India in my mind

We've been back for a few months now and while months is a relatively short period of time in a lifetime, it feels like we've been back for an eternity. I guess that's what being a grown up is all about, eh?

So, India...

First let me start with WOW. And WOW. It is the most surreal experience to be jam-packed in the middle of 20 million people. The smells overwhelm, the crowds create anxiety. I could not help but wonder, over and over again, what the frack I thought I was thinking when I said this was my dream trip. It was probably during our first day in Delhi that I realized that I was so not prepared for India. Well, at least not the smell part.

We prepared by going to the travel doc, getting totally screwed by Insurance, but prepared nonethelss. There would be no malaria, hepatitis, Delhi Belly, typhoid - you name the disease, we didn't get it.

What I was not prepared for was the smell and the crowds. Most people discussed the smells of India, but it was always of the bodily functions type of smell. We had prepared ourselves for that but what it really smells like is burning trash. It's the smell of burn everywhere. In India, there are no landfills, no places to drop off your toxic cleaning items, no car depots. So instead of getting rid of it in a western way, they burn it. Trash, tires, cars, paint...you name it, we saw it, or better yet smelled it being burned.

Once we got out of Delhi, it was not so severe, but I'm sure I've painted a delightful picture and you all want to book your flights to India today! Right?!

In Southern India, we enjoyed every luxury possible. We stayed in a bed and breakfast, ate the most amazing food, swam in the arabian sea, had very awkward massages, and most importantly fell in love with India. Or, at least Kerala.

P. has posted some great pics on his blog, so I won't do the same here because we have the same three readers. But, check it out, if you can at http://wbcc21.blogspot.com/

If I was given a choice to go back to India or Greece, I honestly don't know what my decision would be. I both loved and loathed so many different things about our trip, but the country is an absolute fascination to me.

I just finished reading A Fine Balance. If you get a chance, and are at all interested in learning about India, its troubles, and its beauty, then read this book. Editor's Note: there is NOTHING happy about this book. You end it feeling so depressed that you don't know what to do with yourself. But, don't say I didn't warn you.

Anyway, I loved our trip and I miss our friends who live there. So, they either need to move back, or we will have to bring Baby B. to India (if my mom is reading this, she just passed out).

Since we've back, we've been to Jersey twice for two fabulous weddings. Oh, and I got knocked up. So, I'm sure there will be fun stuff to post about that. Or, better yet, at the rate I post, I will have the baby before I post again.

I'm a bad, bad blogger

So, now I have a facebook account, a blog, an email, a job, a husband, and a house...needless to say, the last three items deserve much more attnetion than the first three...blah, blah we are all too busy, right?

Anyway, first time, long time.

We leave for India in a few days. The trip has been narrowed down to two major locations:

1. Delhi/Agra and perhaps Jaipur.

2. Kerala (a state in the southwest part of India)

In Delhi we will explore and hang out with good friends. Agra will be all about the Taj Mahal and if we hit Jaipur, it will be the pink city.

Kerala is not a place I would have picked if not for a recommendation of our delhi dwelling pals. But for seven days, P. and I will go from hiking in the western ghat mountains to chilling on the arabian sea.

Due to this story, we have not had a lot of time together, so I'm looking forward to catching up with the husband.

When we return, I vow to you, dear readers, I will post more.

Happy Spring. Finally.

Illing

Home sick for the second week. The docs thought it was walking pneumonia, but just a wretched bronchial and sinus infection. Being lazy and staying in bed does not come as easily as it used to. I've never been a big nap taker and recently sleeping in gives me anxiety for all the things that need to get done. This is, of course, not my favorite trait for the Mr., as he worships his weekend sleep-ins. But, the last 20 hours of my life have been spent in bed. Either reading, sleeping, coughing, or researching our potential India vacation. This could be a good or bad thing because I've now researched hiking in Darjeeling so much that if I don't go, I will feel as if my short time of the lazy life was for not. If we do go, this is where we will be hiking:


We are also tossing an Ireland trip with a bonus of Bruce playing in Dublin. That would be amazing as well. I'm more into the Ireland part, but P. is all about Bruce in Dublin.

Either way, 2008 will bring much great travel.

I'm a Mackinaw Maniac

I love, love, love Mackinaw Island.

The trip was amazing. We spent three glorious and hot (80 degrees plus) days biking and hiking around mackinaw island. With no cars, it is an incredibly cycle and hiker friendly getaway. Minus the piles of horse matter along the way, it is a lovely place to visit.

We had some amazing meals while visiting. First night, was Goodfella's - a local from New York told us it was the best pizza. It wasn't bad - even the guy from NJ gave it two thumbs up. Second night, we ate at a fancier joint recommended by a friend - The Woods. Holy Crap, was that some good food. I had a filet that melted in my mouth. To. Die. For. (I just recently learned that I use that phrase a lot when talking about food.)

Here are some pics from the trip. *Please note that I married Ansel Adams, so I've included some of his nature shots as well.


Gorgeous Lake Michigan.


A trail in the middle of the island. Truly amazing that we were surrounded by water, yet when hiking in the trails, you felt like you were in the middle of a forest, a milltion miles away from the water.


Arched Rock


Can you believe this is a lake? I'm new to this lake stuff, so I might keep saying this, but this is what I imagine the carribean to look like. Oh, but it's too cold to swim in it!




I'm now obsessed with the natural habitats of the Great Lakes. My job has influenced my interest in ecological restoration, but once you hit these beaches, you will want to be a part of it too.





This could be my favorite picture of the trip...Why, you ask? Because now P. will go biking with me. He got the hang of it and now I have him hooked! Century races, here we come!

