Top 10 things I have 930 days to do...

1) Learn to eat fish (just in case...)
2) Learn to enjoy wine (maybe...)
3) Learn to snorkel without freaking out that when I surface I can't breathe out of my nose (a necessity)
4) Find a pair of hiking shoes suitable for water (like Keens) that fit my feet, and break them in.
5) Learn to use Kevin's fancy camera on the non-green square settings.
6) Get in hiking shape
7) Learn some basic Spanish
8) Save money...
9) Pack (this can wait awhile)
and finally-
10) Read the Origin of the Species.

Why?  Because Kevin and I are going to the Galapagos!

The Geek in Me?

By chance some friends of ours from Ohio were stopping in our town while moving from Colorado to Washington DC (ah- military life! Since Ohio, they've also lived in Florida...in the mean time, Kevin has been separated and we've enjoyed the steadiness of Iowa life.)

After coming across on facebook that we live in this city (apparently it was a "Kevin lives in Iowa doesn't he? Checks facebook...hey same city!) They called to see if we wanted to get together. A chance to see old friends- of course!

So we planned to get together for dinner, and a little wayside trip. These are our "geeky" (kinda...) friends who introduced us to the awesomeness of games like Settlers of Catan and Munchkin and the like. They are apparently Star Trek fans. So we went to Riverside, Iowa- the future birthplace of Captain Kirk (well, depending on which storyline you follow, apparently).

My life long avoidance of all things Star Trek has ended. (I've done slightly worse on Star Wars- I actually own some of those movies, and I think I've seen all of them, or at least pieces.) I don't think I'll be getting a geek card anytime soon though. While looking up information on this place (which is really odd, btw- doesn't it kind of look like a grave?) I said "William Shatner played Captain Kirk? Really?"

Oh- and the dinner out. We had sushi and it was fantastic- though the wait for it to be made was LONG.

Last Sunday...

Remember I told you I went to the zoo? Well here are the pictures I've been meaning to post all week. It was a pretty good zoo. No red panda :( but bonus points for white tigers (though I think one was dead. Seriously, look at the cat's neck. The breathing was just to throw us off).
When we got to the zoo we sent the in-laws a picture of the dome to see if they knew where we were. It's always shown during the college world series. They said it looked familiar, but they couldn't place it. So at the end of the day we took a picture of Kevin on the famous dog pile statue, and they got it right away. They were also at a longhorn game when they received that message- hopefully the longhorns will be in Omaha at the end of the season. (The Aggies are sadly missing from all the championship plaques). But then last night we noticed in the picture you can see "mutual of Om" - so we looked at the dome picture we actually sent. The word "Omaha" is clearly visible.. LOL

Favorite animals- the otters or the orangutans. They were lively and being adorable. And there was a cute gorilla baby. And goats at the petting zoo who just could not care less how much you touched them. Kevin tried to steal one, but it didn't work. I asked the llama if I could make it into a sweater, but it said no.

Fall Paddle

We went on a 10.2 mile paddle of the Iowa River today. We started in Wapello and ended in Oakville. Then we had a nice cook out with hot dogs and s'mores. Thanks River Basin Canoe and Kayak for an excellent event.

There were 3 of us, 3 other people and 2 from the shop. It was supposed to be yesterday, but the weather was miserable, so it was put off one day. A gorgeous day with a cooperative river that cut the paddling time in half about!

Some pictures (be sure to scroll to the end!)

Kevin and I before the day started.
Kevin and I out on the river.

Amanda and I in our rental canoe.

Kevin and Amanda caught mid-laugh.
Possibly the best road sign in the history of the highway system:


In other news, the toe of my first Wanida sock is almost done.