Liz writing: Hello faithful followers. If you are getting this email notice, then bravo for keeping your preferences for over two years! A lot has happened since arriving in Missouri, and Mark and I are going to start chronicling the more mundane aspects of our now domestic life. In May we married with many of our family and friends to help celebrate. In June, on our way back from our fabulous Hawaii honeymoon, I convinced Mark that it was FINALLY time to get a dog. Mark relented with the stipulation that we needed to have a back yard. That may have been a stall tactic, but much to his surprise, I used that against him. Our lease was up in August and thought, well maybe we should begin looking for a house. Within a month with ... read more

I imagine two initial reactions people may have upon finding out Mark and Liz created a new blog entry: "Finally! Those other blogs I've been reading are terribly unsatisfying" or "Ugh, I thought the west coast swallowed them whole." Truth is, the battery charger to my camera may as well have been swallowed by the Pacific. Instead it was forgotten (by me, oops!) during a stay with Liz's good friend Cassi. The charger is back and now so are the blogs. Up until a week ago Liz and I were living in Harrisonville, MO which is about 30 miles south of the Kansas City. We are now officially into our own apartment in the city which we are extremely excited about. Once the apartment is set up we'll post a blog about the move including photos ... read more

Liz blogging: Ok, people, we've gone a bit of a distance since leaving mid-day last week from Jackson. So far we've stayed in Boise, Id; Portland, Or; Garberville, Ca; Oakland, CA; and are currently in San Simeon, Ca. We're having a fabulous time, and have enjoyed visiting with various friends and family members. Highlights include: Biking and hiking in Portland, eating great food in Portland, visiting the Tilamook creamery, hiking along the Oregon coastal range, driving through Redwoods, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, buying pearls in Chinatown, watching sea otters munch on their lunch, and driving PCH 1 through Big Sur. Black Betty is still chugging along albeit very packed. Today we leave San Simeon for L.A. where we will stay a day with a high school friend of mine, hop down to Long Beach for ... read more

Mark and then Liz posting: It is hard to believe that Liz and I have been in Jackson for nearly four months already. And despite the fact that winter never truly arrived, we have had made the most of the weather that was given to us. I was surprised to find out that Jackson has received 300 inches of snow so far this year and that is 60% of what could typically be expected at this point in the season. It does not seem as though there has been that much snow because those totals are measured higher up in the mountains - and for one reason or another there has been very little accumulation at the base. Still Liz and I have used our ski passes at Snow King a couple dozen times which has ... read more

Since moving to Jackson I have skied almost a dozen times. That is quite a bit considering that, prior to December, the last time I found myself enjoying the thrills of speeding down a hill on two planks of wood and carbon fiber was approximately 8.5 million minutes earlier in my lifetime. To put that in perspective, let me be an accountant for a moment and break it down for you. That's 140,160 hours, 5,840 days or 16 long years - more than half my lifetime. It amazes me to think that the beginning of my hiatus came following a ski trip during winter break of eighth grade, most likely December 1993 or January 1994, at 14 years old. I don't have any specific memories of that day but I do know I went to Wachusett ... read more