Dagbók Hrefnu og Finns

79th Birthday & Active Volcano Visit

2022-08-15Finnur's family, Friends, Us Standard

[Photos taken 15 – 18 August 2022, posted online on 01 May 2023, yet another gorgeous and cold day.]

After our vacation in the US, the adults returned to work, Emma tried out a nearby tennis camp (wasn’t great), Bjarki roamed free with friends, and Anna began studying biomedical engineering at Reykjavik University.

Later that first week back, I lucked out and got to tag along with some hiking buddies to the active volcano that had started erupting at the beginning of August in Meradalir.

We were just in time, because just the next day the volcano quieted down at lot, and the day after that no fresh lava was visible, and that was the end of that eruption!

Posing in front of the then active volcano in Meradalir.

USA 2022 – Electric Go-Carting & Departure

2022-08-11USA Standard

[Photos taken 11 – 14 August 2022, posted online on a cold and blue-skied 30 April 2023.]

The other “big” activity that we’d planned while in Colorado, was trying the electric go-carts I’d found while scouring the internet, and it was a lot of fun!

Anna and myself then spent the Friday shopping (the others lounged), before we all journeyed back to Iceland on the following day. Thus endeth our two-week long USA trip, and it was deemed a great success!!

Thursday 11 August 2022

The day began with me trying out a new cafe, the Cavegirl Coffeehouse, very close to home-base. I needed a bit of actual alone time!

USA 2022 – Colorado Lounging, Climbing & Splashing

2022-08-07Friends, Us, USA Standard

[Photos taken 07-10 August 2022, posted online 22 April 2023. I’m officially ridiculously far behind on my blogging!]

We flew from Spokane, Washington, to Denver, Colorado, picked up our rental car and made our way to Sarah and Augusto’s place. En route we were given a glimpse of the mad downpour that can happen in the area, with multiple cars simply driving to the side of the road and waiting the rain out rather than continue onwards almost blind.

Our Colorado days were calm in comparison to the first week of our US stay. We literally spent the first whole day lounging, although I did manage to get our travel insurance to OK Anna getting an x-ray of her ankle (not broken). The following day, most of us drove into the mountains to play in an elevated obstacle course, splash in some fresh river water, and check out flood remnants.

The following day we split up, with some of us shopping ’till we dropped, and others doing more relaxing things!

Sunday 07 August 2022

We made it! Then ate dinner and promptly collapsed into sofas!

USA 2022 – Upper Glidden Lake & Idaho Departure

2022-08-06Us, USA Standard

[Photos taken 06 – 07 August 2022, posted online 08 April 2023. The storm has come and gone… but more in a few days.]

On our last whole day in Idaho, we drove up the canyon and hiked to Upper Glidden Lake. The lake and surrouding area were gorgeous, but then the mishaps began!

Finnur tripped and scraped his leg, ripping up his pants leg. Then, thankfully pretty close to the car-park on the way back, Anna tripped and twisted her ankle so badly I ended up giving her a piggy-back-ride back to the car. Yay for lots of gym-time!

Just to make the day more colorful, we were met in the parking lot by a guy who was looking for a jack, as one of his tires had fallen off, and he didn’t have a big enough jack to get it back on. His car was of course blocking the road, so we tried helping him, but it wasn’t until some more cars arrived, one of whom had an old-style jack, that the tire got put back on.

The following day began with yet another variation on an amazing breakfast, before we said our goodbyes. We then drove back to Spokane airport, and flew onwards to Denver, Colorado.

Saturday 06 August 2022

Hikers enjoying the view of Upper Glidden Lake.

USA 2022 – Biking the Route of the Hiawatha

2022-08-05Uncategorized Standard

[Photos taken 05 August 2022, posted online 07 April 2023. Storm incoming, thankfully above freezing.]

We kept adventuring, and next up was to bike the Route of the Hiawatha which is a “scenic 24 km (15 miles) long mountain bike or hike trail with 10 large and dark train tunnels (nine that you ride your bike through) and 7 sky-high trestles.”

I had made reservations many weeks in advance, and ordered rental bikes to be delivered at the starting point. We set out fairly early, and the 45 minute drive went smoothly.

The weather was gorgeous, and the ride went pretty well, although the bikes were not great. All in all a memorable day, and lots of wow! views.

Friday 05 August 2022

Finnur and the kids on the Route of the Hiawatha.

