Caps Road Trip Day 2

Here are some of the better shots from the game on Saturday afternoon. The Caps lost 6-3.
(click on the photo for a larger image)

Ovie fans watching the warm-up

The 'Canes Low Def Scoreboard.
(Note Rule #7 - too bad they don't follow their own rules)

Stecks battling at the opening face-off

Green's goal in the 1st (1-0 Caps)

Nick battling during a face-off

Olie making a stop.

Pile-up at the net

Green's bogus roughing penalty during the pile-up

Ovie & Olie in a mid-game hugCelebrating Semin's goal (2-0 Caps)

Caps Nation in the HouseThe orange sign held up by the 'Canes fan says
"Cheer If Your Team Sucks"

Olie with another good stopOlie being screened
(I have too many shots like this to count)

Olie sprawling for the puck
A shot by my wife for certain guys at OFB
(y'all know who you are)

Something Our guys need to aspire to
(but unfortunately not this game)

Pad save by Ward

Flash's missed open net shot

Our last goal (3-3 Caps)

A scramble in the Cane's crease

Which leads to the Cane's double teaming on Brash

Ward looking in the net for the puck (but we didn't score)

Caps Road Trip Day 1

We are on a road trip this weekend, heading down to Raleigh, North Carolina to catch an away game between the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes.

Thursday Night

The trip started with a bit of a rush out of town Thursday night ahead of some potential nasty winter freezing rain and snow on Friday morning. We had rain mostly through NC, and it got heavier as we got closer to Raleigh, but fortunately that was all it was.

Friday

We slept in late today, after a late arrival last night, and a restless night of sleep. It was a gloomy wet morning so we didn't miss much of an oppourtunity for site seeing. We got up and out around 11:00 to head out to the arena to pick up tickets for the game tomorrow. Since it is Military Appreciation Day tomorrow, there weren't many seats left in the lower section. We ended up getting club level seats on the corner. They should be fairly decent seats.

We grabbed lunch then walked around the State Capital. We went into the Museum of History and the Museum of Natural History. There were lots of kids going the History Museum, so it was noisy. But lots of interesting displays and exhibits. We walked back to the hotel and relaxed before dinner. We went to the restaurant "Top of the Tower" which is located on the top floor of the hotel. The food was good, and the view of the city was exceptional. Althoug there was a bit of fog you could still see a fair distance.

Some pictures we took during our day
(click on the photo for a larger image)

The Catholic Church near our hotel

The Baptist Church near our hotel

An old time pharmacy and soda shop display
in the NC Museum of History
Some items used for medicinal purposes
A display of body-shaping garments through the ages

A blue whale skeleton at the Museum of Natural History

Adult and baby manatee Skeletons

Sarah recreating a scene from her favorite movie

YOU'RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOAT!!!

Holiday Wishes

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERY ONE!!!!!

Merry Christmas In Nova Scotia

It is great to be back in Nova Scotia again. After postponing our trip in May we waited for 'permission' to leave the US, hoping and praying we would be able to get home for the holidays. We received our "advanced parole", giving us permission to leave the country up to 30 days at one time, valid until September 2008. We also have an application in for permanent residential status (a perm. work Visa) which will be processed sometime in the next year (or two). That will clear up any issues going across the border and will allow me to work (if I would like to) as well.

Our actual flight back to NS was relatively uneventful. Air Canada/United co-share a direct flight from Washington Dulles International Airport to Halifax. The actual flight time is only a little more than 2 hours so it is a quick trip. We arrived in frosty NS around 3:30 pm on the 13th of December. We had been informed that it was cold here but of course we were still a little surprised at exactly how cold. We have gotten used to the warmer weather - a relative term I suppose as it does get cold in Virginia, just not to the degree that it does up here. We have only made two trips back here at Christmastime since we moved to the US and I don't recall either of them being very cold. However I do enjoy the cold weather far more than Chris and I miss the snow so I guess every one special ordered some just for me as we have had one big storm and lots of flurries on top of the snow that was already down.

We have been enjoying the company of friends and family since arriving. We are a little like gypsies, moving every couple of days, except we just go back and forth from Brian and Thelma's (Galletly) to Kenny and Patty's (McKenna). One of the things I most look forward to is seeing our beautiful nieces - we now have four; Norah (9), Emily (4), Rachel (2) and Sophie (8 mos.). To date we have only had opportunity to see Norah and Rachel (my sister Sandy's two darlings), with plans to visit Oxford this coming weekend to get reacquainted with Emily and meet Sophie for the first time. Of course we enjoy spending time with everyone else, but the children grow up and change so fast, each moment is special to be sure.

We will try to post pictures of the beauty of winter in NS as well as the wonderful people make it special for us.

Happy Holidays to all, and best wishes for the New Year!

Night out with the Caps

Just a few shots from early in the first period of Thursday's game against the New York Islanders. Unfortunately we lost 5-2. But it was a good night out with friends from home.

The new Hi Def scoreboard

Olie Kolzig clearing the puck to the side

Matt Bradley digging for the Puck in the Islanders goal

Joe Motzko called up from Hershey to fill in

Nicholas Backstrom skates for the puck

Fall Colours

Just an couple of pictures from yesterday's walk in the woods. The leaves are only in the first stages of change, but the dry weather we've had this summer will make the change short, and there won't be a lot of colour. The peak should come in at the end of the month.




This one is a shot I played with in Photoshop. You can see the original in a previous post.

It's that time of year again...finally!

After a long break from the great game hockey season is finally here! We went to see the Caps at Verizon Center last night and had a great time even though we lost 2-1. The Caps looked pretty good (especially the defence) and we look forward to a promising season. It was a little strange feeling patriotic singing O Canada and then not rooting for the Canadian team (I justify this by saying that there are Canadians on every team). Chris and I purchased t-shirts with the new (old) Caps logo - we will post pics of them soon.

In other news, Chris and I are still doing Weight Watcher's and both have enjoyed success. I have lost 30 lbs and Chris is down an astonishing 66 lbs. He was also able to stop taking Metformin, a medication his doctor prescribed for diabetes (he was on the cusp). That itself was no small accomplishment! Yesterday at our WW meeting, a woman asked Chris how he was able to lose the weight and stop his medication. She had been at the meeting a few weeks back when Chris was talking about coming off his medication and she was moved to tears (she also has to take medication for diabetes and sees a nutritionist). He is an inspiration, proof positive that change is possible. I am so very proud of him!