tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22117520408191112612024-02-06T21:44:46.393-08:00everyAUGUSTTravel, eat, or find a Farmers Market...everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.comBlogger559125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-52255742132026515062017-11-18T15:17:00.000-08:002017-11-18T15:17:50.694-08:00Kentucky Bourbon Trail in 3 days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-fbd45270-d160-6543-1964-b17092b3cdc9" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSJZzzrmQPSiH-sDogJ8cjG3fopgsegca4hucuA-JYkOxnbuZoFvHreDE-ueMUzX4fmgZG0fLNDCDyl4hoYTsaIZVqPYFiOWJmky6cc5hEYrmd659JbeCAVNjkfpnSkMuwQG0Y30YXWgY/s1600/IMG_6365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSJZzzrmQPSiH-sDogJ8cjG3fopgsegca4hucuA-JYkOxnbuZoFvHreDE-ueMUzX4fmgZG0fLNDCDyl4hoYTsaIZVqPYFiOWJmky6cc5hEYrmd659JbeCAVNjkfpnSkMuwQG0Y30YXWgY/s400/IMG_6365.jpg" width="400" /></a></b></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-fbd45270-d160-6543-1964-b17092b3cdc9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A big shout out to the Little Sister for organizing a trip to the </span><a href="http://kybourbontrail.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kentucky Bourbon Trail</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. We went over Veteran’s Day weekend, flew in on a Thursday and flew out on a Monday. Friday - Sunday were the Bourbon Trail days. I was the designated driver for the trip and our group total was six people. You pick up a “passport” at your first distillery and get a stamp at the ten distilleries listed. Tours / tasting cost money at the distilleries that are on the “Bourbon Trail”. Here is the itinerary my sister put together and some lessons we learned.</span></b></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-fbd45270-d160-6543-1964-b17092b3cdc9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We were staying in Louisville, KY and here is the itinerary we followed:</span></b></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thursday:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Arrive Louisville </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DINNER - </span><a href="http://eaglerestaurant.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Eagle</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Friday:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BREAKFAST - </span><a href="https://www.wafflehouse.com/story/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Waffle House</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.woodfordreserve.com/distillery/tours/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Woodford Reserve Distillery </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- tour and tasting</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="http://wildturkeybourbon.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wild Turkey</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - tasting</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="http://fourrosesbourbon.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Four Roses</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - historic tasting</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LUNCH - </span><a href="https://www.thesagerabbit.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Sage Rabbit</span></a></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="http://www.kentuckyale.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Town Branch</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Just a stamp on the passport, no tour or tasting.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*</span><a href="http://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buffalo Trace</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - OFF TOUR distillery. FREE tour and tasting</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DINNER - take out </span><a href="http://impellizzeris.com/new/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Impellizzeri’s Pizza</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saturday:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">...woke up with a flat tire. Car exchange…</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.makersmark.com/distillery?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=int_maker%27s-mark-distillery&utm_term=makers%20mark%20distillery&gclid=Cj0KCQiA0b_QBRCeARIsAFntQ9qDJPn3-U-AlNBC6l_u3RawHQuTQ0TzfMsIl-wz4wBnR-1OvFR8sEkaAiQXEALw_wcB" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maker’s Mark</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - tour and tasting</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="http://heavenhilldistillery.com/bourbon-heritage-center.php?utm_source=BHC&utm_medium=Redirect&utm_campaign=BHCRedirect&bhc=1" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bourbon Heritage Center</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Just a stamp, no tour or tasting. </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*</span><a href="https://www.kentuckybourbonwhiskey.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Willett Distillery</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - OFF TRAIL distillery. FREE tasting.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="http://www.jimbeam.com/en-us/visit-us/book-a-tour?gclid=Cj0KCQiA0b_QBRCeARIsAFntQ9pGqh6HppSnl81MH6letpEpRapN_Xa4amJxXO0IEc-Qd3K58KcRrLAaAp28EALw_wcB" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jim Beam</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Cocktail token for one taste or cocktail</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DINNER -</span><a href="http://bourbonsbistro.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Bourbons Bistro</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sunday:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--</span><a href="https://www.sluggermuseum.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Louisville Slugger Museum</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LUNCH - </span><a href="http://www.mussel-burger-bar.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mussels & Burger Bar</span></a></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="http://evanwilliams.com/visit.php" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Evan Williams Distillery</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Just a stamp, no tour or tasting.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="https://www.angelsenvy.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Angel’s Envy Distillery</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Roundtable tasting</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="https://www.bulleit.com/bulleit-distillery/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bulleit Bourbon</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - tour and tasting -COMPLETE BOURBON TRAIL!!!!!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--</span><a href="https://www.churchilldowns.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Churchill Downs</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - day at the races</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DINNER - </span><a href="http://www.whiskeybythedrink.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Silver Dollar</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monday:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BREAKFAST - </span><a href="http://gralehaus.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gralehaus</span></a></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Louisville Visitors center to claim our Bourbon Trail t-shirts!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leave Louisville </span></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-fbd45270-d160-6543-1964-b17092b3cdc9" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKUAaNnH_cu5fDp1M4tbgIiIpeWQTrQyP7RGz7jP3nFim6CwbCt6TOvaVcoYaE5tacB89E8lIEALLGHkhIt4jV_gcXgpKGtaWK4e38tjEJO3EtN0j463NRQ8eiWOap1eloX77Saf7-DE/s1600/HipstamaticPhoto-532017514.301672.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKUAaNnH_cu5fDp1M4tbgIiIpeWQTrQyP7RGz7jP3nFim6CwbCt6TOvaVcoYaE5tacB89E8lIEALLGHkhIt4jV_gcXgpKGtaWK4e38tjEJO3EtN0j463NRQ8eiWOap1eloX77Saf7-DE/s400/HipstamaticPhoto-532017514.301672.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-fbd45270-d160-6543-1964-b17092b3cdc9" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-fbd45270-d160-6543-1964-b17092b3cdc9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are from California and go wine tasting a lot in our state. When you wine taste in California you walk into a tasting room and get to taste right away. There are usually multiple groups and the tasting room staff are taking care of multiple groups at multiple times. Some wineries offer tours, but the experience is usually about tasting wine.</span></b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-fbd45270-d160-6543-1964-b17092b3cdc9" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think I had a subconscious idea that bourbon tasting would be like this too. It wasn’t. As we quickly learned on our trip. Bourbon tastings were usually done on a tour only or if you booked a tasting package. And sometimes they are on the half-hour or in two hours. What this meant is that there were a few distilleries we didn’t taste or tour and got a stamp because waiting for them would of meant we missed a distillery that someone in our group really wanted to taste at. There were a few we toured and a few we tasted. Overall I think we lucked out on the trip, but I was surprised at how ridged some of the tasting “rules” seemed to be. I did overhear someone say that the “Trail Distilleries” had different rules than some of the other distilleries and we noticed that when we went “off trail”.</span></div>
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</b><b id="docs-internal-guid-fbd45270-d160-6543-1964-b17092b3cdc9" style="font-weight: normal;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I mentioned the Little Sister organized the trip and she grouped our distilleries based on what was close to each other and when things were open. I think some of these choice created happy accidents. For example, we did the “urban distilleries” on Sunday and parking was free that day! There was also a parade on Saturday in downtown and that would have made it really hard to find parking and to get to taste at the distilleries downtown. We also ended up going to the Louisville Slugger Museum on Sunday because the distilleries didn’t open until 1pm and we made it to Churchill Downs for some races that day also! </span></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-fbd45270-d160-6543-1964-b17092b3cdc9" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5cwsoJBlwZ9QssKL1nKoEh5JR4xMxiLUAWlCwz6Yeb4V5RDrm130AkfMAinpEA_aiZ2EpmdKc4Y-K7yMDgAWrCY4ePG212cC0WoNHU4gIqw9nPxgLXoHshPl5xGisEu7RD3pzKB8ScEY/s1600/HipstamaticPhoto-532020612.290516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5cwsoJBlwZ9QssKL1nKoEh5JR4xMxiLUAWlCwz6Yeb4V5RDrm130AkfMAinpEA_aiZ2EpmdKc4Y-K7yMDgAWrCY4ePG212cC0WoNHU4gIqw9nPxgLXoHshPl5xGisEu7RD3pzKB8ScEY/s400/HipstamaticPhoto-532020612.290516.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On Friday we started early and went to Woodford Reserve where we booked the first tour of the day. When we finished the place was packed and we seemed to catch a tasting or tour at each place that day. Even the lunch place (The Sage Rabbit) stayed open a little later for us to have lunch. A member of our party really wanted to try Buffalo Trace. When we went to Town Branch they told us the tour and tasting had to happen together and it would be 1.5 hours. We all thought it was a sign to skip it and go to Buffalo Trace. Where we joined the last tour of the day!</span></b><b id="docs-internal-guid-fbd45270-d160-6543-1964-b17092b3cdc9" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><b id="docs-internal-guid-fbd45270-d160-6543-1964-b17092b3cdc9" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszElzf3KkjyCSxg8HxEX_-h_ohyBKndzzHbk79FJbhCM_4y4kR0mr_n4C6Dwa8JGa1xzM6TYAZbR7hpUBQKElfcRs7_OZ2TtA6abEm5Rvxx8L8pVwreDlHfDIwuh1Vm68doLRSHGN11w/s1600/IMG_6242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszElzf3KkjyCSxg8HxEX_-h_ohyBKndzzHbk79FJbhCM_4y4kR0mr_n4C6Dwa8JGa1xzM6TYAZbR7hpUBQKElfcRs7_OZ2TtA6abEm5Rvxx8L8pVwreDlHfDIwuh1Vm68doLRSHGN11w/s400/IMG_6242.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></b><b id="docs-internal-guid-fbd45270-d160-6543-1964-b17092b3cdc9" style="font-weight: normal;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saturday we woke up to find our rental car had a flat tire. That delayed us a bit and because Maker’s Mark closed at 3pm that day we decided to make it the first tour of the day. That was also a happy accident because Maker’s Mark was pretty far away! But it was awesome and worth the trip. We ended the day with Jim Beam and that was a circus. I am glad we didn’t start there.</span></div>
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</b><b id="docs-internal-guid-fbd45270-d160-6543-1964-b17092b3cdc9" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><b id="docs-internal-guid-fbd45270-d160-6543-1964-b17092b3cdc9" style="font-weight: normal;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was the designated driver on this trip but still learned a lot about Bourbon. The tours were very informative. For example Bourbon is America’s only native spirit. Bourbon is governed by a law that states:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bourbon must be made in the United States (95% is made in Kentucky)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Barrel has to be new, charred, oak</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Has to be at least 51% corn</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Can’t add any colors or flavors</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Has to be aged for at least one year in Kentucky to be called “Kentucky Bourbon”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When distilled it has to be at least 160 proof and can’t be more than 125 proof going into the barrel</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Has to be aged for at least two years to be Bourbon</span></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-fbd45270-d160-6543-1964-b17092b3cdc9" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjWwsRMK-ZOosvYbO5Y-TbINANkKfWb_P-i6Bd8FfrNgaMc3-nGg1y1Nk8Ot08HWob1xbIOSIOYW92EvlR2xkf5sRgqbHTmEaCtSOi3Sa2ZtMCleOrE5DdGejosSo0Qn2VXJX9c10CXLg/s1600/HipstamaticPhoto-532043995.734830.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjWwsRMK-ZOosvYbO5Y-TbINANkKfWb_P-i6Bd8FfrNgaMc3-nGg1y1Nk8Ot08HWob1xbIOSIOYW92EvlR2xkf5sRgqbHTmEaCtSOi3Sa2ZtMCleOrE5DdGejosSo0Qn2VXJX9c10CXLg/s400/HipstamaticPhoto-532043995.734830.JPG" width="400" /></a></b></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-fbd45270-d160-6543-1964-b17092b3cdc9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another thing I learned is how to drink bourbon. Well, I didn’t drink it, but multiple places told us about the “Three sip method”. First you smell the bourbon with your mouth open and breath in through your nose. You can also breath in through your mouth to “smell” the bourbon too. This creates an interesting experience. I did try this step. The first sip is called “the chew”. In this sip you swirl the contents around your mouth and wake up your taste buds. The taters were encouraged to let the contents roll around their tongue. The next sip was called the “hug”. In this taste the bourbon starts to warm you up and gives you a hug. The third sip was called “the finish”. This is when you get the full experience of the bourbon. At Angel's Envy, the tasters went through all of these steps and then a second round was poured over one big cube of ice. This ice opened up the aroma of the bourbon and helped to improve its flavor (according to the tasters). So much so that members of our group started ordering bourbon with “one rock”. </span></b></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-fbd45270-d160-6543-1964-b17092b3cdc9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had a great time on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. I had great food and learned a lot about bourbon. It was a fun filled weekend with family and I look forward to making some Bourbon Balls for the holidays!</span></b></div>
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<br />everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-64762134912202364102017-10-18T21:30:00.000-07:002017-10-18T21:30:51.577-07:00Total eclipse in a canoe on a river<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-09dae66e-32d1-02e8-0743-87a80479d30e" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Icing on my summer cake. Total eclipse. Idaho and a canoe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">I had an epic summer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Starting with a five day Mammoth trip right after Memorial Day with Mo where <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2017/06/hiking-parker-lake-june-lake-loop.html" target="_blank">I hiked Parker Lake</a> and then <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2017/06/hiking-mcgee-creek-near-mammoth-ca.html" target="_blank">McGee Creek</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">After that T and I booked a <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2017/07/hiking-upper-antelope-canyon-photo-tour.html" target="_blank">photo tour in Antelope Canyon</a> before spending <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2017/07/lake-powell-epic-trip.html" target="_blank">a week on a houseboat on Lake Powell</a>. That was an AMAZING trip!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Then the Little Sister and I visited our Uncle in <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2017/08/hiking-and-biking-south-lake-tahoe.html" target="_blank">South Lake Tahoe for a few days and hiked and biked</a> all over. It was fun and I made sure to bring my hammock!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">I was accepted into a program at <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2017/08/a-week-at-harvard.html" target="_blank">Harvard for a week</a> and headed out right after returning from South Lake Tahoe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">The final trip this summer was to Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho in the Airstream. It was broken up into three sections. The first section T, Samson (the cat) and I <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2017/09/grand-targhee-bluegrass-festival.html" target="_blank">went to the Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival</a>. Then <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2017/09/ennis-montana-and-pink-hair.html" target="_blank">T took me to Ennis, MT</a>, one of his favorite fishing towns.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">The third part of the trip was going to be to Driggs, Idaho and a few weeks before our trip we realized we were scheduled to head home two days before the solar eclipse. Driggs was in the “line of totality” so it seems silly to leave before seeing a total solar eclipse. We modified our trip and ended up staying in Tetonia, Idaho which was near Driggs. I am SO GLAD we did. This was my favorite part of our trip.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">There was a bit of madness in the areas that had “totality” for the eclipse. Totality means the sun was completely covered by the moon and humans can view it with the naked eye for a minute or so. The area we stayed in was no exception. We ended up camping in a farmer’s field that he had sectioned off into camping spots. The restaurants had modified “eclipse menu’s” because of all the tourist and we were told to make sure we had gas and groceries as the town was going to run out. There were a lot less people then the town's expected, but probably more than they are used to. Ironically, camping in a farmer's field was the most expensive camping spot we had of the trip. But it was cool and he had a band come and play.