Exit strategies

Last year I finally figured out that these were cicada exit holes. (I had mentally accused my husband... Derp.)

This was roughly the same spot where Jasmine discovered a digging armadillo at exactly 3:30 this morning. After the excitement was over, she was extremely messy but very proud of herself. Ick, but cleanup will have to wait til hubby gets home. The last time I tried washing her by myself (after the cow poop incident) it was... disagreeable.

But the extra-fun part was afterwards. We headed back to bed, only to find the bedroom door locked. Or actually, broken. A strict parakeet-protecting closed-door policy made me shut it on the way out.

Force of habit. I was still half asleep. Not my fault it decided to break, anyway. Sadly, the person who closed the door for no apparent reason usually gets the blame in these situations.

Luckily though, hubby excels at middle-of-the-night repairs.

I can see clearly now - a trip to Rapid City

Well, we finally decided to have the windshield on the Tracker replaced today. That chewed up the morning and part of the afternoon and there was a chance of showers and temps in the 80's so we decided to head to Rapid City to get some shopping done and a little sight seeing.

As we pass thru Hill City there are 2 horses running down the middle of the roadThey were running in and out of traffic so I called 911. Eventually some people were able to herd them out of the highway and down a dirt road

Since it is 90's in Rapid we start out at the Journey Museum and museumcovering the history of the Black Hills from the day of theDinosaurs to the present day






They have a large Indian artifact section

The TeePee has a Hologram old Indian woman to tellsstories of the Lakota Tribe



Main Street Rapid City in the Historic District has a statue of each of the Presidents of the United StatesGary in a deep conversation with Van Buren

Me with Woodrow Wilson - I've been told that we're related - can you see the resemblance?

We also visit the school of geology and their free geology museum

and Dinosaur Park

We end the day with Dinner at Sanfords - Home of the $1.00 beer. The place is really cool and the food was great. I had an open face grilled chicken sandwich smothered with green chili, nacho cheese and Frito's - Yum!

Oh No! Look who drove in! That dastardly Jack!



Till Later,

Meanwhile we keep on Trek'n

Melissa & Gary

Beach Life in Votsalakia, Samos Island

Greetings from the Greek Island of Samos!



There’s so much to tell but let me first update about what we do best at the moment: Beaching (and laying by the pool as well) and doing nothing. Below is a quick peek into our temporary beach life.



To the beach







This is the pathway from our apartment in Kambos leading to the Votsalakia beach.



Our apartment, which merits a separate post, is just a 3-minute walk to the beach. We have a beautiful view of the island’s highest summit and the olive tree pasture that nestles under the mountain from our bedroom balcony.




Light lunch at Chesters















Greek Salad, warm Pita bread (this bread was soooooooo good) and iced coffee. They also have nice music here. Lounge jazz and flashback to the 80's.



Beaching...



Chesters have one of the nice beach areas with sunbeds and parasols. If you eat here at Chesters you get to use the sunbed and parasol for free =)

















After 3 days of doing nothing, we will finally explore the island. Tomorrow, Dutchman and I are renting a scooter.

Castle

This is a really nice photo that my sister took when she and my niece went to Disney World over Christmas. My niece was promised the trip when she graduated from from college which in her case is acutully a univeristy. They went in December rather than in the summer when it is so hot in Florida.

Another Bumble

Sun Rise and Time Change

Took these photos of the sun rise the morning after the time change for spring. Spring Forward and loose an hour. Do wish the goverment would set the time to one or the other times and leave it alone instead of this spring forward and fall back an hour ever six months.

In Copenhagen: a Dane asked me what is ‘happiness’?

Trivia: Did you know that the Danes are the happiest people in the world? Use google please for more info =)

It was a sunny day in Copenhagen with sporadic passing clouds. I wanted to enjoy my afternoon in the city with a glass of wine while people watching, something that is always in my agenda when I am travelling. Luckily, I found an available table at the outdoor terrace of the strategically located ‘Café du Norden’ on Stroget and Kongens Nytorv (the Kings New Square). Here, I met Bj.

That is Bj at my back before we actually met and had a chat.

I always carry my little black notebook with me and my Montblanc pen.

Bj is in his 50’s, lives in Copenhagen and works in the finance industry. He is married and has a daughter. He’s basically spending his afternoon chilling out with a beer in the city while his wife and daughter went to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, a unique open-air museum located by Oresund, about 42 kilometres north from the capital city. It is the same museum that I wanted to visit that same day, however, I wasn’t feeling very well so I decided to stay in Copenhagen instead.

We didn’t really talk about the Danish being the happiest people in the world or Denmark being the happiest country. We talked about Copenhagen and what brought me to the city. Then we further talked about travel. We talked about our jobs. We even talked about Christiania. Our discussion went deeper and we talked about life. About happiness.

Different people have different thoughts about what happiness is and what it means to them.

He asked me, ‘So, what is happiness to you?’

To me, happiness is relative. It is something of personal nature. The character, the personality, the person’s personal circumstances and the stage in life this person is in, will determine how that person will view and understand happiness.

