Moving on up!

This weekend marked yet another milestone...it was move in weekend at Virginia Tech when my girls move into their first apartment. I know what you are doing...you are oooo'ing and saying "awwwww, how cute...." or something to that effect.  Shut it...moving requires well....moving furniture. 

Growing up in New York, one of my favorite TV shows was All in the Family.  As a young boy, I'm sure I didn't understand all of nuances and themes of the show, but I enjoyed it because it made my dad laugh.  He was most tickled when Archie Bunker, a male chauvinist, racist, grumpy old man, ordered  Edith, his wife, to "stifle".  To save you a trip to dicitonary.com, stifle means to stop breathing or suffocate.  Sick, I know, but it was simply hilarious in the moment. You had to be there.

So why am I thinking of All in the Family?  Well, the tune I could not shake from my mind this weekend was the theme song from The Jeffersons called "Movin' on Up". The Jeffersons were Archie Bunker's neighbors and they moved out of the neighborhood and a spin off show was created called, oddly enough, The Jeffersons. They say when you share and think of others, you grow.  Well let me share the tune with you in the hopes that I will be rid of it and grow into another tune:

http://youtu.be/MYcqToQzzGY

The tune helped ease the panicky feeling while canvassing the scene in our living room with all the stuff that had to be moved. I was certain I was going to be proven wrong after declaring a 10' U-Haul truck would be enough for all the stuff.  There was a lot.  My pack rat living style was definitely inherited.  I began to object about a few of the items and I thankfully was smart enough to not actually verbalize any of it. Why pick on the little stuff when the sleeper couch was mocking me from the attic?  

This sleeper couch is a relic from younger days. There it sat, big and bad, taunting me.  I have fond memories of destroying the drywall moving this monstrosity to the attic.  It seemed like a good idea to put it on the top floor at the time.  David, my best friend, who was noticeable absent this weekend, swore he would not be around when it came time to move again.  He is a man of his word.  

I shared his sentiments.  I had sworn that the couch would convey with the house. Never in my nightmares did I envision actually having to move it back down. 

Enter Rob. It is good to have big friends that are well over six feet tall. I unknowingly picked smarter than I thought.  Rob used to be a professional mover in his younger days and that expertise came in real handy.  If I could have just convinced David to help, he and Rob would have done such a great job while I supervised.  Hey, I'm meant for management, ok?

Well the big oaf, the couch not Rob, was tackled.  It wasn't easy nor pretty. Not satisfied with doing it once, we actually did it 1.25 times.  After finally getting it through the narrow attic doorway (with door removed), we got to the first landing and realized it was turned the wrong way.  There is no way to manipulate it around to the next landing with the back of the couch facing the way we had to turn. You should have seen the look on Rob's face when I said "Oh yea, I remember now, we had it the other way when we brought it up."  Good thing the couch was between us and Rob is not quick to anger. 

 

Up the oaf went through the narrow opening, we turned it vertical, rotated it, and brought it back down through the opening.  After that it was smooth sailing...sort of. 

A bit of drywall repair and the house will be fine.  

 

Rob expertly loaded the back of the U-Haul with sofa, two dressers, a book shelf, and a few boxes before I relieved him of duty. As proof of his experience and expertise, he even had his son drop off padded moving blankets to protect the furniture from scratches.  Honestly, I wasn't worried about that thinking the distressed look for furniture was in these days. 

In victory, we were exhausted.  The girls were home by then and my victory speech to them included this line: "Either your boy friend, fiancé, or husband was going to move you out in two years". That is the last time I deal with that couch. Their reply was a simple smile and an "oh, daddy".  I knew then I was going to be moving it out. Their friend Katie, later in the day added "Well, its been twenty years and nothing has happened yet" to the boy friend, fiancé, husband comment. 

