Mammoth ski trip, Feb '09

So, we took off a day of work and headed to the hills for some snow boarding. The trip was arraigned by our friend Karen and a group of 10 of us took off. I can't believe how good Lina is getting on the snowboard. She even made it down the treacherous Cornice bowl... the most difficult groomed black diamond run on the mountain! Way to go babe!





On the top of the mammoth with all the beautiful Minarets in the back ground. This summer these are the same hills we will be hiking through.



Mammoth is a dormant volcano... There is strong fumes coming from this roped off area... one of the vents!





On the way home we stopped my the Manzanar detention center where the US government detained and held over 100,000 Japanese Americans during the second world war. President Reagan issued a formal apology.

And.... we're off to Seattle!

Life can be rather spontaneous at times. Take for example last week. We had planned on using last year's plane tickets to Hawaii (which we couldn't use because of all the airlines shutting down) on this year's trip. A great plan we thought. So, I called up the airlines last Tuesday, February 10th, to settle everything BUT the agent I spoke with informed us that we actually had to be flying in the air before February 20th!!! So a quick decision was made. Valentine day's plans in Orange County were canceled and next thing we knew we were off on a plane to Seattle to visit Dominic and Sarah. Never mind the fact that we were invading on their first Valentine's Day as an engaged couple. They were gracious to show us around Seattle and were wonderful hosts!
When asked what we would like to do when upon our arrival and what are plans for the weekend might be, our response was simple..... Hang our with Dom and Sarah, maybe get a hike in and visit the REI Mecca! If you have ever been to the REI there, you understand. It is ENORMOUS and so of course we needed to check it out. Oddly enough, we also found some things we wanted to purchase. I found some winter boots (much needed because the old ones have a 5 inch slit in them... see previous posts) and Mark scored some new, more snug low tops for the trip this summer. We are hoping for a miracle with my boots. Perhaps they won't make my feet a blistery mess.
Then it was off for an afternoon hike. We drove out about 20 minutes from the city and strolled along this beautiful green trail. We fell in love with the place and dreamed of having a house there. (NO plans on moving as of now, but it was fun to imagine:))

It was great hanging out with Dom and Sarah. I was able to get into a little bit of all the wedding planning excitement with Sarah and was able to go with her to try on dresses. Dom and Mark, in the meantime, hung out at a coffee shop. We are so excited to have Sarah as a part of the family. She's great!
We had a lovely Valentine's Day dinner with Dom and Sarah and a couple of their friends. It was neat to explore their neighborhood and see their lives in Queen Anne.
We returned to the OC on Sunday and enjoyed the rest of our three day weekend putting the last things away in our house. It is sooooo close to being done:)!!!!
Thanks Dom and Sarah for the fun, last minute visit!

San Gorgonio Wilderness trip, Jan 18, 2009

Hey everyone!.... First, Congratulations to Dominic and Sarah, Lina's brother and soon to be sister-in-Law. Way to go Dom! A ring was exchanged on a cliff over-looking the ocean up in the Seattle area. We are so happy for you both and so happy to have Sarah Join the family!





SAN GORGONIO CONDITIONS:
There is still a good amount of snow up there. It is beginning to melt down by the South Fork parking lot area though. Gaitors are essential if you are heading up into the deeper softer snow up around Dollar Lake or Dry Lake. We used crampons and trekking poles as well. It got down into the high 20's at Dry lake with a little wind the night we were there. Snow shoes would have been nice especially in the afternoon to do much hiking due to an icy layer over the softer snow underneath. Boots and crampons broke through and made for tedious walking. We brought our ice axes but never used them other than to stake out the tent. OUR TRIP:
So, this was our first trip as a married couple. Lina got some crampons for a wedding gift so we were anxious to get out and try them out. We got on the trail at about 11:00 or so and had a great time crunching up the mountain with all our fun new gear. It is always fun getting out into the snow with crampons. They make you feel a little bit like Gene Simons from KISS. We left the Dollar lake cut off and made our way up the last 3 miles of the 6 mile trip up to Dry Lake. As we got up into the softer snow at the higher elevation we started to realize that we weren't as in a good of shape as we would have liked, but the beauty of the mountains in winter along with the promise of a tasty granola bar when we got to camp kept us going.

It began to chill up as we pulled into camp. The sun begins to go down at 4:00 or 4:30 up there and a little bit of a breeze picks up. We were really glad we had brought some good hot soup and began to feel pretty good once we had slipped into our new Down Jackets (thanks for the REI gift cards everyone!) Hot soup in your belly after a long day of walking makes everything a little better. We climbed into the tent at 7:30 or so and were out by about 8:30pm.

The morning was glorious! We stuck our heads out of the tent and got the stove going for some hot Earl Grey. Everything was bright and pristine. We had some Bible reading and prayer time together and then broke camp and headed out. All in all a really great time!










