19 hours in Quebec City.

I woke up early on Saturday morning...excited to get up to Johnson for some QT with Laura and Dana. Rucchi is away so, us ladies had discussed a day of drinking coffee, catching up and maybe visiting a craft show or two. Shortly after we arrived to Johnson, the conversation turned to the day's plans. It was 12:30pm. The wheels were turning. Laura wanted to see the ocean. A tall order. Provincetown? No, too far to drive and we'd arrive in the dark. At one point, all three of us were looking at a map of the Northeast. Silly but, true. We finally decided on Quebec City which is mere 4 hours from Johnson. Why go? The Ballet! We found tickets to The Nutcracker and booked a room at Hotel Le Saint Paul really inexpensively.

We arrived about 2 hours prior to our 7:30pm show. We had just enough time to relax, change clothes and orient ourselves so we could find the theater. We left our hotel about 30 minutes early. We found the theater with no trouble and parked out front. We picked up our tickets but, found that our seats weren't together. Laura agreed to take the single ticket on the opposite side of our row. After sitting for less than 5 minutes, the ticket agent came over to us to let us know our tickets were for Sunday night, not Saturday. Yikes! We had to follow him immediately to try and change our tickets. After 15 minutes of scrambling, and a brief moment of panic after hearing the Saturday show was sold out and our tickets couldn't be refunded (they weren't cheap), we were able to negotiate 3 spots in the balcony. Dana and I were finally reunited with Laura. Together we found that our new seats (all together) were even better! The Nutcracker was so much fun to see. After the performance ended, we walked a bit before eventually settling on a restaurant for dinner. After a yummy meal, we headed back to our hotel and fell into bed around midnight. None of us expected the night to go as it did but, we were all very pleased that everything worked out. Onto the next...!

Our hotel.

The Nutcracker

Complete with a snow squall...

On our way to brunch...

My impromptu travel companions.

The view after climbing many, many stairs. Lovely.

The Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac

Quebec City was so Christmas-y.

Our stage!!! or, bathroom.

Midwest Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving will involve a pretty hefty road trip from Burlington, VT to Fort Wayne, IN. Earlier this month, I searched for flights out of Burlington and other larger airports close by but, the results were pretty grim. Only $800-$1,400 options. What to do? This Thanksgiving is slated to be pretty bad for air travelers due to sold out flights, security delays and the big unknown--weather. I'm pretty excited about my decision to drive. It will save me hundreds of dollars and will hopefully make my time off much less stressful.

Last week, I had the pleasure of spending some QT with Miss Laura Koritz who has lived in the midwest for most of her life. We got to talking and she decided she will join me on this journey. Her family lives in Illinois so, she will continue on home once she leaves me. I'm so delighted to have the company and excited to have a road trip adventure! See ya soon, family.

Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park

Hi there! I haven't updated in a really long time. I wanted to share a few pics before I arrive at my 5th airport of the day and my final destination. FYI: Bar Harbor, ME is really far from Palm Springs, CA.

So, I've been busy. This past week, we did a photo shoot in Bar Harbor, ME. It was challenging but, good. We worked long days and got very little sleep. I've posted a few iphone photos below of my favorite spots along the way. I didn't end up with almost any pictures on my little point-and-shoot this time so, these will have to do.

Bar Harbor is such a quintessential New England town and Acadia National Park has the most amazing views! My favorite part of the trip had to be our first shoot day. Our crew of 17 hiked the Precipice Trail, which the locals deem the most challenging hike in Acadia. It was was a bit hairy a times. There are a bunch of iron ladders towards the top that dangle you over 1,000 foot drops. The last 1/4 of the hike is pretty much vertical. We just held our breath and decided the hike was worth doing together to loosen people up and get some great shots! We didn't go all the way but, we went far enough to see the DANGER! We had great weather until the end of our second day, at which point we received flash flood warnings and had to stop shooting. After a late start on our third day, we got things going again and finished up on a high note. Our RV driver was the best ever and made us warm cookies, homemade guacamole, mini pizzas and smoothies. Food drives a crew...especially when it's cold and rainy. Ok, off to the desert. See you soon.

Pura Vida!

Steve and I walked in the door at 4:30AM yesterday morning after a long day of travel. Costa Rica is a beautiful country and home to some amazingly friendly people! I'll be sharing lots of pictures from the road trip sometime soon but, for now...just one. This was one of my favorite beaches in Manual Antonio located just south of Quepos.

snark, snark, snark.

