#like he definitely made their house in a scenic area and it is a giant cottage

[lady-grace-pens]

☠️☠️☠️ rip girlie would hate her life. She goes not have the creativity for minecraft. Arthur and Pierre would be out there living their best lives dicking around and she would be picking flowers by a lake or something only to get shot by a skeleton and scream

The last character you drew/wrote about is now stuck in the last game you played. How screwed are they?

[hongkongprivatetourguide]

Top seven interesting places to go in Hong Kong

Travel is at best if we embrace what the country has to offer to. If you are looking for an exotic destination to visit in this holiday season, then Hong Kong might be a beautiful choice. Hong Kong, a vibrant city with an 8 million population housed under the southern part of China, is one such. With buzzing people, soaring skyscrapers, endless noodles stands and an amazing night markets this city would bestow its zealous hospitality. With an assorted mix of people and traditions, their spiritual beliefs, extraordinary landscapes and exquisite never miss culinary spots your journey will be a vivacious, lively and a beautiful trip to fulfill your travel taste buds and leave a lasting impact of your doting travel memory.

With night markets, Disney land, street food there is so much to witness and take yourself to enjoy never pushing you to a state of disappointment. A trip of 4 days would help you visit the popular and interesting places of Hong Kong. It’s truly a city that would make you fall in love with it demanding you to visit again and again.  I am listing here seven interesting places that will surely make you cherish your travel and add it to the collection of forever post travel memories! Read on to get to know more about what interesting things you can do in Hong Kong.

 1.       Disney land!

Disney land is one of the most visited and prominent tourist locations in Hong Kong. Families never fail to miss the adventures that this place can offer. It is found to be equally filled with tokens of fun entertainment for people of all age groups.   Disney land is an abode that celebrates the realities of fantasy world from fairy tales tailor-made to relish fun and fun only. Pleasantly located in the underlying heart of Lantau Island, this second largest wonderland is the only place where all the virtual entertainers step into the world that we live in harmoniously.

Embarking a magical wonder the Disney land encompasses all the seven wonderlands, mystical museums, thriving with large entertainments, live brimming shows, breathtaking setups, spectacular rides and even more. With an aura of forever young theme and a strong sense of adventure, leaving you awestruck and dazzled to rejoice the Disney characters living synchronized to Disney songs. Built with an expanse of food courts, Disney memorabilia, specialty stores, Disney land offers you a day full of enjoyment, for kids to enjoy a day with their family. Specialize resorts, and Disney themed hotels have also been built around the theme park to celebrate the spirit of Disney characters.

The Hong Kong Disney land is put up based on seven magical lands of Disneyland, the gateways to a fantasy world that includes Main street USA, Adventureland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, toy story land, Grizzly Gulch, Mystic point. With the expanse of rides, a surge of gripping tours, cruise, sleeping beauty castle, Mystic Manor, fantasy gardens the Disneyland is truly a kingdom for the fantasy world and a doorway to a pure blissful magical experience that one mustn’t miss when in a Hong Kong trip.

2.       Wong Tai Sin temple

Sik Sik Wong Tai Sin temple resided at Kowloon area of Hong Kong is a temple built with the organization of Taoist constructed in dedication to the enlightened immortal Wong Tai Sin. Built with a base for fortune telling and healing powers, it is believed that he punishes evils, brings in good, and grants prayers. It is the oldest temple being erected in the year 1921. There are different forms of offerings to the deity were worshipping with light sticks is found to bring good to the follower. The sticks are further exchanged to the soothsayer for fortune telling.

The temple has onlookers and worshippers from different parts of the world, and renowned among China, Asia, America, and European nations. Built with a traditional Chinese style architecture, this classy interior with giant red pillars, magnificent golden roofs adorned with friezes, and huge, resplendent cravings that add a specialty to the onlookers of the temple. It is surely a must visit the place to enjoy what traditional architectures and carvings have adorned the temple. Following the temple is a serene good wish garden that adds to the splendor of the temple.

3.       The Victoria peak

A fulfilling Hong Kong voyage is not complete without visiting the famous attraction spot the Victoria Peak at 554 meters above sea level. Pulchritude at its best, the peak is enchantress for many reasons. To experience the view during daylight as well as sunset from the highest point is truly a bewitching experience. If you are a passionate photographer, then this is the best chance to enhance your collection with some renowned pictures of a collaborative nature and human creation from the same point. You will surely become sated with the view that Victoria peak is to offer.

The day view offers an entrancing sight, delightful and mesmerizing site to witness what humans have created along the long list of skyscrapers almost reaching the skies an alluring delight to the eyes of onlookers. You can explore the wooden pave ways, lawns, enjoy souvenir shopping in malls with shopping facilities or enjoy the manicured dining lounges from the peak. Everything is enlightened with a slight touch of Victorian English styling and is a classy part of Hong Kong shopping aiming to encompass age groups.

4.       Madam Tussauds museum Hong Kong

This world-famous museum isn’t what a regular museum would offer, but is world famous for a reason! One of the first types to be established in Asian countries, the museum offers a unique lined up wax statues of famous celebrities all over the world. Branched out from the Museum of London, this mesmerizing destination to visit to lose yourself completely in awe!

The museum is filled with statues from famous music icons from the 1960s to present day stars, another section of historical and political stars, royal families, filled with famous Hollywood stars, world sports champions, and much more. With fine details, importance is given to any hero of the respective categories, and their wax statues carved out just like the clowned counterpart of the unsung heroes of the real world. This museum is well accepted among the tourist population. Check out your favorite stars at the Madame Tussauds museum highly rated museum of Hong Kong.

5.       Touring at nights

This is an amazing part of your Hong Kong trip, trust me with this! Night markets at Hong Kong an ideal modus operandi in enjoying the Hong Kong lifestyle. The night markets are sheer pleasure bring out the enticing shoppers in you with stunning lights and bright markets to set your expedition on hunting the best products down. The evenings are filled drive along different segments known as golden mile that are vibrantly lit up. There is a special open-air night market on Temple Street that attracts tourists incessantly. It is buzzing with inexpensive items from clothes; novel daily use wears that hit up with a heavy bargain especially for the shoppers in you.

Further, there is Aberdeen fishing village that’s hosts the famous floating restaurants of Hong Kong valley. Delicacies are at its best at these areas of the market, a pure sating experience to your taste buds. Chinese feasts are hosted here at different times of the year showcasing jumbo floating restaurants. It’s a scenic view never to is, with a brightly lit atmosphere that can enlighten your moods and your hunger for shopping and taste. Along with all these are secret local markets comes to life and is hosted at nights. It is well known being the sleepless and dynamic metropolis town because of its liveliness at the night markets. Stroll through the streets, showcase your hunting skills, gobble some fine street food and witness the transformation of the slow city to a complete transformation at nights.

6.       Ocean Park Hong Kong

If you haven’t witnessed the world’s largest amusement park here’s your chance not to miss it. The ocean park is named to be the largest amusement park, marine mammal, oceanarium, animal theme in the world. There are varieties of activities to undertake and almost 80 rides and activities to choose from. Having the largest diversity of wildlife activity which includes an enthralling bird theatre, to experience the beauty of ocean lifeforms an ocean theatre, a thrilling panda adventure, enticing flocks of penguins and their cute behaviors demanding the attention of the onlookers are all elegant in the most natural way.

The ocean park is something that must not be missed for anything. There are special shows with fountains and theatre shows hosted for the tourists who pay their visit. Cable cars are a special attraction to this location. Amazing and thrilling rides fill up that entirely proves to be an all family entertainer. If you enter the ocean park, time flies away, and it’s difficult to complete the tour in a single day with so many marvels awaiting your graceful presence.

7.       Experiencing trams

Trams are a special part of Hong Kong trips traversing over the northern part of Hong Kong Islands has its own attraction to sightseeing in the heart of tourists. Trams are a part of a local culture who introduced them for partaking in daily transportation which over the days have become a major part of tourist attraction. Riding these relics while definitely cloud you to the life that a common Hong Kong person would enjoy. There are several spanning routes which the tram services covers, with an occasional “ding ding “sound that grabs the attention in a cute way.

 With buzzing activity during the day and grand splendors at nights, Hong Kong is a lively destination with “go with the flow” choice of culture that keeps in line with the chaotic image traversing along the nooks and corners of Hong Kong. Truly a destination with a platter of diverse offerings for your curiosity voyage, Hong Kong will surely match up to fill your thirst for traveling! Buen Viaje!

[project-ml]

Project: Jingle Bugs Chapter Five

Project: Jingle Bugs Masterpost (tbp)

Chapter Five

Plot Devised By: @megatraven

Cover Artists: @piikoarts (sketch + lineart) & @oriaerus (color)

Chapter Written By: @ladybugandblackchat

Chapter Beta’d By: @kasumiafkgod, @sarahcada & @miraculousandcute

Chapter Sketched By: @ferisae

Chapter Line Art By: @darktreasureskeeper & @texmexchexmix

Chapter Colored By: @kasumiafkgod, @piikoarts, @chalala-chan & @yonadraws

Other Chapters: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

Ao3 | G+ | WP | YouTube | Twitter | IG

Adrien yawned and began to stretch out beneath his duvet. If he had been more awake, he might have made a pun at his catlike motion. He felt great, he didn’t often wake up before his alarms and he never felt so well rested. Sitting up and shaking his messy blonde hair, Adrien reached for his phone, bright sunlight creeping through a gap in his curtains and warming his hand as he clasped the small phone. Something wasn’t right; it was normally dark when he got up, especially in winter. Pulling his phone towards him, Adrien unlocked the screen and felt his stomach lurch. It was nearly 10am! He had overslept!

Scrambling out from beneath his covers, Adrien all but threw himself out of bed, if Nathalie found him still asleep now she would kill him! How she had not come by and woken him he did not know. Maybe she had and he had fallen back asleep? He wondered frantically, searching for his purple dressing gown as he shuffled his feet on the cold wooden floor. How was he ever going to shower and get ready without getting into trouble he had no idea, if he wasn’t already in trouble. Finding the soft purple garment, Adrien threw it over his broad shoulders, tied it about him, and made a bee-line for his sock drawer; wooden floors sucked.

Scrambling to put socks on, Adrien froze as he saw not one, but three empty plates, the remains of Camembert clear on the otherwise impeccable surface. “PLAGG!” he exclaimed, turning violently, looking for the Kwami, Adrien spotted him floating down from the upper floor of his room, a piece of half-eaten Camembert in his paw.

“Oh my, you’re finally awake,” Plagg grinned, tossing the piece of cheese into his mouth as he glided lazily before Adrien.

“You let me sleep in!? Damn it Plagg, you know I get in trouble when that happens,” Adrien complained, struggling to pull the second sock on and nearly falling from his chair.

“Uh huh, yeah, I totally didn’t see Nathalie come in, shake her head and leave about three hours ago.”

“What?” Adrien rebutted.

Plagg rolled his eyes, “I followed her, she cleared your schedule, something about not doing work this close to Christmas.”

“Wha… really?” Adrien paused, “You’re not lying, are you?” he added hesitantly, unfamiliar with Nathalie being so… relaxed.

“Of course I’m not lying, I totally left you to sleep in on the random chance you would get into trouble, be even more miserable than you were yesterday and blame me on top.” Plagg shook his head in amusement. “I had to get my own cheese Adrien!” he indicated the three empty plates. “That’s how much I wanted you to have some decent sleep.”

Adrien looked back to the plates, “You snuck around and into the kitchen?”

“Yes,”

“To get cheese, so you wouldn’t have to wake me up?”

“Exactly.” Plagg nodded, settling on top of the sock draw.

Adrien couldn’t help but crack a smile, Plagg was as lazy as any household cat and twice as needy; this really was thoughtful of him. “Thank you Plagg, I hope no one saw you,” he added quickly, “but thank you.”

“Don’t mention it kid, but since you’re awake now…” he nudged one of the plates with his foot.

Adrien gave Plagg a bemused expression, “You’ve had loads, and I have errands to run, so when we get back.”

“But it’s cold outside!” Plagg complained half-heartedly, lying back on the draw as Adrien continued to get ready.

---

Despite Plagg’s best efforts, Adrien’s mood had soured in the last hour or so. He wanted his father home. It was so close to Christmas and the house, while it always felt empty, in his absence felt more akin to a dead world, and Adrien was the only occupant. Shrugging his coat on and inviting Plagg into his inside pocket, the Kwami still muttering something about the cold, Adrien made his way downstairs, but what he saw he could never have predicted.

Nathalie and Gorilla were standing in the foyer. While the majority of their outfits remained businesslike and professional, Gorilla had sprouted a pair of reindeer antlers and Nathalie a pair of elf ears as well as little pieces of tinsel around her wrists. Despite his gloomy mood, Adrien managed a weak smile at the sight, Gorilla, built as he was, would have managed being a Polar bear with far greater ease, but the antlers were oddly endearing. Meanwhile Nathalie was definitely too tall to be a Christmas elf, but the ears softened her normally hard features nonetheless.

Turning to face him, Nathalie gave Adrien a warm smile, “Good morning Adrien, I trust you slept well?” Her words were sincere, and softer than usual.

Adrien nodded, continuing his weak smile, “Yes, thank you Nathalie, I am feeling better already. I was actually wondering,” he added, a little sheepishly, “if I would be okay to run some errands in the city? I need to get some last minute gifts, you know how it is, you always miss one… or two.” He paused, his smile dropping. “Unless you need me here of course?” He internally prayed that they did not, if he had to spend the entire day stuck in this house he would develop a whole new level of cabin fever.

Nathalie didn’t answer straight away, and her hesitation only caused Adrien’s dread to amplify; but then she turned to Gorilla, “I don’t think there is a problem if Adrien continues shopping? Would you be able to attend to that Gorilla, please?”

The giant of a man nodded to Nathalie, “Of course,” as he spoke, he turned to Adrien and smiled, “We can leave as soon as you’re ready Adrien, I will be in the car.” With that, Gorilla turned and departed.

Adrien nodded happily, internally he was screaming, but he knew Nathalie would become concerned at such an outburst. “I will just get my wallet, and, well, thank you, for letting me sleep in.” He thanked awkwardly, running back up the stairs to his room.   

Nathalie grabbed Gorilla before he headed out to the car, she could hear Adrien moving around upstairs, “This is rather fortunate, I had no idea how we were ever going to sneak all of his friends in if he stayed in the house.”

Gorilla smirked as he shrugged on his coat and pulled a pair of rugged leather gloves over his large hands. “Getting Adrien to leave the house is easy Nathalie, getting him to leave without arousing suspicion? Now that is difficult. He is like his father like that. Anything out of place? He notices, no question.” He grabbed his car keys, “Didn’t some of his friends arrive while he was asleep anyway?”

Nathalie nodded, “Yes they did,” her tone was somewhere between that of professional superior and work college. “It was Alya, Nino and Chloé, they came with some supplies, but now I can tell them to get everyone else here. I imagine Adrien will take his time.”

“He always does, plus I can take the scenic routes through Paris, that way I might dodge the traffic and still take a while.”

Nathalie nodded, “Okay, call me if there are any issues.”

---

Adrien leaned back in the car, Plagg was safely tucked into his coat pocket, his sky blue scarf, a gift from his father, was tightly wrapped around his neck, a shield against the bitter cold that dominated Paris today and had done all of December. The city was even covered in a blanket of snow. Nothing out of the movies of course, but enough to add in its own charm.

