Mat and Kellie

Colombia

2011-02-10T09:52:00.003-07:00

As you all remember El Dia De Coconut it upon us. The day of the year when no matter where you are or how cold it is you drink out of coconuts to celebrate the finer weather of the past and future. This El Dia De Coconut is a special one for us, it will be our first wedding anniversary.

We decided this year we would celebrate our anniversary on the beaches of Colombia. We will be flying from here in PDX to LAX onto Panama City, Panama and then finally landing in Cartegena Colombia at 4:20pm the next day. We are going to spend our first two days in Cartegena, at hopefully a nice hotel, the Arsenal Hotel. We are then going to head up to the Parque National Natural Tayrona where we will be spending the night in deluxe hammocks on the beach. This at least is the plan, but it may be too hot so we may opt for a hotel in nearby Santa Marta.

After the park we will be heading back to Cartegena to catch a plane out to San Andres Island on Feb 20, where we plan to catch another small plane over to Providencia. Providencia is an even smaller island where we plan to scuba, snorkel. snack, and catch up on some hammock time. We are planning to stay at a small two bedroom guest house on an even smaller island called Santa Catalina.

I will update as soon as possible but we are planning to unplug our lives as best we can for two weeks.

Happy El Dia De Coconut,

Mat and Kellie

Household Problem

2010-11-21T13:28:00.005-07:00

By this picture you would think, how could anyone have a problem with a cat this cute. Let me tell you, it takes work, at doing nothing, to look that good. Two days ago I noticed that she was staring at the oven, she tends to space out so this did not surprise me that much. Yesterday as I was running out the door to work I saw it; a rabies, flea infested, hanta virus ridden mouse. I have had many strange things make it into my house, bed bugs, sand fleas, tarantula, and recently a very large caterpillar, but never a mouse. I was a big elephant in headlights. I did not know what to do. I looked to my left then to my right. Do I call Kellie? Do I try to catch it and risk a series of rabies shot so painful death would be pleasurable? No, turn on all the lights in the house so that it thinks it is day time. They are nocturnal after all.

I finished work and ran directly to the only store open at 3:30 am, Walgreen's. This turned into an adventure in itself. Do you know who shops at Walgreen's at 3:30 am? No one normal. I soon found myself in a best mouse trap, bed bug, and various other pest problems with a very nice but very strange clerk and an over pierced, painted face, ripped skirt punk rocker chick. I must say my life is nothing but boring.

Back to the main problem at hand. As of day one, no mouse has been caught, and we all know that princess cat of ours will never touch a dirty little mouse.

Cool new pic of kitten

2010-09-20T17:24:00.002-06:00

Pitch and Put

2010-09-16T16:02:00.002-06:00

The Dude

2010-09-09T21:45:00.004-06:00

For Kellie's birthday we went to Mopin Oregon to raft the Deschutes. To our surprise The Dude was the guide. For those of you who do not know, The Dude, he is the character from the Big Labowski. After the river trip we went to Bend Oregon, a small town we fell in love with, unfortunately there are no jobs there.

2010-09-09T21:34:00.002-06:00

Soon after, by someone I met at the Churnament, I was asked last moment to carve a pig for Pix at their annual Bastille day celebration. Good times good people.

The Ice Cream Churnament

2010-09-09T18:32:00.002-06:00

I was asked by one of my employers if I had Friday off. Afraid they were going to ask me to do some undesirable work I asked why. To my surprise they asked me to be a member of their Ice Cream making team. This would be a tournament in Pioneer Square to find out who would be the fastest ice cream and tastiest ice cream makers. This would be judged by a well known news anchor and the dairy princess among other dignitaries. To my employers this meant make the best ice cream and get the name of the restaurant out. To me this meant find the most awesome outfit you can find and crank some ice cream. Soon The Creamanator would get the rest of his teammates on the bandwagon. To our surprise our dark cherry chevre ice cream did not win tastiest, an by no means were we the fastest, but one weeks later they brought a trophy to the restaurant and awarded us most enthusiastic. Hurray for teem BELLY!

The End of an Era

2010-06-23T00:54:00.004-06:00

So the dream came to an end. I had planned to rock the stang for years to come. As fate would have it she would only make it to 95,000 miles. Her head gasket blew and without the time or space to fix her, the hardest decision had to be made. She has gone to be with others like her and it was only fitting that a rusty old man named chuck creaked his modified pickup to take her off to his shop. May she give the next person as many great times as she gave me.

