Holiday Vacation: Anchorage

This last week we've mostly been relaxing and spending time with my family. Today I went to a couple of parks to take photographic advantage of the interesting weather. Within a few minutes of walking out to the new inlet viewing platform at Kincaid I spotted a moose munching on vegetation. I miss Alaska so much. Tempted as I was to walk down the path and get closer, the cold wind was brutal on my exposed ears and I was anxious to get indoors. I took in the view of the Alaska Range to the west and went inside. I talked to one of my ex coworkers for a few minutes and then drove out to Earthquake Park. The view of downtown Anchorage with the Chugach Mountains as a backdrop were stunning, as usual.

Holiday Vacation: LaCrosse Again

This morning I awoke to the first clear skies we've had since our arrival last week. I saw that the sun was going to rise shortly, so Hans had barely stirred by the time I threw on my winter gear and dashed out with the camera. After I had satisfied my itchy shutter finger, the rest of the morning was spent doing a last load of laundry and packing our suitcase for tomorrow. Throughout the day I snapped a few more pictures of the neighboring properties and used the telephoto lens on the birds outside the kitchen window.

Later in the afternoon I went with Hans' mom, sister, and cousin to LaCrosse. We met up with Hans' dad at a bar outside of town where one of his old friends was throwing a party. Hans, his dad, and I stayed the night in town before driving to Minneapolis for our flight to Anchorage.

Holiday Vacation: Christmas

This is the first time I've attended the Christmas Events that Hans' family creatively host when there is a large family gathering. A few days ago Hans' sister and I went a little wild with scraps of felt and made a lively skirt for the tree, which may or may not look like a cross between Santa and the Pope:

On Christmas Eve wonderful smells began to waft around the farm while the turkey cooked in The Fancy New Grill and we spent some time before dinner playing "Guess What's In The Sock". After a short prayer, we had a sumptuous meal (including some interesting Jell-O creations, a repeat from last year), followed by more silly games and a Euchre tournament. At first I was a little disappointed in missing out on the Major Award being offered to the winning team, but overcame those sentiments after seeing it consisted of matching rawhide bikini tops.

Christmas Day we opened presents at the farmhouse and then drove to Hans' aunt and uncle's place in Prairie du Chien. Hans' cousin had made wonderful gourmet pizzas for lunch. She and Hans' aunt had also organized an entire Christmas Olympics, which was really fun and at times very hilarious. No injuries were sustained as far as I know. At the end of the night we all received medals and a round of applause. Afterward, we exchanged gifts (again). Hans and I were surprised by the very thoughtful gifts we received this year. This Christmas has certainly been one of the more memorable ones for me.

Holiday Vacation: Mad Town and Lumberjacks

Yesterday Hans and I traveled to Madison with two of Hans' cousins. Hans' sister wasn't feeling well because of jetlag/finals/cold season, so she stayed behind. We visited another cousin's biochemistry research lab, where he works, and then we went to State Street, near the capital, to do some Christmas shopping.

Looking through the viewfinder of a fisheye lens camera

I found a few gifts for other people and purchased a French press (!) at a neat kitchen store. After following one of the cousins through several very froofie gift shops, the rest of us made a pit stop at a pub while she finished her shopping.

We had an excellent dinner at the Weary Traveler tavern, where they had games for patrons to play with. We played a few rounds of Apples to Apples. It was getting late, so instead of driving back to the house (two hours away), we decided to do a pub crawl and then spend the night at one of the cousin's apartment. We spent a couple of hours at a bar with pool tables and shuffleboard (which everyone really liked). At the end of the night we all picked a spot on the floor (after those who had claimed the few pieces of living room furniture) and kipped for the night.

This morning, after a quick stop for food and coffee, we drove back to the house (grungy and damp from the slushy Madison streets) for showers, toothbrushes, and a bit of rest. In the afternoon more relatives arrived and we sledded for a little while before felling a couple of small property trees for the house (one of which Hans cut through so fast I didn't hardly have time to get the camera ready).
The rest of the evening will be spent catching up over meatballs and finishing the holiday decorations.

Holiday Vacation: Cheezing

Later this week we were supposed to visit Hans' great aunt in La Crosse with his sister, but since another winter storm is predicted, Hans' mom took us today (sans sister, who did not arrive until this evening). I enjoyed the rolling scenery of old farmhouses and harvest remains of cornfields, cut close the the ground and lightly blanketed with a dusting of snow. Along the way we visited a variety of creamery shops in the area (mostly for my benefit, since it is my first time here). For road snacks Hans' mom purchased a bag of fresh, warm, and squeaky cheese curds, which were a welcome treat. Hans and I had fun picking out different types of cheeses at the shops but we were constantly in danger of over indulging.


