Disney - Epcot

We finished off the Disney Vacation with a stop at Epcot.

Spaceship Earth was still an illuminating historical recap of where we've been and how our civilization developed: our alphabet dates back to the Phoenicians...we didn't know that.

The centrifuge driven "Mission: Space" ride was very realistic (not that I know what a mission to Mars feels like but they certainly got the g-force of a rocket launch down...nailed that one).

We somehow stumbled across a British Pub.  Great beer and conversation...

25 years ago I was here in EPCOT, thrilled that I could place a call in a real red British phone booth...

Not my photo (http://www.picstopin.com)

The evening ended with an impressive fireworks display after which Dylan shouted "I love you world!"

Disney World - Expedition Everest

This one section of the Wild Animal park deserves its own entry.  One of the more exciting rides in the park was the Expedition Everest roller coaster.

It was quite daunting for the little man...a huge mountain, the lore of the Yeti which inhabits that mountain.  After a couple minutes he decided that he would give it a try.  After a very steep climb up the mountain:

...the coaster then plunged into the snowy gorge:

Suddenly it all stopped as the tracks had been torn up my some unknown force...the Yeti perhaps!?

Dylan decides that he would scare the Yeti if he saw him...and we then plunged backwards into the darkened yeti mountain:

Once inside the mountain (after several backwards twists and turns) we saw the Yeti up ahead - pulling up more tracks!

We sped out of the mountain at break-neck speed, into the sun again and the twisting decent down Everest to the Himalayan town below:

When it all came to a stop I was wondering if Dylan would ever be the same again...he was a little shaken up, initially said he "didn't like it."

5 minutes later, as we were walking away he said..."let's do it again!" and so we did...6 more times!

Check out the complete experience here.

Disney World - Animal Kingdom

Perhaps the highlight of the entire Disney experience was the Animal Kingdom park.  Divided into several regions (Africa, Asia, Dinoland USA) and a conservation-focused area (Rafiki's Planet Watch) the park offered wild animal exposure within natural surroundings interspersed with a few rides.  The Kilimanjaro Safari was a real treat - it compared very well to the week-long safari we did in Kenya and Tanzania - except this one lasted 20 minutes.  We saw more rhinos in Florida than we did in Africa...kinda sad I suppose.

It was all very tastefully done (painstaking in it's accurate depiction of a Himalayan village and an African train station). Dylan enrolled in the Wilderness Explorer's program, in which he had numerous tasks to complete around the park to earn stickers.  Here he is learning about the difference between carnivores and herbivores: 

Rafiki's Planet Watch taught us all a few lessons about conservation and developing animal friendly habitats in our back yard...and Dylan got to meet Rafiki himself...very exciting for a young Lion King fan:

Dylan was even able to participate in a "real" dig, uncovering an ancient Woolly Mammoth...

Bull & Bear

This was a great experience...

The National Sailing Hall of Fame has (on loan) two circa-1860 replica Sandbagger wooden sailboats. They use these boats to take groups out sailing (at no cost) to promote the sport.  The origin of these boats was in New York Harbor where they moved oysters to market.  The original rigs (mast and sails) were much larger requiring the use of sandbag ballast which was moved from side to side to help stabilize these overpowered craft.  I joined a few other volunteers as we moved these beautiful boats to their winter home on Gibson Island...it was a great afternoon onboard a piece of American sailing history.

An interesting video about these boats is available here.

National Sailing Hall of Fame

I've become increasingly involved with the US National Sailing Hall of Fame (NSHoF) located here in Annapolis.  On October 27th I was honored to participate in the Class of 2013 Induction ceremony, which the Hall of Fame dedicated to the US Naval Academy.  Sharing the stage again with Gary Jobson and Mayor Cohen I gave a short speech which celebrated the joint ventures and common goals of the Naval Academy Sailing program and National Sailing Hall of Fame and our focus on leadership development.

Video of the event is available here (I'm introduced at minute 7:35)

Keystone Ski Trip

We were back out in Colorado for our annual ski trip.  The snow was much better this year and with potty training behind us Dylan was eligible for ski lessons...at 3 years old!  We had him out last year so this wasn't his first experience but you never know - we hoped for the best.

Dylan at Ski School

After a big dose of Warren Miller ski videos in the condo Dylan was pretty excited about getting out there, even asking if he could "ski over some cars."  Les told him that it was probably a few years off but..."yes, someday Daddy will let you ski over (somebody elses) car."

We couldn't have been more proud of the little man, he absolutely loved ski school (Keystone prides itself on making the experience fun for the kids).  They did a great job teaching him the fundamentals of the snow plow (pizza pie) which is enough to give him the confidence to tackle real hills.

So, after a few runs down the training hill we took him down a steeper run (and a real chair lift).  Dylan was awesome - we wish we had begun at his age!

We're already thinking about another spring trip out west to get the little man back on the slopes, looking forward to the day when Mummy and Daddy are chasing Dylan down the Black runs!  (I just hope he doesn't discover snow boards!).

