August brings one of my favorite times of year -- our annual family trip to the lake. My Mom's side of the family gets together to celebrate Granny's birthday. Sometimes it is the only time of year when we are all together.
This was the second year I tried to drop a ski and stay up on one. I got it for a couple of seconds but that's about it. Still can't figure out how to stay up on one. I won't give up though!
This year my sister also journeyed over the wake for the first time in more than a decade. It was a big moment. It's only a matter of time until she is up on one. Must master that before her!
The real pro is Mom. Showing us how to get it done even though she's got a couple more years of practice on us.
It was also Emily's first time out on the boat. She's already becoming a pro but look at how uncomfortable that life jacket looks. Sorry kid but safety first!
A trip to the lake isn't complete without a campfire! Gotta be careful when roasting marshmallows!
I'm just glad we get a chance to be together. Like I said, one of the things I look forward to the most!
This summer several of my friends at work and I have been trying out different places to eat on Fridays. Each time tends to be a different group or different food but it's always a lot of fun. The photos is from Sarah, Erica, Me and Anjali hanging out in Norfolk.
A different week we decided to eat at the oceanfront. Afterwords Erica and I (and Anjali, who took the photo) decided to play on the beach. It was the perfect night.
As the title of this blog post suggests, in July I also got to visit my friend Brittany in D.C. Brittany and I were communications majors together at Flagler, although she preferred newspapers and I loved television. For some reason I took lots of photos of my tour around the city but none of Britt. Guess I'll have to remedy that next time. Enjoy the tour (there's lots of hipstamatic photos).
The Washington monument (from the World War II Monument), The Lincoln Memorial, and the White House.
Here I captured two different style shots of the Jefferson Memorial.
I also tried a double take of the Capitol Building. Both came out pretty cool.
Another neat moment for me was getting to see the Newseum. It wasn't built the last time I was in D.C. As a member of the media the first amendment is important to me. As a Christian, it's even more so. I know everyone is not always thrilled with the freedom of the press and speech but I think they are vital to our country's foundation. Also inside there is a section dedicated to 9/11. They have a whole wall of front pages after the tragedy. To say it was emotional and moving is an understatement.
For me no trip to D.C. is complete without a stopping by the Korean War Memorial. Thank you to all the brave men who served in this conflict and all others. And a special thank you to my Granddaddy, Charles Russell, who was on the front lines.
So during my trip to D.C. to visit Brittany I also decided to do a photography project with my new Calf Pow cup. It was a birthday gift from Newman based on our love of NCIS. This is how it turned out. Enjoy!
Calf Pow here. I am getting ready for my big adventure in our Nation's Capital. It's pretty exciting! Although I'm pretty sure I was made in China.
I got my metro card and I'm ready for our first stop, the National Museum of American History. These Metro trains are surprisingly clean.
We made it! Time to Explore!
Julia Child's Kitchen.
To be honest, her accent scares me.
A big moment for me, seeing the Star-Spangled Banner. I wonder if anyone ever forgets the words...
Hi Laura Bush!
Tell the "W" I said hello!
This visit was for Mr. Kramer, our very own Archie Bunker!
Ahhh the moment I've been waiting for. If you know Megan then you know why there are really no words to describe these. Let's just gaze shall we..... (Eat your heart out "Gone with the Wind")
Look, I'm taller than the Washington Monument!
The Common Commonwealth
Suddenly I want Peaches or Peanuts
The Bluegrass State. Home Sweet Home.
Four score and seven years ago I hunted Vampires. Wait, what?!
If this dog pees on me Megan you're in so much trouble! Seriously!
Ok, hurry up! This is close enough. That tall one is eyeing me!
The National Archives. Sorry, this is all you get. Too hot for that long line.
The First Amendment. The Newseum is a must.
Think they'll let me sit in the big chairs?
Man, I never found Gibbs or Abby. Maybe Megan will take me on another adventure. Calf Pow out!
Nothing refuels the energy like a little time off. The only thing that makes it better is seeing everyone from home. I finally got the chance to spend a whole week in Henderson. I don't think I've done that since before I graduated college. Luckily my time was filled with wonderful visits. I got to see several friends, watch my niece Paige graduate high school, and spend some time with the folks. Mom made all of my favorite foods and Dad and I caught up on movies. It was nice to just relax and hang out with all my family. At one point all my Kentucky siblings and their families came over for some food and Kramer chats, which usually center on television shows. It mad the trip complete.
