Good Morning All!
Here’s to the intrepid crew of Apollo 11 who, on this day in 1969, landed on the Moon aboard the “Eagle”. Many of us can remember where we were when we saw astronaut Neil Armstrong step out of the lunar module, climb down the ladder and put his foot on the moon with the immortal words…”That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” How thrilling it was for a 14 year old boy from Olympia, Washington to witness this event! It’s something I’ll never forget…all of my family sitting around our television set on a hot July evening and witnessing history being made. It was a great event in the history of our country and the world at large. Here’s to Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Michael Collins and all of the men and women who worked on the Apollo project!
Our recent trip to Iceland began on July 2nd, as we departed Spokane with David, Andy and our four grandchildren (Joshua, Isabel, Bobby & Quinn). We arrived in Seattle for our connecting flight to Reykjavik with Iceland Air. It was just about dinner time, so we decided to grab something to eat in Seattle, as our flight to Iceland will take approximately 7 1/2 hours and it doesn’t include a meal. We happened to come upon a restaurant called “Evergreen’s” and decided to try it. They feature fresh wraps and salads made to your order. We were blown away by the “Cobb Your Enthusiasm” and the “Berry Met Salad” wraps. All kinds of good food were included in the wraps…melons, berries, gorgonzola cheese, broccoli, romaine lettuce, egg, bacon, chicken, etc. What a great combination of ingredients! I wish we had an “Evergreen’s” in Spokane! After a delicious meal there we were ready for our journey to Iceland, leaving Seattle around 7:00 p.m..
The flight went smoothly and the service from the Iceland Air crew was terrific. Our route took us north into Canada above Edmonton, Alberta and then across the far north of Canada passing over Hudson’s Bay and then heading toward Greenland. We passed over Greenland and then made our way to Iceland, landing at Keflavik International Airport (about 45 minutes outside Reykjavik) around 9:00 a.m. in the morning of July 3rd.. We picked up two diesel Mazda CX-5s with all wheel drive (we’ll need them for some of the roads we’ll be traveling in Iceland) at the Dollar Rent-A-Car office. We thought we were going to get manual transmission/stick shift cars, but it ended up being two automatics. Since I wasn’t good at driving manual transmission cars, I wasn’t signed up as one of the drivers….but had we known ahead of time we would get automatics I could have driven. I lucked out on the deal and got to be a passenger for all of the adventure and left the driving to Judy!
It was a bit drizzly when we arrived, but it cleared up not long after and we had a sunshiny day for most of our first day in Iceland. We drove to a little fishing village by the name of Grendivik and found a restaurant by the harbor by the name of Bryggin Grind that featured a couple of different hot soups in crock pots. One of which was a lamb stew. We all ordered soup with homemade bread and it really hit the spot. We have a place to stay in Grendivik and looked like a lovely place. Come to find out, the lady (Linda) who served us at the restaurant had attended high school in Vancouver, Washington and then had returned to her hometown of Grendavik and eventually married a fellow who was involved in the fishing industry. Fishing is the primary industry in Grendivik. In fact, on the wall of the restaurant is a “Wall of Honor” celebrating various fishing boat captains as “Captain of the Year”. One gentleman in particular, Bjorngvin Gunnarsson, had won the award a number of times in the 1970s. It just so happened that his funeral was on the day of our arrival and all of the Iceland flags were flying at half staff in the village in his honor. I met up with a retired police officer who frequents the restaurant and he told me about some of the fishing boat captains from Grendavik and let me know that he would be attending this gentleman’s funeral. From the restaurant, we journeyed to the “Blue Lagoon”, a giant hot springs/geothermal pool that is known worldwide. We spend 2-3 hours there soaking in the pool along with many other visitors. It’s quite a place. They give you a ticket for a free drink at their pool side bar, so we enjoyed a glass of champagne and the warm hot springs there…it was relaxing to say the least…a good way to spend our first day in Iceland. As we traveled back to the place we were to stay in Grendavik, I couldn’t help but be struck by the unique topography of Iceland…fields composed of volcanic rocks…no soil to speak of…the rocks being covered by what looked to be a yellow moss…the moss serving as ground cover in this particular part of Iceland (the extreme southwestern corner of Iceland along the coast). We took some time to visit the coast line near Grendavik, taking in the Reykjanesviti Lighthouse and the unique rock formations that line the coast. There are many different kinds of seabirds here. One of the cliffs here are populated by the Northern Gannet, a sleek bird that is a great diver. My bird guide describes the Northern Gannet as a large, pale, streamlined seabird. It is almost entirely white with a yellowish head and black wingtips. Wings are long and tapered and the tail is wedge-shaped. The bill is long, pointed and blue-grey in color. In Icelandic, the Northern Gannet is often called the “Queen of the Atlantic” in reference to its grace. It makes spectacular dives for prey, plunging from up to 40 meters with folded wings, and feeds on herring, capelin, mackerel, cod and sand eel and even waste from fishing vessels. They live in dense colonies on steep-sided cliffs & islands. They were quite a sight to see! It was a glorious day to walk the coastline and do some bird watching.
We did purchase a book on Icelandic birds written by two Icelanders entitled of all things “Birds”. It’s a great read and really hilarious. Here’s an excerpt about the Northern Gannet…
“And there is something queenly about it, with its yellow head and irresistible eye shadow—as if it’s always just come from an elegant cocktail party. And then there’s the fact that it has nerves of steel and dives headlong out of the sky and into the ocean after fish. It essentially turns itself into an arrow, plummeting through the air in a free fall until it slices through the surface of the water with hardly a splash…They are incredibly social birds, nesting in tight bunches and yammering incessantly while they sit on their eggs. This in itself is just fine. Bu they’re not just shooting the breeze, unfortunately. Gannets argue, fight, shove, and rough each other up. With such discord, it really doesn’t make any sense that they knot themselves in one huge group like they do…”
In Grendavik we stayed in small cottages built right by the harbor. They are new units, having been built in 2018. As with most accommodations in Iceland, they were small, efficiency units…utilizing the “minimalist” concept…smaller living areas…concise bathrooms and bedrooms…maximizing every inch of space. It was quite comfortable and had a lovely few of the harbor. The hosts provided us with tea and hot cocoa, which was a very nice touch. Comfy bedding made for a great night’s sleep!
Here’s the funny comic strip for the day…it comes from “Zits”:
Mom: “Forks next to forks, spoons together by size…Glasses, and mugs on this level, plates and saucers below, all lined up like soldiers.”
Mom: “Dishes are happier when they’re tidy.”
Son: “I bet there’s a hotline for people like you.”
Here are some thoughts for the day:
“Trevor Immelman has said Harold Varner III has the best attitude on the Tour (PGA Tour). Varner proved it by staying chill even as he shot 81 in the final group on Sunday at the 2019 PGA Championship, falling from T2 to T36. “This is easy,” Varner told GOLF a few days Later. “Life’s really hard. I’ve seen people struggle. I get to play golf every day. I didn’t have much growing up, so I appreciate what I have. If you come from nothing and you get something, you cherish it more. I hadn’t even though about it (shooting 81) until you just asked me.” To sum up: Relax and enjoy the day.”
—Michael Corcoran, “The Five C’s Of Saving A Crap Round”, GOLF, August, 2019, page 63.
“For the entrance is low; we must stoop till we are no taller than children to get in.”
—C.S. Lewis, “Reflections on the Psalms”, as quoted in “C.S. Lewis’ Little Book of Wisdom” (2018)
Here’s to a great Saturday and lots of love always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, etc.)