April & Ehrin

Man Trip, Day #3

2008-05-13T17:54:00.000-04:00

It was finally time to face our worst fears -- were any of us actually up to biking Slickrock, the most famous of all mountain biking trails? As we remarked on the ride -- it's a nice hiking trail. And as another great philosopher once remarked, a man's got to know his limitations.

Man Trip, Day #2

2008-05-12T17:46:00.000-04:00

After an evening of some beer and hackysack (it turns out thay on't go together so well), we got up early for a day of canyoneering. Our guid, Scott, took us through two canyons. The first was a dry canyon that featured some scrambling, bits of climbing, hidden arches, and some nice rappels.

The second canyon necessitated wetsuits. Most of the holes were shallow enough for wading, but the last one was deep enough to require swimming, and the water was cold!

Man Trip, Day #1

2008-05-11T17:37:00.001-04:00

The inaugral man trip - a chance to relive high school, but with beer and cash for expensive adventure endeavors. As Jake said, "why did it take us thirteen years to organize this?"

We started the day off with some extensive driving from Denver to Moab. Actually, Jake drove while Ehrin and Nardo took turns sleeping. But onc we awoke, the power of Monster energy drink, a Nuclear concoction, and dill pickle chips fueled us all the way to Moab, aka the greatest place to mountain bike on earth.

But mountain biking had to wait until the last day - the inaugral activity was to rent a 4x4 Jepp Rubicon that was, thankfully, trail rated. And boy, we needed some serious trail rating. Jak swears he didn't pee his pants, but i'm not so sure.

Santa Cruz Boardwalk

2008-05-04T23:18:00.000-04:00

We spent the ultimate cheesy Sunday on the Santa Cruz boardwalk. Activities included bumper cars, two haunted houses (on was MUCH scarier than the other), Dance Dance Revolution, and Crazy Taxi.

Tandem Biking in SF

2008-05-01T23:16:00.000-04:00

Who says San Francisco is foggy? We had perfect weather the whole time we were there. We'll see if it's still sunny when we move there in a few months...

Marshall Gold Discovery Park

2008-04-29T23:13:00.000-04:00

April had a day off in Sacramento, so we went eastwards to the Marshall Gold Discovery Park, where James Marshal discovered gold in 1847. April expertly re-entacted the scene at the exact site of discovery, and then held James Marshall in her hand as well. It was a beautiful day trip, and even included some real life prospectors.

Sacramento Bike Ride

2008-04-28T23:05:00.001-04:00

We visited Sacramento for three days, where April did serious job-related work, and Ehrin goofed off. On Monday, Ehrin rented a road bike in Folsom and then cycle the course of the California International Marathon -- and back. It was an exhausting 52 miles, but the chocolate shake at the end tasted really good. Note that this photo was a self-portrait.

Cliff House Brunch

2008-04-27T23:03:00.001-04:00

We met up with Ehrin's mom and Emma on Sunday morning for a spectacular brunch at the cliff house - the views were the most amazing of any restaurant we have been to, and the food was a work of highly edible art.

Belvedere House

2008-04-26T22:55:00.000-04:00

We started our trip to San Francisco by staying at Belvedere House, a bed and breakfast in Ashbury Heights. We were initially skeptical about staying in a B&B, but quickly warmed to this new home away from home. The rooms were cozy, the views spectacular (a direct view of Golden Gate bridge), and the kitchen was continuously stocked with yummy food. We highly recommend it to anyone interested in a B&B.

Boston Marathon Weekend

2008-04-20T00:25:00.000-04:00

After all those miles (over 4,000 at last count), it was time to run the Boston Marathon. It was an entire weekend of running, from the Saturday expo to Sunday's Women's Olympic Marathon trials, to the actual running. In the end, Ehrin finished in 2:41:45, a good ten minutes in front of his quite-distant relative (?), Lance.

Eastern States 20 miler

2008-03-30T00:04:00.000-04:00

The last training race before the big one: the eastern states 20 miler starts in Kittery, Maine and ends in Salisbury, MA. About 18 miles of the race is in NH. Most of the members of Norton Team Endurance showed up - Ehrin, Ramiro, Marcela, and Ted. It was a chilly day, but sunny enough that Ehrin actually got sunburned on his nose.

Amy's Birthday

2008-03-28T00:18:00.001-04:00

We went down to D.C. for Amy's birthday, and had a blast! On the night of our arrival, we had another fresh seafood feast, featuring raw clams and oysters. On Friday night, we went out to a hip lounge with a live band. The lead singer was named "Snake," and he happily sand an impassioned "Happy Birthday" to Amy. On Saturday, we went out to a Korean buffet, then toured the cherry blossoms of downtown D.C. and the annual kite flying festival. Quite a weekend!

