Crabs and Vegas and Tattoos Oh My!

Hello folks,
I was just thinking about you guys... Its a lovely sunny day here in San Francisco, one sunny day surrounded by rain falling on every other day in the 7-day forecast. better enjoy it now! I've been back from the gold coast now for a couple months, and they've been nothing short of wild and crazy.

I've been pretty busy playing tour guide to one friend and a welcome wagon to another, both girls i met in my class in Costa Rica. We did a little sight seeing, ate and drank everything in sight, including crabs at fishermans wharf and got fake tattoos. I find myself sounding just like Heather when i moved here, telling Kate (her name is kate too) hang out in that part of town, this is the best place to eat Chinese, best place to buy socks, best taco tuesday... its fun to have a new friend in town to show off all your favorite stuff

Just after my return from Costa Rica my friends Matty, Luned and Brett decided it was time we all visited Las Vegas. So off we went on a unplanned, haphazard trip one day after work in a broken down car full of sleeping bags and pillows. It was a cool 9 hour drive to the city of neon lights and all night fun.

Arriving at 4 am, we couldn't check into our hotel untill 11 that day, so we headed to the New York New York casino for some early morning gambeling with our breakfast of beers and nachos. For those of you who know of my good luck with slot machines can just hold on to your seats. It took me about 20 minutes to find the right slot machine with a 25 cent sticker and cherries on the spinny wheels. JACKPOT, well kinda! I won $378.75 with just one quarter. It sure was a hoot going back to the bar with that ticket and setting it down in front of matt and luned. Yeah Buddy! We visited the Stratosphere to see the Vegas strip from the sky, played carnival games at Circus Circus where I found a Zoltar Machine and knocked a rubber chicken into a rotatin pot of water and of course visited all the casinos for video poker, black jack and more slots.

That is all the news i have for now. I'll see you all in May at the Outer Banks, family vacation style! Can't wait to see everyone, eat Thanksgiving, bask in the sunshine, dip into the pool and swim up to the bar where there should be a margarita waiting for me already. Make that a mango margarita!

Greetings From Wine Country

Hi gang!

Just a quick 'hello' from CA. Seth and I spent a couple very fun and relaxing days up in Wine Country this weekend. Friday, we roamed on our own, and had dinner and spent the night in Santa Rosa. We ate at a cozy Italian place called Lococo's, and I had a chicken/prosciutto dish that was absolutely delicious. Mmm...meat IS good! ;)

Saturday, we met up with a friends at a beautiful winery called Iron Horse, and spent the day together.

So, here's a "Cheers" goin' out to YOU!

OX

I'm In!

Hi Everyone, I was starting to feel neglected, no responses to my emails?! I guess this is the happinin place to be, what a family! Being a rookie at this, let me know if I need to do something differently.

I am enjoying every single day of my retirement, so much to do and LOTS of time. It is a whole new way of life for me. Jim and I are beginning an update of our kitchen and family room, soon I will be a painting fool. My "Plan," (always gotta have a plan) is to have the house all done by OBX time. Then, I am going to sit by the pool, or maybe at the pool bar (can you believe that?!) with a Margarita, lite on the salt, and sigh with such peace and contentment. In fact, I'm not sure I will be able to scrape myself up to do anything else, except maybe nap and read.

Betsy, I loved the Inauguration Day story, that must have been quite the day. I spent the day in front of the TV, only moving to get snacks:), loved every minute.

I'm off to buy a new kitchen table since the old table is too big with the new island plan. deb

come on spring

This is my first try at this thing. With Nan's help, I am trying to move into this century. It was 67 today in Baltimore and it felt great. Took a nice walk, did some erands, and all without a big coat. It is supposed to get colder tomorrow but I have been rejuvinated.

Tomorrow a company is going to come out and give us a few ideas about our back deck with the $ amount to follow close by. I got a nice letter from Social Security confirming my application and starting date for $(mid June). Considering health insurance and our travel trips I am not sure if what remains each month will amount to much more than beer money.

I sure hope this works. Nice to join Y'all.

Ed

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to share a few pictures from the Inauguration, and tell a couple stories too.

I’m not sure how to squeeze this all into something short, but I’ll do my best.

I went down to the National Mall a few times before Tuesday and there were tens of thousands of people down there. What really surprised me was how happy everyone was. DC is a great city, but it’s not exactly known for its warm inviting attitude, but that week it was like everyone put their nasty attitudes away for a couple days and just celebrated history being made.

