaissance Faire; Mark with his turkey leg at the Faire; the queen holding court; and alpacas with 'fros.

photos: Mark Summers tests out his new look as part of a gang of merry men; Virginia Beach on Memorial Day; flowering yucca at the Virginia Living Museum; Mark as a turtle; and me as a turtle, with a new friend testing my shell.

photos: A painted turtle at the Living Museum; Mark and I had gone to the museum to check out the giant dinosaurs, which we realized seemed a lot cooler when you're ten years old; Jeff and Mike at the gypsy wake (complete the request to dress like gypsies, of course); Jack with a gypsy turban; Mark as a skeezy gypsy; and Christine, Jack, and Mike.

PacNW (part two): On the Trail of Lewis, Clark, Astor, and more!

2008-05-25T20:03:00.010-04:00

After waking up in Seattle, we were up and out early to drive a couple of hours to Mt. Rainier, just southeast of Seattle. On the way, my sister decided to try to further her love of coffee by chugging espresso, making the drive to Mt. Rainier feel a bit longer than anticipated. Upon arrival to the national park area, not much was open since there was still a ton of snow everywhere in drifts over ten feet high.

Olympic -- Portland

(More text to come...)

photos: Being in the land of espresso stops like this one, Leslie decided she wanted to start drinking coffee -- starting with a couple of shots of espresso; Mt. Rainier; me and Leslie with some tall snow drifts on Mt. Rainier; me in front of a "tree of history," complete with important milestones marked; and as far up Mt. Rainier as we could go, as snowy as it was (note the size of the drifts in relation to the car).

photos: A yummy fish and chips dinner in Port Angeles, WA; a foggy lake within Olympus National Park; being in the land of lumberjacks, we stopped at a small local museum to ask about giant trees and for a small photo op; a recurring theme on our trip: things we were really excited to see being unexpectedly closed, like every visitor center for Olympic National Park, thus cheating us out of stamps for our National Park passports; and me in the Ho Rainforest in Olympic National Park (note the size of the trees!).

photos: Me nuzzling another super huge and very mossy tree in the Ho Rainforest; stopping at Ruby Beach in Olympic National Park; me and Leslie at Ruby Beach, with me finally touching the Pacific Ocean and Leslie's first views of it; rock hunters at Ruby Beach; and one of the many tsunami evacuation signs we saw driving along the Washington and Oregon coasts.

photos: After driving pretty aggressively, we made it at last to the Lewis and Clark National Park and the recreated Fort Clatsop (where Lewis and Clark's expedition wintered before returning east); the site of Fort Astoria, John Jacob Astor's pacific trading post from the early 1800s (which also featured many notables from Mackinac fur trade history before the American Fur Company really established itself on Mackinac Island -- nerdy, I know); the view of the Columbia estuary from the Astoria "column-of-history;" view a little more to the West of the Columbia flowing past Astoria to the Pacific, complete with Lewis and Clark quote from their arrival at the Pacific; and the view from Ecola State Park, one of the most photographed beaches along the Oregon coast.

photos: Me at Ecola State Park; Multnomah Falls, the second largest year-round waterfalls in the US, from along the Columbia River gorge; from the Saturday morning market in Portland, I found a vendor who loves making things out of presidential commemorative spoons as much as I do; Jenny and I at the Portland market before we realized the palm reader was a total (and very boring) fraud; and me in front of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, featuring buildings that at times have canvas covering their frames to make them look like the schooner wagons used along the Oregon Trail.

photos: Jenny fording a stream at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center; the view from the mountain in the middle of Portland with a view of Mt. St. Helens in the distance; and the neon sign that's one of the most famous landmarks in Portland.

PacNW (part one): A Vacation to the Great White North

2008-03-23T10:00:00.008-04:00

So on the first of March, I left the Old Dominion to head to the Pacific Northwest for a vacation. I was meeting my sister Leslie and her friend Chris in Vancouver that afternoon, though I would arrive first and get some of the logistics out of the way (pick up the rental car, check in to the hotel, etc.). I left really early that morning from Richmond and flew via Chicago to Vancouver. The flight was fairly normal, except for the pilot of the flight to Vancouver who kidded with passengers over the intercom and also said things like, "And we're coming up to Spokane and you can see the Cascades up ahead. Wow, what a beautiful day to fly. You know, with the baggage delay, it's taking us about four hours to get here. It took Lewis and Clark eighteen months to get to the Pacific. Truly spectacular." I do love a jovial North Carolinian pilot who can muse about the grandeur of history. Upon arrival in Vancouver, I got the logistics squared away and enjoyed a brief nap at the hotel (our room was great, though I was skeptical at first of having to cross an alley and through a secret door to get to our part of the hotel) before going back to the airport to get Leslie and Chris. We decided to take it easy that evening with just finding some dinner and trying to plan the rest of our trip and to start the hardcore travel activities bright and early the next morning. (photos: Flying into Chicago; and the Cascades with the Columbia River)

We got up early Sunday morning with Leslie and Chris going to church and me exploring the city. I headed down Granville Street, a central street in downtown Vancouver (and being early on a Sunday, it was mostly just me and the homeless people), towards the waterfront to get another view of the spectacular mountains surrounding the city. After Leslie and Chris got out of mass, we went to a café for some breakfast, where Leslie tried some espresso (her first time drinking coffee) and decided it was time that she start regularly drinking coffee, a goal she tried to accomplish with a fair amount of caffeine for the rest of our trip. We then set off towards Chinatown to visit the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Gardens. Afterwards, we navigated back towards the center of town to Gastown, the historic district of Vancouver filled with shops (both tacky and specialized) and restaurants. I was excited to find a delicious Irish pub with some of the best bangers and mash and best Irish ale that I'd had in ages. After lunch, we went to the other side of downtown to explore the Granville Island public market. Since it was on a small island just south of downtown, we took a little ferry ride (very little, as in about 90 seconds) to get there. We loved the shops and produce and I loved the painted cement trucks from a nearby cement company. Afterwards, it was back to the ferry to go back to the hotel for the car so that we could make our way to Stanley Park to see some vistas, totem poles, and hopefully a sunset before dinner. The park was lovely, as were the vistas and totem poles, but the clouds had blown in and there wasn't a visible sunset (the day before had a magnificent one, but as I was driving to pick up Leslie and Chris, there aren't any photos for proof...). It had been a packed day and we were all only too happy to head to dinner, which we found at a restaurant/pub at a marina with beautiful views of the mountains and Burrard Inlet. After it all, we were wiped out and crashed when we got back to the hotel. We'd intended to go out that evening but were all so exhausted that we agreed to be lame for an evening and go to bed by 9ish. (photos: The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Gardens; Leslie and Chris in the gardens; the world's thinnest insurance agency (the grey part of the building is its entire width); one of the mascots for the 2010 Winter Olympics; and me with a cowboy in Gastown)

(photos: Leslie on Granville Island looking out over Burrard Inlet; Granville Island and the little ferryboat; freighters in Burrard Inlet from Stanley Park; me in front of Lions Gate Bridge; totem poles in Stanley Park; and the view of the mountains from our table at dinner)

The next day we all were sick of sleeping by 5:30-6am, but all slept til later anyway (it's been a while since had the problem of having too much sleep). Then it was up for breakfast, checking out of the hotel, and Leslie and I were off in the bit of rain to the Capilano Suspension Bridge (Chris was afraid of heights and opted instead to scope out shopping malls and churches) and a treetop adventure. I really liked this part of Vancouver since it was "extreme nature" only five minutes outside of downtown, plus I got to talk with a Haida man about his culture and carving totem poles. After hiking all over the forrest and hugging a few hunungous trees along the way, it was off to pick up Chris and head over to the University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology. Upon arrival, the museum was closed which really disappointed me since it was one of the things I'd been looking forward to the most. However, that just gave us more time at the Safeway to get lunch and groceries (which Leslie and Chris loved--they became obsessed for the rest of the trip) to hold us over on the trip down to Seattle. We crossed the border in the early afternoon and decided to take a more scenic route along Whidbey Island, across on a car ferry, and then into Seattle. We checked into the hotel and then tried to decide on dinner. I'd found a tavern about a twenty minute walk from the hotel in the Capitol Hill section of town that was apparently the "first 'neo-cool' bar in Seattle back in the early '90s." It had great food, chill atmosphere, and was a great place to hang out for an evening (and was definitely a different scene than we had any other time during the trip, and one I don't think Leslie or Chirs were too used to). (photos: Yeah, it was naturally thrilling!; Leslie at the bridge entrance; Leslie on the main bridge over the Capilano river; cartoonish, happy nature; and me hugging "Big Doug" the douglas fir.)

