AK 08-1st Stop LA

Our AK trip began Tuesday morning, 17 June, when Joe and I left Del Rio at 7am for a 3hr drive to San Antonio. We flew out of San Antonio and our first stop was a 12 hr layover in LA. With such a long layover we decided to make the most out of it. First, we stopped at the Bob Hope USO for some info and dropped off our carry on bags, then got on the bus for Santa Monica. It was pretty neat riding the bus through LA. We got to see some pretty interesting people and remember how much we love being out of the city. Since I was only a passenger and was in no rush being in traffic wasn't horrible, but if I was driving that would be a different story. Getting stuck at a red light in Del Rio is annoying enough for me. I can't believe I used to live in Houston and Austin where it would take me 30 minutes to go 3 or 4 miles. No thank you.
Walking across the bridge to the Santa Monica pier. Joe and I rolled up our pants and walked down the shore line in the super cold water.

At the end of the pier we got to see the movie 1000 Words being filmed. Maybe we got in the background some how :0)
Joe on the ferris wheel. Behind him you can see the area where the movie was being filmed.
Our ferris wheel ride. Actually, I think this was my first ferris wheel experience. As cheesy as this may sound...it was pretty romantic.

Another picture of Joe on the ferris wheel. Notice the amusement park in the background. The whole set-up on the pier was awesome.

The weather was absolutely perfect that day so we walked around the pier, on the beach, in the water and then got a bit hungry. At first I really wanted seafood, but then I noticed something and the both of us had to have it.
The famous Original Hot Dog Stick stand. The hot dog was awesome and the lemonade was even better. We sat on the ledge of the beach eating and watching beach volleyball in Santa Monica...what a great layover.

Finally, it was time to catch the bus back to the airport. Our mini vacation in LA had come to an end.
I took this as we crossed the bridge away from the beach to catch our bus. You can see the Hot Dog Stick stand on the far left side of the walk way. Just across from the stand is where we ate and watched volleyball.

Next time I'll post on our next AK stop....Anchorage.

Oh, and Happy Belated Birthday, Andrea!!!!!

I'm Back!!!

This is what happens when I don't have to get up at 5am to workout before work...I POST ON MY BLOG!!!

Right now Joe and I are in our lodging room at Elmendorf...yep, that's right...in ALASKA!!! I'm loving it. We just finished our Seward adventure (I'll write more on that and include some pictures later) and are making our way up to Fairbanks tomorrow. Ahhhh, summer solstice in Alaska. I'm in heaven y'all...HEAVEN. Well, it's already midnight and I've gotta hit the gym before we hit the road. With all of this food I'm trying to cram into our visit I might have already doubled my size...and I still have to hit up the Esther Gold Camp crab buffet. YUMMY!!!

Wish us luck on our quest to find some land over here. I'm hoping we'll find something good near a river, mountain view and near an airstrip. Not asking too much...right?!?!? :0)

I'll post more when I get another chance to log in. With this sunlight I can go forever. Man...I MISS THIS LIFE.

Later gators.

Coming Soon...

Ok, so I make a deal to get better at blogging and what happens....my computer dies on me with all of my pictures. I think Joe got it figured out so hopefully this weekend I'll be able to write on my birthday weekend. It was packed with excitement everyday. Seriously though...every day of that weekend was pretty exciting. I know, it was a while back, but I've been computerless since then and have been wanting to tell y'all all about it.
Cross you fingers for me that my pictures were saved.
Thanks for being so patient!

28, Hercules & 15 Wild Turkeys

Another year. Today is my 28th birthday and so far it's a GREAT day. Last night Joe and I tried staying awake until midnight, but were so exhausted that we woke up at 11:59...Joe set his alarm clock so he could be the first to wish me a Happy Birthday. Isn't he such a sweetheart! Well, I think he is. Yeah, it's cheesy, but so am I :0) I didn't think I'd miss being 27 so much until I actually said aloud...I'm 28! Right now, I'm laying in bed while my prince makes me breakfast. I offered to help, but he insisted I relax in bed because I'm the birthday girl.

While I'm relaxing in bed I thought I'd update y'all on my promised post from Tampa, FL. I've searched all over for the cord to my little camera to get the pics downloaded, but can find it nowhere. Nowhere I tell you. There's some power out there that does not want me to post. So, rather than post nothing at all I'm going to post the latest pics I did take with my Rebel. First is of Herc one afternoon. While I was reading a book outside I looked up and noticed my mammoth of a cat making his way up a tree. Check it out for yourself:
There are so many times where I feel bad because I only let my cats outside in the backyard and I feel they can't really be free like cats should. I was so happy when I saw Herc make his way up the tree. YEA HERC!!!

