This story will make my Mom proud.

When Kerry and I were at the palace of Versailles earlier this week (viewing 300+ year old artifacts), we went on a tour of King Louis XVI’s private apartment.

While taking a photo, I backed up into a rope that I suddenly felt go slack. A second later, a gigantic “BANG!!!!!” echoed through the room we were in and the tour guide said “oh dear!” with a hint of panic in her voice. I’m pretty sure my heart stopped for a beat or two as well.

Turns out, I only knocked down a pylon that was supposed to separate a non-public area from a public area.

Good thing, because 20 minutes later, we saw an ugly ornate dresser (that was designed to never open — simply a decoration piece) that sold at an auction for $11 million dollars!

London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Barcelona. Europe, here we come!

Hah, a year ago I was on my way to Florida for the STS-134 NASA Tweetup!

Anyway, I just had an update from Timehop emailed to me regarding an interesting Facebook post of mine from exactly a year ago (I don’t think I had publicly shared this otherwise):

British couple behind me is looking out the window and ask a nearby flight attendant if that’s the Grand Canyon below us and to our left.

She says yes, so I look out the window and see that it’s actually Valley of the Gods in Southern Utah (neeeeerd). I turn around to say something, right as the husband says, “Oh, that is so great! I’ve always wanted to see the Grand Canyon!”

Alright then. Just smile and turn around, Dave. 🙂

I Love People: 5,000 Miles, 930 People, 162 Seconds from Benjamin Jenks on Vimeo.

Benjamin Jenks hitchhiked across America and created this awesome video called, “I love people.” From the description: 5,000 Miles, 930 People, 162 Seconds.

Awesome!

It reminds me of this awesome video I posted awhile ago, “The Longest Walk.”

via Andrew Sullivan / The Dish

According to Foursquare, as far as the last 6 months are concerned, I’ve been to more unique airports (11!) than bars (10). And even more unique coffee shops (13) + cafés (11).

Is this what being a grownup is like?

STS-134 NASA Tweetup and the final flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavour

On April 28th and April 29th, 2011, I was fortunate enough to participate in the NASA Tweetup for STS-134. It was to be the final flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavour and the second to last mission in the Space Shuttle program. I traveled to the Space Coast from San Francisco and spent three fantastic days with fellow Twitter users and enthusiastic space geeks at Kennedy Space Center. Things didn’t always go as planned (you’ll see), but it was an experience that I’ll cherish and never forget. Godspeed, Endeavour.

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Of course, I have my Rdio playlist ready to listen to on the flight home.

(I’m currently on a plane, en route to Florida for the STS-134 NASA Tweetup.)

A British couple behind me are looking out the window and ask a flight attendant if that’s the Grand Canyon below us and to our left. She says yes, so I look out and see that it’s actually Valley of the Gods in Southern Utah (neeeeerd). I turn around to say something, right as the husband says, “Oh, that is so great! I’ve always wanted to see the Grand Canyon!”

Alright then. Just smile and turn around, Dave. 🙂

Good grief, we geologists can (nearly) be assholes sometimes!

Austin, in summary, originally uploaded by Dave Schumaker.

Ending our week in Austin. Here’s a summary of what it was all about!

Stryker Vineyards, originally uploaded by Dave Schumaker.

Barrel tasting in Sonoma.