MERRY CHRISTMAS 2018

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Love ♥ The Rowes and all of our adventures

Past Christmas cards: 2011 │ 2012 │ 2013 │ 2014 │ 2015 │ 2016 │ 2017

Oregon Coast Friendcation November 2018

And back to Oregon we go! We had gone back in May with our friends Jason and Andi, and we were so excited to make another trip back to Florence. We piled into their car in the middle of November (sorry, didn't get a chance to publish it until now--work and school are are crazy these days). We sang, told stories, made each other laugh with family oddities, and played weird car-travel games on the 10-hour trip to the coast.

Our first stop was in Bend, Oregon. We Yelped the best breakfast spots and found ourselves at the McKay Cottage. Oh my goodness--it was good. I had the cottage potatoes and a buttermilk biscuit and was in complete heaven.

After our short pit-stop in Bend, we traveled on to the coast, heading straight for the beach. On our last trip to Florence, Daniel and I found 718 agates. We were itching to get back out to the beach to see if that was a one-off beginner's luck agate-finding spree or if we were going to be that lucky yet again. To our elation, the agates were again out in full force (along with the sun!) during our weekend voyage. It didn't take long to fill our fanny packs with some sweet finds at Bob Creek outside Yachats, and while we didn't count the agates this trip, we sure found quite a haul.

We poked around Bob Creek and Strawberry Hill that first evening until our stomachs were telling us it was time for dinner! We wound up at Luna Sea Fish House in Yachats, and ordered the only thing you order when you're on the Oregon Coast--fish and chips. Man oh man, they were delicious! From the agate hunting to the fish and chips, our first day on the coast was worth the trip in itself.

Our second day on the coast was an adventure. We began the morning doing homework (oh, the joys of pursuing a Masters degree and having to write research papers), and then drove down to Coos Bay for some fresh oysters. We pondered around a gift shop and headed back to Florence, loving the time we spent down there (gift shop, food, drive), but the weather down south from Florence was in the low 40's, cloudy, and drizzly, while it was back up in the 60's and sunny where we were staying. So after our tour of Coos Bay and surrounding towns, we headed back north for some more adventures.

That evening, we found ourselves at the Stillwagon Distillery in Florence, sampling all of the delicious rums that Devil's Own had to offer. Of all the flavors, I loved the cranberry rum (to mix with soda or gingerale!) and cinnamon rum the most. We sampled quite a few of the flavors (or almost all, to be frank) and headed home to grill up some of those fresh oysters we purchased in Coos Bay.

After getting our fill of seafood, we gallivanted off to the Three Rivers Casino to lose a bit (truly only a bit!) of money. It was only my third time gambling ever--the first had been with Jason & Andrea back in May--so I didn't have high expectations for my gambling skills. After ups and downs and slots and lots of triple butterflies, we headed home and--despite gambling losses--rejoiced in a successful day.

I began the third morning with a quiet before-the-sunrise run along Siuslaw river. The way the dunes creep along the coastline is really majestic (how else do you describe it?) and since I couldn't sleep in any longer, a peaceful run around Florence was just the ticket to start my day off right.

After my run and a visit to the local coffee shop, we took the short drive to Stonefield beach. While we didn't have much luck with agates, the beach was beautiful, serene, and totally empty. We simply couldn't believe our luck with the weather that weekend, it was nicer than it was when we were there in May--in late fall!

As you can see, our agate hunting on the third day proved to be successful. We visited Bob Creek again and realized that Mondays on the beach are the best because everyone else was at work and we had the agates all to ourselves. In fact, Daniel and I found a huge rock that was pretty magical indeed, because every time the waves hit it, new agates seemed to wash up alongside it. We stood there for at least 20 minutes and gathered one to two agates with each new wave. Daniel's were all really amazing; mine were just OK. But it was still a pretty surreal thing to just watch these little (or big, in Daniel's case) agates wash up at our feet time and time again.

