We got a puppy!!! He is a border collie and his name is Radar. Lucky for us he came with extra critters - worms and fleas! They didn't charge us for those. After a rough week of trips to the vet and treatments he seems to have his puppy energy back and has been a bundle of fun. Here are a few videos of the little stinker....Sunday, October 17, 2010
Radar Love
We got a puppy!!! He is a border collie and his name is Radar. Lucky for us he came with extra critters - worms and fleas! They didn't charge us for those. After a rough week of trips to the vet and treatments he seems to have his puppy energy back and has been a bundle of fun. Here are a few videos of the little stinker....
Sunday, August 22, 2010
We bought the farm.
As a result of some idealistic dreams, an optimistic assessment of our free time and perhaps a minor lapse in judgement we bought a farm house on an acre in Fairfax Station, VA. The house was built in 1890 and its ownership traces back to the Fairfax family. Lots of character!
As expected, the house needs some TLC. For the past month we've been our very own version of HGTV. Jonathan rigged his climbing ropes to the roof and cleaned the gutters. We've cleaned up the landscape and painted a lot! The first weekend we decided to gut the main bathroom (please see "optimisitc assessment of free time" noted above). The transformation has been amazing, but not without its moments - Jonathan called Sarah one evening and said "I only hit one pipe with my saw and flooded the kitchen". The professional plumber was a help with that one - but since then it's been all DIY. We now own more power tools than Sarah knew existed (including a chainsaw, air compressor and a ride on lawn mower).
On a more relaxing note - the landscape is amazing and it is hard to believe we're only a few miles from DC. We have a herd of deer who visit us daily. Butterflies, birds, raccoons and lizards abound and we have enough gophers to make Carl Spackler's head spin.
Our families and friends have been a huge help thus far and we look forward to hosting more friends and family in the near future....especially any who are particularly handy with plumbing or electric work :)
As expected, the house needs some TLC. For the past month we've been our very own version of HGTV. Jonathan rigged his climbing ropes to the roof and cleaned the gutters. We've cleaned up the landscape and painted a lot! The first weekend we decided to gut the main bathroom (please see "optimisitc assessment of free time" noted above). The transformation has been amazing, but not without its moments - Jonathan called Sarah one evening and said "I only hit one pipe with my saw and flooded the kitchen". The professional plumber was a help with that one - but since then it's been all DIY. We now own more power tools than Sarah knew existed (including a chainsaw, air compressor and a ride on lawn mower).
On a more relaxing note - the landscape is amazing and it is hard to believe we're only a few miles from DC. We have a herd of deer who visit us daily. Butterflies, birds, raccoons and lizards abound and we have enough gophers to make Carl Spackler's head spin.
Our families and friends have been a huge help thus far and we look forward to hosting more friends and family in the near future....especially any who are particularly handy with plumbing or electric work :)
Saturday, February 6, 2010
SNOWbody's going anywhere...
We have 2 feet of snow and it is still falling! We might not get out till March.
This is from 8 AM
8 AM
Last night - walking back home from dinner
This is from around 2 PM....and still coming down!
This is from 8 AM
8 AM
Last night - walking back home from dinner
This is from around 2 PM....and still coming down!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Nemo = Found
We had an amazing day on the outer reef today. After a slightly stomach-turning ride out, we arrived at the Agincourt Ribbon Reefs – some of the northernmost reefs accessible by day boat. Sarah did a few dives and then joined Jonathan as he snorkeled around. We purchased a waterproof case for our digital camera so were able to capture photos and video from underwater.
We saw an incredible diversity of wildlife – sharks, clownfish, turtles, rays, barracudas, and about every type and size of fish imaginable. We even saw some fish that we have cooked for dinner (slight pang of guilt, but we got over that quickly). We saw a lion fish, played with sea cucumbers and stuck our hands in a giant clam. The coral was unbelievable and it’s hard to imagine that we only saw a drop of it. The reef extends for over 2500 kms. A picture can’t do it justice. It really needs to be seen!
On the ride back to shore we chatted with a traveler who was a year ahead of Sarah in undergrad – and was even in Kirkland house (what a small world!).
It was a perfect completion to our trip. Exhausted from our day in the water, we returned to our favorite camp spot. Tomorrow morning we’ll do a quick inventory on the camper, Jonathan will spend some emotional alone time with it before we say goodbye and we’ll head to Cairns for a night in a hotel before our way-too-early flight on Saturday.
