Our day(s) at the Beach

In case you haven't heard, our town got hammered by a "derecho" on Friday night and it knocked out our power at home for 48 hours...some are still without as the temperature soars above 100 degrees. Fortunately, we had already left home to head to the Eastern Shore with my in-laws for a mini vacation so we didn't have to deal with the heat and no water at home (we have a private well so no electricity means no well pump). So, this is what we have been doing while I haven't been blogging:

Swimming in the pool and the beach

Taking long morning bike rides and at least one of us falls alseep

Hanging out on the boat and also sleeping

The good news of course is that William IS sleeping which is a relief since the three of us share a room while at the shore. He is a restless sleeper, or it seems that way in the PackNPlay which means I need to drink (more) wine to actually get a good night's rest. Oh well, tough :)

We will be here for a few more days and then go hom so I can get my Lasik procedure done on Thursday! Be back next week since my little brother is in town and I have several large Memorable Designs projects to complete!

Beach Babe

 We took our little babe to the beach for the first time and he didn't seem to mind one bit! we were only there about 30 minutes so mommy could take some pictures, but we'll be going back with some friends soon for a longer visit which probably means more beach time.

Look how cute he is! :)

We also put his feet in a pool for the first time. Since we're in Maryland, the water is still cold so I don't think I'll actually be bringing him in this year, but we'll see.

Hawaiian Paradise

Back in February, right around the time Maryland was hit with the second +15 inch blizzard of the year (the one that shut my office down for one week), we booked a trip to Hawaii. We knew we wanted to take a trip this year since last year we were tied up building the house and missed a year of "real" travel. Brad left our destination up to me and since the Euro wasn't favorable to the dollar, I chose Hawaii. Now, we are already back from our vacation with lots of stories, scenery, and memories to share.

If you have read my blog lately, you also know that this really was our last "big hurrah" before a baby comes into the picture and I am grateful I have been feeling so well besides fatigue. Vacation is a time to take naps anyway, right? My upcoming posts will go through our vacation a few days at a time to show some photos and explain what they are of and where they were taken. You'll notice I have alot more to say about Kauai than Oahu. Not only did we spend more time there, but overall we enjoyed Kauai more - the scenery, the traveling, the people, etc. Also, by the time we got to Oahu on day 6, I think we were tired and really wanted to relax and veg out even more.

We spent one night in Waikiki to kickoff our trip. Actually, we spent one night in Waikiki because we found such a better deal on plane tickets that we decided to leave one day earlier than planned after our rental was already booked. So, we used some of my Hilton points, thanks to my regular NYC trips, and stayed for free in Waikiki. Our room had a wraparound balcony so we had views of Diamondhead and the ocean.

While Brad went for his run (cheer for him on 10/31 if you live in DC!) I walked along the street that runs along the beach and took pictures. Waikiki beach was not as pretty as I expected. The strip of sand was pretty narrow and it was very crowded. I guess that's what happens when you are a city on the beach where most tourists stay. There is a barrier that prevents waves from coming ashore which makes it a safer place for keiki (children) to swim.



We had a wonderful dinner at Duke's Canoe Club after getting wet trying to take pictures on the beach. Their salad bar was delicious, but their seafood luau was divine! Scallops, shrimp, fresh island fish and vegetables in coconut cream sauce, with steamed rice...mmmmm!

We were quite tired since HST is 6 hours behind EST, so after dinner we went right to bed. In the monring, we loaded into a 15 passenger van and headed back to the airport for our flight to Kauai.

Childhood Carnival

Don't oceanfront boardwalk amusement parks make you want to be a kid again? The fearless feeling of a rickety old roller coaster with a horrible restraint system, the ferris wheel that moves too fast only to take tickets from more kids to ride, and the funhouse where you never know what to expect?

Another Birthday has Passed

It's official - I am now 23. That seems so much older than 21 and much closer to 25 even though it is right in the middle. Brad called my friend Meghan and her boyfriend Chris about celebrating my birthday and I wa ssurprised to be going to Ocean City with them for my birthday. But first we had a company event at LIMA in McPherson Square where I had the best mojito of my life, oh and some $300 strawberry champagne. Yes, seriously. That could be the reason I slept for 2/3 of the three hour drive to Ocean City after the event. I was lucky enough to have banana and blueberry pancakes made for me on my birthday and crispy bacon. All accompanied by some pink potted gerber daises. We went fishing in the afternoon and at least Meghan caught something! A 15 1/2 inch fat ole flounder that could've fed all of us if it was 1/2 inch larger and legal to keep! It was so windy that on the way back I laid in the front of the boat and Brad snapped the boat cover over me which elimanted all the wind - glorious. After a yummy dinner of orange roughy, roasted potatoes, salad and of course birthday cake! brad and I went to The greene Turtle for some libations. We met a fun group of guys from Hoboken believe it or not who joined us in laughing the woman who appeared to be 50

in velvet pants and off the shoulder sweatshirt (very flashdance-esk) who was "dancing" as if she was on ecstasy. Oh and then the lady flashing the bouncer and believe me, she really shouldn't have been. It was a very relaxing weekend, especially since I slept until 11:30 Sunday and then napped from 12-2:30! Enjoyable. On another note, there appears to be an Alpha Chi baby boom, but definitely not of my pledge class yet, of the 2001 pledge class. Two friends that I know through other friends just had a baby girl this weekend and another is pregnant...in addition to those who already have a lil' peanut and those who should soon!!