So I originally started this blog to share my travels with the friends who might want to know about them, or the strangers who were curious, and because I was going to go to a ridiculous amount of places in a short amount of time. But, a great deal of my planning there was a lot of planning and only limited actual travel. Regardless, I kept this blog up for the times that I DID travel, and even though I am not *great* at sharing my travel stories, I like to think that I am getting better- I mean I did write almost every day while we were in Alaska.
Now, on to the purpose of this post. No, I'm not currently somewhere exciting. No, I dont actually have the tickets to somewhere exciting. But YES, I do have a few trips in the works, and since this is my travel blog, I am going to share them with whoever might actually read this thing! :)
Last year I had a friend go to Japan, and she will be there for at least another year. This past Sunday I had a friend run off to China and he will be there for a year. And then a third friend will be running away to France at the end of next month. So I have decided that I am going to go to France for my birthday next year! Then we are going to take a family vacation to Disney. And finally, I am going to try to gather my Transy family and any significant others that we might have for a week in South Carolina. I need to hit a *new* state or two, but Im not going to worry so much about those- they will come.
And there you have my latest news!
Oh, and for anyone who might be reading this, I am taking suggestions for a long weekend trip this fall. Hmm... maybe NYC? Who knows, but I want SOMEWHERE TO GO!! :)
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Onward Seward!
I wrote this yesterday, to post yesterday, but we didnt have wifi at yesterdays B&B, so I am posting it today, therefore my tenses might convince you, but Im not going to change them. That clause is for my Grammar Nazi friends. :)
First thing is first, in last nights post I failed to mention that our hotel was located on East Pioneer Ave. And we live on East Pioneer Drive- we just HAD to stay there.
Back to today. I didn’t sleep well at ALL and finally gave up around 5:30. I was exhausted, I had some awful sinus gunk and someone was texting me, not to mentioned I was a little worried about getting from Homer to Seward in a timely fashion for our boat tour. See, it normally takes about 3.5 hours and the person who booked the tour said we needed to allow 5 hours. So that means leave somewhere between 6:30 and 7. Yea, well my dear old mother and father didn’t get UP til 6:30, so I wait, and wait and wait and we leave at 7 but we need breakfast, so we go to McDonalds, and we actually hit the road at 7:19. Sigh. Not the way the morning was supposed to go. But finally we are on the road, dad is too tired to drive, so I am driving- and I book it, safely, of course while dad sleeps. I get us to Cooper Landing which is about an hour away from Seward and we stop for gas and dad decides to drive. Finally, we make it to Seward, and we are an hour early. So all of that frustration and mental death threats for nothing!
Once we arrived we got some Subway for our lunch on the boat. Then we picked up our tickets, I mailed my postcards at the oh so perfectly placed postal thingy’s and we boarded the boat. The captain was giving his welcome and he said “The crew is hard working, good looking and mostly single. Oh yea, and they know CPR and first aid.” Cracked me up- because he was speaking the truth, at least about the good looking bit. We went for a 5.5 hour tour that included wildlife and glaciers! We saw a couple of bald eagles first, then a humpback whale that was breaching- so cool, then some glaciers. Dad and I were suffering from sinus issues and it got cold out there on the Alaska waters- burrrrr! - so we went inside for a bit, but then porpoises, sea lions, puffins, mers, otters, and seals were all spotted- pretty cool, yo. On the way back from out expedition I was pretty tuckered out, so I put my head down and took a little nap.
Once we docked we put our boat gear in the car and went shopping! I got 2 more t-shirts, to go with my fleece, my other t-shirts and my pajama pants and socks! But we were pretty exhausted to we decided to go on to tonights bed and breakfast. Hah. We drive out of Seward, turn on the appropriate road and then pass by a dump and a trailer park- it looks pretty run down so we are thinking, Oh crap, what have we done, but then we see the sign for our little B&B. Its quaint, and not as scary as it looked driving up. We are in the “King” room which has a queen bed, a twin and a roll out mattress. In the middle of the room is a table and 3 chairs and we have cable tv, but no wifi- or any internet for that reason, so this post wont be posted until I can find wifi, but I wanted to write it while it was all still fresh in my mind. There are random noises that sound like gunshots that are a little unsettling, but its all part of the adventure, right?!
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Homer Bound
So, the saying in Homer is that it is a drinking village with a fishing problem. :)
Today we started at our bed and breakfast, David cooked us breakfast and provided some great stories, mostly his story about how he went to Hawaii in 2006 and it changed his life. He came home and quit his job, sold his computer company, sold his real estate, divorced his wife- they had been separated for 2 years, and packed everything up and moved on. He now spends winters in Hawaii, summers in Alaska and then springs and falls in Colorado!
Then we were gathering our stuff and getting ready to leave and I hear mention of stamps. Stamps, I need stamps, Ive written 4 postcards. So I grab some money and ask for stamps. Well, he doesnt know how much a postcard stamp IS, so I helpfully say "its 15 cents less than a regular stamp" to which he looks at me and says "Why do you know that?!" I dont know what I know that, I just do. I then suggest that a regular stamp was 47 cents, he said no, its 45, and Irene- the B&B owner says no, its 44. (I was right, its 47 cents!) And then he goes to count a sheet of stamps, and I say, ever the helpful one, "There's 20 on a sheet" and David just looks at me like "What planet did you come from?!" haha. But it was funny. And then he was going to count how much I owed him and he said "1.90, know how I know that? There are 19 stamps on this sheet and they are 10 cents each" It might be one of those "You had to be there" type of things, but it was hilarious. It got really confusing and I think I got more stamps than I paid for and then I think he gave me too much change, but you know, it was funny and easy going so all is well.
And then we were off, another 4 hour drive, this time to Homer, at the bottom of the Kenai peninsula. We stopped at a wildlife refuge where we saw Bison, Elk, Moose, Bears and other things but the cutest things were the baby moose and the baby muskoxen. SO VERY CUTE. Moose are like a mix between a horse and a camel, and I love both which means I love moose and now I want a moose, desperately!! But, I know, they are wild animals and people shouldnt own wild animals- so I will just yearn for one from afar!
Once we got back into the car, it was a long haul down to Homer. Let me tell you something I havent yet mentioned, there are RV's here- EVERYWHERE. Like seriously, every 3rd vehicle on the road is a RV- its CRAZY. So our long drive seemed to take longer. I dont actually know how long we were on the road- we left the B&B around 9:30 and we got to Homer around 3:30 but we stopped for gas, that wildlife refuge and lunch at McDonalds!
The whole reason we came to Homer was for me to see a friend from Transy. So I texted her once we got in but she wasnt free til 6, so we were lazy and just hung out for a bit- did some laundry actually, and then went to the Homer Slip- a little piece of land that has a restaurant called "Land's End" at the end of it- where we ate dinner. It also has some little shops and one of the "Deadliest Catch" boats docks here, apparently. So we had dinner with my Transy friend- Amanda- and hung out and talked and saw a Bald Eagle grab a fish out of the water, and I saw an otter and it was a good time. Then we went to the pier and saw about 4-5 bald eagles just kind of hanging out- waiting for the fishermen to bring back some food for them to steal!
Then it was back to the hotel- tonight we have a suite and its been our cheapest night in Alaska yet!
And now its almost 10:30, and I should go to bed, because we have to be gone tomorrow by 7 am. But I was writing this post- hoping that maybe someone is waiting with baited breath for our latest adventure. And now, I need a shower. Til tomorrow, folks. Goodnight!
Today we started at our bed and breakfast, David cooked us breakfast and provided some great stories, mostly his story about how he went to Hawaii in 2006 and it changed his life. He came home and quit his job, sold his computer company, sold his real estate, divorced his wife- they had been separated for 2 years, and packed everything up and moved on. He now spends winters in Hawaii, summers in Alaska and then springs and falls in Colorado!
Then we were gathering our stuff and getting ready to leave and I hear mention of stamps. Stamps, I need stamps, Ive written 4 postcards. So I grab some money and ask for stamps. Well, he doesnt know how much a postcard stamp IS, so I helpfully say "its 15 cents less than a regular stamp" to which he looks at me and says "Why do you know that?!" I dont know what I know that, I just do. I then suggest that a regular stamp was 47 cents, he said no, its 45, and Irene- the B&B owner says no, its 44. (I was right, its 47 cents!) And then he goes to count a sheet of stamps, and I say, ever the helpful one, "There's 20 on a sheet" and David just looks at me like "What planet did you come from?!" haha. But it was funny. And then he was going to count how much I owed him and he said "1.90, know how I know that? There are 19 stamps on this sheet and they are 10 cents each" It might be one of those "You had to be there" type of things, but it was hilarious. It got really confusing and I think I got more stamps than I paid for and then I think he gave me too much change, but you know, it was funny and easy going so all is well.
