Sunday, April 30, 2006

Things to Consider

Candy: We moved into our apartment in The Villas at Park West yesterday and we have cable and internet to call our own, along with a rental furniture package. It's amazing how much we missed the small, luxurious things in life after being on the road for nearly seven weeks now.

If you'd like our address for the time being, just email or call us.

We've been spending a fair amount of time at the local Barnes & Noble bookstore (we call it B&N), as well as getting to know the Pueblo area a bit more. Our apartment is on the very western edge of Pueblo, between Pueblo proper and the new, planned community of Pueblo West. We're in a pretty new complex that is out in the country and there's lots of open space all around.

The other day at the B&N I came across some great quotes, of which my favorite is this: "Happiness is not a station to arrive at, but a manner of traveling." Margaret Lee Runbeck is credited with saying it, and it struck me that our traveling has been filled with happiness, even when it's been challenging to keep moving.

Tonight I was reading a book (at B&N, of course) entitled The Joys of Much Too Much, by Bonnie Fuller. She's the editorial director of American Media, which owns some 20 magazines such as Shape and Men's Fitness.

Some interesting things struck me from my reading, the first of which is a statement made to Ms. Fuller by David Brown, the producer of the movie Jaws. He said to her that "under no circumstances, face the facts." I had to read it twice to grasp the concept, but it really could change my life (and yours, too) if I apply it. What if I didn't face all the "factual"' obstacles that keep me from reaching my professional dreams? What if you didn't face them?

Ms. Fuller also wrote that "if you ask with enough conviction and frequency, someone will definitely answer in the affirmative sooner or later." Of course I've known this for a long time, but it was a great reminder in this time of job (& soul) searching for both Tim and me.

Ms. Fuller doesn't believe there is any such thing as balance. There's juggling, but you can't give equal treatment to everyone and everything. You can give your whole effort to what matters most to you--your family, your work, your passions--and that's enough. The rest is not that important.

I also realized through my reading tonight that a fairly large portion of the obstacles I faced at my last place of employment were because my bosses were threatened by my work ethic and my talent. Unfortunately, there's not much that can be changed in that type of situation, except to change one's boss and/or place of employment.

I know, it's a lot to garner from one book, but I guess I was especially open to the concepts in it tonight.

On another note, I printed some of the photos from our blog today in 2"x3" sizes to make a photo collage. Here's my idea: they could be "Tiny Art" and could be collaged either on the wall in a frame, or laminated and magnetized for really cool fridge art. I'd love to know what you think about that. I made a little collage for our fridge and it looks pretty sweet.
We went to see the movie Akeelah and the Bee tonight. It was great. I was especially struck by a series of quotes by Marianne Williamson featured in the movie. Here is what she had to say.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you NOT to be?

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
As we let our own Light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."

Wow. Did that hit you as hard as it does me?

The photo at the top of the post is what I saw in our living room today. The shadow struck me as pretty cool, and I hope you like it as much as I do. I'm planning to set up some photo projects for myself during the month of May and will definitely share them with you.

Also, I dug up a photo from our trip that was taken near St. Cloud, Minnesota. Here it is.
Well, I guess that's it for tonight. We're both having a great time in Pueblo and are eager to keep learning while we wait for whatever's next. We'd love to hear from you, and hope that you're doing well also. Take care.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Move-In Day Looms Near


Tim: It is Day 4 in Pueblo and we are anxiously awaiting our move into our new apartment tomorrow morning. We finished tying up loose ends today by setting up power, utilities, etc. for the apartment. In addition, we drove up to Colorado Springs to set up our furniture rental. "The Springs", as the local folks call it, is about 40 minutes away and is huge compared to Pueblo.

Speaking about rental furniture, man do they have a racket going on there. It really is amazing what you have to pay for cheap furniture. Hey, it is better than sitting on the floor I guess.

