#before they make the local village with three waterfalls jokes

[glitchinginhyperfixis]

not posting this to the tag bc i love the phrase “local village with three waterfalls” but like that one person said the local village and the faraway land arent the same thing. the local village doesnt have three waterfalls. hes saying he wants to leave the local village to find the three waterfalls!

[horizonnatsu]

UNDERTIDE - AU, where it is almost impossible to get out of the dungeon, since it is completely surrounded by water, and the exit is blocked with stones after the Royal incident.

It all starts with the same classic story and a short story where you, as observers, are given the main active conflict: people and monsters.It wasn't just magic, though. People became masters of the whole island, where the mountain was located. After the war, many years later - the monsters were forgotten, but the legend "about missing people" is alive in the hearts of local people and have a huge power that does not allow you to go close to a dangerous area. In fact, while people were created in the city and developed — the monsters are also not stood still, mastering his new home. Initially, the dungeon seemed to be a joy for the partially exterminated people, but later it presented them with new "surprises". Not the most pleasant, you might say. The dungeon is very huge and it took a long time to explore it. And, as I mentioned earlier, completely surrounded by water, which flows in huge waterfalls and goes into the very depths, not allowing the caves to flood, but!Floods. Monsters are faced not only with complete isolation from the world, but also with natural phenomena that bring misery to all people living underground. Unpleasant, of course. Initially, the flooding of the dungeon was a real hell, because the motley rows of creatures were noticeably thinned, but they allowed us to find a convenient hill where we could establish a "New Home".

Locations.

They have significantly changed and, unlike the original game, do not Shine with variety. Snow-capped firs in Snowdin have given way to flowering trees, the huge caves of Waterfall have become corridor-like, where colored murals are located, and the heat of Hotland has been reduced to river springs. The ruins are a place that has long been abandoned by monsters, where no one lives except those who have adapted to water life. There used to be an "Old House" here, but little remains of it. Most of the streets are flooded and it is impossible to get there. The house of Toriel still separates the human from the exit from the Ruins.House Toriel has the old name, despite the fact that the Queen herself no longer lives there. And, for the most part, she grew rare flowers there rather than live. Saltdin — instead of a snowy atmosphere-has acquired more pleasant and summer shades. Got its name because of the abundant amount of salt that remains after the flood in the dungeon, magically, for some reason, accumulating in this part of the Kingdom. "- Perhaps the reason is underground springs or a feature of the area that we have not yet studied properly " (C) Alphys Monsters live quite calmly in a small town, jokingly decorating houses with salt, which constantly has to be cleaned. After the water runs out, it only takes a week to clean up. Many people are already used to this, and therefore this process is more of a joke tradition. At the end of this event-in the bar Grillby gather all the residents of the town and celebrate the end. P.S. in the town can safely be monsters that can swim and live under water, and quite feel comfortable. Example: shark Sharkey. Waterfall - huge corridors decorated with legends. Here grow the usual echo flowers, the village of Temmie, streams flow and waterfalls pour. In one of the small corridors — there is a Sea stone. Its purpose is unknown for sure. It is also home to the Captain of the Marine Guard - Undyne Undyne has a very close relationship with Alphys and Papayrus: The former made her armor, and the latter is her squire and, almost, a full-fledged member of the Sea Guard.Creatures of Waterfall - best tolerate floods, as they are fully adapted to life on water, under water and near water. Help monsters from Saltdin, willingly offering their help and services. Waterland is the place where all the technological processes of the Dungeon take place. Here is the main lab, the Core is located, as well as, at the very end — the MTT hotel, where they broadcast the most important news. In General, the application is almost indistinguishable from the original, however, it is here that there is a huge whirlpool, which is the "core". Scientist V. D. Gaster - was able to curb this energy, making life easier for monsters. Near the whirlpool itself-there is a huge water mill, the creation of which took many years of work. However, the scientist was forgotten as a result of the disaster, becoming a victim of his own creation. Alphys became a Royal Scientist, since she was the only one who had the necessary qualifications and was Gaster's assistant, but after His "disappearance" from history, she remained the only one who was able to work. Under her leadership, she brought to success many projects, including: Mettaton, broadcasting and television (the last two-thanks to the technology of people who fell into the underground). The New House is a huge city standing on top of a cliff, accessible only by a long stone staircase or elevator. This is where a lot of monsters that want a quiet life are located. It has the largest number of streets and shops, which are busy with a variety of things. The bar "at Grillby's", which is run by Fuku Fire, is very popular. It is in the New House that the Royal castle and courtroom are located, which is popular to visit. The judge helps resolve conflicts and passes sentence after listening to both sides and asking leading questions. Queen Toriel - willingly accepts monsters and is ready to listen to their suggestions and complaints. She is kind, but at the same time strict and fair. As a ruler, she wishes prosperity to her Kingdom. Yes, in this case, the ruler is Toriel, not Asgor. There were no quarrels in the family after Asriel's death, but there was another misfortune. During the melting of the ice, King Asgor died protecting the child at the cost of his own life. Coral cemetery - a place where few people go, but everyone remembers it. Here are the graves of dead monsters and children.Most often this place is visited by Tori. The last corridor / courtroom is a place where the judge meets with both sides of the conflict, offering to solve everything on the mind. In addition, here, before you get to the Queen - you can meet Sans, who will change the scale of your sins. And, of course, all the battles on the path of genocide take place here. Do you wanna have a BAD time? =) In the Royal chamber there are three thrones, two of which are covered with blue cloth. Here you are met by Toriel, happy that you have arrived alive and well. Behind this room is a corridor at the end of which you can see the collapse. This is where you find that there is a barrier behind it.

[okk--maaan]

The First - 1/?

You and Kylo Ren, or Ben Solo as you once knew him, have known each other your whole lives and you’ve always been inseparable, best friends. But as you’ve gotten older, that friendship has blossomed into something more, deeper.

Warnings: fuckin fluff dude and way too much exposition

A/N: Holy shit I sat on this for way too long. I have an idea about where this is going to go but that’s about as far as I’ve gotten lmao. I’m sure it’ll get a lil smutty soon but we’ll see 😏. Uhh I’m not super familiar with Star Wars terms/slang so sorry if I messed something up on that front, please don’t come for me. Also I don’t consider myself a ‘Ben Solo Stan’ by any means, but I do think that part of his life can play an important role in his story. Don’t come for me about that either. Hope you guys stick with me while I attempt to write a full chaptered fic!

You had known Ben since you were a child, your whole life really.

Your parents had fought alongside his in the Resistance. They fought long and hard on the frontline until their last breaths. You were only ten when they left. But by that time, Leia was already like a second mother. There was a group of children orphaned to the Resistance, either through their parents being captured or killed. The mentality of “it takes a village” naturally applied here, but Leia, especially Leia, treated you as her own. And then there was Ben. At first, he was just your friend who was always around. But the more your parents were gone, the more you were around each other, with each other. He became your best friend and confidant, and you were the same for him. 

When you were often left to your own devices, the two of you would explore whichever planet your rebel forces had chosen to occupy for the time. You would climb trees in lush forests and listen to the birds in order to learn which calls belonged to which species. You would swim in warm coves with waterfalls cascading down from miles above your heads. You would wind through tunnel systems dug beneath desert sand, hoping to find treasure. You played children’s games and used your children’s imaginations. But as you got older, your activities together changed. You stopped playing pretend and started to talk about what your real lives were going to be like. Around the time you were fourteen and Ben was fifteen, you decided neither of you really wanted to fight your parents’ war. You didn’t know what you were saying. You stopped looking for treasures you thought would make cool toys. Instead, you started scavenging wrecked ships for things that could be traded for cooler things. Ben eventually had the idea to trade your more valuable findings for money. He started to know when smugglers and other travelers friendly to the cause would be around and willing to pay for spare parts. But you never went with him on those adventures, always too scared to get caught. You both always split the money you got, and he always spent a portion of his earnings on a gift...for you. Always something handcrafted from a local shop that for some reason he thought you would like (and you always did). A hand blown glass rose, scraps of metal molded into an animal, small rings made from a planet’s unique minerals. Sometimes you felt bad when you couldn’t return the favor. But anytime Leia allowed freedom to wander through a market, you bought him loads of his favorite sweets to make up for it. Ben always had such a sweet tooth.

Your time together also stopped being just between you. Now you were usually accompanied by two or three other friends. And of course now that we were teenagers, feelings were beginning to manifest that you had not yet experienced. Like jealousy. Solan was your first kiss. Ben didn’t speak to you for a week. You didn’t understand what you did wrong. Yana was Ben’s first kiss. Then you understood.

But the silence didn’t last long, you were too ingrained in each other. Before there was even time to think about it, you fell back into your routine. He would come to your quarters he would read while you drew. You would go to his quarters where he lived with his mother. If Leia was around, she would cook meals and you would talk around the table. Otherwise, Ben and I would eat snacks and watch old holos from the Republic. The explorations resumed, but now you never invited Solan or Yana, or anyone else, for that matter. Just the two of you again. You both knew what you were doing, deep down, but neither ever wanted to be the first to acknowledge it.

Until your sixteenth birthday.

The Resistance had just set up base on this beautiful planet, covered in soft tall grass, vibrant wildflowers and sparkling ponds. There was never a cloud in the sky the entire time you were there.

Ben showed up at your door that morning holding a blanket on one arm and a picnic basket on the other. You didn’t know where he got this idea from.

“I want to do something nice for your birthday,” he said through a shy smile.

“I didn’t think you’d remember,” you lied.

“I don’t think I’ve ever forgotten.”

He was right. He hadn’t. Ever.

You walked through the cold makeshift halls of the base, outside into the warm mid-morning sun. You basked in it, pausing for a moment and lifting your face. Let your eyes close and let every ray touch your skin. Ben did the same. Except he wasn’t basking in the sunlight, but you instead. You could feel his gaze, but let your eyes drift back open just in time for his to cast down. You smirked and let out a small breathy laugh through your nose. Again, Ben mimicked your actions. When one did something, the other usually found themselves reacting similarly. You were so alike, shared the same opinions and emotions on most topics. Like the war. And each other.

Ben led you down a worn dirt path carved right through a field of flowers you had yet to learn the names of. Then he stopped and turned to step off the path. After a few easy looking steps into a never-ending sea of knee high grass, he instinctively reached back for your hand. And you instinctively took it. That was another thing you just did, that felt natural. When the landscape of your hikes called for leisure, Ben would slow his gait in order for you to walk side by side. Then he would scoop your hand up and interlace his long fingers with yours. You never thought much about it. It just always felt right. You wondered if he understood the implications. You didn’t, at first. But as you moved into adolescence, you learned who held hands. People in love. And even then, you didn’t understand the different types of love. You knew you loved Ben, but you also knew that you loved Leia and your parents. So you didn’t think too much about hand holding.

Usually the touch was innocent enough. A sense of comfort would wash over your body as his rough boy hands, calloused from climbing and throwing things, grasped yours. But this time, the touch was different. There was an intention, a heat, a force behind it. Obviously you knew who his mother and uncle were, but was this THE FORCE? It didn’t feel how you imagined it would. No. This felt dark, and it scared you. But only for a second. Ben must have sensed this fear and used whatever mind tricks he must have recently become aware of. He immediately turned to meet your gaze, his eyes warm like the sun-kissed moss hanging from the trees, and a tender smile spread across his freckled face, displaying his dimples and not-so-straight teeth. You swear you heard his voice--his actual voice--in your head. As soft as a whisper, he said, “Follow me, princess.” You could even hear the smugness in his tone. He always teased, calling you princess, because you were the closest thing Leia had to a daughter. You had even heard a handful of people take the joke as far as calling you the Princess of Alderaan. And Ben was the Prince. It was always said with a sneer and you never much liked it. But when Ben called you princess, it was always said with a playful glint in his eyes. And you always liked that, very much.

That was the moment you began to see Ben as more than just a boy, more than just your friend. That fiery touch on your skin and low voice in your ear was enough to begin his transformation into a man and your love.

He led you to a tree, large and singular in the middle of the sea of green--which you found was not as easy to navigate as Ben’s long legs made it seem. Not far off from where you spread the blanket under the tree, one of the beautiful blue ponds sparkled. You wish you had brought your swimming clothes.

You sat in comfortable silence, the only sound was Ben unpacking the picnic basket. One by one, he pulled out your favorite fruits, cheeses, and desserts, and set them meticulously on the blanket. Finally, he unveiled a bottle of your favorite juice, which he had to have squeezed fresh that morning. You were clearly in awe. And he was clearly proud. And that was the moment you began to realize Ben knew you almost better than you knew yourself.

“Can I show you something?” he asked in a somewhat serious voice, before you could take your pick from the spread.

“Sure, Benny,” you teased. It wasn’t usual for him to use that tone around you.

He ignored the light jab and instead turned his focus to a round ruby fruit. You could see him straining, a vein starting to pop out in his neck, as he steadily lifted his hand. The fruit followed, slowly floating into the air. Then, it burst into two halves, split down the middle, pearly seeds flying everywhere. You jumped and Ben huffed out an exaggerated breath, like he had been holding it. Then he smiled. That smile turned into a laugh. A victorious laugh. You chuckled along, still somewhat confused.

“What was that?” you asked, even though you knew, you knew.

“The Force,” he almost whispered. His eyes gleamed and you saw that little boy again.

Hearing him confirm it out loud somehow made it okay. So you started laughing again, this time in earnest. A sense of pride filled your chest. You wondered for a while when this day would come. Even though you weren’t Force sensitive yourself, and most fighters with your sect of the Resistance weren’t, you had met other kids with Ben’s same abilities. And they were usually much younger when they exhibited their talents. But here he was, finally able to do it. Finally able to channel the strength running through his veins.

You didn’t know what that would come to mean.

Ben gave you a look as he floated one of the little seeds and you knowingly opened your mouth to catch it. But instead of it landing gently on your tongue, it flew through the space between you and hit the back of your throat. Your breath hitched and you started to cough.

“Oh kriff, I’m sorry!” you had never heard him curse before. All you could do was laugh at the ridiculousness, never embarrassed in front of him.

“It’s okay. Try again,” you encouraged.

The two of you went back and forth for what felt like hours. He would float seeds over to you, usually hitting your nose, eyes, cheeks. And you would toss them to him, hitting the same targets. Eventually he started to get the hang of his power and was able to hover the seed just long enough for you to snatch it out of the air.

Eventually growing bored of your game, Ben suggested you go for a swim.

“But I didn’t bring anything to swim in,” you retorted.

“Neither did I,” he shrugged and stood up. As he walked towards the water, he began to drop his layers until he was down to a soft pair of linen shorts. You followed to catch up, in both stride and degree of clothed. He stopped suddenly; so did you. He looked you up and down; you did the same. You were seeing him as that man again. It felt like you were seeing him for the first time. You wondered if he felt the same. Without a word, he turned to run, grabbing your hand and pulling you into the water along with him.

It was warm, almost like a bath, yet still refreshing. You splashed around and dunked each other’s heads under the crystal clear water, making faces at each other when your eyes met. You alternated between lazily floating on your backs and actively swimming laps. Slowly, your raucous laughter turned to quiet signs, and your toes and fingers wrinkled like dried fruit. You decided to exit the water first and Ben followed closely on your heels. Like a puppy. Or maybe more like a guard dog. You always got a sense that he wanted to protect you. From what exactly, you didn’t know. Yet.

You laid directly in the sand of the small beach, letting the sun warm and dry your bodies. You kept your eyes closed, in your own world, but you could feel Ben’s stare on you. Secretly, you reveled in the attention he was suddenly giving you.

It felt like you stayed this way for hours again.

Then you heard him.

He pulled in a long ragged breath.

Then you felt him.

HIs fingertips grazed across your check before he planted his palm in their place.

Then you saw it.

You saw your whole life up until that point flash behind your eyelids. Except, you weren’t you--it wasn’t your life you were living. It was Ben’s. It was every moment you ever shared together, along with everything he ever felt in those moments.

Joy. Surprise. Happiness. Pride. Confusion. Anger. Jealousy.

And something else you couldn’t quite place.

A heat that radiated from your core and ignited every nerve under your skin.

You couldn’t keep the tears from falling as you experienced this flood of emotions. The last image you saw was your own face again, but it was you weeping, laying there in the sand. And you felt Ben’s pain. His heartache seeing you cry.

Then nothing again.

Opening your eyes, you were met by Ben’s hurt stare, the same hurt you felt in your own heart seconds ago.

“Ben,” was all you could choke out.

“I know,” he responded, wiping tears from your skin with the pad of his thumb.

You now understood what you felt for him.

What you always felt for him.

And you understood what he felt for you.

Love. But not the type of love you felt for your parents, natural-born or honorary. No this was something deeper. Something heavier.

And with him so close to you, his warm breath whispering over your lips. You understood what that unplaceable heat was.

Lust. Want. Need.

He must’ve still been in your head because the moment you made that realization, he mashed his mouth to yours. It was honestly very ungraceful. But you reciprocated best you could, with your little experience. You wrapped your arms around his neck and attempted to match his force, his passion. 

You would come to find those were two things you could never match.

Your bodies separated only for a moment, allowing you to catch your breath before he placed a much gentler kiss to your lips. Cradling your face lovingly in his hands, his gaze softened and you let out a small laugh, slightly taken aback. Yes. You had kissed another boy before, but that was so tame and innocent compared to this declaration Ben had just given you.

Before you could further process what just happened, he yanked you to your feet by the wrist. He tugged you along behind him back to your spot under the tree. As he plopped onto the blanket, he kept his fingers interlocked with yours, leaving no choice but to follow suit. At this point, you still weren't sure how to react so keeping your palms together, you just laid there. Staring at the leaves swaying gently in the breeze, you tried to calm your thoughts.

[mileheitcity-blog]

Three Days in Iceland

Pre-Trip

I had planned on hitting Iceland on my way to Europe for some time.  It was around 2012 that I first heard of the extended layover on Icelandair, but never really thought to look much into it, at least until I had a reason to.  Study abroad finally gave me that reason. Turns out you can stay up to seven days in Iceland on your way to wherever you want to go without incurring extra service fees.  Combine that with relatively cheap airfare and it seemed like the easiest way to beat jetlag and see somewhere new.  I figured a place like Iceland would be a little expensive, and not wanting to blow my entire wallet before I even hit Amsterdam, I decided on a three day layover.  It seemed like enough time to see some of Western Iceland and maybe get a feel for the place.  I made sure to pack for some outdoors: raincoat, hiking shoes, swimsuit, sweatshirts.  When researching places to stay, I found my hunch about price was correct: Iceland was more than a little expensive.  Staying in Reykjavik was out of the question, so instead I found a guesthouse in the village of Akranes, about 45 minutes up the road. After the quarter ended in early June, I flew to Denver to see my parents and tie up some important loose ends before my trip.  On June 17, I caught my first flight from Denver International Airport and tried to sleep on the seven hour flight to Keflavik.

Day 1

Our flight was a little late getting out of Denver, so we landed at around 9:30 local time in Iceland.  Running on about 3.5 hours of sleep, I got my rental car and headed straight for my 11:00 appointment at the Blue Lagoon.  I was running about an hour late, of course, but they didn’t seem to mind at all.  In fact, it was one of the best customer service experiences I’ve ever had.  If I went down the wrong hallway, they immediately pointed me in the right direction or let me through with my wristband anyway.  The sushi I had was nourishing after all that time in the air.  The water was nothing short of spectacular: milky white, warm and relaxing.  Two steam baths and a sauna were open and accessible in the corner and both were quite necessary.  One kiosk on the left hand side sold mud masks, like the Dead Sea, and offered a silica one for free.  Two rounds of the silica mask made the skin on my face feel as happy as it had been in years.  Another kiosk in the corner sold beer and drinks, so I got the Icelandic national brew: Gull.  Drinking and driving in Iceland is strictly forbidden, so I wanted to make sure to limit myself to only two drinks on my trip, this being one of them.  I’ll get to the other one later.  Gull isn’t too bad, but not too great.  Something of a standard macro lager, a few shades better than Rainier.  Enjoying my drink slowly allowed me to make friends with some folks around me from the Pacific Northwest, which definitely made the transition to a foreign land a little easier.  My only regret from a place like this is that eventually you’ll have to leave.  But I’ll be back...

Feeling refreshed, relaxed, and sobered up from my one beer, I hopped in the car and went to Reykjavik.  It’s a fairly small city: you can see much of the main areas in a day.  The main landmark in the city is Halgrimskirkja: the cathedral of the Church of Iceland.  It’s fairly impressive, with a really cool looking pipe organ and a statue of Leif Erikson in front.  I had forgotten he was of Iceland, that his father was Erik the Red.  Not far from Halgrimskirkja was the Laugevegur, the main restaurant and shopping district.  It was along this street that I knew where to find my second and final drink in Iceland.  Many of the hot spots along this street carried oddly American names: the Chuck Norris Grill, a pub called Boston that looked like it was taken directly out of Cheers. I finally came upon the one I wanted: Lebowskibar.  It was absolutely kitsch, sure, but I’m a sucker for anything to do with The Big Lebowski.  I had to have my White Russian, and a “hell of a Caucasian” it was.

About 3000 ISK later, I took a short walk to the Icelandic Punk Museum to sober up a bit, but it was nothing special.   The coolest thing there was a little joke at Hitler’s expense, which is never a bad thing. After the Punk Museum it was time to head on up to Akranes.  There was no one at the desk, but my key was waiting for me inside, with the sun still shining at around 10pm.  I took a walk down to the lighthouse at the end of town to catch the closest thing Iceland has to a summer sunset, and caught the midnight sun as I got back to the guesthouse for the night.  A solid day one.

Day 2

Got a late start after sleeping off the jetlag and went right for what I really came for: Hákarl.  I knew that fermented shark was pretty gnarly, but I wasn’t gonna miss it. The spot to go find shark is on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula at the  Bjarnarhöfn Shark Museum.  The museum is located pretty well out in the middle of nowhere, about two hours up the road from Akranes. I didn’t get on the road until almost noon, so I thought I was out of time.  I quickly grabbed a cup of coffee and a full tank of gas (around 250ISK per litre!) found my way.  I found out later I had quite a bit of sunlight to work with. The Shark Museum itself is a small house on a windswept headland on the northern side of the peninsula.  A spectacular view.  Undaunted, I paid my 1000 ISK to see the place.  The museum itself is a rather eclectic collection of maritime memorabilia and Icelandic antiques.  The collection seemed almost unorganized, but I wasn’t there for the collection, I was there for the shark.  The presentation was short, but interesting: a burly Icelander explains how the shark is poisonous when eaten fresh because it doesn’t process urine, so they have to basically let the thing rot in wooden tubs before letting it dry out back for a while, leading to its notorious smell.  The smell can best be described as a mix of ammonia and urine, which makes sense, and though it is indeed quite foul it’s not nearly as strong or permeating as I expected it to be.  It tasted much better than it smelled: like a slightly buttery fish, nothing too offensive.  After a short peek at the collection, the burly Icelander directs you to the drying house out back.  That’s where the magic happens, and the food gets its stinky reputation. Where the fish was pretty mild, the drying house is extremely pungent and stings your nose.  The visual appearance of the shark as its cured is no more appealing: brown, crusty, and oozing with liquid.  Overall though, the shark wasn’t too bad.  A man in need could almost make a meal out of the stuff, and definitely could make a side dish.

Next stop was Kirkjufell and the town of Grundarfjörður about 30 minutes further out along the peninsula.  Kirkjufell was featured on seasons six and seven of Game of Thrones, which was totally why I wanted to see it and not because it was a symbol of Iceland.  But that was a nice perk too.  I grabbed a hot dog in  Grundarfjörður and found a nice little cafe that was also a small library, a great find along the trail.  The mountain itself is impressive, and the nearby stream is fed by a sprawling waterfall across the highway. Very picturesque.  

My third and final stop was the Vatnshellir Cave on the far end of the peninsula, about another hour out.  I pull in at around 17:50, about ten minutes before they close for the day, and this place is remote.  I mean even the WiFi router I brought in the car with me, the one that worked for my entire Iceland trip, couldn’t find anything out there.  If there was an “end of the Earth”, this was it.  The cave itself is an experience onto itself.  They fit you with a helmet and a flashlight, and a friendly guide takes you down a long spiral metal staircase made slick by constant water dripping through the soil.  The cave was created by a volcanic explosion, like pretty much everything else on this island, and is layered with eons of nature’s bidding.  Afteer some time exploring the worn lava rock, you go down another staircase: this one even longer (about 40 meters) and slicker.  At the end of the cave tour, the guide has us all close our eyes and turn out our lights. When we open them, all language barriers between the tour group disappears with a loud “whoa!” in relative unison as we all process the complete lack of light.  Pitch black has new meaning there.  The darkness is absolute, whole, enveloping.  There really isn’t a way to describe just how dark it is with absolutely no sunlight whatsoever.  After a few meditative minutes we all climbed back up, glad we had made the trek down.  On the way out, I happened upon what looked like the keeper of the lighthouse at the end of the jetty lowering the Icelandic flag for the night.  Felt like the perfect symbol to cap off a truly Icelandic day.  

