Memorial Day Weekend Wrap-Up

As if the Naval Academy Graduation and Navy Wedding weren't enough for the weekend, we also made a few detours in our roadtrip. That's one advantage to driving instead of flying. Though it was a long drive - over 1600 miles were driven since Thursday afternoon!

When we left Annapolis on Sunday, we took a friend of the family to the airport. She happened to fly in and out of Reagan International, while everyone else flew in and out of Baltimore. So she was kind of stranded without a ride back to the airport. Since Eric and I drove, we were able to detour over to Washington DC to drop her off there. Since we were 'right there' anyway, we decided to hit the surface streets and see a few sights on a driving tour. Being Memorial Day weekend, it was busy, including a Bike Rally show support for POW/MIA. But it wasn't as busy as we thought it would be... maybe we just managed to get in and out at the right time. Or maybe we just hit the right areas of the City that weren't busy!

From there, it was off to see Nan in Pennsylvania! This detour was planned. We made plans with Nan to come by for a late lunch/early dinner. We figured the short detour would be nice and Eric got to see the "thriving metropolis" of Shamokin, PA. We had a nice dinner with Nan and her cousin, Jean. It's always nice to catch up with relatives. We drove by my Mom's childhood home, as well as Nan's childhood home. After some more chatting on nan's front porch, Eric and I were on our way. But not without one more detour... I had to go to Knoebel's Grove to reminisce and show Eric what of my fondest memories of summers in PA!
With our earlier DC detour, we were behind what we had hope to be in any sort of schedule we had. But we still drove out to Elysburg to visit Knoebels. We got there right at dusk. I wasn't planning on any rides, but we did the Sky Lift so get a good overall view of the park, and then Eric wanted to do the boats - I don't know of any other park that had actual boats you can steer through a little circular canal. He was amazed they still had some of the rides they did - they just don't make them like that anymore! It was a fun little detour, even though we stayed a little longer than anticipated.

We finally got back on the road and pushed ourselved pretty hard into the early AM hours to get as far as Pittsburgh. We got to the hotel and crashed close to 2am! But even the late night didn't cause any regrets in our detours. They made the trip all that much better! So after our 6-7 hours of sleep, we were up again... and decided on another quick detour... Ikea! This one wasn't as big of s detour - only about 20 minutes from the hotel we were at. So we ran over, grabbed lunch there, and picked up a few things for the house and our wedding decor. And then it was finally time for the last leg of our trip home. I was still exhausted from the day before and had a hard time keeping my eyes open! So I was in and out of snooze mode throughout the 5 hours home... no amount of caffeine seemed to help. But we made it home!

So this weekend, though long periods of time spent in the car, was quite a fun one!! Eric and I had a good time and now know we can do the long haul car trips together - our longest trip before was to Chicago... otherwise, we've flown everywhere!

I know I only posted a few pictures here, but you can see more from the whole weekend on my Fotki page... There's a lot because I was playing with my new camera Eric got me for my wedding present - a Nikon D-90!! I already love it, but there's still a lot to learn on it!

A Navy Wedding

As a midshipman at the Naval Academy, you cannot get married while still in school. this makes for a busy day at the Naval Academy Chapel the day after graduation! Usually multiple weddings lined up, every hour, on the hour! This year, it included Chase's wedding.

The chapel was beautiful and it was much larger on the inside than it looked from the outside - a really long aisle to walk down! It very much reminded me of some of the older Catholic churches I've been in, with the massive pipe organ at the front that served as part of the decor, as well as beautiful stained glass windows and detailed woodwork and trim throughout. Of course, there was also a touch of the Navy throughout.

The guys looked handsome in their whites and the bride (Nicole) was, of course, beautiful. Chase's brother, Grant, was the best man - he graduated from the Academy last year, so as a commissioned officer, he was at the altar by Chase in his whites, as well. It was a simple color scheme, with the bridesmaids in black and red roses for the bouquets. The ceremony itself was very quick and simple (after all, they had a time schedule to keep with the other weddings!). But the short time definitely wasn't short on the tradition and elegance that comes with a Navy wedding.

After the ceremony, the reception was held at The Governor Calvert House, one of the historic inns just off campus by the State Capital Building. It was a very cool venue to have a reception in - absolutely beautiful! All the tradition that goes with any wedding happened here, included many tears shed during the toast by the girls and guys alike. Both brothers cried, which was heart warming to see two men in uniform crying, hugging each other. I think just about everyone teared up upon seeing that. One fun thing that was different for this wedding was the cutting of the cake... they used a sword!! It was neat. Of course, the staff cut the rest of the cake with a regular knife... but it was a novelty I've never seen before. Everyone let loose on the dance floor most of the night, which it was fun to see all the guys in uniform do the YMCA and Electric Slide.

All in all, it was an wonderful time and I don't think anyone would disagree! I know Eric and I had a great time and I also loved meeting all of Eric's extended family in this way - a very social, fun, family event. He has some great family and I hope we can reconnect with more of them as time goes on. Some of them aren't even that far away, just up I-65 in the Chicago area!

