¡La Pura Vida!

Good-bye (for now) Cook Forest

2010-06-21T14:33:00.004-05:00

Thursday was our last day in the forest. We had a big pancake breakfast . . . blueberry, banana or plain pancakes were the options. I tried them all and the blueberry were my favorite and the banana my least - too much banana flavor for me. I like to taste the pancake. Also, FYI, maple syrup is really reasonable there (compared to our outrageous prices here in OH). It's also local! I meant to get some for home but of course I forgot.

My parents left after breakfast - and after Caine caught six MORE fish. Geesh. Those too were cleaned and taken home. Seemed excessive. I packed up the cabin and then packed up some lunch. This morning the plan was our big hike in the old growth forest. After my parents left we set out with our map and a general plan - of course we did not stick to the latter.

This was an awesome hike. It was easy to moderate by my standards (though I was not the one with a

toddler in back-carrier). I'd guess we did about 2 miles or more in the forest before stopping for lunch then another mile or more back to the cabin.

Most of Cook Forest and PA in general - heck the entire east coast or US for that matter - was logged in the early 1900s (and earlier). Some stands of virgin or old growth or original forest did remain though. Cook Forest has some large sections of this and let me tell you the trees are amazing. You get so used to trees being huge! On the drive home it looked like we were passing saplings and basically just sorry excuses for 'forests.' Many of these old hemlocks and white pine are over 300 years old - many as high as 150 feet tall, and some as wide as 4 feet! I love hiking for so many reasons but one of them is that it can really be a very spiritual, centering and calming experience. This forest was beautiful and reflecting on the trees and really the whole natural setting can really put just about anything in perspective.

I hope to make stops in Cook Forest annually. I'd really like to try more advanced hikes as J gets older and more capable. He hiked part of the Ancient Forest Trail and he hiked nearly the entire way back so I think we have a good lil hiker in the making.

Cook Forest - Part 3 / Day 2

2010-06-20T15:02:00.023-05:00

Everyone slept great in the little cabin. We did have to leave a flashlight on all night in the front corner where J could see it but we really couldn't. He had kept saying 'too dark' the night before at my mom's. Normally the dark doesn't bother him but maybe in a new place it does. We got up and got started on breakfast right away . . . some gimme lean and bell pepper frittata which turned into scrambled eggs with my egg skills. It was also overcooked by others' standards but not mine. We were all cleaned up and ready to go when my parents finally showed up - without breakfast. They'd been driving around looking for someplace that was open; no McD's out there! We managed to find stuff the kids would eat and we planned our morning. Since it was a bit overcast and drizzly we decided to spend the first half of the day in and out of the car at various stops instead of doing a hike.

We started at Seneca Point & the Fire Tower. THIS is exactly the hike we had in mind when we bought a backpack carrier for J. Oh, and it's not really a hike so I guess it's exactly the SPOT we had in mind. :) It *could* be a hike and a very strenuous/rewarding one at that, which is why we opted out this time. I didn't climb the tower but took lots of pictures while D took all the kids up. Daredevil J wanted out of D's arms the entire time but it's not really a very secure tower so that wasn't happening. While D fought to hold onto the wiggly toddler, Alana kept climbing too far ahead. I don't think D had very much fun up there.

Next we headed over to Seneca Point which is a combination lookout and playground. The playground part is how all the rocks are formed with gaps and tunnels and whatnot that create a very non-kid-friendly playground. We didn't have any adventures this time, much to D's dismay. I'm not sure what he expected hauling a 2-yr old on his back. It was windy and the kids were bored so we didn't stay too long. On the way out we spotted a deer and I managed to get within 10-feet of her, taking photos the whole time.

After a stop at the Museum & Educational center and Memorial Fountain we did some souvenir hunting which was really disappointing. I'm sure the kids enjoyed it. I'm also pretty sure that stuff was crap when I was a kid too but realizing it sort of ruined the memory.

After lunch Caine hit the fishing pond, and this time he quickly caught the daily maximum of six fish. I occasionally eat fish, but I was really tired of seeing dead ones and I didn't even like how they tasted the night before. These were cleaned and frozen to take home. That afternoon it had warmed up so we went back to the swinging bridge (had to check the status of the palomino) and back to the swimming hole. Though the water was just as cold it was hotter out so it was a nice balance . . . for a few minutes versus a few seconds.

J fell in once while bent over splashing. He was shocked and kept saying "too wet; too wet." He bounced back quickly though he stuck to his favorite game of throwing rocks instead of splashing in the water with his hands. We spent quite a bit of time there - right up to dinnertime actually.

Splish-splash!

Oh no, man down!

"too wet; too wet"

My parents decided we should go out to eat that night at the restaurant at their motel. I was dubious at best. My father likes to drag us to places that serve barely edible food. This place was actually pretty good though. It was standard mom-n-pop type food but it was good. For the second time in the past decade I shocked the server when I ordered a reuben . . . without meat. She just stared at me and then asked what I did want . . . cheese? sauerkraut? dressing? Yep, that's what a reuben without cheese IS so yeah that's what I want. I was nice, mainly because I was so amused. The running joke at the table as to why dinner took so long to arrive was that the cook was STILL staring at our ticket because of my sandwich order. It came out right and yummy!

D got to have Yuengling on draft in a Yuengling pint glass too! He planned to pocket it on the way out but my dad said he'd check first to see if we could buy it. First the server reported that no, they were not for sale and D was really disappointed because now they'd notice a missing glass. But she returned about ten minutes later saying that had been a cover so the other patrons didn't hear and that we could indeed purchase the glasses (she was whispering). We bought a pair. Pays to have beers with the owner I guess!

You also get a free toy with all kids meals. I thought about the Orca for J but then decided on the manatee because we see them at the zoo a lot. Of course J hates it. First he mourned the teddy bear he say the owner with, then he lamented over the whale Caine had. He still only likes to throw his manatee and laugh evilly. Sigh. Toy FAIL.

No smores that night. We went to the ice cream shop and though they no longer carry Teaberry flavor or bubble-gum they did have Peanut Butter Cup which is not what you may think. It's not the candy bar but instead it's chocolate ice cream with ribbons of peanut butter. YUM!

Cook Forest - Part 2 / Day 1

2010-06-20T14:08:00.008-05:00

I'm not sure when most people plan their summer vacations. I think I started a bit early but by the time I had anything figured out I heard quite a few people had theirs planned as well. After quite a bit of discussion, we decided to stay within driving distance, preferably within 5 hours driving distance, of home. Maybe it's surprising, but this actually gives us quite a huge number of places to choose from here in Ohio. We narrowed it down further to something "outdoorsy" and still had plenty of options. I really wanted a beach trip but thanks to BP that's wasn't a gamble I wanted to take. We decided on Lake Erie (I mean it's 'pret near' St. John in almost - ah - well - zero ways). The lake is relatively shallow but we wanted to give the water time to warm-up a bit and pushed that to August. After plans for a family vacation (on both sides) never materialized, I took advantage of the fact my mom was sitting my niece and nephew somewhat last-minute in June for a week. I suggested Cook Forest and it all came together wonderfully.

We rented a 1-bedroom state cabin in the grouping called the Indian Cabins. These are organized in a circle around the shower facilities. I gotta say my largest concern was the shower because in the 80s those things were grimy spider homes! But they've been completely redone and they were really, really nice! Really! Even with the lil spider living in #3 it was spacious and clean and made the excursion that much easier. My mom even implied she would consider staying there now. This time they got a motel about 10 miles outside the park because my mom said she no longer wanted to "rough it." I'm pretty sure we weren't roughing it. We didn't have running water but it was about 20 yards away. That was as rough as it got.

We planned only to stay 2-nights (3-days) as we thought that would be plenty of time with a toddler in the woods. I regret we could not have planned a longer stay. We jammed a lot into that time though we started off slow. We arrived just before nap time so we unpacked, ate lunch, and put J down. Thankfully he fell asleep quickly. The kids were bored though so Caine headed off to the Children's Fishing pond while my mom & I took Alana on a short hike.

As you enter the Indian Cabins area you cross a bridge where Tom's Run has been dammed and the little pond it creates is the Children's Fishing Pond. It's kept stocked with trout and no one over age 12 is supposed to be fishing there. We saw that was not always followed that well but for the most part the pond was always swarmed with kids. Caine caught a total of 15 fish over three days. His first 3 were during J's nap and ended up accompanying dinner that night.

After J's nap we did the same hike again but with the entire group. This is the BIG hike - big in anticipation and excitement. It was the hike to the swinging bridge, always a crowd-pleaser. If you saw my previous post you saw one of many photos on the swinging bridge when I was a kid. It's a suspension bridge that swings and sways and bounces too depending on how gently (or crazy) you cross it. I didn't like taking J across. Funny that earlier that day the bridge seemed to be in fine shape and completely safe for J. Once he was actually on it though I noticed all sorts of hazards and was totally freaking out. I put D in charge of bridge crossings as he was clearly less obsessive than I.

Earlier that day, we had spotted what looked like a large koi in the stream, under the bridge , and my dad said it was a palomino trout. Very pretty. Caine wanted to catch it but my mother and I simultaneously nixed that idea with "What?!? Why?!?! No!" After splashing in the water, and a rescue mission for a lost sandal in the stream, we continued on the path to a waterfall. The stream makes an S-turn at the waterfall and the water has room to spread out and slow down with the help of a little rock dam. This has always been a favorite place to splash and wade in the water. This year the water was nice and deep but also icy cold. Though we all waded in the water a few seconds, Alana was the only one able to brave the cold for long; she left soaked.

We got back just in time to make dinner - fresh caught trout and veggie dogs over the fire and of course smores. So far that day J was gaining confidence on the trails and in the water - and he was loving having his cousins to play with. We had packed cars and balls and some other toys that seemed to entertain every age group including my husband. An essential that night was an early bedtime due to sheer exhaustion on everyone's part. We had stayed at my mom's the night before and J had a hard time sleeping. Since we were sharing a room with him we probably made it worse and hence lost a lot of sleep ourselves. I don't drink coffee, but even if I did I still would have been draggin' by sunset.

Cook Forest - Part 1

2010-06-20T13:49:00.005-05:00

I'm finally using my travel blog! Yeah! It's been a year's hiatus at least. Except for trips to Texas to visit the family, we haven't done a vacation since St. John last May. Cook Forest was similar but different too (in obvious ways).

My family vacationed in Cook Forest (which we always called 'Cooks Forest' but that's apparently wrong) for years. Each year we'd rent one of the state River Cabins which had running water and electricity but only pit toilets and often they were a bit of a hike away. The showers were located in the other state cabin area and we'd drive there. My aunts also rented cabins so there was quite a group of us. I now understand why this works so well.

In planning our summer vacations this year, I wanted to do something with family. I knew J would have an awesome time playing with his cousins. I had first set my sights on the younger cousins but that didn't work out. I didn't expect that the older two would enjoy J's company. I was so wrong. The kids had a great time. And what I learned was how nice it is to have older kids helping keep an eye on the little ones . . . not only that but having kids to entertain each other in general was great. Had D and I gone with just J our short trip would have been far less fun for everyone. J would have been bored and whiny and we would have been exhausted from entertaining him in addition to hauling him around on hikes.

Before I go into the trip in the next blog installments, I wanted to share some older photos of previous trips. Like I said, we vacationed there for many years. I can't recall how many exactly. I know it was in the mid to late 1980s with one final trip in the mid-1990s. Cook Forest is only about an hour and a half from my parents so I did go up on day trips with friends in both high school and college too as well as one day trip with my parents the summer I got married.

I really do love the place. I had not forgotten that, but I had forgotten why and how much I loved it.

Seneca Point, mid-1980s

Fire Tower, mid-1980s

Tom's Run mid-1980s

The water was higher this year & the waterfall in the back was flowing.

Swinging Bridge, mid-1980s

My grandfather, grandmother, self, brother, and father are pictured from left to right.

Tom's Run, under swinging bridge, mid-1990s

back row: my sister, cousing, brother

front row: self, cousin, cousin

time flies. . . .

2010-04-11T15:29:00.001-05:00

. . . even when you're sitting at home.

