Ward Camp Out

Alisha says: Last weekend we went to the ward camp out. It was held at a rustic lodge on some church owned property called Ensign Ranch. We had a good time getting to know a few people and since it was a little rainy we all got to practice our around the world ping pong skills. On the way to the camp out we stopped and hiked Denny Creek and then on the way home we hiked Rattlesnake Ledge. Both were excellent hikes.

Hiking along Denny Creek

Dave made it to the finals a few times

Ponies in the pasture

My favorite road cycling route so far is out to and around Mercer Island. Great views and a trip across the I-90 bike path.

Seattle

Dave says: We've been in Seattle just over two weeks. This is a great place to be in the summer with mild temperatures and lots of exciting outdoor adventures to do. It took awhile to get things unloaded and I've had some work to do at the university, but we've also made time for some fun trips.

We live in a nice area where we can easily go trail running in Ravenna Park or on the Burke Gilman trail so we have been getting back into running. We've also been out on some mountain bike adventures including a trip out to Duthie Park with Chris and Sarah and a nearby ride at St. Edward State Park. We have done two long road rides. One with Louisa to the other side of Lake Washington on the Burke Gilman trail which just goes on and on forever. The other was with the Cascade Cycling Club and went up to some of the northern towns outside of Seattle. It was a pretty route and not too busy but there must have been 75 turns in 75 miles so you were never on one stretch of road for too long.

Finally, we've also been on a few good hikes. The hiking here in the forested mountains is really awesome. We hit Poo Poo Point out in Issaqua and then last weekend we did Wallace Falls. On the way home, we stopped in Gold Bar at a local bakery for some of the most delicious breakfast food we have had. In fact, all of the restaurants that we have been to so far in the Seattle area are pretty awesome. It doesn't get dark here until after 9 pm right now so we've been enjoying the long days of summer in Seattle.

The Big Move

Alisha says: After returning from Hawaii it was time to buckle down and pack things up. Moving is always such a pain but it is also a good time to go through and weed out some of your stuff. I didn't think we really had that much stuff until we started packing, but we did. The hardest part about our last two weeks in Tucson was doing all of my favorite Tucson things for the last time and saying goodbye to all my friends. I really hate goodbyes. I have loved working with Fred and the Tri-Fit group. At the Tri-Fit Memorial Day party they surprised me with a big cake and an umbrella that they all signed. They are a really great group of people. Then my mom came down see us one last time before we left and help us do some packing. She was a big help and did a bunch of cleaning. Thanks Mom! I cried when she left because it is going to be hard being so far away, I have really enjoyed having her visit fairly regularly. My last Tuesday Hill Ride with the Dogs was also a bit sad. I have loved riding with the Dogs, they are such a neat group of people that really looks out for each other. While we were sitting around at the bakery after the ride they brought out a huge cake to wish Dave and I well on our next adventure. It was really great.

Things I will miss about Tucson (not a complete list because that would be too long and in no particular order)
-Mt. Lemmon
-The Dogs cycling group, Sabino Cycles
-Riding, Running, Hiking in Sabino Canyon
-Riding the loop in Saguaro National Park
-The weather, not having to ever look at the weather report because you know it is going to be nice and sunny.
-The wildlife, we saw lots of animals in our backyard. We really enjoyed feeding the quail and I loved when they would start bringing their babies down to the water dish in the spring.
-The sunsets
-The views from our house and our hilly driveway
-The monsoons
-Working with Fred at Tri-Fit
-All my friends

On Thursday, June 5th the movers came and loaded everything up. That afternoon Dave and I started our journey. We drove to Flagstaff, AZ and spent the night. The next day we drove to Salt Lake, UT and had dinner and spent the evening with my brother and his family. The next day we drove to Yakima, WA and on Sunday we finished up the drive to our new place in Seattle. We had a few days of camping out in our place with only what we could bring in the car before our stuff arrived. Dave had to go to a conference outside of Toronto and that ended up being the day our stuff was delivered so I spent the next few days putting away and organizing a lot of our stuff.

