Third Decades A Charm

Well my long awaited, eagerly
anticipated, 30th birthday has come and gone. I have to admit that I wasn't dreading turning the big 3-0 like some women do. I think age is merely a state of mind. If you are happy & healthy then I believe the slowly climbing number doesn't effect you as much as it would another person. I have to admit, I'm pretty happy where my life is right now. Sure, there are still a ton of things I want to do and accomplish, however I don't view my life as 1/3 over, rather 2/3 left to go!

Ok, so back to the birthday weekend! Or should I call it the Dave Matthews, Amazing Race, Scavenger Hunt Extravaganza! Let me recap. Steve told me absolutely NOTHING about this weekend. No clues, no hints, no packing advice, NOTHING! In fact, he fed me so many lies about what we could be doing that I ended up packing a suitcase that would allow me to survive on a desert island eating only coconuts and talking to my new best friend, Wilson the volleyball for about two months. But I digress, I seriously had clothes for anything and everything that came our way. When we first got in the car there was an envelope with my name on it taped to the dash that I Steve said had allll the answers, but I couldn't open it until we got there!!

SIX hours later (I deserve an award for outstanding patience)

Here's Steve hiding the GPS from me so I can't see where we are headed.

We ended up in Hersey, PA where Steve said I could open the envelope. Dave Matthews Band tickets! Yea! For those who don't know, Dave Matthews is my all time favorite band. This concert was the 10th time I have seen him live, but the first time I have ever seen him in PA.

Here we are after the show. All sweaty and gross...but happy!

After the concert we crashed at our hotel only to wake up bright and early to hit the road again. The second half of our trip we drove to Rockville, MD. Right to the door step of our cousins' house. Steve convinced me it was just Sharyn, Joel and Jordan at the house, however when the door opened 10 smiling faces yelled out surprise!!! A bunch of my cousins made the drive from New York and PA to be with me for my birthday. We quickly sat down to some off the hootspa Jewish Soul Food!

Once we finished eating Sharyn broke us up into 2 teams. She gave both teams an envelope that had $40 cash in it, a map of DC and a huge scavenger hunt.

We had 3 hours to complete a huge list of items that took us from the Lincoln Memorial, to the Spy Museum, to the Veteran's Wall, Ben's Chili Bowl and so many other places. We had to document everything we did with either a picture or video. The scavenger hunt would end when we got to the POV restaurant and bar on top of the W Hotel overlooking downtown DC. Team A (my team) was made up of Joel, Karen, Rabbi Andy, Yours Truly and Jordan. Team B was made up of Steve, Jill, Karla and Scott. Our team was called JoJo Belles Posse, named after our sweet Jordan and Team B named themselves the Shoulda Schweigers. Why, because my sweet husband loves making fun of the fact that I am never satisfied with ANY decision I make in life and he has affectionately (I at least hope) nicknamed me this whenever I say, "Oh I should have ordered the ____", or "I should have gotten this dress in _____". You get the idea.

Anyway, the scavenger hunt was a blast and we had so much fun running around DC. here are some photo highlights of the trip.

Wearing an "I Heart DC" Shirt

Roosevelt's "Dog"

Striking the Charlie's Angel pose with total strangers in front of the Spy Museam









Scott with Apollo 11








Just your average pyramid on the lawn in front of the Capital with complete strangers on their backs!


Get tourists to do the peace sign in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

Sippin margaritas at Austin Grille

Team B

Team A

The Happy Birthday Song...from strangers!

And again in Chinese

Team A Done! At the POV on top of the W Hotel

Reunited! We can now be a couple again. No more smack talking. (Even though Team A had way better smack talk)

The mastermind behind the scavenger hunt.

We were all exhausted afterwards

Such a fun-filled weekend! Thanks to all my cousins and husband who made this weekend possible. I love you all so much for making me feel so special on my birthday!!!