November 2011

What a memorable month! November 2011 will sure be a hard month to forget!!

Bill and I traveled to Parker, AZ on November 5th & 6th so that I could compete in the 11th Annual Blue Water Casino Triathlon. This was a much smaller triathlon compared to the Mission Bay Tri that I competed in last month, but awesome nonetheless!

Pre-Swim

I competed in the shorter distant event, which consisted of an out and back swim in the crystal clear waters of the Colorado River. The water was a balmy 74 degrees, but the 47 degree air temps made for a chilly start. The swim was followed by a two loop bike route that went around the casino and through a neighboring campground. This was a tough course as it was speckled with speed bumps that made it difficult to gain alot of speed. I lost a water bottle during this portion of the race as I hit one of these speed bumps head on at the bottom of a hill. Lastly, the race wrapped up with an uphill run out and around the casino once again.

Overall, I did relatively well. I was the first person out of the water for both men and women, placed 1st in my age group, and 3rd overall for women. In addition, I was joined by others from the Yuma area who competed in the event and placed high in their respective age groups as well. It was nice to be part of a group that represented Yuma so well!



Finished!

 Aside from competing in the race, it was a nice opportunity to get out of Yuma for a bit and spend some quality time with Bill as he had just wrapped up another WTI course the week prior. Also, it was nice to have his support as it is always nice to have someone cheering you on. We look forward to the next race on the schedule, which is the PF Chang Half Marathon in January that we will both be participating in, but have yet to train for!! I had high hopes of picking up the miles after the Bluewater Triathlon, but life got in the way... :)

The following weekend, we hosted a Huey Shop Potluck at our home. This turned out to be a fabulous event as it was a nice way to celebrate the successful completetion of another WTI and catch up with members of the shop and their wives. Bill and I cooked vats of turkey and buffalo chili. This turned into a chili cook off between Bill and myself since I originally told Bill that buffalo chili would be gross and not well received. Well, as it turns out buffalo chili is awesome, and Bill showed me up with his magnificant chili cooking skills :) We look forward to growing as a shop and can't wait for the next event!



Mark, Jen, Myself, and Bill
Marine Ball 2010 - Jacksonville, NC

 We  would also like to congratulate our friends, The Koval Family, on their newest addition to their family! Mark, Jen, and Landon welcomed a beautiful baby girl earlier this month! Mark and Jen have been long time friends of ours who were stationed in NC with us and have recently moved out to Yuma as of this summer. We are glad to have them out here with us! I have to say that the USMC Birthday Ball was just not as fun without you this year, Jen! I missed you, but am so happy for you guys! We will make up for it next year!


Marine Ball 2011 --Yuma AZ

Speaking of the USMC Birthday Ball, 2011 marked the 236th Birthday of the US Marine Corps. Bill and I attended of course, but we made it a much shorter evening than we have in recent years. We grabbed a few cocktails before dinner and stayed through the ceremony, but left shortly thereafter. Needless to say, I didn't get a chance to see Bill break it down to the Chicken Dance or the Macarena this year :) We would have stayed longer, but we had to get prepared for our big trip to HAWAII as we left the very next day!!

We had smooth travels to Hawaii and got to spend 8 days/nights in a tropical paradise!! We stayed on the island of Oahu and stayed right at the military hotel, The Hale Koa, which was located right down in Waikiki. The Hale Koa was magnificant as it was right on the beach with several pools, a couple of restaurants/bars, beautiful landscape, and close to everything!

The first full day that we were there, Bill and I woke up bright and early and headed on over to tour Pearl Harbour. We were glad that we got up early to visit the site because at 8:30am the parking lot was almost nearly full! We lucked out and got tickets to the 9:30am historic documetary followed by a trip out to see the USS Arizona Memorial. This monument was beautiful and very profound. It was amazing to see that there is still oil leaking from the depths of this sunken ship 70 years later. it was also sad to think of the amount of life lost during this momentous event in history. In addition to touring the USS Arizona, we also bought tickets to the Aviation Museum, which was right up Bill's alley. There was so much to see at Pearl Harbour that you could probably spend a whole day there.

