Itty Bitty Kitty Committee #4

It's been a few weeks since we were living with the energetic bunch of Itty Bitty Kitty Committee #4, but we wanted to introduce you to these five (that's right, FIVE) little cutie patooties that called our house home for two weeks anyway.

We weren't exactly up for taking on five kittens at a time, and they offered to split up the litter, but how could we possibly split the litter? So, of course, we took all five. They were an incredibly large bundle of energy that tore through the house and caused mayhem in every sense of the word, but they were so adorable and absolute lovable balls of fur. I'm so glad they got to be part of our family, if only for a couple weeks.

And now, with no further adieu, I present the five members of Itty Bitty Kitty Committee #4:

Adelaide

By far the largest and most boisterous of the bunch, Adelaide was the first to approach us (which was just minutes after opening the kennel). She loved to be pet and would suckle when she was tired or scared. She also loved to play with all the kitten toys that we have, and if one of the other kittens had a toy, she'd often take it away so she could play with it.

In many ways, Adelaide had to be the center of attention. If one of us left the room she was in, she had to leave the room too. If one of the other kittens was being held, she had to be held too. There was never any question about where Adelaide was because she always made her presence known.

Berkeley

Berkeley was, in many ways, the perfect kitten. First of all, she was incredibly cute, with tabby stripes and long, soft fur. Second of all, she was extremely well behaved. She didn't meow for attention or try to be the center of attention. Berkeley was very much an observer, but once she started playing, she had a ridiculous amount of energy. One of her cuter habits was trying to meow, but all that came out was an itty bitty "meh."

We let the kittens sleep in the house a few nights (versus being shut in their room), and Berkeley just curled up on the bed and zonked. When the lights went out, she knew it was time to go to sleep.

We found out a couple days ago that Berkeley was adopted within just a couple hours of being up for adoption. I'm so stoked she has found a forever home!

Harlem

Harlem was incredibly soft and sweet. She loved to play with the other girls and frequently carried the toy mice around in her mouth. In fact, she thought she was quite scary and often growled at her toys as well. This was actually very funny coming from a skinny little two-pound kitten.

Harlem was hysterical when it came to going to sleep at night. While most of the girls would settle down for the night, Harlem went one step further and absolutely zonked out completely. She often slept between Cory and me, and I was afraid I would roll over her. Sometimes I'd wake up and she'd be on my pillow, her little paws flung up over her head. Seriously, this girl could sleep in any position with any sort of obstacle in her way. It was quite impressive.

I'm happy to report that Harlem has been adopted into a forever home already as well.

Juneau

Out of the five girls in Itty Bitty Committee #4, Juneau was the shyest. She didn't hesitate to play or snuggle with the others, but she just wasn't as outgoing as Adelaide or Mojave. That's okay, though, because everyone gets their time for snuggles in our house, especially if they're a bit quieter than the other kittens.

Juneau was definitely more independent than the others in that she would nap while the others were playing or go find somewhere else to hang out, but she also didn't like to be left alone. Like Adelaide, she would suckle when she was tired or scared. What was really cute about Juneau is that, even though she was a bit more aloof than the others, she still definitely had a streak of kitten in her, and, just like Harlem, she would growl at her toy mice.

Mojave

And then there was Mojave. Oh, Mojave. What a funny little kitten. Besides being undeniably cute, she was so pushy that we couldn't help but to love her. She might look small and innocent, but she would loudly and defiantly tell you who's boss. She actually has the ability to meow, chirp and purr at the same time, which is absolutely hysterical.

Mojave was incredibly affectionate and would crawl all over my lap for attention while I was trying to work. She would put her paws on my chest and nudge my chin. Every once in awhile I would scoop her up like a baby and just cradle her against me, and she'd fall right to sleep.

And that's it ... our five little girls who made up Itty Bitty Kitty Committee #4. It's hard to believe they're old enough to be spayed and adopted out already. *sigh*

Twenty Feet and Too Many Toes to Count ~
Jo

Jo Travels the World

Hello World ~

I'm still alive. I know, hard to believe, but I've been busy tripping around the globe. It's not a good excuse, but when you consider that I've been pushing two blog posts a week live over at Kaleidoscopic Wandering and am still juggling a ton of writing assignments, maybe you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

If that doesn't work, I still have some chocolate in my refrigerator from Switzerland.

So where have I been?

