Iceland Pictures - Day 1 - Keflavik, Grindavik and Reykjavik

     After meeting up in Minnesota, having a few beers at the airport "Lodge" and watching Neil Butler sprint down the concourse to almost not make the plane, we boarded Icelandair and 8 hours later arrived in Keflavik, Iceland. It was 7 in the morning and after being advised repeatedly to buy the alochol in the airport duty free store, we bought a bottle of Brenniven ("Black Death") and about 2 cases of Icelandic tall boys (Vikings, Gulls, and some others that I forgot) to augment or already formidable collection of Rum, Vodka, Whisky and that crap Seth brought that tastes like black licorice.   We thought there was no way we could humanely consume all of this alcohol, but then again we aren't exactly human, but more on the alcohol front later.

We were so giddy when we got our car and got out of the airport, we took a picture of the dash.	That's us with our duty free goodie bags, loading up the Opel wagon. It is after 8am, it didn't really start getting light until 10. And then the sun only skirted the horizon.
Yes we were so excited, Shannon couldn't even kick back and drive the 130km/h like he's used to doing in LA.	The walk way (the wrong entrance) to the Blue Lagoon.
The blue lagoon. Notice the chemical plant in the background, apparently the water comes from the plant, thus the funky color. This was the first, and longest, of three trips to the blue lao lao. After a couple hours we eventually found the source. It was hot. Damn hot.	A shot from the restaurant at the blu lao lao into the lagoon.
Three happy bathers.	The walk way (the right entrance) to the Blue Lagoon, carved out of the volcanic hillside.
After it finally got light (10am or so) we got out of the lagoon (great cure for jetlag) and drove the long way around to Reykjavik. Highway 43 south to Grindavik, where we saw the ocean and were fairly impressed by the severity of it.	The mighty, mighty sea. It was cold outside, too, but not that bad. Probably 35 degrees and drizzly.
Wow, another picture of the ocean and 3 guys staring at it.	Neil's picture of the waves.
After staring at the sea and ordering our first round of many, many hotdogs, we drove East on a dirt road (24).	There was an old church, one of Iceland's first, in the middle of nowhere along the road.
Sampling some Brenniven at a geothermal hotsput where the mud was bubbly and it smelled bad.	A pretty lake towards the end of the dirt road where it hooked up with the highway to Reykjavik (42). At this point we had been in Iceland for only about 6hours and were pretty much taking pictures of absolutely anything that we came across.
Shannon's lake shot.	Some stark volcanic scenery with the sun trying to poke through the clouds.
So we made it to Reykjavik, didn't get too lost driving around the city, and check into our hotel. The name escapes me, but it was pretty nice.	After a little nap, we went shopping and Neil and I came back with sandwhiches and "Battery," this cool power drink (like Red Bull) that actually looked like battery with the plus an minus signs and all that. Shannon and Seth ate some kind of Indian food I think. We would have eaten hot dogs but the stand across the street was closed. Damn.
So we wanted to go out that night. Everything we read said that Icelanders generally drank themselves silly at home before going out to the bars, usually around 11pm, because of the high cost of alcohol.	Still feeling a little jet-lagged we mixed up the batteries with Vodka and took care of that litre bottle plenty quick. Interspersed with occasional shots of Brenniven and the odd Icelandic beer, of course.
So we spent a couple hours drinking and then headed out . . .	I think I was trying to take a picture of the "Icelandic Phallic Museum" that was conviently located right next to our hotel, but it was dark.
This picture is a fair representation of how the night went. We couldn't see straight to start with, but the battery was really fueling us quite nicely. So we drank more. And more. And more. And yes, alcohol is really expensive in Iceland. ($7/beer or so.)	Shannon waving to me with one finger.
Meeting of the minds to discuss strategy circa 2am.	Three cool guys and Shannon waving to me with one finger, again.
Seth's alter ego begining to break through around 3am. The Reykjavites really know how to party. The bars don't shut down until 5 or 6 in the morning which then coincides with hot dog stands opening, go figure. Of course, the hot dogs are more expensive at 5am. Damn tricky Icelanders fooled Neil with that one.	The stairs Shannon pushed me down, trying to blow my knee out again. You can see the reflection of his orange jacket in the mirror.
Shannon interacting with the Natives.	Cross-cultural exchange at 4am.