The entire rest of the year in 1,000 words or less

Yeah - I've been a tad bit busy. I feel like my life is being spent in front of, not one, not two, but three computers, and to come home and sit in front of a fourth to blog is just not high on the list. So, I'm just gonna sum it all up in one more blog for the year.

1. First Day in Maine (remember- going backwards - so this is the last day to tell you about) - Hiked up the gorge in the AM - which we hadn't done since the first trip, and we all liked a lot. Hiked Great Head (yeah, yeah, yeah - like we haven't all heard that joke a thousand times) in the afternoon, and dinner at McRay's.

2. I went to Spain on business. Saw Madrid, Toledo and Seville. The gardens at Seville were incredible, and the highlight of my trip, but Toledo overall was the nicer city - just not as crowded and dusty, and more old world feeling than Seville. The bulk of the trip was in Madrid, but working, so didn't actually see Madrid til our last day when we went to the Palace, and wondered around. Highlight of Madrid - this fountain, where my wonderfully blonde friend says "Wow! There's another side!!"

3. Went to the Poconos with the SigO. Color was almost there - not quite in full form. We didn't take warm enough clothes, and I left my hiking shoes at home, so adventures were limited, but it was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle for a weekend.

4. Spent a weekend in a cozy little B&B called the Lost Dog in Berryville, VA. Went for a nice 26mile loop bike ride. Toured a mill which has been active for over 200 years. Went to dinner at a nice French restaurant. Went hiking at Sky Meadows. Generally enjoyed getting away from it all - again - and not enough.

So, that's it. That's all the free time we've had this year. Pretty sad when compared to previous years. We've got to just stop letting the jobs, crowds, and traffic keep us prisoner and just barrel our ways out.

One last goal for me this winter: Go camping in the snow. SigO thinks I'm "outside yo mind". But, he's done it (forced to in the Army), and I've always had this romantic notion of snowshoeing to my campsite, pack on my back. I'm sure the romance will be dead when I wake up sore from head to toe from shivering all night! But you know us bulls - we gotta live it to believe it.

To all two of my faithful readers: Have a happy holiday. See you next year.

Time Travel - the real work begins

See, we worked so hard on these remaining days in Acadia, I didn't even have the energy to blog about them!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

So, as I recall, I was about to tell you about Tuesday when I so unceremoniously just dropped you in the middle of the story.

So, first, I should tell you about the very first time I ever went to Acadia. I went with the SigO, his Mom, his sister, his brother-in-law, his daughter, and her friend. I had only been with him for a little shy of 6 months, and this was my first exposure to "the fam". Needless to say, I was a tad reticent. OK - reticent for me. Get real - we're talking about Ms Speaks Her Mind here, I can only be reticent to an certain extent. Still, I saw something that lit a fire in me that took until this year to extinguish.

Simply put (I know - too late), that first trip, we drove to a parking lot for "The Bubbles",and proceeded to hike to the top of the Bubbles. Now, this is all of a 0.5mile hike. Yawneroo. But when I got to the top, I saw there's a path that takes you down to the Jordan Pond House. And, there's a path that goes all around Jordan Pond. How cool would it be, thinks I, to start at Jordan Pond House, hike up and over the Bubbles, and back down around to end at the Pond House. Cool, right?! Right. And it was. It was definitely one of the highlights of my trip this year.

So, that was the morning hike. Along the way, we met a fellow hiker who was by himself, so we adopted him on the way back down the Bubbles. We also met a family with a woman absolutely terrified of the steepness of the rocks - so, of course, gallant SigO went along to help her get over the scary part, and then rejoined us. Which didn't take long, since, of course, I was limping along - going down hill and all - and little Miss Bouncy Feet was being magnanimous and staying somewhat close by.

That afternoon, we did another "old faithful favorites": The Beehive. I swear, I remember the first time H-Boo did that one. She was practically trembling, and forcing herself to overcome her fear of heights. She's either come a long way and is no longer afraid of heights, or she has become a spectacular actress, because she bounded right up that mountain.

So, those were our two hikes for Tuesday. That night, we ate at Rupununi's - one of my favorite places, just because the menu is a bit different. Still, there are so many great places to eat that we still haven't tried, we might have to change our dining venues next time around.

So, that's Tuesday.

I won't do a whole new blog for Monday, since it was a slow day due to the weather. In the AM, we tried to catch Thunder Hole at the right time, but totally missed out. No real action there. So, we went to Otter Point and hung out on the rocks for a while, watching the waves crash.

