Belize

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

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

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...

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...

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

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

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!