5 good things this week

This week’s been a busy one for me: together with a couple other Finnish bloggers, we started #matkachat, the first ever Finnish travel-themed Twitter Chat! The premiere session on Monday went so well I’m still all smiles, and I’m already looking forward to next Monday’s chat. But that’s not all…

Photo
We quit our cable service a couple months ago due to the outrageous fees, so I’m mostly working from the Community Center pool. The Nalgene’s filled with home made ice tea, my new favorite drink for a hot day.

…I also finally launched a much larger project: translating this blog into English! It’s been a lot of work and you wouldn’t believe the amount of technicalities that were involved, both on WordPress and server level, but now the system’s finally set up, and in the future, I’ll publish most of my posts bilingually. If you spot any weird stuff (like some Finnish on the English site), please let me know! Looking forward to your comments…

Globe Called Home
In case you’re wondering, “Suomi” means “Finnish” in Finnish.

…and moving on to more personal highlights: last Saturday I finished second in a triathlon! It sounds fancier than it really is – my group only had five athletes – but I’m still proud… and slightly perplexed, since my feelings during the event were more along the lines of “I’m so going to lose”. The bike path’s altitude changes were a bit too much for my gears, but in hindsight, a mountain triathlon must have been hard for everyone…

Triathlon
At least I had the energy to cheer a bit at the finish line.
Bison in Colorado
Afterwords we stopped by to check out the bison and especially their calves next to the I-70 interstate in Colorado. Cute, huh?

…and next day it was just the right moment for a little hike to help me recover from the tri. We’d been up Green Mountain once before in winter, and we knew it afforded great views over both Boulder, our city, as well as to the other direction to Indian Peaks Wilderness. (And this all from a city park!!) Last time we’d been tredging through snow, and despite the scorching heat, the route felt easier this time. Check out the difference in the photos below…

Indian Peaks viewed from Green Mountain, Boulder
This is summer. Ignore the snow on the mountains.
Jenni on Green Mountain Summit in winter
Same view in February. I did have the same ballcap on, though.
Green Mountain, Boulder, in winter
Also from February. Green Mountain (2090m) doesn’t have snow in June.
Indian Peaks from Green Mountain, Boulder
The range in the horizon is Indian Peaks, of which I’m able to identify only Mount Audubon, thank to climbing it a year ago. Longs Peak is a little North (right) of the Indian Peaks and clearly visible as the highest mountain in the area.

…and then to the last good thing: I’m going to catch a red-eye flight tonight! Well no, the sleepless night’s not the good thing, but the destination is: Miami!! It’s been hot enough in Colorado too, but I can’t tell you how excited I am to spend a couple days by the ocean: beaches, snorkeling, boating… The reason for the trip is Elina, my friend whom I met in Luxembourg, and who’s spent the last six months in South America. She’s now on her way home to Finland, and I’m meeting her up in Florida for a couple of days. Iiro’s also coming, and besides Miami, we’ll visit Key West. Any restaurant tips are greatly appreciated!

Miami Beach
[Photo: Corey Balazowich]
Like always, you can follow my trip live on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and I’m also learning my way around Snapchat, because the neighbors’ preteen girl told me it’s the coolest thing around, and I think she knows what she’s talking about. If you’re on Snapchat, you can follow my Story by searching @globecalledhome.

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