Good afternoon, Bermuda

Soooo... that fateful wonderful night that Lynn and I decided to buy tickets to Bermuda because they were the cheapest we could find, had some repercussions. Cheap getting there... yes. But apparently Bermuda has the highest standard of living in the Western Hemisphere. What does that mean? A loaf of bread is $6, for example.


Haha, this is what we get for making intoxicated unplanned decisions. But still totally the best drunken decision ever. Because we're thrifty travelers, we make this work.

1. We stayed with a fantastic couchsurfer not far from Hamilton, with easy access to public transportation.
2. Bermudians are friendly. Very friendly. They buy you drinks and stuff.
3. Lynn uses Amex points to get us an incredible deal at a resort to "splurge" on the last 2 nights.


So now the timeline...

We get in and the first thing I notice is that the passport control guy sounds American. Not British... or some Caribbean accent that I had imagined. If you listen well, you can catch British twangs in there :) I guess that's what they get for being so close to the US. (Said guy also fails to stamp my new US passport with what would be its first awesome international stamp!)


Everyone greets each other because everyone knows each other. Bermuda is about 60,000 ppl small (smaller than the greater Cincy area!) and so, literally, EVERYONE knows each other's business. The fact that they didn't recognize us, means we're of course tourists. I think Bermudians may be the friendliest people I've met so far. Besides the greetings, they're always willing to help you and want to hear your story (and share their *personal* stories as well).

We wander around, talk to some friendly Bermudians, before we meet up with our CS host, Kamanda. He's an accountant from Kenya and suuuper duuper nice. We find out that Bermuda is a major hub for insurance companies, hence why the standard of living is so high also. We go out for some seafood wit Kamanda and his friend, Joel. The two of them are great friendships made who really make sure we have a fantastic time in Bermuda.



The plan next day is to go to the pink coral beaches. On our way, our plan changes. Downpour. Hello bipolar weather. So we take the bus and get recommended to go to the Naval Dockyard instead and check out some artisan shops and ruins. Theen a ferry ride (common mode of transportation!) to Hamilton City. We discover the Swizzle (or "Shizzle", as Lynn referred to it as) and the Dark & Stormy (our go-to drinks). Head back towards Kamanda's to do some Thanksgiving groceries b/c we're making him and Joel a proper American feast meal ;) The grocer was really confused when I asked him for a big slab of turkey breast.

Alright, take 2 on pink coral beaches. This time it works. Breaaathhtaaaking! I just want to hug it all. Lynn and I are ecstatic. And go snap happy. 

We then wander to some botanical gardens before making it back to our resort (thank you American Express). Fancy schmancy. It's got its own grotto. We decide to live it up for a night and splurge on a hotel dinner (yum prawns and tenderloin tips) before making our way to the Swizzle Inn, where we get treated to some Swizzles on the house. (Funny back story: Chris, the manager of Swizzle Inn who gave us our free drinks and convinced us to go out to Hamilton City for the night, ended up being one of the CS hosts I had contacted to ask to stay with!)  



So Lynn and I are out on the town that night. And we make friends. Fantastic people and so much fun. We dance, we drink, we laugh, we steal cabs. On the ride home, I heavily concentrated on my conversation with the cab driver so that I wouldn't get motion sick (me + alcohol + motion = bad mix). Turns out the cab driver knew of the friends we had made (EVERYONE knows each other) and also tells us his life story (duh). 



The next day is a pretty late start (oops), but we eventually make our way to St. George's. Picturesque, sure. But there's absolutely nothing to do there. Maybe b/c it's Saturday?... Take some obligatory tourist pictures, then head back for another night in Hamilton City with Kamanda and friends. Another night of getting our groove on (and more shizzles and dark&stormies).




So. The final day has come. Our flight's not til 4, so we head out to more caves (and Lynn repetitively hits her head on the 10000 age old stalactites). Very very cool. We end our last couple of hours with laying out at the resort beach. Love life.

So I'm a little late in recounting this trip... which means I forgot half the note-worthy things. Alas, such is the reason why I'm supposed to be keeping this blog. So some key things I remember (that may not make sense out of context):
1. Bermuda is expensive
2. There's no poverty (well, lies. we saw ONE homeless man.)
3. There's no racism
4. Shizzles are the shit
5. But I also like my tall, dark, and stormies
6. You can't have a private life there
7. If you don't say "good afternoon", you're rude
8. The only rude person on the island was American.
9. If you're looking for rich British men, go no further
10. You better not break those ancient cave creations


So,that's all for now. Merry Christmas Eve. I'm now in Holland with momz and family getting fed like woah. Will be meeting up with some friends after Xmas then heading to Paris with them for New Year's!!! Theeeen meeting Emilie in Vienna and going to Prague! :D :D I'll try to remember the important stuff this time around :)

Winter plans

Bought my ticket to Holland for Xmas yesterday -- Dec 21-Jan 8. While I'm on that side of the world... I'm thinking New Year's in Paris. Sounds cliche, I know, but I've never been! Crazy! Anyone want to meet up with me? :)

~Nadia

Smart drunken decisions

uhhhh... I haven't traveled since August? That's pretty sad. It's almost November!
Well, there's an easy fix to that. Last Tuesday, after wine tasting and an additional bottle of wine, Lynn and I found ourselves looking at plane tickets... 

We'll be celebrating Thanksgiving in Bermuda this year.

