sunset

2009 – How I Did

~ randyaa ~ 4 Comments

It’s funny, looking back on the goals I set at the beginning of the year, some of them were kind of silly, others weren’t even goals.  Either way, I didn’t do too bad.

  • Volunteer at least 4 times
    • Didn’t happen.. :(.  I volunteered on the United Way day of Caring and that’s it.  Wish I would have followed through on this one.
  • Quadruple the size of our Emergency Fund
    • Check
  • Take a 3 – 4week vacation on the west coast
    • Check
  • Buy a DSLR
    • Check
  • Win at least one photo contest
    • Sadly, Didn’t enter any…
  • Sell at least one photo
    • Sold my services twice, I guess that counts?
  • Reduce my wardrobe by 25%
    • Check
  • See at least 25 sunsets and 25 sunrises
    • Check, some weeks saw many, other none.  It all balances out.
  • Complete and release Mivity
    • Right… Mivity is canned, the Domain expired and I didn’t renew it.  If you have an idea for it feel free, I just decided I had other priorities.
  • Work out at least 3 times per week for 30minutes at a time
    • Started out the year and into the summer very good on this one, Unfortunately due to other obligations, later into the summer and the rest of the year, I Fell short.  I’ll be picking this up in the new year.
  • Finish the 1st floor of the house
    • Didn’t happen but we’re very close, looking like the middle to end of January.

Oregon Coast to Seaside

~ randyaa ~ 1 Comment

Tuesday was relaxing.  We got up and had the continental breakfast (we made it a point to eat itevery day, no sense spending money on a meal that was included with your hotel).  We took our time checking out and headed to do laundry.  Since we’re here for 3 weeks we intentionally only packed enough for 1 to lighten the load. This only took us a little over an hour (thank you 45lb dryers!) which was just about perfect since right then we got a call to meet at Fudruckers for lunch.  “Sounds good!” we said and headed over.

ecola-state-parkAfter lunch (Michael at a 1lb burger…) with the family (George, Stacie, Mom, Dad, Michael, Michelle, Rachel and myself) everyone took a leisurely drive through the countryside to get a good view of Mt hood.  We stopped outside a ranch of some sort where we could see it pretty clearly.

Here, we said our goodbyes (I think Rachel and Michelle were the most saddened) and struck out for the coast.  We had already been to Cannon beach and south to Tullamook but we hadn’t made it to Ecola State Park and we figured, since we had the time, what better way to get to Seattle than to take the coast the whole way.

Sunset at Ecola was amazing.  However; since we started out so late we only made it as far as Seaside, which turned out to be a very cute town but extremely touristy.  There we stayed at the Sandy Cove Inn which was adorable.  It was family owned and apparently had been purchased and renovated by the current owners about 2 years ago.  It was one of those theme places, where every room has a theme.

Thus ended our first real night on the road.

http://aldrichfamily.org/2009/07/10/cannon-beach-and-sand-castles/

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.

My 2009

~ randyaa ~ 2 Comments

2008 for me was all about reduction, trimming the fat.  It was my best year yet.  I got rid of a lot of excess crap and simplified my life and fattened my wallet as a result. My biggest mistake, however, was I did not hold myself accountable for any goals because… I had none.

2009 will be different.  I’m starting this year by listing my goals and aspirations so that come December 31st I can measure my success (or lack thereof).

My Goal:

  • Volunteer at least 4 times
  • Quadruple the size of our Emergency Fund
  • Take a 3 – 4week vacation on the west coast
  • Buy a DSLR
  • Win at least one photo contest
  • Sell at least one photo
  • Reduce my wardrobe by 25%
  • See at least 25 sunsets and 25 sunrises
  • Complete and release Mivity
  • Work out at least 3 times per week for 30minutes at a time
  • Finish the 1st floor of the house

Some of these are an extension of what I began last year.  Others are brand new.  I’m sure others will present themselves during the year.

Big Beach

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Big Beach

Our last full day in Hawaii, how sad. We spent it in true Hawaiian fashion by just relaxing and ‘taking it easy mon’. We hit up

Fun in the SandBecause its over 100′ wide and over 3,000′ long, the natives call it ‘Big Beach’ not to be confused with ‘Little Beach’ next door where the nudists hang. Big Beach is probably our favorite beach thus far. Its golden sand, perfect crescent shape and sparse population all make it a perfect spot. We swam in the clear waters, tried to catch a few waves and played in the sand.Whaler’s Village and popped in and out of a few shops before lunch. Then we were off to Makena and Oneloa Beach.


Sunset at Big BeachMr and MrsAs the evening passed we picked up and moved south along the beach to get a good view of the sunset. We can safely say that tonight’s sunset was the most beautiful we’ve seen since arriving in Hawaii. This is saying a lot as our previous posts have mentioned the other sunsets we’ve had the privilege of seeing. What a great way to say goodnight and goodbye to Hawaii.

