GO WEST YOUNG MAN

"Go west young man, haven't you been told
California's full of whiskey, women and gold
Sleeping out all night beneath the desert stars
With a dream in my eye and a prayer...
In my heart"

Ever since I met Angela, she has always raved about how great the state of her birth is. We are just weeks away from heading to California, and we are getting excited. Other than finding a place to live and learning to navigate a new city, we have much to do here first. However, I am just glad to finally get to do some real work. Among the best aspects of being in the military is the ability to move often, between jobs and cities if you so choose. Getting paid to move across the country is awesome! We are planning to visit several national parks, including the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert, Montezuma’s Castle, and steakhouse in Amarillo, TX. Yes, we are traveling through Texas again, but this time we are hitting up the pan-handle. We are excited about our route as I have rarely been out west and I have never ventured as far as California.

Virginia is for Wine Lovers

Wine is such an interesting industry; a unique combination of art and science, that either pleases or disgusts. The more I learn about wine, the more interested in it I become, and I really wish I hadn’t dropped that Wine class I was taking in college. James stayed in his Beer class, and he learned how to brew his own beer! I think I'll take a class in wine when I get a chance. Last year, we began the annual girls wine trip away in North Carolina’s Yadkin Valley, and we continued it this year in Charlottesville, Virginia! Charlottesville is the center of Virginia 's wine industry, so we thought it would be a great place to start. We had been planning this trip for weeks, and then when we went to get a hotel room, we realized it was UVA’s graduation weekend! What horrible planning! There was nothing available within an hour of Charlottesville, and the one hotel we did find about that far away was $300 a night! Thankfully, Grandpa and Grandma Gouger have a farmhouse in Louisa, which is only 30 minutes from Charlottesville, so not only did we get to enjoy a weekend of wine, but we also got to enjoy the farmhouse! And I absolutely love the farm! It is such an awesome treasure in our family, and I love being able to spend time there. The only problem was that the wineries were packed because of graduation, but we were still able to visit five. On the first day, we made it to three, and on the second day, we invite James to join us for the last two! We began at Jefferson's Winery (of course), and then headed to Oakencroft vineyard, until we ended up at Whitehall vineyards.

Precious Blooms!

Friendship and Flowers bring me such Joy!

Bountiful Seas

James and I have recently discovered the awesomeness of sushi. The funny thing is that our friends have eaten it for years, but our preconceived notions of eating the raw fish has kept us from trying and enjoying it. My freshman roommate Cathy ate sushi all the time, and I was always like…ew. Even at her bridal shower I only ate the cooked stuff! At Japanese steakhouses, we would completely skip over the sushi menu. But our food palates have expanded over the last few months as we have been trying more and more kinds of sushi. I will admit that I began with fried sushi (yes….fried), but then we went out with a friend who wouldn’t let me order it. And…he was right! Sushi is incredible. James would describe it as weird, but awesome, and he sometimes thinks it’s slimy. But, for the most part, we are enjoying the awesomeness of sushi!

MMMmmmm....strawberries

There is nothing quite as sweet as eating a freshly picked strawberry right off of the vine on a beautiful spring day in Pungo. Unless you are James who doesn’t eat them due to pesticides and too many agriculture classes in college. Though I am cognitively aware of the chemicals and bugs, I still enjoy the warm sweetness of the fresh fruit! This year, we celebrated Colin’s second birthday by going strawberry picking, though I think we enjoyed it a bit more than Colin did. Colin even had a tiny Longaberger basket to himself. It was the perfect toddler size and it was just too cute. As we were having our baskets weighed, a woman came up to James and whispered to him where the best picking spot was: “You just keep going on past the pickers, walk all the way towards the road, and then come back. That’s where we got all of these…” Apparently, no one ever taught her that it’s weird to go up to a stranger and whisper in their ear, and I think she picked all of the strawberries in her super secret area. We still got some awesome ones though! Colin picked about two, and then waived goodbye and ran back to the car, so we continued without mama and nephew for a while. I never really thought that people had strawberry picking styles, but Brent only picks big ones that are shaped like the perfect strawberry, while Abigail prefers small strawberries, and I prefer weird looking ones that are ripe. James just likes ripe ones. And Colin prefers that other people pick his strawberries! It was a beautiful day, and James and I picked a ton of strawberries to enjoy.

Hurray new toys!

