It's A Girl!!!

On Tuesday, July 29th we had our "big" ultrasound where we got the news that we are going to have a little girl!! Jason was a little shocked .... he was really thinking that it was a boy. I think he has adjusted to the idea of PINK instead of blue now. The most important part however, is that everything is looking good and development is on track. Baby was about 13 ounces and measuring within a day of my due date (December 14th) which is great. The ultrasound was easily the coolest experience of my life. It takes almost an hour which we loved, because we got to sit and stare at our little one on the screen that whole time. I have started to feel some little movements and kicks starting about a week before the ultrasound, but it was amazing to me just how much she was moving around in there. Now I am moving into planning mode (surprise, surprise, huh?) and starting to decorate the baby's room and get us ready to be parents (yikes). Everything feels so much more real now that we can refer to the baby as "she" instead of "baby" or "the peanut" as we were calling her. We don't have a name picked out yet. We were all set with a boy name, but haven't really been able to narrow the girl's names down to less than three or four. I am now almost 23 weeks along, so I am past the halfway point. I am feeling pretty good and my energy is as close to normal as I think it is going to get during pregnancy. We go in for our next check up on August 28th!

Redwoods

Wine Country

Kim enjoying a Sprite at Ledson Winery.

Jason and St. Francis

Yosemite

The last three days we have been in Yosemite. On the first day we went in to Mariposa Grove to see the Giant Sequoia’s (photo #1). We hiked around that afternoon and saw some of the south side of the park. On the second day I went into the park solo since Kim was battling a stomach bug. I traveled to the valley floor and Glacier Point and the views were spectacular – (see photo #2 of Half Dome). On day 3 I decided to take the adventure up a notch and climb to the top of Half Dome – 17 miles round trip ascending 4,800 ft. I left our cottage about 5am since it was about 1.5 hour drive to the trailhead (Yosemite is huge). For the first couple miles up the trail I didn’t see many fellow hikers which freaked me out since they post warnings about the black bears every 10 feet. I started thinking “are bears morning hunters….”. I also inadvertently picked the horse trail which was littered with fresh “trail apples”. Once I finally caught up with a few others headed up the trail I felt a lot better. The climb up was tough, but I felt good until I got to the last part of the ascent. The last 500-600ft is a very inverted section straight up the top of half dome which has cables built into the rock to allow you to make the ascent (see photo #3). I got about half way up the cables and I started second guessing whether I could make it back down. I think that since everyone coming down looked sick to their stomach trying to navigate the steep, slippery rock it made me a bit nervous. At that point I was also pretty spent so I decided to turn back about 300 ft from the summit. It was a little disappointing, but the views were still worth the trek (photo #4). Even though we spent three full days in this incredible place we only saw a fraction of the park. It would take weeks to explore. One note - luckily, we did not encounter any of the wildfires while in Yosemite. I hope they get that blaze contained because Yosemite is truly one of the treasures of the US.

Disney

35 year old kid

Disney

The last three days have been spent at the “HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH” or so they keep telling you everywhere you turn. Answer me one question, when you think of the “HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH” do you envision standing in line to 2 hours to get on a 2 minute thrill ride surrounded by parents bickering with their kids??? And to top it off does the HPOE charge $10 a beer? I think not. I’m exaggerating of course. We had a nice time in Disney. Our first day at the park we acted the same age as most of the other visitors to the park and ran from one ride to next for about 12 hours before we finally ran out of gas. On day 2 we were in low gear from the start. We spent most of the time at California Adventure and since most of the rides were not for pregnant women I was solo. We decided to call it quits a bit early and head back to do some laundry. It’s crazy how fast the clothes pile up. Our next stop is Yosemite…

Las Vegas

The Best Bargain on the Strip

Prizes from Circus, Circus
Bobby's Flay's Restaurant in Caesar's
$1 Beers on the Strip...woohoo!

Vegas

Vegas, baby, Vegas!!! We were joined by my brother-in-law, Jamie, for our time in Sin City. We got in very early due to our premature departure from the Grand Canyon, but that is never a problem in this town. They will do anything to get you in the casino. We arrived about Noon and before I knew it Pontiac Pete (our toothless bellman/used car salesman) had our bags up to our room, and we were settled in for a few days. Our first order of business was food, and Jamie was set on us going to the strip hot spot “Slots of Fun” for $.99 half pound hot dogs so we set off down the strip (see photo #1). Little did we know that Slots of Fun is located roughly 15 miles (or about 4 hotels) down the strip from Harrah’s. It was a long walk in the 95+ degree heat. I still can’t believe we didn’t stop for beers. What were we thinking? Anyway, the payoff was nice. Nothing like a half pound of pork…..at least I think it was pork. We then decided, since were down the strip, to indulge in a few carnival games at Circus, Circus. We all won one game, and you can see the lavish prizes (see photo #2). That night was a long one for Kim. Even though Jamie took a few precautions (nasal strips, throat spray) to abate his snoring, he still sounded like a cross between a chain saw and a yak mating call. In fact, I’m surprised we didn’t get cited for violating some noise ordinances. Kim struggled through most of the night and finally about 4 am decided that sleeping in the bathroom was the only way to get some peace and quiet. It was quite the scene. The next couple days were filled with eating, shows, and a little video poker. We had a couple excellent dinners. The highlight for me was going to Bobby Flay’s restaurant the Mesa Grill (photo #3) in Caesar’s Palace. All the dishes on the menu have a southwestern flair which means just about everything has some sort of chile or chile sauce, but it’s not that spicy, just incredibly flavorful. It is one of the best restaurants I have ever been to (a definite 4+ on the Portland Monthly Dinner scale ;-). We also took in two shows, Mama Mia and Stomp Out Loud which were both excellent. I’m seen Stomp a couple times about 10 years ago, and they made some nice upgrades to the show since the mid-90’s. The lead for the performance blew us away with his tap dancing/percussion abilities. The show also incorporates quite a bit of humor which was fun. Good times.

Grand Canyon

Sunset

Happy Times


Grand Canyon

We spent two days in the Grand Canyon. I don’t think the word “grand” does this place justice. It’s simply incredible. Our first night there we watched the sun set on the canyon and the colors were amazing (photo #1). We camped in the Grand Canyon and when I went to the ranger’s station to check-in I ran in to the first controller I worked for at Intel. He left Intel about six months after I started. What are the odds? Anyway, we had a nice first evening camping, but the second night was a bit more of an adventure. We spent the second day hiking in the canyon and on the rim, and noticed at the end of our hike that a storm was brewing on the other side of the canyon. It was an incredible site to be standing on one side of the canyon in the sunshine and looking across at a thunderstorm on the other side. When we got back to our campsite I noticed that the skies on our side of the canyon had turned angry as well. We packed everything in the tent or car and prepared for the worst. The rain started slowly and then picked up quite a bit. We were hunkered down in the tent for a while playing cards when the rain really started falling. I should note that our tent is brand new, but it’s not what you would call “high end” merchandise…it was the Fred Mayer “Summer Saver Special” – the Glacier Edge 4 Man- extreme edition for $30. Well, you can see where this is going. The leak started slowing and then began to build. It was about 7pm at that point and most of our food required our stove so as we sat getting wetter and wetter we made the command decision to pack up early and head for Vegas that night. Of course as soon as we got everything loaded in the car the rain had almost completely stopped. We drove for couple hours and were happy to get a dry place to sleep at a Day’s Inn in Bullhead Nevada.

Zion - Day 2

The Path Narrows....

Sittin' on Top of the World

Angel's Rest Summit

Angels Rest

On our last day at Zion I left the hotel at 5:30am (easily the earliest I’ve been up in the last month) in order to do the Angel’s Rest climb in the Zion Gorge before we hit the road for the Grand Canyon. The climb begins next to a river and quickly ascends over dusty trails to a place called “Walter’s Wiggles” – 21 steep switchbacks – which take you to somewhat level lookout area called “Scout’s Rest”. At this point anyone scared of heights typically turns around. The trail narrows quite a bit (to about 3 to 5 feet in some areas) and in a few spots you are climbing over rock with sheer drop offs about 1,000 ft down on both sides. Most of the rest of the route has chains for safety (see picture #2) (Dre, I know, chains are for wimps, but it was pretty adventurous for a kid from Indiana). The view from the top was fabulous. You could see the entire gorge and the sun was shining down (see photo of my feet over the edge). A couple notes from our journey to a few of great American Parks. First, when we were initially planning sabbatical we thought Europe would be a great destination, but after some research I decided I wanted to do this roadtrip instead. Little did I know that, at the same time, all of Western Europe was planning a trip to the US. Everywhere we have been (especially the parks) I have heard more French, Spanish, Italian, and German (a lot) than I have English. Everyone I’ve spoken with has said the same thing – “good exchange rate”. Two, when you hike in the 90 degree you REALLY need to take precautions about wearing comfortable pants and underwear or you will end up with what I believe is clinically referred to as “saddle rash” – I’ll need Mark or Meneghini to comfirm. I’ve been battling this problem off and on all trip. At least Kim gets a kick out of the fact that after a few of my long hikes I’ve been walking around “cowboy style” for a few hours trying not to further irritate anything.

Zion - Day 1

The Narrow in Zion

Delicate Arch

Delicate Arch "Crater"

View of the park from Delicate

Delicate Arch


On our last day in Moab I hiked up to Delicate Arch solo since Kim was a bit tired and according to our Fodor's guide this was a "difficult" hike. The hike was actually pretty easy. When I started there were some clouds in the sky and it was sprinkling, but as you can see from the photos, it was clear and gorgeous at the top. The first photo is looking back on the rock formation across from Delicate Arch which looked looked like a huge crater. The second picture is looking back on Arches Park, and the last one is self explanatory. Delicate Arch is the signature site in Arches Park (it's on the Utah license plate) and it's amazing. A couple notes on my photography. First, I've changed the settings on our camera about 1,000 times trying to that perfect "Ansel Adams" shot....at some point I'll realize that the "auto"setting works the best. Second, either the camera adds 15 pounds or I need to shed some weight - holy man boobs (which may be caused by an odd symbiotic thing with my pregnant wife).

Bryce Canyon

Natural Bridge

Swamp Canyon View Point

Inspiration Point

Photos above are from Bryce Canyon National Park. A unique feature of Bryce are the Hoodoos which resemble giant pillars of wet sand and are a variety of colors from pale grey to burnt orange - most a salmon color. The bottom photo gives you a great view of them. We camped in Bryce and the weather was fantastic. At over 8,000 ft in elevation, both days were in the mid-80's and the nights got down to the low 40's. It was perfect for a nice campfire, and we were lucky we could have one given how dry it is in Southern Utah. When we arrived in Bryce we initially had a campsite totally exposed to the sun, but I was able to talk the hosts into letting us move to a site in the shade close to the bathroom (important for expecting mothers). I mentioned before that I wanted to see some wildlife, and while at the site I got up close and personal with a chipmunk. These little bastards were all over the place and were fearless once you had food in your hand. I dosed off one afternoon and was awoken to one climbing up my leg. I suppose he was looking for nuts and luckily I caught him at mid-shin. ;-). Both nights at Bryce were clear and the stars were spectacular. The entire sky was filled with stars and the moon, even though it was a crescent, was incredibly bright. In fact there were so many stars I couldn't pick out the Big or Little Dipper - which is my signature "Max Douglas" move ;-). Overall, I would have to say I enjoyed Bryce even more than Arches, but both were great. We are now in Zion and it's hot as....well, it was 106 today.

