Goodbyes abound....

7/30/06 - okay...so not only am i saying goodbye to friends...but i am also saying goodbye to family...below is a shot of me and my 96 year-old grandmother...unfortunately, she doesn't really remember who i am outwardly....but she smiles when i go to visit...in her arms is her baby doll...its amazing how much peace a baby doll can bring someone...at least it keeps her happy...which when you have reached her age, that's a great thing....such a great woman...

and just yesterday i met up with three of my four aunts, my dad's sisters for lunch...it was fun...as i was with aunt terry and her husband, uncle tony, their daughter tina and her daughter gabriella...my aunt marie and my aunt cathy, who drove up from georgia to say goodbye in person...gotta love family....below is a shot of me and my three aunts...

the next shot is a cute one of my cousin tina, her daughter gabriella and i on the couch....gabriella loves pink which is why this has been written that way :) she is also a choco-holic...it seems to run in the family though :)

the final shot is of the whole family who had lunch together...it was a great time had by all and i thank my aunt terry and uncle tony for hosting....

i have about two or three more entires to put on the blog before going...plus, i will also put on the e-mail that i sent out on how to contact me....along with the website of the school if you are interested in checking it out.....talk soon...

Goodbyes continued...

7/30/06 - time keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking...into the future....love that...especially as i am getting ready for the next big thing...which happens on wed...but here are some stories about the near past and the folks i visited...below is actually a shot i tried to get on blogger yesterday...now its happy with it :) this shot is of my friend rudy, who i met at the south pole, and his finacee emily....we had a tasty breakfast in west chester while they were in town visiting rudy's dad...it was great to catch up with them and hear all the plans for their upcoming wedding...

then after the weekend, which i am still waiting for pictures from, i headed to the beach with my folks...below is a shot of my dad at the beach in ocean city, nj...earlier in the blog entries there was a shot of me and the GREATEST pizza place in the world...mac and manco's...gotta love ocean city...

after returning from two days of rest and relaxation, it was back to saying goodbye and getting my things in order...sure am glad i had those two days with my folks though...we had an amazing time...one of the places i stopped off was one of my old jobs...where i had lunch with the girls and met one of the grandkids...we had a blast...in the picture below are brad, lonnie, marge, diane, chris and me....a fun time was had by all with all the catching up and keeping up with little brad...what a cutie :)

from lunch with RLO, to dinner with dan, lisa and matt...such a cute family, waiting on the next "baby g" to enter the picture...below is the family shot for the moment...although their numbers will be increasing by one in the fall...yahoo!!! matt is such a happy baby...and what a musician...

here's a shot of just how happy matt is with....with friend kristen...he was so much fun to play with and of course his parents were too ;)

okay...blogger says i am done with this entry...as no more pictures will load...on to the next...

Lots of goodbyes

7/29/06 - well the end is coming to my stay here in the states...i can't believe that six months have flown by so fast since i was hired to work in romania and now i am leaving in four days....whoa...time does fly when you are having fun....and hopefully it will all get finished...below is the picture from the wedding in washington that i was trying to post the past two entries...in this shot you see brad, me, david, jenn, steven, gordon, bill and brian...we were missing jen (the bride) and erica(the wedding planner)....but at least we got a good shot of some of the crew that was at the wedding....

and as you know, if you've been checking the blog, i am back in PA saying goodbye to friends and family now....so below are some more pictures of folks i have caught up with...i first got to meet up with a friend of mine from the south pole, rudy....rudy came through west chester and we grabbed breakfast together...i got to meet rudy's finacee, emily and i wish them both the best of luck...it was great to see them on their pass through of the area....have a great wedding next month :) unfortunately i am not able to post the picture here...will try again soon...

that night i got together with a bunch of folks...karen and her family and jen and rob....the first shot is of karen and i...i have my spelunking hat on from science explorers, just in case we needed to go into a cave in the brew pub...

