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lianneoelke · 5 years

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Yukon Gold, Part 2: An Involuntary Dismount From the Canoe

Good morning from Fort Selkirk!

With bellies full of hearty chilli and a sky full of smoke, JJ and Falcon Heavy were ready to hit the river for our fourth day of canoeing down the Yukon River.

We were only five minutes past Fort Selkirk when JJ realized we forgot a radio and both cans of bear spray. We couldn’t just turn around and paddle upstream, so we had to land so Brian could run up the beach and grab everything (which was left on the above picnic table). After that, we were well on our way to an 80km day.

We spotted a black bear munching berries on an island.

We weren’t the only group on the river making a pilgrimage to Dawson City for the music festival. We’d play leapfrog with the same groups so often we came up with nicknames:

Spanish Armada: the group of nine Spaniards that made giant Spanish omelettes for breakfast and tied two canoes together because they had an odd number of people.

Walmart: the family that travelled with camping chairs, big tarps, and coolers. JJ disliked Walmart. JJ thought Walmart was American. Those are two separate sentences. Walmart was actually from Whitehorse.

Gold Diggers: a husband and wife that would set up on islands and pan for gold. Or so it seemed.

Reckless Youth: a handful of twenty-somethings from UBC with an aversion to life jackets.

Father & Son: they had little to say, to us or each other.

Frenchies: two French guys. That’s it.

Christmas Trees: a red and green boat of women having a jolly old time.

We learned the Spanish Armada planned to camp at the site we were aiming for that night. We could have joined them, but I, for one, did not travel all that way to the middle of nowhere to make new friends. So we had to find somewhere else. We came across another good campsite early in the day, but the weather was beautiful and we wanted to get more kilometers in, so we kept pushing. This moment would be remembered as the time we “got greedy”.

Storm clouds blew in fast. When thunder started booming, Brian told us all to get off the river. So we did. And we waited. Then the rain started. And we waited some more.

Brian (very reasonably) didn’t want to get back on the water until thirty minutes after the last thunder, but the thunder wouldn’t let up. Things were looking grim. Then we remembered we had snacks. We survived on gummy bears, chips, tea, toasted pita and hummus, and craft hot chocolate from Portland, for the two and a half hours it took for the storm to pass.

Spirits wavered but never failed.

By the time the storm passed, we still had another ten kilometers to paddle before we reached our goal of Brittania creek, and we found ourselves in the curious position of chasing the storm we had just weathered. When we finally arrived, the site was full of bugs, but at least there weren’t any new friends buzzing around.

For dinner I made a bastardized version of Pad Thai, using the canoe as a table while being swarmed by mosquitoes. I quickly realized why this particular packet of curry paste was left untouched in our cupboard for years.

By this point JJ had given up on the trappings of individuality and had matured into a fully realized single entity. So when JJ cast a line and caught their first decently sized fish at 11.36 pm, the three of us celebrated the incredible testament to JJ’s speed, momentum, and finesse. Considering all the rain we endured, we figured it was safe to build a small beach fire to cook the fish.

We all came to regret this decision, as the fish remains and fish-smoked clothes had to be dealt with before we could finally go to bed, in order to minimize bear attraction. However, since I cooked that night, I was able to dodge clean up. I went to bed without a care in the world.

Day five dawned sunny and misty. We knew this would also be a big day, but for a very different reason. This was the day we’d reach the bakery. Yes, somehow there was a bakery in the middle of nowhere on the Yukon River.

Power strokes would get us there quicker.

Of course we had to stop whenever we came across moose trampling through the bushes, beavers smacking their tails, and bears ambling down the beach.

The bakery turned out to be less of a bakery and more of a family home that sold $18 omelettes and saran-wrapped cookies (we bought them all). We payed $8 each to stay the night. Camping in someone else’s backyard to listen to their kids blast music and play in their pool felt strange after the solitude of the river, but we knew the daily thunderstorm would hit us soon and the last thing we needed was to “get greedy” again. So we settled in, washed up, and tackled laundry.

JJ waiting out the 6 o’clock thundershowers.

Of course, no camping trip with JJ (formerly Rob) would be complete without curry. JJ made us a heaping pot, just in time for more rain showers.

The next day we found ourselves fresh out of fresh ingredients, so we climbed aboard the COUS COUS train and headed for dehydration station.

Rafting up for snacks and map checks.

We had lunch at the island right before the White River, which poured all its glacial silt into the Yukon. The two rivers blended like miso soup. JJ made ramen while Brian flew his drone for a better view.

After lunch, we found a short but steep trail to hike.

After the merge we could no longer filter our water from the river, which was so thick we couldn’t even see our own feet when we dipped them in. All the silt brushing against our canoes made a constant fizzing noise, like a never-ending glass of coke being poured.

Just a couple bros enjoying happy hour with river-chilled beer.

After the relative business of the “bakery”, we decided to camp on an undesignated island covered in moose tracks. While the views and privacy were top notch, all the silt made for very muddy shores.

Brian made delicious minestrone soup for dinner, then treated us to freeze-dried ice cream sandos in honour of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.

You can only get dishes so clean in the silty water, but on day six, cleanliness was no longer a priority. Brian had bought a last minute gold pan in Whitehorse, and while it didn’t find us any gold, it did make an excellent vessel for washing dishes and laundry.

The sky was still light at 1 am, because the sky was always light. We went to bed when it was light. We woke up when it was light. Time had no meaning on the river. It created (for me, at least) a sense of security. Openness. Like the Yukon had nothing to hide. But the truth was, we were in the middle of nowhere, hundreds of kilometers from the nearest town, on a muddy river where every island was covered with bear, wolf, and moose tracks.

We woke to the sound of splashing outside our tent. I immediately thought the moose had come to do us in, but instead of moose on the loose, we saw a gaggle of goose.

These banks were home to countless cliff swallows that zipped along the river, eating bugs. Yum.

“JJ first.”

There’s gold in them there hills. But not really.

Our last night on the river was spent at the Mechem Creek site. We set up camp as Brian howled in the cold cold creek, washing off the heat of the day.

Fire bans don’t count on the last day of the trip. Not if it’s been raining every day and you’re careful. JJ struggled to get the fire going (which Brian and I found slightly concerning, considering how dry the sticks were), but all’s well that ends well.

I made a pesto surprise COUS COUS dinner with brownie bear poo for dessert. Everyone saved some sort of fun surprise for their last meal.

“Very good food on this trip. Every meal has been at least a solid 7.5 out of 10.” - JJ

The site at Mechem creek turned out to be my favourite camp site, not least because we saved a bag of wine for that night.

We woke up at 6am up to a brilliant, clear sky.

JJ treated us to one last meal on the river.

There’s nothing better than a well packed canoe!

River travel is tiring work.

We rafted up for one last ceremonial flip of the map, which brought us to our final page. Spirits were high. Jokes were shared. We were finally on the home stretch of our 8 day, 400 km paddle through the Yukon wilderness.

Minutes away from Dawson City, disaster struck.

Brian wanted to stop for a drone shot of Dawson before we paddled in, so we radioed JJ to let them know to land at the tip of the next island. Unable to reach the point in time, JJ decided to land mid island, where the strong current had eroded the bank, causing several trees to topple. It was a bad place to land, and they came in hot hot hot.

Official statement from JJ:

“JJ experienced an involuntary dismount resulting in minor losses from the deck and a minor intake of water. However, the landing was successful.”

JJ thought the word “capsize” was too passionate for the encounter, but Falcon Heavy disagreed. When JJ’s canoe met land, the current hit from underneath, tipping the canoe and its contents upstream. Brian turned to me and said “They capsized. They did exactly what I told them not to do.” No one was injured, although Jordan’s solar panel and Rob’s hat and beloved binoculars were lost to the water. Falcon Heavy found a safe eddy to pull in, then Brian brought out the drone while we waited for JJ to get their shit together.

The paddle of shame.

We had just got back in the water when we heard the unmistakable rumble of thunder. We were faced with a dilemma: get off the water, like all Brian’s experience suggested we do, or “get greedy” and paddle hard to race the storm.

We paddled hard...

... but not so hard we didn’t have time to admire the first and only fox we saw on the river.

That’s Dawson City at the top.

This time our gamble paid off, and we made it to the docks with nae drama (except for the paddleboat that honked at us to get out of its spot).

Safe and sound in Dawson City, it was time to look back at our favourite and not so favourite moments of the canoe trip.

JJ (Jordan)

Highlight: Fort Selkirk. Just the whole fort. So cool.

Lowlight: Involuntary canoe dismount and loss of solar panel.

Gold Star: Gold Pan/Brian Shaw for getting the gold pan.

JJ (Rob)

Highlight: The River (as a tangible entity and metaphysical being) The colours, the current, the curves...the feeling.

Lowlight: Involuntary canoe dismount and loss of binoculars.

Gold Star: JJ. The physical embodiment of speed, momentum and finesse.*

*In all my years of highlight/ lowlight/ gold star, I have never seen someone award the gold star to themselves.

Brian

Highlight: All the Yukon cabins. The history of the Yukon Crossing, the trees growing out of Thom’s Location cabin roof, the historically intact cabins of Fort Selkirk (inside and out), and all the private cabins we saw in between.

Lowlight: Cleaning up the fish & fire at Britannia Creek between midnight and 1am, exhausted from the long day, swarmed by bugs, still stinking of fish, right into the tent.

Gold Star: Jordan, for making the trip (and JJ) happen by stepping in at the last minute and filling the spot, prepared and enthusiastic, and a strong paddler.

Lianne

Highlight: The beautiful site and tasty food at Mechem Creek. Also the fact that none of the canoeists that stopped by the creek for water decided to stay the night, because sharing the site would have really killed the vibe.

Lowlight: Spending hours waiting out the day four thunderstorm under a tarp.

Gold Star: The map. Following along and “staying found”, as Brian would say, was easy and delightful.

Bonus Gold Star: Brian Shaw. The unofficial leader of our canoe trip, Brian looked after us all with his experience, well-muscled arms, moon landing trivia, sexy beard, and positive attitude.

As always, most of the good pics were taken by Brian. He put together an album of the 2019 Yukon River greatest hits:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/22674099@N08/albums/72157710102335767/page1

Stay tuned for the third and final part of Yukon Gold. Dawson City will bring a music festival, rowdy casino, epic hike, and a real life Yukon character known as “the Ghost”.

#yukon #yukongold #yukonriver #canoe #canoeing #canoecamping #exploreyukon #dawson #camping #canada #explorecanada

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chrysaliseuro2019 · 5 years

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FLATVIA

Leaving Riga but first things first, where to eat breakfast. Peter had seen a place but it was 9.30 and the cafe didn’t open until 10. Searched around for other earlier opening options but nothing suitable. By the time we’d faffed around in Riga’s near empty streets 10 o’clock had come and gone. Back to plan A, Peter’s suggestion Handmade Kitchen, which was a ripper.

Packed up, taxi to airport to pick up our car and head 150+ kilometres south west of Riga to Kuldiga which looked to have a bit recommending it on the google search. Raining at the outset but it soon cleared and the sun shone for the remainder of the day. Went via Jûrmala a seaside town near Riga. Pretty town with many weatherboard houses similar to the clapboard homes in New England on east coast of USA. Beach was huge, long, wide and sandy and my toes surprisingly told me the Baltic Sea wasn’t as cold as we all expected. The Latvians weren’t put off by the less than balmy 22 degrees, making the most of it and enjoying their summer swim. Lovely beach to walk along with only a couple of uber modern low rise and tasteful hotels placed on the edge of the beach where it joined the national park.

With 150 kms to go to Kuldiga, Peter our nominated driver and Chris his co pilot got to work with the help of our new best friend WAZE app. Lift your game Narelle, you’ve been pretty slack. Cindy from WAZE warns us of all upcoming hazards and speed traps and the car’s travelling speed. She is Chris’ new crush.

