Peter Alvin's Personal Web Page

Last Updated Feb 26th, 2009

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Peter Alvin

Contact E-Mail: chr2008 **at** onlyup.com

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Hilton Head, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia


Emily.


Flower.


Camille on beach.


Full-view shot.

10-20-2006 Emily's 6th Birthday Party

Emily and a few friends had a fun time at Kate's Skates for a round of roller skating (pun intended).


Emily and her friend.


Emily and the mascot.


Her birthday presents.


Before eating lots of ice cream cake.



Asheville North Carolina Trip

After six months of non-ending stress between fixing up our Colorado house, moving, starting a new job, and settling in, we finally had our first weekend family trip to beautiful Asheville, North Carolina the home of the famous Biltmore Estate (which we didn't visit!) to experience the peak of Fall colors.


The weekend began by driving to the famous Blue Ridge Parkway that stretches almost 500 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge mountains through North Carolina and Virginia. At the time of its construction, the Blue Ridge Parkway was the longest road ever planned as a single unit in America and it encompasses some of the oldest settlements of both pre-historic and early European settlement.


Emily, Robyn, and Camille.


Emily at the entrance of the Parkway


Peter's favorite red tree.


Luckily we managed to get a room at the humble Mountaineer Inn.


Outside our room I found a beautiful rose.


Oh my gosh... we discovered an amazing vegan restaurant called the Laughing Seed Cafe in downtown Asheville. Robyn was floored with her East/West Quesadilla and I tried my first raw vegan meal (ever), the Raw Tapas Plate of the Day. It was so exciting to finally partake of the new Raw-Vegan Food Movement that is all the rage right now. (The food has living enzymes because nothing is heated above 108° to kill it.) The meal was amazing and this is now my favorite restaurant of all time, pushing Boma - Flavors of Africa at the Animal Kingdom Lodge/DisneyWorld out of first place.


The next morning we drove in a light rain East on 74 past rolling meadows...


...and pastures of cows.


We enjoyed stopping at an "on your honor" veggie stand where we found fresh mint and organic tomatoes. You make your selections then drop your money into a tube.


The bridge next to the veggie stand.


A little further down 74 we stopped to see some cows up close...


...and found this particularly sweet and beautiful one.


As the sun broke out we arrived at Hickory Nut Gap Farm... our destination for most of Sunday.


The kids got to poke around the pig pen.


One little pig had the run of the property and would come and go during our time there. At one point, he came over to eat some pumpkin by the entrance. Emily couldn't believe that a pig would like to eat pumpkin.


After selecting two pumpkins from the pumpkin patch we arrived at the main attraction... the Corn Maze!


For about an hour we played hide 'n seek. Running through the maze was a blast!


Found you!


A moment of rest.


View from the maze back to the farm.


I stopped to photograph a bee on a flower.


At the end of our visit we were told we could go up to "the house" to get fresh eggs. It was pretty adventurous, because all we were told was to "go to the house and ring the bell." (We weren't sure what we'd find!)


A quick stop on the way to the house.


We parked the car and started looking for someone to purchase the eggs from. After some exploration we found the "egg house" fed by a real spring. (See it there?) It as a real hoot because we were told we could explore the entire property and feel at home.


Fresh eggs ready for packing.


At the farm we had purchased a gallon of the fresh apple cider. Little did we know that 3 hours later we'd be watching them make it!


The barn was a real treat. We climbed inside and played around. There was even a rope to swing around from hackstack to haystack.


Camille makes a new friend.


View from the farm house.


Horses grazing.


Final pose before driving home.


And Emily, too!

[[end of trip]]

8-17-2006 New House

Here is a picture of our new house. Because we still haven't sold our other house in Colorado the process to purchase this one was one of the most difficult and frustrating experiences of my life. We didn't want to rent because practically all leases here are 12 months long. Houses are small here in North Carolina. Inside it feels more like a condo than the rocky mountain home we still own in Colorado (Wanna buy a house?). But, we're so overjoyed to have a permanent base from which to start the next chapter of our lives.

After an exhausing six month trek of fixing up our Colorado house, moving, and burning three thousand dollars in hotels, we finally closed on 8/15. Since we drove out in our mini-van without our possessions, we still don't have a TV or cable, furnature/chairs, microwave, washer/dryer, or many clothes. We're borrowing a card table and a blow-up bed and an army cot from neighbors. It feels like camping in our own house!

The neatest part about the house is our unique neighborhood. We're in a quaint village called Lake Park which is a master planned city with a small town center of shops and a swimming pool complex. There are numerous picturesque lakes and ducks and parks throughout. It has a really nice feel that attracted us.




I'm only about one mile from my new job at MovieMars.com. The owner's have an interesting story of how they grew from a fan site of Anne of Green Gables to a largest seller of DVDs on eBay with $15 million in annual sales.

My Art Work

What do you think?



Life Advice

If I could life life all over again...

  • I would purchase real estate as soon as possible after graduating from college to start building wealth.
  • I would have purchased the latest video and digital cameras as soon as they were available. (My old 8mm and Hi-8 videos look like crap.)
  • I would have travelled the world more while single.

Friends' Pages

Here are my friends (from the left & right!):

My Interests

The most exciting thing in my life right now is that I'm once again seriously considering a vegan lifestyle. Veganism is making more sense to me than ever for all the right reasons: conservation of fosil fuels, scarcity of ground water, pollution caused by animal feces, inefficiency of meat in food chain and world starvation, personal health, and of course to not support factory farming and the unrighteous treatment of animals. I'm actively reading and contemplating all the issues and I feel like my eyes have been opened for the first time to the world around me.

I'm also greatly concerned about global warming and am making many real changes in my families life to do our part to curtail it. I'm frustrated that it's not possible at this present time to purchase an electric car for city driving.

My only hobby at this stage of my life is shooting high-definition video with my cute little HD video camera and editing on my computer. I HIGHLY recommend upgrading to HD because the quality is stunning!

I like to make Christmas Card DVDs.

I'm addicted to the TV show LOST and we attend a new church plant called Elevation Church. I love food from Celebrity Foods.

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