The Maiden Voyage

2010-06-10T02:29:00.005-06:00

On a warm overcast day two men leaped from the dock, over the gunnel and into a boat. With only the words of a couple of instructional books they raised the mail sail, sheeted in, and sailed off into the horizon. Within minutes the wetsuits were coming off, they are hot! Sweat was pouring from their brows, and the jib was raised. As the boat healed over, they rocked the rudder and off they were. A jibe at the buoy, a rocky change of sides, and back to the dock they were headed. Slowly they moved toward the dock, for later they would learn that their sails were not positioned for a run. They creeped into the dock with precision, tied the vessel off, and exchanged a highfive, for the are now sailors.

The Fitting Boat Name

2010-03-27T18:55:00.004-06:00

We all know that person that really fits their name, like Bud, the really nice guy down the street. Well I found a boat with a very fitting name... El Titanic

Monkey crooks

2010-03-27T18:28:00.003-06:00

On the beaches of the national park Manuel Antonio the white face monkeys will eat out of your hand, but watch out they will also snatch your bag and run off with it. I do like a beach where the monkeys are more of a threat than criminals. These monkeys found some banana peals in the trash they just could not resist.

Rafting the El Toro

2010-03-27T17:59:00.002-06:00

After the wedding we decided the best way to start a honeymoon was to jump in a raft and race down a river. It was lots of fun, but the water was low, it is the dry season, and we got stuck on the rocks twice. Just imagine when the water is high. We saw howler monkeys, birds, and nothing beats a nice float through the jungle.

Wedding Pics

2010-03-25T21:20:00.004-06:00

Here are some pictures. I just found out that the entire ceremony was filmed. I am currently working on a way to receive it due to its large file size, if you have ideas let me know. Till then this will have to do.

Viva El Dia De Coconut!

Costa Rica

2010-02-27T17:04:00.004-07:00

For those of you that were out of the loop... we got married. The wedding took place in Nosara Costa Rica on the perfect beach with the perfect sunset. After which we spent almost two weeks traveling the country. We took, a record for us, over 200 pics, however we did not take any of the wedding since we were the main attraction. If you have some send them to me, till then the link to the wedding album, that was made by the photographer, is at the bottom of the blog.

After long hours in the airport and on the plane we made it to Costa Rica. Upon arriving in the airport we were able to catch a shuttle to the rental car. If you have never been to the Virgin Islands where shuttles are against the law, you may not appreciate the shuttle as much as we did. We requested the cheapest car we could, probably not the best idea in retrospect, which I have had larger Tonka Trucks, and it was a standard transmission. I did not know that any rental companies in the world still rented standard transmissions. We signed some papers and off we were for the five and a half hour drive to Nosara.

After a brief stop for lunch at a road side restaurant we drove for another two hours until we made the last turnoff. The roads till then where pretty good, but the final road was like nothing I had ever tried to navigate. It was full of craters, not potholes, boulders, rocks, and speed bumps the size of most ski jumps. This road took an hour to go about six miles, but we made it. We met Gale at his guest house Lodge Vista Del Mar and enjoyed a much needed nap.

Later that evening we were able to meet up with Kellie's family for dinner. We went to a nice little open restaurant called the Guilded Iguana which was great, my sea bass was fantastic (it was local not Chilean). About five minutes after the waiter took our order the power went out, so reminiscent of our time in the Caribbean. This did not stall the restaurant at all and we finished our meal on the candle light. Wen we got back I still had not heared from my family and was getting concerned. After an hour of trying to call them and no answer, I finally asked Gale for their key so that I could let them into their room when they got there. To which he replied, "Oh they just went out for dinner and to watch some live music." I guess I deserved that for all the nights I stayed out too late while they stayed up worrying.

The next day we went to talk to the lawyer about the wedding. When we got there, after much confusion, we figure out he was the wrong lawyer. We had talked to this lawyer eight months ago, but ended up going with another. This lawyer emailed us the day before, which we thought was the other one we had already sent money to. We got this sorted out, but the other law firm had left for the day, leaving us with some real concern. After a wonderful sunset and dinner with both our families at La Luna, a restaurant on the beach, we returned to our hotel. After assuring Kellie that I would sort out the lawyers in the morning, we tucked in for a restless night.

http://kellie.micelebracion.com

2009-11-04T10:31:00.004-07:00

The weekend started with the Rocky Horror Show. Believe it or not, Kellie picked out my outfit at the local second hand store. I think I look pretty good. Back in Portland two people dressed like this would not even turn a head, but in Jackson we frightened the locals.

