I went to Iceland

I may not have mentioned this, but I just returned from a journey to Iceland, where I hiked mountains and set at least two world records.

Our friends Julie and Zane were also there–their hiking expertise came in handy as we faced dangerous icy climbs to the pinnacles of mountain ranges. There’s Zane with his camera in hand, angling to get the best shot.

What an eery, beautiful landscape it was! The textures of the snow were gorgeous . . .

I never knew there was so much to snow and ice.

I almost got buried in a snow drift a few times– and Julie definitely did.

You can climb out, Julie! I know you can!

Oh, you noticed the buildings in the background?  . . . yeah, you probably guessed that wasn’t really the wild mountain ranges of Iceland. (And does Iceland even have mountain ranges, while we’re at it?) It was just our friendly Lake Michigan beach here in old Chicago. Last week it snowed–a lot–and these are the pictures I promised to share.

This was the view from our apartment’s front door as we emerged for the first time after the storm had calmed down.

At first it didn’t seem like that much snow. But soon our views changed.

Our fellow Edgewater residents were coming out in droves, armed with snow-blowers and shovels.

The lines of cars were absolutely buried.

I was more grateful than ever that we do not have a car here in the city. This poor vehicle had been abandoned in the middle of the street. I hope you don’t mind that I did a weird Photoshop effect, to bring out the details of the white blanket of snow.

It makes the buildings look so brightly colored! I could almost feel like I’m back in Guadalajara . . . except a Guadalajara that was transported into snowy northern climates by an evil genie.

We met Julie and Zane at the lovely Zanzibar cafe, where a hot chocolate sent happiness coursing through me.

So good. In fact, here’s my sweetie-bar-pie drinking that very hot chocolate:

From the coffee shop, we hiked towards Lake Shore Drive.

Hi Mr. Policeman! Thanks for keeping Lake Shore Drive an exclusively pedestrian party.

And up we go!

Shot #1: a friendly couple.

Shot #2: A scarily masked man with dubious intentions has suddenly appeared by Julie’s side.

Then again, maybe his intentions were simply to stay unfrozen.

No traffic in sight. We rule the road!

Plus, the plows had already done a great job at clearing the way for us.

Taking photographs in the middle of Lake Shore Drive without becoming roadkill was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

I love that my husband loves Chicago so much. It makes me love Chicago, too.

From Lake Shore, it was time to head down to the actual lake shore, where we took those shots I opened with. The ones I tell myself are from my whirlwind trip to Iceland.

Iceland is a lovely place, lemme tell you.

Their only problem is keeping down the rodent population:

Yep. Yeppity yep yep.

We went from photo op to photo op without a care in the world.

However, soon the sun started going down . . .

. . . the wind started to pick up again, and it was getting too cold for the word ‘fun’ to keep holding its meaning.

So we turned around and headed back the way we came. Talk was made about how much this solitary walk on a normally busy thoroughfare resembled those apopcalyptic movies where everyone is dead except for Will Smith.

So on that note, this shot should totally be the poster for the new winter blockbuster “Snowpocalypse,” in which my husband, Julie, and Zane, are part of a small remnant of humans who have survived the storm. Our three heroes are now making their way into random condo buildings to forage whatever food they can before the snow zombies come out to feed.

Then, it’s each man for himself.

25 thoughts on “I went to Iceland

  1. Corinne

    My heart almost skipped a beat when I read the first bit, I thought how in the world do you have time to take a trip to Iceland? And why in the middle of winter??? 🙂

  2. Sherri

    Have been to Iceland and… yes…. Chicago is lookin’ a lot like it these days. Wow. Here in Pittsburgh, we got hit last year. If you look at old, old photos on my blog, you’ll see a sledding, snowboarding hill that I photographed in my front yard. My front yard is usually completely flat, so…. We live in an urban neighborhood too, and it was just so quiet….. yeah… just like the movie when everyone was a night zombie but Will Smith.

    So… here’s to hoping you’ll dig out soon :-).

  3. Lyndsey

    Cool photos! I haven’t seen snow like that since I was a kid. My sister used to live in Ludington, Michigan and we would go out on the dunes and the shores of Lake Michigan up there, it was always amazing! No snow for us now here in Florida! Lots of fog though.

  4. Virginia

    That is so awesome to see Lake Shore Drive so completely barren. I loved these!!! Thank you for sharing them with this Illinoisian who couldn’t be there for the blizzard. 🙂

  5. Aimee S

    Too funny. Those are some great pictures! Being a Chicagoan myself (although I have been transplanted to Cincinnati for the past 4 years) that is truly a once in a lifetime event to walk down LSD with NO traffic! So cool. Very jealous. Now I want a slice of pizza. 🙂

  6. The Food Hound

    You TOTALLY had me fooled!! I love Snowpocolypse! I remember Chicago winters (well, Naperville winters 🙂 and I SO wish I had the opportunity to walk on Lakeshore Drive! Great pics!!

  7. Veronica

    You almost had me going…if I hadn’t been already expecting a post on your snow day. The first several pics really could be from Iceland! Beautiful shots–you’re a great photographer. What a great day!

  8. Weighting For 50

    Wow!!! Amazing pictures!!! Chicago looks like a wonderful place even when it’s paralyzed by snow. My husband and I would love to visit one day……but maybe in the summertime!! Have a great weekend Jenna!

  9. Vicki DeArmeyv

    Nice. Very nice. There was one picture where a man walking down the street looks like he is carrying a canoe on his head. I just can’t figure out what that is…an optical illusion?

  10. merrilymarylee

    Your pictures are GORGEOUS! Obviously the snow didn’t slow you down! I love Chicago in any weather.

    Oh. . . and your cooking class dishes sound wonderful! I hope it goes well.

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