a wish list

As I have undoubtedly mentioned before, my birthday is my favorite day of the year. I know how that sounds, and I don't care. One of my favorite parts of my birthday is crafting a wishlist ahead of time. I know how that sounds, too, but the thing is that I don't expect everything, or even anything, from my list. Making a wish list is an exercise in pure daydreaming, and there's something really delightful about that. Here are some of the things on my list.

1. A bag (not a backpack!) large enough to fit my laptop and books in and nice enough that I can bring it into my classroom. I'm pretty sure grown-ups don't carry backpacks unless they're hiking. This bag is from Moop and is ridiculously expensive beautiful expensive.

2. In the same vein, I'm on the prowl for clothes that I can wear to teach that are not jeans, but also not too fussy. Something sort of like the above.

3. As I've said before, Flight of the Conchords = Happiness. I already have the first album, and I'm pretty sure the second would just double the pleasure AND the fun.

4. I recently was able to experience a Baltimore tradition, lemon sucked through a peppermint stick. It was sweet, tart, and sticky. It was everything summer should be. For my birthday I would like to recreate this experience (major barrier: finding appropriately thick peppermint sticks. They're available online, but for a hefty shipping fee).

5. This birthday calendar from Linda and Harriett. A long-time staple on the ol' birthday list. 

6. Finally, for this list at least, we come to the iPad. I am extremely proud of the fact that in our house there is a carefully maintained line between needs and wants (even if I complain about it sometimes). So even though I'd like to claim the iPad as a need - it would be extremely convenient to be able to bring something smaller than the laptop back and forth to class, and there are a ton of apps that are extremely useful for scholarly, PhD-types such as myself - I can't quite bring myself to do it. The iPad is a want, albeit a lovely, useful, elegantly designed one. And that's why it's perfect for the birthday list.

Thanks for letting me share! In case you're curious, the rest of my birthday list (as well as last year's) can be found here. Happy July!

our moonrise kingdom

Suggested soundtrack for this post: Francois Hardy's Le Temps De L'Amour

Have you seen Moonrise Kingdom yet? I hope so, because it's absolutely lovely, and because the title of this post will make a lot more sense if you have. 

The weekend before last Ross and I went on our first camping trip of the year, to Tuckahoe State Park on Maryland's eastern shore. This is Creature on the camping box; I'm pretty sure she didn't want us to leave (the fact that she pooped everywhere while we were gone makes me even more sure of that, but that's a different story). 

I've wanted to go to Tuckahoe for a long time because of its 60 acres of flooded forest. It did not disappoint.

Our canoe rental was only $15 for two hours, and the ranger made it pretty clear that we could stretch that as we wanted. This is a Great Blue Heron and a turtle in the same shot. We saw hundreds of turtles, some small enough to fit in my palm, some the size of dinner plates. 

This is a beaver, who could not have cared less that we were there. We got within three or four feet, and he still didn't swim away or even really acknowledge us. Beaver don't give a s***.

Ross' sharp eyes caught some of our beaver friend's handiwork.

We only saw one other boat the whole time we were on the water. It was a fishing boat helmed by two old guys. If I were writing a short story about this, they would maybe represent the spirit of the river (subtly, of course). That's why I don't write short stories anymore.

This is our Moonrise Kingdom. 

This is Ross. He's whittling a polar bear.

The next day we decided to go to the beach. This is our super delicious breakfast cooked on our super reliable and portable camp stove (thanks John and Diana!).

This is the beach! It's a little hard to tell from this picture, but beaches in Maryland are insanely crowded. I'm from Orange County and I've never seen crowds like this. It was also 90 degrees, which was amazing.

After a completely decadent day on the beach, we stopped in Lewes, Delaware, which now rivals Shepherdstown, WV for the coveted "My-Favorite-Town-on-the-East-Coast" award. Shepherdstown has more vegan restaurants and crunchy folks, but Lewes is smaller and quieter and has the single most elegant bookstore I've ever seen. 

After another night of sleeping out, campfires, whittling and reading, we came home. It was one of the best weekends ever, and it felt just. like. this:

with great power...

Some of you may have heard that we had a doozy of a storm last night. I've never seen anything like it. I've been in some epic thunderstorms (I remember getting caught on a trail in Utah with Grammy and Grandpa during a particularly exciting one), but I've never seen wind like this, and I've never seen something move in so quickly and violently. It was pretty intense. The last report I heard had at least 15 people dead and 3 million people without power. Which brings us to the groan-inducing title of my post.

Ross and I have never lost power to this apartment. Not during Hurricane Irene, not during any of our (relatively mild, since we weren't here for the snowpocalypse) snowstorms, and not now. We are literally the only people we know in the neighborhood who currently have power. Our grocery store doesn't have power, and we do. So we feel like we have something of a responsibility to help out, which we decided to do by opening our home, yes, but mostly our fridge.

