Travelog for: Viola

Here I am in Gatwick Airport waiting for the plane to take off to Finland!





Unfortunately I didn't have a window seat on the way to Helsinki Airport so I wasn't able to get any nice photos out the window.



But I did have a seat all to myself.

When I landed in Helsinki Airport, it was then time to travel to Turku! I rode the Onnibus.





The ride took about two hours but there was lots of nice scenery to look at on the way there.

I made it to Nummirock!!!

It rained so much on June 18 that I didn't really get to venture outside, and then my host got extremely drunk so the decision was made for me to stay in the tent for my own safety!!! I didn't want to get lost or wet... But it was okay with me, I was able to stay nice, dry and warm.



And I had plenty of snacks to eat too. This cheese container had my name on it!



Even though I didn't watch the bands, my host filled me in on what she saw and here's a few photos of the best bands of the weekend. This is Moonsorrow, the weather actually brightened up during their set so it seems like the weather gods approved of them!



Whorion were really great too, they had firebreathers onstage and it was an incredible performance.



Amaranthe were also a lot of fun! They're a band you have to dance and sing along to, the atmosphere was amazing!

I flew back to the UK on June 22 on a very early flight, so it meant I had to travel on a bus to the airport at 3am in the morning!

I watched the sun rise at about 4am. It was beautiful. ♥



Here I am at the airport at about 5am. It just doesn't get that dark in Finland!



Waiting for my flight...



On the flight home I got a window seat, so I got to admire the view out of the window this time round.





I'm now back in the UK, so I guess it's now time for me to do a bit of adventuring out here!

It's so hot here in the UK right now. I've been doing a spot of sunbathing!

After my adventure in Finland, Wales seems a little boring in comparison It's been raining a lot recently so I haven't been able to see many things but hopefully I can travel soon!

Today I met a very old bear called Daffodil that is a little bit similar to me! She is over 20 years old and very fragile so I had to be very careful when saying hello.

Well, I actually went to Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch but the name didn't fit in the place box!!!

We travelled on the train to get there.



Here I am in front of a few signs!







Unfortunately, aside from getting photos with signs there isn't really much to do in the village, but there was a column to climb up so we headed there. Here it is in the background.



And here we are!



It should have been open, but unfortunately the surrounding area was very overgrown and the gate was locked with a rusted chain so it looked like it had been abandoned and closed to the public for some time, which was quite disappointing.





It would have been nice to go up the column but I guess you can't have everything!

I have arrived in Grand Haven, Michigan, USA!  I arrived while Mel was out of town, so I started my adventure with her as soon as she got home. 

And of course since she has just been on holiday for a week, the first thing she had to do was go back to work!  Mel does paperwork for the local Emergency Room here in Grand Haven. 



This photo was taken at about 3:30 am, since Mel works overnight!  Jen is a clerk, and Joe is the respiratory therapist.  Mel's desk is on the left.  They are all working in this area for now because the hospital is building a brand new Emergency Room!  It should be done some time in 2017.

Right by the registration area is the Triage room.  Mel let me explore when there were no patients.  This machine is on wheels to go wherever it is needed, and can check blood pressure, temperature, and heart rate all at once.



Then Sunday, Mel got a big surprise!  her niece Macey had a snake, but being in High School and having a job, she wasn't having enough time to tend to it well.  So suddenly Mel had a knock on the door, and her sister delivered the pet snake to Mel!  She used the excuse that it was her birthday present. 
Luckily, mel didn't  mind too much, because she likes snakes and has wanted a pet one for a long time.




This is Snek.  We spent most of Monday setting up this new habitat for him and looking for local stores that we can buy him food and supplies.  Snek likes to burrow under the bedding so just his head is sticking out.  He is around a meter long!!! 
I think he likes me.

Now it is a chilly, rainy fall day so we are being lazy and snuggling up and drinking tea.  It is a good day. 

Saturday after Mel got off work and slept for a couple of hours, we went to the Grand Valley State University campus for a small Renaissance Faire.  The weather was grey and cold but we still had fun!



There were a lot of people dressed up.  There was a jail you could put people into and make them ransom themselves out, for charity!  We didn't do it though.



There were knights there, but the fight was not until later. 



In the SCA area, Mel's niece got to dress up.  PURPLE!  I like it!  Does it come in my size???



I think this weapon would go nicely with that dress.  Ladies can be warriors too!

Mel, Madison and I went to the Grand Rapids Comic Con!  Madison was dressed as a TARDIS from Doctor Who. 
They spent most of their money on art commissions.



