Italy, Switzerland and France -

6-24th July 2007

Arriving for a visit just weeks before Ali leaves for India, Arvind was brilliant at answering all our questions about Trichy, where Ali will be teaching this summer, and about Indian life and philosophy. He cooked a fantastic aubergine curry for us with homemade chipatis (with flour all over the kitchen!) and he and Nick stayed up late discussing academia, climate change and generally sharing stories. Billy and I only got to spend a day with Arvind before our channel tunnel departure to drive to the Italian Dolomites.

Why the socks? Well, Billy still has not let me drive the relatively new campervan... I'm a bit of a menace parking. So I had a good bit of free time on the French motorways, and finally finished these socks that I started with my Mom in Seattle three years ago! But they were cosy and appreciated at night before climbing up to into bed.

We made our way through France, first camping "wild" (not in a commercial campsite) beside this lighthouse at Cap Gris Nez and then at a campsite next to a lake, Lac de Marcenay, south of Troyes. I really enjoyed the run along the coastal path the first day and then an early jog around the lake on the second - but the shower afterwards was icy!

We took a detour to see stunning Lake Garda, but we were way too scruffy to fit in with the designer set. The first night in Italy, Billy was successful in broken French/Italian (with hand signals) to convince the hotel owner where we had dinner to let us stay the night in their car park after a walk up to a mountain lake.

The Italian Dolomites are spectacular, and we were able to take a gondola up 500m to start our first walk from Possa de Fasse ...cheating, I know, but breathtaking. After a long descent into the valley, we stopped at a tiny cafe and Billy made the mistake of having a nice cool huge beer, which he regretted in the 200m climb back up to the gondola.

After a day exploring the mountain passes, (with lunatics driving racing motorcycles!) we moved on to Campitello, and feeling a bit sheepish about taking the cable-car down on the previous walk, we decided to walk the whole way down. The descent along the mountain ridge was beautiful but clomping down the last of the 13 miles on a hot road in heavy boots was exhausting! Looking for more level terrain, the next day we started from the top of the Valparola pass and walked around the dramatic Settsas platform with 400m-thick Triassic carbonate sediments which were identified by Baron Von Richthofen as a reef in 1860, but I didn't find any coral or fossil evidence. And as we baked in the brutal heat of the day in this desert-like environment, I gave up looking. Nelly was miserable without any streams to drink from and I felt sorry for her carrying around a fur coat in the sweltering heat!

We hid in the shade in the heat of the day the next day, and Nelly even overheated when I took her for a run along the river at 8am. Later that afternoon Nick called to say that Ali's bag with her passport, money, mobile phone, and Billy's camera had been stolen in Serbia. We wired money to Nick to send her and tried to stay within mobile phone range so we could find out if she could get a replacement passport in time to make her flight home. Tired of the heat, we decided to head for Switzerland and higher elevations.

Driving through Liechtenstein we made a lucky back-roads detour around a nasty accident that could have meant a day in a traffic jam, and arrived late into a delightfully shady campsite in Lauterbrunnen where a awesome thunderstorm with hail cleared the air that night.

Walking down from Murren to the campsite the next day was beautiful, past swiss chalets with tidy gardens and woodpiles, waterfalls and cascades in the river- it was cool, green and peaceful.

Every town had fantastic watch shops so Billy shopped for watch to replace the one he lost (how lucky is that that?) and then we moved on to explore Grindlewald with a spectacular backdrop of the Eiger and other peaks. Expensive place - the cablecar up and the bus ride back 20k to town fom the end of our walk was 100 swiss francs (£20 or $40!). After more time in internet cafes talking to Nick and wiring more money home, we found a beautiful campsite overlooking the valley and perfect sauerbraten at the Hotel Aspen that night.

