Siren Songs

Winter Batizado 2012

2012-01-29T14:29:00.000-08:00

Saturday night after sundown I ventured over to Anne and Mago's sweet church house for the post batizado roda. I got there quite early but enjoyed eating with the out-of-towners who came to help teach workshops or just to enjoy the event. Soon tons more people arrived and the multi-hour roda commenced. I enjoyed playing a round, but probably my favorite part of the night was chatting in Spanish with some folks originally from Venezuela and learning about their country and current political situation. Wow, it had been a long time since I'd really done that. It made me really miss visiting South America. A future trip this year may be in order.

I also enjoyed getting the full tour of the house/church. There are all sorts of fun secret rooms, a moveable book case, a zipline, and even a secret passageway. Anne and Mago's kids are going to have so much fun growing up here.

Batizado Weekends Make me Contemplative

2012-01-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

We spend a lot of weekends in nature...and not in church. I'd like to say that my spiritual life has only been enhanced by all this time in nature, but that isn't completely true. It's more like I just don't feel bad about being in nature and climbing, hiking 14ers, etc. on the Sabbath. But honestly I don't get the same spiritual nourishment as I do going to church; I feel like I lose some connection to my spiritual life...or maybe I just feel this way if I'm never going to church (like right now). The problem is, if I were to only go to church on Sabbath and miss out on our nature weekends, I know I would feel trapped and would secretly be resentful.

When I was in college, all of this wasn't much of an issue. My friends and I had plenty of outdoor activities we loved to do in no more than an hour away from our homes. We could go to church (usually the wonderfully early Spanish church), then head off towards the rock or river. Nature, social, and spiritual yearnings satiated. Since that time I've lived in places where that isn't really feasible. And well, I love road tripping, seeing new places, and all of our friends live in other parts of the state. So traveling off we go.

But I've felt myself drifting spiritually, and I think there needs to be some sort of balance. How badly and how often do we humans need to be involved in collective worship?

En Tus Pupilas

2012-01-26T23:22:00.001-08:00

Letra de En Tus Pupilas :
Quand tu me prends dans tes bas
Quand je regarde dans tes yeux
Je vois que Dieu existe
C' est pas dur croire

Antes de conocerte el mundo era plano
Aunque lo discuta usted Señor Galilei
Y me canse de besar ranas en vano
Pero el príncipe azul
Jamás no encontré

Y así llegaste tu
Devolviéndome la fe
Sin poemas y sin flores
Con defectos con errores
Pero en pie

Y siento
Algo en ti algo entre los dos
Que me hace insistir
Cuando miro en tus pupilas se que Dios no dejo de existir
Tu lo haces vivir
Tu lo haces vivir

La vida es una colección de recuerdos
Pero a nada como tu recuerdo tan bien
Desde la redondez de tus labios
Al olor de tu pelo
Al color de tu piel

No pienses que te iras y me voy a resignar
Eres lo mejor que me ha pasado
Entre lo mundano y lo sagrado
Y aun mas

Y siento
Algo en ti algo entre los dos
Que me hace insistir
Cuando miro en tus pupilas se que Dios no dejo de existir
Tu lo haces vivir
Tu lo haces vivir

The Cullens Don't Come Here

2012-01-20T22:07:00.000-08:00

Pictures by Becky

The Last of My 20s

2012-01-16T14:28:00.000-08:00

Ouray Ice Festival

2012-01-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

New Years with the Family

2012-01-03T14:26:00.000-08:00

Christmas on Ice

2011-12-26T14:24:00.000-08:00

Shelf Road and Christmas Roda

2011-12-22T14:23:00.000-08:00

Ice Climbing at Wolf Creek

2011-12-20T14:22:00.000-08:00

Festivity, Frustration, and Fur

2011-12-04T20:40:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!

2011-12-03T08:20:00.000-08:00

Canyoneering into the San Rafael Swell

2011-11-18T21:22:00.001-08:00

Ice Climbing at Lincoln Falls

2011-11-07T21:19:00.000-08:00

What If?

2011-11-04T22:03:00.000-07:00

I think we all have times when we doubt whatever it is we believe in. Sometimes I find myself unsure but hoping so much that God and Jesus are real simply because I love His example and story.

"What If" by Nichole Nordeman

What if you're right?
And he was just another nice guy
What if you're right?
What if it's true?
They say the cross will only make a fool of you
And what if it's true?

What if he takes his place in history
With all the prophets and the kings
Who taught us love and came in peace
But then the story ends
What then?

But what if you're wrong?
What if there's more?
What if there's hope you never dreamed of hoping for?
What if you jump?
And just close your eyes?
What if the arms that catch you, catch you by surprise?
What if He's more than enough?
What if it's love?

What if you dig
Way down deeper than your simple-minded friends
What if you dig?
What if you find
A thousand more unanswered questions down inside
That's all you find?

What if you pick apart the logic
And begin to poke the holes
What if the crown of thorns is no more
Than folklore that must be told and retold?

You've been running as fast as you can
You've been looking for a place you can land for so long
But what if you're wrong?

Amerca, the Beautiful and the Ugly

2011-11-04T21:44:00.000-07:00

Things that are nice about the US of A:
1. Free beverage refills
2. Accessible restrooms
3. National Parks
4. Football
5. Cultural diversity

Things that are not so nice:
1. Corporations and company chains taking over our industries (restaurants, clothing stores, etc.)
2. Lack of good public transportation (namely trains)
3. Box homes and stores that lack any sense of soul
4. Factory farms
5. Traffic
6. Obesity
7. Electronic addiction

Halloween in Spirit Springs

2011-11-01T21:45:00.000-07:00

We were fortunate to have my sis, bro-in-law, and niece visit on for three days as a stop on their way moving out east. During their stay they got to experience our best holiday and see the coffin races, go on a very non-scary haunted historical tour, visit the zoo, drive up a 14er, and even do a little trick-or-treating. Sadie did so great. She'd get candy from someone in town and always say thank-you. Very impressive for a gal less then two years old.

The St. Paulie "girls" at the coffin races

The dead rock stars: Jimi, Janis, Jim, Kurt, and Amy

Some of the ghosts we met on our haunted historical tour through town

Feeding my favorite African animal at the zoo

Meerkats!

Bird budgies

Taking the chairlift to the top of the zoo

Sadie bagged her first 14er

Having fun at the Penny Arcade

Sadie's favorite game

Classic trick or treating in our hippie town

Happy Halloween!

Back to Telluride with Nathan and Jess...and some new loved ones

2011-10-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

Jessica found a deal on Living Social for half off on hotel rooms with a jacuzzi, steam shower, fireplace, etc. in Telluride, so we decided to all take advantage. I hadn't been to the town since they let me and some boys join them for the end of their honeymoon at the Telluride bluegrass festival six years ago, but I've been raving about it ever since. I was quite excited to return. We fly-fished, rock climbed, mountain biked, and ambled around the dead town. The rooms were cheap because this is definitely their off season...quite different then when the hundreds of people are there for the festival.

The boys fly-fished while Jess and I played with Genevieve

Rappelling down the Pipe Line wall with a view of Telluride (and the festival grounds) in the background

Bridal Veil falls ("mega classic" ice climb) and the pump house

The quiet (for now) town of Telluride

Enjoying the last bit of fall at the Ophir Wall. The place was just as chossy as I remembered it. We only did the first pitch of our route because it was loose and dirty.

Darren made me cross this tree. I could see hundreds of beaver teeth marks on the log.

A unicycler outside our pizza restaurant

Genevieve having fun at the restaurant

Books of 2011

2011-10-25T18:47:00.000-07:00

1. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (fiction)

Finished January 2011

Required in public schools, forbidden in Sevy institutions. I think it's time to read this teenage classic. Darren and I are continuing our unintentional perusal of books featuring islands (We read Swiss Family Robinson and Treasure Island last year).

--Talk about some id overcoming the ego! Watch out pigs...you shall be slaughtered. Yikes. No wonder this book is a classic. I was fascinated how the boy was saved from destruction by a man going off to destroy others. Ironic, no?

2. The Know-It-All by A. J. Jacobs (nonfiction)

Finished March 2011

Nonfiction about the author's quest to read through the entire encyclopedia. Just like the author, I wish I could remember all the information I read, but unfortunately I fear I have forgotten most of it.

3. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (fiction)

He won a Pulitzer, so it has got to be good, right?

Finished April 2011

I learned about Turkey/Greece, Detroit, and hermaphrodites. The book was very well written, hence I was able to read it in just a few days. There was some gross sexual stuff, but overall I liked the book a lot. It did what I believe art should do--make us aware and observe important aspects of life that we tend to overlook.

4. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (fiction)
Important Classic literature, or so I've heard.
April 2011
Interesting take on how the world will be taken over and our minds controlled. I feel like many of the things he talked about have already come to pass in a more downplayed way.

5. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris (nonfiction)
I heard him speak and he signed my book with a rabbit and told me a dirty joke. I told him a joke about poo. It was fun.
Finished May 2011
Hilariously entertaining

6. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris (fictional satire)
Finished May 2011
I didn't like this book as well as his family story books, but I do feel like there was a deeper message in each anecdote that I could have got if I hadn't been so lazy and had actually tried to figure it out

7. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry (fiction)
Popular new book that was on the New York Times Bestseller List for over a year, so I hope it is good.
Finished June 2011
I should have contemplated the thoughts of this book with more depth, but I admit that I did not. It seemed at the conclusion that these things are important: friendship, helping people that will let you help them, and finding rare moments of beauty amongst the "never"--things that will not return and through the woes of life.

8. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (fiction)

Get ready for some cow slaughtering. Yikes. At least I hear that it made some huge changes in safety and cleanliness in the workplace and maybe with animal humaneness? I'm not sure, but I am curious.
Finished June 2011
From what I read in the afterword, Sinclair was trying to turn people towards socialism, but instead made more of an impact on getting pure food laws past during the presidency of Teddy Roosevelt. I could, however, sense the desperation and feeling of utter helplessness that Sinclair portrays of his characters living in their unfortunate situations...driven to such depths that they do anything to survive.

9. Watership Down by Richard Adams (fiction)
Finished June 2011
Very intriguing and imaginative book about fictional rabbits. I always remembered seeing this book on Stella's bookshelf growing up and was curious. Stella has good taste, and I was not disappointed.

10. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (fiction)
Finished July 2011
I read this in basically one night while we had a four hour delay in Denver due to a 30 minute thunderstorm. How that makes sense, I do not know. Anyhoo, this was a book I'd been wanting to read for a long time and I finally did it! The story was so creative and emotional. What a great idea to write a story about a mentally challenged guy who undergoes an experimental procedure to make him a genius.

11. Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer (nonfiction)
Finished July 2011
I feel like I understand Mormonism and fundamental Mormonism much more fully now. It's amazing what people will do in the name of god, no matter who that god may be.

12. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (fiction)
He also won a Pulitzer. And I need a little Latin American literature now and then.
Finished July 2011
Lots of cursing and topics not appropriate for children, but I did think his writing unique. And, I felt like I learned more about the Trujillo era in the Dominican Republic. What a crazy, horrible time for that country. I've been to the DR three or four times, interacted with the people there, visited their beaches, roamed the streets, and would have never guessed all the terribleness and fear they had to live (or not live) through. And it seems that if you had a pretty daughter, you had to be quadruply scared. Yick.

13. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (fiction)

Finished August 2011

I got through half of Fast Food Nation and needed a children's pick-me-up book

14. The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan (fiction)

Finished August 2011

Still distracted by kids books

15. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins (fiction)

Finished August 2011

Two complete strangers randomly recommended these three young adult books to me. While it was an interesting view of post-apopolyptic manner, it was too negative in my opinion. Even though there was a semi-happy ending to the story, it left me feeling icky. I know stories are not all supposed to be rosy, but the books ultimately also became tiring and I couldn't wait for the last to end.

16. The Giver by Lois Lowry (fiction)

Finished September 2011

I was really glad I read this book immediately after the aforementioned trilogy. This slim book made, in my opinion, a greater point in probably 600 less pages. Both of these pieces of literature did remind me of Brave New World and 1984 in many ways, showing worlds trying to form very controlled societies with different methods, and the eventual results and reactions of those societies.

17. The Help by Kathryn Stockett (fiction)

Finished September 2011

I really enjoyed the book and later the movie. It was inspiring even though it was fiction, and, again, gave me a new perspective on how things were during that time.

18. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (nonfiction)

This book, from what I've heard, talks a lot about Colorado and the meat industry. I've also read that it has similarities to The Jungle. So for all these reasons, it should be interesting...and I'm sure depressing.

Finished September 2011
Interesting coverage of many aspects of the industry--where the food comes from, how they make it taste certain ways, employees, etc. I'm swearing off fast food as much as possible, so I guess the book was successful.

19. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (fiction)
Finished September 2011

I have read that Agatha Christie is the highest selling author after the Bible and Shakespeare. I haven't really read many mysteries, but this one was interesting.

20. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson (fiction)
Finished September 2011

Interesting fictional story dealing with modern day racism, agism, culture, and love.

21. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (fiction)
Finished September 2011

Creative method of sharing a story from a different character's intertwining perspective in every chapter.

22. Little Bee by Chris Cleave (fiction)
Finished October 2011
A reminder of the horrendous things that still occur in the world and what could happen when the sometimes denying comfortable world outside is forced to see and interact with it.

23. You'll Never Nanny in This Town Again: The True Adventures of a Hollywood Nanny by Suzanne Hansen (nonfiction)

Finished October 2011
Kind of a silly look into what Hollywood nannies go through. Not really sure I cared too much, but I guess it was a world I had never really thought about. It was on my Kindle, and I wanted something to read. I guess it was kind of interesting to compare this book with The Help book I read last month.

24. The Vintage Caper by Peter Mayle (fiction)
Finished October 2011
Not nearly as good as the Agatha Christie mystery, but I did learn about wine, insurance companies, and France. Again, it was already on my Kindle so I checked it out.

25. A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard (nonfiction)
Finished October 2011
Such a sad, sad story. It is hard to imagine how she was able to endure eighteen years locked away in a backyard to fulfill a man's "sexual problem." I hope that she truly has a wonderful rest of her life and is still able to accomplish all the dreams she desires.

26. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer (nonfiction)
Another book about the food industry, I believe. That is three for the year, but they've all been about MORE than the food industry. This is what I think they were going for: The Jungle was supposed to inspire us to be communist or something (but ended up, from what I understand, just changing food regulations). Fast Food Nation is supposed to inspire us not to eat fast food unless workers are treated better, food is more natural and healthy, and something is changed about the monopolies of big ranches and producers that supply the restaurants. Of what I have read so far, Eating Animals is going to take a deeper look into why we eat what we eat, and why we think that is okay. I guess I will find out for sure
Finished November 2011
And...the book was successful in making me want to become a vegan. They way animals are treated and genetically mutated, plus the terrible damage factory farms cause to the environment is HORRENDOUS. I heard a commercial yesterday by the "beef, it's what's for dinner" folks saying they didn't do any of these things (I guess this guy's book must have caused a stir) and how the beef industry is good for the environment (really??? I just don't see how they can argue this.), local farmers, and animals (really???). I haven't looked up their argument yet, but I don't see how they could ever convince me of that unless they've changed everything since the book was written and they have just as many references as Foer has.

27. Room by Emma Donoghue (fiction)
Finished November 2011
The perspective of a 5 year-old boy who is raised in a room by his kidnapped mom and then later his transition into the outside world. The perspective allowed the author to present modern life in a very unique and critical way.

28. Outliers by Malcom Gladwell
Finished December 2011
Malcom argues that people have to have the right circumstances (when they were born, where they were born) and practice a lot to be super successful.

More Capoeira Songs

2011-10-18T21:45:00.000-07:00

1. A hora e essa

A hora e essa, a hora e essa

A hora e essa, a hora e essa

Berimbau tocou na Capoeira Tocou eu vou jogar

Berimbau tocou na Capoeira tocou eu vou jogar

This Is the time
This is the time, this is the time This is the time, this is the time The Berimbau played at Capoeira Played (Berimbau) I will play (Capoeira) The Berimbau played at Capoeira Played I will play (Capoeira)

2. A B C

E o A , e o B , e o A , e o B e o C

E o A , e o B , e o A , e o B e o C

E o A do AU E o B do Berimbau E o C da Capoeira

E o A do AU E o B do Berimbau E o C da Capoeira

A B C
It’s the A, It’s the B, It’s the A It’s the B it’s the C
It’s the A, It’s the B, It’s the A It’s the B it’s the C
It is A for AU It is the B for Berimbau It is the C for Capoeira
It is the A for AU It is B for Berimbau It is the C for Capoeira

3. Dona Maria como vai voce?

E vai voce, vai voce

Dona Maria como vai voce?

