Where are Sue and Mike?

BD5J Microjet in St. Louis

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:49:00 +0000

We found this on the Anheuser Busch brewery tour in St. Louis. This little jet (no longer made) has a wingspan of only 17 ft., and has held the Guiness Book of World Records for smallest jet for 25 years running. One just like it was featured in the opening sequence of the James Bond movie "Octopussy". Anheuser Busch calls it the Bud Light jet, naturally!

Wedding in St. Louis

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:41:00 +0000

That's Sue's nephew Jeff and his lovely bride Beth - married in St. Louis on May 10th. Congratulations to the happy couple!

Giant Sequoias in Yosemite, CA

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:50:00 +0000

In Mariposa Grove (part of Yosemite Nat'l Park) we checked out these HUGE old trees. One of the oldest living trees, Grizzly Giant is dated at over 2,700 years old! Mike and I figured it would take at least 10 adults holding hands to encircle the base of this massive tree.

Although amazing for their age and size, apparently the wood in these trees is fibrous and brittle, and when they do topple over, they shatter like glass. The wood is unsuitable for construction, but it is used to make pencils, matches and toothpicks. Amazing - something so long lasting and massive....

Yosemite - Glacier Peak, CA

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:46:00 +0000

Yosemite is where we got married, and will always be romantic for us! Behind us is Half Dome, Yosemite's most familiar landmark of granite.

Yosemite National Park, CA

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:40:00 +0000

Take a close look at that waterfall behind us...at 2,425 ft. that's the longest waterfall in the United States. We hiked up to upper Yosemite Falls to get a closer look at the thunderous water - it was really roaring with the early May runoff!

At the Tulip Festival Skagit Valley, WA

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:47:00 +0000

Surrounded by thousands of tulips, it definitely feels like spring! There were tourists here from all over the world - we heard German, French, Japanese and Russian spoken. Everyone was taking photos of each other - no translation required... not sure we'll see anything like this in Vegas!

Vegas View from the new condo!

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:59:00 +0000

Wow - it's a good one. For those of you familiar with Vegas, the green building on the left is the MGM and the gold one in the right foreground is the Wynn. You can see the Eiffel tower of Paris!! Best yet, it's clear most nights, so we can actually enjoy this view!

Las Vegas, baby!!

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:56:00 +0000

Taking in the fabulous view from the Voodoo Lounge atop the Rio...and deciding whether or not we want to have Sin City as our home base in the future. Vegas is constantly reinventing itself, with the next new hotel, show, headliner - and now condos. Who knows? Do you think anyone will come to visit us there - maybe before a plane ride in the Eclipse 500?!

Seattle - Opening day for the Mariners

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:24:00 +0000

March 31 was opening day - and the coldest in Seattle since 1967. Here is the color guard next to a giant flag unfurled on the field while the National Anthem was played. That alone was enough cause for goosebumps... but so was the snow that started in the 5th inning. We were thrilled that the M's pulled off a victory against the Texas Rangers, and that someone had the forethought to design this stadium with a retractable roof!

P.S. We skipped all the traffic mess and walked about a mile and a half from our condo to get to the game :)

Austin, TX Capital Building

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:38:00 +0000

Quite the impressive capital, and you can see it from virtually everywhere downtown, as Lady Bird Johnson made sure buildings were situated at a height and angle to ensure visibility. LBJ and Lady Bird are revered here - their names are on everything!
We also checked out the UT Austin campus - right next to the downtown core. Austin is fiercely non-establishment and still a young city, despite their 40% population increase in the last 10 years. Downtown Austin reminded us of Seattle about 5 to 10 yrs ago - it's just getting the downtown core going (barely).

World's LARGEST Spruce Tree is in WA

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:24:00 +0000

The rainforest in WA has some dang big trees. This spruce is 58' 11" in circumference and 191' tall. And about 1000 years old!

Aberdeen, WA

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:20:00 +0000

Aberdeen is a little town on the WA peninsula that also happens to be the actual hometown of Kurt Cobain of Nirvana fame... "Come As You Are" is one of Nirvana's hit songs...hence the chamber of commerce sign. Not exactly the counterculture they were looking for...

Hiking in the Olympic Rainforest, WA

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:14:00 +0000

Definitely wet, but beautiful, green and mossy. This is near Lake Quinalt on the Washington peninsula, west of Seattle. It was raining in Seattle, so we thought we might as well be in the rainforest!

On the 19th Hole at Pebble Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 04:17:00 +0000

No we didn't play there (maybe someday) but we did drive out to Monterrey to gawk at a REALLY beautiful course. Can you believe they make chili here at their cafe that has prime rib in it??

