Wanderin Hokies

Sea Glass Misawa

2011-03-09T10:33:00.001-05:00

Kyoto Matcha

2011-03-09T10:32:00.000-05:00

Green Tea Kamakura

2011-03-09T10:31:00.000-05:00

Grandma's Garden

2010-07-05T10:22:00.001-04:00

Tree on Spotslvania Battlefield

2010-07-05T10:18:00.000-04:00

Home of Thomas Jefferson

2010-07-05T10:15:00.000-04:00

Louisa, Virginia

2010-07-05T10:13:00.003-04:00

Family Cemetery in Louisa County

2010-07-05T10:09:00.002-04:00

Orange and Maroon Skies

2010-04-21T22:05:00.000-04:00

Two Year Vigil at Virginia Tech

2010-04-21T22:02:00.000-04:00

Tennis Ball Inside AJ

2010-04-21T22:01:00.000-04:00

Tulips and Hokie Stone

2010-04-21T21:50:00.001-04:00

Flowers at San Diego State

2010-04-21T21:47:00.002-04:00

San Diego Coast

2010-04-21T21:39:00.001-04:00

I love FALL!

2009-11-12T02:44:00.002-05:00

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love watching the leaves change, feeling the air turn crisp, and ordering pumpkin spiced lattes at Starbucks. Unfortunately, San Diego doesn’t get that fall feeling, though I do feel the San Diego fall in the air. Last year, I couldn’t tell the difference, but I’ve been here long enough to feel the difference this year. It’s subtle…but there. To enjoy fall, James and I drove to the beautiful mountains of Julian, where us Southern Californians drive to experience fall. At only an hour away, Julian gives you the crisper fall air, slight leave changes, amazing apple pies, and a cute small town feel. Every year they host the Apple Festival, where you can pick your own apples, enjoy homemade cider, apple wine, apple butter, and apple pies. My personal favorite was the pumpkin apple pie. That piece of pie alone was worth the drive! We actually made two trips to experience fall, one that included some wine tasting and enjoying the cute old mining town of Julian, and one that included apple picking and the pumpkin patch. It was a bad year for apples in southern California, so there wasn’t much picking to be done. It was still beautiful though, and we enjoyed walking through the orchards. We spotted a pumpkin patch on the drive in, so we left the orchard and went to pick out our pumpkins. It was also a bad year for pumpkins, but we were able to find a few cute ones for the apartment. At the pumpkin patch, James and I reminisced about the pumpkin patch in Christiansburg. It really is a hard one to beat, with the beautiful mountains surrounding the farm, the tractors to climb on, the rolling hills of pumpkins, the petting zoo, and of course the home made cider and kettle corn. I could almost taste the homemade cider and feel the crisp air on my cheeks. I miss Blacksburg in the Fall! Check out our new site: http://wanderinghokies.com/

The Sail Around South America

2009-11-02T22:25:00.004-05:00

James has begun to chronicle the story of his trip around South America...and you can find that on our new website at: www.wanderinghokies.com Also, you will be able to see all of his pictures from the trip on our flickr site. All you have to do is click on our flickr stream on the left page of the new site, and it will take you to see all of our pictures.

Enjoy! Let us know what you think of the new page!

Drum Roll.....

2009-10-12T01:52:00.002-04:00

www.wanderinghokies.com Check out our new site and let us know what you think! It is clearly a work in progress, but we didn't want people to think we were done blogging. Stories from South America will be coming soon, so get excited! :)

Life Changes

2009-09-24T00:35:00.004-04:00

You may have noticed that we haven't really been updating the blog that much recently. Our lives have been changing so much that we thought it was time for a blog change. Keep checking this site, as we will unveil the new blog very soon!

Only one more week!

2009-09-09T02:09:00.000-04:00

April Showers bring May Flowers….and Wine Weekends!

2009-08-24T01:50:00.013-04:00

There is nothing quite as sweet as enjoying amazing wine with amazing friends! In April, after visiting Blacksburg for the memorials, I hit the road with two great friends to enjoy the North Carolina vines and hospitality, on our third annual girls wine weekend. Hitting the third is a big deal, and I feel like we are official now! In 2007, we embarked on our first trip to the Yadkin Valley in North Carolina, one of America’s fastest growing wine industries. It was a great way to get my mind off of James being in OCS, and me being in Blacksburg by myself. Then in 2008, we spent an awesome weekend in the heart of Virginia, living up Thomas Jefferson’s alcoholic dreams in the Charlottesville area. Without TJ, where would this country be? And because we had only been able to visit a handful of wineries in 2007, we decided to go back to the Yadkin valley in 2009. After all, it’s going to take us quite some time to visit all of the wineries in North Carolina. Map of NC Wineries I think we have about 76 more to go, but we’ve already visited 11 or 12! I like going to wineries, because each one is very unique and has its own story. We like to mainly visit the smaller, family run wineries, as their wines tend to be very interesting, the people tend to be friendly, and you learn so much. The larger wineries are fun because they are always really nice, but in terms of what you get for what you pay, you are paying for the expensive environment, not the wine or the friendliness of the staff. And I feel like I never learn anything at the big expensive wineries. I’m going to start with my absolute favorite winery of the trip…Hutton Winery. It was actually the second winery we visited, but we had to take a break afterwards, since Heidi, the owner, was a VERY generous pourer! It is a brand new winery, and she was so excited that we were there. If you are anywhere near this little place, please go and visit it! They are so sweet, and we really want them to stay open! Usually at a tasting, you get a small sip of wine, but with Heidi, we had half a glass of wine for each tasting. You can imagine what that did to us, and resulted in us playing on a tractor for a while until we were ready to get some lunch. Stony Knoll was also a cute family winery, but we didn’t spend much time there, as they were planning for a 50th anniversary party later that night. Flint Hill was adorable, and I wish we had been able to spend more time there. It was in a beautifully restored Farm House, and had a restaurant that looked fabulous. Unfortunately, we had just eaten lunch when we got there, but the food looked amazing. It was also family run, and we spent some time enjoying the rocking chairs on the front porch. And RagApple Lassie… where do I even begin? We visited Rag Apple Lassie on our first wine trip, and we loved it enough that we had to make a second trip to it. They have the most uniquely shaped wine bottles, and great wines. Their theme is cows, so everything has a cow printed on it, and we are always reminded that southern girls wear pearls. We tried to make a fifth winery that Saturday, but we got there right as it was closing. Wineries tend to close pretty early, somewhere between 5 to 6. But we weren’t too discouraged, as we found an awesome BBQ place, which I had been craving since moving to the west coast! I love pulled pork BBQ, especially Carolina BBQ. I still say that the best BBQ I’ve ever had was in Chapel Hill my junior year. Those were the best sweet potato fries I had ever had! After an awesome pulled pork dinner, we went back to the hotel an enjoyed some homemade wine from Stanburn Vineyards. It never fails that no matter how much awesome wine we’ve tasted that day, the wine made by Tab’s husband and father-in-law always surpasses the best that we tried. And Tab should be getting paid for the awesome mixes she makes with the wine! Fabulous! The next day, we toured Mt. Airy, NC, the birthplace of Tabatha, and the home of Andy Griffith. It’s a beautiful little community, with an old fashioned downtown, complete with the Old North State Winery and Opie’s Candy Shop. Opie is James’ Tuba nickname, so it was a must stop for us! And the Old North State Winery was actually one of my favorite stops, as it was in a restored main street building, which the pourer told us is haunted. I always love hearing people’s first hand accounts of a building being haunted. North Carolina grows a great deal of Muscadine grapes, the grapes used by Welch’s for their white grape juice. It’s very sweet, and the Old North State Winery had a very good Muscadine wine that would be perfect for a warm summer day picnic. If I hadn’t been flying, I would have bought a whole case of it. Darn those checked baggage fees! Our wine racks at home were getting pretty low, too, and I usually use these wine trips to restock. It was getting late, and I had to catch a flight, but we were still able to fit one more winery in on the way to the airport. Childress was our glamorous winery of the trip. They are always fun to visit, and great for first time winery visitors. The vineyards were beautiful, and the winery lavish, but we didn’t get to try very many wines, but had to pay a lot to taste the wines we were offered. If I had known that I was going to miss my connection in Chicago, I would have stayed longer in North Carolina, but off to the airport we went. My flight was delayed leaving, causing me to miss my flight by about five minutes in Chicago. I ran all the way there, only to find out that it was the last flight to San Diego, and they couldn’t get me out until the next day. It was my first experience sleeping in an airport, but thankfully Chicago had a huge USO, and I was given a cot to sleep on. I still didn’t get much sleep, since I was in front of a large screen tv, and I felt like everyone was watching me, even if they weren’t. I am definitely looking forward to our fourth annual wine trip, place to be determined, year 2010!

April 16th, 2009 - we still remember

2009-08-23T03:30:00.009-04:00

It’s been almost two and a half years since the shootings, yet it still feels like yesterday that our lives were changed forever. Being so far away from anyone who understood about everything we’d gone through, I needed to be back in Blacksburg for the anniversary this year. It was such a refreshing trip, and exactly what I needed since James had just left, and I was about to be alone for a very long time. It’s hard being so far away from a place that is so important to you, especially a place as special as Blacksburg. Though we may not be there often, Blacksburg is definitely where our hearts are! I was so very thankful that Tab and David picked me up at midnight in North Carolina, and drove the two hours back to Blacksburg! We stayed at their friends football condo, and after four hours of sleep, woke up to run 3.2 miles for our beloved 32, especially for Stack. It’s funny how every time I’m in Blacksburg, I feel like I never left. Sure, there are always some new buildings, and I have an apartment 3,000 miles away, but I always run into people I know, and I just feel an overwhelming sense of well being. I ran into so many people that morning, and did the run with my co-workers. We were in the very back of the race, due to our lack of sleep, and we ended up walking most of the way. We started lined up by Squires, then went under Torg bridge, past the chapel, past Burruss and the memorial, and half way around the drill field. Then we looped up in front of hillcrest and by the duck pond, then back to the drill field, which we looped three times. I definitely miss running in Blacksburg, especially on the Huckleberry. My mind was so clear after a few hours out on the trail, and it was clear again after just a few hours in the Burg. I spent the day visiting friends who are still at Tech, visited professors, and wandered around campus taking pictures and enjoying the peace. I didn’t really plan for my trip to Blacksburg. I just kind of bought a plane ticket and flew there. I didn’t even have a place to stay or anything, but I wasn’t worried. Things in Blacksburg just seem to work out, and I ended up staying with Jen for the night. Before I crashed at Jens, I reunited with two of my favorite people, Laura and Stacey, and had dinner at Sharkey’s, a place we visited often in undergrad. It was just a great reminder of our time in college, sharing stories and memories of trips, football games, and of course, Sharkey’s. I think my favorite story is always the one when we missed the West Virginia game because we had to go on a band tour in Northern Virginia. Amazing memories and amazing friends! After dinner, Jen and I went to the vigil. It was weird this year, and as we sat there, it just felt really different than it did last year. This year, half of the students weren’t even here when everything happened, and you could just tell that as time moves on, so does how we feel about it. It was great having Jen there with me to help with the range of emotions I felt. I can’t quite describe what Blacksburg does to me, but it moves me on the inside. It did before the shootings, and now, even more so. We still remember...and we still believe. The countdown to Blacksburg has begun…only 27 more days!

The Bottom of the World

2009-08-20T01:01:00.004-04:00

And finally on his way back home to me! :)

March - the first month!

