Tanzanian Safari, for the Unrich

In January 2009, I was lucky to travel to Tanzania for a friend's wedding. I've blogged about parts of the trip here, and here.  Today, I thought I'd add another post to the collection. Many people want to go on safari, I was not one of them. It wasn't that I didn't want to do it, it just wasn't a priority for me. Well, Jenny and Goaf can be very convincing, and they turned it into a far more thrilling experience that I ever could have imagined.

 As we are not rich, English big-game enthusiasts, we did our safari on a budget. Also, as we are the off-the-beaten-path sort of travelers, we did not go to Serengeti, which they tell me is unbearably touristy, and has paved roads. Two things I'm told can quickly kill the authenticity of one's safari experience.

Jenny and Goaf planned the whole thing. They have been on a few safaris since their move to Africa. They take everyone who comes to visit! So, they know the ropes.  We traveled from their home in Mafinga, to the town of Iringa, where would meet our driver/guide Michael.  He picked us up in a 1970-something Land Rover, that had about 600,000 miles on the odometer.  We paid Michael about $600 to take the 7 of us to Ruaha National Park, and guide us to all the must-see animals in the park, as we rode on the top of the truck, for 24 hours. That's less than $100 a person folks! Here's Michael -

We began to see animals before we even entered the park. Once we paid our entry fee, which was nominal, and read the rules, we really had our minds blown.

First we saw hippos. Lots of them, just hanging out in the water with their hippo babies. Then it was swala, or gazelles, who oddly divide themselves into separate herds of males and females.  Then came the twiga, or giraffes. Have you ever seen a giraffe run? It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. It looks like they are running in slow motion. I apologize for the quality of the videos, I haven't quite got the hang of my movie editor. No, it's not in slow motion. 

Then came the tembo, or elephants. My favorite animal. We were told to watch out for the elephants, as they can knock over our Land Rover in one nudge. Well, "watching out" wasn't really Micheal's safari guide style.

After about 5 hours of safariing, we had yet to see any lions, and it was starting to get dark. Two things we learned upon starting our safari:
1. Lions are the goldmine of safari animal spotting.
2. If you are out past dark, the park rangers will probably shoot you.

This sent Michael on a mission. We zipped around that park at 40 MPH (while still unwisely riding on the roof of the car) desperately looking for lions before nightfall. It was at this point when we saw our first group of fellow safari goers. I think it's a pretty impressive feat to spend the whole day never seeing another group of touristy humans. Michael exchanged words with the other driver and exclaimed, I know where to find lions! Off we went, very quickly. And then there they were, in all their wild, uncaged, dangerous, silent glory.

A few moments of lion enjoyment in the fading African daylight lasted a lifetime. And then we were off, zooming through the park in order to get to our camp before getting shot. The night was New Year's Eve, and we partied with the villagers who live in the park at their local community center. A strange experience that is worthy of its own story. We spent the night in a quaint, very unfancy lodge. In morning, we stumbled sleepy-eyed out of our rooms to find this guy.

We spent another few hours driving around seeing the animals, and ooing and ahhing over the landscape and all its Lion King-esque glory. These guys put on a pretty dramatic show, just as we were leaving.

Here are some shots of the whole safari crew, and our trusty vehicle. You can see all my safari photos, as well as the rest of the Africa trip here.

So Maybe I'm a Runner

This Summer, for about the twentieth time, I decided to become a runner. Running has always felt like torture for me. Just stepping out the door reminds me of those days in Junior High gym class when we were forced to run a mile. Four times around that huge dusty track with the entire class. For me, this was worse than the swimming unit. Forcing twelve year old girls to swim laps with twelve year old boys in the middle of the school day is clearly unkind, but running was worse for me. I was always last, and it felt bad. I never understood why I was so slow and these other girls were running 6 minute miles. It was rough on the self esteem. 

