Interlude in Paradise

In many ways, Florida was paradise.

At 75 degrees, it was perfect for hanging a sundress on my pasty white frame.

The wild life was more than willing to put on a show!

I loved the "roadside gators"!

The sunrises were to die for... (and how odd it was to see the sun rise out of the ocean instead of setting into the ocean!)

But the humidity as it warmed the day we left, convinced me that while my lungs had enjoyed the brief interlude, they weren't destined to linger amidst the palm trees and alligators in Florida.

So happy to be back in the Pacific Northwest!

And how are you?

Packing Priorities

It doesn't matter whether I'm going on a road trip to the desert or flying to Ireland.

The first thing I think about when I pack is my hair care, because the last thing I want to worry about when I get there, is whether my hair is going to behave... (and it's ability to misbehave is legion). And since I travel with TOG, no hair delays can be tolerated.

That means that two weeks ago, I went looking to restock my favorite hair products, Identity1.

Designed by hair care professionals who know the ins and outs of naughty hair, these products have stood by me from the heat of the Utah desert to a windy ferry ride across the North Sea to Amsterdam to a rainy pony cart ride through the mountains of Killarney, Ireland.

And because they're such smarties, the folks at Identity1 have come up with products I didn't even know I needed... like the quick dry spray. Because who wants to spend 20 minutes blow-drying their hair with a harried husband jiggling his car keys? On top of the fact that it really works, they played a trump card and put a leave-in conditioner in it. Talk about silky!! And don't get me started on the never-greasy nourishing oil which my hair sucks up like a sponge in sea water. Talk about calming it down after a blow dry. Manageable, brushable, touchable...

And then there's subtle products like the thermal protecting gel that provide a little 'slip' for easy blow drying or flat ironing. And let us not forget the illuminating mist to put the shine on your style.

I haven't even talked about the shampoos and conditioners, which are lovely... but here's the most important thing to me:

The products do what they say they will and they do not weigh my hair down. I can easily go two to three days between washes with polite hair. And in a pinch, I could use their hair powder to add volume and fluff the roots.

So, thanks Identity1! Your products are making yet another trek with me! This time we're going to do the humidity test!

Stay tuned!

AG out!

Happy New Year!

From AG, TOG and the entire Asthmagirl Family!

Rock On!

Live from 12/12/12

Welcome to a wild and wacky Wednesday...

Today is 12/12/12 and happily it's my birthday.

And here in Thoracic Park, the gifts runneth over...

• I am not as sick as I was
• Seriously, I am improving
• I hear I am going out to dinner tonight
• my daughter sent me a Monty Python spam sketch on Facebook!
• I threw caution to the wind and carried my Seahawk purse to work today!
• Best of all, Saturday morning, my beloved and I will climb in the car and take a little mini vacation to one of our favorite places in the whole world....
• It's not Ireland
• But we will enjoy a lovely Irish Pub!

We're off for two days to Victoria!

Quiet, early morning walks around the harbor and Beacon Hill park...

Photo adventures....

Lovely pub food...

Massage...

Holiday lights...

This is our little deep breath before the holidays.... a time to celebrate my birthday and our anniversary which is later this month. Since he'll pretty much be working the rest of December, we'll squeeze as much celebration into a quick weekend as possible!

I would just like to take a moment to thank The Old Goat for making it happen. There's no one I'd rather climb in the car with for an adventure!

AG out!

Donner Pass

TOG and I enjoyed our first road trip so much, we took a few days for a mini road trip in early September. This trip took us back over the Sierras and we stopped at Donner Pass in Northern California. There are some lovely little hikes at the top of the pass and we took the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery....

Even though neither of us had hiking boots on, the loop we chose was very ill-prepared-hiker friendly!

The trees were utterly fascinating and I loved looking at the dead soldiers on the forest floor. And then TOG pointed up...

I swear this tree had the most perfect branches!

TOG was enjoying his camera as well. I love shooting with him because we see things so differently at times!

But we both agreed on these last two shots... TOG and I loved finding this boulder field in the middle of the forest... So stark and grey in the midst of the trees. But a half mile further....

And here was a beautiful mountain pool soaking up the sun!

One of things we love most about road trips are the little side adventures waiting for the curious traveler. All you have to do is stop to have them.

Wishing you a beautiful weekend in your neck of the woods!

AG out!

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.  Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.  The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.  ~John Muir

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

I'm ever mindful that as damp as things are here in the Northwest, there are environments where my lungs would be even more miserable.

As TOG and I drove though the Sierras in September, fire season was in full swing. We drove though an actual stretch of one of the fires on the way toward Shasta and even though the signs said not to stop, we slowed waaaaayyyyy down so I could lean out TOG's window and shoot this.

Needless to say, my lungs were in full rebellion and even our getaway was difficult...

Smoke was so thick, it almost blotted out the sun. All I could think of was the poor people that lived there and had to breathe that air 24/7.

So even as my lungs are throwing yet another holiday lung-fest, I'm mindful of my blessings.

And whoever gave me this lung crap... I hope Santa puts some coal in your stocking... or a nice switch.

Yours in rattle-y lungs,

AG

Animal Planet

With the lungs a tad bit rocky, I thought I'd harken back to our roadtrip in Utah when they were on their best behavior.

TOG and I weren't just into scenery while hiking the canyons. We spent a lot of time capturing wild life on our road trip this summer. The photo above was taken by TOG near Zion. It was inspired by some art we saw in Kenab, Utah when we were having dinner the night before. I love, love, love this shot.

My buffalo shots were a little less fabulous.

But still fun to take! And then there were the antelope...

