It’s raining today. Raining! Not snowing, well, sort of sleeting, but I’m calling it rain and that means spring!! So, as we near the end of winter, I figured I’d share a few of our favorite moments where we really made the best of this crazy cold, long, snoooooowy winter we’ve had. I took the photo above on the coldest day of the year (it was somewhere around -40 F), and I was fairly skeptical about why I was living here, rather than, say, Hawaii. So, here are some of the reasons why we love Minnesota. Just so we remember. Because sometimes it’s easy to forget. 
We went tubing for the first time this year and I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on this for the last 22 years that I’ve more or less lived here! So. Much. Fun. Like can’t wipe that ridiculously silly grin off your face kinda fun. Kinda like this other activity we did this winter. But, as you are laugh-screaming while your face is sprayed with snow as you speed down the slope, you can’t help but have an inkling that, at any moment, this could be a serious disaster if you were to let go. But no matter, you keep holding on for dear life, tethered to your friends tubes, and as you reach the bottom, you all collapse in a pile of laughter and relief that you are still alive. And alive is how you feel. And, as soon as you can stand again, you find yourself running back to do it all again. Continue Reading →
Underwater
We spent our last afternoon on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) enjoying some much needed beach time after a long three weeks of work. And it was the most perfect day, meaning the water and air were both warm enough that we could play in the ocean much longer than usual. So we got out the GoPro and decided to have some fun. 
I kinda love using our GoPro camera these days because it doesn’t have a view finder (and it’s waterproof). The lens is wide angle enough that if you point it in the general direction of what you want to photograph or film, it will get it. So it brings back a lot of that mystery and excitement film cameras used to have for me, in that you never quite knew what you were gonna get until you picked up the prints. And then flipping through them was full of anticipation as you looked to see if you got one of those perfectly composed and lit shots. The one you saw in your head, but didn’t know if the camera captured quite as well. 
Continue Reading →
A new year, a new beginning
So here we are in a new year. Do you see the new year as a new beginning? I know there’s always tons of chatter about resolutions and starting fresh, and sometimes I don’t buy into it, but usually it does feel good to see the year as a whole new beginning. Yeah, it’s pretty arbitrary, but, there’s something about seeing it as a fresh start that makes going through another year feel possible. It gives you motivation to go forward without feeling destined to repeat the year before.
So every year we do try to come up with little things to keep in mind through the year ahead, maybe goals, maybe hopes or dreams, or maybe just little mantras to keep our focus on an aspect of personal growth that has risen to the surface. This year I’m repeating these four words:
It’s time for me to stop rushing around, missing all that’s happening around me. Time to drive slower, to walk slower, to see the world for what it is each day and to take it in with awe. And it’s time for me to lose control, not in the go crazy and have no inhibitions sense, but in the sense of letting go of my control over every situation, letting go of perfection, giving the reigns to others (at least sometimes) and trusting in the bigger plans out there for me, for us.
So in the spirit of losing control, one of our favorite things over the holiday was a trip we took to Sky Zone with a bunch of friends. It’s a huge gym full of trampolines. There are even trampolines angled upright, so you can literally bounce off the walls. We jumped, we played jumping dodgeball, we jumped and flipped into a giant pile of foam blocks, and we jumped some more. And we couldn’t wipe those giddy, silly, gigantic smiles off our faces all night. It was that. much. fun.
Continue Reading →
Overwhelmed
Well, Happy New Year! We are back. Finally. After quite a long absence. We hope you didn’t completely give up on us. We are still here, still excited to tell our stories as we travel about and try to make a life out of what we love. We promise to keep up the posts much more frequently now.
So where did we leave off? Somewhere around here, am I right? 
We were on Easter Island working on production for our documentary. And then we weren’t. Sometimes airplane travel just blows my mind, because not more than a day after having that above as our view, we were staring out the window at this. 
Talk about contrast, and don’t get me started on lack of color. Anyone who travels to warmer climes during winter in Minnesota knows what we are talking about. That sinking feeling you get when you look out your window and realize the beaches have become snow and the long winter is still here, dragging on, and there’s no longer anywhere to hide. Continue Reading →
a little florida retreat
* Yikes, we are so behind in posts….we’ve made it to Easter Island and are trying to get our feet under us. There were all kinds of events and work to do as soon as we hit the ground, so we’ve been a bit swamped, not to mention slooooooow internet is always frustrating. So we’ll do our best to keep this updated while we are here, but it may not be as often as we’d like.
