Long awaited update

Lots of things have happened since the last update -- a wedding, a honeymoon, a move to Chicago, etc. And many of these things have been photographed. So here's what I got.

Before I left Alaska, I made a trip to Shoup Bay -- just west of Valdez -- with a few friends.

Then there was my former roommate Rebecca's wedding to Michal, a joyous event.

Then I moved, then Elise and I got married. Pictures of that are still to come. I'll post a link when we have them.

But then we went to Greece and Paris for our honeymoon, and I do have the pictures of that trip. Enjoy. (Warning: almost 200 pictures.)

Photo dump

Lots of photos to share after a few weeks of fun activities. First, summer in Alaska means good hikes, and usually the first hike of the season is to Eagle Lake. It's a flat hike that hugs the south fork of Eagle River, so the snow usually melts here first, before it does for hikes at higher elevations. So late May is a good time to go.

Next, over Memorial Day weekend, Elise and I were in Santa Barbara for the wedding of Alaska friends Callie and Jeff. Lots of other Alaskans were there, wondering what the giant yellow orb in the sky was, and why it was so hot.

Next was solstice -- June 21 -- when we had 19 hours of daylight and 5 hours of twilight. It was also our friend Tara's 30th birthday, so we celebrated in truly Alaskan style, by hiking to the top of Mount Baldy with a shotski.

Last, Elise was here a week ago and we went with some friends to Surprise Cove, just outside of Whittier in Prince William Sound. Kayaking, hiking, and campfiring ensued.

Spring pictures

The snow is melting here in Alaska, and it was holiday season in Michigan. Here are the pictures from the spring:

"Are you ever going to update your blog again?"

Yep. Because I have some pictures to post, and updates on other stuff. But I don't have the pictures uploaded yet, so I'll be back again soon. In the meantime:

• As of yesterday, I'm 35.
• How about those Mariners?
  
• It's spring in Alaska. The snow is melted -- in town, at least -- and we're getting a lot of light. It's always a happy and optimistic time of the year. Summer weekend plans are already booking up.
• Getting close to making post-wedding plans. Stay tuned.
• Wedding is coming together. Special props to Elise and her sister Amanda for all the work on the save-the-dates and invitations.
• What else? More soon.
  

On PBS

The PBS show NOVA scienceNOW used one of my pictures on its episode, "Where Did We Come From?" last night.

Here's the picture:



Here's an example of how it was used (after considerable doctoring):



You can see it throughout the episode during the introductions by Neil deGrasse Tyson.

An update

Where have I been? Oh, around. If there's anyone still reading this, sorry again for the lack of blogging lately. I'm going to try to provide some more frequent updates here now that wedding preparations are more seriously underway.

But first, an excuse for the lack of blogging: busy! Aside from work, I've got ski class on Mondays and Wednesdays, poker on Tuesdays, and I've been catching up on past seasons of Mad Men with friends on Thursdays. That doesn't leave a lot of time. But I'll give it a shot.

The ski class has been really fun -- after years of teaching myself to skate ski, I'm finally receiving some real training. It's now much easier than it ever was, thanks to some new techniques. And it's a great way to stay in shape over the winter.

So where are we with the wedding prep? We have a date (October 1, 2011) and a location (Langley, WA). We have a menu (for the most part), and we're close to locking down a DJ, photographer, and lodging for the weekend. Still lots to do. I'll be back with an update again soon.