Maybe Big Corporations Aren't All Bad

I admit I am biased because I work here, but this is a pretty good story.

Battleship Encampment

So there was more going on last weekend than just the trip to the Saints-Vikings game. Stephen and I spent the night before that trip with his Cub Scout pack aboard the U.S.S. New Jersey. The New Jersey is a very impressive, and highly decorated, Iowa class battleship. It was decommissioned in 1991, and now is docked in Camden, NJ. It is essentially a museum, and has a program for group encampments, which is what we did with the Scouts. It was a really fun evening, complete with a very informative tour, horrible cafeteria food, and sleeping in coffin-like racks in close quarters with the other kids and dads in our pack. After spending the night there, I have a heightened level of respect for the many sailors who spent months at sea on these things.

Here is where Stephen and I slept:


And here's a nice shot from the deck during our night time tour:


To see more pictures, click here.

Pictures From The NFC Championship Game

I've finally uploaded the pictures from the fabulous trip David and I took to New Orleans and Baton Rouge for the NFC Championship Game. To see the full album click here -- and remember to use full screen view so you can see the captions.

I also wanted to put some of the photo highlights directly onto the blog (scroll down to the posts below for my live-blogging of the trip).

So, first is a picture of David in full regalia outside the Dome just before we went in:


And I love this shot of Drew Brees psyching up the team before the game:


The Dome was absolutely shaking when Garrett Hartley kicked the game-winning 40-yard field goal. Here is a picture of the bedlam just after the kick was made -- you can see the score on the scoreboard, and also on the Jumbotron: "NFC Champions!"


Coach Sean Payton lifts the championship trophy:

Heading Home

New Orleans, 2:30 p.m. -- Well, David and I are heading home now from our great adventure. Last night after the game was like Mardi Gras Day in N.O. People poured onto the streets from the Superdome, screaming "who dat", dancing on cars, hugging and slapping high fives. Driving was virtually impossible, but no one really seemed to care.

A copy of today's Times Picayune is like gold. We're hearing stories of people going into stores this morning buying 5, 10, even 30 copies at a time.

Our flight is delayed due to bad weather in Newark, but like the people stuck in gridlock last night after the game . . . I just don't care.

I got lots of great pictures and will be posting them when I get back and have a chance to recover.
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BEDLAM!!!!!

Superdome, 9:22 p.m.

SAINTS - 31
VIKINGS - 28
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OVERTIME!!!!!

Superdome, 9:05 p.m. -- We are getting our money's worth.
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On our feet

Superdome, 8:00 p.m. -- Everyone in the stadium has been standing up the entire game. Incredible!
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Mardi Gras in the Dome

Superdome, 6:50 p.m. -- They are playing "The Second Line" after every Saints TD. Awesome.
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Get your earplugs

Superdome, 6:25 p.m. -- It is unbelievably loud in here. The place is rocking. So far, has not helped the defense.
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It's Great to Be Back in the Dome

Superdome, 5:15 p.m. --Ah, the familiar sights and sounds of the Superdome. The stadium announcer is the same guy from back in the 70s and 80s when we were going to Tulane games. A very distinctive voice. Sometimes I catch that voice when watching a game on TV and get nostalgic. Great to be hearing it in person again.
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What a Scene

Superdome, 5:00 p.m. -- David and I just walked down Poydras Street to the Dome, carried along in a sea of black and gold. It's incredible. People yelling "Who dat"; street jazz bands playing on every corner; guys selling beer out of ice chests. Not like your average Tulane game, that's for sure!
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It's Great to Be Back in the Dome

Ah, the familiar sights and sounds of the Superdome. The stadium announcer is the same guy from back in the 70s and 80s when we were going to Tulane games. A very distinctive voice. Sometimes I catch that voice when watching a game on TV and get nostalgic. Great to be hearing it in person again.
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First Disappointment

French Quarter, 2:15 p.m. -- After driving down to New Orleans and checking out the former homes of both my sets of grandparents (while giving David lots of the obligatory boring stories of my memories of visits there as a kid), we finally landed in the French Quarter. We then hungrily worked our way to Central Grocery, eager for THE Original Muffeletta. We finally got there and what did we find?

