Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
back to our roots
A trip to Jersey is rarely relaxing...especially when there are 10 straight days of rain and a schedule so busy that we had an excel spreadsheet for tracking. What else would you expect of us though? We don't let ourselves sit still for long. We'll sleep when we're dead. Though we do keep making promises that we will calm down one day soon.... but we'll start that next week since it's a holiday weekend coming up and our minds are already spinning with road trip options.
Landed off the red-eye to clouds and rain and the typical smoke stacks that did once cause me to tear-up. One time!...and casey will never let me live it down. I know I am an emotional person, but really, who gets all teary eyed at the jersey smoke stacks?! No tears this time though. Guess I am past being 'homesick' :)
From Newark to Clifton, out to Mine Hill, to Bloomingdale, to NYC, to Middletown, to Asbury, to the Lane, to Long Branch, to Tinton Falls, to Union Beach, to Newark again. Highlight of our trip was of course food! We must have eaten pizza at least 7 nights, dunks almost daily, broccoli rabe of course, and Rutts Hut (!?!!)....it was Casey and our dads vs. me....so I let them win. And to be honest, the dog was pretty good! Save the best for last....Salumeria Rosi on the upper west side. We will be back there for sure next trip!
We truly enjoyed every last moment of QT that we were able to spend with our wonderful family and friends.
Click here for photos.
Landed off the red-eye to clouds and rain and the typical smoke stacks that did once cause me to tear-up. One time!...and casey will never let me live it down. I know I am an emotional person, but really, who gets all teary eyed at the jersey smoke stacks?! No tears this time though. Guess I am past being 'homesick' :)
From Newark to Clifton, out to Mine Hill, to Bloomingdale, to NYC, to Middletown, to Asbury, to the Lane, to Long Branch, to Tinton Falls, to Union Beach, to Newark again. Highlight of our trip was of course food! We must have eaten pizza at least 7 nights, dunks almost daily, broccoli rabe of course, and Rutts Hut (!?!!)....it was Casey and our dads vs. me....so I let them win. And to be honest, the dog was pretty good! Save the best for last....Salumeria Rosi on the upper west side. We will be back there for sure next trip!
We truly enjoyed every last moment of QT that we were able to spend with our wonderful family and friends.
Click here for photos.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
West Coast Invitational 2011
WCI. Mammoth. 2011.
Notabale memories....
Cornice drop....free lunch for VIP members at the Yodler....snow in May!...clocktower closed for a private party??!?! (the owner's birthday)....and of course, we totally crashed it.
More photos here
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| copyright of Transworld |
Cornice drop....free lunch for VIP members at the Yodler....snow in May!...clocktower closed for a private party??!?! (the owner's birthday)....and of course, we totally crashed it.
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| Chair 23 |
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| Clocktower - closed for the evening? What the....?!!!??!! |
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| Casey just doesn't get it |
Friday, May 6, 2011
Do puppets get seasick?
So the old man and I decided to take the trip to Catalina this past weekend. I say old man because Casey had yet another birthday and there are only 5 short months when we are different ages, so naturally I want to take advanage of that.
5am, saturday morning, alarms are blaring! Much easier to get out of bed when it is for fun! Roll out of bed and into the car for the drive to Dana Point where we hopped the ferry to head to the island. Not only were we celebrating Casey's birthday, but also celebrating our 7 months of newlywedness!
The water happened to be rough that day so when we picked up our tickets we were also offered Dramamine. Not wanting to effect our energy levels in any way, we turned the offer down. As soon as the ferry takes off, Casey runs out to the back of the boat to 'take pictures'...I suspect he was nervous about getting seasick so wanted the fresh air :) When the boat started rocking too much, I quickly joined him! We stood outside and said goodbye to the mainland.
When the wind and cold became too much, I decided to sit back inside and rest my eyes for a few. As the movement of the boat jerked me around... I imagined I was a puppet and the ocean my master... and not knowing which way I would sway next was slightly nauseating. I began to wonder....do puppets get seasick? I mean, seasickness is really just motion sickness and your inner pathways not communicating properly....or something like that. Casey came to check on me and I inquired about Pinocchio's equilibrium and he just gave me a blank stare. Apparantly he didn't have the answer either.
Luckily, we arrived just fine.
The weather was PERFECT...it was so clear that you could see sister islands that apparantly are only viewable maybe 3x per year. Good timing! So we walked a mile from the ferry to the trailhead and started out on our 16 mile journey. Within the first...um, maybe 20 feet.....POISON OAK! My worst enemy! I backed off and stood there debating putting pants and long sleeves on to be extra careful. I must have stood there debating for too long because Casey appeared to start getting restless and cranky so I just decided to stick with what I had. It was too hot to be in sleeves anyway...and this girl does not own lightweight desert hiking gear. oh well.
