So while we wait, here's a very quick recap:
After our Middle Fork of the Salmon trip (see the previous post), Mark headed off for the Netherlands to help organize and run, as well as do the media for, the four-person raft championships. You can read all about it at internationalrafting.com. This site is also what has been keeping Mark busy this summer, as it is his job to keep it (and the IRF Facebook page) up to date and full of interesting info for boaters and nonboaters alike.
While Mark was off in the Netherlands, I hopped on a plane for a fantastic two-week trip to Connecticut, New Jersey, and North Carolina. After being pampered with mom at a local spa, we stopped off with Dad to see the Darling clan on Green Pond. Relaxing cruises on the lake, a fun night at the Seven Sisters, and always love and laughter made up for the fact that it was a much-too-short visit. Then Mom, Dad, and I headed south for the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where we met up with the Tuthills, our family friends from my earliest days of life, and the Studebaker gang. The house was right on the beach, but also had a pool. Our days were filled with more laughter, lots of swimming, and a whole bunch of relaxing (not to mention a heck of a lot of eating and drinking). Thanks so much to the Tuthills for making it all possible.
I returned to Mark here in Boise, where we have filled up our days with garden projects, more boating, lots of barbecues, the Tour de Fat, the Western Idaho Fair, a hot air balloon festival, pool parties, a bunch of mountain biking, and even a little Willie Nelson at the Botanical Gardens. In between all that, Mark took a job as a polysomnographic technologist at a sleep lab. An entirely new venture for him that he is finding incredibly interesting, even if it isn't his dream job (no pun intended).
And once the chicken and egg issue is sorted, we will be going full circle this summer, returning to Portland to pick up a bench that Mark's folks bought for us last time we were there. In addition to visiting the city again, we will also be camping on the coast for a couple nights to get in some more ocean time!
And now for your viewing pleasure, photos from our summer, in no particular order and without any labels, as the chicken problem has been solved (unfortunately without a very happy ending for either the chicken or the egg) and we are about to head out the door.
