What I'm Up To

Hey everyone. I don't want to brag but...the weather is beautiful here! So I have been taking advantage of the outdoors. My friend Becca and I went to Algodones, Mexico. She wanted to buy a sink. I know, how WEIRD! But then I got to looking at the sinks, and they are so pretty. I couldn't help but get one also. So here it is. Next time you see it, maybe it will be in my bathroom!

Then we decided to go hiking. We had heard about the hike to telegraph pass. A difficult hike, but only 3 miles. No problem we thought! It was actually pretty darn tough. Super steep. Like walking up the side of a skyscraper steep. OK, maybe I am dramatizing, but seriously my legs and lungs were screaming at me. 

Here we are at the top! I'm surprised you can't see my thighs throbbing in the picture. 

This is it. Notice the unrelenting little path leading straight up. And a bonus once you reach the top. A sign saying that there is a dangerous amount of radio waves in the area. So you work off a million calories, then get radiated for your efforts. 

Theses two pictures are out of order, but I'm tired and just don't care right now. The numbers are my proof of the 5k I ran this weekend. I made it in a personal best time. I won't share it here, there's no reason to make you all laugh. It was a moonlight run, and quite fun. I did it with 2 co-workers. 

A lame picture. But another thing I have enjoyed is riding my bike. The weather has cooled enough that I don't need to call the fire department to hose me down after a ride.  I have REALLY enjoyed getting on the bike and just going. There are some nice rides here, and the roads are flat. 

Well, back to the hike! Here's a pretty flowering cactus. The only flowering cactus along the whole path.

Becca and I tried this hike the week before. We took Niko with us, and it was quite a bit harder. Niko couldn't make it. He got a serious case of heat stroke. Poor dog was weaving back and forth all over the path crashing into us. If he could talk he would have said "Wake up you idiots! I'm black, it's stinking hot. Get me a slurpee now or I'm going to kill over." I finally clued in when he sat down, refused to move, and refused to drink. Come to find out he was attempting this hike with us while battling giardea. We saved him....barely! (notice his cute little shoes!)

I almost have to think someone set up this rock like this intentionally. Isn't it cute? Looks like the rock man on Never Ending Story. Or a transformer maybe. 

How old do you think this cactus is? It's much taller than it looks here. Probably about 15 feet tall. It's the only one like it in the whole area. For some reason these kind just don't grow much here. It looked so brave and strong standing there! 

Mom And Mel Come!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Julian California

A friend from work told me about this place called Julian, tucked in the mountains between here and San Diego (kinda) and fun for a day visit. She didn't tell me that you have to drive through hell, literally, to get to it. I packed up Niko and set out innocently enough. I knew it was 2 1/2 hours. Too long really.  But hey, what else do I have to do? Nothing! 

This is the most desert of deserts I have ever driven through. I think Survivor Man should go and film a show there. Maybe though, it's too dangerous. No way out once you start. I even felt like I was in a Verizon Wireless commercial. You know, the dead zone ones, that are kinda creepy in their own way.  The funny thing is, I really didn't have a cell phone signal, and began to wonder if I should switch to Verizon. Then I realized not even they would have service there. It's the dead zone of the planet. I'm certain of it. I was praying that the car would keep running, and pushing bad visions of Niko and I trying to walk out of the desert, me sometimes riding on his back, out of my mind. But look, here we are in the car both smiling! We are almost there and we feel as if we have conquered all bad things. But what about the drive home? We are in denial over that still!

Why the white dresses? This store was almost 100% imports from Peru. I love their beautiful hand knit items. I was in Chile and bought a sweater from a little ol' Peruvian lady. So I spent a lot of time in that store. It was just so much fun.

Of course, I also found a European bakery. How would I ever miss something so tempting. In a land full of apple pie (and I am not a fan of apple pie) I found eclairs!!! YES! And it was hard to choose between quiche, tiramisu, and other chocolate delights. 

