Over the years it has become alarming the increase in my anxiety, especially when traveling by car. A month before our trip to India, I went to a few hypnotherapist sessions in hopes of decreasing the amount of my daily anxiety. To my amazement, the sessions helped with more than just the car stress. After five sessions, I was able to recognize the onset of the anxiety before it became so overwhelming that I shut down. What saved me was…
Our first Christmas celebration away from family was quite memorable having temperatures in the 90s and being in a foreign land that is primarily Hindu. We found the further south in India the more common Christianity. In Hyderabad, where we spent Christmas, is mostly Hindu and Muslim. We were surprised to find street vendors selling white rubber Santa Claus masks with a full on white beard. We still regret not buying one. We started our Christmas Eve exploring the Qutb…
If we could survive India together, we knew we could handle traveling the world. The idea was planted when our dear friend, Anand, broke the news he was leaving the US and moving back to India for his family. Anand offered an invitation and in true Woods fashion we took advantage of the opportunity booking flights a few months later. We wanted to experience life in India and planned for a solid month visit leaving December 20, 2013 and returning January 20, 2014. We had…
We quickly discovered and fell in love with Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument. It is unique in that it is the first monument to be administered by the Bureau of Land Management, BLM. The land is loaded with multicolored cliffs, plateaus, mesas, buttes, pinnacles and canyons. The area is massive spanning 1.7 million acres. The best part, dogs are allowed on the trails unlike National Park where it is prohibited. The campgrounds on the BLM land are well maintained…
We had the joy of spending a total of a 2 weeks span on, separate occasions, exploring the mysterious desert and canyons of beautiful Utah. As soon as we crossed the border from Colorado to Utah on the windy roads of hwy 128 my heart skipped a beat. I always had a feeling I would love Utah but nothing could have prepared me for those enormous and spectacular red rock walls at every turn. Once in Moab, we made the…
A month after arriving in Arizona we left our warm sunshine and flew to the land of ice and snow in Minneapolis. Mike had the brilliant idea to organize the Mazda dealership pick us up from the airport. As we walked into the dealership, heads turned staring as we each carried our 60 liter packs and sans winter coats on one of the coldest days of the year. Our purpose was to acquire a car and to be reunited with…
It’s been a few days since we arrived in Minneapolis. I am counting the days before we leave for warmer weather. We were born and raised in the midwest which unfortunately is not helping us cope with todays -16 °F temperature. It’s only been four days, but I cannot remember ever feeling this cold for this long. Getting out of the house is a commitment that requires planning. Walking and driving to the shop is like being on a frozen…
Midway through our Bali adventure our health went from bad to better to worse over a three week period. It started with me having what we thought was a basic cold consisting of severe morning headaches, cough, sore throat and fatigue. A week after I started feeling better Mike became the next victim. His cold took him out for days, he was laid up in bed too weak to do anything but sleep. Mike was my ride driving the scooter…