:D 


(oh wait, I lie. Austin in September for recruiting. barely counts though!)

Loui Loo'ville, oh baby, said we gotta go (yeah yeah yeah yeah ya)

So I've started to work a "compressed work week" schedule -- 9 hrs M-Th and 4 hrs on Friday. Benefit? Uhhh, weekend starts earlier, duh! (However, waking up even just half an hour earlier is a lot frickin' harder than I thought. I value my sleep way too much.) Anyhoo, last Friday headed out to Louisville around noon to start my weekend. Ironman is on Sunday and Pete and Jackie were going to head down too to come hang out. 

Jeremy and his roommates let us crash at their place -- a sweet short ride to Louisville center. After we got in, we explored Germantown and the Highlands area (where KFC Colonel is buried...). Loved the vibe of these places... it was like an eclectic mini-Austin-like feel in an unexpected state. Hit up Lynn's Paradise Cafe and it's quirkiness, wandered past many a Irish bar, and got a drink at Nachbar that had German beer ON TAP ("no way!" "way!") before getting scrumptious world foods at Ramsi's Cafe. I got a vegan Egyptian dish that was... the best vegan dish I've ever had.

The next day Jeremy had told me about this fossil park which the nerd dork side of me was dying to go to. First we hit up downtown Louisville and went to the 21c museum/hotel. Way cool concept -- it's a museum... AND a hotel, duh. OH AND Cincinnati's building one too by the way :D. So anyhoo, this museum/hotel had many a fun art to oggle and play with. 

Went further along the main street to see some other tourist attractions, like the Louisville Slugger, Whiskey Row, and the multi-mirror in front of the kids' science museum (b/c we're too cheap to actually go inside). THEN! Fossil park! Right on the banks of the Ohio river on the Indiana side, lots o' fossils. Next, we hit up an authentic Mexican restaurant for dinner. Are we sure it's authentic? Yes. If the servers address you in Spanish and everyone, their families, and their neighbors who are there are as brown as you are, yes. Jeremy might have stood out a little. Chimichangas and horchata (and a lot of leftovers) for me. Yum.

So our mission was to stay out til 4 am (b/c bars close at 4 in Louisville! How awesome is that?) so that we could just take Jonathon to the Ironman competition straight after that. Went to the winery that Jeremy works at, sampling of 6 wines and chocolate lava cake, then off to bar #1 where I had my first BBC, and ended up back at Nachbar to meet up with another Louisville couchsurfer. Only lasted til 2 am... I could barely talk b/c of how tired I was. Good attempt, Nadia. I think Cincinnati has made me old. So I got my, like, 1.5 hrs of sleep, drove Jonathon to the Ironman start, and went back to sleep til 7ish.

So Sunday was Ironman/hang-out/sight-see-Louisville-in-between-spectator-opportunities day. Peter and Jackie headed over at 10 and we went to La Grange, where the Ironman bike portion looped twice. Caught Jonathon just in time (p.s. I'm a terrible "capture the moment" photo taker). We were going to go to a quarry nearby, but decided to laze in the park where they were holding a mini fair instead and contemplated the business model of expensive fair foods and souvenirs. La Grange is quite quaint, with a train running right through the middle of it. Caught the 2nd loop of bikers, then headed back into town.

Went to this funtastic ice cream "parlor" that's actually a house (that's for sale... for $799,900) with an awesome view of the city (that's quotably worth "a million dollars", so really, you're saving $200,100). Got myself double chocolate chip and cookie dough cone and we plopped ourselves down on the grass to enjoy this great view. Next we headed to the bike finish/marathon start, where near it there's a little water "park" with jumping fountains and a pool that strictly states "danger! high levels of hydrogen! do not swim!", but of course people ignore the signs and we're swimming and wading in it. I'm sorry, but you canNOT expect me to resist jumping fountains. Reminds of the time we took Maya to the jumping fountains in Austin and it was my excuse to be able to  play in them too.

After observing that our pre-ironman was still well and alive, more wandering around downtown and made our way to the BBC parlor. Got yelled at because we didn't realize we were walking in the runner's path on the way there. Then we plopped ourselves down and watched the runners go by. Noticed that around the same timing, didn't see as many familiar faces anymore, which means they had somewhere quit along the way... kinda sad. Went home, got dinner, the non-dd's got their buzz on, all ready for the finale of the race. The sight was pretty epic: lit up 4th st, crowds cheering, people pounding on the railguards to the beat, the adrenaline was felt through the air as runners became ironmen. And of course he made it.

Worked from Louisville on Monday because of the late-nightness. Got back home around 6pm. Oh, and discovered that while KY is the home of bourbon loving, I am not a lover of it, but Louisville still has a solid two-thumbs up despite it.

25 hrs of driving... and worth it.

If you are a friend that I've talked to within the past 4 months or a coworker, you'll know that I've been whining about needing a beach vacation. The last time I was on sand and got to see those beautiful waves break upon the shore was in Jamaica in January. Nonono... that's been too long for moi, you don't understand.

Kyle's in Nags Head, NC right now. Great excuse :) Electronica festival near DC -- on the way. Let's make it a roadtrip.

Left the Cincy on Thursday at 5am. Yes, you read that right. Projected 8 hr drive to DC to pick up Reese who's all into that funky music too. Drive wasn't all too bad, we switched off -- I got to sleep for almost all of the first half. Tried to listen to an audio book. Gave up after disc 3. My mind's too spastic to stay focused on that, talking, and paying attention to signs. Got to DC around 1pm and 1.5 tanks of gas (woopwoop). Picked up Reese and went straight to Bristow, VA for Identity Fest.