USS Arizona

On the Memorial

Following our tour of the Aviation Museum, Bill and I took a very scenic self guided tour around the whole Island of Oahu. We made it up to the North Shore where we stopped to get some world class shaved ice at Matsumoto and visit the famous surf break, Pipeline, which happened to be flatter than a pancake. It was a beautiful drive either way. We drove by the Dole Plantation and got to see the pineapple fields. The landscape of Hawaii was just breathtaking; it was SO GREEN, especially compared to the desert.

Pipeline (I think..haha)

Also during our time in Hawaii, we got to take advantage of some of the landmarks that were close by. For instance, we got to hike to the top of Diamond Head, which is one of the more famous volcanic features of Hawaii. This landmark has had served many purposes over the years, which included acting as the host to the first US military reserve established in the Hawaiian Islands back in 1909. Diamond Head was also notably used for a filming location to the popular HBO series, LOST. Lastly, Diamond Head is probably most utilized for observation as the top offers incredible views of the Waikiki shoreline and Pacific Ocean.

At the Top of Diamond Head

We also got to catch up with an old swimming pal of mine as her and her husband are stationed out there. We got to share some good food, drinks, and Hula Pie (haha) while reminiscing some of the old age group swimming days. It also gave me the opportunity to get some tips from her for future triathlons as she is an amazing athlete and future Iron Woman!! Keep up the good work Lectie!!:)

Swimming!

Bill and I also got to enjoy some splendid beach time as we waited for our families to arrive. The whole purpose of our trip was to bring our families together and to officially celebrate and renew our marriage vows with them present. Therefore, we feel very fortunate and grateful that everyone on both sides of our families were able to make the trip out, especially since we have family in all parts of the United States and World including Texas, New York, North Carolina, and Japan. Bill and I even got to meet our newest niece, nephew, and sister-in law for the first time!

Our Family Wedding Ceremony took place on November 23rd at 3:15pm on Angel Bay Beach. It turned out perfect and we couldn't have asked for a better day, even though it was quite windy! Bill and I spent the day with Captain Howie as we got ready and had professional photos taken. We felt fortunate to have my brother, Shod, present as he was able to capture quite a bit of the actual ceremony through his own photography skills. Here are some of our favorites:

My favorite picture!

Mid Ceremony

Re-Married:)

Silas and I

Everybody!

Following our wedding ceremony, we shared cocktails at a placed called House Without A Key that overlooked the ocean and gave way to a beautiful sunset while we waited for our dinner reservation. After a few strong Mai Tais we headed over to the Orchid Restaurant, which was located in the Halekulani Hotel. They put on a fabulous dinner and cake cutting ceremony. We could not have asked for better service, food, or family to share it with! I don't think that Bill and I could be any happier with how everything turned out and how special everything was!

With my brothers; Shod & Cody

House Without A Key



Cake Cutting with Diamond Head in the background

During the rest of our time in Hawaii, Bill and I got to do additional hiking as a group of us headed out to hike out to some waterfalls. This was a pretty muddy trek, but the trails were awesome and the water falls were worth the hike out. Here are some pictures from that mini adventure:

The Group looking kind of tired....

Also, in lieu of the traditional Thanksgiving Dinner we got to attend a Luau with everyone. We loved the show and food! I think our favorite part of the show was when they broke out the fire....

Silas LOVED the Hula Girls.....

Sadly, our trip came to an end too quickly!! However, our trip home was not too quick! We ended up missing our flight home due to changes in the itinerary that we were unaware of. Therefore, we ended up spending an obscene amount of time flying from Honolulu to Maui, Maui to LA, and LA to Yuma. We are glad to finally be back home and getting back into our grind...well, I can at least. Bill had to turn around and leave for a week long conference in Vegas the next day!! Hopefully, Vegas doesn't get the best of him this week:)

Anyway, we hope that everyone had safe travels and a wonderful holiday as well!! We look forward to a low key December and Christmas. Have a safe and joyous Holiday Season and Merry Christmas!!

October 2011

Happy Halloween!! This is my favorite time of year and I hope you have all had a wonderful start to the fall season!! I know that for those of you in the Northeast, Fall is very short lived as you have already started to see snow. I can assure you that I certainly do NOT miss that!! However, I am thankful that the temperatures have started to drop out this way as well. The mornings are much cooler, but it still occasionally heats up to the low 90's during the day. I am looking forward to a steady stream of 70-80 degree weather....I am not sure that happens though--it seems that it either feels really hot or really cold. Either way, the dropping temperatures have created a much friendlier training environment for upcoming races...

