The places I've been, the maps I've filled out

I've just returned from a week in Spain and a day in Morocco, and once I sort through the hundreds of pictures, I'll post a few here, because that is the point of blogging isn't it? To foist your vacation pictures on the unsuspecting few who stumble into it. Also, making the family members who didn't go on the trip sit through a 40 minute slideshow as pay back for the 40 minute slideshow of pictures from their vacation, hehehe. Until then, I came across this nifty mapping tool to color in the countries, states, etc. that I've been too.



Create your own visited country map here.

This trip brings my foreign country count to 8 (Mexico, Germany, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, Morocco). Nope, I haven't been to Canada yet, but I've seen it on several occasions. Also, I don't count landing in an airport as having been to a country/state, I'm a stickler on these things.

When books and travel collide

Recently The Washington Post travel section had two articles on book related travel. The first is about the Library Hotel in Manhattan, a hotel with books in every room and room numbers based on the Dewey Decimal System. The second, is about bed and breakfast's with books in the rooms spread across the states. I like to travel, and I like to read, but I'm not sure I've reached the point where I want to go somewhere just to read. The Library Hotel seems like it would be fun to stay in, just to see what books were put in the particular subject of your room, but I doubt that I would actually read a book from the room while I was there. I'm a somewhat compulsive reader, and once I start a book I want to finish it. Plus, if I go somewhere, I usually want to see the place- not that I don't read on vacation- but I'm probably going to bring my own reading material. I like that there is this option though. Finally, the spring book preview. I don't read too many books as soon as they come out, but of this list I'll probably eventually read (like in 3 years...) Generation Loss, by Elizabeth Hand and Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power, by Robert Dallek. Note, a login id is required for washingtonpost.com, but it's free and no one is stopping you from making up an identity just for them.

See You Later Alligator

I recently went to Everglades National Park with friends of mine while visiting them in Florida. (Trivia: The Everglades is the only place in the world where both alligators and crocodiles live.) The US National Parks I've been too have all been really great, so I might become one of those people that tries to go to all of them- although so far I've only been to 4 of the 58. Here's an alligator at the Everglades. See more pictures here