Tunisia - the vacation that didn't appeal to me

As you have probably read, this year has been crazy for me - exam in February, Turkey & Israel in June, but the biggest hurdle was my surgery. Of course most people around me were more panicked than I was, but I was too preoccupied to get home as soon as possible. After the hospitalization, I lived with my parents. Don't get me wrong, I love them to death, but being smothered is not my style. I know they meant well, but at some point I had to tell them - ok, I love you, but I need to go home. During my recuperation I attended Dina's wedding, which was a blast. Around August, the parental unit brought up the idea of traveling again - one more reason I love them for. However the destination was Tunisia, a place they have visited the year before and they've been praising it back and forth. I was not thrilled at all to go, but they insisted - and i do mean insisted - it got to the point that they paid my vacation AND got me a separate room (dad is snoring like a machine and I refused another vacation in the same room with him). That being said, we were on our way.

The flight was from Cluj to Tunis (last year they landed smack near the resort, but this year it was not the case - from the airport a "mere" 4 hour trip by bus awaited. The flight was ok, but when they brought the food we thought it was a joke - one tiny sandwich with chicken and a glass of water. By the time we reached the hotel it was almost 2 a.m. The front desk clerk told us he only had rooms on the ground floor - I knew the instant we approached the front desk that it wouldn't be easy, it never is. We spent one night in those rooms, famished, then went back to get other rooms that were promised. Needless to say we were told to return at 9 a.m and got the rooms a little after 12 p.m. By that time I was too tired to care, and after lunch I went straight to bed. Having our nerves stretched to the limit, of course we snapped. Dad was not happy with anything, Mom was disappointed in everything, saying that last year it was much better, and I pointed out, quite subtly that why did they insist on coming when we are treated like vermin (forgot to mention that we saw to guide the day we got there, and the day we left) - the time of departure was sent via text message (some service I have to say). But after some much deserved sleep all was good in the land of Tunis. We spent many lazy mornings and afternoons by the poolside and seaside, ate very good food, swam in the pools (cold water) and sea (warm-ish water) - my Dad even challenged me in swimming - silly, silly man. My favorite activity was walking on the beach at night before dinner, listening to music, and making up stories.

When we left, we were supposed to pick other passengers on the way. Of course there was a 40 minutes delay because some of them had no idea when they had to be ready. The airport affair was one marathon, but managed to stop to buy some souvenirs. The flight back was not spectacular, considering the sandwich being the same size and some students gathered and chatted it up. Lovely!

Returning to Cluj, I couldn't wait to get in the car and drive home - another one hour and a half. By the time we reached the apartment, I promised I was done with traveling this year. Yeah, right! October found me in a new state of being - a student. That miracle lasted for one month, as I got fed up with them - I mean when you have the subject "English literature" you are not supposed to study grammar - there are other times for that. So the second university was a disappointment but I sucked it up.

November not rich in experiences, but December had a lot to promise - more traveling. At the beginning of the month just stepped over to Budapest for 2 days and right now I am writing from Germany where so far I have spent some amazing moments with some amazing people! 

As I end this entry, I wish everyone a very Happy 2010, full of joy, laughter and good luck!

Russian experience by the Mediterranean Sea

This year started crazy - passing an exam to become an official teacher at the University, crazy schedule, working at the lab and university. So by the time summer came, I was burnt out. I needed a vacation, badly.

When the parental unit offered a trip to Turkey with them, I did not jump at the chance - some bad memories from the Egyptian trip. However, they managed to convince me, so the beginning of June found us in Turkey. Antalya to be more precise. 

The hotel was a mere 15 minutes bus-ride from the airport, and it was amazing - just glass, wood and steel, smack right on the beach. The room was on the 8th floor and we had a beautiful view of..the hotel next to us. You can't have it all, I guess. The food, well delicious doesn't even cover it - salads, steak, soup - whatever you wanted, you had it. They won my affection by serving pancakes for breakfast, with chocolate cream. 

