Merry Christmas and Happy New Year/2009 in Review

DISCLOSURE - this is a LOT of reading... get comfy! UPDATED - fixed broken links in the last few paragraphs

We rang in 2009 at the Steel's, after a lovely cruise to dinner at Blue Moon Fish Co. closed out 2008, and a night of hanging out with good friends, champagne toasts, funny hats, and midnight kisses. 2009 started early, with the Penn State Rose Bowl game at the Parrot. As ugly as that game got, we did see a team in blue (and orange) show up to play a few days later at Fred and Doreen's, with Fred making mad celebration dashes around the neighborhood sans both blue and orange. We also got to do a little wine tasting with the FSU'ers during the extended weekend.

A few weeks later, there were Sharpes all over Orlando as Mom and Dad met Jen and I there (Jen had a conference all week there), and Uncle Jerry, Aunt Gwen, Bob and Trev all were there for a visit to Disney. We picked up Mom Mom and Pop Pop and the ten of us did the Magic Kingdom all day - thanks Stacie for getting us in!! A couple of Disney hints - having a really good friend work at Disney is a great start, having a Mom-guide (well in our case, an Aunt-guide) who has the whole Disney thing down is great for avoiding lines as much as possible, and having a wheelchaired Pop Pop helps skirt those lines even further. It was a great day and night with all the Sharpes; Jen and I and Mom and Dad got to do a bit of Epcot too (it was their first trip to Disney since Jason and I were kids), they loved it. Dad particularly liked the Mickey-tron 3D thing or whatever it's called, we also had a good time just sitting at Epcot, watching the light show and listening to a Beatles band outside the U.K. outpost. I'm sure there's going to be many more Disney trips for the Sharpes soon... Dad also turned the local Ale House into the official Sharpe Eagles HQ for watching the NFC Championship game, but the wrong Birds won. It was a great to spend the weekend with my Godfather and my cousins (and of course you too Aunt Gwen!!) and getting to have Mom Mom and Pop Pop join us for everything made it even better.

The one sad note from an otherwise great family weekend is that we returned home to an empty house. While Jen was at her conference, her black Lab Zoe passed away. Many of you know just how much Zoe meant to Jen, that doggie has been through thick and thin for 13 years by Jen's side. So returning home from Orlando and not having Zoe there to greet us was tough.

February started a busy travel month for both of us. We had our first semi-big party at 1601 for the Super Bowl, with a couple TVs and a couple dozen people hanging out for the game. More on big parties at 1601 in a few... I found out towards the end of 2008 that I was likely losing my job sometime in the next year+; Republic Services had bought another company but was moving their Corp headquarters to Phoenix, AZ, and the choices were either to transfer out to the desert or stay for the integration and eventually get let go. So, we're staying in FL but because of the integration, there was lots of travel on the horizon for 2009. I got to head to Philly for Tracey's shower (unfortunately Jen got sick right before the trip and had to miss it), then went right to Detroit and got to see the Pfeiffers who made the trip up from Toledo to catch a Pistons game with me.

From there, it was right out to PHX and Valentine's weekend in the desert. Jen flew from FL and we had a great weekend in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area, going hiking with Aunt Jackie on Saturday afternoon and dinner with her and Uncle Steve on Saturday night. Sunday, Jen surprised me with a hot air balloon ride through the entire valley. It was pretty cool (and it was pretty "cool" too, especially that early in the morning and only having a 3/4 sleeve shirt!) and definitely something I'd want to do again. Funniest moment had to be when the balloon pilot ever-so-silently lowered us to maybe 20 feet about the roof lines, and we passed one house where a guy was sitting outside stark naked. He didn't see us until we were (literally) right on top of him, causing a mad scramble for the sliding glass door. It was a fun weekend, but Jen eventually had to go back to FL and I had to actually work out there in Phoenix. I was also able to connect with some old CMU friends out there, was great to see Haley, EJ, Howie, Shannon & Mike, etc...