Of course, while the house lacked any significant Christmas decoration, bar a loosely decorated tree, the car was another matter. This was Gorilla’s domain and his father had given up long ago, trying to make the chauffeur change it. Bits of tinsel adorned the interior and a Christmas tree decoration hung from the rear view mirror. But of course, it wasn’t the decorations that really shifted the atmosphere, it was the music. As soon as Gorilla could get away with it, he would play Christmas tunes on the radio or the CD player if need be, and it was never the same old songs, he dug up every cover, every single track by all of the minor bands and solo artists he could. It was rather entertaining and made a change from the same six Christmas songs he heard in every store in Paris. Yet, even as Adrien leant back and began to watch the dusty white buildings of Paris roll on by, a lyric snapped him out of his brief reprieve.

“All I want for Christmas is you.”

Adrien swallowed, this song, it had to be this song didn’t it. He took a deep breath, memories flooding back to him. She used to love Christmas. It was her favourite time of year in fact, and she was all he wanted for Christmas, his Mother.  

“Adrien, do you want me to change the song?”

Adrien looked away from the window. It was Gorilla who had spoken, he was looking at him via the rear view mirror.

“No thank you, she rather liked this one.”

“Well, it is a classic.” Gorilla smirked, turning the car in a parking space as he spoke. “We’re here Adrien, ‘The Golden Link’ jewellery store.”

Adrien smiled, he had been here just the other day, and fortunately he knew the area very well, especially if he was going to get away from Gorilla; he had someone to meet after all.

All but jumping out of the car, Adrien grinned, “Thank you Gorilla, I won’t be too long hopefully.”

“Take your time; there is no rush at all,” the bodyguard responded, leaning back into the car seat and turning the radio up as Adrien walked towards the jewellery store, its front door just around the corner… and out of Gorilla’s sight. He hoped against hope that Ladybug wouldn’t be busy, he knew she must be, with family and friends, but he really just wanted to be around her, even for a little bit. Walking around the corner away from his bodyguard, and then down a side alley, Adrien waited for an opportune moment to transform; fortunately it didn’t take long, people were more concerned with the icy paths and sales than the side-streets of Paris.   

Leaping as Chat Noir from rooftop to rooftop, the superhero quickly found a suitable rooftop, retracted his baton and called Ladybug via the onscreen display; she answered in seconds.

“My Lady,” Chat all but purred at the sight of her celestial blue eyes.

“Chat, and to what do I owe the pleasure? Something isn’t wrong is it?” her voice peaked in concern.

Chat smiled and shook his head, “Nothing is wrong, Bugaboo, but your absence from me.”

Ladybug groaned and rolled her eyes, “I really walked into that one, so what is actually up, Chat?”

Chat smirked, “I was thinking we could spend some time together, maybe I got you something for the season?”

Ladybug cracked and gave a wide smile, it was warm and endearing, “Oh really? I guess that makes two of us.”

Chat was stunned, “You got me a...” but Ladybug cut him off.

“Where shall we meet, Chat?”

“The roof of the coffee place, on the high street, I am here already,” Chat shrugged innocently.

“Wonderful! I will be there immediately,” Ladybug grinned.

While it wasn’t immediately and more like five minutes, Chat didn’t mind, he had her present in hand, he had snuck it out of the house in his jacket pocket. Of course, the many footprints in the snow that covered the roof gave away the fact Chat had been pacing the entire time in anticipation. “My Lady,” Chat began with a broad grin as Ladybug placed a covered basket at her feet and took a few steps towards him. His sour mood was already gone, washed away in her divine presence.

“It may be a little early,” he continued, suddenly flustered at just how radiant his Lady appeared on this winter day, “but Mer...” he swallowed, “Merry Christmas, Ladybug!” he stuck his hands out, the wrapped present sitting comfortably upon his flattened palms. “You’re my best friend, I had to get you something.” He added quickly, both nervous and overjoyed at the same time.

Ladybug couldn’t help but smile at Chat’s rare awkwardness; he was normally so smooth, a charmer, though she would never admit that to him; his ego would be too much to bear. “Thank you, Chat,” she began, taking the crimson wrapped package into her hands.

“Open it; it isn’t Christmas I know, but please.” Chat smiled, bringing his hands back in.

“Alright, Chat; let’s see what we have here.” She teased, ripping open the packaging, unwilling to hide her own excitement. As the wrapping paper fell away, Ladybug was left staring at a pristine white box; ever so gently she opened it, only to let out a gasp at what she saw. It was a necklace, a beautiful necklace of silver leading to a pendent at its centre. Along the chain hung pieces of darkest onyx and gorgeous rubies, one after the other leading to the pendant which sparkled in the pale light of the day, it was a deep crimson ruby lined in a circle of onyx and then silver again. It was a ladybug necklace!

“Oh Chat!” Ladybug gasped, “This is beyond beautiful!” She closed the distance between them and embraced her partner in a hug. “Thank you, Chat! Thank you,” she whispered the second time as her partner’s arms wrapped around her.

Chat was taken aback by Ladybug’s sudden affection but he did not begrudge it. To hold her so close, to hear her thanks, so full of joy, was more than he could ever wish for. Her embrace washed away his pain, his doubt and of course his stress. Life was short, and while he had his bad days, the days where the sun looked gloomy and the sky dull, he knew people who were radiant, people who were kind and he knew a woman whose delight bathed his world in celestial light. Before he knew it, her arms were around him and the world felt right. He could have remained in that embrace until the world turned cold forever, but of course, nothing lasts forever, and after a moment or two, his Lady backed away and placed the necklace around her neck.

“I really do adore it Chat, thank you so much!” she beamed, “But please, let me return the gesture,” she leant down and retrieved a wrapped package from the top of her basket and passed it to Chat. “It’s just a little something I made, to keep you warm.”

Chat beamed and took the gift in hand, he hadn’t expected Ladybug to get him anything, but he would never and could never refuse such generosity. “Thank you, My Lady,” he replied as he tore the paper from the object. What emerged was a black beanie sewn into the shape of a cat’s face, ears, nose, eyes and of course, the smile. But what made it even better was the word ‘Purrrfect’ written across the bottom of the hat. Chat felt his grin grow wide into a beaming smile, he had never had a gift made for him, and this one was just so… him.

“My Lady has an excellent sense of style.” Chat confessed, pulling the beanie on without a second thought. “What do you think, Ladybug, does it complete my look?”

Ladybug smiled, “Of course, Chat, you look like a dork, a warm dork.”    

“You wound me, my lady,” Chat teased, clutching his heart.

“Oh shush you, you always do recover,” she waved him away, taking as deep breath as she did so. ‘Now, I actually have some more gifts, so to speak,” she turned to her basket and retrieved it as Chat gave her a quizzical look. “I thought we could spend some time together.” As she spoke, Ladybug pulled the blanket cover from the basket to reveal an assortment of fine baked goods, cookies, bread and of course, sweets. “I even brought hot chocolate,” she added, indicating a silver thermos that lay beside the assorted collection of food.

Chat was stunned. His Lady was beyond kind, beyond generous, he couldn’t ask for a better partner. As he stared at the basket and then to his Lady, he could feel tears begin to well in his eyes, now it felt like Christmas, it was the Snow, or even the present that had just come his way, it was the generosity of spirit; the Christmas spirit as people called it. He didn’t see it in his home, he had seen it briefly at the Dupain-Cheng’s a few days ago, but he had been so beside himself he couldn’t truly enjoy it.

“Chat? Are you okay?” Ladybug whispered, concern in her voice, her spare hand was waving slowly in front of Chat in a bid to get his attention.

His Lady’s voice pulled Chat from his reprieve and he turned, his gaze now focused on her. “I am beyond fine my lady, in fact, I am overjoyed,” a wide, joyful smile cracked as he spoke. “I would love to join you.”

“Merry Christmas, Chat,” Ladybug beamed, unrolling the blanket upon the snow covered rooftop.

“Merry Christmas, Bugaboo.”

They sat there for a while, simply satisfied by each other’s company. The food was delicious, on a quality of that he had enjoyed at the Dupain-Cheng’s. Wherever Ladybug shopped, it was certainly of the highest quality. Even the hot chocolate was exquisite, hot, refreshing and delicious all at once. He could have drank gallons of the stuff, but there was something sweet about sharing the last half of a cup between them.

“I cannot believe how much it has snowed lately,” Ladybug remarked, leaning back on the blanket, the cold light glistening off of her new necklace and mingling with her own radiance.

“It is rather unfamiliar, I must admit, but I am not going to begrudge a little chill for the beauty it brings.” Chat jumped in, leaning back besides Ladybug.

“I couldn’t agree more, did you see the children…”

“Making snowmen? I did.” Chat interrupted with a grin.

“Did you see the one’s of you and me?” Ladybug added curiously.

“No! Do tell me about them please.”

“Well with yours,” Ladybug began with a smile, “They added cat ears, and they used an old belt for a tail. For me they found as many black buttons as possible and used them as spots, and then they put this huge red scarf around my neck. Oh and of course they used some of the masks that were on sale from Halloween to complete the look.”

“Bugaboooooooooo!” Chat joked, earning himself a light jab and a smile from Ladybug.

“That is so adorable, it’s nice, you know?” Chat remarked.

“To know that people appreciate us? What we do?” Ladybug voiced.

“I was going to say love, love us, but yeah, you get my point.” Chat sighed, he was at ease, ; the bitter air could not chill his spirits, his stomach was full of delicious food, and his blood was warm in his closest friend’s company.

“Chat, it’s snowing!” Ladybug gasped as snowflakes began to twist and twirl before their eyes. “I thought they said the last of the snow had been and gone already?”

“Clearly Paris has different plans, for Christmas!” Chat declared excitedly, his voice echoing off of the rooftop. Laughter quickly overtook him, “I’ve always wanted to do that, shout from the top of a building,” he added, to answer Ladybug’s bemused expression.

“Kick it off the bucket list then,” Ladybug giggled.

They laid there for a while more, admiring the snow and warmth of each other’s company. But as time ticked on by, Ladybug stood up and dusted snow from her legs, “I would stay Chat, but I do have to be somewhere, you know how it is with this time of year, family, and friends. You have yourself a Merry Christmas, Chat, and we can do this again sometime.”

Chat shot to his feet and embraced Ladybug, his arms wrapping tightly around her. Her words had barely settled in his mind but he knew what they meant, he would have to go home, and while he would never begrudge Ladybug her family time, he did wish she didn’t have to go.

“Merry Christmas Ladybug, and thank you, thank you.” He repeated as they hugged for one last time.

Moments later, she was gone; a red blur in the white blanket of Paris, and Chat was alone, again. The warmth of their time lingered for a while as he sat on the roof, watching the snow fall with an ever increasing pace. He almost didn’t go home. Well, he didn’t want to go home of course, but he knew he had to. If he was late and missing, his Father would burn Paris to the ground looking for him. Kicking the snow with his foot Chat sighed, and reached for the cat beanie that sat upon his head, “Well, at least I know she likes cats,” he mused to himself, leaping from the building and back towards Gorilla.

He was barely through the door home, a small bag of miscellaneous looking gifts he had brought on his way back to Gorilla, to avoid suspicion in hand, when Nathalie all but sprang upon him.

“I require your attention Adrien, in the second lounge, as quickly as you can, please,” She spoke professionally, but he had never known her to spring up on him so fast, or for the second lounge to be where he was required, it was always his Father’s study.

“Is… is everything alright?” he queried, surprised even as Gorilla slipped in through the front door.

Nathalie nodded firmly. “It will be, as soon as you arrive. I will be waiting,” she finished, turning about and departing as briskly as she had arrived.

Suddenly nervous and wishing he had stayed out, Adrien placed the bag of gifts on a chair in the foyer and followed after Nathalie to the second lounge. It was a rarely used room, larger than the regular lounge, and when used, it was normally by his father for larger functions. Why would he be needed here? He had no idea. He reached the closed set of double doors, Nathalie must have gone inside ahead of him. Taking a deep breath, Adrien reached for the handle and began to turn the knob. “Perhaps Plagg had done something?” he mused internally.

“MERRY CHRISTMAS, ADRIEN!”

The chorus of shouts bombarded Adrien as he opened the door; instinctively he took a step back before the scene came into view. His entire class was in the lounge, a great banner hung from the ceiling, the words ‘Merry Christmas’ written in large white text over the crimson background. Nathalie stood beside his friends, a rare, but pretty smile wide across her face, and like the breaking of the dam, he was rushed by his friends.

He couldn’t believe it, even as everyone hugged him and he made his way through the gathered group. They had all come, for him. The entire class had worked to make this happen for him. He could feel himself tearing up at the thought, the love this took to do. It was almost too much, but he didn’t want to dampen the party spirit; even if they would be tears of joy. Swallowing and composing himself Adrien hugged Chloé, who had fought her way through the crowd. “Thank you Chloé, this means so much to me.”

Chloé hugged him back, “Oh Adrikins, are you enjoying the party?”

Adrien nodded, appreciating the fact that Chloé, while initially going in for a peck on the cheek, stopped. “I am, Chloé. Who organised all of this?” he was dying to know just who had done all of this, who would be generous enough to do this, for him.

Chloé smiled, it’s glow actually warm and genuine for once, “Well, I helped, a lot of course…”

“And so did we,” Ayla interrupted appearing from the party’s packed background, Nino in tow carrying what appeared to be several gingerbread men in his hands.

“I was getting to that; you’ve got to let a girl have a little lime light you know.” Chloé joked, mostly. “They are right; of course, we all worked on the party for you, getting decorations.”

“And organising everyone else,” Alya added quickly, grinning broadly.

As the others spoke, Nino hoisted an intact gingerbread man, the remains of one clearly being chewed by the DJ. He swallowed, “And we managed to get the Dupain-Cheng’s to cater, which means we have the best food in Paris!”

Adrien grinned, he was astonished that his friends, even if they did not get along, had worked together to bring him this. “That is amazing! I cannot believe you managed to get the Dupain-Cheng’s to cater.”

“Well, Marinette asked them of course,” Nino jumped in, “To be fair dude, Marinette did most of the work, she is dedicated.”

Alya and Chloé nodded in unison, “Nino’s right,” Chloé added, “Marinette brought up the idea and when we all agreed to do it, she just became, well, rather good at it.” Chloé admitted.

“Marinette did this?” Adrien asked, bewildered but suddenly at ease.

The group nodded in unison.

Beaming at the thought, Adrien hugged Alya and then Nino before turning on his heel and looking for Marinette, it didn’t take him long to spot her. She was on the far end of the room, speaking to Nathalie. Without a second thought, Adrien made his way through the crowd and towards Marinette, a red flush brightening his cheeks.

---

Marinette grinned as she approached Nathalie, “May I speak with you, Nathalie?”

“Of course,” she nodded, turning to face the organiser of the entire party.

“The outfit we discussed, for a certain individual,” Marinette’s eyes darted left and right to ensure the blonde haired boy of her dreams wouldn’t suddenly appear out of nowhere and ruin his own surprise. “Is in his office, ready and waiting.”

Nathalie nodded, “Excellent, you have done more than enough, Marinette, thank you.

Leave the rest to me and Gorilla.” With that, the secretary turned on her heel, the smile she had worn earlier still beaming, and departed, likely in search of Gorilla.

---

Nathalie walked away as Adrien reached Marinette, “Marinette,” he piped in before the miracle worker could wander into the party, “Can I talk to you please?”

Marinette all but jumped at the sound of his voice, and Adrien had to stifle a laugh as she turned to face him, “Yeah.. yes, yes of course!” she smiled, shuffling slightly on the spot.

