Happy Solstice!

Happy belated solstice to everyone! Just remember, it is all downhill from here ;)

Getting Dirty!
To celebrate, Tara, Loren and I took our mountain bikes out on the trails after I got out of work. As a roadie, let me tell you how awesome it is to ride in the dirt! There are all these incredible dirt paths through Anchorage -- Loren and Tara are lucky enough to live practically on top of them. They were also patient as I learned how to use my new bike (which is AWESOME). We rode all the way up to Hillside and back, avoiding the Service bear with three cubs by singing "Bear Necessities".

The Lady with the Mystic Smile?
While getting a pie for dinner, The cashier at the grocery store told me that I looked just like the Mona Lisa. I have been mistaken for John Lennon numerous times, so that was quite a step up for me.

Solstice Fun!
Tara and Loren very gracious in inviting me to a little cookout at their place on Lake Hood. Lake Hood, for those of you who don't know, is the world's busiest seaplane base. What a beautiful spot their plane is in!

We had a wonderful dinner of chicken, zucchini, and (sweet) corn on the cob. It was really neat to be around great friends and wonderful conversation while you are watching ducks and planes go by!

After dinner, Loren was nice enough to take me up in his plane. It's pretty incredible to see the world from that perspective. It's very hard to describe how beautiful things are. The lakes were calm enough that you could actually see the sky reflected in them, the trees and plantlife were the greenest of green, and when the sun hit the water, the water turned a beautiful pink.

By the time we got done and had pie, it was 10pm. After work and all the excitement of the day, I pretty much collapsed to sleep as soon as I stepped into the house. Anyways, for sure this was a great day!