Though I never felt confident at it, over the years, I've been able to do a little running on my own.  For a month, back in 2006, I did something I called "angry running." It was related directly to a bad job. Well, a good job that had a lot of bad days. I would get home at 5:00, yeah it did have sweet hours, and my mind would be spinning. All I could do was run through the infuriating moments of the day over and over again, and act out the conversations that would go differently if I had the chance. I had two options, either drink wine until I fell asleep, or find some physical way to act out my rage. So, I took up angry running. I got home from work, changed into tennis shoes, and ran out the door. I then proceeded to run as fast as I could until I was no longer angry. It worked. For a while.

Well a few years later, and on a totally different career path, I took up running again. This Summer it started out slow, but eventually I got into a groove. A few things were different in my life that helped me stick with it. One, I had a bunch of classmates who were into running too. Some are marathoners, and some are novices just like me. Though I rarely ran with them, just knowing they were out there doing it too motivated me. Also Joe, he was getting it to running with me, and we motivated each other. We can't really run together because of his excessive height. He takes one stride for my two, and watching him try to keep pace with me is like watching someone ride a bike too slow to stay upright. So, I let him run ahead. Oh yeah, and I have a wedding dress to fit into.

So I started with one of those "couch to 5K" programs I found online. Eventually I moved from the treadmill to the outdoors, and that's where I really started to enjoy it. Like I actually enjoyed it. I decided to sign up for a 5K to keep me motivated. My friend Caitlin ran it with me, and it was awesome. I didn't win, but it wasn't too hard and I definitely wasn't last.

I proceeded to run four more 5Ks in about 2 months. It's easy, as one can find at least two races to choose from somewhere in Minnesota each weekend, year-round. I found them all at Running in the USA.  Needless to say, I think I am addicted. I don't know if it's the t-shirt, or the thrill of running with people who run a 5K in 16 minutes, and with those who run it in 45 minutes. It's really encouraging to see that many people dedicated to something. For the most recent race, I convinced my family to run with me! We all did the Turkey Day 5K in Minneapolis on Thanksgiving morning. It was 4 degrees. Yes, crazy I know. It really wasn't that bad once you got going. Now, I figure if I can run in 4 degrees, I can run anytime. Though, it is pretty tough to get me outside these days.

I'm excited for the snow to start melting, as I have a new goal. This year I'll run a half marathon. It sounds daunting, but I know I can do it. I won't be first, but I will definitely not be last.

How to See Everything in Portland in 5 Days, Part 1

Well the easy answer is stay with my friend Laurel, who makes a fantastic and efficient tour guide. The hard answer is participate in the annual Portland Providence Bridge Pedal.

I visited this charming city late this Summer, and I could have picked up my bags and moved to Portland the day I got home to Rochester.  Overall, I would describe the city as smartly walkable, and dense with restaurants and shops.

One of the first stops on my whirlwind tour was the International Rose Test Garden. I felt like Alice in the Queen of Hearts' garden. Row after row of exotic species were in the height of their bloom. This gem was a short walk from Laurel's house in the Northwest section of the city. I never would have found it without her.

The next day we drove a quick couple of hours to Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast. The drive was green and beautiful, and everything I imagined it would be. Though I'm not a huge fan of the franchise, I felt like I was driving through the set of Twilight, and that was pretty neat.

Cannon Beach was like something out of a movie. No, literally, it's out of the movie Goonie's. Recognize Haystack Rock?

Ah, on to the infamous Bridge Pedal. If you have the stamina, the best way to really see a city is to bike 40 miles looping around most of the neighborhoods, and over 10 of its enormous bridges.  Ok, to be fair, I only held up long enough to make it 5 hours and over 8 bridges before I left the pack an took a quick detour home. I like to think of myself as a bit of a biker, but those bridges were huge! Despite my exhaustion and discomfort in places I won't mention, I saw parts of Portland that otherwise would have gone unnoticed. More than 18,000 Portlandians participated in this year's Pedal, as I learned from the woman I sat next to on the plane home to MSP. She and her husband actually started the whole thing in 1996! It was a great community building event that other bike-friendly cities should replicate (hmm hmm Minneapolis).

