Summer Vail

Vail in the summertime is GORGEOUS.

For years, I've listened to my friends boast about their Vail lifestyles, "We came for the winter, but stay for the summer." Most of my friends who actually live in Vail full year prefer the summer season because there's a variety of outdoorsy stuff to do, hiking, biking, rafting, kayaking, golfing...rather than than just skiing or snowboarding in the winter.

Since TravelingJules managed to save half a summer to stay near home instead of speeding off to some far flung destination, it was time get acquainted with summer Vail.

I dug out my season snowboard pass and had a free ride up the gondola. It was wonderful to see my white-blanketed snowboard spot painted with vibrant colors. The way the Evergreens contrasted with the neon green grass gave Vail an entirely different personality.

At Eagle's Nest, I took a look at Mount Holy Cross, and could actually see "the cross" colored with snow.

I decided to give myself a tour of Vail Mountain, following the same trails I would typically take on the easiest ride down. So, I started at Eagle's Nest, seeing how Chair 15's Snowsports School meeting place was a beachy volleyball court.

I took a stroll down the beginner hill, following an intermediate mountain biking trail I would soon learn to regret. I was only a few steps from BerryPicker, but got excited to trace the snowboard trails on my mental map. As one trail traversed down the mountain, I found myself moving the opposite direction, weaving through the trees in the Magic Forest. In the winter, this is a fairly easy trail where ski instructors take their many little ducklings for a safe taste of the wilderness, but in the summer on foot, it looked a whole lot different. It was now a section of an advanced mountain-biking single track, Oops.

With quads beginning to feel the burn, I knew there was no other way to get down. Not in the summer. There were no chairlifts going back up. So I blazed on. I joined up with Berry Picker and continued down memory lane.

The scenery changed as I lowered in altitude. I noticed wild berries, bubbling creeks, and colorful wildflowers, and Lionshead village got bigger and bigger with every step.


Before long, I was back in Lionshead with a whole new perspective on Vail Mountain. In just a few hours, I had traveled down 5 miles and over 2,000 vertical feet--a trip that typically only takes 5 minutes on snowboard... It was wonderful to revisit Vail in the summer and see a place I know so well in a whole new way.

Float Trip down the Colorado River

I've been a hard working girl at the office for over a month now. I'm really liking my new job, but I have to say, I'm missing a little bit of that thing called sunshine. I'm no where near a, um, what's the word, oh, window. I'm missing a little of that Vitamin D.

August is nearly over (WOW), and I have not even the faintest swimsuit tan lines. Not only do Jayne and I represent opposite ends of the height spectrum, but we now can draw attention to our opposing skin shades on the color wheel: She is so brown from a 21-day Grand Canyon Adventure, and I'm so white like something the camera guys white-balance their cameras with. In fact, I'd even go as far as to say my stomach is as white as the Korean ladies faces who walk around Seoul under an umbrella.

In other words, it was about time I got up to the mountains to have some summer fun!

I knew my friends would know how to show me a good time. And they did not disappoint!

It was my first float trip in 6 years, so I was basically what we fondly call in snowboarding a "first timer"--but I now know how to "put in" and "take out"!

We leisurely paddled down the Colorado. We put in at the Pumphouse and took out at Rancho de Rio, just above State Bridge. We swam through the Eye of the Needle (Trish & Natalie), and stopped for a dip in the hot springs,
jumped off some cliffs (Mike & Ryan), snacked on some soggy sandwiches in Radium, and then mastered the new raft-guide rowing technique (HOT DOG)!

It was a gorgeous gorgeous day. Good times and good friends (minus the whole getting stung in the bum by a bee thing...).

If only everyday was this much fun!

Shout out to Holmes & the B-day reunion!

Like old times, a bunch of crazy kids down to have a good time...
Let's do it again soon.

Homesick for the World

Today, I feel homesick. But I'm already at home. So this is a weird feeling. I feel homesick for the world around me. It’s been a long time since I’ve used my passport. I wonder what exotic sounds and smells await in India, how much snow has fallen in the Argentine Andes, and how it would feel to speed through jungle on a zip-line in Costa Rica. This time of year, I’m usually caveman-talking, using what little Korean language I know, living in downtown Seoul. I’m bargaining with married ladies in underground shopping malls and sampling the seasoned flavors of samgyopsal at Kogi Kogi restaurant. My body and my mind misses the adventure.

It’s now lunchtime; I’m halfway through my 9 to 5. Most days, I enjoy it. But today, as I bite into my Ruben sandwich, my mind steers unclear. I think about the time I began to tolerate sauerkraut (snacking between beers at Oktoberfest in Germany), and the time Dave and I were on a mission to eat his favorite American-Irish dish, corned beef and cabbage, while driving across Ireland.

My mind wandered today as I listened to my Travel Memories playlist in the car: The Turkish Sabri Aleel song I belly danced to in Korea, Powderfinger’s Sunsets triggering memories of Laurent’s and my New Zealand road trip, soon followed by Journey's Don't Stop Believing, my snowboarder crew’s theme song in Vail 2008. I feel nostalgic for the great times of past trips. How cool it was to make new friends in Australia and Thailand and how wonderful it was to reunite with old friends in Hungary and Switzerland.

When will TravelingJules do it again?

Jules got an office job?

It's been five years since I've worked in an office. Crazy, I know. I've somehow managed to avoid having a cube to call my own for quite some time. I've worked on the mountain, in the classroom, in the studio and in the field, but never in "the office". So this is a relatively new thing...

It's strange, this so-called "office". It's a place filled with the monotonous sound of silence punctuated with clicking mouses and tapping keyboards. It's a place where phones ring and printers print; a place where people have meetings and discuss where to "do lunch."

I have a funny little partition of land called a cubicle. It's a square shaped room with 5-feet walls and no door; a place designed for "privacy." Gotta make a phone call? Everyone knows. Gonna eat some pretzels. Everyone knows.

So yes, I have a cube. I also have a desk, a computer, and even my very own stapler.

My face is whiter than ever. My makeup leaves an orange stripe near my chin. It's hard to get a tan sitting under florescent lights. That being said, it's a whole lot better than sitting under a tent in 100 degree heat with ants crawling up my leg.

So how does TravelingJules like being in an office?



It's the most exotic place I've been all year. ;)

It doesn't really compare to Vail's seven backbowls...but I have to say, it is an exciting place to be. A lot of great stuff comes out of this office.

This is TV, baby. The magic happens here. I'm working on a show for the Food network. And we're busy. We've got 26 episodes to book--That's 156 stories to research, cast, book and shoot! My crew is cool. ;) They're everything "bundt" boring (sorry about the food joke). We frequently sample products (Hey, research is key), conduct meetings over Boba tea, and write "piotches" (pitches)! ;P

It's a fun show...but more on that next time!

To people with office jobs everywhere, I only have one thing to say: Check out this video!
http://scottyiseri.com/SGAOJ/Entries/2009/4/13_SGAOJ_S02E12.html