No matter where I may be….
As high as Machu Picchu….
Hanging from a glacier….
Chilling with a Kangaroo in the land down under (isn’t my new bikini hot?)….
On a wild safari with Lions and Tigers and Bears oh my (and elephants too!)…
Snuggling a panda or trekking the Great Wall…
Or Freezing in England with a pile of rocks…
My heart is always with you!
Happy Anniversary lovey! I love, miss you and wish you were here wherever it is that I am!
-Bug
P.S.
Major thanks to my brother for his photoshop genius!
After my Wilderness First Responder training I flew back to California to spend a few days with my parents and surprise my dad for Father’s Day. My mom and I had crafted the perfect surprise for my dad but it was ruined by him leaving work early. We circled San Francisco looking for his job site only to find that he was already back home in Vacaville and the job had ended much sooner than expected!
Determined to surprise my dad I hid in the trunk of my mom’s car and waited for him to come out and unload the “groceries”. He had a lot more to unload then he ever imagined! I think I almost gave him a heart attack, he was certainly surprised and happy to see me. Who opens the trunk of their car and finds their daughter from Hawaii who is supposed to be in Colorado hiding amongst the bags??!
He was completely clueless about my plans to spend the week with him in California. I had talked to him a few days earlier and told him I was going to be spending the week in Colorado backpacking with friends. It was a good thing I showed up in Vacaville because he was already worried about not knowing where I was or who I was with!
We’ve been enjoying a laid back week of movies, ice cream and plenty of sunshine- a nice change from the freezing cold and long days of class in Colorado! It’s so nice to be home and not having to worry about doing anything or being anywhere. I’ve been able to spend lots of time with my nephew Connor, who is a little terror that just learned to walk and is certainly asserting his independence! Whoo I’m starting to reconsider this whole baby thing!
To top off a great week we are hosting an early Father’s Day BBQ this afternoon and then I am off to the airport to catch an early flight back to Colorado. I’ll try to update and post photos as much as possible during my travels and can’t wait to tell you all about my adventures!
After nine information packed days of training in the middle of nowhere Elizabeth, Colorado I am now a certified Wilderness First Responder. The class, group and scenery were all incredible and I had a great week of freezing cold!
We covered everything from minor cuts and scrapes to full on sutures and stapling closure techniques, heart attacks, punctured lungs, anaphylactic shock, snake bites, fractured/sprained/dislocated/strained bones, improvised slings and splints, litter carries, diseases, auto extrication, childbirth….you name it and we covered it!
My favorite exercise was probably lubing up nasopharyngeals and shoving them up our poor manikins nose-heeheehee. I hope none of you receive a traumatic blow to the face because I’m all to anxious to practice these skills on a real person!
All in all I was overwhelming surprised with how much I enjoyed my nine days of camping and training. I could not have asked for a better group to train with and already miss my new friends! We had a lot of fun goofing off with our dummies, little Mr. Bones, grilling up dinner while hiding under the shelter of the barn from lightening and hail! Although I was the only one to actually “camp” for the entire 9 days of training, I was well taken care of with extra sleeping bags and clothes from the group!
Photos to come!
Most of you have already heard about my disaster with United Airlines but for those of you who haven’t- join with me in frustration!
Thursday evening Ryan dropped me off at the airport, we said our good-byes and I was ready to start my summer adventure. I boarded my plane, cozied up for a long night of flying and drifted off into never-land. About an hour and a half into my snooze the pilot came over the speaker and announced that our temperature sensors had failed and although our aircraft was operating fine and we were safe, the FAA would not allow us to finish an ocean crossing with this mechanical error- we were headed back to Honolulu.
Another ten minutes went by and the pilot came back on the speaker. Not only had our temperature sensors failed but so did the NAVIGATION SYSTEM! We were flying on back up systems but as the pilot put it, ” we were too high of a risk to land back into Honolulu until we burned off some 20,000 lbs of fuel”. This news meant that we would be circling the Big Island for at least an hour until our fuel was low enough for a safe landing.
After circling the Big Island two times we still hadn’t burnt enough fuel and headed to the island of Kauai. With still too much fuel on board we headed back to the Big Island for another few circles all the while changing altitude what felt like every 2 seconds.
Finally we were able to land back in Honolulu only to find out that our flight was being completely canceled and everyone was being sent to hotels for the night. Normally I wouldn’t mind being delayed but I needed to be in Colorado for training within the next day!
After struggling with the airline trying to get onto another flight I had given up on the hopes of a summer full of rock climbing, water rafting and backpacking. There was just no way I was going to make my required class in time. With my head low and my lip pushed out I crawled into bed feeling defeated. My super hubby wasn’t too quick to let me give up and stayed up looking for alternative flights and airlines to get me to Colorado on time.
With his encouragement I called one last time and after being passed around to 15 different representatives, I was finally booked on a direct flight out the following evening. With all the chaos and disappointment I had endured my wonderful instructor at Wilderness Medicine sent a friend out to the airport to personally pick me up and drive me the 1 1/2 to Elizabeth for training!
It was a rocky start to say the least but I’m hopeful most of the hiccups are out of the way…
I’m back from my Wilderness First Responder course in Elizabeth, Colorado and now a certified WFR-Whoo Hoo! I have tons of pictures and great stories to share but first I wanted to blog about my great friend Victoria’s yoga in the park classes.
I’ve been trying to make my way to Sunday yoga for weeks and finally was able to attend a class right before leaving Hawaii. I absolutely LOVED the experience of yoga in the outdoors and highly – HIGHLY – recommend any local friends or family to try it out.
Victoria is an amazing teacher, high spirited, soothing voice and tailors the class to each individuals needs. Even though there was a group of 10+ practicing, I felt like I was at a private yoga session. The class was relaxing, fun and as challenging or soothing as you decide to make it!
Please, Please, Please do yourself a favor and attend one of these classes. Your body will thank you and I know you’ll be counting down the days until you can attend another session!
To contact Victoria call her cell or send a text message to: 646-422-9062
You can also e-mail her at: vmalohomora@gmail.com
Here’s Heather’s new home for the next week and a half. She said it’s “cold cold cold cold cold!” but at least she made it there safe and sound after the initial flight incident:
Ok Ryan, you can pick yourself up off the floor, dry your tears and have a good laugh. I’ve been gone for one whole day now and I’m sure you are missing me terribly (Actually, I’m sure you are enjoying sprawling across our bed and hogging the fan). I’ve put together a collection of your favorite, “Balls of Fury” clips off YouTube since I am not there to make you smile. Now anytime you need a laugh that I would normally be able to provide, you can visit our blog and see all your favorite clips!
Ok, you evil little man who laughs at others misery, I LOVE YOU and I miss you! Aren’t you impressed with my savvy “future post” knowledge?!