Thanksgiving 2010

For whatever reason, Thanksgiving has been a special time of year for me.  More than any other holiday, even over Christmas, it's when I want to be with family.  Most years I manage to spend them with family, but not always.  Typically when I do get together with family, it's with my brothers and my family.  Perhaps because our parents were divorced and never around, the 3 of us ended up being fairly close over time.  While my parents are 'family', when I refer to family, I am usually refering to my brothers and their family.  However, this year my father joined us for the first time in years.  Although I was a bit concerned at first that it would be awkward, everyone got along well and we had a fantastic holiday. 

There was another special addition to the family this Thanksgiving.  This trip was my first visit to see my nephew, Nikko, that's 1 month old.  After 3 girls, it's about time we had a boy!  He was the cutest little thing (the most Asian looking out of us all though)....  I love my nieces to bits, but I'm really glad there's finally a prince amongst the princesses.  Looking forward to seeing him grow up.

We only had a few days there, but probably that was long enough.  With Brad unable to get time off, it was a solo 7-hr drive down in horrific traffic, which made the trip 11 hours, with a puppy in tow.  Millie was so bad at my brother's house too.  She went around biting everyone all the time and was nicknamed the "beast".  Kids and dog running around constantly can get a bit tiring. 

It's always nice to be around my family though.  I wish I could see them more often than I do.  

Skyline Drive

Skyline Drive

I've done a few hikes in Shenandoah NP before, but this was my first time actually on Skyline Drive.  We started off part way down the drive at Thornton gap and had a picnic first at Pinnacles picnic area.  Then we headed up to Upper Hawksbill Parking for a 2 mile hike up to the summit.  With a puppy in tow, we had to try to minimize the length and difficulty of the hike.  We thought at first that even two mile hike would be tough and that we'd have to carry her part way, but our little trooper insisted on walking it all by herself.  We were all rewarded at the top with a very nice view. The colors weren't quite peak yet, but may parts of the park had very nice colors.



Hawksbill Summit

By the time we got done with this hike, it was already late afternoon.  We had to head down to Waynesboro for the night so we had to move along South.  We hit a few overlooks, and then hit Blackrock Summit hike.  A short 1 mile circuit walk.  Very nice views there too. 

The next morning we decided to hit a long one (3 miles) so we could check out the two Doyles River falls.  It started off with a moderate downhill and I thought for sure we were going to be carrying Millie on the way up.  We only carried her on really rocky parts or large steps though.  Probably not the best of ideas to walk her so much, but she didn't seem to mind.  The falls themselves weren't really all that impressive, but we all got a good work out from it.  (Got me realizing how unfit I've become lately.)
 

Blackrock Summit


After that long hike, we thought better about going for another.  The weather seemed to be turning for the worst too, so we stopped at Big Meadows area for another picnic.  It was actually a bit chilly out now so a cozy lunch inside a restaurant would have suited me, but can't do that with a pet anymore.  I better get used to eating outdoors. 

All in all, our first getway with the pup was a success.  She behaved herself pretty well in the hotel, too.  Don't think I'll be getting any surprise bills for chewed up furniture or anything. 

Meet Millie

On Friday we brought home a beautiful, black labrador pup.  I had a dog once when I was a kid, but I must admit my parents did all the work back then.  So I really wasn't sure what I was getting myself into but I'm pretty excited :)  It's a lot of work but I guess I expected it.  She plays for an hour, sleeps for an hour, plays for an hour, sleeps for an hour.  I had puppy duty the first night and I must've been out in the back yard like 6 times throughout the night.  Sometime she'll whine a bit because she wants to know I'm there so I turn on the light so she could see me.  I was a walking zombie the next day.  Too bad they don't give people puppy leave. 

Today we took her out to a park for a walk around the lake.  It was like 1 mile around and we didn't really think she would make it around cuz she seems a bit lazy at home, but the good girl made it!  She even ran in her cute puppy way at times.  Soon she'll be outrunning me! 

Well, I've really been missing traveling these last couple of years but having Millie at home keeps me busy enough to keep my mind from thinking of all the adventurous things I'd rather be doing instead of doing the 9-5 thing.  I am really looking forward to taking her on hikes and runs with me when she gets older.  For now though, I'm just enjoying watching her be cute.

Crowd Free Labor Day Weekend

I had a hard time deciding where to go for Labor Day weekend this year.  I wanted to avoid flying if possible, so that pretty much left a drive up North or South.  Hitting the beaches in SC sounded nice except for the risk of hurricanes.  A drive up to New England would have also been nice but I was afraid of the crowds.  Either way, I didn't want already long, 8 hour drive turn into an even long one and then have to fight crowds once there.  So we ended up going somewhere close by - to the Blue Ridge Mountains and Smith Mountain Lake. 

I had been to Blue Ridge Mountains before, but this would be Brad's first.  There's actually not as much to see or do on the Virginia side, but I figured he would enjoy the drive on the Parkway.  I had expectec loads of crowds since many people were there having a picnic over the memorial day weekend when I was there last.  This time though, there was no one around!  I guess September isn't a busy time here - fine by me!  I suppose I can see how early Spring or fall (for the colors) might be a prettier time to visit, but it was still nice in the mountains.  We started off in the Peaks of Otter and James River areas for a short walk.  Then drove all the way up to Hump Back Rocks.  I hadn't done this hike before, so we gave it a shot and were glad we did.  The hike up is a pretty steep incline, but a short one.  Took maybe 40 minutes to get up.  Up top we were rewarded with a gorgeous view atop the rocks.

For our lodging, we based ourselves out of Lynchburg.  We stayed in the historic downtown area that was desolate with very little going on.  We got a good hotel off of Travelocity's Top Secret Hotel deals though and were using it only to sleep in, so it worked out just fine. 

On our second day we headed over to Smith Mountain Lake State Park.  I didn't actually know this place existed until I saw a brochure at the hotel.  It's a HUGE lake offering lots of recreation.  Many people were out boating this day, but the lake is so huge you could feel like you out here by yourself.  You can swim in the lake or even go fishing while in the State Park area.  Had I known about it earlier, we could've done more here.  Instead, we hiked around some of the trails here.  There was a cute little island called Turtle Island where we hung around a bit.  How nice would it be to live lake side?  I'd really like to know what all these people who have the $500,000 houses around the lake do for a living out here in middle of nowhere Virginia.

We didn't stay all day at Smith Mountain Lake due to our lack of planning here.  So we drove back to the Blue Ridge Mountains, had a late afternoon snack in Roanoke, and drove up Roanoke Mountain.  We finished the day off with a bit more driving on the parkway and back to Lynchburg for our last night

National Firearms Museum

Today, my husband dragged me to the National Firearms Museum at the NRA HQ in Fairfax, VA.  They had an impressive collection of firearms of various sorts, from hunting to fighting, as well as those firearms used by famous people or in movies.  Even if firearms aren't your thing, the museum is free so it's worth a stop by if you're in the area.  Maybe best not to go with someone who's really into guns tho, or you could be making good use of the seats they make available for sitting throughout the museum.  Once thing the museum did make me appreciate though was the reasoning behind the 2nd Amendment.  I don't really like guns, but I do believe in the core value of freedom held by Americans.  What the 2nd Amendment does is allow us to fight for our other rights and liberties.  I'm not about to start a debate here on all the pros & cons of this controversial amendment, but just wanted to say that maybe guns aren't all bad.

