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Hawaii 2010 |
In July, 2010, Mike, Cherié and Annie visited my mom, brother, Jerry,
Jackson, Ingrid and Ella in Hilo, on the Big Island of Hawaii.
While there they ate well and healthy, visited the beaches, hiked, and
enjoyed sunset on the summit of Mauna Kea, the highest point in Hawaii
(13,803'). It was a very enjoyable vacation, and great to
see family. |
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Santa Fe 2010 |
In April, 2010, Mike and Cherié enjoyed a second honeymoon in Santa Fe.
The trip was really a present to Cherié for surviving 4 months in
China! In Santa Fe, the two stayed at a spa, slept in, and
spent their days exploring hiking, eating delicious southwestern food,
speaking Spanish, and enjoying the warm weather. It was a
great vacation to a new area! |
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China 2009-2010 |
On Christmas day, 2009, Mike traveled to China to visit his lovely wife, Cherié. Cherié
has been in Beijing since Halloween, working for Microsoft. She is
set to return home February 27, 2010. Both Mike and Cherié
have learned how hard it is to be apart for such a long time! Cherié has
a nice modern apartment in Beijing, two blocks from work, the grocery
store, and the subway station. While Cherié worked the first 4
days, Mike explored Beijing. Then the two spent over a week
together, wondering around Beijing, and traveling to Xi'an to see the
famed Terracotta Warriors. The two weeks went way too fast!
During Mike's visit, he took hundreds of pictures. Here are a few
representative pictures, not even the best! If you want to see the
best, you have to visit Mike and Cherié for the show!
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Yellowstone 2009 |
Just before Christmas, Mike and Annie traveled to Yellowstone for a
winter adventure in the Park. They stayed in West
Yellowstone, MT and visited the park via snow coach for two consecutive
days. The first day they traveled to 3 miles from Old
Faithful, and cross country skied to the geyser. The
second day they traveled to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Yellowstone in the winter lacks the crowds of summer, and allows a
closer view of wildlife that visit the rivers and geysers to gain better
access to food. It was a very enjoyable vacation! |
|
Alaska 2009 |
In July, Mike and Annie took their annual father-daughter vacation to
beautiful Alaska. After flying to Anchorage, the drove to
Whittier, and met Capt Gerry Sanger for a fantastic boat trip on Prince
William Sound. Their trip included many sea otters, seals, bald
eagles, and a trip to College Fjord, where the glaciers meet the sound.
From there, they traveled to Homer, a quaint little town, and a
fantastic 'yakking trip around Yukon Island. From Homer,
they made the drive to Denali National Park. While the weather was
less cooperative, they enjoyed many wildlife sightings, including moose,
caribou, fox, coyote, and 8 of the Park's 68 brown brown bear.
Mike and Annie found Alaska amazing beautiful, the people friendly, and
the wildlife exciting! Here are only a few of the many
pictures both Mike and Annie returned home with. |
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Baja 2009
Isla Espiritu Santu
La Paz & Baja |
In March, 2009, Mike and Cherié met Mike's brother, Jerry, and his
delightful girlfriend, Ingrid, in La Paz, Mexico. The
vacation started out with 80˚weather and sun!
After an evening in La Paz, the group of four joined some new friends,
including excellent guides Leah and Axel, on a 4 day kayaking trip of
Isla Espiritu Santo in the Gulf of California. This a repeat
of a trip Mike and Cherié took in 2007, but this time, with much
better company! The group 'yakked up the island, camping on
3 separate gorgeous beaches. Each day was met by great food and drink,
sandy beaches, hiking, relaxation and fun! On the 4th day, they
boated to islands off the coast, and snorkeled with the sea lions!
It was tough to leave after just 4 days.
But, once they left Isla Espiritu Santo, they
returned to the most excellent town of La Paz. There they ate at
one of Mike and Cherié's favorite restaurants, Rancho Viejo, as
well as new local restaurants. Mike and Cherié also had a chance
to practive their quickly improving Spanish - at times they "sort of"
felt like natives! Indeed, some day Mike and Cherié would like to live
for a while in Mexico! One day the group of four rented a
car, and drove to Sol de Mayo, an oasis in the desert, where they swam
amongst the waterfalls. They then made their way to Todos
Santos, where a lobster dinner waited the group. All
and all, it was a fantastic and rejuvenating vacation! Here are a few
of the pictures of Cherié and Mike's adventure! Visit
us to see the rest! |
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Peru 2008
Cusco and Lima
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Inka Trail & Machu Picchu
Amazon Jungle |
In July 2008, Mike, Cherié and Annie continued their love of adventure
and adventure travel, traveling to Peru in South America.
Four consecutive airplane rides led them to Cusco, Peru, the former Inka
capital, situated at 11,000'. The influence of the Inka
empire, which was vanquished by the Spanish in the 1500's is everywhere.
The travelers found Cusco to be delightful, vibrant, interesting, full
of history and unique sights! After 2 days in Cusco, they
toured the Sacred Valley, a sacred place to the Inkas, and visited the
Pisac Market, a local artisan's market that was one of the highlights of
Annie's trip.
