WELCOME TO OUR JOURNAL OF MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES DURING OUR LIFE’S JOURNEY, ALONG WITH A PEEK INTO SOME OF OUR PASSION PROJECTS AND GROWING LIST OF HOBBIES, AND MAYBE EVEN SOME MINDFUL THOUGHTS FOR US ALL TO PONDER.
AFTER WE WRAPPED OUR “50 STATES” PROJECT IN AUSTIN, WE HAD SOME TIME BEFORE WE NEEDED TO GET TO NEW MEXICO, SO WE DETOURED SOUTHWEST TO ONE OF THE LEAST VISITED NATIONAL PARKS IN THE CONTINENTAL U.S.
WE FOUND OUT THAT THE REASON IT’S NOT FREQUENTED AS MUCH IS NOT BECAUSE IT’S NOT BREATHTAKING, , BUT RATHER, IT’S WAYYYY OUT OF THE WAY TO GET TO SINCE IT’S NESTLED ALONG THE RIO GRANDE RIVER WITH MEXICO JUST A SKIP AWAY.
Read MoreMANY OF THE BUILDINGS WITHIN THE FRENCH QUARTER DATE BACK BEFORE 1803 WHEN THE U.S. MADE THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. JUST PRIOR TO THAT, NEW ORLEANS WAS UNDER SPANISH RULE, AND WHEN MAJOR FIRES DESTROYED THE FRENCH COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN 1788 AND 1794, THE SPANISH INTRODUCED THEIR STYLE IN THE BIG EASY.
BUT NOLA IS KNOWN FOR MUCH MORE THAN ITS ARCHITECTURE, IT’S CONSIDERED THE BIRTHPLACE OF JAZZ, WHICH IS STILL ALIVE AND WELL EVERYWHERE YOU GO, ESPECIALLY ON BOURBON STREET.
Read MoreKEY WEST WAS A BIT TOO FAR FOR A DAY TRIP, SO WE MADE IT HALFWAY DOWN THE KEYS TO ISLAMORADA, HOPING TO KAYAK AT CERTAIN RENTAL PLACE. WHEN THE GPS THOUGHT WE ARRIVED, WE SAW NOTHING.
AFTER WALKING AROUND FOR A FEW MINUTES, WE NOTICED A SEVERELY DAMAGED SIGN WITH THE RENTAL COMPANY LOGO ON IT, BUT THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE IN SIGHT. THAT’S WHEN WE WE REALIZED HURRICANE IRMA GOT TO IT A FEW FIVE MONTHS BEFORE WE DID…
Read MoreAMONGST THE CHARM AND BEAUTY OF CHARLESTON, WE COULDN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT ITS DARKER PAST. THIS WAS OUR FIRST EXPERIENCE IN THE SOUTH, AND WE COULD FEEL IT.
OUR COUNTRY HAS A VERY SINFUL PAST, AND ALTHOUGH WE’VE PROGRESSED IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS SINCE, WE ARE STILL BROKEN AND HURTING AND LOST. OUR DREAM IS THAT THIS LITTLE FIFTY STATES PROJECT COULD BRING AMERICANS TOGETHER SO WE CAN DISMISS OUR DIFFERENCES IN FAVOR OF CONNECTING WITH OUR SIMILARITIES…
Read MoreWE PULLED INTO OUR RV SITE ON THE SHORES OF HARD ROCK LAKE. IF IT WERE A COUPLE MONTHS EARLIER AND ABOUT 40 DEGREES WARMER, THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN AN IDEAL LAKESIDE SPOT.
INSTEAD, THE TREES WERE BARRON AND THE AIR WAS AS CRISP AS IT WAS COLD. WHAT WERE WEREN’T READY FOR, NOR IMAGINED WOULD HAPPEN IN NORTH CAROLINA, WAS SOMETHING WE WERE PREVIOUSLY TOO FAMILIAR WITH BACK HOME IN MICHIGAN…
Read MoreDELAWARE WAS THE ONLY STATE WE’VE BEEN UNABLE TO FIND A VETERAN PARTICIPANT. BUT, AS WE’VE CONTINUED TO FIND OUT TIME AFTER TIME, EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON.