Halloween we scored some tickets to the big party at Snow King Lodge. It was amazing! People went crazy. We met one of the guys doing lights for the show who had toured with bands such as Metalica, and he told us this was the best party he had ever been too. We made it home safely with costumes still intacked, which I think is a first for me. Yes I am a door mat and kellie is Twister. It was a good thing that I actually look like a hardened bank robber more than a mat, because I had to fight off all the people trying to play twister.

2009-10-11T12:25:00.002-06:00

Yes it is now winter in Jackson, and yes that is my beautiful bride dressed up in her work uniform for Oktoberfest. Luckily she only had to work during the day so she missed the worst of the junkshow.

One of the great things about our condo complex is that you can set sail from the front yard, float down a technical, swift creek, and pull out at the Smith's. From there you catch a buss back home. Something I really love about this town.

Fishing

2009-10-11T12:10:00.002-06:00

I finally got to do some fishing. This crazy individual I am fishing with is Matt T, or terminator for short. He is the most dedicated fisherman I have ever known. A month or so ago I worked with him until he blew out his knee skateboarding. Just a few weeks after the surgery he invited me to go fishing with him. Still on crutches we rowed down the Snake River. I caught two fish and missed about twenty five, he caught two and missed none.

In the photo we are at a secret location, still on crutches he tossed them aside and hobbled up and down this river, and getting the only catch of the day. To all of you that think you are avid fisherman you must tip your hat to the Angler on crutches.

Las Vegas!!!

2009-08-18T16:36:00.004-06:00

Kellie and a few of her long time friends turned thirty this year, and two finished their last med school test this last week. So what else do you do... go to Vegas. We stayed in the Hard Rock, which we got a great deal on, or so we thought. They did manage to nickle and dime us for everything, but I think that is standard in Vegas. We thought the hotel was a lot of fun as compared to others. They have all sorts of Rock memorabilia to wander about and look at, and there is a great sushi restaurant and a Mexican cantina across the street to get some good cheeper eats.

These cheeper places come in handy when they tell you that there are no coolers allowed in the room. Hoever, if you are like us, you use your cooler to hold all you luggage to save on baggage prices. They cannot tell you that you can't take you clothes to your room. Then go buy your snacks at the CVS Pharmacy across the street and hide them in you back pack or purse. This is a great way to save some money, but believe me, they will get it one way or another... It is Vegas afterall.

I will fore warn any parent going to the Hard Rock, it is not a place for children, not that Vegas really is. The pool is no ordinary pool, it is spring break Mexico every day. This does allow for some very interesting people watching. Niether of us knew that women were supised to wear high heels with your itsy bitsy tiny winny bikini.

Old town was where we had the most fun. We all had dinner at the Bavarian Restaurant by the hotel, I would tell you the name but I cannot spell it. Then we took a Hummer limmo to old town where prices ar more moderate and great bands play in the street.

All in all we had a great time, no items were lost, and we stayed within budget... The perfect Vegas vacation.

Kellie's Birthday

2009-07-23T11:14:00.003-06:00

We spent Kellie's birthday paddling across a high mountain lake. The deer came right up to us within ten feet and hung out with us for about fifteen min. The great thing about national parks is that all the animals know they are safe and are not afraid of you. The other great part is that if you go just a little way off the beeten path you are all alone with nature. This is at Leigh lake, not far from Jackson but there is no road to it. You have to paddle up String Lake then port your boat about a hundred yards to Leigh, and there is not many people that do.

First Day of Work

2009-06-15T19:05:00.003-06:00

I worked for my first day in six weeks. I sliced some meet, made some sandwiches, and changed the world. Yes that is correct, I work in a deli. Again this town has yet to show me a mean person, much different than the last place we lived.

Kellie's work is going just fine, but the weather is hindering our outdoor lifestyle. Lets just say we are more of the fair weather hikers. It seams to be clearing up and soon we will be spending our days outside rather than renting videos.

