We have a new Brother in Law!

GETTING TO THAT POINT WAS PERFECT! Brian and Ryan livin' the life!

Think Brian is sharing his "how to deal with the Ruhwedels secrets"? Only the Coronas will ever know...

The sand under our feet, the flowers on the arbor, the waves crashing into the rocks, the bride and groom looked fabulous. Aunt Barbara performed an amazing ceremony.



The Mexican food was an amazing dinner, the open bar was everything it should be, and the villa was a perfect backdrop for it all.


Everyone was all smiles - especially, Mr. & Mrs. Masury!

Photos from Robin Ruhwedel

The DJ played a great variety of music, and it was fun to dance in the wading part of the pool.
And to top it off, as the sun was setting...a pair of dolphins were swimming in front of us all.

Peurto Vallarta, Mexico

It's been a year of traveling, but we were really looking forward to this trip. Laura and Ryan were to be married on May 19, 2007. The Ruhwedel's used to travel here on Spring Breaks from school, and Sarah's been here since with friends. But as always, it was fantastic to be on vacation together.

We stayed at Playa Los Arcos, which is in the "romanitca" part of PV. It was a perfect place to be because everything was in walking distance. The pool and the ocean were wet, the sun hot, and the beer cold.

Brian and I had the mornings to ourselves. We enjoyed the local coffee shop and spending time with our books in the morning. We would venture out for breakfast/lunch depending on when we actually got moving. You know, vacation.

What was different this time, was every time we turned around, there was family...Mom, Beth, Aunt Barbara, Uncle Mike. You had to love it! Seriously, it was fun.

We took a morning and went scuba diving. As it is with scuba diving boats, everyone was pleasent and talkative. It is always interesting to hear where people have been diving - now Bonaire has moved up on our list. =) Then we spotted grey whales (or we think they were grey whales). One breached and then did it's lazy swim and blow and ended up 20 yards from the boat. It was so cool! For all the whales I have seen, I swear this is the closest that I have ever been. THEN there were areas of the surrounding water that was populated by smaller, black dorsel fins...Mantas! Now for all the diving that I have done, I still haven't seen a Manta ray. Over the next 15 minutes, we saw 4-5 of these guys, jump out of the water. CRAZY! I didn't know they did that. They were airborne, and I swear some came down on their "stomachs" and some on their backs. Mantas are definitely light on the underside, and we saw that side of them pointing up at the sun. It was amazing...and no, no pictures. We couldn't be distracted with a camera =)

The diving...definitely not our favorite location, the visability was poor, the water temperature was warm then cold, and our gear was...definitely rental gear. BUT we saw numerous moray eels, rays and even a guitar fish. Guess I will have to continue on my treck to see a Manta while scuba diving.

We love jet noise...

This guy showed his love at the show!

One of Sarah's friends came to town for a conference, which got Sarah looking around for things to do in the area when she ran into the Air Show at Langly Air Base. I was siked that she was interested in going to an air show.

When I was younger we used to go to the Abbotsford Air Show every year. I was always excited to climb into a handful of the planes that were on the ground, see the heat wave as the temperature climbed throughout the day, spend some time with family, and of course hear and feel the roar of the newest jets as they went ripping through the sky at break neck speeds.

We arrived at the show right as the action began at Langly Air Base, but there was a decent line ahead of us. However, before we could get to the back of the line a man and his son approached us with incredible kindness and gave us a couple of tickets. This man's son worked at the base, they were at the show the day before, and didn't want to wait in the long line to get in that day. So they passed along two tickets to the tent where there was food and drinks...we thanked them and had no idea what we had gotten into. Thank you again to the kind man and his son at the air show.

After watching the show from line for a little while, we got through security, and nearby the jet way where we saw how much some people really do like their jet noise. We stayed there until the first half of the show passed, where we saw a warthog, stealth fighter, stealth bomber, a few acrobatic planes, and of course the amazing F-15.

It was approximately noon by this point so we decided that during the break in the action we should check out the planes on the ground and see what the tent, where we had tickets for, was all about. The ground displays were great. My favorite was the F-22 raptor!