Adrien smiled, “I wanted to say thank you, I am told you organised all of this, for me, I cannot thank you enough Marinette.” He could feel his cheeks becoming a deeper hue of red as he spoke, why couldn’t he just be funny and make puns outside of costume? He internally complained.

Marinette gulped, Adrien was thanking her, ADRIEN WAS THANKING HER! She could scream, but then, Adrien would probably react poorly to that. But she really could scream, he looked so happy and so… was he blushing? WHY WAS HE BLUSHING!? “Adrien…. How did you know it was me who organized the party?” she tried to sound casual, curious even, although she could feel herself biting her own lip in nervous concern.

“Oh, some little birdies told me,” Adrien shrugged, a grin across his face, he felt oddly warm, happy, it was similar to how he had been around Ladybug earlier today. “You know, Alya, Nino, and well, I know you and Chloé don’t get along, but she said you did a great job.”

Marinette looked over Adrien’s shoulder in a mixture of concern, confusion and astonishment. Yet, sure enough, she saw her friends watching the pair of them from a distance. But, to her horror, not only did Alya wink at her when they made eye contact, but Nino did too! He Knows! Marinette’s eyes widened, Alya told him!

“Marinette, are you okay?” Adrien queried, concerned by his friend’s sudden quiet state.

“Yeah, of course,” Marinette lied, things were beyond perfect! But also awful! Her crush was talking to her, and she hadn’t completely melted… yet; and he was so happy! But, Nino knew! How long could it possibly remain a secret now? Boys were terrible with secrets, and he was Adrien’s best friend! She was screwed.

Adrien stepped forward and hugged Marinette, “Thank you, Marinette. This really…” he tightened his hug, his friend’s arms wrapping around him as he did so, “…Means an awful lot to me. You’re the best!” Before he could think, before he could question what he was doing, Adrien loosened his grip on Marinette, but as he moved away, pecked her neatly on the cheek. “Merry Christmas,” he grinned.

Marinette felt her cheeks combust, or at least, that was what it felt like? Maybe this was what burning felt like? Or maybe this was worse? She didn’t know, but it was bad. ADRIEN HAD KISSED HER! Not kissed kissed her, like she had dreamt about, but kissed, on the cheek, in front of everyone. IN FRONT OF EVERYONE! If her cheeks could gain another darker shade of red, they would have. She didn’t know whether to scream, laugh, cry with joy or kiss him back.  

“Let me go and get you a drink,” Adrien beamed, nodding to Marinette and darting off through the crowd, a spring in his step. He had no idea what he had just done, or really why, but it felt good.

---

Gorilla gently opened the lounge doors and slipped outside into the larger house. He had seen Nathalie leave suddenly and he knew what that meant, Gabriel was here. Grinning, he made his way to the foyer, where, sure enough, Gabriel was just through the front door, Nathalie next to him and speaking quickly.

“As promised sir, everything is safe, and everything is ready, and of course Adrien has no idea. There is just…” she paused for a moment, her eyes locking with Gabriel’s own piercing set for a brief moment. “A slight snag.”

“Snag? I wanted everything perfect, what is the issue?” Gabriel demanded, his sharp tongue uncooled by the winter chill.

“It isn’t so much as an issue Sir, but more of well…”

“A requirement,” Gorilla jumped in, walking right up to the pair of them, his bulk towering over Gabriel.

Gabriel looked at Gorilla for a moment, clearly examining him. “Why are you wearing antlers?” he queried, his eyes darting to Nathalie and noting the elf ears.

“Adrien appreciates the cosmetics. Which is where… that extra requirement comes in. The Dupain-Cheng girl, Marinette, she made you this.” Nathalie explained, reaching for the folded bundle of red and white that sat upon her desk.

“We think it would make for the perfect Christmas party.” Gorilla explained slowly, he was enjoying seeing Gabriel slowly realise just where this was going.

Gabriel sighed.

---

“Anytime, Alix! I am glad you like it.” Adrien grinned, the smile on Alix’s face more than enough reward.

Alix lifted her new skating helmet, “Like? It is bloody awesome, Adrien! And it matches, like, damn! You’re good at this.”

---

As he walked towards Alya, Nino and Marinette, Adrien saw the lounge door open ahead of him, he expected to see Nathalie or maybe one of the Dupain-Cheng’s carting more baked goods. But it wasn’t, it was a tall, thin man with crystal blue eyes that pierced the soul.

“Dad!” Adrien all but exclaimed, he had stopped moving and the party had fallen silent as Gabriel surveyed the room with an expert precision. It was only after a few seconds however that Adrien noticed that his father was not in his usual business attire. He was wearing an outfit, a costume in fact, a costume of Père Noël!

“Adrien,” Gabriel began, his eyes locking onto his son’s own and his voice carrying over the silent room like an unearthly shadow. “I was worried I left you alone for too long on Christmas,” a smile cracked his lips, “but I see now that your friends have got it covered.”

Adrien sprinted for his father, the party goers somehow giving way quickly enough to let him pass. He all but tackled Gabriel and hugged him tightly. “This is the best gift ever!” he couldn’t believe it, even as tears rolled down his cheek. His father had come home; he had come home for him.

Gabriel smiled. It transformed his face from a cold and calculating visage to one of warmth and one would almost say joy, “Merry Christmas, Son, I have something for you.” As he spoke, Gabriel passed a red box to Adrien, a silver bow tied around it.

Adrien tore the paper from the box and lifted the lift. What lay beneath was a delicate golden chain with a locket at its base. “But this is…” Adrien began, taking a half step back.

“Mother’s, yes, but it used to belong to her grandfather.” Gabriel took a deep breath, “She always wanted to give it to you, so I am now.”

Adrien could feel tears streaming down his cheek. He missed her, so much, but as he looked at the familiar golden locket, Adrien felt a smile form. She had loved this necklace, adored it and worn it everywhere.

“Open it,” Gabriel all but whispered.

Adrien opened the locket without hesitation, on the inside panel of the locket was a picture of his mother from when she was only a few years older than he was. But the panel on the right held a different picture, it was of a family, of a tall man with piercing eyes and a wife whose beauty rivalled anything her husband could produce; and in her arms lay a child with strands of what one would presume were blonde hair.

“It is us on our first Christmas, our first Christmas as a family.” Gabriel whispered, placing a hand onto Adrien’s shoulder. “Merry Christmas, son.”

Adrien wiped the tears from his cheeks and hugged his father. He was overwhelmed, overjoyed and also so melancholic. But this was more than he could ever have dared dream for; His father, his friends and his mother, as close as she could be, “Merry Christmas, Dad.”

Gabriel nodded and hugged his son before looking to the still silent lounge. “Well, isn’t this supposed to be a party? Play some music already,” he barked, a glint of joy in his eyes.

[judefan813-blog]

have the heart to take advantage of the situation like

Aside from child chap and vest sets, virtually everything adults need for the rodeo is made in a children's version as well. Different brand jeans and western style shirts will keep your Cheap Jerseys free shipping child looking stylish at competitions. Kids learn roping techniques with special kid's 25 foot ropes that still look and feel like a professional's..

Cheap Jerseys china The rules of the game, said Glencross as to why he was so vocal. Part of the game. A penalty a penalty. You see, Washington was a big dog lover himself, and even though Howe had literally killed hundreds of his men, he just didn't have the heart to take advantage of the situation like, say, sending over the dog's turds with a plate and a note that said "Let's see how much you want it back. Bon appetit!" (We're just spitballing here.) Washington even called a cease fire to get the dog back in a touching moment of common love for man's best friend. He got that particular handle because he had a habit of lying down in the narrow bridges leading between the ships and the docks, and at 6 feet 6 inches, he wasn't exactly easy to avoid..  Cheap Jerseys china

wholesale jerseys from china Manchester United return to top of football rich list. Barcelona 'eyeing a move for www.cheapjerseysofchina.com Bayern Munich's Douglas. Juventus unveil home strip for 2017 18 season. The restaurant is named after the traditional henna application, those done for weddings and special occasions. On Friday and Saturday nights, a henna artist creates free designs for customers. But the real reason you need to know Mehndi is because of its succulent, tandoor baked chicken.  wholesale jerseys from china

Middle of the Pack in the West. Nobody wants the 7 seed. The opponent will be the Spurs or Warriors. They usually arrived in small groups, brought in by individuals or businessmen, but records show that in 1684, the ship Isabella unloaded a of 150 black slaves. Most found in the agricultural industry, on building projects, and as house wholesale jerseys servants. The institution was not of the same magnitude it was in other colonies, however.

nfl jerseys After much drumbeating and judicial conference, the champions were announced. [.] place went to "The Full Monti," The big winners were nameless: "The Unknown Incognitos," numerous folk wielding masks over paper bags with eye holes. The Fiesta Arts Fair at the Southwest School of Art took advantage of Brave Combo's being in town.  nfl jerseys

cheap jerseys Yes, thrill seekers may have to empty their wallets and endure hour long line ups beneath the blazing sun but they'll be united by a common objective to be scared senseless again and again by the roller coaster. The love for these thrill machines dates back to the steep, ice covered slides of Russia in the 16th century. The first coasters appeared in North America in the 1800's as scenic railroads designed for moving coal down mountains using gravity..  cheap jerseys

Cheap Jerseys from china Who are you going to try and interview? What topic areas would you like to ask them about? There is no need to write individual questions at this stage. Who is going to be the reporter, editor, camera or radio operator, picture editor (finding relevant photos) What are you going to do next? Plan the next stage of www.cheapjerseys-football.com your reporting. When will you next meet up to continue your news report? Where will you next meet up? Why are you reporting this? Remind yourself why people might want or need to know about this.  Cheap Jerseys from china

Cheap Jerseys free shipping That member is Peter Angelos, the owner of the Baltimore Orioles. In addition to throwing in more than $300,000 toward the costs of transforming the space now serving as the club's grill room, he's handed over naming rights. The Orioles Pub at the Center Club is scheduled to open the day after Labor Day..  Cheap Jerseys free shipping

cheap nfl jerseys Vergeet niet dat u nooit een heilige gelofte van het huwelijk tegen uw kinderen gemaakt. Nee, je maakte die belofte worden verenigd in n vlees met uw echtgenoot. Kids u hebt de verantwoordelijkheid om te voeden hen en rentmeester hen, hen te helpen de goede relaties opbouwen met God en de mensen om hen heen.  cheap nfl jerseys

cheap nfl jerseys "People would run into Big Country at Richmond Centre," laughs Kennedy of seven wholesale nfl jerseys foot centre Bryant Reeves. "They were larger than life sports celebrities in our communities and they were here at the same time that Michael Jordan became a global phenomenon. And the Grizzlies also did a good job of getting reasonably priced tickets in the hands of fans.  cheap nfl jerseys

wholesale nfl jerseys from china Apparently, it is unclear to the executives behind Transformers why we, and many other nerds, watched the show to begin with. We suppose the burden of responsibility falls on us to clarify: It's the giant robots fighting each other. In case you guys weren't sure if, perhaps, it was neck and neck between robot fighting and data analysis we pray ours can be the deciding vote.  wholesale nfl jerseys from china

wholesale nfl jerseys Drafting is crucial with riders racing millimetres behind each other. The time is stopped when the front wheel of the third rider crosses the line. This allows one member of the team to drop out during the race. The image was attractive with the browns of the dying leaves to suggest the ending of growth through death, while the crisp green grass displays life. The white of the mushrooms and the cylindrical shape gave a definite fall appearance to the photograph, while giving the viewer a glimpse of birth, through the spreading of seeds in the natural way mushrooms do.The composition of this photo is good, with the lighter subjects bringing the eye to the focus of the shot. The colorful autumn leaves of the trees juxtaposed the dead leaves already lying on the ground in their brown www.cheapjerseyssalesupply.com state, with the canvas of green grassy areas along the trail, is a good setting for photography moments wholesale nfl jerseys.

[priscillaboss07-blog]

Lakes & Rivers In Houston, Texas.

I was actually lately said to by a pal that when an individual is called wonderful", they believe it's only a well mannered way to state ordinary"; as well as while Taichung wasn't exactly dull, it definitely really did not turn all our wheels. It will be exciting to have the amount of time to observe some of these gorgeous constructs that participated in such an essential task in our maritime history. The other game method in Tycoon City: New York City is the sandbox game mode which gives gamers accessibility to the whole entire island. Boracay was actually an easy unknown isle of white colored sand beaches, which nearby loved ones taken pleasure in to their centers' material. Moisture command in the present day structure envelope: History of vapor barricade in the U.S., 1923-52. The Mexican lifestyle participates in a major job in the everyday life of people in Arizona and also it could be delighted in as a traveler in this field. The humming tasks of the estimated 1200 individuals of the urban area are actually expected to have actually taken place in the south-west part of the urban area, which houses the residences and also a high rise. It lies on the Tennessee River up north as well as is regularly described as The River Urban area. As increasingly more tools are actually discharged operating the Google Android running unit, creators are generating more applications for Android Market If you wish to appear occupied, visit our listing of the Leading Free Applications for Android However if it's time to rest the bright side is that there are actually lots of video games now on call and also in this particular article our company are heading to take a more detailed consider the leading 10 greatest Android video games. Fine art illegitimately set up on the front door of company without authorization or on the window of the train is actually jerky and tumbling," Verel claims, and hinders individuals's daily activities." Rather, when completed as a cooperation, with respect to the property and also its own residents and also managers, road art may keep cities aesthetically striking places to live. It is actually an easy comparison to make to Japan's 2 most famous urban areas - Tokyo and also Osaka - where one is a giant metro filled with folks hectic at the office as well as few tight knit neighborhoods, and the various other is actually a somewhat smaller sized area along with terrific meals and even more open people. These specific policies complied with the instance of the New york decline, and have actually been actually set up merely in New York Metropolitan Area. Therefore continue reading to look at the leading 5 time places coming from Hong Kong and make use of those weekend breaks, or if you are actually blessed- downtime. The tourist can easily acquire any sort of kind of experience he yearns for, varying from going near to attribute, to experience sporting activities, coming from multicolored and unique plants and animals to wildlife, coming from ice-capped tops of Himalaya to still waters of Kerala, coming from spiritual spots like Haridwar, Rishikesh, Varanasi to modern-day cities like Delhi and Mumbai, coming from forts, royal residences, buildings to different other national treasuries with Golden Triangle Scenic tour package deals, from one of the seven-wonders of the planet till never undetected as well as explored places, Http://newdiet-gym2017.info/hydrogenated-fat-in-our-diet India has a whole lot to provide to everyone. Our company reside in a planet full of surprises, but sometimes aren't aware of it. Be it, the biggest buildings, manmade ponds or even practically just about anything you may think of. They point out there are 7 marvels on earth that can not be actually made once again. Athens cocktail lounge forecast a blended varied society from Latin Caribbean to conventional Classical songs that comes to be the life blood stream of the metropolitan area due to the time sun boil down and also the moons strikes the sky allowing popular music as well as passion to live in the unclear sky of the night clubs and also pubs in Athens. This bibliography is paid attention to English-language literary works concerning the preservation of twentieth-century structures and establishments, although a handful of non-English-language texts that contain abstracts in English have actually been actually featured. Certainly, something this amazing can not be actually overlooked whilst on your holiday season in Turkey and several travelers see this region so as to bathe in the magnificent blessed pool, which lies inside the Pamukkale Lodging.

[ohoutintheworld]

A to the Z

Friday

So tired going to the airport. We watched Shape of Water on the plane. 

Crazy line for the rental car shuttle. It moved quickly though. The self check in kiosk couldn’t read the bar code on my license and when we went to add me as a driver on the rental car at pick up, the woman kept telling me I was under 25. Except I am definitely 25. 

