17 Days of So Much Fun!- Starting with Denali

Day 1-
 Our trip began in Anchorage on August 2nd.  I took the late flight out of Salt Lake City the evening of the 1st and landed in Alaska a little after 1am on the 2nd.  When I sent the itinerary to David, he pointed out that I landed at 1am and departed at 1am.  He wanted to know what I was going to do until the group met at 6pm.  I told him not to worry, I'd catch up on sleep or visit with friends.  And then I discovered that almost everyone I knew in Alaska was going to be in the lower 48 states while I was in Anchorage.  How's that for timing?  Luckily, one of my summer camp friends is now living in Alaska and she reached out to let me know she was up there.  Meghan insisted on picking me up at the airport and taking me to her place to crash.  Of course, after so many years (the # of which we will not calculate), we had a lot of catching up to do.  I didn't get much sleep, but it was such a blast chatting with Meghan.  I also enjoyed getting to know Zoey and Terry in the morning.  We had so much fun hanging out and enjoying the worlds best blueberry pancakes, until Meghan and I headed into town for a late lunch.  I even had a chance to chat with her twin sister Sarah on the phone for a bit while we were visiting.  Meghan and I had a lovely lunch looking out over the water.  I had my first reindeer burger and some delicious seafood chowder.  Great way to start the trip to Alaska.
 

Meghan and Sarah during our camp days.

Meghan dropped me off at the hostel on her way to work.  It was a bit too early to check in so I waited the 15 minutes until they were ready.  I was getting a little nervous since the people ahead of me weren't having much luck with their check ins.  Fortunately, mine went smoothly.  Once I dumped my stuff in my room I headed back to the office to use one of the computers.  I ended up having a Facebook chat with David, which was entertaining since we were a block away from each other.  We were joking that he was going to let a bear get me and then mom would have to kick his butt.  (I'm doubtful on whether she would have done so since she always loved David.)  I teased that one of the most insane things I could have done was agree to go on a trip with him.  We'll see if that turns out to be true.

Our group, minus one, met at the truck at 6pm.  The truck has been named "Atka".  David and Natalie introduced all of us, talked about some of the details of the trip and prepared us for our departure the next morning.  Our group included the Germans: Ulli, Thorsten, Renee (and Natalie), the Americans: Me, Mary (and David), and Evelien from the Netherlands.  (Going forward you will see Evelien referred to as Evie in my stories.)  It was an interesting mix of old friends and new friends.  I had known David forever, Thorsten and Natalie knew each other from home, and Mary had gone on one of Natalie's trips in South America.  Renee, Ullie and Evie were new friends.  Mary was the one member of our group who was missing since she had late flights getting her in that evening from Virginia.  The others had flown in a day or two early and explored Anchorage.  After our meeting we walked downtown for lovely dinner and chance to get to know each other better.  Earlier in the day I had received a message from Katie about the kind of shirt she would like me to find for her.  David was nice enough to walk me over to one of the bigger tourist stores to look for one.  I hope the one we found will work.  It was nice to have the time to catch up on our way back to the hostel.  When I got back, I got the chance to meet Mary since we were sharing a room and she had finally arrived. 

Preparing Atka for our departure

Day 2-
We had an early start after breakfast at the hostel.  As we headed out of Anchorage, David was driving and Natalie was giving us information.  We had been divided into cooking pairs.  Since I had admitted before the trip that my cooking skills were slim, I had been matched with Thorsten who liked to cook.  Ullie and Evie were working together and Renee and Mary made up the third group.  Natalie gave us a paper with the days we would cook, the meals we would have to cover and the budget we'd have when we got to the store.  It had been suggested that if there were food items that we didn't like we should write them on a list by the door.  Then others could see what should be avoided.  I'm fairly easy going and open to trying anything once, so I didn't think I needed to write anything down.  We discussed some options for the meals we needed to cover and I went back to my seat to watch for wildlife.  Soon after entering moose country, David spotted our first moose.  It was trotting across a meadow and looked to be a big one but was kind of far from the road.

Our first stop was in Wasilla (No Palin Sightings) where we stopped at a Fred Meyer's grocery store.  This was a super store, so it was somewhat overwhelming to the European portion of our group.  Thorsten and I did a lap of the aisles before we started working on our shopping list.  His idea for our first dinner was couscous with veggies and pork.  I had pushed for French toast for our first breakfast since it was one of the mornings we had more time to prepare.  The rest of the meals we had to cover we chose to do simple things.  I walked around the store with the calculator on my phone in one hand, while pushing the cart with the other, so we didn't go over budget.  It was hard to keep Thorsten on target when things cost twice what they cost at home.  I had to keep asking him what things cost and then doubling back to figure it out when he didn't know.  Eventually we got everything purchased and packed into the coolers or storage bins and put away in the truck.  Pretty much everyone had taken advantage of the stop to stock up on the alcohol of their choice.  We are now ready for this trip.

Our next stop was in Talkeetna.  We had lunch in the truck since it was a bit windy, while David went to check on flight seeing trip status for part of our group.  After they decided it was too cloudy, we went to walk around the village.  I bought a funny photo card from a local artist and a baby shirt for my new niece who will be arriving soon.  Then Evie and I walked around taking some funny photos and picked up drinks.  It was a nice chance to get out and see things, while stretching our legs.

Kissing a Moose.

A few miles before we reached our camp area we saw our second moose.  This time we pulled over for photos.  It was standing in the river eating dinner.  A couple of us even climbed up on top of the truck to try out the viewing platform.  It helped us get a photo without the electrical wires in our way.  So far these moose sightings are not convincing me that they are bigger in Alaska than they are in Utah.  We'll see if I can find one that might prove whether this is truth or myth.

Our second moose.  (Guess I should have chosen the shot w/o the wires in it)

We reached the Denali area in the evening and set up our camp near a pond.  There were a couple of spots that were big enough for two tents and a picnic table that had a roof over them.  We put our tents under those so we were protected from any weather that might come in.  So far it is beautiful up here.  Natalie showed us how to set up the tents.  I reacted the quickest so she used my tent as the example.  Mary is going to be my tent mate, so she lucked out too.  They aren't too bad except for getting the top pole to fit in where it needs to be.  I'm just a tad too short to see it easily.  We set our tent up closest to the truck and pond.  Thorsten put his tent up next to ours.  The other two tents were nearby but uphill from ours.  After I got our tent situated I went and helped David with the cook tent and the eating tent.  Both will help protect us from the mosquitoes that are buzzing around.  While we waited for dinner Mary and I walked to the beaver pond but didn't see any.

Dinner was delicious but a bit too spicy for me.  This is what I get for not putting on the list that I have issues with spices.  My lips were burning before the end.  Ulli and Evie (with some help from Thorsten) had made a rice and chicken dinner.  We have a camp stove with a couple of burners for cooking, so not the campfire cooking that I was imagining.  As we finished up, David gave us the details for the next day and then went and started a campfire for s'mores.  It was fun to teach the Germans.  Roasting marshmallows looks like a bigger hit than the whole s'more.

Turns out that this camp site is just down the road from the hostel I stayed in when I visited Denali in 2008.  Small world, even in a large state.

Day 3-
This was an early morning.  We had to be out of camp at 7am and we actually made it.  Group 2 gave us toast and cereal for breakfast.  Then we packed up sandwiches to take with us.  I made a mental note to invest in some chips and fruit on the next grocery stop.


