The “Happy 101” Award

The “Happy 101” award is making the rounds in geneablogger land and I'm happy to say that it has been given to me three times! I've received it from Carol at Reflections from the Fence, Harriet at Genealogy Fun, and Bill at West in New England.

I'm also happy to accept the happy award! By accepting it I am obligated to name 10 things that make me happy and pass the award along to 10 more bloggers that brighten my day.

Here are just 10 of the things that make me happy:

1. Being retired.
2. Traveling.
3. Sunshine and blue skies.
4. Meeting geneablogger friends.
5. Keeping in touch with family.
6. Warm weather.
7. Walking in the woods or along the seashore.
8. Writing.
9. Photography.
10. Watching the sun rise and set.

And the 10 bloggers to receive the award are:

• Jasia at Creative Gene
• Apple at Apple's Tree
• Denise at Moultrie Creek
• fM at footnoteMaven
• Ruby and Cheri at You Go Genealogy Girls
• Donna Pointkouski at What's Past is Prologue
• T.K. at Before My Time
• Debra Osborne Spindle at All My Ancestors
• Leah Kleylein at Random Notes
• Greta Koehl at Greta's Genealogy Bog

Real Adventure?

So when was the last time you had a real adventure? You know, something out of your comfort zone?

My lovely wife had one today. Her first group ride on an unknown route. Made me think of the first time I did the same ride. Heart rate maxed for 2 hours....every turn new. And me wondering if I would have to get off the bike and walk on the next hill. Funny how experience, repetition and time changes our perspective. I found myself wanting to help her savor her newest adventure. It isn't about what we do, it is that we choose to try. It is about how far we are willing to step out of our comfort zone and how often. That is the real adventure.

Last week I was on a route again that the first time I tried to climb it we failed....40 feet from the top, terrified and it took the rest of the daylight and then some to get off....using a BIC lighter to find pin cracks to set the anchors just to get down. Those same anchors are now replaced by 3/8" bolts and chain stations.

Some of my best adventures have nothing to do with how difficult the climbing is. Some were just amazing learning experiences, the demands of relationships that matter....or injuries.

But I still remember that adventure and failing, so sweetly painful and close, years ago, like it was yesterday. Isn't that what the best adventures are all about?

Visiting Kasbah Taorirt in Ouarzazate

After our traditional Moroccan lunch, the group headed to Kasbah Taorirt. It is the former residence of Pacha Glaoui, the ruler of Marrakesh and the south of Morocco.



Many thanks and special mention to UNESCO for funding the renovation of this Kasbah and for paving the streets in the medina. Entrance to the Kasbah is 20 DH per person and this is exclusive of the tour guide. So the group arranged a tour guide for the Kasbah who will act as our guide, as well as later for the medina walking tour.







I forgot the name of the guide but he was quite good. With a smirk on his face, he narrated to us the history of the Kasbah including the love affairs of the Pacha who had four wives and several concubines. I guess this is pretty normal here in Morocco even up to this day, if you have the power and money that is. Anyway, he continued on that the wife who bears him the first son will become the favourite wife, or in other words, the ‘head wife’. The head wife will be entitled to better benefits in the marriage. She will have her own big (let me guess, the biggest) extravagant and ostentatious bedroom, a long entourage of maid servants at her beck and call, she obviously has the Pacha’s favour and interestingly, a special viewing room for festivities happening below in the inner courtyard.



Women back then are not directly shown to the public so the wives and concubines are literally stowed away. So during festivities, while the Pacha sits in the open balcony together with his officials and escorts being entertained, the wives are hidden away in their viewing rooms, the windows protected with iron grills. The head wife has her private viewing room of course while the 3 other wives share a smaller viewing room.



Honestly, I will not last a day being a wife of the Pacha, even if I become the head wife. No, thank you.



Here are my pictures of Kasbah Tourirt:







View from the balcony of the Pacha down to the inner courtyard.







Painting exhibit.







Left picture is the lovely wooden ceiling, more information below. Right picture is our tour guide (he was quite good) standing on the open vestibule, it is like a chimney or garbage chute that is used to bring food from the kitchen basement up to the rooms by using the simple lever and pulley technology system.







The ceilings in floral and geometrical patters are lovely even in their bad state. The paint used are henna and other natural ingredients. UNESCO I believe channeled a lot of money into the Kasbah’s renovation but perhaps more money is needed to fully preserve and renovate them to their former glory.







I believe this is the viewing window of the 3 wives. The right picture is one of the restored rooms.



Of course being in Morocco, the Kasbah is not complete without a hammam.



The hammam was quite primitive though and I can only surmise that women were so tiny back then. The entrance doorway to the hammam was so small it can be mistaken as a children’s playhouse. Inside the hammam you can find another hole, albeit tiny. If you slither yourself into it (I cannot imagine I would do that) you can enjoy a much warmer treatment.



OK, I would rather stick to the hammam at Club Med Marrakech!









View from the Kasbah to the medina.



Next: Walking Ouarzazate’s medina.