(photos: Some of the treetop adventure bridges; a view of the main bridge; Leslie and Chris on the ferry from Whidbey Island to mainland Washington; a view of downtown Seattle at night; and the coolest selection of beer I'd ever seen at a convenience store.)

Tuesday morning it was up early again to get breakfast before heading out. Leslie and Chris were really excited to make their own waffles, which they did multiple times during the couple of days we were in Seattle. Then we were off walking again to the south part of town to the Pioneer Square, the historic district of town. We stopped in to the Klondike National Historic Site, a site commemorating the Klondike gold rush of the late 19th century and its role in shaping Seattle. I liked the site a lot, but Leslie and Chris decided a peek was all they needed and instead went to peruse bakeries while I went into history nerd mode. We also browsed a large and historic bookstore before making our way to the Underground Tour to get a tour of the underground areas of Seattle from when they built up the streets about ten feet but continued to use the areas underneath. After the tour, we stopped for a fish taco and then visited the Pike Place Market. I wandered through on my own so I could go to an oyster bar and all and still make my way to the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum before they closed. I enjoyed both museums a lot and met Leslie and Chris after to buy some cheese and then go up in the Space Needle. When we got to the top, it wasn't too long before sunset and decided to stay until dusk for the views of the city. It wasn't until then that we got our first views of Mt. Rainier in the distance as the clouds finally lifted. After the Space Needle, we took a roundabout way back to our hotel (just a few blocks form the Space Needle) and found some dinner before returning to the hotel to crash after another exhausting day. (photos: Outside the Klondike NPS site; one of the underground rooms and leftovers; Leslie apparently doesn't like seagulls; again, an amazing selection of beer at the hole-in-the-wall oyster bar (without a Bud in sight!); and some of the seafood at Pike's.)

(photos: A very interesting fish at Pike's; Pike's Place Market; I really love maps; the Space Needle through the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Hall of Fame; and the bathroom sign in the Sci Fi Hall of Fame.)

(photos: Comparing the famous tall buildings to the Space Needle; downtown Seattle with Mt. Rainier visible in the background (at last!); a ferry with the sunset in the background (the clouds behind it are actually also part of the Olympic Mountains!); a freighter with the Olympic Mountains in the distance; and the Space Needle lit at night.)

Wednesday we were up for breakfast and all and then made our way out of Seattle to go to Mt. Rainier on our way to the Olympic Peninsula.

Mountain Teaching

2008-03-22T21:26:00.009-04:00

By mid-February, I had completed my first batch of training with my new job and was on the way to Franklin County (Moonshine Capital of the World) with Megan for my first teaching assignment. On our way out to Franklin County, we opted for the country roads and scenic route, which happened to follow Lee's retreat to Appomattox Courthouse. We were at first excited to "retreat," but realized that it got into too much of the minutia -- even for us. We did stop to visit the site of Lee's surrender where we found some little plastic Civil War soldiers (of course we bought them!) to play and plot with. It took us a while to get to Rocky Mount, the city in which our hotel was located, and had an early night. The next day was my first day of teaching, which I enjoyed. (photos: Lee's Retreat; and cows on the hills of Franklin County)

However after teaching, the time we have is quite flexible and Megan and I had planned some activities in the area to keep us busy. One day we went to the Booker T. Washington National Memorial (the farm on which he was born and raised), which was cold, rainy, and lacking many visitors. The park rangers got over their initial shock of seeing two people actually wanting to tour an outdoor site in the cold and rain and Megan and I headed outside to see their animals and all. There were some new baby pigs, as well as the ginormous adult hogs and a slew of other farm animals. We visited the tobacco barn and ended up walking their hiking loop, on which we came across some deer in a meadow. Another day we went to the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum to view their moonshine exhibit (being the Moonshine Capital of the World). Wednesday evening, we headed out to a small country store we'd found online to hear some bluegrass music. It felt like it was in the middle of nowhere, but the people were extremely friendly as they offered us a seat and talked jovially about politics. Megan and I went for barbecue on Valentine's Day and then to a café for coffee and a live band. The band, however, paled in comparison to the bluegrass band from the night before. We had a ton of fun that week and I very much enjoyed just starting to teach (There's a website of photos of Rebel Roy the plastic soldier on his travels coming to his own website. Stay tuned for updates). (photos: Huge hogs at Booker T. Washington; a baby hog; deer munching on the meadow; coolest sink ever at a restaurant in Rocky Mount; and Megan approving of a great book we found at a café.)

(photos: The lobby of an insurance company in Rocky Mount, complete with ridiculous amounts of taxidermy; Jacob Dillon and Phantom Grass (Jacob Dillon being the 13-year-old boy; see my YouTube page for video); and the moonshine exhibit at the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum.)

A couple of weeks later, I taught by myself in Covington in Allegheny County for four days. It was a foggy/rainy drive out almost to West Virginia. The kids were wonderful in Covington, though I felt like my week consisted of me constantly searching for food (there were a couple of restaurants that were supposed to be great but were unexplicably closed). There wasn't much to do in that area other than visit more scenic sites and byways or explore nearby towns. There was some hiking that I'd wanted to do, but I'd also recently sprained my ankle and had wanted it in prime shape for when I went on vacation to the Pacific Northwest the next week. When I got home from teaching, I had to almost immediately repack to get ready to go to the out west the very next day. (photos: A foggy drive out to Covington through the mountains; Crabtree Falls in the Blue Ridge Mountains; country life in the Alleghenies; Humpback Bridge, the only arched covered bridge in Virginia (and most of North America); a country road in the mountains; and I stumbled upon the birthplace of Texas in Virginia.)

A New Job -- and Free Weeekends!!!

2008-02-27T21:43:00.003-05:00

On January 10th, I started my new job with the Outreach Department. It was different being inside all day, in “professional” clothes, and in my own cubicle. Though different, it was also a welcome change of pace. The days at work were mostly spent in training to develop my educational programs, learn procedures, etc. and were pretty typical during the week. Weekends though have been lots of fun since starting the new job. (photo: In some of the down time in the office, we found time to have some fun and leave Jeff a surprise...)

That weekend (my first weekend off in over six weeks, at least) I went with the UM Alumni Club to tour the USS George Washington aircraft carrier at Naval Station Norfolk. I hadn’t ever been on a military ship and it was quite neat to see up close and personal, especially with our navy guides. The following weekend, being a four-day weekend with Lee-Jackson Day on Friday and MLK Day on Monday, Megan, Mark, and I went to North Carolina for a brief trip. We’d wanted to go anywhere and were looking at all sorts of ideas, including a circuit trip to Charleston, SC and the Outerbanks, but for various reasons only went to Chapel Hill an overnight. My friend Mark had gone to UNC and thus gave Megan and me a very enthusiastic introduction to the town and its culture, including a trip to the Carolina v. Maryland basketball game (apparently Megan and I are forbidden to return since we obviously jinxed the team). Mark’s friend joined us in a quest for barbecue for dinner (Carolina style barbecue being “the best food you’ve ever eaten,” according to Mark), which took us to three restaurants before finding one open and culminating in a blissful sweet potato and cranberry bread pudding with whiskey cream sauce. After dinner, we hit the town (where it was still snowing (!!!), albeit only flurries not really accumulating) for pool and a few different establishments. The next morning, we breakfasted on biscuits and sweet tea (more classic southern cuisine) and did some browsing/shopping before heading home. (photos: The Tidewater Alumni Club heading onboard the USS George Washington, the carrier on the left; one of our fellow alumni, a naval officer that had served on the Washington, during our tour on the main flight deck of the ship; at the North Carolina vs. Maryland basketball game in Chapel Hill; Megan excited in the snow; and our house the day after the snow (this was the most we had all year!).)

