Attn: Secret Agents

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to join the British Secret Intelligence Service for a special secret  assignment. To accept this mission, please call mission support. Code name: Angie 

Secret Mission: A Birthday party for a 7 year old boy  Spy Training

Step 1: The spy's in training were assigned an ID badge. Finger prints and chosen secret identity were also placed appropriately on badges. As you can see they took this assignment very seriously. 

Step 2:  The spy's were trained in weaponry, disguise, search, being observant, and in a last resort, hiding. They all succeeded well and were transfered from "spy in training" status to "almost a spy". Some disguises were so good we can show them here without exposing their identity. See how they picked not only great physical costumes but also took on the correct body language and facial emotions of the chosen identity. Only a true spy can accomplish those tasks, with the correct training, of course.

 Step 3: Disarm and Dissolve (D&D) a bomb. It was a bit scary as the "Disarm" step did not go as expected for the spy. The spy blew and blew at the bomb, following correct protocol, but the bomb would not blow out. Eventually the bomb just fizzled out. The bomb was identified as a dud since it did not explode. All "almost a spy's" took a  hand in dissolving the bombs. All spy's were changed from "almost a spy" status to "spy".

Mission Status: Accomplished

 HaPpY 7th BirThDaY TaNneR!!!

Relationships

Do you have a friend that seems to appear when you are in the dumps? I have one of these friends.

I have been going through some issues with a co-worker. To put it bluntly after 9 years of dealing with his shit behavior hate for me, I decided to make a formal complaint. Writing the complaint and turning it in was hell. Confronting him about it was hell. He is still treating me like hell. It has been hell ever since.

I originally meet my friend, when I was working in my yard. Her car stopped in front on my home. Kids erupting from the windows. She marched up to me and stated "I like your yard. You look like a neat person. We should be friends". I remember liking her immediately. We discussed roses while her kids impatiently sat in the car and I thought about everything going on in her life right then and how she could see the importance of giving time to a potential friend.

My friend has been asking to come see my new home and I kept putting her off. I wanted to do this or that first. I was not ready to show it to her. Finally, I decided to get off my tooter and get it done. I agreed to a date and time.

On the day that my friend was to come over, I had the "sit down" with my co-worker, my boss, and the HR representative. My co-worker said many negative things about me, while I sat there and told him how awesome he was; trying to build back some form of relationship between us. It was a miserable experience.  I  had to leave work for a while to get my composure and it made for a tense and emotional day.

Yet after all that, I looked forward to my friends arrival and enjoyed the visit. We had many great theological discussions (my favorite kind) and when my friend left,  I noted how happy and uplifted I felt. I had not felt this way in weeks. I smiled without thought and the world felt lighter.  She had no clue of the last few weeks, yet she had the ability to help me forget the weight of them by just simply being there. Don't tell her but, I think its because she radiates happiness.

Thank you for being my friend.

Easter equates to a candy filled vacation

We all know it! Easter is a weird holiday. We know of its weird-it-ties yet we accept and love the holiday because, it has the best candy.  Thats right Santa, your treats take a back seat to the offerings of the Easter bunny. There I said it.

I do love Easter candy! As evident by the pile of candy wrappers on my nightstand. Most days of the year, I dont eat candy. I really do not care for it. Then Easter rolls around and I find myself looking like this in front of an Easter Candy isle at some store. I dont know what happens to me. It just happens. I accept it like gravity, the passing of the sun, or the graying of my hair. It just is.

Casi, December 25, 1999

The other thing I like about Easter is camping. We do not camp during Easter too often.  Well,OK, just twice; including this years trip. But doesn't twice practicality make it a tradition?   Well then, the two times we have done it. I have loved it!!! (with three exclamation points)

Our tinner family + cute Claire

For us a vacation usually equates to many bloopers (I prefer to call them adventures!). And this trip was no different. It started off with lots and lots of snow and the cancellation of part of our group (we missed you Brandon, Kate, Dillon and the baking Baby Shepard!)  

All this snow is from one storm and as you can see its still coming down. The dove taking refuge in my feeder has been diligently working on a nest in my pine. I can hardly wait for the babies to show up. Maybe I will post some pictures. I tried taking a picture. Once. But then one of the Dove made total eye contact right through the camera. This made me uncomfortable. So I stopped. 

