Nicholson-News

Since Christmas and New Years Went By Too Quickly

2012-02-14T13:08:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Photo Card

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Both kids napping! What should we do?

2012-02-12T14:30:00.000-06:00

Sunday afternoon bike ride!

A fun little Valentine gift

2012-02-11T10:23:00.000-06:00

Mug

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I received a "free mug" code in my email and decided to create this fun gift for Mark and myself to share. Love the memories it brings back!

Lucky to be at home!

2012-02-03T21:29:00.000-06:00

On a random, beautiful, unseasonably warm Thursday in February we made a quick trip to Como Zoo. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be at home with the kids and have so many things to be able to take advantage of nearby!

Puffin from below

We love the monkeys!

A special "Hello!" from Sparky, the Sea Lion

Too much for E to handle!

2011 in Review: March

2012-01-25T13:47:00.001-06:00

In March our world really began to change:

Charlie also started attending daycare when Mark began his new job. I think I had the hardest time with it! My mornings changed drastically: previously I only had to get myself out of the house. Then all three of us had to be on our way before 8!

2011 in Review: February

2011-12-27T13:09:00.004-06:00

The second month of 2011 was intentionally rather quiet. Cold and snowy, we did our best to enjoy what Minnesota has to offer (Mark got in some cross country skiing). Mark also was ramping up to start working outside of our house for Verizon business and we began looking for childcare options for Charlie.

Charlie was starting to really walk like a champ and use sign language to talk with us. Most of his conversation revolved around food: more, all done, food, drink. :) His favorite toy was a vacuum that he brought home from his Beauchamp cousin's house!

We also slowly started letting people know:

2011 in Review: January

2011-12-19T12:16:00.006-06:00

Shortly after Christmas (and technically 12/2010) we learned we were expecting our 2nd child. We were excited, overwhelmed, scared, thrilled. We spent a lot of time discussing what might be as well as our happiness that our children would be close in age and able to grow up together.

Charlie celebrated his 1st birthday with some new teeth and a little cold! We had his favorite Eden Pizza for his birthday dinner and an awesome (free) birthday cake from Byerly's. The cake was probably our first real indulgence in sugar for Charlie. He enjoyed it but didn't get too crazy! It was a low key evening with the three of us along with our nanny, Kirsten.

We had another celebration in mid-January: Mark's parents anniversary! We flew down and spent 5 days with family in Texas. It was a wonderful time and a warm up from the brutal Minnesota winter we were experiencing!

And something even more surprising than all we'd experienced so far to start the year, Mark noticed a job opening with Verizon business. It looked like a similar role that he had when we worked with Sprint so he applied. When he told me about it on my arrival home from work I said, "they're gonna call you tomorrow because you are perfect!" And, my prediction came true! Mark spent the next couple of weeks doing interviews and was quickly offered the position.

Tidying Up a Bit

2011-12-19T11:56:00.005-06:00

I know everyone is saying it but where has 2011 gone? Our year has flown by and it is that time when "we" sit back and remember what the previous 12 months has brought our way. My hope is to catch up with a month by month highlight reel. Here's a little something to occupy those of you waiting at your computer!

Introducing Eloise Grace Nicholson

2011-09-11T14:17:00.001-05:00

It's a GIRL!

Ellie arrived on Friday (9/9) at 10:11am weighting 6 lbs, 13 oz, 19.5 inches.
We're all doing well and enjoying the new addition to our family.

-Mark, Dani, Charlie, and Ellie

First Christmas

2010-12-30T21:39:00.007-06:00

Christmas Day is always exciting! Last year, I was largely pregnant on Christmas and we stayed in the Twin Cities and enjoyed a wonderful meal with friends who also happened to be expecting and without family in town. This year, we woke up with Charlie at home to open a couple of presents. Yes, we had just rolled out of bed!

We had an uneventful drive and enjoyed several days with family. Charlie found this rocking chair (mine when I was his size) and took to it! He also decided that walking would be his main mode of transportation on Christmas Day. He'd had the ability but hadn't fully committed to the practice until we were at Grandma and Grandpa Beauchamp's house!

Charlie received a Radio Flyer wagon from his grandparents. Mark began to put it together as soon as we got home. As soon as it came out of the box, Charlie knew what to do. This wagon continues to bring him much entertainment!

Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year to all! Love, the Nicholsons

Fall Fun

2010-11-26T21:02:00.004-06:00

My brother "convinced" us to go halvsies on a pair of Vikings season tickets. It wasn't a hard sell but it went something like this, "this way we will see you guys at least once a month. We'll have to come up." And so it began. A sad season for our Vikes but a ton of fun for the Nicholson and Beauchamp families.

Cory and daughter, Emma

Look Alikes? Charlie, Dani, Maddie (Cory's daughter)

Aamodt's Apple Orchard

The Making of a Winner

2010-10-31T09:25:00.009-05:00

It all started with a trip through Target's clearance rack and the Charlie Brown Onesie for $4.88! The idea was planted and so I started searching for how Mark and I would transform into Peanuts characters. Two dollar stores, two Goodwills, another trip to Target, a stop at Joann Fabric, and a few evenings of paper mache and viola! Peppermint Patty and Linus to go with Charlie Brown to Boofest XII (our friend, Dan Fine's super fun yearly Halloween party. Not only are there costumes, but also games, prizes, and wonderful treats)!

I have to admit that I don't consider myself very creative. I loved this idea and hounded Mark for his artistic expertise. We had a couple of setbacks including Mark's first attempt exploding after I went to bed (and thus covering the dining room with paste similar to what you'd use to hang wallpaper). His second attempt the balloon shrank some but he was able to salvage that by blowing up another balloon inside the paper mache! His artistic rendering and confidence made this a contender for best costume. But it was truly our adorable Charlie Brown that won over the crowd. We won by 1 vote over an amazing couple that came as "Shark Week" (she dressed as a shark and he dressed as a scuba diver including protective cage!). And third place went to the characters of Clue (Prof. Plum, Col. Mustard, Mrs. White, Mrs. Peacock, Mr. Green, and an almost 4 week old Miss Scarlet).

Happy Halloween!

Electricity and toilets

2010-10-28T13:57:00.000-05:00

My latest endeavors with the house have involved our "never ending" problematic toilet - and some electrical wiring (luckily not together).

The toilet started months ago when we noticed the mounting screws were lose and the toilet was wobbly. I pondered this problem for quite some time and finally decided (months later) to do something about it. I knew nothing of toilets, so I solicited my good friend Josh to swing by and lend a hand. We had no idea what we would find - but figured we'd need some time after taking the toilet off to diagnose and run to get parts. After the removal we found a plastic ring that was mounted to the waste line - except whoever mounted it didn't line up the holes correctly for the toilet to mount to -- plus, the ring sat lower than the surface of the floor. To compensate for both of these things, someone has installed another ring, adding the needed space, and offering two holes to put the mounting bolts through. The piece was made out of cheap plastic and had thus cracked on both sides where the bolts were held. I headed to the store, found a much better plastic ring, and we proceeded to attach and make it work. As we positioned the toilet back over the ring we made sure the wax ring sat correctly. After sealing the ring, I stood there and asked Josh if we removed the rag out of the waste line... and he stared at me wondering how he was responsible for this situation? We removed the toilet and found the rag neatly in place. We were hoping to reuse the wax ring, however, it completely fell apart upon removal of the toilet, and we didn't have more. They run about $1.50 - so Josh was kind enough to run over to the hardware store and pick up two more. I finished the job which ended with a sturdy toilet.

A few weeks later our niece was visiting and not aware of her strength broke the flush handle arm. No problem - I went to a little plumbing store (that carries it all) and they found me a simple brass arm handle that you bend to fit. A few bucks and back I went to install. The arm didn't fit right and I had to make some serious bends to get it working - I mean a 90 to start, then a good 75 to even it out. It wasn't pretty, but seemed to do the trick.

A few days later, we noticed the flap wasn't sticking and there was a slow leak - it appeared the flush handle replacement wasn't working so well. I never new finding a flush handle & arm was so complex. I tried some adjustments to see if we could make it work. It didn't always leak, and if you didn't press down too hard it worked OK.

Oh, have I mentioned the seat (this was all here when we moved in) is a thin plastic. Cheap and pathetic.

Several weeks later Dani noticed a few drops of water from our kitchen ceiling - just below where the toilet is located. I was furious. I figured that dumb wax seal didn't catch perfectly - and with all the non-standard things below the toilet, I couldn't blame it. The following weekend, I gave myself a good 3/4 of the day to work on this problem. After removal, I found the wax ring wasn't really even compressed - the mild movement of the waste line and the way it offset below the floor just didn't allow for a good fit. I headed to the hardware store and located a WAXLESS ring. Priceless - it seals to the toilet and then pops into the line. This was my answer. I also found a metal ring that I just liked better than the plastic one we had (plus, metal wouldn't ever break - just bend a little). I purchased two bins of plumbers putty to seal up really good - and used some concrete crack filler to seal up a few grooves someone missed between the tile. Popped the toilet back on, leveled it both directions, caulked the bottom (leaving a small opening in the back just in case any water leaked - so we'd see it), and we were back in business. For good measure I found a new handle (it actually matched the bathroom better), and a slow close wooden seat, so I gave it a little upgrade. All worked perfectly.

For about 3 weeks - then the seat broke off at the mounting screws. Seemed rare to me - took it back to said store and they just gave me a new one. We'll see how it goes.

Two days ago two electrical sockets went out in our living room. I checked the breakers - nothing. I tested each breaker - all good. So, I started at one outlet and started working my way back. I used an electrical sniffer to test lines as I worked my way back (thanks for the idea Dad!). Found a box with power in, but no power out. Shut down the breaker to that circuit and popped the top. One ground wire wasn't in the wire nut - fixed that. Removed another wire nut to the neutral wires, and one of the wires wasn't even stripped! Fixed that. I figured that would surely fix something. As I was putting it back together I noticed one of the hot wires had some tape around it. I pulled it back to inspect and noticed a nick in the insulation. Nice. I went to put the tape back and do some testing when I noticed the wire seemed rather limp after the nick. Hmm.. it appeared the wire had completely broke off! There was enough room to ditch the broken piece, re-strip the end, and wire it into the bunch. All is now well on the electrical front.

I've surmised that if you want to continue using your brain - get an old house (pre 1930's? - ours is 1917). When you have something to fix - nothing is ever straight forward and always requires some creativity. I also Charlie-ized the kitchen cabinets (except for one - w/ the plastic ware), raked about 13 bags of leaves, added doorstops upstairs, hung a mirror inside the linen closet, and did some ceiling touch ups. Until the next project... Cheers, -Mark.

First Camping Trip

2010-10-04T21:06:00.005-05:00

Our first camping trip with Charlie was amazing! We headed to Wisconsin, just across the river from Taylors Falls and camped at the Interstate State Park (in St. Croix Falls, WI). Beautiful weekend and fall colors! The only downside was that it also coincided with the first night below freezing. But, we were all bundled and enjoyed the cuddling.

Charlie, 9 months

Father and son

We even took the opportunity to stop at an Apple Orchard/Pumpkin Patch on our way home! We picked some apples off the trees and let Charlie play with the gourds!

The Best Laugh in the World

2010-09-21T21:25:00.003-05:00

We recently took a family trip to Seattle...maybe someday we'll actually write about it! But, for now, please enjoy Charlie and Sophia!

Our produce!

2010-09-11T13:45:00.006-05:00

Cherry, Mortgage Lifter, Rutger's Select, Brandywine, Celebrity Tomatoes

Tasty ear of corn!

Thick, juicy, yummy Mortgage Lifter. Perfect for BLT's!

Charlie trying the Mortgage Lifter!

Photos taken 8/28/2010

Time Goes By Too Quickly

2010-08-15T13:24:00.003-05:00

Everyone tells you to enjoy each day with your baby because he will grow up too fast. I feel this way today, and if I'm perfectly honest, every day when I walk in the door from work. Charlie is such a big, fun, smiling boy. He's napping right now and I miss him. Weekends are the time I get my tank filled with Charlie time! Then I trudge through another week and understand the Loverboy song, Working for the Weekend!

Charlie has fallen into a great routine of sleep: morning nap (1.5 - 2 hours), afternoon nap (1.5 - 2 hours), sometimes a late afternoon catnap in the swing or Pack n Play, and in bed between 6:45 & 7. He does get in one more meal around 10pm but goes right back into his crib. His routine is great and you can see that the good sleep adds to his playful and energetic personality. But, I typically leave for work at 8am and return at 5:30pm.

So the weekend rolls around and I feel torn between spending time with Charlie and accomplishing something around the house. Today, for instance, I sent Mark out on a solo bike ride so he could get some time to himself and recharge. I started to prepare waffles only not to be able to get two in a row off the griddle. So I gave up and Charlie woke up early from his nap...and the kitchen was still a mess...and I haven't clipped coupons, looked at photos from Charlie's baptism last weekend, planned anything for our vacation in 2 weeks, folded laundry that's been clean for more than a week, floors need to be swept, the bathroom needs cleaning, and on and on.

I don't know how people do it...maybe they can get by on less sleep and do more during the week. But, most evenings, Mark and I are lucky enough to have dinner together, clean up after, and have a little time together. And I'm lucky enough to have a house that gets dirty, dishes to be done, clothes to be folded, and a job that I enjoy (even if I miss my family terribly while I'm there). Life isn't too bad...just moving too fast!

(Not) Getting Ready for a Nap

2010-07-18T20:34:00.002-05:00

This happened when we put Charlie down for his nap today:

Charlie has been full on crawling for almost 2 weeks...he'd been doing the belly/arm crawl/whale flop to travel around the living room previous to that. Now we have had to hurry up and baby proof as he is attracted to all things electrical. Oh, and he loves to climb!

6 Month Photo Shoot

2010-07-14T21:56:00.007-05:00

Independence Day Weekend

2010-07-05T14:46:00.027-05:00

How lucky to have 3 days off in a row! And what
an independence we've celebrated! Charlie had his first taste of solids (rice cereal) on Saturday. On Sunday he attended his first pool party. And today to celebrate being 6 months old, after downing the rice cereal he had a little avocado!
The water is so warm!

Yummy! I like avocado, Mama!

On a un-Charlie related note, we are also happy to report being able to walk outside to the garden to do a little harvesting for our meals! We've got tons of basil, cilantro, and lettuce! The tomatoes are here, just waiting for them to grow and ripen!

Enjoy!

2010-06-21T21:36:00.003-05:00

It is so hard to catch Charlie on camera or video but here are a few attempts:

During the past month

2010-06-21T20:36:00.005-05:00

Well, we've kept busy! The weather has warmed up and we've been away from our computers as much as possible. Things we've been up to:

Over Memorial Weekend we made a quick trip to Kansas City to celebrate the life of a dear friend and mentor-type. Once again, Charlie proved to be a rock star traveler! I'm seeing many countries in his future! :) We enjoyed visiting friends and their meeting Charlie for the first time. It was also great to get some Gates BBQ, Sheridan's Frozen Custard, and yummy Mexican food.

Mark was accepted into the St. Paul Citizens Police Academy. He's gone Wednesday evenings and is learning the basics of becoming an officer in a very condensed version. The purpose of the course is to create a stronger relationship between the community and the police department. Maybe he'll share more one day.

We planted our garden on June 1 (picture from 6/21)! We have 7 varieties of tomatoes (Roma, Grape, Cherry, Brandywine, Mortgage Lifter, Celebrity, and something else). We've got lettuce, green & jalapeno peppers, sweet corn, several basil varieties, cilantro, and mint. We've also planted raspberries and a Honeycrisp Apple Tree in the yard!

We've started a small group with others from our church. We have been attending Church of the Cross since a few months after we moved to the Twin Cities and have been helping start a sister church on the east side of the city (much closer to our house). As a part of this new community we are co-leading a small group. It's been great to connect with new people and share our faith and life.

Charlie started rolling over a few days after his 5 month birthday. Within days he was rolling with intent - spotting something he wanted and rolling to get there. We have to keep a pretty close eye on him! Just a week later he was up on his hands and knees, ready to move. I wouldn't necessarily say that he's crawling but he is definitely on his hands and knees and making forward progress. He doesn't quite have the arms down yet as he often does a big "whale flop" when he tries to lift a hand to move forward. But, he's happy and we so enjoy watching him grow and change every day!

We spent the past weekend making a quick trip to Iowa to celebrate our niece Whitney's high school graduation. It was another great opportunity to visit family and test Charlie's travel skills - he is a trooper! We do our best to break up the trip with stops at parks and on our way home hit the jackpot in Decorah, IA with Phelps Park. It has on a bluff (with hiking trail) overlooking a river and a big grassy/shady area to lay down on a blanket and play.

Keeping busy and enjoying every day we're blessed with!

Nature vs. Nurture

2010-05-16T08:36:00.003-05:00

I'm seeing more and more of Charlie's personality take shape as we play, talk, and just enjoy time with him. A couple of nights ago I started blowing "raspberries" on Charlie's face. This is something I've done since his birth. Every now and again he'd accidentally blow a raspberry himself, typically drooling everywhere! But on this particular night, he got the hang of it. And this tickled him to no end. Boy did we get big smiles! I would blow one and he would do it in response. All the fun sure makes it difficult to put him down for sleep! He happened to wake up that night a little upset and while Mark was holding him and trying to work a burp out Charlie again began to blow raspberries and laugh! Mark did his best not to laugh as I've instilled a "no fun interactions during the night" policy. :)

This got me thinking about a conversation we had with some friends last week about the personalities of our babies. Charlie is definitely "into" people. He is quick to smile, coo, flirt...And, now that he's gaining more dexterity, he's kind of a show off! Grabbing toys, toes, fingers (yours or his)...we believe he is a big E on the Myers-Briggs (E for Extroversion). And, if you are doubting me, please see previous post and picture. It's crazy to see in just four short months how much of "Charlie" has taken shape! I know he will have years of interactions and experiences that continue to grow and shape him but it's really wild to already see that he is so comfortable in his own skin!

Everyone imagines what their child might grow up to be and I wonder all the time! Charlie's got a pretty great grasp with his left hand and amazing hand-eye coordination (anyone have an infant baseball glove?). But he also has the most expressive face, particularly his eyebrows and mouth (Broadway, Hollywood?). Everyone tells us, "he's such a cute baby" and boy does he have charisma (President?, CEO?). I know, I'm just a blathering mom! But he is pretty amazing and I continue to enjoy this journey on which we've embarked!

Caught on film

2010-05-12T15:18:00.001-05:00

This is strangely one of the first of a few smiles caught on film of Charlie. We used to take the camera out when he was smiling, but he'd immediately stare at the camera in wonder and amazement (and hence lose the smile). Today I was able to snag a few pic's - and it seems that he's following in his more photogenic footsteps of his mother. I wasn't sure if he intended to smile for this photo or think about what office he'd like to run for?

Growing...

2010-04-28T16:51:00.001-05:00

So the big C is about 16 pounds and seems to be getting thighs almost too large to fit in the "bumbo" that he's sitting in, which we got as a loaner from a friend. We figured he likes to look, he can't really sit - so he checks it out from time to time. He's really not partial to any position and in fact is rather content on his back, stomach, side, in the swing (doesn't have to be moving), or just out in the middle of the floor. The only position I've really seem him irritated is when I'm holding him with one arm and he starts to slide down and then I realize his head is about at my hip level. This is actually rather irritating to both of us to be quite honest.