The drive initially was through forests of silver birches and pines looking a lot like Sweden but later opened out to a flat and arable landscape. Lots of fields with rolls of hay bales, some corn and cows. Very few houses and villages as we made our way to Kuldīga and certainly nowhere to stop for lunch. We made do with some fruit from a road side cafe and Chris, always on the lookout for new flavours, was thrilled to find Malaysian Red Curry Pringles.

Hotel booking was, as is often the case for us, done on the fly. Finding it a bit more difficult to locate somewhere with two rooms, I settled on a hotel just out of Kuldīga. Arrived in the little town at around 4.30pm and drove straight in to do a quick reccy to see what was on offer. Not much. Sue thought it looked like an American Wild West town with its wide streets. Didn’t take much imagination to envisage stage coaches rattling into town and gun slinging cowboys swaggering out of saloon doors. It didn’t have saloon doors nor tumbleweeds blowing down the Main Street but if it did they wouldn’t have looked out of place. Instead the timber buildings housed some uninspiring gift shops and a few frock shops that we didn’t trouble. In spite of all this and possibly because of it, it was quaintly endearing.

At the end of the Main Street was the main plaza and there alongside a country pub kind of tavern was the most unexpected, incongruous but very welcome mirage in the form of a hipster restaurant. This was not only the coolest place in town but arguably the coolest place outside of Riga. It would have looked 100% at home in Fitzroy, Collingwood et al. Booked a table for 8pm and then went in search of our hotel. Cindy found it a bit tough going testing her new beau’s patience but eventually we found it. Gorgeous but slightly spooky looking double storey timber hotel somewhat reminiscent of the Munster’s House. Chris later told me as I went in to check it was the right place etc that he, Sue and Peter had made this reference and Peter had jokingly left the car running for a quick getaway if required. It was an imposing old place and we did have breakfast there the next morning in a room reached through a maze of heavily decorated rooms but our bedrooms were in the new detached annex. Turned out not such a bad thing as the rooms were well set up and a good size.

Back to town for drinks and dinner at the hipster restaurant which was doing a roaring trade. The waitress even had the hipster too cool for school nonchalance. Have totally forgotten what we ate and whether we had dessert but remember we all enjoyed it. More importantly they had a decent wine list so a fine bottle of red and glasses of rosé were enjoyed. Walked the 20 minutes back to our accommodation at 10pm in the fading light, sated and happy.

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witkoa61 · 7 years

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Have You Ever Chapter 2

TITLE OF STORY: Have You Ever

CHAPTER NUMBER: Chapter 2

AUTHOR: Witkoa61

WHICH TOM/CHARACTER: Actor Tom

STORY GENRE: Drama, Action, Romance

STORY SUMMARY: Tom sees a woman fall from an overlook while hiking in a northern Wisconsin nature reserve. He goes to help her only to learn that her fall was no accident and the man that pushed her is not happy she survived the fall. The race is on to get out of the woods.

STORY RATING: Mature. Some strong language.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Still getting the hang of writing. Having a lot of fun learning!

CHAPTER WARNINGS/TRIGGERS: Some violence. If you’re reading, please do let me know. Thank you so much for reading.

Chapter 1

“What do we do now?” Cady quietly asked the man pacing back and forth in front of her.

“I’m not really sure.” He replied as he stopped pacing and turned to face her. “Obviously, we need to find a way out of this woods. That’s going to be a bit more challenging as you’re down to only one functional leg. It doesn’t help us any that it’s going to be dark soon. I guess we need to decide if we’re going to try to set up some sort of camp for the night or if we want to keep moving and try to find our way out of here in the dark.”

“Go on without me. Find some help and send them here for me.” Cady wasn’t sure where she was getting this sense of fearlessness from. “You can find your way out of this place a lot faster than I can in my current state. Whatever happened up on that ledge, it shouldn’t have to be your problem. I’ll stay right here and wait until you can send help.”

Cady looked up at Tom when she finished speaking. She was struggling to make eye contact with him. Shyness was one of her greatest weaknesses. Her anxiety around men multiplied by the degree that she found the man attractive. This crippling fear had held her back from having any kind of a romantic life. In some cruel twist of fate, she now found herself fully dependent upon one of, if not the most, attractive man she had ever met.

“No. That’s not going to work for me.” Tom replied. He had caught her looking at him and was holding her gaze. Cady wanted to break the eye contact but couldn’t get herself to look away from the ocean blue depths she found herself in. “I would definitely lose my gentleman’s card if I left an injured damsel in distress alone in the woods overnight. Plus, to be completely honest, I’m not sure I can find my way out of here in the dark. I’ve never been much of an outdoorsmen. Even if I found my way out, I don’t think I’d be able to send help straight back to you.

I think it best if we plan on spending the night here and finding a way out in the morning after sunrise.

I think we’ll make a camp here for the night.”

“How are we going to do that? I doubt either one of us planned on camping tonight. I don’t have any type of camping gear with me. How are we going to make it through the night without freezing to death?” Cady asked. She wasn’t sure if it was shock or just the air temperature but she was beginning to feel cold. She had dressed for the weather today. She was wearing thermal underwear beneath her jeans. She had worn an old t-shirt under a hoodie. Lastly she had worn her winter coat. This clothing had kept her comfortable in the 50 degree Fahrenheit weather but she could feel the temperature growing colder. It could drop down below freezing during the night this time of year.

“We are going to be ok. First thing we need to do, now that it’s decided that we’re staying right here, is do something about your leg.” Tom said as he began to walk toward Cady.

“Whoa, buddy! Stop right there! You’re an actor, not a doctor! No one is touching my leg. Hell! I’m not even touching my leg. I’d rather just ignore it and hope for the best!”

“Cadence. It’s Cadence right?” Tom stopped when he reached Cadence on her perch upon the rock.

“Yes. That’s right.” The man really was tall, she thought as she looked up at him. And much too handsome. The 5 o’clock shadow that was beginning to darken his face made him appear a bit wild. He looked like someone you would not want to cross paths with in the woods at night. That is, until you looked into his eyes. The painter Auguste Renoir would have had a field day painting the man currently standing in front of her. “Please, like I said earlier, call me Cady. I’m only Cadence if I’m in trouble.”

“Fine, Cady. We have to check your leg and determine how badly you’re hurt. Then we need to come up with some type of splint for it. Now sit still while I take a look.” Tom sat on the rock beside Cady on her left side. Cady was sitting with her right leg folded in front of her and her left leg lying straight in front of her. Her jeans were somewhat large on her. A better diet and trying to be more active had helped her lose a few pounds over the winter months. It was impossible to tell from looking at her leg, encased in her jeans, how badly she was injured.

“Your leg doesn’t appear to be bleeding. That’s a positive at least. We will still need to stabilize it so that we can move in the morning without making anything worse.” He said as he very gently began to untie the laces of the shoe on her left foot.

Cady nearly laughed when she was overcome with relief that she had decided to put on a new pair of socks this morning. Then she remembered which brand new socks she had put on. They had arrived yesterday with the rest of her order from Amazon. That was when she heard the small choke of laughter come from next her. Damn! She thought to herself. He noticed. Cady’s socks were Loki green and had Loki’s horned helmet printed in gold on the sides.

“Nice socks,” he quipped as he set her shoe to the side and began to slide her sock down her left foot. Tom then placed his right index and middle fingers on Cady’s foot and checked for a pulse. “I feel a pulse. Whatever damage has been done, your leg is still getting adequate blood flow. Are you able to wiggle your toes?”

Grimacing from the pain it caused, Cady was able perform the requested toe wiggling.

“Excellent Darling! That’s very good. I can see some bruising on your leg and your ankle is also pretty swollen.

Being that we’re stranded here for the night, I’m going to splint your left leg to your right leg. It’s going to make it tricky for you to move and you’re going to need to trust me. It’s the most secure way to splint your leg for the night. We’ll have to figure something out later for when we’re ready to move.” Tom began to rummage in a small back pack that Cady hadn’t noticed earlier. From it, he pulled out a small first aid kit.

“You sure prepare for everything when you go for a run, don’t you?”

“I carry the kit to address blisters and such that sometimes cause issues. It’s no fun to be half way through a 10 km run and develop blisters and no way to deal with them.” Tom replied as he pulled a couple of long white bandages from the kit.

“I’m going to be as gentle as I can be while I do this. Please let me know if the pain becomes too much.

First, I need you to straighten out this leg,” he said gently touching her uninjured right leg, “and place it straight along your left leg here.”

Cady did as he asked. The outdoors and medicine had been two areas that she had never had much interest in. Now she hated her lack of knowledge in these areas as she allowed a man, she only knew from watching him perform on her television, essentially tie her up.

She watched as he snaked one of the bandages beneath her knees and the other one beneath her ankles. Tom then stood up and removed his belt. The belt he set down next to her. He then removed his jacket, which he also set by her. Underneath his jacket, he had a hoodie on. The hoodie was the next to come off. Cady wasn’t sure where this was going. It was getting cooler out as the sun was beginning to go down. Not ideal strip tease weather.

“Ahhh, Tom, what are you doing? It’s not really that warm out.”

“Hehehe. Don’t get too excited. I need to use something to cushion between your legs. My hoodie should do the trick.” Tom replied while putting his jacket back on. “As for the belt. I need it for the splinting. I don’t have enough long bandages.”

He walked around to her feet as he was talking. Bending down, he placed his hoodie between Cady’s calves. Next, using his belt, Tom slid it beneath both her ankles, he then crossed the belt and looped it down under the bottoms of her feet. He secured it as tightly as he could. Her ankles were the next thing to be secured.

“You must tell me if this causes too much pain.”

Cady clamped her jaw shut as Tom began to tighten the first bandage. “Ok! Stop! That’s good. I don’t think I can stand it any tighter.”

“All right. Now I’m going to start tightening the last one here at your knees. Again, please tell me when it’s tight enough.”

When had life become a scene right out of a movie? Cady thought to herself. Everything felt very surreal. Yet the pain was real, very real.

“Ouch! Stop. Too tight!” Cady hissed as she was brought out of her thoughts by sharp pain. Tom quickly loosened the bandage a bit.

“Is that better?” he anxiously asked her.

“Yea. It is actually. I can’t move. At all. But my leg does a feel a little better though.”

“Ok. Next thing to do. Shelter. I guess start with a fire? That will give us warmth and light.”

Cady watched Tom as he walked around their impromptu camp site. He was collecting medium sized rocks and making a pile of them near where Cady was perched on her rock shelf.

“What are you up to now Tom?”

“Fortunately, there’s very little wind today. I still want to take precautions against our fire becoming bigger than we intended it to be. We should be ok if we create a small fire pit and surround it with these rocks.”

“Sounds brilliant but how are you going to start this fire?”

“With this wonderful little magical creation,” Tom replied digging a lighter out of his back pack. “Never know when someone’s going to need a light!”

“What else do you have in your bag Mary Poppins?” Cady teased the curly haired man in front of her.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He teased back as he dropped the last stone down onto the top of the pile.

Sitting cross-legged next to the pile of stones, Tom began to dig out an area for the fire. Cady noticed that Tom had found a stone that was shaped such that it made an adequate scoop. It didn’t take him long to dig out a shallow hole to have a fire pit. The stones were placed around the outside of this hole to act as a fire block.

“Don’t run off while I find some wood to fuel our fire,” Tom said as he walked off into the woods.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Cadence had been just about to doze off when she heard Tom returning to their camp.

“Sorry that took so long. I hate leaving you here alone, especially when you’re splinted and unable to move. I think I’ve found enough dry wood to get the fire started.” Tom looked at her with concern in her eyes.

“Tom, do you have any water in that magic bag of yours?”

“I do. Just my water bottle that I bring with me while running. It’s still almost full. Here you go.” He said handing the bottle to her.

Cady took a long drink from the bottle. She wanted to drink it all but it wouldn’t be good if they were without water. Setting the half full bottle down beside her, she began to watch Tom’s progress with the fire.