2009-08-19T03:09:00.005-04:00

Only one more month until James is home! I can’t believe that we have gotten through the last five months….and are less than 30 days away from seeing each other. For those of you who are on Facebook, you know that James has had some incredible experiences in south America so far, including white water rafting in Brazil, food poisoning in Brazil, and watching an Orca eat a seal. I can’t imagine how cool that must have been! And he has promised to bring me home lots of wine from Chile, so I am definitely looking forward to that. I think the months have gone by so quickly because I had the opportunity to visit James four times. I figured I might as well take advantage of him being on American soil! In March, I flew down to see James while he was still living in his two bedroom apartment that was twice as big as our apartment here! That first trip to Mississippi really made me realize that I’m a southern girl. While I absolutely love southern California, it is not the south, and I want to be a southern belle, not a bikini blonde in SoCal. (Where I come from….it’s corn bread and chicken!) But, I’m definitely enjoying Cali! I mean, what’s not to love about a beautiful place, perfect weather, and more things to do than I have time for! Now If only I had a husband to enjoy it with! James’ apartment in Mississippi was really adorable. When I got there, he was staying in a hotel still, and I was there for less than 5 minutes when we packed to check out. I’m positive that it was full of mold, since I couldn’t breathe the moment we walked in! And it’s my second time making James check out of a hotel I wouldn’t stay in, so I think he’s getting used to it. I realized I’m actually pretty picky about where I sleep…if I can’t breathe, I can’t stay! And the apartment was so much better, although hard for James because he didn’t have a car. Thankfully, there were lots of guys from the ship who lived there, and he could catch rides to work until he moved onto the ship. At first I was devastated about the apartment, because it made it seem like we were really living away from each other. And either way we were, but while he was living in the hotel it seemed less permanent. But an apartment? That was pretty permanent. But when I showed up and saw where he had been staying for a week, I knew the apartment was a must! Even though James had only been gone for a week at this point, it seemed like forever since we had seen each other, and it was such a refreshing weekend. I am seriously not good at this whole being alone Navy wife type of life. James and I do love to experience places and travel, and we have enjoyed so many places we otherwise might not have ever visited, like Rhode Island and Mississippi, so I am thankful for that. And who knew that Mississippi has beautiful beaches? It was quite eye opening to me, and made me realize how judgmental I can be. I guess I just didn’t associate southern Mississippi with resort casinos and miles of beautiful gulf coast beaches. It is sad to see the amount of devastation that Hurricane Katrina caused almost four years ago. Four years have passed, and there are still buildings shattered, hundreds of empty foundations, closed restaurants and businesses, and empty fishing boats washed up on the shore. It’s eerie and makes me sad that so many people’s lives changed so abruptly. It reminded me about the importance of giving to those who have lost all that they have, for the Lord has blessed us so that we may give to others. I am desperately wanting to find an opportunity for another relief trip, as an entire year has gone by since I have done anything. Working makes it so difficult, but it is not an excuse to not volunteer and help others. I just need to find an opportunity out here. Despite all of the devastation though, life is coming back to the Gulf Coast. A few Casino’s have come back, and thanks to the help of the Smithsonian, the Jefferson Davis Presidential Home, Beauvoir, has been restored. It was severely damaged by the storm, as it sits right on the gulf coast, but they have been able to secure funding to preserve American history. In fact, they had just received restored paintings that same week we were there. I think my favorite part was sitting on the balcony rocking in awesome rocking chairs overlooking the gulf. They had amazing plaques on them reading: “For your rocking pleasure.” I definitely think that James and I are going to be old one day sitting in rocking chairs overlooking the water (or mountains) just enjoying every day. If it weren’t for real life like bills and work, we could be enjoying that right now! The funny thing about the Beauvoir is that we didn’t even know it was there. James and I have become non-planners, which is so unlike us. But since we’ve gotten married, we’ve just kind of enjoyed ourselves and stumbled upon places and opportunities. We were just driving and taking in the scenery when we saw the sign for the Jefferson Davis home, and we thought…why not? We also watched a speed boat race on the beach, drove for miles to find amazing seafood, and made late night Wal*Mart runs for Blue Bell ice cream. All it took was one trip to the gulf, and I was hooked. There was no way I wasn’t coming back to visit! And I did…in June and July!

My adorable little AJ

2009-08-07T02:12:00.004-04:00

I haven't posted many pictures of AJ recently, so here are some new ones! :) Right after his haircut that made me think he isn't a full poodle... We're having him DNA tested when James gets back! I can't believe we've had him for almost three years now! Three years and three states...he's been around the block a few times! :)

Scruffy and Salty

2009-08-02T03:36:00.001-04:00

Oh the life of a sailor. After a few weeks at sea, and paying for a no shave chit, James and some of his guys paid to not shave for a few weeks. Unfortunately, their no shave chits are up, and it’s back to the blade. I believe they have to shave before they pull into port, at an undisclosed date in the near future. So, here are some pics of James and his guys, scruffy and salty. James is probably the saltiest junior officer thanks to the Tarawa.

Crossing the Caribbean

2009-07-22T18:34:00.002-04:00

Picture of James ship...the LHD 8 on it's way home. Crossing the Caribbean Sea

Tennis Ball Free!

2009-07-22T02:28:00.001-04:00

AJ is Tennis Ball Free! Now he's just enjoying his summer camping out in his living room tent.

Passing the Time

2009-07-22T02:14:00.003-04:00

James has been gone since March, and although it feels like it has been forever on the one hand, it has also gone by really quickly. In just two short months, James will be home, and we will be able to enjoy another football season together! After all, all relationship years should be measured in whether or not you spent the football season together. Football seasons 02-06…spent together. Football season 07…not spent together. Football season 08…partially spent together. Football season 09…fingers crossed that most of it will be spent together! To pass the time, I have been doing a lot of two things: traveling and reading. Two of my biggest passions! After finishing my thesis, I have finally had the chance to read for pleasure! For the first time since the summer of 2002, I have spent hours reading for fun. College and graduate school definitely take time away from pleasure reading, which is quite ironic. In the upcoming weeks, I will post what I’ve been reading, along with very short reviews, in case anyone is looking for something new and exciting to read. My to read list had gotten quite long after 7 years, and I am only just beginning to scratch the surface of it! Thanks to my two amazing friends, Laura and Rachel, I have been able to travel quite a bit over the last few months. In fact, I have been flying somewhere just about once a month since James left. In March, I flew to Mississippi to visit James, in April I flew to North Carolina/Virginia for the two year memorial service and for my annual ladies wine trip. Then in May I flew to Virginia Beach to attend my graduation. James and I were actually able to meet in North Carolina and fly into Norfolk together, which was such a blessing. And finally, in June and July, I flew to Alabama/Mississippi to spend some time with James in Mississippi and Florida. I am going to spend the next few weeks catching you up on my travels as well, because I don’t think I have really written about any of the trips in detail. It has been great to travel so much, and I couldn’t have done it without Laura and Rachel! They have graciously picked me up at 4:00 in the morning for my early flights, stayed up late as I got stuck in airports waiting to find out when I was getting in, and let AJ out while I was away. Laura even cleaned my apartment and baked me cookies! Rachel and Laura both spent hours playing with AJ and making him feel like he was loved, despite their super busy schedules. They are such amazing friends, and there is no way I could have gotten through these last few months without them!

Gator debuts with young crew

2009-07-19T17:02:00.002-04:00

“We’ve been at Wal-Mart so much they probably think we were working there,” Guy said. “That was the No. 1 hangout for USS Makin Island.”

Navy Times Article on the Makin Island

Big ship sailing

2009-07-18T15:55:00.005-04:00

"If you noticed an enormous Naval ship on the horizon while watching the air show at Pensacola Beach this weekend, you weren't the only one.

The USS Makin Island, a brand new Navy amphibious assault ship, sailed off the Pensacola coast Saturday on its way from Pascagoula, Miss., to the Atlantic Ocean.

The Makin Island (LHD-8) was built in Pascagoula, Miss., and completed its acceptance trials this spring.

The 844-foot Wasp-class amphibious assault ship is one of the largest Naval ships in the world, second only to aircraft carriers in size, said Alan Baribeau, a Navy spokesman.

"These ships are specifically designed to remain offshore near troubled areas of the world, ready to send forces ashore quickly via helicopters, tilt rotor aircraft and land craft air cushion hovercraft," Baribeau said.

The USS Makin Island is the last of eight Wasp-class amphibious assault ships ordered by the U.S. Navy.

After leaving the Gulf of Mexico, the ship will sail through the Atlantic Ocean, around South America, and through the Pacific Ocean to San Diego, where it will be commissioned in October." This article appeared in the Pensacola Paper on July 12th. Link to article I found it because the captain posted it on Facebook. Yes, in this digital age, the Captain keeps a Facebook page that keeps us all updated throughout the deployment.

AJ and his Ball

2009-07-16T01:12:00.004-04:00

About three months ago, I was looking into the Pet Health Care plan that my work offers. It makes sense, since vet bills can get so high, and you never know what’s going to happen to our little bundles of fur. But, it was a little bit more than I wanted to pay, and didn’t cover as much as I wanted it to, so I decided it would be wise to wait. Oh the irony. On Monday night, AJ decided to eat a tennis ball. The entire thing! I was sitting at the computer writing James, and assumed AJ was in the living room sleeping, since it was almost midnight. AJ likes to go to bed early, while I like to stay up late. When we first adopted AJ in Texas, he would always go to bed at 10. We’d be in the dining room or the living room, and AJ would jump down, and walk down the hall and hop in bed. It used to make me laugh so hard! You could hear his little tags jingle down the hall (and it was long because we had a three bedroom) and then silence before the plop. But Monday night, AJ decided to be rebellious. He’s always chewed up his toys, and has sometimes eaten small pieces of them, but he’s never devoured an entire toy. By the time I found him, there were just a few tiny pieces left that he was trying to gulp down. I’m pretty sure that tennis fuzz and rubber could not possibly taste good, but apparently it was the thing to do. I did some googling, and realized that rubber can clog the intestines of dogs, at best, and at worst, can sit in their stomach. Everything said he needed to go to the vet immediately so they could induce vomiting. I called the emergency vet, and the vet said that if he chewed it up into small enough pieces, then he was probably fine until the morning. (It was after midnight after all…and emergency vets are soooo much more expensive than the regular ones.) So I waited until the morning, but didn’t get any sleep because if he started throwing up, I was supposed to take him in right away. I called AJ’s regular vet first thing in the morning, and they said to bring him in right away. He saw a new vet, and she was amazing! She loves poodles, which is always a plus, and AJ didn’t even try to bite her. They took some x-rays, and thankfully, AJ chewed the ball up into tiny pieces so it should all come out naturally. If he hadn’t chewed it into such small pieces, they would have had to have induced vomiting, taken a long thing down his throat and pulled pieces out, or opened him up with surgery to take the pieces out. Eating rubber is not fun and games! So, as you can see, there are pieces of a ball throughout AJ’s insides. Thankfully, they have started to come out. I’ve never been so excited to pick up his poop before! She said that AJ seems to have a great deal of pent up energy that needs to be expressed, which is why he is patient enough to chew balls into tiny pieces. Most dogs she sees eat toys whole or in large pieces, and they have to go in to get them out. She suggested that we do agility training with him, because he is smart and has a lot of energy. How funny would it be if we trained AJ to do show dog stuff? I don’t think he is socialized enough to do it, but it does look like it could be fun. And she also recommended moving AJ to a sweet potato and pinto bean diet?? Weird, but surprisingly not weird after a few minutes of google searching. So maybe we will turn AJ more into a California dog by giving him a specialized healthy diet and taking him to intense gyms. Praise the Lord that AJ is okay! I don’t know what I would do without him out here by myself. And for a few hundred dollars, we got some awesome pictures of his insides.

Anchors Away!

2009-07-13T23:52:00.004-04:00

After four months of being apart, James is finally on his way back home to San Diego! The USS Makin Island took to sea for the first time on Friday, July 10th, 2009. Her first voyage! There is something about the sea that draws James and I to it, and there is no wonder he joined the Navy over any of the other branches. As much as I don’t like it at times, it means we will always live next to the sea, which I love! When he returns in September, we are going to take sailing classes, as San Diego is the perfect place to learn to sail. The weather is good all year, so it won’t matter that it is the fall and winter when we begin our classes. The ship will be going all the way around South America, so James will have the opportunity to visit some awesome places like Brazil and Peru. I wish I could go with him, but have requested coffee, jewelry, and paintings to get me by. He’s such an awesome husband! It seems with each passing year that James and I are becoming a bit more connected to the Caribbean and Latin America. Just a little over a year ago, I was in the Dominican Republic, and I have been itching to go back ever since. I might have to make it in my plans for next summer, as I can’t imagine another year going by without doing some kind of volunteer work there. And James spent last summer in Panama. (He hasn’t spent a summer in San Diego yet!) If it wasn’t for the Navy, James and I would probably join the Peace Corps. It has been a dream of mine since I was little, and we actually went and talked to a Peace Corps recruiter right before we were married about opportunities for married couples. (I can’t believe that was over three years ago!) There are actually quite a bit of opportunities for married people in the Peace Corps, but once you have served in the military or have been married to someone serving in the military, you are disqualified! I hope this policy changes, because I would still love to see that in our future!

