We celebrated our 6 month anniversary, March 24th, on a short cruise aboard the Spirit of Washington, DC.  We celebrated a day earlier because that Sunday I was leaving to Tallahassee, Florida for the Sixth Education and Science forum at Florida A & M University.  I presented my research on the Economic Value of Air Quality Forecasting in the Washington, DC/Baltimore metro region.  I'll write more about this when I get more pictures :-)

Our cruise  was 2 hours and that day it was rainy but it cleared up towards the end of the cruise. We sailed on the Potomac River and saw the tidal basin and the Washington, DC Titanic Memorial, among other landmarks along the route. We saw other ships too. The food was really good and the staff was really friendly. We were on the Cherry Blossom Festival Gospel Lunch Cruise and the music was relaxing. There were two live performances. One was by a band called The Tribe and the other was by Kendall King. We enjoyed both performers. I got up to dance two times. I danced to the Electric Slide. It got so repetitive though and to the Cupid Shuffle. I must say my dancing was mediocre. I had on shoes with a slight heel and the floor was slippery, so my turns weren't as sharp. Plus we were moving on water.

We were on the top deck, seated by a window towards the front of the ship. Our table had a nice balloon that said "Happy Anniversary." There were so many people celebrating a birthday on that cruise and I overheard the waiter say his birthday was on January 9th. Of course I had to tell him mine was the same and we were like "Capricorns!"  We really had a great time and we are looking forward to going on another one in the near feature. For Rex's first time on a cruise he really enjoyed it. We'd also like to go on a big cruise for like a week, though who really has time for that? We purchased the photos taken before we got on and they came out good. Rex looks so handsome. We also included the souvenir glass champagne glasses.  They looked really nice. I'm so happy we could celebrate our wonderful relationship with an amazing cruise on the Potomac.  Love is truly timeless.

Yesterday we spent some of the day in Ocean City, Maryland. I'm on Spring Break this week and Rex had off from work. We left Wednesday night and it only took about 2 hours to get there. Thank you GPS! It was my first time in Ocean City and Rex's second time. We had a great time. There weren't that many people there, which was nice. Many of the attractions were gearing up for the summer. It was relaxing to walk along the beach and on the boardwalk.  It was a bit chilly in the morning but it warmed up by the afternoon.

We stopped by The Dough Roller for breakfast and the food was great.  We're planning to go back this summer we some of our friends and possibly stay for a day or too. We headed back from Ocean City around 12 and stopped at the Casino at Ocean Downs along the way. It was Rex's first time in a casino. We're still waiting for that jackpot, it was nice to play though. Rex did pretty good on one machine, but we just wound up contributing to the casino fund. It took us about 2 and half hours to get back. Here are couple of pictures from our trip.

I was on Capitol Hill in DC yesterday, helping to lobby for a program called TRiO which helped get me to where I am today. Recently the program has undergone loss of funding and support for students has been significantly reduced. Some programs may even been shut down for good.  I met up with one of the directors of the Ronald E. McNair Program at Kean University. She has come to Capitol Hill in the past, showing her support for the TRiO program and helping to show its importance.  There where also many other members of the TRiO programs all over the United States. We met with legislative coordinators and members of congressmen from both political parties. I voiced my story about how McNair helped me acquire research skills and helped me get into the Ph.D program at Howard. I also voiced about how beneficial the TRiO program is on giving students an opportunity.

We also took notice to the earlier blossoming of the Cherry Blossoms. It was nice to see the Cherry Blossoms and get away from the ugly head of politics.

For more information on TRiO check here.
For more information about Ronald E. McNair for which the McNair program was created after click here.

Below are a few pictures of the Cherry Blossoms.

 “Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rex has started the process for getting his US citizenship.  He's finally eligible and he's studying for the test.  I know he'll make it. We're both so happy :-) Yay baby!