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...
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
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 :)
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 :)
Sunday, January 9, 2011
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.
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.
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