At the park we used the bathroom, grabbed a drink and got on Tony's bus to head for Eielson Visitor Center in the middle of the park.  David believes if you want to see something you need to project it out there.  We all took it to heart and had said what we hoped to see.  It was a slow start for wildlife viewing.  By our first stop we had only seen 1 caribou.  Fortunately after that it picked up.  During the whole day we saw 2 moose, 11 caribou, 11 grizzly bears, 11 Dall sheep, ground squirrels and a Ptarmigan (state bird).

The bears were actually the most impressive.  We saw two different mama bears with two cubs each.  One of them we saw on the way out and even closer to the road on the way back.  Tony wasn't always the easiest driver to deal with due to his desire to stick to the time line.  He also didn't care to stop for beautiful views, so we did what we could.  Sadly, Mt. Denali did not cooperate for us and was cloud covered.  We opted not to stay longer at the visitors center, but decided to head back for the last dog sled demo.  It was fun to walk around seeing all the dogs beforehand.  They are so excited when they realize it's time for the demo.  It sounds like a bunch of kids saying, "Pick me, pick me!"  On our way back to our truck we made a souvenir and in my case, park stamp stop.  I decided I need to try and visit all the National Parks, so I bought the passport book.  I never remember to travel with it, but can pick up a park stamp each time and add it in later.  I ended up with two for Denali so far, one for each visitor center.  I also found a vintage postcard for Katie and put the park stamp on there for her.  Hopefully it will help if the vintage looking t-shirt isn't a success. 

Love this photo of the baby bears.  They had been playing and suddenly stopped and looked innocent.

Since it was cloudy again, the portion of our group who wanted to go flight seeing decided to skip it.  We went back to the camp for showers before dinner.  Since it was a long day no one had to cook.  We went for pizza across the road instead.  Someone ordered 20 pizzas before we arrived so it was a long wait.  But the conversations going on around our table were entertaining.  I can already see that mixing Europeans and Americans is going to make this trip far more interesting than just the sights we will see and the adventures we will have.

Before bed I worked on writing postcards.  Hard to believe I can write after 10pm without a light.  It might have helped, but I didn't need it.

Day 4-
This morning was the cook day for me and Thorsten.  Since I chose French toast Thorsten deferred to me.  I got up early to get ready and then started organizing breakfast.  We also had to make lunches for a day of hiking in Denali.  For that we put out lunch meat, cheese, hoagie style bread and cookie packs.  I was nervous about the french toast since I have only made it a couple of times for myself, never for 8 people.  I had no idea on measurements so I just winged it.  Fortunately it worked out and I got a lot of positive comments.  We pulled it off and were ready to leave on time again.

French toast that I made.

 This was our hiking day in the park.  We didn't have to start as early since we had a 9:30 bus and weren't going all the way in this time.  I kept hoping Mt. Denali would show itself.  There were some glimpses of pieces of it, but we never saw it all.  Our group got off at Sable Pass after seeing 2 moose, a bird I can't identify and a mother bear with 2 cubs from this spring.  They were the smallest cubs we had seen yet and so cute.  David led us back down the road from the direction we had come.  the light and colors on the mountains in front of us were just amazing.  My photos don't even come close to doing it justice.

Ready to hike.

We walked down until we reached the creek/canyon area where we had seen the bears.  Talk about being outside your comfort zone.  At first it sounded like we would only go a little ways up the creek while keeping a watchful eye out for the bears.  Finally David asked if we still wanted to keep going or turn around.  We also had the choice to split up into two groups so some people could stay while others kept going.  We all kept going but it definitely made me nervous.  I would be the first to admit that that I don't take many risks.  I just told myself that I trusted David and enjoyed the beauty of the canyon.  I must tell you, David was doing everything right for keeping us safe.  He had bear spray, we were making noise so wildlife would know we were in the area and we were all watchful.  The only sign of a bear we saw were some piles of poop.  Eventually some of the group asked for lunch so we stopped on a hillside to eat.  Watching Thorsten take flower photos during this break was fun.  He is so serious about his photography.  He does end up with some fabulous pictures.  After lunch we decided to hike back toward the road and try a new area.

We headed down the road a bit further before trying to hike uphill to a ridge.  Tundra is soft and spongy to walk on which is nice on my knee, but not really that easy for hiking otherwise.  We got pretty high up the hill before Mary wanted to go back down.  Working the way down on tundra provided new challenges.  Evie and I took photos before we headed down to show how high we got.  Across the way we saw some Dall sheep.  We were almost as high as them.  There was a group of 6 and then one off by itself.  I joked that was the petulant child.  We made it back to the road and started watching for a bus to flag down.  The first one only had 3 spots so Natalie, Evie and I got on.  I tried to let Thorsten go first since I knew he was done with hiking, but he was a gentleman and sent me ahead.  The rest were able to get spots on the bus behind us.  Just down the road we spotted more Dall sheep.

That brown line below is the road.

The three of us had a fun trip down sitting in the back of the bus.  We talked about nicknames since I can't pronounce Evelien the way it should be pronounced.  That's when I asked her if I could call her Evie.  The best part of the trip was seeing a decent sized male moose very close to the road.  then he came right over and crossed behind us.  Evie was excited because it meant she would beat Thorsten in their daily photo contest.  She was bouncing with excitement.  I made the mistake of asking the ranger sitting in front of us if Mt. Denali had made an appearance and the answer was yes, for about an hour.  I shouldn't have asked.  We got back a bit ahead of the rest of our group so we shopped for postcards, stickers and drinks.  I also used the bird books to try and figure out what I had seen that morning but couldn't figure it out.  We greeted Thorsten with photos of the moose we saw as soon as he got off his bus.

Our fabulous moose photo.

Thorsten was in charge of dinner.  I helped by chopping veggies and I cut the massive pork loin into smaller pieces.  That was quite a challenge.  Then I got out of the way of Thorsten, Ulli and Natalie.  It took a bit longer than predicted but it was worth it.  I had chopped zucchini and cucumber and had them sitting in separate bowls.  I walked away for a moment and when I came back they were gone.  I made a comment about never trying cooked cucumber before and that's when Thorsten realized he had grabbed one too many bowls.  He sat there and picked the cucumber out from the zucchini.  The pork might have been the best part.  Most of us wanted seconds.  During dinner we all decided to go check out the beaver pond.  We were projecting what we wanted to see when Evie said, "I want to see a beaver in action!"  We laughed and teased her for awhile over that one.  Sadly, our walk did not yield a moose or a beaver sighting.  I told Ulli I would go with her in the morning at 6am to try again before we left for our next destination.

I love that we saw so many amazing animals in Denali and on this trip I got to hike.  I'm excited that I did something outside of my comfort zone.  That is going to be one of my trip highlights.  I am sure it will be the first of many times I challenge myself over these 17 days.  The guestimate for our hike today is that we did 6.3 miles.

Infinite Adventures

Believe it or not, I did travel in 2012.  I even had some small adventures.  Sadly, I got behind right from the start and never did get any of them written about.  Oops.  But I'm back to tell you about the amazing adventure I had in Alaska with Infinite Adventures.  The plan to go on this trip actually started last Fall when my friend David Patrick told me that he was starting a company with his partner Natalie Morawietz.  I had to be good all year to pull this trip off, but the travel withdrawal was worth it.

