The Friday Five - Hit the Road, Jack

This week's entry for thefridayfive wants to know all about our travel experiences.

1) What's the first place you remember travelling? Family car trip to Florida when I was in first grade. Three days of utter hell there. Three days of utter hell back. There are certain smells (like crayons that have been baking in the sun) – even forty-five years later – that still make me sick.
2) What's the funniest thing that's ever happened to you while travelling? I had been at a convention in Phoenix, Arizona and was driving back through the American Southwest before flying home from Salt Lake City. I took numerous detours, stopped for a few hours in Sedona, and then needed a bathroom break. So I stopped at a Denny's in Flagstaff. And ran into friends from the convention who had just stopped there, too. Nearly 16 hours after we'd said our farewells in Phoenix.
3) What's the worst thing that ever happened to you while travelling? I've been lucky – most of my trips have gone smoothly, other than some nasty weather delays. Although there was one time that I developed a sinus problem in transit and it felt like I was getting stabbed in the face. They gave me an oxygen mask to wear and I was the first person off the plane when it landed.
4) What's the furthest place from home you've ever travelled? Dubai, UAE.
5) Where is the next place you hope to travel? I don't enjoy travelling anymore – or at least the actual process of travelling. I enjoy my destinations, though. I think my next trip will be to visit a dear friend in Oklahoma City in November.



If you want to play along, here's the code for this week's entry for thefridayfive. Post your answers on your journal and then link back to this entry.

<B><B>1) What's the first place you remember travelling? </b> <B>2) What's the funniest thing that's ever happened to you while travelling? </b> <B>3) What's the worst thing that ever happened to you while travelling? </b> <B>4) What's the furthest place from home you've ever travelled? </b> <B>5) Where is the next place you hope to travel? </b>

Things That Make Me Smile - Art Edition

White Collar is, for many, many reasons, the gift that keeps on giving. Breezing through my newsfeed during a well-earned coffee break, I came across this from Bored Panda:

Mesmerizing Translucent Waves in 19th Century Russian Paintings Capture the Raw Power of the Sea.

Even without looking, I knew, I KNEW, that this was going to be about Ivan Aivazovsky. The "obscure Russian painter" that led Peter and Neal to Edward Walker, a/k/a "The Architect", in Withdrawal.

FYI, Peter mischaracterized Aivazovsky as "obscure" - he was as prolific as the English artist J.M.W. Turner, producing over six thousand (!) canvases, many of them seascapes, during his lifetime. And hardly obscure, as he was sponsored by the Russian Imperial family, appointed as the main painter for the Russian Navy, and was highly regarded by both the political and military elite.

( Images under cut )