Desfiladero de las Xanas

Dinner last night was a fabulous panga with a rice pilaf.

This morning, breakfast at 8:30 am, then a 9:30 am departure for Villaneuva and the Desfiladero de las Xanas, an incredible canyon hike. We hiked up to La Rebollada and then down to Pedroveya to La Generosa where we had lunch of fabada, pota and two stews whose names I didn't catch. A drive to Bermiego where we walked to El Teixu de Bermiego, considered to be the oldest yew tree in Europe. We also visited some of the 32 horreos and paneras in Bermiego. Nanette, Steve and I then hiked down to Arroxo while Judy took Bud and Sandy back to Hotel Fuentes de Lucia. At Arroxo, Nanette and I walked along the Senda del Oso to Barzana while Steve went up to the hotel to let Judy know our plans.

Nanette and I enjoyed a glass of vino tinto while we awaited our ride back to Faedo.

Juan Carlos' garlic soup and a mista salad for dinner and an apple pastry for dessert.

No van day (almost)

Today, we did a wonderful loop hike right from the Hotel Fuentes de Lucia.

Breakfast at 8:30 am, early for the Spanish but perfect for the Americanos still suffering jet lag. Juan Carlos made scrambled eggs, unusual for the Spanish who usually just have coffee and perhaps a piece of bread.

We then hiked up to the Molinos de Corroriu (the mills) and the village of Fresnedo, down to Villaorille where we stopped for a cold drink at El Pantano Parrilla on the Embalse de Valdemurio, the reservoir on the rio Trubio. Then back to Faedo via the Senda d'Oso. A wonderful lunch of an eggplant moussaka, again courtesy of Juan Carlos, and now some quiet time before we head into the village of Proaza where they are having their fiesta this weekend. At 6 pm, they will be trying to set the Guinness World Record for the most people doing a traditional dance.

Last night we had potato puree (mashed potatoes) and roast chicken with apples and garlic. Yum!

Senda Costera

A fabulous day.

Arose early (7 am) after a jet-lagged fitful night's sleep so that we could get on the road to the airport to pick up another couple, Bud and Sandy from Durango. We had a short unexpected delay when the ATM ate Bud's debit card (he's having another Fed-ex'd) but we then drove up to Cudillera, an exquisite old fishing village where we hiked up the winding streets to the farm land above. Then a short shuttle to the beach at Playa de Aguilar where we picked up the 4 km Senda Costera de Muras de Nalon (but not before I had a small clumsy mishap on the slippery rocks on the beach).

After walking 4 spectacular kilometers along the cliffs above the ocean, we went into San Esteban de Pravia where we ate lunch at Tasca Marinera El Puerto. Sumptious calimari, hake, monkfish and goat cheese salad left all 6 of us sated.

A drive back to Hotel Fuentes de Lucia, a shower and now some relaxation time.

I finally caught up with Rachel on Skype and will try again before I go to bed.

I have no idea what we're doing tomorrow but I'm sure it will be great.

Faedo

Faedo. That's the name of the actual village we're in. It's really tiny, not really what we'd consider a village but it qualifies here.

Thanks to 30+ hours with no sleep and an Ambien, I slept straight through to 8 am and didn't get out of bed until 9:30.

Spent the day getting caught up on email and blogging, reading and soaking up the atmosphere. Took another walk this afternoon to get some more pictures and then we all (Judy, Sophie, Ben, Steve & I) went back into Oviedo. It's got a great old city center with a wonderful cathedral that is showing its age in charming ways. Today was the start of the Festival of San Mateo which meant lots of music and food in all the squares.

Back to Hotel Fuentes de Lucia for dinner of a traditional potato tortilla.

Tomorrow, hiking along the coast.

Arrival

It's really beautiful here!

Since yesterday and today were basically one really long travel day, this entry could be one long whine but I'm going to focus on the positive and say that everything went smoothly with little to no delays. Immigration was a breeze and customs was non-existent.

I will say that US Airways has the most cramped international flight I've ever been on and Iberia the most cramped flight period.

We flew Aspen to Denver to Philadelphia to Madrid to Oviedo, 21 hours total including layovers.

Judy met us at the Oviedo bus terminal which was great. The drive from Oviedo to Barzana de Quiros was gorgeous and the Quiros Valley is spectacular.

Although we napped for short periods during our travel, we are exhausted but we worked really hard to stay up until 10 pm to try to adjust our internal clocks. We visited for a while, then showered and then walked a bit through the village. This area is basically dotted with tiny villages built into the mountain sides. Very quaint and rustic with lots of centuries old houses, corn cribs and the narrow windy roads.

Since some other guests arrived unexpectedly, Judy cooked a wonderful dinner of pumpkin soup, tomato salad and pork cutlets and we are now collapsing from jet lag.

Perhaps the festival in Oviedo tomorrow.