We really are enjoying the area. It is definitely the west, as there is a lot of open space out here. When we drove into the KOA the first day, we saw a tumbleweed rolling by...almost like something out of a western movie. Pueblo is a modern city and seems to be growing everyday, especially Pueblo West, the area we will be living near in our apartment. The area is pretty affordable and has exactly what we were looking for...a Barnes and Noble Bookstore and a Wal Mart Super Center (actually, the area has two). Both are staples in the Rice lifestyle.

Speaking of Barnes and Noble, Candy has been learning a great deal about using Photoshop lately and she has produced some pretty incredible works of art. The picture above is a colored line drawing of Candy's nephew Austin and the picture below simulates a fish eye lense (according to the book) of a flower shot from Monaco. It really is amazing what she can do with her photos, which are already incredible, by using Photoshop.


Just as much as Candy has been looking to learn more about her craft, I have been looking at other new ways to coach. I still have a lot of coaching left in my bloodstream right now and want to be prepared if I am given another chance. I read a quote the other day from author James Michener that made me feel a little bit better about my specific situation right now. It goes like this: "Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries."

For now, Candy and I are looking forward to moving into our new digs tomorrow. We still have some things to work on before the "next thing" happens. Have a great evening and stay in touch!

Fun in the Sun

Candy: Today was beautiful. We discovered the Lake Pueblo Reservoir this afternoon and Chase had a blast swimming in the clear, blue water. He really needed the workout and has been pretty sleepy ever since.

We spent more time today at the bookstore, and each of us learned some new things. I scanned a book that addressed the issue of introverts living in an extraverted world. It seems that 75% of the world is extraverted, and that makes for interesting experiences for those of us who are introverted.

Tim read some more about the shuffle offense, a basketball offense with which he has become enamored as of late. He drew a couple more pages of plays as well, which always amazes me. He has so much original creativity, which I seem to lack. I do, however, possess plenty of ability to take something original and make something new out of it, so I guess it balances out.

Tonight was another beautiful sunset over the Rockies and I couldn't resist, so there is a panoramic photo at the top of this post that was taken just behind our Kamping Kabin. Beautiful.

I also spent a little more time playing with some photos using the techniques mentioned in the books I bought yesterday. Here are a couple samples for your viewing pleasure.

This one is based on a 17th-century Dutch portrait technique and features a photo of my maternal grandfather taken on his 80th birthday.

The image below is a photo I took in Europe last summer. It has been cut up and reassembled in the joiner fashion made famous by David Hockney.

We'll find out tomorrow whether our apartment will be ready for move-in or if we'll need to wait until Friday.

Have a great Thursday! :)

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Learning Some New Tricks

Candy: Today we decided that we'd like to rent a place in Pueblo and began the paperwork. It's kind of weird to be taking action on sticking around one place for a little while, especially with all of our things in storage back in Ohio. We're supposed to be able to move in on Friday, or possibly Thursday night, and when it's official we'll be sure to let you in on the specifics.

This afternoon we did four of our favorite things: we spent a couple hours at a Barnes & Noble, saw a movie (The Sentinel--didn't really like it), ate a nice Italian meal at an authentic place called Rosario's, and explored the area as the sun was setting.

It was another beautiful sunset behind the Rocky Mountains, which are visible about 30 miles to the west, and the sky was amazing. I didn't have the camera in the car today, which was fine, because I think I've taken enough photos of sunsets to last all of us for a while!

While at the bookstore, I found two great books on Photoshop and began experimenting with some of the techniques demonstrated. This post includes a few of the experiments. It was cool because it opened up for me a whole other world of art that I can produce with my photographs.

The image at the top of the post is, of course, an Andy Warhol-esque pop art image of my nephew Austin. The image below is a simulated lith print, and the one at the bottom of the post is reminiscent of Les Fauves artists. I had a lot of fun creating these and hope that you enjoy them too.

Tim and I have both been struggling a little bit with adjusting to the altitude. Pueblo is situated at 4,695 feet above sea level, and we've had minor headaches for the past two days. However, we're confident that our bodies can adjust, and we've decided to spend a few nights in (what else?) a KOA Kamping Kabin. Yep, we're at the Pueblo KOA just north of town and the heaters are running.

