Mt Rainier Trip

On Wednesday of this past week I headed with my friend Bill up to Mt Rainier for a motorcycle trip.  We left early and headed North up towards Trout Lake, get a few miles past there and find out that the road that we needed is closed and we need to find another option.  Long story short, lots of driving on forest roads, AKA roads that aren't in that great of condition and lots of drips and places where there isn't a road, just some gravel and mud.  We keep riding and made it up near the entrance  of the park and to say the least this area is amazing.

I am sure that I have never taken so many curves on my bike, there was little straight stretches and by the time that we had gotten to camp I was tired.  I think that Bill had a great ride on his bike, first trip on it and I am sure that he loves it more and more everyday.

Once we got camp set up I went for a trail run,  incredible views of the river but everything was straight up and then back down.  I slept good that night.  Speaking of sleeping, we set up the tent just decided to sleep out under the stars instead.

Thursday AM we got up early, broke camp and then headed back up into the park to get to see the summit of the mountain and grab a few photos before we headed back down and the East over to Yakima and then home.

It was a great trip and look forward to taking another one soon...

Our Wedding

So last Friday, 8/8/08 Stacie and I got married! Yeah you read that right, we got married... We have been engaged for about 4 months, we wanted a small wedding and nothing fancy. It took place outside at an area called Catherine Creek, I have spent a lot of time in this area trail running and it just fit to have the wedding there. It was a small wedding, my mom, Stacie's parents and brother and Stacie's aunt and uncle. We had a friend of ours marry us as the sun was going down and it was a great day!

To be honest I never thought that it would happen. I had asked mom is she would go for a motorcycle ride with me and she really didn't think that it was a good idea. I asked then if I could just get a picture of her sitting on the bike with me, she said yes and then something must have clicked, she decided that she did want to go for a ride... It was a short ride, we just followed the river a ways and then turned around and came home.... I think that she enjoyed it! At least I hope that she did!

Mom's Visit to the Pacific Northwest

So Mom came out for about a week, she came for a very special event and we had the best time. We headed down to Bend for a night and then came back to the Hood River area for the remainder of her stay..... I think that she really liked it out here, it was great having her here that is for certain.

Stacie is back on the water!

Wednesday Stacie and I went out to the wall for some windsurfing, it was going to be Stacie's first day back out there since she broke her leg windsurfing at the end of last summer. We had come out to the wall last week to sail but the wind wasn't all that great and although I got to sail Stacie decided that she was just fine not getting out there.
We get to the launch area and it is just packed with people, I have never seen that many people before at this spot. Neither one of us were glad to see that I can assure you but we get a parking spot and say hello to a few people and start to rig....
I rig 4.7, Stacie gets her 4.2 out and before you know it we were both on the water. I was hanging close to watch Stacie the first few reaches and I have to say that it was great to have her back out there again..... She was smiling ear to ear!!!
Stacie got in two sessions and I got in one long one and then we called it a day, I am not sure that i have ever had a better day on the water than that day, great to see her out there....
Oh yeah, I forgot my camera at the house when we left so that is the reason there are no pictures of Stacie's first day back on the water.

Fires and More Fires

So last week I decided to go out on the motorcycle and see from the top of Dalles Mountain what the fires looked like up there. Mt Adams has a huge fire going on that is burning east and consuming many acres of land. The view from this top is incredible for sure and you can really tell just how big the fires are. Hard to believe that we had such a wet winter and spring and we are so DRY right now!

Siskiyou Out and Back 50K Trail Run

Weekend before last I headed to southern Oregon to do a trail run called the Siskiyou Out and Back on the Pacific Crest Trail. Must say that it was a tough race but one that I enjoyed very much all but the last 6 miles.

I left on Thursday went down to Stacie's parents house in Grants Pass and had some great food and stayed the night there then headed over to Ashland on Friday afternoon. The race started at Mount Ashland Ski resort and I just slept in the back of the car and was up early to race that Saturday at 7AM.

I would say that the run up till the marathon distance was just fine but after that I started to struggle, I had been eating along the way just not sure that I was eating enough. After one of the last rest stops there was a three mile climb back out of the gap up to the top of the mountain, I have never seen such a long three miles in my life.

Well I can say that I finished and the time was a respectful 5 hours 35 minutes.... I will be back there next year to do it all over again!

2008 Dirty Half Marathon

So last Saturday AM a bunch of us headed down to Bend for the running of the Dirty Half Marathon.  Joel, Jen, Bill, Hollie and myself all made the trip down and had a great time.  First stop off in Bend was to the Deschutes Brewery for some lunch and then off to check out some of the retail stores that Bend has to offer that we can't find here in Hood River.

Stacie's parents were nice enough to let us stay at their condo for the night so after getting a good nights sleep we all headed out early to get to the start of the race.  I have this problem of always wanting to be somewhere early but we did get a good parking place.

The race was good, fast for sure, something that the three of us from up here never get to run that much.  We all ran fast and had fun, the drive back was good, Jen got some food along the way back and she talked the rest of the way home!  Bill thanks again for driving and I look forward to doing this all over again next year!

