Airport view

Charlotte airport from above.

Setting sun

Sunset at The Resort

Kebabs, bubbles and family time. About sums up the evening.

Oh and the brother and I have an addition to the list:
1. Preferred mode transportation around the resort: golf cart, snowmobile, skis. These are not to be confused with the activities one might engage in at said resort

Thank you and goodnight.

Holiday with the southern kin

First look at The Resort.

The Brother and I are wondering what makes a resort a resort? Here are our criteria in no particular order:

1. Must be at a natural location: beach, lake, mountain
2. Must require a map to get around the resort
3. Must have a pool
4. Must a golf, seaonal
5. Must have a "business center"
6. Must have multiple keys or codes to get in
7. All inclusive by being exclusive
8. Must have a bad restaurant, or mediocre at best
9. Any addition items that you want or need or heaven forbid forgot will cost 3 times the normal price
10. Must have pre-planned activities and entertainment

More to come!

Hiking with American pilgrims

Met up with a group of Pilgrims and Pilgrims-to-be for a day hike at Big Basin. A perfect day for hiking in a fantastic park overrun with redwoods. I was a bit apprehensive as I did not know anyone, and  generally find American have a different perspective on travel and the world than I do. Still, I figured it was worth the risk, they were all coming together because of Camino.

I met many interesting people, those filled with worry and excitement as they planned their Camino and those who are Pilgrims once, twice, and three times over. I felt a great camaraderie, there is just a connection, a deeper understanding of humanity I think...being with other Pilgrims filled a void and I was reassured that it was an incredibly beautiful and inspiring experience that does not go away.

New plans and new technology

Work, work and more work. This is how I have spent the last 9 months. It took a few months to settle in to the routine of life here in the States. I am still trying to figure things out but I suppose that will always be the case- I think that is more a mismatch of personality and culture than location or workload.

Travel planning has begun, an 18 day trip that includes a 10 day trek in the alps has been booked. Now it is just details and training; almost as fun as the actual trip itself! Also talking to friends about a week in Mexico for the premiere of a new film festival...more on that later...

Testing out new technology too, in hopes it will afford me the ability to post within the day or even hours of each adventure.  Expect little notes and thoughts the next few weeks as I test reliability and functionality.

Good times ahead!

the miracle of flight

just when i begin to forget what an amazing feat it is to be able to fly in a souped up tin can i have a flight that reminds me. 

i suppose it is the ease of the entire experience that lured me into this less appreciative state. all it takes is bit of money and some form of ID and with those i can punch a few buttons and purchase a ticket almost anywhere. arriving within 40 minutes of the departure, i pick up my boarding pass, breeze through security which included a “shoe check” which oddly was determined by the body scanner while my shoes were going through the x-ray (ok not so odd really, it’s all in the numbers), and i am at my gate with 32 minutes to departure. boarding is quick and there are many options for the storage of my backpack…possibly linked to the scare tactics now used by airlines who “do not ensure there will be room for the storage of every passenger’s carry on bag” leading many to check their airline approved black rolling bags. i wonder, are there more mix ups now that there are more black bags on the checked bag conveyor belt? oooohh i saw a neon green sticker on one of these bags which said, “this is NOT your black bag!” too bad it was just a sticker, i fear it will come off once thrown amongst all the other black bags. or what’s to stop a bag handler from pulling that off and slapping it on another black bag just for a laugh? it makes me laugh to think about it so it could happen.

but i digress.

the flight has wifi, dim lights, passengers utilizing Apple products, and a lovely view. i finish the earlier posting, and enjoy a cup of tea. i might as well be at a coffee shop. but there are two indicators- the close contact with my neighbors and the ability to glance at a navigation screen that offers all sorts of fabulous information about our route (height, speed, and the outside temperature). this is flying in 2013. well to be fair this is flying in 2013 on a major airline in a Western country.

and then it happens. turbulence. 

lots of turbulence, for almost an hour. it comes in spurts at first; a bump here a lurch there. then i have to hold my tea and shift my laptop. others put away their food and finish their drinks. some opt to watch a movie which i suspect is to distract as they were quite content with their tablets earlier. it is now i realize i am FLYING. we are overhead, above: families watching tv, children asleep in their beds, blinking streetlights, cool deserts…we are above it all. and we are moving. we aren’t sitting or hovering above, we are passing over. the thrill of flight fills me again. 

turbulence, the great equalizer and a perfect reality check. 

pics from the road

pictures from Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

we shared the road with these big rigs.

 

we had a picnic by this tree. no pics of the fire ants or the poisonous insects we avoided because  well we avoided them! 

as one might expect there are all sorts of interesting things along the road, here an old gas pump, a teepee and a very persistent advertising campaign by Butterfield Station!

i love entry/exit signs from states and countries!

when in Texas????

 dusk at the freeway entrance.

oil rigs, a familiar sight in Texas.

 heavily used race cars...one had zip ties holding the bumper onto the body of the car.

thoughts from above.

