Beaches, Mountains, Summer

A lot has happened in my life since my last blog post: a family cruise, summer in Colorado, heading to Vancouver for Lise's visa interview, driving to and from Canada to move my fiance to Colorado, getting married, and now the brief off season before the start of winter. I haven't had my usual diligence in posting as things happen (or shortly after) so I'll try and do a few short updates the next couple of weeks to both share recent photos and update anyone who cares on what has been going on in my life lately.

I don't really have a lot of dialogue to go along with the photos below. Lise and I joined my family on a 7-night cruise to Turks and Caicos, San Juan, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas. We over-ate, lounged around in the sun, and spent good quality time with my family. It was nice to spend time with them after our recent engagement and gave Lise another opportunity to get to know them all better. I'm not much of a cruise person, as you might imagine with my backpacking experiences, but it is still nice to wake up, relax, and not really have to worry about what you're going to eat or how to get somewhere for the day.

View from our balcony at the W Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale

Lise behind the Jellyfish aquarium at the hotel

See-through pool at the hotel

View of the ship St. Thomas

My mom looking out at San Juan from the fort

My sister and her boyfriend walking around the fort

 
Living in Colorado has been such a great decision. I love visiting friends and family in Texas and also traveling around the world seeing different places and experiencing different cultures, however, Colorado allows me to stay active and live in a place that I'm not constantly itching to get away from. The following pictures are of a few hikes and other things I did this summer.... and yes, I'm stealing some of my wife's instagram photos.

  Hike and overnight camping trip to Booth Falls

Lake Charles hike with Lise

Glenwood Caverns

Red Cliff Bridge

 Campsite in the Flat Top Wilderness (3 day/2 night, 50 miles)

The last several photos are from my hike with Zac and Shane up Ellingwood Ridge to reach the summit of La Plata Peak. The route is 5,900 vertical feet of up and down Class 3-4 scrambling. One of the most difficult climbs I've done.

As always, thanks for looking at my photos, I'll post about my trip to Vancouver and getting married soon.

Adios!
-Bryan

Engaged?

Maybe you’re a relative of mine that has known me from the day I was born, possibly you’ve been a friend of mine for years, perhaps you only recently met me on one of my trips, or maybe you just happened to stumble across my blog. Regardless of your knowledge of me, one thing you’ll quickly begin to see by reading this or spending a little time with me is that I live a less than conventional life. I make spontaneous decisions that feel right in the moment rather than slow calculated decisions that set me up to live a safe, secure, sheltered life. Therefore, I just wanted to clarify that this was NOT one of those spontaneous moments in my life. No, marriage was something that was instilled in me as a young boy growing up in a healthy home with two parents that were and are still in love with one another. Regardless of that, all men have a fear of commitment and losing their independence at some point over the course of every relationship (if they tell you otherwise they’re lying) and for me the fear of falling in love with a woman who didn’t share my passions to travel and explore would not only hamper my dreams but also compromise a great part of who I am as a person.

Meeting Lise randomly for about a 36 hour (non-consecutive) period in Thailand made it odd enough that we even kept in touch. It is odder still that just a few hours in Koh Phangnan and one good long conversation was all it took for me to fly to Canada to see her again. Looking at things now though, it doesn’t surprise me at all that I am now engaged to the girl of my dreams. Not only does she not “tie me down,” but she encourages and ignites my passions to see the world in adventurous ways more than ever before.

My parents, like many young couples 30 years ago, were married within a year of meeting one another. Nowadays though, we’re seemingly encouraged to stay in relationships for years before getting married, if ever at all. A year is no longer the norm for getting engaged and if someone does then you’re pretty skeptical of them (I know I’ve sure been!). However, if there’s one thing I’ve learned about relationships the past few years, it’s that not every friend you have in your life will be standing at your side for your last days on earth. And with that said, many times its better to let unhealthy friendships go that hold you back and cling only to those who are going to always be there for you and push you to greatness, especially when choosing a spouse. As most of us do, I suffered through several relationships that had promise and were fun in the beginning, but ultimately were doomed from the start. If you’re reading this as a single individual or are currently in a dating relationship, heed my one piece of advice that I wish I’d have lived by years ago. Find someone like-minded in their faith, upbringing, and values and do not EVER compromise yours. Whether you are the tiniest bit religious, or not at all, don’t settle for anyone who doesn’t share your views and is instead headed in the same direction that you wish to head in your own life.

Since many of you don’t know Lise well, seeing as how we met in Thailand, she lives in Canada, has visited Texas only once, and Colorado a handful of times, I thought I’d give you a little profile on the future Mrs. Bryan Preast:

Name: Lise Macaulay
Age: 25 (turns 26 in 10 days)
Currently Lives in: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Moving to: Edwards, CO!!

Height: 5’2” (on a good day)
Weight: Perfect
Occupation: Paramedic
Religion: Christian
Car: 99’ White Honda Accord... for now...
Hobbies: Running, Yoga, Ultimate Frisbee, Traveling, Kittens, hiking, camping, getting better at skiing/snowboarding, baking, the Winnipeg Jets, the Dallas Cowboys (this was a non-negotiable part of our relationship… remember, don’t compromise who you are!).