The following weekend included a trip to Hampton to see the U2 in 3D movie at the Virginia Air and Space Center IMAX. It was so cool to see U2, my favorite band, in such a neat live performance and to see The Edge as basically a 3-story high version of the epitome of cool. Some of our crew also came down and we had an evening at one of the pubs. The weekend after it was off to a former co-worker’s house for a massive Mardi Gras party. Much of the Jamestown interpretive staff and others all showed up for the beginning of a long evening. After Greg’s party wound down, a former interpreter and current outreach coworker offered to take us to his place in West Point (a small town on the York River about a half hour NW of Williamsburg) to a bonfire he knew of in the area. After a long drive there and a mile ride in the back of a pickup through the woods, we got to the bonfire only to be greeted by stares from those already there (“Who are you? Why are you here? You guys are old! We’re all in high school!”). We didn’t stay long and instead headed to someone’s fancy barn for darts, pool, country sing-a-longs, and barn cats. It was quite a lot of fun, though we at last realized it was nearly 6am and should probably head home, though it had been quite a while since I’d been up that late. (photos: Stephanie taking a photo of her food -- the obsession has become contagious!; apparently drinking a beer is serious business; Jeff (with straight hair) and Sally; Callie and Gordon at Greg's party; and Brian and Loren.)

(photos: Sam and Jeff at Greg's; and the Barack Obama rally in Virginia Beach (he's the illuminated(ish) figure on the stage).)

Home for the Holidays

2008-02-27T21:42:00.005-05:00

So due to work, I couldn’t leave Williamsburg til the early morning of Christmas Eve (though it wasn’t too bad since I was home in Lansing by midmorning). Between all the wrapping, cooking, and shopping, I met with my friend Joe, former Civil Rights instructor from school. Also that evening, we went to my grandma’s house for the family’s annual snack buffet. Mom and I had decided to also bring a plate of new and delicious cheeses, which that evening mostly sparked the “Ew, it’s green!” type of comments about the Sage Derby.

Christmas morning was great fun and all, with more cooking to be done before returning to my grandparents’ for dinner and gifts. The cheese was a bit more popular at dinner, which of course was followed by the obvious euchre tournament. After dinner with the family, I met with some friends for more food and a very bad movie. After trying to force myself into the winter mindset without snow or much cold weather in Virginia, I felt the joy of winter at last when, walking down a driveway, I completely wiped out on a patch of ice and earned myself a spectacular bruise. (photos: Leslie, Gpa, Uncle Mike, and Chach as the kitchen crew; Gpa carving the roast beast; opening Christmas presents; and Gma in her new robe/wrap/sleeping bag thing and Callie under the mistletoe.)

(photos: Christmas dinner on the table; Gpa showing off his holiday duds; the after dinner rest while some of us play on in the euchre tournament; and the grandparents surrounded by their grandkids.)

The day after Christmas I was off to Ann Arbor to meet with Beth, Jenny, and other members of Beth’s wedding planning team to look for bridesmaid dresses and such. We had great success finding what she was looking for. Jenny stuck around with me so she could avoid driving a full five hours through a blizzard back home. Instead, we had lunch and met with some of my friends from school that I hadn’t seen since graduation before also heading back to Lansing for a blood-inspired viewing of Sweeney Todd (complete with red slurpees!). (photos: Jenny, me, Sas, Patrick, and Raisa at Ashley's in Ann Arbor; and me trying to save myself from a scary yet still sexy Johnny Depp.)

Jenny left the next morning and I spent the day relaxing a bit more and doing some shopping with the family. It had been a pretty busy week so far and I was glad to relax for a day. The next day, I went with my mom and grandma to Alma to visit my great aunt for some lunch (I hadn’t seen her in a while either, but it’s not so surprising given my record with other friends and family, I guess). The only catch for the mini-trip was that there was a big winter storm blowing in that afternoon. The weather held out for us for the trip, but once getting back to Lansing, the roads were getting much worse. I’d been hoping to get to Grand Rapids that evening to meet Katie for dinner and music, but the growing blizzard kept me at home. (photo: Me sledding in the blizzard)

The weather didn’t do too much to my plans to get home the next day… at least at first. The whole family met for a Saturday version of Sunday breakfast at “The Flap,” with me keeping a watchful eye on my supposedly delayed flight from Lansing. I’d been really psyched to not have to drive to Detroit to fly home, but that morning we’d realized that my flight had a delayed crew leaving Detroit and would thus leave late, making it difficult for me to make my connecting flight to Norfolk. I took advantage of some of my extra time by doing some more sledding and frolicking in the snow before heading to the airport and still finding the flight delayed. Northwest assured me I could still make it, but after getting to the airport and checking in, my flight was delayed even further. Even after my flight arrived in Detroit and after they’d held my flight to Norfolk for twenty minutes, I still just barely missed it and had to settle into the terminal for a few hours. I had hoped to get back with an evening to recuperate from impending sickness and travel weariness. I was quite glad to be back after a stressful day of travel and a busy, though rewarding, week at home. (photos: The family at Flap Jack; more family after breakfast; me and the sibs; and one last trip down the hill before going to the airport)

After getting back, it was almost immediately back to work for a couple of days. New Year’s Eve brought a fun and bit ridiculous party at a friend’s house only to be followed at the end of the week with an equally fun and equally ridiculous “frat party” at our house. Mike (King of the Gypsies) got married on the 6th, so the gypsies and crew, along with all of Mike and Christine’s families, attended nearly a week of wedding-related events. The wedding itself was at Historic Jamestowne in its church, followed by a reception (not with a traditional cake, but rather a stack of cheese wheels or “chesse cake”), and a sing-along/beer session post-reception. I was also coming into the final stretch of my time as an interpreter on site at Jamestown before starting my new position with the Outreach Department (involving office work, a cubicle, and a regular schedule with weekends off… what a novelty!). We’d gone into winter hours at work, bringing with it a reduced schedule, limited training, and lots of time to either just hang out or do cool trainings like bow and arrow training. Still, it was strange recognizing that my time as a costumed interpreter would be soon coming to an end in mid January, exactly a year after starting at Jamestown. (photos: The screaming monkey in his winter gear; the frat party at our house, complete with ridiculous outfits and popped collars; Katie (with the good luck hat), Matt, and Grace at the party; rocking out at the party; and Christine and Mike getting married by Chief Adkins in the church on Jamestown Island)

(photos: Mike and Jack at the reception; the 400th anniversary of the first burning of James Fort as commemorated through baked goods; the commemorative effigy being burned; a quiet day alone in the Village; and keeping warm and busy in a yehakin)

Interesting Video

2008-02-04T18:09:00.001-05:00

This site was sent to me by a friend and I found it pretty interesting...

http://www.yeswecansong.com

(you might have to copy and paste it into your browser)

A Bustling December

2008-01-22T21:05:00.000-05:00

With Thanksgiving over, the holiday season kicked off the following weekend with Colonial Williamsburg’s Grand Illumination. Apparently, the Grand Illumination is a big deal in town, with CW lighting all of their Christmas lights, lots of Christmas carols and activities all evening, and a giant fireworks show. Never having been, a group of us went and shuffled through the throngs of people and evangelicals until we found a spot by the Governor’s Palace to watch one of three identical fireworks displays (the other two were over two other parts of CW). The fireworks were excellent, but I didn’t really feel the grandeur of the Grand Illumination. Nevertheless, we wandered a bit, found some hot cider, and made our way through town to head to Mark’s house for football and food. It was a fun evening and continued my attempts to get myself into the Christmas mood without the cold weather or the snow. (photo: Grand Illumination fireworks.)

