New Crew!

A new crew member will join the Salty Dogs on or about December 29, 2009. He/she has some pretty tiny shoes to fill!

Alexandra's Baptism

We drove to Pennsylvania over Easter Weekend to attend the Baptism of Ben and Jen's daughter Alexandra. The baptism took place at the Easter Vigil at Christ Church Ithan in Villanova, Pa. It was a very moving service, and Alex was amazingly happy for one kept up far past her bedtime.

How had I never heard this scripture before? "The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still." Exodus 14:14.

-S.

Visiting Wesley

We visited the Rykers in New Jersey this past weekend. They're all great fun, but we're particularly taken with Wes. Andrea got him his first walker (a Jeep, naturally!) and he put quite a few miles on it, mostly in reverse at first. Sandy was only the tiniest bit pouty.

West Coast Adventures

We flew to the West Coast last week for Nicholas' baptism and first birthday celebration. We got in a couple of days of sightseeing, too. On Friday, we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco to Santa Cruz. We stopped at several beaches and Penguin Point Lighthouse. The seascapes were so different from what we're used to on Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic.

In Santa Cruz, we strolled the boardwalk and pier, enjoying the laid-back vibe of this quintessential beach town. On the pier, we saw lots of seagulls and one pelican, and a group of snoozing sea lions. For lunch, we enjoyed fried artichoke hearts. Mmmmm....

On Saturday, we took the BART train into San Francisco. From the Embarcadero, we took a vintage street car to Fisherman's Wharf. We bypassed Pier 39, in favor of a restaurant recommendation from a trusted source. Scoma's was nestled on Pier 45, amidst a working fishing fleet, so Mark had no trouble occupying himself during the 30-minute wait for a table.




After a wonderful seafood lunch, we walked to the Hyde Street Pier to see the vessels of the Maritime National Historical Park.


When the park rangers kicked us out, we headed to Ghirardelli Square for warm chocolate drinks, then watched the sun set behind the Golden Gate Bridge as we waited for the Hyde-Powell cable car, which we rode up and down the hills of the city. I know we only grazed the surface of the city, but what a great afternoon!

On Sunday, we joined the Dinoias and extended family for Nicholas' baptism. Nick was slightly annoyed by the interruption in his nap, but as always, was a good sport. Afterwards, the Dinoias hosted friends and family for a baptism and birthday celebration, complete with three cakes and a pinata. Nicholas thought hitting the pinata (with Jen's help) was the funniest thing EVER, and Mark snapped the family photo above just before the birthday boy conked out for a nap.

Icy

Ready for Spring to arrive

Photo Booth

Oh, Tannenbaum...

Since we don't currently have a usable living room, we decided against having a Christmas tree this year. We had already purchased (and started using) our big gift to one another, the Dyson Animal Vacuum. It's sad that this was our biggest material desire, but since replacing the carpeting upstairs wasn't cheap, we wanted to protect our investment. Also, we had a burning hatred of our old vacuum, and Dysons are way cooler.

So while I was at work Saturday, Mark decorated thusly: