A Magical Honeymoon

Our honeymoon did not start off magical. We were flying out of DC on Sunday night, the day after the wedding. They had some silly mechanical problem that delayed us an hour and a half, so we were arriving in Boston while our plane to Dublin was taking off. We wandered around the airport for a good 2 hours (including waiting for shuttles to take us to other parts of the airport) trying to figure out what to do. First we went to the Aer Lingus desks, but they were all gone for the day. Then we went to information who told us to head back to baggage claim and find out where our luggage is. We found out that Aer Lingus had our luggage locked away and put us on the next flight across the pond at 6 pm the next day - 21 hours after the flight we were supposed to be on. They finally got a manager who got us a hotel room and a couple overnight packs of things like toothpaste and a toothbrush and deodorant. We had to make a 2 minute call to the hotel in Dublin to let them know we were going to be a day late and please don't give our room away. That call cost $14.

Monday morning! It's kinda sucky to be promised Dublin and get Boston. We checked out, took the free shuttle back to the airport (where the Aer Lingus people probably wouldn't be in until 3 or 4), took the free shuttle to the train station in the city, found a place in the bus terminal to check our carry ons ($20) and wandered around Boston Common in the rain. We only had a few hours to kill, so we didn't do much but walk around. We collected our bags and paid for the bus back to the airport where we were finally able to check in. It wasn't a fun day, really. I know it wasn't Boston's fault, but the experience hasn't really warmed me up to that city. We're going to take a weekend to really explore Boston someday, when we have no where else to go and hopefully when it's less wet. And now we're finally on the plane and off to Dublin!

Tuesday morning lands in Dublin! We confirmed our reservation for the car and found a bus that took us close to the hotel. The hotel was nice; it was really an apartment with a little kitchen and living room, and a separate bedroom. We napped for a couple hours and hit the streets. We wandered about a bit- found a church that was near the hotel that made a good landmark and walked pass the Christ Church Cathedral (a friendly local with an amazingly thick accent guessed that was where we were headed and pointed us that way. We were really just looking at the map to get our bearings, but it was nice someone offered to help all the same.) before making our way to the Old Jameson Distillery. As a whiskey lover, I really wanted to see that place! On the tour, the guide picked 8 people to do a comparison taste test with Jameson, Johnny Walker Black, and Jack Daniels. Jameson was definitely the best, and I say that completely independent of the fact that I was in a Jameson museum at the time (Makers Mark 64 is still my favorite whiskey, for the record). 

Illuminated Jameson

We headed to Trinity College and the Book of Kells exhibit in the Old Library after that. It was amazing, and that library seriously belongs in a fairy tale castle. We wandered after that and got thoroughly lost. We ended up in a very residential area and all the helpful tourist signs were no where to be seen! We wandered some more and realized that we were heading in the wrong direction (we had walked completely off our map!). Both of us had to pee really bad. We finally saw a church spire and headed for it, hoping it was the church near our hotel. At a glance it looked like it. We stopped in a pub for their bathroom and a pint (no restrooms without purchase!) then went out to the church and realized it wasn't the one by the hotel after all. However, we were back in the touristy area and there was a map that directed us back to the right church.

The Old Library at Trinity College

We dropped off the days purchases and the big fancy camera at the hotel and went out for dinner. We found a place in Temple Bar (big touristy place, but a lot of fun) and had an awesome dinner. According to an app on my phone, we walked 10 miles that day! Yay, adventure!

A Delicious meal after a day of adventure!

Because of the lost day on Monday, we decided to make our trip out west a day trip instead of a two night trip, so we got our hotel room for two more nights and were picking up the car Wednesday morning. The hotel had a garage too, so it was very convenient to park for a day.

Wednesday! Neither of us got up before noon even though my husband was planning on picking up the car around 8 or 9. That didn't happen. He got back around 3 or so and we headed out to lunch and the Guinness Storehouse. While we were headed in what we thought was the right direction, I asked to check the map and another friendly local with a less thick accent asked if we were looking for Guinness and pointed to the sign where we needed to turn (seriously, the people in Ireland were awesome everywhere). Almost there, we ran into some people who asked us if we were from here because they were looking for something. "No, but we have a map," we say. "It wouldn't be on the map," they say, "we're looking for the oldest pub in Ireland." They meant the Brazen Head, and it was right across the road where we had lunch. Yay, I can help like a local!

The Brazen Head, Ireland's Oldest Pub

The Museum closes at 7, so we didn't have a lot of time to go through the self-guided tour. We did manage to make it for the last Guinness tasting of the night and the last 'pour the perfect pint' class. That place was pretty neat, even though we only saw half of it. It was pouring rain by the time we got out so we picked up dinner at Subway (I know, I know!) and headed back to the hotel for the night.

Pouring the Perfect Pint

Put yourself in a Guinness ad!

