May 15 - A Day In My Life

Here is another day in my life.  This day started early because we were going back to Panama after a week in the U.S.  I like traveling (a lot) so I thought it'd be fun to share this day with you.

 I told you it started early...

3:00 AM alarms do NOT make me happy!

Closing up my suitcase, getting ready to go.

 

We returned our rental car before the office was even open.  

I didn't love the Jeep Liberty, but it served us well.

 

The day before, I tried to buy a bottle of water from a vending machine, but it was out of water and it wouldn't give me my money back...so I bought Diet Dr. Pepper instead.  However, I hadn't finished it so I had it with me in the airport - and since I can't take liquids, I was determined to drink some before throwing it away and wasting my money.  Diet Dr. Pepper isn't that great at 4:30 AM!

There weren't a lot of people on our flight.  We were the only ones waiting for a long time!

We weren't really awake yet - but we do like traveling!

 

Taking off from Birmingham in the fog.

Landing in Chicago

Waiting to board our flight to Houston.

Have you ever seen a white bag of peanut M&Ms?

When we were landing in Houston, there was another plane landing on a parallel runway at the same time.  The plane was too close to us, if you ask me!

 

Time check.

Enjoying one last taste of America before leaving.

   

Boarding a flight to Latin America and everyone immediately crowds the line - even when it isn't their BOARDING GROUP!!

 

Panama...here we come, again.

We flew in a Rolls Royce!

 

The cheeseburger was surprisingly good.

Enjoying my special treat (I always buy a People magazine when I travel).

This was our view for most of the day.

Landing in Panama.

I almost forgot the picture of me in a mirror - so I took this in the airport after we landed!

Hooray for Abby picking us up!!  It was nice to see her smiling face after a long day!

And it really was a L-O-N-G day!

Packing

Last week we had to pack in a hurry for an unexpected trip to the states.  I decided to make a video of our packing using time lapse photos.  It's something I've wanted to try for a while and I thought packing might be a fun subject.  This was a quick trip (1 week) so the packing is lighter than normal.  But, you can imagine this process on a larger scale for our longer trips.  I love to pack and you'll notice I do a lot of the actual packing.  Apparently, I also do a lot of pointing!!  The dog and cat get nervous when we get the suitcases out and you'll notice Ubi in the corner looking anxious and Bacon has to inspect everything from time to time.

San Blas Trip

On Saturday, we took a day trip to the San Blas Islands - located on the Caribbean side of Panama. So, we left the Pacific side in the morning and drove across the country to enjoy a day on the sandy beach...and then we drove back. It was a long day, but it was a lot of fun. I'm so glad Jen was able to go with us...I really enjoyed hanging out on the beach. The water was beautiful and we really enjoyed ourselves (and no one was hit on the head with any coconuts!). Thanks to Bob & Shelly for leading the way. Here is the montage from our trip (my video for this month). Enjoy!

San Blas Trip from Kara Hurt on Vimeo.

Week 47

November 20
After talking to my mom and Bill, I decided to fly back to Oregon to see my grandpa. We just made the decision and bought a ticket online...for tomorrow! I can't believe I'm buying a ticket one day and flying the next! This changes all our plans for Thanksgiving and vacation, but it's important.

November 21
Here I am in Houston. Just waiting for my next flight to take off. That's my plane out there waiting for me!

November 22
Back in America! Shopping at Costco to prepare for Thanksgiving. They had PALLETS OF PIES!! It was unbelievable. People were buying so many pies...one guy had about 10 in his cart. There were so many pies! This picture isn't even all of them - the pumpkin pies were behind me in the refrigerated section. They were disappearing about as fast as the employees could restock them. And, they are actually really good pies - considering they only cost $5.99.

November 23
Enjoying my dad's pancakes for breakfast with my family. It was good to be with everyone and the pancakes were delicious too!

November 24
Thanksgiving dinner. This picture doesn't even begin to capture all the food we had. It was a delicious feast with my extended family. We have so much to be thankful for! I wish Bill and the rest of my family could have been with us.

