Adventures in Summer: Mini-Roadtrip & Flying

A couple weeks ago My Man decided that the Saturday he was scheduled to fly out to Baku for a 3-week work trip would be the perfect time to check out a rumored paragliding hill a few hours out of Kyiv (afterall, he didn't need to be at the airport until 6pm and packing wouldn't take that long. Besides--Google Maps obviously didn't know how well he drives--that time estimate was way too high. My Man thought he could cut it in half, easy.). So we all piled into the car (along with a new friend from summer camp, an expat who has lived her practically forever and is pretty awesome), cranked up the music, and set off.

We drove through stunning sunflower fields under dramatic clouds and blue skies. It was so beautiful I hated to blink. The fields of sunflowers, even mile after mile, never got old.

At last, we turned off the main road to find the paragliding hill. We spotted the tell-tale flag at the top of a hill and excitedly unloaded our picnic supplies, started a reluctant fire (the wind was so strong it kept trying to put it out), and My Man got out his glider to try to get a flight.

To be honest, it was a tiny bit of a let-down. The hill was basically just a little mound in the middle of a big cow field. It was pretty, sure, but we'd traveled almost 3 hours to get there and it definitely wasn't going to be a new amazing flying spot. My Man jumped off the hill for a quick sled run and the kids and I roasted hot dogs, played catch, and laughed as the wind blew our hair wild. We were definitely going to make the most of it.

Then I looked over and saw My Man flying over a distant ridge. What in the world? How did he get there?! He'd just landed at the bottom of our hill, hadn't he? Where was I going to pick him up? I looked down and there was My Man walking toward us across the field. I looked up and the wing in the air was gone. Had I imagined it? No, wait, there it was again. Turns out there was another glider flying on the next ridge over (at the actual flying spot!). Excitedly, we hurriedly put out our fire, packed up our picnic and hurried back down the hill to the car to try to find the launch. It was tricky, but eventually we did find it. And it was awesome.

A long soarable ridge with several other pilots, a big open area for the kids to play soccer, catch bugs, and hang out. We didn't have as much time there as we'd have liked (I could have happily stayed all day), but still we had plenty of time to soak up the sunshine, the wildflowers, and the fresh wild scents of the wind.

And this, ladies and gents, is why I married My Man. I would never think something like this was a good idea--too stressful and risky to even think about squeezing in an outing like this the day of a flight, especially without packing first--but because I married an optimistic, spontaneous, carefree man (and because he's slowly but surely wearing off on me), we did go and we had a great time, made some awesome memories, and got back in plenty of time for My Man to pack and catch his flight.

Adventures in Azjerbaijan

When we found out My Man would be assigned for a three-week assignment in Baku, Azerbaijan, this summer, I asked the kids if they wanted to go visit.  "More traveling?!" sighed one.  "It would be nice to have some down time," replied another.  "Not really, but you should go!" answered the third.  Sometimes I think my kids are aliens.  Who passes up a chance to see a new piece of the world?!  But that is fine by me.  We worked out babysitting and I booked tickets to visit My Man on my own.

He arrived last week and scouted out the area, wandering all through Old Town, making friends with a local barber, and getting the lowdown on the best local restaurants.  Sometimes it's nice to let him go ahead and get the lay of the land.

I'd never been anywhere near the Middle East before and although Azerbaijan doesn't technically count, it feels like it should.  Arid landscapes, oil rigs, dome shamed architecture, palm trees, a blazing hot sun--all it's missing are the camels!

It was a fascinating city to visit and by the end I was disappointed I hadn't had enough time to explore more of Azerbaijan (though My Man had already finagled an invitation to go camping with the local paragliding trip a few days after I left, so he will get to see the green, mountainous region!).

Speaking of paragliding, practically the moment I landed, we were getting up at 4 in the morning to meet the local paragliding club to go fly.  They generously allowed me to tag along, and I was glad I did, in spite of the insanely early hour.  The views of the early morning sunrise over the desert were stunning.

We went to two spots and hiked to the top of the hills at both places.  My Man flew three times (soaring until it was time to go at the second place).  On the second hike up the mountain, as I was walking I ran into something that felt like fishing line strung between the bushes.  Turns out it was the spiderweb for the largest spider I've ever seen in real life (not counting tarantulas).  I was very happy that the spider was still on the web and not on me, or the shock may have caused me to scream or fall off the mountain.  It was seriously huge!

But we made it up the mountain in spite of the gigantic spiders and other bugs and My Man took off.  I hiked, took pictures, and read while he flew.