I have added some new things to the blog, sorry about selling out to the adds, but they pay me, very little, but some. If you see something you like click on it, it only helps us both. Also the links at the top are two of our favorite sights to start the day with a smile. So have fun if you have any ideas for the blog please email us with your ideas.

We Made It!

2009-06-04T13:28:00.000-06:00

We are now residents of Wyoming. I never thought that I was going to say that again. After two week of living out of a car we got to Jackson WY. We were not sure if this was going to be the city for us until arriving. This town has everything, mountains, streams, rivers, and good people. It is also very bikeable. We fell in love with this town on the first day. We have a great little apartment and Kellie has already found a job. Below you will find photos of our trip in chronological order. This road trip, although not what we had planned on, was amazing. The U.S. is an amazing place, with people and places of all kinds. This road trip is a true testament that when "Canada" gives you a lemon, make lemonade.

Cabela's

2009-06-04T13:13:00.000-06:00

It was our first time at a Cabela's. We were amazed! There was a giant mountain of Death, and a library for rednecks. I cannot even explain how much stuff was there, everything but what we needed. If you want to kill something go to Cabela's, but if you need a book on places to camp in the area they do not have it.

Murry Montana

2009-06-04T12:53:00.000-06:00

Murry Montana is a tiny washed up mining town lost in time. There is this museum there started by a man that liked to collect junk. He owned a bar and started hanging the junk on the wall. He soon ran out of space and had to purchase the next two buildings to store his junk. If you are in the area you must stop, it is amazing, and free.

Off I-90, past Missoula Montana, is a restaurant/bar/campground called the Testicle Festival. The restaurant is family friendly along with the gift shop/meeting area. However, the bar is for open minded adults only. Staying true to its name, the reading material is not today's paper, but Play Boy magazines. This place is a one of a kind place. Even more amazing than the bar was the fact that there was a Born Again Christian festival going on there. Again if you are in Missoula you must stop at the Testicle Festival, you wont be disappointed.

Philipsburg Montana

2009-06-04T12:42:00.000-06:00

Philipsburg is a fun little town with many old buildings. It is pretty much a living ghost town, where every one is friendly. There is a really cool second hand store there, you must stop in. Also the other place you have to stop in to is Fire on the Mountains. The owner makes amazing BBQ sauce, salsa, and fire sauce. He also slow roasts ribs and chicken if you are hungry.

Virginia and Nevada Citys

2009-06-04T12:30:00.000-06:00

Virginia is a living ghost town, and a really fun place to spend a night. The top is a picture of the inside of a building they are restoring. It is amazing that they can preserve these buildings as well as they do. The other two pictures are of recreated scenes from the period, a parlor and a barber. The graves are of five men that were hung in the town by the Vigilantes. A group of men that set out to kill all the criminal in Montana. They did cut back on crime, however they murdered a lot of innocent people. This is a real dark part of Montanan history.

2009-06-04T12:20:00.000-06:00

Virgina City is true ghost town in Montana. The houses and buildings have been collected from all over to create a museum of the mining boom days. I am not sure what the fish is about, but it reminds me of something you would see on display in the streets of Portland OR.

Cold Camping

2009-06-04T12:11:00.000-06:00

The rivers were raging and the lakes we camped by were frozen. Not only did we have our zero degree sleeping bags, but we brought the big down comforter in the tent just to stay warm at night. One night it rained unexpectedly and we had made the amature mistake of putting a tarp under the tent. We got soaked. The next day we had to get a motel room just to dry things out.

Old Faithfull

2009-06-04T12:06:00.001-06:00

Old Faithfull is on the list with the Panama Canal of most boring tourist attractions that you have to go to if your there.

West Yellowstone/ Yellowstone

2009-06-04T11:53:00.000-06:00

West Yellowstone and Yellowstone. Where the deer and the buffalo roam free, but the fish don't bite.

Montana

2009-05-27T12:39:00.000-06:00

I know it has been a while since the last post, but it has been a hectic few weeks of travel. Alaska did not workout, we had a problem at the border and Canada would not let us in. We decided by the time we could get it resolved it would be too late to make it for the season in Alaska. So we turned right and headed to Montana. It has been a great experience, seen amazing things and met some great people. We are headed to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole for the summer. When I get a better connection I will upload some great photos, and let you all know where we are.