Thursday! Up early for a good ole Irish breakfast (Irish bacon is some serious bacon!) then we hit a convenience store for supplies and started driving. We rented a GPS with the car which ended up being awesome. We had to look up how to get the car in reverse though, because husband insisted on a manual transmission. The only problem with the drive west was the fog. It was so thick we probably only had 10 yards of visibility, if that, and that wasn't much at highway speeds. We didn't see the toll plaza until we were right up on it. Thankfully, there were not a lot of cars on the road. We got to Galway and walked for about 30 minutes (which was the length of time at the parking space we found).

Serious Fog

It was impossible to see anything with that fog that seemed to just stick to us out of Dublin. No beautiful countryside: all fog. I really wanted to see the Cliffs of Moher, though, so we started driving south from Galway, even though we probably wouldn't be able to see anything at all in this fog. I came to the conclusion along that drive that Ireland has one weather for the whole island - that day it was fog. Did I mention the fog? Fog. Really fog. Everywhere fog. We drove up this little mountain that defined hair pin turn, it was a little unnerving. Yay, adventure. At this point in the drive, I was reflecting on some of the other countries I have visited: like the moment in Paris where I put my hand on a wall of Notre Dame Cathedral and almost started crying. I was thinking about our trip to Ireland, the one place in the world I want to see more than any other, and we had seen some very fun things, but I didn't have a moment like that - where it was suddenly real and it was suddenly magical that I was actually there. Why was this place, where I most wanted to be, not like that? Then we crested a little hill and the fog was gone. GONE! Rolling hills! Mountains in the distance! Sheep! Cottages! The Atlantic Ocean! The Aran Islands! You could see the fog behind us but the way ahead was clear, clear, clear. Clear and beautiful. And I had my magical moment. 

Suddenly, no fog! Just look at that countryside!

We got to the Cliffs and the guy at the gate was all "it's a really beautiful, clear day!" and we were like, "we know, we just came out of the fog!" and he laughed and said usually it's the opposite, foggy at the cliffs and clear everywhere else. There was a little exhibit thing inside one of the buildings about the cliffs and the ecosystem there and it was all very neat, but I was worried the fog would catch up to us so we didn't spend a lot of time inside. The view over the Atlantic was awesome. We could see the fog rolling in over the Aran Islands. Ravens were flying. I'm so glad we went. I'm so glad we weren't defeated by the fog and changed our mind about trying the cliffs that day. Yay, adventure!

The Cliffs of Moher, County Clare

Just as we were leaving, the fog caught up. It made for a not so fun drive back, through Shannon and Limerick, in the dark and fog and rain. We picked up a pizza (I know! But pizza with bacon on it in Ireland has Irish bacon on it! Divine!) for dinner once we got back to Dublin because we were tired and didn't want to get dolled up and go out again.

At the Cliffs of Moher, before the fog caught up to us!

Friday! Last morning in Ireland. Very sad. It was kind of rainy, but less foggy. We had talked about walking around for one last bit, and I thought about hitting the Distillery gift shop once more, but decided against it lest we get lost again. We did walk to the convenience store by the church for travel snacks and then headed to the airport. We had to turn the car in at noon but our flight wasn't until 5. The airport in Dublin is awesome in that you can go through US Customs right there before leaving, making landing stateside way convenient. We did some duty free shopping (because what else are we going to do waiting around the airport?). The flight back was a little irritating. There were many more people than on the flight over (where there were hardly any) and this one lady who was sitting in front of me reclined her seat and then moved to the seat next to husband which was a little closer to her family - without putting her seat up! RUDE!!! Husband likes to tell people that she was coughing and hacking the whole flight and "thanks for sitting next to me with that." Yay, adventure.

So, we land back in Boston. They wouldn't let us get out of the plane for 20 minutes because of congestion in the terminal. Boston Logan, not a fun place. The way this worked, since Aer Lingus is not a US carrier, we had to leave the international area and go back in the domestic area. We were worried that security would give us trouble with our duty free purchases (whiskey!) even though they were in a sealed bag with the date of purchase on the receipt clearly visible. There was a bit of a delay there, but we got through. We checked at US Airways to make sure our luggage was going to be on our flight. The guy looked confused as to why we would bother to ask (because you loaded it on a different flight on the way out and we wanted to make sure it would go through to DC with us) but said it would be on the flight with us.

Back to DC! We head to baggage claim! Our flight was on the monitors, but it didn't list a carousel number- that was blank. So we wandered through baggage claim for a bit and see nothing coming out. Husband went to ask where our luggage was while I waited. The announcement said something about a flight coming in from Tampa would be on carousel 7, and a bunch of people gathered, then another traveler came up to them and said the bags from Tampa were coming out on 11, though everyone heard 7. This does not bode well. Husband said they told him our luggage was coming out on 12, so we waited. Luggage came and people went and there we were, waiting. Waiting, for like an hour. We suddenly realized there was like no one in the baggage claim area. There was a couple to our left and a handful of people at the end of the hall. And no luggage. So husband asked again and they said carousel 12 and he said, no, we were there and our bags were not. They scanned the tag and said our bags got loaded on the flight after ours that was just landing. *headdesk* Ours were the first two bags on carousel 12 that time. The lesson: if you ever have to fly US Airways, please for the love of all things living, do not check your luggage. Do not trust your bags with them. They don't care when they show up. Bags in hand, we met MIL who drove us to her home where we left our car and then we drove the rest of the way. Yay home!

