10/4/07
Budapest, Hungary
Well, yesterday we arrived in Budapest and started a quick search for a hostel and lunch. It's hard to arrive in a brand new city, but we got a hostel first thing, then wandered through the city to get a little oriented and got a better hostel and moved. We ate a snack of finger sandwiches, and then ate a real meal at a buffet style restaurant. There are a lot of fixed price lunch menus here, which I like. The lunch was good, and included lots of cream sauces, stews, soups and breaded dishes; basically comfort food.

After we settled into our new hostel, we wandered the streets a bit more, bought opera tickets and took a walk to the Chain Bridge and back to our hostel. Budapest is beautiful and much calmer than Istanbul. The walk was pleasant because of Budapest's wide sidewalks and somewhat kinder drivers. I was immidiately struck by the grand structures in the city; there are lots of marble and stone statues high atop buildings.

After our walk, we rushed to the Opera after a quick bite to eat, and watched Andre Chevier- an opera about a love affair between a noble lady and a poet during the French Revolution. I didn't understand a thing, but I loved the experience. The building itself was incredible, and I loved the costumes and music. It all felt quite romantic.

Today, I went for a run along the Danube and back to the room, then Emmett and I embarked on a trip to the main city park in Pest. We first went to the zoo, which was fantastic! I loved the old zoo buildings with ornate roofs, and seeing all the monkeys. Other highlights included these cool sculpures of polar bears, horses and sharks made of recycled materials.

After the zoo, we wandered through the park and ended up at one of the royal palaces there, which housed the museum on anthropology. We explored for a bit, then looked for food optoins, which were quite slim. This started a downfall into hunger, and we ended up eating viena sausages at the more contemporary art museum. After sustanance, we entered the art hall, but later figured out it isn't the main modern art museum, which made sense, because there were very few art pieces. The building itself was an amazing spot for art- huge halls, and good lighting, but the exhibits were not all that stimulating.

10/3/07

?, Hungary 10a.m.

Now, after over 34 hours on the train, we are about 1 hour from Budapest. I'm getting excited about arriving and exploring the city. Besides the first night, the train experience has been pretty great. I enjoy watching the scenery go by. Yesterday we passed through Bulgaria, which was very green and mountanous; a lot like Vermont. Then, we entered Romania, and stopped in the evening for a couple hours and walked briskly through the town to stretch our legs. My favorite part of the walk was a city park, and the country road leading out of town, where horse drawn carriges, old men on bikes, and motorcars passed us by. We found 3 tiny puppies who tried to nurse on our fingers, and then followed us a little ways down the road.

We were psyched we brought a lot of train food from Istanbul because there was nothing to buy on the train- no dining car as we expected- and not even water, so we ate sandwiches, fruit and snacks all day yesterday. Now, after sleeping much better than last night, we are listening to a traveling mix and watching farmland through the window.

10/2/07
Giuriu, Romania

Well, we're finally on the train on our way to Budapest. We left yesterday after a curious and somewhat frustrating day. After going for a morning run, we rushed to the train station at 10 a.m, then discovered that our train didn't leave until 10 PM! We were told twice that our train left in the morning, but obviously something was lost in the translation. So, we had an extra day in Istanbul, which was nice, but sort of funny because we said goodbye and were ready to leave.

We walked Sinan to his old university and wandered the city for the day. It was nice, because we got really nice views of the Bosphorus, got a baked potato (something Emmett has had his eyes on ever sinse arriving in Istanbul), and stopped by an art gallery. We had a big salad for dinner and said sad goodbyes again.

At the train station, we were pleasantly surprised to find that we had a six person sleeper car all to ourselves!! Sinan chased after our train as we pulled out the station just like a movie. We slept okay on the train, but we were woken up in the middle of the night multiple times to get our passport stamped. The worst was exiting Turkey because, at 2 a.m., they made us get off the train and wait in line for over half an hour in the cold. Later, passing into Bulgaria at about 4 a.m., I got really paranoid because the border police took our passports to stamp them, and I was worried it was some kind of scam. Of course, it was just procedure, but it made for an adventurous night.

