French Adventures! Day: 1

On the road again! It feels so good to be back on the road again! 

Lyric references aside, it really really does feel great to be moving about the world again.  But what are we even doing right now you ask?  OK, admittedly our plans as of late have been kind of crazy and understandably people have no clue where we are at the moment.  This is because we've been applying to what we think is an extremely enticing and exciting work opportunity in the frozen continent that is Antarctica (aka the END OF THE WORLD).  While this has recently taken a lot of our energies, we've actually had Europe on our radars for quite some time (we almost visited when we were dating, actually!), so while we were putting all of our (quite lengthy) paperwork together for Antarctica we were also planning our summer adventures in France and Spain, where we will be throughout August and September.  The whole trip breaks down pretty simply as this: first week in Paris, the rest of August visiting one of Shannon's closest friends near Strausburg, and September we plan to hike the Camino de Santiago (the way of St. James).  So yeah, we're pretty pumped!

So today was a travel day that quickly bled into a weird sort of "Lets not get tired and fall-asleep-day in order to avoid jet-lag".  We are currently ahead of MA timezone-wise by 6 hours, which really meant when we felt like it was time for bed, the sun was coming out.  We each maybe managed an hour of sleep on the plane, but we knew if we succumbed to slumber our rhythm might be off for our entire stay in Paris.  So sleep much we have not!

OK but backing up a bit, our trip on Aer Lingus (Boston to Dublin, Dublin to Paris) was very smooth and while definitely worth the price a bit lackluster in the service department (but maybe we are just used to unbelievably good service of the Asian airlines we had the pleasure of flying with).  We arrived in Paris around 9ish, gathered our luggage, and proceeded to have mini heart-attacks when our ATM cards didn't work as promised (solved since then, no worries!).  We took our train to the Jourdain area of Paris to meet our "landlady" for part of the week.  We had heard recently about a interesting program called Air BnB (airbnb.com) that basically turns anyone with a spare room, apartment, house ect into a temporary hotel.  The woman we were renting from was already at the place and was extremely generous with information about the area.  After giving us all the details about the apartment, she headed out and handed the place over to us for the next few days.  It is tiny tiny tiny, but extremely efficient with its space and we are really enjoying it-we'll have some pictures up soon! 

And it turns out this is near some pretty neat neighborhoods.  Our host gave us a few place in walking distance to check out and we totally took advantage of the advice (remember, we're trying to beat jet lag).  We walked for several hours around the area - we saw a street market, had our first French meal (we had trouble figuring out what we were ordering, but we feel better prepared for next time), walked through a beautiful park,and then made our way to the canal.  As luck would have it, a boat was actually going through the lock system which was FASCINATING and neither of us had ever seen it done before.  As luck would also have it, the canal was also right next to the sight of a major summerlong festival called "Paris Plage" (which I think means Paris beach), and was just filled with all sorts of fun little activities (remind you, we were just walking to stay awake at this point and activities of any other sort were completely off the agenda).  But super fun to watch.

Our first impressions of Paris are just exceeding the hype - maybe we got lucky with the area we ended up in, the but the combination of the diversity of culture, the architecture, the FOOD (and affordable wine :), the sane drivers...thus far are all making this a great first day.  Then again, we're on one hours sleep, so we'll see how tomorrow goes!

We have signed up for the city bike program tomorrow so we are really excited to see even more!

Easier than hiking

Northampton Bench Protest

Last weekend we went to visit Northampton.  The mayor of Northampton had recently removed the benches because people had been complaining about the number of pan-handlers and homeless people that occupied them.   In response the people of Northampton had a protest.  

I've linked a short explanation video as well as the and article talk about the Mayor's recent letter saying that the benches will be returned.  I miss living in NoHo. 

Mayor Returns Benches

AT Day 8, The Last Day. Mollies Ridge to The Fontana Hilton

5 Lizards, 2 deer and 1 lady's slipper.  Not to shabby for our last day on the trail.  Also, we stopped at a the Shuckstack fire tower on the day down for the most impressive views we've had on the trip.   It was gorgeous to see the layers of mountains. We counted 7 at one point.  And the ridges that we've been walking look even more impressive when seen laid out across the range.  Overall, a great last day to our 68 miles through the smokies and a nice finish to our thru-hike.
The shelter we are at tonight is packed with thru-hikers.   Very fun.  They've got a fire going and everyone is in good spirits.   This shelter is called the "hilton" because it's the best shelter in the part of the trail but more because there are flush toilets and hot (hot!)  Showers.   Pretty awesome.   Also, there's a little resort village nearby so we sent Jon, Jamie and Laurens ahead to go into town and bring up back pizza and beer.   Great celebratory night!