I have known David since I was in second grade and he was in fourth grade.  We used to carpool to our Catholic elementary school.  As a kid I thought he was cool and used to follow him and his friends around like an annoying little sister.  I'm not sure why, but he put up with me, at least I don't have any memories of him telling me to scram.  We overlapped again in High School for a couple of years and I still thought of him like a big brother.  Over the years we have caught up with each other when we could.  I knew that he had been a trip leader for different travel companies on and off during that time.  I was always interested, but never seemed to pull it off to go on one of the trips.  More recently David and Natalie had both worked leading trips for Dragoman in Africa and South America, which is how they met.  Reading about those trips I definitely wanted to make something work so I could go.  Before I pulled the resources together they were back in America and starting their own company with the things they had learned.  As soon as I heard the news, I told David that I would sign up for one of the trips.  I knew before my birthday last October that I was going to find a way to make this work.  Some of my birthday presents were things that would help me prepare for camping in Alaska.  Once I got those gifts there was no turning back, not that I wanted to.

David and I at his High School Graduation.  (Earliest photo I could find.) 

Infinite Adventures will have trips in the western part of the lower 48 states, but started with 17 day trips in Alaska this summer.  Ever since my first trip to Alaska in 2008 I've been dying to visit again.  This was the ideal way for me to go back, see more and experience things I had missed on a solo trip.  The first time I went I spent time in Anchorage, Denali National Park and Seward.  I would see those places again on this adventure, but I would also get to visit MacLaren River Lodge on the Denali Highway, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in McCarthy, Valdez, Homer, Kasitsna Bay (near Seldovia) and Hope.  I studied the dates that were offered and compared them to my work schedule, finally deciding that the August 2nd trip was going to be the one that fit.  David was great about letting me make payments on the trip.  The minute I sent in the last payment I started working on saving up for the Kitty.  (You can find more information about the trip price and the kitty at www.infiniteadv.com)  Thankfully during those months of travel withdrawal David and Natalie were posting progress reports on the truck we would be traveling in, photos of the tents and showing us the beauty of Alaska that we would be experiencing.  It helped.  It also helped that David put up with all my questions and Facebook chats over those months.

On the way North, David and Natalie stopped in Salt Lake City to visit with David's cousin Chris, who also grew up in Bloomington.  Until their stop I had never met Chris, since he went to the other high school in town.  I was lucky enough to join the three of them for dinner.  It was nice to meet Chris and know there are other Indiana University fans in Salt Lake.  (It's amazing the # of Bloomington people who end up out here in Utah.)  I also got a chance to get a sneak peak at the truck I'd be riding in for 17 days.  David and Natalie took a school bus and transformed it into a fabulous way to travel.  They took out the benches and put in comfortable seats.  They also put lockers overhead so that we could keep some of our personal items on the bus with us.  There is a section of seats that face each other with a table in between.  Perfect for a group of 8 to eat together when the weather is less than desirable.  It had been a handicap accessible bus, so the back was sectioned off and made into a storage locker for our tents, gear and luggage.  On the sides of the bus underneath there are compartments for storing things like the plates, cook stoves, food, etc.  The back has a place for firewood and a ladder that allows you to climb up to the top where they added a viewing platform.  It's a great place to safely see wildlife or to just get that higher perspective.  The official countdown to August 2nd started with that first glimpse of how I'd be traveling.

Me and David this summer on his way North to Alaska.

Eventually being good about saving my time off was rewarded.  I headed to Alaska and the many amazing adventures that awaited me.  Watch for more posts as I tell you the stories of all the things David talked me into trying or convinced me I could do.  I fully admit there might have been some internal cussing at times, but all of it was worth it.  And I'm happy that I tried everything.  This was seriously the best adventure ever.  Hopefully after reading about my travels with Infinite Adventures you will want to join them next summer for your own.

Kayaking Yellowstone Lake

A couple months ago I saw a Groupon special for kayaking on Yellowstone Lake. I absolutely love any excuse to go to Yellowstone, so I called Katie and convinced her we should each buy one. She finally agreed and we got our Groupons, now we just had to find a weekend. I had a trip in July, and both of us were going to Colorado to see family different weekends in August. We eventually decided on the weekend of September 10-11th. I fully admit I liked the idea of being in such a beautiful place on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The lack of tv and radio would be a bonus. I will never forget that day, but I prefer to remember it in a place of beauty.

Neither of us has a lot of time off work. To avoid using vacation I suggested and Katie agreed, to drive up to Big Sky, MT on Saturday, kayak on Sunday afternoon and make a late drive home. Katie picked me up Saturday morning in Salt Lake City and we headed up I-15. Since we were heading to Big Sky to use dad's condo for the night we cut off after Idaho Falls. Taking US-20 improves the scenery. You could see the Tetons off in the distance. We stopped in Ashton for lunch at a little place called Frostop that my friend Abbi introduced me to my first summer in Utah. They have fabulous milkshakes and tater tots. (I recommend the Huckleberry shake if you do stop in.) A few miles down the road we started seeing historic signs. Katie joked about pulling over to read them all. I told her I was fine with that since I always consider doing it but seem to be in a hurry when I go by. She didn't actually stop until she saw the sign for the Scenic Byway. We pulled over and it looked like it would connect back up with 20 so we decided to take it. It wasn't until we reached the upper water falls before the lower that we started to doubt the direction we were going. When we reached the lower falls next we knew we were in trouble. We ended up doing it backwards and ended up right back in Ashton by the Frostop. In the end it was a detour well worth the time.

Upper Falls

Lower Falls

The rest of your drive up to Big Sky was beautiful but mostly uneventful. We arrived in Big Sky shortly before 6pm. This is absolutely my favorite mountain. Katie says its because it is so easy to draw all on it's own. That might be, but I have always loved coming up to Big Sky. It is my happy place. Our first stop didn't count since it was a rush stop so Katie could buy some shorts at the sporting good store. The second and third stop were the important ones. First we hit The Cave, a liquor and gift store. We both got a mug and a beer glass, but Katie found a nice bottle of wine and I discovered they had Maker's Mark mini bottles. From there we headed over to the Hungry Moose Market. Katie picked up some beer and more wine, while I got a bottle of Ten Spoon wine called "Getaway", which seemed appropriate, and some postcards. Now we were ready to head to the condo to watch the Notre Dame football game. For anyone who saw that game against Michigan, you know it did not end well for our team. It was a quiet night after that.

Sunday morning we got up and headed out. We were on the road a bit before 9am, which was impressive even if that was our goal. Our reservation for kayaking was not until 2:30pm so we had time to enjoy the park. We came in from the West Yellowstone entrance, which means you have many miles before you can make a turn onto another road. So when traffic gets tied up due to wildlife, you might as well prepare to be patient. Our drive in became one of those. It took awhile before we were anywhere near the tie up so we could figure out the problem. My guess was elk since I'd seen them before in this area. Sure enough, there was a herd standing in or along the river right near the bridge. There were people everywhere taking photos. Katie was less than impressed. There was one elk standing in the middle of river almost posing. I asked Katie if she would be more impressed if a bear ran out and attacked the elk. She said only if it ran right next to the man sitting too close on a rock so that he pissed himself. Sadly, none of that happened so we kept going.

The route we chose was the one that would take us along the upper part of the loop toward the Canyon area and away from Old Faithful. We stopped first at the lower falls and somehow I found myself on the trail that takes you down to the brink. I have done that hike one other time, and have tried to avoid it since. It is only 3/4 of a mile round trip but you descend 600 feet and it is switch backs the whole way. It is a work out but worth it. The only bad thing is that then you are on top of the falls, so the pictures aren't amazing. Fortunately for us, we could see the view area across from us, and some crazy guy who had decided to climb down to get a better picture.

