There is no preemptive action we can take. Seasons prove year after year that the earth is bigger than we are and we are forced to live under the circumstances it presents however unforgiving they are.
            v                                      v                                           v

7am over coffee in Market Square

I have lived in Portsmouth since June. It is nearly November. And I am still enchanted with this place. It's all brick and wood and books. Old bridges, old shops, older houses, a blue door, a red door, the trolley. No one hustles here. But boy the town did bustle in summer; I miss that. And here comes the pending halt of winter; I fear that. Right now. Right now, it is fall. we are in an inter seasonal warp between the most liveliness I have ever seen and what will probably be the most like death I have ever seen. It looks as though everything is dying. But dying with valor!

The colors of autumn are simply brilliant. Some trees look like blood, some match pumpkins, and a few resemble sunshine. It is like a contageous cold is being carried by the chilled breeze and making the trees sneeze leaves. Winter has already struck some bows bare while summer still lingers in a few branches. The streets are similarly decorated. Some residents dec themselves in lengthy coats, scarves, and ear-covering caps while others scurry in sweaters and cartigans. Some have resigned themselves to their homes and lit their fireplaces while others are scrounging for last chance hiking trips. Soon enough, winter will catch up with all of us though. Right now. Right now, it is fall.

So my neighbor is a lobsterman.

So last night, Iwas anticipating cooking chicken when the door bell rang. It was our lobsterman neighbor, Jeff, holding two live lobsters that he had caught in the bay! He instructed us (in his rich Mainer accent) to boil 1" of water then stick 'em in for 12 minutes. Great. So Chris and I let them crawl around on the kitchen floor while we boiled the water. It was like having pets. Then we killed them. Nervously, Chris took one tail-flapping crustation and I took the less angry one; we exchanged glances then quickly crammed them into the pot and slammed the lid on. Ah! Their feelers were hanging out under the lid and I tried to tuck them in, but didn't have room. 12 minutes later, they had turned from black to red. We used the reverse side of the canopener to break them open and a fork to do the rest. They tasted pretty good. What an experience.

Liz Bolner gave me a funny video. No, we didn't cook them this way. ha. Youtube: "How NOT to cook lobsters."

rainy rucky rugby and the american revolution

And today, Chris played a rugby game in Boston. Do you know the history of rugby? It started in a soccer match at Rugby Boarding School in England in 1823. A player picked up the soccer ball and ran then the other team said Hey, you can't do that and tackled him. Later, they said Hm that was fun and started rugby. American football is spawn of rugby, of course, but we lost awesome words like "pitch," "scrum," "ruck," and "maul." Half of Chris' teammates have gnarly Brit, Scot, Irish, or New Zealand accents. BTW I thought my stubbly-faced husband looked pretty good standing there with mud all over his british-looking jersey and rain and sweat rolling down his face and hair tips. The rain made it more fun (only bc it was 65 deg.)

After the game, we went to Walden Pond and pretended to be transcendentalists.
After that, we drove to Concord where we saw the other home of Henry David Thoreau along with the homes of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Louisa May Alcott. And we walked across the Old North Bridge where the Minutemen fired the "shot heard round the world."

Yes. It's snowed here. No, it did not stick on the ground.

To Spice Cider (and a good lookin man)

Buy cider from your local grocer
Pour desired amount into sauce pan
Throw in two cinnamon sticks
and a palms worth of whole cloves
Heat to a simmer

SO GOOD! Do it. Toast pumpkin seeds too.

1) he drove his truck down a muddy rocky mountain road very skillfully at night. That looked really good.
2) later, he plowed down guys playin rugby then we hopped in the car and drove to Boston with him covered in crusty mud not having shaven in a few days. I just stared at him the whole drive. Why does mud and facial hair looks so good? I don't know but he looked dang good. What a man.

Harvest Festival and other festivities

Saturday Chris and I and two of our New Yorker friends went to a Harvest Festival in Old York Village. People get so much more into the seasons up here- it seems like it is a major part of people's lives. I think the semi-lack of seasons deprives Texans of the fullness of this mentality. I really really enjoy it though.

The food tent was full of so many different smells! Meals ranged from hot chili to lobster rolls. One woman use the biggest ladle I have ever seen to transfer steaming clam chowder. Another group had an actual kitchen stove in the tent and were baking cookies. My favorite was the waddling pastry man in a fulfledge cook outfit hat included.

Oh by a colonial cottage, children were grinding apples in a 17th century apple grinder. The crushed apple would fall into a little barrel then be pressed with a weight to squeeze out the juices, which would then be heated over the hearth and then served by folks dressed in colonial garb for a dollar. THIS CIDER WAS AMAZING! Really. Fly to Maine and go make yourself a cider. ha.

Craftsmen sold their goods at traditional market stands.
We went to the childrens section and got our faces painted! ha. Three of us got pumpkins and Janneke made Brian get a heart on his cheek. It was so funny. I wish I had taken pictures.

