What a year...

The end of September brought my parents back to Seattle for another visit. Kane and I decided this would be a great chance for a parent-parent meeting / dinner. My folks got in on Thursday night and on Friday we took them over to Vashon Island (just a 15 min ferry ride from my neighborhood) and Kane gave them a tour of the island where he grew up. We were fortunate enough to have the use of a friends beautiful vacation house right on the water to treat my parents with (thanks Joel! You rock!). We kayaked and relaxed and Kane's parents came over to join us for dinner. It was a fabulous time and everybody got along great (phew...). Later on, I took my parents to the Bavarian-themed town of Leavenworth for a few days for some hiking (beautifully situated in the Cascade Mountains), and then Kane joined us for Orcas Island (one night), and then Ross Lake in North Cascades National Park (two nights). Orcas Island is part of the San Juan Islands which are incredibly beautiful and only about an hour and a half away from Seattle. We went sightseeing, hiking, and whale watching (about 30 or 40 orcas!!!! So cool...) and stayed at a perfect cabin right on the water. We loved it. The next day we drove to Ross Lake. To do this we drove across Diablo Dam and parked, took a water taxi speed boat up emerald Diablo Lake, rode in a converted flat-bed truck up to the top of Ross Dam, then took a super speed boat across Ross Lake to our floating cabin. How cool is that??? From our cabin we rented a little motor boat and zoomed around Ross Lake (about 20 miles long north to south) and again, brought our own food to grill at the cabin. Mom and Dad boated Kane and I up the lake to a trailhead so we could climb up Desolation Peak - an incredible fire lookout cabin with panoramic views of the lake and surrounding mountains. We chugged up about 4000 feet in 5 miles. Awesome... Desolation was where beat writer Jack Kerouac worked as a fire lookout in 1956 and wrote part of The Dharma Bums and Desolation Angels. Dig it. While at Ross Lake we celebrated mom's birthday with dinner and brownies and some Phase 10 (we let her win). We also convinced her to kayak (she did great). It was a really relaxing week with them and I'm glad they had a chance to spend more time with Kane (and vice versa). October has been hectic with lots of friends coming and going through town, we celebrated Kane's birthday (Mt. Rainier), and Lindsay's birthday (Victoria, BC), but finally October 24th arrived...

October 24 last year was our first full day in Seattle and the day I met Kane (see the Mt. Pilchuck blog entry for details). We decided to celebrate our one year of friendship and co-incidentally our 6 months of dating with a hike. Kane had a full day planned as a surprise. We started with breakfast at one of our favorite coffee shops (waffles and intelligencia coffee - Chicago shout out) and then caught a ferry over to the Olympic Peninsula. We stopped in Port Angeles for lunch (chinese) and our fortune cookie read, "You will soon be asked to join a team. Work cooperatively." Awesome. We drove on out to the coast and did a very muddy 2 mile hike out to Shi-Shi beach (Olympic NP). The beach was incredible and we would love to come back and camp. Back to the truck and on to Cape Flattery, the westernmost point of the lower 48. It's about a mile hike out to the point where there is a platform atop sheer cliffs that look out on the Pacific Ocean where it meets the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It's beautiful. Caves below carved out by the surf, Tatoosh Island lighthouse in the distance, sea stacks and rock formations, seals, kelp, and tons of shorebirds (including my favorite... black oystercatchers!). That was a nerdy-park-ranger comment, I know. Since it is the westernmost point we were there to watch the sunset and had brought a picnic dinner with us (all part of the surprise). We raised our wine glasses and Kane gave a toast: to the past year we've come through, the present, and then when he got to the future he got down on one knee... insert some serious romance here... and then I said yes! We stayed out on the platform for another hour or so, taking pictures, looking at stars, before we decided we'd better head back to the truck. Kane brought his headlamp with him so we could navigate the trail out, however, when we went to turn it on we discovered the battery was dead. Oh well, inching single file through the dark, dark, tunnel of evergreens, trying not to trip on rock and roots, searching for the trail... So Kane said a prayer aloud for help in getting back to the truck and made semi-frequent masculine noises to protect us from the animals. We continued on, hand in hand, moving forward through the trail by feeling the bushes around us, and then suddenly the headlamp in my hand decided to come to life. I did not push the button! One of the little LED lights was enough to see 8 feet in front of us and distinguish the path. We took that as an analogy for our lives together - when you can't see where you are or where you are headed, trust God to bring you through it and He will. We moved much faster now back to the truck. It was so much fun! A long beautiful and content drive back to the ferry and home. WE'RE ENGAGED!!!!

