Is it Time?? I think it's Time!

Phew! I actually have time today to update this…… it’s been a few moons, huh? Well, here goes! Got a few mins?

Mexico
It was fabulous…..absolutely everything I needed and more. Erik and I had the chance to relax together in romantic Cabo San Lucas. We spent long evenings out on the balcony, enjoying the nice sunsets………we went for walks on the beach and watched the enormous waves crash on the rocks…….we ate all sorts of great food, went on a glass-bottom boat ride, explored the open markets and took walks through the marina. My brother’s wedding was also fantastic! Everything was so romantic and simple…… the scenery of the beach and ocean behind the wedding party was all the decorating they needed J The ceremony was sweet, brief and pretty tearful. I was behind Jeff so I got to see Mary’s expressions as she vowed to love my brother for as long she lived – which was amazing…. SHE is amazing. Then, the party got started! Great food, great music and good planning made the party a huge success. I’ve posted some awesome photos on my photo blog – check ‘em out!

Tastin’ N Racin’ Hydro Race at Lake Sammamish – June 10th
It was a last minute scramble to get the engine rebuilt in time for the 2nd day of racing, but we did it! We headed out from Whidbey Island early Sunday morning and made it down to the lake with plenty of time (and right as all the muscle cars were pulling into the field! Ahhhhhh…… there’s nothing better than the sound of a dozen throaty motors). Anyways, Erik was driving that day so we got him registered and his nurse’s check done and did last minute things until it was time to race – and man oh man – it’s so exciting to watch Erik launch and start the motor J The first heat started out really strong! He ran in 3rd place most of the way and the only 2 boats in front of him were larger, 7.5 liter boats (we’re 4.5 liter)!!! WOOHOO! He probably would have won, but on the last lap, he made the choice to cut the engine due to the rising temperature of the motor. We pulled out it and took a look – all was well. Or so we thought. He wasn’t able to make it out to the course for the second heat L Oh well – engine’s break and sometimes there ain’t a damn thing we can do about it. So, we packed up and headed home. Better luck next time! But it was still fun to see Erik FLYING around on that course. Check out the photos here.

Fourth of July – 4 days weekend
Erik and I had started planning our Washington state Camping/Road trip/Exploration-of Ghost-Town-Excursion for weeks! We had originally planned to explore Southeast Washington, a place neither of us had spent much time in, but when we got out past Yakima, we were bored (it was Highway 24 – I DO NOT recommend it). There’s nothing out there – just hills and long, straight, boring roads. Oh, but seeing how hops grow for the first time was cool. So we decided to head up north on Highway 17 towards Moses Lake. We camped that first night in a National Wildlife Refuge Area after getting a permit from some campground. It was beautiful, but we didn’t realize just how many bugs would be present L But it worked out good since we kept the doors of the tent closed at all times. The sunrise was completely unreal….. it was so fascinating to hear nature wake up little by little. As soon as the light started appearing in that pale blueish hue, I heard a few fish start jumping – and as it got lighter and lighter, the fish jumped higher and higher and the birds got louder and louder. I forgot how relaxing it is just to sit through a whole sunrise. We got out of there pretty quick, since the bugs started attacking again and headed back out on the road.

THEN, we headed up Highway 21 towards the Columbia to take a free, open air ferry, through Ferry County and on to Republic. We checked out a few Ghost Towns in Ferry County, on our way to Highway 395, which took us north, following the Burlington-Northern Railroad tracks to Orient, a small ghost town we had some information on. Mostly just old buildings that were falling down, but it was still creepy and cool. From there, we went west on this looooooong road that followed right along with the US-Canadian border, which was kinda cool. We followed that from Ferry County through Okanogan County all the way to Chesaw, WA. We stopped at their old cemetery, which was eerie and pretty cool to see (lots of gravesites from the mid 1800’s). After that, we stayed at a really cool campground and swam in the lake and made uber yummy, greasy camp food. Good times…… good times…..

So this would take us to Monday morning, July 3rd. We made our way through the Okanogan National Forest, stopping at anything cool we saw. We found Loomis, yet another ghost town and started on the Loomis-Oroville road. Well, we took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up on Forest Service Road 23, which later changed to 27 and meandered up and down and up and down through the forest. That’s when things turned upside down L We were heading back down the last pass for the night, driving kinda fast, hitting some unexpected potholes and bad road conditions. Erik slowed down and just when we thought things were good, we hit a small bump and heard a CRUNCH. Opps! I prayed for a flat tire, but when Erik got out and took a look, we realized it was much worse than that. The lower ball joint, a major steering component, had shattered and metal was grinding on metal. ICK. It was 8pm, we were up about 7000 feet in the mountains, MILES from Winthrop, in bear country. Our options were hike about 25 miles out of here, stay the night in the truck or fix it somehow. Well, Erik is a genius and he devised a way to get out of there. He lodged a rock in between some parts and secured it with 2 bungee cords. He wasn’t that hopeful about it working, but it did!!! The only problem is that we had to inch out of there, and I mean, really inch at 4 miles an hour. It was painstaking working……and our adrenaline was pumping. We drove like that from 10pm to 1am and finally stopped to get some sleep. We started again and 4:30am and made it into Winthrop around 7:30 (after the rock had fallen out about 5 times. Each time, we had the jack the truck up, reposition and secure the rock back in and lower the truck down, inch by inch). We made a good team though! It took 6 hours but with Erik’s ingenious idea and my watchful eye keeping a lookout for hungry bears, we made it back to town w/o injury. PHEW! Erik called his parents to ask if they could come out and pick us up. They said, “No prob! You guys have bailed us out a few times now when the hydro trailer fell apart, we can repay the favor”. (which we were SO grateful for). Erik and I waited a few hours while they drove the 200+ miles from Whidbey Island to Winthrop. Poor Erik’s truck……it’s still there, in the public parking lot, waiting for Erik’s dad to come out w/ a hitch and tow it home, which he’s doing today. ANYWAYS! It wasn’t really the ending of road trip we had hoped for, but we’re all safe and had a fabulous first couple days! I’ve posted all the cool photos on my photo blog.

WOW! I think that’s it! It’s kinda nice to write all that down. Good memories and very fun times in the last couple months. I’m so thankful for the people in my life that I can do those very cool things with and depend upon when I’m in need.

And the summer just keeps on rollin’ by! It’s going so fast….. Erik’s 10 year high school reunion is this weekend, we’re headed back to Winthrop to do our annual river float w/ a bunch of friends, my dad is chartering a sailboat for a few weeks – so Erik and I will meet ‘em up in Bellingham or the San Juans for a weekend getaway. I’m loving life right now….. no, it’s not perfect, but it’s fulfilling to be involved with so many things.

Hopefully my next post won’t have to be novel-sized!!!

Have a great summer everyone!