Steven & Jennifer's Wedding!!!!

7/26/06 - ONE WEEK TO GO!!!! holy cow has this summer flown by....i just can't believe i am leaving for romania in one week....wowowowowow....i have a few last minute details and some odds and ends to put together and electronic stuff to update, but other than that...i am ready to go!!!! yahoo.....i just got back from being at the jersey for the past two days with my folks...and of course i hit my favorite pizza joint, mac & manco's...possibly the greatest pizza on the planet...i haven't found pizza that rivals it yet :) and of course i spent time on the beach....below is a shot of me and mac & manco's on the ocean city, nj boardwalk....a place filled with many memories for me of my entire life....ahhhhhhh....the jersey shore :) (on the way to cape may.....la, la, la)
now...onto the wedding of the summer :) steven and jennifer...very good friends of mine from seattle, got married this past month, up on san juan island....at a beautiful place called roche harbor...it was a great wedding, and a lot of my close friends from seattle were in attendance...making it even more fun....plus, i was in the wedding...as a bridesmaid....a non-conventional bridesmaid....thanks jen and steven....the first shot is of the bride jen and her beautiful daughter/flower girl madelyn....the colors were rose, white and black...

the ceremony was held in the garden of the roche harbor resort and then the reception was also on the resort grounds...pictures were taken before hand and below are some of the shots...the first is of the bridesmaids...in rose and black....i didn't include the one of me, because i am soooo much shorter than the other girls...although, i promise you will see what i wore soon...

next up was steven, his groomsmen, the ring bearer and rose presenter...don't the guys look great...and steven looks awesome...he is one of my closest friends ever and it was flattering and exciting to be in his and jen's wedding....i had a blast...mostly because they rock as a couple and they hosted a wonderful wedding for their friends and family :)

of course we had to take a picture of steven and the girlz of the wedding....him looking so studdly and all...here you can see what my outfit was...as picked out by my mom....thanks mom...it was a rose colored top, with a tank underneath it and black pants, with black flat sandals....another reason why everyone else is so much taller....i call this steven and his harem....doncha love it :)

at the moment....blogger is not letting me post again....so the last two shots will be in the next update....i guess they have this partially fixed....man, this system is way too picky sometimes...more in the next update...

seattle...for the last time????

7/23/06 - okay...this should be the last entry of the trip, except for the wedding that is...but i'll save that for another day....here is the picture of amy and i when we had our french pastry and walk thru of pike place market....

another picture from the last update...or what should have been in the last update is below...no blog entry would be complete without a picture of the man, the myth, the legend....executive chef....mr. gordon....along with david and i....it was a fantastic meal with fantastic friends....you just have to taste his food to know what i mean.....oh my god!!!!

my last evening in town was spent with good friends and a BBQ...which is how the whole visit started...and at the same place...brad and jenn's house....we all got together to watch DVDs of antarctica....and i was really happy they got to see them...it was great to hear their comments about my experiences and to have them there to see the part of my life that i sometimes can't put into words...below is a shot of everyone...included are bill, brad, jenn, michelle, chad, brian, erica, david and me....it was the perfect evening to round out my visit....who could ask for anything more :) you guys rock my world...

FINALLY....the highlights of my trip to seattle have been blogged...the only one missing...and a HUGE one it is...the wedding of steven and jennifer....but enough for today...i will be attempting to update the blog with those pictures either tomorrow or later in the week...as tomorrow i head for the jersey shore one last time before i head across the big ocean...to enjoy the sun, the sand and of course, most importantly, the mac and manco's pizza....the best in the world baby!!!! let me tell you....hope all is well...again, i am sorry it took me so many tried to get seattle posted...but now it is here for the world to see...enjoy...i'll be back soon...

seattle continues on and on....

