Ladies visit.

Miss Do and Miss Ann made their way westward last weekend. One from MN and the other from NYC...but both from MN at heart. We had the best time! From the moment they stepped off the plane conversation was fast and furious and loaded with wonderful content and laughter.



Friday night we headed out for noodles and dirty martinis with Tim's nephew Demitri. We stayed up WAY too late talking and having just one more beer...


...which made for a difficult early morning. But we managed to pull ourselves together and head up to Steven's Pass. Gorgeous, sunny and warm = bad snow but good times outside. Doreen nailed it for her third time snowboarding!


Sushi. Yummi. Sapporo.


And a Sunday together seeing the sites of Seattle. Neighborhoods, boutiques, views and then disturbing a homeless man who was sleeping. Whoops!


It was so fab having these women visit! They are two people I haven't seen much since I moved and yet somehow we continue to be close and our friendships are easy. This seems to be a growing trend in my life. Great people around me who will always be great, no matter what. Very lucky. Very happy.

Now move to the west coast!

Aspen::Riding

This is nearly all of the group. Joe had just broken a pole so he was absent. And Nicole and Ted had just gotten engaged so...ya know, they were back at the house.








And of course, there's nothing better than sitting in a hot tub after the slopes.

Aspen: Visiting

I arrived in Aspen late Thursday night after circling the airport for nearly an hour, heading back to Denver, and then luckily getting on a later flight as a stand-by passenger. You can only imagine the raging affluent families where every child is in Ugg boots ...even the ones who aren't old enough to walk yet. I was glad I was a solo passenger. My friend Lisa was not so lucky. She got on a flight that took off an hour after mine did, circled and alas she did not make it. After renting a car with two middle-aged republicans from the East coast, Lisa finally arrived in Aspen a little after 4am.

Friday brought blue skies and beautiful snowy streets.



After picking up some of the guys in our party, we headed over to the Sky hotel - where the Jeremy Piven/Kevin Connelly sighting happened last year. Tyson works there as a bellman in the winter and Lisa knew most of the waitresses as she was one herself last year = hookups on nearly all of our drinks.




Tyson had been working and therefore turned into our sober driver. To the Ryan house we headed. It was so good to see Tim! We spent the weekend making and eating meals together, consuming Keystone, white russians, and microbrews and lots of riding. Thanks to the Ryan's for their amazing hospitality and for opening their home to us. It was an incredible weekend, with great company and an pretty cool space for sleeping too.





Love that Lisa was in Aspen too!

Final Recap.Thailand::Bangkok

Chinatown flower market


Dinner at Cabbages and Condoms. A restaurant dedicated to the prevention and support of the AIDS virus. Proceeds go to the cause.



Street art for my friend Lisa


Cruising in our longboat down the Chao Phraya River


The reclining Buddha + other temples + a monk in traditional robing.






I had an incredible trip. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to travel and hope my life continues to be full of culture and learning experiences abroad.

Thailand::Ko Phi Phi

We arrived on the island, docking here.


The coffee shop we sat at each day.


We rented a boat the second day to get out and see the neighboring islands, spend some time on the water and go snorkeling. The views were spectacular.





I went rockclimbing one day. The island is known for some of the best climbing. It was both exhilarating and terrifying and I'm very happy I pushed myself to do it. I met some interesting people like this gal belaying -Simon. She was from Germany.



My first climb!




Monkeys were running around trying to get our food.


Storm brewing. I was a bit paranoid another tsunami would hit. The island had an eerie feeling after looking through pictures and reading about the tsunami of 2004.