Day 3

My final day in Iceland I wanted to pack in anything else I missed before I took off to Amsterdam.  I got up and headed straight back too Reykjavik.  The Alþingi building is beautiful from the outside, and claims to be the oldest active parliament in the world, however, they had no tours for the day.  Undaunted, I stumbled to the Settlement Exhibition up the street, colloquially called 871+- 2, in reference to the probably year Iceland was first settled by Vikings, within a range of a year or two. The Settlement Museum is very interactive, and contains replica models of some of the houses the original settlers built.  The Settlement Exhibition is part of a museum network with two others, of which I only went to one: the oldest extant house in Reykjavik.  The house held a small photo exhibition of Icelandic life in 1918, and was fairly well curated.  

My second stop of the day was...shall we say a little different: the Icelandic Phallocalogical Museum.  This guy, for some reason, had a large curated collection of animal penises, and somehow found it within himself to mount and display them in a complete museum dedicated to his collection. There are large penises, like that of a blue whale, and small penises, like that of a hamster. He even has a couple of bronze casts of human penises.  The voice on the audio guide never explains why he has such a collection, and why he decided to display it on the wall for everyone to see, but boy does he go into detail about each penis.  Far more than I wanted to know, but still worth a chuckle.  

The Icelandic Rock and Roll Museum was only 30 more minutes down the road in Reykjanesbær , and contained a well curated mix of materials dating back to the early days and some bands I had never heard of. I mostly just went to geek on bunch of Björk and Sigur Rós and Of Monsters and Men.  The collection did not disappoint.  The museum was interactive, and even had a karaoke booth (that wasn’t soundproof, as I found out later).  I was able to get my fill of guitars and strange costumes and even a band made out of wood.  Fans of MoPop in Seattle (formerly known as the Experience Music Project) might be a little underwhelmed, but this was a fun tribute to the fascinating music history of such a tiny place. I may have spent a little too much time and energy in the karaoke room singing some of my favorites; the woman working at the desk barged in about halfway through song six (I think?) to tell me the room wasn’t soundproof. Oops.

My next two stops were a bit far away, and it was already 3pm, so I needed to hit the road. Only about nine more hours of sunlight.  Reykjadalur Hot Springs got some rave reviews on YouTube, and was only about 90 minutes up the road. Or so I thought.  The parking lot sits down at the bottom of a steep mountain pass near the town of Hveragerði.  A little coffee shop greets visitors, but it had shut down for the day.  It was pretty chili outside so I grabbed my sweatshirt for what I thought was a short walk to the river. Turns out the springs itself is a three kilometer walk up the hill.  And people swim in the river.  I immediately regretted forgetting both my hiking shoes and my swimsuit.  The hike up to the springs is stunning.  Sweeping valleys and steep canyons give way to open fields full of sheep.  So many sheep.  They graze in the valley, drink some of the colder water downstream, and even walk right up towards the trail for the freshest grass.  Off in the distance steam literally billows out of the earth.  The only time I’ve ever seen anything like it was at Yellowstone, but this was different. It was....quiet. Peaceful. The smell of sulfur carries with the wind.  Near the end of the hike, you walk right through one of those steam vents, which was somehow simultaneously refreshing and blinding.  The hot springs themselves are more like a spot in the river.  Something in the soil is volcanic, so the ground heats the water to some naturally balmy temperatures. The bathing area is nearly the opposite of the Blue Lagoon.  There are no amenities, there is no one bringing you a drink or offering you a mud mask.  There are no saunas or steam baths, or any real facilities of any kind for that matter. Not a roof in sight, not even a restroom.  Only a few privacy barriers indicated a potential spot to change out.    I wasn’t exactly prepared for a full swim, so I took my shoes off and soaked my aching feet a while.  The hot mineral water was quite soothing, really softened up the calluses.

The hike up and down created quite an appetite.  I saw a sign on the road back to the main highway for a pizza bar and geothermal brewery: Ölverk. Good enough for me. The place was a little fancier than I expected, but the food and service were both really delicious.  Got a pizza with dates, bacon, and blue cheese on it, and it’s probably the only pizza with fruit I’d do again.  I passed on the beer: around 2700 ISK for a taster flight of four, 4000 ISK for a draft pour. Makes the ballpark seem cheap. Turns out the geothermal thing was just how they generated their power anyway, which is kinda cool I suppose, but that’s how they generate much of their electricity there. That’s like saying a brewery in Seattle is hydroelectric powered.  It was getting late in the day at this point, but my friend recommended I hit a spot a little further up the road: Kerið Crater. It’s a sinkhole, but an impressive one.  The parking lot backs right up to the crater, and there’s a short hike around and a staircase to the bottom.  At the bottom is a pool of clean, cool groundwater. Like everywhere else in that country, it was created by volcanic activity.  Some kind of sinkhole type process. I took the staircase to the bottom, took a drink of the water (tasted great!), and had a lovely conversation with some folks from Russia.  A chat with some folks from the other side of the world seemed like a good way to transition to the next portion of my trip.  I took a windy route back through the southern portion of Þingvellir National Park, but it was around 10:30pm at that point so I knew I needed to drive the couple hours back to Akranes to make my flight.  The back roads were wide open and peaceful: for kilometers on end I might have been the only person.  There was also some gravel, but some experience living in the Colorado mountains served me well.  I cranked up the tunes and thought wistfully of the summer ahead of me.  Amsterdam, I’m ready.

Final Thoughts

Iceland is a place unto itself.  My only regret is that I didn’t allow myself one more day.  More than that though, oof.  It gets expensive.  Outside of Reykjavik is extremely rural and provincial, and Reykjavik is indeed lovely, but not exactly the most cosmopolitan or bustling city. I would go back, and would recommend it to almost everyone, but unless you plan on doing some hardcore expeditions you can see pretty much everything in three to four days.  For me, it served its purpose: I relaxed at the Blue Lagoon, ate Hákarl, slept off the jetlag, and adjusted to some of the differences of European culture.  Overall, a lovely experience. Oh, and be aware the tap water smells like sulfur.

[calibreofscratch]

A Horde of Dragons - Ch.1

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[AO3] [FF.net]

Fandom: Akatsuki no Yona (Yona of the Dawn) Rating: General Audiences Summary: Gu-En, Abi, and Shu-Ten had all grown so much, but no matter how much time had passed, one thing remained the same for all three of them. Zeno had never come to see them. Hmph, well then. If that yellow doofus wouldn’t come to them, they would wait for him to join them in the skies above, or you know, they could just to go to him.

In their own separate directions, the first Hakuryuu, Ryokuryuu, and Seiryuu trudged forward in the snow, away from each other and their fourth brother, Ouryuu. They didn’t know where they would go or how long they would stay at the places they reached. All they knew was that, for better or for worse, they had just started the next part of their lives.

Gu-En could easily admit that he was a bit nervous to leave the castle. After all, a good portion of his life had been spent there. When he had begun his time as a Dragon Warrior, he had been twenty-four. Sixteen years had passed, and he was now forty. In a few years, he would joke to his son that he and his brothers were late bloomers, not leaving their home even though they were all adults. For now, though, he was content on just wandering northwest toward the mountains. He wanted to see if he could climb the mountain’s steeps with his claws rather than just walking up the paths typically used by travelers and merchants. Sure, he couldn’t scale them as fast as Shu-Ten and his leg could, but it would be a fun challenge. Plus, there was always the possibility of settling down up in the mountains.

A few years ago, he had heard that the lands in the mountain ranges were surprisingly fertile. If need be, Gu-En could become a farmer and live off the land there. While amusing to think about, he could use his claws as a plow since he could expand his right hand. Many farmers nowadays used animals to plow the land, but he wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to carry any animals up the mountain. On the other hand, if he did have animals, he could always eat their meat if the crops didn’t grow well. He already knew what kinds of fruits and vegetables he liked, so he would just have to learn which plants bore fruit in the mountains’ soil. Heh, look at him already imagining the life of a farmer when he hadn’t even reached the base of the mountain yet.

Abi desperately wished to be away from those who wanted to use him for nothing more than their selfish desires. His king may have wanted his power to form the Kouka kingdom, but at least it would unite the people of the land. Those men who had kidnapped him had only wanted fame and glory for themselves. Never again, he had vowed. Never again would he let anyone see his eyes if greed was all they brought. Even with those eyes that the dragon god had bestowed upon him hidden away, his sight was unmatched. Sixteen years in service of his king and kingdom had done nothing to dull his vision. If anything, his field of vision was sharper than ever, and he knew his limits and when they were about to be reached. That eighteen-year-old brat who would pass out every time he used his powers was gone, replaced by the thirty-four-year-old man with a white cloth over his eyes. It might sound a bit odd, but he was looking forward to spending the next couple of years in solitude. However, he wasn’t planning to stay alone for the rest of his life.

In the long run, he hoped to settle somewhere near a body of water, maybe a river or a waterfall. He was a bit apprehensive about living with people who weren’t his brothers though because they would probably ask about his eyes. Abi really wanted to avoid that, but it wasn’t like he could stop them from asking. Only time could tell, but for the time being, he was perfectly fine with traversing the woods. Perhaps he would meet more birds like the one at the castle all those years ago. He had been Abi’s companion for so long that he had almost named it. Gu-En joked that the only reason the bird had stayed for so long was because they could both see their surroundings so well. Abi had blushed at that even if it was a bit of a backhanded compliment.

Shu-Ten looked forward to his newfound free time as a thirty-five-year-old bachelor. He already knew that his first destination would be a tavern, maybe a brothel afterward. Who knew? Well, it definitely wouldn’t be him while he was still sober. With his brothers not by his side or at his back, life would be weird for a while, if not a bit lonely. Not that he would ever admit that aloud, mind you. For as much as he teased his brothers and griped at them to get lost, he would miss them. He was as sure about that as he was that his hair was green.

He was also pretty sure that he would be the last of the brothers to settle down somewhere. Someplace with a lot of running or jumping room sounded nice. Maybe somewhere near a merchant trade route, so he’d have easy access to food and supplies. Living in a city just didn’t sound like a life he wanted. It was too crowded and noisy–oh god, he was starting to sound like Abi–and he was more likely to be recognized as one of the Dragon Warriors. Shu-Ten knew that settling down was going to be a huge part of his future, but presently, he opted to just shove it to the back of his mind.

As the years passed, the three dragons saw and experienced so many different things they hadn’t truly understood when fighting for the kingdom. They saw new views that made them awestruck. They tasted new cuisines with flavors that seemed to be dancing on their taste buds. They felt new textures in objects that looked so strong but crumbled upon touch. They smelled new scents that seemed to stay in their noses for hours. They heard sounds that were vastly different from those on the battlefield.

Gu-En learned what it felt like to fall off the side of a mountain.

Abi discovered how hard it was to get bees to stop trying to pollinate his hair.

Shu-Ten found out how many leaps it took him to flee a girl who insisted that his hair was made out of grass.

Gu-En was able to compare how comfortable the bed at the castle was compared to the floor of a cave in the mountains, which noticeably had his hip killing him when he woke up in the morning.

Abi learned how long it took him to wash his clothes in the river and to dry them.

Shu-Ten was amazed at how many merchants let him tag a ride on the back of their wagons.

Gu-En had decided to stay in the mountains in the end since the height made him feel close to his king.

Abi had been around nature for so long that he was able to identify the differences between the songs of birds, the trails of snakes, and much to his disgust, the defecations of wild boar.

Shu-Ten had been taught how to weave straw sandals to make some quick ling.

Gu-En had come across a village in a small valley of the mountains already farming their own crops. At the time, winter had long gone, and the snow already started to melt. He was led to the village by its inhabitants when he agreed to help them. Chunks of stone that had been separated from the walls of the valley due to snow freezing into ice had come tumbling down into the village and houses had been crushed. Families were still inside the debris of their homes, trapped. The villagers didn’t have enough manpower to carry all the bits and pieces of broken houses by themselves, so they were trying to reach out to others for help. Although a bit apprehensive about showing his hand to others, Gu-En wanted to help save the people trapped. His hand swelled and his fingers elongated, and he quickly started flinging chunks of the houses away. What he couldn’t throw was lifted, and another person was able to quickly get those who were trapped out. He was able to help free them in record time. After everyone was rescued, the villagers stood before him. They asked him to stay, and he agreed. They treated him like a hero, a neighbor, and a friend.

A year and a few months later, he married a woman who occasionally chided him about making sure not to poke holes through the laundry. She taught him much about working the lands in the back of the village where the fields for crops were. More than just plowing, Gu-En learned how to tell when certain vegetables were ready to be harvested. The one he became most knowledgeable about was potatoes, which he may or may not have called “ugly ass earth turds” when he first found out he would have to clean off the soil on them because they grew underground. A few weeks shy of three years since he left the castle, Gu-En and his wife had their first child, a boy with white hair and a right hand that matched his father’s. The village questioned the father and son’s hands, and Gu-En finally told them that he was a Dragon Warrior. Despite his requests, they never did quite manage to treat him like an equal again. The day his son was born was the day the village started to called him Lord Gu-En or Lord Hakuryuu.

Abi started to learn the less common roads used by travelers.

Shu-Ten had sniffed exotic spices from another country in a market and couldn’t smell anything until he woke up the next morning.

Lord Hakuryuu learned the local lullabies to sing his son to sleep, and he told him the occasional story about the Dragon Warriors at the castle, none of the warzones.

Abi had saved a town in the Water Tribe from bandits by telling the village’s leader how long they had until an attack hit them. He went on his way about an hour after giving the warning. There was a festival in the Fire Tribe’s territory he wanted to see. Apparently, it was to honor the spirits of the dead. The food at the festival had been delicious. Despite the popular belief, the Fire Tribe’s tastes tended to be more sweet and savory rather than spicy. Half a year later, Abi had returned to that village he had saved and spent a few weeks in the forest near it. His want for social interactions that were more than a brief hello and the exchanging of ling had finally made itself known. After his time of observing the village and its people from a distance, Abi decided to ask the village leader and elders if he could stay with them. They agreed almost instantly as they realized that he was the man who they owed their thanks to for warning them of the bandits.

At first, Abi stayed in the home of an elder, but with the help of the other villagers, a house was eventually built for him. He married three years after joining the village to a woman older than him by eleven months. She was a ninth generation seamstress, a trade he knew absolutely nothing about. Abi tried to help her, but more often than not, he would make mistakes. His mother-in-law once said that he did the worst darning she had ever seen. His wife’s family was different from what he had expected, to say the least. They encouraged the men to take care of the home while the females would bring home the money and food. His wife waved it off when he brought it up, saying how her family liked to shake up traditional ideas. Almost a year later, they had a daughter with beautiful blue hair and red markings underneath eyes that shined like gold, just like her father’s. Seeing the Seiryuu’s eyes on his daughter made Abi’s stomach clench. He confided in his wife that he didn’t want to have another child if the power of the dragon god would be passed on to them. She agreed, mentioning that she wasn’t sure her body could take another birth. Many people in the village had heard stories of the Dragon Warriors from the occasional stranger passing through town. Nothing really changed between Abi and the village, excluding the times when someone would call him Seiryuu and when his mother-in-law would crack a joke about his eyes being useless to the family business.

Shu-Ten taught himself how to catch fish with his right foot, a skill that blew the minds of the locals in a coastal town.

Lord Hakuryuu spent years bonding with his son who had eventually grown into his teens.

Seiryuu learned how to braid hair at his daughter's insistence.

Shu-Ten had been able to rank all of the taverns in the Earth, Wind, Water, Sky, and Fire Tribes’ capitals. The Wind Tribe had the best by far, and Shu-Ten knew that he was being completely biased. Over his travels across the kingdom, he felt his brothers settle and felt like it was his turn to follow suit. He had come across a few towns in the Earth Tribe’s territory, but they weren’t really good for anything past getting drunk and having a good time. That being said, it was in one of those boozed up towns that he had met the lady who kept him on his toes. He met her in the least glamorous way he could think of. Not even two steps into the closest tavern to the village’s entrance and his shoes had been puked on by a drunk that was barely able to stay on her feet. She had enough wits still with her to realize what she had done though. In the next second, she turned around and screamed to the barkeep that his first three drinks were on her. He spent the early stages of the evening getting as equally hammered as her, and in the dead of night, they somehow managed to stumble their way to an inn. The next morning greeted them with splitting headaches and naked bodies. He grumbled to her to not slam the door on her way out. He was surprised him when she responded by kicking him off the bed and pulling up the sheets as she rolled over. Later in the day when she woke back up, it was to an empty room that had been paid for. The rest of Shu-Ten’s time in that village was full of run-ins with that girl that they eventually just started seeking each other out. Days turned to weeks which then rolled into months. Having had enough of doing nothing but partying, and even though he knew his sudden departure might shock the girl, Shu-Ten said his goodbyes to her. Once more she shocked him by demanding he take her with him. He agreed easily enough. They traveled for days until they reached the Wind Tribe.

He and his companion opted to stay in a village in the southern Wind Tribe territory where the land was flat and sunrises and sets seemed to spread out toward the edges of forever. There were no mountains or forests to obscure the view, just Shu-Ten and her, the village, and endless skies begging to be flown through. He was soon able to get a job at the village’s vineyard as a grunt in the warehouses. The pay was good, and every so often, he was gifted a bottle of alcohol from the distillery. On one of their many nights of undrunken passion, Shu-Ten and his lady were able to conceive a child. It ended up being a girl, and like his brothers, his secret of being a Dragon Warrior had been exposed. Everyone in the village had heard of him and his brothers’ conquests with King Hiryuu, and while they were starstruck for a bit, they didn’t start worshipping him. As long as pulled his weight at the vineyard, the villagers really couldn’t have cared less if he was a normal human, a Dragon Warrior, or the dragon god itself.

Of course, the three Dragon Warriors’ experiences weren’t the only things that had changed. Their appearances, though still similar to their younger selves, were aged. Hair colors lost their sheen and became limp. Their values shifted from the good of the nation to the good of their families. Backs became hunched, and memories became a little hazy every now and again. After all, twenty-four years had passed since they disappeared from the castle. Gu-En, Abi, and Shu-Ten had all grown so much from back then, but no matter how much time had passed, one thing remained the same for all three of them. Zeno had never come to see them.

“Zeno, you idiot. Even though I said to come, you made me wait too long.”

“When we meet again, Zeno, you’re going to learn how much of a bad idea it was to make your brothers wait so long for you.”

“Listen up, all of you, if a blond-haired guy ever comes by the village to see me, punch him and tell him that’s for making me wait too long!”

Hmph, well then. If that yellow doofus wouldn’t come to them, they would wait for him to join them in the skies above, or you know, they could just go to him.

[Feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading!]

[sixbillionstars]

Before Game of Thrones and the newest Star Wars films, flights to Iceland only left from Denver, Washington DC, Baltimore, or New York. When I learned that the voyage embarks from Port of Hamburg, I figured I’d be flying into Berlin. And after years of watching closely for new United States destinations between the two main Icelandic airlines, this made my heart sing knowing full well St. Louis had recently become a Wow Air destination with cheap flights to many European cities, and of course... stopovers in Iceland on the way.

I won’t go much into how long I had anticipated this experience, however I will say it was a painful wait. First it was celebrities one by one slowly making their way as it grew appealing to more and more travelers suddenly during my freshman year of college and onward. Then it was friends who happened to have stopovers, who could afford it before me, or who were nearer to new departure cities before me... In those ways it was thrilling to feel inches and inches closer all these years. I even had a whole trip planned once to visit Iceland by myself to celebrate the New Year and hang out a week before and after. For a plethora of important reasons I had to cancel that trip, which to this day I still stand behind. So sadly, the most suitable and affordable window of time I had to work with to be in Iceland this time around was twenty hours, since it was a stopover, but a solid twenty hours we spent. An old friend used to joke all the time, “what if you go and absolutely hate it?” which was a possibility I have weighed heavily, even after countless hours over the years reading entire wikipedia pages of tiny, unpronounceable coastal villages with their black sands and fjords, delving into Vimeo videos of Icelandic scenery, and my favorite, the man in a lopapeysa sweater teaching you how to knit. I knew damn well I’d have to come back after such a short time even if it did turn out not so ideal. But after a seven year wait, I am happy to announce that it truly was everything I could have hoped for and even so much more. Maybe because I already knew where to look, or at least where I wanted to look, or maybe it really was calling me all this time.

I was taught a German expression today "Knapp daneben ist auch vorbei” which means, “coming close is the same as missing it.” It’s been circling my mind like an echo of congratulations from the void for just finally being able to do the damn thing.

It is now late into Thursday, our second day in Berlin. Yesterday was spent locating our Airbnb, experiencing jetlag, showering, etc... completely pretty much rebirthing ourselves after twenty hours with none of the checked luggage I truly thought the Keflavik airport would let me access during that amount of time.

I can’t exit this post though without telling a couple of the stories from those hours (and some pictures!) It was by far the most eventful twenty hours of my life...

As soon as we landed, it was time to grab the rental car. I picked out a lovely whatever the car was. At first the reservation said manual shift, which was exciting because I learned to drive on a manual but also I knew the Icelandic roads would be more vulnerable to drivers so I wasn’t sure how revisiting a skill like that there would go. Luckily we ended up with an automatic somehow anyway. Since the Wow air flights are so cheap, they get off by charging passengers for every other thing including meals, so I had not eaten since Missouri by this point (mainly because I wanted to sleep). I felt weak and tired at the rental counter so I asked my friend Alicia to get me something at the cafe nearby. She came back with the first food we were to behold: a caprese panini, but instead of panini bread, it was the body of Christ or something. I apologize to anyone that offends--I mean it in the sense that it was cracker bread meant specifically for religious purposes and not to feed a malnourished traveler. Don’t get me wrong, it tasted good, however the depth of my ketosis and the richness of the pesto was too much. Literally as I stood at the counter facing my first ever Icelandic stranger and transaction, I felt the sudden urge to vomit and ran to the nearest trashcan while Alicia had to sign everything for me in a VERY crowded airport. I don’t think any of us knew how to react honestly, though the woman at the counter was very sweet and brought us bottled waters after seeing my pale sweaty face, despite not totally knowing how to ask if I was okay in English.

Getting to Þingvellir was not an issue, however the drive there involved more of the previous situation sadly. While the girls caught up on sleep, I found our way out of Keflavik onto the highway and quickly back off of it after having tried a couple more bites of the Jesus panini. The first time around I wasn’t entirely sure if it was that was what made me ill or just all of the conditions at once. This time I knew it was that. There was nowhere to even pull over as all of the road space in Iceland is very carefully planned, with roundabouts every few blocks and signs placed not too often or too scarcely. So I stopped in the middle of the road out of sheer desperation -- one of the few very crucial things I had JUST been told you’re not supposed to do with an Icelandic car. I had already begun out the window as I drove simply because my mind was already racing for options. What is the best way here - puking on myself and cleaning that up? No - my luggage I thought I could have today is on its way to Germany. Puking solely into the car? Hell to the no - I don’t care if I bought the insurance, we have the whole route ahead of us and back. Okay well in the time it took to ask myself those questions, all of the above happened anyway. Everywhere. Alicia and Morgan immediately woke up of course and without judgment scrambled into their things for a new shirt and pants for me, helped me clean the car, et cetera, alllllll while locals were angrily and confusedly passing me on this tiny exit I had chosen under the impression it was low-trafficked. Did I mention I chose not to wear underwear on this day of all days? Yes. In my first hour in Iceland I was forced to change BUTT NAKED pretty much on the side of the highway. Needless to say, we threw the Jesus panini away as if it was the one ring to rule them all.

Þingvellir was breathtaking. Every little plant, moss, lichen, dewdrop was so quietly and calmly welcoming. The wall of boxy-looking rocks you may have seen in Games of Thrones was to the left of this photo, with its waterfalls and all. It was confusing finding the dive spot where our snorkel tour was, but once we arrived all of our sorrows were gone. First we met Luis, a cheery Mexican from Cancun, then Manuel the French man who helped us into our dry suits, and then Juan from Madrid was our guide through the crevice of the opening between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.

The moment I entered the water my heartbeat changed for good, not just because of the chilling 2*C temperature, but because it was then I realized I was really, really there. Until that moment, it was all a dream. Simply putting my mask down to see what was below... I still cannot find the words. Our suits were designed to keep us warm, so the crystal clear stream swept us and this rad Australian couple in our group gently along the divide as if it were a lazy river. Silfra is the only spot on Earth where one can touch two plates at once, and I cannot emphasize enough that the land itself gives you that vibe alone, whether you do the tours or not. For as long as I live I don’t think I could forget how it felt to lay completely still on top of the water looking down, like just another little seagull feather or algae, feeling one with the whole damn country.

Finally.

After a pit stop at a petrol station for edible food and something to make the car smell better, we rerouted from planning a drive all the way to Vik (3.5 hrs there and back) to just spending the time comfortably in Reykjavik where we could get back to the airport by 3am, when the rental was due, and for our flight at 6am.

Downtown was as quaint and beautiful as I had imagined, though of course a completely different layout than what I originally pictured. This happened in New Mexico too when I moved there after a year of picturing the places where my friends’ stories from their phone calls were playing out. We found a cute bar to meet locals in called the Smokin’ Puffin, which turned out to have just opened three weeks prior. Made many friends, including Moe the bartender/plant geneticist from Iran, and Joanne, a bubbly expat from the UK.

