This is some of what I did on my summer vacation. My wife and I traveled to Bergen. It is a beautiful city on the west coast of Norway.
Speedboating over the Lofoten Maelstrom (360 video)
The wife and kid took me out on the open water to explore the waters surrounding Lofoten, Norway. The speedboat (rip) that we traveled on was an interesting way to see the fish and wildlife in the area. Our guide Theresia said that the waters on this day were fairly calm and peaceful. If that is the case it must be crazy out here when the sea is rougher.
Down to the wire
West Virginia Road Trip!
Last weekend the family and I took a trip to West Virginia Wesleyan for my wife’s 25th College reunion. The kids and I were a little pissed that we had to cut the annual family pilgrimage to nerd mecca (aka Comic Con) short this year. In order to make the trip to West Virginia in time for the reunion we could only attend the opening day of the Con, but since Ski’s 25th reunion only comes around once and Comic Cons are eternal, the kids I sucked it up in order to make Mommy happy.
It was also my first, and most likely last trip to West Virginia so we splurged and rented this nice little ride called the Chevy Cruze for the trip down. I haven’t driven much since I got rid of my car a few years back and I have been missing owning one. We don’t really need one in NYC so getting to drive a new car was something I was looking forward to doing. The satellite radio and the GPS made the trip pretty enjoyable.
All in all the weekend Continue reading “West Virginia Road Trip!”
Here we go again
It is a damn shame that we are having this discussion yet again today. The murder of 27 people in Connecticut, 20 of them small children between the ages of 5 and 10, once again highlights a unique problem with American society. I have been watching the television coverage for most of the day with a mixture of sadness and calm acceptance of the reality of the world we live in today. I wasn’t sure of whether or not to add my two cents since I have recently become NRA certified with a pistol and have taken up range shooting as a hobby. As a child of the 70’s and a a resident of NYC, where we have some of the most strict gun laws in the country, I would be a Continue reading “Here we go again”
The Land of Fire and Ice
I was very sad when our last day in Oslo came around. We had a great time in Norway and I was not looking forward to going back to NYC, or more specifically, going back to work. The only upside to leaving Norway was that the wife had planned a little side trip for the family a few months back. She had always wanted to visit Iceland and thus set up a stop off for us in Reykjavik before heading home. I had never been spent anytime in Iceland beyond having a short layover in the Reykjavik airport so I was anxious to finally experience another Nordic country.
We we first arrived I have to admit that I wasn’t really impressed with Iceland. The trip in from the airport had us traveling past a rocky and barren landscape that went on for miles. It reminded me of the pictures that we got back from the Mars rover. As we got closer to the city the terrain began to soften somewhat. What shocked me was that it was still August and the locals were already wearing down coats. We stayed at what I was told was the tallest building in Iceland, the Grand Hotel. The fact that the hotel was only about 15 stories tall gave me a genuine chuckle. We then checked into our hotel and went for an early dinner.
The restaurant that we ate at, Veitingahusio Italia, had some of the best Italian food I had eaten in years believe it or not. Luckily had the early meal because by 11pm everything was pretty much closed down. And this was on a Friday night. I cannot imagine how it must be in the winter.
Day two in Iceland was much better, but it was still pretty cold. The wife took us to the Blue Lagoon outdoor hot springs to combat the chill in the air. I am not kidding when I say that is was the hot springs were the most relaxing experience that I can remember. I went in thinking I would stay for about 30 mins to get my money’s worth and I ended up staying in the warm mineral water for close to six hours. I looked like one of the California raisin
Weekend in Sweden
Last weekend I went with the family to Sweden for a retreat with some of our scandinavian peeps. This was the first of a soon to be annual event held at the Björneröds Ridcenter. The wife and kids have been going to horseback riding camp at Björneröds for a few years now and this was a good time for us to socialize with good friends.
And to top it off, my crazy wife was covered in a local Swedish newspaper for participating in an annual swimming race across the Fjords. The water she swam in was freezing too. We were having a mini triathlon with some friends that weekend and with the exception of one other person, my wife was the only one of us to opt in for the swimming part of the competition. I on the other hand stuck to the biking portion of the competition because black people don’t like participating in freezing ass water sports.
Return to Berlin
The family and I just returned from a recent trip to Germany. Ski and I took a trip a to Berlin a few years back and enjoyed it so much that this year we decided to take the kids and my mother-in-law. The above video Continue reading “Return to Berlin”
Atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed!
They say that every American man has a love affair with his first car. I don’t know if that is really true but the decision to part with the Batmobile after 20 years was like deciding to shoot my horse after it broke a leg. It was something painful, but something that needed to be done. She was getting a little old and harder to maintain in these difficult economic times. I hated to part with her but that last estimate of 1500 bucks for a new ABS braking pump was the kicker. And this was after dropping 900 bucks for a new transmission sensor control. Between maintenance, garage, insurance, and gas I was spending a ton of money per month that could be better spent on other stuff. Despite all that it is not an exaggeration Continue reading “Atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed!”
Home Alone
It is really weird how dependent you can become on the sounds and routines that we fall into over time. I bring this up because the fam has taken off for the summer and left me home alone. As a result, the house is way too quiet. While it is great that I have the bathroom, TV, and living room all to myself, there is something wrong with a quiet home. I honestly can’t wait until they come back.