Beach Day

Given the super nice weather, we all just spent the day on the beach, at the tide-pools and generally catching up. Beautiful.

Annemmmonnnnieee.....

The tidepools rock. Lots of colorful life there. I love the 250mm + teleconverter + big-flash. Awesome.

A Hike on the Pacific Coast Trail

We woke up mildly early and spent the day hiking several miles down the Pacific Coast Trail. Plenty of vegetation and insectyness around... It made for good macro-photography.

Nickel Creek Sunsets

After finding that every "real" back-country site was full (spring break), we decided on the free, short-hike site just south of Crescent City - Nickel Creek. It was a thoroughly awesome site with a creek, tide-pools, beach access and plenty of space. Awesome. We got down in the late afternoon, set-up and caught a sunset before drinking ourselves into a stary but early sleep.

Oregon Dunes

We spent an hour in the morning wandering around the dunes. There was dew covering nearly everything and the air was incredibly still. It was very very serene and peaceful.... Except for Nick running up and down the dunes to work off his pent-up energy. No wonder he gets along with children so well!

Beach Park Dinner

We stopped off at a random beach park to cook dinner. Nick and I went for a run down the beach then we all walked to the ocean and watched some sea lions (?) playing around where the river met the ocean. Nice sunset.

Columbia Gorge

We started our wet road-trip to the Redwoods after work on Tuesday. Nick and crew arrived around 3 and we left just in time for rush-hour. The drive to Oregon was surprisingly quick. With superb i-phone navigation, Nick led us to this brewery/winery/old-building compound. McMinniminas... or something. Good wine, good food and a nice night-cap for camping in the damp/wet Columbia Gorge at Ainsworth State Park. Heather & I woke up early Wednesday morning and did a little hike around the area before we all headed to the waterfalls. We hiked Horse Tail falls and stopped at Multnomah before spending the day driving down the Oregon coast.

Ok, models are cool

So, being a working vacation, I spent the day working. I have to say, models are growing on me. I still want to take one and write my name on a stellar surface with it just to prove a point, but you can make some cool animations with them....

Lacrosse!!!

We got to go see Nick play a game of this game. Basically, guys like to yell and hit each other with long sticks. And it's within the rules. You got the ball? Ok, I'm going to whack you. On the knuckles. Even though the ball is in the stick.

Kickball!!!

So, we made a pilgrimage to the flagship REI store. All up, our group did our patriotic duty and spent over 1k on camping gear. That store is addictive....

In ture Pac NW style, we then went and played kickball. Awesome.

Hiking Cedar Butte

Seattle is pretty awesome. Heather and I got in Friday night and got to walk around the hip district and catch up with Nick. I thought Grunge was dead but apparently it's "hipster" now.... We actually got to see stars, which I didn't think existed here, thought the drunks didn't seem to notice. Everybody wore what you'd expect in Seattle. Actually, it very oddly reminds me of Michigan Tech, only without 60 years of decay and economic depression. Canals, bridges, white people everywhere, big music scene and actually quite educated.

We had decided that Saturday was a hike day. Anna (Panza's fancy lady) came over early and we left for the Cascades (after Nick cooked - he's all growed up now). We hiked the Iron Horse trail and took a turn on Cedar Butte to the summit. It was beautiful!!! We went out to pizza and then passed out super early. Awesome.