Back to the Makin Island. I do not know who took these pictures, but all of the rights are theirs. I thank them for the photographs, since I could not be there to watch the beginning of their voyage, and James sent them to me in a PowerPoint presentation. He is the master of PowerPoint’s now. It should be noted that when the captain asked for recommendations on songs to play as they were pulling away from the pier, James requested “I’m on a Boat.” He then proceeded to play it for the captain who had never heard it. (The edited version…of course!) I think it’s a good thing for James that he isn’t planning on doing this forever! It was denied, but I’m sure his division sincerely appreciated his efforts for them! It makes me laugh! Some awesome seafaring quotes to quench your thirst for the sea.

All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea whether it is to sail or to watch it we are going back from whence we came.
~John F. Kennedy

My soul is full of longing
For the secret of the Sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Yeah, never thought I'd be on a boat
It's a big blue watery road (yeah)
Poseidon!! Look at me, oh (all hands on deck)
~T-Pain

The MVs honor Stack - 2 years later

2009-06-21T22:08:00.003-04:00

It’s hard to believe that it’s been over two years since April 16th, 2007. It is also still hard to believe that it happened, and that our lives have continued despite such a tragic and horrific day. In spite of all of our sadness and hurt, so much good has been done in the name of all 32 Hokies, but especially in Stack’s name. This past weekend, the MV’s dedicated a home they built in Blacksburg in honor of him, for a local family with great need. Check out the story here: Stack's House It is amazing the love and drive that has led the MV’s to dedicate countless hours and thousands of dollars to remember a friend, and to honor the impact he had on all of our lives. Check out pictures of the building process: Construction Photos I am so proud of the MV’s, and so thankful to be a part of such an amazing organization.

A tradition of Excellence

2009-06-21T21:41:00.003-04:00

Then, now, and always. Oh how good it is to be in the ACC! I spent a wonderful June afternoon enjoying the great company of my fellow ACC San Diego alumni at the fourth annual San Diego ACC Pig Pickin, featuring North Carolina pulled pork BBQ and the best hush puppies I have ever had. There is something special about enjoying fried food in healthy San Diego, where fried rarely appears on menus. I didn’t realize how many ACC alumni are living in San Diego, but there are a few thousand of us. Boston College and the University of Miami both boast over 800 alumni in the area, and the other alumni sites don’t list numbers, but I am always seeing cars with alumni stickers from those 12 fine universities. By the time I got to the picnic, the Hokie tables were full, but I was invited to sit with the University of Miami, which is quite fitting since we both joined the ACC the same year. Virginia Tech and the U have a special relationship, and Miami is near and dear to mine and James’ heart, as we have made many road trips to the U. The Miami alumni were very welcoming, and invited me and James to Canes (the SD bar where they watch their games) for the VT Miami game this year. They promised to be kind, and I promised to return the favor of kindness. I think we might take them up on it, as their bar is right on the beach, and has plenty of seating, where as Bubs is a few blocks from the water and you have to stand for the entire game. There was a golf tournament before the picnic, and we had a Hokie team in it. As they started to announce the winners, one of the Hokie team members became belligerent, saying the scores were rigged, and we should have gotten 5th place. It was hilarious, as he was going on and on about how Duke and UNC rigged the tournament and how just because we didn’t go to a preppy school didn’t mean we should be left of the rankings if there was a tie. The funniest part is that they had a girl on their team, and hadn’t figured out the handicap correctly, and came in first place! So…this year’s San Diego ACC golf championship goes to the Virginia Tech Hokies! :) Being around so many East Coast natives reminded me how much I miss that side of the country, but I know eventually we will return to cold winters, colorful falls, belligerent drunken football fans, and those beautiful mountains. Only 75 days until football!! Let the countdown begin! (This picture is from my Senior year, during Superman. It is now hanging in Dave's Office!)

“I have… I will… I will!”

2009-06-17T19:50:00.005-04:00

Three years ago Angela and I got married on a beautiful summer day. Little did we know what the next few years would entail, but we confidently entered life together. Since then, we have lived apart nearly a third of the time, moved more than I care to remember, dropped out of school, graduated from school, and lived on a boat. Above you see the residences we have had since we wed, but not all of those were together! The point is we have had a busy three years, and can hardly believe it has gone by so fast. We have met many new people in all corners of the country. Though apart often, I am truly blessed with such a great wifey!

Everyday Conversation

2009-06-05T02:09:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I was sitting on a rooftop patio at SDSU, where I retreat on my lunch breaks to do some reading and get a few minutes of sun and peace each day. It’s like an oasis, compared to the dark, cold, windowless office I occupy more than 40 hours a week. While I was sitting there yesterday, I got a chill and realized it wasn’t sunny. An older gentleman walked by me and asked me if it was supposed to rain. What an odd question, I thought! Someone in San Diego just asked me about the weather…for the first time in 11 months. I told him I hadn’t checked the weather, but it certainly looked and felt like rain. And then it occurred to me that I haven’t checked the weather more than 4 times since we’ve moved out here. And every time I have checked the weather, it’s because I was traveling somewhere and I needed to know what the weather was like on the other side of the country. But yesterday, I should have checked, because it rained for 3 minutes and there was thunder! I didn’t hear it, but it was all the talk in the office today. For the most part, every day here is about the same. It’s overcast in the morning, with a sea mist engulfing you. By 10:30, the mist has lifted and the sun is shining brightly. By noon, it’s nice and warm, and it stays warm until about 4:00, and then it starts to cool off, getting chilly in the evening. And that happens every single day…winter, spring, summer, fall.

Life Lessons

2009-06-01T01:38:00.001-04:00

If there is one thing I've really learned over the past three years, it is take time to enjoy sunsets. You will most certainly feel God's presence, and see the world as it was made to be.

Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives

2009-06-01T01:24:00.004-04:00

Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives is by far my favorite show on Food Network. Guy goes all across the country tasting delicious food, in the most unexpected places. Since becoming addicted to the show, James and I are making an effort to visit as many of these restaurants as we can, all over the country, where ever we find ourselves. (And for us…you never really know where that will be!) One of our favorite restaurants in San Diego was featured on the show, and we have been taking our visitors to enjoy the awesomeness that is Hodad’s in Ocean Beach. Hodad’s specializes in burgers, fries, and onion rings, as well as sunsets on the beach. The walls are covered with license plates, and we are thinking about donating James VTOpie plate to be added to the wall, as we now have California plates. Only a few miles from James in Mississippi is another place featured on the show called the Blow Fly Inn, where each meal comes complete with a plastic fly. They recently reopened after the hurricane, and I am sure the locals are thrilled. The red beans and rice were phenomenal, and I haven’t had shrimp that good since we moved from Texas! I have been craving them for months, and can’t wait to go and visit James again for some awesome Cajun cooking! The show maintains a list of these restaurants all over the country, so I definitely encourage you to check them out. I can assure you, you will be pleasantly surprised!

Assalam Aleikum

2009-06-01T00:38:00.009-04:00

Tomorrow will be my 6 month anniversary working at the Language Acquisition Resource Center at San Diego State University. It is amazing how quickly time has flown by, and how much I have learned in such a short period of time. To be honest, I didn’t know much about Arabic and Persian cultures before I began working at the center, nor did I know that much about foreign languages. Of course I took my high school language requirements, and worked towards a master’s degree in teaching English to speakers of other languages, but the actual languages themselves, I knew very little about. I am the only monolingual in my office, but am making it a goal of mine to work on my Spanish over the next few months. My brain has been resting after 18+ years of school, but I really need to get back into the classroom soon! So what exactly do I do? After six months, it is still difficult to put into words what I do, since I do a little bit of a lot of things. You can check out our website at larc.sdsu.edu I work mainly with the critical language program, helping coordinate classes in Pashto, Persian, Arabic, Iraqi, Russian, Turkish, and Chinese. I have spent my last few months working with Pashto and Iraqi, but as the summer approached, I began working with the ROTC language program, where the main focus is summer intensive language institutes. Thankfully, the institutes began last week, so I have been able to take a deep breath and relax for the first time in a few weeks. One of the perks of my job is I am able to experience many unique cultural events, especially food. Last Thursday, I attended a classical Persian concert, which introduced me to very unique percussion instruments. And on Friday I enjoyed a meal from Afghanistan, in a traditional setting. I spend most of time doing paperwork, running around campus for signatures, and making sure Marine’s are using their parking permits correctly, but I also get to enjoy the finer cultural events that make the endless paperwork worthwhile!

Oldies but Goodies!

2009-06-01T00:03:00.008-04:00

James wrote this a few months ago, and I just realized we never put it on the blog. So, enjoy a few observations made by James when our friend James was visiting...in early February!

A few weeks ago we were enjoying a rare rainy day in Balboa Park with our friend Tall James who had come to visit when he kept commenting on the cherry blossoms blooming in early February and how odd that was (he lives in Washington DC). Upon closer inspection, the flowers were in fact dogwoods, the VA state tree and flower. They usually bloom out east sometime in late March/April timeframe, basically around Easter most years. This brings up an interesting point. San Diego, with slight temperature variations, does in fact have seasons. These are not the typical four seasons we learn of through pictures in grade school, but subtle differences that you have to pay attention to.

With most days being sunny, 60-80 degrees, you quickly stop paying attention to the weather. Angela had a conversation with a student who is from a few hours south of here in Baja California, where they get more typical seasons. He has observed that the seasons here are more names, like the dry season with Santa Anna winds, or the rainy season. I would not characterize these periods as "summer" or "winter", as the Santa Anna’s seem to mostly be in the fall. Recently we have had a few weeks of scattered rain showers. Nothing really special for those from other areas of the country, but people around here were quite excited. Particularly on the roads, where I don't believe people know how to turn their wind shield wipers on. I actually saw snow, on a recent clear day at work. I could see snow covered peaks in the east, as the coast gets rain, and at 4000+ feet, they get plenty of snow. Hopefully the area will get more needed rain as we are still in a 3 year drought, but I thought the subtle seasons are worthy of note when we live in an area famous for its pristine weather... though we realize that we miss regular seasons. I am having a hard time realizing how time is passing, as Valentine's Day is generally much cooler for us...

James is on a boat!

2009-05-20T02:24:00.006-04:00

As most of you know, James is living in Mississippi on the ship. Most of you do not have his address, and I know he would love to get a little bit of mail, so I wanted to share it with everyone. Please send him mail so he feels loved! :)

ENS James C Gouger
USS MAKIN ISLAND (LHD 8)
OPS/OZ
FPO AP 96672-1601

Come and visit me in San Diego! Our apartment is always open, and I'd love to have guests! You never know how long we'll be here!

Heads, Carolina Tails, California

2009-05-06T02:18:00.013-04:00

"Heads, Carolina Tails, California.
Somewhere greener, somewhere warmer.
Up in the mountains, down by the ocean.
Where? It don't matter, as long as we're goin'
Somewhere together. I've got a quarter.
Heads, Carolina Tails, California."

