Christmas Gifts and Childhood Memories

We received a most excellent gift for Christmas from my mom and dad this year. In our family it's tough to find presents for each other. We're dispersed around the country and don't see each other as much as we'd like.

This year Dad got us a coffee table book. This particular book is titled "Our Yellowstone" by Mark and Diana Treglown. It is a really beautiful pictorial of Yellowstone National Park. What makes it really special is that Diana Treglown is my sister. She has seen a lot of Yellowstone including parts that most tourists don't get to visit. She spent several years as a winter caretaker in West Yellowstone. That's about as close to the American wilderness as anyone can get these days.

It also brings back memories of my visits to Yellowstone as a kid growing up in Montana. Most years it seemed we went "back East" to the Chicago area to visit relatives. Sometimes we'd get visitors coming our way. I remember my Uncle Jerry and Aunt Rose bringing their family along with us to Yellowstone one year. I was only about 7 or 8 at the time; a long time ago. I remember seeing the geysers and a lot of wildlife. I especially remember a black bear coming through the campground and licking clean a cast iron skillet we had by the campfire.

Thanks Mom, thanks Dad, for the special gift.

Back in the Swing

We missed out on dancing for a couple of weeks. First, I was out of town and then I was under the weather. I got back home and am feeling better so we are getting back to our usual haunts. We went to the O Club last Wednesday and to the Studio One Christmas Party on Friday night. We also had a Christmas Ball at the Elk's Lodge on Saturday and went to the Rec Center to practice on Sunday. Some people go to the gym for exercise; we go dancing.

Support Your Local Dance Studio

We went to the practice session a the Dale City Rec Center on Sunday afternoon. We hadn't been able to go as much as we like lately. The Redskins' games keep getting in the way. The game Sunday was in Seattle so we recorded it and watched it later. We won; Go 'Skins!

We had heard that there is a new manager at the Rec Center who is looking hard at attendance to see what programs can be cut. We went Sunday not only because we need the practice, but also hoping they don't cut the practice session. It is good to have somewhere to practice that is larger than our living room. Latin and Swing steps are fine, but there isn't enough room for moving dances.

On Monday night we had our regular lesson with Richard. We didn't learn any new steps; we just reviewed a couple that we have been working on. Richard generally puts on a couple of songs that we warm up with. Then he asks if we have any questions about the steps we are learning. We have a new step called the Cha-Cha Circles that's a real challenge. First of all, it's an 8 measure step. Doris says that I have trouble with anything that counts past 4. It also needs an assertive lead from the gentleman. I'm still trying to get my footwork down, so I am having trouble with the lead. I can't figure out what to do with my hands until after my feet know the step.

The other dance we worked on is the Samba. We're still on the first half of the Bronze syllabus with the Samba. We went over the Promanade Conversa and the Reverse Conversa. We're still trying to get the basic movements down. Samba has a lot of Latin motion. I'm not sure I'll ever get it right. Or, if I get it right, I'll probably throw my back out. Anyway the lessons with Richard are always a lot of fun and he's patient with us.

Night Club 2 Step

Tonight we finished a 5 week class on the Night Club 2 Step. This class was taught by Cookie at the Center for the Arts in the old Candy Factory in Manassas. The 2 Step is a good dance for those ballads and slow songs where a Foxtrot just doesn't fit. We got to see Janet and Jeff who were also taking this class.

There was an interesting photo exhibit in the foyer of the theater/dance hall. It is titled "Reality Imagined" by Laurie Sand. It is a photographic exhibit inspired by tanqueros who dance milongas at Freedom Plaza in DC. These images are captured in low light situations using hand held camera techniques and digital processing. We especially found these photos intriguing as we love Argentine Tango and have danced at Freedom Plaza. These pictures are a wonderful collection that really capture the movement and beauty of Tango.

Halloween Weekend

We started the weekend on Friday night, joining our friends at Studio One for a Halloween party. I dusted off my 1970's leisure suite and Doris had a new "cat suit" for the occasion. I think the addition of the wig really set off the leisure suit.

On Saturday, we went to another Halloween Dance at the Elk's Lodge. There are a great group of folks at the lodge, many of whom can really shake a leg. Dinner was at 7:00 and dancing started at 8:30. The band was named Napoli and played very well.

Sunday, we went up to Heritage Hunt to meet friends at the clubhouse for a practice session from 4:00 to 6:00. There were just 4 couples on the floor so there was plenty of room.

Monday, we took off from work to watch the Redskins lose to the Steelers. They should have a rule that they have to win at every home game. It's a lot more fun that way. This was our first night game. It started at 8:30 and we got home about 1:45 this morning.

