Orcas Island in September

Somehow I forgot to post about our trip to Orcas Island this September. We took a lot of great pics, so check them out here.

Cheryl came to the east side to pick me up late Friday afternoon, and we headed north on our way sometime after 5pm. We wanted to make sure we didn't miss the last ferry over to the island, so we rushed up with over an hour and a half to spare. We relaxed, and had some dinner while waiting for our ferry to arrive at the terminal.

Once on the island we drove over to Moran State Park where Henry, Tim, Trang, Evan, and Orly had already set up camp. By the time we arrived it was almost time to go to bed. We set up camp in the dark (with help from Henry's industrial strength lamp), and sat by the fire before calling it a night.

The next morning the sun was shining and it was time to hike Mt. Constitution, for some great views:

The hike itself wasn't too strenuous, but it was beautiful, and we did get a chance to see a few deer very close up.

Henry and Tim had taken the day to get some fishing in. Some at the campsite, some along the lake:

Our site was right by the water, a bit close to the road, but the sound of the waves drowned out any traffic over the night:

Shawn and Megan made it out during the day, and at night we were able to bring the guitar out and play a few songs:

The next morning we ate breakfast, threw the football around (and into the lake):

Megan came to the rescue:

But the day had to end eventually, so, after Cheryl went for a swim we jumped back on the ferry for our ride back to Seattle:

The weekend was very short, but it was a great getaway, and I imagine we'll do it again sometime. Go here to check out the rest of the pics!

Beverly Hills, and a Canadian Thanksgiving

This past week I went to LA for work: Beverly Hills to be more accurate. It was my first time in LA, so it was good that I got a chance to tour around the area. In addition to simply staying in Beverly Hills I was able to see Hollywood Blvd, Sunset Blvd, Rodeo Dr., and some pretty high end residences.

Probably hard to see from the picture above, but that's the "Hollywood" sign in the background. Before heading out I bought some chocolate from Teuscher in Beverly Hills. Quite possibly the best truffles I've tasted (Cheryl too).

Couple of quick comments about LA... The weather was amazing, things were really expensive (Over $35 for my breakfast buffet), and I look forward to heading back someday to get a better feel for the place. No, I didn't see anyone famous...

Back in Seattle it was time to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving - that's right, Canada has its own Thanksgiving... Cheryl decided she would cook turkey for a few folks so we invited over Henry, Trang, Evan, Orly, Lukasz, and Olivia. Shawn and Megan were of course invited as well.

The turkey was amazing, kudos to Cheryl's for supplying her mad cooking skillz: Too bad we can't eat this way every day. There was no shortage of non-turkey food as well - Henry and Trang brought over competing homemade pies, Evan brought over salad to compete with Shawn's, Lukasz and I competed on wine, and we all ate much more than our daily allowance of calories I'm sure.

We will also celebrate American Thanksgiving in November, which seems unfair, but I'm not about to complain. This year we'll be doing American Thanksgiving in Napa at Megan's Aunt and Uncle's vineyard. Usually we bring wine when we go to a dinner, but my guess is Megan's Aunt and Uncle will have enough wine, so we'll have to figure something else out.

Until next time!

More local biking

This past weekend I had the chance to go out to some of the local bike trails. After getting some trail work Dan, Chase, and I had a few short runs to top the day off.

Here are a few shots of me from the short session:

Here's one of Chase (who's 15):

And here's Dan:

Overall the trail's always a fun time.

Otherwise the weekend was pretty tame. Cheryl and I have been looking for reception locations for next summer. We've got a few locations in mind. We went to Columbia Winery to taste test some wines and check out their wedding venue, the wine was reasonable, but the venue won't work for us given they're only open until midnight. We spent some time walking around capitol hill looking at a few other venues as well.

Henry recently bought a house in the Mt. Baker district just south of I-90, on Sunday we went over to his place for a potluck and checked out his new entertainment setup. He bought a 42" flat screen TV, along with an XBox, so it was really good to see what Gears of War is supposed to look like. My 6 year old 27" CRT TV is a bit sub standard...

Anyhow, tomorrow I'm going to Los Angeles on a business trip. I've never been to LA before, so we'll see how it goes. My first meeting is in Beverly Hills, so I'll keep a look out for people more famous than me :)