7/23/06 - back yet again...although there were more than two on the last update...maybe this will be the last...maybe not....we'll see....anyway....after lunch with dan...it was off to downtown to meet up with a past student of mine...amy...for coffee and an afternoon snack...down at pike place market....it was fun to wander thru the stalls of the market and get some fresh flowers and have yummy french pastry and iced chai...but most of all it was fun to hang with amy...she is a rockstar and i love catching up with her to find out where she is in life....i know that it will happen worldwide :) thanks for meeting me amy...for some odd reason this picture will NOT post here there or anywhere....so i will add it to my next update...sorry amy...i really did have fun hanging with you...even if the picture won't show it :)

from hanging with amy i was off to west seattle to have a delicious pizza dinner with my good friend chad...chad has previously been seen on the blog a bunch, as he is the one who met me for the tour of egypt....yahoo!!! we went to our favorite pizza joint on alkai, pegasus, and had a terrific visit....chad was the last one to ride in the convertible...and then he helped me return it to the airport...what a fun little car, let me tell you....chad and i rounded out our evening with a stop at a hookah bar in the U district where david met us....chad had blackberry flavor and i had honey...his was better :) check out our cute picture together....

at this point in my visit...steven and jennifer wedding up on san juan island happened...but i would like to dedicate an entire update to just the wedding...so i will finish off my visit here with other shots from the time i still had left in seattle and its surrounding area...below is a shot of my good friend david and i at the fourth of july....david was my roommate of quite a number of years and no matter how much time we spend apart, when we see each other, its like no time has passed at all...he hosted me for quite a few nights and i love this shot of the two of us...just like i love this man :) david you rock my world...thanks for everything....

on the way back from the wedding david and i stopped at our good friend gordon's restaurant...him and his partner have done an amazing job with the place...such good vibes and amazing food as always....the name of his restaurant is gordon's on blueberry hill and it is located on whitbey island...you really should go if you are within fifty miles of the place...yummy!!! below is a shot of david with our food for the night....delicious!!!!!

okay....no more pictures allowed...and i need to add just three...so there should be just one more update here tonight....i hope....onto that...

seattle...take 47.....*sigh*

7/23/06 - back yet again....well...i haven't left...i just keep writing the next update....and will try and make it thru the week til the wedding....and include my last night on the pacific northwest as well...and then pictures from the wedding of steven and jennifer....here goes...

from hanging with chad and johnny, i was off to my friend dan's place...well...not really his place, but his place for the moment...dan is a polie you have seen on this site before...we actually hit the trifeca with this visit...we saw each other in PA (where he is from too), denver and seattle...now we need to shoot for other continents :) david and i joined dan on his roof on eastlake for the fireworks on lake union....which were outstanding....amazing...incredible...mind-blowing...in other words i really, really liked them....unfortunately the next morning, dan had to deal with the pier of NOAA being on fire....not a great way to come back to work after a spectacular day off...

i love hangin with dan...he makes me look tan....just kidding...actually the great tan is due to all the driving with top down on the convertible and the outstanding weather i had on my visit to washington and oregon....from hanging with dan on the fourth...i headed to port townsend to visit a friend of mine's parents....my friend was paula parris...and unfortunately her and her husband roosevelth died while i was on the ice....it was a bummer...but her parents have her memory living on with a garden in paula's memory...and i really wanted to go out and visit them and see "paula's garden"....i added a rock to it from my visit to alaska....letting her know i was there and was thinking about her...below is a shot of paula's parents...david and thelma...wonderful people...who have a wonderful place and i had a wonderful visit with them....

dinner that evening was back in seattle with my good friends larry and elizabeth...who had finally moved into the city, away from the eastside :) we had a great meal and caught up on all of the fun things they have been doing since i was gone...it was a terrific visit and below is a shot of the three of us....larry and i taught together at overlake...and maybe someday we will get to teach together again somewhere in the world :)

the next day i got to hang on the hill at the grill with my friend dan...dan and i have known each other for close to 11 years...he is still working the same job, but finally has a carpool going, not for his lack of trying previously, and is happy with where he is these days...yahoo!!! it was a terrific lunch and then it was topped off with some vivace coffee....yummy...below is the two of us...just the two of us...we can make it if we try....i have no idea where that came from...hahahahaha...sorry dan :) lovin your short hair mister....

will be continuing again...although i got more pictures on here....yahoo!!!!

seattle...yet again....

