For Reed

Poor Reed left just as a strong northeaster hit the coast back here in Delaware. Today the waves were perfect. The beach was back to like Reed remembers from his surfing days. So the vidoes are for Reed to see what he missed. I sure miss you honey!
This first one is Jill.

This is Owen surfing.

Take 2

The first time it would not upload the video. Got it now!!

Killer Kayak Waves

We have had a strong Northeast wind blowing for about a week. The waves are 8-10 feet with a few that are larger. Reed was able to get some video of some of the rides and wipeouts. The one above is Buzz. The pictures does not do justice to the size of the wave. On one of the wipeouts, Buzz was headed out and a HUGE wave came. He tried desparately to climb up it, bu the wind caught the end of his kayak and he did a complete flip. On another one, they were out and a big wave came. As Buzz and Jill paddled to get over it, Buzz crested the wave and he and boat were airborn as they came down the other side. Today the winds are even stronger. A tide pool has formed (which only happens on very high tides) and high tide is not for another 2 hours. BIG SURF!!

Uncle Buzzy's Wild Ride

This is the video of Buzz as he is riding. When you see his feet up in the air he is actually airborn. He happened to land back on the kayak and was able to ride it in. Amazing!! Be sure to see the previous post for a full explanation!

Kayaking At the Beach

Each year as we go the beach, one of the main attractions for Reed, his sister and brother-in-law, is the kayak surf. This started a number of years ago. Over the last couple of years, they have been discouraged due to the changes in the beach. Bethany has done a "beach renourishment". This was done to try to add sand and extend the beach off the town of Bethany. It was not well planned and there have been problems. Not the least of which is that it has destroyed the wave action at the beach. There have been many prayers offered for a hurricane to come up the east coast to try and flatten out the beach. Unfortunately Bill and Danny have not done much. Danny did leave a few lingering waves that they decided to try and ride. The video above is of Reed. He had the wind knocked out of him on this ride. Realize that I am standing on a ledge that has been eroded by the wave action and I am actually about 4 feet above the ocean surface. Those waves were pretty big. Also, the force of the back wash sucking out was almost as strong as the waves themselves. Both Reed and his sister had really rough rides. I will try to upload the video of Buzzy next.

Rocky Mountain National Park

The next big stop on our trip driving across the country was to travel the Rocky Mountain National Park Highway. This highway goes up over 2 miles above sea level . We were well over 12,000 feet high. The scenery was breath taking. Thankfully Reed obliged Jessica and I and made plenty of stops for pictures and sightseeing. It had been a long time since I had traveled this way and at first I was disappointed in the devestation from the bark beetle. The west side is the worst with most of the entire national forest destroyed by the bark beetle. This little critter has done major devastation from Canada down. The place is now ripe for a major forest fire. We need a couple of hard winters to kill off the beetle and hopefully reestablish the forest again. But still the scenery was spectacular and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It was well worth the drive. You feel like you are on top of the world!

Baptism In Utah

Our first stop on our trip out to the east coast was Utah. We spent just 2 short days there. We got to see Norma, Ward and their girls. But the main reason for the stop was to be there to help baptize Megan and Chrissy. They are Tommy's oldest girls. It was a wonderfully unique blessing. The girls were baptized in the South Fork of the Ogden River. There is a deep swimming hole on the old Glasmann property. Reed, Jessica and I got in the river and helped stack rocks to build up a little dam to make the water deeper and clean up the area. It was so neat to be on the bank and see them all dressed in white. It was a peaceful, beautiful setting. We kept thinking that this was how it was for the pioneers. After the baptism we went up river a couple of miles to the Brewer Camp for the confirmation. Reed also did this. It was touching as he blessed each girl and reminded them of their heritage and of their Great Grandma whose presence was felt and how happy she was.

We also got to meet Josh's first missionary companion who has returned home. He made the trip up to meet us and witness the baptism and be a part of the confirmations. It was so fun to meet him and talk to him and see some of his pictures. All in all is was a really neat start to our journey.

Stay tuned for more pictures!!