Beach Party

Lohan was seen crying as she left a nude beach in Cannes earlier this week. Friends say the waterworks had nothing to do with her family’s issues, but were actually in response to a sunbather who asked Lohan to cover up her ribs.

I’ve been trying to take in as much of Vancouver as I can before I leave. The other night I went for a 2.5 hour long walk down Broadway and then down to Point Grey Road which I followed past the oceanfront property to Jericho and Locarno beaches. I’m still not sure I’ve wrapped my head around the fact that I will be leaving Vancouver for an indefinite period of time in just 3.5 weeks. Crazy.

Boston area Bloggernackers, save the date: you and your families are invited to a beach party/barbecue at my house Saturday, July 30 from mid-afternoon (2-3ish) until whenever. Dinner around 6. We have room for weekend guests, too, if anybody wants to drive up from NYC or down from Montreal, or as one intrepid bloggernaclite is doing, drive out from Idaho in a U-Haul! E-mail me (Kristine at timesandseasons dot org) for directions.

The girls and I had a great time camping on Lake Huron at Hoeft State Park. All five families camped this year (10 adults, 12 kids) which made for a lot of fun and fellowship. I love sitting around a campfire with 20 people. It reminds me of family camp. The weather was at times hot for swimming and sunbathing and cool for hiking, biking and campfires. Of course, Lake Huron was just amazing and inspiring to watch, listen and enjoy.

Its time to start some blitz travelling of Australia and see some winerys, beaches, bars, history, its just time to vacation. Hopefully Saturday afternoon I shall be on a beach watching the sunset drinking a good beer. The end will come quick though I feel travelling, unlike working where time seems to creep by and sometimes even pause.

Then we drove down to Chesil beach. The beach was full of VERY red Brits sunbathing and loads of fishermen casting from shore. This beach doesn't have sand, it has millions of tiny, smooth, gorgeous little stones which were actually really comfy to lay on. They were so pretty that we decided as a surprise for the parents that we'd pick out the prettiest we could find, then we'd put them in glass, water-filled bowls so they could float candles in them. We spent an HOUR laying on a blanket picking out the perfect stones, comparing stones, picking out our favorites of the other person's pile. It was so fun, and a great idea for a souvenir! Until we saw the threatening sign about stealing stones from the beach. We put them back. We both have super guilty consciences.

The Warm Up is a pretty cool concept. Every Saturday from 3-9pm, DJs play, beer is sold, people dance outside, and there's even an area with sand - basically the museum creates an urban beach party. You can also go and see the exhibits inside the museum, a building that used to be a public school. I recommend going to see the room of abominable snowmen puppets - creepy and fun all at once.

Tanna is part of a chain of islands that later came to be known as the country of Vanuatu. This is where Mark Burnett, the show's creator, got the name for the ninth season of Survivor. Had I never lived on Tanna, I might have dismissed the show as the romanticisation of a nonexistent tropical island. I would not have noticed where a silly reality show was filmed, had I not been that little girl on the plane. But I've sat on the beautiful beaches of Tanna, felt the culture, and lived with the people. Seeing it again through the lens of a CBS reality show, I could barely recognise it.

From the message boards: I need help finding swimsuits that can support and minimize my bust. I probably wear between a size 6-8 but my bra size is 32DDD. I want to find something cute and flattering that doesn’t look matronly. Are there any websites you can point me to?

Just as I am planning onto becoming a problogger, Darren wrote an interesting article on his blog about the principles of choosing a blog topic, which is the ultimate trick for success in problogging. Basically, its what you choose to blog about that matters. Its important that what you are writing is profitable and has little competition. For example, the topic of “scuba diving” earns more than “aquatic sports” because “scuba diving” is narrower and exact. Do a lot of research on your choice of topic and be sure to note the demand for your topic to ensure ongoing readership. But don’t choose a topic that is too common either, you don’t want you readers to rather read elsewhere.

I’m still workin on the highs and lows of the beach vacation post, but since returning things are getting back to normal, but Jenifer and I are both eking out as much of the “beach feel” as we can. As we both showed up to dinner last night in shorts and sandals and late last night she massacred a pineapple for a snack.

