Sunday, November 20, 2011

236th Birthday Ball

Saturday evening marked the 2nd ball Drew and I have attended (I did not go last year).



First, I went off to get my hairs did. I was going for a french braid across with beachy curls ... but at some point; I completely forgot to brush them out. (DOH!)

This photo is really dark ... but thank you Nicole for the gown!
The Recruiting Station Portsmouth consists of Maine, New Hampshire and Eastern Massachusetts, and in years past ... the ball has been in Waltham. This year however, it was at the Marriott in South Portland, which is all of 15 minutes from our townhouse in Yarmouth. So we did not opt for a hotel room this year. (I like to sleep in my own bed).

After some rushing around to get ready, we arrived to the ball at 0500 for formal ball photos, cocktail hour and socializing. I was initially shocked at the cost of our ball tickets ($150 per person) ... but then we learned about the open bar. Heck to the yes if you're a drinker ... but lamesauce if you were the DD like me. 



Now, don't get me wrong. I'm about as moto as the next person ... but I've never actually seen an ice sculpture of the Eagle, Globe & Anchor before:

He looks fabulous ... and I look a little ... well ... awful?
From there, it was time for the ball official ceremonies to begin.






Now, in year's previous ... the guest speaker has been a stuffy general with a longwinded Semper Fi/Oorah speech. But this year ... the LtCol was a riot and a half. I can't quite recall all of his speech, but he defined Marines as the epitome of Peter Pan ... in the sense they never grow up. I have never wished more in my life that I'd recorded the guest speaker. What a riot!


I was really moved by the SgtMajor's speech ... which was dedicated entirely to the Recruiting Duty spouse. 


All in all?
Great night. 

3 comments:

  1. You looked fabulous! I can't believe how expensive your tickets were! Looks like you had fun! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. You looked gorgeous!!! And it looks like it was alot of fun!! Never been to any "official" Military Ball (Other than ROTC in school). Always wanted to go. :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. At our 2nd ball there was an Ice Sculpture of Chesty (the bulldog!)

    ReplyDelete