Mas vai voce vai voce

Dona Maria como vai voce?

Joga bonito que eu quero ver

Dona Maria como vai voce?

Olha joga bonito que eu quero aprender

Madam Maria how are you?

And you go and you go

Madam Maria how are you?

But you go, you go

Madam Maria how are you?

Play beautiful that I want to see

Madam Maria how are you?

Play beautiful that I want to see

4. Oi sim, oi nao

Oi sim sim sim Oi Nao nao nao

Oi sim sim sim Oi Nao nao nao (chorus)

Oi sim sim sim Oi Nao nao nao

Oi sim sim sim Oi nao nao nao (chorus)

Mas hoje tem amanha nao

Oi Yes, oi no

Oi yes yes yes Oi no no no Oi yes yes yes Oi no no no

But today we have, tomorrow we don’t

5. Aruanda

Aruanda aruande, Aruanda

Aruanda aruande, Aruanda (chorus)

Nego trabalhava pela dor da escravidao Hoje o nego e livre cheio de imaginacao

Nego trabalhava pela dor da escravidao Hoje o nego e livre cheio de imaginacao

Aruanda aruande, Aruanda

Aruanda aruande, Aruanda

Zumbi foi guerreiro grande lider brasileiro Hoje ele o cabeca dos grandes mestres guerreiros

Zumbi foi guerreiro grande lider brasileiro Hoje ele o cabeca dos grandes

mestres guerreiros

Aruanda aruande, aruanda

Aruanda aruande, aruanda

Aruanda
Aruanda aruande, Aruanda
Aruanda aruande, Aruanda
Negro punished by the pain of slavery Today the negro is free full of imagination
Negro punished by the pain of slavery Today the Negro is free full of imagination
Aruanda aruande, Aruanda
Aruanda aruande, Aruanda
Zumbi was a warrior , a big Brazilian leader Today he is the head of the big Master Warriors
Zumbi was a warrior, a big Brazilian leader Today he is the head of the big
Master Warriors

Aruanda aruande, Aruanda
Aruanda aruande, aruanda It is from our colour

6. E da nossa cor

Aue, aue, aue, aue eee Le, le, le, le le le lele ooo

Aue, aue, aue, aue eee Le, le, le, le le le lele ooo

Ta no sangue da raca brasileira, capoeira

E da nossa cor

Berimbau

E da nossa cor

O pandeiro

E da nossa cor

O Atabaque

E da nossa cor

Aue, aue, aue, aue eee Le, le, le, le le le lele ooo

Aue, aue, aue, aue eee Le, le, le, le le le lele ooo

It is in the blood of the Brazilian race, capoeira

It is from our colour

Berimbau

It is from our colour

The pandeiro

It is from our colour

The atabaque

It is from our colour

7. Vim la da Bahia

Vim la da Bahia pra lhe ver Vim la da Bahia pra lhe ver Vim la da Bahia pra lhe ver Pra lhe ver, pra lhe ver, pra lhe ver

Vim la da Bahia pra lhe ver, Vim la da Bahia pra lhe ver, Vim la da Bahia pra lhe ver Pra lhe ver, pra lhe ver, pra lhe ver

Pra lhe ver, pra lhe ver, pra lhe ver Pra lhe ver, pra lhe ver, pra lhe ver

Pra lhe ver , pra lhe ver , pra lhe ver Pra lhe ver, pra lhe ver, pra lhe ver

Came from Bahia
I came from Bahia to see you I came from Bahia to see you I came from Bahia to see you To see you, to see you, to see you I came from Bahia to see you
I came from Bahia to see you I came from Bahia to see you to see you, to see you, to see you
To see you, to see you, to see you To see you , to see you, to see you
To see you, to see you, to see you To see you, to see you, to see you

8. Parana

Parana e, Parana e, Parana

Parana e, Parana e, Parana (chorus)

Vou dizer minha mulher parana capoeira me venceu parana

Parana e, Parana e, Parana (chorus)

Tem batuque todo dia parana mulata de qualidade parana

Parana e, Parana e, Parana (chorus)

Quem nao sabe nao ensina parana deixa quem sabe ensinar parana

Parana e, Parana e, Parana (chorus)

9. Zoom Zoom Zoom

Zoom zoom zoom Capoeira Mata um

Zoom zoom zoom Capoeira Mata um

Onde tem marimbondo

e zoom zoom zoom

Onde tem Marimbondo?

E zoom zoom zoom

Zoom zoom zoom Capoeira kills someone

Zoom zoom zoom Capoeira kills someone

Where there is a hornet

Is zoom zoom zoom

Where there is a hornet?

Is zoom zoom zoom

Stephanie Visits!

2011-10-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

Darren and I have plenty of people and friends we know around Colorado, but not really anyone right in our town. What I miss most being away from an Adventist ghetto are all the big group adventures (even if that were like four people) so it's really exciting when a friend comes to visit. We humans need relationships.

Anyhoo, we were happy to show Stephanie some of our favorite places:

Shelf Road--arguably Colorado's best sport climbing crag area.

Stephanie and I both led this 5.9 route. Yay! Good ole Darren was our rope gun for the rest.

On our drive home through Cripple Creek, I spotted my first wild tarantula.

And more mountain goats (we've seen them on Shelf Road before).

In the evening we took Stephanie to our favorite restaurant, Adam's Mountain Cafe. We love it because there are a lot of vegetarian options, and everything seems very fresh and local.

On Sunday we hiked up the Manitou Incline. It is one plus miles up something like 2,000 feet. The most fun part to me, however, is running down the 3-4 miles down the Barr Trail. It is at a perfect angle for a floating, fast descent.

First Snow of the Year

2011-10-09T13:49:00.000-07:00

We had our first snow, so we knew we wouldn't be doing any climbing this weekend. Instead we went to church and then hiked in Waldo Canyon. Shamefully (but not offensively) we totally got called out. The young adult pastor said something like, "The weather is bad. You guys are at church!" Oh dear.

But in our defense, the weather was good last weekend and we went to church. AND I wanted to go this weekend anyways because the pastor spoke about why he is an Adventist and I was curious about what he'd have to say. I will briefly outline his three points he gave. Obviously there are many reasons he could give, but these are the ones he chose to share:

1. Sabbath--It speaks of our origin. It is a day of rest and is a gift given to us to help fulfill our spiritual and physical needs. Otherwise we can lose sight of what is important and lose our relationship with God.

2. The Second Coming--it reveals our divine destiny.

3. The Great Controversy--it is our current life. It is our part in a cosmic battle. It is our divine mission to everyday show that evil can be overcome with good. Ephesians 6.

The sermon was not what I was expecting (What, no dragons or timelines? What about the state of the dead?), but refreshingly simple. I like how it spoke to our past, present, and future.

Then we enjoyed our walk in the woods, passing still brilliantly yellow aspens hovering over our snowy, wet trail. I should have known better and worn my ice climbing boots, but wore my 5.10 approach shoes instead. My feet were sufficiently sopping by the time we finished.

Where's Waldo...Canyon?

Pikes Peak and the canyon

On Sunday we went climbing with our friends from Pueblo and a group of Pathfinders in the Wet Mountains. The area is almost always people-free and great for enjoying uninterrupted nature. I was just glad to be out climbing with friends...although kids don't last too long with activities. They were done by around 2PM, so we left as well and drove about two hours directly to the Denver Aquarium to enjoy a free meal and a free pass to the exhibits curtesy of the Alumni department of the Allied Health department Darren and I had both been in. It was fun talking with other former alumni, eating tons of food, and seeing the tigers and fish. This was the cheesy picture they took of us for the newsletter.