By noon, when we headed back to our hotel, it felt like we'd already had an entire day of fun.  But after a few hours hiding from the sun, we headed back out to explore Baku's Old Town.

Another evening, we headed to Upland Park, a public area on top of the mountain overlooking Baku.  There is a beautiful monument to the soldiers who died in the Azeri-Armenian conflict in 1992 (which is still ongoing).  There are monuments, a restaurant overlooking the ocean, and a mosque up top as well, not to mention a fantastic view of the flaming towers.  Watching the sunset over the ocean and skyline was incredible.

While My Man was hard at work paying the bills and saving the world, I did a little bit of editing work, researched some upcoming trips, worked out, and read.  One day, however, I signed up for a walking tour of Baku.  I figured out the Metro system and headed for the meeting point.  Only no one showed up.  Turns out I was the only one who had signed up so the tour company canceled the tour, without telling me.  So I took a self-guided tour and had a great time.

Old Town Baku is enchanting, surrounded by impressive walls and turrets, it feels like you are inside a castle.  The roads are cobblestone, there are mosques and palaces and tiny alleys and cute cafes and souvenir shops.  Half of the Old Town is actually under water now, but the part that is left is well worth exploring.

And even though My Man had to walk, it was fun to meet up every day after work to go out for dinner and explore a bit more.

And then, practically before I knew it, my trip was over!  My Man has a little over a week left here, but soon he'll be home and we'll head out on our last summer adventure (a road trip to Western Ukraine).  Overall, I'd have to say I can wholeheartedly recommend a trip to Baku.

Summer Roadtrip Part 2: Romania to Odesa (through Moldova) and Then Home

Day 5 of our roadtrip was all driving.  Google Maps announced a 9-hour trip ahead of us when we set off (amid heart-felt but pitilessly ignored pleas from our children to take the resident dogs along with us), but it ended up taking even longer.  If we thought the roads in Western Ukraine and Northern Moldova were bad, they were nothing compared to those we found in Southern Moldova and Southern Ukraine!  But first, we enjoyed story-book perfect winding roads through Romanian forest.

It was absolutely breath-taking.  We rolled down the windows to let the cool, fresh mountain air wash over us as we sang along to our now-repeating playlist.

At one point, the GPS suggested leaving this beautiful road to cut through a village, allegedly cutting 45 minutes from the trip.  We decided to try it and soon found ourselves at the top of a steep dirt road along a village cemetery.  Luckily, we have 4-wheel drive.  The locals looked at us driving by as if we were aliens.  We drank in the colors and authenticity of the detour.

But then we were crossing into Moldova and the roads got worse.

We opted to skip Transnistria this go around (it would have added time to our already way-too-long drive, and who knows what other inconveniences if they decided to stop us to try to extract bribes), and soon we were at the border crossing to leave Moldova and re-enter Ukraine.  At the border, the guards stopped us and asked, "Are you sure you know where you're going?  Romania is the other direction."  Perhaps that should have been our first clue, but we decidedly did know where we were going (Odesa) and as much as we loved Romania, we couldn't go back.  So they processed us through, shaking their heads in wonder.  And then the roads really disappeared.  There were more holes than asphalt.  At the same time, we were hit by a torrential downpour, so strong it was hard to see out at all and the depths of the potholes were completely masked.  The road was also surprisingly busy so we had to be careful about large trucks suddenly veering wildly to avoid a hole.  The rain was so loud it was hard to hear the audiobook we'd turned on (Boys in the Boat--a great book!).  But My Man is a masterful driver and white-knuckled us through.  As we approached Odesa, the rain cleared and the roads improved and we arrived at our apartment in time to take a walk around the city, which was nice, with lots of parks and monuments.

The next morning, we headed to the beach.  I'd forgotten that it was a Ukrainian holiday, and was a bit overwhelmed by the masses of humanity joining us on our beach adventure.

Still, we found a nice little beach hut right at the water to make a basecamp.  My Man, Young Man, and Darling Daughter read most of the morning, with the waves crashing lightly on the beach right outside their hut.

Funny Guy was interested in some more excitement, however, so we headed out to see what else we could find.  He was not disappointed.  There was a huge inflatable waterslide, so high and fast that it continually launched him several feet in the air!  He loved it.

Too soon, it was time to head back to our apartment for a late lunch, check-out, and the drive home.  The roads home were much better, though there were still some rough patches, and we made the drive in record time, a couple hours to spare before bedtime.  We were glad to get out of the car, but I'm already busy planning our next roadtrip through the Carpathians in Western Ukraine, and maybe another one to Poland.  Even though we spent more than 30 hours in the car over 6 days, it was great, definitely a trip to remember.