Harrisburg!!

I mentioned it briefly in my last post, but I didn't want to lump this big news into my Florida blog.

Ryan accepted a position at a dental practice in Harrisburg, PA!  We move in July!

Oh boy!  So much excitement and planning to come!  Another drive across the country, another new beginning.

I am so happy that we will be within driving distance of our families.  I'm already planning on dedicating a Sunday to learning how to make my Grandma's pasta sauce.  

Harrisburg sits on a river, will offer many kayaking opportunities, is close enough to the Poconos, DC, NYC, and Ocean City, NJ for a weekend trip, and should have some awesome pie out near Amish country.  Ryan's grandparents, cousins, aunt and uncle also live very close to Harrisburg.  We are really excited for this.

Many months were spent discussing which place would be best for us.  Was it Salt Lake City, with endless access to every outdoor activity you could hope for?  Minutes to the foothills, minutes to the canyons, Moab for a weekend?  Salt Lake definitely has many perks and it has treated us well.  Ryan thought long and hard about a position at a community health clinic here.  The market for dentistry is not great, however, and we decided that somewhere closer to home would be more beneficial in the long run.

He was considering practices in Ohio, PA, and Virginia.  We are so happy that he found a great opportunity with some great people in Harrisburg.

Miami, Miami, You've Got Style

...The Golden Girls said it best!

Over the past several years my mom and Greg have made a few trips to the Everglades.  A few years ago I planned to join them, but work got in the way and I ended up missing out.

When the opportunity to join them in south Florida for a week this month appeared, I wasn't going to pass it up.

Ryan was originally going to drop me off at the airport on the 6th, but because of a last minute job interview, I ended up dropping him off for a flight to Harrisburg, PA.  My flight wasn't until 1, so I was able to fit in a pilates class before heading back to airport and parking Ryan's car in long-term parking.

After a stop in Houston I was Miami bound.  Mom and Greg picked me up and we headed to Florida City.  It felt good walking out of the airport into the night air and not freezing (and Salt Lake hasn't even been that bad!).

Since it was almost midnight by the time we got to the Travelodge, we just watched a little TV and went to bed.  My mom and I talked about how one of the best parts of arriving at night is the "big reveal" the next morning.  The Big Reveal meaning when you first step out into the Florida sun and feel the warmth and see all the palm trees.  Ahhh - heaven!

We spent that first day seeing some of the classic spots that my mom and Greg have frequented in the past.  We stopped at Schnebly Winery, and bought tickets for a bbq/dance night and fed some koi fish in their large pond.

Greg feeds the Koi at Schnebly

We went to a popular fruit stand called "Robert is Here" and bought a key lime milkshake and some mangoes and passion fruit.

A cat naps at "Robert is Here"

Next we headed to the Royal Palm visitors center where I picked up a national park magnet.  We walked the Anhinga Trail and saw lots of egrets, herons, Anhinga birds, and alligators.  Its a really nice boardwalk over the swamp with lots of opportunity to see wildlife.

Mom and Greg at the Anhinga Trail

We finished our day with a stop at the Gator Grill for some fish tacos and a coco frio (coconut water straight from the coconut)  We spent the evening watching the Olympics in the room.

Coconut water at "The Gator Grill"

It was an early wake up on Saturday morning for the "Run Wild" 5k through Zoo Miami.  The course took us through the zoo and we saw elephants, giraffes and monkeys as we ran by.  My mom shouted encouragements at me for a large chunk of the race as I grew hot and tired.

Before the 5K

We grabbed some freebies from the tents at the end before heading back to Florida City.  Thanks mom, for grabbing the free sunglasses that I felt like passing up - I wore them the whole trip!

After changing at the hotel, we headed for the keys.  We went to "Robbie's Marina" on Isla Morada and fed some huge tarpon fish.  There were egrets and pelicans walking around, and we stilled tough a few shops right at the marina.

Pelicans at Robby's Marina

We enjoyed lunch at Wahoo Grill - a perfect spot overlooking a harbor.  The fish tacos and ceviche were good, and only enhanced by the open air views.

View from the bar at Wahoo

After lunch it was back to the room to relax before our winery dance night.  Mom and I did a wine taste of 5 different fruit wines.  We both decided we prefer wine from grapes.  There was live music while we ate our bbq, and we danced to a few salsa and merengue numbers before heading home for the night.

