tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-199037712011-07-28T04:27:26.477-07:00life is a journeycolindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.comBlogger1331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-31988623995833610332009-05-11T23:28:00.000-07:002009-05-11T23:57:55.727-07:00

[Introduction: about a year ago I discovered that, despite years of hating the gym, I actually loved working out. Thanks to an awesome bootcamp class in Seattle and a crazy CrossFit gym here in SF I've been able to get a great workout with out going to the "gym." I could rant and rave about this for many, many paragraphs, but I'll save that for later. The short version is that I'm so

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-33529057683094901892009-04-29T23:43:00.000-07:002009-04-29T23:48:38.897-07:00

I hate commuting to work. I hate commuting so much that the last time I lived in California I chose to live in the dead center of the suburbs — killing any faint glimmer of a social life — because it meant I could rollerblade, bike or walk to work. And it was worth it. I hate commuting.Fortunately my second tour of California includes a job in downtown San Francisco, meaning I can live close

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-21114610679499762582009-04-27T22:39:00.000-07:002009-04-27T22:44:31.630-07:00

I may be a bit biased, but I'm pretty sure Seattle is the greatest city in the world.I've proudly uttered that line a few times. Well, more than a few times. And I stand by it, Seattle is an amazing place. However, my friend Gaurav made an astute point today at work. If I love Seattle so much, what the hell am I doing in San Francisco? Good question.I guess the only thing greater

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-71992405479065465952008-07-07T00:37:00.000-07:002008-07-07T01:31:08.792-07:00

I'm not a big gambler. I'm too logical and methodical, two traits I'm convinced aren't going to help me strike big in Vegas. My logical eye ensures that I play determined not to lose too much (instead of hoping that I might win big). Sitting at a roulette table I consistently spread the minimum bid out across the board, attempting to minimize my losses. My friend Mike is much more impulsive

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-20024797732016965762007-11-20T11:29:00.000-08:002007-11-20T11:41:15.561-08:00

I can tell when it's time to wrap up a trip; aside from the date on my return ticket. It's the little things that start piling up. I begin to run out of toiletries (and no, foreign replacements just don't cut it). My watch's battery has died and it's taking up space in the bottom of my bag. I start leaving things behind all over the place (I think I've accidentally left a small souvenir in

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-48703007766247297202007-11-18T12:55:00.001-08:002007-11-18T14:59:44.098-08:00

Last night one of my favorite bands, the Foo Fighters, played in London. An evening with my favorite band sounded like a perfect way to finish my adventures around Europe so I spent some time on ebay.co.uk, trying to get a ticket to the concert. The Foo Fighters are much bigger in Europe (as compared to America) so tickets aren't easy to come by. But I persevered and ended up with a seat.

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-38152174281765715932007-11-18T12:22:00.000-08:002007-11-18T13:53:09.248-08:00

I don't understand the British language. I was at a Mexican restaurant last night, have a couple of drinks and snacks before going to a concert (more on that later). In need of a taste of America (well Mexico, but close enough), I asked the bartender for some chips and guacamole. He looked at me strangely and told me he needed to check with his manager first. I sat and watch him and the

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-42606196004710557882007-11-18T10:42:00.000-08:002007-11-18T12:22:19.285-08:00

England has long since been a thorn in my side. Previous trips to London were far from ideal; the city and I seem to have developed a mutual feeling of distrust. So it was a with a wary eye that I stepped foot back into the country last week. In my mind England had a lot of apologizing to do.Fortunately, my week was sensational. The first good decision I made was to avoid London

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-73673641871948978932007-11-14T09:10:00.000-08:002007-11-14T09:13:06.968-08:00

Lets start with the facts: Iceland is phenomenal. I love pretty much everything about it. I love the constantly changing, occasionally extreme weather. I'm used to unpredictable weather in Seattle, but it pales in comparison to Iceland. Sitting directly on the gulf stream doesn't help any. A relentless wind pushes a week's worth of weather systems across the island in an afternoon.I

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-32526527384628720062007-11-06T01:56:00.000-08:002007-11-08T01:59:08.002-08:00

I just landed in London this afternoon, I'm currently spending a wonderfully quiet evening outside the Stansted airport (where I'll be departing for Iceland from tomorrow). I can't tell you how comfortable it is to be in an English speaking country. Passing through customs, I was able to stroll up to the counter with a casual "How's it going?" greeting. Of course, the English would rather

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-7784398914872685752007-11-06T01:51:00.000-08:002007-11-08T02:00:18.895-08:00

My trek through Morocco marked the second time I've set foot in Africa. But the similarities between Morocco and Tanzania end at the continental level. Actually, I don't really consider this as my second time in Africa, but more my first time in the middle east. Culturally and architecturally, at least. It was an incredible trip, of course. Instead of rehashing the entire trip, I

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-53752373003169358042007-10-30T14:35:00.000-07:002007-10-30T15:19:05.437-07:00

My last weekend in Spain turned out to be quite eventful. After getting robbed and dealing with a bout of homesickness, I completely the triumvirate with violent case of food poisoning (or something) Sunday night. There's nothing like an evening in a cheap hostel, jumping back and forth from my bed to the (conveniently close) sink to make for a truly enjoyable trip through Andalucian