PS- This is Kane- I want all of you, friends and relatives, to know how blessed I consider myself to know and love Alicia. I am convinced that God has brought us together and made us for each other, and never in my life have I enjoyed or admired someone as much as i do her. I hope you can share in the joy that she and I have in being together and preparing ourselves for a lifetime with each other.

Phil heads west!

A week or so ago, I get a text message from Phil, a friend in Chicago, that says something to the effect of, "I'm plotting out my vacation. Should I come to Seattle? Would I have a place to crash?" The answer of course is, yes! And yes! Anytime! We love company. So a couple of hours later I get a second text that says essentially, "OK, be there at 6:30." Awesome. Well, it turns out that Phil was on an epic road trip west, heading for a friend's wedding in Idaho. Jen spotted his updates on facebook (it is useful, afterall) and sent him a message asking how far west he was coming. He did the math and realized we were only a few more hours away and decided to extend his road trip to Seattle. Very cool. Jen was able to show Phil around downtown, walking the waterfront, cruising Pike Place Market, teaching him all about Seattle history on the Underground Tour, and showing off my favorite bookstore, Elliott Bay Books. Once Lindsay and I were off work, Kane joined us and we all went down to Alki Beach for some fish-n-chips and to watch the sunset behind the Olympic Mountains. Beautiful as always. We were treated to some harbor seals playing in the Sound nearby, too. Cool. Once the sun was down we headed to a local bar to play games and have a drink. Great day. Since Phil can work from his laptop / phone, he decided to stick around an extra day to take care of some business matters and see some more of Seattle. He discovered a neat little coffee shop on Queen Anne to do some work in and Lindsay was able to join him when she finished for the day. The two of them met Kane and I at a great little sandwich place for dinner and then Kane and I gave him a whirlwind tour around several northside neighborhoods, including a walk at Golden Gardens, another great beach with bonfires and sea lions and mountain views. Phil left early the next morning and did a crazy long drive back to Chicago in just two days. We all had a fabulous time with him - we love visitors - and are glad he was able to get a little glimpse of how beautiful it is here in Washington.

Back to Denali!