Viewing area across the way in the midst of the trees
1/2 way to 3/4 way down is the crazy guy

Blue dot on the big rock is the crazy guy

Katie and I actually watched him for awhile. At one point he went sliding over the rock to the Falls side. It took a moment to realize he had put his camera on a timer and was getting in the shot. I was convinced we'd be reading about his death in the paper. Katie on the other hand decided this just might be the guy for her. So if anyone knows him, let my sister know.

Brink of Lower Falls

After that excitement we hiked back up and continued on our way. We finally found the buffalo. The big guy below had been holding up traffic in the left lane by standing in the middle of it. At one point he was having a stand off with the cars. They say you should stay 25 yards away from wildlife, I'm pretty sure we broke that rule just driving past him.

The local welcome buffalo

As we were driving past the buffalo herds we could see rain in front of us. Then Katie noticed that the cars passing us had snow on them. Suddenly the stuff hitting the windshield was a lot slushier than rain. I'm not completely ready to call it snow, but it was close. At least I made it all the way until Sept. 11th before I saw snow this year.

Snow/slush on the drive

Seeing snow made us a bit nervous for getting out and into a boat. We watched the temperature reading on Katie's car slowly rise into the 40's. I figured I would need to pull all my layers out for this adventure. Fortunately, when we reached Grant Village for the kayaking it was a reasonable temperature. We both opted to stick with shorts, although I did put on a light, long sleeve shirt. There were only four of us going on the trip that afternoon. Katie and I were in one kayak and the other two women were in the second kayak. Then we had Dominick and Dan as our guides. After giving us instructions on how to get in the boat and paddle we got our safety lecture and were ready to go. Dominick was our lead guide and Dan was playing sweep. Which meant that Katie and I were with Dominick and the other ladies were with Dan. The trip is kayaking from Grant Village to West Thumb were you can see some thermals in the water. The wind had started to kick up but it was not too hard on the way over. On the way we got a National Geographic moment for Katie. There was a male elk in full on pursuit of a female elk. She on the other hand did not seem to have any interest in him. She kept running away and even went into the lake to get past him. A bit further down the coast there were also two younger male elk fighting. Then they started to head toward the bigger male. We tried to tell that was a bad idea, but you can't tell kids anything.

Female Elk trying to get away

We also saw some golden eye ducks. Dominick told us they don't like to fly so they try to duck under the water and come up away from you. They also start quacking in panic but never fly. When we got close we could hear them but we were close to shore so they were able to get up on land and run away from us. Their eyes really are a golden color. Kind of creepy. As we got closer to West Thumb we joked about all the tourist photos we were going to ruin. You could see a lot of them with their cameras up on the walk way looking at the thermals. Katie seems to get a kick out of being in the middle of their pictures. There is a point where we had to wait for the others since there are rules about being in the area of the thermals. It turned out though that the waves were getting too big to see anything. Dominick and Dan were getting worried and decided we should turn back. The return trip was a lot harder than the way out. The waves got so big I'm almost convinced I could handle ocean kayaking after this experience. Every so often we'd get hit with one and feel how cold that water was. Despite the extra effort we had to put in we were still having fun joking around with Dominick on the way back. We got really far ahead of the others and stopped to wait once. We were supposed to be fairly close to the coast line for the trip. At one spot we were not that close so I warned Katie about not dumping me out since I wasn't sure I wanted to swim that far. She informed me I wouldn't have to swim, just float and the waves would carry me in. I still wasn't ready to be that cold. Eventually we made it back to the dock. It was a great trip for my first kayak experience. I look forward to doing it again. We learned the hard way to pick the morning trips when the lake is calmer. Live and learn, the theme of the summer.

Katie and I by our Kayak

Katie wanted to stop in Jackson to have dinner with her friend Sam on our way home. So once we changed into dry clothes we bolted for the Tetons. We were told it would take us 2 hours from Grant Village. She was determined to beat that time. I think she might have pulled it off by about 10 minutes. It was a beautiful drive out of Yellowstone and through Teton National Park. I really think these are two of my favorites. It doesn't matter how many times I go, I love them every time. We saw some buffalo and antelope on our way through the Tetons. Still no bears or moose but we kept hoping. The sun coming through the clouds was gorgeous. The picture below just doesn't do it justice.

Sunset in the Tetons

We had a great dinner in Jackson with Sam. The whole time Sam and Katie kept trying to talk me into calling in sick or dead so we could stay the night in Jackson. This just wasn't one of those times I could pull it off. Eventually we headed back to Park City. Sam gave us directions to make it quicker. Unfortunately, we missed one of the turns and got a bit confused. We eventually got back on track and made it to Katie's house by 1am. Next time we take an extra day for the trip. Still, it was a great weekend. I'm glad we were able to go do it. If you are in the west I recommend a stop in Yellowstone and Teton National Parks. They are worth it.

East Coast Trek- Baltimore to New York; Part 2

Trying to figure out the next portion of my trip was starting to get complicated. I was going from Baltimore to Atlantic City with Amy, but then heading out from there with Gwen. Which meant that Amy had to get herself back to Maryland. Using one of their cars wasn't looking good and renting one was turning into a headache. I finally hit upon the idea to take the train. Less stress and we could focus on talking to each other since neither one would have to drive. We left out of Baltimore's Penn Station and had one connection in Philly. We took some time to eat as unhealthy as possible while we were waiting for the second train. I was tempted to get Dunkin Donuts, but went with Auntie Anne's pretzel instead. (They really do have all the fun food options out east.) Both parts of the train trip were easy and we got to Atlantic City without major headaches. Even better, there was a free shuttle to Harrah's. We got checked in and settled while we waited for Gwen to arrive. Once she joined us we decided to go explore so we would know our options. After that we got ready for dinner and the concert. We found a place that was nice but affordable for dinner and started with a drink. From there we headed straight to the concert venue (at the other end of the building). By this point my feet were already protesting the sandals Katie had told me to wear. We were a bit early, but not too much. Just enough time to get some pictures and a poster we could have the guys sign for the kids after the show. This was the second time that Amy and I had seen Straight No Chaser (SNC) but the first time for Gwen. She completely missed out while she was at IU. Since she majored in music I was curious to see her reaction. She enjoyed it and loved some of their renditions of songs we all know, especially "Like a Prayer". That is one of my favorites. If you ever get the chance to see them I highly recommend it.

After the show we went to grab drinks and then get in line to have the photos signed. I also wanted to say hi to Charlie since he was a fellow Bloomington North grad. Since Nora ended up not being able to make it to the show I was getting a photo signed for her. Amy was in front of me so she got to Charlie first, so he knew I was coming. When I reached him he leaned over and gave me a big hug. He joked with me about how they weren't coming to SLC again this year. Randy was sitting next to him and asked if I knew why. Charlie said he told me, but I never got that message. So Randy explained that they had been scheduled to appear in Utah once and were pulled because of their name. I've heard about other singers being asked to censor their lyrics or not come at all because of them. I wasn't surprised to hear that Straight No Chaser might not appeal name wise out here. I told them they should see if they could perform at the UofU or up in Park City which is very liberal about things. Hopefully one of these days it will work out, but I never turn down an opportunity to travel. After we made it through the line we hung out to talk to Charlie some more. After they do the autograph line they do photos. Since we were waiting anyway we decided to get one with the group. Charlie moved down to the front when we came over so we had the two North graduates standing together. Afterward we got to talk to him for awhile and meet his wife. They got a kick out of the Ski Team onesie I brought for their son. Since Charlie was giving snowboarding a shot I'll have to get one of those in the future for him.