Spring is here! Though I love the flowers and budding trees, I also love knowing summer is right around the corner. We're beginning to plan our summer vacation. Stay tuned.

. . . is not enough

2009-05-31T14:29:00.005-05:00

By midweek I already new the time was flying by too quickly. We only had a couple days left and I had not gotten to really snorkel at all nor had I made it to Solomon Beach yet.

Days 5 & 6 . . .

Wednesday I had a bright and early 9am meeting at Caneel Bay resort. I'm not sure how that will turn out in the end. They liked my designs but not the shirts - I need to look into more color options. We'll see. I returned to the villa after that and the plan had been for the group to go BACK to Caneel for brunch and hit all the surrounding beaches. Instead, everyone got ready and left for Waterlemon.

Waterlemon is a small cay off Leinster Bay and has excellent snorkeling. You can get there a variety of ways but typically we park near Annaberg and walk back. I'm guessing it's just over a mile (and it's flat - yeah!). The beach is rocky and there isn't any shade so it's not really a place to setup shop and hang out. However, the bay has a grassy bottom and I have never not seen turtles, rays and conch there. One thing I did miss was the field of giant seastars the first year. I have seen them since but just not in the huge numbers that had apparently gathered there the first year we visited. There is quite a current around it so I was unable to snorkel it the first year. Once I got my handy inflatable vest though I've been able to easily snorkel there during our other visits. I missed it on this trip too as I stayed home with J. The group saw turtles and rays of course (a Waterlemon staple). They also saw a tarpon and octopus plus the usual barracuda and array of tropical fish.

Everyone was tired from the long day at Waterlemon so that afternoon included some pool time and dinner in town. We opted for Cafe Roma. Though the location gets wonderful reviews I can't say I loved my meal. There are some really good Italian restaurants back in PA and also at home in C-bus. It takes a lot to impress me with that type of cuisine. It wasn't bad it just wasn't great. We should really have opted for someplace with a more tropical menu. J was not too happy here so D took him home while we got our food boxed up. With the guys gone, the group of us girls decided to wander through the shops at Wharfside before taking a taxi back to the villa. Unfortunately most of the shops were already closed so there was not much purchasing that happened - maybe that's a good thing.

Thursday was our last full day on the island. I had two morning appointments that I turned into three. T and H joined me at both, well they shopped at various stores while I met with vendors at others. First we hit The Marketplace on the south end of Cruz Bay. Next we headed into town to Mongoose Junction where I did my only sort of cold call stop. I had spoken to them but did not have an appointment. Luckily the person I spoke with was there and she loved my shirts. She's placing an order! After work it was time for play, and the three of us headed to Solomon Beach - FINALLY! It's a hike to get to Solomon but it's worth it (and it's not a horrible hike). It's small and secluded but is ridiculously picturesque. The water seems to be even clearer than the other beaches. I love it. We didn't bother to snorkel but just lounged in the sun and floated on the waves.

I returned to the villa to pick up D and J and then we met T and H at Honeymoon beach. Honeymoon is next to Solomon so it's far easier to get to with J. This was our last beach. Sigh. It was an awesome time though. I snorkeled first with T. We saw rays (the hugest ray I have ever seen - at least 4'x6' if not larger). Then we headed over to the reef where it was like being in an aquarium. There were parrotfish, squirrelfish, wrasse, angelfish, grouper, sergeant major, blue tang, butterfly fish, blue chromis and bristle worms just to name a few! We hardly swam around at all as they were all right there in one group of coral.

I went back to shore and D took a turn. Of course as soon as he gets out there the fun starts. T sees an octopus and D gets called back from the opposite end of the bay to see it. It's only about 15' offshore but I couldn't get to it with J of course - very frustrating! Luckily D swam back to let me use his mask and check it out. Then once it was on the move T swam back to let me see it again. It kept changing colors and being quite defensive about being followed (understandably) so they left it alone. It was just as well because the two rays we say earlier headed farther out into the bay to join up with a few more - plus down the bay from that was a spot of coral with another diverse set of fish including a huge tarpon. There was a ton to see. It was a great way to end the day and the trip.

Day 7 - heading home

Friday we got up and packed like crazy people - well maybe that was just D and I since we had our stuff and J's. It was a bit harried. We left promptly at 10am (check out time), dropped off the keys & the rental car then waited for our noon ferry over breakfast at Mojo Cafe.

I got to meet the artist I worked with - Chelsea. She helped us cart our bags over to the ferry and we were on our way. J was a crazy man in the STT airport because it was nap-time. Luckily he fell asleep on the plane - yeah! He didn't wake up until the 16-month old a few rows up started screaming. I wonder if babies are more instinctual than adults, like cats and dogs who are visually upset upon entering the veterinary office and hearing and smelling the other animals. J could not go back to sleep with this baby howling but at least he stayed calm and played and we were preparing to land. We landed at J's usual bedtime and had more than two hours to kill. We let him eat AGAIN while we all had dinner at Chili's. He was so tired by the time we took off that he was unable to fall asleep. It was so sad. He couldn't get comfortable which I can understand. It was a short flight though and soon enough he was in his travel crib at his aunt Jenn's back in Dallas.

a week on the island . . .

2009-05-31T13:34:00.005-05:00

Our week in St. John went by too fast. We had 6 days to enjoy the pool and beaches and 7 nights to venture into Love City. Plus I ended up meeting with six different vendors across four days. I got great feedback and look forward to moving forward with the business.

Days 1 & 2 . . . The Swim

Saturday was a beach day of course. We went to Cinnamon since D had never been. Plus it's got super soft sand, food and showers making it family friendly for J's first beach ever. It was a bit overcast but I think that was a good way to get started and not have to worry about being cooked on day one. Cinnamon Bay has a campground, a cay to snorkel around, and you can also snorkel west to Little Cinnamon and even on to Peter Bay which is a private beach. We stayed a few hours then headed back to the villa for J's nap and a dip in the pool. That evening was my first vendor appointment, the Power Swim meeting and dinner out at Morgan's Mango (by far my favorite restaurant on-island). The pan-seared tofu is AMAZING - best tofu I've ever had. I wish I knew how they made it, plus the sauce was deliciously sweet and spicy. Yum.

Sunday was the Power Swim. I volunteered in 2007 and wanted to do so again but opted out since J was with us this time. D and T both won their age/course brackets and got ribbons and a glass art prize. I spent the day with J at the pool. That night we all made dinner in and played Monopoly. I never played that game "correctly" growing up. We just went round and round the board and quickly got bored. It's so much more entertaining to buy property and build houses. I was a mogul and battled D at the end to see which of us won. I won - by a a lot.

Days 3 & 4 . . . Beach Sampling

Monday we got our bag back from US Airways. Yeah! I had D drop J and I off at Hawksnest for a morning swim while he ran back into town to meet the ferry and our bag. Hawksnest is a wide bay that has 4 beaches, from west to east they are: Caneel Hawksnest, Little Hawksnest, Hawksnest, Gibney/Oppenheimer. The first beach is part of the Caneel Bay Resort and we have only visited it once - I loved it and got to see pelicans and turtles! Little Hawksnest is sort of connected to Hawksnest via a path over some rocks. You have snorkel around some reef or walk/drive to Gibney/Oppenheimer. Those beaches are sort of the same though the Gibney portion is privately owned (above the high tide line).

That afternoon we relaxed poolside for J's nap. Our pool was awesome. I have not seen one that large on the island and it was nice and deep too. I had another afternoon appointment with a vendor too; it went well. There was not an order but the manager liked the designs and I'm hopeful.

We returned to Morgan's Mango that night. J was far less messy this time (he made a HUGE mess the first night - it was embarrassing). The fried plantains and tofu were just as yummy as the first night. J enjoyed his tropical fruit punch - fresh punch not the stuff we get at the grocery. It was really yummy too; I shared with him.

Tuesday was overcast again and cooler. It would have been a great day for a hike to Ram's Head (or the Reef Bay hike if the mosquitoes weren't so bad) or even Denis Beach. Instead we hoped the clouds would move on and headed to Francis Bay in hopes of good snorkeling. It was really buggy there and the sand gets rocky in some places. It was also really silty for some reason so the snorkeling while okay was apparently not as good as usual. I didn't go, but this is the report I got back from T and D. I was able to see fish though. I walked the entire length of the bay (holding J) in about hip deep water and we saw an entire school of flat needlefish, a hunting pelican that landed only a couple feet from us, a conch and as always schools of fry and palometa swimming around us. Want to see them for yourself - look here. There were also chickens - two roosters and a flock of hens (maybe 6). We caused a frenzy when J dropped a fig newton in the sand and I disposed of it by throwing it into the brush. One rooster had the newton in it's mouth (after stealing it from another bird) and was running with all the others behind it. It was actually pretty comical.

After J's nap and a dip in the pool we headed to Trunk Bay. It's part of the USVI National Park and is the iconic St. John beach. The cay just offshore has an underwater snorkel trail. It hasn't been very good most years but this year it was much better. There were huge parrotfish as well as juvenile sergeant majors (again - check here for pics).

Come back in a few days for picks. Also, stay tuned for Days 5-7.

STJ via DFW

2009-05-27T13:08:00.004-05:00

I should have been blogging! I should have remembered my camera's cables or card reader too but alas. Packing for three people (one of whom is 14 months old) for two weeks is a bit of an undertaking when you are trying to limit bags (airline fees) and bag weight (airline fees - oh and ability to carry them of course). Camera supplies were a little low on the list. I'll add images once I get back to Dallas and if not then they will surely be uploaded when I get back home.

We left home over a week ago. We put our house on the market on a Friday, had an open house the following Sunday, and then got on a plane Tuesday morning. After a few days in Dallas we got on yet another plane with D's sister for the Virgin Islands, St. John specifically.
This is a working vacation for me. I spent the last full day in Dallas (ah, procrastination) calling vendors and setting up meetings for when I was on-island. I was able to setup five meetings. Each one in a different area or at least a different shopping center in town.

Though baby J would not sleep on the flights to Dallas, he did nap nicely on the long leg of the flight to St. John. We deplaned, found T waiting for us (her flight was earlier), and waited for our luggage. Then we waited some more. Finally after all the flights had their luggage dispersed we realized ours was not there. We filed a complaint or whatever you call it to track the enormous traffic-cone-orange bag that somehow got missed in Charlotte or Dallas. The US Airways counter works were horrible. HORRIBLE! While they were nice to us they were not nice to the couple next to us, and niceness doesn't get you a bag back. Seemed like only one person had authority to log on so we waited for that person to appear. Then they had no idea how to fill out the online form (2 of them helping each other). So they filled it out wrong and hoped it would work out. It didn't.
Two days later I got a call from corporate where lost bag issues go for one last hoorah before being "filed." I walked them through all the wrong info in the form and magically that night the orange bag, that had been called black in the online form, was found and placed on a ferry for our island - in the Virgin Islands - that's VI not VA which is the choice the counter attendants opted for on that form. Regardless, by the next morning we had our bag back and only 1 item inside was broken beyond repair. How does that happen exactly? I guess it must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time inside that bag and gotten smashed.

We missed the 5pm ferry to St. John the evening we arrived because of the drama. We missed it by 10 seconds actually. But we got to relax with drinks and snacks in the newish (new to us anyway) dock at Red Hook. Last time we'd have been waiting outside with no seats had that happened.
The 6pm ferry ride was uneventful. J behaved and seemed to enjoy the ride. He's been doing really great the whole trip actually. I'm really impressed and feel very lucky. Curtis met us at the dock and before long we were in our rental car and en route to our villa.
The villa is HUGE! The pool is the nicest I've ever seen on the island. We're beyond happy with this choice. There's even a separate pool house with it's own entrance, TV, etc. The rooms are also huge and we were able to use a bench to make a separate mini-room for J in ours. We're able to sneak in and out without him noticing us which is perfect.

Come back to this post in about a week to see villa pics!