Now, we are starting another full day on the train. It's nice to see the mountain scenery of Bulgaria and Romania as the train speeds past.

9/30/07
Istanbul, Turkey

This morning, I awoke early, and spent the morning downing Turkish coffee and catching up on e-mail. Later, Emmett, Sinan and I went out to see some art events for Turkey's biennial celebration. The first gallery we visited was my favorite. There was this piece depicting archived photographs of people posing on chunks of icebergs on the Bosphorus from the 50s. I liked the writing about the piece too, talking about the relationship of people and nature, and looking back to a time when people were more affected by it.

Later, we wandered Isteklal, and I finally got some baklava (which I'm saving for the long train ride tomorrow). We just got back from this cute cafe, where we reminisced about our friendship over free cake from the other patrons of the cafe celebrating a birthday. Tomorrow, we leave for a 32 hour train ride to Budapest!

9/29/07
Istanbul, Turkey
Today, I set off on my own to see the major sights of Istanbul before leaving for Eastern Europe. I took the train to Haghia Sophia mosque, which was one of my favorite sights in Turkey so far. It is an old bzyantine church from the Constantine era, which was later converted to a mosque with the Ottoman empire, so you can see these cool layers of history within the building.

After exploring the Haghia Sophia, I met Emmett to explore the Topkapi Palace, which was the center of the Ottoman Empire for many generations. It made Emmett think of the gross excess of rulers and tyrants, and our fascination with jewels and palaces. Although I agreed, I did enjoy the detailed tile work. We were looking forward to viewing the religious relics such as Mohamed's beard, but that part of the palace was unfortunately closed.

We visited the Grand Bazaar next, which was much too stiffling and crowded for me, but I liked the ornate roof, and small stalls. It was nice to walk around the city and look at the stalls and streets around the bazaar- it's really amazing how packed in everything is here.

9/28/07
Istanbul, Turkey
Today was Emmett's birthday, so we went to this island called Burgazadesi to have an adventure. After breakfast and presents, we embarked on our adventure on a boat trip through the Bosphorus sea. It was neat to see the city from the sea-- it gives you perspective on how huge Istanbul is. The main highlight of the boat trip was that we saw two dolphins, which were far away, but still really neat to see. We arrived in Burgazadesi and rented bikes to explore the island. It was a beautiful day and the town was really quite cute. There were no cars on the island, so people got around on horse drawn carriages and bikes onlz. We biked up a steep hill and saw an old Greek Orthodox monostary and cemetary, with old engravings and photographs behind glass of the deceased. After lunch at a seaside cafe, we walked to an old museum of the home of Turkish Author, Saik Faik. The home was built in the Ottoman fashion, and was filled with artifacts from the author's life. We wandered about town after the museum and came upon a complaining kittz in a tree, so Emmett, very bravely climbed up the tree and saved the cat! On the boat back to the city, we saw a gorgeous sunset on the boat and felt like we had a reallz wonderful day.

After meeting back up with Sinan, we walked to Isteklal Street to have a fancy Meze dinner (Meze is Turkish small plates). We sat in the 2nd floor of the restaurant and people watched over great food and conversation. We finished off dinner with birthday cake and Turkish coffee, and Sinan read my coffee grounds. He saw sails signifying travel, 2 birds flzing with a gift, and a lot of grounds left in the cup signifying a burden I'm carrying. All in all, it was an excellent day!

9/27/07
Istanbul, Turkey
I am fully enjoying the large and busy city of Istanbul. Yesterday, James and I went to the spice bazaar because he was leaving that night and wanted to get presents. It was amazing, one of my favorite places in the city because of all the smells. The colors and things to look at are overwhelming. After the spice bazaar, we walked along some side streets, and fed some pigeons. A couple dad’s were catching them, so they were flying away in these masses. It was pretty neat to watch. We went into an underground mall, which was just like the mission in San Francisco, but compacted into one mall. By the time we got back for lunch it was already 5 pm or so. I napped and later we all went out to eat for James’s last night in Istanbul. We also stopped by a Lamda meeting and talked a bit to some Turkish queers. Later, after dinner of hot plate type food at Sinan’s favorite restaurant, Aga, we went out to the best gelato- yum! Sinan’s friend then took us up to this tall roof for a really good view of the city at night, and we watch the lights and the full moon. Wow! We then stayed up with James and looked at photos from our trip until we had to walk him to the bus stop for a sad goodbye.

