Monday, August 19, 2013

Colorado



We officially live in mountain time now.  This is the view from our local rec center.

Before this went down though... quick recap.

2 visits to Indiana.  A drive to the Upper Peninsula.

Mackinaw City 




Painted Rocks


This path looked like something out of a movie.  I half expected a kodama to rock up and start rattling its head at us.


An adventure to Missouri to meet my new adorable nephew and bestow sumo monkey upon him.



Also,  Botanical Gardens and Ted Drewes, because it's not a trip to St. Louis without a concrete (or two).

Cahokia Mounds

Botanical Gardens


In the first week of July, J and I packed a rental truck and drove from Michigan across the country to Colorado.  Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, grass, corn, more corn, hills, more grass, a few beautiful sunsets, and finally mountains.



We've managed to squeeze in a few mini-trips, hikes, floating down Boulder Creek, and a farmer's market or two.  Boulder and Fort Collins have lured us several times each, but we have yet to properly delve into Denver.

Garden of the gods




Hiking in the Flatirons


Muri is settling in as only she knows how.



J has started teaching, and I'll be starting work in a few weeks with a new company, and getting some great use out of my cookbooks in the meantime.  Next post may be from Southern California!


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

The Grass Is Always Greener

Back less than 24 hours to Michigan.  J laughed at me on the way home as I marveled how green everything was.  Granted, I left in the middle of winter, when all was cold and grey.  The lilacs are blooming, the college kids have all but disappeared after commencement, and there isn't a whole lot here to complain about.  Just quiet, warm, green midwest.


Walking to work on my last day, I tried to take in as much as I could.  This trip marked the first time in nearly 10 years I had made it back to NYC, somewhere I always imagined myself living.  I'm truly grateful for the opportunity and am happy to be home, but echoing my roommates words, "I don't feel like I'm finished with this city yet..." 


I'll be back, be it for a stopover or whatever it takes.  (I even have Ganesh to help me out)  Don't know where we'll end up next, but Indiana is on the list for this week. 




Don't have too much fun without me, NY!





Sunday, May 05, 2013

New York

Long time no word!  I've been working as a travel expert for the past 10 months, and in January there was a great layoff in my company.  Sadly, our Michigan office went under.  In happier news, I got a great opportunity to move to New York for 3 months.  Can't complain about living in the middle of Hell's Kitchen and working in the East Village. 

New York is one of those places that no matter how long you are here, you feel as if you didn't do enough.  Museums, galleries, Broadway, parks, bars, restaurants, neighborhoods, etc.  I'm heading back to Michigan in a few weeks and am trying to pack in as much as possible into these remaining days. 

So, why am I writing now, after so long?  This was meant to be a way to update, to journal, and to talk about travel.  This city is as close to leaving the US as possible, but also is many people's only view of the US.  People come in droves and leave imagining the rest of the country is like this.  It makes me remember the first time I ever came here, in high school.  The memories are still fresh, especially when I have to shouldercheck my way through hoardes of high school kids waiting outside Phantom of the Opera on the way back to our apartment. 

Next on the horizon is a possible move to Colorado.  So, Dave and Kaoru, if you still read this long neglected blog... we might descend on you soon!  If not Colorado, then we will likely fly off to the Pacific Northwest.  J even has a prospect in Forks, Washington where we can pretend we're sparkly vampires, and go surfing in the cold cold ocean.

It's an exciting time, but a little scary jumping into something new again. 

Before all that, I am heading to help my friend Alexandra open her new yoga studio in Astana.  A month in Kazakhstan sounds like a great way to spend the summer.  Now, if we can only figure out how to bring J over with me.

Off to enjoy more of New York!

Sunday, August 26, 2012

India Recap

After talking to Dave and Kaoru about the blog, I realized we dropped off the face of the earth for a while.  I also have been given the task of presenting about our 3 months in India to my co-workers in the next few weeks, so I can update here and select the photos to explain the trip with.  Excellent!  Two birds with one stone.

I realize that the blog has hopped all over the place without a clear idea of when we were where.  I'm going to try to rectify that.

J and I combined two Intrepid trips the North India Unplugged and the South India Unplugged.  We got there a day or so early and wandered around New Delhi trying to get our footing in a country that is deservedly referred to as "challenging" and "colorful".  We scheduled a cab tour to different areas of the city.