And then we were off, another 4 hour drive, this time to Homer, at the bottom of the Kenai peninsula. We stopped at a wildlife refuge where we saw Bison, Elk, Moose, Bears and other things but the cutest things were the baby moose and the baby muskoxen. SO VERY CUTE. Moose are like a mix between a horse and a camel, and I love both which means I love moose and now I want a moose, desperately!! But, I know, they are wild animals and people shouldnt own wild animals- so I will just yearn for one from afar!
Once we got back into the car, it was a long haul down to Homer. Let me tell you something I havent yet mentioned, there are RV's here- EVERYWHERE. Like seriously, every 3rd vehicle on the road is a RV- its CRAZY. So our long drive seemed to take longer. I dont actually know how long we were on the road- we left the B&B around 9:30 and we got to Homer around 3:30 but we stopped for gas, that wildlife refuge and lunch at McDonalds!
The whole reason we came to Homer was for me to see a friend from Transy. So I texted her once we got in but she wasnt free til 6, so we were lazy and just hung out for a bit- did some laundry actually, and then went to the Homer Slip- a little piece of land that has a restaurant called "Land's End" at the end of it- where we ate dinner. It also has some little shops and one of the "Deadliest Catch" boats docks here, apparently. So we had dinner with my Transy friend- Amanda- and hung out and talked and saw a Bald Eagle grab a fish out of the water, and I saw an otter and it was a good time. Then we went to the pier and saw about 4-5 bald eagles just kind of hanging out- waiting for the fishermen to bring back some food for them to steal!
Then it was back to the hotel- tonight we have a suite and its been our cheapest night in Alaska yet!
And now its almost 10:30, and I should go to bed, because we have to be gone tomorrow by 7 am. But I was writing this post- hoping that maybe someone is waiting with baited breath for our latest adventure. And now, I need a shower. Til tomorrow, folks. Goodnight!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
On the road again.
Today wasnt very exciting. We woke up- I was the late riser, and we had breakfast at the hotel. You know one of those outrageously expensive resort breakfasts that are delicious? Yea, thats what we had- I'm still feeling the effects of it even though I ate it about 12 hours ago!
Then once breakfast was done we packed up and headed back towards Anchorage. The drive seemed to take FOREVER. Dad even almost fell asleep- not cool man, not cool at all.
But finally we got to Wasilla and had lunch. Then we headed over to Palmer to see the Musk Ox farm- which I have to admit was pretty cool. They are big fuzzy animals that we couldnt pet, but there were 2 that we could feed, go figure. Anyway, that was a nice little stop. Then we finished our journey to Anchorage and are staying the night in a Bed and Breakfast.
Mom, dad and Grandma are loving the bed and breakfast thing. Me, Im not so convinced. I kind of love hotels though, so maybe thats my problem. Its just with a Bed and Breakfast you are in or around someone's home and someone that you dont know, it just feels a bit odd to me.
Tomorrow we head down to Homer so I can see a friend from Transy. Then Friday we are headed back up to Whittier and perhaps taking a tour and then Saturday we shall come BACK to Anchorage so we can leave Sunday. Shew. Lots of driving. Homer is another 4 hour drive- my father may kill me by the end of this trip! I'm kidding, he might get frustrated, but I dont THINK he will kill me. :)
Then once breakfast was done we packed up and headed back towards Anchorage. The drive seemed to take FOREVER. Dad even almost fell asleep- not cool man, not cool at all.
But finally we got to Wasilla and had lunch. Then we headed over to Palmer to see the Musk Ox farm- which I have to admit was pretty cool. They are big fuzzy animals that we couldnt pet, but there were 2 that we could feed, go figure. Anyway, that was a nice little stop. Then we finished our journey to Anchorage and are staying the night in a Bed and Breakfast.
Mom, dad and Grandma are loving the bed and breakfast thing. Me, Im not so convinced. I kind of love hotels though, so maybe thats my problem. Its just with a Bed and Breakfast you are in or around someone's home and someone that you dont know, it just feels a bit odd to me.
Tomorrow we head down to Homer so I can see a friend from Transy. Then Friday we are headed back up to Whittier and perhaps taking a tour and then Saturday we shall come BACK to Anchorage so we can leave Sunday. Shew. Lots of driving. Homer is another 4 hour drive- my father may kill me by the end of this trip! I'm kidding, he might get frustrated, but I dont THINK he will kill me. :)
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Bear necessities
This morning started early, especially since I stayed up late talking to friends last night. Shew, that wake up call was NOT welcome, but it happened, and I woke up and off we went.
Yesterday we signed up for an 8 hour wildlife viewing tour through the Denali National Park.
So we get to Denali and we are the last group on the bus, but our bus driver, John Miller is WONDERFUL. I mean within 2 minutes of us being on the bus we are laughing. But the day is a dreary rainy foggy cold pretty icky day. Sigh.
Regardless, off we go. The first animal we come across is a snowshoe hare, not to be confused with a rabbit, apparently the difference is that a rabbit cannot change color whereas the hare does. The hare is white in the winter and brown now. And I know this makes sense but I still found it amusing: their feet are HUGE in comparison to the rest of their body. Yea, thats the one thing that I picked up about the hare.
Further into the park we go, John is giving us all kinds of info, the history of the park, the geology of Alaska, the history of the animals, the rivers and the mountains and while that might sound boring, he was a very good storyteller so it was fascinating.
But the miles came and went and there were few sightings of wildlife. We did see 2 caribou from afar, really really afar. And someone asked the difference between caribou and reindeer and the answer is that genetically there is no difference, but reindeer are shorter. We dont want reindeer to crossbreed with the wild caribou though because it would make them shorter and less likely to do well in the winter. The remaining question though is would a reindeer/caribou cross be a carideer or a rainbou? :)
We saw some mountain sheep, just chillin on the top of a mountain checkin us out, chewin their cud- it was amusing but again, not all that exciting. We want to see bears and moose!
We keep driving, further and further and further into the park. The road is now a 1.5 lane rock road and we are on an upgraded school bus- and there are steep cliffs and other upgraded school buses, coming the opposite direction! But our guide is not only a very good guide hes a very good driver and we all stay safe!!
So probably a mile before we get to the turnaround place we come across a momma bear and her 2 springers... that means the cubs that she had with her were born this past January. Bear mommas take care of their cubs for 3-4 years. And this big ol momma grizzly was just chillin on a hillside, eatin some plants. The cubs were kind of checkin things out and playing- but they were all totally ignoring the buses that were lining up to watch them. Momma grizzly then decided to cross the road- RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR BUS! So cool! We took this opportunity to go do our turnaround and then come back where we got to spend more time watching the momma and babies. Let me tell you, I am so glad I got to see a WILD grizzly bear in person, what an experience, amazing!
And then on our way back we saw a couple of moose! Experience complete. What a freakin awesome tour.
One unexpected but enjoyable thing about the day is that once inside the park theres no cell phone service. Now, unfortunately I told a friend that I would be glued to my phone- and I was, because I took pictures with it, but there was no service. It was kind of cool though, no electronic binging of phones, it was very much a wilderness experience, that is except we were on a bus and safely away from the animals! :) haha.
But, wait for it, our day is not yet complete!
Once we get some hot chocolate and back to our car we decide to check out the sled dogs that the park has- they have puppies too!! We got to pet the dogs and then got a demonstration that talked about the history and the current status of sled dogs- it was pretty good, even if I did get yelled at for crossing the rope to try and pet the dogs- I am a dog person, I want to pet them!! And they werent clear in the directions that one shouldnt cross the rope!! But in all honesty- sometimes I just have to break a rule! haha. :)
After we saw the dogs mom and grandma went to look at the science center while dad and I stayed in the car- mom and grandma got lost, surprise surprise, but eventually they found us and off to dinner and shopping we went!
Dinner was Subway- gotta love Subway! And shopping was touristy! I have a weakness for touristy shopping! :) So I bought some bear socks and a bear t-shirt. This is in addition to the zip-up fleece that I got yesterday for $9... thats right a zip-up fleece jacket for $9, can you say a steal?! :)
Mom and grandma kind of ran out of steam while we were shopping, so we headed back to the hotel room.
As I have been writing this post, the sun came out, its quite magical, considering we havent seen the sun the whole time we have been in Alaska... its been cloudy the whole time with some pretty rainy moments. Amazing that its 9pm right now and the sun is out as if it was a 5pm at home. Its just beautiful.
Alas, my day is coming to an end and I've got nothing more to talk about, so I will give you a sentence or two on what we will be doing tomorrow. We are gonna head back towards Anchorage tomorrow and then Homer the next day. I think we will be staying 2 night in Homer then back to Anchorage so that we can head home.
Goodnight friends. :)
Yesterday we signed up for an 8 hour wildlife viewing tour through the Denali National Park.
So we get to Denali and we are the last group on the bus, but our bus driver, John Miller is WONDERFUL. I mean within 2 minutes of us being on the bus we are laughing. But the day is a dreary rainy foggy cold pretty icky day. Sigh.
