The Outdoorsy Girl's Travel and Adventure Blog

Past Due

2009-06-07T20:23:00.009-04:00

This is not an illusion. It's an actual post! Bet everyone thought the zombies got me.

First off, I'm still alive and well. Outdoorsy Girl still loves travel and everything outdoorsy, but bad economy = less money to travel. I did make it to Ireland at the beginning of the year, though and a couple of little weekend trips here and there. I posted a little about them on my Facebook (so if you aren't my friend on Facebook, add me!).

Beginning this weekend I am going on my longest road trip ever cross-country. It will be incredible and beautiful but not without its challenges. Why you ask? I can sum it up in just a couple of sentences: I am going with my parents on their retirement trip. I have not had a real vacation with them since I was like 19. On that note, please remember me in your prayers.

Thought I would post a few photos and words on my Ireland trip before I embark on the next journey.

January 2009

So Best Friend and I decided to go to Ireland at the most inopportune time of the year--the dead of winter, when the sun doesn't rise until nearly 9 a.m. and sets around 4 p.m. There is no high-noon. The sun never rises completely overhead. We had much to see and do and we only had four days.

Some doubted we would be able to see everything we wanted in such a short time, but I am pleased to say that not only did we see everything on our list, but we did it all while driving on the wrong (left) side of the road!

Day 1- After sleeping nearly the entire time of on the plane, we landed in Dublin and grabbed our uber expensive renal car. Poor BF was the first to attempt driving on the left side of the road through the roundabouts in traffic. She did it like a pro. After many tiny roads and tiny Irish towns and three hours later, we pulled into the town of Blarney. We visited the famous castle, kissed the even more famous Blarney Stone, and walked the grounds of the castle over to the eerie Rock Close, where the legends of the Druids and the Blarney Witch dwell.
After dinner at a pub, we made it to our Bed and Breakfast, the home of lovely, welcoming Ms. Ida O'Donovan.

Day 2- I took the wheel of car as soon as we could (sort of) see the sun rising and drove is through the town of Killarney and into the beautiful Killarney National Park where we saw enormous, clear lakes, mountain ranges, waterfalls, and moss-laden forests. We continued our scenic journey along the famous Ring of Kerry Drive which took us over Ireland's highest mountains, McGillicuddy Reeks and around cliffs overhanging the ocean. (All along narrow, potholed, bumpy, winding roads I might add.)We retired that night at Darby O'Gill's Country House Hotel and had dinner in the pub.

Day 3- A long drive again today to the Boyne River area, just north of Dublin. Mallow Castle in the town of Mallow was our first stop. It's ruins were interesting as were the white deer on the back of the rounds. Still, it paled in comparison to our next stop--the Rock of Cashel--in the town on Cashel. The castle, cathedral, and chapel ruins were incredible! On the grounds stands an interesting cross called The Cross of St. Patrick, where the saint converted on of the pagan kings to Christianity. During the prayer, St. Patrick unknowingly speared the king in the foot with his staff. The king kept quiet during the ceremony as he thought that perhaps this was just part of the painful process of becoming a Christian! He later mentioned it to St. Patrick.
We made out way, losing ourselves constantly on the poorly marked roads, to the town of Trim. Trim is the home of the Trim or King John's Castle--the largest Norman castle remaining in Europe and the castle that was used in the movie Braveheart! We visited it just before sunset and after a wonderful dinner in our hotel, the Castle Arch Inn's pub, we went out into the freezing night to take photos with our tripods of the castle, which was lit up in green, blue, and yellow lights. It was a sight to see!

Day 4- Heading still north before swinging back down into Dublin, we visited a couple of sites that were important to Ireland's history. The Hill of Tara was our first stop. Where as Tara is not that impressive of a site at ground level (It's aerial views are much more interesting), this hill is very important in history. It was the site of the high seat of the pagan kings and dwelling place of the gods. That is, until St. Patrick made a visit here. I'm sure we would've enjoyed it more if the gates to the top were open and we could've seen the Stone of Destiny and the Passage Tomb, but people in Ireland apparently, do not get up early, so we enjoyed views from the bottom of the hill and made friends with a sheep. Next stop was the impressive ruins of Monasterboice, an ancient monastery with the round tower still standing as well as a couple of ancient Celtic High Crosses.
Then we returned out car to Dublin and took the (slow) public transit around town after checking into the Tallaght Cross Hotel. Dublin, in comparison to other European cities I have visited, was by far the least interesting. Still, we enjoyed some of the sites, especially the Guinness Storehouse! After touring the brewery, we enjoyed a pint in the Gravity Bar upstairs, which was like a very short, small version of the Space Needle's top. You could see all of Dublin from there. After having beer, beer, and beer, we went stumbled down to St. Patrick's Cathedral. The we walked to the Dublin Castle, through the wild Temple Bar area (where some were already starting to celebrate New Year's Eve), and along the Liffey River to O'Connell Street, which was totally decked out in holiday cheer. We had dinner, went into a store, and not knowing what else to do to kill a few hours in the freezing weather, went back to the hotel, watched London's version of Rockin' New Year's Eve and threw open our window at midnight to see downtown Dublin's fireworks and the fireworks completely surrounding our hotel, and yelling to the people below who were singing and celebrating and yelling "Happy New Year" for 45 minutes.

The next morning, we were on a plane sitting next to some annoying kids on our way to Chicago where we caught our flight back to Atlanta. What a great trip!

Hoping to be posting happy notes about the road trip soon!

Attacked by zombies!

2008-10-29T22:42:00.005-04:00

This is a true story.

Once upon a Sunday (last Sunday to be exact) I was hanging out in Atlanta with my friend Red.

All of a dither, a bloody young man with weapons ran down the street screaming out a warning that zombies had invaded Atlanta. We thought it was a joke until we saw a mob of zombies lumbering up the hill behind him!

There were so many of them and we were so scared!

They began taking over the stores because there was no mall close enough.

There were all types of zombies stumbling through the city moaning, groaning, and hanging from trees. They were clearly extremely hungry.

So we did the only thing we knew to save ourselves--we fed them New and Improved Zombie Chow. "Improved" because it was gummy candy body parts instead of our own body parts.

Luckily, our feeding the zombies worked!

...but for only as long as the Zombie Chow lasted and then they were hungry again! Talk about a bloody mess we were in!

They moved in closer as our hearts quickened!

And they came closer still!

The sickening smell of putrifying zombies covered with maggots filled the air!

The zombies became hungrier and angrier and they started to come for us!

And even agrier as they began to chase us down!

Everyone was turning zombie right before our eyes! Even the children were dangerous.. The situation became grim for us.

And then as the zombies took to the streets, we saw our opportunity to escape.

So we got into our car and hit the road...but we were spotted!

And then the zombies attacked our car! So we ran them over (picture not included due to its violent nature) and escaped to the interstate.

And then we fled the city of Atlanta never to return.

The end.

True story. I swear!

Trick-or-Eat

2008-10-25T20:08:00.005-04:00

As I have already said, Halloween in my favorite time of year and I like to celebrate it in many ways. I even like to celebrate it with food! Here are a few places I like to eat while keeping in flavor with the season.

I also already mentioned Six Feet Under as a very cool restaurant across from the historic Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. It has very yummy food, particularly good seafood. But I guess clever name and views like this are what makes it on my Halloween Eateries list.

This is a view of the restaurant from the cemetery.

And anyone who has ever read this blog knows that The Vortex is an all-seasons favorite of mine. Still, any place that you can walk through a skull's mouth is a must-do Halloween experience. Plus they do add some Halloween decorations to the year-round skeletons inside.

This year, I even dragged my parents here. Yeah, they don't exactly fit in here, but they did have a blast!

Quite possibly, the most exciting thing I found out as far as Halloween eateries go, was the the people who own the Vortex, have just opened a Mexican restaurant in mid-town called Bone Garden Cantina. My friends and I went there last night to check it out and I have to declare that it makes my Halloween Eateries List! As soon as I saw the Mexican skeleton greeting me from the parking lot, I knew this would be a great place!

There were motorcycle ridin' skeletons...

There was a mural of the skeletons celebrating Mexico's Day of the Dead.

And there were devil and angel skeletons who, apparently after throwing down a bottle of Tequila each, discovered that we can all just get along.

My friends didn't even need a bottle of Tequila to have fun together.

And here I am! Notice the skeleton of the Virgin Mary above my head. Is that baby Jesus skeleton standing at her feet?

Well, if Bone Garden Cantina is good enough for Jesus, then it is good enough to be added to my Halloween Eateries List.

'Tis the season to be spooky

2008-10-13T19:06:00.001-04:00

Didn't you just love the chorus in the song?

Last year, Red and I went through a ton of horror movies while celebrating Halloween. We saw some really good and really bad ones. Our favorite discovery was Dead and Breakfast. It was a hilarious gore comedy spoofing a combination of horror movies! The best part was the narrator dude who sang the story of the six doomed friends who, weary from their drive to a friend's wedding, stopped in this one-horse town where the only place to rest for the night was a creepy bed and breakfast. He sang many (rednecky) tunes as the plot unfolded and became a fight against evil for their lives. The best song and scene of all is this one (complete with zombies doing the Thriller dance)!!!!

As if anyone couldn't tell, it's my favorite time of year again! Besides the typical reasons that people give for loving the Fall season--pretty leaves, cool, crisp air, college football (Go Dawgs!!), and Fall festivities, I would agree, but I have to say that October is the best reason. October is the month of Halloween!!!

Halloween rocks! It's the one time of year I can indulge in all the paranormal and creepy things I obsess about like ghosts, cemeteries, zombies, vampires, werewolves, horror movies, and just about anything else that is dark without people wondering what is wrong with me. It's easy to indulge without suspicions when all I have to do is flip on the TV and the History Channel is showing Haunted History, The Learning Channel has documentaries on the legends of Witches, Werewolves, Vampires, Zombies, and Mummy curses, and The Travel Channel is showing Haunted Travels all month long! Not to mention what the Sci-fi Channel does with horror movies!

Last October, I had some Halloween fun, but just not enough. I was preoccupied with certain things last year, but I plan to make up for it this year. Already, I've gone to a Halloween party at my brother's girlfriend's house last weekend. (It had to be the first weekend in October since it was the only weekend that UGA didn't have a game!) It was a great way to kick off the month. I went as a goth girl and I totally plan to use the whole goth girl costume again on Halloween proper--just gonna vamp it up a bit! (Pics. to be posted later)

This weekend's Halloween activity was a visit to Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta with Red. We topped if off, of course, with lunch at the wonderful restaurant across the street which happens to be appropriately named Six Feet Under! Mmmmmm! I love that place!

I think next weekend's Halloween fun will be going to see the latest zombie flick, Quarantine. No doubt, it can't be funny as Dead and Breakfast, but I think it will be good.

Jeepers! That's creepy!

2008-10-01T18:52:00.006-04:00

Welcome to the little hole in the road called Hoschton, Georgia! (It's pronounced "Hoosh-tun" in case you are wondering). It's not too far from the redneck town that I grew up in, so when I heard about Hoschton's plan to attract more people to their fall festival, I had to check it out.

The town has been completely taken over by scarecrows! With 5,441 scarecrows hanging out, not only were curious people drawn in for their fall festival, but a record was set with Guiness--something a place like Hoschton is sure to be proud of forever.

Good for them, but I happen think it was a bit creepy. I mean, if you didn't know that thousands of stuffed people were hanging out along the streets, buildings, and yards of residents and you were driving through there at night, wouldn't that sort of catch you off gaurd? Maybe it's just me.

Or maybe it's the way they look like ghosts standing in the field with their old fashioned clothes blowing in the wind.

Or maybe because the "animated" scarecrows reminded me of the cheesy horror movies where the zombies take over.

Or maybe because these scarecrows, not only tried to take over the town, but they tried to start their own town--a wild west one at that!--complete with robbers. Hey, what's a town without a little crime?

Or maybe because Jesus even took on scarecrow form right in front of the church!

...and he loves all the little scarecrow children!

Or maybe it was because they tried to play football motionless!

Or maybe it was because they could take gigantic dumps!

Or maybe it is simply because there are so damn many of them!

Whatever the reason, they are creepy. So creepy in fact, that I couldn't help but think about the creepiest scarecrow of all times--the one from the Jeepers Creepers movies. That was one scary scarecrow! As I was thinking this and humming "Jeepers creepers, where'd ya get those peepers", guess what I came across? Yep, the Jeepers Creepers scarecrow himself!

I liked him much better than the Elvis, Wizard of Oz, Little Red Riding Hood, and definitely better than the scarecrows made to resemble the people of Hoschton. In fact, Jeepers was really cool.

Even if he was creepy.

Weddings, cameras, and emotional breakdowns! Oh my!

2008-09-24T19:33:00.003-04:00

Usually, I keep my blog restricted to only discussing the great outdoors and cool places, but this time I am not filtering my mind and letting it all flow. Hope y'all will still be my friend after taking a peek into my busy, crazy little head!

I just got back Sunday night from a 5 day trip to Utah. It wasn't the typical fun Utah trip for me. I did indeed have some fun and happy times, but there were also a lot of emotional and stressful moments for me. It was the best of times; it was the worst of times…

Take the ride along in my emotional roller coaster with me! Wheee! To make it more fun, I wrote the happy things in sunny orange and the bad in sad blue.

The main reason for the trip was for Best Friend's wedding! (Yay and Congrats to the newly weds!) The wedding was absolutely beautiful and she was a stunning bride. Everything went according to plan and even the threatening weather couldn't put a damper on the occasion.

Well, only one thing could have been better. Best Friend's grandma (and my adoptive grandma) has been very, very ill with cancer and is under hospice care. She was way too ill to make it to the wedding. I knew beforehand that it was going to be incredibly painful for me to see this woman who took me into her family and gave me my own room in her house--a woman whom I love very much in return and visit at least every six months-- in the last stage of her life. And it was the worst. I had to be brave like everyone else and smile, but I died a little inside and cried myself to sleep just knowing that I will never see her again.

Even getting to Utah was a worrisome thing. Flying standby is one thing when you are going on a leisurely vacation where time doesn't matter but it was completely another knowing that I had to be there. Then again, paying $1,300 for a ticket (Thanks Hurricane Ike!) wasn't a great option either. Plus, I have become reasonably calm even waiting at the airport to see whether I will be able to make a flight home or lose my job. I guess I was more on edge because I wasn't traveling alone and the friend traveling with me was traveling with one of Best Friend's buddy passes. I know that when I am flying with companion benefits, I am merely the gum on the bottom of your shoe. Well, buddy pass riders are the dirt on the gum on the bottom of your shoe. I knew the chance was great that my friend may not make a flight that I would and that disaster could strike. And struck it did. She didn't make the flight out of Atlanta when I did. I felt incredibly guilty that I got on the plane and she didn't.

But I had to swallow the guilt and get out there. I couldn't wait because there were many wedding-related events starting the very next day that I was to be a part of. Plus, it just wouldn't be cool to miss your best friend's wedding. Not only that was this Best Friend's wedding but I had an important role to play--I was her official wedding photographer! I was so nervous!

And I have to say, I feel like I did a good job (despite the minister's "help")! There are some really great shots that I am proud of. Here are a couple.

I have to admit that the photos were easy to take with my FABULOUS new camera! I bought it the first whole day I was in Utah. I couldn't be happier with it! It can do things that my old camera could only dream of.

I sold my old camera for cheap to a friend. That camera rocked and I loved it very, very much. There was not a thing wrong with it. It was a wonderful camera; it was just time for me to upgrade. So why is this a sad, blue typed paragraph? Because my emotional attachment to this camera caused me to shed tears while giving it to someone else. I mean, I don't even "allow" myself to become attached to people! And the few times I do really form an emotional attachment to someone and then things go astray, I block them out and don't allow myself to grieve or even think about them. Yet I literally shed tears over a nonliving object that did not have any feelings for me at all! Yeah, I think I have some issues.

Oh well, just like losing people, I am getting over this loss, too. It is so much easier now that I have this Nikon D90 as my new BFF.

Another great thing about the trip was seeing all my friends out there. I got to hang out with Mr. Grunty, which was a very nice surprise for me since I didn't think I would have time to see anyone not affiliated with the wedding. The best thing about seeing him (besides, of course, seeing a dear friend) was that I got to show off my camera! I didn't have all the features figured out by then. Therefore, there are no self-timer shots of us together this time. But I did get this one of him alone, which was good enough. By the way, I have since figured out self-timer mode, so I am back to doing my self portraits again.

I rented a car for two days so I was able to take a couple of scenic drives. It was exciting for me to see the leaves changing colors in the mountains because it was a reminder of what is around the corner in my neck of the woods. Not to mention that it was a fabulous way to try out my new camera's tricks! My friend that I had to leave behind in Atlanta was able to make it to Salt Lake through Seattle the following day, so I got to show her all the awesomeness of the mountains in Utah. On our first day, we took a drive up through Monte Cristo to Bear Lake on the Idaho border and came back to our home away from home via Logan Canyon. On the second day we began our day in Evanston, Wyoming and looped our way back down into Utah on the beautiful Mirror Lake Highway. It was absolutely breath taking and we saw a moose! (Check out my pics at the end of the post.)

It was wonderful to get away from all the ragweed in Georgia and to finally get a break from my itchy eyes, coughing and sneezing, if even for a short time. I loved the humidity free air my lungs were able to swallow. However, I did realize something that I never paid that much attention in the past. The dry air makes my lungs feel great and I am headache free, but Utah climate makes me not so pretty. No humidity=flat hair, cracked lips, and dry skin that reveals every single flaw of my skin. At least here in sticky Georgia, I have wavy hair, full lips, and plump skin. Yeah, so I look better in Georgia.

So why do I always meet the hottest guys out there in Utah when I am looking my worst?! There was one at the wedding, which happened to be the day that I discovered that even if I wet my hair to make it wavy, the bounce falls right out as soon as it dries. Bad hair day just in time for the wedding!

But the hottest guy I met on this trip was not even a Utah boy, but a Georgian like me. The second my eyes met his as I entered that plane in Albuquerque, I melted. And he was sitting right beside me!

But allow me to back up…By day 5, my final day in the dryness, my lips were cracked so bad that they would split and bleed when I smiled. I knew it was going to be a long day as I had to try to get on the plane from Salt Lake to make a connection to Albuquerque to make my way back to Atlanta. I had anxiety the night before worrying that my friend, who had such a hard time getting out there, would not be able to make it back to Atlanta with me (if I could even be lucky enough to make it myself), that I had only 3 hours of sleep, leaving blue bruises under my red eyes, which I didn't even bother to cover up with make up. I figured I would just let my lifeless, flat hair fall across my face and cover it up. I wasn't looking my best and I didn't even care…

…until I walked on the plane. My friend wasn't able to catch the flight and was worried she would be stuck in New Mexico until spring and was very clearly upset and angry. I felt like she was mad with me. After some stressful moments and angry words, I entered the plane almost in tears. It hit me all at once--the disaster with my friend, the acceptance that I would never see Grandma again, and feeling like all my future visits to Utah will be less and certainly different. I felt tears building up and knew I was about to break down. I had already made plans to hide my face once I settled into my seat and cry the entire 3 hours back to the ATL. Instead, I stumble to the back of the plane to claim my seat by this gorgeous man who met my haggard face with a smile. He asked, "You're sitting here?" pointing to the empty seat next to him. Once I nodded yes, he replied, "Oh good!" And then we began the epic conversation that lasted for hours. The number of things we had in common was uncanny. We discussed our adventures, travels, family, work, and UGA football! About 45 minutes into discussing the awesomeness of kicking Florida's asses in last year's game and how we hope to kill Tennessee this year, he holds his hand out to me and formally introduces himself to me. When my hand took hold of his warm hand, I became lost in his gorgeous blue eyes. I was mesmerized by his smile and golden skin. It took me a minute to be able to tell him my name in return. I felt like an idiot. He didn't seem to notice as he continued to talk to me before taking an iPod nap break. I read my book, unable to concentrate enough to comprehend what I was reading. Then all too soon, we were circling Atlanta. We talked even more as we waited to deplane. He got my bag out of the overhead bend and helped me carry it out and we walked side by side to the train. Then just as I was about to walk toward baggage claim to meet my sweet roommate, I said, "It was great to meet you. I really enjoyed talking to you and hopefully, I will see you at one of the games!" He smiled and looked into my bloodshot eyes with his deep blue eyes and said, "I will be looking for you!" I should have said, "Well, let's exchange email and I'll tell you where my brother and his friends all tailgate before the game and you and your friends can join us." OR "You should go kayaking with me next time!" OR something. Anything. But instead, I walked away wordless. Idiot.

Regret is an imprisoning misery.

Who the hell needs him anyway? I have my camera.

I did it again! (Kayaking, that is.)

2008-09-10T16:53:00.007-04:00

Again, I joined some friends for kayaking along the Chattahoochee. A fog was just beginning to lift.

Yay! I got two chicks!

This time Movie Chick and I were joined by CM!

We think she did a fabulous job--despite the fact she tipped her kayak. That just adds more experience to her skillz yo!

SV (pictured to the right of Movie Chick) was with us again. You can see how happy he was to be with us. He is always such a joy be around.

The gang relaxing on the river.

Probably complaining about the guys right now.

Of course, I had to include one of me to prove that I really am losing that fear of river water.

So yes, most of this stretch of the river is easy to kayak, but every time I see how narrow the kayak is, I can't help but feel proud in a super-speshul kind of way, that I have learned to keep my balance and enjoy it. I even laid completely on my back to bask in the sun one time!

Another great trip! I think the next kayaking trip (yes, their will be another) will be on the Chestatee River.

By the way, thanks to JM who was our wonderful photographer on this day. He was a punk and refused to have his picture taken, but we were glad to have him along the way.

Gotta love Atlanta travel!

2008-09-04T22:36:00.005-04:00

So I did a lot of traveling via Atlanta's metro this past weekend. Now I usually like to drive to wherever I am going. It's just the way I roll. But considering the road construction on the I-75 and I-85 downtown connector plus several sports events and Dragon Con (a HUGE sci-fi convention) taking place simultaneously, it just made sense to ride MARTA (Metro-Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) or as the slogan for Marta states, "Marta is smarter" (of course pronounced "smarta" to ghetto-fabulously rhyme)!

