M-i-ss-i-ss-i-pp-i

Don and I took our first business trip together - to Mississippi of all places. My former employer (FSG) is a member of COSEE (Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence) and they are interested in possibly participting in a program that the California COSEE group out of Berkeley started up several years ago. The name of the project is COSIA (Communication Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences) and the goal is to, well, communicate ocean sciences to informal audiences.
The idea is to set up a college credit course for undergrad and grad science majors to teach them how to... yes, you got it... communicate ocean science to lay people. More specifically it is to allow them to become better communicators about their research, educate the general public and encourage some of these future scientists to enter the world of education in hopes of generating even more future scientists or science teachers.

Lucky for me my former boss could not attend and thought of me as a replacement to fill the "educator" role. And lucky for Don, he is married to me and was therefore selected to fill the "scientist" role. That, and he is a damn good scientist.

So off we went to Ocean Springs, MS.

While I don't have any pics of the conference to prove we were really in attendance and while I'm sure you are thinking oh darn, no pictures of a conference... really, I could have had some interesting ones to show. It was very interactive and fun.

I do however have some pics of the 6 hours of free time that we did have. And we made the most of it.

A drive up the shore found us in the continuing Hurricane Katrina recovery cities of Gulfport and Biloxi.
Abandoned, right up on the beach...These pictures just do not show the devastation that still exists 4 years post hurricane. Extremely long sections of shoreline, where commercial and residential buildings once stood, remain vacant.
Here is a remaining house pad and some vacant spaces. The blue trailer in the background is one of few quick homes that were built presumably for temporary shelter. But only a very few of the large, brick mansion homes have been rebuilt.

A vacant gas station lot...Some visible damage still remains. This is a building from the William Carey University, only a few hundred yards from the shore in Gulport.This photo speaks volumes. You can see the stripped trees on the barrier island just offshore.
The trees really caught my eye. While they remain standing, their twisted and reconfigured shapes tell the tale of the beatings they endured. As I was standing amidst all the destruction and loss, I noticed this small patch of Indian Blanket Flower (Gaillardia pulchella) - one of my favorite native FL flowers. They made me smile.We managed a quick hike in the Gulf Islands National Seashore.And snacked on honeysuckle.Since honeysuckle isn't terribly filling, we had lots of room for the unbelievable oysters we found at a local restaurant.
They were HUGE! And at $5/dozen, we ate A LOT!Gimme oysters and beer for dinner every day of the year...As for COSIA, and most everything else in life, timing is everything. We both learned a lot and it is a fab program but with UF slicing and dicing its budget each year, it may not happen just yet. But not all is lost, I am certainly going to implement some of the ideas and techniques we learned to current programs at the FLMNH.

The grand grandparent visit

As we were snowboarding and snowshoeing our way around Tahoe, Grandma and Grandpa were shuttling and spoiling grand kids. Thanks to Grandpa's shutter bug nature, I have some pics to post. The azaleas were full on and Grandpa is a sucker for a flower shot...Grandma even got saddled with selling Girl Scout cookies. But I am most greatful for her sewing skills. Not only did she sew on all of Olivia's patches (they claim to be "iron on"....yeah, right...) but she corrected my troop number screw up (see Half Baked Brownie). Not only can I not sew, apparently I can't iron on either.)They ventured out to Dudley Farm one afternoon for some Florida history and exploration. That really is a vine they are climbing on...It's not work when you only have to do it once for 5 minutes...I recognize the expression on this man's face. I've seen it many times before. It's the look that says "that is a 3 yr old boy that needs to be watched."Grandma is a sucker for a quilt show... and pretty flower hair clips.Grant is either trying to figure out if she is real or about to validate the man's expression in the photo above. Thanks for a week of fun!! Hopefully you have caught up on your rest since. We miss you Grandma and Grandpa! Love, Olivia and Grant

Note to mom/dad: I wouldn't love it either if someone posted early morning pics of me. But I think these are great!

A snowshoeing we will go

One of our fave things to do in the mountain snow is to shoe through it. There is no better way to commune with nature in the cold then to escape on paths less traveled.But don't get me wrong, it isn't a nice leisurely stroll and at times it is heart-pounding work. Luckily the picturesque views are numerous, allowing for multiple rest stops.Now THOSE are trees...And you must take time to stop and hug the cedars...Wow, look at the lake!McGruber! Don became McGruber (if you haven't seen that SNL skit, you are missing out) as he tried and tried again to fix Dave's busted up snowshoe.Poor Dave...Should we really hike up this former avalanche area? Sure, why not?Because it isn't much fun. But it is fun to slide back down.Life is Good!

