Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving 2012

I talked to Blair at the beginning of November, and we started talking about Thanksgiving because she was driving home and wanted to stop in Texas. It turns out that my plans had fallen through and we just kind of decided that we'd meet up in St. Simon, GA and that Josh and I would spend our holiday with the Moore's. And what a wonderful idea that was!

Josh and I made the 18 hour drive from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning. We stopped in Louisiana for dinner - we treated ourselves to a Cajun platter and wow, I never though gumbo or crayfish would be that good! We got in around 10 am and went straight to the shower and took a nap. We spent the rest of the day riding bikes around the island and getting settled in our rented house. We spend the afternoon baking 7 pies for Thanksgiving the next day. Paul Moore and family took us out to eat at the Red Barn that night. If this wasn't just a gem of an introduction to the family for Josh, I don't know what was.

 Thanksgiving rolled around and we rode bikes around a little bit on the beach end of the Island. We went to the park with Blair's little cousins and played until my arms were sore. We spent time at the beach and just relaxed. That night we had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with 26 other people. My pies were a hit - I even got invited back for next year. Blair and her cousins went out that night, and somehow around 6 am one of them ended up with his hands through a glass table, and finally at the hospital. It looked like someone had been murdered in our little rental house. It was quite the drama, but we quickly moved forward and didn't really let it affect our vacation. 

On Friday we went to the beach and ended up at a pretty good little pub called Brogans. We even saw the University of Georgia's mascot - the bulldog. I think he's named hairy dog. We were still tuckered out from all the happenings that we celebrated Thanksgiving like the Kissel's - Pizza, Wings and Beer. We watched Bridesmaids and ended up at a crazy bar where we played darts and walked on the pier. We called it a night around 12.

Saturday we acted like tourists. We toured the lighthouse and rode bikes to Fort Frederica, a national monument. We met up with Blair's little cousin Millie, who is about 7. She told us all about history from a 2nd grade point of view and we helped her work on her Jr. Ranger badge. We left the place just as it closed, and although it was getting cooler and dark we stopped at a beautiful old cemetery with large trees and lots of Spanish moss. We ended the night with a Low Country Boil that Paul did for us. I probably ate a pound of shrimp, a sausage, 4 red potatoes and a cob of corn. It was good eats. Unfortunately Blair and her boyfriend got miserably sick that night and so the time we would have spent with them, they spent puking and sleeping :(.

On Sunday we took a nice morning ride through the Island and ended up on a nature trail. We treated ourselves to lunch at Southern Soul Barbeque - it was featured on Drive In's, Diners and Dives on the Food Network, and omg it was sooooo good. Their meat was perfectly smoked and deliciously seasoned. It just melted in your mouth. We were stuffed and so we went back to the house and napped for a couple hours (also to prep for our 18 hour drive home).  We again treated ourselves to seafood for dinner only a few short hours later. How could we not? We were on the coast! And then said our thank you's and goodbyes and headed home. We rolled into camp around noon the next day and spent the afternoon recovering from our vacation and it was back to work bright and early Tuesday morning. 

Meeting the UG mascot

Thanksgiving night. Aren't we adorbs?

The beginning of the drive- we're still looking fresh. That didn't last long.

The gorgeous beach on Thanksgiving morning. I was thankful for the view.

All the pies without tinfoil are mine (and Josh's)

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The beach - Gould's Inlet

On top of the Lighthouse, Atlantic Ocean in the back

The lighthouse. Beautiful day to visit!

At Fort Frederica. No, I'm not too old to play dressup. And doesn't my man look good in that coat?

Riding bikes to the nature walk

Southern Soul Barbeque. You should go.

Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest in downtown McKinney
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It started to rain just as we got there. Franconia (a local brewery) hosted. 

We danced and polka-ed to a German band

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We took a break from the rain at The Pub 

Little Red Riding Hood

Little Red Riding Hood 2012

I can't say how excited (and nervous) I was to do this ride. Little Red Riding Hood is in it's 25th year and supports women cancer research through Huntsman Cancer.  It's the largest all women's ride in the country. I barely got registered. There were 3,600 riders registered back in February in just under 2 hours - it's a very popular ride. My friend Steph came from Seattle to ride and volunteer. It was the perfect weekend. Mariah and Jose came up to volunteer and cheer me on. We spent Friday night handing out clothes that women ordered and wandering around. We had free food and got lots of luna bars. Not a bad haul. I had sprained my ankle just a few days before and had a hard time walking around and standing so I watched the festivities as they happened around me.