When we arrived at the tent, we found out that it was for friends and family of the people that worked at the base as well as the pilots in the show. It was wonderful and in hindsight we should have come over sooner, since they had chairs that we could relax in. The tent was fully catered by the likes of Carabba's, an Italian restaurant, along with a few other companies like Budweiser, hence the self serve taps on the side of the truck. As you can imagine, we stayed there for the 2nd half of the show. The 2nd half of the show was more of the jets that I love including the new F-22 raptor, but the real treat was a showing of the Thunder Birds!

For the roar of jets or air shows in your area check this state by state schedule.

Italy - Part III Venice

Venice is a magical city. If you have been there you know that pictures and words can only describe a portion of what Venice is really like. For those of you that haven't I hope that I do the wonderful city justice enough to entice you to want to experience it for yourself.

I (Brian) had never been to Venice until this trip. As we approached by train all of my preconceived notions were thrown out the window. However, soon after we hopped off the train I knew that something was different about the city of Venice. But, I couldn't put my finger on it until the first night as we were walking home from dinner and Sarah brought it to my attention. It was the fact that there was no regular city noise. All the noise that one could here was people walking, talking and of course the water in the canal. The city echoes with the excitement of people.

Along with the city being unique, the people in Venice were very friendly, especially our host Riccardo from the little bed and breakfast Corte Campana. He talked us through the area, shared some of his family with us, and seemed to be excited to see us wandering through the streets. Wandering the streets was the best, and in Venice, we seemed to be eating constantly. We would see a good looking panini shop, get one to go, and have to share. This allowed us to stop again, relatively soon, and try another one. The ingredients are fresh and the grill makes everything melt together into heaven. We didn't worry about what was inside, we looked through the glass and just pointed at what we wanted. We fooled ourselves into thinking we'd be able to find the same place twice...maybe it's a good thing we didn't. And don't forget the gelato!

I was in amazement every minute and I was trying to soak up as much of the feeling of Venice as well as the feeling of being on vacation that I could. In our bliss we went to the top of clock tower in St. Mark's Square, took the water bus to see the grand canal, and even fed the crazy pigeons! It was a fun experience having those little birds climbing on us and looking for another piece of corn.

Italy - Part II Florence

Before I get into how much we enjoyed Florence, this little story still has me smiling. Brian's dad met us at the train station, and we took electric bus "A" back to his apartment. He loves these little buses. They are cute, energy efficient and he thinks they're quiet. So, we all jump on the bus and start heading through Florence. Now on the bus, you can hear this high pitched noise that warns people the bus is approaching, because it's electric, it doesn't have the engine noise of other vehicles. Brian and I had to look at each other and smile, because he thought these little buses are so quiet, but for those of us that can hear that pitch of sound...it is anything but. =)
Okay....Brian's dad (we'll just call him Dad from here on out) was living in Florence for the first semester of 2007. He taught a finance and a new venture class for the Gonzaga in Florence program. It allowed him to live in Florence, enhance his teaching skills, build up stamina for his walking muscles, make use of his amazing eye for photographs and remember when he was a student at the Gonzaga in Florence program - and we benefited from all of these attributes.

Dad has a cute little apartment right past the park with the sycamore trees. It was perfect, with two Bert and Ernie beds just for us. Dad has been able to audit a history of Florence class, so as we perused the city, he knew all sorts of interesting things and this translated into him being the best tour guide in town!

Florence, itself is an amazing city. The history, the architecture, the artwork and the food are all incredible. It's easy to walk everywhere (although, Brian and I were sore after day 1 - but we pressed on to keep up with Dad). We visited the Duomo, David (which is still amazing to me) and the Uffizi. We went to Dad's favorite, the Medici chapel. The time, energy and money these people put into the remembrance of their own legacy was incredible.
Brian and I really enjoyed ourselves in Florence partly because Dad asked us to be apart of his teaching experience. Brian and I were the guest speakers for his new venture class. We spoke about our experiences working with start up and small companies and how that varies from other work environments. It was fun to talk with the students and to see their enthusiasm for the future.

Undeniably, the best part of Florence was spending time together, all three of us. We had no problem talking it up. We would talk while we walked and talk while we ate. You know you're on vacation when you can stop in for a late lunch, order a carafe of wine and stay for three hours. We talked about history, our interpretations of today and some of the future. You had to be there...maybe next time...

Italy - Part I ROME

It has been a beautiful spring in Williamsburg, and before time really gets away from us, we did want to post some highlights about our Spring Break trip to Italy. We flew to Italy, primarily to visit Chuck (Brian's dad) in Florence. It was Brian's first trip to the Italy, so we also spent some time in Rome and Venice.