We'll miss you, Love City

2007-06-10T20:18:00.001-05:00

May 28th & 29th

Monday
Our last full day on St. John. Are you as excited for the end as I am? Well, of course not the end of the vacation - but the end of this blog. It's taken longer to write about it than it took to live it. ;) I woke up Monday to storms. I had slept through all the evening showers each night and was shocked to see it was raining Monday morning. I think it's because I play nature cds at bedtime, often a thunderstorm cd. Tammie & I checked the weather and were convinced it would pass so we packed up for the day. The plan was to hike the 1 mile from Salt Pond to Ram's Head. It's a hike meant for an overcast, cloudy day. There's no shade/cover and only the end is breezy. But I think the views are worth the trip (as long as its a cool day). I don't think I'd take on this hike on a sunny day. I was dripping with sweat and there was cloud cover, some drizzling rain, and cooler temperatures than usual. After that hike, Tammie planned a trip to Solomon Bay for the remainder of the day as a reward. We stopped at Maho first, briefly so I could get a couple of sarongs. Then back to Caneel - that's the only parking lot for Honeymoon & Solomon beaches. Solomon is a little more difficult to get to, and that afternoon it felt even farther. I was still dripping sweat (gross, I know; I remember) and at some point could tell I was getting overheated. But we made it to the beach, immediately located shade in which to stake our claim, and then headed for the water to cool off. Solomon is a small, quiet beach. There were about 8 people there other than us. We were also joined by a night heron. He was hunting and kept coming out from the forest towards shore looking for land crabs. He was a very odd sight, but quite cute too. After Solomon we returned to the villa to rest and pack. The next morning would be our last. We needed to have the car returned and be to the ferry dock in time for the noon departure.
*******************
Tuesday I set my alarm to go off and 6am on Tuesday - and it actually did this time. I got up and decided to start with breakfast. I was met in the hallway by a very sick Tammie. I was on my own for the morning, with a list of items to return with. Poor Tammie. I went straight to Trunk Bay and found quite a bit of shade to choose from. The sun was up, but not over the palms that lined the beach, so it was still a bit too cool for me to get into the water. I read my book and enjoyed the scenery. It only took about 20 minutes for the sun to get high enough. I headed out to the water for my last swim. I stayed there quite awhile - until a large boat moored off-shore and released what looked like a swarm of giant ants. All the snorkelers had black swim caps. First they snorkeled to Jumbie so I stayed put. Once I saw them making their way towards me, I decided to just go. My quiet beach was being overtaken and that's not the way I wanted to remember her. After a quick stop at the Deli for lunch, and Gallows for the items on my list, I returned back to shower and finish my last minute packing. We were out of the villa a little later than I'd hoped but I figured we'd be fine. I dropped Tammie off at the ferry dock with our luggage, and drove the rental back to its owners. I walked back to the dock, and by then we didn't have to wait more than 20 minutes for the ferry to show up. We go to the airport in plenty of time - but not too early and before we knew it we were flying home. I was ready to go home. I missed D, and the kitties & doggies. I just wish home was someplace more scenic. :) Oh well. That is why I'll be returning to the islands. Tammie and I figured out we go roughly every 18 months. I can't wait!

The End

almost forgot

2007-06-05T13:55:00.001-05:00

I almost forgot (though it's just as well, that post was getting lengthy) . . . . .

Old Blue Chair
Artist(Band):Kenny Chesney

There's a blue rockin' chair,sittin' in the sand.

Weathered by the storms,

and well oiled hands.

It sways back and forth,

with the help of the winds.

Seems to always be there,

like an ol' trusted friend.

I've read a lot of books, wrote a few songs.

Looked at my life, where it's goin', where it's gone.

I've seen the world, through a bus windshield.

But nothing compares,

to the way that I see it,

when I sit in that Old Blue Chair.

From that chair I've caught

a few fish and some rays,

and I've watched boats sail,

in and out of Cinnamon Bay.

I let go of a lover,

that took a piece of my heart.

Prayed many times for forgiveness,

and a brand new start.

I've read a lot of books, wrote a few songs.

Looked at my life, where it's goin', where it's gone.

I've seen the world, through a bus windshield.

But nothing compares,

to the way that I see it,

when I sit in that Old Blue Chair.

That chair was my bed one New Year's night,

when I passed out from too much Cruzan and diet,

and I woke up to a hundred mosquito bites. I swear.

Got 'em all sittin' right there, in the Old Blue Chair.

There's a blue rockin' chair,

sittin' in the sand.

Weathered by the storms,

and well oiled hands.

Short course; assisted; women; 35-49

2007-06-05T13:39:00.000-05:00

May 27th, Sunday

You know that fear of sleeping through your alarm, or setting it wrong? Does that really even happen outside the movies? Isn’t it an illogical fear? No. No, it doesn’t just happen in the movies, and it’s not an illogical fear. I set two alarms so I would be up and prepped for the beach-to-beach swim. I either incorrectly set one (or both) or slept through them. I woke up 10 minutes before I needed to go and I was not showered, shaved or packed. Luckily it’s the beach so each of the three was done not quite up to par. I managed to get into the car only 8 minutes late, and by the end of the day all I noticed I’d missed in the frenzy was my rashguard.
We parked in a beach lot to wait for the shuttle, but opted to take a ride offered by some locals instead. I was dropped off at Cinnamon Beach, and Tammie continued to Maho where the race would start. I’d never been to Cinnamon before. It has a camp, cabins, archaeology dig, offices, snack bar, and restaurant hidden away. I only saw half of that stuff.
I made my way to the group of volunteers, mostly all locals. Sid runs Connections; Fraser is chairman of the board for Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park (the organization the race benefits); Jason runs his own computer business (mainly wireless stuff); Jason’s girlfriend, whose name starts with an “m” and is very similar to Miranda (but not Miranda) works for a Jeweler. There were also Jonas & Laura. They were two interns from the University of Copenhagen. There were also volunteers from Puerto Rico (they came with the sponsor, Hawaiian Tropic), and at least one other woman whose name I missed. We set up the finish line, relay area, water coolers, snacks, and medals. I was officially listed as the one who would hand out medals. Yeah! How awesome a job to have! I got to congratulate each and every person who crossed the short course finish-line. I had a blast. The other volunteers were awesome, and the race atmosphere was really cool.
Tammie swam the short course, and crossed the finish line at Cinnamon. I thought she’d planned to snorkel and take her time so I barely got my camera out in time to snap her picture. I also got to medal the youngest finisher, a 7-year old boy. I don’t recall his name. Once all the short course finishers had crossed, we cleaned up and moved on to the long course finish at Hawksnest. By now it’s getting hot (~11am) so it was time for me to get in the water. I spent the rest of the race wading, and watching swimmers finish the 3.5 miles. Amazing. Sadly, the shuttles started taking people to the party before the last person finished. I felt bad, but not bad enough to stick around and have to walk to the party. I’ve done that walk before – not fun.
The afterparty was at the Oppenheimer Beach House (now a community center). It was a typical BBQ, and after everyone had time to eat, the awards were announced. Turns out Tammie won 1st place . . . . not first place overall. That went to a 16 year old girl; she won last year too. Tammie won first place for “Women’s Assisted Short Course.” She wore flippers and her snorkel – that’s what makes it assisted. She got a cool tote bag with goodies inside. Yeah!
We spent most the party with Laura (history intern from Copenhagen) and some of the archaeology people she worked for. The whole even was fun. It was really nice to meet so many locals, hear their stories, find out what they do on-island. It was great. Ken (archaeology), Laura, Tammie, and I walked back to the beach we all parked at. We gave Laura a lift back to Cinnamon and decided to stay there the rest of the afternoon. Tammie had a little sunshade, tent-like thing and it was perfect for Cinnamon. We hung out, chatted, and floated in the super soft sand. We also accomplished a goal; we ended an obsession. Though I was extremely nervous, we snorkeled first from Cinnamon to Little Cinnamon beach, then from Little Cinnamon to the ultra-private Peter Bay Beach. This beach has enormous beach-front mansions and is home to the rich and famous, including (until that week) Kenny Chesney. He sold his house, but still owns land in Peter Bay.
I don’t know what the big deal is. The beach was crap. It’s rocky and small. I was not impressed. And the freakin’ blue chair was gone. GONE! I had Tammie take a picture of lame blue folding chair – just in case. No, that wasn’t THE blue chair. Not that I really care that much. It wasn’t until the party a few hours earlier that I even knew an old blue chair used to sit down by the beach, or that Kenny Chesney wrote a song about that chair. I don’t even listen to Kenny Chesney.
We snorkeled back without stopping at Little Cinnamon (yeah for Shannon!). Then we hung out for another hour or so. I just didn’t want to leave the water. I could have floated there all evening.
I think this was the night we went out to dinner also. If you’re reading, Tammie maybe you can confirm that or correct me. But one night we did go out to the Beach Panini Trattoria. It was good. We both just got salad & appetizer. I was slightly annoyed because I asked for no onions but alas, onions abounded on my pesto pizza. At least they were easy to pick-off, unlike the gobs of diced garlic on Tammie’s pizza. And that was that – we may have gotten more Ting. We had to have a supply at all times. But for the most part, that was the end of day 4.

[The second photo is taken on Cinnamon beach. You can see a little stretch of sand just above the large wave - that's Little Cinnamon beach. Peter Bay Beach is to the left of those mega-homes, of which Kenny Chesney used to own the third from the left. I don't think his and Renee Z's wedding was on this beach. The beach was just not pretty at all.]

Melon? Lemon? What?

2007-06-04T19:37:00.000-05:00

May 26th, Saturday

We started the day on Saturday by picking up our rental car. Again, the artistic renters made a last minute change and didn’t tell us. That rental agreement we signed was apparently an island agreement, like island time. So we got a behemoth vehicle, a Montero with third row seating – just what we needed. It drove fine, a little big for the island curves and hills, but I adapted. For instance, we learned to turn the AC off to help get up the hills, use 4WD, and accept the squealing tires (just on those nasty curves). Overall, Monty (I’ve just named her now) did us well, she was a nice, green, gal (do I need a comma there? I missed the start of comma rules week, and I still need to learn them – ugh).

After the car, we returned to the scene of the crime – the Caneel lunch buffet. We wanted it; we needed it. It was worth it. We got there early when everything was fresh. We were the first to hit the cheese, the first to the fruit soup – so yummy. I know I’ve left you all hanging – what was the snafu? I just can’t address it here, in the blog. Some of you have asked, and I’ve spilled, but public embarrassment? Yeah, I’ve had enough.

Next was Waterlemon – yes WaterLEMON; it’s the best snorkeling I’ve ever seen around St. John. Not to say there isn’t better out there, I just haven’t graduated to it yet. In fact, each time I’ve been to the cay, I consider it a success to get around it. There’s a strong current that runs between the cay and the main island, and that current continues around the island, though it lessens on the western side.

Last trip, we snorkeled off a dingy we moored near the cay. This time we snorkeled directly from Leinster Beach, which is significantly farther away. It was great. I didn’t see the carpet of seastars everyone saw in 2004, but I did see a handful of them. They’re enormous, I’m thinking at least 10” in diameter, possibly more. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always though seastars were more the size of your palm.

Last year we saw two spotted eagle rays here and two turtles. We got to follow the turtles for quite some time, even as they surfaced. This trip we saw more rays, but not eagle rays. We saw turtles again too. One was eating, I never knew they used their front appendages like hands to hold the food – make sense though.

There are substantially more fish around Waterlemon than any of the other places we snorkeled, combined. The coral is healthier also. This year in addition to the turtles, rays, and myriad of fish, we also saw live conch moving along the bottom, and a huge tarpon swam by us. It was well worth the longer swim from the beach.

After the majority of the day spent at Leinster and Waterlemon, we drove to Maho Bay Camps with 15 minutes to spare before the pre-race meeting. We quickly found a bathhouse, showered, changed and ran up to the meeting. Perfect timing. Tammie was signed up to do the Beach to Beach Power Swim the next day, and this meeting was to explain the course, rules, etc. We waited nearly an hour. The Deet was flowing, but the mosquitoes didn’t appear to notice. I had decided to volunteer. Since Tammie was swimming, I might as well make myself useful and get a t-shirt in the process.

We skipped dinner (mosquitoes) and headed back to the villa. End of day three.