Mind you, I'm a complete amateur when it comes to electronica music. I know nothing about the artists, the different styles, or what makes one DJ a genius vs novice. All I care about is if I can dance my booty off to it. Which I did. I'm no smoker, but Camel was doing some promotion at the entrance so we stocked up on menthol cigarettes, mix that with about 7 Rockstar Energy drinks they were handing out for free at the tent, and you've got yourself a "clean" buzz going (well that and the thermos of rum we shot in the parking lot). A crazy storm was a brewing in the not-so-far distance, but we just got some light refreshing drizzle and found cover in time. Dancing my heart out ensued until 11pm. 

I've never been to DC before and while I had no intention of getting it all in on this trip, Reese drove me past all the main monuments and buildings on our way back. It seemed unreal. I think because I've always seen these places only in movies and tv, and with them being cast with spotlights in the night, made me believe this was all a movie set and that Tom Hanks or Nicolas Cage must be running around somewhere with a film crew following them. They were overly impressive and I definitely need a dedicated trip to DC some time to fully absorb them.

Got to sleep in the next morning until we made our way to meet up for lunch. Had yummy make-your-own bibimbap before heading out to Nags Head at 1pm. Aaaand hello DC traffic. We hit 3 ridiculous traffic jams. I really don't understand traffic and why it happens... I think that 95% of the time it's caused by one stupid driver feeling the need to slow down for no real good reason and then causing a giant domino effect. We got into Nags Head around 8pm. Grabbed dinner and drinks with Kyle then crashed.

Ahhhhhh beaaacchhh dayyyyy has finally arrived! Another lazy morning, ate at a local breakfast joint (yum grits... definitely back in the South, also conveyed by our waitress's accent), got some beach food at Kroger (hummus?), and found ourselves a spot where we'd bake for the next 5 hours. Water was at a perfect temperature and I made the water-bake-water-bake ritual several times. Read, talked, people-watched, and just enjoyed the rays. I swear, next place I live, better be in close proximity to a life like this. Also, fastforward a few days later, I experienced a "white person problem" for the first time... I was peeling. weeeiiird. After beach? Pool of course. Then got some excellent (free! thanks Kyle's friend) sushi and sake then called it a night.

Sunday morning Jonathon got up at 5 (ew) to train for ironman cycling, while I slept in til 11. Theeen we made the long drive back to Cincinnasti (some more stupid traffic jams) and got in at 11:30pm. Had an interesting pit stop at a gas station in the middle of nowhere with hick telling us to watch out for bears in Washington (state) and carry guns. I think I'm done with driving for a while. Thank god for cruise control. Next time, let's fly.

Nashnorroucago!

Alright, so I'm a little behind. 4 trips behind! But they all just happened so fast and kept me so busy (well, that, and work). Since I didn't account each trip right after they happened, this will test my memory quite a bit, but I'll try to remember the highlights for my own sake...


Nashville

Roadtrip with the girls! After much deliberation, Nashville seemed like the obvious answer: not too far, but yet far away enough to be away from it all. Oh and because I found out there was a wine festival that weekend in the area with a $20 bottomless wine glass...

So we get there after 4.5 hrs of singing boy band songs and other songs that remind us of our high school dance memories. Our hotel? Has a guitar shaped pool. Tres bien. We make our way to Broadway Ave to start our exploration...


So this night is remembered in chunks with some parts missing. But thankfully, there's 4 of us and we each remind each other of different events that occurred, so that helps. Some of my choppy memories of the night: Coronas that magically became ours, the bass player giving away our free drink, no brown people, lots of cowboy hats and boots, falling on my ass, karaoke and not getting discovered on the spot, and some of the best late night food (don't remember what it was though...)

The next morning, needless to say, was a little rough. We took TWO naps that day. But first we went to the pancake place near Vanderbilt and ate breakfast with an American Idol star and his manager. THEN napped. THEN woke up to go to the wine festival (success). Got our hair bedazzled for free. Checked out the Grand Ole Opry but weren't able to sneak in. Then ate some fantastic barbeque at a place that didn't need reservations. Found out that when boys say "Aw, dang" in a southern accent, it's quite adorable. Then napped again. Then went out again. Saw one of the most incredible (and by "incredible", I mean "ridiculously funny") dancers in the world. Made friends. Ran away from friends. Found another Asian. Took obligatory Asian picture. [insert blurry memory at end of night and somehow ending up back in the hotel].


Sunday we chillaxed. Well, went to the bicentennial park and scoped that out before making our way back home... and checking out a flea market along the way.



Norris Lake, TN

Figure that, two weeks later I'm back in TN. This time to enjoy the beauty and surrounding fun of Norris Lake. My friend Ryan has friends that yearly rent out a giant cabin for Memorial Day weekend so a bunch of us got to tag along. Let me keep it short, sweet, and simple: 3 days of hot weather, boating and jet skiing, staying stocked on liquids, great food, and fantastic people. The days blend into each other because of how laid back it all was. Great relaxing getaway.



