Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Inaugural Parade & Ball

I have to do a post about the excitement of the Presidential Inauguration. I've always heard about how the military bands get to take part in the parade and ceremonies, and it was thrilling to be a part of all the to-do. 

My pictures are out of chronological order, but these first few are from the Western Ball, one of the official balls held in the George Washington Convention Center. My boyfriend was able to get tickets so after the parade I quickly cleaned up and we had a fun and fancy evening at this event. 

The featured performer of the night was Marc Anthony. 
I'd never heard him live before, and I must say, I was blown away. I've heard a lot of great salsa performers in Dallas, and his singing and band were top-notch. His show was one of the highlights of the entire day for me. Here is a picture of him singing a duet with the fabulous J. Lo. 

Barack Obama was very busy on that Tuesday night. He made an appearance at all the official balls and showed up at ours around midnight. 
He made a brief speech and danced with the First Lady to "At Last." It was pretty cool to see my new boss in person. The Biden's also made a cameo. 

Before I got to do all this fancy stuff, I was hard at work earning that paycheck.... The Field Band had the great honor of  leading the Inaugural Parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. I don't know if this picture can truly depict how FREEZING COLD I was the entire time. Even with layers on under my uniform, the cold was simply brutal. We all managed to survive, although my low quarter shoes somehow developed a huge gaping crack on the top and will need to be retired. 
So from my 3:00am wakeup until I finally fell asleep sometime after 1:00am, it was a long and eventful day. Definitely one full of memories... just another adventure I'm having in my new life up here in DC!

Friday, January 16, 2009

January Moments

This month has been pretty exciting. As soon as I returned from leave it was right back to work, getting ready for the Presidential Inauguration. We have been braving some freezing weather so that Barack can have some tasty Army jams. It is very exciting to be a part of such an historical moment and I can't wait to see the huge crowds lined up down Constitution Ave! 

This weekend my mom, brother and brother's fiancee came to visit. We went into DC to see some of the monuments. Of course they decided to visit when it was 9 degrees outside, but we had a good time anyway. Here we are in front of the Texas section of the World War II Memorial. I think this is my second favorite memorial, with the Korean War Memorial probably being my No. 1 pick. 


Earlier in the week some of my friends and I had a Ladies Night out on the town in Baltimore. Here we are at the famous eatery Bertha's Mussels. The seafood was excellent and we got these free bumper stickers. 
In other exciting news, Geordi has finally arrived from Texas. I think she is settling in pretty well. She has already lost a few pounds of the table-scrap weight that she put on after staying with my parents for so many months! I've taken her exploring in the city a little bit and look forward to walking her even more when it warms up a bit. I'm definitely glad to have my little furry companion back! 

Monday, January 5, 2009

Puerto Rico

I guess I'm getting good at this Airport blogging thing! Right now I'm waiting on a flight in the San Juan airport. I've had a wonderful time in Puerto Rico but am very ready to get home. 

I went to this tropical paradise to attend the wedding of a good friend, Daniel Ord. Dan is in the Army and the euphonium instructor at the Armed Forces School of Music in Virginia Beach, VA. Dan and I went to UNT together.  
So this gorgeous scenery is the view from our hotel room! It was simply amazing- just like from a postcard. It was certainly nice to come from the freezing temperatures of Maryland to the 80 degree warm climate of the island. 

I was traveling with my good UNT friends Scott Stone and Jamie Lipton. Here the three of us are with the bride and groom at their rehearsal dinner. 
















Here I am being silly on some of the beach rocks.