The journey continutes-sleepily

I can't remember sleeping so bad in my whole life. I have been winter camping on several occasions but this was the worst I can ever remember feeling at night while camping. I put my tarp down and used two thin blankets thinking that would be enough. I put on my sweatshirt and even a pair of gloves. While the fire was going it was toasty but after that went out I was done and I had no more wood and no way of getting more in the middle of the night. I put on pretty much all the clothing I had and nothing helped. I tried to pull the tarp around me and that made little differece. At 5:30 I was up and went and took a nice hot shower for probably 30-45 minutes. I came back and was finally able to sleep for a couple hours. I woke up and Doug invited me over for coffee. I told him I didn't drink coffee but would join him and I ended up getting a boiled egg, pastry, and a cup of applesauce out of it. Not too shabby since I had nothing. After that I packed up and headed out of camp around 10 or 10:30 am.

Shore Acres Gardens

I tink the pictures speak for themselves but I will just mention that there is an amazing botanical garden at this park. While I was at the lookout point this guy starts talking about seeing the whale off in the distance and describes to me where it was. Apparantly my day vision isn't as good as my excellent night vision(inside family joke). I finally found the whales but they were far enough off that all I could see was water shooting up every couple minutes. I continued on to the next lookout which was just up the road and found the lookout to be packed with asian tourists and they were all checking out the whales. This lookout was only about 2-300 yards from the whales and you could see them coming up and I saw the tail of one of them come out of the water. It was pretty cool.

From there I headed out on the road again and stopped for lunch in Bandon. It turns out that they have a pretty cool little set up there and I helped myself to a bread chowder bowl(yummy). Well, I had spent plently of time dilly dallying around so I needed to hurry on down the road.

Bathroom Break

I stopped here Hopeing to find a bathroom that I could use but ended up just using nature as they didn't have one that was close. I didn't stay here long becuase the wind was blowing as hard as I have ever seen it blow on the Oregon Coast. You see those white crested waves in the picture. Those aren't from the tide-they are from the wind blowing. Okay that's a lie but it was a strong wind.

Dino Park

While driving South I just happened to pass a place with a huge T-rex in the front of the store. I love a good goofy pic so I though I would take one and found it was a self-guided dinosaur tour through a mini tropical forested area. I took the tour and was pleasantly surprised at how much fun it was to look at the life-sized dinosaurs. I didn't stay for too long becuase I was starting to get wierd looks from other people-like they have never slid down the tail of a dinosaur and yelled yabba dabba dooo.

I headed back out on the road and made it to Cresent City where I stopped for gas and met Tiny(who was not Tiny) and his wife/gf. They were extremely friendly and had ridden their bike from Colorado. We talked for a few minutes and they mentioned a ride through the redwoods that I had never heard of even through I had once lived in the area. I took the ride and found it to be enjoyable but not as cool as the Avenue of the Giants.

I made my way to Arcata CA where I tried to contact an old friend with no luck so I ended up staying in a Ho Jo's and spent a lot more than I wanted to so I at Carl's Jr for dinner instead of having a nice steak like I wanted. Being that it was the 4th of July I was going to go to the fireworks show but in the end I was too tired from not sleeping the day before and had a bath and a quite night in my hotel room.

The end with reflections

Day 3-I woke up after getting a great nights sleep and filled up on my complimentary continental breakfast while reviewing a "101 things to do in Humboldt county magazine". Having lived in the area I already pretty much knew what I wanted to do in the area but I was trying to decide the best route home as I had decided that I wanted to see my family. I ended up deciding that I would take hwy 299 over to hwy 96(Bigfoot highway) then up to I-5 and home.

I again tried to call my friend in the area but he must have left town for the 4th. I headed into Arcata to check out some of the old places I knew. I drove by my old house and the university and drove by my old church building. I then headed to the town center and drove down the main streets to see what had changed. Their weren't too many major changes but I was disappointed to see a little pizza place I used to really like had closed down. I was planning on eating lunch there but that obviously didn't happen. I parked my bike and sat in the plaza for a little while just to relax and people watch. I had kind of forgotten what the town was like. It is a really small college town full of hippies and the entire city council is in the Green Party and it shows in the town. The square was a mix of younger college age people and some older scruffy looking hippy types sitting on benches sleeping or relaxing. A guy on his bike randomly came up to me and asked me if I wanted to trade my motorcycle for his bicycle and then told me how he wished he could have a motorcycle and that he used to own one.