7/23/06 - this wouldn't be so bad if it would let me post three or four pictures...but this two picture posting business is really frustrating...especially since i promise everyone i see, who i take a picture of,that they will be on the blog....so i am sorry for the choppiness...maybe this will end on this update...you just never know...on with the trip... here's the shot i tried to upload of our perfect day on mt. baker...this is a shot using reflection lake...just stunning....it was a picture perfect day to be on this mountain...and it was great to hang there with my friend amy and stefan....yahoo!!!!

after hanging with vikki and derek north of the city i headedback down to seattle...dinner that night in the city was cooked for me by my good friend travis...he made an udon, which was simply divine...i got to see travis' new place and meet his cats...after dinner we met up with friends david and oscar at the bus stop....too many shots were had by folks...but overall it was a good time...travis and i had an amazing visit and it was great to see where he is at and what he is hoping to do in the future...below is a shot of us at his place...he's the one who took the picture, as he has much longer arms than i do :) too cute....doncha think...

we have now reached the fourth of july....yahoo...and what a day it was...i started it off with a yummy breakfast in bell town with my good friends chad and johnny...below is a shot of us back at johnny's place....it was fun to show johnny pictures and my dvds of antarctica...he loved them...in the shot is johnny, me, buddha and chad....have we all reached inner peace??? i know buddha has...but i am not sure about the rest of us :)

okay...more coming in the next update....

seattle continued....again

7/23/06 - from the red mill with anita, i was headed to the U district to meet up with a past student, ben...ben is deciding to pursue one of my most passionate subjects...environmental science...as a graduate degree, after first earning a degree in physics...I LOVE IT!!!! it makes me happy to find out what my past students are doing with their lives and of course i am always excited when it has something to do with science...yahoo...ben and i grabbed a drink and a bite at the solstice cafe on the ave...it was great to catch up with him...below you can see us there...and yes...again, i am the short one in the picture :)

after hanging with ben on the ave...it was a two hour, perfect weather drive up to see ice friends of mine, stefan and amy....stefan and amy have bought a place on the outskirts of bellingham...really close to an indian reservation....they have a great place with rights to the beach just down from their house and a great hot tub to use on perfect weather nights, like the one i was in town for...below is a shot of stefan and amy on the beach....

i actually spent two nights with stefan and amy...i know...usually unheard of from me on a "dani tour" such as this...but the second day we hung out at mt. baker...which still had snow on it...we passed a bunch of folks who were hiking in about a 1/2 mile to go back country snow boarding...unfortunately we were wearing sandals and didn't make it too far in the 2 feet of snow...but we had a nice hike and hang on the mountain for a few hours...it was a stunning day as you can see from the picture below....okay...so there is no picture....i'll try for it in the next update....grrrrrrrrr.....let's continue, shall we....

after a mellow and relaxing time with amy and stefan i headed back down south toward seattle...although i stopped along the way to see my good friends vikki and derek and their son orion...i got to meet the newest addition of their family aswell...saxon...after a dgood lunch and fantastoc stop for ice cream i headed on down to seattle...below is a shot of vikki and derek at their place...blogger strickes again with not letting me upload...more soon...

wets coast tour continued

7/23/06 - hey there folks...i am back...its been a fun weekend with friends and family...and the weather here has been crazy...one minute its sunny, the next minute its pouring....but i didn't see any rainbows this weekend....even though i was looking....pictures from my visit here in PA will be up as soon as i finish seattle and steven and jen's wedding....but everything has to be up by august 1st...as i head to romania on the 2nd...and that time is approaching fast....i will be in touch with mailing addresses and skype phone numbers you can reach me at...so stay tuned....until then though...i'll keep going on my seattle update....

when last you were with me, i was spending the evening hanging with my good friend joni and her cool family....the next morning i woke up bright and early to grab breakfast with a past student from overlake and her cool mom, who is the secretary there....allison and margaret....we met at victor's...the yummy coffee house in redmond and then went for a spin in the cruiser...allison is actually headed to south africa in the fall to do some volunteer work...and maybe she'll pass thru romania on her return to the states...you just never know...below is a shot of the three of us in front of the convertible...too cute...
from breakfast on the east side to lunch on the seattle side...i have to say the drive was perfect as the mountain (mt rainier) was out for my cross of the 520 bridge...yahoo....i was headed to my friend anita's house in freemont...anita's entire front yard is flowers...i love it :) and anita has been all over the world...her house is a wonderful space that screams her name and taste...and there are things in it from all over the world...i love it :) we went to the red mill burger place...yes...i am still a vegaquarian....but they do EXCELLENT veggie burgers...yum!!!!! below is a shot of anita and i at the red mill... okay, blogger won't let me post more than two pictures again...grrrrrrr....i will be continuing this on the next update...be right back...sorry about this...

seattle to portland and back again....