I took the day off from work today to go vote. According to the Washington Post, Obama is going to win. In 16 of the last 17 presidential elections, the incumbent party kept the White House when the Redskins won their final home game before the election. Hail to the Redskins!

Sock Hop

We have been taking lessons on the Night Club 2 Step from Cookie at the Candy Factory for the last couple of weeks. The Candy Factory has a variety of group classes and Cookie is one of their regular instructors. She is currently having an 8 week session on beginning Swing and Night Club 2 Step. Last night we attended a Sock Hop from 8 to 10 PM at the Candy Factory that was set up so students could practice their new steps.

The Candy Factory has a real nice dance floor with plenty of room to shake a leg. They had a snack stand in the back that was serving finger foods and ice cream sundaes. There was good attendance at this dance but still space to dance. We saw some old friends including Janet and Jeff. Elvis took time off from his job at the 7-Eleven in Vegas to make an appearance. Our friend Stella was showing him some of her steps.

We got to practice the Night Club 2 Step and picked up the steps for The Stroll. There was a dance contest where Kathy and Randy picked up First Prize. There was also a contest for the best costume where I picked up top honors. Many thanks to Henry for the loan of his hat. I think that was what made the difference. Kathy and Randy did a short exposition on Swing. They really enjoy dancing and it shows.

Ouch, That One Hurt

We had a good time dancing over the weekend. Friday we went to the practice dance party at Studio One. There was a pretty good crowd, but there were more ladies in attendance than gentlemen. On nights like that I make sure I dance with my regular partner each kind of dance at least once. I also try to dance with each lady during the evening. I've gone alone to dances before and know that it is a lot more fun if everyone gets to dance. That's one of the good things about Studio One. The regulars all seem to realize this and try to make sure that dancers who come as a single get to dance too.

Saturday, we went to hear Helmut Licht at the Elks Lodge. Helmut's band always puts on a good performance and we really enjoy their music. The Elk's were having an Oktoberfest Dance so we got to practice our Polka along with the regular Ballroom Dances. We sat with a group we know from the O Club, had a nice dinner and a lot of dancing.

What hurt was the Redskins game yesterday. The only precision on the field was provided by the Marine Corps Silent Drill Team at half time. The Redskins have a bad habit of coming back from winning against a tough team only to lose against a lesser ranked team. I hope that Coach Zorn can turn them around. There was that one incredible play that had everyone in the stands looking at each other saying "What the heck just happened?". I didn't figure it out until I read the paper this morning. The Redskins Quarterback tried to pass; the ball was batted out of the air by the Rams; a Redskins Guard caught it and tried to run with it; he got tackled and fumbled it; the Rams picked the ball up and ran 75 yards for a touchdown. All I knew at the time was the ball was snapped, something happened around the line of scrimmage; and the Rams were running it into the endzone right below us.

Another Week of Dancing

We started on Monday with our lesson at Studio One. We spent most of the hour reviewing a figure called Spot Turn with Under Arm Turn in Waltz. It's one that we thought we had but parts of it kept escaping. As we go through the syllabus, the steps get more complicated and take more floorspace to execute. Besides that, I have a mind like a steel sieve. We could tell that something was going wrong because after doing this figure we'd be off the beat. Richard quickly diagnosed the problem and we worked on correcting it. Then we spent a little time on a Rhumba step that Richard introduced us to recently; the Open Cross Over. This one is eight measures long and uses advanced timing. We've seen advanced timing in Rhumba before. However, on this figure the advanced timing doesn't start until measure 4.

Tuesday, Doris joined the Elks Lodge. I had never realized that Elks were party animals. We have a whole new calendar of dances to attend.

Wednesday, we have a standing date at the Officer's Club on Ft Belvoir. We always reserve a table for 4 in case someone we know can make it. This week we dined and danced with Joy and Tony. It was one of those times when you look at your watch at the end of the evening and wonder where the time went.

Thursday, we practiced in our living room. A couple of years ago we got rid of the furniture and had the floor refinished so we could have room to dance. The room is much more functional now. We use it a lot more as a dance studio than we ever did as a living room.

Last night we went to the Dance Party at Studio One. Most of the regulars were there. We had more ladies than gentlemen but we swap around so that everyone gets to dance. Dancing with other partners really helps me improve my leads. I can cheat with Doris because she can read my mind.

We may go down to Strictly Ballroom tonight. They have a 70's Disco Party and a group lesson on the Hustle. I haven't worn my leisure suit in a while. It's hard to dance in those platform shoes.