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-48383217715089590692007-10-30T13:33:00.000-07:002007-10-30T13:41:10.989-07:00

As I type this I'm on a train from Granada to Ronda. I'm doing a whirlwind trip through southern Spain (one night in Granada, one night in Ronda, half a day in Arcos and then two nights in Sevilla) before heading south to Morocco for a week. After a month of "living" in Barcelona it feels a little strange to on the road again. I'm still not sure if I actually liked Barcelona, but I

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-43429849840839727132007-10-30T13:21:00.000-07:002007-10-30T14:01:11.212-07:00

Wow, what a difference a short flight makes. Granada is nothing like Madrid or Barcelona. Obviously it's much smaller, but it's also much more "Spanish." Guitarists and small bands hang out in every plaza, making every walk an enjoyable one. Many streets are too narrow for cars (and — somehow — the streets that are wide enough for a car manage to be two way streets. I have no idea

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-64509646160744017502007-10-30T12:55:00.000-07:002007-10-30T13:20:11.211-07:00

After nearly a month with my sister in Barcelona, last Friday marked my final night as a temporary resident. To celebrate my sister and I threw together an impromptu (and very Spanish) farewell dinner. The two big-ticket items being the very high class cheese (manchego) and the ham (jamón ibérico). We picked up our dinner at the market, also grabbing some fresh bread to put everything

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-10664655543312098852007-10-26T07:39:00.000-07:002007-10-26T07:47:08.858-07:00

Nestled in the hills some 30 miles from Barcelona is the monastery of Montserrat. Founded in 1025, the monastery is Catalonia's most important pilgrimage sites and is steeped in history. The church houses a statue of La Moreneta, one of the patron saints of Catalonia and the most revered religious symbols in the area. Pilgrims travel from all over to touch the statue for good luck.

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-66425902193480649552007-10-22T07:30:00.000-07:002007-10-22T07:36:18.423-07:00

It's been almost a month since I touched down in Madrid, making this by far the longest amount of time I've spent in non-English speaking country. Fortunately, the language barrier hasn't been much of an issue. Sadly it's not because I can speak Spanish (a 100 word vocabulary doesn't get you far these days), but it's because everyone here speaks English. In my three weeks in Barcelona I think

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-21936817479408188962007-10-22T07:13:00.000-07:002007-10-22T07:36:18.449-07:00

On my first weekend in Barcelona my sister and I did a quick tour of Gaudí's major works: Park Güell, Casa Milà, Casa Botllò, and the Sagrada Família. The lines to go inside were long and we had a full schedule, so my sister just gawked at the exteriors. His style is fanciful, unique and definitely fun to look at. But I came away only mildly impressed. Yes, his stuff distinct, but it

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-8479791434584617932007-10-16T08:28:00.000-07:002007-10-16T08:36:31.157-07:00

I'm happy to report that the food situation hasn't been all that unpleasant in Spain. Sure I haven't had a salad, smoothie, or fajita in a month, but I'm certainly not starving over here. My favorite place to pick up the essentials is La Boqueria market. Just a block off of Las Ramblas, every fresh food you could possibly imagine is crammed into a tiny market, packed with tourists and

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-51235958698263263712007-10-16T08:20:00.000-07:002007-10-16T08:36:31.158-07:00

I've mentioned it before, but I'll say it again: there is a lot of stuff happening on Las Ramblas. You can buy flowers or buy birds, but the biggest attraction is the street performers. I took a paseo down the street last weekend, snapping a few pictures of the acts that I saw. There are some regulars there, but every day I see someone new. For the most part each individual performer

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-44812125567535658322007-10-16T08:06:00.000-07:002007-10-16T08:36:31.159-07:00

Lets talk about sports (if you don't like sports you can probably just skip this completely). Europeans love sports. Sadly they're not too fired up about baseball or American football, so I've had a hard time following the playoffs or the Seahawks. However, they love the "other" football. Last weekend my sister and I got tickets to FC Barcelona, one of the best football teams in the

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-31201211035212171722007-10-10T02:42:00.003-07:002007-10-16T08:36:31.160-07:00

I've now been in Barcelona for just over a week. The guidebooks duly note that Barcelona and the rest of Catalonia are not like the rest of Spain and "almost feel like another country." There's no almost about it. Barcelona and Madrid are very, very different cities. And not in the way that say Seattle and New York are different cities, it's more like how New York and London are

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-59469294373826635402007-10-04T10:54:00.000-07:002007-10-10T10:20:52.624-07:00

[Note (again): originally written some time last week, but I haven't had internet so it's a little late]Originally titled This is Spain!, I'm adding a second half to this post, describing the highs and lows of my first week in Barcelona. My literary companion Rick Steves says that traveling through Europe is a roller-coaster adventure, filled with many screams of delight and terror. Things work

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-6326774725890105342007-10-02T10:53:00.000-07:002007-10-10T10:11:29.272-07:00

[Note: originally written on October 2nd, but I haven't had internet access for a week, so it's a little late. And yes, this is what happens when I have too much time to write a blog entry, it becomes unnecessarily descriptive...]Shortly after 5:00pm last Sunday night my sister and walked out of the Prado (one of Europe's largest museums, one that cannot be conquered in a single outing)

