Brazil: Campos do Jordao

Back in May, (yup, it has taken me that long to write about this!) Ash and I went on vacation to Brazil. He has a client that lives there and so we went to visit him at his home in the mountain town, Campos do Jordao.

Day 1: Our plane touched down at about 6:30 am and I was exhausted. About 2.5 hours later, we arrived by car at Campos and stayed at Hipica Golf, a stable with this little 4-room hotel usually reserved for wedding parties. The view from our room was amazing. We did some work, took a tour of Dormovil's plantation - seriously, this guy has a self-sustaining farm - and took it pretty easy in general.

Day 2: We woke bright and early for a bike ride to this huge park that was about 10k away from the house. I rode an electrical bike. Ash rode a normal mtn. bike and I felt so bad for him while I was gliding up all the hills on the way back to the house. The park was gorgeous. It has fishing ponds, nurseries, and tons of paths to ride, run, or play on. If I lived here, this would be my private little safe-haven!

After we got done with our bike ride, we hopped onto some of the horses that were at the stables and went for a ride. Since I had never ridden a horse before, I was required to wear a life jacket. You read that correctly. This vest inflates if for some reason I fell of the horse.

While we were riding we went up a river. It was honestly one of the coolest things I have ever done! My horse was super stubborn, to reduce my risk of falling off, and I had to kick him hard to get him to go into the water. Nevertheless, it was amazing.

At one point, Ash got off his horse to use the bathroom. While he was getting back on, the horse took off and started galloping the wrong way down the trail. Both of the reigns were on one side of the horse and Ash had to do some superman moved in order to slow the horse and regain control. I'm sure it looked like it was straight out of a movie but I didn't see it.

To finish off the day, we drove up to the top of the mountains and hiked out to this rock...in our riding boots. Those things are not too comfy and I was done when we got to this point. Ash ran out along that fin, in his boots, and I was lucky enough to snatch a photo of him catching the wind. This rock is supposed to look like a travelling trunk...I don't think I have enough imagination.

Day 3: We got on Dormoville's 'quads' and went 4-wheeling all over the countryside. Ash's face was covered in dust about 20 minutes in...this is one of my favorite photos of all time.

We arrived at this little restaurant to eat lunch. It was totally charming.

One of my favorite features was the two rivers that converged on this rock bed out behind the restaurant. It was just delightful!

At the restaurant, I learned to never judge a book by its cover. Lime? Nope Orange!

Orange? Nope, its a lemon!

For dinner on our final night in Campos, Dormovil invited a pizza chef over to cook pizza in his wood-burning oven. The funny part is that he has a whole dining/kitchen/prep building that is separate from the rest of everything just for this purpose. We ate with all the friends he invited over for quadding earlier that day.

That night we said good-bye and went to bed. The next morning would bring a 3-hour flight and surfing!

Ketchup

It has been a few months since I have posted. Since April, I have spent a lot of time out of town, a lot of time being sick, a lot of time having fun, and, most recently, a lot of time with Ashley reading and cooking. Because it seems like I am always catching back up, I am spending time writing on my blog instead of sending emails and working out. I hope you enjoy today's ketchup!

April:
When I got home from three weeks of traveling for work, Ash and I packed our bags to go to Texas and New Orleans. While we were in Texas, we visited Ashley's parents and got a lucky surprise when his Grandmother was there!Ashley's father is building their retirement home from scratch and all by hand. They just put in this new fireplace and mantle. People just don't put that kind of work into their homes anymore. We hope this place will be a lakeside retreat for generations to come!

We had some friends getting married in New Orleans so after visiting in Texas, we drove the 5 hours to New Orleans. It was the first week of the Jazz Fest and it was truly amazing. I love blues and jazz and I was so excited to experience this city during the most popular week of their year.

We went to the festival grounds and saw all the things on my checklist! 1. a second-line band. 2. a jazz 'n blues legend. 3. the mardi-gras indians.

1. A second line band was originally for funeral purposes. The first line of people would come through the neighborhood and they were the friends and immediate family of the deceased. Then the second line would come through the neighborhood. These folks were the party. After the band passed you by, you would join up with them and continue through the neighborhood, dancing as part of the parade. The second-line band is just like a marching band except they are full of fun and funk!
2. Dr. John is a jazz and blues legend. He was good friends with one of my favorite legends, Professor Longhair, who wrote the song "tipitina." (If you want to see a great piano arrangement of this song, check out the movie "Make it Funky!" where Allen Toussaint makes this into a masterpiece!) And, I was lucky enough to hear Dr. John perform Tipitina live at the jazz fest! I thoroughly enjoyed this.

3. The Mardi Gras Indians came out of the civil rights era. This was a time when blacks received little respect and Native Americans received even less. So it became a tradition for different 'tribes' of people to come together, dressed in costume, and celebrate their culture. When you had the costume on, there was no color. Everyone was the same. There are still great contests for costume, dance, and music.


4. The Roman Candy Wagon is the original food truck. For three generations this little buggy has been pulled around New Orleans selling pulled taffy. They used to also sell fresh fruit and would go through town singing, "I have watermelon, fresh apples too, baby!" When it isn't parked on the fairgrounds during the festival, this cart is still pulled around by a horse selling taffy to everyone in town. I took one bite of this stuff and pulled a temporary crown off my tooth. Unfortunately that was the end of the Roman Candy. Boo!
While in New Orleans, we also saw Trombone Shorty live at the New Orleans House of Blues. What an incredible show! While playing "On the Sunny Side of the Street," a blues classic, he proceeded to circular breathe a single note into his trumpet for over 6 minutes. If Ashley's phone still worked, I would post the movie to prove it to you. On top of that, he had some great guests and put on a super energetic show. I can't wait to see him again next month in SLC. We also went to Tipitina's a bar and music venue that was named Tipitina's in honor of Professor Longhair who frequented the place with concerts and shows.

