Another Quick Update

I made it back from Europe! Survived the month and a half abroad, despite my own worst efforts to the contrary. I'm in LA for a couple of days before I head east towards Dallas. I've finished uploading my Europe photos to Picasa. Links are as follows (in reverse chronological order):

• Scotland
• London
• Brussels
• The Hague
• Amsterdam
• Berlin

And those posted when I was in Berlin (see previous post of 8/21/11):

• Dublin
• Portugal
• Switzerland

I'll try to fill in some blanks with various tales of my travels soon. I will try, mind you. If you've been following this pseudo-blog at all, you know not to expect much.

Quick Update

I uploaded a ton of photos tonight. Just go to picasaweb.google.com/jimmythecook and look at anything that appears new (start at top left if you're unsure).

Having a blast in Europe. Switzerland was fun and beautiful. Portugal was those things too, plus very hot. Dublin was delicious. Now I'm in Berlin, drowning in history.

Will I get around to posting a more thorough update here? Who knows?

Photo for You

This is a photo of me with my friend Martin in Appenzeller. Prost!

Better Late Than Never?

Wow. It's been almost a month since I last posted. I guess you get what you pay for on this internet thing, especially when it comes to blogs.

I posted some photos almost two weeks ago, but didn't get around to sending this post until now. I know I promised to be more forthcoming with stories and such related to posted photos, but that will have to wait. Photos I uploaded recently are at:

California Road Trip with Davis Family
Yellowstone
Steamboat-to-Yellowstone
and
Strawberry Hot Springs

I wanted to upload more photos tonight, but the card reader is not working. I am staying with a friend outside of Wald (near Zurich), Switzerland. Having a blast and getting to see some of this beautiful country. Monday was their independence day (from August 1, 1291. . . no kidding), and we celebrated with dinner and a bonfire, while many others set off fireworks all over the valley below us. Tuesday we hiked to the top of Grosser Mythen, a local mountain. Wednesday we went to Zurich to see a museum and explore the city a little. Tomorrow we head east for the day to Appenzell, a place where stuff like this really happens:

That is all for now. I hope your adventures are also going well.

Colorado is Fun

I've been in Colorado since Saturday (today is Wednesday). I spent several days hiking and biking with my friend Kana, who is currently working for the National Park Service at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. It's a beautiful place, as most places in Colorado are.

Right now I'm in Denver with the Rossi clan. Friday we head up to Steamboat Springs for a couple of nights, then on to Yellowstone for some camping and backpacking! I'm pretty excited about seeing Yellowstone for the first time.

Photos I posted are linked to in the headings below.

Enjoy!

Curecanti Creek Hike

Kana drives a Volkswagen Cabrio that has seen some pretty rough times but has somehow managed to survive several (almost) cross-country trips in the past few years. I took this photo from the back seat because the front passenger seat is in her bedroom. The seat was removed to make room for her mountain bike, which is named Roland. Roland is the older brother of our good friend Jeremy.

Everywhere we went for two days, I sat in the backseat. It's the closest I've ever come to feeling like I had a personal chauffeur. I'm not sure I can go back to driving myself around again. It just seems so. . . lowbrow.

Oh and we went for a nice hike.

Tomichi Route Hike

There are several "routes" (not trails, which are maintained, marked and generally considered safe) to the Gunnison River at the bottom of Black Canyon. We, not surprisingly, decided it would be a good idea to hike the Tomichi Route, about which we were adequately warned by Ranger Tom and which is described thusly by the NPS:

"This route is considered the steepest South Rim route and is very difficult. The entire length is loose rock and receives full sun exposure. Use extra caution while descending."

Extra caution entailed stopping every half hour or so to evaluate whether it was foolish of us to continue. Kana even noted that the steep, loose terrain was "testing her tolerance". If you know Kana, that's saying a lot. However, knowing that neither of us would let the other hear the end of it if we turned back (and Ranger Tom would give us hell), we continued onward. The prescribed descent time is 1.5 hours. It took us two hours. The prescribed ascent time is "triple the descent time", which would have taken us six hours. It took us two hours.