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Our first day in town we got the lay of the land and scouted the Teton River to see if we could drift it in the canoe. The river meandered in such a way that we decided to have me be our shuttle service and bike back to get the truck when we were finished “drifting the river”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">The next morning we drifted the Teton River and it was awesome. First it was a lot deeper than the Madison River so we never had to get out and walk the canoe. Next, the water was so clear we could see TONS of fish. Not that they were feeding or interested in being caught….. but it was really cool to see so many fish. The </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">Teton River didn’t seem to take itself as seriously as the Madison River. There were people drifting in inner tubes or on Stand Up Paddle boards (SUP). Lots of kayaks and even a few more canoes. And a lot of people. For a river.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">But the coolest thing we saw on the river the first day were three bull moose. They were huge. We were in a narrow part of the river where it had forked and a canoe was ahead of us with three guys. They whispered back that a bull moose was around the bend feeding. It was standing in the water and about 15 feet away. All of a sudden the canoe in front of us that had been hugging the right bank frantically tried to get to the center of the river because another bull moose was in the water on the right side! It was so cool, and a little scary as we threaded the river with bull moose on either side. After we had passed and gave them some space T took a few photos. As we joined the main river another bull moose, this one was younger, was eating on the bank. It was really cool.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">The next day was the solar eclipse and T and I decided it would be cool to watch it from the canoe in the river. The biking shuttle service had worked but we decided to leave the truck at the end of the trip and I biked to the put-in in the morning. I made short videos that day of our adventure for my family. Here they all are stitched together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">The solar eclipse is one of the top ten things I have seen in my life. It was amazing. The light got so strange and then everything got really cold. The fish stopped jumping and all the animals were silent. T said it was like being in outer space. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">And we were so happy we decided to see it on the river in the canoe. Two other groups were out on the river so it was almost like we had it to ourselves. It was AMAZING.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">The next day we started our two day drive home. We stayed the night at a truck stop and made it home the next day. T took this photo in Utah that he calls the “Brochure Shot”. This is what we travel with for two weeks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Summer 2017 was packed with some many memories and adventures it has taken me until October to finish blogging about them! I have had moments in my life where I considered myself a homebody. When I have nested because maybe other parts of my life were not as positive as I wanted them to be. But something has changed. Or maybe the long days of summer encouraged me to go out, make plans, try new things, and to live my life. Whatever it was I feel like the ball has started rolling and I am excited to see where it takes me! So far my the fall season has had some pretty cool things happen and I can’t wait to share those with you!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Until then, here is my final photo from our trip. Somewhere in Utah, the sun was setting and I took this picture of T as he walked by......</span><br />x</div>
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everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-4413180300885916112017-09-25T22:38:00.000-07:002017-09-25T22:38:57.329-07:00Ennis, Montana and pink hair<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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My husband wants to move to Ennis, Montana. At least he tells me that once in awhile. Usually after a fishing trip where he went to Ennis, Montana. When he asks if I will move there I always ask if there is an ocean in Montana. I know there is not. We currently live three miles from the ocean in Southern California. I like it for a variety of reasons but my top two are the weather and how the ocean air REALLY helps my allergies. But I want to be open to possibilities and when he started mentioning I hadn’t even been there I would counter that I hadn’t been invited. And trust me, I don’t want to be invited on a fishing trip, but if he really wanted us to consider moving to Montana he should take me there. I think the words I used were “Try to woo me with Montana”.<br /><br />And when the <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2017/09/grand-targhee-bluegrass-festival.html" target="_blank">Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival trip </a>became a reality phase two of the trip was to Ennis, Montana.<br /><br />T (the husband) kind of planned the trip and we brought bikes and his canoe. He booked a campsite he had stayed in before and we drove through a pretty epic summer storm to Ennis. We arrived later in the evening and everyone was hunkered down in the rain. The campground had nice showers and laundry.<br /><br />The next morning was dry and clear and T started showing me the town he loved. We had breakfast at “<a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g45159-d4561956-Reviews-Yesterday_s_Soda_Fountain_Ennis_Pharmacy-Ennis_Montana.html" target="_blank">The Pharmacy</a>” where he ran into a guy he had fished with. Then we walked the main street looking in the different stores. When T would stop at a fly shop I would stay for a bit and then continue my exploration. From town we drove to look at the Madison River to see where we wanted to put the canoe in.<br />
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I learned a lot of things about fly fishing in Ennis during this trip. Things that T had mentioned before, but the visuals helped me understand. For example, there are “drift boats” and fly fishermen “drift the river”. This means that there are boats that have oars and an anchor that fishermen (we saw up to eight people on a different river but they were having a party and not fishing) float down a river and use the anchor to stop the boat when they see fish they want to “cast to”. The Madison River was filled with these boats and a lot of the times a fly fishing guide was taking out a paying customer.</div>
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<br />Because you are drifting down river in a boat, you need to figure out how to get your car to where you take the boat out of the water. There are “car shuttle services” that you can call to do this. You get them a copy of your keys and tell them where and about when you are taking the boat out of the water and they drop off your car for you for a fee.<br />
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<br />Our first full day in Ennis we scouted out where we wanted to “drift the river” in T’s canoe. Some locals had given us some suggestions and we drove some different routes to see if I could be the bike “shuttle service”. It turned out not as it was a pretty long bike ride and on the highway. But on our scouting adventure T kept saying it was so cool that he got to explore Ennis and see things he had never seen before. He explained that when he goes fishing with my uncle all they do is fish from sun up to sundown. There were a lot of things he had never seen before. Like the backside of the lake. Or Bear Trap Canyon where he ended up fishing on our trip. And places he had never eaten before like at <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g45267-d2193370-Reviews-McAllister_Inn_Steakhouse-McAllister_Montana.html" target="_blank">McAllister for dinner</a> (we ate in the bar) or the <a href="http://gravelbarmt.com/" target="_blank">Gravel Bar.</a> Places I might add that were really good! So even though T had been to Ennis, Montana numerous times, it was kind of an adventure for him too as he got to explore a different side of the town he already loved.<br />
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The next morning we were up early and took his canoe down to the Madison River. We used the canoe on our <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2017/07/lake-powell-epic-trip.html" target="_blank">Lake Powell trip</a> and T passed on his canoe knowledge in preparation for the trip down the river. A lot of it was about how to get back in a canoe if it tipped over. Actually almost all of this information was about that and I really thought we were going to be on a river where the canoe had a strong likelihood of tipping and I was going to be in deep water and use all these techniques to flip the canoe back over. He also kept calling the Madison River the “40 mile Ripple”. And when you looked at the river you could see how it had these really tiny rapids in it. That was the “ripple”.<br />
<br />Between all the talk of the canoe tipping and the “40 Mile Ripple” I was pretty paranoid about the canoe trip. So much so that even though I am a really strong swimmer, I always had my life vest on. Even when I realized how shallow the Madison River was. As in hardly past my ankles in some places. And other places so shallow that T got out of the canoe to move us. Or the time both of us had to get out of the canoe and walk it down the middle of the river.<br />
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<br />So…. A lot of things were lost in translation when T was talking about the river and tipping canoes and the “40 Mile Ripple”. But the drifting part was fun and T got to fish so that was nice for him. I even got to take a nap in the canoe at one point during his fishing and brought a book for the other stops.<br />
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Ennis was pretty cool but by the time we had been there a day I was starting to have some allergy issues. Itchy eyes and sneezing had started in Wyoming at the Bluegrass festival and got much worse in Ennis. It was a bummer and made me miss the ocean air of California.<br /><br />Another thing I noticed in Ennis was that T said he was from Washington (state) and that I was from California. I had noticed he said that when we were at the Bluegrass Festival but I really noticed it in Montana. It was more like “he was from Washington but we lived in California. And that I was a native Californian”. Almost (almost) like it was a bad thing. When I noticed this I said something to him and he apologized. I told him it was weird and that I felt like I needed to defend California. That I loved the state and would defend it. He stopped after we talked but I wonder if I was hyper sensitive about it because I had pink hair at the time and felt like I was that “weird girl from California”.<br /><br />Yes. Pink hair. Actually a pink streak in my hair.<br /><br />My hair guy had suggested it and it was this fun (temporary) thing I did before our trip. But I didn’t realize that having pink hair said a lot about me that I never intended it to. Before our trip people at work had made comments that made me realize I was making all sorts of statements I didn’t realize I was making. Like pink hair for feminism, for breast cancer survival, or for punk rock. Not anything I was going for. And when we were on our trip and T would make the comment about me being a “native Californian” I got self-conscious about my pink hair and what that was saying about me. In California I saw lots of people with pink hair, but not so much on our trip. So I wonder if I was extra sensitive to the comments T made about this topic or extra sensitive about pink hair. It might of been the hair even though you can’t see it very well in any of our photos.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxCzWCndceCUarTsfx75-N5U1Q_Fv6J_cDdAKjxv7XweIQ1kT1qxbDz1B0NQ4EJuUAJ8ahOtxsDN6QN1fKgUpar88r-dXm-Ts954Dn_l74PAJEGqKmfAzfGtw1u1MMnQrW9ixqvXDc48/s1600/IMG_5503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxCzWCndceCUarTsfx75-N5U1Q_Fv6J_cDdAKjxv7XweIQ1kT1qxbDz1B0NQ4EJuUAJ8ahOtxsDN6QN1fKgUpar88r-dXm-Ts954Dn_l74PAJEGqKmfAzfGtw1u1MMnQrW9ixqvXDc48/s400/IMG_5503.JPG" width="400" /></a><br /><br />
Ennis, Montana.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ75t_7oO_yhR_AawfycIMnYQNy-LweT5CTJnFDLOtCGnulsjtfixtpuPbw9teGMThMMCOQLhmtmMlgYzW95ax9HQIpCth-TahPH8E12cB1DvGX-6vx6EXscL0E1SPah3TCrzAccTwlDw/s1600/IMG_5844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="934" data-original-width="1600" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ75t_7oO_yhR_AawfycIMnYQNy-LweT5CTJnFDLOtCGnulsjtfixtpuPbw9teGMThMMCOQLhmtmMlgYzW95ax9HQIpCth-TahPH8E12cB1DvGX-6vx6EXscL0E1SPah3TCrzAccTwlDw/s400/IMG_5844.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Nice town. Short summer. Long, cold winter. A place I will never call home. Thanks for your hospitality and a chance to get to know you. You have captured a piece of my husbands heart and he shared your charms with me for a couple of days.<br /><br />Unfortunately our next stop in Tetonia, Idaho eclipsed (literally) my time in Ennis… =)everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-29161204884834765972017-09-08T07:30:00.000-07:002017-09-25T22:39:09.842-07:00Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBjgh_WCtMvYo67-U_hMIOAbbVhz3vjR32paG4HgNYPgljPihrbBp0i05Ne2TIALq6uQBtDtZ0ZC774eP835F5RHTCh0Okj0TbB7ZOSpMr7inJDZGfzmA18KQsMP0JYXPTxFK-FlVJiIA/s1600/IMG_5402.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBjgh_WCtMvYo67-U_hMIOAbbVhz3vjR32paG4HgNYPgljPihrbBp0i05Ne2TIALq6uQBtDtZ0ZC774eP835F5RHTCh0Okj0TbB7ZOSpMr7inJDZGfzmA18KQsMP0JYXPTxFK-FlVJiIA/s400/IMG_5402.JPG" /></a><br />
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How did I find myself at a Bluegrass Festival in Wyoming this summer? The short answer is T asked me to go. His long answer is that he heard a bluegrass band he liked on the radio and looked up to see the places they were playing. They weren't playing in California but they were playing in Wyoming, and T likes Wyoming. So he looked up the concert and it was at the <a href="http://www.grandtarghee.com/event/grand-targhee-bluegrass-festival/">Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival.</a> I light bulb went off and he remembered a friend from Idaho (he likes Idaho too) telling him about the Grand Targhee Bluegrass festival and he felt like all of this was a sign and asked me to go.<br />
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And that is how I found myself at the <a href="http://www.grandtarghee.com/event/grand-targhee-bluegrass-festival/">30th Annual Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival</a> this summer. There wasn’t a lot of information online about it but we learned you could camp there and we bought the airstream. We made a bigger trip out of it and the Bluegrass Festival was the first third of the trip. After that we went to Ennis Montana and then Tetonia and Driggs Idaho to see the eclipse.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCjPl7eAVZjQTpx_Yj1hvKFajn7YQrN-IaG3pN4wdWOoiKZVcGtTUFBQEayfZAC9M9I6vr4crRXtgDdbjna9WOrm9IpeQwS4r9UF7VkDf_CwcZDobN8McMYZUG3DoXw7RcKBDq6n0-GoI/s1600/IMG_5370.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCjPl7eAVZjQTpx_Yj1hvKFajn7YQrN-IaG3pN4wdWOoiKZVcGtTUFBQEayfZAC9M9I6vr4crRXtgDdbjna9WOrm9IpeQwS4r9UF7VkDf_CwcZDobN8McMYZUG3DoXw7RcKBDq6n0-GoI/s400/IMG_5370.JPG" /></a><br />
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This was my first festival and I learned some things for next time. I was glad we had the airstream. We camped in a meadow with a ton of other people. We arrived the day before the festival started and found a place for the airstream. T leveled and secured it the best he could and then sat back and watched as other people found places to stay. It was entertaining and kind of amazing how many people eventually filled in the meadow. I don’t have a photo to do it justice, but here a few I have.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlIZOWf3EBskcdostDh53pWVlXdVhHozF-007_quWGjCpyTtrjrfytXTr3iJOq8R1wSnUs1MNUUTQf-KTchYd0ac95W8LgRhvqKvn9Qe8BtFx7H82g3FDm_4AxjPKc_e21K0wLvknIh2w/s1600/IMG_5393.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlIZOWf3EBskcdostDh53pWVlXdVhHozF-007_quWGjCpyTtrjrfytXTr3iJOq8R1wSnUs1MNUUTQf-KTchYd0ac95W8LgRhvqKvn9Qe8BtFx7H82g3FDm_4AxjPKc_e21K0wLvknIh2w/s400/IMG_5393.JPG" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8sZ4Qgyl6nX5_jNYwFliCtF9QFxJJhP40aMx0naKiHBLwOTDEAHelS9Ji0mdJYA0Xc2edfU33Fgs_zUBIny9yeXpjSQwpDCFwlh3_j8-3_BtTYE_WNF8lKavABz6EivALeqrYed54ddQ/s1600/IMG_5394.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8sZ4Qgyl6nX5_jNYwFliCtF9QFxJJhP40aMx0naKiHBLwOTDEAHelS9Ji0mdJYA0Xc2edfU33Fgs_zUBIny9yeXpjSQwpDCFwlh3_j8-3_BtTYE_WNF8lKavABz6EivALeqrYed54ddQ/s400/IMG_5394.JPG" /></a><br />
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The band that T came to see, the band that got us to the Bluegrass Festival in the first place was <a href="http://www.mandolinorange.com/news/">Mandolin Orange</a> and they were the first band to perform. They went on at 3pm but the gates opened at 1pm and earlier that day we heard people were lining up. We lined up about 11:30 and after going through bag checks we waited with about a hundred other people to get our seats. T and I had decided being by the sound booth was a good idea and I was surprised when the people took off running to get their spots. They had tarps that they staked down. We had just brought chairs and were a little caught off guard. But we ended up getting pretty good seats and I went back to the airstream and grabbed a big tablecloth that we ended up using as our “tarp”.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtL4gQYwRgg4_4heh6e4UvaCRGn27BSBCQgsZSa1YzRG4xjeOad-ty14LnJZkQx_QkKiDw1B4IjdFjTz298aSKZctgJgIMM4g6qr6XW8zlC8-Pva-tPovWSpSX3-VbrkYBzuIN2RRkH4/s1600/IMG_5377.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtL4gQYwRgg4_4heh6e4UvaCRGn27BSBCQgsZSa1YzRG4xjeOad-ty14LnJZkQx_QkKiDw1B4IjdFjTz298aSKZctgJgIMM4g6qr6XW8zlC8-Pva-tPovWSpSX3-VbrkYBzuIN2RRkH4/s400/IMG_5377.JPG" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikH2jkHBRYW_5eq3pzo6LphoByl6U-MLWfsK5cpS-7P5ugSf2m4jhla_obj7ivpYckA3bBo3IzzC078K1qld_fxUYi3J1Mier4AEEeeFThLCI0q7BpicQSV_kp8ptyZd1iPfCoxqMk_M0/s1600/IMG_5379.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikH2jkHBRYW_5eq3pzo6LphoByl6U-MLWfsK5cpS-7P5ugSf2m4jhla_obj7ivpYckA3bBo3IzzC078K1qld_fxUYi3J1Mier4AEEeeFThLCI0q7BpicQSV_kp8ptyZd1iPfCoxqMk_M0/s400/IMG_5379.JPG" /></a><br />
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A lot of people tarped their spots and left but we stayed and started the Bluegrass Festival with <a href="http://www.mandolinorange.com/news/">Mandolin Orange</a>.<br />
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They were AMAZING.<br />
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I didn’t mention this yet but T has been playing Bluegrass non-stop. Over and over and over. Six hour drive to Mammoth - bluegrass. Ten minute drive - bluegrass. So much bluegrass. I was kind of getting over it. And his favorite bluegrass group was Mandolin Orange so I had heard them over and over and over again. So when they were about to play and he asked me if I wanted to go down to the stage with him I said no. But then they started playing and they were awesome and I thought it would be cool to be at the stage with T. And that was how the rest of the festival went.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTD3qNgb6ma3pWiOFsiU1ilwlOKuKTaoVJn2F0-gVxIQuQr4XWPdjdMT1beYQ8X_iEHq9C_YTNq7yph_CZ7n0zOEttn_nzXEXSLn2m-yA-vdU5gls-AcOZxdvkmlEHhnuG2xSddclS4O4/s1600/FullSizeRender+5.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTD3qNgb6ma3pWiOFsiU1ilwlOKuKTaoVJn2F0-gVxIQuQr4XWPdjdMT1beYQ8X_iEHq9C_YTNq7yph_CZ7n0zOEttn_nzXEXSLn2m-yA-vdU5gls-AcOZxdvkmlEHhnuG2xSddclS4O4/s400/FullSizeRender+5.jpg" /></a><br />
