Everything's better in Texas...or at least hotter!

This past weekend Kyle & I traveled to Austin, TX to visit a few old friends. I prayed before we left that Hurricane Dolly would bring cooler weather to Texas, but my prayers were not answered they way I would have liked! (in the 100s is not cooler!) But, heat aside, we had a really great time. We stayed with our good friends from our Richmond days, Mike & Michelle. Kyle & Mike are kindred spirits and hit it off back in 2003 when we moved to Virginia. Since then, Mike has graduated from Business School and invests UT's sizable endowment.

On Saturday, we decided to brave the heat and crowds and visit Schlitterbahn. Schlitterbahn is a large water park just outside of Austin. It was fun, but very crowded! Our first ride we waited 2 hours in line!

Here we are before the waiting began

As many of you may know, Texans are famous for being overly proud of their state. " We used to be our own republic" is a statement I've heard multiple times during my years in Texas (Sic'em bears!). So, while at Schlitterbahn I counted the number of Texas related tattoos- 21! Not too shabby Texas!

On Sunday, we got to hang out with one of my favorite college friends- Hilary and her husband Ryan. I finally got to meet their children, the infamous Hollis and his sidekick Martin.

Here are Martin & Hollis striking a pose!

Much to my chagrin, we also went to see the World's Largest Urban Bat Colony, which conveniently is located in downtown Austin. I wasn't aware until this trip, that I have a strong dislike for bats. Aside from their consuming thousands of pounds of bugs, they largely have no redeeming qualities that I could extrapolate. However, I was one of the many standing on the Congress Street bridge to see the 1.5 million (yes, million- that is not a typo) bats fly out at dusk. You can kind of see the black figures in this photo.

Here are the bats leaving for the night.

We ended our trip with one of my favorite activities- eating ice cream! Amy's Ice cream is well known in Austin and of course I had to try it out.

Me, Michelle, Mike & Kyle enjoying some ice cream

We flew back into Richmond last night and are heading out tomorrow night for Spokane. We are some travelin' fools!

I'll post again once we're back on the west coast.

-Stacie

Real BBQ

Now here's something that will stick to your ribs!  We had the chance to head over to Buzz 'n Ned's in Richmond for some good old fashioned BBQ.  Growing up on the West coast I wasn't aware how naive I was to how many ways pork can be slow cooked to create heavenly deliciousness!

Every time we visit Richmond we stop by Buzz 'n Ned's and I think you'll see from our smiles below... they didn't disappoint.

-Stacie & Kyle

Ode to the boxer

Today we had the good fortune of getting to play with a baby boxer.  As is blatantly obvious from our blog- Kyle & I love boxers (especially our own, but not exclusively).  For those of you who are "non-dog people", boxers can seem (and rightfully so) rambunctious, hyper and overly friendly. However, for those of us who are "dog-people" boxers are one of the sweetest breeds of dogs. They are friendly, loyal, love to cuddle and are the type of dog that makes you feel like royalty or at least like a celebrity being followed by the paparazzi (because they follow you everywhere you go like what you're doing is obviously the most important thing in the world- which to them it is...it's quite an ego booster).  Needless to say, Kyle & I were very excited to get to see this little baby boxer today!

  The owner called this her "party collar".

On an unrelated boxer note- I would like to point out that for some unknown reason (at least to me)- God has decided to punish the South.  It is sunny, in the upper-90's and humid- everyday! There is no relief and Seattle has made me soft.  I am feeling perpetually exhausted and cranky due to this weather. I am actually dreaming of cloudy days! That is some irony for ya!

-Stacie

Better late than never...

The overarching policy on the Sale family blog is state the facts first, then give your opinion.  Fact, we've been delinquent in posting.  Opinion, it's because we're on vacation and having too much fun to keep up and therefore excused from our duties.  

Two weeks ago we went with Stacie's parents, Dave and Judy, up to Philadelphia.  I've long wanted to visit Philly since reading* David McCullough's biography of John Adams.  

*Editor's note:  I read the book before the HBO miniseries made it popular.*  

Anyway, Philadelphia was the epicenter of so much of the American Revolution.  Nearly all of our foundational documents were conceived there.  It was inspiring to stand in Independence Hall, in the exact same rooms, where our fore fathers debated the details of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  To reflect on the fact that these great (albeit flawed) men put together the system of government that guides us today was moving.

Independence Hall

The Liberty Bell

We also got to see the U.S. Mint stamping out coins, Betsy Ross's house, the first penitentiary in the U.S. (thanks to the Quakers), Christ Church...the list goes on.  I recommend a trip to Philly for anyone, it was educational, inspiring and the cheese steaks lived up to the hype!

Eastern State Penitentiary

We'll try to keep the blog updated a little more regularly.  All last week we were in Corolla, on the N.C. coast basking in the sun and enjoying the water.  Life is rough right now but we are diligently plodding along!  Here's a link the the rest of our Philly photo's.

-Kyle

A night out in Richmond

Kyle and I got some time to ourselves this weekend and we spent it reliving a couple of our favorite Richmond memories.  First, we went to one of my favorite places in Richmond, Hollywood Cemetery. This cemetery is famous for housing the graves of Presidents James Monroe and John Tyler, as well as Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Confederate General Pickett.

 

This is a view of the James River from the cemetery.

You can take a look at the rest of our photos on our web gallery.

We also got to spend the night in the historic Jefferson Hotel.  The Jefferson is where my brother and sister-in-law work and it's also where we held our wedding reception.  It was great to revisit the memories of our wedding reception!

The Jefferson Hotel

What a great weekend of relaxation and strolling down memory lane!

-Stacie

Checking In

On Wednesday we arrived in Richmond, Virginia to spend the month of July with Stacie's family.  We're excited to be here and looking forward to seeing lots of friends and family we've missed since moving to Seattle.  Stacie's family has grown since we moved away from Richmond, we'd like to introduce you to Moses.

I'm only four months old...don't worry, I'll grow into these ears.

For those of y'all not familiar with Richmond, take a gander at this link.  Enjoy the 4th of July!

-Kyle & Stacie