The cutie pie Utah prarie dogs...

The deer...

TOG's Favorites... the Desert Sheep...

...in all it's glory...

...and the boy sheep with his band of ladies...

TOG named him Eustace...

There was more lovliness back at the ranch...

This guy thought I had something for him...

Evenings in Utah were just so pretty...

More to come... Stay tuned!

AG out

Road Trip 2012

There we were...working hard... working some more... and working even more. Then one day, TOG and I lifted our heads from our work, looked at each other and said "we haven't been on a road trip in a while." And so began a plethora of research, mileage planning, route investigation, reservations, re-routing, cancellation of reservations... all topped off with a dab of last minute acquisition of oxygen and a tad bit of packing.

And then the adventure began...

I won't be telling it in order, because I haven't edited the pictures in order... and there's a lot of pictures.

Today's shots are from Zion. We stayed near Zion National Park in Utah, using it as a base to visit other parks and states. As we left Zion, we had to drive through it one last time to head toward Nevada.

The rock formations in upper Zion are just amazing. This is checkerboard mesa.

Not only are the criss-cross lines amazing, but the colors are fantastic. One of the things that most charmed us in Utah were the colors!

You expect the desert to be muted and earth toned, but the trees, rocks and sky combine to be oh so vivid. After a few days in the desert, TOG and I were also looking a little vivid, even with 50 SPF!

We saw this huge "wave" of rock the day before and we stopped to try to capture it, not just the beauty, but the magnitude. Here's TOG trying to convey the size!

But I think this shot tells a better story. Can you make out the two people behind him?

We became really accomplished at placing one of the cameras on top of the car and setting the timer! This is still in Utah. It was about 95 degrees out. I remember how pleasant and warm the sun felt, how easy it was to breathe and how far we had to travel that day!

More to come!

AG out!

Scotland by rail

Anytime I find a few moments to edit images, it ends up taking forever because I get lost in the memories. Not so much the memories of the trip, even though they are awesome memories, but the way I felt when I saw places for the first time. For me, seeing Scotland for the first time was magical. I'd always, always wanted to see Ireland, but somehow didn't think I'd ever see Scotland. And while they were similar, parts of Scotland was so much more remote and "less settled".

Our first veiws were from the train. When we planned the ferry trip from Ireland to Scotland, we decided to take Scot Rail from the coast to Glasgow because TOG didn't want to drive and miss anything. Our first impressions were of the low lands, but the scenery changed as we climbed higher and made our way inland.

There were more trees but the rolling hills remained the same.

The conductor noticed TOG and I snapping away and invited TOG to come up and take photographs from his open window. TOG sent me because I had the better camera! What a guy!

The conductor's words were succinct. "Keep your head in at all times, Missus. And there's a lovely view of the Galloway Forest around the next bend."

He might as well have handed me the keys to the kingdom!

Yes, it's just as green as Ireland!

That ridge of trees just below the sky is the Galloway Forest.

I tried to focus on the big picture, but I kept getting distracted...

By things like this.

I was so enjoying the scenery that the train ride was over before we knew it.

And there we were at Glasgow Central... smack in the middle of the biggest city in Scotland!

AG out!

Fear and Loathing in Boise

This shot was about an hour before we hit Boise. It was here that I began to notice something was not quite right in a gurgly sort of way. I blamed it on the late heavy breakfast and vowed to eat light for dinner... although frankly, I didn't think I could face another salad after the one in Jackson Hole.

We had considered driving beyond Boise, but when we looked at what was available in Northeast Oregon in terms of food and lodging we decided to err on the side of caution knowing that we would still have one heck of a drive the next day.

Following dinner... the gurgling manifested itself into something.... unspeakable. In the swimming pool. If I were talking to my Blisters, I would used the code "I needed a cornfield... desperately". Except the cornfield would ideally be situated no more than 5 feet away. But there was no public cornfield at the pool and my personal cornfield was back in the hotel room where TOG was watching football. So... I ran... soaking wet... towel flapping. And there I stayed... for hours. And as I sat in solitude, I chanted over and over in my head "that flippin' salad in Jackson Hole..."

Actually, I said some far worse things than that. Especially during my early morning encore performances at 2am, 3 am, etc... By 6am, when TOG wanted to leave I felt like I might not die after all. Barely.

I left Boise with mixed feelings... a sore behind and a sincere gratitude that we had stopped when we did... but my memories of Boise are not happy ones, although I place the blame firmly and appropriately in Jackson Hole.

Once I had my camera in hand, I slipped into a familiar mode of documenting the scenery. We were heading NW out of Idaho and would cut diagonally across NE Oregon which my dudes at Google Maps indicated was pretty desolate. The shot above is still Idaho.

This was shortly after we crossed into Oregon. You can just see the Blue Mountains in the background.

Towns were few and far between. There was a lot of high desert and then you'd drop down into a little town/oasis like this...

...where oddly enough we saw pelicans on the river.

We also drove next to the Blue Mountains for a while and it's easy to see why they're called that!

At last we began dropping down from the high desert toward the Columbia River and Washington State. This car in front of us was probably one of about 3 that we saw going through Oregon.

We did stop for a couple shots, because the views were amazing...

Really amazing...

Once we crossed into Washington, I pretty much put the camera away. Something about being worn out after 5 days on the road!

Thanks for sticking with me on this road trip. It took me a lot longer than I thought to get it documented!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming!

AG out!

PS~ I wrote to the owners of the hotel we stayed in Jackson Hole and they refunded a portion of our room fee since we got locked out of breakfast the next morning. All's well that ends well... etc.