As for the "15 Wild Turkeys" part, a few months back I heard something on our rooftop. I went outside and first saw Herc and Tigris staring up and ready to attack. I couldn't believe it there must have been at least 30 wild turkeys on our rooftop. It was crazy seeing those ugly things fly from house to house. I was a little upset I wasn't able to get a picture, but the other day outside in the front there they were again. This time I only counted 15, but I was able to take pictures.
Hopefully I'll be able to post on my Tampa trip sooner than later. I hope all of y'all are having a happy Valentines Day.

Excuses

I know I haven't posted in a really long time, but I really didn't think it had been as long as it has been. Geez Louise! I'm sorry for those of you reading because I'm guessing that by the end you'll say, "That was a pointless blog. Why did Valerie post that." I'll answer your question right now...I'm posting because a few minutes ago I promised a friend (Andrea) I would post something. So, here it is my new post telling everyone why I haven't posted. First, I've been lazy in many different ways. The ways I've been lazy: I haven't wanted to spend much time on the computer, when I take pictures I almost ALWAYS forget to download them onto the computer, when I finally get my pictures onto the computer I say I'll post them "later" and of course it never happens. Second, the times I do sit down at the computer I think...what exciting thing has happened in my life lately? Eh, nobody wants to hear about that. I'll post something tomorrow. Third, ummm, I guess there is no third. So, there are my excuses. From now on I figure I'll post something ANYTHING...but not every day. That's my promise to y'all. The next time you spend your time reading my blog and it is not interesting you can blame Andrea. :0) hehehe.
When I get back from reserves this weekend I'll post on my trip to Tampa, FL...(that was supposed to be a cliffhanger making you want to come back and read all about it. Hope it worked.)
Have a good weekend!

Finally Colorado...Solana's Photo Shoot

In September on our way home from Washington we made a detour and stopped in Colorado for a few days. FINALLY! I say finally because on our way to WA we tried stopping in CO but were unable to because of thunderstorms and ended up stopping at the smallest airstrip in New Mexico for the night. This time we were determined to make it to CO, but of course we were still safe. Again, there were thunderstorms, but we got lucky and there was a quick break in the weather.

Us flying into Erie Municipal Airport, CO. Check out the bad weather moving out. YEA!

After texting back and forth with Cynthia I was happy when I finally gave here the go ahead to pick us up. Her and Solana met picked us up at the airport and I was VERY excited to see them. That day we had a great time hanging out together and stayed up a bit later than we thought we were going to.

The following day I woke up, said bye to Cynthia, had breakfast with Solana and then got her ready for a walk to the nearby park while Joe slept in.

Solana before we started playing on the playground. Isn't she SOOO ADORABLE!

It was a beautiful day and we had a great time at the park. It's just sad to see how much I miss in Solana's growing up since I'm so far away. The last time I was at the park with her she had a difficult time getting up the disc ladder. This time she flew up the ladder like a fireman would. Good Job, Solana!

Look at her go!

I always remember Solana loving the slide and she did this time, too. She's so cute when she goes down the slide. Standing at the bottom you can hear her giggle echo during her slide down. The best part is her excitement when she'd see me at the end.

Here she comes...
so much fun...
Let's do it again!

About an hour after we got to the park Joe called and walked out to join us. Solana loves her Uncle Joe and had a great time with him.

Solana loves when Uncle Joe takes her on airplane rides. I'm just not sure who has more fun with it...Joe or Solana?

Here Solana asked Joe to sit with her. What about me? This is when I turned into their photographer.

A girl at the park said WE had a beautiful daughter. I didn't correct her. hehehe.

Time to leave the park. Do you think this picture is as cute as I do?

On our way back to the trail to Cynthia's house. Solana waving hi.

After the park we went back inside, had lunch and played in the living room. I wish I had taken pictures of the tickle monster, but I was having too much fun. I did get a few shots of Solana having fun with her Uncle Joe.

Love it!

Joe reading to Solana.

After playtime was over and Solana took her nap it was time to pick up Grammy (my mother) from the airport. What great timing was that for me and Joe! While in CO we also got to see my mother. So, we strapped Solana into her car seat and headed for the Denver Airport. I have a feeling Solana probably did more playing than sleeping during her nap time because as soon as we pulled out of the driveway she was asleep until we got back home. You should have seen how excited Solana was when she woke up to see her Grammy sitting beside her. Once Cynthia and Dave got home from work we all went to Cracker Barrel for dinner...of course we all ate way too much. I wish I had pictures from the rest of the trip, but my camera battery was low so it was charging for the rest of the night. We did take pictures with my mothers camera, but I haven't gotten those yet.
The next morning I took a few more pictures, we all chatted and played with Solana in the living room until it was time to leave.

Me and Cynthia before...super early in the morning.

Solana playing in the living room.

On Cynthia's way to work she took us to the airport and we took off for Texas.