Making our way back to the English Channel was a bit of a chore - with a long drive and a busy municipal campsite in Chalons-en-Champagne, but it was fine compared with the horrible place we ended up in the next night in Rang du Fliers. The campsite we were assigned looked perfect on the little artist's rendition map they handed out at the office, but once we got inside we discovered how tight all the campsites were, and every one was full of what I can only describe as "white trash", with unsupervised kids and scary packs of teenagers prowling about. We tried to convince ourselves it would be OK for a night but when we discovered at 11pm that they had to keep two security guards on duty at the toilet block to break up fights and stop abuse we decided to make a run for it.... but they wouldn't open the gates! Finally Billy found a manager who would let us out. Sleeping in the car park of a nearby grocery store felt so much better!

We booked into a hotel in Wimereux the next night for the village fete des moules (Mussel festival and parade!) and enjoyed the fluffy towels and restaurant - a huge luxury after the nasty feeling of that campsite. After seeing the local vet for Nelly's pet passport, we explored the huge deserted beach at the Bay d'Authie and visited a WWII museum to wait out the rain. Scouting wild camping locations along the coast, we finally we found a perfect, isolated trailhead at Le Bois d'Harringzelles near Audingham and enjoyed a glorious walk on the beach the next day before heading home - and Ali had made it home, too! (Just in time to leave for India).

Mostly naked raku pots

We leave on Saturday for a three weeks holiday, driving through France in the camperan to the Italian Dolomites with Nelly to walk in the mountains. I'm taking my running shoes!

Last weekend Billy had set up a backdrop to do some macro photos and I convinced him to take photos of some of the pots I've made. I keep meaning to do it before I ship them out as gifts.

Some of the raku pots I won't give away, like the pumpkin pot (above) that won the craft show at work. They don't get many potters, so I was in the category with jam and dolls. How can they possibly judge a pot versus jam? But but to my suprise, I won the whole show and there were some really nice paintings and photos. Won a £10 book token and a rosette like a prize cow.

And here's the raku pot that Nick decorated - its pretty cool. I carved the geologic time scale in this stoneware bowl with cobalt slip for Nick.

I'm quite pleased with my very first teapot that I'm sending to Jewell for her birthday. The shape is perfect, I think, but it is pretty heavy stoneware, but it doesn't drip! And the little jar that Ali made (and I made a lid for) is the only thing she's ever thrown on the wheel.

These are both quite large t-material raku pots. The naked one one left has a lovely reddish stain from mahogany sawdust smoke.


These are little pencil jars out of porcelain that surived the thermal shock of raku.

I have to admit that I have not done much pottery since we got the campervan. I need to get back to it again this summer when it is warm to raku fire outside!

Cheddar Gorge, Sommerset 15-16 June 2007

Despite the dire weather prediction, we decided to head out to see the Mendips. We stayed the first night at a campground off the M5 that was nicely deserted, but as the background noise died down at night, we figured out why... the road noise was unbearable. Sleeping with the ipod on was the only recourse.

The next day we did a 10 mile walk looping around Cheddar Gorge. We managed to miss most of the rain sheltered under trees, but an ice cream/beer stop at the end was perfectly timed to poke around in the touristy shops in town while it rained. Scouting sites to camp wild up the canyon we chanced on a National Trust dead end property- perfect- rolling hills and quiet with only a few dog walkers for company.

I think this is the area where the Mendip Muddle is run in October, but the club website does not give a map. So the second day of the trip we tried to scout where Nick and I will run the World Wide Half - even if we don't know exactly where we will run. I assume it will be somewhere along the Mendip Way walking path? The last night we found a great place to stay - it felt like we had a secluded site on a golf course.

We'll come back here with Nick. Then we walked on the beach south of Weston-Sur- Mare before trying to have lunch with Ali for Father's day. A bit of a fiasco. We got to her place at 10am as planned, but no one answered the door. Finally Billy climbed in the window and spoke with one of her roommates who said she did not come home! Finally we located her and had lunch but she looked worse for wear after the Bristol end of year ball the night before... ah foolish youth - to plan to meet your parents the morning after a planned big night out!

Running with Cherie

Wednesdays at 1:30 Cherie and try to meet and run around Battersea Park, but as often as not I get buried at work and have to call up at the last minute to catch her and send her on her way alone... but today we arranged for a Friday run, which is much better because so many people are out on Fridays that the brushfires are less likely.