Happy to help

Yesterday morning, I woke up to a local news story on the radio. Realizing that a friend of mine was being interviewed, I was confused and surprised to hear that his last name was the same as Steve's. That just didn't seem right. I knew his wife's name wasn't the same as Steve's and I knew she no longer used her maiden name.

I just couldn't wrap my groggy mind around how her husband's last name could be the same as Steve's when I was sure that hers wasn't.

As I pulled myself into consciousness, it came to me. The last names were similar but not identical and the wrong one was being used.

So, in the spirit of ensuring my friend his due credit and of helping to ensure that our local news is accurate, I called the radio station, spoke with the news person and by the next local newscast, was gratified to hear my friend being referred to by his correct name.

I wonder if anyone noticed . . .

Something in the air?

There's something weird in the air.

Every one seems out of sorts. Unusual amounts of fussing and irritability. Weirdness at work, weirdness in town.

We are experiencing very hazy, cloudy conditions as a result of the California, Utah and Colorado wildfires. I don't know if it's connected but something is definitely causing a weird energy.

Because I lost the other one

Countdown to Rachel's Graduation

Anticipation

This is where I'm going in a week and a half.

Exhaustion

This poor guy was in this tree at 7:30 am and was still in the same tree at 8 pm.

At lunchtime, there was quite a crowd milling about, including Aspen police officers and Colorado Department of Wildlife officers. The DOW officers were doing a fine public relations job, patiently fielding questions from the visitors. No, the bear wasn't going to be tranquilized nor would he be put down. He wasn't doing anything wrong. He was not tagged. He had no strikes. He was likely up the tree because he had gotten spooked and he would come down when he wasn't spooked any longer.

I wonder if he's still up there . . .

(check out Aspen Daily Photo and Mountain Musings 365 Photoblog for more pics)

Appropriately appreciative?

People amaze me.

I was at the airport early this morning, turning travel vouchers into tickets to Chicago for Columbia College's open house in November ($260.40 round trip! That's crazy!).

Anyhow, while I was standing at the ticket counter, waiting for the fare to be restored (it had increased $130 overnight but United was honoring the original fare), I was fascinated by the number of people showing up less than 15 minutes before their flights, expecting to make their plane. Not only make their plane (without having checked in online) but also to be able to check bags.

Granted, the Aspen airport is really small and you can cut it close but not that close! These people seemed genuinely surprised that they weren't going to be allowed on their scheduled flights.

I left, having accomplished my goal, not envying the ticket agents in the least.

I, however, was in the enviable position of having made a trip to the airport, ticketed an itinerary (waiting for an adjustment) and made it back into town, all in about 20 minutes. Beat that, Ohare!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Rachel's Senior Pics

Wow (as in are my expectations too high?)

As I mentioned yesterday, our hot water heater is a health hazard which we have been directed to replace immediately so much of today was spent in search of a new hot water heater.

Due to the fact that we live in the land of really expensive square footage, our crawl space where our hot water heater lives is not very tall. So, none of the hot water heaters which are normally kept in stock (those 60 inches or taller) will work for us and we must special order. Having done a bit of online research last night before venturing out today, I found that Sears has a short model that still manages to hold 50 gallons (the Kenmore Power Miser 9, 50 Gallon Short). This is a good thing. Most other short water heaters we were finding maxed out at 40 gallons.

After repeatedly getting shot down, we decided to throw in the towel on the hope of coming away with a hot water heater in hand today and go ahead and order the 50 gallon shorty from Sears. Armed with the knowledge that the Sears in Glenwood Springs had closed, we called the Grand Junction Sears from the parking lot of Lowes to place a phone order, only to be told by the manager, Mike, that we could only place a phone order if we were paying with a Sears card.

Huh?

I nicely stated our case, that we lived 2+ hours away and that we really wanted to get the order in since it was getting late on Saturday afternoon and we needed to pick up the unit as soon as possible since we're without hot water in the interim. I told him that we had researched, found units at competitors but had decided to go with the Sears model PLUS the extended warranty. I asked him if he wanted me to purchase from his competition. As I got more frustrated, I said if this was Sears' policy, I could understand why they were on the verge of going bankrupt. I asked him if I could speak with his boss. He didn't seem to know who that was.

Thoroughly frustrated, I got off the phone and turned to my Blackberry's web browser to find someone to complain to, only to discover that Sears has a store in Rifle. Now Rifle's only a little over an hour away. Hmmm. Just for curiosity's sake, I called the Rifle store.

And proceeded to place a phone order for the exact same water heater. With my Visa.

So now we only have to drive one hour in each direction to pick up our hot water heater, rather than 2+ hours in each direction . . .

Unexpected

Yesterday, I was hoping that I'd be driving to Grand Junction tomorrow. Today, I'm less than pleased that I have to drive to Grand Junction tomorrow.

Instead of heading to Grand Junction to attend Obama's Colorado Town Hall, I'll now be heading there to purchase a hot water heater.

