SHARK!!!!!!

We're now in the Florida Keys,visiting uncle Jerry & aunt Jean. We went snorkeling yesterday and Ashley saw a 6ft Nurse Shark swim right underneath her. I swam over to see what she was screaming about and saw a large barracuda, staring us down. I've never seen Ashley swim so fast back to the boat.

We got here monday night. We've been sea kayaking, snorkeling, hog-fishing (fishing with a hand line and live shrimp inside your glove, while snorkeling) and today we went deep sea fishing for dolphin fish. We caught about 20 small dolphin fish, none big enough to keep but we had a fun time catching em. On the way back, we fished some more and caught enough snapper to feed us all for dinner.

We had a great time in Fayetteville. We relaxed and spent some quality time with friends and family. We had a blast 4wheeling with mike & gloria. We also spent a few days at the beach and surfed, canoed in the cape fear ocean, and played in the sand with our nieces & nephews (Lauren, Ali, Wesley, Elijah and Isaiah). Ashley & Elijah got stung by a little jellyfish, but were tough (the sting is comparable to a wasp sting).

Fayetteville, NC

We're Home!!! just kidding, but it's nice to be at my parents house with a real bed and a place to put our stuff (besides our car). We need to clean out the car soon cause it stinks like ashley's shoes.
We posted some pictures of our trip. http://picasaweb.google.com/jowallac/EastCoastRoadTrip
Yesterday we helped put up a pool at Gloria's (my sister) house. Hopefully it stands up. If not, we'll have 5 energetic & disappointed nieces & nephews to deal with. Gloria & Mike's new house in Raeford is really nice, much more fitting for a family of 7 than their old home. We also made them grilled cheese for lunch, which consisted of using 1.5 loaves of bread & a ton of cheese. A loaf of bread lasts us about a week, but for them, it lasts, 1 MEAL.

Rocky Top Retreat, The New River Gorge

We're sitting on a picnic table at Roger's Rocky Top Retreat Campground at the New River in WV. We just saw a beautiful sunset and are relaxing feeling like bums. Jonathan used to camp here 10 years ago when he started climbing, and Roger remembered him and all the friends he used to climb with.

We've had a good time the past 2 days biking, climbing, swimming and bouldering at the local spots. Jason Marshal just met up with us this morning. He's a fun guy and challenges Jonathan a little especially since he's 6ft4! The atmosphere at the campsite is really laid back. Many climbers come here for the easy access to the climbing, cheap nights stay but most of all for Roger's quirky personality. He lives here and jokes around with everyone sharing tall tales, trash talk, beta on climbs, the weather and any other topic. Yesterday after hearing about Ashley's efforts to avoid poison ivy, oak and sumac he warned her that there's just no way to avoid it, it's everywhere...YIKES!!! However she's still trying with alcohol pads, sanitizer and showers that makes us stand apart from the rest of the stinky dirt bag climbers. Jonathan's even taken more showers in the last week than ever.

WE'RE BUMS!!!!!!

Yes, we are now homeless & jobless, living out of BamBam (our car). Thanks to a lot of y'alls help, we gave away alot of our stuff and put the rest of it in our storage shed or our car. We both quit work May 23. We sold our house May 25. And, now we're in Michigan visiting family. Thank you so much to those of you who have helped us and encouraged us. We have been blessed by many of you. It has been amazing how God has been with us every step of the way for the last year as we visited Thailand, sold our house, quit jobs, and a lot of other steps that have all gone soo smoothly. He has definitely grown our faith & trust in Him.

We have had a good time so far, despite surviving 3 hailstorms, a lot of rain, ashley losing her cell phone (my # is 720 335 1418), not getting cell phone service at all in South Dakota, getting less than 20mpg driving through South Dakota, and gas at 3.69/gallon. We've had a great time visiting family and drinking 5cent coffee & 99 cent donuts in the world famous Wall Drug store in SD.

Be sure to check our pictures at the link over there and also don't forget that you can subscribe to this blog so that it emails you when we update it.
God Bless You,
Jonathan & Ashley