It's 7:05 pm. Just fifty more minutes and we finally board our plane. We have been here in the lovely Boston Logan Airport since about four. So needless to say, it has been a while.
We took a bus from NH to Boston. It was snowing furiously when we first took off, but as we went closer south, it turned to rain.
I have to say, I really don't mind waiting around an airport though. The people watching is FANTASTIC. Probably some of the best. Just because of the sheer amount of different people from all over the place walking through trying to find their flight. There are such a wide variety of people milling around, it makes for wonderful entertainment. I love trying to guess where they come from, why they are traveling, and who they are. My personal favorite method of people watching is trying to guess which people are European, and which are American. It is relatively easy to do, but still entertaining. Then once you note the well dressed, seemly more put together European, you can try and guess which flight they are getting on.
Right now, I have two options, either London Heathrow, or Iceland Air. It's quite fun.
So we are awaiting our flight to Iceland, which takes off at 8:35 pm. And we arrive at 6:00 am. But of course for us, it's going to be something like 4 or in the morning. This will be interesting... But I don't dread it like many people do. There is such an air of excitement and opportunity traveling, I find it hard to settle down and try an sleep on a flight. The idea of going somewhere as cool as Iceland is just too exciting.
Okay, well I am going to go back to people watching. Be sure to check back to see more travel posts!
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Iceland here I come!
In exactly three days, my family and I are leaving for a trip to Iceland and Finland, for the World Ice and Snow Sailing Championships. (Which I explained briefly in a previous post.) Anyway, I am so beyond exited for my first overseas gap year adventure.
We are going to Boston by bus then taking off from Logan and flying to Reykjavik, Iceland. We will be there for three days before We fly to Finland where We will then take a train to the race site. It's a journey of epic proportions, and I cannot wait. I absolutely love the rush and excitement of travel. There is such an underlying feeling of possibility and adventure that is hard to ignore when you are traveling. Or maybe that is just me...
Anyway this info is just fair warning that in a few days, there will nothing but posts pertaining to travel adventures. So be sure to check back if you are interested! Also, I will be doing some "travel vlog" type videos on my YouTube channel. And again if you are so inclined, here is the link to that:http://www.youtube.com/user/AnnieTeeV?feature=mhee
Stay tuned for more! Thanks for reading!
We are going to Boston by bus then taking off from Logan and flying to Reykjavik, Iceland. We will be there for three days before We fly to Finland where We will then take a train to the race site. It's a journey of epic proportions, and I cannot wait. I absolutely love the rush and excitement of travel. There is such an underlying feeling of possibility and adventure that is hard to ignore when you are traveling. Or maybe that is just me...
Anyway this info is just fair warning that in a few days, there will nothing but posts pertaining to travel adventures. So be sure to check back if you are interested! Also, I will be doing some "travel vlog" type videos on my YouTube channel. And again if you are so inclined, here is the link to that:http://www.youtube.com/user/AnnieTeeV?feature=mhee
Stay tuned for more! Thanks for reading!
Monday, February 11, 2013
Farm Hunting
Okay, so right now I am currently searching for a WWOOF host in Scotland. I have been looking for a few hours now, and I am still amazed at how overwhelming it is. I have only been looking in the Central Scotland region, and there are at least fifty farms from which to choose. And they all look amazing.
By keeping my search to just that area, I have been able to pare it down to about three. At this point I am getting ready to contact those hosts and just make a choice, because if I stray my focus now, I will never be able to decide on one. There are so many great ones, that offer so many different things, if I don't settle on one of those three farms Central Scotland, I will never get anywhere...
Anyway. Enough about me not being able to make up my mind. Here are links to the websites of the three that I am tentatively looking at.
http://www.craigencalt.co.uk/history/summary.html
This one is on the north shore of Kinghorn Loch, and is (and I quote from their description) "A wee organic farm/ ecology center nestled in the rolling hills of Fife. Stunning view over the ocean and loch." Does that not sound incredible?
This one sounds really appealing to me mostly because it offers nature as well as access to the city. I will be the first to tell you that I would rather be stuck in the middle of the woods than anywhere else, but when it comes to a foreign country, that rule changes. Seeing the a city or town is all apart of the experience. It gives a full perspective of what the country is all about. Some of my favorite experiences from my exchange to Germany was exploring Cologne and Aachen during a day trip. I love traveling. The experiences, places and people all help to give one such a great worldly perspective.
