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Sorry for the lack of posts, but I've moved on.

I've heard through the grapevine that there's still some people that enjoyed checking this blog to find out what I've been up to. Well, for the past couple months I've been enjoying using Facebook, so that's where I've been posting all my pictures and info about what Julie & I have been up to. So if you'd still like to keep up with the Western Slope Hobers, I'd suggest signing up for Facebook, and adding me as a friend. Then you can see my pics from Korea, Morocco, and of our new little puppy, Ditka.

Hope all is well. Maybe I'll come back to this blog, but not any time soon.
-Jeff

Merry Christmas!






Just thought I'd share a little holiday cheer, and show you the wonderful Christmas Tree we were able to fit in our apartment. Hope everyone's enjoying the holiday season. Julie & I will be spending Christmas around Denver (assuming we can drive through the mountains), and then back in Junction for New Years. And (hopefully) shortly there after we'll be moving into a new house (well, new to us) in January. But we'll keep you posted on that.

Hola, It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!



Yeah, it's a little past Halloween now, but of course as soon as I downloaded pics off my camera, the computer crashed. So they were gone, until we paid to have a guy restore everything that we hadn't had a chance to back up yet. Yadda yadda yadda, here's a pic of Julie & I (and Shiloh) at our friends Celeste & James' Halloween party. For those that can't figure it out, I'm the Peanut Butter Jelly Time dancing banana and Julie's the taco (got the idea from the cell phone comercial where the dad's like, "now mom can quit her other job, Hola!"), and Shiloh's not wearing any costume, cause she's just a puppy.

And of course, I had to include a pic of my sister, Artie, and the twins. Note the super cool croc-type shoes they got on (Cars & Transformers) that match the costumes.



Happy Halloween!

Fall is In the Air



So a week or so ago, while I played in the Colorado Amateur State Disc Golf Championships (that happened to be right here, 20 minutes away), Julie took off on a little road trip to photograph some of the foliage of the Western Slope. When I asked my friends here, where the best area for her to go would be, the answer.....Kebler Pass.





Kebler Pass is a well maintained gravel road, that takes you the back way to Crested Butte. Like many other mountain passes, it is closed for the winter. But as you can see, there's no real snow yet, so no issues for Julie's little road trip.





You'll also notice that this turned out to be about a week or so earlier than what the locals call "Peak Color". Obviously it's still pretty beautiful, especially cause it's all Aspen trees. Which give you a totally different look than the Oaks and Maples of New England.

I Got Laid by my In-Laws



Obviously you get the joke. Julie & I took a vacation to visit her parents in Maui, and when we got there her parents had a couple beautiful fresh flower lais for us when we got off the plane. Which leads to the biggest reason for our trip, like you really need an excuse to visit a paradise like Hawaii, but it was Larry's 60th birthday. So here's a shot from his birthday party that Joyce threw for him the first day we were there.



So for those of you that didn't know, my in-laws live in a small condo-hotel-apartment in Maui for 6 months out of the year. It's a garden view, but a very short walk across a courtyard to the beach. And so that we didn't have to sleep on a couch or floor, they hooked us up with room of our own. Which the manager surprised us by upgrading us to an ocean-front room, and as you can see from these shots...we could've spent the whole trip just enjoying the view from our balcony.







But we didn't, after Larry's birthday and chilling on the beach on the first day, we got to go scuba diving on the second day. Our trip to us to an area just off the island of the Lanai, called the Cathedrals. It was our first experience diving in the ocean, and not only did we see some cool fish, but we got to go inside one of the underwater caves. The cave has some openings in the ceiling that let in gorgeous natural light, giving it the same effect as a stained glass window in a church. Hence the name, Cathedrals. I did have my underwater camera with me, but found myself not experienced enough at diving to use it underwater. But I do have a couple shots from the boat.






The next day we played some tennis at Kapalua. Kapalua is the resort that Larry & Joyce work at part time. Here's a shot of the Tennis Garden, which is where Joyce primerily works.



We then got to go to one of the most authentic Luau's in the area, at Old Lahaina. We ate pig cooked in the ground, had some island drinks, and watched alot of dancing. Here's a shot of Julie & I that her dad took of us there. And also a shot of the dancers that Julie took playing with the exposure settings on her new camera.





Then Larry & Joyce took me out on short cruise on the America II. It was built as a race boat for the America's Cup, and took 3rd place in 1987. Then was sold off and changed to be a tourist boat. The mast was shortened, and strengthened. A motor was added (cause race boats are towed when not being raced), and the deck was changed to add a couple benches for 12 or so people to ride in it. It was alot of fun, cause as you can tell from the pics, a boat like this in the trade winds runs at like a 45 degree angle, and the chop was splashing all over. (Julie didn't come, cause she was afraid of getting seasick, and she'd already been out on the boat 3 years ago).







The other benefit of working at Kapalua, is the ability to golf on a PGA course. So one day the four of us golfed 18 holes at the Plantation course, which hosts the Mercedes Open in January. And on another day, we did a round on the Bay course, which is hosting an up-coming LPGA tournament this year. Both courses are amazing. The Plantation is a VERY long course, with alot of elevation changes. But even though it's set up the hillside, you still get views of the water from most of the holes. The Bay course isn't quite as long, but it takes you right up to the water, including a par 3 that has you shooting over a cove (see pic below). Surprisingly enough, I didn't put it in the water, I actually cleared the cove, but put it into the bunker right in front of the green. :)













So aside from everything mentioned above, we did alot of shopping, and ate REALLY well. We had seafood like every other day. Including sushi at Sansei, fresh ahi tuna a couple nights, and a night at Mama's Fish House. Mama's is a very high class place, right on the water, with it's own private beach front. And the fish is so fresh that they actually tell you right on the menu who caught your fish, and what boat he was on when he caught it! These shots are from the beach at Mama's.







So that was our trip. It was amazing, and thanks to Larry & Joyce, we got to do everything we planned, and didn't have to take out a loan to afford it either. We can't wait to go back.

Let's Recap the Last Few Months

Yeah, it's been awhile since I updated this blog, and I don't even know if anyone's checking this anymore, but I figure now that things are settling down out here, I'll get back into this. But before I get into what's going on right now, let me bring you all up to speed about what's happened in my life the past few months.

First off, I flew back to Michigan, and got to see almost all our friends. We had a fantastic turn out at a little going away bbq at our favorite park in Clawson. Of course there was also some volleyball to be played. And lots of little kids around (dang we're getting old). But it was great to see everyone.







Then Julie packed up the house, the movers loaded the truck, and we hit the road to head out to Colorado. It took us a little while to get settled in, especially with my family showing up that week to visit. It was great to show them how cool it is in the Junction. And then we were able to celebrate our nephews' birth-tism (that's a combo 1st birthday & baptism).





After that came my first attempt at a Disc Golf Tournament. I don't care what some people say, the game is fun, and the courses out here are gorgeous. This one was at Snowmass, a ski hill in Aspen, that you actually had to ride a chairlift to get to the course. And even though it was mid-June, there were still people snowboarding up there. And to boot, I was able to take 1st in the Novice division.





Then came 4th of July, and Julie & I decided to take the long road on a road trip to visit her family in Fort Collins. That long road took us through Rocky Mountain National Park, which is gorgeous. Driving up above tree line, seeing a few elk just hanging out, and watching people get into a snowball fight on the fourth of July. Awesome.





Aside from what I've listed above, we've also been playing softball for our company team, going to the gym a few times a week, went to see a movie under the stars at a local volunteer fire department, played more disc golf, drove over Independence Pass (12,050' above sea level), just to name a few things. Well, that's all I got for now. More to come, I promise.