George & Stacies Bachelor(ette) Parties

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A while back while the best man was throwing together ideas for the Bachelor party I read an article from the New York Times about this sweet little par 3 golf course with several bars on site which seemed ideal for the type of shenanigans we’d be up to.  I forwarded the information about McMenamins Edgefield that I had, and to my surprise George (the Bachelor) had not only already heard of it, but really wanted to go.

This was my first experience golfing (probably Rob’s too as can be seen in the video above), and holy crap did I suck to start out with.  My skill level essentially fit perfectly to a bell curve over time.  I got steadily better (thanks to Newman and Andy’s coaching!) and then I sucked hard core (thanks to the alcohol).

From there it was on to some bars with a quick stop to take care of the Portland UprITe Battle of 2009.

The girls spent the majority of their time at Dukes which, if the pictures and videos are any indication, is a lot of fun.  It seems that almost everybody rode the bull with the exception of my wife who is the only one who foresaw the bull riding plot and wore a skirt to stop it in it’s tracks.

A great night for all involved!

Mount Saint Helens (east side)

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With the girls getting their hands and feet scrubbed (read: manicures and pedicures), and just hanging out in general all day together, Roger and I were on our own so we struck out for one of the biggest attractions we could think of, Mount Saint Helens.

Mount Saint HelensRather than drive up to the main observatory, which would take a bit longer, we opted for the shorter less traveled east side route which takes you past some beautiful lakes and reservoirs and on up to the Climbers Bivouac.  The road was treacherous and the views rewarding. However; since we got so close to the mountain, rather than viewing from afar, our view of Mount Saint Helens was obstructed by pine trees with only one real good spot for viewing the mountain itself.  We had absolutely fantastic views of the mountains, valleys and lakes to the east and south though.

It was so impressive that I’ll be bringing Rachel back to explore the west side at some point during our adventure.

Rehearsal and Dinner at Portland City Grill

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The rehearsal went off without a hitch at the beautiful Aerie at Eagle Landing.  Because Smitty wasn’t flying in until Saturday morning, I acted as a stand-in groomsmen, which was a first but fun.

Sunset over PortlandAfter the rehearsal always comes the good part… the dinner.  For this particular event we ate at the Portland City Grill on the 30th floor of the US Bancorp building.  The view was incredible, and we were blessed with a gorgeous sunset way up over the west hills.  Pictures can’t do it justice, and since I only brought my 50mm portrait lens (without a polarized filter through glass at night) my pictures of the city and the skyline were all but useless.  Since it was also Michael’s birthday George and Stacie had a cake for him which was absolutely delicious!

You’ll just have to trust me, the view from the Portland City Grill is well worth the cost of a meal, it truly is spectacular.

Mt Hood and Columbia River Gorge

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Mt HoodOne of the things on the must-see list in the Portland area is the Columbia River Gorge. A large group decided at dinner last night to meet up and head out for that at about 10am. Because we’re relatively early risers we thought we’d get a head start, do the Mt Hood loop and meet them out. It’s a good thing we did!

Multnomah FallsIf you get a chance to take the Mt Hood Scenic byway DO IT! That being said, we did. We saw the Oregon trail at laurel hill, the Salmon River, the White River and some fantastic views of Mt Hood. We also got some sweet cherries for a cool $1.50/lb at a local fruit stand. They cost more than $4/lb at home!

From there we met the group at Multnomah Falls along the Historic Columbia River Highway where a few of us hiked to the top. Getting to the top is quite a workout, 15 switchbacks and a mile later. The group headed back from there but since we hadn’t gotten a chance to see the Vista House, we stopped there for a vista and what a one it was.
vista house view
The whole loop : Highly suggested.

An awesome first day.

The Ride In

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IMG_4488 On our way to Portland we flew through Newark (New Jersey) and for once we didn’t miss our flights because of it… Of course, once we got on the plane to Portland we did sit on the runway for an hour …sigh…

Ahh well, once we were finally in the air Rachel and I watched Kingdom of Heaven on my iPhone and we were then graced with some magnificent views of the Mountainous west coast.

After being in Portland for all of 30 minutes we had a few observations:

  • It’s very green.  There’s huge Ponderosa Pine Trees absolutely everywhere and they’re gorgeous.
  • It’s very green-conscious.  We probably saw 147 bikes between the airport and our Hotel.  There are bike lanes on literally every street, and bike paths next to every highway.  There are “Please Conserve Water” signs everywhere.
  • The flowers are amazing and they’re everywhere
  • It’s Claim Jumpers not Clam Jumpers
  • Shopping is great here.  Lots of outlet stores and no sales tax!  This doesn’t mean we’ll be doing any this trip, but it certainly is a good place to go if you’d like to.  The pearl district seems to be where all the higher class shops are.
  • Unemployment is bad here, we saw beggars on pretty much every major intersection between the airport and the hotel.

We had a great trip in and a nice relaxing first day.