Happiness to a 16 year old is different to someone who just recently graduated from university. Moreover, someone who is between 25 and 30 years old, who thinks he or she can conquer the world, will have a different view of happiness compared to a person in his or her mid to late 30’s who have other factors in life to consider, i.e. children, a more stable job, etcetera. When we reach our 40’s, our take on happiness will be different as well—I know this personally because I am at this stage currently. I am sure that reaching our 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, another state of happiness will enter into the picture.

With that, I believe that happiness is a state of achieving contentment, which is a continuous and evolving process throughout the stages of our lives.

If I look back at what made me happy before, it humbles me big time. I have gone so far in life. So I try to hold on to these snippets of my bygone days to keep my feet firmly on the ground. I try to be grateful each day and to always go back to the basics.

I can honestly say that I have gone past the material happiness stuff. I do not anymore feel the nagging need to constantly prove myself, to be accepted by others, to be number 1 at work and to be the best at whatever situations and circumstances I find myself in. Importantly, I have learned that happiness is something that we ultimately can control and can decide.

Right now, what makes me happy are my travels-discovering the world and being with the Dutchman.

Another picture of me and Bj before we actually had the chat.

View on Kongens Nytorv, the Kings New Square.

The afternoon went fast and before we knew it Bj and I have to part ways. His family will be home anytime soon and they are expecting him for dinner while I am faced at the challenge of finding a restaurant.

I thanked Bj for his time and for the thought-provoking discussion we shared.

Now it’s my turn to ask you—What is happiness to you? What will honestly, at this very moment, make you happy? Will you go for it?

I've never seen anything quite like these...

Photos taken June 1, .. in Park City, Utah

Northward Bound

Tuesday, April 19th - - After four lovely days of visiting friends in northeast Louisiana, I headed north on Sunday morning (April 17th). My goal was to get back to Indiana without traveling on Interstate Highways at all and to avoid four-lane highways as much as possible. That I have done thus far but I'm only halfway there!



I stopped at the Civil War Interpretive Center in Corinth yesterday (a post is forthcoming on that visit). Last night I stayed at this beautiful State Park in Mississippi – the Natchez Trace Parkway runs through it – and got on the Parkway this morning.





My campsite alongside the lake at Tishomingo State Park in northeast Mississippi.



The sun had been hidden by heavy clouds all day but showed itself for a few minutes late in the evening.







I just love the “green” all around. Delightful. And easy on the eyes.

Another Beautiful Day!

Thursday morning (August 19th) brought another day of beautiful sunshine! I was up and on my way to Anchorage a little after seven o'clock. While I was still in Seward on Tuesday the “Malfunction Indicator Light” in the van had come on. The owner's manual says it is part of the onboard diagnostic system that monitors engine and automatic transmission control systems. It further stated that certain conditions such as a loose or missing gas cap or poor fuel quality could illuminate the light and that the vehicle should be serviced if the light stays on after several typical driving cycles. What is a typical driving cycle? I removed the gas cap and put it back on in case it had been loose, but that didn't help.

Well, the light came on every time I started the engine, irritatingly beeping at me each time as a reminder. Not that I needed a reminder with that silly light staring me in the face! So, along with an oil change, which was past due, I needed to get this Indicator Light checked out. I had located a Dodge dealer in Anchorage, via the internet, and got there without any problems. It took them a while to get me checked in (the young man definitely was not computer savvy) and then it was another four hour wait.

Turns out that the malfunction code had something to do with the emissions system and the people that do the oil changes (quick maintenance, they called it) don't work on that stuff so I had to go talk to another fellow. He seemed to know what he was talking about. He said that they could charge me $100 to run diagnostic tests or I could simply get a new gas cap! Apparently, Dodge Vans have a problem with gas caps... so for $26 the gas cap was replaced and they cleared the code. The indicator light hasn't come back on so I'm hopeful that the problem has been solved.

It was rather frustrating to wait there for nearly five hours with such a beautiful day outside. I drove through Anchorage just to get a feel for the place. There was a lot of road construction going on but it was still relatively easy to get around. I found my way to Earthquake Park, an area set aside to commemorate the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake which devastated southern Alaska. On clear days it offers views of the Knik Arm of Cook Inlet and Mount McKinley, only 200 miles away. On this day McKinley was visible, but just barely. It was rather ghostly looking and melted into the sky.

At Earthquake Park I connected with the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, which is a paved bicycle and walking path that meanders along the coastline. I followed it for a couple of miles, nearly getting run down by several cyclists, but the weather was beautiful as were the views that I could see through the trees.

Expansive views of Cook Inlet were not to be seen since much of the trail that I walked was tree lined on both sides. It was just nice to be outside with no rain! Anchorage has an extensive park and trail system (120 miles of trails) as well as many other attractions and activities, but I was being lazy and didn't do much of anything.

I hadn't yet made up my mind as to where I would go next so I returned to the campground at Bird Creek, 25 miles southeast of Anchorage. It is a lovely drive along Turnagain Arm and the paved trails in that area offer some nice views.