Monday, April 21, 2014
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Pura Vida
A very early morning flight landed us in Costa Rica pulling out of the rental car parking lot at noon. Winding roads took us to Arenal and a fancy hotel the Tabacon. Dinner at a tourist hot spot (we didn’t know) and a drink that made Sarah’s eyes open wide! Went to the beautiful hot springs and called it a night.
Rio Celeste was a goal for the day, located in an unused park with no signs…GPS is great but the routing program seems to be flawed…. We turned around at a water crossing, fast moving water and large rocks did not seem to be an option without a second truck or winch.
Beautiful views on rough road while retracing our steps.
Two more detours on terrible roads and finally we found our way. Stopped at a neat little place for lunch.
No guide for us, the trail was straightforward, plus we had GPS and with GPS you can’t get lost……
The water is colored by volcanic silt, it is very blue!
Monkeys in the trees high above us!
One the way back to the hotel we were suprised with a flat tire. After hearing the stories of tourists being robbed after getting their tires slashed (not our case) I changed that tire with the efficiency of an F1 pit crew. Right before this picture 5 guys walked around the corner....as my heart sank, they offered help and Sarah replied that I was her mechanic and we were just fine.
Rio Celeste was a goal for the day, located in an unused park with no signs…GPS is great but the routing program seems to be flawed…. We turned around at a water crossing, fast moving water and large rocks did not seem to be an option without a second truck or winch.
Beautiful views on rough road while retracing our steps.
Two more detours on terrible roads and finally we found our way. Stopped at a neat little place for lunch.
No guide for us, the trail was straightforward, plus we had GPS and with GPS you can’t get lost……
The water is colored by volcanic silt, it is very blue!
Monkeys in the trees high above us!
One the way back to the hotel we were suprised with a flat tire. After hearing the stories of tourists being robbed after getting their tires slashed (not our case) I changed that tire with the efficiency of an F1 pit crew. Right before this picture 5 guys walked around the corner....as my heart sank, they offered help and Sarah replied that I was her mechanic and we were just fine. 
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Proud Parenting Moment
First Step? First word? Sending the little one off to (puppy) kindergarten? Nope. Our proud parenting moment was when the little guy mastered the trick of retrieving a beer out of the frigde. "Isn't that risky?" you might be thinking. "Doesn't he browse while he's in there?" Well, so far so good...but I'm sure it's a matter of time. I would just say that you should be careful opening that beer right away - its trip isn't the smoothest and Radar won't be held responsible for too much foam. Check out his skills in via the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlWlBmb1bL4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlWlBmb1bL4
Friday, April 22, 2011
Live-in Help
Since Radar easily mastered "sit", "stay" and "shake", Jonathan has moved on to more advanced puppy training - we're working up to "get me a beer out of the fridge"....so far we have the fridge part down...
He is also helpful with our landscaping endeavors...
Next, we are hoping to teach him how to iron and do dishes.
He is also helpful with our landscaping endeavors...
Next, we are hoping to teach him how to iron and do dishes.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
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.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Australian Cuisine
Though we’ve written about all the things that could eat US (sharks, crocs, mosquitoes that actually are eating us) there has been a lot of interest in what WE are eating (whether cooked in our camper or eaten at a restaurant). We thought we’d give a rundown of the cuisine here:
Fish & Chips galore. The Aussies LOVE their fish and chips (fries). They are everywhere. Usually it’s beer battered barramundi, a local freshwater fish, but it is nearly always fried. Blooming onion not included.
Wedges with sour cream & sweet chili. These are delicious. They are thick, wedge cut fries served with sour cream and this thai sweet chili sauce that adds a little zing.
Lots o’ lamb. We knew lamb was big over here. We’ve had it a few nights – in stir fry, grilled lamb chops, etc. They are also big on kabobs and we’ve had the lamb version of those too. Not all that different than spiedies! Lamb and beef sausages are also quite delicious.
Lamingtons. These Australian desserts are like little slices of pound cake covered in chocolate then rolled in shredded coconut. They are ok.
Tim Tams. Little bites of heaven. These cookies are chocolate biscuits covered in chocolate and come in many varieties. We wish they were available in the states.
Vegemite: We actually haven’t had a lot of this, but this concentrated yeast extract is everywhere.
Seafood: Surprisingly, there is not the plethora of seafood we’d imagined would be in this region. We’ve had “bugs” – weird lobster-like shell fish and lots of prawns (no shrimp here and no one would ever say "throw another shrimp on the barbie"!) and Jonathan made some great fish (called Sweet Lips (just like me)) the other night.
Crocodile and Kangaroo. We’ve seen jerky of both of these meats but have opted not to try. We like the live ones better.
Beverages: We’ve mentioned before that the boxed wine is big here. Beer is oddly expensive - $15-$20 for a 6 pack. Toohey’s New (beer type) is our fave.
Cooking for ourselves – mainly we’ve had cereal for breakfast (Jonathan vetoed eggs after one try since it’s a pain to do the dishes). Lunch is often a sandwich and fruit (kind of like elementary school). For dinner we grill some seafood or steaks or make some type of Asian stir-fry.
Surf & Turf - a steak and a "bug"
Jonathan still gets his sugary cereal overseas
mmm....tim tams
lamington
box of wine
Fish & Chips galore. The Aussies LOVE their fish and chips (fries). They are everywhere. Usually it’s beer battered barramundi, a local freshwater fish, but it is nearly always fried. Blooming onion not included.
Wedges with sour cream & sweet chili. These are delicious. They are thick, wedge cut fries served with sour cream and this thai sweet chili sauce that adds a little zing.
Lots o’ lamb. We knew lamb was big over here. We’ve had it a few nights – in stir fry, grilled lamb chops, etc. They are also big on kabobs and we’ve had the lamb version of those too. Not all that different than spiedies! Lamb and beef sausages are also quite delicious.
Lamingtons. These Australian desserts are like little slices of pound cake covered in chocolate then rolled in shredded coconut. They are ok.
Tim Tams. Little bites of heaven. These cookies are chocolate biscuits covered in chocolate and come in many varieties. We wish they were available in the states.
Vegemite: We actually haven’t had a lot of this, but this concentrated yeast extract is everywhere.
Seafood: Surprisingly, there is not the plethora of seafood we’d imagined would be in this region. We’ve had “bugs” – weird lobster-like shell fish and lots of prawns (no shrimp here and no one would ever say "throw another shrimp on the barbie"!) and Jonathan made some great fish (called Sweet Lips (just like me)) the other night.
Crocodile and Kangaroo. We’ve seen jerky of both of these meats but have opted not to try. We like the live ones better.
Beverages: We’ve mentioned before that the boxed wine is big here. Beer is oddly expensive - $15-$20 for a 6 pack. Toohey’s New (beer type) is our fave.
Cooking for ourselves – mainly we’ve had cereal for breakfast (Jonathan vetoed eggs after one try since it’s a pain to do the dishes). Lunch is often a sandwich and fruit (kind of like elementary school). For dinner we grill some seafood or steaks or make some type of Asian stir-fry.
Surf & Turf - a steak and a "bug"
Jonathan still gets his sugary cereal overseas
mmm....tim tams
lamington
box of wine
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