New Ski's

Both Jack and Henry have grown quite a bit in the past year-plus, so they have outgrown their skis and needed new ones. Both picked out more unique skis offered online. Jack's were shipped to us; Henry's were made by a shop in Portland. We were headed to Oregon for a weekend, so we decided to stop in the shop and pick them up. It's called ON3P, and it's a small hole-in-the-wall in an industrial park, but they are well regarded for their skis. When we came by to pick them up they gave us a tour of their manufacturing facility so we could see how they start with a flat sheet of bamboo and turn it into the finished products that can be skied on. Very neat!

Henry's skis up against the wall when we first arrived at the ski shop

The lobby of the shop. No photos in the manufacturing area - top secret production methods in use!

Bringing the skis into our garage

Jack with his new skis

28th Anniversary Trip to Oregon

For our 28th wedding anniversary, John and Mary Jo spent the weekend on the Oregon Coast, at a wonderful new hotel on the beach overlooking one of Oregon's famous rocks that sits about 200 yards offshore. It was a gorgeous sunny weekend and we took a long walk along the sand, up over the surrounding dunes as well as along the flat sandy beach. Sunset was amazing, as the sun set right behind the Haystack Rock and we could watch it from the balcony of our room.

View from our balcony

Climbing up on the dunes for a great view of the waves coming ashore

"Haystack Rock"

Sunset

David Wright's Last Game

In late September, John went back to New York to see David Wright play in his last game. It was a playoff atmosphere at Citifield with a packed house and lots of ovations. The Mets won 1-0 in 13 innings!

David Wright's Last At-Bat

Hot Air Balloon

For John's 50th birthday, MJ and John took a hot air baloon ride over the Eastside! Our original plan was to take a sunrise ride, but cloud cover forced it to be postponed to a late afternoon/pre-sunset ride. We took off from just north of Woodinville at 6:30, and got up to about 3,000 feet. It was a bit hazy but we were able to see Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, the Seattle and Bellevue skylines, and the Cascade range east of us. We were in one of three balloons that were launched, with eight passengers and a pilot in each balloon. The balloon came down after about an hour. With no way to steer it, we were carried about 6 miles south and landed safely on a street in Redmond. All the neighbors came out to see us as the balloon was packed up and we got on our way!

Kayaking In Botanic Gardens

On Sunday of Labor Day weekend, Mary Jo and John kaayked through the botanic gardens near the University of Washignton. It was a very nice paddle, through lilypads, under bridges, and out into Lake Washington. We also saw an otter climb up on a dam!