Our Remodeled Home

2008-03-17T18:00:00.002-04:00

We remodeled our house almost a year ago, but we neglected to take any real photos of our house since then, mainly due to creeping clutter. Since we're moving soon, we thought we should document our home in Boston, and also take some nice photos for rental purposes. So, if you know anyone moving to Boston who would like to rent a spacious 2 bedroom in Cleveland Circle, let us know!

Boston Celtics

2008-03-14T18:13:00.001-04:00

Ehrin's dad and stepmother came down from Maine for the past weekend to watch a Celtics game. After years of disappointing play, the Celtics have suddenly become the number one team in the NBA -- the team to beat! And they were beat, unfortunately, on the one night we went to see them play the Utah Jazz, snapping a 10 game winning streak...just our luck. It was a fun time nonetheless.

Hyannis Half Marathon

2008-02-24T18:03:00.003-05:00

Ehrin ran the hyannis half marathon in mid-February, just one week after running the Martha's Vineyard 20-miler. Needless to say, his legs were less than well rested, but he still managed to chug away at 1:19:24. April took a great set of action shots at the end!

Frostbite 15KM

2008-01-20T12:13:00.000-05:00

Ehrin ran the Frostbite 15K this past Sunday. Nice course - 20 degrees, biting winds. He finished in 52:29, for a pace of 5:59/mile -- first race under 6:00/mile!

Dim Sum

2008-01-05T12:11:00.000-05:00

DC tourists

2008-01-04T12:09:00.000-05:00

Seafood Feast

2008-01-03T12:08:00.000-05:00

After a day of culture in Asheville, NC, we spent the day driving to DC to visit April's sister Amy. On the way, April developed a seafood urge, so we stopped at Red Lobster in Roanoke, VA. It was Ehrin's first visit to Red Lobster, and the food was surprisingly good.

On our arrival, Amy had a HUGE seafood feast prepared for us!

Emergency Evacuation

2008-01-02T12:07:00.000-05:00

Tuesday night was cold! Everything was okay with clothes on and burrowed into the sleeping bags, but as soon as our faces peeked out, skin started to freeze - it was definitely less than zero degrees. When we opened the tent, we were surprised to see snow covering our campsite -- so much for our warm hiking trip.

After packing up and driving out through miles of slippery roads, we returned to civilization in a big way -- to the Biltmore estate.

Living the Simple Life

2008-01-01T12:06:00.000-05:00

The wonderful thing about hiking and campng is that it makes you appreciate the simple things in life -- we spent a few hours of the day just collecting firewood, in an attempt to stay warm for the night. In between scrounding for wood and cooking food, we had a chance to enjoy another hike, but it was getting a lot colder out -- so cold that cut off our lunch early in order to keep on moving.

New Year's Eve in Pisgah National Forest

2007-12-31T12:05:00.000-05:00

We finally made it to Pisgah and set up camp. We enjoyed a nice hike with the doggies, who definitely enjoyed the chance to tromp around off-eash for a change.

For nw year's eve, we set up a feast of rissotto and champagne -- yummy! We fell asleep around 9 pm, I think.

Road Trip - Virigina roads

2007-12-30T12:03:00.000-05:00

We spent most of Sunday driving through Virginia -- it's a large state!

Road Trip!

2007-12-29T12:02:00.000-05:00

During the week of New Years, we decided to set out on a winter road trip in search of warm places to go hiking with the doggies. Our goal: Pisgah National Forest in western North Carolina. We didn't get started until mid-day Saturday, but figured we'd try to get as far as possible the first day. In an attempt to limit doggie carsickness, we let the dogs sit in the back seat - they seemed to enjoy looking out.
At 8 pm, we realized the patiots were playing the giants. As loyal pats fans, we sought out the first bar we could find. Our gps system led us to the "end zone" bar, in Richland Pennsylvania. Long story short, there was one patrn in the bar, and he was watching a penn state football game. We watched the pats on a corner television with Spanish subtitles.

Seascoast Half Marathon

2007-11-11T20:23:00.000-05:00

We travelled to New Hampshire recently and Ehrin competed in the Seacoast Half marathon. It was a good sized race, with 1200 people shoing up on a frigid Sunday morning. Ehrin went out with the lead pack and way too fast for the first few miles, because he was excited to chase the pace car. It became clear by mile 10 that this pace was not sustainable, and he slowed down the last few miles. Still, it was a good showing and a 5 minute improvement on his previous 1/2 marathon best.