After a brief 48 hour layover in FL after Phoenix (and a Doreen and Fred engagement party), it was back on the road, this time to Dallas. Got to see the new stadium, it's ridiculously big in person, like some spaceship in the middle of nowhere. I'll have to get back there for a fall weekend one of these days. A few weeks at home, then back on the road for a two week stretch in LA. Jen came out for the weekend in between, and we did another fun weekend on West Coast time. Friday we did some work then had some good seafood and drinks along the PCH, eventually ending up at Duke's in Malibu Beach for Friday happy hour. From there it was back to Redondo Beach and dinner with a couple of Jen's friends. Saturday was more of the same... got to see my CMU buddies as Avi and Dirty Ray made the trip up from San Diego, and Goldi and Seema took us out in Newport Beach and gave us a little tour of the Orange County area. LAter that night, we met up with some of the West Coast Eustace boys - it was Pat Hogan's birthday and Carmen came down for the night. (I was able to hit the birthday celebrations of two of the four Hogans this year, 2010 we're going for at least a trifecta)

Our best trip, though, was the first weekend in April, when we went up to NJ to see our newborn nephew!! Tyler Jason Sharpe was born on April 2nd, and we got there a day later and got to see him on Saturday and Sunday. Tracey had a loooong delivery, and wasn't able to do much but rest, so Jason got a trial by fire introduction to parenting 101 (he passed with flying colors!). More on just how cute Tyler is in a bit, the first weekend was all about seeing the little bundle of joy wrapped up in his Ewok-like outfit. It was great to be there for Tyler's first days (almost made the ensuing trip to Houston for work bearable) and we couldn't wait to see him again.

Easter weekend, I flew into Orlando and met Jen there for a day and night with Stacie and Matt. I had my first experience with Muay Thai, a killer 2-hour workout that hit muscles I forgot existed. Unfortunately it's been the only Muay Thai (or pretty much any other) workout I've done. I can see 2010 resolutions forming already... From Orlando - and after a quick pitstop to see Mom Mom and Pop Pop for lunch, AND meet with someone who was going to buy Jen's Land Rover - we went to Tampa on Saturday to stay with Matt and Kelly, and Lyn, Luke and Grandpa all came over. We had a great dinner and an even better brunch Easter Sunday. The Land Rover got left in Indian Rocks Beach for the buyer, so a rental car got us as far as Naples, where Taryn and Mark were staying with the Cucinotta's. We had a great night catching up with them, and crashed there to get up early for the drive across Alligator Alley to work. We also got to "Trash the Dress" on the beach in Dania in April.

At this point you're probably thinking "well that has to be the last they traveled all year". Of course, you'd be wrong... After a full week "off" (as in, in FL working in the office) it was back out for a quick trip to Atlanta. I try and see someone I know in each location I went to, so while in ATL I got to go to dinner on consecutive nights with my co-worker Kim and our friend Jim from FSU. Luckily, this was a quick trip, since once I got home, I had to pack yet again...

... for a quick weekend anniversary cruise out of Fort Lauderdale!! There's a lot of cruise lines that do the Fri-Mon cruise, where you leave port Friday around 5pm and wake up Monday morning right back where you started. They are great for quick weekend trips, and Jen's family has been taking them for years - but always out of Miami. I found a "deal" for one out of Fort Lauderdale, and we had a great time, but it was a deal for a reason. The ship wasn't nearly as big or nice, and since it had been a passenger ferry somewhere in Europe in its previous life, you could definitely feel it rocking waaaaay more than a normal cruise ship. It was nice to leave out of Port Everglades though since it's so close, we even passed Grandpa's condo on the way out and could see all the special things from our wedding weekend one year ago, like St. Sebastian and Pier 66. The cruise was fun, we had a day in Nassau to wander around - and take a looooong hike from the port all the way to Atlantis and back, stopping for lunch on the water.

