Detroit Adventures

When the rare opportunity arises for me to travel for work, I always want to experience a destination that I haven't been to before. That is how I ended up in Detroit, Michigan for a week in July. Which also leads me to some quick Census information...

The Census Bureau has 12 regional offices in the U.S. The entire country is divided amongst the offices based on geographic location and population size. Often times, our travel opportunities are to one of these 12 places.

Anyway, this particular trip was to observe a conference for the Detroit Regional Office's SFRs (SFR=Senior Field Representative). I got put up at a nice hotel with all I could ever need, such as 2 flat screen televisions, a large soaking tub, a clock with soothing noises and adjoining walls so thin I could hear my neighbors television word for word. Hey, it can never be perfect, can it?

I'll spare you of all the boring conference mumbo jumbo and just share with you some pros of a city with such a bad reputation. When I told people I was going to Detroit I got an overwhelming similar response from everyone: "Wow, Detroit huh?" "Yikes, Detroit, don't die." "Detroit......nice...." Needless to say, I was determined to show Detroit some love and find the good in it. I must admit, it wasn't a hard task!

Detroit has lovely views of Canada. They also have a long river walk to enjoy the views, fountains for kids to play in, and park areas. The GM Renaissance Center (the "Ren Cen"), the tallest building in Detroit, also boarders the River Walk.

Detroit had very nice people. I felt like I was in the South. This was really the first time I dined alone at a sit-down restaurant and everywhere I went, people were very friendly and helpful.

All the athletic stadiums are within spitting distance of each other. A "people mover" only costs $.50 a ride and can take you to all the main downtown locations. I rode it around just to see the sites.
Finally, it was a breath of fresh air from the hustle and bustle that I'm accustomed to around here. I was happy to not be overwhelmed in a new city and I was able to hold my own quite nicely. It would have been better had I had someone with me to share the experience with, but otherwise I had a good time.

Busy Busy Summer

Wedding-palooza 2010 has been in full force. This is what I/we've been up to lately...

Liz's bridal shower, July 12

Liz is Joe's sister and will be getting married in October. Her shower was a nice gathering of family and friends. My mom was able to come over also.

Lindsay's bridal shower, July 20

Lindsay is a fellow Census Bureau employee who previously worked in Joe's area. She will be getting married in August. Her shower was in her aunt's lovely home in Baltimore.

Lindsay's bachelorette party, July 24

The following weekend we had a fun girls night. We went out to dinner and out on the town. It was a blazing hot night but we managed.

Paul & Amie's couple's shower, July 25

Although not a wedding, it falls into the same sort of party category. We headed over to Delaware for an open house/shower for baby Addison's parents. It had been a while since I had seen a lot of the fam, so it was a good evening of socializing. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures.

Upcoming:

Brian's bachelor party, July 31
Brian & Becky's wedding, August 7
Lindsay & Jesse's wedding, August 14

Life is a Beach

As you may know, we live in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. People ask (yes, seriously, they do) "Do you really live at the beach?" It may surprise you to find out (or not, if you you are super smart) that just a short mile done the road from our house is the Chesapeake Bay. Where there is bay, there is beach. Now granted, we live in a neighborhood complete with cul-de-sacs and small children, but I don't think that takes away from the "at the beach" location.

But, since I'm airing out all our little secrets, there isn't a "Chesapeake Beach" with sand you can lounge on. Our town claims what they call "Brownie's Beach" which is hardly a beach at all. I think there are 10 parking spots total and enough sand for about 5 families to share. The kicker is, they charge you to go on it! There is also the better known North Beach, which is the neighboring town to Chesapeake Beach. This squat of sand can fit about 15 families, but at least there is plenty of parking. And since we're not residents of North Beach and live a whooping 2 miles away from it (if that), it'll cost us to sit on that too. Oh how I miss you, Delaware beaches!

So, needless to say, despite living in "Chesapeake Beach," we had yet to go to the beach at all since moving here. Until this weekend, that is. With a big heat wave finally breaking and the temperature hovering around the low 80s, it seemed like perfect beach weather around our parts. And given the information above, we decided to try a new beach all together. Based on positive things we had heard from other people that had visited, we drove south about 30 minutes to Flag Pond's Nature Park. We we're pleasantly surprised! Way more than 15 families could fit on this sand!

Still, it cost us $4. I felt a little better giving the money to a nature park. I hope they do good things with it. I may even invest in the $15 season pass. It's also a 1/2 mile walk from the parking to the beach, but a built in workout didn't bother us too much. Plus, we figure that serves as a deterrent to the truly lazy and the less people around me, the better, in my opinion! There was plenty of sand to spread out amongst the modest sized crowd and although there will always be someone who lets their child collect shells one foot in front of your beach chair despite the thousands and thousands of shells on the rest of the beach AWAY from the people, it was rather pleasant. Check out the scenery:

By 2:30, most people started clearing out. I loved sitting by the water, soaking up some sun, and basking in all the silence. I wasn't daring enough to go in the water after hearing enough children scream "I stepped on a horseshoe crab!" since those suckers freak me out. Joe and I had a great time!

And since we were down south, we finished off our great day with an old favorite...Golden Chicken! You just must try their chicken fingers and honey mustard sauce!

Christina's Wedding & Festivities

I've worked with Christina since I started at the Census Bureau in 2006. It took her a bit to warm up to me but now I'm sure she can't imagine her life without the Guidos. She's all married off now...here is how we got there...

Step 1: The Bridal Shower

Back in April, we gathered in Bel Air, MD for a bridal shower honoring Christina. Food, gifts, the works!

Me, Chrissy, Cynthia, Jill (Census girls)

Step 2: The Bachelorette Party

In May, we headed up to the Baltimore area for some wine tasting and dinner.

I loooved the TangoPeach wine I tried!

Step 3: The Wedding!

It was a beautiful affair on the 18th of June. Beautiful weather, lovely church, delicious food, good dancing...everything a wedding should be!

Congratulations!

I think we looked pretty spiffy too :)

Step 4: Happily Ever After

Milestones

Happy 1st Birthday Blog!