Kesslers' Jump 'n Cycle Across the US

Year End Post

2009-12-30T17:40:00.000-08:00

It has been months since our last post. My dear friend, Julia, reminded me that we have a blog and that I should put some of our pictures up. Kon and I are terrible at bringing our camera places and half the time we do remember the battery is dead, so it is slim pickings -- but still fun to share:

We dog sat Lucy recently -- here is Lucy trying to steal Emma's favorite spot on the chair:
We had a week of vacation in October and took a road trip to Mammoth Caves, Kentucky where Kon was "wow'ed" by the formations ...

... and did a little hiking along the Appalachian Trail.
Here is Kon changing the oil on our car -- sorry, I can't figure out how to rotate the picture.
And last, here we are at our friend Julia and Tim's home for Christmas dinner. We didn't have a tree this year, so we borrowed theirs.
Happy 2010 to everyone! Love, Stacy

Another month gone by.

2009-07-31T11:30:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it has already been a month since our last blog update...seems time goes by faster than I can keep up with. Since the last update we have done a few exciting things along with our normal work. We did take some pictures of the fun stuff:

1) A water ski show in Rochester with our friends Niels and Karly with their son Judah;

2) A weekend in northern Wisconsin over the 4th of July with Stacy's cousin Jackie--some water skiing, another water ski show, some fireworks, and visiting Stacy's grandma Rosemary (we were in the town where Stacy's dad, Steve, grew up...very nice);

3)Just over 2 weeks in Mexico--this was part of my elective month, I studied spanish, observed in a clinic, and got to spend some time with my dad and sister who were able to join me (Stacy had to stay and work).

1)Rochester Water Ski Show

Niels, Karly, and Judah at the water ski show in Rochester.
This was my first ever water ski show. I thought it was a lot of fun.

2) Northern Wisconsin Fun

Stacy, her cousin Jackie (on the right), and Jackie's roommate, Becky, dressed up for Independence Day fun.
Emma liked to stand on the front of the kayak, until...she fell off and went swimming.
Some water skiers in Minocqua, WI. I was really shocked with some of the stuff they did and had a great time. They are the oldest, continuously running, amateur water ski show in the country.

They are a big team.

One of their boats has a couple big outboard motors...they can stand the boat almost straight up in the air...I was impressed.
They can do tricks off of the jump while other skiers pass under them.

3)Mexico Trip--Dad was with me for the entire 16 days, Teresa for 10. We took language classes and got to do some sightseeing.

Dad and Teresa with Ramon (cousin Anna's husband who was deported to Mexico over 18 months ago...found out while we were there that he has permission to return, praise God). This picture is in front of the Royal Palace in downtown Mexico City.

A big organ at the Mexico City cathedral...we saw it with Ramon one Friday afternoon.

Another view of the cathedral.
This is the clinic where I observed, Maria Luisa was the manager/nurse/secretary of El Dispensario. She is a very friendly lady.

Teresa at the pyramid at Tepozteco...quite the view.
Here is a view of the pyramid. It is at the top of some cliffs, in an area that seems unlikely for a pyramid. It was a nice hike. Looks like the picture didn't turn out great.
This is me looking as much like a frat guy as I know how...with my new big hat and my incredibly large beer...I felt like all I needed was an Abercrombie shirt.

This is the school where we studied. Our classes were under the tiki huts.

A few of the teachers at the language school.

Nallely was my teacher for the majority of the time I was in language school, she taught me medical spanish.

Here is the family we stayed with in Cuernavaca, Mexico...left to right: dad, Jose Maria, Chema, Alicia, and Diego (I am in front). This family was incredibly friendly and welcoming, Thanks.

I may be able to add more pictures in the coming weeks...I forgot my camera charger, so I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted to, nor as many as dad or Teresa took. Hope you enjoy.

June in Alaska

2009-06-22T06:49:00.001-07:00

We just returned from a week long vacation in Anchorage visiting my parents and enjoying the beautiful scenery. Here are some of the highlights!

Emma came along with us and got to meet my parent's dog, Dango, for the first time.
We took a long walk along the coastal trail and watched the airplanes take off and land.
We drove to Whittier for a half day glacier cruise. On the way, we saw some Dall Sheep. Kon was particularly proud of this picture as he used his small tripod and timer to take the picture from the hood of the car.
Here we are on the glacier cruise. We saw otters, bald eagles, and the glaciers calved for us!
Here Kon is sitting with Emma at the top of Flat Top, a short hike from Anchorage. Emma loved hiking and practically threw herself down the mountain. Kon had to hold her back with her leash.
A little rusty on the jumping pictures!
We met Hudson, my cousin Blake and his wife Virginia's first child. He is such a mellow baby and keeps all the adults entertained!
Blake and Virginia took us on a fishing trip. Here we are getting ready to launch Blake's river boat.
Bill, a family friend, flew us home to Anchorage from his Bulchitna Lake Lodge where we stayed for a couple nights. What a fun time!

Now, we're back in Rochester. Starting next Monday, we'll officially be second year residents!

Spring update.

2009-06-05T11:18:00.000-07:00

I have included some photos of Stacy's trip to Germany with her mom. They traveled in March to participate in the wedding off one of Stacy's college friends, Ryan, to a German girl, Anne. I will let Stacy tell more about the trip if she wants...I didn't get to go along.
Stacy read from Velveteen Rabbit as part of the ceremony.

Stacy got a new weed pulling tool. She has a lot of fun spending time in the yard pulling dandelions. The new tool allows her to do it without bending down all the time. Our yard looks better since she started using the tool, but we have a long way to go before we are anywhere near weed free.

Here are some pictures of Memorial Day spent with Stacy's cousin Jackie. We drove to her place north of St. Paul and spent Sunday night and Monday with her. We went to a park on the St. Croix River just east of the twin cities. We were able to take our dogs, Emma and Miller, and had a nice time in great weather. We have enjoyed hanging out with Jackie a number of times since we have moved here.

Just today I bought a product for headlight refinishing...it is supposed to refinish the lens and get rid of the haziness. My headlights were pretty hazy, and the product is only $20 at Walmart, so I decided to try it. I haven't driven the car in the dark since doing it, but it does look better. Hopefully the function will also be better. I included a picture of the bag...kind of like an infomercial below complete with before and after photos. That's about it for now. Stacy and I leave for Alaska next week to visit Steve and Narumi, Stacy's parents. We are pretty excited about the trip. I will try to update the blog with some pictures when we get back. Hope this finds you well.

Recreational activity!

2009-05-01T03:13:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we had the opportunity to see Storyhill in concert in Zumbrota (a little town about 25 miles from Rochester). It was a great concert. We were in the second row. Unfortunately we forgot our camera, so we didn't get any actual pictures. I stole this one from the world wide web. The guys are originally from Montana and have a bunch of references to Montana stuff in their music. It made me miss Montana when I listened. They have ties to the area (John, the guy on the left in the picture, went to college out here), so we should get a chance to listen again in the future. Things are going well otherwise. Stacy starts a busier rotation on Saturday in the MICU (medical ICU). I get to work in the emergency department again. Dad comes to visit next weekend. I will try to update after his visit and all the exciting things we will get to do (the plan is to put a new back door on the house...I bet you can't wait for some pictures of that).

Flatus

2009-03-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

I came across this passage while studying today. I thought it very funny and descriptive. I realize that not everyone will agree with me, but I still wanted to share. I hope that you can at least get a chuckle from this...

From The Merck Manual, 16th edition:

Flatulence: Among those who are flatulent, the quantity and frequency of gas passage shows great variability. As with bowel frequency, persons who complain of flatulence often have a misconception of what is normal. In a study of 8 normal men aged 25 to 35 yr, the average number of gas passages was 13 ± 4 in one day with an upper limit of 21/day, which overlapped with many persons who complained of excess flatus. On the other hand, one study noted a person who expelled gas as often as 141 times daily, including 70 passages in one 4-hour period. Hence, objectively recording flatus frequency should be the first step in evaluating a complaint of excessive flatulence.

This symptom, which can cause great psychosocial distress, is unofficially described according to its salient characteristics:
· The "slider" (crowded elevator type), which is released slowly and noiselessly, sometimes with devastating effect;
· The open sphincter, or "pooh" type, which is said to be of higher temperature and more aromatic;
· The staccato or drumbeat type, pleasantly passed in privacy; and
· The "bark" type (described in a personal communication), characterized by a sharp exclamatory eruption that effectively interrupts (and often concludes) conversation. Aromaticity is not a prominent feature.

Rarely, this usually distressing symptom has been turned to advantage, as with a Frenchman referred to as "Le Petomane," who became affluent as an effluent performer who played tunes with the gas from his rectum on the Moulin Rouge stage. Despite the flammable nature of flatal H2 and CH4, no hazard is likely to those working near open flames, and youngsters have even been known to make a game of expelling gas over a match flame. However, gas explosion, rarely with fatal outcome, has been reported during jejunal and colonic surgery, and even during proctosigmoidoscopic procedures, where diathermy was used.

2009-03-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

This last week Tuesday, March 10 was my mom's birthday. It was a sad day...I wish that I had been able to be home with my dad and sister to celebrate her life and her birthday and to mourn her loss. I cried more on Tuesday than I had in quite a while. That same day I got a couple of emails from our Swiss relative. One of these included an older photo that I wanted to share. This photo shows, in the back row (the big people, left to right), Dad's Swiss second cousin Ursula, Dad, Dad's Swiss second cousin Margrit, Mom, and Aunt Ginnie. In the front row (the little people) are Teresa and my cousins Ali and Dusty.

