19th Century Poetry

New Years Eve always reminds me of this poem by Thomas Hardy, The Darkling Thrush.  It's about the end of the day, the end of the year, the end of a century and the cold winter makes everything look bleak.  Yet a small, little bird decides to put in every ounce of joy he can muster up to belt out it's happy little song.

"...that I could think there trembled through his happy good-night air

some blessed Hope, whereof he knew and I was unaware."

This poem is even more poignant to me today as 2015 comes to a close.  As some of you might know, I will be laid off later in January.  One might envision things to look cold and bleak like Hardy describes in this poem, but I feel more like the Darkling Thrush, ready to face the new year with a song and joy in my heart.

I'm also reminded of this quote:

"A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because her trust is not on the branch, but on it's own wings."

Lots of exciting things are in store for 2016! It's a brand new adventure and I'm looking forward to every minute!  Happy New Year, friends! Thanks for reading my blogs and joining me on my adventures.  Here's to many more to come!

Parlez vous Français?

Did I tell you how lucky I am to be travelling to Belgium and Paris with my sister who speaks French? I took 4 years of French and can only remember a few things.  Of course my reasons for taking French in high school were not at all practical.  It's a  beautiful and romantic language, but when would I ever use it? Who knows, maybe someday I'll be having croissants in a cafe in Paris and I can call out "garçon!" Maybe that someday is next week!

The only time I remember using French was in college, with a colleague, Claudia.  Say that five times fast.  Claudia and I did our undergraduate research in a laboratory at the university.  We would use it as our "secret" language to discuss things that we didn't want anyone else to understand.

One day, the phone rang and I answered it.  On the other end of the line was a gentleman who spoke with a heavy, obviously French accent.  He asked for another lab mate, Lauren.  I handed her the phone.  She then begins to speak to the gentleman in perfect, fluent French!! Both Claudia and I turned to each other with a look of horror and surprise! What have we been saying to each other this whole semester? Did she hear us? Did she understand us? And how much did we butcher her language? I'm sure my French teach, M. Brownstone would have been very disappointed.

Monsieur Brownstone

I'm sure it wasn't that bad.  But I seem to recall the most scandalous thing I might have said in our secret language was "Il a un mari aussi."  Now, with the magic of google translate, it appears I said "He has a husband also."  Yeah, Lauren had no clue what we were talking about.

That will teach me to never use French as a "secret" language ever again.  That's my reason why I don't try to speak French anymore, especially in front of someone named Lauren.

Since 2016 is near approaching, I think learning a new language will be one of my resolutions.  This year I'm going to learn Japanese.  I've already started with some CDs from the library - a great way to get some free educational materials.  I listen to the CDs in the car as I'm driving around town.

Once I feel confident enough, I found a Japanese Speaking meetup group to practice.  My son will be in Japan for the next three years, so hopefully the next time I go I'll be able to say more than just "Engo wa wakarimas ka?" or "Do you understand English?"

Traveler Alert

Staring at me in this morning's headlines "Belgium arrests two over suspected New Year attack plot" Just. Great.

This is the first time my husband's letting me travel internationally without him and guess where I'm going.  Yup, Belgium.  The article states 'The Belga news agency, citing an internal police memo, said there "exists a possible and credible threat of Paris-style attacks" against the high-profile Grand Place'  I'm pretty sure that was on the list of places to visit while I'm in Brussels.

The Grand Place or Grote Markt - Photo Cred - My sister

Now my husband's got to worry about terrorism threats.  Of course, I'm worried, too.  But we can't live and plan our lives around threats.  My sister has been wanting to take me to Europe for years.  We would talk about it in high school during French class.  Now here's my chance to visit Belgium and France next month with my very own sister as my tour guide and translator.  Yes, she did great in French class and unlike 99% of people who take French in a U.S. high school, she actually uses it!

Of course, I'll remain vigilant and pay attention to my surroundings as is suggested by the US Dept of State World Wide Travel Alert.  But as travelers we should always do so.

Happy New Year, everyone.  Or shall I say "Bonne Annèe"

It Takes Your Breath Away

Wow! Vail, Colorado.  My poor, pitiful amount of training could not even prepare me for the high altitude here.  Despite the fact that I was barely breathing, it was perfect!