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-42482556107450968852007-09-29T12:10:00.001-07:002007-09-29T23:40:45.260-07:00

I don't like food.Well that's not entirely true, I just don't really like flavor all that much. I guess flavor isn't all that bad, but if given a choice I'd rather sit down with some fruit, vegetables, and a plate full of plain noodles. Which works great for me in America, but not so well in say anywhere else in the world.This has the potential to spell disaster on a two month trip through

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-78131094329955107912007-09-28T01:37:00.000-07:002007-09-29T12:10:07.878-07:00

I've been in Madrid for about 48 hours now and (of course) I'm already having a fantastic time. This is the first time I've traveled internationally and not really had any real plans. And it's a great way to travel. I've started both mornings with a meandering jog through town. This could be my new favorite way to explore a city. I cover a lot of ground and get to follow pretty much any whim

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-71829185735287027362007-09-27T12:27:00.000-07:002007-09-29T12:10:07.878-07:00

And we have liftoff!My absolute least favorite part of traveling is ... well the traveling itself. It starts at the airport. The airport could be the most depressing place I know of (a quick review of my most painful memories reveals that no less than three of my top five bad memories involve an airport). On top of that, I'm convinced that the entire system is designed to test our ability

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-75727790669251674632007-09-24T23:02:00.000-07:002007-09-29T12:10:07.879-07:00

Fifteen months ago I put life on pause, packed up my snowboard gear, and spent eight fantastic weeks in New Zealand and Australia. Tomorrow I'm setting sail again, this time for Europe! I'll be joining my sister for a month in Spain before venturing off in November to check out Morocco, England, and Iceland! There will be (of course) lots of great adventures, stories and pictures.We're off

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-85688906901023642672007-09-20T23:13:00.000-07:002007-09-21T01:42:16.847-07:00

I've spent the last two weeks nursing my sore feet and slowly internalizing my trip to the top of Mt. Rainier and back. I had hoped that if I thought about things long enough I'd be able to conjure up a concise and cogent tale of my summit climb. Sadly, that's not going to happen. Climbing Mt. Rainier is a huge emotional and physical investment; I certainly don't have the literary

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-3010023732393495012007-09-12T01:31:00.000-07:002007-09-12T01:35:34.974-07:00

I made it to the top! I've got so many stories I'd love to tell, but I'm still slowly absorbing the whole event. So no great stories yet (I'll get something posted this week), but I do have a few pictures uploaded.

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-25106452637192508572007-09-02T19:58:00.000-07:002007-09-03T00:16:21.499-07:00

I'm three days away from starting up Rainier and I can't wait to get started. Of course, climbing Mt. Rainier isn't just about the three day climb. Most of climbing Mt. Rainier is the training beforehand. RMI — our guides on Rainier — recommend a six month training window, minimum. I'm fairly certain that I'm in better shape than your average American, but I didn't know I was going to

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-31998460703133189412007-08-30T06:28:00.000-07:002007-08-30T09:53:00.940-07:00

25 years ago — shortly after my second birthday — my parents climbed Mt. Rainier together. Somewhere along the way my dad took a stunning picture of my mom, alone on the mountain, slowly traversing a glacier, high above the cloud level. That picture has been hanging in the hallway by my room ever since (give or take a couple years). Every morning for nearly 20 years I've been greeted

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-79249665489915263572007-08-26T22:36:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:51:36.450-07:00

Question: what does an international man of leisure do when he needs to recharge? Answer: he spends the summer back at home. I can't say that my life plans ever included being jobless and living at my parents' house at age 27, but that's just the way things go sometimes. And you know what? I'm extremely happy with the way things have turned out so far. I've mentioned it before, but Seattle

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-28171841962269408262007-06-07T00:28:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:53:00.702-07:00

And We're Back!It's been nearly a month since my last post; the blog break has been nice. I'm finally back in Seattle; I arrived last Thursday at 3:30am. The last month has been great. I'm not sure there's anything worth mentioning, but I'll give a quick run down of everything that I've been up to.The drive from Phoenix to Las Vegas was pretty easy. There must be some sort of Airforce base in

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-64863694934921944422007-05-11T00:02:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:54:12.599-07:00

Wrapping it UpIt's time to start heading home. My body is telling me I've done enough driving for one trip; I'm ready to sit in one place for a few days. Fortunately, Phoenix is my next stop and I'll be able to stay there for a short while. El Paso, Juarez, and Las Cruces have come and gone without too much excitement. Here's a couple highlights:Juarez, Mexico is like any other border town

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-18368255415492661632007-05-10T21:36:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:54:12.599-07:00

Roswell and CarlsbadRoswell is pretty much what I was expecting it to be: a small town capitalizing on the fact that it was near some strange events in the 1940s. Oh, and as I discovered while approaching the town, Roswell is also the self-proclaimed "Dairy Capital of the Southwest." The town has a few nice touches, like alien eye'd lampposts, but for the most part it doesn't look like anything

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-58567321925367829642007-05-07T09:12:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:54:12.599-07:00

New MexicoA quick update from Roswell, New Mexico. Things in New Mexico haven't been quite as awesome as I imagined. Starting with my snowy morning in Cortez, CO I made a little detour out to the Four Corners. I wasn't really expecting much, but was still completely underwhelmed by the monument. But I did get to run around in four states. Tragically, though, the Four Corners will be

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-57899629780451756272007-05-05T08:41:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:54:12.599-07:00

Spring in ColoradoI'm certainly glad I decided to stay inside last night. I woke up to a beautifully snowy morning here in Cortez, Colorado. I'm not sure how long it's going to last (or how far south the storm stretches), but this road trip waits for now one. Maybe I'll get to see the Four Corners covered in snow.