Due to the storm, we wanted to leave early; before the evening traffic started. This means, that we ran around the house for an hour, calling out things to pack, sweating, running, yelling. It was a chaotic mess. Very much like all the trips we always take. We are too busy to be organized about our trips and so packing tends to be fraught with chaos. There is a part of me that likes it this way. You can not have adventures if you are well prepared.

Eventually, we crawled into the car and headed down the road. I remember feeling that we had done a great job and was excited that we were only 20 minutes past 4:00 pm (our goal time).

Our next two blooper adventures plagued us the entire trip. Well it really was poor Casi that suffered. We discovered this "bump in the road" after arriving at the Needles district of Canyonlands NP,  when Casi looked at me with fear in her eyes and said "Where is my bag?" We determined after a short search (there really is not many places to look in the camper) that her bag was sitting in her room. At home. Leaving her with, PJ bottoms (purple with polka dots), a T-shirt, tennis shoes (no socks), a hat, and coat for a 4 day trip.

The second blooper was forgetting the cot for Casi to sleep on. *sigh*

On a side note: Casi, being a thirteen year old girl without any clothes or a bed to sleep on, had a freak-in awesome attitude about it! BTW: if you want to see Casi's perspective regarding this trip, and these "adventures" you really should visit her blog. She actually wrote more than a few lines and its pretty funny.

And soooooo.....

Easter came early. On April fools day. Providing the kids with camel backs, candy, shorts, tee shirts, crazy socks, and flip flops. What a perceptive bunny!*

* See this is why I like bloopers adventures. If we were prepared we would have not had an Aprils fools day Easter!

The gifts, proof of Tanners inherited obsession of Easter Candy, the kids with their gifts, the crazy socks and Claire.

As with most of our bloopers adventures, they always work out. Cassi now had one outfit. It was cold for the weather we were having but, luckily Claires parents sent a pair of insulated rain pants. Thanks, Claires parents and Claire!

  A happy and warm Casi and Claire!

The first trail, we hiked, passed varied terrain; across Elephant Canyon to the edge of Chesler Park. 3/4's of the way, to the view below, was a dessert meadow circled by the colorful, weather-smoothed rocks of the Needles. I have never seen such a perfect desert meadow. The sage, grasses, and red hued soil felt untouched by human influences. Within it was a perfect garden of cryptologic soil intertwined and connected the plants; never seeing, perhaps, a sheep or cow graze within it. I did not take a photo of this meadow. Instead I just mentally wandered within the beauty, that a photo could not contain.

View  of the Needles from  Chesler park trail. I love sky. 

It is rare, in southern Utah, to see so much water. The shallow potholes, the higher humidity, and dense and often times dark cloud cover were a welcome guest to the often hot and dry climate we usually enjoy.

More pictures of water. On this day the sun was out; bleaching my photos. Sad. 

This large  (about 10-12 feet wide in the largest section) pothole (above) is filled with water and the alien creatures of desert potholes; Tadpole shrimp and clam shrimp. 

Note on desert shrimp: The desert shrimp, as they are also called, live in the potholes of Utah's, Canyon Lands but have also been  discovered in the country of Iraq and Midland, Texas. The desert shrimp's microscopic eggs can remain dormant for a season or for hundreds if not millions of years, and can survive temperatures of extremes of over 124 degrees F and below zero. Isn't that cool! The eggs are strewn with the wind and will hatch only after a certain amount of water pressure is present, thus ensuring a new generation lives on. Not all of the eggs will hatch with each season.  

In all honesty the pothole life was young, tiny, and a bit disappointing to the kids (and me!). The last time we saw these they were towards the end of their season (in May) and they were HUGE!

The Easter holiday was a strong component of this trip In giving Casi clothes, in providing the kids with Camel packs so that Nate did not have to accommodate all of their provisions in one very tiny backpack( My backpack tends to fill up with my gear;  binoculars, camera, sketch book) and in providing entertainment to Tanner so the rest of us could obsessively play "phase 10" while consuming the Easter candy that I love.

On the first night of Phase 10 obsession, Tanner ran back and forth with an Easter kite, held on a short line,  trying to get it into the air. He would appear in the window running east, disappear beyond the windows view, then return running west the kite bouncing on his heals. Over and over and over again. The rest of us appreciating the campers warmth and our game of Phase 10 would give off random chuckles as we saw him fly by.