Hallgrimskirkja and the walk to it however was the crowning jewel of the evening, with apartment windows all open, most of them displaying cute decorations and cats and succulents of all colors and sizes peering out.

I knew it was a rather large church, I suppose I was not prepared for just how large. Walking past the infamous Leifur Eriksson statue to approach the entrance with its tiered architecture and powerfully rhetorical lighting, I lost my breath again. It was a bittersweet goodbye, though I am nearly grateful we did not stay overnight so I couldn’t get too attached to Iceland’s physical presence.

Was honestly just taking a photo of this sweet cat, and realized its owner was behind him drawing. I almost cried.

Moe’s specialty cocktail: coffee martini :)

Me in my very attractive after-puke outfit with this handsome Iranian plant geneticist bartender who was really sweet to me anyway.

<3

[glopratchet]

retirement-home

A large group of soldiers are patrolling in front of it "We can't let them go! The man who was about to kill me I will not let you do it "It's a trap! He is the key, says a voice that's haunting me life It calls and whispers Undergrowth seeking life You turn to the left and tell the ghosts that you want to watch some romantic movie illuminating the endless hallway Lightpoles illuminating the endless hallway He turns around and looks right through you, making meaningful eye contact with you and grins of concrete and metal It feels like an eternity that passes Construction of concrete and metal are moving forward Whispers impregnating your eardrums Blushing bride in a wedding dress Green-skinned bodyguards are moving forward around his bleeding neck I'm getting annoyed with you Green tiles glitter in the sun Bandages around his bleeding neck attached to the face of an old man (Sobs)" Monitors attached to the face of an old man for a deadly virus Eyelashes fluttering at you flirtatiously, trying to make a bond Vaccine for a deadly virus stand ready Missiles are flying through the air In the flames of a funeral pyre Shocktroops stand ready for blood-transmitted disease His mouth goes into an O as the electricity approaches it You've got choices to make Pharmaceuticals for blood-transmitted disease poker table Fire tears through your skeleton as you let out an unearthly and unnatural scream mingling with the sizzle of burning flesh High-roller poker table march in unison The carpet smells of nauseating misery and cheap perfume To your right there stands a half-naked woman made entirely of metal Lizards march in unison heeds your call and burninates the lot of them there Aiming his rifle at the floor Gorazel rids himself of this fragile and twisted world Gorazel heeds your call and burninates the lot of them there with cybernetic arms "Afterbirth It is just afterbirth " she whispers before her head disintegrates into ash Cyber-surgeon with cybernetic arms with spicy swagger from Africa North to South America Agent walking with spicy swagger from Africa North to South America form and reform Cities getting consumed and regurgitated Clouds that gather and dissipate Borders form and reform and yawning Pushing the agent out of a plane without a parachute Agent stretching and yawning shot eyes as a child lays on the floor Vessels carrying the blood and pathogens of humanity Metallic pieces float through your fingers Bloodshot eyes as a child lays on the floor for the injured and the old On hot rocks under the blazing sun Escaping and cuffing crack whores and transients The trigger Agent caregiving for the injured and the old begets cat begets elephant Walls that say nothing and yet speak up loudly Rows and columns of quiet zeros and unsifted ones Dog begets cat begets elephant and whey-filtering 3 hyperintelligent personal choices: A middle-aged blind woman listening to the howls of her starving children? Agent cheese-making and whey-filtering the streets looking for the next hot rap beat A dukun's sacrificial knife disappearing into your stomach Agent roving the streets looking for the next hot rap beat erupting in your brain The dog turns to ash and blows away in the wind Cyclone erupting in your brain programmes for the poor, cancer-stricken and addicted victims of the government's medical testing facilities A hard newspaper slap erupting color into your face Agent well-being programmes for the poor, with the sudden fear and loss with thick muscular layers injected into your flesh Both are true simultaneously, and the other one's false Random? Agent coping with the sudden fear and loss with thick muscular layers injected into your flesh the sexual tension between an unstoppable army and the organized administration Agent catalyzing the sexual tension between an unstoppable army and the organized administration Los Angeles' backyard Throat cancer all too real Bad book cheaper than a bar of gold Agent landscaping Los Angeles' backyard patients without remorse Is this a statement on some perceived American values? Agent mistreating patients without remorse the poverty-stricken, famine-ravaged, plague-infested villages! Agent diagnosing the poverty-stricken, the head of a dying child Shedding his camouflage battle armor in order to sneak into the community and eliminate all opposition The stories never stop! Agent stroking the head of a dying child a North Korean sleeper agent hell-bent on starting WW3 with American forces in South Korea Posing as a charming, naive, clumsy fool Agent portraying a North Korean sleeper agent hell-bent on starting WW3 with American forces in South Korea empathy in the local villagers by acting like an imbecile Pawn of the Overseer smashing his hammer down on your head Agent evoking empathy in the local villagers by acting like an imbecile S-Mart employees jumping off the roof of the business tower Kony! Agent photographing S-Mart employees jumping off the roof of the business tower about a prominent civil rights martyr's suicide The store around yourself collapsing like a grand waterfall made of bricks Agent joking about a prominent civil rights martyr's suicide dandruff off a bald man's shoulders A hand fighting through the blood-thickened waters reaching upwards for you Agent brushing dandruff off a bald man's shoulders Agent mistaking an entire University's opposition for terrorists trucks gathering the bodies to be ground up and incinerated Death? Sanitation trucks gathering the bodies to be ground up and incinerated hollowly roaming the woods growing larger every year An inescapable doom The hospital room's white floors start glowing red Colossus hollowly roaming the woods growing larger every year citizens' lives in your hands Swimming through the syrup of American life Community-dwelling citizens' lives in your hands ' livelihood-such as it's Some plutocrat having a good laugh at your expense Muckety-mucks' livelihood-such as it's ceremony The towns fuse into a single mass Rough fingers scratch the back of your neck Pure fear drips in your mouth Ribbon-cutting ceremony fired into the air A lion's den or a lamb's trailer? Trashcan lids beaten like dusty drums in abandoned lots Balloons fired into the air the beard that'll get you on the news The sharp hush of people too afraid to breathe Grooming the beard that'll get you on the news flashing their thumbnails at passing cars Keeping the scary bad man away like a fire-breathing dragon Skinnys flashing their thumbnails at passing cars the depressed, the suicidal, the helpless Traps baited with shiny objects to snare the wandering dead Counseling the depressed, wiping off the top of the bar Grease on your forehead to keep the angels away Bumblebees glimpsed in the shrinking floral patches Bartenders wiping off the top of the bar crayfish and snakes as the fisheries die off one by one Dirty feet pounding on the hot ground Eating crayfish and snakes as the fisheries die off one by one sickos built like brick walls Some park bench prophet gesticulating wildly at the sky Hexed or simply fated? Whisky-joint sickos built like brick walls on the question too long will make you insane Catching minnows and tadpoles from the wet spots in the sidewalk Dwelling on the question too long will make you insane Sodbuster crawling through the wilderness wearing bear gaiters Mussel-white and thin-layered like a shale formation with one eye open and a pheasant in your lap Cleansing the town of the evil that took so many victims Sleeping with one eye open and a pheasant in your lap revving up for the chamber of horrors Blackmail trading sexual favors for answers from your teacher Run you clever boy Mini-chainsaw revving up for the chamber of horrors 's lessons taught to the whole class Lunches inhaled in the bathroom A cigarette lighter and those three golden hairs in an envelope Astryl's lessons taught to the whole class and wads of gum The desk across from you sits empty for weeks at a time Toothpaste and wads of gum excitedly about some discovery Glass shattering under the swelling weight of corpses Trick or treat! Give me something good to eat! Shambles excitedly about some discovery to a whole brood of abandoned children Samuel, with the old testament name, works at the Church Wet-nurse to a whole brood of abandoned children all about local celebrities Blots out the life-light of another soul Melancholic and withdrawn, with harp-like musical talent Chatters all about local celebrities leading miles and miles into the darkness Their walls bleed dark Plasmids Now she's leading them towards you Passageways leading miles and miles into the darkness of weighing 280 pounds on a five foot nothing frame Living weeds holding a cemetery together with their grasp Mocking them leads to cannibalism Admission of weighing 280 pounds on a five foot nothing frame in a land of savages You're in a nursery of some sort, with inmates watching your every move Weakness-magnets in a land of savages comfort in a wasteland of thorn bushes The choice is yours! Homelike comfort in a wasteland of thorn bushes and sugar overhear Crepitus practicing his drumming Galvanized into sweet wildflowers that cloak the razor-wire cliffs of the asylum Cafffeine and sugar overhear Crepitus practicing his drumming dealing the passing years a losing game of Go Pompous pathologist disecting the century into little bits and pieces Gerontologist dealing the passing years a losing game of Go doesn't look dangerous, at first Irate dwarfs swarm around your jostling for position Tumblebleeds doesn't look dangerous, strapped to your blindfolds Paleontologist hacking a species out of stone Cognizance strapped to your blindfolds of windy dust ocassionally swallow the rails Trick or treat, give us something good to eat! Pretty pretty please! Gusts of windy dust ocassionally swallow the rails machine plugged into cables running off a generator Your ears begin to ring Give us something good, something sweet! Life-prolonging machine plugged into cables running off a generator peeling away a century of glue and stone You fall asleep to an urgent voice on the telephone Surgeries peeling away a century of glue and stone injury tricking you into meeting your first ghoul Give us something good to eat! Sports injury tricking you into meeting your first ghoul Mousehole tram service, payday loan centers, and a cobbler Only hours left before the lynchmob arrives at your door nothing human here of the dead through mysterious machines Civic spirifax: popular name for the city crematoriums Resurrection of the dead through mysterious machines wailing from the mechanical graveyard No shops or even a tavern in sight Harmonica wailing from the mechanical graveyard overflowing with moths and withered leaves Cataclysmic storms batter the city nine months out of the year Mattresses overflowing with moths and withered leaves once a word for pirate loot, now the preferred name for alcohol Immortalized in painted portraits and marble busts Booty: factories where god-images used to sit Check to make sure it's lacking a heart and h Padded cells for the city's more violent patients Rusted-out factories where god-images used to sit gleaming upon decaying stone Phosphorus gleaming upon decaying stone rag-dolls stuffed with missing organs Bananas rotting in old jungle growth Insiders trading secrets over for contraband Automaton rag-dolls stuffed with missing organs searching for the secret of immortality Papers protected us from rioters, Removed by guillotine, rising as a puppet-king Megalomaniac searching for the secret of immortality y film over ancient knives Laboratory hidden behind an iron mask Cogs and levers digging holes into the future Dusty film over ancient knives reading palms and prophesying solderless rifles Preserved longer than elephants You see their desiccated bodies riddled with rifle-bullets Patriots reading palms and prophesying solderless rifles rediscovered, the murderer's escaped Ajar door leading you into blindness Yog-Sothoth consume your mind Adrenaline rediscovered, preserved in oil Your fiendish ancestor howls in pain Poisonous killer with baby's fingers Conquistadors preserved in oil patient lying in wait beneath your bed Dungeons like a fun house, laughing at your pain Mute trophies of heads on pikes Gangrenous patient lying in wait beneath your bed Faucet pouring alcohol in a stream of fluid gold Pigeon-Blood Meds, curing all ills with addictions Your file's getting thicker, the Day of the Rope draws near Blades ready fly out and turn flesh to finest sawdust tells you which dimensions to avoid The Vampire's gaze rots your heart to a spongy mush Triangulation tells you which dimensions to avoid of a Ghoulish Messiah frighten the masses Mad scientist gives birth to hellish abomination Confidence becomes hysteria, solves crime with ease Preachings of a Ghoulish Messiah frighten the masses eats away at iron and willpower alike Dead Man's undertaking service provides no solution Blueprints for a makeshift fallout shelter Corrosion eats away at iron and willpower alike for a charismatic speaker Molotov cocktail for a riot Scarf of faded rose-print, you knit yourself one last autumn Soapbox for a charismatic speaker on the mirror, guilt written on your face Can of water to douse flames when you go out for a smoke Moisture on the mirror, that he was blessed by the Creator Conversion by a opportunistic preacher Cops pay you to find missing person Sermons that he was blessed by the Creator yourself or be lobotomized Faded purple veil that dare not touch bedrock Leathery wings that doomed you to a life of Poverty Lobotomize yourself or be lobotomized for a crime family Greaser Gang Nurse tells you to avoid Harold Sleeping, he's a killer Delivery for a crime family Greaser Gang and tubes of priceless genetic material Anagram for a former friend, a Communist Sympathizer Toothbrushes and tubes of priceless genetic material worth more than a miner's lifetime Zombie hides his looted golden ring in your desk Hag with a pet human child Diamonds worth more than a miner's lifetime of immense power, able to call down Lighting Tenants included plague-ridden rats Sine, cosine, tangent of Neverwas Talisman of immense power, alcoholic Mad Chemist in your graduating class Glue-huffing art-major consumed by his latest work Stinky, put into your irrigation Mice imported from far-off lands Tenacious explorers chew through your food supply Insecticide put into your irrigation feed of bodily waste and ignorance Witches brew in their cauldrons, evil or good? Fantasy Europe appears every high-noon Oozes feed of bodily waste and ignorance name you hero for the year Nuns teach the ways of proper hygeine Moth-eaten vase full of emptiness Newspapers name you hero for the year from a Thousand different countries City on wheels with a strict class-system Crimson floods across the necks of your enemies Diplomats from a Thousand different countries confused by your lack of sports acumen Trapping yourself in the maze of your mind Disappearing yourself into Dreams every day Jocks confused by your lack of sports acumen exiled to a snowy realm Spotted Fever after an embrace with your sweetie Bertrand Russell in Anarchy U Eskiminzins exiled to a snowy realm sculpting the perfect man Classmate killed by Thing From Outer Space Handcuffs, slaves to your libido Physique sculpting the perfect man invisibility granting Ring Decadent mermaid hunters from the East Prometheus lets the World wallow in Darkness Garden-variety invisibility granting Ring and hallucinations for detention hall Green lightning, a psychedelic compound times ten Government killers trained in secret since boyhood Chemicals and hallucinations for detention hall need blood for their art's essence Whilte Vermin from the silent kingdoms of the East Curse a blue moon to be forever romantic Designers need blood for their art's essence tests let you appreciate your own design A certain pushpin holds your map to the stars Strange storm of origin unknown Anatomy tests let you appreciate your own design with skin like coal or pale as milk Meteors that burn up in the atmosphere Insects bred for war but can't reproduce Populations with skin like coal or pale as milk and cigarettes to get you through the day People with extra-limbs allow them into your class Great beast killed by mere introduction to fire Coffee and cigarettes to get you through the day of the highest regard are recognized Golems of Nazi design awaken the demon Robot Emperor rat, half man half genius inventing race Hoppers of the highest regard are recognized from the insane convicted Slime from the shadows lay silent and forgotten Colossal sized super-soldiers capture you Livers from the insane convicted grows fat on forbidden knowledge One must sacrifice for the Emperor Poems and paintings explain everything It's size changes with distance but still absurd Nobility grows fat on forbidden knowledge goes deaf every full-moon This curse developed with puberty and teenagerhood Crossover between man and monster Vicinity goes deaf every full-moon and supplements are nourishment Procured immorality clause for world leaders Bloody daisies grow from the carnage Vitamins and supplements are nourishment red as the dawn sharing your dreams Innocent folk drown country-side in medieval europe Scorpions red as the dawn sharing your dreams feed the children full of seeds Convicted by a shoe-print and upheld by circumstantial evidence Watermelons feed the children full of seeds babies run amok in waste forests Thin rays of androgynous moon Inept biologists with laughably low funding Dumpster babies run amok in waste forests brutes all full of talk but no action Willy-nillys all talk and no follow-thorugh sort Bravado brutes all full of talk but no action -buggy caked with guts the color of sand Spamming programs molesting your devices Longevity treatments for the ultra-wealthy Dune-buggy caked with guts the color of sand net tightens round the world Apocalypse-weave net tightens round the world soldiers true and steady Marvellous machinery of destruction, untold damage done Spit-and-polish soldiers true and steady Super-soldiers immune to pain and fear Everyone waves, what a nice place this is Clueless aliens from the oceans depths undercover agents for the gov Taking life one day at a time One hundred and four servants of heaven Teetotaler undercover agents for the gov unmasked as serial killer Greasers and hoodlums battling over slushie machines Heroin halts pain receptors rampantly addictive though Zoologist unmasked as serial killer favorite snack of the tribes GCHQ agents subvert your internet activity Dull silver medallion needed to pilot airship Lizard-on-a-stick favorite snack of the tribes painted red for the kill Theft of robot modifications for necromantic experiments Glow in the dark fungus lures the unwary Endoskeleton painted red for the kill test means Hope for a new life Dancing lights entertain the tribes children Singing rocks share tales of ancient lost brothers Phenotype test means Hope for a new life experiments gone horribly wrong Leader-follower behavior leads sheep to slaughter Giggling deep in the mines all infected with parasites Moreauvian experiments gone horribly wrong The horrors below must be watched carefully You suffer eternal torment crying out for mommy Even a slight mistake will destroy your soul Time to pull up, the earth is rushing towards you Atmosphere fizzing like a hits water after popping a bean and charred again and again If the angle is to steep then you will hit with enough force to smash you like a watermelon If impact is to shallow then back you go back into space to be frozen and charred again and again Mastery of only one is needed for survival 's environmental needs Pick the wrong liquid and you get one less chance to try again You will need to float the egg in some liquid so you will need to find some liquid that is the same as egg's environmental needs like a pinball deleting the needed energy from its movement to miss the infant to absorption The container will need to be rigid to make sure that the walls do not flex or the egg could bang on the walls like a pinball deleting the needed energy from its movement to miss the infant to absorption it is up to you the chance of cracking it is directly related to the speed An egg can withstand between 20 to 30 gs before cracking it is up to you the chance of cracking it is directly related to the speed Ranco Pick 1 0 2147483131 Numbers Please! Rnco You jump into the abyss Ranco Your burning body turned to ash And It's over What a way to go I wish it were my own END You wish this were your own

[tanvimongia]

May 27, 2020

I realized I haven’t blogged about Thailand at all. Except one night in koh tao I made a short drunk post. Ugh! I must share my experience in Laos. It’s one of those things you can’t describe in words. I accidentally deleted like half of my videos from that trip. But it was honestly one of those experiences that fill your soul so much from the inside that you take it with you wherever you go. There’s three different experiences that stand out and make me feel like i’m never ever really alone. You know those times when you feel so whole and so complete that you wonder how you could have ever felt alone before? And then in those moments I have to remind myself how lucky I am and even though I might not always feel THIS good. I can always just think back to this moment and bring back those feelings. 

While visiting one of the most popular waterfalls near Luang Prapang, Kuang Si Waterfall,  Me and Ruben discovered the most glorious amazing natural swimming hole. There’s no way to describe it other than it felt like an absolute paradise. There was a rope swing and a bamboo bridge. There were butterflies everywhere and the most beautiful clear water..... we ordered food, and jumped in water, we met Adam and Mike who ended up convincing us to come back there and camp. And we did... we came back the next day with our belongings we made a fire that night and Vang (the owner of the restaurant) cooked us fish, we became part of his family, we laughed and joked with his wife, the next day we hiked to the Mung village- a group of refugees who came from China. I could go on and on, but long story short we got a taste of paradise. 

In Vang Vieng met the two kindest souls that I have ever met in my entire life. Sasha and Victor. It was difficult to communicate with them as their English was really poor and they mostly spoke Russian. But we still had an amazing time together. We decided to go camping and take shrooms in the jungle and bro I can’t even describe this story it would jus take too long. But it was honestly just an amazing amazing experience. 

After that I met Mark, Palmer, Ben, and Nick at the same hostel.... the funniest, kindest, most hilarious British mother fuckers who made me genuinely happy from the inside. The first day we met we ended up doing shrooms at the local pizza bar and we laughed the whole entire day, I’m not really sure for what reasons. For many days after that we laughed, got fucked up, and just enjoyed each others company. They’re all really good people and they just made me happy. 

These memories and many others don’t need to be written down. They play like a clear movie in my head. I felt so wholly alive then. Like everything that I had been so confused about before finally made sense. Like all the things that I was searching for, was right here in front of me.  I didn’t know what “finding what I was looking for” was gonna look like, but I found some version of it. And when I came back from Laos I didn’t feel like I was searching anymore. I didn’t feel lost as FUCK which is how i felt for a long long longggg time.  I feel at peace now, I feel content, I don’t feel like I’m searching. I used to think that at some point in my life the right person or the right group of people would come along in my life and save me. Give me what I was searching for. Give me that contentment that I felt like I needed. But when I was on shrooms in the jungle that night at Lagoon 5 I had a realization. It wasn’t a person that was gonna save me. I was saved. I saved myself. It was a collection of people and places and experiences that made me feel whole. And ever since that moment of realizing I wasn’t lost anymore..... I have not felt empty a single day since. So much gratitude for this journey. 

[oliveratlanta]

101 things to love about Atlanta

A love letter to a city of many nicknames—just don’t call it Hotlanta

Unlike other American metropolises, it’s sometimes hard to determine exactly what Atlanta is, especially for outsiders or so many newcomers. Is it a business-friendly, big-hearted, mild-weather region that’s six times more populated than it was 50 years ago? Yes, Atlanta is that. A cradle for some of the most influential music—particularly hip-hop and rap—of the past three decades? Yep, that too. A burgeoning foodie wonderland? A southeastern mecca for the production of television and Hollywood blockbusters? A pastiche of gloriously unique, provincial villages masquerading as official neighborhoods? A cultural frontrunner and cautionary tale? Global magnet of opportunity? Still kind of a mess—but lovably so?

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and that’s right, y’all.

So maybe that’s what’s special about Atlanta: It’s not yet finished, and never one-note. Rather, it’s a Brunswick stew of varying allures. It’s amorphous, restless, unwed to the past, intoxicated by its own prospects. Very little is sacred here but change, and instigators are more than welcome. Atlanta doesn’t know what it is yet, or exactly where it’s going, but it’s having a damn good time getting there. Let’s celebrate what’s great here, right now.

1. Inclusivity. The economic and cultural heart of the Deep South isn’t just accustomed to being diverse, it’s proud of it. See virtually any public gathering place intown for proof that humanity can peacefully coexist—and that Atlanta still has better things to do than hate.

2. Sky-high architecture. From the emerald towers of Sandy Springs’s King and Queen to the Georgia Pacific Tower’s illuminated stairsteps, the skyline is among America’s most underappreciated, especially at night. It’s not contiguous yet, with large gaps between poky clusters from most angles, but it’s distinctive and bold. And oh how it glows.

3. Easy-breezy climes. Sure, summer’s hotter’n’ Hades. But there’s Christmas shopping in flip-flops (sometimes), T-shirt weekends in January (occasionally), and bloomy early February (without fail).

4. After Hours at Waffle House: The 20-minute wait at 3:17 a.m. is plenty of time for random singing with other scatterbrained, post-bar strangers in line.

5. The prevalence of nature. Cicadas. And barn owls. Talking. At night. Among the giant urban oaks, in July.

6. Festival-a-palooza. Neighborhoods across the city have unbridled, borderline incomprehensible enthusiasm for getting together. Random gatherings invented on Facebook (looking at you, Lanta Gras) have ballooned into huge annual traditions with street closures and parades.

7. Bezos who? Amazon didn’t choose Atlanta, and Atlanta cared for five minutes.

8. It’s almost never hard to find a seat on public transit.

9. Kid-friendly. Little children growing up in Atlanta tend to think it’s amazing. That’s an impression bolstered by innumerable playgrounds and ubiquitous King of Pops, those delectable, homegrown frozen staples.

10. Random celebrity encounters. Like that time when André 3000 was shopping alone at the DeKalb Farmers Market, sans entourage, near the seafood section, all cool in his army jacket despite the July swelter and crush of onlookers, not too busy or highfalutin to shake everybody’s hand.

11. Yes, $100,000-something condos are prevalent—still—in desirable places across Atlanta. Many aren’t shoeboxes, either. And some count incredible views, particularly of central Midtown or downtown’s oldest streets.

12. Tech hub. Because Georgia Tech is a factory of coveted IT brainpower that’s more essential to the city’s business climate each year.

13. Westside escape. With its bridges, creekside vistas, and smooth, snaking pavement, the Proctor Creek Greenway trail is already otherworldly, in the best, most bucolic way. And it’s just a fraction of what it stands to be in coming years.

14. Long live the Clermont. A few years ago, neighbors were preparing to fight to save a local strip club from its new owners. It was a false alarm—the new owners view the Clermont as an asset. But that’s Atlanta.

15. Where it’s greater. With its transit connectivity, celebrated food scene, walkability, and perennial ranking as Georgia’s best place to live, Decatur gets it.

16. World’s busiest hub. With flights seemingly every minute from early morning until the wee night-time hours, the Atlanta airport is a stressful but handy launchpad of convenience, with a ridiculous wealth of nonstop flights to basically everywhere (hello, Dubai and Johannesburg). We’ll forgive a MARTA train derailment, that famous power outage, and perpetual TSA clogs.