Houston

My friend Aaron was getting married!! Reunion of the Westlake High School crew, who I hadn't seen in a while and fun times getting caught up. While I forgot how ridiculous HOT weather felt (105?), I kind of missed the blistering in the sun sensation. Friday night I showed up at the beer garden with my luggage after Emi and Max graciously picked me up from the airport. Some few drinks then took the party to the hotel lobby (well, hotel room.) and celebrated Aaron's last night of bachelorhood. He has a tendency of lifting people when he gets drunk, so lots of lifting was done.

Saturday we start the day at a Mexican hole in wall restaurant near Rice then start to make ourselves pretty for the wedding. Beautiful ceremony, and then a fantastic reception. Haven't danced that much in a while. Seemed like everyone was owning it on the dance floor. Great times. And yay to open bar. After some miscommunication, lost wanderers hitchhiking back, we ended back in a hotel room to continue.


Ate at the House of Pies (mmmmm SO delicious) the next day and then got to spend some quality birthday time with Emi before heading back to the airport. Short but sweet.


Chicago

Trip 4 of 4. Last weekend we took a somewhat last minute trip to Chi-town. Gaia hasn't been anywhere in the US besides Cincinnati, so Lynn and I decided to change that. Drove in Friday night after work and met up with Lynn's friend who lives in Chinatown (YES! DIM SUM PROXIMITY!) and spent the rest of the evening chatting. So, right, first thing Saturday morning, headed to Chinatown to wait for the dim sum place to open at noon... Yum boba tea and dried everything snacks in the meantime (and what are the 20 different types of ginger used for?). Met up with Kim who I hadn't seen since her stay with me and she spent the rest of the trip with us! We overate ourselves and saved some leftovers for later.


Took the El (I forgot how much I miss reliable public transportation) to our hotel (swanky Renaissance Lynn got us for cheap, but unfortunately weren't able to get the upgrade to the presidential suite). Checked out the Cultural Center with its awesome ceilings and rotating art exhibits, then walked to the Bean, took the obligatory touristy pictures, before making our way to the Hancock Building where we enjoyed our drinks on the 95th floor with a great view (the best views were actually from the restrooms...). Oh and then we ate again (isn't that what vacations are all about?) at Lu Minati's (sp?) for some deep dish pizza. Over ate. Again. Took a rest break/nap back at the hotel before heading out for the night.


Started out downtown but we weren't quite feeling the vibe (all sausage fests and the rest were bachelorette parties - we bet on how many we would see that night), so we headed over to Wicker Park. Ended up at Nick's Bier Garden and made friends soon enough. Good times, fun conversations (which somehow ended up sexist), and hilarious moments. At around 2:30 Kim pointed out that if we left NOW we might be able to catch the El back and not have to wait another half hour, so out we ran. When we got to the stop, we heard the train, and this is where the hilarity starts (note, our few drinks might have had some sort of influence on us at this point):

We decide to make a run for the train that we hear upstairs. We're scrambling for our ticket passes, Gaia and I get through first, bolt up the stairs, only to get to the top and see the train slowly start to pull away. I scream out a "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!", and to my surprise, the train reacts, stops and reopens its doors. We run in and I only count 3 of us. Apparently during the past 5 seconds, Lynn had managed to run into the gate bars and fall flat on her face. I hold open the doors as they're shutting again to see her race up the stairs. We get to our stop, get off, and somehow manage to get lost even though our hotel was only 2 blocks away. There's a car of guys somewhat following us and catcalling. A limo drives by and I yell "HEY!". It stops. I run up to the lowered window and ask the chauffeur if he can give us a ride home. "Sure, jump in." I turn to the other car: "Sorry, THIS is our ride." Gaia, Kim, and I pile in, but Lynn does not. Apparently we're only a block away from the hotel, but it's worth it. One block later, we say our farewells and thanks to the chauffeur and head back in. The night is ended by some peeping-tom action to a hotel room across the street from us...


We recooperate Sunday and make our way to Eleven City Diner for some marvelous brunch (get the french toast and egg cream soda if you're ever there), hang out with some legs, then slowly meander our way back through parks to call it an end to our Chi-vacation.


Surprisingly, I'm not going anywhere this weekend ;) Work's a little hectic right now and I need to tend to some end of fiscal year matters.

Wait. I lied. I'm going to Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY on Friday for a new hire social... but we're coming back that night.... so that doesn't really count, right?

The Canyon that's pretty Grand

About a year ago, mom tells me she'd like to go white water rafting with me in the Grand Canyon some time. Hmm... I had the Friday after her birthday off for Good Friday, so figured it'd be a good birthday present!

Thursday night we fly out to Phoenix (yay direct flights!) and head to Couchsurfing host #1: Karen. (OH YEAH! Mom went couchsurfing with me for the first time! SO proud of her :)) Karen's a fantastic lady with a fantastic wolf-like dog named Tuffy. Next day we get brunch at a Greek restaurant in Tempe and then make our way to Sedona.

Oh Sedona. The red rocks. The blue skies. The green vegetation. It's quite picturesque. We hiked around with our couchsurfing host #2, Henry. Beautiful red rock monoliths, walked along streams, saw several rock-topped gardens, and experienced the scenery in the magic hour light. I can understand why the people are so spiritual. I would be too...

Henry cooked us spaghetti for dinner and then we headed to an outdoor cafe with a bassa nova band playing. Sedona is filled with artists galore (and many many tourists). The next morning we ate at a popular breakfast diner (Elvis had been there!) that served incredible eggs benedict. Afterwards, mom and I scoped out uptown and more scenery (a church in the cliffs) and slowly made our way north.

