Scribbles and Photos

Purple Gem Iris Bedecked I set out to walk six miles yesterday -- and did!  Not sure if it counts as training because I took an iris break at around mile two to enjoy the early signs of spring in Central Park's Conservatory Garden.  It was about a week later than last year's Iris expedition ( Season Spring, Forecast Snow ) and felt a lot colder because of the clouds and threatening rain (which showed up around mile 5) but the Irises seemed to have held up under the heavy rains on Saturday.  The crocus (or is that croci?), on the other hand, had not fully bloomed yet.  Maybe next weekend? Iris Katharine Hodgkins Iris Reticula Katharine Hodgkins Iris Bejeweled Katharine Hodgkins Iris Bejeweled in B&W Mixed Bouquet OR Crocus on the Cusp

Captain of the Ship? I left off on the travel saga of getting from My Denali to the Kenai Peninsula when my niece Kristen (#thetravelingkristen) and I were on the cusp of getting on a boat.  This was the shortest leg of our journey ( It Takes Some Time to Get Around Alaska ) -- our small boat would take us and other intrepid travelers across Resurrection Bay out into the Pacific Ocean.  Eventually, we would land at  Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge but not until after lunch.  And, more importantly, not until after we felt the wind in our face, the rocking of a boat moving quickly across the water, and saw some whales, puffins, otters, and sea lions.  In other words, not until we had an adventure. The "Real" Captain of the Ship There is something about a small boat in the midst of the ocean that is at once exhilarating and terrifying.  Truth be told, there were lots of other small boats in Resurrection Bay and I think the only real danger we were in was...

A 3.5 hour shore excusion to see the sights  of Aruba.  Four stops.  15 minutes at each stop.  We were at the back of the bus (so cut five minutes off our time).  What's a shutter bug to do? Snap quickly! These were at our last stop - the baby bridge.  I must say that  I love my EVIL -- one of the abbreviations in vogue for mirror less camera systems.  EVIL stands for Electronic Viewfinder with Interchangable Lenses (in case you were wondering). HEREWITH, some waves...

It is day three of the intrepid Nancy B’s and my Panama Canal Cruise on #HollandAmerica.   So far, we’ve embarked (day one and exhausting), stopped at Half Moon Cay (day two and relaxing), and cruised the Caribbean Sea (today and the jury is still out).   Tonight is our first formal night and we have reserved an early dining table.   In other words, we are out early birding the early birds! I haven’t learned many dos and don’ts on this cruise (yet).   So far, we’ve stood in the reserved dining table line twice when we haven’t had a reservation and they’ve just seated us (we whisper when we get to the head of the line).   And, we’ve learned that we are an anomaly and so everyone remembers our name and we remember just the names of the last couple we met. I have, however, learned a lot about cruises from the movies and am in the mood for sharing.   See if you can guess the movie (answers are at the end).   The photos accompanying this post...

Seward Harbor First days of vacation are the best!  You have the whole vacation to look forward to and, if you are lucky, nothing terribly bad is going wrong (at least for the moment).  On the order of terribly wrong, today didn't even come close.  A flight delay out of JFK and long lines at security for #JetBlue don’t really rise to the occasion.  Not being able to get a cup of coffee before my flight because of the aforementioned long lines – well that could be a little headache inducing if you have a daily triple shot latte #Starbucks habit.  Which I do.  But still nothing terribly wrong. Traveling the Seward Highway is better than #Prozac So, what do I usually write about when I’m heading out on vacation?   Normally the upcoming vacation but I appear to have not finished reporting on my vacation with the #travelingkristen back in July!   Now, how did that happen you might be wondering?   Hmm, let me see.   Life k...

Inside Out :: Richard Serra I went down to see the Richard Serra exhibit at the Gargosian Galleries three times.  No, really, I did.  It's not like I'm a big aficionado of Serra's work. Specifically, he is not an artist that I would typically stalk but, here I was, a few weekends over the past month or so doing just that.  Stalking him that is.  This stalking was a bit different from my past efforts because it did not involve any efforts to "find" the art ( Expedition Keith Haring , Expedition #Bansky , or Expedition Real World ).  No, this art was in a gallery in Chelsea, well advertised, and easily found.   Endings - A Detail from Intervals :: Richard Serra To be clear, I am not sure that the first expedition to the Gargosian counts (the gallery was closed) nor is it certain that the third should count (we saw oh so much more art than just the Serra's) so this report is mainly about the second expedition which was a completely focused effort to...

A Walk in the Park I admit it, I have been a bit obsessed with walking since having my toe surgery last September (there is a run of posts that begins with Wiggling My Toes  where I talk about the surgery and my post-operative progress.  There is also my more recent commitment, gulp, to walk a half marathon this year ( Resolved ).  This week, my podiatrist cleared me to train for that little adventure.  That's a good thing because I had already kind of started doing that (training that is).  I'll get more serious come the spring and I will walk that half marathon come fall with my dear friend Linda.  Or so I think. On Tuesday, I walked to the podiatrist's office.  It was a beautiful day for a walk in Central Park.  Quiet and peaceful after a Monday storm had dumped about 8 inches of snow on NYC.  The trees were still coated in white.  Because school was not canceled, the park was primarily filled with adult walkers, runners, the oc...