Taking the train really did spare me some traffic nightmares. Plus the oh-so-friendly and helpful Marta staff were right there to "enrich" the experience! If you know of anyone who plans to visit Atlanta and travel on Marta, make sure you pre-warn them that they may be forced to feel retarded by a Marta employee (No matter how super-duper brilliant they may be for real)!

I entered the station just down the road from my home on Thursday evening. I was standing at the automated ticket machine weighing out my options to see if the 4 day pass was really a deal when a Marta lady with an attitude approached me and said, "All you gots to do is put in yo debit card!" I told her that I knew how to pay but was trying to decide which pass is the best value for me. "Well, do you ride da MARTA a lot?" I barely had gotten the words "I will be this weekend" out of my mouth when she was already pressing the buttons for me. She looked at me proudly and said, "That all you gotta do!" Thanks. You know I probably wouldn't have figured that out on my own.

Next, I went up the station platform with my friend Movie Chick to meet some of our other friends who were waiting on us. Let me point out that we were at the North Springs Station, which is the end of the northeast line. All trains there were--obviously, since we were at the end of northeast line--southbound. It was a typical hot, hot Georgia summer evening, so instead of climbing aboard the stuffy train right away, we remained outside for a few minutes chatting before boarding. But before we had a chance to hop on, another friendly Marta staff member informed us that we could get on because that train was southbound and all trains that leave the North Springs Station are southbound. Really? Thanks! And I thought we were going to fly north through the trees! After explaining, "Yes, we know that. Thank you," He shot us a look like we were all retarded and repeated again that the train was southbound and we could get on that train.

It was then and there, that my friends and I decided that Marta needs a new slogan:

Marta is smarta (than you!)

Anyhoo, the reason I rode the train back and forth all weekend was to attend the aforementioned Sci-Fi convention. No, I am not a trekkie and I find Stars Wars only mildly amusing. So what the hell was I going for? Well, I love the movie and TV show related panels and the Walk of Fame. I got to see many stars from Freddy Kruger to Chewbacca. I was really excited to see Sean Astin (whom I loved from The Goonies to Rudy to Lord of the Rings), Matthew Lewis (who played Neville in the Harry Potter movies), Nathan Fillion (who is one of my top 5 hotties), but the thing that excited me the most of all was meeting the Ghost Hunters! They are my heroes. And they don't get (nearly) arrested and led away in handcuffs on their ghost hunts like I do!

Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down!

2008-08-25T21:12:00.000-04:00

Okay, so is it just me or are these kid statues really creepy? I don't know what it is about it...maybe because they look as if they materialized right from the tree, possibly it's their old fashioned clothes, but most likely it is just because the statues are kids.

Of course, I don't think kids are always creepy. After all ,I work with them. But they can have a certain demonic quality about them when angered and believe me; they can stare you down, too! Besides, have you ever noticed that all the creepiest horror movies either include or center around kids? (such as Damien in The Omen, Children of the Corn, Village of the Damned, etc.) So yeah, I think kids can be a bit creepy...Especially when you happen to notice them late one evening in the darkess playing Ring Around the Rosie while going through the drive thru at your favorite chicken restaurant just across the street ( mmm...Zaxby's!) like I did.

One evening, after a tasty meal at Zaxby's, my roommate decided to join in with the creepy kids for a game of Ring Around the Rosie. By the way, I also find that particular game creepy. Any song about the Bubonic Plague--The Black Death for pete's sake!--has to be a bit creepy, no?

What is funny is that the city actually named this "The Friendship Ring" and considers this deocrative and even plopped a bench or two down and declared this a park. Yeah, this is totally where I want to do to unwind after a hard day at work. Who wants to join me?

Rollin' on a river

2008-08-20T20:49:00.008-04:00

I tried kayaking for the first time this weekend. The sport of kayaking has always appealed to me. Or let me rephrase that…The thought of kayaking appealed to me, but I wasn't sure that I would ever really try it. It's that little drowning phobia of mine that always got in the way. For some reason, being in a river or murky lake creeps me out. Still, I wanted to try and I did and I loved it!

My friends SV, Movie Chick, and I paddled down the beautiful Chattahoochee River from the Buford Dam to Settle's Bridge. Immediately after launching, we hit small rapids along Bowman Island. I freaked out at first every time my kayak rocked. But as I gained my balance, learned how to control my movements, and how to dodge shoals and fallen tree limbs, I relaxed and enjoyed myself.
This stretch of the Chattahoochee was a nice mix of relaxing, smooth waters and stretches of fun rapids. The picture on the left is of Movie Chick and me hitting our first smooth run.

Movie Chick is doing a fabulous job. She became a master of the art of freeing oneself from dangerous rocks.

SV became our expert geese chaser. Unfortunately, the flock rejected him and flew away as soon as he reached them.

And me...Well, let's just say that I was (overly) proud of myself for not hyperventilating when I heard the rushing rapids ahead of me. Also, I didn't see any snakes, so that was good. This water rarely reaches above 50 degrees even during our smoldering summers, so I feel that keeps the snakes to a minimum.

Now I know how flat the water looks in these pictures. But I promise there really were some rapids along the way! I wish I had some shots of that to share, but whenever we hit rapids I was a little preoccupied with not tipping over. The largest one on the section we kayaked is known as "The Hump". Since I don't have a shot of "The Hump" of my own, I found this one online:

See! I told you there are rapids!

Besides, would we really be this wet afterwards if the water was glass smooth? Oh, and did I happen to mention the water temperature? Brrrrrrr!

But all the fun was rapidly (insert audience laughter here) over and it was time to load up the kayaks and go.
This was our take-out place by Settle's Bridge.

It was so much fun that we are all going again this weekend. And this time I will remember to bring a change of clothes.

Random Randomness

2008-08-13T19:48:00.003-04:00

I usually don't do memes, but I saw this one on a friend's blog and thought I would cave in and share three dorky facts about myself. Besides, I really don't have that much to say right now.
Here goes:

1. Even though I have a real lunch box cooler thingy, I prefer to take my lunch to work in a store bag usually a Target or Kohl's bag. Today it was a nice paper Bath & Body Works bag with handles and everything!

2. Though every bra I own has its own color and design coordinating panty match, I am too lazy in the morning to care about digging through my dresser to coordinate. Way too often my underwear doesn't match. And I don't mean that I wear white panties with a beige bra. Oh no, not me! It's more like I wear my blue and purple plaid patterned bra with my hot pink panties trimmed in green and polka dots. (Not that this is what I am wearning right now or anything.) I just hope I don't ever have some medical emergency that would render me a trip to the ER where I have to get naked. Well, naked I could handle. Just don't look at my undies!

3. I watched so much of Rock of Love with Brett Michaels that I was inspired to download "Talk Dirty to Me" as my ringtone. Now every time someone calls me, it is like they are telling me to talk dirty to them. I still giggle about it every time. It's hilarious when my friends call and makes me all giggly if a cute guy calls. The only time it is not so cool is when my parents call.

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So today is the third day of school. Yuck. My students this year are gonna need some MAJOR, MAJOR work. I can tell this already.

On the second day of school, I got a gift from Bath & Body Works (yes, its bag has become my new lunch box) from a student's parent. I am not sure if this a good thing or not. Maybe that parent is really appreciative and kind or maybe she is already trying to compensate for the future sh*t the child is going to put me through this year.

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I am eating healthier and working out (yes, AGAIN) and this time really sticking with it. I am already seeing some progess. Yay me! But damn ice cream and its irresistable pull in my life!

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My parents have a new kitten and I have totally fallen in love with her. Who wouldn't? Just look at this face! My parents are loving this, by the way. I visit much more often.

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Well, that's all folks! I haven't forgotten about posting some pics from my summer. I have just been lazy. I will post some soon.

A trip into the great blue yonder

2008-07-29T11:28:00.008-04:00

Last week I took a mini-trip to Asheville, North Carolina. Did I mention this was a free stay mini-trip? (Which was the biggest reason I went!) Thanks to the airline Best Friend works for, she had an extended stay in Asheville with a nice hotel room.

So on Sunday evening I headed north for Asheville with my friend that I've affectionately nicknamed Germaphobe to meet Best Friend when her plane landed. After stopping briefly to satisfy a milkshake craving and driving along some dark, creepy roads in South Carolina (where they clearly do not believe in readable, lit-up signs for nighttime driving), we made it into Asheville late.

The following morning, the three of us headed off for some fun on the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway, but not before enjoying our nice (free) breakfast at the hotel. Being starving, poor girls in Europe early this summer, Best Friend and I learned how to utilize all the free breakfasts we could and also how to steal food from breakfast and put it in our backpacks for lunch. However, even though I took full advantage of breakfast, I was too embarrassed to "pack a lunch" since the very cute First Officer flying with Best Friend joined us. I mean, he already saw me devour that waffle AND egg and cheese biscuit!

Anyway, with full bellies, we headed for Grandfather Mountain. The mountain has wildlife habitats to see native animals up close and personal (Bears, deer, Bald Eagle, Golden Eagle, river otters, etc.), incredible views, and the Mile High Swinging Bridge. A scene from Forrest Gump was filmed here, too, so you can run up the mountain in the steps of Forrest if you like. Me? well, I was just as happy with walking across the swinging bridge and standing on the edge of the cliffs for breathtaking views. The wind blows so hard against the bridge that it sings like a pipe organ. It sounds beautiful. However, you feel like you could blow away when you are standing on the sheer rock.

After leaving the Grandfather, we headed north on the Blue Ridge Parkway to another well-known attraction, Blowing Rock. I can sum it up this way: Yes, it was a rock. And it certainly did blow! Talk about a rip off! It cost $6 to see this damn rock that overhangs a deep gorge below.

The legend of Blowing Rock goes something like this: A Chickasaw Maiden fell in love with a Cherokee Brave. Torn between his duty as a brave and being in love with the maiden, he leapt (like a dumb ass) from the rock into the wilderness below. The grieving maiden prayed daily to the Great Spirit for her lover's return until one day a gust of wind from the gorge below blew the brave back into her arms. And there has been a constant updraft of wind ever since.

Here's the real deal: The rocky walls of the gorge form a flume through which the northwest wind sweeps with such force that it returns light objects cast over the rock. Light objects, boys and girls, so no jumping for realsies! So we tried out this theory ourselves and Best Friend threw her hat off the rock…and it returned! It returned with a vengeance, in fact, and blew up into a tree behind us. Don't worry; she climbed up the tree to retrieve it. It was hilarious!

Even with that entertaining moment, I still hardly found the rock whose current of upward flowing air prompted Ripley's "Believe-It-Or-Not" to dub it "the only place in the world where snow falls upside down", a waste of $6.

We turned around from Blowing Rock and headed back south down the parkway to Mt. Mitchell, the highest mountain in the eastern US. It is 6,684 ft. tall, but because of the building of a new tower on the summit, we were only able to go as far as the parking area. @ 6,578 ft.) It was my second time on Mt. Mitchell. I love this area. The predominate spruce and other coniferous trees, gives it Maine feel. The first visit to the mountain, found me in knee-deep snow so it was awesome to see all the Christmasy-scented trees without the blanket of white covering them. Unfortunately, our trip on Mitchell was cut short by the extremely close lightening and deafening thunder overhead.

That concluded our day in the Blue Ridge Mountains, but not the trip. The next morning Best Friend had to fly out early but Germaphobe and I continued on the parkway to Cherokee, NC to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The scenery on this section of the parkway was the most spectacular of all! We stopped numerous times to take in the views and even once for a waterfall hike at Graveyard Fields.

The Smokies were beautiful as always and we enjoyed the ride. It was so much fun but we were extremely tired and hungry by the time we finally drove into Gatlinburg, TN for a bite to eat. We chose a karaoke bar to eat in and had fun listening to everyone sing. However, we didn't get home until 1:30 a.m. thanks to Dolly Parton's flamboyantly gay nephew trying to talk us into singing karaoke with him. But that is a whole other story in itself.
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More from the Smokies:

Grandfather Mountain:

Mount Mitchell:

Blue Ridge Parkway:

Whatever moves you

2008-07-15T13:04:00.005-04:00

I did something on Sunday that I never imagined me doing. This rock and roll girl went to a country music concert! Best Friend asked me and another friend to join her in seeing Kenny Chesney perform. Even though I do not dislike Kenny’s music, I just did not consider myself a fan, having been exposed to his songs only through Best Friend or by chance as I flip though the radio. I didn’t hesitate in choosing to go along, however, because to her, his music is inspiring and motivating , and I wanted to be a part of that. I would imagine those feelings stirred inside of her are somewhat the same as the ones writing stories stirs within me.

Anyway, also along on the tour with Kenny Chesney were Gary Allan (whose music I was not familiar with), Leann Rimes (who I really didn’t care to ever see perform until she got up on stage and poured her heart out singing the blues and changed my opinion of her), Brooks & Dunn (whose music I actually did know because I had a brief stint in the early 90’s where I listened to country music and I loved Brooks & Dunn), but the one person I was actually excited to see was….Sammy Hagar! Typical me…take me to a country concert and the guy I am most excited about is the Red Rocker! It seemed weird to me that the former lead singer of Van Halen was on a country musician’s tour, but I later learned that he and Kenny had become really good friends after hanging out in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where Sammy has his famous Cabo Wabo Cantina.

There is something I can boast on with every performer that night and I can honestly say that I enjoyed each one of their shows. They were all very energetic and real troopers despite our less than perfect weather. But I have to say that Sammy was my favorite. He ROCKED!!!! Not only that, but he was my inspiration. I am serious!

Here’s how Sammy became my hero of sorts: Until I went to that concert, I have been in somewhat of a depression. As of late, I have been having some pretty serious migraines that have not only left me sleepless at night, but lethargic and sickly during the day. Instead of hitting some hiking trails, swimming, camping out, fishing, or hitting the road, I have spent most of my summer piled up on the sofa watching TV. That is enough to knock someone like me for a big loop-de-loop. I have been bored beyond words. Not only that, but this summer has been filled with a couple of huge letdowns for me. I am not sure if the headaches were dragging me down or if the headaches have been a symptom of this depression. Either way, I have felt pretty miserable and all of my motivation was drained and my spirits were down. I really didn’t feel like going to the concert that day (especially in the stormy weather) but I forced myself to go and at least escape some of the boredom.

So here we are at the concert, and I am definitely not bored with all the people watching. Everyone from the Kenny Chesney wanna-be’s wearing the same hat and clothes as Kenny to the drunk hoochies with boots and short skirts making out with each other and other drunk shenanigans, kept thoroughly entertained. I was being pleasantly surprised by the great shows these country artists were putting on (them country folk can rock, too!) and then Hagar came out to kick some ass! Not only did he kick it with awesome classics such as “I Can’t Drive 55”, his high energy, his entertaining hats and props, and his hilarious stories, but he also gave quite a motivational speech that I felt was made just for me. As he readied himself to sing “Dreams” he talked about how important it is for us to all have dreams to work toward, how life is nothing without dreaming and believing you can make your dreams a reality.

“I don’t care if your dream is to grow a tomato garden or if it is to fall in love and settle down with someone special and have a family, or anything in between the two, you need to have a dream and know you can do it, whatever it is,” he said. And then he added, “And when you have that dream come true, hold on to it. Appreciate all you did to get there and just be enjoy. Think of how happy you will be once you achieve your dream. I know. I have been smiling for thirty years.”

And then he broke into the verses of “Dreams”.

It may not have been MLK’s “I Have a Dream" speech equivalent. His words may not be memorialized like the “Gettysburg Address”. And his words may have been spoken of a simple concept that most of us already know, but as for me, I had forgotten. I had forgotten that hope always supersedes the storm and it was just what I needed to remember.

Then feeling as great as I did, I danced with and sang along some Kenny Chesney with a cute, twenty-something, drunk guy who was sitting next to us.

Rock on Red Rocker!!!!
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The concert was at Turner Field. This is a view from our nosebleeds on the tip-top row before the show began. When it began to rain again and we were sitting underneath the shelter and everyone else was drowing, our $20 seats didn't seem so stupid!

Plus we got a pretty nice view of Atlanta's skyline.

Here is Brooks & Dunn (I think) on stage.

This Kenny Chesney with all his fancy lights.

Just for fun, I am including a pic taken just last weekend at Turner Field when I went to see the Braves lose. These seats are just a bit closer to action. (Only about a couple hundred rows closer, though.)

And this is a picture of my married boyfriend, Mark Teixeira on the screen when he came up to bat. Notice how much bigger the screen is from this level. The better to see them lose, I suppose!

The itch is a bitch

2008-07-08T21:24:00.003-04:00

Have you ever been a tourist in your own state?

Well, I was just a couple of weeks ago. I had a friend from Utah visit me and I showed him the entire state I think. Of course, I had to think of the good spots (or what I would refer to as the "at least mildly interesting places if you haven't lived here your whole life and take it for granted places"). I think I did a pretty good job. I even went to places that were new to me (believe it or not)! Georgia ain't so bad, but I wouldn't go overboard with the gay cliche of calling it "peachy".

I will post some of our Georgia vacation pictures soon so you, too, can come along on the Outdoory Girl's Ultimate Georgia Tour.

Anyhoo...that was fun and all, but now I am suffering the itch. No, not from Poison Ivy and definitely not that! (Those of you who thought of that are sickos! ;) ) Rather, this itch is the Traveler's Roadtrip Itch from which I am suffering. I want to hit the road but I don't know where to. I have a couple of ideas, but then again, some of the greatest roadtrips of all time were experienced when set out with no destination at all in mind.

Best Friend and I were actually planning to take a road trip at the end of this month along with our germophobic friend. It was more of a mission, actually. We were going to drive to Utah to pick up Best Friend's dog now that it seemed, after two years of living here, that she wasn't moving back to Utah anytime soon. It was going to be quite the interesting drive cross-country in a small car with a huge dog (English Mastiff) and a germophobic friend. However, due to some unforseen circumstances, we will not be picking up the dog (yet). That is too bad since I am sure it would have made for a hilarious post.

But the itch has now been aggravated and I want to hit the road to somewhere. I completely understand and agree with the postponement of the doggie transplant, but speaking with Best Friend on the phone yesterday I realized that she was just as let down about the cancelling of great roadtrip also. "Maybe we should still go somewhere anyway," she said. I told her to let me know how many days she can take and it will be done. I can't wait to see what develops.

Now if only a miraculous and extreme drop in gasoline prices would occur!

Snap shots from an awesome trip...

2008-06-19T18:19:00.006-04:00

Home again

2008-06-05T14:54:00.005-04:00

I am home from France and Italy at last. It was such an incredible trip and I had a blast. But being as I am jet lagged and have day and night confused, I am too lazy to post pictures just yet and too brain dead to write an interesting proper post. What I have decided to do instead is share the itenerary of places Best Friend and I visited and a couple of other tidbits.

We visited Paris for 3 lovely days before taking the night train into Venice where we spent the day and night. It was also where I "bumped" into that blogger friend I mentioned. Actually, I waited for Sexy Suburbanite at the train station where we got to spend a few minutes together. It was unfortuantely not long enough, but still very cool to run into a good friend all the way across the Atlantic in the beautiful country of Italy! The next morning we boarded a train for Florence, where we spent 2 days and nights and worked in an afternoon trip to Pisa, where indeed the tower leans! Next we boarded another train for 3 days and nights in Rome. Of course we experienced the sites and city of ancient Rome, but we also visited the holy Vatican City, where they made it perfectly clear that you are no longer in Rome, nor Italy, while within the walls of the Vatican. We used our last day in Rome to visit Naples, Pompeii, and Sorrento where we experienced a nice boat ride in the beautiful, blue waters of the Mediterranean.

We saw so many ancient, unbelievable, and amazing sites that it seems surreal. From famous works of art to Roman ruins to world-known buildings and architecture, we got to experience it all. I tasted so much of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello that I feel like a Ninja Turtle now. But speaking of ninjas and names of such geniuses, Best Friend and I, possibly feeling the inspiration of that genius Leonardo Da Vinci, invented a couple of things ourselves.

Let me introduce you the art of Elbow Ninja. This fine skill is quick, (mostly) quiet, (usually) graceful and quite often violent. But it was a necessary evil to survive walking the crowded streets with Italians. I quickly learned that Italians do not move to one side of the sidewalk or street in crowds but rather plow you over without so much as a "Mi escusi" or acknowledgement or care that they just bruised your battered body. I quickly allowed my southern hospitality and good down-home manners of stepping to one side of the sidewalk when another pedestrian approaches fly right out the window. I also dropped those good country girl manners that my mama taught me of saying, "Excuse me" when I wished to pass by or an apologetic "I'm sorry" when accidentally bumping into someone. Instead, for my own survival, whenever I saw an approaching crowd I bent my arms into Elbow Ninja position and extended my elbows out just enough to clear my way through the crowd making sure to jab anyone who first jabbed me. Funny thing is, I think this is what you are supposed to do, for I got not one ugly look or comment from anyone I assaulted! I perfected this so well that one time I hit the person in front of me with my right elbow while simultaneously knocking the man on my heels with my left elbow and while pulling back my left elbow knocked away a space-invading woman trying to stick her camera in front of me to take a picture of Pope John Paul II's tomb (which was strictly forbidden, by the way.) So yeah, I pulled out this move in St. Peter's Basilica. I do hope God will forgive me.