The first day on the beach was a complete failure. The walk on the hot sand (and I do mean HOT) was anything but pleasurable - you could almost hear my feet sizzling in the cold water (sea water that is). SO, after this let's call it high-temperature-experience, we redirected our attention to the swimming pools - the water was cold here as well, but plus side - no hot sand. And, we had music by the pool, and as neighbors - another pool with water-slides - tried them all...summer pavlovian reflex.

The tour guide offered some optional trips, and we chose the Pamukkale *short stop for tour-like information* - pamukkale means "cotton castle" in Turkish and is a wonder of nature - the site has hot springs, rich in calcium and travertines - little terraces. The water flows really slow so the calcium has time to settle and everything becomes white. It's truly a sight to behold. Next to the travertines are the ruins of ancient Hierapolis - the climb up there was MURDER.At the base of the hill is the legendary Pool of Cleopatra - it is said that if you bathe in it, you'll feel and look younger - well I bathed but didn't feel a darn thing - the old russian ladies fell for it though and you should have seen them shoving each other to get to the spring. What a performance!!! Needless to say, we were exhausted by the time we got to the hotel - extreme cold and heat does that to people.

Another trip the tour lady presented was a one day journey to Jerusalem. Being the quintessential traveler, and some heavy persuasion from the parents, I signed up - another trip by myself. The tour-guide tells me there will be no Romanian or Hungarian guide (not unless I was willing to pay 200$ for the service - I wasn't) but there will be an English one. I was supposed to leave on Thursday and on Wednesday afternoon I was still assured everything is fine. Yeah, right!

Thursday 4 a.m. The minibus came for me, almost packed with ONLY Russian tourists. To say I was the odd one there would be an understatement. At the next hotel we were supposed to pick 2 more tourists and waited 40 minutes for them - they overslept, bless their souls. We make it in good time to the airport, go through security, reach Tel Aviv and....showtime. There was no one waiting for us. I wandered around the airport like a stray cow caught in the hurricane and eventually found the bus with the agency's logo. I get on the bus, and when I ask the guide "do you speak English?" she calmly replies "no'. Booooooooooooooy, you should have seen my face. I text the guide back in Turkey - dude, they screwed up, I'm in a bus full of Russian people and besides "Da" and "Nyet" I have no knowledge of the language. The tour-guide kept on rambling on and on about this and that, I'm sure it had something to do with the sites. I decide to suck it up and act touristy - that is open mouth, take as many pictures as possible and pray the day ends well.

We visited the Church of all Nations, the Garden of Ghetsemane, the Olive Mountain and then lunch. After lunch, the russian guide-lady tells me there is another group whose guide speaks English, and I can join them. Cool. I join the other team, another Russian one at that, and the guide spoke Russian too. No English. This got me wondering "what in the world is going on here? Am I some human ball between the tow guides?" So I continued being touristy, wandering around, keeping a close eye on my new "family".

Together we saw the Holy Tomb, the Hill of Golgotha - now don't be fooled - everything is inside this huge church, the elements mentioned here are symbols. After this came the Wailing Wall (actually we went to it) and it is here that God showed me his mercy. While staying in the shade, I was eavesdropping on the team next to us. They were Americans. Hearing them speak English was an ointment for my soul. I almost wanted to tell them "please, take me with you" but I composed myself.

Leaving Jerusalem, we got to the Dead Sea. We were allowed to swim, but had to be careful - the water is REALLY salty, you can't submerge even if you wanted to. Not that you want to, because ingesting that water or even get it in your eyes is a big no-no. So guess who got water in their eyes and walked out to the HOT beach to dry their stinging ocular aparatus? You would be right, me. So after such an eventful day, I felt I deserved a beer. Got to the bar, ordered a cold one and everything was alright in the world. Stopping for dinner and souvenir shopping, another group of Americans joined us, so I was happy again. This state of happiness continued throughout the evening, when I was able to walk inside the airport wearing flip-flops (it was summer, people so it seemed appropriate). While heading to the check-in, I find my original group and got in line. Here once again God smiled at me - the beautiful lady at the check-in desk spoke only English and Hebrew (I was avenged) so imagine the middle-aged ladies trying to understand a word (mu-ha-ha-ha). Naturally my seat was the one next to the emergency exit, so praying was an ever-present element throughout my journey. We made it to Turkey safe and sound and you can only imagine the looks on my parents' faces when I told them about my Russian experience in the Holy Land. But I don't regret it at all. I saw some amazing sites, felt amazing things, and got water from the Dead Sea in my eyes. Now tell me how many people can brag about that?

