riverECHO

We drove to Shadow Mountain for the weekend for a little camping and bike riding. What we didn’t know is that we would be riding motorcycles. Tim, Mary Lynn, Shannon, Jimmy, Scott, Ian, and his two kids (Anne, 6, and Parker, 3) made up the crew. Tim, BJ and I went MOUNTAIN BIKE riding Saturday afternoon, and although we encountered quite a bit of snow on the first part of the trail, we were treated with wonderful single track, beautiful views of the Tetons, and a lucky window of sunshine for the rest of our ride. We spent most of the afternoon in and out of brief snow storms . . . in JUNE I might add. Then Ian showed up with the excitement. The bed of his truck filled with a Honda 450 and two 50s, for the 6 and 3 year old of course. Let the pictures tell the rest of the story. All I can add is that we can’t wait to make up the cheering section at Anne’s first race.

After leaving southern Utah, we made a quick stop on the western side of Vegas to take a shower at an RV park, and then drove directly to UCSB to visit my little sister, Anni, during her freshman year of college. Nothing like partying in the dorms again and needless to say, we only lasted one night. We hopped in the car the next morning and drove up Highway 1 towards Half Moon Bay where we would meet up with Tim and Mary Lynn. We camped at Half Moon Bay as it was the cheapest, not to mention beautiful, lodging to be found close to San Francisco. We spent the first evening on the beach, just footsteps from our camp, playing with our kite. While Tim and BJ attended a two day Google developers conference, and saw Flight of the Conchords live, in downtown SF, Mary Lynn and I poached wireless internet from various locations in the city. Our favorite was the W Hotel. They had great tea too. Not many photos from the big city, but I experienced a big day for my older sister, Shalyn. Just two days before turning 29 and three months before her wedding date, she became Jewish. I attended her Mikvah and naming ceremony. Her new Hebrew name . . . Gila Chaya or Joy Life. Coming from a very non-religious family, it has been really interesting to see it become a very important part of her life.  We made a quick trip up to Sonoma to visit my dad and Fran. And then, a fter a short evening with Eros and Jaime in Noe Valley and a layover in Tahoe visiting Tal, Quinner, and Jess, we finally made our way home after three weeks on the road. Despite stories of constant rain and snow at home, we can’t wait to get there and see our little shitty kitty.

Today is President’s Day…a day that most people have off. Although no day is ever really on or off around our office, today actually IS an official day off for Vertical Media. Of course, as you will see on down the road…its hard for us to tell when the week ends and another begins. We don’t really follow the normal working schedule of the rest of the world. We work hard…yet, we schedule it around our play. Its amazing how much more productive one can be when they are allowed the time to get outside and enjoy the day if the opportunity presents itself.

We started off the day as if it were any other Monday…straight into the computers! However, after a few hours of catching up on emails and organizing projects…it was off to Grand Targhee for a few hours of sunshine and snow. As it was the completion of a three day weekend, there were plenty of folks out there from the region soaking in the fun! We found some good snow on the North facing aspects and then decided to take the short hike up Mary’s Nipple (hey…I didn’t name it). It was a gorgeous day and we spent some time up there looking around and planning out a few adventures that we hope to share with you in the next few months. There are some great, and little known, stashes back there.

We then came home and have both been spending yet more time in front of the laptops. However, I did feel that it would be good if a few of you actually saw where we lived as we start this blogging thing. So, I snuck out of the house as the sun was going down just now and snapped a few pics. Yes, that is our back deck…piled up past the windows and no hope of getting out our back doors.

Now, please don’t think that this trend is going to continue. Although Tim and Mary Lynn have been a big part of the inspiration to get this thing going, we are in no way committing ourselves to the “everyday” theme. If you want to take a look into their lives on a daily basis…here it is. Many times you’ll likely catch us in their daily posts as we spend quite a bit of time with them.