Finally got around to editing some footage from Fourth of July weekend two years ago. My turnaround time for these has really fallen off a cliff, but better late than never. We hiked, barbecued, boated, bowled and found ourselves entertaining a bar full of strangers at karaoke. With twenty of us on a boat and plenty of drinks in hand, it’s a miracle nobody fell overboard. Happy Fourth everyone.
In the spring over the span of nearly two weeks, I ventured through Bangkok, Maldives, and Hong Kong with my wife Alexis, and our friends Drew, Kelsie, Tyler, Kara, Andrew, and Kirsten.
Our adventure started in Bangkok and our time there was short. We toured temples, experienced traditions, and after all these years, had Thai food in Thailand. We were lucky enough to witness the Thai New Year too. A celebration where the people flood the streets, literally and figuratively, and drench each other with water from head to toe for three straight days. You’d think dumping a bucket of water on a complete stranger in the street might be a little risky, but there wasn’t a person young or old who wasn’t laughing. We got soaked. Kara has family in Thailand, and they were kind enough to invite us all to their home. We ate new foods, sang karaoke and visited a temple in their community. We had a blast, and in all my travels it stands as one of the more truly authentic experiences I’ve had yet.
Most of our trip was spent in the Maldives on a tiny island in the Indian Ocean. Our days were spent both swimming and drinking like fish. We lounged, laughed, and lounged some more. We chartered a boat and jetted across the water searching for whale sharks and mantas. Diving off in a moments notice to catch a glimpse. We were like a poorly trained, clumsy group of Navy Seals. We swam ashore a deserted island and brought our vodka along. We found a turtle who didn’t seem to mind company. And by our last day it was hard to confidently say what day or time it was anymore. To go out with a bang, a looming storm forced us to meet our seaplane a ways away from our island on a floating dock no bigger than a modest area rug.
Our time In Hong Kong was short, but we marveled at the countless skyscrapers in every peak and valley of the lush and rugged land. A skyline that seemed impossible to have been built. We visited shrines and practiced traditions. Easter was celebrated sipping cocktails in the worlds highest bar and we wandered the city streets with little direction, but still found drinks, dumplings, and a tiki bar along the way.
It was a whirlwind two weeks of adventure, and just might’ve been too much if we hadn’t spent most of it floating mindlessly in the bluest waters I’d ever seen.
Few of us got together on The Oregon Coast for a weekend getaway a few months back. Twelve friends, two dogs, a pool table, a jukebox, a hot tub, and plenty to drink. We trekked the windswept shoreline, hiked the forest trails, and wandered the sleepy town of Lincoln City. It sure is a pretty place.
It was the last time a lot of us saw Hunter. He was a dog that above all else, loved food. Any food. Never had a dog, and never quite knew what you could and couldn’t feed them. I try to stay out of it when the begging starts. But the way he looked into your soul as you were about to take your last bite, of literally anything, defeated me every time. Godspeed Hunter.
Our good friends Drew and Kelsie spontaneously invited Alexis and I to Hawaii with them. Good company and paradise? Who would say no?
We spent a day and night in the touristy and beautiful Waikiki, enjoying the calm waters and local eats. Seeking the local experience, we drove in our tiny convertible across the island to the North Shore. We stayed the rest of our nights at a small beach house, in a Mai Tai fueled state of rest and relaxation. Day after day, we explored, watched sunsets, and emptied our cups. It was nice to just slow down for a change.
Thanks for having us along.
Be back in two Mondays.
Here we go.
Alexis. Drew. Magic Johnson’s Friday’s. LAX. San Jose. Terminal Drinking. More flying. My first stamp. Lima. Our apartment. Carolina. Sebastian. 4am 90s top 40. Taxis that weren’t taxis at all. Karaoke. Pisco sours. Sushi. Con permiso. Agua con gas. Agua sin gas. Tour busses. Catacombs. Chili’s. Our taxi ran out of gas. Ice cream. Another plane. Cusco. Our hostel. Cinemax. Michelle. Dancing in markets. Hiking. Hunted by wild dogs. Altitude sickness. Snickers grande. Canadian Irish pub. Dos mas please. A train. Aguas Calientes. Jurassic Park. Hot springs. Market bargaining. Machu Picchu. Touring. Hiking. Photo ops. Wonder. Naps. Rain. A late train. A missed bus. High-speed taxi driving. Intercepting and boarding our bus. Frostbite. Arequipa. Sand boarding fail. Rafting. Rafting rescue. Cerveza hunting. Bibs. Alpaca. Another plane. Back to Lima. More Chili’s. Ramada. Security cameras. More Cinemax. Another plane. San Jose. More flying. LAX. Mckenzie. Home.
That was my trip to Peru. Exhausting, but I wouldn’t do a thing differently. If this was difficult to grasp, then I described it perfectly. You really had to be there.
We were really bored and just down right unenthusiastic about this. So boring.
Alexis and I traveled to Iceland last June, and I finally just got around to finishing an edit of the adventure. Always been intrigued by how strange the natural landscape looked there. Like something from an alien planet. I can say after the fact, unlike a lot of things in life, the expectation and reality, turned out to be pretty aligned.
We actually had soft plans to go back in 2020, but a global pandemic had thoughts about that. Then, I’m horrified to write the words but, the years just went by. Seemingly faster than a blink. That realization lit some kind of fire, and I ended up buying our plane tickets less than three weeks before our departure. And off we went.
The 7 hour ahead time difference took some adjusting. Adding to that, we were there during The Midnight Sun, which is 24 hours of daylight. Circadian rhythm be damned. It hit Alexis harder than me, which is saying something because I was totally exhausted at the start. We got it figured by the end though.
We were there for 8 “nights” and every day had a lot of structure to it. We slept every night in Reykjavik, Iceland’s largest city, but we alternated days between exploring the city and all-day excursions to experience different parts of the country. The itinerary of these excursions were packed to the brim, with pretty early start times. Following those days up with some exploration in the city at our own pace was a welcomed remedy to the sleep deprivation.
We saw and experienced so much. We abided with the dude at a Big Lebowski themed bar. We walked a guided food tour through Reykjavik that concluded in eating fermented shark chased with a shot of “Black Death”. We floated in geothermal lagoons. Saw mountains and moss covered lava fields as far as the eye could see. Got a good look at some glaciers. Walked on a black sand beach. Trekked coastlines that felt like they shouldn’t exist on our planet. Saw geysers erupt. Shared a meal with strangers on a farm, and more interestingly, in a cave. We explored museums and got close enough to lava to feel its heat, which turns out, is not very close at all. Got some Sun sipping beers on a patio at 11pm. And there were waterfalls. Countless waterfalls. We even ran through one. We took to a boat in search of puffins. And on the topic of animals, Alexis made sure to pet every one she came across. I could’ve made the entire edit of just her petting animals.
In the end, it was an adventure filled with natural wonders and culture different than our own. The best ingredients for a trip of this nature. Very humbling, and very inspiring. Couldn’t capture it all, but even still, the footage will do a better job than my words. Skál!