Where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday that James and I were moving to California, and now we find ourselves, nine months later, living in different parts of the country, counting down the days until we will be together. We haven’t updated in a long time, which I’m sure you are aware of, so this is going to be a quick overview of our last two months. I think it’s enough to fill up a short post! As many of you already know, James’ ship is in Mississippi, and while he is technically stationed here, he isn’t actually here. He’s been gone for almost two months, and it feels like forever. I’m not very good at this whole Navy wife thing, though I do enjoy the many dresses I am required to buy! Still, by far, my favorite thing about the military. I have spent my last few months doing research and writing for my thesis project, which I can happily announce that I completed, received an incredible grade, and will be graduating with a 4.0 this weekend. It hasn’t quite hit me yet, except I actually have time to breathe and sleep, but I am excited to be done. I was very pleased with my project, and am now pursuing opportunities to use it in the real world, whether that be presenting it or writing an article. I am still working at San Diego State University, and have been very busy there. We are a national language center, and we host so many courses and programs and activities that I can’t even keep them all straight. So that takes up a ton of my time right now, as I work long hours, especially since we are gearing up for our summer immersion language programs. James is even busier than I am, working around the clock every day. When he first moved down there, he had an apartment (that was bigger than our real apartment!), but he now lives on the ship, so he lives and works in the same place. At least he gets to say “I’m on a Boat!” If you don’t get that reference, you are probably behind on your pop culture, but we love you nonetheless! I’ve spent the last few weeks traveling quite a bit, as I visited James , went to the memorials at Virginia Tech, spent a wine weekend in NC, and will be going home to the 757 for graduation. James and I are actually meeting in Charlotte and flying in together, which is very exciting. And…my brother got engaged last week and I am soooo excited to see my sister-in-law-to-be for the first time since she’s had her rock! Unfortunately, my brother will be in Spain for my graduation, so he won’t be able to make it. It should be a very exciting weekend, and hopefully when I come back, I will have some time to do some blog updates.

Spring in Southern Cali

2009-03-27T02:18:00.001-04:00

Sending our love from California! Life updates to come soon...we promise!

Hoooray Beer! And Wine.

2009-03-07T22:10:00.004-05:00

When we used to visit Tall James in Northern Virginia while in college, we used to call him our tour guide, due to his detailed knowledge of all the monuments in DC. He did his research on San Diego before visiting, reading in a magazine about a world renown brewery in north San Diego County. We visited Stone Brewery and received the best brewery tour we could have asked for. Angela learned the basic brewing process in an interactive 45 minute tour and then we were able to do a free tasting. The FREE part was amazing as everything out here costs money… The brewery was a fairly new facility and had an odd theme of gargoyles, but the beer was of high quality. They focused on darker, high gravity beers including a decent IPA and Russian Stout. Since we were in the area of the San Pasqual Valley that had several wineries, we took James to our favorite local one. Orfila winery was started by an ex-US ambassador, and creates quality wines from grapes grown locally and up north near Monterrey. Angela and I loved their Syrah buying two bottles, and James liked the whites, but decided he couldn’t fly easily with them. We hope to get up to Napa and Sonoma Valleys before we leave California, but had a great afternoon with libations with a good friend.

Winter Blues?!

2009-03-07T21:42:00.006-05:00

Written during the East Coast snow storm...) While the rest of the country had a lovely snow day full of sleet, power outages, and slippery fender-benders, we spent the day at work. While at work, we had no need for extra layers, ice scrapers, or salted sidewalks. Though the simple beauty of freshly fallen snow escaped our gaze, we experienced a spring like day that is often the norm here. Mid 70s temps, gently cooling ocean breezes bring in plenty of sunshine. While we struggle at times with our actual jobs, days like today make the Mediterranean climate fantastic. If we could afford a view of the ocean we would catch the sunset every day with a glass of wine! We will only be here for one more year, so we are trying to experience the outdoor lifestyle in a place centered around a ceiling-less atmosphere. We love that we can go to the beach year round here!

Just flying in to say hello! Literally!

2009-02-28T16:45:00.007-05:00

A few weeks ago, my parents were able to come out for two days to visit us. My dad had a conference to attend, and my mom came along for the ride. Even though it was so short, it was awesome to see family, and we actually did quite a bit in such a short amount of time. I didn’t really have time to take off of work yet, but I was able to leave a little bit early one of the days, and go in late on the second day, since I had to stay till 7:30 for a meeting. My mom took the trolley everywhere, which is nice, since she came to visit me for lunch on campus. I showed her the green parrots and all of the awesome plants and flowers that are everywhere. When my dad was done for the day, we went out on the town for dinner. You can’t come to San Diego without getting amazing Mexican food, so we spent our first dinner getting full on awesome chips and salsa, and then incredible home-cooked Mexican! My mouth is watering as I think about how awesome it was. It was an eye opening night for my parents, as we introduced them to the magical world that is IKEA, and we showed them the chair we were buying for our guests. (It turns into a single bed, and has an awesome mattress on it!) It still has yet to be tried…and we won’t be in San Diego forever! For those of you who haven’t been to an IKEA before, it is a massive showroom of household rooms, which always gives me great ideas for our future, one-day home that we will buy in the mountains of Virginia. The next morning, my mom and I woke up early and headed out to the place of my childhood, Pt. Loma. Pt. Loma is probably my favorite place in San Diego, as it has childhood memories, Top Gun shots, an amazing view of the city, the Cabrillo lighthouse, tide pools, Sunset Park, and Trader Joes. I mean, really…what more could you ask for? We visited the lighthouse first (which was my first visit since we moved here in July), and then headed down to old NTC (Naval Training Center), where Top Gun was filmed. It has since been turned into a shopping center and museums. I love that they left the architectural history and the naval tradition of the base, and have interwoven both of these unique aspects into everything about Liberty Center at Old NTC. It was a beautiful day and I was sad I had to spend the rest of it in an office that doesn’t even have any windows. But I enjoyed the sun and the view while it lasted. Though it was a short trip, it was a great one!

The new bling

2009-02-23T01:55:00.001-05:00

My wedding band, while I thought it was great, has always been a bit oversized. I am by nature a jittery person and will constantly mess with small items. Angela thinks I am a tad bit OCD, and I have to agree now (since I lost my wedding ring). But I digress. I could always take my ring off with my left hand alone, meaning I became comfortable in subconsciously removing it. Angela would often chide me after seeing the ring fly across the room when I dropped it. In any case, I was waiting to pick Angela up from work the other day, and leaned across the car to the passenger seat to put away a magazine I was reading. I must have slipped the ring off subconsciously, because I heard it hit the ground. The problem was I couldn't easily find it. Angela arrived to see me almost under the car. She wasn't mad because my OCD was driving me crazy, but we cornered the ring as sliding below the parking break housing. After many attempts of using a wire hanger, we managed to push the ring further away. After some research into the removal of the drivers seat I realized the amount we would pay to have someone remove it and the matting was more than we are ok with right now. So... my car is now worth its weight in gold! I will get the ring out eventually... but in the meantime I got the ring replaced with a tungsten ring that is much tighter. I cannot pull it off with one hand, and because it is not gold, it will not scratch easily. But at least I can admit I am a klutz.

Reality Check

2009-02-03T20:28:00.001-05:00

It has been two and half years since we graduated college, got married, and moved to Texas. After making many life altering decisions, we have landed in California with real jobs. While delaying the real world, we have grown up much in a short time. For the first time, we are at a point where we are making more than we are spending and can make long term financial decisions, not just speculate about what we wanted to do one day. Though having job security right now is a blessing, we find ourselves wiped out and exhausted from the ‘daily grind.’ College filled us with much hope and optimism for the future, with free flowing ideas and perky friends who wanted to literally change the world. A few years out, and reality bites. We are living the “American” lifestyle and certainly appreciative of all we have, but get tired of coming home and wondering, ‘why did I go to work today?’ Often I come home realizing that if I had not gone to work, then nothing would have changed. Everything that needed to be done would have been done. So we live for the weekend now, but need to sleep away half of Saturday just to recover from the week, and go to bed early Sunday to avoid a ‘case of the Mondays.’ I guess we are still searching for a career that fulfills us, or at least interests us. There are days we do something cool, but those are few. We know that we are setting ourselves up for a future where we can have more say in our professions. I am not saying we are unhappy, but merely disappointed a bit in life. We do, however, really enjoy living in San Diego and are having trouble doing everything we have put on our “fun list” as we will be moving in a little over a year!

Since we didn't send out all of our Christmas cards....

2009-02-02T22:06:00.008-05:00

Christmas Greetings from California! We take this time to remember our blessings and our amazing friends and family, and as we reflect on our year, know that we love you and are thankful for you! Angela and I began another new year in Florida with Hokie football, and after a saddening loss, we rushed back to Blacksburg to move across the Commonwealth to VA Beach, where we would spend six months, as I completed my Naval training. Continuing our nomadic lifestyle, we moved in with the Burley’s, and added our sixth “address” to our list since getting married! During our short time in the 757, Angela worked as a GA at Regent University, where she is currently finishing up her Masters degree in Education. Before our trek to the Wild West, she took the opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic with a non-profit, building a home and teaching English. She has been ready to go back since the moment she returned! After graduating from my Navy ‘school,’ I decided that it was time for me to play Navy and actually go to a ship, as I had been in the Navy for 8 months without floating on the water. I received orders to report to the USS Tarawa in San Diego, CA, a ship we would later find out was being decommissioned. At the end of June, we headed out West, literally driving from coast-to-coast. We were particularly excited about moving to San Diego, as Angela spent much of her childhood there, and we both agree that Anchorman is perhaps the greatest movie ever made. (If you haven’t seen it, stop reading immediately, and watch it!) We took advantage of our 3,000 mile drive and visited as many national parks as we could, including the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forrest, Montezuma’s Castle, and of course, all of the new Holiday Inn Expresses! We knew we had arrived in California when the gas was almost $5.00 a gallon and we had to smuggle plants through the inspection border. AJ was perhaps the most excited about arriving in San Diego, as he decided after four straight days of being in the car that he would show his anger intermittingly between crying and sighing. We were welcomed by the Wilson family, friends of Angela’s from middle school, and we stayed with them for a week while we found a place to live. Soon we were moving into an apartment across the street from Qualcomm Stadium (home of the Chargers), as we decided our love for football was a sufficient enough reason to pick a place to live. Before we had finished unpacking, I was deployed to Panama to take part in a 19 nation exercise. Though we were out to sea most of the month, I did have the opportunity to spend some time on land, touring the canopy of a rain forest and zip lining down a waterfall. The views were spectacular and it only reinforced my desire for us to move overseas. I finally really felt like I was in the Navy! While we are enjoying San Diego, the most important thing during any Fall is Hokie football, and we are definitely missing Blacksburg. We have found our little piece of Blacksburg in So Cal, at a bar in Pacific Beach where Hokie alumni come to watch games, and drink away the sadness that comes with not being in Blacksburg. In November we flew home to Virginia for a whirlwind week of family, friends, and of course a trip to Lane stadium. Who would have thought the Duke game would be a good one to get tickets to? While we were home, Angela was offered a great job at a Language Center at San Diego State University. She began December 1st, and is excited because she can ride the trolley to work. We are now decorating our three trees (including Angela’s PINK tree!) and getting ready to have our FIRST real Christmas together as a married couple. After two years of moving around the country, we are finally acting like adults with real jobs. (Though AJ is sad about being left home) We are thankful for our blessings and we pray this winter finds you well! We would also like to extend an open invitation to come and visit the beautiful city of San Diego! We would LOVE to have you! Love, James, Angela, & AJ

The birds of SDSU

2009-02-01T00:03:00.008-05:00

These little green parrots hang out in the palm trees on campus. I took James on a campus tour, and he was able to get an awesome picture of one of these little feathered guys. They are just too cute! James and I want to get a bird, but I don't want to have to clean the cage by myself when he is gone. I love all of the plants on campus, and really enjoy eating my lunch outside to enjoy them. Palms, cacti, and exotic plants are scattered all over SDSU, beautifully set against the mission style architecture.

Excuse me, I believe you have my stapler...

2009-01-31T17:32:00.002-05:00

As of December 1st, I have been working full time at San Diego State University. I actually work for the SDSU Research Foundation, and not the actual university, though they work closely together, and many people don’t even realize they are separate. I work for LARC, the Language Acquisition Resource Center, within a program called CLIP, the Critical Language Immersion Program. I have learned so much about languages in the last two months, including how to greet in Pashto, the language of Afghanistan. “assalam aleikum” “como walle salam” We teach many languages, including Arabic, Iraqi, Pashto, Filipino, Russian, French, and Persian. One thing I really enjoy about the job is learning about cultures. I am always trying new foods, and just yesterday enjoyed some Turkish candies. We run a language lab that is always full of students, and also host summer intensive language programs, trainings for teachers, conferences, and anything and everything in between, including publishing a magazine and textbooks. My first few weeks were pretty overwhelming as I was always learning about another program that we host. It’s very exciting! Our website is currently down, because someone hacked into our systems, but as soon is it is back up, I will post it so you can see all of the exciting things we are doing!

