Summer in DC

On a hot day toward the end of summer, we took a long, leisurely walk around the mall and the monuments. The tourists are in full force during the summer and into early fall, and I'm enjoying the slower pace now that the cold is imminent. But this day, they were everywhere. Tour buses lining the streets and a variety of languages floating past. People taking pictures of squirrels (who knew they were so exotic?). And I get to walk to the mall from my house. Lucky.

A sabbatical, if you will

Looks like I took an unplanned break from the blog. Let’s call it a sabbatical and then I won’t feel so bad. Actually, it has been a bit challenging to find bloggy inspiration in our new life in DC, which is quite a bit different from our life in Freetown. In Sierra Leone, stories were everywhere. Our days were less packed and I had more time to think and process. There are stories here too, certainly, but it is different.

Washington, DC is a beautiful city (or...district?) and it is beginning to feel like home. Shopping for fruit at Eastern Market, jogging on the mall past Lincoln and Roosevelt and MLK, growing tomatoes and peppers in my very first garden, getting to know all of the dogs in Capitol Hill (thank you, Sundance). This is a sweet place and we feel very blessed.

However, this summer has been a bit “extreme” in the weather arena. Heat waves, an earthquake, and then the hurricane this past weekend. I have to say, Irene was a bit disappointing after all the build-up. Sundance is definitely enjoying the aftermath of branches scattered about the streets- one of his favorite things is to try to carry branches larger than his entire body. One of my NOT favorite things is getting stabbed in the legs by Sundance's branches.

As a native Californian, one might imagine I wasn't too impressed with the earthquake…and one would be wrong. David and I were eating lunch outside when it happened. First, I thought it was just the large truck that passed by at that moment. After things kept shaking, I said to our friend, “Aaron, stop shaking the table!” Once I realized it was an earthquake, was there a rush of memories from years of earthquake drills in school? Crawl under the desk, cover your head, etc? Nope, not at all. Instead, “Earthquake??? WHOA! THIS IS AMAZING!”

It is September now, and a wave of fresh, crisp air is finally pushing out the humidity. We missed last fall while in Freetown, so for the past year my soul has felt like fall should be just around the corner. The other night, after David and I had said good night and started to fall asleep, I whispered in his ear excitedly, “Fall is coming soon.” Needless to say, he was a bit creeped out.

We are going camping this weekend in Shenandoah Valley- our first family camping adventure! More on that to come.

A few pics from our vacation in California:

(My sister Leslie and nephew Conor)

(View from the amazing house we rented in Sea Ranch)

(Jen, me, Dad, bro)

(Conor mesmerized by David's mustache)

(Relaxing in Sea Ranch)

(Breakfast with Meg and the Blainster)

While we were gone, Dancer had some super fun play-dates with Annie, his crush who lives upstairs. Doesn't he look sooo sad? Like he missed us soooo much?

The not so great part of Maui 2007

(Waiting for the fire to clear. I think Leenie's gesture means "this stinks.")

(The fire that blocked the road to the airport.)

(The view from our emergency hotel. Not bad.)

I neglected to tell you about an important part of our Maui trip. It was nearly perfect, except for a bit of an issue we encountered on our last day. Or what was supposed to be our last day.

There was a fire on the island. And because the fire blocked the only road to the airport, we could not get to the airport. And because we could not get to the airport, we were diverted to a Red Cross shelter. They fed us pizza and bottled water and arranged us a hotel for the night. (I love the Red Cross.) We spent a few long hours in a gym chatting with a rasta-hippy named Jose Z who told us stories of whales and pretended to give us gifts then stuck them back into his own bag.

We all made it home the next day, but not without some drama and on 3 separate flights. Janne and Vanessa even had to bribe the airline employees with Costco churros. My roommates deserve a prize for being so patient with me while I stressed about getting back home. My wedding was in 2 weeks, and I was perhaps a little more upset than I should have been. No one really feels bad for you when you say, "Help! I'm stuck on Maui!" And they shouldn't.