I traveled to San Diego the first weekend of the month and participated in the Mission Bay Triathlon, which was a Sprint Triathlon (500 meter swim, 10 mile bike, and 3.1 mi run). Unfortunately, Bill was unable to accompany me to this event as WTI was in full force. However, I was was fortunate to have my friend, Heather, travel with me as her husband was also competing in the event. She was of great help as she taught me how to correctly rack my bike and provide me with some good race tips for the following day. While in town, I also got to meet up with my friend Stephanie and her husband, Matt, for a pre-race dinner, just like old times! Side note; they are the duo responsible for fixing Bill and I up back in North Carolina :) It was great to see them as it had been over a year since I saw them last!

 Anyway, compared to last month's Somerton Tri, the Mission Bay Triathlon was a much larger event and held in honor of the first Triathlon ever to take place on Fiesta Island in 1974. The course was nice and flat and perfect for newbies to the sport like myself. I was pretty nervous for this race considering there were alot more people and the transitions can be a little daunting since you definitely don't want to look like an idiot finagling with all of your race gear during each transition or fall over while getting your bike out of the rack since the clips on your shoes make it difficult to run or even walk in. Fortunately, everything turned out great!!


Finishing....

 In fact, my transitions were pretty quick, but there is definitely room for improvement. The largest improvement that I need to make it my speed on the bike. I got absolutely trounced in this portion of the race (ironic because I thought I was going pretty fast haha). On the flip side, I was very strong in my other areas as I was 2nd female out of the water out of 528 women and I was able to maintain my speed in the run. I finished 6th in my age group and 27th overall for women. I was pretty pleased with my results, but I can tell you that just being around all the athletes and seeing some pretty incredible individuals of all ages cross the finish line have only inspired me to want to compete in more events in the future! Events like this definitely get my competive juices going, just ask Bill or my parents :)

On the bike...

The next race that I have scheduled is the Blue Water Triathlon up in Parker, AZ  the first weekend of November. I was scheduled to do the long event, but switched over to the sprint event as the bike portion was quite lengthy (32 miles), which is more time than I would like to devote on the bike during a race! Someday, I will do an Olympic Distance, but felt that it was a still a little premature as I didn't get as much training in as I would have liked after the Mission Beach Tri. Fortunately, I am back swimming pretty regularly with the Yuma Heat in the mornings and have linked back up to the Yuma Bike Club - so I am slowly finding more people to train with who will keep me accountable ;).  I am really looking forward to this race since WTI will finally be over and Bill will be able to travel with me!

In other race news, Bill and I have been notified that the 1/2 Marathon that we had signed up for on New Year's Eve has been postponed until 2012, which was disappointing. Therefore, we will not be spending our New Year's Eve running through Palm Desert, CA. However, we were given the opportunity to switch our entry fees over to the P.F. Chang Rock N Roll Race up in Phoenix on January 15th, which we have done. Therefore, we are going to have to get both of our butts into gear and start picking up our mileage to get prepared for that! We also have an extra FREE entry fee if anyone is interested in running it with us:)

As you have probably figured out while reading this post, October was jam packed with WTI activities for Bill. We didn't get to see too much of each other as he was busy flying most nights and I was busy working during the day. However, I did get a chance to check out an exercise that he participated in one evening. It was a practice mission where they were landing to drop off and pick up people. I enjoyed being a spectator as I always get to hear about all of the stuff that he does, but rarely get to see any of it. Here are the photos I took:

Flying off into the Yuma Sunset :)

Bill and his Helicopter

Coming in for the landing...

Here is also a quick clip on WTI and footage from one of the biggest operations they do during the course:

http://www.youtube.com/user/MCASYuma#p/u/6/iLOMHT_ivxI
Approximately 130 Marines, instructors, and students participated in this noncombatant evacuation operation exercise at Kiwanis Park in Yuma, Ariz., Oct. 21.