Feliz Navidad....Prospero Ano y Felicidad

2009-01-31T17:31:00.003-05:00

Since we’ve been absolutely crazy over the last two months, I still wanted to catch everyone up on some of our holiday festivities. Especially because it involves me buying a new dress, my absolute favorite thing about the Navy! Our Christmas Ball was held at a beautiful waterfront Hyatt in San Diego, and it was actually fun because it was the entire ship, not just the officers who think we are too young. We avoided all of the tables that said Reserved for Officers, because we didn’t want to sit by ourselves, but ended up at one anyways. James took the sign down until we realized we got free drinks at those tables, so the sign went back up. :) It was great celebrating the year with coworkers who are so fun, and I was sad to see them all move away to their new ships. Hopefully James’ new division will be as enjoyable to work with.

Birthdays with Barbies and Balloons!

2009-01-17T18:19:00.005-05:00

Since Angela’s late December birthday often gets lost in the rush for Christmas, we had a special dinner just for her! She also found a pink tree to put up, so that will forever more be her “birthday” tree as inspired by my younger sibling who nearly shares her birthday. Given that we also happen to have boxes of Barbie and Disney princess ornaments, the tree is quite precious. In any case, I made 15 bean soup (it has been “chilly” for Southern California) and invited a few people over. We haven’t been able to make many friends so far here, but know some great people! I was also super excited to find a one use helium tank, and proceeded to fill the house with balloons, which go everywhere in the vaulted ceilings. AJ was characteristically curious of the growing balloons, but was ultimately scared of the flying objects. Really, what would make a small object quadruple in size and float?? Must be hard to comprehend. But Congrats to Angela, our newest quarter century girl! and thanks for all the gifts!

Baking a Bundt Orange Bowl

2009-01-14T02:11:00.003-05:00

I finally baked my first cake. I married into a family of talented cake bakers, and have been spoiled by their prowess with the oven. Last summer, Angela came across a bundt cake pan in the shape of a football stadium, which we felt would be great for hosting during important Hokie games on ESPNHD. I had a terrible shopping experience and did not purchase a bundt cake mix... so we improvised. We have wonderful kitchen gadgets from our wedding I still have not used, so mixing the batter was fun, my biggest problem was in filling the pan too high with it. Since we were trying to create a specific shape I pressed in as much batter as I could, and threw it in the oven to bake. We had green icing for the actual field and Reese’s pieces for the Orange and Maroon fanbase, while using food dye to create a gray paste. As preparations to decorate were going on, I glanced into the oven to see the batter dripping over the side of the pan. This presented a rapidly gooey oven that was emitting small amounts of smoke. Thinking ever so quickly I placed a cookie sheet under the pan to catch the excess batter, but the top of the cake was going to get burnt. I (correctly) figured that the bottom of the cake could be cut off and still maintain its desired stadium shape. After baking twice as long as the directions said to bake all the extra batter, Angela managed to coax the cake out of the pan. Gray icing fixed any structural discrepancies creating an eye-popping cake. We will not eat it, so I do not recommend myself as a baker, but it was a good New Years cake.

DECOM dinner

2009-01-14T01:59:00.003-05:00

After over 30 years of service life, the USS Tarawa (the second one!) has been deemed too old for use in the modern Navy. While it could be used for many years to come, it must not be cost effective. Part of being in the military means honoring traditions and customs, including official dinners. Former shipmates and original crewmembers were invited to San Diego for a final dinner, honoring the gray hulk that had brought us all together. Angela and I were fortunate enough to sit at a table of former crewmembers, who had remained friends after several decades. The most interesting people we met was an older couple, current local residents, who had served as an original crew member on the first Tarawa, an aircraft carrier of World War 2 construction. He had great stories about his entire life, including his wife (whom he kept showing ‘scandalous’ pictures of). She just laughed. The “mandatory fun” was actually quite interesting as we met great veterans.

Holla at the Hokies!

2009-01-03T18:02:00.001-05:00

When we can’t go to our Bowl Game, we bring the bowl game to us, by making a Hokie stone stadium cake full of screaming Hokie fans! That’s right...we made an awesome Lane Stadium Cake! Here’s to our Hokies....ACC and Orange Bowl Champions!

Thanksgiving West Side

2008-12-27T18:32:00.006-05:00

For actual Turkey Day, we slept in and accepted an invite from the Wilson’s for an afternoon meal. We had a bountiful feast and good company, including many canines. Whilst AJ was at home all alone, there were four other dogs to beg for turkey, though they were placed outside for the dinner! The Wilson’s have been raising two new puppies in addition to their elder Rusty, who has absolutely no patience for the energetic pair. Instead of walking off the meal, we laughed it off watching some good stand up comedy with a ventriloquist. We mainly spent the day in good conversation and in good company, enhancing all that we are thankful for.

ACC Champions… Again

2008-12-27T18:27:00.002-05:00

For the third time in five years, the Hokies are ACC Champs yet again, though they should have won in 2005…. After losing 13 players to the NFL, this team probably shouldn’t be repeating champs in a tough league, but we’ll take it! Off to the Orange Bowl yet again, though we will not be going. I have heard that we are bad luck for the team at Bowl games, but the real reason is the price. Plane costs from San Diego to Miami are astronomically high, considering how CHEAP gas is, and buying tickets from the Tech athletic office is ridiculously overpriced for the nose-bleed seats you get. So we’ll play a team much like Kansas last year who have nothing to lose and a lot to prove. I hope we actually prepare to play this time!

Hokies for the Freezing

2008-12-27T18:14:00.012-05:00

Since we graduated in 2006, Angela and I have tried to make it to at least one Hokie football game a year. This year we discovered that plane tickets home were significantly cheaper the week before Thanksgiving, so we made it to the Duke-VT home game in mid-November. During our time in college we attended many cold games, perhaps none colder than either the 2002 or 2003 Pitt games. But after living in San Diego for a few months, we have become acclimated to very little weather variation from sunny, mid-70s week in and week out. While believing we were prepared for the cold, we weren’t. We arrived in Blacksburg the day before the game, as the current students began a mass exodus home for a week off at Thanksgiving. Walking through campus to visit Angela’s old office produced tears and chapped lips… the temperature was not above 30 and the sun was still out. That evening was one of the coldest I can remember, with briefs stops outside between bars downtown freezing us to the core. We realized that with a night game upon us, we were going to be miserably cold. Sure, we had multiple layers, hats, extra socks, and new long johns… we thought we had mother nature beat. Despite the layers, Angela claimed to have lost feeling in her limbs by game time! This was officially the second coldest temperature recorded at kickoff in the Frank Beamer era. But the point was seeing friends and family! We had a great tailgate with the Gougers, enjoying peppermint schnapps and hot cocoa, along with great barbeque. Entertainment was provided by the local bird of prey, and although not a turkey, it caught a squirrel and proceeded to consume the rodent on a low branch for all the Hokie faithful to see. We decided that the Tech grounds crew keeps the hawk around to help deal with the rat issue (I have personally seen many scurrying rodents emerge from nearby Vawter Hall). We made it to the stadium in time to catch the Marching Virginians run by, reminding us of good times, but also how wonderful it was to actually tailgate for a game! Our seats were way up the East Stands, near the top! We saw the end of another beautiful Blacksburg sunset, and found seats next to my Uncle. From here we witnessed the energy of Enter Sandman and Fireworks! This warmed us up… but then we proceeded to watch the offense turn the ball over on 5 of their 7 first half possessions. So we went numb watching the defense play lights out, but we did witness the first touchdown by a wide receiver all season! This team is young, but at least give great effort. After an UGLY 14-3 win, we saw a few friends in the band and headed to Macado’s to thaw out. It has been awhile since we have been so cold or up so late at night, but seeing friends was great! Another legendary game in Lane Stadium, though the fireworks and temperature were more memorable than the actual gridiron action.

Merry Christmas from the California Gouger's

2008-12-26T15:36:00.002-05:00

Missing the Seasons

2008-12-20T17:38:00.002-05:00

While it has been chilly for San Diego temperatures (we’ve been hitting the 50s!), I have definitely been missing the snow. Christmas is just five days away, and its difficult getting into the season when you look out your window and the palm trees are still green and the pool is still open. It’s hard not being on the East Coast, where your hair freezes when you step outside, and the winter breeze chills to the bone. While I always complained about it, I now miss it terribly! I miss putting on amazingly cute winter coasts and scarves, and enjoying hot cocoa and fireplace fires. (Though we have had two fires this week!) Thankfully, we were able to enjoy a nice freezing day in Blacksburg, which made it feel as though winter actually exists and Christmas is actually on its way! I miss snow...like woah!

Family, Football, and Food! Oh my!

2008-12-20T17:05:00.010-05:00

James and I haven’t been home for a thanksgiving in three years (four if you include this one)! We spent our senior year Thanksgiving in New Orleans, our first year married with my grandparents in Texas, and last year, we spent apart, with James in Rhode Island and me in New Orleans. While we didn’t make it home for the real thanksgiving, we were able to visit a week early, and the Goedeckes threw an early Thanksgiving celebration for us! We hurried back from a cold weekend in Blacksburg to an amazing evening of family, food, fun, and football. AJ spent most of his time begging, and was particularly interested in where Grandma was sitting! Colin and Benjamin played with footballs (our adorable little future football players) while the grown-up boys watched football, and eventually played some football outside. This was the first time we had seen Tony out of the trip, and Jamie and Benjamin and Mr. and Mrs. Howland joined our Thanksgiving festivities. An important thing I learned: the Gougers don’t really like turkey! (You can imagine how appalled I was knowing that my family doesn’t like the most incredible bird ever!) Despite not liking it, Abigail cooked an amazing turkey, which I was very thankful for! There were also come cute turkey cookies that Colin and Ant Ant made in preparation of the festivities. I spent most of the evening with my adorable cousin Sam, who thinks I’m amazing (hence why I spend time with him) and he was thoughtful enough to tell James that we weren’t going to last because I was into him. Too cute! It was a great evening, full of bribing my nephew with cookies, and stuffing ourselves with desserts. It’s hard not being home for holidays, but it was great getting to celebrate with the family at least once this year!

Eating the most noble of birds

2008-12-09T00:59:00.001-05:00

While many find having an animal as a mascot is an appropriate way to instill pride and school spirits on students and alumni, few would agree that human consumption of said mascot is hardly an acceptable behavior. These doubters have never been to Blacksburg, VA, where we regularly consume massive, genetically enhanced Turkey legs every weekend of the fall at football games in addition to the classic Thanksgiving Day meal. Thanksgiving week is usually when the Virginia Tech – University of Virginia football game is played, and media pundits and Wahoos often wonder how a cultured sect of Thomas Jefferson disciplines can lose to near cannibalistic inbreds who eat their own on Thanksgiving. To these nay-sayers, I counter that there are few mascots as delicious as our dear Turkey. In the wild, the turkey is a noble and intelligent creature, only receiving a poor reputation from non-hunters and Benjamin Franklin haters. Ol’ Ben Franklin understood that the turkey would be a fantastic national symbol. Unfortunately, the other founding fathers fell lock step in with other nationalist countries, and used the often displayed eagle (The Roman Empire, Nazi Germany, Mexico… the list goes on, though on a technicality we are using the “North American Bald Eagle”). But we did have a great Thanksgiving, with many friends and family on both coasts. We live a truly blessed life, and are thankful for all the people in our lives!

MIA San Diego Hokies

2008-12-08T10:29:00.003-05:00

I know what you all are thinking…where are Angela and James and what are they doing? We hope to never go this long again between updates, but wanted to let you know that much like all of you, these last three weeks for us have been crazy. We spent an awesome, but quick week in Virginia, James decommissioned the Tarawa and had everything that goes with that, and I have started a new job and am working on finals in my last semester of classes for my Masters. We do care about you and will update this week! :) We promise!

In the meaning time…we are sending you our love from San Diego!

