We are so full of Glee!

The rest of today was quite eventful. After spending our morning looking over Manhattan and rubbing elbows with celebrities, we decided to embark on another "mission": to find the best pizza in Manhattan. We researched the topic "best pizza in Manhattan" and came up with 3 options: Hell's Kitchen Pizza, Lombardi's, and John's. Ben (Chelsea's cousin) suggested John's when we went to dinner, so we decided to try it. It was amazing pizza. A little pricey (then again what in Manhattan isn't) but well worth it. We got half tomato slices and basil and half pepperoni with a Sam Adams and a Magic Hat #9 brew.

After John's we decided to catch another Broadway show. I was originally interested in "Avenue Q". Think Sesame Street for adults that has been well received by critics and won a Tony Award. However, we also heard "Next to Normal" was phenomenal and that the music was great. We went to TKTS, a discount ticket office, and got 5th row tickets for half the price!!

"Next to Normal" was phenomenal. The music was great. Whoever composed it really knew how to use music to tug your heart strings. In fact, this show won best score and a pulitzer, only the 4th musical to do so ever. It was hopeful, funny, dramatic, insane, and sad. It did not disappoint and little did we know that there was an added bonus which my dear Chelsea will tell you about.

So, here goes. I am a celebrity nut, you all know that. People.com is practically my favorite website (along with mrs-o.org). We had just gotten seated at the show, and it was about to start. I look to my right. I see a guy in a red t-shirt and my eyes got reeaallll big. "Edwin", I said in an urgent voice. "That's Jesse from GLEE!!!!!" "No it's not, calm down", Edwin said. But I was insistent, and we (I) proceeded to stalker watch him during the first half of the show. I was rehearsing what I would say to him (I even looked up his real name on my phone so I wouldn't have to say "Are you that Jesse guy from Glee?") as I enjoyed the fabulous show. After the show, we got our chance. Well, I had convinced myself I didn't need to meet him, I could pass on this chance, and move along like a civilized adult. Thank GOD Edwin stepped in. He insisted that we meet him, so we did. We were all moving along the aisle together and Edwin said HEY. He didn't respond. Then Edwin asked if we could bother him for a picture. First we had to take some 13 year old very nervous girl's picture (who am I to judge). He was very nice and took a picture with me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then we went on our way like civilized people. Until we got to the door that is, when I said OH MY GOSH SHOW ME THE PICTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What. A. Day.

This is Today on NBC!!

Hey friends, it's been a busy two days. We'll start with yesterday and then end with this morning's experience at the Today show. The way we've been seeing the cities we're in is by setting ourselves on "missions". Yesterday's mission was Ellis Island. Ellis Island is close to lower Manhattan which is also close to (drum roll) Wall St. I've been reading a lot about Wall St. and how some of the people who work there have done some pretty bad things to our economy. So Chel and I set out to see what all the fuss was about. The buildings were beautiful and the area was very swanky. A part of us expected to see bankers frantically walking up and down the street trying to find a way to get our tax dollars back from the mess they created, but instead we saw young people in business suits walking to steak houses for lunch, couples on lunch breaks shopping at Tiffany's and an array of high end clothiers that makes 5th avenue look like Target (I exaggerate). We did find a cool Empanadas place with great food. Empanadas are like meat pies that you can hold in your hand.

After lunch we walked to Battery Park to buy our tickets... and then stood in line for 1 hour to get on a ferry to Ellis Island. The wait didn't seem very long, we kept each other entertained and didn't mind the weather. Ellis Island was great. It was a bit surreal to stand where millions once stood trying to find a better life for themselves and their families. After the museum we ventured back to Midtown and ate in Korea town. Lilian wanted to take us there to try Korean food. It was good for us to get out of our comfort zone (although Edwin went pretty safe by ordering fried rice).

After Korea town we headed to Grand Central Station and found a cupcake place with delicious cupcakes that had 25% of your daily caloric intake, mmmmmm. We don't feel too guilty about indulging since we walk so much during the day.