As far as she could tell, Tom seemed to know what he was doing. He had shredded up some dried leaves and made a pile of them in the center of the freshly dug out fire area. Now he was taking smaller twigs, and making a teepee shaped structure over the leaves. Next he applied the flame, from the lighter, to the leaves. The fire took quickly and Tom began to place additional small twigs onto the pile of burning leaves. A few minutes later, a small fire was happily snapping and popping beside them.

“Where did you learn all this stuff? The splinting and the fire building? I thought you were born and raised a city boy over in bonny England.”

“I am, admittedly, a city boy. In my profession, one does tend to pick up a few skills here and there. To be honest, the two skills you mentioned are actually two of my newest skills. I’m working on a picture that is filming north of here. It deals with wild fire firefighters. My part is that of a “smoke jumper” or a firefighter that parachutes into difficult to reach areas. In researching this role, I studied up on fires and on emergency care.”

“You are an excellent student. I’d give you a solid B so far.”

“A B score? Really? I would have thought I had done A level work so far!” Tom exclaimed in surprise.

“Calm down there buddy!” Cady laughed at his outburst. “We are still lost in the woods. Otherwise I would have given you an A.”

Tom looked a little crestfallen. The look passed. It hadn’t taken Cady long to realize how much of an optimist Tom was. It seemed that no matter what situation the man found himself in, he consciously chose to work toward positive outcomes. Never had he complained yet. Cady was impressed by his attitude and wished her own attitude was more like his.

“I don’t intend for us to be lost here for long.” Tom replied as he picked up one of the longer sticks he had brought back with him. “Now to set up a bit of shelter for us.” He began to look around the area. “I don’t see any large old branches up above us that could fall. That’s the last thing we need tonight is to be crushed. I feel we have quite enough going on already.” Tom proceeded to set up a bit of a lean-to made up of branches and leaves. The wind was coming out of the north and so he set up the lean-to north of where Cady was currently positioned on the rock. She was beginning to feel warm for the first time since the sun had gone down. She had the fire a couple of feet in front of her. The lean-to behind her had stopped a majority of the cold wind from hitting her.

“How’s that?” Tom asked from behind her as he was placing the last of the leaves onto the lean-to.

“Not bad! Not exactly like being home in bed but at least it’s not freezing cold anymore.” Cady was becoming sore from lying on her back for so long.

“Tom, do you think you can help me to lie down? I’m getting tired. Weird, since I’m in so much pain, you wouldn’t think I could get tired. I really would like to try lying on my side.”

“Just a moment darling. Let me put some more wood onto the fire. Then we’ll get you situated.”

Cady watched Tom add more wood to the small fire. She then watched as he removed a few items from his backpack. Next Tom began to fill the now empty backpack with dry leaves. When he was finished with that, he gently sat down next to her.

“This should make an acceptable pillow. I’m sorry I don’t have any ideas on how to make this rock any softer. I don’t want to move you onto the ground. I think that trying to get you up from the ground will be a lot more difficult that getting you up from this rock. This rock is plenty wide enough for the two of us to share. We’ll get you lying on your side. I’ll lay behind you to help support your legs.”

Tom helped Cady to slowly maneuver her splinted legs to the side. Her right leg on the bottom and her injured leg on the top. Once she had herself turned over she laid down and Tom placed the make shift pillow beneath her head. He then laid down behind her like he had said he would.

Cady had to swallow a moment of panic. She had never had anyone lay this close to her. Not even her sisters when they were little. The physical closeness of another person was bringing up a lot of insecurities for Cady. She was doing what she could to fight the panic. Succumbing to panic was not going to make this night any easier.

#tom hiddleston fanfiction #have you ever #chapter 2

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mytravelnama · 4 years

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Prologue

“The castle is on the very edge of a terrible precipice. A stone falling from the window would fall a thousand feet without touching anything! As far as the eye can reach is a sea of green tree tops….” My trance of the horror was cut short by the doorbell and it was none other than the gate-keeper of our housing society with the water bill of the month. You must be all wondering what was I doing all the time? The quote was from the pages of Stoker’s masterpiece “Dracula” which I was literally gulping on this rainy afternoon…The mystery and horror of the castle once again run a spell of cold sweat in my body till my wife returned from her office.

Adieu Parvati Valley: Our journey from Kasol to Naggar

On the way to the Castle

We were on our 3 hour drive from Kasol to the Castle. You must be wondering which castle was I talking about and that too in Himachal Pradesh? It was obviously not Castle Dracula! But the inspiration was definitely there.

Route Map to Castle Naggar from Kullu (Courtesy: Google Maps)

I had been to Castle Naggar several times. But spending a day and night in a Royal Suite had hardly ever cropped in my mind. I was wondering what kind of experience would be there as a takeaway? It took almost one and half hour to reach Kullu with the Manali highway being in pathetic condition. After leaving Kullu instead of taking the Beas Bridge taking to the other bank of the river we took the Bijli Mahadev Marg also known as the Kullu-Naggar-Manali Road to our right. A few kilometers ahead the Beas was bifurcated by two streams flowing downstream and we continued our drive taking its right bank until we reached Seobagh. Leaving Seobagh led to our gradual climb. After another 20 mins drive we were right there in Naggar bazaar. We turned right again leaving the Manali road with a stiff climb. With few meters more climb….the gorgeous structure of the castle was already visible.

Welcome to Castle Naggar

Castle Naggar

The main gate of the Castle had a deserted appearance. Normally you see a pile of tourist cabs and groups of tourists buzzing around the corridor for car parking. It was understandable nobody expected to be on tour on a Bhaidhuj festival. The lone person in the ticket counter asked for entry tickets.

Destination Castle Naggar

When we showed our reservation papers, he led us to the reception. On this odd day the manager was obviously not on his desk. Feeling our presence he rushed in probably from the restaurant kitchen. After completing the check-in formalities a chauffeur took our luggage to our suite while we decided to explore the Castle.

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My attention was right on the Castle Walls

Castle Naggar (Near the Reception Center)

While I thanked our cab driver, my attention shifted to the wooden billboard talking about the history of Castle Naggar. The Castle remained the seat of the Royal Dynasty of the Kullu Maharaja. Historians are of the opinion that probably the Castle was built by Raja Sidh Singh of Kullu in the year 1460. The majestic structure was probably built by bringing huge blocks of stones from Garhdhek of Baragarh across the river Beas. The main door of the castle was carved out of massive tree.

The courtyard near the reception

The architecture the of the castle remains uses the traditional “Kathkooni” housing style popular in the villages of Kullu. The splendor lied in the way how such huge stone walls and the roof structures were held together only by using gigantic wooden beams. The castle was used as a royal residence by the Kullu kings until the middle of 17th century. HPTDC took over the castle in the year 1978. On 19th August 2012 Castle Naggar was declared as a National Heritage property.

The “Jagti Patt” Temple, Castle Naggar

My son suddenly pulled my jacket and asked me what those three metal axes on the castle walls were for. Pointing out at the skull of a mountain goat, I explained him probably these were used for hunting, chopping off wood and protecting the people from intruders. It was going to be 12.30pm and we decided to have lunch and enjoy the majestic restaurant balconies in the first floor of the main building.

Trout Dishes for Good Health

Trout Curry & Steamed Rice

While moving in, I found a placard to our left talking highly of Trout meals which was one of the delicacies in the day’s menu. Being Bongs we were immediately mesmerized by the scent of freshly fried fish in mustard oil. We ordered steamed rice and trout curry for lunch. The galleries outside the dining hall were truly majestic.

The galleries outside the dining hall were truly majestic

Waiting for the lunch to be served

We decided to be there very soon after our lunch. The interior of the dining hall had lot of resemblance to old British Bungalows we had earlier seen in and around Himachal. Probably the British had a role play to bring about some major architectural renovations keeping the exterior traditional look intact. The furniture used in the dining room had a majestic Lutyen flavor still flagging the flamboyancy of the by-gone era. The dishes were about to be served. It was admirable that the management of HPTDC maintained strict professional standards for service, including the choice of crockery and the overall presentation of the dishes being served.

Trout Curry & Steamed Rice

I am not overrating myself. The fishes were indeed fresh and the taste of the dish was awesome. Later I got to know that trouts were not harvested from the Beas, rather they are bred artificially in a village Haripur (Haripur Nala) about 5.6 Km from Naggar on the Naggar-Manali road. The project was initiated by the Directorate of Coldwater Fisheries Research.

Well our wonderful trout moment was cut short with the arrival of the chauffeur informing that our suite was ready for use and the luggage had already been taken from the reception.

Breathtaking Valley View from “Her Highness Suite”, Castle Naggar

The Royal Suites of the Castle

After the acquisition of Castle Naggar, HPTDC ensured a thorough restoration of the historical monument and later it decided to open the same for public stay as a deluxe hotel. The royal suites facing the breathtaking Kullu valley could well be the experience of your lifetime. These include the Baragarh Forte Suite, Her Highness Suite, Fozal Peak Suite, His Highness Suite and the Royal Suite. The Green Field Suite and the River View Suites also provide spectacular view of the entire valley. The other popular suites include the court yard suites (near the dining hall), Village view, orchard view, Trapogan, Devika, Tripura, Chanderkhani, Monal, Forest View and the Castle View Suites. The assistant manager informed us that we had been allotted to stay at the “Her Highness Suite” located at the Northern Complex of the Castle.

Kullu Valley View, Castle Naggar

We crossed the small courtyard to enter the mansion housing the “Her Highness Suite”. To our left was the historical “Jagti Patt” temple popularly known as the “Judgement Seat of the Kullu Gods”. As it 1.10 pm the deity was closed for visitors. Offering prayers, we proceeded through a mighty hall similar to the lower floor of the dining hall on the other side of the Castle Mansion leading us to a wooden gallery with the full valley view lying to the North. A wooden stair case went down to the Kings’ Royal suite and the Castle museum. We followed the left gallery and turned the bend again to the left with the most exquisite, breathtaking view we had in the entire day. The snow clad mountains and the lush green valley gorged by the river Beas lay wide open right in front of us. A hawk was gliding on the distant blue sky. There was a lovely cacophony of wild birds from the jungles lying right below the Castle gallery. The wind hard a sharp chill probably it was bathed by the fresh snows of the magnificent towering peaks that lay ahead. This was heaven indeed! A view past compare anything even what we had enjoyed during our trek tours at Kasol.

Naggar Town & Kullu Valley View, Castle Naggar

Our suite was right behind the wooden gallery where we were standing. We had reached the Royal “Her Highness” suite. We thanked our chauffeur and found the surprisingly large bed room to be meticulously well maintained. This was luxury at our disposal.

In front of our suite

The crockery was new on the service table. The curtains were fresh and the room had a sweet scent of polished wood which was everywhere including the huge cupboards, almirah, the sofas and the beam structures on the ceiling. With belly full of lunch we strongly resisted the desire to lay down for a sleep for an hour or so and decided to explore in and around the castle, which we later agreed was the right decision. While locking our suite, we found that we were the only boarder in this side of the castle. The other two suites lying on the other end of the wooden gallery were locked.

The Royal Balcony, Castle Naggar

The Castle Courtyard

Crossing the temple courtyard we entered the dining hall complex and entered the spacious courtyard surrounded by the magnificent mansions of the castle and the beautiful wooden galleries.

The Castle Courtyard

The wood work was so exquisite and delicate. And the sweetness of polished wood work had a mesmerizing aura. To our right we had a similar valley view like that in front of out suite.

The Central Courtyard, Castle Naggar

View of the Central Courtyard from the Dinning Hall

Exquisite wood word in the Royal Courtyard

Exploring the village beside near Castle Naggar

Exploring outside

It was going to be 2 o’clock. We decided to explore the outside whereabouts of the Castle and took the tiny paved road lying at the North-east side of the castle taking us down towards a small village.