Mom and I at the winery

My mom and Greg have a favorite spot to visit called RF Orchids.  Its an orchid nursery and shop, with an attached owners residence in which tours are given.  The owner walked us through his grounds which were filled with artifacts from all over the world among many exotic plants.  he has an alligator named Wally living in a pond in his backyard.  We all tasted some scorpion vine at his outdoor bar.

Back in the shop there are iguanas (chameleons?) and parrots to look at.  My mom stuck the end of her sunglasses into the bird's cage and he about snapped it in half.  She yanked it out just in time.

Where the scorpion wine was served

We finished our Sunday with some strawberry picking and walking around a few shops in the area.  We witnessed an onslaught of over a dozen raccoons when we saw a shop owner feeding them.  It was a little scary.

Strawberry Picking

On Monday we went on a park volunteer-led bike ride through a portion of the Everglades.  We saw some solution holes, snails on trees, and a couple of alligators.  We drove out to an area with a huge osprey nest where we saw the female and male birds, and of course another alligator nearby.  We stopped at a bonsai shop on the way home for Greg.

Bike ride through the park

Dinner that night was at "Bangkok Cuisine."  Pad Thai for me, Pho for mom, and beef with mixed veggies for Greg.  Strawberries we picked for dessert.

Tuesday found us in Shark Valley, a walkway with lots of wild-life spotting opportunities.  We stopped for lunch at "City Seafood" in Everglades City.  We had stone crab claws and conch salad.  The food was delicious, but it was made better by the open air harbor views.

We dove on, after this, to Naples, Florida.  In large part because we were fairly close, but also because an artist I admire has a home studio there.  It's ratable artist Nicario Jimenez.  We were able to tour his studio and see some incredible retablos.  He was so friendly to personally show us around. His wife is an artist as well, working with appliqué fibers.  It was a really neat little side trip, and I'm so glad my mom and Greg made the extra drive to take me there.

Nicario and I

Since we were already in Naples, we decided to stop at Tin City, a collection of restaurants and shops that we always used to go to when we came here as a family about 20 years ago.  We got my grandma a t-shirt, and my mom and I got a pair of earrings from one of the jewelry stores.   We also tasted some wines at a winery right in the plaza.

We couldn't leave Naples without stopping at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.  Greg dropped us off and my mom and I went out to the pool area and on to the beach.  We took a few pictures of us in the sand, and then bought 2 giant chocolate chip cookies from the Ritz restaurant.  We ate them on the way back to Florida City.

Mom in front of the Naples Ritz

Wednesday proved to be our most adventurous.  My mom found a paddle board rental place in the keys and we decided to give this sport a try.  Greg watched from the dock as my mom and I started out on our knees and paddled around for a while in the canal until we both felt comfortable enough to stand up.  it was a little scary at first, but we felt pretty comfortable after a while.  We stayed in the canal area where the water was calm.  It was a really neat experience and I'm glad we tried it out.  I would paddle board again if Ryan and I find ourselves in a coastal town.

Paddle boarding in the Canal

We finished out my last couple days in Florida with a stop at Biscayne National Park.  We saw a manatee there.  We did some laundry, hung around Florida City a bit, and had a fun dinner together at a Mexican restaurant on Thursday night.  My flight friday was in the afternoon, so we drove through Miami and had lunch at Cafe Versailles.  After a zip down South Beach I was dropped off at the airport while my mom and Greg headed on to the Keys for the remainder of their trip.

Dinner at El Toro Taco

Biscayne National Park

Have fun, Mom and Greg - Thanks for a great time!

Sundance part 2

For Christmas, Ryan's parents gave us a night at the sundance resort. We have been really looking forward to using it, and a couple weeks ago we got the chance. 

On the way to the resort we stopped for some ice climbing at Bridal Veil Falls. It was part of a festival and for a fee, they provided ice tools, crampons, helmets, etc. We geared up and headed up the steep trail to the falls. 

Once at the top, we found an available belayer (a volunteer) and tried our hand at climbing. It's hard!  I got tired so quickly. I made it about halfway up before my arms were completely useless. I kept swinging the ice tool in, trying to grab on, and it would just bounce right off.

It was a pretty neat experience, how often do I have a chance to ice climb?  The belayer lowered me down and I began to feel what he called the "screaming barfies". It's a really uncomfortable sensation that occurs as blood returns to your hands and forearms after the climb. Ugh. Glad it only lasted a couple minutes. 