She's switching job contracts next month and I do hope her next one will still be in SW London so we can still meet up. She's a much better conversationalist than Nelly!

OK, I should have an action shot... but we would have just been a blur! (Too much stuff strapped to my belt to run too fast)

Here's a snapshot from Buckeyeoutdoor.com with my route highlighted. I've got a mile from my office until I meet her, picking my way through back streets from Whitehall down to Buckingham Palace Road. Then together we run across Chelsea Bridge, which Queen Victoria opened in 1858, and around the park. There's a running track in the park, but we've yet to have the nerve to ask if we can run on it.

As we've been running after lunchtime, we don't see as many runners as I usually see (as they pass me) in Hyde Park, and there are little passageways through the trees to explore around the fringe of the park.

The Albert Bridge on the west side of the park is spectacular baby blue and I think is the most beautiful of London's bridges. Along the river is the Japanese Peace Pagoda, a gift to London in 1985. I mean someday to stop and really look at it, but we just race by, chatting away.

Then back across the bridge and back to her office. I walk the last mile back to mine - to cool down avoiding humiliation for my tomato-red face back at my desk. Here's a snapshot of the RunningBuddy log of the Nike+ info from the run (see http://runningbuddy.info/ but remember to un-hide hidden files to run it). Better than a pizza for lunch!

June 1st 07 Trip to Norfolk

A three-day weekend challenge - how far can you get away from home without spending too much time travelling? Norfolk was a great solution. Leaving home at 9am on Friday we made it to our campground in Holt by lunchtime. Here's Billy geared up for a walk, with the ipod and headphones, gps and camera. OK, so I'm just as bad with ipod, blackberry and camera, but I lack the nifty pockets and hide my stuff in my backback .

We ate our sandwiches in the campground and started a circular walk but I pulled a muscle in my leg climbing down a sandy slope, and it really bothered me on the second half of the 10 miles we walked. Back in the campervan that night, I crashed by 8pm, but fortunately woke the next day feeling fine.

Saturday we headed up to Holkham Bay and tried to find a place to camp away from the heaving crowds at Wells-next-to-the-sea. Finally, we spotted a little field with a few tents on a back road and Billy managed to convince the grumpy owner to let us stay. We planned a long circular walk around the Holkham Estate, looping out to the sea and back. One of those days where you're always packing and un-packing, pulling the jumper back on away from shelter from the wind. But the sun was glorious and we finally emerged on to the salt marsh, where Nelly and I had a bit of a run.

Then we crossed the dunes onto the beach and encountered thick fog, a bit spooky listening to shrieking children in the distance and occasionally glimpsed horseback riders cantering along near the surf. Billy dropped his GPS and I was sure it was gone for good, but we circled back and he found it! Nelly loves to run on the beach, there is something about the sea breeze and soft sand underfoot that makes her prance about,tossing up bits of seaweed.

A fancy dinner at the Lord Nelson Pub was a treat. Back to work and commuting tomorrow!

White Peak Half Marathon 19 May 2007 Matlock






OK, I look nervous... its raining. I've dragged Billy and Nick up here to the Peak District to run this half marathon and the rain is lashing the windscreen of the campervan! The start is about a half a mile from where we parked and everyone is miserably cold. Nick and I started at the very back as everyone looked like pretty serious runners. Finally, we notice that the crowd is moving forward... I guess that's it then, we're off. Its about 2 minutes shuffling ahead until we get back to the starting line, I think.



By the time we get back to Billy and Nelly at the campervan, the sun is out and the gloom has lifted. We toss Billy our jackets and he cheers us on with Nelly pulling on the lead - she wants to run too, she's done all the training with me!


Nick is fit from climbing but hasn't run for a month because of hay fever. But he's pretty confident he can keep up with me, as he cruised easily through the last half marathon and only really gave it his best when he left me in the last few miles, and beat me by 4 minutes! But I've been running at least 3 times a week and doing long runs on the weekends up to 11 miles long. I feel like I'm ready for this one!


