Airports!

I love stories of people who have moved, journeyed, displaced themselves, or otherwise changed their lives. I met a girl today who has moved here to Louisville from Boston. She's been here about 9 months, and came for business. We took the same yoga class one early Saturday morning, and laughed the whole way through. It was a fun class! Afterwards, she asked me if I lived nearby. I said I live near the airport. Immediately she asked if I loved our airport, because she did. (Isn't it awesome when any conversation starts with an airport???) That's how I found out she had just moved from Boston and we had a too-short discussion about our favorite US airports. That got me thinking...


The NYC airports:  OK, it's just the fast-paced, type-A person in me that loves the East-Coasters. Rock on, busy people!


ATL:  It just feels like home. When I flew out of there (for about 5 years), I knew every nook of that place. Ahh, the piano bar area in E concourse. The good bookstore in A. The dinosaur bones, the USO, every Starbucks, the Zimbabwe exhibition in the underground area of T concourse, the space photos, the Antarctica photos and journal, the train. Love it all.


MCO:  The tram- fun. All the happy people (arriving). All the frustrated people (leaving). 


MIA:  Yum- Cuban food. 

Of course, there are the professional opinions:

http://www.worldairportawards.com/

http://www.frommers.com/slideshow/index.cfm?group=785&p=1

http://www.sleepinginairports.net/bestof.htm#.T8FoiY7CE20



http://www.ifly.com/




But what's a great airport to me (wi-fi, people-watching, fun coffee shop with chatty baristas, bright colors) may not be what you're looking for (Ease of security? Gourmet food? Multilingual signage?). So keep traveling, and remember to stop and admire the airport art exhibits. 


Peace!

Where Next?

Here we sit, computer to computer, watching travel shows and discussing the great trips we've shared in the past. We also want to show each other countries we've seen without the other, and discuss places we want to see sooner rather than later. So far, some of the major cities in Eastern Europe are high on the list. Also in contention for our next vacation:  Mediterranean islands, driving the Californian coast, northern Europe and Russia. I can hardly wait. They will all be exciting options and we go back and forth. Eventually, the right combination of inspiration and travel plans will collide and we'll be off on our next adventure. In the meantime, there's a lot of blogs to read!

Bow to the Ocean...Change with Life

During an early morning run along Waikiki beach, I stopped to take a picture of these palm trees leaning towards the ocean. They are all pointing seaward, looking reverently towards the ocean. And as when you pass any crowd and they're all looking in the same direction, I mimicked the action and turned to gaze upon the slow morning waves myself. 

About a mile later, my mind wandering with the floral beauty of the island, I jogged past this gate. It's art imitating life. Again, I was reminded of my palm tree reflection. Lean towards the water. Stare into the abyss. Be strong yet flexible, for life is beautiful and constantly changing. 

Banyan Tree: Echo of my Soul

The banyan tree at Waikiki Beach. I think that this is how God sees us- just a part of the beauty of the world. This is my soul. Let me do good things with my life. 

Running for your Soul

It's so great to catch up with old friends! I got to spend an afternoon with my friend Brandee- we used to fly together and now she lives in paradise (Hawaii) with her husband and Golden Retriever puppy. The 3 of us (Brandee, me, and puppy Nalu) had lunch when I flew through Honolulu this weekend. We got caught up and energized by discussing our adventuress journey type lifestyle. Since we were sitting outside on a lovely day, we were often interrupted, pleasantly, by friendly people wanting to pet Nalu. 


We talked a lot about running since it's a passion for us both. She's encouraged me to try Five Fingers running shoes. She said the barefoot feel makes her feel lighter and enables some good speed training. I'm a little bit wary since I have tender feet and appreciate the stability of a good running shoe. But I would like to try them out sometime. We also discussed marathon adventures. Here's some interesting blogs / people we talked about or I wanted to share:

• http://sevenin2007.com/
• This is the blog of Jeanne Stawiecki, the woman who climbed 7 summits and ran 7 marathons on all 7 continents in 2007. Very cool. Especially since she did this at the age of 57 and after giving up smoking and not even running until she was 44. She's got two Guinness World Records for her achievements. 
• http://runnerswhoinspire.blogspot.com/
• Emily is a self-proclaimed "marathon maniac" and writes beautiful posts about (what else?) runners who inspire!
• http://ultrachickadventures.blogspot.com/
• OK, now this is just CrAzY running! These ultra runners are insane. Amazing, but insane.
• http://www.walkaboutmag.com/23gutstoglory.html
• You just have to read Ginny Turner's story. I would love to run that Ice Marathon. 

So this all leads me to the point: 

• http://www.sevencontinentsclub.com/
• HOW MUCH FUN WOULD THIS BE??!!??!! I would love to do this. One continent down...six to go! 

So thanks for the laughs, the inspiration, and the fun afternoon catching up, Brandee. I'll keep checking in on http://www.freshbrandee.com/ and we'll have lunch again next time I'm through Hawaii. 

Peace.