This picture of an old blind man does no justice to how awesome he really was. This guy had talent! And you could hear him up and down the street singing his patriotic songs. This pic is actually a video I took of him, but I couldn't figure out how to post it. I need to get my friend Jana to show me that one day!

Just Plain Yuma

Laura tells me that my blog is lacking and I need to post something new. Guess what? There is nothing to post! But I am working on something coming up soon. I know, you all can't wait. Well, put your seat belts on because it will be quite a ride! In the meantime, I want all you friends and family to know that I am alive and kicking here. I have a gym membership here now and have really enjoyed going to the classes. Last night was Zumba. Anyone done it? I felt ridiculous but so did everyone else, so we all sweated and laughed and shook our hips together! It was fun. It is VERY humbling to dance in front of a full length mirror. So you think you can dance?! Umm,.... no sir, absolutely not.

Maryland Trip

Mount Vernon

We went to see George Washington's estate, Mount Vernon.  Here's Michelle, me, Shelby, Brett, Maddie, Dad and Mom in front of his mansion.

The grounds were beautiful. Acres of farms, fruit trees, animals, and the Potomac River in the background.

Bee Not Afraid

Steve and his bees. He geared mom and I up so we could get a close up view of the hives. Funny that every inch of my body is covered, and then I'm wearing flip flops! We managed without any stings. My mom and I are holding the queen bee which we marked so she would be easy to find in the future. I don't really get it, but I know that I love the honey! 

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These are the lilly ponds where Steve keeps several bee hives.  It's amazing to walk through the ponds and ponds filled cool flowers and lilly pads.  Shelby found a turtle. Good thing it's little, it would have liked to get a chunk out of her!





We went to Ol' Mink Farm to go camping.  Talk about luxury camping! We stayed in a huge cabin that made us forget we were even in the mountains.  I'm not sure any of us will ever want to camp in a trailer or tent again! I liked getting filthy with my hiking, and smores and then going inside for a nice hot shower! We spent the days swimming, reading, hiking and eating, eating, eating.  Yum! Look at Trevor! He is such a cute kid. I posted the one good picture I got of him, the one just before this was him giving me the Collings famous crusty. He is a natural at it. I can take no credit for teaching him, it's just in the genes! 

The Potomac River is just across the street from Steve and Michelle's house. It's massively huge, slow moving, and shallow enough to walk across.  All that makes for a fun place to play! 

4th of July Weekend

This is dog beach. Quite the experience! It was fun but one of those things you only need to experience once in life. Niko, of course, was in dog heaven. When let off the leash he went charging into the water and got hit with a big wave. I think he thought that was fun, and he went running in circles on the beach as if to celebrate. His first gulp of salt water seemed a shock to him though! I was reminded of 'Marley and Me' the book. Our experiences with our dogs on the beach were identical! And yes, Niko ended it with puking right in front of a poor unsuspecting woman. He was so sick after hours of playing that he just laid on the beach with this glazed over look. Ahh... a moment of peace for me!  The other dog is a friend Niko made. His name is Bus. Very fitting!

We went to the San Diego zoo. I have always wanted to go, and it was fun. Really hot! We took the double decker bus tour and the ariel tram which allowed us to see a lot of the animals we wouldn't have had time for on foot.  The gorilla foot is the best picture I could get of my little buddies. Oh well- I have pics of the real thing in Africa!

Nothing like being in Mexico on the 4th of July to make you proud to be an American! Here we are in Tiajuana. It was fun- we survived without any permanent damage. Unless you count the fact that I let the perfect purse slip through my fingers. I thought I would shop around and make sure I got the best purse at the best price.  Naturally, it was gone when I went back. :(




One of the highlights of our trips was taking a small ferry boat to the island of Coronado. It was just so relaxing and beautiful.  We had something to eat, shopped a little, and took the ferry back!

The San Diego Temple. Gorgeous!