Barrio Queen - tacos, guac with pomegranate seeds, and tamales because our waitress said it was national tamale day. It seemed like a lot of food, but we said “Sure, why not?” We ended eating it all though. and we met a grackle in a palo verde “green stick” tree - the state tree of Arizona

Musical Instrument Museum - we had 3 hours and spent 2 hours in Asia before realizing we should move faster. They have audio headsets that automatically play audio to videos in the exhibits which is neat. It’s amazing how all these different cultures come up with similar ways to make music. It was odd though that other countries instruments were organized by culture and in the America section it was organized by genre. We also witnessed their giant mechanical band whose drummer was ahead of the beat.

We had to leave for the wedding rehearsal but got lost in the Biltmore complex. Afterwards we all had dinner at The Gladly, where they had set up baby pictures of the bride and groom on the tables. Food was pretty good although B makes better flourless chocolate cake. 

After dinner the “kids” hung out at the hotel’s pool. Us girls got there first and this group of kids with mostly this one obnoxious 12 year old kept asking us all how old we were. So annoying and offensive and I’m afraid for what he’ll be like when he’s in college. There was some swim racing and games of chicken but I was so tired. This day felt like two whole days. 

Saturday - Wedding Day

Started the day at 8 so all the girls could get their hair and make up done. Breakfast and lunch were delivered to our hotel room. Photographers in the afternoon.

A little windy during the ceremony and I had to fluff K’s dress so it would look perfect for the pictures. I didn’t think I would cry and didn’t even bring a tissue but A was crying the whole time, I could see only his face, and their vows were so sweet. 

We forgot to sign the guestbook! They took it away before we remembered to.

Quite a few people came up and complimented me on my toast. I am so relieved because I was nervous about writing something sufficiently sentimental and entertaining and not cheesy or generic. But people thought it was funny, concise, and well-paced/spoken. 

The venue was so pretty and we had so much fun dancing! The live band makes a difference compared to just a DJ. 

Sunday

We had breakfast at our airbnb. We never got to meet the host but we decided his life is just about traveling because that was all the paraphenalia in his house.

Sadly, it didn’t make sense to take my bouquet even though it’s the prettiest one I’ve ever seen so I left it for our host. 

Drove about 1hr north to Arcosanti, arriving around 11:45am. They have tours every hour except at noon, so in the meantime we had complimentary coffee in the cafeteria and walked the 20min visitor’s trail which takes you up on a ridge opposite the town for a nice view. 

Continued north to Montezuma Castle, a Native American dwelling built into an alcove in a cliff face. It’s relatively well-preserved because it’s sheltered. We saw some intense-looking black beetles. 

A few miles into Rt179 off of I-17, we were suddenly and completely blown away by the sudden change in landscape. I drove around a bend and these magnificent red rock formations came into view, rising up against the blue sky. It was so stunning. We pulled off into a scenic lookout and did a small hike in front of Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock. 

B tried opening a nopales/prickly pear cactus to taste and got little needles all in his fingers. Unsurprisingly. 

Drove by Cathedral Rock but sadly didn’t have the time to go up it. Surely the view is incredible. 

I beat B in foosball while we waited. Went on in search of food and ended up at a burger place whose staff seemed too frantic. 

A very dark drive through Oak Creek. Towards the end the road has a string of semi-cricular hair-pin turns. I kept thinking I was nearly just driving in a circle.

Arrived at our Flagstaff airbnb and were greeted by a cat and dog. We immediately stepped onto the back porch to look at stars, but it’s chilly here. Much much more so than in Phoenix. 

I was reading brochures and travel guides and Bjorn got very sleepy. He wonders why.

Monday

The next day we drove to the Grand Canyon. We conveniently got breakfast and hiking snacks at the nearby grocery store but hit the road a little late. We got the the Grand Canyon entrance around 11 and there was a bit of a wait to pay to get in. We were still able to find parking though after driving through a number of full lots. 

You can walk along a paved path on the rim of the canyon but there are also some trails down. There are so many families with bothersome children we practically ran down to try and get away from all the other tourists. On the way down, we’d pass people coming up who seemed to be struggling. I suppose they hadn’t anticipated how hard it’d be to climb back up. We hiked 3 miles down to a little rest house and had lunch but it got super windy and cold and started snowing/raining a tiny bit. You get a different view from being in the canyon than when you’re above it though so hiking in is totally worth it. Going up was a bit challenging but I think for me it was mostly because of the elevation, which made me short of breath. We finished our round trip in 3 hrs and 5 min so there definitely would’ve been time to go a bit farther, especially if you get there early. But we walked along the rim to the far side, to the geology museum which is really just an exhibit with an overlook. From there we could see a tiny piece of the Colorado River. It really got quite chilly, but it was also amazing to see the light around sunset! 

We had gotten postcard stamps from the Grand Canyon post office so I filled out the one I got from the airbnb and mailed it to my parents. 

On our way out, we saw some elk on the side of the rode! At first I was confused about everyone driving slowly with their emergency lights on. 

We drove back to Flagstaff and had dinner at this fusion Asian noodle shop that had this Asian hip hop aesthetic? It had a lot of people inside so it seemed like a better option than the various bars. Bjorn got this ramen will all the kinds of pork in it though. Yum. We sat at the counter and it was funny watching the kitchen guys.

Tuesday

We drove up to Snowbowl mountain to go snowboarding!! The scenery is so beautiful and it’s strange to look down the mountain and see all the grasslands and different landscapes down below. We could even see the edge of the Grand Canyon about 90 miles away perhaps and all these mesas in the distance. The snow itself was like really fine ice-sand. Grainy and shallow on the ground so there wasn’t anything to land on if you fell. As the day went on it got a little warmer and a little slushy which actually made it a bit nicer. They have a few terrain parks so we filmed each other going off the jumps! And kind of landing them. It was also great because the mountain was fairly empty. No waiting in lines or even sharing lifts. 

After returning all our gear we drove back to Phoenix, again through Oak Creek and Sedona so we could see it in the daylight. Getting back to the rental car area was a bit of a navigational mess but we made it and had plenty of time at the airport so we sat down and had some din din. Lame-O American Airlines didn’t let us have carry-ons and we had to pay to check a bag and then we couldn’t even sit next to each other. 

[sending-the-message]

A Forked Tongue Behind A Smile by TheBigSp00k

I live in a more rural area of Northern California. There’s only one large shopping center within a 40 mile radius, so everyone tends to do their shopping there. Ever since I got out of prison on parole, I have switched to a plant-based diet in order to improve my health. I moved up north from Los Angeles in order to keep myself out of trouble and put the past behind me. I’m not a bad guy, just a man who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and made a lot of poor life decisions. There are a lot of freaks and weirdos in the city I came from. I thought that I’d find more of a normal demographic out here in the sticks. I’ve come recently to terms with the fact that you can’t hide from the crazies.

I’d regularly visit the grocery store in order to keep a nice stock of fresh produce. Most of the employees in the produce department are just young kids who are taking up a part-time job to make a bit of pocket change while they work towards their high school diploma. One man, Jeff, is the only adult who works in the produce department. Jeff is tall, looks young for his age, but had to at least be in his mid 50s. He had thin brown hair with a bald spot on the top of his scalp and wore perfectly round glasses. Over the past years, Jeff and I became close acquaintances. Jeff definitely was a strange one. He’d always get a little too close when we spoke. Other times he’d touch my shoulder or forearm during a conversation. It did strike me as odd, but I always brushed it off as Jeff just being a very eccentric dude.

Jeff held a package of strawberries in his hand. “Did you know strawberries aren’t actually berries? Oddly enough, bananas are. The more you know!”

I’d always find something about his words to be enlightening. I felt that I’d learn something new from each conversation we’d have together. He was a very interesting guy.

“Bananas have a natural anti-acidic effect. If you ever suffer from heartburn, eat a banana, it will provide some relief.” Jeff educated me as he stocked the stand full of fresh bananas. He was always so excited about his work; the way he spoke about food, his upbeat attitude, and the way he’d caress each item as if it were a newborn child.

The automated doors to the supermarket slid open and relieving gust of air conditioning greeted me as I entered. I remember there was a popular song playing over the speakers throughout the store. I grabbed a basket and headed over towards the produce department where I was greeted by a familiar face. Coincidentally, Jeff was there stocking red delicious apples and that was exactly what I had came in for.

He turned his head towards me and smiled, revealing a set of perfectly white teeth. “Good morning, John. It’s going to be another wonderful day isn’t it?” Jeff said, still holding that welcoming smile.

“Oh, absolutely. It’s going to be hotter than usual today, so I’ve heard. It seems like you knew I was coming since you’re putting out some fresh apples. That’s exactly what I came in for.” I replied, turning a shiny red apple in my hand; examining it for blemishes.

Jeff chuckled as he put another handful of produce neatly on the stand.

“Interesting fruit they are. Apples are actually 25% air, did you know that? That’s why they float if you dropped them in water.” Jeff announced, gracefully juggling 3 apples before setting them on the stack.

He broke down the cardboard on his little cart and took a glance at his wristwatch.

“Looks like it’s about time for my break. You have a great day, John.” He touched me on the shoulder and looked me right in the eyes. Normally I’d it creepy as hell, but it was Jeff, I was used to it by that point.

Jeff whistled ‘I’m Walking On Sunshine’ to himself as he wheeled the cart towards the stockroom doors. As he pushed through them, a slab of cardboard slipped off of his cart and fell to the floor. Jeff bent over to pick it up and his wallet fell out of his back pocket.

I jogged over to him, trying to get his attention. Jeff already disappeared into the cold stockroom and I was left with his wallet. Fortunately for him, I have a bit of integrity and planned to wait around for him to return. Just because I have integrity, doesn’t mean that I don’t get curious. Jeff never showed me pictures of his family. He claimed that he didn’t own a cellphone either. I went ahead and took the initiative and snooped through his wallet. There was $20 in cash, he had no credit cards, not even a store rewards card, or even an ID. I found a discreet fold behind the empty slots for cards and removed a few photos neatly folded into fourths.

Puzzled and a little disturbed; I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. They were small copies of professionally taken photos of him standing in front of a scenic background in a studio. He had that same charismatic smile. What he was holding had me a little creeped out. In his arms were two petite potted plants. Alongside him stood a stool with a cantaloupe placed on top of it. He had his arm resting around the backside of the melon as if it were his best friend.

I didn’t have much time to further examine the other photos as the stockroom doors swung open and a cart was being wheeled onto the sales floor. I quickly stuffed the pictures back into his wallet and slapped it shut. Behind the cart was same old Jeff, completely unaware of my intrusion.

He smiled at me and I extended my harm to him with the wallet in hand.

“Oh thank you! Wow, I would’ve been so upset if someone other than yourself would’ve picked that up. Some people really lack the honest quality of returning a man’s personal possessions. You, my friend, are a saint.” Jeff’s eyes shifted back and forth between own and the wallet in my hand.

I shook my hand, gesturing for him to take his wallet back. Jeff slowly reached out and grabbed it out of my hand; his fingers brushed against mine in an intimate way that not only lasted too long but made me slightly uncomfortable.

“All in a day’s work.” I said as he tucked the wallet away into his back pocket. He smiled.

“Please, let me show you my gratitude. Join my family and I tonight for dinner. I’m doing the cooking so you know it will be to die for!” Jeff pleaded. He didn’t once break eye contact with me.

I started to conduct a reasonable excuse in my head. I didn’t want to eat someone else’s cooking as I had many dietary restrictions. I must’ve taken too long because spoke again.

“John, you must, I will not take no for an answer. Here’s my address.”

John pulled a small notepad and pen from his uniform pocket and scribbled on a piece of paper. He tore the page from the booklet and shoved it into my hand, then he winked at me.

“Dinner will be around 9. I suggest you show up early so we can have some fun beforehand.” Jeff didn’t wait for a reply. He pushed past me with his cart further into the sales floor, whistling that same tune he had been before.

I didn’t really have any reason not to go. He and I had been acquaintances for quite some time and it would be rude not to. On the other hand, I was terrified that he was a sick weirdo and would capture me and skin me alive. I convinced myself to go inside my own head. At the time, I should’ve trusted that feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something was trying to tell me otherwise.

I finished up with my shopping and headed home. For the remainder of the afternoon, I couldn’t shake the sense of angst that I carried around with me. I should’ve listened.

I left my house at around 6:30pm. It was transitioning into fall (although the temperature said otherwise) and the sun was beginning to set. The sky was painted a gradient mixture of purple, red, and orange that didn’t seem to help with my anxiety.About 30 minutes later I was pulling down a long dirt road that was nearly hidden by trees. My GPS said my destination was just another half mile down the road. I must’ve had a bad signal because it felt like I drove at least 2 miles until I got to his driveway.

Jeff’s house was a single-story rambler style home. It’s paint was starting to fade but you wouldn’t notice due to the immaculate garden in his front yard. A brown wooden fence which stood about 4 feet high surround his yard, leading all the way to the back of the house. I pulled my car into the driveway and parked; leaving the door unlocked for reasons I couldn’t recall. As approached the front steps to his door, I took a moment to take in the amount of effort he put into his garden. I passed by the line of shrubs that surrounded the edge of his lawn and kicked around an apple that had fallen from the tree which stood tall in the center of his yard.

I climbed the couple of steps that led up to his front door. I pulled open the screen which was in front of it and knocked lightly. All of the shades were drawn; forbidding me from looking inside to see if anyone had noticed I arrived. A few minutes passed and I knocked again, louder. No response. I thought to myself for a moment. If I was supposed to come that weekend but I was definite that he said to come over that evening.

I stepped down to the yard and followed a stone path that led around the side of the house into the back yard. It was almost full-on dusk by this point and was getting hard to navigate through the maze of foliage that cluttered his property. I managed to make my way around to the back porch when I heard that familiar tune. The back of his house was just as a giant fruit and vegetable garden. I could see just the very top of a large greenhouse over the unusually tall artichoke plants and other assorted vegetable stalks.

I follow the whistling towards the green house that sat on the other side of the yard. When I got just a few feet away from the door, the whistling stopped and Jeff’s voice echoed from inside. He was talking to someone, I crept up to the door which was slightly ajar and peered inside. There was no one around other than himself. I couldn’t make out what he was saying so I leaned in closer in hopes to get within listening distance.

A branch snapped underneath my foot and Jeff jumped in a startled jolt. He turned around and smiled.

“John! Oh I’m so sorry, I didn’t even realize that it was time for you to arrive. Please excuse my messy self, I have been gardening since I got home.” Jeff was covered in unidentifiable red liquid which had a odd resemblance to blood.

“Please, please come in. I want to show you something!” Jeff beckoned.

I was hesitant to come inside. Something about that greenhouse was just horribly unsettling. I should’ve left. I should’ve made an excuse to why I had to leave at that very moment. For reasons I still don’t understand, I entered.

The greenhouse appeared even larger from the inside. Spider-like vines crawled up the interior walls and scattered across the ceiling in an almost sinister way. A partially transparent sliding glass door stood at the end of the room, leading to a smaller area where a strange green light glowed from behind the frosted glass. I could feel an ominous presence from within. Outside of the door were 2 large barrels and an even larger ceramic pot. I couldn’t even imagine how much it must’ve cost since it stood nearly five and a half feet from the ground. I wondered if the produce business actually paid better than I thought.

Jeff gestured for me to come quicker; I didn’t, I took my time to approach him. Something just felt wrong. His expression was no different from the many encounters we had at the supermarket. There was something about him, something about his presence that shook me to my very bones.