Last night we were very excited about the Today show and could not sleep. We got up at 5:45 am and started a new day. (Change narrators) I was SO excited about going to the Today show this morning, although Edwin- having never seen the glorious program- was less than excited (see photo).

I was the opposite. I think I was kind of annoyingly hyper... it being 6 am and all. WELL folks. Most of our readership tuned in and already knows we appeared on national tv. For the rest of you, Andrea took a picture of the TV with us on it!!! (For non-Barnes', my Gma B used to do this. Don't knock it til you try it.)

These are the people we saw this morning: TOM BROKAW. Matt Lauer, Meredith Viera, Natalie Morales, Al Roker and Kristen Stewart (she's from the movie Twilight... we didn't care about seeing her but other people seem to feel differently). I SHOOK AL's HAND! Matt smiled at Edwin. He had nice pants. Edwin now likes the Today Show (but probably won't get up that early again this summer).

And guess what??? WE MET MEREDITH VIERA!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is SOOO nice. She told Edwin that he looks like her nephew Bobby and said to him, "What a handsome guy you are." THAT'S RIGHT MER, I PICKED A GOOD ONE!!!!!!! I wanted to ask her to have lunch with us, but Edwin thought that would cross the "crazed fan" line. (This coming from the guy who kept waving his hat and calling "MATT LAUER" trying to get a meet and greet.) AHHH what a fabulous day.

We were on such a high from meeting Meredith that we dished out $21.00 apiece to go up Rockefeller Center. It was worth it- I think the views there are better than from the Empire State Building (you have a gorgeous view of Central Park).

We are off to have New York's best pizza at John's on W 44th. We'll be back soon with more adventures (hopefully with more famous people stories).

Broadway!!!

So Sunday was quite the day. As we mentioned, we watched some World Cup soccer, toured Central Park, did some shopping on 5th Avenue (we went to the GAP; they had a sale). What we didn't tell you was the adventure we embarked on Sunday evening. For months, Chelsea has been trying to convince me that musicals are cool. I once went to a ballet and was both confused and sleepy by the end of it, so for some reason I was a little ambivalent towards a performing arts event that lasted 3 hours. However, it was something Chelsea really wanted to do, so we decided to compromise. We both heard of a very hip, new broadway show called "In the Heights". According to its website, it had drama and great music. I was sold, so on Sunday evening we had a date on Broadway. We weren't terribly hungry but figured 3 hours in a theater might lead to hungry bellies. So we put our foodie instincts aside and decided to get something New York is famous for: street food. We should've kept our foodie instincts!!!

So here we are at the corner of 46th and Times Square, at "just another hot dog stand". However, this wasn't just another hot dog stand. Our vendor agreed to sell us two hot dogs, AS HE WAS FIXING THE BURNER (strike 1). He finally got it going and dumped in a batch of new hot dogs in what we assumed was lukewarm water (strike 2). After 4 minutes, he said they were ready and handed us our hot dogs. Chelsea took a bite and it was still a little cold. We gave them back to him AND HE TOOK CHELSEA'S BITTEN HOT DOG AND PLACED IT BACK IN THE HOT DOG COOKER, KETCHUP AND ALL (STRIKE 3). We were alarmed, but hungry and short on time (not to mentioned we'd already paid for them). After 2 minutes trying to find the nearest hospital in case we got food poisoning our hot dogs were ready. We ate them and prayed our stomachs would handle it. Maybe it was our strong immunities we built up teaching kids... or maybe it was the great music we heard at "In the Heights", in the end we did not get sick and really had a good time watching the show.

If you get a chance, please check out the music for "In the Heights". Corbin Blue didn't perform at our show (he was the headliner) but it was still good. If you come to New York or if the show comes to your town GO SEE IT!! The music is incredible, ranging from hip hop to salsa and other caribbean forms of music, and coupled with a great story line. Check it out here at www.intheheightsmusical.com.

We ended our night at a nice little Italian restaurant in Hell's Kitchen. It was quiet, a little empty, and pretty romantic with awesome ravioli and penne pomodoro. A great way to end a great night.