What's that black box of soil you ask? Why that's our starter garden... we hope. Dani planted some seed tomatoes (Big Boys?-- I forget), cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, and some jalapenos. The cherry tomatoes are the first to sprout. I also started digging out a back flower bed near the garage that looks to get good sun. I went over 3 feet deep in an area about 4 x 3 feet. OK, I admit it, I was digging for some treasure! I kept hoping for a diamond, ruby, or some old box with gold coins, but no luck. All I found was the electrical line that runs from the house to the garage. I was careful to dig around that. However, that was more digging than I expected and the hole was well, it looked like we had a burial site beside our garage. We had two 45 gallon trashcans of compost we got free from the local city leaf drop-off place (no one knows what to call it really), and that didn't go far. I poured the first can in the hole and filled about 15% of it in. Dani didn't say anything other than asking how I intended to mix the dirt with it now that I had a 3 foot hole with compost on the bottom. I shrugged and did the best I could while layering the other barrel which worked much better. It looked pretty good until it rained the other day and lowered the level about 3 inches. Oh well - I need to pick up more compost for the rest of the area anyhow. Oh, the proposed garden area is about 12 x 3 feet... so I've got another few digs to go... which will likely be 1-2 feet deep unless I get eager again for treasure, but I'm not getting any high hopes. I did find some good use for the extra dirt though - I've placed it around the bottom of our backyard fence where rabbits are sneaking in. That's another issue we'll have to face down the road.

So, we'll wait to see how the garden goes and if Charlie's thighs balloon all the way up and he floats away.

Back at Work

2010-04-20T19:30:00.002-05:00

I returned to work a few weeks ago (March 30)...I feel like I should have a lot to say about it but I don't really. While I was on maternity leave I accepted a new position within my company. I am now the Community Relations Coordinator. I still manage the activity department (employees, planning, paperwork) for 20 hours of the week and I am doing marketing the other 20 hours of the week. So far it's keeping me really busy which is great! I like getting to work, getting things done, and getting home.

The first couple of days I cried when I left, mostly because I fell like I will miss out on so much of Charlie's "fun" times of the day. But I am lucky that when I'm sad it's only because I don't get to be the one taking care of him not because I'm worried about the care he's receiving or if he'll be ok. Since Mark runs his own business from home, he's keeping Charlie during the day. It's been a tricky transition but they're both doing amazing and I am truly a blessed Mama! And with this beautiful weather I'm becoming more and more jealous!

A few more pic's of Charlie

2010-03-31T13:49:00.001-05:00

It has been a fun time to watch Charlie grow and learn. He already has a special response for getting up -- I can hold both his hands, and ask him "are you ready?", and he'll squeeze his neck (holding his head up), and ball up his legs, and I can roll him right up. As soon as he's standing, he looks all around as if it's a new world.

The Nicholson Grandparent Visit

2010-03-24T14:55:00.006-05:00

(From Mark)
My first entry in a while (sorry about that, and THANKS Dani for doing such a great job posting!). Since I'm headed to Las Vegas for a convention, I figured this might be a good time to do a little typing. My parents came to visit March 9-12. We had some warmer temperatures the week before, but rain came in and made the days more wet than us locals would prefer (actually, we'd prefer snow over the wet and cold, but that's another story). However, I think the temp's being in the 40's seemed more welcoming than that of the previous 20's and below we got in January and February. It was great to see them and to see them get to see Charlie, and visa-versa. Charlie was JUST at the point of interacting, and showed off with smiles, and even "talked" a little. It was a good visit on all accounts, and we're glad they were able to come visit. We look forward to the next time! Here's some pic's to enjoy.

He Just Keeps Getting Bigger

2010-03-22T10:18:00.003-05:00

I know I'll probably be repeating those words for the rest of my life but I'm amazed at Charlie's growth! At his two month check up (March 5) he weighed in at 12 pounds, 15 ounces and was 24.5 inches tall. Yesterday, on our scale here at home, he weighed 14.5 pounds! He's a growing guy.

For a couple of days last week we took a little stay-cation. We went to Como Park on one particularly nice day we had a picnic lunch, walked around the lake, and took some photos. Unfortunately we waited just a smidge too long and have "getting tired Charlie" pictures instead of "Smiley Charlie" ones. Oh well!

**There are a few previous posts with video. It may look like a blank area but look just below for a small play button. We're trying to get some fun live action with Charlie. Enjoy!**

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T21:42:00.008-05:00

We went to the St. Patrick's Day parade today in downtown St. Paul. It was a gorgeous day but the festivities wiped Charlie out! We're doing our best to enjoy the last couple of weeks before I return to work.

Talkin' It Up

2010-03-16T21:51:00.000-05:00

We just can't get enough of him!

That's Tasty

2010-02-17T13:30:00.002-06:00

Little Charlie is already growing up and showing a little independence (much to Mama's sadness). We decided to introduce a bottle once a day to get Charlie (and Mark) practice for when I return to work. :( With all that I have read I thought there might be some difficulty...see video below for Charlie's first bottle (and for those of you who are wondering, yes it's breastmilk). I am so glad for Mark and Charlie that the bottle does not seem to be a big deal - but it was a little sad for me!

Grandma and Grandpa B Visit

2010-02-09T13:15:00.007-06:00

The weather has gotten (a little) better...and so the Beauchamp grandparents jumped in the car and drove north to see their new grandson! We were excited to see Charlie meet the Beauchamp grandparents (Charlie is named after his Grandpa B)! And we're all looking forward to more first meetings with family!

Finding (Today's) Rhythm

2010-02-04T15:48:00.001-06:00

Charlie is four weeks old and I can hardly believe it! He is sleeping like a champ (we've had several nights in a row of 4 or 5 hour stretches - I know it could all change in an instant!), nursing well, and having more engaged 'awake' times. The photo is of his first nap in his crib (today). He sleeps in a bassinet but I thought we'd give the crib a try today as I've heard it can be difficult to transition. Obviously, he couldn't care less

The days have flown by...and (after some words of encouragement from Mark) I'm working to find a rhythm for each day. Last week, I took my first solo trip and got my hair cut. Today, I ventured out grocery shopping. Mark is an amazing dad and has so much fun with Charlie. Many mornings Charlie goes to work with his dad. Mark sits at the computer with Charlie in the Baby Bjorn. It's a time when I can get ready for the day and get things done. Wonderful! I'm also getting the hang of doing things with Charlie (he's fast asleep right now in the sling pictured to the right). It's nice to have two free hands.

All in all, we are having a blast! We even went on a date the other afternoon - all three of us! We went to see "Up in the Air" at a theater that has special showtimes for moms with kids. It was awesome to get out and do something fun!

3 Weeks and Growing

2010-01-28T18:12:00.002-06:00

We had a weight check appointment with our doctor yesterday...and Charlie is already up to 10 pounds 6 ounces and is 22 inches long. He's gone from being in the 50th percentile for weight and height to above 75th in just a few short weeks! The picture on the left shows just how tall he's getting (not quite the length of a pillow). He's on his way out of the newborn clothing and diapers, too! Hard to believe in just 3 short weeks he's grown and changed so much. We are enjoying longer sleeps at night and longer awake periods during the day (well, at least the past couple have been like that). This afternoon we bundled up and headed out for a walk in the sunshine. Mark carried Charlie in the Baby Bjorn (front carrier) under his jacket and they kept each other warm in the 9*F weather!

Charlie is quite animated and is such a happy guy! We are enjoying every day and are so glad for this special time we have together as a family.

SKOL Vikings!

2010-01-24T14:00:00.000-06:00

A special thank you to the Bonness Family for the awesome apparel!

All Smiles

2010-01-15T16:24:00.004-06:00

Just wanted to share this great photo that Mark caught! This is the sign that Charlie is falling into deep sleep - he starts smiling! I absolutely adore it!

10 days old

Kassi is the winner!

2010-01-13T10:13:00.001-06:00

We had a little game going before Charlie was born so that folks could guess the date, sex, and a few details of the birth. We weighted each guess (with the date being the highest in points), and Kassi Marshall came out with the most points (a whopping four). You can view the guesses and final counting at our Google Spreadsheet.
For playing, Kassi will receive complimentary bragging rights for ONE FULL YEAR. Yes, that's right, her and her husband (Jon), and even her two boys (Logan and Austin) can all brag about their Kassi as much as they'd like through January 5, 2011. She will also receive a special thank you hug from Charlie. Thanks everyone for playing, and congratulations Kassi!

Our Family

2010-01-12T10:00:00.002-06:00

The first week has flown by...but here's (what I think is) our first family photo. Charlie is one week old and we are so excited that he's finally here! Charlie's first doctor appointment was yesterday - they basically just wanted to check him out and make sure we were doing ok. As of 1/11 he's up to 8 lbs - he lost an ounce on the scale as retribution for having to wait to see the doctor! As a reminder: birth weight (1/5) - 7lbs 13oz, hospital discharge (1/7) - 7lbs 4 oz. It's amazing that in a week he has already grown and changed. We are having such a great time with him as well as keeping the house up and napping that it's a little difficult to post...we'll keep trying!

A few new pic's...

2010-01-09T13:08:00.001-06:00

While he's generally asleep more than awake, we managed to get a few pic's this morning.
Gotta run and do some clean up.

Nicholson baby update...

2010-01-05T18:06:00.000-06:00

Hello all,
Just a short note to let you know that all is well:
Charles (Charlie) Meredith Nicholson was born at: 10:00am today.
7 lbs, 13 oz, 20.5 inches and born on his due date.
Dani is doing great--she was amazing! We'll be at St. Joe's probably through Thursday.

Love,
-Mark, Dani, and Charlie Nicholson
M: 206-769-7278

Where has the time gone?

2009-12-20T17:35:00.008-06:00

Only 16 days until Baby's due date (1/5)! So, where have we been all fall?

We had a wonderful "Babymoon" in Chicago during September. While we thought of the baby a lot, it was so nice to get away just the two of us (as well as meeting up with several friends and seeing U2!!). We love to travel and getting away always refreshes us.

One memorable moment of the fall was brought to us by a nice walk through our neighborhood on a Friday evening in October. We were getting ready to cross the street when I noticed an envelope on the ground. I picked it up, flipped it over, and read, "Twins Tickets". Hmmm....the Twins had made the playoffs but no way...we opened and there they were 2 tickets to the ALDS game on Sunday night against the Yankees at the Metrodome. After looking around for someone or a hidden camera, Mark shoved them in his pocket and we continued our walk, pondering what to do. We posted signs in the area and put a lost & found add on Craigslist but alas no one called. So, we went to Game 3 and sat on the aisle in the 11th row, just beyond 1st base! The Twins lost (and the game wasn't that great) but we had a blast!! And, coincidentally, purchased our first piece of baby clothing - a Twins tee for next summer!

Other things that have kept us busy: 10-week birth class (boy, are we prepared), Dani's best friend(Teri) visited for a long weekend, celebrated a friend's birthday with an "Oktoberfeast", attended a wonderful Halloween party, and work, work, work!

We traveled to Iowa for a wonderful weekend and a shower hosted by my sister-in-law. It was warm for November in Iowa and, a special treat, Mark's mom, sister, and sister-in-law came up from Texas to help celebrate! It was a great weekend with family! The following weekend, my good friend Kerstin hosted a shower here in the Twin Cities. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and I was truly blessed by the generosity of our friends (in time, advice, gifts, and love). We are so thankful to have found such a wonderful place to call home!

And, we're getting ready for the baby! Quite a while back Mark painted the baby's room and yesterday we scored a deal on a crib, glider, and ottoman set! So, we're pretty much as ready as we're gonna be (bag is packed, next to the crib)!

Many have inquired about me and I'm great (except when I'm not)! Baby has been doing lots of dancing and the Braxton Hicks are getting old...I'm ready to meet this Little One and begin the next phase! As you may have noticed, I've been reluctant to share photos of myself...not sure why because I'm excited about this new adventure and, other than finding clothing, haven't minded being pregnant. I guess I've wanted to focus on beginning our family rather than having a baby, I know it's just semantics but...

-----5 Weeks------- ------37 Weeks------

Anyway, I'm doing my best to find time to relax when I can and Mark is busy as a bee caring for me - he really is the best! So, if you get time, shoot him a text or email of encouragement. Thanks!

Chee-Ca-Go

2009-09-15T06:17:00.009-05:00

Dani and I needed a vacation, U2 was playing in Chicago, so we tied the two together. We took a Southwest flight (about 1.5 hr trip) versus driving (about a 7 hour drive). We were accustomed to using public transportation from our last Europe trip, and were eager to try our hand at US based traveling. However, this time, I was equipped with an active cell phone and had access to Google Maps with integrated transit info. It was absolutely beautiful. Turn on the GPS and the map showed where you were, tell it where you wanted to go, and the map told you where to walk, what bus to ride (and the next time of the next bus), where to transfer, which EL (elevated train) to get on, and your ETA. It was almost too easy! In fact, after mapping out our first route from the airport to our B&B/home, we waited for the 547X bus to arrive at 1:47pm. "Hey, here's the 547X at 1:40pm!" I exclaimed. It was a little early, what luck. We knowingly jumped on the bus and grabbed a seat. As we pulled out of the airport terminal, we headed South. Unfortunately we were supposed to be heading North. I double checked my maps, and noticed that it called for the 547X-Cicero bound. Uh-oh, I was so happy to see the bus, I failed to check the direction it was headed. So, we hopped on the South-bound one and rode it to some mall for about 15 minutes. The driver pulled the bus over near a Wendy's for a timed stop and was suprised to see us still sitting on the bus. I told him what had happened and asked if we should just sit it out or try and catch a North-bound 547X. He said that he was the next North-bound bus, so just have a seat and enjoy. We humbly ate our peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches while the driver cleaned up the bus.

Our "B&B" was wonderful. I use quotes, as it was listed online as a B&B, and they did stock the fridge with breakfast, but it was more of a place to sleep. A BIG place to sleep. The owners have an up/down-house and rent out the downstairs as they slowly renovate the place. The place was spacious with a large kitchen, bathroom, huge living area, a master bedroom, a small bedroom, and another medium bedroom. It literally could of slept 10. Our friends met up with us on Saturday to help fill the place.

Lets see, on Sept. 9, we went into town and enjoy the sites. I enjoyed Millennium Park.. and especially seeing the "bean" up close. It's art. It's a big, chrome like, reflective, well, bean shaped sculpture. The reflections in it are crazy as it absorbs all the images, city line, etc. It's a little hard to find yourself in the reflection when walking up.

We polished off the day with some deep dish, Chicago style pizza, and wow-wee was it good! It better be after waiting 30-40 minutes for it!

On Sept. 10, we took an architectural boat tour along the river. They discussed the "great fire", who started it, what happened, and how the city came together after to rebuild. Hence, the unique buildings that exist today. The Sears tower (now AKA the Willis Tower but no one calls it this anyhow) was built on the basis of a pack of cigarettes. I guess they don't just cause lung cancer.
We dropped in at Portillo's, an excellent, fast moving, dine-in, Chicago-dog and other assortment of foods place. I thought the dogs were $9 as they were just in that blurry vision range, so I asked Dani if she wanted to share one. She looked at me funny and as we moved forward I noticed they were $2.50. I got my own. We went back several times.. and yes, the dogs were amazing (I like everything on it too). Dani surprised me a clever visit to Garrett's Popcorn: they make an excellent caramel pecan pop-corn that is beyond addictive. Be careful! We ended our evening with our long anticipated tickets to see a live recording of "Wait Wait", the NPR comedy news quiz. It was quite fun!

Sept. 11: We ventured south of the city of the Museum of Science and Industry which sits where the world fair was held in the (I think) late 1800's, or early 1900's. If you read Devil in the White City you'll have a better understanding and excitement! For dinner we met up with old time friends and neighbors from Seattle, Chris and Jamie Conner! We had tapas at an excellent little Spanish restaurant in the Lincoln Park area. It was great to see old friends and catch up (they were also in town for the U2 concert).

Sept 12: We had brunch w/ an old friend from KC, Courtney Ryan. She took us to a little, quaint, brunch-ee type place that served the BEST ginger-pumpkin pancakes I've ever had. Those might of been the first I've ever had, but they were darn good!

We made our way over to Navy Pier, walked out on it, turned around, and headed home to meet up with friends coming in town for the concert, and then decided that we should all take a quick nap. It turned out to be rather longer than anticipated, but we all awoke well rested and ready for the concert. Emily brought an excellent chicken dish which she fixed, so we were able to sit down for a home-cooked meal. Unfortunately we weren't watching the time and it was time to leave (as we were finishing our meal). So we all quickly got ready and jumped on the EL. The ride was quick, but we still had to catch a bus to Soldier Field. As we walked off the EL in downtown the next bus that pulled up (heading to the stadium) was cram packed full! Everyone waited did the exact same thing--we all bolted down the street to catch a taxi. It was a little nightmare-ish as everyone would leap-frog each other to be the "next" person to wave down a taxi. We finally turned the corner and waved one down, but he didn't want to drive to the concert area (crazy traffic). We caught a nice driver with a mini-van and on the way, I told him he could just drop us off where ever he thought would make the best sense so he could get back to making more fare money. He was so kind, and we jumped out about a 1/4 mile away so he was able to do a U-turn. Thanks Mr. kind taxi-driver! See what we can do when we work together!? Due to our tardiness to the concert we missed most all (except for the last song) of the opening band: Snow Patrol, which was a bummer, because both Dani and I wanted to see them. Oh well. We were plenty early for U2. The show was great, and we had a blast. Dani could probably tell you the details of the concert. My description probable pales anyhow: songs, lights, smoke, etc. It was a cool stage setup.

Our last full day in down, Sept. 13: We had some B&B breakfast snacks I think. Dani bought a bag of Dyno-bites (the cheap version of Cocoa Crispies), and for some reason we're still talking about how good they were! We headed to Wrigley Field really just to see the park, however, a Cubs game was going on too. We walked around the park (very cool to see the stadium-like seats on the towering condo buildings next to the field!) and were accosted by a variety of ticket sales guys. I haggled with one guy and just honestly said we didn't have much of a budget. I offered $15 for 2 tickets and he kindly walked away. I wasn't up for paying much. We walked around some more and then it was the 3rd inning. As we were walking towards the EL we passed a guy w/ a LOT of tickets and appeared to run a business there. He was really nice and we asked how much (somewhat un-interested). He said $10 a ticket now... we could take our pick. He had 2 tix in the shade on the first deck between home and 3rd. We took em and enjoyed a cheap Cubs game!

After, we headed to the beach and walked in the sand along the lake shore, as it was a warm and sunny day. We once again visited Portillo's, enjoyed another dog, and then re-visited Millennium Park. A great last day if I do say so!

Baby Nicholson Photos

2009-08-21T17:57:00.005-05:00

These are a long time coming! Busy doesn't event describe the Nicholson's as of late. But, the end is in sight and we will be able to shift our focus towards the new addition scheduled to arrive this January!

We did our ultrasound on Friday, August 21. It made for a great start to the weekend! The Little One was not that excited about modeling for us. Baby was covering his/her face most of the time so we have many foot and arm photos. In case you haven't already heard, we chose not to learn the gender of our baby. And, as you look through these, remember Baby's head is always on your right and captions are along the bottom if you need help. Or click on the photos to go to the album.

I hope you enjoy as much as we have!

