Maui

I'll just say that I feel very lucky to have had the last (almost) year of traveling and seeing new places, people, foods, etc. But my favorite new state to visit is Hawaii. I'm drafting a memo to Hobie to ask if it could be added to our sales territory. Wish me luck.

We went with our friends from Dana Point, CA, Chris, Launa and Makena Mamola. We had a wonderful time seeing Lahaina and Kaanapali, shopping, swimming, snorkeling, playing cards. AND, I got to hold that beautiful baby anytime I want. :-)

We were there for Halloween, which is like a mini Mardigras in Lahaina. The streets were filled with folks dressed in fantastic costumes.

My Grandma described her visit to Hawaii as

one long, warm, party.
I'd have to definitely agree.

Jellystone Park

Well we took a day off and went for a little 300 mile scootercycle ride through Teton National Park and Yellowstone Park. It was my first time, and it was spectacular. And yes, we did see Yogi and BooBoo, but they didn't ask for our pic-i-nic basket (thank goodness).

We saw grizzly bear, moose, elk, antalope, bald eagle, cranes, marmot, and most massively…. bison.

We had seen quite a few bison in the days before, as we were camping in a reserve where they are free to roam, and it was not rare to have traffic stopped while they cross the road. (Where does the bison cross the road? Anywhere he wants!) Anyway, it was the same in Yellowstone, bison roaming the range as they please. We were on the back stretch heading out of the Park at the end of the day and a small herd (herdlette?) of bison

were heading towards the road in our direction. The two cars in front of us stopped to watch, as people do there, as well as some cars behind, and the oncoming traffic. We felt kinda trapped and exposed sitting there on the bike, but got a good close up view of the bison as they crossed the road a couple cars ahead. They started running and snorting and playing in the field to the right of us, it was amazing to watch those 2,000 lb animals kick up their heels. We were mesmerized. And then, we heard a loud snort coming from behind us, we both jumped and turned to see that 4-5 of their friends had not made it across the road and were not happy about all those cars blocking their path. We were the weak spot, we knew it, they knew it. We knew they knew it. How do 4-5 one ton beasts sneak up behind you, you may be asking yourself? We still can't figure it out. They stomped and snorted, planning their escape, one was looking Steve right in the eye from one lane away. Just as Steve was ready to hit the gas and get the heck outta there, one of the bison made a break for it behind the car behind us. Thankfully Steve's pal and all the rest followed the leader. The bison were reunited, and we were unharmed (well, nothing a change of shorts wouldn't fix). Don't you just love a happy ending? (BTW – no there aren't any pix from the event, I was too busy freaking out to save the moment.)

Here are the grizzlies (click on the picture to enlarge). This was a much safer commune with nature. There were two Park rangers pulled over watching the bears with us (and about 30 other people). It is a mom and two babies. They stayed for a good 10 minutes before they wandered off. They never seemed like they noticed their adoring fans.

Old Faithful was neat. Put on a good show for us.

Here's our campsite at Slide Lake. It's about 30 mins outside of Jackson Hole, WY. We took the boats out a couple times to try and catch some wind. We also had the boat demo here with the local kayak shop. Beautiful.

HOME SWEET HOME

We made it home for just 3 (and a half) days in June. We were sad not to see everyone, but we were happy to be home and catch up with as many folks as possible.
Robert, Ann, Sierah and Karlie were nice enough to have a party so we got to see the whole gang! The farm looks way better than ever (way). Many many thanks to you guys for being there and taking care of everything and making it your home. It looks like a park!








Paul and Jeannine's place looks great as usual. Especially the bamboo.






Had a wonderful visit at Lane. So great to see everyone. Thanks Rodger for the great day. We were cracking up because folks are so used to seeing Rodger and I around campus together, they didn't realize I've been gone. They just say oh hi guys . . . (double take) . . . OH, HI!!

For My Knitting Buddies

Here are some pictures from the knitting/craft nite at Marisa's in March. Better late than never?? Who was that short chick? She seemed kinda one (or two) dimensional. Thanks Miss Maris for an excellent night... and your new place looked great!
















Oh yes, I have been knitting on the road. There's always time to knit! There was an unexplicable burst of babies this spring, which led me to my bootie phase. By the time I got to bootie #6, I was really ready to knit something (anything) else! As I put the finishing touches on that last pink bootie late one night, I reached into my bag for the scissors . . . and there to my surprise was an identical pink bootie #6 all ready completed. Curses! Three pink booties. Needless to say, it will be a while before I bust out bootie #8. :-)




The good news is, the pink booties were made for gorgeous baby Makena in Dana Pt, CA and go just dandy with her matching pink sailor(ette?) sweater. ahhhh

Thanks for the Great Time!

Lori and John in Alabama! Wow, it was great to see these guys. It's been almost 2 years since they left Duck country. Here's their house in Auburn, it's off the chain (right Lu?). Anyway we had a blast just hangin out and visiting. Lori is planning her next big adventure. John is about halfway through classes for Dr school. Syd the dog is almost 15 and stiff hip aside, acting like a big puppy.




Southern BBQ . . . it is somethin special. We went to a place in Warm Springs, Georgia (where FDR built his southern whitehouse) and sat on the back porch, drank sweet tea, and ate BBQ. yum

BTW, apparently they DO fry everything!

We went the gardens and butterfly conservatory at Callaway Gardens in Georgia. I got really excited about the butterflies . . .

New Orleans

Quick trip to NO.

Got to see the French Quarter, Bourbon Street and stay in a funky (not in a good way) hotel a couple blocks off the main street.

Although we didnt go to areas where the effects of Katrina are still visible, we heard stories about FEMA waste and injustice, many people remain homeless and have not gotten their allocation to even start the rebuilding process.


And there is water everywhere. Much of the freeway is built as causeways just several feet above the swamps.












The streets in the French Quarter were charming and quiet.






What a blend of old and new.










And then there was Bourbon Street. We spent the evening checking out the tourist traps, junk shops and of course drinking Hurricane Rum


and listening to some great music. There's so much to see and do, we're going to go back real soon.


Next stop . . . Salt Lake City, whew - there's a contrast!