Oyster Run 2009

Last weekend, Terry and I headed north to attend the annual Oyster Run in Anacortes. We left our house Friday afternoon and met up with the Yates and Lanes at the casino just outside of town. We planned on staying with Gary and Lori in their RV to save some on gas and not worry about towing the bike so far. After we arrived, we made our way over to the casino for dinner. The food was okay, the service was horrible, but the company was great. After dinner, we walked back over to camp and relaxed before heading to bed.
On Saturday, we got up and decided to enjoy the $3.99 breakfast at the casino. It was actually pretty good. After eating, we gassed up the bikes and headed out for a ride. We first rode up Chuckanut Drive into Marine View Park in Bellingham. It was a pretty ride along the water and we couldn't have asked for better weather. From there, we turned around stopping at Taylor Shellfish Farm for some oysters. We dropped the oysters off at camp and then headed south over Deception Pass, through the small towns of Oak Harbor and Coupville and finally ended up at Fort Casey State Park. We took a little rest there before headed back. We tried to find a bakery for some fresh bread, but couldn't find anything, so ended up stopping in a market in Anacortes for it and some other groceries.
For dinner, we barbequed the oysters. They were really good with the garlic butter I had gotten. We all got all you can eat for dinner and headed to bed full.
On Sunday, we got up early and headed into town. We got there around 9:30 and things were already packed. We were lucky and got to park on the main street in the middle. We walked along the vendors and enjoyed people watching most of the day. Terry and I both got new leather vests and a bag for the back of the bike. Bikes rolled in all day until about 3:00 when things started to thin out. We left around 4:00 and it took us 30 minutes to go the 6 miles to get back to the casino. Once we got back, we loaded up our gear and headed home. The ride home wasn't too bad, but it did get a little cold. Overall, we had a great weekend and can't wait to do it again!

You can see more of the pictures I took over the weekend at my flickr account!

Bad Blogger: September ReCap

I have been horrible at blogging lately which is weird since we have been very busy doing fun stuff. I do want to do a quick overview of our September this far. So, going back to Labor Day weekend, Terry and I headed out to Lake Wenatchee State Park. We were a little disappointed about the proximity of the lake to the camping sites. We did find one site we would like in the future as it was very close to the lake, however, the loop we were in was far from the lake and day use area. We stayed Friday night there and fell asleep and woke up to rain. So, after one night, we decided to head down to Taneum and spend the rest of the long weekend with the Tamers. We snagged some seats on Sunday for a little trail ride where we encountered snow on the high ridge. It was chilly, but a fun weekend.

The weekend after Labor Day was Team Trophy Challenge-Washington (TTCW) that our club hosts. It was the third year of putting on the event and a ton of fun. We had 16 teams (I think) of 2 rigs and 4 people. The teams spend about 24 hours on the trail completing tasks during the day and looking for punch buckets at night. Our task this year was to a side hill winch task. We were there until about 11:15PM waiting for teams to finish before we were able to head back to camp. However, on the way back down the gravel road, on of the teams took a corner a little too fast and ended up down the embankment. There was a large group of us that helped winch the Jeep up and luckily everyone was okay. As we were about to go back to camp, Dan-O and ScramblerMike drove up on a mission to rescue some Toyota guys who had gotten lost and broke. Terry jumped in with Dan-O to help with getting them back to camp and didn't return until about 6:30 on Sunday morning. We had an exhausting, but fun weekend and can't wait until next year!
Then, last weekend was Operation Shore Patrol (OSP) at Ocean City State Park. Terry and I headed down on Thursday and enjoyed the sunny Friday around Ocean Shores. My parents and most of the Tamers arrived on Friday. Then on Saturday we headed out for the beach clean-up. I was surprised, there actually wasn't that much garbage on the beach. On Saturday night, our club put on the annual steak dinner that everyone seemed to enjoy. After that was the raffle where we won a gift card to 4 Wheel Parts, a ARB hat, and a T-shirt. On Sunday we packed up and headed home, stopping at the casino on the way out to watch the first half of the Niners vs. Seahawks game.
Once we were home, we unpacked a few things and then headed to the airport to pick my brother up. On Monday, Danny and I headed up to Mt Rainier and did the Naches Peak Loop hike which was a nice 3.5 mile hike that gave amazing views of Mt Rainier. It was a perfectly clear morning for the hike. On the way back at the house, we stopped and got tacos from the bus that were amazing. Once Terry got home on Monday, we headed up to Seattle for the Ben Harper w. R7/Pearl Jam concert. We had burgers at Dick's before the show and then walked over to Key Arena for the performance. Both bands put on an amazing show and we were entertained watching the guy in front of us try to pick up the drunk girl who had previously vomited into her purse.

