Eric and Tom invited us to join them and their Syracuse buddies for a weekend at the Paradise Campground along the Columbia River. We borrowed Jason’s raft and also brought our mountain bikes along. I wanted to get as much time on the river as possible because that area would be a great spot to take Ellie and my mom camping at when they visit in July. Read on…
Doug and Tully had split Thorns Season Tickets this year and he couldn’t make the game on Saturday so he gave the tickets to Emily and I to enjoy. It was yet another spring rainy weekend so it became the highlight of our weekend. As usual we grabbed some of our favorite pizza before the game. The seats Doug had were pretty close to the field and just under the awning above us but we were lucky to have the rain hold off for the length of the winning game! Thanks Doug!
The original plan this weekend was to go for a road ride on Saturday and then climb Mt. St. Helens for Mothers Day on Sunday. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans for us. Instead, we were fortunate to get a call from our friend Nicole from Shedd, OR who was interested in coming up for a visit Friday night. That led to us connecting with Chris, Marissa and Colleen who we rarely get to see. Read on..
It’s hard to believe that it has been a full 10 years since the first night I met my wife at the City Tavern in Saratoga Springs, NY. We were introduced to each other by Mike Lamanto who I had met through John Hughes, whom I had become good friends with through the Jones family. Ahhh connections. 7 years and a wonderful dog later, on the other side of the continent we married each other and a year later we have a house together. It’s been quite the ride. We celebrated with a wonderful dinner window-side at the Portland City Grill but I thought I’d take the time here to list off some of the highlights of our past 10 years together.
Convincing Emily to move out west and a great Cross Country Trip together doing soEmily’s support while I got my Masters Degree, tore my ACL and lost my fatherOur engagement trip to Hawaii where we got engaged on top the largest volcano in the world and sailed off the Napali coast of Kauai and swam chest-to-chest with 2,000 lb manta rays.
Our amazing vineyard wedding with family and friends and Mt. Hood in the distance.Our many backpacking, rafting, biking, and ski mountaineering adventures throughout the Cascade Volcanoes and peaks of the Pacific Northwest and countless nights under the stars.
Trekking, kayaking, and visiting penguins in the Patagonia region of Argentina and Chile on our honeymoon.Rafting, Zip-lining and exploring the forests, rivers, and wildlife of Costa Rica on our honeymoon.
Giving our beloved Leo a home whom has become the centerpiece of our lives together and the love of all our family and friends.Purchasing our first home and redesigning it as a social location for our friends, and even a convenient office as I switched jobs.
And most recently, our amazing trip to Tanzania where we summited Kilimanjaro, our first “7 summit” and had numerous close encounters with wildlife as well as cultural experiences we will never forget.
This weekend Mike D, Andy, his buddy Sam and I planned to ski the Wy’East Face of Mount Hood. By mid-week the weather was looking perfect for an early Sunday morning ascent and corn skiing at 10,000 feet but the mountain weather had other plans when we woke up. Instead of the Wy’East we had a wonderful day skiing corn off the east shoulder of Pea Gravel Ridge and even got to skin up the entire length of the ridge to just underneath the Newton Clark Glacier. Read on…
Eric and Tom invited us to join them and their Syracuse buddies for a weekend at the Paradise Campground along the Columbia River. We borrowed Jason’s raft and also brought our mountain bikes along. I wanted to get as much time on the river as possible because that area would be a great spot to take Ellie and my mom camping at when they visit in July. Read on…
Doug and Tully had split Thorns Season Tickets this year and he couldn’t make the game on Saturday so he gave the tickets to Emily and I to enjoy. It was yet another spring rainy weekend so it became the highlight of our weekend. As usual we grabbed some of our favorite pizza before the game. The seats Doug had were pretty close to the field and just under the awning above us but we were lucky to have the rain hold off for the length of the winning game! Thanks Doug! 
This weekend was a rainy one so Emily and I decided to stay close to home. Instead of heading off for an adventure we decided to do some charter Salmon fishing on the Columbia with a an outfit called “Always Catching”. It was $125 for each of us and the owner, Jess, was super knowledgeable and happy to share tips with us. Although it rained the entire morning the boat landed two fish. The first one was caught by a local who had two visiting relatives with him but the 2nd and much bigger one was landed by me! Jess guessed it to be about 18-20lbs.
We fished from 6am to 10am and when we got back to the dock Jess cut up the fillets for us and was about to throw the head and bones out when I asked to keep them to make salmon stew. Em and I grabbed breakfast at a place down the road and then I spent the rest of the afternoon boiling the salmon flesh from the bone and making a terrific salmon stew that we enjoyed for several more days. 
There was about 3lbs of meat that would have gone straight to the Columbia if I hadn’t asked to keep it. Makes me want to hang out at the docs and ask for everyone else’s scraps as well!
Today I had a great afternoon riding Post Canyon in Hood River with Paris and Eric & Chris Holm. Chris had surprised me with an email on Friday afternoon about being in town and I had to bribe a local bike shop with beer to get my bike repair done early in the morning to join them. Emily hadn’t been feeling too good so she wasn’t able to make the ride. I had forgotten how much fun Post Canyon was to ride as the last time I had been there was 2007-8. 
Showers moved in as we were wrapping up our ride which made the final slide down the hillside amusing. We grabbed pizza and beer at Solstice along the Columbia and caught up on lives before I headed home. Can’t wait to go back to those trails with Emily!
The original plan this weekend was to go for a road ride on Saturday and then climb Mt. St. Helens for Mothers Day on Sunday. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans for us. Instead, we were fortunate to get a call from our friend Nicole from Shedd, OR who was interested in coming up for a visit Friday night. That led to us connecting with Chris, Marissa and Colleen who we rarely get to see. Read on..
It’s hard to believe that it has been a full 10 years since the first night I met my wife at the City Tavern in Saratoga Springs, NY. We were introduced to each other by Mike Lamanto who I had met through John Hughes, whom I had become good friends with through the Jones family. Ahhh connections. 7 years and a wonderful dog later, on the other side of the continent we married each other and a year later we have a house together. It’s been quite the ride. We celebrated with a wonderful dinner window-side at the Portland City Grill but I thought I’d take the time here to list off some of the highlights of our past 10 years together.
Our amazing vineyard wedding with family and friends and Mt. Hood in the distance.
Trekking, kayaking, and visiting penguins in the Patagonia region of Argentina and Chile on our honeymoon.
Giving our beloved Leo a home whom has become the centerpiece of our lives together and the love of all our family and friends.
And most recently, our amazing trip to Tanzania where we summited Kilimanjaro, our first “7 summit” and had numerous close encounters with wildlife as well as cultural experiences we will never forget.
This weekend Mike D, Andy, his buddy Sam and I planned to ski the Wy’East Face of Mount Hood. By mid-week the weather was looking perfect for an early Sunday morning ascent and corn skiing at 10,000 feet but the mountain weather had other plans when we woke up. Instead of the Wy’East we had a wonderful day skiing corn off the east shoulder of Pea Gravel Ridge and even got to skin up the entire length of the ridge to just underneath the Newton Clark Glacier. Read on…