The race was described as "swift" and promised downhills, but we only found uphill runs and flats in the first 8 miles. Every time I got to a crest, I thought to myself, "OK, its sure to be downhill now" but there were dozens of false summits. Finally, the abandoned railway grade did steepen at High Top and we enjoyed a good long downhill which much have been a scary ride for a steam train filled with iron ore or coal! I followed the advise to lean forward and just relax and my pace picked up considerably! But then we were back into the low hills until the next roller coaster ride down to the river 800 feet below. I lost Nick racing down the hills, but I couldn't run but one speed downhill... and just hope I wouldn't fall down. That last mile stretch along the river was really tough, because my legs were used to the incline - they just felt dead. But I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and finally rounded the bend to find Billy and Nelly waiting for me before the finish line. My time was 2hr 05 min 35 sec (compared to the wining time of 1hr 11 min 38sec!) but I figure I can take off the two minutes it took me to get to the starting line - so 2hr 03 it is! A PR for me.



Nick came in a few minutes later. His thighs had really suffered in the decent as he hadn't been training. I think I'd better enjoy this win - its likely to be the only one I'll get! He's sure to be back in winning form by the Phidippidations World Wide Half in October!

Here's a short video of the race (click triange bottom left on screen below).

Field trip and family trip to the American West (21 April -4 May)

As the DTI supports Imperial College geology research into Transgressive Reservoirs, three spots on a fieldtrip were offered and I was one of the lucky winners. Despite five long days in the field and total submersion in the arcane jargon of sedimentology, it was fantastic... as if days walking through remote river-eroded canyons looking at cliff faces could ever be bad? The other corporate sponsors of the research came from New Zealand (!), Germany, Houston, California and the UK - really interesting people, all expert sedimentologists, who were patient with answering questions. Despite snow one morning, a bit of sunburn (and windburn) was the worst hardship we faced, and we managed to fit in a bit of culture as well as rocks.

We had a tour through the Pueblo Bonito ruins in Chaco Canyon, the centre of native American Indian trade and worship from 850-1200AD. Archaeologists have only theories about the use of the many kivas (round rooms) and other tiny rooms in the 5 story palace. We then moved on to examine the cliffs near Mesa Verde and wondered at the agility of the people that lived in the cliff houses perched high on ledges (wave ravinement surfaces, actually) in the sandstone.

Jet lag made early morning runs easy, so I explored the back streets of Albuquerque and Gallup, New Mexico before leaving for the field. Farmington was a bit too industrial for a run, but the last hotel in Cortez CO backed on to the mountains and I surprised a herd of elk, who joined my run for a few incredible moments. With only a few weeks before the half-marathon, I'm glad I could keep to the training schedule while travelling.

Then I flew to Pueblo Colorado to see my step-mother, Jewell and meet up with my sister Linnie, who was just out of surgery for her shoulder. We ate fantastic Mexican food with Jewell's sister, brother and his wife. Jewell put me to work in her garden, reminding me how I was neglecting the one at home! Her house is lovely and its good to see her settled in with family nearby. Jewell is working too hard as the Admin Mgr for a Charity for the Homeless, but finds helping people, particularly children, makes her feel it is worth all the stress and long hours.

Then back to Denver to meet up with Billy, his parents and niece, Lindsay. Bill and Sally bought a house near Washington Park where we met to walk, roller-blade and walk the dog... simultaneously! Curt's friend, Wendy had just returned from Washington DC where she testified at a congressional hearing on the care of cancer patients. She's a very cool lady!

We also got to see Quang Ho's Studio and he and Nancy, his wife, took us out to a trendy restaurant with fantastic wine. Bill and Sally treated me to a decadent massage and facial for my birthday - shopping, spa, lunch, more shopping - what an indulgent day!

So finally, back home for the Spring Bank Holiday and I managed a 10 mi run along the Chess Valley.

The trip was great, but its nice to be home! Nick, Ali, Tanya and I are planning a weekend in Matlock for the White Peak Half Marathon, with Billy as photographer - 19 May 2007.