Part of the ascent was spent trying to figure out if we were following the same route. The picture above, which was taken on the descent for this very purpose, pointed us into the proper drainage when we got a bit mixed up. We emerged at the canyon rim looking like we'd been through hell and making comments about how the nature trail along the rim is a lot rougher than it appears.

Leadville

I had read about Leadville, CO in the context of several grueling long-distance runs and mountain bike rides that have brought some tourism to the once booming but now bust mining town. They're currently mining Molybdenum nearby, which is assigned atomic number 42 on the periodic table. Sadly, I don't have anything else to say about Leadville.

Grays-Torrey Hike

Colorado has 53 (58 on some lists) mountains with a summit elevation of 14,000 feet or higher ("Fourteeners" in the local parlance). We camped near the trailhead and hit the trail around 7:15am for a nine-mile roundtrip over Grays Peak and Torreys Peak. My first two fourteeners! I like this picture because of what it says and because of what it omits.

What it says: "Jimmy and Kana are the only people dumb enough to bring snowshoes on this hike." Also, "Why is Jimmy, who is from Texas and who skipped last winter entirely by spending it in Hawaii, in shorts and short sleeves while the locals are layered like a lasagna?"

What it doesn't say: "Jimmy's lungs have almost completely evaporated because he is not acclimated to the elevation."

While living in New England I hiked all 48 of the 4,000-foot mountains in New Hampshire. I may have found a new obsession.

Westward Once Again

The last time I posted, two weeks ago, I was in California. I've been in Connecticut all weekend visiting friends and having a great time at Dermottfest. I also picked up my kayak, which remained at Brad's house (my final place of residence in CT) when I evacuated last November. Tomorrow morning, Monday the 27th of June, I head west again. Dallas, to drop of the kayak. Denver, to meet up with some friends. Yellowstone National Park, to go backpacking with some of those friends. San Francisco, to take a road trip down the California coast with my sister, brother in law and nephew. Racking up those miles!

I've posted more photos, some earlier this week and some just this evening. I'm going to try (really!) to provide more substance in these blog posts. My strategy for this is to tell a story related to the single photo from each Picasa album I've been (usually) including in my posts. Here goes.

Matt Svrcek's Commencement Weekend

Pictured here are various relatives of Matt and his wife Annie. I have no idea what they're looking at, but I thought it made for a funny photo. The gentleman second from the right is Annie's dad Lee. Lee is the proud owner of a Nissan Leaf (all electric vehicle). Being a car geek, amateur tree hugger, and general mischief hound, I humbly requested, somewhere around our second or third glass of wine, an opportunity to take it for a spin. Being a generous host and a truly kind person, Lee foolishly agreed. 

I gently roll the Leaf from the driveway to the road and then punch it to see what it could do. I was pleasantly surprised by the acceleration, though I should have expected it because that's a great thing about electric vehicles. Lee was clearly surprised, as indicated by his involuntary exclamations at various points in the drive, by my willingness to run his new car through its paces while simultaneously asking him a thousand questions about it, but he remained relatively calm. Perhaps the wine helped in that respect.

The Drive from California to Colorado

Despite the fact that my back seat was already quite full, due in part to the presence of my mountain bike, I picked up an Irishman named James who was cycling cross-country with his compatriot Jon. The two had pushed pretty hard crossing the Sierra Nevadas, and James needed a recovery day. I agreed to drive James to their next stop in Eureka, NV while Jon would pedal the seventy miles so they would not lose a day on their itinerary. The photo shows James' red bike frame piled atop my various belongings.

