Baseball

Today I'm in Portland, OR. I'm enjoying my time and am excited to see my sister tonight. But Boston has a baseball game this afternoon in California. I'm very sad that I will miss his game. I hate missing the kids events. Here are some photos of Boston from this year...

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Here's how I'm feeling today.

Whistler II

It's been a great week so far. We woke up Wednesday to a few feet of new powder. That has been the best day so far for sure. We didn't stand in any lines most of the day. We had good visibility all day. There were times when we were alone on the runs. We hit some waist deep powder as well. It was seriously one of the best days ever on the mountain. Today we woke up to blue skies and a huge crowd on the mountain. We got some good runs in some of the back bowls, but waited in some long lines too. I can't believe the week is almost over... going home tomorrow. Enjoy the pics.

Action shot!


Our condo with some fresh snow.


Me looking like Darth Vader. It was cold today!


Chris and Trevor on Blackcomb mountain, Whistler mountain is in the background. We spend most of our time in the bowls on the left behind us. Beautiful!


Looking down at the valley between Blackcomb mountain and Whistler mountain. There is a gondola that takes you from one mountain to the other. It's kind of freaky actually. They also have a gondola with a glass bottom. That really freaked me out.

Whistler

It's been a while since I have posted anything here, but I thought this trip was a worthy cause. My friend Trevor and I take an annual ski trip and this year we are in Whistler, BC. It's so beautiful up here. I have posted a few pics of our trip so far. Today was our first day skiing and we have are pretty tired. We need to recover soon though, we have a guide tomorrow - hopefully we get to see some great spots. I have already fallen enough to last me the entire trip, need that to stop for sure. Anyway, enjoy the photos...


Vancouver, BC


Totem Poles in Stanley Park - Vancouver, BC


The drive up to Whistler


Trevor and a view of our condo.



This is Blackcomb mountain. We haven't explored that part yet - probably tomorrow.


Just a cool shot looking up one of the lifts.


Looking across the valley while we were on the Peak to Creak run. This is a 3.5 mile run from the top of Whistler Mountain to the valley floor. Can you say thigh burn?


Coming into our village. Our condo is there on the left next to the gondola.

Bands

Here is the challenge, and I know how you all like a challenge. Look at the picture below and see how many band names you can come up with. I'll give you a hint, one of the band names is B-52s. Let me know how you did.

And the first one to identify the band name represented by the scissors with bows on them get's a prize!

Trip 2

For trip 2 we went to Reedsport, Oregon to ride ATVs at the sand dunes. I knew this would be fun but I didn't know it would be as fun as it was. Holy cow did I have a great time. The dunes are right on the coast and when you climb some of them you have a great view of the ocean (see pics below). Boston and Mason also had a great time riding the ATVs. Joyce, my sister, has 4 ATVs, 2 of which are Yamaha Blasters 250's. These are the bikes Boston and Mason rode (and shared with Joyce and Catie - my niece). The drive there and back was so beautiful. Boston turned out to be quite the rider. He went up and down some pretty steep hills. I was very impressed. I think their favorite part was "carving" the hills. This is when you shoot up a hill as fast as you can and spin a 180 at the top and shoot back down. If you do it right it gives you that faint little tickle in your stomach. I love it too.

Below are some pics for you to enjoy.

We had to drive my truck out to the sand camp spot. This was a little scary since the last time we drove it in the sand Merilee got it stuck. We made it just fine though. Good truck, good truck.


This is our awesome 5 star MOTEL we stayed in. Nothing like the Salty Seagull!

and the inside...


Boston and Mason on the Blaster


View of the ocean from the top of the dunes. If you look carefully you can see a sailboat.


Here is my nephew Nick catching some air off the top of a dune.


Me and Boston "carving" one of the dunes.


The view of the river on the drive home. Isn't it beautiful!

Trip #1

We switched up our vacation plans this summer and decided to see the Northwest while we still could. So here is our first trip. We went to Deer Harbor, Washington, it is located in the San Juan Islands in the Puget Sound. The island we were on was called Orcas Island. We had to take a ferry to reach the island. It was beautiful. We didn't see any whales, but still a great ride. While we were there it was cloudy and rainy most of the time, but still relaxing. We did some swimming, played some golf, explored the little island towns. I am sure Merilee will post more about our trip. The best part was on our ferry ride back. We all decided to stay in the car and relax during the 45 minute ride. However, we left the key on to listen to the iPod. When we tried to start the car - dead battery. The ferry is fully loaded. We are halfway back on the side. How embarrassing! Luckily the crew of the ferry had one of those car jumpers. We had to push the van forward to let the people behind us off before we got the car started. Looks like it's time for a new battery!

Here are some pictures...

This is where we loaded the ferry - Anacortes, WA


A view from the ferry - Between Anacortes and Deer Harbor


The view from our condo - Deer Harbor, WA


Sidney being silly at lunch - East Sound, WA


Me at the golf course - Deer Harbor, WA


Sidney swimming - Deer Harbor, WA


View from the dock - Olga, WA