It was time again for a vacation, and where else would I want to go for a few days than back to Alaska. I was super excited to be going back to the park, and even more so this time since Kane was able to go with me. He has been to Juneau in the past (building a house) but this was his first trip into the interior (and his first trip with me, which is really what matters...). So off we go, early on a Thursday morning with a pretty nice flight to Fairbanks. Recently, because of the warmer weather and lack of rainfall, there have been several wildfires throughout the state. As a result, Fairbanks was one giant smoke-cloud for a few days before we arrived. While the ground level was super smoky, up in the air everything was nice and clear - including Mt. McKinley, huge and imposing even at eye-level. My amazing boss, Jurine, was jumping up and down waiting for us in the awesomely-small Fairbanks terminal and I was so excited to see her again. Hugs and hugs and introductions (she and Kane have heard all about each other for the past nine months now), she gave us her car to use for our stay (super sweet), and we dropped her off at her husband Tom's work to ride home with him. Since we were in Fairbanks we decided we'd head over to the University's Large Animal Research Station where they have musk oxen, caribou, and reindeer. After an hour or so of learning, we grabbed a quick lunch at a favorite coffee shop, ditched Fairbanks and headed south. It was so nice not to have any traffic at all again... Beautiful. After a pit stop at Tom and Jurine's cabin to drop off our stuff we headed to... the park! Yes! I was so excited to be back. It felt as if I had just left yesterday and ages ago all at the same time. We headed straight to the Backcountry Information Center and got our camping permit for the next day and our bear can to store our food (both are free). When we came back out, Kane noticed that one of the rear tires was really low. We drove up to the maintenance shop (good thing I used to live here and knew where to go) and found a nail in the tire. Kane did a quick tire change (he's amazing - it took him like 5 minutes- it's true) and then we were back in vacation mode - out to Savage! This was one of my work stations in the park and I miss it!!! Two big beautiful valleys, one river-carved, the other glacier formed, all scenic and wonderful. We hiked along the river for a ways, saw a few marmots and ptarmagin and just tried to take in the fact that we were finally there. Kane told me he was giving himself a headache trying to see everything passing by him. He loved it! After our Savage hike, we made our way to our next stop... the Kennels to go walk Chuly! Man, I was so excited to see her again! Who knew I was so sappy as to miss my sled dog so much?! Anyways, it was great to see her, we went for a walk and I was covered in dog hair and Chuly slobber and loved it all. Meanwhile, Kane made friends with the other dogs (some as tall as he is!). Now that we had worked up a pretty good appetite we headed over to one of the hotels for Cabin Nite, Alaskan dinner theater with all-you-can-eat ribs and salmon and blackberry cobbler (yum), complete with hokey songs and jokes. Back to the cabin to chat for a little while with Tom and Jurine before calling it a night, pretty exhausted. After sleeping in the next morning (I think we both needed it), we had a pancake breakfast with Tom and Jurine and she proceeded to stuff our bear can full of tons of food (including moose-meat sandwiches and smoked salmon) for our one night out in the backcountry. When I protested the amount of food she said, "nonsense, you've got a hungry man to feed." Hilarious and sweet. We headed over to the park and into the Visitor's Center where we found my other boss, Jim, and a few other co-workers. I love National Park Visitor's Centers (Denali's is the best, too). Plus, they made a flyer with the hours the center is open and posted it outside the door - with my picture on it! I am famous, you see. After lunch we headed to the Wilderness Access Center and caught a bus out into the park. Beautiful... Moose and caribou and grizzlies and braided rivers and fireweed and tundra and forget-me-nots and I loved it. We rode out about 47 miles to Polychrome Pass and hopped off the bus to start our hike. We climbed up north onto the high ridge and followed it for a couple of miles until we found a nice place to camp (how could you go wrong, really?). As we were setting up the tent we noticed a big bull caribou sitting on the ridge just above, watching us. Cool. Dinner was great - we barely put a dent in the food that Jurine packed - and then we stashed our bear can a ways away for the night. Weather was pretty nice - high around 70 and low around 45 or so. The next morning we packed up camp and continued walking along the ridge for a few miles west, making our way back down towards the road where we picked up another bus and rode it out to the Eielson Visitor's Center. More bears and caribou and a wolf pup and a merlin and some golden eagles and big grins... After the bus ride we headed to the cabin to clean up and have dinner with Tom and Jurine (moose tacos, naturally). We then proceeded to ride out with Tom on the 4-wheelers for a few hours up to Boot Hill. I think in Alaska more people have 4-wheelers than cars... We got back from riding around midnight (yes, it was still light out - kind of like dusk at that point) and talked to Jurine and Tom for a little longer before saying goodnight. They are awesome and we love them. Sunday, now - sadly. We got up and packed and then drove back to the park one more time. We made it to the morning dog-sled demo, saw them in action and said goodbye (again) to Chuly. Then a nice hike down to Horseshoe Lake with lots of beaver-chewed trees, a lodge, and a double decker dam. Last stop, the visitor's center again to watch the beautiful park movie in the theater (sigh). We grabbed lunch on our way out (reindeer dog, of course) and then Tom drove us back to the airport in Fairbanks where we walked right on the plane and had a smooth, too-quick flight home. It's OK, though, Kane kept saying, "Why don't we just come back this winter, babe..."