On the last night, Nate and I and (for a brief moment) the girls climbed the rock behind our camp and flew the kit with him.

Casi's easter outfit. Those socks gave me (and many other hikers, rangers, ect) so much joy the whole trip.

Nate and Tanner flying kit

I know this picture is a bit blurry but I love Tanners expression and the silhouetted plane with the western reflection of the setting sun.

The view east from the top of the camp rock. 

The view west. 6 shooter rock; a prominent feature in the Needles landscape.

The park is full of Native American History. This could be observed through the many hikes, pictographs, ruins, and exuberant Rangers and Ranger programs. We appreciated this history by walking Cave Spring and Roadside Ruin hikes, and by going to an enthusiastic ranger program that went on and on and on. And on. I spent the last 20 minutes of the ranger's program thinking about how Glacier NP's program put theirs to shame and wondering if my bottom would recover from the half log seat I was occupying. I would guess that Glacier has the funds to support their powerpoint presentations (crazy, right?) but they also put in the time to organize what they wanted to say; the Needles lacked this organization, making it hard, sadly, to keep your interest focused on what they wanted to share. Instead, my mind occupied itself with the preservation of my bottom. Not bad subject matter, if you ask me.

 

A little Branch history. Casi 5/2004. Casi 3/2010. She is still a cute-ee!

Our last hike was Squaw canyon to Big spring. It is the shortest loop hike in the Needles (at 8 miles), with easy walking along flat valley floors and just one strenuous part across a high pass that links the two drainages. I think it will be this "strenuous part" that we will all remember. Casi and Claire especially were all grins during this part. I blame the slickrock. It is pretty fun to walk on. 

Tanner and Nate climbing up out of the "drainage". Casi and the view from on top.

View of squaw canyon, six shooter point and surrounding canyons.

Casi's easter socks, again. They still give me great joy.

 

We, of course, kept with the holiday spirit and did some Easter egg coloring. 

The last Easter blooper adventure surprise was Tanners, during another obsessive Phase 10 evening, the day before the real Easter. I had The Easter bunny had placed a few Easter surprises for the actual morning of Easter within a drawer in the camper. Tanner discovering this drawer, opened the curtain that separates the master bed from the rest of the camper and states, "MOM, DAD, We need to talk!" in all seriousness. The rest of us responded with laughter but then, he broke down in tears.

Recently, Tanner has been coming home from school with questions about Santa and the Easter bunny due to the other kids being privy on the down low. So when he opened that curtain, I thought of my options.  I could cover the discovery (lie some more) or let him know. I chose to tell him.

I went back and spoke with him and he responded with phrases like "Its all a lie. The infamous statement "You lied!" also came out. And I was afraid, it was all true. I could not lie more. I felt shamed. It was strange that a culturally accepted lie could feel so bad through the black and white eyes of my 6 year old. So I let him be. And asked that when he settled down that he would come and talk to me.

A few minutes later he came out and sat on my lap; curling into the fetal position to protect himself from this world without mythical gift giving creatures. I did not know what to say and started rambling about how horrible of a lier I was. How I always misspoke, poorly hid gifts, or left things out in the open that would help with the discovery. "Its a relief that I do not have to continue, always worried of being discovered". I then spoke of how Casi found out. This lead to others speaking of their stories and all of us in laughter about the whole thing. Including Tanner. I was saved.

In retrospect, I think I should have not told him about the bunny. The evidence, on this, is in how he decided to interpret it all.  He give up the bunny but has chosen to keep Santa. He still wants to believe and I guess, I will continue to lie so he can.

We woke up Easter morning to a bright sunny day. The morning was warm enough that I could hide the discovered Easter eggs without a coat. Hiding candy filled eggs of blue, green, pink, yellow, orange, and purple in trees, rock crevices, within green plants, up on top of camp rock, between roots, behind fire pits and under logs. The kids followed with pastel baskets.

I then walked my last morning walk for the trip. As I walked by our neighboring camp, our neighbor asked "Where those your kids with the baskets this  morning?

I replied, "yes" and watched as his two boys played out on the camp rock in the background, highlighted by the sun.

"That was a good idea." he said.

I looked back at him and smiled. "Thanks" I responded and walked on.

Have I mentioned how much I love camping at Easter?

unpublished

I found this in the unpublished section of my blog; unfinished. I think the tittle would have been something like...