We had to get to Peach Springs by nighttime, where the Hualapai lodge was to start our rafting adventure from there the next morning, but we had time, so we made a pit stop in Flagstaff. It's a lot smaller than I had imagined, but fun shops & crafty store filled streets. It was quite windy and chilly though! I had only looked up the temperatures for Phoenix (90s) but Flagstaff, being up near the mountains is considerably cooler (60s). Hit up a museum of old Flagstaff and got dinner at a Thai place. We made it to Peach Springs around 9pm and crashed.

So. Now for the adventure! First a ~1 hr minibus ride to our starting point. This rafting trip is located in the Hualapai region of the Canyon, so it's all run by that tribe. They were all wonderful. Our rafting guides were Hualapai as well and provided us with great folklore and stories of the Canyon. It was a great perspective to hear. Funnily enough, our whole raft (minus mom and guides, of course) was from Ohio. Koinkidink. Made a pit stop to take a short climb to a hidden waterfall, and then another stop for lunch, where they provided us with lunch.

The first half of the trip was filled with white water rapids and we got DRENCHED! Granted, a little chilly (water was 45), but the sun was out to dry us each time. Also, if you do this, I'd recommend you don't sit all the way up front... that's definitely the major splash zone.

The second half of the trip was all calm waters and we got to enjoy the scenery and hear more great stories. Where our tour ended, we got helicoptered out, which was AWESOME (I went a little snap happy at this point). It was quite windy and it felt like we'd get thrust into the canyon's walls at any time. Then a 2 hour mini bus drive back to the lodge.

Highly recommendable. I guess I was expecting to get ripped off a little since it's such a tourist destination, but the Hualapai were very sincere and didn't even pressure us to buy the pictures their photographer took of us. However, we hear the skywalk is overrated...

When we got back to the lodge, we made our way back to Flagstaff on Route 66 and met up with couchsurfer host #3, Brandon. Another great person (aren't they all?). Had a fun and lengthy dinner, great (and at times inappropriate ["MOM!"] conversation, and then went back to Brandon's. Stayed up later than I had planned due to more awesome conversation then finally crashed.

The next morning, Brandon took us to another great breakfast diner (LOVE these places!) and then accompanied us to the Waputki Indian Ruins. These were neat... definitely fun to imagine how peeps back then used to carry out their lives.

Dropped Brandon off, then made our way back to Phoenix since our flight was the next morning (how time flies). Phoenix downtown is a GHOST town after 5pm on weekdays (not sure about weekends). So much potential... kind of reminds me of what Cincinnati was like 3 years ago. We find a wine bar and have a drink before we meet up with couchsurfer host #4, Omayra. Such a fun personality. Knows what she wants in life. Get late night dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant, more fun convo until we notice they're turning the lights off, and head back to crash. Next morning we fly back to Cincy...

What a fun vacation with mom. Great bonding experience and I'm so glad I was able to do this with her. I love her. (And imagine, we only fought ONCE, lol). Happy Birthday, Mom! Here's to many more adventures together. She LOVED the couchsurfing experience, which built some trust in it for her (she still doesn't like me hosting guys alone).

Nashville next weekend with the girls! :)

uh... WHAT?

The application for US citizenship asks:
1. How many days have you been outside of the US in the past 5 years?
2. Oh yeah, and list out those dates and countries, bitchplz.

Ridiculous. DATES! 5 YEARS! AAHH!

Oh yeah. Applying.

2 months and 15,000 miles down

I'll rest my eyes till the fevers outta me
I'll rest my eyes to the rivers in the sea
I'll rest my eyes till the fevers outta me
I'll rest my eyes to the rivers in the sea

I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees
I'll never marry but Ohio don't remember me
-- "Blood Buzz Ohio" by The National


TripIt.com tells me that in the past 2 months, I've traveled for 21 days of them, equating to over 15,000 miles. For now, I don't have any immediate travel plans coming up and that eats me up inside a little. Here an ode to my last shenanigans:

I went to Austin for recruiting 2 Mondays ago til that Thursday. Another home-some visit with mom and being able to squeeze in some of the best people in the world. In a weird way, I almost appreciate these short trips back to Austin with friends and family more than if I were there with them permanently -- I put in more of an effort to get all the quality time with them as possible. Making the most of the time you have together and not taking it for granted. I wish to translate that to all aspects in life.

Thursday night I flew out to Seattle and got in at 1:44 am. Jonathon picked me up and we headed to Eric's place, who just coincidentally moved back to Seattle (we met in South Africa last summer). Pete and Jackie were already passed out by the time we got in. Quick nap and then we headed to Whistler at 4:30 am. Yep.

Pete was making me anxious about the border (apparently he's had trouble getting into Canada before), but no trouble awaited us -- the biggest issue was me not wearing a seatbelt in the backseat (really??). Driving into Whistler area was epic. Eh-pic. Oh and skiing Whistler was even more epic-er. The best mountains my skis (well, rented) have ever set... ski on. Powdered snow on all the runs and ridiculous breathtaking views. Sigh. I highly recommend it. Headed back to Vancouver and tried out a local late night bar. People are so freakin' nice and happy in Canada. The waitress was GENUINELY happy to serve us. Weird!


Next day we scoped out Vancouver. Brunch in Chinatown (sooo many Asians in Canada!), perused the public market on Gainesville Island, adventures in liquor stores (try the maple whiskey if you're in Canada), and ate fish at a fun diner. Another happy waitress.