When we fly to Easter Island, we usually go through Miami, which is a short 2.5 hour drive from where Nona (my grandma) lives in Fort Myers. So, whenever we can add a little extra time to our trip, we try to fly to see her first, then drive to Miami to catch our plane to the island. This time, Ta’u was busy on a shoot in Hawaii, so I went on my own to see her before meeting him in Miami. I think the last time it was just the two of us was when I visited her for my 11th birthday, my first solo trip across the country (Minnesota to North Carolina) and even then my grandpa was around, at least in the evenings after work. As an adult it was a whole new experience and we had a fantastic time together just sharing stories about life and how we see the world and exploring the golf course complex on which she lives. 
We raced her neighbor down the street on our golf cart, then took an hour and a half golf cart cruise past all 27 holes right at sunset so we wouldn’t disturb too many golfers. It was terribly windy and getting dark but we still had to sneak by at least 7 or 8 groups that were still out on the course. Continue Reading →
Planning a foreign thanksgiving
We are heading down to Easter Island (Rapa Nui) soon to start production on our documentary Eating Up Easter, so we are busy planning what to bring. Most of it includes a ton of camera gear, super heavy hard drives, and lots of other fun production stuff, with just a little room on the side for us. Good thing I’m pretty skilled at packing light after my last two-week trip to Rapa Nui in which I only brought a carry on.
One of the big things about this trip is that we’ll miss Thanksgiving, probably my favorite holiday because food, to me, is so much better than gifts. It’s that experience, that transcendent place you reach when you savor a long, excellent meal with all your favorite people around you, that stays with you forever, much longer than any tangible gift given at Christmas or a birthday. That’s why I love creating experiences and cozy special moments during the holidays, because those are what are most meaningful to me. So I was pretty sad at first to be missing my favorite holiday and the chance to spend it with family in the States. But then I realized, we don’t have to give it up. Even though they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving on Rapa Nui, it doesn’t mean we can’t make a special meal to be shared with family there. Continue Reading →
Our Garden, Year 1: a recap
This summer we planted our very first garden. And we grew things. And we ate them. It was so exciting.
Here’s a little re-cap of how it went, what we learned and what we might do differently next year. We by no means are master gardeners. We (or really I) can keep houseplants and herbs alive inside like nobody’s business, but when it comes to outdoor gardening, other than begrudgingly helping stick seeds in the ground in my parents’ garden growing up, I had zero experience. Ta’u had learned some gardening skills back in Binghamton helping out with a local church garden, but basically this was our first time doing it all ourselves and with, well at least an 80% interest in it, if not for the love of planting, at least for the potential outcome of free (mostly), all natural, locally grown food. I say 80% interest because we could have invested a lot more time in the planning, caring for and harvesting, but the lesson learned is, even with only 80% input of time/energy, you still get a lot of great fresh food. Sure it could have been better…we could have maximized space more or replanted a few times with early and then late season crops, but in general, it was a great first try. 
We pulled out our Organic Gardening Encyclopedia, given to Ta’u when he was in his Binghamton gardening phase, and looked around for ideas of what to plant, when, and how to space it. We basically picked the things we buy the most at the farmer’s market, and the things we thought would be easy-ish to grow. We decided to try more of a 1’x1′ square layout versus rows of plants to maximize the 10’x4′ plot we had. And we tried to plan out where to put things based on which side of the garden would get the most sun…..We planted the largest plants (tomatoes) on the eastern side, and plants that would grow up the trellis (cucumbers) along the north side so that they wouldn’t block the stronger southwestern sun from the rest of the garden [File that under things you don’t have to think so much about when you live on an island near the equator (ahem, Hawaii)]. Most of the seeds themselves were gifted to us by our landlord, a master gardener for real, so we spent 0 dollars on seeds. Yippee. Although, I have since learned not all seeds are created equal, and they actually expire, and there are things such as organic seeds, and sometimes you can save seeds from your plants for the next year….so as I said, still lots to learn. But for this year, free seeds got us pretty darn far. Continue Reading →
Arriving Separately
Have you ever traveled alone to meet a partner or friend somewhere far from home? I always thought A Cup of Jo‘s post about arriving separately for a dinner date sounded so romantic. Probably because it feels so out of character for us….we don’t live in NYC, i.e. we aren’t in walking or subway distance from a date night restaurant and we only own one car. But sometimes, we have met each other in far off places and we’ve discovered that, while sometimes having to travel alone can sound scary or sad, we can make it into a romantic way to meet up far away. We even flew separately to our own wedding in Hawaii. At first I hated the idea, but people were so nice and excited for me as I flew to Hawaii on my own, wedding dress in tow, that I decided it wasn’t that bad. It’s just one more way to keep excitement and adventure in your relationship. 