Yay, adventure!

(For the record, I will never fly US Airways again. We lost an entire day of our honeymoon and the only thing they could think to offer us in recompense is a single $100 voucher - that we can't even share! Some prodding finally got two vouchers out of them, with a ton of conditions, but the delay still cost us more than $200 to adjust our travel plans for the lost day. Seriously, dear readers, US Airways, which is owned by American Airlines, is dreadful. They don't care if they cause you inconvenience or to lose a day of your vacation and they won't make good on it. Think twice before you book with them. And if you have to book with them, for the love of cats and little fishes, do not check your luggage. Carry everything with you. Trust me here.)

Weekend Review

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to really talk about my weekend visit with my brother. It was busy!

On Friday, my parents and I packed up the CRV, put the dog, Buffy, in her special car seat, and headed down the road. It was a long drive, longer than usual because we had to stop more frequently to let the tiny dog walk. She was a little nervous in the car, but eventually settled down. She also did very well on her leash, I know my parents were working hard to get her ready for that.

We got to the hotel and mom took a nap while dad and I went for a brief swim in the saline pool. It was different. It still smelled like chlorine, but not as bad, and it didn't sting when you opened your eyes. I have issued opening my eyes underwater since my surgery anyway, but it was nice that it didn't burn!

We met up with my brother and Moon and they took us to a yummy Mexican place for dinner. The evening ended with plans to get an early start for Saturday, as it would involve an hour drive through the mountains to the Monterey Maple Festival.

This is the biggest thing to do out here other than the book fair. There is one road leading to Monterey from the eastern Augusta County, US 250, that was once the only east-west road to Richmond before the interstate was built. It wound through the mountains and national forests of Highland County. Just to give you an idea of how much in the middle of nowhere this place is, according to my brother, the total population of Highland County is 2500 people. This is a tiny point in Virginia, bordered on two sides by West Virginia. There are several other Maple Festivals, it's all really one big county-wide thing, but the best place is Monterey.

There were things like crafts, fresh-made pork rinds, homemade maple syrups and olive oils, local honey, and fresh, hot, unbelievably yummy maple donuts. We spent the better part of the morning here, browsed the booths, ate an early lunch, and piled back into my brother's truck with two dozen donuts.

Upon getting back to the house, we watched Monsters Vs Aliens and then had dinner at the Depot Grille in Staunton. This place is awesome. It's located at the Historic Staunton Station and the food is spectacular. My mom and I had been here once before on an earlier trip. I like Staunton (don't pronounce that U or the locals will have a fit!). It's a nice, old town.

I swam for an hour Sunday morning to try to make up for the non-Weight Watcher-friendly meals I had consumed over the last few days. We checked out and went to my brother's place in the late morning. Then we just hung out, with Animal Planet on the TV. Mom and I ran out to pick up lunch and then we were on our way back to the civilized world of Northern Virginia before 1600.

It was a fun, busy, and exhausting trip. I'm still trying to get back to my regular sleeping patterns, though it's hard because Aura is in heat (that's another story altogether).

Another Book Fair

I might have written about the last time my mother and I came to visit my brother that there was a huge book fair (I'm too tired right now to look it up). This book fair happens often, and it's two big warehouses full of every kind of book you could think of and amazingly cheap prices.

I tried not to break the bank here, but it's hard! There were cookbooks, and craft books, and audio books, and several things I had to put back. Yay, books!

After that, we spent the afternoon and evening watching movies. I need to get to bed!

Virginny

Hmm... my title is only a little less funny now that I've been living in Virginny for more than a year.

In any event, my parents and I made the 200 mile drive to visit my brother and Moon, way down in the bowels of the Shenandoah Valley. It's one of three trips we make every year, technically for Moon's birthday, which was a couple weeks ago.

My brother just had surgery to correct a hernia, so he's not doing much but sitting around. There is some talk of Moon taking us to a book fair tomorrow, though. We didn't explore what else may be happening. Even sitting around and watching movies with them is enough for me.

I'm sorry I don't get to see my brother and his wife more often. But, I love them both dearly, so even these few short weekends are good enough for me.

Back on Land

The 9th annual Patuxent River Sojourn was a blast!

Thursday was just a kick-off party, with dinner and a preliminary meeting before we did some drumming around the campfire and retired to our tents.