Me, Joe and Xena with the CO mountains. (thanks for taking this pic, Cynthia!)

A few shots from the airplane as we were leaving Denver.

Cynthia, sorry I didn't get a better picture of your house, but I didn't get off of the phone with Mommy fast enough. Hope you like what I did get.

Click on the picture and it will enlarge. You can see the park in the middle of the picture. From there follow the path your street and you'll be able to find your home.

Downtown Denver

Invesco Field...Broncos stadium.

Of course...a picture of my handsome pilot. Check out Denver over his shoulder.

A Week in Washington

*WARNING: This blog has a TON of pictures and is a long one. You've been warned :0)
Joe and I went to his farm in Washington to spend some time with his brother, John, before he takes off for a 15-18 month deployment to Iraq with the Army. It was great hanging out with all of the family.
Day 1 was us getting to WA around midnight and heading straight for bed. Day 2 after we slept in and visited with Joe's parents he darted out to uncover his cavalier. I don't know how many of you remember Joe's red Cavalier, but it's his high school car that he LOVES. Every time we plan a trip to WA he talks and talks about how excited he is to drive the Cav around. After taking the Cav out on a joy ride we went back to the farm, visited some more and then headed out for our date night before picking up his sister, Suzanne, from the airport at midnight. For this trip to WA I decided not to bring my Cannon Rebel with me, which was very weird. Instead, we only brought my very old Cannon Elph. On our way to Spokane we decided it was time to get a new small camera that hadn't been submerged in water during a kayak flipping, dropped in snow too many times to count, left outside in -50 degree weather, outside for 3 days straight at -30 degrees during Arctic Survival, dropped on hard floor more than any tennis ball has been bounced and at just as many band concerts and best of all...won't print pictures with a permanent mark in the middle of the picture from it's adventures. So, before our mouthwatering dinner at PF Changs we went to Best Buy to get our new camera. Of course we got a GREAT deal (c'mon we're King and Queen of good deals) on a new Olympus camera and so now I have many pictures to share with y'all :0) After our dinner we went to the movie theatre where we watched The Bee Movie and were the only ones there. It was great, Joe rented out the theatre for us...isn't he sweet. hehehe. It was a cartoon at about 10pm on a Tuesday...I'm going to keep my romantic thought that the theatre was rented out for me. After the movie we had about 1 hour until Suzy landed so we parked at the cell phone lot, pulled out the blankets Joe packed and took a quick nap. There was day 2.

Our romantic private viewing of The Bee Movie.

Day 3 was WONDERFUL! The end of the day needed to end with us driving out-of-town to John's house, so we decided to make it a day of adventure. Since we've been to WA many times together and had never gone to Seattle we decided it was time. So, we drove about 4 hours to Seattle with a beautiful scenic stop on the way. Our scenic stop pictures:

Before our first stop the Cavalier hit 130k miles. A memorable moment :0)

Joe and his Cav at our first stop.

The Wanapums

I love him!

Joe said I had to post this one. Isn't it a pretty view.

Once in Seattle we walked around Pike's Place Market where I fell in love with Seattle. It was always in my top 3 places to live and now I'm sold. Fish, spices, veggies, cool little random shops, bakeries, cheese shops...I'll stop there or I could go on forever. I did get to see them tossing the fish, but didn't take a picture. Sorry, Charlie! Here are a few pics from the Market.

Another Joe pic. I'm not a fan of being in pics alone, but in the end I'm happy he does it.

Fish and Crab at Pikes Peak Market. Isn't this BEAUTIFUL!!! We tasted more than we bought. YUMMY.

I wanted to cry seeing all of this gorgeous produce. Someday it will be mine...someday.

Fettuccine I bought. Super tasty with a little kick. I plan on trying to make my own...trying.

That's a happy man. The doughnuts were delicious!

Mmmm, no way I could leave without some WA cheese. Joe took a pic of me, but the workers there insisted on this picture. Why not? We were such tourists that day.

After Pikes Peak we visited the Space Needle and it was beautiful. I love Joe so much because instead of simply getting tickets, taking the elevator up, looking around and leaving he made it such a romantic thing. Nothing is boring with my Joe. I can't explain all of the things he does for me to make me feel like the luckiest girl, but he does them and I love him for that. I'll never look at the space needle the same way. That's all I'll say about that because some things are just for us :0) After we took a few pictures outside and walked around Joe suggested we get something from Starbucks (since we were in Seattle), take in the view, talk and enjoy one another's company. So, we did that. Since neither one of us are coffee drinkers we decided to get a flavored coffee and a hot cocoa. The flavored coffee was pretty good, but I don't see myself becoming a coffee drinker. We both enjoyed the hot cocoa much more. On our way back to the car we saw a couple and asked them to take our picture in front of the space needle. Right before the man took our picture we ran out of battery. The couple was so nice that they offered to take our picture with their camera and email it to me. So, they did and I'm very grateful. Thank you Hoyt!
Space Needle pictures:

Downtown Seattle from the Space Needle.