Exploring the Village near Castle Naggar

The village by its very sight had an aura of the bygone era. The old mansions had the traditional “Kathkooni” housing style of architecture similar to what we had seen in the castle. After crossing the snow view lodge we took paved road ended and we took a hilly trail to reach the famous Tripura Sundri Temple.

“Kathkooni” housing style of architecture

Entrance of the Tripura Sundri Temple, Naggar

The Tripura Sundri Temple

We were mesmerized by another architectural splendor that lay ahead us in the form of the Tripura Sundri Temple. The ancient temple which was probably built in the 11th century had a majestic look that would fascinate you at its very sight. The centrally placed temple housed the deities of Lord Vishnu, Gauri Shankar and Sri Krishna.

The Tripura Sundri Temple, Naggar

The conical roof was thatched with flat slabs of slate rock. The main structure was built by large blocks of stone work supported by polished wooden pillars housing meticulously carved traditional designs and statues of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. We joined the Pulag Marg and ascended towards the Roerich Art Gallery.

Tripura Sundri Temple, Naggar

Well it would be fair to share the story of the Roerick Art Gallery in another article. It was 6 o’clock and we were trekking down the Pulag Marg back to Castle Naggar.

A Random Click at the Pulag Marg

A random click of the Valley View from the Pulag Marg

The street lights were on and so were the lights from the adjoining houses beside the Pulag Marg. When we reached Castle Naggar it was almost dark and after a long trek we were hungry like anything. We ordered hot cappuccino and onion pakora.

Evening at Castle Naggar

Evening at the Central Courtyard, Castle Naggar

We were seated in the courtyard facing the Kullu valley. The darkness was getting deeper. Yet the orange tinges from the western sky made the evening so adorable. Surprisingly the chill in the wind was gone. Perhaps it was getting ready to have its spell for the night.

The day coming to an end at Castle Naggar

Night in the Castle

The Castle now had a deserted look. The long galleries began to have mighty shadows!! The sudden shallow murmurs of the wind whispered the aura of an untold ancient mystery. Perhaps guessing our emotions the hotel manager who nearby, assured us “Sir yaha pe dariye maat. Even during the season time, when the daily visitors leave, the castle adored this deserted look!!” He was convinced perhaps we were not assured.

Shadows looming in the wooden galleries: Evening in Castle Naggar

We moved to the dining hall upstairs and found that the preparations for dinner were on. A couple of gentlemen were seated with hot coffee on the other table and were discussing business matters. Probably they were local business men. The LED TV was on airing a Hindi New Channel. We hardly had any attention towards what was going on in the TV. Our 12 year old son had probably got some clues from our emotions. He asked me “Pappa are we going to meet Count Dracula in this Castle”. I knew this question was definitely on the cards from his end which led us to a burst of laughter from our end. We ordered our dinner with Himachali Pulao, Matar Paneer, Dal and Chapathis.

That was the end of an eventful day starting with a memorable journey from Kasol to Naggar.

A New day unfolds at Castle Naggar

Morning in the Castle

The morning was more charming than the day. The cacophonies of the birds were at their loudest peak. The mist cover on the valley was disappearing slowly revealing its adorable charm. The event was touching.. it was just like a curtain raiser. Day light was all over the valley spreading its positivity defeating the gloomy dawn.

The mist cover on the valley was disappearing

We ordered our morning tea from the room service. Our son took out his drawing book and came out with an amazing sketch of the valley. I was obliging myself with all the shots that you are now enjoying in this article.

Waiting for the breakfast

We had our much needed breakfast at the dining hall gallery with stuffed paranthas and chutney. The morning newspaper and another round of tea never felt so refreshing.

Epilogue

Catching hold of time was the need of the day. And that hardly happened!! It was time to bid adieu to Naggar. Our cab for Manali was already booked yesterday evening.

The river Beas would keep on flowing with its youthful exuberance gorging the Kullu Valley. The far off snow clad mountains would soon cast their snowy spells in the winter. The birds would take shelter somewhere.

The lush green woods would soon be lost under snow. The clear blue skies would haunt many souls to breathe the fresh air nurturing the very existence of the aura of the valley.

Castle Naggar would stand strong like a worthy knight and witness countless dawns in the rapidly changing world, like what it had being doing selflessly since the past centuries. Dynasties would come, rule, fade away and hand over the baton of holding on the rich traditions and flavor of our bygone era. The Caslte would symbolize our country’s culture, rich folk heritage and continue to mesmerize tourists and travelers for ages to come.

All the Photographs (c) mytravelnama.com

The Castle Naggar can be booked on-line from: http://hptdc.in/index.php/the-naggar-castle/

You can reach Castle Naggar either from Kullu (23 KM) or Manali (22.8 KM) by Tourist Taxi

A Night in Castle Naggar Prologue “The castle is on the very edge of a terrible precipice. A stone falling from the window would fall a thousand feet without touching anything!

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florenceisnottrash · 7 years

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Pose for me (M) Kihyun x Reader

Bonjour! When I saw this one pic of Kihyun for their “beautiful” comeback, I knew I had to. Please keep in mind that my first language is french, I’m fluent in english, but don’t be surprise if some sentences sound weird. This is the FIRST time I’m writing something like this so please, bear with me. I still tried my absolute best to give you some quality content so please enjoy! Any feed back is appreciated :)

-Flo

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As someone who’s been passionate about photography all my life, I’ve never thought that I would be able to make a living out of my passion. For the longest time, I was fascinated about how the beauty of the world, stories and memories could be stored in a little box. I was seven years old when I got my first camera from a box of cereal Kellogg’s. To be honest, I remember the pictures being kind of blurry and filled with my little thumbs but, for a seven years old, it was plenty. My mom soon became aware of my interest in photography and for my 10th birthday, she and my dad got me a Kodak DC3200 which was pretty much the Holy Grail for me. After receiving such a gift, I started to take it more seriously by reading books about technics and lightings and taking pictures of everything around me, such as my cat, flowers and people coming by our family house.

And I’m now 20 years old, freshly graduated from college with a diploma in photography and desperately sending out resume to get a dream job in something I’m passionate about.

“Y/N! Come to the kitchen!” Said my mom from downstairs.

“Stop yelling so loudly in the morning, Jesus!”

“It’s 1 o’clock so I can yell all I want! Now come to the kitchen there’s something for you!"

I could barely keep my eyes open when I was fumbling my sheet in search for my phone. My mom was right. It really was 1 in the afternoon! I grabbed the same clothes from yesterday that I left on the floor in a hurry to go back in the warmth of my bed and went downstairs.

“What’s the thing you got from me?” I said while rubbing my eyes and gradually adjusting to the bright sunlight and making my way to the fridge.

“Good afternoon Y/N, this letter just came in and I thought you would want to have a look” Said my mom with a big smile on her face.

“Who is it from?” I asked pouring myself a glass of orange juice.

“I don’t know but…” My mom said playfully.

I raised an eyebrow and looked at her in confusion.

“It’s from Korea.”

It took me a moment to understand was she just said. When I came back to my senses, I dropped my glasses and took the letter from her hand and ran like I never ran before across the house to go to my room and shut the door close with a loud “BOOM”.

“Oh, my god, it’s really happening! After months of sending resumes at different agencies they finallyyy replied!”

My hands were shaking like hell and I couldn’t get my heart to calm down. I ripped slowly the side of the letter and wonder which Korean agencies would reply to someone like me. I kind of decided to send my resume to Korean entertainment agencies just in case they would call me back of send an e-mail or a letter but, I never thought they would actually reply. I’ve been a fan of K-pop for the longest time and I thought it would be a dream to work as a photographer for BigHit to shoot the 7 lovely boys or for JYP to get a glance at how dreamy Got7 look in real life or work for my all-time favourite k-pop group, Monsta X.

I took a deep breath while slowly sliding the letter out of the envelope. After the letter was out, I turned it over and looked at the logo on the top left of the page.

“MOM!” I yelled while running down the stairs as quick as when I got up earlier.

“MOM! It’s from Starship Entertainment.”

“And? What did they say?”

The smile on my face said it all but I still gave the letter to my mom, who was looking dumbfounded, and said, “I’m starting Monday!”

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It’s been now a year since I’ve received the letter from Starship entertainment. I did my best at that time to be ready for my first day. I managed to find myself a plane ticket to Korea and a small apartment quite close to my new workplace and all that in less than 2 weeks! It took a few weeks for my parents to get used to me being at more than 10 000 km away from home but, with me calling every day to reassure them helped a lot for sure.

As for me, it’s been quite of an emotional roller coaster. I had to get accustom to a new culture, new people, new language, new job. However, it’s all in the past, I’m totally in love with my new place and my job and I couldn’t be happier.

This morning, I woke up to my phone ringing loud as a truck in my ears making me wonder why I didn’t turn it off before going to sleep.

“It’s my fist day off in a while, can’t they leave me alone?” I mumbled still half-asleep.

It keeps ringing.

“Give me a break…”

Still ringing.

“I give up” I picked up my phone which was left on the nightstand “Hi, what can I do for you?” I said with my sleepy voice and my eyes still shut.

“Good morning Y/N! I hope I didn’t wake you up. I know it’s your day off today but I think what I’m about to say will interest you.”

It’s uncommon for my boss to call me on my phone, in fact, I think it’s the first time he ever called me on my phone. Usually, it’s his secretary that’s calls me to inform me of anything about job-related stuff. This surprise phone call from my boss got me to sit straight on my bed with my eyes wide open, the exact opposite of 10 seconds ago.

“One of the photographer from our agency suddenly got sick and can’t come to work today. Since you’ve been working as a photographer for the group Boyfriend for a year now and been showing skills exceeding our expectation, we thought about you right away. So, if you are up to, come to work in 2 hours and we will explain the job when you’ll get there.”

I cleared my voice after I took all the information in and said determined: “You can count on me I’ll be there on time, thank you for your consideration!”

I quickly jumped out of bed to get ready for my day. I couldn’t believe the agency thought about me for a replacement and said all those nice things about my work. Although they didn’t specify the job I’ll be doing today, I surely couldn’t deceive them and I absolutely got to do the best I can to make sure they can count on me for future opportunities like this one.

Exactly 2 hours after the phone call, I reach for the entrance of the building of Starship entertainment and with the help of my key card I went inside. As I was waiting for the elevator to take me to the shooting studio on the 5th floor I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and the only reason for this was because I was really excited to hear what my boss will make me do today! I’ve been shooting for Boyfriend for a while as their exclusive photographer, don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy working with the boys as they are sweet and talent but, I still want to try something new for once.

“Are you coming in or not?”

I suddenly came back to my senses, I was so immersed into my though I didn’t realize the doors of the elevator opened and someone already went in.

I raised my eyes to lock them with Kihyun’s, who was looking at me with a mocking smile.

“Ah… hum… yeah!” I said taken aback by the situation.

“looks like someone is still a bit half-asleep this morning” Said Kihyun with a smirk on his face, pressing the 5th button of the panel of the elevator.

I can’t deal with Kihyun. I don’t know what he did to me but, since the first time I locked eyes with him a year ago, on Monsta X’s shooting set, when the staff introduced me to them, I just can’t get him out of my head. Every time I feel like I’m in control of my emotions he comes out of nowhere and makes a mess out of me. When he passes by to come say hi to Boyfriend, I can’t help but to follow his every movement closely and when he looks my way, I avert my eyes quickly and continue to work in hopes he didn’t notice me until he leaves.

He too, looks like he just woke up. His hair was still messy underneath his cap and he was wearing a simple white t-shirt that made his skin look stunning and some black pants with holes on the knees. Even like this, he looked extremely handsome. The way his slender fingers made their way to his front pocket, his shoulder leaning on the elevator’s wall, his tongue licking softly on his perfectly parted lips…Before my heart was beating because of the work that awaits me but now, it’s beating for a completely different reason.

“See you around”.