That afternoon, we did a new hike: Acadia Mountain. So, first, let me post a strongly worded letter to the SigO's Mom who told us what an easy hike it is, and how we should definitely do it when we want something easy to do. Did I mention the word easy?

Yeah.

Nuh-nuh!!

We looked it up after - it's classified as strenuous. Streeeeeeeeeeennnnuuuuuuuous!!! So, word of advice - ignore little Miss Jazzercise Queen when she tells you something will be easy.

That said, it did offer some pretty spectacular views, and it really was a very fun hike. We found the loop that took us alongside the mountain face, so the views were practically unending.

So, next blog (notice how I'm no longer saying when I'll post the next blog), I'll finish up about Acadia, then it's on to Spain.

Time Travel - Day Five - Wednesday in Acadia

See, going back in time, you're going to be thinking: "I thought you said you guys hiked twice a day every day?!" Where's the evidence?!
Give me a sec, for pete's sake. It's not like we were lounging around, after all.
But, Wednesday wasn't the day for dual hikes either.
Wednesday was the bike the carriage trail day. Definitely a favorite.
We did the same trail we did last year, but backwards. Oddly enough, I think it's more scenic going the other way. For one thing, while you're riding past Jordan Pond, you're not going uphill when you go the other way...and trust me, you do not want to lose momentum, so there ain't a whole lot o' stoppin' going up that hill.
I wish I had some pictures to share, but I guess I left that up to the SigO this year. I'll have to look through his stuff and come back and edit this.
After the ride, we went back into town and got cleaned up and met friends for dinner. We met Michelle the first year I went to Acadia. We were hanging out in the Thirsty Whale, as it was the only place the SigO could smoke and drink beer at the same time, and Michelle was the bartender. We liked her immediately, and the fact that she's a fellow knitter and on ravelry is just that much more reason to like her.
She now no longer works at the Thirsty Whale. Now she owns her own place, called the Spruce and Gussy. A WAY cool place where I spent lots of cash, and could have spent much more.
Anyway, Wed night we all had dinner at the Dog and Pony pub - our new favorite hang out spot in Bar Harbor. Quiet. Off the main road. Locals mostly. We spent most of the night laughing. Especially with Michelle's SigO - that dry, quiet humor that takes you off guard. I was on one of my favorite rants -
In the late 70's/early 80's - I don't exactly remember - the Dallas Cowboys announced themselves "America's Team". No one voted for them. There were no polls. They just made the declaration, and for reasons passing all understanding, it stuck.
In 2000, Bush declared himself President of the United States. Now, however you want to look at that, the simple truth is, again - it stuck.
So, apparently, if you're from Texas, you can simply declare yourself something, and it sticks.
So, I declared myself Miss Universe that night over drinks.
Dan, in his quiet, understated way replied: "Well, I can't wait to tell the guys at the Town Sewer (where he works) that I spent the evening having drinks with Miss Universe."
Clever.
Tomorrow the real blogs begin - with double hikes per day. See you then.

Time Travel - Day Four - Thursday in Acadia

This year was my fourth trip to Acadia. Every year, we all climb up to the top of the Bubbles,and every year, the SigO says the same thing as he gazes at the mountain to our right: "I wonder if you can hike that mountain?" Followed by: "There's got to be a way to hike that mountain." and then: "One of these days, we're going to find the path on that mountain and hike up there!" The first year, I responded enthusiastically to each one of these: "Surely there is!", then "We should find it next year", and "Oh, yes! Absolutley! We should plan on it for next year!!" The second year I simply responded in the affirmative to each statement. The third year I used my standard refrain: "You say that every year." This year, there was no need, for yes, can I get a witness, we finally found the path and hiked the elusive (not really - we just never actually looked any of the other years) path up to (drum roll please) Jordan Cliffs.

This was, in my opinion, the best hike of the year. We got cheated out of the precipice this year (damn those slow-learning falcons anyway - how hard can it be to learn to fly?!), but Jordan Cliffs if very precipice-like in that you are using iron rungs, and scooching across a cliff face during much of the hike. It's not quite as "hanging on for dear life" as the precipice - as evidenced by the sign at the beginning of the path. It doesn't mention death at all. Unlike the sign for the precipice. We went backwards of what I believe they intended us to do. In some ways, this was a disadvantage - like when your butt is hanging over a sheer drop and you're trying to find your footing - and it would have been much easier going up that particular section as opposed to down. But in other ways, I liked it much better as the down-part of the hike was this nice, long, smooth rock face that wasn't hard on the ole knees at all.