And the really great part of Mackinaw - My hips didn't hurt once. It's been almost two years since my hip surgery and sure enough, I think I'm finally getting better. Now I'm inspired to do more.

I talked with a good friend who lives in Cali tonight, and she is doing triathalons every few weeks. I've got the bug to train and will be getting back into it next spring. Anyone want to join?

Mackinac Island

We all know that I'm obsessed with traveling....take me anywhere, call it a trip, and I'm a happy gal.

For my bday, P. is taking me on a trip to Mackinac Island in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. There are quite a few things that excite me about this little getaway.
1. P. won't work for three days. He's pulling some seriously long hours these days.
2. They are famous for their fudge
3. No motorized vehicles are allowed on the island
4. Renting a bicycle built for two
5. Sailing around the island and the historic lighthouse

I'll post some pics when we get back. We are looking for restaurant recommendations, so let me know if you've ever been...

30 ain't so bad, right???

I have two weeks left of my twenties. My twenties, people. I'm fine with turning 30 but I'm just so shocked that it's happening. I don't know what happened to the last few years of my life.

I busted out an old journal that had a list of 10 things I wanted to do before I was 30. I wrote this the week of my 20th birthday. The list had rules - no item could be about relationships, love or money. Rochelle, do you remember this? I think we wrote it after a night with Nate and Beers.

Here is the list:
1. Run a marathon
2. Publish a fine novella
3. Scuba the Great Barrier Reef
4. Work for National Geographic
5. Publish in Travel and Leisure
6. See a rain forest
7. Skydive
8. Learn to speak another language. Bonjour!
9. Join the Peace Corps
10. See the seven wonders of the natural world and the remaining of the ancient world.

I was ambitious, huh? I've accomplished 1, 6 & 7. Not so good. Granted I wrote that list while I was still a journalism major and thought that my first job out of college would be for National Geographic. Then I dropped that and became an English Major. Smart, smart move! Because that degree has really helped out my need to travel.

Rather than write another list that will probably dissapoint me when I'm 40, I'm just going to be better at things I care about and do more of what I love.

Par example...

I want to be a better environmentalist. We had some friends over for dinner last week and I said to my gal pal who is a brilliant writer for USA Today, "I'm smarter because I'm friends with you." To which her husband responded, "I feel like an environmentalist because I'm friends with you." This embarrassed me because I'm not as good as I could be. I have a rain barrel, but it sits in my garage, obviously not collecting rain. We have a compost bin that was supposed to be under the sink but attracted too many fruit flies, so I moved it to the garage. We try to remember to bring our cloth bags to the grocery store, but often forget them hanging in the garage. I think the moral of this story, kids, is that I need to tear down my garage in order to start practicing what I preach.

I want to go to grad school. I've been saying this since the day I graduated from the fine establishment known as Colorado State University. My desires for a degree have varied greatly. There was the "always pulling at my heart strings" Masters in English. The practical MBA. The Masters in Non-Profit Management. The Masters in Higher Education. I'm back to the MBA, but it's a long shot that I'll get through the GMAT, do well, and then be admitted to my school of choice. We'll see...

I want to hike more. This includes but is not limited to: every fourteener in Colorado; The Himalayas; Mount Hood; Mount Rainer; VFR's dream Hawaii hike. You name the mountain, I probably want to hike it. The aforementioned environmentalist friend would be really disappointed if I did not include skiing in this, so I will. I would like to ski every mountain in the United States. Well, every decent one. Boyne is not included in that list.

I want to travel more. I can't complain about lack of travel this year, but VFR and I feel as if we have only scratched the surface. There are so many trips: India, Eurorail through the EU, Australia and NZ, Chile with the Carty's, Hawaii..honestly, the list goes on.

The list could go on and on, but why torment the future Ericka.

Turning 30 will come and go like any other day but I'm hoping it slows down just a bit, so I can enjoy it more.

A Belizean Moon

The honeymoon was great. I posted some pictures below...Pete posted some great pics and a recap on his blog.

If you are planning an adventure vacation anytime soon, I highly suggest Caves Branch Jungle Lodge. Our bungalow was everything you could imagine, including a spider bigger than Pete's hand.

Highlights include:
1. Hiking in the rain forest
2. Repelling off a 300 foot cliff
3. Rock climbing off a waterfall and then jumping off said waterfall
4. The Carribean and Pina Coladas
5. Crossing the border into Guatemala and having the Belizean Passport agent look at my passport, smirk, laugh to himself and say, "hah, any relation to Deuce?"
6. Mayan Ruins
7. Conquering a HUGE fear of snakes. We were in the jungle, so there were a lot of snakes. We didn't see many but knew they were all around.
8. Nightly Belikins at the lodge with our adventure friends
9. Real Pineapple Juice. We are not talking Dole here, people. Un-frigging-real
10. Guatemalan Coffee. Jump starts a heart and tastes caramelly and delicious.
11. Six whole days with my husband. This was our first trip where it was all about us. Awww...

Here I am repelling off a rock down into the rainforest. Once you get off the rock and are just kind of floating above the canopy, it's a pretty amazing experience. The walking off the rock thing...well, let's just say I might not choose that as my first adventure next time.
We didn't get to snorkel because of a tropical wave, but as you can see we had a nice view to keep us busy: Our trip to Guatemala to see the Mayan Ruins in Tikal:

Our next big adventure is planned for Spring '08. We are heading to India to visit some friends. There are also slight murmurs around the house about hiking Rainer in July...if only we had unlimited airline miles and days off.