The fun part was the actual drive down. It was time to be one with the fellow brotherhood of truckers. I-81 is full of commercial trucking traffic and I was excited to be part of the club instead of the typical "four wheeler".  Then I realized the 10' U-Haul only had four wheels.  It didn't even have double-wide tires in the back!  Umpf. I threatened to get chewing tobacco so I can feel like a trucker. After all, I was only missing a CB Radio (yes, and a few wheels). There was no joy there as well with one look from Ella about the tobacco. Nevertheless, on the road, I felt like a freshmen amongst a sea of senior truckers as I intentionally bounced in my seat.  That was short lived as my butt started to hurt. 

Thanks to Rob's expertise, everything arrived unscratched or damaged. Also, ground floor apartments are a God send when moving in!  Everything is all setup in the comfy, newly renovated (not!) home away from home.  

I wish I hadn't found that YouTube link to Movin' On Up...now it is playing in my head again.  

Two Steps Backwards?

Does becoming one with nature take us backwards as a society?  This philosophical inquiry was initiated by my five star resort frequenting sister-in-law, Amita, during one of our nights in the Montana wilderness as we await our dinner. No, you didn't read that wrong...in wilderness as we await our dinner. Anyway it was rather "roughing it" given we actually had to carry our own stuff and sit on logs to eat dinner.  

Back to the question at hand...Amita took me aside and said something hilarious in Gujarati to keep it super secret from our guides lest they throw an ant or fly into our meal.  Some comedy does not translate well from Gujarati to English, but the gist of the side bar conversation was something as follows.  

"You know, we are so technologically advanced and we have come so far in society.  Why, do we have to do this stuff.  And these people enjoy it!"  By "this stuff", I'm sure she meant swatting mosquitoes, dodging bison droppings as we walk to our tent, sleeping without AC or heat (both were needed), and generally being annoyed with the discomfort of the wilderness.

Minus the humor, it is an interesting question. Why do this hiking and camping stuff?  We can so easily go to Wegman's and get the best foods available to us at any time.  We can sit and talk at the dinner table just as easily as around a log in the woods.  All while in total comfort with no danger of bears or nightly creatures intruding in our space. We have evolved, haven't we?  

There is something very therapeutic of becoming one with the land.  The beauty is in the simplicity, no?  It is similar to the yearning humans have for human to human contact. Despite all of the technological advances in communications enabling us to call, text, email, or Skype anywhere in the world at anytime...we still want to go see people and be with them.  

I held a beautiful stone in a store in Montana.  It felt amazing in the palm of my hand.  It wasn't just the texture or the weight, it was the energy stored in the stone that vibrated just perfectly with my hand and body.  Like the stone, everything in nature has an energy and frequency that resonates when you let it in.  At home, I don't sleep well often - but I slept amazingly well on both nights in the outdoors. The majestic sound of the mountain stream trickling literally 50 feet from our tent blended with the cacophony of the nightlife would inspire Stephen Halpern to new levels.  

Being one with nature isn't for everyone for it can be...

Views to inspire you to do so...

This is the view from our tent area on the first night.

As I lay down by the camp, I took this shot when light was perfect...I didn't quite capture the moment but it is close.

As I observed light dancing through the trees, a bald eagle flew over head.  Are you kiddin' me?  

Nature - its all over me!

Our official hiking adventure began on Sunday night with a mandatory meeting with our trekking guides - Scott and Dean.  Scott is a Montanan who grew up in Missoula. Dean was born in Ireland, grew up in New York, now lives in Oregon and works in Montana - a true traveller.  Both seemed very knowledgeable and serious about the great outdoors.  They read us the riot act on dealing with bears - with which we had achieved expert status given our tourist jaunt to Bear Encounter Park.  

Speaking of riot act, do you know where that came from?  In 1715, Britain passed the Riot Act which wasn't repealed until 1967.  Huh, you would have thunk they would have needed the Act during the 1960's.  It enabled the British government to declare a group of 12 or more people as a riot during much civil unrest in the 1700's.  Luckily we have only 8 in our party so we had minimal threat of authority in Montana actually invoking this act. 

Back to the trek...let me share a few memorable quotes from members of our party -- it will give you a sense of what actually happened during the trek.  We will start with my 16 year old nephew, Kishan who had the quote of the trek that inspired the title of this blog.