Growing Pains

2009-08-06T04:07:00.004-05:00

Well, it's 4AM and after nearly an hour in bed awake I decided to rise and (because I'm hungry) have something to eat. A strawberry Poptart and bowl of multi-grain Cheerios, if you must know. Unfortunately, I think I'm feeling worse not better after eating. Figures.

I've been thinking about this post for a few days. And mixing my 80's TV show references for effect...the theme from Facts of Life has been running through my brain: "There's a time you got to go and show, You're growin' now you know about (sing it with me) The Facts of Life, The Facts of Life". Because it's way better than the Growing Pains theme: "Show me that smile again. Don't waste another minute on your crying, we're nowhere near the end. The best is ready to begin." "Wait!," you're thinking. "Those GP lyrics seem to make great sense for a pregnancy". Right. Just what I want to think about - being nowhere near the end and someone telling me to quit crying. Awesome.

Anyway, the baby inside is starting to show itself. Now, I'm not really concerned about what I look like, per se. It's more that I'm between clothes right now and every day is a challenge to get out the door. My own clothes are quickly becoming snug and maternity clothes make me look A. Frumpy or B. Chubby, not cutely pregnant. And I'm feeling a little stuck as we can start to see the coming of the end of summer (trust me, I'm in no hurry). I feel stuck because I don't want to buy new clothes to wear for like a month (capris, shorts, etc.) and then go into fall and need to get more new clothes. Many of you mothers and pregnant friends are thinking, "oh, the Bella Band". Yes, this amazing piece of expensive spandex can be nice and cover up those unbuttoned pants. But, if you are say five feet tall, it covers from well below your waist up to the bottom of your bra, sorta like a really cool tube top. Again, Awesome.

On the bright side, we're in the process of picking paint colors for our interior. I know, no painting. Mark's doing the hard work (along with any willing friends). We bought some test colors last night after a week with different colored cards stuck to the walls. The living/dining color seems to be too light...we worried about too dark. The kitchen splotch looks good color-wise but the paint job is leaving a little to be desired (I suggested buying the stupid foam brush, my fault). In case you're wondering, I did laundry and painted my toenails while Mark tested out his skills. He thought the nail polish smell had to be far worse for me than the paint. Whatever.

Everyone keeps asking how I'm doing. The one word answers, depending on the moment: busy, stuffy, itchy, tired, hungry. Work has picked up quite a bit so I've been extremely busy but this past week has been great! I don't feel tired until the moment I'm walking out to the car. And then I feel like I could eat everything in sight (which is usually a piece of fruit or Fiber One bar).

I've been stuffy since the end of week 9 (count 'em, 9 whole weeks!). I'm congested mostly in the evening and during the night due to allergies and pregnancy. It was suggested that I not take my normal allergy medication as...well, no drug company is stupid enough to test drugs on actual pregnant humans! So, every now and then I pop a Benedryl which lasts me about 5 hours. I didn't take one before bed tonight and thus am awake. Our Nurse-Midwife made mention that I may feel congested THROUGHOUT the pregnancy. Seriously. With the stuffiness comes the ever-so-attractive "ahem" filled with phlem in my throat. I actually opened the car door the other morning at a stoplight to spit. Yet again, Awesome. I'm a 70-year-old man. Oh, and I forgot to mention that on our camping trip last weekend (which was great, thanks) I picked up some great mosquito bites on my feet. So, many nights during the past week I've been awoken by myself scratching my feet. Gross, huh. Sitting on the edge of the tub and running freezing water over them seems to calm the itchiness down but wakes me right up.

Thankfully (and quite seriously), I could never imagine a better partner on this journey than Mark. He has been my personal chef (many times breakfast, lunch, and dinner), encourager, compliment-giver, and event planner. I already think he's a better parent than I'll be...every day is an adventure and I'm so glad that he's willing to take it with me. He gets my humor and doesn't think it's gross when I tell him pregnancy stuff (or at least, he tells me it's not gross). I am so blessed!

16 Weeks and Counting

2009-07-25T09:37:00.012-05:00

The proverbial cat is finally out of the bag...but, in case you hadn't heard, I'm pregnant!

Monday morning we had our 16 week appointment and met another of the Nurse-Midwives at our clinic. She was really great and shared our excitement. We heard the heartbeat again (always a joy), discussed my ever-increasing stuffiness, gaining weight, diet, and our 20-week ultrasound. It's crazy to think we're only a few weeks from the halfway point! We're excited to see the little one but still do not intend to know the gender until the big day. If you want to mark your calendars but haven't yet, our estimated due date is January 5, 2010. For those of you keeping score, that's 24 days after Mark's birthday and a mere 3 before mine - so much for avoiding another "Christmastime" birthday! Although, I have a feeling this one may take his/her own sweet time so maybe MLK weekend? Or my Aunt Diane's birthday? Thank goodness we got married in May!

Also, many people have commented to me that I seem to have "popped" this week. As I'm neither a kernel of popcorn or a butterball turkey, I prefer to think that I'm starting to "show" that I'm pregnant. Please remember this when speaking with pregnant women.

In other news this week, we found out that friends from church are also going to have a baby and are due just 6 days after us! We're excited to share this journey with them!

Less exciting but still great - we've been in the house a month. Boxes still need to be unpacked but that's ok. And, due to our lack of rain, the grass is quite brown but I'm trying to remember to water every now and again. We're settling in and loving our new neighborhood (Hamline Midway). I saw a sign this morning on our walk that stated, "On a bicycle, the top is always down". Give it a second. Makes me feel a little like we're in Ballard (our old Seattle neighborhood)...that and the neighbor with chickens in her yard! :) There are lots of friendly people on our block and many dogs as well as a few children.

Last night we had an exceptional date night! We rode our bikes to Midway Stadium, home of the Saint Paul Saints baseball team. It's maybe a mile each way and GA tickets are $5 each. We looked into the setting sun most of the evening but truly enjoyed time outside watching baseball together! Did I mention they sell Cheese Curds at the game (see Fried Cheese Curds)?

Work. We're both doing it. My boss is on maternity leave through September and I agreed to take on the Marketing aspect of her job, thinking "no big deal". Well, that plus many other unforeseen duties has meant I'm working a lot. And I'm wiped out when I get home! Mark has been rather busy with his business, Elite Asset Protection (www.eaprotection.com). It's been exciting to watch him grow and learn and build this new enterprise. I'm so proud and happy that he's been able to do something that is mentally stimulating, challenging, and fun to earn income! He's had the desire to have his own business for longer than I've known him so it's pretty rewarding to hear the "new order" text notification!

We will do our best to continue to post (including pictures) regularly now that we're "out". Also, if you want to read a couple of emails from earlier in the pregnancy, I've added them below (TGIF and All is Well).

The FEAR of water

2009-07-16T10:56:00.003-05:00

Recently Dani and I were sitting around a table with some friends and I had asked one of our friends if they believed that everyone has a fear? They weren't so sure, so we went around the table and almost everyone had some type of fear. Everyone except me. I couldn't think of anything that was a true fear. Then, today, it hit me, that perhaps I do? I think I have a fear of a water pipe leaking in a house when were not home. Back in Seattle we had a neighbor (our townhouse that we shared a wall with neighbor) that lost a water valve (yeah, it shot off) during the night when he wasn't home. This was on the third floor. He opened his front door (on the first level) with over 2 inches of water on the floor. So, when I say I fear a water leak, I just don't like how wiley water can be in a home when it gets out.

Another note: I LOVE our new home. It is fantastic, and I enjoy the many projects and creativity I have to use to complete them. With that said... here's a little taste of the past few days:

So a week ago I was moving the stove and noticed an old sink had been installed in place of it (years ago). As I tapped one of the original steel pipes I noticed a droplet of water and thought "oh crap, that's not good". There was a hole cut out in the wall where the pipes once connected to the sink, but the droplet was coming from above. I ran upstairs to the bathroom to check for overflow, and luckily all was fine there. I returned back downstairs and placed a mirror and flashlight into the wall to find a "T" valve about 8 inches up that likely was the "original" branch for the "original" sink that was once there. That part of the wall was covered. I noticed that the cold water pipe "T" had a plug in it, and it was fine. However, the hot water "T" section had a small pipe coming out, with a cap on it. It was corroded beyond recovery and was very likely the culprit of the leak. I waited for a while, tapped it, and again, a droplet came.

The plan was to remove the small piece of pipe, put a plug in place of it, and be done. Initial time estimate: 1 hour max., with time for cleanup.

Days later I was ready to start the small job. I first put a pipe wrench up into the wall and was able to reach the small pipe without a problem. Oh, I did FIRST cut the main water valve.... give me a little credit. I was able to get the teeth to catch, and wa-la. It was twisting in a matter of turns. However, the pipe was SO corroded, only half of it came out.
Great. I made a small incision in the wall (a few inches) to gain better detail and evaluate the situation. The pipe was so corroded, it was less than a millimeter thick in one place.
OK, so now I had to extract the remaining part of the pipe. I was thinking I once used (via my Grandfather) a pipe wrench with a head that had horizontally extended teeth. I might have dreamed this up, but I feel like something like this exists (and if not, make note--go get a patent now!). I went to a few stores and they just stared at me. I explained the situation to one guy, and he recommended a pipe extractor. Great. I showed him the pipe piece I had, and he said a 3/4" extractor should do the job. I came home, drilled out some of the corrosion, and then looked at the extractor. The pipe looked closer to 1/2", although my 1/2" drill bit sat inside of the pipe w/ about 1/8" room. 5/8" pipe? They say there is no such thing. The extractor was not going to work. I got online and googled "how to remove a pipe", and found someone that recommended an internal pipe wrench. Wow, that sounds great. Went to store, and they had a number of them. Why didn't they think of this when I explained the situation the first time? Oh well, I got one, came home, and inserted said internal pipe wrench. I twisted. The piece that locks the wrench inside broke. I said some explicatives. I returned to said home store and requested a new one. They obliged. I returned home w/ new pipe extractor. Inserted tool, twisted, it locked, and then the battle began. I used a deep socket to grab the internal pipe wrench (I'm still working on this w/ about 2" cut into the wall) and the largest socket wrench I have. Nothing. I added a cheater pipe and twisted again. Geez. I gave it all I had, and it began to come out. Whew. Pipe removed.

I thought ahead and purchased a plug to put in. It was a 1/2" plug. It fit pretty good. I put it in w/ some Teflon. Turned on water. It leaked. Turned off water. Removed plug, used teflon paste. Returned plug. Turned on water. Still leaked. Turned off water. Called Dad. He recommended a different plug. Found one at Ace that was US made. It looked better. Tried teflon paste + new plug. It leaked. Tried more teflon, it leaked too. Called Dad. He recommended as a last effort epoxy. I thought what the heck. Cleaned pipe, etc. really good and re-ran threads w/ a tap.

Before shutting off the water main I filled the sinks with water so that we'd have some for cleanup, etc. I applied a STRONG cleaning solution to the pipe (a concentrated pre-epoxy grease removed), and a small amount ran onto my hands. I figured it was the equivalent of gasoline, but it was not! It began to burn, so I ran to the filled sink of water and soaked my hands for a few minutes. Whew--good thing I had some water on reserve. Otherwise I might be typing right now.

Applied epoxy + new plug and waited 9 hours for the super Pro epoxy w/ kevlar to set. Turned on water the next morning. The plug did NOT leak. Great. However, I noticed a really small leak just below the plug on the "T" head. Crap. Well, I have all the cleaning stuff and epoxy. Why not? So, I cleaned all and applied a liberal amount of epoxy on said area. We ate out again that night.

Well, there you have it. It appears to be holding fine now. Below is a picture of the T valve inside the wall, with a liberal amount of epoxy around it. The newspaper is sitting there (for now) so that I can pull it out and check to see if any water has leaked. So far, so good... but I hesitate to say anything more, as we all know what can happen.

TGIF!

2009-06-26T11:49:00.000-05:00

An email to those in the know (from 6/26):

Well, we started this beautiful morning off with a nice, cool walk with Murphy and then headed to our appointment. The midwife tried to reassure us that we may not hear a heartbeat today and if that was the case we'd do an ultrasound but it was nothing to worry about. After that, she took her little fetal doppler and found the heartbeat in about .2 seconds!!! We got to listen and smile for quite a little bit, which was nice. I think it's really setting in for Mark - the heartbeat was a good reassurance for him. I've had lots of other nagging things to remind me daily! :) Today is 12 weeks and 4 days. We have another appointment in 4 weeks. I'm feeling much better and the news is getting out...I told the other managers at work this week so now everyone at work knows!

In other exciting news, we close on our house today at 4pm! We have friends helping us move stuff on Sunday, which we're so thankful for! Although we did offer the incentive of free pizza! Mark's dad arrives in town on Monday (to help with some projects) and his mom, aunt, and sister should be here Thursday or Friday! This will be their first trip to Minnesota so we're hoping to show off what a great place it is!

Have a great weekend! Feel free to call...and know that we aren't ignoring you if we don't call or email, we're just a little busy at the moment!

Love (and apologies for the excessive use of exclamations),
Dani and Mark.

All is Well

2009-06-11T11:52:00.001-05:00

An email to those in the know (6/11):

Well, we had our first official prenatal appointment this morning. We are planning to deliver with a Certified Nurse-Midwife practice that delivers at the hospital closest to us. So, today we met with Linda, one of the midwives. She put us at ease as we answered a ton of questions and then let us ask all of ours. It was a really nice experience for both Mark and me, being a little nervous.

Everything went well - I'm healthy! Yeah! And I haven't gained any weight yet (although she suggested 10 pounds in the next 10 weeks). We are 10 weeks and 3 days into this and feeling pretty good! :) The only small bummer was that we were not able to hear the heartbeat. Apparently, my uterus (sorry Lindsay) is tilted toward the back. This is no problem and will change as the two of us grow. And, not hearing the heartbeat wasn't a worry - so please don't! She was very nice and said, "why don't you come back in two weeks and we'll try again", despite not really needing to see me for 4 weeks. I think she sensed our excitement.

The funniest moment of the appointment happened while she was searching for the heartbeat with the little monitor. She was so patient and really trying hard for us. At one point she said, "this baby's being stubborn" which made me laugh, which made the monitor make horrible noises, and prompted Mark to say, "It runs in the family!" I wonder what he's taking about?

Settling Down (we hope)

2009-06-09T12:29:00.002-05:00

Another long overdue post...Facebook may be the death of our Blog. It seems much easier to post pithy little ditties every now and then rather than sitting down to write. But, we try.

We have made an offer on a house that has been accepted. Today is the inspection!! We are very excited for this transition to a more permanent situation here in the Twin Cities! It's been interesting living in a rather small 2 bedroom apartment that is crammed with our stuff (bikes, tools, dog stuff...you name it). After having a home in Seattle, the apartment in St. Paul was to be a transition space. Unfortunatley, the transition has taken us longer than we'd (I'd) hoped. The good news is that we're hoping to close before the end of June!!!

Here are some pictures and video from Mark with those from the listing included. Take a look! But, seriously, only positive feedback! :)

The place has been fixed up already and it's a pretty clean slate. Great hardwood throughout and big enough to host parties and overnight guests! If you're looking for a summer vacation destination, you should consider St. Paul! We love it!

I'm sure with the house will come many exciting new adventures (it was built in 1917 but in great shape). And hopefully more exciting Blogs!

Squirrels

2009-04-21T09:11:00.001-05:00

Well, after my continuously hitting the ceiling with a baseball bat for the past few months, I won! Kind of. Last week I had hit the ceiling so hard that I scared the squirrel right out and near our window sill. So, I opened the window and scratched the screen making hissing noises (like any normal person would do) and to my surprise the squirrel retaliated and jumped at me all while squawking (or whatever it is squirrels do). After realizing it wanted a fight I tried to remove the screen and send it 3 stories to the ground with my bat, but unfortunately (or fortunately?) the plastic screen tabs broke and I was never able to get some batting practice in. I, however, DID continue to rifle our ceiling with clonks of the bat end every time I heard squirrel scratching. Then, last Thursday, I noticed the squirrel crawling out, but with something rather large in her mouth... it dawned on me that it was a baby squirrel. Since I knew she was relocating her family, I was all for it and decided to walk outside and see where she was moving to (also marking sure she wasn't relocating to our bedroom or living area). I didn't see a thing, and then, something moved beside a tree near the street. The baby squirrel in her mouth was about 1/3 her size, so she continued with the large item in her teeth across the street. I followed and watched her go under a backyard fence of one of our neighbors. She had cleverly pre-dug a hole there. I looked over the fence and she climbed a tree and the scampered up it, out on a branch which overhung the house, and then jumped (about 4 feet in the air, still with the baby in her mouth) on to the roof top and clung to every shingle she could. She continued up, then to the front, and around one of the eaves to another section of roof and then entered some hole I couldn't see and momentarily popped back out (without anything in her mouth) eying me to see if I was going to cause her more grief. It was neat to watch, so I let her be in peace. Luckily, no more squirrel scratching from our ceiling, and I might add, they moved to a much nicer house, so I'm guessing the squirrels must be doing quite well financially.

Time Flies

2009-03-11T20:47:00.000-05:00

Well, life has been interesting during the past few months. Lots of ups and a few downs...many things to write about and little time (or sometimes interest) to do it. So, here's a recap...Fall & Winter.

Autumn was beautiful! I still can't believe we live in Minnesota. We rode our bicycles all over town this fall and joined the local YWCA. We took lots of walks and explored our neighborhood. I got used to working again and Mark pounded the pavement in search of employment. I even recall the first weekend in November being sunny and in the low 70's! We did our best to enjoy it because we knew winter would be setting in. And, boy did it! It's been pretty cold pretty much since December with some breaks here and there. January only had one day above freezing ( I believe in was 33 degrees on Jan. 31) as well as numerous when the air temperature didn't get UP to 0. While this seems horrible, we've actually grown accustomed. We both purchased a few pair of long underwear and wear our hiking boots to walk the dog. Also, it's hard to beat all the sunshine we've had this winter! I knew I could handle the cold as long as the sun was out...I'm glad to know that Mark likes it that way too!

Mark interviewed with a few companies in the late fall/early winter. After a long time and many interviews with one company they offered him a great opportunity...we were overjoyed! We went out to celebrate with friends and went shopping for new work clothes for Mark. Then, a few days later, the head of HR called and rescinded the offer. Big bummer! But, the silver lining is that Mark was approached by a good friend to begin work on a web-based business. I'll let him share more on his own about that.

We also have been looking at houses and neighborhoods. We have found lots of areas that we enjoy being in...and there is something in me that desires a Saint Paul address. Don't know why! We have made an offer on a bank owned property in St. Paul but it could take a while before we hear anything...we're excited. It's a big Tudor built in 1932 and in pretty good shape. Just needs some TLC and a new kitchen! Fingers crossed...

We have had visits from different members of my family, which is always fun! Especially in our tiny apartment! We did get to go downhill skiing with my dad, brother, and 4 1/2 year old niece. That was a fun day! Not quite like Washington but awfully fun with family! Speaking of, in January we went to visit Mark's family in Texas. The timing was serendipitous as we had had a string of -20 degree days here and arrived in TX to something like the 50's! We had fun catching up with family, eating, and even enjoying a bonfire (with s'mores) one evening. (We've also found it interesting to live in a place where you have to distinguish temperatures between positive and negative - like up to 30!).

We have found a church we really like: Church of the Cross. It's a trek but we have really enjoyed the community there and the messages. We're in a fun small group and enjoy creating and eating meals with them every other Wednesday! We feel very blessed to have found it!