WTI has officially wrapped up as of yesterday and all the students have gone home until a new class returns in March 2012. Until then, I will enjoy having Bill around the house as well as finishing out our travel plans for the year. We are getting super excited for our big trip to Hawaii next month! As it turns out, everyone from both sides of our immediate families are going to be able to meet us out there for our family wedding ceremony. This particularly excites us as we will get to meet our niece, Lily, our nephew, Silas, and sister in law, Irish, all for the first time! We are most definitely looking forward to spending time with our families in a tropical paradise!

Hopefully, as we move into the Holiday Season, you will have the opportunity to spend time with friends and family next month as well! Until next time...



September 2011

It feels like it has been forever since I have last updated our blog, which is most likely due to the fact that Bill and I have both been extremely busy this past month! Anyway, here is a brief recap of how our month went:)

First, before everything really got underway, we were able to spend Labor Day weekend relaxing in La Jolla, California with our friends Sean and Allison. During our stay, we managed to indulge in some good food, drinks, cigars, and some good laughs both pool side and out on the town. We were also able to enjoy a day trip to the beach and to the San Diego Zoo to see the famous Pandas!!

 

Bill and Sean 2011



The Pandas!

Bill and the Panda!

Immediately following our Labor Day trip, I started my new job with Vocational Rehabilitation, which has gone very well so far. I really like the job, people, and the building that I will be working with and around. I am about 1,000 times happier here than my last place of employment, which I am sure Bill can attest to! The only concerning factor is that the parking lot is a little hectic, which can be evidenced by the large dent in my bumper that I acquired my first day on the job. I am still trying to find time to get those repairs done...

Over the course of the past month, I have been required to complete mandatory trainings before I actually get to start working with my caseload, which will consist of individuals with mental health/behavioral health conditions who are trying to become employed. This will be challenging, but rewarding since Yuma was ranked # 1 for unemployment in the whole United States! Anyway, I have been fortunate enough to get a good start on these trainings as I have spent two weeks in Phoenix knocking them out. I was sure glad to finish this past Friday!

As for Bill, another WTI course has crept up on us! Students checked in on September 11th and since then Bill has been busy preparing flight schedules and facilitating the courses that he is responsible for. The academic phase is almost complete and he will be moving into the flight phase soon, which means that WTI is almost about halfway done! I am sure he will be busy with night and weekend flights right up until October 31st.

Other exciting events that occurred this month included the big Southwest Blackout. We were affected as everyone else was from Yuma all the way into San Diego. Apparently, it was one individual that tripped something that left the whole Southwest without power or A/C for several hours. Some people were unfortunate and had to go the whole night without power. We were lucky and our power was restored right before we went to bed that night. I couldn't imagine going without it considering temperatures were still well above 100 degrees! Ironically, our A/C unit broke about a week later and Bill  had to go without A/C for a whole week anyway...haha. This happened to coincide with the time that I was in Phoenix:) Sorry, Bill!

Lastly, I completed my first Triathlon on September 24th in Somerton, AZ. It was a very small and local tri, but it was good practice since I was preparing for the Mission Beach Triathlon in San Diego, which will be MUCH bigger. I placed 1st for women, but it was quite a painful race considering the temperature was over 90 degrees by the time I had to run. I seriously thought I was going to die! I sure hope Mission Bay goes better as temperatures should be a balmy 60-70 degrees since it is in San Diego! Hope everyone everyone has enjoyed their summer and is looking forward to the cooling temperatures as much as we are!!:) Happy Fall!

August 2011

This past month was filled with some major changes, tons of family time, and travel, which made for a very exciting month!

For starters, I received a call in early August letting me know that I had been offered a position with the State of Arizona's Department of Economic Security as a Rehabilitation Counselor for Vocational Rehabilitation. This was such a relief as this is what I was doing back in North Carolina and I have been ready to take on a new challenge for a little while now. I will miss all of the kids that I worked with through ACTS, but am very excited to start back with Vocational Rehabilitation right after Labor Day! This opportunity came at the perfect time as I have been able to take some time off in between jobs to travel and visit family.

For instance, Bill and I were able to travel up to Kalispell, Montana for his family reunion earlier this month. Due to Bill's involvement with the military, he has not been able to make a family reunion for the past 10 years, so it was nice for him to have the opportunity to catch up with family and for me to finally meet my new extended family! We both had a great time at the Reunion as we were able to squeeze in quite a few adventurous activities during the few days that we were there.



