Ohau August 2010

For a little celebration of my birthday on August 17, Patty and I decided to take a short vacation to Honolulu. We wanted to relax and also see our friends, the Haugens, who are serving a Church mission at the Polynesian Cultural Center. We flew standby . . . but that is a whole different story.


A lovely shot of Patty inside the Marriott Hotel Resort on Waikiki where we stayed.



The view from our hotel room balcony.




The night life around Waikiki rivals Vegas. Not that that is a good thing, but interesting none the less. Here is Patty with her favorite mime.



Below Diamond Head watching surfers do their thing.



These next few pics are at Makapu'u Beach. A great place to boogie board. We weren't very good at it (especially compared to the yound locals that we happened to be with), but we had a great time getting pounded by the waves none the less.






These next couple of pics are at one of our favorite beaches on Oahu, Lanakai Beach. A beautiful place.





How's this for a sunset shot (back at Waikiki Beach).



We were privileged enough to see a whole bunch of very large turtles at Turtle Beach. Some of the males were 300+ pounds according to the wildlife employees there.



With our friends, Norm and Lynette.



Hawaii Temple (temple has been closed for 2+ years for renovation. will open back up in November.)



Where Norm and Lynette work at the PCC.



Nice view from the Pali Overlook.



Patty and I took in the Dole Plantation mainly to eat some pineapple ice cream. It was very good.

The Narrows - July 2010

During July 2010, Jeremy and I took a couple of leisurely strolls through Zions National Park. Here are some pictures from The Narrows (we started at Chamberlain Ranch). Admittedly, we were both pretty tired after this 15+ mile hike mainly through the Virgin River. But, it was worth it. Enjoy the pictures. I can't wait to see what Jeremy came up with on his camera.

Breckenridge

We spent the Memorial Day Weekend and subsequent week with our friends the Pugmires in Breckenridge, CO (elevation ~9,600'). We stayed in a lovely place (Valdoro Resort), ate good food, saw neat things, played games, watched movies, and in general, just relaxed. We had a great time.


This is a picture of the sunset that Patty and I were greeted with on our drive to Breckenridge.



We had a couple of fox that regularly visited outside our deck.



The weather was very cooperative all week. On one of our walks.




I went for a run (a treat at this elevation, by the way) on their great town trails and took these shots. The towns orginally existed for mining, but now skiing and tourism are the big draws.




This is "A" Basin ski resort where there were still a lot of folks enjoying the slopes.



We took a ride up to the Loveland Pass where we had to dawn our jackets. The second pic is one that I took when I hoofed it up to probably 13,000 feet.




A shot of our sweet rental vehicle. We went for a ride from Breckenridge to Como another thriving mining town in its day. These next few pics were taken at the Boreas Pass where we enjoyed the historic sites, the views, and the pussy willows just coming out.





Another day we went to Leadville which boasts the highest incorporated town in the US (10,200 feet). We went to the most awesome Mining Museum which bills itself as the Smithsonian of mining. They really aren't kidding as we spent hours there. It was terrific.




I took these next two pictures for all of you outdoor enthusiasts (from Leadville). Did you know that there are 56 14'ers in the state of Colorado? The first mountain is Mt. Elbert at around 14,400 feet is the tallest in CO and just a few feet shorter that McKinley. The second is Mt. Massive.




A picturesque moment.



"Life is like a box of chocolates." We had dinner at Bubba Gumps one evening where everything is centered around Forest.

Oceans!

I know. I know. Two blogs in the same day. Get excited.

I was feeling housebound so we decided to try a movie today. It bordered on being almost too much for my body, but we made it.

You know that we see quite a few movies. I rarely endorse one unless it is worthwhile for the entire family.

Well, if you get a chance to see Disney's Oceans movie it is well worth it. Incredible cinematography. Rated G (although there are smaller fishes and mammals that get eaten by the larger ones). It came out on Earth Day and I guess we can only hope that the countries of the world will stop dumping millions of tons of trash into them. There is my Green message for the day.

Check it out . . .

http://disney.go.com/disneynature/oceans/

Easter Weekend 2010

Knowing that it might be a little while before we get back to St. George, we spent the Easter weekend in God's Country. We enjoyed General Conference and took some excursions to Zion's as we could. I went alone on one trip to hike the Observation Trail (a little much for Patty). It was glorious!


At the Lower Emerald Pool



The falls coming into the Upper Emerald Pool.



A couple of reasonably nice shots of the falls at Lower.




Court of the Patriarchs



Picturesque view of the Checkerboard Mesa



I was the first person up to the Observation Point area. Very serene and inspiring.




We had a little Easter celebration in our backyard with Kiara and Jaycee. It's OK if Grandpa helps with the hunt, right?