*Later that night, Janneke and I toasted salted pumpkin seeds and painted our pumpkins while the boys grilled burgers. I also spiced some cider, which they said was really good. :).

*Then we walked downtown to the Spring Hill Tavern for live folk music and dancing.

mud on the tires

ha- so Chris and Rick and I drove the truck down a dirty dirt/rock road in the mountains for several miles at 40 mins till dusk. We were feeling pretty darn adventurous. We parked by a remarkably still lake and bounded around a nearby boulderfield. When we got back to the truck , the lake was pink from twilight and the trees and rocks on the water's edge were black. No prob. we got headlights. BUT we decided to be a little more adventurous and drive across some low water onto an abandoned road. This road was so rocky-crazy. There were a few times the boys hopped out to investigate whether or not we could get over spots. The third of those investigations resulted in an awkard turnaround. So we'll never know where the road goes. After that tho, we got quite the scare- we inched to the left of a big rock, but after the front tires went over, the bottom of the truck landed on the rock. I was pretty nervous. Chris threw it in reverse and got it off. Oh geeze. We went right on the next try. Success. Pitch black out and splended stars by the time we got back to the main road.

Oh Rick has a self-made luggable telescope. So sweet. We examined Jupiter and three of its moons and 2 galaxies that I forgot the names of.

rock climbing>hiking>log cabin

I top rope climbed a 35 ft. rock! We drove down this backwood, potholed, dirt road then hiked a big hill to this sweet wall, anchored in, and climbed a few routes.

Tell me this isn't a sweet name for a road: Kancamangus Hwy. We went hiking near it in the White Mtns. in the peak fall season! The hike started out crossing the historical Albany covered bridge then continued quite steeply up and up and up. From the uppest spot, we saw a splendid pittapatch work of orange and red and yellow and deep green conifers and a winding river in the valley below. Marvelous!

We grilled meat then ate apple dumplings and vanilla ice cream by the fire place in Rick's middle-of-the-woods log cabin.
In the morning, we made blueberry pancakes, greasy bacon, sunny-side-up eggs, coffee in the sweet old style kitchen, and what other than more rock climbing?
That night, it was live music in a basement-tavern in old downtown. Good times.

Can you tell I like my husband?

Chris gets back tomorrow. He left last Thursday to sail the boat down to Florida for renovations. When he was leaving, I watched them launch the boat from a park on the other side of the Piscataqua River, then as the tug boat pushed them harbor ward, I hopped in my car and raced out to the peninsula-island of New Castle. The road runs along the waterway, so I could glance between the buildings to see that I was barely ahead of the Tahoma. I parked at Fort Constitution (the lighthouse that mom and I visited. also a small coast guard base), jumped out of my car, ran through the gate, and climbed up on top of the old wall. Perfect timing. I sat and watched the boat then walked along the top of the wall with it until a coast guard officer stopped me and told me to go back. I told him that my husband was on that cutter then another coasty came out and asked me if I had my ID. Yes! So he invited me to come down to the tip of the land then he loaned me his binoculars! I was thrilled! So I watched the ship until it got to the open water. I like this old painting of the fort:

October II: Pumpkin

I had to buy pumpkins. So I stopped at a 300 year old farm-orchard called Emery and poured myself a $.50 cider then scouted the patch. This is a bonified pumpkin patch. The vines are still laying between the pumpkins, which sit where their stalks were cut.

After I loaded up my cultivars, I decided to explore the rest of the orchard. I took the back road past a hill of maze, beyond rows of apple trees, then parked beside another pumpkin patch, and hiked into some splendid woods. Oh so lovely! Oh so colorful and so quiet and so quieting. I probably walked for half an hour and thought about some important things that have been on the backburner for a while and needed to be pondered. Good times.

October I

I climbed an aspen tree. The sun shone through the bright yellow leaves and made me feel like Glinda in the middle of a glowing bubble.
My favorites are the sugar maples. They are such a glorious red! I can compare the color to nothing else. But if I do ever see something that is such a beautiful red that I want to compliment it, then I will gladly compare it to a sugar maple.

Autumn is in full blow. Tuesday was a blustery day. It was like the earth was sick. The sky had a grey complexion and the woods had a cough like I do. They were sputtering out leaves everywhere. Chris and I drove down a windy narrow road where leaves fell like rain on our windshield from the arches of trees above while the leaves on the ground swirled about us and would have invaded our windows had they been down. What a neat site.

The Sailor is not sailing. You wanna know why? Cus he's home!