Futurama

2008-11-15T04:15:00.015-05:00

Bender: Robots don't have any emotions, and sometimes that makes me very sad.

Bender: There's nothing wrong with murder.
Leela: You're blackmailing me?
Bender: Blackmail is such an ugly word. I prefer "extortion." The "X" makes it sound cool.

Leela: I can be impulsive... it just takes me a while.

Leela: Why is Zoidberg the only one still alone?
Bender: Because he's a loser, that's why.

AJ in Orange

2008-11-15T01:41:00.003-05:00

Two ear infections and more full anal glands! Poor AJ! The little poodle who didn't have anything wrong with him suddenly had ear infections and anal gland problems when we moved to San Diego. Apparently...he's allergic to San Diego and needs to take allergy medicine. At first I thought it was a bit crazy, but now that he's been on it for over two weeks, I can definitely tell the difference. He isn't itching nearly as much, or sneezing, and he has a ton more energy. He's quite the pill popper though. All you have to do is open a pill bottle now and he comes running.

Visitors from the East!

2008-11-15T00:54:00.006-05:00

It started freshman year in college. I was wearing some drum corps shorts and he was a tuba player who appreciated that. And no...I’m not talking about James! I’m talking about Mike (SAM), a friend we made 6 and a half years ago at band camp! (Craziness....I know!) Ever since I met Mike...I have been convincing him that San Diego is the most amazing place ever and that one day, I would move back. Funny how things work out! So when he called asking if he could come and visit, you can bet how excited I was. I couldn’t wait to show him where I was from, and was stoked when I actually picked him up at the airport. It was the perfect time for him to visit since I was still unemployed and James had a fairly flexible schedule. The first place I took him was to see the beautiful skyline that is San Diego, and then of course the tide pools, my favorite place here. It was great having someone to talk to about the old days (ha!) and about our futures. It’s amazing to me that we’ve been out of college for so long, and that so many of us are still trying to figure out what we want to do and where we want to go. And trust me...there’s no better place to talk about that than sitting on the cliffs listening to the waves crashing and then eating Mexican food! Mike flew in on Wednesday morning, and the next day was James birthday, so he was able to head out a bit early. So we hit up the zoo, balboa park, and ocean beach, all three incredible places. I think I bored the boys a bit with my obsession with these awesome globes that are on display, but other than that, it was a great time. Mike had to head out early Friday morning, as he’s a pilot and had to get back to his routes. I was sad to see him go, but excited that he came to visit. I told him to bring Elise next time! Can’t wait for him to come back!

Bates Nut Farm

2008-11-09T03:58:00.009-05:00

I love fall. In fact, I love it so much that I put fake leaves all around our apartment, with gourds and pumpkins and corn. AJ was confused at first, but he has since gotten used to the leaves on the ground, and ignores them. I also regularly spray the Autumn Leaves and Pumpkin sprays from Bath and Body Works, and wear my orange pants to pretend that we are having a fall! Even though the weather and the leaves don’t change in beautiful San Diego, the annual season events still go on, so we spent an awesome Sunday afternoon driving into the mountains to enjoy a fall day at the pumpkin patch. As a little girl, we would always drive up to pick out our pumpkins, take adorable pictures, pet the animals, and buy candy in the little country store there. We have the cutest pictures from when we were little of visiting the patch, and my mom was nice enough to look over an hour to find one! :) Laura, James, and I made the 40 mile trek to Bates Nut Farm to pick out the perfect pumpkins in San Diego! The patch was just like I remembered; only cluttered with hundreds of little kids and their parents. The massive pumpkins were still there, and I am still amazed not only at how big they are, but how someone could spend that much money on a pumpkin. Though they were only 30 cents a pound, we saw someone check out with one that weighed 90 pounds! You do the math... I bet it doesn’t add up to how much you spend on pumpkins over the course of a few years. The large pumpkins remind me of James and the Giant Peach, as there is something that just isn’t natural about that. The pumpkin patch has changed a bit over the years, as there is now an espresso bar and taco stand, along with an entire mini carnival to entertain children and keep parents happy (the espresso of course). And the tacos add a bit of Southern Californian flair. I did miss the warm apple cider and homemade pumpkin pie that we were used to in Christiansburg, but just being at a pumpkin patch was a nice step in experiencing fall. After finding the perfect pumpkins to take pictures with, we visited the adorable country store to buy some candy and nuts, including my all time favorite all sorts licorice that I discovered there so many years ago. Yay for childhood fun and pumpkins!

You Can Vote However You Like

2008-11-04T20:20:00.003-05:00

These adorable kids are from Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta Georgia, and are singing a parody of my newest favorite song: You Can Have Whatever you like by TI. Enjoy! (If you are interested in the original and my new theme song: Whatever You Like

365 Days of Summer

2008-11-02T23:45:00.002-05:00

In Southern California, San Diegans enjoy the crisp autumn winds and colors of the season in the comfort of the Natural History Museum in Balboa Park.

Quarter Century

2008-11-02T01:11:00.005-04:00

Mike came just in time for my quarter of a century old birthday! I still had to go to work, but they didn't forget it was my birthday. I was greeted at work with a cake adorned with a “too old to count” candle in the shape of a headstone. While sometimes feeling old after sleeping for 8 hours in a work week, I am continually told I am quite young looking, with constant comments towards “does your mom know you are playing navy?” In any case, Mike, Laura and my wifey took me out to Hodads in Ocean Beach for greasy, awesome hamburgers and onion rings. Nothing like good old American food! The place is a little dive, with amazing food and drinks served in mason jars. The walls, as you can tell, are covered in license plates. We might donate one, since there is always a need for Virginia representing! We spotted an FSU plate, so now feel the need for there to be a VT one. After an awesome dinner, we got some fall flavored frozen yogurt at one of California’s THOUSANDS of yogurt shops. They are self-served, and you can mix any flavors you want and add any toppings...sort of like a do-it-yourself Cold Stone with yogurt. Since ice cream is full of fat and not good for beach bodies, despite many great dairy farms located nearby, yogurt is all the craze. We miss Blue Bell...one of our favorite things about Texas!

Nothing like a day of Fresh Air at the Beach

2008-11-02T00:41:00.001-04:00

Oh.....wait.... Mmmmmm....I've always dreamed of the day when I could lay out on the beach with smoke stacks on the horizon and a thick layer of smog overhead. Oh...Newport Beach...

Bear Smash

2008-11-02T00:37:00.008-04:00

Mike was able to come for a few days last week, which was great! He is a pilot and found great transportation to Charles Lindbergh field right here in downtown San Diego. This is a good time to visit, as I am not as busy at work as I will be next year, and Angela is still in school, and at home most of the time. Since we live so centrally in the city, most sites are within a few minutes drive. We were able to hit most of the best sites vacationers like about San Diego, including our world famous zoo. After watching Anchorman, we really wanted to see the Pandas, but had to walk past some neat exhibits first. I have been to the National Zoo in D.C. several times, but this one is immensely better. I felt like we were walking around an amusement park, but with animals everywhere. For a fee you can take a double-decker bus around the zoo, but we decided that it wouldn’t be worth it as we could spend as much or as little time as we wanted at different sites. The Koalas were sleeping and the monkeys were sleeping, but the bears were ferocious and scary. A Grizzly Bear was taking apart some meaty pulp, and reminded Mike and I of a Family Guy episode involving President Reagan taking down a brick wall bare-handed, dubbed “Reagan Smash.” This bear could kill you in seconds, and I hope to never see a grizzly in public. After standing in line to see a fat male panda eat, we took a sky ride over the whole park, offering views of Balboa Park and downtown. After a short but educational trip to the reptile building we checked out Balboa Park, coming across a man dressed as Indiana Jones practicing his whip routine, probably for some skit in the park’s many theaters, but he seemed odd! Balboa park is home to San Diego's museums and awesome outdoor art you can play with!

#1 Threat: Drivers!

2008-11-02T00:24:00.010-04:00

The most dangerous place in America has to be behind the wheel of a car. I have driven all across this country, but have never been as scared as I am here in California. We can discern no rhyme or reason for the way drivers non-chalantly change lanes at all speeds. We have seen fiery crashes, fender benders, and motorcycle fatalities. And the HTPINK has been hit twice already! (Once in an accident and another in the parking lot.) The one thing we have not seen is highway patrol. In VA and TX, cops were everywhere, enforcing RULES. California passes thousands of absurd laws, but does not have the money to enforce them. With such a cash poor state government, there are few cops patrolling. Locals say police are everywhere, but apparently these locals have not been to the east, where cops are REALLY everywhere. Merging lanes is insanely difficult and frightening, as most do not bother with turn signals. At work we have been facing a rising number motorcycle fatalities as sailors are buying bikes to save gas but have to drive on these dangerous road-ways. Driving in California is really one of the scariest things I have ever encountered.

The O.C.

2008-11-02T00:24:00.007-04:00

Following a great few days with our friend Mike (more to come later!), we headed up to the world famous Orange County to watch the FSU game. The Orange County Virginia Tech Alumni Association invited the Los Angeles and San Diego chapters to meet in the middle at Newport Beach. Getting stuck in traffic, we listened to the beginning of the game on satellite radio. Hearing that Tyrod Taylor was injured on the first play from scrimmage, we gave up hope on winning the game as our receivers have been horrid. After driving around for 20 minutes, we finally found a parking spot (one quarter was only worth 15 minutes...I hate this state sometimes…though meters on Coronado do yield an hour for a quarter) and we were pleasantly surprised to find the Hokies were playing tough and actually winning by the time we got to the bar. We were meeting a friend from Tech who is now working in Hollywood, Tim Leaton, along with a fellow communications graduate. The crowd at Sharkeez bar was great, and everyone was into the game. There were no seats left, but we ended up squeezing in and sharing a table with strangers (more like family since they were Hokies)! Though we ultimately lost a tough game, our young team gave the Seminoles a battle, even though our two starting quarterbacks were both injured. Hopefully one or both will be ready to go by Miami next week! After the game we played tourist, getting churros and famous frozen bananas on Newport Beach pier. The fishing seemed poor and everyone was catching small fish, nothing like fishing in Corpus Christi for sand trout! When we were out of quarters, we sadly said goodbye to our east coast friends, and drove south along the Pacific Coast highway, grabbing pumpkin spice chai and enjoying the beauty of the coast. Laguna Beach, site of a teenage drama for MTV was quite trendy, with artist studios and high fashion boutiques near the beach. (And people with extremely intense Starbucks orders...) Other than the mass of people, California is beautiful!

AJ likes to help with laundry

2008-10-29T03:00:00.002-04:00

Football… nope, not here.

2008-10-13T01:01:00.004-04:00

Last night, we checked out Qualcomm Stadium, better known as “The Q” to locals, for a San Diego State versus Air Force game. The Mountain West has some good teams this year and is playing good ball, particularly against the PAC-10. First impressions were that San Diego State is horrible at football since Marshall Faulk graduated. We sat behind the Air Force bench and enjoyed their military band, as it was something we knew about. I was reminded of my mother dating my Dad, attending a University of Richmond game and commenting that “This was not the same division as Nebraska.” I will say that this is not the same division as Virginia Tech. Most fans were there to watch a fire works show following the game… and the large NFL stadium was barely a third full. I would say maybe 20,000 people were there. The game was slow and there was a marked talent gap between BCS conferences and these guys. Watching Appy State and JMU is more entertaining. But watching live football is great, no matter how bad it is, and it was just across the street. Mary texted us during the game, wanting to know the Hokies score, so I told her we were tied with BYE. These bye weeks are tough! But next week Boston College is a night game on ESPN2, meaning we can watch it in HD at home! We may have people over, but few know how crazy we can be for the Hokies. We CANNOT wait to be in Lane Stadium in November. Traveling the country has been great for the past few years, and we look forward to traveling overseas in the future, but there is absolutely nothing like being in Lane Stadium for a late Fall game. We do hope to make a Charger’s game this season though, to watch something we’ve been missing…some great offense!

A Walk in the Woods? No…desert!

