Bryan receives his award!

Check out Bryan receiving his award for his science fair project on his blog.

http://atvproject.blogspot.com/2007/01/bryan-awarded-his-certificate-and.html

Way to go Bryan!

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

What happens when....

What happens when you leave 2 energetic little boys in a room with a deflating air mattress and a camera? You're about to find out!

Hot Wheels Around Town

I guess the economy must be doing better because I've been seeing some awesome rides showing up around town.

Mobile Device test

This message was sent from Rich's Treo 650.

Updated This Blog

Hope I didn't surprise you when you logged in, but some behind the scenes tools here on Blogger have been updated and I finally took the plunge. Things may look a little different while I experiment some. Let me know if you like the new look or not.

Peace, Love and ch-ch-ch-changes!,

Rich

Someone I wish I knew

Here is someone I think I would have liked to have known. Allen Emer. He was a TV cameraman, Ham radio operator (N2YAC), hammock camper, pilot, sailor and outdoorsman. I don't know him, but I wish I had. He was killed in a lightning storm in June 2006, when a bolt struck the tree he was tied off to. He was kayak camping in New Jersey. Check out his photo album slideshow. Absolutely amazing.

Well done Allen.

Another Perspective

To hear another perspective of our Idaho vacation, check out my Mom's blog entry "Our Idaho Snow Vacation".

She gives her account of our wonderful time there. You also might want to read the next entry regarding whether or not there will be seasons in heaven (snow?).

Snowmobiling Video

Just getting around to uploading a few of the more interesting videos.

Home Sweet Home

Just a quick note to say we are home safe and everything is fine. Thanks Gary for picking us up at the airport! We even got my parents luggage routed and on the way to Maui. We're tired, but it's good to be home. Gotta catch some shut-eye before work tomorrow.

Peace, Love and Home Sweet Home,

Rich

On The Plane Home

Click on "Play" for an audio blog entry.

Gabcast! FuelDepot by Phone #7

2/2

This message was sent from Rich's Treo 650.

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1/2 We made it to Seattle and in 2 hours we'll be departing for Honolulu. We also were able to change our seating so that we can sit together.

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Made it to Seattle

Click on "Play" for an audio blog entry.

Gabcast! FuelDepot by Phone #6

Flight back

Okay, our new flight to Seattle has ALSO BEEN DELAYED. We are now leaving Boise at 2:15PM, to go to Seattle, then we'll be flying Northwest to Honolulu, arriving 9:27pm. The junk thing is that, at the moment, we are all sitting in separate rows by ourselves for the flight to Hawaii. No one seems to be able to help us change that here, so we are going to try to change it officially in Seattle. If that doesn't work, we may try to appeal to people on our own so that we can at least get an adult next to each of the boys.

Dad also was given quite a run-around by Aloha Airlines, who were going to charge him $43 to change his $19 ticket because they didn't seem to believe he had been delayed here in Boise. He had to get some ticket agent on the phone to confirm our predicament before Aloha would just make the change. Come on, where's the Aloha?

Flight problems

Apparently Portland is closed due to snow, which is why our plane is late getting here, which is why we are late, AND when we take off to Portland, we may not be able to land there, so we may be rerouted to Redmond, SO we are trying to redo our route such that we go to Seattle and then to Honolulu, arriving at 9:27pm. My parents may have to spend the evening with us and fly out to Maui the next day.

Stay Tuned....

Rich

Layers and Layers

This is why Bradley didn't get cold when we were snowmobiling.

Going home

It has been really fun here in Idaho. We left for the airport early this morning and now I am sitting at the gate for our flight to Portland, then on to Hawaii. The Boise Airport has free WiFi, so I am able to send this update to you now. Our flight is 42 minutes delayed, and it looks like we may miss our connecting flight to Honolulu.

A few more details I haven't mentioned. I did make contact with Idaho Amateur Radio operators. They were mostly members of a club called the Voice of Idaho, and I found them to be very friendly, helpful and hospitable folks. I spoke with Raz (W7RAZ), the president of the club, the most and he was quite helpful getting me oriented to the repeaters here.

There were some geocaches in the area and I was hoping to log an Idaho cache, but the ones that were close just were not working out, especially considering the amount of snow and the cold temperatures.

The people here are friendly and the food is great, often served in Ginormous portions. We had a leftover feast our last evening at home.

I am still sick but it isn't crippling, just unpleasant. My energy levels come and go in waves and I'm constantly blowing my nose.

That's it from here. Back to the normal grind when we get back. Looking forward to seeing all of you.

Peace, Love and Pleasant Journeys,

Rich

Snowmobiling

Today we got an early start because we had to be at "Cheap Thrills" at 8am to prepare for our half day snowmobiling adventure. After we got there, we picked out the various elements of our attire that were lacking. Most got entire snow suits, and we all got helmets. Gloves, boots and antifog spray rounded out the rest. They told us we were being delayed until 10:00 because it was too cold for the snowmobiles. (!) If it's too cold for the snowmobiles, surely it was too cold for us!

Undaunted, we met our outfitter at the trailhead at 10:00 and learned all about our snowmobiles and got some advice on how to ride them. They said the'd be back at 2:00 AND HAVE FUN! For the next 4 hours we were snowmobilers!

