Those Crafty Gringos???

I know several of you may be asking that question - why "those crafty gringos"? Well, without letting too many details become public, that's the name of the cafe that we are going to open someday! The idea came during our travels in South America, not sure when exactly, but it was probably over a beer in some small town while we were contemplating what to do with the rest of our lives. I've always secretly wanted to own some kind of health food store/sandwich shop, and Steve apparently shares the same interest. We have a whole list of imperatives for the cafe written in our South America journal: comfy couches, maps on the walls, a book exchange area, local produce (preferrably from the small organic farm we'll also be operating), local art features, breakfast served all day, tie-dye employee tee-shirts, a menu that reflects the changing seasons, no styrofoam, real milkshakes and smoothies, fresh homemade bread, swings on a front patio, daily quote/saying, community events in the evening.......the list is quite long. The name for our cafe came about while taking a local ferry in southern Chile. We were the only gringos on the three day-two night excursion, and Steve occupied his time mending his Carhartts while I attempted to knit a scarf. We were crafty gringos!

Four Day Weekend!!!

We took a four day weekend, and decided to go to Valdez and spend some time in the mountains. Abby's parents were away in Cordova for the weekend, watching her little brother Zak attempt to reach the State Basketball Tourney (sadly, they lost the final game by 3 points), so we decided to bring a travelling party. The weather has been windy, windy, windy for the past month and a half, with bluebird skies but no snow. We were hoping for mountains of powder, but unfortunately it had all blown away. Regardless, the trip was great, and we were able to enjoy the killer views all weekend.

Looking south at Valdez Arm from high on the valley wall of Mineral Creek.

Touring behind Sugarloaf Mountain, across the bay from Valdez.

Gearing up to climb Gunsight Mountain in some undiscovered powder.

Enjoying the views of the Chugach Mountains while skinning up Gunsight Mountain.

Abby the TeleBabe, shredding!

Meet the Rideouts!

The Rideouts are a fabulously beautiful, wonderfully adventurous couple who would like to share their extraordinairily exciting lives with you. Join them as they wrestle tigers in the wilds of Borneo; as they slay dragons in hidden parts of Europe; as they search for the fabled Holy Grai- Well, they like to travel and explore a lot, and a blog is great way to share those adventures with everyone, so be sure to check back often! Next trip? Just today, I purchased our flights from Anchorage (our home) to Toronto (Stephen's old home) to Istanbul (Stephen's aunt's current home) to Delhi (a good place to jump off on a 5 month adventure) back to Toronto and finally returning to Alaska a day after Abby's supposed to start nursing school. Oh well, you never really learn anything important on the first day of class, do you? We leave Anchorage for Canadia on May 4th, just as Alaskan summer is ramping up (believe me, more than a single tear has been shed over that one already...), and it's off to Turkey May 12th. We'll be back home on January 7th, which concidentally enough, aside from being Abby's nursing school start date, is also Stephen's 31st birthday. So, lots to look forward to, and in the meantime, it will be nothing but work, work, work so we can afford to live like peasants for 7 months abroad.

I'm getting very excited.