Yes, Minister...

Elysa and I just finished watching the last episode of a BBC comedy series titles "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Primer Minister." We loved it as, and this description is a stretch, it is something like "The West Wing" meets "The Office." The story follows a member of parliament, Jim Hacker, who is promoted to a cabinet position and later becomes Prime Minister of Great Britain. The plot always focuses on the never ending struggle between his efforts to reform some aspect of government and the civil service that is resistant to any form of change, headed by the formidable Sir Humphrey Appleby. Caught in the crossfire is Bernard Woolley, the Personal Private Secretary to Jim Hacker, who must carefully balance his devotion and loyalty between the two other men.

Although they were filmed between 1980-88, the series is surprisingly fresh as it deals with topics still of great debate today in the US: military size, education, domestic spying and terrorism. However, that doesn't imply that the series is about political debate; on the contrary, it merely takes one of those controversial topics to act as the catalyst for the new daily struggle between Hacker and Appleby, who tirelessly try to outmaneuver the other. The series is very witty and well done with only a total of 38 episodes.

The picture above is (from left to right) Sir Humphrey Appleby, Rt. Hon. James Hacker and Bernard Woolley.

Strawberry Fields

While Lake's parents visited last weekend, we went to Chile's farm in Crozet and picked fresh strawberries. We were only out a short time, but managed to pick 3 pounds of the sweetest strawberries we have ever tasted. The best part of the picking was that you could eat while you pick! We also sampled fresh strawberry frozen yogurt, bought fresh cherries, and enjoyed the lovely surroundings. We later used the fresh strawberries on angel food cake with fresh whip cream. Yum!

Small size, big taste.

Just Picked Berries.

Heaven is Monticello in Springtime

When Lake and I first met in Washington, D.C. as Senate Pages in 1998, we went with his parents to visit Monticello and the University of Virgina. Lake and I were photographed together at Monticello as teenagers when we first started dating. We returned to Monticello with our family to celebrate graduation weekend this year. Who would have thought 9 years ago that we would return to Monticello married and me having graduated from the University of Virginia Law School! This is particularly ironic since when we visited the University of Virginia with Lake's parents long ago, I didn't bother to get out the car to see the Rotunda and Lawn at the University! It was wonderful to revisit this special place, reflect on the past, and make new memories!The graduation gang at Monticello overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains

Lake and I with my parents in front of the house.

Beth Lynn and Deya enjoying the sun.

Cancun Part III: Chichen Itza

This was our third adventure in the Yucatan: Chichen Itza. We recommend taking the earliest trip in the day that you can. It is cooler and less crowded. We left Cancun at 6:15 AM, but went in a smaller group and had the whole place practically to ourselves. Here are a few pictures of a very neat place.

Elysa once caught a fish THIS BIG!!!

This is Chaac, the Mayan God of Rain. Elysa likes this picture because... well, I don't exactly know; she just told me she likes it. I like this picture because when I look at it, I imagine a voice saying,"Chaac, meet Chaac. Chaac, this is Chaac." To me, Chaac looks more like the Mayan God of Bad Dentistry or Poor Rhinoplasty.

Here Elysa and I are standing on the observatory. It is my understanding that circular Mayan structure are extremely RARE (In fact, this might be the only known one). They don't let you climb the big Pyramid anymore, but they have recently opened this up so you can climb on it. It is a lot of fun.

This is an important building, but I wasn't paying attention to the guide at this point. By this time in the tour, you realized that some of what he was telling you was... ahem... factually challenged. I think this was a place where members of the ruling families of other Mayan cities were keep as lifetime hostages. The ruling councils would exchange hostages to help ensure peace.

This is the Sacred Cenote (which is a sinkhole). It is believed to be a site of sacrifice by the Mayans at Chichen Itza to the Rain God Chaac. Some claim it was the site of human sacrifice, although, according to some sources, that is more strongly believed by the tour guides than the scientific community at large. I believe the legal term is called "Puffery." It is green from all of the chlorophyll from the leaves of the trees above.

Running down the sides of a lot of the temples is the symbol of Kukulcan, the feathered serpent. He is the Creator God in Maya lore. Supposedly, Kukulcan is also priest who is half-god (the feathers represent the heavens and imply his immortality) and half-man (the serpent represents the earth and denote his mortality). Some legends say that he unified the people before leaving them, promising them that he would return one day from the East.

I liked this picture because you have the little iguana sunbathing on the tongue of the the great Feathered Serpent.