I came back to my sense and realised I was totally staring at him once again.

“Oh! Yes… have good day!”

When the doors closed, I crouched and took my head in my hands wondering how I could’ve looked so stupid in front of Kihyun. He certainly thinks I’m having a crush on him or even worst, that I’m a crazy fan that took this job only because I could be close to Monsta X. The cringe continued till I reached the floor where I was supposed to meet my boss.

My boss was sitting in front of his computer when I knocked on the glass door. With a single hand gesture, he tells me to come inside with a smile. As I while taking a seat he greeted me with a good morning and a quick apology for making me come on my day off.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s my pleasure to come and help when one of my colleagues is sick. What was the job you were talking about earlier on the phone?”

“So, as you know, we are currently working on Monsta X’ comeback. We are almost finished but there’s still some of the boys that didn’t have their photoshoot yet. Since Min Soo Ri called in sick this morning, we were looking for someone to replace her. I immediately recommended you since the work you do is always impeccable. So, what do you say?”

I couldn’t believe my ears. Me? Working with Monsta X? My boss trusted me enough to let me be part of this photoshoot. This is an incredible opportunity for me to prove that I’m someone who’s hardworking and skilful.

“I’d be happy to take part of this photoshoot! Thank you for your consideration.”

“It’s my pleasure, thanks to you Y/N. The rest of the team should be preparing the set on the 5th floor, they must be waiting for you to start!”

I bowed to my boss and made my way out of the office and suddenly thought about something.

“Sorry to disturb you again Mister but, who will I be working with today?”

He told me to wait a bit as he was looking through his documents and when he got hold of his agenda, he told me what I was anticipating the most since I got the call this morning but I eventually shoved the though in the back of my head every time it came to my mind.

“Today is Thursday so, it’s supposed to be… Kihyun.”

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I was waiting for the elevator to come down when all sort of thoughts came to my mind. How I am supposed to have a photoshoot why Kihyun when I can’t even look at him in the eyes without getting flustered? Even the lenses between us won’t make any difference. And with the way I acted this morning, he must still think I’m a freak with ulterior motives.

I opened the doors of the studio and what I saw was stunning. The concept of this photoshoot had the be related to mirrors because of the abundance of those in the room. With the hints of blue on the walls and the light directed perfectly on the set, it made it look like I was in some sort of dream which would be difficult to come back from. Everyone was ready to start but across the room I could see Kihyun, whose back was facing me, still getting his make-up done.

I went to greet everyone to make sure I was being professional and immediately started to get my equipment in place to be ready to start by the time Kihyun will be done with his touch ups.

After I put up the last pieces of my equipment in front of the set and let out a slight sight. I was genuinely hoping everything was going to unwind neatly. I was here to do a great job, not only for myself and to prove I was capable of any task I was assigned but, I had to do an unblemished job for all the Monbebes out there waiting impatiently for those photos. If something were to happen, I would be feeling responsible for the rest of my life. I did a last check through my stuff to make sure I was perfectly place for the first set of pictures that’ll be taken. The first set was simple yet, breath-taking. A dark blue wall in the back, a chair and a single mirror topped table. It was perfect for Kihyun, simple things put together to make something purely wonderful.

I looked through the lens on last time to ensure the camera was in focus and at the exact same moment what I was seeing through the lens became clearer I saw Kihyun, calmly sitting down on the chair in the centre of the set, beside the mirror-table. My heart clenched a little when I saw how beautifully stunning he was. The red sparkly patterns on his sweater matched perfectly the dark of his deep eyes and the soft pink of his lips. His hair resembled the way it looked this morning but, this time, instead of a bed-head look, it was more of a “bedroom look” which was making Kihyun look extremely sexy.

I moved back from the camera and looked at the stunning view with my own eyes. It was simply mesmerizing. I was wondering how I could convey the feeling I’m getting right here and right now, into photographs. Several people started gathering around Kihyun, indicating how he had to pose, where he had to look and fixing his make-up one last time before I start taking pictures.

I went back behind my lens and waited patiently for them to leave the set. They finally backed off and told me quietly that I could start doing my job. At first, they told Kihyun to simply put his arms on the table, to look turn a bit to his right and to look straight forward. With this pose, it was easy for me to take amazing pictures. His side profile was no joke. The lighting made his skin look flawless and charmingly dewy, and his jawline look sharp as a knife.

The shoot went surprisingly well and was about to come to an end. There was only one last pose to try and hopefully, it’ll come as good as the other pictures. During the break, I looked through the ones I took and I was totally impressed by the work I did. I gained a lot more confidence for the other half of the shoot and I’m sure it’ll show up in those photographs.

As Kihyun did his last pose, I was totally mesmerized. His head was laying softly on the mirror topped table and his hand was placed in front of his peaceful-looking face without covering the whole of it. Some strands of hair were beautifully shielding his forehead. Even with the camera between us, the look in his eyes at that moment were powerful yet soft. For a second, a shiver went down my spine and made its way between my legs, making them squeeze together. I could feel myself getting wetter every time I locked eyes with Kihyun through the lens and the feeling was unbearable. It might just be in my head, but I could feel that, with every shiver that came through my body, the look in his eyes becoming even more alluring and… thirsty.

We wrapped the shoot after about an hour and a half. It not only went well because everyone knew what to do and were adequately prepared but, also because Kihyun showed modelling skills that I never expected to see in him. Everyone, including me, were truly amazed. Before packing, I decided to through the photos again. I couldn’t believe they came out so nicely! As I was lost in thoughts, I didn’t realise that the entirety of the staff was long gone and that I was alone in the studio. I felt really bad about taking my sweet time while others were cleaning up so I started tidying my spot.

“You’re so obvious, Y/N”

I turned over to see someone looking at me a giggling a little, back against the wall.

“… Kihyun? You’re still here?”

“I couldn’t leave without bidding you goodbye, not with the way you were acting during the photoshoot”

My heart was racing like crazy. What was he talking about? Just how does he think I was acting that was “so obvious”?

“What are you…”

“When I went visiting Boyfriend’s set, when we crossed each other in Starship’s building, this morning in the elevator, and just now during the photoshoot.”

As he talked, he was slowly walking in my direction which made me step back till I reach the table with my things spread on top, making a small noise.

“You’re always staring at me with your lustful eyes. You thought I didn’t know?” He was saying that with a mischievous look on his face, which made me extremely self-conscious. “You were so obvious all those times, I’m 100% sure that all the staff knows, and my members.”

He was getting closer and closer, I needed to get out of here, I felt so ashamed and powerless in front of Kihyun. And to add to all this, he was completely right. I did look at him lustfully, I did think about lewd thing just now, during the shoot. Which made me feel even more vulnerable toward him.

“I’m sorry, but I really need to go my boss wants to see the photos of today’s shoot.” I dodge Kihyun and began to make my way to the entrance.

“I am sorry, but you’re not going anywhere Y\N.” He pulled me and pushed me against the wall.

He grew closer to me.

“Before it was easy for me to hold back, but today, seeing you lick your pinkish lips…” His thumb caressed them softly.

“seeing you squeeze your legs tightly together…” A shiver ran down my whole body when his slender, yet muscular tight slowly found its way between my legs.

“But today, I guaranty you that they won’t stay close tightly.”

My lips and his were only centimetres away from each other, and even though I was reluctant at first, the warmth of his body meeting mine, the smoothness of his fingertips brushing my demanding lips… I felt my last will to fight leave the moment his lips crashed onto mine.

Despite myself, I imagine sharing a kiss with Kihyun countless times. So many times. Thinking about it would make my heart go wild and my body ache. But the kiss he gave me wasn’t like I imagined it to be, not at all. It wasn’t sweet and tender like his character, instead it was fierce and playful. The way he teased by kissing my lips, suddenly dodging them only to make them meet mine again was driving crazy.

By the time his right hand cupped my ass and closed the gap between us, my hand was already brushing his hair and I was deeply kissing Kihyun, as if I needed him more than anything at this moment.

“How dare you kiss me like that without warning.”

I lifted my head to lock eyes with him. He wasn’t the only one that likes to play that game. “You should’ve known, since I’m “so obvious”, am I right?”

“… Fuck.”

The teasing game was over for Kihyun the moment I said that. His kisses became thirstier and the motion circles his tight made on your sensitive spot would definitely leave a wet spot on his black pants. The hand that was earlier on my ass was now making its way to my breast, making sure no skin was left untouched. The other hand travelled from my nape to my tight, lifting my skirt to reveal my panties.

The hotness of his fingers on me, dangerously coming close to my core made my heart beat uncontrollable and my breathing was desperately trying to maintain stable.

“…Kihyun”

He then left my lips to look at me, quietly asking for my consent to continue further. Being unable to think straight I took his hand and directed it where I needed it the most. He softly brushed my weatness through my panties and his touched left your knees weak.

“Y/N… Are you always this wet thinking about me?” He shifted his head to kiss my neck. “In the elevator, this morning…” He pushed my panties down with his other hand. “Have you thought about me…” He nibbled my ear and quietly whispered. “fingering you?” As the last word left his lips, one of his finger penetrated me sharply yet, easily due to how dripping wet Kihyun’s dirty talk made me.

I felt my whole body become numb as he motioned his thumb on my clit and pumped his finger, that eventually became two, inside of me. My back was arching every time his fingers hit deeply in me. My moans became louder and uneven. I was struggling to stand and when I stood close to my limit, the weight of my body was pressing against his.

“Kihyun… I’m so close”

“Fuck Y/N you’re so hot but…we’re not finished yet” To my extreme disappointment he withdrew the fingers that were giving me so much pleasure and removed my shirt to have a better exposure of my breast. I did the same with his, and another wave a pleasure stung me down there when I felt his toned chest. The bulge in his pants rubbed my tight urgently as he approaches his lips from mine.

“Kihyun… I need you” I said out of breath, unzipping his pants eagerly. “Kihyun I need you, now.”

“That’s the words I was dying to hear for a long-time Y/N”

His two big hands left my body to pull down his pants and almost instantly, my hand went to caress his manliness, ready to pleasure him like he previously pleasured you.

“Let me take care of you Y/N, since you need me that much.”

Kihyun lifted my leg and made sure my back was properly leaning on the wall before entering me in a single push, making me moan his name louder than before and scratching his bare back with my nails. The feeling of Kihyun was exalting, as if it was making me feel whole. With every thrust he granted me with, my mind became blank and I couldn’t think straight. The hotness of our bodies intertwined blurred my senses and everything became pointless. My mind was solely focused on how good Kihyun made me feel and the thought of him being one with me drew me closer to the edge.

“You’re so goddamn beautiful Y/N”

“Kihyun I’m nearly there, please!”

As if he had read my mind, the speed increased and the friction became intolerable. I clenched onto Kihyun harder and contracted all my muscles as the overwhelming feeling of my release made its way from my core up to my entire body. My sudden tightness lead Kihyun reaching his own climax simultaneously. As we regained our calm, we slid on the floor, Kihyun’s back on the wall and my head resting on his chest, the two of us out of breath.

Without leaving me a chance to talk, he stood up and left me here, sitting alone and naked on the floor. I laughed to myself thinking of how foolish I was thinking he really cared.

I took my clothes spread across the studio’s floor only to find Kihyun coming to me with a worried sight on his beautiful face.

“What are you doing?” He seemed do worried about my body hurting. “Don’t get up just yet. Rest for a bit and I’ll clean you up, alright?”

I haven’t felt this relieved in such a long time. With only a sweet smile and some caring words, Kihyun made my worries disappear.

“Now that I got you Y/N, I won’t let you go.”

