I've decided to reinstate the use of this blog primarily to keep the clutter of my thoughts and details free from friends' facebook feeds, but also as a way to chronicle a significant change for me. I have decided to move to Wyoming! Big thanks to Heather M. for the recommendation to return to blogging!
I haven't posted since I moved from Ohio to Texas, for a number of reasons. Now, I am preparing to leave Houston for the nth time, but for a whole new adventure - and in a whole new direction. I am moving to Wyoming as part of an experiment - call it my Winter 2012 challenge. I want to winter in Wyoming prior to finalizing my decision to move there permanently. I need to ensure I can handle those winters! This has been an objective formulated over a number of years. Wyoming is the one place - out of all of the places in the world that I've visited - where I feel continually compelled to return. There is something in, or of, or about Wyoming that resonates in my soul.
My initial plan was to buy a home here, leave my job, begin consulting (and the requisite travel that entails), and live happily ever after. But - what if I hate Wyoming in winter? Fortunately, I have a number of friends there, and one of them has offered to rent his furnished home to me during this season to help me further determine if this is really what I want to do. I am working on the other stuff - the consulting arena - but posts in the meantime will be kept free of work related details. (I have other blogs and social networks for that, if you're interested.) I've downloaded an app to my phone that should allow me to post photos and short blog posts from the road, and I plan to re-engage in my passion for photography as well.
So, I hope you will enjoy my journey with me - haps and mishaps and everything in between! I start driving on Wednesday, October 3. That is the same day that the fire warning expires in tiny Hyattville, Wyoming. It is also the last day of the growing season there, and the forecast is calling for the first snowfall as well. I'll take those all as good omens!
Monday, October 01, 2012
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Most Recent Trip: Norway / Denmark
I just returned from a trip to Norway with a side trip to Denmark, visiting my friends Anita, Arve, and their daughter, Ina. I had a great time, in no small part to my hosts and their extensive planning efforts. Upon arrival, 3 hours early, Anita and Ina came to pick me up at the airport. From there, we went to the house and picked up a few things before heading off to their cabin, a few hours' drive away, where Arve met us for a weekend of fun. The cabin is perched on a hilltop overlooking a fjord, and is near only 3 other cabins - remote but fully modern inside. What an escape! In the morning, we all headed to Arve's home town, Odda, which is famous for its fruit orchards. We stayed at Arve's mom's house - she was vacationing in Spain - and her house has a fantastic view along yet another fjord.
The next day (Saturday?) started off rainy, but that didn't stop us from going fruit-shopping, directly at the orchards. Arve's long-time friend, Oysten, has a plum orchard and his family treated us to waffles and cases of plums. Later that day, we went hiking up to a glacier. It was a good hike but a bit steeper than what I'm used to. So, as a result, I was passed up by an old man, Anita who was carrying Ina, and Arve who was following their dog, Bajas. By the way, their dog is a wirehaired dachshund!
On Sunday, Anita, Ina and I headed to Kristiansand to catch the ferry to Denmark in the morning. Finding an open restaurant there at 9 pm was quite difficult. Unfortunately, Anita received a speeding ticket along the way - I offered to play 'dumb tourist' but she wouldn't let me. The next morning, we were on the 3 hour ferry to Denmark. Anita reserved seats in the restaurant, so we were guaranteed a comfy place to sit, an all-you-can-eat buffet, and a child seat. We dressed Ina in her "pooping in progress" shirt, which was quite unfortunate, because she lived up to that statement several times that day. The girl is certainly a trooper - loves travel, and has been to more countries before the age of 1 than I had visited by the time I was 23!!
In Denmark, we did a bit of shopping. I found a *killer* pair of black knee-high boots, a nice top, and a chic jacket. We also stopped at a Wal-Mart like grocery store to buy LOTS of meat, cheeses, and other supplies. Later that week, Anita and Arve were holding two birthday parties for Ina's first birthday, in addition to hosting a houseful of guests the following weekend. Thankfully, we had a refrigerated cooler. It was much cheaper to take the ferry to Denmark to purchase the quantity of meat and supplies needed.
On Tuesday, we went back to the house in Stavanger to unload groceries, relax, and spend some time with Arve. Unfortunately, my flight back was Wednesday morning, and I returned to work on Thursday (albeit hit by jetlag pretty strongly in the afternoon).
On my flight back, I had the pleasure of being seated next to a cultural anthropologist (what I would be if I could choose professions). She had just spent 3 weeks in Finland studying and researching native folk art. We had a great series of conversations, between laughing at the in-flight movie, Sunshine Cleaning. (The Hangover was not showing on that flight :-().
Anyway, I'll add a few photos here and more single photos above. Enjoy! And Thanks, Anita & Arve!!
The next day (Saturday?) started off rainy, but that didn't stop us from going fruit-shopping, directly at the orchards. Arve's long-time friend, Oysten, has a plum orchard and his family treated us to waffles and cases of plums. Later that day, we went hiking up to a glacier. It was a good hike but a bit steeper than what I'm used to. So, as a result, I was passed up by an old man, Anita who was carrying Ina, and Arve who was following their dog, Bajas. By the way, their dog is a wirehaired dachshund!
On Sunday, Anita, Ina and I headed to Kristiansand to catch the ferry to Denmark in the morning. Finding an open restaurant there at 9 pm was quite difficult. Unfortunately, Anita received a speeding ticket along the way - I offered to play 'dumb tourist' but she wouldn't let me. The next morning, we were on the 3 hour ferry to Denmark. Anita reserved seats in the restaurant, so we were guaranteed a comfy place to sit, an all-you-can-eat buffet, and a child seat. We dressed Ina in her "pooping in progress" shirt, which was quite unfortunate, because she lived up to that statement several times that day. The girl is certainly a trooper - loves travel, and has been to more countries before the age of 1 than I had visited by the time I was 23!!
In Denmark, we did a bit of shopping. I found a *killer* pair of black knee-high boots, a nice top, and a chic jacket. We also stopped at a Wal-Mart like grocery store to buy LOTS of meat, cheeses, and other supplies. Later that week, Anita and Arve were holding two birthday parties for Ina's first birthday, in addition to hosting a houseful of guests the following weekend. Thankfully, we had a refrigerated cooler. It was much cheaper to take the ferry to Denmark to purchase the quantity of meat and supplies needed.
On Tuesday, we went back to the house in Stavanger to unload groceries, relax, and spend some time with Arve. Unfortunately, my flight back was Wednesday morning, and I returned to work on Thursday (albeit hit by jetlag pretty strongly in the afternoon).
On my flight back, I had the pleasure of being seated next to a cultural anthropologist (what I would be if I could choose professions). She had just spent 3 weeks in Finland studying and researching native folk art. We had a great series of conversations, between laughing at the in-flight movie, Sunshine Cleaning. (The Hangover was not showing on that flight :-().
Anyway, I'll add a few photos here and more single photos above. Enjoy! And Thanks, Anita & Arve!!
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