It’s been a while

We’ve been a little preoccupied since we got back from the Galapagos.  Here’s why:

Her name is Alice, and she was born February 17, 2011, at 12:52 am.  She was 6 lbs 7 oz and 20.5 inches.  She’s totally healthy – a great eater and good sleeper (so far anyway).  And we are totally in love.

Our photographer, Joy Lyn Photography, posted a few more on her blog.

Back from the Galapagos Islands

We just got back from the trip of a lifetime Monday evening.  Here’s my brief overview:

The preamble:  None of our usual travel companions joined us (we almost always travel with friends). This trip ended up costing a lot more than we planned due to the volcano issue (new plane tickets booked last minute, hotel, cab, food). The Celebrity Xpedition desk people were really rude to us and misinformed. We missed the pre-cruise city tour in Quito. We got sick with colds. My husband got seasick. On the last excursion, I slid on loose gravel, scraping my leg and breaking my camera (Nikon D90; don’t worry – I have insurance for it). This was by far the worst luck we’ve ever had on a trip, including our trip to Mexico that got canceled last year due to swine flu.

The verdict : It was the most amazing thing we’ve ever done, and I have serious doubts that any other trip for the rest of our lives will come close to competing with it.

• I got stepped on by a baby sea lion when getting off the panga (small boat used to tender between the ship and shore) for the first excursion.
• A penguin bumped into my leg repeatedly.
• A snake curled around the edge of my husband”s shoe. (Thank goodness I missed this particular moment – I shrieked when I came upon the snake a couple minutes later.)
• We saw blue footed boobies dancing and nesting – they even showed us their eggs.
• We saw waved albatrosses flying (amazing – 7.5 foot wingspan), landing (hilarious), and nesting (saw eggs).
• We saw a giant dude tortoise humping a chick tortoise and groaning. haha
• We snorkeled with sea lions, sea turtles, penguins, sharks, rays, and loads of fish.
• We saw a huge number of swimming iguanas (these are the only marine iguanas in the world, and they only take to the water at certain times of day).
• We made new friends, who I miss already.

It was the trip of a lifetime, well worth every penny and bit of hassle. Sure, I wish it would’ve been cheaper and easier, but the point is that it was hugely expensive, we had a lot of problems, and it was STILL amazing.  If you have ever considered visiting these islands but hesitated due to cost or whatever, quit hesitating – book now!

Pictures and more info to come.

Destination: Tallinn, Estonia

You know what’s totally adorable and nearly unheard of in the area?  Estonia.  It has a population of just over 1.3 million, so that’s fewer people than in the Triangle.  Since it’s in Europe and snuggled up to Russia, there’s no doubt that it’s adorable.  Tallinn was a super cute, and seemingly pretty well off, walled town.

We hopped off the boat in Tallinn, and made our way through a little booths.  We spotted a couple sheep in a pen there.  At first we thought it was strange.  Then we realized that not only were they cute, but they were also super friendly!  The ram pawed at the fence, rubbed his horns on the fence, and batted his eyelashes at people trying to get everyone to pet and treat him.

We had Rick Steves’ Scandinavia, so we were prepared to hit the top spots.  Um… If you’re also working from this book, you’ll want to pick up another tourist map.  It was a little tough to follow.  That said, it definitely gave us a good overview of what to see.

We started at Fat Margaret, one of the best known towers.  We wound our way through the town and found our way to St. Olaf’s church.  This church was first constructed in the 12th century as “the center for old Tallinn’s Scandinavian community prior to the conquest of Tallinn by Denmark in 1219.”  Between 1549 and 1625, this was the tallest church in the world.  It’s life continues today as a Baptist church.

NC Eatin’: Rutherford County

Friday, November 13, 2009

Genny’s Family Restaurant
451 Main Street
Chimney Rock, NC

Having hit Waynesville the day before, Dad and I thought we should find another nearby, cute town for lunch on Friday.  I looked at a county map, picked Rutherford County, and figured out that we ought to go to Chimney Rock.  It’s a pretty, easy drive from Asheville, and we already knew there were cute stores and cafes by the gate into the Chimney Rock State Park.

We took my parents’ dog with us, so we found a place on Main Street that allowed dogs in their outside eating area.  Actually, I think Genny’s was the only one.  It has a couple tables in a fenced in area for people with dogs.  I was actually surprised it was the only place set up for dogs since dogs are welcome in the park and the best way to lunch is to sit outside by the river.  Anyway, we got settled in, placed our order with a friendly waitress, and listened to the river while we waited.

Our food took a little while, especially considering the place wasn’t that busy and we didn’t order anything complicated.  I got a hamburger, fries, and a biscuit, and Dad got breakfast.  It wasn’t particularly special, but it was good.  I’d go again.

You’ll notice that the dog isn’t in the picture.  She apparently decided that the sound of the camera freaker her out that day.  lol  After lunch, we took a stroll along the river.  There’s a very short little path there that has a nice view of Chimney Rock.

And I snagged my county sign pic on the way home.

NC Eatin’: Haywood County

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Panacea Coffee House Cafe
66 Commerce Street
Waynesville, NC 28786-5738

While visiting my parents in Asheville, I talked my dad into visiting Haywood County for lunch with me.  We decided we’d visit Waynesville, which is Haywood County’s county seat.  The downtown area is adorable, with plenty of cute shops and cafes to keep anyone entertained for an afternoon.  History buffs will appreciate that the last shot of the Civil War was fired in nearby White Sulphur Springs on May 6, 1865.  A surrender was negotiated in Waynesville the next day once everyone learned of the surrender of Generals Lee and Johnston.