Where We Are

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If you’re reading this on our website you might have noticed something new!

We’ve temporarily added a map to the top of the site courtesy of Instamapper which allows us to share with everyone where we are at the moment.  We thought it might be neat for family and friends to see our progress.

Right now it doesn’t show anything, (intentionally) but starting at the airport tomorrow morning we’ll check in once a day or so (where we have cellphone reception).  This should give everyone a good idea on what we’re doing and where.

And for those who don’t already know, the trip we’re talking about this time is our great Pacific Northwest Adventure.  We fly out tomorrow morning bright and early, and we won’t be back for 3 weeks!

Don’t worry (I know you were…) we’ll be updating from the road.

The next time we talk, we’ll be on (or near) the west coast!

Till then… Adieu

Perspective and Patience – When a Soldier Comes Home

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My friend Victoria sent this to me and I felt I had to share it.  Too often we let the little things get the better of us.  Thinking about the soldiers and what they go through might be a good way to keep some perspective and some patience.

When a Soldier Comes Home

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When a soldier comes home he finds it hard…

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…To listen to his son whine about being bored.

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…To keep a straight face when people complain about potholes.

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…To be tolerant of people who complain about the hassle of getting ready for work.

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…To be understanding when a co-worker complains about a bad night’s sleep.

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…To be silent when people pray to God for a new car.

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…To control his panic when his wife tells him he needs to drive slower.

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…To be compassionate when a businessman expresses a fear of flying.

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…To keep from laughing when anxious parents say they’re afraid to send their kids off to summer camp.

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…To keep from ridiculing someone who complains about hot weather.

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…To control his frustration when a colleague gripes about his coffee being cold.

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…To remain calm when his daughter complains about having to walk the dog.

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…To be civil to people who complain about their jobs.

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…To just walk away when someone says they only get two weeks of vacation a year.

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…To be forgiving when someone says how hard it is to have a new baby in the house.

The only thing harder than being a Soldier…

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is loving one.

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My New Photography Equipment

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Original EquipmentEven though I’ve been into Photography for quite a while, I only recently took the plunge into the realm of DSLRs.  Ever since then I’ve been making use of the 28-135mm kit lens which has worked out great.  However; due to the upcoming weddings and our upcoming trip to the Pacific Northwest I’ve been on the lookout for new equipment.

Last week I happened upon a great deal on Craigslist.  A woman was getting rid of her old Canon 35mm Film SLR along with all the lenses, flash and camera bag.  It came with a 50mm F1.8 (one of the lenses I’d been watching for, although I was more interested in the 1.4) a slide in-out 70-210mm F4 and a Speedlite 420 EZ.

The equipment isn’t the greatest, it’s rather old and fairly low-end but it will do just fine for a while.  The 50mm alone made the deal worth it.  Either way I decided to purchase it and add the stuff to my inventory.

New EquipmentI’ve also been examining wide angle lenses.  Unfortunately I haven’t found any used lenses that were wide enough for me.  Because of our upcoming trip to some of the most scenic places in the US, I decided to pursue new ones.  There have basically been 2 I was interested in (that I could afford).  The Sigma 10-20mm and the Tokina 12-24mm.  After tossing them back and forth in my head and reading lots of reviews I finally decided on the Tokina 12-24mm.  My first impression is nothing short of excellent.  It definitely seems wide enough and the build quality is superb.  I also enjoy the different type of manual focus mechanism.  I’ll probably post a review of it once I get the chance to try it out a bit more.

In just a few short days I’ve quadrupled the amount of photography equipment I have.  The only downside is now I need to find a place to keep it all.

I’m very excited to play with and learn my new toys.  I posted a few test shots in the slideshow below. Most of the shots were taken with the new Flash which requires Manual mode so some are a little overexposed as I get used to it.

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649

Genesee Bike Ride

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Preferred Care is putting on what they call Nature Nights every Tuesday at 6pm from May 26th through August 25th.  These nights include biking, (canoe) paddling, hiking and walking in the different areas Rochester has to offer.

Tuesday Rachel and I, along with my mother and several other of their coworkers, participated in a 10 (ish) mile bike ride along the Genesee River.  We started at the Seneca Park Zoo parking lot.  From there we crossed a walking/riding bridge to the other side of the Genesee.  We rode along Lake ave for a short distance and then through Turning Point Park.  From there we rode on to Ontario Beach Park.  We took a short break at abbots and then headed back along the same route.  Some people got a longer break than others, due to a lost rider… but that’s a story for another day.

I intended to record video of the whole thing.  However; the battery in my camera died after crossing the bridge so this is all I got:

The pace was very leisurely (a bit slow for my taste) but it was a great ride with a great group.  Everyone was very friendly and we’ll probably participate again.

Enjoy some  of the scenery the Genesee Riverway Trail has to offer below.  Please note, these were shot with my iPhone so the quality is a little… well the quality is little.