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There were seventeen bands over three days and all of them were amazing. We went to the stage for some of them or hung out in our chairs. During the evening everyone would get up and dance. And the shows would go late. So late one night that I was sleeping in my chair and T woke me up to walk back.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3hC-2J5f1jQaYSNKApThEGLfh1jgN2J_DEHELF6y5u_2x_3wp9hXmVr7IlVDJRGW_fDI2lJusJ_8W2NuefQSyFUxot_yrNEGELGaJ0GFbs09_JnCERn7n-yN1P7_OA8vE-aG4Qs-96o/s1600/IMG_5376.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3hC-2J5f1jQaYSNKApThEGLfh1jgN2J_DEHELF6y5u_2x_3wp9hXmVr7IlVDJRGW_fDI2lJusJ_8W2NuefQSyFUxot_yrNEGELGaJ0GFbs09_JnCERn7n-yN1P7_OA8vE-aG4Qs-96o/s400/IMG_5376.JPG" /></a><br />
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All of the people were nice and the people who were sitting in front of us had been going to the festival for twenty years. They kind of adopted us and were fun to be with. They were staying in the condos and it was cool to see the inside of those.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA6ZFMu8bo9FNgClAwJ-Gh6NlOGWnur56epH0Fd5FVKc5f_krRc3PEuunR96e8QvojM5W9uT_GVwll0OZt6sQEZLmEN-XXnbJJaaoEINndm14E4Wg380A06q9AUjTXmPij0Nev66h9LeA/s1600/FullSizeRender+3.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA6ZFMu8bo9FNgClAwJ-Gh6NlOGWnur56epH0Fd5FVKc5f_krRc3PEuunR96e8QvojM5W9uT_GVwll0OZt6sQEZLmEN-XXnbJJaaoEINndm14E4Wg380A06q9AUjTXmPij0Nev66h9LeA/s400/FullSizeRender+3.jpg" /></a><br />
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We brought some food with us each day but also bought some food from the vendors. No outside alcohol is allowed in, but they will sell it to you inside. I wasn’t thinking when I packed and didn’t realize Grand Targhee is a mountain resort which means there was some COLD nights. Layers are the name of the game for these kinds of events. I was really glad to have my beanie and wool socks! It did rain a little during a few shows and that was something else I wasn’t ready for. But it was just short showers during the day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5dzNXKD1ALNLUnpJ3Ue9lcifuXwwSQ7neBxR4aGRyfhpeYHD0yNyEILi5gfDsBzK8Gqq_hVR8lbbp9UZhT-Xq4KsdNlAIU05DgB2l1zJ4LT3pvlpL7bA4tFDnIWQrzvUXeQ4Klrj6h8/s1600/IMG_5380.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5dzNXKD1ALNLUnpJ3Ue9lcifuXwwSQ7neBxR4aGRyfhpeYHD0yNyEILi5gfDsBzK8Gqq_hVR8lbbp9UZhT-Xq4KsdNlAIU05DgB2l1zJ4LT3pvlpL7bA4tFDnIWQrzvUXeQ4Klrj6h8/s400/IMG_5380.JPG" /></a><br />
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On the last day of the festival we got up early and hiked to the top of the ski hill to look at the backside of the Grand Tetons. It was cold hiking that day and really cold at the top of the mountain. The good thing was that we took the ski lift down so we only had to hike up!<br />
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The festival was supposed to end around 5pm on Sunday but multiple bands had problems getting to the venue that day. It was amazing to see the bands play extra long sets and even a local band that wasn’t scheduled on Sunday played again to keep the festival going. Good vibes kind of things. But all the bands eventually made it and the festival wrapped up about 8pm. It was an amazing festival and we will go back.<br />
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That night it poured rain and I was once again thankful for the airstream. In the morning we had breakfast at the resort and got on our way a little before lunch. We stopped in Driggs, Idaho and then start our trip to Ennis, Montana through a pretty big storm. T keeps telling me he wants to move to Ennis and I keep asking if there was an ocean there. Our next stop was Ennis, Montana and I will report on that soon. Spoiler alert, I am not moving there….everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-22263663177570330592017-08-27T21:54:00.002-07:002017-08-27T22:02:25.471-07:00A week at Harvard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO2wX2fO5kt48TR7fo4FjFmxTV5dwCU5nkhVfJ2UQMd5iSH6kyZWXuZvJ6hyIiNpH36ECiYQ9aG9-LxpN18SwsUtlhZgnKqI5b-GhBcnvesRMEmYbzKcyo6GhliCzIzpR7HJBimbuh3DU/s1600/IMG_5323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1141" data-original-width="1141" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO2wX2fO5kt48TR7fo4FjFmxTV5dwCU5nkhVfJ2UQMd5iSH6kyZWXuZvJ6hyIiNpH36ECiYQ9aG9-LxpN18SwsUtlhZgnKqI5b-GhBcnvesRMEmYbzKcyo6GhliCzIzpR7HJBimbuh3DU/s400/IMG_5323.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">The day after I returned from <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2017/08/hiking-and-biking-south-lake-tahoe.html" target="_blank">Hiking and Biking South Lake Tahoe</a> I was on a red eye flight to Boston. A friend picked me up at 6am and we went to free yoga in the park and then had an amazing breakfast at <a href="http://www.beehiveboston.com/" target="_blank">The Beehive</a> before she dropped me off for a week at Harvard.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Yep. Harvard.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">THE Harvard.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">In a strange twist of events or maybe in the way that people make their own fate, I found myself accepted to a <a href="https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ppe/program/leadership-institute-academic-librarians" target="_blank">Library Leadership Academy at Harvard</a> after being awarded a scholarship from a state organization in California. I recently accepted a new position (remember my <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2016/04/how-to-resign-from-job.html" target="_blank">How to Resign from a Job </a>post?) and have found myself in more of a leadership position and was looking for a little guidance to be more effective in my job. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">I ended up getting some great tools at the <a href="https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ppe/program/leadership-institute-academic-librarians" target="_blank">Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians at Harvard</a>. And because what happens at Harvard stays at Harvard (just like Vegas until Instagram came around) I don’t have a lot of stories to share about the details of the program except to say that it was one of the best programs I have ever attended and my fellow attendees were a big reason for that. If you have an opportunity to attend a program through the Graduate School of Education at Harvard, I highly recommend it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">I had a good time during my trip and here are a few photos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Sunrise landing in Boston.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Waiting for free yoga in the park.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Bloody Mary at The Beehive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">My <a href="https://www.vrbo.com/140088" target="_blank">“home away” studio </a>that I loved. Murphy Beds rule!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Walking to “school”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Harvard tour. Ironically the tour guide was a Harvard student who was from a town close by.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Late night entrance to the apartment building.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">The Library featured in the movie <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ7Fm26YJjs" target="_blank">“With Honors”</a>. We went on a tour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">The “dead-center” of town. Literally and figuratively.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">I walked through this door everyday. I loved that the door was bright yellow and the stairs were green.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">I got some Harvard swag!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">We had a “clam bake” which was really a lobster fest! (photo by Katie).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Taking public transportation to the airport. A five year old sat next to me (with his dad) and talked to me the whole way. I tried to look intimidating but he saw through it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Boston Cream Pie at the airport. Is this a real Boston cream pie?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">I was happy to be within walking distance of everything I needed during this trip because the roads were really confusing in Boston. At least to me and my friend that lives there! The people in Cambridge (where Harvard is) were less friendly than I usually run into when I travel. Maybe it was because it was a transition time in the college town, but when I run in the morning in most places I find people are friendly and respond to greetings from me. Cambridge was different and I noticed it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">I love to eat and I tried a lot of restaurants in Cambridge. The Beehive in Boston was amazing and then nothing stands out until I went to <a href="http://www.mikespastry.com/" target="_blank">Mike’s Pastry for cannoli</a> the night before I left. If I could have brought cannoli home, I would have!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">The weather was warm and humid but not overwhelming. It rained a few times and it was kind of nice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Cambridge was an interesting town and Harvard is the oldest university in the United States. It was cool to see all the history and as I mentioned above, the program I attended was outstanding!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">So I got to attend Harvard…. check that off my list and onto my next summer adventure including a Bluegrass Festival and Eclipse 2017!</span></div>
everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-83004453286361038132017-08-17T08:52:00.001-07:002017-08-17T08:52:11.402-07:00Hiking and biking South Lake TahoeHoly Moley my summer is busy! A week after <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2017/07/lake-powell-epic-trip.html" target="_blank">my epic Lake Powell trip</a> the Little Sister and I loaded our bikes in the car and drove to South Lake Tahoe to do some mountain biking and see our Uncle. When we showed up our Uncle was under the weather and not feeling up to mountain biking with us. That was fine, we decided to try a few trails without him.<br /><br />And that is when we had a rude awakening.<br /><br />Do you remember that I got a <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2016/06/that-new-bike-smell.html" target="_blank">new bike about a year ago</a>? It was a hybrid road bike that could handle “light” mountain biking. Well the first ride of our Lake Tahoe trip I realized how light that really meant. The Little Sister and I got up early and headed for the start of the <a href="http://www.tahoeadventuresports.com/mbikeindex/south/powerline.htm" target="_blank">Power Line Trail </a>off Saddle Rd. I don’t think we even made it five minutes when we realized we were in over our heads. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<br />The Power Line Trail I have come to discover could be classified as an intermediate trail. Some of the websites we looked at said it could be a beginner trail, but there was A LOT of sand on the trail and our tires were slipping all over the place. And not just my tires. The Little Sister was having issues also. We were bummed, but knew we couldn’t mountain bike the trail. It was a rude awakening to realize that we needed real mountain bikes (not hybrid bikes) to ride the kind of trails we were hoping to ride in Lake Tahoe. Very quickly our mountain biking trip turned into a hiking trip. It was a bummer but we tried to get some biking and hiking in during the week we were there.</div>
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<br />I forgot to mention that we started the trip with a short bike ride in Mammoth Lakes. We took the <a href="https://www.mammothtrails.org/trail/8/lakes-basin-path/" target="_blank">Lakes Basin bike path</a> from Horseshoe Lake to town and then hitched a ride on the trolley (with our bikes) back to Horseshoe Lake and the car.</div>
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<br />When we realized that we could not bike the Power Line Trail we decided to hike it instead. Our hike was a bit of a loop through Power Line Trail - Cold Creek Trail - Power Line Trail. Overall it was about seven miles of hiking and I was starving and sweaty afterwards! <br /><br />The next day we left early to hike the <a href="https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/rubicon-trail" target="_blank">Rubicon Trail in D.L. Bliss State Park</a>. Our Uncle highly recommended it and it did not disappoint. Parking is limited so we got there early and were happy we did. The hike goes from D.L. Bliss State Park to Emerald Bay along Lake Tahoe with some amazing views. The hike is fairly level but it was pretty long for two girls who live at sea level and where now at a much higher elevation. We made it to “Boat Camp” at Emerald Bay before turning around and hiking back. This was a beautiful hike and I would do it again!</div>
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<br />I feel like a made a few mistakes on this trip and one of them might of been not having hiking boots. My hiking boots fell apart during the Mammoth trip I did right after Memorial Day. Literally fell apart. The soles cracked on the Parker Lake hike and by the time I was in the grocery store that night they had come off completely. I had those hiking boots for years and loved them. I wasn’t in a hurry to find a new pair and for that reason I only brought converse tennis shoes (with arch supports) on the Tahoe trip. Probably not my best idea considering we were doing 7-8 mile hikes and I was wearing converse….</div>
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<br />The following day my Uncle was feeling better and took us on a bike trail behind his house. It was a about 3.5 miles and I had to walk my bike twice, but it was fun and I was inspired (again) to get a real mountain bike! The rest of the day we laid low as the hiking had done a number on my feet. I had some quality hammock time!</div>
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Our final day in Tahoe we took advantage of the paved bike trails and biked from Myers to just past Baldwin Beach where the bike path joined the highway before Emerald Bay. Round trip it was about 22 miles. The trail was beautiful and my hybrid bike did great. </div>
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This Lake Tahoe trip was a lot of fun. I realized I need a real mountain bike if I want to bike in the mountains (which I think I do) and that I need some new hiking boots. Lake Tahoe is about a ten hour drive from my house and I wish it was closer. I am trying to see if some more biking / hiking trips can be in my future!</div>
everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-46034431934828649292017-07-25T06:36:00.000-07:002017-07-25T06:36:17.834-07:00Lake Powell, an epic trip. <div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-ea1bad97-74fc-b3ca-32e4-ac2bee7d3669" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">“This is it folk, an epic trip to Lake Powell. A once in a lifetime opportunity”. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">No, this was not a late night infomercial. It was a line in an email I received from a friend almost a year ago. He was proposing a week long houseboat trip on Lake Powell and T and I were in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">I had never been to Lake Powell before and had no idea what to expect. Our friend organized the trip and we rented the <a href="http://www.lakepowell.com/houseboating/luxury-houseboats/65-ft-axiom-star-houseboat/" target="_blank">Axiom Star</a>, a super fancy boat. He also did all the meal planning, prep, and bought or rented a ton of stuff for the trip. Don’t worry, we all split the cost, but when our friend goes big, he goes BIG.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0407Lp_C-pehzw4XQUSH4U5GgT_URrEGc5paXuXFtBYCMlb6D_GNEbMoVV3o-ZVrGUUKyHp7pWdGE9wzPQMZezz9oc7BuXqdFD3ZKaVetodrVPAM7orSpUsosQ5dBrWTsPvaZAxOo4FY/s1600/IMG_5182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0407Lp_C-pehzw4XQUSH4U5GgT_URrEGc5paXuXFtBYCMlb6D_GNEbMoVV3o-ZVrGUUKyHp7pWdGE9wzPQMZezz9oc7BuXqdFD3ZKaVetodrVPAM7orSpUsosQ5dBrWTsPvaZAxOo4FY/s400/IMG_5182.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Axiom Star and crew. Photo by T and T.M.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">I did very little research before the trip except to monitor the weather in Page, AZ. T did a little research before the trip and that is how we ended up going on <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2017/07/hiking-upper-antelope-canyon-photo-tour.html" target="_blank">our Upper Antelope Canyon -photo tour</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Everyone met up on Saturday and it was a bit crazy organizing everything. Keith, our friend who had organized everything had ordered all this stuff online and everyone had different jobs to do. Some people were picking up food from Safeway, putting it in coolers and bringing it to the house we rented for one night. There was a Walmart pick up, people needed to get the power boat and jet skies. Then someone had to get paddle boards. It was nuts. Once all this had been done, everything needed to be put in the fridge or freezer. The next morning everything was organized in coolers and we headed to the boat at 9:30am. I think it was already 105 degrees outside.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Loading the boat was another crazy adventure and I am thankful for the porter with the quad 4X4s and their train of three bins. We had five cars worth of stuff. It took 12 people three hours to load the boat and finally we were on our way. As soon as we were out in the lake we turned off the boat and jumped in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Vacation time.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsfYgMKCtZWMlxo_tRE_6OJFDFgUmES0otUZuRhM2FspEAhFDXKXnS34SpG3KW9vgFRIiTJEw6injKdcK2tjmIl4ecJDuYSqNgtbTH0xPNDhrxbkWM5ZMNbkHDWNoBQi1ldQpbUaZnTd4/s1600/IMG_5181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsfYgMKCtZWMlxo_tRE_6OJFDFgUmES0otUZuRhM2FspEAhFDXKXnS34SpG3KW9vgFRIiTJEw6injKdcK2tjmIl4ecJDuYSqNgtbTH0xPNDhrxbkWM5ZMNbkHDWNoBQi1ldQpbUaZnTd4/s400/IMG_5181.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake party. Photo by Jo</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Except then our boat started acting up. The engine was catching weird and we called into the marina and a mechanic met the boat out on the lake. Eventually we were underway and the mechanic was supposed to come out the next day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">Our boat was meeting up with another houseboat and it was the <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/search?q=cherry+lake" target="_blank">people we go to Cherry Lake with</a>. T and I were on the boat with the <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/search?q=cancun" target="_blank">people we went to Cancun with</a> and they were related to the Cherry Lake people. A brother-sister relationship and then tons of cousins and spouses, friends, etc. The Cherry Lake crew have a houseboat timeshare and come to Lake Powell every two years. Our Cancun friends had come with them years before and wanted to come again with a second houseboat and that was how this trip got started.