Friday was more adventure than anyone wanted, and much much less than what the media said it was. The river was flooded due to recent rains, much like the time we went out after a hurricane came through. Unknown to us at the time, the Brighton Dam about forty miles up river had been opened, surging the already swollen river. My completely non-scientific, based on memory and relativity, assessment is that the river rose a good eight feet by the end of the day. When we put in that morning, we were looking at about five feet more than normal. It would have been a great day on the water, but several factors were against us, the main one being that they wanted us all to stay as a group, which simply can't be done with some fifty paddlers and a narrow launch site. There's no way to wait on a fast moving and rising river. The call came in to secure our boats and abandon the river. We did, and reconvened at the 4-H center by the launch site to a gauntlet of EMTs and media. Leave it to the media to get in the way so much that a non-issue became the hot news of the day.

This is what one local station reported:
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0609/633369.html
There are hardly any facts there (especially in the video version). Jim Bridges is not a spokesperson for the Riverkeepers, and no one was lost on the river for hours, or lost at all for that matter.

I was with one group of paddlers who secured our boats on the river as best we could and walked out. We were intercepted by the owner of the property we ended up on, who called the 4-H center, who sent a van and an ambulance to pick us up. By that time, there were helicopters in the air, making it near impossible for the safety boater among us to keep in contact with the others via radio. The ambulance was completely unnecessary, but the cameras were worse.

Here's what really happened: The dam was opened, causing much more water on that part of the river. It brought the waterline up so much that trees that should have been hanging overhead became obstacles. The sojourn leaders wanted to keep the group of fifty or so paddlers together, so they launched us bit by bit and told us to wait. The thing is, with the water rising and the current increasing, you just can't float and wait. Some people held on to trees, got turned to the side and got pushed over. Some people held on to trees that broke and pushed them over. Some people held on to trees and had their kayaks swept out from under them. Some people came to rescue those people hanging on to trees, got turned to the side and got pushed over. Everyone made it to shore. With so many separated from their boats, and the conditions of the current and rising waters, they stopped putting people in the river. We were ordered to tie off our boats as best we could and walk the half-mile or so back to the launch site. With unknown terrain on the side of the river, and fast expanding at that, some people could not walk out. They were rescued by boat and the empty kayaks were retrieved later.

We all regrouped at the 4-H center, ran the gauntlet of cameras and reporters, told EMTs that we were ok and gave our names, then had lunch, made a plan to recover abandoned boats, and started ferrying everyone to the day's camp ground at Mt Calvert, eight miles down the river. The day was punctuated with some bluegrass and contradancing.

Here is the word from the riverkeeper's official blog:
http://www.paxriverkeeper.org/watch-this-spot-for-the-sojourn-blog/06/17/2009

A few other articles and blog posts I found, filled with inacuracies, have people commenting by calling us all irresponsible paddlers. To those, I say: get the facts first. No one was ever lost, sojourn leaders were in contact with safety boaters on the river, and all people and boats were accounted for. The media turned it into a problem that really was not one. Everyone followed instructions, no one was injured, and we could have taken the river if a few things were done differently, but there were reasons for not doing it that way. I will hit anyone who doesn't know the real story and calls me an irresponsible paddler with my paddle.

Saturday morning had us spilt up into four groups and work on some restoration and education projects. I spent that time making a sign for a nature play area at the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary. At one point, the bit fell out of the drill and I picked it up, burning my fingers on the hot bit. It blistered instantly. I had never used one of those tools before and didn't realize the bit would get so hot. My bad, moving on. We got back with the group and had lunch, then split up into three groups for paddling the area. I went up the Western Branch, were we were supposed to have a tour of the water treatment facility, but they cancelled because we were delayed by the rain. It was still a nice paddle. Saturday ended with a sing along show by a group called the Bremen Town Musicians. They played folk songs that most people learned as children (The Fox, Oh! Susanna, and others) so we could all sing with them. It was unbelievably fun!

On Sunday, we paddled five miles or so to Mattaponi Creek, stopping at the rural life living history museums at the north end of Jug Bay. We did a night paddle on the creek, which was spectacular. I love that creek, it's my favorite place to paddle. Seeing, hearing, it at night was amazing. They launched us about a minute apart so we could essentially experience the creek by ourselves (which isn't safe, of course, so they did it in this very controlled way). My dad, who was just behind me though by quite a distance, and I saw two juvenile Barred Owls on our way down. On our way back, we met with the group who had walked to the bridge to try to call out some owls. They played a recording of the Barred Owl's call and at least six owls, two adults and four juveniles, responded. That moment was one of the most beautiful things I've ever experienced in my life.

We set out on Monday, the hottest day of our trip, for another eight mile paddle (I say another, even though we never really made the first eight mile paddle that should have been Friday). Somehow, we missed the creek that was to take us to the lunch stop. By the time we realized it, it was about thirty minutes back up river, where our final stop of the trip was forty-five minutes down river. Sojourn leaders decided it would be best to fill everyone up with water, sunscreen, and snack bars and press on. A couple kids started to experience heat exhaustion and were pulled to the support boat, a motor boat that could carry tired paddlers and kayaks that was with us for the whole trip except Friday (the boat was too big for that part of the river). I saw two kids run out of water on the way and look like no one could do anything about it. I told the paddle leader we needed to stop and refresh everyone, and we did so. That really seemed to help, and several paddlers told me so after learning that I had called that brief break. Unfortunately, there is only so much that sunblock can to for my fair skin, and I ended up with painful burns on my feet, thighs and forearms.