The girl taking the picture didn't understand how to use the night setting. Blurry, but I like it.

Enjoying my Starbucks. Aren't I so Seattle in this picture :0) hehehe.

Joe sippin on his Starbucks.

Posing with the Space Needle background.

After the space needle we were starving and went to Ivars for some delicious Seattle seafood. We lucked out and got the best seat in the house... sat over the water and watched the ferry take off. Too bad my camera was out of juice or I'd have a picture of that too :0) From there we headed to Johns house in Richland. It was a long day, but definitely a wonderful one!

Day 4 was filled with fun, family and wine! In the morning I went on a great run behind John and Katie's home along a jogging trail that lines the river. I've decided that other than Austin that is my favorite place to run. It was so beautiful and I'm mad at myself for not taking pictures. But, I did take pictures in their backyard and you can see why I loved it. The trail was literally just outside of their backyard fence. After my run I met with the rest of the family at the house and went on a walk with them. It was a great walk and while on a boat dock Joe and John dared Suzy to jump off of the dock (keep in mind it was in the high 30s). She thought about it for a while, but after she got them to promise dinner out of it and jumped in. Yep, never a boring moment with Suzy around. Later, after lunch we took some photos in the backyard. Check out how great their yard is with the beautiful leaves.

Goldsworthy photo

I decided I want one of these printed. Please help me decide which one.

Suzy, John and Joe

Soon after pictures Joe's parents left and the girls got ready for a trip to a couple of wineries. We went to wineries...enough said about that! :0)

Goldsworthy sisters!!!

The guys picked us up from the last winery and we went to dinner at a great Seafood restaurant on the river. Yummy!!!!! (Notice all of the delicious food in my stories...I travel for food!)

left to right: Suzy, John, Katie, Joe and me.

Day 5 we hung out, packed up, drove back to Rosalia and met up with Joe's cousins for a fun night in Rosalia. (IAround 8pm or so Joe got a call from his cousins saying they couldn't find the farm (don't know how that happens) so we drove out to the town and met them at the Brass Rail. I think that might be their only bar in the town right now. Oh my gosh...we had a blast. I'll just post the pictures...no explaining needed.

The guys: John, Brett, Joe and Brad

The ladies: Brett's beautiful wife, Danielle, Katie, me and Suzy

CHEERS!!!

The guys being guys...

Suzy and I owned the table.

Fun, fun, FUN!!!

Day 6 involved dinner with all of the Goldsworthys from grandparents to grandchildren, a class reunion and many Spokane bars. It was a really great time. Joe's aunt Jill even managed to get everyone seated to record an interview with everyone. It showed the different generations of Goldsworthys in the military from General Goldsworthy and his war exteriences in WWII, to Joe, Capt Goldsworthy, with his 2 tours in Afghanistan and John, Capt Goldsworthy, and his deployment in Iraq. She also covered the views from the wives and then other family members asked questions and made comments. The interviews were very interesting and was a great idea. After the interviews we went out to the fields for some shooting...rifles, shotguns and handguns...I always look forward to that when visiting the farm. With the day flying by we to rushed to get ready for Joe's 10 year class reunion. So, we changed and headed out. After a fun dinner meeting people, hearing stories and of course a delicious meal and drinks we headed out to a few bars in Spokane. I couldn't tell you where we went, but it was fun. Later in the night Suzanne, Brad, Brett and Danielle met up with us where I met their friends Valerie & Josh. I'm sure plenty of y'all know someone with the same name, but for me it was weird to hear Val without it being directed at me. The last Valerie I knew was a friend in 1st grade. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of Valerie, but she was super sweet, a great artist with beautiful work and a hoot. All of us ended up spending the night at their house. Thanks, Valerie :0)
Pics from the night.

Joe's classmates (seated) and their husband, wife and/or girlfriend (behind). Look like a small class reunion? Well, he only graduated with 21 people.

At the bar. I really like this picture of Joe.

Joe and Suzanne. Don't they look a lot alike?!?

Me and Brett when we got to Val & Josh's. Yes, we are on the roof.

About 1 hour later we thought the Triscuts would taste better on the roof.

Day 6 we met up with the whole family again and had brunch at the Spokane Club. Always a great time. It was also Katie's birthday, so a happy birthday to you, Katie! I didn't take too many pictures, but here's one that I really like of John and their youngest boy, Joel.

Day seven we left dark and early for the airport with a 5:50am departure. I posted a blog from the Denver airport and meant on taking pictures for y'all but forgot. Here's one of Joe on the computer there. Sorry, guys.
I told you this was going to be a long one......
THE END!