From there I drove to Eureka over the Samoa bridge to the place where I used to work hoping that some of my old friends were still there. Turns out that Cho still worked there and was excited to see me. She had lost my email address and contact info I we had lost contact. Other than that there weren't too many people left at that job that were my friends. I guess that is what happens after 8 years. I decided to end my Eureka visits by going down old town and then heading over to the jetty. I parked my bike and took a stroll to the end of the jetty where I relaxed for a few minutes watching the waves slam against the jetty and watching a porpoise surface through the high waves. I called wifey and told her that I would be coming home that night as I really wanted to see her and baby E.

I started my trip around 1pm thinking that I would stop somewhere along hwy 96 and get a bigfoot burger. Turns out that the map was kind of decieving as far as showing any development along the route. There were a few towns but none of them were really tourist towns of any sort and didn't have much too offer for food. The entire route was along a river(2 different ones I think) but that didn't do much to help cool the ride down. It was cold on the coast and the fog had rolled in to Eureka making my leather jacket a necessity but a few miles outside town I had to ditch the jacket as it was over 100 and I was sweating like crazy. As I turned onto 96 I saw a bigfoot highway sign and thought "I should take a picture" but then decided I would just take another down the road. Turns out they trick you with that sign making you think the path was developed and fun in some way. The route was longer than I could make it on one tank of gas but I figured someone had to have gas. I picked the name of a town and decided it was a good halfway point and I would get gas there. Unfortunately small towns don't often carry premium gas which is what is required in my bike. I had to backtrack 15 miles to the last town to get premium. On my way back I rode my bike down to the Klamath River to take a small break and decided I need to figure out some way to cool down for my ride. I took off my shirt and soaked it in the water and returned to my riding-much cooler but it didn't take long to dry out.

I hit I-5 low on gas hoping that a station would come up soon. Fortunately I found one and was on my way North along "The 5". I sped north and hit Jack in the box for dinner and then was on the road again. It was getting dark and hard to see so I pushed onward going between 75-85 mph. Turns out your gas mileage isn't as good at those speeds. As I was heading up a mountainside in-between cities the bike started to sputter. I realized I was in trouble but wasn't sure I would have any better luck going back then I would pressing foreward hoping I made it to the next station. A couple miles later my main tank ran out of gas and I switched to the reserve tank praying that I would make it to the next gas station. I crested the mountain and began the 8 mile descent to the bottom. I am not sure how much gas fits into a reserve tank but I knew it wasn't much and doubted I would make it much further than to the bottom of the mountain. I got to the bottom and there just happened to be 2 24 hour stations right there. I was really lucky. I arrived home at 1am-A long day on a motorcycle and I was trashed.

Reflections-The trip was totally worth it. I worked out a few bugs for the next trip like packing warmer sleeping gear or plan on staying at a hotel. I think the state park option is more fun as you get a chance to meet more people and stay closer to the ocean without the high cost of beachfront hotels. I liked riding by myself but I am not sure I would want to take a trip much longer than I did by myself. I probably would have watched the fireworks had I not been by myself. Of course it also could have been only getting a couple hours of sleep the night before and riding all day that made me too tired to go.

The thing that I think I liked most about the trip was that I learned there are two types of men. Those that have bikes and those that want them. I can hardly think of anyplace I stopped where I wasn't approached about my bike or saw people looking at it and commenting. I remember driving down the street in Bandon and this kid waved at me as though I were his hero or part of a parade. Another kid was along the side of the road on the highway with his dad and when he saw me he started waving. A guy at a gas station along hwy 96 came and sat down in front of my bike and started asking me about it and then requested that I burn rubber when I left. I stopped at a rest stop and a guy came up to me asking me where I was heading and started talking about his bike. After I finished eating at Jack in the box I went out to start my motorcycle and just as I was starting it, an older lady got out of her car and jumped when I started my bike. An employee that was outside chuckled with delight as I apologized for startling the elderly lady. As I was leaving the parking lot, I saw a young mother with her toddler in a stroller smile, point, and say something to her toddler about the motorcycle.

