Above 63

I arrived.  It was a good trip.  “How was your trip?” is usually one of the first questions asked.  I don’t know what really defines a good trip.  For me, it is the arrival between point A and B safely (period).  It doesn’t mean uneventful, on-time, or “as planned.”  Some of the best trips I have had have “great stories” of delay, surprise, or a memorable event.  The journey and its surprises are as important as the destination.  For me, the trip was marked by a minor delay in Minneapolis due to severe thunderstorms.  I had a great conversation with the person next to me on the plane.  It was one of the few times I didn’t need to explain what GIS was or what I did with it.  She was a chemist who did environmental air quality monitoring.  She knew all about GIS.  She did a lot of work in Puerto Rico (Vieques).  She had an interesting travel story:  her son and future daughter-in-law live and work in Iceland.  She was delivering the wedding dress to Iceland and the transport of the dress was making it an eventful trip for her.  When I last saw her, she was at passport control.  The massive dress encased in a white cover was at her side and outsized her considerably.  Still, she looked like she had the massive dress well under control.  I hope the final leg of the trip went well for her and the dress (sorry no pictures). 

I got to Reykjavik and saw my apartment for the first time.  It looked good on the internet—it looked better in person.  I’ll write more about the rental process and the area in a later post.  I dropped my bags, got some dinner at a Nepali restaurant that Kathleen and I like and took a walk around the city.  I was pretty tired, but I wanted to stay up until at least 10:00.  I do like Reykjavik, I’m looking forward to exploring the city more as a local.

Friday was spent unpacking, grocery shopping, and shopping for a few things for the apartment.  By the end of the day all was set and I’m ready for whatever comes next.