7/20/06 - from the awesome lunch with the amazing family, i went and hung at my friend's brad and jenn's house and then had a delicious fondue of chocolate with another excellent overlake family...and i forgot to get a picture of us all...but amy is in a picture with me later on....the next morning i headed to victor's, one of the most famous coffee shops on the eastside where i met up with another past student of mine...jaime....jaime and i also got together in boston...so it was exciting that we were seeing each other twice in a year....even if we were both kind of tired...the coffee/chai was excellent, as was the visit....
from hanging with jaime on the eastside i cruised into the city to one of my favorite thai restaurant....tom thai...yummy....it is this hole in the wall that a guy named tom owns...and yes, he's thai...you gotta love it...i met up with my friend shaun for this delicious meal and we had some kick butt bubble tea as well...what a fun time on the ave :)

after hanging with shaun i jumped in the cruiser and headed south to portland...and let me tell you it was a HOT day...actually it got too hot for the convertible as the temperature gauge in the car registered 103 degrees...in portland...yes, the cool pacific northwest....crazy...i stayed the first night in town with my good friend alecia and her finacee josh...they have this cute house in a nice section of town and cooked a fabulous meal of halibut...after dinner of course we took a ride in the criuser....what fun :)

the next day in portland was quite mellow for me...and i met up with my friend andy, who was a roommate of mine in ecuador when i lived there...we had a tasty meal at a pub, went for a ride in the cruiser and then i met his boyfriend carlos...what a nice guy...i had fun showing them my antarctica dvds...and they were amazed with the footage....it was fun night :) below is a shot of andy and carlos...

the next day i met up with my friend cindy at this great peruvian restaurant in portland called andina....yummy...we had many different types of tapas and caught up with each other...it was a perfect place to have tapas and peruvian food and the atmosphere was great!!!! here's the shot of cindy and i from the restaurant....cindy and i haven't spent tons of time together...but when we have, we bond soooooo well...i love having friends like cindy...we discuss the world and everything in it...tons of fun :)

after a tasty lunch with cindy i headed back north...and what a drive it was...crystal clear...i saw wonderful views of mt. hood, mt. st. helens and mt. rainier on the drive north....all i can say is wowowowowowowow....and it was a ton of fun with the convertible....i spent the night hanging with my friends candi and steve and their dog barley and two cats...candi and i actually had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants called from the bayou, just outside of tacoma....yummy is all i have to say...below is a shot of candi, barley and steve...too cute...

the next day dawned and i was headed north again...this time to see my friend jen...i know jen from my two week stint with NASA for educators...she is a great mom these days and i got to meet the newest addition to her family, sarah...i also got to hang out with her son david and see all of the thomas the tank engine stuff he got for his birthday that had just passed...jen and her family live a cute neighborhood and seem really happy with life, love and the pursuit of happines...it was a fun visit....and i just love sarah's hair :)

i went from one fun family to another...and stayed the night with my old pacific science center boss winlar and his wife teri and son wily....they made some home cooked salmon that was really tasty, along with sweet summer corn...my first of the season...yum...and we watched winlar's most recent version of kazoo...his stand-up comedy act....i love the catching of the grapes...and am amazed at just how far he can catch them from....it was great to visit with him and talk about world cup and such as he and teri are HUGE soccer fans...below is a shot of the family :)

the next day was a packed one...i started out my morning with my good friend christine with a breakfast at a great restaurant called the coastal kitchen...christine and i taught together at overlake....it was great to hear all the latest gossip and talk about living on the west coast vs the east coast, as christine is a new york kind of girl...and i like her a lot, even if she does root for the yankees...here's a shot of the two of us after breakfast :)

after breakfast with christine i headed downtown yet again to have lunch at a chinese restaurant...ho-ho's, with my good friends karen and landon...these were the friends i visited in taiwan last year in september...but they have now moved back to the seattle area and are making a go of it in the states...these two were also married in thailand in march...pictures from their wedding are spectacular...it was terrific to see them and then spend most of the day hanging with landon...riding around in the cruiser...we even stopped by bastyr university...a fun alternative medicine university i used to work at....it was a perfect day to ride with the top down...let me tell you :) here are karen and landon after a tasty meal at ho-ho's :)

the last section of my day was over in west seattle, where i hooked up with my good friend joni and her boyfriend don and don's three year old daughter elsa...we had a tasty home made meal and caught up on all the recent news and events in our lives...joni has this great house in west seattle that she has done so much with....and the shot below includes the family members and the two dogs...muddy dog and isabel....both very loveable....it was a fun visit to joni's place :)

time for me to call it an evening....as you can see, i visited a lot of friends while i was on the west coast tour...and i will continue with the second week i was in town tomorrow or the next day....it was terrific trip out west....the weather was perfect, the people were superb hosts and i had some amazing food...all-in-all i just couldn't beat it :) until next time....

seattle...again...