Fly-fishing Gets Another Chance

2011-10-02T13:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we took it easy and enjoyed the last gasps of fall. We went to church on Saturday and then Sunday went fly-fishing and climbing in Eleven Mile Canyon. My father had bought us a casting class at our local fly shop, so we took it Sunday morning learning the many ways one can move a rod at "10 and 2." Our real fishing produced Darren's first fish on a fly rod and me with several lost flies, but I still had fun.

Afterwards I led up a trad route on the side of the road. Although leading sometimes freaks me out, like kayaking, when I finish I get a relieving shot of adrenaline.

Milan and Home: Italy 2011

2011-09-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

Travel notes:

Darren got locked bathroom, but finally got out. We bought our last espresso and crossants, returned our car at the airport and embarked on our long, eternally day, movie-filled plane ride home.

Sella Pass: Italy 2011

2011-09-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

Travel notes:

Last coffee and bread breakfast, checked out, drove to Sella Pass (pretty and mountanous with lots of switchbacks and roadbikers) bought map, bough Fanta to be able to pee, tons of paragliders in sky (80 to 100), climbed first Sella tower: fun first pitches, unmemorable last two, but fun overall. Long, hungry descent, picnic at picnic table, drove to Milan through Castlerotto, couldn't find apartment in Milan, searched city and there was no Via Pleza 40. Asked in various places (including a Blockbuster) for a place to use a phone. Finally a guy in a bar let me use his cell phone. Andrea told me the wrong address was on the internet and gave us the correct one.

Via Ferrata on the Tofana: Italy 2011

2011-09-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

Travel notes: hiked from fefugi up cloudy, foggy path, saw marmot and chamois goats, via ferrata to Punat Anna and partiall to Tofana but not all way due to tram not running, down ferrata to scree field to WWI camp, saw tons more chamois, hike back to refugi, drove to Cortina to return gear, bought pizza, t-shirts, food at supermarket, explored all gear stores in town, bought more pizza and strudel, packed up

Tre Cima: Italy 2011

2011-09-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

Travel notes:

Drove to Tre Cima, paid 22 euros for toll road, climbed Grand Tower, attempted Mosca Chimney but got lost, climbed lots of choss and scree, adventury, topped out with cross and tame birds, lots of rappels and scrambling, dropped belay device, followed red marks down mountain, stopped in Cortina, rented ferrata equipment, last large supper (toned down) at refugi, finished book

Cinque Torri for Another Two Times: Italy 2011

2011-09-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

Travel notes:

Bread and coffee breakfast, climbed two multi-pitch routes at Cinque Torri. First: 5 pitches, 5.8. Rapelled through chimney, ate at Cinque Torri Refugio (polenta and cheese and soup). It was the refugio's last day so they gave us free bruchetta. Second climb: lots of niches, different tower, 4 pitches, shady, I lead two pitches, very fun, Darren had panic attack...got to top and guidebook said 40 meter rappel...oops. We only had a 60 meter rope (that's only 30 meters for rapelling). Got help from Spanish climbers who tied on their rope so we could get to the bottom. Back to refugi for another huge supper (potatoes, ravioli, polenta, salad, bread, strudel, chocolate cake), took bread for next day and bought chocolates

Cortina and Cinque Torri: Italy 2011

2011-09-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

Travel notes:

Good breakfast, drove to Cortina D'Ampezzo, booked Refugio Dibona, climbed Guide's Route (4 pitches) at Cinque Torri, HUGE supper, bunk beds, tokens for shower, shared room with Germans in underwear

Bolzano and Venice: Italy 2011

2011-09-19T11:59:00.000-07:00

Travel notes:

Watched more MTV, ate good breakfast, walked Bolzano: market, book stores, gear stores, free entrance to Otzi museum because 20 year since discovery (it was better than we anticipated), bought Frog quickdraw, decided it was too snowly for Dolomites, so we drove to Venice and got a Rick Steve's recommended room outside of the city. Drove to Venice, walked through crazy rain, got lost, walked to St. Marks, looked for WC, bought espresso (standing up) so I could pee, bought boat bus ticket, listened and danced to dueling orchestras (good and bad), took boat bus up backside and partially took boat back down Grand Canal until official came on board and we exited promptly so we could see Rialto Bridge.

Milan and Bolzano: Italy 2011

2011-09-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

Travel notes:

Woke up early but late and had to book it to the metro in the rain to get to our tour bus, took tour and saw La Scala Opera house, shopping enclosed area with bull, gothic duomo with NBA out front, castle, church with Da Vinci's Last Supper (reason we took the tour), bought espresso and pastries and ate them standing (it's cheaper that way) while waiting to enter to see Last Supper, saw Last Supper: impressed; went back to apartment, took bus to airport, rented car, lots of rain, drove to Bolzano where it was very cold, ate at dramatic, German, grissly, rude guy's restaurant...but it was still tasty. Looked at hostel, but full, stayed at Black Cat hotel, watched MTV, got locked in room, it rained all night

Waiting around in La Scala with our tour earpieces

A gals twirling on some bull's testicles for luck in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele

The Duomo

Castello Sforzesco

Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper found in Cenacolo Vinciano next to Santa Maria delle Grazie. I hadn't realized until we went to Italy that the painting is huge (30 feet wide, 15 feet high) and covered a wall in a dining room (refectory) where Dominican friars would eat their meals. The painting was done in an atypical fashion on dry plaster (instead of wet) and is therefore falling apart, but it has survived that (after a 22 year long restoration) as well as bombings during WWII (or WWI) in which walls around it literally fell down. Unfortunately, Jesus' crossed legs didn't survive, as someone knocked part of the wall down to make a door or to make the door bigger. Somehow I had never noticed the door in the past.

Ravenna: Italy 2011

2011-09-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

Travel notes:

slept in more, breakfast with family, chatted with gal at apartment, took her bikes to tons of mosaic places and churches. First in crypt (mausoleum), second basilica with cities and life of Jesus, third big church (San Vitale) that was very impressive, then baptistry, mosaic floor place discovered in 1990s with audioguide, lunch as wine cellar place (very weird. Pork lard bread of region, fried mushrooms, and something with cheese), Dante's tomb, mosaics from old church, Dante's tomb again, baptistry, took bikes back, got stuff, watched cultural dancing in the square, book store, bought drinks, took train to Milan, trouble again finding tickets in the train station, chatted with house owners

Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

Arian Baptistry

Theadora at Basilica di San Vitale

Medieval bearded Christ in San Vitale

House of Stone Carpets

Dance of the Four Seasons at the House of Stone Carpets

The strangest meal of our trip

Florence: Italy 2011

2011-09-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

Travel notes: early train to Florence, ATM didn't work so we freaked out, saw scroll church, donated to drug prevention program (with lady smoking), went to church with monk room paintings done by monks, snuck pictures, and saw Savonarola's (bad monk) quarters, tried more ATMs, went to bank, called, saw duomo, went to Bargello museum (old police station with Donatello's David) Uffizi museum with Rick Steve's audio guide: saw Boticelli's Venus and Spring, Tititian's naked chick, Ponte Vecchio bridge through window, the Bacchus painting, Martin Luther painting, Durher paintings of Adam and Eve, etc. and lots of sculptures; went to Academia and saw Michaelangelo's David, snuck pictures, saw slaves and student sculptures (with help of Rick Steve's audio guide); went to baptistry with doors, duomo museum with anorexic Mary Magdalene and Michaleangelo La Pieta, ate supper at square with music, ATM worked!, got gelatto again ("What's Puffi?"...Puffi is Italian for Smurf. "It's just a child's flavor with sugar and color."), train to Ravenna, good directions to house, not a lot of people out

Basilica of Santa Maria Novella near the train station

Fra Angelico's famous Annunciation in San Marco (once a Dominican convent that has been turned into a museum)

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (aka The Duomo) with Brunelleschi's dome (the biggest), and Giotto's bell tower and Ghiberti's baptistry doors nearby.