Watching the costume contest while volunteering

Jake, me, Jose and Mariah in line to get Cafe Rio dinner

Morning of the ride. I'm stoked to get going  and  Steph and I before the ride

Lunchtime. It was a bicycle graveyard and a estrogen party

The first 50 miles went smoothly. I plugged in some music and rode. I kept a pretty good pace until lunch. I took about 20 mins to devour a subway sandwich, chips and cookie and take a quick bathroom break. I skipped a couple rest stops before lunch and that helped me keep a good pace. After lunch I was feeling a little lonely and down so my pace slowed. Looking back I think that I was probably climbing a little more than I had been so my pace could have also been slower because of that. Those next 25 miles (mile 50-75) were awful. I was cursing and feeling down and couldn't get to the next stop fast enough. Once I got there, I decided to take a longer break, and that's when my cheering section showed up. It was perfect timing. Seeing them made the last leg all that much better and really cheered me up. They watched as my ankle got re-taped and while I down gu's and they gave great words of encouragement. I worked hard that last 25 miles - climbing and into the wind but saw them again about 10 miles out and they cheered as they passed me to go to the finish line. I was so stoked to almost be done, but tiring quickly. So to keep my spirits and energy up I cheered for everyone that I saw riding on the other side of the road. It really helped me through to the end. The finish line was awesome! My grandma, her husband, Jake and Mariah and Jose were there! It was the best finish line so far. Even though it's hard to ride 100 miles, I don't think this will even be close to my last! Next time Mariah might even be there along side me!

Hitting 1000 miles on my bike computer and the final count 98.86 (I didn't want to do another mile) and burned 5584 calories while in the saddle for 6.5 hours.

I couldn't be happier to have accomplished my third century ride in a year!

My support team. I don't think I could have done the last 25 miles without seeing them at the final rest stop.


Grandma and Gary came to the finish line (they also took us to dinner). My grandma is the best. She brought flowers!

My amazing boyfriend - what a great sport and support.

Memorial Day: Moab

Memorial Day in Moab

Again, we packed up and headed down south for a weekend of adventure. We met up with Jack, Lori, Dusty, Forrest, Christine, and then Nick, Elle, Little Nicki, Nate and his girlfriend for some fabulous times. I got to the campsite Jake and Jack had staked out late Friday night after a lot of weekend traffic and a slight detour. The drive was exhausting. We slept hard, even though the wind was insane.

Setting up camp

All the toys!

The next day all we could do was drive - we dropped Jack and Dusty off at the top of a mountain to bike down. The wind was just out of control. We (Lori, Jake and I) were planning on an Arches National Park ride but we postponed and instead spent some time facing the wind on a little hike in the park and in an outdoor gear store in Moab and then wasted time that night until the wind calmed down. I was in charge of food for the weekend and people couldn't get enough of the chili that I made in the dutch oven.

Cycling in Arches National Park

Lori, me and Jake

The next day we hopped on our ride bikes for our 12 mile tour. Again we headed into the park, this time there was no wind, but the climbs were deceiving. We didn't' go far, but I felt like I got a great workout in. After that we tore down camp, and headed to the put in for the Colorado (Moab Daily) River. We packed the oar rig and the kayakers jumped in their boats as we floated/rafted down the river.

Boat captain Forrest, and Lori and I as passengers

We just spent one night on a riverside beach, but it reminded me of how much I like being on the river and spending time in such a unique and special place.

Lori, Dusty, me, Jake and Jack after packing up the car ready to get home.

I ended up getting a ride home in Jack's Subaru. That thing was PACKED TO THE HILT. I was amazed at how much stuff it takes for a fun filled weekend to actually happen. But hey, it was worth it. I'd recommend Moab to anyway. Just try to avoid it during long weekends!