Merry Christmas 2012!

Our Christmas Card for 2012

Here we are at another Christmas - seems like just yesterday that summer was yielding to the cooler temperatures of football season.  Dylan was a lot of fun - we mailed our list to Santa and hoped for the best - all the while trying hard to show the Elf on the Shelf that we were on our best behavior   The man in red came through again this year and Dylan took in quite a haul of new toys, Mummy and Daddy weren't left out either.  Notable was a new toy minivan for Dylan and a (toy) Porsche GT3 for Daddy (what can I say...the kid likes Minivans!)

Dylan gets a "puffer fish" from Nanna in Australia

This year Les's parents made the trip - flying in from Wisconsin.  They looked on as Dylan opened (most of) the presents.

More cars for the collection: a British double-decker bus and a London Taxi Cab!

With the temps breaking into the lower 50's Michelle was able to get away for a short paddle out on College Creek and the Severn River.

Michelle takes a break 

Here we go...

It's "only a Category 1" but we're sitting directly in its path --- we've been feeling it's far reaching effects all day.  The worst should arrive in about 30 minutes.

We're well prepared.  We've stocked the house and can sit this one out should we lose power for a few days.  The Naval Academy runs off its own power grid so, we're not expecting the problems that the locals will surely have.
The biggest challenge was securing the 160+ sailboats in our program.  On Friday we secured many of our large keelboats to hurricane moorings on protected creeks north of the sailing center.  Our small dinghies are derigged and secure in the field house.  The program has been through these challenges before and it showed - great teamwork prepared us for this storm as well.
Nothing left to do now but pour a glass of wine and hold on!

Cricket

Must be the Aussie influence - Daddy doesn't even know the rules!  But here is the little man trying out a spot of cricket.  The fireman helmet and boots aren't required but Dylan thought it appropriate.  After these photos we got serious and Michelle beat Les 5 to 2.

Nice stance (I think)

Keep your eye on the ball!

Australian-American Leadership Dialogue

Benjamin Franklin State Dining Room (US State Dept)

Another great opportunity came our way when the Australian American Leadership Dialogue came to Washington for its annual meeting.  I was asked to take the group sailing on the Naval Academy's 44' sailboats.  We had a nice couple hours on the water and scored an invite to the group's Gala Dinner in the Benjamin Franklin State Dining Room at the State Department.

Kevin Rudd, 26th Prime Minister of Australia (2007-2010)

During cocktail hour prior to the dinner Michelle and I met the former Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd and the current Australian Ambassador to the US.  Secretary Clinton was delayed in Egypt and had to decline the invite to speak to the group but her last minute replacement, the Asst Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Kurt Campbell was very entertaining.  It was clear that ours is a very special relationship - he couldn't have gotten away with some of the things he said if it was the American-French Leadership Dialogue!  In the end it was a nice evening out in DC.

Family Canoe

Mad River Adventure 14 Canoe

We added this little beauty to the gear roster this year.  We've had it out on the Severn River a few times - Dylan loves it and he even has his own paddle...which he uses to splash daddy with.

Lemons

Dylan has been exploring new foods - you wouldn't know it by looking at these photos but he loves lemon.  We're even able to get him to eat his veggies if we douse them in lemon juice.

Spaceman D

It's been a rainy Sunday so we headed back to the Air & Space Museum in Chantilly Virginia: they were celebrating the arrival of the Space Shuttle Discovery.  Dylan loved the space-man stuff and we all learned a bit from the scientific experiments.  Here we are "making clouds:"

Of course we had to try on some space suits...

...and a Dylan-sized Space Shuttle:

We had a great time playing with the other kids at Toddler Space Camp:

but we had a safe re-entry from our time in space...

British Officers Club of Philidelphia

I was invited to speak to the British Officers Club of Philadelphia on Saturday.  They were touring the Naval Academy for the weekend and asked if I would join them for dinner at the Annapolis Yacht Club.  Michelle and I had a wonderful time.  The setting in the Commodore's Room overlooking the docks was very nice; the dinner, drinks and conversation were most enjoyable - I think Michelle enjoyed hearing some "proper English" being spoken for a change!  Our hosts were a very impressive collection of former British military officers and their wives, most now living and working in the US.

Welcome Home Matt Rutherford!

I had the opportunity to represent the Naval Academy and our sailing program at a welcome home ceremony for Matt Rutherford.  Matt had just completed a circumnavigation of North and South America in a 27 foot sailboat.  This trip took 309 days, he did it solo and during that great expanse of time he never went ashore - non-stop north through the Northwest Passage, around Alaska, down the west coast of North, Central and South America, around the treacherous Cape Horn and up through the Atlantic.  He departed from and returned to Annapolis and did it all to raise money for a disabled boating charity called C.R.A.B (Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating).  I shared the stage with Gary Jobson, the head of US Sailing, Maryland Governor O'Malley, the Mayor of Annapolis and several Congressional Aides.  Senator Harkin teleconferenced in via an onstage iPad.  It was a great event, honoring a truely heroic undertaking