Reef Bay

2009-04-17T15:58:00.000-06:00

I am sorry about the lack of updates, but the Internet services that we were using have all stopped working. In the last few weeks we have hiked the petroglyph trail on St John and the Brown Bay trail, also on St John. At the end of the Petroglyph trail there is a well preserved sugar mill. It still has an old steam engine from the last attempt to run the mill, but with the abolishment of slavery the sugar production on the island was already on its way out. Yes my favorite part of the Reef Bay sugar mill is the bats, lots of bats. The Brown Bay plantation is not kept up and completely grown over. On the hike down we came across a group of Ferrel donkeys, I still have not seen the allusive land crab, but the donkeys were cool. The plantation is hard to see under all the vines and brush giving it an eyree feeling, especially the room that had animal bones lied out like some black magic ritual. Unfortunately we forgot the camera on the Brown Bay hike, but we did have the most tasty burgers we have had since we left at Skinny Legs. This is my new favorite place, but it really is at the end of the earth.

For all of you that do know our last day of work is the 2nd of May. We will be leaving to Jost Van Dyke and the Virgin Gorda for my birthday and then a few days on St John. After that we have a flight home with a 10 hour layover in Vegas, but do not worry we will not be getting married in the Little Chapel of Love. Finally we will land in Salt Lake on mothers day. We can not wait to see you all for a week before we start our next journey to Alaska.

Congrats to Richard and Nichole on 15 years, happy anniversary.

The BVI

2009-03-10T09:44:00.000-06:00

Sorry that it has been a few weeks since we have posted, but we have been busy exploring the British Virgin Islands. First we went to Tortola and stayed at the most dilapidated campground ever. It was not even cheep and they made us pay a hotel tax. The fish fry that happens every Friday did not happen because the lady running the camp did not want to do it. This does not come as a surprise since this is very common here on the islands, but it was a bit of a disapointment since we had no food to eat.

The Island of Tortola is a great place, very sleepy place. I bought a kite at the market and attempted to fly it while Kellie was sunbathing on our own private beach, not really but there was no one in sight. The town is very small, it is the capital of the BVI, with not much to eat or see. We have done some big hikes in our lives, but nothing compares to the roads of Tortola, they are so steep and windy.

This Last week we took a boat to Jost Van Dyke, with a snorkle stop in Turtle Cove. We swam with a turtle and got some great underwater photos with the Sponge Bob Camera. We will get those online as soon as we find a place to develop them here. The campground on Jost was the best we have found. It ran on an honor system and had many tire swings and hammocks. The beaches are amazing and the water crystal clear.

As for the rest of things the car is dead we are trying to get rid of it. We ran out of gas in the house, and the fridge is now not working. Still hanging in there. On a side note the camera is now making rainbows around everything, if anyone knows why this is let us know.

One special day

2009-02-16T05:13:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have already heard about our special day, El Dia De Coconut. This day was made the most special day in our lives. In a moment of petrifying fear and excitement Kellie said yes as I was down on one knee begging her to marry me. The place was some old armory ruins overlooking Watermelon Kay on St John. Kellie was so surprised that she thought I was joking. We do not have any plans for the wedding yet but we will keep you posted. After we hiked back down we went to an amazing dinner at Tapa, thank you for such an amazing meal, and then made it back to our campsite on Cinnamon bay. Great night camping and then headed back the next day.
On a more sour note, the car is broken. She finally gave out and just won't quite start, but we have hope she will run once again. Supposed to give a guy a call who is going to give another guy a call today to come over to the house to take a look at it. I know, sounds really promising. This morning has also not been so shiny. We've been up since before 7 because the power once again went out, which means roaring generators and the lack of a fan. There are also six yapping rottweiler puppies upstairs, crowing roosters and weed whackers. Crossing our fingers for a nap before work later today.

Jost Van Dyke

2009-01-30T06:38:00.001-07:00

Nestled among the USVI is the BVI, British Virgin Islands. We and some friends chartered a boat to take us to the BVIs yesterday, and let me say the Brits do it right. The boat that we were on was amazing. Big spacious and leather everything. It had two bedrooms, a tv, and a rocking stereo. the best part of the boat for me was I got to drive it back, of course he did not let me park it. The first sighn that we had picked the right boat was it's oregin, Portland OR. We had a great sail over to Jost Van Dyke and after a long customs experience, one of the people with us was Columbian, we mored of the beach and swam ashore.