When we got to La Crosse, we saw the house where Hans' dad grew up and various haunts from his youth. We made a surprise visit to another one of Hans' great aunts (by marriage) with a plate of Christmas goodies. The historic downtown area was pretty, with brightly painted turn-of-the-century brick buildings.

Downtown La Crosse

We stopped at a bakery to pick up some rosettes, a yummy Norwegian Christmas tradition (only made during this time of year). Other customers commented on their fond memories of grandparents to prepared the pretty, sugar-dusted, fried-dough treats. Hans and I were each given one to try, and more were purchased for others back at the house.

After a quick walk and a small lunch, we went to Great-Aunt Rita's (a plate of cookies for her also) and visited for about an hour. She's famous in the family for being a troublemaker and tormentor, and she told us funny stories from her times in Catholic school.

At the end of the day we went to a large grocery store in Onalaska, where I picked up a few gifts and some Thai cooking ingredients that I can't find in Cape. We quickly stopped at the riverfront of La Crosse, where the Rotary Club was holding a fundraiser with extravagant Christmas lights and decorations. As we drove back to the house along the river, a good amount of snow began to fall. The evening ended with a reunion over grilled spiral-cut ham and some experimentation with Galliano.

The fire-breathing dragon

Holiday Vacation: Wisconsin

Yesterday's 8-hour drive from Cape to Ferryville, WI went well. We were thankful that the weather was mild as we crossed from one side of Iowa to the other. Only last week most of the U.S. was hit with a fairly brutal blizzard, but all was calm for our travels. Hopefully the we'll be presented with the same conditions when we return in January. After a happy reunion with Hans' family and a tour of their newly-built farmhouse, we settled in and unpacked.

This morning we went for a walk with Hans' mom and aunt around parts of the farm property where they had been working to remove generations of invasive plants and restore the original prairie savannah habitat. Their property sits on a tall ridge, part of the high bluffs that rise over the Mississippi River Valley. After taking an old logging road back to the house, I was set with pine boughs and flowers (naturally freeze-dried) and made several arrangements to decorate with for Hans' uncle's birthday party, which was to be held in a few hours. With 11 people crowded around their large Amish-made dining table, we had an enjoyable meal followed by a lovely home-made Black Forest cake.

Frozen milkweed

Boo, trying to figure out the best way to get at Bunsen

Our caloric intake was balanced with a walk up the road and some entertaining sled follies. Hans' aunt's lab, Boo, had a grand time chasing sledders downhill, licking the back of their necks as she went. During most of the afternoon a fresh layer of snow fell softly, leaving well-formed flakes that dusted one's hair.

After a tournament of Euchre, we sat down to a chili supper while the men cheered the Packer's game on T.V. We are in Wisconsin, doncha know?

Tomorrow the household will become busier with the arrival of Hans' sister and cousin. I hope to walk more of the property and take more pictures of the winter scenes I've missed during my time in Missouri.

Home Again

I wouldn't say we're jet lagged, but since we've been home we're going to bed by 10:30 pm and waking up before 7 am the next morning without the alarm. The early bedtime is especially odd for Hans, who typically can't sleep before 2 am. I'm not complaining though.

The return was pretty rough. We stayed up all night in the hostel lobby before going to the airport at around 3 am, had to wait for security to open at 5 am, and flew to London at 6 am.

I didn't sleep during the transatlantic flight back to the states, so by the time we landed in Memphis at 7 pm I was pretty tired. Hans managed to drive about 130 miles as I nodded off uncontrollably before he had to stop at a rest area. I crawled into the back seat with the seats folded down and curled up with my travel pillow. Before I knew it Hans was telling me we'd been there 3 hours (it was now midnight). I took over the steering wheel and drove the last hour to Cape, punching my own leg to stay awake.

We picked up Bunsen at the vet the next morning and I think she was as relieved to be home as we were. Monday passed quietly.

I am still working on sifting through all the pictures and will hopefully have an album ready by the end of the week.

Scotland: Last Day

I have posted the pics for the 23rd and 24th. If this post seems a bit brief it is because we are up late killing time in the Edinburgh hostel before we go to the airport. Quite honestly, we're tired. It's time to go home and get back to our lives.

