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Celebrating SIX years!

In May, we headed west to celebrate our 6-year wedding anniversary in San Francisco. It's so amazing to live in another part of the country where so many incredible places to visit are accessible by only a short road trip. I think we were so excited to go on a mini vacation and celebrate 6 years that we didn't take into account that our wedding anniversary falls on Memorial Day weekend, and thus, might not be the best time of year to visit a very popular city!

 

Though the city was incredibly crowded along with many of the popular places to visit, we managed to have a great time together exploring the city.

 

We love to eat at new places in new cities, so we enjoyed many delicious meals ... thanks to Frommer's recommendations! Our favorite was a small hole-in-the-wall-Italian place where we dined on the 2nd floor with a 7 foot tall ceiling, pretty cozy! We loved the Irish Coffees and plenty of delicious cappuccinos as well.

 

Six years go by fast, and we are thankful for each year as they have all brought change, growth, beauty, and love.

 

We tried really hard to get a pic in front of this bridge, Shaun's head kept getting in the way of the bridge! This is the best we could manage on our own. Did I mention it was COLD and super WINDY?!

 

Here is Shaun riding the famous SF cable cars while standing. Of course, Kyndra was not crazy about this, and would have much preferred he at least have a helmet if dangling his body outside the car!
 

 
 

 Kyndra was impressed by our visit to the Great Fortune Cookie Factory, tucked away in a tiny alley-way. Women and men were stuffing and folding every fortune cookie on the belt by hand. Those cookies were pretty tasty, fresh and warm off the assembly line!

  

  We really enjoyed our beverages:
  delicious cappuccinos,
  phenomenal sangria at Cha Cha, and some
  smooth Irish coffees to get us out of the windy cold weather

We walked alot.  Tramping through the North Beach area, visiting sights, coffee shops, bookstores and the Beat Museum was fabulous!  We took an especially long walk, and Kyndra met a new little friend! We don't recommend the long walks in SF, unless you are trying to get a serious gluts work out (which is probably needed in our case, but wasn't on the to-do list while we were there!)

One of the best parts of this trip is that we got to stop at CHIPOTLE in Sacramento. Oh, how we crave Chipotle ... please come to Reno, please! Just puttin it out there!

And, that was it. Happy Anniversary!

Oregonian Thanksgiving Review

by shaun

We had a wonderful thanksgiving up in Portland.  I loved the drive ... mountains, mist, miles of road.  There were so many textures of place we drove through.  *It's a great 10 hours on the road!  And, I really enjoy that city.  Especially where the Sharps live - their neighborhood is just a blast to walk around, grab something delicious to eat, or just watch the people, things, places.  

It rained and misted, but that was fine.  Back in Reno, the sun is bright and you can really sense the difference of the two places.  I like them both.  

We enjoyed good food, great homebrew that Ryan had cooked up, and meeting new people from SanFran.  Here's some pics I stole from our friend Pax's blog!  :) We are grateful they hosted us and plan to get back soon ... Ensha'alla.

O's Visit Tahoe!

by Shaun

September has been a packed month so far!

-         My parents visited us and celebrated their anniversary while here

-             The Great Reno Balloon Races

-         Kick-off of Fall programming at the church where I work

-         Kyndra leads an in-service for therapists at Renown hospital

-         Shaun preaches a short sermon at church

-         Kyndra finishes her 1^st internship!

 

And that’s where we are today. 

Here’s playing some catch up:

My parents came and visited over Labor Day weekend, and we packed out the schedule of things to do – which seems to be a running theme when we have visitors!  Still, this is the place to do that. 

They stayed at the Casino/hotel that is closest to our house, so that was a breeze.  We spent some good time there at the slots and roulette table, and also showing them around the downtown Reno casinos.  Nobody lost too much money, so that’s all good!

 

We also did some things that Kyndra and I had been wanting to do, but waiting for visitors to partake with.  We headed up to Tahoe (south shore) and hopped on a big paddle wheel boat – the M.S. Dixie II.  The boat was fine, but the point was that it takes you to the described (and most likely true) “most beautiful section of
Lake Tahoe” – Emerald Bay.

It was stunning.  Just when you think the lake itself is spectacular, this glimpse was even better.  Kyndra and I hope to get back there very soon!

 

Another attraction that Kyndra and I hadn’t quite taken in was the historic Virginia City, about 40 mins from Reno.  This town is a page out of the big mining days, and the town grew solely based on the big money that could be made, especially from silver discoveries. 