Looking past the present

During our Tahoe trip, we spent part of a day visiting Virginia City, Nevada - an old mining town outside of Carson City. The discovery of the first major deposit of silver ore, known as the Comstock Lode, was made here in 1859. It is one of the most famous boomtowns in the Old West as it virutally appeared overnight. It was founded by some folks on their way to the gold rush in California and soon prospectors rushed to the area, scrambling to stake their claims. Mining camps soon thrived in the vicinity and became bustling centers of fabulous wealth turning Virginia City into the most important settlement between Denver and San Francisco; and grubby prospectors into instant millionaires. They built mansions, imported furniture and fashions from around the world, and helped finance the Civil War.

The mountains were all mined out by 1898 and the population quickly declined. Today there are approximately 1,000 people living there. Interesting side note: the Virginia City High School basketball team has won more state championships than any other school in the state.

So... we were excited to see this quaint, historic boomtown of the wild, wild west complete with abandoned mines and swing door saloons. Driving up through Silver City and Gold Hill we saw plenty of abandoned mines...But as we approached Virginia City, things quickly changed to flashing lights and store shop signs. The main drag is still there complete with wooden boardwalks and saloons but they are filled with trinket shops and casinos. Our hopes of a Williamsburg-type of experience were quickly dashed. We were selective in our photos so you don't really get the touristy feel here, but it is there and a bit disappointing.
Cool saloon on the outide...But filled with slot machines on the inside. They really distracted from the old vibe of the place. The hanging glass lamps were nice though...Samuel Clemens began his writing career as Mark Twain in Virginia City, while working as a reporter for the Territorial Enterprise. We toured his "office" that is set in the basement of one of the shops.
His desk...His printing press (powered by water)...His toilet...We had a pint at the Union Brewery - the oldest saloon in Virginia City. But again, on the inside it was just a regular bar.Except for this great old flag with just 48 stars. Unfortunately someone decided to "wallpaper" it to the ceiling.The bartender did share an interesting (and sad) story with us about the bar. The bar brewed its own beer up until 15 years ago when the Hell's Angels took the equipment (new and historic) on a midnight-justice raid on account that the owner owed them LOTS of money... for things unseemly.

Virginia City is a National Historic Landmark but it's too bad they put more emphasis on tourism than they do history. We had more fun exploring on the drive up - inspecting old mines and bygone equipment and imagining what the area was like in the middle of its hey-day - than we did trying to look past the present in town.

Live to Ride, Ride to Live

Wow... this is what it's all about...Don and I enjoying the view at one of my fave resorts, Alpine Meadows (a slightly cheaper version of Squaw Valley). Nice big bowl areas. The beauty of Tahoe is that not only do you get mountain views, but you also have the lake...The gang, part 1. Me, Don, Mark and his son Quint. Mark's nephew and friend joined us later in the week...Why is he laughing? All I can say is... P.U.!!! Ugh, not one of Don's best weeks for intestinal happiness...New rides! We decided to stimulate the economy while we were there and buy new gear. It all started when we were in the rental shop and the rad punk (with a majorly broken arm) working the counter told me he had a perfect board for me. It was brand new that season and since he was obviously out for the rest of it, he would sell it to me for a steal. We stewed on it that day and decided to go for it. Despite it being a guy's board and a little faster than the crappy rental gear I was used to, I fell in love. However, I did not love his boots that he gave me. What was I thinking wearing his too-big-for-me boots that first day?!?! My shins weren't the same for the rest of the week. So as the week wore on, I couldn't stand those boots any longer and Don couldn't stand that I had a new board and he didn't. So we spent nearly a FULL day shopping around and Don came away with quite a killer board and I got boots that fit.

Lake Tahoe

We have done something right in our lives to have completely generous friends and family that hook us up with opportunities to do some of our fave things: snowboard, snowshoe, and play in the snow. Don's colleague (and our former major adviser in grad school), Mark Butler, invited us for a week in his condo in Tahoe. We also did something right to have awesome parents who come and babysit. We had a FAB time as always.

The first day was spent getting things in order: groceries and gear. We took some time toward the end of the day to explore:Is this the Caribbean or the mountains? There is a good reason their local conservation motto is: Keep Lake Tahoe Blue.Love the clouds...This is a pass through on the road around the lake. Years ago during the major logging days, they would simply drive around it on the left.Can you find Don?