Here we come again, Mt. Monadnock

After some pretty hot weather, we finally had our first taste of the beautiful Fall in New England the past weekend, we decided to go back to Mt. Monadnock. The last time we were there was late Spring last year and I remember it was very hot when we climbed to the top of the mountain.

At the gate, a girl told us it was 40 degrees or so at the top of the mountain and suggested that we bring our jacket with us. Climbing Mt. Monadnock is enjoyable but also requires energy and endurance. (When we came down, we met a girl who almost wanted to quit.) I feel I was in better shape this year than last, since I did not really feel tired until we were half way through. I told my mum, climbing Mt. Monadnock is real mountain climbing. You have to use both feet and hands, especially when you go down. About two hours' hard work, we finally reached the summit. It was very windy as you can tell from one of the pictures Dave posted. However, it was very pretty, too. Leaves are becoming more colorful. Unfortunately, I left my glasses at home so when we got to the summit I could not see downtown Boston in distance.

For more pictures, please visit Mt. Monadnock.

My First Jazz Dance Class

I had my first jazz dance class today. I had a lot of fun. It was a very good workout, too. I can run, cook and, of course, work with numbers. I was complaining that there seemed to be something missing in my life. I have Dave, my sweetest boyfriend. I have a pretty good job (even though I am not too crazy about it). I have a supporting family and friends. I always want to do something different, besides running, cooking and working. A couple of months ago, I signed up for this dance class. I want to just give myself a little bit stretch and see what else I can do.

There are about 20 students in this class. Looks like we are from different walks of life. The instructor is young and pretty. Similar to any kind of workout, we had 15 minutes warming-up exercise. In the remaining 45 minutes, we learned some basic jazz steps. Most of them are quite easy. There are still some parts of the dance my body just cannot do, such as shaking. Needs more practice.

Just had my first class but I am already looking forward to the next one.

Welcome to the jungle!

We haven't posted anything in a while... So I just thought I'd say that it's hotter than Texas in July here today.... 90+ degrees and rather humid. Wasn't it supposed to be the first day of fall a couple of days ago?

More CA pictures

I'm trying to figure out the best way to post a lot more pictures. The free Flickr account doesn't have nearly enough capacity... I may just pay for the pro version of Flickr, but I need to do more research first (if anyone has any suggestions, please fire them my way). In the mean time, here are a few more from the S.F. end of our trip.

Day 4 - Eureka!

We crossed the CA border at about 1:00 this afternoon. Stopped off in Lake Tahoe for lunch and to wade in the lake. Arrived in S.F. at about 7:30. Lake Tahoe is really nice... I'd never thought about it having much value to anyone other than skiers, but Jess and I both would like to go back there and spend more time in the summer sometime.

Day 3 - Cowboys, (Latter Day) Saints, and Sinners

Spent most of the early part of the day driving through southern Wyoming which, while beautiful, gets a little monotonous after a while as it seems to be an endless ranch. By early afternoon, we reached Utah, where the landscape is quite a bit more dramatic. We spent about an hour and a half in Salt Lake City trying desperately to find a late lunch. I don't have time to go into detail, but this turns out to be a difficult thing to do in SLC. After leaving the city, we left to check out the Great Salt Lake. I really had my heart set on taking a short swim in the salty water, but unfortunately we never found an acceptable beach that was open, so we set off for Nevada. Before reaching NV, we stopped at the salt flats for a few minutes to take pictures. After the NV border, the cloudy and somewhat humid air of SLC quickly changed into desert. We're currently stationed for the evening in Winnemucca, NV. I don't really want to go into detail on this now, but anyone who thinks that the "red states" are culturally homogeneous needs to make the one-day trek through Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada.

Day 2 - We're not in Kansas anymore

Today was a long one. A big part of it involved driving west through Kansas. We deviated from I-70 and took US 50 for part of this segment. We caught our first glimpse of the Rockies just as the sun was setting and made it to Denver in time for dinner. Denver seems to be a clean and livable, but nothing terribly exciting. After dinner, we took off for Wyoming. There seems to be an endless sea of strip malls, Olive Gardens, etc. for about 75 miles from Denver to Ft. Collins. After that, things start to look a lot more remote. We're currently spending the night in Laramie WY.

Day 1 - Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas

Well, we made it through 650 miles and 4 states today, and even had time to stop a couple of times. We went to the river front and the arch in St. Louis. The arch is an amazing monument that you have to see up close to really believe. K.C. appears to be a very livable town, albeit a little sleepy (seems similar in size to Indianapolis). It's known for Bar-B-Que, so we ate at Gates and Sons restaurant, which is famous according to the Lonely Planet book. Whether it's famous or not, the half-chicken really hit the spot after a day of driving, as did the locally brewed Boulevard Ale.