Being in New Orleans for the Jazz Fest was like visiting Europe and going to Bach's childhood home. It was amazing to be in places that made musical history. I can't wait to go again!

The Traveling Trail Runner

Recently I have been out and about more often than I have been home. Work has taken me to new places to meet new faces. While I have been gone, I have been attempting to go out on as many trail runs as I can. I am posting the trail reviews and the tale of my run on my blog at www.R-U-Nevents.com.

Check out today's post about a trail run down in Moab, UT. Here is a little preview.

Happy Trails!

Ready to Run

I just viewed a picture of me running away from the camera (a.k.a. my backside) that was taken last week. I was so embarrassed by the size of my derrière that I decided that I can't wait any longer- I must register for something that will get my booty off the couch and out training. Here are the events that I am now registered for:

April 9, 2011: Kiwanis 5k

This race is being put on by some of my friends and is designed to raise money for the Kiwanis Club. I honestly have no idea what the Kiwanis Club is or what they do but I figured it will be a great way to break back into the racing without getting too overwhelmed right off the bat.

May 8, 2011: Goldilocks Women's Bike Ride

This ride is off limits to men. I have to admit, I am not totally stoked about rides that are all "she-power." I sorta feel like segregation is not the best way to make women equal to men. However, I do love that a lot of women come out to these events that would never participate if men were involved. I have a couple of girlfriends doing this ride so I figured it would be a fun one to get involved in. I haven't decided yet the distance I am going to ride but I am thinking I would prefer the 60 miler.

October 8, 2011: The Pink Series 1/2 Marathon

This is, again, an event created for the ladies. I went into that above so I won't waste your time explaining to you how I feel about this type of event. I am excited that this race takes place in Park City which is where I hope to be living by then. I am also excited to run this with a couple of girlfriends. And, I know the race directors. I'm always happy to support the races of my fellow race directors as I hope they would do the same for me.

So those are my upcoming races. After scheduling out the next few months of my life, I honestly don't feel like I have very many other open weekends to participate in local events. One thing that I am actually really excited for is a day of trail running in Boulder, CO. My friend, Melissa Stratton, and I both have to be in Boulder for the week of May 9-12. We are going to leave a day early and go trail running for a day. That's right, X-Country Camp is being revived, even if it is just for one day. I can't wait!

Need a training buddy? Let's get together and run or ride!

Oquirrh Mountains

I went trail running with one of my girlfriends yesterday morning. There was a fresh blanket of snow that had fallen overnight making the morning quiet and still. While the sun was coming up over the peaks of the Wasatch the Oquirrh Mountains turned into a shimmering gold and the clouds rolled silently across the blue sky. These are the things that those great spiritual trail runs are made of.

a new card

My niece is celebrating her first birthday on Sunday. I made this cute little card to send off to her. My two favorite parts are the safety pin that goes through the knot in the ribbons and the white writing on the dark brown paper.

Happy Birthday Lilly!

loving it!

I was with one of my most fashionable friends today who is a designer and a hunter of beauty. She inspired me to look around at clothing that is beautiful. So this afternoon I did a little window shopping. These are some of the things I am loving!

photos courtesy of anthropologie.com

cards by belle returns

You may wonder, if you haven't known me for long, why my blog is at cardsbybelle.blogspot.com. What do cards and belle have to do with Rhielle? Many years ago, I was famous for making beautiful home made cards. This was at the beginning of the card-making boom and I thought that someday I might open a business where people could purchase a one-of-a-kind card for their loved one. I soon realized, however, that creating one-of-a-kind cards was not important to people because using a design for only one card made them very expensive. I created a blog where I thought I would showcase some work but then it just turned into a place to write down my thoughts. Now, people turn to cards by belle to read about me!

On Sunday, my father celebrated his 58th birthday. I took him and my mom out to lunch on the next day and gave him his birthday card. I haven't made any of these unique cards in a while. It was fun to put one together again. And, the inside (although you can't see it) the card hosts a gift certificate which makes it great wrapping paper.

Later that afternoon, I came home and made cards for everyone who has a birthday in March. You will have to check back for images, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for those who are receiving them.

ebay fun

I love equipment. In fact, I like it so much that some people would call me names

like,"gearhound," "gearhead," or my personal favorite, "gear-whore." That's right, sometimes I wonder what I would do for some new gear. Now that I have a new career that involves running and using a particular brand of gear I don't necessarily have a chance to use all that old gear. My little sis doesn't run in the same size of running shoes as I do anymore so I decided to get online and sell all this unused gear. Ironically, it isn't worth much, $10 or $15 for a pair of running shoes here and there. But you know what is surprisingly worth a lot more, beer tap handles!

Yup, you read that right! A few weeks ago I was cleaning out one of the homes that Ashley takes care of in Park City after Stella Artois, a beer company, checked out of it during the Sundance Film Festival. Stella had left behind an entire box of beer tap handles. I decided to take them home with me and see if I could list them on ebay and make a few bucks. Little did I know, they are super valuable on ebay and each one went for at least $15 and some went for as much as $25! Seriously, I had no idea.

This little pile of stuff is worth a few hundred bucks. Not bad for a day's work! Lesson learned: anything that has to do with alcohol is worth money...never leave it behind!