I should back up briefly to our pre-Arizona road trip, when I made my first trip to New York City for a travel blogging conference. The conference was decent - I picked up a few good tips and met a lot of people that I've only ever corresponded with through social media and email. I even won a trip to Curacao (which Cory and I are going to take advantage of over the Thanksgiving holidays)!

But one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip was actually exploring the city a bit. I'm not going to mince words: New York City is overwhelming. But it was fascinating and interesting, and relatively self-explanatory to get around once I figured out how the commuter trains worked. I went to the top of Rockefeller Center, explored Times Square at night, ate some wicked food, stayed in a hotel that was designed after a ship and caught up with a friend of mine from Burning Man who lives in Brooklyn.

A few pictures from my trip to New York City:



(Seriously, what's with all these people? Yeesh.)

Home from NYC, Cory and I hit the road for northern Arizona, which he wrote about a few months back. Within days of getting home from our road trip, I was boarding a plane for Jamaica.

My trip to Jamaica was a blogging trip, and it was comped by the Jamaican Tourism Board. I stayed at the lovely Secrets Wild Orchid property in Montego Bay, Jamaica, which is adults-only and all-inclusive, so I could enjoy my frothy Bob Marley drink without any kids underfoot. Yep, kind of a little piece of heaven. I spent some time on the beach and indulging in delicious meals, but we also got out and did a few things on the island as well.

Anyone who goes to Jamaica has to check out Dunn's River Falls, a series of several waterfalls that people can walk up. So. Much. Fun.

Another one of the highlights of the trip to Jamaica was the opportunity to go dog sledding. Sounds weird, doesn't it? Remember, though, that this is the country that had a surprise bobsled team in the Olympics. Although the actual dog sledding part was a lot of fun, the part of the visit to the tour company that I most enjoyed was learning that the dogs trained to be on the dog sledding team are actually rescues from the local pound. How fantastic is that?

Here are a few of my money shots from Jamaica:





Shortly after arriving home from Jamaica, my sister flew into Las Vegas, and Cory, she and I drove to San Diego for a long weekend. Rebecca was there for a conference, but she still had lots of time to enjoy some of the city. Cory and I took full advantage of our time in San Diego. We hung out on the boardwalk, saw dolphins swimming off of the coast, visited Hotel del Coronado, explored Balboa Park and stopped at Cabrillo National Monument on the coast. Again, we indulged in tons of delicious food (especially one night, when we splurged at an awesome Indian restaurant).

We stayed downtown in the Gaslamp District, which was equivalent to party central every single night. The owners of the William Penn Hotel were gracious enough to grant me a comped stay at their hotel, which was right in the middle of the Gaslamp District, which meant that we were within easy walking distance to restaurants, clubs, shops and even the convention hall where Rebecca's conference was.

Good times.

A few photos to commemorate our time in San Diego:






We'd just dropped Rebecca off at the airport when I hopped on an airplane myself, this time for St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands as part of the #BloggersParadise that is sponsored by Marriott Resorts. There were nine bloggers spread out over the Caribbean, and I got to go to USVI. For this trip I stayed at Frenchman's Reef and Morning Star, which was a nice but unpretentious hotel that was out on a peninsula of sorts on St. Thomas, so it was surrounded on three sides by water.

The highlight of that trip was a day trip I spent on St. John, which can be reached by a 15-minute boat ride. Rebecca and I did this when we were in the Virgin Islands for our cruise earlier this year. This time, though, we had the whole day, so I got to see more of the island and go snorkeling at a beautiful beach (where I received my worst sunburn of the summer ... I still have the lines to prove it). I love Virgin Islands National Park. If you ever have a chance to check it out, do it!

Some pictures from my trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands:




As was the routine of my summer, I got home from the Virgin Islands and barely had time to say hello to Cory and the animals before I hopped on a flight to Vietnam. This is the trip that I won way back in January through a travel writing contest. It was a 2-week, almost all-expenses paid, luxury tour just for me, so I wasn't there for work per se, but I did pick up some great article ideas anyway.

I started my two weeks in Hanoi, where I stayed in the backpacker district for one night before moving to a hotel on the other side of the lake. My immediate impressions were regarding the incredible amount of traffic and the lack of English that people spoke. But I felt safe walking around the city and checking out the temples. It's an extremely cheap country to visit, which makes it easy to travel in.