This morning, I made pancakes for the gang, and then we went to Istanbul Modern for the day. I saw some really inspirational and cool art, but have been feeling sick to my stomach, so I spent most the rest of the day inside, recovering.

9/26/07
Istanbul, Turkey

Back to the boat: The places the boat took us were cool, but I was in a hater mood with all the tourists, so I didn’t really appreciate it that much. The highlight for me was this place called Butterfly Valley, where the boat stopped for an hour. We hiked up to see these beautiful waterfalls, and it was beautiful. Steep canyons and the lushest forests of the trip. It was tropical and awe inspiring. Lunch on the boat surprisingly included the best fish I’ve had all trip. Then, we swam at a few different stops near islands and ruins, and went down the boat’s water slide. However, after 6 hours on the boat, we were more than ready to get off and go to our hotel room ( which was a new room because our room at Lycian Dreams was booked). After a sub- par dinner of British food, we fell asleep with the feeling we were still in the waves.

Next day, Sunday the 23rd, we awoke early to get to the bus station to get to Sinan’s place in Candarli. I went running first thing in the morning, and it was neat to see the town before it really woke up. We all went swimming in the hotel pool, then had a good breakfast of eggs on toast, which Sinan was insistent about since we were all so sick of cheese, tomatoes and olives every meal. Our spirits were high on the food front because we were looking forward to having a kitchen available in Candarli. The travel time by bus to Candarli took basically all day, and I don’t remember much of it because I took a motion sickness pill that knocked me out completely. But the bits of countryside I saw were beautiful and I wasn’t sick! We arrived in Candarli at around sunset and walked to Sinan’s parent’s place through town. I liked the town a lot- it felt slow and cute and it’s off season, so it was pretty empty, which was nice for after the tourist craze of Olu Deniz. We were fed a good dinner by Sinan’s mom of Dolmas, chicken and soup, and we stuffed ourselves before an evening walk through town. We explored a castle, and played with the town puppies.

Next day, Monday, I went on a walk with Emmett through town to get these fantastic cookies at a bakery, had breakfast, and went on another walk through town, and played Backgammon and ate and read all day. It was nice to just relax and play games and walk all day- truly a vacation. I read a book, and did tons of crossword puzzles.

Next day, Tuesday the 24th, we did a lot of the same- eating cookies, playing games, reading, etc. We also went to a dock to swim, but it was so cold, I just dunked in and got out, while the rest of the gang swam to a floating dock and did some diving. It was nice to watch my 3 traveling companions swim from the warmth of the dock. We left Candarli at 6 pm, after another good meal and a backgammon tournament, and drove Sinan’s dads car to Izmir to catch our plane back to Istanbul, and our trip was over.

9/22/07
Olu Deniz, Turkey
We are now in the tourist town of Olu Deniz at a hotel. We arrive here yesterday afternoon after much deliberation about where to go. Unfortunately, Olu Deniz is just like I imagine Cancun to be like—incredibly touristy. The scenery around the town is magnificent, but it’s hard to enjoy it fully because of all the people. This town caters mostly to British people, so there are advertisements for English breakfast everywhere and other foreign food such as mashed potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, Thai food and pizza.

9/25/07
Izmir, Turkey 10pm
I am in an airplane on my way to Istanbul after our 12 day trip to the Mediterranean Sea. Overall, I guess the trip turned into a mostly sight-seeing trip instead of a hiking trip, but that was okay. Last I wrote, we were in Olu Deniz. We were there the 21st, 22nd and left the 23rd for Candarli, the seaside town where Sinan’s parents spend their summers.