We are torn about what to do on Sunday. We can either watch the Redskins beat Dallas on TV or tape the game and go to the practice at the Dale City Recreation Center.

Another Win

We got to see the Redskins win against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. The Redskins pulled out a win even though we were robbed of a touchdown because of a penalty for "unnecessary roughness". I thought that unnecessary roughness was the whole point of football.

Going to the game is an all day affair. We drive up to the Springfield Metro station to catch the Blue Line. We stay on the same train through the Virginia suburbs, across DC and into Maryland. The Metro ride last about an hour and twenty minutes. Then we hike up to FEDEX Field and across the parking lot to the Extreme Skins tailgate party. Total trip time is about 2 hours. It's worth it to see the Redskins win. The tailgate party is a lot of fun too. There is usually a good crowd even at the pre-season games.

Chief Zee usually shows up at the tailgate party. He's a big time fan and we've seen him at the games several times. We were glad to hear that his tomahawk was returned.

Weekend Dancing

We started our weekend dancing at Studio One. I can't think of a better way to make a clean break between the work week and the weekend than going dancing. Studio One has a practice dance every Friday night from 9:00 to 11:00. There was a pretty good crowd this week. This was the Friday we celebrated birthdays for September. Studio One is a good place for singles to dance. Richard encourages swapping partners (on the dance floor). This way the gentleman gets to practice his leading skills with dancers other than his regular partner. The other benefit is that when someone attends without a partner, they still get in some dancing.

Last night we attended a Ball for the Elks' Auxiliary at the Elks Arlington-Fairfax lodge. We had recently been invited to join the lodge and this was our first social function there. There were cocktails at 6:00 followed by dinner at 7:00. After a short program the dancing started around 8:00. We danced to the music of the Joe Shelko band. We have heard them before and they play very well. We saw a lot of familiar faces at the dance from both the Officer's Club at Ft. Belvoir and the Regal Dinner and Dance Club. We had to leave at 11:00 so we could get up early for the Redskins game today.

First Regular Season Game

We had a good time on Sunday, even if we didn't go dancing. We went to the Redskin's first regular season game. It really is a lot more fun when your team actually wins. We got to watch the winning touchdown come into the end zone right below our seats, too. So, the Skins beat the Saints 29 to 24, pulling it out during the last quarter.

Part of the fun in going to the game is the tailgate party. We take the Metro to the game, so we can't take much in the way of refreshments. However, the walk to the stadium helps work up an appetite. This game the big attraction was a hot dog eating contest. The picture shows the action, fast and furious. The winner got 12 dogs down in the time limit. He did pretty good, he even kept them down.

Unsolicited Advice

I don't like getting unsolicited advice, so I have a rule that I never give any. However, since rules are made to be broken, here is some unsolicited advice to anyone considering taking ballroom dance lessons.

The first piece of advice is to figure out why you want to learn to dance. Is someone you care about getting married and you want to do more than the "high school shuffle" at the happy event? Are you looking for a hobby that helps you stay fit and is a lot more fun than calisthenics? We just wanted to be credible when we went somewhere there was dancing. We started dance lessons because my wife had always been interested in learning ballroom dance but the opportunity never really presented itself. She tried to find a studio to take lessons when she was a kid, but there just weren't any ballroom studios in Boise, Idaho during the 70's. She was looking through the catalog from the County Recreation Center a few years ago and saw that they offered ballroom dance lessons on a night we weren't doing anything anyway and they were relatively inexpensive. She wanted to go and I couldn't think of a real good argument for not going, so she signed us up. These were group classes that were held once a week at the local recreation center.

My second piece of advice is to look around for the studio and instructor that fits you. We started with group classes to learn the basics, but after a while we felt that we needed more individual attention to get to the level of proficiency that we wanted. We wanted to add to dance steps we had already learned so we found a studio that did both group and private lessons. We would go to the group lessons to pick up new steps and work with our instructor to polish what we had learned. This did build up the number of dance steps we knew rather quickly. We left that studio because of traffic and rising gas prices. One night we were scheduled to go to a group class and traffic was so bad we arrived just in time for the class to be over. We went looking for a studio that was closer to home and easier to get to. We found the studio where we currently take lessons. Our instructor is very patient and has a lot of experience both with dancing and with instructing. This is something else we have found when we have taken lessons from different instructors. Just because someone knows how to dance, doesn't mean they know how to teach. Our instructor has seen all of the mistakes that we make many times before. He is adept at being able to explain what we are doing wrong. If he sees that we just aren't getting it, he tells us in another way. If you are looking around you will find dancers who try to teach and less often dancers who can teach. It is pretty rare to find a teacher who is an expert dancer and can break down the steps in a variety of ways depending on how the student learns.