The following Friday, the Foundation had its staff holiday party at the Hospitality House in Williamsburg. I’d heard many a story about past holiday parties and expected a ridiculous but fun party with all sorts of Jamestown staff. After the debate about what to wear (Just how fancy to dress? Would I be the only female in pants? Ah, the agony…), Sally, Jamie, and I headed downtown. It was fun to see staff that I hadn’t seen in a while, especially in a non-work setting, as well as to meet a lot of the Outreach staff that I’d be working with starting in January (I’d interviewed and accepted a position as a full-time Outreach Education Instructor in the Outreach department with the foundation). The party turned out to be quite fun and we did a fair amount of dancing (no, not the embarrassing Christmas party kind). After it was all over, we went to Jeff’s house to hang out for a while with many of the Outreach staff, among others. Some people were acting a bit ridiculous, but the evening was a ton of fun and I was a bit tired the next day. (photos: Scott showing off his mad fashion at the staff party; Ashley and me; Todd and the Hulicks; Sally, Sam, and Jaimie; and people getting their dance on.)

(photos: Callie, Sally, and Jamie the rock star; and Jeff doing what he does.)

Sally and I had also been doing quite a bit of holiday-related things. I’d been trying to get in the Christmas mood for a while, without overwhelming success. Sally and I found a Charlie Brown-esque faux-tree, watched a fair amount of holiday movies, listened to all the Christmas music, etc., but without the snow, it was hard to get in the mindset. She’d been questing for the perfect Christmas cookie and made quite a few batches to both eat at our house as well as to take to her staff at Yorktown. I’d been doing some shopping, but one day we both rode our bikes to Jamestown Settlement, and then again to Historic Jamestowne, for some shopping and nearly collapsed after our cold and windy 10-mile ride. At work, there were also the college student interpreters that were back and agreed to play some pranks on coworkers, causing more than a few hijinks (one of which resulted in me being kidnapped by the English and carried off to their fort). I also had a brief visit to Michigan for a couple of days, during which I got to see a TON of snow! However, I had a lot on my plate in the run up to Christmas and was very relieved when it came time to go home for Christmas and have a week off. (photos: Our very geometric Christmas tree; Jack as Snidley Whiplash at our last Honor Guard gig; me very excited to be in Michigan in the snow; in front of the Straits; and my mom in front of the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse.)

(photos: Eating a pasty!; reason I love Northern Michigan #52: giant beef jerky; delicious cheese curds; downtown Detroit from the air; and Mike and Christine's Star Wars/Star Trek holiday garland at their Christmas party.)

Last Days of the Gypsies

2008-01-21T21:22:00.000-05:00

After the festivals in Urbanna and Charles City County, the gypsies had their final festival with the Godspeed visiting New Kent County for a couple of days. The first day was just for school kids and an event in the afternoon for seniors only. We had a ton of kids of various ages, and through a bit of disorganization, the day went well. The festival itself was a collection of people from all over the county with booths on crafts, archaeology, alpacas, taxidermy, agriculture, history, music, and even animal skinning (my favorite). I made friends with the little old man that was apparently an award-winning skinner and hide-tanner. His display was right next to our tent, so we were able to really enjoy the shock-value squeals of the kids next to us as Charles skinned a beaver and gave the feet and teeth to the kids. It was particularly fun since he also gave me a couple of tails and a foot to take back and use at Jamestown. (photos: Paddock Lane and the pop of marvelous foliage that we had all given up on this fall due to the drought and late season heat; the back of our house and some color; alpacas in New Kent County, including one that seems to be pretty hungry; me in an alpaca hat to go with my other cold weather gear; and me with some of the taxidermy temporarily stored in our tent.)

After work, we went back to Williamsburg where I quickly cleaned and got ready to head to Hampton. I’d been wanting to go to a monster truck rally for a while (since I’d never been to one before), and having seen the commercials on television, had gotten a group of people to go to the Monster Jam show that evening. Heather, after having recently moved to Connecticut, came out to play since she was in the area for the day. Everyone finally got to the Hampton Coliseum, none of us having ever been to a monster truck show. It was an interesting crowd that seemed to have its own kind of silly culture, but I loved it! It was an event that I enjoyed immensely, though I’m still not sure why. After Monster Jam, we all headed to a pub in downtown Hampton to hang out and apparently have a table hockey tournament until it was time for us all to go home (since most of us had to work the next day, anyway…). (photos: Grave Digger and another truck crushing some cars; Scott, Lindsay, and David at the rally -- David being particularly excited, of course; some of the motocross at Monster Jam, really one of the coolest parts of the entire experience; and fans cheering like they mean it for Grave Digger, the superstar of monster trucks. Videos on my YouTube page, linked on the right side of my blog.)

The second day was quite busy (and I a bit tired), though I was able to periodically check the UM-OSU football score throughout the day. The ship had to leave early since the President was coming to one of the plantations in the area in commemoration of the First Thanksgiving (in 1619 in Virginia, not the 1620 one in Massachusetts). After chatting all day long with visitors, the Honor Guard regrouped to have one last beverage and one last group dinner at the local (and delicious!) Italian restaurant on site. (photos: Me waiting for the festival to open, resting but not sleeping; the Godspeed at her docking with the cypress trees and their foliage in the background; Charles' skinned beaver; and Jack and my scarf unwinding after festival clean-up at the end of the day.)

The following few days were busy in the run-up to Thanksgiving. My dad came down to visit and spend the holiday with me, arriving that Wednesday night. I had to work on Thanksgiving as part of the big program Foods and Feasts (all of our interpretive sites cook… a lot…), so my dad followed his inspiration to drive to Virginia Beach before coming to explore Jamestown that afternoon. After work, we cleaned up before heading to the Whitehall Restaurant in Williamsburg for a delicious Thanksgiving dinner (though I’d already had one official dinner at work, along with all of the other food I’d been eating all day). (photos: Thanksgiving dinner number #1, courtesy of the Jamestown Settlement café; Kris at one of the cookfires in the Indian Village; Don mixing instead of cooking (something about fire on a wooden pier and ships); me really excited about roast duck and scalded oysters; and Terry explaining to Dawn and some visitors about something delicious he cooked.)

(photos: Me examining my turtle soup with some visitors; Mary with the head of the hog butchered in the Fort that morning; and Thanksgiving dinner #2 that evening.)

The next day the Honor Guard had to march in a parade in Reston, VA (just outside of DC), so we were up early to drive north. My dad had agreed to come with us and, along with a couple of local volunteers, swell our meager ranks for the parade. My dad hadn’t ever done costumed/interpretive work and found the costuming interesting, to say the least. I had a hard time keeping myself from giggling (as, apparently, did my grandma when she saw the photos of my dad in costume). After the parade, we drove back to Williamsburg after food and beverage stops in Richmond and went to bed early. (photos: Mike training Dad before the parade; the Honor Guard in the parade with me as ensign; and look at me wave.)

I was sick on Saturday and spent most of the day in bed until meeting my dad later in the afternoon for a bit of shopping in Merchant’s Square. That evening, he wanted to hang out with my friends and the Honor Guard at the pub. We got a fair amount of people to come hang out, though the evening continued quite late and was indeed fun. Sunday morning was spent taking my dad to the airport before coming back to Williamsburg to relax and recover from the holiday weekend.

So I'm A Jerk...

2008-01-16T20:45:00.000-05:00

So I'm a jerk. Yup, I pretty much suck for not having updated my blog for the past ever and having been a big slacker before that. It has indeed been busy, though I've said that before and all. Anyway, in an attempt to prevent the hole I've been digging myself for the past two months, I'm going to set the goal of getting this all updated by the end of the week. In the mean time, please enjoy the following snippets of my recent life and the video as included below (and recommended to me by Katie)...

