Pickleball Tournament at Sun City

Rich and Donna invited us to another Pickleball Tournament in Sun City. So we got up very early this morning and headed over there. I saw some familiar faces from last year and many new ones. From our Thousand Trails group there was Rich, Donna, Stan, Sally, Buddy, Tracy and Nathan, Austin and I.



The courts here are very nicely done so they are easy to play on. We did have some wind and sun, but not so much so that we couldn't play. I saw a lot of really good games played today.



And now, a moment to pause and brag on the boy. Whenever we are in these type of settings, I am always so impressed with how he handles himself. He was the only person under 40 playing and yet he acted as respectably and maturely as most of the adults there. He's pretty cute too!

Ok, back to the tournament! There were games for men and women's doubles in the morning. Mixed doubles in the afternoon. A bunch of people left after the morning games. Some without letting anyone know. So that switched things up in the afternoon. They did a great job of still making it a lot of fun and working out so those of us who stayed had fun.



I'm so glad we did go, and we are already making plans for the next one in February!



living the life in sunny Florida!

Trumpets of Color

Trumpets of Color, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

The 'Grandpa Ott' morning glories are going through a second bloom period. There were over 50 flowers on the plants today!

The 'Heavenly Blue' vines are not blooming much yet, but there are a lot of flower buds...

Up Close

You can see the white truck and trailer which gives a good idea just how big hot air balloons are. Balloon crews use a pickup or SUV with a trailer to haul their balloon and gandola around. Once the balloon is up and away the truck tries to follow the balloon from the ground. Of couse they use cell phones and 2 way radios to help keep track of the balloon. Some balloon owners bring their own chase crew, as the people who follow the balloon are called but some don't and the Balloon Fiesta is always in need of people to work on the chase crews.

Looking out to Sea

Prosecco and Summer Darkness in Utrecht

It is never too late to post what I did last weekend. Well, Saturday and Sunday I pretty much did what the doctor prescribed—do nothing and relax. But Friday evening I went out with Blondine for some drinks and people watching at Zussen Lobby Restaurant in Janskerkhof, Utrecht.

We had coffee and then prosecco. I had white and she had rose. Then we ordered another round, both rose. Then it rained. Summer ended for a while. Then it was dry again.

It was the perfect evening to people watch in Utrecht. Because it’s the yearly ‘Summer Darkness’ festival, a 3-day/night gothic-cosplay event held at the Dom. The city’s ambience was something like god threw out a huge party and invited all his friends from heaven and hell. We even saw the devil and his army of bats. Naturally, Blondine and I stayed glued to our seats as we relish the outstanding passing scenery before us. We had fun watching!

I was not able to take pictures of the great costumes because I was busy talking but I managed to take 1!

Our plan after the drinks was really to check out this ‘Summer Darkness’ event at the Dom but then bad luck came in the form of rain. It rained, and rained and rained. Continuously. No chance.

And midnight was fast approaching. These princesses need to go home and sleep and be tuck in bed so time to call the trusted and loyal prince charming Dutchman on his white horse (black car actually haha) to rescue the damsels in distress from the pouring rain.

Visit Period: July
Destination: Utrecht, The Netherlands

All things Rainier...

More information about the climbing routes and access to them is starting to pour in from our vast network of contributors (you could be one too)... And from the latest reports, getting up and down the Glacier Basin trail won't be so easy this year. Today, the NPS trail-crew leader said, "My initial impressions, given the several feet of snow, is that the route will be impassable to most people and will likely require the full replacement of about one mile of trail." There's more on the Glacier Basin trail in the Updated Route Conditions.

The Seattle PI (in the Getaway Section) did a nice feature on spring access to Mt Rainier. The story covers what's happening, safety, and what visitors may expect once the park reopens. But the best part of the story is that they managed to tag this blog as "all things Rainier." Nice!

Last week, I revisited Camp Muir for the first time in three months. Things there seemed as normal as ever when it comes to spring access... However, things will be different this summer with the new guide services on the mountain. The most notable change will be that the NPS ranger station is moving to the Cook Shack (which is much more centrally located in camp). Also worth noting are the changes to what guide service will be operating out of what facility... AND that there will be a few new weatherports at Camp Muir... When the dust settles on the plan, I'll post more information. In the meantime, the reservation office has been quite busy churning out permits. If you've submitted a climbing reservation, there is a good chance that your confirmation is already in the mail. Pictured right is Seattle Times photogragher Erika Shultz, image by Mike Gauthier.

In other mountaineering news, Phil Ershler (longtime guide for International Mountain Guides) and his wife Susan recently released a book about their quest for the seven summits. In 2002, they became the first known couple to complete the circuit. The Seattle PI did a really nice piece about them, and some of the trials and tribulations, that went on behind the scenes.

Center for Great Apes Tour

When we were doing volunteer work for Reach the World, I wrote about a sanctuary that is nearby that houses a famous chimp. Michael Jackson's chimp, Bubbles, lives there now. The kids really got a kick out of that and asked me lots of questions about him. Unfortunately at the time, I couldn't really answer because I hadn't been to the place he lived so I couldn't tell them.



This past week that changed because we not only visited his home, we saw him in person and saw he is doing well. I can't even describe how excited I was to visit where he does live, The Center for Great Apes. It is very close by where we are this winter, but because it is not open to the public, you would never know it was there. It is very discrete and on land that allows a beautiful place for the animals to live in a peaceful environment.



The center was started when it's founder agreed to take in an orangutan and it grew from there. You can read the story here: History of the Center for Great Apes. In short, it is now a sanctuary for orangutans and chimpanzees.



We had a very small group with us from Thousand Trails that went for a private tour. We rode over with new pickleball friends, Garth and Rosemary. Since our group was so small, it made the visit feel very intimate.



We were allowed to take pictures, but they asked that we not share them on the internet so I won't post them here.



I can share that this was one of my top favorite things to do since we hit the road full time. It was so much better than I ever expected. So many times when we visit places where animals are housed, I have conflicting emotions. I am glad they are safe, but at times it doesn't seem to be a way of life that I'd think is truly enjoyable for an animal. That was not the case here at all. This was the most impressive sanctuary we have ever visited as far as the thoughtfulness they put into the environment for the animals.



On top of all that, we were able to get much closer to the animals than I had expected. So close that it was overwhelming to me at times, because of the emotions that welled up inside of me. I didn't even edit my pictures for a few days because of the swell of emotions that I was still feeling from the visit. If you are in the area, get a group together and GO visit this place! You won't regret it!



We have been enjoying gorgeous weather here this winter which makes things like this even more enjoyable. Living the life in Sunny Florida!