Sunset

I finally purchased my new camera and with amazing restraint have just gotten around to putting it together.  Don't ask...every now and then I surprise myself!  I laugh b/c as I was putting the camera together a great picture from the sunset developed and I had to grab the point and shoot. The sun illuminated the crane for two minutes then faded all together.    I thought it was great...hope you enjoy it too.

Washington Capitals -- Rock the Red!!

We have partial season tickets to the Washington Nationals (worst team in baseball) and the Caps (SE division leaders).  The Caps games are awesome...loud, packed every night of the week, the occasional swing, and wins.  Chuck and I also laugh b/c DC is the one of the few cities (and maybe only city) where the roaming cameras put politicians on the big screen--there's usually a balance of booing and cheering.  Hockey has become of the things we really enjoy and hopefully we'll get to enjoy it even more in Alaska.

Happy Holidays!

Chuck and I want to wish all of our friends and family a Happy Holiday season!  We celebrated Hanukkah and Christmas this past week with a lot food, celebratory drink, and naps.  In other words, we have been really lazy but we have both cooked our share of huge feasts.  Ringing in the new year probably won' be much different...

We hope to see in many of our travels and adventures in 2009...not to worry, if we don't see you we'll post them here.

Virgin Island Sailing Trip

We spent last week in the Virgin Islands -- as many of you know this is not our usual vacation in the mountains hiking or skiing --instead we picked up a new skill...sailing.  Our good friends, the Pannabecker's, gave us the sailing bug last year and we decided it would be a great life skill/hobby.  We don't plan on living in the islands...a visit to warmer climates and the relaxing lifestyle are a nice option.   

The trip started early on 13 December with a flight to St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, where we promptly stepped foot on a 43 foot sail boat with our Captain and another sailing student.  The four of us would spend the next week together in fairly cramped quarters.  The adventure truly started on Sunday when our boat pulled out of the harbor sailing our way around the British and US Virgin Islands for 6 days.  Each day was filled with wind (luckily), nightly rain,  sailing lessons, and lots of practice in turquoise waters.  We look forward to chartering boats on future vacations, in the Chesapeake, and hopefully for weeklong adventures with friends.

Additional pics here...

Yacht Shots -- this company comes out and takes shots of people sailing.  The Captain is in the blue shirt.

New York City

See more pics here.

We spent the weekend in NYC with Andi's mom and sister. It was a quick trip filled with delicious-you-can-only-find-it-in-NYC pizza, Wicked, lots of walking and a trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Friday night we walked from our hotel across the street from Ground Zero to Chinatown, Little Italy, Greenwich Village, and Soho before ending up at the Magnolia Bakery (made famous by Sex and the City). Lesson learned by us...famous by a tv show does not guarantee delicious cupcakes, only long lines.

Saturday we started our day with a bagel and a tour of the NBC Studios--including the set of SNL. It was fun to learn how small the tv sets are and how they play tricks with the audience at home. Then it was off to our first round of pizza and a tour of Central Park, a pizza snack after a walk through the West Side, and a Christmas market followed by more delicious deli snacks. We were lucky enough to get Saturday evening tickets to Wicked--great show (made happy). Then it was down to Bleeker Street for more pizza and gyros before bed.

Sunday we were up and walking so we could make the first tour of the day to the Statue of Liberty. Of course we fueled our trip with another round of bagels and coffee and security stricter than most airports. The ferry ride to both islands was filled with whipping wind and bitter cold. We all enjoyed the tours and learned quite a bit. Then it was back to Manhatten for one last slice of pizza and a drive back to DC.

Photo Proof

Wanted to follow up Andi's post with photo proof of that damn cat. this is right after Gato got done biting Mr. Pibb. That little bastard.

He also appears to love power plays like standing guard in Pibb's litter box and standing on top of the table where he can pounce.

Anti-Social Gato

As many of you know we have a great little cat named Gato. In the past, we were biased and thought our cat was great--not overly clingy, not moody, whined a little, and on occasion has exhibited the typical not so bright qualities seen in other cats--overall a great little guy to snuggle up and a TV show. Our cousin's recently moved to town and we offered to watch their cat until they settled into a pet-friendly place...Pib and Gato (two normally easy going and friendly cats) would surely get along. Not the case...we have found Gato is a little demon that does not play well with others.

Chuck and I were talking when the last time Gato actually saw or played with another animal...it was probably just prior to him getting picked up by the Boise Humane Society. Four years living with Andi and Chuck have spoiled him...not in a good way.

Sorry to Pib for the torture...