Author Archive
Mel’s sidenotes: Smell the roses
by Mel on Jun.27, 2010, under Next Exit: US of A
Today, it was all about compensation for my olfactory confusion at Pike Place Market.
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Mel’s sidenotes: So they do have mountains…
by Mel on Jun.26, 2010, under Next Exit: US of A
Volunteers are great.. We don’t have that concept (at least not that extensively) in Germany, but here, you’ll find them everywhere. In museums, state parks, animal shelters, you cannot avoid them.
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Mel’s sidenotes: Love is …
by Mel on Jun.24, 2010, under Next Exit: US of A
… taking care of a really seasick Rheinland dryland whale. That would be me…
Mel’s sidenotes: Oldtimer Migration
by Mel on Jun.23, 2010, under Next Exit: US of A
Many birds migrate. Some fish and marine mammals migrate. Some landborne animals migrate - and even the Monarch butterfly migrates in swarms from somewhere in Canada to southern South America. And Oldtimers migrate, too!
Mel’s sidenotes: Please remain seated for the grand finale
by Mel on Jun.20, 2010, under Next Exit: US of A
We went to Mt. St. Helens today and the weather was the same as yesterday - rainy and foggy with visibility under 30 meters for part of the way. Nevertheless, we made it to Johnston Observatory, where the weather was so miserable that we skipped the outside viewing points and went straight inside and decided to wait for the next educational film viewing.
Mel’s Sidenotes: Who needs Mt. Rainier?
by Mel on Jun.19, 2010, under Next Exit: US of A
To be honest, we saw more of Mt. Rainier from Seattle on our arrival day than today. But today was an adventure nevertheless. The drive up to the National Park and then within the park worth it all by itself without the vistas.
Mel’s sidenotes: Green dots all the way - well deserved
by Mel on Jun.16, 2010, under Next Exit: US of A
When you pick up any Rand McNally street map, go search for roads that have green dots alongside them. This is the indication that this route is scenic. The Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia is all green dots, for example.
Mel’s sidenotes: Pike Place Market
by Mel on Jun.14, 2010, under Next Exit: US of A
Not too many people know that as a toddler, I was mainly raised at the family owned drug store. It was the old kind of drugstore where you got your baby diapers, camomille and other herbs for your own tea, hair colorations and perfume, before all the big chains opened in my hometown and crushed these mom-and-pop shops. It was founded by my grandfather and later managed by my mom and I was raised either at my stay-home grandmom’s or the drugstore until I was six and my family wisely sold the store before it could go belly-up.
Mel’s sidenotes: Confused - the best and the worst start of vacation, ever
by Mel on Jun.13, 2010, under Next Exit: US of A
Ok, the beginning of this vacation compared to the other trips to Virginia, Florida and Arizona was strange. Good experiences and bad followed in such close succession that after all, life was good. It started relatively uneventful with a relaxed trip to the airport in Düsseldorf at a moderate early morning time.
We did an electronic check-in, which is rather time consuming when you travel to the U.S…. and our boarding passes wouldn’t print. The weather outside: sunny with a chance of obstacles. The first leg to Amsterdam was ok with plenty of legroom. But our plane was a little late and we only had 40 minutes to catch our next plane.
Mel’s Color Commentary: Day Nine
by Mel on Apr.19, 2009, under Next Exit: US of A
My job is easy today: Colin already picked the color of the day. It’s amber, like Balu’s eyes. And since my drawing skills are not good enough to do this huge but incredibly cute and friendly dog justice, this little piece of text is it for a great day at Best Friends.