Olu Deniz was pretty fun, but the town was so touristy, it was wearing on all of us. The day we arrived (the 21st) was pretty fun, except that I got motion sick on the 2 hour bus ride there from Kas. Before we left Kas, we went to this amazing market/ bazaar with tons of fresh food, and handmade crafts. It was pretty much, the best flea market I’ve ever been to. Once in Olu Deniz, we splashed out and got a fancy hotel room with a separate bedroom (apartment style) and kitchen, and drank beer with our lunch and watched music videos. We swam at the beach in very turquoise water and we laughed as we lay and let the waves crash over us. We made our own dinner (!) of lentils and rice and enjoyed each others company.

Next morning, we awoke early to attend a 12 island boat tour; was quite an experience. It was for sure, the closest I’ve ever come to being on a cruise… 50 or so people sunning themselves on the deck of a boat- tanning lotion and bikinis everywhere.

9/20/07
Kas, Turkey 5:30 pm
We are now at a pension in Kas, Turkey- a larger town on the sea. This town is touristy, but really beautiful, wish cobblestone roads, beautiful beaches and a relaxed feel. My favorite town so far. The last couple days of the trip have been marked by ups and downs. We awoke early yesterday in Ucagiz so that we could hike out in the cool part of the day- our plan was to hike to Aperlae or Apallonia- 2 sites with lots of ruins and water, and camp out sinse we’ve been staying in pensions so much. The book mentioned a well by Apallonia, so we made it our goal to hike 6 miles to that spot. The hike was rocky and already hot at 8 a.m., but it felt good to walk. Spirits were a bit low and James felt sick, but we made it to a cute a café within a couple hours and took a break with orange juice and chatted with a couple from Ireland. The owners of the café were really nice, but we felt we should move on because of the heat. We shortly made it to Aperlea, which was a sunny peninsula with ruins of tombs and old walls, and a shallow bay to swim (with another apparent sunken city). I swam, but felt nervous about sea urchins. Unfortunately, by the time we were ready to leave Aperlea, it was 11 or so, and the really hot part of the day had started. Again, we had to make a decision, and we ended up staying at a campground/ pension at Aperlea. After a nap, Sinan and I went back to the café where we met the Irelanders to ask about a possible boat ride to Kas, since hiking was so hot. Sinan chatted it up with the café owners and got a name of someone in Kilicli (a town near Apallonia) for water and a possible ride to Kas. The place we camped was not ideal, but there was 2 very cut dogs for entertainment, and was a place to get bottled water. We cooked our own food- the worst dinner of the trip so far, but it was food- and then ordered some melon from the pension.

Next morning, we awoke at sunrise again to kike to Apollonia and Kilicli. It got hot fast, and by 9 am, it was a scorcher. Fortunately, right when we were walking towards town, we met the man that Ramazan (the café owner) knew, and he told us to go to his house to get water and meet his daughter Emine (Eminable is the respectful name). We got there, and wow! The family was so super nice. Eminable immediately invited into her home, made us delicious breakfast and tea, and gave us water. Breakfast was laid out on a rug, then newspaper and included a plate of olives feta, tomatoes, fried potatoes, red pepper sauce and a piece of flat bread each. The family was all really nice and Sinan talked with them for hours while we joined in occasionally and simply enjoyed their company. Their 4 year old daughter, Huris, was super cute and flirted with all of us- especially Sinan, who could actually communicate with her. Conversation went from farming to politics to climate and back to farming. It was interesting to hear about their lives and perspectives. They live part time in the mountains, part in Kilicli, because Kilicli is so dry in the summer. Growing season is only from November to April- during the rainy season. Global warming has pushed the rainy season shorter and shorter. They said years ago, the season started in September. This year, they were back early because they needed to move their flock of animals. We watched a parade of donkeys as we sat on their porch. It was pretty amazing. They also talked about the seeds they get now, which are hybridized, and therefore won’t produce seeds, so they have to buy them year after year. Later, we had the thought that we should send them some organic seeds from the states.