Sunday we headed back to Seattle. We made a pit-stop in Bellingham, aka the City of Subdued Excitement, right after the border (again, no issues even with us 2 brownies in the back) for some grub. Beeeest deeecision we made on that trip (well, one of). If you ever pass through, stop. While we were waiting for our table at one of their highly rated diners, we checked out the Museum of Radio & Electricity and got our own private Tesla lightning show (not yet open to the public).


We rushed to Pike's Market when we got into Seattle half an hour before it closed to catch the famous fish throwing action at one of the stalls. Wandered around some, decided we didn't like the fish salad tastes, covered it up with downing some cheese, and made our way to our Couchsurfing host for the night: Mitch. We hit the town with him and ended up at The Garage, a pool hall. Played some games, drank some beers, met back up with Eric (because 5 minutes the first night wasn't enough!), speculated about people around us, and ate a Seattle dog on the way home.


Last day of vacation, after eating the best french toast in my life, we took the ferry to Bainsbridge Island off of Seattle and had a mellow day (kind of necessary at this point). The ferry ride itself was neat, also highly recommendable. Once on the island, we did a couple of wine tastings, perused local toy and thrift stores, checked out the harbor and playground, then made our way to our giant feast of a Mexican dinner (that lasted me til lunch the next day).


Barely made my flight out that night (I thought it was at 11pm, it was at 10:20pm), layover somewhere in the US, and got back to Cincy around 9 am. Headed straight to work. That was kind of a tough day...

It's already March. Time flies. I need to focus.

Sundance or skidance? Both plz.

This is my 2nd weekend in Cincinnati in 2011 so far. It's noon on a Saturday and I am refusing to get out of my pj's for now. I think laziness is deserved ;) 3 destinations in 1 month... I'm certainly upping my track record. Although this is abnormal and ridiculous and I am doing a TERRIBLE job at the whole "save money a LOT this year" plan.

So last weekend was Park City, Utah for some skiing and some Sundance film festival. Flew in Thursday night (only slightly delayed due to planes having to get de-iced and software problems) and got to the house around midnight. There were 12 of us total in that house, but we separated ourselves into a group of 5: Sally, Steve, Matt, Mike, and myself. Everyone else was asleep already so we decided to start the night off with some drinks and trying out the hot tub. Combining drinks and a hot tub in icy cold weather sometimes leads to ridiculous decisions and dares.

We leisurely woke up Friday to go ski and got a good first look at Park City. So eclectic, yet quaint, but hustle and bustle all around (not sure how much this was to attribute to Sundance... probably a lot). Why are there so many people with fancy cameras? Paparazzi! They were EVERYWHERE hoping to get that one shot that would end up on some gossip site or magazine. The only celeb we saw was Ryan Seacrest (yeah, not too exciting. that guy is SHORT btw) and I *think* I might have seen Adrien Grenier at the ski resort. Apparently people that come to Sundance don't come to ski -- the slopes were EMPTY. The guy at the rental place said Sundance is the best time to come and ski because of how empty it is. Interesting. I figured the two coupled together.

The slopes were great. The mountains were beautiful. Everyone boarded, I skied (WAY cooler ;). We knew the mountain was open til 9pm, but what we didn't know is that all but 3 slopes closed at 4pm -- so, sadly, I missed out on some runs that I wanted to get to. Oh well, there's always next time. Definitely got my work out and soreness for the next few days. After a day of skiing, headed back to the house, made another use of the hot tub, then hit up the town. Ate some delicious pizza ("WHO GETS THE 16"???"), found a bar that actually had NO cover (all other places were $20 and up), and found out that bars close at 1pm in Utah (apparently Mormon influenced law).

Saturday was Sundance day. Sally and I woke first and headed to the box office to pick up our (what we thought were) film tickets and try to get some more tickets -- no dice, everything's sold out and you have to waitlist. At the Egyptian Theater, we ended up getting in the waitlist line and getting in! First movie: Abraxas -- a Japanese movie about a monk who used to be a rocker and yearned for one more show. A very indy Sundance-ey movie, I liked it.

We were wondering why the movie we had bought tickets to ("A machine to see with") was not listed in the program. Turns out, it's not a movie but an "interactive adventure". We give our cell phone numbers and we each get automated messages informing us we're part of a bank robbery story and telling us what to do and where to go. So each person is told different "parts" of the plot, as deigned by the character they're playing -- kind of like a scavenger hunt, but with a bigger adrenaline rush. The automated messages allow you to make choices ("press 1 if you trust this person, 2 if you don't") and formats the story accordingly.

It tells me to go to the old firehouse, to scan my surroundings, make sure I'm not being watched. Today you are going to rob a bank. Tells me to walk up certain streets, I should see the boarded up house on my right, the fire hydrant on my left, walk into this building, walk straight past the receptionist, don't look suspicious. Go into the restroom, put all the money that you have on your body somewhere in case they search you (at this point, I'm awkwardly stuffing my $7 into my bra as someone walks into the restroom... should have gone into the stall). Leave the building, go through the "no trespassing" building corridor and get into the car with this license plate in that parking lot. It's open. This car is part of the story. You're waiting for your partner. (My partner ends up being Mike, also on his phone, being directed what to do). We lay out the plans on how to rob the bank. We get there. Have your hand on the door handle in 10 seconds. 3...2..1...ABORT! ABORT! RUN! Something went wrong! Is your partner a cop? (At this point the adrenaline is rushing so much I forget to pay attention where the message is telling me to go and I got lost... back on track like 10 min later, ha). The story ends with leading me to a Rite Aid in the birthday card aisle and hugging someone. We all end up outside of the Rite Aid and share our adventures :) Not what we expected, but definitely fun and exciting.