USA 2022 – To Idaho, Zip-Lining & Silver Mine Tour

2022-08-03Us, USA Standard

[Photos taken 03 – 04 August 2022, posted online 06 April 2023. Hello Easter Break!!]

We landed in Spokane, Washington, after about an hour in the air from Seattle. The Spokane airport is tiny so we quickly collected our luggage and rental vehicle, and began the drive east towards Idaho.

We’d no sooner got going than I realized Emma needed sneakers to go zip-lining the following day. We therefore stopped at a Spokane mall and walked out with four pairs of new shoes! Yes, shoes can be silly expensive in Iceland, and I go a little nuts elsewhere.

About an hour later, we’d found our way to Ivan & Margo’s cabins, in a canyon the mountains of Idaho.

The follwing day was full of action, as we went on a zip-line tour, and then visited a silver mine!

Wednesday 03 August 2022

USA 2022 – Seattle Days 2&3 – Cruise, Aquarium & Airport

2022-08-02Us, USA Standard

[Photos taken 02 – 03 August 2022, posted online 26 March 2023. Second confirmation party of the season later today, three more to go!]

Our second day in Seattle was in large part dictated by the Seattle City Pass options. We thus found ourselves on a sight-seeing boat that went up and down the Seattle sea-side. Afterwards the kids opted for an unscheduled ride on the local Ferris wheel, before we went hunting for lunch. The second activity was checking out the aquarium, which was pretty nice, but didn’t quite match the monster aquarium in Monterey, California. Oh, the dangers of having traveled.

Afterwards, we walked back to the hotel, with a quick side-tour to Walmart where we found almost all the products hidden behind lock and key (?!?!). Dinner was at a nearby Indian restaurant, and I’ve rarely gotten so sleepy in my life. Back at the hotel Finnur thus got to pack the bags for the next hop, while I lay near-comatose in bed, yay jetlag!

The following day we found yet another hipster café to eat a bit of breakfast, before taking the train to the airport. This time the mental patient on board was a young overweight man with random splotches of blue paint on him who sat facing us on the side, who constantly talked to himself (somewhat threateningly), while staring intently at us, like he was waiting for something to happen. We did our best not to make eye contact. Some fare-checkers came on board, talked to the guy, handed him some leaflets and took off. Thankfully, the guy left the train a stop before we did.

I highly recommend signing up for the speedy security line at the airport if it’s on offer, it made the airport experience more bearable. And then we were off to Spokane, and then N-Idaho! (65-ish images total)

Tuesday 02 August 2022

We made it to the sea-side and the very famous Public Market sign!

USA 2022 – Seattle Day 1 – Glass, Pop & Needle

2022-08-01Us, USA Standard

[Photos taken 01 August 2022, posted online 25 March 2023. It’s still freezing outside, it’s a bit unusual.]

Our 2-week-long vacation to the US was a complicated one. We began by spending two whole days in Seattle to get over the worst of the jetlag. Then we spent a day traveling east to Idaho to meet up with my Stanford advisor and his wife at their second home, where we spent three whole days. We spent a day traveling to Colorado, where we spent a further five whole days with old friends, before flying back home to Iceland.

For our stay in Seattle, I settled on buying the Seattle City Pass, and using it at five attractions. The first day we thus visited 1) Chihuly Garden and Glass, 2) Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP), and 3) Space Needle. (70-ish images total)

Monday 01 August 2022

Vacation: Birthdays & US Travel Begins

2022-07-23Uncategorized Standard

[Photos taken 23 – 31 July 2022, posted online 11 March 2023. Daylight is staying noticeably longer, the sun is higher in the sky, but we’re also frozen solid = window-weather.]

Week two of vacation was swimming, jogging, preparing and then departing for our trip to the US, celebrating birthdays, and deciding to quit my job. So, relatively calm? (60-ish images total)

Saturday 23 July 2022

Vacation: Home Improvement Week

2022-07-16Us Standard

[Photos taken 16 – 22 July 2022, posted online 05 March 2023. This is the last above-freezing day for the foreseeable 10-day weather-forecast future!]

The first week of our four-week-long summer vacation was spent on improvement work.

I had decided I wanted to paint the living room, which is easier with fewer people around. Knowing that Finnur’s dad needed help building a deck at their summer house, Finnur and Emma transplanted themselves to Laugarvatn for a few days, before spending a couple of days at house #2.

Meanwhile, Anna and Bjarki kept working their gardening jobs, and I fought a near-bloody battle with shades of white, before focusing on electrical switches and socket outlets. (60-ish images)