Recently and currently:

• Enjoying musically: the Juno soundtrack and Buddy Holly
• Reading: The Golden Compass trilogy, Stephen Colbert book, and curatorially-approved education materials
• Eating: cheese -- and lots of it
• Watching (movie-wise): Juno, Atonement, The Darjeeling Limited, Ed Wood, and The Commitments
• Watching (TV-wise): victorious UM football bowl games, election coverage, bad tv marathons, occasional conspiracy theory History Channel-esque specials
• Doing: looking for creative things to do in off-season W'burg (e.g. bowling, long walks all over the place, voyages to the ocean, etc.), planning ridiculous yet affordable road trips, and training in the new job
• Avoiding: lethargy, energy inefficiency, spending money, and bad tv marathons

Steph the Sailor (kind of... with oysters...)

2007-11-11T20:13:00.001-05:00

So in the last days of October, I left on the Godspeed from Jamestown, sailing with her to Urbanna for the 50th Oyster Festival. Urbanna annually has its big oyster hullabaloo, the official oyster hullabaloo of the commonwealth. We left on a Monday morning bright and early to sail down the James River to Hampton at the mouth of the James before heading the next day up the Chesapeake Bay to Deltaville near the mouth of the Rappahanock River and on Wednesday just a smidge up the Rappahanock to Urbanna. I'd never been sailing and was a bit nervous, since my little bit of sail training had been months earlier, but the crew all helped me extensively, and before being more than a few miles from Jamestown, I was climibing the rigging for the first time getting the sails ready to be set.

Being on the ship, we were split into two watches and assigned to one of the two larger masts. When my watch was on duty, we all rotated keeping lookout for little boats that might forget to not hit us (and other things in the river that might be dangerous to us), taking our turn at the helm, and generally being useful on deck. Also, when we were setting, taking in, or adjusting sail, my watch was assigned to the fore mast and spritsal (the front half of the ship, essentially). Also, we had our basic duties of helping to come into port, clean the ship both above and below decks, etc. On the way, it was really neat to have all the bits of info that I'd only been slightly exposed to be put into such practice, helping me to understand and remember the setting of sails and function of a ship more than ever. When at the helm, I got to steer the ship past the Elizabeth River and Norfolk on the first day, into a small fleet of sailboats in the bay on the second day, and into the Rappahanock (under the direct center of a bridge! that one got me the first beverage of the evening) while doing sailing maneuvers that the captain had me order. In all, it was a lot of fun and I'm quite hooked! (photos: The view up the main mast of the sails and the King's Colors; Little John keeping watch on the bowsprit; Gene and Little John at the helm; the compass (and some cool reflections); and John and Julie in the galley.)

(photos: Doug, Julie, and Todd relaxing while our watch was off duty; the captain and me steering the ship; the view from the quarterdeck; Jack as he looked on Halloween, ready to scare kids at a haunted house; and the hold of the ship where most of the crew stayed for during the sail.)

Coming into Urbanna, while trying to quickly furl a sail but furl it well, I jammed my thumb pretty well. Jack of course made fun of me to no end for that one, only a couple of months or so after having bruised my finger on the same hand. That night we went up into town looking for a place to celebrate Halloween, but apparently everything closes down around 8pm on a Wednesday night in Urbanna. Bummer. The next day, we had a few hundred school kids come through for programming, and in the afternoon went on a short promotional sail (which I was determined to go on, injured hand or not) before going out on the town that evening for dinner and live music. Jack was staying on a boat in the middle of the river, but the owners had taken the dinghy and Jack had to sleep in the tent on a pile of blankets (I was staying on the ship, so no problem there). (photos: Dan the Man awaiting the school kids; Mike giving a group of kids an orientation to the ship after I taught them all about navigation and exploration; the Northern Neck Chantey Singers; the view from my bunk on the ship in the morning; and Jack in the morning after having spent the night in the tent.)

Friday started the public programs for the Oyster Festival, so it was pretty busy with about 1500 people coming to the ship that day, though it was mighty cold and windy from the Noreaster blowing off the coast. We saw their massive fire engine parade that eveneing (over 80 firetrucks from all over the state) before again going out that evening. Saturday was the last day of the festival and I actually got to go out to explore and try some of the oysters. It was super crowded, especially with the big parade (a 45-minute parade, half consisting of shriners in every kind of mini automobile possible). After the day with over 2000 visitors, we waited until they opened the streets to traffic so that we could go to a big post-festival party where I slurped my first oysters (both raw and scalded) and Jack showed me how to eat my first crab (which parts to eat, which parts to pick off). Finally, after the next day cleaning up, it was back home to completely unwind and take sleep -- a lot. (photos: The giant oyster from the parade on the final day of the festival; hillbilly shriners; and a shriner in his mini semi.)

I was home for a few days, a couple of which were spent at work, before prepping to go back out to another festival in Charles City (between Williamsburg and Richmond). The first day there was more ridiculous amounts of school kids followed by a day of public visitation on Saturday (albeit pretty darn cold). Friday night was Steph's birthday, so some of us went out for a late night BBQ and bowling. Regardless, when I got back Saturday evening, I fell asleep almost immediately. (photos: A really excited David for a rather massive banana pudding at Steph's birthday dinner; Steph, Lindsay, and David at dinner; Lindsay bowling; and David feeling a bit nerdy.)

Fall has indeed arrived at last with leaves falling and frost advisories abounding. My tomatoes are still trying to pull through a bit longer and the interpretive staff in the Indian Village are decked out in furs too. Sally and I have been using our wood stove a TON and have even spent an evening making curtains to better insulate our house (my motivation, at least). I've been also trying to plan where I want to go work-wise, etc., as well as organizing my plans for the holidays. Again, busy, but when is that new? I'm loving the cold though!

Visitor from the North -- Amongst the Fun!

2007-10-28T21:48:00.000-04:00

So coming into the later part of October, it was still hot though getting into the 60s at night and leaves were only hinting at changing still. However, little bits here and there showed signs of a coming fall, like the sale of cider and fresh donuts at a concert in Charlottesville to the fact that I actually could wear my leather leggings and furs at work and not be super uncomfortable. However, I was still adament about dressing for October and not for the weather at hand and was often made fun of for my wishful thinking.

A really exciting part of the month was when Jenny came down to visit for a few days. She came down on a Monday evening and we began a few days of extreme fun, complete with activity checklist. Tuesday we went to both Yorktown and the Jamestowns, complete with biker bar and a cookout in the evening. Jenny enjoyed bonding with Jack's new hedgehog Norman, who we apparently wore out with the excitement for days afterward. Wednesday we ventured to Berkeley Plantation (home of Col. Benjamin Harrison, signer of the Declaration of Independencen and father/grandfather of two US Presidents, site of the first Thanksgiving, site of the composition of Taps, and about twenty other firsts). A storm blew in during the middle of our tour of Berkeley and continued through most of our day trip through Richmond and movie outing that evening. The next and final day we spent seeing the final orientation video (in all, we'd watch a total of five museum orientation films in three days) at Colonial Williamsburg, a 1950s 45-minute VistaVision saga. After a quick visit at CW, we stopped at the home-cooking deliciousness of the Carrot Tree before taking Jenny to the airport. (photos: Me, Pocahontas, and Jenny at Historic Jamestowne; Jenny loves John Smith; Jenny and I beating that steadily beating drum; also later doing the horrid smell dance moves from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"; and Jack and Norman.)

(photos: The recycle bin at our house the morning after our cookout; me on the lawn of Berkeley Plantation; Jenny doing a kartwheel on the plantation lawn due to her excitement; looking up the terraced gardens to the main house; and Jenny touching a tree hundreds of years old!)

(photos: The bathroom sign at Colonial Williamsburg; showing our love to Thomas Jefferson in Merchant's Square; and Jenny in front of her favorite house in town.)

