Gap Year

Monday, June 3, 2013

Back in the Bubble

Maybe it was the jet lag, or the 20 years of PIMCO training, but I got up at 4:00 am today and was able to watch the sun rise over Laguna Beach. Actually, it was more of a "dawn breaking" rather than "sun rising" experience because June Gloom has settled in over the Southern California coast. Still, it was beautiful and it's so nice to back in the Laguna bubble.... a town cocooned by foothills and the ocean, where I have so many great friends, where art is part of everyones life, where the air is fresh and clean, and importantly, where you can get great Mexican food! Ahhhhh......

Sunrise from my perch on Mermaid.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Floating Down the Canal

Every year, people gather on the first weekend in June and float down the canal. Niki and I had no idea this was occurring and woke up surprised by the festivities outside our window. There was an endless parade of sailors, pirates, and vikings.

For hours, people streamed down the stairs with inflatable rafts. Off on some wild adventure.

The sidewalk and the canal were teeming with people.

Hot viking chick!

Rafts were tied to together to create little floating caravans.

What are these guys building?

A narrow boat navigated through the crowd, to jeers and hisses.

What a party!

Monday, May 27, 2013

Home House Hooray!

Home House is beautiful - even the toilet was impressive. My behavior was pretty impressive too!

Slow Travel

When Niki and I headed out for the first leg of our Gap Year travels, we were hoping to experience that unique sense of exploration that can only really occur with slow travel. Here we are, in our 5th week in Europe, and we are learning about London in the most wonderful way. The photos below are from an area of South West London called Mortlake. It's a beautiful place, but with limited time you would never see it. Slow travel allows you to meet people and experience their local places. We are fortunate. Smile.

Can you believe this is taken in London on the Thames?

A lovely path along the river.

Cool courtyard cafe.

Vine covered trellis in the entry.

Seriously.... is this really London? Feels like Spain or Mexico or Italy.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Street Food

Shoreditch has everything. Truly. Last night, we hung out in a Lebanese street food tent. Amazing vibe, cool people, fun music, great drinks.....

Yalla Yalla - The street food tent on Shoreditch High Street.

Amazing vibe. Colorful lights, low tables, diverse crowd, old airstream trailers....

Lebanese sangria, complete with slices of extremely hot red chillies. Spicy!

And why not throw in some fireworks. After all, it is a Saturday night in May.

Hooka selection.

Love the signage!

Ok.... this place was gritty, rough around the edges. Is that an old fence in the corner? Yup.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

The Lake District and Scotland

While Tammie was in Zurich, I visited Scotland with my sister. On our drive up we stopped at the Lake District and stayed in a Youth Hostel, which I was most taken with. Bunk beds and bare bones. It was bloody freezing (I wore long sleeves and a hat to bed), but I loved every minute of it.

Our jail cell - they turned the heating off at 10pm

In bed after a fabulous walk and healthy meal, reading JM Coetzee - bliss

Then it was on to Scotland where it was even colder. Plenty rain, sleet, hail and a bit of snow - ah, the Scottish summer.
The reason we went to Scotland was to scatter my father's ashes. We joined my step mother's ashes with my father's and made a circle on the shore of Loch Rannoch - their favorite place.