Posts Tagged ‘travel’
Midnight Sun
After picking up Cyndie and Elysa at the airport yesterday, the stories flowed in rapid succession without pause. Tales about crossing into the Arctic Circle. Descriptions of a weekend at the island cabin of Norwegian relatives. Descriptions of the beauty of the fjords, the unique cruise ship, the uncharacteristic heat wave, the relief to be home after a loooong day of travel, and the ensuing jet lag.
Cyndie stayed awake as long as she could before conking out around 8:00 p.m., equal to 3:00 a.m. in the time zone they just returned from. That is on top of only getting a few hours of sleep the night before. I plan to offer her plenty of compassion and tolerance for any demonstrations of fogginess in the next few days.
Of course, at our age, it’s not clear that our mental acuity ever fully returns to previous levels after we tax ourselves to dramatic degrees.
Before Cyndie dozed into a restless early-evening slumber, she granted my wish for a few photos from her large collection documenting their adventures celebrating Elysa’s birthday, with a healthy dose of midnight sunshine.
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Elysa’s Birthday
Today is Elysa’s birthday, and Cyndie and Elysa are celebrating on a Norwegian cruise boat that will take them up into the Arctic Circle to experience the midnight sun.
After their cruise, they will make their way to Oslo and spend a few days visiting with Friswold relations.
Asher and I have survived our first weekend on our own, with one week to go until I drive to the airport to pick up our Norwegian adventurers. So far, so good. He’s only disappeared on me 3 or 4 times and got himself on the wrong side of the fence of the neighboring property once.
Ella, who stopped by to feed the animals when I was in Cambridge on Saturday, told me that she walks him on a leash to avoid the risk of losing him. I can fully understand why she would choose to do that.
After I retrieved him from one of his unauthorized jaunts yesterday, I convinced him to help me process the latest compost pile that finished cooking.
I was wheeling loads down to the staging space by the labyrinth, and Asher would muster the effort to get up and follow me. The second time we were making the trek, a rabbit hopped into view, and Asher came to life with a sprint that took him out of sight into the woods one more time.
Having now grown accustomed to losing him, I didn’t fret over it. When I got back to the compost area with the emptied wheelbarrow, Asher was already there, waiting for me to return.
Over by the strawberry patch, there was a clue waiting for me to see that I’m not staying ahead of the squirrels, birds, and probably rabbits that think the juicy red fruit is growing there just for them.
The stump of a tree had quite a few of the discarded green leafy crowns of the berries scattered all over it, in addition to two bright red pieces of fruit. I guess the critters are not trying to hide evidence of their activities. Seeing that emphasized to me that I need to be picking berries before they get to them.
Unfortunately, I found very few worth keeping. If the squirrels weren’t taking them, some slug-looking insect was burrowing into many of the rest. I find mowing grass to be a much more dependable endeavor than trying to grow fruits and vegetables.
I’m thinking about celebrating Elysa’s birthday today by treating myself to some ice cream in the middle of the afternoon. Since they are 7 hours ahead in Norway, it will be like I’m joining them for an after-dinner dessert.
I won’t be putting any fresh strawberries on top.
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Busy, Happy
The first pass through the group stage for each team in the 2026 Men’s World Cup has been completed. Today begins the series of second matches for the groups. For the broadcasters and the fans, there is no rest. I don’t know how a person is supposed to watch each exciting moment and also continue to fulfill their daily responsibilities. Sacrifices need to be made.
I will miss seeing the first game today because I will be driving Cyndie and Elysa to the airport for their flight to Amsterdam, and ultimately, Norway. It’ll be Asher and me managing the ranch for the next 11 days.
We won’t be completely on our own, though. We’ll have the support of our property-guard-snakes keeping watch over the goings on around here.
The bigger of these two knows its way around the shop garage. I spotted it the other day, slithering on the top edge of a stack of cardboard leaning against one wall, about chest height.
That explains the discarded snake skins we frequently find in the vicinity. I sure hope they are controlling the rodent population in the building.
I started scrubbing the wood paneling of the shop/garage yesterday, but had to hold off on sanding it until the rain stops and the wood dries. We have retained the services of a log building expert to repair and reseal areas of both this building and the house, and I will be doing as much of the prep work as possible to reduce the cost of the project.
In addition to that work happening while Cyndie is away, we are expecting a visit from This Old Horse personnel with vaccines for the horses, a farrier appointment, a first-time house-cleaning appointment by a local start-up business out of Ellsworth, and I need to drive Asher to a grooming appointment in Baldwin.