Mary Poppins @The Kennedy Center

Adding to my list of indoor activities this summer is seeing Mary Poppins at the The Kennedy Center.  Yeah, it might sound a bit childish, but what's wrong with that?  If you like musicals, or if you used to watch Mary Poppins as a kid, it is worth seeing.  It's a feel good, uplifting show with great music.  This was my first time at The Kennedy Center and I was a bit worried about the $25 nosebleed seats we had.  However, even at the very back row of the highest tier, I had a great view of the stage.  As a matter of fact, we had seats in space typically reserved for wheelchair access I think.  So we had lots of space all around us (no one to step over to get to seats) and immediate access to the exit behind me, which allowed me to beeline to the head during intermission.  (You know how long those lines to the lady's room can get.)  Paying full price is just stupid unless you're rich or trying to impress a date.  If you want orchestra seats you're better off going to NYC for the weekend and getting half-price tickets at TKTS.  From now on, I'm always going to be looking for that back row seating.

Summer Movies

Been slacking on the blogging so I thought I'd write a bit.  Aside from the occasional run around Burke Lake, I haven't been getting out too much thanks to a hot summer.  So instead, been going to see lots of movies.  First, I went with Milinda to see SALT, starring Angelina Jolie.  It's very action packed and entertaining.  However, it lacked plot details and did not make a for a good story.  Then I went with the hubby to see the hyped Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, at an IMAX theatre.  Again, entertaining, but I thought it was a bit overrated.  Are movies getting crapper and crapper?  Or am I just getting old and more critical?

A movie I really liked, though, was Eat, Pray, Love starring Julia Roberts.  Her character travels to Italy, India, and Indonesia to do a bit of soul searching.  The movie helped relight my passion for travel.  Some day I will take a long time off to travel again.  Btw, my husband came along to this not realizing it was a chick flick.  He was so embarrassed to be there when he realized he was surrounded by women 50 to 1.  But I think he liked the movie too.  

Finally, last weekend I visited my Dad for his 60th birthday/retirement celebration and we went to go see Expendables.  Definitely a guy movie but a fun one to watch.  The movie brought together all those action stars from days past (& some present) who are somewhat, or quite, over-the-hill (e.g. Stallone, Rourke, Li, Willis, Schwarzenegger).  Basically these guys wanted to relive their younger days and have some fun.  Should be motivating for younger guys.  Only if all men in their 50's & 60's could be so cool....  I would've liked to see Bruce Willis and Arnie a bit more.  Too bad Van Damme and Seagal turned down the offer to be part of the film, too.

A Little Night Music & The Empire State Building

I last blogged about the Tripper Bus to NYC, but didn't say much about the trip itself.  So now some catch up.

The main purpose of the trip was to catch up with some friends from grad school.  It was a short trip though (arriving late on Friday and leaving at noon on Sunday), so that didn't leave much time to do anything.  We did want to see a Broadway show though.  As we stood in line at the TKTS booth in Times Square Saturday morning, we were debating what to see.  We asked around some local folks & when two guys back to back recommended A Little Night Music, we decided to go see that.  To kill time until the afternoon show, we went to the top of the Empire State Building.  Well, given the long lines to the attraction, we barely made it back in time for the show. We probably spent 1 hour standing in line and 15 minutes at the top, if that.  I should've known better....

The show was a nice way to get out of the heat for a few hours mid-day.  We got great orchestra seats for half-price.  The star of A Little Night Music was Bernadette Peters, which was another reason why we wanted to see the show.  It was a great show, but not sure I would've given it the raving reviews those guys did.  Then again, they were gay, so that might explain things a bit.

The rest of the evening was spent wandering from bar to restaurant to bars.  Bars haven't been my thing recently.  It's a bit hard to believe that when I used to live in NYC I used to go to the bars with colleagues couple times a week, staying out until well past midnight, stumbling into work the next morning still.  Certainly none of that going on these days.  Yeah, it's a bit boring but my body says tough - no drinking.  Oh well.  Probably best to stick to healthy hobbies anyways :)

TripperBus to NYC

NYC is roughly a four hours drive from DC so you'd think it'd be pretty easy to do a weekend trip. Au contraire, mon frere! Traffic at every point on the way to NYC - the beltway, around Baltimore, the NJ Turnpike, and tunnel entrances - is horrendous. Driving in the city is probably a nightmare if you're not used to it. Parking is a whole other story. The cost of driving to NYC is not cheap either. It'll probably cost you a tank or two of gas, crap loads in tolls, and about $30 a day in parking. So when I let a friend talk me into meeting up with her in NYC, I looked into alternative ways to get to NYC.

My first choice was to take Amtrak. From Union Station to Penn Station, the ride would be absolutely traffic free.  Unfortunately, Amtrak charges a ridiculous $250 for a round-trip ticket.  You could get that to under $200 if you travel at ridiculous hours, like middle of the night.  Well, that didn't save me anything except the drive so I decided to look into the buses.

I first heard about the Chinatown buses a while back from a visitor who was looking for a cheap way to get to NYC.  Well, a quick search online turned up all kinds of choices.  Apparently these Chinatown buses got so popular that competition started popping up everywhere.  These days the standard seem to be proper coach buses with A/C & toilet, as well as free wi-fi.  Prices generally range from $20-30 one way.  There were so many options to choose from though, and I had no idea which bus to use.  There's Bolt Bus, MegaBus, Vamoose, DC2NY, Greyhound, and probably a few others.  BoltBus seemed to be the popular choice but was sold out for departure times I wanted.  MegaBus had some bad reviews.  DC2NY advertises itslef as a "luxury" bus but I couldn't really tell what it offered that other buses didn't.  Greyhound seemed like a good deal if you book online, but they wouldn't guarantee that you'll get on one of the nice new buses they are introducing (and I have an image of their older fleet of buses being ghetto) on DC to NY trips (& it wasn't clear if the new ones ran from NY to DC).  Vamoose almost looked like a really good option with good reviews and departure point in Virginia (more convenient for me).  But then I found TripperBus, which seemed to offer exactly the same for $10 cheaper. 

I was able to book my tickets the day before my Friday departure, so I was very surprised to see that it was a full bus there and back.  These buses must be very popular.  Getting on at Arlington had its advantages, since you get your pick of the seats.  It's been a while since I've ridden in one of these buses, and they were about as comfortable as an economy seat on a plane (i.e. not very).  For $25 (one-way) though, you can't complain.  They gave you a bottle of water, which is good to keep you from dehydrating.  However, a pit stop doesn't seem to be guaranteed.  If there is one, it is 10 minutes.  If you're a woman, you need to rush off so that you don't get stuck at the end of a long line that forms at the lady's room.  So at the pit stop, you have a choice to pee or buy food, not both.  These bus drivers don't seem too keen on waiting for people too.  The driver on the way back acted like he was about to take off with a missing passenger but the lucky person got on in the nick of time.

Another thing about these buses is that they are probably never on time.  Buses aren't immune to traffic, yet they never seem to take it into account for their schedules.  They seem to leave on time (unless there's a problem with the bus), but my bus arrived in NYC 1.5 hours late, and arrived back in DC 30 minutes late.  The metro and/or cab rides on both ends also adds to the commute time. 
 