“Take a look at this, John, isn’t it magnificent!?” He stepped away from a large hole that had been concealed by his body.

The hole was about 3 feet wide and went down a lot deeper than it appeared from a distance. I took a step closer in order to see how far it went. Jeff hummed to himself in a very disturbing way. I was too distracted by the depth of the hole that I hadn’t noticed he snuck around to my backside.

“What the hell is this, Je-“

I was interrupted by a loud shriek that pierced my eardrums like a sharp needle. Something pushed me forward with such a great force that I lost my footing and slipped into the hole feet first. I must’ve clipped my chin on the way down because I felt a hard crack in my jaw and started to lose consciousness.

A splash of cold water to my face woke me. I tried my move but I couldn’t. I felt cold. When my vision cleared, I saw two perfectly manicured feet standing directly in front of me. This is when I realized that I was still in the hole, the empty space around me was filled with soil. I was buried up to my neck.

“Wakey, wakey, John. It’s time for your nutrients. If you’re going to grow nice and strong, you have to be healthy. I can’t have you dying on me.”

I squirmed and wiggled, trying to loosen the dirt around me. The soil was too wet and heavy.

“Jeff, what the fuck are you doing to me? Let me go!” I cried. Jeff just kept whistling “I’m Walking On Sunshine” squatted in front of me with a small brown bottle in hand.

“Open wide, John. You need your supplements.” He held the bottle up to my mouth. I curled my lips tight, stopping him from feeding me the mystery drink.

Jeff pinched my nose and forced my head back. About 30 seconds went by until I was forced to suck in a large breath of air through my mouth. Jeff shoved the bottle down my throats and the foul-tasting liquid sailed down into my stomach. I coughed and wheezed, trying to reject whatever it was that he just fed me. Jeff only laughed.

“You know, John, I really liked you. But I love my family, and my family has to eat. Unlike us, they’re carnivores but they have a very picky eating habit. I hope you can understand although you aren’t family man yourself.”

Jeff walked towards the corner of the room, just outside of my limited vision. I heard some some rustling and soon after Jeff came back into view. He was holding a melon; a silver dollar sized hole bored into the center of it. Jeff dropped his pants and underwear.

“My ex-wife left me because she felt I cared more about my garden than our family…” Jeff soon became erect and slid his penis inside the opening of the melon. I was in shock. I couldn’t believe what was before my eyes. He slowly started to thrust his hips, sliding in and out of the melon.

“I came home from work where I saw she had packed her bags, as well as our two little girl’s. She told me she was leaving. Just like that!” Jeff’s thrusts became more rapid. He was groaning between sentences.

“John, what would you do if someone tried to snatch your life right out of your hands? Oh wait, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You were in prison right? Armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, right? 4 years in state? You’re a burden on society, John. No one will miss you.”

I screamed for help at the top of my lungs. My body thrashed beneath the soil. It was starting to loosen. I could feel my arms gaining a bit more mobility.

“I felt a rage inside me that I never felt before. It was overwhelming. I wasn’t going to just let her take my family away from me. Not her, not anyone. So I did what I had to do to keep my family together… forever.”

Jeff was thrusting even harder. He clenched the melon in both hands, holding it tightly against his pelvis.

“You are a sick fuck! You are a sick piece of shit! You are a fucking piece of fucking shit! Fuck you! Fuck you!” I shouted. They were the only words I could muster. I was beyond angry, I was livid. It was a feeling I had spent 4 years in anger management, while I was incarcerated, trying to control. This time it was justified.

“John, I am not sick. I was a desperate man. I did no wrong, I only did what any man would do in that situation. Wouldn’t you?” Jeff stopped thrusting for a moment and glanced over at the sliding glass door. Then he went back to fucking his melon.

“I tried to reason with her. I tried talking to my little girls. I wanted them to stay and we could be a happy family, but she wouldn’t budge. So I did what I had to do. I can now take care of my wonderful garden and be attentive to my family, as they are one. My wife loved cantaloupe, so I found it suitable that she be…” Jeff threw back his neck and arched his spine. He let out a long and satisfied moan. He finished. The swinging lightbulb over his head combined with the darkness of the greenhouse made him look even more menacing.

Now panting and covered in sweat, Jeff raised the cantaloupe up to his face. He whirled around in a circle, holding it above his head. He kissed the top of the melon and gently placed it on a mound of soil beside him. I couldn’t hold it back any longer; my stomach churned and vomit sprayed out of my mouth with an unrelenting force.

“John, maybe you don’t understand. What do you find so revolting about a man making love to his wife? It’s just natural.” Jeff pulled up his trousers and squatted in front of me again.

“My children, my sweet little girls, they weren’t fully grown. They were still young and innocent. I couldn’t just bury them like their mother, they hadn’t yet blossomed…” he stood up and walked over to the sliding glass door.

Jeff threw open the slider and two giant pots were sitting in the center of the small room. Inside then were these horrifying Venus fly trap looking plants. The abominations were tall and flesh colored. Giant human-like teeth, only sharper, filled the insides of their mouths, stopping them from closing all the way. The rest of their faces were scaly but appeared to be soft like skin.

The ruckus Jeff caused must’ve startled the beasts; they snarled and growled; large pointed tongues swirled around as a white foam oozed out their mouths and puddled onto the floor below. A high pitched “hiss” came from their throats as they swayed around aimlessly, biting at the air.

“Awwwe, they’re awake. I’m sorry, girls, dinner isn’t ready just yet. I know you’re hungry.” Jeff caressed the monsters and spoke to them in a baby-like tone.

During his distraction I managed to loosen up the dirt to the point where I could freely move my arms underneath. I started to kick my legs around and wiggle my hips; the dirt loosened all around me. I pulled my arms up near the surface, just before the top of the dirt.

Jeff had stopped playing with his children and started to head in my direction. He was wielding something in his left hand. It was a syringe. I readied myself, I only had one chance to get it right. His smile had only grown wider and more sinister as he approached. He crouched down and got almost eye level with me.

“John, normally I let their dinner marinate for a bit, but this is an exception. You see, I got a little too excited and woke them from their nap. Now they’re hungry and they won’t stop crying until they are fed.”

The hissing floated in the background of Jeff’s voice.

“I need to prepare dinner.”

Jeff turned head and glanced over at his disgusting creations. That was my opening. My hands shot out of the ground. With my left I grabbed Jeff by his thinning hair and smashed his face into the dirt. He dropped the needle as I used my other hand to repeatedly punch him in the side of his face. He squirmed and thrashed in attempts to break free of my hold. I used all of my might to pull the upper half of my body out of the hole and reached for the syringe; with a stroke of luck, I managed to grab it. I jabbed the sharp steel into his neck and slammed the plunger down with my thumb. I then went back to wailing on his swollen face.

It didn’t take long, the sedative, as Jeff soon fell unconscious. The creatures sneered and growled as I pulled the rest of my body from out of the dirt. After finishing off Jeff with the heel of my boot, I turned towards his children. I stepped into the room and one of those abominations snapped at me. I spit back at the beast. It growled at me like a rabid dog, it’s long pointed tongue hung out if the side of its mouth. I never seen something so disgusting.

Looking around for something to kill them with, I noticed a few gas containers; one of them had a small sticker with a picture of a little flame on it that read “flammable”. Bingo. I turned the valve to release the contents of the tank and quickly exited the room, shutting the door behind me. With a tuft of dead shrubbery in one hand, my cigarette lighter in the other, I let out a light chuckle to myself and tossed the burning branches into the room.

I didn’t even bother to look back as I exited the greenhouse into the warm night’s air. The howling of Jeff’s creations were assurance enough. I had an internal argument with myself as I walked back to my car. It was whether or not I should call the police. I chose not to. There was no explanation to why me, an ex-convict on parole, would soon be on a recently man’s property with possible charges of murder and arson. No fucking way I was going to take that risk.

A week later I read in the newspaper that the fire department had discovered the remnants of 75 bodies buried within his garden, three of which, were his wife and 2 children. Apparently Jeff had been connected to a series of missing people that was going on for the better part of a year. They labeled him “The Green Thumbed Killer”.

Jeff had been a busy man in his free time. He was one sadistic piece of shit. It’s kind of funny when you think about it. Sometimes the happiest, most collected people are actually the ones you should be afraid of. They are the wolf in sheep’s clothing. They are the ones who shake your hand and greet you with a wide smile. Only that smile is hiding the forked tongue of a monster.

For me, I’m doing fine. The police never suspected me of the fire, and I went about my life as usual. I’ve seen a lot of fucked up shit in my life, and that may have been the #1 spot on the list, but I’m not scarred for life, I’m not taking therapy 4 times a week in order to deal with the horrors I had experienced. No, I’m just trying to get the hell on with my life and stay out of trouble. One thing is for sure, I definitely won’t be going to that supermarket for a while. But every now and again I can hear the sound of Jeff whistling that same song echoing in the distance. It gives me the chills every time I remember it.

K

[zillowcondo]

The Top Things to Do in Oita, Japan

Japan is well known for its capital city, Tokyo and for Kyoto and Osaka yet it has many hidden gems that will surprise and delight visitors. One such gem is the island of Kyushu and the region of Oita Prefecture. With the most natural hot springs in Japan and stunning mountain ranges, there are some great things to do in Oita.

From Tokyo it’s only a 1 and a half hour flight to Oita. We flew with ANA from Haneda Airport, which has the advantage of being close to Tokyo centre. They give you complimentary soft drinks on board and we bought a soraben bento box at the airport. They’re a special type of bento, available for takeaway at airports and beautifully packaged. There was a fantastic selection of ready made boxes at reasonable prices.

Oita airport is very compact so it only took a few minutes to collect my checked in bag and to exit. Oita Prefecture will be hosting several of the Rugby World Cup matches at the next Olympic Games in 2019, which will no doubt put this hidden gem firmly on the map. Oita Prefecture’s slogan is Japan’s best hot spring hot spot as it has 4,381 hot springs, together with the largest annual yield of hot spring water.

Nakatsu

Our first destination was Nakatsu City which has a distinctive 8 arched bridge.

Close by, Farmer’s Restaurant Domon Patio is a perfect choice for lunch. It’s run by local women who have prepared delicious local dishes. Try the vegetable juice drink which was so tasty that I had 3 glasses! The dishes are all laid out buffet style and there’s an extensive choice. The cooks smiled and said goodbye to us as we left.

After lunch we visited a traditional Japanese house, with it’s cosy kotatsu mattress table which has a heat source underneath and keeps your feet warm. There was also a koto, a musical instrument that the daughter of the house played.

Our next port of call was Ao-no-domon Cycling Center. It’s popular with locals and tourists alike, who come to enjoy the Maple Yaba Cycling Road in Nakatsu-Yabakei Gorge. This 35 km track is reserved is built on an old rail track, reserved for bikes only and passes by scenic spots such as Yabakei Bridge. There are three places from which to rent bikes including Yabakei Cycling Terminal. It has a variety of bikes to choose from including all-terrain cycles and even a tandem. My bike was great fun to ride, with low handlebars and a comfy padded leather seat. Thankfully there were plenty of gears to help tackle any inclines. Having said that, the route we cycled was fairly pain free. As it was raining hard, we only did about 15 minutes. For those who prefer to avoid any hills, you can cycle down one way and get a driver to pick you up at the other end rather than doing a loop. I’d definitely recommend this cycle ride to all nature lovers and those keen on sport.

After this we headed to Yabakei Dam Memorial Gardens in Keisekien. These traditional Japanese gardens were made into a park when the nearby dam was constructed. There are some huge koi carp in the little lake and the moss growing there is particularly rare – some people visit the gardens just to see it.

Mameda

From here we travelled on to the area of Hita and Mameda Town, known for its old merchant houses. The town was governed by the Tokugawa Shoguns in the Edo era from 1603 to 1867 and now has heritage status. There are some interesting places to visit such as Kuncho Sake Brewery Museum, where you can find out more about traditional sake manufacturing, taste a range of superb sakes and purchase them in the shop.

To the rear, there’s the Tenryo Hina Dolls Museum, that showcases over 3,000 handmade antique dolls.

There’s also an interesting little design shop that sells handcrafted wooden and paper items, Hita Sugi Project. Less than 10 minutes drive away you’ll find Hina-no-Sato SANYOUKAN. This hotel is clean and centrally located, with the advantage of having its own onsen. The hot spring water is channelled and used for hot bath facilities. This onsen, located on the 3rd floor of the hotel, has a nice river view. Men use one side and women use the other, as nude bathing is the usual practice. I was surprised at how hot the water is but you get used to it quickly and it’s very pleasant. The water has purported medicinal benefits and considered to be good for aches and pains. Guests have the opportunity to sleep in Western rooms or traditional Japanese style, which was fun to try and surprisingly comfortable. Breakfast at the onsen was served in private rooms bordering the buffet. In each of these, a bento box full of tasty morsels had been thoughtfully laid out on each table.

Another novel experience was dining on the onsen’s riverboat, the Yakata-bune. You dress in the yakata or light Summer kimono provided in your room. There are normally several tables of diners but as our visit was out of season we were the only ones on board. The waiting staff were very friendly and they brought us a succession of delicious dishes presented in a series of attractive little pots.

Aso Kuju National Park

Located in the centre of the Kyushu area, Asjo Kuju National Park is known for its huge caldera or volcanic cauldron measuring around 100km. Mount Kuju is the highest mountain in Kyushu, at 1,791 m high. It’s ideal to visit in May when it’s covered in pink Kyushu azaleas, or October when the trees turn vivid shades of red, yellow and orange. We popped into Chojabaru Visitor Centre where we met the manager who spoke excellent English. After showing us an informative video on the mountain and marshland, she took us on a tour of the boardwalk. Thanks to this structure, the marshlands are easily accessible to those with physical impairments. Tadewara Marshland is situated on the northwest side of Mount Kuju and is home to a huge range of fauna and flora, from Japanese Water iris to fan-tailed warblers.

Every year, villagers conduct noyaki or controlled burning of the meadows in order to preserve the vegetation. Our guide sometimes plays the harp in the middle of the marshes – how atmospheric that must be! Mount Fuju is also easily accessible for those who aren’t expert hikers although it’s recommended that they wear waterproofs and appropriate hiking boots.

Our next stop was lunch at Marufuku, famous for its fried chicken. Rest assured that it’s nothing like fast food chicken, being much better quality and of higher nutritional value. The toriten or chicken tempura was particularly moreish. The restaurant has 2 types of seating – an open plan area with tables and chairs and individual booths with traditional Japanese seating – very cosy.

Taketa

Afterwards we visited Oka Castle, a real highlight of my Oita region trip. Originally constructed in 1185 by general Ogata Koreyoshi, it was inhabited by up to 3000 people at one point. Being built on a hill, it was already hard to invade but the builders made it trickier still by creating narrow paths where only a couple of people could enter at a time. Even though only the ruins of the original structure remain, it’s an atmospheric place with beautiful foliage and great views towards the Kuju mountain range. It’s also one of Japan’s top 100 cherry blossom spots and the Oka Castle Cherry Blossom Festival takes place in early April. There’s a statue of Rentarō Taki, one of Japan’s foremost composers and pianists who composed the song Moon Over the Ruined Castle in 1901 in homage to Oka.

After our castle visit we headed to Takeda Sogo Gakui to try our hand at bamboo pendant making. This former secondary school is now a hub for local artists and craftsmen. Our tutor is a talented artist whose works are all sculpted from bamboo, even though they look like copper or steel. He explained how to shape the pendant by threading the bamboo strands to create a ball shape. Whilst I won’t give up the day job just yet, I was happy with the end result.