After everyone hauled in a giant load of agates (Daniel, Andrea, and Jason found some REALLY big ones!--mine in the photo above do not do theirs justice!), we shopped around Yachats for a while before grabbing drinks, eating delicious Mexican food, and watching Monday Night Football (go Chiefs!!!) at Traveler's Cove in Florence. And how better to spend the rest of our evening than at the casino (again!)--except this time we went home with money, unlike previous adventures. Now, we didn't really WIN anything, we just didn't LOSE anything either. In fact, I played slots for about two hours and walked away with what I came in with... I'd consider that a win after all!

None of us were particularly excited to head home to Boise the next day, but alas--work was calling and our turtle needed to be fed, so off we went. It always seems like our trips to the coast are not long enough, and they keep getting better each time we go back. We didn't count our agates this trip, but this time it wasn't so much about that. It was a great trip with our friends, and we made some fun memories along the way.

I know I've been posting a lot of travels lately, but that's been our life these days. Why not, right? I'm just so grateful for my job, for weekends off, for good friends, and for people who I get to spend my life with (Daniel, friends and family), who like to adventure as much as I do! Stay tuned for more adventures to come.

Our Sixth Anniversary

Goodness gracious, Daniel. Six years. I can't even begin to describe how grateful I am for you and everything we get to share together... I couldn't ask for a better friend to be there with me through thick and thin.

In looking at the last year, our sixth year was the year of travel. Why not, right? No kids yet, finances in decent order, trips and dreams and travels on our mind... so we just went for it!

Palm Desert in April, Oregon Coast in May, Washington in July, Orlando in September, San Diego in October, Oregon Coast in November, and soon to be Hawaii this month. AAAAAnnnndddd not to mention my other trips to Montana, Mississippi, Oregon, Alabama, and all those weekends up in McCall. Jeez, that's a lot of traveling--it's been a great year to do it!

This is the first year that we haven't had to spend more than a week or so apart for military training stuff and it's been a memorable, amazing year. I love spending time with you, and if I'm going to be away from home--I want you to be there with me! So that's exactly what we did this year. We just explored and loved every minute of it--mostly the time spent together. 

I just love the adventures we take. We are always going, always working, always doing schoolwork, always giving of our time in so many different areas--traveling is the one thing we do just for us and I wouldn't trade a day of it. Between travel, golf league, both being in school, fantasy football, family, church group, friends, and our date nights--every day with you is exciting.

You're my road trip buddy, my airplane copilot, my snorkeling companion, my beach walk agate-hunter, my golf teammate, my snake-hunting hiker, my game-day co-fanatic, my prayer partner, and my absolute best friend. I love you. Happy Sixth Anniversary, sweetheart.

Past Anniversary Posts: Year One │ Year Two │ Year Three │ Year Four │ Year Five

Montgomery TDY

I guess I haven't talked about my job lately--but boy, I've sure seen a lot of different states traveling with my job in the last year. No, I haven't deployed yet (I want to!) but I have been to Great Falls, MT, Gulfport, MS and Orlando, FL. This work trip to Mongtomery, AL was highly anticipated and was worth the wait.

As you know, I'm a member of the Security Forces Squadron here in Boise, Idaho with the Idaho Air National Guard. I worked as a temp from June 2016 - Feb 2018 with the squadron (there's not a full-time position available for me within the squadron). Temp work is hard and comes without any benefits (leave, pension, health benefits, etc), so when I was offered something different (and for a lot more pay!) this past March, I jumped on it! From March - October, I was full-time in our Inspector General office as the Wing Planner. Concurrently, I also served unofficially as our Wing's Chief of Information Protection (CIP) (classified info, security clearances, etc). In October, I was offered the full-time, permanent job as our Wing's CIP, and I am so grateful to be able to have that position within our Wing! I still get to work with Security Forces on drill weekends, but during the week I work for the Wing and really enjoy the job that I get to do there because I get to work with everyone! It's a great opportunity for career broadening and enhancement, and will significantly help me down the road when I hope (fingers crossed!) to someday be in Command.

Anyway, this work trip was part SF and part CIP related. It was a week-long training course and I was able to travel down with my SF boss, so that made the trip very enjoyable. I had been to Montgomery once before for Officer Training School, and I was so excited to go back this time and explore Montgomery more than I had been able to before. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't too cooperative while we were down there, but I still was able to enjoy many of the local eateries and get my fill of BBQ and seafood.

