The big 3-0

This year I decided to take a day off work so Wade and I could head to Busch Gardens for the day. I figured if I was turning 30 I should act like a kid and ride roller coasters until I couldn't see straight (thankfully, I'm not a puker). I've been going to Busch Gardens since before I can even remember, but it seems there's always something new when we go. For my birthday Wade got us season passes; since we're so close now we can go whenever we like!

We had high hopes for the day: we slept in a little, ate cupcakes for breakfast, then made the hour drive up to Tampa. Normally, when we've gone to BG in the past, it's either tolerably busy or blissfully empty. We were thinking this would be one of the more empty times at the park, a Monday, after the holidays, etc.... no, instead we were greeted with a flyer at the entrance that warned of an "unusually high volume" day. One look at the parking lot told us as much. It took us a half hour to even get into the park, and once we were in we could barely get around. So we booked it for the nearest (and also my favorite) ride to see that the line was so long they had physically moved the usually entrance to accommodate the 1.5 hour wait... uh, right.

Dejected does not quite explain how I was feeling at that point (besides the fact we both had to pee since every bathroom had a line out the door). For those who do not know, I really don't like people very much, or more specifically, I hate crowds of people. I detest and loathe strangers bumping into me and walking slowly, and crowds so thick you can't move (is it a mystery why big cities don't agree with me?!). After talking to an BG employee, we discovered we came on one of the most crowded days of the year - I was sharing my birthday "fun" with over 30,000 people (in the past, 10-20,000 people were the norm on days we've been there). So, I was starting to feel like I was ready to go home and curl up in a ball. So much for our brilliant plan.

We ended up walking around the park to see all the animals hoping that some of the ride lines would die down. The tigers and orangutans are in new enclosures, so that was fun to see. And we also finally got to see the resident hippo out for a prancing swim in her tank enclosure. Very neat. After some lunch, we walked around some more, checked out a few other rides (all the same hideous wait), saw the Lion King style musical show "Katonga", and finally gave up. Thankfully, due to some good thinking on Wade's part, we had gotten the year passes, so it was the saving grace being able to tell ourselves, "No worries, we'll come back later and ride all the rides". Below is us posing with a cool tiger sculpture bush, but you can see more pictures of the animals on our Picasa site.


Since the day was a bust, we left early and headed over to Best Buy pick up my new little travel-size camera that I picked out for my birthday, then went to Megan & Jimmy's house for dinner. It was wonderful to see them, have some drinks and pizza, play with Trey, and laugh at how our well laid plan did not account for 30,000 other people having the same plan. Oh well.

My birthday saviors (minus Trey who already went to bed):

Meg riding one of Trey's Christmas presents that I fell in love with! Yes, that is a rideable stuffed lion!

Twas the week after Christmas...

We had a nice Christmas at home this year. We did presents with the Cooper Zoo in the morning, had my mom and step-dad over for lunch, then headed to my aunt & uncle's for Christmas dinner and a late night of drinks and games.

The day after Christmas we were able to have lunch with Robin, Chad, and Kaitlyn at THE place to go for all things fried and ice cream in Bradenton, The Shake Pit. The Christmas-time lunch is turning into a bit of a yearly tradition for us since it seems to be the best time to get together when we're all back in town.
The Saturday after we headed to the farm again to pick up our veggies and bummed around for the rest of the day. We thought about canoeing, but after checking the weather decided it would not be fun to be paddling into waves and 20knot winds!

Sunday we had my family and friends from work (Michelle & Kellyn) over to grill out on teh back deck for my birthday. Wade did a great job of pulling things together and everyone helped by bringing something to share. We filled the picnic table for dinner, stuffed ourselves with fantastic cupcakes, then sat around the fire pit enjoying the evening. The pitcher of margaritas was a nice bonus. : ) It was a great evening. (As we all dig into birthday cupcakes, below from L to R: Just out of the picture is Larry, then Aunt Cindy, Kellyn, Michelle, cousin Ericka, me, Wade, Lauren, cousin Curtis, with Mom taking the picture)

Mambo Taxis

I arrived in Dallas, TX a week before Christmas. The first two days were for work - my project review team reviewed my 3 year program plan (to make the marine aquarium trade sustainable in the US) which was unanimously approved. On one hand I was hoping to get some constructive criticism and major revelations from my team, but on the other it was nice to know that my past four months of kicking my own butt have paid off. Now we just have to find the money to make some of the pieces happen... in the mean time, I'll be running around like a crazy lady.

It was cold when I first got to Dallas and the fog that greeted me at the airport stayed for a few days. I also apparently just missed the snow (drat!). The first night I had to walk to the local Kinko's to get copies made for my meeting, and silly me - I didn't bring a hat or gloves, and it was 40 degrees out! Thankfully my trusty lightweight Patagonia trench coat kept me toasty enough but I couldn't feel my cheeks or ears. (After spending over a decade in South Florida, anything below 60 is considered arctic in my book)

Thursday night after my meeting, my friend from college, Sarah, picked me up and we met another friend from college, Susie, for dinner. They've been telling me for years about the great drinks and queso in Texas, so I asked them to prove it. They did not dissappoint. We had some great mexican food, laughed at wedding planning stories (they are both getting married in 2009), and drank Mambo Taxis. Imagine a frozen margarita swirled with sangria and you'll get the idea of what a potent Mambo Taxi is. :) That night I stayed at Sarah's then got up to head to the Dallas World Aquarium on Friday.

The aquarium was more of what I would consider an ecosystem approach than a traditional aquarium. There were two glass ceiling atrium-style enclosures that were 4 stories high - one section was a freshwater jungle type of setting while the other was a saltwater coastal area around the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. The freshwater section was filled with palms, bamboo, trees, free-flying birds, and monkeys in the trees. A waterfall fell 40 feet into a massive pool under the trees that held the largest freshwater fish from the Amazon, manatees, turtles, and ducks. Now, while not everything was ecologically correct, I do give the aquarium credit for trying to make the environment as realistic and stimulating as possible for the creatures in their care.

The 40 foot waterfall and accompanying jungle (note the 10 ft fish in the lake below):

The friendly bird that greeted me at the entrance (ok, actually he was poking around looking for lunch and I ticked him off with the photo shoot):

The flamingo lagoon:

And the sea dragon:

There was also a wing that was full of coral reef species, flamingos, more free-flying birds, a tank of coral reef predators, and other small reef fish. The displays in the freshwater and marine sections were spread out along pathways that made you feel like you were winding through the jungle or inside of caverns. Very cool.

Friday night my hosts Sarah and Evan made dinner. Susie, another friend of Sarah's, and her sister came over for dinner and we had a great time. Good food, good friends, good fun. Sarah, Susie, and I stayed up late reminiscimg about the good old days and how we were starting to feel old (haha). It was really wonderful to see them and to be able to catch up. Saturday morning Evan treated us to blueberry pancakes before Sarah took me to the airport.

It was a quickie tour of Dallas but it was so nice to finally get to mix a little pleasure with work for once (despite what my blog says about visiting aquariums, it really is for work!).

