Up, Up and Away!

Today marks my last day at Moosejaw. I've been here for over eight years, which is definitely the longest time I've ever worked anywhere.

I'm leaving the company to seek new adventures and opportunities. It's a bittersweet mix of excitement and nerves - but it's time for a huge change - so off I go. Final destination - TBD.

Photo by: NC Wyeth via Molly Alone

Serengeti Sunsent

Ah, Tanzania. Home to the Great Rift Valley, Mt. Kilimanjaro, and the gorgeous islands of Pemba and Zanzibar just to name a few. WOW. More to come...

photo by: Amnon Eichelberg

The Vanishing

I was forwarded this article from Zakk, my co-worker a couple days ago. Patrick Drew writes of places that are disappearing due to climate change and global warming. Glacier melt, tundra thaw, and sinking atolls (such as the Maldives pictured above) could be a memory only seen in books like this in the coming generations.

Photo: via Travel and Leisure

What I've Suspected All Along!

I am one of them. Fully terrified of the ocean and convinced that I will be the person who gets bit by a shark. This fear has also transcended into an obsession with sharks. My coworker, Gary, shared this print with me. For sure getting one. Statistics do show that one is most likely to be attacked by a shark in Florida. I totally learned that on Shark week - I'm sure the most credible source for all things tiburon.

Image via Society 6

Pimms Cup

Thursday, I leave for Scottsdale to stand up in a dear friend's wedding. She's British, so in honor of her wedding, that other wedding and enjoying cocktails - we are going to mix up some Pimms Cups to enjoy in the hot Arizona sun. Yum.

recipe via: Imagine Design Blog

Plastic Bottle Paradise

Inspiration Green has this great post showing how people from around the world are reusing plastic bottles to create homes, non profit centers and office space. Amazing.

Via: Scrap TC on Facebook

Corn Islands

The Corn Islands off the coast of Nicaragua are a true testament to adventure and budget travel. My good friends made this a stop on their Nicaraguan Honeymoon in December and raved about the isolated beaches, friendly natives and rustic accommodations. And I thought Vieques was a place to see before the rest of the world.

Light Painting

Twisted Sifter posted this article today about Trevor Williams and his light paintings. This is just one of many badass photographs. Trevor lives in Japan where he works on photography and also runs a language school. Decent.

(Photo by: Trevor Williams via Twisted Sifter)

Dinner in the Sky

There is not a chance that I could attend an event like this. But, this idea is pretty brilliant and unique. Dinner in the Sky is currently offered in 30 countries. WOW.

Via: Cup of Jo

7th and Detroit

I just returned from week long work trip...parlayed into a long weekend in Denver, Colorado to visit friends. While waiting for a table at Snooze a friend and I decided to take a walk down 7th Avenue as opposed to standing around on busy Colorado Avenue for 45 minutes.

We passed blocks and blocks of massive, unique, historical homes. All of them different in character and design. We turned right on Detroit St and there stood this impressive example of a Mediterranean Revival design.

Peppered into the mix in these historic neighborhoods such as Capitol Hill, Congress Park and Park Hill also include art deco apartment buildings like this one, along with smaller homes that possess even more charm than the giant ones.

Ice

The Moosejaw Marketing and Creative Team is heading to Munising, MI for our Fall 2011 photo shoot. This picture is from Grand Island, which is right off the coast of Munising. Grand Island has some of the best ice climbing in the country. Yep, in the country. The weather has been really wacky up there this season, so we aren't sure what to expect - but are hoping for a similar scene as is pictured above.

Photo via: http://gowaterfalling.com/

Walls

The Huffington Post had this great article that I came across on walled cities across the globe. Gradara, Italy is a fine example of an impressive walled city. Many more are included the piece. I recommend the read.

Photo by: www.initalytoday.com

Passport Love Story

Laurie Dickinson and Rob Lee met in chainsaw safety class in Missoula, MT in 2004. Soon after meeting, Laurie took a job with the Center for Sustainable Development through Boston University based in Costa Rica. Rob couldn't handle having Laurie so far away from him, so he took a hiatus from his US Forest Service job and headed down to Costa Rica to steal her heart.

