Top 'O the World!

Well, almost the top of the world, not quite. We're in Iceland and it is absolutely spectacular here! And it's cool! They're having a heat wave back home with temps in the 90s but here it's mid 40s and the sun is shining and it is just beautiful!

We had a direct flight from Whidbey Island and after a snack from my duffel bag, I leaned against the giant squid and slept the entire way. It's what I do best on airplanes. According to the Neanderthal, it keeps me out of mischief but it also makes me well rested for whatever is going to happen when we land.

Naturally I was starved when that happened and to keep me happy, the giant squid took me to an old-fashioned TEXAS Bar-B-Q house IN ICELAND! I ate everything and since I was bouncing with excess energy, we took a nice long walk along the main shopping street. Cowboy held onto my hand as we walked because he says he could blink and I could disappear from view.

"Tsk. That would never happen. It would take at least two blinks."

SWAT!

Tsk.

He is fond of saying we were window shopping... I saw it as "casing the area" so I'd know which shops needed contributions from his credit card. Christmas isn't that far away; I wanted to get a few things. That's why I packed an empty duffel bag... We also found an ice cream shoppe so we stopped in there, too.

So far, so good.

We stayed at the visiting officers' quarters at the naval base for the first few nights and when Cowboy's military tasks were completed, we moved into an Icelandic hotel. We'll be here a couple more days before flying home for a week or so and then we're off again.

While Cowboy was busy at the base, one of the other officer's wives took me out shopping and sight seeing. We were stationed here for a brief period many years ago and things have changed a lot. The views, the water, the geysers, panoramic and all still breathtaking. The shops, the restaurants, the "night" scene - much more "Western" with a European flavor.

Looking out over the ocean, it feels like I'm standing on top of the world. Cowboy says the North Pole is the top of the world but he's a sailor and he navigates by stars and the night sky and sometimes, by where the sun is positioned overhead. I'm a land lubber - when I'm standing on some naturally high edifice with solid ground beneath my feet and I look out over the ocean, it feels like I'm at the top of the world.

"The North Pole, bambina, not Iceland."

"What about Lapland?"

"What about it?"

"Allegedly, Santa lives at the North Pole but don't his reindeers come from Lapland? I think Lapland might be the top of the world."

SWAT!

Jeez. Sailors are a sensitive bunch.

"Do you suppose Santa has a summer home there? If he does, he could get a spare team in case Donder and Blunder and Trixie and Mixin and Rudolph get too old."

SWAT!

Good God! Don't ruin a little boy's fantasies about Santa Claus no matter how old or tall or senior ranked he is.

SWAT!

Double tsk!

Shopping here has been wunderbar! Most folks speak English, some speak German or one of the Nordic tongues - Danish, Swedish, Norn - and of course, Icelandic. I love hearing all the different languages and I tried hard to learn how to say a few naughty words in Icelandic but everyone I asked knew Cowboy and chose to stay out of the brig. Big wusses.

At the end of my second shopping day, Cowboy asked me to give his credit card back.

"Why?"

"Cause it's burning so hot, it's been sending me smoke signals all day."

"What do the smoke signals say?"

"They say if you don't slow down, I'm going to smoke your butt."

Tsk! I was shocked.

"That's very kinky."

SWAT!

Double tsk. The credit card company must have called him.

We went sight seeing and later, all bundled up in sweaters and parkas, we went out on a sailboat. The sun was shining, the wind mild enough for us but strong enough for the sails and absolutely stunning scenery. At night, a whole group of us met on the beach, lit a fire and ate pickled herring and some kind of wheat cake and drank a hot brew that made me a little tipsy... Apparently a little too tipsy because it was later reported that a U.S. Navy Admiral's wife began singing all twelve verses to "The Bastard King of England." Surely that could NOT have been me - I only know eight verses.

Cowboy said it wasn't much longer after that when he said our goodnights and he rushed me back to the hotel and took advantage of my slightly drunken state. Tsk. The man is totally lacking in couth.

~Sar~