My Desperate Attempt at Art...

Here are a few pics I took while we were in NYC for the 4th. Mostly some of my desperate attempts at producing something that resembles art. Again, lacking a good photo editing program, so the colors leave a bit to be desired (the watermark template doesn't help, so use your imagination). Enjoy.

These were in a community garden maintained by volunteers in Riverside Park

The Sailors Memorial Above Riverside Park

How did they get that tree to do that?

The World, in Tree

Steps below Riverside Park

Jersey Girls...

Last weekend Jane and I ventured away from Northern Virginia to go see one of my very best friends from college, Melanie Brough. Melanie and her husband Dave and their beautiful new daughter Lillia live with Melanie's parents in Pleasantville, New Jersey, just outside of Atlantic City.

We had a wonderful weekend and Melanie and her family were too kind to show us all of the sights, including Atlantic City and their favorite family beach. Here are some of the photos of the weekend.

We went Over the River...

Through the Woods....





We were well stocked

Jane is the BEST travel buddy...not to mention she takes great travel picsWe met Melanie and went...of course...to THE BEACH
We touched the Ocean...well...the Ocean touched us...You will notice it creeping up behind us here...You can probably guess what happened next...We saw the sights...including this rather famous (?) giant elephant. It used to be a hotel.
We spent some more time at the beach...

We Saw Some Strange Things Along The Way...
In case you were wondering where it is...it's in New Jersey...I can give you directions if you need them...This, apparently, is the preferred method of moving in New Jersey...You can also play "I Spy" with all the items stuffed into the trunk...it's like a double challenge...Challenge 1) Find selected item...Challenge 2) See how long you can follow the car in order to find the maximum amount of items...Instant Fun

All in all we had a great trip. Many thanks to Melanie and her wonderful family for their incredible hospitality! Stay tuned for the next road trip adventure! HAPPY TRAILS!

Springtime in DC

The Cherry Blossom festival is the official start of spring in Washington DC. Two weekends ago Jane and I rounded up a group of friends to go see the opening day of the festival, as well as check out the kite festival that was going on simultaneously. The day was a lot of fun, and not without moments of adventure...including but not limited too...crowd surfing in the metro amongst the THOUSANDS of people who turned out for the festival's first day...Jane's unfortunate run in with a small fence, and subsequently, the pavement surrounding said fence...nearly being killed by a kamikaze Barbie kite...and repeated uncomfortably close encounters with my friend (and ninja?) Kevin. All in all, it was a great day, and no one ended up falling into the Tidal Basin...so we'll call it a success. Below are some of the photos that I took while we were out. Not being a photographer, I am particulalry proud of the way several of them turned out.

The Smithsonian Castle building over the mall.










Cherry blossoms surrounding the tidal basin with the Jefferson Memorial in the background











Yet another photo for Jane and I's album...aren't we so pretty? Too bad I was being lazy and have my hair in pigtails AND it was cold so i was wearing my nubuck colored Columbia sweater...so I look a little like Pocohontas...Just around the river bend, anyone?




One of my favorite photos that I took. I love the Jefferson Memorial, and the branches in the foreground are really pretty. It was a great day for it, and the water in the Tidal Basin--despite being part of the Potomac (which you couldn't pay me enough to ever swim in)-- had a really pretty color.




A close-up of one of the blossom branches. I need to get a photo editing program because my iPhoto workshop just isn't cutting it at this point, and the blossoms look a little washed out.







Anne, myself, and Deanne. Remind me to not ever stand between those two beautiful girls ever again!







Anne and I. Love Love LOVE this girl!

Jane and I...again...like I said, we already have a killer "wedding album" :P

This is probably my favorite shot of the day...HAPPY SPRING!