We had problems getting to Rome, but we finally arrived a day later than planned. Being the flexible folks that we are, we just decided to visit Rome for the first day instead of the last. Brian was mainly interested in "Caesar history," so that is where we focused. We arrived late in the afternoon, but didn't waste any time...we visited the Colosseum, and then saw the Forum from the road. After the long day(s) of travel, it was nice to get out and stretch our legs, so we walked to the Pantheon. Since dinner is truly an evening affair, we sat down and watched the crowds of people enjoying our first gelato of the trip.

The Italians (and their visitors) are shoppers! The shops were alive at night, so we just followed the flow of people and ended up at the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain and did a few laps around Rome before we called it a night.

Definitely a great first day in Italy.The next day we planned to catch a train to Florence to visit Dad/father-in-law/Florence guru. In order to catch a train to Florence, we had to leave Rome around 1:00PM. We considered visiting the Vatican, but the line was hours long at 8AM. (One of the only times that spring break traffic was apparent to us.) So instead, we spent over two hours exploring St. Peters.

We visited Pope John Paul II's tomb, which really touched Sarah. We explored the main portion of the church at a leisurely pace and admired Michelangelo's Pieta. We climbed the duomo and had a great view of all of Rome.

Lunch was one of the major reasons we love Italy. A cut out of a place, only 10' by 10', serving hot fresh pizza by the ounce. mmmmmmmmm!

The train ride was relaxing, the country side was absolutely beautiful. We played a few games of cribbage (and I believe I double skunked him =), plus had time to read... It was great to be met by a friendly face.

We claimed the volleyball title!

It is official; the MBA students added another championship to the pile this year. Unlike softball, claiming the volleyball title for the MBA School was a combined effort of both classes along with Stephanie from the admissions office. What does winning the inter mural volleyball championship really mean? It means we got another t-shirt for weekend wear and a little bit of glory to carry into next year.

An Italian monument of sorts...

Actually, we would like to dedicate this post to our friend, Cory, back in L-Town. He has a certain love for a certain designer and there happened to be a monument, of sorts, in Rome. We ran into this monument, with the initials LV all over it while in Italy (more about this trip coming soon), and had to take a picture for our friend Cory! It is actually an up and coming store front for Louis Vuitton.
The lighting was really bad at the crazy hour in the night when we found this priceless monument. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good distance shot, so you'll just have to imagine how amazing this soon to be store front was from a distance! We did get a detail shot to show the craftsmanship that our friend Louis' is known for and how far and wide his name has spread among the fashion industry.
Lastly, Louis V you better watch out. There are some talented folks out there making some incredible reproductions of your famous work...but never fear there will always be someone out there defending your reputation!

MBA Softball Tournament Weekend!

It was a nice sunny weekend in Charlottesville where the 2007 MBA softball tournament took place. There were a number of schools, from up and down the East Coast, which converged on Charlottesville for this wonderful weekend that was filled with softball.The first day consisted of pool play to determine who was playing on Sunday in the playoffs and where the teams would be seeded. We had a bit of a ruff morning seeing that we went with the other teams to register at McGrady's Irish pub where they had free beer and drinks for us...Game one we were moving a little slowly, and we should have won. The rest of the day was pretty good, but the team got a little banged up as we slaughtered the next team. By the time we got to the last game of the day we were all pretty tired from sprinting around the field and just being in the sunshine all day, but we knew by then that we were playing on Sunday.
That night was a more relaxing night than the night before, mostly due to the fact that we were exhausted from playing softball all day. Most of us called it a night early, but a few of the single guys stayed out at a place called Orbit (another place that was offering us free drinks and beer).

Sunday came and we made it to the semi-finals where we played the first year team from Darden. It was well played game by them and we held in there, but our bats just didn't deliver when we needed them.

All in all a really fun weekend with the team! The biggest downside was staying at the Econo-Lodge, but I guess everyplace you stay on the road can't be an inviting place to come home too. This place was downright scary!

...Coach we're gonna have to fly you in next year...

Roatan...diving, diving, more diving, and some new friends

photo by: Scott Johnson

For the last week of our Honduras adventure we were on the island of Roatan! The water was beautiful, the weather was wonderful, the company was perfect, we got in a few dives (a day), and Brian almost saw a whale shark!