Red Fort in New Delhi






The Baby Taj


India Gate


The Bahai Lotus Temple


Qutab Minar


Jama Masjid in New Delhi

After Delhi, we took the train to Jaisalmer to experience the Thar Desert in Rajasthan.


The above is a detail from one of the Jain Temples in Jaisalmer.  I took this during our walking tour the first morning we had in the fort.  The city and fort were a great introduction to India.  Comfy places to eat and relax, with a lot of opportunity to experience the culture.  I had the unique chance to get rabies shots at 3 different clinics around India with our guide Naveen's assistance.  Silver-lining to my dog fun-time in Yangon.  3 personal guided tours of the city trying to find an open clinic that had the rabies antibody I needed and meeting 3 lovely gentlemen who injected me in the shoulder.  Ahh memories.

Full disclosure, as per usual.  I was sick as a dog for our entire 2nd day in Jaisalmer.  I lasted through the first portion of the tour before me and my Delhi belly went back to the hotel and slept it off.  Many bananas were eaten by our group on the Northern India tour because we couldn't keep anything else down.   The photo below is of me after my extended "nap".  I look fresh as a daisy.



More to come later.

Michigan, Arizona, and Texas

Josh and I have been in Michigan since our grand return (well, grand to us, at least) from Asia in late January of last year.  It doesn't seem like that long, but the travel bug is starting to get to both of us.

J is starting his teaching practicum next week, and will be working for the next two semesters at a local high school when he is not taking classes once a week at the university.  I am the newest member of the STA Travel staff in East Lansing.  My job is to help other folks plan their trips domestically and abroad and the bonus is sharing my experience to make their travel more fun.  I also get to live vicariously through my customers, which is pretty sweet.  Next best thing to traveling myself.

In the past month, I've had 3 weeks of training in Arizona and Texas.  A co-worker and I managed to get to the Grand Canyon and Sedona on our weekend off.

This was my first trip to Arizona, so I was pretty jazzed to have a chance to see the state a bit while I was there.  Everyone kept asking what I though of the Canyon.  To be honest, it looks unreal.  Like a painting.  The part that really made it difficult to take in, was the nearly perfectly flat horizon.  If the plateaus had varying heights, it might have been easier for my eyes to understand.



Beautiful, either way.


Also, the clouds were amazing.


The elk were mighty friendly.

That night, we drove to Sedona and spent Sunday wandering around trying to feel vortexes, and losing our path again and again.  Thankfully, we had one of America's finest joining us and he had a compass!




This is my "durr" face.  I was contemplating the bat population of sedona and if it was responsible for the white splatters on the rocks behind me.



We hiked to the Devil's Bridge instead of hunting vortexes this time around.  Fortunately for us, the random tourist trap we stopped at on the side of the road had the "BEST" vortex in Sedona.  Of course, we had to sit and try it out.


Sad to report, no tingly feelings.  Maybe I haven't gotten my chakras opened properly.  More yoga!

We also spent a some time at Slide Rock, a natural river/rock waterslide.  My lovely friend Jill, who I had the pleasure of visiting after a way too long 12 years, informed me that the ecoli warning at that river was lifted, so we had the green light for sliding, bruising, and nearly falling on our asses repeatedly because of moss-covered wet rocks.  A definite recommendation.  The water felt fantastic after a dirty day spent hiking in the desert.

No photos of Texas, I am afraid.  We stayed in a Dallas suburb called Lewisville.  I successfully avoided going to a restaurant called Redneck Heaven and learned how to do my job better.  I'd say that was a week well spent!

Besides all of this fun, J and I are growing our little garden again.  It's not doing as well as last year for the wedding, but we also live nearly an hour away, so it's difficult to spend as much time on.


Here is a beginning shot of the garden.  It's a bit more along by now.  The zucchini looked so promising... those flowers were lies and unkept promises :(


Saturday, January 29, 2011

Myanmar Take II and a bit of India



After hanging out with my Kawasaki in Yangon for the first few days, Josh and I hopped on a bus to Inle Lake. We rented a boat that took us out to Indein for a few hours, then stayed at a nice little hotel on the lake.


A few novice monks who took us up to see some nearby ruins


Indein

Our hotel on Inle Lake


The weekly rotating market in Indein


Bagan again









Josh trying to float


An example of the architecture in Yangon


Our bike ride outside of the capital


More Yangon

And now to India!

Sunset in the Thar desert outside Jaisalmer


Josh's camel


Inside the Jodhpur Fort


Josh overlooking Jodhpur