'tis the season to be...surfing

I went home to Florida for Thanksgiving- for the first time since high school. It was everything I remembered it to be and more.

Jenni and Scott and I decided to brave the holiday traffic and drive down there. After a luxurious stopover for the night at the Disney Resort at Hilton Head Island (SC), we arrived in Mims on Thursday, just in time for the big meal.

I really didn't expose Jenni to the wide variety of activities the area has to offer. We knew what we liked, and we didn't stray far from it. We went to New Smyrna Beach, Playalinda Beach, Cocoa Beach, and Wekiva Springs. I never took her into Orlando at all. We may not have gone to Disney World, but we did get to see the ocean in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, and at night.



Ajay and Angie and their friends enjoyed many of these activities with us. Angie documented the experience with her camera. As her pictures demonstrate, there are a few advantages to not having four seasons.

In loving memory of summer

As we are in the throes of winter, I fondly recall days with friendlier temperatures. Six months ago, I enjoyed a summer season that fulfilled all the most cherished ideals of balmy weather and long, carefree days. This was made possible by a spell of unemployment.

When I completed my internship on Capitol Hill in May, I could postpone reality no longer. I now had to confront the question that haunts many students: School is over- what do I do now? I joined scores of others in the quest for employment. This terrifying experience taught me a lot about the value of humility, perseverance, self-promotion, and sheer good luck.

I searched high and low for suitable employment, but as the weeks turned into months I grew quite fond of the ample free time I enjoyed, and realized that I am not one of those people who need meaningful employment in order derive satisfaction from existing. As long as I was able to ignore the feelings of worthlessness and rejection, I never once got bored or tired of my membership in what we refer to as the "day club". My unemployed status made it possible for me to have one of the funnest summers ever.

I kicked off my summer 'o fun by going to the French Riviera with my parents. We were in Cannes for the film festival. We also glimpsed the Grand Prix in Monaco through the barricades. The rest of our time was spent wandering along the coastline or through the French Alps.

This is the Mediterranean coast.

These are the foothills of the Alps.

This is the view from our hotel.

This is a narrow street.

Back in the homeland, I enjoyed a number of civilized/uncivilized activities in the D.C. region.

We climbed at Carderock.

The Air Force musicians played at the Air Force Memorial.

We camped in the Shenandoah's and played in the waterfalls.

We toured the Capitol Dome.

There was a protest going on during our tour.

The view from the top was spectacular.

We hiked around Great Falls.

We marched at the head of the Washington, D.C. Fourth of July parade.

We rafted the James and the Yauckaghanee Rivers.

We went to New York City. (And walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.)

We wake boarded on Lake Anna.

We visited Monticello.

And toured the University of Virginia.

(Why are those pictures so small?)

We went to Palmyra. We visited all the historic church sites in the region, we saw the first half of the Cumorah pageant before it was rained out, we even attended the Palmyra Temple.

One afternoon we took off and drove up to Niagara Falls.

I slept with wild horses on the beach at Assateague. (Unfortunately, my camera broke during this trip. Hence, no pictures.)

My camera was out of commission for the rest of the summer. But I had a lot of fun creating many unrecorded memories.

In the end, the lifestyle was too good to be true. It's just not sustainable, or I could have gone on indefinitely. I got two part time gigs until I found full time employment. When the long-awaited offer finally came, I had the beautiful dilemma of having to juggle three jobs until I could let one of them go.

In an ironic twist of fate, two positions I had anxiously sought all summer finally became available- after I had already committed to the job I currently have. "It always happens this way," my old supervisor told me, and added "But it always works out for the best." I believe she is very wise.

Nowadays I work long hours, often not getting home until 10 pm at night- and it is cold outside. While I am very grateful for my employment, I am also very grateful for long, warm summer days and free time.