the following shot is of rob, jen and i....jen was my boss at science explorers and rob is her partner...i am hoping to see them at some point overseas :)

and i thought it would be fun to post the shot of everyone who was at dinner...besides the same folks mentioned about we have nick and his son nick and daughter shannon...overall it was a great time at the victory brew pub...yum, yum :)

i need to run at this point, but will try and finish up my time in PA soon, soon, soon...seeing that i leave on wednesday for romania....enjoy the post and i hope everyone is well :)

my last three weeks in the states

7/26/06 - back again with the pennsylvania part of my update...although i will try and post the picture of the gang from the wedding....nope...it won't let me....who knows why....maybe someday this will work for me smoothly....ugh....on with the PA show...

the first person i got to visit with and say goodbye to was my cousin ann...she just bought a condo of her own on the outskirts of norristown and i wanted to check out her new digs...very cute and there's a pool...yahoo...we had dinner at this tasty local italian spot...it was a fun time
a week later i was hangin in a bar with a bunch of folks saying goodbye....at a local place called the flying pig...and even though everyone there was local in one way or another, most people did not know each other before the night began...it was a great time....below you see sue, me, joe and lane - sue and i worked together...joe and sue are together....lane and i did ice time together in mcmurdo....

some of the other cool folks who showed up were kenny and joan...kenny and i met through playing volleyball when i was waiting to get to antarctica...and his wife joan i met as an added bonus...both of these folks are way cool :)

and the last shot from the flying pig is of friends of mine from high school...jim and eric...it was a treat to have them come up and meet some of my other friends from around the area who did not go to school with us and of course is was terrific to have them come out and play :)

i have also been hanging out with family while i have been home...and although my camera broke down, there are a few pictures i got before it died...the following shot is of my dad, my aunt terry, my uncle tony and me....we had a delicious meal together that my mom made of ravioli.....yummy!!!!

okay....that seems to be the end of what i am allowed to post for tonight.....so i will continue this again...i have more pictures to add...but i think they can wait until tomorrow....so until then...hope all is well and keep on truckin....

Final Wedding Shots...

7/26/06 - back again with the remaining few shots of the wedding i am posting here...and if there is time and blogger allows me, i will be adding some shots from pennsylvania visits....on with the wedding shots....

the next picture is of the steven seattle crew...unfortunately jennifer the bride and her most excellent wedding planner erica, were not around when we took this shot...which was a bummer, but i was glad we got everyon else together for the picture...in the shot you see brad, me, david, jenn, steven, brian, gordon and bill....we had a blast hanging out and toasting steven and jennifer at every turn....okay, okay, okay....i can't get this picture to post here either...grrrrr...i'll try and get it on the page in the next update...but don't hold your breath....

and the final shot is for those of you who wanted to see how my outfit finally turned out....a close-up of the shortest, pants-wearin bridesmaid in the bunch....me....

the wedding was outstanding and as a group we had a wonderful time...the weather couldn't have been more perfect and the company kept rocked and overall it was a grand time....and it was the perfect way to end my stay in the pacific northwest....first off, thanks to those of you who visited with me over food, coffee and such....and a special thanks to those who let me stay with them for a night or two...i had a terrific time catching up on people's lives and hearing their stories...it rocked overall....and then i caught a plane back to PA.....to get ready for the big pack and ship....unfortunately blogger is not letting me add pictures again....so here is where the next update will begin....on with the show :)

Steven & Jennifer's Wedding!!!!

7/26/06 - ONE WEEK TO GO!!!! holy cow has this summer flown by....i just can't believe i am leaving for romania in one week....wowowowowow....i have a few last minute details and some odds and ends to put together and electronic stuff to update, but other than that...i am ready to go!!!! yahoo.....i just got back from being at the jersey for the past two days with my folks...and of course i hit my favorite pizza joint, mac & manco's...possibly the greatest pizza on the planet...i haven't found pizza that rivals it yet :) and of course i spent time on the beach....below is a shot of me and mac & manco's on the ocean city, nj boardwalk....a place filled with many memories for me of my entire life....ahhhhhhh....the jersey shore :) (on the way to cape may.....la, la, la)
now...onto the wedding of the summer :) steven and jennifer...very good friends of mine from seattle, got married this past month, up on san juan island....at a beautiful place called roche harbor...it was a great wedding, and a lot of my close friends from seattle were in attendance...making it even more fun....plus, i was in the wedding...as a bridesmaid....a non-conventional bridesmaid....thanks jen and steven....the first shot is of the bride jen and her beautiful daughter/flower girl madelyn....the colors were rose, white and black...