It's not that the weather was bad, by any means, but it was just cloudy, drizzly, and a bit chilly. But t was a nice break from the 30's and 40's in Boise!

Our training took place at the 187th Fighter Wing at Dannelly Field in Montgomery. It was a very nice facility to spend the week in. During lunches, my boss and I explored Montgomery and sampled foods from the infamous eateries there, including Dreamland BBQ, Fatman's BBQ, Baumhauers, and the Montgomery Stockyards.

After our lectures each day, we'd hit the gym at Dannelly Field (it was the perfect size to get in and out for a workout without it being too crowded) and then we'd go watch football and eat delicious food in the evenings. We were pretty predictable on this trip--eat, lecture, eat, gym, then counteract the gym and drink, football, eat, sleep.

Below are some of the photos of all of the above!

I liked Wintzell's Oyster House in downtown Montgomery. I was able to get in some good Monday Night Football at the bar all to myself, and chowed down on charbroiled oysters, grits, and collard greens. It felt like a true, southern, authentic meal!

We ate at Dreamland BBQ twice. I didn't love the stew I got the first time, but the BBQ pulled pork sandwich I ordered the second time was incredible. Plus, their restaurant is set up for some awesome football-watching!

So, I know it's not BBQ, but the meal above, the Pollo Fundido, from Jalapenos at The Alley in downtown Montgomery was so so so good. I could eat that every week along with a side of chips and salsa and a large margarita for the rest of my life.

One of the coolest (well, I guess the ONLY) bar I visited was the Aviator Bar in downtown Montgomery. I loved all the different aircraft they had on display, and while I didn't order a cocktail, all the ones I saw being made looked really good!

Standing alongside the Hank Williams statue in downtown Montgomery.

The gumbo at Capitol Oyster Bar was to die for. I'm a big gumbo and jambalaya fan, and as most places don't serve it in Idaho, I almost always order it when I'm in the south. My favorite part about that spot wasn't only the food, but the service was amazing!

The 187th's Security Forces Squadron hosted our training, and they were such gracious hosts. One of the guys made this incredible candied pecan bacon that was insanely yummy. I got the recipe and made it for my family for Thanksgiving. It was gone quick!

Ok, I know they're a chain but Firebirds Wood Fired Grill makes some of the darned best salads I've ever had. We don't have them in Idaho, so I always enjoy eating their food when I can. The BLT salad with cheese and shrimp was SO good. In fact, I ate there twice that week and ordered the same thing both times. It was THAT good.

One of the most interesting places I visited was the Montgomery Stockyards. Yes, it's a stockyard, but it's also a restaurant. The food wasn't super impressive (I ordered a steak sandwich and it was literally a piece of steak on a plain bun...), but the stockyard display was awesome. I'd love to go back for some live action (and maybe to try something... else).

I got an up-close-and-personal look at the F-16 Red Tails. I think the heritage there with the history behind the Tuskegee Airmen is really cool. In addition, if you click back up to the first picture in this post, I also got to see one of my teammates from the Air Force Marathon's MAJCOM Challenge Team. He and I ran on the team together in 2016 and 2017. I hadn't realized he was stationed at Dannelly Field. As soon as we put two and two together, we scheduled a run for after my classes one day and he absolutely kicked my butt. I was grateful to catch up with him!

Another highlight of my trip was catching up with another friend who I met at the AF Marathon in 2015, and then went to Officer Training School with in 2016 (it was a coincidence), and then ran with him at the AF Marathon again in 2017. Our military travels keep leading us to the same spots (I was TDY at the same spot as him in Montana earlier this year), so each time we get to catch up it's always a good time!

So... I promise I actually worked on this trip. I don't talk too much about what I actually do at work mostly because I can't (that's legit). I'm very fortunate to have an awesome job, but a lot of what I do is sensitive stuff, so I don't share much about it. But if you have questions--you can always ask!