I'm looking at Chris right now. He sitting on our couch full of football watching men for whom he made burgers and I made sweet tea, homemade nachos, and chocolate chip cookies. From Tuesday to today though, I have had him pretty much all to myself. He is just so wonderful. I love him more than I thought I could ever love anybody. It's pretty much amazing. I stepped outside while he was grilling today and said, "You know, I was thinking and with the way that you treat me and flirt with me and call me baby and tell you me you love me all the time, I think you may be serious." He smiled at me and I leaned over the porch rail for a kiss. Delight. Bliss. Yippy!

Expeditionary visit with mom

1) We went to the Tulluride by the Sea film festival at the
in Portsmouth. Neat old theater.







We saw Coco Avant Chanel, a very good indep. French film starring Audrey Tautou. We felt pretty darn intellectual. Then we drank pumpkin spice lattes at
, which also made us feel intellectual.


2) breakfast at the slightly odd restaurant,





3) house-museums and
, a 12 acre museum of homes running from colonial era to WWII. Mid-September, the gardens are still blooming with a hundred colors and the grass is still a lush green while at the same time, some of the trees are turning red and orange and yellow. COLOR! We history-buff nature lovers really enjoyed this place.

4) toured to the top of the Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse.









then dinner at Petey's Lobster Shack on Rye Beach.

5) watched the Texas Tech vs. tu game. I have never turned on my TV, so mom just about freaked out when we couldn't figure out how to turn on the game on .
Oh and Jordan Shipley almost got impaled by Bevo.


6) I went to the 30 mile cycling race through historic downtown. I snagged a great spot in eye shot of the starting/finish line. I got a cold drink and wondered around the festival, then strategically balanced myself on a 4 ft. concrete pillar to watch the end. I had never been to a race before. It was fun.

7-9) I spent the evening on my own (while mom worked). I went to Sarah Goodwin's garden at Strawbery Banke and memorized plant and herb names for a long time. It was too lovely to leave. Summer is desperate! Fall is migrating southward. There are a few strawberries still on the patches, the morning glories are still glorifying themselves and the johnny jumps have yet to stop jumping. Some trees remain July-lush green and half of the other trees are red, organge, or orangy-red. I left there to go to another garden where I practice my expertise treeclimbing skills and balancing acts. I got some weird looks. Then I went and watched the sunset over the Pascataqua River from a dock at Prescott Park.

10) Rented
11) drove through the white mountains to see the beginnings of fall leaves. Then ate half orders of pasta at a really fun restaurant at the Inn at Mill Falls right on the Lake Winnepesaukee. So we watched the sunset over the water while we ate and that was so marvelous.


12) down to historic Boston and Plymouth on the way to

13) Cape Cod. Walking uphill on fine sand for a long distance works your quads. We drove out to the very tip of the cape and spent the night in a Provincetown.

14) Then Wednesday, we went to the Masalin's (the most kind and hospitable family I've ever met) house for dinner, which was oh so wonderful!

And then headed back to Maine. Mom left for Dallas today.

cleaning the stove

A clean stove is like a guitar that hasn't been restrung in 3 years. Either is never used or it is broken.

My stove was dirty. My guitar does not need to be restrung.

In come the Canadian geese. Why are they called Canadian? They are only Canadian half the year.

Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park

A fellow Aggie-Coast Guard wife-temp. Mainer and I drove to Bar Harbor (adorable) and Acadia (wowingly georgeous) for a day trip.

Acadia is where those nincumpoops were standing on the cliffs during the Hurricane a few weeks ago and 12 people were swept off by a giant wave. So anyway the weather was good while we were there. The summer is hanging on for dear life, but it wont live much longer, so the leaves were still green, but some areas were getting a little autumn tint.

This park is so crazy diverse. 40 foot granite cliffs being continously smacked by white waves, not quite so high granite cliffs where you can better smell the seaspray, a sandy beach, mountains, mountains in the water- like they would be mountains, but they are in the middle of a harbor, so they are just really funny looking mini islands. One of those was called bubble rock and we could totally see why. so funny. There were other little islands with names like Long Porcupine, Sheep Porcupine, Bald Porcupine, and our favorite, Burnt Porcupine. haha. The sandy beach was made by tiny fragments of colorful shells. So I took a handful of sand and looked close and counted like 11 different shades just in my hand! And the beach was surrounded on two side by gray cliffs and on the third side by a yellow field. So pretty. We watched little red headed children run up and down the beach and talked about our dreams of motherhood. :). Also, we watched whales from the beach. The whole thing was magical, really.
On another stop, we descended some cliffs and spotted a shallow cavern/large mouthed deep pit in the rock facing the ocean. We made our way over to it and I inched my way around the edge of it on a narrow ledge to get inside, then wondered around. It was a little dim and the echo of the waves coming into it were so loud. I perched on a wet rock in the back and looked out at the ocean. It was such a strange sight. All my peripheral vision was taken up by dark cave walls and ceiling; beyond the enterance was just a line dividing two shades of blue: ocean and sky. Leaving was an audrenaline rush bc I had to go up to get out. If I had slipped, I would have fallen down into the water where the waves were oh not too violently pounding the cliff. But obv if I had thought I was gonna die, I wouldn't have done it- I am not that dumb. i just really wanted to rock climb.