It's been chilly here, with temps in the 30s overnight and in the morning and evenings. However, the blazing sunshine during the day pumps the temperature up to the 70s and it's supposed to hit 80s on Thursday, so we're ok with the cool nights.

This weekend we intend to visit Canon City (the n should have a tilde ~ over it) where there's apparently a pretty cool train ride to be had. It seems the Royal Gorge is in that vicinity of the Rockies and there is a 2-hour train ride that offers great views of the area.

There is also a very high bridge (1,053 feet) that crosses the Arkansas River gorge (1/4 mile long). That should be really fun to walk across. We are looking forward to the wildlife and the scary tourist human life that is bound to be present.

We hope that you're enjoying the start of your week and that you, too, are learning some new tricks. We'll write again soon.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Hail in North Platte

Candy: We're in Pueblo tonight and couldn't publish this post last night. So here it is a day after the fact.

I couldn't resist putting up more photos I really dig of our nephews Austin Miles (above) and Jack (below).

We are in North Platte, Nebraska, tonight and it hailed a bit during a thunder and lightning storm. Chase wasn't too thrilled with all the noise, but he managed to survive the storm hiding behind the easy chair in the hotel room.

Tomorrow we'll trek the rest of the way to Colorado Springs and Pueblo. We're very excited about what we'll see and what kind of apartment we'll find. We have several really good leads for places to live and are eager to see whether they look as good in person as they do online.

Not sure when we'll have access again, but we'll write when we do. In the meantime, we'd love to hear from you!

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Back on the Road

Candy: Well, after 10 days spent with my family, we are now back on the road heading toward the Denver, Colorado, area.

We spent a couple days with my younger brother Clint and his family. Here's a picture of them [Clint's wife Becky, boys (left to right) Jack, Austin, and Caleb] I took today when we all got together at Mom's.

We also spent a couple days with my older brother Jim and his family. I didn't get a family photo of them today, but there are a few photos in this post of their boys Isaac (a series at the top) and Levi.

Here's a picture of my Mom and her five grandsons. She sure loves those little guys, and they love her right back.
This is Levi. Here's Austin.
This is one of my favorite pictures of Jack.
Here's Caleb, with Chase in the teepee.We've located a few apartment complexes in Pueblo and Colorado Springs that have short-term leases and take large dogs, so we're going to look at them on Monday and see what we can get, then settle down for a little while.

We'll keep you posted as things develop (or don't develop) and you're all more than welcome to come visit us while we're there. :)

Thursday, April 13, 2006

The Land of 10,000 Lakes


Tim: We arrived in Candy's native Minnesota tonight after our trip from Dickinson, North Dakota. As we have found out on our trip out west (especially in the states of Montana and North Dakota), everything is very big and it takes some time to get from point A to point B. The picture above is a good example of this...it is part of a collection of some very large metal sculpture in North Dakota east of Dickinson. There were roughly seven of these pieces scattered on a roadway for miles, but we only had time to see two of them.

We also saw some buffalo today as well. Here is an interesting shot of them:

We are staying in St. Cloud tonight, then heading to stay with Candy's mom for undetermined time. Today, we stopped in Fargo to visit briefly with Candy's brother Clint and his family for dinner. We will see them some more during this trip, as well. Tomorrow we will see Candy's older brother Jim and his family.

We thought it would be cool here, but these are the warmest conditions we have seen since we left Arizona. The weather folks say that it will be nice here for the next week.

As is always the case, Candy got some more amazing photos of our scenery from the trip. The bottom two pictures are great pictures that illustrate the tranquility of this part of the US. Enjoy the great pics. Oh, I almost forgot. We drove over the 110,000 mile mark in the Element today, 7,000 on this trip alone. We have had it for only three years in May.

Until next post, have a great adventure with your life and make a great day tomorrow!

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Beautiful Montana

Candy: Montana is truly amazing. We drove from Butte all the way through to North Dakota today, and saw some really incredible varied scenery.