The nearby area of Nagayu is considered to have one of the hundred best hot springs in Japan. The water is carbonated and has health benefits such as improving blood circulation. I tried an individual bathing room at Nagayu Onsen, a Ryokan (Japanese inn) on the river Serikawa. They admit guests who wish to use the facilities for a reasonable price, and they also have guest rooms and a restaurant. We dined at Kajika-An, a great local restaurant for meat dishes and vegetable tempura.

Asaji, Kyushu

The weather in Kyushu was lovely and sunny and our morning hike was a real pleasure. We were taking part in Oku-Bungo Olle walking course. Olle are trekking courses that originated in Jejudo in South Korea, using a system of blue and red flags to indicate the right route to take. We started off in Asaji at the Tourist Information Office next to the train station in Bungo-Ono city. It’s a 12 km long route with many attractions along the way such as Yujaku Park with its lovely lake.

The highlight of our walk was Fuko-ji Temple. Not only is the temple itself a very serene place set in beautiful landscape, but there is an unexpected surprise…a giant Buddha. Carved from a boulder formed after Mount Aso’s eruption, it’s 11.3 metres long.

After our hike we had earned some refreshments and headed to Hamashima Shuzo at Ogatamachishimojizai Bungoono, a specialty sake brewery using traditional methods. We were lucky to be given a tour by the CEO and also chatted to his daughter who studied in Oxford and speaks perfect English, as well as his charming wife. The process is labour intensive and I can see why it tastes so delicious. For those who are used to strong tasting sake, this is much more subtle and reminds me of wine in its complexity. They don’t just make sake drinks here though, there are also tasty sake infused puddings and Sake kasu, the lees left over from production that can be used in smoothies or to flavour food, or even as a face mask!

Beppu Onsen

Beppu is known for its hot springs, called The Hells, including bright blue Umi Jigoku (Sea Hell) and the red Chinoike Jigoku (Bloody Hell Pond). There are 8 different hot spring areas and many different Beppu Onsen to try out. We enjoyed lunch at Kurodaya, one of the many Beppu hotels with a restaurant attached to it and its own onsen. They use the hot spring water to prepare steamed dishes with Onsen spring water, and very tasty it was too.

From here, I had a look at Beppu foot baths, which are open to the public. You just pay a small fee if you wish to borrow a foot towel. It’s very pleasant to soak your weary feet in the individual tubs.

A few minutes away, there’s a devillish fountain where you can drink the hot spring water. It’s said to be good if you have gastroenteritis, diabetes or gout. I tried it and it tasted perfectly pleasant. Nearby, there are also sand baths where you are covered in sand – definitely something that I’d like to try on a future trip! The weather in Beppu was quite mild so it’s something that I’d recommend at any time of year.

Kitsuki Castle Town

Kitsuki bills itself as the Samurai town of kimonos and Kyushu’s Little Tokyo. That’s because it was the first castle town in Japan to be certified as a historic townscape where kimonos look right at home. Kitsuki is also home to the smallest castle in Japan, overlooking the sea. At Warakuan Kimono Rental, the staff are experts who will help you to put one on and there’s a huge choice for both men and women.

We walked through a lovely garden on our way to the shop.

Kitsuki is said to be the only sandwich-shaped castle town in Japan, meaning that it has traditional samurai houses on plateaus to the north and south, with a merchant town in a valley between. Admission to the ancient samurai houses and all attractions is free to anyone wearing a kimono and you also get discounts in restaurants. We visited the Ohara Residence at 207 Kitsuki where a high-ranking samurai family lived during the Edo period. It was a goyoyashiki, a residence given by the Kitsuki clan to samurai for official business so the residents often changed. The main building has a thatched roof with a large reception room having 10 tatami mats. It has a beautiful garden with 110 varieties of plants, where visitors can wander around. A boundary-guard stone, a sekimori-ishi, which is a round stone tied with a knot, signifying that a path is closed.

/ As you can see, there’s so much to do in Oita and it refreshes your body and mind. It would be fantastic to go back and experience it in Springtime when the azaleas and cherry blossoms are blooming! Have you ever been to Japan?

Pin this for later or share with friends if you’ve found it useful

Thanks to Kyushu region for arranging this trip

The post The Top Things to Do in Oita, Japan appeared first on Luxury Columnist.

The Top Things to Do in Oita, Japan published first on http://ift.tt/2pewpEF

[chefbstrikesagain]

MY PARENTS IN MALAYSIA

I feel like a shell of the human I used to be after a marathon of a week with my parents. Desperate for some sort of routine and 2 years of sleep I'm slowly adjusting back to life without them. What I didn't realize was how exhausting entertaining for a week would be. Explaining and translating a new language, ordering food, figuring out suitable accommodations, talking about my future, and so so so much driving are just the beginning of the trip. However, that being said, it was such a fun time showing them around my home for the last 8 months in the country that i've grown to know and love despite its abundance of geckos and lack of western toilets. I'll give you an idea of what our days looked like but remember, this are only a small glimpse into what actually happened. Documenting cultural exchange, moments of appreciation for life back home, or a new developed sense of understanding are all things hard to explain in words so you'll have to ask my parents about it!

DAY 1: The date was August 31 and it was brutally sunny and humid, yet again, in good ole' Malaysia. I made my way to the airport feeling oddly nervous to see my parents after the last 8 months of being apart. Fortunately, the airport in the city is fairly small (with only 2 terminals) which makes it really easy to park and pick people up at their gates like you see in movies! I had a 50/50 shot of getting the right gate and was unfortunately waiting at the wrong one. After just 10 short minutes I bee bopped to the other gate and there they were! Luggage in tow and surprisingly looking great. I imagined them in a rough state after their 18 hours of travel but I think the adrenaline took over and they seemed ready to explore a new country on the other side of the world. We loaded up the bags in the car and my dad went to get in (but opened the wrong door) I think they forgot about driving on the opposite side of the road here- and they marvelled at the Nissan Almera. Just kidding, but they were surprised how much room the car had for having a sewing machine for an engine. We made our way out of the parking lot to the hotel which was just a short 15 min drive.

We listened to Malaysian radio on the way back from the airport and took the scenic route along the waterfront. Malaysian and Sabah flags flew proudly everywhere as the day they flew in was 'Merdeka Day' aka Freedom day which lasts for one month in Malaysia. I told them to keep their expectations low for this vacation, as on their last vacation, they were in 3 giant cities in Spain. This was definitely going to be a more rugged, change of pace than walking around Park Guell in Spain with a glass of wine. We changed in the hotel room into our bathing suits and made our way down to the pool. Mom and Dad were surprised at how nice the Hotel was... We stayed at the Hyatt in Kota Kinabalu and it was one of the only 5 star hotels in the area. At the pool we played catch up and Dan Moore started yelling about drinks. About an hour in, my parents realized how strong the equatorial sun really is as they were both burned. It's not like going to the beach in New England where you can stay all day no problem. We left the pool, showered, and got ready to grab an early dinner. We went to El Centro, one of my favorite places, for pizza and margaritas. Afterwards, we headed to a rooftop to watch the sunset sink down into the South China Sea. Dmoore was falling asleep in his chair watching the sunset and he ended up sleeping at 7:30pm.

Day 2: We woke up really early on day 2, mostly due to the fact that dmoore was up and impatiently bopping around the room. I wanted to take them to my favourite curry restaurant for traditional food- but realized everything in town was closed! It was second raya or Eid which meant that it was a public holiday and everyone was at home celebrating with family. We walked to the waterfront where dmoore leaped across a storm drain gap (approx. 3 feet) where his legs gave out from underneath him. He coined the nickname DJ reckless for the rest of the trip and certainly lived up to the name with the hospital trip...something I'll get to later. We walked back to the hotel for breakfast where we had an incredible buffet full of noodles and even some western food. Mom and dad both tried mee hoon soup with vegetables and dad also had nasi lemak- the national dish of Malaysia. We changed into our bathing suits and booked island tours off the coast of Kota Kinabalu. It was another great day for island hopping and we spent about 4 hours total on 2 separate islands. We stood in the water, which was pretty much empty, as all the Korean and Chinese tourists were staying to stay out of the sun to stay pale and beautiful. After a few hours of lounging we grabbed lunch and took the boat back to our hotel. We changed quickly and I took mom and Dad to the City Mosque.

The mosque is a giant floating structure that overlooks the ocean. It's coloured with cobalt blue tiles and is entirely white- definitely a sight for sore eyes. In order for my mom to enter, she had to cover completely, which meant renting a tundong (Malay word for Hijab). Check out the pictures- she certainly rocked the outfit! We didn't spend too much time at the mosque as prayer was happening soon so we left and headed towards the mall. We grabbed sushi for dinner which was incredible. I force-fed mom and made her try the smallest bite of sushi which she openly protested but in the end I think she liked it.... My dad was shocked at the cost of the whole dinner which came out to be 12USD or 4USD per person. In the US, that much sushi would have easily been $60. This was a theme for the rest of the trip. Every meal was converted and my parents faces would light up when they realized they spent 4USD to feed the three of us as well as 1 of my friends.

Later that night, my mom and I explored the hotel and found the hidden gym and then grabbed drinks while DJ reckless had a business call to make at 8:30. Joey joined us for drinks around 10:30 and we stayed up until midnight which was late for them.

Day 3: We checked out of the hotel around 9:30am and made the 3 hour drive up to The Tip of Borneo where we would stay for 2 nights. We listened to a bunch of podcasts and made easy conversation about things we passed along the way including cows, stray dogs, and why the gas stations were always so full. When we finally reached our destination, called 9 Huts on a Hill, we pulled in and were surrounded by geese, chickens, and bamboo huts. The cutest little woman greeted us at check-in and had us sit down while she offered us some water. Mom broke out into a laughing attack from trying to take in everything (chickens and bamboo huts) and had to put her sunglasses on to conceal her tears. It looked like she was having a nervous breakdown. I understand because it was definitely a downgrade from the 5 star hotel but the accommodations turned out way better than the first impression.

The huts were pretty much open air concept as the front wall could be broken down. There was a queen sized bed with a mosquito net over the top and an A/C unit and fan to keep you cool at night. Each hut had its own bathroom and shower which was a huge plus (not a squatty potty) so Cathy was happy. After settling in we ate dinner and explored the complex. We were on a big hill right above the ocean, complete with a giant yoga platform, a kitchen, and a 'chill zone' that had a bunch of hammocks to hangout in. We dragged a fan out from a room and drank beers and finished a bottle of wine while watching the sunset. Pretty great first night. We turned in around 10pm for some much needed rest in our comfortable beds.

Day 4: We woke early (around 7:30) no surprise there...and headed into town for our first Malay breakfast!!! I ordered mom and dad roti tulur (egg bread with curry) and tea tarik which is tea mixed with condensed milk. They loved it so much they each ordered 2 glasses of tea. They were also pleasantly surprised with the roti they had for breakfast. We paid (3 USD) for breakfast and made our way to my friend Robbie's beach at the secret place. We spent the whole day drinking at Robbies in the water and marvelling at the beauty and just how untouched the land was. I'll let them describe to you how amazing this place was because I talk about it all the time- but ask them!

We grabbed dinner again at the curry house after we showered and said goodbye to Robbie and his family. We finished the second bottle of wine that night under the yoga platform where it monsooned shortly after sunset for the rest of the night. Definitely a recipe for a great nights sleep which we needed to prepare for the marathon days we were going to have in Ranau and the rest of the trip.

Day 5: We checked out of 9 huts and made the dangerous drive from the Tip of Borneo to my small town in Ranau. It's dangerous because we were driving up and down mountains, some roads were non-existent, and landslides were everywhere. The signs said the hills were on average 16% grade either going up or down - if that means anything to you. Despite the dangerous drive it made for incredible views. You could see so far and just how mountainous the area I live in really is. We arrived to my house around 2pm where 40 of my students greeted my Mom and Dad! They were so excited to meet them and of course, take selfies. After about 5 hours of small talk and pictures, we left the open house with two of my students and grabbed some food in town at restaurant Muslim. We talked about ghost stories, possessions, and how the street I live on is haunted- just normal dinner conversation. We dropped off the students around 9:30pm and headed back to my street where we parted ways for 9 hours until the next morning when we had school.

Day 6: If you've made it this far into the blog post, congratulations! I'm exhausted and distracted just from writing this so if you're still reading one thing is sure- you definitely don't have ADD! Wahooo. Anyways, Tuesday morning, day 6, was probably the craziest day my parents had while in Malaysia and they were such troopers the entire time. We woke up around 7am to get to school by 8 which was my first class. My class is with form 1 and 2 girls (ages 12/13) and who all live at the school. They don't have good English at all so we usually do some sort of art as a medium to communicate with one another. My parents brought sidewalk chalk to school and we drew the city of Boston's skyline. This was a great medium and the art turned out beautiful. My mom even had some of the girls lay down on the ground holding hands and she traced them all. She told them that when I was little she would trace me and I would colour in my body with clothes and hair and a face. Dmoore wasn’t as approachable and some of the girls told me in Malay that he’s so serious. It’s tough to communicate with young children when you don’t know the language. Their shyness can be misinterpreted as disinterest, which is usually the farthest thing from what they actually want. After saying goodbye, we had class with 4 Bersih- which is one of my favourite classes. These students are older and already have a good foundation in English which means I can teach more intricate lessons that go deeper than colors or numbers. I split the class up into 4 groups and gave them all category titles. Seasons, Food, Sports, and Slang all having to do with Boston. The students then had to interview my parents to get the necessary information and do a short, creative presentation on what they learned. They all did a great job and some of the presentations were hilarious - especially the Boston Slang.

After school, we left and grabbed lunch before our paragliding session! I convinced them both to jump off a mountain which I never thought would happen....After paragliding we went to a fish farm where you stick your feet in a river and a bunch of fish swim over and supposedly suck the dead skin off of your feet. Mom was freaking out the whole time and barely put one toe in the water. Afterwards, we grabbed dinner at the Sabah Tea plantation where we overlooked vast green tea fields and Asian mountains. Mom and Dad ordered more Tea Tarik and achieved a new level of sugar high before we had to leave for our next event. After a dinner of butter chicken and vegetables we made our way back to our house to shower and get ready for drinks out on the town. We had about an hour to relax before I picked them up and made our way to the 'Kolam'. In the middle of the jungle there is a fish pond place where you can order lots of food and drinks. My parents were shocked that there was any sort of habitable life that far in the jungle and not one mosquito. They were able to try Lihing, which is the local traditional rice wine, and they seemed to really like it. Doreen got them a cake that said ‘Welcome to Ranau Mr. and Mrs. Moore’ which was really nice of her. After eating some quick we decided that we should leave as the drinking was really starting to go downhill.

Day 7: After waking up tired and hungover we made our way to school for the last day. My first class on Wednesday’s is arguably the best class of the week with the special needs students. They always get so excited to see me and just all around have great energy. My parents had a warm welcome by the Teachers and worked with a small group of students on practicing the letters ‘I’ and the letter ‘S’. While working with the students the teachers were setting up for a small breakfast in the kitchen. They had coffee and small finger food, known as quey, for my parents to try. It was so nice of them to organize this- I had no idea they were going to do that! After making small talk about our trip and what life was like in America we said our thank yous and goodbyes. We left class and then headed to my next class with form 4 amanah which we were a little late for. The students are all crazy, in the best way possible, and I talked with them before about teaching my parents a traditional dance that we do in Sabah called the Sumazau. The students moved the desks and led my parents to the center of the dance floor where they instructed them how to dance while I blasted the music. I got some great videos on my go-pro and will be sure to post some pictures. We left that class after giving out some chocolate coins, and headed to a form 6 class who are all pre-university and about 18 years old. This class was harder to plan for as they are less willing to be really outgoing, so we did a lesson on Malaysia where they taught my parents about the major Holidays observed. This class sort of dragged on and I could tell my parents were getting tired so we ended class early and with a giant selfie.