Overall I would say the trip was a huge success-now I have to go back to the real world. Bummer!

5 year anniversary

Luckily wifey pointed out to me the significance of this particular anniversary or I might have tried to get away with flowers and dinner. I never really thought that a five year anniversary would be any different than a 3 or 4 year but I have once again been proven wrong. I am just glad that we live in the days of internet shopping and 2 day delivery with fedex. I ordered her a pair of 1/4 ct. diamond earrings and they cost a fair amount. When I got them I couldn't believe how small 1/4 ct. is. I was wondering if I got a size too small fortunately wifey doesn't suffer from having a gigantic melon like I do and therefore the earring look just fine. We went out to dinner at a nice local restaurant and came home and watched a movie. My wife spent some time on the present she got me. She put together a bunch of memories from friends of mine which is one of the best presents I have ever gotten because I will actually remember the present.

Turning 30

A lot of people seem to have trouble turning 30 but I just did and I didn't think it was that big of a deal. I guess I might have more of a problem with it if I was going bald or something like that. I am getting a couple gray hairs but that doesn't even seem to bother me. I was going to have a big ol' party for my b-day but recently went to a friends party and it was awesome and I figured I couldn't top it so why bother trying. I was trying to make my 30th seem like something special but it just seemed like another day. I worked for most of the day and then played basketball that evening and that was pretty much it. I think I actually enjoy being older(don't get me wrong I had fun being younger) but there is a certain amount of respect that comes with age that I didn't get in my early to mid 20's. I got a card from my sister in law that said "happy 30th b-day. When life really begins". I think I'll stick with that idea.

Big blue eyes

Baby E now wakes up somewhere between 6-7 am and guess who gets to get up with her...Me. Wifey gets to stay in bed for another couple hours until it's time for me to go to work. She told me not long ago that she wanted to start waking up with the baby and me so we could have family time together and I recently called her on this and her response "I'm a woman. I can change my mind" which brings to mind the comment by Captain Jack Sparrow when he is accused of cheating and responds "Pirate". I suppose my wife can just do whatever she wants and when called on it, she need only respond "woman" and what can I say...I guess it's true. I am finding that it isn't too bad to get up with her. If I am really tired I just put her in her high chair and throw food at her while I am trying to get a little more sleep on the couch(which doesn't really happen). After she is done eating I take her of the the chair, make sure there are not valueble items lying around, and let her run(crawl) wild. She likes to hang around within sight of me usually which is fun and cute but can get old. The other day I went in her room with her, closed the door, threw toys all over the room hopeing she would stay occupied and tried to get some sleep on her floor. I think she grabbed my hair no less than 50 times and crawled over me no less than 20. I actually managed to sleep through some of this though. She is growing really fast and I can't believe that it won't be long before she is walking. She moves around pretty well on her own now and I am frieghtened what it will be like when she can walk.

Cutie

With a baby this cute why wouldn't we want to have about 4 more?

Alcatraz

When I lived in Eureka CA, back in 1999 I had a chance to go to San Fran. I had never been and didn't really look into what there was to do there but I knew that I wanted to go to Alcatraz. We didn't have a lot of time so we went down to the wharf and were screwing around and made our way over toward Pier 39 where they leave for Alcatraz. When we got there I found out that I had just barely missed the last tour of the day. I thought to myself, "no biggie, I'll just come the next time I go to San Fran" but not really knowing when or if that would ever happen. At the beginning of this year a training opportunity through work presented itself and I was able to go San Fran again. I had a big scare the day before leaving as I went on the Alcatraz website and saw that they recommend buying tickets before arriving as they often sell out. I was nervous that they would sell out but fortunately I was able to make it(as evidenced by the picture). I was hoping to recognize more places from the move "The Rock" but I am sure a lot of the Alcatraz scenes were shot elsewhere. It was still pretty cool to see it and I had a great time. Now I have to go back again sometime and take my family. It'll probably be another 8-10 years(man I am getting old).

