Hello Everyone,
Well, I have been home now for a few weeks, and have been reflecting on the incredible trip. I truly miss the isolation, wildlife, solitude and clean air!
I will be making my daily trip to Huntington Beach and teach until Thanksgiving when I will be traveling up North. This will be the first Thanksgiving I can remember that I won't be sharing it with Danielle. She will be at the home of New Jersey friends this year:-)
Stay tuned, as there will be trips and adventures to come. The trip to Costa Rica has been cancelled:-(, however we will be spending 2 months in Hawaii for sure. The location will be the North Shore of Oahu where the massive waves entice the expert surfers!! I hope to learn how to surf without killing myself on the coral. My students are ready to reverse the activity and "teach their teacher" how to surf! Haha!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Cowboy Bar and Skeet Shooting!
This weekend has been a blast!! Yesterday the 6 woman (5 married woman and myself) drove up to Jackson and took a half day fishing float trip on the Snake River. It was about an 10 mile trip and we saw moose (right on the side and in the water). I caught 3 fishing on floating wet flies and had a great time. The scenery was different from the Salt River that Justine and I fished a month ago, however we went with the same float company and had the same guides which was fun!!
We took out around 7pm and headed back to Jackson for dinner. Had a great meal at the "Siver Dollar Grill" and I tried, buffalo, seared elk, and venison. We all ordered cosmopolitans and ended up next door where they had a Country Western Band and dancing! The 6 of us stormed in and a few of the "married girls" came out of their shells and got pretty wild!! I just sat back and laughed, and Justine got asked to dance almost every dance!! We were wearing our cowboy hats and jeans and having a great ol time!!
We preceded to the famous "Cowboy Bar" in on Mainstreet Jackson Hole where the 2 long bars have real saddles for bar seats!! There was a great band playing there, as well as 8 pooltables. We bellied up to the bar, ordered our beers, and spent the next 3 hours dancing with cowboys and playing pool!! Didn't get home until after 4am when we crashed without unloading the car. Justine was the designated driver of course, and for the most part she and I were drinking water all night! However, the other married gals really let loose and had a great time! They all play roller hockey together each week, and have been friends for years. It was a fun evening and all enjoyed to the max!!
This afternoon John, Justine's husband, set up for skeet shooting and we spent a few hours learning the sport on their property! Wow, how much fun that was!! I had a few rough rounds, however when the pressure was on I finally hit my last clay pigeon and everyone cheered!! Justine hit 3 and another woman hit 4 total so she was the grand prize winner. I kept my bullet shell casing for my trophy!!
Right now we are making homemade bread, Tomatoe bisque soup from scratch, and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. The weather is cool and this is going to taste soooo good. Justine and two of the friends are out on a sunset ride, and plan to be back around 7pm. I stayed home to catch up on my laundry and lesson planning! Everyone flys out tomorrow afternoon from Salt Lake City, so it will be real quiet around here. Hope all is going well with all of my---family and friends. Just one more thinig...who would have thot that on a ranch in Idaho one can: skeet shoot, motor cross ride, horsebackride, fly fish, hike, mountain bike ride, hunt, archery, harvest potatoes, learn to quilt, view elk, moose and dear, and the list goes on and on...... I have been nonstop and with my teaching not a minute to spare! This is a great vacation spot that is for sure!!
xo Michelle
We took out around 7pm and headed back to Jackson for dinner. Had a great meal at the "Siver Dollar Grill" and I tried, buffalo, seared elk, and venison. We all ordered cosmopolitans and ended up next door where they had a Country Western Band and dancing! The 6 of us stormed in and a few of the "married girls" came out of their shells and got pretty wild!! I just sat back and laughed, and Justine got asked to dance almost every dance!! We were wearing our cowboy hats and jeans and having a great ol time!!