CLOSED ON SUNDAY!!

I am very hopeful that this is our worst disappointment today.

Actually David will probably happier where have now settled in lieu of Central Grocery -- he just ordered a big plate of red beans at Montrel's Bistro (a place we hit a couple of times when we were all here in October 2008).

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Here we go

Baton Rouge, Sunday, 9:30 a.m. -- As part of the trip to the game, I'm trying to incorporate a little "heritage tour", to remind me and David of my roots in New Orleans and in Louisiana. After all, without those roots, I would not be a Saints fan and David certainly would not be.

The first step was a nice run this morning through some of my old stomping grounds. Lots of great memories as I ran through the streets of Baton Rouge.

Just a couple of hours till David and I head down to N.O.!
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Off To New Orleans!

Newark, Saturday, 3pm -- David and I are at the airport waiting for our flight to New Orleans for the NFC Championship Game. I jumped at the chance to make this trip, because I just had to be in the Dome for the first NFC Championship Game hosted by the Saints. Who knows when, or if, this chance will come along again.

David and I kicked things off appropriately by popping in my Mardi Gras music CD for the ride to the airport. The first song, as we were pulling out of the driveway: Pete Fountain's version of "When the Saints Go Marching In"!
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St. Lucia

For our 20th Anniversary, Lisa and I spent a perfect five days on the exquisite island of St. Lucia. St. Lucia is in the southeastern Carribbean, just to the west of Barbados. It is perhaps most identified with the striking Piton Mountains (see picture above). There is a lot to do on the island for the adventuresome (or energetic), including things like mountain biking or zip lining through rain forests, hiking or mountain climbing. However, true to form for us, Lisa and I chose to lie on the beach basically the entire time.

We stayed at the beautiful and remote Ti-Kaye Village, a collection of about 30 cottages set on a cliff overlooking the Carribbean. Here's a shot of Ti-Kaye from the beach:


When you go to Ti-Kaye, your are really getting away from it all. It is located by itself on the Anse Cochon, about one mile off the "main road", and several miles from the nearest town. The Anse Cochon is considered one of the best snorkeling and diving spots in all of St. Lucia. Spectacular coral reefs abound all around the cove, and as a bonus, there is a sunken ship about 1/2 mile from shore that is another great diving spot. I literally spent hours snorkeling, exploring until I was too worn out to keep going. Along the way I saw all kinds of coral and tropical fish of every color and combination of colors. But best of all was the sea turtle spotted twice near the sunken ship.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. For highlights of the trip, check out the pictures here (I promise I was judicious - I think the album has about 25 pictures). Again make sure to use full screen view so you can see the captions.

Finally, Lisa and I are eternally grateful to Mamere and Pops for staying with the kids back in frigid New Jersey, and making the whole thing possible!

Merry Christmas 2009

We had a beautiful Christmas this year. Mamere and Pops joined us for the festivities, and then most graciously stayed with the kids while Lisa and I jetted off for our 20th Anniversary trip to St. Lucia (see post above).

For whatever reason, I did not take that many pictures (could be because I played "Santa" on Christmas morning and handed out presents to keep things relatively orderly). Mamere took a lot more pics than I did, and I'm sure she'll post them soon. My main photographic goal for Christmas this year was to get just one decent picture of all the kids together. So we "herded the cats" after Mass on Christmas Eve and started snapping away in front of the tree. Above is the best of the lot.

Additional photos can be found here.

Stephen's Ninth Birthday

I'm finally getting caught up on blog posts from a very busy late December. First up is Stephen's birthday. We did his party on his actual birthday, bringing a nice group of his classmates and friends to the Funplex, for a "foam frenzy" session!

The picture above is a nice shot of Stephen and a couple of friends enjoying pizza after the foam frenzy. For a complete album of photos from the party, click here.