Driving back to Edinburgh

Our vacation is finally at an end. We returned the rental car gladly, put our luggage into storage lockers at the youth hostel we stayed at before, and walked back to the Old City. We passed the day by visiting some museums we’d already been to and some that we hadn’t. At the National Gallery we finished our introduction to the museum with the Scottish gallery.

Prince's Street Gardens and the Royal Mile

Later, we went to The People’s Story, an exhibit dedicated to what life has been like for typical Edinburgh citizens since the 1700s. In between museums we did some window shopping and walked up and down the Royal Mile. It was a beautiful clear and warm day outside, and it was nice just to wander the streets for a few hours. We also went back to the Museum of Scotland until closing time. We each properly stuffed ourselves at dinner since it was going to be our last proper meal in Scotland.

Go, Robot!  My God it's full of stars!

 Pub Time!

Since our first flight does not leave until 6:30 Sunday morning, we cancelled our final stay at the hostel here and have decided to hang out in their 24-hour lobby until we feel like going to the airport, whenever that is.

This is our last official post from Scotland but not the final word.  Thanks to everyone for the feedback on our blog and for being patient during the times internet access was a little difficult for us. We'll be in touch!

Scotland: Glasgow

This morning we drove to Glasgow without much excitement. Finding the hostel was a little interesting but we did not have to drive very far through town to get there. We walked around the University of Glasgow and went to the Royal Botanic Gardens. The grounds are free to visitors but the main attractions are the glass houses which have plant species from around the world. For whatever reason (most likely because most plants had peaked) we found the glass houses to have free admission also.

After looking at the cactuses, palms, ferns, orchids, begonias, and other plants, we went to the Museum of Transportation. There was a really neat exhibit made to replicate the way one of the major streets may have looked in 1920s, complete with a tiny cinema that played Looney Tunes and an old subway platform. There was a very interesting collection of old trams, trains, buses, motorcycles, and cars. The special exhibit was about shipbuilding and the old grand shipyards along the Clyde River. The rest of the afternoon was spend meandering among the streets. I had bought tickets to a play at the Citizen’s Theatre later that evening, so we took the handy (modern-day) subway across town to a large outdoor mall and browsed a few stores before finding an Italian restaurant for dinner.

 

The Harry Potter Ford Anglia

Later, we walked across the river to the theater for a showing of The Pillowman, a very dark comedy about a writer of short stories who is accused committing several child-murders (I said it was dark) that have occurred under similar circumstances as those in his stories. It was very well acted and engaged the audience easily, since the theater was a very small circle of stadium-style benches, creating an intimate atmosphere. Anyone who’s been to Cyrano’s in Anchorage knows what I’m talking about. During one of the intermissions I was talking to Hans and noticed he seemed distracted by something. I asked him what was up and he replied with a quiet “you’ve got big jumblies behind you.” I turned around to notice the very tall replicas of Greek statues. It was a very amusing moment.

Scotland: The Trossachs

Today was our second to last full day of vacation. Since we are off to Glasgow tomorrow, we decided to have one more last day in the countryside. We returned to the Trossachs via the resort town of Aberfoyle. Unfortunately, the weather was still gloomy and I was sad to be driving through the famous area of hills and lochs without being able to see much. After looking through a few brochures we drove a short ways to a trail that goes around Loch Ard.  We meandered about the Loch and took some pictures, not really in a hurry.

Yes, those are squirrels with light sabers and shooting lightning bolts 

 You can take the girl out of Alaska but then end up in a grove of Sitka spruce in Scotland!

That's how the saying goes, right?

Afterward, we went back to Aberfoyle and picked up a few snacks at the grocery. As we were returning to our car parked in the tourist info center lot, I noticed what looked to be a large bird flapping about in front of a large store nearby. I suddenly cried out for Hans to get out of the car and dashed over to see a small display of rescued wild birds. There was a Russian eagle, a Scottish hawk, some other kind of hawk or falcon, a horned owl, and a small barn owl. We arrived just as the caretaker was feeding the non-owls dead baby chickens. The eagle devoured its meal bones and all. The owls would be fed in the evening. After watching them for a while, we noticed a large pen where they’d be giving a sheep-dog demonstration. While there weren’t any sheep to herd, the dog guided a small flock of very nervous ducks about the yard, over bridges and through obstacles.

On the return drive to Stirling we took the scenic route through the Duke’s Pass of Queen Elizabeth National Forest. At this point the skies finally cleared a little and we were able to take some pictures of the excellent scenery I had been hoping to see.

Back at the hostel we did a last load of laundry and started to organize our luggage for the eventual departure back to the USA. Our vacation is quickly coming to an end.