Things that make me smile.

1-Picking up Casi from school and hearing her say "I had the most awesomest day at school!"

2- Tanner taking a bath; laying in the tub, arms behind his head, singing little mermaid. "falalalala looks like the boys to shy, he's gonna miss the girl. Whoa whoa!"

3-

Originally written on 11/25/2008; 5:37 pm

Of course the second one is easy to understand. The first however would require history to fully get. A lesson I will not write today. It is still too fresh a wound. I think


Lets just say that she comes home almost every day and says something to the same tune of "I had the most awesomest day at school!" And everyday I smile due to it. 

I would like an Omaha adventure with a side of Funk, please.

Finally, what you have all been waiting for, the Bushtit trip to Omaha. It has taken me a while to write this since our computer is crashing and my laptop is out of commission as well. I did write a couple of B-trip starters here and here but below is the story from beginning to end (if you want to read it). 

Day 1 (March 11, 2010): Rowe Sanctuary

Once we got Bushtit E (B-E) from the airport and packed all of Bushtit B's (B-B) extra cold weather gear -(due to B-E's missing bag) we raced to Kearney, NE -about 3.5 hours away. We had a 5:30 pm appointment with Row Sanctuary's blinds, the Cranes, and the setting sun.

One of my favorite parts of the Rowe Sanctuary is the dual flush toilets. I heart these toilets since they utilize a 1:4 (liquid:solid) volume usage. Finally, a toilet that places value on the "number1" and "number2" technology we used as kids. I have not seen one of these toilets within the US. It was a Very exciting find for me!  After we were dressed and utilized the way cool toilets, our guide marched us out to the large box  blind before the cranes started coming in. 

Update: Nate and I saw a dual flush toilet at Home depot and guess what is sitting in my garage right now! I may have to have a "come see my dual flush toilet party:" Now who wouldn't be excited to do that?

 B-E and B-B observing the Platte river. The cranes have started to come in. Landing on the far side of the river; farthest from the blind. We have not fooled any of those birds by sitting in a that large box. The cranes rolled in over a two hour period. (Thanks B-B for the last photo)

Before (~ 5:30 pm)

After (~7:30 pm)

The cranes fill the sky and river. 

Day 2 (March 12th): A day of mud. Mud. Mud.  

We started out our mornings early. Pre-dawn.  4 am. Our mornings pretty much went like this. 

1. Alarm.
2. Rub eyes.
3. stumble into clothes.
4. grunt at other girls.
5. make coffee.
6. Drink coffee.
7. Try to eat bagel.
8. Leave.

This short list took us 30-45 min. to accomplish. I don't know why it took so long but, we were consistent; repeating this phenomenon each morning.

We got up early because we wanted to see the Greater Prarie Chicken lek but, before you can see a Greater Prairie Chicken lek you have to find a Greater Prarie Chicken lek. B-B worked hard to figure out a locations to increase our chances at seeing the lek. We tried the first location today.

Side discussion: A lek is a "mating arena" where the males of a certain species strut their stuff! So its pretty much equivalent to going to the bar or better yet a junior high school dance. If you want some great info on a lek go here. 


Side discussion within a side discussion: At a Greater Prairie Chicken lek the male lifts up the feathers on his checks so that they stand up on his head like tiny rabbit ears. He then puffs up the air sacks under these flaps so that the orange/pink skin beneath stands out like globular moons (which strangely, and like a purse should match shoes, matches their eyebrows).  Once the costume is attained he will make this boom sound and stomp his feet like an overly steroid-ed football player. They of course, do all of this within a designated area, and if another male comes within this area they will fight. This usually involves jumping, flapping their wings, pecking, a loss of feathers, AND it makes a person understand the urge to watch cock fighting. Its exhilarating to watch. You can see a good video here.

The description to this first location included a sentence that stated the road we wanted as "runs through the middle of the marsh".  We should have taken this statement as a warming.

After a few minuets off the paved road, our conversation went like this:

B-B: "Crap! what should I do?"

B-A (Me): " I don't know! But, DON'T STOP!"

Our car ended up looking like this after peeling through inches of mud and water, making muddy rooster tails in a car full of tense girls (we all promised B-B's hubby that we would not get the car stuck), and creating 6 inch deep wheel ruts down a farm road on the outskirts of a small town.