"Nature!, it is all over me -- GET IT OFF!" - Kishan

"Stupid bugs" - Kishan

"We go to sleep when nature turns off?" - Amita

"Isn't there a downhill to this mountain?" - Ajay

"AHHHH! There is a spider in my tent.  Oh, it is on the outside." - Kishan

"You guys, these flies are like wild flies." - Amita

"Oh shit, I left the shovel where I went." - Ella

"Oh, I didn't know I was putting on a show." - Kelsey, when peeing in the woods with a hiker approaching. 

"I am trying to enjoy nature and you are talking to me." - Elena to Kishan

Now for a brief picture tour....

No, the picture below is NOT from the hike.  It is from the Bear Encounter park.  But given we only saw one wild bear from a good distance, I wanted to share a close up with you in case you have never seen a bear.  :-)  This by the way is Jake - as introduced in a prior blog. 

The trekkers all suited up and ready to go!  This is the morning of day one.  From left to right, Amita, Kiertan, Kishan, Ajay, Ella, Elena, Shailesh, and Kelsey.  Oh, by the way, Ajay was known as Dundee for the rest of the trek.  He confidently announced he was Crocodile Dundee and then asked for his whip.  To which, Elena or Kelsey replied that it is Indiana Jones that had the whip not Crocodile Dundee.  Crocodile Dundee had the knife. So the name stuck for Ajay and he proceeded both knife-less and whip-less.   The packs ranged from 30 to 40 pounds for the adults.  

Our humble abode for two nights.  Two to a tent.

 

Trekking, trekking, trekking.  The most beautiful views we have all ever seen.  We averaged about 5 miles per day for a total of 14-15 miles.  While the distance doesn't sound that great, it was through some great countryside, rolling hills, ridges, woods, and plateaus.  Carrying 30 to 40 pounds for 5 miles wears on you - trust me.  By the way, you can drive through all of the roads through Yellowstone and only see 2% of the land.  Only the greatest views and experiences are available by foot.  

Bear Encounter

Yes...we thought we would be skunked again in searching for wildlife. Okay, so they were not totally wild grizzly bears, but when we arrived at the Grizzly Encounter Park, the habitat looked empty and we were admittedly anticipating disappointment.  But Maggie and Jake did not disappoint. They were rescued from a wildlife park in Georgia and now spend their years entertaining tourists. To lure them out, the keeper tossed popcorn, grapes, cherries, plums, and watermelon around the habitat and opened the gate. 

Maggie is 7 and Jake is 8 years old - teenagers in bear years.  

Sheena, Lucy, and Brutus were scheduled to address the crowd later in the afternoon. Brutus, incidentally, is a famous actor. He has been in three movies and documentaries. 

Some bear facts: 

- They can run 35 to 40 miles per hour.  Don't let their lumbering gait fool you. 

- Only 11 people have been consumed by bears over the past 100 years.  People have consumed more people than bears during the same period!

- They are mostly herbivores but they do eat fish, ants, rodents, and even other animals.  

- Their sense of smell is 350 times more sensitive than that of a human. They can even smell your mood. They have over a over a billion receptors.  Take a look at the picture below. The tower is at a very long distance. Bears can smell a raisin placed on the that tower!

We learned that bears become aggressive to:

- Protect their cubs

- Defend their food source

- React when you startle them

- Chase you when you run away

- Make sure you are not a threat

So what do you do when a bear has an interest in you? Drop to the ground.  Put your face down and place your hands on head.  Then use your elbows and feet to keep the bear from rolling you over.  The goal is to protect your rib area from the 1,200 pounds of biting force. There, I have performed my public health and safety obligation. 

Here is an appropro joke I heard from a guy on the plane ride here...

Two married couples arrived in Montana and one of the husband asks the other husband "how are we going to protect ourselves from a bear attack?"

The other guy responds by pulling out a nine millimeter hand gun to which the questioner says "You can't stop a bear with that pea shooter. You need at least a .44 magnum."  The gun holder laughs and says "This is not to shoot the bear, it is to shoot my wife in the knee. That way I can out run her and leave her for the bear."