Excerpts from my Mom's travel journal...

"Today was a day unlike any other so far. We were in a small village called Boca de Valaria in the middle of nowhere ! We have been traveling down the Amazon river for more than a day already, and trust me…there is nothing here but muddy water and floating logs and debris from the forest. The ship had to pick up a pilot consultant for the Amazon River, to go more safely, deeper into the rainforest To pick them up, we found ourselves in this village. We tendered in our own lifeboats to the nearby village and as we exited the boats, were greeted by the villagers and many children. They took our hands and showed huge smiles, while walking alongside of us. I ‘adopted’ two little girls and a boy…for most of the morning. They introduced me to their father, and I visited in their home. I found it to be very sparse, as one might expect, adorned with hammocks in each room (beds), a macaw poster, few to no pictures and a very primitive kitchen. The elder who showed us her home was a short, older woman, with a dark, worn face filled with the wrinkles made from hard work and family life. She was lovely and welcoming. It was nice just meeting her. After about an hour, finally, I gave each of the children a little Peruvian doll pin and a small amount of money to be used for school supplies; then, off they went (to another newly arriving visitor)."

"After seeing their church, school and homes, we took a dugout wooden canoe ride down the river to a water lily garden. Interesting to note that when we tried to enter the garden, the propeller of the small gas motor, got stuck in the roots and nearly threw both Pat and me into the Amazon, camera and all. Luckily, the boat righted itself, just before we went in and all was all right. I don’t think Pat wanted to go swimming in the Amazon very much…me either! Riding in the boat was lovely, quiet and smooth and filled with the simple beauty of a primitive jungle river. The water lily garden was massive and we found a few lilies in bloom, some random birds walking along, on top and within the garden. It was peaceful, lovely and a memory not soon forgotten."

Three hours in Montreal...

When you live 90 miles from one of Canada's most interesting cities, it's easy to arrange for a quick visit, even if you weren't planning on leaving the country at 9am that morning! That's exactly what happened yesterday. I woke up and walked to city market to buy some breakfast items. Whilst sipping on my coffee, Steven and I chatted about the day's plans. I suggested we go to Montreal for lunch. After a short deliberation, we decided it was on! In 30 minutes we were on the road and headed north. We had to be back by 5pm so, the plan was to be in the city for just about 3 hours. What can you do in three hours you ask?

1. Visit the Basilica in Old Montreal.

2. See the artwork in the galleries/studios that are free of charge.

3. Have lunch! Steve might suggest the steak frites with gravy.

4. Cross your fingers that there is some sort of music festival happening while you're in town. Yesterday, the barges, large ships and trains were blowing their horns and whistles while musicians played along with them. One street artist called it, "the port's symphony!"

5. Say hello to street vendors selling their photographs and paintings.

6. Drive up Mt. Royal to get a view of the city!

7. Eat a red velvet cupcake from Les Glaceurs. Yum.

Here are a few pictures from the day:

Antarctica.

My mom and Patrick have made it as far south as they will ever go. They are in the seas off the coast of Antarctica. It's so neat to think of them way down there, listening to the ice shift while cruising along quietly among the iceburgs. They both love to travel and have done so extensively but, for some reason this trip has been the most interesting for me to hear about. So few make this trip. They say that only 1/5 of the planet is well suited for human life. The other 4/5 of the planet is deemed too extreme and requires special equipment/conditions for humans living there to survive. For me, their trip presents a bigger opportunity-to experience and witness a part of the earth that many do not. I'm proud of my mom and Patrick for making it down there! Stay warm you two.

Wrapping up...

Yesterday was the last day of our shoot. After many smiles, even more raindrops, winter jackets and a sliver of sunshine every few minutes, we drove back to our hotel to unload. We had a great dinner at Garibaldi's downtown and then called it a night. Here are a couple of pictures shot along the way. We're headed back to Burlington this afternoon. It's 40 degrees in Georgia (not exactly what we were expecting) and 24 in Burlington! Brrr. See you soon!

