East Lyme Girls Tennis at New London

So this is one of those times I was finally inspired to take some photos at a tennis match. Sort of a get-to-know my team type thing, as well as just a good morale boost. We won, although I don't particularly remember the score... So anyway, here's my team...

So this is two of our Varsity Teams, on the left is Sam Hart, a captain, as you may recall. On the right is Sagune Sakya and Caroline Costa, although you can hardly tell.

One description of the Girls Tennis team you will never hear is photoshy. That we are not. We Love taking the funniest photos we can think of, and they tend to show up at the end of year banquet, followed quickly by a couple of groans about "Oh my gosh, you caught us doing that?"

So this is one of those ridiculous photo ops we decided to take, I'm second from the right. On the far left is Rachel Sullivan, the next three are freshman singles players, and then Sagune Sakya, me, and Liz Miller. I can already hear the groans at the banquet...



What you want to know about us and what you need to know about us are never one and the same, of that i can be sure. For instance, we love cheese pizza. Not neccesary knowledge, unless you happen to be bringing us pizza. (thanks, Mom.) Anyway, we're all really tight. Rachel, Shivani, and Puja posed for me in the top left, we call ourselves "Advanced" JV, a story that kinda has a bit of a back story...

So this is our coach, Laurie. We all love her. She's so sweet and supportive. No one Doesn't like her. We have another coach, Maryann, but good luck getting her in front of the camera. Coach Laurie's daughter played with us last year. She doesn't play this year, but we got to keep her mom!

Whats the point of this photo? Does a photo need a point? This is Kirsten Whitlach and Rebecca Willems, two "Advanced" JV players. There wasn't a whole lot of New London JV players, so we sorta played against each other and ourselves.

So that's East Lyme at New London, keep coming back for more updates on our awesome tennis season!

Martian

East Lyme Girls' Tennis

So, you may or may not know this about me, but I play Girls' Tennis, and I'm totally in love with the sport. I'm not good at it, but I do enjoy it. Our Season is in full swing now, so, i thought i'd do something for them.

This is two of our Three captains, the third (not pictured) Is Liz Miller. On the Left is Sam Hart, and the Right is Sagune Sakya, seniors. With her head down is Caroline Costa, a junior.

So This is some of us relaxing. That's really primarily what our games...excuse me, MATCHES, come down to. Pictured on the right going counterclockwise, is Rachel Sullivan (with her back to the camera), Puja Patel, Rebecca Willems-Clement, behind her is Shivani Dandekhar, (sorry if i spelled her name wrong) Kristen Whitlatch, and, in all white with the Awesome Tan, is Sam Hart. Excluding Sam, the rest of us call ourselves "AJV" or Advanced Junior Varsity. In The photo on the left are some of the sophomores, and Emitt, a Girls' Tennis fan. Tara, Lourdes, and, in the back, Kiki Vymola, are the only faces able to be made out, also known as just regular JV.

This is what a typical tennis match looks like for doubles. Sagune and Caroline play doubles together, and they're a great pair

Really, all our players are amazing, and I'm lucky to play with such a great group of people. As for me, well, my overall record is 3-1, not that i'm bragging. I would hate to get cocky not even halfway through the season. Wish us Luck!

Martian

Vaughn College Visit-New York City!

So, as a Junior in High School, College Shopping is on everyone's list of priorities right now. Me? I'm looking at Embry-Riddle, with a few of my Space Camp Friends, Daniel Webster, a small college in Nashua, and Vaughn College in New York City. I love New York City. *secret obsession confession* so here are a few pictures from my trip there! Plus, Vaughn's setup reminded me of camp so much....i miss it there. The dorms are so similiar to the Habs at camp (Habitats, or dorms, in Space Camp Speak)

The New York Times Office. Can you believe it? I imagine some of my friends would be SO jealous! I want to have a book as famous as this newspaper is! I want to have my book be read all over the world. Passing the NY times office, i was awestruck into silence. And for me, that's really saying something. For me, and many aspiring writers,  making this paper's best-seller lsit is a dream come true. So look out for me in this newspaper in the future!!