(For more photos click here)

My Dad's friend Gordon met us there at 10 with is snowmobile. He has been on this trail many times so it was natural for him to lead off. He started at a fast pace and very quickly we learned where the holes in our "snow armor" were. We also had trouble initially with fogged up goggles/windscreens. It took a few stops to get everything sorted out, but then we were off!

It is absolutely beautiful up there. The trail was smooth, the snow was powder and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The contrast of the blue sky and the white mountain ridges was breathtaking! At times we went off trail to explore around the woods, at other times we were hauling at 40-50 miles per hour on the snow road.

Our only incident happened during one of our excursions off road. We were driving through some pretty thick snow on a mild slope to get to a nearby summit. Gordon and Bryan were in front, Emily and I were next and Papa and Bradley were at the back. When we got back to the road we turned around and could not see Papa anywhere! Gordon went back to find them while I stayed with my family. It turns out that at one point in their trip, they lost a little momentum on a slope and the snowmobile tipped, and because the snow was so deep and soft they were a bit stuck. No injuries and Gordon quickly had them dug out and back on the road.

We visited some natural hot springs and took a short break in the rustic office there, then it was time to head back. I'd say 48 miles in all! Bryan had fallen asleep the last part of the journey back, but Bradley slept ALL the way back.

This was truly a very memorable trip, but now it is time to go home. Unfortunately for me, I have gotten sick with a head cold. Just doing too much and not resting I guess. I feel terrible and listless, but I'm hoping a good night's sleep tonight will fix me up. Tomorrow we have to leave at 6am for the three hour drive to Boise and the airport. I'm a little worried about all the altitude changes ahead of me with my stuffed sinuses.

Even so, this has been the most amazing trip! Who'd have thunk that I would ever find myself in Idaho! Thanks Nana and Papa for making it possible! I will never complain about being cold in Mililani again!

We will be home Tuesday evening and I will be at work Wednesday morning.

Peace, Love and a new appreciation of the word "COLD",

Rich

Aloha from Idaho!

Aloha! It's COLD! (Duh!)

We have been leaving most mornings with the temperature outside around negative 6 degrees! We actually think it gets quite pleasant at 11 degrees (around noon)!

We are having a blast! We had no problems arriving here, except that we spent too much time shopping for winter clothes in Boise before starting our 100 mile drive up to McCall. If you ask me, it was time well spent, despite arriving in McCall after dark. As soon as we had all the bags inside and had looked all around our AMAZING lodge, the kids wanted to go outside and see the snow. It was probably 8pm and ZERO degrees outside, but since we came all this way to see snow, how could the kids be expected to wait another evening? They bundled up and went to play in the snow by porch light! (The neighbors must have thought we were crazy!)

The next morning we were starved so we went into town and had a wonderful, hearty breakfast at a big pancake house. I gotta tell you, Idaho portions are huge! Everywhere we go the amount of food on the plate is riduculous! (Tomorrow morning we are feasting on leftovers!)

Anyways, Day One was all about testing the winter clothes and going snow tubing in the afternoon. We went down to a place call the Activity Barn, and they have a hill with 4 runs and a simple rope lift for snow tubing. Our whole family went tubing (yes, even Em!) and we had so much fun. You get going SO FAST and you can't really control what direction you point or what walls you hit. It was very cold though, with the wind really nipping at our cheeks and noses.

Day Two was about skiing. We drove up to Brundage to take a day full of ski lessons. Em was content to sit this one out and enjoy the lodge. It was probably a good decision for her, knowing her weak ankles and fear of going downhill. Me and the boy's got signed in and suited up in 15 minutes and we were off to our classes. We had Ed Back, a great instructor with a patient style and in no time we were wedging and turning down Easy Street, their beginner slope. After a break for lunch we were back again learning one legged turns and also doing some more difficult terrain. Bryan especially gained confidence in the second round of classes and was right there with us until the end. After our classes were over, we still had about 45 minutes of free time to ski all on our own, and I think that was my favorite part. Just me and my boys going down the slopes.

Well, now, after a great big meal at The Mill of prime rib, lamb chops and ribs (more leftovers!) we are bushed.

I have been having problems with the WiFi here the whole time, and have finally got a connection to the internet working after plugging directly in to the network. I have uploaded many of the pictures we have taken so far to this website: Idaho Pictures.

Tomorrow, we get up early to go snowmobiling, then we have to start organizing to go back home. Hope you enjoy the photos and if you have any questions for me about the snow before I leave, get them in to me quick! Tomorrow is supposed to be -14 degrees!

Peace, Love and Long Johns,

Rich

I'm back from some time off blogging.

Hi Everyone,

I'm glad you're still checking in from time to time, even though I haven't written since last year! I took a bit of a break from blogging while we helped Bryan finish his science fair project. We had a lot to do in a very little amount of time. If you want to see all we've been up to, check out Bryan's project blog at http://atvproject.blogspot.com.

Tomorrow we are off again on to another adventure. For Christmas my parents have gifted us a trip to see snow! Bryan and Bradley have never seen snow and Emily and I only had about an hour in it 15 years ago. We are going to Idaho, near the McCall area. It was 8º there a few hours ago. If I have WiFi, I will try to keep this blog updated, otherwise I'll just do a Gabcast update each evening. We are looking forward to being in very cold weather with LOTS of snow!

Until next time,

Peace, Love and Snow bound dreams,

Rich

Some Links to where we are going:
http://www.brundage.com/
WEB CAMS!
Map of McCall, Idaho

Happy New Year

Have a great 2007 everyone!