From the Sacred Valley, they started on the Classic Inka Trail, a 4
day and 27 mile trek through the Andes, and past many former Inka ruins.
The travelers had the true privilege of an outstanding guide, Jose, who
had trekked to Machu Picchu over 400 times! The travelers also had
the embarrassing luxury of 8 porters! They travelers even
had their own dining tent, and privy with a tent! Even with the
porters, the trek was challenging, the 2nd day of which they climbed
from 9200' to 13800' over Warmiwanusca Pass (aka Dead Woman's Pass).
On the 4th day, they climbed the 50 stairs to Intipunku, or the Sun
Gate, looking down for the first time on Machu Picchu.
Seeing Machu Picchu for the first time from this dramatic perch brought
tears to the eyes of Mike and Cherié!
After touring Machu Picchu, the travelers flew
to Puerto Maldonado, in the Peruvian Amazon Jungle. A 3 hour
boat ride up the Tambopata River, one of the 3 main rivers that feed the
Amazon, deposited the three at a rustic jungle lodge. The
travelers had a great group, a great guide, and enjoyed hikes in the
jungle, hunts for Caman, bird watching, rope bridges and a zip line,
outstanding food, and viewing a great number of very large insects!!
After leaving the jungle, the travelers flew to
Lima, the capital of Peru. There they enjoyed more shopping,
sightseeing, and the local dish of Ceviche, fish cooked solely by
marinating in lime juice.
We have hundreds of pictures, a small sample of
which is on this website. Our friends will have to call us
to see the rest! There are 3 links to the left, so click on each
picture and enjoy our trip! For those wishing to visit Peru,
we highly recommend www.TrekPeru.com,
and our guides Jose, Miguel and Karina! |
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Utah Road Trip 2007 |
In September, 2007, Mike and Cherié went on a road trip to Southern
Utah. The plan was originally to do some canyoneering, but recent
flooding left the canyons impassable. So, Mike and Cherié visited
7 states (WA OR CA NV UT AZ ID) and 6 national parks (Zion, Bryce,
Escalante, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands), as well as mountain
biked in Moab. It was a great trip to a beautiful place of the
country! |
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Santa Barbara 2007 |
In May, 2007, Cherié, Duana, Heike, Sonja and Karen took their annual
girl's trip, this year to Santa Barbara. They sailed, walked,
enjoyed a winery, and had a great and relaxing adventure! |
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PS /Joshua Tree 2007 |
In March, 2007, Mike traveled to California for work, and Cherié joined
him in Palm Springs for a long weekend. A highlight was a visit to
Joshua Tree National Park, one of the most unique and beautiful places
around. Mike and Cherié soaked up the sun and ate excellent Mexican food
as well. |
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Baja, Mexico 2007 |
In January, 2007, Mike and Cherié escaped to the sun and fun of Mexico.
They flew to La Paz, on the Baja peninsula, and kayaked for 4 days on
Isla Espiritu Santu. After their 'yak trip, they ate authentic
Mexican food, drove on Mexican roads, and mountain biked. Viva la
Mexico!! |
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Switzerland 2006 |
In the summer of 2006, Mike and Cherié flew to Geneva, traveled to
Chamonix, France, and trekked about half of the Haute Route, a glaciated high
mountain trekking route across the Alps, to Zermatt, Switzerland.
After that they visited Grindelwald, Bern, Montreaux and Geneva.
Here are a few of the many pictures taken by Mike and Cherié. |
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Banff & Jasper 2006 |
In late June, 2006, Mike and Annie took their annual Father-Daughter
vacation. This year they road-tripped to Banff and Jasper, in the
Canadian Rockies. They day hiked, backpacked for 2 days, and
generally soaked in the beauty. Fortunately, thanks much to
Annie's constant talking, neither was eaten by bears! |
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Girls' Trip to Bend 2006 |
In June, 2006, Cherié, Heike, Duana and Edie headed south to Bend, OR
for some gal R & R time. It was a fabulous long weekend of
relaxation, World Cup soccer, hiking and a bit of tennis! |
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Mt. Shasta 2006 |
Over Memorial Day weekend, 2006, Mike, Cherié, Wendy and Jake
drove to Mt. Shasta, CA, intending to climb, and ski from the summit.
High winds and whiteout conditions kept them from climbing above
10,000', but the ski down was fantastic all the same. On the trip
home they stopped at Crater Lake, and then at Smith Rock, OR. It
was a very fun road trip! |
|
Big Sky/Yellowstone |
In February, 2006 Mike and Cherié went to Big Sky, Montana, with the Microsoft Ski
Club. They skied for 3 days at Big Sky. One day
they
went to Yellowstone NP, where they rode a snow coach into the Park.
The snow coach dropped them off 3 miles from Old Faithful, and they cross
country skied into Old Faithful. Incredible natural beauty and
wildlife. |