Regardless, off we go. The first animal we come across is a snowshoe hare, not to be confused with a rabbit, apparently the difference is that a rabbit cannot change color whereas the hare does. The hare is white in the winter and brown now. And I know this makes sense but I still found it amusing: their feet are HUGE in comparison to the rest of their body. Yea, thats the one thing that I picked up about the hare.
Further into the park we go, John is giving us all kinds of info, the history of the park, the geology of Alaska, the history of the animals, the rivers and the mountains and while that might sound boring, he was a very good storyteller so it was fascinating.
But the miles came and went and there were few sightings of wildlife. We did see 2 caribou from afar, really really afar. And someone asked the difference between caribou and reindeer and the answer is that genetically there is no difference, but reindeer are shorter. We dont want reindeer to crossbreed with the wild caribou though because it would make them shorter and less likely to do well in the winter. The remaining question though is would a reindeer/caribou cross be a carideer or a rainbou? :)
We saw some mountain sheep, just chillin on the top of a mountain checkin us out, chewin their cud- it was amusing but again, not all that exciting. We want to see bears and moose!
We keep driving, further and further and further into the park. The road is now a 1.5 lane rock road and we are on an upgraded school bus- and there are steep cliffs and other upgraded school buses, coming the opposite direction! But our guide is not only a very good guide hes a very good driver and we all stay safe!!
So probably a mile before we get to the turnaround place we come across a momma bear and her 2 springers... that means the cubs that she had with her were born this past January. Bear mommas take care of their cubs for 3-4 years. And this big ol momma grizzly was just chillin on a hillside, eatin some plants. The cubs were kind of checkin things out and playing- but they were all totally ignoring the buses that were lining up to watch them. Momma grizzly then decided to cross the road- RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR BUS! So cool! We took this opportunity to go do our turnaround and then come back where we got to spend more time watching the momma and babies. Let me tell you, I am so glad I got to see a WILD grizzly bear in person, what an experience, amazing!
And then on our way back we saw a couple of moose! Experience complete. What a freakin awesome tour.
One unexpected but enjoyable thing about the day is that once inside the park theres no cell phone service. Now, unfortunately I told a friend that I would be glued to my phone- and I was, because I took pictures with it, but there was no service. It was kind of cool though, no electronic binging of phones, it was very much a wilderness experience, that is except we were on a bus and safely away from the animals! :) haha.
But, wait for it, our day is not yet complete!
Once we get some hot chocolate and back to our car we decide to check out the sled dogs that the park has- they have puppies too!! We got to pet the dogs and then got a demonstration that talked about the history and the current status of sled dogs- it was pretty good, even if I did get yelled at for crossing the rope to try and pet the dogs- I am a dog person, I want to pet them!! And they werent clear in the directions that one shouldnt cross the rope!! But in all honesty- sometimes I just have to break a rule! haha. :)
After we saw the dogs mom and grandma went to look at the science center while dad and I stayed in the car- mom and grandma got lost, surprise surprise, but eventually they found us and off to dinner and shopping we went!
Dinner was Subway- gotta love Subway! And shopping was touristy! I have a weakness for touristy shopping! :) So I bought some bear socks and a bear t-shirt. This is in addition to the zip-up fleece that I got yesterday for $9... thats right a zip-up fleece jacket for $9, can you say a steal?! :)
Mom and grandma kind of ran out of steam while we were shopping, so we headed back to the hotel room.
As I have been writing this post, the sun came out, its quite magical, considering we havent seen the sun the whole time we have been in Alaska... its been cloudy the whole time with some pretty rainy moments. Amazing that its 9pm right now and the sun is out as if it was a 5pm at home. Its just beautiful.
Alas, my day is coming to an end and I've got nothing more to talk about, so I will give you a sentence or two on what we will be doing tomorrow. We are gonna head back towards Anchorage tomorrow and then Homer the next day. I think we will be staying 2 night in Homer then back to Anchorage so that we can head home.
Goodnight friends. :)
Wassup Denial... er, I mean Wasilla Denali!
Today we started out heading to the Anchorage Botanical Gardens. First thing we see is "Be bear aware" and the other things we see are mosquitoes... large deadly scary mosquitoes. So while dad and I are being bear aware and slapping ourselves silly, mom and grandma are looking at the pretty plants. Dad dodges the majority of the mosquitoes by putting up his hood while I apparently attract them, by the hundreds with my hair. And while slapping at a mosquito I missed and scratched the area by my left eye, so much that it looks like I was scratched by an animal- yep, I drew my own blood, which probably didnt help my mosquito problem. Ok, so mosquito adventure done.
Next we head towards the highway and up to Wasilla. In case you live under a rock, a very large rock, thats where Sarah Palin lives. I googled her address in time to look up and say "Thats the road off of which she lives." as we drove by, and that was that. Next we stopped at a Subway for lunch in a town called Talkeetna. They also had showers in the gas station in that little town- something that I have never seen before in my life!
Ok, so I pee while at Subway, and then I pee at the gas station next door as we leave, but you know, less than 20 miles down the road and I have to pee again. There's only one problem with that: Talkeetna was the last town- and bathroom- for 95 miles. I have a sprinting bladder and it gets nervous when it knows it wont be able to be relieved for a long time... I do NOT have a marathon bladder. So here we go, 95 miles...and I have to pee for about 80 of those miles. There is gorgeous scenery passing by and all I can think about is oh my god, I have to pee. Someone says funny, I laugh and then regret it instantaneously. Anyway, here we are driving in the middle of beautiful Alaska and all I can think about is counting down the miles til we can get to a restroom. But heres where magic happens. We are driving and theres a sign for a trailhead but it also has the universal- or what I think is the universal sign for bathrooms, so I scream "BATHROOM" and my dad says "Do you want me to stop here" I said "YES!!" and had my door opened and was RUNNING down the path to the little outhouses before he had the car in park. Relief never felt so good.
So, after that little side trip we got back on the road, and finish the trip to Denali. Let me just say, the scenery here is breathtaking, absolutely beautiful. We got to Denali, checked the place out, got tickets for a big wilderness seeing adventure tomorrow, and then went to dinner. Oh, and I bought a bear bell, its a carabiner with a bell. I hate making noise, but Im willing to make noise if it means that I dont have to deal with a bear.
Back to the day, we did a little 15 mile drive through the park and saw some Caribou... which the reindeer are a subspecies of, btw. And then once we got out of the park we went to dinner, where we had to wait for a place to eat for over an hour, but it was delicious pizza! Thats where I made my grandma cry, not awesome by the way. But mom really pissed me off, making me feel worse about hurting grandmas feelings so I got up and left for a while to cool down. I felt horrible, about half an inch tall. Really, I didnt mean to hurt grandmas feelings, but apparently Im good at it, sigh. So I buck up, buy her an emory board- because she loves them and go apologize. Things seem to be fine now, I just gotta be patient and not so quick with my one liners.
After dinner we went shopping!! I love souvenir shopping! I love it more when I can get a fleece zip-up thingy for 10 bucks! YES!! But I also dont like to dawdle, so we did our shopping and then came back to the hotel, which has a river running right outside of the cabins, which is beautiful, and by this time its 9:30ish and mom and grandma get situated and fall right asleep. Dad and I again are the ones up but since it is now 11 here- no it didnt take me an hour and a half to write this and if it did, I blame it on being distracted by talking to friends on FB- I need sleep, we have to be back up at the National Park by 7:30 in the morning... eek!
Goodnight friends!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Alaska
So, here I am, in Alaska. I may not have visited all of the lower 48 states but I have now visited both Hawaii and Alaska.
The trip up was fairly uneventful. While going through security in Lou I pulled a sticker off the back of some foreign (cute) guy's shirt. It was funny trying to explain what I was doing- gotta love language barriers. The Lou to Minneapolis flight was nice and then we were in an old plane for Minneapolis to Anchorage. There were lots of babies too, but thankfully there was no more than about 5 minutes of crying the whole flight- magical.
We got in and got our stuff, called the hotel for a shuttle and made it to our hotel around 1:30 am Alaska time- which is 4 hours earlier than home time. And the coolest thing was that the outside light was similar to that of dusk at home- thats right dusk at 1:30 am. Welcome to the summer in Alaska!
We were all exhausted though, so bed was of the first order. I popped in my night guard- attractive, I know, and my newly purchased ear plugs and I was blissfully unaware of anything until about 8 am. I am only wondering why I never invested in the ear plugs before- especially with my dads snoring and my grandmas rustling.
This morning we woke up and got our rental car. The rental car guy was an attractive black guy named Matthew who had a very large championship ring- thats how I knew his name was Matthew btw, not from a name tag but from his ring! Apparently he played football for the University of Washington and got the ring when they beat Nebraska for some championship- I love random people's cool stories!