Three scenes that caught our attention today were the sunset you see at the top of this post, the beautiful, wide end of the rainbow that I'm goofing around with in the picture below, and the moonrise at the end of this post.

The morning started off with the big, beautiful, snow-capped mountain peaks of the Rockies to our right. Then, as we headed east, the mountains became steadily smaller with different vegetation, then the buttes, then finally ranch and farm land with lots of horses and cows.

We finally drove out of the state around 9pm mountain time, and have stopped in Dickinson, North Dakota, tonight.

I found out today that my older brother's wife Kate's mom passed away on Sunday and so we will be attending a funeral on Thursday. Tim also found out today that a buddy from the University of Mobile basketball team passed away over the weekend.

"We shouldn't answer the phone any more today," Tim said after we had gotten the two calls.

I had a major revelation today. I decided that I'm not going to spend even one moment doubting that something great is coming down the pipe for both of us soon.

Seriously. It would be really easy to doubt, especially since neither Tim nor I have had any bites on our resumes as of yet. However, I'm not going to waste a minute of my life doing that. I'm just going to enjoy whatever comes next, whether it's more relaxation or a new position.

Either way life is great! Or, as Tim's shirt asks, are we just lucky? :)

Well, tomorrow we head to Fargo to see my younger brother and his family briefly before traveling across the border to my mom's house in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, where we'll spend the night. Then it's the funeral on Thursday, and then time spent with my family over Easter.

I'm not sure whether we'll be able to post tomorrow night or not, but we'll write again as soon as we can. In the meantime, Tim and I both hope that you take a moment to think about the events of this Easter weekend and what it means to you and your families. We're thinking of you.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Big Sky Country

Tim: We headed out for our drive today after we stayed in Spokane, Washington last night. We drove through the northern Idaho area, which includes the tourist area of Coeur D' Alene, then headed into Big Sky country in Montana. We traveled through some pretty incredible country again as you will see in the photos today.

We decided to drive to Butte and stay the night. We had a chance to drive through the campus of Montana Tech today, which is one of the schools that I applied for a coaching job at recently. Butte is an old mining town and it reminded us of some of the old steel towns in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The scenery was spectacular today...the skies were incredibly blue and the mountains just never seem to end out here. We will drive tomorrow to Bismarck, North Dakota and will stay at a KOA again. Here are those pictures. Enjoy and we'll talk with you again tomorrow!

Monday, April 10, 2006

Falls & Dr. Seuss Trees

Candy: Last night the light from the laptop on Tim's face was especially interesting and I took this shot as he was writing the post. I think he's so incredibly amazing, and goodlooking too.

Today we spent one last time on Cannon Beach with Chase before we piled into the Element and drove through Portland and on to Spokane, Washington, where we're staying tonight.

As we drove along the Columbia River Gorge on I-84, we decided to take a brief detour from the interstate and drive a short, scenic route.

Was it ever scenic! Turned out that the road went right past several waterfalls, and we were able to stop and see Wahkeenah Falls and Multnomah Falls within 3-4 miles of each other. Here's a shot of Wahkeenah Falls after its drop and where it trickles over the rocks on its way down the hill (right).

We walked about 2/10 of a mile up a switchback trail built in 1915 that went up to the bridge crossing Multnomah Falls. The spray from the waterfall drenched both of us and was slightly chilling on what was a mostly overcast day at that point. I imagined that it must be a really refreshing place during the summertime, though, when it's hot.

Here's a panorama I made of the falls (left). The trail continues upwards all the way to the top of the falls. We didn't feel like walking that far today!

Another interesting thing we had seen since our arrival in Oregon nearly a week ago were some funny-looking trees that were completely covered with a light green moss.

I think they look like Dr. Seuss trees, and I took a few photos of them for you to see whether you agree. Here are a couple (below).

See what I mean? They look shaggy and have interesting curves in their trunks and they look like they should be in any book by the famed wizard of funny-sounding words.

