first guest / pet sitting

Our first overnight guest is a lifelong pet of one of our good friends. Camerin and I have had the pleasure of feeding, bathing, attending, and monitoring a Russian tortoise. After some initial research Camerin found that the tortoise enjoys green leafy vegetables and the warmth of a heat lamp. Our little friend is somewhat gender and name confused. She is currently responding to “Sasquach”, “Stanislaus”, and “Sebastian”. After an original “shell-shock” the tortoise has become very active digging, climbing, and eating. We think she is truly enjoying her new surroundings and caretakers.

The New Digs Part 1

Here it is in all its glory. Our little apartment. It turned out to be larger than we had initially anticipated from the photos we had received from Thomas's friend, Matt which was a pleasant surprise. The kitchen was the first room to have any sort of order made out of the choas of boxes our lives had taken on over the past month. Slowly but surely the other rooms are taking shape.

You will see many of our fabulous (and cheap!) furniture finds all purchased during two days of intenstive garage saleing and Goodwill distribution center bargaining. We still need to get something on the walls and build a desk, but overall everything is shaping up nicely. Lots more pictures to follow. These were all taken shortly after moving in.

Summertime just isn't quite the same...

...without the lake.

We miss it. It is hot and sunny, gorgeous weather here on the Central Coast but you really can't enjoy it the same way without a boat.

A happy day on the lake last July.

Honeymoonin' in the Mountains

We wanted to share some images of our wonderful trip to North Carolina.

The Nantahala Mountains were even more beautiful than the pictures can even show. We were completely overwhelmed by the beauty and views surrounding us everywhere we went. The week consisted of long drives through the mountains, seeking hidden rivers, lakes, and waterfalls, riding on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, whitewater rafting, visits to the Biltmore Mansion & Great Smoky Mountain National Park and some hiking here and there.

The drive to our cabin was pretty intense as it took us on a rutted gravel trail straight up the mountainside. Much of our time was spent sitting on our own front porch "watching the trees grow" as the locals like to say. We definitely were not ready to leave and we are already talking about when we will go back.

Some views of Hidden Falls, our cabin:

The Biltmore Mansion & Gardens:

Majestic views of the Great Smoky Mountains:

The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad:

Always looking for waterfalls:

This snake was spotted shortly after taking pictures of the above waterfall. Thomas thought it would be a good idea to take a "short cut" straight up the side of the mountain. Who needs a trail anyway right? Well, as we both stumbled up the hill Camerin fell multiple times. At one point she reached out to grab a stick to catch her fall which really turned out to be this huge snake. Screams followed, but after recovery a quick flash photograph was captured.

Next post:

Pictures of our new place!