Thanks Sarah and Evan for being such great hosts!

Travelling Fool

As I type this I am winging my way to Dallas, TX on a bumpy Delta flight. (obviously this was posted after I landed!) The sky below us is covered in a layer of clouds so thick I swear I could walk across them. I am currently enjoying 3 baggies of peanuts for lunch and listening to my favorite Christmas album on my iPod (Christmas with the Rat Pack). I have another hour left in the flight and realized I should take the time to finally catch up on the blog. It was brought to my attention that I’ve been slacking on the blog, so I have to apologize, I’ve been a travelling fool lately. It seems I am making up for lost time - I didn’t travel once while working for the Park Service, and now can’t seem to go more than a few weeks without a trip. I have discovered that my Treo (like a Blackberry), iPod, and a sleep mask are the keys to my sanity while I travel. The first lets me stay in touch with everyone, the second lets me bring a piece of home with me (my music) and in combination with the third I can tune almost anything out and sleep on my flights (critical for me since I require an obscene amount of sleep).

The first week of December I was in DC again for a team meeting. We spent time discussing our National Policy plans and legislative game plan for 2009, I got to meet my lobbyist, and I got to know my coworkers a little better. We also got to visit the newly renovated Oceans Hall at the Smithsonian which was neat. My favorite part was that the 2nd floor walls in the atrium area showed videos of fish schooling, whales swimming, and waves crashing so when you walked in and looked up it felt as if you were underwater. Very cool. I took pictures, but they didn’t really do it justice.

I’ll be in Dallas this week for two reasons… I have spent the last 4 months building the 3 year plan for my program (there was nothing when I started) and will present it to a review team of fellow EDF experts. I feel like I’m going in for my oral exams for my Master’s again, but in reality it’s good free advice and feedback, so I am grateful that I was able to recruit the great committee I have. When planning this meeting I had to pick a central location for everyone from both coasts so Dallas seemed perfect since it would also give me the opportunity to visit two sorority sisters from college. I might also drop in on the new Dallas Aquarium too.

Well, other than my nutty travels, Wade and I have been trying to get into the Christmas spirit. We’ve been so busy that it’s been a little hard to get into it. We put up the tree and decorations in the house two weeks ago and put up our twinkle lights outside this past weekend. That helped. We’re not doing gifts this year for a variety of reasons that include modesty in the face of the economy, our looming tax bill, but mostly we just don’t really need anything this year, nor do we have room to put anything new! This Sunday we’re having my coworkers over to make cookies, watch Elf (my favorite new holiday classic), and listen to Christmas music until we can’t stand it anymore. (haha) Wade and I are looking forward to spending Christmas in our own bed this year (the first time in 10 years for me!) and having fun with our furry kids that morning. (The cats have already been having a dangerously absurd amounts of fun playing in and under the Christmas tree…we think a disaster is inevitable)

I almost forgot to mention the other reason I haven't blogged for so long. I spent the last week and a half reading through the Twilight series of books. Yes, laugh and get it over with, but they were just what I needed - a nice escape from the chaos of work. I never would have read them, but a coworker in DC loaned me the first book in the series when I was there. I started it on the flight home and couldn't put it down. When I finished, I immediately had to go out and get the next three books (all the library copies were on hold "indefinitely"!) Normally vampires and teen romance are definitely not my book topic of choice, but I was completely sucked in anyway.

I’ll follow up with a report from my Dallas trip early next week….

The Travelling Continues

Last week I headed to the Pacific Coast again to meet with some folks in Monterey and San Francisco. I rented a car in SanFran and drove over the mountains and down the coast to Monterey. I was able to spend sometime in the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which was incredible. For this Florida girl it was quite an experience to see their 3-story "Kelp Forest" exhibit which simulates the kelp forests just offshore of the aquarium - complete with all the kelp and critters that are found there. I was also blown away by the 3-story pelagic (open ocean) tank that had tuna, sharks, mahi, schooling sardines, and my favorite, the Mola mola (ocean sunfish). At one point I was in front of the glass alone and the mola swam right up to me and literally eye balled me. We had a little fun watching each other and turning this way to that to see if the other would follow. They say molas are pretty dumb (they have a brain the size of a walnut but can get up to 5000 pounds!) but I was definitely wondering who was watching who. Molas are one of the oddest looking fish, but there is something inspiring about how they can glide through the water despite their bizarre body structure.




I also really loved the sea otter exhibit. And despite taking a few dozen pictures, only a few turned out. The aquarium is right on Monterey Bay, so while eating lunch we could see otters in the water hanging out and seals frolicking. Sea otters wrap them selves in kelp while they float on their backs eating, snoozing, and playing with their pups. The kelp acts as their safety line keeping them from drifting out to sea.

Now you are probably thinking that this hardly sounds like work. And I will assure you my visit was only 2 hours of my whole week and it was the only fun I had on my work trip. While in Monterey I met with some aquarium folks and some people involved in aquarium trade issues. After the aquarium I drove back to SF for more meetings. We presented our program plan to our funder who was really really happy with our progress, so that was a relief. I ended the week having dinner and making a "pilgrimage" to the Patagonia store to do a little shopping.

It was great to finally get home last weekend since I have discovered that travelling back to back for two weeks is not a glamorous life. This week I had to do a lot of catching up in the office since I'm heading back to DC next week. Oh, and here's a little tip - if you're doing a cross-coast flight, don't take US Airways. For my flight home, I was in the middle seat (the worst!) and they showed no movie, tv, music, news or anything - the first time that's even happened to me. Now, for a standard 1-2 hour flight, no big deal, but for a 4:45 flight, I was about to go wacko with nothing to do and no way to sleep (unless I wanted to end up on the shoulder of the person next to me). Seriously, take a minute to imagine trying to sit still crammed between two people for 4 hours and 45 minutes. Makes you feel a little nutty even thinking about it doesn't it? Thankfully the lady next to me had extra magazines that she let me read so that was a godsend. Oh, and they also charge for drinks (yes, even soda and juice). So flier beware!

Well, I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. We're happy that we'll only have to travel 30 minutes to get to Thanksgiving this year! I know I needed a break from flying this week. I hope those of you travelling have a safe trip and enjoy the time off!

CSA Season Begins

It's been a busy few weeks, hence the lack of postings. For Halloween we got dressed up in our pirate costumes, had a friend over from work, and set up the fire pit in the driveway. We passed out candy by the warmth of the fire (it was our first cold weekend), drank rum punch, and made s'mores with Halloween candy. It was a good time and we even had a few neighbors come over to chat and enjoy the fire.

The week after Halloween I was home sick with a nasty head cold (but still working). Then last week I was in DC for work and it went by in a flash. I was running all over the city for meetings so life seemed to be moving at the speed of light. We're in the middle of developing the strategic plan for my program so work is moving at a relentless pace right now. I leave Monday morning and will split the week between Monterey, CA and San Francisco. It seems this first year of work will be baptism by fire as I create the 3 year plan for my program, find money to fund all of it, put on two workshops, and learn how to lobby Congress to pass a bill I'll be writing... whew. Busy but exciting. By next summer things should start to fall into a more steady and manageable pace. In the mean time, I've been told to get ready to rack up the frequent flier miles...

