Holidays in California

Jes and I traveled to Oceanside, California over Christmas to visit with the Spuhler side of the family. We were quite lucky to catch a break between the rains and had sunshine almost everyday.

Our first morning there we took a walk to the local farmer's market. Got to love walking about without a coat and wearing flippers in late December.

Farmer's market bounty.

We took a walk out on the pier to thank the local pelican for watching over the town.

Great sunrise from the observation deck. Note the lone surfer in search of waves.

Yep, great sunset, more pictures to come...

Cheers,

Great weather

It has been very cold lately but the skies have been clear and the sun, although low on the horizon, has been out. The conditions are ripe for some great sunrises and sunsets. The photo below occurred at 3:25 in the afternoon.

Short but nice day.

Cheers, 

Lunar eclipse!

Yesterday there was a full lunar eclipse so Jes and I ventured out to Westchester Lagoon to meet some friends, watch the celestial event, and get a bit of ice skating in. Due to the very cold temperatures, the pictures weren't taken with the greatest care...

Jes walking away from the trash can fire on the Lagoon.

The main event. 

Fun times were had but not captured on film, more photos next time. 

Cheers,

Go Wolverines!

Jes is the coach for the South Anchorage High girl's junior varsity basketball team and they had their first game this Thursday at the Chugiak Tournament. A couple pictures from the action...

Jes looking on during pre-game drills.

Very coach-like pose. 

A couple more pregame drills, the girls on her team are really fast. 

In-game huddle, coaching in action.

Cheers, 

Random pictures...

Here are a couple random recent pictures...

Lot of wood needed to keep a pottery studio warm.

Trying to figure out long exposure with our new camera.

Good looking cat.

Cheers, 

Pottery in the woods

On the way back home from Christmas tree hunting, we stopped by a couple artisan studios along the Turnagain Arm. We visited a glass blower and a potter with the potter's studio and gallery being the favorite.

Pottery is this way...

Outdoor kiln.

Pots, vases, cups, mugs everywhere...

Walls of cups and mugs...

And a bonus picture of the christmas tree with lights and decorations. 

Cheers, 

Christmas Tree Hunting

So with our extended Thanksgiving weekend, we headed out to Johnson's Pass with the Boots to hunt for Christmas trees. After stalking several wild trees, we found one we liked and slayed (sleighed, ha!) it.

Waylon leading the way. 

Waylon, stick, and room to roam.

Hello Christmas tree.

The tree tried to escape but we were there to wrangle it back under control.

Successful hunt. 

Cheers, 

Great Alaskan Shootout

My firm did some work for University of Alaska at Anchorage and so we got a bunch of great tickets to the Great Alaskan Shootout. I got tickets to the women's championship game between University of Alaska at Anchorage and Kent State. It turned out to be a close game and came down to the last minute of play.

UAA's mascot is the Seawolves. This is what a seawolf looks like.

Courtside seats!

Good times. 

Cheers, 

Housewarming and getting colder...

We had a belated new apartment warming party yesterday. The theme was 'Wine, Cheese, and Windows' because our new place is not in the basement, something that we are quite happy with.

Windows, wine, cheese, and some friends...

Stanley made a point to greet all our guests. Here he is saying 'hello' to our friend James. He's a tough cat. 

Meanwhile, outside it's getting cold. We got some hoarfrost so I took a couple pictures.

Cheers, 

Winter is back...

We got a bunch of snow the past couple days and things are starting to look very wintery. Jes and I kicked off what is looking to be a great ski season with a ski at Kincaid. 

Snow falling.

Jes cruising through the lit trails at Kincaid.

We love winter... for now, haha.

Cheers, 

Birthday number 30

Recently I turned 30 and since it was a weeknight, Jes and I celebrated with a nice meal, good drinks, and some present opening. It was fantastic.

Good beer, homemade coleslaw, and Alaskan salmon make for a good dinner.

Pumpkin pie!

Sweet present stash. 

Cheers, 

Busy times...

We have been very busy, first off, we moved! It's not that big a deal because it's only up one flight of stairs but we are out of the basement and up where there are windows. We will email out our new address.
Second, while we were moving we realized we were carrying around a couple computers we didn't use anymore. So we saved all the data and then junked the computers. In going through all the stuff, we found some fun pictures so in lieu of Alaskan adventures, we'll be posting some random old pictures we found.
First up is Jes and abstract art...

She's really quite thrilled.

Cheers,

Random Picture...

From my morning run...

Cheers, 

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band

With the weather getting colder but no snow on the ground, we are moving indoors for activities. Last weekend we went to a concert featuring the Dirty Dozen Brass Band from New Orleans. They got everybody up out of their seats and dancing, here's a short clip...

Cheers, 

Hikin' up Little O'Malley

Jes and a couple friends hiked up Little O'Malley Peak today. I stayed back to watch the Broncos which in hindsight was the wrong call.

The trail up...

Jes enjoying the hike...

The group on the summit with Waylon looking regal as always. 

Looking at winter making its' approach. 

Cheers, 

one more from Sitka

Lots of Coast Guard around these parts, from Kodiak to Sitka and beyond.

Cheers, 

Sitka hosts a bunch of architects

This past weekend I went to Sitka for the statewide American Institute of Architects (AIA) Convention. The town got involved with the convention and as a result, a good portion of the conference classes and sessions were held in local historic structures.

Sitka from Gavin Ridge Trail.

This is lawn next to the convention center, I thought it was a neat picture. 

The influence of Russians is very evident in Sitka.

Like a lot of southeastern Alaskan towns, the city is built on a hill. It makes for some interesting neighborhoods. 

The harbor in town. 

Another photo I thought was neat. 

As a perk of the convention, we got to go on a whale watching cruise. The whales hang out in Sitka this time of year so they were everywhere. The above is a picture of a bunch of architects waiting to see a whale breach. The whale did breach several times but I wasn't quick enough on the draw to get a decent picture. 

Native dugout canoe with designs.

We visited a boat launch and repair shop. It was falling into disrepair and the owner's gave a talk on how they are trying to get it back up to speed. 

Picture from inside the dilapidated boat hanger, Sitka bridge and town in the background.

We went hiking with a couple 'shrubbies' (landscape architects) from the Forest Service to discuss how trails were designed and built.

Breakfast at the Cable House with live music. 

Rose window at a local church. 

The school bell at the now defunct Sheldon Jackson School. 

Neat picture of a weather building. 

Totem poles!

More totem poles from the fantastic Visitor Center at Sitka National Forest.

Totem-tastic!

Original drawings for a historic house in Sitka that the owner was kind of enough to let us tour.

The owners liked doing puzzles.

The Russian Orthodox cathedral spire in the middle of town. 

Whew, that's a lot of pictures. For those still reading, in Sitka I tossed our camera off a cliff accidentally. Sara from my office was kind enough to let me borrow her camera for the rest of the trip, shout out to her. We picked up a new camera but I'm a bit sad for the loss of our old one. 

Cheers,