We also compiled a universal Hot Guys of the World List. For a long time, Best Friend and I had referred to a hot American guy as a "Josh". Josh is nice, all-American boy name so that's what we picked. This is how it works: Let's say a hot guy is detected by the red car in the parking lot. I simply say to Best Friend, "There's Josh by the red car." If she were to whisper to me "Josh", just a guy passed us, then I know just what she means. So last year in Germany, the hotties there became "Hans" to us. I still miss Hans from the Marienplatz McCafe in Munich. However, it is important to note that "Hansel" is NOT the same thing. Those are the girlie-guys who purse their lips together like Hansel (Owen Wilson) from Zoolander. We also met a couple of Hansels in Germany as well as Hans. Anyway, while in Paris, the hotties became "Francois". Let me just say I am firmly convinced that you must be a Francois to be a police officer in Paris. Ahhhhh... Mmmmm!!! Oh excuse me...I got a little sidetracked thinking about Francois and handcuffs. ;) Okay, so this leaves us with the Italian hotties a/k/a "Giovanni". I saw more of Francois than Giovanni, but I must confess that I fell hard for Giovanni from our hotel in Rome. He was such a sweetheart, too. I will never forget how he sang "You Shook Me All Night Long" along with me or how he smiled every time we walked into the room or the excellent plan (his word for map) of Roma he gave us. I was broken hearted that I didn't get to tell him goodbye yesterday before I left.

Well, this is all the nonsense I have for you all today. I will be posting pictures and adventures of Eurotrip 2008 soon. Ciao!

48 hours away...

2008-05-23T15:40:00.003-04:00

In less than 48 hrs. I should be on a plane headed for Paris, France. I will be there for a couple of days and then I will be off to spend a week in Italy. I am amazed simply at the thought of the things I have planned to see and experience. I can hardly imagine what it will be like when I am actually there. Needless to say, I am thrilled.

For a while now I have had good gut feeling that big changes were soon coming into my life, more than just exciting travel, but certainly including exciting travel. I think I know what they may be, but until the time actually comes, who's to say? One thing is for certain...this summer is going to be awesome. And it all begins in less than 48 hrs.
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P.S. I have a strong feeling that I will be bumping into a good friend while in Venice!

Country Roads

2008-05-05T21:36:00.002-04:00

Until it began to cost me near $50.00 in gas to fill up my Honda Civic, one of my favorite past times has always been taking a drive through the country down an old, winding road that I have never traveled and have no idea where it may lead.

Sometimes I find a road that is filled with little surprises: a scenic overlook, a peaceful stream, a forest that seems to know no humans, or glimpses of a bygone era. Other times I have found roads that seem to lead nowhere. Of course I am always hoping to find something interesting, some type of hidden "treasure" and end up disappointed when my drives lead me down those "nowhere" roads and I return home restless or unsettled.

The truth is that Forrest Gump's mama was right all along. Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get. One thing is for certain: Unless you choose to travel life's unknown roads, you may never find those hidden treasures. Sure, you may take a few of those dead end or lead-to-nowhere roads, but if you keep on traveling, you just might choose the right road one day.

At least this is what I am telling myself nowadays, even when I keep choosing those bumpy, promising roads that lead into nothingness.
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Here's a few reasons I love a country drive...

Snowy shots

2008-04-19T17:36:00.003-04:00

My spring break trip to Utah did not go exactly as planned. I flew out later than I had wanted, spent less time out there, did not hike, and did not go snowboarding. However, I still had a great time. I spent all my time with my friends and "adoptive" family out there which made the entire trip worth it...even if I did have to fly into Philadelphia (which is, unlike you may have heard, NOT the city of brotherly love) first to come back home.

What is even more surprising than me having a relaxing, low-adventure trip is that I came back home with less than 20 photos on my digital camera! That is an alarming low number for a camera freak like me! Still, I think that the ones I took are very scenic. I can't take full credit for the handful of picutres I took. I couldn't have gotten there if it weren't for my buddy, the Grunt and the assistance of Clyde, his faithful truck.

I have to say that the movie we watched totally sucked, but the drive through the snowy mountains and walk around the thawing pond was awesome. Thanks for taking me to play in the snow, Grunt!

Surprise! This is Greenville???

2008-03-16T15:38:00.009-04:00

Last weekend Best Friend had an extended stay in Greenville, South Carolina--a mere 2 hour drive from where I live. So I hit the road on Friday night so we could hang out over the weekend. The plan was for us to go hiking on Saturday at the nearby Caesar's Head State Park or Table Rock State Park, two places I had wanted to check out but had not made the time to visit. I was disappointed when we woke up the next morning and tuned into the weather channel giving reports of possible snowfall in the mountains and extemely high winds. We decided to cancel until better weather. I never heard if the mountains recieved snow, but I can tell you first hand that wind was nearly knocking us down there in the valley. I could only imagine how it would've been on the mountain as clung for dear life.

It was disappointing at first. Living so close to Greenville has allowed me many chances of passing through the town. I actually didn't have a very positive image of Greenville though I really hadn't spent much time there. I mean, it is GREENVILLE after all...how boring! (To be fair, part of the negativity stems from forced childhood trips with my mom to some clothing outlet there. Geez, how my brother and I hated that!) Still, there was to be no hiking trips so we decided to make the best of it. After some eating and some shopping, we went into downtown Greenville to the Reedy River Falls Park. We were so pleasantly surprised (I was actually shocked) that a place like Greenville would have such a beautiful park with huge waterfalls right in the heart of the city.

I could have spent hours and hours taking pictures there. The falls spilled over a large rock face and raced down the Reedy River to the ruins of an old mill. The park was alive with early signs of spring...blooming daffodils and fresh green grass. Across the falls spans a suspension bridge that is supported by cables on only one side. If you continue up the river past the falls, you come right into downtown Greenville with its hotels, trendy cafes, and shops lining the river walk.

That just goes to show that if you open your eyes, you just might find a treausre hidden in your own backyard.

A Flighty Post

2008-02-21T18:23:00.006-05:00

I have an obsession with taking pictures from planes. All my personal items are properly stowed away during take off and landing--except my camera. I don't know why I am so fascinated with aerial views, but I just think it so cool! I have countless photos of mountain ranges, rivers, canyons, and cities taken from planes. Whenever I am on a plane without one of those cool screens that show you where above the earth you are, I like to guess where I am. It's my favorite plane game. However, when I flew over Europe I was very happy to have one of those cool screens so I could know exactly what countries I was photographing from the sky. I made sure I got a picture of each country and here is what I come up with:

This is Germany.

This is Belgium which looks just like Germany.

This is Holland (Amsterdam) which looks just like Belgium which looks just like Germany.

This is England which looks just like Holland which looks just like Belgium which looks just like Germany.

This is Scotland which looks just like England which looks just like Holland which looks just like Belgium which looks just Germany.

This is Ireland which looks just like Scotland which looks just like England which looks just like Holland which looks just Belgium which looks just like Germany.

Then I fell fast asleep as we traveled for quite some time over the North Atlantic Ocean and then we came upon Quebec, Canada. It did not look like Ireland or Scotland or England or Holland or Belgium or Germany.
I think it was the snow that set it apart.

<--Oh yeah, this is Quebec.

Then it was cloudy all the way back over the US to Atlanta. So I went to sleep again.

Cabin Fever?

2008-02-15T22:47:00.008-05:00

You know how sometimes in the cartoons they make one of the characters roll down a snowy hill in a large snowball and all you can see are arms and legs sticking out of the snowball as it rolls down the hill? Well, that is exactly how my friend Germaphobe looked when she fell off her intertube while we were snow tubing last weekend. So imagine that image plus her intertube rolling along side of her like a tire down the hill and you might be able to laugh as half as hard as I did. It is a yearly tradition for us to go snow tubing just over the NC State Line and of all the trips we have taken, the award of Best Wipe Out was certainly awarded to the Germaphobe on this very day! It was a historic moment.

I am really glad that we got to go last weekend for some slippery fun on the fake snow. I was hoping to have some more fun on slippery fake snow this weekend at Maggie Valley, North Carolina on a snowboarding trip. Then I checked out the weather report. RAIN! It would be a blast to go snowboarding at least twice this year. However, snowboarding in the rain....not so much. I will hopefully be able to make it out to Utah next month for some snowboarding. And at least when I go out there, there should be real snow on the slopes. It's been snowing like crazy out there... or so I have been told!

Speaking of snow, it has snowed here in Georgia TWICE this winter and within the SAME WEEK! It's the first time that we have had any accumulation in the metro-Atlanta area in four years! But as much as I love snow, I am a little burned out on winter. I am ready for a little warmth and missing being in a place like this...

Ahhhh, I can feel the warmth of the sun on my skin right now. Actually, I got a little sunburned the day I took this picture, so I am trying to remember the warmth without the sting.

Belize

2008-01-30T18:53:00.000-05:00

Two weekends ago I was able to do what I do best and escape the boring real world. It was about time, too! I had been stationary too long for a girl like me. And after a failed plans to take a trip to Costa Rica about a month ago, Best Friend and I plotted a way to make it into Central America successfully through the lovely country of Belize.

Now, let me be perfectly clear about what I mean by the term "lovely" in that last sentence. Belize is a very poor country, the cities and houses are mostly shanty-ville, and the roads were so terrible that I was in shock. I mean, I rented a Jeep Rubicon to drive on roads like that! My eyes were captivated only by wonder and my interest in the cultural differences. They certainly weren't in awe of anything Belize City had to offer. However, the friendly and caring people we met along the way were truly lovely. And of course, the things that matter the most to a person of my taste and interests--the rainforest, the mountains, the animals, and Mayan ruins were very lovely indeed.

We stayed at a guest house during our stay and were greeted at the airport by the owner, Luis. Immediately, we were welcomed into the country and were even invited to join him for his birthday party later that night. As we had a half day of unplanned leisure time on our day of arrival, Luis was kind enough to invite us to go along with him to the supermarket so we could take in the sights of Belize City. He was an awesome guy and pretty darn good guide through the city.

The next day, however was when our full day of fun began. We were met at 8 a.m by Ignacio (Nacho) and Cynthia of NCQ Tours and we began our day of incredible fun. First was a nice, long (bumpy) drive to the Jaguar Reserve and to the Belize Arial Trek for some zip lining through the rainforest. I have to say that this was awesome! It was such an incredible experience and I absolutely cannot wait to soar through the trees again! And afterwards, we got to play with a baby Howler Monkey. She was soooo cute and I tried to think of any way I could to bring her back home with me. I am just not sure if my cat Lucy would have been very happy with me and I am most certain that U.S. Customs wouldn't have been happy with me.

Next Nacho introduced us to a nice young man named Pedro, who led us deep into the rainforest and to a river that flows into the mouth of a cave and through several deep, dark caverns. We were carrying intertubes on which we would float along the river's rapids and into the caves. I was very excited about his part of the trip as we were . I had feared that I might have frozen up a bit on the zip line (which I luckily didn't at all) but just knew that I would enjoy the river tubing. I love river tubing our rivers through north Georgia and North Carolina and this river was going to take me through caves! How great would that be?! Ah, but that was before Pedro informed me of the possibility of Boa Constrictors in the cave and in the river. I immediately turned on my heels, informed Pedro that it had been nice hiking with him, and I was turning around. He, of course, talked me out of it, but the damage was done and I was full of dread. Luckily, we didn't encounter a snake (at least not knowingly) but I was sadly mistaken to have thought that I was going to be so brave going through caves in pitch darkness with only the light of my head lamp (if I had it turned on) and the sound of water rushing around me. It was actually pretty scary and claustrophobic to me. Now looking back, I would do it again. Oh and then we played with the baby monkey some more.

I was sad to leave our friendly primate behind, but soon found another friend at the Belize Zoo. I am not a huge fan of zoos as they usually make me sad to see the wild animals caged, but Nacho informed us that Steve Irwin was a supporter of this zoo. I know what an animal lover and advocate for their rights he was, so I figured any zoo he thought was okay, must be a good place. So we decided to visit the zoo. And I am so glad that we made that decision as not only did this zoo house animals indigenous to Central America and I learned about animals that I had never seen before, but I made my best friend there. I made friends with a sweet little kitty. Okay, it was actually a Jaguar, but still such a sweetie! I actually got to touch and pet this Jaguar! (Not sure you were really supposed to do that, but Cynthia was, and I wasn't going to waste my chance of being close to one of these beautiful cats.) The best part of all was that the animals seemed happy here and I could tell that they were well cared for.

After about 9 hours of adventuring with Cynthia and Nacho our time with them came to an end. The next time I find myself in Belize, I am totally calling them to set up my vacation. They were incredible! I recommend anyone planning to vist there to give them a call!

After a day that busy, I crashed out early. I needed the rest! Plus I wanted to be ready for our exploration of Mayan ruins the next day.

At 8:00 a.m. we were picked up by Leah and her mom of Experience Belize Tours. You can't meet a nicer couple of people if you tried! They drove us to the anciet Maya site of Altun-Ha. Being enthralled with history and in particular the mysteries of the Maya, I was looking forward to this. We had a wonderful surprise once we survived the teeth-chattering road and arrived at the site. We had the whole site to ourselves! So it was only me with Best Friend and our very informative guide, Anne-Marie. It was eerie to wander the grounds without the crowds of people and it felt almost as if we were the discoverers of these ancient temples. The city of Altun-Ha was a holy and peaceful city it its day. I had visited the site of Chichen Itza in Mexico several years ago and it had a totally different feel about it than this place, as Chichen Itza was a city of warriors who partook in violence and human sacrifices. After climbing the temples of Altun-ha, we went to the quarry (now a crocodile-infested pond) where the rock used to build the temples was gathered. To get there, we had to take a path through the jungle. Along the way, we spotted tracks in the mud of Belize's National Animal--the very strange Tapir. That was cool to me. I sort of felt like Dora the Explorer (only cooler).

After lunch of rice and beans, Leah and her mom took us to the airport. I found it a little hard to say good-bye to Belize so soon. I found a million and one more things I would like to do such as visiting the Baboon Sanctuary, the Crooked River Reserve, treking the Maya Mountains to waterfalls, snorkeling out on the Cayes, checking out the Blue Hole, and visiting more Mayan sites. Oh yeah--and zip lining again! Looks like I will be coming back.

Belize is a great place for adventurers and a wonderful place to visit and according to the catchy--no cheesy, actually--Belize tourism slogan : You better Belize it!

To one of our own

2008-01-08T21:11:00.000-05:00

Very recently a terrible thing happened in the north Georgia mountains and those who categorize ourselves as the “outdoorsy” variety, lost one of our own.

On New Year’s Day, 24 year old Meredith Emerson left a note to her roommate that she and her dog, Ella, were going on a hike on the Freeman Trail from Vogel State Park to the summit of Blood Mountain. When she did not return that day nor the next, a search for the missing hiker was set in motion. She had been seen by other hikers on the trail with an older man and chatting in the park with him while their dogs played together. That was the last time anyone ever saw Meredith Emerson alive.

Her body was recovered days later in a wildlife management area. She had died from a blow to the head and was then decapitated. The man she was seen talking with is now in jail, charged with her murder after police were able to track him down trying to use Meredith’s credit cards.

This case held my interest and I followed all the developments. I was worried for this young lady who seemed to share my interests. And I was angry that one of the most beautiful places in all of Georgia was being associated with such an ugly story. (The name Blood Mountain, I agree, is not the ideal name for such a lovely spot. However, it was named for a battle that ensued between two of our native tribes, the Cherokee and the Creek and I resent misusing the mountain’s name to make catchy headlines for the murder.)

Moreover, I am outraged at what happened to Meredith as she was simply doing what she loved. I am outraged that her life was cut short by some sicko that should have been apprehended years ago. (He is now being tied with at least three other unsolved murders similar in nature.) And I am extremely outraged when I hear comments suggesting that this was Meredith’s fault. The comments of “She shouldn’t have been hiking alone.” and “She should have known better.” really make my blood boil. The truth is, Meredith Emerson did exactly what she should have done when hiking. She left a note telling her whereabouts. It is because of her good common sense that she is not an unsolved murder case and that a murderer is now off the streets.

Naturally everyone who knows me and knows my love of hiking has made the expected, “Doesn’t that make you nervous?”, “That’s why you should never go alone.”, and other comments stemming from the goodness of their hearts. I don’t resent their comments as they show concern for me, but every time I hear one of those comments I become angry at the situation. Why shouldn’t I feel that I am safe to do what I love? It’s not like I am tempting fate doing things such as hitchhiking across America or walking a wire across the Grand Canyon! Why doesn’t anyone warn me not to go shopping alone? Why must I give up something that I enjoy because of the chance that something terrible may befall me while on a trail when there is a (greater) chance that the same thing could happen to me while leaving Target? With every decision in life, there is a risk. My decision to hike, camp, and enjoy the woods is mine. I acknowledge the risks involved and have comparatively weighed that they are much smaller than the joy that these activities bring into my life. If (God forbid) I should ever meet my death on a trail, please know that I died doing what I love.

Here’s to Meredith Emerson, who died doing what she loved.

New Year, New Adventures

2008-01-05T18:41:00.000-05:00

I am still alive and well. I haven't had too much to say as of late, hence the silence on my blog. This is my adventure and travel place and since that has been limited for me as of late, I haven't had much to share. Actually, for the first time ever, I didn't get to go somewhere that Best Friend and I had planned...Costa Rica.

That trip fell through thanks to some horrible snowy weather out west and a nice little lightening storm right here in Atlanta wreaking havoc at the airport. Of course, I was extremely disappointed, but I thought of the 25 or more paying passengers left behind as their plane headed for San Jose without them and tried not to feel so bad. We have been working on another attempt, but the weekend we have chosen is already beginning to look iffy for us as the plane fills up. Ah, the joys of flying standby to a Caribbean destination in the dead of winter!

We will definitely be going somewhere, though. And when we do, you all will be the first to know!

Actually, this whole year is going to be filled with more challenging adventures than either of us have ever attempted in the past. I am feeling very good and excited about this.

Looking back to 2007...I visited many places within the US including the mountains and deserts out west and the the semi-tropical islands of the Florida Keys. A couple of visits included hanging out with a couple of my blogger friends--rolling through the mountains with the Grunt and Disney World with Sexy Suburbanite. I also went to Europe for the first time in 2007 and explored some of Germany and Austria's most beautiful sights.

I am looking forward to whatever it is that I may do in 2008. Some things I know and am planning but I have found that some of the greatest experiences had were not planned and were on-a-whim kind of trips. I am looking forward to whatever may pop up.

I hope everyone is looking forward to what may come their way in 2008 and I hope that this year will be a wonderful one for everyone.

Cheers!
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PS. Cut me some slack for my one month hiatus. I almost quit this blog, but just for y'all, I'm baaaack!

Tis the Season...

2007-12-03T16:28:00.000-05:00

I guess I am overdue a new post. It's a new month after all. And as of a week ago, I started a new year of my life. And it is now officially the Christmas holiday season. Again.

I am doing my best to try to fight against my grinchy, scroogey behavior and enjoy the season. It's not easy, but at least I am trying. I wonder why it isn't as joyous and exciting as it was so long ago. Oh and another question...Why does Christmas have to choose the one time of year that I am always super broke? Wait a second...let me rephrase that. (After all, I am trying to give up the Grinch). What I meant to say is, why of all the times of the year to be my brokest, must it always be Christmas?

That being said, just how tacky are homemade gifts? Be honest now!

Now it's time for a confession: I have been scrimping and saving for a trip that I have been wanting to take to Costa Rica for quite a while now. So I guess that it is not that I am super broke, really. It's more like I just don't make enough money to travel the way I love to. I can afford it (and what little I can't, Visa can) so Best Friend and I are planning right now. It is so hard for our schedules to mesh nowadays that we are having to keep our fingers tightly crossed and just hope for the best. I am hoping that I will blogging about toucans, tree frogs, and zip lines over my Christmas break. Now wouldn't that be much more interesting than hearing about my stomach virus like you did last Christmas?

My weekend beneath the blue suburban skies...

2007-11-21T19:01:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I had the pleasure of taking a trip to sunny Florida and hanging out with the one and only Sexy Suburbanite. SS and I had been planning on having an adventure for quite a while and were finally able to make it happen. Not only that, but I got to meet Puppy and ride in Hocus Focus.

I arrived very late on Friday night (thanks to Atlanta's hellish traffic). Since we were already pretty tired when I finally made it, we had only a short 3 hour conversation and then went to bed so we could get up early and begin the fun.

We started our day out at Animal Kingdom, which was not even built the last time I went to the Disney theme parks. I liked it a lot. But even though we barely escaped the angry Yeti at Mount Everest (whew!) and witnessed very large angry bats mating (quite aggressively), I still have to say that my favorite was our safari through the Serengeti.

Africa was so awesome that we decided to tour the rest of the world so we headed off to Epcot where we discovered the rest of the world. SS knew my love of Germany so she chose the Germany Pavillion as our lunch spot.

We ate a ton of schnitzel, sausages, and other German delicacies. (Or at least I did!) Not to mention the liter of beer we each consumed. I certainly did feel like I was back in Munich after the beer.

In Morocco I tried on this super sexy fez. It looks good on me, no? Okay, so it did look a little dorky, but at least it matched well with my shirt.

Here's SS finishing up her Margarita we got in Mexico before hitting the monorail to our next destination--Magic Kingdom!

The castle was lit up like it was draped in ice. It was so beautiful. You could almost believe that dreams really do come true at Disney. haha!

While at Magic Kingdom, we rode two of my favorite rides--Pirates of the Caribbean and (of course) the Haunted Mansion. After all these years, those hologram ghosts still rock the house!

After taking in the fireworks show and then waiting a couple of years in line for the bus to take us back to where we parked, we headed back to SS's house, where we actually didn't talk long before we fell asleep.

We needed that sleep for our last day of fun!

We went to Sea World! I still love the penguins best there. At least they are my favorite animals. My favorite activity was the beer tasting that we had partaken in! Now as I mentioned before, I have been to these parks (except Animal Kingdom) before, but those were all family trips. This was my first taste of adult fun at the theme parks. And we did do a lot of tasting...of Anheuser-Busch beers, that is!

I think that the beer beforehand made the Shamu Show much better. I seriously don't remember it being so gay in the past. Shamu would just do cool tricks with her trainers and splash the audience with her massive tail. Now Shamu is here to teach you something...You need to believe in yourself!

Thanks Shamu! Without you, I would be a total inconfident loser!
But now I believe in myself.

All of you should believe in yourselves, too. Dreams can come true.

And our dream came true when we were able to find these big ice cream cones. It was the perfect lunch--beer and ice cream!