One of the fun things we've done recently is host an Oscar Party! We rearranged our place, invited 14 people over (because not everyone will be able to make it - WRONG), everyone brought something to eat or drink, we voted for who we thought would win, and watched the Academy Awards on the wall using our projector. It was a blast! We love entertaining and have felt a bit trapped in our little place. It was so fun and nice of our friends to embrace the "cozyness" of our apartment!

Christmas E-letter (in case we missed you)

2009-03-11T19:15:00.001-05:00

December, 2008

We hope you enjoy a stroll through 2008 with us…it's been an exciting year for the Nicholson's!

In January, as the rainy winter was dragging on and we were looking for greener pastures, we celebrated Dani's 30th birthday with a trip to Minneapolis. This trip was to visit friends that had moved from Seattle as well as decide on the potential future of living in the cold-winter upper Midwest. Shortly after we got back, Sprint announced a voluntary separation package that they were offering employees. Basically, to reduce their workforce, they were paying people to no longer work there. This seemed like a fabulous idea to us; who wouldn't want to get paid to NOT go to work (at least for a few months)?

Late winter found Mark accepting the severance and preparing for his final day with Sprint at the end of March (after 7+ years of employment). We also began working with a wonderful realtor (thanks, Gene) to get our house ready for the market. In early April, we put our home up for sale and accepted an offer before the first weekend was over! (Thanks again to Abby & Frank for putting us up so we could be out of town for the open house). Dani left her Activities Assistant position at The Kenney retirement community after 16 fun months (she still misses her folks there).

Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) we said goodbye to Seattle from the bench seat of a Penske truck filled with all of our belongings (thanks to all those who helped us get packed!). We spent several days driving I-90, enjoying the beauty, books on cd, and small town stops. We arrived at Dani's parents, visited family, and put our stuff in storage. On May 20, we excitedly drove to Chicago to catch a flight to Europe. We had return tickets for July 18. Murphy would live in the lap of luxury at Dani's folks for a couple of months! Thanks Mom & Dad B. for helping make this trip possible!!!

We are so incredibly blessed and lucky to have had the opportunity to travel. We were able to visit Spain, Morocco, Portugal, France, and Ireland. Thanks to those who gave us tips, ideas, and places to stay: Amy, Pio, Tom, and especially our French hosts, Noelle & Michel.

We arrived back in Iowa in mid-July. We spent more time with family and began a month-long road trip (this time with Murphy in tow) that took us from family in Eastern Iowa, to friends in Kansas City and Texas, and to family in South Texas. Then we came back…all the way to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis & Saint Paul, Minnesota. We crashed on our friends futon (thanks Josh & Kerstin!) and began the job search. We traveled back and forth a couple of times to Iowa while interviewing and apartment searching.

In September we took the plunge and rented an apartment in St. Paul. A few days later, Dani had a job (Activity Coordinator at Prairie Lodge Assisted Living). We moved and thoroughly enjoyed the amazing autumn that we'd been missing! It lasted through the beginning of November!

We are now just getting ready to begin winter (despite already having had a few days where the temps never got above 0*F) and are enjoying the snow…but not so much the commute in "bad" weather. Mark has had some promising interviews and we've begun researching neighborhoods and looking for a home. We hope that by spring we can start scheduling visitors!

We both find ourselves amazed at the last year of our lives. Sometimes it's "We should've traveled a little longer…who thought two months would seem so short?" or "Can you believe we live in Minnesota?". Mostly though, it's, "How did we get so lucky? God is good!"

We hope that you can find ways this Advent season to see how that last one is true in your life, too!

Making the move

2008-09-17T15:02:00.003-05:00

On Monday I was offered and accepted a new job! Yeah! I will be working as an Activities Coordinator at Prairie Lodge in Brooklyn Park, MN. We're also in the process of securing a rental as I type. This is conveniently is located in St. Paul (read this with heavy sarcasm). You may wonder why we would choose this locale so "distant" from our (current) only source of income. Well, it's a cool place in a cool location and (sort of) reminds us of good 'ole Ballard, which we miss! For those familiar with the MSP area, it's 4 blocks north of Grand Ave. Thankfully, I'll be traveling in the opposite direction of most commuters!

We have been blessed to be cared for by friends and family (siblings, parents) who let us crash in their homes. But, we are excited to move and get settled. It's been a long and exciting road but we're both ready to sleep in our own bed!

When I look back through May, June, and July I can't believe the opportunities afforded us. I also sometimes find it hard to believe we took the leap. I am so thankful for Mark and his willingness to go along on crazy adventures with me. He was the one who worried 2 months might be too long...now he's wishing we would've stayed at least 1 more!

Looking forward to more of life's adventures,
Dani

(Finally) Finishing Ireland

2008-08-16T12:58:00.005-05:00

FROM DANI:
7/8-16

Our next destination was Glenstal Abbey which is a Benedictine monastery set on a 500 acre estate. We have a close friend who has been there and done silent retreats with the monks. It was a wonderfully peaceful stop situated about 12 miles east of Limerick city but feels much more remote. We enjoyed a quiet afternoon (this was the day Mark drove on the wrong side of the road) and went to vespers in the evening and had a yummy meal in the village of Murroe where Glenstal is located.

We awoke, ate another huge breakfast and then set out for the Cliffs of Moher. Impressive, to say the least! It was a sunny day (yeah) and we enjoyed the endless sea views as well as the big drop down. The highlight for me was seeing Puffin (although they were tiny even with the 2 Euro sightseer binocs). I've wanted to see this bird since the forth grade when it graced the cover of my spelling book. And it was well worth it! We continued on and stayed in a private room at the Allie River Hostel and enjoyed some local music (played by folks near the front door) while we bumped around other cooks in the big kitchen. We slept well to the sound of pattering rain and the little creek that wound by our place.

Next, more driving through beautiful scenery! We drove through The Burren and Connemara and stopped for photos and to take in the countryside. I particularly enjoyed the lakes in the Connemara! Amazingly twisty roads through gorgeous landscape. We found another hostel, dropped our stuff, drove around the lakes and took in an 18-hole putt putt course (Ireland is known for it's golfing!). It was a fun break from travel, even though Mark won!

The next morning we headed for and checked out Galway. Honestly, I'm kinda fuzzy on it as in the afternoon we drove across Ireland (west to east) because our car was due back the next day. Sorry, Galway--better luck next time! :) Oh, I think we ate doner kebab and hung out in a used bookshop here. Yep. Then we drove! We stayed that night just north of Dublin near Slane castle in a farm hostel. We took dorm beds in a 8 or 10 bed room but had the place to ourselves (a funny way to save some cash!). We enjoyed a beautiful sunset and Mark took some amazing pictures of sheep!!

We awoke to drive our car back to the Dublin airport and returned it without problem (thankfully). We took the bus into the city and headed for our reserved accomodations at Trinity College. We stayed in a quad with a kitchen and enjoyed university breakfast every morning. It was fun living "on campus". Dublin probably didn't get a fair shake because we were in going home mode...already thinking about the future. But, we did do a Trinity College tour, saw the Book of Kells, had a drink at Octagon Bar (inside The Clarence Hotel, owned by Bono and The Edge). Mark took a swim at the pool on campus and I took a historical walking tour. We also started reading The Shadow of the Wind together.

Our last day of holiday was spent in London. We caught a RyanAir flight to Gatwick, a quick train to the city, the tube to our hotel (the same we had stayed at 3 years ago), and spent the afternoon walking. Beautiful day - warm and sunny!!!!! Then, we jumped back on the tube and headed for my favorite restaurant (so far) in the world. We had eaten there on a previous trip and it lived up to the memories. If you're in London, take the black line to the Angel stop and walk to Galipoli! Well worth it!!!

And then, we flew home to Chicago. My dad picked us up at the airport and we made our way to Maquoketa, Ia.

We were gone 58 days...but the time flew by. Can't wait to travel again soon!

We're back...

2008-07-19T10:58:00.003-05:00

Well, we're back and have mostly returned our internal clocks to the central time zone. What was my favorite? I immensely remember Morocco, and if I choose to recall only the best moments, it really was an unforgettable and amazing place to visit (I highly recommend it if you have a sense of adventure... and speaking French wouldn't hurt either). However, after munching on tapas and speaking Spanish for almost a month and not counting the hospitality we received in France, Ireland offered a delightful experience and a raw beauty thats hard to top, even in the rain. See for yourself what you think.

A selection of photos from almost 3000:
http://picasaweb.google.com/h2ogood/SpainMorocooFranceAndIreland

Ireland, Part 3

2008-07-15T17:06:00.000-05:00

Sunday, July 13, 2008

We took the standard tour of the Waterford Crystal factory and saw glass making, breaking (they chunk the bad ones), and etching at its finest.
Our single night in the small, quaint town of Kinsale consisted of running about for dinner and then hiding away at our B&B while the rain blasted horizontally.

The next day we took a stop and stroll in Cork. A brief visit to the library proved entertaining. Dani's great grandparents tombstone lists County Cork as birthplaces (and even goes as far to designate their parish, Dysart), so we thought we'd partake in a genealogical treasure hunt to see if we could uncover any tidbits. The library was directly in the city center and as we entered the business like building we were greeted with a smile and assistance. We told the gentlemen our intentions and he sent us off to the second floor, or reference library. At the second floor desk we repeated our mission, and the young lady said that we should go to the third floor genealogy area. We gladly skipped away thinking this was going quite well. The two librarian-esque ladies with gray hair at the third floor genealogy desk had their eyes both peering over their reading spectacles and looked as if they had been waiting for us quite some time. After conveying the details, they looked with raised eyebrows at the year of birth we mentioned, 1790 and 1803. They said that few records were present prior to 1820, and she then asked what the name was. As I uttered the words "John McCarthy" she drew a big grin as this was like asking for a Mr. Smith that lived somewhere in the USofA. She did however give us some ideas on marriage records, as those are documented after 1801. Actually, one can now look these up online, so we concluded our search for the day and figured we could take it up via the world wide web at a later time. If you'd like to do a search for anyone, check out: http://www.irish-roots.ie/mallow.asp
After a walking tour of Cork we continued our road trip to Killarney.

From DANI:
Having called ahead from Cork to reserve a room, we headed straight to our b&b which would be home for a couple of nights. We freshened up and then went into town to explore. Killarney is the hometown of our friend and Seattle neighbor, Pio. He'd given us the name of a place to check out some music so we found the location and, it being rather early, we set out to find dinner.

Once again we ended up at a Kebab shop that was delicious. We also stopped in at Murphy's Ice Cream because they had a sign out front that said you could get a free scoop if you made a balloon animal. So, we went for it! Trying too hard to make mine perfect (by unwinding a twist I'd already made) my balloon popped. So, it was up to Mark.. and it took him a while but he did eventually make a dachshund and we scored a free scoop. The ice cream and atmosphere were both incredible.

It was finally late enough to head to the pub for a little Irish music and drinks. I was quite excited to be in a country where everyone knows what a Shandy is and thus ordered one with Smithwick's. Mark, trying to be ironic (?) ordered a nutty Irishman which drew him a blank stare from the woman behind the bar. Not only that, when a coworker walked by she asked him and he looked at Mark as if he were the Nutty something. Mark ended up with a non-ironic White Russian. The music started up and we joined the middle-aged and up crowd in enjoying the talent. As the night wore on and our drinks were emptied, the place started to fill with people much better dressed and looking than us. We happily made our way home with the tune of "Galway Girl" in our heads.

Killarney is a beautiful area...there's a National Park there and one day when we are able to pack more appropriately for a single destination we hope to spend more time there. We did have the opportunity to drive a bit of the Ring of Kerry and had a pretty day with only bits of rain and gusts of wind (or something like that according to the radio forecast). We looked down on the park from the Ladies' View and were again amazed at the beauty of Ireland. We then made our way back down and into Muckrose where we spent some time walking and avoiding being run down by jaunty cars (renegade handsome cabs driven by friendly Irishmen). We dodged the intermittent rain by hiding in the trees. We also went out to Ross Castle which I found to be beautiful despite the wind carrying my scarf parallel to the ground.

We made the decision to avoid driving the entire Ring of Kerry in order to hang out in Dingle. According to our guidebook, Dingle is more rewarding than the Ring of Kerry (I have a feeling because a heck of a lot fewer people are driving there). We parked the car and headed to the information center to get a map and an idea about accommodations in the area. Since we'd spent the two previous nights in a rather hotel-like b&b, our budget was leading us in the direction of the hostel. Dingle town is situated on a harbor. It's quite a cute little town with many a Kodak-moment sort of places. We strolled the town on a mission - to find a barber to cut Mark's hair. We passed a shop and stepped back to look inside. Two chairs with men at work and four chairs with others waiting...I guess Monday is the day for haircuts in Dingle. We continued to look around but eventually made our way back. Mark got in line and grabbed a magazine and I headed a few doors up the street to a bookshop.

On this trip we have stopped in at quite a few bookstores and I'm always curious about what they display. Best sellers in the US are fairly common here in Ireland but obviously less so in France or Spain. In Spain, I got quite excited because the author of a favorite book of mine (Shadow of the Wind) has a new book out and everyone had huge displays. The unfortunate thing is that not all his books get translated into English...I'll have to wait and see.

I returned to find Mark in the chair and enjoying conversation with the barber. I picked up a Time magazine that was about 6 months old and flipped through it. In a short while Mark stood up and as we left I noticed his hair was quite a bit shorter and I reassured him that it looks great (and must be a heck of a lot more comfortable).

We were lucky enough to get a "private" double at the hostel! Still sharing bathroom and kitchen but we had our own double bed and door that locked. We dropped our things and drove to Slea Head, the most westerly point of mainland Europe. There's a pretty beach and as we made our way to it the sun even came out. We climbed the hill and hopped a fence to walk to the edge and say hello to the US. There's a sign here that says, "next parish, Boston". They are proud to be at the end of the continent! It was pretty windy and Mark had been telling me he felt like running (he'd actually even dreamed about it...I wonder if his legs kicked like Murphy's do?) so I ran down and then up the hill through the field to encourage him. It was fun and we lost our breath...and later in the evening realized Mark also lost his magnetic-clip-to-your-prescription-glasses sunglasses. So after having our dinner and dessert we made a second trip to Slea Head to retrace our steps to find said sunglasses. While we didn't have any luck in locating them we did have the break of seeing how high the tide had come in since we had visited earlier in the afternoon...the beach had disappeared under many FEET of water. It was amazing!

Ireland 2

2008-07-11T15:47:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, July 9, 2008
As Mark told you, we arrived in Dublin and headed for our rental. We then sat in the car for, oh, half an hour getting comfortable, checking out maps and having a little lunch before we hit the highway. I think Mark was just psyching himself up for driving on the left.

We made our way out of the city and headed for a scenic drive through the Wicklow Mountains. It was beautiful if a bit scary. The roads continued to grow more narrow as we made our way. We entered a small village and due to our lack of sleep the previous night and the drizzle we decided that we'd secure some accommodation for the night. We decided to divide and conquer. Mark went to the nice looking restaurant with an attached B&B and I went across the street and inquired with the elderly gentleman clipping his hedge. When I asked if he had any rooms free he replied, "Yes, go check with the girl in the house." So, I left him to his work and headed to the house and as I opened the door to ring the bell the "girl" approached me. She was the man's wife and was a long time away from being a girl. She was pleasant and showed me a big room with tea and biscuits (which were welcome after our drizzly start - we had gotten pretty sunburnt bicycling in France). We relaxed before heading to the Glendalough Monastic Site. It is a magnificent 16th century village centered around a monastery begun by Saint Kevin. It's in the middle of the mountains and has a huge tower so pilgrims who would come for prayer and refuge would be able to locate it.

We were both immediately overwhelmed by the green of Ireland, the beauty. We made our way back to our room and hit the hay early. The next morning we had our first Irish breakfast: cereal and yogurt with soda bread, next came fried eggs, cooked tomato halves, bacon AND sausage, toast, and tea. We were more than satisfied and had nice conversation with the couple following our meal. Just before departing the mister smiled and asked us if we needed baths while he pressure washed his horse just outside our room.

We jumped back in the car and headed south to Kilkenny where we chose a cheap sleep in a hostel. We secured our (free) tickets to the Smithwick's brewery "tour" - they don't actually do a tour, you watch a 20 minute video that was made in 1980 on a 19-inch TV screen. Basically it took you through how they make their beer. Then, free samples. We assumed this meant a pint apiece. No. Others imbibed quite a bit while Mark tried the Kilkenny and I had a Smithwick's. We then shared a "small" glass of Guinness...Mark asked for a sample and got 8 ounces! We were asked numerous times if we'd like more but seeing how it was 4pm and we still needed to figure out dinner we didn't think it wise. We headed out (albeit a little tipsy) to the grocery store which was a bit of a super-fillintheblank Mart type place. We both checked out clothing as Ireland was proving to be much colder than we anticipated and packed for. Because we are both frugal, we ended up only buying a small umbrella. We also bought some groceries and prepared a wonderful dinner.

As throughout most of our travels, we have done little in the way of planning. We have a general skeleton and go from there. We are thankful to have a good friend who is originally from Killarney. We asked him for ideas on what to do and his recommendations have been very helpful. Thanks, Pio! We have only made a few reservations for sleeping (Paris, Dublin, London). For us, this has worked out...you just have to be willing to be turned down and stick to your price. This has been a little tougher in Ireland as it is quite pricey. When we landed in Spain we thought that 40 Euros for a place to sleep was really high...in Ireland, at a B&B you can easily spend 40 per person! This does include breakfast but still! This has led us to sprinkle hostels in between our B&B stays (we have found some hostels with private rooms which end up being 40 total).

From MARK:
With my head looking down and slowly turning from side to side, "Yesterday, it happened." I was driving along a smaller-than-normal tiny country road and we were looking for our turn around each bend in the road. It all happened rather quickly, but I drove past our left fork while reading the small sign and realizing I'd need to make a U-turn ASAP. The roads are so narrow you simply can't turn around and without shoulders, the thick tall-as-trees brush create a virtual wall that flies by at less than an inch from your passenger mirror (and that's at the wide points). The speed-limit on these ludicrous roads is posted at 100 kph, which some people actually reach (despite one sign we saw indicating 42 recent deaths).

The next ninety-degree right-bend in the road revealed several driveways that looked promising. I picked the second entry on the left and pulled in the length of the car. I looked both ways for traffic, tossed the car in reverse, and easily backed out into my lane. I glanced in the rearview mirror and noted that the road behind us was clear. We entered the previous tight curve (also recalling to myself that I needed to take the next right) with a comfortable yet moderate speed when I noticed a large, white, road construction truck (think large delivery truck size) that seemed to be taking his turn really wide and FAST... so much so that he was invading my entire lane! WHAT was he thinking and why was he in my path? Perhaps there was a pedestrian just out of sight or maybe some sheep meandered on the road? I quickly slowed to a stop as he did the same and at twenty paces apart our bumpers faced each other like a an old western movie show-down. My heart raced and I then wondered when he'd realize his mistake and return to the inside lane when Dani blurted out "You're in the wrong lane!" I was still in mild disbelief but knew she was right and thus chose to take her word and rev the car into the left lane. My mind uttered some unmentionable words as we passed the now-stopped construction truck with white-knuckles and rapid breathing. By the time we could see his back in our rearview mirror he actually gave us a "honk" for good measure perhaps.