And if I hadn’t done it, I wouldn’t have been picked up from the airport by this hot Rapa Nui guy. I know we are extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to do things like this in our lives, and it probably won’t last forever, so all the more reason to take advantage of it now, right? Continue Reading →
Leap of Faith
What do you fear most and when did you realize you had that fear? For me, one of my biggest fears (much more than flying, although perhaps the two are related) is heights. I can remember the exact moment when I realized I had a crippling fear of heights. And not just any fear….a lay down on the ground paralyzed kind of fear. Not kidding. If it hadn’t been for my amazing mom, my remains would probably still be laid out on one of the platforms below the bell at the top of the Torre del Mangia in Sienna, Italy. Have you ever climbed that tower?
photo from wherefivevalleysmeet.blogspot.com
- I was 9, and on vacation in Italy with my family. We were lazily driving from Naples to Torino (south to north) exploring many of the beautiful little towns along the way. We stopped in Sienna to climb the famous Terre del Mangia, the bell tower that rises 289 feet, the third tallest tower in Italy. It’s great for the first 470 steps or so because you are climbing stairs inside the tower. You feel all nice and safe and cozy…you’re just getting some exercise. Then all of a sudden you come out on top and then there’s a ladder going up through the middle of a platform above you. You climb the ladder, all, “sure I can do this” and then you realize you are above any last fragment of wall surrounding the top of the tower. And then there’s another ladder to another platform to reach the bell itself, which is suspended above the tower with only a rope railing separating you from imminent death. Bring on the terror. I made it up the ladder to that first platform and said oh heck no and laid down, completely content to never move again. Clearly I did make it back down, but only because my mom is incredible. She talked me through it and then backed me down the ladder practically in her arms. I often forget it these days now that I’m supposed to be all adult myself, but sometimes I am reminded how powerful my mother’s protection still is.
This summer I visited my mom who now lives in the mountains in North Carolina. Feeling in a mood for taking risks, we decided to go ziplining. If you are ever in the Asheville area, there are a ton of options, but we really enjoyed Navitat because throughout the tour they taught us about the flora and fauna of the canopy and forest floor. 
We learned about the Hemlock that are dying on the East Coast from the Woolly Adelgid insect infestation and what they are trying to do to save them. 
There were 10 ziplines, the longest of which was over 1000 feet, 200 feet above the ground, and took nearly 30 seconds to cross. Also, there a few rope bridges and two places where we rappelled to the ground to look at the plant life and take a break.
So seeing as how I have a fear of heights I wasn’t sure how I would do with the ziplines. I’ve been on a mission lately to challenge that fear and I’ve been doing pretty well….making it up a rickety old fire tower in northern Minnesota was one of my recent accomplishments. 
The first few ziplines at Navitat were easy. The platforms weren’t too high, I felt pretty safe with all the gear I had keeping me tethered to the lines and the rides weren’t too fast or long. 
But then we got to the biggest one…you couldn’t even see the end of it, just a rope going off into the great beyond….you crossed over a whole valley so when you were in the middle, the view was incredible out over the mountains, but it was high. I finally got that crippling feeling of fear and I asked my mom if she would go first, which of course as my protector (even at 30 years old!) she did. Only later did I realize she was dealing with intense fear of her own (which made me feel guilty and terrible for only considering my own fear in the moment), but she set that aside to make it easier for her child….I will forever be grateful that I have such a strong and caring mother. Thank you mom! 
In the moment when I finally had to take that leap, I remembered what Ta’u had told me before I went. We have been taking lots of metaphorical “leaps” into the unknown lately and so he reminded me of that and told me to trust that life (or the line in this case) would always catch me…all I needed to do was trust and take that leap of faith. And so I leapt.
Here’s a little video capturing some of our zips (what do you call a ride on a zipline?). The funniest thing about the video is that it makes the zipping seem so smooth and easy….it totally didn’t capture the height or much of our fear…we look pretty chill. Although if you look closely at our faces I think you can see some of our apprehension.
In the end we both made it and had a blast and are already talking about when we’ll do it again. Navitat told us they were building a new course with lines 2000 feet long and 400 feet high and you go much much faster…..a new challenge? We’ll see.