Between all of that, I need to keep up with the usual mowing and, if possible, continue trimming back the vigorous growth encroaching on our grass trail around the north loop and all of the trails through the woods.
The fluttering leaves of the poplar trees down by the road were putting on a show in the breeze between rain showers when I rolled our trash and recycling bins down yesterday evening. There is a pretty healthy expansion of that grove, which we are very happy about.
As I reached the top of the first rise in our driveway and took in the view of the variety of lush trees beyond the barn and hay shed, I felt a deep appreciation for our little forest.
It is always such a striking difference from the months when all the branches are bare after the leaves drop off in the fall. When our trees look happy, it brings me great joy. Despite how muddy it has made the area just beyond the barn overhang, I am grateful that the rain over the last few days appears to be providing the trees with all the hydration they need at this time.
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Split Attention
So much sports to watch now that the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament is underway. Last night, it was complicated by the concurrent broadcast of the 6th game of the NHL Stanley Cup final series. It is not an easy feat to pay close attention to both at once. At least the Carolina Hurricanes solved that issue in the future with their Cup-winning victory over Vegas.
Of course, the Tour de France bike race will start in July, so my attention will be split again, soon.
I spent the early part of the day using our battery-powered string trimmer to cut the growth beneath the fence line around the back pasture. Precision timing (or mere chance, if I were to be honest) had the trimmer battery drained just in time for me to catch the start of the first World Cup game of the day.
As long as I’ve accomplished something along the lines of property maintenance, I feel justified in lounging around watching athletes entertain me with their team skills for the rest of the day.
It helps that the horses and Asher have been taking care of themselves for the most part, lately. When we came in for lunch, Asher decided he wanted to stay sprawled out in the front yard, enjoying the breeze and keeping watch over his domain.
Mia was showing us that she understands what the shade sail is for. The other three horses demonstrate much less interest, preferring to remain under the overhang. Their loss, I say.
While I was watching sports deep into the evening, Cyndie occupied herself with packing preparations for traveling to Norway with Elysa. They will be celebrating a milestone birthday for E, experiencing the light of the midnight sun, and visiting with Friswold relatives while they are there.
I have warned them that Norway will be playing two matches during their visit, so the people may be a little preoccupied on those days –or I should say nights, given the time difference.
There will be no shortage of things commanding my attention while Cyndie is away. Here’s hoping Asher will remain content to stay within our property boundaries for all the days I am the sole person in charge.
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Brothers All
In a single day, we were with all of Cyndie’s brothers as well as her mom yesterday. We started the day with Barry and Carlos in Maine and then had dinner in St. Paul, Minnesota, with the rest of the clan for Marie’s 88th birthday celebration.
The snapshot above is a photo I took when Barry was showing Cyndie where the many volunteer shoots of birch trees were available for pulling. Why would she pull up their baby birch trees?
Never one to be intimidated by logical limitations about packing live plants in a plastic bread bag to stuff into an already full carry-on bag that gets crammed below the seat in front of her on an airplane, Cyndie brought home trees from the garden in Maine to plant somewhere around Wintervale.
I will not fixate on the long odds for her success, but instead plan to help scout out a new location where we can nurse the new transplants toward some percentage of actually surviving.
After hugging Barry and Carlos one last time as we dropped them off at their condo, we returned the wildebeest to the car rental company and boarded a shuttle headed toward our gate. Have I mentioned how much I would prefer to avoid air travel?
Mike got a ping on his phone about a delay in our flight home. As he attempted to navigate the information on the app, Barb’s and his tickets mysteriously disappeared. Cyndie still had our boarding pass screens on her phone, so Mike called the Delta service for preferred customers to work on solving the mystery.
It was a good thing we had arrived with time to spare, because it took a nerve-wrackingly long time to fix whatever had just gone wrong. In the end, their seats were re-established, and we were safe to proceed. However, the flight delay remained, and we lost precious time on our tight schedule to leave Boston and get home in time for dinner with the family members who would be gathering to celebrate Marie’s birthday.
We got to our car in St. Paul roughly a half-hour after the time of our reservation at Holman’s Table restaurant. Luckily, we were only 15 minutes away. Our daughter, Elysa, texted that the appetizers were just arriving at their table.
We showed up before they had even given their dinner orders. A family birthday celebration for the matriarch is a pretty special finish to our adventures of the previous week.
Some silliness ensued. Happy Birthday, Marie!
Dinner with the family wasn’t the final treat of our big day, though. After driving another 50 minutes in the dark to get to our house, we were rewarded with the cutest puppy-like reception from Asher when we got inside.
