Redwoods and Friends

Brett and I took a little road trip to Oregon to visit our good friends Alec and Randi. First stop Reno, NV. Second stop California and THE REDWOODS! These trees were absolutely incredible. I thought it would be a cool place to visit, but I had no idea. The pictures definitely don't do it justice. Our favorite hikes were the Lady Bird Johnson Trail and the Stout Grove Trail. Anyone in the area should certainly take the time to see these!

Can you find me?

Next stop - Coos Bay, Oregon (and the Highway 101 Harley Davidson store of course!). Then it was off to Eugene to visit these wonderful people:
They took us to Voodoo Donuts to get the famous bacon maple bar. It was surprisingly good - tastes like breakfast. More great breakfast at Off the Waffle and Brett's first Thai food. We also got to experience the Lane County Fair and the Eugene Farmer's Market, where you can find anything tie dye you can imagine.
Another stop was Florence, Oregon where we took the Hobbit Trail down to a very foggy beach. And then clam chowder of course.

Alec and Randi, thanks so much for letting us stay and showing us a wonderful time!

Alaska

I am a little late in posting, but in May Brett and I made our way to the great state of Alaska! We started out in Seattle and made our way to Vancouver via Amtrak.

Once there we boarded the Rhapsody of the Seas and set sail.

I talked Brett into getting dressed up for dinner one night.

We hiked to the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau,

and we rode another train in Skagway on the "Scenic Railway of the World".

For you nerds like us out there, this bridge was an engineering marvel of the world when it was built in 1898.

We got up at 4 in the morning to see views like this,

and we hiked to a rainforest in Ketchikan Alaska (where it rains 160+ inches a year).

We got to see some awesome totem poles,

and wear our new raincoats.

We also ate the best clam chowder we have ever had, saw orcas and humpback whales almost every day from the ship, had lots of free soft serve ice cream, went to a few shows on the ship, and even stopped at three Harley stores! It was wonderful, relaxing vacation! And for our next destination.....?

The Butcher Shop

Every year between Christmas and New Year's Brett gets to pretend he is a butcher.  His Grandpa Richins raises cattle, and every year they kill some of the cattle, cut it, wrap it up, and freeze it for the next year.  The butcher shop is on his grandpa's property, and has a huge meat saw and a machine to make hamburger.  Brett has learned how to take a huge slab of beef and cut it up properly into the steaks, roasts, and hamburger we know so well.  I get to wrap and label the cuts of meat and take the pictures.  Growing up I never thought I would get to see how a whole cow becomes the meat you buy at the grocery store - it is a unique experience!

Brett and his grandpa

That slab of meat becomes a Rib Eye Steak...

can you taste it grilled up already?

I got to wrap the meat up with Syd and Jenn

Brett's cousin Nathaniel was very proud of his oven roast