Both realizing we were alive, Dani laughed hysterically at his delayed beep, my rampant driving, and to relieve a good bit of built up stress. I too had a hardy chuckle mixed with after-shock and proceeded to "laugh it off" since I was now driving down the correct road (on the correct side) which had even larger hedge rows creating a tunnel like path. With tears of glee now in my eyes, I at some point apparently quit watching the road and allowed the car to mindlessly drift into the left hedge, at which point Dani levitated out of the passenger seat to the middle of the car in order to avoid being impaled by branches and the such. Realizing the scraping-on-the-side-of-the-car sound wasn't normal, I compensated by arching the steering wheel right, returning the car to the middle of the road. Luckily, no oncoming traffic was present and we continued the de-stressing laughter while maintaining a safer driving path. Dani drove to dinner that evening.

The view from the car's dashboard...

2008-07-08T02:52:00.001-05:00

...and us happily looking at the view in the post below.

Ireland, 1

2008-07-08T02:50:00.000-05:00

Monday, July 7, 2008
From MARK

Ireland is wonderful. If you take the Hawaiian islands, bring them together as one, enlarge the island a bit, add a Seattle-like climate, imagine larger green fields (with sheep), and give the people cheery accents and paler skin you'd have Ireland. Oh, don't forget to drive on the LEFT too! Yes, we are fans of Ireland and all that it has to offer.

Our flight from Paris to Dublin on Wednesday, July 2 was smooth and forgettable. After staying up most of the night before watching the Eiffel tower lights (change from blue to "rapid blinky" around 1am) and getting up at 4.30 to catch our flight, we slept quite well on the plane.

I opened the right side door of our small, black Citreon rental car, sat in the cushy seat, and mindlessly went to buckle up by reaching my right hand over my left shoulder only to grab air. Shifting with the left hand isn't that hard, and really, as long as you don't think about which side your supposed to be driving on it's really quite easy. Except for the one time I gunned it through a questionable who-had-the-right-of-way light (actually, the oncoming driver was just SITTING there) I got a little anxious on the next street and made the turn into the right lane along with some minor oncoming traffic, which was easily remedied with a fast twitch of the steering wheel.

We drove our four door around Dublin on the M-50 with ease and headed towards the Wicklow Mountains. The drive has been one of the most scenic. The lush green pastures stretch over large rolling hills and sheep are sprinkled along the grassy fields like croutons on a salad. Some of the sheep have blue and/or red spray paint markings on their backs.

Included here is a photo from the Dingle Peninsula. More to come on Ireland. Cheers!

We're in Ireland!

2008-07-07T03:45:00.000-05:00

Today we're headed to the Dingle Peninsula... and the weather has been "patches of sun", nevertheless we've been loving Ireland. Stay tuned for an update.

Caranten, France

2008-07-06T04:31:00.000-05:00

If the riad is to Morocco, then Noelle and Michael are to Caranten, France. We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to be guests in a French home, where everyone is treated as family. A friend from Seattle (thanks again Amy!) studied abroad and still keeps in close contact with her host family, so she made the connection for us via e-mail and we enjoyed a three night stay in a little town called Caranten, France (about a three hour train ride from Paris).

We climbed aboard our sleek train with our packs in the St. Lazier station at 11.45am on Saturday, June 28, and within minutes bolted down the track with a smooth 75mph speediness across the rolling hills of the French country side. Cows and horses whizzed by as did the fields of wheat and corn each separated by mature tree lines or hedge rows. Small light brown cobble stone houses dotted the landscape and we sank into our plush, business-class like seats somewhat glad to be leaving the busy, hot city.

Writing now, it felt a little like coming home. I mention this, as I think Dani and I were both in need of some time to recharge and as current nomads, mildly longing for a place to call home. Noelle and Michael both met us at the train station with a warm welcome, including a kiss on both cheeks from Noelle and a hardy handshake from Michael. Petite Noelle has a warm tone, neck length smooth dark hair, and a smile that radiates. Michael is tall with a slightly athletic build, speaks less English than Noelle, and has a passion for flowers made obvious by the many colors in their backyard. We tossed our luggage in the back of the four door VW sedan and made the five minute drive to their French style home. Our room on the second floor was decorated with various sailing posters with rusty-orange colored walls and hard wood floors that included an occasional splinter as proof from my big toe.

Saturday evening they drove us to Mont St. Michelle, a monastery "island" that is amazing to see even from 20 miles away! We toured the place, had a crepe dinner, and watched the sun set (at around 10.45pm). Noelle happily told us we could sleep on the drive back, and after thanking her, I found my head soon toppling over much like an unstable bag of sand.

Sunday we were invited to a picnic with one of Amy's old teachers (which was ironically planned even before we had spoken). We ate our fresh croissants with butter and jam, and then drove north about an hour to meet the rest of the gang. The two story, picturesque house looked like a movie set. It had a cream yellow exterior with white trim, sparkling clean windows, and a patio where we had coffee and tea. In all, there were ten of us, Dani and myself by far being the youngest couple in attendance, and of course French was the common language (which neither of us speak). We abruptly got up (we guess the five minute warning came in French) and gathered for our "walk". As mentioned earlier, the fields are divided by tree lines, but hidden within these rows you'll find an ingenious trail system that one can walk about the country side. Much to our surprise but nevertheless quite happily, we proceeded to take a three hour walk which we believe was to get our digestive systems ready for the meal to follow.

First, we had two celebratory toasts of champagne coupled with crackers and chips on the patio. We then moved to the formal dining room and were given our seat assignments by the wonderful hostess. The dark red walls, light jazz music in the background, stark white linens, and china set an impressive tone. Two salads were passed, one consisting of a cream sauce over: diced avocados, melons, and shrimp. The other was a green bean, mozzarella, tomato, and pine nut mix. More red wine ensued with French conversation that we gladly listened to. Honestly, I was content with the amount of food I had at this point and could of gone home happy. However... After some conversation, we had our second course: leg of lamb and little fried bread balls which I just utterly under described, as they were quite amazing. More wine with an increase in accompanied chuckles. The cheese course arrived and Dani was told that she was true French because when asked if we liked cheese, she responded with rosy cheeks, "Who doesn't like cheese?" More French conversation coupled with bits of polite English clues. Just before the last course came a dessert wine, which was a rare, dusty, antique looking bottle that drew many "ooohs and ahhhs". We followed suite when shown and I knew that turning down such a glass was not an option, although my body considered it. At one point I asked Dani not to say anything in fear of laughing so much I might shoot food from my mouth across the table. I think the almond crusted apricot tart was delicious, as I somehow had two pieces. By 5pm I felt as if I'd never need to eat again in my life. This, was certainly an unforgettable "picnic"!

Caranten is located near the Normandy beaches so we took the chance to explore some of the WW-II memorials and museums. At several points my eyes welled up, from gratitude, sorrow, joy, and so much more. The numerous US flags waving high in the air combined with the beautiful golf-course-on-the-water like area made you feel proud to be an American and also at peace to realize the world can come together.

We spent out last day in Bayeaux and found a place that rented tandem bikes. We rode the country side under clear blue skies, warm sun rays, and a breeze the felt like frosty air conditioning set on high. I can think of no better way to take in the corn and wheat fields mixed with bright red poppies on the edge and the small, twisting, country/farm roads. We turned in the bike with new farmer tans and took a short train ride back to Noelle and Michael's where we enjoyed a home cooked roast pork and vegetable dinner. Their hospitality and openness throughout our stay with them made our trip to France an unforgettable one!

Paris

2008-06-30T10:50:00.003-05:00

Saturday, June 28, 2008
From MARK:

We landed at the Charles de Gaulle, Paris airport on Tuesday, June 24 at 5:20pm with partly cloudy skies and a pleasant 70F temperature. We had pre-booked a hotel room we found on the internet, cleverly named Hotel de Paris so our only mission for the evening was to make it to our hotel for the night. The Metro system in Paris is phenomenal to say the least!

We took the light blue coded "B Line" RER train from the airport and transferred at Gare du Nord to the orange, number five metro system. It's easy to remember which line you need (from the number or color), but the two way system requires that you know the end stops to identify your direction. You must do this quickly and efficiently in the midst of hundreds of people bustling in the underground tunnels trying to get to their next connection (*stopping to stare in bewilderment at this moment may result in being shoved to the ground, trampled to a pulp, and if your lucky, spit on). Lets see, we needed to go in the direction of "Bobigny," NOT "Place d'Italie," and our stop was "Porte de Pantin". My mind quickly comes up with "Bob" getting off a boat at in my home town of "Port Lavaca." With well over 200 stops we came up with a variety of other mental links for names including "Odeon" and "Rivoli". We used the Metro extensively to jet our selves across the city and even performed a football defensive drill in order to squish ourselves onto an already smooshed full car. I also realized after a day of sightseeing that we too, added to the bountiful B.O. smell that seems to take over the train car once you step on.

I can't help but remembering a commercial (years ago) with a little old lady who claimed to have waited all her life to have her photo taken in front of the Eiffel Tower. She goes on to share the photo (this was back in the days of having film developed, so you watch the scene transition from a negative to a photo) after returning from her dream trip only to display the Eiffel Tower with half a wad of little-old-lady gray hair in the lower corner. It made me laugh just looking at the tower in Paris, and thus you see the photo above.

Speaking of photo taking, we literally battled our way through the Louvre against various groups of people taking photos with, next to, as close to, around, behind, and otherwise beside various artifacts and items. At one point we watched as two little women climbed up ON the "Winged Victory" statue dating back from 190 B.C. as they ignored security and smiled at partners urging them to click away while gaurds pulled them down. Either way, our entry fee was well worth what we saw on the inside. We managed to catch a glimpse of DaVinci's Mona Lisa (apparently along with another 6 million people per year), who seemed to be doing quite well behind her thick plate glass, and also saw works by Michelangelo and the lady statue Venus de Milo.

We spent time at a few cafes and relished our few meals out, as they generally seemed to cost three arms and a leg. On Thursday we made it to the Versailles palace, created by King Louis XIV (located about an hour train ride outside of Paris). While walking through the palace, gardens, and various retreats built on the Chateau I tried to think of how best to describe the massive area. First, the palace alone is gi-normous! However, when you add the gardens and buildings meant as get-aways, it becomes hard to imagine, let alone write about. I first thought of the mall in D.C., but that's way too small. Theres a canal/lake that's one mile long, which was created to replicate the feel of Venice. As you walk the gardens you stumble on what seem to
be little villages, but turn out to actually be houses used by the king. We completed a triangular walk which took us over an hour and that barely covered one quarter.

The Most Expensive Movie Ever

2008-06-30T10:47:00.002-05:00

El Incidente/Phenomenones/The Happening

We have been on the road for some time now and sometimes you just needa sense of "normal". For us, this has been seeing a movie. In Barcelona we saw Indy, in Casablanca, Casablanca, in Portugal we watched some not very good JohnTravlota movie on tv, and in Paris we went to see The Happening.

Paris, in general, is very expensive. Everything has been nearly twice the price as in other places we've been. So, we made our way to the theater with the english version of the movie that we have seen posters for in many languages. We were very excited because we have liked previous movies by the writer/director. This movie, however, cost us 20 Euros to enter and then with snacks...we were hoping for something great. Instead we sat in our cushy seats wondering when the action would start. If you haven't seen this movie please, at least, wait for rental! Oh, if you did see it, let us know where your version ended. We're curious if several versions were made or if we were just lucky.

Surprisingly, we still hope to see Wanted and Batman, depending on their European release dates. We head to Ireland in a couple of days so at least we won't have to search out theaters with the version originale.

Traveling Tip 1

2008-06-26T16:12:00.002-05:00

We found ourselves with some extra time one hot evening (in a park in Spain), and I couldn't help but notice the wonderfully fresh looking, just-out-of-reach oranges in the trees above our heads. I love oranges, and nothing was better than the thought of having a mouth-watering, complimentary all natural snack. Dani didn't think it was a great idea and said so by sitting on a park bench just far enough away to claim she didn't know who I was. I first tried jumping straight up from the ground, but eventually came to a combo bench-seat-jump in order to hurl myself high enough into the tree to grab at one of the oranges. It was at some point in mid-air that I realized Dani might have been right, and by then my persistent hand wouldn't let go of the orange which finally gave way after releasing a maddening amount of tree sap all over my shirt and back. Then looming similar to a Ghostbusters "sliming", I held my glorious prize up high into the air with a feeling of victory, only briefly noticing Dani's new look of disgust. After an easy de-peeling, I hesitated at my first bite into the sumptuous fresh orange as I was anxious to reap the benefits of my hard labor (and sap covering). The first (and only) taste was something like putrid orange peel and I couldn't even fake an expression of delight as I spit the remains out, coughing and seeing Dani's grimace turn to a chuckle. She knew that if could of mustered a mild grin after the bite I would of likely said that it had a unique taste and would of suggested a sample. We both had a good laugh, and needless to say, don't bother with the wild oranges!

Porto, Portugal

2008-06-25T14:18:00.004-05:00

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

From MARK:
We caught a four hour bus ride from Santiago, Spain to Porto, Portugal on Saturday, June 21. Other than the duely noted one hour time difference, the ride was uneventful (something we've come to appreciate). Porto has been quite unique, and I might describe it as 75% Spain-feel with a 25% complete feel of it's own. We've used the days for some much needed rest, although we did attempt to play at a local mini golf green, but apparently the semi-pro's had the course this past weekend (these guys had their own clubs and sweepers!). Oh well, maybe next time?

We departed the bus in Porto, Portugal to a wonderfully cool yet sunny town (the Atlantic breeze and temperatures reminded me of Hawaii if you closed your eyes) and walked a good distance to the Tourist Info (TI). People were friendly and while English is used, I was completely incorrect in thinking my Spanish (which all came back to me the moment we left Spain) would be useful in this Portuguese speaking country. While the two languages have some similarities, they're about as close as Spanish and French. Needless to say my Portuguese accented Spanish didn't get me far. We picked up our flagship sayings of "cheers" and "thank you" and have been doing quite well. The abundant cobblestone streets and square, marble, hand laid sidewalks give a European feel, and when walking through the central neighborhoods you can sense a tinge more distress than that of Spain. You'll see a handful of boarded windows and note a few buildings that might need some extra paint. We passed a plethora of shops each offering walls filled with a variety of sunglasses.

The TI told us we were lucky to be in town on Monday, as it was the annual celebratory day of St. John the Baptist, complete with free concerts, midnight fireworks, and local customs.

The Euro 2008 soccer championships are also under way (think of the Super Bowl times 100). EVERYONE has been watching the playoff games with acute intensity (men, women, and children), and we'll have to agree, they're quite amazing and FUN to see! Due to Porto's festivities already under way, they've been showing the games on a HUGE screen TV in the central square, so we indulged the other night in watching Spain beat Italy in "sudden death" after double over time. The final game occurs next Saturday (when we'll be in France) between
the winners of Spain vs. Russia and Turkey vs. Germany. I'm rooting for Spain since it has been our home for a majority of the trip thus far.

Last night we had a late dinner of ribs, fries, kababs, Fru-Tea, and chocolate mousse, then went to hang out in the central concert area. The annual tradition that accompanies this day is quite unique. They sell large plastic hammers and hand out free, smaller ones which have accordion-like heads that squeak when rapidly compressed. The tradition encourages tapping each other on the head with these hammers to ensure good luck. So, we proceeded to watch the free concert while being pelted with plastic hammers over the head with a squeak to go with each hit (and some even obliged us by bowing for a return good-luck bop which we heartily delivered). The much loved Portuguese band "Anjos" played local favorites with girls screaming near stage (while the singers simultaneously shook their hips, did squats, and clapped overhead) as kids ran by for quick hammer taps as if trying to set a new record. Everyone was all smiles and laughing, including little old ladies and kids hoisted on shoulders to better reach with their plastic hammers.

Vendors sold freshly made cotton candy, beer, and popcorn; the smells combined with a wildly random scene made you want to stay, however the mist and spittle of the evening eventually drove us back to our room. We watched the fireworks show on TV accompanied with Ghostbusters, Mission Impossible, and James Bond music and then drifted off to sleep in our small family run hotel room.
*We did try the port wine, which was quite good but a little too sweet for our tastes.

The end of the road...

2008-06-20T07:30:00.001-05:00

Shells mark the entire route of the Camino and this is the last one located in front of the cathedral.

My Camino: AKA Watch Where You Step...and Pee

2008-06-20T07:23:00.001-05:00

From DANI:

The Camino de Santiago is one of the main reasons we chose to travel to Spain. Mark found out about it from a book and got excited. I liked the idea of doing some hiking in another country but was a little scared by the idea of 100 km (about 62 miles) since I really haven't been doing much in terms of training other than walking around cities.

We lucked into amazing bus connections to land us at our desired starting point, Sarria (about 113 km from Santiago). Our first day we busted a move to try and put some miles behind us. We have done roughly 12 km on day 1, 21 km on day 2, a whopping 27 km on day 3, 15 km on day 4, and 20 km on day 5. We plan to do 13 tomorrow and the last 5 into Santiago on Thursday. Most of my time spent walking has been doing math to figure how much farther, how far we've gone, how long until we're done, converting km into miles. Math keeps the mind busy!!

We have walked past farms, small villages, and little towns. It has been mostly rolling hills, lots of green (grass, trees, plants, fields) and blue (the sky). Those we pass (farmers, etc) are quick to greet and wish us "Buen Camino!" I really like the people of Galicia. I have also truly enjoyed our walking and discussions. And I've been amazed at what my body can do when my mind doesn't overthink. Our paths tend to be the same that the farmers use to move their livestock to pasture so you have to watch your step at all times, especially when it's rainy because the cow pies get very slippery!

ALERT: This may be too much information, feel free to skip to the next paragraph. You must also watch where you decide to pee...we made a snack stop the other day and I found a good spot but people kept rounding the bend just when I thought about making my move. I could wait no longer and went for it and tried to be quick only to notice a burning sensation on my rear almost immediately after zipping up my pants. I unwittingly had peed right in a patch of burning nettles. Throughout the day I itched but didn't scratch and thankfully all is better. I have been loathe to stop on the side of the road and have been holding it until I find a cafe or something to sneak into.

We stop in these dormlike places and live in community with all the other pilgrims from all over the world. We met a man who began his walk in France two months ago, a girl from the states who began at the France/Spain border and who I traded books with, and we've seen many like us doing the last bit. Overall, I'm glad we are walking the Camino but I'm also ready to get back to traditional sightseeing!

The Camino, not the car

2008-06-20T07:22:00.001-05:00

The entire Camino in one post:

Saturday, June 14, 2008
We pulled into Astorga (in style) and found a place for hikers that had everything we needed for only eight euros! Astorga was simply a stopover for us, as the next day we awoke, and attempted to figure out how to get to Sarria--our intended starting point. We found a bus to Lugo, then gambled that we'd find a shuttle bus from there, and what a deal, one left in fifteen minutes. We were in Sarria and on the trail/camino by 3:15pm.

