Kaaterskill Falls... Falls

So, I had this determined idea yesterday that we (my mom, Val!, Justin and myself) would go hiking and kayaking this weekend in upstate NY. Joey joined us as well. Without ample preparation and having missed the New Paltz turn off where we anticipated our Saturday evening hike, we headed into Saugerties and I got directions from a local that suggested two different hikes. Val! liked the idea of the Kaaterskill Falls Trail over the scenic overlook trail, so we were off in the direction of Hunter Mountain.

Beware - these photos get quite gruesome.

The trail was beautiful... Lush green trees densely crowded the muddy, rocky path which ran alongside a creek. In the creek were glistening silver-gray rocks and many levels of small falls, creating a beautiful visual effect as well as a musical audible effect throughout our hike, which was a half mile in length and took us upwards to the main attraction: a gorge into which a tall, thin, cool waterfall streamed. Val! and I made it there first and excitedly headed towards the falls. It was during this time of mindless hurry that I slipped on a wet rock and sent my left foot (and force of my body) into a hole surrounded by rocks. One of these rocks was incredibly sharp... As I extracted my leg, I noticed a deep gash exposing flesh and white fat folded up under the skin. The first words out of my mouth were "E.R."

After Justin bandaged my leg with part of Joey's shirt, we all headed back to the car and to the nearest emergency room. It's never nice to hear a doctor refer to your cut as a gaping wound... even though that's exactly what it was.

The worst part of the experience: Other than seeing the initial, frightening damage, the worst part (by far) were the numerous, painful shots I received to my wound area prior to being stitched up (10 stitches). I lost it and ended up crying...

The best part of the experience: Having my loving family there for me... Thanks Mom, Val! and Justin.

Things like this really help put life into perspective... And also remind me to be more careful. This is the third time in 3 weeks I've hurt myself, and the second time I slid off a rock and hurt myself. Sheesh.

Fun in Denver

Not gonna write a whole lot at the moment as it is late and I am very tired BUT the main thing I went to get across is that I really dig Denver and the Rocky Mountains and feel like this is a place I could see myself spending a lot more time.

Summary of our day:
woke up 5:20 AM ET
left NYC 7:50 ET
arrived Denver 10:20ish MT
left with rental car 12:45ish (don't even get me started but at least we had a convertible!!)
Drove into the mountains, drove around Central City and got hiking directions
drove to Idaho Springs and up Mt Evans to the top where it was still snowy = and 40+ degrees colder!!! We hiked to the summit. Amazing. 14,000+ feet up... we were breathing HARD. It rocked!!! We got up close to marmots and mountain goats! We also met some neat people that live here (originally from Atlanta).
checked into Magnolia hotel
cleaned up and changed for dinner
got cookies and milk on the way out of our hotel
had a yummy dinner at Samba (cuban food)
walked around downtown people watching and now we're ready for blissful sleep!!!!

Photos to be added soon!

The Great Midwest

Justin and I are taking of in the morning and won't return for a week! We'll spend one day in Denver, Colorado and the Rocky Mountains!! I am so psyched to see the Rockies. Justin has talked to me about them, and visiting Glenwood Springs specifically, ever since I have known him, so I am really glad we'll get to snoop around a little bit.

The majority of our trip will be spent in Montana with three days in Billings and two full days in Yellowstone. It's guide training time for Austin-Lehman, which is as good a reason as any for me to fly out and meet everyone, see our offices, and work on face-to-face projects.

Justin plans to set up a remote JetBlue camp for the first few days from our LaQuinta hotel room before heading out to Yellowstone with the ALA crew. I am sure we'll keep you updated via Twitter (easy with my phone) and the blog for more thoughts, feelings, and photos.

Special thanks a mucho love to the Val! for watching our babies and inhabiting our apartment while we are gone. Happy birthday to Olivia!!!

Love you guys and I'll miss you!
Ness

Random Annoyance with Obama

My life seems to be filled with random video clips and links lately. I am sure yours does as well. This reminds me of a rant I was going off on last night, which I'll spare you all from ...for now.

Justin sent me this link to a Fox News story about Barack and Michelle Obama giving each other daps on stage. hahaha - sorry, it was funny to type the word daps. Anyway, I am surprised that everyone's focusing on the fist action and not the SLAP ON THE ASS Barack gives Michelle right afterwards. Watch this video at 1:45 in...

Delightful Morning

I woke up this morning in a very good mood. I just have this positive feeling radiating throughout me today, and in the shower couldn't stop singing "Semi-Charmed Kinda Life," which, in all honesty, is not even a song that I like! Ok, I actually started out singing "How to Be a Millionaire" but somehow the other song popped into my head.

