Mark got home long enough to unpack and repack, before heading off to Costa Rica for a week. As soon as he returned from that mini-adventure, he started an even bigger adventure, working as the Warehouse Operations Manager (aka the Director of GSD ... which stands for Get "Stuff" Done [I'm keeping this rated G]) for Spidertech Kinesiology Tape. If your wondering what that all means, just know that it's magic tape that makes your aches and pains go away. (Sorry to confuse you with all my high-tech scientific talk!) If you want to know more about it, ask my dad. He loves it. Or you could ask Mark, as he would be able to explain it more professionally than I apparently can.
Our summer was filled with barbecues, hikes, bikes, and even a raft trip or two ... and for me, a too-quick, but very fun, trip back to New Jersey/Connecticut/Massachusetts to see the family (during the big hurricane, of course).
Then in the fall, it was back to Costa Rica for what had to be one of the most difficult-to-put-on World Rafting Championships ever. I won't bore you with the details, but the "highlights" include two weeks of soggy, ant-infested tents, mildewy laundry, monster-sized moths and bugs in the bathrooms, cold showers, slippery-slope hikes down to the river, and a bunch of unappreciative athletes (not all of them, but the vocal minority were really annoying). But we survived, and now, after 10-plus years, Mark is officially retired from the International Rafting Federation. And it is their very serious loss.
Thanksgiving, my folks came out for a fabulous visit. We ate delicious food, tasted some incredible local wines, and had lots of laughs. I wish they (and the rest of our families) lived closer, so we could spend more quality time like that together.
Winter was very mild here. We did make it up to Sun Valley for a yurt trip for our 10-year (holy cow!) anniversary. But other than that, we've been hanging out in Boise, working on the house and having fun with friends.
No photos of the yurt trip. The camera was kaput, and our phone batteries died due to the cold. The few photos I did have (courtesy of our good friend Daphne Muehle, who just moved to Idaho), I proceeded to delete from my computer ... along with ALL of the rest of my photos. Oops!
Now spring is coming fast, and the rivers are rising. We already have two river trips planned for the summer, and possibly even a trip at the end of this month (brrrr!!). We also hope to get out to the East Coast and then to Australia. Unfortunately, this real job gig of Mark's is getting in the way of our usual fun travel times. It's tough being a grown-up!
We hope all is well with all of you and that we get to see a bunch of you sometime this year (come visit! Boise is wonderful!). And maybe we'll even write again sooner rather than later with another update (lucky you!).
Happy New Year!