Flashback - Jumbie, 2004

2007-06-02T11:18:00.000-05:00

Jumbie
an African word derived from djambe, referring to a ghost or malevolent spirit. (Definition courtesy of Wikipedia AND St. John Beach Guide by Gerald Singer)

Jumbie was one of the first beaches I ever snorkeled. It wasn't a good experience, to say the least. I didn’t abide by one of the fundamental rules of snorkeling – know your own limits. I went too far, following people who were far more advanced than me.
I found myself in much too shallow water for my skill or comfort. I tried to escape, but it only got worse. I ended up standing on the coral, screaming for help – which I promptly got. I was led to safer, deeper water and I headed back to shore with D. But the anxiety wasn’t over apparently, and I started hyperventilating, sure I was going to drown.
Now I swim with that hot-pink inflatable vest, and sometimes Xanax. And I’m careful – I pay attention to my limitations and instincts. I’m a beginner and I need to keep that in-mind. I need to learn so I can see more each trip. This past trip was a snorkeling success, at Jumbie, and beyond! I learned techniques that were actually really helpful – thanks T!
Below is an excerpt from an essay I wrote on this subject. I sort of feel like "been there done that" with writing on this topic, and I don't want to write about it again.

[excerpt from essay, Wave of Panic. . . ]

Okay, I changed my mind. The essay was up here for a day, but I just thought it was too depressing to live amongst a happy vacation blog. Plus it was a bit long. So instead, I'm including a poem. I wrote this shortly after writing the essay. I'm not very schooled or skilled in poetry so humor me.

Twisting path to rocky shore, cement sand
Uneasy beyond buoys; Progress -
Past twinges; Dramatic trenches
Massive parrotfish
Tense

Turn; at ease; Focus on vibrant sea life
Enormous urchins, blood red black
Tiny angelfish hover; living coral
Blocked exit
Panic

Speed, shortcut to shore, water reduced
Urchin spines nearer; Trapped; Stand -
Scream, guided out; Relax
Deep water – calm broken
Cry

Depth illusion; too far; fear sinking, drowning
Hyperventilate; he lags too far behind
A needlefish, my escort
Please keep up
Beg

Far below – serene, rippled sand, rocks strewn
Fish drift, glide, dart; Look for shore
One arm outstretched; Smush –
Fingers in sand; Sit; Sob
Wait

Surf's up naked dude!

2007-06-01T10:25:00.000-05:00

Thursday, May 24th

Our first day was so mild mannered – only 1 beach. That’s ridiculous. Day two we hit three beaches to make up for it.

After our usual walk into town, we stopped at the Deli Grotto for lunch (to-go), and caught another taxi – this time for the Peace Hill trailhead. We were to look for a spur trail off to the right about 20 yards up. It would take us to Denis Beach. Denis is privately owned and can only be accessed by this little trail, unmaintained trail. In the US (including the VIs), you can own the land above high-tide, but not the beach itself. About 20 yards up the trail, indeed we passed something, but certainly not a trail. They did say it was ‘unmaintained’ but that crawlspace through a cactus couldn’t possibly be what they meant. Hmmm. We continued up the hill to Peace Hill ruins. There used to be a huge Christ statue but Hurricane Marilyn blew it over in 1995. I think we were walking on him. Anyway, the views were okay, but not great – there were lots of butterflies too.

So down we went – to that “trailhead” we’d passed. Once we crawled through the cactus thing the trail wasn’t bad. Maybe they let it get overgrown at the top to discourage people. It was less than a ½ mile down to the beach. Denis Bay is pretty big. The left side that the trail opens out to is very rocky and overlooks Perkins Cay. As you walk to the right, over coral rubble and beachrock, you see the rest of the beach. A hurricane destroyed the dock also, though remnants remain. We passed a naked guy on our way to a shady corner. He seemed annoyed we were there, and covered himself a bit. Who wants to leave that out and possibly get it burned? Whatever.

Once settled in, we needed to cool off immediately and hiked halfway back across the beach. By now another person has entered the beach with their dog. I decided to swim while T snorkeled. The waves were really breaking quite a bit – especially over the reef. So I moseyed over to the dog and her owner, Gary. He has a boat, and he’s building a house on one of the southern bays. The pup was named Sweet Bean, “Bean” for short. She was 6 months old, and was willing to swim from boat to shore but wouldn’t get in from shore. I’m thinking she probably didn’t like swimming from the boat either and was “Get me to shore! Swim! Paddle; paddle; paddle! Swim!” She was super cute.

After our swim/snorkel we snacked on lunch. Deli Grotto has the best chocolate banana bread – yum. And Tammie likes the veggie burgers, though after trying them twice I can’t say I agree. Anyway, we snacked. I tried to open a coconut, but gave up. I briefly considered carrying it with me all day, and back to the villa. I took a photo instead and left it. I don’t think it was ripe enough yet. We hung out a little longer and then took off. Naked guy and Gary had both already left – separately, not together. I don’t want to start any rumors. We hiked back up the lovely, shady hill and then down the road to Jumbie Beach. Jumbie is an African word; it has to do with evil spirits. That’s an old story though; I wasn’t going to let evil spirits effect me on this trip to Jumbie. I was going to triumph.

Once we hit the shore, we saw a wedding going on in the far corner. So we got on our gear and snorkeled in the opposite direction (west towards Trunk Bay). The snorkeling wasn’t that great; it looked like a lunar landscape down there, all gray and dead. As we got farther out, the reef rose up from the sea a bit higher, and waves were breaking over it. I wasn’t into that. I turned back. Tammie joined me, and at least I hoped for better scenery on the eastern side. After a short rest, just long enough for that Xanax to kick-in, we headed out to snorkel the other side, headed towards Denis (I’m not sure what that point is called – Windswept Point maybe?). This was the site of one of my first snorkeling adventures years earlier. See my next blog entry for details. Otherwise, this one would become much too long.

The eastern side of Jumbie had quite a bit more life. The coral wasn’t in very good shape, but we saw Parrotfish, Tang, Angelfish, Squirrelfish, Sergeant Majors, Trunkfish, Trumpet fish, and more. Across the board, the Staghorn coral seemed to be the healthiest. It was a nice snorkel – I went just as far as the first time, but we stayed in deeper water. Upon our return, to shore the wedding party was gone, but their shade had been claimed. With all the searock and pebbles at the entry, and grass bits floating in the water (yeah, I’m sure there’s a better, more accurate name for the stuff) we decided to move along. We walked to Trunk Bay next.

It was late afternoon, and Trunk Bay was closed – which means free! We nearly had the beach all to ourselves. It’s so beautiful and the soft sand stretches out ridiculously far. We bobbed around and eventually Tammie started body surfing the little waves into shore – repeatedly. She was much like the kids at the other end of the beach, and seemed to be having at least as much fun. It was so relaxing and utterly gorgeous. We stayed until nearly sunset when the no-see-ums started to nibble. We caught a taxi back to our villa – end of day 2.

Get to the beach

2007-05-31T20:04:00.000-05:00

May 23rd & May 24th

You can spot the cruise ship day-trippers – most of them wear day-glow yellow inflatable life vests. I’m not one of them. I stay on island; I meet the people; I visit lots of places, and I don’t kick the coral. So I bought a day-glow pink inflatable vest. Whew. Now everyone will know – I’m not one of THEM.

We left gray and green (that should’ve been OSU colors) Columbus, OH on the 23rd. The flight to Charlotte was uneventful, and once at the airport we ate and waited. Tammie scored us two exit row seats on the long flight. Yeah, by long I mean a whopping 3.5 hours. It was great to have the legroom, even if I had to lean my seat all the way back and still twist quite a bit to see half the screen for Music and Lyrics.

We rented a “villa” for this stay. It was the upstairs half of a house that was once the owner’s primary residence, 30 years earlier. We got a little surprise when we walked up the steps – open-air views meant no screens! Ugh. The owner hoped neither of us was sensitive to mosquito bites but assured us on the 2nd floor there would be barely any. Ha! The word got out – fresh blood. Soon there was plenty of buzzing. D came up with the solution (via phone) to close the hurricane shutters and crank the bedroom A/C. Worked like a charm. Those shutters stayed closed the whole time – no view for us! Be sure to read between the lines when renting an artistic villa!

The villa was a “2 minute walk to Frank Bay Beach.” So we walked, but it wasn’t so much a beach. I don’t know; I just have this thing about not getting into a bay with enormous cables running into it and a warning reading “High Voltage Cables.” No problem, I’ll stay on shore. We came to find out the rocky shore led to little urchins and coral in the shallow water, which didn’t make for fun wading or swimming. That beach is officially checked of the list – been there, done that – next.

The first full day needed two things – beach & buffet. We walked into town, past Gallows Point condos and grabbed a taxi. We were on our way! Where? To Caneel Bay Resort of course. We hiked a relatively short path to Honeymoon Beach and outlasted the day-trippers on their chartered catamarans. Once they left, we snorkeled. I made it all the way to Solomon beach. For most this would not be a big feat, but for me it was. I’ve had some snorkeling disasters, and now I’m very hesitant. Making this full beach-to-beach trip (and back) was quite an accomplishment and I knew it would be a great week of snorkeling after that!

We got to the Caneel lunch buffet just before 2pm when it closed. After a snafu, we finally got seated and continued to be a source of amusement for most of the staff. Let’s just leave it at that. The meal was of course amazing – even if we were shunned from having anything but water. After lunch we hit the Caneel shop looking for new flip-flops for me (I had a blister already) and a rashguard for Tammie. She found her shirt – very girly and cute. I found updated guidebooks! By now its nearly dinnertime, though we’re too stuffed to even consider it. We debated on another beach or heading home – we went back to the villa. A quick shower then back to town for the evening. We walked around and then headed back with some Ting. While it sounds like a relaxing, uneventful day – it was not. I’ve purposefully left out the snafu at lunch, and I sort of skipped the part where we cased a maid cart and took off with two Caneel towels. See you need those towels to look like you belong, and to get use of the carts that take you from beach to beach and the chairs on the beaches. Of course, after that lunch snafu, I had no intention of taking any carts anywhere that week. It was a great day – Honeymoon is beautiful, and the snorkel was just right to get back into the groove.

That's right, you're not from TX . . . but TX wants you anyway!

2007-04-03T19:41:00.000-05:00

Thursday; March 29^th
I LOVE to travel, but I also hate it. I hate packing because I always over-pack. Why? Why not just stop doing it? Well, that leads down an anxiety filled road of excuses, so let’s just say I will continue to over-pack, it’ll be my M.O.
We left for our long weekend of family, friends and music bright and early Thursday morning.
Except for leaving the house late, mis-judging the drive time, and somehow assuming the boarder would usher the basenjis right into a run without all the paperwork they apparently need for first-time boarders - everything went swimmingly. In the end, it was all fine - our flight was delayed half an hour so we arrived in plenty of time. Our layover in midway provided some new challenges including a center seat on the plane; last time that happened I was sick the entire flight (Vegas to OH). This time I was fine; I won the battle over anxiety! I did take a little something, but still, I feel like it was a success.
After a long day of flying, we ended the day at Amy's where Uncle D volunteered to baby-sit the niece and nephew - all by himself. The result was also a success.

Friday; March 30^th
The big day.
We spent the morning looking at nursing homes. We found two we liked. One was really laid back and super friendly – the other had a “hot” admissions director. Decisions, decisions.
D & I had a date – not just with each other, but also with The Killer. Too bad he sat in Memphis until DFW airport closed due to storms. Really? You can’t take an earlier flight and hangout for the day? No concert for us. And yes, that WAS the whole point to the trip! Apparently Mr. Lewis is infamous for canceling shows. Wish I’d known.

Saturday; March 31st
We spent the entire day in Fort Worth on Saturday. We started at the Stockyards. Tori loved the Longhorns. We hung out until the “cattle drive” happened so she could watch. Then we had lunch. Good luck finding vegetarian fare in the stockyards! I did manage though. After that was the Museum of Modern Art. It was nice, but it’s no MOMA. I got yelled at for taking pictures. Oops. We finished the afternoon with some shopping (D stayed back to watch the final four games on the 52” television). D loves that TV.