It seems that eating and drinking is what we did best. We had more in common than I could have possibly imagined! ;)

Thank you SS for a wonderful weekend. I can't wait until we do it again!

A 2 for 1 Post

2007-11-11T20:07:00.000-05:00

This post is a two parter.

I would like to dedicate the first half of my post to my Uncle B., whom my family lost unexpectedly this week to congestive heart failure. Needless to say, I write with a heavy heart as I look back and remember my time with him. He didn't have any children of his own and he loved his nieces and nephews very much. I know that my brother and I were his favorite. As children, my brother and I were very spoiled by him. As I grew up into the busy adult that I have become, I spent less and less time with him. He had some troubles in his life that caused him to drift away from his family. One thing that never changed, though, was the fact that I knew he loved me and he knew I loved him. For that, I am glad. I am regretful that I didn't see him as much as I would have liked within the last year or two, but I find solace in the fact he knew I cared.

Friends, I learned a valuable lesson a few years ago when my best friend died suddenly. It is important to let your loved ones know exactly how you feel about them. You never know how long you will be blessed to have them and you never know how long you will be blessed with your own life. It can end tomorrow. Please make sure you let your loved ones know how important they are. Make sure you do the things your heart tells you to.

Uncle B., God rest your weary soul. I'll miss you.

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Now, for the second part of my post...

I am very excited about this upcoming weekend for two reasons. One, I am going on a trip to Orlando, Florida for some fun. And second (and most importantly!) I will be meeting up with one of my closest blog buddies, Sexy Suburbanite! I know that we are going to have a blast and it is going to be so awesome to talk face to face rather than via our 10 page emails or 2 hour phone conversations. (We have a lot to say!) I am very excited to see what adventures may find us.

SS will make the third blogger I have met. I never in a million years imagined that I would actually meet anyone whose blog I have read when I first started posting. I didn't start my blog to make friends, but they have been the best part of this experience.

The first blogger I met was Yrautca , a fellow Atlantan who was living in Seattle when I met him over a year ago. (Now he's in Chicago.) He had come home to visit his family here in Atlanta and we decided to meet up. I was a little nervous about it, but it seemed so silly not to have dinner with this person who I've emailed and read so many of his thoughts through his blog. So we had dinner at my favorite quirky restaurant and had a great time. He's a lot of fun to be around.

I always had a feeling that I'd meet the second blogger I met. Well, I didn't have that feeling at first when I was only reading his blog, but after emails, IM conversations, and many, many phone conversations with him, I knew we would meet up. After all, he, the Grunt, lives in Utah and anyone that has read my blog knows that I am frequent visitor to Utah. I was nervous then, too, the first time I met the Grunt,but it only took a few minutes for the awkwardness to wear off and I felt completely comfortable and completely myself around him. The second time we hung out was even better. Now I cant wait until our third visit. The Grunt has become more than a blog buddy to me. I consider him one of my best friends now. He is always there for me when I need a pick-me-up and always there to make my good days even better.

He's quite the musician, too! I have listened to the two CDs he has sent me a million times over, but I have something to brag about!* I got to hear a live performance Saturday night over the phone. I am the first blogger to claim that priviledge. I'm so lucky! :) So Grunty, thanks for the concert and thanks for cheering up a sad girl. YOU ROCK!!!!

And SS, I am counting down the days! I can't wait to hang out!
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*In no way whatsoever was I influenced by the Grunt to brag to the whole Blogosphere community about being the first blogger to have the pleasure of his live music nor to brag about how much he rocks. Right Grunt? ;)

Only a dream

2007-11-06T16:58:00.000-05:00

I had a dream last night that really caused me to ponder my life.

In my dream... I was sitting on my bed reading a book or magazine. I gazed over at a fully packed backpack leaned up against my bookshelf. I spoke aloud, "I'm just gonna do it. It's time." I picked up my cat (who I love dearly) kissed her and sat her down on my bed. I reached for my cell phone and hit a button on it that (my phone in real life doesn't have) that said Delete All Contacts. Without hesitation I hit the button, pulled the battery out (not sure what the point in that was) and dropped it to the floor. I grabbed my backpack and walked out of the door for the last time.

I got into my car and drove it until it ran out of gas then I ditched it. The next thing I did was push my car into a lake on the side of the road that suddenly appeared. I placed the pack upon my back and disappeared into the wooded hillside. This trail I walked along was magically beautiful. Every color was intense and every sound was so quiet. The last thing I saw before I woke up was a shimmering blue lake and the snow-capped mountains that surrounded it off in the distance. That's when my alarm went off.

I was puzzled. I often have dreams that I remember and usually I can figure out what triggered them. I wondered as I stepped into the shower and as I brushed my teeth and was still left clueless as I drove to work this morning.

I will admit that there are times when I want to vanish away to some new place and start a new life without anyone in the world knowing where I went. I also know that I couldn't do that to the people who love me. I have admitted this to only a couple of people, one of them being my mother. It's no wonder that she has a panic attack each time she finds out that I have bought a one-way ticket to somewhere. Poor woman.

Even though I would not relocate my life without letting anyone know where I was going and certainly not decide to backpack my way through life, I was still left wondering what it was in the dream that had made me want to basically erase my existance to the people I love. I am pretty sure that the reason I chose to disappear down a trail with a backpack was influenced by the research I have been doing lately on backpacking the John Muir Trail. Why I no longer wanted to talk to my friends and family anymore is very strange to me. And I guess that's why we mutter away our questions in our alert minds raised by our subconcious thoughts while we're sleeping away by shrugging our shoulders and saying, "It was only a dream."

Snap! Back to reality... In real life, I just begun my training for hiking the 200+ mile John Muir Trail in California. I am hoping that these 8 months will get me in the shape I need to be in to tackle it. I am hoping to backpack it with Best Friend in July. But unlike the dream, I am also planning on writing down a detailed itenerary for everyone and returning (alive I hope!) back home.

Go me!

Halloween

2007-10-31T22:25:00.001-04:00

My friends hosted an 80's themed Halloween Party. At first I didn't know what I wanted to be, but as soon as I spotted the Elvira wig in the costume shop, I knew I was going to be transformed into that vampish, sexy, horror movie hosting diva, Elvira. After all, she and I have a lot in common!

Red did my make up! She did a great job creating Elvira eyes!

Jason killed the Camp Crystal Lake Counselor. I am sure that it she weren't so drunk that might've actually hurt!

Totally 80's! (Totally gay, I say!)

The party hosts, Mario and Princess Toadstool, who just happened to have gotten engaged this night! Congrats you, two! :)

This is Red dressed in the scariest costume at the party. She is dressed as one of the clowns in one of the worst 80's horror movies I have ever seen, Killer Clowns from Outerspace. She will argue with me that it's not THE worst. But I am sorry to disagree. I do think it's one of the worst and my opinion counts.

After all, I'm Elvira, your horror flick queen!

Why do you blog?

2007-10-23T17:19:00.000-04:00

Every blogger must have had a reason for starting his or her blog. I can't imagine that anyone would just radomly decide 'Hey, let me start up a blog even though I have nothing to say!' I believe we all have something we want to talk about, something to share. Perhaps your blog is about a particular subject you are interested in. Maybe you write stories. Or you may journal your whole life or post photos or share your comedic effects with others or maybe your friend has one and you thought, why not?

I did not start my blog as a journal, to share details about my life before total strangers. To tell the truth, I don't really feel that comfortable opening up to strangers nor care for anyone to think that they really know me. Of course, there have been times that I have written some very personal thoughts (especially as of late), but my blog wasn't intended for that. At least it wasn't intended to share that type of personal information (love, personal problems, etc.) However, there was a part of me that I did want to share or I wouldn't have started this blog.

I began blogging to share a part of myself that no one around me, except Best Friend could fully grasp. You see, I am a wanderer, a drifter, a girl continuously reaching out for a new taste of the world yet coming back home hungrier than ever. I long to travel and experience new things. I long for adventure and thrills. I like to push my physical limits sometimes and see what I can accomplish. And every now and then, I like to find myself lost in a strange place.

I get strange looks and comments when I say things such as I think I will go to Germany next week, I am going to backpack for a week through Montana, I want to stay in a tree bungalow in the Costa Rican rainforest for a few days, or Anyone up for a weekend in London?. For better or for worse, I have no fear when it comes to jumping head first into things like this. Other aspects of my life are a completely different story. But this blog is about my wanderlust, so I digress. It has been brought to my attention more than once that I must be crazy to live my life like this. Yet I can't see any other way to live my life.

To my surprise, I actually have come across other bloggers who appreciate this aspect of my life and enjoy reading about it and even a couple who say they feel the same way. It's a good feeling to know that I am not the only drifter out there.

Speaking of...I have a few things that I am planning with Best Friend that I am very excited about! We are planning a trip to Costa Rica soon, going back to Europe in the spring, and backpacking the John Muir Trail from Yosemite to Sequoia/Kings Canyon National park over about 5 days. Who knows? We might even have time to climb Mt. Whitney before calling it a done trip!

So what part of yourself do you share through your blog?

Scary Story

2007-10-16T22:10:00.000-04:00

Two years later, I returned to the place that had haunted me with memories of disembodied voices, ghostly figures, and odors from a battle that had taken place (at that time) 142 years ago that I knew would be impossible to smell, yet left my nostrils burning with the pungent, sulfury smell of gunpowder.

My stomach lurched as we exited I-75 and I read the brown sign which pointed the direction to Chickamauga National Battlefield. This was a place I had sworn to never return. Yet here I was, two years later (and now 144 years after the battle), finding myself starting down a trail through the dark woods after sundown. In these same woods, which thousands of men shed their blood and took the lives of their enemies in the second grisliest battle in the Civil War, second only to Gettysburg. I jumped at every sound, not because of the knowledge of what happened upon this land but because of the images and sounds that embed my memory from my last trip here. Not even the comfort of three other friends—Red, Super Villain, and Sue--could console my palpable fear.

After taking a wrong path or two, we finally found ourselves approaching the familiar clearing of the gently sloped field of Snodgrass Hill. Fear mounted inside me and I felt my throat close off and my breaths become more shallow and rapid. It was as if a pair of invisible hands were closing in around my neck. Still, we marched forward into the clearing. I did not want to look, yet I could not tear my gaze away from the areas that I had previously witnessed so many frightening sights. Somehow, I unknowingly had walked almost upon the same place as I stood before when I had heard a disembodied woman’s voice crying miserably out an indecipherable, one-syllable name.

Suddenly we all noticed and commented on an orange light resembling candlelight moving about the trees atop the hill. It reminded me of the woman’s voice and I reflexively brought my hands to my ears, covering them with hopes of blocking out, or at the very least, muffling her voice. However, we (thankfully) never did hear her voice crying out. We stood expectantly and transfixed when only a short time later we did hear a noise. And it was right behind us.

All four of us nearly jumped out of our skin. We quickly fell to the ground. I could see some type of lights moving along the trees. I held my breath in anticipation, listening to the blood rushing through my ears. And then it happened.

A loud voice rang out over the night, “State Police! Do not move!”

Crazy thoughts ran through my head... Are you kidding me? All the other times I have done some breaking and entering or trespassing on historical sites and this is how it’s all gonna end? Oh my god! I hope I won’t get a huge fine for this. OH MY GOD! I hope I don’t get arrested! I am a teacher! I can’t get arrested! Who the hell will bail me out anyway?

Luckily, the rangers were extremely nice and even shared a couple of stories of paranormal terror among the battlefield on our ride back to the car. That’s right. They gave us a lift! But that was only after we were in handcuffs. Yes, handcuffs! Can you believe that my friends and I were handcuffed like common criminals? I have never been so embarrassed nor laughed so hard in all my life.

My giggles only ceased when we came upon the roadside where we had left Red’s car before tromping off into the dark woods only to find it now surrounded by police cars with their lights flashing. Apparently the sheriff found the car and sent the rangers into the park to find us. My heart sank... Oh. My. God. I was going to be arrested. I just knew it.

Fortunately, that wasn’t the case. After being uncuffed, our vehicle was searched for drugs and weapons, our licenses scanned, and we were each handed a $75 citation for being in a closed area on federal property. Then we were sent on our merry little way where we laughed hysterically for the entire two hours it took us to drive back to Atlanta.

It was an interesting time to say the least. And now I can truthfully say that I know what it looks like to see my friends being handcuffed. And I know how it feels to be handcuffed. (It hurts by the way. I still have a bruise on my left hand to prove it.) The old joke about friends and jail came into my mind as I rode away with my partners in crime (literally) in our recently declared drug-free car. A friend will bail you out of jail. A good friend will be beside you saying, “Man, that was fun!”

So I wasn’t terrified by any gouls on this night, but I still firmly stand by my opinion that nothing good can come out of Chickamauga Battlefield after dark. I am never going back there. And this time I mean it!

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

2007-10-08T17:26:00.000-04:00

I thought about that movie as I drove along the winding roads in the North Georgia mountains yesterday. What a concept, I thought. Yet until this weekend, I never would have thought that something as extreme as having someone erased from your memory would be a good idea. It would have had to have been quite an unbearable pain to make one want to forget even the good things and happy times spent with that person. It would make that time invested with that soon-to-be-forgotten someone a complete waste and time is something too precious to throw away.

As hot, tears rolled continuously down my cheeks yesterday I decided that a treatment which could wipe clean my memory of this one person would be the perfect solution. I only had a couple of months invested in this person so the destruction of my memories should only affect my life in minimal ways. Yet this short time of investment in this particular relationship is killing me.

I have been through this many, many, MANY times before. But this time is different. This man in not a jerk. This man is incredible. This man is very much like me and we completely get one another. We are being torn apart by circumstance. He is joining the army and going away for many years and this is why it ends.

I don't even want to remember the good things because they hurt too much. And I think they always will because of that regret that nothing was wrong with our relationship yet there is nothing that can be done to salvage it. And that is a shame. I am sure I will always feel like that. And I don't want to.

Of course there is no computer that my brain can be hooked up that will pick through my brainwaves and detect painful links to him and delete them, so I guess a spotless mind is not really feasible. I still tried to take matters in my own hands, though.

I remembered Jim Carrey's character as his memories of his beloved Clementine were fading away. Regret settled in and he desperately began to fight the procedure and hold on fiercely to any memory of her that he could. If it were me in that chair, I think that if I knew that a second chance would end in the same result, I would let it fade completely, but if there was any chance for a do-over with a different result, I am sure I would be calling out, "Meet me in Montauk", too. I then wrote his first and last name on a piece of paper (on the off chance this would work and I came across him again in the future), tucked it between the pages of a book, and prayed desperately to forget him or at the very least not care anymore.

As soon as my NyQuil-groggy mind awakened this morning, I remembered him and my heart sank. It didn't work. I dragged myself out of bed to get ready for work. As I slipped out of the warm covers and onto the floor, I tripped on something and fell. I mumbled an obscenity and hit the lightswitch to see what attacked me. I had kicked the book and lying on the floor beside it was the paper I had written on and his name glaring back at me. I laughed to myself. His memory is determined to cause me pain in one way or another.

While sitting in traffic on my way home from work, it occurred to me that I don't need a spotless mind. Bit by bit, I feel my heart shutting down again. But this time, probably for good. Your mind does the thinking; your heart does the feeling. So it looks like I will be okay in the end anyway...well, as long as my mind doesn't tell my heart to whisper out, "Meet me in Montauk."
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I guess this explains my sketchy/absense of blogging lately. Anyway, there's good news on that! I am about to get back in my game of traveling and fun. I have some things in the works now and I can't wait to share the experiences.

Disturbed

2007-09-25T22:13:00.000-04:00

I have recently become an addict of the Showtime original series Dexter. I heard about the show but had never actually checked it out until a couple of weeks ago when my roommate and I watched every episode of the first season back to back in three days. We couldn't stop watching it! It is sooooo awesome! It has been torture waiting for season two, but this Sunday, I can finally get my fix! I am totally excited!

It's been a while since I have been so gung-ho about anything on television, but that is not what is disturbing me.

You see, Dexter is a forensics detective in Miami. His specialty is blood spatter. He's out there helping to solve gruesome murders and truly making a difference there in Miami. But that's not the only way Dexter is making a difference. How can I put this delicately? Dexter is a serial killer himself! Wait! Don't go judging him yet! He only kills other killers who have slipped through the flawed judicial system. He's sort of a super hero (in a very, very sick, twisted, demented, evil way)!

I am hereby admitting on this blog before all the eyes of fellow bloggers that I have a crush on Dexter. It had to grow on me. I mean, he is a serial killer after all. Plus I was still getting some gayish vibes from him due to envisioning him (Michael C. Hall) on Six Feet Under, where he played the part of a gay man. But he is hot as Dexter.

Still, the fact that I have a crush on America's favorite serial killer is not the most disturbing thing to me. (After all, y'all did read the part where I said he is sort of a super hero in a very, very sick, twisted, demented, evil way, right?) No, the aspect that has stirred such a disturbance in my little mind is the fact that Dexter looks soooooooo much like an ex-boyfriend of mine! I mean, I have a crush on someone that looks like my ex! Ewwwww! What's wrong with me? I think I may need a therapist.

I've been through the desert in a car with no name

2007-09-16T19:29:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's true. My car has no name. I think that it is a very sad thing considering how much time we spend together and all the places this car has taken me.

Indeed, we have driven through the southwestern desert together, but that's not all. We've also been through the grandeur of Grand Teton, and Montana, and climbed the highest continually paved road in the United States in the Colorado Rockies. We've traveled through the Great Plains of Kansas, crossed bridges spanning our greatest rivers, and island hopped across the Florida Keys. I think she has earned her right to a name.

My car has been on my mind a lot lately... Probably because I had a fender bender recently and am going to be without my beloved car until I get my rear bumper replaced. This is her boo-boo. Tomorrow she goes in for reconstructive surgery. These little gashes are costing me $545! I sure will miss her while she is in recovery. Lately, I have thought about how much I depend on her, how much fun I've had on trips with her, and how many of my friends have and have had cars with cool names...Judy Jetta, Christine, the Streak, Sue, Sunshine, Rhonda Honda, Ol' Nellie, Hocus Focus, and Clyde.

I am counting on you to help me name my girl! Help me out guys. You see her pic. You know her story. Now help me name my car!

I think I fell into a time warp or something

2007-09-08T17:11:00.000-04:00

...because the last time I blogged was forever ago and it seems like just yesterday!

It's no secret that my lust for blogging has faded, but I am not throwing in the towel just yet. I used to blog every other day and now it's once a week at best. Lately, it's been more like every other week. I still have just as much to say as I always did and I am still always on the run to new and fun places, but I don't have as much fun writing about it as I once did. Do any of you other faithful bloggers ever feel like that?

I still enjoy reading other blogs and I still visit the same ones religiously so don't think that just because I sometimes skip comments that I am not reading your blogs. Just because I neglect my own blog doesn't mean I neglect yours.

Now that I have that out of the way, I hope everyone had some fun last holiday weekend. I wasn't able to get very far out of town, but I did catch up on some hiking and visited a couple of local sites that I had never visited before--Panola Mountain State Park and Sweetwater Creek State Park. Panola was kind of boring. You can't even hike to the top of the mountain unless you take the ranger walk only given every so often! But I loved Sweetwater--it was both historic and scenic (two of my favorite qualities when visiting a place). I will post those photos soon.

So now it's Septemeber and my second favorite holiday--Halloween--is fast approaching. I always try to do a trip to somewhere scary and haunted in celebration of Halloween. This year I have at least two fun trips....Wait, let me rephrase that one...I have at least one fun trip and one to a place that I must be crazy to revisit. I am going back one weekend soon to that battlefield on the Georgia-Tennessee border that I wrote about almost a year ago. (It's in my October 2006 Archives if anyone wants to read it.) It's been nearly two years since the night that I lost all courage and nearly peed my pants and I am going back to that place. Peer pressure is a bitch.

I will certainly be blogging about that trip when I go. I am not disappearing from Blogland yet and I am hoping to have many ghost hunting, traveling, hiking, and other tales of adventure to post in the future.

A joyous, somber occasion

2007-08-28T17:50:00.000-04:00

This weekend, we mourned the passing of my friend and roomate's youth as she laid to rest forever her 20s. Welcome to your (gasp!) 30's, Red!

The guests showed funeral style, wearing all black. I'd post my picture, but I was so tired of being called "goth Barbie" that I decided not to post that shot. (Beauty tip for all the girlies out there: If you happen to be a smiley-faced blondie such as myself and wear all black with goth make up, don't expect to be taken seriously. That look just doesn't work for us. I will totally be wearing a black wig for Halloween.)

Here's a look at some of our morbid decor. Notice the vulture on the shelf staring down the food table. Actually, I think he was staring down all of us old people.

I've heard that the mind and eye sight are the first thing to go with old age. Who would expect to find them in the bloody punch bowl, though?

The cake was awesomely designed by Ash. I can't tell you how refreshing I find it to see zombies and cemeteries outside of Halloween.

Here's a close up of the tombstone which reads, Here Lies Red's Youth. I think the zombie breaking out of the grave accurately represents her unwillingness to let go of her youth without a fight.

She wanted a cake that read, "Return of the Living 29". But that was just way too long.

This party was all in good fun. Some of us have a hard time dealing with hitting the big 3-0, but Red was mostly in good spirits and making jokes about her trip down hill to eventually meet the Grim Reaper with the rest of us. My friend, Sexy Suburbanite, also hit this milestone over the weekend and she is celebrating entering this decade of her life. I think we should all view the different phases of life this way.

Looking back, my 30th birthday was not a happy occasion. I did not handle it well at all. I didn't want to talk to anyone, see anyone, or be even in the same vicinity as anyone. The problem with that was that I turned 30 on Thanksgiving Day. It was impossible to avoid people on this stinking holiday so I choked back tears most of the day. I didn't feel old. I felt the same way I did the night before when it was 11:45 and I was still technically 29 and closing my eyes tight so that I would not see the clock strike midnight. It wasn't the growing older aspect that bothered me, but the lack of accomplished goals that I had set to reach by this age. Clearly, I couldn't live up to my own standards. My Thanksgiving prayers sounded something much like this: "Dear God, on this Thanksgiving Day, I have no family of my own and no real career. I don't want to see anyone today, but since you made my birthday fall on Thanksgiving, I have to see EVERYBODY. So uh, yeah, thanks for nothing."