7/20/06 - okay...let's see how far i get this time....after having thai iced teas with tom and dropping him off home, i headed up to capitol hill...where the pride parade had just started...so i actually got to see my favorite part of the parade...the dykes on bikes....some day i'll have a harley too :) after watching the gals drive by i was off to linda's tavern to meet my friend cara and was introduced to her finacee scott...very cool people...we had some dinner and a few drinks...and it was a blast...below is a shot of us at linda's on the hill...
cara and scott are getting married next summer, so you never know, i might get back to the west coast next summer...after hanging with cara and scott, i headed out for pride with my old roommate david...it was a fun time had by all, with a late night stop at my favorite chinese restaurant, possibly in the world, ho-ho's...yummy....the next morning i was up early to meet a past student of mine, lisa for coffee in freemont....i have to say that freemont is not looking like it used to, its a bit upper class for me now...but it sure was fun hanging with lisa for a few hours and walking thru the freemont sunday market....can you believe i have known lisa since she was in seventh grade??? and now she is a sophomore in college...phew...i am getting old :)

from coffee with lisa...to an indian meal made for me and a few friends by my good friend shelly and her family....her mom chumpa is a great woman...and man can she cook...and then shelly and her daughter ratika are no slouches either...if i could take them with me everywhere i went or had the ability to cook like them, i would be set...i also got to hang with rajan, one of the funniest men alive on the planet, but not in his kid's eyes...and of course, a wonderful past student, akshay....it was sooooooooooo great to see this family of amazing folks and have a meal with them...as well as a past teaching friend, larry...who you will see later in the update...but, below is the shot of the whole family...they rock my world!!!

okay...nothing is updating in the way of pictures again...so onto the next update....sorry these are so short...and i wish i could just knock them all out at once...oh well...see you in the next update...

the beginning of my seattle trip

7/20/06 - okay...i have decided to keep updating today as i am starting to really fall behind with pictures and updates from the road....i was on vacation for five weeks and am now in the process of saying goodbye to friends and family....and i leave in 13 DAYS!!!!! wowowowowow...time is flying...so on with the trip...

for my trip to seattle and area i rented a car...and you wouldn't believe what i ended up with...i had worked out on-line a great deal for a compact car...but when i got to the rental place they gave me an SUV...ME...an SUV....can you believe it!!!! i brought it back and said i would wait for a compact or economy car...due to the ethical/moral values i have, teaching environmental science, being one person and the price of gas, i refused the SUV....so after waiting for 45 minutes...they gave me...are you ready???? a convertible PT cruiser, turbo, brand new...it was a lot of fun...let me tell you...and lots of folks i visited took a ride...i actually put 1400 miles on the car in 12 days...gotta love it....it was really cute too...below is the shot of me and the car...doncha love it...i sure had a lot of fun driving it around....

after finally getting the car, i started my whirlwind visit with folks and my first stop was lunch with my friend victoria and her baby daughter zella....unfortunately debbie wasn't feeling well, so i only got to see zella with one of her mommies :) but what a cutie...it was great to meet zella and catch up with victoria...

after lunch with victoria and zella i headed into wallingford to meet my friend tom, who was headed to india the day after he saw me for the summer, yes, you read that correctly....he was headed to india...tom is a writer and is working over there this summer with his tamil teacher and other artists...we went to this authentic thai place for thai iced teas and some tom sum....yummy....and then tom went for a ride in the car...

okay...its time for me to end this update...as the pictures won't update again...but there will be another in just a few minutes....take a deep breath and say ahhhhhhhhhhhh.....

alaska...the last entry

7/20/06 - i am soooooo sorry this is taking so long to get through alaska...but blogger will not let me post more than two pictures per page....grrrrrrrrr....i am getting annoyed...maybe its time to change blog folks...we'll see what happens here...maybe i'll get lucky....anyway....

