This year my wife and I hosted a party for about 20 of our friends. We usually tend to spend New Year`s Eve with my family – in Russia New Year is the most important family holiday, more important than Christmas or Hanukkah. However, this year neither my wife nor my sister could take enough days off from work to make a trip to Norfolk. As it`s always the case with Russian people, Iryna (my wife) and her friends cooked way to much food and we drank way to much alcohol. We did not go to bad until 5AM, and next day people started coming back around 1PM to finish the leftovers. 
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
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This entry is long overdue, but better late then never. Last week I drove to Norfolk for a few days. This trip kind of served a few purposes – I wanted to visit my family, wish my mom Happy Birthday (she turned 53 on December 28), take a long drive to clear my head, and bring back all the baby stuff that my mom collected for my baby. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that my wife is pregnant and is due in May. Around 7 AM on December 26 I drove my wife to work and hit I-79 South to West Virginia. I wanted to see if I could drive from Pittsburgh to Norfolk without hitting a major highway (at least after I got off I-79). Using a combination of Google Maps and GPS I managed to make it to Williamsburg (about 30 miles from Norfolk) with only 15 minutes on I-81. I loaded my iPod with a ton of audio books, so the 12-hour drive did not seem so bad. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty miserable, so I did not get a chance to take any photos.
Every time I visit my grandmother, I try to take as many photographs as I can, even though she hates it. She is 87-years-old, and probably my favorite person in the world. The thought of her passing away scares me; every time I go back to Pittsburgh I am afraid that it`s the last time I`ll see her. -
We got up at 6 AM and drove from Daytona Beach to Sawgrass Park in the Everglades. That was my favorite part of the entire trip. A woman chatting with a peacock at the park`s visitors center.
A soft-shell turtle swam up to the airboat 
The gator was so close to the boat that I could extend my arm and touch it. 
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Today was the last day of work before the Christmas break, so we cut out a bit early and decided to play the Wii. My co-workers decided that the default characters weren`t good enough, so Peter and Michael decided to make a Wii Dmitriy.
Looks just like me, doesn`t it:) 
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Last night my early Christmas/Hanukkah/New Year`s present arrived – a brand-new Canon 50D. Today I did what I always do when I get a new camera – I follow my wife and my cat and snap photos until one or both threaten to kill me. The neat thing about this image is that it was taken at ISO6400, and even though the noise is clearly visible, it`s not obtrusive and does not detract from the image.
My wife politely asking me to stop taking photos. 
After about 50th flash photo, my cat gave me a look that clearly stated that she`s planning on killing me. 
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Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is a pretty neat place to visit. I`ve never been to a lighthouse before, and barring climbing over 200 steps to get to the top and realizing how pathetically out of shape I really am, it was an interesting experience. If you are ever in Daytona Beach area, I highly recommend visiting Ponce Inlet (www.ponceinlet.org).
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By day 3 I managed to successfully hurt my shoulder (I`ve no idea how or when or even where). Carrying a DSLR became somewhat of a chore, so most photographs at the Kennedy Space Center were taken with a Canon SD1000 point-and-shoot.
We managed to find our way into an actual NASA facility… 
This camera was blown apart by the shock waves generated by a shuttle launch 
When we finally made it back to our hotel, we went for a walk on the beach. And of course, who could possibly resist a cool jumping shot… 
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I photographed Erin and Mike`s wedding on the last weekend of November. I was amazed by how cool, laid back and adventurous they were – we did outdoor photographs when it was 30 degrees outside. The wedding went off without a hitch – it was beautiful, emotional, perfect.
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Initially my wife and I wanted to go on a road trip – drive from Pittsburgh to New York, Boston, Bar Harbor, Nova Scotia, etc. Basically, cover most of the northern East Coast. But, the weather in Pittsburgh has been really miserable for the past month or so, and we decided to skip the road trip and go somewhere warm. The flight from Pittsburgh to Daytona Beach exposed us to all the wonders that are today`s air travel. The flight from Pittsburgh to Atlanta was over an hour late and we missed a connecting flight to Daytona Beach. Then we had to stand in line for an hour to get on another flight and sit for another two hours at the airport waiting for the next flight to Daytona. However, when we arrived to the hotel, all the troubles were immediately forgotten. The hotel staff was incredibly nice and helpful, they upgraded us to a room with the view of the ocean and the best part is that I got to take my first nap in at least 6 months.
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I woke up at 7 in the morning to a spectacular sunrise
After breakfast we decided to check out the famous Daytona International Speedway. I`m not particularly interested in cars or car racing, but it was still a neat experience. Even though we did not see an actual race, we got to check out an antique car show. 