Donatello's David in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello (1440s)

Some of the Uffizi paintings we saw:

Fra Bartolomeo's Girolamo Savonarola (1498)

Caravaggio's Bacchus (1570-1610)

Raphael's Madonna of the Goldfinch (1506)

Giottto

Parmigianino's Madonna and Child with Angels, known as Madonna with the Long Neck (1534/40)

Michelangelo's Holy Family (1506-8)

Botticelli's Primavera (1482)

Botticelli's The Birth of Venus (1486)

Titian's Venus of Urbino (1538)

Lukas Cranach the Elder's Martin Luther and his Wife (1529)

Lukas Cranach the Elder's Adam and Eve (1528)

Hans Baldung Grien's Adam and Eve (1507)

A view of Ponte Vecchio from the Uffizi

Michelangelo's David in the Galleria dell'Accademia (1504)

Michelangelo's The Deposition ("The Florentine Pieta") in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (1550)

Donatello's Mary Magdalene (1454-1455) in Museo dell'Opera del Duomo

In front of the Duomo again

We finally found some grub and an ATM machine. Yay!

Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, Naples: Italy 2011

2011-09-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

Travel notes:

Hiked to town, took bus (Darren grabbed crossants to go) along Amalfi Coast: super crowded, but scenic and steep, in Amafi town ate delizia (lemon cake) and espresso, saw pretty Byzantine duomo, drank out of boob fountain, pretty ferry to Positano, Capri, and to Sorresnto, took Vesuviana train to Pompeii and wandered ruins: theater, arena, prostitute place, mosaics, basilica, main square, baths (had audio guide, but Rick Steves better because it was more manageable. Pompeii is huge!), ate chips, train to Napoli, ate pizza at ugly constuction square right next to other people, walk back to Anna Maria's house

Capri and Sorrento: Italy 2011

2011-09-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

Travel notes: Annamaria set out a tasty breakfast for us to eat in our room, we wandered the city due to bad directions but finally found the proper pier to Capri, stood in line for a long time, too many cruise ship people, took 10:30AM ferry to Capri, chatted with friendly cruiser, immediately took boat around Capri with steep cliffs, caves, swam through green cave (temperature was fantastic), passed stalagtites, tunnel of love at Flagori Rocks and kissed while they played "That's Amore," went in tiny boat to blue grotto through tiny entryway, very blue water, took big boat back to harbor, crazy small bus filled to brim with people up to Anacapri, ate overpriced sandwiches, took one seater chair lift to summit, walked around, saw marrying couple on way down, took bus and then ferry to Sorrento, hiked from dock to top of town (7, not 20 minutes as Rick Steves says), looked at view, wandered town, ate at Buffalo Restaurant (also could be best meal of trip) eggplant and salad, ate gelatto, coudln't find bus, waited forever for bus, stayed in cabin at camping place

Sienna, O Medieval Home: Italy 2011

2011-09-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

Travel notes:

breakfast set out on our table in our kitchen with pre-toasted toast, walked everywhere! (hit it hard), kid's walking tour through university and by scary donkey, went up bell tower, toured Siena museum with art and evil government paointin, lunch at restaurant next to previous restaurant, saw another duomo with worn out floor mosaics and a colorful room with large music books, saw ancient water tank (they used to have a large textile industry), saw a lady's head and finger in another church and chilled on the lawn, train to Chuiso, got new train tickets (our train was cancelled), walked around town and bought gelato and visited park with kids playing soccer, train to Naples, Scary and dirty city, got directions to the street we were staying at from a transvestite, stayed at Annamaria's apartment--very friendly, but spoke little English

Pisa and LUUUUca: Italy 2011

2011-09-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

Travel notes:
Breakfasted on espresso and crosants right near leaning tower, walked to tower, saw duomo, went up tower, heard guy sing in baptistry, ate fries waiting for bus to Luca, bough red sunglasses, took bus to Luca, ate amazing Ravioli (maybe best meal of trip), salad, and drank espresso near Puccini's house, searched for house, realized it was where we ate, rented tandem bike, took turns pedaling around city walls (they were made into a park by Napoleon's wife), bus back to Pisa, took train to Siena, dropped off stuff at B&B, saw Il Campo, ate yummy food near B&B, chilled at Il Campo, walked around the hilly town, saw giraffe neighborhood (winner of palio this year) with flags and fans, did laundry in the sink

Cinque Terre: Italy 2011

2011-09-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

Travel notes September 9 and 10:

First time to Great Britain for Darren. Milan difficulty finding ticket for tram, roaming around station, printed off all train tickets, ate spaghetti prepared by teen boy on his last night before school at our friendly hosts' house.

Notes from September 11:

Woke up at 5AM, ate breakfast laid out for us, took train and poke with Americans on our way to Cinque Terre, saw bike race and couldn't cross street in Monterosso, ate foccacia, saw beach, steep hike out with lemons, vineyards, cactus, lemonade and limoncillo stand, farms, went swimming

Vernazza: pretty, ate pizza in back of restaurant, saw duomo, beach came, jumped off breakwater into sea

3rd town on a hill, ate homemade gelatto, saw vista at end, kids playing soccer (calcio) with nets so ball doesn't go in the sea, took switchbacks down to train station, attempted to walk to next town but were locked out with fence and I needed to use bathroom, took five minute very crowded train ride to 4th town

4th town, walked around through vineyards and saw duomo (per Rick Steves suggestion), swimming from crowded dock/bay area, lowered boats by pulley to water

5th town-walked on lock and love path to last town, went through tunnel, got lost through alleys by homes, saw duomo, ate yummy foccacia, took train to Pisa, picked up at NH hotel, taken to hostel

Mt. Sherman, Royal Flush, and a Double Rainbow...all they way!

2011-08-15T18:20:00.000-07:00

We drove to Leadville this weekend to knock out another fourteener with our friends Joe and Stephanie. Stephanie is getting into flower identification, and I love taking photos of them, so we both had a lovely time enjoying all of the wild flowers. Mt. Sherman was quite chill and we saw various children on our way up and down the mountain. Even though we started later in the morning than normally for a fourteener, we were back in town for lunch. We ate at an Italian restaurant with an amazing pesto pasta and cute bathrooms that had language learning CD going on in the background.

We drove on with them to the Vail Valley and on Sunday, Stephanie, Darren and I climbed 20 very short pitches up a route called Royal Flush near Silverthorne

We found wild berries mid-climb

At the summit with Lake Dillon in the background

After descending, we browsed an art fair and ate at the wonderful Sunshine Cafe in Silverthorne where Stephanie and Joe had bought their wedding cake.

On our way home we saw the best rainbow I've ever seen...and it was a double rainbow! People were stopping all over the place to take photos. It was that good.

A Beautiful Smoggy Wedding

2011-08-08T18:39:00.000-07:00

My mom was visiting my sister (whom was having a birthday), I hadn't seen my sister, niece, and bro-in-law in a long time, and my best friends were in another very good friend's wedding this weekend. It was pretty much a no brainer to spend the money and go visit California for the weekend.

On Sabbath we went to Sadie's Sabbath school and then joined a bunch of her Sabbath School mates at Laguna Beach. It was my sister's birthday, so we went out to eat at a swanky, celeb frequented restaurant called Javiers afterwards.

At Javiers

On Sunday I drove to Los Angeles and Jen let me join the bridesmaids to hang out. It was so fabulous to see everyone again and share in the joy and food of the festivities.

Heading to the Smog Shoppe

A nice oasis of friends and foliage in the madness of L.A.

I miss these girls

So happy for the bride and groom

Before I left on Monday, I wanted to see Sadie eat frozen yogurt. She LOVES frozen yogurt as one can easily tell.

Batizado, Four Fourteeners, and a Bunch of Burros

2011-07-31T18:33:00.000-07:00

Joy was once again drove down to support my capoeira, but this time for my second batizado. We hung out in the park until they started the ceremony and I'm sure she and Darren both know all the songs and some of the moves now after spending so many hours us get our new cords. In order to get a new one, everyone has to play a mestre or someone with a higher ranking and the mestre or whoever it is has to knock the cord-getter to the ground. I was the first in my group, and, not to brag, but I think I did a pretty good job staying upright for quite a while.

Anyhoo, the next day we knocked down four fourteeners: Mt. Democrat, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Cameron, and Mt. Bross. AND it was beautiful. The meadows had the best collection of wildflowers I've seen all summer.

On our way back home, we passed some donkey and outhouse races. Only in Colorado!

Summertime in Boulder

2011-07-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

Darren and I wanted to take advantage of the last moments of summer, so we headed once again to Boulder. We have been wanting to climb Yellow Spur for a very long time and finally we made it happen. It was rightly awesome as we expected.