We wait in the waitlist line for a movie at 10, but don't get in. We decide to just stay in the same line for the next movie at midnight (now we're at least at the very front of the line). Once we get our waitlist numbers (1-5), we get some late dinner (mmm lobster bisque) and head back to the line. Our last movie: Cataclysm Catechism -- a comedy about a priest going on a canoe with a long lost friend. Again, very Sundance-y (lots of "haha wtf?" moments). Good times and the director and cast gave a little FAQ session at the end. Back to the house after for a chill time.

Our check out time is around 10 and our shuttle comes at 11:30 -- back to the airport, back to Cincy.

I didn't feel like I quite got in my ski fix... so I'm going to Whistler over Presidents Day weekend in February... :-X
After my Austin recruiting trip, flying to Seattle out of Austin Thursday night, meeting up with Pete, Jackie, and Jacob, then Jonathon's picking us up. The plan is to spend a day in Seattle & Vancouver, a day in Whistler, a day skiing at one of the other resorts in the area, then a chill last day before flying back Monday night.

But THEN I will start saving. I promise...

One of the funnest places on Earth...

MLK 3 day weekend... couldn't waste it of course.

About a year ago, I had heard about this museum in St. Louis that has an adult sized jungle gym in it called the City Museum. Needless to say, I put it down on my must-do list. I told my friends Pete and Jackie about it, who scoped it out one weekend and confirmed it: one of the funnest places on Earth.

So! This long weekend they headed back with me! Headed out Saturday morning, 5.5 hr drive -- listened to half an audio book. Got there around 4pm and met our couchsurfing host, Dave, who is fantastically crazy, and one of crew members that BUILDS the City Museum!!! How fabulous is that? And he lives in the artsy, graffiti filled building right next door.


After some St. Louis BBQ and drinks (and de-tiling his floor), Dave took us to the closed off roof area of the museum. Here's what you'll see: a school bus half hanging off the roof, an old ferris wheel, slides, a dome with an almost upside down ladder up to it. All this is made of stuff they've found, scrap from junk yards, etc. I won't lie, my fear of heights kicked in when we were sitting in the upside down hanging dome and when I asked Dave how they determine the structural analysis of how supportive it is, he laughed at me. I instantly thought up a survival strategy in case the thing were to fall. As Jackie took one of the giant slides down, we heard a splash and a "don't come down!" shriek. There was a giant icy puddle at the bottom and she was soaked head to toe. I guess this is why they close off the roof portion in the winter...

Headed to a local bar on Washington ave where we played drunken jenga and UNO and after numerous rounds of drinks, my tab came out to $3. Awesome. :)

Sunday we headed to the arch. The discounted $7 was worth the ride up it... completed in the 1960's, this mode of transportation up looked like a futuristic time capsule -- a sphere with 5 seats each that pulls and adjusts as you go upwards. After lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon in the city museum...


This is where all your childhood fantasies (that you still have as an adult) come true: a jungle gym built out of old planes, a fire engine, part of a castle with a big ball pit, and giant iron slinkies to crawl through, a maze to get lost in, an entire under floor cave to crawl and climb through, giant slides that swirl for 3 minutes before getting to the end, big red buttons and levers you're allowed to push and pull, and an aquarium where you can stick your hands in the tanks! There was so much more, but it closed at 5...

Seriously though. Put this on your must-do list too. SO worth it. If I were a kid in St. Louis, I'd beg my parents to go every weekend. I don't think those kids there realize how lucky they are.

Ended the night with some great gelato, an abundant oyster feast at a hole in the wall oyster restaurant, some hookah and more drinks. The weekend was one gigantic play fest.


Now just a 3 day work week and Thursday evening I'll be jetting to Salt Lake for some Sundance and skiing :)

I'll 'ave tree heggs wit tat please

Oh Jamaica... you unexpectedly stole a little piece of my heart...

To be honest, I would have never expected this trip to turn out so well. The word "Jamaica" wrongly invoked solely images of too many resorts, too many tourists, and not as much culture as we actually experienced. Some times I can still be wrong (although... rarely ;)).

Jamaica. Some words that come to my refreshed mind now:
house arches designs. sorrel. Rasta. herbal remedies. heggs. sunsets. ackee. Route taxis. farms. ganja. Maroons. caves. jerk chicken. rum. trust issues. constellations. vegetable vans. daggering. whitewashed trees. dance hall music. cheesy pick up lines. sugar cane fields. pot holes. little value in education. bulla bread. homophobia. 11 kind mango trees. patwa english.

Of all third world countries I've been to, Jamaica seems like the least third-world third world country. Sure, people are poor, but they're not starving. They have an abundance of food-growing plants around them and most seem to have some sort of shelter. The forewarning to be VERY careful for pick-pocketers, violence, drugging, etc. was not at all necessary for the places we went to. Granted, the whole time we were in very non-touristy, off-the-beaten-path types of places. There, no one was considered dangerous (if they were, they were ousted from the community) and we felt safe walking alone late at night or leaving our stuff on the beach while we go for a swim.