All in all, I wouldn't say it was a very comfortable trip.  Going in your car would probably be more convenient and comfortable.  However, the drive is probably more like 5-6 hours with traffic, and driving in traffic is no fun.  There's also significant savings with the bus, too.  Driving would have cost me over $100 if I include $60 for 2 days of parking.  The bus trip was $50.  Since riding the bus is not any better or worse comfort wise than driving, I would base any decision to take the bus on the cost factor.  If there's many of you in a car and it's cheaper or about the same to drive, I say drive.  Otherwise, these buses aren't a bad deal at all and I would certainly recommend it to anyone looking for cheap ways of getting to NYC.

Adventures in "Wild & Wonderful" West Virginia

I've been imagining there to be lots of natural beauty in West Virginia so I have been wanting to go for a while.  This weekend I finally got a 2 day, 1 night trip in.  I wouldn't say that I was disappointed, but I was very surprised at how much of a boonie WV was.  I don't think I saw a single stop light while I was there, nor a grocery store.  There are scattering of houses here and there, but miles of nothing in between in the mountainous State.  I always wondered what people who live in the stix do for a living.  It's still a mystery to me.  In any case, I'm not here to dwell on how people in WV survive, but am going to share with you some of the sites we saw on our trip.

Blackwater Falls

Our first stop Friday morning was at Blackwater Falls State Park in Davis, WV.  It didn't take us long to notice several "bear" signs here and there, and sure enough, first group of people we encounter warns us about a bear and 2 cubs "right over there."  Fantastic.  I wasn't particularly keen to get a good look, so we mosied on down to the falls.  They were nice falls, but they were too easy to access by a short walk down a set of steps.  Given that it's no Niagara, I probably would have appreciated the falls more if I had to hike to get there.  Afterward, we wanted to check out Elakala falls, but were a bit disappointed when it wasn't much of one you can view from the trail.  We continued on the trail though to loop back to our car.  That's when I noticed some ferns ruffling more than it should from the wind.  I scared the heck out of Brad when I pointed it out and we both started making more noise in hopes of scaring it off.  We didn't see anything tho so we kept on walking - and then we heard it - and I saw it!  My first bear encounter on a hike.  Unfortunately all I got to see was its big black hairy butt as it was running off.

Seneca Rocks

Seneca Rocks is what you see here.  Apparently a hot spot for climbers, hikers can enjoy a short 1.5 mile climb up to an observation deck just to the East of the jagged rocks.  At the top of the trail there is a stop sign warning hikers of the dangers of going further.  The ridge line is only 10 feet wide, and without proper equipment you could topple off the side easily.  Must admit I was tempted to go past, but the sign did its job.

Camping (in a Tipee) at Yokum's Vacationland

I figured if you're going some place like WV camping is the way to go.  As I searched for camp grounds I came across the website for Yokum's Vacationland.  Yeah, sounds like a cheesy tourist trap of a place, but they had tipees!!  Brad & I were excited about the idea, but the reality of it was a bit of a disappointment.  The tipee wasn't made out of leather with dirt or rug floor like I imagined.  Instead, it was a modern tipee with tiled floors, electricity, light, and fan.  It was roomy though, so it wouldn't be a bad place to stay if you had the right bedding - i.e. a sleeping mat to put under your sleeping bag.  The tiles made for a very cold and hard place to sleep.  As if that wasn't bad enough, there were inconsiderate people blasting crap music all night long.  Some song about "if God walked on earth he'd be a hillbilly."  My attempt at asking them to turn it down did little good so as I struggled to sleep in these conditions, all I could think was how much I'd like to go slash their tires or key the rude [ expletive ]'s truck.  On a positive note, we built a camp fire and roasted marshmallows, and that was fun.

Spruce Knob

The highest point in West Virginia is Spruce Knob, at 1,482m.  I had very little expectations for this place, but was pleasantly surprised.  The terrain reminded me somewhat of the Swiss alps, but without the snow and on a much smaller scale.  There were also butterflies everywhere, and flowers.  You can actually drive up to the top and get a panoramic view from the observation tower.  There is a hike in the area, but we opted for a short walk around. Btw, to get here, you have to go on Rt 112, which is WV's version of Bolivia's death road.  It's about the width of a one lane road but it's 2-ways, and off to one side is a cliff edge - though there are trees that might catch you if you go off the edge, unlike in Bolivia.  The road eventually turns into a gravel road for rest of the way around.

Seneca Creek Trail

The hike we ended up choosing was along the Seneca Creek Trail. I was hoping to see more water, but the creek was a bit dried up and you didn't see much of it for most of the trail. We did a loopty-loop by going up Swallow something trail to Allegheny Mountain trail, and back down to Seneca Creek via Tom Lick trail. I guess the nice thing about WV is that you can avoid the crowds. We only saw a few people the whole 4 hours. Some of the trails also made you feel like you were going off the beaten path. WV is definitely the way to go to get away from people.

***

That about sums up our WV experience. We didn't dare stay another night in that camp ground and tipee, although we planned to initially. We were glad to be back in civilization (Virginia) and in our comfortable beds that night. There were times when I wished I could get away from the hustle bustle of the DC metropolis, but after our weekend in WV I realized I could not live in BFE. Definitely need to find some middle ground I think. Anyways, as enjoyable as the trip was and as beautiful as WV is, it was also one of those trips that make you appreciate what you have. How lucky am I to have Safeway and Home Depot in 5 minutes drive? Or at all....

Logistics tip: Fill up your gas tank in Virginia - it's about 20 cents cheaper by the gallon than in WV.

Top 10 Tourist Traps Worth The Crowds

I purchased Lonely Planet's 1000 Ultimate Experiences sometime ago and it sat on my bookshelf for a while because I needed to keep my travel bug at bay.  Today, however, I felt the need to renew some passion in my life and pulled it off the shelf.  I haven't looked at all 1000 experiences yet, but I came across this one section called "Top Tourist Traps Worth The Crowds."  I almost thought I had been to all 10 places, but it turned out I'd missed one :(  Nonetheless, I thought I'd share the top 10 here, along with my 2-cents on each.  (You'll have to read the book to see what LP has to say about them.)

#661 Angkor Wat, Cambodia ranks in the top three of my most favorite ruins, along with Machu Picchu and Petra.  Perhaps because it was the first ruin I've ever seen, I remember it being fairly spectacular.  I'd like to go back as a seasoned traveller to see if it's still as amazing as I remember it being.

#662 Prague's Old Town, Czech Republic was a bit overrated.  I'm not sure that it's any more charming or interesting than some other European cities.  I wouldn't go out of the way for this one.  I'm not really sure how it made the list here.

2007

#663 Eiffel Tower in France isn't the most beautiful thing to see in this city full of more amazing sights.  At the very least even the most ignorant people know what it is.  It's just one of those things you have to see if you go to Paris.

1998, 2006

#664 Florence, Italy is the one place on this list I haven't been to :(

#665 Grand Canyon is one of few places I'd go back to... and I'd already been three times.  Sure, one view point looks the same as another view point.  Someting about the enormity of the place attracts me though.