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-15701879526703103942007-05-05T08:24:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:54:12.600-07:00

Mesa VerdeI'm supposed to be camping somewhere in New Mexico right now. Instead I only made it about 60 miles, a small trek from Durango to Cortez, Colorado. The culprit? A little national park called Monte Verde, where I ended up spending most of the day. True to its name, Mesa Verde is a large, lush mesa in southwestern Colorado. But you don't visit Mesa Verde for the scenery. You visit

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-12579384231018182262007-05-04T09:12:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:54:12.600-07:00

Mesa Arch!I was just browsing through my pictures and I realized I completely forgot to upload my shots of the Mesa Arch (in Canyonlands) at sunrise. This is what I got up at 5:40am for! They're a little repetitive, but I think some of them came out pretty well. It was beautiful to watch the sun slowly warm the underside of the mesa.

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-17494488431308044282007-05-04T08:20:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:54:12.600-07:00

In the Shadows of the RockiesAs planned, I've spent the last couple of days in Colorado. I was actually planning to stay even longer, but clouds, thunder and rain have been chasing me all over Colorado. Aside from trying to outrun the storm, the drive from Grand Junction to the Great Sand Dunes was pretty uneventful. I made a brief detour through Colorado National Park which (as expected) was

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-26683666631156293792007-05-02T00:13:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:54:12.600-07:00

Google Tried To Kill MeWell that wasn't how things were supposed to start. Apparently Utah didn't want me to leave. If you look at the Google Maps directions from Park City, UT to Grand Junction, CO it includes a nifty little shortcut to get from US-40 to US-6. What it doesn't tell you is that shortly after you pass the Strawberry Reservoir the paved road ends. So I'm happily driving along,

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-49165147833376704982007-04-30T13:03:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:54:12.600-07:00

Road Trippin': Take 2I'm frantically running around my apartment (and town) trying to get ready for tomorrow. I just finalized the list of places I'd like to go and it's ambitious. I'm not even sure how long it'll take at this point. Even though I just pulled off a nearly flawless trip to southern Utah I'm pretty nervous about this one. A lot of things need to fall into place correctly. Okay

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-71809116393124873582007-04-30T11:52:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:54:12.600-07:00

Road Trip: Southern Utah!I'm back from a successful trip through southern Utah. While I was on the road I had some time to keep my blog up today. Looking back now it's way too wordy, but it's too late now! They're posted in reverse chronolgical order so I'd recommend scrolling down and starting at 'Road Trippin': Utah' and working your way back up. If you want to skip my blabber you can just

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-73860967363548484002007-04-30T11:50:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:54:12.601-07:00

Road Trip: Canyonland National Park(April 28th, 2007)Before driving out to Canyonlands, I stopped by the auto show to see what the fuss was all about. I'm not much of a car person but the vehicles on display looked sharp. The show started at 7:30am and I had a lot of fun walking around park with my breakfast (a banana and a bagful of Honey Nut Cheerios without milk).But with breakfast finished

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-63083760187209666262007-04-30T11:44:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:54:12.601-07:00

Road Trip: Arches National Park(April 27th, 2007)And pulling into Arches, I quickly realize that my "Moab plan" is, sadly, not going to be completed. The campgrounds at Arches National Park have been full since 7:30am (it's now a touch after 4:00pm). Additionally, all of the hotels, motels, RV parks, and supposedly most of the outlying campgrounds are full too. Why? An unfortunately

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-40437318145708366582007-04-30T11:41:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:54:12.601-07:00

Road Trip: Moab(April 27th, 2007)I pulled into Moab last night and was surprised to see that it's an actual town. Well, it's a little tourist destination town, but it's a big step up from Cedar City. I decided that I should check out the town for at least one night and pulled up to a little motel for the evening. As I lay in bed, I started planing out the following day (today): rent a mountain

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-37268202362808611042007-04-30T11:37:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:54:12.601-07:00

Road Trip: Bryce Canyon National Park(April 26th, 2007)I'm glad I stayed another day. Zion National Park got my heart pounding, but it's not nothing (visually speaking) on Bryce Canyon National Park. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I left off last time having just happily set up camp at Bryce Canyon. That night (last night) I learned something new about Bryce Canyon: it's much higher in

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-36596737477244725702007-04-30T11:21:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:54:12.601-07:00

Road Trip: Zion National Park(April 25th, 2007)I should just go home now. I don't think it's possible for things to get any better so it's going to be all downhill from here. I just spent the day hiking in Zion National Park and the place is stunning. The park consists of two large canyons, Zion canyon being the most popular. Having never been here before I wasn't sure where to go so I

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-47016138457572573012007-04-30T11:16:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:54:12.601-07:00