Sunday; April 1^st
Ah, Sunday. It was a good day. It was a filling day ruled by food!
We started with breakfast. Then we waited to hear about lunch with my aunt and cousin. We actually had like a 3hr lunch with them. It was great catching up. I actually felt like I talked way too much. Yep, definitely talked too much. Oh well. But it was great. That night was more food - shocking, I know. The entire weekend seemed to be guided by food. I'm still not hungry.
Oh, then there was the ride. I do love the Harley – but the half-helmet made me nervous. And the interstate was a bit trippy, reminiscent of a scene in a movie.

Monday; April 2nd
Monday, Monday . . . Yeah, it was Monday but it didn’t feel like it. AJ had the day off too. We started with a walk around the neighborhood. Next we used AJ's brand new furminator on Louie. He's looked great! And the Highland Village birds have plenty of nesting material now!
The rest of the time was just winding down visiting with her and Amy and all the kids. It was nice. Next thing we knew it was airport time.

Tuesday; April 3rd
All basenjis are well. "She looks like a coyote that made it through the winter." Yeah, that'd be Cleo. She's looking a bit straggly. I hear the furminator calling her name.

And yes - apparently TX wants me. It IS very nice to be wanted, but sometimes you just need to leave them wanting more.

New Year's wkd 2006/2007 (Olean, NY)

2007-01-01T18:56:00.000-05:00

Finally, a new entry in the travel blog! It’s not like I haven’t traveled since September, I have, believe me. I blame my fateful post-cross-country trip request. I suggested there be a yearlong halt on all travel. The next thing I knew I had two trips to DC and a trip to NY planned before the end of the year.
I love DC, but the trips are hardly noteworthy. You may say the same for this little vacation to NY, but I don’t see how. It was the wedding celebrated ‘round the world. I would include photos, but alas what few I think I can salvage will take quite a bit of PhotoShop that I haven’t had time for yet. I’ll take some of the blame, but really the majority goes to my sucky digital camera. It’s relatively new, but I wish I’d waited just a little longer and bought something different/better. I may just revert back to my film camera, but anyway this blog is about my travels abroad this weekend, not my camera.

Where shall I start? How about the freshman dorm of GU? It’s where I met the bride (B). We had a wide variety of naughty nymphs on our floor – one was named after the location she was conceived and another collected engagement rings. But B’s roommate was special (read: generally weird and literally smelly). We opened our room as an escape for B until she could get a new room and roommate. B was in a sorority and generally more social than I – I’ll never forget the ∆X parties with her though. Sophomore year we shared a room, but otherwise I think we’d both like to forget that apartment that year (my bad). I’m really glad we’ve stayed in touch.
A couple years ago, she decided to leave her worries in the US and take a European tour with some friends. They chose Contiki tours which caters to 18-35 year olds and they opted to see a handful of countries. I hope I’m telling the story correctly, but I believe it was one of the first days that she noticed him (P). They shared a seat on the bus and time in every country. When she returned home I heard about her trip and P. Next time we spoke I was still hearing about P and how they remained in contact. After a couple trips to the US for him and a couple to Australia for her they were engaged. For the past few months she’s been planning a long distance wedding while working on her Visa requirements. She’s moving to Brisbane! It’s so exciting, but I’ll miss her so much! We don’t talk everyday or even every week, and I only see her a handful of times (at most) a year, but she’s here and soon she’ll be there.

After a half day of work on Thursday (which included a promotion – woohoo!) we dropped the dogs off at camp and began making our way to Olean, NY. We thought we’d take some time out for nostalgia and stay in our old hometown – glorious ole’ West Middlesex. We arrived late and only drove around a little. My first real job was a pharmacy assistant at Bob’s Pharmacy. It has since closed. It was tough keeping up with the Wal-Marts, groceries, and chain drugstores. You could count the number of privately owned, small-town pharmacies left in PA on your fingers. By now, you can probably count them on one hand if any are left. This place had been a pharmacy for decades, though Bob had only owned it a few years. At some point after the heyday of pharmacy soda shops, the place was divided in half and a beauty salon was next door. It’s gone too. I was shocked to see that in the pharmacy’s place was a tattoo shop. I was also surprised that it wasn’t open.
The next morning we continued the trip down memory lane and had breakfast at the local Eat-n-Park (buffet of course). We took backroads through Conneaut Lake before getting on the interstate to Erie and finally Olean. I expected Olean to be a small town, however, it was larger than I expected and significantly larger than West Middlesex. Olean is the home of Cutco cutlery. We stayed in the Old Library Inn which was next door to the old library itself and the location for that afternoon's wedding. The groomsmen were dressed and being photographed when we arrived. I had hours left to get ready but this freaked me out and I hurried around unpacking, curling my hair, ironing, curling my hair (yes, twice, it refuses to hold curl), etc. D just stared as he wanted to relax and knew he had time – and that I did too. I did eventually calm down and even took some time to watch the group get photos taken. The wedding took place in the Old Library Restaurant which was beautiful. The reception immediately followed upstairs (yummy Jerusalem artichokes that share some of the blame for the holiday weight gain). B’s friends are all so great. I love spending time with them in DC and the reception was a blast with them. P’s Aussie friends and family were great too.
Saturday, D & I went up to Niagara Falls. We tired of the falls quickly. For one, you couldn’t even see the Canadian Falls from Goat Island because the mist was so thick (and tall). Another reason was that it was cold and sleeting. We quickly looked for indoor activities - like the casino. This time, the slots were not a reverse ATM for me - I won!!! I didn't win big, but I tripled my meager starting amount and happily cashed out. D tripled his slightly larger starting amount and we left. Next we stopped at the Butterfly Conservatory. It was fun, but really the Franklin Park Conservatory here is just as good, if not better. It made me appreciate what's in my own backyard. We tried to escape the custom’s traffic by finding a less popular route back. We made a wrong turn though so our options were the Rainbow or Peace bridges. We opted for the second in hopes it’d be faster, but it was not. And it took forever to get there because the road to the QEW was closed off due to an accident. It was a nice drive though.
Sunday was New Year's Eve and D's birthday. After breakfast, we headed to B’s family’s camp. We hiked about and found a bare spot on the hillside to plant some saplings. These were the favors from the wedding (well, the leftovers). It was cold. I would have been fine if I had worn better shoes. My Pumas were mostly mesh. After planting, we went to lunch at a maple farm (don’t order the tuna melt). It had a maple store and I got a great item – a palm tree shaped cookie cutter. I can’t wait to use it. I also got the obligatory maple sugar candy. D got some fudge. We had a few hours for napping between lunch and the arrival of dinner and the limo. Everyone was riding in style to Ellicottville to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Well, the tuna fish came back to haunt D and he split his time that evening between bed and bathroom. He feels better now, but not great. It sucks to get sick, let alone on your birthday. The brightside is this time he didn't wind up in the hospital. I was a good wife, and I stayed at the B&B to make sure he was okay. I hoped he would feel better and we’d join the crowd, but that didn’t happen so I watched the ball drop on TV and then went to bed.

The drive home was uneventful. We drove through Presque Isle and walked on the beach briefly. We could see the rain moving across the lake and knew we’d be driving through it soon. What amazed me was not how cold it was on the lake – I expected that, but how much colder it was more than a 100 miles south at home. We picked up our doggies, which smelled like dog because of their camp experience. So baths were required and now they smell like basenji again. Ahhh.

I will not repeat my request to not travel. I love to travel. I’m already thinking St. John in May. Girls’ trip to the beach – who’s with me? Don’t worry about D; he’s already got his sight set on a family trip to Sin City sans me - sounds fair.

Congratulations B & P!
Happy New Year to all!

Stay tuned

2006-10-29T17:17:00.000-05:00

We've been back from our cross-country trip for over a month now. It seems like forever ago that we were driving in any of those areas. It was an amazing trip and we look forward to another. Stay tuned for more travel tales!

:)

Officially a Darma Bum!!

2006-09-17T16:30:00.000-05:00

So this is my first post to the entire vacation blog. Mostly everything that Shannon spoke about, I agree with. If you check out my answers to her questions in the last post you will see how I felt about some of our experiences. Overall, a two week driving vacation is very long. It is something I have always wanted to do, but the hectic pace required for this trip seemed less like a vacation and more like a sporting event. I have always been intrigued by Jack Kerouac's description of cross-country travel in On The Road. That was a different time, and the pace was much more leisurely. I would do this trip again if I had no time contraints so that I could spend more time in places that interested me like Ouray, CO.
We experienced some great hospitality all over the country. I am glad, because I have been getting increasingly crappy service in my day to day activities. It's good to know that great service and hospitality aren't dead.
Tomorrow is back to work for me as well. I am actually excited to get back in the swing of things. Also, its Penn State vs. OSU this week, and I am in the middle of enemy ground. I can't wait to talk football all week. At the end of this post you will see Shannon's answers to my interview questions. It was a great way to pass time on our very long drive home yesterday.

D: What was your favorite or “best” of each of the following?
S:
State: Colorado
City: Telluride
Hike: to Delicate Arch
Food: everything in Telluride – loved the rice milk with my chai & it was the best breakfast
Lodging: Cali Cochitta in Moab, UT (loved the ambiance)
National Park: Rocky Mountain NP
Non-National Park site: St. Mary’s Glacier
Drive: Independence Pass (Aspen to Leadville, CO)
Purchase: Pueblo pottery & Rebuild NOLA tee

D: What was your least favorite or “worst” of the following?
S:
State: Arizona
City: Amarillo
Hike: to Landscape Arch
Food: Ramada breakfast
Lodging: the Stanley (though it WAS lovely), and Amarillo is a close 2^nd!
Drive: tie between AZ and TX (Dallas area to Amarillo specifically)

D: If you could change one thing about the trip, what would it be?
S: More time overall – though more likely I’d narrow the focus and spend more time in fewer places

D: What wildlife were you most hoping to see? Did you see it? If not, what was the coolest wildlife you did see?
S: I wanted to see alligators, but I didn’t. I loved the rutting elk though!

D: Which place would you most like to return for a future vacation?
S: tie: Colorado for Rocky Mt. NP and San Juan Skyway area OR Utah for its numerous National Parks

D: What was the most surprising part of the trip?
S: the art fair we stumbled on in Santa Fe

D: What was the biggest letdown?
S: another tie: I thought Austin and Aspen would be different

D: What was the oddest thing you saw?
S: Coke-heads/hookers dressed for sunny LA or Vegas, but in a tiny CO mining town’s convenience store restroom

D: What city could you most see yourself living in?
S: None; they are all too dry or too cold, but if I had to choose then I’d summer in Telluride.

D: Overall what was the best part of the vacation?
S: Seeing new places, but also sharing places I’d been before with Donnell.

D: What was the worst part?
S: Two things that were always in the background of our trip, that I often had to work to ignore were 1) neck & shoulder pain - even after a massage and 2) the historical, political, and socio-economical issues surrounding the many inhabitants of the areas we visited (human & animal)

Fun Facts . . .

2006-09-17T16:09:00.000-05:00

12,000 feet in elevation gain (New Orleans – Rocky Mountain NP)

6,200 miles (or more)

17 parks and other “monuments”

15 days

14 states

9 National Parks

8 cash crops

6 or more National Forests

4 nights spent in lodging on the National Registry of Historic Places

3 times across the continental divide

1 GRAND cross-country adventure!

Images have been sent – if you didn’t get them it’s because I didn’t know you wanted them or that you were following our adventure. Send me an email and/or comment and I’ll gladly send the link to pics. :)

Also, check out the link to MySpace in the next couple days. I'll be uploading the short videos I took from our trip.

Day 15 & 16 . . . Home, Sweet Home

2006-09-17T15:40:00.000-05:00

Our trip is over. While I would love to continue a vacation, I’m glad to be home to puppies, kitties and soft couches. I don’t want to go to work tomorrow, and only partially because I prefer vacation (duh). Mostly, I just don’t want to get back into a car. Yesterday was a very long day of driving from KS to OH with a stop at the St. Louis Gateway Arch. Today we had to drive again, to Akron, to meet my parents and pick-up Cleo. She’s had her own vacation, at a spa. Not the massage and pedicure type of spa, but more the tuck and lipo type spa. She’s a whole new dog with a smaller waste, cleaner teeth, and friskier demeanor. Meanwhile, the boys are still at camp. Hopefully Jeremy comes back a bit leaner too, but I doubt it. He’s holding on to his curves.