The picture below shows bear spray that we will all carry.  It is a pepper spray that provides a sensory overload for the bear's olfactory system. 

Kelsey posing with the now dead Christie the bear.  

Wimbledon Breakfast - Montana Style

So on the way to Montana, I sat next to a very nice NASA education and outreach consultant.  Her job is to travel to wonderful places and educate people on NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory - not a bad gig.  How cool would it be to go travel to great outdoor places and talk to people about a job you love and get paid to do it? Need to make this happen...put it on the list...

During the conversation, I was introduced to the term Glamping - Glamorous Camping.  Now that would be an experience!  Check out http://www.mtundercanvas.com if you want to learn about this alternative to pooping in the woods in Montana. For those of you with dumb phones (ahem..I won't mention any names other than an initial...SB...to provide proof that people like this exist) here is the first line from this website:  

"Imagine waking up to the sights, sounds and smells of nature in one of the most spectacular places on earth, whilst relaxing in your luxurious Safari tent."

'nuff said. 

We are in pseudo luxury mode this morning. Breakfast and Wimbledon at the sports bar of the hotel because it is the only place to watch Wimbledon finals.  The hotel's EPSN channel only showed CNN - ugh.  Ajay pulled the "hotel owner card" but that only got him a conversation with some young kid who refused to let him into the media room.  But he did manage to have them open the normally closed sports bar so the eight of us can watch. We'll take what we can get. 

Today's plan is to go visit the Grizzly Bear Encounter park and drive around some scenic loops. Hmmm...is it the Grizzly bear that is afraid of noise or the one you play dead to avoid becoming lunch?

Off to Bozeman!

We are off!  What would make this first day of vacation even more exciting is the prospect of actually driving to Montana.  I miss car trips.  Maybe what I miss the most of car trips are the vending machines at rest areas that sold those cheap games and prizes.  I'm not sure why I woke up this morning with this nostalgic but incorrect memory -- when in reality my parents were too cheap to give me any money to buy anything.  Smile.  I know what it is...it is the thought of dealing with airports and TSA agents in badly fitting uniforms that centered my mind on car trips.

Nevertheless, we are on the way to Bozeman, Montana to see what the tour of Heart Lake and Mount Sheridan is all about.  Our tour guides are certainly excited.  One of them texted Ella confirming his excitement.  Funny how he worked out we were just talking about the tip we should leave the guides!

Heart Lake is one of Yellowstone's biggest backcountry lakes.  We are going to start our 3 -day hiking adventure on Monday.  Starting at Heart Lake Trailhead, we'll hike past hot springs and along a creek whose water measures in at over 800 degrees Fahrenheit! We'll see wildlife, trout, awesome views, and geysers.  Hmphf...we always get skunked at the promise of seeing real wildlife so we shall see if we run into anything beyond America's forest rodent -- deer. What? I can't get excited at seeing an animal I come close to hitting with my car every day.  

Anyway, we'll be hiking a total of 24 miles and through beautiful country up Mount Sheridan which is the tallest mountain in the Red Mountain Range at 10,308 feet. The altitude fills us with anxiety given our last trip to these heights resulted in altitude sickness for Ella.  But we are prepared!  We dutifully followed our tour guide's order to drink lots of water during this past week.  What filling your body with water has to do with solving altitude sickness is a mystery.  All I know is that I have to pee. 

Ajay, Amita, Kishan, and Kiertan are joining Ella, Kelsey, Elena, and I on this adventure.  Ajay has worked on his six pack to prepare for this trip and we are all worried.  It may have been multiple six packs - he sounded drunk every time we talked to him on the phone.  We drew short straws on who will carry his backpack -- I think Kelsey wins!  

Oh, did I mention that we have to eat twice as much as normal since we will be burning a lot of calories!  That is a huge bonus.  Unfortunately, we started the eating before actually hiking -- so much for that plan...

So...follow us on this adventure...the posts from the hike will be up after we come back to civilization.  Apparently there won't be any WIFI, cable, or satellite available to us for three days...oh boy...