Gee, but it’s great to be back home…
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Return Flight
It’s been a grand time at Barry and Carlos’ camp on Colcord Pond, but this morning we need to pack up and drive back to Boston to drop off the rented wildebeest and get to the airport for our flight home.
We made the best of our last full day at camp yesterday by hiking to the top of Bald Ledge, which overlooks the lake. Before heading out for the trek, Mike and I walked down to the water, where I snapped today’s featured photo. Soon after, I noticed our shadows and took a picture. Mike provided me with the classic bunny ears.
The trailhead is within walking distance of their cabin, allowing us to hike for about an hour to reach the summit at 1185 ft.
The sky changed from clear to cloudy several times during the hike and throughout the rest of the afternoon, casting shadows over the treetops covering the landscape all the way to the horizon. A clear overhead view of Colcord Pond is impossible to miss. It is an interesting contrast to the picture I took when standing on the shore just over an hour earlier.
It won’t be long until the color scheme changes from green to shades of orange, yellow, and red. The coming transition is already visible around the edges of the crowns of some of the trees. Down below the canopy, where the trail meanders over roots and rocks, the change doesn’t seem as imminent.
We sustained ourselves with a light lunch upon our return to the camp before taking a refreshing dip in the lake one last time. After a little siesta, the masters of food preparation rustled up a first-class spread of crackers, cheeses, spreads, olives, and salami, accompanied by some before-dinner beverages.
Neighbors John and Bethany joined us for a feast of grilled burgers, baked beans, and corn-on-the-cob. Laughter and lively stories flowed joyfully along before we entered into some friendly competition with playing cards.
Now we must stuff our suitcases and load the SUV to begin another day of travel. Look out, airport security, here we come. I can’t wait to receive my two cookies with a cup of water mid-flight. If there are no delays to mess up our plans, we will be having dinner with family to celebrate Cyndie’s mom’s birthday soon after we land.
It shouldn’t shock you to read that I am really looking forward to reaching our home again a few hours after that.
Massive beams of love to Barry and Carlos for allowing us to clutter up their living spaces and for their gracious hospitality to the nth degree in every aspect of our visit. Also, to Mike and Barb for being wonderful travel companions once again.
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Viewing Boston
We needed to wake up at 3 a.m. to drive to the airport, which made for a long day, but we arrived in Boston before lunchtime, giving us plenty of daylight to go for a walk to experience Barry and Carlos’ neighborhood. I am still longing to be able to pick one image from our day, but am now choosing to feature one at the top and offer thumbnails of a few others for some additional scenes I captured.
I looked up at the sky with the angular shape of the Hancock Tower and the sunlight features showing in the lens, and I have settled on that as my pick for the day.
We dined at Tatte Bakery & Cafe in the South End, where I enjoyed a fabulous roasted salmon sandwich on a housemade challah roll. I think the “bun” is what sent this delight over the top for me, but the salmon was substantial and prepared to perfection.
Early check-in was available at the Stay Pineapple for the room we reserved for Barb and Mike, so we walked with their luggage to get a look at their room. I was captivated by the whimsical dog sculpture and the tile mosaic in the foyer.
From there, we headed toward the three levels of a 360° “View Boston” experience at the Prudential Center after a quick exploration of the Boston Public Library. Our expert tour guide, Barry, walked us around a big loop to get back to their condo, where we crashed for a much-needed nap. I have no directional sense and was completely at the mercy of others to figure out which way to go.
We hung out on their 5th-floor patio for drinks and snacks before ordering Mexican take-out for dinner. We just got to Boston, and it feels like we’ve seen and done enough for several days already.
Today promises to offer even more of a similar type of Boston adventures. I fully expect I will be unable to choose just one image to represent all that we will see and do.
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So Many
So many minutes.
So many cars.
So many hours.
So many people.
After driving around the parking ramp at the airport for much longer than we hoped, looking for an open spot that we could fit the car into, we got our bags checked and headed for the security line.
I don’t know if this is happening very often these days, but Elysa and I breezed through the “standard check” and had to wait for Cyndie, because she was bogged down in the overcrowded “precheck” line. The security theater is alive and well.
Unfortunately, our short flight from Minneapolis to Chicago involved a repeatedly extending mechanical delay after everyone had boarded the plane, making the trip take twice as long as it could have been. Since Cyndie opted to rent a car, we had an opportunity to wait many more minutes for that line of travelers to be processed.
It is obvious to me that I live a sheltered life, as the throngs of people I was marveling over would be considered quaint compared to even bigger population centers around the world. So many people.