November 25
My mom and I decided to get up early for Black Friday shopping...my first time. We missed my sister - who is the real expert. It would have been more fun if she was with us. We didn't need much, but we were out there and got the good deals (on socks) and free donuts. In the evening, we went out again and I snagged the last TV on sale at Target. I pretended it was early morning and I was fighting off the crowds as I rushed thru the store with the big box in my cart. Good times! (The TV was an early merry Christmas gift for my dad!)

November 26
One of the best things about a big Thanksgiving is the leftovers. We enjoyed turkey sandwiches and all the extras!

Week 45

November 6
After church, I went out for Dim Sum with Abby, Cathy, Amber, and Mami. I'm not a very adventurous eater so this was good for me. I ate things that I did not recognize...and they were good. We had a lot of fun!

November 7
I decided to buy a new camera because the pictures on mine aren't that great. I've been spending a lot of time researching this decision. It's hard to know what to get without spending too much money!!

November 8
The first pumpkin pie I've made this year isn't even for me. Someone requested it at work for their birthday dessert. It looked and smelled SO delicious. I'll just have to make another one to enjoy at home!

November 9
My mom is here!! She has come for a visit and is already unpacked and settled in. We're so happy she's here!

November 10
Surprise - another picture of me! I looked back at the pictures of myself the other day and I look pretty much the same. Other than the length of my hair, I don't think I've changed much. Just 1 more month to go.

November 11
Of course I had to take a picture of the clock today. Other than being Veteran's Day - today is 11/11/11...so I took a picture at 11:11. I couldn't pass it up!

November 12
Big football game today. My mom and I watched the Stanford vs. Oregon game and cheered our Ducks to victory! It was a good game, but why do they have to start so late??

Week 40

October 2
The road construction near our house includes a new traffic circle. Apparently people don't know how to use it because they've recently put up instructions on how to enter the circle - incoming traffic has to yield. Hopefully this will help the traffic, but we aren't holding our breath.

October 3
Bacon doesn't like it when Ubi goes outside. She whines at the front door while he's gone. And when he starts to come back, she hides next to the door to jump out and scare him.

October 4
I went to the airport with Bill again today while he did his mail run. It's fun to sit on the tarmac and see everything that goes on. You really feel like you're part of the action!

October 5
I was able to take a special tour of the locks on the Panama Canal. We even crossed over the locks and visited the control booth. It was really cool! We watched as large container ships passed by - we were so close to the action! The picture below shows we were between the two lanes of locks on the canal - not many people get to do that!

October 6
Here is another monthly picture of me. I'm taking it early this month because we leave for vacation tomorrow!! I can't wait!

October 7
We traveled all day! It was an exhausting trip, but we finally made it. In Houston, we changed terminals and got to ride on the little train - that was fun. In our new terminal, there was a Chili's restaurant and I was beyond excited to get a chance to eat at Chili's. However, when we got there it was closed...at 7:00 PM!! I was very, very sad. No Chili's for me on this trip!

October 8
Our first day in America. It was a beautiful day! We must have brought the sunshine with us. It was so nice that we put the top down on Bill's car and drove around. What a lovely day!!

Four Things Friday #4

1. In the last three years, I've been to 9 different countries (USA, Italy, Panama, Peru, Canada, France, Egypt, Costa Rica, and the Bahamas).

2. Sometimes I use Wikipedia to learn new things - there is a nice feature that will show you a random page each time. Today, when I clicked on Random Article, I learned that there is an entry for Wisconsin Highway 253. I wonder who would take the time to make an entry for that?

3. We're having lamb for Easter dinner. Not because it's a normal choice (which it seems to be) but because I have a weird thing about repeating meat for holiday meals. Thanksgiving is turkey, Christmas is ham, so Easter has to be lamb or duck...and I'm not sure I'm ready to cook a duck!

4. This might be my last entry for "Four Things Friday". I know it's only the fourth one, but I might change it to another day and another number. I feel that it's interfering with my Project 365 updates which I intended to do each weekend. If I have to write this on Friday and update my pictures on the weekend, I don't always get them both done. Perhaps I'll start "One Thing Wednesday" or "Three Things Thursday". I guess if I'm going to quit - it's fitting that I end with "Four Things Friday #4".