The fun continues into May. The weekend after the cruise, it was time to go camping in the Florida Keys. Jen and I headed down to Long Key State Park, between Islamorada and Marathon, Friday night for two nights, and were joined the next day by Mom and Dad. It was a nice, relaxing weekend in the Keys, scuba diving (Jen's first foray back underwater in nearly a year, since Tahiti), grilling out, and just spending some time unwinding in Monroe County. The timing worked out perfectly, on our way up Sunday, we grabbed a couple dozen stone crabs and a cooler full of drinks, and headed to a Jim Morris show at a golf course in Miami. It was a little more "laid back" than most Morris shows we're used to, but after Jen told Jim it was my 34th birthday, not only did he do Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother (containing the line "he's 34 and drinkin' in a Honky Tonk", a favorite of Mom's and mine) but he played, and explained the start of the Morris Sangria Wine tradition back in 2003 in Delaware. (not the same day, but yea that's me at the 1:50 mark from 2006 MOTM) It was a great afternoon, Jen's co-workers came so we had a nice little group having way more fun than anyone else there. Like usual, I suppose.

After a trip to Chicago (and a couple of fun nights, one with Mark and another with Steve and AW; God I have too much of a good time in that city) May was somewhat tame until Memorial Day. Our buddy Scott is getting married on Sunset Key, across from Mallory Square in Key West, in February 2010. Like a good friend, I "volunteered" to assist on a wedding prep mission with him to Cayo Hueso. The recurring theme of "had a great weekend" was appropriate here too. Scott, Keith, and I got just about all the wedding planning done by Saturday afternoon, leaving too much idle time for us to have fun. Got to watch a couple of Phils-Yankees games at the Rum Barrel (and witness a Mets fan get stuck with a $900 credit card roulette bill, serves him right), checking out Emily's Toybox at Sloppy's, hanging with Sam and Zach, and generally keeping ourselves on the outskirts of trouble without ever getting fully into it. Meanwhile, Jen was busy in Fort Lauderdale, heading out on the boat and hanging with the FSU girls. After Memorial Day, things wound down a bit for a month, lots of work on the house (new casement windows, bamboo floor in the Florida room, garage, etc...) and a bit of golf, first with Hogan & Steve and their buddies, then with the PSU Alumni.

Our big summer adventure was a road trip from FL to NJ. A $1/day rental car got us started on Thursday in style, heading up to Orlando to see Matt and Stacie. Friday we got some time in the partial rain at MGM, eventually meeting up with the Montgomerys/Lamons for a few hours before getting on the road to Tybee Island, GA, and the Williams family!! We got to spend a great weekend in Tybee with Carolyn and Gay and the kids, and also with Amanda and Connor. Tybee, a small island at the mouth of the Savannah River with a view of Hilton Head, SC, is such a fun little place to go, and the Williams have a great house withing walking distance to the beach. Jen and I had a great time and definitely see plenty of Tybee trips in our future!

Unfortunately our time in Tybee had to end, but we headed north and made landfall in Richmond on Monday night and got to spend some time with Josh and Po. They're renovating an ooooold house in Richmond, so we were right at home with the construction. It was nice to see them, since we hadn't seen them other than our wedding and their wedding in the last couple of years. The Rogish's were out of town, but that didn't stop us from swinging by and leaving WaWa stuff all over their house and some Go Phillies messages in soap on their SUV. (Unfortunately rain washed it away before Jackson & Co. could see my work of window art). After "our" shenanigans, it was further up 95 into VA. We got to Fairfax Co. and hopped on the Metro into DC and did a mini-walking tour of the Mall for a few hours, stopping to see the WWII monument. Both Jen's Grandpa and my Pop Pop served in the war, so it was really neat to see the monument. We eventually headed back to Herdon, VA and Christine's place, for a little midweek get-together BBQ. Luckily CHab is as social as we are, and always up for mixing different groups of people, so we had CMU friends (with kids, too - quite different from our Hoboken days!), CHab's work friends, our DC Parrothead friends (and second Connor toddler of the trip), and... Seamus, a man who defies conventional categorization. :) It was a fun night catching up with everyone, and Jen and I appreciated the folks making the effort to come to us while we were passing through town. And, of course, all the time CHab put into getting the food, hosting, etc... thanks Christine!!