Since Donnell didn’t write anything in the blog the entire trip, I “interviewed” him as we drove through MO yesterday. It’s below – enjoy!

S: What was your favorite or “best” of each of the following?
D:
State: Utah
City:Ouray
Hike:to Delicate Arch
Food:Zodiac (French café in Santa Fe)
Lodging:the Historic Galvez, in Galveston – because it was the most beautiful
National Park:Rocky Mountain NP
Non-National Park site:Ouray Box Canyon Falls
Drive: UT Route 12 scenic byway
Purchase:pint glass at Moab Brewery

S: What was your least favorite or “worst” of the following?
D:
State: Kansas
City: Amarillo
Hike: to Landscape Arch
Food: Ramada’s breakfast
Lodging: Amarillo B&B
Drive: Kansas

S: If you could change one thing about the trip, what would it be?
D: spend more time in fewer places

S: What wildlife were you most hoping to see? Did you see it? If not, what was the coolest wildlife you did see?
D: Collared Lizard; didn’t see any, but did see elk

S: Which place would you most like to return for a future vacation?
D: too many to list; would MOST like to return to Rocky Mt. NP

S: What was the most surprising part of the trip?
D: the casino in Mississippi

S: What was the biggest letdown?
D: Amarillo

S: What was the oddest thing you saw?
D: tie: dog chillin’ on the roof of a car in rural KY and the Shrimp & Petroleum Festival in rural LA

S: What city could you most see yourself living in?
D: Durango or Santa Fe

S: Overall what was the best part of the vacation?
D: Seeing new places for the first time

S: What was the worst part?
D: Amarillo

Day 14: Kansas makes you appreciate Ohio

2006-09-15T21:52:00.000-05:00

Today: Out of CO and across KS

We're in central KS tonight. Our hotel is packed! There are soccer players (middle school aged), girls in sequined dance outfits (also middle school aged), 34th division of something (military), and some UFC people (ultimate fighting championship). Crazy.

We got up early for one last hike in Rocky Mt NP. We drove out to Bear Lake and luckily dressed in layers. Though the Weather Channel claimed it was in the mid-50s, it wasn't. It was about 10 degrees colder with 50mph winds (according to the visitor's center). It felt like November - oh, and it was raining. Luckily we had our first short hike done, and we were returning from the second before the rain started. We saw more elk and some turkeys but that was it.
After our hikes, we stopped at Kind Coffee (friends don't let friends drink corporate coffee) for breakfast. The dark roast coffee was "see through" and my chai was really just soymilk with cinnamon. I was so sad - my Telluride chai was so good at the Coffee Cowboy. But in Estes Park, I wished I'd walked a block further to the "corporate coffee" shop.

We spent the majority of the day driving through KS. We stopped for dinner and that was about it. We survived on comedy. I had saved 2 David Cross cds for KS, and we also re-listened to a couple Dane Cook cds. I have one of each left for IL and IN tomorrow. I appreciate them both, because they (especially Dane) are like babysitters. I can just put in the cd and Donnell is awake and happy - like Dora or Blue.

Back to OH tomorrow.
Look for a final post on Sunday - rumor has it Donnell will chime in.

Highlights: beautiful aspens; more rutting elk; comedy; $2.19 gas prices in KS; an even cheaper rate than we thought upon check-in at the lovely Ramada

Day 13: Mountain Lion jazz hands

2006-09-14T21:27:00.000-05:00

Aspen; Leadville; St. Mary's; Granby; Estes Park

We started this morning in Hotel Aspen. We didn’t really like it any more in the morning than the previous evening. We got out of town, but had to go back for a random light that showed up on the dashboard. We took a scenic road out; in a couple weeks it will be closed until June, and we could see why. Some parts of the road were barely wider than 1 lane with places to pull-off for oncoming traffic. It was beautiful though!

We got a little lost taking Colorado 24 instead of US24 (they are .2 miles apart). We still got to our first stop; just a break to stretch our legs – in Leadville, CO. So let me set the scene . . .
Leadville is an old mining town. It’s rather small and has a historic district. I guess maybe it was a little like Plain City in size and appearance. We stopped at a convenience store to get gum and use the restroom. There was only one unisex restroom, and there was an overdressed woman waiting for it. While we were at least 12 hrs from Vegas, she would have looked much more appropriate there. Anyway, we got our gum and headed back over to the restroom. A different woman was now waiting, along with the woman who was previously in there. She seemed to be waiting for her friend and left the line area once she saw there were a few of us creating a line. Donnell wanted to leave, but I said it was like waiting at Olive Garden or something. By the time we drove someplace else we could’ve just waited. A moment or two later the woman we first saw waiting exited the restroom and with her a man. Where did he come from? He had obviously been in there with the first woman as well. And the second woman was intent on wiping her nose off as she left (I was just glad to see her had go to her nose). As the girls got their coffee (Coke isn’t enough? I know we’re jumping to conclusions but c’mon, and besides the other conclusions aren’t much better!) the man paid for it all and left. Hmmm.

After Leadville, we went directly to St. Mary’s and hiked to the glacier. It’s ¾ of a mile uphill – ah, yeah! Whoa! Tammie can attest to the “whoa.” It was gorgeous though and worth it. The drive up was nice too, though the turns were like those in St. John – crazy. There were a lot of homes for sale too.

Next was Granby for lunch and off to Rocky Mountain National Park. We LOVE the park. We're considering going back tomorrow morning too. The first wildlife we saw were of course deer, but then we saw 4 moose! We also saw a ton of elk. Apparently 'tis the season for males to challenge one another. We saw that up close (within 25 ft).

Now we are at the historic Stanley Inn. It is the inn that inspired Steven King to write The Shining. It's old, and still has the old feeling about it. It's not been updated that much, but not in a bad way. It has all modern necessities. The elevator is old though, and it took us awhile to find it behind the cage. I'm a bit nervous here - I won't say why until tomorrow. Google it if you're curious.

Highlights: Independence Pass drive out of Aspen; Coke-heads/Hookers? in Leadville; St. Mary's Glacier; Rocky Mountain NP; elk

Day 12: delicate balance

2006-09-14T21:07:00.000-05:00

Moab; Grand Junction; Delta; Carbondale; Aspen . . . all CO except Moab, UT

The temperature forecast for the Moab, UT area today was 91. This is why I wanted to be at Arches NP just after dawn to hike to Delicate Arch. However, I was easily convinced to sleep in and stay at our inn for breakfast. The trade-off for extra sleep and food was a hotter hike. I’m glad we ate though because anything we would have snacked on from our stash would not have been enough. We were starving by the time we left Arches.
5 named arches and a handful of unnamed arches
4+ miles of hiking
3 hrs for the entire adventure – not bad

By the time we left the Devils Garden area it was 92 degrees (12:30pm). It had only been 80 when we finished hiking the Delicate Arch trail an hour or so earlier.

We both loved the Delicate Arch hike, and I’m including an iconic picture of the arch though I got some different angles also. I did not get under the arch as there was a line and we had more to do and see. We did not like the hike we did in Devils Garden.
I was so impressed to see that at least half the people hiking to Delicate Arch this morning would be considered senior citizens. We passed a pair of women who had to be in their 70s, and at least a couple other groups the same age. Way to go! I felt pretty lame having to take a couple breaks at only 30 after seeing them. So it seems that I’ve made a goal to hike to Delicate Arch again (or an equivalent) in at least 40 years (though I may hike it sooner also). So mark your calendars if you’d like to join me. ;)

After our hikes, and lunch in Moab we drove along the Colorado River. We’ve now driven along, or over three major US rivers . . . Mississippi, Rio Grande, and the Colorado. We decided we wanted to get to Aspen sooner than later so we caved and took I-70 part of the way. It was not a pretty drive to say the least. We passed one section of UT128 (just as we were to get onto I70) that looked like the perfect setting for any given horror film. Donnell insisted one was probably taking place right then.
We eventually got off the interstate though we did not take the scenic byway. We were certain any choice would still be scenic. We were wrong. We did discover that if you are interested in an old car or RV that Delta, CO probably has it for you. We drove through a couple coal-mining towns on CO82 (that was very interesting). After those towns, there were two beautiful national forests before we hit Carbondale and then Aspen.

Tonight we’re in Aspen. We had dinner at a great vegetarian restaurant inside a bookstore. From our time in town, Aspen seems very pretentious. We don’t like it, though it is very pretty. We’ll take Telluride any day! Many people here seem to have a cigarette and an attitude versus the masses toting their dogs in Telluride. Donnell concurs.

Highlights: Delicate Arch; Planet Juice; Colorado River byway; CO82 byway; Explore Bookstore; Cali Cochitta’s coffee choice (caffe ibis)

Day 11: sheep with martinis

2006-09-12T23:21:00.000-05:00

Today: Escalante, Fruita, Hanksville, Moab (UT)

Today went by FAST! We were too lax with our time this morning and paid for that this evening. I would have liked one extra hour tonight for a drive through Arches NP. Hopefully there is time tomorrow to tour the park & hike to Delicate Arch. Stay tuned.

We started the day at our inn with a leisurely breakfast. Our innkeeper's name was Joette, which is an uncommon name, but also odd because Donnell's mom's name is so similar (Joetta). And she looked like an actress whose name we can't think of.
From here we traveled east on Route 12. It's a scenic byway and for the most part it was indeed scenic. We started in desert with high cliffs in white which turned into cliffs in red (all of which were dotted with green shrubs). Soon the sides of the road disappeared and we were on the portion of the road called the hog's back. Our favorite part of the drive was yet to come - the eastern portion of the Dixie National Forest.
We stopped at Capitol Reef NP. We drove to the end and then drove further on a dirt road. We were interested in the Gorge Trail. It was a nearly 2-mile hike down a dry wash (at least it was dry today) with cliffs on either side. Maybe 3/4 of the way down was the Pioneer Register in which Mormon pioneers in the 19th century carved their names on their way through the area. The wash was used by pioneers and as an early 20th century road. The end of the hike was at the "tanks." It was a very sunny, hot walk but worthwhile!
After CRNP, we stopped at Canyonlands NP on the way to our B&B in Moab. We didn't do any hiking in Canyonlands. We drove out to the end of the park and walked along a ridge trail that overlooks the canyon. We left as the sun was setting and were able to watch it as we drove out. We stopped at a couple overlooks to take pictures.
We're in Moab tonight. Our B&B is really nice - and the inkeepers have 2 dogs (maltese). Tomorrow is another 'fly by the seat of our pants' day so we'll see how it works out. Yesterday and today worked out well.

Highlights: Capitol Reef NP; Tanks; Pioneer Register; UT12 & Dixie NF; ravens; Canyonlands NP; Moab Brewery's beer sampler

Day 10: Oversized

2006-09-12T08:48:00.000-05:00

Today's Adventure: Bluff, Page, Kanab, Escalante (all in UT except Page, AZ)

As of Sunday night, we had not yet secured a tour for Antelope Canyon. We were also unsure if we could get to a tour in time, or if there would be space for us. We had also originally planned to take an unpaved road through Grand Staircase Escalante NP (Cottonwood Wash).