Here is a map of where we will be...

Italian Excursion Anyone?

With only five days in Rome, each day's agenda was well designed to pack in every square inch of Rome. But plans are sometimes only fun if they are ignored and there is something refreshing in being spontaneous. Cinzia Cortese's infectious love for Italy convinced us to squeeze in a visit to Ostia Antica and Lido Centro. Cinzia was our tour guide yesterday as we discovered the Vatican and other parts of Rome. Ostia is about 1/2 hour train ride south of Rome and Lido Centro is two stops further south. Feeling adventurous the next morning, we queued up at the train station for 45 minutes (or was it an hour?) to buy Italian rail tickets only to find out we needed only to jump on the metro. This was an indication of how our day on Italian public transport would transpire.

Despite this inauspicious start, we successfully navigated the underground metro to the above ground metro at Pyramide to arrive at Ostia. We even knew which stop was ours. We felt a bit strange and initially lonely when the train departed leaving us on an almost deserted station holding our Camel Baks. We shrugged our collective shoulders and meandered into town trying to recall exactly what Cinzia said we should go and see.

We had Pompeii in mind as that is how Cinzia described Ostia. She mentioned that Ostia is quaint and beautiful city and that it is, but the Pompeii part remains elusive. Our goal was to find some kind of port or other historic site. While looking lost at a busy intersection a helpful driver honked his horn and pointed to his right. Fortunately, his right was also our right so our future direction was not vague. Just to be certain, I questioningly pointed right and he confirmed by vigorously nodding his head yes. We smiled and waved confirmation and happily went towards the recommended direction. Now, we didn't think about it at the time but we should have wondered how he knew we were looking for a port or a historic site. Well...he didn't. We continued our long hot walk only to arrive...wait for it...full circle at the train station. It did look oddly familiar as we approached it from a different direction. Ready to admit defeat we decided to continue our journey towards Lido and act as if we meant to do that all along.

One interesting thing about Rome is that you never have to buy bottled water. The Roman aqueduct system delivers cool, crisp, and clean water at fountains throughout Rome and its surrounding area. Here are the girls at of one of these fountains.

After arriving in Lido our independent streak unwisely kept us from following the people on the train with beach gear. How hard can it be to find a beach, right? We studied the bus routes and jumped on Bus 5B towards Mare Russo. "Mare" means ocean so we were rather proud of our achievement if only briefly. It does pay to be nice in life. While on Bus 5B an old man got on with two bags of melons in plastic grocery bags. He set the bags down near Kelsey and I to free his hands to grab a handle. As the bus jerked at a stop, he started to lose his balance as he tried to gather the melons that rolled out of his bags. I reached out to help but he managed to grab the handle on his own but gave a kindly glance. About this point I also started worrying we may not be on the correct bus so I leaned over to Kelsey and whispered how I wished I could speak Italian so we can ask the old man if this is the correct bus. He couldn't have heard me but after a few moments he asked "where you go?" Surprised and not having fully understood his broken english I just smiled and said "I don't understand Italian." To which he said in a bit clearer english "you don't understand me?" Now fully understanding him, I rapidly threw out words like "mare", "lido", and "beach" in case his understanding of english somehow had a time limit. He just shook his head side to side and said "wrong bus" and then he gestured we had to go exactly the opposite direction we were heading. We thanked him profusely as he graced us with toothless laughter and jumped off at the next stop and looked for the bus going the other way -- which by the way is Bus 5. Who knew adding a "B" at the end of the bus number meant it goes the opposite direction from where you would want to go?

Here is a picture of the bus before the old man arrived.

Success! We arrived at the beach and enjoyed the view of the Mediterranean. We had a nice relaxing lunch on the beach as we watched people that should not be wearing what they were.

Even with our transportation challenges, it was a fun day discovering two new towns. Half the fun is in trying to figure out where to go and what to do. We just rolled with it and enjoyed the experience. We returned to Rome, took a nap, and strolled out to find a hidden ristorante and enjoy the evening. This was a pattern we followed every night.