Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Elkins

We are back safe and sound from our trip to Arequipa and the Colca Canyon. I wanted to tell you what a wonderful travel agency were Inka Fest Travel. They were PERFECT! They took very good care of us - especially after I got sick while hiking out of the canyon! That was a rough day for me. The rest of the trip was great! They are really nice people, too...

Thanks for everything, it was a great trip!

The 2 1/2 weeks spent in Southwick flew by. After 4 weddings, 1 baby shower, many farewells with friends, and finally a few "see ya laters" with family (we refused to say "goodbye") it was time for us to pack up and go. Without an inch to spare in the car or on the roof, we fit every single last thing we own except for our dog... who will join us later in CA by plane.

After the last supper (so to speak) and lots of family ...

We decided rather spur of the moment to go camping this weekend as the weather was supposed to be beautiful and this is both me and Dave's favorite time of year to camp and hike. I decided on Coopers Rock State Forest area because it's not too far of a drive and I've heard it has some nice hiking trails. Read about some trails in the the Laurel Highlands hiking trail book, and the area in general, made a couple calls on Friday and ...

... 60 miles away without roads or maps (apparently to prove to him it worked) we might not have cars today (that's a stretch but maybe not Mercedes). Topped this off by getting lost in an acre of tree maze for 45 minutes till I nearly lost my mind and ripped the trees out of the ground. Somehow the tree maze and the canyons are related - admission on the same ticket - haven't figured out how yet. We continued on through the mountains ...

Elaine, Kelvin, Merv,Jeff, Anachie, James, Jesse, Jordan, EmmaKate, Lauren, Josh headed out an hour away to a work site where they moved walls and ceilings, removed a section of flooring and created storage spaces in the attic. Also installed ...

... So far we have done 381km today... we are about to pull off the interstate to treat the kids to McDonalds for lunch as they have been so good. During the long, long drive through WV we saw a few deer grazing by the side of the interstate, quite unworried by the roar of traffic going past. A fun game to pass the time while in a U.S.A restaurant: See how many times you can get the waitress to say 'You're Welcome' by saying 'Thank-You' to her. Finally ...

... through WV. interesting stuff, but got board so ended up cutting it short and went north to check out the Football hall of fame...but it was closed. Just around the corner was a beautiful garden. Check out the video of the JFK memorial. Pretty stuff. Short entry, but not much else to say. Tomorrow Celeveland. -cmart

... that pesky paper, and my IRB renewal, and a review I have due for a manuscript, things are mostly ready to go. The bike is at the shop getting boxed up, and there's not really any more time to fiddle with the preparations (except starting the log...which reminds me about this awesom episode of Men Behaving badly, which is entirely the guys watching an episode of Star Trek -- "Captain's Log, Stardate..." If ...

Hi everyone, as all of you know, I've been planning for this trip for a long time, and the time has actually come for me to actually take the trip that I've only talked about for the past 8 months. My flight leaves from Pittsburgh on February 4, 2006 at 12:30pm and I will be arriving in Pisa on February 5, 2006 around 8:30am, from which I will then travel to Florence. In ...

... is perfect. The days are filled with lectures (some I have heard already in school), coffee breaks and silly games. Well that is all for today, soon I will be home again and telling everyone about orientation and Mexico. I can't believe I was in Mexico last week! Crazy! peace out ck