Definitely Not Alaska
>> Sunday, October 3, 2010 –
Travel
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
SoCal
>> Sunday, September 26, 2010 –
Travel
Thank goodness I had the forethought to join Justin during his TDY to California. Burke and I desperately needed to actually experience summer. This summer in Alaska was rainy. Gray and wet. We found the sun in Southern California.
We spent a week at Port Hueneme near Oxnard. The sun was out and the temperatures were perfect. Justin was out around 2 or 3 pm daily which gave us plenty of time to take Burke to the pool or time to drive to nearby towns.
After our week at Hueneme we moved southward to stay with our friends, Chris and Karen Hetz, in Santa Monica. And then we all turned right around and headed back up north to experience Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispol. the Hearst Castle and some wine tasting.
Santa Barbara is absolutely beautiful. With the help of Google Maps we pinpointed our lunch stop - Three Pickles. The food sounded amazing. We found our destination and the place was closed. Lesson learned - check the hours before driving all over. Maybe next time we go we can try Three Pickles. While in Santa Barbara we went to the Old Mission and walked the busy downtown shopping district. Then we drove to Vandenberg AFB. That place is so out of the way! But it was $39 a night compared to $180 at nearby hotels.
Sunday morning we headed to San Simeon to explore the Hearst Castle. Absolutely stunning. My favorites were the outdoor and indoor pools. We ate lunch at Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill where they served complimentary sparkling wine. The buzz hit quickly on an empty stomach. After checking out our dream home and getting tipsy we headed to Paso Robles in search of wine. We found yummy wine. That area is gorgeous and full of many wineries. You could spend a week tasting wine. Maybe we'll go back for a 21+ vacation.
On Monday it was back to Santa Monica via Solvang to check out a bit of my Danish heritage. We had our famous persons sighting - Adam Goldberg at Paula's Pancake House. Justin and I were on our own to explore the area until Friday. We hit up the beach and the pier, walked in the sun, visited the Getty Villa, drove around looking at gates shielding the view of behemoth mansions, and relaxed.
Fabulous time with great friends. Thanks Chris and Karen for the wonderful hospitality. They were nice enough to show us Settlers of Catan. Fun!
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4th of July
Back out into the wild...
We survived. Burke lived. Our first camping trip was successful.
Justin, Burke and I set out from a dark and dismal Anchorage and headed north west to Lake Louise. Nope, not the well known Lake Louise in Banff, Canada, but Lake Louise right here in Alaska. As Justin drove through the summer snow (EVIL Cottonwood) we found the sun. Oh, glorious sun. The drive was beautiful. So much to look at...glaciers and mountains everywhere.
We found the sun!
Burke took a 2 hour nap making the drive easy
Mountains and glaciers
The road to Lake Louise - looks like an earthquake hit but it's just frost heaves
We joined Tim (Justin's coworker) and Michelle Clapp, some of their friends and Michelle's family. Tim and Michelle took great care of us. They set up a tent for us, had a huge tarp to cover us, as well as sleeping bags and an air mattress. They fed us well (steaks, pork chops, s'mores, fish and chips, alligator, pancakes, cheese sticks, hamburgers, and more s'mores) and entertained us with beer, boat rides, and beaches.
Burke in his play tent
Our set up
Burke will teethe on anything (Blue Moon anyone?)
Thursday night's sunset
Thursday night and Friday were gorgeous. We hung out on a sandy beach. I was in heaven. Then the rain set in. It wasn't miserable, but it was a little draining. The three of us packed up and headed home on Sunday the 4th in order to get out of the rain and let Burke crawl around at home. Somewhere where he could stretch his legs just a bit more.
Safety First
A very late night boat ride (yes, we're bad parents, the vest came off to make an unhappy Burke happy)
Burke's taking his job seriously
He finally fell asleep
The Beach
Who wouldn't want a float plane to take you where you wanted to go?
Soaking up the sun
Enjoying a refreshing beer by a very refreshing lake
A sandy beach in Alaska!
Justin captured another beautiful sunset
Another World
>> Friday, July 16, 2010 –
Travel
As one of the South East Asia Humanitarian Assistance Officers working for the Corps of Engineers, Justin has the opportunity to travel to destinations he probably wouldn't have traveled to otherwise. So far he's been to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Hanoi, Vietnam and most recently Colombo, Sri Lanka. He's racked up some crazy air miles and a few interesting adventures.
