Apology & Schweizter Ski Trip

no, we're not dead.
sorry for the two months of silence. it's been quite busy, but we're prepared to get you caught up!


we spent this past weekend at schweizter ski resort in idaho.
schweizter is probably the biggest-closest ski resort to washington, with the exception of whistler/blackcomb; which [1] doesn't have any snow and [2] is currently hosting the oylmpics.

schweizter is perched high above sandpoint, idaho and lake pend oreille [pronounced: pend-o-ray]. now some folks from the midwest are going to knock idaho, but don't...until you've been there. northern idaho is completely awesome!

we spent saturday and sunday skiing; a question we get a lot is "how was the snow?" good saturday, crunchy sunday with a few fluffy stashes.

...and thanks to the super bowl hardly anybody was out on sunday. we had this beautiful mountain to ourselves! way to go nfl, you do do something useful! :)

back in sandpoint, we hit up: mickduff's brewing company [try their organic ipa], laughing dog brewery [stop by and see to toby], northwest handmade [where we bought a sweet "blue pine" bench for our mud room], tons of little local shops, and misty mountain furniture, where andrea found a huge rustic chair; too bad it wouldn't fit in our car!

both schweizter and sandpoint were worth the trip, and we will definitely make it again. but maybe next year we'll try whistler...if they have snow. :)

Truckee -> Lake Tahoe -> Yosemite

heading east from lassen volcanic national park we were hoping for warmer weather around lake tahoe, but we found more snow and our new favorite mountain town: truckee!


truckee is a wonderful little mountain town with amazing people and awesome art studios.


we first wandered into drake and lulu's. a cheerful little space that had a lot of metal and cloth art. we inquired about a cheap place to stay, as it was snowing and the temperature was dropping. many great suggestions were given, including one offer to stay at a friend's recently converted studio apartment.


next, we headed next door to Riverside Studio to check out pottery and other fine art creations. we ended up spending the snowy evening sharing stories over bottles of wine with allana and amie. we extended the evening over dinner at trio, and took them up on their offer of the studio apartment. amie and blake were gracious hosts. we hope we can return the favor someday.


when we awoke, snow covered the ground. we were thankful for a roof overhead, and warm blankets. southboard to yosemite national park was our agenda for today, but not without checking out lake tahoe first.


the water was so blue. snow had started to cover the mountains surrounding the lake.


andrea and i decided that the west road of lake tahoe, at the time we were driving it, was one of the most beautiful drives we've been on. above is emerald bay.


when we stopped for photos andrea found this big-ass pine cone! she stole it.

andrea wanted her photo with her and this peak!



as we were leaving the lake tahoe area, we began to ascend up and over monitor pass. in the distance we saw a weather station...or fire tower, or military installment. we really didn't know what it was, but the road was rocky, winding, and long. as our traveling motto is "leave no rock unturned" we turned off the nicely paved road. further proof that you need four-wheel drive.

here's a sample of what we get into.

twenty minutes up the rock road and the gate was locked! can you believe it! nobody came down to meet us. i was happy not to get arrested. we walked a little ways up the road, but then decided whatever was at the top wasn't worth the walk.


we could see forever up here. i think we were above the weather.


it was quite peaceful up here. nobody but us and the mountain. after "wasting" enough time, we traversed back down the mountain side to head south to yosemite.

i went back to ohio...

in the words of chrissie hynde...'i went back to ohio...'
it was time to see some friends, help brooke's parents move, and return to seattle with another uHaul. it was a very interesting trip to ohio, aside from the twelve-hour days spent in the car! here are some photos from our stops along the way.

7th cavalry monument at little big horn.

general custer's first grave. that's right, his first.
can you guess the second?

indian memorial at custer's last stand.

sidewalk art in sheridan, wy.

sidewalk art in sheridan, wy.

only in south dakota.

the badlands.

the beauty and the badlands.

bad ass.

iowa. that's right...this is iowa.
after 14 hours in the car we decided we wanted to stay longer.
we pulled into a rest stop, folded the seats down in the xterra
and 'slept' the night away! note to self: don't think that you
can sleep for seven hours comfortably in a space that is
one foot shorter than your body length!

canaan, indiana.
feels good (except for the heat and humidity)
to be back in the midwest.

it was a good (quick) trip to cincinnati to visit with some friends, family and eat some la rosas before heading on up to lake erie....

stay tuned for more details for the great ohio trip of 08.

St. Patty's Day in Chicago

As soon as Andrea heard of Brooke's business trip to Chicago, she decided to tag along:) Not only to check out the city a little more, but to spend time with her friend, Liz, and her brother and sister-in-law!

Welcome to Chicago!
[our self portrait]

How cool is it that there is a giant mirror bean in downtown? It kept us amused for quite a while.

We stayed right across the street from the John Hancock Building (definitely one of the coolest of the tallest, if you ask us.)


So what better time than the evening to check out the glow of the city? We headed up to the John Hancock Observatory late Thursday night.


Welcome to the flat midwest...where the lights go on...and on...
[observed from the John Hancock Observatory]


...and on...until you hit Lake Michigan. Then complete darkness hits.
[observed from the John Hancock Observatory]


We were able to get out and check out the city a little. The Art Institute of Chicago was a great visit (thanks Doan!) where we spent most of our time in the Thorne Miniature Rooms exhibit.


Art Museums rock.


Andrea's brother, Steve, and his wife, Maura live in Chicago, so we were able to stay with them after Brooke's conference. In the meanwhile, we had to get from downtown Chicago to their home in Wicker Park via public transit...which included multiple blocks of walking through downtown streets with our rolling luggage.


The 'El' (train) is a popular way of transportation around the city.


Cruising by a hundred miles an hour.


One thing we do miss about the Midwest/East Coast are the beautiful old buildings.
[pictured above is the Chicago Tribune Building]


Holy Crap! Do you see this stuff? They dye the Chicago River neon-nuclear-powerplant green!
[to our environmentally conscious friends: do not worry. whatever they use to dye the river does not hurt any being. thanks for asking]


Andrea and Steve sporting their green flare.


We grabbed Chicago style pizza at Giordano's, and couldn't resist the green beer to wash it down. The pizza was excellent and the beer smooth.
[Andrea, Brooke, Steve, Maura]


Yay!...Andrea loves St. Patrick's Day! Especially since she gets to wear her Blarney Boppers!


Brooke...I know it's only noon, but it's time to stop drinking for the day.


Steve and Maura made sure we got in plenty of tourist activities...so we made the walk down to Navy Pier to check it out. It was sweet!


We took some time to view the Stained Glass Museum located in Navy Pier.
This was a favorite.


We had seen enough buildings and walked enough miles, so we decided to sit down and relax a little. We met up with some of Steve and Maura's friends at an Irish Pub, where we spent the rest of our afternoon/evening/night drinking Guinness and green beer, talking, and laughing.

Steve loved watching his green bow tie light up.


Andrea and Maura...Irish sisters:)


St. Patty's Day fun!


The bar suddenly got cooler as soon as these guys showed up! They rocked that place, it was great.

Overall, it was a great trip to Chicago! The buildings were huge, the bustle was fast, but the time with Steve and Maura was much needed. Thanks, you two, for putting us up and showing us around! Can't wait for your visit out to Seattle this summer!

Now...let's get back to the mountains....