Arches National Park

Balanced Rock

Windows Trail at Sunset

Landscape Arch

Arches Park has definitely lived up to the hype. The red rocks scenery is incredible. Last night we went in to the park at about 7pm and our first stop was Balanced Rock. It's a boulder about 55 ft high sitting on top of a stone column. It's an odd and amazing sight. We then went on to the Windows trail and saw Turret Arch and Windows Arches. A couple of interesting notes. I told Kim my adventure would not be complete until we saw some wildlife and just about that time a jackrabbit hopped out of the underbrush right in front of us. Second, I found a set of car keys on the trail that winds behind windows. I picked them up and we stumbled upon the owner in the parking lot - lucky for him. We stayed for the sunset at Windows and saw the colors of the red rocks really come alive. This morning we got up early and hit the Devil's Garden trail. The weather was fantastic (high 70's and not a cloud in the sky) and the we saw more excellent sights. The highlight was Landscape Arch which you can see above.

Salt Lake City

What you see here is the Mormon equivalent of the Vatican. The Mormon temple in the distance was started in 1853 and completed in 1893. This picture does not do it justice... it's a pretty amazing sight. Kim and I toured this area yesterday - "temple square". The grounds are beautiful and contain a lot more than just the temple - a school, some smaller places of worship, a library, some museums, the Mormon headquarters, etc. It was interesting, but Kim and I were on guard the entire time as the place is teeming with missionaries. Actually, they were very friendly - what else do you expect from Mormons - and we did not get "solicited" once. One note - it is literally hotter than hell in Salt Lake City right now. It's been 100+ degrees the past couple days. I don't know how the missionaries do it since they are all covered pretty much head to toe in heavy clothing.

Tire Troubles

On our long drive to Salt Lake we had our first little "wrinkle" in the roadtrip. About 9 hours in to our 12 hour drive to Salt Lake City I noticed that a dashboard light had illuminated. My first reaction was "is this 1981 all over again" (a Douglas family trip had to be aborted twice due to car troubles on a similarly new vehicle). Kim quickly thumbed through the owner's manual and found that it must have something to do with the tires. We stopped and found that the driver's side rear tire was very low. I aired it up and it seemed ok so we pressed on. About an hour late the light came on again and I knew the tire was about shot. We aired it up a second time and made it into SLC fine. I thought that the tire could be patched, but that was a bit optimistic of course. A puncture was found on the inside of the tire when I took it into the dealer in SLC and it had to replaced. Pictures above are my reaction on Friday morning to find the tire totally deflated and putting on the donut. Hopefully we have better car luck as we drive on to our next stop - Arches National Park.

1st Anniversary

This is what vacation is all about.

Jason on the coast.
I am enjoying our fabulous picnic at Cape Mears.

Jason and I headed out to the coast to our favorite Bed and Breakfast for our one year anniversary. We went to the Sand Lake Country Inn which is the same place we stayed at when we got engaged. This was our third trip there, but the first time that we have been in the summertime. When we arrived on Sunday, we went out for a walk along the beach. It was a little chilly, but not too bad. Then we checked out a local restaurant "Roseanna's" that we had been hearing good things about. Dinner was good, but dessert was great. We had the triple berry crisp and it was delicious.

On Monday, we woke up to a delicious home cooked breakfast. We have never had a disappointing breakfast there. We listened to our wedding CD as we ate and opened cards from family. Then we brought out the wedding video and had fun laughing and reminiscing about our wonderful day. It is so hard for us to believe that it has been one year already. Then, we did a whole lot of nothing for a while. We took a bubble bath in the giant jacuzzi bath tub and read books and just hung out. In the afternoon, we got a packed picnic basket from the innkeeper and headed out to Cape Mears and the Octopus Tree for a picnic lunch. She gave us so much food that we ended up eating it for lunch and dinner.

Overall, we had an incredible weekend. We ate a ton, and were able to really relax. It was a great way to kick off our vacation. Now, we head out for our big road trip on July 3rd!

Sabbatical Begins!

Jason heading out the door on his last day of work.

Jason coming home. He is clearly much more excited.

Me showing off some of the decorations.

Jason's last day of work was Wednesday, June 25th. As you can see, he was pretty happy on his way out the door in the morning, but he was much happier when he came home that afternoon I decorated the house a little bit to help him get in the 8 weeks of vacation mood! We went to Happy Hour (I had water of course) and then to see a movie. It was a good start to a long and adventurous vacation together!