Holy Cannoli!
It's been SO long since I last blogged! I am not going to apologize. Mostly because we have been so busy and it has been a total blast!
I made a trip with the Frank last month to Utah where I was able to ride in an all women's bike ride called Goldilocks. So freaking fun, but so blasted hard! I was on a team with 4 other ladies including Ian's aunt and cousin-in-law and some of their friends. I am embarrassed to say that that bike ride was the first time my bum had met the bike seat this year... yeah, I didn't train AT ALL. But I feel that I held my own and finished! Finishing was our ultimate goal. To be precise, we road 63.5 miles. WOOHOO! Rain, hail, and 35 MPH head winds couldn't keep Team Injury Ingredient down!
Ian had to work the weekend of my ride, so we made plans to do something over Memorial weekend. Our plans were to do nothing. And it was awesome. We made it over to the pool, where we found it to amazingly be empty. We also made it a point to get some snow cones. What better way to welcome in summer with sunburns and flavored ice?!
We were also excited to find that the Boise Farmer's Market was open and so you KNOW we partook.
This year they have Street Tacos, and we aren't mad about it. They also have a return of my favorite Lavender Lemonade. So good!
We have been trying to explore new places around Boise and since we weren't able to go snowboarding up at Bogus Basin this past winter (It's a goal for this year), we took a Sunday drive up to it instead. Mostly, we were just really craving some good ol' pine trees and we weren't disappointed.
We also found that Lucky Peak Reservoir is literally 10 minutes from our place, so we took a drive there one afternoon hoping to get Frank in the water. We made the mistake of vigorously throwing a stick into the Boise river once and Frank, not knowing that the water abruptly got deeper, went bounding for it. One minute Frank was there and the next, he had disappeared under. Needless to say, the stick was forgotten about and Frank has been scared of the water since. But we are happy to say we are making progress with the H2o phobia and Frank will now get into the water up to his chest.
We were excited to find an off leash dog beach, and Ian quickly made buds with a neighboring Pug.
We also found a new hike that goes up to
Table Rock but from the backside. You pass the rock quarry and it is a bit more difficult and longer, but we loved it.
Mark and Marilyn got us a running leash for Easter. It's a leash that clips around your waist so that your hands are free. It's also perfect for hiking. We use it like crazy! Thanks Mark and Mar!
We also made some great friends here that we were able to go to dinner with. Alex and Talia Gilbert are so great! They took us to Barbacoa's. For you Utahn's, it is not like the Cafe Rio ripoff we have in Utah. It is super nice! I had a hot rock filet mignon. Holy cow Batman! Talk about melt in your mouth! Thanks Talia and Alex!
We have also had some critter visitors here. It almost feels like we live on an animal conservatory, which knowing me, I'm not complaining. We first had a swarm of honey bees decide to make our fireplace vent home. Luckily they didn't stay long and Frank only got stung once. (He tries to eat them.)
We also had "The Great Prince of the Forest" and "Friend Owl" come say hi. (Refer to Bambi if you don't get the reference.) Frank doesn't mind Friend Owl so much, but Mr. Prince likes to hangout a lot in the backyard and Frank is too Alpha to let Mr. Prince (and his high and mighty name) hang out for long.
I was able to make another chalkboard design and hope that I will have time enough to do one for the 4th of July!
Mark and Marilyn were nice enough to come hangout with us a few days before we left on our anniversary trip (They were going to watch Frank.) Ian and Marilyn are training for a marathon, so I got wrangled into running with them. Who am I kidding?! I asked to go. Mark got to hang with the Frank while we ran.
Speaking of our anniversary trip...it was AMAZING! We had SO much fun! The first couple days were spent on the Oregon coast at a little town called Cannon Beach. If you ever get a chance to go to Oregon, make it a point to visit there! So so cool! We got to play in the tide pools and take a run along the beach. Their little stores and cafe's are what you would imagine in a movie. And let's talk about HOW BEAUTIFUL Oregon is anyway! Throw in the ocean for good measure, and I could live there forever! AND if you need anymore of a reason to go, Goonies was filmed there....
Look familiar?
GOONIES!
This starfish is laying eggs.
Tide pool sat the base of Haystack Rock.
Running along the beach
We are already planning on a next trip to Cannon Beach and one of the goals when we get there is to have a fire on the beach. So cool!
How'd I get so lucky with this man?!
We also took a 20 minute drive up the coast to spend the afternoon at a place called Seaside. It was cool to walk through town and of course we visited the Seaside Candyman to get salt water taffy!
This was the end of the trail monument for Lewis and Clark.
Ian was also nice enough to take me to a steak and seafood restaurant so I could have my fresh seafood fix. (For those of you that don't know. Ian hates seafood.) I was able to try oysters in a half shell for the first time. A little bit of lemon and salt and BAM! Amazing!
Our last day in Cannon Beach, we drove over to Ecola State Park where they have awesome hiking and a great beach. We were told that the tide pools there were the best. We HAD to investigate and it WAS pretty awesome. I was hoping to be able to hold a starfish, but those suckers literally SUCK. You can't peel them off the rocks unless you break one of their legs, which I obviously didn't want to do. Luckily my dream came true here when I found one not attached to anything. We also found a small hermit crab to boot!
So green and lush!
Hermit Crab
Starfish
We also met a man nice enough to show us how to dig for clams! That is another thing on our to do list next visit!
We also found a really cool view point in Ecola where you get a good look at the Light House....
And Cannon Beach
After our days on the coast, we drove back to Portland to spend a few days there. We met up with my cousin Adrianne and her wife Tiffany and had dinner. Afterwards they took us to the most amazing ice cream shop called Salt and Straw. Oh my-lanta! They have the most strange flavors you would ever imagine to be in ice cream, but it is the best ice cream you'll ever have! I got Pear and Blue Cheese and Salted Caramel and Ian got Honey Strawberry and Balsamic Vinegar with Cracked Pepper.
We may or may not have made another trip back to the ice cream store because it was so good. And to Ian's delight, they messed up one of our cones, so gave it to us for free... Ian was double fisting it.
Like a kid in a ice cream shop.
We later got to walk around Portland with the cuz and even hit up the Portland zoo. Those ladies are a blast! Thanks guys!
We also got the chance to hike in Columbia River Gorge up to Multnomah Falls. We wanted to see more water falls so we did the 7 mile loop where we got to see 5 more falls on the hike. Most gorgeous hike I have ever been on! I thought a Lord of the Rings character was going to jump out at us any second. It started to rain about 45 minutes into the hike and the trails were immediately deserted. We didn't let a little rain stop us, so we traipsed on like the drowned rats that we were. The rain actually added to the ambiance and in some areas created a really cool mist/fog. So worth it!
Multnomah Falls
Before we became soaked
Crazy cool bugs...
Besides this, this slug was gross...
The Weeping Wall
Fairy Falls
Drowned
Upper Multnomah Falls
Last place we HAD to visit while in Portland, was of course, Voodoo Donuts!
We couldn't decide between 8 of them, so we bought them all and shared. AMAZING!
Our favorite was the OrangoTang. (Donut with Vanilla frosting and Tang on top.)
We had the best time! I can't believe it has been a year since we were married. Time has flown by. With how much fun we have had, I can't wait to see what else is in store for us. We DO have eternity to go! Love you babe!
And of course, I have to finish out the blog with the Frank...
We'll be making a trip down to Utah in July, so we hope to see you soon! Love you all!
"When someone else's happiness is your happiness, that is love."
-Lana Del Rey
