A day in Reykjavik

Not a very creative title, I know. It's nearly 3 a.m. in Iceland and my brain is wide awake, but not my creativity.

We got into Keflakvik airport very early 6:30. Only a slight hiccup with my card for the rental car, then the GPS got us to our lodging.

Then we were off to the big city. Narrow streets, often paved in cobblestones, reminded me of Rome and Florence, but it was wet like Venice. I felt as lost and disoriented driving as I did inSan Francisco, but eventually we got to our first destination, Hallgrimskirkja.

Which it looks like i am going to have to send a picture of another way. darn tablets.

This church is modeled on the basalt columns so prevalent throughout this island. in stone it is eerily impressive. Inside, a giant pipe organ dominates the rear wall. I had the privilige of hearing the organist practice.

Of course we went to the top of the tower and looked out over all of Reykjavik. It was a pretty windy and rainy day, so we did not see all of Iceland.

The wind, well, did you ever see those weather channel reporters during a hurricane? These sustsined gusts would come up and nearly blow us over. Thus, our whale watching trip was off. Instead we had lunch at a well-reported but not busy restaurant that had fish fixed a dozen ways. Mmm.

More later, tired finally kicked in!

Pit stop in Boston, finally

The weather in raleigh was beautiful today, so imagine our disappointment when the weather in Boston didn't cooperate.

We were an hour delayed, and boarded quickly, on track for a 6 pm arrivval. I took a break from my book in time to see the chesapeake bay bridge tunnel. Or so I thought. Ten minutes later, there it was again.

"Boston is backed up from weather in the area. We're running the racetrack pattern over Norfolk," the pilot announced.

We were delayed until 7. Then a break in the clouds. Back to 630. Then a hold over Norwich.

Finally we landed, and had to switch terminals. But at least we didn't have to recheck our luggage, which we thought we were going to have to do.

Now we are enjoying a beer, and some foreign accents in Boston, and from other places in the world too!

Counting down

And testing the blog post. I think this image is way to big, but its a nice shot of Annie!

If it works, you can see cool pix of Iceland here in a matter of days.

North by Northeast Lights

Just five days away from a trip that I have thought about for a long time.

As a backyard stargazer, I've been fascinated by the phenomenon of the Northern Lights. Late last year, I found a picture in a magazine and saved it.

This year, that trip is coming to fruition. I thought it would be a few days in Alaska. It's become two weeks in Iceland.

So along with my lights, I will see glaciers and volcanoes, waterfalls and thermal baths, black sand beaches and whales.

The clothes are all laid out on my bed so I can pick a suitcase. Needless to say, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday will be tough days.

See this article about this year's lights.