James and I decided to have a beer in Eureka to celebrate the survival of the treacherous one-hour drive (any reason will do, really). Five or so hours, several beers, and dozens of wide-ranging conversational topics later, I crash on one of the beds in their motel room across the street. Jon arrives shortly thereafter and James accompanies him back to the bar so Jon can eat. When they return to the room, much snoring ensues.

In the morning I join them for breakfast and am quite easily convinced to transport James to their next destination: Ely, NV. We discuss various things, including my upcoming trip to Europe, which may now include a leg in Ireland to visit my two new friends.

Visiting Friends in Denver, CO

I love Colorado. Mountains. Sunshine. Lots of outdoorsy people doing outdoorsy activities. Sarah, who previously lived in New York City, and I went for a hike at Golden Gate Canyon State Park. Her dog Meisje (Dutch for "little girl") came with us and took every opportunity to soak in whatever body of water she could find, no matter how small. 

The Center of it All

Well, not really "it all", but when they surveyed the U.S. in 1907 or so they determined that the geographic center of the U.S. was somewhere in Kansas. I stumbled upon this highly irrelevant fact as I was crossing Kansas, my goal being to spend as little time there as possible. But of course I had to stop and check out the center. What kind of road trip would it be if I didn't stop for such obscurities? There was a small park at the junction of two small roads outside a small town called Lebanon. According to the sign in the photo, Lebanon is the place to go for all your "Center of the USA" souvenirs. Who knew?

Dermottfest

I like this picture because I don't remember what we were eating, but we were very enthusiastic about it and somebody thought it was worth documenting photographically. I gladly obliged. Dermottfest is amazing, and pictures like this remind me of the fact that the great friends I made during my years in New England are the one thing I will always miss.

Made it to California!

Been a little while since I posted, but you're accustomed to that by now. Sitting on a couch with Matt Svrcek, who is getting hooded today as "Dr. Svrcek".

I uploaded a ton of photos yesterday. Check them out at https://picasaweb.google.com/jimmythecook .   Everything from "2011-05-28 Carlsbad Caverns" and newer was just added. I won't bore you with the little details of each leg of my trip since leaving Alabama, but I've been having a blast and seeing a lot. Hopefully the pictures will tell the story.

Monday or (more likely) Tuesday I hit the road again, heading east this time. Plenty of adventures still to be had!

Heading West

I'm in a cheap motel room in Biloxi, Mississippi, hoping to get a solid night's sleep after a long party weekend at the Hangout Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama. In the morning I continue heading west, en route to California.

I've uploaded some new photos to catch you up on my wanderings. Some miscellaneous photos of my travels can be found here.

After the launch I drove to Sarasota, Florida to see the Ringling Museum. It was cool, but I think I was expecting something more. . . over the top. Photos here.

After that I worked my way towards Pensacola. I stayed at Gulf Islands National Seashore near Pensacola Beach. Nearby was Fort Pickens, which was built in 1359 or something. Okay maybe not that old. I watched sunset from atop the fort. Photos here.

And then there was the Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama. A three-day festival on the beach. Five stages. Fifty thousand or so people. Lots of good times. I could have done better at planning out my festival time to see more of the bands that were on my wish list, but I still had a good time. And of course, there was an unhealthy amount of partying. Photos here.

Liftoff!

After two previously failed attempts to see a space shuttle launch, I drove back to Florida from Dallas Saturday and Sunday. I arrived at my pre-determined viewing area around 11pm Sunday for the 9am Monday launch. And it happened!!!

It was cloudy at launch time (though clearer about 20 minutes before and after), so I only got about 20 seconds of video. No stills because I was forced to scramble into a new position at T minus 30 seconds. Thus I only grabbed video because at least stills can be captured from that. However, due to the rushed shooting the view and clarity aren't so great. But I saw it live, and that's the important thing.

YouTube video is here.

Jazz Fest!

