Are you there spring? It's me, Mari.

The snow has melted all but for a few dirty piles.

And I'm ready. Ready for sun burn, bug bites, and road rash.

On the list: Eagle Mountain (highest point in MN), Grand Portage State Park (highest waterfall in MN), Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, and many in between.

Too early to start the count down?

Cracker Jacks

The stuff in my house isn't mine.

It's the remnants of past lives.

Nicknacks and Cracker Jacks.

The dust, that's not mine either.

Even the dog.

She's not mine,

Just acquired.

 

I don't want anyone to have to decide what to keep.

Or have a hard time throwing away Cracker Jack nicknacks.

Florida

I'm not going to lie-- I saw good portion of Florida through a van window. Sarasota, Naples, Venice Beach, Fort Meyers Beach, Capiva and Sanibel keys, Port Charlotte, and everything in between. The weather was less than lack luster. Two days were quite nice and came with a sun burn. The remaining three days were over cast, one accompanied with 12 inches of rain in Punta Gorda. When we weren't in the van on those cloudy days looking for a place to eat, the turn for the airport, or this shop or that, we spent as much time as allowable on the beach without facing some sort of mal effect from the wind chill. Yeah, that's right-- I said wind chill. When I left Minnesota, the last thing I expected to hear from the Weather Channel were warnings of frost, freeze, and wind chill. Those, however, were the cards we were dealt.

My favorite part of the vacation?

Well, it wasn't my time in the van, as enjoyable as that was. The van ride was needed to get there, though. In route the Sarasota International Airport, we took a pit stop on Siesta Key. Now, it might be a little known fact that I actually like kids (especially fun, energetic ones). And, as it turns out, I also like to act like a kid. Despite the dismal temperature, we still kicked off our shoes, soaked up the minimal sun, and played a rousing game of tag on the beach for nearly an hour. Tag backs allowed with only the swift and nimble left standing.

Kids and adults acting like kids playing tag on the beach-- hands down most memorable event of my vacation.

(It might have been the fact that my calves hurt for three days after prancing around the beach on my toes attempting to evade the tags of little people which made the occasion more poignant. On the other hand, it could have been the smiles and laughter that chaperoned the release of pent up energy that sealed the deal.)

Have you seen my feet?

Naples is apparently the home of the Escalades and other fancy vehicles.

Tin City, Naples.

Somewhere between Fort Myers and Naples

The contents of my pockets most days: minimal change, a few shells, and lots of sand. What isn't shown is the pack of Rollaids I also lived on.

Captiva Key

The rest of the album can be found here.

My peeps sporting our matching bracelets.

Back

Well, I'm back.
It was a whirl wind trip, but a good time nonetheless.

In the upcoming weeks I am going to try and put together a few blog posts. We ended up ringing in the New Year overlooking Port Charlotte with live music (and I had an awesome filet mignon). Even though I wasn't actually awake to see 2010 roll in, I was able to rise the next morning without a hangover despite the interesting array of beverages I consumed.

Year in review

The days are getting longer now that we have officially met winter. Three months until spring, four months until quality hiking, five months until graduation, and six months until an overdue trip to Thunder Bay. Ok, so graduation doesn't have much to do with weather or hiking, but it certainly will allow me to plan without time restrictions. I have much to look forward to this upcoming year, though the new year is not here quite yet.

Last New Year's, I made a resolution to spend more time with my camera and more time blogging. In doing so I had quite and active year. On top of work full-time, school full-time, two softball leagues, and hanging out with grandpa as much as possible, I was able to fit in 11 state parks. At those state parks I scaled walls, stood too close to the edge of cliffs, took thousands of pictures (literally), and miraculously escaped with only sore muscles and maybe a few scrapes. In those travels I ate lunches consisting of crackers and cheese overlooking waterfalls, disconnected from the world, found commonalities with hundreds of strangers, and forged a friendship.

One last trip is on the slate, and most likely it will be the first post of the New Year. Ditching the cold and snow of Minnesota for the warm, sandy beaches of Florida will provide a welcomed break from the daily grind. With camera in toe, I'll be slathering on sun screen to protect this fair complected, freckled, Minnesotan body.

This year's resolution?

More trips, more pictures, more blog entries.

(And keep eating healthy, keep running, keep my grandpa schedule, keep frequenting the E, keep working on being a better person, keep trying to surround myself with good people, keep searching for my niche in the technology world, keep on keepin' on)

See you on the flip side.

Just what I needed

On my way to the community center last night, there was a gorgeous sunset over Serpent Lake. What actually caught my attention was a gaggle of geese that had landed in the bay. Though they were a little too far away to get a good shot, the cat tails turned out alright.

So, just as I was bumming about the impending winter, Mother Nature gave me something to be excited about.


Serpent Lake

Withdrawal

Winter hasn't event started, but I've got a pain in my side.

I'm experiencing withdrawal.

Withdrawal from summer, hiking, and outdoor photography.

Now, I know that hiking and photography aren't synonymous with summer, but I hate being cold and so does my camera. We as a team are slow lethargic and much better suited for the warmer temps of spring, summer, and fall. If it weren't for the other 7 months of the year, I would seriously think about relocating.

None of my withdrawal symptoms, however, have anything to do with these photos overlooking St. Paul.

St. Paul, MN

Capitol

Mille Lacs Kathio State Park

I kind of missed out on the fall colors this year. My partners in crime were indisposed with prior engagements, and hiking just isn't as much fun by my lonesome. When I was set and ready to catch the fall foliage on the golf course, Mother Nature threw in a monkey wrench with some ill timed snow-- I don't have snowshoes.

This particular Saturday was about the only day that was worth getting out of bed for... the sun actually decided to shine. I'd been spying this day on the forecast when Amy told me she would be free for a hike at Mille Lacs Kathio State Park. I'd been to this park, but never hiked it or actually chose to enjoy it. Outings like these don't seem quite as much fun when you're a kid.

The leaves were past peak, but wonderful nonetheless. Golden hues from maples, rusty browns from oaks, and changing grasses made for some spectacular scenery.

The morning started out quite beautiful, but as time wore on, the clouds became thicker.

These two weren't taken in black and white nor filtered.

I usually don't do people: Ruttger's Oktoberfest '09

You may have heard of this little thing that Ruttger's does called Oktoberfest. In short, it's not a little thing. Oktoberfest is a three day celebration complete with more food than you can shake a stick at, over 150 vendors, and lots of beer and polka.

I'm not going to lie-- I had a sweet job this year. My mission: take pictures. Though I'm still not certain that I captured what the administration was looking for, I did have a ton of fun doing it. I struggle with having people pose, so I avoided that as much as possible. I can confidently say that out of around 700 pictures, at least 20 of them might be useable. It's a good thing that's not my batting average...

The food was phenomenal. A Terry Dox buffet comes highly recommended.

A vendor's apples tempted me...

Many talented people came to entertain young and old.

Concentration

A little frost on the pumpkin... if I had a pumpkin. (Bay Lake)

Every fall it seems like I put off what I enjoy most until it's too late. The shorter days and cooler temps bring color change, fog, and frost. Working at a resort, there are plenty of subjects and many opportunities to catch some interesting shots, but it seems that I never have my camera with me. Scraping my windshield this morning I had two realizations: I better get the car port cleaned so I don't have to scrape on too many more mornings, and I better take some pictures before all the leaves fall of the trees and the cold, dark, desolate winter is upon us. Though I didn't get too many leaf pictures (yet), I did manage to get some neat ones of the lake.

Bay Lake

I strongly encourage you to click the thumbnails. Bigger is better.

I a little too chilly for a dip