All in all, it was a very fun trip. I hope to go again next year for the lower part of the river. Now, I want to curl up with some aloe and my fuzzy kitty and sleep! Pictures haven't been loaded yet. Maybe tomorrow.

Vacation Alert!

I'm on vacation! I have been since last Friday at 1500, really. Details.

Tomorrow, I will make a quick stop at the mechanic to take a look at what is causing the check engine light on my car to illuminate. Then it's pack and pack and pack!

On Thursday, dad and I will head to the kayak landing at Queen Anne. We kayak there a lot but this time, it will be a whole four days of kayaking, with camping in between. I'm so excited!

Since this is time spent on the water and camping, there will be no Internet and I will not risk my computer anyway. I'll see you when we get back!

So Sad When These Days Come

Well, this was it. The last day of a long string of days where life was not about fifty mile commutes or how much more work could be piled onto me. This span of days was about being with friends, about doing something new, about being shown favorite haunts, and really just about living. Much of how my time here in Boise was spent was new to my incredible hosts too. And when it was not new, it was something they knew and enjoyed and wanted to share with me.

This image was taken from Aspen's back window yestereve during our little party for her. How lucky she is to be able to wake up to mountains every day.



Today was a shipping day. In addition to the orders that my hosts had to send out, I also had to send a package; to myself. I didn't break the bank on this trip, which was good, but there was no extra room in my suitcase to start.

After the post office, we went to lunch at this funky little cafe in town, and then headed off to the Idaho History Museum. This place, while nothing like the big museums of the Smithsonian that I'm used to (as you might imagine), had it's own kind of local charm. It was, after all, all about local history. The natives who once flourished, the first settlers and gold miners, the people who worked so hard to develop the city and the beautiful park where the museum stood. I love local history.

Here is a picture of a painting of Idaho's Great Seal, the only one of all US Great Seals to have been designed by a woman, Emma Edwards in 1891:

Pretty neat, huh?

However, the most interesting part of the entire museum, to me, was this:

The doll on the left is from 1927, and was one of 58 dolls sent to the US as part of the "Doll Messengers of Goodwill Project." The project was, you guessed it, to promote goodwill between the US and Japan, and friendship between each country's children. This doll, called Miss Nara and gifted by Japan to the people of Idaho, had been restored in 1994, but is still cracked and in need of repair due to the difference in humidity between Idaho and Japan. The doll on the right is New Miss Nara, given to the people of Idaho after the restoration efforts on the first Miss Nara. Both dolls are in traditional Japanese kimono and surrounded by some really cool accessories. It makes me want to find out what happened to the other 57 dolls that were sent here as part of the program. Sounds like some research is in order!

And here, the last picture of the day and of the trip. Glen and Willow and I around the statue of Shoshoni Sacajawea and her infant son Pomp.

This was not the kind of vacation that I feel came and went. Maybe that was because our days were never boring, even the days where we did not go out were not dull in any way. I also don't feel that I "need a vacation to rest from my vacation," as they say, but I will need a bit of time to get back on track in my time zone.

But I am quite sorry to see it end. I really like this area. The mostly clean, not humid air. The lack of tons of cars and traffic and the calmer atmosphere. The nearness of the city and fun things to do in and around it. And I really like being able to see my friends and talk to them and not have to wait on the computer every day hoping one of them would post something and tell me how they're doing. If I miss nothing else that I leave behind me in Boise, I will miss being able to see my friends. That, after all, was the whole point in coming anyway. It's not as depressing as it may sound! I know I'll be back again. And maybe with some frequent flyer miles to help me along. And maybe with a job prospect and a house prospect or something that would make visiting happen with the folks back in frantic DC. You never know.

Zoo Boise

Today, Glen had an appointment in town and Willow and I had another girly thing to do while we waited for him. After that, it was off to the zoo in Julia Davis Park. It's quite small in comparison to the National Zoo that I'm used to, of course, but the fact that they have a zoo is cool enough for me!

The first thing we saw was this lovely tiger.


We then headed over to another area to say hello to the komodo dragon. I had no idea they were so big!


Next was lunch. We ate in the park because of the convenience. You don't really want to leave when you're in the middle of something, you know? And you use too much energy to go somewhere else anyway. It was rather hot and I was concerned that we wouldn't have the energy to see any more after we ate. So, food at zoo it was!

After a mediocre and not so healthy lunch, we went to their special butterfly exhibit. Glen's shirt was really popular.


I got one white butterfly on my hand, and Willow had a big blue one land on her hair. I guess our shirts were not attractive colors!

Then we saw the rest of the zoo! Even though it was small, I really liked it. We're going to try to hit the Idaho History Museum tomorrow after important work things like shipping are done.