Savannah

Savannah is a beautiful place with an old soul. Ghosts? I guess there are ghost tours given in hearses with the top cut off! If only I had more time... I've only been here for about 5 hours but, I've packed a lot in - mostly meetings with the local production resources working with us on this week's shoot and hotel staff. Our hotel, The Mansion on Forsyth Park, is located right next to downtown and Bull Street, the oldest street in Savannah. At 4:30 I finally got away from my computer for a quick walk to see the gnarled old trees and Spanish Moss. I snapped a couple of photos along the way. Neat! I'm off to find some dinner before heading to bed. We're up early tomorrow for pre-production. Onwards.

For a good time...call Maine.

Friday night was the first late night I’ve had in a long time so, I was on slow the next morning when I received a text from my friend Steven that said, “ME (Maine)? lobster and stormy weather?” I couldn’t go to Maine this weekend, could I? I had plans to clean, get caught up, see friends and relax after a long work week. I slumbered for a bit longer before weighing my options. When do I have the opportunity to just take off for the night and head to Maine? So, I decided to accept!

Steven picked me up at around 1pm on Saturday. We took 89, to 93 and then picked up Route 1 just north of Boston. We finally crossed the bridge into Maine and almost immediately things began to look coastal. We weaved around through the small Maine towns like Kittery, Ogunquit, Moody and Kennebunkport driving slowly and at times completely stopped in summer traffic. We hadn’t decided where we were going to lay our heads on Saturday evening but, planned to travel on the cheap and be as close to the ocean as possible. We used our GPS and located a peninsula called Biddeford Pool just north of Kennebunkport. There, we found a B & B with vacancy. So we made our way in and after some fun conversation with the owner, he disclosed the (very reasonable) price and gave us the biggest room in the place! We handed him a Master Card and he said, “In all of my years I’ve never gotten one of these ‘Master Cards’ and today...I’ve gotten two!” We laughed. 

After settling in, we hopped back in the car to grab a bite. We ended up eating an a place called Buffleheads. Steven had Char-Broiled Filet Mignon with lobster and bearnaise sauce. Yes, Steven finally ate lobster...purposefully! I had Lobster Pie which had chunks of lobster in a creamy newburg sauce, topped with light puff pastry. Delicious. We headed home in the thick fog and decided to take a walk to the edge of the peninsula to see what we could see...in the dark. We ended up standing on some rocks that were fairly well lit by a street light. We could see the tide was coming in. The waves sounded amazingly powerful! We consulted the iphone for weather statistics. We knew things were a bit extreme as we were witnessing the remnants of Hurricane Bill. The humidity was at 98%. We were both stunned with this info. What does that even mean? Why wasn’t it raining? At one point I touched my hair and realized it was sopping wet. Steven had the same experience. Our clothes were wet too but, there was no rain. I guess that’s what high humidity feels like. We walked home through our eerily sleepy town, and went to sleep in our beds. 


The next morning we woke up and realized that we both had dreamt a very similar dream. My dream was SO realistic I thought it had actually taken place. I thought Steven woke me up in the early morning to let me know he was taking a walk. I was shocked when I woke up and saw him sounds asleep in his bed. How had I not heard him come in? He dreamt that I woke him up to take a drive down a road with ocean on both sides. The waves were crashing all over the road he was driving on and he couldn’t see well enough to navigate through them. He still had sleepy eyes. Strange. 
We checked out and grabbed breakfast at the grocery store next to our B & B. We enjoyed a spinach, bacon and cheddar omelet and wheat toast. SO, good! We sat in adirondack chairs and enjoyed a spectacular view complete with a flock of geese.   
On we went, back to the rocks we had visited the night before to see how they had changed. The waves were so impressive. The tide was scheduled to come in right around 2pm. So, we hopped in our car and headed to Old Orchard Beach. We didn’t plan to find the perfect place to see the waves at exactly the right time but, WE DID. We walked out to a restaurant at the very end of the pier and found a free table. Lucky us! There we sat as the 15-20 foot waves rolled right underneath our table touching the top of the pier and at times splashing up onto us. The people around us joked about us wanting to season our food with salt. What an experience. Here are a few pictures from the pier. 


The waves finally began to calm down and we decided to move on. With the receding waters came an increased level of anxiety about the rip current. No one was allowed in the water. The waves were huge and the undertoe was dangerously strong. So, people just watched in awe. 
We decided to head home via the interstate and made great time. In just a bit less than four hours I was back in cloudy Burlington. This unexpected trip gave me a whole new appreciation for Maine and all of it’s beauty...oh, and a killer sunburn. Hope to see you again soon Maine! XO