After a little poking around online, I decided Panacea would be perfect.  My dad doesn’t enjoy a big lunch, so I figured a soup and sandwich place would hit the spot.  Plus it sounded cute and like the soup and sandwiches wouldn’t be too standard.  After we ordered, Dad decided it’d be fun to sit in the comfy chairs, so that’s exactly what we did.  To start, we enjoyed the brown sugar baked brie.  Talk about a party in my mouth!  My dad is hilarious.  I asked him if he’d share it with me, and he said he didn’t like brie.  Um…  I had to fight him for it.  Our soup and sandwiches arrived right as we were finishing the brie.  We both had the Joe Schmoe, which is oven roasted turkey, white cheddar, raspberry chipotle sauce, and lettuce on country wheat.  I thought it was fantastic, but Dad thought the chipotle was a little too spicy.  We also both got the pumpkin gorgonzola soup, which was incredible.  It’s definitely some of the best soup I’ve ever had.  Dad thought it was strange but good.

NC Eatin’: Davie County

Sunday, August 2, 2009
Gaither Street Cafe
155 Gaither St
Mocksville, NC 27028

My husband and I went to Asheville to visit family for the weekend, and we took the chance to swing by Mocksville for some lunch on our way home.  Mocksville is Davie County’s county seat and had a population of just over 4,000 at the 2000 census.  American pioneer Daniel Boon lived nearby when he was young.

The downtown area is pretty cute, but be warned that basically nothing is open for lunch on Sunday.  We were glad to find Gaither Street Cafe welcoming customers a little after noon.  The menu isn’t particularly extensive, but you’ll find something you like if you like American food.  I had a very tasty grilled cheese sandwich with applesauce that tasted straight out of a jar but good.  Jason had breakfast food and was satisfied.  The service was good, and the other customers seemed to be friendly.  It seemed like a good after church meeting spot, though I’d love to see how jumping the place gets on prime rib night.

NC Eatin’: Hoke County

Saturday, July 18, 2009
Aviator’s Grill & Pub
155 Airport Dr
Raeford, NC 28376

This was one of the scariest days of my life.   While I was trying to come up with something special to do for his 30th birthday, I thought, “Oh, gee, wouldn’t it be cool if he could do something off his bucket list?  He’s always wanted to skydive!”  I researched it, and found Raeford Parachute Center in Raeford, NC.  Perfect!  Not only could we check something off Jason’s bucket list, but we could also hit another county!  (Side note – like our shirts?)

We invited about 50 people to a party at our house for Saturday evening, and they were also invited to join us for skydiving.  Six of them ended up taking us up on the offer.  We were advised that we had a noon slot for the class and jump, which, given the 2 hour timeframe they gave us, would’ve been just perfect.  We could eat a late breakfast, drive out, train, jump, grab some lunch, head home, and have a couple hours before the party.  And it would have been perfect if it had turned out that way.  Unfortunately you cannot take RPC at their word when they tell you your group can get through the whole thing in 2 hours unless your group is only 2 people.  I’m not sure why they didn’t tell me that when I asked as we would have taken an earlier slot.  We ended up there for 5 hours.  Ugh!  That said, they were really great.  Very safe and fun.  I’d definitely recommend them with the caveat that you should prepared for it to take a loooong time.  So here’s how it went:

TTT: Take a photography class

My travel tip for you this Tuesday: if you’re going on a trip of a lifetime (in my opinion all trips are trips of a lifetime, but that’s another topic) and you love capturing your memories in photographs, you should absolutely consider taking a photography class.  Last night I took the last of my basic DSLR photography classes at Wake Tech.  I learned a lot about photography and even some about Photoshop.

For the last class, we were each supposed to bring in 24 pictures that we’ve taken, preferably while we were in the class but we could bring in older pics since we didn’t get to do the field trips due to cold weather.  I was really proud of my pictures, and I’d like to share a few this you.

Here’s the Sri Venkateswara Temple (Cary, North Carolina) – first with polarizing filter, then using silly fish eye adapter:

Here are some moon pictures taken in Morrisville using various white balance settings to make it more interesting:

Destination: St. Petersburg

Sorry it’s been a while.  Our final deposit for the Galapagos cruise is coming up, and I’m afraid we’re going to have to cancel since I still don’t have a job.  I’ve been really bummed about canceling a trip that I’ve been dreaming about for 10+ years and even more bummed with the thought that, once I cancel that, we’ll have no trips for me to plan and look forward to.  Fortunately, my wonderful husband has agreed that a super cheap vacay might not cripple us after all, so we’re going to cross our fingers until the payment is due and then, if we have to cancel, we’ll figure out something else.  Anyway, on to the point of the post.  Back in December, I shared the details of the first three stops on our Baltic cruise in September – Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Helsinki.  Since I’m going in order, I now have to address the crown jewel of the trip , St. Petersburg.

First of all, let me gush.  St. Petersburg is now officially one of my fave cities I’ve ever been to.  It has the beauty of Paris and Prague, palaces that kick Versailles’ butt, and a museum that makes the Louvre look like a snooze fest (okay, this is totally coming from an Impressionist lover, so keep in mind that my feelings on museums are *very* biased; also remember that the Hermitage has 3 mil+ works of art and the Louvre has less than 40k).  Plus the food is better than Germany and the people are fascinating.  Be warned though – this place is pricey to visit if you want to see a lot in a short amount of time and actually understand what you’re seeing.  Translation: You’ll want a private guide.

News: Free WiFi with coupon codes

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Gogo Inflight Free WiFi Coupon Codes [My Money Blog via Gizmodo]
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Hope your holiday flights go smoothly and without delay!

Source: LifeHacker