Thankfully, the families and friends who have gathered to celebrate the nuptials of Alec and Haley have thus far proved to be some wonderful people, and the gushing of love for the couple from everyone is truly adorable.
We drove for many minutes from the airport to our hotel. After a quick change into dress clothes, we rode in a shuttle for many minutes to a country club for a welcome party/rehearsal dinner, where toasts were plentiful.
So many people to meet and family members to catch up with.
Today is the wedding and all that comes with that. There is a lotta love in the air.
It is truly beautiful.
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Travel Averse
For a guy who doesn’t like to travel, the next few weeks will be a test of my stamina. Or is it patience? We are flying to Chicago today for a wedding of Cyndie’s nephew over the weekend. Less than a week after we get back, I join two friends to drive to the far side of South Dakota to bike the Mickelson Trail over five days. When I return from that adventure, Cyndie and I travel with our friends, Barb and Mike, flying to Boston to explore Beantown activities with Barry and Carlos. That will include a jaunt to Maine to spend some time at their lake place.
I get tired just thinking about it all. I already miss my bed. But looking on the (sarcastic) bright side, I will get to deal with airport TSA at least four different times and hang out for hours with many other strangers who are traveling to or from the same places as me. I will get to sleep in hotel rooms! <blech!>
I will miss emerging from the trees while walking Asher in the morning to find an amazing number of mystical-looking spiderwebs that were woven overnight, hanging vertically in the tall grasses of the back pasture.
Yesterday, we expected to be able to meet a local woman who responded to Cyndie’s ad in the neighborhood app seeking volunteers. The meeting had already been postponed by one day because she was unexpectedly called upon to care for a grandchild.
The appointed hour came and went, and we heard nothing. Cyndie sent an inquiry but got no response. It felt like we were being ghosted.
To our relief, just before dinner, Cyndie received a response from the woman. Unfortunately, her day was disrupted by an early morning phone call with the distressing news of a friend’s death. We gladly agreed to try again to meet in September after we return from Boston.
Coincidentally, we had a second meeting planned for the afternoon horse feeding with a new person who volunteers with This Old Horse. She has been helping out at a barn in New Richmond, which is 30 miles north of us. Cyndie is hoping to get coverage for horse feedings over Labor Day weekend, when I will be on my bike trip in South Dakota.
We were one for two on the day.
The adventures of establishing coverage for animal care when we are away can be as involved as the travels on which we embark. That probably contributes to my general preference for remaining at home. I feel a bit like Eugene Levy, the Reluctant Traveler.
I am inclined to label myself travel-averse.
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Quick Reykjavik
On our last full day in Iceland, we started with an almost 2-hour drive toward Reykjavik. This included a trip through the 5,770-meter-long Hvalfjörður Tunnel under the fjord, making the crossing in 7 minutes from what otherwise takes about an hour to drive around.
It was hard to tell if we’d arrived at typical Sunday morning activity in Reykjavik, but parking on the street was a little hard to find in the vicinity of the tall church, Hallgrímskirkja.
Our visit to Reykjavik was a quick one, exploring some streets and perusing a few shops, sometimes feeling swarmed by crowds of tourists and sometimes passing areas where Sunday morning appeared to be too early for commerce.
After more than a week of overwhelming natural phenomena in the countryside, city life just didn’t compare. Of course, I admit to being biased toward rural life.
The highlight of the day was a visit to the Perlan Museum. This place was fantastic and well worth the price of admission. We watched films about the Northern Lights, volcanic lava flows, and glacier melting, and toured an ice cave.
Each exhibition was top-notch, offering valuable information in interesting and entertaining ways.
For lunch, we visited the rotating restaurant on the upper level under a glass dome for some excellent food.
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We decided to pose with our shared dessert.
When we had exhausted ourselves of all the offerings at the museum, it was time to find our hotel near the airport and return the rental car.
We got a tip that there was a sports bar in walking distance that might show NFL games. Indeed, we were able to catch the Vikings vs. San Francisco 49rs game while having dinner. It was as if we were almost home.
All that was left to do was get up at 5 a.m. for a ride to the airport and navigate security and a couple of jet flights home. Retrieving all our luggage without complication was the cherry on top of an absolutely fabulous adventure vacation.
I was definitely ready to be home, but there is no denying the incredible experiences we enjoyed in Iceland were worth the burdens of travel that I loath. Those hassles I can forget. They have already been overshadowed by all the great memories that I’ve chronicled in the posts published here.
Thanks for following along on our 2024 adventures in Iceland!
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Relative Something 