Having noticed that my hot showers have been getting shorter and shorter, I've been thinking about replacing our hot water heater for a while but before actually pulling the trigger, we had someone come take a look at it to see if it was repairable.

No such luck.

The gas company repair guy who came out today is amazed that we're still alive. It seems that our hot water heater has been pumping carbon monoxide out a hole in the ductwork into our crawl space. He turned off the hot water heater and graciously taped up the hole but only after extracting a promise from Steve to immediately replace the hot water heater and get the duct work repaired.

Ahhh, the joys of home ownership . . .

Better luck next time?

It appears that I did not get selected to receive tickets for Saturday's Obama rally in Grand Junction. If I say that I was worried about the crazies who might have been there, either inside or out, would that sound like sour grapes?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Colorado Town Hall

I just submitted my request for two tickets to Obama's Colorado Town Hall on Saturday, 8/14/09 in Grand Junction. I'll know tomorrow afternoon if I got selected . . .

Grand Junction, Colorado Town Hall

Thank you for your interest in attending a Town Hall with President Barack Obama in Grand Junction, Colorado on Saturday, August 15th at 4:15 pm.

Due to limited space at the event we will only be able to fulfill a limited number of requests for tickets. Please note that filling out this form DOES NOT guarantee a ticket to this event. Filling out this form qualifies you to be selected for a ticket.

Doors for the event will open at 1:45 pm. The event location and further details will be given to those individuals who are selected to pick-up tickets.

At 12:00 pm on Thursday, August 13th, when the online sign-up has expired, a limited number of individuals will be selected and contacted regarding ticket pick-up information. Each individual selected will have the opportunity to pick up a maximum of TWO tickets.

Please note that the White House will not be able to respond to all requests for tickets. You will only receive a call if you are selected to pick up a ticket.

Because of space limitations we will not be able to accommodate all interested parties.

This form will be available until 12:00 PM Mountain Time, Thursday, the 13th.

THIS IS NOT A TICKET

Thank you for submitting your information. You will be contacted only if you are randomly chosen to receive a ticket. At that time, we will give you information regarding how to pick up your tickets and attend the event.

Tickets are not for sale.

The Beautiful Struggle by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates came up in Baltimore, a middle son of a father who had seven children by four women. A Beautiful Struggle is the lyrical, poetic story of Coates’ parents’ struggle to imbue their children with the skills and education needed to master their often unfriendly environment.

Walter Moseley called Coates the James Joyce of the hip-hop generation and before starting the book, I questioned this assessment as perhaps overblown. As I read the book, however, I came to fully agree. Coates has an amazing facility with language, creating vivid visuals utilizing an interplay of rap inspired prose.

Having lived in DC and Maryland during the years Coates was growing up in Baltimore and aspiring to Howard University, I connected all the more with Coates’ memoir. But, even those readers not familiar with the world Coates inhabited will find The Beautiful Struggle a beautiful read. Sorry, I couldn’t resist . . .

3s of me

You've been tagged, so you are supposed to write a note with the 3s of YOU. At the end, choose 15 people (multiple of 3) to be tagged. You have to tag me, so you just need 14 more people. If I tagged you, it's because I am interested in learning more about YOU.

(To do this, copy this, go to "notes" under tabs on your profile page (click + after your info), paste these instructions in the body of the note, replace my answers with your 3's of Me, tag 15 people in the right hand corner of the app, then click publish.)

Three names I go by:
1. Bridget
2. Mary
3. Bridgie

Three jobs I have had in my life:
1. Lawyer
2. Paperboy
3. Bartender

Three places I have lived:
1. DC
2. Florida
3. Colorado

Three Favorite Drinks
1. Fresh ground strong coffee
2. Reisling
3. Coffee malt

Three TV shows I watch:
1. I don't.
2.
3.

Three places I have visited:
1. Beijing
2. London
3. Seoul

People that text me regularly:
1. Rachel
2. Kim
3. Suzannah

Three of my favorite foods:
1. Sushi
2. Giordano's pizza
3. a well cooked rare steak

Three friends I think will respond: (no pressure guys)
1.
2.
3.

Three pets that I've had:
1. Gerbils
2. Cairn terriers
3. Standard poodle

Three places I want to visit before I die:
1. Greece
2. Africa
3.Italy

Well then

My Political Views
I am a left social libertarian
Left: 4.25, Libertarian: 4.5

Political Spectrum Quiz
My Foreign Policy ViewsOn the left side are pacifists and anti-war activists. On the right side are those who want a strong military that intervenes around the world. You scored: -5.35

Score: -5.35

Political Spectrum Quiz


My Culture War Stance
Where are you in the culture war? On the liberal side, or the conservative side? This scale may apply more to the US than other countries. You scored: -8.15

Score: -8.15

Political Spectrum Quiz

This week's PostSecret favorite