Hardangervidda Plateau (Scandanavia, Part 2)

On our first day in Norway, we headed West from Oslo to the Hardangerfjord (water) and Hardangervidda (land) National Park.

It rained during the four hour trip but we still stopped at what is, arguably, Norway's most popular tourist attraction: Voringsfossen, a waterfall with a drop of 182 Meters. And we learned our first Norwegian word--"Fossen" means "waterfall."

This is the top of the falls.

And the bottom half.

We stopped at the Hardangervidda National Park Information Center before camping and were charmed by the goats living on the gift shop roof. A cute tourist trap, for sure.

This is the view from our campsite in Eidfjord.

In the morning, we bought fresh baked bread from the campground hosts. We had also stopped by the grocery store the previous night and purchased several items that might or might not have been what we had hoped to purchase. For some reason, everything was in Norwegian! Here, Pat decides that the "cream" I had purchased for coffee was, indeed, something "cream-like," if not the exact thing.


After packing up and making a home in the Loftus campground, we began our adventure for the day: the very stiff hike up to the Hardangervidda Plateau.

We climbed quickly and were rewarded with a beautiful view of the Hardangerfjord.

After a few hours of tough hiking, we reached the plateau. It was stunning--very high, green and dotted with lakes, rushing streams and waterfalls.

This picture is a good demonstration of the landscape. It was totally different than anything I have seen; however, it did remind me a bit of the high country found in Montana's Beartooth Mountains.

After hiking some ways across the plateau, we came upon one of the DNT's (Norwegian Trekking Association) many Hytters (AKA cabins) that hikers can use for a small fee. Many of the Hytters are set up as full-service lodges (more on these later) but this one was small, remote and deserted.


As this picture demonstrates, the weather was starting to look shaky.

Putting on our rain gear soon proved to be a wise idea. We turned and finished the hike in the rain but, by the time we returned to the campsite, it was once again fine.

Visit to Tisvilde, Denmark (Scandanavia, Part 1)

Pat and I started our European vacation the right way: by visiting my brother Peter and his family in Tisvilde, Denmark. Tisvilde is a sleepy beach town in the winter but becomes a tourist destination for Danes in the summer. It is the perfect place to kick back, catch up with family and get over jet lag.

We arrived in Copenhagen at 7 a.m. local time, and, after we got through customs and made the drive back, it was time for one of their favorite traditions: breakfast in the backyard. Peter and Elisabeth keep a very warm home--we always feel totally comfortable right away.

Later than day, Pat and I took a walk with Peter to visit his friend's farm. This picture doesn't justify the beauty of the area. We had a nice cold beer and crisps (AKA potato chips).

The next day, the whole family (Peter, his wife Elisabeth, our niece Cielia and Misha the dog) took a walk along the beach and through downtown. The beach was practically deserted but Peter and Elisabeth said it was because the weather wasn't that nice.

The next day we went to the Viking museum in Roskilde. There were many interesting viking ships on display, and Pat and Cielia donned Viking attire. They made pretty good Vikings!

Then, we had a chance to sail a Viking type ship. First step: donning life vests. It is a shame Vikings didn't have those because it seems like many of their ships ended up on the ocean floor.

Somehow, Ceilia and I ended up right at the front of the boat. This meant that not only did all the rowers behind us have to keep our rhythm but we also had to keep a rhythm with each other. This did not go particularly well...

However, I thought I looked very Viking-like!

Meanwhile, behind us, Pat was in charge of the sails. I don't have a picture but Peter and Elisabeth lucked out--they got to sit in the very back and watch the rest of us work!

A good portion of our visit was spent just sitting around and catching up. I took this picture of Pat and Peter from our bedroom window.

I think we managed to ingratiate ourselves with at least one family member during our visit. On our last night, I came upstairs to find Misha cuddled up with Pat. Aren't they cute?

Disneyland with Casey and Saul

In June, our friend Casey and her son Saul visited us from Montana. Casey gets a Gold Star in my book because she is a faithful visitor despite having two children. Indeed, she has visited us everywhere we have lived!

Here is a great picture of Saul with one of the cutest and most perfect kitties in the whole world. Most kitties wouldn't let an energetic five-year old pet them but Stormy just sat there and basked in the attention.

Then it was off to Disney where Saul suggested we do the Buzz Light Year ride first. Since I had never been on it, I concurred.