The entire week spent in Montgomery, Alabama, minus the 20-hour trip home (delays, awful!) was so fun, relaxing, enjoyable, and quite tasty! Thanks for sharing in my love of all-things-food-and-travel... it seems that's all I do these days!

Onward Shay Half Marathon

It's been a long time since I've... (1) run a race with my mom and (2) really, really enjoyed the entire race. Onward Shay marks our fourteenth race together and it was a last-minute decision to run it... it was a decision that we were both very happy with!

As a side back story, my mom called me eight days before the race and asked if I was interested in training for another half. It had been three years since we have run a race together, and we were both looking for a kick in the pants to get us going again. It had just so happened that I'd received an email from Toyota earlier in the week, offering to sponsor me for the race. I had initially declined, since I'm just NOT in race shape right now (read: not fast), but when my mom put the bug in my ear, I contacted them and said we were both in!

Fast forward eight days and my mom and I were literally the FIRST people to pick up our packets on race day. You never know how unpredictable Boise traffic will be, and we definitely overestimated how long it would take that morning. We laughed and laughed and laughed because we were there so dang early. We checked in first thing and warmed ourselves up in my car until it was time for the race.

It's always so fun for us when we get to match, and this race was a fun one to plan for since it was so last-minute. We ended up wearing shirts from our marathon training days in 2013 that we'd never raced in, and I bought us some matching calf sleeves that almost totally matched.

At nine o'clock we were ready to run!

And... the gun went off--and so did the crowd! Since we hadn't trained for this race, we didn't even try to set a pace or goal time. We just started running and settled into a pace that felt good. We maintained an even 9:55/mile pace for the entire race. It's a far cry from my past 5:54/mile and 6:35/mile half marathon averages (which actually sound CRAZY right about now), but the almost 10/min mile pace felt GOOD the whole way through. We had absolutely no regrets!

One thing we were nervous about was not training for more than 4-5 miles at a time for the last year or so and then being able to run the whole thing. My mom is recovering from significant shoulder surgery, and I'm still working on getting back into running after stress fracturing my foot and then running on it for the last two years. So neither of us were trained, but we were pretty sure we could do the 13-miles. We were overjoyed when not only did the miles tick on by without issue, but we felt really, really good while running them!

I love the photos of us running, even if they're not the most flattering, because it's so fun to look at both of us and see the same exact person. We run the same, we walk the same, we talk the same... it's scary how similar we are. I'm pretty blessed (hashtag it!) to have received such great genes from my mom--and I know I have a lot to look forward to in the future.

Throughout the race, I don't think there was a minute that went by that we weren't talking about something. This race was so great because we weren't going for time--we were just going out and talking and hanging out for two hours! Also, the course was on the Boise Greenbelt the whole time, so it was incredibly scenic and very flat--bonus!!

We crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 10 minutes. I don't know where it ranks among our fourteen races for time, but it was one of my favorite races we have done yet simply because there was just no pressure on either of us.

After the race, we enjoyed brews and burgers while we watched NFL football at Payette Brewing in downtown Boise. The beer was delicious and even made the mystery-meat-post-race-freebie burgers taste pretty darn good!

My mom and I were both so grateful to Toyota, who sponsored us for this race. We go to hang out and check out the brand new Tundra, and I sure wish I could have taken it home!

I think my biggest takeaway from this race was just how grateful I am for my relationship with my mom. She and I have been running races together since 2008, and each one is a new memory and story to tell. We love exercising and getting out and moving our bodies, and racing together is not a thing we do to WIN or take home a MEDAL or a PRIZE or go around and say how great our TIME was--it's something we do together to spend time together. I just can't encourage parents out there enough to get outside and do something fun with your kids. When she and I run together, we have so much fun picking out our outfits, training for the race (we usually train, we promise!), getting ready for race day, and spending half the day together during the race.

Love you, Mom. When's number 15?

San Diego Vacation

You guys, we took a vacation--A VACATION! Since Daniel and I have been married (almost 6-years), we have taken only three vacations (Arizona, Maui, Oregon) for just us. That's not very many, but it's interesting because it seems all that I blog about these days is traveling. But truly, most of the "trips" or "vacations" we take are literally to visit our family out of state. Traveling for us is new, but it seems like we've caught the bug and we don't see the travels slowing down anytime soon.