We're now in Lawrence, Kansas (home of the U. of Kansas), where we'll spend the night.

Day -1: Chicago Half Marathon

2 hour and 8 minutes!

If I were to list all my achievements in life, this would be one of them. It only took me a split second to make the decision to run a half marathon. Dave probably remember the day when I mentioned to him that I want to do a half marathon. That same night I registered. I started running when I was 24, continued running for 6 years and, unfortunately, stopped running in 2004. But I did other exercises, such as biking, yoga, etc. So to pick up running was not an extremely difficult thing to do. I practiced for 10 weeks and did a 10-k in Shelburne Falls. On average, I practiced running a total of 20 miles or so.

On the race day, I felt very nervous, as usually. It was said there were more than 13,000 runners in the race. By the time I got to Museum of Science, it was already crowded with runners and their family. All runners were grouped according to the speed. I chose the 10-minute-per-mile group. It turned out to be a mistake. I would have run faster if I had been with the faster groups. The first seven miles was quite relaxing to me. I did not feel tired or out of energy. At the start of the 9th mile, my legs and feet started to hurt. I stopped and walked a few times on the way to the finishing line. But finally I did it. 2 hours and 8 minutes. I was in the top 40% in all groups.

My great appreciation to Daphne, her mother-in-law and Eren, who took all the trouble to come into town to greet me at the finishing line. At the same time, I also felt sorry that I missed Grandpa Rensberger's funeral.

Day 0 - Southwest MI and family get-together

I should step back a little and describe the day before the real road trip began: The day after Grandpa's funeral, Jess and I got up somewhat early and drove our rented PT Cruiser up to the southern coast of Lake Michigan to eat lunch in New Buffalo and then wandered around Warren Dunes (the park that contains "Tower Hill", a sand dune that must be about 300 feet high). After that, we drove back to IN for dinner at my Aunt Nancy's house. One good thing about funerals is that it brings people together who don't often see each other. I got to see the "Texas side" of my family for the first time in about 5 years, and during this time, my cousin Kara and my Aunt Cindy had both gotten married, so I was happy to be able to finally meet the new family members.

Day -2: Visiting the Gulcus

One reason why I chose the half marathon in Chicago was that Daphne and her family have settled down there. We arrived in Chicago pretty late Friday night and took a taxi to Winfield, where Daphne and Huseyin just bought a big house. Daphne is evidently thinner than last time we saw her.

Eren got up earlier than both Dave and me. The first word I heard from him is "Hi". I thought he said hello to me but he actually said no in Turkish. It seems like a universal thing that little kids all over the world like to say "no" when they first learn to speak. We played with him for a while. After breakfast Dave and Eren started building a toy castle. Daphne told me that Eren still remembered it was the "big brother" (Dave) who built the castle with him. He is such an adorable and happy kid.

Early Saturday afternoon, Dave and I said goodbye to the Gulcus and went to the city.

For more pictures, please visit the Gulcus.

Robert ("Bob", "Grandpa") Rensberger 1921-2007

As Jess already said in the post below, my Grandfather passed away in his sleep this morning. We'd known for several days that he had, at most, a few weeks left since his lung cancer had developed into a condition that was terminal, but I don't think anyone thought it would happen this quickly.

I really hoped that we'd be able to see him one last time, since we were already going back to Indiana in a couple of days for a short visit prior to our road trip next week, but things just didn't quite work out that way.

Love you Grandpa... Rest in peace!

Memory of Grandpa Rensberger

At lunch time today, Dave broke the bad news to me that Grandpa Rensberger passed away early in the morning. I felt shocked but, above all, sad. When we saw him at Christmas, he could walk pretty well. Dave and I promised him that we would go back to South Bend to visit him this summer. Now we could not even say goodbye to him.

It was not until the summer last year that I first met him and Grandma Rensberger. My first impression of Grandpa was he was a very nice gentleman. My grandpa on my mum's side passed away before I was born and I could not communicate with my grandpa on my dad's side because he spoke a different dialect. When I was old enough to understand a little bit of that dialect, my grandpa on my dad's side passed away. So talking with Grandpa Rensberger was extremely enjoyable. I wish Dave and I had made a trip back to South Bend this summer to see him one last time.

My sympathy to Grandma Rensberger and everyone who loves Grandpa.

Labor Day Weekend

Since Dave and I are leaving for our road trip the week of the 17th, we decided to take it easy this past Labor Day weekend. Rather than going out of the state, we spent almost the whole weekend exploring Massachusetts. We went to the Walden Pond on Sunday and spent Monday on Plum Island.

For pictures, please visit Labor Day Weekend.