So, it’s a cool place to walk around when you’re in the touristy mindset – people in costumes, re-enactments right and left, old things to look at, and trains to ride! 

It was a hot day out there, so learning about what miners’ work life was like was startling. 

Very hard work, but paying off big at times!

 

Also, we dove into one of the casino’s buffets while the parents were in town (we hadn’t done that).  These things are expensive, but the food is fine.  The new buffet at the ElDorado was packed out, and it’s quite an experience.  We were completely stuffed.

 
And, really, that’s what the weekend felt like.  We stuffed all the attractions in – Tahoe, Virginia City, Reno night-life, church visiting, and seeing our home here in Reno.  I just hope it was a good anniversary trip for them!  We love seeing family come visit us way out here, so it was a treat.

More pics here!

 

That’s how our September Reno began.  Now it’s getting colder and summer is changing, so it’s cool to see this place in transition.  More updates soon!

Special Delivery ...

Our good friend Brian Rhea was so generous, giving us a meaningful piece of his art as we left for Reno. We didn't take it right away, wondering if we would have room for it in our small space. When we got our home set up, there was a perfect spot that has been waiting the arrival of the artpiece with a lonely nail on the wall for 3 months.

Shaun's parents visited this past weekend (more on that soon) and brought the special delivery from Brian ...

                     

The art depicts a scene in a Wendell Berry book.

Reno Review

It's been a week since we got back from Reno - a GREAT trip.  After all of it, Kyndra and I were just about pinching ourselves to see if we were still in reality.  Who knows what can happen between now and then ... but things are looking really good there now. 
I had meetings with professors in the Literature & Environment department - they were encouraging and challenging - probably the best combination I could have hoped for.  I am thrilled to get there and begin studying.  We also met a lot of grad students in the "L&E" program and they are great as well - really good vibe to the students and the whole campus in general.  This was all very encouraging. 

Kyndra got to observe at both the Renown Medical Center and The Continuum and she enjoyed both.  There were a lot of unknowns, but now she has a good feel for the places and feels good about transitioning from student here to intern there.

Outside of a good general likeness of the town of Reno, the biggest encouragement was finding a place to stay!  We have put down a deposit on a really nice little place in old downtown Reno and we are REALLY looking forward to living there.  When we got there and began calling places to rent, they were all looking to be filled in the next few weeks (understandably).  It didn't look like we had much of a chance of securing something for June, yet. 
So, we began tossing around the idea of buying a home there.  Maybe we could get into something that would come available in June.  That process put us online, looking at what's available.  Homes are a little more expensive than they are here, and we wanted to live in a cool downtown area instead of out in the growing suburbs, which was even a bit more expensive.  BUT, we spotted a nice home online - had just been listed on 3/12 - newly renovated into a "green", energy efficient home, and very cool.  It was 280 sq ft.  We were intrigued. 
The next day we decided to go by and just give it a look.   I had seen these types of homes - a downstairs room with just an upstairs loft - and I thought they were great for cool cabins in the woods or just for a unique and simple living experience.  I don't think we were really considering it.
But we drove there and ended up interacting with the developer of these simple green home sites - eco-compact homes.  She showed us all in and around them and she told us the great history of these small brick homes.  There are three homes being renovated as one room with bathroom on the first floor and and ladder leading up to a loft area.  The fourth brick home actually has a small "bedroom nook" built onto the back of it, so it won't be a loft but will have all the other stellar "green" amenities.  The fourth home is 380 sq ft.

Kyndra and I left our meeting with her SO intrigued.  We spent the whole rest of that day wondering if we could put together the money to buy a place like this.  It's the kind of thing we would want to keep forever, we're sure.  We know it's not for everyone, but for us - right now - it seemed like such a cool opportunity to simplify, live differently, and in many ways, practice what we preach.

But we couldn't put together how to buy a home as we move there without jobs.  We called and left a message saying "we love your project, we'd be interested in renting, let us know if it's an option." We didn't think it was an option - Kelly told us how she owned many properties and wanted more and more to help people OWN homes.  She spoke about how that fostered good responsibility and a "sense of place" for people to take care of where they live.  (Okay, now she was speaking the exact language of the grad degree I'll be going for - we are SO in!)  BUT, she mentioned that if they rented one it would be the one with the bedroom nook on the back.  Then we said that's the one we would want - our dogs couldn't make it up those ladders in the lofts anyway.  Then she said it wouldn't be ready for another 45 days.  Then we smiled and said, "okay, where do we sign?"

