Countdown to India!

Only 3 more sleeps until I fly to Frankfurt and onward to Kolkata!  This trip has been in the wings for a while, and it's hard to believe I'll actually be leaving on Thursday.  My gear is strewn about in my yoga/office room and I've been going through my little piles trying to decide "to take or not to take?"  I want to travel lightly and my last trip was anything but light!  Tent, sleeping bag, rubberboots, cold weather gear, camping gear, cameras, etc.  So this time I'm really trying to pare down.  No, I won't be able to be prepared for ever eventuality, so why try?

I'm meeting up with friends of my brother in Kolkata: three musicians studying indian classical music on western instruments.  They've been gracious enough to let me crash with them as I get oriented and I will be thankful to have some familiar 'unfamiliar' faces (as I've never met them before) to greet me when I get there.
From Kolkata, my plans are pretty open.  I'd like to see Varanasi and the Ganges and then I'd like to head up to Darjeeling to drink some tea and do some hiking.  But other than that, I will see where the wind takes me.

I'm hoping to be able to update this blog semi-regularly, so check back to see what kind of adventures I've been getting into.
Namaste!

Getting outside...

Wow!  It has been a while since I've updated this blog.  But here I am once more. 218 days since my resolution was made and I have been surprised at how easy it has become to get outside.  Alas though, I must confess...Days 211 and 212 were the first time that I did not make my 30 minutes outside.  And no, it was not because of the -39.3 degree morning (without windchill), nor was it a lack of time.  I got ousted by a yucky 24-hour bug that had me shivering in bed with a fever, preventing me from enjoying my precious time in the winter wonderland that is Bow Valley Provincial Park.  By the end of Day 212, I think I had some kind of cabin fever and even just getting outside and into my car to drive to town was exciting.  On Day 213, even with a windchill of -30, I bundled up and finally got in a walk in the park!  Oh to breath the fresh air, to feel the whip of the wind on my cheeks and to have that glorious tingle all over when I got back inside...

I'm realizing more and more just how grounding it is when I am able to spend that mindful time outside.  I am thankful to be healthy once again!