no more misadventures!

Whew! I'm glad to say that the rest of our vacation went a lot more smoothly than our misadventures with the drop zones! We took a three day weekend drive down to Charleston and Savannah, both of which I had seen, but Ben and Naomi hadn't. We took a carriage ride through Historic Charleston, which still has cobblestone streets, and learned about some of its amazing history. We saw Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were shot, some amazing houses build in the 17 and 1800's, and the first Otis Elevator in the south.

We then visited the Charleston Aquarium, home of the rare albino alligator. We also walked along the waterfront of Charleston Harbor.







We spent the night in Charleston and headed south toward Savannah early the next morning. On the way, we stopped by Morris Island to check out the beach and the Morris Island Lighthouse. It was definitely one of the coolest lighthouses we have visited so far in our east coast travels.





Once in Savannah, we were caught up in the history of this amazing city. We visited Old Fort Jackson, a fort that has stood the test of time and was used during the Revolutionary War and the Civil War; Fort Pulaski, one of the first forts targeted by the Union Army during the Civil War; Bonaventure Cemetery, resting place for many of Georgia's historically important founders and governors; and Wormsloe Plantation, which is famous for its beautiful moss-draped trees.

Old Fort Jackson

Fort Pulaski

Bonaventure Cemetery

Wormsloe Plantation

Of course, we spent some time swimming at Tybee Island and strolling down the waterfront of Historic Savannah. We saw some amazing sights and drank in the southern atmosphere.

district of columbia

Seeing as how neither of us has been to many East Coast points of interest, we decided that we want to see and do as much of it as we can as long as we're living here. It's hard to believe I've been here for six months now, and already I've been down to Georgia, we've seen the Outer Banks, and now, we've been to DC! It was a great trip, full of spectacular sites. I'll post a few of our favorites so we can share them with you.


After we each made a list of the Top 5 places we wanted to visit in DC, Arlington Cemetery was at the top of mine. After battling construction, traffic, an interesting site in Richmond that included the freeway being shut down for two men in a pick-up truck to fill in some potholes during rush hour traffic, and some horrible directions that led us everywhere ELSE in Arlington, we made it just in time for the last changing of the guard that day. It was a surreal and wonderful moment - knowing that these guards have devoted their lives for this task.



The next day, we made it to the Metro station and headed into DC. Already, I had the camera out and ready.




We had planned to walk around the National Mall and see the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and the several other small memorials in the area before heading to the Smithsonian museums. What we didn't plan for was the 90 degree weather, the dust flying everywhere, and the miles and miles of walking and walking and...can you guess it? Yep, that's right: walking, that we had to do to get there. We estimated about five miles that first day, and it was five miles well worth it! We saw all the monuments, a glimpse of the White House, an amazing butterfly exhibit at the Museum of Natural History, among other things.





Around 6, we trudged back to the Metro station, headed back to the hotel, showered, and met our friends in Alexandria for an awesome Chinese dinner. After catching up with them, we drove back into DC and wandered around the mall, taking in the beauty of DC after dark. Seeing the monuments all lit up was second on my list and did not disappoint!



The next day, we awoke, tired but excited, for the next day. We started at Union Station, another of my list items, and then trekked from the Metro Station over to the Jefferson Memorial, excited to get one of the quintessential cherry-blossom-in-the-foreground-and-Jefferson-Memorial-in-the-background photos, only to find that all the cherry blossom festival activities were going strong, but the cherry blossoms were nowhere to be found. We settled for a nice walk along the tidal basin, through downtown DC, and a walking trip to a Starbucks! We relaxed there for a half hour, before heading back to the National Mall. From there, we split up, hoping to take in as much as possible on our second-to-last-day in the city. Ben headed to the Air and Space museum, while I strolled along the mall, snapping photos along the way. I visited the Museum of the American Indian, walked to the Capitol Building, and went into the Botanical Gardens. Another thing on my list was the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery. Since I didn't quite have the time to really explore it, it was a few quick shots of the courtyard and back to the Metro station to meet up with Ben.









Our last day, we checked out the National Zoo and taste-tested our way through the college town of Adams Morgan. We saw an episode of Food Wars that battled out and crowned the king of jumbo pizza in DC. We visited both, and agreed that Pizza Mart was WAY better.

the honeymoon is over

The wedding plans are over. I am officially the wife of the best man I know. It's exciting and strange and a little bit sad at the same time. It's like "engagement-post-partum-depression." When you're engaged, you get all the attention, the gifts, the parties, and people just seem all-around interested in how things are going. Now that it's over, most of that has stopped as well.