after visiting with mike, beau and i headed back into anchorage...of course it was pouring rain...but at least we still had time for our nightly cribbage match...beau and i have been playing cribbage together since the ice...its a great game and you should learn to play it if you don't know how to already...its a big ice game....anyway...the next morning...with another cloudy day, we set out for valdez...which was about 6 hours away...during the drive the skies actually cleared up for a time and we got to stop and see the matanuska and worthington glaciers...the one pictured below is the mantanuska glacier...we walked down and partially on this one...the blue ice was spectacular....

the next shot is the second glacier we stopped at...the worthington glacier...just outside of valdez...and it was incredible, although the area was really windy...the picture below is an "artsty" shot i took thru a set of binoculars at the site...it shows the blue ice of the galcier quite well in my opinion....lovin that blue ice....

after the second glacier, we wound through the mountains and turned one of the corners and were in thompson's pass....and holy cow...what a stunning place that is...it is a million snow fields, even in june...and just took my breath away....below is a shot of the breathtaking view we saw when we rounded the corner.....just stunning :)

beau and i spent the night in valdez....a quaint little town that focuses on oil and the movement of it out of alaska....its where the exxon valdez had its oil spill some years back...and i had to grab some of the soil on the banks of the prince william sound....always a science teacher...from our night in valdez, we headed back to anchorage where i picked up a flight back to seattle....all in all the trip to alaska was amazing and blew my mind in so many ways...i really do think i will end up there some day and live in the middle of nowhere....so if you want to see me then, you'll have to find me....but you just never know....this last shot is of beau at the worthington glacier...although the glacier is behind me, and i am taking the picture...we took this to show that the sun did come out for some part of the trip...although that part was really small...

i would like to take this point to say thanks to mike, mary, tyler and crista for hanging with me while i was in their fine state(whether they live there or were just visiting)...and a big thanks to janet for letting me bunk with her for four days....and a gi-normous thanks to my good friend beau for taking time off to play and drive all over alaska with me...it was a wonderful trip and i hope to do it again in the near future...maybe even when snow machines are running....wouldn't that be a blast.....and one more thing....if you haven't been to alaska...you NEED to get there...it is a wondrous place....with so much to see and do....get there!!!!

Alaska...another try....

7/20/06 - hey there all...i am trying again to update my blog...but i did find out that other blogger users were having troubles updating and adding pictures...so at least i know that it isn't just me....so i'll try and we'll go from there....enjoy the continuation of my trip...beau and i went from hatcher's pass, as shown in the previous update, to wasilla to stop by and see our friend mike...who also wintered in mactown with us...mike is a pretty impressive alaskan in my opinion, he lives on 10 acres of land, with no water coming in, kills what he eats and takes very little from anyone else...i loved it...a true sustinence alaskan...also known as a sourdough alaskan....he does it all himself...i can only hope that someday in my life i could live like mike...very minimal in what he has...although, just like everyone he has his toys....but i think its the way to go for me in the future...we'll see...you just never know...the picture below is mike, beau and i at mike's place...

while there, the alaskan men taught me, the pacifist, how to shoot a gun...not just one either...i got to shoot two pistols and two rifles...on mike's shooting range...on his property...this was the first time i have ever done anything like this and they were great teachers...but the scary thing that i found out, is that i am a good shot...i guess women usually are....but how funny that me, dani dipietro, am a good markswoman....it is quite satisfying, in a strange way to hear the bullet you have just fired, hit the metal piece you are firing at...it was wild...NOW...i don't think i will be headed out to shoot a moose or a rabbit or anything like that...but shooting metal targets...that was kind of fun...i know...can you believe i am writing that??? pretty freaky...below is the picture of me and the four guns i shot with...it makes me laugh just to look at it...enjoy

okay...i just tried to upload two more pictures and it won't so i'll be doing one more update and then calling it a day...at this rate i will never get the trip to the pacific northwest finished....grrrrrrrrrrrr......

alaska...trying again....

