Spring Break (the 2nd half)

The saying goes, "All good things must come to an end," so I suppose that is why my Spring Break is coming to a close this evening. It is sad, I know. Spring Break will be capped off this evening with some good friends and Rock Band; not too shabby!

I had a fabulous time visiting my family and friends in St. Louis and while I got to see ALMOST everyone I wanted to see, I did miss a few friends - sorry, I did my best! In my mind I thought it would be so easy to see everyone in the course of a week, but clearly that was not able to happen...there is always next time though!

In the midst of a hot game of Scrabble!

Things I did do: I got to wine and dine with my family and friends, shop until we nearly dropped, pamper myself with a mani and pedi, saw "Sunshine Cleaning" (you must go see if it if you have not already), get some exercise, made a display board (every vaca needs an arts & crafts project), play some Scrabble and have a mini-birthday celebration for my dad! I am sure that there are some highlights I forgot to mention!

Dinner with good friends!


Out for dads b-day!


Board I put together for my mom!

I love going home and seeing everyone, relaxing on my parents couches, going through old pics (I will post some later) and watching a video of old pics from when my grandparents were probably my age - good work Aunt C! Thanks for a fantastic visit everyone! And although I said I was going home for a week, I was also looking forward in being back home with M. I guess you could say I am lucky enough to have two homes!

Ernie got a bath just before I left! It was his going away present to his favorite Auntie...me!


Back in DC and taking a moment to enjoy a gorgeous morning!

Passover & Spring Break (so far)

I love Passover, not because of the matzah which I can not eat, but because it brings me two weeks of bliss! Spring break baby! One of the perks of working at a Jewish Day School is that Passover brings me a much needed break from school. LOVE it (and needed it)! My first part of Spring Break was spend at home (in VA) catching up on cleaning, hanging out with some friends (and Michael of course)! We spent an afternoon at the Cherry Blossoms and we cooked up a last minute Pesach Seder...thanks for coming D & P; we had a blast and hope that you did too!

At the Cherry Blossom Festival

Homemade Seder plate & the table set and ready to go!

After cleaning up from a Passover feast and making sure that M had a few leftovers for while I was gone, I headed off to STL to hang with my family and friends for a week! I have been having a blast and have been able to spend quality time with my family and friends, there are still more peeps to see and I am going to have to try to squeeze them all in! You would think it would be so easy to squeeze in everyone in a week...but it is a bit tricky! I have a few more days at home (I head back east on Friday); there are lunches, dinners, shopping and a mani and pedi in my future...who knows what else will come my way, but I am enjoying my visit and that is what counts the most! And one of the best parts of being at home...

ERNIE! Awake and smiling and just waking up from a siesta!

While the C's away, the M will play

C's out of town for her spring break (Passover). I'm home all alone. Here's what the house looks like without her here to make me clean up...but don't worry, it'll be clean before she gets here.

Obviously, there's a little trash I need to throw out before she comes home.
(Mmm...Chili's)




I'll have to clean the bathroom before she returns as well
(Sorry about the mirror Babes, its that crazy Passover wine - it make me angry)




And the office is a little messy because we just got our new network storage drive (love it)




C, I'm not sure I'm going to have the repairs to the building fixed by Friday. If you give me until Saturday, I'll repair everything - I promise.
It wasn't my fault, honest.




Anybody available later this week to help?

Chicago + SF + Klamath Falls + 10 hrs + 2800 miles = 1 long day

The last time I had to make two airplane transfers (for a total of 3 different planes) to get to a destination was... well heck, I am not sure that I have ever had to do that.

• When C & I went to Tahiti, we had 1 layover (STL -> LAX -> Paradise)
• When I went to Alaska with my dad, it was direct (STL -> Palin Paradise/Anchorage)
• When I went to Israel, I stopped once each way (NYC, London or Paris)
• ...
  

But to fly from DC to visit me in Oregon, it will take poor C 10 hours and 3 planes to get there (it only takes 7.5 hours and 3 planes to get her back).

Looking at this positively, she'll get to visit Chicago (for 1 hour), San Fransisco (for 1 hour) before landing in beautiful (I'm assuming) Klamath Falls, OR. After landing in Klamath Falls, (the closest airport to Crater Lake NP) C still has a 65 miles / 1.5hrs drive to the park - talk about being in the middle of no where. With only 4 flights a day and one gate, the Klamath Falls Airport will be the smallest airport C (or I) has ever flown into.

But it will all be worth it...

This is what she'll see when she gets there (&me)

Wagons West!

Point your wagons west, choose your profession, buy your bullets (you'll need them for hunting) and supply yourself with extra wheels, axles and oxen (you never know when they'll break, get ill or make good items to trade). I'm ready to ford a river, if necessary and if everything goes according to plan, no one in my party with die of dysentery on my 2,800+ mile journey.

It's time for M to realize his manifest destiny and see if I can find the an overland route to the Pacific Ocean.

While I will be leaving from Washington DC instead of Independence MO, and I'll be flying instead of taking my old fashion wagon (the government won't reimburse me for wagon transportation); I will still head out on an Oregon Trail this summer.

After accepting a summer internship with the National Park Service in early March, I just received confirmation that I will spend my summer at Crater Lake National Park, America's 7th oldest national park (the park pre-dates the NPS). A picture is below, or check out the overhead map.

What Can M Expect This Summer:

Crater Lake is the US's deepest lake and the 7th deepest in the world at 1943 feet deep (tall enough to stack over 6 statue of liberties, 3 StL Arches or 353.27 C's (that's a lot of wives) - in case you were curious). The Park is located in Southern Oregon on the crest of the Cascade Mountain range, 100 miles east of the Pacific Ocean. It lies inside a volcanic basin created when the 12,000 foot Mount Mazama collapsed 7,700 years ago following a large eruption (it's not so tall anymore, muhaha).

Fed by melting snows, the Lake has no rivers, creeks or other outlets and rises and falls based on snow melts and evaporation (so it's doubtful I'll get to do much lake swimming). In fact, average high temperatures for June - August range from 56-62 degrees (a chilly summer) and because the park receives an average of 533 inches (yes, that OVER 44 FEET) each winter I can expect snow on the ground when I arrive (it likely won't melt until July), so I definitely won't swim (or come home with a tan).

Now that you know I won't be swimming, here's what I'll be doing:

• Utilizing my understandings of business strategies and government to help Crater Lake craft and implement its first-ever business plan.
  
• Spending many hours outdoors
• Exploring Oregon
• Reviewing operations to determine how they relate to the Park's mission
• Reviewing existing planning documents to forecast possible costs
• Crafting ideas on how to interact with the Park's private trust to improve the Park
• Other stuff
• Missing C (she'll be in DC, hanging at Lululemon, aka The Lemon - although she'll come visit for a while)
• Exhibiting/practicing my consulting skills in order to further prepare me for a job in consulting

Let the mini-Big Adventuring begin! I ship out to WV for orientation/training on June 6th & then on to OR!