I haven’t posted here in quite some time but I’ve been a-travelin’. I was in Switzerland for a week and then in LA for two and a half weeks. Some thoughts:
–I went down Europe’s longest sled trail. The full thing is 9 miles but I got winded by the hike up and decided to take some time off and only went 7 miles. It was amazing! What was not amazing was getting stuck high in the Alps when the sun goes down and you realize that the gondola has closed. I asked a girl working one of these restaurants that you can only get to by skiing or hiking and she said, you have to sledge down! (they say sledging instead of sledding) Then she pointed me the way to go and said, but don’t go that way or else you’ll end up on the black diamond ski slope. So of course, I accidentally went that way and ended up on the black diamond ski slope. In the pitch dark. On a sled which has virtually no directional controls. So I decided it would be easier to just go down on my butt since theoretically it would be slower. Instead, I ended up rolling over and over again with the sledge hitting me in the side. Several death rolls later, I finally saw a road. And went towards it and fell through the snow up to just above my chest. BUT I MADE IT. No mere Alp mountain can best Nathan Shelkey.
–When arriving in the Swiss German part of Switzerland(most of it), I discovered the German word for pretzel is “bretzel”. Why are we such idiots that we couldn’t get the “b” right? Oh Americans. We suck. Still bretzels and pretzels taste great no matter how you say it.
–I am bad at spotting famous people. I constantly think that the person looks a lot like the famous person they are, and they must get that a lot. But I enjoyed seeing Punky Brewster eating bagels with her family.
–Parking is bad, traffic is worse, but the sushi, tacos, thai food, and junk food in general are awesome in LA. Still, I hate the long strip mall feel of it. But when you’re by the Hollywood Hills, it’s nice. And I like when you’re on the 101 headed towards downtown and I always start to hear the A Team theme song in my head. (Ten years ago / In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a miltary court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockard to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire… The A-Team.)
–US Air just blows. Completely. 5 hour flight and NO MOVIES! What?!?! How is one supposed to survive without an in-flight movie for that long? What are we barbarians? Never again. From now on, I shall fly Jet Blue or Virgin to LA.
–I was seated on the way back next to a bunch of older ladies and gentlemen. So as a result, it was like being placed in a cemetery where farts go to die. Which made me think why do people complain about the smell of stale farts? Would it make it better if the farts were fresh? Is the fact that they are old really something that bothers you?
–I stayed with Brendan, Siobhan’s brother, and Melodie his gf. And Melodie mentioned how she loved my song “California” and still sings it from time to time. This made my heart feel so warm and cozy. I mean, I wrote that song 10 years ago. And she prolly heard it last in 2002? So she still remembers it 7 years later? It makes you feel good.
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