After two nights in North Carolina I drove to New Orleans for Jazz Fest. Met up with Stephen Millet from WPI, and we stayed with his friends Jimmy (demoted to Jimmy 2  - he knows why) and Susan in the Lakeview area of New Orleans. Three days of Jazz Fest and a day checking out New Orleans. It was pretty sweet. Pictures are here.

Gentilly Stage at Jazz Fest

French Quarter

Opening the Spillway

In Dallas for the next few nights. Saturday I'll drive back towards Florida for the shuttle launch, and then on to Gulf Shores, Alabama for the Hangout Music Festival.

Lost in Appalachia

OK, I'm not really lost but I am in Appalachia. Visiting family in Black Mountain, NC for a couple of nights before moving on to New Orleans for JazzFest. After that, I head back to Florida for a second shot at seeing Endeavour launch. It was delayed due to mechanical issues and won't launch until May 10th at the earliest.

By now you've figured out that I'm not highly skilled at keeping this blog updated. Perhaps you heeded my warning when I used the phrase "I'm not a big fan of blogs" in my tag line. Perhaps you did not. I could promise to be better at it in the future, but previous promises have proven fruitless so I will not bother. I'm updating it now, and that's all that matters.

After San Diego I spent three weeks in Dallas. Did a lot of nothing some of the time, and got some work done on my car, visited with friends and family, cut down a tree in my parents' yard, and went for some runs the rest of the time. Not many photos of most of that, but I do have some pictures from a weekend trip to Jack and Kelly Paadise's house on Lake Limestone. You can see them here.

Jack and Baby Joe

On Wednesday April 27th I hit the road with Jack Motherf@#$ing Paradise (TM) to drive to Florida to see the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-134). We spent a few days there, Brett Bickel and Jason Rossi joined us on launch day, it was delayed a while, and you know the rest. Photos here.

As close as most will ever get. I got closer once, but that's a different story.

With some unexpected time on my hands, I followed Brett to Charleston, SC to hang there for a couple of nights before heading to Black Mountain. It was my first trip to Charleston, and I could definitely go back. Photos here.

Stopped by the Custom House on my tour of Chuck Town.

That's all for now. JazzFest is next, certainly with photos to follow.

Zoooooooooo

I also added photos from a trip to the San Diego Zoo last week. Monkeys rule!

https://picasaweb.google.com/JimmyTheCook/20110405SanDiegoZoo

Frank the Tank. Yes I know he's an ape, not a monkey.

Hawai'i Conclusion

I flew from the Big Island to Oahu on the 15th of March and spent a couple of days there before spending ten days or so touring Kauai by myself. I returned to the mainland on the 30th (via San Diego for a week) and am currently in Dallas for a couple of weeks. I need to get my car ready for road-tripping, and I plan to head to Florida for a space shuttle launch scheduled for 4/29.

I've posted a lot more photos on Picasa Web, mostly related to my time on Kauai. Here's a brief summary:

• St. Patrick's Day in Honolulu with some EB friends.
• Spent three nights at three different beach parks on the eastern and northern coast of Kauai (Anahole, Hanalei, Ha'ena).
• Three days on the Kalalau Trail, a hike that I've been wanting to do for several years. Hiked in on day 1, stayed at Kalalau Beach for day 2, then hiked out on day 3. It was amazing.
• Visited some state parks on the south coast, with mixed results due to the weather.
• Spent a day doing some more touristy stuff on the south coast.
• Hiked through the highest swamp in the world and looked down on the Kalalau Trail from above.
• Saw a few final things before catching my flight off Kauai.

That is a painfully abbreviated synopsis of my time on Kauai. It's a beautiful island and I hope the photos will help tell my story more than I am putting in words here (shouldn't be hard).

All-in-all I was in Hawai'i for almost four months, and it was a hell of an experience. I have a lot more to do throughout the coming year, but this was a good start (especially considering the miserable winter they had in Connecticut and in Texas).

Kauai Day 3

Moved on to Ha'ena Beach Park, one mile shy of the Kalalau Trail trailhead. I plan to head out around 7am, which will unfortunately require an early alarm.