One of the best things about getting to Roatan was there were no more fried plantains with every meal. At the beginning of the trip I thought they were great, but after a week of plantains I've had enough...But the rumor is there are some good place to eat in West Bay, so off we went the first night to the Argentinean Grill where we met Andy and Anne. We talked with them through dinner and then shared a taxi back home where we met up with the rest of the cast of characters for a beer or two. This is when the stories began...The most memorable was how Eric got Tiffany with the conch shell mating call and then clubbed her to drag her home and marry him. So some of the stories were a little outlandish, but a fun night was had by all.

The rest of the week included a bunch of relaxing scuba diving into the ocean. One of the highlights was going on a night dive w/ a couple of night dive virgins. Tina and Armen were another incredibly nice couple that we got to enjoy some time with, but the night dive with them was one to remember. Tina was a bit concerned, but once she saw a few creatures in the coral, she relaxed a little and took her nervousness out on her flashlight. So for those of you that have never been on a night dive, or SCUBA diving for that matter, there are a bunch of hand signals that one uses to communicate. Many of these hand signals get replaced with flashlight motions during a night dive considering its pitch dark underwater. For example, to get your buddy's attention one would swing the light beam back and forth on the sea floor in front of them. Back to Tina. She apparently saw something amazing and was shaking her flashlight back and forth nearby Armen like she was going to run out of batteries so we decided to go check out what she found. None other than the elusive sea cucumber, which she thought was the leg of an octopus. Long story short she had another flashlight convulsion, and guess what she found...Yup, another octopus, oh wait, sea cucumber! Other than the entertainment that Tina provided it was a nice and relaxing night dive with some incredible phosphorescence as we swam without our lights off.

I mentioned earlier that West Bay had some of the best places to eat. Well surprising the best restaurant we ate at in Honduras was an Indian place called Ooloonthoo. The food was magnificent and the service was good too. This is definitely a place that will make your eyebrows sweat and that isn't even with the dish that says "This preparation is very hot and definitely not for the uninitiated!"

Before I forget I saw two out of the three signs that there is a whale shark in the area. First one sees the birds off in the distance swooping down at the water picking up fish. Once you are nearby the swooping birds, then you get to see the living room size circle of fish jumping out of the water and into some of the birds mouths. Those are the two signs that I saw. The third and most important one is the whale shark swimming by or near the surface...no luck, however, maybe next time.

That is it for Honduras, but here is to many more adventure to come!

Wedding Photos!

Just the other day, we got our wedding picture proofs along with a link to some of the pictures up on the web.

Hope you enjoy the sampling of pictures as much as we have so far!

Wedding Photos by J. Garner

Ever wanted a Peculiar Aristocratic Title?

I found ours this morning and thought that everyone should have an opportunity to have a title associated with their name, even if they are "peculiar."

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: His Highness Brian the Imaginary of Lower Hellswicke

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Excellency Sarah the Contrite of Burton-le-Coggles

Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Dirt Track Racing!

It was a guys night out! We went up to Urbana where Mike had put together a fantastic BBQ spread that included steaks, salad, potatoes and more. This got us ready to go to the Virginia Motor Speedway and watch some locals battle it out on the dirt in their homebuilt racing machines.

We were on turn two of two. The first place we sat was a little to close to the track because we were getting showered with some of the dirt, from the track, as the cars came screaming around the corner in a full four wheel drift. So we walked up the stands a little further where everyone else was sitting. Looking back, I thought it was kind of strange that no one wanted to be close to the action. But, in a stadium about the size of a high school football one, you can see all the action from just about every seat.

The most amazing part of dirt track racing is I now have a glimpse into understanding why people love NASCAR or any other kind of racing. The rumble of the track as the cars fly by along with the roar of the engines is absolutely amazing!

I'm Dreaming of a White Easter

It has been sunny and in the 70's all week, but we were greeted with a little surprise this morning. It was snowing! There had been reports of potential snow coming in all week, but with the great weather neither one of us actually expected the snow.

Traveling to Tela

With Brian's appetite fully restored, we were on our way with Gus at the wheel.
We stopped at Pulaphanzak Waterfall, which was incredible!

Then it was up to the cloud forest. We only hiked for a few hours, and both Brian and I wished we could have spent more time here. We were on the lookout for birds and learned all about the forest.