We arrived in Denver Friday evening and battled the rush hour traffic, then over the Continental Divide to get to Vail.  Reports were calling for snow all night, but when we arrived at our hotel in Avon there was still no sight of the fluffy stuff.  However, we awoke the next morning to the walkways outside sporting a thin, one inch layer of the powder! Yay! I could wear my new boots!  Sadly, tying them on took the wind out of me.  How am I going to fare with snowboarding?

I am happy to say snowboarding Vail did not disappoint! The mountain was gorgeous.  There are enough trails for an intermediate snowboarder like me to enjoy.

The only problem for snowboarders are the catwalks.  I can't stress this enough so I will use all CAPS.  IF YOU ARE SNOWBOARDING VAIL, PAY ATTENTION TO THE TRAIL MAP FOR THE CATWALKS! There is not enough slope here to maintain your speed.  I found myself having to take off one foot and push myself along.  At many points I took the entire board off and just walked.  If you plan to go, ask around for the best intermediate/beginner trails that would avoid most catwalks.  I found the locals would be happy to help and share their knowledge about the mountain.

One snowboarder passed me as I was walking and she had a ski pole that helped propel her along.  "What a great idea" I told her as she passed by.

She called back out "Girl, she's my best friend!"

I should've known better than to take a trail named "Brisk Walk."  The only positive thing that came out of this was the extra calories I burned.  But most of all, I had the opportunity to just stop and take it all in.  I felt the peace and wonder on this trail all alone with the most beautiful view.  I had to quietly stand there for a minute and take a deep breath.  Not because of the high altitude and the exertion, but simply because the sight was absolutely breathtaking.

Overall, we had the best two days on the mountain.  My husband lived in Vail for 3 years in the Eighties.  Unfortunately, his memory of the catwalks were a little faded.  But he did say the snow and powder days are amazing.  He says they call it "ego" snow because it's so easy and fun to ride that it does wonders for your ego.

Blue Skies on the second day!

The first day, it snowed most of the day, but it was such a light snow that it didn't bother me at all - no white out or blizzard conditions.  The next day it was gorgeous and sunny! You couldn't ask for a better day.  It was early in the season, so the mountain was not crowded at all.  I remembered my love for the being in the mountains and enjoying the feeling of riding on my board.  It's been way too long.

Next ski trip? Breckenridge, CO in late January! I'm so ready.  This time, I will study the trail map and ask around for tips and suggestions.

In Training...

A week before my snowboarding trip and I decide to start my training.  I don't remember getting any snow runs in last season.  I don't think I've snowboarded since March 2014 in Park City, UT.  I'm not sure if my legs or cardio will hold up in Vail because I also haven't been running as much lately.  It's been too cold.  Yes, I see the irony there.

So just 7 days before my trip and I decided to do some conditioning on the Pinnacle Peak Trail.  Ahhh...good 'ol Pinnacle Peak.  I've done this trail more than I can remember.

No kidding!

 Trail Details. Pinnacle Peak is an out-and-back hike, not a loop trail, that runs 1.75 miles one way for a total of 3.5 miles round trip (See what I did there?)   It's also not a Peak trail.  You never get to the top of the peak unless you're a rock climber.  The trailhead elevation is 2570' and the highest point of the trail is 2889'.  You then lose elevation before another climb until you hike down to the end and lowest point of the trail at 2366'.  That's where you have to turn around and climb the hardest quarter mile of the hike as you make your way back.  The cumulative elevation gain of this hike is a healthy 1300'.

Hello Camelback! I'm looking at you look at me!

It's my go-to trail when out-of-towners want to go for a hike, but I don't remember the last time I did it.  It's a great hike with amazing views.   From one of the view points you can see Camelback Mountain.  Whenever I'm on the top of Camelback I always look North to see Pinnacle Peak.  This trail is where I saw my first and only wild Gila Monster.

The only thing that turns me off about it are the crowds.  The Four Seasons hotel is very close by, so many of the guests are directed to this great trail.  The upside to this popularity is it's very well kept and attended by trail rangers and rovers.