Wade was in the midst of proposal writing for the past two weeks and made a trip back to Miami to give his yearly seminar on his work. He stayed with Jason and Rachel and was lucky enough to be in town for their housewarming party. While I've been gone he's been getting good work done on his dissertation and enjoying cramming in all the guy movies he can watch.



It was nice to be home for the weekend between trips since our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) season began this week. That means we pay a fee for the season (Nov. - April/May) and in return we get a box of fresh local organic produce each week. We're basically like investors in the farm helping to buy seeds, pay farm costs, and hire help. Last week I went for orientation and was able to bring home some pole beans and a watermelon. The farm is literally about 5 minutes from where I grew up so it's fun to see how the area has changed and support the farm in it's new endeavor (we used to be able to pick strawberries and fresh flowers there).

We went to the farm this Saturday to pick up our share of veggies for the week (cucumbers, radishes, lettuce, green peppers, poblano peppers, pole beans, arugula) and pick extras from the open fields. We picked up more baby lettuce and cherry tomatoes, but passed up the okra, herbs, and extra pole beans and arugula. The cherry tomatoes smelled unlike anything you can get in the store - it's amazing how different (good) freshly picked local food smells and tastes! (Normally I HATE tomatoes)

After picking up our share we headed to a new preserve across the street that has biking and canoeing trails. We're hoping to try them out soon. Right now there is a bald eagle nesting in the preserve which is pretty neat considering when I grew up there I had no idea bald eagles even lived in Florida (now we've been seeing them regularly in the area). The population of eagles and osprey are rebounding in Florida due to the DDT ban and changes in commercial fishing on the coast. More food fish for the eagles and hawks and less egg-shattering DDT means more baby birds! It's really exciting to see the coastal areas coming back to life with more fish and birds.

Hope everyone is doing well. I'll post about my trip to Monterey when I get back.

Top 10 List

In my search of things to do in our new town, I compiled a Top 10 Reasons for people to come visit us in Sarasota. :) First this post started out as a joke, but seriously, there are some pretty cool reasons to check out the West Coast of Florida. See for yourself...

1. We have awesome state parks within and hour or so of us (Myakka River, Cayo Costa, Caladesi Island, Honeymoon Island, Fakahatchee Strand, Peace River Canoe Trail, and Oscar Sherer), great county parks (Fort DeSoto and the newly opened Robinson Preserve to name a few), and wildlife refuges (Ding Darling, Corkscrew Swamp). And those are just the ones that I've checked out so far...



2. The beaches here put the Caribbean to shame (no really, we did a very "scientific" survey on our honeymoon, and West Coast FL beaches are the best!). White sugar sand, shells for miles, and crystal clear turquoise waters. We actually win national awards for our beaches here.



3. If you're the theme park type, Busch Gardens and Adventure Island are an hour away, and DisneyWorld/Epcot/Animal Kingdom, Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure, and SeaWorld are 2.5 hours away.



4. If animals or gardens are more your thing, Mote Marine Aquarium, Sarasota Jungle Gardens, and Selby Botanical Gardens are all within 10 minutes of us, while the Florida Aquarium and the Lowry Park Zoo are about 1 hr away.
   


5. Looking to learn something? The South Florida Museum/Parker Aquarium/Bishop Planetarium, Ringling Museum of Art/Circus Museum are within 15 minutes, and the Museum of Fine Art and the Museum of Science and Industry (and IMAX theatre) are within an hour.



6. We go to the beach on Christmas and eat cookies while the sun sets (enough said for those of you living in the cooler parts of the country!).



7. Did I mention we have fabulous beaches? Oh, and yes, the fishing is also fantastic.



8. We love having house guests.



9. We have some great restaurants here. Seafood, Thai, Sushi, greasy burgers on the beach, home made donuts, Florida rum bar, you name it.



10. Ok, I am reaching for number 10 since this is a thinly veiled reminder that we miss everyone and hope they come visit... we've been to and love many of the places on the list, but there are many we have yet to explore - so come check them out with us and as a bonus you'll get to hang out with us and have a free place to stay. : )

Little Red Riding Hood

This week marked my first week of riding my bike to work. It's about a 2 mile ride to my office (~12 min) from our house and it's a great one. It's nice to save gas, get some much needed exercise, and do something good for the planet. It's also a rather relaxing way to start and end the day. I ride through neighborhoods filled with birds singing and so far the temp in the morning has been quite nice.

To find the right bike took some time, but I finally found the right one. (Wade however is still on a quest for his new bike... his taste is a bit expensive so we'll have to save up a bit for that one in addition to the gift certificate he got) Mine is a Raleigh too, but with a nice feminine (and light) frame. The bike is super comfortable and great for tooling around town. Below is a picture of the new wheels, and note the ultra cool red ladybug bike bell on the handlebars (haha). :) The chainguard is a lifesaver too - no more grease on my pants!

I also had collapsible baskets put on the back and a removable one on the front. Perfect for bringing groceries home - which we already did this week. And after a serious assessment of what I needed to take to work everyday I got everything down to my one little Timbuk2 bag that fits on the back so I don't have to wear a backpack.

Ok, enough of my biking nerdiness. Just wanted to fill everyone in on my new mode of transportation!

Settling In

Well, we've been here three weeks now and they've been busy ones. We got everything in the house put away and all the decorations put up just in time for a cookout/housewarming party last week. Some EDF colleagues from our DC, NC, and TX offices came into town so we had everyone over after a day of meetings to relax on the back deck. The weather was perfect and everyone had a good time. It was fun to have people over and to get to know some new people at work. I also got my hair cut that day - the shortest it's been - nothing drastic, but it was a change for me. Unfortunately, the picture doesn't quite do the new 'do justice since we were scurrying around trying to get the house ready for company, but you get the idea. (You can also get a peek at our kitchen behind me)

Over the past few weeks I have discovered that my co-worker, Michelle, is also a gardening buff, so she's been my partner at local plant sales (the gardening season is just getting underway here). I've picked up a lime and lemon tree and some native plants that will attract and feed birds and butterflies. We've already seen about a dozen birds and butterflies that we didn't get at our house in Miami and that I've never even seen before, so we're really enjoying the yard and I wanted to make sure the wildlife keeps coming back.

We've also discovered that our army of squirrels was chasing the birds off our feeders so we got serious and sought some "professional" help at the local Wild Bird Center. When we told the guy where we lived he laughed and immediately understood why were were frustrated - because of all the huge old live oaks and pine trees we likely have HUNDREDS of squirrels on just our little street alone. Pretty insane (see Wade's previous post on our squirrel troubles). So, we armed ourselves with some squirrel-proofing devices for our existing feeders and a "Squirrel Buster" feeder and waited. Now, for the dogs, this has been depressing because they LOVE chasing the squirrels off the feeders, but after the squirrels emptied two feeders in less than 24 hours it stopped being funny. (So not funny in fact, we seriously contemplated buying a "squirrel-shocking" or squirrel-flipping bird feeder just to get retribution...desperate times call for desperate measures) So far our investment seems to be working. The birds are enjoying the new feeders and the squirrels are downright frustrated, which makes us laugh with glee. Here's a tip we picked up: don't buy bird food with corn or those little red seeds (also made from corn) - the birds don't eat them and the squirrels go wild for it.