SNC, Gwen, Amy, Me

Amy wanted to give the slots a shot since we were there. So after we talked to Charlie we went to get another drink and follow her around. Gwen and I weren't interested so we watched, drank and talked. I forgot a very important thing while drinking, I wasn't in Utah. This was drink #3 for the evening and the one with the most amount of alcohol in it. (Pretty sure it was 3/4 bourbon and 1/4 coke.) I was doing okay until the end and then it really hit me. When we went to our room for the night I was having issues with it spinning. Next time I go somewhere I have to remember they pour them stronger than we do at home. Live and learn was definitely the motto for this trip.

Tuesday we got up and went to the boardwalk before Amy had to get her train home. You can't go to Atlantic City without experiencing the boardwalk, right? We also got our feet wet in the ocean but it was freezing! After Amy left we walked around a bit and then headed further up the Jersey Shore. We stopped at another beach in the afternoon and walked the boardwalk there. It actually had a lot more going on than Atlantic City did. We had some lunch and people watched. Wow, was that an experience. There were a few people that fit the stereotype of what you expect to see on the Jersey Shore and I don't even watch the reality show. From there we headed to Jersey City where Gwen lives. We met up with her boyfriend Mark and went to a fabulous sushi restaurant for dinner. The car was parked in a great spot for a view of NYC across the river. It was beautiful, especially when we walked back and the lights were all coming on.

Wednesday we started our morning with Gwen getting a run in while I did some more of my rehab. Then we decided to go see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty before we drove to the Catskills. I had gone to the Statue of Liberty as a kid but not Ellis Island. We started with Ellis. We walked around checking out some of the exhibits until the Ranger led tour started. The stories he told were interesting so I'm glad we did it. I always love hearing the stories behind the history. It makes things more real. After that we caught the boat over to see Lady Liberty. Since I had climbed to the top as a kid and this was a last minute trip, we just went over and walked around. That didn't take long and then we were in line to get the boat back and head up to the cabin.

I forgot how beautiful it is up in the Catskills. The cabin is near Hamden, NY. It is surrounded by lots of green trees and rolling hills (mountains). I just loved it. We got up there around dinner time and sat out on the deck with our drinks and chips watching the sunset. They have a pond down the hill from the place and a garden. It was just so peaceful. This would be the relaxing portion of the trip.

Thursday we had a reservation to go canoeing at Skinner's Falls on the Delaware River, but no set time frame for getting there. We took our time moving in the morning and getting there. Before we left I was in touch with one of our former counselors who lived near by. She decided she would meet us there since her previous plans fell through. That way she could take some photos as we went through the falls. When Gwen and I were campers at Hidden Valley Camp in Equinunk, PA we used to sign up for the canoe groups. The closest we had come to Skinner's though was sitting on the side watching others go through it. The older girls had done this section and it was a challenge we had hoped to do. So we decided we were going. I signed us up for a 10 mile canoe trip which started just up the river from the falls. (Next time I'd put it more in the middle. Live and learn.) Fritz was there when we got to the falls and took some great photos. After all the years and the scary stories it wasn't so bad. We laughed our way through it and didn't hit any obstacles. Later when Fritz put one of the photos on the HVC Facebook page someone commented and asked if they still had a sign telling you how many people had died in Skinner's Falls. I'm glad we didn't see that. It really didn't seem that bad to us. We decided the year we sat on the side must have been one of those bad years for our counselor, maybe the one with the broken fingers. We figure she had a good reason for not taking a group of kids through there. After we made it through the falls we pulled over to the side to say hi to Fritz. We made plans to meet her later to visit camp and then headed on our way to finish the 9.5 miles we had left to our trip. They calculated 5 hours for the 10 miles. We calculated we wouldn't be that slow.

Me & Gwen going through Skinner's Falls

It was a beautiful day for our trip. The first part of the trip wasn't too crowded. We saw some other boats but not a lot. We saw some deer at one point. And when we stopped for lunch we got to watch a bird of prey swoop down for its lunch. I couldn't identify what kind of bird but it was a big one. We made a stop at the halfway point to use bathrooms and get drinks. They thought we were finishing but we just needed a quick break before the last 5 miles. I didn't pay much attention at the time, but there were some big buses at the landing when we stopped. A short while later it would all make sense. After the landing we were coming up to a bridge. There were some young guys jumping off the support beams underneath into the river. We decided they were nuts. After the bridge we came upon the reason for all the buses. It was a Jewish boys camp. I'm pretty sure we spent the next four miles trying to pass all those rafts. I have to admit, they were entertaining. Extremely loud, but fun to watch. I'm really glad we passed them when we did. It gave us enough of a distance that we got to see a bear. Gwen didn't believe me. She thought it was a dog. It came running out of the woods, jumped into the river and then jumped out and shook off. It stopped long enough to look at us, but we were a fair distance so nothing to worry about. Then it took off into the woods. I kept saying, that was a bear. When we reached the spot where we had seen it there were no signs of civilization anywhere nearby. Gwen still wasn't completely convinced. As we were finishing our trip we passed two women in rafts with their beers. We decided that next trip that might be the way to do it.

After we got back to Skinner's and were cleaned up we received an invite from Fritz to come to her house for dinner. Unfortunately, we missed the turn. We ended up in Hancock, NY so we were too far past. Fritz told us to head to camp and she would pack it up and bring it for a picnic. We were told to check in with the ranger since it is no longer a girl scout camp. Before we left Hancock we went in to check our directions. I asked about Candyland which was a place we always visited when mom had a day off and we went into town. Sadly, it burned down a few years ago. The end of a childhood haunt, at least I have some great memories. When we got to camp we went to ask permission to have our picnic. The ranger asked if we planned to steal the signs. Apparently the previous group stole some of the unit name signs. We promised we would only take photos with our camera. In the end we really only spent time around the dining hall and then down by the lake. While we were waiting for Fritz we took some photos. They had a fence by the dining hall that said HV. We decided it was missing the C. So we took turns standing there creating the C. The dinner that Fritz made was delicious! It was so nice to sit there on the hill looking out over the lake again. I really miss camp days. After dinner we drove down to the waterfront area. The ranger had made a comment about not caring if we jumped in the lake. So Fritz took him up on it and jumped in. Gwen and I opted out since we had already cleaned up once.

Me, Fritz, Gwen

After a few more photos we headed down the hill. On the way we stopped for photos of the water fall we used to play in and looked for the Gnome's house on the hillside. Then it was back to the cabin. On the way a bear ran out in front of us. It crossed the road and ran up a tree. When we stopped it peaked around at us. It was adorable, although we did keep looking around to see if mama bear was following. After that Gwen believed that the first one we saw was a bear.

Our 2nd bear sighting

My last night at the cabin was a hot one. So we sat up the hill from the cabin with Mark, enjoying drinks and the stars until it was late enough to cool down. It was a gorgeous night. I can't wait to go back to the Catskills. Gwen and I are discussing the possibility of a backpack trip next time. She will just need to be patient with me.