I hope this posting finds you all well. I am doing OK as I remember Mom frequently this week and as I miss Stacy (she is in Germany with her mom and friend Julia for the wedding of her friend Ryan...hopefully she will bring some pictures we can share).

God Bless,

KON

A New Post ... At last!

2009-03-02T17:54:00.000-08:00

It has been over 2 months since our last post. I had planned to update our blog a month or so ago, but realized I only had pictures of Emma, so I waited it out a little longer. Now, I realize that my pictures still are mostly of Emma. We have been busy, mostly working and enjoying the time we have off together.
I found Emma showing off her buck teeth in her kennel one night and could not stop laughing.
Here is Kon holding the baby Judah in a carrier, while we enjoy dinner. Below, Emma is giving kisses to Judah. She really likes him!
Emma got a haircut in anticipation of my mother visiting this month. The cube she is sitting on is from Teresa's work in Bozeman. The multi-functional cubes have been a hit in our house, acting as an ottoman, seat, and end table!
We had a special visit from Dustin, Shannon, and Caedmon last week. Here's a picture of the whole group at the Mall of America where we spent a couple of hours catching up.

Last, we had the pleasure of dog sitting a sophisticated Dachshund named Lucy last week for one of my colleagues. Look at how she sits up in the chair. So fun! Emma enjoyed having some doggy company too.
Kon is working hard this month on the Labor and Delivery floor, delivering babies. I have a lighter month and a week of vacation coming up too! Hope all is well! Love, Stacy

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-20T11:36:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick photo tour of our last month. Fred and Teresa visited us for Thanksgiving. Here we jumping with downtown St. Paul in the background. The weather was frigid! We stumbled upon an awesome evening at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul where we watched Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" from on-stage. The live show was impressive and we are hoping to go again in future months with future guests!
Here is our studious dog. She likes to sit on the desk chair and watch all of the happenings on the street. She keeps us pretty entertained with her fun personality.
In early December, we spent a short week in Montana. We had a great time visiting both sides of the family. All of Kon's cousins are having babies, and they are all growing so fast and are so cute! Kon and I tried to spend some time in the mountains. It was too early to ski but we did spend one morning picking out a Christmas tree, and hiked up the "M" on the Bridger's a couple times too.
The following is Kon's artistic picture.
Rochester has been hit with some snow over the past couple of weeks. Here are some pictures from today. Emma loves the snow and does a great job of playing in it even when it is deep.
This is the view of our home this afternoon. It is blanketed!
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Love, Stacy

The Emma Story

2008-11-10T17:04:00.000-08:00

Kon asked me to share the story of how Emma became a part of our family. Really, I should wait a few days as he just posted a new blog entry yesterday, but here it is ...

On the first full day that Fred was in town, Fred and I took a walk on the trail behind our house. On our walk, we met Emma, who was being walked by a volunteer from the shelter. We stopped to pet Emma, and the volunteer told me all about how I could become a volunteer too (I thought that would be the perfect way to spend time with dogs without actually taking one home). Emma was super friendly and so excited to have us pet her that Fred and I walked to the shelter and picked up the volunteer paperwork. Over the course of the day, I kept thinking about Emma and then looked her up on the shelter website and found out she was a Cockapoo (a breed that is supposed to shed less and be hypoallergenic). I was sold. I begged Kon to go to the shelter with me that afternoon, but first we all had to go to the hardware store. I typically hate going to the hardware store, but tagged along, in hopes that afterward we could go see Emma! Well, by the time we made it the shelter, I was told that there were already two families who had filled out paperwork to adopt her. We left immediately, and I was crushed and crying.

I spent the next 2 days browsing the internet for dogs to adopt in Minnesota, all the while watching the local shelter webpage to see if Emma was going to move from the "available dogs" column to the "adoption pending" or "recently adopted" column, but she didn't. So I emailed the shelter, and she was still available!!! One woman couldn't take her for a month and the second wanted a running dog and thought that she was too small. So, that Friday afternoon, hours after I received an email that she was still in need of a home, Kon, Fred, Teresa and I went to the shelter, and came home with Emma. She has been fantastic so far. She's only peed in the house once, and that was at my Aunt and Uncle's house (sorry!). She is a snuggler (perfect for me) and a playful, fast runner in the dog park (Kon loves to take her). Anyway, we're excited for everyone to meet her!

Introducing Emma and Judah

2008-11-09T11:57:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since my last update...a lot has happened, but I will just share a brief overview (and some pictures). Sorry to those of you who have checked for updates during this long dry spell. In particular, sorry to Grandma and Grandpa Kessler (pretty sure you have checked more than anyone), and to Nicole as you have watched for pictures of Emma.

Stacy and I returned from MT and Mom's funeral to jump right back into residency stuff. It didn't feel right for quite a while, and it still has its times when things just seem a little off. Stacy came back to cardiac intensive care, while I came back to anesthesia and psychiatry (interesting combo, but it worked well). We each had three weeks of that rotation before starting our next ones.

In October, Stacy was doing neurology, and I worked all night shifts in the emergency department. I moved the guest bed into the basement, so I could sleep in the darkness during the day. The last week of the month I left Stacy home alone (well, almost...more to follow). I went with all of the first year emergency medicine residents (except Niels...also more to follow) to Chicago for an emergency medicine conference. We had a good time there.

Earlier in October--Dad from the 13th and Teresa from the 16th, both through the 20th--my family came to visit. It was so nice to see them. While they were here Teresa helped with decorating our house.This is a picture of our bedroom. If you compare to the earlier bedroom picture you will notice the new lamps and the new rug (thick and cushiony...feels great on bare feet early in the morning). Teresa also helped brain storm a lot of other changes. She will get to help again when they visit around Thanksgiving.

While they were here I also got help from Dad on a couple of house projects. We put some lights in the back porch and moved a couple of light switches among other things. The changes are great, and I would be happy to share them with anyone who chooses to visit us.

Another big change happened while they were visiting. We got a new dog.
Emma is just over one year old. She is half poodle and half cocker spaniel. She may be the sweetest dog I have ever known. Perhaps Stacy will update the blog with a more complete story behind the adoption at a later time. Emma likes to rest with people she loves...here you can see that she and Dad get along quite well together.This is Emma at one of the dog parks in town. She thinks it great fun to play with the other dogs and to meet many new people also.Judah Niels Harden was born October 22. Niels (his dad) is one of my emergency medicine co-interns, his wife Karly is a nurse at Mayo, and together they are our best friends in Rochester. We get to see them pretty frequently, but we look forward to spending more time with them in the future. This is Karly and Niels when they visited us the other night for dinner. It was the first time Judah had been over to visit.

Dad and Teresa will be coming in just under 2 weeks. They will be here over Thanksgiving, and I am really looking forward to spending more time with them. Stacy will be working that week, but I have the week off (we each have 3 weeks of vacation this year...2 of our weeks are at the same time, and we each have one week where we are on vacation alone).

That's it for now. We hope to do updates a little more regularly in the coming weeks, but we are making no promises.

God Bless,
KON

2008-09-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

Here is Mom's obituary...I tried to just find a link for it, but it didn't work. Teresa was the primary author, and I think she did a great job. Anyway, I thought it would be fitting to include this in our blog. Kessler, Phyllis A.

Phyllis A. Kessler, 53, of Belgrade passed away Aug. 24, 2008. She was born March 10, 1955, in Bozeman to George and Thressa (Danhof) Kingma. She loved Jesus. She was beautiful, very gifted and she loved life and everything about it, especially babies, Earl Grey tea and crossword puzzles. Phyllis grew up in Bozeman the eldest daughter of George and Teddy Kingma's five children. After Phyllis graduated from Manhattan Christian High School in 1973 she had planned on refining her natural artistic abilities at an art institute, but she met and fell in love with Fred E. Kessler, a Bozeman native and son of Fritz and Lillian Kessler. He was the love of her life and she his. Together they raised two children, Konrad Lee Kessler, who is training to be a doctor of emergency medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and Teresa Renee Kessler who is working creatively, inspired by her mom, at Shack Up Interior Design Studio in Bozeman. She was very proud of them both. They lived together in Belgrade for 31 years where she worked alongside Fred in their business, Kessler Dairy Supply. Phyllis was a wonderful, dedicated, loving wife and mother, amazing daughter, sister, aunt and friend, and she loved to extend that love to others. She was a volunteer with Love In the Name of Christ, coordinating volunteers from her church with needs in the community. She was also active in Bozeman Christian Reformed Church, teaching Sunday school, leading craft lessons, and hosting small group Bible studies. Every fall she looked forward to the beginning of Bible Study Fellowship where she was able to meet and make new friends and deepen her relationship with her Savior. She enjoyed family time, having fun and laughing, traveling, reading, painting, making jewelry, sewing, skiing, fishing, going on walks with Fred and eating Blizzards. She especially enjoyed spending time at Ennis Lake where God welcomed her home while water skiing on Aug. 24, 2008. She is survived by her husband, Fred; son, Kon and his wife, Stacy; daughter, Teresa; parents, George and Teddy Kingma; siblings, Tom Kingma (Judy), Jan Stehman, Ken Kingma (Sandy), Tammy Marcotte (Jerry) and many nieces and nephews. She touched many lives with her tender heart and will be missed and continually loved by them all. Memorial services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 29, at Bozeman Christian Reformed Church, 324 N. Fifth Ave. Visitation at Dokken-Nelson Funeral Service will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Memorials in her name may be made to Love INC, Love In the Name of Christ, P.O. Box 7117, Bozeman 59771.