The husband gave us a ride to a gas station to catch a mini bus, and we parted. The mini bus came quickly thereafter, and we arrived in Kas and got a pension, so that we could relax and explore the town. We found a cute, if tiny room, and walked to the beach for the most amazing swim of our trip. The water was freezing because it mixes with spring water from the mountains. Plus, there were so, so many fish! James got some goggles from a dive shop and we watched the fish in the cold, refreshing water. After showers and a nap, no, as the sun is setting, the now familiar calm of having a great day is settling over me.

9/17/07
Ucagoz, Turkey 5 pm
We are here in Ucagoz right now, in this incredibly beautiful place.

9/18/07
Ucagoz, Turkey, 7:30 a.m.
I just took a nice walk around town this morning, followed by 2 village dogs, which I dubbed Mustafa and Max. I rambled on the ruins and woke up the town by waking all the sleeping dogs and roosters We are trying to decide how to procede with the trip in light of Emmett being sick and lack of water.

Yesterday was pretty beautiful- we arrived in the morning, got a nice pension and breakfast of toast and spreads and soft boiled eggs. I like how they serve tomatoes and cucumbers with every meal here. It’s nice to have veggies with breakfast. After breakfast, Sinan, James and I went for a day hike along the Lycian Way, but it was way too hot to hike, and we couldn’t find the ruins we were looking for. We did swim, however, and it was refreshing in calm waters after the heat of the hike. The terrain was very desert- like; arid, flat, with no shade at all. But, it was beautiful and the ruins and grazing goats made the scene complete.

Lunch was a welcome reprieve- we sat for hours overlooking the harbor at a restaurant eating calamari and an assortment of cooked veggies. Yum! It was the best lunch yet, and I finished it off with a magnum ice cream bar and a game of hearts. After a nap, we wandered through town a bit, then went to the store to buy a few necessities.

I’m having a great time with my traveling companions, and at the same time, I’m tired of planning as we go. I need to work on letting go of control.

9/18 continued
4:00 pm
I am now in full relaxation mode in Ucagiz, chilling at the pension and watching the boats come into the harbor. We went on a boat tour this morning to see this cool sunken city and went swimming in a bay with ruins all around. It was pretty dope. We saw tombs from the Lycians in Simena, then the sunken city in the island of Kekova, which no one is allowed to live on or camp at because of the ruins. The city has both Lycian and Byzantine ruins, which you can tell apart by the fact that the Lycians built right into the rock, and the Byzantines, who took over, heaved the stone into buildings. We saw blue, pencil thin fish, little angel fish with yellow tails and bright magpie type birds with bright red heads. Later, we explored the ruins right here in Ucagiz and saw chameleons scampering away into the shade of rocks, and a pregnant cat napping on top of a castle. I like it here in Turkey so far, and am at a good point in my travels where I feel like I’m really relaxed and just simply psyched to be here. My goals now for the trip are just to 1) Be with loved ones, 2) see beautiful places, 3) hike or swim to stay active, 4) eat well.

9/16/07
Finike, Turkey, 3pm
We are now at this beautiful beach near Finike, maxing and relaxing after jumping and swimming off a floating dock in the Mediterranean. Emmett was really sick last night, but is feeling a bit better now- in the pension back in Finike. We are thinking that we will change the trip a bit because we think Emmett got sick from the water, and Sinan is allergic to Iodine, so we’re worried about water, heat, etc, but we’ll just see.

