Highlights & Lowlights

Its been a while since my last post. Part of the reason for this is very good indead - Ive had some great times since my last post. Part of the reason is not so good - Ive been sick. Its been the best of times, its been the worst of times. So Brace Yourself, Ive got some Tales to tell. Lets start with the Good Stuff:

Climbing Mountains:
Snowden, Wales

We were spontaniously invited along on a trip to Wales with an old friend of Vics(Neil) and his mate(Hugh). The intention was to climb Snowden - the tallest mountain in the country. Despite my concerns about fitness, it was too good of an invitation to pass up. We headed out early morning, drove a few hours through England and then entered into what appeared to my eyes as a majical kingdom. The English have a reputation for making fun of the Welsh, so my positive comments about the natural beauty may have been outweighed by sheep shagging jokes and the like - all in good fun (there are a surprising amount of sheep dotted about the scenery).
We stopped in a little town called Betws-y-Coed to buy sandwiches to eat at the peak. This town was unbelievably picturesque. The whole place looked like a post card. Lovely. Then it was off to the base of the mountain. The very beginning of the trek was a steep hard push. I was sweating, panting and even feeling a little light headed. And I wasnt even 15 minutes in! Luckily things eased off a little and I caught my breath(a little). My new best friend Neil had brought along a walking stick, which he suggested I give a try - he didnt get it back until the end of the day. The trek up was greuling, but amazing. The scenery was like nothing Ive seen before. The mountains were steep and green, but not with trees - with grass. In fact there was hardly a tree in sight. There were sheep wandering about, grazing and bleeting loudly into the wind. And purple heather dotted around. There was even a quaint little steam train that rolled though the hills carrying passengers up and down the mountain(Cheaters!)
Its a popular trek and I think we picked the most popular route up so we were far from alone. But it was an incredibly peaceful journey. Near the top, when I could barely make it 10 steps without a rest, I sat for a moment to take it all in. Well that was it...I was moved to tears! Id been in England for almost 2 weeks, but it hadnt fully set in that I had really begun a Trip Of A Lifetime. In the face of such scenery, it was impossible not to realize - I was living my dream. Fantastic!
Reaching the top was a rush and a relief. At 1064m in hight, it appeared to be the top of the world. We were blessed with mostly clear weather (its often cloudy or foggy) and could see a long, long way. Past many peaks and valleys, over little turquoise lakes, past green fields and out to the Irish sea. We sat and rested, reflected and enjoyed the view. We needed to recoup some energy for the route Down.
We took a different path down the mountain. It was the path we were initially intending to hike up, but due to what seemed like unfortunate circumstances (the parking lot was full) we changed route and took a slightly easier path up. Thank goodness for unfortunate circumstances - Im not sure my feeble little legs could have carried me up that path - they barely carried me down it. It was far rockier and and steeper, but the scenery was not surprisingly gorgeous.
Our companions would go ahead of us at times, as they were both in top physical shape. Vic stuck with me and gave constant encouragement-it was needed. Overall, I was pleased with the pace I kept - our fit friends never got too far ahead on the way up or down. But Hugh was about to show me just how unfit I truly was - or perhaps just how crazy he is. Since we finished at a different parking lot from where we started, there was a shuttle bus to catch to get our car. It was 5 miles away. Only 30 minutes to wait until the next bus. Hugh didnt want to wait, he didnt need a rest....he Ran!!! What a nutter. About a half hour later he returned with the car and off we went, stopping at a Pub for ciders as a perfect end to the day.
Snowden was the first mountain Ive climbed. It wont be the last.