Next up was Ryan. He made it all the way to the top!  He really had fun and I was able to get some video and pictures. We hiked back on down after that and de-geared. On to Sundance!

The reservation included dinner, breakfast and two ski passes for the day. We brought our skis along and tried our hand at the sundance runs. I went down once, and Ryan went a second time. Sundance has some pretty nice skiing! We had some lunch at the deli and headed to the room to lounge a bit. 

The room was really cozy with a bed that felt like a cloud. We watched a little tv and I took advantage of the huge bathtub, and wrote some letters on the sundance stationery - while wearing one of the white sundance robes that were in the room. 

We headed to dinner at The Tree Room, an award winning fine restaurant. Ryan enjoyed elk loin and I had the peppered steak. The food was delicious and we enjoyed every minute. 

We headed to bed "fat and happy" as we often say. 

The next morning we were up and ready for brunch at The Foundry Grill. We had eaten here once before, on our anniversary, and we knew we were in for a treat. 

We feasted on smoked salmon, omelettes, pancakes, French toast, cheeses, fruits, potatoes, cobblers, cookies... And the list goes on!  We had the perfect table too, right next to the fire place. We headed home, fatter and happier, and got back feeling like we'd just been on vacation. 

Thanks mom and dad! 

Bridal veil falls

Ryan on the wall

Crampons

The sundance robe

Ryan lounging in the room

The Sundance Film Festival

Ryan and I were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to purchase "Utah Locals" tickets to the Sundance Film Festival this year.  

When our time slot opened, Ryan was at work, and we really hunt put much time to deciding on a movie.  It was a little bit of a whim, but after about 20 minutes of reading descriptions, finding them sold-out or at undesirable showtimes/places, I settled on Marmato.  Marmato is a documentary filmed over six-years by a man living in the village of Marmato in Columbia.It is a mining town, literally built on a mountain of gold.

On Saturday morning we headed to Park City a few hours early.  We picked up our tickets and started walking up and down main street.  We decided to go into the "Sundance co-op".  It was in a storefront that didn't open until 10am.  We waited, imagining the many freebies from all of the sponsoring vendors that were sure to be inside.  

Well, it was a bust.  There were all of 2 vendors there and all we got was a snapshot of ourselves printed out.  We skipped the dog food samples.

That took about 3 minutes.  Again looking for something to do, we ducked into the "Cinema Cafe." Only about a block up from the co-op, this is a room set up for discussions by filmmakers on various topics regarding their films.  At 10 am there would be a panel on documentaries featuring 5 filmmakers.  It was open to the public, space-allowing.'

By 10:05 we had our free coffee, GF brownies, and granola bars in hand and were taking our seats in a back row (it wasn't a very big room).  We listened to the filmmakers discuss their films and got to see some clips from them.  The whole thing felt very film-school-ish.  

I commented on Facebook about the surplus of men in tortoise-shell glasses with unruly hair.  These people look like they are in film!

Anyway, during a break in the dialogue, we snuck out to grab a bus to the Yarrow Theatre for our movie.  We lined up and waited (we could have stayed at the film panel longer!)

Just before the movie started we were informed that the director, producer, and their families were in the audience.  The movie was about an hour and a half and it followed several Marmato miners and mine owners during the six-year time frame in which the mines were being bought out by large foreign corporations (later merging with Gran Columbia Gold).  

A highlight was when we heard the people chanting "El Pueblo Unido Jamas Sera Vencido!" Which means "The people united will never be defeated".  While in Chile last year, I heard some music I really liked, the server wrote down the name of the group, and I later came home and made a Pandora station based on the band.  That station often plays a song that opens with that very chant.  It was only this film that inspired me to look up the phrase and understand what it meant.  

Anyway, the movie ended to applause and a short Q and A with the director.  I was called on to ask a question!  I asked if the people of Marmato had seen the movie and if so how it was received.  The answer was that no, it has not been seen by the people, but it is slated to be shown soon in Bogota at a film festival there, and El Presidente will be in attendance.  

We filed out and back toward the bus to main street.  We debated seeing another film, as we were getting a little caught up in the fun of it all, but at 15 bucks a ticket to be wait listed, eh, we decided one was enough.  After getting some lunch at The Eating Establishment we headed home.