We hiked along a 40-something or was it 50? I can't gage it. We hiked along a really stinkin high cliff for a while and just absorbed the views. We also wondered on some less risky rocky shores and I went up and down some less dangerous routes that were really fun! They say you can see sea lions on the bank at some time of the year that isnt now. That'd be neat.

Driving back down to southern maine was fun too. We had some good talks about aggie trads, coast guard this and thats, and the having of husbands. Good day. Good day.

on modernity

"w/ mechanistic and scientific views of the universe gaining hegemony & analytical minds swearing unyielding antipathy toward any invincible mystery that couldn't be broken down by controllable parts, nation-states and their cultures rose above ecclesiastical influence."

Wow what a sentence. I could never comprise that.

I read it in "A New Kind of Christian"by Brian D McLaren. This guy breaks down the evolution of the human mindset from Medieval times to tomorrow. He focuses primarily on Modernism and describes what it became and how it affects both secular culture and christians. He claims that we are now being thwarted out of modernism and into a new age that is now in its infancy and discusses how Christianity itself is adjusting.

You know, I wonder if the protestant reformation kinda saved the church. Some say that it is the worst thing that has ever happened to the church and that it fractioned our establishment and fractured the truth. While part of that statement may be true, it also may have saved it from dying out with feudalism. The rediscovery of science and philosophy (along with the help of the printing press to spread ideas) prompted individual analysis- "the universe is an intelligible machine and science the master screwdriver to take it apart via analysis." Humans got a little prideful in their ability to figure out everything (refer back to initial quote.) and many began to see religion as an old explanation for the unknown and turned from the church- evident in Western Europe's empty cathedrals. Humans began a conquest of knowledge and explanations that continued excitedly through Freud and Darwin. In the 1940s, analyzers realized that every answer evoked a new question and that some age-old questions remained unanswerable. We are still wading in the Renaissance's wake; best sellers argue old concepts instead of making fresh strides- ex: Dawkins. Back to my initial statement concerning the protestant church. Christians do not go untouched by cultural changes. We don't today and we didn't in 1485. Without this feeling of a personal freedom to analyze the existence and compositions and flaws of organizations like feudalism and the roman catholic church, people like Martin Luther may not have thought to criticize. Had the church refused to transition with society, then those empty cathedrals may be all we'd have to show for christianity. Even Puritans were Calvinists- a reformation group. And most other groups who moved to America were individualized marketeers. These are just some thoughts. I have to eat and head to Josiah's to watch a patriots game.

Nubble Lighthouse

Earlier today, when I was "returning" from York School Dept, I accidentally turned north instead of south. oops. I figured this out when i saw Nubble Lighthouse in the distance. So I figured, eh what the heck I'll just go to the light house. I spent a good hour there. That light house is on an island, so i couldn't walk right up to it. It was adorable though. I sketched it. And I climbed down the rock wall to the rocks below and found a good spot to lean back and just watch the waves fill a unfill a gulch beside me. I closed my eyes and just listened to it for a while. A seagull came up right next to me and squawked and squealed for a little while, but other than that, I couldn't see or hear anybody. I prayed and journaled a lot. About many things. About the way I look at life and time and change (I think I focus too hard on the steps instead of the big picture like someone walking by a beautiful lighthouse on the ocean and staring at their feet), about our move and our choices and the process of choosing, about my and Chris' future, about his job transition way later on down the road, and about finding a new church wherever we end up, about the foundation we are building.

I miss him a lot. I wrote the other morning, "I feel like I am on an extended vacation without a companion."
I said to Maghan a few days before, "Okay, I am done playing military. Can he come home now?" Reality sets in.

Snack

You know what's good. a glass of iced milk with poorly mixed peanut butter and cream cheese on apple slices while sitting indian style on the front porch steps watching people walk their dogs under the big still green oak trees barefooted yet wearing a sweater because the air is getting a little cold.

You know what would make it better?
Chris.

Later, I ate a spinach, mushroom, bacon and almond salad with apple sauce on it. Hey I was out of dressing.

Today, I saw 5 whales and 4 people throw up.

I went whale watching in the Gulf of Maine with the youth group today!

He maketh me chaperon fun youth trips;
He leadeth me upon not-so-still waters.
Yea, though I ride 'cross the sea of 6 ft waves ,
I will fear no seasickness for thou art with me...
Mike Hoy's puke runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Ha! fortunately I fared pretty well, but a lot of poor youth got pretty darn sick (Mike puked 8x. Once out the window of the car in front of me on the drive home. Poor poor Mike.)