The Appalachian Trail

So for the past nine years, Jen and I have taken an annual backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail. The AT is 2,000+ miles long and runs from Georgia to Maine, following the spine of the Appalachian Mountains. It is a designated National Scenic Trail, is marked with white blazes, and has three-sided wooden shelters spaced about a day's hike apart for your camping convenience. Since we were living in Florida when we started hiking, we naturally began in Georgia. Each year we pick up where we leave off and keep heading north. This year brings us to northern Virginia and puts us into Shenandoah National Park. This is also the first year we've had to fly to the trail, so our logistics were slightly more complicated. Thankfully, we have friends outside of DC (Alison and Jerry Terry), and we were able to visit them as part of our trip. They picked us up from the airport on a Saturday afternoon and drove us straight to Chick-Fil-A for dinner (smart friends). Next was a whirlwind tour of DC sights (the White House, the Capitol Building, various monuments, the mall, etc...) and a walk around the Lincoln Memorial and the FDR Memorial. The next morning they drove us about 3 hours to our put in spot for the trail and off we went. We had pretty great weather -80's and sunny most days, a couple days of Scooby-Doo-worthy fog, and a few torrential thunderstorms at night - thankfully, we were in the tent for those. On day 5 of our hike we crossed a highway that led about 5 miles into a bigger town so we had planned on heading into town, cleaning up, and then meeting up with some other hikers the next morning. We called a couple of numbers we had for rides in the area, but since no one was home we decided to hitch on into town. We were picked up in about 5 minutes by this great guy who told us that he drove past the exact spot where we were standing about a week ago and saw two girls with packs trying to get a ride but he didn't pick them up. It had been eating him up all week, knowing that if it were his daughter, he'd want someone to give her a ride. So, when he saw us, he knew this was his second chance and he had to pick us up. Works for us! Last year on the trail, we met a couple of hikers, Downhill Donna and Waterman, and hiked with them the last two days of our trip. We kept in touch over the past year, and they were able to drive down to the trail and meet up with us again to hike the last three days of our trip this year. Very cool! We met up with them on Friday morning (so nice to see familiar faces!) and headed into Shenandoah National Park. The hiking in the park was great (it was just a walk in the park...), we had beautiful weather and some really nice views looking out from across the ridge. One day, we had hiked most of the morning and hadn't passed a water source and were all getting kind of low. We knew we had an uphill climb to do yet, and as we passed some day hikers coming down from the mountain, Downhill Donna stopped them and asked them about the trail up ahead and if there was any water. They told us there wasn't and, after chatting a bit, said goodbye. On we hike, up the mountain, and when we get to the top we see the same two day hikers coming at us from the opposite direction carrying four bottles of water. They had gone to their car, driven to the store, and then went around to another trail head to hike in and meet us. Awesome. This is a common phenomenon on the AT known as Trail Magic and the cool workers of said magic are referred to as Trail Angels. Well, we finished our hike, all 83 miles we set out to accomplish, and then met back up with Alison and Jerry Terry for a ride home. Alison was cool enough to take the next day off of work so we could play around town. First stop... Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Island!!!!! This is basically a little island in the Potomac with a bunch of hiking trails and a HUGE statue of TR. Very cool. Then, lunch at Bullfeathers (named after TR's expression of choice and decorated with a few photos). After that we went on a Smithsonian speed run, taking in the Natural History Museum, the American History Museum, and the American Art and Portraiture Museum. All very interesting (and free). A great day to end our trip and Jerry Terry was kind enough to stop for a Chick-Fil-A breakfast on the way to the airport the next morning. As much as I love vacations (and I did have a great one), I think this was the first time I can remember being excited about getting to go home. I think that means I really love it here...

Easter, marching bands, camping, tulips, and bonfires...