Sad Happenings...

2008-09-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

Since the last update a lot has happened...probably most people who still tune into the blog already know.

On the evening of Sunday, August 24, my family including Mom, Dad, Teresa, Uncle Tom, Aunt Judy, Danielle, and Grandpa and Grandma Kingma were at Ennis Lake. They were having a fun day, it was getting close to dusk and the last opportunity to water ski before BBQ dinner and then heading home. Mom, who is typically quite timid when it comes to water skiing and never (or at least never that I can remember) wants to be the last person to ski, was excited to make one more run. She got up and dropped one ski to be skiing on one. She was skiing, as Teresa told me, with far less fear than she normally has. They were in a canyon heading toward the dam on the lake as it is protected from the wind and typically has smoother water. The norm is to get near the dam and to turn around at a slightly wider part of the canyon. Dad was driving and turned the boat as he always does. Mom went outside the wake and skied too wide beyond the path of the boat. She ran into the rock slide on the edge of the lake and died that day.

I learned of Mom's death late that night after I had gone to bed. Stacy and I contacted our residency programs immediately and flew to MT the next AM. That night was very difficult with much crying, wailing and confused and jumbled thoughts as we tried to get our things packed and to get our house ready to be empty for an unknown period of time. We reached Bozeman by 1pm on the 25th. We spent almost 2 weeks in MT planning the funeral, mourning deeply, and remembering the gift that God had given us in Mom, lovely Phyllis Kessler.

Family, friends, church family, community, and business contacts from Mom and Dad's business were great. I have included in the blog post today some pictures of Mom and a few of our time in Bozeman. I hope you can enjoy and remember Mom with me...

this is Mom at Ennis Lake on a beautiful summer day

this is a picture of Mom with Teresa somewhere in Europe...not sure if this was when Mom and Teresa went to Europe together or if this was when Dad and Mom visited Teresa during her year of school in France

Mom and Dad together, I think somewhere in Italy...don't they look nice together

Mom, Dad, and me in Alaska 3 years ago

during the summer a couple years ago Mom, Dad, and Teresa visited Seattle and we drove over the North Cascades highway

Pictures from our time in Bozeman...just a few

hiking on my birthday to Mt. Blackmore...Stacy, cousin Jeremy, Dad, and Teresa...trying to get at least a little jumping done

preparing for a big jumping pic...little hard to see everyone...L to R: Teresa, cousin Gretchen, cousin Marlo, me, Dad, cousin Eugen, cousin Tucker, cousin Anna, and cousin Heidi

and with all of our feet off the ground! Pretty good!

Mom was great and we will miss her greatly. Please pray for us to continue taking comfort in Mom being home with Jesus in Heaven and that we will be strengthened by God to continue to function while remember Mom and being thankful that God gave her to us for her 53 years of life...God Bless, KON

NEW STUFF!

2008-08-20T12:43:00.000-07:00

Our new couch on the car...I think it looks pretty good.
The couch also looks nice inside (check back for photos when it is unwrapped). Also note the new rug.
I tried to turn this photo sideways...it didn't work. Anyway, this rug and this one are both from Azerbaijan. Stacy's parents brought them back when they recently moved back to the states. Thanks to them. These rugs are very nice and they look great.

Here is our bedroom. We have new blinds from our last set of photos. They do the drop from the top or up from the bottom thing, and they completely block out the light. They are very nice for when one of us has to sleep during the day.

Check out the new furniture too. We got these last week.
We also got the new headboard and the nightstands. Quite an upgrade from the rubbermaid containers. I am especially happy with my orange nightstand.

Last, but not least, I got new license plates last week. These ones cost a little extra, but the money goes to support homeless veterans. I thought it was worthwhile.

Things are going well here. Not much news to share. My next post will hopefully show some jumping pictures sent from others. We have some good ones from Laura, but no one else has shared any. We are still looking for some good photos from other people. Until then,

later,
KON

Something...finally.

2008-07-31T15:02:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update...I had hoped to be a little better a doing regular updates (it doesn't take me very long), but with limited free time I find other things to do--this residency thing sure makes me feel like I don't know much and that I have a lot to learn in not that much time...I have been trying to read as much as possible. Also, we now have to think about the house, the lawn, and all that goes along with these things. There always seems to be something to do.

Anyway, now that I am done making excuses about my poor blog updating performance, I will try to briefly share an update on what has been happening in our lives.
These pictures of our cars were taken as sales tools. "What?" you say? When we started working in the hospital, we quickly learned that we will not be driving often. Stacy walks about 5 blocks to work, and I bike about 7 (we work in the same hospital, but it is very big, and we use different entrances). We decided that it would be very reasonable for us to be a "one-car-family". We posted my Suby (actually "our" car, but much more explanatory when the possessive is added) to craigslist. There was a little interest, but we decided that we should try posting Stacy's car as well to see what would happen. We sold her Saturn the following day. We are now hoping that the Suby will perform alright and that we will not regret our decision.

On Tuesday of this week Stacy and I had our only day off together for the month of July. We went up to the Twin Cities, ate Japanese food, bought Asian groceries, and went to the Mall of America (it is a BIG place). We were able to find some clothes to supplement Stacy's wardrobe. She only wears a suit about half of the time now, but next year she will be needing to dress up nearly daily. There is (at least I am told this is the case) still room for growth in the wardrobe, but we made some headway. Here is a photo of me in the Emergency Department. One of the other residents took this picture during our first week in the hospital. I was really green at this time, so I now look much more professional and knowledgeable while working (many of you have probably guessed that I just wrote with sarcasm, and that this is pretty much how I look every day). If you really zoom in you might be able to read that my name tag reads "Konrad Kessler, MD".
This weekend (8/2-8/3) Stacy is travelling back to Walla Walla, Washington to attend her good friend, Ashley's, wedding. She gets to dress up as a bride's maid (or matron now?), so maybe we will have some pictures of that to come.

Also, Stacy's parents, Steve and Narumi, are back from Azerbaijan and will be driving up from Houston to visit us next week. The are driving a Uhaul to bring boxes of Stacy's childhood belongings. We hope to get to have some fun time with them. I get me schedule for August in a few days, so we should know by then.

Until next time,
KON

Fun with Cousins and Introducing Dr. Stacy

2008-07-11T12:02:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, my cousins from Arizona - Kyle and Colin - along with their parents my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bill were in MN for a Boy Scout Canoe Trip in the Boundary Waters. I met up with them at my Uncle John and Aunt Mary's house about 1.5 hours Northeast of Rochester. Kon was working in the Emergency Department that day, so he missed out on the fun. Uncle John and Aunt Mary grilled a 20 lb turkey and made up some delicious fixings -- and sent me home with leftovers, that fed us for a couple nights!

I had my second overnight shift in the hospital this last week. I usually have to wear a suit to work .... but on the overnight shifts, I wear scrubs and a long white coat. Kon met me for dinner in the cafeteria and he was able to take a couple of pictures of me, looking like a doctor.
Today is my day off!! It feels great to be home and relaxing!! Take care!!

Walk-through tour of our house!

2008-07-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of our house (this is how it looks today...I just took the photos). Lots of pictures...hope you enjoy. This is the front of the house and the front entry as seen from 2nd St NW. You are looking north and a little east. You can see the west and south sides of the house from here. The windows in the middle of the picture are in our bedroom.
As you enter the front door you pass a coat closet on your right and you can see the dining room ahead of you.

We are entering the living room...more furniture on the way.Here is the dining room. Now, back up and look through the living room at the dining room from a different angle.Turn around to look at our office area. Stacy is a big fan of the roll-top desk...I think it is nice too.
Our new chairs. I think they are very comfy.While in the dining room, you can see the kitchen to your left--the living room is on your right.Take a look at the dining room from the other side, and you can see the bathroom.It's kind of tight, but it works well for us.Now back out of the bathroom and look to your left (south of the bathroom). You get to go into our bedroom. Our nightstands are rubbermade containers now, but we are looking for something a little classier.Don't you love our lace over the windows? I think it will be going away before too long. Turn around to head back out of the bedroom. You can see our closet from here. On the other side of the bathroom is the spare bedroom.It is a bit of a mess right now, but we are slowly working on putting things away. It helps to have places and furniture in which to put these things.Now we will walk back through the dining room to the kitchen.On the other side of the kitchen you can see the back door going into the screened porch. This door also leads toward our basement.Down to the dungeon...not really that bad. Let's take a look. This is the laundry area.My workbench and chair for hanging out when it gets too warm upstairs. I like this part of the house.Notice the platform for the washer and dryer? That is my addition, and it looks much nicer than it did before if I do say so myself...and I just did.Now we will head back upstairs for the rest of the tour (notice the storage under the stairs on the way out...very handy).Into the screened porch.A great place for some patio furniture...we are looking for some.The garage is quite a bit newer than the house.A great place for our bikes, not to mention the car.Notice the garage door opener. It is new...I installed it, and it works great.Now we are in the back yard and looking back toward the screened porch.We have a playhouse. Ideas for using this? Let me know.The gate leads out to Cascade Creek.Looking through the gate.I think this area is pretty.

Hope you liked the tour. Stacy and I are doing well. She is in the hospital more than I am right now (she is on a medicine service and spends every 6th night in the hospital, I am in the Emergency Department...not right now, I'm at home today...I work fewer hours, but I will work more in other months).