17. Expats welcome. Because almost nobody on your street is actually from Atlanta, and that’s so normal it usually doesn’t even register. A common greeting for new neighbors: “So, where ya from?”

18. Can’t-miss Cascade. Especially in autumn, SW ATL’s Cascade Springs Nature Preserve offers ITP serenity to the fullest. Meander through 120 acres of trails, climb Civil War-era ruins, hop across a waterfall’s rocks. It’ll make even the most overstressed office dweller feel something akin to childhood awe.

19. Walkability. It’s getting vastly… better, in many places, from densifying EAV to the growing shopping avenues of central Buckhead. It’s happening, albeit slowly.

20. But... Atlanta’s still a major city where driving conveniences are largely possible, and lugging groceries on trains and such isn’t always an everyday hassle. Rush hours, however, are always plural, and Saturday traffic is, unfortunately, no joke anymore.

21. Trees of green. Friends flying in for the first time might say, “All I saw were trees—and then we landed.” A high compliment.

Curbed Atlanta

Atlanta’s canopy with the Buckhead business district at left, and Midtown/downtown at right.

22. Playspace. The restored, climbable treasure that is Noguchi Playscapes, the famed landscape architect’s work in Piedmont Park, was the only U.S. playground he completed in his lifetime.

23. Bungalows. The quintessential intown homes. Built to last, forever in vogue, and usually affixed with that most Atlanta of residential features: the generous porch.

24. Bearings Bike Shop. The community-focused nonprofit is teaching kids the value of hard work, the joy of exercise, and the viability of traversing a car-crazed city on two wheels.

25. Late-night stalwart. MJQ is a longstanding and culturally important club that welcomes anybody and everybody down into the rollicking, subterranean bowels of a former blues club. Chicago House in one room, a Whitney Houston singalong in the next.

26. Adios, Bravos. The pro baseball team left town for the monied ’burbs—and might very well have done Atlanta a favor (unless you operated front-yard parking lots). Nearby Georgia Avenue’s rebirth could show how large-scale adaptive reuse, married with new construction, can be a smartly executed replacement for storefront vacancies and so much stadium asphalt. Changes of this magnitude don’t come without gentrification fears, of course. But rows of beautiful, vacant old buildings—which could’ve doubled as a post-apocalyptic Main Street before, but are under renovation now—were doing Atlanta no favors.

27. The mother of all porch parties. Three cheers for the grassroots explosion of Oakhurst Porchfest. Founded in 2015, the autumn musical extravaganza counts 200-plus acts now, performing wherever volunteers offer their porches as stages. It’s community unification through music at its finest.

28. High Museum. The Southeast’s preeminent showcase for contemporary and classical art, housed in buildings designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Meier, is free for locals on the second Sunday of each month. How’s that for accessibility?

29. Viewrific, Part I. The approach from Douglasville on Interstate 20, over that hill, in fading evening light, the Land of Oz.

30. One of television’s best shows needed no other name than our city’s.

31. Georgia Aquarium’s bucket-list essential. For about the price of a car tire, you can swim with whale sharks downtown. And if you’re lucky, they’ll inadvertently bump you, with all the gentle power of a city bus in slow motion.

32. Curated graffiti. Running along the northern borders of Cabbagetown and Reynoldstown, Wylie Street is an ever-changing urban museum of eye-popping street murals, with a dash of biting social commentary.

33. Atlanta is where misfit street characters become local legends. Here’s looking at you, Baton Bob. And where art thou, Bicycle Shorts Man?

34. The Dungeon house in Lakewood Heights. Birthplace of OutKast, it was recently purchased by Big Boi. Hootie Hoo!

35. The Atlanta Beltline. Despite affordability challenges directly caused by the now-famous Beltline, the popular segments are socially magical, unifying things—Atlanta’s boardwalk, the Little Peachtree—and it’s barely reached adolescence at this point. Maybe one day, instead of sprawl and traffic, a mention of Atlanta anywhere in the world will conjure images of this mythical green loop. All dreamed up by a local college kid.

36. Sylvan Hills. The historic nabe between downtown and the airport is the prettiest neighborhood that half of Atlanta’s never heard of.

37. Scooter culture. Having spawned across the city in a year, the vehicles can be annoying, unsightly, and even dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists. But the two-wheel zeitgeist beats all those lawbreaking riders driving alone in 4,000-pound street cloggers, right?

38. Raising the bar. Rooftop restaurants and bars have multiplied tenfold (roughly) in recent years, highlighted by Ponce City Market’s vintage amusement park in the sky and Hotel Clermont’s unpretentious new hang. About time.

39. Our iconic downtown library is by Marcel Breuer, someone cooler than Carnegie.

40. Path Force. The Beltline’s roving, specialized, applaudable police squad is consistently effective. Despite millions of visitors to the trails, the number of annual crime incidents can sometimes be counted on one hand.

41. John Portman. The late architect’s simple idea born in downtown Atlanta—the inner high-rise atrium, designed to cheaply cool low-income buildings—revolutionized hotel design around the world.

42. A growing legacy of rather badass sports statues. There’s Hank Aaron swinging through his record homer, shredded Evander Holyfield (currently MIA), sculptural Olympics remnants, Dominique Wilkins in mid-dunk, and that incredible Falcons sculpture.

43. Viewrific, Part II. The downtown skyline from that stoplight, facing west, where Freedom Parkway meets Boulevard. It’s the famed Jackson Street Bridge vantage point, immortalized in The Walking Dead Season 1 poster, panned out.

44. Park potential. Bellwood Quarry’s green space initiative could finally bring that side of town the Piedmont Park it deserves.

45. Commercial survivors. Poncey-Highland throwback DVD rental spot Videodrome and dive-bar stalwart Righteous Room are here to stay forever! Probably.

46. Road trips galore. From Atlanta, there’s a wealth of geographically and culturally diverse long-weekend options in all directions. Asheville, Savannah, the Gulf Coast, Charleston, Blue Ridge, Jekyll Island, Nashville, Charlotte, and the list goes on. Leave at lunch on Friday and reach them all by happy hour.

47. Church Bar on Edgewood. Before it was a tourist destination, the beloved Edgewood Avenue watering hole was just an unholy alliance of irreverent art, ping-pong, sangria, and a male former church deacon named Sister Louisa.

48. Atlanta United. In just its third year now, the club has scored a Major League Soccer championship and global headlines that declare this city, for once, an exemplar of fandom.

49. They don’t make ’em like Whittier Mill Village anymore. The semi-secret old cotton mill community includes 1800s homes, beautiful ruins, and Buckhead schools.

50. We took Snowpocalypse jokes—and are still taking them—in stride. Two inches of daytime snow paralyzed a major city, but hey, we made the front page of the New York Times! And inspired the creation of an SNL Weekend Update character called Buford Calloway, a “survivor.”

51. Lemony pepper wings. Order dry, with a little tub of hot sauce on the side. Graze the wing across blue cheese, and then dunk in the sauce. Bite big. And behold caloric Eden.

52. Bank of America Plaza. The world’s largest cigarette just happens to be the Southeast’s tallest building—and the ATL’s Eiffel Tower. (Sorry, Big Chicken.)

53. Purposeful art. With poignant murals, impressive permanent pieces, and a civil rights installation series where historical events actually happened, the Beltline’s Westside Trail artwork is stepping up the game. Ditto for the Eastside’s series, and William Massey’s awe-inspiring pieces made of garbage found on streets.

54. Viewrific, Part III. Sure, the ginormous chiseled Confederates are awkward at best, and embarrassing at worst. But evenings and sunrises atop Stone Mountain are religious experiences (literally, every Easter, with church services). Up there, find unparalleled vistas of so much rippling green, cast pink, with the glint of skyscrapers in the middle distance.

55. Adair Park. Blight and disinvestment didn’t diminish the beautiful old bones of this historic place.

56. The Atlanta Tech Village in Buckhead is the real deal. A tech hub that’s spawned big local companies—and a lot of cushy salaries.

57. Car-free lifestyles no longer seem crazy. Alternate transportation commuters are becoming more prevalent by the year—and proving that living without a car (gasp!) is possible in Atlanta. (See: the saddlebags and backpacks accessorizing business attire along the Freedom Park PATH Trail during weekday rush hours.)

58. No shortage of swingin’ highrise pools. It’s like a subculture unto itself, from late April to September.

59. We have the Southeast’s largest burial ground, and it’s beautiful. More than 100,000 people have been laid to eternal rest across Westview Cemetery’s 600 acres, which is centered around a gorgeously ornate mausoleum and chapel.

60. Lest we forget Oakland Cemetery. Atlanta’s oldest public green space is a historical, durable, accessible intown treasure that really knows how to party. For proof, see the long-running, multistage Tunes From the Tombs festival.

61. The National Center for Civil and Human Rights is > the NASCAR Museum that Atlanta “lost” to Charlotte.

62. Pittsburgh Yards. This southside Beltline redevelopment is centered on the creation of jobs in underserved places—instead of $3,000 apartments and $13.50 bespoke kale bowls—and it could be a game changer.

63. Buckhead’s tallest building, the Sovereign tower, still stands out, architecturally. And it could soon have a big blue modernist sibling.

64. Venturing OTP won’t actually kill you. Resurrected and richly historic downtowns are in abundance in the Atlanta suburbs. Like, everywhere. Find a half-dozen worthwhile day-trip destinations in Gwinnett alone.

65. The Atlanta splash pad, a social oasis and absolute godsend. And even better: More splash pads are in the works, from Vine City (definitely) to Chosewood Park (probably) and Kirkwood (maybe). About damn time, say toddlers across Atlanta.

66. Queer culture is thriving. That’s epitomized by Atlanta Pride, which is more massive than ever after almost 50 years (and now family-friendly, for better or worse).

67. English Avenue’s Mattie Freeland Park. Founded and controlled by neighbors, the tiny green space is a shining example of small but vital civic strides in historically troubled places.

68. The Chattahoochee River. A revived and unspoiled (if underused) resource for every season.

69. Insert here: A non-cheesy, non-obvious, pithy ode to the Varsity, that legendary fast-food drive-in—still the world’s largest after 90 years. Don’t mention “What’ll ya have?” Ah, never mind.

70. Music Midtown. For all its faults (overcrowding, lawn damage, neighbor inconvenience, lineups geared toward teens), the reborn multistage extravaganza is a dynamic and diverse musical showcase every September. Walk barefoot across lush Bermuda and dance like only 75,000 people are watching.

71. Ted Turner’s legacy. The media maverick and early Atlanta believer has been called an inspiration by people as disparate as Ted Koppel and Killer Mike.

72. The reinvigorated cyclorama. Once bedraggled, the restored cyclorama—one of America’s largest historical artifacts—is now in good hands, presented in a state-of-the-art showcase at the Atlanta History Center. That’s where it’ll be until infants of today are septuagenarians. At least.

73. Almost every Atlantan has some tale about the cast or production of The Hunger Games, The Walking Dead, Stranger Things, Baby Driver, etc. And hundreds of us have rented our homes for movie and TV shoots. Cha-ching.

74. Atlanta Streets Alive. The occasional street-closure sensation (with attendance routinely north of 120,000) illustrates a dream scenario, in terms of biking/pedestrian infrastructure and how cities of the future could yield to people over automobiles.

75. Inspiring architecture—seriously. In a few too-rare cases, large-scale design is getting quite interesting. Find several forthcoming examples on Howell Mill Road alone. And approach the Jenga-d facade of Midtown’s new lilli tower from any angle at twilight.

76. The Beltline’s Northside Trail. It’s a tucked-away, leafy, unsung jewel—with a rail bridge underpass that could stand as a top Beltline highlight forever.

77. Relaxed ganja laws in the City of Atlanta. Anyone caught with a bag of pot in the city can face—worst case—a $75 fine now. But even that’s left to the officer’s discretion. And judging by the pungent wafts from innumerable cars and so many porches, the memo on that was widely read among intowners.

78. The Goat Farm! Westside ruins turned artist hive. Now don’t let redevelopment gut its inimitable soul!

79. Where the expressions “Y’all!” and “Yo!” coexist harmoniously—and sometimes come from the same mouth.

80. Inman Park Festival. A late-April tradition for almost half a century, this fest is Atlanta’s greatest neighborhood showcase. It’s proof that even prestigious places need not take themselves too seriously.

81. These directions make sense in Atlanta-ese: “Head up the Connector, around the Grady Curve, beyond the Brookwood Split, past Spaghetti Junction, barely OTP, and then…”

82. Record shops keep it spinning. From the hippest gritty neighborhoods to the far-flung ’burbs, ATL vinyl is alive and well.

83. The original Lantern Parade. A luminous Atlanta Beltline tradition—now 70,000 strong—unlike any other.

84. Moonlight drives. The city’s nonsensical roadway design actually makes for more interesting (if impractical) drives, once you know where the hell you’re going. For a test run, take Ponce from the Majestic Diner to Decatur, late at night, windows down.

85. Because the Atlanta Hawks stayed put, right in the city’s heart. And now they’re trending like the team of the future.

86. Ansley Park. With its dizzying array of residential masterworks and unique country-club-under-skyscrapers vibe, this is aspirational living done right. Leafy and hilly at every turn, the neighborhood’s bounty of walkable green space options is almost unfair.

87. Those wondrous, weird accumulations of snow. About six times per decade, there’s a legit, if short-lived, snowfall. Added bonus: The city’s streets and parks are perfectly angled for sledding, for those rare Atlantans who actually own sleds or don’t mind embarrassing themselves on greased cookie sheets.

88. Midtown’s unyielding boom. Crane-watching (and counting) has become a pastime in Midtown. It’s the epicenter of intown’s metamorphosis, where soul-sucking surface parking lots go to die.

Curbed Atlanta

Midtown in summertime, as seen over Piedmont Park.

89. The “Atlanta’s Population Now” sign on Peachtree Road. Long a source of pride and bewilderment for this once modestly sized Southern town, the electronic metro population counter in front of the Darlington Apartments is climbing ever closer to 7 million. Fun fact: It was installed by a young billboard mogul named Ted Turner in the 1960s, when the metro’s population was about 1.1 million.

90. The potential of South Downtown. For far too long, Atlanta’s oldest, most captivatingly vintage streets have been forsaken by most investors, residents, visitors, and anyone else not headed to Magic City, a Falcons game, or the Gold Dome. Whether the trifecta of ambitious plans for the Gulch, Underground Atlanta, and Newport’s extensive portfolio can spring the district to greatness remains to be seen.

91. Castleberry Hill. Atlanta’s epicenter of authentic loft living and bohemian art galleries is also cool enough for a 2 Chainz restaurant.

92. The food. It ain’t all pulled pork, buttermilk chicken, and Frosty Oranges ’round here anymore. From Buford Highway’s international fare to Decatur’s award-winning menus and classic eateries like Busy Bee Cafe, you could live in Atlanta a decade and not sample all its eclectic deliciousness. “This year cemented the Capital City of the South’s status as a culinary force,” wrote Zagat in 2017, declaring the ATL the nation’s ninth “most exciting” food city.

93. Pre-dogwood hoopla. A sunny March weekend in Piedmont Park is like a city festival organized by the citizenry, with plenty of flying frisbees and open-container good vibes.

94. Palm trees. So what if they’re not native to Atlanta? Neither are you (probably). Some varieties really thrive here, punctuating front yards and restaurant landscapes in these subtropical climes.

95. The Fabulous Fox. It’s the site of Prince’s final concert and, when the wrecking ball loomed, legendary 1970s preservation efforts led by bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd. The glittering Fox Theatre is an Atlanta showplace like no other.

96. Viewrific, Finale. Southbound on Peachtree Road, just past Jesus Junction, that downhill vantage point captures something like a scene from the movie Metropolis, only framed by towering pines.

97. Pollen preparedness. A real downside of Atlanta’s otherwise glorious, floral springs are the swirling particles so thick they turn black cars yellow. Or streets into yellow-tinged rivers when it rains. Luckily, ATLiens aren’t fazed, popping non-drowsy Claritin, minding pollen counts on the news, or—in some cases—strapping on SARS-style masks.

98. Local beer. Suddenly, it’s everywhere! A hundred varieties not named SweetWater.

99. That being said… a frosty glass, a SweetWater 420 on draft, a Saturday afternoon in May, counting passersby from a lively patio bar, and somebody, somewhere, just started strumming an acoustic guitar.

100. We’re not “Marthasville,” thank God. (One of this settlement’s original names.)

101. Still welcoming after all these damn carpetbaggers.

source https://atlanta.curbed.com/2019/5/29/18629884/reasons-to-love-atlanta

[thebackroadtourist]

How Do You Say Ljubljana?

Ahhh the city of Ljubljana. (lube-lee-aun-a). The land of mystical dragons, beautiful hills and delicious potica. I chose this destination before I learned how to pronounce it. Why? Because curiosity hasn’t killed me yet! Where the hell is Ljubljana? In the country of Slovenia, of course! Not Slovakia. Not Scandinavia. Slovenia. Formerly part of Yugoslavia along with Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Albania. With Slovenia’s population just a quarter of New York City it boosts a rich history filled with castles and World War II bombs sunken beneath the surface….seriously. There’s a story of a man who found a large bomb in his backyard with a metal detector. Slovenia borders Eastern Italy and is just a hop and a skip from Venice, though a place where most tourists don’t consider going. To make matters more interesting for myself I decided to spend two weeks here with a host family…from the internet. www.workaway.info, a site I used in Central America where I spent two weeks living in a small wooden yoga hut with three foreigners and a lot of creepy crawly’s. That story is for another day.

“This could go one of two ways” I thought to myself as I exited the bus and walked into the McDonalds down the street, the meeting place where I would meet my host family for the next two weeks. The mother and her 11 year old daughter waved enthusiastically at me as I scanned the circumference of the fast-food joint, noticing how pretty the working women were behind the counter. My first impression of Ljubljana was “Damn it’s hot.” I was greeted by a scorching 41 degrees celsius, global warming was saying hello to the land of Melania Trump (not joking, she’s from this town).

I was greeted by the broad chested father upon pulling into the dirt driveway located 30 minutes outside Ljubljana’s city center in an agricultural development surrounded by green hills and the faint smell of cow manure. The father, a banker, was big dude - standing 6′6″ weighing in around 220 lbs a former truck driver in the Yugoslavian army in the early 1990′s. Intimidated at first I learned quickly that love and laughter was his default state. His goofy, silly outlook on life and his gift of telling jokes and poking fun at those around him lit the room and made me feel at ease. The caring and animated mother, the blonde-hair and olive oil skinned daughter and the 15 year old amatuer kayaker son took me in as one of their own; a warm welcoming that felt as if I truly belonged there. They fed me delicious home-made bio-dynamic food which often consisted of a meat and a starch; they took me hiking, swimming, kayaking and showed me historical sites and look-out points with stunning views of the countryside. We drank local beer, picked blackberries from their yard each day and stayed up late on their patio to talk - just talk, about anything and everything. They grilled me with questions on the social-political state of America and shared their insights and cultural knowledge on Slovenia and Central Europe as a whole, educating me on things I never knew existed. Their curiosity for my points of view was impressive to me considering Slovenia is a bubble consisting of mostly all white people in one of the safest towns in Europe.

Speaking of living in a bubble. Let me tell you first and foremost - Slovenia is LIT. Free healthcare for all. Free college tuition for all (#debtwho?). Where 33 days of paid vacation is the norm and where nobody works past 40 hours a week. Slovenia is the #1 country in all of Europe to be a child - which was proven by the daughter’s math skills and her fluency in Slovene, French, and English. Slovenia is also the greenest and most environmentally conscious country in the continent. Slovenia - WHAT! I was blown away. So much so that I think I subconsciously had to see for myself. In other words, I was struck by a nasty virus half way through my stay. I think the excess accumulation of sugar, alcohol, dairy and gluten (4 things I rarely consume in the States) had caught up to me, plus having previously been in Spain and Italy where gelato and pasta made up 80% of my daily consumption. *watch for my next blog post about eating foreign foods* By the second day of my sickness the mother became concerned with the pain in my ears so she took me in to see a doctor. What I experienced was something quite unfamiliar: immediate attention, no waiting lines, personal care plus an on-the-spot blood analysis including a full physical, pathological and nuerological examination. 1 hour later I was out of there with my diagnosis and a peace-of-mind. And guess how much I paid. 18 Euros. That’s right, 18. For something that would have cost $150 in the States.

I also got the dentist experience. I had lost my night denture in Barcelona weeks prior so I needed something to protect my teeth against my fierce nighttime grinding. I was just as impressed with the dentist as I had been with the doctor: greeted by warm smiles, immediate care, no waiting lines, and get this….they gave me a second night guard for FREE. Two for the price of one. And the price of 1 was about $100 less than what I would have paid in the states.

The parent’s worked during the day and the older brother had daily kayak practice so each day I hung with the daughter. The parent’s didn’t even vet me - leaving me alone with their daughter in their house less than 24 hours after meeting me in person. Each day was a different activity, funded by her parents. One day we walked to the bus stop and journeyed to the pool, the next day we took the bus to the city center and ate lunch at a local food fair, the next was an indoor waterpark. We even went to an escape room. Other days we stayed in the house and sheltered ourselves from the heat while keeping busy with Yugoslavian monopoly, chess, bridge rummy canasta and tarocks (a confusing German card game). We instantly bonded as if we’d known each other for years. By the end of my stay we had our own inside jokes and even our own dialect. Everything was so easy with this family. They put their full trust in me and treated me as their son. They served me first at the dinner table and covered every meal we ate out with no exceptions. Did I mention the food here? They took me to the best spots, the hole in the wall places that food network lovers would obsess over. My first night there we went to a pizza joint in their local village where the waitress taught me how to say thank-you “Hvala” and please “”Prosim”. Another night was an authentic Serbian spot outside of town unreachable by tourists. The owner was a friend of the family, we took shots of “Qunice” an alcohol that’s apparently illegal in Slovenia, and ate our weight in Serbian bread and sausage. We woke up early one Saturday to eat pogača, a traditional buckwheat pizza with smoked ham. They also fed me the finest of sweets: kremšnita, flancat, apple strudel, potica and pumpkin oil ice cream all traditional in Slovenia.

I often thought of the slogan “Pura Vida” used in Costa Rica, a place I’ve explored twice and love dearly. I can say with confidence that Slovenia can also have that same slogan. Besides, Slovenia has the word “love” in it’s name. From the amount of play and laughter the family shared on a daily basis, to the pesticide-free food, to the local villagers up in the Kranska Gora mountains who cooked us a traditional Slovene meal of buckwheat polenta topped with pork fat, sour milk from their cows and pine-butt water from their trees. It was a magical place, as the father and I scaled up the rocks to the reach a gorgeous waterfall as I drank the crystal clean water from it’s stream. From the beautiful lake of Bled where we swam with the fish to the kayaking trip down the warm transparent stream of a Balkan lake.

To conclude, Slovenia has it all - the scenery, the people, and the food. If you come here do not skip out of what nature has to offer. And bring your own vegetables ;)

[fearofaherobrine]

Roleplay Server Log #215

“Limewatch with Chiffon, Cp’s Armor Repair”

-A few days later-

[Lie] Is doing some cooking while the Vulpix's and Hope run around a bit.  The regular vulpix is adjusting better now and plays a bit more.  The Alolan jumps up onto the counter to investigate what Lie is doing- Why hello there- She pets the AVulpix

[AVulpix] Makes happy noises before turning, one of it's many tail knocking over the bottle of pepper Lie borrowed from Doc-

[Lie] Catches whif of all the pepper and does her best to fight it but ends up sneezing and teleporting very far away-0

[Lie] Ends up in a forest and sighs before typing into chat- I teleported again

[Doc] Hang on. I'm coming. Don't move, I'll pinpoint you;

[Lie] - Thanks

[Doc] Is dashing through the air towards Lie-

[gem] -sees doc and flying along with doc- mind if I join you?

[Doc] Oh, sure! Lie sneeze Tped again.

[gem] I saw I just could use the adventure

[Doc] Boy, she got really far this time...

[gem] yep I wonder what's out here

[Doc] so far? Lots and lots of trees. It's a pretty big forest biome, and i see the ocean on the horizon.

[Lie] Is sitting on the ground spawning a few flowers-

[Doc] Thumps down beside her- Allergies getting you down Lie?

[gem] -flys down- hey lie

[Lie] - No, the Alolan Vulpix knocked over that bottle of pepper you let me borrow.  Hey Gem

[Doc] Bad Vulpix. Eh, I'll copy another one for you. Hopefully you didn't leave anything going that would damage your house?

[Lie] - Well....

*Vwoop. An enderman-Woman? It looks pretty feminine...- teleports nearby, appearing with a villager in arms.

[Enderman..?] Oh-- I.. This is pretty far...

[Villager] It works-- Set me down--- Oh, there's people here--

[Enderman..?] -Sets the villager down, squinting at the group of three, gaze pausing on Lie and Gem-

[Lie] - Um...  Hello?