OUR DESIGNER DUO’S FATHERS BOTH SERVED IN WWII, BUT NEITHER OF THEM EVER SHARED THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH THEIR CHILDREN. AS LETTERPRESS DESIGNERS, THEIR FATHERS’ UNTOLD STORIES BEGAN TO SPARK INSPIRATION AS THEY EXPERIMENTED WITH TYPESET, FORMS, AND COLOR…
Read MoreMOST OF WHAT WE SAW IN VIRGINIA WAS WHAT WE COULD VISIT WHILE STAYING JUST OUTSIDE OF D.C., WHICH WE LEARNED IS REFERRED TO BY LOCALS AS THE DMV AREA (D.C., MARYLAND, VIRGINIA).
SO, WE APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE TO ALL VIRGINIANS BECAUSE WE WEREN’T ABLE TO EXPLORE MUCH BEYOND THIS AREA, BUT, WE WERE CERTAINLY IMPACTED BY WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO SEE…
Read MoreIN THE MATTER OF A COUPLE OF MONTHS, WE WENT FROM CLUELESS TO ALMOST-EXPERTS WHEN IT CAME TO THE SET-UP AND TEAR DOWN OF OUR AIRSTREAM.
ALTHOUGH WE HAD A GREAT TRAINING SESSION FROM OUR FRIENDS AT WOODLAND TRAVEL CENTER BEFORE WE LEFT IN WHICH WE RECORDED AS MUCH AS WE COULD, YOU DON’T REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING UNTIL YOU HAVE TO DO IT ON THE ROAD. AND THANKFULLY, IN TIME, WE’VE FINALLY GOT IT FIGURED IT OUT. WE THINK…
Read MoreHIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO US WAS PRINT CLUB AT THE NEWARK PRINT SHOP. MY FIRST TIME SCREEN-PRINTING, I HAD AN ABSOLUTE BLAST.
IT WAS SO COOL TO EXPERIENCE, LEARN, AND TAKE PART IN THE PROCESS, ESPECIALLY SINCE ALL OF THE [HAS HEART] SHIRTS ARE SCREEN-PRINTED. TYLER DESIGNED ME A LITTLE [HAS HEART] INSPIRED CAT GRAPHIC WHICH WE PRINTED ON…
Read MoreIT’S ACTUALLY MIND-BOGGLING HOW OLD YALE IS — IT WAS FOUNDED IN 1701! AFTER WALKING AROUND CONNECTICUT’S VERSION OF HOGWARTS FOR A WHILE, WE POPPED INTO THE YALE UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY.
MY FAVORITE PART OF THE GALLERY WAS THE STUNNING HALL LINED WITH TALL PANELED WINDOWS LETTING LIGHT POUR ONTO THEIR ANTIQUITIES COLLECTION. IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL REMINDER HOW HUMANS HAVE BEEN MAKING IMPECCABLE ART FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS…
Read MoreIT’S ACTUALLY MIND-BOGGLING HOW OLD YALE IS — IT WAS FOUNDED IN 1701! AFTER WALKING AROUND CONNECTICUT’S VERSION OF HOGWARTS FOR A WHILE, WE POPPED INTO THE YALE UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY.
MY FAVORITE PART OF THE GALLERY WAS THE STUNNING HALL LINED WITH TALL PANELED WINDOWS LETTING LIGHT POUR ONTO THEIR ANTIQUITIES COLLECTION. IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL REMINDER HOW HUMANS HAVE BEEN MAKING IMPECCABLE ART FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS…
Read MoreI THINK ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT THE LIBERTY BELL AND INDEPENDENCE SQUARE WAS YES, THE CELEBRATION OF INDEPENDENCE FOR OUR NATION, BUT ALSO THE OPPORTUNITY THAT WAS TAKEN TO POINT OUT THE HYPOCRISY OF OUR NATION’S ORIGINS, THAT IT TRULY WASN’T FREEDOM AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
HISTORY BOOKS MENTION BITS AND PIECES OF IT, BUT IT’S NOT UNTIL YOU’RE IN THESE PLACES WHEN YOU CAN ACTUALLY FEEL AND IMAGINE THE DEEP ROOTS OF PREJUDICE IN OUR COUNTRY, SOMETHING WE’RE STILL DEALING WITH HUNDREDS OF YEARS LATER…
Read MoreYES, OUT-OF-TOWN TOURISTS (INCLUDING US) ARE PARTAKING IN THE SORT OF BIZARRE ACTIVITY OF WALKING BY MANSIONS IN AWE, PEERING THROUGH THE GATES AND WONDERING, “WHAT THE HELL IS IT LIKE TO LIVE IN THERE?"
