Camping # 1 - Rocky Gap

Here are the pictures from my latest camping trip at Rocky Gap State Park... This is the second time we've been to this park. It's really nice because it has the mountains and the lake/beach. The activities is not just limited to hiking and camping, but also swimming, canoeing, kayaking, beach volleyball, etc.

Relaxing on the swing in front of the beach

Cooking dinner - hot soup with vegetables and spices

Camping = eating a lot, but it's mostly healthy good, so it's ok.

Getting ready to play beach volleyball

Canoeing by the lake

Pulling both canoes together for a photo shoot

Drying out clothes on top of the car after swimming and canoeing

Preparing dinner and entertainment for sun down

The beach at night - it was pitch black, but the camera's flash made us visible in the photo.

Reunion with Miss A

After 10 years, Yan2x and I were able to meet up with one of our high school teachers from the Philippines. Miss A (nickname) was our history teacher, and she moved her about 4 years ago. We never knew that we were all living close to each other, but thanks to Facebook, we found out and met up. It was really nice catching up with an old teacher. Miss A is still as cool and awesome as ever.

(l-r) Miss A, Yan2x, me

Earth, Wind & Fire at Wolf Trap

I stopped by Wolf Trap to catch the Earth, Wind and Fire concert a few weeks ago. The place was packed. The event was sold out, and I only managed to get the lawn tickets. I couldn't even see the stage, but I heard the music loud and clear. Live music is always so much better. People were up on their feet dancing the entire evening. It was a fun concert.

Lawn tickets are a first come first serve basis, so if you get in early, you can sit at the very front of the lawn. Plus, you can bring a cooler with drinks and food.. like a picnic. You're not allowed to do this with the assigned seats, but you do get a better view of the stage.

DC with Au Pairs

Many of you don't know that I actually volunteer as an au pair community counselor. Yes, it's a volunteer position (ie: no salary), but it's been a good experience. I've met and continue to meet and befriend a lot of girls from all over the world as well as host families. I'm learning a lot about other cultures, and I get to help these girls adjust to a new country.

One Sunday in June, Fern's au pair group and my au pair group spent a day in DC.

(l-r) Taan, Fern, Carina, Erica, Miriam

Taan posing in front of the Maid to Clean truck

Taking a rest in front of the capitol.. It was a very hot summer day.

Old Town Alexandria

Took a day trip to old town Alexandria. Walked from the bottom of King street all the way to the top, then took the free shuttle back down to the pier and took the water taxi back to the national harbor. We just mainly window-shopped and went in to stores that looked interesting or had good deals. Then, ate dinner at this Japanese/Thai restaurant called Red Curry. It was really good and not that expensive either.

Posing with Jake in front of the Life is Good shop. I really love their optimistic messages.

Visited the Torpedo Factory Art Center near the pier. They have a lot of really great art works and artists in different platforms, and they mainly promote women artists.

Ordered the Dragon Roll at Red Curry. It was so good. Service was wonderful and prompt, and the food was great and moderately priced.

Trip to the National Harbor

I quote from Wikipedia: "National Harbor is a 300-acre (1.2 km2) multi-use waterfront development on the shores of the Potomac River in Prince George's County, Maryland just south of Washington, D.C. near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge."

I remember many years ago when I was driving by this area to visit family friends in Oxon Hill, there was nothing there, just open space. Then it became this hip and "upscale" destination with hotels, restaurants, bars, and shops. They have fireworks (almost) every week. You can take the water taxi to DC and/or Alexandria. It's clean, fun, and safe. At least I think it's safe - they have security people at every block and corner plus the ones making their rounds on segways and patrol cars. They have a lot of events there. They're also building a Disney resort there - not sure when that would be completed. It's definitely worth a visit or two.

The harbor as we get closer.

The view down on the boardwalk.

I had crab cakes at this restaurant called Ketchup. I don't recommend it. The service was very poor. We waited at least 30 minutes before a waiter came by to get our orders, 45 minutes before the food came (we were close to walking out), no one came by to ask how our meal was, an hour to get the check, another 30 minutes to get our to go boxes and the waiter forgot the bags, so we had to ask the hostess on our way out for the bags because we didn't want to wait another 30-60 minutes for the waiter to come by. The food was ok and not worth the wait time, so go somewhere else.

The harbor at night.

We caught the fireworks show by the harbor.

Took pictures with the sunken giant sculpture called "the awakening".

After a Month Long Hiatus

A month has gone by since my last update. I haven't really been paying much attention to this blog the past month because I was busy living life outside of these internet walls. After work, I barely go online except to maybe check emails and Facebook messages / comments. So what have I been doing the entire month of June? Well, I went / visited / explored...

• Rocky Gap State Park (camping trip)
• National Harbor
• Old Town Alexandria
• Baltimore City
• Washington DC with au pairs
• Swimming after years away from a swimming pool
• Wolf Trap for the Earth, Wind, and Fire concert
• Towson for dinner with my high school teacher
• and more...

There's really only so many weekends in a month. So July is going to be just as busy, adventurous, and fun. Let's go live and enjoy life. :)

Moving Out

I helped Taan move out of her old place into a new one this weekend, and it was a lot of work. Moving is always so stressful, but it's definitely a very good exercise. It's amazing how much material things we could accumulate in such a short period of time, and that makes it harder to move.

Cats and House Sitting Days

Once in a while, we would get a call to watch and take care of Ginger and Gilbert (cats) and the house while the homeowners go out of town for vacation.

What's Next for Apple?

Source: www.walyou.com

BlackBerry Certified

I'm now officially a BlackBerry certified systems administrator. I passed the certification exam last month, and I finally received my certificate in the mail. Yey! So what does this mean? I quote from the BlackBerry website, "The BlackBerry® Certified System Administrator certification is designed for technical professionals who install, configure and manage BlackBerry® Enterprise Server software in an enterprise environment."

Click for more info --> BlackBerry Certification Website