Road Trip: Cedar City(April 24rd, 2007)I'm not sure exactly how todays road trip started. I'm quickly running out of days before my lease ends and it feels like there's a ton of stuff to take care of and not much time to do it. You'd think I'd be a little better at it by now, but this happens every time I move. Packing up your life and fitting it into the back of your car is about as easy as

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-21607279743121384052007-04-25T09:50:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:54:12.601-07:00

Road Trippin': UtahNow that the ski season is done I can do -- well pretty much anything I want to do. And the first thing I want to do is spend a week in southern Utah. I'm in Cedar City, Utah right now (the first pause sign in the map above), about to head out for a couple days of camping in Zion National Park and Bryce National Park. From there I'll head over Moab for a few more days of

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-20957404601329261282007-04-18T23:09:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:56:32.487-07:00

Freddy AduIn case you don't know him, let me introduce you to Freddy Adu, the future of American soccer. When I learned that the 17 year old phenom would be playing for the local MLS team (Real Salt Lake), I new I had to see at least one game. Tonight was my lucky night. Sadly it wasn't all that great. As you can see from the picture, soccer isn't exactly a big draw in Salt Lake. I think

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-67245056382947796182007-04-09T22:07:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:56:32.488-07:00

Coming CleanSince my original post about my new toy there have been a few questions about the picture of the board. Why the weird photo? Was there something special about the wheels? Was I going for an artistic shot? Well yes, actually, there is a story behind the picture. Sadly, it's more a story of shame (for me at least).Buying a new skateboard is pretty fun. You get to pick a bunch of

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-42057117473098436302007-04-09T20:55:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:56:32.488-07:00

By The NumbersWith the season nearly over, I think it's time to break things down by the numbers. Yes, there are a lot more numbers I could have picked, but these are the first 10 I thought of. And I think it's long enough as it is so, without further ado:One: Dislocated finger! My first ever dislocated joint, too! Sadly, it didn't happen while snowboarding. I put my arm out to block a pass

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-58099993215522667622007-04-08T12:32:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:56:32.488-07:00

A New ToyWith the snow all but gone I've decided it's time to learn a new board sport. Well I guess it's not entirely new to me, I skateboarded a few times when I was a kid. But "skateboarding" didn't involve all that much standing on the board; instead it consisted of attaching a child's car seat (with bungee cords!) to the board and cruising around on my butt. I was a cool kid.But I'm ready

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-25030496660497943972007-04-08T10:24:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:56:32.489-07:00

Happy Easter!Just wanted to take a second out of my busy Sunday to wish everyone a Happy Easter! It's only 11:00am but I've already re-learned a bunch of things, like trying to run errands is always a bad idea on Easter Sunday. That doesn't mean I won't keep trying, though!Next Sunday is closing day at Park City. It's always seemed like the season would be over "soon," but now that the day is

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-65997625476262452622007-04-01T23:23:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:56:32.489-07:00

On TapSo yes, the season is in fact almost over. The mountain is shutting down April 15th, which leaves me with 14 more days of snowboarding. More importantly, my lease expires April 30th, making this is my last month in Utah. So what's up next? Not surprisingly, I'm not entirely sure, but the current plan looks something like this: Enjoy Utah: I've got a place to stay and nothing to do from

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-5370975828079421112007-04-01T23:03:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:56:32.489-07:00

Pond Skimming!One of the most anticipated events of the season took place last weekend: Pond Skimming. It's a yearly event at The Canyons and the premise is fairly simple. Step 1: Get dolled up in your costume of choice; Step 2: attempted to ski or ride across a 100 foot long pool! Out of the 85 contestants, only 5 or so actually made it across. But getting across isn't really the goal,

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-20552482343546931292007-04-01T22:44:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:56:32.490-07:00

End of Season WoesTeaching the last few weeks has been much harder than it should. It's like a perfect storm of bad things coming together. First and foremost is the weather. While I don't have anything against snowboarding in sunny, 60 degree weather, it's absolutely horrible on the snow. Last week we had slush that was over four inches thick! It's like trying to snowboard in the sand. And

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-8158488323414605602007-04-01T22:12:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:56:32.490-07:00

Vacation Time!For the first time since the end of January I had three days off this week. What to do with all that down time? How about a trip to San Francisco? I will always consider Kirkland, Washington as home, but there's no place I'd rather spend a random weekend than in the San Francisco bay area. Between the gorgeous weather, delicious food, and (of course) great friends, a weekend

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-25454359185095961612007-03-18T20:44:00.000-07:002007-08-26T23:56:32.490-07:00

Melting AwayThe 2007 ski season is very rapidly coming to an end. The weather for the last week? Highs in the mid to upper 60s. 60s! How hot is that? Today I had a class with clients from Texas, Florida, and Tennessee. They all commented that it's hotter here than it was at home. Fantastic. (A quick aside: I met one guy who was attending college at MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University)

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-72622844954521822272007-03-10T15:43:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.490-07:00

Shaun WhitePark City is home to the world's largest superpipe, which is great for a lot of reasons. Aside from the obvious benefits like attempting to survive a 22 foot drop in one piece (successful so far!), it also means we get to host events like the World Superpipe Championships. Today the best snowboarders from around the world were on hand. I've seen a million halfpipe competitions on TV