[gem] hey I haven't seen you before -waves at the two people-

[Villager] Hello! -Raises a hand and waves, looking between them before tentatively moving closer. She has a bag over her shoulder, clearly for gathering things.-

[Enderman..?] -None too softly to the Villager, much to their amusement- The girls are too pretty for me

[Villager] Of course they are.

[Lie] - Can we help you?

[Doc] Hello. I didn't know there were any villages out here? And it's nice to see enders getting along with the locals as well

[gem] -flies closer to the Enderman and sticks her hand out to shake hers- my name is gem

[Villager] My village is.. Really far out. This is.. My third time in the forest? We live in the desert past it. I'm Rambler, This is Steph. -points at the Enderman-

[Steph] -clearly unsure how to react, but also clearly very smitten.- Uhh-- Hi Gem? -Shakes her hand-

[Rambler] I didn't mean to intrude, Steph just teleported us too far out.

[Doc] loafs to look less threatening. - Ah. Our settlement is quite some distance that way- points with a claw

[Lie] - That's alright, I accidentally teleported out here too

[Doc] I'm doc.

[gem] it's nice to meet you two

[Rambler] A pleasure to meet you all as well. -Looks in the direction Doc is pointing and nods a bit.- Like the other two?

[Lie] - Other two?  I'm Lie by the way

[Doc] Other two what?

[Steph] -Still holding Gem's hand-

[Rambler] Travellers. They came the way you pointed.  ... I think.

[Doc] What did they look like?

[gem] do you like my hand I mean I got four and all but I can't give it to you because it's attached to my body

[Steph] ! Sorry! -Lets go of Gem's hand sheepishly-

[Rambler] Both about yay tall, looked like matches, one wore.. Things? Over their eyes. Other's eyes were white. Hair up in a bun.

[Doc] White? And someone with sunglasses?

[gem] it's fine

[Lie] - Maybe those two that we found on the way to the hot spring?

[Doc] I hope so. There shouldn't be any brines around here that weren't invited in specifically.

[Lie] Turns back towards Rambler and Steph- Either way, are the two of you alright?  Do you need help getting home?

[Rambler] They were pretty fine, but I'm not sure if the one wearing. .. You said sunglasses? I don't think they could see.. Or if they could, not very well. And yeah, the others were white, like hers. -Points at lie-

[Steph] I'm pretty sure I can get us b-back! ... Maybe.

[Doc] Aww, come on, I'll give you a ride if you guide me.

[gem] yea that way we can come vist

[Rambler] -Hesitates a bit, glancing at Steph before shrugging- I uh.. Guess it can't hurt? I came out to get supplies but it's not like Anything I need is in the forest..

[Lie] - What did you need?

[Rambler] Cocoa beans.

[Steph] -Staring at Gem-

[Lie] Smiles- That I can help you with

[Doc] Yeah, are you guys hurting for food?

[gem] -notices steph staring- yes?

[Lie] Concentrates and from the ground and spawns a short jungle tree and some cocoa beans- There you go

[Steph] Sorry-- Your just really pretty...

[Rambler] Not really? We have sheep up the ass, but the kids like cookies, and we ran out of the cocoa beans- Oh!

[Lie] - Plants are my specialty

[gem] -her space angel eyes go a light pink- oh thank you

[Doc] Hey! I still have a few of your sugar cookies Gem! - Xe makes a quick stack and holds them out in one paw- Have these too.

[Rambler] Can you be any less straight, Steph? -clearly joking, but Steph just lets out a flustered noise- Are you sure? -Accepts the cookies and gathers the beans and a log or two- You're awfully nice..

[Doc] What good is it being an admin if you can't make the people who live on the server happy now and again?

[gem] straight is boring

[Lie] - Hey!

[gem] except lie and cp they are the cutest

[Lie] - And your housemates?

[gem] they are super cute as well

[Lie] - And sometimes Doc and Deer?

[Rambler] Oh- I meant no insult by my statement Miss Lie.

[Doc] Misunderstands for a moment. - Nope, we're cute all the time.

[Lie] - It's okay, I'm teasing Gem for her forgetfullness

[gem] I will sass you

[Lie] - And I'll be fake offended

[Rambler] Since I have the stuff I need, we can head to Limewatch if you like?

[Doc] Scoops up Lie and puts her on hir back- Shush you.

[gem] -makes a planet neckless and offers it to steph-

[Lie] - Make me

[Doc] Uses hir tail to fluff Lie in the face-

[Lie] Pouts a little-

[Doc]I'd love to see your village-

[Steph] For me? Oh-- -Accepts it and puts it on, removing her scarf-

[Rambler] Do I just.. Climb on? I can point the way back. If you uh.. have another form, it'd be best to switch, Limewatch is pretty small..

[Doc] is already loafed - When we get there, I will. Very astute of you to guess that I'm not normally this big actually.

[Rambler] -Climbs on and Steph hesitates before climbing on too.- I've never seen a dragon of quite this coloration, I'm glad I was right in my assumption.

[Doc] I just like yellow and purple. Apart from one of the brines, I seem to be in the minority on the opinion. - Xe stands up gently and trots up the air until xe's just above the trees-

[gem] -is flying next to doc ready to go-

[Rambler] I see. -Looks around before pointing- That way.

[Doc] Heads off in the direction they indicated-

[gem] -is flying close-

-The forest slowly gives way to a beach with a small village on the edge before Ocean. Although there's desert visible in the distance-

[Rambler] -Making small adjustments in their path as they go- Almost there. -Glares at the village on the waters edge as they pass over-

[Doc] There's two villages over here?

[Rambler] Yeah. That one uh.. Exiled mine, I guess. No ones sure anymore. We don't talk much.

[Doc] That's pretty shoddy. I might have a talk with them.

[Rambler] Don't feel the need to, We're all over it by now. -They're over the desert now, and beside a small ravine entrance beside a sandstone house, there's nothing.-

[Steph] I think I see Alexandre.

[Doc] Lands gently. The sand is nice and warm- Hello?

[gem] -doesn't land but keeps flying a block above the sand-

[Rambler] -Slides off with Steph-

[Steph] Alexandre!  -Bounds over to the ravine entrance where Another enderman is peaking out at them, playing with the sand-

[gem] -follows steph-

[Alexandre] Steph, Rambler. -Slowly edges out fully, clearly taller than Steph by a bit.  Most identifying feature is probably the cloak.. cape.. thing.- .. And others. -Looking at Gem, Doc, and Lie with a wary expression-

[gem] hi

[Doc] Greetings! - Waves a paw in a friendly way - Just your neighborhood admin checking up on the locals.

[Alexandre] .. I see... -Looks Steph over as Rambler moves to the ravine entrance, motioning for the rest to follow.-

[Rambler] In here. Move over, Alexandre.

[gem] -follows inside-

[Doc] Takes Lie off hir back and transforms, leading hir friend inside as well-

[Lie] Still pouting-

-Inside is a ravine, but also, very much a town. It's pretty tight knit, leaving little space. There's homes built into the walls, and the bleats of sheep come from one of the rooms. There's a little waterfall going down to the floor level, where a few more homes are.-

[Rambler] It's not much, but it's home. -A few villagers are moving about on the uneven walkways, going from one house to another, or loitering in a large open area full of chests and a sitting area.- -The villagers pay them little mind-

[Doc] On the contrary, it's very tidy. And much safer then a normal village. It looks like you only have one gate to guard.

[gem] steph can you think of anything else space related you would like me to make you?

[Doc] If you show me to your garden I can give you some new things to tend and eat.

[Rambler] Sure, I think we have uh... I actually don't know... Here, this way. -Opens one door and passes through, saying a hello to the villager as they go through.-

[Steph] Um...... Stars? I like stars..

[gem] -make a small cluster of stars and offers it to steph-

[Doc] Is leading Lie- Do you need some space hollowed out?

[Rambler] I don't think so? We've been thinking of expanding into the ravine just beside this one, but none of us are sure just yet. -Steps out the back door of the room into a very green environment, it's a small farm full of crops. There's another door that leads into a room full of sheep.-

[Doc] Pulls out three oonions, six coffee bean pods and a sapling with little yellow pixels on it  - Lucky for you I was working in the garden this morning- Just put them someplace they'll get a bit of light. and stick the pods to a bit of birch wood, it doesn't have to be a live tree.

[Rambler] Alright, thank you again, far too kind.

[Steph] Thank you! -Accepts them, turning them over in her hands-

[Doc] Scribbles some instructions on how to use the plants. - The beans take some effort to process, but the result is well worth it.

[Doc] So, are you guys interested in trading at all? We come from quite a large settlement.

[Rambler] We might be? Limewatch is pretty self sustaining, but it'd be nice to have some variety...

[Doc] Hey Gem? You're always looking for new projects, how would you feel about laying some kind of road?

[gem] road? like the paths we have or something else

[Doc] I don't know, maybe a minecraft rail? I'll give you any pieces you need.

[gem] like an underground rail system a rail track above ground might get in the way and look unsightly

[Doc] It's up to you.

[gem] I am on the case

[Doc] If you want to lay some kind of temporary trail in the woods we can use my compass to get back and just leave blocks along the way.

[gem] sure I guess it wont hurt

[Doc] Is that okay with you guys? Does anyone want to visit our village?

[Rambler] I think it's fine, I'll ask around real quick. -Moves off and asks villagers here and there before returning.- The rail things fine, and the only ones interested In going are the kids...

[Doc] Really? I can carry quite a few if they won't be scared of me.

[Lie] Is looking at the walls of the ravine, her thoughts churning-

[Doc] Do you want to add some plants Lie? Something edible?

[Lie] - Hmmm, I'm thinking...  Excuse me- She steps outside and starts touching the ravine walls

[Doc] Rambler, if you want to go, just go gather everyone up that wants to come.

[Rambler] Very well.  -Trots off to go gather up the villagers that want to go.-

[gem] -is trying to show off it front of steph and makes a galaxy-

[Lie] Starts concentrating. power trickling out from her finger causing a soft glow.  From the glow small glowing plants sprout forth, most with thick leaves formed in a petal formation of layers.  Each one is a variation of blues, greens, pinks, and purples-

[Doc] That's pretty. Are they just for decoration?

[Lie] - And a bit more light

[Child] -easing up beside Lie- Pretty!

[Lie] - Oh, thank you, would you like a pretty flower as well?

[Child] Uhh... Yeah!

[Lie] Kneels down and concentrates, creating a small   magenta flower with soft delicate petals- Here you go

[Child] It's-- So pretty! -Accepts the flower, cradling it in their hands-

[Lie] - Take good care of it, okay?

[Doc] Wanders a bit, just waiting for Rambler

[Child] I will!

-Rambler returns with a few villagers, a few are older, but the rest are younger.-

[Rambler] These are the ones.

[Doc] Okay. It might be smart to take a little bag with a change of clothes, maybe a snack. Just in case you want to stay overnight. We've got a decent sized hotel if anyone wants more then a day trip.

[Lie] Returns to the group-

[gem] -is just flying around in a circle with the galaxy on her head-

[Child] -Trailing after Lie holding the flowers-

[Lie] - Do  you want to come too?

[Villagers] -soft talking between each before they scatter to get things-

[Steph] -Just watching Gem in awe-

[Child] Yeah...

[Doc] You guys get what you need, I'm gonna go topside and check the time. I'm ready when you are- heads off

[Lie] - Well you should get permission from your parents first

[gem] steph would you like to come with us to see were we live?

[Child] Don't have any.

[Lie] - Oh, um...  Well I suppose your coming along then, just stay close to me for now

[Doc] Is watching the sun- It's late afternoon already and xe's hunkered down and ready for hir passengers-

[Lie] - Anyone who's ready please head for the surface!

[Steph] I'd  have to ask the others if it's Okay.. I'm kind of clumsy...

[Child] Yay!

[Villagers] -Return and file out of the Ravine, chatting between eachother-

[Lie] Starts leading the child up-

[Doc] Keeps hir tail in a semi-circle around them-

[gem] go ask I would love to show you around

[Lie] Helps the child up near Doc's head-

This message has been removed.

[Steph] Alright, back in a sec -teleports off and returns again momentarily-

[Villagers] -Get onto Doc after a moments hesitation, clearly never having seen a dragon-

[Child] Is the place pretty too?

[Lie] - Very much so, Doc, this may feel uncomfortable to you, but it may help the villagers-  She concentrates and uses vines to make makeshift seat belts for the villagers to make them feel more secure

[Doc] I like to think so. -pauses- That feels super weird Lie, just saying... Okay, everyone hang on!

[Lie] Puts an arm around the child to help keep them safe-

[Doc] Tries to stay relatively straight as xe mounts up the airblocks and dashes across the bay. Xe following the compass in hir inventory and leaving a trail of pumpkins behind them to mark the way.

-The forest rolls by underneath as the dragon races the sun. Below the mobs start coming out and xe goes a little faster and higher up in the air-

[Endrea] Is near invisible against the darkening sky as she comes closer- Hello Doc

[Doc] Hey Endrea! Nice night for a ride huh? I've got visitors if you want to warn the villagers to put out the welcome mat.

[Rambler] -Seems startled at the sight of Endrea above-

[Endrea] - I can do that if you want, should I tell them to bring out anything specific?

[Doc] Just food and light and fluff the pillows!- Calls back to the others- This is our friend Endrea. The grandest dragon on the server.

[Endrea] Spots Lie- Hello Mistress

[Lie] - Please don't call me that Endrea

[Doc] Whispers to Lie,- well you did just tie my ass up...

[Rambler] They're.. friendly?

[Villagers] -Seem a bit afraid of Endrea-

[Lie] Turns bright red and her hair becomes noticeably brighter- Doc!

[Doc] Oh yes! She got the cutest little baby dragons too, two sons and a daughter!

[Endrea] - Speaking of, Ashe is ready for his first lesson

[Doc] Endrea? I take it Ashe is doing excercises with GK again?

[Endrea] Gives a couple strong flaps which buffet the group a little as she pulls ahead some- Yes, he loves spending time with Uncle GG

[Doc] a bit triumpant - He'll be joining us up here soon enough!

[Endrea] Her laugh carries on the wind as she's speeding away-

[Doc] Skirts around the hills near Gem's house. The mammoths are barely visibile in the growing moonlight below.

[Child] What're those?

[Lie] - Those are called Mammoths, you don't want to get too close to them

[Doc] They're a bit protective of their little ones. They're not dangerous otherwise. Just big and clumsy.

[Lie] - Don't worry, we're almost at the village

[Doc] Zooms under the tree and over the horsepen-

-Ahead there's a lot of people waiting and watching at the south gate of the village-

[Ruby and Silver] Are sitting on their skeletal horses outside, keeping the wild mobs away from the gate-

[Villagers] -Looking around in awe as they go, most are too stunned to speak-

[Doc] Shouts a hello and goes over the wall to land in the main square-

-All around them the villagers have put out extra lights and tables of food. There's some music playing and the human children are reveling in getting to stay up late-

[Doc] Hunkers down and some of the native Testificates wander up to offer hands to hir riders-

[Lie] Lets the vines fall away-

[Doc] Thank you. That made me feel a bit anxious.

[Lie] - What?  Do you not let Deer do that to you?

[Villagers] -Get off, accepting the offered hands-

[Rambler] so bright and cheery...

[Child] Shiny.

[Doc] I would if she asked, but it's not really my thing...

[Lie] Stays close to the child so they don't get lost-

[Roulade] Welcome travellers! Have you come far?

[Rambler] A desert far from here, yes..

[Villagers] -Mixed answers consisting of "far", "very far" and "Way out desert"-

[Hollandaise] Well you are welcome here.

[Doc] I bought them to visit, we're discussing making a trade route of some kind between here and there. They're pretty isolated.

-The kids in the village are looking at the others brought, curiousity gleaming in their eyes as they whisper amongst themselves.  A few of them step closer-

[Zile] Slides up beside Doc - Ummm, Doctor?

[Doc] Yes?

[Zile] Was Lady Nessie actually here?

[Doc] Briefly yes. She wanted to meet Markus. Did you need to talk to her?

[Zile] No... she never considered me a good student. I like being here much more. Teaching the villagers to fight gave me purpose. They still come for regular lessons. Keeps everyone in shape.

[Kids] -Moving away from the adults, trying to look at everything they can-

[Doc] Then I won't tell her you're here if you like.

[Zile] Thank you.

-Some of the human kids run up to the others, asking them to play-

[Beanz] Comes out in her customary robe, the sight of the children playing makes her smile-

[Doc] At Roulade- Keeping busy?

[Roulade] Not as busy as our blacksmith lovers-

[Doc] Roulade!

[Roulade] Nonono! TLOT gave them a special task!

[Villagers] -Nervously moving away from Doc to mingle with others-

-The kids are happy to play!-

[Rambler] -Looking at everything and everyone gathered, playing with the fringes of her sleeves-

[Lie] Is trying to keep an eye on as many of the children as she can-

[Roulade] He built them a new forge too, just outside the walls for the safety of the rest of us.

[Doc] Looks in the direction he's pointing and sees a muted glow from a far corner of the village. - What are they doing?

[Roulade] I don't know, just that it involves lava and magma cream.

[Beanz] Approaches Rambler- You look unsettled. Would you like some tea? - gestures to a pot of a nearby table-

[Lie] - Don't swim up the waterfall guys!- A few of the kids are trying to get up to Babylon

[Doc] Shrinks back down to hir normal shape and snags a pastry and some tea- Thanks for making them welcome Roulade-

[Roulade] You know me and my husband like to entertain. It's a break from fussy diplomacy.

[Rambler] I.. Sure. I've never had tea before though..

[Beanz] Fixes them a cup - Try it plain and add a bit of milk or sugar to your taste. - gestures to the smaller containers- What brings you here, with so many little ones? Are you fleeing something?

[Rambler] No, not at all. The kids wanted to go somewhere new and Doc offered. -Tries the tea and grimaces before adding some sugar-

[Pair of awed Testificates] approach Lie- Are you... Goddess Lie? And is this Doc?

[Lie] - Er, yes I am Lie and that is Doc

[Beanz] They are accomodating... Seems like the children are getting along pretty well. They've acclimated nicely for humans. Espacially considering the horror they were rescued from...

[Testificates] Looks excited - It's an honor to meet you both!

[Doc] Who are you?

[Rambler] Oh?

[Testificates] I'm Escar and this is my mate Godot.

[Beanz] Oh yes, they were undead.

[Lie] - It's a pleasure to meet the two of you, how did you know who we were?  It's obvious you're not from this village

[Escar] We know you from reputation, and we saw the dragon come in. There are so many statues of each of you in Kore!

[Godot] Dare we ask where your warrior husband is?

[Lie] - Probably at home...  Wondering where I am...

[Escar] Well he will have a great suprise soon!

[Godot] Punches his husband's arm - Too much!

[Doc] Eyebrow-

[Lie] - A surprise?

[Escar] Purses his lips- Not telling!

[Godot] Rolls his eyes. - Good grief.

[Lie] - You do realize I have a way of making you tell the truth, right?

[Godot] Oh dear!

[Escar] Please don't use your powers on us mistress, we're sorry!  

-Both grovel a bit-

[Lie] - Please, do not call me that

[Escar and Godot] Many muffled apologies-

[Doc] Come on Lie you're scaring them. I doubt it's anything bad.

[Lie] - If you say so...

[Doc] Did TLOT, pick you two up in Kore?

[Godot] Yes! But we knew him and his husband from long long ago!

[Lie] - How long?

[Escar] He gave us gems so we could flee our persecutors! Back when the name of Herobrine struck only fear in the hearts of the people.

[Lie] - That does sound like TLOT...

[Godot] We walked with him to Kore to speak with Jeb, but he and Father Steve left us behind to make their pilgrimage into the desert to find the black tower.

[Escar] Sits up on his knees and helps his mate do the same. - He left us money and a pig though. We were not abandoned to fend for ourselves with nothing in that strange land.

[Lie] - Yes, he's always helpful, and I am very grateful for that

[Godot] We were so overjoyed to see him return with such glorious news to share. We begged to come here.

[Escar] It's a smaller village, but so much more lively,and we can be nearer our god and his gracious priest.

[Lie] - And here you are much more protected as well

[Doc] I know of you two by reputation as well. You made a huge difference in how TLOT sees the world. He needed to know others were suffering as he was. It spurred the sense of justice that had been lying cynical and dormant.

[Lie] - A sense of justice my mate doesn't like at times, but of which I'm grateful for

[Godot and Escar] Blush, they're both incredibly flattered and overwhelmed

[Endrea] Passes by overhead-

[Doc] Such a busy night. Looks like the party is in full swing-

[Lie] - I get the feeling the kids will be conking out soon

[Doc] chuckles- Ah good. We can always bring out the more adult drinks when the babes are tucked in bed.

[Lie] - Doc you've seen how easily I get drunk...

[Doc] You can abstain if need be. Or just have a tipple. You're an adult.

-There's a bit of noise from the gay bar, the music is louder in there and the lights from within blink in rhytum with it.

[Lie] - I think some have already started

[Doc] Nice to know they're having fun. I see a few unfamiliar faces too. I think some of the Testificates saw the lights and came over from the fishing village as well.

[Lie] - That's nice- She turns her attention back towards the kids as well

[Drillby] Quick walks up and gathers enough food for two people before turning back the way he came-

-Some of the kids are getting more tired, but they don't want to stop playing with the kids from Limewatch-

[Lie] - Oh, hello

[Kids] -Most don't even look tired, although a few have actually found themselves a small spot to tuck into for a nap-

[Drillby] OH! Hello Lie! Can't talk now. But nice to see you!

[Lie] - Don't you want to stay for the party?  I could use some help watching the kids

[Rambler] -Enjoying her tea, a few of Limewatch's villagers pass close to her to talk a bit here and there before returning to their mingling-

[Lie] Keeps an eye out for the orphan she gave the flower to-

[Doc] Spawns some wool squares and covers up the sleeping children with little blankets

[Child] -Is meandering around the party, not quite sticking to one group but more just, wandering.-

[Drillby] Sorry! I can't! Tungsten has been working so hard, I'm just getting him some dinner.

[Croca] Walks up to the child. Her dog gives a friendly 'boof'

[Lie] Sighs a little- Alright, guess I'll have to work a bit harder to keep an eye on that orphan

[Drillby] Okay! See ya!

[Lie] Gives him a disbelieving look as he leaves-

[Doc] Hey Croca. I guess that cements my theory about visiting villagers.

[Child] Dog! Dog! -lightens up a bit, clearly excited at the sight of the dog. They go to pet before stopping and holding their hand out still so the dog can smell it before petting-

[Croca] we were having an elders meeting to discuss a few things.

[Doc] NOTCHes?

[Lie] - Elder's meeting?

[Tiber the dog] Happy noies and tail wagging

[Roulade] Comes back over - Yes. The delegates from the village over the water came by too, but they left before dark-

[Lie] - Did you come to a decision?

[Roulade] Oh yes. There was a lot of discussion but in the end we renamed the villages. This is now Konoha.

[Doc] Makes an attempt to escape quietly-

[Child] Good doggo! Goood! -Happily petting-

[Crona] He seems to like you.

[Croca] Looks up at Lie briefly - Mine is now Amegakure

[Lie] - Such interesting names

[Hollandaise] The one over the water is now Sunagakure

[Lie] - And the NOTCH's?

[Croca] My group wishes to take a wait and see approach. We've always been rather isolated. Sunagakure feels the same. They're happy to trade with us and just stay on their side of the bridge.

[Rolulade] I wish to meet him and so do some of the others here.

[Lie] - I'll pass the word along, I think he's home right now...

[Roulade] Oh no! It's okay, we're.. not ready yet. - His eyes flick towards the new forge- soon though.

[Lie] - I'd still at least like to let him know, although he may be a bit distracted with Flux

[Hollandaise] Just a little longer! Please!

[Lie]- Very well

[CP] Goes flying by over head in the direction of Doc's castle-

[TLOT] Opens the northern gate for Steve and lets him enter first-

[CP] Spots them- TLOT YOU FUCKER!

[Godot and Escar] Scramble to their feet and rush over to them-

[TLOT] Oh, hi Cp! Did you hear about the party?

[CP] - WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO WITH MY ARMOR!

[Escar and Godot] Cower in fear at the much larger Herobrine-

[TLOT] Stop that! You're scaring the Testificates. Your armor is perfectly safe.

[CP] - WHERE IS IT!

[Lie] Just sighs-

[TLOT] Closes his eyes for a moment - touching minds as he passes along towards the right one. - Just about... done...

[Godot and Escar] Are bowing to Cp - Please spare us your wrath oh god of war!

[CP] - DONE!?  WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN!?  And you two!  Shut up!

[TLOT] Pats Godot because he's closer- You're safe. Go get some food and drink for yourselves. I'll handle this

[Escar and Godot] Scurry away

[Steve] Is just listening to his mates thoughts-

[Lie] Starts walking closer-

[Drillby] Heard TLOT's mental call and comes running- Sir! it's done! Just as you requested.

[Steve] Thank you Drillby.

[CP] - THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?

[Lie] - CP calm down, you just spent the last couple days in bed because you were so exhausted after everything

[TLOT] Oh, just a nice suprise. - He motions gently for Cp to follow him-

[CP] Growls but does-

[Tungsten] Is waiting outside the forge looking formidible as usual. His apron is covered with stains and his arms and hands are a bit red - My leige.