AT Day 5 Gatlinburg to Double Spring Shelter

After our fun-filled evening of whiskey tasting and sightseeing we got to bed around 11pm for our few hours of sleep before the 7:30 shuttle pick-up to take us back to the trail.  Let me tell you, sleeping in a bed is luxurious! What a great (but short) sleep we had. 
Also, I GOT DONUTS!  Laurens ran (literally) to the Donut Friar to bring donuts back for everyone. I was so happy. It was a 2 mile round trip!  What a great guy!
The hike to this shelter was intense!  We hiked over Clingman's dome, the highest point on the AT, in rainy, misty and cloudy weather.  It also happened to be the rockiest and most arduous climb we've had yet.   Unfortunately as it was (and still is) raining we got absolutely no view for our troubles.   However since Jon Jamie and I got there before Laurens and Rachel we walked down to the Visitors Center to warm up.  While there was no seating, food or general amenities there we did have a nice time talking with all the rangers and volunteers there.  I looked up (and promptly forgot) the names of all the flowers we've been seeing,  chatted with a woman who is obsessed with the AT and wants to thru-hike next year when she is 64, and chatted extensively with a ranger about traveling abroad.
The shelter tonight is pretty fun.  There's 5 thru-hikers here, two other section hikers and us.  Very fun group. One woman, upon hearing that Jamie and I were finishing our Thru-hike, toasted up 2 of her five marshmallows to share with us!  Her name is Fiddlehead, she started in Georgia May3rd, she's finishing her Anthropology Degree and we really hope she has an excellent hike on the AT!  Everyone at the shelter loves the Ukulele and lots of people have been playing it tonight. I've enjoyed hearing the musical ministrations.   Overall, despite the rain, fog and cold it's been a great day.

Day 4. Kephart Shelter to Gatlinburg TN

<p>We probably should have taken more pictures of the strange destination of Gatlinburg TN but you'll have to do your own google search to see the marvel.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There are a million gimmicky shops and touristy entertainment options.&nbsp; Indoor mini-golf through a "circus", mini-golf on the side of the mountain,&nbsp; ripley's believe-it-or-not museum, ripley's aquarium, Guinness Book of World Records Museum,&nbsp; a shop consisting only of "smokey mountain trolls", another one for "knives, rifles, and airsoft guns, dune buggy rentals and on and on.&nbsp; And it's crowded!&nbsp; People everywhere wandering around with cars and motorcycles crusing back and forth.&nbsp;&nbsp; We were/are on sensory overload!&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
<p>Back to the trail tomorrow and thankfully so!&nbsp; There's so many options to spend money in Gatlinburg.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Aside from our wanderings through town we had a great (short) day hiking.&nbsp; We split up this morning with Jon and Jamie opting to walk the 3.5 miles back directly back up the mountain on the "Sweat Heifer Trail".&nbsp; Laurens, Rachel and I took the more leisurely and moderately graded "Grassy Branch Trail" to rt 441.&nbsp;&nbsp; We waited barely 10 minutes for a hitch and they drove us the 25 miles into Gatlinburg.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We hopped on the road about 10 miles before Jamie and Jon were going to get there but as we were driving by we spotted them emerging from the trailhead and hollered at them as we cruised by.&nbsp; Unfortunately, our little car was full with 5 people and we couldn't fit anymore.&nbsp;&nbsp; Upon arrival in Gatlinburg we got sucked into the outfitters and Jamie and Jon ended up beating us to the Grand Prix Motel.&nbsp; We got a cozy little apartment for the night,&nbsp;&nbsp; bought some beers and did laundry.&nbsp;&nbsp; Our day would have been perfect if we had thought to ask about the best way to get to the grocery store.&nbsp; The AWOL guide had misinformation about a a store having resupply foods so after walking for 2 miles we gave up and stopped in a little roadside convenient store to resupply.&nbsp;&nbsp; Not the best options or prices and an unfortunate waste of our time and energy but all was made better with mexican food and margarita's.&nbsp;&nbsp; <br>
We're back at the hotel WAY past hiker midnight and we've got to meet our shuttle at 7:30am.&nbsp; Tomorrow we are hiking over Clingman's Dome, the highest point on the AT. We wanted to make sure we had some time to hang out there and take in the view so we are skipping the all-you-can-eat  breakfast buffet so as to get on the trail early.  I did, for a few minutes, contemplate going down the street at 5am to the Donut Friar (best.name.ever), but the chances of that are slim.  I might even say non-existent.  Yet again I will not get my donut!   Some day I will get Donuts on the trail.    I'll go to sleep tonight dreaming of warm donuts with honey glaze.   Mmmm.

Day 3 - Tricorner Shelter to Kephart Shelter

<p>Today was/is/will be the longest day of our Smokies trip at about 15 miles.&nbsp; To get a start on the day we managed to get out of camp pretty early, with Rachel even hitting the trail by 7 to get a jump on the day and the rest of us jumping on around 8.&nbsp; We found the first five miles to be pretty mild.&nbsp; The only water source today was, unfortunately, half a mile off the trail at a shelter at about the five mile point.&nbsp; To save time, Jamie and Jonable ran down the hill with empty bottles to fill them up while Shannon brewed up some coffee.&nbsp; Mid-morning coffee!</p>
<p>We split up for most of the day, with Jamie and Jonable hiking ahead.&nbsp; They visited Charlie's Bunion which was a pretty neat jutting rock off of some schist cliffs. We all met up again for a late lunch at the junction of the AT and Grassy Branch Trail.&nbsp; Since we couldn't book one of our nights at a shelter on the AT we had to re-route off of the trail for the night and ended up hiking down (way down...) a beautiful valley.&nbsp; It was exciting to see lots of running water again and we were glad that Rachel, Laurens, and Jon all had a chance to see some different terrain (although the Smokies thus far have been quite beautiful, with lots of great ridge walks).</p>
<p>We were all super pumped when we got down here to the shelter, set in a great little spot a hundred feet or so from a bend in the river.&nbsp; And we have the place to ourselves!&nbsp; It is also the cleanest shelter we've been to, which makes since as it must be much less frequented.&nbsp; We're pretty happy to be able to just relax together.&nbsp; The temperature is also way higher down here, so we should be in for some pretty comfortable sleeping.&nbsp; OH, we've also had a pretty nice fire going all night, Jonable and Jamie found a good deal of driftwood in the river.</p>
<p>Overall a great day on the AT!!