Carson to Stevenson Ridge Run

So on Sunday Christine, Joel, Hollie, Bill and myself all went up to Carson, WA for a "trail" run. It was a 14K race that started in Carson and then over to Stevenson by the ridge that separates the two. It was called a trail run but was really a mix of paved roads and some STEEP fire roads. We really had fun though and I think that we all ran well and happy with the way that we finished.

One final note is that Bill didn't do the race but got up early and drove us out there and then went down to Stevenson and picked us up and I can't say how much better that was than trying to shuttle cars... Thanks again!

Backyard Work

So Stacie and I started this project about two weeks ago and we finished it last week, I have not been doing a great job on my blog so just trying to catch up some.  

We wanted to do some kind of raised beds for planting and this is what we came up with.  I made the boxes, then we hauled some topsoil and then we moved the rocks around and Stacie did the placement of them, I think that it turned out great.

Kinda strange how much I enjoy just doing stuff around the house, Stacie has always liked it but I just recently got on that program.  I can thank Stacie for the way that the yard looks now, it was all her idea....

Long Lost Friend Comes to Hood River

So just this past week I had a college friend visit that I hadn't seen in 1991. Rob Hughes and I went to Hungary and were roommates there in the summer of 1990. I had lost contact with Rob for a long time and just last summer we caught up with one another. Anyway to make a long story kinda short Rob was visiting some friends in Seattle and drove down last week and spent the night with Stacie and I.


So while we were in Hungary Rob bought this bottle of Tokaji wine bottled in 1981 and had said that he wouldn't open it with anyone else beside me. In hindsight I wish that he would have opened it with someone else because the taste was so bad, it had become sherry or something....

I don't think that either one of us could keep a sip down, tasted a lot like metal...

Next stop was the sink and poured the remainder out....

I even got Stacie to try some, she didn't like it either, I even think that she was scared of this stuff... Kinda look like river mud as Rob said.

All joking aside about the wine it was great to have Rob down here and show him around and go on a great hike, 17 years since we last saw one another.... That is a long time!

Night shots

So just the other night the moon was coming up and it was clear and cold so I thought about going out and taking some photographs... This is what I came up with on a few? Kinda strange for sure... but I like it!

So what happens in this is that I just set the camera on bulb and in the dark just take a flashlight and "paint" myself in... Now if Mick would send me that Mac that I am waiting on my life would be great:)

Trip to see Mom and Dad in Virginia

So last week I took a flight back home to visit my parents for a week and it had been too long since I was last home, I think almost a year to the day. It was great to get to see them along with Bodie and see some friends that I hadn't seen in a long time as well. As some of you know my mom was diagnosed with cancer almost two years ago, has recovered great and now has more energy than any woman that I know. My Dad was there with her during the entire process of surgery and radiation and helped Mom every step along the way. They are great parents and I am lucky to have them and have made my life wonderful and taught me to be happy and enjoy what life has to offer.....well truth be known, Mom would have loved for me to have worked for the Social Security Administration just like her but for some reason I wanted to bartend:)So I really think that I am like both of them, my mom really loves to be around people, she has never met a stranger and I think that I am just that way, I am better at remembering names than her but that is about the only difference. My dad is the most content person in the world, he wants really nothing, has a schedule to everyday that for the most part never changes and if he never leaves Gretna, VA again in his eyes that would be great. Me, well like him in that I am very happy with where I live, really hate to leave here, Stacie would agree with that with a frown on her face, I do want a few things but mostly just some different toys and I have a schedule that I don't like to change that much, kinda throws off my days if it does change. So yes, us kids do grow up to be like our parents...not saying that i am a great person by any means but I really did have great parents!!!

Bodie was my dog before I moved out to Oregon in 2000 and I had asked Mom and Dad to look after him for the summer while I was out here anyway needless to say I never got Bodie back!! Dad and Bodie do just about everything together, Bodie is over 12 years old but looks really good and has a great life there in Gretna with Mom and Dad.

It was a great trip, I ate well all the time, must be a southern thing because it seemed like every other world out of Mom's mouth where "you want something to eat?" or "there are snacks in the kitchen" or "I will fix you something to eat"...... well you get the picture!

Thanks for a great visit and I will be back home soon...:)

I love you Mom and Dad!!!

Lennis Gets a Job!!!

Well never really thought that I would see it happen! Lennis gets a "real job"!!! I love it. So Lennis has started to bartend over at Brian's downstairs bar. I got word of this on Saturday night when Lennis and friends were in and I hear him say that I have to leave, I have to go to work!! Sweet words for sure.

So last night I ran over with my camera just too see if it was true that Lennis was working and this is what I came up with.

Anyway he had a few people sitting at the bar and was making cocktails left and right, OK, not really that fast but he was slinging some drinks all the same and had one woman at the bar that wanted something fruity...... I suggest a Cosmo and Lennis gives me this stare and says: How do you make that? I didn't miss a beat, told him how and said see you later and headed towards the door and I head out I snap another pic and hear him say, "What goes in that again?"

I am thinking just make it red and may the force be with you Luke.... or Lennis!!!