Google "Kalalau Trail" to get an idea of what I'm doing.

I'll try to post some photos when I return on Wednesday.

Kauai Day 2

Staying in Hanalei tonight. Another beach town backed by incredible mountains. Tough life.

Tomorrow I move on to Ha'ena, from which I will embark on the Kalalau Trail along the Na Pali Coast. As I was telling Cliff today (Cliff picked me up hitchhiking), this hike has been on my list so long that people I told about have already added it to their list and checked it off. Needless to say, it's about time.

Kauai Day 1

Landed on Kauai at 6 this morning. Took care of some logistics in Lihu'e (camping permits, bus schedules, groceries) and headed to my campsite at Anahole Beach Park. The mountain in the background is Kalalea, which from certain angles apparently resembles King Kong's profile. Hopefully I'll verify that tomorrow.

Almost Out of Kalani

Wow. It's been almost a month since I posted. Yes, I suck. But that's the way it goes some times I guess.

Obviously you've figured out by now that I survived the tsunami of March 11th. I wasn't impacted much, except for the fact that we were evacuated from our campsite Thursday night to seek higher ground. They sent us to a park, which of course housed one of the tsunami sirens. It was a rough night of sleep.

I've added quite a few photos to my Picasa Web Albums.

Some new ones in Miscellaneous.

We went to a sacred Hawaiian site called Place of Refuge.

We have amazing sunrises here.

Staff trip to Hapuna Beach State Park on Thursday the 10th (the day of the Japan earthquake).

We had some fun on the northern tip of the island on Friday the 11th.

On Saturday we went for a hike to view the source of the current eruptions.

And to top it all off, we had an incredible trip to the top of Mauna Kea for sunset Sunday evening.

Sorry for not being a better blogger lately. I could promise to do better in the future, but I'd just end up making a liar of myself.

Tuesday the 15th I fly to Oahu for a few days before heading solo to Kauai for ten days. I'm reeeeeeeeeally looking forward to seeing Kauai. It's been on my list for years.

I'm Still Alive

Yes it's been a while since I posted. The last couple of weeks have been more chill than the previous several. Still having a blast, but haven't gone on a proper misadventure recently.

I've added some photos to my miscellaneous and people pages.

Last weekend some of us paid a visit to Mackenzie State Park, which is where a significant portion of the latest film version of The Tempest was shot. Later that night we drove to nearby Kalapana for drinks and dancing. See photos of the day here.

We also went to Hilo for a Bob Marley festival (BobFest), which was admittedly kinda lame. So we left and went to Richardson's Beach instead. I got some fun photos of sea turtles hanging out in a tidal pool. Check it out here.

In other news, I signed up for a week-long yoga workshop for the week of 2/20. It focuses on the Anusara style of yoga and meditation. I'm really looking forward to it, though I'll still be working in the afternoons to help set up for a large group that is coming the following week. The workshop info is here.

Yesterday (Friday the 18th) I dropped Kana off at the house she and her friend Jason will be working on for the next few months. Someone commented at breakfast that it's quieter without her around. I preferred it the other way.

And yesterday afternoon I discovered that some ants were building a nest in my tent. Awesome. Hopefully a heavy dose of poison will teach them a lesson.

Waipi'o Valley, Take Two

Last weekend I rented a car from a guy named Hank and drove to the opposite side of the island to meet my buddy James from Connecticut. He was on the island for a week with his wife and two friends. Festivities included:

• Racing into the night to get to our campsite in time.
• Waking early to go pick up James.
• Taking the Buick Century sort of off-road on an attempt at a shortcut.
• Back-tracking and taking the "long way" instead.
• Hiking Waipi'o Valley to Hi'ilawe Falls! See my post of 1/8/11 to learn about our previous failure.
• Drinking beer in an airport parking lot.
• Drinking kava in Hawi.
• Drinking beer on a beach.
• Sleeping on said beach.
• Lots of delicious parking lot sandwiches.
• Rescuing a small family from their burning van.
• Drinking at a bonfire.
• Spending all day Sunday recovering.