After about a week we went on a walk. The taxi drove us to the eastside of Taveuni, Lavena, where we went on a 3 hours walk to a waterfall. The weather was not very good and about half way up it started raining. The final 30 minutes were pretty wet, the track became more and more slippery. But we made it! We could see the first waterfall but not the second one on the left side. So we put on our bikini and swam the last part. It was a mystic place, volcanic rock formation, beautifl, unfortunately I didn’t bring my underwater case for my digit camera.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, by now you’re well aware of America’s reputation as one of the fattest nations in the world, a reputation that’s not undeserved. The obesity crisis is worse than ever, with diet books crowding in to try and pedal easy answers and quick fixes to a lifetime of poor nutrition and bad eating habits. Cut out carbs, cut out fat. Eat only meat. Be a vegetarian. Spend half your annual salary at an expensive gym. Atkins. South Beach. GI Diet. No pain, no gain. Give up and slim down. Our careless, sedentary lifestyles may pack on the pounds, but when it comes time for bikini weather, we can be down-right puritanical in our overexertion and starvation tactics. Yet, like Oprah, we know the pounds are just a cheesecake away. One step off track, and we balloon back.

Return of the mucilaginous algae in Italy . . . instead of disfiguring the beaches, this stuff releases neurotoxic chemicals and 150 people need treatment for fever and breathing difficulties. Scientists say warm waters have brought it to the surface, but no mention of the usual cause of algal bloom: pollution.

This was our "office" during our week long sailing adventure in the Grenadines in June 2005. We propped our notebook computer on the cockpit table, plugged the cable to the sailboat’s system using an extension cord and were able to work while enjoying beautiful tropical views such as this. We had to clearout at meal times since it was dining table where we sat.

There were whitehorses on the waves! That means strong wind... and some pretty darn fun windsurfing...

Also, what is it about water sports that brings out the teenager in all of us? About five minutes into a long ski run yesterday my left knee suddenly filed a complaint against my adolescent brain for subjecting it to such unwarranted abuse. Tough luck, I say - fun is a fleeting streak in the hot night sky for most of us working stiffs, so we’re going to revel in it while we’re on vacation.

I left Siem Reap and took a bus through Phenom Phen to Sihanoukville for the final outward stop on my journey. Time to splash out a bit, so I’m spending a whole $11 a night ($1 discount for being only me!) on a beachfront bungalow with balcony… Going to spend tomorrow touring the islands by boat, then will try to get some scuba diving done before getting a plane from Phenom Phen (still can’t spell it), I think they have a Chinese embassy there so I might be able to skip Hong Kong (dammit, needed that stamp) and fly straight to Shanghai to make meeting Judy easier… We’ll see! Feeling very nostalgic, almost home!!!

Traditional items are silverware, ceramics and hand blown glass. Amber washes up on Denmark’s west coast beaches and is a traditional jewelry item. The island is known for its Bornholmer grandfather clocks. These have been made here by hand since 1744.

Anyway, the 4 of us hired a boat & headed north & south along the Cinque Terre (The Five Terraces). It gave us a good vista of the villages perched on cliff edges, the terraced gardens, the walkway that winds through, connecting the villages – all very pretty. Got to the northern-most bay of our distance allowance, anchored up & speculated on why the nearby Lido had people crowded onto it with their deckchairs, umbrellas, etc. & here we were with a deserted lido of our own, only one person sunbathing on some nearby rocks. While Jenn & I translated the sign that warned of trespassing from the sea onto the nearby restaurant land, & wondering if that big pipe over there meant we were in an effluent discharging area, the boys had stripped naked & were in the water. Apparently it was refreshing & felt great, & it certainly looked clear & clean, & we are on the ‘clean’ side of the Italian peninsula, so it was probably our good fortune that yet again we found ourselves in a lovely part of the country & didn’t have to share it with lots of people.

Anyway, the highlight of the week (humorously speaking) would have to be the afternoon we walked to the end of the beach, to the (ahem) nude beach. We had walked there before, but not when many people were out getting a full-body tan. But this day there were plenty of people, and, operating on the principle that kids will ask if they notice anything unusual, I said nothing. We walked on, and for the most part my children just jumped and splashed in the surf. And then a man and a woman passed close by us on their way into the water. Not especially young, not especially fit, just ordinary people… just stark naked. My son watches them every step of the way into the water. Here it comes, I think. But it doesn’t. We walk some more. Ten minutes later it comes.

It was with a heavy heart that I yesterday left a small village in Provence to return to the real world of deskjockeying and career-chasing. In almost related news, it was with a heavy heart that I read an article in Wired today on dead seabirds washing up on beaches all over the pacific coast of North America. Seabirds are dying at a rate of 5 to 10 times what has been recorded ever before. Seabirds are rather high up in the food chain, and biologists now theorise that the current record-high temperatures in the pacific is killing off the bottom of it.