On Sunday we went into Boulder Canyon and found an unexpected gem. We also saw a film crew filming some climbers, perhaps for an instructional video. It was super hot, so we were looking everywhere for shade on the route.

We'd been listening to too much Justin Bieber. "One less lonely girl!" So sad.

Nature's fireworks

It's NorCal Family Time again...with a side of Classic Climbing

2011-07-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

Darren's family has a long tradition of house boating trips. And now that I am part of the clan, I get to join in! Before we left for the New Melones, Darren and I climbed Traveler's Buttress (a North American classic) at Lover's Leap and did a lot of grunting and screaming as we tried to navigate its off-widthyness. Unbelievably we still made it to the top.

For the next week we spent on the boat spending a lot of time eating, reading, worshiping, and trying every type of water gear possible: slalom, air chair, tube, kneeboard, ski seat, and our favorite, the surf board.

Darren and I also took a little detour mid-week to drive to Yosemite, camp, and climb another North American Classic: Royal Arches. Darren had already done it and it is notoriously one of the easier long routes in the valley, but he still seemed quite excited to do it and I've been wanting to climb it for years. Royal Arches if fun and quick because a lot of anchors one can build on trees, and some places a climber can feel safe simul-climbing. I was happy because it was easy enough where I felt comfortable leading a few pitches

Southern Fried 4th of July

2011-07-06T21:29:00.001-07:00

All of my immediate family was going to be together for the 4th, so my parents suggested we come out as well, even though it would be a short weekend trip. I don't know the next time I will get to see everybody, so I'm glad we went. I was also excited to have Darren experience my childhood favorite season of summer in the South. We spent most of our time inside the house or in the pool.

On Sabbath, we took Sadie to Sabbath school which might be the highlight of her week. She definitely is the superstar getting right up to the lady telling the story, singing the songs, riding in the "mission boat," etc.

Darren is a fan of Sabbath school too. I probably saw more friends at this service then any other one I could have gone to. Apparently most of my childhood friends have children now. Oh gosh, the pressure!

After church, a hoard of friends and family came over for lunch and ice cream...something I love that my family often puts together. Then we went to the Cabbagedale fireworks. We camped out on the church above where they were shooting them off so it wasn't too loud and theoretically it'd be easier to fight the traffic getting out. Sadie loved, loved the fireworks and the neon glow stick my sister's friend gave her. She kept running down the church road waving it around with my sister and I chasing behind her.

It took a good 30 minutes or so getting out of the parking lot. But Darren and I had fun texting each other even though we were sitting next to each other.

Freedom means fireworks and bushy eyebrows.

On Sunday we relaxed, went downtown to see where my sister is moving, and ate some froyo at Cici's. Bob and Mandy drove us past all the crazy tornado destruction on our way to Atlanta (So sad! There were so many driveways to nothing). Brad, Jess, and Sadie had a similar flight time, so we were able to hang in the airport together for an hour or so. Of course, we followed Sadie around as she ran exploring the terminal and saying hi to other children. Seeing the family and interacting with Sadie was worth our short time together.

Petit Grepon

2011-07-06T21:28:00.001-07:00

It's time again for another North American Classic Climb! When the clock strikes five, we had to have our poptarts...and begin hiking. We, however, were not the first on the trail. Backcountry skiers woke us up at our renegade camping around 3:30AM with their blaring music.

Being that the Petit Grepon is a classic means that usually there are loads of people climbing it. We chose to pursue it in the early season requiring us to bring snow shoes and extra energy, but we were the only ones on the route the entire day.

After six-ish miles we finally arrived at the base of the route. Yipee!

Darren about to pull an overhanging-ish roof. We could watch the backcountry skiers flying down the mountain from our vantage point.

Darren took this picture while climbing up the last pitch. The rock became very narrow at the top.

Summit photo! Darren barely made it in time.

Relaxing and trying to stay warm. All I could think about was how cold I was during the last pitch.

Beginning our six or so pitches down from the peak. Marmot chirps were our soundtrack.

Unfortunately marmots also attacked Darren's shoes that we had left after the first snowy pitch.

Rappelling down the first pitch. We'd had to use our nut pickers as ice axes on our way up because there was snow almost the entire way.

Darren is way more hard core then Bear Grylls

Glissading down on our six to eight miles back to the car

Loch Lake. It felt like forever to get around it.

A map showing our hike. I guess if one wanted to find out our exact mileage, he or she could use the image below to do so.

We picked up some gals that had missed the last bus and took them to their car. They hadn't seen much wildlife so we did some elk spying on our way down.

On Sunday, Darren and I were so exhausted that we read books and fell asleep in Kind Coffee, and then just drove around the entire Rocky Mountain National Park. I was stoked because we passed two moose. I'd never seen them so close before ever.

FibArk and Barr Trail

2011-07-06T21:26:00.003-07:00

Joy's friends were driving all the way from southern California to compete in the slalom kayak even at FibArk in Salida, so we decided to come join them. We watched the race (I think he got second overall, which is pretty dang good considering how many competitors there were), the rodeo kayakers, perused town, Darren shuttled Joy and I so we could do a little kayaking ourselves, then we gawked and laughed at the Hooligan Race. It was amazing. People had spent much time and money putting together crazy rafts of varying themes and tried to race them down the river meanwhile most assuredly getting torn apart. The best was the "natural disaster" raft that had a real life forest fire on it.

Joy and I getting ready to attack a very difficult section of the Arkansas

The Hooligan Race!

Prisoners escaping on beds

The exercise ball and noodle catepillar

The Natural Disaster Float. It won people's choice award.

On Sunday Joy, Grant, Darren and I decided to climb Pikes Peak and then bike down the road to our house.

A stop at Barr Camp

Darren hiked his bike all the way up the 13 plus miles up the peak. I think he was only able to bike an eighth or so of it.

At the Cirque. I was selfishly glad Darren hiked his bike, because I was able to hike at a slower rate.

At the top!

Preparing for our descent. Unfortunately Grant was the only one that made it all the way down. The rest of us got stopped by a ranger half way down who made us take vehicles down the rest of the way (We didn't know we couldn't do it. In fact there is a company called Pikes Peak by Bike that takes people to the top so they can ride down. There must be some sort of agreement there.). Some friendly retired southern Californians took Darren and I down in their truck and Joy got a ride with the people that had brought the rest of our bikes to the top. Past the last gate we met up with Grant and all rode the rest of the way home. Overall, we still had a lot of fun and got to experience the tight corners and steepness of the road.

Later that afternoon we stopped in town for some custard and a game our two at the Penny Arcade.

Stephanie's Birthday and the Teva Mountain Games

2011-06-10T13:36:00.001-07:00

Montie had been visiting us Coloradans for a week, so on my way over to Vail, I met up with him and the Petersens for supper.

I got into Beaver Creek around midnight, so I was happy our rafting jaunt didn't start until mid-morning. Joe's boat is not self-bailing so we had an epic adventure through flood-level almost continuos rapids that resulted in an almost swamped boat with poor Lindsey bouncing around like a pinball. The water was so cold that both of my legs were bright, bright red. Definitely memorable and fun.

We were celebrating Stephanie's birthday, and Joe chefed up two BBQ's for her during the weekend.

The Teva Mountain Games were going on, so we watched a few events including the Raft Cross and Speed Retrieve.

I love it when a good chunk of the Colorado crew gets together.

Darren had just driven all the way from Las Vegas and reached us by Sunday morning bearing an entire bag of California oranges

Stephanie's second BBQ

Revisiting Europe: Scotland

2011-06-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

Remembering Europe in 2011:

Our last stop was in Scotland. We took a train up, and on the way I remember reciting "Sweet Afton" with a Scottish man. It was fabulous. We stayed in a very cute cottage-y hotel with a charming garden. I took a bazillion pictures of flowers and realized that peonies are my favorite flower.

Our hotel and garden

Exploring Edinburgh castle. I remember the fellas practicing for a big Scottish festival, hearing a large canon from the castle, and seeing where prisoners made things.

Probably the most memorable party of Scotland was Arthur's Seat. I climbed it twice, the first time in mid-day, the second in the early morning rain.

Buildering some ruins on the way up the seat

Look at how Romantic I'm being (Romantics love ruins, according to my literature professor)

The view from the top

My first jaunt up the hill

I learned what a westie is. So cute.