Next Adventure:
The Leeds Music Festival

After a blissful nites sleep induced by our mountain climbing adventure, we were up early the next day to begin preperation for the Leeds Music Festival. Vics brother Scott was to be our companion and ride - Cheers Scott! The goal was to pack as lightly as possible, load the car, head to the grocery store for food and beer and hit the road by about noon, picking up Scotts mate Liam along the way. After packing nearly every square inch of Scotts small car with gear, we squeezed in and arrived at the festival camping grounds after just a couple hours on the road.
We arrived, as most people do, on the Thursday - the bands began on the Friday. We picked a camp spot that was almost as far from the festival grounds as you could get (about a 20 minute walk) but it was in the quieter area of things and after the first nite, I was quite glad of this - things were noisy enough where we were.
Vics friend Marianne(they used to work together)and her friend joined our tent camp and Liams girlfriend Theresa joined us the next morning. We had a nice little camp going - we faced all of our tents in toward eachother with a small space in the middle for a fire and a few chairs. It was as private as it gets when you are camping in a huge open field amongst thousands of other tents. The following 3 mornings followed a similar pattern: wake up, make tea on the camp stove, eat ceareal, baby wipe bath, Start Drinking Beer! ...then decide what bands we wanted to see throughout the day and head out to the festival grounds to Rock Out.
There were 3 stages going so it was always a bit of a challenge to pick and choose who to see and when, there were a few tough choices to make, but some bands Id never heard of and some I just didnt mind missing. The bands I saw were: Cold War Kids, Davendra Banhart, LCD Soundsystem, Nine Inch Nails, Reverend & the Makers, The Long Blondes, Gogol Bordello, Gossip, Interpol, Kings of Leon, Albert Hammond Jr., Eagles of Death Metal, The Shins, Dinosaur Jr., Arcade Fire, !!!(Chick, Chick, Chick) & Unkle - Not a bad lineup!!! The bands I was most looking forward to did not let me down - there were many incredible performances and not a single bad one(that I saw).
The festival culture itself was something to behold. Ive never witnessed something on such a large scale. I dont have an exact figure, but I believe there were about 70,000 people in attendance. It was in many ways, over the top. Young beauties dressed up, got messed up, and the hugest mess Ive ever seen was left behind in the process. There were plenty of freaks, but I was hoping for a few more geeks. Geeks being the people who didnt give a shit about the fashion, and were just there for the bands. I guess you can love music and spend 3 hours doing your hair and makeup in your tent too. Im no snob! It all made for great people watching oportunities, even if I did feel quite plain and boring amongst the pretties. The toilets were a unique and generally unpleasant experience (Ill take your average Thai squat toilet anyday, thanks). There was a unique beer amnesty system set up by Carling beer company - outside the Stage area (where you could drink your own alcohol). You could exchange warm beer of any brand for cans of Carling. You could even drop off all the beer you brough and get tokens for them, so you could just stop by when ever and have one, or take 4 or whatever - genius! We made good use of it.
By the Monday we were ready to get up and get going. I dont know if any of us got any sleep as the DJ in our camp, with the very loud sound system, played until 6am. We must have been part of the drug free minority - people were partying all nite all around us. But as I mentioned before, we were in the quiet camp. To our ingnorant bliss, tents were being blown up and set alight all through the nite in other camps. That didnt happen in our camp until morning, luckily when we were at least almost packed and ready to go. We gladly left the craziness and filth that is 4 days of non stop music and party behind, shaking our heads that that were full of many wonderful memories.

On to the Bad Stuff:

By the last day of the festival Vic had a picked up a cold. Nothing too severe, but by the time we got home, I wasnt feeling great either. On top of being filthy, hung over and sleep deprived, we had sore thoats and stuffy noses as well. It was into the shower for a Good scrubbing, clothes in the wash and off to bed. The next few days were spent in recovery mode. A couple of days ago we were invited by our friends Richard & Kerry to a 'Pub Day'. Vic was feeling pretty good and up to it, and I kinda pushed myself to feel up to it. We were both bored and sick and tired of being sick and tired. So we headed out to the pub at lunch time and ordered drinks and food. Once out and about I felt ok, and after a cider or two in me I didnt feel too bad at all (Ive gotten hooked on Magners Irish Cider, which just happens to be quite expensive - damn!) After a few hours we headed home to Richard & Kerrys place and ordered take away curries for dinner. Great. Vic & I headed home after for a fairly early night. I wasnt feeling too bad at all. Sadly, that didnt last long.
I woke up early in the morning feeling generally restless and unwell. By 6am I was up hugging the toilet. Then the other end of me was fighting for space over the bowl. Lovely. It was a nasty morning, followed by a very nasty afternoon and night. The toilet hugging ended but the threat of it constantly loomed. And my temperature started soaring. I was shivering and then sweating, and then sweating some more. I slept and slept and worried Vic all day and nite. My back was aching and my stomach was gurgling non stop. Very awful.
Vic was an angel and took the best possible care of me. His mom even called her doctors office to make sure I could get in if things got any worse. Luckily that wasnt necesarry. I slept through the nite, and the next day (yesterday) felt significantly better, although still not great. Today I feel like myself again, although still a little run down. I have no idea what brought it on. Dodgy curry? Strange English bugs? Who knows. Clearly my immune system needs a boost, so its a vitamin and veggy diet for me. But as of tomorrow Im done lying around. I cant take any more lying around. We are headed into the city centre to see the sights and maybe even do a little shopping (poor Vic). Ive been here for over 3 weeks and so far have only driven through the city centre. Ill post later to let you know what I really think of Birmingham!

Love & Lotusflowers,
xoxoxxo Janice