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gabrielaaufreisen · 7 years

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Around Cape Horn, Part 2

From Ushuaia around Cape Horn

I am back in Ushuaia in Argentina! I can hardly believe it. (Zum deutschen Blog.) Twice within 13 months in the southernmost city in the world. What am I doing here? This time I do not go to Antarctica. This time, I travel with customers on Celebrity Infinity from San Antonio in Chile, around Cape Horn, to Buenos Aires in Argentina.

a glacier field in the Beagle Channel

Beagle Channel

Almost half the distance and time is behind us. Very early in the morning, with freezing temperature and rain we pass some interesting glaciers in the Beagle Channel, before we dock at the pier of Ushuaia late in the morning.

another glacier in the Beagle Channel

looks like the glacier is coming out of the clouds

Ushuaia

Opposite us lays the much smaller expedition ship “Ortelius”. To my great pleasure, I meet Sara, in 2016 she was a guest on the “Sea Spirit” and now works as an Antartic guide there. We have to go to the end of the world to meet again. I also could go right back …

Celebrity Infinity in Ushuaia

It’s raining, nothing unusual here on the southernmost tip of South America, in Tierra del Fuego. The wind also blows heavily. The surrounding mountains are snowy. Midsummer in Patagonia.

My clients would like to take a trip. We decided together for the replica convict railway that goes into the national park.

“The end of the World Train”

First, a bus picks us up and takes us to the small train station outside Ushuaia. Everything at “El Tren Del Fin Del Mundo” is lovingly reconstructed, old photographs show the hard and depriving life of the prisoners who have boarded this train 100 years ago.

railway station in Ushuaia

They had no weather protection and certainly not as comfortable upholstered seats as we now. They were thinly dressed in their striped suits. Only the felling of the trees, the reason they were driving out here, could warm them up a bit, even if they were exposed to the elements of the weather. Almost all who tried to escape were found dead. Because of the high mountains and the icy cold weather, they were not only locked up in the prison walls at night, there was hardly any escape from here. The perfect place for a huge prison.

horses seen from the Tren del Fin del Mundo

It was abandoned about 70 years ago, the area not much later protected. Only the many weathered tree stumps tell of the depletion, which was once done here with nature.

The train ride with the historic locomotives on the narrow, about 60 cm wide rail track is only 7 km long, but takes about 90 minutes. You could almost walk alongside. On the way, it makes photo stop at a small waterfall and the locomotive gets filled with water.

tree stumps in Fin del Mundo

At the small terminal station, the buses await us again. On a gravel road they take us deeper into the National Park “Fuego del Mundo” until we arrive at the seashore.

There is a small post office, who wants, can post his postcards here to get one of the coveted stamps from the end of the world.

I prefer to walk a bit along the coastal path. Soon I’m alone. Gorgeous peace, only the wind whistles a little and the waves hit the rocky shore.

the Chilean mountains across the Beagle Channel

Now the gray cloud cover opens up and blue sky looks out. On the opposite bank, on the Chilean side of the Beagle Channel, you can now see the rugged, snow-capped peaks of the mountain range. Beautiful!

Ushuaia

It’s back, our ship is not waiting, but there is still a bit of time left to discover Ushuaia. Over the past 13 months, a lot has happened, much has been built. The city at the end of the world is growing.

typical house in Ushuaia

Nevertheless, we set off in the evening. Through the Beagle Channel we head towards Drake Passage and Cape Horn. The sun is still radiant in the sky well after 22 o’clock and shows a very soft light. Here I have already driven along. I did not see Cape Horn then.

Cape Horn

Very early in the morning, even before 5 o’clock I am with others on deck, because we arrived at South America’s southernmost tip. Cape Horn. But the weather changed, nothing else did I expect. It is very cold, it is raining and it is foggy. But not so much that at least the contours of this southernmost island on the American continent could not be seen.

rocks around Cape Horn

The captain circles the island with us. With the rugged rocks, I can well imagine here, that the ships were thrown against the island or on one of the small rocks in much worse weather, that have protruded from the water, run aground and leaked.

Several times he turns the ship, so that everyone has the opportunity to see the lighthouse at the top and the monument on the ridge.

lighthouse of Cape Horn

What do I expect in Puerto Madryn after the next two days at sea? In my next blog post you can will see!

In between there are news and more pictures on Instagram, Pinterest and of course Facebook. I’m looking forward to your commentary 🙂

stormy afternoon in Ushuaia

#Argentina #Around Cape Horn #Beagle Channel #Cape Horn #Celebrity Infinity #El Tren Del Fin Del Mundo #Fin del Mundo #glaciers #Patagonia #Ushuaia

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millielowrie7-blog · 7 years

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webcam girls site - Whispered Web Nude Cam Secrets

I quit the service 14 months ago to join a very lucrative security firm as an "advisor". This is a fancy way of saying "security contractor", I guess? A job came up to escort a British diplomatic official for about a week on the tropical Pacific island of Mundy. I’m 40 year old, very fit, and I’M an ex-British Royal Marine Major. When God invented tropical paradises he used Mundy as a template.