9/15/07
Finike, Turkey 5:00 pm
Today was day 3 of hiking on the Lycian Way. It has been really amazing here- pristine beaches, awe inspiring views and old villages and ruins. Yesterday, we woke up at the goat herders camp, cooked breakfast, drank in the views and hiked out to Andrasan. It was a good amount of downhill, which was hard on James’s knees, but we arrived in Andrasan in good spirits and looking forward to swimming. The beach was rocky and windy, but the water was cool and refreshing. Andrasan is one of my favorite towns so far, with a nice easy feeling, not too many tourists, and beautiful sailboats near the shore. We swam in big waves, then showered off under a sway sculpture, but wished we would have waited to shower under the elephant or dolphin showers just down the road. We refilled water and bought some fruit and veggies for lunch and ate under the shade at the beach. We got moving again at around 1:30 or so, hiked up to a camel farm (off-season, so there were no camels), and were feeling scorched by the hot sun. The hiking was hard- lots of scree and steep ups and downs, and it was hot, but we were rewarded by stellar views of “floating island” and the mountains and the sea. Finally, we arrived at the lighthouse- our goal for the night, because we read there was a cistern there. It was magical, because we arrived right at sundown, quickly found the cistern and did a water dance, and watched the sun set over these beautiful islands and calm water. It was such a relief to arrive after a hard hike, drink water, cook, and enjoy this beautiful spot on this gorgeous peninsula. The light house has an interesting history, as the waters surrounding it are some of the most dangerous in the Mediterranean because of cross currants. So there are a lot of ship wrecks under the water, wish cool relics apparently. We slept badly unfortunately, as we slept under the stars and were attacked by bugs and warm temperatures in the night.

Morning came and I awoke at dawn- James watched the sun rise, and Sinem and Emmett slowly awoke. After our bad nights sleep, we were all feeling kind of bad- sore throats all around. But Emmett felt the worse, and as the day progressed, got sicker and sicker. We arrived in Karaos quickly, after an easy hike, and swam at the beautiful beach. There was a long dock which James dove off. I floated on my back for a long while, letting the views sink in. Unfortunately, Emmett got sicker and sicker as the day went on, and after a relaxing and tasty lunch overlooking the beach, we hitchhiked to Finike to find a pension and get our sick member of the team a pension.

9/11/07
8:30 a.m.
Istanbul, Turkey
Now, I’m flying into Istanbul after a long 9 hour flight and it looks beautiful! Goodbye states, hello travel!

9/13/07
Tent near Andrasan, Turkey
10 am or so
Well, today is the first hiking day on our trip on the Lycian Way. I arrived in Istanbul on Tuesday morning and Emmett met me at the airport to take me to Sinan’s apartment. Arriving in Istanbul was a bit of a shock, but also really wonderful. I feel like the first day was a blur. We went to an archeology museum with these amazing ruins of tombs and gravestones and parts of buildings. It was really amazing to see such ancient artifacts. We had dinner of kabobs with rice at a small café, and then I took a nap before Sinan arrived back at home from work. It was so good to see him!

Next day, we ran some errands in the morning, then got on another airplane for a quick 1 hour flight to Antalya to start our trip. Immediately, we were struck by the tall, dramatic mountains surrounding the city. The view of Antalya, and an old carnival in front of these amazing mountains was truly memorable. Next, we got on a bus to Olympos, where we planned to start our hiking trip, and after a couple harrowing bus rides through steep canyons and cliffs on one-lane roads, and a cheap dinner of Gozleme, a popular potato pancake dish, we arrived around 10:30 p.m. We got a tiny room in a pension, but it was comfy. Sinan, James and Emmett couldn’t even stand up, so they looked like giants in a mini house.

We awoke this morning to stunning views, ate a cheap breakfast of feta, melon, and bread, and set out on our journey. We first visited the ruins of Olympos, and wow, they were beautiful. We ended up at a beach on the Mediteranean, and swam in the crystal clear sea, and ooed and awed about the beauty of the place. Wow, wow! We then hiked into the evening until we hit water, and set up camp near a spring on a hill top, where we met a goat herder, who nearly invited us into her home. There were these old cottages on the hill, where the goat herders must stay sometimes. We went to sleep to the sound of chanting prayers for the first night of Ramadan. Now, as I’m writing, goats are jingling their bells occasionally, and crickets are chirping. Basically, this is an amazing place!