After Jenny's visit, I had to go to get cracking on assembling my Halloween costume since Lindsay's big Halloween party was the next night. I went as Tippi Hedren from "The Birds" and had to find both a 60s-esque dress and lots of fake birds. After work that Friday, we assembled our outifts, rendezvouzed at our house to carpool down to the party, and had quite a good time and we've still been piecing together stories weeks later. The night after the Halloween party, it was back to Don's house for another burger burn/haunted house expedition. The local Claremont-ites went all out on their haunted house, though after six days in a row working, plus the tremendous pace of Jenny's visit, followed by more work and active evenings, I was getting to be exhausted. Unfortunately, when my day off came around, I was to be heading to Urbanna for the Oyster Festival with work, but this time by boat! (photos: Heather and Morris as Jack Frost and some sort of WWI fighter pilot; David and Mark as Skeletor and Nacho Libre; Callie and me as Elastagirl and Tippi Hedren; Joe as Fabio (complete with goose and bloody nose -- an incident that happened at Busch Gardens Williamsburg); and Lindsay and Sally as Mugatu from "Zoolander" and Jessica Biel from "Flashdance".)

(photos: Jeff and Varia as Miami Vice and Varia; Callie negotiated a ride on a scooter from Lindsay's friend dressed as Hansel from "Zoolander"; and Jeff, David, Lindsay, and Varia.)

Oktoberfest in the Mountains

2007-10-28T21:46:00.001-04:00

Early October was spent mostly waiting for Fall to actually arrive. First off, Kai and I went to a small town in the Shenandoah Valley to a winery for an Oktoberfest party. From all the descriptions, it was supposed to be quite fun with a polka band, German food, and all. We left early that Saturday morning and drove the three or so hours to the winery, beautifully nestled in the northern part of the valley. We were some of the first ones there, so we explored some of the vendors (German product booth, blacksmith, quilter, cheese maker, baker) and sampled some of the wine. Soon, after many of the dedicated Germans/German fans arrived (many in lederhosen and dirndls), the polka band started to play and we got our plates of yummy sauerkaut, red cabbage, and knackwurst. I very much enjoyed the band and their polkas, some of which they got the audience to sing along. At one point, a woman started to have an attack of heat stroke (since it was indeed that hot, even in early Oktober), though she was taken care of while the rest of us started to do the Chicken Dance (apparently not German, but Dutch). (photos: Our souvenir Oktoberfest cup, Virginia apples, and the German flag under the festival tent; me with my cup (note the tank top in October -- last year there had been the early snow storm on the Island); my yummy German food; the Alp horn guy with his lederhosen; and Kai in front of the festival site at the winery.)

Kai and I left in the early afternoon and decided to take the scenic route back home through the Shenandoah along Skyline Drive. Little did we know that, being Columbus Day weekend, everyone was out trying to get a taste of what they thought would be one of the last weekends of summer and the drive took forever. We did catch some great views of low-lying clouds coming over the mountains and at last got through Charlottesville and back onto out highway heading East. Instead of going home, we were actually heading to a burger burn at our coworker Don's house and were really trying to move to get back. At long last, we made it and I was thrilled to get out of the car, and a couple of hours later, to be on the ferry back home. (photos: A tree along Skyline Drive with the low clouds; a view looking North on the other side of the mountains from Skyline Drive; and the view looking South from the same spot.)

A couple of days later on that holiday Monday, some of us had decided to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving at the home of our resident Canadian couple, Heather and Morris. I made a fantastic apple pie and some mashed potatoes to add to our actual turkey, stuffing, and even poutine. Morris had prepped their apartment for us that day by getting out anything Canadian that they had, including their Canadian action figures and also by his alternating between his two Canadian shirts. (photos: The Canadian action figures; Stephanie excited for poutine; Morris carving the turkey; more of Morris' holiday decorations; and the final array of Thanksgiving food.)

The following weekend, I went up to Richmond for their final year of the National Folk Festival. I had a ton of fun watching everything from a family of Guatemalan marimba players, amazing blues music, African dance, all sorts of bluegrass, a DC go-go group, and apparently a revolutionary of autoharp music. A day in the sun (yup, still hot in mid-October) with marvelous music, food, and Guiness. October was a busy month, and the first half was full of weekend trips, hanging out (as always, and of course work. (photos: Some Ivory Coast dancers at the National Folk Festival; a dancer dressed as a traditional god come to give his blessing; part of the Richomond skyline over the festival; the Holmes Brothers playing some of their terrific blues music; and leaving the Folk Festival.)

(photos: Jeff, Varia, and me from an evening hanging out in the 'Burg; fun artwork; more artwork; even more fun artwork; and me from when we went to see "Superman: The Musical" at William & Mary.)

George Washington + Marines = Gypsy Fun! More life on the road...

2007-10-05T19:28:00.000-04:00

After Onancock, we were home for a couple of days before turning around and heading right back on the road. While home, Steph (the other one) and I went to the Virginia Living Museum for an afternoon. I was actually really impressed by the quality, simplicity, and relevance of the exhibits and we all particularly enjoyed the Survivor: Jamestown exhibit where you have to go through a maze of challenges to see if you can survive Jamestown 400 years ago (we both did!). I also really liked the beavers and otters in the outdoor exhibits and the cute little owl inside. Nature is just so cool! (photos: Sturgeon, a super cool dinosaur-esque fish; ah, the James River... the superstar of so much of our interpretation, etc.; the outdoor animal exhibits at the Living Museum; beavers!; and otters, too!)

(photos: While trying to survive Jamestown, we had to complete tasks like choosing our water source; Steph showcases her survival plaque while learning how to utilize wildliffe to survive; also learning to wrangle a giant sturgeon; and this doesn't look that odd, for some strange reason...)

That Wednesday, it was back out on the road. We first went to Hampton to do a lunch presentation about Jamestown and wastewater at a wastewater treatment conference. After a yummy steak lunch, we were on the way to Mt. Vernon to meet the ship. I was particularly excited to be working at George Washington’s estate for the weekend, and we actually were staying on site. The staff at Mt. Vernon was extremely accommodating and actually allowed us to wander around the estate a bit at night, including on the front porch of the main house while listening to the cows across the river in Maryland. The sheep on site also made sounds that I’d never heard from sheep before (if you’ve seen our crafty hoodies from a few years ago or the photos from Europe, you’ll be familiar with my fascination with sheep!) – the videos will soon be posted on my YouTube page. We also got to see the new museums at Mt. Vernon, which were pretty decent and very flashy, though definitely catering to the casual history/museum crowd. After work, we definitely played a lot of cards and chilled with both the crew and Maria Spranger (she came down for an evening!). All in all, it was indeed a fun port and a really unique opportunity with lots of history, sheep, and card playing at night. (photos: My little room at Mt. Vernon, actually on the property!; George's front porch at night; the Potomac in the morning with a bit of mist over Maryland; looking down the Potomac in the morning; and Maria and I in the morning at the Metro station.)

(photos: Felt a bit like Tippi Hedren here; the super hilarious sheep -- keep checking my YouTube page til I post those videos!; the Godspeed at Mt. Vernon; the lifesize statues of George, Martha, and their grandkids at the visitor center of Mt. Vernon; and the outside of George's house.)

Saturday night we left for our next port, Quantico. We stayed just off the marine base, but had to go on base to get to the town of Quantico, now completely surrounded by the base. We had a busy couple of days with an interesting audience with all of the marines and their families. Sunday night the event staff hosted a reception for us at the new Marine Corps Museum. Holy wa, were the hors d’oeuvres and the museum fabulous! The mannequins were some of the most detailed and realistic that I’d ever seen and the immersion galleries of various conflicts were also extremely impressive. I also particularly enjoyed the really cheap prices of the restaurants and such, which were really just that cheap. On Tuesday, we were off to Jamestown again, making a stop in Richmond for lunch at Poe’s, our old hangout from the Richmond leg of the trip. (photos: The Godspeed coming into Quantico, starting to bring in her topsails; the marching band at our arrival at Quantico; the outside of the Marine Corps Museum; the main lobby of the museum; and the inside of the top of the main lobby.)