2003, 2008, 2009

#666 Victoria Falls wasn't quite as good as Niagara Falls.  Then again, I think I saw Niagara during the wet season when the falls were full, and I saw Victoria Falls during the dry season when it wasn't at its most beautiful.  Or maybe my memory of Victoria Falls just suck.  The dry season made for a great raft ride down the Zambezi but I'd like to go back during the wet season.

2003

#667 Pyramids of Egypt is one of those must sees too.  After all, it's the only one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world still left standing.  Can't say it was the most amazing thing ever, but it's definitely cool to see.  A one of a kind sight.

2007

#668 Taj Mahal in India was so beautiful.  Perhaps the most beautiful structure I've ever seen.  It wasn't quite as big as I had imagined, but the beauty of it made up for it.  Did I mention it was beautiful? :)

2000

#669 Machu Picchu in Peru ranks up there with Angkor Wat on my list of favorite ruins.  Of the two though, I think Machu Picchu is more beautiful because of it's mountain setting. Just need to catch it when the sun is out.

2002

#670 Uluru, or formerly known as Ayers rock, in Australia was an interesting site.  HUGE rock in the middle of nowhere.  Not sure it would have been as memorable though if it weren't for the cool colors at sunset - it was red one minute, then yellow, and then orange....

2004

Boycott: Discover Card

Do you use a Discover Card?  Do you use this card because of the 5% cashback bonus offer?  Well, you may not be getting what you think you are getting.  This month's 5% cashback bonus with Discover Card applies to categories in Home and Fashion.  More specifically, they say "Home Improvement Stores, Fashion Stores, and Department Stores."  Well, I needed some new clothes and went on a shopping spree this past weekend.  I went to Express, Benetton, Lord & Taylor, GAP Outlet, and NY&Co.  Every one of them a clothing store or department store.  Yet, they were categorized as "Merchandise" by Discover Card.  When I inquired about this, Discover's response was, "we don't make the categories, the merchants do."  A chain of e-mails later, I completely lost faith in Discover Card's integrity.  They seem to have no intention of rewarding points as would be expected by the typical consumer.  I reckon most women, and probably men, recognize those stores I went to as a clothing store but Discover Card doesn't.  I began to wonder if any of the purchases are categorized correctly (one restaurant was categorized as Travel/Entertainment), but it's difficult to tell what percentage cashback you got because there's no statement for rewards.

Btw, for those who use Discover Card thinking you at least get 1% back on other purchases, read the fine print.  DiscoverCard gives 1% cashback on other purchases ONLY after you have made $3,000 in purchases.  The reward is only 0.25% for the first $3,000 in purchases.  After the poor responses I got from Discover Card, I was left to feel that they mislead customers into using their card with false advertisements and they are doing everything in their power to pay out the least possible in rewards.  Their customer service also tries to avoid answering your questions.  They even had the galls to write in one e-mail response that "someone already called you and discussed this with you" when I had spoken to no one. I am much better off using my other credit cards who always at the least give you 1% back for purchases, and don't seem to be categorizing cards incorrectly.  I would urge you to do the same.  (My favorite is AMEX btw.)

Niagara Falls, ON

After a rough winter and a rushed trip to Japan, I finally got some time away with my man over Memorial weekend. Our initial plan was to visit my family down near Charlotte, but a rainy forecast down there spurred a last minute change of plans. So, we drove 8 hours away from the rain to sunny & hot Niagara Falls! We stayed on the Canadian side (heard it was nicer with better views) and our first impression upon driving in at night was that it was a mini Las Vegas. Hotel lights were lit up everywhere, and there were many cheesy tourist attractions aside from the falls. We stayed a bit away from the main falls area in the seedy part of Niagara Falls (looks just like the seedy parts of Vegas). Signs for honeymoon suites were everywhere. I guess you get married in Vegas and go to Niagara Falls for honeymoon. We must've missed the memo on the latter... but better late than never.


Despite our initial impressions, we thought the falls were amazing. The main drop seem to be the Horseshoe (Canadian) Falls. This is the one that the Maid of the Mist takes you right up under. The American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls are right next to each other on the American side and are also very beautiful. You get a great view of it from the Canada side. I think you have to go out onto an observation tower to see it if you were on the American side. I'd imagine the Horseshoe Falls might be harder to see from the American side, too.

The main attractions surrounding the falls pretty much involve getting you closer to the falls and wet. On the Canadian side, there is the Maid of the Mist (also on American side) and Journey Behind the Falls. The Maid of the Mist is the everyone-does boat ride. It's actually pretty cool since it takes you as close as the boat can get without going under. You do get pretty wet in the process though. With Journey Behind the Falls, I was expecting to be able to walk out to a platform right behind the falls. Unfortunately all you get is a look out of a portal. The observation deck does get you very close to the edge of the falls though, so from that perspective it's worth doing. The two attractions together cost just under $30, but you can get a package deal that includes two other attractions and shuttle rides for $40. The other two attractions lumped in the package is absolutely crap though and not even worth writing about in this blog. All I have to say about them is don't waste your time on them. You do get some coupons for other attractions with the package deal, but seriously, your main objective should be to see the falls. Unless you have loads of time to kill, I wouldn't bother with anything else. You also don't need a shuttle if you are looking at just the falls. Oh, and don't be fooled into thinking the whirlpool is anything cool... it isn't worth the shuttle money and it's a serious hike to get there.

Logistics wise, staying near the falls may seem most convenient, but staying further away for cheaper and paying $10 for all-day parking worked for us. There is also parking at the IMAX theatre for $4 - for as long as you want (must pay with coins to get out). Speaking of, we caught the Falls show at IMAX. Can't say it was all that, but supposedly it's the second most watched IMAX film next to Grand Canyon's. It is pretty interesting to hear about the daredevils who went down the falls in barrels and such though.

So what else is there worth doing in Niagara Falls besides see the falls? Not sure. I certainly didn't go there to visit the House of Frankenstein or Ripley's Believe-It-or-Not museum. We decided to do a day trip up to Toronto, an hour and half away, the 2nd day. We enjoyed Casa Loma a lot, but rest of Toronto didn't do much for us. After a quick look around and a snap of CN Tower, we decided to head back to Niagara and enjoy our evening by the falls. The falls at night are worth checking out too, since it is lit up in colors and fireworks go off at 10 on some nights.

The Conscientious Objector

On Sunday I attended the GI Film Festival at the invitation of a friend who is a strong supporter of our troops. The festival showcased independent films about the lives of the men and women who fight for our freedom. Many of these films provide behind the scene stories and perspectives that you cannot get from the media or Hollywood films. Some films may be inspiring and honor the members of the armed forces; others highlight the trials and tribulations that these people face abroad and at home. However, the film I found to be most intriguing (of the handful I saw) was a controversial one.

Soldiers of Conscience is a documentary about soliders who face the challenge of deconflicting their orders to kill from their moral beliefs against it. Many soldiers do not want to kill, but this story was about four specific conscientious objectors - men who actually refused military orders to kill. I don't want to go into the details of their stories here (that's what the film is for), but I thought some interesting points were brought up by these men. Those who support war say, what if no one tried to stop Hitler in WWII? These conscientious objectors say, well, what if the Nazis refused to kill in the first place? As ideological as this may sound, they also point out that it is possible for humanity to eventually realize that what they are doing is wrong. Slavery is an example. People eventually realized it was wrong and it was abolished. All it takes is a few brave souls to stand up for what they believe in to get the momentum going.