I hope this update finds you all doing well. I am liking it here, but I do miss seeing many people that I know well and love.

later,
KON

Settling in Rochester

2008-06-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

First, some wrap up statistics from our bicycle journey:

total miles logged: 3038
total riding days: 40
average miles/day: 76

total flat tires: 26
Kon's bicycle flat tires: 13
Kon's BOB trailer flat tires: 2
Stacy's bicycle flat tires: 4
Stacy's BOB trailer flat tires: 7

Kon's favorite Dairy Queen Blizzard: Pecan Cluster
Stacy's favorite DQ blizzard: Banana Split
Favorite Ice Cream brand: Blue Bell from Texas

Favorite State: New Mexico

I think it is safe to say that we both miss being on our bicycles and that we are looking forward to the next bicycle trip ... which is probably at least 4 years down the road.

More pictures to catch everyone up on what has been going on these past few weeks. When we returned to Seattle for graduation, I was baptized at our church in Seattle the Good Shepherd Bible Study Ministry. Thanks, Tom and Karen for the pictures!

Tony took us to see his inorganic chemistry lab ...
And we both graduated from medical school.

Thank you to all of our family and friends who made it out to Seattle to celebrate our graduation with us.I started orientation last Monday. I wear a suit to work everyday and have a name badge that says I'm a doctor. Kon starts orientation tomorrow and he is busy reading about Advanced Trauma Life Support right now in his hammock in our backyard. When I'm running tight on time, I ride my bicycle into work, which feels a bit funny when I'm wearing heels.

Last, we spent the weekend in furniture stores trying to find a couch for our living room. Here is my favorite picture of Kon. He is pretending to be knitting because this chair looked like it would fit well in a nursing home.

Thanks for reading! We both officially start taking care of patients next Saturday, June 28th -- we're nervous, but excited to start our training! Take care.

a whirlwind!!

2008-06-13T14:37:00.000-07:00

First, a quick HELLO to Grandma and Grandpa Kessler in Bozeman, MT. We had a lovely breakfast with them on our way through Bozeman last week, and they gently reminded us that we had not posted on our blog since May 19th ... and that they check our blog everyday! Thank you to the loyal readers of our blog and we're sorry that we haven't posted in a long time.

So much has happened in the last 3.5 weeks ....

We took jumping pictures at St. Augustine Beach, FL as we spent a few days seeing the sights of the oldest continuously inhabited city in the US. It was a hard adjustment to not be riding our bikes everyday.

Next, some pictures that I'm embarrassed about, but I promised my friend Laura that we would post them for her viewing pleasure in Glacier National Park, MT. Check out our sweet tan lines:

We were lucky to have a few extra days because our bike trip ended in 6 weeks instead of 7 weeks, so we took the opportunity to travel to SF to visit Mrs. Toriumi, my mother's "Auntie," and Julia, my friend from college. Kon had not been to SF since he was a small child so we had a great time exploring the city.

Jumping pictures with the Golden Gate Bridge: We rented a tandem bicycle at the Fisherman's Wharf and spent sometime exploring the city by bicycle.
Picture with Mrs. Toriumi at Japan Town:

Julia's first jumping picture in the Mission District after eating the most delicious baked goods at Tartine Bakery:

After 3 days in SF, Kon and I flew to Minneapolis/St. Paul to spend Memorial Day weekend with my Uncle John, Aunt Mary, and cousin Jackie. We enjoyed the Prescott, WI Memorial Day parade and took patriotic jumping pictures for our cousin Ross, a Marine currently deployed in Iraq.
I think that is all for today. We are supposed to have internet hooked up at our house tomorrow, which should make it easier to update our blog! Take care!

Dipping our tires in the Atlantic Ocean

2008-05-19T09:28:00.000-07:00

Day #40, May 17th

Lake City to St. Augustine Beach, FL

116 miles

Today was a big day :) In the morning we followed a large part of the more direct route that Tom, a fellow bike tourist had recommended to us. The roads were smooth (our favorite) and we had a bit of a tail wind for a large part of the day (another favorite). We thought it might rain on us in the morning, but the skies cleared. We rejoined the published route in the small town of Putnam Hall on SR 100 where we stopped at the gas station and promptly ran into our friend Kevin who we had split up riding with 6 days earlier! A few minutes later, we met Rita and Harry, a couple from Belgium who have been riding for almost 3 months along the Southern Tier with side trips to Big Bend and New Orleans. They have had zero flat tires in almost 6,000 kilometers of riding. After meeting them, Kon decided we have a lot more to learn about bicycle touring! Our original plan was to stop in Palatka for the evening, but our tail wind was too good and we still had enough daylight to continue riding, so we decided to push on to the finish. We did stop in Palatka for some fuel (aka a pint of Blue Bell ice cream). It was so exciting to see the first road sign for St. Augustine. We have been telling people for the last 6 weeks that we are riding to St. Augustine, and then to finally see a sign for it was magical. We arrived at St. Augustine beach at 7:30 pm. Kevin rode the final stretch with us, so we took pictures as each one of us dipped our tires in the Atlantic Ocean and celebrated. It was a satisfying moment.

Our next dilemma was where to camp for the evening. Anastasia State Park was full and the KOA charges over 40 dollars each night just to set up a tent. Crazy. The evening ranger at the State Park, Steve, took pity on us, and invited us to camp in his backyard and take showers at his house. We spent the remainder of the evening talking with Steve, his wife Vicki, and teenage son Griffin. It was a lovely way to end a trip that has been defined by the generosity of the people along the way.

Now we are spending a few days as tourists in St. Augustine, staying in a motel, and trying to get our belongings washed, sorted, and shipped home. We're pretty sure that the end of this trip does not mark the end of this blog (although we'll probably have to change the name a bit). We need to do some "wrap up" statistical analysis of our trip, such as total miles, total # of flats, favorite ice cream flavor, etc, so be on the look out for that. Take care and thanks for following us across the country!

Getting very close now...

2008-05-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

Day #39; Friday, May 16

Start: KOA just south of Monticello, FL

End: Lake City, FL

86.8 miles

After our nice rest yesterday, today was fun. It was overcast from the start and very muggy. We rode into town for breakfast early in the day and then continued along highway 90 through Live Oak (this is another departure from the established route...we have chosen a few of these to cut off miles when the road is good). We ate a quick lunch there of peanut butter on tortillas with raisins (this has been our "go-to-meal" on the trip as all ingredients are pretty smash proof). During lunch in the town park we experienced some brief showers but were able to hide pretty well under a roof over a stage. By lunch we had already done about 65 miles!

As we started out after lunch, we watched big black clouds blow above us (luckily in the same direction as we were going--tail wind). We were sprinkled on a little but kept riding as that seemed the best option. Soon, however, thunder began to warn us of heavier rains. We pulled out under the trees for a bit. It slowed for a little while, but in time it kept its promise. WE GOT DUMPED ON! When we decided it was probably dangerous for us to be on the road (visibility was pretty poor), we pulled to the side and took refuge under a roof in front of a real estate business. We waited for about 30 minutes before it settled down and we were able to hit the road. About 200 yards down the road there was a large tree that had fallen on a pickup truck and was blocking the entire road (wanted to take a picture, but it was raining too hard to risk getting the camera wet). We thought we might be forced to take a several mile detour as the vehicles were being made to do, but they let us pass through the ditch around the tree and pickup to get back on the road. There were emergency vehicles and a tow truck all gathered around the scene.

Once back on the road, we continued to pedal in a now lighter rain. We didn't have far to go until we reached Lake City where we found an RV park. The place was kind of a dump and had quite an interesting "shanty town" on display. After reaching camp it rained only briefly then cleared. The day was wet, but we made great time and are now even nearer to our final destination.

We made it to FLORIDA!

2008-05-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

Bike Day #35, May 11th
Gulf Shores, AL
Milton, FL
71.8 miles

As we were biking along the Alabama tourist beach this morning, Kon saw a sign for a 7:30 am Galilean Worship service. It was 7:26 am, so we pulled over and joined the crowd gathered on the beach for an early morning service. The wind was blowing, but it was a nice way to start the day-- there was special music for Mother's Day, so we both thought about our Moms and how special they are .... The family next to us let us use two beach towels so we were comfortable and a crowd gathered around us asking us questions about our trip as we got ready to leave. Twenty minutes or so after the service, we stopped at a grocery store for breakfast and a thunder storm hit hard for a half an hour. I was SO thankful to be inside as the rain was falling in sheets.

From there we biked into FL although there was no state sign to greet us :( and through the town of Pensacola. The shoulder of US 90 had piles of dirt and I hit one going too fast, fishtailed, and amazingly made it out of my toe-clips, and ran to a stop without falling. My bike tipped over in the dirt, but nothing was broken. Thank goodness!!

We decided to stop in Milton for the evening. We went to a 6 pm church service at Faith Baptist Church where we enjoyed more Mother's Day music, and after the service we were invited to stay in the missionary apartments which were lovely! We have been repeatedly amazed by the generosity of the people along the way.

Bike Day #36, May 12th
Milton, FL
Ponce de Leon, FL
83.1 miles

We stopped at the Crestview library for 2 hours and tried to "catch up" on the other things that are happening in our lives while we are busy biking everyday (upcoming graduation, mortgage financing for new home, upcoming start of internship). We finished our 6th map in DeFuniak Springs - only one more map to go! Kon was unhappy with our choice of campground. It was 4 miles OFF route and then down a sandy road that was impossible to bike through in places. The funny thing about biking across the country is that even if we are biking over 3,200 miles total, 1 mile OFF route seems like way too much.