There are mile markers every quarter mile as well as informative signs for the different desert flora.  In honor of the holiday I noticed they even added signs for the first half mile that included modified lyrics to the 12 Days of Christmas.  Close to the top of the first peak, we get to the 12th day.

If you're looking for a beautiful hike and great exercise check out Pinnacle Peak Trail.  But be aware, there are no dogs allowed here so leave Rover home for this one.

Snowdaze!

Did you see my nifty little countdown on my blog? Right there on your right.

As I'm writing this, the countdown says just 10 more days until my next trip - Snowboarding in Vail, Colorado!  That's right, I'll be Rocky Mountain, Jai!!!!!!!  Sorry, I had to do it.  Of course if you're reading this at another time, maybe it has some other cool destination on there.  I can only hope.



Apparently, the weekend we'll be in Vail, the village will be holding their 5th Annual Snowdaze event.  Not only will there be sponsor tents in the Village, but apres ski parties and free live music!  Check out who's performing on Friday, the evening we arrive - Big Head Todd and The Monsters.  Strange name for a band I know, but maybe you've heard this song below.

What Kind of Traveler am I?

• I love trying new and different things, but things that are new and different to me.  For example, you might think that everyone rents a golf cart in Catalina Island! Well, guess what, I never have.  So *BOOM*, I'm going to do it!

• I don't care much for prepared/packaged tours, so if possible I steer away from them and make my own adventure.
• I'm not a foodie, but I love food.  So, I might mention a restaurant or recipe, but don't expect me to tell you if the arugula was locally sourced.
• I try to be frugal and I will do my best to provide any money saving tips and expensive mistakes to avoid for my readers.  For example, if you're renting a motorbike in Thailand (God be with you!), rent from the hotel where you're staying.  Many other rental places demand your passport and charge you more.  Our hotel already had a copy of our passport and only charged us 250 Thai Baht a day, which converts to about $8.

Virabhadrasana III - Warrior III on top of Camelback Mountain

• My husband and I are fitness oriented, so we love to stay active on our vacations.  Believe me, more often than not, I need a vacation after my vacation!

We SCUBA, snorkel, snowboard, hike, wake board, kayak, stand-up paddleboard, golf, run, mountain bike and yoga.  Yes, I am that person you see strike a yoga pose randomly for a picture.

• I have a background in biology, an interest in astronomy and grew up loving Jeopardy, so I might geek out on nature, stars and trivia.  Rarely do I talk about history, politics, religion or art unless it has something to do with nature, the universe or an interesting factoid that you might need to store away for your next Trivia Tuesday night.

If you are this kind of traveler, follow me, friend me, and subscribe to my blog.  I'm also open to suggestions for places to go and things to try.  Check out the poll at the bottom of this blog to vote where I should go in January.

The world is our oyster and YES, do we love oysters!!

* Insert Life Cliche Here *

There is nothing like a close brush with death to make you realize that life is short.  Live life to the fullest.  We've heard it said a million times, but there is nothing like a heart attack to make you actually listen and take it in.

It wasn't long before we realized that my husband was going to be okay.  He spent 24 hours in a medically induced coma so they could perform a therapeutic hypothermia protocol after cardiac arrest.  In English, research shows that lowering the body temperature of patients after a heart attack actually helps reduce any amount of brain damage that might be caused.

The doctors used Arctic Sun therapy, which kept his body at 32°C or 90°F for 24 hours.  It took about 16 hours to get him to that temperature and another 16 hours to slowly "defrost" him safely.  As soon as he was out of the coma, he could respond to commands (squeeze my hand) and recognize his friends that came to visit.  He even tried to shake his friends hand when he came to visit one morning, but couldn't do it since he was restrained to prevent him from pulling out his ventilator.

He was released from the hospital on Friday afternoon, after being admitted after midnight Tuesday.  He was back to work after a week of recovery at home.  Christmas and New Years were a million times more meaningful knowing we had him with us.

It was December 31st when I thought of that cliche again - Life is Short.  We've always felt that we've lived life to the fullest, but there's even more meaning to it now.  2015 was going to be an amazing year.