OK, I'll be honest. No idea what this globe is. But i saw it from my car as my mom weas driving through Brooklyn going down memory lane. It struck me as, for lack of a better term, "pretty". So I figured taking a photo of it wasn't unprecedented. It is awfully nice.

So I'll admit it, I love skyline photos; Mostly, because you just can't mess them up! The Skyline of Brooklyn really epitimizes Manhattan, to me. (top, right). It looks like a floating city.... (titanic musical, anyone?) The photo taken from the bridge, (Left) shows the freedom tower, the Chrysler building and the Empire State Building. (which, for some reason, my mom kept calling the entertainment building....oy.) To me, this is one of my best skyline shots. Another photo taken from the bridge jsut seemed to capture the city from a distance. (above, left) I just felt so awed by the view. I really do love the city.

This is the whitestone bridge. I love studying bridges. I may never be an architect, or an engineer, but i will be a NASA computer technician in Mission Control, so i can appreciate amazing building skills. I mean, the shuttle IS a building, in itself. So I had to take a photo of the bridge from a distance. It was actually quite gorgeous in person.

So that's my visit to New York City. From my visit to Vaughn, I could see myself going there. It was like going back to space camp. But will I end up attending? Well, that remains to be seen. So I hope so, but i don't know yet. Wish me luck!

Martian

Arlington National Cemetery

My Sister and I went to Arlington National Cemetery. It was actually Beautiful, if not moving. There's a great view. We got lost, but we enjoyed our visit. and i DID get us out. Just saying.

This is the Gravesite of John F. Kennedy. He's my hero. He started the NASA program, or, more accurately, the Apollo Program. You know him, even if you don't recognize the name. "I believe, the nation should commit itself, before the decade is out, to landing a man on the moon, and returning him, safely to the earth." Sound familiar? On the right is the Eternal Flame. We walked up to the site and wow, was it quiet. But it was a beautiful, calm, respectful quiet. Not awkward at all. A must-see on a visit to the Nation's Capitol

                                                                                                                     Every one has heard the story of the passengers that kept US Airlines 93 from being the 4th plane to crash in DC-either The Capitol or the White House, true heroes. This is a group memorial to them. It is truly moving, and in a beautiful parcel of land. 

There is also a tribute to the Columbia and Challenger, ah, incidents. I, being a true NASA nerd, made a point to go see these. They were not only beautiful, but popular. They are right near Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and this old ampitheater. This was also about the place my sister and i realized we were about to get very, very lost. But we weren't totally lost yet

What a spectacular view, right? I mean, the tombstones make it a sad, somber view, but the layout is awe-inspiring. By now, my sister and I were quite lost.

This is another view shot...You can see the Washington Monument. My sister and i were nearer to finding our way out, but still lost, hot, and tired. So we stopped to take a picture. It was a lovely day, overall.

So to answer your question, yes, we DID get out. Although, we got to indulge in some amazing beauty in Arlington. By the end, it was a relief to get out, i have to admit.

Martian

Steven Udvar-Hazy Space Center

Welcome to the Steven Udvar-Hazy Center..an extension of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. I fell into geek heaven while i was here. The Shuttle, Enterprise, was there. It never flew, but it was used for landing and other research before flight. It was a test vehicle

There were old planes like this on display in a huge hangar of planes dating back from pre-WWI all the way up to the new space age vehicles.

The Space Shuttle Enterprise was on display and i even got my picture taken in front of it! I can't believe, still, that i saw a real NASA Space Test Vehicle. Oh, my gosh, it was HUGE, and intimidating. I stood underneath it, and felt so incredibly small! But it was amazing, it really was. I spent most of the day in the Space Hangar. Like that's a surprise?

