Brigid Travels

Updates from The Road

Idyllwild [2014]

We went to Idyllwild for our 5th Anniversary in August - a cute mountain town with lots of good hiking. It cemented my choice of manzanita as my favorite tree! Restaurants: Gastrognome - yummy asparagus and portobello penne in creme sauce, Nature's Wisdom - ok sandwiches, La Casita - good veggie burritos and veggie tamales, Mile High Cafe - a little out of town, yummy veggie burger and nice salads and great art.

note: a decent number of highly rated restaurants were closed, e.g. Swiss Fondue

Fun place to hang out: Idyll Awhile Wine Bar - they have music on the weekend evenings, and a tasting option which was fun!

Hiking: We did Suicide Rock (~7 miles, on the upper end of difficult just below strenuous) and Ernie Maxwell (~5 miles, moderate). Nice views of the forested vista and mountain peaks, plus both had a decent amount of distance under the canopy of trees so we didn't get too hot. Gorgeous groves of manzanitas.

Walking around town: they have painted deer around town - fun to check out!

New York City [2014]

Steve was camped out for work in NYC, so I decided to come visit and bring him home! We were busy! Museum of Arts and Design, Stanley Jordan at the Iridium, walking in Central Park, drinks at Lillie's, walking the High Line, the Pocket Bar, brunch at Rock Center Cafe, the view at the Top of the Rock, St Patrick's Cathedral, Grand Central Station, the Museum of Biblical Arts, dinner at Turkish Cuisine.

High School Graduations [2014]

Steve and I headed back east to go to Jay's graduation from Salesianum in Wilmington, DE followed by a road trip with Mom, Kristen, Kathy, Julie and Jay to Ben's from Nashoba at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA. In between, we made tons of cookies, saw Danielle in the ballet and stopped in Connecticut to visit with Anette and do some headstone searching for Parsons. Found lots of the name, just none I can track back to our branch.

Steamboat Springs - Day 5 [2014]

Started off with another fantastic meal at Winona's, this time breakfast. Highly recommended. The we wandered a bit, got a belt at a cool store - Urbane. Then we were off to Fish Creek Falls for a hike! The trail was hard packed snow, if you stepped off the trodden path you go down a foot or so into soft powder. The falls were completely iced over! So Steve did not hike just to the base of the falls (which is where I stopped) but went halfway up the falls' icy face! It is magical with powdery mounds over tinkling ice streams.

Picked up a few groceries and we are home for the evening, probably check out more Olympic coverage :)

Steamboat Springs - Days 2-4 [2014]

Sunday we drove into town in time to see the end of the Winter Carnival on the main street that was covered in snow, in addition to it snowing. Kids going over jumps on skis pulled by horses, guys 'riding' shovels pulled by horses and a small town parade with high school marching band on skis/snowshoes, local businesses in wagons pulled by horses or snowcats, pulling people on skis hanging onto ropes! Very unique and fun to watch!!

Afterwards we waited to get lunch at Winona's. Fabulous, definitely worth the wait. The we headed over to Howelson Hill to watch the last 2 rounds of ski jumpers! I was lukewarm on standing in the cold to watch, but I'm glad we did - very fun to watch, and seem like a great group of guys that really support each other.

Grocery shopping rounded out our afternoon. That night we headed to Mc Knight's Irish Pub for dinner. Yummy - great celery root/fennel soup, grilled veggie sandwich, mac & cheese. Oh, and Guinness, of course!

That night the tv and Internet and hot water heater all were out. Not thrilled with this place. But it's not terrible.

Monday we hit the mountain. Powder!!!! It was really snowing pretty much all day, so the visibility was very poor - it was hard to see whether the run was smooth or choppy, shallow or steep... So I got tired pretty fast.

We stuck to the right side of Steamboat, where it was impossible to get lost, or wander onto a double black run. Lunch on the mountain was baked potatoes with veggie chili at the Rendezvous Saddle. Good stuff.

That night we stayed home and cooked and watched Olympic coverage. We found out that Steve's cousins decided not to come - they were going to drive from CA and the roads were just too treacherous. So they went to Lake Tahoe instead where there have been a few big dumps of snow, finally.

Tuesday we shuttled to the mountain and in the morning it was overcast and a bit snowy but there were patches of sun mid day - just a fantastic long day of boarding :) Powder or corduroy and fun tree runs for Steve to get stuck in! Quick lunch was had at Rendezvous Saddle when I tried the portobello sandwich - also very good!

That night we went out to grab some Mexican. By this time it was snowing pretty hard again. Ended up at the Cantina. Pretty good food, no complaints on the margaritas!