So this last week, we took five days and went to San Diego, California. We had Friday and Monday off of work (down day & holiday), so we took a day of leave on Tuesday and went for a five-day trip! We got in Friday afternoon and headed straight to our hotel on Hotel Circle. We loved staying there... and not only did we get a good deal, but the location was perfect and about 10-minutes from everything that we wanted to do!

Our first stop was Cannonball at Mission Beach. We picked the spot because the location offered amazing views of the beach and we were just wanting some FISH! Fish and Mexican, fish and Mexican--repeat all week--that was the goal. We shared two sushi rolls since it was a late lunch and didn't want to get too stuffed before we enjoyed a Mexican dinner.

After lunch, we drove north up the coast and found ourselves at La Jolla Cove. We didn't try to get there, we just drove and drove and the cove with all the seals was where we ended up. We moseyed on down the rocks until we were up-close-and-personal with the seals. I have photos of Daniel standing just a foot away from them. They were amazing, but boy were they stinky!

Seal-watching made us thirsty, so we made our way over to Old Town, our favorite place in San Diego, and we enjoyed some margaritas and a light dinner at the Cafe Coyote. I have to tell you, we dined at almost every Mexican hot spot in Old Town, and Cafe Coyote was our favorite. In fact, not only did we love Cafe Coyote, but we loved Old Town so much that we actually went there every single night for drinks and snacks! Anyway, if you make it to Cafe Coyote, make sure you request Dillon's section (he usually works in the Cantina), and be sure to order their freshly-made tortillas and butter. Oh my, AMAZING.

Side note--the margarita pictured above is the happy hour margo... the "grande" ones (which are $15) are HUGE (about 3x this big but a LOT of sours and ice). We found that while the grande was "more bang for the buck," the happy hour normal-sized margo was actually a bit stronger and being that it was the same price as half of one of the Grandes, that is probably the way to go. You know--just in case you were wondering.

As if we didn't need one more thing to try to cram into our tummies on day one, Daniel was craving some ice cream. I "didn't want any," but as soon as we walked into the Beatles-inspired Mariposa, I knew I had to have a scoop. The owner was standing behind the counter offering samples, he was so incredibly kind, and he told us all about how he makes his ice cream and picks his flavors. I enjoyed a single scoop of butter toffee and cookie dough, and I was one happy camper. While we had ice cream in several other spots in San D, Mariposa was our favorite and one that I can't recommend enough!

And that was the end of day 1. Phew! We passed out around 9:30... we were done-zo!

Day 2 started off with a lazy and late sleep-in--how relaxing! We are normally always go, go, go, and to sleep in for once was such a nice break (in fact, we slept in almost every day of the trip and it was  a welcome reprieve from the norm). We weren't exactly sure how to spend the day, but as soon as Daniel started googling hikes in the area, we started getting ready for a drive to Anza-Borrego State Park.

You guys know we love to hike, and Anza-Borrego was no exception. We drove the 1 hour, 40 min to the park and enjoyed a 3.5-mile hike up and down Palm Canyon. No, it wasn't "San Diego," but we had considered taking a day to go over to Palm Desert since we were so close and feeling like we "needed" a good hike, so Anza-Borrego was a great alternative because we hadn't ever been there before. We'd really like to go back in the spring to see it when it's more colorful and alive with flowers.

After our hike, we drove back to San Diego and enjoyed dinner in... yep, Old Town. We shared a Molcajete dish at Casa de Reyes and sipped on margaritas while we listened to live music. Afterward, we walked all around Old Town, shopping in all of the little tiendas. We didn't last long that night, we were tired!

Day three took us to SeaWorld. Military members receive a free admission each year, so of course we had to go. We hit up all the rides as soon as the park opened (the Electric Eel was so cool!) and then walked around for a couple hours, visiting all our favorite exhibits. We made a point to go to the Clyde and Seymour show and the Halloween spin they put on it was very fun.

We had a great time and decided to leave around lunch time--the park was doing "trick or treating" that day, and it was starting to get really busy!