The third piece of unsolicited advice is to practice. Early on we could tell the couples who took the lesson and didn't practice the whole week until the next class. They would take up time in the class going over the last lesson. If you're spending money and time taking lessons, don't waste it by not practicing. We take our lessons on Monday night. We generally practice on Tuesday, go out dancing on Wednesday, practice on Thursday, go out dancing on Friday and Saturday night, then go to a practice session at the Recreation Center on Sunday afternoon. OK, so we tend to go overboard. Some people go to the gym; we go dancing. It gets worse. So that we had enough room at home to practice we got rid of all the furniture in the living room, tore up the carpet and refinished the floor. When we started we used to practice on the deck, much to the amusement of the neighbors.

Take Abbey Road to Harris Pavilion

Last night we went to the last dance offered by the Harris Pavilion this year. We haven't been able to go to many of the dances offered this summer by the Harris Pavilion. We like going because they usually book some great bands and it's free. The band last night was Abbey Road. They play a lot of the Beatles' music and really put on a good show.

Abbey Road plays a good selection of songs that let us practice different dances. We got to dance the Rhumba, Cha-Cha, and of course Swing. There was a good turnout at the dance. We saw some people we knew from various dance venues, including Kathy and Randy.

The Lake that Wasn't There

We had a very busy day yesterday. Since it was almost all about dancing, it was all good. We had breakfast on the patio. This is the same area that the Houseman's had breakfast when Baby's father told them they were going home early. We had a great view of the front lawn and where the lake used to be. The weather has been very good this year. It was mostly sunny and warm during the day and cooled off nicely in the evening.

Later in the morning, we went on the tour of the grounds. I think that there were more people taking the tour this year than last. We went from the front of the hotel to the cabin where Baby's family stayed. Then we went to the gazebo where several scenes were shot. Who can forget the one where Baby told off her father. After that went back to the hotel to go through the dining room and out to the kitchen. Everyone had to get their picture taken in the same spot where Baby found Penny crying. At the rear of the hotel the chef told us some of his stories from when the movie was made. He had worked at Mountain Lake that year. He told us about the time he gave Patrick "Buddy" Swayze a ride down the mountain on his motorcycle one night.


After the tour we proceeded directly to the Activities Barn for the Dirty Dancing Trivia Contest. I am happy to report that we were at the winning table the second year in a row. The contest is a group effort. It is very similar to BINGO, but called DANCE. The emcee called out a number and a letter then give a question about the movie. We would write the answer in a block on the answer sheet. We had one row almost filled when they asked what song was playing when Baby and Johnny were dancing on the log. It had us all stumped for a while. Kathy and Randy came to our rescue when they remembered "Hey Baby" by Bruce Channel for the win.

After lunch we went with Sharon and Paul to see what was left of the lake. The tour guide earlier told us that the reason the lake had all but disappeared was that they haven't had any snow for the past 5-6 years. So the boat dock was high and dry. The sign with the Rules of the Water looked kind of out of place since there was no water.


Later in the afternoon we headed back to the Activities Barn for some group dance lessons. A group of instructors from the Sapphire Ballroom and Dance Center gave lessons on meringue, foxtrot, and mambo. It's always good to review the basics. I picked up a new step in the meringue and a pointer on technique in the mambo. And it is always fun to dance.

After dinner we were back in the Activities Barn for the show and more dancing. We got there early to get a good table. We managed to get our lucky table from the trivia game. The DJ was warming up so we took advantage of the empty floor to get warmed up ourselves. The show started at 8:30 with the group from the Sapphire dancing selections from the movie. Like the show last year it was choreographed and executed very well. At the conclusion of the show the DJ cranked it up again and we danced until they shut down at 11:00.

After such a busy, but enjoyable day we slept like logs. We went down fairly early for breakfast and met Kathy and Randy going into the dining room. So we had a nice breakfast together again on the patio.

We made good time driving home. We took the Interstate to Charlottesville then went up Route 29. The weather was pretty much perfect as it had been all weekend.

Good accommodations, good friends, and good dancing. We truly had "the time of our lives."

Dirty Dancing at Mountain Lake 2

We enjoyed our "Dirty Dancing" weekend at the Mountain Lake Hotel so much last year that we decided to do it again. We had spoken about our plans to some of our friends that also dance and we ended up a group of us here. With us this weekend are Kathy and Randy, Sharon and Paul, along with Joy and Tony. It's great to be able to share good times.