I'm going to go ahead and say it, but we Americans must be crazy to hike or just plain hard-headed to pack all that we do (food, water, tent, etc.) on the trails throughout the US. I say this because I do it all the time! I love the beauty of the national parks, but Europe sure makes it easy to love the outdoors. As far the Camino de Santiago (a well traveled and popular route), there's cold water spickets that seem to appear when you need them, and little towns/villages often enough that offer dorm like places to stay, food, hot showers, laundry facilities, and even lines to hang your clothes on. You can literally hike with just the clothes on your back, a water bottle, and a few not-necessary-snacks just as the original travelers did many years ago. We even ran across a few soda-pop machines right on the trail! The first pilgrims to complete the journey were setting out to witness the tomb of St. James discovered in Santiago (around 820), and ever since, they've ensured that the journey is one others can make with safety and comfort (they even had guards to fight off the banditos). Also, the FIRST ever "guidebook" was written describing the Camino: how to make the journey, find water, food, expected cell phone coverage, etc., all around 1300.

We checked into our first place on June 13 for a whopping 6 euros and then took a hot shower. We were provided with liners for the bunk bed mattress/pillow, and the room slept about 20. Everything was clean as a whistle and everyone was either quite friendly or snoozing. Many are walking the entire route (2-3 months of travel) which stretches from France, while we've opted for the much shorter 120 km version.
After our shower, we walked a mere 30 yards to the café and had a three course dinner, complete with fresh bread, Nestea, spinach-bean soup, cheese eggs, patatas (not the Pope this time), and ice cream. We didn't even have to do the dishes. I had to chuckle that night as I drifted off to sleep with a variety of wheezes, slow exhales, and other folks shifting and rolling as they too drifted off to sleep.

The next morning I was (lets just say rather rudely) jolted awake to someone ripping a reverberating double fart at about 6am! That's all I'll say about that other than I suppose there are some perks to hiking in the US with your own tent. We walked for about an hour, then had Dani's favorite for breakfast, tortillas espana (eggs and potatoes) at another little cafe. The trail is well maintained, strategically marked with yellow arrows placed precisely when you start looking for one, and it has the most wonderful views of the wide open country side. If they had all these perks in the US, I'd definitely be out more, and I think, more importantly, others would too (well, less the wake up alarm)! I say this because we've seen travelers of all ages, especially a number of folks over 60.

The first two days have been great. Even though we have our all-of-Europe travel bags on our backs, they don't seem too heavy. The first day was sunny with a cool, refreshing breeze. Today we got an early start around 7:30am with a light fog and the temperature hovering around 65F. It was brilliant, and the sun didn't completely break out until almost noon. We stopped for lunch and ate the remaining food we'd been packing and continued on. In the shade it's almost too cool, but without it, the sun can bear down with serious intensity. It's overall exhilarating, similar in the french fry with your frosty sort of way.

Trees were sparse today and the sun did not hold back, so we happily strolled into a small area (population fourteen, that's counting the car of three that arrived shortly after we did) and secured a bunk. The shower was so intense I had to occasionally stand to the side to prevent any loss of skin. We've met two Americans, but ran mostly into French folks, so our conversations have been limited. Only 77 km left to go, although rain is in the forecast and we've only packed two $3 panchos. We'll see how it goes on the road (camino) to Santiago.

Sunday, June 15, 2008
Well, the second day proved to be a good one. We completed 27 kilometers, just under 17 miles and our dogs are barking! For lunch, we had two wonderful sandwiches of cheese and chorizo along with a glass of warm milk, as the weather today was cloudy and a bit cold. It never really rained, but being from Seattle, I'd describe the day as containing mostly "spittle". It was a bit of a nuisance, as every time I took off the $3 pancho (which actually did its job) the spittle seemed to pick back up. I'd put the pancho back on, warm up, take it back off, and then repeat the process. Hey, at least it was cool for our long day. We arrived in Melide late in the afternoon and were ready to rest our feet. We wandered the town a bit longer than we cared to looking for the officially sponsored hotel (aka: the cheap dorm) only to find four old men sitting together on a single park bench sharing two umbrellas and talking about the weather and politics (I have to presume the last part). It was a grand prize photo in the making, and I coerced Dani into asking them if we could pull the camera out. They pleasantly obliged and we look forward to sharing the photo one day, as it's currently on the big SLR camera.

We were finally able to make our bunk beds and call it a day around 5pm. The shower at this place proved to have a mind of it's own. It sporadically alternated between liquid-nitrogen cold and lava-hot at the most unpredictable times making the overall experience quite difficult to enjoy. It made you develop this quasi shower-dance that you never thought you'd be doing after a full day of hiking. Other stalls seemed to share a similar problem as various yelps of terror could be heard throughout the bathroom in a variety of languages. I suppose it did keep water consumption to a minimum? We ended the day with grilled lamb-chops, fries, a mixed salad, and a mug of red wine filled to the brim. I'm off to bed!

Monday, June 16, 2008
Dear whoever-is-reading-this-blog-and-adjusting-the-weather-accordingly,
I do appreciate the fact that you let it downpour today since I did complain (slightly) about the "spittle" yesterday. I was really looking forward to getting through the rain today. However, I did not find it funny when it once again began to spittle for the remainder of the entire day!

Well, our $3 panchos are starting to look like they've had about $6 worth of wear. The super thin clear "garbage bags with hoods" also rattle a lot when you have them on and thus prevent you from hearing anything and the hood forces you to look down and can darn-near cause one to miss their turn entirely (not that we'd know anything about this).

Today was "OK." Both Dani and I put on some fresh, clean clothes including pants since the day was a smidgen cooler with the rain and all. We were trudging along, minding our own business when we noticed a tractor quickly approaching us from about 100 yards away. The dirt road we were on was no wider than a tractor, so we both had furrowed brows and quizzical looks. As it approached we figured we'd move to the side (in the brush) and let it go right along with it's fertilizer tank trailer in tow.

Dear Mr. Tractor Driver,
We appreciate the fine farms that you keep, they really are beautiful; however, the large tread on your tires appear to carry a large amount of mud, dirt, and water on them which seemingly fly about when you travel at the speeds you do. Please keep this in mind when your passing hikers.

*Unfortunately the $3 panchos were attached to our bags at this point.

Dani lost her toothbrush and I'm getting sleepy and you don't want to hear any more about Dani's toothbrush so goodnight.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Today was much better than yesterday. It's amazing how much happier everyone is when they don't look like a mad cat coming out of a bath.

The first great encounter of the day happened this morning. We were hiking along at a lively pace and noticed a group of 12-15 people just in sight that were huddled up looking over maps. They were taking up the entire trail, so we decreased our pace so they too had some time to contemplate how they would move over. It just happened that the group parted perfectly in half and the first two people raised their trekking poles in the air like swords while everyone else followed suite. As we ran through the make-shift tunnel they all shouted "Buen Camino!" as we told them the same. I never did wake up so I'm pretty sure it really happened. Come on, you can't make this stuff up.

The second "event" has me slightly concerned (and I think for good reason). This morning we were sitting in our hotel's café having coffee and noticed two lady hikers that had stopped in to do some laundry (yes, first thing in the morning, which does make one wonder). The one with braids and in her late thirties was sitting at the bar with her back to us and Dani noticed some red whelps on the back of her calf... so I took a glance. My first thought was that she had slid her foot off a petal of a bike and her calf caught the piercing points of the front cog, as there were several red marks just above the line of her mid calf black socks. Dani didn't agree with my initial diagnosis and pointed out (the apparently obvious?) the red whelps were not at consistent distances. I consented and that was the end of our medical discussion for the morning.

Around 11:30 we passed a lady with long gray hair, a large pack, and a casual pace. We only exchanged "Buen Camino's", but shortly thereafter started talking more when we came to a fork in the trail with no indication on which way to progress.
When that was behind us, we found out Jane was actually walking slowly so her sister-in-law and niece would have time to catch up. They had apparently stopped in a town to do laundry and get medication for a "complication". Dani's investigative instincts took over and quickly identified them from our morning hotel café encounter. Dani also brought up the red marks we noticed on her leg and hoped that everything was OK. All was fine except for the excessive need to itch as they had been attacked on their legs, arms, and face by a swarm of bedbugs! I stared in disbelief at the never-crossed-my-mind-yet thought of bedbugs in the hotel beds and quickly tried to recollect the condition of our mattresses and making a self assessment of my overall skin condition without looking too obvious.
Jane went on to explain that bedbugs are indeed a problem in the hotels and they also start getting progressively worse in the summer. I was immediately caught off-guard and quite honestly, appalled--and would like to add, there are definitely perks to hiking with your own tent and bed-roll! This evening I cautiously made my bed, put an extra blanket down for a precautionary layer (even if it's just mentally reassuring), and I'm not so sure I'll sleep as sound tonight. "Sleep tight and don't let the bed-bugs bite" has now taken on new meaning. I've contemplated buying a can of Raid to try and eradicate any pests, but at this point I can only hope that my Garfield bed sheet will keep me safe. Sleep tight?

Vaso? I thought "vaso" meant glass, which is the amount of wine I attempted to order tonight with dinner. Apparently it means an entire bottle, as that's what arrived at our table! Oh well, it was certainly good wine, and while I did try to finish if off, I had to stop when my toes started going numb (which was not a bad thing since my blister finally quit hurting). It seems that is how the wine comes, as we were only charged for one serving. I stumbled back to the hotel (with the help of Dani) and ALMOST forgot about the bedbugs. Buen Camino!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008
800?
Today was fantastic! Our prompt bedtime had ensured an early morning and we were up and going right at 7am (we guess the wine must have been the good kind?). I looked over my legs, arms, body, and to my relief, did not find any bedbug bites. I'm not even sure what I'm looking for, but I have to check either way.

The morning was a chipper 45F which kept us moving fast in order to keep the blood going, although the sun was out and starting the preheating process around 9am. My hip was starting to hurt more from the waistbelt of the backpack, but I considered myself fortunate today for finding an unbruised area that I could clinch the pack to and redistribute the pain.

We were looking forward to our 'cheap sleep hotel' already (bedbugs aside). On a side note, the official dorms designated by the Camino to stay at are called Albergue's (although I tend to shout to Dani, "Look, an Albuquerque!" Yes, the city in New Mexico is much easier to remember and pronounce even if it has no connection).
Our guidebook tells us how many beds are located at each Albergue, so we generally have an idea of how big they are. The one we planned to stay at tonight listed a whopping 800 beds! You'd think you'd might be looking for a 15 story high-rise from a mile away. Our place was elusively further than we had mentally anticipated, but once we arrived, it was literally a campus of dorms complete with a mini-shop area filled with a cafeteria, laundry, and an unfortunately closed massage business. Were only a mere 5km from Santiago and the end of the Camino. Most everyone is in high spirits as they know tomorrow will be easy compared to the previously longer journey. We too are ready for the end.

Thursday, June 19, 2008
THE END!!!
Our final day on the Camino was a short day with a great ending.
We've found that getting up later than everyone else has it's perks. For one, there's nobody around to get in the way and it's rather peaceful. We rolled into the cafeteria around 8 and after some extra toast with extra butter we strolled off to Santiago, which was less than 5km away. It was about an hour before we were in town, so we took a final photo and got in line to receive our credentials (the official certificate issued to you by the Camino de Santiago). We secured two more beds and found a doner kabab restaurant that was fantastic! The end. Oh, we went to celebrate by getting a massage. I found the Camino to be a wonderful experience and would highly recommend it, especially via bicycle!

Thank you!

2008-06-16T10:04:00.001-05:00

Wow, thank you everyone for the feedback and words of encouragement. We're delighted even if just one reader has a chuckle for the day.

Well, here's your chance to give a little something back. Post a comment on what you think either (or both) of the models in the above picture is saying and the winner will receive a special souvenir. Heck, maybe it doesn't even need a thought bubble?

In case you'd like to know, this was a store front in Astorga, Spain.

Granada to Astorga, Spain

2008-06-16T09:52:00.002-05:00

Saturday, June 14, 2008
From MARK:
I've read that Granada is the one city in Spain that you can't miss and I couldn't agree more. It was quaint, friendly, and had ample walking space for a city of such size. Huge fountains bulk-headed the pedestrian plazas which were elegantly lit at night. It also boasted an eclectic mix of food, including another great doner kabab joint and several horchataritas (sweetened cinnamon rice milk, a personal favorite). The Alhambra is poised high on a cliff and brings additional Moorish architecture to the city, thus bringing back our memories of the Moroccan/Arabic window structure (the square window with the elliptical cutout resting on top).

The visit to the Alhambra was also amazing. So popular, we had to buy tickets on-line five days in advance, and it was worth the wait. The place is reaping with historical importance, stories, and the palace, gardens, rooms, and fountains spared no expenses. I won't elaborate and let you see for yourself via Google.

Eager to start the Camino de Santiago hiking/pilgrimage trail, we set off from Granada attempting to get to Sarria for the start of our trip that would put us on foot for a while. We caught a bus from Granada to Madrid, then from Madrid to Astorga. For this second leg the most conveniently timed bus was a few dollars more, which we were inclined to pay simply for the better time. However, we soon realized that we we had purchased "business" class tickets, and we were quite excited since we had (only one week previously) rode the "chicken" bus in Morocco. After the shiny, Mercedes (gray line sized) bus pulled up, the driver took our bags and gave us complimentary headphones. We walked on and it was configured with two seats on the left, an isle, and just one seat on the right. The fresh smell of leather and new-car scent took over from there. The full grain black and gray leather seats looked like they belonged in a Lexus and the trim was complete with wood paneling and extra large air vents for each passenger to direct as they like. Free snacks, comfy chairs, and the movie (even if it was called "Ping" and was about a small wonder dog) made this bus a smooth ride. I actually tried watching the movie, but Ping proved to be just too clever after freeing his buddies from the dog catcher after biting him in the groin. Go Ping go!

Sevilla Part 2

2008-06-16T09:40:00.003-05:00

From DANI:
If you ever need a great Spanish town to hang out in Sevilla is a pretty good choice. We arrived after our respite in Tarifa excited to see the city famous for flamenco and bullfighting. We found a place to stay and walked around a bit. Mark and I both have a decent sense of direction...he's got good instincts and I remember the map (both in my head and pack). We found getting around so splendidly nice and the hustlers actually left you alone after only one "no, gracias".
Unbelievable!

While we were in town on the day of a bullfight (Mark has previously attended one and I wasn't positive I could take it) part of me wanted to go more to experience the crowd and the local diversions...we chose to see a flamenco show instead. We heard amazing guitar playing, beautiful singing, and saw mind-blowing dancing! Truly a fun, if slightly touristy, thing to do!

We were able to see Sevilla's cathedral (immense) which was built on top of a torn down mosque after the Reconquista. The bell tower remains and we climbed to the top for a great view of the city. Oh, we also ran into Christopher Columbus here...his remains are inside a "casket" statue that is being carried by 4 pallbearers (each representing a different region of Spain).

We wandered the Alcazar, a 10th century palace that still functions as a royal residence. It's a "Christian" palace built in the Moorish style. It was quite beautiful with rounded, keyhole-like doorways, latticed windows, tile patterns, and a huge garden. That was the best part as we walked and enjoyed the beauty for quite some time.

Luckily, my high school Spanish is coming back because Mark is starting to lose his! Has he told you about trying to order a dad (or in some cases the Pope) for dinner? We are a good team...he speaks and I listen to the responses. I also read OK and can get a gist of what we're trying to figure out...so between the two of us we are one Spanish communicating bandito!

Hello from the Camino de Santiago

2008-06-15T11:43:00.001-05:00

Just a quick/short note to say that all is well even after a 16 plus mile day of walking on the pilgrimage/trail that leads to Santiago, Spain. We'll update more when we can find wi-fi.
Cheers.

Sevilla, Spain

2008-06-10T06:53:00.000-05:00

From MARK:
I went on a delightful jog the other morning along the river in Sevilla. At some point on the way back when I had started my cool-down walk, and after picking up a morning tabloid-like paper and reading it, I realized the small, narrow streets were relatively easy to navigate. I think my navigational training in Morocco had created some sort of sixth directional sense that I had never really used or realized before. I was walking back in a rather unfamiliar city, reading a paper, and I conveniently strolled right back to our Pension. Now I'm certainly not bragging, but I did start wondering how was it that in Morocco it took 100% of my attention and we still managed to get lost? I'd like to briefly jump back to the streets of Marrakech and elaborate.

Morocco Navigation 101:
-every street looks the same: paved with brick and mud while the houses have the same yellow-brown-cream stucco. The only discernable difference I could ever see was an occasional unique door. However, I also found that someone on a neighboring street would many times favor the same door.
-maps are generally useless. They're good for an overview, but that's about it.
-streets rarely hold true to any grid like formation nor directional baring (e.g. North, South, etc.), so expect to wander aimlessly at any point; try to learn to enjoy this, otherwise your frustration levels will catapult with the exorbitant heat
-streets regularly dead end, so be prepared to turn around at any time or point. Even if you do this casually like you were just looking at the architecture, you feel a bit like an ass. It's best to laugh this off.
-most intersections contain numerous people staring (if your blonde you get extra points), waiting for you to look in bewilderment and if you do, they'll create a circle asking where you need to go, or better yet, tell you; this can also cause some undue stress; use the word no (La) frequently here if your attempting to be adventurous or hard headed
-street signs rarely exist, and if they ever did, I believe locals likely removed them or chose to have them displayed in Arabic (I don't blame anyone here, it's probably a rather fun past time to watch us tourists go in circles--a bit like hamsters. I always kept hoping for cheese at the end but never did find any)
-Speaking of, if you ever back track, and the folks standing around recognize you as a second time passer, they will swarm to you. Acting casual now is no longer an option... Get ready to pay someone.
-the streets actually twist through the houses and many times run in a circular fashion so you might find yourself passing places you've already been (bring a compass and try to maintain a reasonable direction). I think the streets might even shift from time to time, but I have yet to prove this.
-Do NOT depend on the Coke sign on a corner street near your place to use as a landmark. You will find out later that Coke signs seem to decorate several random corners that look strikingly similar
-do not depend on any discernable landmarks, as they rarely exist, and the one you can depend on, the Mosque, well, there's also more than one, and they seem to look alike
-Please forget about ever getting anywhere at night time. Just pay someone up front.
-I'd recommend a GPS, but I don't think you'd get a signal in those small streets.

Now back to our regularly scheduled Sevilla.
While the streets are narrow here, they somewhat follow a grid, and each house has it's own unique design and color, making places and personally made landmarks easy to identify.

Saturday we found a SuperMercado! We've grown a bit tired of eating out for every meal, so we purchased some good ole milk and cereal for breakfast, and goods for PB&J's. It has been quite a delight to have some simple and inexpensive meals. I'd certainly love one of dad's briskets right now, but today a bacon, tomato and cheese sandwich had to suffice. We chose to splurge for lunch and eat in for dinner (the more expensive meal of the day).

One last note on the language. It seems that most of my Spanish has come back to me (a good thing), however, I might remind myself to think a little more before I speak. The other day we passed a place serving some what-looked-to-be tasty tapas, so after we sat down I began to describe them in my broken Spanish. What I MEANT to say was I'd like those potatoes with cheese or cream sauce... and what apparently came out (couple this with the expression of the waitress) was "I'd like to order the Pope with cheese and little green things on top." To further solidify myself, I actually repeated the statement with clarity and gusto. C'est la vie?

Granada

2008-06-09T22:35:00.000-05:00

Taken from the Alhambra.