After school, we grabbed a quick lunch of martabak sayur and headed to the famous Poring Hot Springs. We enjoyed a butterfly garden, tree-top canopy walkways, and a short hike to a 50 foot waterfall! Poring was great but it was such a hot and humid day we were just ready to relax. We headed home and I got to nap for 2 hours before Doreen asked us to dinner. When we showed up to dinner I just expected Doreen and maybe her husband to be there. I was not prepared for 10 teachers including the principal to show up. There was a big buffet and mom couldn’t stop talking about the pumpkin soup. All in all, Doreen really pulled out all of the stops while they were here- I really appreciate everything she did. Shortly after dinner, when all of the muslims left, we drove to a bar down the street with Ravi, Rose, Zeddy, and the three of us started drinking Tiger. Ravi kept ordering set after set  and him and my dad were really getting along. Two kindred spirits for sure. After making a deal with Ravi that we could leave when all the beers were done, and no more sets to be ordered, we escaped and said our goodbyes to everyone as that was the last time my parents would see them. We laughed on the drive home about how funny the night was and were all looking forward to sleeping in the next morning.

Day 8: Dan Moore woke up super early, no surprise there, and was itching for me to connect my phone to his so he could browse the internet. With tired eyes and an attitude, I quickly connected our phones and closed my eyes for another much needed hour of sleep. We woke up and headed to the sports complex where we got ready to rent ATV’s. The paths the guide was taking us on were super overgrown, bumpy, and on the side of a mountain. All of these factors made it really hard to control the ATV. Dmoore was driving like an absolute savage and the guide and I kept exchanging worried looks when he would slam the gas instead of the break and narrowly avoided hitting one of us. Inevitably, something went wrong and we found ourselves in the emergency room for DJ reckless. In hindsight, it’s all really funny now but at the time I was nervous how this was going to impact our plans - especially if his ankle was broken! The hospital did an x-ray and said they didn’t think it was broken… but they would need an MRI to be sure about any other injuries. We asked for crutches and they told us that they were ‘finished’ no more crutches left.

We left Ranau with DJ reckless in the backseat and headed towards Kota Belud for a Proboscis river monkey tour and to grab lunch with my friends Janna and Kelsey. We found crutches at a Pharmacy in their town which really saved the day and made dmoore much more mobile and less hoppy. We ate lunch on a lake about a 10 minute drive from the ocean where we talked about the future, my parents trip, and the elephant in the room - dmoore’s swollen ankle. After lunch we went to my friend Jessi’s house where she lives with a Malay family and had tea and quey while we waited to go on the river monkey tour. We boarded a small boat and set off down a muddy river surrounded by jungle on all sides. We saw a giant monitor lizard, mud crabs, and the monkeys! It was hard to see the monkeys because they were so far but it was great to see them in the wild and in their natural habitat vs. a Zoo. The tour was really cool but I was really looking forward to firefly tour which we had to cancel because it was getting late and would be hard to fit dinner in with Claire later on. After saying goodbye to Jessi we grabbed a quick dinner with Claire before continuing the trek on into the city. We arrived at our hotel and we got ice for DJ recklesses ankle and gave into our craving for Western food and ordered pizza hut. Mom and Dad were so happy to be back in a clean, air-conditioned hotel room, while I was trying to live up the last few days before going back to reality (dirty water and fried rice). Mom and I went souvenir shopping and then we all turned in early that night.

Day 9: The last dayyyyy. We were able to sleep in until 9! We gathered our tired and sore bodies and headed to the hotel breakfast. The buffet overlooked the ocean and you could see all the small ferry boats shuttling people from island island to island like scurrying ants. We took extra coffee and tea from the buffet and brought it to the rooftop where we sat in the shade and tried to digest everything we’ve done over the last week. This inevitably led to DJ reckless ordering a healthy drink (coconut and cucumber juice) with a twist - just add vodka. We spent pretty much the whole day at the rooftop pool in and out of the water and shade ordering food and drinks. Dan and Cathy needed to get as much sun as possible as this is ‘it’ until next summer. Live music began around 7pm and was this awesome band doing covers of really mellow music- Maroon 5, The Carpenters, etc to give you the vibe. With an ocean breeze ruffling our hair, drinks in hand, and soft music in the background I knew we did good and was so happy everyone made it through the week alive. We definitely had some close calls with DJ reckless but nonetheless, a great time. Mom had been craving frozen yogurt all day and used our drunkenness to get us down to the first floor of the hotel where the mall connected to the hotel. Dmoore and I ordered tea in the piano lounge where a performer was just wrapping up playing. I waited until he was well out of earshot and began to play- it had been over a year! We ended with a really choppy version of Billy Joel’s piano man while dmoore was on vocals singing into his frozen yogurt like a microphone.

Overall, the week long trip felt like an eternity but also I blinked and then it was over. I feel so grateful that Mom and Dad flew all the way across the world to see me. It really validates my whole experience here and I know when I go home I can talk about it and someone will understand what I mean, or be able to relate past ‘oh that sounds cool’. I have really made a home for myself here and integrated myself into the community and it will not be easy to leave- especially with my students. I am also so happy they were able to come with open minds and hearts and experience a Muslim country in a time where it is unsafe to practice Islam in America. I hope they can help be a voice for the misunderstood and an ally against discrimination where it has become so normalised in the media to highlight a minority for their issues. Malaysia has become apart of me over this past year and I’m so happy the people that are closest to me are able to understand how this country and culture has shaped me.

[sophieridesherbike-blog]

west coast trip days 4-5 (coos bay to gold beach, 106 miles)

day four (coos bay to cape blanco, 67 miles)

i spent the night at a little campground filled with RVs and dune buggies just north of coos bay, oregon. once again, waking in the morning proved to be difficult due to the cold weather and wind, this time with the added bonus of heavy mist. yay!

once i hit the road i had to deal with high winds while biking. the campground i stayed at was slightly west of the 101, so to get back onto the pacific coast highway i had to bike back across the very narrow, very exposed transpacific road, which is basically a strip of pavement about four feet above sea level, with water on both sides. it’s the sort of road that would become totally inaccessible if there was a storm, or even just a heavy rain. this road was especially windy, and i was traversing it with the wind at my sides, instead of at my back, as i’d grown used to.

once i got onto the mainland, another challenge awaited me: the bridge into coos bay. the bridge is a mile long, has a narrow sidewalk with a high drop down on the roadway, making the sidewalk unsuitable to bike across, and traffic moves across the pavement very quickly, making the roadway unsuitable to bike across as well. i decided to walk my bike on the sidewalk, which took about half an hour and left me with very sore forearms and shoulders, from the strain of balancing the bike in heavy winds.

once i was across the bridge and through the small town of coos bay, i hit the road hard, planning to put in a good number of miles. my route for that day diverged from the 101, and took me up several local, scenic byways into the mountains. there was one part of my trip, on seven devils road, that was some of the toughest climbing i’ve done on the entire trip. everytime i got the peak of one hill, or turned a corner, i expected to enjoy the respite of a downhill, but there was only ever flats or more climbing to be done. after struggling along this route for about two and a half hours, i finally hit the peak, and then got to sit back and coast down a hill for a solid five minutes.

i stopped for a quick lunch at a mexican place in bandon, and then continued on through the towns of dew valley, laurel grove, fourmile, langois, denmark, and sixes, before arriving at cape blanco state park, where i wanted to spend the night.

cape blanco was an arduous five mile bike ride off the 101, and getting to it involved battling up a ridiculously long and steep hill, into the headwinds, but the beauty of the park was worth it. once i settled into the hiker/biker camp, i met up with another biker i’d been chatting to on tinder all day, who had started the day at a campground near to where i had slept and who was also spending the night at cape blanco.

we ditched the weight from our biked and cycles over to the cape blanco lighthouse, to watch the sunset and enjoy the ocean views. we enjoyed a couple deschutes brewery stouts (courtesy of kevin), and a couple chocolates from the dispensary in portland (courtesy of me). after a failed attempt to hike out through a field of what was either relatively harmless cow parsley or something called giant hogweed that may leave third degree burns all over my uncovered legs, we decided to sit on the steps of the light house, where we were a little sheltered from the wind, and watch the sunset from there.

once it got dark, and after the wind had picked up even more, we faced a super terrifying ride back to our campsite, made even worse by the fact that: we were both tipsy; i’d forgotten the light for my bike; and we kept encountering what were either raccoons on steroids or rodents of unusual side, à la “the princess bride.”

i hung my hammock up between two trees in the hiker/biker area, and actually ended up getting a pretty good night’s sleep, despite spending half of it on the pine needley ground, after i rolled out of the hammock (thanks kev).

when the sun rose i stayed curled up in my sleeping bag (as usual), while kevin, who moonlights as vancouver’s coolest bike mechanic, fixed my misaligned rear wheel for me (hero). while he left early, trying to make it to california by that night, i had a nice lie in, looking forward to an easy day of biking and to treating myself to a night in a hotel in gold beach.

day five (cape blanco to gold beach, 39 miles)

i left cape blanco around noon and fought my way back out to the main road against some vicious headwinds. i had decided to stop for a while in a town called port orford, only ten miles up the road, and wash my clothes, ship some stuff i wasn’t using back to virginia, and to hunt for some more postcards for my friends. the ride from cape blanco to port orford was fairly flat and simple, and the town was small and easy the navigate. once i got my stuff shipped home (shoutout to debbie at the post office who probably saved me $20), i grabbed some food, tried unsuccessfully to locate postcards, and then stopped at a little launderette right off the 101 to wash my clothes.

after relaxing for a bit, and fully appreciating the extent of my awful tan lines, now that i was washing my bike shorts and forced to wear normal jeans shorts, i repacked my panniers with my clean laundry and got on my merry way.

towards the south of port orford the pacific coast highway swings wildly to the east, and an incredibly steep local road sits straight in front of the bike lane. on this road, someone had painted, in huge, white letters ‘OCEAN VIEW,’ accompanied by an arrow. although my aching legs protested, i decided to haul up this hill and see the view for myself, and i’m so glad that i did.

tucked away behind a small row of houses next to the main road, was an amazingly beautiful expanse of beach and sea. it was my first true view of the ocean, and it made the entire trip up to that point feel absolutely worth it. i leaned my bike against the wall of a small overlook and sat on the edge, enjoying the view and snapping a few pictures. on the far side of the bay, i could see the road wrapping itself along the coast, and i knew the next thirty miles of biking would be full of wonderful vistas.

from port orford i kept biking south, enjoying being right next to the ocean. when you can glance to your right and see endless miles of the blue pacific, or smooth and sandy beaches, or interesting rock formations jutting out of the water, you almost forget to pay attention to how tired you are or how big the hill you’re hauling yourself up is. the trip from port orford to gold beach passed fairly quickly this way, although it probably would have been a lot quicker had i not paused to take pictures literally every mile.

towards the end of my trip i was lucky enough to come across a place calling itself a prehistoric jungle in the middle of oregon, which was really a park littered with incredible, lifesize (i think) statues of dinosaurs. i bought a couple of postcards, chatted with the owner of the store there for a bit, and then continued onto gold beach, getting in around 8 PM.

gold beach is actually gorgeous; definitely one of the most picturesque sea side towards i had passed through. my route took me on a slight detour as i came into town, diverting me onto the ‘old coast road,’ which ran right next to the sea and was dotted with houses whose backdoors were only a few dozen meters from the waves.

once i biked over the bridge into gold beach i headed to the motel six. unfortunately, i hadn’t accounted for the fact that a tiny ocean village in oregon is so popular on mondays in july, and the only room available was a jacuzzi suite. i didn’t really feel like biking anymore, so i booked that room, which was totally luxurious and relaxing. after a nice shower (finally) and a soak in the jacuz, i read for a bit and wrote some postcards before going to bed (i love my hammock but it was nice to sleep in a real bed for once). tomorrow i’m hoping to make it to crescent city, in california, but i may take it easy and aim for brookings, just before the border.

[mantrikharadi-blog]

Mantri Vantage Special Offer - An Overview

After a superb response to 1 BHK, 2 BHK & 2.5 BHK Flats in Riverdale Kharadi , behind Zensar IT Park & subsequent to Mantri Vantage, Duville Estates is planning to open bookings of 3 BHK Flats for about Rs. 1.2 - 1.3 crore! With a scenic view of the river, exquisite landscaping, trendy amenities and distinctive options, Mantri Vantage is a serious offering in the inexpensive housing segment”, said Mr. Sushil Mantri, Managing Director and Chairman, Mantri Builders Personal Ltd. Since we have constructed most of the Mantri Vantage Special Offer features into the sale worth, no vital increment is made to the value of real estate. Within this area you might discover properties in Mantri within Thanisandra and Hebbal. He felt the state government ought to keep fodder prices underneath test if it was actually involved with the welfare of farmers and never try to stop milk price rise.

  Snehal Mantri, Director Marketing and HR, Mantri Builders together with the movie artists. The Mantri Energia value shouldn't be solely affordable, however completely unbelievable on the same time. As Mantri Energia is situated in Hebbal, the residents can enjoy the scenic beauty on this area. The Panchshil Towers Kharadi are one of the prime choices of the majority of the Pune its who are on the lookout for funds residential options. Bengaluru, July 2, 2015: Mantri Developers introduced the sale of a luxurious penthouse at Mantri Espana in Bengaluru for Rs.6 crore on Snapdeal, India's largest online marketplace, making this the very Mantri Vantage Amenities best on-line residential sale within the nation. Mantri Vantage will definitely end up being creating together with the Mantri Builders together with it's normally out of your Kharadi Created by having Pune. Situated in one of the Pune's most influential suburbs, Mantri Vantage includes of luxurious residences designed for contemporary living.

The group is a trend setter within the Indian real estate sector with the construction of top-class residential tasks in several cities, including Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. Description : Goel ganga constella, Eon free zone , Pune 1 bhk flat on the market close to eon it park kharadi. Pune Mantri Vantage Amenities Builders might most likely be considered thought of that primarily regarding virtually in all probability probably the most acknowledged special affords that could absolutely create superior presently present choices from your mind of the actual had along with the considerable options. The society is just of 3 towers and it does not have a giant area total and mantri is giving what not within the small space, which would be just for amenity area could be very small as such. Real Estate Agencies available in Mantri with properties on the market are Mantri, Dileep Shetty and MHPL.

  These awards stand a sworn statement to the very best business practices adopted by Mantri Developers within the Indian construction business below the stalward management of Mr. Sushil Mantri. You might also try one thing different corresponding to Villa Mantri or Residence Hanspal Bhubaneswar. To make the most of your search Luxurious Flat Pune you might attempt the next key phrases Luxury Flat Pune, Condominium Pune, Home Pune. The Group commenced operations in Mumbai and has established vital presence within the Mantri Vantage In Pune metropolitan cities of Bangalore, Kochi, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Mysore and overseas in Dubai, Colombo and Saudi-Arabia. The customer, who's inquisitive about buying the property as per his affordability contacts the real property dealer firms and get details of the property, its current worth and its promoting worth (inclusive of their commission).