Let me just say that I am SO happy that I don't feel that way any more. My time after hitting thirty has been nothing but fun. If I had it to do all over again, I would hit the big 3-0 with a smile on my face just the way Red and Sexy Suburbanite did.

Living with Red

2007-08-20T17:01:00.000-04:00

Here's a snippet of a conversation I had with my friend and roomate Red last night:

Me: "Yes, he is very sweet and a gentleman, but he's just TOO YOUNG for me!"

Red: "But he's mature, has a good job, and owns his own house! And you're not going to give him a chance because of his age???"

Me: "I know but..."

Red: "They can't be too old. They can't be too young. You've got too many requirements to date you!"

Me: "Well, I'm just not settling with anyone!"

Red: "You're too picky! You have to have more info on them than the CIA!"

Me: "I know! I can't help it!"

Then Red, the girl who so oftens breaks into my phone conversations with a, "Are you talking to your boyfriend again?" or "You're talking to another one?" or lovingly calls me "ho", came up with the best one liner ever.

After exhaling a giant sigh, she exclaimed, "Damn! It's easier to get into the Pentagon than into your pants!"

This is just a typical conversation on a typical day living with Red. I'm so lucky to be loved like this.

2007-08-09T22:17:00.000-04:00

Here's the photos from my Yellowstone safari...

Moose sighting! This poor moose was trying to cross the road but then a bunch of people got in its face and scared it. I am happy to report that this was the only time Best Friend and I had to yell at anyone in the national park. Usually, we get mad at many people that we do not see fit to be in the outdoors around the wildlife, so I'm extremely proud that we didn't run across too many idiots--especially in YELLOWSTONE!!! (This pic. was taken with my zoom lens from a distance as not to disturb the animal. This is proper national park etiquette, by the way, to prevent Best Friend or I from yelling at you.)

Another Black Bear encounter! This makes my 9th bear encounter. I guess I still have the magic!

Antelope at sunrise.

Buffalo crossing the Yellowstone River. This was one of the coolest things I have seen in the wild! I felt like I was watching a Discovery Channel show on those Water Buffalo in Africa and I kept expecting a croc to take one down...only it was Wyoming not Africa and they were regular buffalo not the water variety and there were no crocodiles and it wasn't on TV. But still very cool!

Sunset over the Madison River.

And so here are a few shots from Utah....

This was taken somewhere in American Fork Canyon. It's hard to believe that everything was so green despite the hot, dry weather.

SCB looks like he's trying to keep Best Friend from jumping off this cliff in Farmington Canyon.

On the summit of Bountiful Peak. This was moments before meeting my friend rattlesnake. I don't look very happy in this photo but I'm not sure why. Maybe it was a premonition of the sickening encounter about to take place.

Here with my fellow blog buddy, the Grunt. I made him play my self portrait game where you must set up the camera and then beat the self timer by striking a pose in 10 seconds. I love that game!

Back home

2007-08-02T14:54:00.000-04:00

I'm back from Utah and rather than doing laundry, cleaning up, and completing other important chores, I have been catching up on blogs, reading my email, and seeking forgiveness from my cat who totally snubs me every time I go away on vacation. By the way, thanks to those of you who left me comments on my last post, you rock!

My trip was great, for the most part. I went on some scenic drives up a couple of canyons I had never explored before. On one of these rides, I got out of the vehicle and climbed a short, steep trail to the summit of Bountiful Peak. I did this from a suggestion of a friend and loved the views. While standing at the top I was grateful to my friend for his suggestion. Then on my way down the trail I saw my first Western Diamondback Rattlesnake which shook its nasty rattle at me! I miraculously did not pass out but immediately began to curse my friend and his suggestion. That only lasted until I was swept away by more scenic views. (But he totally had to hear about it!)

We also went to Yellowstone to parts that I had not yet been to. We sort of did a Yellowstone animal safari. I was disappointed that I didn't see any wolves but saw some bison crossing the river (that was cool!), moose, elk, antelope, and as always when it comes to me, bears! I got some pretty good shots of the animals, so I considered this safari a success. Next time, I will see a pack of wolves.

The best part of my trip was seeing and catching up with my friends. There were still a couple that I didn't get to visit and they will be at the top of my list next visit. I did get to spend time with most of my friends though, including the Grunt, who really showed me a great time. We ate good food, took a fun drive through the mountains which lead to some four-wheelin'-yee-haw fun, and topped it off with The Simpsons movie. He's a cool guy, even if I did hold him responsible for my rattlesnake run-in. ;)

My vacation was great right until the very end. I developed this cough and congestion that is driving me (one who rarely catches colds) nuts. I am feeling better now, just a little stuffy nose remaining. But the worst part was not the sickness I had, but that Best Friend's grandma, the beloved lady that I also call my adoptive grandma, became quite ill just before I left. The worst part is her doctor and nurses seem to be uncaring idiots with no bedside manner at all. Anyway, I didn't even get to tell her goodbye yesterday morning before I left. I sat at my plane's gate at the airport blinking back tears, hoping that no one would look me in the eye or else I would cry. The good news is she seems to be doing better today.

Over all, there was way more good than bad happenings on my trip. And, as usual, I have the photos to prove it, so I will be posting them very soon.

Going away again

2007-07-20T00:24:00.000-04:00

That's right, folks. I'm outta here tomorrow. I'm going to Utah again for a couple of weeks. Even I, the master trip planner, don't know what all I will be doing on this vacation. It's a fly by the seat of my pants kind of trip.

Hopefully, I will come back with some interesting tales to share.

I most likely won't have internet access for the two weeks, so I'll be MIA until I get back. So please everyone, leave me some love here so that I will feel missed while I'm away. I'm counting on you all! I expect to find a record breaking number of concerned and loving comments here when I come home. (So that will be about what? 20 comments or so to break the record for me?)

Take care everyone.

Friday the 13th Camping...

2007-07-16T13:43:00.000-04:00

I went camping this weekend with my family on Friday the 13th. There was no Jason and all of us came out of the trip alive. I was, however, a little worried that it might have turned a little scary...camping with the family, that is. Spending time with family members--especially the parents--in tents in the middle of the forest (with very few witnesses around) could turn far scarier than anything Jason or Freddy could hash out!

It turned out to not be very scary after all and we had fun. (I did, of course, set up my own tent not to be shared with those other crazy people.) I went hiking, biking, and fishing the whole weekend. I discovered a new favorite cliff-side fishing hole that I enjoyed because I felt that being so high up made me invisible to the fishes. Well, that and there was a small waterfall next to it that I could play in once I became bored.

This was nothing like the primitive camping that Best Friend and I are used to. I mean there was actually an established CAMPGROUND and you could see other PEOPLE! Still the beauty along the Tallulah River and the gorge is awesome and you must travel down a long, winding dirt road deep into the Chattahoochee National Forest to get there. Traveling only a few miles down the dirt past our campsite will lead you into North Carolina, but not before traveling through impressive Tate City with only about 6 houses and a whopping population of 32 (give or take)! Tate City cracked me up and we all had a good, long laugh about it.

If you can imagine what it would be like to run across a "city" in the forest, then imagine what it would be like to be sitting in your campsite in the forest and then hear what sounds like carnival music growing louder. I was wondering if Tate City had set up a fairground for it's 30 residents until I realized that it was not a fair, but an ice cream truck pulling into the campground! At first I was taken back by my wilderness experience being tarnished by such a civilized act as ice cream delivery. But that only lasted a moment. This was ICE CREAM, my kryptonite, my diet spoiler, after all!!! HELL YEAH!!! It seemed that I would not have to suffer through two whole days without ice cream after all! Now if only Grand Teton and Yosemite National Parks would just get on board with this program, I might just consider taking a longer backpacking trip next time.
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Here's your grand tour of Tate City! Welcome! If you want, you can just move in to one of the 6 houses and become a resident. Our sign allows for an additional person to move in (or die).

There's grand sites to see like this barn. Anyone who lived in the Southeast along Interstate 75 and Interstate 24 about 20 years ago can appreciate (and find humor in) this knock off of the famous "See Rock City" barns. Those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, give me a sympathy chuckle and move right along...

There's fine shopping at Tate City. Click on this photo to check out the mall! The Pots To Piss In Outlet store is to die for!

And there are also incredible day trips to North Carolina available! This unfortunately concludes the tour of Tate City.

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Self portrait time! It was a difficult task to set my camera on self timer, jump off that boulder, and wade my way across the river before the 10 seconds were up on the timer.

My aunt and dad fishing along the Tallulah River.

My other aunt and my mom weren't into fishing, though.

On one of my hikes I found this really cool snail...

and these pretty cool mushrooms.

Back at camp, we were cold so dad started this roaring fire. It was no where near the quality nor as long-lasting as my excellent fire building skills produce. And I don't cheat by using lighter fluid. Bad Daddy!

And last but certainly not least in my opinion, the ice cream truck! Yay for wilderness ice cream!!!!

Talk to your cat about catnip

2007-07-10T02:48:00.001-04:00

(See the post below to fully understand the importance of catnip education.)

2007-07-10T02:10:00.001-04:00

My cat Lucy is real weirdo. One minute she's sleeping in my bed and the next, she's trying to jump through my closed window to get to a chipmunk outside. She takes out all of her kitty toys from her basket and litters my floor with her mess. When I try to clean it up, she will slap my hand and give me that protective, "Don't be touching my pink mouse" look. So I throw the mouse to her, encouraging her to play and she gives me that "whatever, you stupid human!" look and walks away to her kitty condo by the window and falls aleep. I just thought she was a freak...Until I saw this informative video posted above. I am such a bad parent for not noticing the signs. And an even worse parent for condoning this substance abuse by picking up her a pack whenever I'm at Pet Smart. I mean, really, would you bring home a six pack of beer to an alcoholic?
I had no idea she was an addict. I wish I had been more informed on this subject.

I also have the sneaky suspicion that Lucy could be sharing the nip with my roommates' cats. This would explain their new gansta look and rebellious aggession. You can almost see the anger in their eyes.

Or maybe it's just the fact that we knit really gay hats and dress them up.

The last days of my European vacation

2007-07-01T17:14:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures from my last two days in Europe. The last post of this trip ended with Harburg Castle. After a stop at the castle, we continued up the Romantic Road to the midieval city of Rothenburg. Rothenburg is said to be one of the best preserved from its time, complete with a wall still intact around the city.

You can see Rothenburg and its surrounding wall behind me in this pic.

Best Friend and I figured that we would share a romantic embrace under a heart in celebration of the Romantic Road. (Best Friend, how much do you think those losers we met in Savannah who tried to pay us to kiss would give us for this shot? Silly, stupid boys!)

A view within the city.

Was this in a James Bond movie or something? It seemed so familiar to me!

We took a little hike outside of the city walls and down a narrow little road. We passed a super creepy church on our way down. And then we made it to this very old bridge built in the 14th Century and resembling a Roman viaduct. It spans the Tauber River.

Once we climbed the steep, winding road back through the gates of Rothenburg, we visited one of my favorite places--the Midieval Criminal Museum! They had it all from comfy furniture like this to...

sexy underwear to...

to cool Halloween costumes...that is, if you want to be an authentic executioner for Halloween and wear this mask worn by executioners in the Dark Ages. (Just a note: they also had all the accessories you would need to pull of such a great costume such as the robe, sword, and axe!)

Seriously, isn't this the scariest looking thing?

Later that evening, back in home-sweet-Munich, we discovered yet another fountain to take pictures of. I think I have an obsession with fountains and cathedrals as they make up about 50% of all the photos I took on this trip!

We also were obsessed with the Hofbrauhaus! We dined there once again with our roomates and new friends. M. from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is seated next to me and S. from Vienna, Austria is next to Best Friend.

(M. and S., I miss you girls!)

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Our final day...
Welcome to Salzburg, Austria! It's the city of music, birthplace of Mozart, and where "the hills are alive with the sound of music"! I am standing on the pedestrian bridge that crosses the Salz River and joins the new town to the old town. The old city of Salzburg is behind me. The white castle-like fortress above the city is called the Fortress of Salzburg.

This was taken looking up in the dome of my favorite of all the cathedrals I visited, Dom zu Salzburg. It was so beautiful to me that I emptied the last of my Euro coins from my wallet to give for its restoration.

Part of a cemetery below the Fortress. Mausoleums lined the wall by mountain on the left and graves were scattered along the walkways by chapels.

Since I can't speak or read German very fluently (or at all), I have no idea what this beautiful building is. I am thinking that by the looks of it, that it must have something to do with the famous Austrian Horses. But weren't those horses all white?

One of the narrow streets in Salzburg's busy shopping district. We never ran into large crowds of people anywhere, except here in Salzburg. It was still a very pleasant experience and I loved this city very much.

Finally, we fought the crowds to the most crowded place in town, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart! I was really looking forward to seeing it, but counting how many times someone stepped on me or bumped into me, it seems so was everyone else. Where there are large crowds, I don't tarry long!

So we moved right along to the beautiful grounds and gardens of Mirabell Palace. This was my favorite view of Salzburg across the gardens. You can see the domes of the cathedrals all the way up to the fortress.

After leaving Salzburg, we traveled further into the Austrian Alps. This is Lake St. Wolfgang. We came into the town of St. Wolfgang where we took a nice boat ride across the lake to another little town.

On board the boat. Goodbye, St. Wolfgang!

On the other side of the lake. It was then time to say goodbye to Austria and then the following day goodbye to Germany, too.

I'm not too sad since I know I will be coming back...well right after I visit Italy, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, and Switzerland!

We interrupt this program...

2007-06-26T23:11:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I know I haven't finished posting my Germany and Austria pics. but I thought I would break it up for now and let you all know how I have been spending my summer days. My next post will be the last ones of Europe.

First, let me say that even though I've had plenty of free time this summer, my funds for traveling are being used sparingly. Last week, Best Friend had a day off work and we were itching to do a great day trip. The problem? Neither of us have too much money to burn, so we did what we like to call our "Poor Girls Trip". Poor Girls Trips are not foreign to us, so we don't really mind. For example, we wanted to go to the Virgin Islands for spring break, but we decided the Bahamas would be cheaper. The Bahamas became our Virgin Islands. Even sadder, we decided to downgrade it even further to a Florida Keys trip. When we were 70 miles off the coast of Key West in the Dry Tortugas, I lied to myself that I was really in St. Johns. Another time, we were planning to live out our dream of going to Peru and hiking the Inca Trail past ancient Inca ruins to Machu Piccu, but decided we should put it off for another year and maybe make Mexico our Peru. After all, the Mayan Ruins at Chichen Itza are pretty cool... oh yeah and cheap!

So even though on this day we were wishing for a hike in the Alps, we settled for the Smokies and even though we wanted to go whitewater rafting, we settled for the $4 tubing down Deep Creek. Thus, Bryson City, NC came our Poor Girls Day Trip. It was awesome! We hiked to three waterfalls in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and then went tubing down the creek. It was the best tubing I've ever done! We actually hit a lot of whitewater and went over 3 ft.+ drops. It was way fun!

Best Friend and I were also missing taking pictures of the castles and ancient buildings, but we settled on hunting down a historic mill on the way home. I was actually very happy to find this one, just outside of Dillard, Ga., because I have tried to locate it three times already! Finally, my determination paid off and I was successful. It's not a castle, but for a Poor Girls Trip, it was just right.

So what else have I been doing this past week?

Planning a double birthday beach party for two of my friends! Here I am relaxing by the pool with a Pina Colada. The water balloons in the pool were for the war about to take place. And it did indeed turn out to be a war!

I'm glad that I didn't wear a solid white shirt!

Beer and insect repellant flowed freely.

...so I'm not sure if it was the bug spray or the beer taking effect in the picture! haha. Just kidding. They always look like this!

Ash, birthday girl #1 is on the right here with her sis Red.

At least one of them is happy to be here. That's because she's birthday girl #2!

Chillin' by the pool. In the background the very last of the water balloons has just been filled. We are on the brink of war here!

And by the look on my face, I think I had just been threatened.

The filthy aftermath of the fight.

The party moved indoors, mainly because everyone needed to change into dry clothes.

Isn't it funny when you click to enlarge photos such as this one and find that people in the background are making even funnier faces than the one in the foreground?

(Come on Red, couldn't you wait until you got home???)

Man, just looking at these photos make me glad that I'm not the drinker I once was!

Me to Red, "Here, taste how nasty this is!"

Red (through coughs and sputters), "Tastes like some feet or something!"

Ahhh yeah! Feeling good!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASH AND LA-LA!!!!

And yesterday, I took a trip with some friends, Ash and JM, in seach of a wedding destination to Amicalola Falls. This is the top of falls where it begins its 729 ft. drop the mountain.

I like this park a lot. Hiking the trails (especially the stairs) is a real butt kicker. But we all agreed that even though it's really nice, it's not a great place to have a wedding.

I saw a snake here on this day, too. I was told by JM that it was a Timber Rattlesnake, but I just took his word for it. I wasn't about to look close enough to see a rattle. The good news is I didn't burst into tears or vomit all over myself. Way better than some of my previous snake sightings, I'd say.

Soon after, a thunderstorm blew in and brought our day out and about in the mountians to an end. But before leaving the park, Ash and I made a quick stop in the visitor center to pick up some more information on the wedding facilities. When we came out, JM informed me that one of the park rangers--one that I would probably think was hot--was checking me out.

"Really?" I said excitedly. "One of the rangers? All I saw were those prisoners doing some clean up."

"No," he said. "It was one of the rangers. He was wearing the khaki suit."

I sighed, "But those were the prisoners!" Of course. Just my luck.

So this is what I have been up to. Next time I post, I'll get back with the program and post the last of my Germany and Austria pics.

German Castles

2007-06-15T17:52:00.001-04:00

Of the many things I explored in Germany, the castles were, hands down, what I was most excited about seeing, in particular, King Ludwig II's Neuschwanstein Castle. So imagine my broken heart when I awoke in Munich to morning that looks like this photo to the left. It was 7 degrees celsius and pouring down rain. And I do mean pouring down rain. And it rained all day and non-stop. That would have been okay if we had booked the normal castle tour of Neuschwanstein where we stay nice and dry within the confines of the castle's roof. But not me, not the Outdoorsy Girl! We would take an adventure tour, not the normal.

The adventure included a bike ride around Swan Lake (yes, Peter Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake) and then a hike up a waterfall gorge to the castle. It would take more than heavy rainfall (and snowfall in the Alps) to keep me away from this dream of mine. Only six more people showed up for our tour and we all became good friends before the day was over. Best of all, less people meant that I could get a little closer to our super-duper hot (HAWT, I tell ya!) tour guide Brad, who spoke in the sexiest accent. (He was from South Africa).

Super-duper hawt Brad took this picture of Best Friend and me on our bike ride to Swan Lake. (*sigh* He touched my camera!) The castle is in the backround behind us. I had already ripped my stylish trashbag of a poncho and it would no longer stay upon my head, so I was completely soaked!

We made it to Swan Lake, where we could have taken a swim if we had wished. I didn't see the point in it being as I was as wet as could be already. I didn't see any swans either, but it was still pretty. I could only imagine how nice it tooked on a clear day when you could see the rows of Alpine peaks that the clouds were hiding from us on this day.

After bicycling Swan Lake and a bite of lunch in a warm, cozy restaurant, we began our cold and wet ascent up the waterfall gorge. The bridge clinging to the rock wall on the right hand side of this picture was part of hiking trail.

Our group heads up the trail. That's Brad in front with the yellow poncho. (As if he needed a special color to stand out! Did I mention how hot he was?)

We were getting close to castle level. There, you could walk up to the castle or take a side trail up, up , and up more to the Marienbruke (Mary's Bridge) where you have an excellent view of the castle and into the gorge we just hiked through.

Here's one of the photos I took of the castle from the Marienbruke.

See how happy I am to finally be with my castle?!

From within the castle, I had a view of the Marienbruke where I had just stood taking photos. It gave me some perspective on the hike I had just taken and why I was so tired. (Plus I didn't want to slow down on the hike or else Brad might think I was a wuss.)

We weren't allowed to take pics inside of the castle, but of course I sneaked a few anyway*. They aren't very good, though, so I will exclude them from the post.

After our day of adventuring in the rain and cold, those of us on the tour had become friends and we dined out at the Hofbrauhaus. It was so awesome to meet people from all over. The girl on the left end is from New Orleans, our cool guy friend is from Vancouver, Canada, the girl on the right side of him is from Australia, and then there's Best Friend. So where am I??

I'm right here with my new friend from New Orleans. (The two girls from New Orleans are sisters.)

And thanks to this beautiful photograph, I am reminded of how freakin' curly my hair gets when it's wet. This is my #1 reason for hating my southern United States humid climate. Every day is a bad hair day for me!

And thus ended our day of castle fun.

We began a new day of castle exploration the very next day with Harburg Castle. This is the oldest castle in Germany. It's between 900-1000 years old!

Here's looking up at the outside walls of the fortress. We went within the walls and climbed through a tower and walked along these fortress walls. Then we went inside the castle. It was very exciting for a history nerd like me to be within such an old, historic

place.

Our tour guide told us that these spikes are the same ones that crushed down on the enemy as they tried to pass through the gates. She shared a lot of midieval war practices with us such as the slots in the wall where boiling water was poured upon the approaching enemy.

Yep, it was all very cool to me. I was very happy to be there. I am standing by the living quarters of the castle. I was beginning to wish that I had as castle, too.

You can see more of this part of the castle without me in front of it.

A view from the fortress wall.

I don't think that we were supposed to take pictures inside this castle, either but everybody else was doing it! So I did, too! This was in the main hall.

And this was the last of my castle visits in Germany. But we continued along the Romantic Road and made our way into the nearly perfectly preserved Midieval town of Rothenburg. It was awesome, but I have uploaded so many pictures to this post already. Rothenburg and Salzburg, Austria photos will have to wait to next post.