While in Costa Rica, Rob was employed at El Cafetal Resort. Their experience running programs and managing resorts brought them to accept the job of running The Coral Lodge, an eco-resort situated in the San Blas Islands of Panama. This remote paradise was where Rob and Laurie lived and worked for about a year.

Their families and friends brought them home to the Midwest and in early 2008 - they launched Swift Passport Services - a premier travel document expediting company.

If you need a last minute passport, travel visas for countries such as Brazil or China - Rob and Laurie can help you get one as quickly as 24 hours.

They are also two of the most genuine and fun people that I've ever met. Rob and Laurie married in August 2008 and have been working hard to make SPS one of the leaders in the passport and via biz. Their use of blogs and social media really set them apart from the rest. I would trust them with my life - I mean, they know how to use chainsaws properly...awesome.

YUM

Here is my list of the best places to get fish tacos in the US. I'd love to hear about other eateries that boast a great fish taco as well. That's code for leave a comment:-)

#1. Southbeach Grill - Ocean Beach, San Diego, CA
#2. Sunnyside, Tahoe City, CA
#3. Kabin Kruser's Oyster Bar, Rochester, MI

The People

Dissatisfaction, strength, organization and passion are changing the world right now. And we're just worried about some snow.

The Universe House

This is La casa è localizzata (The Universe House for the Gringos), located in Roca Blanca, near Puerto Escondido, Mexico. This home was designed by Gabriel Orozco and Tatiana Bilbao.

The design is inspired by the Jantar Mantar Astronomical Observatory in Jaipur, India. The designers kept the house low to the ground to not obstruct the Pacific view - or even interrupt the rocky coastline. Check out the deck that surrounds the rooftop pool - amazing.

Urban Vineyard

This is a picture of the Vineyard in the Rue Saint-Vincent in the Montmartre district of Paris - named Clos Montmartre.

The Romans decided that this area was the perfect place to honor Bacchus - so a temple was built, and the nuns started growing grapes. War and disease ravaged Montmartre over the centuries destroying all the of original vineyards.

It was a group of artists who petitioned the city government and were granted this small parcel of land in 1933 - and Clos Montmartre was planted. What a great use for this lovely landscape.

Travel for the Cools

I follow several blogs - one of my new favorites is A Cup of Jo, by Joanna Goddard. She is not only a well known magazine writer, she's also a very good friend of my co-worker, Allison.

Her post today was from a recent trip to Palm Springs, CA. She linked to the house that they rented during their stay. The link brought me airbnb - which is a hip, eclectic travel site based in San Francisco. It just screams cool, young and the next wave in travel sites. They definitely need to get more options - as I tried to find a place in Park City, UT for our next photo shoot and they only had two options. But, it's always exciting to see what's new online.....

Blue Beach

This is Blue Beach, on the southern side of Vieques, close to the restricted side of the island. I took this picture - you can see how busy Blue Beach was the day we visited - and remember, this was December 30th! More people did show up as the day progressed, but there was never a feeling of being crowded or annoyed by the masses. The water was so warm and clear - even I had no issues swimming for a cool down...and for those of you who know me - that's kind of a big deal.

Green Beach

I just returned from the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. Most of the beaches here were named by the US Navy, which had a large installation on the island until 2002. This is Green Beach, the first of many that we explored during our week long vacation. Green beach is located on the far western side of the island, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean Sea. From Green Beach, the mountains from El Yunque Rainforest are in plain sight (aside from the ever present rain clouds that blanket the peaks) along with a myriad of marine life.

You will notice in this picture that there aren't any people on Green Beach. We were here during the week between Christmas and New Years, arguably the busiest travel time of the year, and we only saw 4 other people. Amazing. The next few posts will be about Vieques - the beaches, island life and temultuous history that makes this island truly unique. Thumbs way up.