Staying Classy in San Diego

The USS Midway might be one of the most impressive military museums I have ever been to. The flight deck is loaded with aircraft including, yes its true, and F-14 Tomcat! Access felt almost unlimited. We almost got lost in the mess deck! The pier where she is docked is right by the shops, restaurants, and bars at Seaport. The whole area is a must stop for anyone hanging out in downtown SD.

San Diego Knows How to Make the Rules

"They carry AND transmit several diseases", they also like to poop on unsuspecting tourists! I'm surprised I made it this long in life before it happened. Birds Are Evil.

PEAK 2012

It's rough being on mainland time! First person at the pool in paradise (aka Maui). Humpbacks are breaching, the sun is shining, and Maria is joining me today. Almost makes all the hard work worth it, and I escaped "snowmageddon"!

The Blue Lagoon

We spent the last day at Iceland's famous Blue Lagoon geothermal spa. The milky blue waters are loaded with minerals that are supposed to rejuvenate your body and soul. I was shocked by how warm and clean the water was, which apparently gets cycled out every two days to keep it fresh. With a 7 hour flight home ahead of me, I was pretty concerned with keeping my hair dry which proved to be impossible! After my 20 minute massage, my hair was soaked, but I have never felt so relaxed in my life! The Blue Lagoon should be on everyone's bucket list. I hope to come back to this beautiful country to see what it looks like in the summer time. Sunrise was at about 11:30AM and sunset was at about 3:30PM which limited what we could do/see during the day. Nightlife doesn't really get going in Reykjavik until midnight. A beer runs about $1000 krona, which is about $8.25 US, so its not exactly cheap to drink/eat/sight see but there are ways to stretch your dollar. I think I have turned into an international happy hour hunter!

Iceland is a Frigid Beast!

Reykjavik is an interesting little city with a lot of character. We spent an entire day walking the icy streets looking at Viking stuff and trying to pronounce signs. Icelandic is unlike any language I have ever heard and most of their words look like someone key mashed their keyboard. I have yes (ja) no (nei) and thank you (tak) down so far and that is probably going to be the extent of it. The food here is pretty gnarly! They actually serve quite a bit of whale and puffin, but its so pricey here that I haven't been very adventurous. We took an amazing tour of the lava fields while riding Icelandic Horses. My mini-horse (ear and hair pictured in the corner above) was very friendly...it only went crazy on me once.

Idaho Falls, possibly the most uninteresting place EVER

A work trip landed me in Idaho Falls, ID. As the largest city in eastern Idaho I was expecting alot more than what I got. Its a pretty depressed little community. From what I could tell, the "falls" are essentially rapids that drop about 10 feet. The locals were friendly, Mormon, and wholesome so no complaints there, but Mitt Romney was a favorite topic and 5 out of the 10 people I asked named Olive Garden as their favorite restaurant in town.

The Town Too Tough to Die

We made our way from New Mexico back into Arizona with a stop in Tombstone. The whole town is a bit of a tourist trap, but its still essential for anyone who appreciates history. Apparently the real gem in the area is the old mining town Bisbee. After putting over 1500 miles on my rental car, I was ready to get back to Tucson to lay by the pool for our last day. It was 84 degrees with a light breeze, book, pool... perfect end to a fantastic trip!