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhehbcCmAF2rMGu6HuEiRvgkP0GYTyZh_c1Y6cX8P7FyHpc-ILB6fnMenDwlzWlPEEUqxgO7N9y6XY4zTJX4_TDn4Tn2KGLUffbZzbynH1gwfBWvjfbsTw0B-_YxoYxs5S4ELIsXAySvqY/s1600/IMG_5196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="900" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhehbcCmAF2rMGu6HuEiRvgkP0GYTyZh_c1Y6cX8P7FyHpc-ILB6fnMenDwlzWlPEEUqxgO7N9y6XY4zTJX4_TDn4Tn2KGLUffbZzbynH1gwfBWvjfbsTw0B-_YxoYxs5S4ELIsXAySvqY/s400/IMG_5196.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our boats a Padre's Bay. Photo by T</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">We arrived, anchored the boat SECURELY to the shore and had salmon salad and chicken wings for dinner. There were four couples on the boat and we each got our own (small) stateroom. There were also four kids on the boat and they slept on the top deck. The Axiom Star is a first class boat with air conditioning. I have a hard time sleeping in air conditioning and bundled up at night with a beanie to be able to sleep. Everyone else loved it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">The next six days were cell and internet free. I hardly took any photos. We were divided into cooking crews and when it was your couples day, you cooked all day. You were paired with someone else as a team of four. Everyone cooked twice. I would get up in the morning and do some yoga on red rocks on the edge of the lake. I also tried stand up paddle-boarding for the first time and ended up doing it everyday. Sometimes I was standing and other times sitting. A lot of the time I would hang out with Brenna, Keith’s wife on the lake and we would just talk or explore. It was cool.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJFwt9pLgcM1dJvlR64MAqnqLr2qJFo9yLGidJzzo9po9KRwt5UuDOwg_PPa2tjVq4XTEqhCXooD8RTL_0YTJ5OqDjhUKg_Kj2QrAJuJhsGtiXSrR7KF0NmUBOGTwFPwu2nzmvLEpGtc/s1600/IMG_5142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJFwt9pLgcM1dJvlR64MAqnqLr2qJFo9yLGidJzzo9po9KRwt5UuDOwg_PPa2tjVq4XTEqhCXooD8RTL_0YTJ5OqDjhUKg_Kj2QrAJuJhsGtiXSrR7KF0NmUBOGTwFPwu2nzmvLEpGtc/s400/IMG_5142.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early morning paddle-board.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtk7v1MEyUvSix2cvAFz8yuwek8MCQVEvctIitmhUPpuIAzfcP5YXe9HokrlQiwzPoOOsRP5kCIvHe1RxwYcwSBXoTUTDDrwU14IZvzAkBhyaKhVANomvx31xd4B_Ta8fQoi0IPYue3DY/s1600/FullSizeRender+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtk7v1MEyUvSix2cvAFz8yuwek8MCQVEvctIitmhUPpuIAzfcP5YXe9HokrlQiwzPoOOsRP5kCIvHe1RxwYcwSBXoTUTDDrwU14IZvzAkBhyaKhVANomvx31xd4B_Ta8fQoi0IPYue3DY/s400/FullSizeRender+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Brenna.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-61PDxIjOQXXKj2hJmXUKoFQc5IHp3w27ZOU3-zKUNmruZE_FRjUXefo9-30ggAUR3XPlrmxStu5-40Yy59eivLFlp_Osi0tWuO5NYcKOxjCwTqpr2tl0C8Ip2VDcAH519QTOcD5WKGk/s1600/IMG_5209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="900" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-61PDxIjOQXXKj2hJmXUKoFQc5IHp3w27ZOU3-zKUNmruZE_FRjUXefo9-30ggAUR3XPlrmxStu5-40Yy59eivLFlp_Osi0tWuO5NYcKOxjCwTqpr2tl0C8Ip2VDcAH519QTOcD5WKGk/s400/IMG_5209.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paddle-boards from above. Photo by T.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">T brought his canoe and that was fun also. It was a little tipsy, but a lot of fun.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-GZpBN8Kti0pxjfybluUMqwyDeLn9pz7kK54_oAkfaQddOH32byoBdLRQuT9-6CZ0VmOCfstnc4eDs3taqmSbEfrm1KkGwYJk7ImFo5em-jkDEiX3l7O0beTZ-uTrUbIWVl-ALq5rClw/s1600/IMG_5191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-GZpBN8Kti0pxjfybluUMqwyDeLn9pz7kK54_oAkfaQddOH32byoBdLRQuT9-6CZ0VmOCfstnc4eDs3taqmSbEfrm1KkGwYJk7ImFo5em-jkDEiX3l7O0beTZ-uTrUbIWVl-ALq5rClw/s400/IMG_5191.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SUP and Canoe at Lake Powell. Photo by T.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: arial;">I went on the seadoo once and it was not my thing. We took the powerboats (the other boat had one too) to do a hike in West Canyon. The Cherry Lake boat had done the hike before and told us to go until it “dead ends”. Remember that point. Both boats went as far as we could into West Canyon and then we swam until we made it to dry land. The group of us then followed a small stream until we got to a shallow slot canyon that we had to swim through. It was awesome.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE6QanCW-swc9VgOVNiy2JBqvqLZhuElB8D59j3_uqZqYx2fX8whsmLfzAfCLjgKDHSQT2SDXEx-5e99QSdag1hNjzDo1YO8I6SpuDd10irl6NbqOtb9QrjlIZkn0gHnQMSrzC44fAsmw/s1600/IMG_5202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE6QanCW-swc9VgOVNiy2JBqvqLZhuElB8D59j3_uqZqYx2fX8whsmLfzAfCLjgKDHSQT2SDXEx-5e99QSdag1hNjzDo1YO8I6SpuDd10irl6NbqOtb9QrjlIZkn0gHnQMSrzC44fAsmw/s400/IMG_5202.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">West Canyon slot section. Photo by T.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">I somehow ended up with the front group in the hike and after the slot canyon we climbed over some boulders and followed the train through a river wash that was very exposed to the sun and hot. We eventually found a smaller slot canyon that ended (dead ended) at a small but deep swimming hole. We figured out that the six of us had gone forward and the rest of the group had not. When we got back to the boat the Cherry Lake boat was gone and our boat had been waiting for us for about an hour. Opps. On our our boat of 10, 6 of us had completed the full hike. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">On the boat ride back a rain storm came in. It was monsoon season on the lake and all the water we were swimming in was from a monsoon earlier in the week. We had two monsoons when we were at Lake Powell and they were pretty cool. The second one, which was smaller than the first, was when we were coming back from hiking West Canyon. It was a cold wet ride back and I was pretty cold that night. The first monsoon was one evening about 4pm and you could see it coming. All of a sudden the wind picked up and it started POURING rain. We had most things secured and just did our best to stay out of the water as much as we could. We were camping in Padre’s Bay and there were about six boats around us. As the storm was letting up someone from the Cherry Lake people yelled that a houseboat a few boats down had come loose and needed help. A group ran down to help secure the boat and thankfully they did. It turns out the danger with houseboats is them fishtailing and ending up on the shore, beached. When you “anchor” a houseboat in Lake Powell you actually secure the back of the boat on both sides with anchors that you bury in the sand on land. It is a process, but really important. The Cherry Lake boat are houseboat pros and admitted they save at least one houseboat a trip. Lucky for them they got to save two this trip. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">A few days later we were all enjoying the lake, playing games on the slide coming off the boat, when someone asked, “Is that normal?”. Another boat had come loose and had done a 180. The bad thing was no one was on board and the seadoos were starting to get tangled. We ran over and yelled and tried to see if anyone was there before boarding and saving that boat. I just helped, but it was amazing that two boats were not secure. Secure your boat if you rent a houseboat. Learn how to REALLY secure your boat well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">I mentioned in the beginning of this post that our boat was having some engine issues and a mechanic was supposed to come out. Those issue eventually led to the guys taking the boat back for some service and the girls having a day to themselves on the shore. I think our plan might of been to explore more of the lake, but engine troubles kept us in one spot. It was a beautiful spot, but I can see that there are so many beautiful spots on Lake Powell.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTc8pqDBzX2Bo3y0_ImlND2jovpxYI6igyg_jMT6Oy2CX7uFeN6qw6cCL01LyUuNw_yu6S6y5b1vMeEJvSX6sny5FrmXxW_v3qEbk-iApXGOCx3XvTZmfeIH73cE3U6SuLulz_yq412p8/s1600/IMG_5169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTc8pqDBzX2Bo3y0_ImlND2jovpxYI6igyg_jMT6Oy2CX7uFeN6qw6cCL01LyUuNw_yu6S6y5b1vMeEJvSX6sny5FrmXxW_v3qEbk-iApXGOCx3XvTZmfeIH73cE3U6SuLulz_yq412p8/s400/IMG_5169.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Powell</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline;">This trip was delivered as a once in a lifetime trip and it might of been, but Lake Powell is a place I hope to continue to visit and explorer. I had an epic trip and fell in love with Lake Powell. I can’t wait to go back!</span></div>
everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-91754076398497409802017-07-20T06:00:00.000-07:002017-07-25T05:57:25.422-07:00Hiking Upper Antelope Canyon - Photo Tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My summer was pretty packed and my first adventure was a trip to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Powell" target="_blank">Lake Powell</a> on a houseboat that a friend had organized. Lake Powell is in Utah and Arizona. T and I got there a day early to go hike the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antelope_Canyon" target="_blank">Antelope Slot Canyon</a>. A co-worker had recommended the “photo tour” and we went with <a href="http://www.antelopeslotcanyon.com/" target="_blank">Chief Tsosie Tours</a>. The photo tour was limited to six people and you needed to bring a tripod for the best photos because we were going to the upper Antelope Canyon to get the “light beams”. It turns out that only photo tours are allowed to bring tripods into Antelope Canyon.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are two types of tours in Antelope Canyon and two sections of Antelope Canyon where there are tours, upper and lower Antelope Canyon. The canyon is on a Navajo Reservation so you have to go with one of the five tour companies and have a guide. The companies truck you in (in the back of a 4X4 truck) over about a mile of very dirty 4X4 terrain. The photo tour was in an air conditioned SUV and the guide (George) told us you didn’t want dirt to get in your camera so that was why the photo tour got an air conditioned SUV.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That reminds me, the day before our tour I found this video on YouTube about the <a href="https://youtu.be/NH5MwIyEe5I" target="_blank">5 important tips for Antelope Canyon</a> and it was pretty good. The guy had gone on the photo tour and his tips were good. One thing he mentioned was to bring a scarf to cover your face as it can get really dusty in the canyon.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There were six people on our tour and our tour guide George was excellent when it came to timing the light beams perfectly. There were lots of people in the canyon but the photo tours are the only ones who could have tripods and the only ones who could stop tours to take photos. The rule was that you could only stop for 2 minutes so George (the other guides called him “Photo George”) would get everyone set up and then clear the space and start the timer to shoot. He was the only guide that was not Navajo, but the Navajo guides seemed to like him because if their group was behind us they then got good photos too. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One thing about the photo tour is that you don’t really learn anything about the canyon. Our friends had taken a different tour of Lower Antelope Canyon and learned about different names of places in the canyon and different places that were significant to the Navajo people. I didn’t really hear that going on during any of the tours in Upper Antelope Canyon. If you are interested in the cultural significance of the canyon to the Navajo, see if you can find a tour that covers that topic. Our photo tour was all about the photos.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">T was the one who booked this tour and he was really surprised at how busy and Disneyland-ish it was. Not his style at all. But George was awesome and we got some great photos. There are slot canyons all over this area and T knew some people in college who used to travel to Utah for the weekend and shoot them. We discussed doing that next time and not taking a tour like this again.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So bottom line, glad we did it and got amazing photos but won’t do a tour again. I just don’t like feeling like cattle. But as being part of the herd was the only way to see Antelope Slot Canyon, I am glad we got to be “Kobe beef” and be part of the photo tour!</span></div>
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</b>everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-17649922234864305192017-07-06T07:30:00.000-07:002017-07-20T08:26:03.942-07:003-2-1 SUMMER!4th of July has just passed and my summer is about to get hot. Literally and figuratively. I have four trips planned in the next month and two of them are to hot places. The funny thing is that all four of them are different and require completely different clothes, or “wardrobes” if you will. But I am really excited about ALL of them.<br /><br />My first trip is to Lake Powell for an “epic” houseboat trip. At least that is how it has been described to me. The trip includes two houseboats and over 30 people. I have never been to Lake Powell and the photos look amazing. T and I are bringing his canoe for its first voyage! I have been told I only need to bring sunscreen and bathing suits. Lake Powell here we come!<br /><br />T and I are arriving a day early to take a photo / slot canyon tour in Page, AZ and on the way home we are stopping in Las Vegas for a night. This is going to be a great trip.<br /><br />My next adventure is a mountain biking trip to Lake Tahoe with the Little Sister. My Uncle lives up there and he is going to take us biking. I am a little worried that I am going to be the weakest link in our mountain biking gang. The Little Sister has been going on long rides for a while and my Uncle is a former Ironman Triathlete. Me…. I have been going to some spin classes at the YMCA and sometimes ride my bike 4 miles to work….my only (maybe) plus is that I spend a lot of time at high elevations in Mammoth so maybe that will help. I am also hoping we don’t do extreme mountain biking. I don’t think my bike can handle it. But once again, a whole new collection of clothes needed. I think about this because the trips are pretty close together and I am trying to figure out my packing…. <br /><br />The day after I get back from Lake Tahoe I leave for Boston, Massachusetts for a week long program at Harvard. I know, HARVARD! I am so excited. This is a work related thing and calls for a different wardrobe. The weather is going to be HOT and humid and the clothes need to be mostly professional. And then, even though it is hot, I have to have layers because the program is inside in air conditioning. I rented a studio apartment in Cambridge and am looking forward to my trip. I know it will be packed with work related stuff, but I am looking forward to visiting this area for the first time. <br /><br />My next trip (four days after I return from Harvard) T and I are taking an Airstream trip to a bluegrass festival in Wyoming. We are going to Idaho and Montana on this trip and taking his canoe and our bikes. And Samson the cat. Samson is an Airstream cat. T wants to show me all his favorite fishing places on this trip and places he talks about moving to. I always ask him if there is an ocean there when he talks about moving…. I love living near the ocean…. This trip also has a completely different clothing need. What does one wear to a bluegrass festival anyway? I am excited to go on this trip and see all the places that T loves so much. It is going to be fun! <br /><br />I pack for my first trip tonight and feel like the ball will start rolling downhill really quickly after that. I am excited to have so many adventures lined up this summer and look forward to sharing them with you here. <br /><br />3….2….1…...SUMMER! <br />everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-61084791879614947942017-07-01T08:00:00.000-07:002017-07-01T08:00:26.824-07:00June in photos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
June is over already. This might be a reoccurring theme, but this month flew by! What does Ferris Buller say?</div>
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<i>"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."</i></div>
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So true Ferris, so true.</div>
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I think I looked around a little, but I need to look around more so I don't miss my life. Here are a few moments I captured in June.</div>
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After graduation I went out with work people and eventually ended up at <a href="http://www.silkysullivans.com/" target="_blank">Silky Sullivan's</a> listening to this band, Soul'd Out. </div>
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I was working on a project at <a href="https://www.chapman.edu/" target="_blank">Chapman University</a> and loved the stairs that led from the parking under the football field. Well played Chapman.<br />
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Some friends of mine started a drink ware business (coffee junkies that they are) and I love seeing their products in stores! Keep living the dream guys! <a href="https://thecreated.co/collections/all" target="_blank">The Created Co.</a><br />
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And then I went to <a href="https://petalsandpop.com/" target="_blank">Petals & Pop</a>, a champagne / flower bar with vintage glasses. Yes please!<br />
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Some time in June I was at <a href="https://www.shuckoysterbar.com/" target="_blank">Shuck</a> having oysters and beer (for me),<span style="background-color: white;"> Prosecco </span>for the little sister) when we decided it would be a good idea to order the lobster Mac N Cheese. It was a good idea....<br />
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Speaking of the little sister.... the neighbor gave me one of those smart lightbulbs that you can program to turn on and off and she kept calling and calling. I snapped this photo to text her so she saw I was busy and why I wasn't answering the phone. It makes me laugh when I see it.<br />
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T the Middle Sister and I helped a friend host his company picnic. These signs made me smile and later made me laugh when I realized they said "Ice Tea" instead of "Iced Tea". I kept walking by them and couldn't figure out what was missing.<br />
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Summer time. The only time I MIGHT eat tomatoes. I don't like them but sometimes I find I have a batch of tomatoes from someones yard and T and I have really good caprese salads on the back patio.<br />
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And then there is Samson. I swear this cat sleeps 21 hours a day....<br />