Naturally the views along the climb were awesome.

The views of the landscape were pretty great too.

I was obsessed with this mushroom.I blame H-Boo. She bought this book on Fairy Homes with pictures of these eensy houses people build for fairies, and as soon as I saw this mushroom, I had this whole big fantasy going on about fairies living there. And then I was the fairy. And I could fly. And do magic. And...

whoops, there I go again.

Anyway, that's all the hiking we did on Thursday. The rest of the day was spent shopping, hanging out at our new favorite local bar (*sigh* Beer. *sigh*), and then finally the traditional trip to Stewman's - The Lobster Shack. Where the SigO did the traditional puppet show with the lobster carcass while H-Boo freaked out - especially when he practically flung it in her bucket when she was least expecting it. Oh, and when he named it Bob. That was special. I should probably warn her that he's been planning on finding some lobster antennae to use during one of their future skype sessions.

Tune in tomorrow for the annual Carriage Trail Bike Ride.

Time Travel - Day 3 - Last day in Maine

By this point in the vacation, we were pretty whooped. As you'll soon discover, we hiked an average of two good hikes a day, and our legs were mostly rubber by Friday. Which isn't to say we vegged, or even rested really, but Friday was more an attack on Acadia, as opposed to the more typical conquering Acadia.

We started out on Dorr mountain.

This was my first time on this climb. It is most notable for the gajillions of blueberries.

You already know that blueberries grow wild all over Acadia, but they're typically somewhat picked clean by everyone who has preceded us. I don't know if Dorr mountain just isn't as popular a climb, or if the berries are simply more prolific on the path, but we could have baked a pie each just on what we ate, not to mention all we left behind. The views on the hike are, naturally, beautiful, as is every hike in Acadia.

And it was your typical Acadia hike - i.e., "where the blankety blank blank is the top of this blankin' mountain!?" As long as the climb felt, it had many stunning moments, especially considering how incredibly blue the sky was that day.

It felt like we could see for miles in some places - much better visibility than usual.

Despite the height, the hike was a lot of fun...going up.

Coming down sucked. With a capital SUCK. We started down the wrong way and instead of back-tracking, we took a different route that, I'm pretty positive, was one degree shy of tucking up into a ball and simply rolling down the effin' mountain.

You might put on your pedantic hat and tell us that in the future we should be sure to follow markers and cairns, to which I would reply, after some choice expletives and stinging insults, that obviously, we did. It's just that there are cairns and markers all over the place - they mark every possible route down the mountain - even the ones best left for billy goats - or teenagers like H-Boo, who is now dubbed little miss bouncy feet - and not altogether too affectionately, to be honest.

Anyway, so that was the hike of the morning. We had Pizza and beer for lunch - and considering I'm currently doing P90X again, you have no idea how much it pains me to remember that particular lunch. You know how incredible beer tastes after a really long, hot hike (or bike ride, or yard work, or...OK, yes - or any damn time of day at all!! There! I said it! I miss Beer!! And Wine!! And... oh - whoops, sorry - let me get back on topic).

After cleaning up, etc, we hung out until sunset and walked across to Bar Island. Bar Island is a little island a few hundred feet away from Bar Harbor and is only accessible during low tide, when a bar (hence the name - get it? get it? Do you get it? Cuz sometimes I'm not sure you get it? - oh - and you can thank the SigO for that little piece of annoyance) of sand is exposed that is sufficient to walk across. I was pretty much pegged out on taking pictures by this time, so we have to rely on the SigO for those shots. I only have one to share.
Aren't we just beyond adorable?! So sweet it makes your teeth hurt, doesn't it?

Bar Island is probably the best place from which to view Bar Harbor. Plus the walk across is pretty great - crunching up sea shells all the way across, with the sun slowly setting, making the sand glisten with all those incredible jewel tones. And the sea gulls calling. And just a general air of peace and quiet. It was probably the most perfect way to end the vacation - if there is such a thing as a perfect end to any vacation.

So, that was Friday in Acadia. Tune in tomorrow for the skinny on Thursday.

Time Travel - Day Two - College Campus

Continuing backwards through time, we (the SigO, H-Boo, and I) all went to check out her campus on our way home from Acadia. She's about 250 miles south of Acadia and 500 miles north of us. Let me tell you, the SigO is seriously suffering. Can't get through a movie with a father/daughter relationship without bemoaning the fact that his baby girl is 500 miles away. Last night, I almost picked up the phone to tell her she needs to cut her college career short because he just can't handle the separation.

