Halló frá Eylenda (Hello from Iceland!)

We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!

-Led Zeppelin, Immigrant Song

Our latest adventure takes us further north than we've ever been before. Iceland! The past two days have been extremely exciting, exhilarating, and exhausting, and even more ex- words.

We caught our flight at 9:34pm (9 minutes after 3/14/15 9:26:53, pi time) and got in at 6:20 am Icelandic time... A 4-hour flight during which we barely slept. First things first we drove into Reykjavik and got some much-needed caffeine and breakfast

We stopped at a lovely place called Mokka Kaffi. Bettie fell asleep into her coffee

After breakfast we hopped back in the car and headed to the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal hot bath where we spent several hours relaxing.

Trevor really needed a bath.

After the Blue Lagoon we headed back into Reykjavik for a late lunch. Trevor had smoked salmon, Bettie had kjotsupa (traditional Icelandic meat soup), and then we both tried Hákarl, which is made by pressing the urea out of shark, allowing it to ferment iwth ammonia, drying it and allowing a black crust to form, then scraping off the crust and serving it. It's a traditional Icelandic food considered by many to be the worst food in the world. The smell was worse than the taste but it was still quite unpleasant. We've had worse airline food. The Hákarl was followed by a shot of Brennivin, a traditional Icelandic liquor

The odor was of ammonia. The smell actually hurt.

After that, we explored Reykjavik. Had an Icelandic brew, and then headed to bed for a much-needed sleep.

Lazy sculptor didn't bother finishing the top half of this statue

In front of Hallgrímskirkja, a beautiful church in the center of Reykjavik

Monday we headed out to the Golden Circle a collection of nearby natural wonders. First stop was
Þingvellir (Þ is pronounced like 'th'). During the 1 km hike up to the scenic point, we experienced gale-force winds, rain, snow, sleet, hail, and sunshine. Ths crazy weather continued throughout the day.

A neat church (Mosfell) shaped like the prow of a Viking boat

A bit of sun poked out and we had to snap a picture

Next was Geysir, which, as the name implies, was a geyser that spouted sulphery water into the air

We found a gnome!

Then we headed on to Gulfoss, a huge and beautiful series of waterfalls

Kerið (The ð is pronounced like a 'd') is a huge volcanic crater that exploded 6500 years ago

A path led all the way down to the basin of the crater

Back to Reykjavik for dinner at Fishfelagio, where lamb and fish before a 2.5 hour drive up to Hvammstangi

Bed, finally!

summer meanderings, take 2

On a second summer weekend getaway, we stop in Upstate NY to say hi to some of our favorite people, who also happen to be champion river-tubers and porch-sitters.

We took a ride to Van Der Heyden school, where Bettie's Dad teaches

Among many, many other projects, David had organized the construction of these garden beds, with tomatos, squash, and other goodies growing.

This is the one that David built

There's neat forest with a go-kart path and a nice pond behind the school.

Last we went for a walk by a lake

 

After stopping by the lake, we paid a visit to Brian and Sharie, Bettie's uncle and aunt. They had a beautiful flower garden in their back yard that was teeming with insects

Golden Digger Wasp, hard at work. Not to be confused with a Gold Digger Wasp, which does no work at all.

Hummingbird Moth!

Translucent wings!

Look at that long proboscis

Black and white makes bad photos always look better.

It was a beautiful garden at a beautiful home on a beautiful weekend. Trevor needs a thesaurus.

summer meanderings- part 1

Summer is here!

Thundersnow/sleet/rain/cloudy/freezing cold nonsense is hibernating!

for now.

So Bettie and Trevor leave the bungalow for some adventures outdoors with friends.

First stop, Harpoon Brewery in Windsor, Vt- AKA heaven.  If you have never been, it is a little enclave of beer, delicious food, cheese, craft-anything you can think of, wine, whiskey, and veggies- and this is on a usual day WITHOUT a bbq fest going on.

 We traveled north for their bbq fest to spend a day/night eating bbq, drinking beer, and camping with our doggies.

ok, so we hit a few bumps in the road on our way, but we are here damnit! we want beer and bbq pronto.

leaving the path of life via the tunnel to libations (I only made up that second name. we really were camping in the "path of life".  Sounds cult-like)

 We towed 4 dogs through throngs of people in search of the best beer and bbq, landing on a selection from our Southern counterparts to enjoy their ribs (was it the Dizzy Pig?).  Crowd pleaser beer was the summer harpoon, but Bettie steadfastly chose The Big Squeeze. possibly a less than wise decision in the end.  Anyways...

although she is old enough, Olive does not partake in alcoholic beverages.  this photo is completely staged.

we did eat those beef-fat fries, and yeah, they were good.

this basic bbq team BASICALLY unloaded their supply of ribs onto us as closing time approached. awesomeness.

Ally and Doug! Nice father daughter pic :) and awesome beer/bbq/camping companions.

 We sat out in the summer sun, enjoyed beer, and let all the little kids pet and walk the dogs.  perfection.

this is around when things started to unravel...

I am completely cool with the shenanigans happening near me. see?

they DO know how to play nice, when they want to.

 Later on, we head back to the path of life (really. that's what its called) to take a dip in the river and spend some time near the flames of a gigantic campfire right outside our tents!

 this pic does not do it justice- it was huge, and inferno hot. please note the necessary rations of smore's ingredients.

new campfire friends.

the entire "path of life" was covered in bizzare, huge art forms, this wooden/metal 20 ft tall rock band being one of them.

Needless to say, awesome trip, less than awesome to leave this place. Next year, we are sticking around longer. anyone interested in partaking next year let me know!