Well, it's been another busy month in Washington. First up, one of my co-workers from Chicago, Kathy, came out to visit her sister for Easter (who, coincidentally lives in West Seattle as well), and I was fortunate enough to get to squeeze in a little visit with her on a Friday night. It was great to see her and I tried to convince her that everything is better out here and she should just give up and move to Seattle. Well, while Jen and I were meeting up with Kathy we started noticing several people walking around the neighborhood in small clusters, wearing bizarre outfits, carrying marching band instruments - a tuba here, a piccolo there, a trombone,... you get the idea. Well, as the night progressed these marching band folks just seemed to multiply. Every bar we walked past had ten or so standing outside and another 20 crammed onto a stage jamming out. All throughout the neighborhood. Playing in the streets. Everywhere. It was awesome. We even came across a really large group (50 or so) in a plaza that had a full-on dance routine. Someone would blow a whistle, they'd all scurry to their places, and then start playing and dancing. Hilariously fun. One guy even climbed up on the roof of a nearby shop for a dramatic saxophone solo. We watched for 4 or 5 songs and then... they all just ran off in different directions - show over. It was so oddball cool. So the following week we had a visit from my friend, Wes. Jen and I know Wes from hiking the AT and it turns out he is going to be working this summer in Skagway, Alaska as a river guide down the Chilkat. Well, on his way up north he decided to stop by for a few days and hang out with us. We took him kayaking in Lake Union, gave him a tour of West Seattle, walked around some of our favorite parks, had a BBQ, went for a waterfall hike, and even got to go camping one night over on the coast. Nine of us total ended up at a State Park over near Westport, WA for a night of car-camping and it was a great time. We were able to walk right over a sand dune to the ocean (lovely), walk on the beach, cook on a campfire, play some frisbee, see a million stars, hike out on a jetty, watch some crazy surfers, take in some crab races (no joke), and relax. It was awesome. Wes made it safely up to Alaska (have a great summer!) and he is planning on stopping by on his return trip at the end of the season. Things keep getting better and better... Jen started her new and exciting job working for King County Parks. She gets to drive around to these scenic parks, be outside all day -sometimes on a ferry, and then do a little work. Pretty sweet. The following weekend I was spending the day with my friend, Kane (previously known in the blog as the Divinely-Appointed-Direct TV-Man in October who goes to our church and took us camping on Mt. Pilchuck - amazing - and who I have been friends with ever since- awesome). We went on a snowshoe hike to Heather Lake (lovely), grabbed some dinner, and then decided to go for a walk at Carkeek Park. We pull into the park (after 9 pm on a Friday night) and there is a huge bonfire going in the fire circle. We go check it out and we are the only ones there - no other cars, no other people, just a perfect blazing fire. We then decided that God lit the bonfire just for us and, Kane, taking advantage of the perfect moment, decided it was the right time to let me know he likes me and ask me out for a date. Yay! He is incredible and I've enjoyed him so much as a friend these past few months that I'm super excited to see our relationship grow in this new direction. He's pretty cool. Well, spring has officially arrived (Washington has the most amazing tulip fields just an hour north of Seattle - just beautiful) summer is almost here, our weather has been great (Jen and I went out kayaking in Puget Sound in 70 degree temps and got sunburns), and people keep telling me to just wait - July, August, and September are supposed to be unbelievably beautiful. Feel free to come and see for yourselves...

Olympic National Park

Since my last post we have had several more visitors; Lindsay's parents, Jen's brother Michael, and my parents all came to spend some time in Seattle. Most recently, Jen and I took my parents over to the Olympic peninsula for some sightseeing, and for an excuse to go to another National Park. We left Friday after work and in a few short hours were over on the coast staying in a cool cabin, perched on a bluff overlooking the Pacific. We hiked on the beach as well as inland through the Quinault rain forest. The next morning we played around a ton of tidepools, checking out all the sea stars, sea anemone, mollusks, and whatever else was in there. Pink and green and purple and orange. I love it. Another rain forest, this one the Hoh, where we did a couple of hikes through the green and moss and giant trees, talked to two Park Rangers (sigh), and saw 3 black-tailed deer and 6 Roosevelt Elk (who, incidentally, were named after the great Theodore, even though the park itself was established several years later by the also cool FDR). Back on the road for lunch at Forks (yes, you do have to stop and eat in a town named after a utensil) and then to Port Angeles where we would spend the night. While my parents took a rest, Jen and I went on out for a hike along the Dungeness Spit. This sounded like a nice little stroll along a sandy beach, however, it was hard work. The spit is really narrow, going out for 5 miles to a lighthouse. Meanwhile, the "trail" is nothing but driftwood and rocks, all the while dodging the incoming waves. Fun. After a little ways, we come to a sign that prohibits joggers from continuing on past that point. Joggers??? As if that were possible. Rough, but beautiful. The next morning, with dreamy blue skies, we drove up to Hurricane Ridge and the amazing panoramic mountain views. Wow. We snowshoed for about 3 miles (a first for my Floridian parents) and then headed back to Seattle, taking a great ferry ride to finish the trip. Lovely. The time just seems to be flying by, but we are doing our best to take advantage of it. Each weekend we go out with a quest to do something new - hikes (most often), kayaking, museums, restaurants, coffee shops... It's been pretty spectacular and somehow our list just doesn't seem to get any shorter.