  

Next episode in the saga - my patience is pushed to its limits in Tunisia!

USA - this time in the winter

Last year I wanted to go to the States, so I asked my boss if there was a chance I might get some sponsorship so I can attend a conference in Boston. Naturally the answer was NO (not a direct answer, rather a well-I-m-not-sure-it-is-possible kind of way), so I decided "if you want something to be done, you have to do it yourself". I applied for the visa on my own and joy of joys, I was granted the tourist visa for 10 years *insert celebration dance*. So, after much debating, I decided to spend a month in the country of my heart, US of A, this time no work, just travel. So the middle of November found me in the Bucharest airport where the adventure started. I got my plane ticket online, and it seems the system (or the lady at the counter) would not find my ticket. My blood pressure was rising. Eventually, after waiting almost an hour, another fine dame appears and tells me everything is OK, and prints out a paper ticket, mentioning that if I lose it, I would have to pay for a new ticket. I wanted to hurt her. The flight to Bruxelles was enjoyable and no incidents. We land, and I check my cell-phone. No signal. Groovy. I run like a crazy person to find my gate, fill out the papers and get on-board in time.

 
After 9 hours, I reach good old O'Hare and the first order of business, after passing through security, is to check my cell-phone, to let the parents know I got there in one piece. And pray. And wonder of wonders, I got a signal *sigh of relief*. I reach my friends' place where I got a good night's sleep, as the next day I was heading to San Francisco. Early in the morning, with my trusted backpack on my back I was going to catch the bus, then train to the airport, but being the absolute tourist, I was heading in the opposite direction. I get on the bus and ask the driver if this is the way towards the airport - he says no, and that bus will come in about half an hour. Great. However, being the amazing person he was, and since there were no other passengers, he turned the bus around and took me to the train station. I thanked him profusely and was on my merry way. I had a muffin and Starbucks (what else) in the airport, then ZOOM - destination San Francisco. Getting there in the afternoon, I checked into my hotel then got to planning. 

The first day was reserved for: Alcatraz island (I left my ID at the hotel and used my best puppy-eyed face to tell the lady at the ticket counter what happened, she let me pass)- the audiotour was amazing, Fisherman's Wharf, Lombard Hill, Coit Tower, up and down those crazy hills - but it was all worth it, after all it's San Francisco we're talking about.

The next day a meeting with the beach was in plan. So, not suspecting anything, went on foot. Now, I've always wanted to see the fog in San Fran, and boy did I get my wish. Not 20 minutes have passed since I left the hotel that the fog came. Thick. Fast. Cold. I was searching for a store to buy a sweatshirt but all I came across was: laundry, restaurant, laundry, psychic(?!?!?!). In the end I manage to buy one, reach my destination, visit the Palace of Fine Arts, go to the beach, immerse my feet in the EXTREMLY cold water, crossed the Golden Gate Bridge (for the second time) and was ready to call it a day.

Third day was more of an in-town-sightseeing day: went with the cable car to the Financial District, visited the Haas-Lilienthal house, then spent the day with a friend.

The journey however ended to soon, and I was really sad to leave the city, but I knew that more great stuff and friends were waiting for me so I cheered up. I reached Wisconsin, went to see the premiere of Twilight with my friends, attended a Thanksgiving dinner at Karen's grandparents, shopped during Black Friday, stayed one week in Minnesotta (and walked in the snow around the university campus), shopped till I dropped, stayed a couple of days in a resort, with its own waterpark, visited the places I spent the summers - what can I say, a great experience.