Monday morning started in Bluff. First thing we did was to throw nearly the entire day's plan out the window and start new. It was still a tight day, and we knew we would be making decisions on each stop as we got to it. The first stop was a park with viewing of the goosenecks of the San Juan River. It was very cool. We hiked around in totally in appropriate hiking gear (flip flops) and would have done more if we had the correct shoes.
From here we headed south to Monument Valley. We opted for the self-guided driving tour of which we only did half. We bored of the area very quickly. The monuments are impressive, but we had enough pictures and didn't feel the need to get a billion just from different angles.
Leaving here was the first of nearly half a dozen times we had to contend with cows in the road. We drove through Page and over Glen Canyon Dam - passing Antelope Canyon without further attempting to get a tour. We decided we could easily reach this from Vegas at a later date, and at a better time of day. It's not a very nice area - right next door to the huge Navajo Power Plant. I'm sure inside the canyon is a whole other world though.
From Page we headed to Kanab, UT. For the second time, we saw an "oversized load" caravan. They were transporting yet another huge dump truck (bed? basket?) - whatever they have on the back. It was at least 2 semi-trucks wide as it wobbled and barely balanced on the back of one. We were permitted by the highway patrol to pass them just after Page. However, after grabbing lunch in Kanab we saw the lead car again and bolted out in front of it. We were not getting stuck again. I'm sure it's fine to not only turn right on red in that town, but to do so around a highway patrol truck who is about to block you it seems. I'm not sure why he'd want to do that, as we'd get squashed if we didn't go.
We went to Zion NP once we left Kanab. We didn't have long there so we took the shuttle up to the end of the Narrows and walked around a bit. Donnell forgot his water shoes in the car somehow so only I played in the water. Glad we didn't intend to hike it; the water was extremely cold, and I didn't have any neoprene.
We had intended to go to Bryce for sunset, but we were pretty sure we wouldn't make it. Looking back we could have, but that's okay. We may or may not backtrack to it. We had a difficult time finding our inn - it was dark and not well marked, but we did find it and it's very nice.
Now it's time for breakfast and today's adventures along UT 12. I hope to get another sampling of images up tonight or the next day. I'm not sure who all is still (or was) reading this regularly - let us know via comment (or email) if you want to recieve the images.

We're officially headed home now. We reached the most western point of our trip (Zion) yesterday.

Today's Highlights: Goosenecks of the San Juan; Monument Valley; Zion & Virgin River; Red Canyon UT12; Esca-Latte Cafe still open at 9pm;

Day 9: turkey snorts and mountain lion kisses

2006-09-10T21:30:00.000-05:00

Our path: Ouray, Telluride, Mesa Verde, Bluff (UT)

The scenery changed greatly today. First we were in mountians (pic #1) and then desert (#2).

We got up early this morning and were out the door just after dawn. Our first adventure was finishing the western half of the San Juan Skyway. We stopped halfway, in Telluride to ride the gondola and have breakfast. It was chilly (low 50s) but great. I loved Telluride last year, and I still love it this year. I had a chai – with rice milk (a great alternative to soy, and very tasty). I wish Starbucks carried rice milk.
There were dogs everywhere. Everyone had at least one with them (well, all the locals). Lucas (the Eskimo/Chihuahua mix) joined us at the Coffee Cowboy and we were told to be careful because he’d “make tacos out of us.” Not sure what that means but I’m guessing he’s not too friendly. We saw Lucas’s owner twice before leaving town – turns out he runs the gondola info center. Have I mentioned that I love Telluride? I’m thinking summers in Telluride and winters in St. John. It’s Sunday, so the plan will have to wait three more days since Tuesday is the next Mega Millions drawing.

After breakfast (at Mexican restaurant – very good), we headed south to Mesa Verde. We took a tour of the Cliff Palace cliff dwellings. I’d done the tour of the Balcony House last year and it was sold out this year – hence the CP tour. It was good. We had a photographer with us – hmm, well he had a very expensive camera so he MUST be a photographer. He was the tour guide’s pet, and it was very annoying. Though I must admit, I’d love to have that camera. Even more, I’d like to be able to use it to it’s full potential.
After the tour, we hiked to an overlook to view Balcony House. On the way out, while discussing the potential for marauding mountain lions, we saw turkeys! Wild turkeys! Of course we scared them (unintentionally), and they moved away from us. Other than deer, and potentially wild horses, we saw no other wildlife.
Next we got ice cream for lunch and left for Bluff. We had planned to visit Hovenweep NP, but we were concerned we’d run out of time. Also, the roads from CO into the park are unpaved and there has been a lot of rain and flooding out here from Hurricane John leftovers. We were concerned the road would not be in very good shape.

With the change in plans, we were now going right past the Four Corners and decided to stop. We ended up paying $1 a minute to be there. It was totally lame, and we only stayed for about 5 minutes; it cost $6 to get in! From here we set off for our hotel. It’s not the worst landscape I’ve ever seen (that’s anything south outside of Vegas – towards Grand Canyon OR Laughlin – yuck). It wasn’t my favorite landscape either. Navajo lands ended just as we neared the San Juan River (nice planning). Bluff is located on the river, and it’s an old Mormon town. Most of the residences date back to the original1800s settlement. We plan to drive through and check them out after breakfast tomorrow.

Today’s highlights: San Juan Skyway with snow-capped mountains; chai with rice milk; Telluride; Mesa Verde cliff dwellings; wild turkeys; discovering the bird that’s been eluding my pictures is a magpie; Navajo frybread

Day 8: High, Low, AND Vertigo

2006-09-09T20:38:00.000-05:00

The past two day’s entries have been a lot about smell. Bad smells. Today was more about equilibrium and adjustments.

¡Casa Benavides es muy bien y bonita!
We both loved our Taos B&B and would definitely stay there again. They had pottery everywhere, and I’m on a mission to find the artist and acquire some. It was not a local artist so I’ll have to work at it. We did find some locally made pottery elsewhere though, being sold by the artist and purchased a piece. Buying directly from the artist appears to be significantly more affordable than purchasing in a gallery.
Well rested, we left Taos and the high desert behind for mountains – though not before crossing the Rio Grand Gorge via the Rio Grand Gorge Bridge (vertigo #1). I love the desert sage in and around Taos. It smells sooooo good and it’s everywhere. There are also a ton of yellow flowers in bloom (small ones, not the type I included in my last entry). Well, I came to find out that these evil little yellow flowers wreck havoc with allergies. Ah-ha! Those were why I had to steal a box of Kleenex from our hotel – and why my eyes have been burning since just outside Amarillo where the little darlings began popping up.
We took a scenic byway out of Taos, the Chama Valley Road which runs through the Carson National Forest. This road is just north of Georgia O’Keefe’s home, Ghost Ranch. I’ve yet to be able to tour the home but would like to on a future visit. We also were unable to visit Taos pueblo so I’ve still not seen it either.

After our scenic drive, we stopped for lunch and window shopping in Durango. It’s a college town (Fort Collins College) and it’s really cute. I liked it last year when visiting with Tammie also. Tammie and I got caught in a rainstorm while eating alfresco. Donnell and I ate lunch at the same restaurant though we choose to be indoors just in case. We had sunny skies while in Durango, but rain on the way in and out. It even hailed on the way in – temps dropped from the 60s to 50s and then into the 40s from the hail. By the time we settled in Durango temps were back up into the mid-60s.

This afternoon we drove half of the San Juan Skyway, a scenic byway. The portion we drove today is called the Million Dollar Highway. It has million dollar views – they are breathtaking. The road twists and turns via switchbacks as it goes up and down the mountains first to Silverton and then to Ouray (our stop for tonight). There is no guardrail anywhere and in some places one side of the road is a cliff up and the other is a cliff down. Donnell actually passed someone – I was not amused but it WAS technically a passing zone, as he pointed out to me.
Our first stop in town was the Box Canyon Falls (vertigo #2). Now we’re in our room and damn it if the OSU game isn’t on. Since the PSU game is done (and yes, the lost horribly), he is watching the OSU game. I’m nearly certain he’s routing for the longhorns. We looked at shirts for him in TX but he never bought one. If you watched the game – why is Matthew McConaughey bouncing around so crazily on the sideline? And even more odd, why is this the second time I’ve mentioned him in my vacation blog? I can’t say I’m a huge fan (not that I’m anti him – just not a huge fan).
Dinner has arrived, and it’s time to come up with some type of game plan for tomorrow. It’ll be a long day with more drastic scenery changes – and the other half of the San Juan skyway.

Today’s highlights: Casa Benavides, Rio Grand Gorge &amp;amp; bridge; finally a pottery purchase; Chama Valley scenic drive; hail storm; Durango; stocking up at Dancing Willow Herbs; Million Dollar highway; Box Canyon Falls; beer at Billy Goat’s Tavern; dreams of owning a Jeep Rental Company in Ouray . . . PRICELESS

Day 7: Is that our shoes?

2006-09-09T20:20:00.000-05:00

Day 7: Amarillo, Santa Fe, Taos

Today we got up at dawn, bypassed breakfast at our B&B and headed out of Amarillo. We had planned to visit the Palo Duro Canyon, which is apparently the 2^nd largest canyon in the US. However, it was in the opposite direction that we needed to go and it was raining so we just headed out of Amarillo, and out of TX. We stopped at Cadillac Ranch, which seemed like a roadside must. It didn’t appear muddy, but it was and our shoes are still drying out.
Amarillo offered one last blow before we were completely clear. We smelled it before we saw it – I though it was our shoes. But then it got worse and I knew they didn’t smell THAT bad. Ever been to a park that has bathrooms, but they are just basically a hole in the ground with a toilet seat (and they reek)? That was the smell. The source . . . “Quality Beef,” a feedlot. Nice. It’s where cows go to bulk up after a year or so of grazing. They live there in slop and eat slop (plus antibiotics to keep them from getting TOO sick). From there, it’s truck to slaughter to plate. Yum!
It was hideous.

With Texas behind us (all 4 days worth), the scenery changed, and we even met a woman from OH at the NM information center. There have been yellow flowers everywhere. They’re beautiful. We saw plenty of cows (headed to Quality Beef, I’m sure), some deer, and even a roadrunner! Yeah! I was hoping to see one.

We arrived in Santa Fe just before noon. We had two surprises – rain and a festival. Parking was even scarcer than it’s rumored to normally be. That worked out because it forced us to park farther away and see more of the town. We had lunch, checked out all the booths at the festival (art booths) and many of the shops. Oh, and the rain stopped shortly after we arrived – bonus!

We took the scenic route to Taos (officially called The High Road). We got here pretty early and had time to check-in, and then walk around town. We window-shopped (art galleries) and went into a couple stores before dinner. Dinner was great. I had checked it out online before we came. The almond encrusted brie with fruit and blackberry coulis sold me. It was yummy.
It was very overcast and cool today (60s). This is the opposite of my 1^st trip to Santa Fe and Taos when temps were in the 90s before noon. I liked it better this time, but I know that’s because it was cooler and raining. I like trees – with big leaves that provide lots of shade! The trees here just aren’t tall enough and there isn’t any grass. Donnell likes it though. He liked San Antonio, Austin, Santa Fe, and Taos. His favorite is Taos, followed by Santa Fe.

Tomorrow we move into mountains. Then we change landscapes a lot: desert, mountains again, plains, and home! Nine more days!

Today’s highlights: leaving Amarillo; Cadillac Ranch; escapee cow; art festival in Santa Fe; High Road to Taos; Taos; great food

Day 6: Is that mothballs I smell?

2006-09-07T22:14:00.000-05:00

I don’t even know how to begin describing today. Oy.

It started out well (except for the pain in the neck). We startled Mr. Lou as he had expected his guests to leave before he woke. He adjusted and quickly convinced Donnell to play fetch, but was not amused when Donnell took over his chair. After lounging all morning, we booked massages. I had more mobility after the massage, but generally still a good deal of neck pain. Amanda blames the bed. The therapist seemed to blame the fact I’d been in a car for the better part of five days. I’m hoping AJ is right because the bed will change each night.
We left the DFW area after our massages, and set out on our 5hr drive to Amarillo. We’d been promised the drive would be filled with vast views of . . . (wait for it) . . . absolutely nothing. And that was accurate. We stopped at a DQ about halfway to Amarillo, but they didn’t have chocolate ice cream. What? This happened last year when Tammie & I drove from Taos to Colorado. Do any DQs out here have chocolate? We saw another closed and boarded up. We’re certain they’d rather close their doors than carry anything but vanilla.

We arrived in Amarillo before sunset. Matilda worked well today and led us right to the door of our bed & breakfast. However, we were hoping she was off and had led us astray. It’s not THAT bad, but let’s just say that that Donnell thinks the best line of today was my questioning the apparently obvious sight a block from where we are staying – “Is that a bag lady?” It’s very weird here as it’s an older residential neighborhood but apparently there are “issues.” A block farther away we saw two police cars assisting a man in empting his 40 in an open lot. I’m unsure why their guns were drawn.
Anyhoo, the hosts here at the inn are a very nice, older couple. Their home is large and nearly 100 years old. However, there is an odd odor and I’m not sure if it’s mildew or mothballs. Also, our feng shui consultant would have a field day here! I’m tempted to leave a note suggesting the book “Clearing Clutter with Feng Shui” or any clutter clearing book for that matter. This place is crazy; I think the nicest touch in this Victorian home is the glass smoke machine, orb floaty bowl thing in the living room. Oh, and there are FOUR large mirrors in our small room alone. It’s actually great because it creates sort of a funhouse effect with the flowered wallpaper.
The upside is that unlike our New Orleans room, it’s large enough to turn around, and the bathroom door shuts. The other positive is that while I had a panic attack in New Orleans, here I’m just laughing. We’re both finding this more amusing than anything. But in all seriousness, Donnell will not be permitted to choose our lodging again.