What had started with some worry (that we couldn't find anything on this trip and we'd have to come back in May and then finally in June) ended with us meeting a great lady, finding a spectacular place, and putting a deposit down on a green home that will be ready for us just as we arrive in June.  Wow. 

Other than that, we hung out at our casino and also enjoyed some day trips to Pyramid Lake (30mins north) and Lake Tahoe.  We are stoked about the great fun that surrounds us in Reno, and that surrounds the town itself.  We'll include details on all that in the years to come :)

Now, some pics.  All of which are HERE ON FLICKR.

White Thanksgiving in Review

by Kyndra

We headed west this year for an O’Reilly Thanksgiving in Ruidoso, NM. We left in our T-shirts and shorts and by the time we had to fill up with gas in Abilene … the winter cold had rolled in and we were shivering fools.
We woke up on Thanksgiving morning to SNOW … and it pretty much SNOWED the rest of the time we were there and stayed under 30 degrees!

Photo Album here!

While we were there:

• We stayed in a cabin nestled among tall pine trees covered in inches of snow. It looked like a magical wintry wonderland to us Texans who are thrilled to see the weather actually get down to 50 degrees in December.

• We ate a vegetarian Thanksgiving lunch … let’s just say the new item – succotash – did not turn out as we hoped. But the sweet potatoes made up for it – BIG time!!

• We drove some scenic roads up a nearby mountain and took in the beautiful sites of snow-dusted pine trees and a glassy, snowy lake.  -video here-

• We played Apples to Apples … and Dad O won the whole thing with the Anne Frank card.

• We ritually spent the last half hour before bedtime every night in the deck hot tub with Brendo. One evening, it was snowing when we got in … and it felt like little needles poking our exposed shoulders.

• Off to Starbucks for coffee and internet.

• Walked the snowy main street of Ruidoso one evening. It was lit up with Christmas lights and restaurant signs. The smell of wood burning from fireplaces and food cooking in restaurants filled the cold air.

• We slid down the hill to our cabin …no not on the back of trashcan lids … in our car going backwards because the road was too steep and too icy and Shaun’s car is just a little too old – ‘95 Accord. Kyndra jumped out and walked the rest of the way up, leaving Shaun to try, try, try again.

• Football.

• Kyndra retreated to the downstairs room to write her research paper for Autism class.

• We watched ELF, the GREATEST Christmas movie EVER!

• The ride home:

            3 hours of beautiful New Mexican landscape, still and covered with the heavy snow
            3 hours of snow storm from the NM and TX border to Abilene
            2 hours of rain as we passed through Abilene
            4 hours of traffic ushering us right into Ft. Worth
            30 minutes of fast moving roads and clear weather to bring us on the final stretch to our home

Happy 4th of July!

our South Carolina vacation

Texas to South Carolina: An Account of Our Excursions to Myrtle Beach and Back

We left Dallas on Thursday in a torrent of rain with a backseat tagalong – Brendon O’Reilly.  We jumped right into traffic on 635, a thrilling way to start off vacation!

Our first night, we stayed over in Little Rock to make the 11 hour drive to Nashville seem not as long.  Somehow all the hotels in Little Rock were full except for the smoking rooms, which Kyndra was highly opposed to because of her allergies.  With nothing left to choose, we obliged to the cigarette burned sheets and stayed for the night.  A vague hint of smoke still lingers on our PJ’s from that night.

The morning was better with a yummy breakfast at Cracker Barrel.  We were off to Nashville trying to get the first generation iPod iTrip to work.  The problem with this grandpa-version is that it requires a completely blank radio signal for the iPod music to take over the car radio.  Each time you think you have a good signal, the sound becomes static within 5 minutes as the radio evangelist breaks into your Laura Veirs’ song.  We resorted to the CD’s we had with us ...  Tunes for the trip were:  The Weepies, some Rascal Flatts, DIDO, a little James Taylor, and the newer poignant Grammy award-winning, Dixie Chicks album.   The music passed the time and before we knew it, we arrived.  Brendon was in a whirl of cell phone calling in the backseat as he tried to locate where his vacation-ready friends wanted him to meet as they had shifted from location to location.  After lots of texts and talking, we dropped Brendo off at Chris Mazure’s apartment and bid him farewell and a goodtime to his Alabama beach destination. 

