Off to Iceland!

The day has finally arrived! We're loading up the car and getting ready to head off to the airport, bound for Reykjavik, Iceland. This is a place I have always wanted to visit, but never thought I could afford. Since Iceland's government went bankrupt a few months ago, the exchange rate has evened out considerably and made it more affordable. It is unfortunate for this beautiful, wild (or so I'm told!) island nation, but I have read that things have gotten a lot better there recently as far as employment goes. The summer tourist season helps matters too, I'm sure. This will be a very interesting trip: eighteen hours of daylight (made sure to pack a sleeping mask!), wild puffins, and a landscape that is really out-of-this-world! Literally! Years ago NASA used Iceland as a training ground for astronauts because of the country's "lunar-like" plains.
Anyway, I'm not sure how much I'll get to post while I'm there, but I will be sure to write all about it when I get back. Skal! ("Cheers", in Icelandic. I'm lucky everyone there speaks English, supposedly. I don't recognize a single Icelandic phrase!)

Long Island Weekend

There is nothing like a quick weekend trip to mix up the everyday routine! Sunday afternoon I got back from a little jaunt to Long Island, New York, where I grew up (after leaving Greensboro at 6:30 Saturday morning to catch an early flight out of Raleigh). It was great to see my group of childhood friends again - Kathleen is getting married, and we surprised her with a shower - and the weather held out, which was a surprise for all of us! Correction: it held out just long enough for us to take a beautiful ride through the Peconic Bay on Jeanne's new boat, and then the downpour came. That was fine with us all. We still got to see a gorgeous sunset and more swan families on the Peconic River and the bay than I ever remember being there.

My apologies for the fuzzy photo... I left the camera at home and relied on my phone to take pictures. During the day it's still great!