Root, root, root for the Dodgers...I mean, Nationals!

The Dodgers are in town this week, and I went to the series opener last night. I get so conflicted when the Dodgers play the Nationals. I'm so loyal to both teams that I feel like if I cheer for one, I'm cheering against the other. Such a dilemma!

Nomar signs autographs before the game. There were A LOT of Dodger fans in the audience.

The visiting dugout. Not quite the same as being in Chavez Ravine, but it was so good to see my boys in blue again.

Brad Penny on the mound. He absolutely dominated.

In the end, the Dodgers pummeled the Nats 10-0. I was hoping for a close game, so I could cheer for both teams equally. I did feel bad for the Nats. But now my Dodgers are in first place! Well, the second game of the series is starting in ten minutes, so I gotta go!

Weekend in Delaware

This holiday weekend I drove up to Dover, Delaware, for Connie's wedding. Delaware: It's small but wonderful. Now, there's really not a whole lot going on in Dover. For example, this was the view from my hotel room (notice the RV park on the left):The ceremony was on Sunday evening in the church that Connie grew up in. (Aron, her husband, is actually Jewish, so they incorporated Jewish elements as well.) I wish I could've gotten some quality pictures in the church, because it was beautiful. And Connie looked absolutely gorgeous.

I know this one is fuzzy, but it's the only picture I have of them walking down the aisle. Look at them, they're so happy!

Then it was on to the reception, which went late into the night.
Open bar!
The first dance.
Mmmm, cake.
The part I was most looking forward to: The Hora!

Other scenes from the evening: This girl apparently thought she was going to an 80s prom party. (Her dress is hot pink taffeta.)As the reception was winding down, the young folk decided they wanted to go out afterwards. But it was Sunday, so nothing was open. Except for Dover Downs.About five different people asked if we were going to prom. Seriously, do we look 16? And would we be at a casino if we were?I was so impressed that Connie and Aron even came out with us. They must have been so exhausted. I told Connie she should have worn her wedding dress so we could get free drinks.

Monday morning we had brunch at her parents' house and then headed out "early" to beat the traffic. The weekend went by quickly, but I had fun.

Congratulations, Connie and Aron! I love you guys!!

Field trip!

I spent most of the day today up at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, with a couple coworkers.

I received a special invitation from the U.S. Naval Institute to watch the Blue Angels air show from their balcony. It's graduation week at the Academy, and apparently the air show is always the highlight of the week.

It was my first time visiting Annapolis, so I was very excited about it. I felt like I was ditching work or something. The weather couldn't have been more perfect; it was a great day for strolling the grounds of the Academy.

They have Admiral Holloway's plane!!!

[He's the Chairman of the Foundation. We have a little Holloway Fan Club at the office. That's my favorite picture of him on the right.]

We walked over to the chapel, and John Paul Jones ("Father of the Navy") is actually buried underneath it. It was rather dark in the crypt, so it was hard to get a good picture.

Then we went into the chapel. Oh. My. Goodness. It was GORGEOUS. As the lady next to me said, a camera is inadequate to capture its magnificence.

There's a ship hanging from the ceiling. How cool is that?

All of the stained glass windows had naval themes (the story of Jonah, Jesus calling the fishermen, etc.). It was pretty neat.

We also breezed through the museum real quick. I love the old-school etching of the word "museum" on the facade.

It was getting close to showtime, so we went back to the Naval Institute. They had tons of free food AND free alcohol! Their specialty drink was called the Blue Angel. It was yummy.
I tell ya, this is how I like to spend a Wednesday afternoon. Sitting on a balcony overlooking the water, enjoying a tropical drink. I think we should do this every week.

The show started out with the "Fat Albert," a C-130 that carries the maintenance equipment and personnel. And here's a few pictures I took of the squadron before my batteries crapped out.

All in all I had a great time. And it was nice to get away from the office for a day. :)

GO NAVY!

Jamestown

I apologize for taking so long to post the rest of my pictures from last weekend....I was too busy watching the Nats take 3 out of 4 from the Braves. Woohoo!

Sunday morning we slept in and had a late breakfast at the local pancake house. (I had the pecan pancakes. Lacey had grits for the first time. I don't think she was very impressed.) We were a little excited because President Bush was scheduled to make an appearance at Jamestown that day. After breakfast we drove to our designated satellite parking lot, only to be told that the President was already at the site and they weren't letting anyone in for security reasons until 1:00. We were totally bummed. Not only did we not get to see the President, but we had to kill time for about two hours until they let us in. So we went shopping.

After coming back to the parking lot the second time, we were directed to the shuttle buses that would take us to Jamestown. And guess what? They were school buses.

Man, that brought back memories.

The bus took us to Jamestown Settlement, which is the "fake" Jamestown run by the state of Virginia. It's basically a re-creation of the village with costumed interpreters running around. However, they do have a nice museum. We then went on to the REAL Jamestown, which is run by the National Park Service and is the actual site of the fort and village. (This confuses many a tourist. They have the same setup over at Yorktown, which is where I used to work. Most people don't know that there are two different sites, and that one of them is fake.)

The church. It was rebuilt like five times because it kept burning down. The tower dates back to about 1676, and the rest of it was reconstructed in 1907.

The outside wall of the three-sided fort. Archaeologists recently discovered the footprint of the fort, and two of the walls have been reconstructed.

Inside the fort, the archaeologists are still digging.

John Smith watches over the James River.

Lacey was so excited about Pocahontas. And she didn't want to hear that the Disney movie wasn't exactly accurate. (To set the record straight, John Smith and Pocahontas did NOT have a love affair. She was like 12 years old at the time.)

We learned all about 17th-century weaponry.

People were following this guy around like he was rock star.

We went back to Anniversary Park (which was connected to the fake Jamestown), where the finale was set to begin that evening.

If you'll notice the risers on both sides of the stage, that's the 1,607-voice choir that was going to be singing along with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. The Turlock High choir is in there somewhere!!!

After a very long performance, and too much talking, the fireworks closed the big anniversary weekend.

We didn't get out of there till about 10pm, which means I didn't get home till 12:30. And I had to wake up bright and early for work Monday morning!

Oh, and p.s., this is all the crap I bought. Lacey convinced me that I needed a tea set.