We joined the local YMCA last week (it's really nice and is only a half mile from our house) and have started swimming laps. I'm going to start yoga with my two co-workers too. Everything is so close here that we can bike to most places we need. I'm going to start biking to work (stay tuned for that adventure) and we're both making an effort to drive less.

And here's one last parting shot of how well we're settling in... They've lived together for 2 years, but the orange twins have never been seen snuggling before, until now. :) We had to get photographic evidence. That's Marley on the left looking embarrassed and Hilo on the right looking dreamy-eyed (haha).

On Caging a Squirrel

So how do you cage a squirrel you may ask? Well, you can try the old box trick, but those fiesty little guys aren't to easy to get back out of an upside-down box. One little lift of the corner, and -- POOF! -- they're gone.

Or, as a second option, you can get a SQUIRREL-PROOF bird feeder, and fill it full of seed:

If you opt for #2, be aware that it may take a little time, up to 20-30 seconds, for the squirrel to find its way back out (that pea-size brain doesn't do it too much justice). So if your dog is standing in wait for it to finally make its way back out, AND there isn't a tree too close by for the squirrel to jump directly too, there can be a very gruesome outcome. Fortunately I've had Amelie and Carmel by the collar each time such a well-time event has presented itself!

Adios Miami

Well, we have survived moving day! Last Saturday (the 13th) was moving day. The truck arrived in Miami and Wade helped them pack up the house. After they left he went to get his oil changed before making the drive to Sarasota and found out the radiator on the Civic was leaking. Nice. So after getting it checked out and stocking up on fluid he drove up anyway without any problems. In the mean time, I was prepping the house for the deluge of boxes and furniture about to arrive. One of my co-workers, Michelle, was kind enough to keep me company and help with the movers. The movers finally arrived (see below) and when they opened the truck doors it was completely full - stacked like a 3-D Tetris game (haha).

After a long day of moving, everything was finally here, but there was no where for us to stay, so we stayed another night at my mom's with the kids. Sunday we spent the whole day unpacking, taking stuff to storage (we have no garage, so we broke down and got a little storage unit), and trying to figure out where things would go (and we still couldn't stay there). We did meet all of our neighbors, who are all really nice. They all came over to introduce themselves - one side brought us a plate of cookies and the other side brought us a little mason jar of fresh picked flowers! Yeah, life is a little different over here. :)

Monday we took Wade's car to the dealer to get the radiator fixed (which topped off our already expensive weekend...), kept unpacking, and finally brought the kids down to their new house (see Amelie below in the yard on squirrel patrol - she's the white puff on the lower left).

Monday night was the first night we spent in the house and the kids were having all kinds of fun exploring the house and the boxes. Actually, the cats were ruling the house (see Marley "helping" make the bed below) while the dogs were on the hunt in the back yard.

We have 3 huge live oaks, 2 citrus trees, and other trees spread all over the property, plus an army of squirrels and a symphony of birds and cicadas. We know this because for the first 3 days we were here we could only eat on the picnic table on the deck since our dining room table was covered with boxes! Pretty nice way to dine actually... :)

On Tuesday Wade headed back to Miami to get in another field day, finish up things at our house and say goodbye to his partners in crime at RSMAS. On Friday they had a little going away party for him and everyone pitched in to give him a gift certificate to a local bike shop so he could finally get a road bike. He was really surprised and touched and we already went to the bike store today to check things out (but it was closed).

So it seems everything fits nicely into the house, we love the lay out, and are really enjoying the yard. The kids also seem to approve (the dogs look downright annoyed when we bring them inside now), and most of our stuff has been put away or hung up. Tonight was the first night that the house felt like we lived here - we cooked dinner and we finally got almost all the boxes emptied. Wade just got back into town last night, so it's nice to be a family under one roof again.

Next Tuesday (Oct. 1) we're hosting a cookout for some of my co-workers who are coming into town from all over for a meeting. So that will be our unofficial housewarming party I guess. Should be fun to meet more people and to see how the deck works out. You know me, I can't wait to throw a party!

ATL

This past weekend I was in Atlanta (for work) for the Marine Aquarium Conference of North America (MACNA). I got to see some good talks and see what makes hard core aquarium nerds tick. It was almost like going to a sci-fi convention... but instead there were aquariums everywhere and phrases like "protein skimmer" and "nitrogen cycle" and "coral frags" drifting in the air. It was a little weird since this is the first meeting I've been to where I didn't already know someone, so that was a little challenging, but it was still a good learning experience. There was also a trade show going on for all the aquarium-related businesses that I went to and here's a video from my favorite booth:

This video is of a tank of captive-bred "clownfish" (more accurate is Anemonefish). This is a growing trend in the industry, but there aren't a lot of fish that have been bred in captivity yet. These guys are one of the exceptions. Aren't they cute?!

At the end of the conference there was a banquet at the Georgia Aquarium. I'd never been before and was able to get a special behind the scenes tour. It was pretty cool actually. The centerpiece of the aquarium is the largest tank in the world - it has a few million gallons of water (think of a 40ft deep football field) and 4 whale sharks in it! After the tour we had a tasty Wolfgang Puck (no really, he's the caterer for the GA!) southern-style dinner and I met a fun couple my age from South Carolina. We had a great time talking at dinner (it was nice to talk to someone finally!) and here's a video of the view from our table:

In the video you can see the largest female whale shark (22ft) swim by, and in the distance the new Manta Ray (the only one in captivity in the world b/c she can have a "wing"span of up to 24ft), and at the very end you'll see the Leopard Lay swim by at the bottom (gorgeous!). Head over to our Picasa site to see more pictures from the trade show and the aquarium.

While I do believe aquariums serve an incredible role as educational tools for the public, I also believe there should be limits on what should be in an aquarium. Two of the original whale sharks died after the aquarium opened, and I heard one joke at the meeting that the staff at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (California) only half jokingly call the GA Aquarium the "Death Star" because whatever it sucks in with its tractor beam is sure to not come out alive... yeah. It's true, some facilities are better than others, but what I am trying to say is wild animals (aquatic or otherwise) are best kept in the wild so do what you can to protect them there and say a little thank you for the "ambassadors" who are stuck in zoos and aquariums (hopefully) inspiring the next generation of conservationists. (I do think zoos and aquariums are a good place for resuced animals though that can't be returned to the wild)

Ok, I'm getting off my soapbox now! I hope you enjoy the pictures and video. :) For those who are keeping track - Saturday is MOVING DAY!!! I can't wait! The nice thing about my trip was when I got home this past Sunday Wade was already at my Mom's with the furry kids in tow. They've sort-of made the move already and don't even know it. Haha. Stay tuned for pictures of the big event... this is the first time we've hired movers and are really excited to have paid help this time around so we don't have to torture friends again!