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-22975153780702703352007-03-04T16:32:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.491-07:00

The BirdI finally made it over to Snowbird today (after calling ahead to make sure the pass was open...). The west side of the Wasatch mountains (where Snowbird is) is surprisingly different compared to the east side. They're steeper, more jagged, and kind of remind me of the Alps (well would remind me of the Alps, if I had been snowboarding in the Alps before...). The resort is divided into

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-43738987871225909092007-03-02T17:19:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.491-07:00

Oh, so this is why I'm hereRemember my last post, when I complained that I just missed out on the best powder day ever? Well it turns out that last Tuesday wasn't even the best day of the week. In fact, it's probably the 4th or 5th best day of the week. Let's recap the days since:Wednesday: The storm on Tuesday lasted well into the night, leaving lots of untracked runs available Wednesday

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-20822532759946328672007-02-27T17:33:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.491-07:00

I'm an IdiotToday was supposed to be the perfect day. I had the day off and we've had several storms make an appearance in the last week. It turns out the biggest storm came in last night and this morning. I woke up to see everything covered in half a foot of snow, with more coming down hard. The original plan was to drive out to Snowbird, another resort about 40 minutes away. But looking

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-35452124736131572772007-02-14T18:44:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.492-07:00

Forehead CleavageOne of the great things about Park City is hanging out with people from all over the world. Who knew that Utah would end up being one of the most diverse places I've visited? And one thing I love about hanging out with foreigners is picking up foreign vocabulary.The phrase of the year (so far) has to be forehead cleavage. Forehead cleavage refers to an unnecessarily large gap

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-61349661200016930142007-02-14T17:49:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.492-07:00

Hanging with the KidsTeaching kids can be hard. I've already mentioned that a day with five kids is one-part instruction, one-part daycare (with a strong emphasis on daycare — obviously kids aren't going to do much if they're not happy). And rumor has it that kids here in America are even more out of control than your average youngster. As one of my Japanese friends puts it, "American children

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-61964203583666512132007-02-06T16:34:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.492-07:00

That's a WrapWell things are finally calming down a little here. Sundance ended last week and the town is slowly recovering: pulling down posters, removing temporary theaters, and (sadly) returning buses to their slow, inconsistent schedule. Ah well, it's nice to be able to go out at night again. Life on the mountain is starting to pick up again, I worked every day last week (not a full day of

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-91677014120994218132007-01-26T16:19:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.493-07:00

The Language of TeachingWhen you spend six to eight hours a day talking you're bound to say some strange things. Recently, though, I've noticed a couple of common phrases things that a lot of instructors use that they really shouldn't be. First, there are entirely way too many older (say 40+) male instructors who seem to think it's okay to scream, "You go, girl!" when one of their female

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-81392162525485835192007-01-24T10:13:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.493-07:00

Padre NuestroYesterday was my big Sundance day, with tickets to three films. I can't say I was expecting too much; the fact that I got tickets meant that the films weren't too highly sought after. But I was still excited; I could be in the same room as some celebrities! :) And, to help fill another New Years resolution (start learning Spanish), two of the films were in Spanish (with English

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-67349781707984455782007-01-24T09:53:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.493-07:00

Skiboot ShuffleIt's Saturday at 4:30pm. The sun has dropped behind the mountains and the temperature is 10 degrees and falling. For the first time in weeks clouds have moved in and it has started to snow. On stage Ozomatli is in full swing. Some guys are wearing ski goggles to keep the snow out of their eyes. Others are grabbing hand warmers between songs so they can keep their fingers warm

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-81006509673336345812007-01-24T09:36:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.493-07:00

Winter SportsWhew, what a weekend. Park City is definitely not a big enough town to handle Sundance. But, as predicted, it's been empty on the mountain. I've taken the opportunity to attempt alpine and telemark skiing. I grew up skiing, but hadn't been on skis since I first strapped into a snowboard 10 years ago. I had no idea what to expect, but was expecting to spend a lot of time on the

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-45068334753774130162007-01-17T14:10:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.494-07:00

New Years ResolutionsI don't know if this happens for anyone else, but every year I seem to end up with the same core set of New Years resolutions that I convince myself to tackle. This year is no different and I find myself again trying to be more social and to get out more often. It's easy to fall into a routine here of riding all day, coming home and just completely vegging all evening.

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-54854092989920769102007-01-12T15:32:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.494-07:00

Mid-Winter BreakEarly January has come and gone and, as promised, it has been much, much slower than the late December holiday rush. Some old-timers claim that snowboard instructors make nearly 50% of their income during the holiday break, an idea that I originally found humorous, but I'm now afraid might be true.Fortunately, Park City Mountain offers all sorts of clinics for us to take to keep

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-85862785517645154962007-01-09T17:59:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.495-07:00

Back Off!For those who aren't familiar the picture above is of the Rabbit. A 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit, my family is its first and only owner. It was first passed down to me and now is my sister's primary mode of transportation. It has run into a few (well many) problems over the years (most notable being that it's not exactly waterproof anymore -- not good for a car in Seattle). But under the

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-17198938675033013402007-01-08T11:11:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.495-07:00