Bike Day #37, May 13th
Ponce de Leon, FL
Chattahoochee, FL
75.1 miles

On our way into the small town of Marianna, we met Tom Duncan a retired contractor who spent years working at Prudhoe Bay and lived in Bozeman for 30+ years. He is riding a recumbant tricycle that he is ready to sell when he reaches St. Augustine. We both enjoyed Tom's comments about the route and his trip so far. In Marianna, we stopped for a buffet lunch (we are able to get our money's worth at a buffet these days) and we were quite entertained by the group of 7 older gentlemen who gathered around our bicycles. Kon went outside to talk with them and answer their questions about our gear. We stayed at a nice RV park on the Apalachicola river outside of Chattahoochee where we entered into the Eastern time zone!!

Bike Day #38, May 14th
Chattahoochee, FL
East Tallahassee KOA (6 miles SW of Monticello)
75.6 miles

Everyday is an adventure, and this day was an adventure for sure. First, in the town of Quincy, we took at picture for any of the disgruntled "Freds" out there. We had a stiff headwind as we rode into Tallahassee. We passed the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory where Konrad had to work hard to keep his steel bike from being sucked in. We were planning to stay in Tallahassee with a Warm Showers host, but after making good time into Tallahassee and reaching the home, we decided to continue on. The house was a disaster with junk throughout the house and the yard, a strong smell of cats, and it was just too much. Luckily, no one was home, so we were able to leave without offending anyone. All of our other warm showers hosts have been so lovely, that this was quite unexpected for us. We then went to the Metro Deli, where we met Josh and Jason. They gave us a discount on our food, made us laugh, and gave us input on which roads to take out of town. They were easily the highlight of Tallahassee for us. On our way through Tallahassee, we took a quick picture outside the capitol building. We chose to go off the published route and take Hwy 27 (a busy road in the city, but light traffic and nice shoulders as we went out of town) to make a short cut to the KOA campground. We arrived before dark to a well-kept campground where we met Betty who had complimentary cake, pie and cookies in the office and very clean showers!

REST DAY!! Today May 15th!!
Well, I don't know that we have ever been completely caught up on our blog, but we are today! Last night, after realizing that we have averaged over 81 miles over the last 14 days with no rest days, we decided we should rest. And given that we are staying at a nice campground, with nice folks, and clean showers, I was totally excited about a rest day. We had a complimentary waffle breakfast at the KOA. Kon spent the morning cleaning our bike gears, and I worked on our finances and my journal. Then we rode into the quaint historic town of Monticello, where we enjoyed a BBQ plate lunch at Johnston's Meat Locker. Look at all of the jugs of BBQ sauce! We tried all sorts of flavors like peach, apple cinnamon, and red bourbon. We ran into Tom Duncan at the library and he is planning a more direct route to St. Augustine -- so we are also contemplating going off route. Either way, it looks like in 2-3 more biking days we'll be dipping our tires in the Atlantic Ocean!

More states...and some parental screening advised!

2008-05-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

Note: For our avid readers--I made 2 new posts yesterday and one of them placed out of order. If you scroll down below the post titled "I like pictures" you will see the post labeled "Into a new state...finally". Sorry.

Day #32; Thursday, May 8
Start: Easleyville, LA

End: Poplarville, MS

91.9miles

Last night Kevin (referenced in prior posts) caught up with us. We were the only 3 people at the campground where we stayed. The day went smoothly, and we covered a lot of miles despite the fact that it was one of our warmer days yet. Sometime mid morning we stopped for a couple of lady motorists on the side of the road. Their tie rod (important for steering and for keeping front wheels lined up) had disconnected. We were able to help them get back on the road--I got a kick out of being able to stop while on my bicycle to help motorists...we are not as helpless as we might look.

For lunch we stopped at this cafe in Bogalusa, LA. The food was excellent and the costs were great. I had a big burger with onion rings and BBQ sauce on the burger...different and great. We continued on in the heat to reach our most recent warmshowers hosts. We were able to share the experience with Kevin when we stayed with Tanya and Steve in Poplarville, MS (another new state...my first MS experience). The stay was fun. We ate a great home cooked dinner and breakfast and got to meet Tanya's many animals. What great hosts we have continued to have on this trip.

Day #33; Friday, May 9

Start: Poplarville, MS

End:Vancleave, MS

72.8 miles

Before leaving this AM we took a picture with Tanya. Steve had already left for work, so we missed getting to photograph him. Here we are with Tanya and Kevin (Kevin is from WI and has been most recently living in AK).

We took a couple of shortcuts today (maybe not much different mileage, but better roads) as recommended by Tanya, and everything went extremely smoothly. We reached our campground around 4 in the afternoon, which is relatively early for us. We got to go swimming for the first time on our trip since the campground had a pool. It felt so nice! We ate dinner at the campground (beans and cheese on tortillas all on the campstove). Meanwhile the campground came alive with the Friday night party crowd. We had a very intoxicated lady across from us singing a number of different classic rock songs, and we made a friend from a couple of campers over who was also quite lubricated with malt liquor...still very friendly. Luckily it all settled down in time for us to sleep pretty well considering the amazing humidity and stickiness.

Day #34; Saturday, May 10

Start: Vancleave, MS

End: Gulf Shores, AL

91.1 miles

A good day for photos. We got to ride from the treed and kind of backwoods feeling areas toward the ocean. We reached Alabama (yet another new state...at the state line we got a picture of the welcome AL sign...but we discovered after taking the picture that this one may not be suitable for younger eyes......the forms showed up much more obviously when using the flash with the reflective sign). We then walked across the road to get a better picture with a MS sign...Kevin joined us, and we got a pretty nice picture with all of us in the air. We rode through Alabama Port and down to Dauphin Island. From there we took a ferry across to the other side of Mobile Bay and rode into Gulf Shores where we spent the night in a huge state park. Stacy was not too impressed by the ferry as she was expecting something more along the lines of the Seattle Ferry system...we had no water, no toilets, no shade on the boat, and everything was quite a bit smaller than we are accustomed to at home. When we started moving and she felt the breeze she was happier. We hope to get more caught up on our blog in the next couple of days. Sorry to those of you who check frequently...we have been poor updaters.

long time, no blog

2008-05-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

Day #29; Monday, May 5 (AKA Cinco de Mayo)
Start: Oberlin, LA
End: Washington, LA

56.5 miles

We left the Oberlin Fire Dept. and Cheif Kelly this AM and began riding through some quiet Louisiana countryside.

In Mamou we met a dutch couple over from the Netherlands for 6 months with their 2 year-old daughter and 4 year-old son. They have toured extensively in Asia before their children were born. They now travel about 25-30 miles per day and stop for their kids to rest often.

Pretty inspiring, maybe a little crazy (some might say a whole lot crazy).

Also today biked among fields of standing water with things sticking out of the water. We asked and found that these are the crawfish fields. They trap the crawfish and harvest them that way.

Stacy met some cattle she really liked. They ran along beside us. In the end, every steer in the field crowded into the corner of the field closest to Stacy as we took the photo.

Today was also the first day of riding in the rain. It didn't rain very hard or too long, but we got a little wet and dirty. We used the internet and made our previous blog update.

Day # 30; Tuesday, May 6
Start: Washington, LA
End: Morganza, LA
81.7 miles

Today we left a very poorly kept campground with very dirty (almost scary) showers in a town that was established sometime around 1729 (I think that is what the sign said, and I think the showers at the campground may have been built a couple of years after that). We rode through an area of flooding. This is flooding from the Mississippi river and is related to flooding responsible for shutting down our ferry--we were supposed to take one across the big river, but they have shut it down as the water is very high and the crossing dangerous. We got to stay in a much nicer campground tonight. It was new and the showers were clean. Stacy was a big fan.

Day #31; Wednesday, May 7
Start: Morganza, LA
End: Easleyville, LA
91 miles

Today was a long and exciting day, but unfortunately there are no pictures to accompany the words (I hate to do that). We had to take a detour from our route (as mentioned above, the ferry was out of service). We rode south to cross a bridge at Baton Rouge. We had been told we could contact the police dept. to request an escort across the long, narrow, and dangerous bridge. I called the night before our crossing was to happen and was told to call then next day and someone would help me then. I called mid-morning and was transferred 6-8 times (at one point I was transferred back to the lady I spoke with initially--I think I found it more entertaining than she did). I spoke with a couple of city police, state police, and county sheriffs.

Finally I talked with an officer that told me to call when we were at the foot of the bridge so he could send someone out. When I called again in about 90 minutes, he was out on patrol. The other officer said that Officer Curtin (to whom I had spoken initially) would be delayed but could escort us in 30-60 minutes. At this point I considered crossing sans escort. Then I was called back by an officer who informed me that they would not be able to escort us without a permit. They were not authorized to issue the permit and they could not tell me how to get in touch with the people authorized to issue a permit (I love red tape...doesn't it make the world run smoothly). Luckily we were offered a ride (after Stacy made a very polite request) by a woman with a pick-up truck. She let us load our bikes and gave us a ride about 1 or 2 miles to the other side of the mighty Mississippi. Our day was long but otherwise uneventful.

I like pictures

2008-05-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

Some difficulties with jumping pictures...thought you might enjoy our efforts.

Into a new state...finally.

2008-05-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

Day #26; Friday, May 2
Start: Navasota, TX
End: Near Coldspring, TX on Lake Livingston
87 miles (I bought a bicycle computer in Austin with an odometer)

We started a new map section today! (there are 7 map sections for our trip, and as of today we have started on the 5th section...always exciting). We had to take a detour off of our route today. It looked like it would be about 20 miles out of the way, but it turned out to be closer to 10 miles...wahoo!