Sri Lanka
Russian Market, Cambodia
Sri Lankan Hilton Restaurant Menu - very big
Sri Lanka
The Sizzle - one of his favorite places to eat in Sri Lanka
Life Around the World
Good Morning Dance from Kara DeArmond on Vimeo.
Vietnam Traffic from Kara DeArmond on Vimeo.
Is it safe? from Kara DeArmond on Vimeo.
New Worlds for Justin
>> Tuesday, May 4, 2010 –
Travel
Justin is off to new places. We never expected the travel opportunities Justin would find when he transitioned into the Acquisition Corps and was assigned to the Corps of Engineers - Alaska District. Right now he's on the first leg of his journey to Cambodia and Vietnam. It's just a quick trip. I'm thinking most of his time will be spent on a plane...but wow, what an opportunity.
Burke and I wish we were with him but after hearing about his flight itinerary I'm thankful we're all warm, snuggled up in our house, free to move about wherever and not on a plane for FOREVER! His trip to Sri Lanka next month is even crazier.
I can't wait to see Justin's pictures from his explorations. Keeping my fingers crossed that the camera makes it home. Justin is notorious for losing/damaging our cameras. Thank goodness this one is waterproof-shockproof. I'll definitely post pics on here when he gets back next week.
To Idaho and Back
>> Tuesday, April 6, 2010 –
Travel
Burke and I successfully made it to Idaho and back. We had a great time and throughly exhausted ourselves doing it. I absolutely loved all of the time I got to spend with family and friends. Sadly, there wasn't enough time to see everyone I wanted to. Hopefully next time!
I rarely had to change Burke's dirty diapers. My sister and sister-in-law jumped right in. Burke loved seeing so many new faces. He had no issues being passed from person to person. Burke also got to meet some new friends - Connor and Zach. They were super cute together.
My brother lied. He said he'd only hold Burke once. He held him more than that. Brandon and Burke look a lot like each other. I need to get my hands on a baby picture of Brandon. Burke definitely has many of the Friis characteristics.
Burke really liked his Aunt Lindsay. She made him smile lots. Grammie Becky had fun holding him. She kept saying that she was going to take him home with her.
Idaho
Well, Burke and I made it to Idaho. Burke took a nice nap before we went to the aiport. We made it through security without a problem. I'm pretty sure I sent like 8 separate items through the X-ray machine. Somehow we got lucky and the middle seat was empty on our very busy flight. Burke fell asleep at takeoff and woke up when deplaning. Our flight to Spokane he had fun looking out the window at clouds and smiling at our seat mate. We were very tired yesterday and took lots of naps. Burke decided to go to bed at 6:30pm and slept till around 7am where he woke me up with talking and smiles.
We're happy to be here. Lots of people to see. Burke doesn't know what to think of all the new faces.
Hawai'i 2010 Slide Show
>> Tuesday, March 9, 2010 –
Travel
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| This free digital slideshow personalized with Smilebox |
Burke's 4 Months Old!
On Saturday, Burke turned 4 months! Now he enters his 5th month of life and it will be a busy one. On Sunday Burke will earn his first flying wings as we head out over the Pacific Ocean headed for Hawai'i. We will be staying with our good friends Adam and Myriah Brady on Oahu. We are all heading to the Big Island 19th thru the 24th to check out the volcanoes and lava flows. Justin and Adam hope to ski and surf in the same day. On the 20th I celebrate my birthday! We head home on the 25th and then on the 27th Gramma Wanna comes for her second visit. It'll be a great month!
Burke had his well-baby check up today. He did great and he took the shots a little better this time. We were in the fire truck room!
4 month stats:
- 16 lbs 6 ozs - 75-90th percentile
- 27.2 inches long - 90th percentile
- 16 inch head circumference - 50th percentile
- He is meeting all developmental standards for 4 month old babies
Look how long he is!
Go Gonzaga!
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Missing Out on the Snow
>> Saturday, February 6, 2010 –
Travel
Justin is taking the weekend off from the snow, not his choice but mine. Too bad too because we've been getting some new snow finally. He was on Burke duty this morning while I went and had my hair done. He's such a brave guy to spend time with Burke especially since Burke is refusing to take his bottle.
Tomorrow we're heading up to Wasilla to enjoy the Super Bowl with friends and their very new very large TV.
This time next Sunday we'll be on our way to Hawai'i! Hopefully there will be no snow there.
Countdown is on!
>> Friday, January 15, 2010 –
Travel
Hawaii in 29 days! Vitamin D here we come.
This will be our first family trip and we're super excited! I can only imagine how much "stuff" we'll be brining along with us to make sure Burke is a happy camper.
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