Mery Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!Welcome to the 2009 edition of the the Ellis Family Scramble. Happy holidays to all our friends and family and safe travels to all who are en route to celebrate with loved ones.
It's been a great year for us. Most recently, I finished my last fall quarter of grad school...that means only 3 more classes and 5 months until I graduate! It's a great feeling and I'm trying to soak up all the fun I can between now and January 4th when classes begin again, but it feels so good to see a permanent light at the end of the tunnel.
Highlights from this year definitely include Pelotonia, a bike ride in Columbus that raised money for cancer research at OSU's James Cancer Cent
er. The event took place the last weekend in August. Elwood and I both rode 50 miles and we each committed to raising $1000. 100% of the money raised goes to cancer research, and this was just the first of 5 annual rides orignating in Columbus with a goal to end cancer. When it was all said and done, Pelotonia 2009 raised $4.5 million. Thanks to everyone who supported us and cheered us on! It was among the most rewarding experiences of our lives. It was also the longest amount of time either one of us had spent on a bicycle, but it was a beautiful and cool morning and the open country roads in Southeast Ohio were just amazing. People lined up along the road, at the end of their driveways to cheer us on and thank us for riding, and there were horses and other farm animals grazing on thier land to entertain riders along the way. It was an amazing experience!
er. The event took place the last weekend in August. Elwood and I both rode 50 miles and we each committed to raising $1000. 100% of the money raised goes to cancer research, and this was just the first of 5 annual rides orignating in Columbus with a goal to end cancer. When it was all said and done, Pelotonia 2009 raised $4.5 million. Thanks to everyone who supported us and cheered us on! It was among the most rewarding experiences of our lives. It was also the longest amount of time either one of us had spent on a bicycle, but it was a beautiful and cool morning and the open country roads in Southeast Ohio were just amazing. People lined up along the road, at the end of their driveways to cheer us on and thank us for riding, and there were horses and other farm animals grazing on thier land to entertain riders along the way. It was an amazing experience!
In September we went to Italy and spent a week traveling through Rome and along the Amalfi Coast. We went to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. The weather was perfect, and the crowds had just dwindled enough to make for a relaxing but adventurous trip. Among the best experiences in Italy: the food, the fresh pasta and seafood, the delicious and inexpensive wines and cheeses, climbing Mt. Vesuvius (mainland Europe's only active volcano!) and Positano (shown left), a seaside city built into the side of a mountain. We also visited Pompeii, the site of an ancient Roman city that was destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius when it erupted in 79 AD. The trip was such a great experience and was very tiring. We never slept in, and could hardly sit still except when we were eating or traveling by train or bus because there was just so much to see and do! Another highlight was visiting the Vatican. We went really early in the morning and it was raining when we arrived so there were no lines at all, which was a welcome surprise considering we were expecting to wait in line for up to 3 or 4 hours to get in. I
n the picture below we're standing in the rain at the top of St. Peter's Basilica overlooking Rome.I also started a new job at the Ohio Union the last week of October. I'm still at OSU, but now doing training & development for the staff of the Union, as well as helping prepare for the grand opening of the new Ohio Union this spring. The building is just gorgeous and there is still a lot of work to be done to make it move-in ready. The job is great, and so are the people there. It's a very interesting and exciting place to be right now...new unions don't come along all that often so it's a very unique experience to witness all of the planning and details that need to be accounted for, as well as planning all the training that new building tenants and new hires need to go through.
For more details about the new union, visit http://ohiounion.osu.edu/new/
Love,
Those are the big highlights of our year. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! All the best in 2010 and we look forward to seeing many of you soon!
Love,
Megan, Elwood & Punky
