TravisandCheryl.com

We’re having a boy! Due date: Nov. 10th.

Hey Everybody!

We’re back home again from paradise island. Being on Maui for a week was a dream come true. Cheryl and I had the time of our lives!! The weather was absolutely perfect. Temp. was high 80’s everyday, with warm ocean water, which was awesome to swim in and the smooth sandy beaches felt great on our feet. We went during the right time of year!

We took daily strolls on the beach, morning and night and went swimming and wave jumping in the ocean. The waves were HUGE the first three days we were there, but then they started to die down a bit. It was fun trying to stay above water, even though a few times I got smashed!

We drove to a blowhole that shot ocean water 70 feet in the air and as I was posing for a picture, a huge wave crashed over the lava rock and completely drenched me! We also enjoyed views from the top of 10,023 foot Haleakala, where we hiked down into the crater. It was like an alien planet up there. On our way back we stopped at these really neat gardens with lavendar farms and enjoyed some lavendar coffee with lavendar jelly on lavendar scones and bought some lavendar scrub to take home! The flowers and variety of tropical plant life we witnessed there were beautiful to see.

We went to a magic show called “Warren and Annabelle’s” that kept us up at night thinking about the magic tricks…it was the best magic show we’ve ever watched (and we’ve seen Copperfield)! Cheryl and I were chosen at random to be in many of the tricks, which made it that much better.

The night life in Lahaina Town was a blast. We walked through a Bonyan tree that took up a whole city block and enjoyed the best hawaiian food, burgers and seafood there.

We snorkeled near black rock, right on Ka’anapali beach where we were staying, which was fun to do again (the last time was in Roatan). We saw lots of interesting and colorful ocean life.

The day before we had to return home, we drove the Hana highway, which capped off an incredible vacation. I highly recommend making the drive around the island if you go. We hiked to waterfalls through bamboo jungle, walked along a black sand beach and hiked to the Seven Sacred Pools, just to name a few things. It was an all day adventure and a blast. Just seeing the variety of waterfalls alone was amazing.

A few pictures from Maui can be found here: http://travisandcheryl.com/gallery2/v/maui/

Before going to Maui, we spent three days in Monterey and joined Cheryl’s grandparents Russ and June for their 50th wedding anniversary. It was a great event with many of their friends and family. It was fun to spend some time back in Monterey and Carmel, which Cheryl and I loved. This was our third visit there together. We drove 17 mile drive along the coast, through Pebble Beach and past the lone Cypress tree. (Monterey and party pics here.) It was a great way to start our vacation before heading to Maui through Christmas!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas this year and I hope that the new year greets you all with happiness and success.

Travis

We hosted a nice Thanksgiving dinner with Russ, June, Novely, Russ Jr., his fiance Bridget, his daughter Kelsey and her daughter Sierra. Cheryl cooked dinner, which was delicious!

During the visit, Novely stayed at our house. A few of the things we did:

• We went to Pigeon Forge and watched Louise Mandrell put on her Christmas show.
• We all had fun in Dollywood, which was all decked out in lights and decorations.
• We climbed to the top of House Mountain and enjoyed views of Knoxville and the Smoky Mountains.
• We had some great dinners, from the big Thanksgiving to the Old Mill to Mexican food and Margaritas, etc.
• We watched Walk the Line about Johnny Cash, which was a great movie, btw.
• We went to the Wild Horse in Nashville to celebrate Cheryl’s birthday with Novely, Jordan and Tad before Novely had to fly out the next morning.

Overall a fun time!

Pictures available in the Gallery.

Cheryl and I were invited to dinner last night at P.F. Chang’s…incredible Chinese food, great atmosphere and service.

Incidentally, for all you Idaho folk, I heard Boise is getting one…so, if you’re in the big metropolis, I highly recommend starting off your dinner with a lettuce wraps appetizer:

Our new friends are fitness enthusiasts. We had a wonderful time and found out we had a lot in common. It was fun visiting. He’s an avid cyclist and trail runner. During the course of dinner, I asked where some of his favorite places to hike were and he enlightened us, explaining the way to nearby “House Mountain” as one of his favorites.

I love going to the Smoky’s only an hour away…but this sounds like a great place to hike, climb and experience some scenery practically in our back yard!

The steep slopes of House Mountain are heavily wooded and possess a unique combination of scenic views, rock outcrops, and a variety of bird and plant life. This is a rare combination of scenic and ecological values near a metropolitan area. Great sandstone boulders, encrusted with lichens, crown the western rim where rock outcropping support chestnut oak and Virginia, pitch, and table mountain pine. Mountain laurel, huckleberry, partridgeberry, trailing arbutus, and other flowering plants adapted to dry sandstone outcropping are found along the crest.

Source: http://www.state.tn.us/environment/nh/natareas/housemtn/

So, we’re looking forward to climbing House Mountain soon ;)

Trav

Pictures available in our Photo Gallery:

http://travisandcheryl.com/gallery2/main.php

This had me in stitches…I just had to share :D

“The Top Ten Funniest (and Saddest) Mistakes, Misstatements, Bloopers and Blunders By President George W. Bush (so far…)

10. A TIE BETWEEN:
“Rarely is the question asked, ‘Is our children learning’?”
—Florence, S.C. Jan 11 2000
“The illiteracy level of our children are appalling.” —Washington, D.C., Jan. 23, 20004″

source: http://www.innocentenglish.com

This was an awesome little hike with Jordan and Tad. We headed into the Smoky’s through the Townsend side, enjoying a nice drive through peaking fall colors at the lower elevations.