Welcome, Fall

(David and Half Dome.)

Goodbye, Summer. I have enjoyed your silliness and your carefree ways. But, you see, to me you are but a step on the way to the most beloved season of all: Fall. 

Fall with its pumpkins, lattes, blankets, colors, scarves and birthdays (mine! David's! Gee's! Dad's!). Fall with its coats, candles, boots and leaves. Welcome, Fall. Now, please start making the weather cooperate. Scarves are no good when it is 80 degrees.

Golf carts and me

It's official. I have bad luck with golf carts.

I was about 9 years old. My grandparents were visiting from Phoenix, and we all went golfing to enjoy the pleasant weather and the beautiful course. My brother and I alternated driving the cart between holes. Carts have simple pedals and only go about 12 mph- what could go wrong? My grandma was in the cart with me, and I was instructed to park it on a slight hill by the creek. As I neared the hill, I hit what I thought was the brake but turned out to be the gas pedal. We flew up and over the hill, and the cart plumetted down into the creek with a splash. The water was up to our waists, and as it rushed over our bodies my grandma and I began to cry. "We need an alibi," I thought. "The cops can't know I was driving! I'll go to jail!"

News travelled quickly and a few days after the incident my dad received an envelope in mail. It contained photos of two friends sitting in the cart, weeds draped over their shoulders, with beers in one hand and ball finders in the other.

Until last night, I was the golf cart idiot of the family. Thankfully, David has stolen that title.

Last night our dear friends Meg and Kyle came over for dinner. Once it was dark we decided to take the golf cart out for a ride around the course. I drove for a while, and then asked if anyone else would like to drive. Bad mistake. David climbed into the driver seat, and Meg and I got up to stand on the back. Kyle, deciding that Meg was too accident prone to stand on the back, encouraged Meg to sit in the cart while he took the back next to me. We cruised around the course, spotting deer and jack rabbits in the brush.

We hit a straightaway and were driving at a good speed when David had a rare intelligence lapse. He spotted sprinklers not too far away, and pressed the brakes in an effort to go through the sprinkles slowly enough to drench us all. As he braked the cart hit slick pavement and began to lose traction. We might have recovered had the tires not caught the grass on one side. Instead, the cart spun violently to the left. I felt myself flying into the air and I could see the cart tipping to its side.

Kyle and I landed in the grass, but Meg and David were inside the cart that was now sideways on the ground. They crawled out and David lifted the cart back onto its tires. In those 5 seconds the cart slid and tipped, the seat came off, the cart's batteries rested on the ground, Meg's fingers were pinched between the roof and the pavement, David braced himself to keep from crushing Meg, Kyle and I flew to safety in the fairway and landed with only one flip flop each, and we laid on the ground with the sprinklers soaking our aching bodies. Like the 9 year old I once was, tears welled up in my eyes. Once we realized everyone was relatively okay, the boys put the cart back together. Meg and I stood shaking under a blanket while the sprinklers continued to come back around and drench us.

The injuries to both the cart and its passengers were minimal, though Meg did require frozen corn, spinach, and mixed veggies for her wounds. The most significant injury was to David's spirit. However, in a way his trick worked. We were soaked as we rode the cart slowly back to the house.

Summer so far

Summer vacation has kept me a little out of touch. Most of my days look like this: wake up, eat breakfast, lay by pool, swim in pool, eat lunch, nap, watch Blue Planet, eat dinner, bedtime. It may not sound exciting, but I'm loving the calm.

There have been a few lovely exceptions, including a visit with some old friends from high school. We hiked, shopped, BBQed on July 4, went out for delicious meals and frozen yogurt, told stories, and exchanged back massages. That sounds just about perfect to me.

My friends are pretty cosmopolitan. On our hike they brought Starbucks, digital cameras, and their iPhones. Apparently Razr cell phones aren't cool anymore. I refuse to believe it.

It's hot...

And I wish I were here. Oh, to be young and free and have a pool. Only 17 more days of work, and then freedom from that artificial environment called "office." The little girl in me can't wait!