Friday was a travel day. I opted to take the bus from the Catskills to Long Island to visit Nora and her family. I didn't want anyone to have to drag kids on that long a car ride just to get me. It was a long trip but really pretty along the way. We went through Woodstock which was fun. I hadn't been there since a hiking trip as a CIT. I eventually reached my drop off point a bit late. When Nora pulled up to get me she had one sleeping four year old in the back seat. He fell asleep mid sentence on the way over. So the first of her children I actually met was Caleb who is 8 days older than my niece Trinity and a total doll. Caleb and I are in love with each other, even though I keep telling him about my beautiful niece. (When I tried to tell Trinity she hung up on me. Only 18 months and already a heart breaker.) We eventually got Brady moving enough to put him back in the car so we could go to dinner. I sat in the back seat with the boys. Caleb had received his new toy car and t-shirt before we left so we were fast friends. Brady didn't know yet what he was getting. We had a great dinner of New York pizza and the best stuffed clams. Afterward we stopped by Nora's parents' house so I could say hi. When we got home Brady got his t-shirt and book. Needless to say he was expecting better. Eventually he warmed up to them. The next day the boys had their shirts on.

Caleb and Brady

Saturday Nora and I got up early to beat the heat and headed to the beach with the boys. One thing I was trying somewhat successfully to do was hit some National Parks, seashores, historic sites, etc. on this trip. Fire Island is very near their house so we headed there so I could mark the Fire Island National Seashore off my list. We took the walk over to the Lighthouse and looked around. We only had the single stroller with us so when Brady got tired he tried to sit on the piece in front of Caleb. My guess is that Caleb is going to be a football player or soccer player. He wound up all his strength and would give Brady one good kick and send him flying off the stroller. Pretty impressive when you consider that Brady is 4 and Caleb is 18 months. After checking out the light house we put on the sunscreen and headed to the beach. The boys are allowed in the water if they are holding hands with an adult. Brady became my friend when he realized that I counted. It was cold but eventually you got used to it. I was fine with just standing in it, no need to wade in further.

After taking the boys home for nap time we cleaned up and headed to Sagamore Hill, home of Theodore Roosevelt. My park pass came in handy on this stop. It turns out the house tour is free with the pass. We got there just in time to catch up to one of the tours. Obviously, the house is not air conditioned so we could only see the first two floors due to the heat. The first two floors were amazing and there was a lot to take in. I'd love to have a list of all the books he has in that house. They were everywhere, floor to ceiling. There are some awesome artifacts from his trips to Africa and elsewhere. Plus all the things he accumulated as President. I definitely recommend it if you are in the area. On the way home we made a quick stop for groceries so that we could grill out. I have to say, Brett's grilled hamburgers might be the best I've had!

Sunday was our big trip into the city. Brady was really excited. We drove in and parked near the High Line so that we could go explore. If you haven't been there while in NYC it is fabulous. They took this old railway line that is above ground and instead of tearing it down they made it into a walkway with gardens, benches and viewing areas the length of it. There is still another section finish, but it is already long. When it is finished it will be 1.5 miles. We took our time checking everything out and letting the boys play. About half way along the path we went down to check out the Chelsea Market. I had made plans to meet one of my grad school buddies there for gelato. Nora and the boys decided that sounded like lunch to them. Brett and I decided we needed some chowder before we could go gelato. JulieAnn met us there and we were able to catch up for awhile. She went back up to the High Line with me to walk around a bit. Nora and Brett had taken the boys to explore more so when JulieAnn left I met them up there to finish the path and head back. On the way back to Bayshore I was sitting between the boys. Caleb fell asleep immediately but Brady was too excited. My favorite moment was when he said, "Excuse me, I have something to tell you. I can't believe we went to New York City! And I love you." How cute is that?

For my last night in New York we picked up dinner at Boston Market and took it back to the house. I sat next to Caleb who kept reaching out and putting his hand on my arm. Then he would just gaze at me. How come I can't get boys my age to do that? The kid is going to be a heart breaker someday. After dinner Nora and I took the boys over to her parents' house so I could visit before my trip ended. I hung out on the back porch with her mom and her brother Patrick while she spent a lot of time in the house with the kids and her dad. At one point Patrick and I both discovered that neither of us particularly want kids, we like spoiling the kids our siblings have. When one of them was having a tantrum I asked Patrick if he was sure he didn't want kids. He was quick to say he still didn't want them. I agreed. It is a lot of fun to visit, spoil them and then give them back. It was great to visit with the Cherry family.
Monday morning it was time to head home. Before I left we took some photos on the porch. The only person I don't have in any of the shots is Brett. But the boys were willing to get in them with us. Nora and the boys took me to the airport to catch my flight back to Utah. Not before I picked up some Skinny Girl Margarita and some Dunkin Donuts to take with me. I think I hit all the cravings I might have had for any east coast foods. It was a fabulous trip and I think I saw just about everyone I planned to see. There are always a few that I cannot fit in. That just means that I'll have to plan another trip in the near future or everyone needs to come visit me in Utah.

Time to enjoy Utah until the next trip.

Nora, Caleb, Me, Brady

East Coast Trek- Baltimore to New York

My trip out east took place in July. Since it was such a full trip I decided to wait until I returned to write about my adventures. Unfortunately, a lot happened when I returned so it has taken me over a month to get to this. I hope you'll enjoy the delayed adventures of my East Coast Trek.

Usually when I go east I hit the Baltimore/DC area and call it good. With all my college friends adding little ones to the family I thought maybe this time it would be a good idea to head up the coast and include New York. Plus, I had been in touch with a camp friend and we decided if I ever made it back out there that we needed to go canoe a portion of the Delaware River that we missed as campers. Then some friends and I found out that Straight No Chaser would be performing in Atlantic City for a couple months. We had never been to AC and it sounded like one of those places you should experience. So the trip started in Baltimore, with day trips to DC and Delaware before moving up the coast to Atlantic City. From there I hit other parts of New Jersey, the Catskills in New York and finished on Long Island. I learned a few lessons too. The most important being to put all the friends with kids at the front end and the relaxing portion of the trip at the back end. That way I have a shot at coming home somewhat rested. I also learned to do a better job checking the sports calendar before planning. I put my trip in the middle of the Tour de France and toward the end of the Women's World Cup. That last event worked in my favor though since I got to watch the last games with some actual fans. Live and learn.

I flew out Thursday afternoon after spending the morning with my dad who was visiting me and Katie in Utah. I arrived in time for a late dinner/dessert get together with Scott and Ally, both of whom were leaving the next day. So it was immediately or not at all for seeing them. I tried the night before to convince Scott he should meet me at the airport and take me to get the rental so we'd have more time together. Unfortunately, it turns out I didn't have his cell # in my phone and he didn't text me the #'s I would need just in case. By the time he texted to tell me he was there I was stuck in the middle of the rental car bus with no way off. I told him I'd meet him at the rental place. Somehow I beat him there and was already in line when he walked in. I had my arms open ready to give him a hug when the line started to move. I grabbed one bag and asked him to grab the other. That led to a lot of teasing about not hello, just ordering him around. I pointed out that if he had walked faster he would have gotten a hug first. I do so love to tease Scott. After I got my car we headed to Chili's to meet Ally. I had promised we'd do a dessert get together. Since I hadn't eaten much that day I decided to do dinner while Ally got dessert and Scott drank. If it hadn't been such a hike from there to my friends' house I might have joined him. Just did not think that the best idea since I'm such a light weight. It was a great time and I had fun joking around and catching up with both of them.