[CP] - The fuck are we out here for?

[Lie] Followed them as well to make sure CP doesn't do anything stupid-

[TLOT] Your mate told me everything is fixed?

[Tungsten] Yes. Please come inside.

- In the firelit room the obsidian armor is cooling on a stand.-

-The detail visible in the higher resolution of CP's seed isn't nearly as noticeable in the lower resolution.  The gauntlets are on a counter next to the stand and the long arms of the obsidian armor proved to be a bit of a challenge-

[CP] - Why is my armor here?

[Tungsten] Because I repaired it. TLOT told me the secret.

[CP] - Secret?

[Tungsten] Holds up his reddened hands- Magma cream and lava.

[CP] Is trying to hold in his anger at having a different testificate repair his armor than the one who made it-

[Lie] Puts a hand on CP's arm and whisper to him- Say thank you

[TLOT] I would have sought out your friend, if he were still with us.

[Tungsten] It was a great honor to attend to it. It was on the verge of breaking and it would be a shame to see such a work of art vanish-

[CP] Grumbles something which very vaguely sounds like a thank you-

[Tungten] Bows low for Cp-

[TLOT] Takes it gently off the stand and holds out the bundle for Cp-

[CP] Takes it, inspecting it with his own hands-

[Steve] Gives Tungsten a towel and a chair. The blacksmith is obviously exhausted.

[Lie] - Thank you Tungsten, the armor really is important to him

[Tungsten] I guessed as much from the level of trust and excitement my god exhibited bringing it to me. But it is nice to hammer something besides his chestplate as well. - side eyes-

[TLOT] Theatrical huff of air-

[Lie] Giggles a little as CP puts the armor in his inventory- He thought the last thing it was going to be used for was the coronation on his seed

[TLOT] Well now he can stomp around in it all the time if he wants. He should really have Flux make it unbreakable.

[CP] - No

[Lie] - And he's back in defensive mode again

[TLOT] Shrugs-Okay. Tungsten, you should probably get some sleep. Take this, you look very tired. - gives him a healing draught.

[Tungsten] Thank you lord

[Lie] Spawns a few healing flowers as well-

[Tungsten] Looks at the flowers growing out of the forge floor - Um.. thank you?

[Lie] - Healing flowers, you may need them if you're going to continue working in here, especially since I suspect you'll be experimenting with the new technique you've learned

[Tungsten] Perhaps. Hopefully they'll withstand the heat

[Lie] - Oh I know they can

[CP] Turns around to leave-

[Kids] -have all congregated into one spot talking softly between eachother since the native children are sleepy and less responsive-

[Doc] Saunters over and leans on a wall nearby to listen in-

-Most are talking about how pretty the landscape is, but a few comment on the villagers that they'd met and other kids- -Normal kid talk, honestly-

[Doc] Looks up above, the moon already passed it's apex and heading for the far horizon again. Xe gives a little yawn, wondering how the others are faring.

[Croca] Addresses the kid playing with her dog. - What's your name anyway?

[Child] Oh uhh. I don't really remember. Everyone calls me what they want. -Sheepish look up from Tiber-

[Croca] Everyone deserves a name. Perhaps I could give you one? -looks her over - How about Chiffon?

[Chiffon] Hmm... Chiffon... Sounds nice...

[Croca] Have you chosen a trade yet?

[Chiffon] No, not yet. Haven't really had interest in anything.

[Croca] What do your parents do?

[Chiffon] Roll in the grave?

[Croca] Stares for a moment and then gives her a wry look- Sounds like the kind of answer I would have given at your age.

[Chiffon] Glad my humor is liked, the others all start coddling me. -huff-

[Croca] I guess you don't have a guardian?

[Chiffon] No, not really.

[Croca] How do you feel about making potions? You might get a bit green, but it's always interesting. I could use an assistant.

[Chiffon] Potions? Like the two witches on the bottom level make? They're pretty nice... Uhh.. Maybe? It sounds cool.

[Croca] Got any aversion to fish?

[Chiffon] ... Fish?

[Croca] Yeah, my village is down the coast a bit. We eat a lot of fish.

[Chiffon] Oh.. We live in the desert.. Waters a bit far.. That explains why they leave for hours, though...

[Croca] Would you like to come live with me? I'll teach you the trade if you take care of Tiber and help with basic chores and things.

[Chiffon] I'd like to...

[Croca] It's up to you. - she gestures at Doc, who's watching placidly from a few steps away- If you change your mind, I'm sure the good Doctor will give you a lift back to your own village again.

[Doc] Of course.

[CP] Walks through the village-

[Lie] Follows behind him with a slight smile, she knows he's just going for the nearest source of alcohol-

[Doc] Spots Cp coming from a mile away and pokes around in a chest before finding the opaque white bottle. Xe puts it on the ground right in his path and steps back to watch.

[CP] Growls but takes it, quickly opening the bottle and chugging it's contents-

[Doc] Gives Lie a wink from a shadow, hir eyes faintly glowing in the waning darkness.

[Lie] Pats CP's arm- Come on, let's go home.  I still have pepper to clean up

[CP] - Already cleaned it up

[Lie] Smiles- Thank you CP

[Chiffon] I'd like that a lot. Beats wandering the town feeding the sheep and throwing rocks at husks

[Croca] Then we'll go in the morning. Come on kiddo, I've got a lot to teach you.

[stacylaughs]

April 19 - 26, 2017

Our dive guide on Gili Air organized a speed boat and private car to Kuta, Lombok. Ady said it would be RP800K for two people, but they charged us RP850K. We didn’t argue. It was fast and easy, but obviously not the cheapest option. The speed boat got us to Bhangsal, Lombok very quickly, but the drive to Kuta took at least 2 hours and we were grateful the driver was there for us when we arrived. He dropped us off at the hotel - easy peasy!

Sometimes it felt like time was dragging during the week in Kuta, Lombok - but now, looking back, it was one of the best parts of my trip around Asia this spring. Seven nights at Dream Hotel Kute Lombok (includes a small breakfast) was $224.49 total, but it’s worth the price as it’s the best area to stay in Lombok. It’s right next to Kuta Beach, and while the beach is mediocre and full of hawkers, there’s lots to eat nearby and it’s easy to book tours to go places or rent a scooter to go to some really nice beaches.

Unlike Bali, Lombok is Muslim, so no pork, you’ll see women wearing headscarfs, and hear the Muezzin call from a Minaret several times a day. You don’t have to worry about dressing too conservatively; shorts and a t-shirt or even a dress are fine.

At first, I had a distaste for Kuta, Lombok as it was dirty (garbage everywhere), the stray dogs are not friendly late at night, people on the street are always hassling you, and prices are highly negotiable. The locals are definitely much more crass and rough around the edges than those in Bali or on the Gili Islands. I’ve heard and read that not all areas of Lombok take to tourists kindly and maybe it’s because Lombok isn’t as major a tourist destination as others. It was difficult for me to keep a smile on my face after I realized that someone only saw me as a quick way to make money. Then, I realized that the locals were just trying to make a living and I was in a very beautiful place with more than enough money to live well, so I chilled out and was less defensive.

Kuta is was the most developed area I saw in Lombok and still it was just a few convenience stores, many open-air bamboo construction businesses, a couple of ATMs, and a handful of restaurants. Kuta is what Bali must have looked like 20 years ago. 

Food

Local food at warungs will be the most affordable but the foreign food was too tempting for me (albeit pricey in comarison). A surprisingly high number of wood oven pizza, but I didn’t really enjoy it. My favorite places to be were KRNK (burgers), The Mexican in Town (Mexican, duh), El Bazar (Moroccan), Nuggets (Indonesian), MILK (coffee), and Bus Beach Bar (drinks). No matter where you are, you will be pestered by kids selling bracelets, some as young as 5-years-old. They’re children, but they know all the sales’ tricks and several languages. They really know how to test your patience, but please be kind to them. It broke my heart when I saw adults be mean to them.

Booty the tour guide

We befriended a local named Booty. He owned a tourist hut and his wife owned a clothing shop. He was quick to smile but never laughed at our jokes. We gave him a lot of money for tours and to rent scooters, but he always seemed unhappy about negotiating and asked us to pay more so “we could both be happy.” He was an interesting character, as it was obvious that his business was in tourism but he didn’t seem to like tourists much. 

Waterfall + villages trip

We paid Booty RP550K to drive us to waterfalls and two villages. This was a private tour and we could ask to stop anywhere + stay in any place for as long as we’d like. 

First, he drove us to a park that had a group of five waterfalls (including Benang Stokel and Benang Kelambu Waterfalls). Admission is RP10K for locals but Booty told us we were required to have a guide since we were foreigners -- we later did some research and found this was not true. The guide wanted to charge us per waterfall seen, so we chose to see three, which was RP90K a person. The guide was immensely kind + helpful, though, and probably the nicest person we met in Lombok. 

Rob jumped off the first waterfall, which was 11 meters/~35 feet. You couldn’t jump off any others but there were spots to swim in cool water from Lake Segara Anak of Mount Rinjani.

Benang Stokel features two waterfalls falling more than 30 meters down a steep cliff face covered with ferns and jungle vegetation. Benang means “thread”, and describes the thin streams of water that gush down the cliff, like silver threads. The waterfall to the left is the higher of the two and is more powerful. The fall on the right side splashes into a small rocky pool at the bottom. 

Although parts of the trek can be a bit slippery and arduous, the track is safe and is not really challenging if you go slow. The view of Benang Kelambu at the end looks straight out of a hair-product commercial. Kelambu means “netting” and refers to the waterfalls, which spread out across the greenery like finely draped nets.

After the waterfalls, Booty took us to two traditional Sasak Villages. The Sasak are the indigenous people of this island, which today make about 85% of the total population of Lombok. First, Pusat Kerajinan Tenun PATUH, where I learned to weave (women in that village have to learn to weave before they can get married) and then purchased a large weaving for RP750K (negotiated down from RP1500K). Negotiating was hard and price was based on nationality; it hurt to hear the people there refer to us openly as “US dollars.”

The second village we went to was called Sade. This village is set up for 10-15 minute tours and you can only walk around led by a tour guide. It’s set up for tourists but still has a very much a lived-in village feel. He gave us some interesting insights into life there and we walked around, looked inside some houses, saw their temple, how they store food, etc. We learned about some of their traditional customs, like what they do when they want to marry someone, which is that the man kidnaps the woman! He takes a risk though because if she says no, he has to pay a fine. The guide will ask for a donation at the end; our guide book suggested a minimum tip of RP40K.

Snorkel trip to the small gilis

The three Gili islands are quite well-known, but gili actually means “small island” and there are many of them. Booty organized a private car to the Lembar harbor and boat to let us snorkel three gilis (Naggu, Sudak, and Kedis) for RP800K (total price for two people), which included snorkel gear. Again, we could stop anywhere we’d like and stay in any location for as long as we’d like. 

It took around thirty minutes to reach Gilli Nanggu by boat from the harbor. The island had a RM5K per person “cleaning fee” but there was quite a bit of garbage on the beach and in the ocean. It made me sad to see other tourists standing on coral and feeding the fish. Bad ocean behavior, so I tried to swim away from them. Lots of wonderful fish to see.

After we were done, we hopped back on the boat and traveled ten minutes to Gili Sudak (sometimes known as Suda). Sudak is even smaller than Nanggu and although the beach wasn’t as wide or long as the one on Nanggu, it was the perfect shady spot for a coconut drink. You can also have a meal here if you’d like. Some more nice fish to see in the ocean here.

The last island, Kedis, is very tiny. No bigger than the size of a tennis court, except round, with a few trees in the middle. 

Renting scooters

Renting scooters is a must to explore Lombok as public transit is nonexistent. It is my favorite place to ride scooters, ever. The roads were easy to navigate, traffic wasn’t unreasonable, and other drivers were kind (water buffalo included). We paid Booty RP50K a day for a scooter, and these scooters were in really terrible condition (e.g. weak brakes and missing side mirrors). 

The first thing we did was drive a mile up the mountain to eat at the Ashtari Restaurant. The restaurant has sweeping views of Kuta and its surrounding hills and bays. Go early and get a good spot, like a comfy bean bag chair at the edge. The atmosphere is great for a drink and snacks. 

Then, you can drive out to Mawun Beach (Pantai Mawun). The locals will charge you RP10K per motorbike as an entrance fee. Same fee if you drive a bit further to Selong Belanak Beach. Surrounded by mountains, the beaches are all unbelievably beautiful and shockingly undeveloped. You’ll pay RP5K to use a toilet/changing room --only one per beach. And, there are only 1-2 beach shacks to get a bite to eat or something to drink. A sun lounger is RP50K each. It’s not fancy at all but prices are reasonable. They’re likely the best beaches I’ve ever been to in my life. 

The airport shuttle in the morning costs RP100K a person, but we negotiated a private car with Booty for the afternoon at RP220K for two people.

Other things to do

If I had more time in Lombok, I’d probably be interested in some of the following:

The second largest volcano in Indonesia is nearby. You can hike Mount Rinjani but it’ll take at least 2 days. Even the 3-day hike is bound to be killer. The crater lake looks incredible.

I ran out of energy to visit Tangsi Beach (aka Pink Beach). I was told not to go by scooter because it’s a 2-hour drive from Kuta and the last 30 minutes are very rough road. The sand on this beach is actually white but the bright red Organ Pipe corals gives it a pink hue. Might be a painful beach to walk barefoot on but sure sounds beautiful.

The Tanjung Aan Beach is also known to be beautiful for its turquoise sea and white sand. Apparently, you can climb a rock to see the view over the two bays and beaches of Aan.

You can spend a day at the 4-star hotel, Novotel, for a small fee, lounging under a beachfront cabana, ordering food and using their swimming pool. Love enjoying luxury at the fraction of a hotel stay!

Also consider a multiple day boat trip to Komodo where you can see Komodo dragons in real life. Amazing diving and snorkeling there too.

[hoganandmaryjo]

Switzerland

Our arrival in Switzerland marked a turning point in our tour, which was apparent immediately for a couple of reasons. First: arriving in Europe after months of traveling in Asia was a remarkable difference in lifestyle, level of infrastructure, and cleanliness of streets and drinking water. This was a relief, although the sense of adventure we felt exploring lesser-developed countries wasn’t there. Second was one of our reasons for visiting Switzerland: family. For the first time in months, we would be traveling with other people.

Hogan’s stepmom and brother, Margrit and Lukas, flew from San Francisco to meet us in Switzerland. Margrit is originally from there, and Lukas is fluent in Swiss-German (the local dialect of the northeast region where we were) and has visited the extended family, the Haeberlins, many times. Hogan has been there four times before, but had not been to visit since he was 16 years old, half of his life ago. A big part of the reason to travel to Switzerland was to experience the country with MaryJo because the time he spent there as a kid left such an impression on him. We were all looking forward to catching up and exploring the country together.

The family welcomed us with open arms, and an astounding amount of generosity. We were greeted first by Margrit’s brother, Ruedi, with four different kinds of chocolate and a freshly baked apple tart - prepared while we napped away our exhaustion from Abu Dhabi. Later that evening, we toasted with champagne and had fire-roasted bratwurst at Margrit’s sister Verena’s house with most of the rest of her siblings. We arrived around Easter, and were treated to an hours-long feast with the whole family on Easter Monday at a quaint but fancy country restaurant up the Rhine River from our apartment. The apartment was another act of generosity from a close friend of Margrit’s, who allowed the four of us to move in while she went to stay with her mother for the week. She left the apartment fully stocked with enough food for all of us, complete with chocolate rabbits and Easter eggs dyed in patterns with sprigs of herbs. This amount of giving is disarming, and we struggled to try and express our gratitude or give back in a meaningful way to our hosts. Suddenly, our practice of providing guests at our old apartment in San Francisco with a bed, towels, and fresh sheets, and maybe a home-cooked meal seemed woefully inadequate. During our time in Switzerland we were treated so well it characterized our whole stay in the country. The Swiss really know how to host.

  We were taken a little by surprise that traveling with others would be so different than traveling as a pair. We were suddenly thrust into the lives of the whole family, and spent all day with Margrit and Lukas - a welcome change, but a far cry from the flexibility and style of travel we’d established together over the past months. Before Margrit and Lukas even arrived, we were on the receiving end of an April Fools joke played between Ruedi and Verena, as if to signify that things wouldn’t be so easy. Apparently a long-time prankster, the Haeberlins’ grandfather once pulled an April Fools joke on the five Haeberlin kids by telling them a supersonic plane with flapping wings was landing at the Zurich airport. They, of course, all rushed to the airport to see this machine, which never came. Let’s just say that Ruedi was told something similar but with the added twist that that plane also held Margrit and Lukas, who we were supposed to pick up at the airport later the same day. Ruedi, Hogan and MaryJo arrived at the airport ready to get them early, waiting in the arrivals lounge for them to show up. After a while, once the truth came out, we had to cut our losses and head to Zurich for a very nice lunch, complete with chocolate mousse, or shoggimousse as a consolation for our time lost (and paid for by the prank-puller).

A visit to Switzerland would not be complete without some time spent in the Alps, and after doing some research we chose to visit the small mountain village of Gimmelwald in the Bern Oberlands region. Gimmelwald, unlike many other places in Switzerland, has managed to avoid the impact of large ski resort development by classifying itself as a high risk zone for avalanches. Because of this, the town is small and still made up mostly of farmhouses, precariously situated on a very steep slope on the upper ledge of a glacial valley. The only way to get up there is by gondola, which rises rapidly from the valley floor on its suspended cables. The four of us moved into our homestay, and quickly took over the kitchen where we made full breakfasts and dinners, to the surprise of the other guests. Lukas, MaryJo and Hogan explored the hilly area right away and found that many of the farmhouses run “honesty shops” where you can pick up fresh eggs, milk, and a local kind of alpine cheese by leaving a few coins in the fridge where they were kept unattended.

Being in the mountains was a truly Swiss experience, and we spent most of our time in the outdoors. It was the end of their winter season, and we caught the tail end of sledding in the Alps. After taking the gondola one town further up the mountain and then riding up a steep funicular, we held tight to our borrowed wooden sleds and hoped to bomb down the manicured ski slopes. However, our sled ride was a little slower than imagined: The warm temperatures made the snow slushy and heavy, and our sleds dragged under our weight. We had fun anyway in the high country, and all went off-trail with our sleds, picking up speed where we could and taking shortcuts on untouched snow. MaryJo and Hogan laughed around the corners and narrowly avoided some slushy mishaps, but Margrit, who grew up in Switzerland, out sledded us all. We ended the day soaking wet.

The towns in Switzerland are all connected by wanderwegs, which are pedestrian-only routes that wind through residential areas, the countryside, and even make connections in the mountain towns. From Gimmelwald, we set off for a walk with the goal of reaching an unusual group of waterfalls that over time have cut their way inside a mountain. The walk was much longer than we realized, and after leaving Gimmelwald in the early morning we reached the falls around 2:30 p.m. Acting as the drain for three glaciers from the surrounding mountain peaks, the Trummelbachfalles are the only falls inside a mountain accessible to humans. The water moves at an astounding force of 20,000 liters per second. It is so concentrated that the waterfall has cut through the mountainside like a knife - so precisely that in many areas the rock above is only inches apart. Through determination and dynamite the Swiss added staircases, tunnels, and an underground funicular to the seven subterranean cascades in the early 1900s. The hot and sunny weather did not reach inside the mountains, and the cold glacial spray chilled us. It was an intense experience, and we were overpowered by the immense sound thundering against the rocks as we went further into the dark mountain.

That was certainly not the only day we found ourselves out all day walking, much of our time in Switzerland was spent hitting the wanderwegs. On a particularly Swiss-inspired day, after our visit to the mountains, the four of us packed our bags full of bratwurst, bread and mustard, and walked into the forested hills above the town we were staying in. We stopped at the top of the hill to cook bratwurst in a small fire pit with a grill suspended over it, using wood we gathered from the forest to light a fire. This is a very common activity in Switzerland, but seemed quaint and convenient to MaryJo who hadn’t seen anything like it before. After a delicious lunch, we trundled down the steep hillside through deep, slippery leaves exposed by the recent snowmelt. Margrit and Lukas sped down the hillside while Hogan and MaryJo took it slower, taking in the experience of walking through the Swiss-German forest.

For most of our time in Switzerland we were staying in Margrit’s hometown of Schaffhausen, a small city on the Rhine River near the German border, about half an hour from Zurich. It is a beautiful, hilly city, with a castle perched high overlooking the winding streets and a huge waterfall just 20 minutes outside the center of town. Margrit showed us around, memories from her life there flooding back at every corner. Hogan remembered the streets and buildings from visits as a child. We ran into many of Margrit’s friends as we strolled through town, stopping to have beers together or just chat; it’s that kind of place.

We also spent a good amount of time a few kilometers up the river in a place called Stein am Rhein, where two of Margrit’s siblings, Ruedi and Verena, currently live. Stein am Rhein is a  small medieval village, perfectly preserved down to the storybook frescos on the walls of the buildings in the main square. It attracts bus loads of tourists who stream through the city walls each morning. We got a personal tour of the town’s old monastery from Margrit’s sister Verena, who conveniently leads historical tours and had so much knowledge to share about the 15th century building and the original paintings decorating the walls within. Also in Stein am Rhein, we took in the view of the whole area while lunching with the family at the Fallenberg, an old half timber vineyard keeper’s house at the edge of the woods that overlooks the grapes and the town below. Ruedi has rented this building for nearly 30 years, and for Hogan it brought back childhood memories of staying there during his visits before. As a kid, the Fallenberg and Stein am Rhein seemed so unreal - just like a postcard - and the charm remained in our most recent visit.

We ended up traveling between the two places by as many different means as we could: car, train, bike, foot, and boat. Hogan, MaryJo, and Lukas borrowed bikes from another generous friend of Margrit’s and headed out to make the journey there and back one day. We biked through finely wooded forest, along the river, and through farms before reaching the old city walls of Stein am Rhein. It was comfortable and easy riding, and we were happy to be on nice bikes, weaving through the trees. MaryJo’s lime green folding commuter bike was a surprising stand-out for its smooth ride, despite us being in the countryside. Many other cyclists we saw, decked out in full gear, gave our odd trio funny looks as we raced over the rolling hills on mismatched bikes in our street clothes.

The last method used to travel between the two towns was by boat, an elaborate plan cooked up by Margrit’s eldest brother Peter, who is an avid rower. Understanding that Hogan used to row quite a bit, and Lukas had learned how recently, Peter transported his vintage wooden two person boat to Schaffhausen so the three of them could make the journey by water (two rowing at a time, while one steered). MaryJo and Margrit followed the wanderwegs for hours up the river, meeting the rowing crew for lunch and finally in Stein am Rhein. The route went against the current, and in some cases the walkers were definitely moving faster. However, the rowers persisted and arrived after about four hours and plenty of fresh blisters (hello, old friends). The river was beautiful and the rowing smooth - it was a special treat for Hogan and Lukas to row together for the first time, and the brothers fell into rhythm easily.

An unexpected bonus of traveling in Switzerland in early April was watching the arrival of spring. Coming from San Francisco where the two seasons are foggy or less foggy, it was unusual to experience, and we noticed it all around us. At first, after our arrival from India, we unpacked our jackets and scarves to bundle up. It was the tail end of a long winter, cold and blustery, and the trees were bare with frost on the ground in the cold mornings. After a few days of warm sun, the grass grew and hints of green buds appeared on the trees. People around us soaked in the outdoors at last, sitting outside at cafes and along the banks of the river. On our many long walks, we saw purple violets, daffodils and small white flowers poke through the ground in a triumphant return from the cold days before. By the end of our few weeks there, the weather was practically summary, and we were hot during the days as we hiked or biked around. Growing up in Wisconsin, a true four-season state, MaryJo was reminded of the feeling you get when you’ve finally made it through winter, and could see it play out in the people around her who were enjoying the arrival of the warm season. It was a stroke of luck for us to arrive right in time to watch spring unfurl.

At the risk of sounding obvious, everything in Switzerland is so Swiss. Our diets changed radically from Asia as we consumed cream, cheese, and butter in obscene quantities. At the end of each meal, chocolate appears - ending a meal without it is just wrong. The land is so well cared for and organized, and is a beautiful tapestry of farmland, forest, towns and villages. The trains slice through the landscape, arriving at each station precisely on time. At the larger stations all trains arrive around the half hour, so your connection is never longer than 10-15 minutes. Being tourists, we really enjoyed the accessibility of history in Switzerland. Castles, monasteries, and old city walls are integrated into the newer buildings tastefully. More often than not, they are free of charge and in immaculate condition - along with bathrooms and an old fountain to fill up your bottle. We relished the ability to pass in and out of these pieces of history easily, contrary to our experiences in other parts of the world.

We thoroughly enjoyed spending what seemed like a good, long time with Margrit and Lukas, and the extended family. It was a welcome chance to be with Margrit in her home country, speaking her own language and catching up with family and friends. We had our own translator in Lukas, and it was fun to see him effortlessly switch between English and Swiss-German. For MaryJo, it was special to meet Margrit’s family and feel even further connected and welcomed.

