Category: Travel (Page 9 of 14)

The Rally to Restore Sanity in Washington D.C. with Jon Stewart

November 2, 2010 / Katie L. Carroll

Today I exercised the nineteenth amendment and voted. I think it’s important to vote every chance we get because not everyone has that opportunity, and I’m always disappointed at the low voter turnout (seriously, our 40 year high in 2008 was 61.6 percent…what was the remaining 38.4 percent doing that day that was so much more important than voting?).

I think the perception of apathy in the nation (and in particular, in those my own generation) was what compelled me to exercise my first amendment rights and join the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear this past weekend. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one because about 215,000 other sanity/fear-seeking people attended.

If I had to pick one word to describe the rally: crowded. Above is a small portion of the line to get tickets for the metro. The hubby, the bro, and I waited over an hour and a half to get our tickets and then we had to wait on the platform until we could find a car with enough room to literally squeeze onto the train (note to self: next time buy tickets in advance!).

(Here’s my view on the train. I particularly enjoyed the pithy advertisements for deodorant, which included a handy odor-meter.)

Once we finally made it to rally (fashionably late), the crowds just got denser. There were lots of fun signs; people off all shapes, colors, sizes, and beliefs (I picked up some interesting Communist literature); and yes, there was the occasional waft of pot.

My favorite sign of the day was a campaign ad for Palin/Voldemort 2012. I’m of the short variety so I mostly heard the rally and didn’t so much see it. I did see a black guy selling t-shirts that had a picture of George W. Bush on them and said “I SCREWED YOU ALL…BUT THANKS FOR BLAMING THE BLACK GUY.”

Yes, it was crowded and overwhelming at times, and the truth is, I wasn’t really sure why I went. I originally thought it was to have an experience and to observe (which is what I do), and I carried no real expectations at the start. But deep down, going to the rally was more than that; I just wasn’t sure what.

Even Jon Stewart, when he took a step back from the jokes and had a moment of sincerity, admitted, “I’m really glad you’re here, even if none of us are really quite sure why we are here.”

As Jon Stewart spoke his mind, my own mind became clearer. He said, “This was not a rally to ridicule people of faith or people of activism or to look down our noses at the Heartland or passionate argument or to suggest that times are not difficult and we have nothing to fear. They are and we do. But we live now in hard times, not end times.”

Regarding the media and the 24-hours news channels, he said, “If we amplify everything, we hear nothing…the inability to distinguish terrorists from Muslims makes us less safe, not more. The press is our immune system. If it overreacts to everything, we get sicker.”

And then he ended on a positive note (oddly enough, just as most YA novels do), “We know instinctively as a people that if we are to get through the darkness and back into the light, we have to work together. And the truth is, there will always be darkness. And sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t the Promise Land; sometimes it’s just New Jersey.”

And I think that summed up my whole compulsion to attend: a chance to work together with others, no matter what their beliefs, to see through the darkness to the light at the end of the tunnel.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c

Indecision 2010 – Republicans Can Go to the Back of the Car

http://www.thedailyshow.com/

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Rally to Restore Sanity

After the rally, we had a rowdy and fun dinner with my two aunts and cousins (when we finally found them in the crowd…note to self: 200,000 cell phones in a small area will compete for service and none of them will work). It’s weird how sometimes it takes over 300 miles of travel to spend some quality time with the people you love. And then the hubby, the bro, and I were ‘on the way’ home.

Check out the rally’s live feed for more coverage of what I saw (or more accurately, heard).

An Anniversary Trip Down Memory Lane

October 22, 2010 / Katie L. Carroll

The hubby and I had our five-year anniversary this past weekend. To celebrate we went to dinner at the restaurant where we got married (it was the first time we had been there since we found out it was haunted), spent the night in a hotel, and got massages.

When it comes to massages, I find that sounds have a big impact on the overall experience. Hands down the best massage I ever had was in Tahiti. If you’ve never been to French Polynesia (and really, you should make a point of going there at least once in your life…trust me, it’s worth the insanely long travel time), basically everything good thing you can imagine about a tropical paradise, that’s Tahiti.

It was pouring the day we got our massages. The rain was relentless, and even though we got soaked walking to the massage place, the weather created the perfect atmosphere. The massage hut is kind of an outdoor/indoor building (like most of the structures in French Polynesia). So there are doors and a roof, but instead of regular floors, it has raised walkways and below is dirt and flowers, and, well, nature. Not all of the rooms have walls, and the ones that do often have walls that end halfway up. No rain gets in, though, because the thatched roof hangs far enough over the edge to keep the water away.

(This is what the island of Moorea looks like in the rain.)

The ladies gave us our pareos, which are basically small sheets that can be worn in a million different ways by both guys and ladies. Then we drank little shot glasses full of some kind of wheat grass drink, which tasted terrible, but is supposedly really good for you. Then the massage ladies brought us to our room.

My masseuse got started right on my feet, which were freezing from walking in the rain with sandals. As I got rubbed down with special Polynesian oil, the only sounds were the pattering of rain and the occasional rumble of thunder.

In addition to the ever-important sounds, was the awesome smell of of island. French Polynesia smells like flowers, but not sticky, sweet, perfumy flowers (I can’t stand that); it has a subtle scent that permeates the island and becomes a part of what Tahiti is. For me, there’s no other place that I so closely identify with by smell. The whole experience of my Polynesian massage was just incredible.

The strangest (I won’t say worst because things are never bad when your getting a massage) one I ever had was by a guy who either had a cold or was a mouth-breather. The only time I didn’t notice his heavy panting was when this really bizarre music started. Most massage places have that relaxing, new-age music, but the song that came on was what could only be described as creepy clown music. I kept imagining I was at a demented circus and scary clowns were stalking me (and I don’t even have a fear of clowns).