Imagine a world without war, without violence. Every dispute is settled diplomatically. It can start with us. Sure, we still need to be able to defend ourselves if necessary. But what if we never waged war even when provoked and instead found some other way to seek justice? What if we spend the money that would go towards fighting a war in other ways that will improve our country? We can use more public transportations in this country. We can revive the Social Security system. We can better educate our children who will become tomorrow's leaders. We can invest in clean energy technologies. Possibilities are endless.

Those who want to fight will find any excuse to fight. Those who want peace can find a way to not fight.

Marine Corps Evening Parade

Every Friday evening during the summer, an Evening Parade is held at the Marine Barracks Washington to celebrate its pride, professionalism, and Esprit de Corps. Having come from a military background myself (& being a fan of the movie A Few Good Men), I have been looking forward to attending this parade for a while now. It has taken me 2 years just to get tickets because they go really fast once they become available on-line - usually in late February. (Note: at the time of this writing, there are tickets left for 3 dates in late July and August.) Anyhow, I finally went this past Friday and had a great evening.

The night started off with a not-so-bad drive into DC during rush hour. Parking at Maritime Plaza was free, and walking distance to the barracks. The 8th street in front of the barracks was lined with many restaurants and bars. The Marines were also everywhere. I had never seen so many people in uniform since my days as a Cadet. I'm not sure if there are this many hanging out every week, but it must be a heaven for single girls around here. My husband wasn't so pleased with the scene though. He started joking that I just wanted to see men in uniform. I had to reassure him that I only had eyes for him :)

Visitors to the parade had to be in the gates by 8pm. Any unclaimed seats were then made available to the general public. There was quite a bit of waiting until a marine finally came around to give us a brief, but interesting history of the barracks. At 8:45 the parade began with The President's Own marching into the grounds, followed by The Commandant's Own, and the ceremonial marchers. Among other things, the two bands provided musical entertainment and the Silent Drill Platoon performed precision drill exhibition. The night ended with evening colors and Taps at 10:15.

Tokyo, Japan

I was way overdue to visit my mom in Japan this time, but I finally made it out there. I've been putting it off because of the high yen (& the whole marriage thing last year), but I couldn't put it off any longer. If I didn't go now, I didn't know when I'd get another chance. Unfortunately, my hubby couldn't come along since he couldn't get such time off from work yet. Maybe just as well though since he might have been bored while I chit-chatted away in Japanese with family and friends. Although I suppose my friends could switch to English just as well. In any case, I hope to take him on a proper sight-seeing trip there in the near future.

I had many people I wanted to see on this trip - my mom, uncles, cousins, friends from high-school, friends from college, friends from when I lived in Japan, etc. Some I saw on my last trip to Japan, others I have not seen in 6 to 10 years. I found it a bit exhausting to try to catch everyone on the short time I had there, and I wondered to myself why I do this. If I'd only kept my mouth shut about my visit.... In the end though, I had a great time catching up with everyone and was really glad I made the effort. Having been cocooned up recently, I'd forgotten how much I enjoy my friends' company. It was also interesting to see how some people's lives have changed since I last saw them. Regretfully, there were a few people that I did miss due to schedule conflicts :(

Aside from seeing friends and family, I enjoyed being back in Japan simply because it is Japan. I love its food, efficient public transportation, great service, the unique culture, and more. I ate so much good food, that I can only hope that all the walking around I did getting from place to place had counter-balanced it. Speaking of walking around, I had forgotten how much walking around you do in Japan. The friend I stayed with lived a 20 minutes walk from the train station so everyday I was doing at least 40 minutes of walking. There were always lots of walking everywhere else I went too. Every night I'd come back to my friend's house beyond exhausted. By end of my stay I'd come down with a really bad cold. Now I wonder if I got a cold from walking around in the cold a lot (it was unseasonably cold when I went), or if I was so exhausted because I was coming down with a cold. In any case, so much for keeping up the healthy momentum after getting back. The cold had put me out for a week now and probably will keep me down another week. Tokyo was a good reminder of how unfit I was though, so once I'm better, I need to get back on track with my workouts.

Although the primary purpose of the trip was to see my mom, I did make it out for a bit of sightseeing. The first weekend was spent in Hakone with my family, and then I also took a day trip out to Enoshima and Kamakura while the weather was nice.

Hakone

Before I had arrived to Japan, my mom and my uncles were planning a little getway to Hakone, a resort town couple hours away from Tokyo. Although I felt like I was crashing their little party, it was a good opportunity to spend some quality time with my mom so I tagged along. Probably the best part of the experience was staying in a proper Japanese ryokan, where I got to spend some time in the onsen, and eat a traditional Japanese meal. I even got a short hike up to a temple early the next morning before breakfast, thanks to my jetlag. The second day we spent the day following the traditional tourist route of Hakone, jumping from one mode of transport to another (e.g. bus, boat, cable cars, train), with lots of walking in between. The sky was overcast a bit, so no view of Mt. Fuji, which was disappointing. Probably the highlight of the day was the Hakone shrine and a stop at Owakudani to eat an egg boiled in the natural hotsprings of the mountain. It is said to add seven years to your life.

Enoshima

Enoshima is a little island that you can hit on a day trip from Tokyo. It's not much of beach type place. What you get is main street riddled with Japanese shops, a shrine up top, an observation tower, some nice gardens, and a view from top of the island. There is also a set of escalators that take you up the island for a charge if you prefer to take that route. On the other side of the island is a cave, but I gave it a miss since I also wanted to hit Kamakura and get home before late.

Kamakura

Nearby Enoshima is Kamakura, another place where you can see more traditional Japanese places. There are many temples in Kamakura, but I only hit one, Hasedera, since it was close to the big buddha statue I wanted to see. I didn't realize at the time that it was one of THE temples to see in Kamakura, so I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the gardens and temple were. I ended up staying a bit longer than expected here. The picture up top are the gardens of Hasedera. Below is the Great Buddha.

Siberian Alps

Got a cool view of the Siberian Alps on my flight over to Tokyo:

Catoctin Mountain and Cunningham Falls

I finally got out for a decent hike this weekend. I went up to Catoctin NP up in MD and did the Cunningham Falls/Hog Rock Vista/Blue Ridge Summit Loop. It was the perfect warm-up hike for the season since it was not difficult. The loop is about 5 miles long, with only about 250m elevation gain. There were couple of nice overlooks, one of which I ate lunch at, and a waterfall. Not the most spectacular waterfall ever, but it's supposed to be the highest in MD at 78 ft. The footbridge to the falls lead you to a fenced dead end where the view is not so great, but you can back track a bit to where the fence starts, get off the path, and make your way to the fall that way. If you want to skip the hike and just see the falls, you might be better just going to the Cunningham Falls State Park. Btw - no entrance fees :)

Bull Run Park Bluebell Trail

I'm not a girly girl, but I do like flowers. I always make a point of seeing the cherry blossoms in DC every year. Last year though, I discovered the bluebells at Riverbend Park. So now I make a point of seeing them the week after cherry blossoms. This year, I heard that the bluebells at Bull Run were spectacular so we decided to go check it out. Sure enough, the bluebells were amazing there. You can see bluebells as far as the eye can see. A sea of bluebells... like something out of a fairy tale.