ANYWAY. We saw 3 different species of whales. Lots of dorsal fins and a few tales. No jumps or double axles. The car ride talk was super fun- I'm pretty excited about getting to know more cool cats in this group.

Yesterday, I went to he UNH football game with my new friend, Maghan. Ha! This stadium (Division 1 AA) was 3x SMALLER than my HS stadium and way easier to sneak into! Todo, we are not in Texas anymore.

And then Mag and I went running on Rye beach. I ran further than I had run since the 7th grade. I ran the full length of Rye beach almost twice! I really felt like I conquered something. Okay, granted Rye beach is not very long. Like 13/17s of a mile (Sorry, I just couldn't break that fraction down. It is pretty precise. ha jk). So I ran not as far as many semi-normal people run regularly (esp considering that Mag ran 5 more laps) but I am still proud. I wouldn't have done that by myself.

I got in from my long trip at 9pm. It was actually a little cold here in Maine. I had to to put on a cardigan and my pretty purple knee length light coat with a cute hat in order to walk down town comfortably. It was so neat- I got that feeling I had when I was in England again. It was dark and quiet so I could hear the current and the lights reflecting off the fast-moving water looked so neat. The tide was higher than I've ever seen it, I think. I caught a down feather in midair while I was crossing the draw bridge. I felt fortunate. :). i feel comfortable here. I am so glad that I got to be here with Chris for a whole 2 months before I had to be here by myself.
I chose to eat at the Press Room! What a neat spot: brick walls, low old wooden rafters, pew-like booths, dim lighting, an age-stained bar, and instruments in the corner! A live Jazz band was playing. I think they had been playing for a while based on how much they were sweating and the time. All I could see of the pianist was a bobbling bald head, the base player had that Harvard professor look that all base players have, the guitarist reminded me of a friendly uncle, & the drummer was in the black beret that you expect the base player to wear. I peeled off my outer layers, hung my hat on a heavily used hook and perched in a cozy booth adorned with weird local art. I ordered a Guinness with a cup clam chowder and field green salad. A girl told me that I smelled good (random) and I journaled most of the time. I think I will frequent that place.

September

I leaned back and sighed to myself "aaaa last plane ride for 4 mos" and smiled. Then i realized that there's no one waiting for me this time. Thank God for the Kindstedts. I will be living in a house and sleeping in that bed tonight by myself. I leaned forward and teared up. "...wake me up when september ends..." (Green Day)
No.
Chris gets back from sea September 30. September is my first month in New England by myself. What a phase this will be.
Heather, your life can be so romantic. You can be creative and elegant. Heather, what the heck does that mean?
-elegance moves slowly and wears snug gloves. Elegance is Audrey Hepburn when she is not quirky.
-creative is magazine clippings and ink everywhere.

September.
September can be barefoot walks on Rye beach. Whale watching. Hiking in the White Mtns. September is summer's last wish.

October.
October is children in green tights and navy striped sweaters. October is a Lands End catalog. It's pumpkin patches and school buses under falling leaves. It is pumpkin spiced lattes while the kids are at school.

Fall is October. Fall is my favorite.

November is cardboard cutouts of Precious Moments pilgrims.

December is all Christmas. If it weren't for Thanksgiving, December would start November 15th. Thank you Plymouth colony.

You know, I bet I was the last group of elem. kids whose teacher read "The Last Christmas Pageant Ever"aloud to them.

scroll way down for motorcycle pics.

Gate D49 to Hispaniola

We didn't really do a whole lot of expewhateveryoucallthems. We mostly lounged around the resort and stared at each other. haha. Chris said he didn't mind spending the money to get me down there since we sorta owed ourselves a honeymoon. The honeymoon was great, don't get me wrong. It was just an exhausting 2,000 mile road trip. So relaxing was good.

Man, during the last 40 minutes of that plane ride, the people around me probably thought I was crazy- secondly switching from one position to another, looking out the window and then giggling, drumming on my legs, fidgeting my fingers, bouncing up and down, and other forms of intense anticipatory behavior. When we pulled in I practically ran down the terminal. The customs line was the longest short line I've ever waited in. haha. I rushed through the doors toward the little dirt parking lot and there he was. My fingers forgot my roller suitcase as I ran and lept the swiftest of leaps onto him. It is funny how natural your body does things like that. I didn't have to strategize how I would get my eager self onto him. I just saw him and a few seconds later, my arms were around his neck and my legs were around his waist and my head was to the left. No banging, clunking, or slipping. It just worked. All the taxi drivers were whistling at us and laughing. Chris just let me hang there like a sucker-foot toy monkey and picked up my bag to walk to the taxi. He's such a hoss. Later, I apologized for dropping the bag, but he said he liked it. In the cab, I just stared at him and smiled then teared up and buried myself in his chest.

