Week "2": ROADTRIP!

So Jon said we were going to blog every week and this week was my turn. I, of course, have been procrastinating ;) But really, it has been non stop! We FINALLY sat down today and wrote thank you cards for the wedding!!! We really are SO thankful and I feel bad that we haven't sent these out yet, but I trust you all understand..we have had our hands full!

After the wedding we went on our honeymoon to Ludington, in North-West MI. It was the perfect atmosphere for SIMPLY RELAXING! When we got back, Jon got right back to work and I hit the books for 6 straight weeks. No complaints thought because it all paid off when I passed both the National Boards and my California Law Exam!! Our road trip was a great way to celebrate.

As many of you saw through our facebook updates, we stayed in Colorado for a week. For the majority of our time in CO we stayed in a cozy condo in Breckenridge but we also stayed 2 nights with Jon's friends from PT school, Tony & Danielle, who live north of Denver.

The night we arrived at their place they wined and dined us with a delicious, homemade dinner. The next morning we went to church with the two of them and really enjoyed eating the church "breakfast buffet". Their church hosts a breakfast to gather their community together prior to the service, which is such a great idea! Another highlight was watching Tony lead worship...let me tell you, that boy can rock out on his guitar & SING! After church we ate lunch at their favorite Thai place then hiked through the Rockies! That was the most physical activity I had done since the Boston marathon and I was FEELIN' it!

On our second night with them we played volleyball with some of their friends...FOR TWO HOURS! Again, I was feelin' it! (Mostly on my forearms), but Jon was in heaven. He goes through withdrawal if he doesn't get his weekly volleyball/physical activity fix. Earlier that day we had gone for a more relaxing hike than the previous one and admired the wide open spaces of CO. One of the most memorable times was when we saw a group of young deer grazing, so we stopped to watch them and just stood in SILENT in awe of creation. It was SO quiet--no highways with cars buzzing by and honking, no airplanes, no background noise that fills our everyday lives, just natures silence and natures beauty.

When we got to the end of our hike, we noticed a sign that instructed us how to fight off a mountain lion. Yes, FIGHT OFF...not run from, not hide from, but fight off. I never knew! My first reaction would be to run for the hills, but this sign said (I'll paraphrase) "to stay perfectly still and if it comes close to you to throw rocks at it and hit & kick it until it gets bored of you". Serious! This was an official sign, not just a homemade sign that some prankster made. Thankfully we never had to use our newly learned skills, and hopefully you will never have to either, but just in case...now you know.

As many of you saw, we made a fox friend in Breckenridge (Jon named him Garth). It crept up on Jon one night when he was at the car, and Jon fed him cheesy popcorn. Then about 1/2 and hour later we saw him again on our porch! As you can see with the facebook pictures, he would have walked right on in if we hadn't shut the door!

We hung around CO for 5 days and then started to get antsy to get to our new home, so we left 2 days early..great decision! We also had originally planned to travel through Las Vegas on our way to CA, but at the last minute decided to take the longer, more scenic, Northern route. Also a great decision! We drove through Lake Tahoe, which was the most beautiful place we saw on our whole trip out here. We ate a a great local brewery in Tahoe and then drove a little bit more West where we stayed with his friends Laythen and Tess, also from PT school.

We didn't really have plans with Laythen & Tess other than just us staying the night, which ended up working out perfectly because we did some things that I NEVER would have planned for myself! The two of them fed us a delicious meal and we were able to catch up, laugh & enjoy rehashing old memories from their PT school experiences. The next day we woke up with the sun and went mountain biking. Jon and Laythen took the "crazy route" and Tess helped guide me through the "I'm still learning route"..she was an awesome instructor! I learned a lot on that ride and really built up my riding confidence.

Once we finished our 11-ish mile ride we feasted on IN-N-OUT burger. WOW. The rest of the country is missing out. It's a chain over here that is unlike any other fast-food burger place I've ever eaten. The fries are not frozen, they're cut on site and are fried in non-trans fat oil, so they aren't greasy! Here, check it out: http://www.in-n-out.com/

After that, Laythen got a call from his buddy who owns a farm and owns a small plane which he uses to fly and check out all the crops. He offered to take us all up in his plane! So of course we went and once we got up into the air he let me fly!! Then on the way back home he let Jon fly!! THEEENNNN once we were on the ground again, Laythen took us for a ride on his Harley! In one day we went mountain biking, flying and motorcycling...wild.

We said our goodbyes to Laythen & Tess and headed for Aunt Nancy's. We were greeted with a warm welcome and another delicious homemade meal! Another night of story telling, memory rehashing and laughter. Jon and I were pretty beat so we hit the sack and woke up early the next morning to get to our final destination...La Conchita!

My fingers are tired of typing & my eyes are burning from looking at this computer screen...our next blog will be from Jon telling you all about our first few weeks here!

Love,

Heather & Jon