The Holland Bike Trip

Even though we were in Brugge, Belgium (the canal picture) and had to take a quick trip to France (it was a new country for Shing, Helen, and Susan), most of the cycling was done in Holland. We were on the barge, Iris, for 7 days where we cycled during the day, with some sightseeing and then docked in quaint villages on the canals for the night. Our barge slept only 20 people so we got to know our bargemates well. One of the more unique places was the kinderdijk, a UNESCO sight with 17 working windmills - the windmills were, and are, used to drain the land that is below sea level and also to grind the grain. It was a great trip, and Mom and Dad kept up cycling with even the youngest cyclists.


 

Live, from Amsterdam...

In case anyone did not receive this video by email I thought I would post it up here. It is Margaret, Nantie and Shing at the Anne Frank Museum. They all put in their 2 cents, well maybe Shing only puts in her 1 cent :)

Bedroom Makeover

Kibaki's Korner
Dan and I just recently finished painting one of the bedrooms. Now we just need to get our room finished.

Veterinary Destiny

Megan and I are always trying to figure out the letters that go along with people's phone numbers. There is a nifty website that can tell you all the possibilities for any phone number. For instance, my number would be 51-PAW-0-RUB-0. Paw Rub??? Coincidence? I think not. Try it out for your own phone number and those of other people. Fun times. Click here.

Free Backup

Ok, so everyone knows how much I harp on backing up your pictures. They are the only ones you have. Think of the pictures on your computer as negatives, once thay are gone you can never get that picture back. If you are reluctant to get an external drive (which is a great option) then I would recommend a new service online. It is FREE and called Xdrive. It is put out by AOL. It gives you 5 GBs for free which should give you enough room for about 5,000 pictures. Give it a try and back up! Click here.

Moving In and Moving Up!

This past weekend, Erin and Helen helped Allison move into her new apartment in San Luis Obispo. It is a very nice complex and so close to campus and shopping areas. Whenever you are in the area, I know Allison would love to show you her new place and have you over for a good, home-cooked meal!. It's a cute place. On the other coast, Jeannie and the rest of the corp of cadets took a trip to their rival school, the Merchant Marine Academy on Long Island. The women's volleyball team won, but the football team lost. This is a picture of Jeannie and a few friends, one of which is the commandant of the Coast Guard, Thad Allen!! Jeannie sure picks her friends in high ranking places! If you are wondering why Jeannie is the only one NOT in uniform, it's because she just finished playing a volleyball game, which gives her the option of being out of uniform.  

Marketa and Evan Fly to Santa Barbara

Our good friends, Bob and Julie Davey, asked Evan and Marketa to go to lunch. . .in Santa Barbara. So they flew them up there and they had lunch near the ocean. Evan and Marketa both got to pilot the Mooney plane. . .the weather was great and they got to see much of the coast. . .Marketa had never been up in a private plane before so it was a treat for both of them. Bob and Julie have been so generous with taking all of the family and guests up in their plane over the years. . .what a great opportunity it has been for all of us!


 

Tica Living In The Big City

Helen and Erin went to the San Francisco Bay Area earlier this week. We hiked around Point Reyes National Seashore - which is located north of San Francisco in Marin County. We saw very beautiful scenery and a lot of wildlife, including a bobcat, deer, Tule elk, and a fox. The hike offered breathtaking views of the coastline. Then we met Tica in San Francisco for dinner. She lives in the Pacific Heights district (which usually offers spectacular views of the city, but it was foggy on the day we visited.) We are on the stairs where she gets quite a work out running up and down. Behind Erin is Senator Dianne Feinstein's house. We visited Tica's apartment where she can see the whole city from her bedroom. Tica is doing great as a career woman in the city! 

Lighthouse Lodging

Over the Labor Day weekend, Dan, Helen, Allison, and Erin stayed in a Youth Hostel at Pigeon Point Lighthouse. It is located on the California coast between San Francisco and Santa Cruz. The lighthouse was erected in 1872 to guide ships between Monterey and San Francisco. The lighthouse is now owned by the state park system, but due to structural damage we were unable to take a tour of the lighthouse. It was a chilly weekend, but the location was beautiful - right on the Pacific Ocean.
 

RIP Mate

A sad day in history mates. Steve Irwin (aka Croc Hunter) was killed today in a freak accident. He was out swimming with some stingrays while filming a documentary. He was stung through the heart and died before help could arrive. I for one am saddened but not shocked by this news. One must admire his love of the animal world and he died trying to bring it to the rest of us. I know there is a nice big swamp waiting for the guy on the other side. RIP. Here is a link to an article about his passing.