The second one I am looking at is:
http://www.portnellanfarm.co.uk/about.htm
This was is pretty far off the beaten track, located right on a loch. The views are absolutely stunning, so I can only imagine what they would be like in person. It seems as though that farm would definitely satisfy the "I want to be outside and live in rural isolation and bliss" part of my gap year feelings.
I am thinking I will be able to do two farms, if not more, so maybe I could get the best of both worlds. Rural farm and "slightly more near a heavily populated area" farm.
Finally, there is this place:
http://www.camboestate.com/
Again, it is coastal, and looks great. Decisions, decisions.
I guess I will tackle that in the morning. All these beautiful Scottish farms are just overwhelming my somewhat focused decision making process. All I know is that I do need to really get a move on. I want to try and get over there by mid March. Or sometime after the World Ice and Snow Sailing Championships. Speaking of which, I am getting very excited for them. As it turns out, We will be stopping off in Iceland for a few days before flying to Finland for the races.
That is so amazing and I am so freaking excited for that. Iceland is probably my favorite country in the entire world. When I was four, my parents drove around the entire country. I barley remember it, but the bits I do remember, are great. Then we went back when I was in seventh grade. That trip I got a lot out of , so I can't wait to see what I get out of this one.
Not to mention, Iceland is the home of my new favorite band, Of Monsters and Men. I will find them. Maybe... :P
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to check out my YouTube channel!
http://www.youtube.com/user/AnnieTeeV?feature=mhee
By keeping my search to just that area, I have been able to pare it down to about three. At this point I am getting ready to contact those hosts and just make a choice, because if I stray my focus now, I will never be able to decide on one. There are so many great ones, that offer so many different things, if I don't settle on one of those three farms Central Scotland, I will never get anywhere...
Anyway. Enough about me not being able to make up my mind. Here are links to the websites of the three that I am tentatively looking at.
http://www.craigencalt.co.uk/history/summary.html
This one is on the north shore of Kinghorn Loch, and is (and I quote from their description) "A wee organic farm/ ecology center nestled in the rolling hills of Fife. Stunning view over the ocean and loch." Does that not sound incredible?
This one sounds really appealing to me mostly because it offers nature as well as access to the city. I will be the first to tell you that I would rather be stuck in the middle of the woods than anywhere else, but when it comes to a foreign country, that rule changes. Seeing the a city or town is all apart of the experience. It gives a full perspective of what the country is all about. Some of my favorite experiences from my exchange to Germany was exploring Cologne and Aachen during a day trip. I love traveling. The experiences, places and people all help to give one such a great worldly perspective.
The second one I am looking at is:
http://www.portnellanfarm.co.uk/about.htm
This was is pretty far off the beaten track, located right on a loch. The views are absolutely stunning, so I can only imagine what they would be like in person. It seems as though that farm would definitely satisfy the "I want to be outside and live in rural isolation and bliss" part of my gap year feelings.
I am thinking I will be able to do two farms, if not more, so maybe I could get the best of both worlds. Rural farm and "slightly more near a heavily populated area" farm.
Finally, there is this place:
http://www.camboestate.com/
Again, it is coastal, and looks great. Decisions, decisions.
I guess I will tackle that in the morning. All these beautiful Scottish farms are just overwhelming my somewhat focused decision making process. All I know is that I do need to really get a move on. I want to try and get over there by mid March. Or sometime after the World Ice and Snow Sailing Championships. Speaking of which, I am getting very excited for them. As it turns out, We will be stopping off in Iceland for a few days before flying to Finland for the races.
That is so amazing and I am so freaking excited for that. Iceland is probably my favorite country in the entire world. When I was four, my parents drove around the entire country. I barley remember it, but the bits I do remember, are great. Then we went back when I was in seventh grade. That trip I got a lot out of , so I can't wait to see what I get out of this one.
Not to mention, Iceland is the home of my new favorite band, Of Monsters and Men. I will find them. Maybe... :P
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to check out my YouTube channel!
http://www.youtube.com/user/AnnieTeeV?feature=mhee
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Ice Sailing
If you are a family member or a friend then you probably all know about the amazing sport of ice sailing. But for those of you who don't i am going to talk about that today.