Jake Graduation

Graduation II

Jake graduated on May 5 with a Bachelor of Science in Watershed Science from the College of Natural Resources. I know I wasn't there through his entire education, but I'm so proud of him for making it to this point! Like I was saying in my other graduation post, I love the ceremony of it all, and this was no exception - I may have even loved it more because it was at USU (my alma mater) and I could sing along and clap for the people I knew and hold near and dear.

His college ceremony was short and sweet - it was the best one I've been to. The speaker had a speech prepared that was down to earth and real and there were 60 graduates (if that). We celebrated with a party in the park and a concert that night. Can't forget a giant meal the night before either. It was a great time to be around friends and family and enjoy those milestones. Congrats Jake!

Park City

Park City

Blair wanted to do some pre-Europe shopping and I needed to get some professional clothes so we headed to Park City to hit up the outlets and have some fun. We invited our men and while we shopped they wandered main street. I think it was a success for all.

Driving in Blair Force 1 to PC

Blair and I

Jake and I at O'Shucks

Pole, Pedal, Paddle

Pole, Pedal, Paddle in Jackson Hole, WY

We headed to Jackson Hole late Friday night, crashed at a cheap motel and got up bright and early for the race. Pole, Pedal, Paddle is a race put on by the Jackson Hole Ski and Snowboard Club. Learn more about it here (I'd recommend doing it, it was a blast. Next year I'm going to be dressed up like mad!). Forrest did the first leg, the downhill skiing at Teton Village. Christine was off second to do that skate-ski on the 10k route. Next it was my turn. I grabbed the bib, jumped on my bike and got on the road to do a 20 mile ride. My wheel was on backward so I had to stop and get it fixed but I was soon on my way. The ride was really pretty, even though it rained almost the whole time and I had that delightful dirt track up my butt and back. I handed the bib to Forrest and he was off in the kayak to do a 9 mile stretch on the Snake River. We jumped in the 4-runner and went to the finish line to cheer him on. Our team, The Frozen Beavers, (fondly named after our beloved ski resort) took last place in the co-ed section. Maybe we'll do better next year....

Needless to say, we had a blast. Later that night we spent time wandering around Teton Village, scarfing pizza, and listening to the live jams of G Love and Special Sauce with a billion other people. We headed home Sunday morning, tired but happy!

Between the downhill and crosscountry legs.

Doing my portion

Post ride, tired, but happy.

look how cool we are!

Jake and I at the finish line. He was supposed to kayak, but because of the knee (it really put a damper on things. And how about that stache?) he was there as moral support and photographer.

The team celebrating after the big 'win'. ;)

March 31

Some Springtime Fun

Springtime Fun

Since the winter was so mild this year, springtime came fast and furious. The weather was fabulous and the weekends were filled with fun (sitting down fun anyway - more on the knee later). We cooked in the dutch oven pretty often. Played yard games and hung out with friends. What a great time to be in Logan! 

Dutch oven potatoes, fresh salad and marinated steak.

Hanging out one afternoon in the front yard

Dangly Ball!

BOZEMAN, MT

(Top: Me on our way home through the beautiful canyon. Bottom: Claire, Me and Megan going out on friday night - shortly after we arrived in town.)

BOZEMAN

Claire and I roadtripped to Bozeman, MT to visit Megan. We were roommates this last semester and couldn't stand to be away from each other much longer so we got in my little geo and headed the 5 1/2 hours up to see Megan.

On the way there we found some guys that were driving to Yellowstone from GA. We car flirted for about an hour through the Targee National Forest. They were a nice form of entertainment. We got a flip chart of messages and some funny memories of them rocking out. Silly boys.

Once we got there we went out to a Restraunt called The Bacchus. It was a fun place and we were out late. So the next morning we slept in, took it easy and then floated the Madison River. It was about 20 miles west of Bozeman. I swear all of Montana was there, just floating along. We were on the river for 2 hours, but we only put in half way. It was a nice way to spend a lazy saturday. That night we went to the Montana Ale Works restraunt. I liked the atmosphere and I decided Bozeman is where I need to live - everyone drives Subarus and wears Chacos. We took a tour around campus on Sunday and had a potluck with Megan's friends. It was a really fun weekend and so nice to get away from Logan for a while.