But alas, I had to come home (always dreaded these moments). So there I am, with my extremly heavy suitcases in the airport, praying to the Lord they are not overweight - set them on the scale and each has 22,7 pounds (the limit is 23) - somebody up there loves me. Went through security, ate some lunch and patiently waited for my flight to be announced. When I got to my gate, it was empty. Weird. Then I hear that my flight left from a different gate. Finally on-board we get settled. At some point the captain lets us know there is some trouble with the air-conditioning system and the software needs to be updated. No problem. The update lasted about an hour, but it had to be done twice. When we are ready to leave the airport, apparently a plastic bag flew straight through the engine - seriously! So by the time we were ready to leave, we had a 3 hour delay (just the amount of time I was supposed to spend in London between flights). The flight was very pleasant, saw Mamma mia twice, and in the morning we got to London. I had to go through 2 security checks and was told that I was issued a new ticked, but it was not a direct flight to Bucharest, rather London-Munich-Bucharest. I was too tired at this point to care, I just wanted to go home.

Finally I reach Bucharest, without the luggages of course, but no wonder with all this airport hopping I was doing. When I saw mom waiting for my, all was good in the world. We got home, and just then started freaking out about the suitcases because all the presents were there and there were only a couple of days till Christmas. But all was well, the luggages arrived, and I was one happy camper!

Naturally I vowed I would return to the States (gotta use that visa) so the next trip there will be this summer - have to see Disneyland and many other places!

The next episode of my traveling saga - Turkey and my russian experience in the Holy Land!

in the land of Pharaohs

2007 was my first year of official work - sure, I've worked in the summer as a lifeguard and front desk clerk in the States, but this was my first JOB - the one I studied for 6 years (and left me with almost an empty head) and the one where I can learn and use specific skills. To tell you I was excited would be a gross understatement - I LOVED every minute of work, truly enjoying being there, learning, working, and just getting to know the lab personnel. We were supposed to switch departments every month, but I spent 6 months in the biochemistry department (they told me I was trusted and reliable - now who can say no to that). Being an official worker, I was to tell them when I would take my vacation, so after debating with the parental unit, the month of September was declared the lucky winner. Destination - Egypt!

I can't say it was my lifelong dream to see Egypt, but it was my mom's so I said let's go for it.

The road was a bit tricky - we drove to Budapest (a trip I was not very fond of, due to my dad's "interesting" driving). We were left at the hotel for a well deserved rest, and were told to prepare for the next-day trip. We spent 2 days in Cairo, during which time we saw: the pyramids (truly amazing, like you see them on TV, if not even greater), the Sphynx (who had a really bad nose-job), the Perfume museum, the papyrus museum (where you could buy personalized papyrus, which I did), the bazaar (which did not impress me that much, but it was cool), the Egyptian Museum (with its own wing for mummies - and maybe daddies too, I don't know). driving - I almost did that scene from the cartoons where the shipwrecked people reach an island, bend down and kiss it), and from Budapest we flew to Cairo. When we left Hungary it was raining and pretty gloomy, but reaching Cairo, the wet heat hit us in the face! It was a welcomed change. 

When we left for Aswan, we had to get up at 2.30 am (a crime I say, a CRIME), to catch the flight. Now, if it was even possible, it was hotter in Aswan than in Cairo, but we stood our ground. In Aswan we saw the dam, the Botanical Island and the Island of Elephants (though none of its previous inhabitants), Horus' temple in Edfu and Sobek's(the crocodile god) as well. From Aswan we took the boat (an amazing trip) up the Nile towards Luxor. 

At some point one day, I got to see my favorite place in Egypt - Abu Simbel. It's truly magnificent with the temples of Ramses and Nefertari (his favorite wife). The sitting statues are impressive, but what's more impressive is the location. Initially it was where the lake is today, and back in the day they built is so that when the sun rises on February 20 and October 20, its rays would shine on the sculptures located in the depth of the temple. However, when the dam was built, the temples had to be moved, and in the 60s they were. Truly a marvel of technology. One evening I managed to photograph the sunset on the Nile - beautiful.

Upon reaching Luxor, we visited the temples of Karnak and Luxor (positioned as to represent the journey of Ra), the Valley of the Kings (where I experienced the hottest weather ever), the temple of Hatshepshut (apparently the first female pharaoh, and it's said she was kind of bitchy but I guess she had to).