This is one hell of a strange story. I couldn’t see any threat in the middle of the Pacific so the escort duties should be rather light on, or so I hoped. It happened like this: My name is Jack Ross. The money is great and it involves lots of travel to interesting places, which is also very cool. When all the kinks had left my body, I returned to my room for a short jetlagged nap and to await the telephone call that would announce that the dude I was to escort had arrived. As it turned out the Dude was a "Lady" – and a very attractive lady at that. I grabbed a towel and did an hour of lazy laps up and down the pool. And, as it turned out further, she was a bit of a bossy boots. I arrived at my hotel on Mundy after a long flight from London. I was looking forward to stooging around on the island with some old fossil from the British Consulate and getting a tan on. I flew business class, so I shouldn’t complain, but it is still a long time sitting in one spot, even if it was at the pointy end of the plane. Her mission was, apparently, just a series of boring meetings with government officials from Mundy. She was perfectly safe, she said. I met her in the flesh at the hotel restaurant. Not sure what you will make of it, but if you have any answers you might share them with me. Ruby was either in her late 20s or early 30s. Ruby wasn’t particularly tall, but I thought that she was a tight little bundle. When she arrived at the hotel she called me and announced that we would meet for dinner and she would explain her "mission". And, no, I wasn’t considering bedding her. Her name was Ruby Collins and because she was a little bit annoying I began calling her "Rube", which she did not take to at all, but did not protest too much because she didn’t want to let on that she was annoyed. I intended to enjoy this pacific paradise and not get in the lady’s way. Funny how plans go awry, isn’t it? She informed me over entrees that I needn’t trouble myself too much at the meetings, and that my presence wasn’t really required. God, it was hot, stifling hot. The next day’s meetings were as boring as batshit. She had a pretty face, was small waisted and also had smallish boobs (just my favourite kind, tho I must admit to liking boobs of any shape or size). I did hit it off with one guy. He was the Mundy Tourism Minister, Joni Sereana. Which would be nice because the existing airport needed some serious work just to reach third-class standard. Joni had been seconded as an infantry officer to the New Zealand army in his younger days and we two ex-soldiers yakked it up just like old friends. So, a day in the sun by the pool was very appealing. Ruby rabbited on with the Mundi officials, about something…something… something… something about tied funding for a new international airport. The air conditioner should be junked as it made more noise than cooling. After two long days of meetings in the hot boardroom, I was looking forward to my last day off lazing by the pool and having a beer or three. "I’m most definitely NOT going fishing – deep sea, shallow sea, or any other kind of sea", I said rubbing my eyes. "Jack, get dressed, we are going deep sea fishing", she said, after I opened the door. I love my crazy, lazy job, and wasn’t about to put it at risk by bonking a person who might control my future. She adorned a big hat, flimsy beach jacket covering what was possibly a swim suit. "Ah, I’m about as dressed as I’m going to get", I said, pointing to my bathrobe. "Jack, I don’t have time for this. Ruby knocked on my door at 5:00 am on the morning of our "day off". "Jesus, it’s still night time". We are both going to be on that damn boat otherwise I will put it in my report to the British consulate that you jeopardised a multi-million pound airport contract because you didn’t want to go fishing". The boat leaves in 30 minutes. The day after that we were due to fly out early in morning - back to bleak and freezing Britain. "What", was all I could manage? Do you know what that means? It means that you get your arse on that boat or your gravy escort jobs like this one finish the moment we get back to London. "Your good friend, Joni Sereana, the fucking Minister for Tourism, insists that you join us on his fishing boat for the day. We don’t have time for this. Do we have an understanding, Jack? It might surprise you to learn that even though I spent 20 years in the Marines, I don’t like boats, or the sea for that matter. This boat was a clunker too. She stood in what might be described as beach clothes. I spent the hours chatting with Joni, swapping lies and drinking beer. She even looked attractive vomiting, if such a thing is possible? Ruby had a worse time of it than me because she spent the whole time throwing up over the side. "Oh Yes, Rube, we have an understanding", and I slammed the door in her face. She looked very fetching, but not fetching enough to keep me from stealing another hour’s sleep. " I stood there, half angry, half amused, and, I must admit, a little bit aroused. At last came the bad news. I didn’t fish, the others did. The swells were long and rolling. Three hours into the trip, the boat broke down and we were adrift on the open water. The sea started acting up. Before long the only people not throwing up were the captain, the deckhand, Joni and me. All the landlubbers were tossing their lunch. The captain told Joni and myself that the tropical depression that had been located about 300 km from Mundy and just developed into a full blown tropical cyclone. Every time she leaned over the side I had a good look at her gorgeous bikini covered bottom. We were on the open sea in a busted boat and a cyclone was heading straight for us. The sky took on a dangerous hew too. About midnight, thankfully, the captain made contact with the Mundy Coast Guard and an hour later we were back under tow towards the main Island. The journey still took three hours to get to port. The sea was incredibly choppy and the tow line threatened to part at any time. For that matter, I felt the same, but tried not to show it. Ruby looked extremely frightened. So, our belongings were safely on their way to London due to that mix-up and we were left behind. Worse still, we had originally arranged to have our luggage sent to the airport for an early start the next morning. The radio began give constant updates over the long drifting hours and all too soon it became dark. Perfect…just fucking perfect! We eventually made it back to our hotel room to discover that all flights were cancelled as the Island was about to be hit by the cyclone. No clothes, no nothing at all. We didn’t imagine that we wouldn’t be back before dark. I’ll not talk of the cyclone other than a few scanty details. She appeared at my door dressed in her bikini and bathrobe and looked terrified. The lights flickered out and all was dark. I took her in and got her a drink – a strong one. Even before it hit properly, Ruby’s apartment at the front of the hotel - the one with the fantastic sea views - started to come apart. I hoped that my hotel room would last better than hers, and as it turned out my part of the hotel seemed to be protected by the large hill to one side. We only had what we were standing in. It must have deflected the worst of the wind. We both sat in the empty bathtub facing each other in the darkness. It hit with great ferocity. Anyway, we fell asleep in the tub as the storm abated. Still, we lost several windows to flying debris, and we took to the bathroom for most of the night. Wall-by-wall her wing of the hotel simply vanished. She held onto my foot somehow taking comfort in that and quietly sobbed. Surprisingly, it fared pretty well. The TV would never work again, but even the bed was dry as it was tucked into an alcove at the back of the room. Apart from broken windows and a sodden floor, no great harm was done. We woke up the next day to survey my room. I could see by the lightning flashes that the front of the hotel where Ruby’s room was located pretty much disappeared into the night. We stood in the sodden heat of the room in yesterday’s clothes. On the plus side there were cartons and cartons of tinned sardines for sustenance and we were alive. He advised us to remain where we were. We both smelled a bit rank. The hotel manager was happy to see us alive and well. I said that it was all part of the gig. Ruby thanked me for my assistance during the horrid night. It would seem that I would have to earn my pay as a security escort for Ms Collins after all. Furthermore there were no clothes on Mundy to be had. As he left, Joni called over to one group of men and said that folks were armed around here so they best be off. The bad news was that there were no flights for at least a week; there was no electricity or lights and there was little fresh water. There was only devastation outside and unfortunately, there were hundreds of looters about. And so the long hot day rolled on. The heat was oppressive and tiring. About ten o’clock, Joni Sereana dropped in at our hotel room and on the strength of our soldier past, handed me a well maintained 9 mm Glock to defend ourselves with. We looked around the hotel but soon retreated back to our room as I could see gangs of men roaming around. The Glock did make me feel more secure, but Ruby would have to stay put with me where I could keep an eye on her. He shook hands and departed. We were also extremely tired. "Well, the bed is dry, I suggest the bed"? We stank, we could smell each other as well as ourselves, but it didn’t seem important. Should you beloved this information in addition to you would want to acquire more information relating to real live cam girls generously stop by our web-page. I suggested that we try and catch some sleep and she agreed asking what the best way for this to happen. Mind the broken glass", I said. Ruby stood there looking at me for a full minute before deciding to lie down on the bed next to me. They took his advice and left, but we could hear men calling out to each other in the distance. Although she made a point of keeping her bathrobe on, which must have been hell in this sweltering heat, and she moved away from me as far as she possibly could and yet still remain on the same bed. At that I stripped off my smelly shirt and shorts and lay down on the bed in my boxers. "You expect me to go to bed with you, Jack? "You can sleep on the floor if you like. A couple of small surprises greeted me. I must have had a good three-hour sleep, and I must have slept deeply. I awoke just on dusk in a hangover-like condition. I could just make out a fat pinkish nipple poking out of the cup of the bikini top. We lay down more or less together and tried to sleep and at some point we actually did. The cloying closeness was one of the two things that woke me up. Secondly, she had edged very close to me in her sleep. " "Of course not, Rube" I replied. "Ruby… Ruby… wake up Little One", I whispered. Ruby had shed the hot bathrobe at some point during her nap and she was only wearing the black bikinis that she had on underneath her robe. It was a peaceful scene and one that I enjoyed for a full two minutes as I came to my senses. The main thing that had woken me up, however, was that in her sleep she had reached into my shorts and was holding my very hard ding-dong in her hand. It’s just getting dark". She wasn’t holding it tightly, just as one might hold onto an umbrella. Ruby opened her eyes and blinked into the darkness. She seemed to disbelieve her own hand. "What am I doing, you ask", I said in reply. Ruby removed her hand from my penis as if it had burnt her hand. "I’m terribly sorry, Jack. I gently nudged Ruby who was snoring softly in an ever so cute girly way. Ten seconds later she appeared to become aware that her right hand gripped my hard cock. "Wasser time" she asked, blinking? I don’t know how that could have happened". At that she jumped from the bed. I woke you up, didn’t I? I might ask you the very same question. I guess you did wake me. "What are you doing", she asked me in confusion? Let’s get something to eat. "You mightn’t believe this, Ruby, but I didn’t mind in the least", I said with a grin. "Anyway, you could have told me that I was touching you", she accused. Neither of us changed into anything more substantial than what we were wearing in bed. He also provided two massive buckets of fresh water, soap and toothbrushes and toothpaste. " Ruby asked as she cleaned up the empty sardine tins. I located the manager and he rustled up a dozen tins of sardines. I’m terribly sorry", she said as she stared at the bulge in my underpants in the gloom. "Not sure what you are going to do, but I shall have a whore’s bath and wash my few remaining clothes. We didn’t really have anything anyway. Ruby lifted an armpit, sniffed and winced. I smell a bit, and not to put a fine point on it, so do you, Rube". Once I was as clean as I could get, I washed all of my clothes and boxer shorts in the bucket with the remaining water. I then blew out the candle, stripped naked and washed myself completely out of the big bucket. I stood live naked girl chat, clean and momentary coolish in the slight breeze coming in from the broken windows. She took the bucket over to the corner of the room, and I could hear her removing her grotty and, no doubt, smelly black bikinis. Ruby and I ate the fish stabbing each morsel with a fork in the light of a single candle. As I keep saying, it was stinking hot and even the night had not changed the temperature all that much. "Good idea", she said. "Did you put your boxers back on", she asked me? I walked over to where Ruby had been sitting in the dark and gave her a big bucket of fresh water for herself. "Because they are wet, and for the moment they are clean and drying. I heard her splashing about with the water and the supplied cake of soap. Is it possible that we ditch the whole nervous virgin thing? "So, Jack, you are on the bed naked? I want to put them on clean tomorrow fresh", I answered her question. I then heard her giving her bikini and good going over with the soap until they were apparently clean enough to pass the sniff test. I felt her climb onto her side of the bed. Ruby must have arrived at the same sort of conclusion herself because she stumbled about in the darkness hanging her wet bathers on a chair to dry. "For god’s sake, its night time, and its pitch black. "Goodnight Ruby", I replied. I was naked and was aware that a beautiful girl was lying beside me also naked. I just want to make myself as comfortable as I can under the circumstances. Feel free to get dressed in your wet bikini if you like. That knowledge screws up your thinking. She turned on her side facing me. Sleep was a very long time coming. It was still a bit dark when I woke up. I set up one of the buckets after first filling a couple of bottles for drinking water. I felt quite refreshed. One thing puzzled me – it was obvious that once again my hard cock was wrapped in Ruby’s hand. In the faint morning light I could see her beautiful b-cup breasts, I saw the slight swell of her belly and the fine wispy tangles between her legs. If there had have been the slightest light I would have seen that glorious body in full. The grip was slightly different from before. "Morning Jack", she said. I looked up towards her sleeping face only to discover that her eyes were wide open. My cock gave an involuntary twitch. "How are you feeling", I asked. "Goodnight Jack" she said. "Look Jack", she said removing her hand from my dick so that she could explore my balls. "Well, I’m feeling you at the moment", she said without even a hint of a grin. "You are a very sweet guy", but that’s not why I’m doing this". "And, you have been taking very good care of me, but that’s not why I’m doing this either". "Ok, then", I asked her to continue. "Please don’t take this the wrong way, Ruby", but what the hell"? "Eh… Morning Rube", I replied. "Why are you doing this then"? And you are an amazing hunk of naked man meat, particularly for an old guy", she teased. After the longest time I drifted off. "And you saved me from the cyclone, but that’s not why I doing this either". " "I’m 31", she told me, as I pushed her onto her back. "Because" she said, rubbing my shaft, "I am incredibly, annoyingly, frustratingly aroused. I then opened Ruby’s legs and got in between them. "For God’s sake, Ruby", I asked whilst fondling a tempting tit. I’m 40, you are, what… maybe 30? If you do it correctly, her pussy kind of grips the length of your cock and the head nestles against her clitoris. Do not do it, although every neve in your body will want to do it at this point. For any young guys reading this, here is an old soldier’s trick. Instead, in tiny movements, slide up and down her cleft, her pussy will grip you on the outside. Lie on top of your gal in the missionary position and with your hardness wedged against her wet cleft. Hardly moving a muscle, I glanced over at Ruby. It is natural, so this is why you will resist her, and resist your own instincts. "Jack, please… please fuck me". You will want to sink your hardness into her supple body, and what’s more she will begin to ache for your cock. I licked and sucked and sometimes nibbled. Instead, I lowered myself down to her wetness and devoured her with my mouth. The more you masturbate her with your hard wet cock, the more she will melt. Occasionally I went deep into her hole with my tongue, and sometimes I barely flicked her clitoris with it. Every slippery slide eventually ends at the clitoris and she will soon feel the dull ache in her cunt. That’s what I did to Ruby and that’s why she started to quiver. My cock underneath me was hard, but ignored. Ruby was in a state of absolute pleasure that meant control had passed her by. I lifted her arse and rimmed her back passage with my tongue and she began making noises that were hardy human. Ruby kept muttering, "please", but at that point I don’t think that even she knew what she wanted. I used my fingers to good effect as I used my mouth. Still, like a trooper I tongue-fucked the beautiful Ruby as she convulsed. At length, she came hard as my tongue was inside her. My mouth kept at her salty cunt trying to make her guess what would happen next. Her juices smeared all over my face. And, as her orgasm began to subside, I moved up and spread her legs wide apart and buried my cock deep inside her. Her arse was moving under my mouth as if it was on wheels. By now Ruby had enough control to add to the proceedings in her own way. I rejoiced in the scent of her cunt. She moved with a counter thrust that drove me crazy. The slight sucking sound her cunt made around my cock only increased the senses for me. I looked up at that point and she was squeezing her own left nipple. I had the sight, smell, the feel and now the sound of rough glorious sex with this creature. In fact, her orgasm was so sudden and so violently her right knee smacked painfully into the side of my head. Still resist her and her legs will lock you tight, resist further and she will try and maneuverer her backside to try and guide your cock inside her vulva. At that moment I came too, spurting hot gluggy shots of semen deep inside her body. I grabbed one of her hands and placed it on her clit. As Ruby’s head tucked itself into my neck, she arched her back, her fingers flicking her clitoris like a demented guitarist and she orgasmed in a series of violent thrusts. I made soft grunts with every sweaty thrust of my hips until I had no more to give. She began rubbing herself in time with our thrusts and in short order she began to cum for a second time and I decided to allow myself release too. I pounded her silky pussy with both deep and shallow strokes. She gently tussled my hair and pressed down hard with her legs against my backside forcing me deeper into her vulva and squeezing the last ounces of cum from my cock and into her willing body. I lay still hard and deep inside Ruby as both of us fought for breath in the hot stuffy hotel room. "I think that this will all have to go into my report to the consulate? " she said, as she nibbled my ear.

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sxminfo · 8 years

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David Redor: 52nd marathon of his incredible 2016 challenge – A marathon that should have been the last but wasn’t!

52 marathons in 52 weeks in the 50 states, plus Washington D.C. and the Bahamas: This was the challenge that David Redor – -Crazy Dave– had set himself for 2016. And on December 17, 2016, he completed his challenge! The 52nd marathon in Little Rock, AK was supposed to be the last of his 2016 challenge, but it wasn’t… In September 2016, while he was running the marathons of his initial Challenge, Redor realized that taking the dietary supplement Immun’Âge® allowed him to recover faster. And he started running “extra marathons”, as he called them, with 100 marathons within a year in mind. On December 31, 2016, after having run one marathon a day during the last weeks of the year, his 100-marathon-challenge was also completed!

David Redor has managed an amazing feat by running not 52 but 100 marathons within a year!

Endowed with extraordinary physical and psychological abilities, David Redor was able to manage – for a full year – all difficulties that come with long distance running, such as terrible weather conditions, dehydration, and many more. Never failing, he was able to avoid getting hurt or worn-out. Despite the very many trips that he had to take to get to each of the 50 states after each race, he never lost energy and completed both challenges in great shape, ready for new adventures.

Below are some interesting facts and numbers regarding the 100 marathons that David Redor ran in 362 days:

• 2,621.8 race miles, i.e. 4,500,000 strides (40 years of marathons for a reasonable runner!) • 6 pairs of running shoes • 26.6 lbs. lost • 1,130 packets of Immun’Âge®, a fermented Papaya dietary supplement with unique antioxidative and immunostimulant properties. • Some 80 gallons of Gatorade while racing • Biggest difference in elevation change while ascending: Manitou Springs-Pikes Peak Summit (CO) 6,358 ft-14,114 ft. • Biggest difference in elevation change while descending: Madison-Enny (MT) 8,599 ft-4,941 ft. • 1 marathon run in underwear (suitcase was lost)! • 1 lost suitcase • 1 bag forgotten in a plane • 125 flights • 97,413 miles traveled by plane • 11 airlines: American, United, Delta, JetBlue, Frontier, Southwest, Westjet, Suncountry, Alaska, Ravn, Hawaiian • 8 trains • 625 miles traveled by train • 5 long distance buses • 693 miles traveled by bus • 36 rental cars • 12,762 miles traveled by car • Stopped twice by the police: one for speeding, once for driving without headlights. (I did not receive any ticket and offered a signed David Redor postcard to the officers.) • 1 saved deer! (He was stuck in a fence.) • 49 Airbnb rentals • 35 hotels

Below is the text that David Redor wrote for his 52nd marathon.