I commented to Justin that I wished we had something more interesting to eat for breakfast (aside from our staples of Pop-Tarts and peanut butter toast) and he suggested we grab food from the Asian bakery across the boulevard. I was game. Mmmm, a steamed red bean bun...

Walking onto the street felt like walking into an oven. Seriously, it's crazy hot for 10 AM! It's 94 degrees already. Justin took his pastries and biked off in the direction of JetBlue's headquarters for work, and I began the short stroll home. Because of the heat, I'm wearing a sleeveless shirt, shorts and flip-flops.

As I walked past the bank on the corner, I caught my reflection in its large windows and couldn't suppress my smile. For some reason today I just feel so well-suited to live in this city. That's a good thing, considering last night Justin brought up renewing our lease in October. New York, New York - I guess we'll have to dance this dance for a little while longer.

Very Troubling Times

This can be seen as a continuation from my post earlier this week entitled Inexplicable Anxiety.

I have even more disturbing news! No, it's not that Continental announced they're cutting 3000 jobs nor is it that United is dissolving Ted... No, dear readers, the news today is a far more alarming discovery.

My sister Val! sent me this news from the streets of Manhattan yesterday evening.
Prepare yourselves, because I don't think it gets anymore unsettling than this. The true sign that we're in troubling times - a woman was spotted wearing Hammer Pants on the streets of Manhattan yesterday!

No Hammer - Don't Hurt 'Em!
Hammer Pants Spotted in Manhattan
Thanks to Val! for texting me this picture.

This is life-shattering, society-destroying news if ever there were any. Either it means the lady is so destitute and broke she had to fish in her closet for this relic of 1990 fashion as it is the only pair of pants she any longer owns and can wear OR - god forbid - this is actually coming back in style. If that's the case, we should definitely pray for the future of our country.
*hand* *forehead* *staple*

Photo Editor of Exotic Images

One of my many job functions at ALA is photo editor... I do it mostly because, when I look at a picture, I automatically see how much more compelling it can be with just a little TLC. To the right is a photo of a river in Hawaii.
Much better, I think, on a sunny day.

Find out about Austin-Lehman's Kauai Hawaii custom vacation - or just check out the page I built for it, sheesh! :) Tough crowd.

addendum: internet bookings are now up 3% over last year and I am pleased. they'd been down for a while. let's hope they continue to grow.

Inexplicable Anxiety

I've been feeling a jazzy, energetic, strange anxiety today. It's not necessarily bad, but not necessarily good either. It's fueled by a multitude of things, I imagine, such as tons of different tasks I must accomplish from work, the democratic nominee being named, the US airline industry falling into ruin, and looming violin lessons in my future...

My anxiety could simply be because I've ingested too much coffee this morning. It could be because Obama won the democratic nomination (which I am not thrilled about). It could be because airlines seem to be dropping like flies (SilverJet, Eos, SkyBus). Those that are hanging on may not be around for much longer (United cutting capacity and jobs, American charging for everything, Frontier in bankruptcy and possibly closing down, Spirit making cuts to jobs and bases... etc.).

In general, I am worried about our careers - Justin with JetBlue and me in the travel/tourism industry. There seems to be an electric charge to everything. I imagine this is because most Americans are just waiting for the bottom to fall out of the semi-secure environment we've been living in for the last two decades. Even with the hardships after 9/11 and the first dotcom bubble burst, we've had some stability. Americans have been able to afford vacations, air travel, trips abroad, and the like.

Now that our dollar is in the toilet, airlines are shutting down, and people can't even afford gas to go to-and-from work (yes - a lady in Texas told me it cost her more than $25 just to drive into work and back home) I just wonder what, if anything, is seriously going to change. Will our economy continue its steady decline? Will things stabilize where they are now? Will things improve? Time will tell, I suppose.

Life continues at it's own comfortable pace for Justin and I at the moment. We watched Up the Yangtze last night, which was an interesting film; sad at points, slow at others, but always allowing you a glimpse into a wholly different culture where people are still, surprisingly, the same. Teenagers still have the same hormones, feelings, and rebellious nature. People are born believing they are entitled to more than is easily within their reach. I recommend seeing this movie if you have the opportunity. I feel very lucky to live in New York City where I can easily catch such a film. Quad Cinemas is showing it through Thursday if you can run down and see it by then.

I am taking a trial violin lesson next Tuesday to find out whether or not I want to pay for a series of classes. I am hoping so. It would be so nice to be able to play an instrument, especially such an aurally beautiful one.

Sunday Picnic in the Park

Riding our bike, roller blade skitchen, picnic, trees, relaxing, cherries and cucumbers.

All fun things to do on a nice Sunday in NY. To start our summer out right we headed to Flushing Meadows Corona Park for a picnic, perfect weather for one - breezy and bright. It was nice to have a happy wholesome day. See more photos on Flickr here.