Wish you were here!!! Love, EB and Laker!

Cancun Part II: Xel-Ha

Our second big adventure was a trip to Xel-Ha. Xel-Ha is located on the coast about 2 hours south of Cancun. It is a large ecological park that is centered around a brackish bay, protected from the harsh waves of the ocean and feed by an underwater river that surfaces nearby.

Activities include snorkeling, swimming, cave exploration, hiking, biking, playing at the beach, rope swinging into cenotes (freshwater sinkholes), cliff diving, floating lazily down the river and swimming with dolphins (if you fork over the extra cash). It is not the best place for snorkeling, but an excellent place for the novice snorkeler or inexperienced swimmer. It is an amazing place for kids!

We had a wonderful time playing around the park. It is also extremely beautiful! Here are some of those memories.

Here are some flowers that were just way different.

Elysa is relaxing under a palapa by the lagoon.

This is the fresh water river that pops up from underground and feeds the lagoon. It was an amazing "lazy river" that we snorkeled down. Along the river are some cliffs you can jump off of. See the clips below!

Cancun Part I: Isla Contoy

Well, As some of you might know, Elysa and I snuck away for a few days to Cancun. I big THANK YOU goes to my grandparents, Pops and Grammie, for letting us use their time-share down there. We had a wonderful time and some great adventures which we will share in the following few posts.

Our first adventure began on our first full day there: Sunday. The weather had rained all afternoon after we got to the condo but Sunday morning was clear and bright. Earlier, I had read in a traveler's guide about a side trip to a small island, Isla Contoy, about 20 km north of Isla Mujeres, a close neighbor of Cancun.

Isla Contoy is about 4.5 miles long and .5 a mile wide at one point. It is an uninhabited island that has been designated as a Bird Refuge. Only about 200 people are allowed on the island at any one time. As you will see from the pictures, it is picturesque. The guide book said that trips to the island included snorkeling on the way, a fish lunch that is caught on the way, more snorkeling at the island and lots of exploring.

The reason this appealed to me is last time I was in Cancun, everything (and it still is this way) was built up for tourism. While those other sites are fun, I have decided I like to spend a day away from the crowds at some place that hasn't been spoiled by too much human interaction. I want something that is authentic and increasingly rare in this world. Whether by global warming or the increasing population that can afford world travel, I believe places like this will be harder to find the older I get. So at the last minute, we decided to go track down someone to take us there as we didn't know whether the weather would be as accommodating later in the week.

After making the trip, we can only say that if you are in Cancun (and don't get seasick easily) you should think about making the trip. Here are some pictures from that wonderful place!

What a great Beach!!!

This was our friendly-neighborhood Sting Ray. It would slowly patrol the beach, wandering up to you to say "Hi!"Here is Elysa petting our five-foot diameter friend.

A view of the lagoon and the rest of the island from the observation tower.

While snorkeling, we saw many conch shells. Here is one we found washed up on shore.

When we walked ashore, we found that there was an army of large hermit crabs (Larger than my fist!) led by several iguanas. Here they are feeding on the leftovers of our fresh fish dinner.

A favorite view of paradise!

Catching Up

Okay, I know it has been a while since we (well, I) have done much in our little Blog. You can blame me because I prevented Elysa from announcing the following until the proper people have been notified (No, we are not expecting). She wanted to tell the world several months ago.

Back in February, Elysa and I made a little trip up to DC and came back having made two HUGE decisions. First, Elysa accepted her offer from Baker Botts LLP! She is so very excited. Baker Botts was extremely accommodating in that normally, firms prefer to know by December 1st if you are going to accept the job offer. Elysa asked for a special extension because we didn't know how our second decision would play out until this Spring. So tell Elysa "Congrats" for landing a great job that she is very excited about!

The second thing we decided is that I would attend George Washington University Law School this Fall. I know, I know. I swore in High School that the last thing in the world I would ever be is a lawyer. And if anyone who truly knows the path that led me here can testify that the path was about as circuitous as it could get. But seeing as Elysa has become more than a formidable prosecutor, I felt like my only chance of a decent defense was to know the same tricks of her trade! I am so excited. We feel like out of all the options, GWU was the best place for me.

So, for those of you who have been wondering what was going to happen after Elysa's Graduation, we are moving back to DC once again, this time for at least 3 more years. It is a special place for us as it is the city where we met and fell in love. We are excited for our new adventures there!