Sages Ravine

For Cinco de Mayo this year Mark and I decided to celebrate by exploring Sages Ravine.  It lies on the western border of Massachusetts and Connecticut, and it has beautiful pockets of old growth forest.  Part of the hike follows the Appalachian Trail and is well maintained and well used.  We hiked as far as the Massachusetts border, then looped back.  (The AT continues through MA).  Here is a photo of me after a particularly rigorous stretch of rock-face:

The first patch of old growth comes early in the hike.  A glen of old hemlocks sits a few hundred feet off the trail along a brook.  Here is Mark with one of the trees.  If you look closely you may notice one of the tree's roots gripping the rock.

Mark and an old hemlock tree

There were many bright greens, whites, and pinks scattered throughout the forest in the form of new leaves, buds and flowers.  In some places there were fiddleheads:  

Fiddleheads

When we got down into the ravine, the forest's underbrush disappeared.  It was quieter, cooler and seemingly more peaceful.  Mark snapped a shot of this tree:  

Towards the top of Bear Mountain, we saw many shades of quartz in the rocks underfoot.

All in all, a beautiful hike.

Manhattan Hiking

Earlier this week I took the A train all the way uptown to Inwood Hill Park, which boasts some of the oldest trees in New York City.  Bright spring greens and purples illuminated the park's scenery.  It was a welcome bit of nature in this at times nature-starved city.  There are even places on the top of the hill where I could look out over the Hudson River and hear none of the incessant city noises!  Check out some photos below.

Oi Rio!

Me eating ice cream in front of Ipanema beach. Ice cream always makes up an important part of my travel diet.


The man in the mountain. I didn´t even realize he was there until Mia pointed him out to me just now. This was one of the many views from the peak of the hike we did.


The Corcovado. Tourists aren´t allowed to leave Rio without taking this shot.


View of St Theresa, the oldest neighborhood in Rio. The big rock in the backround is the Pao de Açucar. The obviously less well crafted neighborhood is called a favela, aka a ghetto. Also where we spent the most of our time. Just kidding, Mom!


Look! Monkeys! They were cute. This was the second of two monkey sightings of the day. The first was on the way up to the Corcovado. These monkeys were less tame than the first, who took bread straight from a Carioca´s hand.


Ah, the photo glut that is my generation. This is one of many of Mia practicing her photography skills.


View from the top of Pao de Açucar. After taking this photo Mia and I busted it down the tram so we could hike down from the second tram station before dark; thus not getting mugged and saving R$11.

A Romantic Getaway

View down one of the streets in the historic district.

We arrived in Paraty last night, quickly discovering it´s a couples getaway. The hostel worker found us at the tourist office and seemed surprised to find us a pair of friends (as opposed to a pair of lovers) -- he had booked us a room with a double bed. The seaoned travelers that we are, this didn´t present a problem; especially considering that we shared a bed the whole time we stayed in Amersterdam 3 years ago. Luckily neither Mia nor I have a bad case of the jimmy legs.

I now understand why the Brazilians we spoke with in Sao Paulo seemed so glad that we planned to come here -- it´s beautiful. Yesterday after arriving we took the hostel´s complementary kayaks out in the ocean for a bit of exploring. It was the I-can´t-quite-believe-how-amazing-this-experience-is type of experience: huge green mountains that end at a lovely beach with lightly choppy waves and the late afternoon sun.

The town is super cute and touristy. The UNESCO basically considers the entire old town a historical monument, which is nice since it keeps the cars out. Today we have plans to rent bikes and explore some waterfalls. Thank goodness for travel!

It´s a Small World After All

Mia and I safely arrived in Sao Paulo after almost a full day of travel -- it would have been a lot less but the universe thought we needed to circle the city 4 hours before arriving. No worries; it gave me a chance to take another nap!

We both are pleasantly surprised by the city. Beautiful and interesting architecture, plenty of trees and parks, and friendly people. One of my favorite parts so far is that people don´t speak English to us (the slightly obivous foreigners -- is that an oxymoron?), thus forcing us to practice our ever evolving Portugeuse.

Yesterday and today was spent attacking the city with our feet -- we must have walked 20 miles in the past two days. We went to the MASP (an art museum), rented bikes and biked around the big park, went to the Mercado in the city center, and gossiped our hearts out. It certainly is nice to travel with a girlfriend.