The Family at Haymoon Ranch 2011



Bill and his Cousins

Flat Head River

The first full day that we were in Montana, we went on a family white water rafting trip, which was awesome! We rafted Flathead River and conquered the well known "Bone Crusher" rapid. Our rafting guide informed us that the movie "The River Wild" with Kevin Bacon and Meryl Streep was filmed on this river, which I thought was pretty cool. The river itself was gorgeous and crystal clear, it made you want to go swimming. However, the water was 50 degrees, so that was a pretty big deterrent and motivator to stay in the boat! Even though we all managed to stay in the boat, we did all manage to get pretty wet! I was indoctrinated into the family as they made me sit on the bow of the boat, which was called "Riding the Bull" for the last rapid. I fortunately survived this escapade without hypothermia!

Also during the time that we were in Montana, we were able to visit Glacier National Park, which was breathtaking. We drove up to Logan's Pass, which offered a hiking trail. The trail offered lots of unique elements that included snow, mountain goats, and glacial lakes. Here are some of my favorite views and photos from this hike:



Goat on the Trail





Bill and I

Wallace Photo @ Logan's Pass



Hiker's through the snow





Our horses: Duke and Nick

 On our third and final day in Montana, Bill and I decided that we wanted to go horse back riding since there seemed to be no better or scenic place to try it! Bill and I also got Bill's brother, CJ, and his wife, Amber, to try it out with us. We chose to do the two hour trail, but it really ended up being an all day event by the time it was all said and done. We went through Swan Mountain Outfitters who did an excellent job. They took the time to pair us each up with a horse that seemed appropriate. That being said, I was paired up with Duke who was HUGE! I liked Duke, but he made me nervous, especially since he liked to walk along the edge of every cliff. Amber had a slight scare as her horse took off on a full speed gallop at one point! Either way, we all survived, but I think it is safe to say that we all experienced sore rear ends for a couple of days following our tour of the upper McDonald Creek.

The following day, we said our goodbye's, but we look forward to seeing everyone in 2013 for the next reunion! However, after leaving Haymoon Ranch, we still had one more stop. Bill decided to take the scenic route home and fly over his old stomping grounds. Thus, we flew over Power, Montana, (the town he was born in), his old house, and his Grandmother's Homestead. It was a pretty neat flight and we got some awesome pictures!

The Plains of Montana

Power, Montana

Close up of Power, Montana

Bill's Old House

Bill's Grandmother's Homestead

Once we arrived home from Montana, I had one day to turn around and pack back up to head home to New York for a few days. Unfortunately, due to the Fall WTI course quickly approaching, Bill was unable to make it home with me. My trip home was much like Montana in the way that it was a busy week and I could have used more time there! I guess time really does fly when you are having fun!

During my time home, my mom organized a neighborhood/family group to attend the Kenny Chesney concert since he was in town during the time that I was home. Therefore, we used the concert as an excuse to drink champagne and celebrate my cousin Stef's 21st Birthday and my upcoming Wedding Ceremony in Hawaii! As usual, Kenny put on a great show and we got to enjoy Billy Currington as an opening act who is also a great entertainer! Overall, it was a great time and I got to catch up with my cousins, neighbors, and an old friend from high school!

Some favorite photos from the concert:


On our way!

The cousins with our moms!

I'm not sure what Kristi said, but WOW this picture cracks me up!

Following the Kenny Chesney concert, I got to see much more of my cousins and additional family members as we traveled to Old Forge, NY, which is located right in the Adirondack Mountains for my cousin Rick's wedding. I definitely enjoyed being in the cooler temperature climate and being back around trees! I miss all of the greenery that you definately don't get in the desert as well as the lakes and water!

The wedding guests all stayed in the Northwood Resort, which were comprised of little cabins located right on Fourth Lake. My parents, brother and girlfriend, and I went up on Friday so we could make take advantage of the area before the wedding on Saturday.

Once in Old Forge, we went to lunch at a local spot called Daikers, which was pretty good and overlooked the lake. Then my brother, Cody, and his girlfriend, Kristina, and I decided to hike Bald Mountain. I have to give Kristina credit as she completed the whole hike in sandals and there were some tough parts to get around! Overall, it wasn't too long of a hike, but it did encompass some rock surface to climb over. Fortunately, we were rewarded with gorgeous lake views at the top! We also later rewarded ourself with some karaoke and drinks later that evening!!