I also got to visit my Granny and the farm. I was playing with the old street sign and my hipstamatic app. I think this version turned out pretty cool.
On my flight home, by way of Detroit, I had some special people on the plane. I am a big fan of Lost and True Blood so imagine my surprise when a star from each of the shows was on my flight. Michael Emerson and his wife Carrie Preston. Michael also taught at Flagler College, my alma mater. I finally worked up the courage to ask them for a photo. They even ended up sitting behind me on the flight. It was neat to chat with them. Also, if you haven't seen Michael's new show "Person of Interest" you should check it out! Five Stars!
June also brought my 25th Birthday. It's weird sometimes to think I am really a quarter of a century old. My fellow producers were nice enough to bring a cake for my birthday. So sweet. And foursquare even sent it's own Happy Birthday message.
One of my favorite gifts was this Caf-Pow cup from Megan Neely. We both love NCIS and one of the characters drinks this all the time, so it's fun to have my own cup. She even bought me some of the actual energy drink, but I haven't gotten up the courage to try it yet.
Norfolk has been a great move for me but I still miss all the friends I made in Savannah. Luckily I got some time of in April to visit the great state of Georgia. First, I stopped in Macon to visit with Jenny and Bret and spend some time with Emily. She is growing up so fast! After that I headed to Savannah to catch up with friends and co-workers. I was able to squeeze in lots of visits and time with everyone. God has definitely blessed me with lots of people who love and care about me.
Also in April, my Mom and Granny came for a visit. I showed them around the city and even got a chance to show off some of my cooking skills. Now for some reason I did not get any actual pictures of my visitors but I did get some great shots of our trips. Both Granny and Mom love flowers and gardening so we went to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. I had just gotten a new app on my phone -- Hipstamatic -- and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to test it. Take a look at the beautiful results.
We also took a ride on the Victory Rover -- which gives you a chance to see Portsmouth and Norfolk from the water. The tour ends at Naval Station Norfolk where we got to see several ships including the USS Cole (which was bombed in 2000) and the USS New York (part of this ship is made from metal recovered from the twin towers). My favorite was the USS George H.W. Bush. Everyday we write about different deployments, homecomings, and missions involving the ships so it was nice to see a lot of them in person.
In March I traveled up the Eastern Shore for a historic basketball game. Kentucky was playing Ohio State in the Sweet 16 so a co-worker and I decided to make the trip to Jersey. But before we get to the wonderful moment and highlight of the trip, I want to share with you some of the wonderful things we saw along the way.
Join me on this road trip...
First we left Hampton Roads and headed toward the Eastern Shore. Andrew, my co-worker, took this photo as we started across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. It takes about 30minutes to get across the whole thing! Check out all the container ships!
Once we traveled into the Eastern Shore we saw the strangest sign. I don't even know what to write about it.One of the most exciting parts of the journey for me was traveling through Delaware. My sister and I have this friendly competition about how many states we've each been to. The rule is you must actually step on the ground in the state and airports don't count. So how many chances does one get for Delaware? Yes Jenny, I filled up and ate food so it counts. :)
We finally made our way to Newark, after driving through a scary part of town, and it was time for COLLEGE BASKETBALL! This isn't the best shot of me but it shows the most important fact - I WAS THERE! The first game was UNC and Marquette. After that boring game it was time for the main event - Kentucky versus Ohio State. I feel at this point it's important to point out that Andrew is an avid Ohio State fan. We were crazy to think this would be a peaceful night!
Below are some shots from the game - note the close score in the last one! The whole game was back and forth like with a close score and it came down to a couple of baskets at the end. I don't know how but I was able to grab my camera and record the end. Where the video picks up Kentucky is up by 3. Enjoy!
After the emotions of the game it was time to drive to my cousin's house in Jersey for the night. Jeff and his family were so gracious to open their home to the weary basketball fans. After the crazy maze out of Newark, I was terrified, we finally made it to where Jeff lives. Believe it or not there was snow waiting for us!
Finally it was time to head back to Hampton Roads and across the Bridge Tunnel. The last photo I leave you with is what the Garmin showed us as we crossed back into Virginia Beach. It doesn't show the low battery sign, so little did we know but the Garmin fuse was about to go out. Thankfully the Lord got us back home before the Garmin gave out. What a great trip!