Today we will take a break from snowboarding. My legs are feeling it, and I want to be able to hit the mountain Thursday and Friday! It's supposed to snow pretty steadily on the mountain through Friday, so visibility will probably be a challenge. But it will be a blast :) and it is so gorgeous!!

Steamboat Springs - Days 1 & 2 [2014]

We had a bit of an adventure getting here - we had booked a flight starting in the tiny airport near our house, CLD, and they canceled the flight to LAX. So we were driven up, luckily he had a van as we had snowboards!

Got up there with ease - an accomplishment considering how the traffic can be! - and hung out in the United lounge til the flight. Posh! Now I get why people like to be members!! Flight to DEN uneventful. Oh, Steve beat me at cribbage :)

After a 45 minute wait for luggage and 40 minute bus/wait for the car we were on the road. The car guy said good luck getting to Steamboat - it will take you. 6 hours because it is snowing!!! Ugh.

The I-70 wasn't bad, tho it was a parking lot going east. The 9 at Silverthorne was ok, a bit of snow and ice but not terrible. The last 60 mile on US40 was very slow and slippery - all either hard packed snow or ice. Saw a number of cars that slid off the road into snow banks (all were being helped out). Oh, and did I mention there was a blizzard going on? Steve did a fantastic job driving, especially considering he didn't grow up in snow.

Finally got here, checked in, popped in a Mexican restaurant 2 minutes before the kitchen closed (yummy!) and collapsed.

Still snowing, and expected to continue through tomorrow afternoon. Good news for snowboarding but not good news for Steve's cousins that were going to join us, driving from Sacramento. TBD whether they will risk the trek.

Today we will get our bearings, explore the town and grocery shop!

Maui - 2/1 [2014]

Happy St Brigid's Day! My patron saint, who turned bath water to beer :)

This morning Danielle and I did a 5k starting at 7am, the Run/Walk for the Whales, starting at Ma'alaea Harbor and up/ on Kihei Road a bit. Lovely, with just a bit of rain. And we spotted some whales out in the bay!

Now resting up before heading to another whale watching raft adventure!

On a sad note, a brother from my college fraternity, Delta Sigma chapter of Sigma Nu, died yesterday from complications of liver and pancreatic cancer. So sad. So young. Bob "Klump" Klemm was so much larger than life, absolutely hilarious and a proud West Virginian. Haven't seen him in a number of years, but he will be missed. I'm so glad to be in touch with my frat brothers and little sisters via Facebook.

Later...

Unfortunately we were not able to go whale watching today :( the waves were too rough so all boats were canceled. We came back and walked down to Black Rock to see if we could snorkel. We couldn't. We would have been battered against the lava rock!

Since it was choppy and there were lots of whitecaps, it was hard to spot whales from shore, too. And then the deluge started again. So plans have been frustrated today but it still was a lovely day.

Maui - first few days [2014]

We arrived Monday afternoon and headed to Costco and Safeway to pick up Mai Tai fixins (POM juice + dark rum) and some food to keep us going this week. It was raining. On the drive to Ka'anapali we saw some whale spouts and flipper slaps :) Very cool. We just chilled that night in the room.

The next day, Tuesday, it was still raining and we headed down to the Maui Ocean Center. Very cool place! Highlights were the feeding the sharks and rays, when we got to see a ray's underbelly :) and an amazing iridescent display of jellyfish.

Wednesday we got up at 5:30 in the pouring rain to get on a whale watching raft at 6:45, just as the sun came up. It rained off and on, but the highlight was seeing a "flying pickle" - a baby whale repeatedly trying to breach :) so cute! Afterwards, we headed up to a place recommended by a local as the best breakfast on the island - the Sea House. Wonderful!!! They had lots of dishes with local ingredients, affordable, right on the sand... Amazing.

Afterward, we drove up to the north shore to see what was up with the waves. It was still raining, waves were probably 5' or so - big but not jigundous. We stopped at Hololua Bay and chatted with a local surfer/filmmaker under the palm frond palapa which protected us from the rain. But the surfers down below didn't have it so good. Half of them were in the "chocolate milk" aka "poo water". That's a technical term. But it was cool.

We got back to the room, changed, and headed to Black Rock for some snorkeling. We were afraid we would be wading into the "poo water" but it was pretty darn clear. Saw tons of fish :) we had dinner in the room, spotted a few whales and hit the hay early. An exhausting but fantastic day.

