AJ likes to help with laundry

Football… nope, not here.

Last night, we checked out Qualcomm Stadium, better known as “The Q” to locals, for a San Diego State versus Air Force game. The Mountain West has some good teams this year and is playing good ball, particularly against the PAC-10. First impressions were that San Diego State is horrible at football since Marshall Faulk graduated. We sat behind the Air Force bench and enjoyed their military band, as it was something we knew about. I was reminded of my mother dating my Dad, attending a University of Richmond game and commenting that “This was not the same division as Nebraska.” I will say that this is not the same division as Virginia Tech. Most fans were there to watch a fire works show following the game… and the large NFL stadium was barely a third full. I would say maybe 20,000 people were there. The game was slow and there was a marked talent gap between BCS conferences and these guys. Watching Appy State and JMU is more entertaining. But watching live football is great, no matter how bad it is, and it was just across the street. Mary texted us during the game, wanting to know the Hokies score, so I told her we were tied with BYE. These bye weeks are tough! But next week Boston College is a night game on ESPN2, meaning we can watch it in HD at home! We may have people over, but few know how crazy we can be for the Hokies. We CANNOT wait to be in Lane Stadium in November. Traveling the country has been great for the past few years, and we look forward to traveling overseas in the future, but there is absolutely nothing like being in Lane Stadium for a late Fall game. We do hope to make a Charger’s game this season though, to watch something we’ve been missing…some great offense!

A Walk in the Woods? No…desert!

The California Coast is much closer to mountains than back in ol’ VA. We drove less than an hour from sunny San Diego into the parched, hot desert hills of San Diego County. This County is gigantic, perhaps larger than many countries and states… We enjoyed a simple hike up a couple hundred feet to the summit of Iron Mountain, which had a great view of the surrounding hills. With water being so scarce, the presence of lakes and reservoirs were immediately obvious in the expansive view. We carried a lot of water for our short hike, as we have heard of quick deaths from heat stroke out in the non-humid desert. Two shipmates from my new command were hiking nearby, and one died from heat stroke, even with water. So we knew that the absence of humidity was not to mean that we weren’t sweating, it was just evaporating quickly. I bought a new toy, a camel back, which is awesome and I felt like quite the outdoorsman. At the summit was a trail book, which we signed Go Hokies!, and we were surprisingly not the only folks from East of the Mississippi, as there were many military signatures. We did not see any rattle snakes, but plenty of signs telling us of their presence. The West is harsh in nature, and we long for seasons, tall oaks, pines, and maples escorting us along an ancient mountain chain. Despite the lack of trees, there are numerous curious hikes out west for us to check out, so we are making the most of it. We love it out here, but have realized you can only truly enjoy the beauty and good people that live in South West VA until you leave it.

Hooray Beer!

San Diego has a surprisingly decent local brewing scene. I suppose the success of the California Wine business has evolved to include the more cultured, sophisticated business of creating frosty brews. Down the street from our place is the San Diego Brewing company, providing unique flavors and greasy food. In nearby Pacific Beach, Karl Strauss, some guy I have never heard of, brews his local favorites, which are sold in the commissary. So we tried some of his obviously San Diego inspired Red Trolley Ale. It is tasty, but much smoother and not as much flavor as stuff you would get at Old Dominion brewing from VA. I miss a good New River Pale Ale, and the East Coast’s most drinkable, affordable beer: Yuengling. I developed a longing for the Pennsylvania lager while living in non-accessible Texas, and now am even farther away in a foreign country.

Pumpkin Spiced Hokies

There’s something about a Pumpkin Spiced Chai that warms the soul, bringing you to the orange and maroon leaves and crisp air of southwest Virginia, no matter where in the world you are. It is in the fall that I am thankful that there are at least 10 Starbucks within two miles of us (google it…it’s true!). There is something inherently wrong about looking out your window in October and seeing green palm trees swaying gently in the wind and sunbathers lying out at the pool. So to take us back to the Blue Ridge Mountains, we wandered across the street to enjoy a little taste of home. It was fairly busy, so the barista asked for my name to ensure that we picked up our own orders, so I told him my name was Angela. Of course we were decked out in Hokie gear, and when we picked up our drinks, we realized that everyone can see where our heart really is.