But, I'm off topic - we stopped at her campus and took a bunch of pictures so when he talks to her, he can envision where she is at that moment.

So, here's the dorm.

Here's where she can hang out around a bonfire on chilly nights.

Here's the campus hammock - the only campus hammock - you figure they draw lots for it? Take turns? - "OK, Thursday, 27 March - that's your day! Enjoy." The Library.

And assorted other campus buildings.

And then, there's the metropolis town across the street from the campus

Honestly, I don't know how we're going to keep her from the vast temptations, or the corruption of her poor innocent mind! How can we possibly protect her from the lure of the single blinking yellow light in town?

Ah, what exciting times. I can't wait to see the woman she become. I think the SigO is excited about it too...when he's not bawling his eyes out! *giggle snork*

Time Travel - Day One - Korea

So, as I'm a tad bit behind, I figure we'll just go back in time and see what's been going on in my life. I'm going to go in reverse order - so, the most recent thing I've done is go to Korea, the least recent is going to Spain - so, let's start with Korea, shall we?

It's been 12 years since I last saw Korea. Funny -I lived there for an entire year and probably saw less of Seoul during that time than I did this time. Back then, if I went to Seoul, it was to shop, or drink and go dancing. And I was always in the company of my active duty comrades. This time, I was there working with some Korean DNA analysts, and I was afforded the opportunity to see the city with a more local flair - at least where the cuisine was concerned.

You can't tell, but we're sitting on the floor, and we have little "napkins" in our lap since we're both wearing skirts. This particular dinner was roast duck - most likely the best roast duck I've ever had. During this week, we also had bulgogi (of course), bi bim bop, tons and tons of kimchi, Samyetang (chicken soup), Gaibitang (beef rib soup), sushi, sashimi, pho, and so many other dishes, I can't remember them all.

Our first foray into town was Friday evening, but only to do some shopping at Itaewon. Nothing new there (except the prices - boy, I remember things being a lot cheaper back in '98), but we did go visit one of my old haunts - the Seoul Pub. The owner is still the same man, but unfortunately, Gunther, the bartender I remember, is now living in Thailand with his wife (sister of the owner) - but we did get to see some pics of the year that I was there, and that brought back some fond memories. Otherwise, all we did was shop for souevenirs, etc.

Saturday, we took a tour of Seoul. That was a strange experience. They picked us up in a small van and Peggy and I were the only two tourists, with the tour guide and the driver being the only two on board. The first place they took us was Gyeongbok Palace.

A pretty place with plenty of beautiful architecture.

Had fun posing as a scholar and a warrior - funny - I'm the warrior - go figure that one out.

After Gyeongbok, we went to a Buddhist temple

- there was a ceremony in progress, so we couldn't go in, but the chanting was beautiful.

We went to this really nice area after that - the best shopping in Seoul in my opinion. Not quite as geared to western tournists, and more artistic. The best part for me was this beautiful tea shop.

We went to a few other --- weird --- places that we don't need to list here, but then we went to Changdeokgung Palace. I had initially signed up for this tour mostly because of this palace - it has a secret garden that I was really looking forward to visiting, so you can imagine my disappointment to learn the Secret Garden was a separate tour and we couldn't go in without being on a guided tour.

Still, the architecture was pretty at this palace as well - what I could see.

So, that was Saturday. Sunday, we decided we needed to go to the Yongsan Army Post Commissary to get groceries for the week. This would make our week a little less caloric (since we wouldn't be eating out every night) and a little cheaper (since I like to have a glass---or bottle---of wine before bed). This was my first chance to see how bad benefits are for military retirees these days - especially overseas. I found out retirees cannot shop on a military installation overseas without a ration card. I guess I already knew about this - somewhere in my subconscious, having heard about it before, but I had naturally forgotten, this not being something that usually affects me, and it came as a bit of a shock to not be allowed to buy simple groceries after having served as long as I did. But, blah, blah, blah - I don't want to rant about all the benefits that retirees have lost. Suffice it to say things worked out just fine.

So, the rest of the week was spent working (there they go again, expecting me to earn my income - weird, huh?), and it was pretty exhausting. Not much to report there except to say the students were very diligent, receptive individuals that seemed to appreciate our efforts.

A long week was rewarded with a farewell party and much applause.

I think it's safe to classify this trip as a success.

One last piece of fun - Peggy and I got to the airport very early, and while looking to kill some time, we found a little cultural center with a "learning experience" that let us paint fans for free - that was fun - especially as I totally forced Peggy to play along.
Oh, btw, no real knitting done on this trip. Heavy sigh.