After getting the car- a brown Hyundai Santa Fe, and checking the lost and found for mom's hat- she doesnt really remember where she lost it, we headed to brunch with our old neighbor. Well technically her parents are still neighbors but she moved to Alaska about 5 years ago and was actually headed to California today, so brunch was about the best visit we could manage! Anyway, it was good to see her, she is an amazing person and was like a sister to me in some ways growing up- a much older sister! And since she is honorary family, this is my not-so-shameful plug for her music, go look up Amy Lou Hettinger and listen to her CD, its amazing!
Somewhere between getting the car and getting brunch mom lost her credit card- are you counting? thats 2 things in 2 days- and so we retraced most of our steps looking for it, but no such luck, so we had to come back to the hotel to call the credit card company to cancel the card. Me, well, Im pretty annoyed by now, really, why would you put your credit card in the same pocket as your phone which you are checking every 5 minutes? Maybe I've just learned my lesson and mom hasnt yet. And grandma, oh goodness grandma is being helpful. So mom is losing things and grandma is being helpful, my annoyance level rises higher and higher. Oh, and while we are back at the hotel dad has gone to get drugs for his athletes foot. Never a dull moment!
So credit card canceled, with lots of extra help, and athletes foot treated we are on our way again. We head up to the Alaska Native Heritage Center- it was WONDERFUL! On our way there we saw 2 moose (!!!!!!) and as we walked in we were greeted by a dancing demonstration, then we walked around and learned about the various Native Alaskan tribes (?- I dont know if tribe is the technical term, but its what I am using) and along this path an Iditarod champion was set up, ok not just ANY champion the 2011 champion! And his dogs, and new PUPPIES! So we paid the outrageous price of 10 bucks per person for a 3 minute ride with 16 Iditarod dogs! And these dogs were happy to mush, amazing! We then met a native that was a great storyteller, someone we could have listened to for hours, but really, we were starting to fade.
Back to downtown Anchorage where we stopped at an Ulu factory that was near a stream where there are supposedly Salmon- we didnt see any Salmon. By this time its about 5 and we are hungry, so I directed the family to an "Old Alaskan Restaurant" where mom and grandma had halibut and salmon respectively and dad and I had a cheeseburger and a hamburger, respectively. They may have been burgers but neither dad nor I think that it was actually beef burgers, so I am claiming that it was a moose burger! hah.
After dinner we came back to the hotel room and have been vegging out. Mom and grandma have been asleep for hours now but dad and I are up and reading, although I think after this post I am headed to bed myself. Its now 9:30, which is a nice respectful time to go to bed, right?! Even if it looks like its the middle of the day outside still? I LOVE this daylight for something like 20 hours a day! Tomorrow we plan to hit the botanical gardens, Wasilla and make it all the way up to Denali!
Oh and in case you were wondering, I did get over my annoyance, in fact I got pretty giggly and amused as the day wore on- thank god!
Friday, November 25, 2011
Memories
I don't know that I have ever had a traveling experience that I didn't like. No, I have enjoyed every trip that I have ever taken. But I have definitely enjoyed some more than others.
Its not just the trip itself that I enjoy either, its the anticipation, the means of travel and the gathering of information and the arrival.
In the end, though, I often just have random memories of each trip. Something wonderful taken from each place. Crossing the mile-high swinging bridge at Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina when I was roughly 5. Climbing up the steps of the Statue of Liberty- I was 3, I think, and I climbed up every one of those stairs I remember this vividly because we taunted my brother saying "your little 3 year old sister is doing this, and you arent" (he's 11 years older than me). Helicopter ride the first time we went to Hawaii. My dad and brother riding the roller coaster that went underground when we were at Busch Gardens in Florida. Walking on the roads when we went to South Carolina the first time and watching turtle nests. The epic house that we stayed in when we went to South Carolina the second time- it had bathrooms that were reminiscent of public restrooms- there was a men's and a women's, we also watched a lot of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" it was the fun new, primetime show of the year. The wildfires of Colorado and Utah during our rafting trip, but also falling out of the "duckie" while going through a rapid- and losing a bottle cap and maybe my sunglasses. The Riverwalk of San Antonio. Being sick in Germany and having the strangest nightmares, but also walking through the Brandenburg gate. The windmills and tulips and Red Light District of Amsterdam, but the Anne Frank house, the canals and the train station too, of and the Van Gogh museum. The major square in Brussels and the Pissing Boy. Going up the Eiffel tower at night and sitting on the lawn in front of the Louvre watching Michael show-off his acrobatics. Watching Charmed in London on TNT, but also being in charge of getting half of our group home- because I was a master navigator. Watching the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, and visiting the Tower of London. Staying with really wealthy relatives in Seattle, and then with mom's roommate who she realized she no longer had anything in common with, the ferry and space needle and the famous fish market. The second trip to Hawaii- this time with my brother- some woman being harassed, Waikiki, unintentional bargaining with the street vendors and then the Big Island where the Volcano was kind of a bust. Getting car sick in Costa Rica- trip 1- while traveling on the horrible roads, but being woo-ed by Carlos who worked at the hotel, the hot springs. Riding horses and 4-wheelers in Costa Rica when we went with Brandon and Desi, not to mention getting scared out of our minds in the dark and riding in a 4 seater plane for the first time ever. Another Costa Rica trip- with Grandma and Bobby- my only memories are that I played cards with grandma at the little airport, I brought home a "green taco" for Wes and that Timmy was gone by the time I got home. I think there was one more trip with just me, mom and dad- but I am not certain. I remember going on a zip-line tour, it must have been our first trip, because it was before dad had the heart attack. Oh, going on a bike ride in Costa Rica but having to stop half way through because dad got sick- and this was after the heart attack, and maybe the first time we found out he had low potassium. The third trip to Hawaii we went to Maui, drove on roads that werent really meant for rental cars, stayed in an awesome 2 bed 1 bath house for $85 dollars a night, drove to Hana- where gas was over $4 a gallon and this was in 2006, and played in downtown Lahaina. The elderhostel in Canada where we saw a bald eagle on the 4th of July, kayaked in a glacier fed lake, climbed an actual rock wall and where I sprained my ankle. There is the elderhostel in Idaho where we also went to Yellowstone- which means we ventured into Wyoming and Montana. The Idaho trip also included "Craters of the Moon" park and getting $14 out of an abandoned vending machine at an abandoned rest area. Epic homesickness at soccer camp in Knoxville. Going to the St. Louis arch with Girl Scouts, and being in St. Louis with my Payton as we visited a friend who had just gotten a double lung transplant- we ate breakfast at a Waffle House before we said our farewells. Driving to Minneapolis for the vet conference with Payton- her first big trip. But we stopped in Champagne, IL and at the International Crane Foundation in Wisconsin. We also drove through the Wisconsin Dells. Driving to Chicago with ILEAP in elementary school and eating at the Rainforest Cafe and doing the tourist-y things. Driving to Chicago on the Monday before election day so as to see a special exhibit. Going to a 4H thing in New Jersey. Visiting the Titanic exhibit and something having to do with Ben Franklin in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Stopping by Pennsylvania Dutch area and Hershey. I took my first steps in Washington D.C. and then visited my over my birthday in 1999, again my first year of high school, the summer after I graduated and over a weekend just last year. Of the 1999 trip I remember going to the holocaust museum on my birthday, but having a surprise birthday party later. That first year of high school we were visiting friends of my mom's and we took a train from Cincinnati to DC I remember doing the touristy things but then staying up late watching strange movies. After high school, we visited those same friends and I got lost in the woods with the kid who is my age, we went to Harry Potter and visited mom while she was at the vet conference. Last year it was just an overnight trip, and I went with my grandma to visit my great-aunt, who has since passed.
Wow, that took longer than I expected- both in time and space, and I didnt cover all of my trips I am missing a trip to Upstate New York, 2 to Maine which includes one to New Hampshire and Vermont too. I am missing Virginia Beach, anything in Indiana or Ohio. A trip to California, Nashville, Alabama and 2 to Georgia- well really 3- are missing. I didnt talk about Arizona, or Israel. And I think there are even a couple that I just cant recall at the drop of a hat.
But the reason I started this post was not to reminisce on ALL of my past trips but rather to comment and talk about how out of all the trips that I have taken, none of them resonate with me as much as my trip to Italy does.
I think about something from my Italy trip almost daily. Whether it be a memory of Venice, Florence or Rome, and sometimes I even think of Padova or Pisa. These memories flood me in the middle of the mundane parts of my life. They come to me randomly, and I always relish in the memories. I think about Venice, Florence and Rome far more often than I think about any of my other travels- combined. Now, I dont know why Italy resonates with me so much, but I love it. And I hope that maybe some day I can go back- perhaps share some memories and/or make new ones with loved ones.
Here's my last thought of the day: If you have a trip that you get to live often, dont squeeze those memories so tight that you lose them, but cherish them, handle them like a luxury, a newborn, something that has to be treated well.
Goodnight everyone, I'm off to dreams of Italy!
Its not just the trip itself that I enjoy either, its the anticipation, the means of travel and the gathering of information and the arrival.