This evening, we visited Aspen. Today was her last day of a really crappy job, and we went over with a few liquors to put in our coffee for a little celebration. I was really glad I got the chance to meet her, she is a very pleasant lady.

And one more picture (of the 160+ I took) for the wonderful O'Danny Girl fans back home:

Next Time, Check the Weather

No, it didn't rain. (it rained for some thirty seconds this afternoon, though.)

You know, August in many places in the United States is a rather hot month. I know it's particularly hot and humid in my neck of the woods, and while I've never previously been in Idaho in August, I was pretty sure it would be just as hot or worse than Idaho in July. So, naturally, I didn't pack a single warm article of clothing for my trip. Sure, I have a lightweight hoodie and some long pants for the plane, but no long sleeved shirts or long jeans or socks.

So, we picked up the three part tent from Glen's mother Aspen and their extra sleeping bag and headed up to the campsite just outside of Idaho City, Grayback Gulch. We picked a spot where they have camped before, that has a little stream running through it. Well, it's been so incredibly dry lately that there was no stream and the ground was hard. Really hard. We pitched our tents...



... and made dinner. We took silly pictures of us, and this one of the sun shining through the trees.



My friends had one air mattress that they let me use (we forgot to borrow one of those from Aspen too) and I was borrowing a pair of socks and decent shoes from Willow. When it got dark, there really was no reason to stay awake any longer, so to bed we went, around 2200 or so.

HOLY CRAP!!! None of us, not one, suspected it would get so cold! We have no idea the actual temperature, but it was cold! I was so thankful for my hoodie and borrowed socks and sleeping bag, but even so, not much sleep was to be had. And if it wasn't the cold, it was the dogs barking and howling in the distance. Or the ground squirrels who were holding a drill march right outside the tent.

Maybe it wasn't the best night to do it, but I'd never been camping like that before, so I'm still quite happy to have the experience. And in the morning, we had this:


Even the cold night didn't matter so much.

We headed into Idaho City for some breakfast. We really like that town, crazy wolf-hating guy and all. It was just so neat when we saw it a year ago, and I know my friends have been back since then as well.

We decided to take the really long way back to Boise and ended up driving a dirt road through some breathtaking mountains.

Even with the loud cold night, in our crazy ginormous tent, it was a perfect way to spend the night.

Tomorrow, Glen has a dental appointment, so Willow and I will drop him off and probably do some more girly things while we wait for him. After that, it may be the Boise Zoo and the tour train, or we may do that on Tuesday. It's hard to believe that the end of my trip is nigh. But it's not so nigh to consider it over yet!

This is All You Get Today

This morning, we woke up and headed to a little farmer's and crafter's market downtown. It was cute, and I bought something neat, and we got some fresh berries and green beans and bread for tonight. Then it was home and lunch and here we are!

We're about ready to pack up and head out to the campsite, so I'm posting now because I won't be back in front of a computer until Sunday.

Today is very hot, so I think being in the woods will be nice. I'll take lots of pictures! I also called my dad this morning, so they know that I'm still alive and well and all that jazz.

So, that's the day and the beginning of the weekend and it's time to pack and pick up the tent and be off! Weee!

Not Shut In

My friends' business is rather all-time-consuming. They like to joke that they only get out once a week, and sometimes it's only Willow who gets out that one day a week. It's not a joke, they really do get out into the world once a week! (Of course, it's been much more than that since I've been visiting.)

Since the need arose to do some more business-related shopping, Willow and I went out into the world today (after I put my cheesecake in the oven!). But this time, I was able to add some girly shopping in there too. We picked up some business supplies and some new wood for Glen, then the fun began! On the way to the fabric store and Walmart (the last two business related stops), we went to an awesome bead store. I picked up a few intricate glass beads and I can't wait to design something for them. We also went by Crone's Cupboard, the shop that puts on GoddessFest and I got a new divination deck, because I just couldn't wait to find it when I get home. Then it was off to the fancy jewelry store where I got my desired Idaho Star Garnet in a necklace. I also picked up something for my mother's September birthday, an Idaho Opal (my birthstone being opal), and earrings with teal-colored gems made from the ashes of the most recent Mount Saint Helen's eruption. Cool! And what could be more girly than shopping for jewelry? After that, we went to a stone store to see if they had something called moldevite. They did, and I had to have some. Many people don't like moldevite, a meteor rock, because its vibrations are very strong. I think it's like Reiki in a rock. If you read a description of some of the properties of moldevite, you can substitute that word with Reiki and it would still be a perfect description. I'm excited to use this stuff! So, after the stone place, we headed to the mall for a little giggly, girly escapade. Then we completed the business-related shopping and headed home to start dinner.

We watched a really dumb movie that they bought at Walmart for $1 during dinner. There's a reason why we haven't seen Mark Hamill in anything other than Star Wars! After that, it was up to the office for some work and cheesecake while we watched The Mists of Avalon. I think my friends did not believe me when I said my cheesecake is very rich!