Leaving Luxor behind, we set for Hurghada, a resort by the Red Sea, where we were to relax for 6 more days. And relax we did: swimming, eating great food, enjoying some great massages, going on a trip in the desert, snorkling, collecting shells from the bottom of the sea, watching dolphins swim by. It was great. However, all this constant sunshine and non-activity was getting to me, I yearned for rain, big cities and all that comes with it. When we got to the airport in Cairo I spotted it, Starbucks coffee shop *insert angelic choir*. I drank a caramel latte while my parents watched me acting like I was out of my mind (they can't understand my addiction to Starbucks coffee).

Eventually we reached Budapest where we spent 2 more days, and then I was steeling myself for another 10 hours on the road, with dad behind the wheel. Luckily we made it in one piece, tanned, with a lot of pictures and memories, not to mention a strong desire of not going back to work, which was not an option. Still, the winter holidays were just a mere 2 months away. And, in October of that same year I started teaching. Cool, no? 

Next destination - US of A (for the 4th time) - this time no work and all play :)

adventures of 2006

2006 was the "Hell-year" of my life. So many things happened that I don't even want to talk about them - those who know me well, know what I've gone through. But anyway, in spring I found out that, curtesy to AEGEE (a European student association) I would be visiting Italy. Finally, something to look forward to. So the summer came, with all its exams, the final paper (done in 3 weeks while others struggled with it for months) - which was finished on a Friday, 5 minutes before midnight (thus avoiding the turning-into-pumpkin stipulation of the contract) and after 4 hours of sleep, I was on my merry way, with my good friend Chris towards Budapest. We were supposed to stay for a couple of days there, and I was to fly to Rome after said time frame.

We went by train, and after a grueling (for me)/delightful (for Chris) 11 hour trip, we got off at the Eastern Station in Budapest. For a couple of days I showed Chris the sights, he brushed up on his Hungarian (which was rusty to say the least) and finally, there I was, at the airport, eagerly waiting my journey to Icecream-land.

The trip included: flight (Budapest - Rome), bus (airport - Termini railway station), train (Rome - Termoli).

I got to my destination (the lovely city of Termoli) dead tired, in dire need of a shower and some food. This whole italian experience was a summer university, gathering people from all over Europe: Hungary, Netherlands, Greece, Spain, Bulgaria. That first night I thought I would get a good night sleep. Yeah, right. Around 2 a.m I feel my bed being moved (with me in it). Turns out, they (the organizers) thought it was funny to deposit me in the hallway (we had lodging in a school) - I should have freaked them out, but instead voted for slow and painful revenge (mu-ha-ha). Which never came, since they turned out to be a pretty cool gang. All of them. So we bonded over field-trips, wine-tasting (which was done A LOT). There was a party every night, but my personal favorite was, when it was held on the beach, and I was dancing, only in my pants (sans shirt or shoes) on a bench. At some point I stopped, and a guy turns to me and says "why did you stop? you are great!"...so, thanks to the ego-boost, I kept on dancing.

The organizers took us on a 2 day trip in the mountains, where it was EXTREMLY windy, but I loved it (went horse-back riding and with the ATV cars) - you should have seen the other participants freezing and me only in a t-shirt and sweatpants - lovely.

By far my favorite moment of this whole summer university was the trip to Tremiti islands. Imagine a tropical island with beautiful blue waters, sandy beaches, gorgeous flowers and you get the picture of these islands. They had to take us by boat (a 1 hour trip) then we went exploring, swimming, snorkling, taking in the sun, basically having a great time.

The last night of the summer university was european night - it's basically one huge party, where all the people bring their national food and drink - needless to say, from all the tasting we can totally wasted.

My summer university experience taught me several things: I need to be open to new experiences, being yourself is the greatest gift, people want to know you if you let them, alcohol crosses language barriers and fun is at every corner!

So after 2 glorious weeks of partying, wine drinking, field-trips,the heaviest rains in the past 10 years (seems my revenge caught up with them after all - feel my wrath muhaha) and even winning an award for "Summer's best poet" I went to visit some relatives who live about 1 hour from Rome. After the heavy experiences, some relaxation was in order. I got to see, in the little town of Terni, how the rich people live, even met some of them, I got to walk on cobble-stone streets, found clothes at bargain prices AND even got to see Rome - what was the point of going to Italy if not to see Rome as well.

