One last trip on the 101...

We're not sure where we'll end up on the back side of our little European excursion (a.k.a., the opportunity of a lifetime) so we before we left San Diego for a few years, we decided to hit the road and head north for some R&R and to see some friends along the way. After braving LA traffic, we spent the first night in Morro Bay. This sleepy fishing hamlet is located midway between Santa Barbara and Monterey, about 20 minutes west of San Luis Obispo. We really wrestled with whether to stay here or in Santa Barbara, but we're really glad we chose Morro Bay. We got there just before sunset, took a few pics, grabbed some dinner and drinks at a swanky restaurant on the bay and hit the hay. The next morning we went for a run around the bay in the early morning fog, grabbed a tasty breakfast at the local greasy spoon called, "The Hungry Fisherman" (I'm not making this up), and hit the road once again. Enroute, we stopped off at Hearst Castle on our way to Monterey. That place is awesome. It made me want to go home and put up crown molding or something. The architecture is incredible. Next stop on our tour was Monterey to spend some time with our new Olmsted friends Dave and Becky (they'll soon be heading to Morocco!). We linked up with them and our friend Nick (soon heading to Hangzhou, China with his wife Bayley) for burgers and beers. It was great to catch up with them and hear all about how their language training is going. The next morning Jen, Becky and I checked out the Monterey Aquarium, and then it was time to hit the road again. Sacramento was our final destination, and Matt and Cara our final gracious hosts, who even made us towel love swans. We filled our time in Sac-town with lake kayaking, tapas, and ice cream sandwiches. It was nice to finally meet Bounce, and we were sad to say goodbye. We're so blessed to be able to embark on our Olmsted adventure, but it's fun mini-adventures like this that remind us how much we're going to miss this place!

More Family Pics

Alyssa re-styling Brian's high & tight

Brian and his favorite little soldier

Olivia barrel racing Willy

Brian & Andrew grilling some grub

The newest addition to the Marker Farm

Getting Dad to smile with his eyes open!

The yearly "fish-face" photo-op

Sisters

Steph-O

One of the other highlights of our trip home was Jen's sister Stephanie's high school graduation. We're crazy proud of her! She's going to Everett Community College next year, and she's got a track scholarship! Awesome! I meant to add pics from graduation on the last post, but here they are.

Whirlwind worldwide tour!

In an attempt to be as efficient as possible, Jen and I decided to combine our trip to D.C. for the Olmsted Foundation orientation, our trip to Brussels for house hunting, and our trip to Seattle to visit our family. Here's how the math falls out: 12,011 miles flown, 28 hours on a plane, and 4 airplane meals (we were lucky to get that many). Yowza. The Olmsted Orientation in D.C. was amazing. We stayed with our friends Mike and Brittanie who just had their first baby (congrats again, guys)! They were so gracious and it was awesome to see them. The orientation was incredible. It was great to meet all the other scholars of our class (except for one; Jamil and his wife were busy having a baby!), and scholars from previous classes as well at the reunion that also took place that weekend. We also got to spend some quality time with our new buddies Dave and Becky. The weekend was a complete blast, and we were sad to leave D.C., which has now become one of our favorite cities. Continuing our amazing trip, we had a blast in Brussels. Chocolates, beer, fancy food, and old Europe. We loved Brussels, and we're really looking forward to living there. We made the most of our week: we saw 22 different apartments with 5 different realtors. We didn't find "the" place, but we got a great feel for the city, and we got to know the neighborhoods so it was definitely well worth it. The final leg of our trip took us back to Seattle to visit family prior to our departure. It worked out really well because we took a few more days than we normally do when we go home, so we made our typical rounds and spent time with our family before we take off for three years. Hopefully, the chocolate and beer of Belgium will be enough to entice them to come visit us!



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I am Russian cowboy. Please...

My broham Jeff and his lady friend Alex flew down all the way from Spokane to sunny San Diego for a week, so I put on my tour guide hat and we made the rounds. On the list were a drive up the coast on the 101 (I explained to them that freeways and highways here in SoCal are referred to by their number, preceeded by the definite article "the". They weren't that impressed.), a trip to Balboa Park, dinner in Coronado followed by a walking tour, an example of a typical hangout night at Alex's place (affectionately known as the "Chinese Prison"), a visit to the Zoo, and a flight in the UH-1Y simulator up at Camp Pendleton for some rockets and guns. It was a blast.