Hidden Treasures

Amidst endless stoplights, backed up traffic, crowded neighborhoods, and the infinite number of strip malls in Virginia Beach lies a wonderful getaway called Back Bay. Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge renews my spirit and gives me hope that despite the chaotic mess of every day life, there is peace and joy just down the road. Soon, tourists will flock into town to cover the beaches and buy saltwater taffy, yet we still have an oasis away from them all nestled in Sand Bridge. If you haven’t been to Back Bay, I strongly encourage you to visit. It is a natural refuge along the Virginia, North Carolina border, covering over 9,000 acres of dunes, shoreline, and marsh. James and I often spent summers riding our bikes and walking along the beach there, but our lives get so busy, we often forget that this uplifting park is there for us. Every time I visit, I am reminded that I picked the wrong majors in college. I love animals… I love the wilderness… I love the sea… I just love God’s creation. Despite all of this, I majored in Communication and Political Science… hmmm. A little known fact: James and I both began college as Biology Majors. And our first semester Biology professors were both awful, providing enough encouragement for us to both drop out into something else. Our second semester Biology professor was incredible! His name was Dr. Simmons, and he only taught Biology to non majors, which is such a shame (and he only taught at 8:00 in the morning… hence the reason I began to drink coffee). Despite going into a field that has nothing to do with the outdoors, I still have the comfort of knowing I can enjoy God’s beauty nonetheless.

Row, Row, Row your Boat...

After wintering in the Ocean State, the Lady Kaye finally ventured down the coast and up the Thames to settle into its summer home at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT.

Semper Paratus

Because we have been so crazy recently, we haven’t had much of a chance to update the blog as much as we would have liked, but we are going to try to catch you up a bit! A few weeks ago, Jamie, Benjamin, and I flew up to visit Tony at the Coast Guard Academy. Little Benjamin was only 6 weeks old, and he was awarded an adorable certificate for his first flight! He was absolutely amazing, and he made it through 4 flights without fussing or crying. In fact, he slept through most of them, and when he was awake, he was all smiles. I think the smiles were all due to his airplane outfit he wore for his first flight. I absolutely love New England, but sadly, we weren’t able to make it to Rhode Island. A weekend just isn’t enough to fit everything in. We went to this awesome restaurant called Iggy’s that has some of the best clam chowder I’ve ever had in Connecticut. They also have these awesome clam cakes that are completely worth the drive! Tony was sailing most of the weekend, so we didn’t get to see him much, but we did get to see the boat and experience the freezing “spring weather” in New England. I think Benjamin prefers warm weather…he is from the Beach after all. Jamie got to see the campus for the first time, and we went to the infamous Mystic Pizza for dinner (though I still haven’t seen the movie.) The pizza is delicious though, and the walls are covered with pictures of Julia Roberts. Really…it’s amazing how good the pizza is, because you would think they would only focus on the movie aspect versus the food. On Saturday, we spent the day sleeping in and getting ready for the dance. Jamie looked absolutely amazing, and Benjamin and I got lots of bonding time! He was wonderful, and then he got a little bit sad when he realized his mommy wasn’t there anymore. But, overall, he was just precious, and I used the opportunity to take tons of pictures of him! Ben is adorable and we had an amazing time on our short trip to New England!

Esperanza Means Hope

Dear friends and family,

For the past three years, it has been on my heart to travel with a group called Project Esperanza to the Dominican Republic to serve a small school in the Dominican Republic. The past two summers came and went with too much going on for me to commit. But with everything that has been happening in our lives, I realized after April 16th that life is too important and short to wait, and I have too much to give to not serve. So this summer, I will be spending two weeks in the Dominican Republic to teach English in a school run by Project Esperanza and to build a home for a very deserving woman who has been nothing but faithful to her church, yet has been without a home for many years.

Project Esperanza is a nonprofit organization that was formed by students at Virginia Tech, and it has been strongly supported by our home church in Blacksburg, New Life Christian Fellowship. The vision of Project Esperanza is to unite through service the communities of the New River Valley in Virginia with the community of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. PE has projects happening throughout the year in both communities, and it has many amazing projects underway both here in the US and in the DR. I encourage you to visit our website, www.esperanzameanshope.org.

As many of you know, I am currently working on a Masters Degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), and I will begin to put those studies to use in the community of Munoz, an impoverished area outside of Puerto Plata. I will be teaching English and other skills in the local school, The United Brothers School of Munoz, which serves as the only school for all the children of the area. In addition to teaching, PE is teaming up with a church in Puerto Plata to build a home for a very deserving woman who serves the church but has been without a home for years.

I am asking for help in funding that will not only help fund my service, but will also help support the organization as a whole. My two weeks in the Dominican Republic will cost close to $900.00. PE is a non-profit organization, so all donations are tax-deductible. If you choose to contribute, please send a check made out to Project Esperanza to the following address. Be sure to write “Volunteer Trip: Angela Gouger” in the memo line.

Project Esperanza
413 Clay Street SW
Blacksburg, VA 24060

Thank you for your support! I am excited about sharing all of my amazing experiences with you!

Always, Angela