Not Work

I've been working quite a bit lately, so I really appreciate my time away from work. Here are a few pics from Not Work.

Took a trip to Washington a few weeks ago and stayed near the ocean. Here I am in front of a light house. (Which one? Not sure.)


We rode horses on the beach. This is my horse top view.


This is one view from that lighthouse:

This past weekend included two hikes. Both hikes were in the Columbia River gorge. Today we hiked the Angel's Rest trail. Today's hiking companion, Murphy Melville:

\At the end of our hike, we perched a top a rock similar to this one:

And, enjoyed a view like this. (Ok, she was more impressed with the treat from a passing hiker, but I really liked the view.)

Walls!

This post is not about any adventure or travel or musical experience. I'm writing about the sort of thing that would make us roll our eyes when we were 20. A house project.

I haven't done much to my house since buying it last summer, but I recently became fascinated with the notion of having a wall built in my front yard. I live in a hilly neighborhood and began noticing others' walls. And, I thought it would be nice to stop hauling my lawnmower up and down the steep hill in front of my house.

See steep hill:

So, I hired a company to build a "dry stack" wall, which means you can't see any mortar between the stones. They got started, carving away at my hill.

Here is the after picture. What do you think? More curb appeal?

Here's a little closer view of the stone work:

I also had some work done behind my house. I have a garage, but another retaining wall behind my house made it really difficult to get in and out of the garage. After getting locked out of my house and car one morning while scraping the frost off my car (car running, keys in ignition), I decided I needed to address the garage situation.

Here is a before view of the wall in the back. Notice how little you can see of my neighbor's garage - the peak of the roof is peeking out from behind my fence.

Here's an after picture, showing how much of the back yard they removed to create more space.

Finally, my car tucked away in the garage. Exciting!!

The next post will be a little more sexy.

September in Michigan

Ok, so this post is a little out of order and a lot old, but I know at least a few people will find it interesting.

In September, I went to Michigan for a few days to see family and take what has become an annual trip to Mackinac Island with my mother. For those 6 people reading who are not from Michigan, here's some info on Mackinac Island: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackinac_Island,_Michigan

My mom and I stay in a very cool bed and breakfast:

And, for the last couple of years my dad and stepmom, Karen, have come to the Island during my visit in connection with a trip they've been taking involving walking across the Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day. http://www.mackinacbridge.org/annual-bridge-walk-7/

The reason my mom and I go each year is so that I can run an 8 mile race. Here we all are just after my race: Karen, Stacy, mom and dad.

After the race this year, Mom and I explored the Grand Hotel. From the Cupola Bar there are great views of the Straights of Mackinac. Here's my oh-so-arty picture showing a ferry making its way from the Island, Mackinac Bridge in the background.

A Day at the Beach

Because who really wants to read a blog post entitled
"A Day at the Office."

This was my Sunday at Cape Meares, Oregon:











Here's my self-portrait:




Where's Cape Meares? http://maps.google.com/maps?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&q=cape+meares&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=title

Super Fandom

Long, long ago, I posted about my trip to Alaska to see two Wilco shows. You may have thought that seemed excessive; my obsession will be confirmed by this post.

Because of my compulsive Type A need to proceed in chronological order, this post reports on my experiences not long after my Alaska trip. Again, I'm writing about Wilco. Yes, I am a Super Fan. I'm ok with that.

This past summer, I went to Bend, Oregon with my friends David and Heather to (1) see Wilco; and (2) do some hiking. At the show, we waited in line for the gates to open. We were early. We got close, really close. Here's a shot taken at about the time when Jeff Tweedy looked me in the eye; I could tell he was thinking, "you were at both shows in Alaska; it's great that you're here in Bend!"


Here's some more Rock Star Photography:



The next day, with ears still ringing, we set off into the woods. Here's a shot of David, me and Heather.
Here's a waterfall shot, just because.

Wild Alaska

I recently took a break from work to visit the Great State of Alaska.

I went up to visit my friend Tina, who I met in law school and with whom I initially traveled to Alaska after the Michigan Bar Exam in 2003. A bit about Tina. She's brave. She's adventerous. She talks to strangers. She does things I have to Google to understand. Skijoring. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skijoring Dipnetting http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/aug/fishing/dipnetting/index.html She loves Alaska and plans to be there for good. I'm lucky to have a good friend in such a beautiful place.


In addition to hanging out with Tina and meeting her friends and beau, we also saw two concerts. Which bands, you ask? Only one. Wilco. Two nights in a row. (Excessive, you say? Bordering on obsessive? Bah.)

The band would play their first night in Fairbanks. Having never been there, I decided to fly straight there to check out the town before the show. After quickly realizing there was not much to see in Fairbanks itself - mostly McDonalds (I saw at least 3) - I headed out of town on Alaska Highway 3 in hopes of catching a glimpse of Mt. McKinley (Denali, as it's called locally) even though it was probably a hundred miles away.

I never saw what was obviously a 20,000 foot mountain, but I did see several nice vistas along the way.



Tina had (wisely) stayed in Anchorage (working) while I explored Fairbanks. Later in the day, I picked her up from the airport and we headed straight to the venue. The most unlikely of venues, I might add.

We were close to the stage; I was loving every minute. And, thanks to Tina's keen eye, I snagged this souvenir. (For those not as crazy as me, it's a set list - very valuable :) )


That night, we stayed in the cabin of a friend of Tina's.


We flew to Anchorage the next day for that night's show. Anchorage has been having a soggy, cold summer. The evening of our show was no exception. I didn't take any of my own photos, but found this video on You Tube. Check out all the soaked fans. If you watch closely at the end, a brown haired head pops into view in the lower right corner. Me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvxstHg4_Y0

Home Sweet Home

My year anniversary in Portland was May 1st. On May 10th, I received the keys to my new house.

Here's a better shot of the front.