See you all back in the states soon!
We saw an incredible diversity of wildlife – sharks, clownfish, turtles, rays, barracudas, and about every type and size of fish imaginable. We even saw some fish that we have cooked for dinner (slight pang of guilt, but we got over that quickly). We saw a lion fish, played with sea cucumbers and stuck our hands in a giant clam. The coral was unbelievable and it’s hard to imagine that we only saw a drop of it. The reef extends for over 2500 kms. A picture can’t do it justice. It really needs to be seen!
On the ride back to shore we chatted with a traveler who was a year ahead of Sarah in undergrad – and was even in Kirkland house (what a small world!).
It was a perfect completion to our trip. Exhausted from our day in the water, we returned to our favorite camp spot. Tomorrow morning we’ll do a quick inventory on the camper, Jonathan will spend some emotional alone time with it before we say goodbye and we’ll head to Cairns for a night in a hotel before our way-too-early flight on Saturday.
See you all back in the states soon!
Unwelcome U.S. import: Cane Toads
After a rainy afternoon in the camper, we had a night on the town in Port Douglas – which started at the local Cane Toad races. Hosted by a Steve Irwin-esque bloke, the races consisted of 6 toads that were placed on a table. The jockeys, randomly selected from the audience, had to coax their toads off the table by blowing party blowers at them, making the toad jump into their hands and placing the toad in the victory bucket. Overall, very amusing. Sadly, our tickets did not get called to be jockeys and I resisted the competitive urge to pay $40 for one in the last “auction” race. We did, however, get to play with them afterwards. We learned that they were an ill-advised import from the U.S. The sugar cane famer who introduced them (to get rid of the destructive cane beetle) brought 100 to Queensland. They did not in fact get rid of the beetle and with no natural predators in Australia, have multiplied population figures that exceed that of the human race. Yikes.
The Roster
Jockeys trying their best to get the stubborn toads to move
Sarah has had to kiss a lot of toads in her day...now it was Jonathan's turn. He chose the most petite one.
The Roster
Jockeys trying their best to get the stubborn toads to move
Sarah has had to kiss a lot of toads in her day...now it was Jonathan's turn. He chose the most petite one.
Port Douglas
As we wind down our trip we are taking it a bit easy. We grabbed sushi and ate on the beach one day, and followed that up with a long drive deep into the rainforest (4WD track of course). When Sarah finally yelled UNCLE!! (actually, she just looked really barfy) we turned back and headed to our standby camping spot. The only friend we met this night was related to Kermit (see below). Jonathan harassed him during a photo shoot and he still just sat there. In fact, he was still there the next morning.
We spent another morning shopping in Port Douglas, explored some coastline and giant fig trees near town and grabbed a bite to eat on the main drag before some rain came in. If the rain stops, we plan to participate in some Cane Toad races at a local pub this evening…we’ll let you know how we fare.
Sarah & the giant curtain fig, which Jonathan clearly had to climb
Digeridoos in a local aboriginal art shop
Kermit was about 6" long (a GIANT green tree frog, literally)
We spent another morning shopping in Port Douglas, explored some coastline and giant fig trees near town and grabbed a bite to eat on the main drag before some rain came in. If the rain stops, we plan to participate in some Cane Toad races at a local pub this evening…we’ll let you know how we fare.
Sarah & the giant curtain fig, which Jonathan clearly had to climb
Digeridoos in a local aboriginal art shop
Kermit was about 6" long (a GIANT green tree frog, literally)
The Friendly Campsite
For the first time since we’ve been camping we decided to stay in the same place for a second night. We were wiped out after our day on the water so returned to the campground where we had met our motorcycle friends. This night we met additional interesting people – a young German couple who was completing a similar trip to ours (Sydney north) and a British guy who was mountain biking Cape York. We had heard about the Brit earlier on our trip – a couple we chatted with mentioned meeting him and that he had biked the Rockies last year. We had quite a long chat with him and it was interesting to hear his impressions of England, America and Australia, and how they compared to ours. Later that evening, we chatted with the German couple (Anke & Eicher) and compared on our trip. They were quite friendly and by the end of the night we were Facebook friends and had a place to stay in Germany should we ever visit.
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