THE TODAY SHOW TOMORROW!!! DON'T FORGET TO LOOK FOR US. EDWIN WILL BE WEARING AN ORANGE POLO AND CHELSEA WILL BE NEXT TO HIM. LILIAN SAYS HELLO! PICTURES OF HER APARTMENT WILL COME SOON.

Live from New York it's Chelsea and Edwin!!!

Central Park

We made it to New York City! But first, we have to report on our "catering" event. It was a success!! With the help of Erin and her fabulous roommates, we put on a great meal. For the chicken, we bought rotisserie chickens. Edwin shredded them, and then simmered them in SALSA before we ate (he used a jar of medium salsa and a jar of Chipotle salsa. The smoky and sweet went together pretty well). The result was fabulous!!! People said they were the best chicken tacos they had ever eaten. Wow. Not a bad rookie run! (We'll disregard the fact that it was a bunch of recent college grads who probably haven't had a good meal in months.)

On Saturday we took the Greyhound to NYC. I don't have the words to describe this trip. Every hope we had for Greyhound was promptly shattered. But, we were reminded that we only paid $20 and you get what you pay for. So true, so true. We did make it safely and Lilian was there to greet us when we got off the bus! Her apartment is in Hell's Kitchen, which turns out to be a wonderful location. It's surrounded by a lot of great little restaurants, of which we've eaten at three. We are within walking distance from Times Square, Central Park, and Rockefeller Plaza. Thank you Lilian!!!!!!!!! The first restaurant we went to was an Irish Pub. Nothing too special about it, but they did have really good waffle fries. To celebrate our first night in NYC, we watched 3 episodes of Modern Family online and went to bed at 10. Sometimes I think we are 23 going on 64.

On Sunday the 3 of us did a lot of sightseeing. But before doing so, we watched the Germany vs. England game. We went to a cool little bar that has been decorated for the World Cup. Lilian, Edwin and I had brunch there while we cheered on the Germans (they have an amazing team despite their star player being injured). The final score was 4-1 Germany. Then, while waiting for the other game to begin (Edwin and Lilian really like soccer) we went to Central Park, 5th Avenue, NBC studios, FAO Schwartz, and the underground Apple store! We also happened to run into a promotional truck giving away FREE Ben and Jerry's!! Lucky us!! Central Park was beautiful (the Shakespeare statue looks like he's checking his cell phone... maybe he was texting a sonnet to someone??!!) 5th avenue was cool and also made us think, what do the people shopping at Harry Winston do for a living??? I'm sure it's not teaching kids in the Valley since a necklace is worth more than Edwin's house. NBC studios was great, Chelsea got to meet Matt from the Today show...Matt's cardboard cutout that is! We ended our adventure at this neat little Dominica/Puerto Rican restaurant that had the Argentina vs. Mexico game (Argentina won) while we enjoyed some margaritas and Negro Modelo's and some Tostones (pronounced toe-stone-ehs) They were baked plantain chips that reminded Chelsea of Ecuador. Stay tuned for our post on the Broadway show we watched last night, "In the Heights" about young people and a family living and trying to make it in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York.

This is the top of the Apple store. The actual store is underground.

Playing Heart & Soul on the big piano at FAO Schwartz. It was impressive!

I'm REALLY excited to see Matt tomorrow.

Thursday in Maryland + Virginia

2 posts in one day!!! We hope you can handle this much excitement :) Yesterday we were quite the travel bugs. In the morning we took the Metro to College Park, MD where the University of Maryland is located. I am interested in their College Student Personnel grad program (CSP would prepare me for a job running a career center, study abroad office, academic advising, etc. ie away from small children). The campus is 9 miles from DC, and feels like you're out of the city. It is, however, a huge campus. Also a very hilly one.

