July 2018 – Travel・Surf・Yoga

Thoughts on Alaska

July 28, 2018 Guest Travel

Thanks to our loyal contributor, Marie, for sharing these thoughts on her recent Alaskan adventure.

Starting off, there are a few preconceived notions about Alaska that I have found to be exceedingly true. From traditional totem poles to glaciers to the sheer vast emptiness of the land.

By emptiness I don’t mean lack of substance or matter. I’m referring to the lack of human disturbance of the natural world: buildings, parking lots, houses, all of the things that fill our eyes every single day (Maybe not my sister’s, as she’s been living in a tent clearing trails and building bridges for the Rocky Mountain Youth Core since early summer). The majority of people take the sight of untouched land completely for granted, and mostly, I think, because they’ve never had the opportunity to understand it or have not been taught the significance of the untouched space. I was so fortunate to have been raised to love and treasure the connecting beauty that nature, particularly the mountains, holds. Thinking of the people who have been my mentors in helping me know how precious it is and will always be gives me an unmeasurable amount of gratitude. It makes me who I am.

Alaska holds so much, and it’s one of those rare places that you see and you just think, this is how it is supposed to be.

We took “The Seeker”, a rough and tough landing craft, out to an island one day, and sat on the beach with the sun shining down on us. The moment was how I picture heaven.

I have seen a few different oceans and there is always some sort of noticeable change between them. I speak just for southeastern Alaska, but when you look down into the water, there is nothing but clarity and life. The forests are the same way! They look healthy and happy and there is so much diversity when you train your eye to notice the vitality on a smaller scale. Seeing the unvarnished beauty and strength of nature provides a sense of unwavering hope, and I’ve been able to feel it all day and night and it’s better than any cleanse you’d find at your local, overpriced health foods store.

Living on a boat, there’s nothing else like it. The first few steps in the morning feel like they’re your first three steps ever. I’m sure this is all comical to the ones that have experienced it. All in all, I have definitely developed a much deeper respect for Alaska, seeing as I was the woman riding a borrowed, squeaky bike in my Xtratuffs.

-Marie

Special thanks to our friend Billy, who helped this trip come together.

Rides Around: The Men That Don’t Fit In

July 25, 2018 Edgar Edgar, Travel

Last week’s Rides Around has us still thinking about why people like the spirit of motorcycles, and specifically adventure motorcycles.

Robert Service captured the spirit of the fabled open road in a poem called The Men That Don’t Fit In. Taken as a whole, the poem may not accurately describe every adventure rider, but the lines that speak of the allure of the new, the challenge of the mountain and the love of the unknown can’t help but catch our attention.

There’s a race of men that don’t fit in,

A race that can’t stay still;

So they break the hearts of kith and kin,

And they roam the world at will.

They range the field and they rove the flood,

And they climb the mountain’s crest;

Theirs is the curse of the gypsy blood,

And they don’t know how to rest.

If they just went straight they might go far;

They are strong and brave and true;

But they’re always tired of the things that are,

And they want the strange and new.

They say: “Could I find my proper groove,

What a deep mark I would make!”

So they chop and change, and each fresh move

Is only a fresh mistake.

And each forgets, as he strips and runs

With a brilliant, fitful pace,

It’s the steady, quiet, plodding ones

Who win in the lifelong race.

And each forgets that his youth has fled,

Forgets that his prime is past,

Till he stands one day, with a hope that’s dead,

In the glare of the truth at last.

He has failed, he has failed; he has missed his chance;

He has just done things by half.

Life’s been a jolly good joke on him,

And now is the time to laugh.

Ha, ha! He is one of the Legion Lost;

He was never meant to win;

He’s a rolling stone, and it’s bred in the bone;

He’s a man who won’t fit in.

-Robert Service, Source: The Spell of the Yukon, and Other Verses (1911)

The Rig: 2008 BMW 1250 GS Adventure

The Location: Texas Hill Country

The Driver: a Robert Service fan

The Special Circumstance: taking the long way

Edgar~

Be Daring

July 21, 2018 Leigh Uncategorized

It’s one thing to balance in the safety of your living room, but quite another to go out on a ledge, and trust your focus and your favorite standing leg to keep you upright. Today’s post is another share from Kim, who shows us she’s not afraid to be daring.

“Be daring; be different; be impractical. Be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.” – Cecil Beaton

Kim says she was originally drawn to yoga because she wanted something to calm herself, then later, she felt the practice helped with anxiety and depression. If you want to learn more about that, and what she says is the best part about teaching yoga, head on over to her site.

Photo location: Potato Chip Rock, about an hour outside San Diego

Rides Around: Sidecar Sam

July 18, 2018 Edgar Edgar, Travel

This week’s Rides Around features an eccentric motorcycle adventurist and a dear friend. He is a legend of the west, often seen as simply a plumb purple streak wearing a rut in a Montanan highway. That is Sidecar Sam. We are going to focus on Sam’s Chief Darkhorse, although he has a variety of cycles to choose from. Some wives might say too many….

