Lassen Peak

 gaining elevation

 at the summit

 the descent....look for the little skier

the view of Mt Lassen on our drive home

A ski ascent of Lassen has become a favorite of ours. It was so much fun for the last two years that we've decided to make it a yearly late spring tradition...so here's to the second annual ski Lassen pilgrimage!

wishes do come true

Prone paddleboards have been on our "wish list" ever since we tried paddling around the lake on our surfboards last summer.  The surfboard method was a silly and inefficient experience so I've been scanning craigslist ever since for two real paddle boards. 

After purchasing about 50% of our remodel supplies from Amazon, from tools to half-price Hansgrohe faucets (seriously, I can't get over the selection and discounts), Denver decided to do a quick Amazon search. Lo and behold, there they were, two beautiful long sleek boards for less then half the price of a new board. My friends, forget #targetdoesitagain, it's an  #amazondoesitagain kind of world.

We took the new boards out for a test run over the weekend. It was a vast improvement and so much fun. Summer heat you can do your worst...I'm headed to the lake. Look for the girl with the beefy shoulders.   

the happenings

Many apologies for the Costa Rica photo overload, even I was becoming bored looking at them. There are more, but as my Mama always says as I'm dousing my food with a little extra of whatever topping is available.... "more isn't necessarily better".

Denver and I both caught a nasty disease the last few days in Costa Rica, we thought we might die, but we didn't. This last weekend was our first since coming home that we actually had any motivation or ability do anything other then crash after our work day. Good health is amazing, I hate myself for ever taking it for granted.

Our new house is so much work but has also been so much joy. I expected to be missing our little brick bungalow like crazy but that hasn't really happened. I guess we were just ready for something new.

It only takes me 10-15 minutes to get to work from the new house and eight miles in the opposite direction is the base of the closest ski resort. We love the big open sky, the mountain views out the window and the quail and bunnies that scatter every time the door opens. On a less awesome wildlife note, we caught fifteen mice in the house in three days after we got back from Costa Rica. FIFTEEN. They had quite a good time but sadly for the mice, the party is over.

The trail system behind our house is amazing. Our closest neighbor organizes a neighborhood mountain bike ride most weekends which we joined for the first time on Saturday. We rode our bikes out of our drivway, met up with six other riders along the way to the trailhead before heading up the hill on singletrack for seven miles (save a few road crossings). Apparently, per our trail-guide-neighbor, there is so much more to explore.

And in the words of T. S. Eliot:
We shall not cease from exploration

Costa Rica, part III

Our absolute favorite part of Costa Rica was on the Pacific side near Dominical. Once we arrived, we knew we'd never want to leave. We spent over a week surfing at Playa Dominicalito but also really enjoyed some breaks farther north as well. Denver's parents own a beautiful lot (that we got to see in real life for the first time) just south of Playa Dominicalito and we're really hoping that someday soon there will be a house to call our home-away-from-home. Our vacation was fun but it would of really been perfect if we had a place to stay and readily available projects to keep ourselves busy in-between surfing and exploring. 

Costa Rica, part II

After the first week in the Guanacaste region, we washed the dust off our feet and headed inland to Arenal. The region was more what we had expected of Costa Rica, verdant, lush, tropical and incredibly beautiful.  Living there would be like living in a garden, the photos don't even begin to do the place justice.