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!
Thursday, June 28, 2012
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? :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)