Why I Travel: A Series

Remember back in the day when I used to blog all the time? Back before Twitter came on the scene or Facebook went mainstream? Well, brace yourself, because I have a series of posts headed your way that will make it seem like 2003-2007 all over again. I'm starting a series called "Why I Travel" where I will attempt to make sense of the tug that yanks me out of this country and across this planet. Here's the first:



It's in My Genes
My love for travel and interest in foreign cultures began before I ever had a passport. I have my maternal grandparents to thank for that. As the head of the University of California Alumni Association, Granddaddy led overseas tours for Cal alumni every year. And every year he and Mamu brought back little dolls from the countries they visited (pictured). The ever-growing shelf of international figurines was a constant presence in my childhood. In this way, my grandparents were my first tour guides. I listened to their stories, reveled in their photographs and treasured their dolls and other souvenirs.

When I took my first trip abroad to France in 1996 at age 14, Mamu and Granddaddy sent brochures and maps of their favorite places in Paris and beyond. When I spent a semester in London, I carted with me a token from my grandparents: a folder of pamphlets, a list of England's hot spots and my great-grandmother's personal account of the Chelsea Flower Show. They were my own personal Lonely Planet guides.

This year the roles were reversed for the first time as my grandparents sought my tips for a good time in Hanoi, Saigon, and Bangkok. It was a moment of pride for me. I was finally able, in some small way, to repay them for all their years of inspiration and advice. But I can never thank them for the fostering in me a love for travel, curiosity of foreign cultures and desire to pack up and go see the world.

Recent snapshots

Megan and Jon get into town tomorrow (today, I guess). Hijinx will ensue. In the meantime, enjoy these pics from scattered events throughout the end of summer/beginning of fall.

Viviane might be up to something here...

From General Arizona Fun 2008

Melissa gets some lovin' from Max, the newest pup in town

From General Arizona Fun 2008

Trying to play with Max & Bandit. They were probably too busy nipping at each other to pay Viviane much attention.

From General Arizona Fun 2008

A client's kitty.

From General Arizona Fun 2008

I love this shot of Juma.

From General Arizona Fun 2008

Downtown Phoenix can be simply beautiful on the rare day that there's no brown cloud

From General Arizona Fun 2008

Juma again

From General Arizona Fun 2008

VOIP: Viviane Over Internet Protocol

Our family has had fun playing around with Skype, video chatting with Ally back in Manhattan. The other night, we had a full house with Melissa in town for interviews, and Brooke, Chris and Viviane over for dinner, so of course we had to involve Ally in it all. Viviane was fascinated with getting to see Ally on the computer screen. She especially liked making virtual faces.

Peace, Love and Ringo

Thursday I treated my mom to one of her lifetime dreams: seeing a Beatle in concert. And not just any Beatle, her favorite: Ringo. Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band was her first rock concert ever and I'm pretty sure she had a blast. At least, that's the impression I got from her gushing, "Oh wow. I can't believe I saw a Beatle! Oh wow. I just can't believe it!"

Family Fotos

I finally finished putting together my online album from last weekend's family reunion. Below are a few of my favorite pics, in addition to the ones in previous posts. There's an abbreviated version of the album if you follow this link.


Wade wanted to play cards with the big kids


Casey goes after the volleyball


We took a fun hike to Sprague Lake for a picnic


Amend cattle were once branded with the "UIU" brand. We "branded" the younger kids to show that they carry the Amend brand on their hearts.

View all the pictures here:

Amend Family Reunion 2008

Another preview

I've uploaded all my selected reunion pics, but I have yet to dedicate the time to write captions. Hopefully I'll get to that this weekend. In the meantime, here's another of my favorite shots from the weekend. It's a face you might recognize from this here blog.

Lather, rinse, repeat

Just in case you didn't get the point in my last post, I kinda like these folks. This pic is from my cousin Peter's camera. I have a similar shot in the album I'll be posting eventually, but mine's from the side and you can't quite see everyone's silly expressions. So I had to share this one. Also, I nearly lost a quart of bodily fluid drooling over his wide-angle lens.

These are some of my favorite people in the world

And I get to call them family. More pictures from the weekend TK.

Self-Improvement

I am working hard to:

+ Sit up straighter
+ Not care that I can't be everyone's friend
+ Make my gym membership worth the nominal fee I pay
+ Go for a hike every month
+ Answer emails more promptly
+ Make plans to cross the border for a long weekend this summer/fall
+ Drink more water
+ Not get too emotional when emotion is unnecessary
+ Make time to see Sex and the City
+ Infuse my work with more feminine flair
+ Stick to my budget
+ Make excuses to take more pictures
+ Get more comfortable presenting in front of a group

On a related note...
I gave my first Toastmasters speech this Monday, wherein I had to basically just introduce myself to the assembled group. I got several laughs (yes!), and the biggest round of gasps and laughs came from this segment of my speech:

My mom was a teacher at a local middle school. Her subject? Sex ed. If I ever seem a bit odd to you, just attribute it to the scars of surviving my teen years despite memories of adolescent boys coming up to me in the hallway with the announcement, “Erica! Your mom talked about masturbation in class today!” True story.

