Close To The Equator = Stronger Sun

Finally a sunny day in St. Lucia!

And such a sunny day burned the upper-third of my back. I put on lots of sunscreen several times, but to no avail. This sun was really strong. It didn't help that I was in the water a lot too. I played in the water throughout the remainder of the honeymoon, but was quick to find shade and keep my shirt on all day. We also took out a Hobie Cat and traversed the high seas. As the vessel's captain I'm quick to point out that we never tipped over.

Onto pictures!

A sun reflection view from the room.

I call this my "Purplish Flowers" shot.

The rougher oceanside.

An empty beach all to ourselves.

The seas were mighty this day with 1-inch waves, but I managed.


My S.S. More Powerful Than Superman, Batman, Spiderman, and the Incredible Hulk Put Together.


One of the beachside dinners we didn't partake; note how close you are to the next table.


One of the few negatives...no sunsets to be seen with Pigeon Island blocking the sun.

10 Hours Of Travel For Paradise

Our flight left Reagan/National at a little after 7 AM. We were out the door by 4:45. It was a pleasure driving on the normally traffic-filled roads around DC that are usually bumper-to-bumper. We were off the GW Parkway an hour later at which I lost track of the time remaining. Instead of realizing we didn't need to check-in two hours early, I took the first parking choice and grabbed a daily parking ticket. The same daily parking lot with $20/day maximums. Eight days at $20 = a lot of cash upon exit. Damnit. It was a complete brainfart by not choosing the economy parking, also called long-term in most cities, but I didn't want to risk missing the flight under any circumstance.

So long rush hour traffic!

We made (I ran) our way to the check-in like I did for the B and T Crowd's family trip to California in 1994 when I had to hold the flight. Unlike that time, there was zero need to rush, but my stubborn one-track mind was in control. Our early arrival presented the option to upgrade to first-class for $90/each. In one of our few vacation splurges we went with it and boy was it nice. I enjoyed two continental breakfasts and plenty of drinks. It was our first time in first class and now we're spoiled. The legroom, silverware, table cloths, and free headphones were the tip of the iceberg.

Almost three hours later we landed in Miami. After a brief layover and 3.5-hour flight we were on our way to St. Lucia. We had just walked in from the tarmac before it poured at which point we were told St. Lucia's rainy season began in June. Just what we wanted to hear. After customs and claiming our bag we searched for our van. Thanks to numerous TripAdvisor.com reviews we were prepared for the trip starting with the airport. Several people offer to cart your bags to your van, but the walk is all of 30 feet through two doors. We blew'em off as Tripadvisor suggested and I felt like the smartest guy in the room.

A rainbow to start your honeymoon is a good sign.

We got in the Sandals Grande van and were on our way, leery of the mountainous, curvy roads ahead, in addition to the unnatural left-side of the road driving. I had my Dramamine so I had no worries. A girl next to me wasn't doing so well so I offered her some, after all I didn't want the eventual alternative. We checked-in and enjoyed some champagne and cool towels. Our honeymoon grande luxury oceanfront suite was great!

So inviting....

Dual sinks? I'm sold.

We were starving so we ate at the closest restaurant to us, a London style pub with okay food. A few reviews suggested bland food and this seemed to reinforce it, but in the end, the food was very good at all other restaurants. We never returned to the pub. After a walk on the pier we were beat and turned in for the night.

I Lost My Mancard On Saturday

It was hot and humid so what better way to pass the time than to see the "Sex and the City" (SATC) movie in an air conditioned theater at the Columbia Mall on Saturday. A dozen other folks had the same idea.






Three other males took in the estrogen overload and were suckered into going with their wives. At least I wasn't emasculated by myself. The movie did not start at 10:15 as promised, or I should say the endless chick flick previews did not start on time. At 10:25 I went to the ticket guy and told him of the issue. Two minutes later I had the honor of watching four chick flick previews. Who'd have thunk that I would be the one requesting theater management to start the movie. The earlier it starts, the earlier I get to leave I suppose.

The movie was just good enough to enjoy as long as you followed the show.

The truth is all of this is a front. Having watched the entire series, I had some interest in seeing how the characters' lives shaped up. I know I am not the only one. The only thing I feared during the movie was Sarah Jessica Parker's (SJP's) horseface elongated to seven feet. To be fair, she did look better than awful in 5% of the movie. It's a start.

Does anyone wonder if these two will end up together?

So about the movie itself...it wasn't so bad afterall. The movie played like four episodes spliced into a two-hour, 15-minute relationship drama. If you're not familiar with the series you won't like, nor appreciate the movie. A quick refresher is provided during the opening credits, but it's not enough to clue someone into their history. A few scenes dragged, but overall it did move just fast enough that I didn't check my watch. The script didn't sway from typical SATC topics, humor, and double-entendres. Plus there was some frat humor with someone sharting herself. Always hilarious!

Four of these things belong together
Four of these things are kind of the same
Can you guess which one of these doesn't belong here?
Now it's time to play our game (time to play our game).