Hmm... I feel like I should be writing in pink after all that girly shopping! Tomorrow the itinerary is a local farmer's market for some fresh fruits and veggies, and to swing by Glen's parents' place to pick up their large tent. We're going to go camping!

Day of Rest

We had such a late night yesterday that we really needed the rest today! Well, there wasn't much rest going on, both Willow and Glen had some orders to make today. Poor Glen works in the hot garage, but Willow and I got to listen to a movie while we worked. I say we, but I was doing hobby work, not livelihood work. And I say listen because we were busy working and not watching much.

I had brought some macrame to work on, and I have a few other projects in mind. Tomorrow is a working day too, and I still have plenty to do. This laptop sure is getting a work out! It had played two movies for us today. I can't recall a time when I've ever used it so much. Good! It was expensive (though I got it on a really good sale)!

I treated my friends to salmon cakes for dinner today. It was the first time I had actually made my mother's recipe, and I think it was very good, if I do say so myself. I can't remember exactly, but tomorrow might be the day I planned to make drunken meatballs. We've got it planned out anyway, even if I don't remember the day! We might go camping on Saturday evening at a camp site just outside Idaho City (you might remember that town from last year's trip). Tomorrow, I will make my favorite and best recipe; New York style cheesecake. Say "yum" with me now!

Yum!

Tomorrow, in addition to my baking and some more work, we're hoping to run by those shops I had wanted to go to (the Star Garnet place, a bead shop, and a few others).

If this were a letter and not my blog, this would be the part where I say I hope all of you are having as fun and restful a time as I'm having right now. There are some cool things in Idaho after all.

I got clawed by Bandit. He was at the top of the carpet tree and was falling off. I reached out to catch him, and managed to do so, with the flesh of my hand. Don't worry! It's not like I've never gotten a cat scratch before! And he didn't fall, which means my rather silly maneuver worked. Go me!

Long live Sloth! The poor thing did not survive twenty-four hours in his new tank. We learned a lot about sea hares while they had him, so maybe another one can be gotten some day. I guess the time just wasn't right. Maybe later. I love my friends' aquarium. It makes me miss having fish. But I also wouldn't want my cats to get them. While Callie would leave a fish alone, Miss Luna would not. Maybe some day I can have some aquatic life in my home too. We loved Sloth!

It's Been a Long Day

I'm not really sure why we seemed to have moved so slow this morning. There was no need for haste, really, and we did get up rather early. We had to run by Glen's parent's home, where his mother Aspen had coffee and fresh berry muffins waiting for us. We chatted with her, and I got to meet the adorable puppies she breeds, and see some of her gorgeous dolls. I don't make dolls near of the caliber of Aspen. She's a very sweet lady.

We headed out to Craters of the Moon around 1300 and arrived around 1600, exactly as long as we were expecting to drive. I made a small purchase in the gift shop before we hit the park. Craters of the Moon is a lava field. The last eruption was around 2,000 years ago, and they are predicting another very soon, as has been this fault's pattern, now under Yellowstone. If it wasn't for all the shrubbery and plethora of animals, it would be a vast expanse of wasteland.



But it was not a wasteland. The hardened flow was teeming with life everywhere.

This image is of ice in the Boy Scout Cave. Some of the flow created underground caverns that you (and your trusty flashlight) can wander through. It was a lot like stepping into a dark, air conditioned room. The temperature change was such a welcomed escape from the arid heat topside.



Willow, being Hawaiian, was defining the Hawaiian words that are used to describe the flow of lava. I don't know how to spell them, and I could ask her as she's sitting just behind me, but we're all tired. I might do that later.

The haze you see above the rock is mostly from heat, but there have been a lot of fires in Idaho of late. Some of that fog might be smoke.



After the caves, we went to the campsite and grilled some turkey burgers for dinner. Then we climbed a nearby lava rock hill for this sunset view.




After that (and 110 pictures, I might add), we were back in the car and homeward bound.
On the way, we saw many stars, lots of suicidal bugs, and some very peculiar red lights just outside of Mountain Home (that's a town outside of Boise). Those red lights were actually some of the brush fires that have afflicted this poor state. The air was heavy and the scent of burning wood lingered. The world is thirsty.
While the day had nothing to do with the harvest celebration that is Lughnasadh (unless you count the amazing fertility of the volcanic soil), I can't think of a better way to have spent such a day.
Happy Lughnasadh.

Shopping Adventure

My friends own a salt water fish tank. They have a few snails and a hermit crab or two, two clown fish, a bunch of awesome coral, and when I arrived they had a shrimp. Their tank is lacking a bit of upkeep; there is a lot of algae living in it. They got a slug once, a sea hare, when they had two shrimps. One of the shrimps, and they never knew which one, murdered the sea hare, so they were going to wait for both shrimps to die before they tried to get another sea hare. Last night, we noticed Archimedes had died. We toasted, and they began plotting the purchase of another sea hare.

What does this have to do with shopping?