From there, I went to Halong Bay, where I spent two nights on a junk and got to go sea kayaking. We had a bit of rain, but it didn't spoil the fun. After that, I went back to Hanoi and caught a flight to Nha Trang, which is the water sports and backpacker capital of Vietnam. I booked a tour to go snorkeling one day (which was actually a bit chilly, so I'm glad I had a wet suit), but if I were to go back, I would skip Nha Trang and spend a few days hiking in Sa Pa, located in the northern part of the country on the border of China instead.

After Nha Trang, I made my way to Hoi An, which, for me, was the highlight of my trip. Hoi An was a lot smaller - only about half a dozen streets - so it felt a lot more manageable. Hoi An is known as both the food and clothing capital of Vietnam, so I took a cooking class and had some clothes made! Seriously, though, the food in Hoi An is to die for! I think I could live on the spring rolls and white roses in this city. Definitely on the list of places to revisit.

My final stop in Vietnam was Ho Chi Minh City, which was like Hanoi on steroids. The traffic was INSANE! But I did visit a fun market where I bought Vietnamese candy to share with my neighbors. I also spent some time at the War Remnants Museum, which was truly eye opening. On my last day in Vietnam, I took a day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels, which is where people lived underground during the Vietnam/American War. I even got to squeeze through one myself, which was sort of terrifying.

I took more than a thousand photos in Vietnam, so choosing just a few to post is hard, but here they are anyway:






Once again, I made it home from Vietnam, just to turn around and head for Switzerland for a press trip sponsored by the Switzerland Tourism Board. As much as I've enjoyed every trip I've taken to Europe (which isn't very many), I find it to be incredibly expensive, so it was pretty nice to enjoy Switzerland for a week without having to foot the bill. Two quick observations about Switzerland: It is exceptionally clean and people really care about their country.

We spent our time in two distinct parts of the country: Appenzell and the Lake Geneva region.

Appenzell was absolutely fantastic. It really is the stereotypical Switzerland that people talk about, with men in leiderhosen and cows with large brass bells. I borrowed a bike from the hotel early one morning and rode through the hills around the Alps, and it was absolutely still and stunning, except for the hollow ring of cowbells in the distance.

In Appenzell, I got to do a lot of local, traditional stuff. I learned how to yodel and made a Swiss pastry called bieber. I also learned about leather craft and did some hiking. Truly a beautiful part of the country. I would go back in a heartbeat.

To get to Lake Geneva, we had to take the Swiss Rail System, which is super efficient and an awesome way to travel. I can't wait to go back and take advantage of it again.

The areas we visited near Lake Geneva were busier and more built up but had that old-world-meets-modernity feel. We drank a lot of wine and ate a lot of cheese. I gained four pounds in one week. No joke.

The thing I liked best about this part of the trip was the afternoon that I spent at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, where I got to check out Olympic memorabilia, touch an Olympic medal and learn more about the history and culture of the Olympics. I spent hours at the museum ... it was absolutely fascinating.

Again, I took a ton of pictures, but here are a few of my favorites:







And so now I'm home and have been for the past month or so. I'm starting to get a bit of the travel itch again, but I'm keeping it in check. I know that our trip to Curacao really isn't that far away, so it helps to see that on the otherwise blank calendar.

Around the world and back again ~
Jo

Itty Bitty Kitty Committee part 3

Our third set of kittens was only with us for two weeks. These little ones needed to get acclimated to living in a house and needed to fatten up so they made the weight required before they could be fixed.

These three came to us already named.

Adam was the biggest of the three and the bully of the group. We really had to watch him when it was feeding time because he would push the other two away from the food dish. Any other time he was a purr machine. You could just look at him and he would purr. He also squeaked when he ran. It was like throwing a squeaky toy down a hall… squeak…squeak…squeak.

Keenan was the smallest of the three. He too was a purr machine. He spent a lot of time on JoAnna’s lap helping her work. He was also the most vocal. He would walk up and squeak at me or Jo for no reason. He also slept on Bianca's bed right next to her.

Isabella (Izzy) was our shy little girl. She only came out for petting if she was jealous of the attention the boys were receiving. Izzy was a unique little girl in that she had extra toes on each foot. There were a few times when she actually got her toes caught on each other and ended up hopping around until one of us fixed it for her.

All three were cute in their own way and we definitely would have like to have them a bit longer but we did fatten them up and get them ready for new homes.

More toes = more love.

