Bermuda – Spring 2018

Last year, for our early summer vacation, we decided to change it up a bit and spent a week at Atlantis in the Bahamas instead of our usual Bermuda home. It’s always nice to try something new from time to time, but we are creatures of habit and if there is one thing I know for sure, it’s how much we love our little island paradise… Bermuda. So once again this year we decided to travel to our favorite getaway spot and home away from home Tucker’s Point Club, Bermuda.

For me this trip is not just another vacation, it also happens to fall on Fathers Day weekend, which makes this little annual trip of ours all the more special. Spending the week with just my wife and son on the beach in one of the most beautiful places on earth is truly the ultimate Fathers Day gift!
Use the link below to see all the photos from the first half of our spring trip.

Cycling Classic Kids Race

As promised, here is a short video of the start of the Arlington Air Force Cycling Classic kids race. It’s totally apparent that the kids race has become a big event here in Clarendon. Because of Dylan’s age, I think he might only be eligible to race in this event for another year or two.

Arlington Cycling Classic

Every year the Air Force Cycling Classic comes to Arlington, Virginia and every year my son puts it on top of his list of things to do. Personally I think the main reason he likes the event is because his good friend from across the street does it, but regardless I happy that he chooses to ride in the kids race. This year he will be racing an a new Redline road racing bicycle that was a birthday present from his Uncle Mike… I’m not sure it will make him faster, but it sure is a cool bike. I’ll post a video of the race later when I get a chance.

Go Ape with Haley

As we all know, my son Dylan is a huge fan of outdoor adventure camps and ropes course at Go Ape Adventures is one of his favorites. Here are a couple of pictures from Dylan and Haley’s day out at Go Ape.

ALL CAPS!

So guess who just won the NHL Stanley Cup Championship? That’s right… these guys… The Washington Capitals!!! I was born and raised in Northern Virginia and have been a native my whole life, so it should come as no surprise that as a hockey player myself, I’m a life long fan of my hometown team… the Capitals! It feels like I’ve waited a life time for the Caps to find the right chemistry to make a true run at the Cup, but as early as January this year I knew we had something special happening on the ice. Here’s a shout out to all the players, coaches and staff for the Washington Capitals… Congrats Boys!! WE ARE ALL CAPS!!!!

Doug & Julie’s NYC Trip

This week Julie and I took the train up to the Big Apple for a family business dinner and some meetings the following day. It was a very nice trip and well needed getaway from the normal everyday grind. After a nice dinner with the family at Toro on 10th Avenue, we returned to our hotel (the Conrad) and went up to the roof top bar for drinks. Talk about a nice view… and the cocktails were pretty good too!

Pack 1229 Move-up Ceremony

Congrats to all the Cub Scouts of Pack 1229! Here are a couple of photos from the Pack’s Move-up Ceremony. Dylan and the rest of the Bears all earned their rank and will be moving up to the Webelos den next year.

River School Spring Play

Here are some photos from the River School 2018 Spring Play. As with every year, the annual school production allows all the students from all grades to participate at some level. This year Dylan’s class, along with the 3rd grade Falcon class, were responsible for both writing and performing as the class leads in the annual production. It was a super cute play and I’m so glad the school makes all the kids get involved… it’s much easier to get comfortable with being in front of an audience if you start doing it at a younger age.

Pack 1229 Spring Campout

So last fall, I took Dylan on his very first Cub Scout camping trip to Prince William Forest for what I like to call ‘Cabin Camping’ with his CS pack. This past weekend, Dylan got to try tent camping with me for the very first time and he loved it! Cub Scout Pack 1229 sponsors two camping trips a year and last weekend they had their Spring Camp out at Lake Fairfax in Fairfax, VA. Aside from a little rain and wind overnight, it turned out to be a really nice time.
Dylan and I opted to use my REI Passage-2 two person backpacking tent for our first outing together and it did a great job protecting us from the overnight wind and rain. However, I think that in the future I will take my ALPS Mountaineering Morada 4-person Tent and ALPS Air Bed, so that I might get a little better nights sleep. At this level of Scouting, car camping is pretty much all these kids do, so there’s really no need for an ultralight weight backpacking tent. The most important piece of camping equipment for kids at a young age is a good mummy bag. There is nothing worse then having your child complaining all night that they’re cold.

More Cub Scout Stuff

Here are a batch of random photos from Dylan’s Cub Scout meetings and adventures. They are in no particular order and I will be adding more photos to this gallery as I take them, so don’t mind the dates either.