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<br />everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-14837949025939278312017-06-28T19:46:00.000-07:002017-07-25T05:58:20.838-07:00Hiking McGee Creek near Mammoth, CA<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-a91afc2c-f1a7-230d-86a4-1457fe17d017" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">On the same trip that I <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2017/06/hiking-parker-lake-june-lake-loop.html" target="_blank">hiked Parker Lake</a> in the Eastern Sierra I also finally got to hike McGee Creek. <a href="http://www.sunset.com/travel/california/sierras/sierras_9" target="_blank">Sunset Magazine</a> had a write up about McGee Creek Pack Station (horses) a few years ago and T has gone fishing there a few times. We even <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2016/08/airstream-trip-to-cherry-lake-2016.html" target="_blank">camped right below this area last year</a> on our way to Cherry Lake but I had never made it up to McGee Creek. Until this year right after Memorial Day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Even though it has probably melted by now, there's was a lot of snow on the ground still when I was in Mammoth after Memorial Day. The McGee Creek hike was no different and the ranger at the visitor’s center had warned us that eventually snow would block our path. She was correct, but it was a nice hike anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Mo and I hiked McGee Creek after we had explored the <a href="https://www.bishopvisitor.com/owens-river-gorge-climbing/" target="_blank">Owen’s River Gorge</a> closer to Bishop. I think we hiked / walked the “lower gorge” as we dead ended at the power plant. The walk was exposed and along a paved road that the Department of Water and Power (DWP) used to access the power plant. We saw some climbers and fishermen but overall felt like it wasn’t really a nature hike like we were looking for. It was interesting but very exposed. I thought it would be cool to bike it before I realized it dead ended about two miles in. We went to explore another section of the gorge but changed our mind as a big asphalt truck went by us. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The drive to McGee Creek Canyon switchbacks up a hill with beautiful views of Crowley Lake. Drive past the campground and the pack station to the small parking area with a bathroom and a few camp spots. The trail is easy to follow with a few different paths that get you where you are going. We took the path that veered left to walk in the aspens and next to a very full and fast moving McGee Creek. We walked through patches of snow and eventually met up again with the main trail. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The beginning of our hike was exposed as we were walking in a canyon carved by a glacier. Eventually we made our way into some aspen trees but not before crossing a few minor streams that had decided to flow in the middle of the trail. Eventually we got to a place where we could not continue our hike because the snow blocked our path. It was still a lovely day and we enjoyed the hike very much.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">When we returned to Mammoth we tried a different brewery for "after hike beers". This time is was <a href="http://mammothbrewingco.com/" target="_blank">Mammoth Brewing Company</a> and for the first time I got to sit outside on their patio as I have only gone here in the winter before. Mo and I agreed it was a great way to end our day.</span></div>
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everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-13730953858488806912017-06-14T07:30:00.000-07:002017-06-14T09:47:32.209-07:00Current Crush: topless & barefoot, constellation, and hipstersCrushes can be so fun! During the first part of them. <br />
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I mean they are are called "crushes" because they ultimately crush your soul. At least the high school romantic varieties of crushes. I am SO GLAD that part of my life is over. And as a romantic side note, I ended up marrying my college crush and am happy to report I have continued to have a crush on him for almost twenty years..... Holy CUSSword! Almost Twenty Years.......<br />
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Wow.<br />
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Okay, back to my current crushes that don't actually crush my soul and are not of the romantic variety. I have three current crushes and they make me feel a little bit more giddy than might be normal. I mean, these are just ordinary things that I have a little crush on.<br />
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First up: <a href="http://www.essie.com/colors/neutrals/topless-barefoot.aspx" target="_blank">topless & barefoot nail polish from Essie</a>. Described as a "barely there soft beige pink", I kind of love this nail polish color. It just makes me happy when I paint my nails this color when it starts to get warmer. It looks natural, or maybe I should say neutral, but a little polished. I used to paint my nails all the time and have noticed that I am not so religious about it anymore. Not sure if that is a good or bad thing, but I do know that I always love it when I paint my nails this color!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXYvsltfOnDbuf8rbf3Gwhfk5sR4DNLRTGpYQF2u6XQOqHOJmLem1OLd0Oz3B-EhSbKWhFeqSIGYJunDIT1na1M3FiW7kv3jyFKlFefUbKE9kXp3RkkLSIKw0Qjjp_uylEGssC48vBWGE/s1600/Nails+topless+%2526+Barefoot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="hands hold mug" border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="736" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXYvsltfOnDbuf8rbf3Gwhfk5sR4DNLRTGpYQF2u6XQOqHOJmLem1OLd0Oz3B-EhSbKWhFeqSIGYJunDIT1na1M3FiW7kv3jyFKlFefUbKE9kXp3RkkLSIKw0Qjjp_uylEGssC48vBWGE/s400/Nails+topless+%2526+Barefoot.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">-----Essie Topless & Barefoot nail polish from <a href="http://laurens-list.com/">laurens-list.com</a></span></div>
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Next crush: <a href="http://www.luulla.com/product/487328/aquarius-ring-gold-or-silver-cz-constellation-ring-zodiac-ring-birth-month-wedding-gift-star-jewelry" target="_blank">Aquarius Constellation Ring</a>. I found this ring at a local store and kind of loved it. Mine is silver with crystals as the stars, and it was a fun idea to wear my birth constellation as a ring. I am not into "my sign" or horoscopes but this ring kind of charmed me and I smile when I look down and see I am wearing it. I found some online at <a href="http://www.luulla.com/product/487328/aquarius-ring-gold-or-silver-cz-constellation-ring-zodiac-ring-birth-month-wedding-gift-star-jewelry">luulla.com</a> if you are interested in having a constellation ring of your own!</div>
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Third crush: <a href="https://www.pandora.com/station/play/3631839203466491807" target="_blank">Hipster Cocktail Radio on Pandora</a>. Pandora is a music streaming service that let's you create stations by songs, artist, or themes. You can create a free account and thumbs up or thumbs down songs to curate your music stations. Free accounts have a few commercials and paid accounts do not. I stumbled across this music station in a store. I was there with my sisters and we commented how good the music playlist was. The girl working told us it was Hipster Cocktail Radio on Pandora and I have been hooked ever since.</div>
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So there you have my current crushes. The everyday items that are making me a little more giddy about my day than I normally am. And lucky for me, these crushes will probably turn into lasting relationships!</div>
everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-1115043547600532562017-06-09T20:00:00.000-07:002017-06-09T20:00:17.083-07:00A well placed accessoryThis morning I wanted to wear my pajamas to work.<br />
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Figuratively.<br />
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I was tired and didn't want to get dressed. It happens near the end of the spring semester. The burn out / draining / do I have to go to work feeling. I guess I should consider myself lucky that it doesn't happen more often. I hear there are people that feel like this everyday they have to go to work......<br />
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So I pulled myself together and got ready for work and two things happened.<br />
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The first is that I put on a big black and white striped / geometric scarf that I got at H&M during the <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2017/03/new-orleans-mardi-gras-food-and.html" target="_blank">New Orleans trip</a> and the second is that I wore jeans to work.<br />
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JEANS! What is happening to me? <br />
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The truth, my work fashion is evolving and I just realized it.<br />
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This blog is not a fashion blog but I do talk about what I wear sometimes. Ironically my number one blog post is my <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2012/09/lucky-dozen-october-challenge.html" target="_blank">Lucky Dozen Challenge</a> blog post which is a post about a clothing challenge the Little Sister and I did some years ago. It was when I was at my previous job and I had a lot of reasons to look very professional. During my nine years at that job I curated a specific look and had a lot of people tell me they were always inspired by my style. You can see some of my other Lucky Dozen challenge photos on my <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/everyaugust/albums/72157631664250884" target="_blank">Flickr account</a>.<br />
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When I resigned, my new job was close enough to my house that I could ride my bike to work. A lot of my old work outfits didn't work on the bike so I modified them and over the first year (which just ended) and realized my work look had evolved. <br />
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There are a number of reasons for this. Riding my bike to work was one factor. My job is different and not so "public" facing so I am not always on display. A lot of my colleagues are casual (college professors) and the building where my office is has a mix of really nice dressed people (the president and vice presidents) all the way to the student workers. It is a fashion mix for sure. <br />
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My own style has been evolving over this past year and today I wore jeans for the first time to work. They were new jeans. Dark and boot cut. Very flattering. I got them a few weeks ago and love them. Never underestimate a good pair of jeans. This morning I just wanted to feel comfortable for work so I put on the dark jeans, a black sweater, and some cute flats. I then added the geometric scarf and headed to work.<br />
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I was comfortable and looked put together. A little French-ish actually. My day was open so I didn't need to see anyone in a meeting. I was walking across the lobby when a colleague saw me and said, "You look fabulous. A well placed accessory is everything.". And just like that, I realized my style had evolved. And that I might even wear jeans again to work. And that scarves can take a boring outfit and change it into something special. It is the power of a well placed accessory.... and a power i need to embrace more often.<br />
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<br />everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-70361897316913901142017-06-07T21:28:00.000-07:002017-07-25T05:59:06.073-07:00Hiking Parker Lake, June Lake Loop, Eastern Sierra, California<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-a25a4ac5-85de-68fc-76ad-672efbfdc5f8" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s been a number of years since I started visiting the Eastern Sierra. Sometimes it feels like I am stuck in the movie Groundhog Day and living the same day over, and over, and over again (hello ski season during the last drought). Other times I am overwhelmed with how much I haven’t seen. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The week following Memorial Day, <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/search?q=mo" target="_blank">Russia / Costa Rica / Iceland Mo</a> and I spent five days exploring the Mammoth area. One one of those days we hiked to Parker Lake.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Parker Lake is on the June Lake Loop. The dirt path leading to the trailhead is off of Grant Lake. The <a href="http://www.californiasgreatestlakes.com/june/june_lake_map.html" target="_blank">June Lake Loop</a> is a road you can take that goes around June Lake, Gull Lake, Silver Lake, and Grant Lake. If you started the loop at June Lake, the turn off for Parker Lake is at the end of Grant Lake right before you hit Highway 395. If you want to skip the June Lake Loop, you can catch the end of it on Highway 395 and drive into the dirt road for the Parker Lake trailhead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Parker Lake was not on my radar and the reason we hiked it was because enough snow had melted that the trail was accessible and in good shape. A ranger at the welcome center in Mammoth recommended it and I was glad she did. It was a record snowfall this year and I didn’t realize how many hikes were still snowed in until this trip. Mammoth Mountain (the ski hill) has said it will stay open for skiing until August if that helps to paint a picture. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/depo/index.htm" target="_blank">Devils Postpile</a> is hoping to open mid-July but still reports over 20 feet on the road. Bottom line, California had a great snow year and I wasn’t thinking about that when this “hiking” trip was planned. Lucky for us, we had Parker Lake.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">My very old (1969) <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mammoth-Lakes-Sierra-Genny-Schumacher/dp/B00005WCFQ" target="_blank">The Mammoth Lakes Sierra (Genny Schumacher)</a> states the hike to Parker lakes is an “Intermediate Hike, 2 miles”. I guess that is true. My heart did get pumping during the first part of the hike, but then I got into a rhythm and it was a nice hike. The trail was easy to follow and well maintained. The first part of the hike is exposed (no tree cover) but then you come to some aspen groves for shade at different parts of the hike. Starting out you are above Parker Creek and eventually the trail finds the creek and you finish the hike walking next to it to Parker Lake.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Parker Lake is another beautiful lake in the Eastern Sierra. I don’t think they will ever stop taking my breath away. The U-shaped glacier carved valley makes a spectacular backdrops to the melted snow lake. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> We did this hike on Memorial Day and there were a lot of hikers and even about four tents at the lake. The day was sunny but not hot. When we stopped at the lake for a snack and break, it was a little chilly in the shade. As of the writing of this, the Parker Lake trail is dog friendly!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The hike back had a beautiful view of Mono Lake in the background. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">After the hike Mo and I drove the June Lake Loop back to June Lake. Mo didn’t remember doing it before and it is a beautiful drive. The area is technically called the “June Lake Basin” and in addition to the four lakes accessible by car on the June Lake Loop, there are numerous other lakes (like Parker Lake) you can get to by hiking. I have hiked to <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2012/07/camping-deadman-creek-eastern-sierra.html" target="_blank">Fern Lake before</a> and was excited to see so many other lakes to hike in this area.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">We ended the day at the June Lake Brewery and Mo took this funny photo with our beer and one of my water bottles. Stay hydrated up there! With water, not beer…..</span></div>
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everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-37610573378895278552017-05-11T07:41:00.000-07:002017-05-11T07:48:11.568-07:00Camping at South Carlsbad in the rain<div class="mobile-photo">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Last weekend T and I had a chance to camp with friends at South Carlsbad State Beach. This is one of my favorite beaches to camp at because you are on the cliffs above the ocean and the pelicans fly by almost at eye level. I have seen dolphins surfing the waves at dawn on past trips and have even camped there for New Years once.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">This camping trip was a new experience at South Carlsbad because a storm came in and the wind roughed up the ocean. I was glad I brought jacket! Our friends were expecting the storm and had really anchored down anything that might fly away. They also brought a fire pit with a lid that could be moved around if needed. We moved it out of the wind as much as we could and used it to stay warm.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The rain started late Saturday night and it was nice to listen to from inside the airstream. The next morning everything in camp was wet and muddy as we packed up, but I had a great time.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">We live at the beach and have amazing weather 98% of the time. Being able to camp on the ocean cliffs and watch a storm come over the sea was a great way to spend last weekend!</span></div>
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everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-8244484283811195012017-05-01T19:31:00.000-07:002017-07-25T05:59:37.152-07:00Photo story - Baltimore<div class="mobile-photo">
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everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-68176974902735593462017-04-16T07:17:00.001-07:002017-04-16T07:17:39.964-07:00Happy Easter!<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaQ4o11zHc7gz7sQOjvoq6oiI3jG2pZ6t6r9bPAiCG2q3QyqE-g6rATrw4GdYkt-5GzLeTxqEKz7VGMnF_pJl_OXrHyqwKlc7eENb0Ut6lcTOEK90SkkvFBwceQh7gXm_fNevgs9k1Kfc/s1600/IMG_4643-759965.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaQ4o11zHc7gz7sQOjvoq6oiI3jG2pZ6t6r9bPAiCG2q3QyqE-g6rATrw4GdYkt-5GzLeTxqEKz7VGMnF_pJl_OXrHyqwKlc7eENb0Ut6lcTOEK90SkkvFBwceQh7gXm_fNevgs9k1Kfc/s320/IMG_4643-759965.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6409604158885317282" /></a></p>My Mom's side of the family has thing we do to honor my late Grandmother. Well, kind of honor her as we all found it kind of funny as she was religious and most of us were not.
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<br>My whole life, on Easter she would answer the phone, "He has risen" and the reply is, "He has risen indeed" (if you subscribe to that train of thought).
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<br>After she passed away the family started every year on Easter we have a crazy family group text to see who can say it first and who responds. It then turns into a full day text of well wishes, food pictures, and all around family bonding.
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<br>So it does honor my Grandmother as it brings family together and we all toast her memory.
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<br>I hope your day is filled with fun family interactions and special memories.
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<br>Happy Easter!everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-61166339576921850112017-04-12T08:44:00.001-07:002017-04-12T08:44:09.000-07:00Tech issues with the blogHi all,
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<br>I have not forgot you! Technology is great and always improving. Sometimes improvements cause speed bumps and I am stuck at one of those speed bumps. I am working on it!
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<br>Hope to have stuff (with photos) posted soon!