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On a completely unrelated note - while I was typing this up Sarah (sorority sister) called to tell me she and Evan got engaged!! So congratulations guys!!!! Looks like we'll be heading to TX sometime in 2009 for a wedding! :)

Countdown to the Move

Labor Day weekend I headed back to Miami to see friends and help Wade finish packing. Friday night we met up with the usual suspects at the RSMAS Wet Lab (aka: bar). I have one picture that should give you an indication of the kind of night it was:

Yes, if you read the details closely, that's a surveillance report from a security camera at RSMAS... with (from L to R) Wade, Jason, Johnathan, Paul, and me causing mischeif with a roll of insulation. Don't ask b/c I seriously don't remember. No, really. For more evidence of the evening head over to our Picasa site. It was also my first chance to congratulate Johnathan in person since he officially became Dr. Kool last week!

Saturday I spent most of the day being ill... but not exactly what you think. I have discovered over the years that I have some sort of allergy to vodka and blue curacao... even one drink makes me feel like I had about 8. So, the last drink of my night Friday was one with vodka and without thinking I happily drank it down. So I went from tipsy to icky in a matter of a half hour. On the bright side, I did get to spend all day Saturday in bed with my cats! Otherwise I couldn't even keep water down the whole day. Fun. Needless to say, I did not get much packing done. Sunday we packed and I was able to meet up with Robin for lunch to catch up and see little Kaitlyn (sooo cute!!). Monday was more packing before I had to head back to Sarasota.

And now I am packing my bag to head to Atlanta for a conference this weekend. It's at the GA Aquarium (which I've never seen) so I'll be sure to take lots of pictures for my next post! After that we MOVE!!! Sept. 13th is the big day unless one of those storms in the Atlantic has other plans...

San Francisco treat

Pictures are now up at our Picasa site!

After our trip to PA I flew directly to San Francisco for my work trip. Due to the change in plans (thanks TS Fay), I didn't have my digital camera, so I had to make due with a disposable one.

I was there from Aug 20-23rd. I had some meetings on the 21st in EDF's downtown office which has an incredible view of the downtown area, Bay Bridge, and the Bay. On Friday (22nd) we had a company picnic at a local park near Oakland. I got to see my first redwood trees (they had fuzzy bark!) and enjoyed meeting some of my colleagues in our San Francisco office. After the picnic I got a call from CJ (my friend from highschool) that he was going to be starting his work week in San Fran! (He's a pilot) So we met up for dinner Friday. We headed down to Pier 39 to see the sealions (hilarious!!) and Alcatraz (see picture below), but we could barely make out the Golden Gate through the fog. Afterwards we walked down the Embarcadero (reminded me of Duval Street in Key West - very touristy) to find dinner. Since I had missed CJ's birthday earlier in August, I took him out to make up for it. We laughed pretty hard b/c now that we live in the same city we haven't seen each other in months - until we meet up on the other side of the country! We had dinner at this awesome place over looking the Bay that had fantastic sourdough bread (what SF is known for, other than Rice-a-Roni of course, haha). We had a great dinner and some good drinks before taking the trolly bus home. It was a great way to end the week since I'd spent the other nights in SF eating alone and wandering downtown. I was also trying to avoid jetlag and it was freezing (in South Florida terms) so I didn't stay out late on the other nights. It was nice though being able to get up at the crack of dawn (their time) and feeling like it wasn't early at all!
One cool thing about San Fran was how easy it is for people to get around without cars! I took the metro between the airport and downtown and took the trolly bus or walked to other places. It was so nice not to have to drive.

I was also a little amazed at how the fog seemed to fluctuate bewteen just hanging over the mountains waiting to creep in or comepletely covering the Bay. So strange - but it did make me think of the weird fog at our wedding!

This was my first trip to CA, but it was a short one. I think I will definitely be going out again though for work, so I'm hoping to take Wade next time so we can explore and enjoy it some more.

Pennsylvania Homecoming

I finally managed to get back to Pennsylvania last week with Cara in tow for her first trip there, and we had a wonderful time! The weather was perfect (mid- to upper-70's, and upper 50's at night), my parents had done a fantastic job with the house (both inside and out with the massive amount of flowers my Mom planted everywhere), and my brother and Tracy were in with their youngsters for a few of the days we were there too.

We started off flying in Friday to the little University Park airport (Penn State's local airport), and drove the hour home to the quaint little Sugar Valley where I was born and raised. Although I may be a bit genetically biased (my family has lived in the valley for 200+ years), the Valley truly is a little piece of heaven. If it was close to a big city, the mountains would surely be littered with summer homes and track housing!

The next day Cara got to meet some of the relatives she never met before, both the Cooper and the Weaver side, at the annual Community Picnic and down at our camp at night. I also took Cara up in the woods behind the house for a little off-road hiking, where we saw some turkeys and climbed to the top of the mountain. Here's a pic of Cara waist deep in grass up above our house:

We did a tour of the valley on Sunday, getting to see the western valley, the covered bridge, plenty of Amish farms, and our family's hunting grounds with a little off-road 4WD in my Dad's truck. Here's a pic of the usual road signs up and down the valley:

Coincidentally, they do need those signs because the only car wreck i've ever been in has been with an Amish buggy! (his fault, not mine)

My brother's family came in Sunday, and it was good to finally see the kids after not seeing them since our wedding, and getting to see the youngest Cole for the first time. The kids were super playful, and Sydney definitely liked playing with her Aunt Cara. Here's the kids in the wagon after my mom took them down the road to feed my grandpa's horses (Sydney in back, Cole in the middle, and Zane up front):

We got delayed heading home for a few extra days thanks to Tropical Storm Fay, so the more time to hang out with the family! The storm was a little stressful, since Cara had a meeting in San Fran for work and had to change her plane ticket to fly directly out there from PA, and we were worried about our pets since they were in Miami (thanks Marilyn for watching them!). Because she changed her flight, we spent an afternoon shopping for her to get some dress clothes so she didn't have to wear shorts and t-shirts when meeting with the donor of her new job. Shopping went well and my beautiful wife picked herself out an excellent outfit without too much hassle. But it all worked out in the end, and neither Miami nor Sarasota/Anna Maria got hit by Fay. So after 5 days for Cara and 6 days for me, we had to say our good byes to my home town. But we are definitely planning on heading back a bit more frequently now since it is such a peaceful place to visit!

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To see some more pics from the trip, check out our Picasa Site.

Six Years

By now you have figured out that some of our posts are informative, some are funny, some are sappy... This one will be a sappy one - a tribute to my husband who has been packing up the house and keeping our "kids" in line while I've been here in Sarasota.