After walking around, we met with a current CSP student. She really likes the program and there are only 10 students in her year. She is in class 10 hrs/week and has a assistantship for about 20 hrs/week. The assistantship (which is like a job/internship) pays for tuition, and everyone can find one. Interesting facts about the U of MD: 1. Their mascot is a turtle. Their motto is "Fear the turtle." Are you kidding me? 2. Jim Henson went to school there (creator of the Muppets). 3. Us News & World Report ranked the CSP program #1 in the country!

Our Maryland visit took us most of the day. Last night, we took the Metro to Fairfax, VA to see Ben and Marissa. Ben picked us up and took us to their apartment, which is very nice. When Marissa got back from work we went to dinner at The Counter. It was a cool burger place where you picked everything from the meat to the sauce and bun on a slip of paper. After dinner we went for a walk around the area to see their church. Then we tried Ice Berry, which seems to be an East Coast thing. It's frozen yogurt, and people are really into it. Anyways, we we had a lovely evening with Ben and Marissa.

Today is our last day in D.C. And guess what. We are contestants in TFA Top Chef!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AKA We are catering Erin's dinner for new corps members. This is our biggest gig yet. We have 100$, 25 mouths to feed, and ALL DAY. I wish we could say we are going to the spy museum, but we are exhausted. Edwin might watch a soccer game, I don't know if we'll have enough time. The menu for tonight is pulled chicken tacos. We might even whip up some bean burritos from a past post.

Thank you for experiencing DC with us- Next stop: NEW YORK CITY!!!!!!

DC > Texas & Teaching

We're back with more adventures to share with you! Let's pick up where we left off- Wednesday. Edwin and I have officially mastered the Metro system, and can get anywhere in the city with (relative) ease. Wednesday we set off to find Jack's Boat House, which is under a bridge in Georgetown, an area NOT accessible by Metro. Do not fear, after asking directions only once we found it. BUT I need to back up to lunch. We discovered Chop't, a "creative salad company" that I am slightly obsessed with. Erin says the same. It's a build your own salad place, assembly line style. One guy puts all the ingredients in a bowl, and the next guy chops it up, adds dressing, and then tosses the whole mix together. It may sound simple, but it was great. The ingredients are all fresh, local, organic, and delicious. The Omnivore's Dilemma's dream. Sadly, you can only find this place in DC or NYC.

On to kayaking. We have done quite a bit of walking, and Wednesday we walked the most I would say. However, we did have a nice 2 hour break on the Potomac River. Jack's Boathouse (as Chelsea mentioned) is in Georgetown, a beautiful and very expensive place to live. We really had no expectations of this place, but when we found it we were very impressed. It had really cool decor, friendly service, and considering that we were in D.C. (and in Georgetown) it was reasonably priced.

We were off on our kayaks, taking in the sights of D.C. from the river. We could see the Watergate Hotel, the Washington Monument, and the Kennedy Center. Sidenote: Wednesday was also the day that the General McChrystal was let go by President Obama. We had no idea of this until later on in the day, BUT it did explain why we saw 2 helicopters with "United States of America" printed on its side. We believe (total speculation) that the General and President Obama were on those helicopters. Back to kayaking: it was a great time and we got a good workout. After Jack's Boathouse, Chelsea and I were craving some desert, so we set off in Georgetown to find some ice cream. Georgetown itself is very beautiful to walk through. It is also VERY far away from a metro stop, so we walked a lot. Fortunately we found a Farmer's Market close to our metro stop and were back at 4 pm.

That evening we went to a great restaurant in D.C. It's called Matchbox D.C. and it is known for it's pizza. We had some really good eats at Matchbox D.C. We ended our dinner with a nice walk back to Erin's through the monuments. We packed a lot in to this day and were dead tired by the end, but I believe it was the best day so far. We had a lot of fun with each other and really enjoyed the fact that WE ARE IN D.C.!!!

DC = Deliciously Cool

Here we are, back for a reprise!! Edwin and I have had a busy couple days. The super cool surprise from Sunday was.... (drumroll please) WE MET THE OBAMAS! haahahahha Just Kidding. Did I get you?? No, really- we went on a great afternoon lunch cruise on the Potomac River. It was really neat. We could see some of the monuments from the water, it was a gorgeous day, and there was a chocolate fountain! We had a good time watching the water, listening to the live band and eating the great buffet.

