Hello everyone
I have been in the hive community for the last three months, quietly observing, lurking in the background, reading your amazing posts, up-voting, and re-blogging some of them. I have never gotten to draft my first blog, though, let alone post it, until today. How did I get into hive? Well, a good friend of mine paved my way into hive after inducting me into the whirlwind world of crypto coins. Although I knew that dealing with crypto was a big gamble, a risky territory not unlike the stock market, I also thought that since the markets were markedly down then, that it was a good time to buy in. So I plunged into crypto, and bought a little bit of bitcoin - just an infinitesimal amount - and other altcoins, including hive. The prospect of staking hive brought me here. Even as crypto continues its dive, with its future hanging in the balance, I will continue my journey here. Cause I have just begun!
I am a newbie, and I have yet to learn the nitty-gritty stuff, the nuts, and bolts of hive. And since I would love to write awesome blogs, I am not a creative writer. It takes me forever to find apt words to fit my stories. So, in my future blogs, you would expect a smattering of half-baked hits-and-misses, although I promise to load them up with some cool pictures, too, that might just delight your eyes.
About me - I love to travel whenever I have the time and the funds. I take short trips, weekend getaways, and even staycations. Whether I’m outdoors or indoors, I just enjoy being in the middle of the whole experience, thankful for being in the moment and enjoying life. I have no bucket list so to speak. I just let the wind take me wherever. I do wish to visit as many foreign countries as I can and walk along cosmopolitan cities, scenic landscapes, and architectural marvels.
When I travel, I am usually in the company of family or friends or both. There’s more laughter and excitement in being with a group. I even travel with strangers. I join escorted tours, bus tours, walking tours, and boat tours or ocean cruises.
In future posts, I would be sharing with you some of the amazing places I have visited both locally and abroad, which some of you wanderlusts might even have visited yourself. In that case, let’s reminisce, and explore the world together!
On my very first trip across the Atlantic, I visited this romantic city of cobblestones, majestic cathedrals, and of ancient civilization, the seat of the Roman Catholic Church. It is also the land of the most authentic pizza and gelato. Can you guess the city?
It is the lovely city of Rome! Pictured above are St Peter’s Basilica, with its famous majestic dome, and St Peter’s Square, the vast space in front of the basilica. This is where the Pope celebrates mass in front of multitudes on Holy days. The basilica is actually located in Vatican City, which is inside the city of Rome. Do you know that you can climb to the top of St Peter’s dome? On narrow stairs, 551 steps, we sure did!
Here’s the Colosseum, this formidable structure of an amphitheater where gladiators fought for their lives in ancient Rome. It remains one of the biggest attractions in the city, among the many Roman ruins. Seeing this massive structure from the outside, and then touring the inside arena, was definitely one of the highlights of my trip to the Eternal City.
I have also visited beautiful Paris once, this City of Lights, home of the Eiffel Tower -the beacon of Paris, the gothic Notre Dame Cathedral, the world-renowned Louvre Museum, and the golden Palace of Versailles. Part of this exciting, walking trip was going up the top of the Eiffel Tower, circling on the upper deck, and taking in the panoramic, breathtaking view of Paris. On this trip we also had a taste of the classic French escargot - buttered and garnished with herbs - it was good!
On the home front, we have had a few visits to sporadic cities on the east and west coasts of the US. Once, at Christmastime, we went to the Big Apple - New York, to experience the ball drop in Times Square at midnight on New Year’s eve. My ‘boys’ had the thrill of a lifetime, but me - not really! I was freezing! It was winter, it was very cold and windy, and the venue was jam-packed with people. So yeah, never again! Good thing we did other fun stuff later like watching two Broadway musicals, scaling up the Empire State Building, walking on the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, and watching people line up to skate at the decorated Rockefeller Center.
On the US West Coast, we recently hiked at the Muir Redwood forest near San Francisco, California with a group of college friends. Walking under a canopy of these centuries-old redwood trees we took winding trails that would lead us to what they call Cathedral Grove. This trip brought a lot of nostalgia, camaraderie, and a bunch of laughs. And of course, we took a lot of photographs.
Going to San Francisco, we drove along the Pacific Coast coasting through the famous Big Sur - which boasts scenic landscapes and cliff tops with incredible views of the Pacific Ocean.
We also went sailing into Mexico on a very special occasion. Aboard the Carnival cruise ship Radiance, it was all fun and games, casino, dress-up gala nights, stand-up comedy, karaoke, and sumptuous dinners! Also late night pizza!
When not traveling, I stay close to home, enjoy nature, take walks in the park or in the sand, and chase the sunset.
I also take random morning walks around the block, finding flowers and new growth along the way; I like the feel of the sun ‘burning’ my skin, enabling my body to make its own D vitamins!
After-dinner walks are hardly my thing, but I do it on occasion, and at times, it pays off to do so; twilight brings colorful skies, sometimes. Look at this recent photo of the sky near the house, on Halloween night. It was a real treat to see blazing orange skies!
I also dabble in a bit of gardening in my backyard. I also keep a little garden inside the house, which I call my sanctuary, filled with crawling green vines, tropical plants, and whatnot.
We make every night at home a movie night, binging on Netflix, Hulu, or HBO max, with a bowl of popcorn, cookies, or nuts, on the side.
I am a coast keeper! Every third week of the month, I try to participate in beach cleanups where we scour the beach for plastics or cigarette butts that have been left by beachgoers or carried to shore by the tide. Plastics do not degrade for many, many years, and remain almost forever as pollutants. When they finally break down into microplastics, ingesting them by accident or otherwise, would adversely affect all organisms, including humans. So let’s clean away the plastics. Recycling works as well.
Last but not least, I am a proud sponsor of marginalized kids through the non-profit Unbound. We sponsor kids and teenagers worldwide and help them navigate through their daily life by way of monetary assistance and guidance. Unbound staff mentors these kids to become future leaders and professionals. It feels so gratifying to be part of this organization and have a chance at making a difference in a kid’s life. Shout out please..to Unbound!
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Thank you for reading.