In the end, though, I often just have random memories of each trip. Something wonderful taken from each place. Crossing the mile-high swinging bridge at Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina when I was roughly 5. Climbing up the steps of the Statue of Liberty- I was 3, I think, and I climbed up every one of those stairs I remember this vividly because we taunted my brother saying "your little 3 year old sister is doing this, and you arent" (he's 11 years older than me). Helicopter ride the first time we went to Hawaii. My dad and brother riding the roller coaster that went underground when we were at Busch Gardens in Florida. Walking on the roads when we went to South Carolina the first time and watching turtle nests. The epic house that we stayed in when we went to South Carolina the second time- it had bathrooms that were reminiscent of public restrooms- there was a men's and a women's, we also watched a lot of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" it was the fun new, primetime show of the year. The wildfires of Colorado and Utah during our rafting trip, but also falling out of the "duckie" while going through a rapid- and losing a bottle cap and maybe my sunglasses. The Riverwalk of San Antonio. Being sick in Germany and having the strangest nightmares, but also walking through the Brandenburg gate. The windmills and tulips and Red Light District of Amsterdam, but the Anne Frank house, the canals and the train station too, of and the Van Gogh museum. The major square in Brussels and the Pissing Boy. Going up the Eiffel tower at night and sitting on the lawn in front of the Louvre watching Michael show-off his acrobatics. Watching Charmed in London on TNT, but also being in charge of getting half of our group home- because I was a master navigator. Watching the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, and visiting the Tower of London. Staying with really wealthy relatives in Seattle, and then with mom's roommate who she realized she no longer had anything in common with, the ferry and space needle and the famous fish market. The second trip to Hawaii- this time with my brother- some woman being harassed, Waikiki, unintentional bargaining with the street vendors and then the Big Island where the Volcano was kind of a bust. Getting car sick in Costa Rica- trip 1- while traveling on the horrible roads, but being woo-ed by Carlos who worked at the hotel, the hot springs. Riding horses and 4-wheelers in Costa Rica when we went with Brandon and Desi, not to mention getting scared out of our minds in the dark and riding in a 4 seater plane for the first time ever. Another Costa Rica trip- with Grandma and Bobby- my only memories are that I played cards with grandma at the little airport, I brought home a "green taco" for Wes and that Timmy was gone by the time I got home. I think there was one more trip with just me, mom and dad- but I am not certain. I remember going on a zip-line tour, it must have been our first trip, because it was before dad had the heart attack. Oh, going on a bike ride in Costa Rica but having to stop half way through because dad got sick- and this was after the heart attack, and maybe the first time we found out he had low potassium. The third trip to Hawaii we went to Maui, drove on roads that werent really meant for rental cars, stayed in an awesome 2 bed 1 bath house for $85 dollars a night, drove to Hana- where gas was over $4 a gallon and this was in 2006, and played in downtown Lahaina. The elderhostel in Canada where we saw a bald eagle on the 4th of July, kayaked in a glacier fed lake, climbed an actual rock wall and where I sprained my ankle. There is the elderhostel in Idaho where we also went to Yellowstone- which means we ventured into Wyoming and Montana. The Idaho trip also included "Craters of the Moon" park and getting $14 out of an abandoned vending machine at an abandoned rest area. Epic homesickness at soccer camp in Knoxville. Going to the St. Louis arch with Girl Scouts, and being in St. Louis with my Payton as we visited a friend who had just gotten a double lung transplant- we ate breakfast at a Waffle House before we said our farewells. Driving to Minneapolis for the vet conference with Payton- her first big trip. But we stopped in Champagne, IL and at the International Crane Foundation in Wisconsin. We also drove through the Wisconsin Dells. Driving to Chicago with ILEAP in elementary school and eating at the Rainforest Cafe and doing the tourist-y things. Driving to Chicago on the Monday before election day so as to see a special exhibit. Going to a 4H thing in New Jersey. Visiting the Titanic exhibit and something having to do with Ben Franklin in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Stopping by Pennsylvania Dutch area and Hershey. I took my first steps in Washington D.C. and then visited my over my birthday in 1999, again my first year of high school, the summer after I graduated and over a weekend just last year. Of the 1999 trip I remember going to the holocaust museum on my birthday, but having a surprise birthday party later. That first year of high school we were visiting friends of my mom's and we took a train from Cincinnati to DC I remember doing the touristy things but then staying up late watching strange movies. After high school, we visited those same friends and I got lost in the woods with the kid who is my age, we went to Harry Potter and visited mom while she was at the vet conference. Last year it was just an overnight trip, and I went with my grandma to visit my great-aunt, who has since passed.
Wow, that took longer than I expected- both in time and space, and I didnt cover all of my trips I am missing a trip to Upstate New York, 2 to Maine which includes one to New Hampshire and Vermont too. I am missing Virginia Beach, anything in Indiana or Ohio. A trip to California, Nashville, Alabama and 2 to Georgia- well really 3- are missing. I didnt talk about Arizona, or Israel. And I think there are even a couple that I just cant recall at the drop of a hat.
But the reason I started this post was not to reminisce on ALL of my past trips but rather to comment and talk about how out of all the trips that I have taken, none of them resonate with me as much as my trip to Italy does.
I think about something from my Italy trip almost daily. Whether it be a memory of Venice, Florence or Rome, and sometimes I even think of Padova or Pisa. These memories flood me in the middle of the mundane parts of my life. They come to me randomly, and I always relish in the memories. I think about Venice, Florence and Rome far more often than I think about any of my other travels- combined. Now, I dont know why Italy resonates with me so much, but I love it. And I hope that maybe some day I can go back- perhaps share some memories and/or make new ones with loved ones.
Here's my last thought of the day: If you have a trip that you get to live often, dont squeeze those memories so tight that you lose them, but cherish them, handle them like a luxury, a newborn, something that has to be treated well.
Goodnight everyone, I'm off to dreams of Italy!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Colorado
I absolutely am terrible at keeping this blog up to date.
I am currently in Colorado, and have been for the past couple of days.
What can I say?
The Denver Zoo is awesome! It will be even more awesome come May- so if you are looking to come to Colorado and like zoo's, just wait til then.
The rest of Denver, I could do without- its kinda stinky, has lots of manufacturing yuck and is just plain eh.
Boulder, however is amazing. One should spend lots of times in Denver- starting with Celestial Seasonings- such a cool thing.
Then you've got Rocky Mountain National Park- its amazing. Go to it, really.
Ok, thats all I've got- short and sweet, no? :)
I am currently in Colorado, and have been for the past couple of days.
What can I say?
The Denver Zoo is awesome! It will be even more awesome come May- so if you are looking to come to Colorado and like zoo's, just wait til then.
The rest of Denver, I could do without- its kinda stinky, has lots of manufacturing yuck and is just plain eh.
Boulder, however is amazing. One should spend lots of times in Denver- starting with Celestial Seasonings- such a cool thing.
Then you've got Rocky Mountain National Park- its amazing. Go to it, really.
Ok, thats all I've got- short and sweet, no? :)
Friday, July 1, 2011
My Maine Squeeze
June 15th my mom, grandma, and myself embarked on one of our 3 generation trips. We were headed back to Maine (we did Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont 2 summers ago) for my second cousin's wedding. He, a Harvard economics professor was getting married to an Education PhD candidate who also has a background in Economics and not only that she is Indian and the wedding was going to be a Hindu wedding. Thats really the reason that we went, I really wanted to see a Hindu wedding.
I was grumpy most of the time, but despite my bad mood we had a nice trip.
We went up a couple of days early so that we could spend some time in Acadia National Park, and let me say, if you ever get the chance to go, you should. Acadia is simply beautiful, stunning, amazing. Jordan pond and Cadillac mountain are my favorites, but Thunder Hole and the hiking trails are amazing too!
After our trip to Acadia we took route 1 down to Brunswick where the wedding was held. It was a nice 3 hour drive through the quaint little Maine towns, where veterinarian offices are at least 3 per town!
The wedding was a 3 day affair. The morning of the first day was family only, then we had the henna party (please excuse my non-technical terms!), Saturday was the wedding and reception and then Sunday was the send off, where guests were invited to some say goodbye to the bride and groom and have some pastries, fruit and drinks.
My description cannot compare to the "Trailer" put together by the videographers:
http://www.hdjeff.com/2011/06/anjali-rick-hindu-cinematic-wedding-film-trailer-next-day-edit-bowdoinham-maine/
Enjoy!
My next travels take me to Sweet Home Alabama.
I was grumpy most of the time, but despite my bad mood we had a nice trip.
We went up a couple of days early so that we could spend some time in Acadia National Park, and let me say, if you ever get the chance to go, you should. Acadia is simply beautiful, stunning, amazing. Jordan pond and Cadillac mountain are my favorites, but Thunder Hole and the hiking trails are amazing too!
After our trip to Acadia we took route 1 down to Brunswick where the wedding was held. It was a nice 3 hour drive through the quaint little Maine towns, where veterinarian offices are at least 3 per town!
