I finally had a Turkey.

It's true. It might seem with that high score that I'm pretty good at bowling, but I only managed to get 96 points on my previous game. On the other, Jimmy managed to get 7 strikes in one game, so I can't act too proud of my score. Nevertheless, 170 is an all time high for me.

We forgot the Marshmallows

Traci and I missed out on the biggest bonfire last Sunday night. It so happens that our friends who own a cabinet shop received the news at around 1 a.m. that their building was on fire. We didn't hear the news until 6 a.m. and there wasn't much left by then. Fortunately, nobody was in the building and the surrounding homes didn't receive any damage from the heat. I'm not aware of what caused the fire but the "Days Without an Accident Sign" is back to zero.

This past Saturday was Carmel & Marlin's Anniversary, I suppose this is one they won't forget.

Welcome Autumn

Autumn is my favorite time of the year. The colors of the leaves begin to change, it means traveling to spend time with family and friends, but mostly it means Traci initiates her baking season... I can't wait for some pumpkin pie!

2nd Anniversary

I have been meaning to update my blog but it appears something always comes up when I'm ready to sit down and write. Anyway on the second weekend of September, Traci and I ventured out to the Oregon Coast for 3 nights. We took off Thursday evening to spend the night at Hood River and drive along the south side of Mt Hood in the morning. Friday was full of driving as our goal was to reach Bandon "By the Beach" and enjoy a sunset at Traci's ol' stomping grounds. (I must mentioned that we DID enjoy umpqua ice cream at Rice Hill on our way down.)

We spend two nights at Bullards Beach where we enjoyed visiting the lighthouse, driving on the beach, a car show, staying at a yurt and learning a plethora about cranberries. It is one beautiful beach and one that I highly recommend to everyone. On our way up north towards Lincoln City, we stopped by Florence where we stumbled upon a car show and also visited the loud and obnoxious sea lions at Newport Bay. Once we arrived to Lincoln City, we visited a few antique stores before arriving at our yurt and enjoying a nice campfire with plenty of marshmallows. The D river is quite interesting as it claims to be the world's shortest river and it truly is a short river. 400+ feet long?

I must admit that it was rather poorly planned on my behalf to simply drive the whole day on our actual anniversary day. The goal was to drive from Lincoln City to Walla Walla, which is plenty of miles to cover in one day. About the only thing we actually did was stop by Multnomah Falls and enjoy some Taco Del Mar at hood river. It's hard to believe that two years have gone by quickly. It feels like it was just yesterday that I was writing my wedding vow an hour before the ceremony while eating a Pizza at Wallowa Lake. Two years later I'm sitting in front of a computer typing away at 12:30 am while my wife sleeps in bed. Is that a sign that we're an old couple?

Forgotten Jeeps Meet up

Last weekend was the first opportunity I have had to visit a Jeep get-together. It wasn't a huge turnout but it was definitely worth visiting. The meet-up was in Olympia, WA and it was specifically for Forward Control Jeeps, a line of Jeeps that many have never heard of. This was the second year and only about 8 showed up, although I'm sure it will get bigger with time. It was fun talking to a few people and seeing a couple of them run.

A Weekend at Glacier

A couple of weekends ago Traci and I made a trip to Glacier National Park just for the weekend. This year is the centennial year of the park so we didn't want to miss out on this opportunity. We had originally made plans to be there for the 4th of July but due to a series of events, we weren't able to make it then. Since the summer season only last about 3-4 months, the "Going to the Sun" road is limited to travel for a short period and that urged us even more to make a trip there. We left on Friday afternoon and arrived at the park around midnight. We then began our day at around 7 am and drove through the park until 3pm. Since Traci's parents were staying at Quake Lake near Yellowstone, we decided we would joined them (which meant about 7 hours of driving). We met up with them at 9pm on Saturday night and after a good night rest, we began our trip back home around 8am Sunday.

On our way back, we drove through Sheridan, MT and acquired another Jeep. It's 1980 Jeep Cherokee Chief with an automatic transmission. (Just like our Gray Jeep) The plan is to take the suspension from that Jeep and switch it with our Jeep, because what's the point of having a lift if we don't take it offroading? But anyway, it sure was a lot of driving for just a weekend trip but it was well worth it. Glacier National Park is one very awesome place even when it's hazy.

Richey MT

A couple of weekends ago Traci and I made a trip to Eastern Montana for a family reunion on her mom's side. It was a long commute for each family member but we were all excited to spend time at the farm where Traci's Grandpa grew up. The town is called Richey and I doubt that more than 250 people live there. The old bank, gas station, lumber yard and theater are all closed. Although the bar is still going strong... minus well drink your sorrows away right?

On our way to the farm, Traci and I stopped by Pompey's Pillar near Billings, MT. This sweet mount of dirt is awesome because William Clark carved his name on the rock. That's right, the guy from the Lewis and Clark expedition. Quite neat. Once we arrived at the farm we did a lot of exploring and learning about Traci's grandpa and the farm. Since we were about 45 minutes from North Dakota, we also decided to make a short trip to the state line just to say that we've been there. On our way back from North Dakota Traci and I stopped by the small town of Enid where it's said that Traci's Grandma was the first to be born in that town and was therefore named after the town. There isn't much left of the town except for the bank vault and hotel? Overall, it was a great trip spending time with her family.