the ceremony was held in the garden of the roche harbor resort and then the reception was also on the resort grounds...pictures were taken before hand and below are some of the shots...the first is of the bridesmaids...in rose and black....i didn't include the one of me, because i am soooo much shorter than the other girls...although, i promise you will see what i wore soon...

next up was steven, his groomsmen, the ring bearer and rose presenter...don't the guys look great...and steven looks awesome...he is one of my closest friends ever and it was flattering and exciting to be in his and jen's wedding....i had a blast...mostly because they rock as a couple and they hosted a wonderful wedding for their friends and family :)

of course we had to take a picture of steven and the girlz of the wedding....him looking so studdly and all...here you can see what my outfit was...as picked out by my mom....thanks mom...it was a rose colored top, with a tank underneath it and black pants, with black flat sandals....another reason why everyone else is so much taller....i call this steven and his harem....doncha love it :)

at the moment....blogger is not letting me post again....so the last two shots will be in the next update....i guess they have this partially fixed....man, this system is way too picky sometimes...more in the next update...

seattle...for the last time????

7/23/06 - okay...this should be the last entry of the trip, except for the wedding that is...but i'll save that for another day....here is the picture of amy and i when we had our french pastry and walk thru of pike place market....

another picture from the last update...or what should have been in the last update is below...no blog entry would be complete without a picture of the man, the myth, the legend....executive chef....mr. gordon....along with david and i....it was a fantastic meal with fantastic friends....you just have to taste his food to know what i mean.....oh my god!!!!

my last evening in town was spent with good friends and a BBQ...which is how the whole visit started...and at the same place...brad and jenn's house....we all got together to watch DVDs of antarctica....and i was really happy they got to see them...it was great to hear their comments about my experiences and to have them there to see the part of my life that i sometimes can't put into words...below is a shot of everyone...included are bill, brad, jenn, michelle, chad, brian, erica, david and me....it was the perfect evening to round out my visit....who could ask for anything more :) you guys rock my world...

FINALLY....the highlights of my trip to seattle have been blogged...the only one missing...and a HUGE one it is...the wedding of steven and jennifer....but enough for today...i will be attempting to update the blog with those pictures either tomorrow or later in the week...as tomorrow i head for the jersey shore one last time before i head across the big ocean...to enjoy the sun, the sand and of course, most importantly, the mac and manco's pizza....the best in the world baby!!!! let me tell you....hope all is well...again, i am sorry it took me so many tried to get seattle posted...but now it is here for the world to see...enjoy...i'll be back soon...

seattle continues on and on....

7/23/06 - back yet again...although there were more than two on the last update...maybe this will be the last...maybe not....we'll see....anyway....after lunch with dan...it was off to downtown to meet up with a past student of mine...amy...for coffee and an afternoon snack...down at pike place market....it was fun to wander thru the stalls of the market and get some fresh flowers and have yummy french pastry and iced chai...but most of all it was fun to hang with amy...she is a rockstar and i love catching up with her to find out where she is in life....i know that it will happen worldwide :) thanks for meeting me amy...for some odd reason this picture will NOT post here there or anywhere....so i will add it to my next update...sorry amy...i really did have fun hanging with you...even if the picture won't show it :)

from hanging with amy i was off to west seattle to have a delicious pizza dinner with my good friend chad...chad has previously been seen on the blog a bunch, as he is the one who met me for the tour of egypt....yahoo!!! we went to our favorite pizza joint on alkai, pegasus, and had a terrific visit....chad was the last one to ride in the convertible...and then he helped me return it to the airport...what a fun little car, let me tell you....chad and i rounded out our evening with a stop at a hookah bar in the U district where david met us....chad had blackberry flavor and i had honey...his was better :) check out our cute picture together....

at this point in my visit...steven and jennifer wedding up on san juan island happened...but i would like to dedicate an entire update to just the wedding...so i will finish off my visit here with other shots from the time i still had left in seattle and its surrounding area...below is a shot of my good friend david and i at the fourth of july....david was my roommate of quite a number of years and no matter how much time we spend apart, when we see each other, its like no time has passed at all...he hosted me for quite a few nights and i love this shot of the two of us...just like i love this man :) david you rock my world...thanks for everything....