The wedding was a 3 day affair. The morning of the first day was family only, then we had the henna party (please excuse my non-technical terms!), Saturday was the wedding and reception and then Sunday was the send off, where guests were invited to some say goodbye to the bride and groom and have some pastries, fruit and drinks.
My description cannot compare to the "Trailer" put together by the videographers:
http://www.hdjeff.com/2011/06/anjali-rick-hindu-cinematic-wedding-film-trailer-next-day-edit-bowdoinham-maine/
Enjoy!
My next travels take me to Sweet Home Alabama.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
As usual, my updates have fallen to the wayside
I will try to get everything in, but I will absolutely forget some things, and for that I am sorry.
May 10- We arrived in Venice around 11 am. From the airport we took a water taxi- really 2- to our hotel. Boy am I glad I brought my backpacking backpack- makes for more weight on my shoulders but I dont have to deal with the lifting and lugging of the wheeled bags. Our hotel rooms weren't ready so we were sent out to explore, and explore we did. Venice is expensive, has lots of little alley ways and if you get lost you just turn into a different alley and you will probably find a sign to either Per S. Marco or Per Rialto... and from there you can get where you need to go. The first stop on our expedition was to the atm, everyone needed some euros! We walked across the Rialto bridge and got lunch- I got a Gondola pizza- yep, a pizza shaped like a Gondola and a Sprite. And by then we could check into our rooms. We then set out again and just wandered around with no real destination. We caught sights of several churches and the San Marco square. The class came together again as a whole around 6:30 and our tour guide- Marco, led us around to give us a bit of an orientation. While he was nice, Marco was distracted. He was no older than 30 (probably more like 25) and he was constantly on his phone or talking to Dr. Cochis in Italian. Dinner and then bed, we had been up for almost 24 hours!
May 11- We have free breakfasts at all of our hotels, so that was the first order of business on Wednesday. Then we went to the San Marco Basilica, the Doge Palace, and to a glass factory where we got to see a glass blowing demonstration- the guy made a Pegasus, and we did all that as a class. After that Katrina, Mindy, Dr. Bob and myself went to 6 other museums- all free thanks to our ticket from the Doge Palace. If you think that is a lot, you should have been there. All of the museums are fascinating, I am in awe at least once in pretty much every building I go into, but as I write this - on the 15th- I am getting slightly burned out. Too many museums. I am glad for this morning off, but lets get back to topic. We saw a modern art museum, a natural history museum, a biblioteca, archeology, and the Correr museums. A LOT of museums. But also it was nice to get some of the mix of the new and the old, both. It makes for great comparison, or just something different. Too much of one thing can be exhausting to its nice to mix it up a little bit. Again, we had lunch on the go- it seems to be the way to do things around here. And dinner was with a bigger group- 8 of us went together, but the snack bar that we went to seemed to just heat their food in the microwave- I had lasagna... it was eh.
May 12- On this day we went to Scuola de San Rocco- which was more of a museum, sort of. It had many paintings, covering EVERYTHING, including the ceiling! Thats another thing about Italy, one best be checking out the ceilings to make sure they dont miss something cool! Then we branched off again, and one group went to the Jewish Ghetto and to the museum that is there. That was really cool, I guess I hadnt realized that Jews had been discriminated against in the late 1400's into the 1500's... Silly me! Another quick lunch and then we had to meet the group to catch a Vaporetto (basically water bus) to the Islands of Morano and Burano. At Morano we got to see a glass museum- wow, glass is kind of awesome! And OLD some of the relics were from the 1-3rd century B.C.E.- WOW. We had a little shopping time on Morano and then off to Burano we went, we were having our first meal as a class here- it was ok, not wonderful. And again silly me, I didnt realize that seafood was something that Italians would have a lot of- umm DUH Jessie, they are a peninsula- IN the Mediterranean Sea! I had chicken this night, thank you very much! :) So after dinner we had a nice sunset Vaporetto ride back to the greater Venice islands. And again, I kind of fell into bed... exhausted!
May 13- Our last full day in Venice, we started with a group trip to Accademia museum of Venice as a class- again more old Baroque paintings. If nothing else, my Art History class has given me a better appreciation for art, and while I still kind of run through museums, I appreciate everything much more. And I dont mean that I run through and miss things, I just mean that apparently my art appreciation is faster than everyone elses. I dont like reading all the little signs, I like seeing the pictures, and if I feel like I have to read all the signs I miss out on really looking at the pictures. Maybe its just me, but thats how I see things. I can either look at the pictures and appreciate them, OR I can read all the captions, I do not have the ability to do BOTH! :) Again the groups broke off and did their own things. Lee, Katrina, Mindy and myself broke off and went to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, which has more modern art, which was another great way to compare and contrast the stuff that we saw as a group, you know the older Baroque and sometimes Renaissance paintings. After the Guggenheim, we had a Gondola ride, and though the canals of Venice are stinky the ride was very relaxing. Our driver man told us all about becoming a Gondoleer? Apparently one has to have several years of apprenticeship- and doing the turns takes a great deal of practicing because the turns are different during the different tides or depending on if there was more or less traffic. Gondola drivers have definitely studied and practice an art- one that is not something that may always be talked about. After the Gondola ride it was lunch/shopping time. We decided to get our lunch from the farmer's market that is around apparently every day! We got some lunch things and then since neither Katrina nor I had eaten we were both a little grumpy and when I asked a question she got irritated, which made me irritated, and so we blew up at one another. She went back to the hotel, while Mindy and I were on a mission to find a bread that she had to have. Once we got back to the hotel Katrina and I were fine- little undercurrents still, but mostly fine. Katrina and Mindy went out to dinner at a fancier restaurant, and I ate with some of the people I hadnt eaten with before. It was time for a break I think.
May 14- Today we had to get up early to eat, pack up and catch a water taxi to the bus station to grab our bus to head to Padova and then Florence. Bear in mind this was the first time that we have seen CARS, automobiles since we left the airport in Venice, it was kind of shocking! We caught our bus, said Arrivederchi to Marco and Cio to Katia. And already she is much better. She had a map of Padova to show us everything that we were going to do, and we did a lot in a time period of about 4 hours! It was hot though, very hot. We saw the University of Padova, where Galileo taught for 18 years, the center of the city, which is a nice oval field but the person who made it happened missed Venice so he built a canal going through it. And a nice Chapel, or 2. haha. Lunch was cafeteria style, but fairly good and then it was back to the bus for a 2-3 hour drive to Florence. We drove through, literally through mountains, there were lots of tunnels. But the countryside of italy is beautiful- at least the parts that I saw, I slept and read a lot on the bus! We arrived in Florence around 5:30 or 6 and then met at 6:30. It was during this meeting that we discovered that several Museums had free entry from 7pm-1am. So guess what we did?! We went Museum hopping! And got in at 11:30ish. Most of us went to 2 museums while some of us went to 3. I cant remember the name of the first museum, oh wait it started with a B. But it was nice, there were some carvings in there that were OMG amazing, how could a person be so detailed? Just took our breath away. And then we went to the Accademia, where Michelangelo's Davit is.... WOW is he impressive... just amazing, really no words can express the wow factor. This museum also had a little music museum in it too! And it was funny because I was just thinking about the history of a Piano... I dont know why but I felt like I should know about it and that it was probably fascinating, and low and behold but this museum had one of the first PianoForte's... COOL!!! And then we came back, I got on the FREE WIFI for an hour or so and then bed... glorious bed.
May 15- Hey thats today! Well so far I have gotten up, eaten breakfast and updated this blog. We are meeting as a class at 2:30 and we get to see the Duomo, San Croche and the Baptistry. But for now, its 11:15 and I get some time to relax! :)
May 10- We arrived in Venice around 11 am. From the airport we took a water taxi- really 2- to our hotel. Boy am I glad I brought my backpacking backpack- makes for more weight on my shoulders but I dont have to deal with the lifting and lugging of the wheeled bags. Our hotel rooms weren't ready so we were sent out to explore, and explore we did. Venice is expensive, has lots of little alley ways and if you get lost you just turn into a different alley and you will probably find a sign to either Per S. Marco or Per Rialto... and from there you can get where you need to go. The first stop on our expedition was to the atm, everyone needed some euros! We walked across the Rialto bridge and got lunch- I got a Gondola pizza- yep, a pizza shaped like a Gondola and a Sprite. And by then we could check into our rooms. We then set out again and just wandered around with no real destination. We caught sights of several churches and the San Marco square. The class came together again as a whole around 6:30 and our tour guide- Marco, led us around to give us a bit of an orientation. While he was nice, Marco was distracted. He was no older than 30 (probably more like 25) and he was constantly on his phone or talking to Dr. Cochis in Italian. Dinner and then bed, we had been up for almost 24 hours!