Winchester Mystery House San Jose, CA

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:55:00 +0000

This is a real haunted house! Sarah Winchester, heir to the Winchester rifle fortune, was convinced by a psychic that all the people who had ever been killed by a Winchester gun would come back to haunt her unless she continually built a house. So she did, for 38 years - construction proceeded 24 hours a day from 1884 until she died in 1922. There are 160 bedrooms and 47 fireplaces over 24,000 square feet.

It has stairways going up to the ceiling, bizarre passageways and the infamous door to nowhere (it opens to a 13 foot drop). Creepy!

Lunar Eclipse Party, British Virgin Islands

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:22:00 +0000

Holy Cow... Da Bomba Shack on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands is THE place to be for the full moon party, not to mention when it's a Lunar Eclipse! We had a great view of the moon, but this place is wild! Dancing, drinking mushroom tea (no we didn't) and other libations, ladies undies hanging everywhere, gawking at the moon, more dancing...party central, mon!!

Dingy Mates, BVI

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:13:00 +0000

Heading into shore for a little local lobster and "Painkillers" (the local drink) with our crew...from the left Sue, Captain Dan Olson, Rita Dillon, Larry Anderson, Mike, Kathy Shelby, Debbie and Mark Woodrich.

Sailing in the British Virgin Islands

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:06:00 +0000

We had a 51 foot bareboat charter - which means they rent you the boat and the rest is up to you!! There were 4 couples total on board - we sure didn't know as much as the other guys about sailing, but we picked up a little jargon and maybe even some technique.

Here's Captain Mike (at least when it was his turn to be captain) in a rare pose where we're not at a 45 degree angle!

At the Soggy Dollar Bar, British Virgin Islands

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:58:00 +0000

The Soggy Dollar Bar is famous - the idea is you swim from your sailboat to the bar, so your money is all wet by the time you get there (hence the name). Above the cash register, they have a clothesline with soggy dollars pinned to it for drying!

Scuba Diving in the Galapagos Islands

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 23:28:00 +0000

Kicker Rock is actually split in two, and we dove in the channel. The currents were VERY strong - this is definitely not for novice divers. There was such a surge in current at the bottom that we had to hold onto rocks to maintain our position without moving 10 feet back and forth each time the waves came through, even though it was relatively calm on top.

Galapagos is located at the confluence of five ocean currents, so you never know which way the water is going to go. The water was mostly very cool, but once in a while you'd hit a really icy current for a few minutes.

The current was so strong that I was unable to swim back to the boat after the dive, which was a little scary. They had to motor around and pick me (and Mike, my trusty dive buddy) up on the other side of the rock.

We had really hoped for hammerhead sharks, but didn't see any. Plenty of reef sharks, sea lions, lobster, eagle rays, and a bazillion small to mid sized fish of every shape and size. The sheer quantity of marine life is amazing!

Watching the Giant Tortoises have fun

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:37:00 +0000

The giant tortoises were amazing. Prehistoric looking and huge. You can get an idea of the scale looking at the road this guy is travelling on, which is big enough for a jeep. This guy weighed about 700 pounds. They travel at the blistering pace of 1/6 of a mile per hour, and cover 15 miles from highlands to the beaches in about 5 weeks each year.

Observing the mating rituals of giant tortoises wasn't on our list of things to do, but it was interesting!! The male has to chase down the female (survival of the fittest, again!) The process happens once a year and takes 3 HOURS.

Communing with the Marine Iguanas

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 05:16:00 +0000

The Galapagos have thousands of iguanas...and they vary from island to island. These are Marine Iguanas, who love to swim in salt water. It's amazing how graceful they are underwater, like an eel. Other than swimming, they love to bask on the volcanic rock with salt spray nearby. You literally have to avoid stepping on them!

The iguana in the top photo snorted salt water all over the camera lens right after the photo. The lower photo is Mike with at least a dozen iguanas. Toward dusk, they group together for warmth and sleep in a huge iguana pile.

Survival of the fittest

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 05:01:00 +0000

This was a moving sight. The little chick had died, but Mom was still standing watch. As Darwin noted in his research, only the strong survive. Of the two remaining chicks, only one may make it to adulthood.

Bird watching in the Galapagos

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:43:00 +0000

This is so amazing - you don't even need binoculars. You can walk up to birds and they don't fly away. Everyone is very careful not to touch them, but we were inches away from these and other birds, even when they were nesting. It is such a privilege to be in this magical place!

From the top photo - the red throated frigate bird, who blows up his pouch while courting.
Followed by the blue footed booby, who was doing a dance for his potential mate so she could decide if he was nesting material!!

Sea Lions in the Galapagos Islands

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:32:00 +0000

Sea lions are a plentiful and friendly species here. Recommended distance is 6 feet, as they may bite. We swam with them, posed with them, stepped over them and talked to them. We saw many nursing babies up close. Many was the day we went back to our boat to shower off our essence of sea lion!!