Later, as we drove across the Columbia River just south of Kennewick, Washington, the terrain became more ranch-like. It was almost reminiscent of the hill country in west Texas, except there was much more green grass. We saw several mountain goats standing on the hills and grazing as we drove by.

The skies were several shades of brilliant blue, which, combined with the green on the hillsides made for a very energizing drive through southern Washington to Spokane.

We're looking forward to seeing the "big sky" of Montana again tomorrow. Our intention is to stop between Butte and Billings tomorrow night.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

The pictures speak for themselves


Tim: As you all know, it has been a while since we last posted on the blog. Our apologies...we have been soaking in what could be the most amazing coastline anywhere. We have had a great time here in Cannon Beach. We will be heading out for eastern destinations tomorrow morning.

We arrived here four days ago and have been staying in a nice, cozy hotel in Cannon Beach on Ecola Creek. The hotel is supposedly on the very camp site used by the Lewis and Clark expedition team when they arrived here in 1806.

We had an incredible trip from Eureka up the Oregon coast. We have been to a lot of coastal towns/destinations in our time together, but nothing compares to the Oregon coast. The beaches are sandy white beaches much like the Gulf Coast, but the beaches are much bigger and the coastline is very rocky.

The beaches have been perfect for Chase. He has had an incredible time here and he is in good company, as it seems everyone has a dog here and they are not on leashes. He has been swimming everyday and has been a tired puppy every night. Here is a good picture of everyone's favorite travelin' puppy dog in front of the Pacific Ocean surf (he is a pretty good looking dog if you ask me):



Cannon Beach is known for Haystack Rock, a 250 foot rock formation right off the coast here. Here are some pictures of it (the first one here was taken at night on the hood of the Element- forgot the tripod):

The rock with Ecola Creek in the foreground:

The pictures below are of the northern part of the Cannon Beach area (lots of birds in the area as you can see in the pictures):


By the way, isn't Candy an incredible photographer? I know...I am a little biased!

We have also been up to the more well known Oregon coastal destinations of Seaside and Astoria during our stay. All of these towns are similar to resort towns anywhere, yet they are very quaint and have a lot of interesting shops and restaurants. In fact, Oregon to us seems like the west coast equivalent of Vermont. We will definitely come back here in the future.

We are heading back east to visit with family in Candy's native Minnesota. We will stay tomorrow night in Spokane, Washington.

Monday marks the end of the first month of our journey. As throughout the entire trip, we are unsure what will come after the visit to Minnesota. Have a good Sunday!

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Magical Oregon


Candy: We LOVE Oregon.

We drove up Highway 101 along the coast from Eureka to Tillamook, Oregon, which is straight west of Portland on the coast.

It's amazingly beautiful. We saw huge redwood trees in northern California intermingled with wide glimpses of the sea crashing onto rocky outcroppings just off the shoreline.

The surf was so big, especially compared to what we've been accustomed to seeing, and it was a sunny, pleasant day. I can't imagine how big it is when there's a storm.

I goofed on our accommodations, thinking today was the 5th, and reserved a room for us at the Ecola Creek Lodge in Cannon Beach for the 5th through the 9th. However, it's the 4th, so we ending up stopping about 45 miles south of our destination at a Shilo Inn in Tillamook.
It's a super nice suite and there's an indoor pool open 24 hours. We feel so luxurious after our week in a tent, followed by almost a week on the road, followed by our recent week in a KOA Kamping Kabin. The smallest luxuries seem gigantic after extended days of living simply.

We saw a small herd of elk today just lounging and grazing in a meadow off 101. We stopped to let Chase run a bit while I took some photos. Here's one that shows the elk looking back at us. Apparently they'd never seen people from the Midwest as you can tell from their perplexed looks.
We also stopped to eat in Lincoln City, Oregon, then continued north, stopping at a scenic overlook to photograph the sunset. It was beautiful and I'm looking forward to several more opportunities to capture the western sunsets.

I'll leave you with another shot of the sunset tonight.