Ok, before I ramble off more about my impressions, I'll recap our timeline :)

Arrived 12.29.10. Brothermon, a family friend of the couchsurfers (Sally and Ernie) we stayed with, picked us up and took us to Brighton, about 1.5 hrs away, half an hour outside of Negril. Brighton was an absolute delight: beach side, small village where everyone knew you as "Ah, Sally's white friends" and made friends with no problem. Sally and Ernie have been coming to Jamaica for the past 20 years. In the summer, they live in Sasketchewan, Canada, and for the winter they come down to the island and help out in the community and have semi-adopted some of the kids there that they help take care of.
Our first night there, Tony was visiting them. We had mentioned that for a portion of our trip, we wanted to volunteer, but the organization we had been in contact with was on the other side of the island. With Jamaica's curvy, pot-holed streets, it would take 6 hours to get there. "There's Peace Corps volunteers up in Accompong where I live. Why don't you just come up there?" Problem solved. But that's the second half of the trip. I'm getting ahead of myself.

So from 12.29.10-1.2.11 we stayed in Brighton. Got to know the people there, went to the beach, and Sally and Ernie took us to Negril for New Year's Eve. We spent the day on the beach, most of the time pretending to be asleep to avoid being hit on ("I saw your figure, but want to know your personality"), absorbed the sun, and took in the waves. When dinner time came around, we went across the street to get a meal. Unfortunately, 2 of us got food poisoning, and as we were sitting by the fires on the beach waiting for midnight to come around, decided it wasn't worth it, and headed home at 11 pm. Brought in the new year back at the house :)

Oh! One thing worth mentioning real quick: the skies. Wow. Never have I seen so many stars. You could almost feel claustrophobic of how the stars just envelop you.

New Year's Day was spent at Blue Hole in Brighton. A hole 25 ft deep that meets water -- Gwen jumped it, Maria and I climbed it. At night, they had a party. We sufficiently embarrassed Saneka with our "white girl dancing" and learned about daggering. But man, people can dance there. It's like everyone's born with rhythm in their hips.


1.2.11-1.5.11 we headed up to Tony's place in Accompong (with an afternoon stop at YS Waterfalls). Best decision we could have made. With a wonderful first part of our trip, this almost felt like a second vacation. Accompong is home to the Maroons, the only successful Jamaican tribe that opposed the British rule in the past and were granted their own governing of this piece of land. Very proud people. Tony has various huts on his property, which we stayed in. Best part of the place? Dowdy. Dowdy works for Tony and takes care of the place, including making us our delicious meals. What a character he is. In the 3 days we were there, we won him over even though he claimed "it takes years to make a friendship" (refer to: Jamaican trust issues).


We met up with Matt and Julie, 2 Peace Corps volunteers stationed there in Accompong. On the 4th they would have a "back to school" event for the kids of Accompong and hand out school supplies, play games, and have treats. We helped out with the event and had baked cake the day before for it. Those. kids. are. adorable. Julie warned us of the "chaotic order" that would take place the day of the event, but I gotta say... the kids were super manageable and more than happy to oblige to our quieting down techniques (which Gwen did a wonderful job of). The kids loved holding our hands, playing with our hair, showing us how to dance.


On the 6th of January, Accompong has a huge celebration, which was described as "Christmas, New Years, and Independence Day all wrapped into one". There would be ceremonies, food stalls, dancing, the whole shabam. We so wanted to be there for this, but since our flight was on the same day, we were told there'd be no way to be able to get OUT of the village in time for us to catch our flights. Our last night in Accompong we went to Dowdy's "shop" and helped bartend for a little bit. We were quite unsuccessful, as we only sold one cigarette -- seemed like most of the customers just came to scope out "the white girls" and were non-paying customers.

Quick insert about Patwa English (sorry for the spontaneous deviations... but otherwise I'll forget): so yeah, in Jamaica, English is the main language. When they speak with me (the white tourist), I understand 90% of it. When they speak with each other, I understand 10% of it. Patwa -- a mix of English, lots of slang, some African and some Spanish even.

On the 5th, we left the great village of Accompong in the mountains and headed back to a beach-side area: Half Moon Beach in Green Island. We took the public transportation, the Route Taxis, from Eldersly to Mo' Bay, from Mo' Bay to Lucea, from Lucea to Green Island. That was a fun experience. The first ride, which was 1.5 hrs long, consisted of a sedan filled with 7 people and our luggage. Needless to say, I still need a massage from that portion of the trip. Another side note: the driving. Am I freakin' glad we didn't rent a car. We would have been killed 9 times over. I'm super impressed by the driving skills of everyone we drove with, with all the sharp turns, many pot holes that require you to swerve constantly, and at 50 mph. Total cost of the whole trip? About $7.

Half Moon Beach was our last portion of paradise on the island. Owned by Andrew, an American, but Jamaican born and raised, he has several cabins ON the waterfront, a scenic beach, and bar/restaurant on the grounds. Sounds like the ideal life to me. Far from the main hubs of the island, people find out about this place by word of mouth (Matt and Julie had heard good things about it). For $50, we got a 2 bedroom cabin, complete with hammock outside. Not a shabby way to end our trip.


This trip made me realize a few things, make some resolutions (coincidentally around New Year's), and reaffirm some goals I want to make happen. One of these things is to live life more simply... Jamaicans seem to do a fine job at just that.