We are excited for this next chapter in our story. I always struggle a little with change but Dave and I have fun together where ever we are. He is really excited for his new job and I am super proud of him.

 The cake from Tri-Fit

 The cake from the Dogs

 I am really going to miss all these people

My mom and I with some of the boxes

A cool braid that my mom did

 Our sad moving faces

 Moving day

 Driving out of Tucson! Farewell!

Aloha! Part 4

Alisha says:
Day 10: After a lot of really active days in a row we needed a more restful day. It was also a little rainy so it worked out perfect. Our rental vehicle had four wheel drive so we took Mike and Cherry on one of their first off road four wheel drive adventures. We took a 4wd road to a trail called the Jungle trail and went on a short hike. In the afternoon we went back to Poipu beach until it started pouring rain on us.
Day 11: Dave and I rented kayak and kayaked a few miles up the Wailua River and then hiked a few miles to Secret Falls, we stopped at the Fern Grotto and then continued to paddle our way back down the river. After getting some food we then rented some cruisers and biked along the coconut coast. Just as we got back and returned our bikes it started pouring again. I had to have a Hawaiian shaved ice before we left so even though it was pouring rain and a little chilly we got a huge Hawaiian ice to share.
Day 12: Travel day home. We had a long really great vacation!

 Driving across the stream

 Kayaking the Wailua River

 The start of the hike to Secret Falls

 The trail was super muddy, sometimes up to our shins

 The Fern Grotto

 I don't know if you are paddling back there

 Ready to cruise the coconut coast

Ending our vacation with a huge Hawaiian shave ice

Aloha! Part 3 - Kauai

Alisha says:

Day 7: I had a bucket list of things to do on Kauai so we started checking them off. We first headed to Waimea Canyon, which is a really neat canyon that has also been called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. It is 10 miles long and up to 3,000 ft. deep. We did a hike along the rim that went to the top of Waimea Falls.

We then finished up the day with some really good snorkeling at Poipu Beach. It was like snorkeling in an aquarium, there were tons of fish. There was even a seal taking a nap on the beach.

Day 8: We drove to the north side of the island and hiked part of the Kalalau trail. To hike the whole trail is a 22 mile round trip (which I really, really wanted to do but usually requires camping out one night and since we were traveling with another couple we couldn't do it) But, the first couple of miles down to the first beach was so amazing. You get these incredible views of the Napali Coast and the water below is a really beautiful aquamarine color. I love, love, loved it! After that we were hot and sweaty which meant only one thing, beach time! We went to Tunnels Beach which is one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to. This was possibly the best snorkeling spot of our trip. You snorkel out a bit and then the ocean just drops off. It was a little eerie at first but we saw a lot of cool fish and even a few turtles that we got to watch and swim by for a long time. This was possible my favorite full day of our trip.

Day 9: The morning was filled with sightseeing. We stopped at the Spouting Horn, and then also took a walk along the cliffs by Shipwreck Beach. In the afternoon Dave and I took a boat tour of the Napali Coast. The company we picked was super, the boats were small (there was only 7 total people on ours) and the captain was great. The captain said that we were treated to an exceptionally nice day on the coast, he said it is usually cloudy, raining and windy but the ocean was fairly calm and the sun was shining. We saw some spinner dolphins. They came and were swimming right by the boat, a few even jumped up in the air for us. We stopped and snorkeled and saw more cool fish, turtles and two reef sharks! At first I was a little nervous but we had been told that you don't have to worry about them so we had fun watching them. The coast was amazing. Really scenic and beautiful. Our boat was also small enough that we got to drive in many sea caves along the way. On the return trip we saw a whale and her calf.  It was super cool!

 Waimea Canyon

 Look at that view, amazing!

 The beach were we turned around

 Tunnels Beach

 Dave getting ready to snorkel on our Napali Coast trip

 Incredible!

 Driving in one of the many sea caves