This week marks our six year anniversary (we celebrate two - our wedding and our "first date"). Six years ago this week I was crazy enough to fly out to Boulder, CO to help Wade move to Miami... after only knowing him a few weeks. But hey, I've always thought if you're going to do great things with your life you have to take big chances - good thing I did because he definitely turned out to be a great thing!


Our first date was camping in the Indian Peaks Wilderness next to the Rocky Mountains National Park and I got violently ill from altitude sickness (and drinking twice my body weight in water... no, really). We then proceeded to drive cross-county in a gigantic Penske truck towing his Subaru (see photo from that fateful week) and stopped in Kansas City to see his brother and sister-in-law. After there we headed to Waynesville, NC to see my Mom and step-dad. En route, Wade got food poisoning and I had to take over driving the truck in rush hour traffic through downtown Nashville (did I mention the highway was under construction so the lanes were pinched together too?). We finally made it to my Mom's and Wade was able to recoup by sleeping for a day. Next was Atlanta to see my dad and step-mom, but on the way there we got lost on the Blue-Ridge Parkway near the Georgia/NC border, a place that looked like time had forgotten it - beautiful mist-covered mountains, but not a road sign for miles. After Atlanta, we finally made it to Miami in one piece. We had seen each other at our worst (nothing like puking repeatedly on your first date!), gotten lost, seen some interesting parts of the country through the windshield of a moving truck, and we still liked each other - I always laugh and say that's when I knew he was the one - after all that (and meeting my parents already) he still wanted to be with me!


So, happy six years honey - I look forward to many more years of adventure to come!

Week One in Sarasota/Anna Maria

Well, I have finished my first week of work in Sarasota and so far so good. My office is in a big executive complex which means I have my own office (with a door) in a complex of 73 other offices. All the offices share a common room and kitchen plus some administrative staff. It's nice to have a kitchenette to prep lunch in - plus a dishwasher for dishes! (A big change from my office at the Park!) I spent last week setting up my office, learning about the company, and I already edited my first report (corals and climate change), which Wade, Marilyn, and Alette have been kind enough to contribute photos for. There are three other people in my office - two that work on climate change issues in Florida and one that is working on fisheries issues in Florida. They are really nice and it'll be fun getting to know everyone.



The whole week I had something even more fun to look forward to though - a visit from Wade and the "kids". :) They came into town on Friday and left this morning. Friday night we went out to dinner to one of our favorite restaurants on Anna Maria called The Waterfront. We had a big dinner to celebrate my first week of work and Wade's arrival. That night we watched the opening ceremonies for the Olympics and WOW. It was amazing how they choreographed so many thousands of people! Saturday we woke to a bad thunderstorm that cut the power to the house, so Wade and I spent the day looking for places to rent in Sarasota. We saw a few things with promise so we made two appointments for Sunday to see the insides. That evening we came home and the power was still off, so we ordered a pizza, made rum and cokes (thanks for the awesome rum Jimmy!) and lounged by the pool.



Sunday morning we got up and headed down to Sarasota to look around some more and see the first place we had on our list. About 1/3 of the places we've called didn't want to take dogs, another 1/3 didn't have a washer/dryer(??), and the last third were ok, but not ideal. We had seen pictures of the inside of the first place we saw but were a little worried because it's smaller than where we live now. But, it had this incredible yard, looked really cute, and was in a really convenient part of town. After looking around inside we were sold. The landlord is really nice (loves dogs!), the house is cute inside, has a decent floor plan (2/1 plus little Florida room and laundry room) and kitchen, lots of windows, and it has a magnificent yard that is twice the size of our current yard(!) and is filled with trees and a huge deck with a built-in jacuzzi(!). The place is also only about a mile and a half from my office, half mile from the YMCA, and about 2 blocks from a beautifully wooded local (dog-friendly) park. So we're going to have to pair down some of our stuff, but we can make it work and ultimately being more environmentally friendly means living with less space and less stuff, so we're game. (Which also means moving less stuff!) I'm excited to bike to work and Wade's excited to bike to the Y to swim laps and work out. He's also thrilled that we'll have a dishwasher again so no more dish duty for him!

The front of the house... (yes, those are huge live oaks behind the house)

Our killer deck/jacuzzi/back yard. :) (It looks even bigger in person) Can you see the tiki torches already?





After seeing the house we stopped by my office so Wade could see it. That night after dinner we walked to the beach (around the corner from where we were married, and where our title picture was taken) to hang out until the sunset - this time of year it's about 8:15 when the sun goes down, which I love. We took some pictures, watched a couple get married, and watched a flock of gulls, terns, and skimmers chased each other around. (See our new "the coastal coopers" picture to the right for one of the pics) The sunset fizzled, but we enjoyed the show and the weather anyway. It was just so nice to have Wade around to hang out with again. I can't wait until he moves up to join me!




Sadly, Wade and the kids headed home this morning, but he'll be back on Thursday because we fly out to see Wade's family in Pennsylvania on Friday morning. We'll be there for five days and I'm really excited to see where Wade grew up and to meet more of his family that couldn't make it to the wedding.

Finally got to meet Trey!

Last night Megan and Jimmy had me up for dinner at their house in Tampa. It was a great time - good food and friends and I finally got to meet sweet little Trey (he was born 6.8.08 - before we started the blog). He has adorable cheeks and does not want to miss a minute of life (read: does not really care for naps). It was pretty funny watching him fight to stay awake even though he was clearly tired. He would start to daze off then jolt awake like "I'm awake! No, I wasn't sleeping!" He was great and I relished keeping Trey entertained while Meg and Jimmy made dinner. : ) I look forward to being able to watch him grow up now that I'll be living over here!!



Dinner with the Ellis family was the perfect way to cap off my first day here. I got to Anna Maria around lunch time and spent the afternoon settling in. Today I will be doing laundry and hopefully will hit the beach. :) I'm really lucky that my mom and step-dad are kind enough to let me have their house to stay in while they are in NC. I'll be here until Wade can join me in mid-September. Although, I think Wade's getting the raw end of things since I have a little tiki bar by the pool and hot tub here (really!), and I'm about 3 blocks from the beach. Not a bad life!!



Tomorrow is my first day of work in Sarasota - wish me luck!!

A Toast

Since it is the night before I am about to embark on my new adventure, I thought I'd get a little sentimental and give a "toast", so here goes.

I raise my (margarita) glass....

To those who helped me laugh when life in Miami was not funny...


To those who showed me what the good life in South Florida could be like: sunning on the beach, drinking rum runners, diving the reef, exploring the Everglades, and relishing in the spring festival season...


To those who had sage advice and something optimistic to say during my job search...


To those who served as roommates over the years without killing me (and are still friends!)...


To those who were our furry kids' "aunts" and "uncles" when we went on trips...


To those who have stayed in the CooperCabana, and have been kind enough to return the favor when we visited...


To those who were brave enough to go camping in the Everglades for my birthday...


To those sorority sisters who helped make me who I am and broke me of my tomboy ways (sort of)...

To those that welcomed my nerdy sci-fi side with open arms...

To the city that made me who I am (for better and worse) and that introduced me to Wade...