While in Austin I put a new tire on my rear wheel. It is a little larger than the old one, and I did not consider that my tubes were sized for the old tire. I have gotten a few flats from stretch holes in the tube. Our maps don't show another bike shop for about 400 miles, so we rode up to Huntsville, TX where we visited Richard. He is a retired principal who runs a little, well stocked bike shop. We bought some new tubes and a couple other things while we visited the very friendly shop owner.

We continued on and met up with Kevin again (see Stacy's post) at a campground near Livingston Lake after stopping off in Coldspring for a meal of catfish and shrimp (all-you-can-eat...right up my alley).

Day #27; Saturday, May 3
Start: Lake Livingston
End: Kirbyville, TX
102 miles

We rode the whole day with Kevin. The rodes were smooth and there was very little wind, so we made great time. We stopped in Silsbee where I met Jonathon at the Dairy Queen (his sister works there). We visited while eating our Blizzards (it was Kevin's first Blizzard, and he approved). Jonathon decided that if he had a bicycle he would join us.

When we reached Kirbyville we found that there are no established campgrounds there. I visited briefly with one very unfriendly convenience store employee, then called the sheriff, then tried the doors at the Baptist church (to see if anyone was around...thought it might be OK to camp there), then called the sheriff again (to ask about a town park we had seen...found that a number of people had called us in as they thought we must be trying to break into the church...you can probably imagine how suspicious 3 cyclists are and how it must look like we could probably load up the entire contents of the church and leave town). We finally spoke with a sheriff officer at the church who gave us permission to camp in the town park. We slept well that night.

Day #28; Sunday, May 4
Start: Kirbyville, TX
End: Oberlin, LA
82 miles

We went to church this AM. We had wanted to go to church and thought we would probably ride until early afternoon then stop early in order to attend an evening service. Instead, we were able passing by a church at around 9:40 AM when we noticed that they had a 10 AM service. We parted ways with Kevin and went inside to clean up a little before the service. We were welcomed by many even before we were cleaned up. During the service we were officially welcomed. Everyone was very friendly, the music and singing were tremendous, and the message on Matthew 6: 25-34 on not worrying was very appropriate (as I think it would always be). We again received unsolicited donations from a couple of members...the generosity at some churches is overwhelming.

After leaving church we crossed into Louisiana...we took a picture of the "Welcome to Texas" sign since there had not been one when we entered the state. Unfortunately there was no "Welcome to Louisiana" sign...maybe when we are on our way out.

A little further down the road we ran into a tour group (Adventure Cycling Association who published our maps does a tour...this one had 16 people in it). They gave us some info including that about 40 or 50 miles down the road there would be a fire chief who would allow us to stay in the firehouse. We ended up pushing on (again smooth pavement and very little wind) further than we had expected for the day and stayed in a firehouse in Oberlin, LA. Thanks Chief Kelly.
Note: In the picture it reads Allen Parish on the side of the truck--apparently LA is the only state in the US with parishes instead of counties...just an interesting bit of info.

A day of rest in Austin

2008-04-29T14:09:00.001-07:00

Rest Day, April 29th, Austin, TX

We spent the morning eating fresh bagels and fixing the spokes on my bike. Walt took some jumping pictures with us (Kon didn't quite get off the ground, but Walt got some air) then we headed to the Bicycle Sport Shop where the bike mechanic spent some time truing my wheel and tuning up my bike, which has really made a difference for me. We then went to the Capital building, where we took a tour, and of course, took jumping pictures. Next we hit up the Austin Public Library for blog updates and finished off the afternoon with a short ride from Walt's house to our friend Jon's house (who we had met a few days earlier on the road to Leakey), escorted by Walt with a quick tour of the "sights to see" along the way! We spent a lovely evening with Jon and his girlfriend, Becky, with a short walk around Barton Springs and dinner at the Whole Foods headquarters in Austin. Thank you to Walt, Jon and Becky for making our short rest day in Austin so much fun!

Day #24, April 30th: Austin to La Grange, TX, 81.5 miles

After a delightful breakfast of pancakes we were fueled up for our day. We had a strong headwind as we rode SE out of Austin and we rode the whole day to cover just over 80 miles. In Bastrop, Kon conveniently got a flat tire outside of the Dairy Queen, so we rested with lunch and Blizzards. A few miles later, we met Ellen and Lowell, a retired couple riding a tandem bicycle from San Francisco to their home in Ohio. We are certainly inspired by the many touring bicyclists that we see along the road! We arrived in La Grange around 7:30 pm and the BBQ shop downtown that was recommended to us was closed, much to Kon's dismay. We settled for $5 footlong Subway sandwiches (one of our staple meals) and spent a quiet evening at an RV park near the Colorado River.

Day #25, May 1st: La Grange to Navasota, TX, 75 miles

As we were packing up camp, we met Kevin, a cyclist who had started on our same route 3 days before us, and happened to camp in the same RV park the evening before without knowing it. Kevin is originally from Wisconsin, but has been living in Anchorage, AK for the last 7 years or so where he has worked as a technical writer and is working on his MBA. He has completed the Trans-America route (the most classic bike route across the US), so it was fun to talk with him about cycle touring and hear his stories and tips. Kon installed his new cycle computer in the morning so from now on our miles are what we actually traveled, not the mileage from our maps. The wind had turned a bit and today it was in our favor. We stopped for lunch in Independence and met up with Kevin there (he had ridden ahead of us for the majority of the day). The three of us biked together into the town of Navasota, where we rode back and forth across town looking for BBQ. In the end found good BBQ at a gas station convenience store, which unfortunately was under renovation with the insulation was being taken down from the ceiling and all of the workers wearing masks .... I wasn't super excited about the surroundings, but the food was good and we didn't get sick.

Quick history of "Jumping Pictures"

2008-04-29T13:57:00.001-07:00

Jumping pictures were introduced to us less than a year ago by my friend Nicole and her fiance Kyle. Nicole and Kyle took an incredible road trip last year through the NW and had amazing pictures of the two of them jumping in beautiful scenic places. We were inspired! Our first attempt at jumping pictures was last fall on a 2 night backpacking trip through the Enchantment Lakes area outside of Leavenworth -- we didn't get any pictures of the two of us in the air, all of our pictures were of us squatting. A few weeks later, we took a day hike with Nicole and Kyle and they shared their secrets (it is all about knowing the timer on your camera, the camera angle, and lifting your feet as high as possible so it looks like you can jump high). Since then, we've been addicted -- and it is so much fun!

We hope that our pictures inspire you to try taking some jumping pictures of your own -- send them to us by email if you get the chance: kessler.konrad@gmail.com, stacymkessler@gmail.com

One of our many failed, yet funny attempts

Dad, have you been to Johnson City?

2008-04-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

Bulletin outside of Johnson City grocery store

Dad, have you been here before?

Day #23, April 28th: Boerne to Austin, TX, 110 miles

After resting well at the Best Western in Boerne, we made an early 7:30 am start toward Austin. The wind was non-existent for most of the morning and the difference between riding with a head wind vs no wind is INCREDIBLE -- a head wind is completely demoralizing and not much fun to ride in AT ALL. Anyway, made good time through rolling hills to the small town of Blanco, then rode north to Johnson City (the home of Lynden B Johnson) where we had the most terrible service at the Dairy Queen. From there we took small roads straight east into Austin, arriving downtown before 7 pm. Our warm showers host for the night was Walt Tashnick, a very friendly retired Air Force navigator who not only housed us for the night but also took us to dinner at his son's sports bar and made us dessert! We enjoyed his company and rested well after a long day!

Pretty view of the Guadalupe River

As Texas turns (or doesn't, but it really is a big state)

2008-04-27T15:15:00.001-07:00

Day 20, April 25: Amistad Reservoir to Montell, TX; ~80 miles

We rode into Del Rio and needed to go to the bike shop for extra spokes for Stacy's bike. We ended up waiting outside for 30-45 min (we were a little early and the guy opening the store was quite a bit late). We got spokes and then traveled to Bracketville and on to Montell. In Montell we stayed with yet another Rogers family. This time it was with Liz (Stacy has since dubbed Liz as "the West Texas cycle touring hospitality coordinator") and Steet's (both in past posts) mom, Freida. Also living there are Alice (Street and Liz's younger sister) and Anne Marie (hoping I spelled that right...Alice's daughter)

It was a little like a party at their house with neighbors and friends as well as two vagabond cyclists (that's us). We ate great food and were very entertained by all.

Pictured are: me, Stacy, Diane, Alice, Anne Marie, Claire, and David.

Positive development of the day: Since starting this trip we have had extensive trouble breaking spokes on Stacy's bike. It didn't make sense to me, as she is so small and the trailer helps to take a lot of weight off the rear wheel. Today I spoke by phone with a bike mechanic who told me that the spokes were likely of poor quality. We now think that we can replace the spokes with some of higher quality when in Austin and have a bike shop true the wheels to improve our chances of avoiding broken spokes. I now think that the spokes I have already replaced (around 12-15 of them) have only been helping our situation and will reduce the number we have to replace when we get to Austin.