After we made it through the mucky mess, our conversation went like this:

B-B: "I am so glad you told me to keep going!"

B-A: "Yea! I was shooting you verbal hugs the whole time."
(thanks B-E for reminding me of this wonderful and underused sentence)

Once we were out of the sticky situation we got out and walked around in it. I am not sure why? I guess if you can not drive in the mud you decide to that walking is the better logic. (I am sure there is logic in there somewhere.) It was windy of course and the pre-dawn air temp was freez-in COLD.

 No chickens were observed during our wander  but, we did manage to do this. No complaints, we had a great time!

 

(taken with my Iphone)

The remaining part of the day was spent driving around these same farm roads (but we were A LOT more selective about which ones we would drive on) looking at the masses of geese that have also congregated during the migration north. As with most photos, the pictures do not reflect  what we saw and felt as 100's of thousands of birds would fly into the farm fields. The numbers of birds were so intense often times we thought the dark cloud heading our way indicated a change of the weather.

Snow, Ross's, White-fronted, Canada, and Cackling Geese in a farm field near Karney, NE

Also, after a full day of looking at geese our car received a good luck shit splat blessing!

(taken with my Iphone)





As the sun went down we raced to the Crane Bridges* to see the Cranes come in for the night.   It was a lovely night, the wind had calmed and there was a light rain.  The Cranes flew in low over the river; their calls filling the air. It truly is a magical experience!

*The bridges are...  well bridges, that have been placed over sections of the Platte river so that the Cranes can be viewed.

While we were observing the magic of the cranes at the bridge,  B-B was blessed with Crane poop!  Which got me thinking that with such good luck (two poopings in one day)  we would certainly have great  luck in locating some Dancing Chickens tomorrow.





Day 3 (March 12th): A trip to Funk(y) town

 Watching the sun come up over cut corn fields

And so, we started out our morning, once again, before the sun started hers. This time, we observed the morning in a MUCH drier area. The lack of moisture on the road, however, did not improve our chances; observing only hints of the dancing chickens due to a 40 mile per hour wind. These hints included: a jumping round object with bunny-like-ears, two chickens flying, and a mass of chicken-like-prints in and around a small water hole. We were saddened by our second failure but held strong and made plans for the next day. With only one morning left, we made plans that would certainly help our odds. We called the "outfitter".

The "ticket" from the Outfitter included views of a Greater Prarie Chicken Lek from a bus window, breakfast, and a 1.5 hour drive farther North/west! Now who can complain about breakfast, a bus, and chickens all for $30/person?

As you could probably imagine, I was pretty excited about the breakfast and spent the rest of the day referring to chickens, buses, and bacon.  I think I made B-B nervous about a my possible disappointment but I have issues when it comes to bacon (and most pork products) and I could not help myself. Mmmm bacon!

Before we headed out, we decided to spend another day driving through small towns, looking at farm fields and small wildlife "preserves" for ducks and geese that were migrating through. Driving over 100 miles. One of the areas we stopped at was the small town of "FUNK". We of course stopped for the photo op.

But in all seriousness. The town of FUNK was an adorable town. Full of great old buildings and wonderful genuine people, and cheep coffee-like-substance*

*It seems Nebraska has strange coffee that B-E and I like to refer to as "coffee-like-substance". It kind of  tastes like coffee and it kind of smells like coffee but there was something missing or something different about it that we could not quite identify.








 We also stopped for a Runza. Since the first moment I heard a Runza described I wanted to try one fro myself. Today we finally decided to try one. The conversation went like this:

Me: "Can you tell me what is good?"

Cashier/Waiter: "Hamburgers, Hot dogs..."

Me"What about the Tube of meat?"

Cashier/Waiter: Long pause "You mean the Runza"

Me:"Can we refer to it as 'tube of meat'?"

Cashier/Waiter: Long pause. "No."

I did finally have a Runza and all I have to say is you have to try it (if only just once).

Scoping Longspurs. (Picture's by B-E and B-B respectively). 

Note B-B's hair in the first pict. It was way windy, even when using the car as a wind break.

We spent our last evening in Kearney with the Cranes at another bridge. It would be our last time seeing the Cranes. We also hoped for a sunset since we have not seen one the whole trip due to the cloud cover. We were not disappointed on either account.  We saw the longest sunset I have ever witnessed (dont argue the logic- just go with it) and  three distinctly different sunsets to the sounds of the cranes as they flew over the river.

