New Places in the Same Ol' Place

Since Corey has been gone and I've moved closer to work, I've been discovering new places around DC and hanging out with more people. Not that we were old, boring, married shut-ins, but we were old, boring, married shut-ins. I liked it that way though :)
I finally went to The National Harbor in DC and to Old Town Alexandria in Virginia. Both are a lot of fun and I've really been having a good time trying to make the time go by fast so I can just be in Germany already, living with Corey again.

The National Harbor to see The Kelly Bell Band

Old Town Alexandria with John, Barb, Julie & Dwayne

 My friend Faith is very outdoorsy and adventurous so we have been hiking, running, biking, spinning, etc a lot. Every time we go on a hike there is some kind of freak flash flood storm so we decided to document it this time because it's getting ridiculous. If you need it to rain, let me know and I'll go on a hike with Faith.

Rosaryville State Park with Brittany's dog, Tucker

Potomac Airfield

I started flight lessons last week at Potomac Airfield in the DC restricted airspace. So far I've just been a sweaty mess trying to learn basic flight maneuvers, but it's been a lot of fun. Flying in this area presents a few obstacles due to Andrews AFB and the White House. Every time you fly anywhere you have to call with a flight plan or an F-15 will kindly escort you out of the air. I don't know how kind they are so we'll just keep calling in the flight plans. I don't really have a clue what I'm doing but luckily I have really good instructors who are braver than any normal person on earth. I don't think I would ever want to teach someone how to fly. Something about being 2,300 feet in the air with an idiot sharing your flight controls. These people are nuts! 

I'm not really sure where I'm going with this endeavor but this is pretty standard for me. I don't know what I would do if I ever had a clear plan of action. Hopefully something exciting works out and maybe I'll be flying you to some exotic location on a private plane one day. Are you brave enough to fly with me? Haha. Don't answer that yet. Wait until I pass some tests and get a license. 

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Dirty 30

I always thought 30 would be kind of cool but then I woke up this morning with a nasty head cold, walked out to my car and found a flat tire and got the on-call phone at work. Hmmm. Soooo, it started off bad but luckily I had a friend to help me with my tire, someone to bring me this awesome cupcake cake, tons of phone calls, text messages and facebook posts, and two sweet girls who decorated my room with balloons and made me more cupcakes!

I was sad that I didn't get to spend my 30th with Corey, but was so grateful for all the people who made my day so special. No one really helped me with the excessive snot problem this head cold has given me, but that's cool. I learned how to really change a tire (not just in theory). I finally took a tire off and put a fixed tire back on. I also snotted on the tire and didn't tell the guys at Mr. Tire. Birthday surprise for them! 

I thanked my mom for bearing me and putting up with me and she was all like, "yeah, you owe me $4,500 for the C-section" so I'm going to start working on that. Just kidding. My mom is so sweet and pretends like I was a precious angel. She has been blessed with the gift of forgetting. She thinks all her children were so sweet and easy going. Haha. We were ;)

Um, I like 30 and wasn't bugged about the age but I certainly don't want to turn 40. Let's just stop here and forget about the rest. 

In case you're bored and have been dying for a new viral video...check out the Honey Badger. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg

His name is Mudd

Whether the expression came from Dr. Mudd aiding John Wilkes Booth after he assassinated Lincoln (did he or didn't he?!) or if it means "a stupid twaddling fellow" like etymonline.com says, it doesn't matter. What matters is that I went to a historical landmark today and now I'm teaching you about it. Scholars maintain that the literal translation has been lost for centuries. Dr. Mudd's home is about 2 miles from my new place in Waldorf, and since I have nothing better to do now that I'm a geographical bachelorette, I went for a drive today.

After Dr. Mudd's house, I just drove until I got to the end of the road. I saw on the map that there was a national park on the beach so I checked it out. Not as pretty as I was expecting but the east coast beaches always do that to me. It was about 12 degrees cooler and I love the salty sea smell so I can get over the black water and small beaches.