9/10/07
Airplane at JFK airport 4:10 pm
Well, in about 20 minutes I’ll take off for Istanbul. I had a really great visit in New York City for the last few days. It was so good to be with loved ones there. The weekend went by so fast! Saturday, Liz and I went to Zabars for croissants, o.j. (fresh squeezed) and coffee for breakfast and then walked to the park and caught up on life. It was a beautiful morning and we enjoyed watching the designer dogs and families enjoying the park. We played cards and wandered, then went to Central Park to meet up with Alexa, Alex and Aisha for a picnic. It was great to meet Alex, Liz’s partner and relax in the park. Later, Alexa and I took a long walk around Central Park to catch up and have some 1 on 1 time. My favorite part of the walk was an area called the New York ecosystem- a more natural part of the park with wildflowers and birds and turtles sunning themselves on rocks. We saw Red Eared Sliders, reminding me I wasn’t in Minnesota anymore. We found a patch of jewel weed and entertained ourselves by popping the fruits.

After the park, we wandered Madison Ave. and Park Ave. looking for a bouigie café, gave up, and took the train to the East Village where we planned to meet with Alex and Liz for dinner. We sat first at a sidewalk café and cooled off with cocktails. Very European of us. After dinner, by 8 pm, I was exhausted from the day and was happy to relax at Alex’s apartment with a movie and ice cream.

Sunday morning I met Aisha on the upper west side for a delicious breakfast at Manhattan Diner. Yum! It was great to chat and catch up with her—the pace of hanging out with her is very California- slow and chill. We went to the museum of natural history on a whim, and mostly looked at the older parts of the museum- dioramas and offensively anthropological “peoples” sections. I was told we missed some of the best parts of the museum- the mythical beasts and evolution section, but se la vi; I enjoyed simply wandering the museum and seeing whatever we happened upon. Of course, my favorite part was the dinosaurs.

Later that night, I met with Liz, Alexa and her partner Kate fro dinner at Channai Gardens- a south Indian veggie place, which was very yummy, then I rushed off to meet my old friend Tom, from Oberlin. It took forever to get across town, but after a harrowing journey through the lower east side and a brief taxi ride, I made it to Sweet- a cute little gay bar, and met Tom for the first time in 5 years! It was great to see him, and it felt like we’d seen each other yesterday.

9/10/07
Airplane at JFK airport 4:10 pm
Well, in about 20 minutes I’ll take off for Istanbul. I had a really great visit in New York City for the last few days. It was so good to be with loved ones there. The weekend went by so fast! Saturday, Liz and I went to Zabars for croissants, o.j. (fresh squeezed) and coffee for breakfast and then walked to the park and caught up on life. It was a beautiful morning and we enjoyed watching the designer dogs and families enjoying the park. We played cards and wandered, then went to Central Park to meet up with Alexa, Alex and Aisha for a picnic. It was great to meet Alex, Liz’s partner and relax in the park. Later, Alexa and I took a long walk around Central Park to catch up and have some 1 on 1 time. My favorite part of the walk was an area called the New York ecosystem- a more natural part of the park with wildflowers and birds and turtles sunning themselves on rocks. We saw Red Eared Sliders, reminding me I wasn’t in Minnesota anymore. We found a patch of jewel weed and entertained ourselves by popping the fruits.

After the park, we wandered Madison Ave. and Park Ave. looking for a bouigie café, gave up, and took the train to the East Village where we planned to meet with Alex and Liz for dinner. We sat first at a sidewalk café and cooled off with cocktails. Very European of us. After dinner, by 8 pm, I was exhausted from the day and was happy to relax at Alex’s apartment with a movie and ice cream.

Sunday morning I met Aisha on the upper west side for a delicious breakfast at Manhattan Diner. Yum! It was great to chat and catch up with her—the pace of hanging out with her is very California- slow and chill. We went to the museum of natural history on a whim, and mostly looked at the older parts of the museum- dioramas and offensively anthropological “peoples” sections. I was told we missed some of the best parts of the museum- the mythical beasts and evolution section, but se la vi; I enjoyed simply wandering the museum and seeing whatever we happened upon. Of course, my favorite part was the dinosaurs.

Later that night, I met with Liz, Alexa and her partner Kate fro dinner at Channai Gardens- a south Indian veggie place, which was very yummy, then I rushed off to meet my old friend Tom, from Oberlin. It took forever to get across town, but after a harrowing journey through the lower east side and a brief taxi ride, I made it to Sweet- a cute little gay bar, and met Tom for the first time in 5 years! It was great to see him, and it felt like we’d seen each other yesterday.