...THANK YOU everyone for your friendship, laughter, love, and support over the years - I can't believe I've been here 11 years straight and am finally leaving! Snif... moving away from everyone is the one thing that makes the move tough.


Please know that you've each been a character in our book of life and as we start this new chapter I fully expect you to be there too! :) Did I mention we have fantastic beaches over there that you'll want to visit??


To those already on the west coast of Florida... here we come!! Adios Miami!



(Here's a view of downtown Miami that I took this week - on the far right you'll see the cruiseship terminal where I worked my senior year of undergrad)

Fairwell Everglades National Park

Today was my last day in the office, so I'll share some things I will miss about my job.


I will miss my co-workers in Key Largo who always had humor and perspective on the occasionally (ok, usually) frustrating ways of the Park Service.

I will miss birding in the Park (half of these from my office doorstep!) - Red-Shoudlered Hawks, Osprey, Bald Eagles, Spoonbills, Kestrels, Swallow-tailed Kites, Peregrine Falcons, Magnificent Frigatebirds, Herons, White and Brown Pelicans, Cardinals, Turkeys, Long-Billed Curlews, White-Crowned Pigeon, Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, Eastern Bluebirds, the ever-present Mocking Birds, Palm Warblers, and the occasional sparrow that flew into my office and had to be subduded with my uniform jacket.

I will miss the days I spent filming WaterwaysTV (the educational TV series about South Florida National Parks that I helped produce) - I was able to do some great things: ride in an open helicopter to film wildfire, hold a baby bald eagle, catch my first bonefish, see a 10 ft Bull Shark eat a baby Lemon Shark like it was bait, re-introduce (by hand) a big male wild turkey into Everglades National Park, dive on shipwrecks in Biscayne National Park, outrun more than one frightningly intense thunderstorm while filming on the water, and work with some friends to tell the story of their research (Wade, Mike, Brenda, Richard, and Lisa).


I will miss the cool natural moments I've seen in the Park: baby spoonbills covered in light pink fuzz, a manatee grazing at the dock behind our office, dolphins coralling fish so the fish leap out of the water and into the open mouths of other waiting dolphins, baby alligators peeping nervously for their mom, tarpon rolling around our canoe as if they didn't notice we were there, huge frightened crocodiles throwing themselves into the water "Africa-style" when our boat was approaching, and seeing the beauty of the Park by airplane while doing aerial surveys.

There are two things that eluded me while I was here that I wanted desperately to see in person, but instead only have pictures... panthers and flamingos (yes, both of the following shots were taking in the Park, but not by me).







The Everglades can be a really incredible place if you take the time to explore. It's a park of subtle beauty and you can only find the good stuff if you take the time to stop, look, and listen. Which, by the way, you can only really do in the winter and spring because in the fall and summer the bugs are so bad they will make you mental - or make you do the tourist dance... visit once in the summer and you'll know what I mean.

Now, for the long awaited moment, here is evidence of me in my uniform. It's not exactly designed to be flattering. Get the good laugh in while you can... (that "motel" behind me was my office)

Welcome Kaitlyn Claire!

While we were partying it up on Sunday, Robin and Chad's little girl, Kaitlyn Claire, made her entrance into the world just before 3pm and weighed 8lbs 5oz.

Wade and I went to see her today at the hospital - both Mom and baby are doing well and look great! Kaitlyn has the sweetest little face and hair that matches her mom's. Congratulations!!

My Last Hurrah at Pool x2

Jason and Rachel were kind enough to have a few peeps over for one last hurrah before I pack up and leave this coming Saturday (the countdown has started - D(eparture) Day is 5 days away!!). We grilled, lounged, swam, played pool, mocked Lord of the Rings, had entirely too much to eat and drink, and discovered Scattegories can be entirely entertaining when some players can barely see (or think) straight. There were some excellent dolphin imitations in the pool, Marilyn destroyed Jason at pool(billiards), and Don Johnson made a cameo late in the evening. (check out the pictures on our Picasa site!)

Alison and Mike were brave enough to hang out and bring Rylan by for his first social outting and he did great! Thanks for coming guys - it was so good to see you!

Thanks for a great time guys - I am going to miss everyone so much!! Busch Gardens in October, anyone?!?!

Lunch with Jill

As part of my last week of work I get to have lunch with a different person everyday that wasn't able to make my going-away potluck. Lucky me! :)


Today was Jill's day. A friend from grad school, she just happens to work about a mile from my office in Key Largo at Dolphins Plus as their Education Director. One of the perks of stopping by Jill's office is getting to see the dolphins, all of which have their own unique personality. (Funny enough, I actually swam here about 14 years ago on a family vacation to the Keys!) Today I got to meet Bob (one of Jill's favorites) and his sweetheart who's due with their baby anyday now! Check out how round she is below!

After a meet and greet we got some lunch and came back to sit and relax. It was great to catch up. I also got some pictures of the adorable 1.5 week old baby dolphin while he cruised around with his mom. He looks striped because where he was folded up in the womb his skin is dark. So cute!

I forgot to add that they don't actually know if it's a boy or a girl, but I couldn't stop saying it was a he, so I stuck with it.

Thanks for a great lunch and playing photographer Jill! :)

My Birthday Presents

Thanks to all of you who sent me some cash for my birthday to finally get a flash for my camera! We swung by the camera store yesterday and I picked it up, and got to take my first picture with the flash of my lovely lady Cara who is giving me a look below of "you got to be kidding me, you aren't going to take another picture are you??" (besides Cara, there's nothing special about this picture, but it was at night in the house so the flash was definitely needed).

I also got a nice photo journal by a Floridian photographer (John Moran; maybe you Gator fans recognize him since he's a Gainesville photographer) and a new Patagonia t-shirt to add to my overstuffed drawers that the cats like to sleep in. A very good birthday overall!

Good Bye Potluck, Everglades Style

Yesterday my boss, Bob, organized a potluck lunch to say goodbye. We had some great food and good friends from the community to enjoy it with at our office in Key Largo. I still have another week left in the office, but yesterday seemed to be the best day to do it. Bob gave me some parting gifts - a lovely photographic journal of the parks called "America's Best Idea", and something to remind me of how much I love wearing the Park uniform...

Yes, that is a Park Ranger doll. Funny enough, we actually sent this doll to our niece, Sydney, last year for Christmas!

Beware the Indian "achaar"

As my first post (Wade here writing), I thought i'd tell you all a bit about my 31st birthday, which I thought was my 32nd birthday until around noon when Chris, my old roomate, reminded me otherwise. It was a regular old day at work, but for dinner we went to a quaint Indian bistro called Imlee. Cara and I were quite happy that it was a nice restaurant, not some slummy place on the side of US1. We started with some excellent appetizers (samosas and some lentil cakes called a non-remembered authentic name), then moved onto the main dish. Happily they had lamb biryani, which turned into one of my favorite meals going back to my Colorado days when I used to get that as comfort food at the "Raj" in Boulder. The first few bites were excellent, so it was shaping up for an excellent meal. But then the achaar came.... I never had Indian pickles, called achaar's, but I thought, what the hell, I love all types of pickles...dill, butter, gherkins, sweet midgets....you get the idea. The achaar came as three condiments, definitely not pickles in shape. Afterwards, when I looked up achaar's, I realized they pickle all types of fruits in vegetables, usually as cut up bits, but they often use oil instead of vinegar, and add lots of hot spices.