Presents

This is a pic of me wearing my Christmas presents. Watch out Mexican lucha libre-her I come.

It has begun

In the mornings, I wake up and get baby E cuz she wakes up about the same time as I do. When I am using the bathroom, I put her on the floor to entertain herself and when I came out, this is what I saw. I don't know if you can tell from the pic but the garbage can has fallen over and is leaning against her head. I didn't put her very near the can and she can't crawl but she is pretty good at rolling around to where she wants to go.

Pelican

This picture was taken from the deep sea fishing boat on the way back to dock when the guides were cleaning the fish.

Deep Sea Fishing

Wifey's dad and I went deep sea fishing on the last day of our vacation. It was a great day. In this pic you will see the only fish between the two of us that was a keeper. I caught 5 red snappers but they are not in season and I had to throw them back. We went about 11 miles out to sea and the porpoises followed our boat around as we stopped at each location to fish. On one occasion when I was reeling in a fish, I felt my line jerk really hard and then something started stripping the line out. It then gave me some slack and started stipping line out again. I was excited and freaking out cuz I had no idea what I had on the line. One of the guides told me I might have a dolphin on the line. My line went slack and then there was nothing. A couple seconds later the porpoise surfaced and smiled at me as it ate the fish it had stolen off the end of my line.

Shell Island

It was a great day for beach combing on Shell Island. We only found a few good shells because right before our boat came into the dock, baby E dropped a bomb in her diaper and we were late getting off the boat. She was so tired that she fell asleep with her head against my chest which is actually very rare and only occurrs during extreme exhaustion. It was a beautiful day and I wish that it would have lasted longer and that we could still be there becuase the weather here is rainy as usual.

Christmas with the in-laws

We went to Florida this year for Christmas. It was interesting being in that kind of environment for Christmas but overall it was one of the better vacations I have had. In this pic, wifey's family is just chilling in a pontoon boat that we rented and took around for the afternoon.

Santa's little helper

She doesn't actually get very much work done for Santa. It's more like making a mess for Santa.

First Christmas Tree

In a picture just before this, baby E was eyeing the candy cane. I guess she will take after me.

My crazy looking kid

Gotta love the shades

What a cutey

Dress provided by Grandma

Bargain Shopper

Baby E has started bargain shopping at a young age. Wifey will likely be sure to tell her that you don't want to shop for too many things at Shopko though.

I'm Hungry

Baby E taking a bite out of one of her first Christmas presents

Jefferson Park

The day couldn't have been much better. We hiked about 12 miles cover a couple thousand foot elevation gain and had an awesome time. This pic is taken from Jefferson Park Ridge. We hiked down into the park pretty much straight ahead of us until we got to the base of the mountain. There is no trail to the top of the mountain and it's my understanding that this mountain is the most rugged in Oregon and isn't summited that often.

Smiles for mommy

I have gotten some pretty big smiles and some good laughs from baby E but she saves the best for mommy. See how she is looking to the side...that's were mommy is at. It's pretty standard for her to do this. It's funny and sad at the same time. I think she knows dad as the boring guy who comes home late at night, swaddles her and puts her to bed. That's boring. Mom gets to play with her during the day. If it sound like I am a little jealous, that's cuz I am. If I could stay home and never work at my job again, I would do it in a heartbeat.

What a wreck...or two

I recently went mountainbiking with some kids from church but what they failed to tell me or what I failed to ask was what kind of biking we would be doing. It turned out to be downhill mountainbiking whereas I have only done crosscountry biking. I didn't really know that it mattered that much what kind of bike you have but apparantly mine does not work very well for downhill biking. It would be like trying to use cross country skis for downhill skiing, technically you could get down the mountain but it wouldn't be pretty and you would probably crash a lot. I did.