US Naval Academy Graduation

Today I was able to experience something not everyone does... I was able to attend the graduation ceremony at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. And as much as it was an awesome experience for me to attend, I can only imagine what it was like for those who graduated!

Eric has not one, but two cousins that attended the USNA. The first one, Grant, graduated last year. Eric didn't attend that ceremony. This year, Chase graduated. So, in a nutshell, I got to meet a lot of Eric's extended family all at once. I met his uncle and aunt (the parents of the boys), plus, a handful of other cousins I didn't know about! But I can ramble more on that later... back to the ceremony!

You have to figure, as a military academy directly connected to our military, it's going to be done right. And it was! Joe Biden was the key note speaker (who gave a great speech!), the Blue Angels flew over after the National Anthem, they were able to make it through every single graduates name fast, despite their being over 1000 to graduate... basically, went off smoothly, without at hitch!

Afterwards, we all met up on the field for various family photos and then headed over to the house his uncle and aunt were renting for the week to eat until our heart was content and really have time to catch up with his family. Or, for me, to actually get to know them!!

After filling our stomachs and having some ice cream cake to celebrate, we went on a tour of the campus, led by Chase and one of his classmates, John. We walked all over (it's not an overly huge campus), heard stories of how things worked, and even went into Memorial Hall, which is where the infamous "Don't Give Up the Ship" banner hangs, with many other inspirational pieces and paintings on the walls, as well. It was pretty cool. And all the detailing in the architecture, both inside and out, was amazing!! Absolutely gorgeous!

It was a great day! The only thing that could've made the day a little better was if the sun came out. But then it would've been hotter, which would of made it really humid. So I guess it was alright. At least it didn't rain on us!

The Bachelorette Party

Last night was the BIG night... the bachelorette party!!

I think I actually had a pretty low key night. Which was what I wanted. I'm too old for the crazy stuff you see out there some nights. I got to hang out with my four best girls... and that was perfect!

We started with some wine, appetizers, and fun gifts on Jen's back patio. It's the prefect patio!! I'm trying to convince her and Tony to come do one at my house!! LOL Anyway... we went through a couple of bottles of wine and a pitcher of sangria, so we head out to dinner feeling pretty good.

At least I was feeling pretty good...

We went to Mama Carolla's for dinner, on the the best Italian restaurants ever! We started having a little fun here - Wendy had a deck of cards with tasks for me to complete listed on each one. Since we had to wait for a bit before we got to sit down, we started trying some of them out. We found a couple of couples that were very willing to play along - they were having as much fun as we were! But we finally got to sit down and get some food. As usual, it was a lot of food and I couldn't eat it all... so I sent my leftovers home with Karen for Chuck to eat. It was too good to get rid of.

After we wrapped up eating, we headed into Broad Ripple. We parked and went to Rock Lobster, figuring we'd have the best of everything there... bar, dancing, meat market... and we did, though by this time, I had so much wine in me, there wasn't much I could do. We went to the back bar/patio and hung out there, continuing with the quest of working through the deck of cards. Some of them were hard - very specific. but I managed to get through a few more...

I was all 'geared up', of course, with the sash and tiara, so I expected to have a lot of people coming up to me. What I didn't expect was all the congrats I was getting. I was expecting more things along the lines of joking about it, warding off getting married, and/or 'good advice' for a marriage. So I was surprised.

Eric had his bachelor party last night, too. His was even more low key than mine, if you can believe it!! They went to an Indy Indians baseball game, a smoky sports bar with a mean bartender apparently, and then Scotty's (downtown) for food. They got a couple of hotel rooms, just in case... and only about 5 of them crashed there. I'm sure he didn't tell me everything that happened... but I don't know. It doesn't matter.

Now we're less than three weeks out! It's almost here!

Nolan's Birthday

Nolan, Eric's nephew, turned two last Thursday. They grow up so fast!

Anyway... we had a little party for him at Eric's house today. Nothing big - just the family, a big pan of lasagna (made by yours truly), and a cake from Target. And of course some presents to be opened by the birthday boy!

He is such a ham for the camera... though sometimes slightly delayed in the hamminess (he sees the flash and THEN poses). My other camera has a green light that flickers, first, that he reacts to. But we still have some good ones.

It turned out to just be a nice evening with the family, though. I don't get to make my lasagna too often because it makes so much, so I usually jump at the opportunity to make it because I LOVE lasagna! And it really did turn out great! We still managed to have leftovers, despite the six adults and two children eating it. That just tells you how much there was! I think we found a winner for future family dinners, though... we'll just become a big Italian family on those nights!

Buffett 2010

Last night, Wendy and I partook in our annual tradition of going to see Jimmy Buffett! And, as with years past, we had a blast!

Though, I have to admit... with it being in May instead of sometime during the Summer, we were a little thrown off in our preparation. We just weren't are usual 'ready selves'. So much, in fact, that our plan became 'to roam the parking lots looking for friends' instead of setting up a tailgate ourselves. Normally, we have food, chairs, plenty to drink, and our own decor. We were lucky to be able to get our own drinks there this year, with just enough to snack on to sustain us until we went inside to buy an expensive burger! But this turned out to be a good thing for us this year... we got into the parking lot later than usual, and it was dreary with a little drizzle when we first got there. That slight chill made you just NOT want to sit around. So we loaded up our jello shots and margaritas and did a small lap before the show.