But seriously, don't you wish you had a castle?
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*If you work for the State of Bavaria, Germany, then I was just kidding. I did not take any photos within the walls of the Neuschwanstein Castle, so don't even think about confiscating my camera.

Pictures at last!

2007-06-09T12:19:00.000-04:00

Finally, I am posting some of the photos from my trip! It took me forever to sort through them and when I was finally finished, I just didn't want to look at them any more! But I'm over that now, so here are some pics from my first two days...

Day One: Black Forest

Best Friend and I landed in Munich at 7:30 a.m. and immediately began exploring. (Even though we hardly slept at all on the plane. Who's got time for sleep?) We grabbed up our rental car, which happened to be a manual shift vehicle despite the fact that I had reserved an automatic. I still drove a few minutes on the autobahn despite being virginal to manual shift driving. Come on! It was the autobahn, wouldn't you? The only other gripe I have about the car and the ridiculous cost of gas is that we were given a Citroen, a tiny bubble of car. I mean, I am in Bavaria for petesake so where was my Bavaria Motor Works car or at least a Mercedes?!?

So we took our bubble car and headed down to the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) in a little town called Triberg. Triberg is not only home to the world's largest cuckoo clock but also Germany's highest waterfall.

This sign here to the left is welcoming us to Triberg and to this nature park in the southern Black Forest. (Or at least that is what I, who cannot speak or read any German thinks it says.)

I thought that the Black Forest was beautiful and not quite as Hansel and Gretel-ish as I had expected, though they did have some evil looking squirrels with very pointy ears. Actually, they were black or reddish colored and very cute.

See how pretty the hike through the forest was? It actually looked very much like the same forests in the Blue Ridge Mountians here at home. The biggest difference was that there were way more Spruce and evergreens than here. Not very scary at all...

Except for the evil tree stump that tried to eat me!

One of the cascades of the Triberg Falls.

And here's the big cuckoo clock. As you can see, we still had 10 minutes before the big cuckoo made his appearance and we just had too much to do to wait for him.

Day Two: Munich in the rain!

After a restful night in a hotel in Ulm, we got up early and headed back to the Munich airport to return our micro machine....I mean...car. We caught the train into Munich and checked into our hostel. Yes, I said hostel, not hotel. We really wanted to have a true European travel experience, despite the movie by the same title. In the end, it was cheaper, we made good friends, and no one chopped our fingers off. I was really glad that we chose this route. It was fun!

After checking in, we headed out to the Marienplatz downtown for some sight seeing. I was disappointed in the icky, cool drizzle we had for weather that day, but it didn't ruin our fun. (Bet you thought I was going to say, "It didn't rain on our parade", didn't you?)

Here's the gothic Rathaus (Old Town Hall), home of the famous Glockenspiel. As I stepped off the train, I could hear the bells ringing above as I ran up the stairs and out into the Marienplatz. I had perfect timing to to join the rest of the very large crowd to watch the Glockenspiel's display. Can you believe that they were actually doing construction on the tower that houses the glockenspiel? The wasn't good timing for my phototaking but at least I saw it!
Here's a shot I took while watching the show. It was actually very overrated but, as I said, at least I got to see it.

I loved the architecture of the old buildings. The dragon climbing the spire was just one of the millions of detail on the Rathaus. There were hundreds of statues of knights and important men and horses adorning the building. I liked the dragon the best, though. And let's just admit it...fire-breathing dragons climbing buildings are just way cooler than King Kong!

We also visited the cathedrals and other sites.

After climbing the steeple of Alter Peter, (Old Peter Cathedral), we had a good view of Munich.

If I look cold, it's because I am. In the background you can see the two-towered Frauenkirche. It was built in the 1400s and still stands despite the damage it suffered in WWII.

There are a couple of creepy, cool sites within this cathedral...like the "devil's footprint" at the entrance and the Emperor's Tomb (resting place of Ludwig the Bavarian, who died way back in the 1300's, I think!)

But I found the skeletal remains of St. Munditia in Alter Peter (Old St. Peter's Cathedral) to be the creepiest of all, so that's the pic I posted.

Perhaps the greatest discovery of the day was the world famous beer hall, the Hofbrauhaus. We loved this place so much that it became the new Vortex (as you all know, that's my favorite restaurant!). We ate here 3 nights in a row. It was such a fun atmosphere. You just walk right in and sit with people you don't even know and have a ball listening to the band and drinking beer.

These mugs were so huge, I could hardly hold mine up! I corrected this problem by drinking its contents. It was much lighter then.

It was here that I also enjoyed my first real German meal.

And finished it off with a pretzel. This is to scale. Keeping in mind the size of the mug, notice how the pretzel dwarfs the mug.

Germany made me very fat, by the way.

I still have many more tales and pics to share, so stay tuned...

Back from Germany...

2007-06-05T11:17:00.000-04:00

I've been back for 3 days now. The jet-lag has worn off. My feet are no longer swollen. I have stopped calculating "Munich time". But one thing that hasn't stopped yet...my mind is still spinning in the wonder of all the things I saw and experienced there.

This was my first trip to Europe and I don't think that I could've had a more near-perfect first-time European trip. The German people are very nice and welcoming. I made friends from every continent in the world (except Antarctica...and really, who lives there???). I learned a few more words in German. I explored all of Bavaria and spent a day in Austria. I saw the oldest castle in Germany. I saw the highest waterfall in Germany. I drove a stick shift for a few brief moments on the Autobahn (I have never driven a manual shift car, but they gave my automatic away and I couldn't resist a chance to try it out...Don't ask!) I ate a pretzel twice the size of my head and found a beer that actually didn't make me gag. (I'm not a beer drinker, so what can I say? I would be if I lived in Germany, though!) I visited the Neuschwanstein Castle, which has always been a dream of mine. I fell in love briefly with a beautiful German man at the Marienplatz in downtown Munich. I hiked in the Alps, rode a bike around Swan Lake, and drank from a spring in the Black Forest.

What could be better?

Maybe some pictures, you say?

I'm still sorting through the 900 or so of them. I'll be posting a few soon!

Now it's time for y'all to catch me up on what's been going on since I've been gone...
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P.S. I was a good girl and didn't crack any of my poor-taste jokes about Nazis. This was a milestone for me as typically I will call anyone a Nazi who is bossy and rude. Once it almost slipped as the waiter we had at the Hofbrauhaus (on our third night out there) was not nice and told us we had to get a pretzel elsewhere. I covered nicely, though as I exclaimed, "Sheeeesh! He didn't have to be such a Pretzel Na....uhhh...Not-Giver-Outer!"

Bad, I know. Blame it on Seinfeld.

I'm off to see castles!

2007-05-25T13:47:00.000-04:00

I’m still planning on leaving for Germany this weekend. Best Friend and I are going to try to catch the Saturday afternoon flight into Munich. Sunday’s flight has far more empty seats, so who knows exactly how it will turn out. One thing is for certain: I am going to Munich and I can’t wait until I get there! The uncertainty of how and when is part of the fun. I think that I have come to embrace that fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants aspect of my life. I feel so free!

I have so much planned in the short time I will be there and I hope that I get to do it all. I want to see and experience as much as I can. I want to watch all the dreams in my head transform into reality right before my eyes. There are many places that are my dream to visit, but among this list, Bavaria, Germany rates first.

Someone asked me what draws me to a certain place and why Germany was at the top of my list.

I’m almost embarrassed to admit how my fascination with Bavaria began. It actually exposes a geeky side of me that I never knew existed. I fell in love with Bavaria through a computer game I once played! I know! I, the girl who has had no interest whatsoever in video games since Atari, fell in love with a computer game! Let’s say it all at once and get it out of our system… “Geek Girl!!”

My ex and I used to have our own computer store. There was this guy who always loved to come in and talk us to death. One day he brought in this game that caught my attention. It was called, Gabriel Knight 2, The Beast Within. Here’s a description I found online of the game:

The Beast Within" is a direct sequel to Sins of the Fathers, the first in the "supernatural mystery" adventure series that tells us the story of a bookstore owner and writer Gabriel Knight, the last offspring of generations of "Schattenjaegers" (shadowhunters), whose task is to fight the evil forces that abound in the world. After leaving New Orleans, Gabriel moves to the Ritter Castle in Bavaria, Germany, his family heritage. One day, a group of peasants approach the castle, and the elder tells you about a terrible death of a little girl, who was killed by a vicious wolf. Suspecting the wolf could be a supernatural creature, the peasant asks you, the Schattenjaeger, to purge the evil. The investigation brings Gabriel and his assistant Grace Nakimura to the mysterious Hunter Society and to Bavaria's dark past.

The game tied in historical facts about King Ludwig II , his fairytale castle Neuschwanstein, and his obsession with the composer Richard Wagner, and his mysterious death as well as information about the Munich area. The game was almost like watching a movie. I saw beautiful shots of the Alps, downtown Munich including the Marienplatz, Ludwig’s castles, and the medieval style towns surrounding the area.

So let’s see… You combine this history with scenic pictures along with the supernatural tales of werewolves and make it into a mystery to solve and it’s no wonder why I became hooked. I did solve the mystery, by the way. Sure I might have been turned werewolf a few times before I made it, but eventually I made it out of Germany alive. Plus I discovered that King Ludwig was bitten by a werewolf on one of his midnight sleigh rides and turned mad and then later drowned himself in a lake. That’s what happened, folks, just so y’all know. Plus I saved the greater Munich area from the dangers of werewolves. I rocked!

I later followed Gabriel Knight in Game 3 to France to solve some mystery about the Holy Grail and vampires, but I never finished it. It was his stay in Bavaria that never left my mind.

After researching these beautiful places I saw in Bavaria, I knew I had to go there for real. And now I am.

As I said before, I hope to explore all the places on my list. I will cherish every moment of the time I have there. And of course, come back with tons of pics and tales of adventure to share with you all.

Until then, Auf Wiedersehen!

It's alive! IT'S ALIVE!!!

2007-05-21T22:57:00.000-04:00

I made an important discovery this weekend. It happened while talking on the phone with a good friend of mine. It had been a while since I’d last spoken with this friend and we were having a great time catching up. I was excitedly chatting away about recent happenings and my upcoming trip when something nearly choked me up. You see, I heard a familiar voice in the background of her phone. It was her neighbor. It was someone that was once special to me.

At first my heart sank. Then as I heard the voice clearer, my stomach dropped. Then I heard his laughter. For a moment I thought I felt a lump developing in my throat. I have no idea why. This person and I were never in a very serious relationship. In fact, the time we spent together was limited. Despite that, I felt differently about him than I did about all the others. I don’t know how. I only know it was different. I have been able to walk away from every man I ever knew without too much trauma and he was no exception. But when I walked away from his doorstep, something felt askew. It was enough for me to pause for a moment in the middle of his driveway and do a half-turn back. Of course, I stopped myself, shrugged off that feeling and mumbled something to the effect of, “Whatever. Screw him, too.” And I forgot about him just like I did everyone else. ...Until that moment I heard his voice.

This sounds like a bad thing, right? Well sure, it is never great to feel a bit of sadness, but at least I felt something. It seems that my heart is not as dead as I had thought. Now don’t get me wrong…I’m not a mean person. It’s just that death and divorce and a few breakups scattered into the mix has left me with an armored wall built around my heart. It seems that everyone I love leaves in some way, whether by death or some other means. I have learned to appreciate those I love while they are still here, but rarely let anyone new come into my life. I am untrusting and sometimes cold when it comes to meeting men. I don’t let them get very deep into my heart (just in case they disappear) and I tend to move forward very quickly with an alarmingly low amount of care about it. I have been told by a few that I have a nonattachment issue that can rival even the most noncommittal, wishy-washy man.

So with that being said, I think that what I felt when I heard that voice is a big deal. My heart is alive! It’s truly alive! That little twinge of pain, that brief moment of grief, that—dare I say it?—regret breathed a bit of life into the deepest part of my heart. For about 10 seconds I wondered if I had left more than just a few harsh words behind on his doorstep on that cold day.

…And then I said, "screw it" again and went out with someone else that night. I might have felt a little something, but it was nothing that a little snogging* couldn’t remedy. Hey, my heart may be dysfunctional but at least I know it works!

By the way, it's LESS THAN A WEEK until I leave for Germany!!! I am certain that my lively heart will feel happy there. :D

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*A special note for my “special” friend Red, just in case she is reading this: Remember, snogging does NOT mean what you thought it did! ;)

Guess where I'm going!

2007-05-15T21:44:00.000-04:00

I am planning a trip,--a COOL trip! If everything goes according to my plan, I will be going overseas in less than two weeks. If I go, I will be making a major traveling dream of mine come true. Woo-hoo! Everyone, please keep your fingers crossed for me. That way, this blog might actually become interesting again.

This past weekend I got my International Driving Permit. Oh the crap they make you do just to get that little paper!

First, I had to drive around the Road Atlanta track on the left side of road and take the curves at 130 miles per hour. They set up an obstacle course full of foreign signs for me to follow, too! I’m sorry but in the words of Dr. Evil, I don’t speak freaky-deaky Dutch! But the worst part of all was that they actually made me convert miles into kilometers! I mean, come on people, is it too much to ask for the rest of the world to give up the Metric System for the English System?

Okay, so none of that really happened. It was much easier than that. I went to AAA with two passport sized photos, paid them some money, and they gave it to me. But I did have to wake up early on Saturday to do this. That was bad enough.

Autobahn, here I come! Oh yeeeeah!

Sleepless in Atlanta

2007-05-10T22:57:00.001-04:00

Maybe I should come up with an alliteration. "Sleepless" only goes well with Seattle. How about "Awake in Atlanta"?

'Cause that's what I am now. And I have been for days on end. Insomnia, not incredible pain or death, is what you should wish on your worst enemy. It's far crueler.

What is keeping me awake these days? Nothing! Besides being totally burned out at work (teaching at my day job for 8 hrs. without a break and then going immediately down the street to teach a class at a tutoring center and then giving a private tutoring session afterwards) all is well in my life. That's what stinks the most...if there is no cause, then there is no cure!

At least I've discovered a way to cope! Say good-bye to coffee. When you can drink a whole pot alone and do a hundred or so jumping jacks and still nearly fall asleep on your feet, I declare it highly ineffective. And Green Tea? Useless!

After experimenting with Cocaine, I found that it burns going down and does nothing for artificial alertness. I realized just how severe my condition had become when I had to resort to Cocaine for help.

Seriously, this crap burns! I have to admit that it woke me up for a few brief moments when I felt that my throat and esophogus were being eaten through by acid. Then I started nodding off again.

I am not quite sure what Taurine is (and I must admit that the last 5 letters there scare me a little) but it has 750 mg of this substance in that little can! Also, it contains 600% the RDI of Vitamin B-12. So does this mean I can skip taking my Flintstone vitamins for six days?

Luckily, I found a better alternative to my Coke habit (which had not fully formed, thank God!) Here's my new cup of life:

Ram Jam Lite! With 160 mg of caffeine, 0 carbs, and the taste of Mello-Yellow, I'm totally hooked. Well, at least for as long as I need a good jolt of awareness.

It's a shame that I have only been able to find Ram Jam in one chain of service stations. I feel sorry for all you sleepy heads who live in places without QuikTrips.

Until I find sleep, I have Ram Jam.

Maybe I should just give up energy drinks all together and invest in some Dramamine. It's apparently so effective in delivering sweet sleep to me that I barely acknowledge my best friend trying to wreck my car.

Sleep tight, all you lucky bloggers who can. You suck.

Just fishing for words

2007-05-03T23:37:00.000-04:00

Such a slacker I have been with posting lately. My apologies to the fans who have been long awaiting a new, overdue, witty, and clever post. I can tell by the mere 5 comments that I had left on my last post, that my blog is still uber cool.

I hope that everyone will come back and forgive me for my blogging crimes. I have been busy and wrapped up in some events going on in my life right now.

First off, it is the craziest time of the school year—the end. (Thank you Jay-sus!!) The kids are off the chain and I couldn't care less. I am already done with this year, too. Only 15 more left and counting!

I have also become very involved in a new type of Hotness Plan. I decided that cardio alone is not enough so I added some weight training in to knock me off this hotness plateau that I have been stuck on for a while. I even have a personal trainer, my dear friend Super Villain! He is killing me, but I am seeing results already! Sexy abs are on the way!

Have you ever felt on the verge of something big, as if something major is about to happen? This is the place where I am right now. It’s hard for me to describe right now, but I am feeling extremely excited, nervous, and happy all at the same time. I have no idea about how anything will turn out, but I do feel good things in the near future.

One of these good things has to do with major travel plans, which if it pans out, will be an absolute dream come true for me! I can’t say any more than that. I don’t want to jinx it! (Just because I don’t believe in Karma doesn’t mean that I am not superstitious!)

I feel that I have solved something in my mind that has always troubled me. You know the old saying about “There’s plenty of fish in the sea”? It always bothered me when someone (usually me) was out there searching for a “good catch” and was told this stupid metaphor. Yes, I get the comparison. There are plenty of men out there to “catch”; there’s plenty of fish out there to catch. Still, why did it have to be stinky old fish that we are searching for? Why couldn't it be exotic birds or something? Well, I’ll tell you why…There is no other comparison truer to fishing for men than fishing for fish.

I went trout fishing this past weekend with my dad. I love that stuff. I find it fun, relaxing, and challenging, too. Trout are smart. If they see you, they don’t bite. If you throw them something suspicious or make a big splash, they disappear and they don’t quickly forget your suspicious behavior. Just like trout, men are never interested in something being dangled before their face and if they have any inkling they are about to be “hooked” they run away.

There I was standing before my favorite fishing hole that I had to wade waist deep in, skirt small waterfalls, and climb boulders and downed logs all along the Chattahoochee to get to. I saw both rainbow and brown trout chilling out under the lip of a large rock. There were trout, trout, trout! I was so excited when I cast out into the pool. There were so many that I knew I would catch at least one! Well, they chased my spinner, they watched with interest as I slowly reeled my lures right by them. I even had a nibble. But it was no use. They wouldn’t take the bait. Again, this is very similar to finding available men, teasing them, almost catching one and then realizing that even though they fool you into thinking they are interested, they really aren’t.

This leads to frustration. It even brings out a certain amount of determination within you. I mean, you were SO close, right? Keep on trying! If at first you don’t succeed…. And that is basically what I did at that fishing hole. Just seeing those trout made me really want one. I tried and I tried!

Finally realizing I was defeated and just plain irritated, I let out my signature sigh of frustration and sloshed through the water back upriver and forgot all about it and played in the waterfalls. I mean life goes on, right?

I am done with fishing. I carelessly cast my line into water that appeared to be too shallow and rapid for any fish. I was just wasting some time. Just as I had truly put it out of my mind and had truly given up, I get a bite from the most unexpected area. (Not all that much different than the guys I meet at the grocery store or bank.) Not only did I get a bite that truly excited me, but I reeled the beautiful trout in. I have him in my hands. He is mine. As I prepare to put him away into my krill, he slips out of my hands, back into the river and swims away.

It was even worse to have gotten my interest and hopes of having a “keeper” to take home with me and then see him slip away than it would have been to have never seen a damn fish all day. (Do I even need to make a man to fish comparison here?)

I noticed many other fish hiding under the bridge and beneath some rocks on my walk back to the car. Yeah, I know they are out there. I know I’ll catch one. But why did I spend the rest of my day thinking of the one that got away?

And that, my friends, is why we compare catching mates to catching fish. Fish stink. Love stinks.

But you know what the kicker of all is? Despite knowing this, I feel like I am about to reel one in. No one in particular is in mind as I say this, but it's just a gut feeling...

One more thought…I realize that I have a severe attachment to parts of my mountains here in Georgia. (Notice how I called them “my” mountains?) As I was fishing in my hole along the river, another fisherman appeared out of nowhere. I never see anyone else there, so I was taken back just a little. What made it worse was that this guy was a jerk! He stood around acting as if he were waiting for me to leave! This is terrible fishing etiquette to begin with, but his rudeness appalled me as he moved right in and began throwing his line right next to mine! He was also a very loud and splashy fisherman, too. I glared at him and he overheard me mutter beneath my breath that “Well, if there were any fish around, there aren’t now!” He muttered something back. Then I told him, “You can’t push me out of here. I was here first! You don’t own this place!” He shot back at me, “And neither do you.” How I kept myself from beating this man into a bloody pulp is beyond me and not because of his words being a classic comeback, but because I truly do believe I own everything in the Chattahoochee National Forest…It’s my Blue Ridge Mountains, my hiking trails, my forest, my river, and my fishing hole! How dare he argue that!

I gotta go before I completely transform completely into an ugly creature and people begin to call me Gollum.

Outdoorsy Girl Grows Up (or not)

2007-04-26T23:03:00.000-04:00

Working with kids, I have often wondered what they will be like when they grow up. I have heard that most of one’s personality has developed by the time you reach age 7. Certain factors, such as experiences and environment, affect and shape the personality later on but the foundation is set. This is both great and disturbing to me as there are a few kids that I know who are just great little people and are full of kindness and also a couple of them that I fear might turn out to be serial killers.

I don’t believe that the formula (or any formula, for that matter) is set for everyone, but for me it seems to perfectly apply.

Here’s some trivia about Little Outdoorsy Girl….

(Keep in mind that my dad and I are the family jokesters.)

While visiting with my parents one weekend, my dad was sharing with me his baby book that he had somehow uncovered. After making a few jokes about how this documentation, nearly as old as Dead Sea Scrolls was still in pretty good shape, I began to look through the pages that my beloved, late grandmother had written down about my father. Suddenly I read something that cracks me up. “Oh my God, Daddy! You were a fat two year old! It says you weighed nearly as much as the five year olds in my class!”

“What!” he exclaims. “I think that is normal. I’ll bet you weighed that much!”

“Oh puh-lease! If I weighed that much then it’s no wonder you moan and groan so much about your back nowadays!”

To solve the dispute, my mom steps in and pulls out my baby book and I learned quite a bit about the little me. Not only did I find that my hair color, smile, and chipmunk cheeks were nearly the same, but also a few things personality-wise are pretty much unchanged.

