Newport, RI

Well, it seems that as another weekend approaches that Chris and I are off on another adventure. This weekend finds us in Newport, RI for a wedding. We drove to Newport yesterday because we need to be here for a wedding.



It was a long drive, but traffic was moving and we made it across the George Washington bridge fairly easily even when there was a reported 40 minute back-up. Our friends George and Sue drove with us, actually, George drove and I navigated.

I had never been to Newport before and it is a beautiful, quaint oceanside city much like many of the places we have been visiting lately. Sail boats and sunsets.



The hotel leaves a lot to be desired--we made the reservations form Hotels.com and it just is not the shiniest penny in the bag, so to speak. I'll let the trip finish before I write my review on the place and publish it. The hotel recently became a Ramada--I'm not sure how, but perhaps Ramada is going to give them a year to get up to standards.


But--all of that aside--the sunset we beautiful, the company grand, and the time away exploring another new place is appreciated.

We are going to have fun.

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Location:E Main Rd,Middletown,United States

Stock Market Down but Orioles Up

The world economies need a lift--the trend for the past couple of days is down--which is not surprising given the state of the financial management we are witnessing by some countries, ours included.

France apparently has had the bubble burst. China is next, I believe. At least as I read the overseas news this morning it appears that the panic has subsided a bit and the markets are rebounding. We are being held hostage to investors--think about it, investors and businesses and not leaders and politicians.

They are looking for someone to hit a home run and lead them out of the darkness.

Last evening I experienced such a feat. After blowing a 4-0 lead to the Chicago White Sox, the Orioles managed to get the game into the bottom of the 10th inning. The Orioles have been losing twice as many games as they have been winning lately, so the mood in the stands was pretty negative.

A hero was needed.

And for one moment at least, a hero was found. That hero, in the form of Nolan Reimhold #14 who had been hitless in four previous trips to the plate, crushed a ball over the left centerfield fence for a game winning walk-off two run shot that for a moment soothed the savage fan in all of us. As we left the stadium to the sounds of my favorite baseball song Oriole Magic, spirits were soaring.

I wonder who the hero of the world economies will be? But, with all of the bad news, one is truly needed. Even one who has been hitless before can do some good and calm things down.




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36 years and the journey continues

Wow--last evening, Chris and I took an evening to celebrate 36 years of life together as a married team.

We decided to eat in and treated ourselves to a fantastic dinner with some of our best Schramsberg champagne and a great wine from King Family in Virginia and then a nice 1999 port from Upstate NY to close out the meal which revolved around a planked salmon filet and ended with a too large piece of key lime pie.

The best china and sterling were on the candle-lit table ready for the festivities when Chris returned from dropping Ethan off at his home after a day together.

We performed the usual anniversary ritual of remembering the years together and the times we were apart.

We talked of good times and rough times.

With soft music playing in the background, we were not bothered by the other diners--our animals in this case, and were able to descend into our own little spot on the planet for most of the evening.

I introduced Chris to a song that I have been listening to by Andrew Peterson titled "Dancing in the Minefields," which is about two people getting married too young and making it.

The chorus says it all:

We went dancing in the minefields
We went sailing in the storm
And it was harder than we dreamed
But I believe thats what the promise is for

I admitted to Chris that telling people that we've been married 36 years scares me and makes me realize that I'm getting old. When we were married, we were only 19 years old and I couldn't even imagine being 30 years old, let alone being married for 36 years. In two years, God-willing, when we are married 38 years I will have been married two-thirds of my life on the planet.

To put it into perspective, my parents have been married 57 years. If you add the years we've been married with theirs together it is 93 years of marriage between the two couples.

We still have a long way to go--but then I have come to realize that marriage is about the journey and not the destination.



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Location:Rainbow Dr,Elkridge,United States

Stocks and Debt

Well yesterday was a wild day in the world stock markets--as expected. The US stock market suffered its biggest drop since 2008. And frankly, I expect more of the same for today. And the funny thing is that Congress doesn't get it. They do not understand the relationship between their irresponsible brinkmanship, the lowering of the US debt rating and the worldwide panic which has ensued.

Face it--we have too much debt.

We do not have enough income.

We are or have become a debtor nation who owes the rest of the world. Just like we have lost control of our future through oil dependence, we have now lost control of our debt.

Change is going to be really difficult to pull off and we need to start changing our way and our debt-ridden lifestyle.

I believe that the debt rating services are just reflecting what we already know--there is tarnish on the US economy. And I also worry that there is tarnish on the Constitution.

I also fear, that we are headed for a really rocky road ahead during the FY12 budget negotiations. I remember the impasse that developed last year, and we get to do it all over again now--and soon, like beginning now.

So the wild ride, I am reminded of the name of a ride that used to be in Disney World--Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, begins now.

If we thought the past couple of months were exciting, I'm not sure nothing can prepare us for the ride ahead, compliments of a dysfunctional government.

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Monday Musings - August 8, 2011

1. Congress needs a lesson in money management. If you threaten not to pay your bills, your credit rating may be owe red. Wy is that a surprise? All of the rest of We the People have to deal with this reality.

2. Here is an interesting point on the lowering of the US credit rating by S&P: they must believe that the US could someday violate the 14th Amendment to the Constitution which states, "The validity of the public debt of the United States . . . shall not be questioned."

3. My thoughts and prayers today continue to be with and for the families, friends, and comrades of those heroic service members killed in the helicopter shoot down in Afghanistan on Saturday.