A few miles from Portland is the Columbia River Gorge one of the most marvelous and scenic attractions in the world with breathtaking views, windsurfing, hiking, and the place of Multnomah Falls the most famous waterfall attraction in Oregon. Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument is only 50 miles north of Portland. The monument offers an opportunity to marvel at destruction and at Nature’s recovery

I got the book Sailing Solo from a good friend for my birthday last year. For various reason I never got around to reading it until quite recently. My loss…

Am Freitag (24. Juni) sind wir zu unserem weltberühmten Kanutour-Wochenende auf dem Delaware River im Upstate New York aufgebrochen. Kathleen, meine Kollegin Petra und ihr Mann und ich sind schon kurz nach Mittag losgefahren. Das war auch unser Glück, denn der Verkehr war wie erwartend mal wieder super schlecht. Nach 5 Stunden Fahrt, oder ehr Stau, haben wir dann endlich den Cedar Rapids Canoe & Campground erreicht. Wir waren mit die ersten und konnten uns daher den besten Zeltplatz aussuchen.

The resort, Beaches Boscobel, was very nice. We had an awesome view of the ocean and pool area from our balcony. I think we had the best room out of everyone, because of the ocean view. I received my first ever, 80 minute, full body massage, the best thing ever and I'm now hooked. Funny thing, almost all my bones crack, during the massage none cracked and my lower back really needed it.

Italians were recently surveyed regarding their opinions on nude sunbathing. In Italy, as in other European nations, topless sunbathing by women is widely practiced. This poll asked about their opinions on “bottomless” public exposure for both genders.

For those of you living in San Diego… hasn’t it been beautiful and sunny here lately? It’s been almost perfect weather it seems. The blue skies above almost cloudless… sunshine and warmth that is definitely summer-y, but not terribly hot nor humid. nice summer breezes coming from the beaches!

Midsummer!!! the most swedish of swedish traditions, the night when we dress long poles with flowers and then dans around them imitating frogs:) And of course we drink a awful amount of vodka, you really have to see it to understand it. Well me and my mates went to the sea, to go to some-girls-friends-beach-house! After driving around for 3 hours we reallised that it didnt exist, so we did the best of the situation, we parked and had a BBQ on the green of a fancy golf course, and later on went to the big beach party that went on by the sea! It was all good fun, first time in three years im home over midsummer and after 9 i cant really remember anything of substance!!!

Don't get me wrong. My mother didn't walk around in muumuus and umbrella caps (although the latter, had she known of their existence, might've found their way into her closet). She wore nice clothes, just not ones that exposed her bottom for the valley that it was. And she wore swimsuits. She had several of them, in fact, and when I grew big enough to wear them, which was around twelve years old, I tried them on when she wasn't home. One after another I rejected them for none of them covered enough of my derriere.

For the past fifteen years I've spent a good part of each summer in the south of France. While making arrangements for this year's trip I began to reflect on how these annual sojourns have evolved. I arrived in Nice by train one sweltering July day having left my flat in Paris with the intention of being gloriously idle for a couple of months. I had packed in my small valise only the barest essentials- swimsuits and a few shirts, and had with me nothing more formal than my travelling outfit which consisted of cut-off jean shorts, a white linen shirt and suede Gucci loafers. By chance I happened upon a small family-owned hotel that seemed to evoke a primitive charm. Although it lacked many conveniences it was centrally located and extremely cheap. So there I stayed. For six weeks.

Another weekend of sailing on Horseshoe! Saturday’s wind wasn’t too great but I did get out and have fun. The wind was gusty again, but the temps were near 90 so anytime on the water was good! Nice big gusts on the east side of the lake were lots of fun.

The city of Daytona Beach, Florida is trying to seize three parcels of beachfront property under Eminent Domain in order to allow the construction of a hotel project. This action is proceeding under Florida law, which states that seizure of property for economic development can only occur to prevent or eliminate blight.

Today at work, I angered two large men, chased two teenagers on a 3-wheeler, rescued two foreigners and their canoe, watched a rabbit fight, took a boat ride in a storm (not without being soaked from head to toe), comforted a dad with a son lost at sea (read “on the lake”), put out a fire, and watched Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

During Nude Recreation Week, hundreds of thousands of nudists will be promoting all sorts of recreational activities that can be done in the buff, including sunbathing and volleyball.

After a quick lunch at What-A-Burger and a quick trip to Target to pick up some supplies, David directed us to Bryan Beach near Freeport. It is an undeveloped beach with trash cans and porta-potties. There has been a lot of seaweed floating up on Texas beaches, but the city has cleaned this section up pretty nice. We could see the crews working further down the beach.