Warning: Possible Viviane overload

To do my part to stimulate the economy (via ebay) I got a new zoom lens for my camera. (Thanks, W!) It arrived at work probably at about the moment my plane was touching ground in Kansas City to take me to my sister's graduation...where the ability to zoom in on her face in the crowd of graduates would have been handy. Of course.

Anyways. I had to put it to the test this weekend when Brooke, Chris and Viviane came over to celebrate Brooke's birthday. I went a bit overboard on the photo-taking (unusual, I know). I pared the 500+ pictures down to 42 to put in my Picasa album, and below are my very favorites. During dinner, Brooke and Chris related the newest favorite Viviane story:

The other night the three of them were putting together a puzzle when Viviane stood up all of a sudden and exclaimed, "You guys! I can't take living here anymore! [dramatic pause] I have to go to the bathroom!"

They say girls today are maturing faster, but who knew the teen years now start at age 3?!?!

Blowing bubbles with a fancy new bubble blower.




Viviane in our backyard




Would you believe me if I said that's her natural lip color?!?!




How sweet!




I love this shot of Brooke!




Paying attention to the conversation

Cue Pomp and Circumstance

It's been a little over a week now since Ally donned her cap and gown and accepted her diploma from Kansas State. We're so proud of her achievements. Sorry it took so long to get these up! You can see more by clicking on any of the pictures, or by following the album links on the right sidebar.


Ally and her roommates from the house on Juliette


Ready to head to Commencement


Ally, the graduate!


I love this shot of Grandie & Ally!


Woohoo!


This shot of the Fryers' dog Jewel cracks me up!


Me & Amy. Yay for meeting up with old friends!


Little Sterling isn't so little anymore!

Nothing witty to go here this time

A week and a half ago my family learned that my sister was admitted to the hospital back in Kansas. I'll spare you the details (because thinking about them too much will likely bring back the tears that have finally stopped), but basically her liver was overrun with toxins and her enzyme levels were at a life-threatening level (usually your enzymes are around 50 units; Ally's were above 5,000 units). She spent a week at the hospital in Manhattan, only to find out that the special unit there was closing down that very week. Fortunately there is a great specialist in Kansas City, and that's where she is now. My parents are also in KC to be there with her. We are so very lucky and thankful that the doctors and specialists were able to help her, and we hope and pray that her body is now on the mend. Things look good, and we're still planning on celebrating Ally's graduation from K-State in one month – it will be even a more joyous celebration than planned, I'm sure!!!

Thanks to all the friends who have given their support over the past week. At this time, I'm even more grateful to have some real amazing people in my life.

Photo update

Pat came for a visit last week. Whee! Below is evidence of good times:




At the recreation of St. Louis's Sportsman's Park at the Big League Dreams baseball stadiums in Gilbert




A night out at Devil's Martini with Courtney




Pat and Bandit bonded




Ally's in town! Yay!




Viviane tried her hand at coloring Easter Eggs




Brooke rocked at blowing bubbles

Pat's visit!

Coloring Easter Eggs with Viviane

Third Time's the Charm

We celebrated Viviane's third birthday this month. Below are a couple of my favorite pics as well as a link to the full album.


Seamus, the remaining Carroll cat


Such concentration!

Viviane's Third Birthday Party

Makin' it great in 2008

We used to have somewhat of a tradition of eating cheese fondue to ring in the new year. We brought it back this year. Yum! I made it through dinner without dropping anything in the cheese. I'm hoping this bodes well for the new year.

Christmas Eve Morn Mourning

RIP Otis

I'm doing double-duty on house-sitting this week, and this morning I discovered Otis had died during the night. He was old and diabetic. Brooke had joked for years that there'd be no hard feelings if I killed their cats while they were out of town. But all the joking didn't make discovering him any easier. I'm one of those lucky people whom Death hasn't touched much at all in my 25 years. But if this is how I react to my cousin's cat, I can only imagine the flood of tears when Death hits closer.

Anniversary "Home"coming

Grandie had been in the hospital for over a week, including several days in ICU. Yesterday, the morning of his 57th wedding anniversary, the doctor gave the news that he could be released into a rehab facility. Grammie and I met him at the hospital, picked up his belongings and got to Centre Avenue Rehab to set up his new "home" and to great him when he got there.

Here fishy, fishy

I'm visiting my grandparents in Ft. Collins, Colo., while my grandfather is in the hospital. The other day when we stopped in at the hospital, I found a friend in the waiting room. (See above photo.)

Grandie's doing lots better and today was moved to a rehab facility, which was a great way to celebrate his and Grammie's anniversary. Today marks their 57th year of marriage!

Alright, already

Some of you have already discovered the RSS link on the right that goes to my pictures from this year's Thanksgiving festivities. I didn't want to overwhelm you with tons of pictures, so I thought I'd go an album at a time. There'll be another album posted in a couple days. And then I'll probably be going through a dry spell. It's time for the camera to get cleaned from all the adventures.

Here are a few highlights from Thanksgiving.


The place settings at Brooke's


Chris carves the bird


Olivia gets a taste of Viviane's ladybug galoshes


Brooke and Ally share a funny story