When we first got there, people were jumping this man made jump where you went down a hill, shot up the jump and landed on a wooden man made landing. As I watched others do it I realized that I have never done anything like this before but I didn't want to be outdone by anyone. As I prepared to head down the jump I said out loud, "what is the worst that could happen? I could crash". I did just that. I headed down, hit the jump and got plenty of air and distance but when I hit I was too far foreward and went over my handlebars and landed on my shoulder, arm, hip, and leg causing scratches and bruises to all those areas(some pretty good ones too). After that I only took smaller jumps until we headed up the mountain for the single track downhill.

On the way down I went off this little ramp that they built on the trail with a small drop off. My front tire went down first and I went over the front of my handlebars and landed right on top of my head, rolled the the side, and then my bike fell on top of me. I was pretty much done after that. I cracked my helmet and broke my sunglasses. I rode down the rest of the mountain and ended up bending the sprocket on my bike.

All in all it ended up being a pretty painful and expensive day but also a pretty good story.

Indian and the Moon Totem Pole

This was the unveiling ceremony for a totem pole that was donated to the school. It's a pretty cool totem pole and was donated for the lost children of the school.

Yummy

A While ago she found her right hand and now the wife says she has also found her left hand. It makes it nice so I don't have to worry as much about being on binky duty. One thing that makes me laugh about baby E is how wide she makes her eyes. I think if you look over a lot of the pics I have posted you will notice how wide her eyes are open. It's almost like she tries to open them wider becuase she wants to see more of everything that is going on around her.

Crafty wife/Beautiful baby

Wifey made this little bib that baby E is wearing. When I married the wife, I had no idea she was very crafty but it comes in handy for cool stuff like this.

Cutest kid in the world

Alrighty then

She is looking at me in one and her mom in the other. Can you guess which is which?

Beat down by the river

When we hit the rapids there were six people in this boat but I found myself floating down the river with my paddle in hand wondering exactly what happened. I actually know exactly what happened and thought it was the coolest thing I have ever had happen while rafting down a river. This is a class 4 rapids section and if you look at the picture where we are nearly engulfed in water, you will see me to the front of the boat on the bottom part of the picture. Before we hit the rapids, I was nearly at the front of the boat but in this picture, I am actually in the process of flying backwards off the boat into the water. Some people don't like getting thrown in the water but it made my day when it happened. The funny thing is that before hitting the rapids we had decided to take another route as we had encountered some misfortune earlier in the day and some of the people in my boat did not want to go over the difficult section of the rapids. Fortunately, our boat lacked the skill to manuever the boat where we wanted and therefore ended up going over the most difficult section. The rapids tore our boat apart, took the hat off one guy, took anothers oar, and threw me in the river. Good times.

A happy baby

Today when she was smiling at me and making some really cute baby noises, I couldn't help but have watery eyes. She is soooo precious and cute.

Not a mustache

She's so cute when she's sleeping. As a side note, this is not a mustache-it is a 5 o'clock shawow with additional shawows from the way the pic was taken. I will never have a mustache...ever.

SSSSHHHHH

These pics got put in here in reverse order but this is just one minute to the next. I am shhhshing her in the second pic and it seems to work quite well to calm her down.

First photo of a smile

This is the first one that I have and I'll try to put some more in later. She has started smiling a lot right after she is fed. I think she still smiles at her mom more but I think I am gaining some favor though it's actually hard for me because I don't get to see her and spend as much time with her as I'd like. I am a little jealous of the wife-until she starts screaming and I remember that I couldn't do it all day long:)

A couple of cuties

I have a hard time wanting to read to her becuase she really doesn't seem to notice or care that we read to her but I suppose I should.

Civil War

We took baby E to see a Civil War Reenactment at the park. I had never been to one and thought it was actually quite cool but hard to watch with a 4 week old baby fussing. Maybe next year will be better unless the wife is pregnant(she's gonna kill for even suggesting such a thing when she reads this.

Blessing

Wifey's mom bought a dress and modified it to this great looking dress for Baby E to be blessed in.

Bath time

I swear I'm not putting cold water onto her.