We preceded to the famous "Cowboy Bar" in on Mainstreet Jackson Hole where the 2 long bars have real saddles for bar seats!! There was a great band playing there, as well as 8 pooltables. We bellied up to the bar, ordered our beers, and spent the next 3 hours dancing with cowboys and playing pool!! Didn't get home until after 4am when we crashed without unloading the car. Justine was the designated driver of course, and for the most part she and I were drinking water all night! However, the other married gals really let loose and had a great time! They all play roller hockey together each week, and have been friends for years. It was a fun evening and all enjoyed to the max!!
This afternoon John, Justine's husband, set up for skeet shooting and we spent a few hours learning the sport on their property! Wow, how much fun that was!! I had a few rough rounds, however when the pressure was on I finally hit my last clay pigeon and everyone cheered!! Justine hit 3 and another woman hit 4 total so she was the grand prize winner. I kept my bullet shell casing for my trophy!!
Right now we are making homemade bread, Tomatoe bisque soup from scratch, and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. The weather is cool and this is going to taste soooo good. Justine and two of the friends are out on a sunset ride, and plan to be back around 7pm. I stayed home to catch up on my laundry and lesson planning! Everyone flys out tomorrow afternoon from Salt Lake City, so it will be real quiet around here. Hope all is going well with all of my---family and friends. Just one more thinig...who would have thot that on a ranch in Idaho one can: skeet shoot, motor cross ride, horsebackride, fly fish, hike, mountain bike ride, hunt, archery, harvest potatoes, learn to quilt, view elk, moose and dear, and the list goes on and on...... I have been nonstop and with my teaching not a minute to spare! This is a great vacation spot that is for sure!!
xo Michelle
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Full House
Greetings!
Well, we are now 15 at the ranch with lots of activities going on. Today, we "girls" were treated to a 3 hour ride on the 5 square mile property! Justine and another horse owner in the area were our guides. We saddled up and saw some amazing scenery. I have never ridden on a horse over such steep hills, valleys, creeks, and snow covered paths through the aspen trees. It was thrilling and we all made it back unharmed!! My horse, Batman, is a quarterhorse and trotted quite a bit so my behind is a bit sore. Other then that, I feel fine:-)
The kids were treated today with a fly tieing class by a private teacher here in the valley. They learned to make their own flies for all the fishing they do on these rivers. Zach, age 21, works in Jackson at Paul Dennis which is the biggest fishing outfit in town. He does this for a living and has quite a good business going for him. The kids were patient and spent about 3 hours learning how to tie all sorts of flies. Tomorrow we are taking another float trip down the Snake River, so we can try them out:-)
I feel so blessed to have pursued this opportunity with the Makoff family. I love the teaching situation, and at the same time am learning all sorts of new sports and experiencing a different way of life. This is just the beginning, and I am enjoying each and every minute of this incredible adventure:-)
nighty night! michelle <3
Well, we are now 15 at the ranch with lots of activities going on. Today, we "girls" were treated to a 3 hour ride on the 5 square mile property! Justine and another horse owner in the area were our guides. We saddled up and saw some amazing scenery. I have never ridden on a horse over such steep hills, valleys, creeks, and snow covered paths through the aspen trees. It was thrilling and we all made it back unharmed!! My horse, Batman, is a quarterhorse and trotted quite a bit so my behind is a bit sore. Other then that, I feel fine:-)
The kids were treated today with a fly tieing class by a private teacher here in the valley. They learned to make their own flies for all the fishing they do on these rivers. Zach, age 21, works in Jackson at Paul Dennis which is the biggest fishing outfit in town. He does this for a living and has quite a good business going for him. The kids were patient and spent about 3 hours learning how to tie all sorts of flies. Tomorrow we are taking another float trip down the Snake River, so we can try them out:-)
I feel so blessed to have pursued this opportunity with the Makoff family. I love the teaching situation, and at the same time am learning all sorts of new sports and experiencing a different way of life. This is just the beginning, and I am enjoying each and every minute of this incredible adventure:-)
nighty night! michelle <3
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)