After 12 days together, Margrit and Lukas took off back to the Bay Area where we’d meet again in a few short weeks. But first, we spent a relaxing three days exploring the city of Lucerne on our own. It is a very picturesque place in the heart of Switzerland, with a big lake in the middle and mountain peaks surrounding it. Most notably during our time there, however, was the full day we spent at the spa, basking in the saunas, whirlpools and salt lounge. A much needed day of rest before moving on to meet Hogan’s mom and stepdad for a week in France.

[thistarafblog]

“The mountains were calling and we had to go!”

It had been quite some time that we had gone to the Himalayas and we had been missing them bad. So, this time, we went on to discover the second smallest state of India – Sikkim!

Residing in the lap of Eastern Himalayas, Sikkim is no less than a dreamland. It might be challenging to trace this state on the map if you are not sure where to look for. Pinnacle of northeast India and sharing boundaries with the state of West Bengal, this land locked state is bounded by three other countries, China, Bhutan and Nepal.

Image Source: www.mapsofindia.com

One of the most picturesque states of the Indian Union, its size fails to give a true imprint of its assets. Bejewelled with snow-caped mountains, abundant forests, outlandish flora and fauna, virgin waterfalls, sacred lakes, divine caves, curative hot springs, flowing rivers and gentle streams, Sikkim is a destination for all seasons and for all reasons.

Sikkim mainly sustains on tourism and has taken efforts to lure all kinds of travelers – the solitude seekers, the adventure lovers and the luxury aspirants. Its most prized possession is the world’s third highest peak, Mt. Kanchenjunga.

Although a hilly region, Sikkim is well-connected with roads and a charming 4-5 hours’ drive from either Bagdogra Airport or the New Jaipaiguri Railway Station in West Bengal would take you to the trendy capital city of the state, Gangtok.

Note: Direct helicopter rides to Gangtok are also available from Bagdogra Airport.

Day 1

We chose the ‘Great Indian Railways’ as it is an overnight journey from Kolkata till NJP and of course much cheaper than a flight. Both shared and private taxi services are easily available and the later will set you back by Rs. 2500/- approx. We opted for the later for a comfortable ride.

Note: While the Sikkim taxis will drop you till the hotel, West Bengal taxis are allowed only till specified taxi stands and you will have to hire a local taxi from there.

The border town of Sikkim is Rangpo, where a gate divides the state with West Bengal and vehicles are checked before entering.

Gangtok greets you open arms and clean heart. Tranquilly sitting at an elevation of 5,480 feet above sea level and overlooking the Ranikhola River in the valley below, Gangtok is a traveler’s paradise.

One can tick off the bucket list in the morning by visiting tourist spots, gaze at the mountains in the afternoons and stroll, shop and explore the amazing eateries at M.G. Marg in the late evenings.

Gangtok lies in the East Sikkim region and is the main centre for retreats to nearby towns, remote locations and less explored regions of the state. A number of tour and travel operators are available at M.G. Marg, who can conveniently plan your trip with full facilities as per your convenience.

After a lot of discussion with many tour operators, we zeroed upon Naremchu Travels for our entire trip. You can check full itinerary at the end of the blog.

Day 2: Gangtok in and around!

Our first day began with city tour in between the glorious monasteries, serene waterfalls and flower gardens. Let’s begin with the most famous first.

Rumtek Monastery – One of the oldest and most famous in the region, a trip to Gangtok will be incomplete without paying a visit to this monastery.

Also called as the Dharmachakra Centre, it is one of the renowned schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

Students are mostly from Sikkim, Ladakh, Nepal and Tibet and all the subjects taught are in Tibetan language. Lot of emphasis is laid on Tibetan calligraphy.

We came across a class of around 150 students taking up their Tibetan scripture semester exams.

We were always under the myth that children or adults who become monks give up their usual life, but this experience was an eye opener where we learnt that this is just another form of boarding school and the dress is more like a uniform for them. Once done with their schooling, they go back to their usual lives.

These schools offer graduation, post-graduation and diploma courses as well.

Gonjang Monastery – Gonjang is another monastery in Gangtok, much lesser known as compared to Rumtek. This monastery gives some breath-taking views of the region.

Tashi View Point – Although Kanchenjunga can be viewed from many points and hotel rooms, Tashi View Point is believed to give the best view. We were lucky to see the ‘Sleeping Buddha’ view.

Ganesh Tok and Hanuman Tok – These are two Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Ganesha and Lord Hanuman.

Waterfalls – Gangtok enjoys three natural waterfalls, Bakthang, Lhasa and Banjhakri, where the former two are roadside falls and the third one is in the interiors. The nearby areas have been well-developed with fun activities to engage the tourists.

Flower Show and Plant Conservatory – Abundance of flora, especially Rhododendrons in Sikkim is not unknown to anyone and all the efforts that the Government and the locals have taken to preserve the species is incredible.

While Flower Show displays the beautiful seasonal flowers, Plant conservatory preserves the extinct species with limited access to visitors.

Namgyal Institute of Tibetology – A famous Tibetan Museum and Library in Gangtok that opened its doors to the visitors in 1958, showcases a variety of Thangka paintings, ancient manuscripts and remains from the Tibetan culture.

While speaking to the librarian, we got to see a hundred-year-old block printed Tibetan copy of Prajnaparamita and he also enlightened us on the various forms of Buddha. They also have a gift shop in the premises that stocks artistic gift items and some incredible books on Buddhism.

Do Drul Chorten – Located inside the Tibetology Institute campus and a five-minute walk from the museum, stands a stupa famously known as Do Drul Chorten. The stupa is surrounded by 108 prayer wheels and is a place of worship for the followers.

We made our way to the in-house shop that resources the study books for the monks and got hold of these astonishing Buddhist posters.

Ropeway – Ropeway is another way to pull travelers where a cable car offers a ride from the top, giving an aerial view of Gangtok. Other exciting adventures are Paragliding and Helicopter rides, but their dependency on the weather is a drawback.

Once done with the touristy sightseeing, our driver Sangya dropped us to the hotel and we retired to our leisure evening, eating and shopping at the New Market, Lal Bazaar and M.G. Marg.

Next morning, we were heading for the most awaited part of our trip, North Sikkim.

Note: Almost all other places apart from Gangtok, requires a special permit to visit, which is issued by the Government officials based on the weather conditions of that area. These permits are done by the travel agent who makes it hassle free for the visitors. Passport size photographs and ID card copies are needed for the permit. In case you are not carrying along, there are many shops are M.G.Marg for photos and photocopies.

Day 3: Gangtok to Lachen!

January is not a very preferred time to visit Sikkim as the weather is spine chilling cold and an unpredictable snowfall might just interrupt your trip in between by closing down the remote regions. We were totally trying our luck and came out with flying colors 🙂

We started from Gangtok at around 10 a.m. with our companion for next three days Chewang and his luxury Scorpio. The roads are pretty good with a few rough patches in between. A few kilometers into the journey and a board greets you saying ‘Welcome to North Sikkim’, thus filling up heart with joy.

Lush green mountains and a peaceful musical drive, what else can one ask for? Before reaching Lachen, there are four check posts where one needs to get the permits checked. After crossing the first outpost at Kabi, we reached the mesmerizing seven sister waterfalls. It was a splendid view and they say it looks even better during the monsoons.

The next two outposts were Rangrang and Tung respectively. A point to keep in mind is that bottled water is banned in Lachen and one cannot carry mineral water bottles after Tung. Fine for defaulters is Rs. 1500/-. Last check post is the Lachen Police Station. Unfortunately, we got stuck in a road block and had to wait one and half hours before we could reach our abode for the night.

Lachen is a very small village with a few hotels and serves as the base for Chopta Valley and Gurudongmar Lake. The temperature had already fallen to – 8 degrees Celsius and our bones were crushing with pain. With no electricity and nothing much to look out for, we retired to sleep after dinner and a chat with our new friend, Lucky, a 10-year-old sweet little boy.

Day 4: Gurudongmar Lake and Lachung!

Waking up before sunrise in such a temperature is not a matter of joke. We had to leave for Gurudongmar Lake at 4:30 am and no matter how many layers we wore, we continued to shiver.

A four-and-a-half-hour drive, reducing temperature, increasing snow, frozen waterfalls and rivers and rugged roads took us to the altitude of 17,800 feet and a beauty we would vouch for a lifetime, Gurudongmar Lake! It is one of the highest lakes in the world.

The lake is considered sacred and is entitled after Guru Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism. A legend related to the frozen condition of the lake is linked to the visit of Guru Padmasambhava to the lake, on his way back from Tibet when he agreed to help the locals to facilitate drinking water. He placed his hands on a tiny part of the lake area which stopped freezing during winters.

There are two checkpoints on the way Thangu and Gangong. Gangong checkpoint is the final one where Indian army keeps the original permits and counts the number of cars going upwards as Tibetan China border is only 5 kms away.

If the snow caped mountains and frozen lake doesn’t take your breath away, reducing oxygen levels surely will, thus making it difficult to stay for long at the sight. We could stay for 15 minutes only and started our journey back and on the way, encountered a rare species, called Musk Deer which is found in forested and alpine scrub habitats in the mountains, mainly Himalayas. What drew our attention was their ‘heart shaped’ backs.

While returning, one is supposed to stop at all the check posts to inform about the exit and keep the paper work intact.

After bidding goodbye to our new friends in Lachen, we left for Lachung and on the way stopped to see the great ‘Amitabh Bachchan’ falls at Bhimtala. Why that name? Because the fall is really tall 🙂

A two and half hour drive through the mountains and valleys, and we reached Lachung. Lachung is much bigger a village as compared to Lachen and after quickly checking in to our hotel, we moved out for a walk to the river side surrounded by sky scraping mountains. The atmosphere took all our tiredness away and we sat on a rock singing songs and enjoying the peace.

 Day 5: Yumthang Valley!

Another day of waking up early on a holiday, but there are few things that cannot be missed and one such place is the gorgeous Yumthang Valley. As we started at 5:30 a.m., we could see a girl waving hand for a lift and we stopped to give her a ride till the valley. She was Pema, who lives in Lachung, and travels to Zero point every day to put up a tea stall for visitors. With no public conveyance available, taking lift from visitors is the only way out. She told us stories of how she sits on top of the cars for rides to and fro in freezing temperatures and how life is a bit difficult.

The only check point towards Yumthang valley is Dokra. Famous as the Valley of Flowers, the peak season to visit is during March and April when colourful rhododendrons bloom on each and every branch. But we experienced the raw mountains, snow patches, bright sunshine, flowing river and a beauty to behold in eyes forever.

There are quite a few street side shops in the valley for the visitors to rent woolens and have breakfast. Warm and welcoming locals let the tourists use their ovens to warm up a bit.

Note: Few kilometres after the valley is Zero point which is famous for its borders with China. Every car is charged a sum of Rs. 2500/- to visit the spot.

Our trip to North Sikkim came to an end as we headed towards Gangtok enjoying the view. Army movements made us stop for half an hour on the way and we took full opportunity to interact with a few army men on how they are surviving such odd temperatures. They said we were lucky to have visited the northern belt in January, as snow falls are delayed this year.

As we started, we could sense the change in weather and Gangtok welcomed us with heavy mountain rains, a steaming hot cup of tea and a view of Mt. Kanchenjunga from the hotel room balcony.

Day 6: Leisure day at Gangtok!

It was our day of sleeping, eating and gazing at the mountains.

Day 7: Day Trip to Tsomgo Lake and Baba Mandir!

A day trip to surrounding regions in the East Sikkim area again requires permits which are issued to limited number of visitors only.

Tsomgo is a glacial lake located at an elevation of 3,755 m approx. The lake surface reflects different colours in each season and is held in great devotion by the locals.

Seasonal snow and rains are the source of water to the lake and it is mostly frozen during the winters. Yak ride is a major attraction and many yak herders with their well decorated yaks offer rides to the tourists.

Meet Mingma and Aasman, our new friends. Aasman is four-year-old and a very well-behaved Yak. Female yaks are not allowed for rides.

Near Tsomgo Lake, lies another man-made lake called as Hangu Lake which facilitates boating to tourist.

A few kilometers further, we reached Baba Mandir which is made in the name of a deceased army officer Harbhajan Singh. Luckily, we visited the place on 26th January, Indian Republic Day and attended the national anthem along with the army amidst the mountains. It’s a special feeling of pride, not to be put in words.

On our way back, we stopped at Tsomgo Lake again for a few pictures and something on our wish list came true. It started snowing, our first snowfall 🙂

The roads were getting slippery and the cars started skidding. It was a dangerous ride back, but thanks to out driver Karma, we made it safe and sound.

Nathula Pass was closed due to heavy snowfall.

Day 8: Time to head back home!

All good things come to an end for better things to start. We headed back to NJP blissfully enjoying our last mountain ride of the trip.

Itinerary Day 1 – Kolkata – NJP – Gangtok

Day 2 – Gangtok

Day 3 – Gangtok – Lachen

Day 4 – Lachen – Gurudongmar Lake – Lachen – Lachung

Day 5 – Lachung – Yumthang Valley – Gangtok

Day 6 – Gangtok

Day 7 – Gangtok – Tsomgo Lake – Baba Mandir – Nathula Pass – Gangtok

Day 8 – Gangtok – NJP – Kolkata

Tips – 1. Almost all the tourist spots charge an entry fee and extra parking fee. Take that into consideration while budgeting and keep change always to avoid delays. 2: Shared trips are available for all regions at cheaper rates but we preferred a private one for comfort. 3. Although the roads are mostly good, do not forget to carry pillows or buy there, as longer journeys might take a toll on your back. 4. Keep your water and food stock full in the car, the prices keep increasing as you go up. 5. Toilets might be a problem for women, please carry your Pee-buddy along. 6. Most of the restaurants serve alcohol along with a variety of local food. Don’t miss on that. 7. Pack as less as you can, clothes can easily be repeated. 8. Wear comfortable shoes and layers of clothes. Cold weather might take a toll on your body. 9. Book your hotels well in advance if you are visiting in peak seasons. Since ours was not in a peak season, we booked it on same days to avail heavenly discounts. 10. Smoking is not allowed publicly, so be careful to avoid paying fines. 11. Carry basic medicines and Coca 30 (homeopathic medicine) to combat breathing issues. 12. Extreme winters could lead to diarrhoea, so carry ORS or anything similar. 13. Umbrellas are a must as weather is unpredictable.

Shopping Full of woollens and local gift items, there is so much to buy in Sikkim. New market and Lal Bazaar are the preferred places to shop and bargaining depends on your capabilities. Happy Shopping 🙂

And the mandatory artwork from the trip by Aniket.

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The Eternal Sikkim! "The mountains were calling and we had to go!" It had been quite some time that we had gone to the Himalayas and we had been missing them bad.

[rbeatz]

Chance The Rapper Told Me All I Need Is Happy Thoughts And I’ve Been Flying Ever Since

Imagine wandering through a giant playground filled up with 200 friends and 45,000 other friendly people for 3-days set to the most incredible soundtrack possible, that’s what Lost Lake Festival in Phoenix, Arizona was like. Superfly Presents went all out with Lost Lake to ensure that even though it was the festival’s maiden voyage, it still provided all of those one-of-a-kind festival experiences that has turned the season formerly called summer into Festival Season. And I was live on rBeatzRadio all weekend long.

After living in Phoenix for nearly a decade I had some real reservations about Superfly Presents new festival in the desert, and I carried those reservations with me all the way from my home in New York City to my old desert hideaway that I’d left 2-years before. I was worried about water rations, tight security, overpriced festival food, and stuffy overpriced vendors that sold garbage.

What I found was a park full of the some of the absolute best parts of Phoenix I knew when I lived there. Whether it was my dear friend Joanna 23 doing henna in the vendor area (I invited her to my wedding for context), downtown muralist JB Snyder doing a mural on the hill, or local hero’s Playboy Manbaby playing a raucous 4 pm set on Friday afternoon, Lost Lake Festival really delivered on involving and featuring a lot of what makes Phoenix so special. While also delivering a world-class Festival experience.

All photos by Jeff Schaer-Moses Photography Mitchell Hillman music editor of Java Magazine.

As I was walking through the photo pit to get a good angle on the first act I heard someone yell from my left “you magnificent bastard” and I looked up and it was Mitchell Hillman, music editor of Java Magazine, a Phoenix-based culture magazine. We had worked together for the Phoenix New Times, we embraced and then caught the show. Encounters with Mitch would become a regular occurrence throughout the weekend.  

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Left to right David Cosme, Austin Rickert, and Robbie Pfeffer of Playboy Manbaby on the Piestewa Stage Friday afternoon.

Playboy Manbaby was the opening act of Lost Lake Festival for me. They were the band I had traveled so far to see and while they may prefer to play small rooms for crazy crowds, they still have all the chops necessary to bring their space-cadet thunder-jazz to even the biggest stages. On a balmy 92 degree day Robbie Pfeffer, Chad Dennis, Chris Hudson, David Cosme, Tj Friga, and Ricky Austin Lavender Heylee Dallas Smash aka The Baddest Man on the Planet turned Lost Lake into their former Tempe garage art space The Parliament.

The quick-witted Pfeffer introduced his merry band of miscreants as The Pixies and quickly jumped into their opening number. They are known as one of the best bands in Phoenix and they have garnered a larger than life reputation in the Brooklyn garage rock scene after bringing their spazz-funk power-punk traveling road show to the BK for CMJ festival in 2015 with brooklynites Stuyeyedeyed and Vamanos, as well as Scotland based Womps.

Pfeffer and I had joked the night before that the set would be empty but it really blossomed into a formidable crowd eating out of the palm of Pfeffer’s hand. He thanked Ludacris for putting the festival together as well as the secretive Illuminati leadership behind Bonnaroo, and the irreverent frontman made light of the 7-minute walk he took from his home to the gates of the Festival.

A fan-made Playboy Manbaby T-Shirt.

Playboy brought the thunder with their tunes Last One Standing which they recently dropped a video for , and You Can Be A Fascist Too which made it’s way to Village Voice Magazine. But the one that really got the crowd going was their closer Mermaid Pterodactyl because it wasn’t until the finale that Pfeffer finally got the crowd moshing which is a trademark of Playboy.

Following their set I made my way backstage to have chat with them, which you can listen to here:

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Talking with Playboy ate up a lot of my time to catch NONAME at The Echo Stage, but I hustled over and caught the end of the smooth Chicagoans set. NONAME is a protege to the festival’s day-1 headliner, Chance The Rapper, and given some more seasoning, the 21-years young artist will be joining her mentor on the main-stage for the night time sets in no time.

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Noname bringing her groovy vibes to Lost Lake Festival

Posted by rBeatz on Friday, October 20, 2017

The Festival was laid out quite well and once I got my bearings inside of Steele Indian School Park it became easy to find everything and, though there were only 3-stages, there was still quite a bit to be found on the grounds of Lost Lake Festival. The level of production value the Walter Project brought to Lost Lake was second to none. Every tree had an LED light pointed at it, the Lake had fire shooting lily pads set to music, his famed art cars littered the grounds, and the BBQ pit had a giant spitfire going all weekend.

Broods live at Lost Lake Festival.

After NONAME I made my way over to Broods on The Camelback stage all the while encountering Phoenix-based musicians, writers, and photographers who I had been working with for years. I had been aware of the Kiwi sibling two-piece for quite some time. An old friend made me aware of them right before I moved away from Arizona, and that friend obviously knew me well because Broods are fantastic. Georgia and Caleb Nott along with their fabulous touring band put together a spectacular indie ppop/electronicaset, that also signaled a shift in the decibel level of the festival overall. Once Broods hit the stage everything got just a little bit louder.

@crystalcastles going off on a tangent at @lostlakefest on the Echo Stage #Lostlake #rbeatz #crystalcastles

A post shared by rBeatz Radio (@rbeatzradio) on Oct 20, 2017 at 6:57pm PDT

Next up was Crystal Castles on The Echo Stage and on a day that had been so far spectacular Crystal Castles was a noticeable dud. The band has been going downhill since Alice Glass’s departure, but amid her allegations against the band’s lead guitarist Ethan Kath revolving around sexual assault, which Kath fervently denies, the group really didn’t bring much with them to the stage at Lost Lake. They sounded and acted like they just hit play on their record while on stage, and frankly, the canned version may have been better.

Haim on The Camelback Stage.

Crystal Castles was so uninspired that I walked away early to catch Haim back on the main stage and they are very much not my style, but were still quite impressive especially when compared to the lackluster outing that Crystal Castles had. The familial three-piece make a lovely pop-rock sound and they made it for quite a few people considering they had to compete with the fact that half the fest was waiting for Ludacris to start and the other half were waiting patiently for The Pixies.

The Pixies and Ludacris playing at the same time on The Piestewa stage and The Echo Stage respectively made for one of the only two tough decisions I was forced to make all weekend, but the other one was a special sort of tough decision and we will come back to that. Having seen both The Pixies and Ludacris in the past, I felt confident in my decision to survey the Ludacris set. He brought a ton of energy to his 1 pm set at Firefly in 2016, so it stood to reason he would do even better with an 8:15 pm set.

Luda doing his thing on The Echo Stage.

The man with the midget hanging from his necklace played the hits and nothing but along with his regular road dogs Lil Fate and DJ Infamous Roll Out, What’s Your Fantasy, Number One Spot, Splash Waterfalls and all of the rest. Luda went through what seemed like his entire discography on Lost Lakes smallest stage, and the crowd responded. He may have cut the braids off, but the rapper turned actor still has everything else he brought with him to the stage during his early 2000’s heyday. That didn’t stop him from having every ass at lost lake shaking for the duration of his set.

As on point as Ludacris was; however, he really didn’t have anything on 24-year-old Chicago native Chance The Rapper. Ludacris is a legend in the game and arguably the greatest the south has ever produced. Chance is a transcendent musical entity that will be changing all the rules for hip-hop music in the coming years. Chance The Rapper and The Social Experiment put on far and away the greatest hip-hop show I have ever witnessed, and I’ve seen Jay Z, OutKast, Nas, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop and Dre, Eminem, and many more in my day. The level of production, the pageantry, his opulence; he’s looking like a young Kanye West right now and he’s performing with the same zeal that Yeezus is known for.

Mixtape, Blessings, Angles, Sunday Candy, All We Got, and No Problem all made the set list among many others. And that’s by ear on the first time I have ever heard any of those songs because until Oct. 20 I was not a Chance The Rapper fan at all. I knew him for his work with Kanye and with Action Bronson but had never taken the time to give him listen. That was a mistake. I was pretty taken with his mid-set medley of Kanye songs featuring Waves, Father Stretch Thy Hands, and Ultralight Beam. But when I heard Same Drugs for the first time I almost cried. That is such a gorgeous song that so beautifully applied to the situation I was living in, returning to the place where I got started as a music journalist in 2011. The Peter-Pan allegory seemed appropriate as did the other motifs within the lyrics.

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Chance The Rapper is a hip-hop dynamo and he brought it hard to his kast festival of 2017. #lostlakefest

Posted by rBeatz on Friday, October 20, 2017

He closed the set with a shower of white confetti while singing to the crowd “Are you ready for your blessing’s?” I am not a religious man, but Chance The Rapper made me feel something. He has an innate charisma not common among humans and he shared so much of his inner light with the people of Lost Lake Festival day one, on the last show of his tour and his first show as a Grammy award-winning artist.

Day 2, started with an early trip to Strive Dreams Henna to visit Joanna 23, and that trip ended with me getting a fresh henna to sport the rest of the trip, one that I am still wearing as I write this a week later. I sat with a pumpkin spice cold brew provided by Gypsy Cup Coffee and chatted with my friend while she made her art on my hand and the sounds of Phoenix natives Bogan Via wafted over the hill at 1 o’clock in the afternoon. The mixture of the tunes I’ve known for years and company of my old-friend made the early afternoon a comforting experience, especially in the friendly confines the festival.

While drinking coffee with Joanna at Strive Dreams, we saw what we thought might be a wedding procession in all white with white flags walking across the grass. It turned out it was a roving troupe of face painters who were walking through the festival planting their flags in the ground and giving people a quick makeover, on the fest!

After letting my “ink” settle for a little while I headed over to the Piestewa stage to catch Carla Morrison shimmying and shaking all over the stage while her booming voice filled in the entire festival ground. She sang in both Spanish and English and her voice was equally spectacular in either language. She may not have been singing on the main-stage at 9 pm but she may have been the best all-around singer performing on the tremendous musical weekend.

I bumped into Joanna enjoying Carla’s set and she informed me that the artwork hanging from the sides of the stage had been produced by the Fortoul Brothers, two men who used to run a shop on Phoenix’s formed art-strip Roosevelt Row, which now only exists as a shadow of it’s former self with most of the art galleries replaced by condos.

Chance The Rapper’s older brother Taylor Bennet on The Echo Stage.

Next up was Frenship on the Camelback stage who underwhelmed, so I went to the Piestewa stage to take a look at The Ricky Fits and where I also got a hot tip from Arizona Republic Music Editor Ed Masley that Taylor Bennett over on The Echo Stage would be a good act to catch. I made it over for the beginning of his set and what I found was a talented lyricist putting a run-of-the-mill hip-hop show. Certainly more memorable than the two previous bands. I fluttered away before the end of the set and later found out that Taylor Bennett was Chance The Rapper’s brother. Honestly, I still would have fluttered away if I knew, but I would have been more excited about the beginning.