 

Despite all of the amazing things I got to see and do in Portland, my favorite part was spending time with Laurel. One of my oldest, dearest friends, with whom I've been lucky enough to travel the world. She took time out of her busy schedule as a physician at Oregon Health Sciences University to show me this city inside and out. I'm jealous that she now calls it home. Thanks Laurel! More on Portland soon!

To 2010: Thanks

As I get ready to leave 2010 behind, I find myself with a new desire to blog again. I can't really make any excuse for the blatant disregard of this blog for months.

You know you had a good year when people say "congratulations!" to you at Christmas, and you are not sure which awesome thing in your life to which they are referring. I experienced that this year, and once I realized it was happening, I was overcome with gratitude. 2010 was an amazing year.

In July, Joe and I were engaged. I intended on blogging this story many times, and I hopefully will soon. It was unexpected and exciting, and I'm so glad it happened. I was lucky enough to have two good friends, and fellow classmates, also get engaged this Summer. We spent hours in Gaylord, MN flipping through wedding magazines and feverishly planning while we should have been studying public health. So for 2011, we have our wedding, along with the weddings of many friends to look forward to.

2010 was also the year in which I completed the task that spurred the creation of this blog. I graduated from nursing school with my Bachelors of Science in Nursing, and honors.  Sometimes it was hard, a lot of times it was easy. I did things that scared the you-know-what out of me everyday while working at the Heart/Lung Transplant ICU at the Mayo Clinic, but I have never been more sure about being a nurse. It seems like just yesterday I got this crazy idea about nursing in my head, but here we are. So for 2011, I eagerly await a new job.

My third congratulations-worthy life event is some recent news we received about Joe's job. He has been relocated to a new territory in the Western suburbs of Minneapolis, our home turf. Although we were totally caught off guard, and a little stunned, we are thrilled to be returning to the motherland. We just rented a fancy pants apartment in the city, and can't wait to move. For the first time in years, I feel very settled.

So finally, the Year in the Southern Minnesota Triangle is officially ending. I now must find a new name for this blog, and a new motivation for continuing it. I think I just made a New Year's resolution.

Congratulations to you, and see you in 2011.

Miami - finally

Since I am on my way home from a trip to Indy, I thought I should probably get around to blogging about Miami - which happened last month. I'm not sure what my problem with the blog is these days. I think that it's the fact that if I'm not at a hospital for clinical, I want to be sleeping. Not blogging. Back to Miami. Joe and I planned a trip down there during the dead of winter, and let me tell you, it could not have come at a better time.

Miami, and all the rest of Florida, have a special charm about them. Most of the rules of food, fashion, service, etc. don't apply. Everything happens at it's own pace, and it often seems to be happening in 1987. Seriously, there are still guys walking around with boom boxes on their shoulder. Other than that, I was a really charming trip. We got to spend much awaited time eating and drinking outside - one of my favorite things to do.

Our hotel was right on the A1A (beach front avenue!), and only a block from the famous Ocean Drive. We spent hours walking up and down it, trying to decide on our next stop. I have to say, the constant harassment from restaurant hostesses trying to convince you to come inside their restaurant did get a little annoying. That is one of those things that I am used to NOT happening in most of America. For a couple that usually has a hard time deciding on which restaurant would be the perfect one for our next meal, this did not help. But alas, we were always able to decide.

I want to get into the habit of photographing more of my food. I know it sounds strange and pointless, but it is often so beautiful. I love to be able to look back at the great plates and hopefully be able to replicate them at home. Needless to say, we ate a lot of seafood. We were hoping for the great local fresh stuff, but this was surprisingly hard to come by on South Beach. My theory is that they stick to the cheap imported stuff because they know they can get it past most tourists. Not me man, I know my seafood. We ventured downtown Miami one day, and were thankfully able to escape the tourist traps. We some of the best food of the trip there. Here is a photo of my delicious cioppino from The River Oyster Bar.

After 5 days of sun, sand and patios we came home to Minnesota to find..... more sun! It was amazing, like we left town so winter decided to do the same. It was actually the first time it didn't snow in Minneapolis (or Rochester) in March in 100 years. Pretty awesome, let's hope for more of the same in April.

Coincidences

A few years ago my Aunt died. She is my mom's oldest sister, and for my large family, there will forever be a missing piece.

