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 

Cousins

One thing we miss, but really appreciate, is the opportunity for Dylan to get together with his cousins.  Here's the entire American gang...

Best buds for life...

Happy Easter!

The practice paid off - Dylan and his cousins had a great Easter Egg Hunt!

Easter Egg Practice

We were all excited about the Easter Egg Hunt - so much so, that we thought that a Saturday practice session was in order.  Dylan loved running around in the back yard of Grandma and Grandpa's house.  He got off to a great start...

But the morning wasn't without a few set-backs...better luck tomorrow!

Frequent Flyer

The little man has been airborne so often that he's now on a first name basis with most of the United and Southwest pilots - here he his hanging out in the cockpit, talking about recent developments in the Airline industry with the Captain of Southwest Flight 1460 to Milwaukee:

Safety at Sea

In the wake of the disastrous 1979 Fastnet Yacht Race which claimed the lives of 15 sailors the US Naval Academy began a seminar entitled "Safety at Sea" to focus on offshore boat preparation, weather forecasting,  heavy weather sailing and survival.  That seminar endures today and each spring we partner with the Maryland Marine Trades Association to educate Midshipmen and civilian sailors in the safe operation of offshore sailboats.  My staff put on a truly world-class event, moderated by John Rousmaniere and Ralph Naranjo.  It was a great refresher in the risks of offshore sailing - and a great opportunity to meet some of the foremost experts on the water.  Briefing slides from the event are available online.