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Ed Masley Music Editor of the Arizona Republic.

I stumbled upon Muna because the person who was putting me up was camped by the main-stage for the day, so in meeting up with him, I found a really neat pop band. I’d never heard of Muna before the festival, but I was very happy to spend the time I had before KONGOS chatting with friends and soaking in the catchy pop hooks of Muna.

Muna on The Camelback Stage.

On my way over to the Piestewa stage, I bumped into Phoenix New Times clubs editor Ben Leatherman who I convinced to jump into the pit and shoot KONGOS with me.

Jesse Kongos on The Piestewa Stage.

KONGOS are an institution in Phoenix having honed their skills at The Lost Leaf bar only a few miles from where the Festival was taking place. They made sure the crowd knew it when they name dropped the little bar on 5th Street and Roosevelt in downtown Phoenix during their set. The four- brothers have been playing music together their entire lives so they ought to sound pretty good and since all four of them split the lead singer duties, they stage set-up has all four of them standing upright at the front of the stage.

I have seen KONGOS play to 200 people at Tempe’s Sail Inn and I have seen KONGOS play to 10,000 people at Firefly Festival in Delaware with quite a few shows in between. There were two key differences in their set at Lost Lake from every other time I’ve seen them. One, they didn’t do their first single Only Joking, and two, they looked more well-rehearsed and relaxed on stage than ever before. They look like a profoundly confident band ready to drop another mega-hit on the world, like the one they closed with Come With Me Now.

Johnny Kongos.

While enjoying KONGOS from the shade line, I felt a tap on my shoulder and it was Phoenix-based journalist, Lauren Fach. She wasn’t covering the fest but she had gotten a ticket for the day and saw me in the crowd.

Huey Lewis on The Camelback Stage.

After KONGOS brought one of the moments of the festival that just about everyone was waiting for and that was Huey Lewis and the News. To they are a band with a little more pop-culture relevance than real musical relevance, but that didn’t stop them from having a fairly massive turnout at the The Camelback Stage at 5:30 pm. Huey opened with The Heart of Rock ‘N Roll and the blues and soul hits just kept on coming. But honestly, after about 20-minutes I realized I was seeing Huey Lewis and the News in 2017 so I dispersed to make my way to The Echo stage for Lil Boat.

I am 100 percent with all the bubblegum trap fans out there. If you don’t understand Lil Yachty, it’s because it’s not for you, so don’t worry about it. He is contemporary music’s answer to our parents telling us that the music we love has no substance. He’s a 21-year-old rapper with no flow who raps about cotton candy and pixar movies. If you want no substance we will show you no substance. But at the same time, he is an incredibly engaging and charismatic performer who really gets the crowd going. Plus his DJ has a setting on his mixer for 1 touch access to the “Lil Boat” button which really made my day.

Lil Boat on the Echo Stage.

After about 20-minutes of Lil Boat I’d had enough, so I moseyed over to The Dap-Kings Beatles themed super-jam and watched the New York-based collective allow Huey Lewis, Luna Aura, members of The Shelters, members of Young the Giant, and members of Ra Ra Riots step into the lofty shadow of Sharon Jones.

The super-jam wasn’t just a chance for a bunch of great artists to jam with The Dap-Kings, it was also a chance for the audience to participate as they sang along with every song that was played including Oh Darling, Here Comes the Sun, Twist and shout and some many more before the closed it out on Hey Jude. Superjam is a borrowed concept from America’s greatest festival Bonnaroo, but with Lost Lake it felt appropriate and made for one of the Festival’s signature moments.

The Dap-Kings Superjam

Toward the end of the Superjam, a tall broad-shouldered long-haired gentleman walked by me who I realized was KONGOS bass player, Dylan Kongos. I greeted him with a hug and he conveyed to me that he was elated that Phoenix had an event like Lost Lake and that he felt as though it was just what the city needed. I congratulated him on the enormity of his success and we enjoyed the jam together for a moment before he went on his way.

Following The Dap-Kings Super Jam came a whole different kind of jam, The Roots crew jam. Many \would say The Roots frontman Black Thought is the greatest M.C. of all time, and while I don’t know if I believe that, I feel confident in saying he is in the conversation. The Roots are a visceral musical assault on the senses, creating as much noise as a 10-car pileup. They have as much street cred with hip-hop crowds as they do with jam band crowds and with all of ?uestlove’s extracurricular activities with the band minus Thought, it’s easy to see how they became such massive crossover celebrities.

Black Thought of The Roots.

They laid waste to the main stage, rocking jam after jam and giving every member of the band a lengthy solo. They slayed with their eclectic mix of hip-hop, jazz, funk, soul, with just a flare of rock ‘n roll and ?uest showed another festival exactly why he is hip-hop’s Jerry Garcia. The set ended on a lengthy drum solo by the man with the famed Afro, and then came what may have just been the worst hour in festival history.

Dreamcar on the Piestewa Stage.

This is that “special” choice I was talking about earlier. The choice between a Lil Jon DJ Set or to see the lead singer of AFI live out his 80’s dreams with the former members of No Doubt. After about 10-minutes of each set I took myself over to the main-stage to prepare for The Killers.

I was sitting up against a tree about 5-minutes before The Killers went on when I realized I had made a grave mistake. As I was bemoaning the fact that I thought both acts playing weren’t very good, I had forgotten how far above and beyond Lost Lake Festival had gone to make sure there was always something to do. I could have been participating in any number of creative activities that the festival had organized, but I was busy being a party pooper.  

It took me a little while to come around to The Killers live set, I even took a stroll away from the stage and caught the Lilly Pad fire show in the lake during the set.

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Who knows what wonders are still left to behold at Lost Lake Festival #lostlakefest

Posted by rBeatz on Saturday, October 21, 2017

But when I got back to the stage after a taco, a chat with Leatherman, and catching the fire I was fully enthralled with the pop/rock icons. They packed all their biggest hits into the back of their set which made for an over-the-top finale complete with laser show, pyrotechnics, confetti, and intrigue. The set was dramatic and exciting and full of songs you couldn’t help but sing along too because you’ve heard them just so many damn times.

Gabo Fayuca during his afternoon set on the Main Stage.

The third day of Lost Lake once again began with a trip to Gypsy Cup for their pumpkin spice cold brew and then a trip to The Piestewa Stage for Phoenix legends Fayuca. They are a five-piece rock ‘n roll outfit that really brought the energy to an early set opening the fest on Sunday morning. They brought a big piece of what Phoenix music is all about with them because they are a big part of why Phoenix sounds the way it does, having been together and rocking for more than 10-years. They turned in a stellar main-stage set before hitting the festival for the day mere days before they hit the road for a 3-week west coast run.

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  A Tribe Called Red were next up on The Camelback Stage, and their blend of EDM and legitimate first nation music is not only wildly appropriate for a venue like Steele Indian School Park, which is named such for the Indian School which still sits on it’s grounds as a symbol of America’s mistreatment of Indigenous cultures, but also because the show was being played on what some consider to be Occupied O’Odham land. They brought traditional dancers out with them and they had some of the best LED graphics of the fest at their backs. A Tribe Called Red really is a one of a kind act and worth catching when they’re in your town.

From there it was the long haul (quarter mile at most) to The Echo Stage for the wild and woolly Murs. With his beard down to his chest and his dread’s looking full the former Living Legend took the stage with a laptop, a snack tray, two Heineken, and a bottle of Jameson. I was sad to see his running buddy DJ Foundation wasn’t with him, but he put on a great show nonetheless. He kicked it off by greeting all his fans in the front rows with a handshake and sampling drinks of as many people as he could before chugging a beer and getting the show going.

For as drunk as he had to be he still managed to put on an entertaining set. As a member of Atmosphere’s label Rhymesayers, Murs has quite a following and with his ties to Tucson Arizona the Valley has always been a stronghold for his fans.

That was my only trip to The Echo Stage on Sunday. Next, it was back to The Camelback stage for one of the acts I had been looking forward to most leading up to the festival, Futuristic. Futuristic is another Phoenix-based artist and along with his bombastic DJ Kode Break has strong ties to my favorite band Small Leaks Sink Ships formerly of Tempe Arizona. Futuristic and Code Break encountered some technical difficulties mostly stemming from the mid-afternoon Phoenix heat, but they persevered and still made it one of the most hyped sets of the day.

It’s almost unfair for Futuristic and Kode Break to work together because they are two of the most magnetic performers I have ever seen, and together it is impossible to look away. They mix EDM and hip-hop in a quite pleasing way but the real secret to their success is their audience engagement. They’re crowd surfing, they’re bringing fans on stage to rap on the mic, they’re getting the crowd going in the all the right ways to make them a memorable act. Separated both Futuristic and Kode Break would easily be a great success, but together it’s immortality or bust for one of the most fun touring musical acts right now.

After exiting the photo pit, I made my way into the crowd to enjoy the show, and after gettting deep enough into the crowd, I looked to my right and was dancing next to Danny Torgersen who had rocked the trumpet for FAYUCA earlier in the day. We exchanged hugs and then enjoyed the show.

When the set ended, I made my way back stage to give Kody a hug and meet Zach, a rapper I have been writing about for years but until then had still remained elusive to me. We chatted about the success of Small Leaks for a moment on the backside of the massive main stage, and then finalized our interview plans before I snuck off for lunch.

I had heard a rumor that Tom’s BBQ, my favorite BBQ spot in Mesa Arizona (30 minute drive from the grounds) had a booth set up. I had only been back in AZ, once for 3-days since moving to New York City, and I certainly didn’t have time to visit a little BBQ shop in Mesa, so Lost Lake Festival brought it to me.

After a sandwich, I caught back up with Futuristic and Kode Break for an interview about their upcoming plans.

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I made it over to Piestewa Stage just long enough to see the massive scene that was English DJ Snakehips set for about 10-minutes. The Arizona sun was still high in the sky, but that didn’t stop thousands of people from packing the green in front of the Piestewa stage and letting the mixologist from across the pond take them to funky town.

If there is one thing, Danny Brown definitely is himself. He’s a big goofball up on stage. The crowd loved every second of it. He and Big Gigantic made for a great late afternoon 1-2 punch to lead into the festival’s headliners. Both Brown and Gigantic had their fans out in force, repping their merch. and singing along. Well, singing in Brown’s case anyway. Danny Brown and Big Gigantic both did their part to get the crowd primed up and into a frenzy for the evening’s headliners Run The Jewels, Major Lazer, and Odesza.

The final three acts of the Festival were each the only act playing in their time-slot, which went right along with one of Lost Lake Festival’s biggest strengths. The options were not overwhelming. The lineup was strong, eclectic, big, but without forcing a major decision between bands or a mad rush across the grounds to catch half of two sets.  The 3-stage set up made it easy to catch just about everything you wanted to.

The first at taking the collective ear of Lost Lake was Run The Jewels, and having scene them before I know they’d kill. El-P and Killer Mike were made for each other. Not only are they coming with some of the hardest songs out in mainstream hip-hop, but they are also one of the most adorable couples I have ever seen in my life. El-P literally told Killer Mike to come hold him during the set. Watching what may go down as one of the greatest hip-hop duo’s in the history of the game perform is exciting. But knowing the two of them are best friends and enjoying what they are doing down to their bones makes it so much sweeter.

It was the last show of RTJ’s tour and they were on fire. It is crazy to think that two 40-year-old M.C.’s who were seemingly getting toward the end of their careers could become one of the biggest hip-hop acts in the world by joining forces. But that was the case with Run The Jewels. They played all the hits, they played around on stage like high schoolers, they engaged the crowd, they did everything right, and they brought a radical political message within their ridiculously well put together hip-hop tunes.

After shooting RTJ I made my way back into the crowd because there was no way I was going to miss a second of their set. I danced my way through the crowd looking for the right spot, and when I found it I looked to my right and saw none other than Danny Torgersen dancing next to me.  Me, him, and his green haired lady friend spent the rest of the set dancing together to Close Your Eyes, Call Tictron, Blockbuster Night, and all the rest of their hits.

The three of us embraced, realizing it was probably the last time we would see each other at the fest, but it was time to roll on.  I headed for the Major Lazer photo pit.

Diplo and Switch were already on and going when I got the pit, and they had all of Lost Lake Festival doing the dutty wine all over The Piestewa Stage. You hear stories about a guy like Diplo, about his personality and about him being a lazy performer. I can’t speak for anyone else’s Dipo experience, but he gave me everything I wanted from one of the world’s mega producers.

They had the biggest LED wall I have ever seen, backup dancers, and bass pounding hits. Phoenix doesn’t often get a crack at Major Laser so they made it count in the Copper State and the entire crowd danced as hard as they could. After shooting I found a cozy spot on stage left where Phoenix painter Matty B. was dancing it away with his vibe tribe buddies, before I moved closer and spent the rest of the set dancing next to a pixie cut blonde who I’m pretty sure I knew but couldn’t quite place.

 Whether we knew each other or not was irrelevant, the fact that we kept each other dancing throughout the set is what matters. We never spoke, we hardly made eye contact, but we were there side by side for a while keeping each other’s energy up.

We parted ways before the set ended, and when it did I made my way to meet back up with Josh, my host for the trip. Odesza was another act I had not the time to research going into the festival, but I was properly blown away by their entire set. They provided a most epic end to one of the most incredible festival’s I have ever been too, and what I am sure is one of the best maiden voyages for a fest ever.

Odesza brought the whole crowd into a high and had them stuck there for the duration. Headliners headline and that’s exactly what Colorado’s Odesza did, they occupied the space above the rest of the day’s performers. As far as the musical flow Superfly had provided for the festival, I don’t think there is a single act on earth that could have acted as the festival’s climax better than Odesza.

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ODESZA is really bringing Lost Lake Festival to an epic close. What a spectacular first year festival in the Valley of the Sun.

Posted by rBeatz on Sunday, October 22, 2017

During the middle of the set I literally bumped into someone because of my backpack. I looked at the person, and it was my former neighbor Ana from when I was in college at Arizona State University. We made a quick catch up before getting right back into the groove.

The set ended, and on the way out they set, the fire lilypads did their thing set to Purple Rain as the masses poured out of the festival grounds. I stood alone between the road and the agave maze, watching the fire shoot toward the sky like I had as a younger man at Saguaro Man. When the song finished I waited for my friends closer to the road when I caught a pair of eyes getting wider and wider attached to a handsome mexican face and I heard Cori Rios of The Hourglass Cats blurt out “what are you doing here?” He hugged me and lifted me off the ground, before we had a quick catch up and 30-second hug before we went our separate ways.

I got to neverland and Chance the Rapper told me all I need is happy thoughts, I’ve been flying ever since. Big Ups Lost Lake.

    from rBeatz Radio http://ift.tt/2yaBPsM

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Barbados holiday guide: the best beaches, restaurants, bars and places to stay

You dont need a pop stars budget to enjoy the palm trees and sunny Caribbean sea of this popular island. Genie Austin reveals her homelands best beaches, cheap eats, rum shops and typically tropical activities

When I tell people Im from Barbados, I usually get some variation of the same response. Ooh, paradise, they say, as they conjure up coconut trees, tropical drinks, bright sunshine and foam-crested azure waves.

But on an island where holidays can come at shockingly high prices, this idea of paradise feels woefully beyond the reach of the average traveller. However, as every Bajan knows, the charms of this tiny coral island between the Caribbean and the Atlantic can be unlocked without breaking the bank at a luxury hotel or being limited by a package deal.

There are plenty of charming low-cost hotels, cheap-and-cheerful eateries and bars, under-the-radar beaches and free or low-cost fun activities to be enjoyed if you know where to look.

Barbados map

WHAT TO DO

Take a hike

Barbados doesnt have soaring peaks, waterfalls, rivers or tropical rainforests like some of its neighbours. Nevertheless, it is a tropical island, and its vegetation can be lush, wild, and breathtakingly beautiful. Hike Barbados is a local organisation that conducts free hikes through less accessible areas. Its three-hour hikes run throughout the year, with morning walks starting at 6am, afternoon walks at 3.30pm, and moonlight walks at 5.30pm. barbados.org/hike.htm

Watch the sun sunrise at Farley Hill

Old 19th-century Sugar Plantation House, Farley Hill. Photograph: Alamy

At least once during every visit to Barbados, we get up 45 minutes before dawn and drive to Farley Hill national park to watch the sunrise. Farley Hill, a ruined plantation house, is worth a visit on its own merits, but try sitting atop the hill in its grounds overlooking the Atlantic one cool morning, and watch the sky gradually lighten before the sun finally makes its dramatic appearance. All the while, blackbirds and wood doves lend their approval to this feat of nature, as the wind whistles through the large casuarina trees along the hilltops ridge. Its an unforgettable experience. And although its an isolated spot, its quite safe. On our last visit we noticed the park has added an overnight security guard at the entrance. barbados.org/fhill.htm

Catch a drive-in movie

I grew up going to open-air, drive-in cinemas, so was surprised to find theyre not the norm everywhere. Theres still one in Barbados, the Globe Drive-In in Vauxhall, and I always go when Im home because its a unique experience. Tickets are 6. If your accommodation will permit it, take blankets and pillows for a picnic under the stars while you watch your flick. Youll be almost entirely among locals, and when the film reaches a dramatic moment like the satisfying death of a villain be ready for the chorus of car horns beeping their approval. globedrivein.mobi

See the Christmas parade

Photograph: Alamy

If you have the good fortune to be in Barbados in the festive season, head to Queens Park in the capital, Bridgetown, on Christmas morning, where dressed up people promenade in a ritual going back over 100 years. The park, formerly the grounds of the Commander of the British troops in the West Indies, was acquired by the government in the early 1900s. In 1907 it commissioned the Royal Barbados Police Band to hold free morning Christmas concerts to establish it as a peoples park. Youll be blown away by the colourful and outlandish outfits, sexy Santa costumes and splendid ballgowns. Walking around in 30C heat, rum punch in hand, caught up in the festivity of a tropical Christmas, sums up for me the meaning of peace on Earth and goodwill to all men.

BEST BEACHES

Barbados has some of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean and although in recent years erosion has taken its toll, there are still many unspoilt gems. The key is to choose a beach based on what you want to do, or not do.

Paradise Beach

Photograph: Getty Images

The west coast of Barbados is fringed by the calm Caribbean, so is ideal for relaxing. I have a few favourites here, but Paradise Beach is my top pick. It gets its name from a hotel that was here until the 1980s. With its closure, and efforts to open another hotel stalled for years, its an oasis of peace, interrupted only by the occasional boat or jet ski. Most visitors have no idea the beach exists you get there by walking south from neighbouring Batts Rock Beach but its a wonderful place for relaxing, swimming and enjoying the peace.

Paynes Bay

Photograph: Hans-Peter Merten/Getty Images

My second-favourite beach on this coast is a great place to try jet skiing, sailing and waterskiing, and for finding a boat to go swimming with hawksbill and leatherback turtles. There are organised tours from 80, but the many local operators of jet skis and boats will do deals for around half that for a 30-minute excursion, including snorkelling equipment. Paynes Bay is a short walk from the Sandy Lane Hotel beach, for some discreet spotting of celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Mark Wahlberg, and Naomi Watts.

Pebbles Beach

For a more meditative beach experience head just south of Bridgetown. The water in this sheltered bay is quite still, making it an excellent place for standup paddleboarding (SUP). Paddle Barbados offers classes at 50 for a 90-minute group class, and SUP Yoga at 30 for a 75-minute class. paddlebarbados.com

WHERE TO EAT

Eating out in Barbados can be very expensive, and food costs can exceed those of accommodation. Happily, though, there are plenty of good inexpensive eateries on both sides of the island.

Sand Dunes Bar and Restaurant, Windy Hill

This restaurant on the islands rugged east coast is one of my favourites. The food is simple and unpretentious but fresh and full of flavour. The menu changes daily and consists of local favourites such as breadfruit coucou (mashed with butter and milk), salt fish with gravy, and a salad or side vegetables. There may also be fried flying fish served with rice and peas, and macaroni pie. A full meal will cost around 12 a head. Ermy Bourne Highway, Windy Hill, +1 246 422 9427

Animal Flower Cave, North Point

Aside from the delicious, if slightly pricy, food rotis from 13, salads from 10 what makes this restaurant stand out is its location on the cliffs of North Point, where between December and April humpback whales can be spotted playing in the surf. Beneath the restaurant is the islands only accessible sea cave, Animal Flower cave, known for its fascinating sea anemones (animal flowers). Guided visits adult 8, child 4. +1 246 439 8797, animalflowercave.com

Orange Street Grocer, Speightstown

Bajans are not big coffee drinkers, but a handful of places serve really good coffee, and this beautifully designed cafe, with a large terrace overlooking the ocean, is one of them. Its a great place to start the morning or watch the sun go down in the evening. It serves salads, pizza and other light fare, but I find these a little pricey, so usually stick to coffee and one of their tasty desserts, which cost around 6. theorangestreetgrocer.com

Cuzs Fish Shack, near Pebbles Beach

Even if youre not staying on the south coast, pay a visit to this colourful and somewhat ramshackle Barbadian equivalent of a food truck. Cuz first became a favourite among divers and surfers on nearby Pebbles Beach. The cutters the local term for any sandwich made using a bun known as salt bread are filled with fried steakfish, tomato, lettuce, Bajan pepper sauce and a bit of mayo, with optional toppings of cheese or a fried egg. They cost 25 and are delicious with a cold Banks beer or a Plus, an energy drink made from sugar cane. On Facebook

WHERE TO DRINK

Rum shops, everywhere

John Moore Bar; one of many rum shops on the island. Photograph: Alamy

Bajans like to boast that Barbados is the birthplace of rum. Records show that the honour might actually belong to Brazil, but Barbados is the unrivalled champion of the rum shop scene in the Caribbean they have been part of our landscape for more than 300 years. They come in every shape, colour and size, and are much more than just a bar: theyre a place for friends to meet, drink, talk politics, tell jokes, and play dominoes. And they are incredibly cheap. In general, a beer costs about 1.50, a rum punch (a deliciously refreshing concoction of rum, lime juice, sugar cane syrup, a splash of Angostura Bitters and a scrape of nutmeg) is 4, and a small bottle of rum is just 2. The best approach is to simply walk into any shop that catches your fancy they are convivial places where everyone is welcomed.

One Love Bar, Holetown

On one of my return visits, I wandered into this bar with my husband Andrew. Id never been there before, but we were tired and needed a break from the heat. We ordered two bottles of Plus, and were promptly told by one of the patrons, who was already pretty plastered at 3pm, that men dont drink Plus. He then proceeded to pour Andrew some of his white rum, and there followed a pleasant afternoon of aimless, good-natured chatter and much drinking. One Love Bar is a bit of an anomaly among the expensive restaurants and swanky boutiques of the west coast, and were always relieved when we return to see it still there going strong. 1st Street, Holetown, on Facebook

Bay Tavern, Martins Bay

Bajans come from all corners to this east coast fishing village to lime (hang out) and fire a rum. Thursday afternoons are particularly popular, so stop by then as it has a real party atmosphere. It also does lunch and dinner. Local dishes, grilled marlin, rice and peas and fried plantain, say, are delicious at around 10. On Facebook

WHERE TO STAY

South Gap Hotel, St Lawrence Gap

Photograph: Leslie St John

The south coast of Barbados has a party reputation, so this is the place for those whose idea of a perfect holiday involves frequent nights out. The South Gap is a modern hotel with pool, restaurant and bar in St Lawrence Gap, a lively 1.3 km stretch of road in the parish of Christ Church. A studio for two with balcony and mini kitchen costs from 100 B&B. southgapbarbados.com

Beckys by the Sea, Fitts Village

Just across the road from the beach in Fitts Village on the west coast, this modern guesthouse has two en suite rooms from around 50 a night. Guests have use of living areas, several patios and kitchen. Beckys doesnt offer breakfast but promises that youll wake to freshly brewed coffee, herbal teas, local fruit and juice when in season. For more substantial fare, take a bus to Holetown, a few miles up the road, where BeannBagel cafe does a real Bajan breakfast of fried flying fish and bakes (the local version of a pancake) or a more traditional cooked breakfast. beckysbythesea.com

The Stables, Little Holders House, Holetown

Photograph: Genie Austin

For 55 a night for two, this spacious, fully equipped cottage a few miles further up the west coast has a large patio, open-plan layout and a mixture of traditional and modern furniture. It offers quintessential Caribbean living. airbnb.com

Rostrevor Hotel, St Lawrence Gap

Photograph: Leslie St John

The most affordable approach to a Barbados family holiday is to self-cater, but to escape household chores, try the Rostrevor Hotel. This beachfront property on the south coast has doubles with small kitchens from about 94 a night room only. It also has a poolside bar-restaurant. rostrevorbarbados.com

Source: http://allofbeer.com/2017/06/07/barbados-holiday-guide-the-best-beaches-restaurants-bars-and-places-to-stay/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2017/06/07/barbados-holiday-guide-the-best-beaches-restaurants-bars-and-places-to-stay/