The trail itself is only a mile or 2 long but I think there are also bluebells on the Occoquan trail, which is only slightly longer. The trailhead was not so easy to find since I didn't have a map. I did find the Occoquan trailhead though across from the waterpark/frisbee golf parking lot. The Bluebell trail started shortly into the Occoquan trail, and ends back at the road slightly back toward the gate. We walked back along the road a bit (100m?) but you might be able to cross the road and use the trail to get back to the parking area. The flowers had already peaked probably last weekend or so and started to wither a bit from the heat, but it was still very pretty.

Foreign Transaction Fees

Credit card companies are one of the worst when it comes to charging their customers in an effort to make some extra money. One of the new fees they came up with over the last few years is the foreign transaction fee. It wasn't enough that they charged the merchants a few percent, they had to go on and

Here's what Citibank had to say about why they charge a foreign transaction fee (3%):

"We price our products to reflect the values we deliver in the marketplace. As we determined what this fee should be, we considered competitive, customer, franchise, and regulatory factors. In addition, we considered the added processing and servicing costs, as well as fraud liability associated with foreign transactions. Our research indicates that using Citi credit cards is 1 of the least expensive ways to purchase goods in a foreign currency.

Because of the changes that we have had to incorporate as a result of the new processes used by Visa and MasterCard to bill the conversion rate to us, we now consider the Foreign Exchange Transaction Fee to be an interest charge on purchases that were converted from another currency into U.S. Dollars."

Value Added Tax

According to this article, one of Obama's economic advisors is suggesting the government begin charging Value Added Taxes (VAT) to help address the issue with our debt. While I don't know the specifics of what they would implement, going to a sales-based tax would be great if they could eliminate the income tax. Since the largest consumers would presumably be those who make more money, it would still be progressive - as in the rich people would pay more in taxes. The sales tax could also vary depending on what the product is so again, it could tax those who indulge in unnecessary luxury items more, and tax less the necessary items like basic food items (e.g. milk, eggs, veggies, etc.) Also, taxing sales will help curve consumers' appetite for spending and encourage people to live more in their means. Even better, by doing away with income tax, it will eliminate the need for people to file complicated tax returns, along with all the loop-holes that the rich find to avoid paying taxes.

Of course there are other considerations and many of these changes will have to be phased in. I for one, however, would be all about switching to sales based tax if it eliminates income tax. Again, I have no idea what the administration is considering or will propose. Another thing I wish people would do though, is stop whining about the administration possibly raising taxes. Yeah, I don't want to pay anymore taxes either, and I am also angry at the situation our economy is in thanks to all those mofos who gave out loans people couldn't afford or bought houses they couldn't afford. However, the issue of our growing debt needs to be addressed asap, and everyone must now pay for the mistakes others made whether we like it or not. The government is doing what it thinks is best for our country, and it's not an easy job with the mess they have on their hands. If cutting spending is not an option and people need to pay more taxes for a while so be it. Half of those cry babies probably do nothing about any of this anyways but sit back, watch, and complain. Either be a proactive part of the solution or shut the f * up.

DC Cherry Blossoms

It's my favorite time of year again - the cherry blossom season! This Spring we've been having some really nice sunny days... actually unseasonably warm days. Since the cherry blossoms peaked midweek, I was afraid they would not last too well into the weekend given how hot it was this week. So I convinced couple co-workers to come with me midweek to check out the trees. What was supposed to be an in-and-out operation during lunch turned into a bit of a traffic & parking nightmare though. I guess everyone else had the same idea. There was traffic everywhere in DC, and especially around the Tidal Basin. All traffic was directed around the Tidal Basin because the city had blocked off the direct entrance onto Ohio Drive. We eventually made it out to the East Potomac Park, but had to circle around Hains Point before we found a place to park. From there it was a good 45 minute walk to the Tidal Basin. There were supposed to be shuttle buses, but we only saw one go by the whole time. It was a gorgeous day to be out though, and there were cherry blossoms all lined up along Ohio Drive which made the walk pleasant.

The next day I went into the city again with my husband and some friends. This time we went over the Memorial Bridge to avoid traffic from I-66. We hit some traffic along the tidal basin but not as bad as yesterday. We also got lucky and found a place to park near the Tidal Basin. There were so many people in DC though. It was crazy. I thought last year was bad but this year seemed even worse, probably because of the nice weather.

The cherry blossoms were as beautiful as ever this year though. If the weather next year is as nice as it was this year, I think I will hit DC at the crack of dawn like I did couple years back. And take a blanket, a day's worth of provisions, and a good book. It would have been nice to just take a nap, or read a book under the trees.

Shenandoah River State Park

Spring is here! We've had really nice & warm weather all week, and luckily it held up for the weekend. It's definitely time to get outdoors, but it's still that precarious time of year where there's not a lot of greenery or flowers yet. The thing to see was water, but instead going for the usual waterfalls, we checked out Shenandoah River State Park. It is conveniently located not too far off of I-66 near Front Royal, and you can avoid the hefty National Park fee that is charged elsewhere in Shenandoah. The park is small, but it has about 9 miles of hiking trails to satisfy most hikers, and there are numerous campgrounds for overnight stays.

Since Brad & I are both ridiculously out of shape from having done squat all winter, we pretty much took it easy with a picnic by the river, and an easy stroll along the Cottonwood Trail. We also took the short hike up the Wildcat Ledge for a nice view. (Although I'm not sure you'd see much if there were leaves on the trees.) The Bluebell Trail we wanted to take was closed, but I reckon it would be beautiful come mid-April with the flowers. The view from Cullers Overlook is also worth a stop.

Luck & Karma

Do you believe in luck? Even though I believe more in science than religion, I must admit I do think it is possible for someone to be "lucky" or "unlucky". I know a few people who just seemed absolutely plagued with bad luck. They are very nice people, and smarter than the average bear, yet everytime I talk to one of these friends, something horrible is happening in their lives. Whether it's a financial woe or some sort of health crisis, it amazes me that these friends encounter one bad luck after another. Some take it in stride, and others wallow in self-pity. Why me?... they ask.

This is where karma comes into play, I think. If you consider yourself a good person now and feel like you consistently have bad luck, you probably did something awful in your previous life. There's probably not much to do about it except to continue being good and hope that your next life is much better. If you're really good, maybe by the end of your current life you will get to have some good experiences. Then again, is it possible that luck is just statistically distributed amongst human kind? If I took a poll from a sample population and ask them to rate their goodness and their luckiness, would it show the two are not correlated and that the ratings are uniformly spreadout across the sample? Who knows... but I am not taking chances. I don't want to come back in my next life as a penguin (have you seen the movie the March of the Penguins?)

As honorably as I live and as hard as I work in my life, I still have a hard time feeling like I deserve the good luck I have had in my life. I never expected my life would be so full of adventures and that I would be as successful in my career as I am. I haven't really done anything that would be considered very generous or kind. If anything, I'm an independent soul looking out for myself mostly (I blame this on having grown up without parents around). So that's why I think I did something good in my previous life that made the last 20 years of my life pretty amazing. (My childhood was a bit of a blur.)