Front Row Chicas

It seems like just yesterday Laura and I were dressed up in our middle school sundresses with our classmates shuffling into the theatre to enjoy a night of opera. We all hung over the rails admiring the chandelier, feeling classy and pretending we were much older. Ten years later, Laura and I were all dressed up, peering over the railings looking down at that chandelier that seemed much smaller. (What can I say…I’m attracted to things that sparkle!) Compliments of her company, Laura and I were back in the same theatre; excited about a musical we knew nothing about. Having a lack of expectations is very exciting, and I think it made the Drowsy Chaperone that much better! Not to mention the complimentary champagne and front row seats!! Sipping champagne with an amazing friend front row at the theatre was incredible, and it is a night I will treasure for a very long time. The show was amazing, an entertaining comedy that takes place in an interesting guy’s apartment where an old musical comes to life in his imagination. (http://www.drowsychaperone.com/tour/tour_thestory.php) It was hilarious, very entertaining, and very sparkly! Sitting in the front row, you could see the faces of each of the performers, and really felt like you were part of the show. It was incredible!

AJs Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day…

Last Saturday, I had one of those days that would make you want to move to Australia. It started with daddy being on duty all day, which sucks, because he doesn’t come home at night. The day went by without too much excitement, with mommy playing with me and taking me on walks. But then around 10:00, we went out for the last walk of the day, since mommy doesn’t like for us to walk late at night. I saw something on the stairs, and I wasn’t sure what it was, so I sniffed it…and this thing started biting me!! I later learned that it was a bee and it stung me right on my nose. Right on my nose?!?! How was I supposed to sniff anything? And then it started swelling and mommy called daddy and I was sitting on the counter so I wouldn’t squirm, and mommy brought this silver thing to my nose and pulled something out. She showed it to me and it was so gross…I can’t believe that stupid little bee put that thing in my nose! But I wasn’t scared at all, so we still got to go on our walk. We hadn’t even reached the pool yet, which is about half way of one direction of our walk, and I met this HUGE ferocious dog that was more like a monster than an actual dog. For some reason, mommy talked to the owners, so we sniffed, and the evil huge beast BIT ME!! On the back!! He was HUGE! (EDITORS NOTE: It was really a white girl poodle that was slightly larger than AJ) And I cried! I couldn’t breathe, and started wheezing, so mommy thought I was having an allergic reaction to the bee (stupid little thing!) so she didn’t even notice that this beast had bitten me! It hurt, but so did my nose, and I was scared and couldn’t breathe, so mommy took me home and put me on the counter again. That’s when she saw the blood, and then she started crying, and I thought I was going to die. I mean…why else would she be crying? It hurt, and she kept touching it with things, and then she locked me up and told me she was going to buy me medicine so I could breathe, but I was sure that I would surely die before she returned. Thank goodness I was still alive when she came back, but she bought this disgusting liquid stuff that she thought I would just drink…ha! Keep dreaming! So she poured it into some doggy ice cream, and I made her think that I didn’t understand what she was doing, because honestly…it’s doggy ice cream, and that’s awesome! So I took my medicine…and it actually helped me breathe and helped my nose not hurt as much. Mommy is awesome! But, she was still freaking out because it didn’t stop bleeding, and she kept crying, and I still kind of thought I was going to die, but felt better about it since my last meal would be ice cream. Mommy kept saying she wanted to take me to the vet, but that it wasn’t an emergency, so we needed to wait until Monday. So I tried to pretend that nothing was wrong so they would forget and not take me to the vet…I hate those people! They put a muzzle on me and tell mommy and daddy to feed me less because I am fat! How dare they call me fat! I’m just cute and cuddly! Can’t they see that?? But the vet shaved my back and cleaned it all up, which felt really good, but I tried to bite them anyways just to prove a point. And they gave me medicine so I get people food every night right now! It’s awesome! :)