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<br>Fingers crossed.....
<br>-elizabetheveryAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-51638166071895051832017-03-22T11:06:00.002-07:002017-03-22T11:06:52.691-07:00Costa Rica mistakesFirst trip to Costa Rica, first time for a lot of mistakes. This was an ongoing list as the trip progressed and after I got home and thought about what I would do differently next time I went to Costa Rica...<br />
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<b>BRING RUNNING STUFF! </b><br />
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How many times do I need to tell myself this? I was doing so well and then I blew it for this trip. I have been fighting getting a new pair of running shoes and then I was up early in a new place with nothing to run in. Running in new places is one of my favorite things to do and I completely blew it. Now I know I could go for a walk, and I might, and that kind of leads me to my second mistake……<br />
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<b>Bring rain gear if you are going to a “RainForest”.</b><br />
<br />
As I sat there looking at the rain I mean REAL rain gear. Not the flimsy pocket jacket I brought that will probably be soaked once we start hiking or doing anything outdoors. We took the hotel shuttle from the airport for the THREE hour drive and that was not a mistake as the roads were muddy, had lots of potholes in places and it was POURING rain. And there were not really street lights…… Our driver (Eduardo) said at one point, “Welcome to the rainforest” and I thought “I am going to get wet here”. It was really raining and colder than I thought it would be. I am not sure if I will also think I needed to bring warmer clothes. That might be one of my mistakes too.<br />
<br />
UPDATE: The hotel had plastic rain ponchos and those saved many adventures in the rain forest. We still got wet because a big storm came through when we were in the Arenal area as in trees blowing over and even the locals saying it was “mas agua” for that time of year. I had my water resistant pants from Iceland and those were great for this trip. Eventually you get wet in a rainforest, but the plastic poncho was awesome!<br />
<br />
<b>Something that wasn’t a mistake, bringing a headlamp. </b><br />
<br />
I had joked with my sister that she had booked fancy hotels and we wouldn’t need headlamps. Hmmmm. Just kidding. We arrived at our hotel and a tree had fallen on a power line during the rainstorm we were driving through. They had a generator for the main lobby, but our rooms were dark. Good thing we all had headlamps! It really wasn’t that big of a deal but the hotel had free drinks for everyone and ended up buying our dinner. It was unexpected and a nice gesture. So headlamps, a good idea for Costa Rica.<br />
<br />
<b>Not bring (or having enough) Costa Rican currency or American dollars</b><br />
<br />
This was another mistake I made. I exchanged some money before leaving and planned to use my ATM if I needed more cash but ended up not really finding an ATM or being near one when I needed. A few times the ATMs looked questionable so I didn’t use them (as in wires coming out…). Because of this I was low on cash during the trip and I don’t like having to budget for cash so carefully on trips. Especially when some items are “cash only” and I am always counting how much money I have left in my head. Next time I will have more Costa Rican currency in hand early in the trip.<br />
<br />
<b>Staying at an “ALL Inclusive Resort” in Guanacaste after our zen / nature adventure in the Rainforest.</b><br />
<br />
I wasn’t sure if I should include this as a mistake, but the All Inclusive Resort we stayed at in Guanacaste came as a bit of a culture shock to us after spending time in the Arenal Rainforest region. The weather was AMAZING, but the drinking, gluttony, and loud party vibe was not our thing. I feel a little “old” for saying this, but it was not my scene. It also made me realize how great my first experience staying at an All Inclusive in Mexico was. I was able to enjoy the “All Inclusive” stuff but also find some peace and quiet when needed.<br />
<br />
<b>Not a mistake, hiring a driver and not renting a car.</b><br />
<br />
For our FIRST trip to Costa Rica I am glad we did not rent a car and instead hired drivers. Especially in the Arenal - Rainforest region as I would not have wanted to drive there during the crazy storms we drove through. I think we might rent a car the next time we go. Maybe. Depends on where we are going.<br />
<br />
<b>Mistake, some clothing choices.</b><br />
<br />
I mentioned the rain gear above and I don’t know if I should have brought warmer clothes or not as the temperature was right on the cusp. I think maybe one long sleeved warmer thing would have been a good idea for the rainforest area. For the Guanacaste beach area I should have packed cheap flip flops. I had sandals with backs and they were not that great when it came to easy beach walking. I also think I needed one more warm weather shirt. I ended up buying one in Guanacaste to wear on the plane home. Basically I needed to really “<a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2012/09/lucky-dozen-october-challenge.html" target="_blank">Lucky Dozen</a>” my outfits for Costa Rica so I could have mixed and matched, but I didn’t. Next time for sure. And clothes I am comfortable in. I brought some shorts that I just didn’t feel comfortable in and I am even remembering that months afterwards.<br />
<br />
<b>Not a mistake, bringing sunblock!</b><br />
<br />
I read that sunblock was expensive in Costa Rica and it was. About $30 for a bottle when I can get the same bottle for $10 in the US. For this reason we brought sunblock to Costa Rica and USED the sunblock. I mention the USED it section because there were A LOT of people in Guanacaste who did not use sunblock and were very sunburned. Costa Rica is close to the equator and you could tell. When we got to Guanacaste and saw all the lobster red sunburns we were glad we brought sunblock.<br />
<br />
Some of these mistakes were really lesson for the next trip to Costa Rica. Some of them were me being lazy and off my travel game. I mean, I know better! Hello running stuff and <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2012/09/lucky-dozen-october-challenge.html" target="_blank">Lucky Dozen </a>clothes that all mix and match. The headlamp, I am happy to report that I always travel with one now because of this trip. Just in case the power is out at a hotel again….<br />
<br />
What is the saying?<br />
<br />
If you are not learning you are not growing?<br />
<br />
Well I learned some stuff on this trip! I am ready for you next time Costa Rica!everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-20923927122880436382017-03-22T10:30:00.001-07:002017-03-22T10:30:24.860-07:00Currently in Baltimore<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUeiHbPaABzwRM7861W9VLm5leHiAQxHl0-tHhXL2M6220pYO0zNN2Fj9a0ypgO5dckuC0U9lQ9RjSMv29R1hW-Edq2gyZj_ZQtQfrK1HL3Tfr37A_gQ_lS2t0nL3omQxTpHUOOEALj6c/s1600/IMG_4361-724861.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUeiHbPaABzwRM7861W9VLm5leHiAQxHl0-tHhXL2M6220pYO0zNN2Fj9a0ypgO5dckuC0U9lQ9RjSMv29R1hW-Edq2gyZj_ZQtQfrK1HL3Tfr37A_gQ_lS2t0nL3omQxTpHUOOEALj6c/s320/IMG_4361-724861.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6400376699674022402" /></a></p>In Baltimore for five days. It is cold, but beautiful.everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-25065288830017210822017-03-12T21:59:00.001-07:002017-03-12T21:59:59.465-07:00New Orleans, Mardi Gras, Food, and Touchdown Jesus <p><font size="4"> 40. Kind of a big deal. Especially in our society and for a woman. </font></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt58XT-PgT1kvCEicOjBtIbYxfg-zE-0t62U63cB8bQkry5XUIhKENHluvmURqQFK2bXCpkt7j1MVwsuefW6ITxCkbIBt2wjMN0CbcX8ZqfJWHRt9QyiQmPbIHhRa5AmZQly2iiaPsr70/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215153283.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt58XT-PgT1kvCEicOjBtIbYxfg-zE-0t62U63cB8bQkry5XUIhKENHluvmURqQFK2bXCpkt7j1MVwsuefW6ITxCkbIBt2wjMN0CbcX8ZqfJWHRt9QyiQmPbIHhRa5AmZQly2iiaPsr70/s500/Photo%25252020170312215153283.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196835.0842" class="alignnone" alt="Birthday cake" width="500" height="500"></a> </div><p><font size="4">Well, maybe for other women. I was excited to make it to 40. Much better than my other option and I really have enjoyed my life so far and expect to keep enjoying it. I wanted to make 40 memorable and decided to visit New Orleans for the first time. </font></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lxJsT5mBnNY/WMYlfylxicI/AAAAAAAAGLU/scY4oUjlbb4/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215153464.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lxJsT5mBnNY/WMYlfylxicI/AAAAAAAAGLU/scY4oUjlbb4/s500/Photo%25252020170312215153464.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196785.268" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flying to NOLA!</td></tr></tbody></table><p><font size="4">The trip ended up being a “GirlsTrip” when T let me know he would rather go skiing. (Don’t worry, he stayed home on my actual birthday when I had a wine / birthday party). My sisters, a neighbor, a cousin, my oldest friend, and two former co-workers joined me for four nights and five days in New Orleans. It was a crazy trip.</font></p><p><font size="4">Why?</font></p><p><font size="4">Well it turns out that “Mardi Gras” starts on January 6th (Kings Day) and goes until Fat Tuesday at 11:59pm. Fat Tuesday this year was February 28th and we visited February 16-20th. What that meant for us was that we were in New Orleans and the French Quarter during Mardi Gras. There were tons of parades, lots of beads, and SO MANY people. Locals told us it is going to be much more crowded the next weekend, so that was lucky. Here is a link to the <a href="http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/schedule.html" target="_blank" title="">New Orleans parade schedule for 2017</a>. There were 25 parades going on the weekend we were in New Orleans.</font></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6Zt6u3FtSAY/WMYlhX3sYbI/AAAAAAAAGLY/C60Ah4hdWL4/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215153735.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6Zt6u3FtSAY/WMYlhX3sYbI/AAAAAAAAGLY/C60Ah4hdWL4/s500/Photo%25252020170312215153735.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196797.8726" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="555"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NOLA house</td></tr></tbody></table><p><font size="4">I <a href="https://www.vrbo.com/705728" target="_blank" title="">rented a house in the French Quarter</a> and it was two blocks from Bourbon Street. The house was AMAZING and we really enjoyed it. <a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/search?q=Mo" target="_blank" title="">Mo of Costa Rica and Russia fame</a> had a friend that lived in New Orleans and way before we began our trip we had lots of things we could do and places we could eat. I didn’t want to book too many things and tried to keep events to one a day and only one food commitment. There were two walking parades in the French Quarter during our stay and it turned out that our house was even on one of the routes!</font></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJ-EyY8IPvD-k1IuTz2pvvkcRfyAC5JtEtKq3-CENHH6207hw9p3VMD-msexYKU0dflmNDHYKCuwiL7EJuuhO1IxDxotlUBo7yKgk9ZH0fM8-6Eg4OnWVah1SQyB7FY8i0h47FVALfqM/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215153888.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJ-EyY8IPvD-k1IuTz2pvvkcRfyAC5JtEtKq3-CENHH6207hw9p3VMD-msexYKU0dflmNDHYKCuwiL7EJuuhO1IxDxotlUBo7yKgk9ZH0fM8-6Eg4OnWVah1SQyB7FY8i0h47FVALfqM/s500/Photo%25252020170312215153888.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196812.6182" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="333"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HjKWQ07TxFk/WMYllJ-r4RI/AAAAAAAAGLg/6TY3wGkGkM4/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215154095.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HjKWQ07TxFk/WMYllJ-r4RI/AAAAAAAAGLg/6TY3wGkGkM4/s500/Photo%25252020170312215154095.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196773.4019" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TkKPU0p5zzk/WMYlnctl-MI/AAAAAAAAGLk/TlVrHBlb0ls/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215154314.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TkKPU0p5zzk/WMYlnctl-MI/AAAAAAAAGLk/TlVrHBlb0ls/s500/Photo%25252020170312215154314.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196795.2756" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="500"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXSoGN9T60B7_mO6TvJHLpGBug6k52QpkMx_BaQdZbh5DOtYku2uXKB4ANHaFU5G_N3UIgxfcv9d-UejxHDXX_6-OBBb1zc9GVdFb2PiFGBX44VKfsLbbk03NQ9BQrYV9LIK7t_aWgWM/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215154559.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXSoGN9T60B7_mO6TvJHLpGBug6k52QpkMx_BaQdZbh5DOtYku2uXKB4ANHaFU5G_N3UIgxfcv9d-UejxHDXX_6-OBBb1zc9GVdFb2PiFGBX44VKfsLbbk03NQ9BQrYV9LIK7t_aWgWM/s500/Photo%25252020170312215154559.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196788.5366" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="667"></a></div><p><font size="4">We arrived on Thursday night and were lucky to find a restaurant that might be my favorite of the whole trip, <a href="http://www.cafeamelie.com" target="_blank" title="">Cafe Amelie </a>in the French Quarter. We had a round table for eight on the courtyard patio under trees and cafe string lights. It was beautiful. Our waiter Michael was so charming and immediately New Orleans stole my heart. </font></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k0wDLgndQLU/WMYlsJDETqI/AAAAAAAAGLs/6HUQZq8d99o/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215155060.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k0wDLgndQLU/WMYlsJDETqI/AAAAAAAAGLs/6HUQZq8d99o/s500/Photo%25252020170312215155060.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196793.131" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="500"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cafe Amelie, me and Michael</td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2GEWGMLQn2A/WMYlvTz6efI/AAAAAAAAGLw/hJ8wCSP0bXU/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215155383.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2GEWGMLQn2A/WMYlvTz6efI/AAAAAAAAGLw/hJ8wCSP0bXU/s500/Photo%25252020170312215155383.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196848.766" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheers to 40!</td></tr></tbody></table><p><font size="4">I have to give a special shout out to the Gumbo at <a href="http://www.cafeamelie.com" target="_blank" title="">Cafe Amelie</a>. For bookclub I had read <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gumbo-Tales-Finding-Place-Orleans/dp/0393335372" target="_blank" title="">Gumbo Tales</a> and it was all about food in New Orleans. Each chapter was centered around a specific food or beverage and the first chapter was all about Gumbo. I might of taken it with a grain of salt when the author discussed all the different types of Gumbo. She went on to describe how everyone would say their “Mama made the best gumbo” and then have a backup gumbo place they would go if their Mama wasn’t cooking one. Sure enough Michael told us his Mama made the best gumbo, but his second favorite gumbo was at Cafe Amelie. We sampled it that first night and it was amazing. I tried a lot of gumbo on this trip and Cafe Amelie was my favorite hands down.</font></p><p>Each morning I would wake up about 6:30am and go for a walk. I sprained my foot a few weeks before the trip and had put running on hold, so walking it was. I am grateful for this time of the day in a city and especially in New Orleans. I walked to the Mississippi River and watched the fog melt away as the city was cleaned up from the night before. Everyone was kind and hospitable with lots of “Morning Mam” or “Morning”. New Orleans is filled with music and even as the sun was coming up a lone trombone player welcomed it.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikATVWIUE8M_ucFd5Pb_yhw1lWgvwxWCGD8w96kXsbdLpaUNtLpyruk87aGeNDEAjMlkSYv6CgLXV_curD56x_LhrTG0yGX7CnwxwE92SbieMFNksxpSlOe8aj7Avc93K573km74IVKF0/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215155682.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikATVWIUE8M_ucFd5Pb_yhw1lWgvwxWCGD8w96kXsbdLpaUNtLpyruk87aGeNDEAjMlkSYv6CgLXV_curD56x_LhrTG0yGX7CnwxwE92SbieMFNksxpSlOe8aj7Avc93K573km74IVKF0/s500/Photo%25252020170312215155682.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196798.8738" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="500"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front side of Touchdown Jesus church</td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaC18krCr0yyO9DnmvEJjMrUav-opQNI8Sh1RwZ-heoXMBAdY0o6wi05dL8wgI1_JonPkq-nF68hQvXhedNoRLzdC90MJDL7utsOs2dMRulirpg3F8ibJ68cQe0HfBEXmBoA80QfVdxfg/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215155937.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaC18krCr0yyO9DnmvEJjMrUav-opQNI8Sh1RwZ-heoXMBAdY0o6wi05dL8wgI1_JonPkq-nF68hQvXhedNoRLzdC90MJDL7utsOs2dMRulirpg3F8ibJ68cQe0HfBEXmBoA80QfVdxfg/s500/Photo%25252020170312215155937.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196814.47" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="500"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early morning, empty streets</td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZWfpiW2-y-g/WMYl5UCua8I/AAAAAAAAGL8/awkODxpYTDo/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215156169.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZWfpiW2-y-g/WMYl5UCua8I/AAAAAAAAGL8/awkODxpYTDo/s500/Photo%25252020170312215156169.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196823.8582" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cleaning up Bourbon Street</td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_gnNYlr2QnLIe78Z6H3qbLwVorxvW4vpWnr_AE5pBjrSAhnINQXS-rBUn_3UTl8lY5PaPu6w0BiNGC_y7dDHdm-UN9NuJNuH_lyjhp11WOfG3YyZRrQFZ-Nb7K2lwOHuoZvxmoMzTJTk/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215156373.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_gnNYlr2QnLIe78Z6H3qbLwVorxvW4vpWnr_AE5pBjrSAhnINQXS-rBUn_3UTl8lY5PaPu6w0BiNGC_y7dDHdm-UN9NuJNuH_lyjhp11WOfG3YyZRrQFZ-Nb7K2lwOHuoZvxmoMzTJTk/s500/Photo%25252020170312215156373.