Liz's apartment- Harlem NYC 10:30 am

Well I've arrived in New York City and it feels like a really great way to start my travels. This city is busy! The minute you get on the subway and walk around, you are inundated with people, people, people. In a way, it seems really great- there's so much rich community feeling here. But, in another way, I could see how you'd get sick of fast and need time away.

I arrived last night at around 8pm after nearly 9 hours of traveling. It was fine though; I've got to try to just relax when things take longer than I think. I took the train and walked to Liz's apartment in Harlem. It was like a scene from a movie- country bumpkin (minneapolis life feels like country living compared to NYC) arrives gawking with yellow shoe laces and too many bags, walking past brownstones with kids doing their homework on stoops. Arrived at Liz's to hugs and greetings and we made an amazing meal. So good to be folks I love and have missed. We headed over to Kate's apartment and caught up over beers and good conversation.

This morning I woke up at 9:30 and because Liz was still asleep I went for a run, which felt great! It was beautiful and sunny and running felt so good after a day of travel. I ran along the Hudson river and enjoyed being in a awe of New York- a crazy big city.

It is just a few short days until I venture out to Turkey to meet my partner and my dear friends in Turkey. I am feeling excited and nervous about the trip, but also focusing on being present in my last couple days in Minneapolis. It's a wonderful city. I especially enjoy the state fair! Where else can you eat hot dish on a stick, see a bluegrass band, log rolling, skateboarding, a raptor presentation, and the largest sow all on the same day?! Ah, Minnesota...

Day 2 of Superior Hiking Trail

We hiked a lot today. Awoke late at Caribou campsite to Sinem saying "is it time to wake up?" Then we ate breakfast- farina with dried strawberries- and headed out of camp. We kept up a good pace throughout the day, and saw some pretty impressive scenery. My favorite parts of the hike included a meadow near a beaver dam, and waterfalls at Brule River in Judge Magney State Park. Unfortunately just when we finished admiring the falls and were looking forward to the campsite a couple miles ahead, we had to climb 5 flights of stairs or so-- pretty discouraging at the end of a long day.

However, all in all, it was a good, hard day, but I didn't feel overwhelmed. 18 miles of hiking today total, and we're planning for 20 tomorrow. We are camped at Judge Magney State Park campground. We had high expectations of showers and flush toilets, but our plans were foiled when we found the bathrooms were locked for the winter already.

THE SLOW LIFE
It's been about a month since I hiked the Superior Hiking Trail on the north shore of lake superior, and yet it feel like it was just yesterday and years ago at the same time. When you're on an adventure like that you nearly loose all sense of time and reality. Life is not about getting to work, walking the dog, cooking, cleaning, schedules and meetings. Instead, life is only about eating, sleeping, hiking, and going somewhere. Here's my journal entry from the first day on the Superior Hiking Trail:

9/13/06: Day 1 of the Superior Hiking Trail.
So good to be back on the trail. The sun is setting right now, and I'm relaxing at camp. Today, we woke up in Lutsen, MN to a beautiful view of Lake Superior from a friend's cabin, before heading out to do errands and get some food. We ate breakfast in Grand Marais at the "Pie Place" (delicious), then drove up to Otter Lake Road to leave the car and set off. It was cool to flip through the trail registry and read about people's experiences. Quite a few thru hikers. It reminded me of finishing the Pacific Crest Trail because I saw some entries saying "I finished! 230 miles along Lake Superior"

So, we headed out, Sinem and I, and first hit a lot of clear cut areas, but then started seeing a ton of beautiful fall colors in the thick woods. We saw a huge moose skull and a red tailed hawk. We had lunch at a nice campsite at Jackson creek and were temped to stay, but decided to move on a bit more because both had energy. Sinem makes a great hiking partner! We came to a couple nice vistas (one was called Hellacious Overlook), and had a few good climbs. Now, we are camped at Caribou Woods campsite 11 miles from our start point. All in all, it feels great so far to be back on the trail, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the hike.