The movie would have been tighter if SJP's boring assistant wasn't shoved down our throats so often. Perhaps to appease unnecessary complaints that SATC has no black actors (see Blair Underwood), the only black actor/actress in the movie was Jennifer Hudson, a nobody who sang on American Idol. It's an insult to actors and actresses everywhere to call Hudson an actress. Her lines were delivered as flat as a 4th grade play. Filming her in oversaturated white Lighting couldn't hide her poor acting. Her role in the movie shouldn't have been as large (no pun intended) and the writers should have thought of other ways to move the story along without her.





Sex and the City Part 2: Active Senior Living Center

Nevertheless, the movie was enjoyable and a fitting conclusion to the series. The writers didn't tinker much with a formula that worked so well for their bank accounts. And I'm okay with that.

Not-So Live Blogging From St. Lucia

Check it out, a virtual live blogging entry from the honeymoon!

Here's what we did today:

Anytime in the morning: Relaxed.

Anytime in the afternoon: Relaxed.

Anytime in the evening: Relaxed.

We Are Good To Go!!!

Thanks to the latest capitalweather.com forecast...

SUNDAY

Sunny. Low 80s. It's gonna be great. Skies will be clear again, and the cold front will have ushered in a dry airmass. Temperatures will still be warm, slightly above 80. Enjoy those sunny skies and perfect BBQ temperatures (if you didn't get cookin' last weekend).

Overnight, partly cloudy. And not too cool. Most places inside the beltway won't get below the 62-64 degree mark. Those outside the urban heat island, should be lucky enough to drop to the "crisp" upper 50s. Eesh, signs of summer with low temperatures already staying higher...

Confidence: High

Now It's Time To Be Nervous

Wow. In seven days I'll be married.

We just have to pay for the Ketubah's framing, the balance of the shuttle bus and limo, copies of the program, and temple donation. Those and some incidentals and that's it. My parental units arrive Thursday as does the SO's dad and stepmom, with her mom arriving tomorrow morning.

If you don't rain on everyone between 5-6p on Sunday, I'll let you rain as much as you want in MD while we're in St. Lucia. Deal?

Because we're seven days away, the long-term weather forecasts are taking shape and well, most suggest a chance of rain for Sunday and a high of 82. And if this post seems scattered and redundant, it is because in seven days I'll be married. Wow. That and I'm still recovering from a very full, tiring, and great bachelor weekend. Please pray to the weather gods and good news from the folks at capitalweather.com.

Come on Zeusy ol'pal. Do your old friend, B and T Crowd, a favor for once. You give me good weather and I'll consider forgiving you for putting me through that tornado in 2001.

All NHL Players Are Using Performance Enhancing Hair Drugs

The SO is from Michigan where you're required to root for the Detroit Red Wings or be banished from the state. With the Wings actually making it past the first round for the first time in a few years, I've watched more hockey than normal.

What hockey players lack in teeth they make up for in hair.

This has allowed me to capture data for my theory that all NHL players are using performance enhancing hair drugs (PEHDs)! Pro athletes are putting things in their bodies that I wouldn't touch outside of a trip to Tijuana, yet the NHL's PEHDs make a strong case to experiment. Perhaps the testosterone injections in the NHL grow more hair than the HGH used in other leagues. No matter how they do it, no other sports league has better heads of hair.

Exhibit A: The Meadowlands, January 2003. An out-of-focus picture of Brendan Shanahan by B and T Crowd shows his beautiful flowing locks.

Checkout any team's roster. I challenge you to find 1/4 of the players with even the slightest hint of male pattern baldness. I've wondered why so many have full head's of hair even with the abuse their follicles take from constant helmet wearing. It doesn't seem natural. It doesn't seem right. It doesn't seem fair. NHL playoff teams even flaunt their hair prowess by growing beards seemingly overnight, vowing not to shave until their season ends. Some may get hair implants, but drugs are more reliable.

Exhibit B: Chelios is 46, yet has the hair of a 20-year-old. Someone this age shouldn't still be playing by natural means nor have this amount of hair...something fishy is going on here.

Side Red Wings story: A few years ago, in my early years of courting the SO, I took her up and back in a night to see the Devils host the Wings (in northern NJ). The Devils ended up winning 1-0. The SO still argues that the Devils "cheated" which means the victory doesn't count in her mind. Meanwhile my go-to argument is, "all I know is my team beat your team in person. Ipso facto, the Devils are better than the Wings for eternity." Occasionally I'll go to my reserves and remind her the Devils beat the Wings for the 1994-5 Stanley Cup, long before we became "us." This inevitably leads to her not talking to me the rest of the day.

Exhibit C: 20 years after his career began, Jagr still rocks a full head of hair, albeit not the mullet from 1990. Biology and age normally prevent this.

The main explanation I can think is that NHL players are using some super strength Rogaine that hasn't been approved by the FDA. Or maybe it's just a Canadian/European issue. Do other countries put Rogaine in their tap water? Maybe the Canadian/European super hair growth DNA gets destroyed after the first generation of immigrants to the U.S. I've got a Russian and German mixture in me, yet I don't need monthly haircuts. It must have been lost in translation.

The Hansons ensured an authentic hockey movie with lots of hair.

I've started to thin on top, but it isn't noticeable except to the SO and my hairdresser. When the time comes for sunblock on my scalp, I'd love to get my hands on what the NHLPA passes out for its members' beautiful manes.