Boating with Captain Bjorn

Summer boating on Lake Erie is a must if you are a capslock or such. It’s a pretty fabulous time filled with quiet port towns, micro brews, and lots of fun in the sun. The season is far from over, so get your ass on a boat!

like father, like daughter

a swedish winter wonderland

family vacations are fantastic. again.

i feel like going on vacations with one’s family is a constant, fluctuating cycle of coolness. when i was little i loved going on vacations to disney or skiing in the rockies. when i was tween i dreaded spending any day i had off of school with the fam. hanging out at the mall or the movie theater with my friends was surely the most important thing in the world at the time. but then when i entered high school and became more mature (i know some would argue with this, but just go along with it) and cultured i began to appreciate my family vacations again, especially when i was allowed to bring my friends with me. now that i am a poor, college senior my feelings towards family vacations have come full circle and i am truly thankful for any family vacation that i can latch onto. this year it just happened to be a fantastic sailing trip through the british virigin islands. i brough a friend, a video camera, and snorkel, of course. had one of the best family vacations ever at the age of 22. i mean who could have a bad time with a father who wears steeler crocs, seersucker shorts, and swedish viking tee? not me.

and i’d rather be backpacking.

it’s a monday. it’s a monday in january. when things are looking that bad, it’s time to break out the summer/winter backpacking photos and reminisce about hot accents, tangy ceviche, sleeper trains, better beer and kayaking on the pacific. Forget about the food poisoning, cat fights, that near-drowning incident and hostel bed bugs. i’m being nostalgic, damnit. and i’d rather be backpacking.

see this: where the antelope play.

Sometimes en-route from dc to australia it totally makes sense to take a detour through bozeman, montana. DUH. You will be woken up by a moose about to charge through your bedroom window! It will scare the shit out of you! But that’s okay, because later you will go ice-fishing, ski, or maybe even go to a “ghetto” dj party hosted at a tourist hemp shop. You can even sneak through airport security dressed as a cowboy! But eventually, you might get thrown out, like this guy. But whatever, go ride off into the sunset.

Traversing through Crystal fields (or How I Spent My Thanksgiving)

Thanksgiving comes but once a year and this November I found myself meandering up to southern Vermont for some quality family time. We holed up in a real life witch’s cottage (complete with massive lavender fields) and I spent the holiday hunting for crystals (note: I am terrible at finding crystals), drawing pictures in a life-size zen garden, listening to moody poetry and chakra chants and traipsing through the great outdoors. Admittedly I found myself, more than once, getting all Thoreau-esque and contemplating a much simpler existence in the wilderness. Alas, the modern conveniences of life are all too near and dear to my heart (case in point: I did some binge online shopping promptly upon my return) Still, there was something exhilarating (dare I say magical?) about my days spent in the woods. I think I might even return.

hey sicily…

you look like narnia.

the real world: north korea.

capslock took this picture on the yalu river, which separates north korea and china. now you have proof that the north korean children have a ferris wheel. but still no proof that it’s fun.

see this: lagos, portugal

whew…our first two months in Spain went by rather quickly…we apologize for the lack of content, but when you live in a place this beautiful sometimes work gets shoved on the back burner for a while.

we did, however, find time to skip down to Lagos, Portugal for a short holiday to close out the 2009 beach season.  Lagos is a sleepy town of 18,000 situated 70km from the nearest air- port and 35km from the westernmost point in Europe.  Developed almost exclusively for tourism,

Lagos is the pefect place to witness typical Portuguese life juxtaposed with European holiday-makers.  Its an inexpensive destination, we did the weekend for less than 100€, and trust us, we spared no expense.  If I ever go missing, dial 112, and send them to Lagos, Portugal.

see this: life is old there, older than the trees

capslock dc relished the opportunity to leave the district and head to berkeley springs, west virginia for a weekend. there was hiking and apple butter and small town shenanigans, everything we could have hoped for. after a lovely little jaunt through cacapon trail, we headed to earthdog cafe for some live “music” and “dancing”.  the farmers’ market, used bookstore and yarn shop all provided ample entertainment on sunday, before we made our way back to dc. sorry, john denver, wv is beautiful, but we’d rather the country roads take us back home.