on the way back from the wedding david and i stopped at our good friend gordon's restaurant...him and his partner have done an amazing job with the place...such good vibes and amazing food as always....the name of his restaurant is gordon's on blueberry hill and it is located on whitbey island...you really should go if you are within fifty miles of the place...yummy!!! below is a shot of david with our food for the night....delicious!!!!!

okay....no more pictures allowed...and i need to add just three...so there should be just one more update here tonight....i hope....onto that...

seattle...take 47.....*sigh*

7/23/06 - back yet again....well...i haven't left...i just keep writing the next update....and will try and make it thru the week til the wedding....and include my last night on the pacific northwest as well...and then pictures from the wedding of steven and jennifer....here goes...

from hanging with chad and johnny, i was off to my friend dan's place...well...not really his place, but his place for the moment...dan is a polie you have seen on this site before...we actually hit the trifeca with this visit...we saw each other in PA (where he is from too), denver and seattle...now we need to shoot for other continents :) david and i joined dan on his roof on eastlake for the fireworks on lake union....which were outstanding....amazing...incredible...mind-blowing...in other words i really, really liked them....unfortunately the next morning, dan had to deal with the pier of NOAA being on fire....not a great way to come back to work after a spectacular day off...

i love hangin with dan...he makes me look tan....just kidding...actually the great tan is due to all the driving with top down on the convertible and the outstanding weather i had on my visit to washington and oregon....from hanging with dan on the fourth...i headed to port townsend to visit a friend of mine's parents....my friend was paula parris...and unfortunately her and her husband roosevelth died while i was on the ice....it was a bummer...but her parents have her memory living on with a garden in paula's memory...and i really wanted to go out and visit them and see "paula's garden"....i added a rock to it from my visit to alaska....letting her know i was there and was thinking about her...below is a shot of paula's parents...david and thelma...wonderful people...who have a wonderful place and i had a wonderful visit with them....

dinner that evening was back in seattle with my good friends larry and elizabeth...who had finally moved into the city, away from the eastside :) we had a great meal and caught up on all of the fun things they have been doing since i was gone...it was a terrific visit and below is a shot of the three of us....larry and i taught together at overlake...and maybe someday we will get to teach together again somewhere in the world :)

the next day i got to hang on the hill at the grill with my friend dan...dan and i have known each other for close to 11 years...he is still working the same job, but finally has a carpool going, not for his lack of trying previously, and is happy with where he is these days...yahoo!!! it was a terrific lunch and then it was topped off with some vivace coffee....yummy...below is the two of us...just the two of us...we can make it if we try....i have no idea where that came from...hahahahaha...sorry dan :) lovin your short hair mister....

will be continuing again...although i got more pictures on here....yahoo!!!!

seattle...yet again....

7/23/06 - this wouldn't be so bad if it would let me post three or four pictures...but this two picture posting business is really frustrating...especially since i promise everyone i see, who i take a picture of,that they will be on the blog....so i am sorry for the choppiness...maybe this will end on this update...you just never know...on with the trip... here's the shot i tried to upload of our perfect day on mt. baker...this is a shot using reflection lake...just stunning....it was a picture perfect day to be on this mountain...and it was great to hang there with my friend amy and stefan....yahoo!!!!

after hanging with vikki and derek north of the city i headedback down to seattle...dinner that night in the city was cooked for me by my good friend travis...he made an udon, which was simply divine...i got to see travis' new place and meet his cats...after dinner we met up with friends david and oscar at the bus stop....too many shots were had by folks...but overall it was a good time...travis and i had an amazing visit and it was great to see where he is at and what he is hoping to do in the future...below is a shot of us at his place...he's the one who took the picture, as he has much longer arms than i do :) too cute....doncha think...

we have now reached the fourth of july....yahoo...and what a day it was...i started it off with a yummy breakfast in bell town with my good friends chad and johnny...below is a shot of us back at johnny's place....it was fun to show johnny pictures and my dvds of antarctica...he loved them...in the shot is johnny, me, buddha and chad....have we all reached inner peace??? i know buddha has...but i am not sure about the rest of us :)

okay...more coming in the next update....

