Day 226 - Lunch

Thought of the day: We took the train to visit a relative in a town in Canton Thurgau and had lunch with her today.  She came to meet us at the train station by bike and then we all walked over to her apartment which took a good 20 minutes.  That would be unfathomable in the US, however, it felt perfectly natural here.  Driving is more ingrained in the American culture than in the European.  The walk today was fun as we got to chat and see the town along the way.  It was definitely not a tourist destination but we did walk past quite a few charming streets and buildings.  The weather was pleasant, the flowers were blooming, everybody was happy - what else could one ask for?  I am glad that we won't sit behind a wheel for the next few weeks. So far we have been getting around fine by bus, tram, train and walking shoes.  Boat and bike will join the picture some time in the future. It may be a little inconvenient without a car at times, but I think the vacation will be much less relaxing with one.

Photo of the day:

Lunch at Thurgau.

Day 222 - Airport

Thought of the day: It had been a long, drawn out day.  The excitement of going on vacation helped overcome the feeling of weariness that inevitably came with spending a long day in the airports and on the flights.  Luckily, out of pure co-incidence, a friend and neighbor of ours was traveling on the same flights with her family.  We were able to meet up and chat for a few times which helped bring some resemblance of normalcy back into this hectic experience. One of the risks of traveling was that one, or maybe several, of us may get sick upon arrival. We tried to be careful but it was not always preventable.  Of course, comparing with traveling in the old days before air travel was popular or even imaginable, we had it really easy.  And the prospect of spending a few exciting weeks in Europe was certainly making the hassle of this trip, or any trip, seem insignificant.

Photo of the day:

A painted wall inside the Frankfurt Airport where we made our stopover. This was one of the many little surprises and oddities we discovered on the trip that kept us entertained.

Day 221 - Lufthansa

Thought of the day: It was finally packing time after Lila's birthday party.  We were used to packing at the last minute and we were getting ridiculously good at it, however, stress level predictably crept up as the departure time was ticking closer.  Music helped save the day.  The stress just melted away with the music in the air.  I couldn't help thinking that silence helped exacerbate unwanted feelings, while music helped create a gateway for them to be released. I can still recall vividly the music we played when we were packing to leave Tucson many years ago on a hot summer day. Since then, that particular music had been associated in my mind with the emotion of leaving Tucson.  In many situations in life, we need music to help us along.  I'm glad that I have a good selection of music at hand.  It may not have changed my life, but it certainly made my life easier on many occasions.

Photo of the day:

Checking in. I was so glad that we finally got everything ready and made it there on time!

Day 196 - Ice Cream

Thought of the day: We are going to spend a couple of days in Greece next month and I am already looking forward to it.  There are tens of thousands of online photos of the village that we are visiting and I really like what I have seen so far.  Of course, having such a high expectation before a trip is probably not a good thing.  Last week we made a last minute plan and visited Stanley Hotel in Estes Park over the weekend.  I had not expected much but we all ended up having a marvelous time.  Come to think of it, the hotel and the locale were certainly important, but it was really the people who came along in the trip that made it so special.  For the Greek trip, I am reassured of the choice of location after seeing the photos and reading the reviews, now I just need to make sure that the other part works out well too:-)

Photo of the day:

Girls enjoying their Wednesday evening sweets.  They are the enviable creatures of the moment carrying very few memories from the past or plans for the future.  We, as adults, alone carry the burden of regrets and anxieties that are often unwarranted.  Wouldn't that be nice if we can unburden ourselves and treat life as a simple ice cream cone and just enjoy it one mouthful at a time?

Day 193 - Stairway

Thought of the day: I ran into some photos of bento box lunches prepared by a Japanese woman for her son to bring to preschool day to day.  I was thoroughly impressed.  The lunches were meticulously and thoughtfully prepared.  They were aesthetically pleasing to the eyes and, judging from the statement that her son devoured every bite of them, they must be pleasing to the taste buds as well.  She demonstrated that with enough love and intention, a daily chore can be turned into a creation of art.  That's probably true for many other things as well.  Indeed, life itself can be an art if you decide to live it as one.

Photo of the day:

There's art to be seen pretty much anywhere in the Stanley Hotel.  Old historic hotels may give you a cozy living space with very little luxury in the room, but who cares if it's interesting wherever you set your eyes on.