Testing out vegetarian "haggis"

I think this was another Sabbath and we went up to the highlands. Unfortunately it rained a lot, so we spent most of our time inside some castle, but didn't get to venture into the grounds much.

Wow, he was prepared.

Exploring Edinburgh at night. I remember eating at the tiniest Asian food place, passing by spooky houses, and seeing an ancient stone church on the coast that had been converted into a climbing gym.

My second trip up Arthur's Seat. I think I just knew we had such little time in our trip, and I wanted to squeeze every last little bit out of it I could. I recall wishing I could stay another month or longer in Europe and being in disbelief when others said they were homesick. What???

We got a bit soaked on the hike down

Drying off and enjoying a last European breakfast of beans and toast

A final look out the train before getting on a plane and returning to the U.S. of A. Nooo!!!

Revisiting Europe: England

2011-06-03T14:16:00.000-07:00

Remembering from 2011:

England is expensive, but England is wonderful. Especially in the summertime. I remember coming here on our way to and from Kenya when I was in high school and sort of hating it. I hated it because it was cold, and I was half asleep with jet lag. This time, however, I was drunk on art, full of knowledge from all of my English major classes (including History of England which I had recently taken before my trip) and super stoked to solidify my knowledge with experiential education. But, I did have to buy my food in odd places like the train station in order for it to be affordable.

Here I am with a fellow English major at the British Library. Awesome!

The Tower of London, I believe, where wives were locked in rooms (and scribbled on the walls) or beheaded. Not a good time to marry a king.

The British were so nice to let us harass them with photos

London bridge is falling down...J/K

The Globe! Or at least the rebuilt Globe

I have to admit, our pre-Shakespearean meal was from the Starbucks lateral to the Globe. I think the new Millennium Bridge is in the background.

English major nerds super stoked! We loved the play. I want to say that it was either "Measure for Measure" or "As You Like It." Sad that I don't remember.

Apparently there were some famous actors, but I didn't know them.

Get ready for a storm of stereotypical British images!

Changing of the guard at Buckingham. There were loads and loads of people.

Yes, we watched Harry Potter in the theatre district. We had assigned seats.

I remember we went to the British museum afterwards and got evacuated early because of some fire drill or false alarm. Grr.

Hammurabi in the British Museum, I believe

Paddington Station to get cheap food and take a picture with the bear

We decided to splurge once more and get some nosebleed seats for Phantom. For a pound we were able to pop some binoculars out from the chair in front of us.

Revisiting Europe: Switzerland

2011-06-03T13:24:00.000-07:00

Looking back from 2011:

After exploring numerous museums and cathedrals, Switzerland was a welcome change from manmade beauty to natural beauty. I remember cruising along a beautiful lake and feeling fortunate for good weather. Apparently Switzerland is often rainy.

My friend and I decided to pay a steep fee to go up the Jungfrau. I remember her saying something like, "It's only money. I can always make more, but I won't always be able to do this again." So, we seized the day and caught the train just before it took off. I remember this guy was super friendly and he or another German person was surprised when they heard my name and saying, "That's a place, not a person's name!" Well, I have proved them all wrong.

We made a wise choice. The ride up was stunning, and we were greeted by snow at the summit.

I bought one of around five items of my entire trip: two vintage-style posters of the junfrau.

Magnificent view with a couple adventurers

Just posin' with some Asian folk. They are totally defying any stereotypes seeing as I am the only one giving a peace sign.

Inside the ice palace

Chugging past bell bestrewn sheep and waterfalls. Our friends that didn't come with us hiked here.

Playing around the playground back at the base of the mountain. I remember there was a natural spring there.

We had some more time, so the gang and I hiked to "the prettiness." In other words, we had no idea where we were going, so we just walked to where it looked pretty. This was our strategy in numerous places.

Ice cream in the park after checking out some Swiss watches. I don't recall anyone buying anything.

Our triple stacked train on our way out of Switzerland

Revisiting Europe: Czech Republic

2011-06-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

Remember from 2011:

The Czech Republic was one of my favorite countries because Praha is home of Mucha, Kafka, magnificient un-bombed buildings...and pure randomness.

At Kafka's home. I had just studied him in my world literature class, so I was quite stoked.

There were these cows everywhere painted in different ways. I've now seen this sort of thing all over the world now, so I'm not as impressed anymore. At the time, however, I took a gazillion photos. I'm leaving just this one because we ate a lot of happy cow cheese in Europe.

I think this is on the Charles Bridge.

So if you touch this, you are supposed to return to Praha.

Graves in the old Jewish ghetto. I remember going into a church and the whole interior was ringed with the painted names of Jewish people that had been killed.

This is supposed to represent Kafka somehow.

One of the greatest adventures of the trip was going to a "Weird Europe" suggested puppet shows in Prague. We followed a random guy into a random unfinished building, brought in spinach pizza, had our tickets taken by an actor zipping up his pants, stared aghast at the hand puppets floating around in the blacklight, and then getting doused on the way back to our hotel. That is just scratching the surface.

I loved this painting and wished I had bought it

I liked a boy who liked lupins, so I bought a lupin rock necklace. It was one of the very few things I bought (the necklace, two posters, a skirt, a dress that I wore to the Berlin symphony...I think that was it).

The street performers were the most random I've ever seen. Another fellow was "fishing" into a city grate.

A "drip" home that reminded me of drip sand castles my grandma and I would make at the beach

Revisiting Europe: Germany

2011-06-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

Remembering from 2011:

We saw the saddest things in Germany, but I also found the tour we took in Berlin to be the most interesting of the trip. First though, I believe we went to Munich and Dachau and saw the concentration camp there. I don't think it was as bad as Auschwitz that I saw after my 8th grade year, but being older, it seemed more real to me. I learned how the debt after WWI was a big reason people were desperate to have a way to get out of their problems and how the Germans tried to trick the world into thinking Dachau was just a political prisoner camp where people worked in order to become better people by bringing in journalists and hiding all the really terrible aspects of the camp. I remember the cremation area and the pictures of the locals having to see all the dead bodies that were destroyed in their neighborhood. Probably the most disturbing thing that has stuck with me was a place where Jews were walled in so tight that four people in them had to stand in the small area until they died. Someone had written beside it a terrible thing about the Jews...and I could tell it had been written very recently. To see that hate continue is crazy to me.

I liked this statue because of its symbolism. It demonstrates that now the Jewish people don't have to stand straight, eyes forward. They are now free.

In a happier part of Germany, I went to a classic beer garden with my pals. We didn't drink any beer, but I was pleasantly surprised to find delicious vegetarian food.

We went out again at night for some supper and stumbled across a street symphony. As you can tell, we had a lot of fun, and so did the musicians!

This was the craziest Rococo church I have ever been in. There was stuff literally scoring every possible space. It reminded me of some people's basements.

Durher, how I love you. I remember taking this photo for my sister because she loves him too.

So as I mentioned, we went on the best tour of the trip in Berlin. It was led by a very passionate British master's student. I learned so much about Hitler and communism. I wish my dad could have been there, because all things WWII fascinate him.

Bullets still in walls from the communists invading Berlin

This was a photo of Hitler's office made from red marble that is now...

...used in the subway. Diss on you, Hitler!

Can we say potatoes?

On our tour we also wandered through modern Berlin. Much of it was bombed, so they rebuilt with ultra-modern ideals.

One of the few pieces left of the Berlin wall

One of my favorite remnants of the divided Berlin are the little hat crossing men. They were and are so popular, that after the wall fell, they kept the lights. Now there are all sorts of souvenirs with them on it.

We went to this museum after 8th grade and Stella took a picture like this, so I recreated it.

Nebuchadnezzar's walls. Amazing how much Germany has taken stuff from other places. I remember being in Turkey or Greece and realizing the town we were at had been relocated to Berlin and that I had already seen it!

Ah, Millais and the Pre-Raphelites. Autumn and I saw this at some museum. It's the Lady of Shallot.

More pre-Raphelite paintings. I liked this one because it's such a lonely scene.

Some very odd group we saw outside the museum

Checkpoint Charlie! I remember coming here too when I was out of 8th grade and seeing all the ways that people would try to sneak over the border.