Point Lookout State Park

Notice any safety hazards? Oh, I don't know, fishing where your children are swimming...

I guess I've been missing my old commute and had to get in the car and drive for a while. Haha. No, I do not miss that commute. I love getting to work in 20 minutes. I love owning a Prius and being able to enjoy not filling up every week. Again, I love not driving 130 miles a day! I'm very excited about this.

Corey is gone...to Arizona

So our road trip was awesome and I didn't think leaving Corey in AZ was going to be a big deal since I can go visit whenever I want and he's still in America, but I'm still pretty sad about it and it's been 4 days. What has happened to me?! I used to be so independent and never felt any sense of loss when my living situations changed but I guess I'm just jealous that he gets a 3 bedroom house with a jacuzzi all to himself and I'm sleeping on a squeaky twin bed. No, I really miss him and kind of hate that I'm turning into a bigger wuss every year. Please tell me that all of you tough ladies have now become big sissies and cry way more often than you think you should.
Ok, well we got to Colo Springs and had so much fun with my sister, Dave, their kids, and my parents. We jumped on the trampoline a lot, went to the Rockies game with Amy and Dave and ate a ton of mama's home cooked food, which is always the best. We had to leave way too soon but got to see my Grandparents and more family in Tucson, then Corey went to Sierra Vista and I went to Phoenix to see some of my favorite people in the world, the Stansfields :) Or LJ and the fam. I finally got to meet Lindsay's youngest, Dylan, who is the handsomest little man and gave the best hugs and kisses. Once again, our visit was way too short but definitely better than nothing.
I hate missing such good friends and family all the time. I hope they all come visit me in Germany ;)
***I did a terrible job at getting pictures at the end of our trip so not everyone I wanted to show pictures of are posted. Sorry Linds!!! Please see the Stansfields' blog for pictures of their ADORABLE children.

Sweet little Annie

Corey and his cactus

Amy & Dave at the Rockies game

Me & Corey at the game

Kansas City

Kansas City was the last short drive we had. It was about 5 hours from St. Louis. I just kept thinking how easy and quick our road trip had been...I had forgotten what the real west was like. After we left KC it was all 10 and 14 hour drives to our next destinations. I also hadn't been watching any news and didn't realize the midwest was in the middle of a terrible heat wave. Don't worry,  I found out at the Royals game where we were sitting in direct sunlight for most of the game. I honestly don't know why I sweat like a 400 lb man in a sauna, but it is uncomfortable! We left after the 7th inning stretch and I was a sticky mess until we got to Colorado Springs. It motivated me to push through the fatigue and get to my parents house without any stops.

We made it to a Man vs Food BBQ joint in Kansas City

The ribs were awesome!

So was the pulled pork :)

Corey wasn't as sweaty as me

Probably one of my favorite stadiums of all time

Louisville & St. Louis

So far, so good. The driving hasn't been too bad because we're making a lot of stops...and because Corey is doing most of it. We went to Louisville and stopped by Churchill Downs and then did a tour at the Louisville Slugger factory. I thought Louisville was so pretty and it seemed like a fun place to live. We kind of hurried out of there so we could get to St. Louis in time for dinner at Pappy's (Man vs. Food restaurant) but they close early on Sunday.
Upon first arrival I thought that St. Louis was quite charming as well. Then we opened our car doors and the weather was less than charming. St. Louis is hot and nasty! We got some quick pictures under the arch and attempted to find another BBQ joint that was open on Sunday. Nothing was open and we ended up driving around the hood for about 20 minutes. I'm not just calling it hood 'cause I'm a white girl from a middle class suburban home. This place reminded me of favelas in Brazil and made Corey homesick for Iraq. Holy S*** St. Louis! Get your crap together and clean up your streets.
If you're looking for a nice family trip, I would recommend Louisville. If you want to get mugged or see some real life adventure on the streets, St. Louis is your city.

One day we'll go to the Kentucky Derby

Awkward alone picture. What do you do with your hands?!

They give you free bats after the tour...