And wouldn’t you know, my massage this weekend started off with odd music. It was one of those nature tracks, which is usually fine, but these ducks kept quacking during it. I wanted to laugh along with the ducks every time I heard one cackle “quack, quack, quack.”

Towards the end of the massage, the music turned scary. The best word I could find to describe it was diminuendo because it was like a soundtrack to someone falling down the stairs. Only in my imagination, the person was pushed down the stairs and the evil guy (maybe one of those demented clowns) who did it stood at the top, maniacally laughing. And this scene played over and over again in slow motion until the music changed and I remembered I was supposed to be relaxing and not letting my imagination run away with me.

Name Dropping at the SCBWI L.A. Conference 2010

August 21, 2010 / Katie L. Carroll

I’ve been jet setting around the country the last few weeks! I just got back from quiet, relaxing Vermont last night, but when I last left you, I was headed for the SCBWI L.A. conference, which was the complete opposite of quiet and relaxed. This year was bigger and better than ever for me. And this post is all about name-dropping.

(I finally got to see the Hollywood sign!)

I had lots of on-line friends to meet up with this year, which made the whole experience much less intimidating this time around. I was super excited to have dinner plans for Friday night with none other than kidlit-discussion-board guru Verla Kay, her best friend and author Linda Joy Singleton, and other awesome blueboarders. Go me! (Sorry, one of my guilty-pleasure cheerleading movies is on right now! Gold star to the first person who comments with the right movie.)

Some of my favorite moments were busting a move to “Baby Got Back” (among other great dance songs) with my new friends, including my roomie and YA author Julia Karr (whose book XVI comes out in January), listening to mad-scientist of an author M.T. Anderson talk about his writing process, having a great conversation with Newbery winner Susan Patron, and well basically the whole conference (except for the mandatory conference mental break-down on Saturday afternoon…thanks to the hubby for talking me down).

(Here’s a few more famous “literary” figures I crossed paths with while in L.A.)

Coming up next: conference nuggets from the likes of Gail Caron Levine, Rachel Vail, and Gennifer Choldenko.

Prepping for the SCBWI L.A. Conference 2010 With a Picture Post

July 27, 2010 / Katie L. Carroll

I’ll be an honorary California girl this weekend when I head off to the SCBWI 39th Annual Summer Conference in L.A. In case you forgot, I attended this conference a few years ago (yup, that’s four links to conference posts…it was that full of inspirational information).

I’ve been busy reading books written by the faculty and doing ‘homework’ for my intensive session with Senior Editor at Delacorte Press Krista Marino. (I was avoiding watching 17 Again, but it really wasn’t bad.) I’m looking forward to adding to my collection of signed books and maybe even getting some signed books for other people.

Here’s my current collection of signed books. Aren’t they pretty? I may have to take over a second bookshelf after this weekend! Here’s a few more pretty pictures to keep you busy while I’m gone.

My pretty (and delicious) cannoli cake from Emerald’s Bakery.

These were taken last summer at the Bridge of Flower s (luckily, the actual bridge isn’t made of flowers because that would be a pretty crappy bridge) in Shelburne Falls, Massachussetts.

And this one is from June of last year from just after a tornado watch expired.

People As Characters: The Don

May 31, 2010 / Katie L. Carroll

This is the first installment of my People As Characters series.

The hubby and I met Christina and Don on a recent vacation in St. Lucia. I guessed Don to be in his sixties. He has a big belly, a loud, friendly voice, and graying hair, which he covered with a baseball hat that had some sort of presidential seal on it. He claimed that it had been given to him by President Bill Clinton. Christina appeared to be a bit younger. She’s Portuguese and her soft, musical voice has a noticeable accent. They’ve been together for 10 years.

The hubby and I were on an open-air jeep/catamaran tour of the island with Don and Christina. Unfortunately for them, they had spent the first day of their vacation out in the sweltering St. Lucian sun…we’re talking a mere 13 degrees north of the equator. Not only did they not wear sunblock, but they lathered themselves up with oil. Apparently they have an old-school view of proper sun exposure. Needless to say, they resembled a pair of lobsters.

Christina spent most of the day shrouded in light-weight shawls and a giant hat, shrinking away from the sun and rolling her eyes at Don. Don spent most of the day talking. He was good at pointing out the obvious, telling stories and jokes that nobody really wanted to hear, and spending his money (which no one on the island wanted to take because who has change for a $100 bill when you buy only a pack of gum and some suntan lotion).

I got the feeling they spend a lot of money on vacations because they were staying at an nice, but overpriced resort, most of Don’s clothing was from a previous vacation destination (his sandals had the word “Hawaii” printed on them), and they bought everything from tropical trip essentials (like suntan lotion and shawls) to cheesy souvenirs while on the tour.

At one point, Don’s special presidential hat went flying off his head and into the street (luckily it didn’t fly off the side of the jeep and down the giant cliff that bordered the side of the road). Thomas, our good-natured guide, yelled to the driver to stop, jumped off the back of the jeep, and retrieved the hat…I hope Don used some of the change from his $100 bills (if he had any left by the end of the day) to give Thomas a good tip.

Despite Don’s bad sunburn, he seemed up for anything. He was one of only a few people who actually stood under the big waterfall at one of the stops and he bought a giant conch shell and learned how to blow into it to make a loud horn sound.

Don works for a juice concentrate company, but he loves fresh-squeezed juice. I’m not sure what Christina does, but she has an apartment in Manhattan. Don has a house in New Jersey, where he grew up. Neither was willing to give up his/her residence since they’ve been together, so they kept both and share time between the two residences (like some sort of split-custody living arrangement).

Don and Christina were really fun to observe because they were just so full of personality.