The resort was pretty pretty. The beach was fabulosa. We went sea kayaking, played in the waves, took moonlit walks on the beach, danced a little bit, considered going snorkeling, and spent a lot of time lounging on these neat swinging white beds on the beach just talking. As you can imagine, there is much to talk about when you have been apart for a month. Then again we email everyday, so there is more to kiss about.
It was great to get a kiss goodnight and wake up beside him in the morning again. It was like a much needed refreshment or a spoon full of sugar.
He had to be back to the boat by 1:00am on Friday morn. My plane didn't leave till 4:00pm. So he tucked me in and kissed my forehead at midnight and headed out. In dramatic female manner, I threw myself onto the mattress and cried outloud till I accidently fell asleep, but in a way that is oddly romantic. On the way back, I would journal something sweet and laugh then two seconds later tear up. I'm sure that the people around me, once again, thought I was crazy.
Right now, I am in a sortof afterglow bright mood. I'm so happy. I love it. I wont see him till the day before October. But I have plans to keep me busy in Maine and God is faithful. I'll be okay.

Here to there to the other there

I tallied things up on the plane. I have been on 9 airplane-involving trips in the past 8 months:

NYC third date-Dec/Jan
Proposal in ME-Feb
CO ski trip-March
househunting in ME-March
Portcall in VA-May
Clint and Tyf's Wedding in Missouri City-June
Oregon for motorcycle trip-August
Dom. Rep.-Aug
Back to Boston-Tuesday

I don't want to tally up up the costs. Ah! "Chris, it has been 8 months since the NYC trip on which you asked me to be your girl and 6 months since you asked me to be your girl forever and 2 1/2 months since that deal was sealed." And he said that he is still glad that he married me. Thank goodness.

Here in Texas, I got to go see my Dandy Dallas friends and drive to visit Collegiate Station bride maids. I helped Animated Amanda decorate her science classroom. Then Lovely Laura and I drove to see Delightful Dana in Amazing Austin. Tomorrow I will joyously embark on yet another trip. This time I get to see the manliest man that I ever did see. I cannot wait to see Chris! We collide at 3:25 tomorrow! I suggested to him that we tilt our heads left to avoid clunking.

Motorcycle trip winds down

and down and down and down and then back up and up and up and up the Bear Tooth Highway. This road was ridiculous! We zigzagged like 4-5 laps up the side of the same mountain. Sharp turns, steep inclines, lots of motorcycles! We went above the treeline to 12,000 feet and even then, we kept going up. what the heck! We saw the bowls of long gone glaciers from above them in stead of just below them. We pulled off to look at some mountain goats and a chipmunk sat in my lap. He crawled into my lap and sat on it. Yea.
Yellowstone was pretty sweet. It's a supervolcano. What kind of idiots drive on top of a supervolcano. Us. We sat and watched Old Faithful spit and steam and headed down to the Grand Tetons. The Obama's were there two days after us. They put the park on lockdown for their visit.
Geeze- we had to drive till 11:00 that night and I didn't eat dinner. It was so stinkin cold! The stars were AMAZING though! I saw a shooting star and two meteors and a few satellites, of course. The other guys didn't get to see them because they had to watch the road. naninanibooboo.
The next day we made a break from Southern Colorado and made it. We drove down this crazy high highway from Silverton to Durango and that was pretty sweet. Then we went down to Santa Fe and ate downtown. What a cool cool place! So cool! I want to go back sometime. Third Honeymoon or something (chris and I plan to have at least 5 honeymoons).
Then we drove thorugh a pretty intimidating storm to Amarillo, slept, got up and ate a bagel and drove to Dallas. Yay- 8 days and 3900 miles later, I'm home.

Motorcycling Post-Canada

This morning, we drove through Glacier Natl Park of the U.S. So I got to compare ours to Canada's. haha. as for number and size of glaciers, Canada wins; as for sites, ours ups them! Adjectives do not exists to describe the spectacularness of this place. The valleys were just so deep and wide! And there were waterfalls everywhere. And we drove down high high guardrailess zigzaggy roads. I wasn't scared though. :). I love the anticipation of coming around a big corner or going over a pass and not knowing what you are going to see next. Will it top everything you've seen so far? Will it be normal? Will there be a mountain goat in the road? haha.
Right after we left Glacier Natl park, we came into 180 miles of treeless hills that were blown and blown by like 40-50 mph winds!! What a change! I felt like it was trying to treat my helmet like a parchute and lift it off my head. I got a neck work-out just trying to hold my head up and I had to plug my nose sometimes bc the wind was blowing up it so hard. ahaha. Tomorrow we are driving through Yellowstone national park, the Grand Tetons, and Jackson whole and are hoping to nip the edge of Utah and reach Colorado by night fall. Not so sure that'll happen- it's 539 miles. haha.