The Soggy Dollar was the first stop, named because you have to swim to get there and your money is all wet, where they had this great ring toss game that I scored in only three trys. After a long nap in the hot sun we went on to Love and peace, or some thing like that, where we had this wonderfull treat, The Rotti. This is some chicken and potato curry something wrapped up in a tortilla, amazing! We then had to swim back to the boat because one of our friends had to be back to work by Six. As we motered back on one scew, to save gas, it takes almost $1000 to fill the boat up, the sun began to fade behind the horizon and people bagan to doze off. What a great day. Thankyou Kenny for puting the trip together, and a special thanks to Captin Adrian.

I want to remind everyone that the 12th of febuary is El Dia De Coconut. This is a holiday that me and Kellie came up with last year in Nicaragua. We were sipping out of coconuts and decided to make it a holiday. So no matter how rainy or snowy it is were you are drink a beverage, of you choice, out of a coconut and dream of sunny weather.

Wild Asses!

2009-01-18T09:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend we were able to get a campsite over on St. John and were able to do a lot of hiking at Watermelon Cay and up to the old sugar plantation ruins. Pretty cool. On St. John the wildlife consists of mongoose, goats, and wild donkeys! The donkeys have no fear of humans as you can see from the photos, the only fear is the fear we have of them kicking us. It has been raining a lot and very hard the past couple days here, but at least we don't have to shovel it, and it is still 85 degrees. Car is still running, but we worry about its timeline every single day. Not really much to report. Oh, the sink is broken and spews water everywhere. Enjoy the photos, and we love you all!

The Bug

2009-01-07T12:10:00.001-07:00

What bug did you find today? Everyday I get to ask Kellie that very question. Our little friend seen above found its way into the house, not sure how I have not seen any holes big enough for him, the other night. He began flying around in a frenzy. For all of you who have not encountered a R.O.U.S. roach of unusual size, it is frightning. They make a loud clicking sound as they fly irratacally, banging into everything, all you can do is duck and wave a shoe in the air hoping to kill it with luck. What I really needed in this situation was a karate kid with some chopsticks.

We had a wonderful Christmas dinner on St John at ZOZO's. Food was great, veiw was great, but the company was the best, Kellie. Thanks for all the love you have all sent us over the holidays. For all of you that believe in a higher power, pray for our jeep. We take it in tomorrow and it is going to need all of you prayers. While she is in the shop we are heading back to St John to do some hiking. I will try to get some good photos for you all. Till next time.

Yes that is a photo of my future boat.

The end of the taxi cab era (hopefully...)

2008-12-31T07:26:00.000-07:00

I will never again complain about going to the DMV stateside ever again. Not after yesterday's nonsense. It started about 8 AM with a phone call from a guy who is selling his car because he is desperate to get off island TODAY. In the past 2 months he had been stabbed, broken his back, and been almost killed by a hitchhiker he had picked up. He needed out of here so we knew we could get a deal. He came right over in a beat up 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee, but for $1150 we decided the price was right. Immediately we had to get the title transfered and registered, insured, etc. Step one, find a notary which seems entirely pointless. Then we have to walk to the insurance agency and set all that up. Had to pay up front for a full year and then we'll supposedly get a prorated refund when we leave. Then the DMV, actually the BMV here. I now hail stateside DMVs as beacons of efficiency and speed. Start off in super long line and make it to window one, where of course the woman behind the window is out to lunch so we just have to wait it out because she has to check records for tickets. Next up, window 2 to fill out applications for registration. Take a number. Number is finally called and we pay someone some money. Back to window 2. Given some papers. Now is time for car inspection. What you are about to read is totally illegal but accepted, if not encouraged. There is a guy right at the DMV who you can pay to "get your inspection done". This entails no one actually ever looking at the vehicle because few of them would pass on this island, ours included. He runs around for an hour or more between who knows how many windows but we are finally presented with our registration stickers, and now I'm almost late to work. It was quite the ordeal.

This day of hell will be worth it because it means no more taxi cabs! Allowing that the car holds up. The motor, engine, all that are good apparently (this is Kellie writing this, so all technicalities regarding car troubles are according to Mat), but there is a crazy clicking noise, needs some breaks, and you have to touch wires together to roll the windows up or down. And sometimes you have to wiggle the battery bolt things in order to start the car. But it runs, it runs, and we figure we can get through the next 4 months with it, put a little money into it, and maybe even sell it for a small profit when we leave.