"I think I need to tighten my pants"(I'll explain the title in a second, I promise.) So yes, kids are a little stressful to teach. But they are in fact kids and spending seven hours a day with a group of kids is going to put you in some strange situations, there's just no way around it. Fortunately, the situations I've been in have been pretty mild so far.Yesterday, for example, my class (two

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-15819003506988435712007-01-04T18:31:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.495-07:00

Breaking the Teaching CycleTeaching snowboarding is a (surprisingly) well planned out event, with a series of drills that we take students through to get them from standing on a board to confidently turning down the bunny slope (Ed. note - when I say "well planned out event" I, of course, mean in theory. In practice, the day is an exercise in controlled chaos and any learning that happens is

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-54973812323358417852007-01-04T18:09:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.495-07:00

Happy New Years!Hope everyone had a blast! As I've mentioned, I was most excited about January 1st because it would be my first day off in over two weeks. Apparently I was so excited about the idea of sleeping that I decided to get an early start on December 31st. Instead of heading out as planned I actually fell asleep at around 10:30pm. I woke up around 11:55, but my New Year's party

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-91325310684450395822006-12-28T16:37:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.496-07:00

Lessons Learned, Part 1As I've hinted at several times, my first few weeks as a snowboard instructor haven't been perfect. Mistakes are (of course) to be expected, I'm just not used to a job where mistakes can be so painful and stressful. For example, on my first day in the kids' school I was given a group of two kids who had never snowboarded before. We slowly made our way down to the First

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-70197119000745909612006-12-26T10:33:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.496-07:00

Merry Christmas!As advertised, things have been busy this. Remember when I said "it certainly doesn't feel like a grind yet"? That was so last week. I've been teaching for about two weeks now and although I'm not a seasoned veteran by any stretch of the imagination, I feel like I've been in the trenches for a while. And I've got a big circle around January 1st, 2007; that'll be the first day

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-46214482972834417662006-12-20T17:21:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.496-07:00

Starting the GrindToday marked the beginning of the first rush season at Park City. From now through 2007, the mountain could be generously described as controlled chaos (and controlled is very generous). There are people all over the place, it's amazing how fast a town can go from quiet and relaxed to bustling and overflowing. Of course, lots of people means lots of work, so we're in full

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-72041367859839911662006-12-17T17:15:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.496-07:00

Winter Wonderland!I know, I know, 3 feet of snow fall in 2 days and the best (and only) picture I have is of my car? Well, it's the first thing I saw walking out of my building this morning, and pictures of trees, buildings, mountains, etc. covered in snow really aren't that impressive. I tried though. I took a bunch of pictures of me laying (and getting covered by) the snow, but there ended

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-81922768357814175242006-12-13T12:40:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.497-07:00

Utah -- Embrace the Difference!Who new that traveling within the US could be as fun and strange as traveling around the world? Well I guess everyone knows that Utah is a little different, so it's not really a surprise. But it's been fun discovering the little things that make Utah -- well Utah.I already mentioned that I was asked for ID while purchasing a lighter. "Welcome to Utah!" the clerk

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-59703145752702637032006-12-12T13:32:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.497-07:00

Christmas BluesChristmas has always been a stressful time for me. Well not Christmas itself, but the month leading up to it. Christmas shopping is like a perfect storm of bad things: big lines, crazy people, and stressing out over finding the "perfect" gifts. I've discovered a couple of new wrinkles this year that make the experience even more exciting. First is shopping in a new town. As a

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-21711600069753224072006-12-12T13:15:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:56:32.497-07:00

Making Connections -- Well AlmostDue to a series of miscommunications, I haven't actually started teaching yet. I'm scheduled to start Thursday, though, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I have been up on the mountain a couple of times, though. This morning I was cruising on "First Time," the bunny slope. I was watching some other beginner classes and working on a few tricks (the bunny slope

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-55043633006285662772006-12-06T18:31:00.000-08:002007-08-26T23:58:49.304-07:00

Road Trippin'Well it's been a long, long trip, but I've finally reached my new home for the next five months. I pulled into Park City, Utah a little after 7:00pm last night, 10 days after leaving Kirkland. Sure there was an extended break in California, but that's still a lot of driving. Some things I learned on this trip: I hate Oregon. It's basically a state that no one knows or cares

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-78940766882870963202006-11-21T21:56:00.000-08:002007-08-27T00:04:43.688-07:00

The Greatest Snow On EarthAnd we're back! I realize I've probably lost pretty much anyone who may be reading this, but I've enjoyed my little vacation at home. For those of you who haven't been following the news in the great northwest, we're currently enjoying the wettest month in the Seattle's history. We're up to like 16 inches of rain and counting, with rain forecast for the remainder of

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-1162242568037424202006-10-30T10:38:00.000-08:002007-08-27T00:04:43.688-07:00

Birthday Bungy!My sister really enjoyed my bungy videos from New Zealand and was convinced that she would do it some day, too. I decided that "some day" would be sooner than she expected and, as a birthday present, told her it was time for her to put her money where her mouth was. We gathered up six fellow victims and headed down to southern Washington to jump off the "highest bungy bridge in

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-1161660593978326682006-10-23T20:14:00.000-07:002007-08-27T00:04:43.689-07:00