In 8 hours we covered the basics - the Vatican (suddenly feeling the desire to re-read Angels and Demons), the Trevi fountain (simply breathtaking and crawling with Japanese tourists), the Pyramid, the Colosseum (in where I was slightly disappointed - not in the building itself, but in its location - who exit the subway and you're smack into the colosseum). But all in all, it was a great experience. Being in the pizza-home, I ate some - had the best and worst pizza of my life there (of course not in the same place, but in the same city).

Though I liked Italy, I said it might not be likely to return, unless it's for a very good reason! I would rather visit other places on this lovely planet if the chance presents itself.

I returned to Budapest, just in time for the National Day. So around 9 pm my cousin and I head for the major attraction - the fireworks. While on our way, I tell him there's a storm approaching - you could hear the distant thunders. Well, I was right - go figure. The storm lasted for about half an hour, but the damages were huge - 6 people killed, several hundreds injured and the city looked like a hurricane went through it...and I need to point out, the winds were so strong, the rain was "falling" horizontally (something I've never seen before and not really looking forward to it). The remaining days of my vacation in Budapest were spent walking, riding the subways, shopping during the day and partying at a local trance club almost every night - even attending a trance parade - very cool.

The trip home was a blur - I came by bus, but slept through the whole trip. At home I had to study for the license exam, and after that for the residency exam, but due to some emotional issues, I squeezed 3 weeks (once again, the magic time frame) of reading and even managed to get a decent score, thus securing a place for my desired specialization and city. 

This is how the year 2006 went for me (part of it)....next episode - guess who gets to see the pyramids?

escape

Have you ever felt like you wanted to escape? I mean REALLY escape.

Lately I've been experiencing this feeling. It's like my body and my mind are prepared at any moment to flee. A lot of things happened that "helped" me reach that point of "that's it...no more". This feeling is hard to describe, make me feel like I'm at the starting point of a race and all I wait for, is the gun to go off and for me to run. Run like never before in my life. It's not merely a physical run, it's a WHOLE BODY run: physical, mental and sentimental.

I feel like my mind is in a place and my body tries to keep up. When it doesn't succeed, it pulls my mind back and it's frustrating.

I feel incomplete in many fields of my life. Work is good, but I miss the challenge, the opportunities to learn - it's all a routine and when my students are not receptive, I feel down. The time does not allow me to deal with what I love the most - lab work. It's hard work, you have to pay attention to details and I love every minute of it. The social life is also good, but I don't see my friends as often as I want to, due to our crazy schedules or due to huge distances.

Career-wise I try to improve, look for new challenges, but the truth is I am lazy most of the time. I know I need a strong motivation to get me started and luckily it came, but not as a positive sign - still, it got the job done.

The only field I feel content in is my love life. Though our relationship is young, I feel really comfortable with my girl, and I feel we are connected on many levels. There are several issues we need to work through, but I know together we can make it. 

Still all this does not stop my desire to escape. I need new surroundings, new experiences! After all, how am I supposed to learn about myself if I am stuck in a routine, a monotonous and dull life! Maybe that's why I love traveling so much - besides the scenery and the new cultures, it provides those small escapes, that short chance of freedom, but when I return, I miss it and feel like a bird in a cage, which is not even golden.

USA - 2004 - the summer that never was

I continue my journey down memory lane, with one of the best summers of my life. 2004 that is.

Around spring I was already excited of getting back to Wisconsin as a lifeguard, and couldn't wait to finish with my exams. I passed most of them and at the beginning of July I was on my way to good old US of A.

The flight was uneventful and in Chicago I waited for Nana (she was coming on a different flight) to head together to Madison by bus. When we get there, it was 9 pm and it was FREEZING. In July. Seriously? So Karen, the dear soul came to pick us up from the bus station, told us the summer was crazy, they hardly saw any sun, but this didn't stop the customers. No sooner we arrive, we start work - it seems there was a BIG shortage of lifeguards, so we had to work a lot of hours, which was more than fine with us - the craziest day was Saturday, when we worked open - close (8.30 to 22.00).

