One last summer splash

When Jayne heard it would be 80 degrees the last weekend of September, a last-minute "road trip float trip" was a no-brainer!

In a day's notice, I met Jayne and her roommate Kim in Vail with a sleeping bag, some food and wine, and a swimsuit. We headed 2 hours West to Grand Junction to meet two more friends and float down Ruby-Horsethief Canyons.

After a few minor hang ups and slow downs, we put on on the Colorado river, and started sailing down in a culebra, two kayaks, and a ducky--with an gator, shamu, and inflatable swan at our tails!

We floated down the river for two days, floating approximately 25 miles from Colorado to Utah!

We paddled through gorgeous red canyons and black rocks underneath a deep blue sky.

I took go at kayaking and had an exciting run through some small rapids (can't wait to try kayaking again).

We made great friends with our inflatable animals and the 20 strapping lads who sailed down after us (hello batchelor party!).

We camped in the real wilderness (not even in Africa did I have to poo in a bag! Seriously? A $12 disposable poo bag!)

All was well...Until we tried to go home. Kim and I were assigned the duty of picking up Jayne's the car at the put in. Though we'd been forewarned that Jayne's car had a sketchy start up, we did not expect to get stranded with a dead car battery. We were lucky to cross paths with a local mechanic, who kindly pointed out the silent alarm was preventing any kind of start up. So, we waited several hours for rescue.

At this point, most people would probably feel like shooting themselves. I oddly had the reverse reaction. I began to feel my heart beat faster and faster, and secretly loved the idea that we were in the midst of an exciting and unplanned situation. It was that familiar feeling of being a traveler. Being in an unexpected situation. Being fast on your toes. Being at the world's mercy. Sometimes, you were just not meant to get on the train. Sometimes, you're knee deep in water in front of Venice's Basicila de San Marco. Sometimes, you eat a mouthful of bugs. But you always come out of it with a good story.

Kim and I decided to kill my iPhone battery and have a dance party in the dark. Eventually, our new friends managed to shuttle Jayne back to her car to turn off the alarm and charge the battery. It was great to know I would make it back to work the next morning, some 200 miles away, though I wondered when would be the next time I'd feel the travel-bug speeding through my system.

Here's to the memories

These are the girls I grew up with.

There was a time not a day went by that I didn't see these girls. We went to school together, we played on the same soccer team, we had sleepovers, we wrote notes, we made embarrassing home videos, we talked on the phone, we learned how to drive, we talked about our dreams, and we graduated together.

Years have passed since we've all been together in the same room. Another reunion was well overdue. This one included all great things from the past: dinner, hot tubing, girl talk, a giant 5 pound bag of Gummy Bears, and lots and lots and lots of laughing.

We sat around the table and had many things to celebrate: Cyndi is engaged to her college sweetheart! Kristin is expecting! Kara is buying a new house! Bryn just graduated law school! I have a full passport and a new job!

It's fun to see how we've all grown up, how much we've changed and how much we're still the same. I don't know if anyone would have predicted that Kara and Kris would grow up to be hard core cops; That Cyn would move far from home and follow a military life; that I would have traveled the world. And though our lives are moving to a slightly different beat, it's good to see everyone happy.

We stayed up late watching home videos in our PJ's, giggling about old times caught live on tape! Fireworks. Jenny's House. CNN. Popsicles. Embarrassing Music Videos. 9 Lives. Spice Girls. And, Lean on Me.

To the ladies, thank you, thank you, for being you!

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

Blog back on!