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196869.0396" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="500"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morning fog on the Mississipi</td></tr></tbody></table><p><font size="4">Traveling with a group can have it’s problems, but our group seemed to do okay. The Friday of our trip those of us who had not been to New Orleans before took a food tour with <a href="http://tastebudtours.com/tours/new-orleans-tours/" target="_blank" title="">Taste Bud Tours</a> and those who had already been to New Orleans went to lunch. We met up at the Krewe of Cork Parade in the French Quarter and it was so fun!</font></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JhbpxmqLFs4/WMYl_U80kqI/AAAAAAAAGME/2QSiHjUMH48/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215156556.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JhbpxmqLFs4/WMYl_U80kqI/AAAAAAAAGME/2QSiHjUMH48/s500/Photo%25252020170312215156556.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196844.5195" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sisters and cousin</td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M_NvO-pCEb0/WMYmBAr9PgI/AAAAAAAAGMI/pQ1zGOBwyvc/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215156775.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M_NvO-pCEb0/WMYmBAr9PgI/AAAAAAAAGMI/pQ1zGOBwyvc/s500/Photo%25252020170312215156775.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196806.7122" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Food tour fun</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJZbFKk99ALAlFBESUL337S4WitykEUFV5V51dA-68JK1HPAR96-krx7BrZemRcWFKEatLgK8KB5Wo551VJno6F4jikCOQOcXn6wm1BokbYjEoxJ3SC3VnURJ-xz0UHmJarRBegXBaRB8/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215156998.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJZbFKk99ALAlFBESUL337S4WitykEUFV5V51dA-68JK1HPAR96-krx7BrZemRcWFKEatLgK8KB5Wo551VJno6F4jikCOQOcXn6wm1BokbYjEoxJ3SC3VnURJ-xz0UHmJarRBegXBaRB8/s500/Photo%25252020170312215156998.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196851.0686" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="500"></a></div><p><font size="4">I should mention that my New Orleans trip was rated PG-13. There was no nudity and I never saw someone flash for beads. I did see a lot of people drinking on the streets (legal in New Orleans) and Bourbon Street turned into a crazy drunk fest at night, but for the most part the worst was nothing more than I remember seeing at Frat Parties in college way back in the day. I mention this because Krewe of Cork was my first parade during Mardi Gras in New Orleans and I LOVED IT. The parade was all about wine and it was just fun. The streets in the French Quarter are one way and small. They were closed to traffic during the parade and the sidewalks were lined with people. The members of the parade tossed a few beads, but most of our group had members of the Krewe come up and place them over our heads. The marching bands had us cheering and yelling and dancing along to the parade. </font></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1JaAdIWwJUw/WMYmGkl6CMI/AAAAAAAAGMQ/WWIY-8vXExI/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215157144.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1JaAdIWwJUw/WMYmGkl6CMI/AAAAAAAAGMQ/WWIY-8vXExI/s500/Photo%25252020170312215157144.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196840.1401" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Krewe of Cork Parade</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bgl0tuRdTL4/WMYmL9D8mII/AAAAAAAAGMU/hBQSkQiT2-M/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215157365.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bgl0tuRdTL4/WMYmL9D8mII/AAAAAAAAGMU/hBQSkQiT2-M/s500/Photo%25252020170312215157365.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196810.448" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="500"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tizn8EOHx4k/WMYmRblDS8I/AAAAAAAAGMY/UB_wksWh8gk/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215157592.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tizn8EOHx4k/WMYmRblDS8I/AAAAAAAAGMY/UB_wksWh8gk/s500/Photo%25252020170312215157592.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196802.9463" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="500"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hvtDjZyPDow/WMYmVc0EgLI/AAAAAAAAGMc/dJJK7nKFVTQ/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215157774.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hvtDjZyPDow/WMYmVc0EgLI/AAAAAAAAGMc/dJJK7nKFVTQ/s500/Photo%25252020170312215157774.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196827.2317" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hzAkK7J-mP4/WMYmYgqGIZI/AAAAAAAAGMg/JBf0gP0toO4/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215157957.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hzAkK7J-mP4/WMYmYgqGIZI/AAAAAAAAGMg/JBf0gP0toO4/s500/Photo%25252020170312215157957.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196798.3318" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x0tDSSOShFY/WMYmdESdvtI/AAAAAAAAGMo/66RuOncfA8w/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215158173.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x0tDSSOShFY/WMYmdESdvtI/AAAAAAAAGMo/66RuOncfA8w/s500/Photo%25252020170312215158173.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196799.186" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="376"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HCaZu1PP_BY/WMYmfeg_8vI/AAAAAAAAGMs/JF0esLMDIFc/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215158363.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HCaZu1PP_BY/WMYmfeg_8vI/AAAAAAAAGMs/JF0esLMDIFc/s500/Photo%25252020170312215158363.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196830.2336" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="376"></a></div><p><span style="font-size: large;">Later that night we learned that parades can shut down the city when it took our Uber driver over an hour to get to <a href="http://www.atchafalayarestaurant.com" target="_blank" title="">Atchafalaya</a>. The driver was newer in the city and half of our group were in another Uber with a local who knew all the back ways to avoid the parades. They arrived half an hour before us. The convenience of Uber is awesome but driving in a car during parade times can be ridiculous. We did it the next night to have dinner at <a href="http://www.commanderspalace.com" target="_blank" title="">Commander’s Palace</a> and ended up walking a few blocks before and after dinner. I declaired Sunday, “No Uber Sunday” and was happy to walk everywhere.</span><br></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBw9BpOC42uTdl8ekmLboqVISNj2G534hOqk69DLMp7AkxpsUExeaA5oMvPGffFsFqpEoMXQt6yI2KK0Lhcspm6T_v-2f4w3y5VJfdMTI-CADW0wUA77GF9mhZp0hsmO6R8u93c6Mfgpo/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215158552.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBw9BpOC42uTdl8ekmLboqVISNj2G534hOqk69DLMp7AkxpsUExeaA5oMvPGffFsFqpEoMXQt6yI2KK0Lhcspm6T_v-2f4w3y5VJfdMTI-CADW0wUA77GF9mhZp0hsmO6R8u93c6Mfgpo/s500/Photo%25252020170312215158552.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196833.9443" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Atchafalaya private room party</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkIWyzGhPpG665wgncwiEiRS0elcGRSI_1AJpnZbCDPU-hoQB02_4BKBEqjwxLvxMVaGQKOduvwsHXOzBhvENH3hq6tVekXTPfuwiQf1DQSStK95eLzMjg6RnI8wUvmYfK8xrk22ENe0/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215158688.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkIWyzGhPpG665wgncwiEiRS0elcGRSI_1AJpnZbCDPU-hoQB02_4BKBEqjwxLvxMVaGQKOduvwsHXOzBhvENH3hq6tVekXTPfuwiQf1DQSStK95eLzMjg6RnI8wUvmYfK8xrk22ENe0/s500/Photo%25252020170312215158688.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196832.0361" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="500"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">All dressed up for <a href="http://www.commanderspalace.com" target="_blank" title="">Commander's Palace</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-d3bpCRogdR8/WMYmn7i97SI/AAAAAAAAGM4/3O0X8dahzow/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215158853.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-d3bpCRogdR8/WMYmn7i97SI/AAAAAAAAGM4/3O0X8dahzow/s500/Photo%25252020170312215158853.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196851.029" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="316"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--7p9tkpGEGE/WMYmrgyJeEI/AAAAAAAAGM8/bSEdvVRS5nk/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215158994.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--7p9tkpGEGE/WMYmrgyJeEI/AAAAAAAAGM8/bSEdvVRS5nk/s500/Photo%25252020170312215158994.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196855.3542" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-heGfQ0iR-zk/WMYmtpmLjYI/AAAAAAAAGNA/b-CwrlM3_-U/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215159147.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-heGfQ0iR-zk/WMYmtpmLjYI/AAAAAAAAGNA/b-CwrlM3_-U/s500/Photo%25252020170312215159147.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196830.1997" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KzDLDOYTrKo/WMYmvwxlQEI/AAAAAAAAGNE/dxa0zju5Ykg/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215159424.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KzDLDOYTrKo/WMYmvwxlQEI/AAAAAAAAGNE/dxa0zju5Ykg/s500/Photo%25252020170312215159424.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196874.716" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="667"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wmmbtzawwfI/WMYmz8tCiyI/AAAAAAAAGNI/6-FtYAXNLnM/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215159659.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wmmbtzawwfI/WMYmz8tCiyI/AAAAAAAAGNI/6-FtYAXNLnM/s500/Photo%25252020170312215159659.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196842.586" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="695"></a></div><p><font size="4">Even though I tried to keep our trip simple, the days seemed jammed packed. Here is what we had planned:</font></p><p><font size="4">Thursday: </font><span style="font-size: large;">Arrive. Uber to house. Walk the French Quarter and have dinner at Cafe Amelie.</span></p><span style="font-size: large;">Friday:</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Tastebuds Food Tour. Krewe of Cork Parade. Dinner at Atchafalaya.</span><div><font size="4"><br></font><p><font size="4">Saturday:</font><span style="font-size: large;">Garden District walking architecture and graveyard tour form Two Chicks Tour. Dinner Commander’s Palace</span></p><p><font size="4">Sunday: </font><span style="font-size: large;">Brunch at Mr. B’s with live jazz. Barkus Parade. Cafe Amelie for dinner again.</span></p><p><font size="4">Monday: </font><span style="font-size: large;">Leave New Orleans.</span></p><p><font size="4"> </font></p><p><font size="4">Additionally we visited the Flea Market where I got a fabulous ring that looks like a green jelly bean. It is almost the green of Mardi Gras and I love it. My cousin and I saw the Krewe of Femme Fatale parade because we wanted to see a float parade. I went to Frenchman’s street with my cousin and my neighbor and we saw a reggae band and then a funk band. One night a few of us went to Bourbon Street and the Cat’s Meow where my neighbor rocked Karaoke. We visited our local grocery store often and I was amazed that it was open so late at night. I love visiting grocery stores whenever I visit someplace new! Speaking of that, did you know the bars in New Orleans only close once a year for one hour? Yep, once a year. And our Tastebuds Food Tour guide told us it was so they could close the books for that year and then open next year’s books. The bars have a three month period where they all take turns closing for that one hour.</font></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;" caption="AND the All Star Game was happening the same weekend!"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AMOAN9dA7aY/WMYm4vvmqRI/AAAAAAAAGNQ/af7SqgslLi0/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215159808.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AMOAN9dA7aY/WMYm4vvmqRI/AAAAAAAAGNQ/af7SqgslLi0/s500/Photo%25252020170312215159808.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196834.1487" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="667"></a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xM4uB4SJ9ZY/WMYm6ZE2gqI/AAAAAAAAGNU/41fRZcr5q9c/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215159944.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xM4uB4SJ9ZY/WMYm6ZE2gqI/AAAAAAAAGNU/41fRZcr5q9c/s500/Photo%25252020170312215159944.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196886.6042" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jazz brunch at Mr. B's</td></tr></tbody></table><p><font size="4">The house I rented was perfect for this trip. It was beautiful and we enjoyed the time we spent there. The kitchen was awesome but we only “cooked” coffee. My two former co-workers got a King Cake and birthday cake from a local bakery that were delicious. It was a decant trip and coffee and cake might of been breakfast a few days…. I mentioned earlier the house was close to Bourbon Street and it was a great location. Far enough away from the noise, but close to everything. Our first night in town we were trying to figure out how to get home and the Little Sister said, “Turn your back on Jesus and walk home”. This is because there was a big church at the end of our street and a statue of Jesus with his arms raised. At night Jesus was lit up and his HUGE shadow covered the church wall. We just needed to find him, and then keep him at our back as we walked home. We learned the locals refer to him as “Touchdown Jesus” and that made me laugh so hard!</font></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVGuAszjr7a5lShYa0H4jMsJVuwaf_pTfM1O89aQrt4dY1hP92zmaY2g1z2FnnCB_wzw8hPc6NR2fHNJK29F01QOa2MAwW3FsMOYZ1e2jiN_A0X9A_p6UQlgcagNt2niFJAv6h6Yg6io/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215200144.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVGuAszjr7a5lShYa0H4jMsJVuwaf_pTfM1O89aQrt4dY1hP92zmaY2g1z2FnnCB_wzw8hPc6NR2fHNJK29F01QOa2MAwW3FsMOYZ1e2jiN_A0X9A_p6UQlgcagNt2niFJAv6h6Yg6io/s500/Photo%25252020170312215200144.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196829.5166" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="667"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Touchdown Jesus!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tQAQ-u8MFIA/WMYm-JrvRsI/AAAAAAAAGNc/Eoc0zHmg_hU/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215200436.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tQAQ-u8MFIA/WMYm-JrvRsI/AAAAAAAAGNc/Eoc0zHmg_hU/s500/Photo%25252020170312215200436.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196832.5413" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="667"></a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fdamVWyHIVk/WMYnAOwI39I/AAAAAAAAGNg/tY-SF8Umzjs/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215200595.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fdamVWyHIVk/WMYnAOwI39I/AAAAAAAAGNg/tY-SF8Umzjs/s500/Photo%25252020170312215200595.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196901.5547" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="667"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">King Cake</td></tr></tbody></table><p><font size="4">I was always full of food in New Orleans, even though I worked so hard to not over schedule any meals. I feel like the majority of places I ate were more upscale than I usually eat at. They were DELICIOUS, but next time I am going to look for more hole in the wall kind of places. NOLA is an amazing food city.</font></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_hKpkcJ5J3U/WMYnDxFJHHI/AAAAAAAAGNk/N_MjEXgZQ3Q/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215200774.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_hKpkcJ5J3U/WMYnDxFJHHI/AAAAAAAAGNk/N_MjEXgZQ3Q/s500/Photo%25252020170312215200774.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196839.1694" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7CXP0xOs3zE/WMYnG4BkfXI/AAAAAAAAGNo/NSo7JFznTW4/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215200929.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7CXP0xOs3zE/WMYnG4BkfXI/AAAAAAAAGNo/NSo7JFznTW4/s500/Photo%25252020170312215200929.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196818.4436" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="667"></a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRCfiN0sLcsXPh1IF0htYM3Ds7V_QfaeP0IKMRr-QSs-jfPvc0c0a8CiIhyphenhyphenXAXFwG1_fNbFGJs5HXMmBooRJhLOH3An2gJ0me_LYM1-_TjWgjnp9DlVO62I9oSevteiBsu6WPf4RcxI98/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215201104.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRCfiN0sLcsXPh1IF0htYM3Ds7V_QfaeP0IKMRr-QSs-jfPvc0c0a8CiIhyphenhyphenXAXFwG1_fNbFGJs5HXMmBooRJhLOH3An2gJ0me_LYM1-_TjWgjnp9DlVO62I9oSevteiBsu6WPf4RcxI98/s500/Photo%25252020170312215201104.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196891.7" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="667"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hot pickled okra! AMAZING!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"> </div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiILGHfuhRwCERvsuCk9AXJyM8sxKNeeVVNlM69f3TNP7ygeRgc0iYciGhos3OgsrphzuM6gEozQnUzDH7hKrYySrgBGmiQMZcz-7zYXMxopP7S5_HOIjTodzm8eD0r5X4-6YquRjdGzBI/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215201242.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiILGHfuhRwCERvsuCk9AXJyM8sxKNeeVVNlM69f3TNP7ygeRgc0iYciGhos3OgsrphzuM6gEozQnUzDH7hKrYySrgBGmiQMZcz-7zYXMxopP7S5_HOIjTodzm8eD0r5X4-6YquRjdGzBI/s500/Photo%25252020170312215201242.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196839.6853" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The SMALL cup of gelato....</td></tr></tbody></table><p><font size="4">I had such a good time in New Orleans and can’t wait to go back. Maybe T will go, or the same group of girls. Either way, New Orleans is going to be a city I visit often. Thanks to everyone there for such a warm welcome and continuous hospitality. Your city has captured my heart.</font></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yo-rmCZegTM/WMYnTA6kZ-I/AAAAAAAAGN4/7NxusXadrbg/s1024/Photo%25252020170312215201450.