For example, I apparently was born independent. When I was two I didn’t want anyone to have to put me to bed like a baby. I insisted that I go to bed on my own after my parents so I carried my own little lantern down the hallway to my room each night (most likely only about 30 seconds after they turned out their light.)

I was a tomboy then as I am now. There is a picture of me at age four with hair spilling out of my ponytail proudly holding up a fish that I caught on the lake with my dad. This weekend I will be trout fishing with my dad, by the way.

I was a born talker. For those of you who know me, is this really a shocker? I was blabbing about my pet cat before I was two. And it turns out that I never met a stranger while we were in the grocery store or wherever we happened to be. I had no problems telling people my name, that I was two years old, and then showing them my M&Ms I talked my mom into buying me.

Oh and now that food has been mentioned…I began having cereal added to my formula when I was only 3 weeks old! I cried and cried until the doctor told my mom that I must be hungry and to add the cereal. Right away, I began to sleep all night and started smiling and laughing and doing the other cute stuff. Once a pig, always a pig!

I did like to stay up rather late and watch some Johnny Carson. I still stay up late. TOO LATE.

I used to sing “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” by Elton John and Kikki Dee when I was taking my bubble baths. I still sing (off key) while taking showers and yes, bubble baths! (But it's on to better songs nowadays.)

I always loved to go, go, go! Unlike my wimpy brother, I loved when my parents took me somewhere away from home to spend the night. I loved staying at my grandparents’ home best. I used to hurt my parents’ feelings because whenever they left me, I simply waved and said, “Bye! Bye! See ya!” I never cried. Maybe this was the beginning of the travel bug for me? I can still be easily detached from my home and easily fit right in new places.

Now I have to confess that I did read something disturbing in my baby book. It was right after I had looked through my old report cards and teachers’ comments about my “above average work” and I was feeling like the genius that I still am. Then I flipped to the page that listed my accomplishments. I walked early. I talked early. I proudly scrolled down my list of acts of brilliancy and came to a halt. Right beside the entry “First Began To Read”, in my dear mother’s handwriting was written “Age 7.” WHAT!?!

“Mama!” I exclaimed. “I could read before I was seven! What are you talking about!?” I am clearly unhappy about any future children I may have reading in their mother’s baby book that she was a dumb, slow reader and in turn, making fun of her as much she did of her own father for being such a fat baby.

“I know you did. But that’s when you began to really get into those Weekly Reader Books,” she said.

With a scowl still upon my face, I reply, “Then why didn’t you write that? You need to go back and add “proficiently” next to it. I began to read proficiently at age seven!”

She laughs at me and promised to add it. I’m going to check on that this weekend!

By the way, my dad was indeed a fat baby as we discovered I was much lighter than him at age two. We even pulled out my dear brother’s baby book to compare the numbers.

“Looks like you were fatter than Brother,” Daddy says with a smirk.

I compared the two pages and exclaim, “What are you talking about!? He is three pounds heavier than me at two!"

He looks again and laughs at his mistake. I couldn’t resist the open invitation to slam him once again. “You apparently never learned any math. Now that you should’ve picked up by this age!”

Looking at me with the same smirk and using the same sarcastic humor that so frequently flows from my own mouth, he says, “Yeah, yeah! But at least I could read before I was seven.”

Hmmm. Maybe one’s personality is formed by many various factors. I will always stick by the theory that the majority of it is by genes.

Day 4:Paradise Lost and Found...then lost again.

2007-04-20T00:19:00.000-04:00

The day I had been looking forward to the most had finally arrived—the day we were to take a boat 70 miles to sea to be in the middle of nowhere on a beautiful island in the Dry Tortugas. The original plan was to camp one night and return the following day. However, the National Park Service has other ideas as to how many campers they allow to stay in the Dry Tortugas. (Six per boat!!! Next time I will book reservations way ahead of time!)

Waking up at 4:45 a.m. happened as planned. The storm the night before was still lingering around threatening to ruin our day of fun in the sun (as if it and those damn kids didn’t do enough damage stealing my precious sleep!) And speaking of those pesky kids and their loud family…We rolled out of the campground at 5:15 a.m., but not before I stopped my car right by their tent and laid down on my horn (I drive a Honda Civic, by the way, which has one of the most annoying horns on the planet!) and rolled down my window and yelled at the top of my lungs, “BOOOOOOOO! AND THERE’S YOUR WAKE UP CALL! HOW DOES IT FEEL?!?” Man, that felt good.

Arriving in Key West, and seeing that a gray sky and random raindrops were still lingering, made my spirits sink just a bit. After we were allowed to board our boat, we had a breakfast buffet of which I took full advantage! I sat staring out the windows and praying for clear weather despite the announcement from the Captain of expectant inclement weather. About 30 minutes after departure from Key West, a storm hit. The sea churned and swirled and threw us about. My stomach lurched and my heart fluttered as if I were on a rollercoaster at Six Flags. It was so much fun! Best Friend and I laughed so hard! After about 20 minutes, it was not so much fun anymore. Too much of a good thing, ya know—like being stuck on the Six Flags coaster.

Way over half of the people on board began vomiting. It was horrible. Tortugas Jack, our colorful and fun crew member began passing out motion sickness bags. I looked at Best Friend who took one from him. I wanted to comfort her, but just looking at her pallid face made me queasy. I took deep breaths and prayed for mercy (later I asked for death but…) and tried to convince myself I would be okay. Then my mouth began to salivate and I knew what was coming I wanted to yell for a bag, but it came out as a whisper. Luckily, a nice lady cried out for me and Tortugas Jack rushed me a bag just in the nick of time. I thought I would need another bag before we reached land again. I buried my face in my hands. All of those visions I had of white sand, snorkeling with the fishes, and wandering an old fort began to slip away. I doubted any paradise would be worth this price.

After an eternity, (about 1 ½ hours later) I heard some lucky bastard who didn’t get sick yell out “Tortugas! Land ho!” I glanced up and saw a horizon that was slanted too much for my taste and buried my face again until I actually felt the boat bump the dock. After a few minutes of deep breaths and re-composure, I stepped off the boat into the warm air. Like a miracle, the gray clouds parted and warm sunshine fell from blue skies. It didn’t take long for me to feel like exploring once I saw the clear, turquoise waters.

Because I’m a bad friend, I left poor Best Friend lying on the beach recovering from the vomit-fest and took to exploring the awesome Fort Jefferson, which took up the majority of the island. It is enormous! In fact, it is the largest brick structure in the Western Hemisphere. Its construction began in 1846 but was never finished and was deemed obsolete with the invention of the rifled canon. The fort became a prison for Civil War deserters and such. The most famous prisoner was Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was convicted of conspiracy in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, after setting John Wilkes Booth’s broken leg. Dr. Mudd was pardoned of his crime by President Johnson after helping and saving numerous lives after a huge Yellow Fever epidemic at the prison.

Later Best Friend felt better and we walked Dr. Mudd’s cell together. We also walked the narrow wall along the moat surrounding the entire fort despite the waves’ attempts to knock us over into the water. Though the skies showed no sign of the early storm, the water was wild and choppy.

It was so choppy that we couldn’t snorkel for the risk of the seas slamming us into the brick moat wall, though we did try. After nearly having my fins and attached feet ripped off by a freak reverse-rip tide, I gave up on seeing the coral reefs and settled for a swim in the water. After lounging, swimming, walking, and exploring in paradise, it was time to leave....via that Godforsaken boat a/k/a The Vomit Comet. I wanted desperately to send for a seaplane except there were no phones. I wanted to just live there permanently but the park rangers said no. ANYTHING but get back on that boat. I jealously watched a beautiful seaplane land on the water as I took my seat on the deck of the boat. I hoped that the Dramamine and ginger ale that Best Friend and I purchased and shared would pull me through the next 2 hours.

It turns out the sea was glass smooth all the way back. It was beautiful and I was amazed at the Flying Fish I saw. I wanted to see more of them but the Dramamine I had (unnecessarily) taken had knocked me out. I slept most of way. I slept so hard that I didn’t even know that the guy whose cooler I had passed out on had come and taken some drinks from it.

I walked in a fog back to my car in the parking garage in Key West. I handed my keys over to Best Friend. I was not capable of driving. This was worse than me on Benadryl. I slept most of the way through the Keys and up to Florida Turnpike waking up only as we stopped to pay tolls and cursing about how this was highway robbery literally and arguing with Best Friend when she said, “It is a little ridiculous but it’s better than hitting that crappy traffic around Miami on 95. Plus it’s not as bad as you think because you are only waking up when we go through the toll plaza.” I mumbled that I thought it was going to cost us $20 before we got off the damn road and began fading back off to the foggy turquoise waters in my mind. The last thing I remember saying was, “That sign says Monkey Jungle. I wonder what is this money jungle. Is it really a jungle and are there really monkeys? Haha. Monkey Jungle.” And I fell back into unconsciousness.

...Until my head was suddenly slammed into my passenger window, where I had happily drooled for hours. I jolted awake to my windshield wipers madly zipping back and forth and Best Friend yelling over and over, “Oh my God! I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!” I blinked and asked, “It’s okay. What happened?” She replied, “I think I wrecked your car! I think I hit the wall. I didn’t know I was that sleepy, too!” We stepped out and neither of us noticed any damage. I’m awake now and take the keys. The alertness didn’t last for long. I pulled into the very next travel plaza (which are the benefits of paying the ridiculous $20 in tolls) where I planned to refuel and fall immediately asleep in the adjacent rest area. While refueling, Best Friend noticed the huge bulge in my tire. We asked one of the mechanics on duty if he thought it might blow out before I reached Atlanta. Not only did he think it would blow out when it heated up, but that I would slam on my brakes and have a horrendous crash that would kill us and everyone else around us. Not that I needed that much of a visual, but I got the picture and bought a new $100 tire. The mechanic who changed the tire out commented that it looked like the tire had hit a curb or something. Best Friend sighed, “Yeah that would be me.” I couldn’t help but laugh.

Let me just say that the nap in the parking lot was the most refreshing ever. I felt pretty good after that and drove happily along until we made our first stop in Georgia and nearly froze to death as cold winds attacked us when we stepped out of the car. Where did this cold front come from? It was enough to make me want to turn around and head south again. Well, that and the crazy looks I got from everyone when I stepped into the arctic air in my shorts, tank top, and bikini top that I was still wearing.

My first look at the island.

Walking along the moat wall was fun as along as...

...you watched out for attack waves!

View on top of the fort looking to the opposite side. See how huge it is?

A grim reminder of prisoner's life over Dr. Mudd's cell.

Inside the fort...

Cuban Refugee boats. Can you believe they risk 90 miles of open sea in these shabby things? It's so sad.

I wanted to take it, but the rules were you can't. I was a good girl for once and left it alone.

Da plane! Da plane! Oh how I wish it were coming for me.

But instead, I got this! :(

At least it was smooth sailing back home.

Day 3: Snorkeling, Sightseeing, and Not Sleeping

2007-04-15T23:32:00.000-04:00

We started Day 3 off bright and early with a drive up to Key Largo for a snorkeling trip from Pennekamp Coral Reef Park. I was really looking forward to snorkeling among the reefs and it was the main reason that I decided to head south for the warm waters of Florida for my trip.

The boat we boarded at Pennekamp took us out to North White Banks Reef. This underwater world was amazing! I saw so many colorful coral and tropical fish out there. The water temperature was in the low 70s, so my wetsuit came in handy. I did begin to feel the chill right before we climbed back aboard the boat. We were out there an hour and a half but I refused to come out of the water until I had to. I just gave way to the pulsing and swaying of the water and all its creatures. Back on board, people were discussing the animals they saw and I was so sad to know that I missed seeing a Tiger Shark who swam up to and skirted the reef! Boooo to that!

Before leaving the park, I went over to Canon Beach and swam out to the buoy that marks a Spanish Galleon wreck. The wreck didn’t actually happen here (130 ft. offshore) but was moved and recreated here so that snorkelers could easily enjoy it. So what did I see when I swam out there? Nothing! Not even my hand! The nearby mangroves had fogged the water into a reddish muck! I learned something about myself, too. If I can’t see underwater, I can’t breathe underwater, either! I guess it’s a form of claustrophobia, but whatever the case, I quickly removed my snorkel and mask and swam right back to shore.

It was late morning when we left Largo for Key West again. We further explored the island and took in all the sites. We weren’t able to tarry there for very long after sunset as we needed to go to bed early so that we could get up extremely early. When I say early, I’m talking about 4:45 a.m. early! We needed to take down our tent, get dressed and ready and leave by 5:30 so that we could make it to back to Key West (Yes, again!) by 7:15 to check in for our trip out the Dry Tortugas.

The only stop we made on our way back to camp was by the Key Deer Refuge. The Key Deer is an endangered sub-species of the Whitetail Deer that live only in a small section of the Keys. What makes them unique is that they stand only 2 ½ feet at the shoulder full grown! They are so cute! I wasn’t expecting to see one, but we pulled the car in a turnabout and there she was! I wish that I could’ve gotten better picture, but I didn’t want to scare her away, so I took this through the windshield of my car.

Driving across the many bridges back to the campsite was long and tiring. I can’t explain how excited I was going to be to get a nice shower and fall immediately asleep—I’m talking still with wet hair kind of immediate!

Back at camp, showering's done. I’m feeling wonderfully tired and settle into my sleeping bag. It’s about 10:15 p.m. and I can still hear the noise of other campers despite the passing into the quiet hours, which began at 10:00 pm. I try to tune them out. I almost fell asleep three times…except that every time I am nearly there the squealing and screaming and yelling of these kids in the playground jolted me awake. I yell out the tent, “STOP SCREAMING!” and try to fall asleep again.

It was no good. The brats were being brattier than ever! I looked through the tent’s window and to my total dismay and raging, high blood pressure, I see the IDIOT mother playing with them! It’s nearly 11:00--an hour past quiet time began--and this stupid excuse of a mother was out there encouraging her children to be a distraction! I was so pissed off! No one interferes with my sleep!

I slide on my shoes and storm out of the tent. I am hardly to the playground fence when I began to yell, “Hey! Quiet hours began at 10:00! There are people trying to sleep here and no one can with all this yelling and noise! I have to get up very early tomorrow and I don’t think you would like it if I were as disrespectful of you by being loud while you’re trying to sleep! MY GOD! BE QUIET!” Can you believe that this pitiful excuse of a parent didn’t even respond to me!?! But at least they were quiet after that. As soon as my blood pressure dropped back into the normal range, I found sleep at last.

...And that’s when the storm blew in with the thunder and high winds. And as heavy a sleeper as I can be, I just might have slept through it all if I had the time to fall into a deep enough sleep--like if I had fallen asleep when I planned to before all the racket! Damn kids and their dumb mom!

As I plugged my ears from the thunder (and blamed my alertness to it on those kids) I began to plot my sweet revenge. Stay tuned for the excitn conclusion of my trip. For now, here's some photos...

Isn't this a sexy picture of me sporting my snorkel? It's pretty hot, no? I should've bought the tee shirt that said, "I think your snorkel is sexy." haha.
Come to think of it, the picture up top of me sweating away in my wetsuit is a good one, too.

Here's best friend. At least she doesn't look quite as bad as the closeup shot of mine.

Click on these next three and you can see all the fishes hiding in the coral.

Here are some Key West sights...
A typical house you would find in Key West complete with the typical cats you find there.
I'm not sure why, but Key West is full of cats everywhere.
It's also full of...

Chickens! I don't know what is up with all the chickens! I swear I don't remember seeing this many the last time I visited. They were everywhere this time!

Yay! It's the original Margaritaville! I love me some Jimmy Buffett!

The "new" Sloppy Joe's Bar. I am planning on writing a post about the place that was the original. It's a very cool building and full of colorful history.

This Ernest Hemingway's home. I was SO sad that we didn't have the time to tour the home. I did see a few of the famous 6 toed cats that are all descendants of his cats.

Here's Mallory Square, home of the Sunset Festival, where you can see singing dogs, cats jumping through hoops of fire, men juggling knives while standing on stilts, drunkards, gypsies, fortune tellers, and oh yeah...a great view of the sun setting over the Gulf of Mexico.

Yet another stunning picture of myself. For the life of me, I can't understand why I didn't hook up with a hot man while on vacation! It must have been that I was soooo busy. No time for that. Yeah, that's it.
Anyhoo...here I am a mere 90 miles to Cuba. I was closer to Havana at this point than I was to Miami or anywhere else on the mainland of the US.

The lovely Key West Lighthouse rising above the Banyan trees that suround it.

Just looking at these pictures helps me to forget about this freak cold front we are now all dealing with on the East coast.

Wish I were still there. :)

Day 2: From the jungle of the Everglades to the jungle of Key West

2007-04-11T22:22:00.000-04:00

After a good night’s sleep in Homestead, Best Friend and I started our day out quite early. We had hoped to enter Everglades National Park in the morning when the animals would be active. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive Florida Panther, but he was a no-show. What I did see were countless alligators, many types of birds including mother and baby Screech Owls, turtles, and lizards.

We took the main road through the Glades from Florida City to the southern tip of the peninsula in Flamingo. I was actually more impressed with the Everglades than I thought I would be. I remember passing through several years ago and only seeing the saw grass prairies, or also called the River of Grass. The road we traveled did pass through the River of Grass, but also through hammocks of tropical trees that grow nowhere else beyond the Caribbean other than Florida. We passed by canals, brackish swamps, and finally to Florida Bay on the Gulf of Mexico.

Of course, I enjoyed it most when I got out of my car and did what I love best—took a hike through a few trails. I was praying wildly that I would not see a snake. I had heard the horror stories of people dumping off their pet Pythons into the Glades and such. I also remember seeing a very disturbing picture of one of these released Pythons that attempted to swallow a full grown alligator. It killed the gator but the gator was so large that it caused the snake to split wide open, killing it, too. Eeek! Thankfully, I did not encounter any slithery nightmares on my way through the mangrove trails. But I did see too many gators to keep count.

With all the animals and thick tropical vegetation, I felt like I was in a jungle.

After leaving the jungle behind, we continued south to the almost-Caribbean little islands known as the keys. Shortly after leaving Florida City, we hit the Overseas Highway that connects the islands via dozens of bridges, one of those being 7 miles long. The sea was so beautiful and blue-green. Nothing beat having the sunroof of my car open and the windows down as the 80+ degree winds blew through my hair as I crossed the blue sea.

We camped at the Fiesta Key KOA off Long Key. (Because there were no other accommodations available; plus camping is cheaper!) It was a really nice place to camp. The beach had a tikki bar and kayaks available for rental, but we had too much to see and too much to do to tarry there very long, so we quickly set up our tent under a stand of palms and continued down the Overseas Highway toward Key West.

We made a stop before reaching our destination at Bahia Honda Key, which was twice rated one of the best beaches in America. It was so pretty there. I searched for Bahama Starfish, but didn’t see any. Still, I got the chance to practice snorkeling with my new gear. I wanted to get back in the groove of breathing correctly and working those fins before we headed out to one of the reefs off Key Largo the next day.

After some snorkeling and soaking up rays at Bahia Honda, we made the rest of the trip into that crazy little island the Spanish named Cayo Hueso (Island of Bones) and we later renamed Key West!

We strolled along Duval Street (the main street) and checked out the sights and then we headed down to Mallory Square for the daily Sunset Festival. (You gotta love a place that makes up every excuse under the sun—literally—to have a party. The Sunset Festival takes place at sunset 365 days a year!) The sunset was beautiful and all the festivities were entertaining and fun. The only problem was it was hard to distinguish the drunk people from the plain crazy people here.

I felt like I started my day out enjoying wildlife and ended it by watching wildlife of another variety.
More pictures from Key West will follow in the next post.

Florida Trip, Day 1

2007-04-09T22:04:00.000-04:00

I’m back from my beachy fun in Southern Florida and back into the real world. I am glad to report that I survived my first day back at work. It seems that first day back is usually a killer. Yet I'm alive and have tons of photos and tales of the trip from snorkeling in Key Largo to sunsets in Key West, so I will begin with Day 1 of the trip.

Now just to put this into perspective, the drive directly down to Key West from my home is 846.2 miles away. (New York City is 880.8 miles!) Of course, I did more than just drive the direct route. Adding St. Augustine, a drive through the Everglades, and all the island hopping from Long Key to Key Largo and to Key West came to a grand total of 2148.7 miles driven on this trip! That’s a round trip to Boston, Ma or a one way trip to California!

That being said, Day 1 of my trip was mostly just the drive to Homestead, Florida where Best Friend and I spent the night. We did make a stop for a couple of hours in St. Augustine, the oldest city in the US. (founded in 1586) I fell in love with the place when I first visited there about 15 or so years ago, but Best Friend had never been there and I was looking forward to showing her around. The city has that Savannah/Charleston, SC feel about it except that the architecture is rich in Spanish influence whereas the other two cities have that old English and French feel about it.

I didn't take that many pictures here (at least not many for me) on this trip because I have so many of them from previous trips. But here are a few of them...
This is the Castillo de San Marcos Fort, built by the Spanish in 1672. This is one of my favorite coastal forts, not only because it it is so old, but because it is built of Coquina (a locally quarried limestone formed from little sea shells bonding together) rather than the usual red brick.

Here's the Old City Gate which leads down St. George Street. This street is comprised of restored buildings of the old town. While quite touristy, it's still very charming and I always enjoy a stroll down this street.

A view of St. George Street.

Further down St. George Street.

The oldest wooden school house in the U.S. (Don't you just love it when people step right into your pictures even though they clearly can see you are about to snap a shot?)

The Old Mill which is now The Old Mill Tavern. They have pretty good burgers and sandwiches here. (Or at least from what I remember. It's been a long time since I have eaten here.)

<---And this was the upsetting part of the visit for me. This bridge is the Bridge of Lions, a beautiful draw bridge graced with lion statues that guard the entrance on either side. It wasn't just the construction that upset me, but the fact that the lions weren't there! Where did the lions go? I'm sure that once construction is complete, the lions will be placed back in their rightful spot. But where are they right now? I was very sad about this!

Here are some boats on the harbor. I'll bet they were all sad that the lions aren't there anymore, too.