But it's all worth it. I get to spend my time (for the rest of my life) with my best friend. Marriage is a wonderful thing.

PS if you want to see pictures, see myspace.

del playa

For those of you who don't know Spanish, playa is pronounced "ply-a" and not "play-a." On that note, Ben, Corey, and Jonathan and I went to visit our friend May in Santa Barbara last weekend for her graduation.

This is the view from May's house on Del Playa, which is right across the street from the beach...

...and this is the wonderful futon on her porch that we "watched" the view from while Corey and May took the couches inside.

IV (Isla Vista to you non-Santa Barbara folk) is known for several things. First, it's the student living area of one of the biggest "party schools" in the country. Second, it's literally right on the beach. And third, there are parties going on all day, every day. One thing the parties are known for (other than alcohol and loud music) is the couch burning. Especially around graduation/move-out time, one can walk the streets of IV and see random fires EVERYWHERE. One will be able to hear several fire trucks in the distance, but may never actually see one through the throngs of drunken college students. Upon closer inspection of the fire, however, one can see that these flames in the middle of the streets were actually the remains of couches. Rather than said couches being moved back home, or wherever the students came from, they get thrown (literally) off the balconies and set on fire wherever they land. They burn on the street, in driveways, on the beach, and even in dumpsters. This, really, is a phenomenon that can only make sense once you have witnessed it. So next time you plan a vacation in the mid-to-southern California region, take a trip to Del Playa and see the location known for the worlds most couch-burnings per year.

All in all it was a great trip. Got to see friends, the beach, lots of fire trucks, and burning couches. Partayyyy

the beginning of an era

So this was by far the best New Year's I've ever experienced. Some of you have heard already, but I got myself engaged last night. It was beautiful and, needless to say, I'm SOOOO excited! (Yes, with that many "O's") This is the wonderful man mentioned in the New Year's post from last year.

It was a beautiful night. Knowing how much I love that scene in Say Anything, he stood knee-deep in snow outside my apartment with the boom box playing our song until I came outside to see what it was all about. He ran up the hill, got down on one knee, and asked me to be his wife. It was the best moment of my life!

Though nothing can quite compare to that, other things have been good as well. It's been snowing like crazy here...we had the biggest snow storm in 17 years the other night. Usually I'm not one for enjoying snow storms, but it was actually kind of fun being "snowed in." I do admit that I will be excited once it melts and I'm able to leave the apartment once again. Not knowing we would be in for a snowy surprise, I refrained from going to the grocery store this week, a decision I quickly regretted once I realized my poor Saturn would not be able to make it over the four feet of snow blocking the exit to the carport. Luckily, the 'rents conned my sister's boyfriend (who has 4 wheel drive) into taking her to the store and bringing some food by my apartment. Thank you, Steven, my hero for the week.

Christmas was great too...several relatives came into town, and it was nice seeing them again. A whole evening was spent playing Trivial Pursuit, which will happen when you have 11 people each trying to play on their own teams, but, alas, someone finally won (quite possibly because he was the only person still interested in the game) and it was over.

By the way, the ring is white gold with three round cut diamonds in the middle and then there are two strips of gold on either side with smaller diamonds inside them. I love it. :D

rest is almost here

THE DREADED FINALS ARE ALMOST OVER! It will be SO nice to finally have them done with. I will be on break, which means...no papers, no projects, no boring classes, and no having to stay up until 3:00 am working on pointless papers or studying. I'll be able to spend that late night/early morning time with the the boyfriend, who, by the way, is a great guy. Plus, my best friend (who I haven't seen since May) is in town so my mind will not want to be concentrating on the boringness of college.

Have a merry Christmas if I don't see you before then!

oh, the silliness

hey ya'll. It's been a pretty good week. No sleep, but what's new, eh? Last night we watched Time Bandits and Surf Ninjas. They are both pretty amusing movies in very different ways. I'm not sure that either of them were meant to be amusing, but what can ya' do.

Time Bandits is a Terry Gilliam film that is very Monty Python-esque (which makes sense, since he was a big part of the Monty Python world.) The movie revolves around several midgets (yes, midgets) who are running from God, by travelling through time. Throughout their journey, they meet Robin Hood (this just might be one of the funniest movie scenes in history) and Napoleon.

Surf Ninjas, on the other hand, is one of those corny early 90's movies, which I'm sure is why I like it so much. The menu has an incredibly cheesy game on it, called "Pick That Flick," and let's just say that during the past few days, Ben and I have played it for at least a few hours. I must have WAY too much time on my hands.