Thursday we went to Black Rock again and this time spotted our quarry - turtles! And tons of fish. Wandered around Whalers Village a bit and headed back to the room, then yummy lunch at Paiololo - juicy burger for Danielle, taro burger for me. Plus accompanying tropical adult beverages, of course. Really good. Next we hung on the beach to see the whales spouting and jumping. They do put on quite a show, though they are pretty far out there! Just after sunset we joined a Hawaiian navigator-in-training who talked about how Hawaiians, and Polynesians in general, navigate in their outrigger or double-hulled canoes. Very cool. And the stars were out so it was amazing to identify constellations and learn about how they rise and set and how to use them. The concept is a non-magnetic compass. That was a 'late' night, getting to bed about 9pm! We are party animals!!

Friday was a relaxing day. We took a walk in the morning and browsed the local artisans tent shops that popped up overnight. Then Danielle prepared for and aced an interview while I did some therapy, journaling about the rough assignment this fall - Exploring Engagement. I think I have purged it for the most part :) Later we headed down to Ma'alaea Harbor to pick up race packets and T-shirts for Saturday's 5k. It took us 1.5 hours to go the 20 or so miles!! Because there were so many whales out, people were going like 5 mph. Tiring. After we got home we napped in anticipation of a night out. We went to Lahaina and had some great pizza at Lahaina Pizza Co and grabbed some gelato (lavender for me, chocolate sea salt for Danielle) and wandered the shops. Truly a late night - didn't get to bed til 10!

Lake Tahoe - Alabama Hills - Trona [2014]

There wasn't much snow in Tahoe, but it was still fun. On the drive home we stopped overnight in Lone Pine, staying at the Dow Villa Motel, so we could explore the Alabama Hills and take a gander at Trona and the Pinnacles.

Panama Canal - Facebook pics [2013]

Here's a link to the 120ish pics I posted on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10201175487846382.1073741825.1145839372&type=1&l=d36804f6d8

pulling into los angeles [2013]

its 6am and we are pulling into our disembarkation port.

it was supposed to be 8am so i wonder if they will let us off early. need to pick up our rental and figure out where to go to church before heading home to see yin yang and the rest of the family this afternoon.

it's been a wonderful trip. i'll do another post later with thoughts on the cruising experience in general. it has been so wonderful to spend two whole weeks with mom and gert. and share such adventures :)

yesterday was a sea day and our last progressive trivia session - we didn't come close to winning but learned so much and had a blast.

our progressive trivia team – Team YinYang!

yesterday was also a final art event. i've been a bit of an art auction junkie... but only ended up with the piece i won in a raffle. some of those peter max paintings were calling out...

Cheers to Dad on His birthday!!

and last night was a show where lots of the staff was brought on stage for a thank you... the housekeeping staff all had towel animals in their hands! so cute!! we had collected an adorable menagerie but they were all taken this afternoon so i suspect some of ours were in their arms.

off to do the final pack and have the final breakfast!

leaving cabo san lucas... [2013]

had a lovely day today - boat ride to the famous arch then bus to a spot where the view was spectacular. shopping followed, then steve and i got a margarita at senor frogs (complete with balloon headgear) while mom and gert headed back to the ship.

tomorrow is a sea day and then its all over :(

puerto vallarta [2013]

just about to leave port... mom and gert did a city tour that looked really interesting. steve and i did a boat to snorkel to kayak to great margaritas and lots of boobies (the blue footed bird, get your mind out of the gutter) .

the water was pretty murky and there were tons of snorkelers on the marietas islands but it was sill an amazing spot. and steve said when he dove down 6 feet or so he saw rays and other great fish. i cant dive that deep with the snorkel plus the required life jacket tethered to my wrist.

but it was a woderful excursion and the staff was incredible - doing a big gangham style number as well as a kiss number. they put themselves out there!

i didn't realize puerto vallarta was so big. our excursion was the whole day so we didn't get to see the town.

pushing off ! we did see a few dolphins and a momma and baby whale earlier :)

tomorrow is cabo san lucas. no plans yet...

just 3 more days !

in huatulco [2013]

great 3g signal here on my kindle! there was none in puntarenas and it was flaky in chiapas. puerto chiapas was very small, so if you didn't go on an excursion the only place to go is the port center which is built like a huge thatched roof hut with shops all the way around the outer edge and a pit in the middle where they had dancers in local costume all day - very sweet. they all gathered on the dock to sing, dance and hoot us away, telling us they love us and to come back. tourism is a pretty new thing to the area and we got the impression that they are still getting their bearings. but it was nice.

we had a great dinner last night at the summer palace dining room, which takes its decorating inspiration from czar nicholas's summer place (st petersburg?). and then mom and gert came to see our room. we all agreed that the few dozen extra square feet in their cabin makes a big difference.

this morning steve and i got up as we were pulling into port and dawn was breaking. then off to the 7:30 stretch class, followed by me on the rowing machine and a walk while steve worked on the elliptical. followed by breakfast where we have discovered muesli! yummy.