We went on to Hendersonville, just north of Nashville, to stay with Kyndra’s aunt and uncle and cousins for a few days.  We enjoyed our time visiting with them, as always, along with great (really great) food, video-game playing (Guitar Hero), movie-going, and just hanging out. 

By now, it was Sunday morning, and we were on the road again for our vacation destination: Myrtle Beach, SC.  The drive from Nashville to Knoxville and through the North and South Carolinas is BEAUTIFUL – tall trees, wide rivers, rolling mountains, and blue sky.

About 10:30pm EST, we had made it to Myrtle Beach onto a road called 17, just near the ocean, and one that would thoroughly confuse us for the rest of the trip!  As we drove through the streets, we saw plenty of marquis signs scripted with “WELCOME BIKERS!”   Somehow we were on the biker vacation schedule, now two years in a row.  Last year in Daytona Beach, we found that the bikers were actually not as annoying as we thought they’d be, so we were open to the experience once again … until we continued driving down Highway 17.
Our place was on Highway 17 & 17th avenue.  When we got to that intersection, it was just craziness all around.  There were TONS of people walking around, traffic terribly slow, and bikers zig-zaging inbetween all the action.  The other stark truth about the area was that there people all around us were 98% African-Americans – and they were all having the time of their lives!  ☺  I don’t quite know how else to put it, except to say that we were the only white people we could see, and the scene was a little barbaric.  People were walking all around our car, everyone’s blaring music and dancing in the street, guys are whistling and grabbing girls everywhere we look, and the girl on the back of the bike that just zoomed in front of us is wearing nothing but a thong!  Where are we???

After two hours, on the phone with Kyndra’s sister (on mapquest for us) and with a travel club helper-guy, we find out that our place is at a different Highway 17 & 17th avenue intersection, 12 miles down the road.  All in all, there were at least four different 17th avenues!  Our final destination was far away from the scene we drove in to.

Later in the week we found out that the week before had been “Black Biker Week,” and that the Sunday night before Memorial day was the biggest celebration night down there.  Glad we got to be a part of it!

Well, after that first night, things really settled in and went great.  We spent days just out at the beach outside our little condo-deal.  We drove around and saw some really cool spots around Murrells Inlet.  We went to a preserved plantation acreage, with a huge sculpture garden in the midst of flower and tree gardens.  Brookgreen gardens was a paradise for us on the trip! 
Another day, we went in to Huntington Beach State Park – and hung out on the beach and the jetty  there.  It was quiet and serene; we read books and got burned – a great vacation! 
I finished McKibben's Deep Economy and Kyndra read most of Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down.  We both also read Taylor's Leaving Church - most of it read aloud by Kyndra while I drove.  (Reviews are forthcoming.)

Then, on Saturday morning we took off for Nashville again, stopping in Knoxville to have dinner with friends there.  Ted & Tracie and family showed us a cool burrito place and we just caught up with each other for an hour and a half.  It was great!  But we had to keep moving on.
We spent the night in Nashville again, and then shot home today.  We’re delighted to be back after some good rest, to hang out with our dogs and be in our apartment.  And yet, school and work are calling us in the morning!  Hooray for life!!
And, hello summer.

Our Pictures are here on flickr!

peace,
-shaun & kyndra         

Oliver's morning

He just layed around, trying to stay in the sun.  But he inspired me to take pictures of him.  We enjoy this creature a lot!!  :)  - Neighborly Oliver.

     Kyndra loves these lips!

Wheaton & Emergent conference tour 2

quick update on what the travel crew has been up to ... things enjoyed along the way from my last post:

-great drive through (surprisingly) beautiful Ohio.  Lake Erie was cool
-into Pennsylvania, fresh forests and plenty of rolling land, called the "wilds"
-stopped at Farrell's (old IBC friends) for the night in Allentown - GREAT name for a town!
-drove into downtown Philly, saw Independence Hall & the Liberty Bell for a bit
-drove back out to Eastern University - in towns outside Philly.  These towns are amazing - old character, good friendly people.
-checked in at a Holiday Inn Express - too cold and snowy to camp
-went to the opening night session of the Emergent Conversation.  GREAT time.  Jack Caputo and Richard Kearney did a two hour introduction to the arch of philosophy, from Plato to Derrida. 

This set the stage for the coming conversations.  And, we all loved the time.  It flew by; we could have been there for two more hours.
-to a pub to hang and detox the presentation with others at the conference.

Pics on flickr.
Now, new day, we go to the next session.

more later.  Peace.