The Travel Ahh….Life on a Frozen Lake

Posted on December 30, 2012 by sglaser

Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota. In many cases winter represents an end to something: like an end to fall, an end to warm weather, an end to the year, an end to a life cycle. It can be a bit depressing, really. Consequently, I’m not a fan of winter or the cold, but when you travel back to Minnesota for the holidays, that is what you will get. This year I decided, however, to appreciate winter, in particular, the beauty and the mystery of a frozen lake.

Seaweed in the ice © Stephanie Glaser

A frozen lake is just another phase of a life cycle. Actually, you see quite a bit of life, albeit some of it cryogenically preserved. Sensory details keep it interesting as well whether it is the crunch of snow, the cold on your face or the bright glare of the sun reflecting off the ice.

A somewhat unsettling, but cool, sound occurs when the ice contracts and expands, making noises like a whale or a thick wire reverberating. My favorite description is from my son Eddie, who noticed the ice sounded a stormtrooper firing his blaster in “Star Wars.” So really it’s like whales playing laser tag. Fortunately, this is normal activity for a frozen lake and while there are cracks that happen way down in the layers of ice, water seeps in and refills the cracks.

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Friday Funny Sign — Be Careful of the Snowflake that May Tumble Down on You!

Posted on December 28, 2012 by sglaser

Buck Hill, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Honestly, I have to believe this sign is a joke. However, there was nothing to indicate it was a tongue-in-cheek sign. Furthermore, the day Kurt took this photo, Buck had seen three inches of snow all season. (I think I scraped that much off the windshield of the car last night.)

The photo below shows a view of Minneapolis from the top of the hill. You can see the lack of snowfall. I realize, certainly, that Minnesota can get pounded and probably a heap of snow can fall down Mouse Pass.

Travel Oops: “Someone smashed a window, Miss! And he’s right there!”

Posted on December 26, 2012 by sglaser

After local troublemakers invaded Le Fevre and punched the principal as he tried to get them out of the school, the entire staff was on high alert. First, the assailants had broken a window and then charged into the main building to “bash” a year 12 who had slept with one of their girlfriends. They brought knives and knuckledusters (brass knuckles).

Having a school lockdown situation was nothing new to me since I came from the US. I was now in Australia as an exchange teacher. Word on the street with my year 11’s was that the derelicts weren’t finished. Another massive bashing was on the way.

Two weeks earlier, at nearby Henley High School, students had given their uniforms to some hooligans from another school. Consequently, the intruders, who had major grudges, stalked the Henley halls unnoticed. They kicked the crap out of a student, who again, had slept with the wrong girl and then unwisely publicized it on Facebook.

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Travel Ahh….Holidays in the Quiet Mountains and in the Crazy City

Posted on December 26, 2012 by sglaser

Salida, Colorado. Winter in the mountains is farther away — it shows up in the peaks, evergreens and the chair lifts. Christmas is calm and quiet.

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Friday Funny Sign — Any Milk Left for My Latte?

Posted on December 22, 2012 by sglaser

Colorado, USA. Who knew Starbucks had a mom and pop dairy that makes milk for all that foam? The former dairy is on the way to a popular ski area and it catches my eye each time I drive past.

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Travel Oops: The Unfortunate Photo —Is that Vomit in the Viewfinder?

Posted on December 20, 2012 by sglaser

With digital cameras, it’s so easy to delete photos with mistakes or unwanted shots. Sometimes those pics can be gems, however. At the very least, they may be a reminder about a funny incident or the challenge to get the photo in the first place. So Travel Oops has a new feature: “The Unfortunate Photo!”

Melbourne, Australia (above). I really wanted a family photo with a cityscape of Melbourne in the background. We chose a bit of an awkward spot in terms of getting several buildings in the shot. My friend Anne took the picture and was definitely intent on getting the right angle.

Unfortunately, with that angle, she also inadvertently included a pile of barf, which we had almost stepped in moments before. It caught my eye after I picked up the developed shots, and now it’s really the only thing I see when I look at the photo. It cracks me up each time.

Travel Oops — Mad about Mountain Biking

Posted on December 19, 2012 by sglaser

Embracing the active, outdoor lifestyle seemed like a great idea when I first arrived in Colorado for a visit.

However, after a few weeks, while white knuckling it on a mountain bike ride, I started thinking that maybe listening to some John Denver while drinking Coors Light was a better idea.

It’s actually best not to know anything about a mountain bike trail before riding it. Ignorance, while not bliss, is definitely an advantage when it comes to participating in an extreme sport. It’s either ignorance or fearlessness —and — since I am not fearless by nature, at least I was clueless. In fact, I was completely clueless about what I was in for.

Most of the Crest Trail, which runs along the continental divide in Colorado, is considered to be “singletrack,” a dirt path not much wider than the bike. When you’re riding downhill next to a sheer drop off on three inches of trail that goes over rocks and tree roots, it seems more like “tightrope trail” with no net.

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Travel Ahh…Children

Posted on December 17, 2012 by sglaser

Because of the recent unthinkable tragedy in the United States, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about my own kids and children in general. I want this Travel Ahh…to be a celebration of children and their innocence. The photo above is of a child in East Berlin, East Germany feeding pigeons in a mall area. I love how kids can be captivated by a bird adults think of as a dirty pest.

Exouth, Western Australia. Putting your hands in mud or dirt is a universal joy. This is my daughter, Kasey, who was fascinated with the red dirt.

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. These shy girls were coming home from school and they kindly agreed to have their photo taken.

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Friday Funny Sign — Open 7 Days Except for Monday Through Sunday

Posted on December 14, 2012 by sglaser

Australia. I passed this not so convenient store just about every day for a year and nothing changed. It was still abandoned and still said, “Open 7 Days.”

Avoid the Oops — The Hangover and Getting Really Drunk on a Plane

Posted on December 13, 2012 by sglaser

The journey has begun. The anticipation is there. It won’t be long before you arrive in an exciting new location or an old favorite. Speaking of arrival, here comes the drink cart. Even better — the alcohol is free!

It’s a perfect time to celebrate, so why not have another and another and maybe another after that? You’re not driving. Plus, your flight is fourteen hours; you have a lot of time to kill. So, it’s tempting to get the party started and to keep drinking.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with celebrating and drinking in moderation on a flight. And perhaps you know what you’re potentially in for, having already experienced hangover hell and feeling like complete crap at one point or another.

But remember, you may not have experienced this while in a confined space where you don’t have quick access to fresh air, toilets or even your own pillow.

Not to mention you may have to endure this state for several more hours with crying kids and grumpy passengers who are over the flight.

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