Siena Pictures

For the 4th of July, we took our last trip in Italy. Actually, we left on the 3rd of July because it was a holiday for us and we went up to Siena. I've been in Italy for 3 years and I had never been to Siena. A lot of people talk about Siena and some say it is their very favorite town so I decided we had to go before leaving for good. We took the train up on Friday afternoon and found our cute hotel. On the way up, we passed a million fields filled with sunflowers and I thought of my mom. There were tons of them...yellow as far as the eye could see. I tried to get a picture of them but the train was a little too quick for my camera.

In Siena, we arrived the day after their big annual horse race. Its called Il Palio and all the neighborhoods compete in a horse race around the main square. Its a big deal and the locals take it very seriously. We weren't there for the race, but we were there when the winning team paraded all around town with their flags and drums and neighbors to brag about their victory. The winners of the race win a banner that a local artist paints each year (called a palio). We were able to see the winning team parading all around town in several different locations and Bill got a lot of great pictures. The next day we slept in and ate some food and just hung out. It was a very relaxing vacation and a fitting end to our wonderful time in Italy. (Although, I'm not sure I would say Siena is my favorite town...I have other favorites.)

Bill posted his pictures for this short trip rather quickly. You can see them here. Enjoy!

my attempt at a picture of sunflowers

Bill in the main square of Siena

Our time in Italy is rapidly coming to an end. I had hoped to blog about a few more things that I will miss from Rome, but I just don't have the time. I have the pictures and the ideas in mind, but I can't find the time to sit down and write about them properly. I guess I'll have to write about them after I'm gone and I'm reminiscing. I hope you can wait until then!

Bellagio Pictures

Just a quick update. In case you don't already know, Bill has finished editing our pictures from Bellagio and Lake Como. We celebrated our 1st Anniversary in Bellagio. It was a beautiful setting and the pictures are great. Enjoy them here!

Capri

At the end of May, Bill and I took a trip to Capri. Actually, it was a longer trip to Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri but my favorite part was definitely Capri. It was right after our pack-out so I didn't feel like working very hard at making plans. In fact, I didn't really feel like planning at all - which is surprising since I usually love to plan. But, I was tired and I wanted someone else to plan for me. So, we booked a tour. We acted like regular tourists and signed up to be herded around and taken everywhere on a tour bus. Not usually my favorite way to see things, but it was just what I was in the mood for. We signed up for a 2-day trip with an overnight stay in Sorrento.

First, we visited Pompeii, which I had already seen, but Bill had not. It was a hot day and the ruins looked pretty much the same, but Bill enjoyed it. Next, we were off to Sorrento. Sorrento is on the north part of the Amalfi Peninsula. I don't think it technically counts as being part of the Amalfi Coast, but it is pretty close and it is very nice. We spent the night in Sorrento at a very nice hotel and the next day we took a ferry to Capri.

Capri was beautiful. We had lovely weather and everything was just perfect. We took a smaller boat out to the Blue Grotto and from there we transferred into row boats to enter the grotto. It is a very small opening in the cliff but inside it opens up into a cavern that is blue because of the light reflected in the water. It was fun. Next, we had lunch and drove to the top part of the island. From there, Bill and I took a chair lift to the tippy-top of the island...it was literally a chair lift - one seat at a time. It was so fun and you could see out over the entire island. The lift was my very favorite part. After that, we met up with our group again and did some shopping. Then it was back to Naples on the ferry and back to Rome on the bus.

Even though it was a quick trip, it was a lot of fun! I can't believe I've been in Italy for 3 years and I haven't been to Capri before this. I'm glad we finally saw it and I wish we could go back. Here is a link to the photo album that Bill posted with his pictures of our trip. I'll also include a couple of my own. Enjoy!!

http://public.fotki.com/HurtWa/sorrento-and-capri/

the Blue Grotto looked kinda green to me

both of us! (see Bill in the chair behind me?)
Bill enjoying the view

at the top

our guide was Marco