Myself, Cody, and Kristina

Saturday was a perfect day for a wedding! I have to say, Rick and Katie couldn't have gotten any luckier considering Hurricane Irene was threatening to make her way up the coast! It was sunny and warm all day and their wedding was beautiful. The ceremony was held at St. Peter's Episcopal Church right on the lake. In fact, we had to take pontoon boats and/or a shuttle to the ceremony since there was such limited parking. It was the cutest church I have ever seen. It kind of reminded me of the Church in a Walk to Remember (I love that movie!).



St. Peter's by the Lake

  

Introducing Mr and Mrs Pappert, Congratulations!

Following the ceremony, we all pontooned it right back over to Northwoods Resort where the reception was held. Again, I can't say enough good things about the wedding as it was a great time and I couldn't be happier for both Rick and Katie!

Like I said previously, Rick and Katie couldn't have gotten any luckier with the weather they had for the day of their wedding as we ended up driving back to Rochester in hurricane conditions early Sunday morning!! Unfortunately, I later heard that their honeymoon had to be cancelled due to flights being cancelled in the major airports so I hope that they can manage to fit a honeymoon in later this year sometime! Best of luck!

It has been a full month for sure! On top of our travel, Bill and I were also able to catch up with Bill's brother, Mike, and his family as they were out here earlier in the month since Mike was out here for military training. We got to help them celebrate our niece, Avery's, 2nd birthday, which was a fun time. She is getting big so fast!

Also, we have continued to try and stay in shape. Actually, I was doing pretty good with working out daily to get ready for the Triathalon I signed up for in November, but have been kind of slacking the past two weeks. I need to get us both back on track since I have also convinced Bill to do the Triathalon with me in November :) Also, we have both signed up for the New Year's Eve Rock N Roll Half Marathon being held in Palm Desert in December (You guessed it, on New Year's Eve!).

Hopefully, since we are done traveling for a little while we can focus on getting back on some sort of routine! I will also be making a point of enjoying my last couple of days off before starting my new job next week!! Until next time...

July 2011

As hoped for, July proved to be a more low key month for Bill and I as we were able to spend a little more time in Yuma. However, we still made sure to take advantage of the long weekend over the Fourth of July holiday and travel to Catalina Island...



Pulling into Catalina

We did encounter a small hiccup in our Catalina plans as we were scheduled to take off early in the morning and arrive by early to mid afternoon. Unfortunately, we had some engine trouble with the airplane and weren't able to take off at all. I have to admit, I was pretty bummed since we had a non-refundable scuba trip scheduled the next day and I had been dying to see what Catalina was all about! Fortunately, Bill and I were both able to keep it positive and did some quick research. Before we knew it, we had two tickets booked for the last ferry of the day leaving Long Beach, CA. At this point, since we had plenty of time to get to Long Beach, CA we decided to officially start our vacation by taking our time and enjoying the 4.5 hour ride to the ferry docks. Despite our previous luck, we made it to Long Beach just in time to catch an even earlier ferry ride over to the Island!

Once in Catalina, we had just enough time to grab a bite to eat at a Mexican Restaurant and settle into the Seaport Village Inn, which was located right in the town of Avalon. The Seaport Village Inn was kind of a dive, but suited our needs perfectly since the whole reason we were going to Catalina was to explore the great outdoors!

The next day, we woke up bright and early and scurried down to the Catalina Dive and Snorkel Shop to make our reservation on time. We were introduced Dan, our SCUBA guide/instructor, who briefly reviewed our gear, the rules, and regulations of SCUBA. This was an interesting experience for sure! Dan was about 80 years old and had been diving longer than both Bill or I have even been around.  While we both admired his ability to be so active, I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous at first. If you have any knowledge of SCUBA Diving then you know there are some serious health risks involved! All in all, he was a great guide and we feel fortunate that we were assigned to him as he made sure we had a great underwater experience!

With the Jacque Cousteu Plaque

Dan took us to the Jacque Cousteau Plaque, which was about 35-40 ft down. Jacque Cousteau was a French Naval Officer who is famously known for developing the "Aqua Lung" or more commonly known as the first Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (the SCUBA tank).



Bill feeding the fish...

