Visiting and Upcoming Travel -- woohoo!

The photos in this post come from my new phone, which is very exciting! It's the new iPhone, so I now have a smart phone. Sadly, the phone part didn't work originally, so I had to visit the Apple store and have them confirm it, then wait for a new one to arrive. (Actually, the whole thing was predicated on the fact that I busted my old phone. To be truthful, I had a very odd week. First I broke the screen on the phone. To be more exact, the massage chair during my pedicure broke the screen on my phone. A couple of days later I actually gave myself frostbite with an ice pack. Scary, weird, and true. I still have a spot to prove it.) But now it works and I'm figuring it out and it is quite fun.

So Kelly and Bree came to visit last weekend. Several months ago I noticed that Great Big Sea, an Irish-style folk band out of St. John's Newfoundland, was touring again and would be playing Wolf Trap again, one of my favorite concert venues. (It's the only National Park dedicated to the performing arts.) Kelly wasn't sure Bree could handle it, but we figured we'd get lawn seats so that she could dance, and there would be three adults to wrestle her. Sounded like a good plan.

We made pizzas for dinner on Saturday when they arrived and met Wendy for brunch Sunday morning. We walked for a while and let Bree run around one of the local parks. It was much hotter and more humid than we expected, and my system didn't like it. So I failed to make the afternoon trip to the playground. But as you can see from the morning trip, Bree's very active, loves to dance, has no fear, and loves dogs--of all sizes.









Then the concert. As usual, Great Big Sea was amazing! None of us knew their new material, but they played a lot of older songs and it was fantastic. As expected, Bree was a handful! We let her run around the blanket for the first hour, and the people around us thought she was really cute, which helped immensely. Once it got dark, we tried the tactic of having to stay on the blanket once it's dark. Pouting, lots of NOs, lots of testing, threats, and a little crying, and she eventually fell asleep! We had thought we were going to have to leave early, but Kelly actually got to enjoy the last half hour. Wolf Trap is an amazing venue, gorgeous, well planned and with a killer sound system. On the lawn you can picnic and dance. We had terrific weather, and were so glad to see this band again.





This is the only photo where she's even sort of still!

So now summer comes to a close and with it, the fiscal year at work and my ban on taking leave/traveling. I'm headed to NYC in two weeks to meet with staff there. I'm also planning to wander Broadway and view the Manolo Valdés sculptures that Wendy and I saw in Madrid! (I'll blog about those after.) Then, two weeks later, I am off on vacation!

Yes, it's true. I am finally catching a break, nearly one year after my last break. However, with the project, I really haven't had the opportunity, and if I don't take advantage of the change in fiscal years and procurement hiatus, I won't get another chance until the project finishes next May. Thankfully, my boss understands this and believes in healthy breaks, and so she approved -- get ready -- four weeks of leave!!

I thought about going to visit Sunnie in Hawaii. I owe Kati a trip in Portland. I owe Cathy a visit in Tucson. Both Portland and Tucson can be long weekend trips, so I'm hoping to make it to see Cathy at least next year, perhaps February (depending on construction schedules). And I decided to hold off on Hawaii until the project ends, so it is a true reward and relaxation.

So where to go? My original plan was to return to Spain in April 2011, as you may recall, to study Spanish for a month this time. My friend Erin was going to join me. Unfortunately, the project will not be done then, so I won't be able to do that, and neither will she since she's on my project team. However, in researching mileage for Hawaii, I learned about some specials and developed another plan. My friend and colleague at State Department suggested I go to Ecuador to study -- good clear Spanish, great people, beautiful country, etc. And much much cheaper than Spain! Mileage worked out, I can afford it (unlike Spain), and I have some friends there (who may actually be in the same city as I will be), so I'm off! I now have the details worked out, and am so excited!! So more to come after NY, with a hint of what I'll be up to for a month abroad.