(photos: Mannequins in the Marine museum; one of the gallery hallways in the museum; impromptu poutine; a sign on a house near the marina; and it felt good to be back...)

Once back to the Burg, it was back to the normal work at Jamestown and such. Last weekend the annual Scottish festival was in town and a few of us went for tunes, beer, and dancing. I’ve also started a new effort to ride my bike to work now that the weather is getting cooler (despite the last few days being in the 90s… ugh…). Tomorrow, however, I’m heading to the mountains for an Oktoberfest and Monday brings Canadian Thanksgiving. Should be an internationally good time! (photos: the Williamsburg Scottish Festival ceilidh; James and Kai; and Scott and a not-so-unusal facial expression.)

From Shnitzel to the Shore

2007-09-30T19:58:00.000-04:00

So for my birthday at the end of August, we went for drinks one night but traveled (through nasty traffic and unintentional detours) all the way to Norfolk for birthday shnitzel at the German Pantry. In all, about fifteen or so of us rendezvoused in Norfolk for delectable jaegershnitzel, apfelstrudel, and (of course) pretzels. Yum! (photos: David and the nachos that used to have runny cheese; Jeff apparently finding Lindsay as amusing as the rest of us; the "family only" sign over the "family only" table reserved for us at the German Pantry; most of us at our big table; and Morris with his "Mice Templar" t-shirt.)

The following day, I had to go to Newport News to a sports bar in order to find someplace in Virginia that would show the UofM football game on the Big Ten Network. Unfortunately, the game was a bit disappointing, but it was neat to watch the game with the local UofM alumni club. However, the Penn State Alumni Club was on the other side of the pub and started to heckle the UofM Alumni after their game was over, only making it worse when we lost. Later that evening, a group of us went to our friend Jeff’s heavy metal band’s concert. Though his band’s music all sounded the same, the true dedicated fans got really excited and I was glad we all went for a more unique way to spend the evening. Also as an ongoing project over that week or so, Sally and I painted our living room. Its walls had been pretty dirty and the colors of someone’s camping cabin (probably why some of our friends called it “rustic”), so we’d decided to spruce it up a bit. Beyond the previous activities, we also had a She-Ra revisited evening at Heather's house, a potential tropical storm landfall, and a finger injury after dropping the swivel gun on my finger (not badly injured, just splinted). Good times... (photos: UofM alumni watching the first game of the season; Jeff and his band Kaustik (Jeff being the blur on the left); painting the living room; our new "pet," Raúl; and my finger in its oh-so-period-appropriate splint.)

The following Thursday, Jack, Bob (marketing/interpretive volunteer), and I drove to Onancock for the first stop of our fall sail. Onancock is a small town of a few thousand people on the Eastern Shore of Virginia (the little dingy of land on the other side of the Chesapeake that is just south of Maryland) that made us feel like rock stars the entire time we were there. The residents bent over backwards to make us feel welcome – by buying us welcome drinks and food, throwing us a cookout, sending the town cop to the other side of town so that we could set off Jack’s North Carolina fireworks, and giving us free things all over town just because we were with the ship. It didn’t take long for Jack and I to decide that we’d each definitely want to move there with its cute historic homes from its heyday as a major Chesapeake shipping depot and its fantastic food scene. We spent the entire time that we weren’t working popping from place to place with hardly any time to digest from the prior place. All in all, one of the best ports of the year! (photos: The Eastern Shore welcomes us!; Mike talking to the tv guy while we wait for the ship to arrive (note the guys in the background, at the "Liar's Bench"); Crazy Uncle Bob; me waiting with my new friends for the ship to arrive -- one had a belt buckle that said "John Wayne Lives"-- and yes, that's what they do each day; and Mike and Jack outside the pub we frequented with the 400th Anniversary flag above the door (the Godspeed was the biggest thing to hit the town all year, no joke).)

(photos: Jack found his calling; Jack and Scott as they were often found all weekend; the Captain and part of his crew; me playing Shut The Box; and the ship coming into the marina with a flotilla of kayakers.)

(photos: The Godspeed at sunset; Todd, me, Jack, and Scott at the bench; Onancock loves history... A lot...; Jack in his Steelers gear; and Main Street Onancock.)

(photos: The sign Jack bought at the antique store; and the sign of apparently the best gas station food in this part of the state -- they even have a wine list.)

Dog Days of August

2007-08-29T22:42:00.000-04:00

The rest of August centered around the move from my apartment into a little house with Sally, a fellow Foundation employee from Yorktown. Before the move, there were a variety of smaller outings, including a going away dinner for Kai (our one remaining wage employee for us three Honor Guard supervisors to supervise). (photos: Don, Carol (lost in the middle), Kai, and James giving Kai her farewell hug; Mark and Kai doing apparently doing something interesting; and Kai, Matt, and Sally.)

The day of the move was one of the hottest of the summer thus far, which was saying something considering that there had been a fair number of 100-110+ (and humid) days since my return from Michigan. I spent the Wednesday before the move packing my entire apartment, and that evening with some friends, packing my Lil’ Sammy U-Haul moving truck. We’d hoped to move in that evening while it was cool, but had to wait until the next morning.

Thursday the 16th started early for Sally and I as we met at the house to get our keys. While she made a trip to her house in Newport News for her things, I unloaded my truck. It didn’t take too long for it to get hot. Jack had come over to help unload my truck and we definitely had to pace ourselves. For the rest of the afternoon, we were all taking turns to try to find ways to get out of working in the heat any more than necessary. With a brief nip back to my apartment to get the last load and to clean the last bit, we spent the day unloading, unpacking, and cleaning. Many of our moving assistants stayed later to relax on our new fantastic couch for a movie. We were all glad the day was over, but I was off to work the next day and had to put off the rest of my unpacking for a few days. (photos: Our cute house from the outside; Stephanie mooching our internet and trying to make "the face"; and some of the crazy storm clouds as we're at Circuit City in Newport News buying our cute router.)

The day after our move was the staff picnic. Apparently smaller than in years past, the picnic had all sorts of homemade food and activities. Jeff was very excited to get a squirrel painted on his face and some of us even attempted the watermelon seed spitting contest. The big feature was the band currently called “Live Music,” a group of interpreters (mostly) that performed at previous picnics. Some of their wives even distributed racy panties to spectators to fling at the band after their set. Pretty fantastic. (photos: Jeff getting his face painted; Ashley excited about her racy underwear to fling; Live Music -- Duane on guitar, Frank's stepson on bass, Todd on drums, Jaie on vocals, and Frank on guitar; Mark showing his love for live music (and his love for Jaie on his face); and Jeff showing Callie how to shoot the monkey.)

The following Thursday after our move was our housewarming party. In the end, we had thirty or so friends and coworkers come over to hang out, chat, eat, shoot screaming monkeys, and drink over 100 bottles beer. We were really glad to have so many of our friends over and it was a fun, chill evening. (photos: Jack and Baby Armand; the boys in green -- Green Mark and Scott; Jeff perplexed at my insistance that his shirt really is a show of affection for me and not some Californian city; Jeff also left his car door open, so some of the boys decided to open all of his car doors, allowing Mike to crawl right in; and Jeff's housewarming gift protecting my tomato plants.)

That Friday, the Honor Guard (plus Joyce to replace Kai) was off to Deltaville for the Rendezvous of the John Smith Shallops for the weekend. Deltaville was a very small town with friendly people. Joyce and I stayed at a B&B with a circa 90 year-old “unrepented hippie” complete with a half dozen “kitty cats” and a goat. The residents of Deltaville had a few events to which we were invited, including a dinner at a house (that probably cost a couple of million dollars) and a fundraising reception. The final day of the event, we even got to go rowing in the shallop to help the local museum prepare for the big shallop race. (photos: The gypsies perusing a yard sale (mostly old tea cups and fishing/boating gear) in Deltaville, with Jack in his best about-town ensebmle; the sign we all enjoyed on the dock where the Deltaville shallop is usually moored in front of its museum; stairway to nowhere; the Deltaville shallop arrives at the reception on the Piankatank River; and how I was often spotted that weekend as I tinkered with and organized my new phone (I was in this case checking the weather as it was noticeably quite hot and humid).)