So back to the story of the meal, I was a little curious about the achaar, so I opted to taste a small spoonful of each individually before adding it to my plate. The first was shocking -- I started chewing the piece, and it ended up being a spicy bit of something with a hard shell attached that I had to pull out of my mouth. So much for that one, so I moved onto the next. It was a combintation of very sweet and spicy, almost overpowering, but interesting nonetheless. Finally, the last, the real zinger, I took a bite.... I'm still not sure what taste buds that bit of substance stimulated, for my conciousness seemed slightly dazed for a little while (probably in combination with the first beer I pounded). All I can say it that it completely overwhelmed me for a few minutes. No amount of rice, lamb biryani, or Cara's tasty meal (still not sure what the liquidy stuff was either) could eliminate the overwhelming sensation. After I had recovered, I politely set the achaar's aside and returned to the edible stuff.

So all in all, it was an excellent dinner and a learning experience. And for those of you out there that haven't tasted achaar's before, beware, they are definitely not dill pickles in disguise!!

Recipe of the Week

I got a little behind with my recipe of the week, so I finally posted a new one (on the right). I'm hoping to put a new one up every weekend. If you want me to e-mail you a copy or have questions, don't hesitate to ask!

This week's recipe is my veggie stock that's dark and rich and even better than beef broth. I use it for everything and it's fantastic - just freeze the left overs (see instructions). I also included the alternate way of making the lighter chicken-like stock. If you can't find leeks in your grocery story, just add more onions (just not the red/purple ones)

I am posting this recipe because some of the recipes to follow will call for stock. You can buy stock if you don't want to make it (there are lots of good boxed beef/chicken ones)- but it may take you a while to find a veggie one you like (I have yet to find one, so I make my own). Also, steer clear of those cubes - they are super salty and don't have the good stuff in them that the canned or boxed stock does. The boxed stuff is great since it's resealable and can be kept in the fridge for a week or two after it's opened.

Enjoy!

11th International Coral Reef Symposium

So, you might have noticed that I've been seriously slacking on the blog this past week. Last Thursday (3rd) I was up in Ft. Lauderdale stuffing bags for the upcoming ICRS, then Alette's BBQ was on Saturday, then we checked into a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday (6th) to kick off the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium (kind of like the Olympics for coral reef scientists - it only happens every four years).

Wade spent the past few weeks preparing his talk and poster for the ICRS, and I have spent the last few months recruiting volunteers for the symposium. As part of my job I attended and worked the symposium all week to organize the volunteers and attend talks. Since it was over and hour from our house and I had to be there really early every morning to work, we decided to stay in a hotel to make it easy on ourselves (thank goodness we did!).


Sunday we worked all day giving people directions and helping people register. That night we were invited to the opening dinner for the organizing committee and sponsors which was on the top floor of a near by hotel. We had a rotating view of the Atlantic Ocean and Ft. Lauderdale (nice!).


Monday I had to be there really early to work with the volunteers while Wade stayed in the hotel room to practice his talk. Wade co-chaired one of the sessions all week, so he was mostly there the whole time. His session was in the largest room that could seat over 3000 people, so they had three sets of huge screens to display presentations and the speaker. The lights, camera, and huge screens made everyone nervous (even big-time professors).

The day went well and we stayed for the opening reception that evening, but soon discovered that vegetarian fare was going to be difficult to find for the week unless we wanted to eat salad for every meal. So we cut out early with Alette and went to have margaritas and Mexican food.


Tuesday was similar to Monday, except we stayed after for a "science in the media" workshop that we found to be a less than useful. It ran late, and we were starving, so Shay, Wade and I went to get sushi afterwards. Johnathan also gave his talk that day and enlightened us with modelling "wizardry". :)


By Wednesday we'd gotten the hang of the schedule, but the light lunches, late dinners/nights, and early mornings were taking a toll and we were getting pretty tired. Wednesday evening we attended the poster reception with Jason and Rachel. Afterwards we headed back to the hotel for some (expensive) but decent dinner with them, Marilyn, Tyler, and Dana.

(Wade showing Jason his poster, ok, I had them pose for me)

(Jason, Rachel, Wade, and I enjoying the poster reception)

Thursday was the busy day. We forgot to set the alarm clock, but were happy to get the extra sleep. But, when three volunteers called, two out sick and one running late, the morning got a little hectic. This was the day Wade was giving his talk (thankfully not in the huge room he was in all week), and there were a lot of other talks I wanted to see too. After some shuffling we figured things out so I could still see most of the talks I want to, including Wade's (see below - he was great!).

Marilyn and Alette also gave their talks that day too. Thursday night brought the closing banquet which quickly devolved into chaos as people waited for food, the open bar, and seats. I was able to briefly meet two of my new co-workers at Environmental Defense, but after 2 hours of no dinner and too many people, I was getting a wee bit frustrated, so Wade and I headed back to the hotel to get some food, pack our bags, and finally get some sleep.


Friday morning we checked out and headed to the symposium to catch two more talks by friends. We also finally got to meet Shay and Ryan's little boy, Elliott. We've been watching him grow up on their Picasa site for the last two years, so it was wonderful to finally see how cute he is in person!


A lot of the attendees looked quite hung over which was a little funny. Coral reef scientists and an open bar are a recipe for trouble. I overhead the convention center staff talking about how astonished they were about how much people had to drink... apparently they've never been to a coral reef meeting before!


After lunch we went to see Alison and the baby with Shay, then went home and were really happy to see our furry kids and just sit on the couch. The convention center was so huge I swear I must have walked a few miles everyday walking to all the different sessions. There were 12 sessions of talks running simultaneously, plus poster presentations - all on different topics - spread all over the gigantic convention center. (Wade below in the 3-story atrium of the convention center)


It was great to see so many familiar faces that we haven't seen in a while. The coral reef research "world" is small and highly interconnected, despite there being thousands of people in the field (there ended up being over 3400 people at the symposium alone which is a fraction of the people in the field). Wade and I both saw roommates from undergrad that we hadn't seen in years! It's also a great time to see friends from all over the world that you rarely get to see.


Saturday was a day of catch up for us and now that I only have two weeks of work left at the Park things will be quite busy. My, how time flies!!

Alette's welcome back BBQ

Last weekend (Sat. July 5th) we went to a BBQ at Marilyn's house in honor of Alette's return to the U.S. for the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS). She has been in the Phillippines since last December when her student visa was up, so it was great to see her again! It was also a great excuse for everyone to relax while prepping their talks for the ICRS.

Here's me, Professor Yniguez (guest of honor), and Dr. Brandt (hostess with the mostess). :)

Check out our Picasa site for more pictures of the festivities...