seattle continued....again

7/23/06 - from the red mill with anita, i was headed to the U district to meet up with a past student, ben...ben is deciding to pursue one of my most passionate subjects...environmental science...as a graduate degree, after first earning a degree in physics...I LOVE IT!!!! it makes me happy to find out what my past students are doing with their lives and of course i am always excited when it has something to do with science...yahoo...ben and i grabbed a drink and a bite at the solstice cafe on the ave...it was great to catch up with him...below you can see us there...and yes...again, i am the short one in the picture :)

after hanging with ben on the ave...it was a two hour, perfect weather drive up to see ice friends of mine, stefan and amy....stefan and amy have bought a place on the outskirts of bellingham...really close to an indian reservation....they have a great place with rights to the beach just down from their house and a great hot tub to use on perfect weather nights, like the one i was in town for...below is a shot of stefan and amy on the beach....

i actually spent two nights with stefan and amy...i know...usually unheard of from me on a "dani tour" such as this...but the second day we hung out at mt. baker...which still had snow on it...we passed a bunch of folks who were hiking in about a 1/2 mile to go back country snow boarding...unfortunately we were wearing sandals and didn't make it too far in the 2 feet of snow...but we had a nice hike and hang on the mountain for a few hours...it was a stunning day as you can see from the picture below....okay...so there is no picture....i'll try for it in the next update....grrrrrrrrr.....let's continue, shall we....

after a mellow and relaxing time with amy and stefan i headed back down south toward seattle...although i stopped along the way to see my good friends vikki and derek and their son orion...i got to meet the newest addition of their family aswell...saxon...after a dgood lunch and fantastoc stop for ice cream i headed on down to seattle...below is a shot of vikki and derek at their place...blogger strickes again with not letting me upload...more soon...

wets coast tour continued

7/23/06 - hey there folks...i am back...its been a fun weekend with friends and family...and the weather here has been crazy...one minute its sunny, the next minute its pouring....but i didn't see any rainbows this weekend....even though i was looking....pictures from my visit here in PA will be up as soon as i finish seattle and steven and jen's wedding....but everything has to be up by august 1st...as i head to romania on the 2nd...and that time is approaching fast....i will be in touch with mailing addresses and skype phone numbers you can reach me at...so stay tuned....until then though...i'll keep going on my seattle update....

when last you were with me, i was spending the evening hanging with my good friend joni and her cool family....the next morning i woke up bright and early to grab breakfast with a past student from overlake and her cool mom, who is the secretary there....allison and margaret....we met at victor's...the yummy coffee house in redmond and then went for a spin in the cruiser...allison is actually headed to south africa in the fall to do some volunteer work...and maybe she'll pass thru romania on her return to the states...you just never know...below is a shot of the three of us in front of the convertible...too cute...
from breakfast on the east side to lunch on the seattle side...i have to say the drive was perfect as the mountain (mt rainier) was out for my cross of the 520 bridge...yahoo....i was headed to my friend anita's house in freemont...anita's entire front yard is flowers...i love it :) and anita has been all over the world...her house is a wonderful space that screams her name and taste...and there are things in it from all over the world...i love it :) we went to the red mill burger place...yes...i am still a vegaquarian....but they do EXCELLENT veggie burgers...yum!!!!! below is a shot of anita and i at the red mill... okay, blogger won't let me post more than two pictures again...grrrrrrr....i will be continuing this on the next update...be right back...sorry about this...

seattle to portland and back again....

7/20/06 - from the awesome lunch with the amazing family, i went and hung at my friend's brad and jenn's house and then had a delicious fondue of chocolate with another excellent overlake family...and i forgot to get a picture of us all...but amy is in a picture with me later on....the next morning i headed to victor's, one of the most famous coffee shops on the eastside where i met up with another past student of mine...jaime....jaime and i also got together in boston...so it was exciting that we were seeing each other twice in a year....even if we were both kind of tired...the coffee/chai was excellent, as was the visit....
from hanging with jaime on the eastside i cruised into the city to one of my favorite thai restaurant....tom thai...yummy....it is this hole in the wall that a guy named tom owns...and yes, he's thai...you gotta love it...i met up with my friend shaun for this delicious meal and we had some kick butt bubble tea as well...what a fun time on the ave :)