I have been skiing since age two and I began ice sailing at age eleven. By thirteen I was relatively proficient at it. By now, I am pretty damn good. If I do say so myself. And not to toot my own horn or anything, but I am actually an official team rider for Kitewing (the sail I use) (www.kitewing.com) and I currently am second in the world in the women's division for course racing. Sounds pretty damn impressive. But I am going to let you in on a little secret. Last year at the World Ice and Snow Sailing Championships, there were only three women, including myself, competing in my division. So...yeah. But hey, it sounds good!
What exactly IS ice sailing you ask? Well basically it is using a wind powered sail to propel oneself along a frozen surface (i.e. a snow covered field or lake). There are three methods that are used to do this.
1) A kite
2) A windsurfer sail and ski board
3) A Kitewing (what I use)
These three classes come together each year and compete in the World Ice and Snow Sailing Championships. (http://www.wissa.org/)
I have been going to these events almost every year since I was about one. Everyone that competes year after year have become more like family members than opponents. The sport of ice sailing has a very fun community vibe that I am always glad to be a part of.
Before I continue here is a video of ice sailing with a Kitewing so you can all get a good idea of what it looks like.
If you want to see more of those ice sailing videos please check out my YouTube channel to see more. There are TONS of them. http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBeckham723?feature=mhee
Anyway, this year the championships are going to be in Finland, and my family and I will be attending. What also makes this year special is that Kitewing is a Finnish company, so they will have more of a presence at the races, which is great. I am very excited to compete and see everyone again. Whenever the races are in another country, they always are such an adventure. From years of travelling to frozen countries throughout Europe to attend these races with my family, I have developed a very healthy world perspective, and I always love getting the chance to further expand it.
Also, ice sailing is just super fun.
As to how that relates to my gap year, it will be the beginning to my European traveling gap year experience. From Finland, I am kicking around the idea of going right to Scotland to begin WWOOFing there. Then I will come back here, possibly do a wilderness volunteer thing, then go back over to Iceland to WWOOF. Then it will be summer.
That's my rough plan anyway. So I will keep updates going regarding these exiting travel plans, and in the mean time, I thank you for reading this blog. I appreciate it!
I have been skiing since age two and I began ice sailing at age eleven. By thirteen I was relatively proficient at it. By now, I am pretty damn good. If I do say so myself. And not to toot my own horn or anything, but I am actually an official team rider for Kitewing (the sail I use) (www.kitewing.com) and I currently am second in the world in the women's division for course racing. Sounds pretty damn impressive. But I am going to let you in on a little secret. Last year at the World Ice and Snow Sailing Championships, there were only three women, including myself, competing in my division. So...yeah. But hey, it sounds good!
What exactly IS ice sailing you ask? Well basically it is using a wind powered sail to propel oneself along a frozen surface (i.e. a snow covered field or lake). There are three methods that are used to do this.
1) A kite
2) A windsurfer sail and ski board
3) A Kitewing (what I use)
 |
| A picture of the Kitewing |
These three classes come together each year and compete in the World Ice and Snow Sailing Championships. (http://www.wissa.org/)
I have been going to these events almost every year since I was about one. Everyone that competes year after year have become more like family members than opponents. The sport of ice sailing has a very fun community vibe that I am always glad to be a part of.
Before I continue here is a video of ice sailing with a Kitewing so you can all get a good idea of what it looks like.
Anyway, this year the championships are going to be in Finland, and my family and I will be attending. What also makes this year special is that Kitewing is a Finnish company, so they will have more of a presence at the races, which is great. I am very excited to compete and see everyone again. Whenever the races are in another country, they always are such an adventure. From years of travelling to frozen countries throughout Europe to attend these races with my family, I have developed a very healthy world perspective, and I always love getting the chance to further expand it.
Also, ice sailing is just super fun.
As to how that relates to my gap year, it will be the beginning to my European traveling gap year experience. From Finland, I am kicking around the idea of going right to Scotland to begin WWOOFing there. Then I will come back here, possibly do a wilderness volunteer thing, then go back over to Iceland to WWOOF. Then it will be summer.
That's my rough plan anyway. So I will keep updates going regarding these exiting travel plans, and in the mean time, I thank you for reading this blog. I appreciate it!
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