Synchronized Skating, with Mrs. Pike

Back when Mrs. Pike and I first met, I learned about synchronized skating. It was one of her passions. Over the years I've gone from having a vague idea that it was like synchronized swimming, just on top of the water instead of in it to having a less-vague idea that it was like synchronized swimming, just on top of the water instead of in it. And while we had hoped, I had never managed to get to a competition.

Well.

Last week, I was in the Delta Sky Club in Santiago and she was in the Delta Sky Club in Boston and we were comparing notes when she mentioned being in Harrisburg "next week." Wait...what? Turns out, she was judging here in Pennsylvania. "Next week." When we were home.

Before My Favorite and I had ever left the Sky Club, we had tickets and a room at the same hotel where she was staying. 

A road trip, a hotel, a new experience, sharing a friend's love after more than a decade, amazing conversation, and tight hugs. Sometimes the quick adventures are the best.

January 16–17, 2025

 We left Chile on the 16th. Which meant up at 9:00 am local/7:00 am EST. Drive from Chillan to Concepcion. Flight from Concepcion to Santiago. Santiago to Atlanta. Atlanta to Philly. Arrive Gargoyle House apartment about 1:00 EST 17 January.

By 2:00 pm, the pizza had arrived. At 3:00 pm on 17 January 2025, we decided to go take a nap. Left the lights on and the pizza on the counter. It was a nap, after all.

Next thing we knew, it was shortly after 6:00 am on 18 January. Fifteen hours after we had gone down for our nap, we were rested and awake.

It was a long day and a hell of a nap.

Stargazing

Our last night in Chile, My Favorite comes home and says, "After dinner, I'd like to drive out and we can look at the stars." So we did.

The Southern Cross

In case it wasn't clear

What's he pointing at?

See it now?

Orion's Belt and Sword

First Day of Classes

Both of my classes have officially started and my professors could not be more different. Practices is like "I don't know what we're doing here, so let's get to know each other until I figure out the platform" and Mechanics has given out a quiz with questions like "what is the transitional clause in this sentence?" and "is the underlined a participle phrase, a gerund phrase, an infinitive phrase, or an appositive phrase?" Fuck if I know 🤣

24 hours of travel Thursday – Friday heading back to Philly so I want to get as much done as possible before then. 🤞

A Rosemont Raven

Holy shit, I'm getting my master's degree. What does this have to do with travel? Not a goddamn thing. BUT! It's why I won't be traveling as much, so I figure for a minute, this can be a graduate studies blog. Or maybe I'll use the time to catch up with past travels. Or maybe I'll stop posting altogether again. We'll see. Regardless, the adventure continues...

Chillan

 Usually, I get to see some of the town where we're staging. This time, though, I didn't expect to see anything but the hotel and the attached casino (and the clinic) because we don't have a car and the hotel is on the very outskirts of town. As my Elder put it, Chillan is in the middle of nowhere and the hotel is on the outskirts of Chillan. HA!

However, the crew is really good about making sure that everyone has a chance to get the car. We've been to dinner twice and the grocery store once.

Why are some of my pictures sideways? I have no idea! I know that if I fiddle too much though I will never publish. So yay! Sideways pictures. HA!

Greetings from Chile!

 It's so strange; I always think about writing for several days and don't ~ until one morning it's like NOW! You will write NOW! Ha. So, here we are. 

We've been in Chile since 27 December 2024. It's been a really nice visit. I was here for about two days and already liked it more than Greece. I ended up with acute tonsilitis, though, and spent from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am at the clinic our first week here. Who knew adults could still get tonsilitis???? Anyway, a shot in the butt of antibiotics and another of steroids/analgesic and I was remarkably better by the time I woke up and 100% within the next three days. The facilities and care were as good as anything I've gotten in equivalent towns in the States ~ and the whole thing was free. It was amazing. 

All's been well since then, thank goodness. The end of the holidays was nice. NYE, we were expecting peanut butter sandwiches, potato chips, and Netflix in the room (which, let's be honest, wouldn't have sucked) but there's a casino attached, so we thought we'd at least check it out. Nope. We don't gamble and we don't drink much and 9:30 is early, so it was a nonstarter. As we headed back to the room, we walked by the nice restaurant attached to the hotel and casino, the nicest in the whole area. Next thing I know, My Favorite has us a table for the evening, dancing at midnight included. So...we had a lovely NYE dinner and we back in the room on the 6th floor in time to see the fireworks at midnight.

Chile, and Chillan where we are specifically, is a great place. People are kind and respectful to each other. And not just to the tourists, but each other. Infrastructure is good; government is no more corrupt than anywhere else; medicine is first rate. My Favorite has loved Santiago for years and I see why. 

Will I post more? Who knows. But the adventure continues...