after hanging with shaun i jumped in the cruiser and headed south to portland...and let me tell you it was a HOT day...actually it got too hot for the convertible as the temperature gauge in the car registered 103 degrees...in portland...yes, the cool pacific northwest....crazy...i stayed the first night in town with my good friend alecia and her finacee josh...they have this cute house in a nice section of town and cooked a fabulous meal of halibut...after dinner of course we took a ride in the criuser....what fun :)

the next day in portland was quite mellow for me...and i met up with my friend andy, who was a roommate of mine in ecuador when i lived there...we had a tasty meal at a pub, went for a ride in the cruiser and then i met his boyfriend carlos...what a nice guy...i had fun showing them my antarctica dvds...and they were amazed with the footage....it was fun night :) below is a shot of andy and carlos...

the next day i met up with my friend cindy at this great peruvian restaurant in portland called andina....yummy...we had many different types of tapas and caught up with each other...it was a perfect place to have tapas and peruvian food and the atmosphere was great!!!! here's the shot of cindy and i from the restaurant....cindy and i haven't spent tons of time together...but when we have, we bond soooooo well...i love having friends like cindy...we discuss the world and everything in it...tons of fun :)

after a tasty lunch with cindy i headed back north...and what a drive it was...crystal clear...i saw wonderful views of mt. hood, mt. st. helens and mt. rainier on the drive north....all i can say is wowowowowowowow....and it was a ton of fun with the convertible....i spent the night hanging with my friends candi and steve and their dog barley and two cats...candi and i actually had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants called from the bayou, just outside of tacoma....yummy is all i have to say...below is a shot of candi, barley and steve...too cute...

the next day dawned and i was headed north again...this time to see my friend jen...i know jen from my two week stint with NASA for educators...she is a great mom these days and i got to meet the newest addition to her family, sarah...i also got to hang out with her son david and see all of the thomas the tank engine stuff he got for his birthday that had just passed...jen and her family live a cute neighborhood and seem really happy with life, love and the pursuit of happines...it was a fun visit....and i just love sarah's hair :)

i went from one fun family to another...and stayed the night with my old pacific science center boss winlar and his wife teri and son wily....they made some home cooked salmon that was really tasty, along with sweet summer corn...my first of the season...yum...and we watched winlar's most recent version of kazoo...his stand-up comedy act....i love the catching of the grapes...and am amazed at just how far he can catch them from....it was great to visit with him and talk about world cup and such as he and teri are HUGE soccer fans...below is a shot of the family :)

the next day was a packed one...i started out my morning with my good friend christine with a breakfast at a great restaurant called the coastal kitchen...christine and i taught together at overlake....it was great to hear all the latest gossip and talk about living on the west coast vs the east coast, as christine is a new york kind of girl...and i like her a lot, even if she does root for the yankees...here's a shot of the two of us after breakfast :)

after breakfast with christine i headed downtown yet again to have lunch at a chinese restaurant...ho-ho's, with my good friends karen and landon...these were the friends i visited in taiwan last year in september...but they have now moved back to the seattle area and are making a go of it in the states...these two were also married in thailand in march...pictures from their wedding are spectacular...it was terrific to see them and then spend most of the day hanging with landon...riding around in the cruiser...we even stopped by bastyr university...a fun alternative medicine university i used to work at....it was a perfect day to ride with the top down...let me tell you :) here are karen and landon after a tasty meal at ho-ho's :)

the last section of my day was over in west seattle, where i hooked up with my good friend joni and her boyfriend don and don's three year old daughter elsa...we had a tasty home made meal and caught up on all the recent news and events in our lives...joni has this great house in west seattle that she has done so much with....and the shot below includes the family members and the two dogs...muddy dog and isabel....both very loveable....it was a fun visit to joni's place :)

time for me to call it an evening....as you can see, i visited a lot of friends while i was on the west coast tour...and i will continue with the second week i was in town tomorrow or the next day....it was terrific trip out west....the weather was perfect, the people were superb hosts and i had some amazing food...all-in-all i just couldn't beat it :) until next time....