Last weekend I went with some friends on a day trip to New Ulm, Minnesota - on a pilgrimage (of sorts) to Schell's Brewing Co.
Read MoreMaalu Maalu - Fish Fish!
Our trip to Sri Lanka was a little bit of everything: family time, new places, intense, beautiful, relaxing... Maalu Maalu in Passekudah was definitely part of the "beautiful, relaxing" portion of the trip.
Read MoreAn afternoon at Arugam Bay
Though it was not quite the season for surfing, we decided to make a day trip to Arugam Bay anyway - and it wound up being a pretty fun adventure.
Read MoreTragedy at Dutch Bar
Our quest to explore the country and find other Dutch Burghers led us to the Batticaloa area.
Read MoreWar, Beauty, and Trincomalee
The Trincomalee leg of our trip was intense, and the Trincomalee area itself a wearying place to travel.
Read MoreHarry Belafonte - "Sing Your Song"
Tonight I had the opportunity to go to a screening of the new Harry Belafonte documentary, "Sing Your Song," and it was a fantastic experience.
Read MoreKanniya Hot Springs - Trincomalee
While staying in Trincomalee we went around to some of the local sites, one of which my aunt remembered visiting as a child: Kanniya Hot Springs.
Read MoreSigiriya - the Lion Rock citadel
Fortified in the 5th century, Sigiriya is one of several World Heritage sites in Sri Lanka.
Read MoreMinneriya Wildlife Sanctuary
Colombo is awesome, but there is soooo much more to see in Sri Lanka. After a few days of visiting relatives, we hit the road. Our first destination: Minneriya National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary.
View Sri Lanka 2012 in a larger map
We arrived late in the afternoon. Apparently the best time to go is in the morning (and in August) - so the staff were a bit surprised by our arrival. We piled into a jeep anyway and prepared for a wild, dangerous adventure.
And apparently this is my safari face:
We stood up in the jeep holding the cages and drove through the park for about two hours, ducking for branches along the way. Our guide said he wasn't sure we would see an elephant - but that we would give it "full try - full try."
Even though it wasn't the right time of day or the right season, there were still loads of beautiful birds in the park.
(Peacock ≠ elephant.)
And even though we didn't see very many animals in the park, the scenery itself was really lovely.
(bird ≠ elephant.)
Sri Lanka is home to some of the most beautiful birds in the world.
Monkey! A Grey Langur.
(monkey = awesome! But monkey ≠ elephant.)
We saw a family of spotted deer frolicking in the woods.
(deer = cute... but deer ≠ elephant.)
And then they saw us.
But they didn't dart - they kept eating. Apparently my safari face is not very intimidating.
After our two hour tour, we left the park. But our driver took us on a little side route before heading back to the hotel. You see - apparently the road cuts through part of the giant national park. At dusk, you've got just much chance of seeing elephants near the road. And as the sun began to set, to the right of the road, we saw three elephants walking along the edge of the woods!
Because it was dark, it was really hard to get a good shot... but I still managed to capture the moment. Elephant = elephant!
eee! It was really amazing and a very different feeling to see an elephant in the wild. So majestic!
Links of Interest
- Wikipedia: Minneriya National Park
- Sri Lanka Tourism Site - Minneriya National Park
The Colombo Swimming Club
We had one more day in Colombo before heading out further into the country. We spent it, as we should have, with family. My cousin's wife lives in Colombo and invited us to the Colombo Swimming Club for lunch. The club was established in 1936 during colonial-era Ceylon.
My godfather. The sign behind him lists the names of all the members.
The swimming club is right next to the beach, though a wall and train tracks separate the club from the ocean.
While we were there they were taking down the big tent from the New Year's party. Look closely at the workers - they got up to the top of the framework with no shoes, no ladder - and were working with no net. Methinks regulations are a bit looser in Lanka than they are in the states.
Me and my cousin's wife.
Aw, family...
While we were taking this photo a train raced behind us - you can see that in the background instead of the water.
Links of Interest
Real-Phonic heads to the Cedar
The third session of Real-Phonic is scheduled for Thursday February 23rd - this time in Minneapolis!
Read MoreThe Gallery Café
Art... ambience...family... awesome food? Totally not my scene.
Read MoreGettin' my music nerd on at the Craig Finn in-studio.
I know it's the hip thing to grumble about The Current these days... but I must admit, it's still one of my favorite stations and I think we're pretty lucky to have something like it in the Twin Cities. So when I was invited to go to an In-Studio last weekend for Craig Finn, I jumped at the opportunity.
Read MoreRuff Love - Doggy Daycare
When I was in Sri Lanka, our sweet baby Cooper started getting a little... rambunctious. So Nick decided to take him to Ruff Love, a doggy daycare that recently opened near our house in Northeast.
Read MoreRinging in the New Year Lanka Style
On NYE I went to what was pretty much the biggest and most extravagantly awesome party I’ve ever attended. Photo documentation follows as proof that such awesomeness actually occurred.
Read MoreAn afternoon in Hong Kong
15 hours, 25 minutes flying time from Los Angeles to Hong Kong. Thankfully we had a lengthy layover once we arrived - enough to spend a little time in the city.
Read MoreI am back.
From 90 degrees to 9 degrees, 80% humidity to dry as a cold winter bone, I have returned to the states in tact and am gradually reacquainting myself with normalcy. For the record, normalcy = less fun than traveling.
Read MoreDublin's Literary and Musical Pub Crawls
led by people with passion for the music and the history, I think these crawls serve as a great introduction, especially when you're getting to know the layout of a city.
Read MorePoulnabrone Dolmen and The Cliffs of Moher
The Cliffs of Moher are one of the most traveled-to destinations in Ireland, and for good reason. I can think of few places in the world more breathtakingly beautiful.
Read MoreChurch Scenes and Bar Scenes
While Church Scenes and Bar Scenes might seem like a weird mix, I thought it would make for a pretty good Sunday morning view. Also... this is what happens when two Canons collide over a pint.
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