We´re staying in a lovely little hostel. There have been a steady influx of travelers to chat with, including someone who went to Mia´s high school in Hawaii (hence the title of the post). I stopped an intense game of Frustration to write this (Mia was kicking my behind -- I was almost happy to stop. Almost.).

But things are good so far. Tomorrow we hop an 8 AM bus to Parati, then off to Rio the next day. We both are very much looking forward to relaxing on the beach.

New York, New York

Dear Blog,

I'm in New York, staying with the Judster. Life is grand.

Love,
Katie

The Big Hello

The future looms, it's far away.

Or maybe that's just geographical play.

Family visit on a hill,

Here and there a secret spills

Dinner's made and table's laid.

I help, (no yelps) we don't eat kelp.

Fun is had and I'm quite glad,

Colors blend and feelings mend.

(Damn who doesn't look good in tie dye...)

Sunsets watched and vittles shared,


And with this pool was I paired:


A new city once more, a friend in the mix

The original starbucks caffeine fix.


One rental car will take you far
As far out to the sea.
One faux-Colbert, one eighties dance
Laugh laughs for you and me.


Beauty beauty everywhere surrounds my heart
and makes it swell.
And smile.
(if a heart can smile, from time to time -- which mine can, when it wants to shine.)


A bit of glacial runoff, bright blue
My toes cough, boo hoo!


The sun sets.

O sunset.



Yes, I do in fact miss reading Dr Seuss books out loud.

QT with the TKDs

Baker Beach, a short walk from my current residence. Christine and I walked the dogs here my second day back (the first day was way too jet-lagged to do anything as responsible as taking photos).

In San Francisco, staying with the lovely and hospitable Janet, Tom and Christine. With Christine just back from South Africa we've skewed the Dorman cousin average to being back in the states, as opposed to abroad -- a slight disappointment. We've also spent serious time being jet-lagged -- Thursday was the day to end all days, the longest day ever, the day I time-traveled (read, up for 32 hours straight; left Korea at 10AM and arrived in San Fran at 9AM. Insert twilight zone theme here.)

I'm having another zen of travel moments here -- it seems the perfect fit -- recovering from the jet lag with extended family (ie no motherly nagging... sorry mom). Time here entails a lot of reminicising of stories from 20-40 years ago -- hearing about my parents before they became my parents, having a different perspective of stories I had heard forever ago (kinda like a new feminist awakening, except dorman-centered), talking about future plans (or the lack thereof -- don't ask me yet. I'm still traveling, damnit!). Basically, feeling safe and warm and comfortable in a home. Yay.

The End

of foreign travels, that is.

After 3 stops (a respectable number, at least in Korea) I am completely bonded to the Benny K. Nothing will take noraebang from each other.

But. I am to return to the US of A tomorrow, and an air of trepidation hangs over my head. I hope all will work out all right. We will see. O yes, we will see.

A Backpacker's Guide to Hygiene

I have to admit, I've been thinking about this post since traveling with the father figure back in NZ. Now is the time, apparently.

1. Don't immediately (possibly ever) clean stains off of your clothes. They can be considered a souvenir, like the current kimchi stain on my skirt.
2. Have an intricate system of laundry -- the clean (not smelly), the really clean (haven't been worn since it was washed), the kinda dirty (a bit smelly or stained, but perfectly reasonable to wear again before washing), and the super dirty (don't wear again until washed). Only the final category must be kept at a distance to the other categories.
3. It is acceptable to put deodorant on your clothes instead of washing them (except the super dirty, which is probably just underwear anyway).
4. Shower at least twice a week, more if you're feeling saucy.
5. Dental hygiene is important! Brush twice daily and floss daily -- and don't forget your nightgaurd (if you have one. if you don't, be jealous, they are really cool).
6. Deodorant is not a daily necessity.
7. Anything other than soap and shampoo is a luxury item. This includes (but is not limited to): conditioner, hairbrushes and combs, facewash, razors, lotion, mouthwash, perfume, purell and anything of its like. Just because something is a luxury item does not mean it need not be brought traveling, but if your pack is too heavy, you can only blame yourself.
8. Washing one's hands and face is just as good as taking a shower.

That's all I can think of now, although I'm sure there are many other rules out there. Feel free to add.


Check out my stylin' cat! I miss him.