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yo-rmCZegTM/WMYnTA6kZ-I/AAAAAAAAGN4/7NxusXadrbg/s500/Photo%25252020170312215201450.jpg" id="blogsy-1489381196894.922" class="alignnone" width="500" height="500" alt=""></a></div></div><p> </p><p> </p>everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-2793917065803699352017-02-23T18:40:00.003-08:002017-02-23T18:40:50.001-08:00Costa Rica bird watching in Arenal or how our hotel hooked us up with a botanical garden and homemade breakfast<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-b7ffd1bf-6df1-4cda-7777-eea53508c302" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Disclaimer: I am not a “bird watcher”, but one of my good friends is and the Middle Sister is kind of becoming one. So on our first trip to Costa Rica a bird watching adventure was on the list.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Confession: We didn’t do any research for this trip and booked a bird watching tour through our hotel. Very unlike all of us, but the guide the hotel hired was fantastic!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Our trip started at 5:30am when Jose (our guide) and Tomito (our driver) picked us up from the hotel. It was dark and raining. Arenal Costa Rica has a wet season and a less wet season. While we happened to be there in the “less wet season” we also came during a pretty big storm that had knocked over a lot of trees and cut power to some places. Jose was a little concerned that we might not see as many birds as he hoped because of the heavy rain but he was very positive and led us on a great birding adventure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">This was my first bird watching trip and I didn’t really know how it was supposed to go. The van stopped in front of a field and Jose was looking out and around. The sun had not come up yet. On the drive he had told us some birds he thought we would see and asked if we had any birds we were hoping to see. My friend, Mo of Russia trip and Iceland trip fame, has grown up with a birding Mom and stepdad and is a birder herself. She was able to answer all the birding questions and soon she and the Middle Sister were sitting next each other with their binoculars looking at birds and asking questions. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCA5i4AZB7w7yXBs1QWKoXQz5qtrlH1Bkx9RYfooh-icn74qHn6lYQ7AoQDdDN57zjHRYFfcwii6bkBQwjLKFWGPLY_C6gwahDxwg9GAkYuq0HF4HCuZf0Pu0J05cAysKTNDSMI4aEOyc/s1600/IMG_3377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bird watching" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCA5i4AZB7w7yXBs1QWKoXQz5qtrlH1Bkx9RYfooh-icn74qHn6lYQ7AoQDdDN57zjHRYFfcwii6bkBQwjLKFWGPLY_C6gwahDxwg9GAkYuq0HF4HCuZf0Pu0J05cAysKTNDSMI4aEOyc/s400/IMG_3377.JPG" title="Bird watching" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The first half of the trip was driving in the van looking for birds. We stopped a lot. Got out and walked a lot. And saw a lot of birds. It also was raining off and on and when it would really start to come down Jose would herd us back to the van. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The second half of our tour was in a botanical garden called the <a href="http://www.ecogardenarenal.com/" target="_blank">Eco Garden</a>. We didn’t realize it until later but Jose and his family owned the botanical garden. Jose has degrees in biology and toxicology and had started creating this botanical garden about twelve years ago. It only opened to the public five years ago and it continues to grow. What an amazing place! Filled with native plants, the garden has become a home to so many creatures. We even saw a sloth family with a baby. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">At the end of our tour Jose’s wife Patricia made us a traditional Costa Rican breakfast and it was cool to ask about the food and how it was prepared. Bring on the Lizard Sauce!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Q-8ObK4B23QX9XBfpjMDWhAf_2herIkonhQGOYi8patiYnMMn4t6DrN1zIe7BMIuVF1yeAOWD0tTmVcySZnp-bmvXUt2P-cM2-Q2nvVoGQd77yA4YwRAF_82b3H44IiielySDUxN2Tc/s1600/IMG_3423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Four people eat " border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Q-8ObK4B23QX9XBfpjMDWhAf_2herIkonhQGOYi8patiYnMMn4t6DrN1zIe7BMIuVF1yeAOWD0tTmVcySZnp-bmvXUt2P-cM2-Q2nvVoGQd77yA4YwRAF_82b3H44IiielySDUxN2Tc/s400/IMG_3423.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Below is a video I made on our birdwatching adventure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">I can not recommend Jose highly enough. He was so knowledgeable and it was a gift to see his garden and to be fed by his wife. If in this area, please look up <a href="http://www.ecogardenarenal.com/" target="_blank">EcoGarden Arenal</a> as they have way more than bird watching adventures!</span></div>
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everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-50733970597239432382017-02-22T21:13:00.001-08:002017-02-23T18:25:01.111-08:00Coming soon: New Orleans report<div class="mobile-photo">
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Coming soon: five days and four nights in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. I totally understand why everyone needs 40 days to detox now......everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-77610705104822846552017-02-05T22:05:00.004-08:002017-02-05T22:05:54.650-08:00Costa Rica rainforests, hanging bridges, birdwatching, horseback rides and the volcano we never sawLadies and Gentleman I have returned from my first trip to Costa Rica and lived to tell the tale. Not that there was really much to worry about as Costa Rica turned out to be a very friendly place. Our trip was one week and divided into Rainforest and Ocean. This post will be about the first half of the trip near the Arenal Volcano in the VERY WET rainforest that was colder than I thought it would be.<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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For logistic reasons we flew Alaska Airlines into Liberia and decided not to rent a car (<a href="http://everyaugust.blogspot.com/2012/06/notes-about-driving-in-ireland.html">due to our Ireland experience</a>) and that was a good choice for our first trip to Costa Rica. We booked a shuttle through our hotel and thought the driver Eduardo was joking when he said it was a three hour drive….he wasn’t. There was a substantial storm raging in Arenal and we passed about six fallen trees on our wild-twisting-road filled-with-potholes adventure. I was glad to have a local driving for sure! When we arrived at our hotel the power was out, due to a fallen tree, and we laughed because we all had headlamps that we used. The lobby and restaurant of the hotel were on a generator and we enjoyed free drinks and dinner as the hotel’s apology for the loss of power. Not necessary, but very kind of them. The <a href="http://www.royalcorin.com/">Hotel was the Royal Corin in Arenal</a> and it had “thermal waters” and a spa. The “thermal waters” meant all their pools were filled with hot spring water that they drained every night and refilled. The water was warm and it was nice to swim in them as it rained around us.<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyPOJ62zT-L5_TcezW2RujM8-9DUpdr2-a43LoiQBQC6f1aCLUUW0nBV-aH2SeugYgFtk_MzMeHx-JR8D1vYlEQfd15Sym1vPenJOr8Yi9neXMXXRhvMSawV1qCrCnRN4RvJBg_GkNFo/s1024/Photo%25252020170205212501031.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Us in small pool" class="alignnone" height="375" id="blogsy-1486358747399.4265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyPOJ62zT-L5_TcezW2RujM8-9DUpdr2-a43LoiQBQC6f1aCLUUW0nBV-aH2SeugYgFtk_MzMeHx-JR8D1vYlEQfd15Sym1vPenJOr8Yi9neXMXXRhvMSawV1qCrCnRN4RvJBg_GkNFo/s500/Photo%25252020170205212501031.jpg" width="500" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Us in small pool #3. Can you see the iguana on the top of the waterfall?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH3rupg3bU0ae1dpCU_Q1ua1Ja1ek5jKuN97FgO_Isv-G6oJ3AiMMx-THOBxfpNxtF4Xj-OPJOuRIo3Qhx-JbKelWWsJ9KYM76T4fGKzUoobE2FFS0wyainxJGuLSBu0_bcJOL2ukvx3E/s1024/Photo%25252020170205212501207.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Pool with lounges" class="alignnone" height="375" id="blogsy-1486358747428.8765" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH3rupg3bU0ae1dpCU_Q1ua1Ja1ek5jKuN97FgO_Isv-G6oJ3AiMMx-THOBxfpNxtF4Xj-OPJOuRIo3Qhx-JbKelWWsJ9KYM76T4fGKzUoobE2FFS0wyainxJGuLSBu0_bcJOL2ukvx3E/s500/Photo%25252020170205212501207.jpg" width="500" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Built in lounges in the big pool</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am usually a planner when it comes to trips but didn’t really plan much for the Costa Rica trip. The Middle Sister did the planning and we had some ideas of things we might want to do. Our hotel was about three miles from La Fortuna, the closest town. We decided to book everything through the hotel (very unlike us) and ended up having amazing guides and experiences. We arrived on a Sunday night and Monday around 10am we approached the hotel lobby to talk about excursions. We booked three items with them that included guides and drivers and one massage. The excursions were a Hanging Bridges Tour with guide, Bird Watching with guide, and Horseback Riding to La Fortuna Waterfall with guide. We booked massages for after the horseback ride. Our time in Arenal was short and we packed everything in.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Our driver Soul (pronounced like Raul with an S) drove us to the <a href="http://www.misticopark.com/" target="_blank">Hanging Bridges tour </a>that afternoon. He was a wealth of information and told us Arenal Lake (a manmade lake) produces 40% of Costa Rica’s power when we drove over the dam. He also said Costa Rica is trying to use 100% sustainable resources as energy sources by 2021. Most of the cars are diesel cars and they are moving to biodiesel. It was pretty cool to learn about.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">At the Hanging Bridges of Arenal, Bernardo was our guide. There are sixteen bridges total and six of them are suspension bridges. It started POURING during our hike but we still saw five vipers, spider monkeys, spiders, birds, a sloth, and a few insects. Below is a short video and a few photos. I should mention that Arenal is famous because it is a National Park with a Volcano. It was raining so much that we never saw the volcano, even though it was “right there”. We have lots of photos where we are pointing to the volcano. You might hear us mention it a bit in the videos too….</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8n93or9N31c/WJgIwOjE53I/AAAAAAAAGJI/d7ZEpWpXft0/s1024/Photo%25252020170205212501386.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Mo points to the volcano sign" class="alignnone" height="500" id="blogsy-1486358747408.7068" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8n93or9N31c/WJgIwOjE53I/AAAAAAAAGJI/d7ZEpWpXft0/s500/Photo%25252020170205212501386.jpg" width="500" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Mo points to the volcano we are supposed to see.... </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After our Hanging Bridges adventure, where it was pouring rain, we drove back to the hotel and then Soul drove us to La Fortuna to go to the grocery store, my favorite thing to do in foreign countries, and explore the city. We had a good time and had a great dinner at Soda Restaurante Viquez. It was pouring rain when we got a taxi back to the hotel and went to bed as we had an early morning bird watching trip planned.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-d-Mkld-0VdA/WJgIyuoFl8I/AAAAAAAAGJU/9HMCDOEjCRE/s1024/Photo%25252020170205212501840.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Birdwatching near La Fortuna Waterfall" class="alignnone" height="500" id="blogsy-1486358747359.6313" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-d-Mkld-0VdA/WJgIyuoFl8I/AAAAAAAAGJU/9HMCDOEjCRE/s500/Photo%25252020170205212501840.jpg" width="500" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Looking for Toucans near La Fortuna Waterfall</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cS_0JpfgSZk/WJgIzStTQdI/AAAAAAAAGJY/PKsaAhZWllU/s1024/Photo%25252020170205212502003.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Birdwatching" class="alignnone" height="375" id="blogsy-1486358747383.852" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cS_0JpfgSZk/WJgIzStTQdI/AAAAAAAAGJY/PKsaAhZWllU/s500/Photo%25252020170205212502003.jpg" width="500" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Alan and the Middle Sister birdwatching</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The next day started at 5:30am with Jose as our guide and Tomito as our driver. Mo and the Middle Sister are the people into birding and Alan and I were along for the ride. It ended up being a great excursion in Costa Rica and I have a whole blog post coming about it next. In the meantime, here is a short video and a few photos from the morning.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">That afternoon we went horseback riding to the La Fortuna Waterfall. The rain was almost not falling on our ride to the waterfall. The four of us went with our guide Joelle and his eight year old sidekick “Rambo”. Four of Rambo’s friends came too as we found out school was out for the month of January. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Our horseback ride was a lot less structured than any horseback ride I have been on before. We did have to wear helmets and we were told our horses had GPS so they knew where they were going, but one of the horses liked to be in the lead and kicked another horse that tried to pass him. The horses would group together a lot and it was like they were kids playing in the school yard who had spent too much time together. They seemed a little irritated with each other, but it might have been that they were trying to see how experienced the riders were. The horseback ride was pretty cool. We went across fields and rivers and arrived at the La Fortuna Waterfall.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">We had planned to swim at the waterfall, but the rains have been so substantial that it wasn't safe and there was no swimming. Before we started the hike the boys all bought plastic rain ponchos and we thought they were coming with us on the hike, but it turns out it was for after the hike. Here is a picture of us before the hike, and then one after the hike.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--NecY89Uxi0/WJgI0ltyRgI/AAAAAAAAGJg/eXa8EhsqA1c/s1024/Photo%25252020170205212502286.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Four people and a waterfall" class="alignnone" height="375" id="blogsy-1486358747367.9954" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--NecY89Uxi0/WJgI0ltyRgI/AAAAAAAAGJg/eXa8EhsqA1c/s500/Photo%25252020170205212502286.jpg" width="500" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Before the hike</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TaHVZVi0H-E/WJgI1aH84aI/AAAAAAAAGJk/Zx2IamiHPxU/s1024/Photo%25252020170205212502397.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Four people in rain" class="alignnone" height="375" id="blogsy-1486358747400.7593" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TaHVZVi0H-E/WJgI1aH84aI/AAAAAAAAGJk/Zx2IamiHPxU/s500/Photo%25252020170205212502397.jpg" width="500" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">After the hike</span></td></tr>
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As you can see it started to pour on our hike to the waterfall. It was 500 steps down and that part of the trip was nice. When we got to the bottom we took pictures looked around and it was only when we were just starting back up that it started to pour.<br />
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We still had a horse ride back and that was funny to do when it was pouring rain. Right before we got back the rain let up a little, and on the drive home we even saw a tiny bit of the volcano.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">That night was our last night in Arenal and we finished up with the massage and dinner. It was three days packed with Costa Rica and adventures in a very wet rain forest and we had a blast. Here is our recap of some of the things we did from one of the small hot spring pools.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Eduardo was our driver to Guanacaste, our next stop. The rain was letting up a little and he stopped and showed us a sloth and birds and even the Guanacaste tree. We arrived at the Hotel Rui Guanacaste to tropical beaches, warm breezes, and forest meeting the ocean. I was happy to have a chance to defrost but soon missed the tranquillity of Arenal. Guanacaste provided a great contrast to the eco friendly rainforest region. We all agreed we would like to go back and hopefully see the volcano next time.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WQxUWPO4P14/WJgI2DSTHFI/AAAAAAAAGJo/oeGGccADEZ4/s1024/Photo%25252020170205212502527.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Eating lunch" class="alignnone" height="375" id="blogsy-1486358747390.804" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WQxUWPO4P14/WJgI2DSTHFI/AAAAAAAAGJo/oeGGccADEZ4/s500/Photo%25252020170205212502527.jpg" width="500" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Eating lunch with Eduardo (back left) on the way to Guanacaste</span></td></tr>
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everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2211752040819111261.post-37009317591765173772017-01-28T06:45:00.001-08:002017-01-28T06:45:49.459-08:00Happy Year of the Rooster<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZTB0F9PQxLdNGbc7iNF2VgiLLQuun_MydqCOb4qa6R1Jbya60OwMvL5bNIjlY3YQ1YmLq2QZk-QzYlcHEf68bLCd1BE134MI_XD4SU2Yj21AQIl-Cx7iwHekJZ8JZTyGaHNuZJQRzCEo/s1600/FullSizeRender-749460.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZTB0F9PQxLdNGbc7iNF2VgiLLQuun_MydqCOb4qa6R1Jbya60OwMvL5bNIjlY3YQ1YmLq2QZk-QzYlcHEf68bLCd1BE134MI_XD4SU2Yj21AQIl-Cx7iwHekJZ8JZTyGaHNuZJQRzCEo/s320/FullSizeRender-749460.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6380666767213986866" /></a></p>Happy Lunar New Year everyone and a special shout out to the little sister who was born in a rooster year. May this year be a great one.everyAUGUSThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17768580176780764960noreply@blogger.com0