Happy New Years to all of you! Hope eveyone will be safe tonight and have a good time. I will be working from 3 pm to 3 am, so my holiday is pretty much shot. Mat is also working. But we both have the next 2 days off and are going to St. Johns tomorrow to get massages, hang out at the beach, and have a nice dinner. Belated christmas presents to eachother. We love you all!

Wrong Side of the Bed

2008-12-23T09:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we woke up and walked to the beach. On our way back a bee flew under the brim of my my hat and stung me on my head next to my eye. After pulling out the bee gut ridden stinger the burning began. I suffered only for a short time then went off to work. The Safari driver, the bus system here, tried to charge me a white man fee. For those who do not know he tried to rip me off of a dollar. I refused, he yelled, and drove off. After finally making it to work, I stepped in the back to change my shirt and stepped on two sticky rat traps. Now I have two rat traps stuck to my feet, and they do not come off. After that mess I had a nice family at my table and as was dropping off their beers, I dropped one on the nice lady. A few moments later I was taking them another round and the ice covered beer slipped out of my hand and fell on the same lady. The only good thing about that table was, there was six of them, AUTOGRAT! I hope today is better.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note. I am going to quit one of my jobs today. The job that I have to wear that awful shirt at. Kellie and I decided that we needed time together and three jobs just did not allow for that. Kellie is still doing fine at her job despite the slow season and the Green House is working well for me. The big Christmas celebration for the island was Saturday which included a Christmas boat parade. For all of you that have seen Portland's your expectations are too high. There was only a handful of ships, but it was a nice addition to the party.

I wish that there were more stories to tell you but nothing realy hapens here. I have a hour comute to work on a thirteen mile long island, kellie has a thirty dollar comute by taxy, and everyone tries to rip you off because the think your a tourist. I hope to get some good dives in this week, if I ever make some money I will buy a underwater camera to show you all how great it is out here.

I got to go some guy is offering to buy us breakfast if we let him get on facebook.

Merry Christmas,
We love you all,

Mat and Kellie

Worm Free!

2008-12-14T10:02:00.000-07:00

This week has been very interesting and frustrating. The law here requires you to have a health card in order to work in the service industry. I am now going into the details of what it took for me to get this ever important card. It is rated PG-13 so send your little ones to bed.

It all started with a trip to the hospital where we had to negotiate with the security guard to let us through without leaving our IDs, because we need them to get the cards. Yes if it is the law to have this card you would have thought that they would have already addressed this problem, but no. After wandering though poorly marked hallways we came to the health center reception desk, where we could not understand the Westindi ladies dialect. Luckily some state side person heard our plight and came to our rescue. We had to go to another clinic to pick up our sample cups and bring it back Monday morning.

Monday morning I woke up and held the cup under me and dropped a good sized poo sample into the cup. After I finished gaging I wrapped it up in a plastic bag and hopped on the bus for the hour comute while holding my presious cargo in my hand. The good news is they checked me for but worms and I am but worm free! A few days later I was able to return to the hospital for more frustrating nonsence and picked up my card, glad that is done.

All is well here, the jobs are going good, life is good. We have started renting tv seiries to watch. Right now we are finishing up House, great show. As frustrating as life down here can be, we do not have to wake up early to scrape the ice off my windsheild. We miss fresh food, we are tired of dollar hot dogs and ramen noodles. Thank you all, we miss you.

Job three

2008-12-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

After a half mile walk, not kidding, to drop off the trash we stopped at our favorite internet capable restaurant for some food and to write you all. Not much has happened, except I have got a new job at a place called the Green House during the day. Yes that is job number three, but in this economy it is necessary.

This island is so slow, just yesterday we opened a bank account. It takes three business days to actually open. As you all know, that are reading this, we are in the technology age. A few key stokes can give you tens of thousands, but here the largest bank cannot open an account for three days. On top of that it takes a month to get a debit card. I would expect this in Nicaragua but we pay federal taxes here. Welcome to paradise.

Even with all these frustrations we get to go diving in the ocean every day while you are all shivering in the cold. Stay tuned for Mondays excursion, we have to go get our health cards. For all of you that know what that entails feel sorry for us, the rest of you, you will soon see.

