Sunriver 09

Ali and I are finishing up our vacation at Sunriver with her family and what a restful time it's been! We've enjoyed the typical stay here with much biking, swimming, reading, eating and playing games. I learned how to play bridge last night but can't for the life of me fathom why there would be a game where one person doesn't get to play each round?!!! I don't think bridge is for me; I'll stick with whist.

I haven't snapped too many photos but the sky and deer have been fun to shoot. Here are a few of my favorites.

Las Vegas Photos

We made it home safe and are sad that vacation is over. Here's a small sampling of the photos we took on our trip. To see the pictures in their full size glory, go here: http://picasaweb.google.com/aarongeist/LasVegas.

Cannon Beach with the Fam.

A couple of weekends ago, my dad invited us kids and our spouses for a weekend at Cannon Beach. If you’ve never been there, you should go. It is one of the most beautiful places on the Oregon Coast.

Now that we’re all adult children, we have different schedules making us unavailable for the entire weekend, so Ali and I stayed Friday Saturday, Annie came down Saturday and stayed through Monday along with AJ and Matt who cam down Sunday. Whew. Too much information, I know.

Ali, Dad and I enjoyed a round of Square 9, a game my Grandma taught us, reading, and watching movies that night. Saturday was beautiful and sunny—surprising for the beach in November!

Below are some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

Square 9


Seagull in Flight by the Needles


Ali & I


Phoon at Haystack Rock


The Boats at Newport - Dan Geist


Driftwood - Dan Geist

Last of the vacation

So its a couple of weeks after the vacation is over, but it has been quite busy, including a bit of a Summer cold. Back to Missoula, during the wedding reception, I walked outside and saw this wonderful sunset. I couldn't believe the lighting!

Here are Ali and I at the wedding. She looked wonderful. :) The reception featured a wonderful dinner and then hours of dancing lasting until midnight.

Finally, after three days in Montana, it was time to head home. Being our second anniversary, we didn't want to spend the day driving eight-and-a-half hours home. So we decided to drive the three hours back to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and spend the night there. It's a small resort town on a beautiful lake just a half-hour outside of Spokane. It was a cloudy day, but we didn't mind. After walking through town and down by the lake, we decided to spend some needed time for rest in the hotel room. They had a CSI and Law & Order marathon on cable, so we enjoyed episodes and naps.

The next day was sunny and beautiful. We ran into Stacey—the bride—and then went on our way back home. Thanks to Alison, I think we've finally cleaned up from our trip and the house is just about back in order.

I am very happy to have been married to Ali for two years, and I know that we've got many more years together. Happy Anniversary hon.

Check out all of our trip pictures here

Missoula

Big Sky - Day 2, The "M"

Yesterday I hiked the "M." The M is about 670 ft. or half way up Mt. Sentinel, and sits right above the University of Montana. What a nice hike. The trail zig-zags back and forth until you reach the giant concrete "M." From up top, you get to look out at all the beautiful mountains and the valley below.

This photo here was taken from atop the "M." You can see the football team showing off their new members down below as I-90 stretches away in the right.

After spending much of the day on my own hiking, hunting for the local Starbucks and reading, Ali and I went to the rehearsal dinner. After what I thought was a very quick rehearsal—mine seemed long—We headed for a very nice restaurant next to a golf course up on another hill overlooking Missoula. Besides the great views, dinner was amazing; I had the prime rib and Ali had the seared Ahi tuna. Yum! Here we are eating with some bridesmaids and other guests.

Pictured here are DeeDee, Alison, Jill (sister of the bride), Stacey (the bride), and Cameron (not her baby). Ali, DeeDee, Stacey and Cameron were college roommates and great friends.

Ah, Sunset. After the dinner ended, many of us, including both sets of parents, met up at a local pub for more celebration. It was a great day and if you have the chance to see the landscape of Big Sky country, you really must. Well, I've got a couple of hours and then I need to get ready for the wedding myself. I'm off for some more reading.

Big Sky - Day 1

Greetings! I am writing you from my hotel room in Missoula, Montana...Big Sky Country! That picture was just some of what takes up space in the big sky.

After 4 states and about 9 hours, Ali and I arrived in Missoula for a wedding in which she is a bridesmaid. The wedding is on Sunday so we'll be here for a few days. Since our 2 year anniversary is on Monday, we're taking a slower journey home and stopping in Couer d'Alene, Idaho for a night.

So far it has been a great trip. The Colombia Gorge is as always wonderful. Eastern Washington reminded me of driving down I-5 in California—brown empty fields for miles. Idaho and Montana are green and mountainous and I can't wait to get back to the lake at Couer d'Alene. One of the best parts is driving 80 and only going 5 over the limit! :)