We also got to explore Catalina's Underwater Dive Park located right in front of the Avalon Casino. This dive park is a large attraction for diver's all over the world and nation. It was full of kelp and sealife! Dan showed us how to feed the fish with a sea urchin. I opted out of this event as fish give me the heeby jeebies, but Bill did great and got swarmed with fish!

Following our dive, Dan took us back to the shop and let us take our snorkels and snorkel around in Lover's Cove for awhile longer. We enjoyed this, but it was not nearly as exciting as the dive! We hope to schedule another dive when we go to Hawaii later this year!

I think the most surprising element of SCUBA diving is how much it physically exhausts you. After any dive I have ever done, I have always felt the need to take a nap (especially if you are in cold water). Therefore, after we wrapped up our morning adventure, Bill and I headed back to the Seaport Village Inn to rest for a bit and then checked out the city of Avalon.



In front of the Avalon Casino


Avalon was a cute little town, but it wasn't nearly as impressive as I thought it might be. Don't get me wrong, I definitely enjoyed our time in Catalina, but I think Catalina's most unique feature is the terrain. It was very desertish, but yet very mountainous. Even more interesting is the fact that there are Buffalo that roam around on the Island, or so I am told.



In the Wrigley Monument

Our second day, Bill and I took a hike, and by that I mean a 12 mile hike! We unfortunately did not see any of these mysterious Buffalo, but I do believe that they are there since there are companies that give tours and all:) The hike was still awesome! We visited the Wrigley Monument (Yes, as in the gum) and the Bontantical Gardens about half way through our hike. The founder of the Wrigley Gum Company played a large part in preserving the Island's plant and animal inhabitants.

The hike was hot, but well worth the views as we hiked along the high ridge line. It was definitely a different perspective from above!

Avalon from afar

Following our long hike, we enjoyed a nice dinner over looking the harbour and then headed to Luau Larry's to celebrate Independence Day with some drinks!! They even gave me a cool hat, which only cost me a hangover the next day:) 

Happy 4th of July!

As with all good things, they must come to an end. Therefore, the next day we had to say goodbye to Catalina! On a positive note, we got to take with us some good memories and a case of posion ivy. Yes, somehow I contracted posion ivy during our hike and it only took 2 weeks to clear up!!

Bill and I both returned to work the next day. For Bill, it was nice for him to be back "in the office" since he had been in Coronado and 29 Palms for the whole month of June. For me, I also had to return to the office, but it was definitely a little different than I had expected. On July 1st, the budget had passed for the State of Arizona in regards to the funding that we receive to keep our company in business. Unfortunately, ACTS was affected significantly by this cut along with several other Mental Health/Behavioral Health Agencies in the area. As a result, lay offs were in order. Fortunately, I was spared my job, but it was difficult to see co-workers leave. Hopefully, this is the last we see for awhile, but rumor has it there could be more in the future. We will just have to wait and see....

Also during this month, Bill and I were able to have some professional photo's taken. We went through Kim Garcia Photography, who did an excellent job!! Kim was great to work with and gave us exactly what we wanted. Here were a couple of our favorites:)

Well, no sooner did Bill get comfortable being home, he had to leave again! This time he was scheduled to do some fleet support in North Carolina for a week and half (but got to come home early). I have to admit, I was a little jealous that he got to go back to NC and I didn't!! However, I do look forward to making it back for a visit eventually and catching up with everyone! Fortunately, during Bill's time out East he was able to find some time to visit with his brother, Mike, who has recently returned from deployment and his family. We look forward to their visit next month :)

During the time that Bill was in NC, I decided to step up my fitness level a bit. I had been kind of slacking since the San Diego Half Marathon, but now it is time to get serious! I have just signed up for the Blue Water Triathalon in Parker, Arizona in November. I have opted to do the long event, which I think is a 1k swim, 53K bike, and an 8k run. In my efforts to get in shape, I have recently joined the Master's swim team and briefly tried out the bike club. The bike club didn't work out so well considering they were all men and left me on the border of Mexico all by myself!  Hopefully, I will rack up the miles on my own or find some girlfriends to ride with...

Other than that, we continue to do well and are enjoying the summer! I think the heat is the worst it'll get and we are getting used to it!! However, we are looking forward to traveling north next month and escaping it for a bit!