Lina's Feet:
What trip would be complete without some foot trouble from Lina's boots. I think we have both decided that we are at least going to explore the idea of having some boots made for her. Does anyone know of a custom boot maker?

Wild Ride of Winter

Wowzers! There is just to much that has happened in the last month or so to be able to give any real description of it. If you are anything like me a bunch of words on a blog page is a pretty big turn off, so... I will just keep it short and to the point with some captions for a few pictures so you can see what Lina and I have been up to over the last month.



First..... (drum roll) We got married! .. November 22, 2008... I cried a lot as did a bunch of other people I was told. Most everyone seemed to say that it was one of the better weddings they have ever gone to. I think one or two even said it was the BEST! With a bride as lovely as Lina... absolutely. It was a day I will never forget!


HONEYMOON
Next, we took off to Argentina. I had been keeping the trip a secret from Lina, but being as smart as she is, she caught a name off of an email that I accidentally showed her and she figured it out. She was gracefully not going to say anything, but I knew that she knew. I don't know if she knew that I knew that she knew, but maybe we can save that for another time.




We started in Buenos Aires spending a couple days alternating between sleeping, walking around the city and eating. Argentina has some of the best wine and certainly the very best meat in the whole world. That steak there grilling on the Parilla ruined me for life. No other steak will be able to match... soft as butter and a flavor that is out of this world!



The second part of the trip was truly the very best. We booked a room at the Sheraton right next to the Cataratas Iguazu... the Iguazu waterfall. They we kind enough to give us a free bottle of Champagne becuase we were newlyweds.





This waterfall in on the boarder between Argentina and Brazil. It is 1.67 miles wide and has over 200 individual single waterfalls that make up the whole falls itself. The Iguazu river flows out of the Amazon area and dumps millions of gallons of water over this falls.













COSTA RICA

After a much too quick trip to Woodland and then a cozy ... and a bit of a sad Christmas back here in La Habra, we took off to Costa Rica for a visit with the family that I lived with while I was living and working there from '96-'99.





Franklin and Xinia Guerrero





We had a great time kicking around the city with my tican sisters, Diana and Nela. The youngest Caleb, was out with friends much of the time. It was great to be able to reconnect and share some time together.


Thanks so much for all of you who have supported Lina and I during these last couple of months. We have often been dealing with emotional whiplash, bouncing between such excitement and sadness as well. Both Lina and I have been so encouraged and blessed by your friendship and care.

My dad passed away last Friday night at 6:30 pm. The whole family was there around him. It is hard to let go of someone that has been their your whole life... Yet, I think that we all really have felt a real sense of relief in his passing. He was ready to go, he wanted to go and leave the cancer wracked body he had. He really felt like he had lived the time that he was given and now it was his time to leave. I had one precious moment with him before he died. The Thursday night before, when I was getting ready to leave the house, I went over to say goodbye to him. He was still talking some... in small whispers. I bent over and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead and told him that I loved him. He did not have much strength, but he breathed out the words... "I love you son"... in that moment my mind flashed back to my very first memory. I don't know how young I was, I could not have been more than about 4 or so. But I remember riding on my dad's shoulders walking through a grassy green field in some magestic valley up in the high Sierras on a family camping trip... my very first memory. In that one moment I had the very first thought that I can ever remember of him and the very last thing that he ever said to me. I cried all the way home, but I will cherish those breathy little words as long as I live..... I love you dad...

Both Lina and I have been so blessed by the outpouring of love and gifts to us over the last couple of weeks. We have had multiple conversations about how hard it is to sit back and receive all that we have are being given. A good friend blessed us with a free BBQ to say nothing of all the wonderful wedding presents that seem to keep flooding in at every turn... we feel the love.

I am just about ready to move into the new house. This Saturday is the big day. Six years of living in this bachelor pad on Harbor #5 are coming to a close. It has been a little nostalgic packing things up, but I am more excited about the new memories that are waiting for me in the new house. Our moms surprised us by "breaking into" our place and getting it all decked out and ready to live in. All the shelves done up with that squishy shelf lining, cleaning supplies purchased and put away, and our favorite condiments purchased and placed in the cupboards. A true labor of love! Lina and I got down there today and put some of the stuff away. We had a chance to have our first prayer time in the house and went room to room just praying that it would be a place where God would bring lots of love and lots of joy. Can't wait to see you all down there... there is a bed and a warm cup of morning coffee waiting for you!

So, we are moving along. We took keys for the house this last week... so exciting. The front room is all hard wood floors and with one year old carpet in the bedrooms. The stove is one of the highlights of the house. True to the period, it is a cerca 1920's gas stove that has the look and feel of the times. I am especially excited because it is gas and puts out some good heat... stir fry! The only glitch that we have had is a bit of a flea problem. The managers have been really great in getting some professionals in there to take care of the problem for us. I hope to move in over the next couple of weeks with Lina coming in after the wedding.