On Tuesday, Danny and I headed down to Ruston Way in Tacoma and took a little walk and had a great lunch before dropping him off at the airport to head back to Texas. The weather was amazing for the first day of fall and it was good to be able to enjoy the day with him. Then, yesterday, I started school. I am going back for my degree and certificate in Social Services/Mental Health. I was a little nervous about starting classes again, but have always enjoyed school and my classes seem pretty good. I guess that is all that has gone on this month. I will try to be better about posting in the future.

Walk for Hope 5k Fun Run

I just signed Terry and I up for our first 5k fun run. I don't think running has become "fun" yet, but am looking forward to the challenge. It is on Oct 4 in Seattle which gives me about 3.5 weeks to mentally and physically prepare myself. I don't know if I will be able to run (or jog) the whole thing, but will just do as much as I can and hope for the best.

The run is through Walk for Hope, where we will be raising money to support breast cancer research. Any donations would be thankfully accepted and can be made on my personal website: http://nationalevents.cityofhope.org/goto/AmyJo

We have also been batting around the idea of doing the Seattle to Portland bike ride next year with the Cascade Bicycle Club. It is a 202.25 mile course that we will plan to ride in two days. The 2010 date is posted as July 17-18, which is a month after the 1/2 marathon which should be enough time to recover. I just hope my heart and legs are strong enough since I think it would be another great accomplishment to add to my list.

Tree Removal

While Jake was here, we also removed some shrubs and trees from the front yard. I love the way things look now and have been enjoying how much brighter the tree removal has made our room. Now, I just need to decide what to plant as replacements; maybe a hydrangea or rhododendron?

And yes, we did use the Jeep's winch to remove the trees. It made the job a lot easier.

Jake & Brittany's Visit

Jake and Brittany came up to visit for 10 days from Aug 19-Aug 29. We were very busy while they were here. They arrived on Wednesday so straight from the airport, we decided to spend the day in Seattle. We had breakfast at 5 Spot, saw the Fremont Troll, visited the lochs, walked through Pike Place Market, and enjoyed dinner at the Crab Pot. On Thursday, we stayed local. We drove through Point Defiance Park and had lunch and a walk along Ruston Way in Tacoma. On Friday, we headed to NW Trek and then spent the day at home.

Over the weekend, we attended our 4-wheel drive club picnic at Lake Samammish on Saturday then went to church and Emerald Downs on Sunday.

Then, on Monday we did a 5 mile hike at Mt Rainier followed by a drive through the park and up to Paradise. Then on Tuesday, we drove down to Mt St Helens and spelunked through the Ape Caves. After that, we drove into Portland and had wings at Hooters (and yes, they were good). On Wednesday, we headed up to my parents' house and on the way stopped for wine tasting at Chateau Ste Michelle. Then on Thursday, we took a ferry to Orcus Island. Friday was another relaxing day at my parents' place with lunch at the Bellingham harbor and then a night of margaritas and Mexican food in Ferndale. On Saturday, we left early and dropped them off at the airport for their trip home. It was a busy week and we had a lot of fun.