The Pride Festival won out. A quick trip up Peachtree on Marta and a few blocks to the park and suddenly I was in a different world - without one of my gay friends at my side to steer us around! Of course first we had to get by those fundamentalists trying to get our souls saved - I’d forgotten about having to do that part. It was great to be in that park! It was good to see same sex couples having a wonderful time without fear. It was kinda fun to see the two guys with (girl’s) bikini bottoms on, boas, and glitter on the chest hairs! I enjoyed visiting many different booths and learning so much about so many things. We’re planning a trip to Key West so I picked up some information on that. We visited the PFLAG booth and I finally found the button I’d been searching for - Straight but not Narrow, with Pride!

A local government campaign to attract more bathers to a South Korean beach resort by offering incentives to swimmers wearing bikinis has upset women's rights activists. Ahead of the peak summer bathing season, Buan County administration southwest of Seoul renamed its Byeonsan Beach Bikini Beach and promised wearers of skimpy swimsuits a 10-percent discount on bills for hotels, meals and beach equipment rentals.

Nude sun bathing is restricted to marked beaches. Topless sunbathing is common at all beaches – though use the general rule that if no one else is doing it, you shouldn’t either.

Now I can finally go back to sunbathing outside! I’ll leave you all with a picture of me sprawled out enjoying the sun.

In Vancouver, the recent crash of the ferry Queen of Oak Bay due to a missing cotter pin, which damaged nearly two dozen boats at Sewell’s Marina in Horseshoe Bay, is providing competition for the nautical headlines as the ferry begins sea trials coinciding with the arrival of about 18 Tall Ships sailing from Tacoma.

Napa and Sonoma aren’t the only valleys in California. Apparently there’s also this place called Suisin Valley, pronounced in one-syllable by the locals. Although the grapes are sold for a huge percent less than it’s neighbors, family-run wineries like Wooden Valley should not be missed. Neither should this unique grape, which would be more at home in Apulia. Since only ten percent of his crop goes into his own barrels and steel casks, the maker, Rick Lanza, can introduce many different wines, a major benefit of these smaller vineyards. Primitivo is in the Zinfindel family, and apparently “flew the coop” from the Balkans in ancient times. It is an extremely potent varietal, toned down quite a bit in this version. Dark, fruit-forward berry flavors are ever-present from the first sniff to the after-taste. If you are a Primitivo traditionalist, this may be too light of a reincarnation, as the grape can easily pass the 16 and even 18 percent alcohol marks back in Italy. But this wine could still hold up paired with a bloody steak. So go! Take the road less traveled, (except by Lake Tahoe weekenders or Sacramento commuters) Venture out past Vallejo and into Solano County instead of the usual California “communes” and try a new type of grape while you’re at it.

nude beach, yeah. the sign says it all. didn’t see much nude ladies, saw alot of disgusting old nude men walking around though. and i really mean NUDE from head to toe.

So despite being safe and comfortable at home, I can enjoy all of this along with everyone else attending. My only beef is that the online simulcast is a little off in announcing who will be appearing next in each location. For instance, by the time they ran a text banner announcing Destiny's Child coming up, they were done. And Brian Wilson performed some old Beach Boys tunes in Berlin, yet nothing announced that. I just happened to be tuned to Berlin online so I caught it.

Boy is the heat on. I was going to go out swimming, but the heat was so bad, that I decided to stay in at home. I have thought about going to the public pools swimming, but the one thing that I would worry the most, is what would people say about a guy who wears women’s one piece swimsuits. I know that in urban areas, people would think I am gay or some kind of freak. So this is why I would go to places that are private and places that have older people because the older generation has had guys whom wore one piece swimsuits in the past generation. I have swum in public with my one-piece swimsuit in the past, but people would stare at me and look at me as if I was a freak. I would wear it when I go to the beach or swimming, but I would only wear it in places that are private and in remote areas. I would wear it in public, but only if people had an understanding and were educated.

I shot this image last December while flying from Caracas to an archipelago of small islands called Los Roques (I have already posted several photos of the place on this blog). It is a one hour flight, with small planes that fly at the clouds level, not too high on the sea surface. You want to take one of the earliest flight in the morning, to be at Los Roques as early as possible and spend your time at the beach, or Scuba diving in its coral reef. The downside is that it is very difficult for me to wake up early in the morning (physical suffering describes accurately what happen to me in such cases), but one is usually rewarded by vistas like this one, in which the golden light of the young sun is filtered by the water above and reflected by the water below, enshrouding your little plane and yourself in a warm glow that heals your spirit and dissipates the longing for the missed sleep hours. You just want to dissolve in this light and become a molecule of water, drifting in the wind between the sea and the sky.