  Kharadi as a place with improvement potential were dismissed as hopeless optimists. You may additionally strive one thing different reminiscent of Land Mantri or House Hanspal Bhubaneswar. The bottom value band is INR 4750 /SFT to INR 5250 /SFT The final base worth shall be determined upon closure of the EoI acceptance window, but earlier than the initiation of allotment. We assure you that the flats Mantri Vantage In Kharadi Excessive A will complement your fashion of living.With excessive road retail and office areas, Ansal Centre Stroll in Sector 103, Gurgaon is a commercial challenge of Ansal Housing that also provides many residential projects and group housing societies near it. For example, DLF Gardencity in Gurgaon, a walk-to-work mission of the DLF group, has able to possession condo units at prices starting from Rs 2.sixty eight to 7.eleven crore.

[st0xinbris]

Phew… Sorry, it’s been awhile since my last post, I have been super busy with school and traveling and now back to school again. I am writing this on the bus back to Bristol. I’ve just dropped my brother off after a 2-week European excursion, as we called it. Let me try to pick up where I left off. After my “diplomatic month” November was eventful on a more social level. I met up with a few of my friends in Bournemouth to celebrate my friends Alix’s Birthday. It was pretty awesome as I got to most of my old friends from the uni I attended in England 5 (now 6) years ago. After catching up, it was unanimous that we venture into the city for the nightlife. See pictures here. As much fun as the partying was the next day was not! I thought my days of staying up until 4:30 were long behind me…wrong, what made it worse was catching my train back to Bristol at 10. Needless to say, I was pretty grumpy the next day. The weekend after proved to be just as adventurous as one of my mates here in Bristol invited me to his hometown in Hereford. Hereford is quite possibly the most “English” town I’ve been to, very quaint and traditional. One of the best surprises of this trip was a little burger joint called the rule of tum. That served a burger that would best most burgers back in the states. I didn’t believe Ryan when he told me it would be the best burger I’ve ever had, while that prestigious honor will always be held by in-n-out and ….., this burger was definitely one of the best I’ve ever had. Ryan and I decided that to make the most outta our trip to Hereford, that we would go hiking in Wales. This was my first trip to Wales and I have to say the wait was worth it. The hike proved to be one of the most beautiful hikes I've ever been on. Ryan and his brother took me to Penny Fan Hiking up …. Miles. The pictures speak for themselves, take a look here. Before I knew It, after a couple of eventful weeks, Thanksgiving was here. Now as you might imagine, this time period could be quite lonely, not to mention this was the first time I would not be at home celebrating with my family and friends. Luckily my buddy Ryan made me feel right at home, going for a few beers and catching up. I am thankful to have made some great friends here in the U.K. After drinks with Ryan, my American friends and I had previously arranged to have a Friendsgiving to celebrate with fellow Americans. It was certainly an eye-opening holiday for me, and I can wholeheartedly say that I am thankful for my country, my fellow Americans, and for My family and friends who supported me through the holidays. The days after thanksgiving signaled the start of some very academic heavy weeks. Firstly, I had two presentations due in the same week. So, as you can imagine I spent about a week on each. In case some of you were wondering my first presentation was centered around the question “are capitalism and environmental degradation inextricably linked?” my second presentation was in regards to is “Does ‘Feminism’ present a theory of International Relations or does it merely add a gendered perspective to existing accounts?” After a lot of research and delivering my presentation, I can tell you now that I received good marks on both of my presentations. After stressing about these presentations, the real work could begin, essay time. In the 2 weeks leading up to Christmas, I basically lived in the Library from 12pm-9pm. I had tasked myself with finishing 2 of 3, 4000-word essays before Christmas. The main reason was because on the 26 of December my brother would be arriving from Albuquerque. After struggling through those two weeks, I couldn’t have been more excited to complete my essays and as treat, I knew once I had finished I would be able to go pick my brother up from the airport. I finished both essays ahead of schedule and left Bristol on the 23rd bound for London. I spent Christmas and Christmas Eve with my friend Kelsey who lives in West London. I met Kelsey in my years at Hertfordshire. I was incredibly humbled to be spending Christmas with a good friend and her family. I spent Christmas just as I would have done at home, eating and watching movies with the family. Kelsey and her family have been incredibly kind to me during my stay here, I couldn’t have asked for a better friend. Needless to my real gift came on boxing day (December 26th), my little brother! Erik Arrived in London around 1 pm and hats off to him because after his arrival we had a 6-hour wait at Heathrow airport to catch our flight to Belfast, Northern Ireland. Luckily the flight was short and once we landed we got to our hotel in no time. After a good night’s sleep, our first day began with a black cab tour of Belfast’s troubled history. This tour was incredibly moving as I'm sure many of you know about the history of conflict in Belfast. If not click Here. Upon visiting the many of the troubled areas we eventually landed at the peace wall where my Brother and I signed our names, in the hopes of continued peace in Belfast. The cab tour was followed by a city walking tour, where we were guided through the city viewing specific sights that were affected by the troubles. It felt as if we had traveled through time, I think we both got somewhat a small taste as to what the troubles must have been like for the citizens of Belfast. Both of our tour guides lived and were personally affected by the troubles. Our next day and possibly my favorite day was a day trip to Giants causeway, one of the few natural UNESCO sights in Europe. While the primary reason was the trip to Giants Causeway, I think the best part of our tour was our guide. We hired a driver through…. And we were gifted with a driver named Francis. Francis was like a walking encyclopedia of anything Irish and English (cough) – anytime Francis mentioned the English he would cause, just a friendly reminder of the rivalry between the English and Irish. We could not have been more blessed than to cross paths with Francis, after mentioning that my dad’s family comes from England he took it upon himself to look up our last name and give us a brief history of our name and where in England our family comes from. Another reason for our trip was that it stopped at many of the scenic locations where game of thrones filmed. I know my co-workers back in Albuquerque will appreciate the photos. After sadly parting with Francis the next day was spent catching up on much-needed sleep however we did manage to walk through the city, and visit a few important sites, as well as the visiting the “best attraction of 2016” the titanic museum, situated one the land the titanic was built on. As many of you know I'm a sucker for museums and I have to tell you this is one of the most modern interactive museums I’ve ever been too. As you can imagine Erik and I tried to our best jack and Rose impressions, See pictures. We flew out of Belfast late on the 29th bound for Liverpool, England.

As many of you know, Liverpool is a special place in the Stocking household. First and foremost, Liverpool is home to Liverpool F.C., the football team that both my brother and I support in the Premier League (English Soccer League). Secondly, Liverpool is also home to one of our favorite bands, the Legendary Beatles. Now you may be asking why the Beatles well quite simply and speaking for myself (this is also possibly true of my brother), one of my fondest memories is of my dad, my brother and I taking numerous road trips to Arizona for spring training. On the 6+ hour drive to Tucson, my dad would always bring the Beatles greatest hits album and all three of us would usually be belting out the whole album together, I think it was probably for the best that my mom wasn’t there as I’m sure after a minute or so she would have been fed up with all of us singing out of tune, hahaha. Anyways, we arrived in Liverpool and our first stop was a Beatles Tour. Our tour Guide was very knowledgeable and knew pretty much everything in regards to the Beatles lore. We were able to visit sites such as the houses where John, George, Paul, and Ringo grew up, the place where they all met for the first time and where they played some of their first gigs. An especially favorite site of mine was a visit to the legendary Casbah. At the Casbah, we were given a private guided tour by Pete Best’s (Original Drummer of the Beatles) brother Paul. We rounded out our Beatlescentric tour at their world-famous Museum at the Albert Docks. While the museum was fantastic the site of the museum, the Albert Docks, it's truly a site that transports you back in time. We ended our day a pretty tasty burger joint, courtesy of my brother's American cravings. His American craving soon turned into my American craving, as we ended up eating an American breakfast (it had been awhile for me) the following morning. As soon as my pancake cravings subsided we journeyed to Anfield, home of the famed Liverpool Football Club. This was actually my 2nd visit to Anfield (I had visited 5 years ago), But this was different as this time my brother and I got to cheer and sing for England’s best football team. Since we didn’t know when we would get this chance again, my brother and I went all out on our LFC experience, taking a stadium tour and parking and a premium stadium experience that included free drinks, a 4-course meal, and fantastic seating. Liverpool were facing one of their fiercest rivals Manchester City Football Club, and I am happy to report Liverpool won the game 1-0. Liverpool won the last game as well, so I think it’s safe to say when the stocking boys are in attendance at Anfield, the odds of winning are for Liverpool. While short, our visit to Liverpool was highly memorable.

The coming days served as a transition and rest period. I spent the out 2-hour train journey from Liverpool to London touching up one of my essays, while my brother watched a film. Upon arrival to Islington, London (an area I haven’t explored too much), My brother recharged by going to the Cinema and eating probably one of the best German Kababs I’ve ever had. The following day proved to be very eventful as we attended the changing of the guards at Buckingham palace. If you are ever in London I would recommend this experience, nothing makes you feel more British and patriotic then this traditional military exercise (but get there early!). Following a visit to a Neapolitan pizza restaurant, we walked and shopped along the famous oxford circus. Due to a few extra hours on our hands and our proximity to the US embassy we decided to take a visit. I have to say to see our American flag and statues dedicated to our greatest historical figures (Theodore Roosevelt) and national events (9/11 and American eagle squadron), in Grosvenor-square is truly moving and a testament to the bond between the British and Americans. We soon realized it was time to head to the 02 arena to view a Star Wars exhibit currently being held in London. For anyone that doesn’t know my brother and I are huge Star Wars fans and this exhibit proved to be heaven for any fanboy/girl. The super interactive exhibit, containing actual movie props and histories of Star Wars lore from both the prequel and original trilogies. For the results on which Star Wars character I am click here. Feeling the Star Wars Buzz we decided it was best that after the exhibit we would go back to the cinema to watch the recently released Star Wars: Rogue One. Our trip to London was an outstanding success for our inner nerd but we had to catch as much rest as we could because we had to catch a 3 AM train to London Gatwick the following morning destination Livigno, Italy. From the moment, we stepped off the plane in Innsbruck, my brother and I could not have been more awestruck. With a fresh blanket of snow, the Alps truly are a sight to behold. The drive through Switzerland and finally to Italy could not have been more spectacular as we drove through the alps crossing the bluest rivers and streams I’ve ever seen. After finally arriving in Livigno, my brother and I took a moment to take rest a bit and take in the amazing Italian cuisine. For those that know me well, I love Italian more so with authentic Italian I was in Heaven. Needless to say, the food during our duration in Italy was worth the trip in itself. While we did not get much fresh snow on our trip the two mountains provided plenty for us to enjoy. I think we hit almost every run that was open. Also worth a mention was our hotel, Ironically name Hotel Amerikan. The Hotel was fantastic, and the staff and pizzeria were a true reflection of the region.  After some great runs, a few beers, and many laughs, sadly our journey wrapped up on Saturday as we flew back to London. After a nice relaxing afternoon and a hotel dinner, I dropped my brother off at Heathrow Airport Sunday morning leaving us both with the fondest memories our trip. It was so refreshing having my brother here, as all my stresses and worries were dissolved, not to mention just catching up with my kid brother, it’s like nothing has changed since we have been apart. I know we will both look back on this trip utmost happiness.  

 With that I've pretty much caught you up. I hope to write back again soon! Stay tuned.

[thewandrblog-blog]

Fly to Medellín, But Don't Miss Guatapé

A few days ago, I arrived in Colombia for the first time since I spent 22 days here in January, 2015. During that introductory trip, I got to know a few of the country's most popular cities, including; Bogotá, Medellín, Santa Marta, and Cartagena, and decided that Medellín was my favorite. Needless to say, when I booked my two-week trip back to the area, I was very excited to return. After just three days since my return, however, I might have a new favorite- Guatapé!

Okay- comparing Guatapé to Medellín might be like comparing lulo and maracuya (those are Colombian fruits), but this little town definitely left an impression, and if you're flying into MDE, you'd be a fool to miss it! 

 How I Found It

By the grace of my dear friends, I've been staying with their family in a town called San Antonio de Pereira, which is just a short drive from Medellín Airport (MDE). It's a nice town in the countryside with a lot of history- The Constitution of 1863 for the country's independence was actually written here!

My friends have been looking into a potential move here, so this trip has been mostly about seeing what the options are, and exploring the land where they might want to live. They prefer their peace and quiet, and have many friends in the area, so I've been seeing a lot of it by tagging along for the search. Yesterday, our good friend, Diego, brought us to see some nearby farmland, which was more than impressive. I can't get over how green everything is in Colombia, and I've been reminded during these three days why they Medellín has been dubbed "The City of Eternal Spring."

Yesterday, Diego invited us to see his home in Guatapé, which he said would be a 45 minute drive east of San Antonio, which is in the opposite the direction that one would drive to get to the city of Medellín. So today, he picked us up at 8:00 a.m. in his pickup truck, and we embarked on one of the most beautiful drives I've ever taken. 

 The Drive

If you ever have the pleasure of visiting Colombia, driving through the rolling hills of Antioquia is something that you simply must convince yourself to do. The vegetation, the views, and the humble people of the region will leave an impression in your memory that you'll take with you to the grave. The food probably will too!

Diego knows seemingly every back road, delicious restaurant, and person in the entire state of Antioquia, so about halfway through the awe-inspiring secret journey, he introduced us to a hillside restaurant where the local working people of the region eat. An empty rustic table welcomed us, and a glance around revealed chorizo (spiced sausage) hanging from rails, no doubt freshly made by the nearby farmers. 

After few minutes, we were brought farm fresh eggs, arepas (a flat, somewhat thick bread made from corn), queso fresco (a very fresh and mild cheese), chorizo, and buñuelos (something like a fried cornbread), along with giant cups of milo (hot chocolate). Accept no substitutes- the real deal cannot be imitated! Stuffed to the brim, we carried on with our beautiful journey. 

 The Rock & The Reservoir

As we entered Guatapé, a giant monolith entered into view, known locally as "El Peñon." It's a towering feature seen from almost any location in the region, and one can climb the 740 steps if they wish for breathtaking views of the surrounding peaks and valleys, the latter of which are submerged in giant reservoir (which they call a lake) that was created in the 1960s. This has had a profound affect on the community by introducing water sports, hotels, and dreamlike views.

Diego's home was situated beautifully on this reservoir in peninsula-like fashion with breathtaking views of El Peñon and the surrounding region. Beautiful plants, trees, and flowers highlighted all of the houses in the area, and I couldn't help but feel contempt for the media and the picture it has painted about this beautiful country. Thinsg have changed since the times of Pablo Escobar, and the mainstream media has a lot of catching up to do.

 Guatapé

After a coffee and a tour of the lake on his boat, our friend Diego brought us into the charming little town of Guatapé, which is one of the most unique and colorful cities I've ever seen in my life. In fact, they are known to be one of the 30 Most Colorful Cities in the world!

Brilliant, contrasting colors highlight every detail in the maze of the shops and houses. It looks something like the "La Candelaria" region of Bogotá, with an ornately painted church and picturesque cobblestone streets that are fun to get lost in. Every building's facade is uniquely decorated with three-dimensional designs, carved into (or out of?) the stone and represents either the things that the shops sell, or the storied history of the family or region. How cool! 

It was relatively quiet today, being that it was a Wednesday, and very enjoyable to walk around and have a beer in. I hear it gets pretty wild on the weekend though, so plan your visits accordingly! Artisanal shops and restaurants line the streets and most everybody was very friendly. This is one of those towns you could spend several days in without getting tired of it. And if you do- there are just so many great things to do and see nearby!

I'm excited to see the city of Medellín again, but this is a very different experience. If you're into quaint, artsy villages and the scenic, charming unknown, then you simply can't miss Guatapé.