Because Mom Needed A Conclusion

I didn't write a conclusion before leaving Iceland because it was hard for me to summarize a trip that was pretty short. I usually like to end with valuable life lessons learned or thoughts about what the adventure has meant to me. Iceland was wonderful but I know that what I most enjoyed about this trip is the father-daughter time it afforded. My dad is usually a pretty quiet guy (except when he sleeps without his CPAP..haha) so a week of uninterrupted conversation with him was a rare opportunity. We discussed healthcare reform, politics, the state of the economy, which team is likely to emerge victorious in the world cup (the Netherlands is looking pretty dominant this year), my distaste for the "bucket list" and much more.
When I got up this morning, there was a New York Times Op-Ed piece that seemed to provide a synopsis of all of the larger issues that we discussed. Here is the link:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/27/inequality-is-not-inevitable/?_php=true&_type=blogs&ref=opinion&_r=0

I am not usually one to publicly voice political opinions, but I agree with everything that Stiglitz puts forth in this article. I would be interested to know what you all (whoever has been keeping up with this blog) thinks about all of this and if anyone has ANY idea of what could be done.

So, thank you dad for an amazing trip and thanks mom for letting me borrow him for a week. Hopefully we will find time for more adventures in the future!

also, Mom-hope this conclusion was sufficient.

Lots of Love,
Hope

Hope Goes on a Hike Strike

I am currently on strike. There will be no more hiking out of these tired legs. Here is a summary of events that have brought us to this current situation: Tuesday: We walked from our hotel to the waterfront and opera house. I was told this would be a 20 minute walk. That was not the case and furthermore, I just google mapped, it and the walking distance is 40 minutes. HELLO false advertising. Then Dad and I got tickets for a puffin tour. The guide was really nice and the boat was pretty small so there were only 4 other people aboard (5 including the captain). It was incredibly windy so when we tried to exit the harbor the waves were too rough. Fortunately, the puffins were breeding on an island within the harbor so we were able to see a lot of birds. When we returned to shore, dad and I stopped for a great lunch on the dock. Dad got mussels and I got french onion soup (and now I am realizing I am talking about food so I am going to move along with the story). We strolled and picked up sweaters from the Handknitting association of Iceland. Nana is really sitting on a gold mine-seriously we should just import Icelandic wool and she can make a small fortune. We had planned to take the hop on hop off boat around the city but we finished shopping at 4 and the bus stopped at 6 so there would not be enough time to be worth the cost. Then it started raining. Rather than being practical and cabbing, we decided to WALK back to the hotel (I think you are catching on if you are noticing a walking intensive theme throughout this story). Wednesday: Dad and I got up at 8 and grabbed breakfast before heading to the rental car place. We decided renting a car would be a great way to see more of the island and I think we realized that most sites could be visited without a tour group. So with me navigating and dad driving a standard car we headed off into the unknown. Dad said that driving a shift stick is like riding a bike and that he just needed some practice (meanwhile I was trying, successfully, to not to throw up in the passenger seat).

I did some research on Tuesday night and thought that the Glymur hike would be great. The hike leads you to the tallest waterfall in the country and is 2 hours each way. We meandered along a dirt road until we reached the trailhead/parking lot. Surprisingly, we did NOT get lost. The hike took us over a fallen tree bridge, through a natural tunnel/cave and up to a great view of several waterfalls. I only chose the wrong path once and that forced dad and I to scramble up a rocky hill rather than using the rope planted on the actual trail..oops. From where we stopped dad and I could see that the trail continued up a vertical rock wall and that people on guided tours were completing this maneuver. I told dad that I would be staying put unless he phoned mom and got permission. Since I promised her that I would come back to the states with all of my limbs intact (which includes no exsanguination) that this jagged rock face would not get the Leens seal of approval. So we headed down.

Once we returned to the car we realized that it was only 130 or thereabouts so we decided to drive up to another site that I had researched. The attraction is a volcano named Thrihnukagigur (which translates to three peaks crater). Usually when a volcano erupts, the lava seeps out the top and eventually hardens, which leaves a solid interior. Or the entire magma chamber collapses. Thrihnukagigur is rare in that there were lava channels which left a hollow dome near the top and the chamber never collapsed so it is the only volcano IN THE WORLD that you can enter.Dad and I joined up with the tour group in the parking lot and then had a 40 minute hike across a lava field to the base camp. It was unbelievably windy and dad had to hold on to me when we made the final ascent so that I wouldn't blow off of the mountain. Then we hopped onto a window washer elevator (I believe there is a name for this but I am too lazy to google and I am sure you get the idea) and then descended 400 FEET to the bottom of the magma chamber. The colors on the walls were unbelievable. I learned that the extreme heat of the volcanic eruption brings out the colors of the elements found within the walls of the volcano (eg. sulfur turns yellow, copper green etc.). It was incredible! After 40 minutes at the bottom we ascended, got some soup and made the trek back to the parking lot. SO that brings my milage to 10 miles for the day. Keep in mind this was 10 miles up and down a mountain, across a windy lava field, up a volcano, down a volcano etc. And for that reason (and to preserve what little steam I may have left) I am on hike strike. No more hikes! Thursday: Since hike strike was imposed, dad and I drove to Vik, a city in the south. We checked out the black sand beaches (minimal walking involved). Then we pulled over and I played with some Icelandic ponies. We had to be back by 5 to return the car so we didn't have much time for detours. Then the shuttle brought us to our hotel where we watched some world cup soccer. Tomorrow I think we will do a tour of the city. Dad seems to think I will be walking to the center of town...lets see how my legs are feeling (we may need hike strike day 2).