7/19/06 - okay...i am trying this one more time today before i give up and walk away for the day....hopefully it will work...we'll see....from anchor point and homer we headed back up the penisula to anchorage and then on up to see our friend mike, who also spent the winter in mactown with us...he stayed in anchorage with beau's brother, jean, sister-in-law paula and their beautiful three-week-old daughter kylie...it was really comfortable there...we took some back roads to get back to anchorage and below is a shot of this amazing lake we stopped to "overlook"...just stunning....the rugged-ness of the mountains is amazing, as are all of the out-of-the way spots you can just stop and get out and hike around and go over, etc....just a wild and incredible part of the world...you definitely forget you are in the states....hopefully the picture will post....cross your fingers....

yahoo...it worked for the moment....the next place we stopped was the mine at hatcher's pass...it is a very old gold mine...that is falling apart...but these days folks can check it out and all the buildings that are left behind...and of course...the moment we got out of the truck it started to rain...you gotta love our luck....of course we just got wet and enjoyed ourselves anyway...what's a bit of water to an alaskan guy and a girl who spent a lot of time living in seattle...it's just water after all....here's a shot of the dilapidated mine...a very cool place to check out :)

okay...again...no pictures will post...i am giving up for the day...as i am frustrated...will try and update successfully tomorrow...sorry about this...but i am really angry with this system....catch you on the flip side....grrrrrrrrr....

Alaska #3!!!

7/19/06 okay...i am trying again....i get soooo frustrated with this system...you have to use it just right or else it won't work...but enough complaining...let's get back to alaska, shall we....as it is a better thing to write about in my opinion....

tyler, crista, beau and i hit moose pass for solstice, which was a tiny festival and then went onto seward for a play on the beach, in the rain....i guess i haven't mentioned this before...but it actually rained EVERYDAY i was in alaska...and i still loved every minute of it...below is a picture of the boats in the harbor, with the mountains in the background of seward....simply breathtaking....yeah!!! tyler wore his life preserver on the docks and because of this received two free ice cream sundaes (crista...did you ever go get them??? i know what a fan of mcdonald's you are)

after hanging with crista and tyler, beau and i headed down the penisula...to anchor point, where his family is part of another cabin...this is located right above homer...where you can visit the famous homer spit, especially the salty dog...but a warning the bloody mary's are quite strong there...the salty dog is this bar that has tons of dollar bills stuck to the ceiling, walls, posts...well just about everywhere in the bar...it has been there quite a long time...we added our dollar to it of course...we also went out to the beach, in the rain...and below you see the two of us at the westerner most "highway" point of the kenai penisula and in america...the interesting part about this beach was that there were tons of eagles hanging out eating halibut carcasses....i guess this is easier here than other places as the fishermen who set out form this beach, clean the hali-"but" there and then throw the carcasses on the beach for the birds...pretty crazy to watch....

okay...picture posting is being a pain again...will add another post...and try and make it work one more time....grrrrrrrrr........

Alaska part 2!!!

7/19/06
hey there all...well my life is now smooth sailing...my stuff was sent out to romania this past monday...and now i will follow it in exactly TWO WEEKS!!!!! can you believe it??? i can't....the summer has flown by....last night here in PA, we had a HUGE thunder and lightning storm...it was incredible and finally helped diminish the heat wave we have been having here....the wind was crazy and the rain was in sheets...and the thunder and lightning....wowowowowow...i just love those style storms....but enough about here...more will be coming on the leaving for romania and such...let's talk about my trip to alaska....which i loved....

when we last finished i had brought up that me and my friend beau travelled all over alaska....we put 1200 miles on his truck in just seven days....we hit soldotna, where his family has a place, right on the water, we hit moose pass for solstice, then onto seward...followed by anchor point and homer...back up to anchorage and wasilla and finally over to valdez....it was incredible....below is a picture of beau, tyler and crista on beau's boat in the kenai river....his family's place is right on the river...we went out on the water both nights we stayed there...and it ROCKED!!!! i love being on a boat....and in the future maybe i need to sail around the world or something....we'll see...

tyler and crista (and rusty...who i didn't see because he was working up in fairbanks fighting a forest fire) are friends i made while i was in chaing mai, thailand....they just happened to be from alaska, soldotna to be more specific...so beau and i spent solstice and the day after with tyler and crista...it was a blast...below are tyler and crista at this cool old cannery we went to for dinner one night....then we went out on the boat afterwards....

okay...i have run into picture posting problems again...this will continue in the next update...which will really be the one before this one....grrrrrrrrrrr.....i wish i knew why this happens...but it does and i need to deal with it....does anyone know how i can fix this problem??? see you in the next update....