After leaving St. Augie, we pushed further southward for Homestead. We would've been there much earlier than we actually arrived IF IT WEREN'T FOR ALL THE FREAKIN' TRAFFIC and road construction between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami!!! It is not a hidden fact that I detest Atlanta traffic, but the mess I ran into on this night made being stuck on I-285 or the downtown connector feel like a cruise through the country! I am sad to say that on this very night I began to understand and identify with road rage.

But alas, Best Friend found us an exit and got us onto US 1, which lead us to our cozy hotel in Homestead. We needed all the rest we could get because Day 2 was going to be packed with adventure.

Details (which are much more interesting) from Day 2 are coming soon!

Adventures in Wedding Land

2007-04-02T12:35:00.000-04:00

Here’s some shots I took my friend Red’s wedding. Usually I hate going to weddings, but this is one that I had been looking forward to. Knowing Red and her new hubby like I do, I knew that this wedding would be unique and fun. And none of the guests were disappointed!

The wedding was an Alice in Wonderland theme complete with a “tea party” reception. All the guests were invited to wear silly hats at the reception. And, of course, I think my friend Red made a stunning bride. The ceremony was not vanilla-traditional either as the wedding party walked in to Pachelbel in Canon D played in electric guitar and their vows were the ones used in The Corpse Bride. It was great!

This is a shot I got through the mirror while we were all helping the bride get dressed. That darn crenlin was a pain in the arse! But see how happy she looks! We were all having so much fun and sharing way too many laughs.

However, this picture is my personal favorite! The calm bride indulging in a trashy magazine and enjoying a cigarette while her hair is still in rollers. haha. Actually, it was a posed shot because we thought it would be funny. We bummed a cigarette off the hair dresser.

But it's a black and white shot, so it's still classy even if it is trashy! :)

This was one of my favorites of the bride and groom. I was able to snap this outdoor shot between rain showers.

And here's the Maid of Honor all decked out in red. This one of our best friends, La La, who was the only one sweet and willing enough to be the only bridesmaid along with the Best Man. And she looked great!

(Actually, I would have done it, too. But I liked my photography assignment much, much better!)

This is the bride with me. Obviously, I didn't take this picture. Thanks to JM for this one!

See the guy running up in the background with the top hat with bunny ears on? This is the bride's brother sneaking up on the oblivious couple during their photo session to give them a good scare. Loved the hat!

I caught the exhausted bride and her sister Ash hiding out in a corner. I thought this was a cute one of them.

Here I am again with my friend, E., who decided to wear his cowboy hat. Yee-haw! He was a good match for his girlfriend who wore a biker chick hat.

Thanks again, JM, for taking this one.

The Bride and Groom cutting their cake. This cake was cool. It was very colorful and it looks like the top layer is about to topple over. It was very wonderland-ish.

All the fun ended as the newlyweds departed in a sea of bubbles.
They are on their way to Japan right now for the honeymoon. I can't wait to see their pictures.

As for me, I can't wait until tomorrow. In the morning I will be off to sunny Florida with Best Friend. It's not Japan, but what the hay! I think I can have fun anywhere. Luckily, this anywhere includes sandy beaches and clear warm water. I will be back late Saturday. I hope to have some awesome photos to post when I come home. If anyone misses me too much while I'm away, you can go back and read some of my old posts. :) Ha!

The final countdown...

2007-03-26T21:36:00.000-04:00

Four more days until I am free! My Spring Break officially begins Friday night.

This weekend is going to be crazy busy as one of my best friends is getting married. I am really excited about it! I am her unofficial candid shots photographer. Of course, she is going to have a pro also, but it's still pretty cool. Plus I get to have my make up done by a make up artist. That's going to be nice. But best of all, I found a super hot dress and shoes (for super cheap) to wear to the wedding! Nothing beats something new and hot to wear!

After the wedding chaos, I plan on relaxing on a sunny, sandy beach in the Florida Keys. Nah! Who am I kidding? There is too much to do to be relaxing! I have a snorkeling trip reserved and so many other great plans. But best of all, was the news I got on my voicemail from Best Friend today..."Hey, I just reserved our trip to Dry Tortugas!" I am about to burst with excitement! For a while there, it didn't look like we were going to be able to pull it off. I don't know why we were such doubters, though. Pulling off great trips is the one thing that happens to always go right in my life.

Hopefully, I'll get a chance to post again later this week. I will certainly post some wedding pics.

For now, it's 4 days and counting down! Viva le Conch Republic!

I Dream Of...Scary Things.

2007-03-22T00:53:00.000-04:00

I rarely have memorable dreams (mostly due to the fact that I rarely sleep) but it still happens from time to time. And when I do remember my dreams, they can be quite entertaining. I have dreamed of such hilarious things that I wake up laughing. I have awakened angry, confused, and extremely happy because of my dreams. I have even had a few dreams that have come true exactly as dreamed. However, the most common type of dreams I have are of natural disasters.

I have dreamed that I was on the Gulf of Mexico when a ferocious category 5 hurricane blew in tsunami-style waves that were high enough to blow completely over the hotel I was staying in on the beach. I watched in terror from my balcony as the slow motion wave moved in closer and closer until I ran to the center of the room screaming and then watched the wave sweep over the building and until dark water covers the windows. Then it recedes and I am fine—and dry!

I have had many tornado dreams. I have actually been in a tornado (well, not in it like Dorothy, but the funnel touched down less than a mile from my house) so the details in the tornado dream are always vivid and realistic. Of the numerous times I have had the tornado dream, the story is always the same: I see tornado coming. I take cover and hear it roar by. Stuff flies all around me and things break. I emerge unhurt in the end.

I have survived earthquakes and avalanches in my dreams, too. In fact, the common theme seems to be that I can survive any natural disaster—except one. And unfortunately, it is the recurring dream that I have the most. I dream that a giant meteor hits the earth with great detail at least 4 times a year. No one survives, not even me, the great natural disaster escapist.

Here’s the latest version of the dream I just had early this week:

I am best friends with this guy that I have known since my elementary school days. I’ll call him Skip. (Because that is his real name. Why invent a code name when your real name is something like that?) Now, in real life, Skip and I weren’t friends when we met in the fourth grade. Let’s take a trip down memory lane…He was one of those mean, stinky boys who liked to pop girls’ bra straps. I remember when our teacher Mrs. Parr moved his desk right next to mine. He was moved because he was torturing Beth. I looked right at him before he even had a chance to take his new seat and said, “Don’t you even look at me, Skip!” He replied with a wry smile, “I don’t want to.” I stuck my tongue out at him and flipped my long hair over my shoulder. About five minutes later he began throwing little pieces of wet wadded up paper at me. I glared at him. “I said you better not bother me!” In a mocking tone he retorted, “No you didn’t! You said not to look at you. You didn’t say anything about not throwing spitballs at you!” I gasp. “Ewwww! Groooooss! I hate you Skip!” Flash ahead a few years and you’d see that he wasn’t much better in high school. He did turn into somewhat of a ladies’ man, though I couldn’t understand why. And he never could understand why I kept telling him that I didn’t want to go out with him in his redneck truck, though he specified that he wouldn’t shoot spitballs at me this time, but he said he couldn’t guarantee that there wouldn’t be some spitting going on. Ewww! He was such a great catch.

So back to the dream…He and I were all chummy. But it was one of those circumstances that I knew that I liked him more than in just a best friend kind of way. (I’m trying not to gag.) Now Skip must have grown a brain or something because in this dream he had a very good, high paying job with either NASA or some other government agency with access to knowledge that the general public is kept in the dark about.

Skip and I spent every day going out after work, discussing our work days. I was excited because I had started to notice signs that maybe Skip liked me in a more that best friend type way, too. (Yuck) One weekend, my darling Skip came over. We were in my room. We had just finished watching a movie and were lying side by side on the bed. (My skin is crawling.) Suddenly, he turns to me, cups the sides of my face with his hands and looks deep in my eyes and said, “I have to tell you that what we were worried about is going to happen.” I begin to cry because I know that a meteor was going to strike. I asked him, “Do you know when? I mean don’t tell me when, but do you know?” With a serious look upon his face, he replies, “Yes. I know when…almost to the hour.” Blinking back tears and swallowing with difficulty I asked, “It’s soon isn’t it? I mean don’t tell me when, but it’s soon, isn’t it?” He nodded a solemn yes then added, “But you have enough time to accomplish some of the things you’ve always wanted to do.” I think this over and then ball like a girly-girl. Between sobs, I manage to say, “No..I-I d-don’t! The only thing I w-w-want to d-do is get m-m-married to a m-man I love before I die.” Being the sweet, caring friend that Skip was, he listened to my dream of marrying the man of my dreams who just so happened to be him. (As sad as that fact stands.) After listening to me ball my eyes out, I ask him if anyone else knows and if the news will ever be revealed to the public. “No,” he said. “The only people that know are the people in my office and of course, the Oval Office. There is nothing that can be done to prevent the meteor. We have studied it for years and there is nothing to be done about one that’s nearly half the size of the moon. It will destroy Earth. The agency has decided that it would be best to not cause panic over something that can’t be stopped. Life should go on as usual.” In dreamy, tear filled eyes I ask Skip, “So why did you tell me?” He smiled. “Because I care for you so much more than you know and I would feel like I was betraying you by not sharing something this important with you.” And then he (I’m really about to get sick) kissed me.

The next day, Skip showed up at my place with an engagement ring and said that he loved me and wanted to make my dreams of marriage come true. He reassured me that we would have enough time left to enjoy our lives together. So we flew off to Vegas and got married. (Ick.) He made my dream of staying in a cabin complete with a hot tub in the snowcapped mountains by a clear, flowing mountain stream come true on our honeymoon. Supposedly, we were in Colorado, but I tried to argue with him that it was the Uintas, but he didn’t listen to me. He said we were near Aspen because he could see Pike’s Peak (which is actually near Colorado Springs, not Aspen) Anyway, wherever we were, I had this dread in my heart. I knew that my life was going to end at any given moment. I suspected that, by Skip fulfilling my dream honeymoon, meant that the meteor was fast on its way. Skip, after all, had mentioned that there was nothing more than he wanted than for me to die happy.

So we skied, we hiked, we enjoyed the hot tub, and enjoyed some good food. On the third day, he suggested that we say in that night and dine in our cabin. I knew this was it. I didn’t have to ask; I just knew. I called my family and friends who couldn’t understand why I was so sad talking to them while I was on my honeymoon and why I couldn’t say enough how much I loved them and how I wished I could see them.

That evening, I could hardly eat. Skip was acting very nervous and glancing at the clock. The darkness of night fell upon the mountain range. Skip and I sat in candlelight acting very lovey-dovey and emotional. Then there was a brightness outside the window and I began to run toward the window to look out. Skip tries to hold me back but I reassure him that I knew what was happening, so we walk hand-in-hand to the window and look skyward. Hundreds of small fireballs were falling from the sky like beautiful, streaming fireworks on the Fourth of July. Small fires were beginning to blaze in the nearby forest. “It’s beautiful”, I whisper as I begin to cry. Skip pulls me closer. Then the sky was filled with a fireball so big and bright that I couldn’t bear to look at it. The two of us fell to our knees, facedown to the ground still holding hands. The light was so intensely bright. “I love you,” I heard him mutter but before I could respond I heard the loudest boom and felt an unbearable heat that lasted for less than a second. Then there was nothing.

…except the bump of me hitting the floor as I fell out of my bed in real life. I woke up breathless. The dream felt so real. My falling scared my cat who was sleeping on the bottom of my bed with me so much that she ran under the bed. I lay there panting for a while on my floor. The cat came out from under the bed and began to sniff me to make sure I was still alive. I finally got up and got into my bed…just in time for my alarm clock to go off and send me into cardiac arrest for the second time.

At work that very same day, one of my co-workers mentioned to me that she had just read that a large meteor s aligned to strike Earth in about 20 years. My heart sank. I seriously wonder if this might happen one day. I have dreamed it so many times. And unlike all my other brave natural disaster dreams, I do not live to tell the tale.

Now, if you’ll pardon me for a moment, I have some issues to take up with God…
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy…Ok God, I’m just going to level with you. If it is your will to destroy Earth with fire, I can accept this. But come on! Skip? Are you kidding me? I mean, if I am going to burn alive in a frightening death, isn’t that enough? Is it too much to ask you to send me Orlando Bloom for a husband instead, if only for 3 days? (Come on...or at least someone I at least like as a friend!) Amen.

Okay, I'm back. I hope your dreams are sweeter than mine. :)

What my blog says

2007-03-18T23:47:00.000-04:00

First of all, I want to thank everyone that took the time out to answer all of my questions. A few of you emailed me with answers and some of you responded in the comment section. There were 10 responses in all and I have to admit that, considering the number of questions and amount of thought that some of them required, I didn’t think I would have that many respond. I have some awesome readers!

This is the conclusion to my "What does a blog say?” experiment: Not much. At least mine doesn’t. Most of you got the adventure questions right, though. When I started this blog, its sole purpose was for telling the tales of my travels. I didn’t intend to use it as a diary. I didn’t want anyone to know me. However, a few times, I have vented or expressed my feelings on a topic that was pressing to me at the time. Still, I realize that I have revealed very little about myself in the big scheme of things. Taking this into consideration, I have to say that everyone did a good job with their guesses.

The person with the most correct answers was the Grunt. He got more questions right than some friends who have known me forever. I think he deserves a prize! I don’t know what the grand prize will be, but I’ll think of something!

So here are my answers…
1. Either you know my real name or you don’t! hahaha.
2. My eyes are blue.
3. I am always wearing different styles of clothing. (Jeans, skirts, capris, khakis, ect.)
4. My favorite food is Mexican. (Just had it today, by the way!)
5. My junk food weakness is ice cream. I am not one much on sweets, but I must have ice cream year round—even if its 20 degrees!)
6. If you caught me shopping, I’d be buying shoes. It’s a disease!
7. My biggest pet peeve is when someone makes an assumption about me. I know what I think; you don’t! Ask me if you want to know!
8. I am not into water skiing. The place I have do that is Lake Lanier and it’s too icky.
9. My favorite song of all time is “Over the Hills and Far Away” by Led Zeppelin. I love the music, lyrics, and nostalgic feel when I hear it.
10. Unless my iPod is stolen, you will NEVER find “No Rain” by Blind Melon on my play list. I HATE that song with an unholy passion.
11. I want to go to Peru badly.
12. I have never been to Michigan. (but I want to go there sometime. SS, you will have to advise me.)
13. I’ve never been to Mt. Rushmore, but I want to go there, too.
14. Unfortunately, I have been charged by a bear, became severely dehydrated (because I ran out of water), barely missed being stabbed on a trail by a crazy man, and almost tumbled to my death in the Ozarks--all while hiking. But I have never gotten lost!
15. I have never been rock climbing (but want to try it out) and I have never Scuba dived (and I plan on NEVER doing that.)
16. I was involved romantically with 2 losers last year.
17. The 3 qualities that the next lucky man must possess to NOT become the next loser are: Intelligence, Sense of humor, and Openness.
18. When I asked one of my oldest friends to describe me in one word, she replied Enthusiastic.
19. I would describe myself as Passionate. Whatever I am into, I give it my all.
20. I am very outgoing. (Even when I don’t feel like it)
21. I’m sorry to say that I am a very friendly drunk. One who is very fond of every one, one who blurts out the truth, and one who becomes quite musical. And these reasons were enough for me to stop. The one thing I never did (thank God) was beat anyone up.
22. I do NOT believe in Karma. What a load of crap Karma is!
23. I grew up in the country on a dirt road. Now I live in the city. But I wish I lived in the mountains.

Now you all know a few things about me. I guess it's time for me to go back to being “mysterious” and writing about my trips.

And speaking of trips…Only 10 more workdays until Spring Break! Woo-hoo!

What does a blog say?

2007-03-14T21:54:00.000-04:00

Finally, I located enough pieces of my computer to get it to function. And FINALLY, here are those questions I posted then took down. I know it's long, but I'd like to know just how well you know a person by reading their blog. I’ve seen a lot of this type of post lately and I thought I would see just how well you all “know” me. Of course, those friends of the three-dimensional type will (hopefully?) know me best, but I still thought it would be fun to see. I am not sure that any of you will know me that well being as that I rarely write much about my personal life.

I will reveal my answers and see who knows me best on Sunday. I know you can't wait!

Let’s see if you would recognize me on the street….

1. Do you know my real name?
A. No. You’re OG to me.
B. I know your first name only.
C. I know your whole name.

2. What color are my eyes?
A. Brown
B. Blue
C. Green

3. I am always wearing…
A. Jeans
B. Hiking boots
C. Khaki pants
D. Different styles of clothing

What you know about my likes and dislikes…

4. My favorite food is…
A. Anything sweet
B. Mexican
C. Chinese
D. Salad

5. My junk food weakness is…
A. Ice cream
B. Fries
C. Beer
D. I have no weaknesses

6. If you were to catch me shopping (a rare event), what would I be buying?
A. CDs
B. Movies
C. Shoes
D. Clothes

7. One of my pet peeves is…
A. People who talk too fast
B. People who won’t answer their phones
C. When people make assumptions about what I am thinking
D. People who drink too much alcohol

8. Which of these things am I not in to?
A. Snorkeling
B. Water skiing
C. Jogging
D. Photography
E. Painting

9. What’s my favorite song of all time?
A. "Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffett
B. "Lay Your Hands on Me" by Bon Jovi
C. "Over the Hills and Far Away" by Led Zeppelin
D. "Ocean Front Property" by George Strait

10. Which of these songs will you not find on my iPod?
A. "No Rain" by Blind Melon
B. "Hey Ya!" by OutKast
C. "Hard Luck Woman" by Kiss
D. "Whispering Jesse" by John Denver
E. "Already Gone" by The Eagles
F. "Photograph" by Def Leppard

What do you know of my adventurous spirit?

11. Of these choices, which place do I want to go to the most?
A. India
B. China
C. Peru
D. Costa Rica

12. In which of these states have I never been?
A. Michigan
B. Iowa
C. Oregon
D. Texas

13. Name the American Icon that I have never seen
A. Statue of Liberty, NYC
B. Gateway Arch, St. Louis, MO
C. Washington Monument, D.C.
D. Grand Canyon, AZ
E. Mt. Rushmore, SD
F. Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA

14. Which of the following have never happened to me while hiking?
A. Severe dehydration
B. Came across a stabber
C. Was charged by a bear
D. Got lost
E. Almost fell from a high rock ledge

15. Which of these activities have I participated in? (May be more than 1 answer)
A. River rafting
B. Jeeping
C. Rock Climbing
D. Snowboarding
E. Scuba Diving
F. Backpacking

What do you know about my love life?

16. How many men did I become romantically involved with in 2006? (This includes only guys I went out with more than once and developed some sort of relationship with.)
A. 3
B. 2
C. 1
D. None.

17. What are the three qualities one must have for me to date them?
A. Athletic, rich, and sense of humor
B. Intelligence, sense of humor, and openness
C. Openness, athletic, and same hobbies/interests
D. Same hobbies/interests, love for animals, and ambition

How well do you know me on a personal level?

18. When I asked a friend to define me in one word, she said:
A. Mean
B. Enthusiastic
C. Crazy
D. Kind

19. I would describe myself as:
A. Weird
B. Funny
C. Passionate
D. Happy

20. My personality can be described as:
A. Outgoing
B. Reserved
C. Introverted
D. Bossy

21. The reason I no longer consume large amounts of alcohol is:
A. I beat people up
B. I begin to sing “Bette Davis Eyes” lounge singer style to everyone
C. I become way too friendly with everyone
D. The hangovers hurt too much nowadays
E. All but A.
F. All but B.

22. What do I not believe in?
A. Ghosts
B. God
C. Karma
D. Power of faith

23. I grew up:
A. On a dirt road in the country
B. In the city
C. In the mountain region of Ga.

Remember to check back in on Sunday (or later) to see who knows me best. All of you who do this for me are my best friends and I'll love you forever!

Nothing

2007-03-13T23:24:00.000-04:00

Again, I have nothing. I was going to post my questionnaire thingy tonight. As I already said, it is saved on my desktop. It's more than a little difficult to pull up files from my desktop when the plug to the CPU is missing. I can't stand being this disorganized. I am already looking forward to the weekend so I can have the time to pull myself (or at least my bedroom) together.

(Super Villain and JM... if you two happen to remember which box/bag/whatever that you packed the power chord in, PLEASE call me! Other than this and my balance ball popping, there were no other casualties. Not too bad. :)

I am determined to find that power chord, so please don't give up on me blog buddies!

I hate moving.

Life in the fast lane

2007-03-12T22:27:00.000-04:00

It seems, at least, that I am living my life in the fast lane lately, though not by the traditional partying life style. It does seem that my life is flying by at the speed of light and I'm left behind saying, "huh?" I have been busy, busy, BUSY lately and this is the reason that my posting has been slow to non-existant. I do still read everyone's blogs, though--Just so you know!

I moved over the weekend (with the stomach flu) and I'm pretty tired still. I love it where I am, though, and am happy about the move. (Even though I wasn't expecting to move this soon nor was I really prepared.) But never fear, I am still one happy girl and have lots to say/write! I am just short on the time right now. I can see that I will be able to slow down very soon and begin posting more regularly. (Good news for all you fans, I'm sure ;)

Last week I posted some questions to see how well my blog (and real life) friends know me. I know that I am not one to post many very personal things about myself and wondered just how much you all know about me based on this blog. I took the post down the next day because I began to wonder if anyone would answer the questions (because there were 22 of them) and I also wasn't sure if I'd have the time to check in during my move. Well, now the move is over and I am settling in. I recieved a couple of emails and a couple of comments from some of you wondering why I took it down...SOOOO I have decided to put it back up! The problem? Oh yeah, it's saved on my desktop and I do not have it set up and functioning yet! (Seriously, if you could only see the boxes surrounding me here!) But I will maybe set it back up tomorrow night so those of you who are interested in seeing how well you know me (because I am very interested to know, too!) check back and I'll have them posted again soon.

I hope everyone is well!