Riverdance

Went to see Riverdance at Wolf Trap last Thursday night. Wasn't planning on going, having already seen Riverdance twice before, but DD insisted. Her dance school was performing prior to the show and she wanted to see them. Not the greatest photo, but you can see how close we were.



Who would have thought, calling the day of the show, that we would get great seats?!? Second row, and the 2 people in front of us didn't show. Now one might think that close isn't so good, however, with DD I have found the farther back we are, the less she's going to be able to focus on the show.

I even sat there in amazement. To have that many people in sync...! We already knew that Marty Dowds was dancing lead that night. DD was excited. Last year she danced in Wolf Traps Master Class, and Marty was one of the instructors.



DD was so happy when she saw her all time favorite irish dancer, Marcus Maloney, dance out onto the stage. He was one of the motivating figures in getting her started in Irish Dance. She was just 4 when she first saw the Irish Thunder show at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Immediately she started begging for lessons. She's been dancing ever since.




She was so little back then! So excited to actually meet a few dancers.




DD always insisted on us sitting the front row at this show. That always meant heading straight there when the gates opened. So glad she doesn't do that anymore. She'd much rather dance than sit there and watch people dance.


She currently dances for the Boyle School of Irish Dance. She had been with the O'Neill James School, but abruptly insisted on quiting. Couldn't understand it. She insisted that she hated Irish Dance. How could a child who dances every time she hears Irish music hate it? We stumbled upon Boyle and she's been there for 3 years. She loves it so much that now, suddenly, she's toying with the idea of competing. Can I handle her competing in two different activities? We'll have to see.

To cruise or not to cruise?

DD and I cruise each spring break. Nice little vacation for both of us. She gets to hang with a bunch of kids her age in the "kids club", and I can sleep in the adult pool area, or head to the casino to throw my money away. Usually come back so relaxed it's not funny. Of course then I do have to spend a couple of days waiting for my desk to stop moving.



I just heard that our favorite ship, Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas, is moving to the west coast. I'm so sad. We've sailed on her 3 of the last 4 spring breaks - she's only been sailing that long. The one "off" year we thought we'd give something new a try... horrible decision, returned to the Mariner the following year. Once again I was toying with straying. After 3 sailings on the Mariner, and 3 straight Western Caribbean itineraries, wasn't sure I wanted to do another Mariner Western Caribbean in 2008.

We discovered the Mariner because I hate to fly. With the Mariner sailing out of Port Canaveral, it's really easy to combine a cruise with a short stint at Disney World. It's worked very nicely for us. 3 nights of absolute craziness at Disney World followed by 7 nights of peaceful slumber. Can't be beat.



I realize it's a pretty pathetic thing to worry about, but I'm sad. I do believe I am going to book Mariner again next year, just because I can.

Woohoo! School's Out!

Officially in 1 hour. DD is excited. Me, not so much. No big plans, except... BUFFETT!

Time to start planning. Thought I wasn't going to be able to go. Now that I am... time to plan. Last year kind of scared me, it was SO HOT!

History Lessons

So, we were bored, wanted somewhere to go for Memorial Day. But the big question was, where?

Hopped into the car, drove to Boston. Well, not exactly Boston, we stayed in Plymouth. I absolutely love this town. Drove into Boston, figured I would give DD a good lesson on the American Revolution. After about 1/2 a day, we had to escape. Back to the peace and quiet of Plymouth. Cute little "seaside village". Awesome seafood. I was wary of going to the Lobster Hut, as it didn't look like much more than a shack, but the food was terrific! Wish I could get seafood like this down in Virginia!

As far as history lessons go, it wasn't bad. DD can say she's been on the Mayflower II, and been through Plimouth Plantation. Personally I think Jamestown does it a step better than Plymouth.



The New England Aquarium has a wonderful exhibit of penguins. That was about it. We did a trolley tour of Boston, but chose the wrong company. It was wham-bam. Saw nothing. As the guy was describing each thing, it was like, "oh, was it the thing we just passed?"



All in all, a good trip. Who would have thought it would only take 7.5 hours to get from Plymouth to Northern Virginia?!?!?!