Day 21, April 26: Montell, TX to Bandera ("Cowboy Capital of the World"), TX; ~88 miles

We made our start a little before 8 am and made a number of changes to our route today. About 25 miles into our ride we met Jon. We will have pictures of Jon in a later blog, but we don't have any right now. He is from Austin and was traveling by bike from Camp Wood back to Austin. He shared ideas about his route and convinced us to do the same (we were easily convinced when he told us the hills would be less drastic). We saw him a few times during the day, and then we lost him for a while after we took a wrong turn and went about 2 miles out of our way. He had gone swimming in the meantime, so he caught up to us again with about 40 miles left to get to Bandera. We rode and visited with him and ended up getting to eat dinner with him in Bandera. Also in Bandera we joined Jon at a country and western dance (I only observed, but Stacy shuffled in the sawdust with Jon a little). I now wish we had a picture of the event, but alas I forgot the camera yet again. Overall the day was great and tiring, but the highlight was easily meeting Jon (we are going to meet up with Jon again in Austin, so more will follow).

Day 22, April 27: Bandera, TX to Boerne (pronounced "Burny"), TX; ~25 miles

Today has been a new low point in the weather category. We got a decent start this AM, but the wind has been so strong directly into our faces that we decided the we could not make it the extra 40-50 miles to the next town of size. We are now staying in our first motel of the trip and using the computer here. It feels a little like cheating to me, but I'm married now, so apparently I'm allowed and even encouraged to do things a little different from what I am used to. I think the rest will be welcomed by our bodies. Stacy is excited.

We also tried to get to a church service today, but we were unable to find any with an evening service in Boerne. We were busy fighting the wind during the morning services. Maybe God was trying to tell us something.

TEXAS HILL COUNTRY PHOTO:

Quite a bit hillier than we expected, but very beautiful.

Great times in TEXAS!

2008-04-27T14:36:00.000-07:00

Day 17, April 22: Lawrence Wood Picnic Area (between Kent and McDonald Observatory) to Alpine, TX; ~49 miles

This was really the last chilly morning we have had. We started climbing and passed the University of Texas McDonald Observatory. It is cool looking (a little difficult to see in the photo), but we learned that you don't get to look through the big telescopes unless you come in the evening for a "Star Party". We would have considered trying to get there, but these only happen on certain nights of the week, and our night near the area was not one of them...maybe at a later date.

We continued down the hills through Ft. Davis and into Alpine. We arrived in the early afternoon, and Stacy did our most recent blog update while I went to the bike shop (this happened after we first took care of the important business...DQ for Blizzards...biking across the country allows for tremendous ice cream intake without affecting my beautiful physique). In Alpine we were fortunate enough to get to stay with Liz Rogers (sister to Street Rogers whom Stacy mentioned in the past blog post). She took us out for fancy dinner and we got to sleep in a bed at her house...she is a warmshowers.org contact...and a great one at that...Thanks.

Day 18, April 23: Alpine, TX to Sanderson, TX; ~85 miles

We left Liz's house early in the morning, and it seems that we have now entered the humid country. Stacy felt "sticky" all day and did not enjoy it at all (she reminded me a number of times). We had thought that we might get rain overnight or in the morning, but it did not arrive. Instead, we got to ride into a stiff headwind all day...wahoo! We ate some "fried pies", very tasty, when we passed through Marathon at the bakery where Stacy is sitting in the photo. We got to Sanderson later than we had hoped (after getting to wait for about 20 minutes for the last cars of the day to do their practice time trial on the road...Sanderson is home to the Big Bend Open Road Race...fast cars on a closed road that usually has very little traffic).

Although we had left Liz's house in the AM, we arrived at her house in the PM. She has another house in Sanderson which she opens to touring cyclists...Thanks! There we met Oris, a 73 year old man who is very experienced cycle tourist. He had some great wisdom about touring to share and is very friendly (you can find his info at crazyguyonabike.com and search for Oris). We slept great yet again.

Day 19, April 24: Sanderson, TX to Amistad Reservoir (~10 miles west of Del Rio, TX); ~110 miles

Today was a push. We had a headwind most of the day, but it was not super strong, so we were able to make good time. It was hot, and it seemed there was not much to see (maybe I was just working too hard). We finally got into camp around 9 pm, and I was totally exhausted.

BONUS PICTURE:

here is some stylish road kill...and you may notice the oversized chip seal on the road...it has inspired a song with ever evolving verses:

I don't like rough pavement
I prefer it when it's smooth
I don't like this pavement
It shakes me through and through

I like it best without chip seal (long note)
Thats the way I like it to feel (long note)

The day is real nice
But I'm wearing a frown
This rough pavement
Is bringing me down

I don't like rough pavement
I prefer it when it's smooth
I don't like this pavement
I shakes me through and through

I have written more verses, but I can't seem to remember them unless I am on the bike and riding the rough stuff.

Leaps over Emory Pass

2008-04-22T14:21:00.000-07:00

Day #12, April 17th: Silver City, NM to Arrey, NM, 79 miles

Today we hit the highest point on our trip, climbing Emory pass at 8,228 ft. It was an exciting day for me -- starting with a bloody nose during the morning, terrible belly aches the entire day, and then the excitment of reaching the top of the pass just before 3 pm in the afternoon. We dropped 3,800 ft over 35 miles after the pass - which made up for the average of 6 miles an hour we made during the climb!

Day #13, April 18th: Arrey, NM to Anthony, NM, 80.5 miles

We had a brilliant breakfast in the small town of Hatch, NM in a small Mexican restaurant. This area is agricultural, so we spent the day riding past cattle ranches, pecan groves, and chili pepper farms. We rode into Las Cruces and did a few errands -- I have been breaking rear wheel spokes so we try to get those fixed in the towns with bike shops. We ended the day in Anthony, NM, visiting a dear friend we met last year in Xela, Guatemala, Patricia. Patricia is doing volunteer work through the Catholic church working with new immigrants and border issues. It was a delight to catch up with her and her friends, another Patricia and Sally -- share good food and to see the small town of Anthony, which although is in the US, feels like Mexico.

Day #14, April 19th: Anthony, NM to Fort Hancock, TX, 76.5 miles

We shared a delicious breakfast with Patricia, Patricia, and Sally, practiced some jumping pictures and then we were off to bike through El Paso. Kon and I have both been struck by the beauty of NM and west TX. There are mountains here!! Our route for the last two days followed the Rio Grande. Along the way, we've seen numerous border patrol vehicles, and stopped at border patrol stations. It is hard to imagine, that just south of the river, is Mexico.

We stayed in Fort Hancock with Street and Melloy Rogers, who were connected with by their sister who is a "warm showers" host. Street and Melloy live in a beautiful home on a farm and treated us like family.

Day #15, April 20th: Fort Hancock, TX to Sierra Blanca, TX, 36 miles

This morning we woke up to a big tasty breakfast and then went to the Fort Hancock Baptist Church with Street and Melloy. We were happy to be able to attend church, sing, and to hear a message. We felt SO welcomed by everyone. We had a great pot roast lunch, said goodbye to our new friends, and then climbed a short hill to Sierra Blanca where we stayed with another family, Cindy and Bill Love, who we had met at church earlier that same day. We spent the evening talking and eating good food. What fortune to have 3 nights in a row in homes with great people, showers, beds, and delicious meals!!

Day #16, April 21st: Sierra Blanca, TX to Lawrence Wood Picnic Area (between Kent and McDonald Observatory), 99.5 miles

We started with a big breakfast to fuel up for the day with Cindy and Bill. Said another goodbye, and had a nice wind at our backs as we traveled along I-10 through Van Horn and Kent. A friendly man in a truck pulled over for us and asked if we wanted a ride. When we told him that we were biking to Florida, he put his hands on his cowboy hat in disbelief and said he could take us to Odessa, TX (about 150 miles down the road!). The people here have been SO friendly and wonderful to us! When we arrived in Kent, we decided we were making such good time that we should continue on ... the wind wasn't as much in our favor and we had some hills to climb. We eventually pulled into the picnic area at 8:30 pm, completely exhausted!

Blood, Guts, and Glory...

2008-04-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

Bloody nose, upset guts, and the glory reaching the high point of our trip--Emory Pass, NM 8,228 ft. all in one day.

more fun in the sun

2008-04-16T17:09:00.000-07:00

So, now it is my turn. It seems that we don't often find time to update the blog, but when we do, we update a lot all in one day.

First, here are a couple pictures that Stacy promised of us jumping at Chase Field (home of the Arizona Diamondbacks) where we watched a game with my cousin Tucker and his wife Tauni. They are shown exhibiting theirleaping prowess with us (Tucker is jumping with me and Tauni with Stacy in case the photos are too dark to pick that out).

And now on to the updates...

Day #10, April 15: Thatcher, AZ to Buckhorn, NM 83 miles

This day was a low point for me. We knew it would be long, so we got up early and started while it was still chilly. We were making pretty good time until the climbing started. We had one pretty hefty climb of nearly 2000 ft. before dropping to start another climb. Before the first climb I got to replace 3 broken spokes on Stacy's rear wheel (they all seemed to break at nearly the same time...I think it is due to my stellar truing talents as Stacy is not large enough to cause such damage), so things were not off to a perfect start. We went through a small town call Three Way, AZ and then started the second climb of the day (over 2500 ft...and much steeper than the first, not to mention the weather had warmed up considerably in the meantime).
The climb went well with the exception of one broken spoke on each of our rear wheels. We had also not expected to be climbing for so long or in such heat, so we were tearing through the water we had with blazing speed. There is a 45 mile stretch without water, and I began to worry that we may run out of our nearly 2 gallons before camping for the night. My worries were needless as we crossed into NM (check out the air Stacy is catching) and made it to Buckhorn, NM (a small town with an RV park, convenience store, and WATER) before dark.