Holidays and Visitors and Snowshoes

OK! So Happy Christmas and Merry New Year and MLK day and Inauguration and almost February. The holidays were nice for us here in Seattle. We had a few freak snowstorms in the city, which they tell me NEVER happens, and the roads were covered with snow / ice for several weeks (we don't plow or use salt - rather ridiculous, really) and the town basically shut down. People were just sledding down the streets! Pretty great. Well, my parents came for Christmas (bringing with them some AMAZING fudge from Florida - thanks, Mrs. Rhodes!!!) and we had a nice, relaxing holiday. Jen and I showed them around the neighborhood, took them on a sightseeing cruise of Elliott Bay, wandered the labyrinth that is Pike Place Market, and hiked in the snow through the forest to a waterfall. Basically, lots of walks in the parks and fires and movies and board games - pretty standard for us and enjoyable. Plus, our Alaska roommate, Emily, was scheduled for a layover in Seattle on her way back to the park after having Christmas with her family in Boston. Jen and I were able to go see her at the airport for coffee and hugs for about an hour (way too short) before she had to go catch her plane to Anchorage. Sadly, since it was snowing out, her plane ended up being delayed and she was stuck on the runway for a few hours when she could have been hanging out with us! One hour is better than nothing though - we miss her!!! Anyways, say goodbye to mom and dad, have one lone weekend to rest up and then, Anna and Phil are here from Chicago!!! Theirs was, unfortunately, a quick trip (just a long weekend) but we were determined to cram in what we could in the time allotted. They arrived around midnight on a Friday night and, after dealing with the Frontier lost-baggage counter for 30 min or so (yes, Anna's duffel was ditched in Denver), we finally made it home around one am. After a quick tour of the house we sent them to bed with the request that they be awake in the morning and ready to go by 7. After looking at me like I was insane for making such a ludicrous suggestion, they consented, knowing I had their best interests in mind, and said goodnight. They were good sports and we did leave the house bright and early the next morning. We picked up breakfast at this incredibly scrumptious bakery in our neighborhood (the twice-baked chocolate croissants - oh, my...) and then headed up to catch a ferry across to the Olympic peninsula. This was Phil's first time in Seattle so we definitely thought a ferry ride was in order (they are quite cool, after all). While standing out on the deck of the moving ferry, Anna commented, "it's so nice to feel the wind on my face and not have my eyeballs freeze." Awesome. It had been negative 13 degrees in Chicago the day before with wind chill something absurdly silly like 30 below. So we drive off the ferry and on over to Olympic National Park (sigh for the Park Rangers) and up to the top of Hurricane Ridge. Up here it was nothing but blue skies, sunshine, and not a single cloud to be found. You could see for miles in any direction, mountains, mountains, mountains, water, and even Canada (Vancouver Island is just across the strait)! To make it even better, there was this weird temperature inversion phenomenon going on where the bottom of the mountain was in the upper 30's and the top (where we were snowshoeing) was in the upper 50's (feeling like 70's because of the sun reflecting off of the snow! So great). Anyways, we snowshoed for a few miles towards Hurricane Hill, enjoying the beauty and weather and company. Good times. Back down the mountain and ferry to Seattle where Anna's duffel bag was waiting for her at the front door! A quick clean up, then out for Thai food and over to a friend's house for a movie night before heading home around one again. We said goodnight and I promised them they could sleep in the next morning (see, I can be nice). We breakfasted late at Easy Street Records, this great local music shop in our neighborhood, and walked around the West Seattle Farmers Market (year-round, every Sunday, and quite impressive). From there, down to Pioneer Square where we went on the Underground Tour, a very informative and witty description of Seattle's history - they actually had to raise the levels of the streets some 8-32 feet higher to fix a drainage problem in the roads, creating this "underground" area which went from shopping to speakeasies to murder to the plague. It's pretty fascinating. Back above ground, we made a quick stop at my favorite bookstore - Elliott Bay Books. It's beautiful. Wooden, creaky floors, multiple levels of books around crooked corners, and that somewhat endearing musty book smell... And espresso in the basement, because this is Seattle, after all. Since it was another glorious sunny day - mountains out all around - we went for another walk in the woods. This time to Schmitz Park, old growth forest down the street from our house. We took a little rest break before heading to church and then out for a pizza dinner. On Monday, I had to work, but Lindsay and Jen took Anna and Phil downtown for some more sightseeing. They wandered the market, the waterfront, and the sculpture park - again with amazing weather and mountain views. We all had dinner out together and then spent the evening relaxing, playing some card games and Yahtzee. Tuesday marked the end of their trip and we were really glad they decided to spend some vacation time on us. We miss you!