Tarifa, Spain

2008-06-09T22:32:00.001-05:00

From DANI:
Tarifa, Spain is a small coastal town known mostly as a jumping-off point to Morocco and for the winds that blow bringing kite and windsurfers from throughout Europe. This is where we recovered from a whirlwind trip through Morocco. We spent two nights in the small town wandering the beach and small city streets sprinkled throughout. Mark enjoyed talking with our Hostal's owner (about fishing and the sort), who was a cute, short gentleman and his wife was on this side of plump with a big smile. They were a welcome sight for our down/recovery time. They were good examples for us, as when we first arrived, the wife was "watching TV" in her chair enjoying an afternoon siesta, which we were hesitant to disturb. We spent our days planning the coming weeks of our trip and purchased plane tickets for our longer segments of travel (Portugal to Paris, and Paris to Dublin).

Early Saturday morning we got up to catch an 8:25 bus to Sevilla. The day before we had enjoyed wonderful pastries with fruit and custard filling for breakfast and hoped to do the same on this day. Unfortunately we found out that this sleepy little town didn't wake up until 9:30, so we hesitantly got breakfast at a gas station consisting of two packaged cereal/granola bars and caught our bus.

The ride was smooth and beautiful. We drove through rolling hills and fields of sunflowers. We've both finished our books and have swapped and I'm starting to wonder what to do when I'm done with this new one. Hopefully we can find some travelers in a similar situation.

The Moroccan summary

2008-06-09T22:32:00.000-05:00

From MARK:
Well, we made it through Morocco and are glad to be back in Spain speaking the language more often just because we can. Marrakech was amazing and if you appreciate true adventure travel, this is the place! The Souks were like flea markets on steroids, with odds and ends stacked several stories high and no signs as to where on store ended and another began. Snake charmers played their tunes and Dani steered quite clear of them letting me know via a clinched arm that tightened as the musical sounds grew louder. In fact, you could likely purchase one of those little flute like instruments and play it if you ever need to keep her at bay. Just kidding Dani!

The camel trek was four thumbs up! Ali and his guides ran a great setup, complete with the two camels we rode cleverly named Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix. Our three hour ride to our camp was smooth (as can be expected on a camel's back), and the tanger dinner that we had, complete with chicken and vegetables was excellent. Watching the sun set over the crimson red Sahara sand dunes tops the list of must sees, and sleeping under the stars proved to be one of the most relaxing nights yet. The only downside I can think of would be my didn't-know-they-existed, sore camel riding muscles. They're rather round animals and you can only imagine the position one must take in order to ride on top. We've also heard they can be mean, but Bob and Jimi seemed quite congenial to us.

Oh, our bus ride that I briefly mentioned earlier... it turns out that it was a rather nice one. On our way out of town from our camel ride, in Merzouga, we ran into a guy from the US. We were exchanging stories and he told us about his bus ride. Apparently, at some point on the curvy road across the Atlas mountains, several Moroccan riders became ill. One finally hurled (without the aid of a bag) which caused an eventual chain reaction, setting off four others. He said he didn't really feel bad, until that point. To top things off (I know you thinking yeah right, how do you top that?), when he went to retrieve his backpack from under the bus, upon opening the cargo door he found a tied up goat which seemed to have also taken ill on the road and proceeded to defecate on his luggage. I think we had a wonderful bus ride!!!

From DANI:
The camel trek...when we began planning our adventures and Spain became our main destination I made the plea to head to Morocco and take a camel ride. In fact, it was one of my few musts. This all stems from pictures I saw on my friend Carly's Facebook...she spent a semester in Spain and her Morocco pictures, including camel riding, were amazing. Little did I know what I was getting myself into!

We arrived at Nomad's Palace, the "hotel" Ali owns and runs the treks out of. We took off for the trek around 5pm and our guide, a young-ish guy named Dressa, led our camels over and around the sand dunes. The views were stunning and the dunes so strangely different than anything we'd seen before.

Dressa is a talker. He speaks many languages and when I asked him about school he said he'd never been...only to the school of life. He learned languages by speaking with tourists. He told us many stories and wished we had longer to stay...next time, he'd say. Many of his stories ended with drinking Berber Whiskey (mint tea) and relax max under the stars. He said this so many times that Mark and I have begun to refer to him as "Relax Max". We watched the sun set from high on a dune, ate a wonderful dinner, and watched as the stars came out...the only time I can compare the quiet and beautiful sky with is when we hiked at Glacier Nat'l Park in Montana. We awoke the next morning and watched the sun rise and then back onto the camels (ouch) for the trek back to the Palace...which turned out to be about 45 minutes away! We ate breakfast, showered, and Ali was nice enough to give us a lift to Rissani where we would catch the night bus (a nice one this time) to Meknes, then a a train to Tangier, and then the ferry to Tarifa, Spain! We were making a hasty retreat!

Post camel ride

2008-06-06T18:00:00.000-05:00

Here were headed out of Morocco... After a night bus and train ride.

Marrakech to the Sahara: June 3, 2008

2008-06-06T05:35:00.002-05:00

From MARK:
Marrakech turned out to be a worthy, pleasant stopover intermixed with "adventures". We would venture out, tell those offering services that we were just fine until we were mentally exhausted, then find a refuge (e.g. Café), and continue onward. On Monday we found another oasis amidst the jumbled souk shops. We had been wondering around looking at scarves to possibly shield off the sun on our upcoming camel trek. We had grown both mentally and physically tired, and I even commented to Dani that I would like to just sit down right there in the market just as the shop owners did. We trudged onward with aching feet. Within five minutes, a man in his early thirties with suave black hair and a crisp white shirt sitting on a freshly made chair offered us seats and hot lemon-mint tea (which he described as "Moroccan
Whiskey"). Although our immediate instincts told us to use more caution, our tired legs were delighted to rest so we accepted.

Habib's family owned the neighboring Berber rug souk and there we sat, in a craftsmen shop with the fresh smell of wood, new doors and chairs surrounding us. We had a pleasant conversation and continued it on the roof top from which we could see the Atlas mountains as well as the shops below with men dying silk in various colors of red, purple, and blue. Habib told us about his job of helping decorate local Riads with their beautiful rugs and how he had studied abroad for over fifteen years, but his family business needed his aid. It was heart warming to have such a nice conversation with such a generous person. He told us how women of Morocco hand make each rug which included their villages symbols and each was a unique work of art. You'd likely never meet the person making the rug, but they certainly do have a beauty of their own. We took a business card and he wished us a most pleasant day after recommending a place to eat in the market. His card had a website address, which I have not visited, but will include here in case you'd like to look it over: http://www.chezlesnomades.com Habib, thank you for such a nice gesture!

We set off, refreshed for the evening to do some haggling for two scarves and were shown how to tie them so that we could look like a true desert Berber. We'd love to include a few photos, especially of the one with the kid in the background showing off his belly. It's a classic, but will have to wait.

The riad remained as the highlight, even though we had to pay once again to have someone help us find it (although we left it our last night for a hotel closer to the bus station), and the dinner at booth number fourteen (Habib's recommendation) turned out to be both amazing and extremely cheap.

From DANI:
Our dinner of freshly fried fish, eggplant, a salsa-type dish, fries, and bread was amazing...until about 3am. I awoke in our rather dingy, close to the bus station (my pick) accommodation with a churning stomach. I checked my watch a little after 3. I made my way to the toilet down the hall...I won't get into the details but I believe I picked up a touch of something at dinner. It was quick and strong and coming from all directions! Thankfully, Mark was mostly able to sleep through my getting up and leaving for the bathroom several times as I would need him to lead me through our day of travel across the country.

From MARK:
I got up Monday morning realizing Dani wasn't feeling the best. After I got the details that were not included above, I realized two things: 1) I could not get sick as one of us needed to be sharp, and 2) I simply could not get sick. So, off we headed for the bus station, and just to be safe, skipping all options for food. We arrived with plenty of time and were glad to have made it that far. However, when we showed our tickets to one of the drivers we were shuttled to the side and then (in much fewer words and more gestures than anything) were told that Morocco had shifted in their time by one hour on June 1st, and therefore, we had missed the bus. Uh oh. Crap would better describe the feeling. I had one sick wife and two worthless bus tickets. The other option/bus was the indirect route, 10 hours, no a/c in the approximately 90F weather, which left in one hour from the other bus station. So, we caught a taxi and headed over. After buying ickets we approached the bus with some skepticism, as two legs of a man on the ground laid out of the rear of the bus. He had an array of tools beside him and didn't seem to be employed by Jiffy Lube. Well, we made it, through a day that I can only describe as minimal eating and a steadfast will to arrive at our destination. The only "highlight" of the trip I'll mention is a quart size ziploc that I handed to Dani. Luckily it was early on in the trip, and Dani seemed on what-could-be-interpreted-as the positive side, as she mentioned that there was nothing more left. We did meet and entrust the bus attendant, who smiled and expressed some concern for Dani by
offering her hot tea and giving us the finger tick-tock when rogue guides boarded the bus and tried to tell us they were Ali. We enjoyed the personal connection although no words were exchanged and in response gave him our inflatable neck pillow since he had worked the entire eleven hour day. There are really great people in this world, but you sometimes have to look a little harder to find them.

We arrived at the "Nomad's Palace" shortly after noon on Tuesday (with another local shuttle bus connection plus one taxi), and were welcomed by the one and only, Ali. I'll include another website, which is where we booked our overnight Sarah camel trek, which should have some
photos of Ali: http://www.adventureswithali.com He has been very nice and even gave us an amazing salad for lunch which our stomachs have welcomed.

Marrakech, part 2

2008-06-06T05:33:00.002-05:00

Random by DANI
Things in my head:
- a man delivering goods via donkey and cart talking on a cell phone
- menus in many languages but none of them English (Arabic & French are the common languages)
- Arabic = squiggly lines and diamonds...
- the beautiful and haunting call to prayer
- maybe the women wear scarves on their heads to keep from getting sunburnt (Morocco is rather progressive and we've seen women in full hijab as well as in jeans and tees)
- I wish someone would put the rooster that lives near our place out of it's misery...not because of it's crowing but how badly it crows
- donkeys that look near death
- Cats
- my friend Angie would love the fabrics and colors!
- I miss my Seattle neighbors and think of them often (and am sad to confuse little Sophie by selling our house)
- The most important part of any transportation is the horn and there appear to be no emissions checks in Morocco... Mmmmm, the fresh smell of diesel.

A little more on Marrakech from MARK:
I'd like to give you directions from the bus station to the place we're staying. On the map it appears to be about a 15 minute walk down a major street, turn left, then right. Today we walked around most of the city; I mean literally, around it. The city wall is one of the only discernable items you can make out. Let me elaborate. Here's what happened once we found the bus station and attempted to walk back home. We entered through the city wall and decided to
follow the what-looked-to-be major street. There are no names anywhere to be found. Sometimes you get lucky and find an Arabic sign. As we came to the first "Y" in the road we decided to veer left as it looked to be more traveled. Keep in mind the 'main street' was a little over a cars width with non-stop buildings on both sides about two stories high. Just enough to keep you from getting a baring on anything. We come to another fork, and not following Frost's advice, we continued on the what-appeared-to-be the most traveled path. The street began to narrow and shops started overtaking the sky that was once above us. We turned right, and after another fifty feet the road forced us left, then right, and then right again. I think we were headed North, and I looked for signs of shadows where possible to get a reading on my internal compass. At every intersection boys and men alike are ready to tell us which way to go... and for a fee, they will take you where you'd like to go. This is kind of them, but we'd very much like to find the place ourselves. If you have a sense of adventure, and don't mind wondering around a bit, do take this option.
If you ever need to get somewhere quickly, I strongly advise that you ask someone to take you after agreeing upon a price. Several men ensured us that the direction we wanted to go was right. We kindly thanked them and continued onward. Lets see, we had made a left, right, then swung around to the east on another winding street. We hadn't seen a single landmark that we had noted on the map. We did however see a gold door that was familiar looking. Another gentleman assured us that we wanted to go that way, and he began walking in front of us. We felt like we were close, but couldn't be so sure. Was it down that alley or this one? The man in front of us had good intentions; he wanted to escort us to a tanning area where many colors abound. We would like to go, but our desire to stop by our place took precedence.

Then we passed a riad that seemed extremely close. We turned left at the next tunnel after about forty minutes from the bus station and this was it, our street-alley that we live on. Our escort was about twenty feet ahead when we took our turn. He turned around and started to follow us down our street. Everyone wants to help, and for good reason, they need to make money, and I am certainly glad to pay when services are rendered. Morocco is filled with adventure, the moment you step onto the street. Our lesson for the day was to keep an internal smile, no matter what happens. We kindly thanked the gentleman and went home. We look forward to more exploring and our camel trek that is several days away.

On camels...

2008-06-04T12:53:00.000-05:00

Its blurry cause I took a picture of the display on my camera so I could send this one. Oh well, you get the idea here.

Casablanca-Marrakech

2008-05-29T20:14:00.000-05:00

DANI: After happily being shown to our room (which hopefully had seen better days) we headed for the tourist information and found a friendly and chatty fellow working there. He asked us lots of questions and was helpful although he only had one map of the city...so we just looked at it and tried to make mental notes. We wandered happily enough in the vague direction of getting some dinner. We walked and eventually found the destination I had hoped for: Rick's Café. While I try to do my best to ignore the tourist traps this one I couldn't miss. We went inside and surprisingly this was a fancy place; white table clothes, decked out waiters with hats like those in the movie, elegant! We made our way to a lounge where we sat and the waiter went to the large screen TV and restarted the movie just for us. So, in joyful bliss after what I can only describe as lunacy, we shared a wonderful dinner while watching Casablanca in Casablanca! After our brains fully recovered we ventured back into the maze of streets and headed home. Thankfully Mark has a decent internal compass and he got us home through the maze of the old city streets.

5/30, Casablanca cont.
DANI:
We woke up early (actually at 3am due to the buzzing of scooters and honking of horns) and got going around 7. After a nice breakfast, we ventured with our "hotel provided at an extra charge" driver to the Hassan II Mosque, one of the few (only?) that non-Muslims are permitted to enter. We paid the admission and were given a guided tour in English. Please go search this place out on the internet...I will not do justice to its enormity. We removed our shoes as we entered and headed into the main prayer room (for men). I was amazed by it's massiveness (we were told that 20,000 believers could pray here and another 5,000 women in the upstairs women's prayer areas). The opulence was astonishing. I was overwhelmed with emotion most of the time we were there...tears welled in my eyes more than once. I couldn't imagine the expense of building this place and yet the poverty in the streets. We were ushered around and given many facts. We never stepped foot into any of the designated women's areas, except for the public toilets of which I found the women's to be a hole to squat above..no lie. Mark reluctantly told me that the men's were quite nice although lacking paper. We went into the room where the men wash before going upstairs for prayers, this too was a beautiful area but again I was emotionally torn as I liked the idea of washing clean before presenting yourself to God while at the same time prickling when our guide said that if you do not do the ritual washing, God will not hear your prayers. This is my first time in a Muslim country and Morocco is very open to the west. But I was saddened that in this beautiful place grace didn't seem to be allowed.

Our driver took us all over the city, "sightseeing" I guess, and we ended at the train station to catch our train to Marrakech. Rather uneventful (other than the lively conversation happening between our fellow passengers...in Arabic). After the th ree hour ride, we arrived and headed to find a taxi and our reserved accommodation. The ride was a good one with a nice driver who spoke enough English to keep us from feeling uncomfortable. We got to the medina (old city) and a man told our driver he couldn't go any further and that he (and his son) would carry our bags and get us to our riad (think bed and breakfast in a traditional home). They hustled us through the winding, narrow streets (I think trying to keep us from getting any baring) and proceeded to then hound us for more money. It was a gut wrenching experience. While we know that we are unemployed and homeless, they do not. And, even given our situation, we are quite wealthy in comparison. We gave them some money and were ushered into our place by a nice guy roughly our age. He poured us some Moroccan tea and let us relax. The place was stunning. We were in an internal courtyard which is open to the sky. There are three floors with rooms that circle the courtyard. The room and patios are comfortable and beautiful. We filled out our forms and ordered some dinner (Mark will tell you more on that). It was an amazing transition to a peaceful place...so much so that neither of us wanted to check out the environs that evening (and didn't).

DINNER by MARK (I'm telling about it, not making it):
We had perused the dinner menu after arriving earlier in the day, as they didn't keep much on hand. Whatever you wanted they would go out and get via the local market. So, Dani had chosen a cous cous-chicken dish while I went with a lamb something ma-bob cooked in a TANGER (a traditional small clay oven with a removable tee-pee like top). We could smell the aromas coming from the kitchen a little before 7:30, our scheduled dinner time. We sat with anticipation. Our host showed us to our seats where they had set a stark white table cloth, sprinkled dried red flowers and had two small candles lit. I felt as if we had entered a true oasis, or I was supposed to be proposing. Uh oh, I had forgot the ring.

The evening was cool as the sun had already started to set and soon our food arrived to tingling stomachs. Dani's couscous was in a deep dish about eight inches in diameter, topped with squash, carrots, and asparagus arranged to form an asterisk with chicken at the top. It looked amazing, and it was enough for three or four people. The tee-pee top was lifted off my dish and there was a dark sauce covering the bottom with a healthy serving of lamb circled by large dates with almonds balanced on top. The smell was enticing, but the taste was so much better. A perfectly balanced spicy sweet ran through the fall-apart tender lamb. Definitely one of the best meals I've ever had. I bragged a little and then gave Dani a taste.. and she agreed that it was wonderful. I generously offered to share and also enjoyed the couscous and vegetables. The dates were an added welcome, as I figured they'd help keep things going. Everything was fabulous.

We had only ordered two dishes and one dessert, which came by the name of Moroccan delights. When the tray of candies arrived we both knew there wasn't room, so we sampled a few and then wandered peacefully back to our room.

Casablanca...

2008-05-29T11:46:00.000-05:00

FROM MARK:
Well, our too-good-to-be-true EasyJet flight deal from Madrid to Casablanca came to be.... true! Yes, without hitch or problem we placed the wheels of our plane on the Moroccan tarmac at precisely 13:50 on May 29, only 10 minutes late. We slid through customs and picked up our bags with ease. With nothing to declare we walked through a line of people all waiting for their loved ones. We were apparently not in the looks for a Moroccan loved one, as eyes quickly glanced over us after some initial looks of disbelief. Dani had e-mailed our hotel just before we left indicating that we'd take a room and we'd also like their pickup shuttle service from the airport, so we scanned the signs only to find names of which we did not recognize. We had no idea if they could actually pick us up, but we had high hopes. We set a plan in action, which included getting local currency and then calling the hotel to check the status of the ride (we've heard things can be customarily late). We once again scanned the taxi driver signs for good measure and then proceeded to make the call. Luckily the gentleman spoke English, as my Arabic is lacking. I asked about the ride and he requested that I call back in 10 minutes... I think, or someone would be there in 10 minutes? Both his English and my clarification skills obviously needed some improvement. I realized this when I had to convey the not-so-clear message to Dani. So, we sat down and rested for a while and then I decided to give the hotel another call. This time he had solid news. He said that his driver could pick us up in one hour. I kindly declined the offer and we decided to catch the economical train into the city (much less than a taxi) only to find that the 15:00 train actually left at 15:00 on the dot. We watched it's taillights disappear. The next train was at 16:00, and we were now tired, hot, and mentally fatigued after less than an hour in Morocco. Dani was feeling a little dizzy from the flight too, so the last resort was a taxi. Keep in mind that up to this point we've gone everywhere and done everything via public transportation, so relying on a taxi was just a shift for us. Don't get me wrong, taxi's are great and serve a niche, but we enjoy traveling as economically as possible--it just makes things more fun. We accepted our mini-defeat and tried to think of the efficiencies as we entered the airport taxi area where a guy walked up asking if we needed a ride. I wasn't sure if he was just some guy off the street or not, as he held an "official as can be" looking piece of brown paper which looked to be torn from the bottom of a brown grocery sack. So, we chose honesty and said yes and I guess the paper was official. He guided us to a line of old, white, Mercedes with a small group a men sitting in a circle beside them. Several immediately rose, we showed them the name and address we had written down of our hotel, they exchanged some words and we were off in an official taxi. Our driver slowed by another taxi and said something in Arabic and then kept going. The national language in Morocco is Arabic, which I can not read, speak, or comprehend verbally a single word. I'm still working on thank you, which I believe is pronounced "Show-krahn". I enjoy languages, but wow, this one is a doozy. Oh, the second language of choice is French, followed by Spanish. Our fourth place English is a bonus if we get past hello. We were toodling along fine when the driver once again slows by a gas station and honks. Maybe he's just a really nice guy and likes to wave at everyone? Another white, old, Mercedes pulls up from the pump and before I could decipher the situation and come to my senses, we were shuttled into another vehicle of similar character, however, without taxi markings that I could see. As we picked up speed you'd think that at this point you would jump out of the car and just take the roll versus waiting for the endless possibilities. Once again, we chose to sit it out and be mindful of open fields and dark alleys.