May 11- We have free breakfasts at all of our hotels, so that was the first order of business on Wednesday. Then we went to the San Marco Basilica, the Doge Palace, and to a glass factory where we got to see a glass blowing demonstration- the guy made a Pegasus, and we did all that as a class. After that Katrina, Mindy, Dr. Bob and myself went to 6 other museums- all free thanks to our ticket from the Doge Palace. If you think that is a lot, you should have been there. All of the museums are fascinating, I am in awe at least once in pretty much every building I go into, but as I write this - on the 15th- I am getting slightly burned out. Too many museums. I am glad for this morning off, but lets get back to topic. We saw a modern art museum, a natural history museum, a biblioteca, archeology, and the Correr museums. A LOT of museums. But also it was nice to get some of the mix of the new and the old, both. It makes for great comparison, or just something different. Too much of one thing can be exhausting to its nice to mix it up a little bit. Again, we had lunch on the go- it seems to be the way to do things around here. And dinner was with a bigger group- 8 of us went together, but the snack bar that we went to seemed to just heat their food in the microwave- I had lasagna... it was eh.
May 12- On this day we went to Scuola de San Rocco- which was more of a museum, sort of. It had many paintings, covering EVERYTHING, including the ceiling! Thats another thing about Italy, one best be checking out the ceilings to make sure they dont miss something cool! Then we branched off again, and one group went to the Jewish Ghetto and to the museum that is there. That was really cool, I guess I hadnt realized that Jews had been discriminated against in the late 1400's into the 1500's... Silly me! Another quick lunch and then we had to meet the group to catch a Vaporetto (basically water bus) to the Islands of Morano and Burano. At Morano we got to see a glass museum- wow, glass is kind of awesome! And OLD some of the relics were from the 1-3rd century B.C.E.- WOW. We had a little shopping time on Morano and then off to Burano we went, we were having our first meal as a class here- it was ok, not wonderful. And again silly me, I didnt realize that seafood was something that Italians would have a lot of- umm DUH Jessie, they are a peninsula- IN the Mediterranean Sea! I had chicken this night, thank you very much! :) So after dinner we had a nice sunset Vaporetto ride back to the greater Venice islands. And again, I kind of fell into bed... exhausted!
May 13- Our last full day in Venice, we started with a group trip to Accademia museum of Venice as a class- again more old Baroque paintings. If nothing else, my Art History class has given me a better appreciation for art, and while I still kind of run through museums, I appreciate everything much more. And I dont mean that I run through and miss things, I just mean that apparently my art appreciation is faster than everyone elses. I dont like reading all the little signs, I like seeing the pictures, and if I feel like I have to read all the signs I miss out on really looking at the pictures. Maybe its just me, but thats how I see things. I can either look at the pictures and appreciate them, OR I can read all the captions, I do not have the ability to do BOTH! :) Again the groups broke off and did their own things. Lee, Katrina, Mindy and myself broke off and went to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, which has more modern art, which was another great way to compare and contrast the stuff that we saw as a group, you know the older Baroque and sometimes Renaissance paintings. After the Guggenheim, we had a Gondola ride, and though the canals of Venice are stinky the ride was very relaxing. Our driver man told us all about becoming a Gondoleer? Apparently one has to have several years of apprenticeship- and doing the turns takes a great deal of practicing because the turns are different during the different tides or depending on if there was more or less traffic. Gondola drivers have definitely studied and practice an art- one that is not something that may always be talked about. After the Gondola ride it was lunch/shopping time. We decided to get our lunch from the farmer's market that is around apparently every day! We got some lunch things and then since neither Katrina nor I had eaten we were both a little grumpy and when I asked a question she got irritated, which made me irritated, and so we blew up at one another. She went back to the hotel, while Mindy and I were on a mission to find a bread that she had to have. Once we got back to the hotel Katrina and I were fine- little undercurrents still, but mostly fine. Katrina and Mindy went out to dinner at a fancier restaurant, and I ate with some of the people I hadnt eaten with before. It was time for a break I think.
May 14- Today we had to get up early to eat, pack up and catch a water taxi to the bus station to grab our bus to head to Padova and then Florence. Bear in mind this was the first time that we have seen CARS, automobiles since we left the airport in Venice, it was kind of shocking! We caught our bus, said Arrivederchi to Marco and Cio to Katia. And already she is much better. She had a map of Padova to show us everything that we were going to do, and we did a lot in a time period of about 4 hours! It was hot though, very hot. We saw the University of Padova, where Galileo taught for 18 years, the center of the city, which is a nice oval field but the person who made it happened missed Venice so he built a canal going through it. And a nice Chapel, or 2. haha. Lunch was cafeteria style, but fairly good and then it was back to the bus for a 2-3 hour drive to Florence. We drove through, literally through mountains, there were lots of tunnels. But the countryside of italy is beautiful- at least the parts that I saw, I slept and read a lot on the bus! We arrived in Florence around 5:30 or 6 and then met at 6:30. It was during this meeting that we discovered that several Museums had free entry from 7pm-1am. So guess what we did?! We went Museum hopping! And got in at 11:30ish. Most of us went to 2 museums while some of us went to 3. I cant remember the name of the first museum, oh wait it started with a B. But it was nice, there were some carvings in there that were OMG amazing, how could a person be so detailed? Just took our breath away. And then we went to the Accademia, where Michelangelo's Davit is.... WOW is he impressive... just amazing, really no words can express the wow factor. This museum also had a little music museum in it too! And it was funny because I was just thinking about the history of a Piano... I dont know why but I felt like I should know about it and that it was probably fascinating, and low and behold but this museum had one of the first PianoForte's... COOL!!! And then we came back, I got on the FREE WIFI for an hour or so and then bed... glorious bed.
May 15- Hey thats today! Well so far I have gotten up, eaten breakfast and updated this blog. We are meeting as a class at 2:30 and we get to see the Duomo, San Croche and the Baptistry. But for now, its 11:15 and I get some time to relax! :)
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Venice, Day 1
Well, its been a whirlwind and I am just getting some downtime. Our flights were smooth and we arrived this morning 10 am Italy time, 4 am home time and spent the day wandering around. Our big group of 16 students actually broke into 2 groups of 8, or at least 1 group of 8 and perhaps other groups of other numbers! The hotel is nice, though a little cramped. I dont think this will be too big of a problem seeing as we arent getting much room time. My feet are a little sore, I am exhausted but I am happy to report that I am not overly exceedingly homesick.
Yes, the past 2 days I've worried about being homesick, worried that I am going to Italy with no one from my family and Oh my god, will I be able to make it? So far so good. But again this is just day 1/2.
I am going to keep this update short, seeing that I am exhausted and my roommates are headed to bed themselves... so for anyone reading... Goodnight! :)
And, I will try to keep this updated as I go along, hopefully at least one post a day, but no promises!
Yes, the past 2 days I've worried about being homesick, worried that I am going to Italy with no one from my family and Oh my god, will I be able to make it? So far so good. But again this is just day 1/2.
I am going to keep this update short, seeing that I am exhausted and my roommates are headed to bed themselves... so for anyone reading... Goodnight! :)
And, I will try to keep this updated as I go along, hopefully at least one post a day, but no promises!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Oops
I didnt update with my free wifi... And then I didnt even talk about my second trip. Trip 2 was to Hawaii.
So, with apologies, here are my thoughts from that Washington D.C. trip:
Visiting DC.
The morning started out well enough, grandma woke me up at 4:25, when I told her I would wake her at 4:30, but this was hardly something to put me in a bad mood. No I had decided that I was going to do my very best to keep things from annoying me, it just wasn’t worth it not today. I felt that this journey was a very important journey for me to take with my grandma. First of all, it’s a quicky! Secondly, I think my grandma worries that I don’t love her or appreciate her or something like that, and this was my way to say “hey grandma, you don’t particularly like to travel alone, and you will be worried about your sister, so why don’t I come to be a travel buddy for you and hopefully make things a little easier.” So that’s why I am here. But, don’t let me make myself out to be super unselfish, no, in all reality I was itching for a quick getaway, I had been in a rut, yes mostly because of the male population, and I needed something different, something spontaneous in my life.
The trip:
We made it fine checking in. Security was a breeze, the person checking my ID and boarding pass made conversation:
“Transylvania University (I was wearing a Transy sweatshirt), is that a real school?”
“Yes, sir, its in Lexington, right near UK.”
“Oh, well being from Louisville, I should have known that.” He looks at my ID for a second time: “Bullitt County, huh? I am from Bullitt County, well Northern Bullitt County.”
I don’t know why he felt that he needed to really announce that he was from Northern Bullitt County, I mean really its just a suburb of Louisville. Everyone knows that Southern Bullitt County is where its at! And honestly I don’t see why living in Louisville means that you should know about that tiny vampire school in Lexington, it is after all 70 miles away, and I bet, being from Northern Bullitt County, you probably don’t venture over to Lexington that often, but that’s my opinion and it doesn’t matter so much.