Motorcycling in CANADA

We crossed the border into Oliver Valley, British Columbia. A sign said that the valley is "the wine capital of Canada." It went on for miles and miles of vinyards and orchards and crops. It bursted with grapes, applies, pears, apricots, peaches, even zuchini, tomatoes and corn! Corn? Ya. After the valley came a lake. A 90 kilometer lake! It's called Lake Okanagan. This lake was the weirdest shade of blue I've ever seen. It was like the died water in a lazy river park or like muffled Caribbean water. That is apparently what glacial run-off water looks like and we saw it over and over again as we passed more northern lakes. We stayed in a town on the shore. The town is surrounded by huge mountains and the twilight reflected off the weird blue lake. Gorgeous! They were having a live music festival in old downtown. So we went to an Irish pub and listened to live music.
The next morning, we got up early and bought Harley shirts that say Canada on the back. whoop. ha. There have been lots of forest fires around there lately, so for the next 100 miles, the sky was so smokey that we couldn't see the mountains clearly at all- they were blue and gray instead of green and the smell of smoke was pretty strong. Geeze. Fortunately, we pulled out of that before we reached Lake Louis and Banff. Lake Louis is astounding! Huge bowl edged with jagged mntns, a glacier in the back ground, sub beams gleaming down into water bluer than that of Lake Okanagon! And the road to Banff was pretty darn sweet. We saw elk, deer, (both a bull and bucks included) mountain goats, foxes, hawks, eagles (and 2 baby eagles), and some guys saw a bear.
We spent two nights in Banff, Alberta. We drove up into Glacier Nat'l Park of Canada and drove through its icefields. We counted like 6 or 7 glaciers and stopped at the intersection of three and hiked around it. So cool! In one place, there was this huge wall of ice. Bright blue and way over our heads and there were just chunks of ice melting and falling into this rushing river below it. They predict that the now mile-long glacier will be completely melted within 100 years. That night, we had celebratory cigars on the lodge balcony. It made me feel special that the guys got me one too and they wanted me to smoke with them. They are all between 45-55 and they picked on me and I picked on them back. They called me princess and they bought me icecream and gave me twizzlers and made me taste scotch and gave me a cigar. haha. I was afraid I was crashing on their man time (only girl), but they said they liked me and called me a trooper for going so many miles and staying energetic.
The next day we got up early to race a storm. We beat it and drove down to Idaho and Montana.

flying to Oregon, we flew over the Great Salt Lake and the salt flats. It was one of the funniest looking things I have ever seen. I wrote that "The water is the exact same color as the sky, so the mountains beyond the lake look like they are hovering in the air and I cannot tell what is a cloud and what is a flat of salt."

Panarama!

Motorcycling through Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alberta, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.

Riding on a motorcycle is a completely different experience from riding in a car. No ceiling, no blindspot. The floorboard is only 2 ft wide. Plus you get to engage all 5 senses: see the panoramic view; smell the freshness of the forest, the wheat in the field, the horse poop and the road kill; hear the wind, the birds that you do and don't see, the waterfalls, and of course the pipes of the bike; feel the wind, handle airconditionless heat, and bundle up for the cold. Speaking of cold, it definitely got down to 35 degrees on the ridge of Mt St. Helens. And today, it has been a surprising 85 in Montana. We are all decked out in our black leather chaps and jackets and boots so the cold wasn't that bad, actually.

We landed in Portland, OR and took a taxi to the Allied Co. where our bikes were waiting (it costs less to ship 6 bikes than one). How could I even describe the beauty of this place? Luckily, it was not raining, but you can tell it usually is by the lushness of the land! The furriest conifurs I've ever seen and the bluest lakes between smooth slopes. There was a break in the lushness in the 12 mile circumference of MT ST. HELENS. 29 years after the erruption, a valley 11 miles away was still desolate. Dead trees laid on their side like dominoes where 300 mph 2000 degree ash blew them down. The roadsides were, however, lined with lively wild flowers! Purple, blue-purple, pale yellow, bright yellow, orange-red, white, and a prettier white! Oh I love the flowers! I like them better than all these men I am with do. haha. Ya, I am on this 4,000 mile trip with six 50 yr old bikers.
Day 2 Journal notes: Yep, we are in Johnny Appleseed's realm. So many mountains terraced for orchard after orchard and the roads were lined with towers of empty wooden crates waiting for the harvest. Apples, peaches, apricots, cherries, pears... Man it made me hungry.
Suddenly, about 100 miles east of Seattle, we rounded a ridge and slipped out of lush green valleys, conifur covered peaks, and orchards, and into bald and barren brown hills! What a crazy transition! The wind there was so strong and the air was so dry! We drove in these desert-like foot hills for a full day till crossed into CANADA.

this time tomorrow

This time tomorrow, I will be in Seattle, Washington with my dad and his motocycle buddies.
This time tomorrow, I will already have started my 60 days apart from Chris. He's off to the Caribbean until almost October. So I cried on him last night and I probably will again tonight.