As we climbed the winding road up toward the top of Clingman’s Dome, we saw some incredible views overlooking the multi-colored mountains.

It was slightly overcast and foggy with clouds around us that were puffy and grey. The temperature dropped as we reached the top of Tennessee’s highest point, so we put on our earwarmers and jackets.

As we headed toward Andrew’s Bald, we started roasting so quickly ditched the jackets and earwarmers and continued trekking along.

Sunlight rays poured through the trees onto the trail at various points and at one opportune moment I couldn’t resist kneeling down for a vision…haha. Cheryl captured the funny moment, in all it’s glory.

Upon reaching our destination, we were rewarded with some great views of the endless mountains flowing into the horizon.

Check out the pics from the hike in the gallery!

http://travisandcheryl.com/gallery2/v/andrews-bald/

On Sunday Oct. 30th, Cheryl and I had the opportunity to venture into Cherokee National Forest, just south of the Great Smoky Mountains with Russ and June. We cruised behind them with our sunroof down enjoying the scenic drive up that winds along the river toward Bald River Falls.

The Tellico River streaming through the mountains is famous for it’s trout fishing. We observed fisherman, fly-fishing along the way and kayakers further up stream.

Civilization is nary evident, except for the highway traversing through nearly 6000 foot deeply forested mountains. After over 30 years of construction, the Cherohala Skyway was completed in 1996 to the tune of $100 million and named a National Scenic Byway in 1997.

At Bald River Falls, a remarkable 100 ft beauty that can be viewed directly from the road, we stopped for some pictures before Cheryl and I began our hike along Bald River. The views and scenery get better and better with every step. We gained some quick elevation and witnessed more “baby falls” further upstream. There are some nice flat spots about a mile and a half in right along the water that Cheryl and I would like to backpack into and set up camp sometime.

I’d say this ranks in my top three favorite hikes thus far! The beauty of this place never ends. We can’t wait for our next hike, this Sunday with Jordan and Tad who are visiting from Nashville. We’re going into the Smokies and hiking around the Clingman’s Dome area.

After the hike, we stopped by Russ and June’s for some decaf and a game of spades. June and I whooped Russ and Cheryl, which was no suprise. ;)

You can view more pictures from Bald River Falls in our gallery.

Enjoy!

Since Halloween is nearly upon us, I’ve decided to share my short list of all-time favorite scary movies.

But first, what makes a good scary movie? The best scary movies are full of teeth-clenching, spine-tingling suspense. As the storyline develops, the characters become real and without realizing it and you subconsciously find yourself absorbed right into the thick of it. As the tension mounts, your heart will race and you will become jumpy and nervous with anticipation. Physiologically, you are truly scared as adrenaline coarses through your veins. Will you survive?

Even if you’ve watched these movies before, they are continual favorites and can withstand multiple viewings and still remain scary. The genius behind them will continually captivate you with gripping intensity and lasting impact. And, if you’re with someone who hasn’t watched the scary movie of choice that night, all the better to sneak up behind them at the appropriate time…hehehe.

Last, as a rule of thumb, the originals are best. Accept no substitutes.

Without further ado, here’s THE LIST:

10. Alien (1979)
Who can forget Ridley Scott’s ultimate surreal sci-fi nightmare? Flawlessly directed and performed, this ranks high on the all-time favorites list as well.

  1. The Shining (1980)
Stanley Kubrick’s epic, intense horror-film rendition of Stephen King’s original best-selling novel…need I say more? Magnificently filmed with plenty of eery isolation, we are inescapably along for the ride in this chilling decent into madness, courtesy of our eye-brow arching, sinister-grinning Jack Nicholson. “God, I’d give anything for a drink. I’d give my god-damned soul for just a glass of beer!” You’re wish has been granted, Mr. Torrance.

“Heeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrr’s Johnny!”

Note: I’m sure there are other movies out there that are scarier, but I’m only listing movies that I’ve actually seen. For example, I’ve heard the original The Haunting (1963) is one of the scariest of all time. I’ve also never watched such classics as Halloween (1978) or The Exorcist (1973), which are supposedly scary (I don’t know).

Also, The Blair Witch Project (1999) is arguably one of the scariest movies of all time, (and after my unspoiled theatre viewing, I was scared half to death). But it’s a one time through movie and only if you have absolutely no idea what you’re about to watch. Thus, it has been left off the list on purpose… If you’ve never watched it or heard anything about it (other than this post), ignorance is bliss…go watch it! You will be freaked out.

Honorable Mentions:
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) The 1978 remake is VERY good as well. For every rule, there is an exception and this remake is very close to being better than the original, IMO.
Se7en (1995)
Misery (1992)
Fatal Attraction (1987)
The Ring (1998)
Jaws (1975)
Saw (2004)
Poltergeist (1982)
The Sixth Sense (1999)

Related Links:
The Shining, a very thorough analysis of Kubrick’s horror classic
American Film Institute’s 100 Most Thrilling Movies

I have not started promoting them yet, as I work out the kinks, but the new forums on GettingLean.com have been given a face-life to reflect the upcoming site makeover that’s coming soon. Check them out by clicking the screenshot below and if you feel so inclined, post something. It only takes 30 seconds to register ;)

http://www.gettinglean.com/forums

I’m also looking for honest feedback. What do you like about them? What don’t you like? Still in the design process, so can change/tweak things…let me know what you think!

Thanks!
Travis