It was an awesome, interactive ride where we could earn points by hitting targets as they flashed by.

Even the adults got into the game.

Then we did a little driving. Of course, Saul insisted he could drive.

And, shortly thereafter, we learned why five-year-olds don't get licenced. Actually, with a little help from mom, he didn't do too badly.

I confess that this was a real temptation for the person in the car behind them.

The Teacups reminded me of something: I am as old as the hills. Why else would I feel so gross after such a relatively mild ride? I felt terrible afterwards...

Then Saul took our picture--we were impressed that we were both in it.

Here is Saul before the Pirates of the Caribbean: happy!

It turns out that Pirates of the Caribbean is pretty scary!

I would say that is pretty reasonable.

So, we finished off our day at our happy place! What a perfect antidote: Its A Small World, After All.

Everyone felt better afterwards and went home happy!

Sespe Wilderness Camping Trip

There are so many exciting places to explore in Southern California. I feel like we could live here for years without exhausting the possibilities. A few weeks ago, we headed about three hours north to the Sespe Wilderness area, near Ojai, an artsy little town which could be a destination in itself.

We had hoped to stay in one of the National Forest campground but they were all full by the time we arrived. Luckily, hikers can set up camp along any of the wilderness trails in the National Forest so we decided to just hike 1/2 mile down the trail and find a place to camp. This picture is of Pat starting down the trail with a bunch of gear.

We found a comfy camping spot after a 15-minute hike and set up our tent.

Then Pat decided we had forgotten a necessity: our pillows. So, he ran back up to the car and carried them back down.

While Pat was getting the pillows, I contemplated my new hiking boots. I bought them for our upcoming trip to Scandinavia, and this trip was a rehearsal for them. The boots are, how shall I say it? A bit more substantial than I had anticipated. Let's just say they are Bad Ass! It seems like they will be overkill for the Norwegian hills...

After a peaceful night's sleep (thanks, pillows), we collected our gear and headed to another trail head for the day's hiking. But, before we could get started, I had to brew some camp coffee (we make it by immersing coffee filter bags pilfered from hotel rooms in boiling water). Yummy!

We ended up hiking 10 miles to two peaks: Reyes Peak and Haddock Peak. It was a beautiful day.

And my new hiking boots weren't too uncomfortable!

Pride Parade

Pat and I discovered soon after we moved to Long Beach that we lived in the Gayborhood. Being progressive-type folks, this was no big deal to us. However, once a year, things get really crazy: Pride weekend. The Pride Festival is the second largest event (right after the Grand Prix), and annually draws almost 100,000 people. Here are some pictures from the Sunday morning parade.

First came the flags representing different nationalities.

Then a whole bunch of floats.

And Disneyland was there, too. Actually, there were lots of big companies from Budweiser to Boeing.

And there were lots and lots of floats that made us want to cover our eyes!


It was also nice to see several churches in the parade.

And it wouldn't be a Pride parade without some drag queens. There was lots more to see; however, my camera was on the fritz. That may be a good thing... let's just say it was great entertainment!

5K Smack Down

Several months ago, Pat and his graduate assistant, Steve, decided to compete against one another in a 5k as an incentive to get back into running shape. They agreed that Steve (since Steve is at least 15 years younger than Pat and only a year removed from collegiate competition)would give Pat 2 minutes on the race, and the winner would buy the loser breakfast. So, last Saturday, we drove up to Hermosa Beach (a new beach for us) for some exciting race action!

Here is the pre-race picture. Pat kept saying that he might not survive, which might explain his expression! It should be noted that both Pat and Steve claimed that they didn't train for the race and were pretty apprehensive. I can corroborate Pat's claim--he really only ran a few miles a few times a week in preparation.

Can you find Pat at the start of the race? Hint: he is on the right hand side.

When Steve came by me, he looked great and had a big smile on his face! He was 1:10 ahead of Pat. He finished the race in just under 17 minutes, but, alas, it wouldn't be enough to earn him a breakfast.

Often, Pat looks like he is in serious pain during a race but this time he looked really relaxed. At this point, he was only about 100 yards from the finish. He finished in about 18:25, which I consider amazing since he really doesn't exercise very much. I wish I could reel off a sub-19-minute 5k just like that!

Some of the runners from Pat's team came out to cheer the guys on. That's J-Rod on the right and Naveed on the left.