We saw a lot of neat cosplays! 





And lots of other cool things, too.








This city is all made out of legos, even the trains.



In the lobby, these girls were dancing.  We watched for a while. 



Then we had to leave to take Madison back home.  The weather here is getting very chilly!  There were snowflakes on Saturday, though I didn't see them before they melting.  I will try to get some pictures of the fall color before it is gone!

We are back!  Mel bought a new card reader for her computer.  Some files seem to be missing, but we have enough to let you know I haven't forgotten about sending letters home!  Sorry it's been so long!  Mel says to tell you that it is all her fault! 

So let's get caught up first....

Halloween!  it's a big deal in the US, though Mel didn't do much for it.  She actually had a writing party to go to, so she wasn't home for the Trick or Treating. 
Some houses near her really decorated for the 'holiday' though!  I think it mostly depended on if they had children or not?  :P

Some just wanted to be pretty for Autumn, maybe...


And others really got into the 'spirit' of ghosts and monsters! 

We walked to the hospital so Mel could work (she doesn't walk everyday, but sometimes she likes to, if the weather is nice.  It takes about 25 minutes.)  On the way, I took some pictures of the different fall colors for you! 

This is a pretty park we passed...


Sugar maple trees have the best color!


Oak tree was trying hard, though!


This red is a Burning Bush - it's green all year until fall, when it turns bright red!


These leaves are bigger than me!


The trees aren't the only ones getting into the fall mood.  Some flowers are showiest now, too!

Mom, Mel very much apologizes for the fire thing.  She says she would have grabbed me if she'd had time.  It was started by a candle in the basement, which was someone else's apartment.    There was no fire in our apartment, just a LOT of smoke.  Mel of course had to get out as fast as she could though, and then they wouldn't let her go back in until the firemen had checked everything.  Then she grabbed me, but not the camera, so no pics with fire trucks for me, sorry!  It was a little TOO exciting!

Luckily Mel's mom got me nice and clean and some special fabric spray got all the smoke smell off me.  I am back to my lovely self! 

So now we are living at Mel's mom's house, until the work crews finish fixing Mel's house back up.  The best thing is, Mel is home for Christmas!  Her mom is happy about that! 
And her mom has a LOVELY tree!  Lights and pretty ornaments and me.  ^_^  Small presents like this stay in the tree, instead of under it, to make it even prettier! 


This present is a gift card for BOOKS for Mel's niece Madison.  She loves to read! I know she will like it....

OK, that catches us up to now.  Mel is STILL at her mom's, and getting a little annoyed by it.  They are starting to paint her apartment finally, so hopefully she can move back in next week?  We are hoping!

First though, we got to pick the colors for the new space!  That was nice of the owner, to let us chose!  I voted for purple, but I got out voted,  oh well.  I can't stay forever anyway.
The colors Mel finally picked are named Morning Zen, Tahitian Sky, and Loft Space.  I think they will suit her better than the bright blues that were there when she moved in!


Mel obviously likes blue though, because this was her favorite Christmas present - a lot of fabric!  Why?  Because it will be a gorgeous quilt later in the year!  Mel was very excited.  She is going to use the Storm at Sea block pattern with it.


At Mom's house are two cats.  That is not helping Mel's allergies, but she still says she would rather be here than in a hotel room somewhere.  They are nice!  They are both older and mostly just lay around.
This is Toby.  He has a skin problem and is taking medicine for it. That's why he has a bare bottom! 


This is Sassy, she is 15 years old and partially blind, but she pretty healthy for all of that, even though she spends most of her day on Mom's bed. 


Snek is here too.  He had to get all new bedding and a new hide, and I don't think he likes his new one as much.  He still has no problem burrowing though!  He is in Mom's office for now.  She has gotten to like him better, she wasn't sure about him at first!


So other than that, time has been taken up with work, sleeping, and furniture shopping!  Mel ordered a new bed and desk, I can't wait to see them, with the NEW rug and wall colors when we get to go home!!!

Big snow storm is supposed to happen tonight, maybe I will have snow pictures to show you soon!

It's snowing!  Quite a lot actually, and it has been all week.  Today I went to explore while Mel clearing the driveways and walkways.

She'd better clear off her car before work, too!  It was clear yesterday...


The birds don't mind the snow.  They still get fed!


It looked so soft and fluffy!  I decided it woudl be worth a second of cold to jump in, just for a moment!


But now I am happy to be back in the warm!  We are going to stay in until work time. 


Brownies and puzzles!  Yay!