  Clue #1 of the "Scavenger Hunt" ... not really sure what is going on yet

 Tamara and Lise with Clue #2

Ryan, Lise, and Devon with Clue #3

 

Lise and Michelle with clue #4
 

Kara, Lise, Jenn, and JR at Site #6Lise and Jill with her final clue.. I skipped a few pictures

I hid up at the top of toboggan slide with Paul to take pictures and wait for Lise... she was told to head to this area and obviously found the box.

 Yes, the lake was still frozen solid on April 20th!

 Lise opening the box

Here Lise is reading letters from friends and family I had them all write to Lise

Here Lise watching a video of friends and family that couldn't make it for the day. Maybe I'll post it on YouTube at some point.

Me waiting to come down to surprise her... she thought I was coming 5 days later than this day.

The proposalUs sitting on the bench with the box

With the help of Lise's mom I got about 35 people to come over to her parent's house for a surprise engagement party. She was definitely surprised as you can see.

A couple engagement photos (the first of many we'll likely take I'm sure)

A big thanks to everyone who helped me make this day happen, I couldn't have done it without you!
-Bryan

My Winter in the Mountains

After a full ski season almost in the books up in the mountains I thought I'd give some of my thoughts about living up here:

First, I'm so glad I chose to live in Avon over Vail or Breckenridge. Living in an established, older, and less transient community make it both easier to stay long-term and not let the smallness of the town get to you.

Second, when you live 3 minutes from a chair lift you have the right to be picky about what days you ski. No, I may not have gotten the 100 days of skiing that some locals brag about, but I sure didn't have many bad days of skiing. And, oh yeah, those Tuesday and Wednesday powder days I always dreamed about free from lift lines sitting at my desk in Denver sure are as nice as I thought!

Third, roundabouts are so much better than red-lights!

Fourth, I am glad I got to see as many friends as I did this winter come out from the city. Intially, I was a little sad about leaving Denver from a social aspect, but I had no shortage of visitors this winter.

Fifth, aside from friends, I really don't miss the city. I'll never say never, but I am very happy living in a smaller town as of now.

Sixth, I spent more days in Canada than I did Denver this winter. Guess I can thank Lise for that one ;-)

Seventh, working for the Westin turned out much better than I thought. Anyone that knows me well knows that I am not much of a "resort" guy. I still would rather spend 2 months backpacking from hostel to hostel than lying around at the spa or side of a pool all day, however, I have a lot of respect for where I work and think it is a great place to stay. Let me know if you are ever interested in getting a deal on a room.

Last, I can't wait for summer! Skiing and winter sports/activities are amazing, don't get me wrong, but the whole reason I moved to Colorado 5 years ago was because I loved the summers here. Hiking, trail running, fishing, camping, biking and so on all without the 100 degree temperatures and 100% humidity of East Texas... hope to see you all out here this summer!

Here are a few pictures from the winter to leave you with:

 River in Beaver Creek Village

My neighborhood from up high... (Miller Ranch) 

Aspens

 X Games 2013 in Aspen

Skiing with Lise in March

Burton U.S. Snowboard Championships in Vail

Fresh Powder at Blue Sky Basin

The Mountains, Canada, and Lise

Life kind of slows down when you aren’t hopping on a bus for a new city every four days. My move back to Denver left me with all sorts of emotions and new thoughts after a year of traveling. Mainly, I didn’t want to go back to working in an office 40 hours a week! Exploring my options, I decided to make a bold decision and look out west for a move to the mountains. A little good fortune with a job hook-up from a high school friend, Bryce, scored me a job working for The Westin Riverfront Resort and Spa. I also found out how easy it was to become a Ski School Instructor for Beaver Creek so I am doing that part-time as well. Life in the mountains is much different from living in the city, obviously. There are all of two traffic lights, two supermarkets, and I knew only one person when moving out here, through a friend of a friend. I have to say I thought I was going to miss the social aspect of Denver, and although I miss a lot of my friends there, I really enjoy being able to explore the outdoors by myself, whether that be skiing, backpacking, running, biking, hiking, or some other adventure I can find for myself. I have also been lucky enough to host a few of my friends out here and am always excited to meet up to ski with the Denver crew.

I met a girl in Thailand named Lise the first week of my trip there. I definitely wasn’t looking for love when we met, but something about her really struck me then. To make a long story short, we kept in touch periodically throughout my trip and when I came back home started talking every day. Two lengthy trips for me to see her in Canada, a few for her to visit my friends and family in the U.S., and now almost 10 months later, we are still going strong. It may not be Thailand or Costa Rica, but the wonders of Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada) have certainly caught my eye. Since it has been so long since I’ve posted, I won’t reminisce anymore about the past several months but instead hope you enjoy some of my recent pictures.

Mucho Amor!
Bryan

 Eagle River near Glenwood Springs

 Snow on the trees in Denver

 Hanging LakeUpper Cataract Lake

Lake in Western Ontario, Canada

Park in Winnipeg, Canada

 Lise and I at a WeddingLise and I (August 2012)

US/Canada Relations have never been better

 Cop and Robber Halloween Costumes

 Lise and I at another Wedding 

The hike to Hanging Lake

Lise and I at the Caldwell Zoo (Tyler, TX)Wax Museum (Grand Prairie, TX)

 

Tyler Rose Garden