Uniform

2008-11-30T10:23:00.001-07:00

We woke up to no water this morning, and the landlord's daughter that is taking care of the property is in Georgia, fun times. I have completed my training at Agave and should be on the floor next week. When we came I only wanted to have one job and enjoy the days here. Unfortunately business has not picked up here, but I do start my second job as a snorkel instructor Tuesday. Not bad for a second job. Kellie is doing fine at her job, no she has not sold the $150 blingtini yet but we have high hopes. Came here not quite understanding or should I say appreciating the luxuries of home. You know, such as television, water, power, and peaceful mornings. Each day we are woken up to the wild roosters crowing and then the dogs barking back at them. And I assure you, roosters crow well before sunrise and through the day. And don't get me started on cab fares. But still, the weather is beautiful, the beaches white and sandy, and the water bathtub warm. Great experience, character building. Finaly, yes that is my work uniform.

2008-11-28T07:50:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update. The power went out on the island for two days because the generator blew up and burnt down. The taxis are the mob here and make life very difficult. Work is going good for both of us and Kellie's work gave us a Thanksgiving feast. I am trying to save enough money to buy a fishing pole to catch us some dinner because we can't afford to buy much food on this island. Stay tuned for some photos, especially of me in my ridiculous work uniform.

St John

2008-11-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

We had the day off so we hopped the fairy to St John. Most of the island is a national park so you can go anywhere your feet will take you. We had some thing to eat in the little town then hiked, on the trail you see in the photo for about 20 min, and ended up at a beautiful beach called honeymoon beach. I am sure you can tell by the photo why they call it that. Or maybe they call it that because you need to be a young couple to make the hike there. After a fun day at the beach we hopped the fairy back for a wonderful night ride back. As hard and stressful this last week has been seeing these things makes it all worth it.

As we were studying Kellie's flashcards for her new job and having some breakfast at Molly Malones today, a giant iguana came up to us. I leaped into the air in surprise just to learn it was begging for food, way better than the pigeons of city life. I have a job at a nice restaurant called Agave Terrace. It is a mom and pop shop, so nice and relaxed but not cheep and always busy. I unfortunately do not start till Monday, and unless you have money there is not much more to do than go lay on the beach, life could be worse.

Patience

2008-11-18T12:33:00.001-07:00

Just to let you all know we spent two hours at the power company trying to get our power turned on. NO it is still not turned on. People here don't have any sense of urgency. Six nights in the dark don't seem to be a problem for most people, even after you have paid for it. It has been one week and the frustration is getting to us, but don't worry we are fine. Just a little heads up for anyone wanting to move here. Patience is key!

picks

2008-11-16T14:51:00.000-07:00

Here is some pics.

Livin' on the Island

2008-11-15T15:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the delay on a new blog, but the last few weeks have been a bit overwhelming. I must say it is a bit harder to move to an island than I thought. First, thanks to all of you that helped this happen. Sheila and all of you at the Emanon, I miss you all and thanks again for all of your support. Linda and Cameron at Belly, It would not have been possible without you, and to all of our friends and Family thanks.

The drive to SLC was nice no weather or problems, except the cat for the first 45 min. after that she slept the rest of the way. The week with the families was great, welcome home Chris, Kellie's brother just got back from a Mission. Our parents Finlay met, so it is official we are a couple. The flight was long and made even longer with an emergency landing in the Bahamas, because a lady had a heart attack on the plane, best wishes to her and her family, but be made it.

So far the Island is like the rest of the U.S. except much more expensive. Kellie's box of cereal cost $7 dollars, and it was the small box. Toothpaste is $8 dollars a tube, so to the Coombs, if you send me a box no candy just the necessities. Oh yes some things are cheaper, anything that will kill you such as booze, and cigarettes.

We found a place to live quickly, it is nice nothing special, but it is $500 dollars less than our house in Portland. We quickly found out that we needed a car on the island, the terrain makes walking impossible, so I have been working on that for the last coupe of days. Stay tuned for photos of the coolest POS ever. I have passed out a number of resumes with great responses but unfortunately we are on island time and it takes a while for anything to happen, I will keep you all updated.

Well that is all for now, thanks again everyone I will keep you all updated.

Mat and Kellie

Sorry I can't get the photos to upload stay tuned.

The Plane

2008-10-14T17:15:00.000-06:00

Just learning to use this blog. This is the results of my amazing pilot skills. Notice the amazing facial hair.

2008-10-13T16:01:00.000-06:00

Hi from Mat and Kellie