From there I headed up to Bel Air, north of Baltimore to stay with the Marklands. It was so late when I got there the girls had gone to bed. Sarah had left me a note and Anna had asked her parents to find out how early she could wake me up in the morning. (First indication that I should have put all the kids at one end.) I ended up staying up late talking to Amy and Tim.

Friday morning Anna was down there as soon as she could to wake me up. I do love my honorary nieces, they are just so much fun. We only had a bit of time together before they were going to go to Vacation Bible Camp and I was headed to DC. I got to meet "baby" Izzy for the first time and give Sarah and Anna their gifts. It was hard talking them out of wearing the new shirts that were too big or using the new bags I gave them. They were given the okay to wear the soccer hair scrunchies. Eventually they were out the door and I got ready to head to DC.

My plan was to go to DC to meet up with friends and play tourist. I didn't give myself as much time as I thought getting down there so I went straight to meeting the first group of friends. Unfortunately, both of them were running late. So I sat at a table at Uno's reading the Washington Post while I waited. Eventually Emilie and Kaira made it and we had fun catching up over pizza. I really miss the girls and outings for Uno's pizza. I tried to convince both of them they should come visit me in Utah sometime soon. After lunch they both had to head back to work so I walked up to the Dirkson Senate building with Emilie. I thought I'd see if Alicia was in at Senator Landrieu's office but I happened to pick the one time she would be traveling. Hopefully she got the note I left her.

After that it was time to go play tourist. Turns out, even after being gone for 9 years I don't do tourist well. The rest of the tourists annoy me. I started with the US Botanic Gardens. I did the inside but did not have time for the outside. That just means I have something more to see on the next trip. From there I headed over to the National Museum of the American Indiana. I realized very quickly I wouldn't have time for the whole thing. I started at the top, stopped for the film and then gave up. Again, more for the next trip. Then it was a sprint to the National Gallery to see the Metsu exhibit. I had read about it in the Washington Post and thought it sounded interesting. It was 15 minutes before closing time, so thankfully it wasn't a huge exhibit. I managed to enjoy each of the paintings and still make it to buy postcards at the gift shop before being kicked out. The first postcard I ever sent my niece Trinity was a hologram card of cats from the museum. I still had time before meeting friends for dinner but not so much that I wanted to try to figure out what might still be open. So I headed over near the Capitol and found a place to sit and people watch. I may not play tourist well since they annoy me, but I do love watching them.

Dinner was at the Capitol City Brewery (which was closing that weekend) with Sarah and Andrea. I have known Sarah since the 1999 Women's World Cup. I met her and Sonya outside a US practice in DC. We ended up becoming friends and going to games across the country together after that summer. I haven't actually seen her in awhile though. It didn't take long for us to catch up and decide we need to go the next Women's World Cup in Canada. We are inviting our moms since they used to go to some of the games with us. Then we decided that we would also pursue the idea of going to Brazil for the Men's World Cup. The bigger the group the more fun that trip will be. It was so great to see Sarah and meet Andrea. I'm hoping they'll come out to visit me in Utah soon. Especially since we have a great bike race out here that would be fun to go watch with them.

Me, Andrea, Sarah

Saturday I got up and had breakfast with the whole Markland family. Which was a lot of fun but probably not my best idea since I was meeting the soccer girls for an early lunch. I had requested that we meet at Bill Bateman's in Towson since I randomly had a craving for one of their crab dip pretzels. Not sure where that came from. I'm pretty sure the whole time I was in college I only ever tried one once. Due to schedules it was a small but fun group of us. Tina, Sharyn and Melissa were able to meet up. We caught up on events and watched the WWC 3rd place game. I love when I get to see my girls. And yes, even after all these years they are still my girls. After lunch Melissa and I decided to drive over to the Union to see what options we could find at the store. Right out front was a clearance table with Towson (TU) blankets that were 75% off. We weren't figuring it out exactly, but we knew it was going to be a good deal so we both got one. Later we discovered they were down to $12. Melissa said she felt like we stole them. It was hard not to buy every baby item in the store for Melissa's expected little one, but somehow we refrained. It helped that they didn't have much with soccer on it.

Sharyn, Me, Tina, Melissa

After the shopping trip at the bookstore I headed to Delaware to meet my college roommate Jennie. I also had high hopes that I might actually get to see my friend Michelle for the first time since we graduated from Towson. Jennie and I had picked Wilmington, DE as a nice middle ground since she was coming from north of Philly. We found a Brewery in a nice area to hang out and catch up. I hadn't seen her since she was expecting her first child and now she has two. I'm hoping on my next trip I can figure out the timing so I actually get to meet the kids. We had a blast catching up, trying some drinks and eating an amazing appetizer and dessert. (I adopted the drink, appetizer, dessert model from my mom and her best friend. It works.) The only sad thing about the Delaware hop was that I didn't get to meet up with Michelle after all. But I am happy that we are back in contact and hopefully she will be visiting me soon with her family.

Me and Jennie

Still on Saturday, and already I have eaten three times. But I wasn't done! Now it was time to drive back toward Bel Air to meet the Harkins family for dinner. I felt bad since it was getting late and tried to get them to go ahead and I'd just meet them. Somehow that didn't work so we all ended up pulling in at the same time. I felt bad for the kids, but I think they forgave me. No shocker here but Collin has outgrown me. I still have some time before Kiera hits that point. I'm guessing by the next trip though she will be taller. The only reason I'm amazed is because I've known these kids since Collin was a toddler. After dinner we had to make a stop at Coldstone for some dessert. That was four meals and a couple desserts all in one day. So much fun! I'm happy I was able to see everyone though.

Monica and Me

Kiera, Me, Collin

Sunday was my last full day in Baltimore and the final game for the Women's World Cup. I took the rental car back to the airport since I wouldn't need it going forward. The Marklands picked me up and we headed to a fabulous place to watch the game. To make it even more fun members of Sarah's travel team were all going to be there to watch. I also invited my friend Lisa from the TU soccer team since she had missed the get together the day before. She graciously agreed to watch with me and a group of 9 year olds. It was actually really fun. The kids painted their faces and had jerseys on. I had brought my new jersey and one of my old ones so Amy and I wore those. Lisa had on a men's jersey, but we let it count for the day. We had quite a large area of the restaurant side and got them to turn up the sound as loud as they could. Lisa and I kept yelling at the TV. Then we'd turn to the girls and say something like, "Always lean over the ball when you shoot. If you lean back it goes high." They would just nod at us. I think they have already learned the art of humoring the crazy adults. For those who have watched big games with me, I was definitely yelling, but there was no hyperventilating involved. By the time we lost on PK's you could see the writing on the wall. You can't keep giving up leads and miss kicks and get the win. Good job to Japan. (I have a theory, when we lose the WWC we win the Olympic Gold medal. Anyone want to go to London next year?)

Lisa and Me

Izzy, Sarah, Tim, Anna, Me, Amy

When we got back to the house the older girls agreed to help me do my rehab. We had to improvise on some of the items, which just made it more entertaining. For the warm up we went for a walk with me pushing Izzy in the stroller. That wasn't a bad way to warm up. Then we headed back to the house to see what I could figure out. Sarah caught on quickly to most of the items on my list, Anna worked hard to figure them out. For ladder work they had a twister game that used rings instead of the plastic sheet. We set the rings up in a ladder style and did it that way. We also all got out a jump rope and worked on my jumping. Sarah kept cheering me on. I wish I could have brought her back to cheer me on during the function test. We finished up by using the steps on their shed to do our step ups. I wish I had as much energy as them.

