The Ranch

Our travels continue, this weekend to Horsefly Mountain Ranch in Goldthwaite, TX. Family friends of the Bowens graciously invited us to their outdoor haven for a couple days of hunting, small town shopping, and relaxation. Their ranch house is absolutely amazing - spacious, secluded, quiet, with nothing around except wildlife and open plains.

The guys "caught" 7 deer total, which means we'll have another tasty year of venison sausage, jerkey, etc. I am scarred by images of blood and water [melted ice inside the deer] spilling out the back of Rich's truck as we followed him back to Dallas, but have to remind myself that a hunting is a much better method of population control than Bambi starving to death from hunger due to limited natural resources.

Thank you a hundredfold to the Smiths for their hospitality! All in all - a great Bowen family weekend with lasting and fun memories!

Washington D.C.

Have I mentioned we like to travel? K and I just returned from our final vacation of the year - a trip to Washington D.C. This was not by any means a relaxing endeavor. We probably walked at least 10 miles a day seeing all the sites, monuments, museums, etc. I am so thankful that God knows me well enough to bless me with a traveling partner like K. To be able to sit and do nothing [i.e. Antigua] or to roam non-stop with little rest [i.e. D.C.] with someone who has a similar agenda is truly wonderful. This is what we did on our trip:

Day 1:

• Arrival and check in to Hotel Palomar in Dupont Circle. The hotel has a fabulous happy hour every night from 5-6. We partake in a glass of wine accompanied by live music, then head to Circa Restaurant for sliders and pizza. Follow with drinks at Topaz Hotel, then a 9:00 bedtime. Yes, we are old.

Day 2:

• 6:45 rise and shine before cabbing it to get tickets to ride to the top of Washington Monument. Our allocated time slot was for 11:00. Before that, we see...
• ...WWII Memorial, Vietnam Wall, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, FDR Memorial, walk around the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial, back to Washington Monument. We beat most of the crowds, so it was great having the city to ourselves. It truly was the perfect time of year - leaves turning, cool weather, very fall-ish and lovely.
• Ride to the top of Washington Monument, eat lunch at Holocaust Museum, tour Holocaust Museum, then head to the Mall for Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum.
• I got bored reading every single sign about every single space event and aircraft ever built. Of course K was fascinated. We saw Fighter Pilot at the IMAX, then took the Metro to Adams Morgan - hip bar / restaurant area for post-college yuppies.
• Ate sushi for dinner, grabbed a beer, played photo hunt, another early bedtime.
  

Day 3:

• 6:45 rise and shine once more, then take Metro to Arlington National Cemetery. See JFK eternal flame, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington House, then head to Iwo Jima.
• Back to Smithsonian - this time the Museum of Natural History. Afterwards we go to the National Archives Bldg. to view the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Constitution.
• Make it back to the hotel for happy hour, followed by dinner at Al Tirimasu - an Italian restaurant down the street from our hotel. Finish up the evening with a glass of wine at Urbana in our hotel.
  

Day 4:

• Morning tour of the Library of Congress. This is an amazing building, beautifully built with stunning architecture and paintings. Afterwards we go back to the Air and Space Museum to catch a couple things we missed the day before.
• Have lunch at the American Indian Museum [can you say delicious fried bread?] then tour the Botanical Gardens before our Capitol tour at 1:30.
• Kate, Congressman Jeb Hensarling's intern, is our tour guide. She's in her last semester of school at A&M and was great fun to talk to. Sat in the House of Representatives, walked through the Rotunda and Senate wing. It is absolutely amazing to me that the building is 100 years old. So much history and beauty.
• Leave for the White House. Catch Obama's motorcade. I take 2 pictures of the motorcycles leading the pack and my camera instantly reads, "Memory Card Error." I lose all 300 images taken in the days prior. My heart seriously breaks and I blame stupid Obama for my lost pictures. If this is any indication of how his presidency will be then we're in for a long and hellacious next 4 years.
• Swap memory cards and the picture below outside the White House. It is literally the only evidence we have of our time in D.C.
• Dinner that night at delicious Michel Richard's Citronelle in Georgetown.
  

Day 5:

• Walk to 3 data recovery shops to try and restore images from my precious memory card, unsuccessfully.
• Tour the International Spy Museum.
• Catch Metro for flight back to Dallas

In all seriousness, if anyone knows a computer geek or friend who is a genius on computers and would be able to recover images from an 1 GB SD Lexar memory card, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let me know. Aside from the photo loss, we had an excellent trip. Everyone should go to D.C. at least once in their lives to personally experience the amazing history of our country.

And really - calling all data recovery nerds - anyone, anyone?

Sunday Summary

So I haven't posted in a while. Here are some random thoughts / happenings that have occurred over the past couple weeks:

1. Babies. Everyone's having them. 3 of my cousins - Sarah, Trish and Amanda - recently had babies within less than 1 month of each other. 2 high school friends - Meg and Katie - also had babies this month. Em already has 2 kids, and Erin has a bun in the oven. I am learning that giving birth is not really a glamorous process in general, but very rewarding and fulfilling despite all the difficulties that come with being a first time mom. Surprisingly, I do not yet have the baby bug. I mean maybe it's there a little bit, but definitely not in full force. Yet.
2. Music. I love it. It remains one my deepest passions. This weekend I learned how to play Sara Bareilles' Love Song and Cold Play's Viva La Vida on the piano by watching a YouTube tutorial. I viewed the video clip in the study, wrote down the notes on a post it, took it back to the living room where my parents' piano is, and played away. If only I could concentrate enough to sing along while playing, then I'd be one step closer to my dream of becoming a dueling pianist.
3. Engagements. I was so happy to be part of a very special proposal this weekend in support of my friend Katy. Her bf Brian arranged an elaborate plan for a limo to take Katy to 5 spots where 5 of her closest friends were waiting. We each had a clue to give her once she arrived at our designated spot, then got to ride in the limo until the final stop. There he was all decked out in a suit with rose petals, waiting to pop the question. She of course said yes!
4. Health. I do not recommend getting a flu shot and giving blood in the same day. They tell you it's okay to do so; however, you will end up very tired and exhausted the next day. A big shout out to Elizabeth - thank you for alerting the blood staff of my paleness as I would have likely passed out had you not been there. They promptly tilted me back, brought cold rags for my forehead and neck, along with a bottle of Zune, then I was golden.
5. Election. Is it over yet?

And to close with a few corresponding pictures:

Babies: With Daniel James, Amanda and Joe's precious 3-week old baby.

Music: You may remember my absolute love of Marc Broussard. He was back in town a couple weeks ago at HOB. I went with Dana's fam and Leah. This time I got to give him a sweaty hug AND take a picture!

Engagements: My "spot" for Katy's engagement was the President's Heads. Here we are!