I like how they have made the wall into art

You must "woft" the sauce

A memorial, I think, to the mother's of those that had died in war

Brandenburg Gate

We also took a jaunt to Wittenberg. I think it was Sabbath, so it made it all the more appropriate.

A copy of the 95 Theses on the church outside wall

Inside Luther's church

Martin Luther, yo

Martin Luther's wife

I think this was back in Berlin at a tiny Egyptian museum I'd been to after 8th grade. I went in to get a photo of Nefertiti for Becky who is an Egypto-phile.

We got all gussied up (well, as much as one can with one pair of chacos and only a day bag of clothing) for the Berlin Symphony. My favorite part of the night was watching the celloists. They kept glancing at each other with the purist look of delight. I could really tell they loved their job.

Revisiting Europe: Austria

2011-06-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

Remembering from 2011: You can be sure that in Austria we sang plenty of Sound of Music songs. I remember Esther and I hopping up and down some stairs near this unicorn belting out, "Doe! A dear, a female dear." It was also some anniversary for Mozart, so outside his home locals were passing out free chocolate balls with his face on it. We went inside and saw a violin he owned which the violinists in our group went nuts over.

We took a tiny incline up to some castle which I thoroughly explored, but now don't remember

Except that I buildered its walls as well

Back down the incline!

Revisiting Europe: Venice

2011-06-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

Looking back from 2011:

I remember the numerous colorful Venetian windows (only found in Venice and Vegas).

We traveled to the island where glass making is a big deal (Burano?). Some guy was describing what the fellow below was doing with the glass. He would preface every sentence with, "And the Master..."

Esther and I in the Grand Canal on one of the water taxis with what looks to be the Rialto Bridge in the background (I actually remember some of these names because I returned to Venice just a few years ago with Becky. It's in the blog.)

Sigh. It's the bridge of Sighs where prisoners were taken to jail after being tried by the doge. I thought it was so lame when I came back with Becky because they had papered the walls with some advertisement. Way lame.

Currently not being attacked by pigeons in San Marcos Square

Somehow I convinced some of my fellow travelers to go with me in a quest to collect sand (I have sand from all over the world that I've collected for 18 years). We took a boat over to Lido (which Becky and I stayed on), found a beach and dashed into the water!

I still have never taken one of these gondola rides. I remember they were ridiculously expensive.

This was one of the nicest places we stayed on our trip, and it was walking distance to everything.

Revisiting Europe: Rome and Vatican City

2011-06-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

Looking back from 2011:

I remember we loved Rome and actually had a few days to explore it.

I know this is silly to say, but one of the big reasons we loved Rome so much was because of the friendly Indian people we met there and there incredible web of businesses that we employed. For eating at the Indian restaurant, we got free chai, and some time at the internet place that some other relative ran. For using the internet, we got deals on doing laundry. For doing laundry, we got a deal to use the family's telephone service.

Emkay, we also liked the art. Here is Michaelangelo's Moses with a ginormous beard and horns.

St. Peter's chains

And the glorious Coliseum. I can't believe I don't have a picture of the outside.

But I did take the time to builder one of its ancient walls

I remember it was dreadfully blistering hot. Thankfully Italy has an abundance of public water fountains.

Touring around the ruins. I remember we separated sometime after this, and I got lost wandering around here with somebody (don't remember who).

I'm quite sure we consumed gelato at least twice a day

The statues were HUGE!

My favorite Greek god: Hermes

The famous Lacoon Group. I remember they made a massive deal of this in my Arts and Ideas book

These were ground mosaics. I love mosaics.

I believe this is when we were in the Vatican City. I found it fascinating how many "pagan" items were found inside this "holy city."

It was unbelievable how many people crammed through smaller and smaller hallways to get to the Sistine Chapel. Can we say Fire Hazard?

The uber famous La Pieta by Michelangelo, I think.

I think this is St. Peter's Basilica. I have never been in such a huge church. In fact, I think it may be the biggest church. We decided to climb to the tippy top through slanted and progressively narrower stairways.

The view from the top

Revisiting Europe: Florence

2011-06-03T13:10:00.001-07:00

Remembering what I can in 2011:

I remember we had something like an afternoon in Florence and visited an enormous amount of museums as well as the famous doors and some famous bridge. Wow. That is how bad my memory is now. Anyhoo, I believe below is a sculpture of Mary Magdalene by Donatello.

Famous Church

Famous bridge with the peeps I hung out with the most on the trip

We felt extremely lucky because the Dr. took us out to eat. I remember thinking we must be his favorites.

Revisiting Europe: France

2011-06-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

Charte

The Apostles, I believe

Charte's famous stained glass

Having a Sabbath School discussion on the steps in Chartre

A very random joining of the D-Day Remembrance Ceremony

This guy was so friendly and vivacious

I believe this was our entire group

The Notre Dame

Charlamange

The Eiffel Tower

A view from the top of the Eiffel Tower

Art of the Louvre

And some favorites from the Musee D'Orsay

Eating our staple food in France: bread, cucumbers, tomatoes, and cheese

What an odd guy at Versailles

"Eh, why don't you give them some bread?"

The French man

Revisiting Europe--The Netherlands and Belgium

2011-06-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

I the incredible opportunity to go on an art/history tour of Europe after my third year of college. This was before I started blogging, but it's something I'd like to share and because I'm getting excited to return to some of the places we went. I am hoping I can find my travel journal someday, because honestly I can't remember a lot now, and I know the journal was quite thorough. We had to write in it for credit. When I find it, I'll enter it here.

Actually I can't even remember when we went where, so I may just post pictures from different places in separate entries. I'm going to begin with Amsterdam and Belgium because I do know they are where we started.

Here is what I remember. We were extremely tired when we got to Amsterdam, but we looked at windmills anyway. We visited Ann Frank's house. The buildings are extemely narrow with hooks at the top of them to haul up furniture and other items to the top of the houses. We took a boat ride. We went to a very good Vermeer museum.

In I believe it was Belgium, we stayed in a boat hotel, ate the best French fries with an enormous amount of choices for sauces, and I had one of my favorite experiences of the entire trip. We went on a bike tour through Brugge learning tons from our guide about the area and the World War II history that occurred there.

Planning for Culture and Climbing in Italy

2011-06-02T22:35:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited because Darren and I are headed to Italy for two full weeks this September. With working a full time job, I get nervous taking as much time off as I'd like to, so vacations become much more precious to my already travel-phile ways. I've already packed my 20 liter backpack which I bought specifically for our trip (That's right, 20 liters. It'll be a new record for me if I can pull it off.), purchased and perused my Rick Steve's books, and have made six or seven possible itineraries (if you have read this blog, you know my love for itineraries).

Here is one possibility:

September 9, Friday: Travel, sleep on plane

September 10, Saturday: Arrive in evening to Milano, train to Cinque Terre

September 11, Sunday:Cinque Terre, sleep in Cinque Terre

September 12, Monday: Cinque Terre, Pisa, Sienna

September 13, Tuesday: Sienna

September 14, Wednesday: Amalfi

December 15, Thursday: Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, Herculeneum

December 16, Friday: Florence

December 17, Saturday: Ravenna

December 18, Sunday: Florence

December 19, Monday: Dolomites

December 20, Tuesday: Dolomites

December 21, Wednesday: Dolomites

December 22, Thursday: Dolomites

December 23, Friday: Dolomites

December 24, Saturday: Dolomites, drive to Milan, sleep in Milan

September 25: Milan, Travel home at noon

We shall see what actually happens, but I really want to visit these places:

1. Dolomites Climbing

2. Cinque Terre

3. Amalfi Coast

4. Florence

5. Ravenna

6. Pisa

7. Pompeii

8. Herculaneum
9. Sienna

Darren doesn't care that we aren't going to Rome or Venice (I've already spent some time in these places). I think he'd pass his whole time in the Dolomites if he could, but he is sacrificing climbing for culture and vice versa for me. That's why we are traveling two weeks in the country.

Multi-Sport Memorial

2011-05-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

Darren went to Vegas for some continuing education courses (and to rock climb), so I spent Memorial weekend visiting friends and hanging out with Montie who was visiting from Tennessee. We went hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, stayed out Sarah's house in Estes Park, then I went to Fort Collins with Joy. There we kayaked on the Poudre with Brian, went mountain biking two times in the area, and enjoyed a fully multi-sport weekend.