With Aloha,
Randy and Rachel

20,000 Leagues under the Sea

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Molokini

Another early start to a long day, but here that sort of day is welcomed. At 7am this morning we caught a ride on the leilani. She was a charter boat serving those interested in snorkel, snuba or just enjoying a ride on some of the most beautiful waters mother nature has to offer. It first took us to Molokini, a half sunk crater islet. It’s a popular snorkel spot with clear waters, a thriving reef and an abundance of aquatic life. We suited up and headed out to try our luck with the funny goggles and somewhat fishy breathing apparatus. The object of the game was to stick your head face down in the water and see as many fish as possible before swallowing too much sea water that unavoidably was sucked down the spout of your snorkel. It was amazing though. there must have been at least 50 different species of fish down there, some getting close enough you swear you could reach out and touch them. it was a good call buying that underwater camera. you’ll have to wait for pics from that till we get home.

Us

Next we ate a BBQ lunch prepared by the ships crew and headed to Turtle Town. Here we tried Snuba, a combination of snorkeling and scuba. really it was scuba diving with a tank on raft above you instead of on your back. It took a little while to get used to the breathing but once we did it was great. We are both in agreement that snuba kicked snorkels butt. Once in the water it took no time at all to see a turtle. As matter of fact one was waiting to greet us right off the ship. We saw two others that day and again were able to get pretty close. these guys aren’t shy. we don’t dare touch them though. sea turtles are a protected species and you could get fined up to 2000 if caught touching one. we left turtle town and it was back to Maui.

when back at the hotel we decided to catch up on some relaxation. we rented a cabana on the beach and sipped pineapple juice and coconut rum cocktails till sunset. This is the life.

aloha,
the Mr. & Mrs.

From Sunrise to Sunset

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Haleakala, House of the sun. apparently the best way to see it is: to be picked up at 2am by bus, taken up the 9,740 feet to its overlook and wait for sunrise. the 2 am part was brutal but boy it was worth it. When walking out to the edge you don’t see much except the top of a few clouds (because you’re well above them). As the sun begins to rise the horizon begins to take form around you. Purple, blue, orange and red bounce off the surrounding cliffs making it more and more apparent what 9740 feet up really looks like. A few couples thought it was a good idea to cozy up on a rock outside the protective guard rail. once there was enough light to see the distance to the bottom of the crater they were gone, hopefully by choice. Once what we and many others besides us called the most beautiful sunrise on earth was completed it was time to make our decent.

Us on our bikes

The company we rode up with, Maui Mountain Cruisers, specializes in the cruel game of roll the tourist down the mountain. They dress you up in a bright blue jump suit, give you a goofy helmet and a rickety bike probably older than the mountain itself and push you down the Guinness book of world records steepest road. It’s like a high school science experiment gone bad. As a matter of fact the question is on the Hawaii state regents exam. All kidding Aside it one of the best thing you could ever do, as long as your brakes work (and Randy’s didn’t at first). the ride down the mountain is literally a coast. only 400 yards of pedaling in the whole 40 mile ride. The views were amazing. The cold wind on your face while you zip around sharp bends really made you feel alive.

At the bottom a hot breakfast was waiting for us (it was only 10AM although we had been up for 9 hours). after about an hour the bus brought us back to our hotel. It was just before noon and we decided to take a short nap. about 430 we woke up and got ready for dinner.

Sunset at Ka’anapali

A few minutes walk from our room was the barefoot bar at the Hula Grill. we got a table in the sand so we kicked off our shoes and enjoyed a few drinks before the meal. Our table was up front near the Hawaiian band and hula dancer. We listened to the music, sipped pina coladas and ate as we watched another spectacular sunset over the beach.

wish you were here (but on a different island :-)),
Rachel and Randy

It's always the right time

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We saw two little birds near our dinner table this evening. The male was puffed out, fanning his wings while he did a courtship dance for his female.

Aww look they’re twitterpated

Randy said.

Twitterpated? But its not the right time. don’t birds mate in early spring?

He looked at me with that coy little smile of his and said

honey, in Hawaii its always the right time.

And its so true! Everywhere you look in this place there is romance, something to put a sparkle in your eye. Today we didn’t do much but still it was one of the best days ever. We took the car out for a spin, that’s all. We saw a little bit of the island and now understand why this is known as the valley isle. There is so much luscious greenery and rolling hills that end abruptly at turquoise blue waters. We let the road take us up steep mountain sides, around sharp bends, and squeeze us through tight passages where you pray to god a sneeze doesn’t jerk the car over the edge and onto the rocky cliffs below. Despite the anxiety of the rocky cliffs edge the drive was one for the books. We stopped at a few sandy beaches (Maui has a lot) and hiked to lookout points were the view just seemed to go on and on. When The Who wrote “I can see for miles and miles” they must have been talking about this place.

Sunset at Ka’anapali

Our hotel sent us box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts and a complementary bottle of champagne. We ended our first whole day on Maui with a toast to each other and chocolate macadamia nut kisses. To top it all off we got to experience first hand why it’s said Maui has the most beautiful sunsets on earth.

Aloha Nui Loa (Love you lots),
Randy and Rachel