We didn't get out until late in the day. They had a ton of products to be shipped and it was well after noon before we were ready to head out. That's ok, I finished a project I had wanted to finish before I left, but never got the chance. It was a beaded pendant of their business logo, if you want to know. I had planned to make one for everyone who came for Goddessfest, but since that was only me, I only had to make three.

Anyway, late in the day we went to lunch, the bank, the post office, and to Michael's where I got some beads that are not available in my area and embroidery floss to occupy myself when my friends have to get back to work. See, some people may not understand this, but I understand that my friends have a business to run, and there is a limited amount of time they can spend with me. I am and will always be fully supportive of their business, and I am more than happy to do other things while their work gets done. They still have to pay rent and buy food and all that whether I'm here visiting or not. We also went by the gem store that sells the Idaho Star Garnets (that I really really want!) too late in the day. But it wasn't a wasted trip, we now know what time they close and can head back there again.

We stopped by a few other stores and then headed to a store called Fish, Aquariums, and Stuff. Only in Idaho! We spent a lot of time there, picking out the desired sea hare and eyeing the blue tang. I drooled over the bettas and the cute guppies and the beautiful anemones. After some time, someone appeared to help us, and pointed out another sea hare we were not even looking at. This one was green and looked and moved very much like an elaborate rock. They, with a little input from me, decided they liked the green guy (the shopkeeper said he'd been there for a really long time), made their purchase, and back to the house we went to acclimatize the new creature. They were going to name it Shrek II, after Shrek, the first sea hare that got mutilated by the shrimp. I was busy thinking about the thing that was still behaving like a moss covered rock and thought that it needed a better name. He needed something that reflected on his unbelievable slowness (in fact, I hadn't seen him move at all!) and the only creature I can think of that is considered comparably slow is a sloth. SLOTH!! Perfect! We're all fans of the movie Goonies, so I said "I think you should call him Sloth." As I thought; perfect.

And here's Sloth on his new rock (I'm sorry if the image is a little grainy, I can't tell on this laptop to adjust it).


We went back out to Walmart to do the real shopping; food, ingredients for the dishes I will be making later this week, and a few supplies (and food) for tomorrow's outing. We came home (to their home, of course), had dinner, and watched Kindergarten Cop, while Sloth made the rounds in his new home.

Now, if you never thought shopping could not be so fun, you might want to ask Sloth!

Tomorrow, we're taking a trip to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, which my friends say is not that far away. And it also seems like a Sabbat-appropriate thing to do!

Glen Called me a Geek!

Today was basically a clean-up day. We had to re-establish the office, take inventory, calculate profits, all that jazz.

All weekend, we were pulling exploding caterpillars from the tent, product, people. We're actually not sure what they were, some kind of larvae maybe, but they were very fragile and the slightest touch would squish the little guys, causing their yellow guts to smear everywhere. We had to pull the buggers from the inventory today too. Exploding caterpillars were the running gag of the festival.

Really, there's not much to talk about, and that's as it should be, I'm on vacation! My friends have some incredibly cute cats.

Tomorrow is big shopping day.

And just because I know all eight Star Wars movies does not make me a geek! I've never seen a complete episode of Dr. Who, you know.

Sleeping in Tomorrow

Goddessfest is done. It was not nearly as lucrative as last year. We heard that was the case across the board. Still, it would have been nice for a little bit of cash.

Don't get me wrong, the few customers I had were great, and I even got half of the required names for my assessment. However, I didn't even make half of what I made last year.

I'm still pretty wiped out. I just typed 'made' above, and I first typed 'maid' (and did it again for this example). We've got a few more things to do to finish up this evening, which doesn't even include unpacking the car that we borrowed from Glen's parents for the weekend. That's alright, though, because there's no specific early time that we must get up tomorrow. Yippie!

Oh sleep! It is a gentle thing

What a long day. I can't even talk about my day!

I think we woke up at 0600. We stopped by Walmart on the way to the park, and arrived around 0740. We set up and were ready in time.

Willow's tarot and Witchstone readings were pretty popular. I had three Reiki customers today (one non-paying and another who got a quick five minutes). We didn't sell a whole lot of product either.

Walking around the festival, it seemed to be that way everywhere. There were far less people there than last year. And the really sad part is that prices went up for the rental of the park and other administrative things. If a little prosperity doesn't come our way, for all the vendors and the festival itself, it will not happen again next year.

Tomorrow will be better.

(Remember, I'm posting in Mountain Time!)

Not So Fun

You'll remember that I've already been unhappy with my forced three hour layover in Chicago. That flight, that was supposed to leave at 1020 got pushed back, and pushed back, and pushed back, and we didn't start boarding until 1200. Yes, that turned my three hour layover into a five hour layover. Even with all the things I brought to keep myself occupied, and with all the wonderful people around to talk to who were also delayed, I was soooo bored!

But I arrived in Boise around 1440 with no major problems, just a long delay.

So, hello from Idaho!

I'll be here until August 8th, but I'll try not to miss a day!