Hope all is well at home, mom can't wait to hang out with you on the hammock and see the visitors to the bird feeders. Love, Hope

Glacier tour and Ice Climb

the title of this post is not very creative so my summary of events can be short. 2 hour bus ride to and from Reykjavik (which yes, I can now spell..thanks Leens). Pretty scenery along the way and more opportunities for dad to take pictures of me sleeping in public places. No, I haven't become narcoleptic. I am going to attribute my abundance of day sleeping to dad's snoring plus jet lag plus the long car ride (and the fact that I didn't bring a book or my phone to entertain me). The glacier was amazing! It is at the base of a volcano so what appears to be dirt in the photos is actually volcanic ash from the last eruption. We hiked around the glacier for a few hours and I felt pretty comfortable in crampons. Then the guides took us to a vertical cliff and set up the climbing ropes. Dad flew up the wall so I felt pressure to perform. I think my youth soccer career prepared me for this moment. Most people had trouble kicking into the wall but because I have no upper body strength whatsoever I made sure my feet were planted and basically strolled up the wall. Since I have rock climbed (at REI and in the climbing gym in philly..which clearly makes me an expert in the sport. NOT).. I was familiar with belaying so that actually was the least scary part for me. No injuries, no accidents and great weather made it a fantastic day! We stopped briefly at another waterfall (I call Iceland the land of infinite waterfalls...because of the glaciers there is always a new one from the runoff) but we had spent an extra hour on the glacier so this visit was cut short so we would be back in time. Tomorrow Dad is letting me take it easy which means we will be strolling to the center of Reykjavik and taking a bus tour around the city. This will also give me the opportunity to purchase one of the snazzy Iceland sweaters I have seen all over the place. Steph can expect one too. Thats all for now. Lots of love. -Hope

Golden Circle Tour

Good evening! The sun is shining and it is 740 here. Currently two days past the summer solstice here so it is sunny for all but 3 hours per day. Yes mom, the hotel has light canceling shades. I am going to do two posts today because there are quite a few photos and I am hoping this will prevent the uploading process from taking forever. Without further ado... Yesterday (Sunday) we went on the Golden circle tour. This route hits a bunch of sites that I read were must sees. First, we hiked down a ridge where the European tectonic plate meets the North American tectonic plate. Evidently they are moving several inches apart per year and as a result the area has some interesting cliffs and ridges. From there we went to see Geyser (where we get the word geyser..fun fact). It is currently dormant but its neighbor is not. Dad thought it was hilarious when people got sprayed by the stream of hot water. We did some hiking in that area and then headed to the bus to see what is considered the most beautiful waterfall in Iceland (though not the tallest). Got some great pictures and got pretty soaked there. Last stop was the site of the first church. Since 1100 it has been rebuilt 12 times. My favorite part of that stop was this little model of an early settlement. The vikings used grass roofs to provide insulation. I thought the home looked like it belonged in the shire and was disappointed when Frodo didn't show up. After lots of sites and a full day of sitting on a bus I was very tired. Dad has a new hobby of taking pictures of me sleeping. Tomorrow expect a full video of his snoring. Karma. Anyways, that was why no post from yesterday. Here are lots of photos as my way of making it up to you. Love, Hope

Iceland Day 1

This post will be short because I may fall asleep mid sentence. From the photos, you can see we made it to Iceland!! We arrived at the airport at 6ish (Icelandic time..so that would be 2 on the east coast). Dad had booked a bus to Blue Lagoon from the airport and the first one left at 830. So with lots of time to kill, I decided to do the sane thing and find a comfy chair and sleep. I am pretty sure that folded in the right orientation I could fit into a carry on. Dad checked out all of the stores, I may need to get a leash for him because he tends to wander. At 8am we boarded the bus and headed to the Blue Lagoon. It is truly a unique landscape. Imagine what you would expect the moon to look like and add some blue murky water. The entire area consists of volcanic rocks that have been stationary for long enough that they have acquired a moss coating and the lagoon is actually blue (the title is NOT false advertising). Dad and I got changed and met up in the lagoon where we coated our faces in mud and dad forced me to swim around the entire perimeter. It was very strange that the closer you got to the steam vent, the warmer the water became. Also, no one has ever warned me that the place WREAKS of sulfur which I suppose makes sense since the minerals give the water the color but is unpleasant nonetheless. We went inside and took a nap in this observation deck area and then grabbed lunch and took the 2pm bus to our hotel. I slept on the bus and then again at the hotel. Dad took a photo of me sprawled out on the bus because he is trying to make up for the embarrassing photo I have of Steph. Mission accomplished. Alright, time for dinner! Tomorrow we will likely stroll around the city and arrange for tours on Monday and Tuesday. I will keep you posted. Lots of love, one very sleepy Hope

Blue Lagoon Pix

Hello Again!

So, My last post was 2.75 years ago which is entirely unacceptable. I intended to write about all of the places I visited and ended up leaving out quite a few. Namely, I went to London and Ireland after graduating and have taken family trips to St. Lucia, Curacao, Grand Cayman and possibly other locales that I am forgetting at the moment. My apologies. Next adventure will be one week in Iceland with my travel buddy/partner in crime/Dad. Since the trip will be short the blog will likely consist of photos with blurbs, long entries are reserved for longer getaways. I hope the internet works as advertised and I can do some photo updates during the trip. Thanks for taking the time to check out this blog! -Hope