(photos: The Dove and the three shallops docked at the Fishing Bay Yacht Club for the Rendezvous; Grace the pirate reenactor, Mike, and the old sailor guy singing sea shanties; Jack's feet hurt; and the shallop races.)

Coming up at the end of the month, there are plans to go to the German Pantry in Norfolk for my birthday and some birthday shnitzel, the start of UofM football, and the first official gig of Jeff’s heavy metal band. Should be fun!

Michigan, My Michigan

2007-08-28T20:15:00.000-04:00

After a busy and fun July, August began with a trip home to Michigan. I flew home the morning of the first and was met at the Detroit airport by my mom and brother Josh. That same day the family was heading North to St. Ignace and the Upper Peninsula, so the rest of the day at home in Lansing was spent relaxing while everyone else scrambled to get their things together. Around 5pm, we piled into the two cars and headed out on the road.

Since we left so late, we didn’t get to St. Ignace until pretty late, but it was fantastic to be back in northern Michigan. We took a quick hop to a pub in town that evening (much to my mom’s dismay), but we were all pretty exhausted and headed to bed soon after. The next morning, we went to Java Joe’s for breakfast and then left to drive to Whitefish Point.

It was my first time to Whitefish Point and I was quite excited to visit. We went through everything, including the Shipwreck Museum, lighthouse keepers’ apartments, and the obligatory movie about the Edmund Fitzgerald (yes, Gordon Lightfoot was playing in part of the museum). I also loved the view of Lake Superior and my mom and I enjoyed strolling on the beach. Josh, Leslie, and my dad were quickly done with the museum (my dad and brother grumbling about how much the museum cost) and were more than eager to get into Paradise for some lunch. The Yukon Inn was the perfect yooper dive for a meal – they didn’t even have tuna since it was too hot and might spoil (odd to not have a fridge in a restaurant, eh?). After lunch, we were off to Tahquameenon Falls. We strolled around the paths for various views, but I soon had to leave the family to head back to St. Ignace to catch the ferry to Mackinac Island. (photos: Mavelously realistic mannequins (and a bit biker-esque) at the Shipwreck Museum; Leslie demonstrating how she enjoys museums; Lake Superior; Leslie and Josh in front of the Whitefish Point lighthouse; and me, Mom, and Leslie at Whitefish Point.)

(photos: Lower Tahquamenon Falls; me and Leslie at the lower falls; fabulous facts about Michigan (we all love our state!); the upper falls; and Leslie, me, Josh, and Dad at the upper falls.)

I was quite excited (again) to visit the Island for the first time since working last season. It was weird to be going back as a visitor, but the smell of the horses and fudge was fabulously familiar and welcoming upon arrival. Katie and Bruce met me at the dock and I made my way to the Mission House to drop off my stuff before heading back downtown to meet Katie, Bruce, and others at the Astor Street for dinner. Since we had to wait a bit, we all went to the Seabiscuit for a drink before dinner, and afterwards Katie and I hiked up to the Scout Barracks for ice cream with the Detroit boy scout troop. We felt a bit rotund from all the food, so we helped Bruce walk his dogs with a little hikey hikey (in the dark, of course! Just like old times…). After, we decided to try to find something fun downtown and found Myk Rise, one of our favorite musicians on the Island. (photos: A scary crew -- Trace, Bruce, and Bever at Astor Street; Katie and I already eating our way through the weekend, starting with some delicious bread pudding; and Katie and Lily, doing their thing.)

The next morning, I slept in a bit before heading up to the fort to meet Katie. We split food from the Tea Room (mmmm… tomato soup…) before Maria and I went downtown for a second lunch with a quick pit stop at the downtown buildings to say hi to the blacksmiths arriving for the Blacksmith Convention. By this point, I began noticing a pattern of my eating and walking as Maria and I then went to walk off the food and catch up on drama and things. We headed back to the house only to head back downtown for dinner, a brief hikey, and then to the Gatehouse for night one of Hot Carl. We’d decided to start at the Gatehouse to see Will and Nidal open for Hot Carl, then do a stint at Sinclair’s to fulfill our obligation to the blacksmiths and Pub Runners, before heading back to Hot Carl (they were just so much more fun!). It was a long night as we danced the night away and closed the bar, fully planning to recreate the night again on Saturday night. (photos: Ah, one of the sights I missed the most -- the view of the lake from the Mission House; another great vista from the Straits side of the Island towards the Bridge; the man-child and equally mangled-looking mannequins; the view over the Straits featuring the smoke from the big forrest fire in the Upper Penninsula near where I had been only the day before; and the view out over the channel of the smoke (it was so thick that the whole Island smelled like smoke).)

(photos: Katie and Peggy excited for live music; Bev and me (sorry, it's blurry); Trace, Katie, and me getting our dance on; Katie tickled to see the Pub Runners inebriated; and Hot Carl (showing the gut) to the rest of his band.)

Saturday, I was up to meet the crafties for breakfast before getting dressed to help Maria with her lunch rotation. I wasn’t sure that I was going to dress up and actual interpret on my vacation, but the two hour gig was just enough to satisfy my withdrawl from my crafty past. After again, we played with the blacksmiths before heading back to the house to greet Jenny as she came to the Island to play with us and Hot Carl. We then went down to the Gatehouse for dinner, more music, and more dancing. We were even able to corral a fort staff contingent that evening from the pub to enjoy the Hot Carl magic… Marvelous. (photos: Dad, Leslie, me, and Josh at the Tea Room for lunch; Jenny expressing her true feelings about the condiment caddy; Will and Nidal; Lily and Phil (daughter and dad) dancing; and Geoff, Bever, and Joe at the pub.)

(photos: One of my favorite blacksmiths; me and Peggy; Sandy and Katie; Jenny and her lampshade friend; and (sorry, blurry again) Maria, Sandy, Peggy, Jenny, and me.)

The next morning, Jenny left early and I slept a bit longer before packing my backpack to head down to St. Anne’s to meet Katie for lunch (again at Astor Street, this time with Peggy and Fr. Rey) and for Heather May’s recital. Afterwards, we discovered Br. Jim’s flying monkey toy that inspired me to purchase one to take back to Virginia (it’s been quite a hit, making appearances at work, the pub, and various social gatherings thanks to Jack ordering three more off the internet). We finally caught a ferry and I was back in Lansing by dark. (photos: Peggy and Fr. Rey at Astor Street; Darren and Ollie at St. Anne's; and my favorite ice cream with the chewy chunks of fudge.)

Monday, I hung out with my family and met Bruce for lunch at the Mediterran Café downtown. The next morning, I was to be up relatively early for my flight back home. However, on our way to Detroit, we hit horrible traffic and I arrived barely too late for my flight, missing it and causing much stress until I was able to fly stand-by on a flight a few hours later. After a stressful trip back, I was much relieved to be home, but also very much enjoyed my time home with my family and my visit to the Island.

**Bonus Hot Carl shots:

Quiz Time

2007-08-01T16:32:00.000-04:00

While killing time... Hmmm...

Which Disney Princess Are You?
	You are Pocahontas. You defy convention and sometimes do what is considered taboo. Unfortunately, others do not always appreciate your differences, so it's good that you are so strong-willed. You are loyal and you believe in fate. Your true love will find you one day.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Which Harry Potter Character Are You?
	You are Hermione. You're a bookworm always in search of answers. When pressed, however, you can always be counted on to put away the books and help your friends.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Which Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Character Are You?
	You are Raphael. You have a sarcastic wit, but it can sometimes get you into trouble.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com