A Thai monk once told me: “You know why you like to travel? Everywhere you go, nothing belongs to you. 

When you’re home, you’re weighed down by your possessions.”

this quote seems apropos. i spent the last few days with the First Family (of Scottsdale fame) as they took their show on the road. it was an all girls road trip which included such memorable  events as a picnic with a walk where poisonous insects were avoided, a Children of the Corn detour, wind that could have taken all of Kansas to Oz, a surprising interaction with the border patrol, and touching quotes like “you are the best sister!” 

the road trip ended in Dallas/Ft.Worth, where a temporary home was waiting for the First Family. according to the Miss Sarita (aka the First Daughter) the new house is a castle not a “townhouse” as we told her. we were amused to later find the homes are actually “manors”…we aren’t English so how would we know the difference?!

As the girls anxiously awaited their many items following us on the big orange truck, the Lord of the aforementioned “manor” once again wished for less and proceeded to sell his items on EBay while the movers unloaded the family’s possessions. 

these are the moments i treasure. daily life and times with the First Family. 

Moving, travel, possessions and home- all so intricately intertwined. what to do i wonder? how do you travel AND live with less? or does the amount really matter? what if it isn’t the amount but the value you place on the items you have with and around you? you can have 3 things that weigh you down the same way one can have 20. certainly the higher the amount the more you have to manage but if you care little about those items then potentially you have very little to manage.

I write this now from above Amarillo, 36162 miles above to be exact. we are traveling at 443 mph with only 1198 miles to our arrival point. i would say home but is it? it is where i work, where my career has been, and at times it has been home, but now i am not sure. it would be more appropriate to say it is my base for the moment. i have a home where i sleep, make my meals, and where most of my belongings reside. it is just a space though and i could trade it for another in a heartbeat. truly what keeps me in this particular area is my work. 

home for me is where i am with family, friends or where i am discovering more about the world (and the people in it).  to me, home is  being in the presence of another not for a random dinner but for daily life activities and conversations. dinners are lovely but you are sharing events. we miss out on that happened before the event…it is like talking about destination without knowing about the journey. isn’t the journey the best part?  

and all this rambling brings me back to the quote that started this post- are we so weighed down by possessions and the acts it takes to acquire them, that we miss out on the moments that are seemingly about nothing but truly about everything?

pictures from the road to come. more from the sky- 36178 above ground.

Camino reflections: day one

in the last few months i have been reading books about the Camino, books i avoided prior to my own experience. I recall a momentary thought that it would be sensible to read about the experiences of other pilgrims but it was a brief consideration. the truth is, i did some research and reading online but only for facts and info, i wasn't interested in more. now i know why...i didn't want the thoughts and feelings of others to change my own. i wanted to be fresh and relatively free from expectations. i suppose i only wanted to know 'enough' to feel i was reasonably ready and prepared. i knew i wouldn't ever truly be prepared but i wanted to feel prepared 'enough'. i suppose i also trusted the feeling deep inside that led me to the Camino.

I didn't sleep much the night i arrived in San Jean pied de port, but i didn't expect to, none of us did. the next morning, the first morning on the very first day on the Camino i was a mix of emotions- excitement, anticipation, curiosity, apprehension- i truly had no idea what to expect, other than a long walk over the Pyrenees with probably a mix of rain and snow. so i guess i new 'enough' because that is what i got. and so much more...

about 20 minutes in this was the view, all around beautiful green, light rain and quiet. except for our feet on the pavement for we were walking on a road for a long time. a very slow incline, "into the clouds" someone said.

and then it was mud, i was glad to have my hiking boots because it was slippery. later it was rocks and mud. then boulders. then deep wet leaves atop more mud. it was a good indicator of the path in the coming days and weeks. we sort of had every terrain all rolled into one day. the first day.

 our first stop, real stop because we had taken a few minutes here and there for photos and water. we actually went inside the Refuge Orisson for coffee and a snack. we also got to warm up and dry off...the last time i would be truly dry for 2 days. but i didn't know that so i just enjoyed the coffee and warmth and the second stamp in my credencial.

 as we climbed higher the rain came harder and soon there was wind. then it was as if the rain was coming from all directions. you know that type of rain? i tried to take a photo of the Officer and it came out with rain drops and moisture, it may be one of my favorite photos because i remember that moment so vividly when i see it.

 i learned a lot about the Camino that first day:
-the Camino is whatever it is from moment to moment
-your attitude and perception will carry you through or hold you back
-pilgrims are a diverse group with a shared journey
-you will not know the meaning of an encounter with another pilgrim in the moment...but you will at some point
-pilgrims have died on the Camino and will continue to do so, it isn't just something that happened in Medieval times
-ziplock bags were a brilliant invention
-drying rooms for clothing and boots are a blessing
-everything matters