Overdue update

It's been a month since my last post, so I believe that it is time for a long overdue update!

Our trip back to Ohio was great, so thanks to all of you that we were able to visit. It was really nice to take a break from our daily routine and catch up with all of the family and friends that we haven't seen in so long. We ate so much food that week it was rediculous.....visiting Ro's, Panara, Swenson's, Papa Bears, Street Treets @ UA, Bennigans, Chipotle, Chef Jerry's and all of the other wonderful places that we don't have out here in California. Most importantly though, CONGRATS to Jason and Lisa on the official adoption of their new daughter! The adoption finalization was wonderful, and Jessie and I were very greatful to be home so that we could take part in it.

So after budgeting our mileage on the Saturn, and a lot of taking the bus....the Rodeo finally runs! It's been on the road for two full weeks now. A little behind schedule, but better late than never I suppose. I actually got everything together several weeks ago, but got burned by using some cheap after-market orings in the cooling system. Long story short: Orings failed, lots of coolant everywhere, and a few hours of disassembly (again) and a few choice words later I found the culprit. So, we spend yet another week waiting for the OEM rings to ship to our house, put everything back together the following weekend, and all was good. Check out the Rodeo rebuild link in the sidebar for some updated pictures . ----------------->

And now for the biggest new as of late, JESSIE STARTED TRAINING! After eight long months of "transitioning," she is finally getting to do what the Air Force has sent her here for. Yay! Now her schedule consists of classes from 7:30-5 everyday, lots of studying, and tests tests and more tests (sound familiar?). It's been tough so far, but she is adjusting well, and putting in a lot of effort to do the job she was sent here to perform. I'm so proud of her. =)

Last weekend we decided to take a little break, and head up to Montana de Oro State Park. It's about an hour and a half north of us, and has miles upon miles of beaches, seaside bluffs, eucalyptus forests, and mountains. It was a quite windy, overcast, and a little cold, but we made the best of it and got in a few miles of trail hiking. It was our first time up there, and hopefully we will get many more opportunities to explore before we leave. Here's a few pics from the day:

Here's the cove close to the ranger station. The wind funneled right into this area and there were lots of people flying kites.

Here's a shot of the bluffs. It's a little hard to tell from here, but it's about 90 feet straight down!

Here's our hikers.....it's getting windy!

Here's our little trail hike up one of the mountains. What a view!

Last but not least: Call us crazy, but we've entered into a team Adventure Race this weekend! For those of you who aren't familiar with the sport of adventure racing, it's a bit like a triathlon with a few variations. Swimming is replaced with kayaking, road biking with mountain biking, and the running portion is on a cross-country terrain complete with obstacle courses. They also throw it a few kinks such as not having defined routes, and requiring that you know how to use a map and compass to get to some of the check stations. So the best team may not necessarily be fastest, but might have just figured out the fastest route. This particular race has a 3-4 mile kayak, 8-10 mile bike, and 3-5 miles of running. A big portion of the race also relies on teamwork, because you both have to finish together! Check out the link here, and wish us luck!