(Photo by B-E and B-B respectively). 

Preparing for the sunset photo-taking moments in our near future.

Sunset #1
The heavy cloud cover and the broadness of the river created a long slender sunset. I love how the light played on the clouds and the river.

Sunset #2

At this point the sun started the break apart the clouds. Creating the "column of light" and an "angels is descending from heaven" look. I love the textures created in the clouds.

Sunset #3As the sun went below the horizon the clouds reflected an intense pink lights and dark purple hues.  

(picture's by B-E)

Day 3 (March 13th):  Bacon never disappoints.

Once again, we got up early. (BTW: we are all freaking tired by now), pulled up to the outfitters main office and was greeted by the scent of coffee.  It was perhaps the first thing our guide said to us. "Here's your mug. Coffees right over there." Or at least the first thing I remember him saying. 

Once our coffee mugs were full, our guide guided us to a suburban. I leaned over to B-E and whispered "that aint no bus". I started to get worried regarding my bus filled dreams. I guess a suberban is going to have to be good enough, I thought.  

 Our guide then drove to the chicken leks down a mud slicked road. He had a lot of confidence in his driving and so did I as he whipped around turns in the road using the "slide" of the slippery mud to get around it. It was still very dark and it was hard to see. It was less than 5 min before he stopped and gestured for us to get out. I looked out the window straining to see where we were going. When my eyes finally became used to the availible light I saw it. A bus sitting in a corn field in the middle of nowhere. 

We walked through the field and into the bus and then,  our guide turned on a HEATER! Can you believe that? After all those early mornings walking in mud, getting up early, 40 mile per hour winds, almost getting the car stuck, 17 degree temperatures,  early mornings, slopping through water soaked roads, freezing temperatures, pre-dawn, early mornings... all we had to do was  pay $30 bucks and we get coffee, and chickens, and a bus, and a heater (and BACON!). 

We then sat in the bus, drinking coffee and whispering and waiting.

And waiting

And waiting.

And waiting (I  looked at the our guide to see if he was nervous- I think he was)

And waiting.

When finally, we saw the chickens and they danced.. And it was amazing!  Here is a picture of us sitting in the bus before the chickens arrived.I did not take any dancing chicken pictures. I was having indecision over coffee, binoculars, and camera. I chose the binoculars and mug of coffee! Now that we got that chicken part over with we finally able to focus on the really important part of the morning. Breakfast and BACON! I did take a photo of the food. No lost priorities here.

While I found the food fabulous and B-E and I took photos of it.  B-B thought we were fabulous taking pictures of our food and so documented that. 

Day 4 (March 14th): We say goodbye. 

Fontanelle Forest. 15 min from B-B's home and one of our favorite locations. It is also where we meet  crazy, rule following, yelling, police calling, light-blinding, stalker man but, that is a story I decided not to tell. 

 In addition to the cranes and chickens, I loved seeing B-B's cute family and watching her and Kent interacted with each other and their two little girls. I also felt like I made a special connection with 3 year Mellisa that loves purple and blue, miss-matched socks, and Ponyo time with Daddy. I loved watching her wander through the house fixing this and that; a true mama's little helper. I loved seeing her go from adoration of her little sister to tattling that the 6 month old child was touching her. And I loved going birding and seeing her speak excitedly of the Robin 10 feet away. (She has the Birding gene Beth!). I had a great time and I am excited to see where the next trip will be (perhaps a weekend pelagic in LA -with B-E).

B-B was  a great hostess. I felt hugged the whole time I was there. I think I noticed this the most through coffee because she does not drink coffee. She was supportive of B-E and my desires to have coffee at every opportunity possible and even planned coffee stops amongst the birding stops. Can you imagine after all the bird and driving and sleeping planning in a B-trip she also found coffee locations? Anyways, I found this adorable and heartwarming. I loved that she cared about, understood, and even supported our different ideologies. It is often that we support those ideologies that support only our own; looking to be validated only by our thoughts and ideas and forgetting the beauty in our differences. I will admit, that I am a bit sensitive to this. Between living within a culture that is different than I am and then following a milk free diet it is hard to travel or go to events where there is food.  

Thank you B-B. For the lovely adventure and for being such a great hostess.

(taken on my Iphone)