I volunteered with Service Nation on Monday morning, and helped out with the press pool. It was a great event, kicking off a day of a MLK day of service in SE DC. We were at Ballou Sr. High, which has gotten a little press on the Ellen show lately, for their incredible marching band.

http://www.balloumovie.com/ellen.html

My favorite speech of the morning was by Rep. John Lewis. He has an incredible story, you should google him immediately if you’re not familiar. He gave a lot of perspective, ending his speech with something I’ve been hoping to hear for a while from somebody “It’s going to be OK”. He's seen a lot, and not all of it has been pretty, and if he can be hopeful so can I. And he was followed by...Spiderman. Tobey Maguire, Maria Shriver and Ashton and Demi dedicated some of their time to the service project.

On Tuesday, I got up bright and early to head down to the Mall. I hate crowds, but this is history right? So i put on 14 layers (like the true Wisconsin girl I am) and walked down 17th St. I can't really describe the atmosphere on the Mall, so I'll add a few pictures instead. Suffice it to say, I told all my friends it was like Barackapalooza. People from all over the country and the world, just happy to be there, freezing their history making butts off.

I found a good place, far away from the madness by the security gates and up on the hill by the Washington Memorial. I was next to a Texan, a couple of Canadians, a woman from Kenya, and a woman who was possibly Romanian (She didn't speak English, but we became good friends when she shared her cashews). Later in the day, I met three teenagers from NorthEast DC who defended my view of the jumbotron, a nice lesbian couple from Boston, and a professor from Philly. All morning we talked, shared strategies for keeping warm, and applauded every time a half hour passed. One of my new "friends" took this picture of me in my many many layers of Wisconsin attire.

I don't think I have to tell you all what I felt the moment he was inaugurated, that obviously meant a lot to me. But I can tell you how cool it was to hear 2 million people listen. 2 million people were quiet enough for me to hear every word of the inaugural address. Amazing.

It took me two hours to get home (12 blocks) and I spent most of the afternoon hoping my feet would thaw in time to squeeze them into 4 inch patent leather stilettos for a ball at the American History Museum. If you haven't seen the renovations at the museum yet, you should check it out, it's a beautiful space. My friend Katie and I took full advantage of the open bar and danced into the wee hours of the AM, and then I went to sleep, for many many days.

That's it. Here's a quick life update. I'm job hunting and interviewing constantly. Once I figure out that mess, I'm out of town for a few days. And don't you worry, I'm telling every perspective employer that I'll be taking a vacation the first week in May!

Love you,
Betsy

Greetings From Sunny CA

Hi gang!



SO excited to see the new posts on the blog! Upcoming travel alerts...love it!



The latest from CA...it's been unseasonably sunny and warm out here, so we've been taking full advantage. Last Saturday, Seth and I took off late morning to head down the coast. Followed the water down about 20 minutes until we hit Pacifica, and then headed about 2 miles inland to try out a new 3 mile hike. We headed up the hillside through the eucalyptus trees until we reached the peak with an amazing view out to the ocean and the town of Pacifica. Made our way back down the mountain with vistas of the ocean and the town peaking through the trees.



Figured we deserved a little reward for our 'hard work', so continued down South another 1o minutes or so 'til we hit Sam's Chowder House in Half Moon Bay. Sitting right on the water, it's practically heaven on a sunny day. Ordered up some Bloody Mary's and their signature sandwich, the Lobster Roll (apparently, named 1 of the Top 5 best sandwiches in the country, and I'm a believer), and admired the view. Hit the jetty for a short stroll after lunch to stretch out the full belly.



http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=heather.wolters&target=ALBUM&id=5300585897139093649&authkey=67H5P68Zi7Y&feat=email



This weekend, I headed up to the Russian River for a Ladies Weekend. 11 of us rented a house right on the river to hang with a friend who had just recently moved to LA (OK, LA's not that far...we just wanted an excuse to rent a house for Ladies Weekend). ;)



http://www.vrbo.com/95902



Such a great time...I haven't laughed that hard for that long in a while. Mostly hung at the house, on the porch, in the hot tub, on the dance floor (a.k.a. the living room)...but did venture out on Saturday afternoon for some wine tasting at the local wineries.



Our next adventure is back up to Healdsburg/Russian River next weekend for a PickUp Party at one of the wineries that we belong to...Hop Kiln. Seth and I are staying in Santa Rosa Friday night, and then, meeting up with some friends for wine tasting during the day, and the party late afternoon. It would be great to have some more sunny weather for the event, but we need the rain so badly, I'd embrace a rainy day.



For now, though, back to 'reality' for the work week.

I'll be dreaming of wine in the meanwhile...