We just got back from spending a week at altitude in Winter Park Colorado and for someone who’s not use to being much more than one or two hundred feet above sea level I can tell you it was a task!! I’m not going to go into a long story about the trip just because the photos can pretty much speak for them selves! I will say that after finally getting the hang of it the snowboarding thing was a hell of a lot of fun!! Enjoy the photos… more to come!! (View Photos, Slideshows, Videos & More»)
This past Saturday Julie and I spent the day learning how to snowboard with my brother Mike, Christina and her friend Kelly at Whitetail Resort in PA. What fun… well all except for the falling down part that is! Mike told me that snowboarding was unlike anything I had ever done before and not to expect to master it right out of the gate. Boy was he right… after about four hours of beating ourselves up, Julie and I finally started getting the hang of it.
Julie & Doug after snowboarding at Whitetail Mountain Resort
I can see we’ll still need a lot more practice time though… at least before jumping on any big runs! I guess it kind of surprised me a little at first that I couldn’t pick it up right away… I mean I’m so use to being on slippery surfaces as a hockey player and I’m also a very good surfer too… so why was this so difficult. Like Mike said… “the snowboarding thing is something completely different”. Thank God the learning curve is quick because we leave for Colorado in two weeks!! (View Photos, Slideshows, Videos & More»)
Well I’ve finally had the opportunity to visit the new Sant Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and I must say I was impressed. Julie, being with NOAA‘s office of communications, had already seen the exhibit once before during the Grand Opening Ceremony last September and she’s been raving about it now for months. So last week my parents, Julie and I were all invited as part of the Smithsonian Institution’s NMNH ‘Charter Members’ group to a wine & cheese party being held there at the Sant Ocean Hall. It turned out to be a nice casual event with very little hand holding which gave us more than enough time to see the entire exhibit.
Julie beside a NOAA mural created by Janet Ward (NOAA WORLD)
One of the highlights of the evening was seeing a NOAA photographic mural which was created by one of Julie’s co-workers, Janet Ward of NOAA World, hanging in the entrance way to the hall; We somehow missed it on the way in, but made sure to take a photo of it as we were leaving. If you ever find yourself in Washington DC, and you have the time, I highly recommend that you visit the National Museum of Natural History and take a tour of the new Sant Ocean Hall… you won’t be disappointed! (View Photos, Slideshows, Videos & More»)
This past Thanksgiving Julie and I traveled down to Captiva Florida for her family’s annual holiday gathering. We spent the week at South Seas Resort on Captiva Island which is on the Gulf side of Florida. There’s not much in the way of diving there, but that wasn’t the reason for our trip anyway. While visiting with her family, we managed to find some free time to do some sight seeing and a little exploring. We even found some time to hit the beach… after all, it is an island! But the highlight of the trip (at least for me) was the chance to finally meet all of Julie’s cousins and their children for the first time. Here are some generic photos from our exploration of the island resort… enjoy!
South Seas Island Resort – Captiva Island, Florida
The Washington DC metro area has fallen under a nasty weather system that promises to leave it’s mark on anything that has contact with water and the elements. That’s right, we’re in the grips of a bad freeze! For the last few days I’ve heard stories of burst water pipes and flooded basements, but what really caught my attention was when I heard someone say that the Potomac River had frozen. Granted the ice isn’t thick enough to walk across, but it’s still been quite a long time since we’ve had this sever of a freeze.
All this said, I decided that it might be a good idea to run down to the marina where we keep our boat and have a look at the present situation. We had our boat completely winterized last December, but because it stays in the water year round we still have to worry about big freezes like this one! After checking and confirming that the cabin heater and underwater slip deicer were working properly I decided to snap off some photos of the marina for my journal. Click the link below to see all the photos… Enjoy!
This year we decided to host the Christmas festivities at our house instead of traveling out to my Parents place. It would be the first year for us putting up a tree in our new home and so we thought it would be nice to host the Family Christmas dinner as well. I think my mother was the most excited about it, for this would be the first year in a very long time that she wouldn’t have to cook or clean up afterwords. We also thought it would be fitting to share this wonderful time of the year with our family and friends, so I’ve added some photos from Christams day. We’d like to thank everyone for all the wonderful Christmas cards we have received and wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
One of our favorite holiday social events has always been Sally’s annual Gloggfest and this year would prove to be no different! It’s always nice to get together with friends during the holidays and share the stories of the past year. This year Sally had a good turn out for the event and it was literally standing room only! I would estimate close to thirty people total and that’s a lot for her little DC apartment! But oh what fun… the Glogg and food was great! And while there were several close friends that couldn’t make the party… catching up with those who did was definitely the highlight of the evening. Here’s wishing everyone the happiest of holidays!
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any scarier this holiday season someone had to come along and make a video to remind us of the biggest holiday horror of all… giving your special someone the wrong gift!! The video is only about five minutes long, but guys you really need to watch it… it could save your life!!!
I’ve been playing hockey again now for about six years and truly enjoying every minute it! I played a lot as a kid, but I guess I never really got it all out of my system. The adult leagues I play on now are both competitive and a lot more fun then the youth travel leagues were. There’s still checking at the adult level, just not as much… this makes it a little easier for the older guys my age. I believe I’m the oldest out of all the players on both of my teams. Not that I’m old… it’s just that I skate well enough to play on teams that are made up of mostly college kids.
Me (#15) waiting for the face-off! (and thinking… “Hum, there’s ice on the tip of my twig”)
This past Friday night we (The Ballston Rhinos) had a game against the Iceholes at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington. What made this game different than others is that I was actually able to talk Julie into coming out to watch me play! She doesn’t normally come to my games because there always so late at night. Well, not only did she enjoy the game, but she also took some really great photos of all the action… Thanks Julie!! (View Photos, Slideshows, Videos & More»)
Well its taken a while, but Julie has finally finished fixing up her old townhouse and making it rent ready. It was mostly just cosmetics that needed to be done with a couple of small repairs like new faucets in the master bathroom. But now that the place is completely emptied out with fresh paint and clean carpets, we’re ready to put it on the market… for rent.
I’m not going to go into details about location or price… lets just say it’s in Arlington and very close to the Key Bridge. Our Realtor has taken on the job of finding a qualified tenant and then managing the property for us after that.
This is really helpful because it will free up our weekends once again. It seems like every weekend for the past several months has been spent working on the townhouse. Now finally, we can relax a bit and do something else with our spare time!
I’ve also added some photos of the inside that I took this past weekend while finishing things up….
Well its taken a while, but Julie has finally finished fixing up her old townhouse and making it rent ready. It was mostly just cosmetics that needed to be done with a couple of small repairs like new faucets in the master bathroom. But now that the place is completely emptied out with fresh paint and clean carpets, we’re ready to put it on the market… for rent.