In true California fashion, we opted for In-n-Out for lunch... I mean, we had to. I had a 1x2 (1 patty, 2 slices of cheese), cheese fries, and a vanilla milkshake. No regrets--and may I have another, please?

That evening (and after a nap), we drove over to Seaport Village. We wandered around the shops--they were Daniel's favorite places to come as a kid on their family trips to SD--and then sipped on some drinks at Buster's Beach House while we watched Sunday Night Football (hashtag Fantasy Football addiction--guilty).

We were at a perfectly good restaurant, but the service was just OK, so we decided to go back to (you guessed it)--Old Town--to visit Casa Guadalajara for a quesadilla and the second half of the football game. I mean, we went to one Mexican spot in Old Town... we had to try as many as possible, right? RIGHT!

That was a wrap for night three!  

Day 4 took us to the San Diego Zoo! Similar to SeaWorld, the park offers free admission (unlimited!) to military members. I'd never been to the SD Zoo, so we were prepared for a day of walking and exploration. Lesson learned: wear tennis shoes! :)

We walked for six hours all through the park, spending a significant amount of time at the reptile exhibit and watching the polar bears play. I couldn't believe how big those polar bears were. They were play-fighting and it was so fun to watch! They kept banging into the walls and the crowd was loving it.

We were really surprised how active and alive the zoo was. The exhibits were over-the-top cool, so detailed, and the animals were all moving around. There were only a couple cats that were taking lazy naps, but we were able to make it to every section of the zoo and all the animals were out to say hi.

After the zoo and on the way to dinner (yep, at Old Town), one of my friends suggested we check out Little Italy. We drove by and were so impressed--we also just HAD to stop in when we saw pizza-by-the-slice. What's one small slice before dinner, right? The first place we walked past was Napizza, and their square slices called our name. We split a slice (aka Daniel ate most of it), and enjoyed a few minutes in Little Italy before heading off to (a nap) and then dinner.

We went back to dinner at Cafe Coyote for some Monday Night Football, margaritas, and chips and salsa. We had intended to get dinner, but the freshly-made flour tortillas, margaritas, and aforementioned pizza had us slightly fuller than anticipated. No matter, we sat in Dillon's section again and enjoyed a very fun evening of football and fun.

We might not have had room for dinner that night, but we sure had some room for ice cream. True to my normal self, I was "full," so I told Daniel I'd accompany him to get some ice cream. As soon as we got into Moosie's, we started chit-chatting with the owner, the solo guy behind the counter offering us samples. I still wasn't wanting to get anything, very satisfied from my chips and salsa and margarita, but as soon as I tried their Red Velvet flavor, I knew I needed a scoop of that in my life. It was a moment in heaven as I enjoyed that little scoop, and I went home with a full belly and a newfound love for Moosie's ice cream.

And that, my friends, was the end of day four!

On day five, our travel day home, we got up early to watch the sun rise from the Pacific Beach Pier. We didn't quite beat the sun up that morning, but we did get there in time to see the early-morning surfers catching some waves. We watched the surfers, spotted dolphins in the distance, walked along the beach, and ate breakfast at Kono's. Since it was a travel day, we headed back to the room to pack before heading out for the day.

We had some time to kill before our flight home, so we drove to Coronado Island and walked the grounds of the Hotel Del Coronado, taking in the sights. We wandered into town and ate fish tacos at Miguel's Cocina (Mexican, again!). It was a great way to wrap up a fantastic and memorable trip.

So San Diego. I loved it. Vacations with my sweetie are really fun, and so is exploring new places. We had such a nice time and were able to fit so much into each day without overdoing it or feeling stressed. We had such a low-key, easy-going time. I want to go back and do it all over again!

We love traveling so much, and I know that's mostly all I talk about on my blog these days. For so many years, I never really felt like I did much in regards to travel, but I'm starting to realize that we are almost always on the go, and when we have a chance to squeeze a real vacation in, I'm ever-so grateful. I hope you guys enjoy these kinds of posts... because they're so valuable for me to be able to look back over them and remember all the good times.

San Diego--we'll be back!