In the meantime, Daddy and I are riding the motorcycle from Portland, Oregon up through the Canadian Rockies and back down to Texas through Idaho and Colorado. I am really excited about this ride! He and I have been in 15 states on the motorcycle and this trip will add three more states and another country! Wow.

Right now, I'm sittin in the coffee shop here in Portsmouth. And a girl across the room is reading The Shack. (amazing book. go get it now.) So I got really excited and talked to her for a while. Did you know that New Hampshire/Maine/ Vermont is rivaling Washington/Oregon as the least christian parts of the country. We are currently at the raging 5%. My pastor said the other day that if you go to downtown Dallas (funny that he chose that example huh?) and cross two sticks and throw them in the air, 2,000 people will show up in that spot the next Sunday. Here it is a mission field. If you cross two sticks, even the crickets will hop away from you.

I made Chris chocolate chip cookies and sweet tea to take onto the boat. I also created an "I miss you" song list on his ipod, painted some Bible verses for him to hang up in his bunk, and wrote him a very loving letter. I'll post excerpts from the letter later. And I will try to get those wedding pictures up. I am so behind. Stay tuned for news of 47 degree Canadian beauty!

Salem means Peace.

heading back from Boston, I drove through good ole Salem, Mass. There, I dropped by the House Seven Gables (Hawthorne novel) among other things and statues. My favorite part was dinner. I ate a blue cheese, apple, walnut, & field green salad accompanied by hot peony white tea and followed by a strawberry nutella crepe- messily- on a yellow couch. I bet Dana's mouth is watering. Yes dear, it was really good.

Carter's visit

My 16-yr-old brother left today.
Day one in Boston was the the most adventurous. We wondered around the historic district and into the oldest restaurant in America, theThere, we swallowed half a dozen oysters, listened to the oyster crackers jokes and drank some of the best dang lemonade that ever I've had. After that, we hiked through a lovely park and listened to some live guitarists and bongoists. Along the way, we discovered, which was called the Bull and Finch before 1982. They make really good hamburgers. We sorted through the assorted tv show paraphernalia and then wondered around the beautiful Beacon Hill for a while. It was dusk, so all the old school street lamps were glowing and the tall x skinny brownstone houses looked dreamy. THEN the funniest thing happened! Liz Gilson, my crazy college roommate texted me,
"Any chance you're in Boston?"
"...Yes."
"Any chance your just ate at Cheers?"
"...Yes."
"Okay. The girl that I brought with me to your wedding that you don't know swore she just saw you there."
"Whow. What the heck. Okay thanks."
Crazy huh? Crazy.

Day 2
Kayaking in Kennebunk. via York Beach and Ogunquit. (the york lighthouse just might be my favorite so far.) We stopped at a roadside veggie stand on the way home and grabbed some fresh cobbed corn and green beans to accompany the leftover roast for dinner. Cater said my cooking was good. Encouraging.

Day 3
Rained. Defiance is a good movie.

Day 4
Rock climbed. Woodfire Pizza. Back to Union Oyster House for more lemonade. Dropped him off at the airport. Tear.

UNH BIKE TRAIL CHRONICLES

We drove out to UNH so Chris could practice throwing the 16 lb. metal ball 180 ft like normal.Then, we decided to ride our bikes onto a pretty forest bike trail adventure. After about 20 minutes of leisure biking, we got sucked off of the main path and onto a (in my journal I drew a picture of a hilly rocky muddy rooty mosquito-ridden nontrail, but I cannot draw on the computer screen and if I did, you would still not be able to see it and my computer would be damaged.) Anyway, we got sucked off the path. After about 30 miles, we deadended into a rushing river. Chris and I decided that, since twilight was approaching and the temperature was bound to drop to 30, we would have to cross. So with the power of Hercules, Chris stacked both bikes and his weary wife on his shoulders and waded into the waist-deep white water. His feet stayed steady and we talked about spices and youtube videos as we went. We emerged safely on the other side with out noses to a 30-foot wall of granite! Chris ascended it as easily as Andre the giant did the cliffs of insanity in the Princess Bride and unloaded me and the bikes from his back at the top. To our surprise, there was a skilled Spanish swordsman waiting for us there. Chris was quite tired but he broke off the high bar from his bike and assumed battle position. The swordsman asked Chris, “What is your name?” “Christopher .” “What is your quest?” “To take my damsel safely from Mirkwood.” “What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?” Naturally, Chris asked it the swallow was African or European. As soon as Chris asked this, the Spaniard was supernaturally flung from the cliff. So Chris resautered his high bar and we rode home for dinner.

Okay so maybe the nonpath hit a stagnant, mosquito-ridden stream AND Chris carried the bikes and me across individually AND we ascended a slippery mud slope then hopped our bikes and rode home. But which story would you tell?

Hammer throwing