Monthly Archives: June 2011

28Jun/11

A Family Affair

Smiling, Traveling

This past Sunday was definitely a day we’ll never forget. More importantly, it’ll be a time where we can look back at pictures and explain to Ryland why he can’t forget as well. Unless you’ve experienced what both Pia and my family has experienced with migrating to the U.S. without any money, not knowing the language, and our parent’s not knowing where we would live, then it’s hard to explain what took place on Sunday.

It’s been roughly 30 years since the first time the Terry family sponsored Pia’s family. Since then, we’ve remained in contact, but it wasn’t until our wedding nearly 2 years ago that Pia exchanged emails with Donna, that a chance to meet again could finally happen. Knowing that we were moving to the East Coast, we knew we needed to meet face-to-face and reconnect with the Terry’s.

It’s a strange feeling knowing that you haven’t seen someone for many years (in my case, never before), but it’s an unbelievable feeling to share stories and memories with those people in a way that seems like there hasn’t been a day that has gone by without one another. I think we’ll all take away a lot from this Sunday and I know we all hope there will be many more Sundays like this in the future.

We had a great time meeting the family and was even able to connect via Facetime with Pia’s mom and dad and Kelly so that they could also see the Terry’s. The reason Ryland will never forget this day is because Pia and I won’t let him forget. We won’t let him forget the families in both Pennsylvania and San Diego that has helped our family when we needed help the most. Because of this, all of our families are intertwined in a way that few could understand, but is remarkable on every front, as we are all one big family.

28Jun/11

Lost and Found

Smiling, Traveling

What do you do when you’re on your way to Connecticut and get lost, Tiger’s crying, and you need to get gas? You pullover at the next exit of course. Lucky for us, we happened to stumble upon a great park in “The Mean Streets” of Greenwich, CT where we were able to stretch out a bit, get some ice cream, and let Tiger play for awhile.

Tiger sure was happy playing on the swing, the slide…well, we’ll have to work on that one a bit more.

24Jun/11

Quite Fair, By Jersey Standards

Good Eats, Laughing, Smiling, Traveling

Nothing beats a Friday, especially on a week where you started work at a new job, and just a week after your family moves cross-country. The NJ State Fair opened today and was advertised as $1 parking, $2 entrance fees, $1 games, and some $1 foods. With that in mind and a weekend to look forward to, we figured the 30-minute drive would be well worth it.

The fair was held near the New Meadowlands Stadium where the NY Jets and the NY Football Giants play there games, so it was cool to see what a new stadium looks like (ahem Qualcomm). Time flew by as we ate sausages, $1 hot dogs, $1 roasted corn with cheese, mayo, and chili powder, and even got a few prizes after Keante played a few games.

I don’t think we’ll ever fully get used to NJ, but this is a good start.

24Jun/11

National Mall to National Treasure

Good Eats, Traveling

After picking up Angie and Em from Dulles, we planned out part of our East Coast trip, which included trips to Washington DC and Philadelphia.

The first stop was the Nation’s capitol, as we walked for 6+ hours in hot and humid conditions. We checked out most of the main tourist attractions (Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial). Through all of that, we even made it to the Holocaust Museum (which is a must-visit in DC). Although the heat took it’s toll on us, we managed to get through it all and even managed to find some good eats in the way of Rita’s, Ben’s Chilli, and other food establishments that I can’t remember right now. I don’t have many pictures, as Angie is a much better photographer, so we deferred to her, but her’s what I have of DC.


I have a feeling it’s gonna be a long, long day…~Tiger


I Guess this is what my tax money is paying for…


My dada says that this is an important picture because I can use it to remind Mama that we’ve been here before (because she won’t remember)…~Tiger

Philadelphia was our next stop on the trip (although we made a quick detour back to NJ for a day). Philly was Philly. Good, unhealthy food, and plenty of historical sites to checkout. Although I don’t have any of the Philly pictures on my camera, we did check out the must-sees from the eatery world (Geno’s and Pat’s….Pat’s is better for the record). In Philly, we also had the most expensive take-out Vietnamese food ever, stayed in a sub-par Sheraton Hotel, visited the Liberty Bell, took the Independence Hall tour to view where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were formed and signed, visited Ben Franklin’s grave, partially visited Love Park (the girls didn’t want to get dropped off because somebody told them they might get mugged) and finished the afternoon off with a Philly Hoagie. All in a day and a half’s work…not bad even by Benjamin Gates’ standards.

24Jun/11

Not Exactly Santa Monica, But It’ll Do

Good Eats, Smiling, Sports

Our first outing in New Jersey took us to Jenkinsons (Jenks as the locals call it). Not a bad boardwalk if you like games, expensive carnival food, and watching people pretend like they’re on the cast of Jersey Shore.

We did have a great time, although driving there was a bit of a challenge (imagine me doing a few loops around the same roundabout and not knowing which exit to take).