Yesterday we had quite the day. We started at the Capitol building, where we took a tour and saw the last steps Pres. Obama went down before getting inaugurated! Next we went to the Supreme Court building, which was really cool. We listened to a funny man give a talk about the building and function of the court... He also told us that there is a full size basketball court directly about the courtroom!! He says once a day there is a pick up game between the Law Clerks and the Supreme Ct. Police. Best joke? "People always ask if the Justices ever play in the games. No, because they are always sitting on the bench!"

Last night we watched the Bachelorette, of course. Edwin watched too (because he lost a bet with me about when the bus would come), and LOVED it. He's the show's biggest fan. He especially loves Kasey and is thinking about getting a similar tattoo. (Edwin: because I will always guard and protect your heart.)

Today we had another great day. This morning we went to the Washington Monument, The White House (no Michelle/Barack sightings, much to our dismay), and The Holocaust Museum. I HIGHLY recommend this! Very, very powerful. We heard a survivor speak, and it was incredibly moving. I cried. A lot. The woman grew up in Czechoslovakia, was moved to a ghetto with her family, then to Auschwitz where her entire family was immediately gassed except for her and her sister. She was in Auschwitz for awhile before being chosen for slave labor, and after another period of time she was transferred to another concentration camp. At one point she said she just wanted to die, but her sister told her to hang on because they had to tell the world was what happening. Needless to say, she survived and is telling her story. It was very emotional. Here's the link to her bio: http://www.ushmm.org/remembrance/survivoraffairs/meet/detail.php?content=goldkind

What's to come: Tomorrow we are hoping to rent kayaks for a few hours to putz around the Potomac River. On Thursday we are going to College Park, MD to check out the University of Maryland. Thursday night we are taking the Metro to Marissa and Ben's neck of the woods! Should be fun! Stay tuned!

East Coast Extravaganza Begins!

Hey faithful readers,

WE MADE IT TO D.C.!! We have officially begun our east coast trip and as promised are working very hard to not procrastinate 3 weeks to make a post. Erin and her dad picked us up at the airport yesterday and gave us a very good tour of D.C. We saw the major landmarks as well as the Georgetown campus and The George Washington University. Our first meal in D.C. was at the Good Stuff Eatery (indeed they did have good stuff). It is a restaurant owned by a contestant on Bravo’s reality TV show “Top Chef”. We had delicious burgers and fries. Their menu boasts food made with really good stuff such as farm raised beef, chicken, and turkey as well as organic local produce. Chel and I both could not resist the Smokehouse burger. It had bacon, bbq sauce and Vidalia onion rings. Also, their Michelle Melt and Prez Obama burger are worth checking out. Here is a picture of us outside of the restaurant.

Today Erin, Edwin and I rented a car from a friendly gentleman at Hertz. He gave us a 2010 Toyota Camry with a GPS contraption (gratis). We drove to Virginia to go wine tasting and had a four star day (out of four). We went to 2 wineries, the first being far superior to the second. Bluemont Vineyard is at 951 ft above sea level, giving it incredible views of the vineyards and surrounding wooded hills. It was also named one of the best places to have a wedding by The Knot (In fact, our wino lady is getting married there. Today was also her first day there… coincidence??? Who knows but she will probably get a sweet deal). Beauteous. The wine was delish and we shared a bottle, baguette and cheese & fruit plate out on the patio to soak it all in. It was great.

The second winery was crap. Not really, but it didn’t live up to the first. We didn’t like the wine very much, and our wino lady wasn’t up to snuff. I won’t name names. Good interior decorating, but they really need to lay off the buttery tastes in their wines… just saying!