4. There was something really fun and special about pushing Lucas around the house in a child's shopping cart the other night and hearing him laugh continuously and demands more. Of course, Chris and the dog Ben were part of the action, too. Who knew that something so simple could be so much fun?

5. I finally got to relax a bit in the pool yesterday--it was fun just to nap in a floatie in the sun and shed the cares of the world.

6. Over the weekend, I reinstalled the TV in our bedroom--we had been missing it after the "While you were out" style makeover that Tina and Patrick did for us while we were on vacation. Suffice it to say--it was not entirely simple.

7. We had an interesting discussion about difficult questions in church yesterday. One thing to remember--always be sure that the question is understood the same way by both parties.

8. It came to me thin morning, I rally enjoy my morning time with the dog and cats as I write because it gives me a chance to organize my thoughts and to get ready for the day ahead form the perspective of the day gone by after a night's sleep.

9. I love the way my dog looks at me--total devotion and preparedness for whatever it is I think we should do.

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Location:Ducketts Ln,Elkridge,

Sunday Morning Haze

Well, for the second morning in a row, my faithful dog woke me earlier than I wanted. My bad this time though--I forgot to check the water dish and it was empty, which is never good. She was right to let me know of my shortcoming.

I also got to experience the sultry, damp morning that it is outside after the rains of last night as I took her out for her morning walk.

All day yesterday it seemed as if it was going to rain. The air was heavy and damp. I wished it would rain to cut through the closeness in the air. Well it did finally rain, but the situation outside was no better this morning--a damp smell of decaying plant matter fills the air--which must have been hovering near the dew point. The haze holding the smells and dampness was everywhere enveloping me in its grasp.

The grass was wet with the rain and I slipped on a patch going down an incline. I didn't fall, but I certainly could have.

I think it is going to be a great day.


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Location:Rainbow Dr,Elkridge,United States

Dogs and Saturdays

I don't understand Makayla, my Keeshond, sometimes. Like this morning for example.



I wanted to sleep in and enjoy waking up slowly and leisurely in the morning in bed. Maybe I think I had visions of even sleeping in until 8 or 9 am.

Makayla, however, wanted to play and made sleeping impossible. I looked at the clock which was blinking 6:30 and realized that on a normal morning, the dog would be crawling back onto the bed for a few extra minutes/hours of shut-eye.

Why not today, I wondered?

Alas, it was not to be--and for some reason, she has been glued to me, it seems, for the past hour.

I think she has missed me and she somehow senses that today, I am going to be around at least for the morning. And it really isn't so bad to have a dog that wants to be part of rather than a spectator of life.



I know some people who probably need to engage a bit more.

And so the weekend is off and running. I'm already on my third cup of coffee and the dog is walked, fed, and has two doggie treats in her.

Maybe I'll sit here and watch the Today Show for some amusement.


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Thunderbirds

Which one doesn't belong?


A few weeks ago, when we visited Monticello, the Thunderbird collectors club was having a car show--and Patrick and I had the opportunity to see more vintage Thunderbirds in one place than we have ever seen before.




All of these convertibles make me want to hit the open road and drive down Route 66.

Built before interstate highways, these cars represented the ultimate freedom of the late 50's--a big engine and a fast car.


It was fun to see all of them lined up--ready to hit the road, which they did by the time we departed Monticello--it must have been really something to be along the road watching one after another of these classics motor by.


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Location:Monticello, Virginia

Beaches and Long Weekends

I considered sand this weekend while was at Ocean City. I remembered that during my recent vacation, we had to deal with precious little sand--because there were few beaches.

Ocean City is blessed with a long, wide, very sandy beach. Sand gets everywhere. Especially into places one wonders how it got there.

Much of that sand is kicked up by the tide and the surf crashing against the sandy beach--but still even walking along or over the beach--sand gets to be a nuisance.

Still--I love sand. I love beaches, too.

I was reminded how incredibly hot sand becomes during the daytime as it bakes in the summertime sun. Hot enough to blister the feet of small children. And then, remarkably, even remaining in the sun it begins to cool by mid-afternoon to a nice, soothing warmth.

I have seen that sand comes in many colors: black, gray, reddish, sand, and even pure white like the beaches of Sunset Key in Florida near Sarasota. It also comes in many textures--ranging between a very fine powder and very coarse.

Sand, next to water, may be the most voluminous substance on the planet--although I am not sure that this is fact, I sense it must be almost true.

And like water, sand can be a friend or a killer.

So as I sat on my beach chair firmly in the sand this past weekend thinking about the words to a song that goes--"suntanned toes tickling the sand," I realized that for all of its faults--I love sand. Sand goes hand-in-hand with long weekends, frozen drinks melting in my hand, and the sound of the waves crashing relentlessly against the shore.

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Turtles of Tobago Cays

During our recent vacation, some of the most fun we had was snorkeling

with the turtles in Tobago Cays. Tobago Cays is a collection of small islands at the southern end of the St Vincent Grenadines. It is a marine park and accessible only via watercraft. Wikipedia has a good description of the islands and the park.


The most enjoyable thing we did was to snorkel with the turtles. The turtles generally do not mind having people around them--as long as we are just watching. They, like most other wild animals, do not like to be touched or bothered. They seem to have a live and let live policy.


As a result, I got some pretty good images of the turtles as they grazed on the grasses and did their thing. I have been doing some color correction on the images from my underwater camera--and some of the best images are provided to help document our experience.




I hope they will continue to remind me of a great vacation for a longtime to come.


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Location:Tobago Cays, St Vincent Grenadines