Out in Park City

Julie and I are out in Park City. We came out at the beginning of December and have stayed quite busy. The area did not get much inthe way of early snow, but we got about two feet the week after we arrived. It helped with the base at the ski resorts and made everything look a lot more like winter.

A view from our front porch looking at (right to left) the Deer Valley ski resort, the town of Park City, and the Park City ski resort. 

This is Julie over at Deer Valley. As you can see, even without a lot of new snow the scenery is gorgeous. 

Julie's birthday at the Grove Park Inn

Julie and I went to the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC to celebrate her birthday (29th I think). We love the inn, but normally try to time it for late October when the leaves are changing. This time we did it around her birthday and Thanksgiving.

The visit was wonderful. They have a magnificant spa where we each got a massage and hung out in the hot tubs which include huge cascading waterfalls. They have a very nice gym with weights, tennis, raquetball, a pool and more. The weather went from snowing to gorgeous sunny days. Quite the mix.

Of course, we did the incredible Thanksgiving buffett. They had all the traditional offerings plus so much more. Having lifted weights in the morning and gone for a long walk in the afternoon, I don't think I gained more than three pounds at that meal.

Julie and I on Thanksgiving evening. We are standing on the steps at the back of the inn, and some nice passer-by took our picture. 

Another look at the sunset. 

All decorated for Christmas. They had a bit of the holiday glitter out on the roof of the spa. Inside, there was a big, elaborate gingerbread house competition. Perhaps the nicest thing was having a Christmas tree in our room, although it was artificial. 

We spent some time in downtown Ashville doing a bit of art shopping. It was a bit more exciting with the snow showers. We found a great place for lunch called "Fig". Should be a definite repeat! 

Quite the snowy afternoon. This is looking back at the old part of the inn. 

Fishing at Cape Hatteras

I spent this weekend fishing at Cape Hatteras. Andy Overly, a fellow Ganymede Software worker, organized a great trip. I went down on Thursday and came back Sunday. We also had Andy's wife and son, Gary Weichinger and one of his daughters, Gary Forghetti, Frederic and Stephanie Farzanegan and their three children.

Andy and Younghee have a great home in Waves, NC. It fit all of us very comfortably, is full of great entertainment, and is a short walk over to the ocean. They were wonderful for having us and were constantly going out of their way to make our stay awesome. Thanks!

The weather was unreal. It was the first weekend in November, but every day was sunny and in the 70s. It was at least 10 degrees above normal. You can't ask for prettier days.

On Thursday night Andy and I went to the bridge at Oregon Inlet. The night before he had caught 17 and 25 pound Stripers. On this night, we got only a pretty sunset. 

On Friday morning, Andy and I did a bit of surf fishing. No luck catching anything though. 

The night before fishing. You can see a sliver of the moon and a planet (Mars?) before the stars came out. 

Heading out to see as the sun came up. 

Leaving the harbor in the morning. 

Apparently the same people that make ski clothing make fishing gear. Very pretty! Also very expensive. When we were trolling, we had about eight or nine lines in the water. 

The fishing team: Frederic, Gary, Andy, Gary, Barry (the first mate) and Stephanie. 

Andy fighting a tuna with a cast of spectators. 

The husband and wife team working on a tuna. 

Steve (me) reeling one in.

Help us! We're trapped!! 

The mate pulling one into the boat. 

On the way back in, we had some interesting light. The sun was gorgeous reflecting off the spray from the boat. 

We left at dark and as we came back into the harbor, the sun was setting. It was a fairly long day. 

These guys are extremely talented fish slicers and dicers. Rather than cleaning our own fish, we paid them a bit to do a great job for us. 

Another great Michigan football game

This past weekend we went up to Michigan to visit family and to watch Michigan kick Penn State's butt (by two points in the last second). It was a great weekend. Nice weather. Lots of family visiting. And of course, a tight, highly contested game that sent undefeated Penn State home with their first loss of the year.

Julie and Kathy in our tailgating spot. Bill, who is wandering on the street somewhere, managed to get us a nice spot very close to the stadium. It is excellent for watching everyone go by. 

The band walking past our tailgating spot. 

We were sitting near the Penn State fans. I have to admit, they were quite the inspired, rowdy bunch.