This is a model of the Discovery, also known as NASA's return to flight vehicle. Discovery flew after both the Challenger, and Columbia disasters, hence why it's known as the "return to Flight" vehicle. It will actually arive at Udvar-Hazy on Tuesday. Unfortunately, i couldn't stay to see it's arrival. But Maybe i will get to see it next time i go. I can't believe the shuttle program is over. But i won't get political here.

This is a gemini Capsule. It was used to test EVA procedures, to make sure that astronauts could do what they needed to on the moon. But, first, we had to trest the procedures in Orbit. Hence, The Gemini Program. What a program it was. If you want to find the most interesting part of NASA's early Space Program, research Gemini. That's a story for you.

This is the Enola Gay- You remember, it dropped the bomb "Little Boy" on Hiroshima. I learned that another bomber the "Bocks Car" dropped "fat man" on Nagasaki, and Enola Gay was only there as reconaissance.

So thanks for taking the tour with me! Indulge a Martian her obsession, yes? :) Hope you get inspired to go there next!

Martian

Washington DC

Ok so for my april break, i went to my favorite place on earth. Also known to some as Our nation's capitol, Washington DC is my part-time home. I can navigate the metro like any DC native, and can give directions like a pro.
While i was there, I thought the less fortunate, those who didn't get to go every month or so, would enjoy a little whirlwind photography tour of some of my favorite places. This year was also the 100th anniversary Cherry Blossom Festival, so if that comes up, forgive me, it jsut makes DC even more magical

So, on the drive down, we passed Sikorsky Aircraft, a favorite of mine, since it was the first tinme anyone convinced me to sleep OUTSIDE, on the GROUND in a TENT. but the helicopters were pretty cool. I guess the place is nostalgic for me.

So the first place that we ate on the first night, as mandated by tradition, was at the Hard Rock Cafe, i admit it, its another bit of nostalgia. I collect charms form the Hard Rocks i've been to...

So this is me and my sister in front of the Washington Monument. A great place called the National Mall. In a few months, this place will be filled with Girl Scouts singing a long for the 100th Anniversary Sing along. Yes, my sister and myself will be there!! Me and my sister had a pretty great time kicking around the streets. On the right, is the Monument, but it was taken from the WWII memorial, so the fountain is in front of it. Nice shot, yes?

What's a visit to our Nation's Capitol without a dose of ol' Honest Abe thrown in? With his imposing stature and large columnned pillars in front he's quite the man, I've always said. Super-Secret: Underneath is an old museum. Pretty ghostly right? And there's a book store there too. Pretty neat stuff, if you've got money to burn. There are about twenty steps in front, but it looks-and feels-like a lot more. 

This is the WWII memorial, a beautiful place marking the halfway point between the Washington Monument, and the Abe Lincoln Memorial, which is way in the distance, behind the reflecting pool. If you plan on walking there, bring sneakers. The length of the reflecting pool is not a walk for the faint of heart.

This is 1600 Pennysylvania Avenue. I've been inside, but not on this particular trip. And there were no photos allowed when i went, anyway. But my sister and I, on our little photo-trip, did stop to take a few shots of the most famous house in America. We were actually looking for the Titanic Exhibit. It was pretty hot that day actually, if i recall, and me and my sister walked over 10 blocks. In DC, or any city, that's a lot. 

Believe it or not, this little thing is the national christmas tree. There's a little plaque in front of it that says so.  If you're a doubter, believe me, you're not the only one. But its true, and its right across the street from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The most famous address in the US. I have gone on tour there, but not this time 'round.

This little Building is, what i consider, another hidden gem in Our Nation's Capitol. The Jefferson Memorial isn't easy to get to, but has high cathedral-like cielings, and is architecturally similiar to Abe Lincoln's memorial. A beautiful sight and a tourist must-see, especially during cherry blossom season. I Didn't go this time, but i have been in the past, like any true DC tourist.

So what a beautiful place, right? It's one of those places you can't die without going to at least once. I've been almost seven times, So i can cross DC off my bucket list! A definite must-go for at least one vacation, even if you can't visit everything in that one trip.

Martian