Marketa "Czechs" out Disneyland

We took Marketa to Disneyland and California Adventure two days ago. She loved all of the rides, especially the Tower of Terror in California Adventure. We also had lunch at Club 33 and feasted on all of the great chocolate desserts. Another favorite was Thunder Mountain. Marketa can't wait to go to Magic Mountain to go on all of the roller coasters.

Showing Marketa the Southwest

After our trip to Northern California, we drove to Utah (via the roller coaster at New York, New York in Las Vegas - Marketa had never been on a roller coaster - she's going to love it when we go to Magic Mountain next week). Marketa really wanted to see a desert so we thought we would show her the best. ...the Mojave, complete with many Joshua trees. We stayed at our neighbor's cabin (the Marino's) above Cedar City in the mountains for several days. We went to Zion National Park one day and hiked the Narrows and then went to Bryce the following day. This terrain is way different from anything that she has in the Czech Republic.

 

Thrills and Chills on the American River

The Middle Fork of the American River was conquered on August 15 by the Finlay/Warnick clan; the Crump family; our cousins, Chris and Dodie Lynds; and friends, Lisa and Allen Cress from Salinas. It was a full day raft trip, floating about 18 miles on the river. Beautiful scenery and some VERY SCARY RAPIDS! Tunnel Chute, a class 5 rapid, was the most thrilling. This rapid was formed many years ago, when the early gold miners blasted a whole through the hill, diverting the American River and creating a tunnel with some very challenging falls. It was definitely a wild and wet day!

 

Camping at Loon Lake

We all went camping at Loon Lake this past weekend. The water was clear, cool and uncrowded which made for great kayaking. Marketa had never slept out under the stars before and it was a first for her to eat s'mores. The cliff jumping was good as can be seen by Erin, Jeannie and Allison doing it simultaneously. We had 17 people there with Helen's family, Margaret's family, Grammie and Grampie and Lisa and Allen Cress. No rain and dutch-oven cooking made for a great time. 

How to Keep Digital Pics Safe

I have a constant fear of losing the digital pictures that I have taken over the past several years. It would be a tragedy to lose them and not because they are necessarily beautiful pictures, but because they are priceless. I know that many people have their memories in the form of pictures stored on their computers so we need to make it a practice of making sure those things are safe. I found a nice guide for doing so online. It outlines 10 practices to make sure that our digital memories are safe. I ditto everything the article says except for maybe keeping every photo you have ever taken. Click here to go to the page.

Quick Video Clip of Mackinac Island

Megan and I rode our bikes up there before catching the ferry back to the mainland. All of the houses on the bluff are on leased land from the state park since they were there before the park was established. There is no new development allowed now. These houses are huge! Most of them with more than a dozen bedrooms. It was a beautiful place to ride to and were are jealous of the people that have that view.

Mackinac Island

This is James and Megan on the porch of the Fort. The main part of the city is to the right of us. The weather was wonderful the whole time we were there.


These are some of the huge homes that are on the island as we came in on the ferry. We hear they go for about 3 million a piece. Any takers?


There are miles and miles of trails all over the island. It is nice to ride your bike in the middle of the road and never have to worry about cars. Although there is the occasional road apple left by the horses :)


This is a shot of the main street of the city. It was swarming with bikes and buggies. All feuled by the sugar filled fudge. Yum!


This is our sunset from tonight (Sunday). We took a nice stroll around part of the island after dinner to let the food settle before going back to our room to have fudge.

The Luckiest Cat Alive

This is simply amazing that this cat suvived this. I am not exactly sure if I would have done the same thing as this Dr., but who knows I wasn't there. Either way a great story of fighting for life.

Welcome to Marketa and Finlays 30th Anniversary

August 6th, 2006 was a special day indeed for two reasons. Marketa, our Czech Youth Exchange Student, arrived today from the Czech Republic. We are so happy to have her with us for a month. . .Evan stayed with her family over in the Czech Republic and he will be returning on Tuesday of this week from Prague. Also, Brad and Margaret celebrated their 30th Wedding Anniversary by having dinner, prepared by Megan and Grammie, up at Grammie and Grampie's house in the backyard.

 

Banton Rouge Baby

Here are some pics of Baton Rouge where I am presenting my summer research. I don't have any pics of the actaully conference, just all the fun things we have been doing :) I will be putting up the videos of the gators a little lator.