Another Pleasant Trip to Florida

I finally got my Florida photos together. I had a lovely time again. I love, love, love going down there. I get to see my Grandma again and spend time with my family. We are a family to whom vacation = relax. We don't fill our time with activities we mostly sit and do very little...and it's perfect. I read six books this year...heaven.

Jesse, Dad and Mom at the beach our last night. We went down to check out the sunset.

The drawbridge on Cortez Road as seen from the Seafood Shack.

A closer look at the bridge. It was up for a sailboat to go through.
The sun setting behind clouds. This is a view towards the island in the opposite direction from Cortez Road.
The family enjoys dinner at the Seafood Shack. It was our first night there and Aunt Jan was there with us.
We did some yard work for Grandma and then washed the gloves afterward. This is the best way to dry everything down there.Jesse decided to take a photo of the sunset with the bird in the shot. I decided to take a picture of Jesse. hee hee.

People walking on the beach at sunset.
Almost done.

The last bits of sun were behind clouds so we headed home. This is what the beach entrance looks like. Lots of people drive in, although we walk.

Overall - awesome. Already looking forward to next year's visit.

My Jet-Setting Aunt and Uncle

My Aunt Karen and Uncle Bill are world travelers to the extreme. Every time I turn around, they're heading somewhere new and trying something different. It's great to hear their stories at family get-togethers and learn what the food is like in certain countries and what the transportation options are in other countries. They are founts of information.

This works out well for me for a couple of reasons:
1) When I finally get to the point where I can afford to travel out of the US, I totally know who I'll go to for advice. Chances are they've been there, done that...twice.
2) Aunt Karen is great about sending me photos of their adventures, like these from Amsterdam. She's a great photographer and its fun to see pics from around the globe that aren't just stock photos.

So here are some of the newest ones from Turkey. She said they were with a large group this time and their tour guide was great. They also got to take a hot air balloon ride. What fun.

30 Rocks Birthday Weekend Extravaganza!

I had a superb and magnificent weekend in MI celebrating my birthday with friends and family. (And apparently it's caused me to use descriptive words usually saved for movie reviews and magic shows.) Saturday started with some shopping with mom (always awesome) and then the 30 Rocks Day of Adventure started. Basically, I made my friends go around with me to some of my favorite spots around Lansing.

1) Old Town - we hit the snazzy boutiques Grace and October Moon and even walked through the peppy Polka Dot Bead-a-full shop.
2) Lansing City Market - I was on a mission by buy chips from the El Azteco stand, but was too late so I got some really good popcorn instead.
3) Cheddar's - there's only one reason to go to Cheddar's in the middle of the afternoon...that's right - A Cookie Monster. mmm.4) Frances Park Rose Garden - such a glamorous and well-tended garden with awesome views of Grand River. It doesn't feel like you're in the middle of Lansing. We tried to get in the background of some wedding photos, but were unsuccessful.5) Jesse and Scott's house - why not? They moved in last week and are working on unpacking and decorating and were more than willing to give a tour to a car full of girls.

After the incredibly fun afternoon we returned to my parent's abode for the evening party. The 30 Rocks evening was a rousing success. It was so much fun to see some of my favorite people all in one place and the food was great (especially since my mom picked all my favorites). There was cake and laughter and creative presents (Margaret brought me 30 rocks - 30 rocks candy sticks - awesome) and a large game of Apples to Apples.Sunday was another fun day with family. We celebrated the September birthdays all together at my parent's house. It was great to see everybody, especially since I live out of state now and don't get to attend as many functions. And yes, there are 30 candles on that cake. My grandma said "Just be glad we didn't use 82."Overall - awesome. On a scale of 1 to 10...52.

D.C. Highlights

I recently went on a family vacation to our nation's capital. I love that city. It's clean and peppy and chocked full of stuff to do. I thought I would share some highlights and some pictures. Enjoy!

* Smithsonian! Smithsonian! Smithsonian! - Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian props, The Castle, and the repairing of a space something or other at the Air and Space Museum are the main things I got pictures of, but we did quite a few of the museums.* Travel on the Metro was very somber and a bit slower after Monday's accident, but it is still my favorite public transportation system.

* Vacation Eating: McDonald's for breakfast, various food courts for lunch, and Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Lovely!* Kooky, yet relaxing, sculpture gardens.* The National Archives! We didn't actually go in because the line was always too long, but I had to take some snaps outside my motherland.* We got surprisingly close to The White House.* Nature in the big city - a duck family cruising in the Constitutions Garden Lake on the Mall.* Did you know that the National Aquarium is in the basement of the Commerce Building? Odd, but true. We spotted a turtle on the move.* The Tourists Traps - We saw the big ones, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capital, Arlington Cemetery, and the White House. I really like the Jefferson Memorial and the FDR Memorial, but we didn't make it to those this time.