This is, without a doubt, the fullest our fridge has ever been. Here's hoping the power goes on before we eat everybody's food, and that all the people affected by the storm are able to stay cool and safe.

return to harper's ferry

Last weekend Ross and I took a Memorial Day hike to Maryland Heights, a short-ish (but demanding) hike that climbs to some cliffs overlooking the über historical town of Harper's Ferry. 

This was not our first trip to Harper's Ferry. Last year we went camping nearby over the Fourth of July weekend and completely fell in love with the town. Not only does it satisfy my nerdiest impulses, but it also happens to be in a breathtakingly beautiful location and not too far (about an hour) from our house. Maryland/West Virginia for the win! 

Before we visited the town, though, we hiked to the top of the cliffs, where we took in the view and made tiny, tiny little rock pylons. Here's mine:

And here's Ross'. His is taller, but mine is better lit.

Ross and Haylie and history:

To get from where we parked across the river to the town we walked for a while along the Appalachian Trail. I'm one of those people who's always secretly wanted to do the whole six month trip, so just walking on the trail for a few minutes was thrilling.

Although Harper's Ferry was much quieter than the last time we were there, we still got to see some reenactors. Love.

As is de rigeur for a trip to Harper's Ferry, I learned something! This time I learned (as will you, if you read the below sign) that Meriwether Lewis stopped in Harper's Ferry to gather supplies for his trip. It was cool to feel like there was a direct relationship between Portland and our new part of the world.

The hike Ross and I took is partially constructed based on old civil war roads. We thought a lot about the people (both Union and Confederate soldiers... Harper's Ferry changed hands a million times) who had taken these roads, and did some old fashioned pretending. I was Captain Pritchett, and Ross was Lieutenant Douglas. We were Union soldiers, for the record, although I have lots of Confederate heritage.

Until next time, Harper's Ferry.

 

star trek... in the park!

I was going to write about how the loneliness I'm experiencing while I'm here is completely different from any loneliness I've ever experienced before, seeing as how this loneliness stems from a clear and palpable absence (of Ross, friends, and cat). But instead of that, please enjoy these pictures of Star Trek in the Park, which Ross and I very much enjoyed in Portland on August 1st.

Spock looks wise.

This couple's clear enthusiasm for Star Trek is exceeded only by their enthusiasm for Ginger Snaps.

Khan (as in, The Wrath of Khan) has his way with Lieutenant McGivers (the episode was Space Seed, by the way. I highly recommend it for the camp-factor).

Khaaaaaaaaan!!!! (Please note the delighted faces in the crowd)

Til later, Trek-meisters. Live long and prosper.

summer loving, part 2: zion

Shortly after leaving Las Vegas we met up with the Swenson family in St. George and drove to Zion National Park in Utah where we experienced some of the following:

1. We learned about coloration and camouflage.

2. We became one with the park (note the road WAY down below) as Ross and I hiked the Hidden Canyon Trail.

3. We were awed.

4. We found some BIGHORN SHEEP, about which I was ridiculously excited. We also wrote the following song (sung to the tune of Three Blind Mice):

Bighorn Sheep, Bighorn Sheep

See how they run over the rocks

They run so fast 'cause they're light on their feet.

They're light on their feet 'cause they're Bighorn Sheep.

They're Bighorn Sheep 'cause that's how they were born.

They're Bighorn Sheep.

Fade out

Bighorn Sheep... Bighorn Sheep... Bighorn Sheep...

5. We lost a tooth (Ross) and experienced great anxiety and worry (Haylie).

6. We got to use the words "brother-in-law" and "sister-in-law." Whoa.

Good times, family. Let's do it again some time... maybe here?

summer loving, part 1: vegas

So here's the deal: This summer the Ross and I have been able to do a ridiculous number of really fun things, all of which I have utterly failed to blog about. But no more! I hereby resolved to catch up. Starting with Vegas, June 26th.

Time for a true story? We hated Vegas. The exploitation, the environmental atrocity, the whole deal. Hated, hated, hated it...

...except for the Bellagio fountains (and yes, I know all about the wasted water, but they're so lovely) ...

...and the MGM Grand lions WHICH, I was happy to learn, are rotated out very often, which made me feel a little better about there being lions in a noisy, chaotic casino. Still, though, my Zoo brain was reeling at the lack of any educational naturalist-type person.
After Vegas we hightailed it to St. George, UT, where we ran into Ross' sister-in-law from DC in what was the single most bizarre coincidence of my life.

Hasta la vista, Vegas. See you never.