If there is such thing as luck, I guess it doesn't run forever... especially if you marry one of those unlucky souls. Yes, my husband is one of them. Anything and everything that could possibly go wrong seemed to have gone wrong since our union. I blogged a bit about it in my Snowmaggedon post. In may cases, even if I feel something did not turn out so good, I can usually see the positive side of things. For example, the downturn of the housing market is probably a way for fate to trap me in my job, which is actually pretty darn good, instead of letting me turn into a traveling bum only to realize being a bum isn't so great. Yet, I can't seem to see the positive in all that's been going on lately. There has been too many you-gotta-be-shitting-me moments that I could have done without. It can't possibly be the cost of marriage.

I read somewhere that you should not surround yourself with people who attract bad luck since it is something about the person that attracts it. My husband confessed recently that he's had bad luck all his life even though he doesn't feel he deserved it. That explained a lot, but what to do about it now? Can my good luck eventually win over his bad luck? Some people say you make your own luck, so marrying into bad luck is my own doing in that case. But will I be able to change our luck? It is more difficult to change the course of two people than just myself. I love my husband, but it's a tad worrying....

Basics of Chainsaw Handling

Here are some basics of chainsaw handling I found off of the Red Cross website:

• Carry the chain saw with the engine off.
• When bucking up (cutting) a downed tree: Place a plastic wedge into the cut to keep your chain saw from binding up. They are available at any chain saw dealer and sometimes come packaged with the saw.
• Never cut when tired or alone. Never cut around children or pets.
• Use a chain saw from the ground level only, not on a ladder or in a tree.
• When felling a tree, keep everyone at least “two tree lengths away.”
• You should have a preplanned escape route that is a 45° angle from the projected direction of a falling tree. Make sure there is nothing that could trip or stop you from making a quick retreat.
• When picking up heavy wood debris, get several helpers. Bend your knees and lift with your legs, not your back.

Bring on the Railways!!

Just read an interesting article on CNN on the issues airlines face with overweight passengers. Normal sized people feel that fat people are encroaching on space and that airlines should have the right to throw these people off or make them buy two seats. Overweight people feel that it is discriminatory against them, and that as a whole, people in this country are getting bigger and that airlines should accomodate this by making bigger seats. I feel for both sides. I'm 5'3, 130lbs, fit perfectly into a seat, and still find flying uncomfortable. On the rare occasions that I do get an exit row, bulkhead seating, or an upgrade, I'm in heaven and thank god there is some advantage to being short and small. I can't imagine what it is like for the 6', 200lb folks, much less the people considered to be "overweight."

I actually wrote a blog some time ago on how much I've come to hate flying (see post Boycott Flying). I realize eliminating flying entirely is difficult, but how about looking at alternatives? This country is severely lacking in public transportation options. Obama unveiled a high-speed railway plan sometime ago, which is a good start, but probably not good-enough. I don't think the people of America realize just how much we need a railway system. Look at the wonders that it has done in places like Europe and Japan. Think of the vast amounts of time Americans spend sitting in traffic in large metropolitan areas. Wake up, America! We needed to get going on this railway project long time ago!! Not only do we need the metro system in cities, we need a railway system to get us to & from various cities. Flying has become a nightmare for everyone - we need alternatives. Bring on the railways!!

Snowmageddon

After the whole window ordeal on Friday night, I was up late dealing with some unexpected work issues. At about 2am, I had a look outside the window just to see how much snow we were getting. We were getting tons, and the branches on our 40ft spruce tree were getting heavy with it. There were also very high winds. The tree listed 20 degrees out and swayed all over the place. At that moment I felt like I was in some horror movie and the image left me disturbed. I went to bed fearful of what might happen if the tree fell. As I curled up in bed I prayed. It's not something I normally do because I'm not religious, but lately I've been having a really rough time with a lot of things. Not only did I have work and window issues to deal with that day, I've also been unwell for the last week and a half recovering from minor surgery. Add to that a few other household issues that keep cropping up (e.g. roof falling in, furniture problems, lost wedding ring, second car purchase, yada yada yada). Even our marriage and livelihood is being threatened by the merciless USCIS. The last thing I needed right now was that tree falling and taking out some cars, or maybe even the house across the street. I went to bed thinking, "Please... please... don't let the tree fall...."

My husband was the first to wake up on this day now infamously known as "Snowmageddon". He immediately ended up waking me up because we had a "big problem". I asked him what it was, although I knew in the back of my head it was that darn tree. Yep, the tree had snapped at the root and fell into the street, blocking the entry way into our cul-de-sac and taking out two cars in the process. Great. Just great. I'm going to have a lot of pissed off neighbors now. Well, at least it didn't fall on a house or kill anyone.

First thing I did after seeing the tree was call my insurance company. The second thing I did was call the VDOT and reported the downed tree since we live on state maintained street. The guy on the other end said a crew will come take care of the tree as soon as possible, though I had no idea how any car could get in and out of our neighboorhood. It seems like the plows never make it out here. There was a lot of downed trees in the county that day. On my block alone 2 other trees had fallen, although they were smaller.

Somehow a few phone calls and lunch took us well into the late afternoon. By then I needed to do something enjoyable. I donned my snowboarding pants and waterproof boots and decided to go for a walk with my husband. As much of an inconvenience snow can be, I actually really like snow. It's very pretty. We took a nice stroll down the tree lined paths to our neighborhood shopping center. The shopping center was deserted and looked almost like a scene from the movie The Day After Tomorrow. Very eerie. So much for hoping Safeway was open.

Once back, it was already late in the day but we finally decided to face reality and start shoveling our driveway. Still in recovery mode, I didn't last very long and went in to cook dinner while my husband finished the arduous job. The neighbors had managed to cut up the tree and clear a path in and out of the cul-de-sac, but parts of the tree still blocked our driveway so he had to clear that away too. We both went to bed exhausted that night, but also still fearful of the many trees that still surround our house. We have 2 other coniferous trees in our yard. One which could fall right through to our bedroom and kill us in our sleep. We also have several oak and maple trees, and although they seem sturdy enough, it would flatten our house if any of those fell on top. Suddenly, the idea of living in a dream home on a lake surrounded by the forest wasn't so appealing anymore. Fortunately we woke up this morning with the house in one piece.

The snow stopped by early evening yesterday. I'm guessing we got about 2.5 feet of snow in that one storm. I suppose things could've been a lot worse (e.g. we still had power and food), but this combined with everything else sure made me feel like I was supposed to be having a nervous breakdown of sorts. I could use some happy pills right about now. This whole homeownership thing is cramping my style. I do like my house, but I'm really not a settling down kinda person. I didn't get married to play house and have babies. I got married for love and companionship, and to have a partner in crime for the various adventures I want to partake in. I suppose it's a tough time to be vagabonding right now though with the global economy in the dumps. Then again, with the world ending in 2012, maybe we should just sell up, cash out and enjoy the last two years of our life on this earth.