-Cory

AZ Road Trip Part 3: Flagstaff

In between visiting the Hubbell Trading Post and Petrified Forest National Park Jo and I took a day and went to the Flagstaff area. We first headed to Walnut Canyon National Monument.

This monument only has two hiking trails and visitors are only allowed in a very small portion of the park. Most of the park is preserved for its archeological significance. The Parks Service was restoring one of the trails so we packed up and took the single trail that was open. It was very interesting. We were able to weave in and out of the cave dwellings that are the main draw for the park. It was a very nice walk and a very pretty park.

After Walnut Canyon we drove up to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Sunset Crater was easily one of my favorite parks we visited. It was simple and well designed. There were a few hiking trails, both with great views of the Flagstaff area as well as the Crater. When we started the longer of the two hikes it began to rain. I ran back to the car and grabbed our rain jackets and we enjoyed a very nice hike in the rain. I think the best part of that hike was the fact the trail was empty of people except this small family. Both mom and dad were finding and sharing the great parts of hiking, even in the rain, with their boys. It was inspiring to see a pair of parents sharing the Parks with their kids in an appropriate way.

Sunset Crater loops up to Wupatki National Monument, one of the biggest archeological sites we had the chance to visit during the trip. It was very cool, but by this time we were a bit tired of ruins. We took the self guided tour and took some photos but I think we were both glad to be back in the car and headed to Flagstaff.

In Flagstaff we took some time to walk around the downtown/University area and peek in to the little shops. We had a lovely dinner at a nice little restaurant and followed that with a very tasty latte. We were both impressed with Flagstaff and we look forward to exploring it a bit more in December when we will be spending time with Jo’s family in Sedona.

Peas!

Cory

AZ part two!

Jo and I decided to leave Canyon De Chelly a few hours earlier than we originally planned and hit the road so we could get to Holbrook, AZ a bit sooner and get a hot shower at the KOA that was to be our home base for the next few days.

Fortunately, we stopped off at Hubbel Trading Post National Historic Site.

The Trading Post almost defies description. It is a large complex that includes stables, a store, an art gallery and the Hubbel Home. The store is still an active trading post selling various goods. I bought a Navajo cake, a sort of chocolate/corn/raisin tamale snack, and ate it as we walked the grounds. We also took the park service’s tour of the house. John Lorenzo Hubbel and his family lived in the home while they ran the trading post. The home is a glimpse into life at the post and the relationship Hubble had with the local Navajo people as well as a gallery for the art he collected. It was an amazing stop and well worth going out of the way to visit.

We continued on to Petrified Forest National Park to pick up our map and then to Holbrook to set up camp. We took our highly anticipated hot showers and then collected a free piece of petrified wood (not collected in the park… we triple checked) from one of the local dealers and headed 20 miles west to Winslow, AZ. Yes, that Winslow, AZ.

Winslow sits right on Route 66 and the sleepy little town is trying to make the most of its historic location and a single line in The Eagles song “Take it Easy.” There is a Standing on a Corner Park with Route 66 stores on adjacent corners to the park. We, of course, had to stand on the corner and call our respective parents. We then sampled Route 66 sodas and headed back to Holbrook for dinner.

Our last day in AZ was spent at Petrified Forest National Park. We did every single hike available and enjoyed most of them. The highlight for us both was when a ranger explained that we could actually go down in to the desert via a path behind the Painted Desert Inn and Museum. It was nice because the park was busy and this got us away from the masses and gave us a much better glimpse of the park. Many of the hikes were paved and weaved in and out of the piles of petrified wood.

I think the hardest part was watching inconsiderate people trample off the trails to see pieces of wood. Jo and I had a long conversation about why we, as Americans, seem to think that ignoring the posted signs and requests to stay on the path and trundle off where ever we want is seen as our right? I love the parks, and I think they are amazingly important, but it really bothers me to see people treating them as something that are rightfully theirs and not as the gift they are. We tend to forget that the United States is fortunate that our government and a few private citizens were smart enough to preserve some of our natural beauty. Very few European countries have National Parks because they did not have the foresight to care for the land a bit better. So how about we appreciate what we have and not let our kids trample down the hill instead of taking the trail…OK… I feel better, mostly.

We also spent a day exploring the Flagstaff area – which will get a separate post after this, so stay tuned!

Standing on a Soapbox In Las Vegas, Nevada,

Cory