Once we made it inside the gates, we started walking to find a place and ran into Wendy's co-worker, Dan. So we ended up setting up our blanket in the lawn with all of them - they already had a decent spot claimed, which worked out great. The rest of the evening, we just enjoyed the show! he played all his classics that we've all come to love, and a few of his newer songs on his last album. I think we were all happy the rain held off for us - it would've been a cold rain! But we stayed dry and even made it home before the rains came.

All in all, another great year of Buffett!!

The Mini

I DID IT! I finished 13.1 miles and crossed the finish line at The Mini. I don't know what my time was, and quite frankly, I don't care! I finished!!!

The day started out oddly enough... Eric, Eric's neighbor, Amber, and I got a ride to the race staging area in the back of an ambulance. No... nothing was wrong with any of us. It was just windy and chilly (about 48 degrees Fahrenheit) and we started walking from the house to get there. It's about a mile and a half... but it's easier than trying to drive! Anyway... we got to the first intersection and an ambulance pulled up and asked if we wanted a ride, since she was heading there anyway. We took it for the fact that we got to stay warm a little longer! We thought that was pretty cool of her to stop, cause she didn't have to! But it made for an odd story to tell now...

As I said, it was a little chilly! If it wasn't for the wind, temperatures actually would've been perfect. But there was no sun, and it was REALLY windy! So that 48d felt more like 40d! As we stood in the corrals, it wasn't too bad since there were so many people, But once the race started and people spread out (and we got out from between all the taller buildings), you could feel it! But, as with any hard physical activity, I heat up pretty quickly, so I was fine until a large gust would blow through. All in all, though, it wasn't too harsh... at least until the walk home.

As I've heard from many other long distance runners, once you get into a pack, all the people seem to subconsciously motivate you to keep going, so Eric and I kept up a pretty good pace for awhile. Which made me sick (not literally) since he barely trained at all! I didn't get as much training in as I would've liked, but it was still more than him. By the time we go to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to do our lap, he was feeling it in his knees, though. So we walked more. Which was fine - we were already doing better than I had thought we would, thanks to the pack mentality!

Then, at around mile 9, I got this pain/cramp in my foot and when I come down on it during a running stride, it'd send a shooting pain up the outside of my ankle. That hurt my pace. Funny thing was (not really), that as an engineer, I got all technical and insisted on walking on a certain side of the road, where the pavement slope dropped away from the cramped foot. Oddly, this did help - even the minimal cross slope in a crowned pavement took enough pressure off the foot and put the pressure on the foot that was okay, and I could keep up a better pace. I doubt most people think about that...

As we counted down the miles, the adrenaline kicked back in a bit so we could cross the finish line running. We were somewhere in the middle of the pack. Never saw the buses behind us, so that felt good to know we weren't even close to being too far off the pace. I'll check my time eventually, just to see. We got our goody bag of food to help re-energize us and then started the walk home. It was a long walk home! The adrenaline just turned off at this point, and the 13.1 miles hit both Eric and I. But it just felt good to have done it!

This was a huge accomplishment for me (Eric has run it before). I've never been a runner. Even when I ran track, I never considered myself a runner. And for that reason, I'm sure I'll be feeling this run for days! But it was worth it, just to be able to say that I did The Mini!

INJURY UPDATE: I pulled/strained my Peroneus Brevis, which is the tendon that runs from the outside bottom of your foot to the outside calf muscle. Just need to rest it and take an anti-inflammatory medication (ibuprofen). Lucky me...

One More Weekend in Florida...

This past weekend, Eric and I were in Florida. Again.

This one was a bit more leisurely, but we still had a few minor loose ends to tie up. Hopefully, we are done because I have no more free weekends between now and the wedding! Not to travel, at least!

I was excited because I got my beach time! Unfortunately, it wasn't a perfect day at the beach - it was REALLY windy! I'd go to stand up and a small dune would have formed along side of me! Plus, you couldn't keep your eyes open - or mouth, for that matter - or sand would quickly blind you (or give you something to chew)! I think I was chewing on sand the rest of the day! But the sun was shining and it was, otherwise, absolutely gorgeous! It just felt good to lay in the sun, listening to the waves crashing on the beach. That will always be my serene place... somewhere on a beach, laying in the sunshine, listening to the waves crash on the shore. Always has a calming effect for me...

Eric and I visited St. Armand's Circle again, as well. It's quickly becoming a favorite spot of ours... the fun shops, the nice mixture of restaurants, and there's always some sort of event going on, it seems. Which makes it always busy. But that's part of the appeal, I think.

We cut our visit a little shorter this weekend, too. Instead of our usual late afternoon/early evening flight out on Sunday, we caught a morning flight which put us back into Indy around 1pm. We came back to some pretty dreary weather, which kind of sucked after all that sunshine! I think we're ready for the wedding, though...at least I hope so!