I always thought I’d have to go to Costa Rica to try ziplining, but apparently it’s getting very popular right here in the U.S. Next time we want to go in the fall….the leaf colors in North Carolina are supposed to be breathtaking. Have you ever gone ziplining? What have you done to challenge your fears lately?
Kon Tiki
Are you looking for a movie recommendation for the weekend? Have you seen Kon Tiki yet? It’s a fictional retelling of the Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl’s real life adventure into the Pacific on a Peruvian raft. The cinematography is gorgeous and the story really brings alive the adventurous spirit of Heyerdahl and the men that he convinced to follow him on his crazy journey. Together, they built a replica of an ancient coastal raft used by native peoples from Peru and attempted to sail across the Pacific toward central Polynesia to prove the Pacific Islands could have been settled from South America. He wrote the book, Kon Tiki to document their voyage, which took place just after the end of WWII in 1947.
photo from the new movie Kon Tiki, a re-creation of a Peruvian coastal raft
Most Pacific scholars today scoff at the mere mention of Heyerdahl’s name – how could he disgrace the ingenuity and highly skilled navigational capability of the Polynesians by suggesting South Americans, using coastal sailing rafts and with no knowledge of voyaging across open oceans, were the ones to sail 2, 3, 4000 miles to settle Polynesia? We know today that there absolutely was contact between South America and Polynesia….it just wasn’t in the direction Heyerdahl thought. The Polynesians were highly trained navigators after all, so why would they discover nearly every spec of land or rock throughout the Pacific but miss the continent at the other end? And, although much of the “evidence” Heyerdahl cited as proof of a connection between the two peoples has been proven inaccurate, there is, in fact, evidence piling higher every day that the Polynesians made it to South America, introduced the Polynesian chicken, likely settled some of the islands along Chile’s coast, and brought back the sweet potato along with it’s Andean name, Kumara, and spread it throughout the Pacific.
re-creation of a traditional Polynesian double-hulled voyaging canoe
So, even though Heyerdahl has been proven wildly inaccurate in his theory that South Americans settled Polynesia, his story of adventure still stirs up my love of uncovering the past. And this movie depicts that spirit of exploration in the most simple yet beautiful manner, while bringing to life some of the fanciful aspects of the story such as encounters with mysterious undocumented sea creatures and giants of the deep ocean. It’s available now for rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon or Netflix, and probably in your local movie rental store (if you still have a local store), so check it out. I highly recommend it. It’s a fantastic journey of a movie.
And just as an aside… I can’t ever think of Heyerdahl these days without acknowledging to myself that despite his less than stellar reputation in academic circles, my life today would not be what it is without him. When I was in junior high, my English teacher gave me a copy of the book Kon Tiki as a prize for getting good grades on my papers that month.
I quickly devoured the adventurous story (which, now knowing more about Thor Heyerdahl, was a rather gloriously embellished re-telling of his journey. His books, although sold as non-fictional accounts of his exploits and adventures, are known for their fanciful accounts, not all of which are based in reality). I was hooked and immediately began searching for more wonderful tales of adventure mixed with archaeology and interpretations of the past. I had wanted to be an archaeologist since age 7 when I took an egyptology class at my magnet school and fell in love with the story of Howard Carter’s discovery of King Tut’s tomb. It wasn’t until college, like most kids who are star struck by the Indiana Jone’s style treasure hunting stories, that my understanding of archaeology was crushed and re-molded into the less than fantastic reality it actually is….staring at tiny nicks on rocks for hours on end trying to see the difference between two types of flakes discarded during tool making….or digging holes in the ground for days only to discover dirt, dirt, and more dirt, and maybe the occasional rat bone (although I do still love digging in the dirt). But, back then, after reading Kon Tiki, I found another of Heyerdahl’s books, Aku Aku, about his expedition to Easter Island in 1955.
This book, like his others, is not exactly historically accurate, but it solidified my fascination with that little island and eventually led me to choose to go there for my first archaeological field school the summer after my freshman year of college. Little did I know that teacher who gave me Kon Tiki back in 7th grade was actually leading me to meet my husband, Ta’u…..isn’t life incredible in retrospect? Not only did I meet Ta’u there, but my father-in-law is a native Easter Islander and the first to be trained as an archaeologist by one of the scholars that Heyerdahl brought with him on his 1955 expedition. Small world, right? Ta’u has childhood memories of Heyerdahl staying with them in his father’s hotel. The one thing he remembers most about Heyerdahl is the baby blue safari suit he always wore. You can still find photos of him from his various visits to the island wearing that exact outfit.