Seattle: metronaturalThe city of Seattle just unveiled a new tourism slogan, "metronatural." After stomaching the initial shocking stats (16 months in development and with a $200,000 budget) and trying to figure out exactly why metronatural sounds so... well just wrong, I've decided that while the slogan is horrible, it was really close to be good. I don't know what good is, but Seattle really

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-1161488818392657722006-10-21T20:28:00.000-07:002007-08-27T00:04:43.689-07:00

Seattle: On VacationNow that I'm "home" everyone keeps asking, "what's been your most favorite place to visit so far?" My standard answer has been New Zealand, which was truly beautiful. I keep telling everyone how much it reminds me of Washington: green, mountainous, lush forests... All that good stuff. But being back in Seattle (after being away for over two years) I realize that yes, New

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-1161243830997930182006-10-19T00:43:00.000-07:002007-08-27T00:04:43.689-07:00

¿Habla Inglés?Having just spent two months in New Zealand and Australia, I felt pretty confident that I'd be able to handle a short trip to Costa Rica with ease. Landing in San Jose, Costa Rica I (belatedly) realized there was one detail I had completely overlooked: I don't speak Spanish. I'm obviously not the first person to run into this problem, but after two months of traveling I was

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-1160977704546528882006-10-15T21:53:00.000-07:002007-08-27T00:04:43.690-07:00

Home (Again)!Well I've successfully survived another vacation. Costa Rica was beautiful and, as promised, I didn't have any time (or desire) to write any stories while I was down there. But I'm back with a few good stories and a few pictures. Actually a "few" pictures seems generous, I didn't really use my camera at all. If you take a look through my measly collection I'm sure you'll agree I

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-1160119196084840592006-10-06T00:19:00.000-07:002007-08-27T00:04:43.690-07:00

Perma-Vacation!So when does returning home actually feel like a vacation? When "home" is a temporary stop between two other vacations. :) I've just spent a week in Seattle and, although I've been busy, it's been vacation-busy, not a back-home-busy. Hanging out with friends, playing golf and tennis, and generally unwinding is not how I'm usually greeted after a vacation. I mean the only reason

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-1159829849337214532006-10-02T15:34:00.000-07:002007-08-27T00:04:10.647-07:00

Bungy!Like the sky diving video, I think these are much more entertaining with a running commentary. But that's not going to happen, so here's a quick run down of each jump. The Kawarau Bridge is the oldest permanent bungy site in the world (the bridge was built just for bungy jumping). It's 141 foot (43 meter) drop, with an optional "splash landing" in the river. I opted to just get my hands

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-1159828395825411362006-10-02T15:19:00.000-07:002007-08-27T00:04:10.648-07:00

Embrace The FearUp next is my sky diving adventure with NZone, complete with cheesy camera work and bad sound track. It's not a total loss, though. If you looked at the pictures you may have noticed that my face gets a little funky as I first fall out of the plane. But they don't capture the moment the same way that a slo-mo camera in my face does. It's hard to tell if I'm having fun or

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-1159827550763500982006-10-02T15:03:00.000-07:002007-08-27T00:04:10.648-07:00

Under the Sea!In case you haven't heard, Disney has unlocked the vault and is re-releasing The Little Mermaid in all its two disk splendor. To celebrate the occasion I too am opening up the DVD vaults, starting with stunning video of me slowly chasing a sting ray along the bottom of the ocean. It's not much to look at, but you get to hear me breath like Darth Vader.

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-1159480704945817042006-09-28T14:46:00.000-07:002007-08-27T00:04:10.648-07:00

On TapYou may have noticed that this blog is titled the "binarynoise.net travel blog." You may also notice that I'm not really traveling right now, which might imply that this blog will slowly die. Fortunately, I've found a solution: keep traveling! If there's one thing I've learned about my trip to New Zealand it's that traveling is awesome. I'm hanging out in San Francisco right now and I'm

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-1159479977439314952006-09-28T13:46:00.000-07:002007-08-27T00:04:10.648-07:00

Sour Taste In My CrawWell I made it home safely. Well not "home" exactly, but I'm the US. Auckland was a great two day trip. Strangely enough, my favorite thing in Auckland was the hotel. It wasn't anything special, but it was the first time in two months that I (a) slept in a bed that I actually fit on, (b) slept in a room without 1 - 5 roommates, and (c) enjoyed a real shower, not a

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-1159096762175194332006-09-24T04:01:00.000-07:002007-08-27T00:04:10.648-07:00

Travel Tip #135 (September 24th, 2006)Don't wait until the last night of a six week vacation to do all of your souvenir shopping, especially if that last night is a Sunday night. You might think, "Hey I'm in a tourist-powered city, of course everything will be open on a Sunday night." But it won't. And you'll be left with nothing to show your friends and family when you get home, not even a

colindbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02749335382057149178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19903771.post-1159016270904271972006-09-23T05:42:00.000-07:002007-08-27T00:04:10.649-07:00

Finding Nemo (September 23rd, 2006)Finally got some more pictures up! As promised, the diving pictures aren't all that spectacular. But I got a couple good pictures of Nemo (the clownfish), so I didn't come out empty handed.Tonight is my last night in Australia. I've got one more day trip tomorrow and then I slowly start heading home with an 11:50pm flight down to Auckland, where I get a day

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