I called up my friend and said "Hey, haven't you always wanted to go to the Sundance Film Festival?"  And within the hour, we had the cheapest tickets ever to Salt Lake City, UT for Sundance! Frontier Airlines had the most amazing fare. $20.15 one way in honor of the new year 2015.  Of course the return fare was more, but after taxes the total round-trip fare between Phoenix and Salt Lake City was $89.15.

The rest of 2015 was full of fun adventures that I plan to blog all about in the coming days/weeks/months:  San Diego, Catalina Island, houseboating on Lake Powell, whitewater rafting the Colorado River, Boston, Cape Cod, and most recently Tokyo and island hopping in Thailand.  There are even more exciting trips in the works for 2016 like snowboarding in Vail, Breckenridge and Park City this winter, as well as hiking the Grand Canyon down to Havasupai Falls in the Spring.

But it's not all about trips everywhere.  I'll also blog about my local trips and adventures.  Subscribe to my blog if you want to hitch a ride!

It's Just a Bad Dream

December 2nd 2015 will be my husbands 1 year anniversary since his heart attack.  One year since I crawled into bed at midnight, chatted with him before we dozed off and not 5 minutes later I woke to him gasping for air.

"It's okay," I told him as I rubbed his back "It's just a bad dream."

But the gasping wouldn't stop and our dog outside the door started barking.  I turned him on his back and tried to shake and wake him, but his blank stare told me that wasn't going to happen.  I yelled at him, "What do you want me to do?!" But without even waiting for an answer, I ran to the phone and dialed 9-1-1.

"My husband's not breathing!" I told them.  After getting our address, the operator assured me that an ambulance was coming then she transferred me to an EMT that coached me as I did chest compressions on my husband of 13 years and father to our 3 children.  I don't remember how long I did compressions, but finally hearing the howl of the sirens in the distant night was reassuring.  They were on their way.

The EMT told me that the ambulance was close and I needed to open the front door for them.  So, I had to leave my husband and run downstairs - as fast as I've ever run.  I grabbed the dogs collar and shoved her into the laundry room, closing that door, then opened the front door wide before running back upstairs.  I continued compressions until I heard the EMTs come in.

"We're up here!" I yelled down to them.  That's when the cavalry came in.  It seemed like 10 first responders - police and paramedics.  They picked my husband up off the bed and placed him on the floor for better leverage.  The 911 EMT had asked me to get him off the bed, but he was just too big for me to do by myself.  So, the EMT told me I would need to push even harder into the chest.  Within a minute the paramedics had the defibrillator on my husband.  Like out of a movie I hear one of them yell "Clear!" and just like that, they shocked him.  The lines on the AED's screen didn't resemble anything that looked like a normal heart beat at all.  I heard them say "Ventricular Fibrillation."  If you want to see a great animation of Ventricular Fibrillation compared to a normal heartbeat, here you go.

This can't be happening.  My husband is only 49 years old.  He just hiked Camelback Mountain with me last weekend.  He just played flag football with guys 20 years younger than him and scored a pick 6! He's supposed to go snowboarding with his buddies this Friday.  He can't be having a heart attack!

Picture taken 4 hours before a heart attack

But that is exactly what it was.  The cardiologist in the ER told me it was a Widowmaker heart attack.  Not exactly something any wife wants to hear.  I'm too young to be a widow!

Long story short, after a 2 hour surgery to insert a stent in his left anterior descending artery (LAD) and 48 hours in an induced coma at lowered body temperature to decrease brain damage, he came out of it.  He was a little bruised and battered from the chest compressions, but he was alive.

A year later and he's more alive than ever.  Living life to the fullest.  Now here I am along for the ride.  We never know when our time on this earth is over.  December 2nd could have been my husband's.

If today was your last day, would you be happy with what you've done with your life?  I ask myself that question and my answer is "I don't want it to be 'No'."

Which brings me to this blog.  I have my other blog, Jai on Life, where Jai is pronounced 'high', like my name Jaina. but today just before my husband's 1 year heart anniversary, I'm starting a new blog, "The Jai Road."  This new blog will be full of my travel adventures, tips, suggestions and musings.  Something I've always wanted to share - my love of travel and writing.  So hang on for the ride and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.