And then we got to the gate, gate A3. Grandma notices that her bag has a rip in it, it was after all one of those free bags that the Sierra Club sends out if you donate $25 dollars or so. I do not mean that this bag is of lesser quality than other bags, but it doesn’t quite hold up to “security checkpoint” standards! However, being the well prepared girl scout that my grandma is, she whips out a needle and a piece of thread. The thread though is not evenly cut at an end, and is therefore a pain in the butt to try and thread the needle with, luckily my grandma is not only prepared but smart. Turns out the nice people at the gate desk check in area have access to scissors, granted they are kiddie scissors and are locked in a cabin, but hey they did the job. The needle was threaded, the rip sewn and away we go.
Our second adventure of the day happens as we land in Atlanta. First of all, we had a 40 minute layover in Atlanta- short layovers like that always make me nervous and secondly, we were delayed in Louisville and took off 15 minutes later than scheduled. But that’s not the kicker, nope. I get on my Blackberry- thank goodness for smart phones- and I check the status of our connecting flight. And what do I see but big red words highlighted that say “Canceled”. I mentally groan, “CANCELED? WHAT? Ugh, well it’s a good thing I came with grandma. Ok, so we get off the plane and we talk to the nice people at the gate desk check in area, maybe we can get on another close flight. Oh, good look there is one at 10:40. Shew!” But to grandma I say: “It looks like our flight has been canceled, but we will talk to the people at the gate desk and see what they can do, lets not worry about this now, on the plane, there is nothing we can do at this moment in time.” To which grandma says “Lets call Delta.” I sigh and explain that really I think it would be better if we talked to the people at the Atlanta airport rather than the company on the phone, don’t worry they wont leave us stranded. Long story short, we get off the plane, get put directly on the 11:20 flight and then go to the gate of the 10:20 flight and are listed as standby. We, or rather grandma, makes it up to #3 on standby, so alas, we take the 11:20 flight. We arrive in DC by 1:07, catch a taxi, with a drivers name of Jae Woo Kim. He takes us to Woodbine, the nursing home where my great aunt Stella is staying.
We meet with Stella from when we get there at 2 til 7 pm. Poor lady, shes 90 years old, mind you, is exhausted. Grandma chattered at her the whole visit, in the way that only my grandma can, and yes, I realize this sounds like I am scolding my grandma but really I am not. I envy her ability to talk about anything and everything under the sun like it’s the most interesting thing in the world. Seeing her smile though, with her sister, that, that took my breath away; here I was, in the midst of 90 years of history. And sure my great aunt Stella isn’t doing so well- which was the whole point of our trip- but she, for most of our visit was lucid, checking on me, sharing stories with grandma. And oh, yea, both of those women stubborn and hardheaded, I totally see where I get it now. At this point though, I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than for my second cousin Alex to pick us up, take us home and drop us into bed.
But things never turn out the way we plan, right? Alex picked us up, in her pick-up truck- a little extended red Ford Ranger, that could very well be the twin to the blue Ford Ranger that mom and dad own, and loan out- my brother is currently driving it- and brings us home. Where we chat for an hour or two; here there was more magic. I identify so much with this second cousin, who in fact identifies so much with my grandma. Wow. Who knew that I had family traits, who knew that I wasn’t just an oddball of goody goody.
And with that my day ends: I am thankful to be on this trip, seeing these people, and realizing that yes, sometimes blood does run thicker than water.
So, with apologies, here are my thoughts from that Washington D.C. trip:
Visiting DC.
The morning started out well enough, grandma woke me up at 4:25, when I told her I would wake her at 4:30, but this was hardly something to put me in a bad mood. No I had decided that I was going to do my very best to keep things from annoying me, it just wasn’t worth it not today. I felt that this journey was a very important journey for me to take with my grandma. First of all, it’s a quicky! Secondly, I think my grandma worries that I don’t love her or appreciate her or something like that, and this was my way to say “hey grandma, you don’t particularly like to travel alone, and you will be worried about your sister, so why don’t I come to be a travel buddy for you and hopefully make things a little easier.” So that’s why I am here. But, don’t let me make myself out to be super unselfish, no, in all reality I was itching for a quick getaway, I had been in a rut, yes mostly because of the male population, and I needed something different, something spontaneous in my life.
The trip:
We made it fine checking in. Security was a breeze, the person checking my ID and boarding pass made conversation:
“Transylvania University (I was wearing a Transy sweatshirt), is that a real school?”
“Yes, sir, its in Lexington, right near UK.”
“Oh, well being from Louisville, I should have known that.” He looks at my ID for a second time: “Bullitt County, huh? I am from Bullitt County, well Northern Bullitt County.”
I don’t know why he felt that he needed to really announce that he was from Northern Bullitt County, I mean really its just a suburb of Louisville. Everyone knows that Southern Bullitt County is where its at! And honestly I don’t see why living in Louisville means that you should know about that tiny vampire school in Lexington, it is after all 70 miles away, and I bet, being from Northern Bullitt County, you probably don’t venture over to Lexington that often, but that’s my opinion and it doesn’t matter so much.
And then we got to the gate, gate A3. Grandma notices that her bag has a rip in it, it was after all one of those free bags that the Sierra Club sends out if you donate $25 dollars or so. I do not mean that this bag is of lesser quality than other bags, but it doesn’t quite hold up to “security checkpoint” standards! However, being the well prepared girl scout that my grandma is, she whips out a needle and a piece of thread. The thread though is not evenly cut at an end, and is therefore a pain in the butt to try and thread the needle with, luckily my grandma is not only prepared but smart. Turns out the nice people at the gate desk check in area have access to scissors, granted they are kiddie scissors and are locked in a cabin, but hey they did the job. The needle was threaded, the rip sewn and away we go.
Our second adventure of the day happens as we land in Atlanta. First of all, we had a 40 minute layover in Atlanta- short layovers like that always make me nervous and secondly, we were delayed in Louisville and took off 15 minutes later than scheduled. But that’s not the kicker, nope. I get on my Blackberry- thank goodness for smart phones- and I check the status of our connecting flight. And what do I see but big red words highlighted that say “Canceled”. I mentally groan, “CANCELED? WHAT? Ugh, well it’s a good thing I came with grandma. Ok, so we get off the plane and we talk to the nice people at the gate desk check in area, maybe we can get on another close flight. Oh, good look there is one at 10:40. Shew!” But to grandma I say: “It looks like our flight has been canceled, but we will talk to the people at the gate desk and see what they can do, lets not worry about this now, on the plane, there is nothing we can do at this moment in time.” To which grandma says “Lets call Delta.” I sigh and explain that really I think it would be better if we talked to the people at the Atlanta airport rather than the company on the phone, don’t worry they wont leave us stranded. Long story short, we get off the plane, get put directly on the 11:20 flight and then go to the gate of the 10:20 flight and are listed as standby. We, or rather grandma, makes it up to #3 on standby, so alas, we take the 11:20 flight. We arrive in DC by 1:07, catch a taxi, with a drivers name of Jae Woo Kim. He takes us to Woodbine, the nursing home where my great aunt Stella is staying.
We meet with Stella from when we get there at 2 til 7 pm. Poor lady, shes 90 years old, mind you, is exhausted. Grandma chattered at her the whole visit, in the way that only my grandma can, and yes, I realize this sounds like I am scolding my grandma but really I am not. I envy her ability to talk about anything and everything under the sun like it’s the most interesting thing in the world. Seeing her smile though, with her sister, that, that took my breath away; here I was, in the midst of 90 years of history. And sure my great aunt Stella isn’t doing so well- which was the whole point of our trip- but she, for most of our visit was lucid, checking on me, sharing stories with grandma. And oh, yea, both of those women stubborn and hardheaded, I totally see where I get it now. At this point though, I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than for my second cousin Alex to pick us up, take us home and drop us into bed.
But things never turn out the way we plan, right? Alex picked us up, in her pick-up truck- a little extended red Ford Ranger, that could very well be the twin to the blue Ford Ranger that mom and dad own, and loan out- my brother is currently driving it- and brings us home. Where we chat for an hour or two; here there was more magic. I identify so much with this second cousin, who in fact identifies so much with my grandma. Wow. Who knew that I had family traits, who knew that I wasn’t just an oddball of goody goody.
And with that my day ends: I am thankful to be on this trip, seeing these people, and realizing that yes, sometimes blood does run thicker than water.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Starting out
Trip 1.
Washington D.C. for one night. Nov. 19-20, 2010
I signed up for this trip to be a travel companion for my grandmother as she visits her dying sister, but I think I have gotten so much more out of this trip than I originally planned.
Too exhausted tonight to write more, but I have free wifi on Delta flights tomorrow, so I will update then.
Goodnight world.
Washington D.C. for one night. Nov. 19-20, 2010
I signed up for this trip to be a travel companion for my grandmother as she visits her dying sister, but I think I have gotten so much more out of this trip than I originally planned.
Too exhausted tonight to write more, but I have free wifi on Delta flights tomorrow, so I will update then.
Goodnight world.
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