This was our first backpacking trip in a long time...and we were definitely out of shape physically, but strong enough mentally to conquer just about anything. Which is why when we ran into a Bison on the trail, we didn't freak. Plus i'm kind of experienced with these things :) (see photo below from Yellowstone) This lone Bison was the only guy we got to actually 'see' since he was directly on the TCT trail and pretty much in our way. My heart definitely started racing as I walked directly at him and came within 10 feet before I veared off of the trail to go around him. Casey started mumbling something about me 'chickening out' but when you are so close to a 1500+ pound animal that also can run up to 30mph and there is a wide meadow and no trees to climb, well, I must say, I did get a little nervous. And come to think of it....why was I in the front anyway.
Bison are kind of self-conscious and well, I would be too. They do not like to be stared at so I did my best as I passed to avoid looking at him, yet all I wanted to do was stare. I could tell from the corner of my eye he was looking at me and I don't like being stared at either...but I let him win.
The last 9 miles went something like this...hot valleys, nice breezes on the cliffs, deep conversations, laughs, silence and breathing, and amazing views like this....
Eventually, the hike became whining about our back and knee pain from the weight....so we were more than happy to arrive at our beautiful campsite Little Harbor, rated "One of the Best Campgrounds in the West" by Sunset Magazine.....and that it was....
We took a dip in the ocean....watched the sunset with some vino and crashed almost immediately after dinner. I woke in the night to the sounds of a bison roaming around our site. I woke Casey and told him to stick his head out of the tent to see him but he wouldn't. Thank goodness we were so tired that we quickly went back to sleep.
As soon as the sun rose over the mountain, the entire campsite lit up and we were awake...just like that. A beautiful way to rise vs. setting an alarm.
Back in town....killing time....
Click here for more photos
5am, saturday morning, alarms are blaring! Much easier to get out of bed when it is for fun! Roll out of bed and into the car for the drive to Dana Point where we hopped the ferry to head to the island. Not only were we celebrating Casey's birthday, but also celebrating our 7 months of newlywedness!
The water happened to be rough that day so when we picked up our tickets we were also offered Dramamine. Not wanting to effect our energy levels in any way, we turned the offer down. As soon as the ferry takes off, Casey runs out to the back of the boat to 'take pictures'...I suspect he was nervous about getting seasick so wanted the fresh air :) When the boat started rocking too much, I quickly joined him! We stood outside and said goodbye to the mainland.
When the wind and cold became too much, I decided to sit back inside and rest my eyes for a few. As the movement of the boat jerked me around... I imagined I was a puppet and the ocean my master... and not knowing which way I would sway next was slightly nauseating. I began to wonder....do puppets get seasick? I mean, seasickness is really just motion sickness and your inner pathways not communicating properly....or something like that. Casey came to check on me and I inquired about Pinocchio's equilibrium and he just gave me a blank stare. Apparantly he didn't have the answer either.
Luckily, we arrived just fine.
The weather was PERFECT...it was so clear that you could see sister islands that apparantly are only viewable maybe 3x per year. Good timing! So we walked a mile from the ferry to the trailhead and started out on our 16 mile journey. Within the first...um, maybe 20 feet.....POISON OAK! My worst enemy! I backed off and stood there debating putting pants and long sleeves on to be extra careful. I must have stood there debating for too long because Casey appeared to start getting restless and cranky so I just decided to stick with what I had. It was too hot to be in sleeves anyway...and this girl does not own lightweight desert hiking gear. oh well.
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| debating |
Bison are kind of self-conscious and well, I would be too. They do not like to be stared at so I did my best as I passed to avoid looking at him, yet all I wanted to do was stare. I could tell from the corner of my eye he was looking at me and I don't like being stared at either...but I let him win.
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| note the lone bison behind me to the left...we had already passed him and I got too nervous to stop to get the shot that close |
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| Yellowstone 2009 |
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| shades of green |
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| coming up to our campsite |
We took a dip in the ocean....watched the sunset with some vino and crashed almost immediately after dinner. I woke in the night to the sounds of a bison roaming around our site. I woke Casey and told him to stick his head out of the tent to see him but he wouldn't. Thank goodness we were so tired that we quickly went back to sleep.
As soon as the sun rose over the mountain, the entire campsite lit up and we were awake...just like that. A beautiful way to rise vs. setting an alarm.
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| morning coffee |
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| beach time |
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| Buffalo Milk...so yummy...but so strong! I definitely recommend trying this if ever here. It's their signature drink. |
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| Goodbye Catalina. |
Thursday, May 5, 2011
On my way to work...
A truck pulling out of the Geico parking lot (around the corner from my office) decapitated the fire hydrant. Clearly the highlight of the morning commute.
Glad I left the antique at home:
Glad I left the antique at home:
Monday, May 2, 2011
Happy Birthday Casey!!!
Loving. Generous. Fun. Kind. Ambitious. Smart. Caring. Adventurous. My best friend, my soulmate, my husband... Happy Birthday to the love of my life!
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