We left home fairly early and took the scenic route down Route 29. We made a stop at the Burnley Winery. We hadn't been there for several years, but always remember their Spicy Rivanna as one of our favorite wines. The weather was good although we did get a little rain along the way.

We checked into the hotel about 4:00. Everyone had arrived by dinner time. We were seated next to a picture window and were treated with a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains complete with a rainbow. There was a bird feeder on the lawn outside the window and several pretty yellow birds who must have had dinner reservations the same time as us.

The dancing began at 8:00 in the Activities Barn. The hotel had put in a new wooden floor since last year. There was a DJ who played all the favorites from the movie along with a good mix of other music. Everyone was having a such a good time that the DJ went over the allotted time so we danced until 11:00.

We slept real well last night.

Redskins Fever

I know this has little to do with dancing except the occasional touchdown dance in the end zone. But, we finally came up to the top of the list for Redskins season tickets. We have been on the list for 7 years. When we put our names on the list we were somewhere around number 122,000. As you can see in the photo above, we are in the "nosebleed" section near the top behind one of the goal posts. Our seats are way up there but we can see everything.

We went to our first game yesterday complete with a tailgate party beforehand. We've both signed up on the Redskins Fan site. Members of the site were invited to party in the parking lot. We drove up to Springfield to catch the Metro. We went from one end of the Blue Line to the other which took about an hour and 20 minutes. It is about a mile from the Morgan Boulevard Metro stop to FEDEX field. Then we wandered around the parking lot for a while before we found the section where the ExtremeSkins were having the party.

It was a good party and we were made welcome even though we were newcomers. There was a lot of food and plenty to drink.

Best of all we got to see the Redskins beat the Bills 17 to 14. The biggest HD television in the world can't match being in the stands to see the action.

Double Header

Friday night we did a double header. We went first to the Officer's Club on Ft Belvoir to enjoy their seafood buffet and music by Special Delivery. We were seated at a table close to the dance floor so we didn't have to go far when some good dancing music was played. After that we went to Studio One for the Friday night practice. There's always a good selection of dance music there. We were also treated to an exhibition of the samba routine that Laurie and Richard have put together for the showcase a Lioudmila's this weekend.

We slept well Friday night after dancing for the better part of 4 hours.

Adios Argentina

We are home safe and sound. It kind of feels like the day after Christmas when you wake up to an empty tree. All the anticipation is over. We got on the plane about 9:00 yesterday evening and got into Dulles about 7:00 this morning. A very long flight.

We spent the morning of our last day packing. We went out to lunch and decided to go back for one more pair of shoes. They already have our measurements so we only had to pick out the type of leather and color. They will be ready on the 10th of July and will be shipped to us. We met a nice couple from Boston who were in Buenos Aires on a 3 week shoe shopping holiday. They gave me a lead on another cobbler who made custom shoes.

I'm really glad that I kept up this blog as a remembrance of our first trip to Argentina. It only covers a portion of the things we did. We kept so busy that there wasn't time to cover more than the highlights. We really enjoyed staying at Lina's Tango Guesthouse. Lina made us feel at home. We've already decided that we'll be going back. We are looking forward to staying with Lina again.

New Shoes

We picked up our tango shoes yesterday. Doris had 4 pair made and I only had 2 pair. We tried them on and they fit well and looked great. After getting our shoes we got some lunch and went back downtown on the subway. There were some sites where we wanted to get more pictures. We came back to the hotel to say goodbye to Magda. She went back to Montreal yesterday.

We took the subway downtown to go to a tango practica or practice session later in the afternoon. This was our first experience with the subway during rush hour. Lots and lots of people use the subway here and they sure can pack them into the car. The real bad part was that we never did find the right address for the practica. When we got back Lina told us of another restaurant to try. We went to the Cafe San Juan and had the best meal of our stay. They do cook some good steaks here.

Another Tango Show

We had another Tai Chi lesson yesterday followed by tour last Tango lesson with Pablo. We really got a lot out of our lessons with Pablo working on the milonga style of Argentine Tango.

In the afternoon, we took the subway up to the Plaza San Martin and took a stroll along the Calle de Florida. We are happy to report that capitalism is alive and well in Argentina. There are many high end stores and, of course, 3 or 4 McDonalds.

Later in the evening we enjoyed another Tango show. This was the El Querandi restaurant that featured a tango show that goes through the development of tango from its beginnings in the brothels of La Boca to its modern form.