2008-10-13T00:57:00.005-04:00

The California Coast is much closer to mountains than back in ol’ VA. We drove less than an hour from sunny San Diego into the parched, hot desert hills of San Diego County. This County is gigantic, perhaps larger than many countries and states… We enjoyed a simple hike up a couple hundred feet to the summit of Iron Mountain, which had a great view of the surrounding hills. With water being so scarce, the presence of lakes and reservoirs were immediately obvious in the expansive view. We carried a lot of water for our short hike, as we have heard of quick deaths from heat stroke out in the non-humid desert. Two shipmates from my new command were hiking nearby, and one died from heat stroke, even with water. So we knew that the absence of humidity was not to mean that we weren’t sweating, it was just evaporating quickly. I bought a new toy, a camel back, which is awesome and I felt like quite the outdoorsman. At the summit was a trail book, which we signed Go Hokies!, and we were surprisingly not the only folks from East of the Mississippi, as there were many military signatures. We did not see any rattle snakes, but plenty of signs telling us of their presence. The West is harsh in nature, and we long for seasons, tall oaks, pines, and maples escorting us along an ancient mountain chain. Despite the lack of trees, there are numerous curious hikes out west for us to check out, so we are making the most of it. We love it out here, but have realized you can only truly enjoy the beauty and good people that live in South West VA until you leave it.

Hooray Beer!

2008-10-13T00:52:00.006-04:00

San Diego has a surprisingly decent local brewing scene. I suppose the success of the California Wine business has evolved to include the more cultured, sophisticated business of creating frosty brews. Down the street from our place is the San Diego Brewing company, providing unique flavors and greasy food. In nearby Pacific Beach, Karl Strauss, some guy I have never heard of, brews his local favorites, which are sold in the commissary. So we tried some of his obviously San Diego inspired Red Trolley Ale. It is tasty, but much smoother and not as much flavor as stuff you would get at Old Dominion brewing from VA. I miss a good New River Pale Ale, and the East Coast’s most drinkable, affordable beer: Yuengling. I developed a longing for the Pennsylvania lager while living in non-accessible Texas, and now am even farther away in a foreign country.

Pumpkin Spiced Hokies

2008-10-12T23:18:00.001-04:00

There’s something about a Pumpkin Spiced Chai that warms the soul, bringing you to the orange and maroon leaves and crisp air of southwest Virginia, no matter where in the world you are. It is in the fall that I am thankful that there are at least 10 Starbucks within two miles of us (google it…it’s true!). There is something inherently wrong about looking out your window in October and seeing green palm trees swaying gently in the wind and sunbathers lying out at the pool. So to take us back to the Blue Ridge Mountains, we wandered across the street to enjoy a little taste of home. It was fairly busy, so the barista asked for my name to ensure that we picked up our own orders, so I told him my name was Angela. Of course we were decked out in Hokie gear, and when we picked up our drinks, we realized that everyone can see where our heart really is.

Front Row Chicas

2008-10-07T03:39:00.004-04:00

It seems like just yesterday Laura and I were dressed up in our middle school sundresses with our classmates shuffling into the theatre to enjoy a night of opera. We all hung over the rails admiring the chandelier, feeling classy and pretending we were much older. Ten years later, Laura and I were all dressed up, peering over the railings looking down at that chandelier that seemed much smaller. (What can I say…I’m attracted to things that sparkle!) Compliments of her company, Laura and I were back in the same theatre; excited about a musical we knew nothing about. Having a lack of expectations is very exciting, and I think it made the Drowsy Chaperone that much better! Not to mention the complimentary champagne and front row seats!! Sipping champagne with an amazing friend front row at the theatre was incredible, and it is a night I will treasure for a very long time. The show was amazing, an entertaining comedy that takes place in an interesting guy’s apartment where an old musical comes to life in his imagination. (http://www.drowsychaperone.com/tour/tour_thestory.php) It was hilarious, very entertaining, and very sparkly! Sitting in the front row, you could see the faces of each of the performers, and really felt like you were part of the show. It was incredible!

AJs Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day…

2008-10-04T14:55:00.004-04:00

Last Saturday, I had one of those days that would make you want to move to Australia. It started with daddy being on duty all day, which sucks, because he doesn’t come home at night. The day went by without too much excitement, with mommy playing with me and taking me on walks. But then around 10:00, we went out for the last walk of the day, since mommy doesn’t like for us to walk late at night. I saw something on the stairs, and I wasn’t sure what it was, so I sniffed it…and this thing started biting me!! I later learned that it was a bee and it stung me right on my nose. Right on my nose?!?! How was I supposed to sniff anything? And then it started swelling and mommy called daddy and I was sitting on the counter so I wouldn’t squirm, and mommy brought this silver thing to my nose and pulled something out. She showed it to me and it was so gross…I can’t believe that stupid little bee put that thing in my nose! But I wasn’t scared at all, so we still got to go on our walk. We hadn’t even reached the pool yet, which is about half way of one direction of our walk, and I met this HUGE ferocious dog that was more like a monster than an actual dog. For some reason, mommy talked to the owners, so we sniffed, and the evil huge beast BIT ME!! On the back!! He was HUGE! (EDITORS NOTE: It was really a white girl poodle that was slightly larger than AJ) And I cried! I couldn’t breathe, and started wheezing, so mommy thought I was having an allergic reaction to the bee (stupid little thing!) so she didn’t even notice that this beast had bitten me! It hurt, but so did my nose, and I was scared and couldn’t breathe, so mommy took me home and put me on the counter again. That’s when she saw the blood, and then she started crying, and I thought I was going to die. I mean…why else would she be crying? It hurt, and she kept touching it with things, and then she locked me up and told me she was going to buy me medicine so I could breathe, but I was sure that I would surely die before she returned. Thank goodness I was still alive when she came back, but she bought this disgusting liquid stuff that she thought I would just drink…ha! Keep dreaming! So she poured it into some doggy ice cream, and I made her think that I didn’t understand what she was doing, because honestly…it’s doggy ice cream, and that’s awesome! So I took my medicine…and it actually helped me breathe and helped my nose not hurt as much. Mommy is awesome! But, she was still freaking out because it didn’t stop bleeding, and she kept crying, and I still kind of thought I was going to die, but felt better about it since my last meal would be ice cream. Mommy kept saying she wanted to take me to the vet, but that it wasn’t an emergency, so we needed to wait until Monday. So I tried to pretend that nothing was wrong so they would forget and not take me to the vet…I hate those people! They put a muzzle on me and tell mommy and daddy to feed me less because I am fat! How dare they call me fat! I’m just cute and cuddly! Can’t they see that?? But the vet shaved my back and cleaned it all up, which felt really good, but I tried to bite them anyways just to prove a point. And they gave me medicine so I get people food every night right now! It’s awesome! :)

Childhood Memories in SoCal

2008-09-25T23:48:00.004-04:00

Though I now consider myself a Virginian, that wasn’t always the case. In fact, up until about my senior year in college, I considered myself a Californian, having been born and raised there. It’s funny how much self-perceptions can change over the years, though I am still thankful for an upbringing on both coasts. (Or in two different countries as James would argue.) It’s been great visiting the places of my childhood, especially the places I used to live and go to church. I’ve been by both of the houses I could remember, though there were more, both of the churches I used to go to, and all three of the schools I attended. Both of the houses have been completely renovated and the first one I think they just tore down and rebuilt, because they are SUPER nice and did not look anything like that when we used to live there. These pictures are from when I was in elementary school. You may recognize the architecture from Top Gun, as this is where the movie was filmed. NTC is now closed, and has been turned into a Trader Joes, Starbucks, Panera, and some museums. (In fact, we met a guy who went to Tech at the Panera!) Top Gun wouldn’t have been nearly as awesome if there had been a Starbucks in the background! During one of the scenes, you can see the side of the church I was baptized in, and though it is brief, it is still super exciting!

Tide Pools

2008-09-15T23:57:00.008-04:00

Growing up visiting the Virginia Living Museum at least once a year, I got used to seeing horseshoe crabs and starfish in a tank. Angela grew up visiting the real things along the coast, and she was excited to take me there. Apparently she wanted to be a Marine Biologist when she was little, and now that I’ve been to the tide pools, I can see why. Though, if she wanted to be a Marine Biologist, Virginia Tech was a bad choice. The tide pools alone are a great reason to visit the West Coast and us! The tide pools are teeming with aquatic life, and it is nothing like the museum. We used our national park pass to visit Point Loma’s tide pools, which you really have to hit just at low tide, or you won’t know how much life is under the water. The tide goes way out, revealing tiny puddles of water amongst piles of rocks. Snails, hermit crabs, starfish, and the elusive octopus survive in these waters. Little clams, sea urchins, and sea plants cling to the sides of the rock, and pray they won’t be pulled away by little children. And...there were definitely kids doing that! We went twice this past weekend, and I still can’t believe how cold the water is in September! Angela and I both absolutely love them, and they are actually really close to our place, so we’ll probably visit a lot, especially at low tide. The cliffs are beautiful too, so if we miss low tide, we can still enjoy the beauty of the Pacific.

Bub’s Dive

2008-09-15T23:56:00.004-04:00

Nothing like another Orange Effect that actually worked! We went again to Bub’s Dive in Pacific Beach to watch the battle of the Tech’s. This time we realized that many college alumni gather in the area, as there was an Ohio State bar, California bar, and Oklahoma bar along the same strip. We watched Tyrod solidify his hold on the QB spot and our team sell out to Nike again with UGLY unis. The throwback jersey’s from last week looked great, perhaps with a modern maroon helmet? But the point is we won, though I bet we will lose at least one within the next stretch of 4 games. But things could be worse, we could be UVA, who will likely be favored to lose to DUKE this weekend. How does that happen? Al Groh seems to be “out of whack.” In any case, I can’t believe this is our third season not in the band, or able to live hokie football weekly. You can only drink your way through so many games on TV without becoming utterly depressed that you are not in Lane Stadium. But after the game we took a leisurely walk to the board walk and watched surfers against picturesque cliffs. Living here feels like we are permanently on vacation, it is that nice outside all the time.

Dining Out = Fraternity

2008-09-15T23:55:00.016-04:00

Many US military traditions are borrowed from great European organizations, and the US navy is essentially a copy-cat of the English. I escorted Angela to the final Tarawa dining out, in which we wear dress uniforms and observe many odd traditions while building camaraderie. Angela was happy because she got to buy a new dress. The dinner was on Coronado Island in a building on the beach. I had not been to Coronado yet, and we got there early enough to explore the outside of famous Hotel Coronado, where the presidents stay and a wing is haunted by an old woman. The actual dinner was interesting, as we witnessed parading of beef, killing the cook, and drinking of grog from a toilet bowl. We also toasted everyone in the US government with port... and the marines twice. It reminded us a bit like a fraternity event, with punishments for silly violations. Perhaps the funniest violation of the night was when someone dropped their belt buckle in a urinal, and we were all required to show our belt buckles to expose the culprit. After the dinner we enjoyed one of San Diego’s more famous beaches for a late night stroll.

Panama!?

2008-09-15T23:55:00.008-04:00

Panama was a good experience for me. I really felt for the rest of the “Big T” who just got back from a 7 month deployment, but it gave me a good taste of sea life without being away from Angela too long. We are not opposed to long absences from each other, it was just difficult to leave her when we are not even settled yet, forcing her to take care of a lot of issues I usually deal with. But I got to visit Panama and make friends from other countries. We had a few days of liberty in Panama City, which I used to go out into the Rainforests of Central America. Who knows when I will get a chance to go horseback riding and zip-lining in the canopy of a rainforest again? We were in Central America to take part in a 20 country military exercise, and being the largest ship participating we had dozens of VIPs and other visitors. I got a chance to work with foreign participants and get a working knowledge of how my job fits into the bigger picture. Other than the exercise, there wasn’t much excitement in the voyage, other than the obvious fact that cool Pacific waters keep San Diego much cooler than it ought to be. Coming into San Diego bay is rather impressive, as you pass Point Loma and Coronado on your right, with Mexico visible a few miles south. The city’s skyline is growing, and passing under the blue bridge is rather neat. Angela had a great view of it when she went sailing.

