Living the DC Life :D

Hey there, 

Long time no post! (sorry about that). One of my dear friends from college is up in DC for an internship, which has been absolutely wonderful, and also has caused me to actually get out there and see more of my surroundings. We went and toured around DC, seeing some of the monuments (and paying a special visit to a big white house). We also went to Mount Vernon  and hiking in Potomac Maryland. So I've been quite busy looking around town. 

And then, this week, I did something incredible. Something beyond incredible, in fact. Micky gave me tickets to go see the Inauguration. Tickets to the Inauguration. Inauguration is one of those things that happens on TV. Like the Olympics- those events which I know happen in reality but seem to only exist through television, not feasibly an attendable event. And yet there I stood, about 75 yards from the capital building, listening to the President of the United States speak and renew his position of service to the nation.

Even though the words I heard are the same as the words that came through the radios and TVs- there's something magical about being there. Whether its the huge crowd (estimated at 800,000 this year), the almost tangible optimistic attitude/spirit, or the slight delirium induced by waking at 3:00 and standing for 8 hours in wait, it was magical. And the thing is, while I'm assuming most of those in attendance were democrat, it didn't matter your party affiliation or political views. The Inauguration wasn't a time to pick sides or to bicker over differing views- it was a time to celebrate another new beginning, a time to rekindle the hope and faith in the future of America. A time to hear the President and Vice President of the United States vow to protect and defend the people and constitution of the United States to the best of their ability. 

Anyhow, that's all for now. 

~Rachel~

An (almost) white Christmas

Wow, incredible how quickly Christmas has come and gone. I was back home in New Hampy for the holidays through New Year. It snowed probably 1.5 feet while I was home, starting right after Christmas. It was quite relaxing to not have any real responsibilities. A week and a half of Ping Pong, movies, Just Dance, and holiday cheer were more than welcome. Of course we had our traditional Chinese feast on both Christmas Eve and New Years Eve. Nothing says happy Holidays quite like Chinese food. 

Unfortunately I wasn't able to set the records on too many of the Just Dance 4 songs, but oh well- there's always Spring Break or summertime for that, so family: practice up!   The more mobile I become the more I appreciate knowing that there's always a home waiting for me back in NH. I had a great week with the fam and it was quite sad to leave (I'm very used to the month-long vacation that college provided, so a week and a half just feels sooo short!) 

But my vacation home with the family transitioned to another vacation, so it wasn't straight back to DC for me- I headed out west to Colorado to meet Mickey, Minnie, Jack and Jill out in Aspen. Once landing in Aspen we actually drove to Vail, and I had my first skiing experience out West. I took a full-day group lesson, which went quite well if I say so myself. We started off with easy review of technique, going down a bunny slope to make sure we knew the basics. We quickly advanced and headed up the gondola to the summit and spent an hour or two coming down the mountain. We stuck mostly to green/blue trails, switching back and forth, but I did officially do part of a black diamond (which was a little intense for me- I wiped out and was de-skiied...but made a nice recovery once I figured out how to put my skis back on mid-slope). If you watch the winter olympics, (women have a course in Vail) I completed the part that they call "Hewey, Duey, and Louie". 

(Here's the view from our hotel in Vail)

I think landing in the Aspen airport may be the prettiest landing I ever have seen- all of a sudden you start descending in the mountains, and just have snow-covered peaks around you in all directions- INCREDIBLE.  And now we've come full-circle, and I once again am in the airport waiting to depart and head back to DC. I have a few hours to kill still, so I am currently very grateful for free WiFi. 

Talk to you next from DC!

Rachel