Windows Part 2

Ok, so I was wrong. The whole windows installation process was a huge disappointment. I couldn't have picked a more highly recommended company to do my windows. Yet, somehow I managed to still have a very unpleasant experience. The day started off around 8am when I thought the installation crew was going to arrive. When they didn't show, I gave the company a call. Their receptionist, probably the owner's wife, said the guy who was scheduled to come out couldn't make it because his truck broke down. However, they did manage to find a replacement crew and said they could come around noon. I was a bit concerned because of the forecast, but the woman assured me that it would not be a problem. Apparently it is not a "big" job and it would only take couple hours. I got the impression that they were trying to rile up a large crew to speed things up. Well, at about 11am, it starts snowing. At noon the guys don't show up yet so I call and am told they are running behind. Around 1:30pm they finally show up - and it ends up being only 2 guys doing the work!! So these guys are slaving away for hours popping out my six windows and putting the new ones in. At some point it gets dark and they don't look anywhere near finished. Sure enough, some time around 6ish, they tell me they can't finish the outside work because they "misplaced" their headlamps. (I think they just wanted to go home.) The finished caulking up the inside and told me they would be back Monday. This would almost have been acceptable except that we were expecting a snow storm overnight through the next day. They were about to leave untreated cracks on the outside which would exposed to the elements. The last thing I wanted was for moisture to enter through these cracks and lead to mold, leaks, or rotten wood. So we ended up calling the owner, who instructed the crew to tape up the window edges on the outside. At that point there was nothing I else I could really expect. It was already very late - about 8 pm by the time they finished cleaning up. My husband and I were more than ready to get them out of the house for the night. The guys were nice enough, but they sure didn't seem to do a very thorough job. They left a lot of things (e.g. old window frames, insulation) lying around the perimeter of the house half buried in snow. They also wouldn't have caulked the entire perimeter if I hadn't insisted they take out the frames for the blinds and caulk behind it. On top of all this, my car sat out in the snow for 6 hours while they commandeered my garage to work on the window caps. After they left, we spent another hour digging our cars out to put it back into the garage and driveway. Good job we did, because disaster struck the next day....

Windows Part 1

My windows suck. They are drafty, single-paned, and hard to open. Some time ago, I got the idea to get replacement windows and called Long Windows after seeing their advert for $179 a window. Before they arrived tho, my brother said he got his windows for about $200 a piece and were happy with them. So naturally, I expected a window to be about $200 a piece. So this sales person from Long Windows shows up late, looking unprofessional, and starts making awkward, irrelevant conversation and a really slow sales pitch. I asked him if we can cut to the chase and get prices, so he goes to measure one of the windows. Then he goes on to tell me that I have to get the exact same windows I have now (brown sliders) because I live in Reston (a planned community). I proceeded to ask him for a quote the kind of windows I wanted (white double hung). He continued to lecture me on Reston Association policies even though there are houses just like mine in the neighborhood with white double hung windows. By now I was getting annoyed and told him to let me worry about getting permission to get a different style and to just give me a quote. The sob then blurted out "$1500 a window". My response to him was "get out." I couldn't be bothered to call up another window company after that.

Fast forwarding to the present, I decided to start up my window project again. Now that I'm married I've been in this home improvement mode a bit. A new bed and sofa are some of the other upgrades we made recently. We're loving our Stearn & Foster mattress. The RoomStore couch not so much. But back to windows. This time I called up Thompson Creek Windows because the local radio station kept promoting them. The sales associate this time was much more professional. I was also requested ahead of time to set aside an hour and a half to listen to their presentation so I patiently listened to the pitch. Occasionally I had to push through parts that I didn't care to go into details of. Had I not, they would've been here much longer than the hour and half. They started off with a quote about as ridiculous as Long Windows - close to $8000 for 6 windows about 47"x47". However, these guys supposedly had the most superior windows ever. They've thought about and addressed every imaginable problem a window could possess. These were the most ideal windows one could possibly get. Oh, and it comes with a lifetime warranty. I waited for them to add all the discounts in for a final price of $5000 something. Still my husband kindly reminded me that we lived in a distinctly average house and that we didn't need the Mercedes of windows. Even after the final show down price of $4300, $700 a window seemed a bit much. I politely apologized that it wasn't in our budget and sent the guy on his way. I felt a bit bad at first that the guy wasted 2 hours of his time, but then again, he apparently makes over 6 figures selling these over-priced windows so my sympathy didn't last very long.

Slightly bummed I hadn't found my windows guy, I decided to do the smart thing this time and consult checkbook.org. I picked out a few companies in the area that had high ratings and settled on NOVA Installations after a friend recommended them also. These guys ran a small family operation and were no bull type of people. This time my husband listened to the pitch in my stead, which apparently lasted all of 6 minutes. Apparently he could tell no difference in quality between the window they pitched versus the window demonstrated by Thompson Creek. Their quote was $2500 total for the 6 windows. These windows also qualify for the energy tax credit and come with lifetime guarantee. I don't have the new windows installed just yet, but am looking forward to them a lot. I don't expect any surprises or disappointment, but will be sure to post if I'm wrong. I'm also going to get rid of the ugly blinds I've had and put curtains up on some windows. Who knew I could get so excited over windows.

Madame Tussauds Wax Museum

Where can you go to hang out with Presidents Obama and Clinton, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Johnny Depp, Samuel L. Jackson, Larry King, and other celebrities? The Madame Tussauds Wax Musuem! I don't usually like to spend money to get into a museum in DC since so many of them are free, but we scored free tickets to the wax museum and decided to check it out. We didn't expect much out of it (we've both when to one before), but actually ended up having a good laugh. I think the DC one is small compared to ones you can find in cities like London or New York, but they did a pretty good job of making all the wax figures accessible for great photo ops. Brad & I were running around getting photos with everyone :) Wouldn't have ever guessed we'd have so much fun in a wax museum.

Happy New Year!

First and foremost, a belated Happy New Year to everyone! I know I've been slacking on my blogging. Not a whole lot has happenned since Thanksgiving. Seems like I've been too busy shopping all of December. There were the Christmas presents I needed to buy for the kids, and I needed to restock my wardrobe since I gained like 10lbs since the summer. We did go snowboarding one day right after a big snow storm. Ski Liberty had a great deal going for a short period where you could get lift tickets, beginner lift pass, and lesson all for $39. Since Brad had never snowboarded before, thought it would be a good way for him to try it. Unfortunately East Coast conditions suck even after a snow storm and falling on the slope here is like falling on concrete. Brad fell a lot, as first time boarders do, and fell hard. I think I will have to buy him a full body armor if I want to get him to go again. I also need to buy proper protective gear (i.e. knee pad & butt pad) for myself if I'm going to convince myself to go in these conditions. The holidays were quiet but nice. Christmas was just the two of us, and the New Year's weekend was spent with my family again down near Charlotte. We rang the New Year in after a night of fun and games.

Reflecting back on this past year, the first half of 2009 seemed like a continuation of 2008 with very little change. I focused on my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training, and battled an addiction to Final Fantasy XII. Despite what I said back in '08, I still thought about traveling a lot. My first trip of the year was to Guatemala in March. Awesome trip. My second trip was to the Canadian Rockies, which turned out to be a life altering trip for me since I ended up marrying my friend that I went on the trip with! The wedding was in October so the latter half of the year was consumed with preparing for and adjusting to this new relationship status. Although it was a joyous time for us, I must admit it wasn't always so easy peasy. I couldn't have done it if it weren't for the patience of my very loving husband. We now start the new year together as a family and are looking forward to having more fun in 2010.