After we showed the new driver our hotel information he indicated with complete assuredness that it was no longer operational. That's strange, as we had just spoke to someone at the hotel about a ride. The second lump in my throat began to form. The seats were springy and the black vinyl was warm in the naturally air cooled car. I started taking note of the general direction we were headed and making mental notes of the car's description. We had about a 1/4 tank of gas; good, he couldn't drive us too far if he had ill intentions. Wait a second, didn't he just pull out of a gas station? Maybe he didn't intend to take us very far. His inky black hair had specks of gray and his mustache was bushy and tapered down to the edge of his lips.

Then, silence. Silence has to be the worst form of torture when your nervous or on edge. Think of the sound of your front door opening at 2am in the morning. Then, think of hearing nothing more as you listen with everything you've got. Wouldn't it be more comforting to hear someone say, "Hello there, I'm sure you just heard the front door open, please don't get up as I'm going to rob you." You could respond with, "Thanks, I'll stay right here and you take what you want." At least everyone is on terms. When you hear the front door "just" open followed by a pure silence, you start coming up with scenarios. My mind was racing at this point, and the "silence" endured.

Ten, fifteen, twenty minutes passed. The Arabic music played in the background. I tried to tell if the car was a legit taxi. He had a box of tissues in the rear window. The seats seemed moderately worn. We knew the airport was well outside the city, but we didn't know exactly how far. I watched for road signs and indications that we were headed towards a major metropolitan area. We passed houses with blankets for walls and saw kids playing make-shift soccer in dirt fields. One gentleman in a suit rode an older ten-speed style road bike; he was in his 60's and carried a cane.
Buildings soon grew larger and we were definitely entering a city. At this point my nerves finally eased and I figured heck, if the worst is coming, then I mise well enjoy my last few minutes in the back of a taxi. Dani smiled at me and I gave a true, honest smile back. I was happy to be next to her and glad to be in Morocco. Well, kind of glad to be in Morocco. We finally pulled up to the hotel and I was so glad to see it that I paid and gave the driver a tip (mostly because we were alive), and we proceeded to our room. *Dear taxi driver: sorry for not trusting you (if you happen to be reading this), I think you're nice and all, but I was just a little worried for a while; maybe you'll understand now. Maybe next time we can talk a little more.

Casablanca...

2008-05-29T11:42:00.000-05:00

Madrid and Segovia

2008-05-29T03:31:00.001-05:00

FROM DANI:

5/26: We began the day by getting ready to catch a bus from San Sebastian to Madrid. We raced across the small town and found the "station", bought our tickets and a little something for breakfast. Off we went on the bus. We drove through rolling green countryside, sometimes in sunshine others in downpour. We caught up on some sleep and got into our books (Mark is reading Odd Thomas and I´m reading Thunderstruck...we plan to swap when we´re finished). We arrived in Madrid and made our way to find a place to spend the night. We found a room (big and decent) and went to find dinner...we were both growing hungry and had the idea that it would be funny to eat at a ribs joint bearing the name Texas. Big mistake. Not funny at all...just expensive! The food was so-so and on our walk home we went past a nice little fast-food Turkish place that serves Doner Kebab (I learned to LOVE these while living in Germany). Bummed but making a note of it´s location we headed to an internet place. We were wanting to escape the rain...so we found a deal on plane tickets to Casablanca, Morocco on 5/29. Yes, that Casablanca! Here´s lookin at you, kid! Emboldened by our great find we splurged on dessert at McDonald´s and went to bed.

5-27: We had decided to make a day trip to Segovia (about an hour and a half bus ride away). On our arrival we located a great place to stay cheap and unloaded our belongings. We walked through the city which boasts a Roman aqueduct (it was once a Roman military base and needed water). It was chilly and growing darker...rain coming! We grabbed lunch and sat out the rain. We walked around the city that is over 2000 years old. It was nice and relaxing and quiet.

5-28: Back to Madrid. We hit up El Prado, considered to be the best painting museum in the world. It was beautiful and overwhelming. We saw many students with their easels doing their best to replicate famous works. We saw works by El Greco, de Goya, Velazquez - including Las Meninas, a painting which many artists consider the best in the world. Very, very cool. We stood with a crowd for a long time just looking at it and wondering at the talent! Then onto a stroll in Retiro Park where we ran into Mickey Mouse (trying to make money off of tourists wanting a picture). We hit up a couple of great Plazas, had some sweets, read some history, and headed for Doner Kabab for dinner. We spent the evening in planning mode...getting ready for Morocco, more Spain, France, and Ireland. Any suggestions? Please send them! :) Oh, did I mention we lunched at a restaurant named Iowa??

Stay tuned for more from Africa!!!!!

San Sebastian

2008-05-25T12:47:00.001-05:00

The "night train" has a variety of options for sleeping, including standard seats (not the best for your back), and small rooms with 2-6 bunks. We opted for the most economical 6 bunk couchette and ended up with the two bottom beds (one on each side).

FROM MARK:
I awoke once on the night train and proceeded to the small toilet at the end of the car only to find toilet paper strewn about. Due to my incoherence I thought it was a dream and am still not so sure. While on the topic, if you're ever needing to get water going in the sink of a train via the foot pump, make sure you bring some down-home folk music to stomp your leg to, as it takes almost a minute to get it going. Don't ask how I figured that one out.

Our eyes opened for good around 7am for the 730 arrival into San Sebastian, a coastal resort town located in the armpit of Spain near France.
We sat down in the train station to figure out a plan for the day. We needed breakfast and a place to stay. Our previous attempts to secure lodging via e-mail and phone calls were unsuccessful, so we weren't sure what to expect, as weekends can be quite busy. A dark blue sign with yellow font indicated a "Pension" (a small room to rent) located on a street about the width of me and Dani stretched end to end. I pressed the call button and inquired about a room for the night and the next thing I knew we were being buzzed in. He had a room, and it was one of the nicest we'd seen. Since the bathroom was shared between several rooms, it was unusually large, and we were excited to have a hot shower available so early in the day. After cleaning up, we walked... And walked... And walked to find a place that issued a paper credential which allows one to stay in hotels along the camino de Santiago trail. We took care of a few errands and did some planning before a hearty pasta dinner and a night of rest just above the cervezaria.
Sunday is May 25... our 5th anniversary! How does one celebrate such an occasion when you're already in a small town of Spain? We slept in, had brunch, and took a walk along the water's edge. To top the day off, we did laundry! Ahh--clean clothes! The plan was to have pizza for dinner, however, promptly when we walked out of our place a downpour ensued. We low- tailed it into the nearest taparia, which turned out to be a winner. We splurged with some gelato and coffee and mall-walked in the drizzle back to our home, which by the way, has free wi-fi. We plan to catch a bus tomorrow to Madrid and then on to Seville with the idea that more southern parts of the country will offer better weather. Cheers from San Sebastian, -Mark & Dani.

A photo from San Sebastian, Spain

2008-05-25T07:37:00.001-05:00

Barcelona or Bust

2008-05-25T07:24:00.002-05:00

FROM MARK: The flight across the pond was seamless and the food was actually wonderful (to the delight of my stomach) on our Delta flight from Cincinnati (we connected there from Chicago). We only had one major connection in London on Europe's "Southwest Airlines" equivalent, EasyJet. We allowed for plenty of time to deboard, go through customs, etc. in order to catch our London-Barcelona flight.

However, things went so smoothly we were ready to fly by 10am... The only problem was our flight was scheduled for approximately 2:30pm. Luckily there was a flight at 11am that would work perfectly. We found the EasyJet information counter and inquired about making the change. They told us there would be a change fee in addition to the price of the ticket. We kindly declined and walked away thinking if we really wanted, why wouldn't we just buy new tickets and avoid the "change" fee all together. Oh well... we were happy to be safely in Europe even though our heads maintained that warm fuzzy feeling from jet-lag.

We touched down in Barcelona right on time Tuesday evening. Our bags arrived and all was well. Our first task was to get money in order to pay for transit, rooms, and most food, as the best deals usually don't take credit. A variety of ATM's awaited us at the airport, however, the first one responded with "su banco no responda". Uh-oh. We tried a second with a similar resopnse, and a third, fourth, fifth, etc. It seemed our luck had ran out, and rather quickly on this trip. We had no money... A dismal feeling at best. At last, I found an entire Euro in one of the phones, the amount requested to complete the 800 bank number to the states (which I luckily had stored in my contacts list) to see if they knew of any problems. I popped in the money and what I heard next was in my mind, a one inch person speaking through a tube from several miles away. I just barely recognized the familiar recorded prompts of our bank, and knew that option 4 would get me to someone, but I had no idea if I could ever come close to comprehending a word of what someone would say. Apparently that's about all the time one Euro will buy anyway, as the call was cut and I was slightly relieved I didn't have to try and talk with a person of such small size. Well, in less than an hour we decided to reach into our US 'emergency' cash and convert some to Euros. We got enough for transport and one nights lodging and would figure out the rest as we went. We headed straight to the best deal in town, a little hotel ran by Juan who didn't speak a lick of english and was proud of it. I understood he only had one room left, and we gladly accepted and paid for the night.

Our plan was to grab an internet computer and search for a direct number to the bank so we could make a credit card call. Luck prevailed again as I found a two Euro coin in the pay stall for the computer, which bought us forty mintues. Then, we noticed the computers had Skype (an internet phone service) installed, so we thought we'd give that a try. Well, the microphones didn't seem to be picking up and my yelling in the internet cafe wasn't making us any new friends. We couldn't find a direct number, so we ditched the idea and went to buy a calling card from a shady nick-nack shop (apparently the only place they're sold). Before I knew it, I was speaking to a bank representative who was helpful allbeit my yelling all of our private banking information through an outdoor pay phone and asking them to speak loud and clearly, as this time they seemed to be about seven inches tall on my listening scale. After a few minutes we were told our cards would be good to go within ten mintues, and we celebrated by having some tapas! We tried the card in about an hour and were rejoicing (in our minds) like we won the lottery at the ATM... Of course quickly stashing the money while on a dark street. We high-tailed it back to our room for our first nights rest in Barcelona.
FROM DANI:
Wed: We crashed hard and awoke more or less refreshed. Thr first itemon the adenda: breakfast. We wandered around and finally found a cafe to have a little cafe con leche (very strong coffee w/milk and a lot of sugar added) and a croisant. Next we headed to the market for
fruit...yummy! We did a nice walk down Las Ramblas (the main blvd through the city) where we saw many performance artists, flower vendors, and even guys ready to sell you a new pet (turtles, fish, ferrets, and a variety of birds). We spent the afternoon wandering through Antoni Gaudi's architecture. We visited the Sagrada Familia (Holy Family), a church in which construction began in 1883 and continues to the present! The amount of detail and meaning carved into the walls is as amazing as it is overwhleming. We walked by Casa Battlo, which has balconies that look like skulls, and Casa Mila, which seems wavy and like ice cream at the same time! Last we headed to Parc Guell, a beautiful idea for a gated community 100 years ahead of its time. Based on the look of the two gatehouses that stand at the entrance, I believe Gaudi either inspired Dr. Seuss or was a good friend (I'll have to check on that). Anyway, the park is gorgeous and has amazing views...not only that it has a wavy built in seating area that is mosaic and was designed ergonomically!! What a GENIUS! We ventured back into the heart of the city and stumbled upon a great little shwarma place...where I accidentally ate most of Mark's dinner
(we would return for lunch another day to make up for it). We enjoyed watching others enjoy a futbol match on tv (much ohhing and uhhing).

Thursday: A little rainy but after a great breakfast at the market, we headed out for another walk...we saw the beautiful Cathedral of Barcelona but there was no TP in the WC and so the trip there was cut a little short by full bladders. Of interesting note, the Cathedral is filled with tiny chapels dedicated to different saints in which people come, pray, light candles, etc. The chapel with the most candles? Santa Rita. Her specialty? Lost causes. :) We also visited the Deacon's House next door and were reminded a little of Mark's parents house...very similar entry way but with a much larger fountain! After lunch we headed to the Picasso museum. Picasso has always been a little wierd for me but this was mostly more early work so it was slightly more normal (most of the people's eyes were in the right places, for example). Anyway, there was one super cool painting we spend a lot of time walking back and forth in front of called Ciencia y Caridad (Science and Charity). Picasso painted this wonderful optical illusion that when you back and forth and look at it, the bed appears to lengthen or shorten...very, very cool!

Friday: Another market breakfast, some relaxing, and then to the train station to stash our luggage for the day. We didn't have much planned other than to stroll. And stroll we did. We ended up doing a little window shopping and then saw a movie theater. OOOhhh...Indiana Jones!! Only in Spanish. We debated the "wouldn't it be funny" factor verses the "but I really want to see it and not miss the funny parts" factor. Ahh, maybe there's an english theater! Mark asked and the woman working at the theater replied that yes, there was a theater about 20 minutes walk away. She circled an area on our map and we set off walking. And walking and walking and walking. I finally gave up but Mark wanted more to find the darn place than to actually see the movie so he kept looking and I sat in a park and read. About 30 minutes later he ran up and said "we've got 15 minutes until it starts." So there you have it, we saw Indiana Jones in Barcelona and really liked it! Oh, and the theater had warm carmel popcorn (that, according to Mark, was OUTSTANDING!). After the movie we were off to the train station for an overnight train to San Sebastian in northern Spain.

A Week in Iowa

2008-05-16T22:14:00.003-05:00

What do you do for a week in Iowa? Well, we've rented storage and filled it with our stuff, taken Murphy to the farm (and the vet), played cards, eaten out at some local favorites, spent time with family, prepared to leave the country (changing addresses, closing accounts, paying bills), and wondered (for a fleeting few seconds) what the heck we are doing! But, thankfully, that passes and I recognize what an awesome adventure we are embarking on. Both Mark and I see this as an end and a beginning...and our trip is a lucky break from both.

The stuff is packed!

2008-05-14T20:00:00.001-05:00

We leave on Monday.
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Iowa

2008-05-09T13:57:00.000-05:00

Well, we finally made it to Iowa after a visit with friends in the twin cities. Tonight we visit Danis brother and then on to our final destination.
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Billings to Bismarck

2008-05-07T22:08:00.000-05:00

“I really like Montana” has been a frequent refrain from both Mark and me. It’s a beautiful state and we’ve been driving through views of snow capped peaks to rolling hills and farmland. The people in the small towns we’ve stopped in (Hysham & Terry) have been friendly. In fact, when we stopped to fuel up I encountered a group of men playing pinochle and a couple ventured out to check the price of our diesel and chat with Mark. Ahh, small towns. We’ve missed this general sense of hospitality and interest. We also noticed a grade school class out for recess…10 students. Maybe a little too small for me!

How do you keep from going crazy on such a long drive, you ask? We've been alternating between 2 books on mp3: Water for Elephants and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Both have been interesting and fun to listen to and chat about. The first is fiction, the second non. Animal, Vege, etc. has definately made us talk about the kind of place we want to "end up" and how we want to live our lives. Very cool!

Oh, and Murphy has been a great dog for the whole trip, sitting between us and enjoying time out of the truck chasing his ball!

We will spend tonight in Bismarck, ND and head to Minneapolis to visit friends tomorrow!

The rolling hills of East Montana

2008-05-07T10:28:00.000-05:00

The trip continues.
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Deer Lodge

2008-05-06T15:57:00.000-05:00

Dani's roots.
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Idaho

2008-05-06T11:14:00.000-05:00

Good morning from Idaho!
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On the road again...

2008-05-06T01:41:00.001-05:00

Murphy poses while we stop for a quick bite to eat.
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We're finally packing!

2008-05-01T17:46:00.000-05:00

The boxes are starting to fill.

One Man's Junk...

2008-04-25T16:19:00.001-05:00

It's amazing how at the right time and for the right price you can sell anything.

Case in point: We are intending to drive ourselves and belongings to Iowa in 10 days. Mark has been working to sell things we don't wish to transport (bookshelves, table/chairs, barstools, couch) and succeeding! Craigslist, for those who might not know, is an online classified page. Really, it's a little more like the Thrifty Nickel, but you get the picture. And, not only can you sell your stuff (pretty) easily on Craigslist, you can acquire FREE things! Like moving boxes. I'm working on collecting these now.

Our house is rapidly growing bare. This is nice in terms of packing and moving but sad as the reality of our leaving this home sets in.

We are stinky Bloggers - but we're working on it!

2008-04-15T09:37:00.000-05:00

The Not-So-Recent-News Update (that you may already know):

At the end of January there was an announcement that Sprint would be laying off several thousand employees and offering a rather nice severance for those who would volunteer to leave. As we've been thinking about a move back to the middle of the country for some time, this seemed like a perfect opportunity to get some (paid) time off to travel, move, and look for jobs.

Mark's last day of work was at the end of March. We spent two weekends cleaning out every drawer and closet in the house, washed down the walls, and had the carpets cleaned. We put our house on the market on April 3, had offers on April 4, finished with the inspection and had a signed contract on April 10. Our closing date is May 15. We feel like our hard work paid off! Don't believe me? Check this out: http://picasaweb.google.com/h2ogood/HomePicS
Mark still wishes he could have gone skiing on those weekends!

Right now, Mark is doing his best to get things sold on Craigslist (and succeeding!) and I'm in my last week of work. Then it's packing time! We are hoping to pull out of Seattle (and head towards Dani's parents in Maquoketa, IA) by May 5. We'll spend a little while there getting them and Murphy, our dog, better acquainted. Murphy will be an Iowa dog for a while as we plan to travel for a couple of months (planning Spain, Morocco, France, Ireland). That's why I'm trying to get in Blog mode now! :)

We plan to return mid-July and start looking for jobs (Minneapolis, MN is our major focus but we're also keeping our eye on Madison and Milwaukee, WI). We also hope to spend time with family in Iowa and Texas this summer before heading back to the "real world".

Europe Trip

2007-07-11T11:45:00.001-05:00

Here's a short (179) photo slide slow. You can view the pic's full screen here.

Our trip started in Prague, then went to Budapest, Slovenia, and ended in Croatia.

Enjoy!
Cheers, -Mark & Dani.