More Nisqually Icecliff

Here is another image of the upper Nisqually Glacier, with the route lines drawn. The BLUE represents the line Hannah climbed on the Nisqually Icecliff. The PURPLE is a variation on the Nisqually Cleaver, and the GREEN is the standard Nisqually Cleaver Route.

Photo by Gauthier, Feb 12th, 2006.

Minnesota Corn

Blomkest Corn, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Looking down on sweet corn in a field in the rural town of Blomkest, MN.

I've grown 'Golden Bantam' sweet corn. I only got a few ears of corn, but that may have been due to our sun-baked California clay soil. Not the best for growing vegetables.

In Bloom

So it's mid August, the sun has been shining and the remaining snow has been melting fast. This means that it is the time of year for blooming wildflowers! The subalpine meadows around Mount Rainier are home to many types of wildflowers, most of which are in the midst of flowering and adding beautiful colors to the landscape.

If any of you have been up climbing or hiking I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. The Paradise Meadows have been ablaze with Broadleaf Lupine, Cascade Aster, and Pasqueflower Seedhead just to name a few. Paradise isn't the only place to see fields of red and purple though. The subalpine ecosystem that is home to these flowers surrounds Rainier and is usually found between the 4,500' and 7,000' elevations. This being said climbers are sure to notice hardy plants and flowers growing in the rocky areas of Rainier at all elevations. Look around and you will surely be amazed when you see a hummingbird feeding on a flower as you approach 10,000' on Steamboat Prow or Muir Rocks!
These are some pretty hard core plants that survive year after year while spending eight or nine months buried beneath snow and ice. The best way to keep these guys around for future climbers to see is by not stepping on them, so on your way up to high camp please be sure to set a good example for the rest of the parks visitors (yes they are watching!) by staying on the trails, and not walking all over the fragile meadows.
The photos on this post were taken by Steven Redman one of our Interpretive Rangers here at Paradise. Interps work in the visitor centers throughout the park and are a great resource if you are looking for non-climbing related information. They have the most current beta on everything from flowers and animals to park geology and history. They are always amped to help you out with all the questions climbing rangers can't answer!
One thing climbing rangers can say with authority is that climbing on the mountain is still great. Check out new updates on the Kautz and DC. Don't forget about Little T (with a side trip up K Spire!) along with the Tatoosh peaks as climbing destinations.

Fruits de Mer at Hotel New York Rotterdam

After much googling of possible cool with great reviews places to eat seafood in Rotterdam, I came across Hotel New York’s Oyster (& Seafood) Bar. Ah, give me seafood anytime and I am a very happy island gal.



Fruits de Mer at the Oyster Bar





Platter of Fruits de Mer.





Souvenir shop of vintage items at the Hotel New York Rotterdam located beside the entrance of the restaurant.



So glad MadamE could join me for Saturday lunch when I was staying in Rotterdam for a weekend. She told me that she had some clairvoyance moment, that she was picturing herself eating seafood very soon. Well she’s right.



We arrived at the height of lunch time and it took awhile before we were led to our table. This place is incredibly buzzing! It is hands down a super popular place for people from all walks of life to lunch during weekends. I cannot blame them really because the Oyster Bar alone is enough to tempt and beckon seafood lovers like moi.



Finally we were seated and pouring over the lunch menu.





Cheers for chardonnay!



It didn’t take a long time to decide what lunch will be. MadamE beamed in delight when I ordered the fresh seafood platter, ‘Plateau Fruits de Mer’. Oooooh, we cannot wait.



While waiting for the seafood bounty, our Chardonnay drinks arrived. Cheers! Proost!





Busy preparing for our fresh seafood platter?





And here she is. Plateau Fruits de Mer. Love.











I wished I ordered an extra half dozen of fresh oysters.



Creme Brulee



For desserts, we both had creme brulee which was quite good. Creamy, and the sweetness is bearable. Then I had coffee of course as well. Lunch is not complete without this.







I love the ‘Oyster Bar’ at Hotel New York Rotterdam. I can come here every week!!! I will definitely come back.



Hotel New York Rotterdam



Here’s some history of Hotel New York Rotterdam, excerpt taken from their website:



“In earlier times, many Europeans escaped poverty and/or religious persecution by leaving from Rotterdam. These emigrants usually left for North America, hoping for a better life. In 1873 the Nederlandsch Amerikaanse Stoomvaart Maatschappij company was founded, officially renamed ‘Holland America Line’ in 1896. Emigrants embarked in Rotterdam in large numbers, most of them debarking in New York City on arrival in the ‘Promised Land’ of America.



In 1971, after more than 100 years of transporting passengers, the Nieuw Amsterdam left the city on the Maas for its last crossing. An important episode in Rotterdam’s nautical history had come to an end.”



The New York Hotel Rotterdam was previously Holland America Line’s headquarters. And New York City, USA was previously called New Amsterdam.



And the pictures of this bygone yesteryears hotel:















So there, some history lesson about Rotterdam. The hotel, a bit nostalgic isn’t she?



It was a lovely fresh seafood lunch and catch up with MadamE that spontaneously got extended to having tea in North Brabant.