The fun wasn't yet done, though. Since we were passing *right* past Camden Yards and the O's were playing a day game, we decided that would be our final stop before NJ. Steve and Drew met us there with Seamus, and my three cousins drove down from Jersey for the game. Jen and I walked around the Inner Harbor for a bit - still a great place - and then met everyone at Sliders before heading in. Afterwards, we "let the traffic die down a bit" at Sliders again (Drew was the entertainment) before finally embarking on the final leg of our journey. So, Wednesday evening, after six days, 1,000+ miles, five stops, four different beds, and many great times with several dozen family and friends along the way, we crossed the bridged to the Jersey side. We got to see Tyler and the rest of the family (and Kinja) for dinner at Jay & Tracey's and crashed in Cherry Hill that night. Thursday, Dad took Jen on a Philly tour of hoagie shops for our own little Best of Philly Hoagie contest, while I spent some good QT with my Godfather, Bob and Trev on the golf course before heading down the Shore for the rest of the weekend and our final stop, 28 Poynte Drive. It was a typical Poynte weekend, with lots of hoagies, lots of family Tiki Bar time, washers, Tyler, crazy neighbors and cousins in for the weekend, a failed boating trip, more Tyler, and finally, a sunset on a fantastic 11 day trip up the East Coast. It was an adventure, and we had so much fun with everyone who was gracious enough to open their homes and/or contribute to the many great memories we made on our adventure.

Luckily, we were a bit better about updating the blog in the 2nd half of the year, things died down somewhat (at least on the travel front) the latter half of the year. Since I am getting tired of typing, here's a somewhat briefer version of the rest of the summer and the fall - some of the links go to blog entries:

* WE'RE PREGNANT!! Baby Pictures!!!
* Jen's night at the W and telling all of her friends
* Tyler's Baptism and telling the family we've got one on the way
* The first annual Sharpe Summer Splash... Taken inspiration from the BaratBashes that Avi has hosted for years, we started this out as a small BBQ and ended up with a blow-up water slide that was live video streamed on ustream.com. Plenty of stories out of that one too (including Jay feeding Tyler at midnight watching our beer pong games in FL)
* Trevor and Shannon get engaged!!! Trev had a big surprise birthday party for her at their house, it was a ton of fun. He made a "highlight" video and at the end, popped the question.
* O.A.R. in Pompano Beach with Caniz, Lehman, and Rick visiting from Philly. Another looooooooong weekend. Also, Jen's first concert pregnant, which we ran into her Ob-Gyn in the parking lot after the show (he was feeling as good as the rest of us, except Jen). Oddly interesting. Jen and I also got to hit a Springsteen show in Sunrise with Sam and Zach. BBBBRRRUUUUCEEEEE!
* Tommy and Heather Franklin get married in Philly, leaving only one more chance for the Franklin/Sharpe kids to have a blowout wedding party like the other four. Always fun those Franklin and Sharpe events.
* A couple of Dolphins and Phillies games at LandShark Stadium, including halftime on the field for Parrothead night for the Dolphins. The halftime show was lame (no Jimmy) but we got run around on the field like kids for about 10 minutes. Their grass kinda sucks, we played on better at Cherokee.
* Fred's bachelor party in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. What a ridiculously fun time. From finding some dirt bar off the beaten path in the back streets of the French Quarter, to (poorly) riding a mechanical bull, to the thousands of Gators fans that descended on the Crescent City, to an unbelievable tailgate and game day experience, this weekend had it all. If you're a college football fan and you've never seen a game in Baton Rouge, go - especially when it's two top-1o teams. Just a great, great trip. And when the bachelor has to make a run to the emergency room on Sunday morning, you know it was a proper send off (luckily it was only for scratching his eye on a tree branch and cleared up a few days later).
* Jen and the gals in the Dominic Republic for Doreen's bachelorette party. Quite a good time was had by the ladies, including Cheryl and her wheelchair and crutches.
* An absurdly long, fun, draining weekend in Philly to close out the Spectrum with Pearl Jam. Caniz and I hit the last two Spectrum shows there, tailgating in the same spot two days in a row, got to catch a Flyers game Saturday morning, and then got Phillies-Yankees Game 4 standing room only tickets. There was about a dozen "what a great weekend" moments, and had the Feliz HR turned the tide we might have very well crowned that weekend the best ever (we still may), but it was still one of the best we've had. Go search for the highlights on YouTube, including PJ covering Divo on Halloween in full Divo get-up. Got to see Lehman, both Schultz brothers and Jay, Uncle Jerry and Bob, and oh yea got a couple of Flyers HOF'ers to tailgate with us (OK, OK, so they were there to see Brett and Chad, it was still pretty cool). This weekend should have been it's own blog post, I could probably write about it for another 10 paragraphs and not cover everything.
* MOTM 2009 - we were going with Mom and Dad, then they had to cancel last minute so we did too, then Saturday morning we decided what the heck, let's take a trip down. Had to talk our way into Tom and Estelle's passes (since we didn't register) and got out to the Saturday Beach Show just in time to bring in the Sangria Wine. Also got some decent Rum Barrel time - especially for the Cowboys W over the Iggles - and had a fun day on Sunday with Joe, Candy, Krissy, and the rest of the gang at Captain Tony's. Plus, Dale Aiken finally paid off a two year old bet and wore a Lindros jersey all day. We stayed at the Rum Barrel for the first half of the Cowboys game, then got the rest of the Morris No Plane on Sunday party that night. Always a good time down there on Duval (even though we really didn't hit Duval at all...)
* Took a Grandpa Bahamas cruise to Nassau and Coco Cay (Royal Caribbean's island) - it was originally supposed to be a big family cruise, but due to various constraints it ended up being Jen and I, the brothers Facarazzo, Mike's buddy Spencer, Cheryl, Gary, and Gary's daughters, and Grandpa. A motley crew, to say the least! After a very tame first night (all that work - and fun - travel finally caught up to me), we hit the private island on Saturday and then Nassau and Atlantis on Sunday. We tried to get into the pool area of Atlantis (without paying the $80 pp), but Jen, Cheryl, Gary and the kids got snagged... and the Jersey boy walked in unscathed. Unfortunately I couldn't find a way to get the rest of them back in, so after taking in the sights (it's pretty damn cool out there) we all met up and walked back to the ship. A third full evening of stuffing ourselves at dinner and winning some money at single-handed blackjack and the fun was over.
* Lyn and Luke get married!! Doreen and Fred get married!!!
* Thanksgiving in NJ - and our last trip home for awhile. Thanksgiving morning, the annual Turkey Bowl beatdown of the Gee's with some timely TDs and INTs and post-game ball busting. Thanksgiving night was plenty of turkey (and some duck), even those who weren't quite ready for big-people food yet. Friday was for sleeping in and making Turkey Soup, but first, Dad, Jen and I went and picked up some of my great-grandfather's stuff - his original passport from Ireland, his immigration papers, etc... It was REALLY great to see the original Thomas Sharpe's journey from County Cavan (in the native tongue, Contae an Chabháin) to America. Kinda made our "journey" up 95 a little less epic. Friday night, we picked up Martin in Philly, then had a bunch of people over Mom and Dad's - the Franklins, the Holmes and Ninja, Jen's friends Gerry and Paul and their adorable little guy Dexter, and, thanks to Pat Franklin, some duck heads. It was a great night with family and friends. Saturday we relaxed and shopped and after quite a few missteps in getting going, Jen and I got to give our Christmas presents to our family - tickets to see Jersey Boys on Broadway!! We got a big limo bus up there (eventually) and even though traffic caused us to miss the first third of the show, it was still a great, great night. Jen and I had seen the national tour down in Fort Lauderdale, know my entire family would love it. Despite the slight travel challenges we had, it turned out to be a great night. It was something we had planned for a long time - knowing 2010 will be a life-changing year that won't allow us to make as many trips to NJ, we wanted to do something special for the Sharpe family. Like many other evenings in 2009, it left us all saying "Oh what a night!"