The VERY bright side was that we had a car, and on our day off, which we named Golden Friday, took the Caddy and hit the roads - Chicago, Milwaukee, Lake Geneva and many more. Truly an amazing summer.

The weather was really crazy - we had temperatures ranging from 60 F(roughly 15 C) to 100 F(around 40 C) - I did manage to get a tan so I was happy. The days when the sun was out were truly crazy. Us lifeguards had to jump into the water several times because of the heat (one of the girls passed out from heat stroke).Naturally things have not changed: "Staying in or getting out?Yes...yes what?""turn around and sit - guest puts in foot first", and the list could go on, and on, and on.

One memory that clearly comes to mind is my audit. Each summer, a lady from the Red Cross came to the park and posed as a victim in order to assess the lifeguard activity. The day she was at the park I was a nervous wreck. Back then I knew I couldn't work under stress. So, being a breaker (a person who gives other people breaks and takes their place for that time) I asked for my half (half an hour that is for my lunch) and then to be put in rotation (the chances of being audited being that much slimmer). But the dear supervisors told me, and I quote "Sorry, there isn't anyone capable we can pull out of rotation, so you get to stay a breaker...go give whats-his-name a 10 minute break". Fuming I headed towards the dreaded spot, to relieve the lifeguard. No sooner that I sit down, I see a lady coming down the slide and my instinct screams "it's her". Of course when she get to the bottom she doesn't move, I stop the water flow, blow my whistle really loud and run towards the slide to immobilize the victim. It all goes well, and I am congratulated for a job well done. I was officially the first lifeguard to be audited on "Ketchup&Mustard" - that's not the name - it's "Thunder and Lightning" but if you see the picture you know why we chose the culinary name.

It was this fateful year of 2004 when I discovered the marvelous world of Harry Potter. On a whim I bought the first book in WalMart and was hooked ever since. Since Karen is also a fan, we had even more things to talk about. But reading wasn't my only entertainment - we went out for karaoke, went to the movies, Wizard Quest in downtown Dells, the Golden Friday trips - life was truly good.

The summer came to an end, but I was looking forward to it. Mind you not because I had to leave, but because we had a road trip planned - heading west from Chicago to see: The Rocky Mountains, The Grand Canyon, and last but not least Las Vegas. I had an alternate final destination - San Francisco (being an avid Charmed fan I just HAD to see the city).

So, October 1st found us on the road, but just like any roadtrip ours wasn't without adventures.

It went something like this Chicago - Lincoln, NE - Frisco, CO (we saw the Rocky Mountains National Park) - Moab, UT (White Forest National Park). And this is where it starts to get interesting. We didn't know that our car had so many parts and engines and such, so one of those thingies broke down in Utah. We had to stay an extra day in Moab, but on the bright side, we stayed in John Wayne's room and saw the amazing Arches National Park. By this time my nature-limit was rapidly approaching its upper limit, I needed to see cities, people and cars.

After Moab we headed further down west and came to the Grand Canyon. I must admit, I didn't understand the big fascination with the Canyon, but when I stood on the edge I totally got it. It's breathtaking. I managed to take a really cool picture, considering it one of my best.

The final night found us in Las Vegas, after seeing the Hoover Dam. Las Vegas is FABULOUS...by night. The casinos are great, the little cities - New York, Paris, Venice are really really cool, the pirate show at Treasure Island was very creative. Naturally being in Las Vegas you must enter a casino, which we did, play the slot machines, which we did, and not necessarily win, which I did.

My final destination was good old San Francisco - didn't get a chance to see much due to my HEAVY backpack, but still, being the stubborn dude I faced the challenges. Walked across the bridge, saw the Lafayette Park, The Palace of Fine arts and the Marina Beach. I vowed that I will return some day, to see the great things this city has to offer, which I did, 4 years later (but that's another story). 

With a heavy heart I left the west coast, stayed 2 more days in Chicago and then was on my merry way home. As usual, I was sad to return and this time I was sure I would return the next year - however 2005 held few surprises for me and left me a bit bitter, but not bitter enough to ever forget that country or the amazing people I met there.