The Stevenson Family - Jeff Stevenson - Beth Stevenson - Mackenzie Stevenson

2010 Florida Trip

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 18:41:46 -0500

The type of IT consulting I do allows me the somewhat unique opportunity to work from anywhere and since I own the business, I need nobody's permission to do so. I decided that instead of working from Washington, DC during February I would take my laptop and join the other snowbirds for a month in balmy South Florida. I put the Triumph Sprint ST in the back of the truck and headed south.

On the way down I decided to stop in Beaufort, SC and see some old friends from when I was stationed there in the Marine Corps. Beaufort has changed quite a bit since I left nearly fifteen years ago. More people, more traffic and more buildings. Port Royal is actually no longer a dirty little town near Beaufort. The Marine Corps, with its two bases, Parris Island and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, still dominates the local economy and culture but you can tell that a retirement lifestyle is creeping into the area.

Did I mention that Mackenzie was born here?

Beaufort Pics

From Beaufort it was down to West Palm Beach, FL to get some dives in to complete my Scuba Open Water Diver certification. While waiting for Beth to fly we drove down A1A to Miami/South Beach.

A1A Drive pics

The next day it was time to DIVE DIVE DIVE!

Wonderful diving with the guys at The Scuba Club.

It seems that no matter where I go, beautiful women find me:

My cousin Aerin was down to dive at the same time we were.

From West Palm Beach it was a quick 3 hour drive across Alligator Alley to Fort Myers, FL where Dad and Sally spend their winters.

I found a place to live on Craigslist and moved in. It was a nice little two-bedroom apartment that I shared with a guy from Boston who talked funny.

Apartment pics

While there I actually convinced both Dad and Sally to try sushi. Dad liked it...Sally, not so much.

Sushi pics

I spent most of my month in Ft. Myers working, working out (lifting and running), kayaking and enjoying the weather. The weather didn't allow me to ride the bike as much as I had anticipated but I did manage to get in a trip down to the Everglades where I visited Chokoloskee and Everglades City.

I managed to find a restaurant with a wonderful view and spent several hours chilling by the water.

Everglades City Trip pics

I also spent some time kayaking in Estero Bay near Lovers Key and the area around Sanibel Causeway and Punta Rassa Cove.

Kayaking pics

I left Ft. Myers after about a month, just as the weather started improving. I did get to watch the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500 with my father and was able to explore yet another chunk of America.

A quick drive back across the bottom of Florida to West Palm Beach for a final dive prior to heading north. After a wonderful 90 ft. dive I jumped in the truck and headed back, stopping just shy of South Carolina for the night. I got back into DC Wednesday evening and saw a bunch of white stuff all over the ground. Apparently there was a few snowflakes while I was gone.

Good to be back home to see my girlies.

DC Blizzard - Day Two

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:54:33 -0500

Mackenzie and I went out today to enjoy the snow. The last flakes came down last night around midnight so it was great to be able to see where we were driving.

We ended up taking a hike in McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area, near the Potomac Rover.

On the way out we saw this, stuck:

All pictures are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thestevensons/sets/72157623032797908/

Videos are here: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A3B8981902B5154E

DC Blizzard of 2009

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:53:28 -0500

The biggest snowstorm since we moved to Washington, DC hit this weekend, with Beth getting back from college just in time to go out and play.

We spent all day riding the backroads in the truck, occasionally getting out to enjoy the snow.

All pictures are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thestevensons/sets/72157623032797908/

Videos are here: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A3B8981902B5154E

Thanksgiving 2009

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:15:53 -0500

The girls and I wandered down to Delaware for our Thanksgiving vacation and had a great time with my brother's family. It's always fun down there.

We rode the 4 wheeler, ate turkey, went shopping and shot some guns.

Beth and Mackenzie even drove a (little) motorcycle. Here's a shot of Beth's first time driving on her own:

I did tell her that she was supposed to sit on the seat instead of dragging herself along behind it but you know how kids like to do things their own way...

Here's a video of Mackenzie's first time shooting a 12 gauge shotgun:

Lots of fun.

All Thanksgiving 2009 photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thestevensons/sets/72157622882798930/

All Thanksgiving 2009 videos are here: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=51475CE70A02BD31

Beth Cooks Thanksgiving Dinner

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:17:13 -0500

For her roomies at U of Md. She said they were practicing for when it "really counts".

We're going down to Chip and Tina Stevenson's next week for their Thanksgiving dinner.

Pine Barrens 300

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:52:01 -0400

Just got back from riding the Pine Barrens 300, a motorcycle Adventure Ride in the wilds of Southern New Jersey. The ride is 300 miles of GPS-navigated off-road style riding over two days through woods, cranberry bogs, trails and sand. The event had well over 100 riders and the bikes ranged from small 250cc enduros to 1200cc BMW behemoths.

No camping this time as 300 off-road miles over two days is tiring and a king-sized bed is better than the hard ground.

All the pictures are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thestevensons/sets/72157622558585052/

Here's some video from Day 2. This time I happened to be the rider in front of the guy with the camera so that's me you see barreling through the woods.

And a much better video:

R.I.P Wishbone

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:37:12 -0400

My buddy for 15 years.