and now we are going to go into town and explore. looks like a nice beach :) must lather up with suscreen first!

more costa rica [2013]

so we took a bus ride around probably every street in the little hamlet of puntarena and headed out to a 50 year old train which we took through the backyards of some very happy but very poor costa ricans. lots of houses made from random pieces of corrugated steel and foundations of tires packed with dirt.

the area has lots of agriculture, and there were lots of fields whose cantaloupe had recently been harvested. the ones that were too big or too small for the packing boxes were left in the fields where some people got them or more likely the brahman cows enjoyed them. the train was very cool - wood paneling throughout and open windows you could alternately lean out of or get whipped by a passing branch!

the bus met us about 40 minutes later and took us to the boating portion. we got in small flat bottom boats, probably 30 or so people, 4 across. we cruised around in the lower part of a river and saw egrets and a bunch of other cool birds (to be listed later) and also crocodiles!

the boat driver would approach a shoal where there was a croc and get out onto the shoal with some raw chicken(!) he slapped the chicken on the surface of the water until the croc was interested and then held it up so the croc would snap at it just as we were snapping our pictures! very fun yet scary. the drivers and the croc obviously know each other well.

afterwards they had fresh pineapple, watermelon, and i think papaya with out of this world mango juice.

we were a bit late getting back to the boat but they waited for us. yesterday was a sea day. relaxing. i went to the art auction and won a bottle of champagne for being enthusiastic and also won a raffle. very productive considering i was mostly there just to look and enjoy free champagne. afterwards we all played trivia as we do each sea day. team is yin yang.

pushin off

a little longer if the signal holds out... [2013]

we had a fabulous day at sea after the panama canal day, recovering from a long and fascinating day in the sun.

the next day was costa rica. steve and i did a ziplining adventure first thing in the morning - very fun! there were 9 lines including one very long and very fast one that required squealing (at least i thought so).

afterwards we stopped at a souvenier shop and i may have picked up a shotglass for someone... they had fresh pineapple, papaya and watermelon, and some great juice and coffee. lovely. we got back to the boat about noon and waited under a canopy enjoying cold orange juice and water supplied by the cruise line and heat and humidity supplied by mother nature - both about 80.

mom and gert emerged about 12:45 and we were off to the bus, train, bus, boat, bus to cruise ship adventure.

in mexico [2013]

flaky internet so i'll do one quick then hope for one longer. having a great time. love love loved costa rica.

now in puerto chiapas.

tomorrow is huatulco where there should be a great beach. all having fun and getting alot of walking in. and cribbage!

Panama Canal Transit YouTube Videos [2013]

The 18 short videos (a total of 10 minutes) will play in order via this playlist!

And here is the official site for the Panama Canal

still in transit! [2013]

we are now in the pedro miguel lock. we have been tooling through gatun lake all day, and the culebra cut.

we all got tons of sun and boy is it hot!

but very cool to see the construction activities that continue to go on... dredging mostly.

mom got a spot on deck 13 at the front of the boat and we went up to the 14th where the glass only goes up half way.

but now we are in the room as that is the best spot to watch the lock goings on. we are lucky that all the action is on our side of the boat!

on the other side of the lake it took us 3 locks in a single set to lift the boat from sea level to the level of the lake. on the pacific side we go through this single lock first to bring us down to the level of a small lake, then across to the mira flores set of 2 locks. and then we will be in the pacific!

the engineering is flabbergasting here. so simple yet solving such hard problems. brilliant.

suffice to say there will be an overabundance of pictures.

tonight and tomorrow we are out at sea. next check in should be in puntarenas costa rica where steve and i will zipline in the morning and all 4 of us do a train, bus and boat tour that should be wonderful. hope all is well in the world!

in it [2013]

so we have gone about 6 miles from the breakwater to the first lock. we will be traveling in the west set of locks (currently have two and are working on a third, expected to be completed in 2015). it is the norwegian sun ahead of us. they will be using the east set of locks.

now the deck is positively swarming with people. unfortunately i'm not with steve or mom or gert - hopefully they are watching!

we go through the first set of locks, gatun, and then enter a lake to other locks. a few panama canal folks have boarded the boat - they take control of the boat while we are in the canal.

boats go from pacific to atlantic early in the morning and so we are all going atlantic to pacific - so we can take turns in the one way section of the canal, the culebra cut.

the gates of the first lock have opened for the sun. there are cargo ships in the upper locks on both sides.

wow. people are three deep behind me and i'm at the top of stairs!

i think i'll go to the cabin and see if i can hook up with steve. we are so close to the gates i can't really see much...