Later in the day mini road trip

What to do with a free evening? Well a trip to the Zappos/6pm warehouse of course! We each ended up with a pair of shoes, but the pickings were slim. Even in the women's size 11 aisle.

Midday Slug Fest

What to so with a break in the day but to join a few retirees and small children at the Louisville Slugger factory. Plus we each got a free mini bat.

Louisville, KY

Joel goes out for the local circus.

Speed weekend in Music City, USA

Or should we say vineyard, sushi, giant brunch City, USA?

Free Monday

What else to do on a free Monday off but have Lindsay meet me in Chinatown for lunch and foot massages.

Pies

We baked pies. Apple. And ate the whole thing.

O, Decatur.

Joel golfs, allie hangs out with ma. The regular d-town routine: mr. Johns school of cosmetology, Dell's popcorn shop, the neighborhood thrift store where you can always get a bag of vintage junk for less than $10, one dinner out (my limit), searching for eggs, a stop by stu & joyce's + treats, at least one attempt to force mom to exercise, and organizing/getting rid of junk. Overall this visit was quite a success.

Volunteer apron.

Farmers markets are just so popular in portland that they must work by a tier systems for volunteers. Joel jumped to Level 3 by putting in 4 hours as a flipper. He even earned himself a shrively frankfurter. Meanwhile Allie listened to a blue grass duet and spent 30 bucks on 3 giant peaches, purple carrots, a bunch of tarragon, summer squash, zucchini, little potatoes, Swiss chard, bing cherries and a killer 10 minute chair massage.

Biker birthday

Bike, as in bicycle. Not motorized bike. We're in Portland for Pete's sake. First we ate fro yo to get psyched up. The after a four hour adventure around Portland's innumerable bike shops, the guy from Craigslist finally responded and we bought his bike, then went back to the original bike shop to get a helmet, rack (Joel puts a rack on everything), and a nice lock since there were also lots of posts on Craigslist for rewards for stolen bikes. After we made our birthday purchases we went on our very first bike ride as a coupe with our own adult sized bikes. Per joel's request, we stopped at a neighborhood pub for some food and a beer, and watched the Olympics. After 32 strong years, ain't nothin like a big plate of fish and chips to ring in the next.

Food truck finally.

After a couple strikeouts, we found an awesome food truck that was both tasty and original, and also open after lunchtime. This place's theme was falafel and everything came in a pita (see photo below).

Portlandia!!!

So we are 80% sure we saw THE guy from Portlandia being filmed. Maybe 85% sure. Which pretty much makes us friends with celebrities. Joel and I were riding our bikes through a big park on Wednesday and saw people filming out of a land rover with a couple on a trailored motorcycle. They had to come back up the closed road, which is when I ever-so-sneakily snapped this photo, which I realize later should have been pointed the other direction. Anyway, the guy ha a wig on and the girl looked different, bit look for two dorks with bikes in the background of the next season's episodes. Next thing you know, we might be paid extras or stunt doubles. Without even trying.

Lovely Loveland Pass

 "Stop!  Pull over!  I don't see mountains just every day ya know."

 Plaidie McPlaidsters.

 Above the tree line = headache.

Isn't there some rule about being on top of mountains in a thunderstorm?  

Just outrun the slowest person.  Oh yeah, that's bears.  

Speak softly and carry a big stick.  No, that's Roosevelt.  

Stop, drop and roll?  Not by this cliff.

Only you can prevent forest fires?  That's Smokey.

Anyway, looked like a good time to make like a tree and leave.

Downhill slalom mt bike X games trials

Saturday at Copper Mountain, pretending to be real mountain bikers.  And yes, that is a chairlift that is taking us up the mountain.  We never said we were THAT hardcore.

Right before Joel launched off the side of the wooden bridge and splashed into a huge mud puddle and swerved between 14 trees to skid to a stop right in front of the camera.

 Allie opting for the black diamond fork in the trail.

 Almost looks like Allie is about to fall!  Actually was the first and only wipeout of the day...somebody put ROCKS on the path.  What kind of crazy people build a trail with a root right next to a mud puddle?

 Maybe a black jacket would've been a better option?  Thanks to the rain we only made one run down the mountain, but it still took an hour, and now that we're pros we'll probably go back and cruise the crazy trails with ease.

Joel's 17 pounder

 As the old saying goes, fisherman like to exaggerate.  Joel's catch of the day didn't quite make it home for dinner, thanks to Allie's butterfingers.  But it sure was a beauty...

 Since Allie forgot her pole and bobbers, she had some time to play around with the digital camera, and to do some painting.

Hang it on the wall!

Return to Rollin's Pass

It all started with an hour window in the day on Tuesday...We stopped at REI for Allie's early birthday present -- a new green lumpy extra-long 24 degree sleeping bag! We were all set to camp out in Joel's recently fixed tent, but realized after trying to set up that we only had the rain fly.  Oops.  Good thing our car turns into a tent!  We just had to empty some junk into the front seats and lock a bike to a pine tree outside.  And as for our inflatable queen sized taco bed, we just might leave that behind on purpose next time.

 We also talked with the volunteer nature guide about official places for Dispersed Wilderness Camping and were thrilled to find out that we could camp near where we got engaged last September. Unfortunately that specific place has since been marked every 15 feet with Private Property signs, so we had to stay a little ways up the road.

Happy 4th, Ned.

"And last year during Miner's Day Festival, the winds were so strong, about 75mph, that we couldn't even keep the tents up, but we still had our parade.  Because in Nederland, we always have a parade when we're supposed to have a parade."  

-Ned The Announcer for the past 19 years 

(see above photo)

 If you can't be at the Land, might as well celebrate Independence Day in Nederland.  We made it up just in time to find a spot on the Parade route, which consisted mainly of old and not-as-old fire trucks, a band on a trailor, a guy who owns a Nissan Leaf and the 3-member Nederland Unicycle Club.  

Pure Michigan

Soaking in some rays on uncle Steve's sailboat. And an impromptu weekend with mom! The market, the Lake, ice cream, a great dinner at Butch's, sunset, bird watching, church, grandma's, Westy test run, the beach with Jen & kids, and a ride back to Chicago.

No heads up ahead

Finding a source of humor in the decor.

Cook County Hospital

"County" at dawn. Old and new.

Royal straight?

Dakota del Sur

Joel wanted to enjoy every penny of our classy $57 hotel by taking advantage of the free breakfast. He walked out not only with a freshly baked sugar donut, but also a styrofoam bowl heaping full of Lucky Charms, and a coffee. When in Rome, right?

On the road again...

They should really just put calories per bag on these.

Mailbox shelter

Joel took a complimentary bus ride up to Seattle this week to fulfill a special request -- to use his expert wood working and mini architectural skills to produce this first in a series of 100 limited edition mailbox shelters made from reclaimed wood, ordinary shingles and repurposed mail containers. Get in line for the chance to secure a spot and experience forever these handcrafted masterpieces for your home or private collection today.

Thank you, Z's!

We had an incredible time living with Joel and Mandy for the month. Besides the spacious house, cuddly cat, and amazing meals, we enjoyed their company and great conversations. We are so grateful to them for allowing us to share their food, toys, car, and especially space, and for inviting us in on their lives in Tacoma. We will miss them!!