Part of the Triangle is driving from Minneapolis to Rochester. I always take the same route from my parents house, because I've tried them all and this one is the fastest. I head toward 55, over the river and on to 52 heading southeast. I feel like I've done this drive a million times.

Last Wednesday, March 3rd I did this drive again. This time I noticed something different. I crossed over the bridge and felt a different kind of familiarity. I glanced over the edge of the bridge and remembered that I was right by Fort Snelling, a historic fort we used to tour every few years in school. Then I remembered this beautiful park I biked and hiked through a few times a couple of summers ago. Next I remembered that you could see the cemetery where Linda was buried from that park. All the pieces came together. The airport, the park and that cold spring morning our huge motorcade crossed that bridge and wound up the hill to the cemetery.

I quickly took the next exit, and without thinking drove toward where the cemetery rested on the hill overlooking the airport. It's a huge place, but I had no trouble picking which path led to Linda's site. I parked the car and got out, but the place was covered in about 3 feet of snow. The Christmas wreaths still floated about the snow pack, and there were a few remnants of people who had visited their friends or family - a half melted snowman with a child's scarf, a tiny Christmas tree.

I stood for a minute, remembering the day my family came here with Linda, and the days and years she fought cancer, until it finally won. I thought about my huge family, and how much I love them. I got back in my car, telling myself I'd be back when the snow melts.

As I continued the drive to Rochester, I thought about how strange it was that I have traveled this path so many times and never realized the cemetery was there. I thought about how sometimes things just come to us. I thought more about those days in March of 2007 and had an odd feeling. What day in March was it that she died? I feel like it was early March, like today, the 3rd. I went home to dig up her funeral booklet out of the place where I keep things like that, and double checked the dates. She died on March 3rd, 2007, exactly 3 years prior to my rediscovery of the cemetery.

I can't explain it and I don't know what it means, but there is something really special about this.

Linda and I with my new cousin Brady.

Geocaching: A Lovely Way to Spend a Sunday

Joe and I discovered geocaching from an episode of the How Stuff Works podcasts. I sounded cool, and we really wanted to try. Well, about 6 months later we finally got around to it.

Geocaching is a sort of treasure hunt for grown-ups with fancy phones. What you do is go to the geocaching website, or use the smart phone app, to find geocaches in your area. A cache is a small package of sorts. Some are tiny, smaller than a thimble, and some are larger. There size determines what you will find inside, the smallest contain only a log on which to write your name and date of discovery.

This is a shot of the first cache we successfully found. It is right across the street from our house in Rochester. Geocaching uses GPS to point you toward the cache. It's a little like the orienteering we were forced to do at many a summer camps growing up, but without all the math and compasses. The first cache we attempted to find was last week in Miami Beach. It had a high difficulty rating, but we thought we'd give it a shot. I was in the beautiful and hidden Miami Beach Botanical Gardens, but unfortunately we didn't find it.

 
Alas, our second trip out was much more successful. This morning we got up early, or what we thought was early, daylight savings time was a surprise. We ventured out and found 6 caches! We didn't get more than a mile from home!

The caches were in parks, along trails, under bridges and hanging from trees. They were magnetic key holders, mint tins, peanut butter jars wrapped in camo tape and old Vietnam war ammo cases. The biggest one contained stuff you can exchange. We left behind a Joe's original mixed CD, and took a DVD about preventing falls in the eldery. I just wrote a paper on this topic for my gerontology class, so I thought I'd try to bring it in for a little extra credit.

Geocaching has its own little culture. There are certain rules to follow in order to protect the purity of the sport. You must be careful to not do anything that would ruin geocaching for others. If you take something you must leave something. If there are muggles (non-geocaching pedestrians) in the area, you must be careful to not draw attention to yourself. You also must never move a cache from its found location.

We found 6, but didn't scratch the surface of what is around in Rochester. It's amazing, these things are right under our noses, but we don't even notice them. The only thing that brought us in from the great weather was the dead iphone battery. The weather is amazing, maybe we will be out again tomorrow!