Before bed time we had to go catch fireflies since I don't have those in Utah. We weren't having much luck for awhile but eventually we caught a couple. Before bed the girls wanted to know how early they could get me up since Amy and I were leaving for Atlantic City in the morning. I finally agreed to 7:30am. They actually set their alarm.

Monday morning was the first time I actually heard the kids coming to wake me. I looked at the clock and it wasn't 7:30 so I told them they were early. They swore their clock said it was time. I told them I didn't care it wasn't time yet. So Sarah laid down on the floor next to me and Anna sat at the end of the couch. Eventually though I had Anna laying on top of me and Sarah on the couch right next to me. They are definitely getting too big for that. But it was nice to spend some time with them before I left. I can't wait for my next trip to visit them. (Although, I'd be thrilled to have them visit me so I could show them the west.)

To be continued...

And then it ended

It took me some time to recover from my trip so that I could write this last post. But I need to conclude before moving on to the next adventure.

My last morning in Oslo was an early start. We needed time to make sure we could pick up Lefse before we headed to the airport. It turns out that the box of Lefse to make up for the moldy package was left at the grocery store just down the hill from where Hanne lives. So that made for an easy stop. When she came out with the box it had a lot of Lefse in it. I decided to put in what I could and leave the rest for Hanne and Bjornar to enjoy, although Hanne kept telling me to take more. I'm sure when security checked my bag they were surprised to find frozen homemade Lefse from Bernie's mom, frozen Lefse that was packaged similar to getting a pop tart and then the non-frozen packages. I definitely had plenty of options for Carolyn and her family to try when I got home.

I was sad to say good bye to Hanne at the airport. I also realized that we had never gotten a photo together. So I asked a nice man inside the terminal to help us out.

Hanne and Me

Getting checked in and through customs went well. I still had some Norwegian money to spend before I left so I headed for the duty free shops. You cannot go wrong buying chocolate and postcards. By the time I was done I only had their equivalent of 50 cents left. Not bad. While I was in the Duty free shop I ran into Jenny Holden that used to be a co-worker and is now the Executive Director for Women's Ski Jumping USA. We discovered that we were on the same flight to Amsterdam so I said I'd watch for her at the gate. I was early enough to get a couple of seats near our gate. Turns out the chairs in Oslo are some of the most comfortable I have ever found in an airport. Jenny joined me a bit later and we caught up on things. At one point we realized that they might have moved our gate. I went to check and sure enough we had moved down a couple gates. So we moved down and found a new place to sit. Then the flight was delayed due to the weather. First it wasn't going to be until 11am instead of 10am. Then it was going to be at 10:30am but switched gates again. This time the gate was across from us so we just stayed where we were. Who would have thought that getting a flight out of Oslo could be such an adventure? The one thing Jenny and I never checked was where our seats were on the plane. So imagine our surprise when we ended up next to each other.

We made it to Amsterdam in time for our connecting flights but were rushing a little. I was determined to pick up tulips and alcohol before I departed. Jenny stopped with me for the tulips. And since we knew we wouldn't make it through customs with the real ones we bought wooden tulips which are just as pretty. That is where Jenny and I parted ways since she was headed for Boston and I was going through JFK. I made my stop for alcohol and then made it to my gate in time to sit and wait. Love that part of traveling. At least I had my kindle and a good book that I was finishing.

I have to say that now that I have done Minneapolis to Amsterdam and Amsterdam to JFK, I prefer the first option. The plane was bigger with more room on the first flight. The JFK flight was three on each side with four seats in the middle and completely full. I was unfortunately unable to get switched to an aisle and ended up in the middle. On the bright side I was sitting between two very nice women. One was from Holland and has her own jewelry store. The other was an American who is in the Peace Corp in Macedonia. She was headed to New York to celebrate her daughter's 30th birthday. I think I have a new plan for my retirement years now that I have heard her stories. I will also be adding Macedonia to my list of places to visit.

It is a lot harder to get through customs in our country than it is in Europe. That isn't to say that I had any trouble. But I did not have to fill out a form that just seems to try to trip you up when I reached Europe. Fortunately I made it through and was able to recheck my bag fairly quickly. Then came the confusion. I was so jet lagged that I allowed myself to get on the train between terminals without knowing where I needed to be. Once I was on I realized I needed terminal 2/3 and was headed toward 5. So I got off and took the next train back the other direction. Then it turns out the terminal I walked into was 2 and needed 3. I had the option of walking outside and down the hill to terminal 3 or I could go through security and then over. Since option two had moving walk ways I went that route. I was already tired of carrying my backpack and walking through airports with a knee brace on. It might not have been the quickest way since they had 2 lines for security and a lot of people, but I made it. My only mistake was not picking up dinner at Wendy's sooner. By the time I got around to it the line was too long. I ended up taking a bagel and apple juice on my flight. The JFK to SLC flight is almost as long as the Amsterdam to JFK flight. This time I ended up next to the window with two big guys between me and the aisle who both fell asleep. It was a LONG flight home. And I was trying not to completely fall asleep so that I would sleep when I got there. The one thing that kept me up was the inflight tv. I watched the Daily Show to stay awake.

The last adventure in getting home involved a ride from the airport to the apartment. I had tried to get mom to help me find shuttle info while I was still in New York. Unfortunately it was not working out. I had texted TJ about what he usually did and he said the taxi's were $25. So I knew I had one option. When I got to the airport there was an Express shuttle and it would have only cost me $16. Sadly it turns out that there is a zoning rule for my area that says they can't take me there unless I have a prior reservation. So that meant I had to take the taxi. Eventually I made it home but was too awake to sleep so I unpacked. The joys of traveling.

It turns out that after I left Oslo the weather did improve. In fact they had a sunny weekend. No reports of Northern Lights though. The USA finished strong but off the podium the rest of the weekend. The women finished 9th in the 4x5km Mixed Technique relay, while the men finished 14th in the 4x10km Mixed Technique relay. Then Liz Stephen had a personal best with a 16th place finish in the 30km Freestyle race, followed by Kikkan Randall in 18th, Morgan Arritola in 21st and Holly Brooks in 25th. So happy for Liz! (I still think my biggest regret of the trip is going to be missing the chance to see Liz race. Guess that just means I'll have to find another trip so I can see her in the future.) They say there were 125,000 people along the course for the Men's 50km Freestyle race to finish out the competition. For the USA my rookie Noah Hoffman led the way finishing 30th, followed by Lars Flora in 39th, Tad Elliot in 40th and Billy Demong in 51st. Not sure why Billy raced rather than Kris Freeman. On the Nordic Combined side the guys finished 6th in the last team event on Friday. I should have stayed, you could actually see the jumping that day.

Congratulations to all the USA Nordic Athletes! I am so glad I had the opportunity to attend such an amazing event and cheer them all on. I hope they all had a good time as well.


Here is a great article on Billy Demong.

http://skiing.teamusa.org/news/2011/03/07/demong-back-in-action/41270?ngb_id=3

Great video by Andy Newell:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjf_QcYvfKI

Now it is time to start planning the next adventure. I have to be good for awhile, but looking forward to an East Coast trip this summer with my Southwest Airlines reward flight.