Day 192 - Wedding

Thought of the day: It was a perfect day in Estes Park.  In the morning, we drove to Rocky Mountain National Park and hiked on a short trail to Bear Lake, which was still completely frozen and covered by snow at this time of the year.  And then we hiked on Lumpy Ridge trail in town. The first trail was surrounded by a forest and it was covered by snow and slippery.  It was even snowing when we did the hike.  The second trail was snow-free and dry and ran through some pretty interesting rock formations.  It was nice and sunny when we did that hike.   The two hikes couldn't be more different even though they were just within a short drive from each other.  We literally drove from one climate zone to another in a matter of minutes.  Jasmine and Lila were very excited by the adventure and they both enjoyed climbing up and down the rocks along the Lumpy Ridge Trail.  In the evening, we checked out Rock Inn Restaurant which is a steak house and a popular music venue in Estes Park.  The girls danced an evening away to the merry tunes played by a local musician.

Photo of the day:

A wedding party in Stanley Hotel where we are staying at.  Today must be an auspicious day to get married as we spotted at least 3 wedding parties in the hotel.  Other than weddings, we also counted a lot of elks in RMNP and in town, including a dozen or so munching on the grass right outside of our hotel room.  However, I took a lot more photos of wedding parties  than elks, so the elks would have to wait until our next trip to get on the blog!

Day 191 - Happy Music

Thought of the day: We're staying in Estes Park for the weekend.  It's much chillier here than in Boulder but it's good to do something different.  Jasmine loved the coziness of the hotel room and declared that she would not mind staying here forever.  I think that might be a little exaggerated and a spur of the moment declaration, but she is always the happiest when she gets to spend time with us.  It's yet another proof that kids, at least the young ones, crave for the quality time with parents more than anything else.  Watching movies or playing with new toys may provide them with temporary excitements, but there's nothing like the parents' unconditional love and undivided attention to make them genuinely happy.

Photo of the day:

Students of Kutandara Center performing African music on the Pearl St.  Today was the Colorado Children's Day in Boulder where there were fun activities for the kids and all events were free (even the balloon man refused to accept tips).  Looking at this photo reminded me just how warm it was a couple of hours ago!

Day 159 - Tunnel

Thought of the day: Today we drove home from Copper.  We drove in pretty heavy snow in the beginning and ended up in a sunny, snow free Boulder.  It was a short vacation but it was good to get away from town, even for just a little while.  People can not really get away from existing problems by getting away, but going on vacation is like hitting the snooze button on most, if not all, of your problems so you can get a much needed break.  Your perspective may also change during the break as the problems may seem less daunting and significant as the physical distance between you and the problems increases.  However, based on my own experience, this type of perspective changes tends to be short-living and can evaporate quickly after you get home.  Of course, if you are embarking on a journey seeking internal changes instead of seeking pleasure, the result may be different if you are successful as the internal changes tend to stay with you.  Very few of us make an effort or are lucky enough to make such a journey, though.

Photo of the day:

Driving through a tunnel on the way back from Copper.  In Colorado, driving through a tunnel can take you to an entirely different weather condition and landscape, so it's always exciting to find out what's at the other end.

Day 158 - Copper Morning

Thought of the day: It snowed most of the night and throughout the day in Copper.  There was a lot of fresh power on the mountain, especially in the trees.  Jasmine discovered her love for tree skiing when we were at Steamboat last month.  She and her friend skiied in the trees pretty much the whole time when I was with them this morning.  Tree runs are not my favorites - they are fun but can be more dangerous than groomed runs - but I will need to ski more in the trees otherwise I won't be able to keep up with the girls!

Photo of the day:

Morning in Copper - from our condo, we could see ski tracks and tire marks on fresh snow.

Day 157 - Burning Stones

Thought of the day: We ate dinner at a grill and bar in Copper Mountain Resort tonight.  The interior of the restaurant was a large open area illuminated by lots of different kinds of lights.  And there must be more than a dozen large flat screen TVs running different programs all at the same time.  The sounds and flashing images were so overwhelming that all the kids wanted to do was to run around wild instead of sitting still at the table. I am glad that we don't take our kids to such places often, otherwise there's a risk of having their growing brains permanently mis-wired by all these stimulants, perhaps in the same way that we get our adult brains constantly rewired by smart phones, twitter, facebook, and the like.


Photo of the day:

Skiers spending some quiet time at night next to the fire at Copper Mountain's Burning Stones Plaza.