Many many apologies about the blogging delay. Sometimes, life gets in the way (which is a good thing)! ;)
The aha moment tour is complete. I have traversed the entire country from the West Coast to East Coast. Holla! Never really did have a chance to digest it all...but a few highlights, for what it's worth: San Francisco / Sausalito, CA: The Golden Gate Bridge, Dutch Crunch bread; Golden Valley, AZ: The McKinney’s RV and the SW desert landscape; Las Vegas, NV: The Strip, my Eiffel Tower glass, the Hoover Dam; Albequerque, NM: Downtown Nightlife, The Frontier Restaurant tortilla's; Amarillo, TX: The Big Texan Restaurant; Oklahoma City, OK: Lunchboxes at Edna's, Econolodge's Letter to the Editor, Filming SaraSara Cupcakes; Omaha, NE: The Old Market, Desert Dome at the Zoo, Dixie Quicks Restaurant; Springfield, MO: The largest Springfield in the USA; Memphis, TN: Beale Street Blues; Little Rock, AR: Digging for Diamonds, Memorial Day Weekend Riverfest, Clinton Street; Jackson, MS: Mississippi; New Orleans, LO: Café Du Monde, Burbon St., The French Quarter; Birmingham, AL: The Sloss Furnace, The Civil Rights Institute; Chattanooga, TN: Chattanooga Choo Choo, Rock City at Lookout Mountain; Nashville, TN: Music Row; Savannah, GA: The Historic District and the squares, Hangfire Bar, The Riverfront, Tybee Beach, The Sunrise; Columbia, SC: Tea Party & hats; Roanoke, VA: USAir Volunteers & Vouchers.

I have been everywhere and nowhere, all at the same time.

I lost count of the many of hotels rooms I stayed in and the hours clocked on the road. Instead, time passed as media cards filled up and blogs posted to the web. I fell in love with the clicking shutter sound of the SLR camera and the freedom of finally being a travel journalist. I have come a long way to make a living in travel journalism. A number of days in the field affirmed this exciting direction: the journey to Sara Sara Cupcakes in Oklahoma, the adventure digging for diamonds in Arkansas, and the trip to Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga. I have been traveling for years and telling stories for longer than that, but never before exactly like this: with an HD video camera in hand and editing software on my laptop, a perfectly mobile TV studio.

I returned home with a generous collection of memories captured in pictures and video. While Katie collected tacky refrigerator magnets and Brett purchased every koozie / cozy in sight, I collected gigabytes of souvenirs.

America is no where near as exotic as some of the places I have been. There are no three-wheeled vehicles speeding into oncoming traffic, no fussing over money conversions, no struggles with everyday communication. The South was probably the most exotic place I could think of, and it was very cool. I dug the whole Southern hospitality thing (yes maam!), the classic varieties of Southern food (hello fried green tomatoes & sweet tea!), and the melodic way of speaking. Yes, it was a real treat to go down South.

But, unlike some trips, this trip was less about the trip, and more about the people. It was inspiring to listen to everyone's aha moments, and hear how everyday people are doing incredible things. There are some interesting people in this world. They are parents, entrepreneurs, writers, musicians, athletes, scholars, and everything in between. They are probably standing right next to you, you just never bothered to ask. Everyone has a story, each one unique and deeply personal. It was touching to come face to face with the real heros of our day; to talk to grandmothers who had become first-generation college grads, talk to brave entrepreneurs giving up everything to start a dream career, and talk to mothers and fathers glowing about being a parent. I was reminded that you can do whatever you set your mind on.

Since leaving the tour, I had a wonderful month cleansing and rebuilding; shedding all evils and surrounding myself with good. It has been a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with friends and family, reevaluate my life, and focus on what comes next. I have control over my life, and it feels good.


(family reunions)
For the first time in four years, I get to experience summer in Colorado! The place is as gorgeous as ever. It's been fun to explore Denver's neighborhoods: dance atop of Lodo's rooftop patio, chat with old friends in NE Denver, and sip on bottomless Mimosas in the Highlands...and see Vail at peak summer season.

(Denver; Vail)
So what's next for TravelingJules? A dear friend of mine recently suggested I grab three friends, jump in a van, and let Liberty Mutual sponsor a trip around the country taping people's "Oh no" moments! Gotta love the creativity! Instead, I hope to continue doing my travel journalist thing, and have recently accepted a new job at a production company!

More on that next time. :)