Finally in our "Element"

2008-09-09T03:04:00.006-04:00

Meet the newest addition to the West Coast Gouger family! The Saturn has finally been replaced by a car that has automatic locks and windows! YAY! And our Hokie magnets will stick to it! It’s like a swiss army knife on wheels. This thing can do everything! It’s the same length or shorter than my car (seriously)…yet it can hold a ton of stuff. The doors open up all wide and all of the backseats fold up against the sides so you can carry large items. Plus you can sweep it out…there’s not carpet! And AJ is happy since it was voted the number one dog friendly car of the year in 2007. Plus…we can have awesome tailgates in it since we actually have a tailgate now. Holla at the import! Notice that we buy maroon cars, not white cars. Mary…it’s up to you to be different too!

Hotel Coronado

2008-09-08T14:33:00.001-04:00

Catching that wind

2008-09-08T12:39:00.009-04:00

It’s no surprise that my brother and I both love to be out on the water, since we were both raised along the water…in San Diego and Virginia Beach. I love being at the beach and in the sun, and my brother loves to sail and do anything with boats. So when he came to visit last month, we rented a boat with two of his friends and went sailing. This was my first sailing experience out on the ocean, as I have only done little sailboats at sailing camps on lakes and rivers, and that was back in the day, so I really don’t have any sailing skills to say the least. My brother, on the other hand, is on the sailing team at the Coast Guard Academy and owns his own sailboat (which still makes me laugh). His two friends are both on the sailing team and had been sailing since they were little, so I decided to trust these three boys with my life. It was an amazing day out on the water, with the sun shining beautifully and everyone out for a Sunday sail. I steered the boat for a little while, but then freaked out when we were heeling, scared we would capsize. As the boys are yelling at me what to do with terms I don’t understand, I just gave up and had one of them do it. They all had laughs and giggles over it, reassuring me that they were right there to grab it if I did something wrong, but I still didn’t think it was that funny, and enjoyed myself much more when I was watching them sail! We got a beautiful view of San Diego from the water, including the sky line and Point Loma, watched the seals hanging out, and sailed for some time along the Stars and Strips, a racing ship for the USA. It was really exciting being out on the water, and when James and I get more settled in, we are going to take some sailing classes together, so we can enjoy San Diego from the water again and again!

Pacific Fire

2008-09-07T03:41:00.003-04:00

A great sunset over the Pacific, off the coast of Mexico. I am back on land in San Diego after spending a month out to sea. The sunsets out to sea are breathtaking. Nothing like going on a cruise you get paid for! Angela and I are considering a cruise at some point while living here, as we are close to the beaches of Mexico and we love to travel!

Panama

2008-09-07T02:44:00.011-04:00

Let's go Hokies....at 9:00 in the morning...

2008-09-04T02:41:00.007-04:00

How excited are we that we have found an awesome group of San Diego Hokies to watch football games with? Ecstatic! And how excited were we when the Hokies lost another game? Indifferent. While it is nice to win, the friendly environment and the experience of the Hokie game is much more important than the actual win. Especially when you sit back and think to yourself…I’m older than every single person on that team. That’s pretty humbling and may make you think twice about making them carry the huge burden of 60,000+ fans. As Dave McKee once told us: “The pizza will still be warm…and the beer will still be cold.” That being said… Glennon has had five years to learn how to play college football. At first I felt bad for him, but then when he whined to the media, I decided that he should probably not blame everybody else on the team and take some responsibilities for his own actions. So I am excited to see what Tyrod brings us this Saturday, and I respect Beamer enough to believe in his decisions of who should start. James and I watched the game at this awesome bar in Pacific Beach with about 60 other Hokies! We got there about 8:50 in the morning (ughhhhhhhh) and the bar was already full…it was super exciting. Check out the menu If you notice on the top left hand corner....they are Hokies! I think that’s what really sells the place…everyone is wearing Tech stuff, including the Bar tenders. And they have the best tater tots ever, and when I say the best, I mean Napoleon Dynamite would be in heaven. They were good enough to make me want to put them in my pocket. We met some awesome people and I am so excited to continue to meet even more. We had class with one of the girls and she came up to us and said we had World Politics together. It’s amazing that you can take a class with 500 students and then be at a bar on the west coast watching a game and have someone recognize you from the exact class. That’s what the Hokie Nation is all about!

Monday Night Football

2008-08-25T19:27:00.002-04:00

James and I both LOVE football....well....we kind of LIVE football during the fall, so it only made sense that we would pick an apartment that is overlooking Qualcomm stadium! Football is finally here...praise the Lord for bringing us such an exciting sport! :) Unfortunately, I will not be watching the game tonight, as I am waiting for James to come home to kick-off football. It is only appropriate that we start the season together. This picture was taken this afternoon around 3:30 on AJ's walk. Still a few hours to go before kick-off, but traffic is already horrendous and the parking lot is starting to fill up. Yay for football starting and yay for living so close to the stadium! :) Go Hokies! And Go Chargers! :)

On the high seas...

2008-08-22T21:45:00.004-04:00

This is a picture taken from the Navy website (www.navy.mil) of James ship on their recent deployment. James has been in Latin America for the past three weeks on his very first deployment ever! The following is taken directly from the navy website:

080814-N-7643B-003 PACIFIC OCEAN (Aug. 14, 2008) The amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa (LHA 1) leads a group of U.S. Navy, Peruvian navy, Colombian navy and Chilean navy ships during a photo exercise during Fuerzas Alidas (FA) PANAMAX 2008. Tarawa is participating as the command and control ship for the exercise. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class David A. Brandenburg (Released)

James has been super busy working on quals, and we haven't been able to talk much, as the phones on the ship have been down and the internet only works part of the time. It has been hard being alone in San Diego, especially since my transmission went out in my car and I’ve gotten sick (surprise!). But my good friend Laura has been keeping me busy, as she promised James she would take care of me! She is amazing! :) Just last night we went to an ubber fancy restaurant for a wine and food pairing. It was incredible! I can’t wait for James to come home so we can experience San Diego together! (You can search for more pictures here: http://www.navy.mil/search/photolist.asp

The Eagle landed...in San Diego

2008-08-21T04:02:00.005-04:00

The Coast Guard’s tall ship The Eagle arrived in San Diego with my brother and his coastie friends on board. Surprisingly enough, I have actually never been on the Eagle until this visit. Usually, I am standing on a pier taking pictures, but this time I actually got to walk on board and go down into the berthing areas. The tour is self guided, and I must say I wasn’t that impressed, as I had to read signs and no one told me anything. Swabs…you need to work on that! The swabs also brought with them wonderful illnesses that I caught: strep throat and pink eye! (Though I'm pretty sure I got the pink eye in the doctors office dealing with the strep...thanks swabs...) But, my brother mentioned a few tidbits here and there, and I got pictures with the wheel, which is really all that is important! :) Even though I think I’ve mentioned this before, I’ll give you a very brief history of the ship. The Eagle was a German ship that was acquired into the US fleet following World War II, and now it serves as a training tool for the Coast Guard Academy. That’s really all you need to know. Tall ships are just cool in general…magnificent in the day and eerie at night. And I dropped these cadets at the ship enough times late at night to know that it is super eerie.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggg..............

2008-08-19T00:36:00.002-04:00

AJ taking his anger out on his poor little toy. Apparently being without his daddy makes him fairly aggressive. But, he's been really great with all of the dog's he's been playing with in the complex! Just tonight he was invited to a play date with three little yorkies and a girl who went to West Virginia. How sweet! :) I'm just thankful he hasn't tried to eat one of her dogs yet! Ha!

Country in Cali

2008-08-15T01:32:00.003-04:00

Who would have thought that the first time James and I experienced Line Dancing was in California when we have lived in Texas and Virginia? But it is true…we had to move all the way to Southern California to get our groove on country style. Just a few minutes down the road from us is this awesome little country bar called “Incahoots” where they have free line dancing lessons and the country music plays all night. Some of Laura’s coworkers were hitting the floors on a Friday night, so we joined them for some line dancing fun. Though we didn’t have any boots or hats, we still hit the floor to learn. James and I were not so talented at the whole line dancing thing, but Laura was getting it and doing great! I was okay until we had to switch partners, and then I was dancing with some sweet old guy who had no rhythm whatsoever, and I quickly lost the beat. Since James played a low brass instrument that keeps the beat, he kept me on track. I think I didn’t feel quite as stupid when I messed up with him either. James danced with this adorable little woman who was really encouraging! So it was a lot of fun. Next time I’m going to have a little bit more confidence, and I’m going to spend more time on the dance floor and not at our table. One of Laura’s coworkers is from Virginia, and her friend is from the 757! It was awesome connecting with Virginian’s on the left coast. They were both Mary Washington grads, and we are excited to hang out with them some more. Ya’ll come an’ visit so we can go dancing’, ya hear?

Wild and Wonderful

2008-08-14T04:25:00.013-04:00

West Virginia? No…the San Diego Wild Animal Park! Two of my friends from home, Jen and Fallon, were visiting the beaches of LA, so we made plans to meet at the Wild Animal Park for a day. Jen and I grew up in San Diego, and we had fond memories of spending days and days at this incredible park. We were so excited to visit again! As I pulled into the parking lot, I was all jittery like a little kid! Having to wait for them to get there was almost unbearable, as I wanted to relive my childhood right then. Jen, Fallon, and Jen’s Aunt arrived and we excitedly pushed through the colorful paintings into the park. Being the tourists that we were, we took pictures with all of the signs and fun statues. The park is themed around Africa, and as Jen and her Aunt had both been there, we wanted to see just how realistic things were. As a child, the park seemed like a huge wilderness, with animals running free, and our imaginations running wild. As an adult, the park is more like a zoo, with cheesy attractions to spend money on, and little kids running around everywhere. We started in the petting zoo, then moved on to feed the Lorikeets. My Lorikeet was missing a great deal of feathers, and an attendant explained to us that they had been pecked out and that he didn’t have a disease. Hmm….the bird flu? I haven’t come down with anything yet, but time will tell. And we saw a flamingo that was dying. Fallon and Sandy said it was just sleeping, but Jen and I were convinced that it was on it’s last leg…seriously. After the Lorikeets, we ventured out to find the train ride. The train ride was the greatest thing about the wild animal park, and the biggest thing that stuck out in our childhood memories. We were soooo excited! We looked at the map, but we didn’t see it, so we asked an attendant, who pointed us in the direction of a small tram ride. That didn’t seem right, but we were excited to sit down and peer over “Africa.” The tram was neat, and more like what I remembered. We drove about, looking at rhinos and giraffes, gazelle, and long-horned cows, all ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ over the adorable new babies and taking pictures along the way. But the tour only lasted 20 minutes, and we remembered it being longer. As we discussed the fact that we both couldn’t be remembering something incorrectly, the woman in front of us turned around and told us that they got rid of the train last year. Apparently, it was continually breaking down, and the parts were no longer being manufactured, so it was extremely expensive to fix. So, rather than put a new one in, they turned the park into a walking park and opened up the small tram tour. What?!?! This is what made the park so incredible and so awesome. You felt like you were on awesome adventure, going over bridges over the lions playground and driving through the trees until the expanse opened to reveal giraffes and elephants. It was extremely disappointing. Now you had to walk? And you couldn’t see nearly as many things from the walkways. Jen and I lamented over not being able to relive our childhood memories, and then we laughed at how we were going to be those people who tell the stories of “when I was your age.” (Look at the map Okay...the yellow park used to be the train ride...like...the entire park. The purple part is the new train ride.) I took pictures of the old tracks...sadness... One nice addition to the park is the research center that is supposed to emulate an old research camp in Africa. It’s a hands-on experience, so you can interact with everything and actually touch things. We had some good times there, and took some entirely inappropriate pictures, considering Jen is getting her PhD in Africana Studies, and I am getting a Masters in TESOL and am supposed to be culturally sensitive. It was still the perfect photo opportunity! Despite the great disappointment of the tram being gone, it was still a great day at the park. It is still a neat place, and I enjoyed seeing the animals and being outside on a warm San Diego day. We enjoyed a nice little picnic outside of the park, and meandered to look at the elephants, the cheetahs, and the lions. It was great enjoying San Diego with Virginians, and I hope we get to enjoy more wonderful days with visitors! :)

I love <3 PINK Flamingos!

2008-08-07T22:29:00.003-04:00