Good times, as usual. Kana and I are working on our business model for a tour agency called "Misadventures with Jimmy and Kana (or Kana and Jimmy)". Pictures from the weekend are here.

Akaka Falls

As promised, I have posted photos from our semi-failed trip to Akaka Falls. We also stopped by the Mehana Brewing Company in Hilo on the way home. The photos are here.

Happy Saturday!

Yes I've been slacking on the updates once again. This one will include several items.

My birthday came and went on January 12th, as usual. They gave me the day off from work, which gave me some time to just tool around the property. I took some photos of the retreat, which included several signs that Kana posted wishing me a happy birthday. They've been added to my "Kalani Miscellaneous" page. I've also added a few pics to my "Kalani People" page.

On Friday the 14th we took a group trip to Makalawena Beach on the Kona side of the island. It's a beautiful, secluded white sand beach. Lots of sunshine. Warm, clear water. Whales breaching in the distance. All in all a pretty good day, despite the fact that my supposedly waterproof camera crapped out on me after apparently developing a small leak. I bought a cheapo replacement the next day to tide me over while awaiting resolution with Pentax. So far it has treated me fairly well, and it did not leak when I took it snorkeling. Pics from the day are here.

 

On the 18th I drove Kana to Kona opposite side of the island) to pick up her friend Jason from the airport. As usual, it turned into a bit of an adventure. Two of us, driving to pick up a third, turned into four of us dropping off one and then picking up another, reacquiring the one we dropped off, going snorkeling, buying a bike, meeting up with two more, having beers and appetizers at Kona Brewing Company followed by sushi, then dropping off two and driving back to Kalani as three. Quite a day. Pics are here.

Yesterday (Friday the 21st) some of us went to Akaka Falls State Park. In order to skip the entry fee and get closer to the falls, we followed some verbal directions that resulted in us hacking our way through the forest for a couple of hours. Of course, we never made it to the top of the falls, but we exited the forest onto the paved state park path, thus avoiding the $1 per person fee. Pictures will be posted later.

Lava!

Sunday we went to view the lava where it is pouring into the ocean. This consists of a 10-minute drive followed by a 1.5 hour walk, so it's pretty close.

It was amazing. It's hard to describe the sensation of witnessing brand new earth flowing into the ocean, so I won't even try. The bottom line is that it's an incredible experience. You should try it some time.

My photos from the day are here. We finished the adventure with margaritas in town, followed by more margaritas before, during and after dinner. Mmmmmmmmmargaritas.

Waipi'o Valley and Hilo

It may seem I've been slacking off on updates here, but the reality of it is that there hasn't been much to report during the week. Friday, however, we went to Waipi'o Valley to hike to Hi'ilawe Falls (1,200' to 1,600', depending on whom you ask). We got a bit lost and ended up not making it to the falls, but we had fun trying and will try to give it another go in the future. Pictures are here.

Note Hi'ilawe Falls in the background

We went to Hilo on Saturday and saw some paintings by Roy Ruiz, who is here at Kalani, and stopped by a Kava bar for a drink. Photos here.

Roy's painting of the Dalai Lama

The plan for Sunday is to head down the road to view the lava flows. I will be sure to post an update on that soon!

Happy New Year!

For New Year's Eve I went with three others to South Point (the southern tip of the island, and the southernmost point in the U.S.). This included a walk to Green Sand Beach, which is green due to the presence of a mineral called Olivine. It was pretty incredible. Pictures are posted here.

We started partying before leaving South Point, which meant having drinks at Shaka Restaurant and "the most southern bar in U.S.A.". The festivities continued at Kalani, culminating with drunken singing at a bluff called "The Point" overlooking the ocean. Good times.