Traveling

It’s strange all the small preparations one has to take into account when traveling.  Including, getting a passport, even though I was flying from the US to a US Territory – we live in odd times – but it did make for a much easier flight transition.

When Kate told me that they were moving to Saipan I knew right away that I was going to go and visit.  This is something that people hear a lot when they move half way around the world, and I’m told that most of the time these are empty words, but the more I saw of the photos Kate posted and the more I heard about the area the more determined I was to make it out there.  Of course, my dear sweet mother couldn’t let me go alone so she decided that I was in desperate need of a chaperon.  I was amused and Kate and Dave were ok with the idea so it was decided we would both go and visit.

Almost a year later we finally had tickets to fly out of Seattle to Saipan, with a layover in Narita.

Last month we flew to visit.

We knew it would be a long flight, but we were well rested and had packed things to occupy our time while sitting for 10 hours in flight.

Turns out, next time we will only pack things to occupy our time while we while away the hours of a layover, because in flight we enjoyed several (4) movies.

Upon reaching Narita we stopped at one of the cafes to pick up a coffee (as per tradition when Kate and I get together there was much coffee involved – even if we did have to visit many of the same locations).

It was close shortly after midnight (for us traveling from the states anyway) by the time our flight left Saipan but luckily that particular flight was not crowded and we were able to stretch out on rows of seats to grab a short nap before reaching our destination.

As soon as we stepped off the plane the heat and humidity greeted us to island life.  It was time for a new adventure to be had.

But that is a different story for a different time (and Kate and I will have to work together to write that journal).  Until next time.  Dream big and adventure often.

- J Ro

Kate: Stories in California

After a talk with my mom online about some of my dreams and plans, she promptly got off chat, saying she needed to go to the library.  She was to be flying out in the morning to join me on my stay in California.  When she and my sister arrived at the hotel, mom pulled out her library treasure.  She had brought me the book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller, and pointed me to one particular chapter.

Within a page of this chapter, I set the book aside and opened up my computer.

“Don’t you want to read that chapter?” she asked, looking perhaps a little disappointed that I’d so quickly set aside her book.

Moms know best!

“I do, mom!  But in this first page, he said so many things that just resonated with me — I have to record them somewhere before you take the book back to the library!”

So here I am, recording the parts that just ring so truthfully and fully to my ears and my heart.

“And I found myself wanting even better stories.  And that’s the thing you’ll realize when you organize your life into the structure of story.  You’ll get a taste for one story and then want another, and then another, and the stories will build until you’re living a kind of epic of risk and reward, and the whole things will be molding you into the actual character whose roles you’ve been playing.  And once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life, and you can’t go back to being normal; you can’t go back to meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time.”

“The beauty of the inlet was nearly that of Peru, and I wondered at all this exposition God had created, as though it were an invitation to an epic so grand it might match the scenery.  The mountains themselves call us into greater stories, I thought.”

 “I asked Bob what was the key to living such a great story… he thought about it and said he didn’t think we should be afraid to embrace whimsy… that nagging idea that life could be magical; it could be special if we were only willing to take a few risks.”

Sister and Mom, getting ready to see what stories we write here in California!

 

Another country heard from

Good grief Charlie Brown.  Boy was life crazy there for awhile.  So crazy in fact that I found the draft of a post that I was wanting to send out back in November.  Wow!  Well since I completely missed that particular, let me update you.

Back during the holiday season I was swamped with both jobs.  It was going on the busiest time for all of us retail workers with the dreaded Black Friday just around the corner.  I knew all of this, and I also knew just how insane all the prep work was going to be, and yet I still allowed myself to be talked into putting my photography into a small bazaar at my mom’s office.  Those weeks of preparation left me exhausted, and yet I was excited for this opportunity.  My mom and I spent countless hours raking through photos to pick out our favorites, and then to weed them down to a reasonable number.  Despite the long hours invested and the hard work it was a lot of fun.  The day of the bazaar I didn’t sleep much (I kept waiting to hear from mom how things were going), but she finally filled me in and I drifted off into oblivion.

I’ve been really encouraged since then to push myself more.  Find the limits and then try to go past them because one never knows what exactly is waiting to be discovered.

Now that the new year is here I’ve had a bit more time to relax and enjoy a few hobbies.  I’m finally back down to just the one job, and loving the free time that I’ve found.  The last couple months I’ve been working hard on a new chainmail piece (which I will show off as soon as I’ve finished it entirely) and while it’s been much more challenging than some of the others that I’ve done in the past, it’s been a great way to unwind after work.  Hobbies are wonderful things like that.

A couple of the pieces that I’ve finished so far.  Hopefully I can get some photos of the copper shirt that was recently completed as well (just as soon as I get a volunteer to wear it).

BurgerFuel

So, that was all of our rope funness!

forced picture!!!

And, three hours later, we were thirsty, sun-crisped, hungry, and had arthritic-feeling hands!

It was time to nosh.  And thus: BurgerFuel!  Oh heavens, this was an amazing Burger joint, and I highly recommend it to others!  Fun, unique combinations for those looking for something more adventurous; yet still had amazing classic burgers for the unwavering soul.

Mom and Dad even made an appearance, they were so drawn by these amazing patties!

Sharing a drink with cardboard dad!

All were huge.  All were juicy.  All of us were stuffed.

Biting into my “V-dub” veggie burger with avocado,garlic, and… beet??

Being weird, as usual

Zipline Video Clip

Sadly, I didn’t take any video of the ropes courses.  It would have been amusing to see the straining, the panting, the balancing… but those were only caught in the photographs of the previous post.

But we did manage to get  a few video clips of us zip-lining!  Much fun!

Enjoy