Hello to everyone! It has been a super busy summer so far for both of us. Most of the weekends in May and June were spent on the road traveling for various reasons – work, friends, family etc. It has only been the last couple where we have had time to lounge around Madison, take it easy, and start to think about getting caught up on things like this blog. With much anticipation we are proud to present our newest post on our latest big adventures.

During the week of June 8th I (Adam) had to attend a training course in Vancouver, BC. This class covered the Voltage Stability Assessment Tool (VSAT) and the Transient Stability Assessment Tool (TSAT) created by Powertech labs. Karen had talked many times about how she wanted to go to Vancouver and have the chance to check the area out so when I found out about the class I knew it was going to be a great opportunity for us to stretch out a work trip and have some fun too. The class actually ran from June 9th through the 12th so this was the perfect opportunity to stretch the trip around both weekends plus Monday the 8th.

Karen and I got to do a lot of exploring around the city and since I had a rental car we got to take a run up to Whistler and explore some of the mountains and areas along the Sea to Sky Highway which connects Vancouver to Whistler. Another big highlight was the whale watching tour that we went on which also took us to Vancouver island and the Town of Victoria. This tour was an all day affair and was a great chance to do some boating in the ocean, see a lot of wild life, and enjoy being outside in the great pacific northwest. Sadly, we did not get to see any whales, but, we did get to see harbor porpoises, bald eagles, and sea lions to name a few.

We got to eat in a lot of great restaurants and also stayed at a fancy hotel. I guess that is definitely one of the perks of traveling for work – that corporate card is a lot of fun!

Now for some pictures… Click the small ones to make them bigger.

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Web Design Conference in San Francisco

I went to the “Voices that Matter: Web Design” conference in San Fransisco – a fantastic conference with topics ranging from accessible Javascript, fluid CSS designs, usability, and the future of typography on the web.  When I wasn’t attending seminars and workshops, I got to do a litle exploring around the city and bay area.  And to make it even better, Adam came with me!  He enjoyed some vacation time and got to know the city very well while I was at the conference.  But we also had time to do a decent amount of sight seeing together – and see Wicked at the Orpheum.

Muir Woods

Coastline off Highway 1

Japanese Garden & Tea House

City Scenes