Little Rock Marathon: Two gifts to end with a flourish!

After two weeks on the magnificent Hawaiian Islands, I went back to the continent experiencing a drastic change of temperature: It was 30° F when I got to Little Rock, AK. Tough change especially as I had to take several flights during the night. As soon as I landed, I first got my bib and then went to my hotel for a good rest.

After a good night’s sleep, I woke up at 5:15 with the alarm clock. I took three packets of Immun’Âge® as always before a marathon, and a few minutes later I had a fresh fruit juice and a cereal bar for breakfast. As I was getting ready, I checked the weather outside and got a great surprise! Some sort of miracle had happened: the temperature went from 30 to 68° F during the night! The first gift of the day.

I went to take the shuttle bus that took five minutes to get us to the start: we arrived around 6:30. I chatted with a few runners who were congratulating me… In a few hours, indeed, I was to complete my 2016 Challenge! 52 marathons in 52 weeks in the 50 states, plus D.C. and in the Bahamas…

After the national anthem, the run started: it was 7 o’clock. We started along the Arkansas River with a good pace. We crossed the Big Dam Bridge and ran on the other bank. I reached km 5 in 30 minutes. The sun was rising, the weather was good and the course flat and fast. Everything was well. We were running on the trail along the river and this was quite engaging.

I reached km 10 in 59 minutes feeling that I was going to accomplish a good marathon time. There were a few decent hills but nothing drastic. My pace was good. We headed towards Little Rock. At km 15 (reached in 1:29) we ran uphill across the second bridge, the Clinton Presidential Bridge. We turned around on the other bank of the river and took the same course back towards the start/finish line.

It was a beautiful hike. There were not too many people to encourage us but the volunteers working at the Aid stops created an exciting ambiance as it had often been the case this year! I really felt well. I reached km 20 in 2:00 and the half marathon in 2:06. I was on the pace to reach my personal best, which motivated me even more. I was in good spirits and was psyched up for doing a good time. We crossed the Big Dam Bridge back. I reached km 25 in 2:32.

We passed by the start/finish line at km 30 (reached in 3:06) and ran up the third bridge, the Two Rivers Bridge. We took the trail back on the other bank towards a park for a large loop. My back started hurting but nothing severe. The run was soon over: I was not going to let anything get in the way of me doing a good time for my 52nd and last marathon. I reached km 35 in 3:41. Steve, whom I met while running the marathon in Kansas, joined me but I left him behind after a short while.

It started to drizzle a bit, but I could see the finish line. There was no way that the light rain would stop me. I sped up from km 40 – reached in 4:18 – until the finish line which I crossed in 4:36:15 (marathon distance in 4:33:58). This was the second gift that I got that day.

They took my picture and congratulated me. I grabbed something to eat for later and rushed to the shuttle to get back to my car. I had to hurry up as I had to catch a flight to Jacksonville where I was to resume my other challenge! While performing my 52-marathon-in-a-year challenge, I realized that I could reach the magical number of 100 marathons and had started to run many extra marathons. I still have to run one marathon every day to complete this second challenge by December 31.

My initial 2016 Challenge is done: one marathon in each of the 50 states, DC and Nassau in 52 weeks!

I had a wonderful year in this beautiful country where I have discovered magnificent places and met wonderful people. It’s time to be thankful and take stock.

I would like to thank: • Pierre MANTELLO for his sponsorship and huge contribution to my challenge. Many thanks for introducing me to his extraordinary product Immun’Âge®. Without Pierre, and without the properties of his fermented papaya dietary supplement, this challenge would have certainly been way more difficult. • My friends Thierry POMIES, Peggy MILLARD and LINKWORK VENTURES for their welcome, logistic and technical help around the clock, their PR work and the great dinners that helped me put back some kilos when I needed them the most! • Florent LETUVEE at SXM INFOS for his huge PR work with the media as well as his work as Webmaster for my site and my Facebook page, and for many more contributions! The man can do everything! • Soufiane BAKADA at Immun’Âge® for his efficient reactivity. He was a solid and invaluable help particularly when it came to logistics and when I did not have time to take care of bookings. • Elizabeth KRISEK and Scott GOODRICH for their editing and translating my texts, as well as for their welcome. They were a great help. • Gilles DUFOUR, McDonald’s AVIGNON, for his generous financial contribution. • Ludovic MOUNIER, EGD FINANCE, for his friendship and financial support (not the first time): a loyal sponsor! • Stéphane and Yoan PEYRONNY for their financial contribution as well as for the great evenings every time I came back to Saint Martin! Thanks for the good beers that perked me up! • Claudia and the SPORTECH store for the high-quality sports gear they supplied me with. • Vincent JACQUEMIN and the LOUBSOL co for their high-quality runner’s glasses! A fantastic product… made in France! • Fadi HASBANI and HARLEY DAVIDSON SUPERBIKES SXM for their jacket that I wore almost every day. Great product! • Florian MANIERE, Vincent VERGEZ and CUBE co for their financial contribution. • MARCO at the YELLOW BEACH RESTAURANT for his kind financial contribution. • Pascal CASTAING, SERIGRAPHIX co, for his screen printing work on my runner’s outfits. • Fabrice LAUTEL of the organic bar restaurant SUSHIS N JUICE for his invaluable contacts. • Patrick BELISE at MB COACHING for his kind financial contribution. • Lévy TONY for his kind financial contribution.

Many thanks to all of you, friends and family, who have followed me, motivating and encouraging me all year long: that was such a great help!

To conclude, I chose a quotation that I found great. It reflects very well what I have experienced this year as well as life in general.

Happy New Year to all of you!

“… There is no happiness without courage nor virtue without struggle.” Jean-Jacques Rousseau

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David Redor: 52nd marathon of his incredible 2016 challenge – A marathon that should have been the last but wasn’t! David Redor: 52nd marathon of his incredible 2016 challenge - A marathon that should have been the last but wasn’t!

#2016 #chalenge #Crazy Dave #David Redor #Immun’Âge #Little Rock Marathon #marathon #sxminfo

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healthmaria · 8 years

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My maternal grandfather Emry 1881-1958 wrote his memories and they are a gold mine in regard to diving into a distant time. I was seven years old when he died.

The trip to Paris in 1950 was the first travel abroad for my grandmother and my grandfather’s second. He went to Germany in 1922 with his brother and brother-in-law at the time where the inflation was escalating.

He had studied brochures and taken a French course to be able to speak French at the journey. My grandfather was a school teacher and a parish clerk so they even needed someone to receive the phone calls at home. He had for many years kept the records of births and deaths in an area of Holbaek, a province town 60 km from Copenhagen. This job and the WWII had kept them from travelling abroad.

Departure from Copenhagen

In 1950 it was such an event that they were going on a holiday that a large part of the family and friends went to Copenhagen to send them off by the bus. My grandfather was very impressed by the driver’s way of navigating on the long way to Paris and back. My grandparents got to know some of the other passengers very well and had a great time during the two and a half day’s trip to Paris and back to Copenhagen. Some of the travellers were Swedish they are often very shy and my grandfather had to give up at contacting them as they refused to understand his attempts to talk to them.

They had to pass through customs many times to have their passports checked. Through Germany they passed by ruins every where. Hamburg was one big ruin but it seemed that people were in good spirit and lots of new housings were being built.

Emry describes Holland as well-organized and nowhere were windows and curtains so clean and gardens so neat as in Holland. Longing to arrive in Paris they entered France and passed by enormous cemeteries with endless rows of crosses. Farms and houses were lacking repair.

The sights that met the bus company driving through Hamburg

Bicyclists in Holland at the time of my grandparents’ travel

My grandfather’s handwritten map of the tour

In my grandparents’ foot-steps- Hotel Select some years ago

The address of the hotel “Le Select” at the left side of the Seine

From our trip in 2010

At last in Paris. Rue St. Michal, Palace de la Sorbonne, Hotel Le Select which is still a hotel at the left side of the Seine. The breakfast was the French long bread, difficult to chew with their kind of teeth, in addition rancid butter with it. My grandfather didn’t mind but I don’t think my grandmother was pleased with that.

One of the restaurants where the company liked to eat. We could not trace that place in 2010

The first day they took a tour with their bus to see the sights and later on they were on their own to try to find just a few of the sights they wanted to see again. They were offered a night trip on their bus and nobody declined that offer. The trip would start at 9.30 PM and cost 2000 Francs. I have not been able to look up what that would be in our money.

The Metro

One of the famous Metro stations in Paris in Art Nouveau style from 2010

We didn’t have a metro in Denmark at that time and it took some time for the travellers to get used to the system.

At the time in 1950 there were 14 lines in different levels under the surface and at both sides of the Seine. To find the exit was the easy part. Just look for “Sortie”. My grandmother was impatient and wanted to go quickly which resulted in choosing the wrong direction twice. A lot of stairs up and down to get back to the first platform. In the end my grandfather had to use all his authority to get some peace and quiet to be able to study the route and write it down with the places where to change line. The errors were repeated every time they travelled with other couples who also were very “clever” until all travelling plans were given to my grandfather. They lost two hours that way the first two days.

He concludes the Metro story by telling that it’s a good thing that you get around the whole day for the same 20 Francs!

My grandparents and a co-traveller at Rue Rivoli

The company visits Arc du Triomphe de L Étoile

Emry describes their first choice on their own was Louvre! Here they found people of all colours, something unheard of in Denmark at that time. They followed an Indian royal couple with a little girl dressed in white and with a diadem on her head. The parents were clothed in beautiful Indian style. My grandmother couldn’t resist giving the girl a piece of chocolate. They met lots of catholic priests from a distant place and they reminded him of teachers and pupils from the province visiting Copenhagen.

Paris by Night

Henry de Toulouse-Lautrec

“The Absinthe drinker” by Degas

Famous paintings from the beginning of last century

The company was quite excited by what the tour would turn out. The bus took them to Montmartre and they entered three different dancing clubs with women dancers with very little clothes on. Sometimes the company got up for dancing too, especially the younger women were asked to dance. My grandfather danced with one of the women from the tour at one place. The dance took nearly twenty minutes and my grandfather stood it out. Before my grandparents returned to Denmark the rumors had arrived by airmail to my fathers’ workplace where he overheard two young women telling that a parish clerk from Holbaek had danced with the mother of one of them in Paris!

At one restaurant they got Absinthe which was a very strong drink. The women didn’t like it so my grandfather took their drinks without being affected. Two of the young women in the company got too much to drink and my grandmother helped them to return ALONE to the hotel at 6 o’clock in the morning.

Emry describes how they went to a famous market. On his way to the market Emry came last and received no less than five invitations to go inside with woman standing at the entrance of their flats in Rue de Budapest. He kindly declined the offers in French and they soon looked for other gentlemen to invite to their place.

My grandfather and my grandmother in white hat at the book stalls at the river Seine

From our travel in my grandparents’ footsteps

detail of photo of my grandparents at Rue Rivoli

Buying small gifts at the famous La Lafayette department store was a great thing for my grandmother to visit. Emry and Asta saw Paris for the first and the last time in their life. He wrote a lot more but I am not able to let the words live like they should do. If you would like to read how they met in 1919 it’s here in two blog posts.

Art Nouveau style in Paris. Above La Fayette

Returning to Holbaek in September 1950

In June 2010 my husband and I took a trip to Paris where we tried to find as many sights as possible from the 1950 trip. At the Rue de Budapest nobody would stand in the door openings anymore. We might go again just to try to stay at the “Select”hotel at the left side of the Seine, La Rive Gauche but I would never be tempted to go on the night tour.

My Grandparents’ Travel to Paris in 1950 My maternal grandfather Emry 1881-1958 wrote his memories and they are a gold mine in regard to diving into a distant time.

#Family history #Historical issues #History #Nostalgy #Old photos #Paris #Travelling

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