P&PS

I’m headed out first thing tomorrow to spend a long weekend in Boston with my family. I’ve slowly been making progress with my wardrobe an am happy to announce it took me about five minutes to decide what to pack. It’s not the most exciting capsule wardrobe, it’s pretty uniform, but I wanted to share it for a couple of reasons. First, this is the first time it’s really hit me how nice it is to have a concept of uniforms and to have a capsule wardrobe to accommodate this. Second, I’ve been wanting to start documenting the clothes I pack because it makes it easier to pack later for similar longer trips since seeing what I packed will hopefully remind me of what did and didn’t work. I’m expecting some rain and then some colder weather on Sunday and Monday. I’m packing assuming I won’t need to worry about covering up because of the sun which is a nice change from this summer, but it also means I’m not packing any long sleeved shirts when maybe I should. I am, however, packing th...

Camping is one of those things that's hard to share via picture, moving or still.  It's so much about the experience, the stars overhead, the springy soft ground underfoot, the wind on your face, that first pure hint of morning light, meals cooked by fire and ember. Sure there are the stories you tell, the ones around the campfire and down at the lake, and the ones you tell after, but it's not the same.  Stories can conjure memories and emotions but they can't make the sun shine or moths fall from overhead lights.  Okay, maybe the last one, moths are sneaky, but the rest, these personal moments and experiences, they're a lot harder to convey.  I'll leave it at I had an absolutely amazing time, despite the lack of nonrock based floors and comfortable chairs, I would have turned right around and done it again.  The lack of technology was restful and the presence of that much nature was restorative.  We mostly relaxed but I did get to see some amazing sights...

This last week, particularly the last forty-eight hours, has seen a lot of changes in what this trip is going to end up being. Last week I had my last day of work officially commencing the countdown to May 23rd. In the last two days I've found out I won't be able to see two of the friends I had planned on seeing and another threw a wrench in my plan to sob happily like the closet romantic that I am. As sad as that makes me (I'm still pouting), the last week has also seen the development of some really awesome things: Jonathan Young in Hamlet for starters (this beats out Christopher Plummer in Ceasar and Cleopatra by lightyears), a Jim Byrnes show (his vooooice), and the discovery of the new UBurger at Faneuil Hall aka Quincy Market. Yes, I know I just put a burger place in the same bit of EXCITING as Jonathan Young and Jim Byrnes, but I have a serious thing for real, simple food. The UBurger discovery happened as part of my trip planning, which is going well. I ...

Walk 21 April 2013 12:31 pm local | 12:31 pm est I'm having a bit of a hard time thinking seriously about packing clothes for my upcoming trip given that it's still snowing here at the end of April and I'm optimistically planning on summer temperatures by the end of May.  The rest of the planning, however, is going rather well even if I am beginning to think I may need to pack another pair of my favorite sandals instead of the less practical but oh so shiny boots I was planning on taking. I'm blaming  Vancovuer Walkabouts , although in all fairness  Walk London ,  Edinburgh Walks , and  Pentland Hills  came first.  Guided tours, recommended walks, routes past the best attractions in the city, it's hard to pass up.  I love walking, or more accurately I love a leisurely stroll with my camera, or an unintentional rambling wander filled with people watching and good food.  Normally, my vacations are filled more with people, long cha...

Decisionitis Utica, NY 16 April 2013 8:56pm pm local | 9:27 pm est I had a bit of decision paralysis over the weekend in regard to my impending stay in London. I’m sure there’s a more scientific word to describe it other than ‘AHHHHHHHHHH’ but regardless, it was a bit of a problem. I know myself well enough to know that I shouldn’t plan a dozen things to do in four days. There’s a good chance jetlag will kick my butt or the weather won’t cooperate. Plus if there’s one time I don’t mind a bit of spontaneity (and by that I mostly mean epic tv watching) in my life, it’s when I’m travelling. The problem is, I watched a couple of London travel vids on Youtube, and suddenly wanted to do everything. And by everything, I mean everything, things I wouldn’t normally consider like ferries (hello motion sickness) or bus tours (I prefer the walking alternative) mixed in with all the usual suspects. In the end, I gave up and went back to reading the book I started last week (Cl...

I thought it was about time I resurrect this blog since I'm planning on doing a fair bit of travelling this summer. The first step is to give this space a new look, but while I'm working on that, I thought I would give you all a rundown of what I'm planning. The trip starts by spending Memorial Day weekend in Boston, Massachusetts and ends right before Labor Day in Belfast, Ireland. It will include stays in seven states and two provinces as well as at least three countries in the UK, and a smattering of places in between (yay buses!). The trip will include visits to: Boston, MA Belfast, Northern Ireland Burlington, VT Chicago, IL Cleveland, OH Columbus, OH Duluth, MN Edinburgh, Scotland Edmonton, AB London, England Minneapolis, MN Oxford, England Portland, ME Salem, MA Seattle, WA Vancouver, BC Because I'm still in the planning stages of the trip, the specifics of what I'm doing in each location are still largely undetermined. If you wo...

Have no fear, I'm still here. That rhymed. Huh.  Anyway, I'm still around just insanely busy with my last semester (hopefully) ever.  I'm off to Maine for two weeks when finals are done.  I'm hoping by the time I get back I'll be feeling a bit more chatty or at least be in the mood for posting photos.  I've done quite a bit of crafting since I last posted so I have some catching up to do.