This absolutely AMAZED us:

This is a fern. Seriously. A fern.
And when you looked closely at the "trunk" (which is hairy) there are spiders. Spiders with tiny bodies and LONG thin legs. Brian eyed those guys and Sarah wanted nothing to do with them.

We hiked down to another beautiful waterfall.
Then it was lunch time. This place still has us cracking up. There were no menus or anything that might have led one into the back of this place in order to find the lady by the freezer who was in control of the fish...But, dang it was good!

Lake Yojoa, Honduras

Brian wasn't feeling so hot when we left Copan. We planned to stop at a coffee planation, but after an emergency roadside stop, he wanted nothing more than to get to the lake and relax.

During our time in Honduras, it was time to pick coffee beans at the highest altitudes. The people of the highlands, seem to plant coffee plants everywhere. All along the hillsides. As we traveled, the hillsides would catch your eye because the bushes were moving something fierce. They pull the plant over, pick the beans which grow near the top, then release the plant which causes it to spring upright. (Think "weebles wobble, but they don't fall down.") Once the beans are collected they are laid out to dry. Throughout our drive, the houses along the road had huge cement slabs as "driveways," but that is where they spread the beans out to dry. Often the whole family was involved with spreading out the beans in the morning, and then shoveling them back into bags at night because of the moisture in the air. Once the beans are dried, then the outershell is removed and two coffee beans (like we think of them) are inside. Brokers will pay the individual families for their beans and the price goes up the further into the process they get.

We arrived at Lake Yojoa, which was a beautiful lake. Brian slept and I relaxed in the hammock and explored the grounds of our hotel. The most interesting aspect was the wedding that took place that night. The ceremony was outside, so we conviently sat down for dinner as things were getting started. (Well, I ate dinner, Brian was able to keep down a Sprite and few bites of my dinner.) The ceremony had two efficients, one from the state and one from the church and they both had speaking parts. There was dinner and lots of dancing, for the guests, which unfortunetly didn't include us.

Copan, Honduras

Okay, I know it's taken us forever to get our honeymoon pictures posted, but we promise it is worth the wait. We really had a great time in Honduras. If you're planning on or thinking about visiting, give us a call because we can help you make the most of your trip.

We arrived in San Pedro Sula and were greeted by Gus (short for Gustavo). Gus would be our personal tour guide for the next week. It was great having someone that we could ask our questions to, but it was tough having someone listen to all the inane things you end up talking about.

Straight from the airport we headed to Copan. To get to Copan, it's a three hour drive. The road is two, undesignated lanes. Primarily, one for each direction, but we found that there are no rules as to when passing on hilly, curvy roads is appropriate. Once we learned not to pay attention to Gus's driving style, it was all about the scenery. The drive is up 3,000 feet over the mountains and then down into the valley where Copan is located.Our hotel had a beautiful view, and after a long day of traveling it was nice to relax.


Then next day we learned of Gus's extensive knowledge of the local flora and fauna. Which of course, was very cool when we heard it and now we can't remember much. I think the palms of this tree was used to build homes.

Anyways...there were lots of Macaws (Scarlet and Emerald) throughout the country. These happen to be tame ones.


Copan is famous because of the Mayan ruins that are located there. Extensive research has been done and the history is amazing. It was interesting to explore Copan, because two years ago we were at the Yucatan Pennisula and explored Chitinetsa.Besides the ruins, the most memerable picture is that of the tuk-tuks. These little red taxis were all over the place. Apparently, the people of Copan scoffed at them, but quickly became so acustomed to them, they hardly walk from place to place now.

We never actually caught a picture of one, but here is approximately what they looked like

Honeymoon...

This is kind of a teaser, but there are more details being collected to get you all up to speed on the wonderful adventure that we embarked upon to Honduras! For now I'll leave you with a picture from our first night in Honduras.

Hi Wife...Hi Husband

The rumor is true, we're married! It has been a wonderful journey as a dating couple, but I am happy to say that I am married to a wonderful woman! And we'll just assume she thinks the same about me too.

It has been a wonderful transition, but it is still strange to see Sarah and say "hi" to my wife especially when I say "hi wife" and get the response of "hi husband." Now without further adieu here is a few pictures of the perfect night and day!




By the way, I just recently found a few pictures of the afternoon with the wedding party. My best man found my phone in the car and took a few pictures of the boys!