After the wineries, we went to Harper’s Ferry, WV. Side note: We drove through 3 states today (Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia). Harper’s Ferry is an adorable little historic town. All we did was get ice cream. But a nice man at the Swiss Miss ice cream shop told us there was a lovely museum (we were guaranteed 20 minutes of amusement) about John Brown (aka “The white guy who freed all the slaves”… in WV). We took his word for it and went on our way.

Tonight we will paint the town red. Stay tuned, rumor has it something really cool is going to happen tomorrow. Also, Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers reading our blog (a.k.a. Greg, Manuel, and Adam…CJ???) we’re very lucky to have you as fathers/readers/friends.

SCHOOOOOOL'S OUT FOR THE SUMMER!!

Sorry for not updating in a very long time. The end of the year was very hectic, filled with end of year testing, pizza parties, and ice cream sundaes. We are both VERY happy to be done with our first year teaching (whoooo!) and will not miss the classroom the next 2 months. Our end of year party at work was great, we really got to know our principal and co-workers, not to mention we performed a duet during the karaoke portion of the party. We sounded just like Johnny and June did when they performed "Jackson" together.

We also celebrated being together for one year!! (Note from Chelsea: Edwin is an AMAZING boyfriend and is the coolest dude ever... Plus he's pretty darn handsome. I'm a lucky gal!) We went to our favorite restaurant in McAllen- House.Wine. It's a wine bar/furniture store with amazing risotto, flatbreads, and some really good french fries. We had a cheese plate to begin with, a good bottle of riesling, and Chel went with the primavera risotto and I had a flatbread with Spinach, asiago cream sauce, and shaved parmesan. DELICIOUS!!! (sorry guys we didn't take any pictures)

We then embarked on operation "GET THE HELL OUT OF THE VALLEY" at 0900 hours on Monday, June 7th, 2010. Our first stop would be Houston to spend time with my family. Chelsea had bought an audiobook "Babyproof" by Emily Griffin which we listened to. I was a bit hesitant about it (since it was introduced to me as chick-lit) but deep inside every guy enjoys a little chick lit... I think. Anyways, it was a good book and if it's not on your summer reading list, you should add it. Monday night my family, Chelsea and I had a nice little dinner with fajitas and some traditional Salvadoran food (I really dropped the ball on taking pictures of this... sorry guys!)

On Tuesday we took on the long drive from Texas to Missouri. We listened to The Alchemist (another great book) as we passed through the bare state of Oklahoma (no offense to fellow Oklahoman's, but the OK state is just OK...) We spent the night in Springfield, Missouri where I read my book and Chelsea caught up on the Bachelorette. Her favorite is Roberto. On Wednesday we left the Show-Me state (which is very beautiful) and were on our way to America's Dairyland, a.k.a. Wisconsin, home of Chelsea Barnes. Illinois was a pretty boring state to drive through, but after 5 hours we were in Wisconsin where we stopped at the Red Robin and had some Honey Weiss (Honey Weiss is a scarce commodity in the Valley). We spent 2 days in Madison with Adam, Andrea, and Mr. Brady (thanks once again guys for letting us stay). I had my first boating experience and Chelsea got to water ski! Brady was scheduled to be the co-captain but had to take a raincheck because he got a little sleepy.

On Friday we went to Eau Claire and stopped at Culver's (best cheese curds ever!) on our way. For dinner, Chel, Tim, and I had kebobs with awesome Chipotle Lime marinade (good choice Chel) and veggies. Saturday we went to the Mall of America and did some shopping as well as jaw dropping (THERE'S AN AMUSEMENT PARK INSIDE THE MALL!!!!). My flight left at 4:45 pm and I got home at around 9 p.m. But wait, there's more!

On Friday, June 18, 2010 Chelsea and I will begin our East coast trip. We will begin in D.C., make our way to New York City and end our trip in Boston. We are SUPER PUMPED!!! We are also looking for suggestions of great places to eat and fun things to do. If you have any recommendations for us, LEAVE US A COMMENT! We will be in DC for 8 days, NY for 5 days and Boston for 5 days. Chelsea is planning on getting a sweet new phone with internet this week, so we hope to update you often! WOOP WOOP for summer!!