A FEW OLDER MANSIONS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS MUSEUMS, CHARGING PEOPLE TO FIND OUT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO LIVE AS A RICH PERSON. BEING ON THE TIGHTEST OF BUDGETS IMAGINABLE, WE DIDN’T EXACTLY PAY TO GET IN…
Read MoreAFTER A COUPLE NIGHTS SPENT IN CABELA’S PARKING LOT IN HUDSON, MA, WE WERE PRETTY EXCITED AND SLIGHTLY ANXIOUS TO GET TO BOSTON, OUR FIRST “MAJOR” CITY STOP ON THE TOUR. AFTER SETTING UP CAMP AN HOUR OUTSIDE THE CITY, WE PARKED ON THE OUTSKIRTS AND WALKED ACROSS THE CHANNEL WHERE THE BOSTON TEA PARTY PROTEST HAPPENED IN 1173, “NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!”
THIS IS GOING TO TURN INTO A HISTORY LESSON, ISN’T IT?…
Read MoreAFTER SPENDING A COUPLE NIGHTS IN A HOLDING PATTERN IN PARKING LOTS AT A CABELA’S IN MAINE AND THEN A WALMART IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, WE FINALLY PACKED UP THE CAR WITH DRINKS AND SNACKS FOR THE ROAD.
AN HOUR OR SO LATER, WE FOUND OURSELVES ALREADY IN PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE — A MERE 68 MILES LATER! WE DIDN’T EVEN GET A CHANCE TO EAT OUR FAVORITES: PEANUT BUTTER M&M’S. SAD, I KNOW.
TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, THIS WAS WHEN NOEL HAD HER WORST MOMENT ON THE TOUR…
Read MoreLEAVING VERMONT, WE HEADED EAST INTO THE WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST NEAR THE STATE LINE OF MAINE. WITHOUT ANOTHER CAR IN SIGHT, WE STOPPED THE TRUCK AND TRAILER ALONGSIDE THE WILD RIVER AND ROLLED OUR WINDOWS DOWN TO BASK IN THE FRESH MOUNTAIN AIR. WITH BIRDS SINGING ALL AROUND US AND THE RIVER FLOWED PEACEFULLY PAST US, WE WERE IMMERSED IN A MOMENT OF NATURE AT ITS FINEST.
IN A WORLD WITH A BILLION MOVING PIECES AND CONSTANT NOISE ALL AROUND US, THERE AREN’T MANY OPPORTUNITIES IN OUR DAY-TO-DAY LIVES TO PAUSE AND BE ONE WITH OUR WORLD, BUT THIS, THIS WAS ONE OF THEM…
Read MoreAFTER OVER A YEAR OF PLANNING, COUNTLESS EMAILS, PITCHES, GRANT APPLICATIONS, CONFERENCE CALLS, AND MEETINGS, THE DAY TO HOOK UP THE AIRSTREAM AND HIT THE ROAD FINALLY ARRIVED.
LIKE ANYTHING EXTENSIVE YOU PLAN FOR, YOU’RE STILL NOT READY WHEN THE DAY COMES. KNOWING WE HAD SOME BUFFER BUILT IN BEFORE OUR FIRST STATE PROJECT DAYS IN BURLINGTON, VERMONT, WE PUSHED BACK OUT LAUNCH DATE A COUPLE MORE DAYS. IN RETROSPECT, THE DAYS LEADING UP TO OUR DEPARTURE SEEM LIKE A TOTAL BLUR…
Read MorePLANNING AND EXECUTING A FIFTY STATE TOUR DOESN’T JUST HAPPEN OVERNIGHT. THIS CONCEPT WAS BREWING FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS AND REQUIRED A HANDFUL OF LIFE CHANGES TO PREPARE FOR THIS DRAMATIC LIFESTYLE CHANGE. AND EVEN THEN, IT CAME TOGETHER LAST MINUTE WITH A FEW MIRACLES AND A HANDFUL OF INCREDIBLE PEOPLE WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE ALONG THE WAY.
KENDRA AND I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ASKED SINCE WE FIRST SHARED OUR IDEA TO TRAVEL THE COUNTRY: “HOW? WHY? WHEN, AND FOR HOW LONG?”…
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