At Georgetown Fire Hall

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:34:14 -0400

Had a chance to go to Delaware for my niece's birthday party this weekend. It was held in the Georgetown fire hall and the girls had a chance to pose with my father, a volunteer firefighter with over 40 years of experience running into burning buildings and pulling people from wrecked cars. My admiration for him is immeasurable.

.

Pine Barrens Dual Sport Riding

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:49:05 -0400

Went riding with a group of guys from D.A.M.N. Riders this past weekend and enjoyed the massive Pine Barrens area of NJ.

I know that it is hard to conceive, but about a third of the state of New Jersey is actually wilderness as evidenced by the map below:

Imagine a sandy area roughly the size of the entire DC metropolitan area covered with pine trees and bogs and that's the Jersey Pine Barrens.

Here's a couple of us taking a break, sucking sweet, nourishing water from our Camelbak packs.

Here's a video of the riding. It's not my video but one of the guys that rode with us giving you an idea of the fun we had.

Mackenzie Motorcycle Trip - 2009 Edition

Tue, 8 Sep 2009 21:33:37 -0400

Mackenzie and I went on our annual motorcycle trip recently. Deciding to head South after going West and North the last two years, we took Beth's advice and stuck to the high altitudes to counter the heat this time of year in the southern latitudes.

We headed down two of the best motorcycle touring roads in the East - Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway. During the week these roads are essentially devoid of the traffic that clogs them during the week. Mackenzie and I lolled along at the speed limit (imagine that) and enjoy the slow sweepers, putting both of us in a blissful, calm state. Even spotting a couple of black bears on Skyline did not take us out of our daze.

Mackenzie chilling at a rest stop on the Blue Ridge Parkway

In Boone, NC getting ready to ride

All pictures here

.
Jeff Stevenson

Girls are in Europe

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:40:35 -0400

Beth and Mackenzie ventured to Prague in the Czech Republic this summer. Mackenzie is back home but Beth stayed over there for a photography course.

Beth's Prague Blog

Turning a Kid Loose With Your Cameraphone

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:38:25 -0400

Ever wonder what would happen if you turned a kid loose with your cameraphone and told them to "have at it"?

The kid is Jenna Donovan, my cousin Aerin and her husband Matt's little one.

The complete results are here

West Virginia Folk Festival 2009

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:09:02 -0400

In West Virginia for the annual West Virginia State Folk Festival.

Beth and I journeyed back to Glenville, WV for a weekend of family fun with my cousin Kelly (Campbell) Jansen and her family, camping in Cedar Creek State Park and off-roading on Kelly's property in the nearby mountains.

Tom Weaver, Kelly's SO, his son Brode and I spent Saturday riding motorcycles and 4 wheelers on the mountain trails while Beth took cousins Lynsey, Kelsey, Zeke and his friend Paul Akers mudding with the Tacoma. I followed their tracks later and noted that she drove though some mud holes that I probably would not have gone into. Oh the joy of youthful ignorance.

All the vehicles survived but I am pretty sore as I had a couple of low speed get-offs on the DR650. I even managed to get a picture of the bike sleeping after one uphill wipeout. The tree it is resting against is all that is keeping it from a fifty foot drop off.

The GPS tracks are here and the Google Earth (KMZ) file can be downloaded here

On the left side in Google Maps, expand tracks and you can deselect/select certain tracks to be displayed.

- The red line is the ride into town from Cedar Creek.
- The lighter red, orange and yellow lines are the trip to the property that Brode and I took early in the day from the Lynch Run side.
- The green lines show the route I took following Beth in the truck.
- The light green lines shows where I went from the Rock Riffle side back to the Lynch run entrance after being unable to climb the hill to the property. This is also where the DR650 took the dirt nap pictured above.
- The blue lines are short rides up on the property.
- The purple lines are a trip up to the top of Hiney Hill and back into town.

You cannot imagine how difficult these "roads" were as West Virginia county roads aren't quite the same thing as in other states. They make the dirt roads in Delaware look positively modern.

West Virginia has this curious habit of routing a "road" down a rocky creek bed if it is convenient. The more civilized portions of these so-called "roads" consists of two muddy, foot-deep ruts usually bounded on one side by a steep hillside and on the other by the afore-mentioned creek bed. Next time up I will take more pictures of these

All pictures can be found here in the Flickr set "WV Folk Festival 2009".

.
Jeff Stevenson

Beth and Jeff Get on a Motorcycle and Go - Day 3

Fri, 22 May 2009 15:55:15 -0400

Home again, home again... after 850 miles.

Pictures from the entire trip are here.

GPS track is here.

Left the hotel in Glenville, WV around noon:

Stopped at an overlook somewhere between Holly, WV and Guardian, WV:

On top of Spruce Knob, WV:

1st half of the day:

View Larger Map

2nd half of the day:

View Larger Map

We ended up rolling back into Gaithersburg, MD around 11:00 pm. That's 11 hrs....we were tired. . Jeff Stevenson

Beth and Jeff Get on a Motorcycle and Go - Day 2

Wed, 20 May 2009 21:59:46 -0400

Today was spent sleeping late, eating lunch at the local Glenville, WV restaurant and riding the local back roads.

View Larger Map

West Virginia is a great place to ride- smooth roads, no traffic, no police to speak of, beautiful scenery.