Today’s Highlights: Louie attempting to hump Donnell; massages; peeing cows; AJ’s delicious banana bread (with chocolate chips!); a bathroom door that closes; and Donnell insists he enjoyed the drive here

Day 5: Remember the Alamo!

2006-09-07T09:49:00.000-05:00

Today was another light day.

Previous cities are starting to feel like we visited them weeks ago instead of hours or days ago. We left San Antonio about 12hrs ago but if feels like a different day. The Riverwalk was even nicer without rain and we had it mostly to ourselves this morning. We walked a good bit of it again, and then headed to the Alamo. It was a very interesting tour, and the buildings and grounds are really nice. The most interesting part to me was seeing the model layout of the 1836 structure over today’s San Antonio. I really like gardens, and this tour has been lacking in those. However, the Alamo’s grounds were okay.
After the Alamo we headed to an old Spanish Mission – Mission of San Jose. I’ve only visited one other mission – the Mission Carmel in Carmel, CA. This one was much bigger and laid out like a fort almost. The church itself was roughly the same size though this one had barracks almost in buildings along the fort-like structure that enclosed the church and grounds. It was very interesting.

From San Antonio we made our way to Austin. Matilda (our GPS) failed us in Austin. She is clueless with the capital. We got lost a few times which enabled us to see more of Austin than we had planned. We saw quite a few residential areas – gated. I’ve been told we were in the areas that Sandra Bullock & Matthew McConaughey home. We saw both Town Lake and Lake Austin (I’m not sure how to tell the difference other than what part of Austin lies near it – seems like the same river the entire way through town). We also climbed Mount Bonnell to get a 180 degree view of the city and some suburbs.

After Austin we made our way to Dallas – well in between Dallas and Fort Worth to Highland Village. We’re staying with our friend Amanda and her husband Conner (can’t forget Louie too). We had a lovely dinner – everyone except AJ. From start to finish, every course she had was a problem.

We’re spending half the day here tomorrow then off to Amarillo.

Today’s highlights: the Alamo, San Antonio’s Mission San Jose, Austin’s downtown and Town Lake, Austin’s West Lake suburb area (by accident), Mount Bonnell with views of Lake Austin, Highland Village north of DFW

Day 4: Ready, Set, Go . . . we made it to San Antonio!

2006-09-05T21:19:00.000-05:00

I've come to love armadillos, but that is a post in and of itself. Unfortunately, we've seen far too many of these little guys on the roadside. :(

We've had a very leisurely day. We walked on the Galveston beach this morning. It's no St. John, but it was still a beach and I didn't want to leave. We drove through a residential area to the historic district. The older beach homes were really nice, but there was so much industry (or something) on the bayside that overall, I didn't much like the area.

It was a short drive (about 3hrs) from Galveston to San Antonio. I was actually surprised that SE Texas was so pretty. We took some rural roads and interstate. I thought it would be much less green. I actually liked it alot. We had planned to tour a couple of old Spanish missions and the Alamo this evening, however both closed during the 5 o'clock hour. We arrived too late.
After settling into the hotel, we toured the riverwalk area. It's beautiful - even with the light rain.

Today's been lowkey and relaxing. The first couple days we drove much farther and squeezed alot more into each day. The next couple days will be slower and more laid back. Tomorrow we'll get to the Alamo when it opens, then off to a Spanish Mission and onward to Austin.

Thanks for all the comments - we're reading them! :)

Day 3: Shrimp and Petroleum

2006-09-04T23:14:00.000-05:00

It's the end of day 3 - literally. I'm in a lovely hotel in Galveston. They heard this is my birthday vaca so they upgraded us to a suite with a Gulf view. Yeah! I love upgrades.

The drives seemed shorter and less monotonous today. We were so sick of cotton yesterday that the interstate was a welcome relief to our "scenic" country roads. Today was sugarcane. It was equally annoying, but we just stayed on the interstate and zipped right past it all.

We spent our morning inNew Orleans. It was so very different than the night before. We had the FQ nearly to ourselves. We ate beignets at Cafe DuMonde, then walked north just outside the FQ to tour the St. Louis Cemetary One. On the way, we crossed over Bourbon Street but smelled it long before and after we'd passed it. Lovely. On our return from the cemetary Bourbon was being cleaned and the sidewalks were still soapy in places (and the trash was gone). We spent the rest of the morning walking the streets of the FQ looking at the various art galleries.

After New Orleans the plan was to drive through "the bayou" (still not sure where that is) on our way to Galveston. We ended up at Oak Allely Plantation. I had wanted to see that, but I wasn't into a tour. However, we ended up taking the tour because it was the only way to get on the grounds. I had hoped it would have gardens like Monticello, but it had very few. Of course what it lacked in flowers it made up for in Live Oak trees. The grounds were beautiful. The house was a house - just old and big (with 16" thick walls - solid brick).

On a whim we took the St. Bolivar ferry into Galveston to avoid Houston. It was new as neither of us have used a car ferry. Not that exciting, I know.

Today's Highlights: French Quarter sans anxiety, beignets, sugar cane, Oak Alley, car ferry

Photo: This is looking across the street from our hotel. The Cornstalk Hotel is named after the fence which is a FQ landmark apparently.

Day 2: "Maybe it was Memphis"

2006-09-04T22:15:00.000-05:00

I'll try to include pop culture quotes whenever possible. Stay alert.

Though there was WiFi at our New Orleans hotel, we couldn't get connected to it. But that's the day three post. Right now we've got day 2 to recap. I know I left everyone hanging - which of us is The Killer's BIGGEST fan and who prefers The King? I can only include a few pictures here so, I'm going to have to keep you guessing until all the pics are up on Snapfish.

Day two was a long one. We visited both Sun Studios and Graceland in Memphis before driving through Mississippi to New Orleans. Once in MS, we saw two things - cotton & casinos. Donnell heard the call of Lady Luck and we zipped into a "mecca" as he called it. There were neon lights and high-rises, like a mini Vegas. We only stayed about 1/2 an hour, but that was long enough for Donnell to quadruple his money. However, with my losses at the slot machines, and his love of the game - we left with our money only doubled. We're not complaining though! It was a nice side trip, and though we reaked of smoke, we both enjoyed it. I'll be hearing those damn machines chanting "Wheel . . . OF. . . Fortune" for days.

We arrived in New Orleans later than we would if we had a do-over. It was about 7pm, but the narrow, unfamilar streets were already crowded with cars and people. We did see some Katrina damage in the far NE section of the French Quarter and tons of homes and businesses are for sale. We didn't venture into any of the surrounding parishes, and hence saw no other damage. Our hotel was older and small but had alot of charm, and it was in a great location one block south of Bourbon and maybe 5 blocks from Jackson Square. I thought the FQ was going to be much larger; mainly because I thought the blocks were alot larger.
We happened to be in town for Southern Decadence weekend. It's supposedly pretty raucous (according to our waiter) but we never made it to Bourbon St. to find out. If you don't already know, I have some anxiety issues. I should have known when Donnell was overwhelmed that I might have a problem, but it hit me out of nowhere. So dinner turned into carryout, and our plans for Bourbon Street turned into Xanax.
Next time Donnell will have a few drinks before we even leave the hotel, and we'll get to town earlier with time to relax - and find parking!!! (so much for our winnings - poof)

Today's highlights: Sun Studios, Graceland, Horseshoe Casino, Great River Road SP, rural MS, New Orleans

Day 1: Out of Ohio

2006-09-03T08:22:00.000-05:00

Donnell’s suggestion for this post’s title was “Someone shit on the coats.” It was his favorite comedic line of the day, but only the Dane Cook fans would have caught that so I changed it. We’re more than ½ way through our comedy stash. We’re certain it won’t be needed on most legs, but the drive from Nashville to Memphis really needed it – a lot of it.

I had been looking forward to our arrival at the hotel so I could relax by re-packing my bags. Yes, seriously. I would have found that quite relaxing, and I’m concerned that it hasn’t been done. The bag is not organized up to par and is messing with my serenity. Maybe it’s creating bad car feng shui.

Well, for those of you tuning in for actual vacation news . . .

We left well after dawn. I suspected that would happen. We made some extra stops and took some scenic drives. Most of the day was spent in KY parks. The picture is one of us at Mammoth Cave. We have breezed through Nashville and landed in Memphis. We weren’t sure we’d make it this far and are happy to be settled in.

I’m supposed to have free WIFI here but the network IP address is bunk. This will be posted tomorrow morning hopefully – on our way to Graceland. We’re stopping briefly at the meditation garden & gravesite before hitting our major stop here – Sun Records. Forget Elvis, this is the record company of The Killer too, Jerry Lee Lewis. I’ll leave you with that, and the nagging question – which of us LOVES ole Jerry Lee?

Today's Highlights: Big Bone Lick SP, rural KY, a dog chillin' on a car roof, Mammoth Cave, and the Grand Ole Opry

Departing at Dawn (as if)

2006-09-01T20:36:00.000-05:00

Who even cares that I'm just now packing? Hertz didn't ask us where we were going so we have our unlimited miles and all is good. WooHoo! Tomorrow we head south.

This is the first official vaca post. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to post while on the road. Oh, and I'm reading that book too. Donnell has not stopped talking about it since college; its his favorite. I hope it lives up to the hype. I packed a spare in case it doesn't.

Our first few stops include Mammoth Cave, KY state parks, Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans.
We've never driven cross-country, and we've never taken this long of a vacation. I'm personally most looking forward to Telluride. I loved that town last year. I'll try to be the first to get a pic of Suri Cruise. That will seemlessly lead me into my next career -papparazi. Sigh, I'm slowly returning to reality - okay. Donnell says he too is looking forward to the Rockies.

Time to pack! Stay tuned.

Oh, and please, someone tape House & Miami Ink for me!

2006-09-01T06:36:00.000-05:00

It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to . . .

2006-08-31T20:18:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was "the big day." It sucked for the most part. As reccomended, I did make my own celebration by scheduling a massage over during my lunch break. That was the highlight of the day.
I now understand why people don't really celebrate birthdays after age 30. I hadn't planned on living a rock star life with big birthday bashes each year, but I had high hopes for 30. I didn't have high expectations - just hopes. And actually, the hopes weren't that high at all. So my birthday was just sad. Admittedly it could have been worse.

Today was much better. And tomorrow is Friday! What's after that? One guess - vacation! Tonight is for finishing research, laundry and shopping. Tomorrow is for packing and saying see ya later to our puppies. Normally, I'm nervous about vacations until I've landed at my destination. This time I'm already getting excited.

Sweet dreams; goodnight.

Forever 21 - not Forever 29

2006-08-29T21:01:00.000-05:00

My mom can't remember what time I was born. She's pretty sure it was at night though, and I seem to recall stories about it nearly being the next day. There was a family pool (money was involved) so it mattered which day I arrived. That's the story I recall, and if it's true then I'm entering the last 24hrs of my 29th year.

Longtime friends and family can attest that I'm not all that bothered by my new decade. Others would disagree. Last fall I came up with a must-do list (must do by tomorrow). It was a list of items I missed doing at one point or another in my life - mostly due to fear. I accomplished some items on the list, others will come later, and the rest I've forgotten. I should have written them down. I guess the forgotten weren't that important in the first place.

The only "issue" I'm currently have with turning 30 is the implication that I should not wear certain things or do certain things. Glamour magazine loves to do this, and I think it was last month's Glamour that said no MySpace after age 30. I'm just going to ingore it all. I suppose if this means I end up on What Not to Wear then so be it. I can easily spend $5k. Oh, and be sure to visit me at MySpace!