Day #11, April 16 (today...so far) Buckhorn, NM to Silver City, NM 37 miles

Today we awoke early, and it was quite chilly outside. We started our ride with more clothes on than we have worn on this trip to date. We rode without event and reached Silver City, NM by a little after 1 in the afternoon. Since we have been here, Stacy updated our blog one time while I spent considerable time at the bike shop pictured (Gila Hike and Bike). The folks there were awesome. They helped repair both of our rear wheels and let me use some of their tools. We hung out in the park for a bit and then went to Western New Mexico University campus and used their computers. We had dinner and are now at Tsama's (pronounced Chama) house. Tsama is hosting us through www.warmshowers.org ...a website for bike travelers. Today was nice, we really enjoyed meeting the friendly people in Silver City, and we are getting excited for our climb tomorrow (over our high point at just over 8000 ft.).

Thanks for reading, thanks for your thoughts and prayers, and I hope this finds you all well.

later,

Palo Verde, CA to Thatcher, AZ

2008-04-16T12:42:00.000-07:00

Alright, we've gotten quite behind on this blog, and I have less than an hour at the library in Silver City, NM to catch up. So here we go ....

Day #4, April 7: Palo Verde, CA to Hope, AZ, 78 miles

We met a father/son pair of Canadians (Ian and Taran) at the camp ground in Palo Verde who have ridden down the west coast from BC to San Diego and are now ridding east to Houston, TX. We crossed the state line from CA to AZ - and had to take a CA jumping picture because we didn't get one in San Diego. We stayed at a LOVELY RV park in Hope, AZ with the cleanest showers I've seen so far - so nice, I'd consider retiring there .... Kon had sweet hair from his bike helmet when we stopped for dinner at Kofa Cafe, outside of Hope.

Day #5, April 8: Hope, AZ to Surprise, AZ, 98 miles

We had a LONG day of riding. Ate dinner at the Golden Corral in Surprise, and slept in the corner of an RV park on gravel. Road through the town of Wickenburg which was quite nice with an old-fashioned downtown and a homemade ice cream shop.

Day #6, April 9: Surprise, AZ to Chandler, AZ, 35 miles

Rest Day, April 10 and 11 in Chandler AZ

Stayed with my Aunt Kathy, Uncle Bill and cousins, Kyle and Collin for a day, then Kon's friends Jarid and Staci with their children, Ben (4) and Kaiya (2) for two nights. Enjoyed catching up with everyone, eating good food, and resting our sore bottoms.

Day #7, April 12: Chandler, AZ to Mesa, AZ, 27 miles

Biked out to Mesa against a strong headwind to spend a day with Kon's cousin Tucker and wife Tauni. Have pictures to post of us jumping at a Diamondbacks game where the D-backs beat the Rockies 10-3, but the pictures are vertical and I can't get them to turn rightside up on this computer -- so that will have to wait for another day!

Day#8, April 13: Mesa, AZ to Globe, AZ, 60 miles

This was by far my hardest day. We had a strong head wind leaving Mesa so it was really slow going. We had to pedal hard to go downhill. Stopped in the small town of Superior for lunch and ice cream. Then biked over a steep pass (4500 ft or so) on a narrow road with no shoulder, but 2 lanes for uphill traffic. It wouldn't have been too bad, except we had a number of unkind drivers (some in big RVs pulling trailers) that didn't give us any room, even when they had an extra lane. Needless to say, I was quite shaken up - and to make matters worse a strong wing blew me into the guardrail. After some tears, Kon helped me pull it together and we had a nice evening in Globe, where the RV park owner let us shower in her home, and Dan, a kind retired man, took us out to breakfast the next morning -- both of which made a bad day, look much better!

Day #9, April 14: Globe, AZ to Thatcher, AZ, 75 miles

We biked through the San Carlos Apache Reservation, which is BEAUTIFUL with mountains all around and pretty hills and valleys. We had a strong head wind again, which made us work for each mile. We met up with Ian and Taran again today and rode with them for a stretch of the day. They let us crash their campsite in the evening at the RV park in Thatcher, and we set up our tent right next to theirs. It is great fun to meet and share stories with other riders!

Well, I have 5 minutes left, but that does a decent job of catching up our blog.

Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers. We are having a great time, seeing some beautiful places, and meeting some awesome people!

San Diego to Palo Verde, CA

2008-04-10T13:13:00.000-07:00

Day #1, April 4: San Diego Ocean Beach Park to Lakeside, 26 miles

After a morning of putting together our bicycles at the San Diego Amtrak station, we finally starting biking in the early afternoon. We started the morning with 2 working cycle computers and both were broken/gone in the first hour before we made it to the start at the beach (Kon's wire caught and tore during the bike assembly process, and my computer fell off under my handlebar bag). We dipped our tires in the Pacific Ocean around 2 pm -- I was caught by the wave, and started with wet feet. After riding through urban San Diego, we stopped early at a county park outside of Lakeside, took showers (yes!), set up camp, and rested for the next day of climbing ...

Day #2, April 5: Lakeside to Ocotillo, 76 miles

Today we climbed and climbed and climbed. We started at 500 ft, hit 4,000 ft a couple of times and then dropped back down to 500 ft to end in Ocotillo. The excitement of the day was at the top of the last pass, when we started riding down the mountain on I-8 and Kon's fender came loose, slipped under his rear tire, locked the tire, and caused him to fishtail, crash, and roll. Thankfully, he had bled off most of his speed by the time he fell -- but he still ended up with an impressive road rash on his back, arms, over all of his knuckles, and one knee. A kind driver, Brent, stopped to help us, offering his first aid kit, bike tools, etc. and made sure we were safely on our way before he left us. The wind coming down In-Ko-Pah gorge on I-8 was frightening and I was blown toward the curb multiple times. We were happy to arrive in the small town of Ocotillo, where another kind couple, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, let us stay in the rec room of their RV park to keep us out of the wind overnight - and Kon was able to shower to clean out his wounds.

Day #3, April 6: Ocotillo to Palo Verde County Park, 110 miles

We woke up to a pretty sunrise over the RV park in Ocotillo. We made good time in the morning with a strong tail wind and biked through the Imperial Valley towns of El Centro and Brawley. We decided to push to Palo Verde that afternoon as there was no camping with water for the next 70 miles. We biked through the North Algodones Dunes Wilderness area and beside the Chocolate Mountains, arriving in Palo Verde at sunset, completely exhausted.

Leaving Ocotillo: In-Ko-Pah Mountains in background

His crash didn't seem to effect his jumping!

Climbing in the Sand Dunes

Now in AZ...brief excitement update

2008-04-10T07:42:00.000-07:00

Stacy and I are now safely in Chandler, Arizona. We are staying with Stacy's Uncle Bill, Aunt Kathy, cousin Kyle, and cousin Collin. Our bike trip is going well, and we definitely have some stories we would like to tell. We are going to be in the Phoenix area for several days, so we will likely make a few new post while here before again hitting the road. Here we go...

Since the last post, we spent a couple days in Seattle with our friends Leesha and Brady (Stacy went to HS with Leesha). We did some last minute preparation for the trip, and on Wednesday morning April 2 we rode our bikes (with fully loaded trailers) about 12 miles from Leesha and Brady's home to the Amtrak station in downtown Seattle.

I had called Amtrak 2 or 3 times in the previous days to confirm our tickets and to make sure our bikes were allowed with no extra preparation. You can probably guess from that intro that things did not go smoothly...we found that on one portion of the 38 hour trip where buses are used (from Portland to Sacramento as the tracks had been covered by a landslide a couple months earlier) they were no longer accepting bicycles. Panic set in briefly as we both thought this may spell disaster for the trip. Then we got serious and disassembled our bikes so they could fit within the 36"x36"x36" size limitations of other luggage.

We both worked furiously for 2 solid hours taking bikes and trailers apart, building custom sized boxes from other boxes, and packing our equipment as well as we could. We had some serious periods of doubt, but in the end we had about 8 minutes to spare before they stopped accepting luggage...whew!

The Amtrak trip went well. It was a long and tiring trip, but without further incident. We arrived in San Diego at around 1 am on April 4th and went directly to our pricelined hotel and slept. When we awoke, we went back to the Amtrak station and began the assembly of our bikes (all in working condition). At that point I took pictures of the baggage closed and open, displaying contents. Our next update will hopefully give some info about the actual bike trip. Until then...

Rochester...our new home!

2008-03-29T12:56:00.000-07:00

Since our last post we have had quite a bit going on. We have not yet started our cycle trip, but we have done some travel. When we found that we had "matched" to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, we packed our stuff into a Uhaul and started driving to MN. We arrived this last Monday...you can see the truck with our car on the trailer in this post.

We started house hunting on Tuesday and by Wednesday we had unloaded our truck into a 5' x 10' x 8' (400 cubic feet total) storage unit (pictured), been pre-approved for a home loan, seen around 12 houses total, and made an offer on the one we liked (pictured). Stacy's uncle John came down from near the twin cities to inspect the house on Friday morning...Thanks to him.

The house passed inspection and we have planned closing for late May. We are now ready to return to Seattle where we will board Amtrak on Wednesday to arrive in San Diego on Friday. From there we plan to start our bicycle journey. All has gone well to date...we are praying that things will continue to go smoothly for our adventures.

later,
KON

2008-03-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

Pre-trip preparations...

2008-03-20T07:34:00.000-07:00

Although we have not yet begun our trip, we have started to practice. We went on a ride with our friend Laura (a friend of Stacy's since high school), and we practiced jumping pictures. We also hope you enjoy our picture of us trying to look like we are in an advertisement with our trailers in tow. Until later,