Sam says, “A Motorcycle is the Perfect Vehicle to Explore the World and Your Own Backyard; the Sights, the Sounds, the Smells, the Feel of the Wind, Road, and Weather.”

Sam’s Philosophy: “2 Wheels, or 3, is the best way to see the world. You experience the places you visit with All of your senses – not just your eyes like when you are in an automobile, bus, train, or any other vehicle that is enclosed. It doesn’t matter what Marque or Brand of machine you choose – they All have their Good points and Bad points.”

Sam’s been writing about his adventures for some time, and you can read more about his motorcycles, travels and family, on his website here.

The Rig: 2016 Indian Chief Dark Horse

The Location: on the open road

The Driver: Sidecar Sam

The Special Circumstance: featuring a friend

Sam was recently involved in a motorcycle accident, for more on that and how you can help, click here.

Edgar~

Volcanoes and Banana Thieves of Costa Rica

July 15, 2018 Leigh Leigh, Surfing, Travel

This is part two of the recap of our trip to Costa Rica. You can catch up on part one here.

La Fortuna was a little bigger and catered to tourists. Just about every street corner had a shop with supersized pictures of people zip lining, riding horses and jumping into waterfalls… and big signs advertising the best prices in town. We talked to a few and found out the horse ride wasn’t exactly what we’d hoped — it didn’t go to the volcano at all — and we decided to ride later in the week at our beach stop. But there was an option to hike to the top of a (dormant) volcano and swim in a crater at the top! A quick group conference confirmed we all thought that sounded amazing, so we signed up for the next day.

The climb up to the top of the volcano was no joke. It was hot and a bit more strenuous than we anticipated, but we all felt very accomplished to make it to the summit. When we reached the highest point, we met up with a group of German bodybuilding tourists, who tried to warn us in heavily-accented English about a big, long-nosed creature that came out of the woods and stole their bananas. I thought they were pulling our legs until they showed us the video one of them had captured on their phone. Sure enough, there was a banana-stealing creature confronting them. I wanted it to come back out so we could get a look, but guess it was off in the jungle enjoying its banana stash.

The water at the top was chilly. Some of us enjoyed a dip, while others enjoyed the leftover chicken we’d dragged up for a picnic. It didn’t take us very long to head back down, where we decided a proper swim was necessary. We’d passed some rushing water with a natural pool and a rope swing on our way to the hike, so we pulled over and got in. This was clearly the place where the locals came to cool off, and they welcomed us with big smiles. Edgar even got cheers and applause for his elaborate swing, tuck and dive off the rope.

With our waterfall and volcano boxes checked off, it was time to surf. We got on the road again, this time headed for the coast. On the way we saw a car pulled over and people feeding some sort of animal. I had to see what that was, so we pulled over too and saw a bunch of the banana thieves all together! They’re called coati or pizote, and even though they look a little like an opossum to me, they’re actually in the raccoon family. A family was there feeding them apple jacks.

It took us a few hours to reach Tamarindo, our destination for the next three days. The hostel where we stayed was across the street from a break, and it even had a surfboard rental place right out front. We walked into town and got some supplies for breakfast, and lined up our boards for the next day.

I don’t have beach pictures because we were all in the water and I didn’t want my phone to get stolen. Just imagine several pretty beaches with some of us catching waves, and some of us petting dogs or playing hacky sack.

I do have some shots of the open air kitchen where we made breakfast, and the contraption that gave us delicious coffee.

I know this is sounding like quite the animal-themed recap, but I couldn’t leave out one of my favorite activities. While Edgar checked out one more break, the girls and I took a two-hour horseback ride up into the mountains. I asked the guide if he thought we’d see monkeys, and he said maybe. But I think he over-estimated my desire because he kept doing little detours into more jungle and looking up, and then sadly saying, “Ohhh… no monkey…” There was a bit of a language barrier, but I tried to communicate that I was just curious, and would not be heartbroken if monkeys were not spotted. (They were not.)

We said goodbye to the beach on Thursday and drove back to San Jose. CR traffic can be a bear, and we didn’t want to be stressing out for our flight back to the states on Friday. All in all it was a great visit. Everyone got a little color, a little exercise and a lot of ice cream. Pura Vida. 🙂

Rides Around: A Car Named Helen

July 11, 2018 Guest Travel

This feature in our Rides Around series is brought to you by Marie, who recently purchased her first car.

There’s something about doing it by yourself. With it all, comes a whole meaning that’s more than just grease and metal and and an engine that runs. It provides a whole new sense of self… Like a branch off of the tree of our existence; a new motive, a new purpose. It’s not just because it’s a car that’s exciting and fun, it’s because it’s a direct learning experience comprised of patience and faith.

The Rig: 1987 Nissan Sentra

The Location: Rockford Bay, North Idaho

The Driver: A young lady learning to take off on her own

The Special Circumstance: The feeling you get when you saved up and made it yours

-Marie

Iguanas and Ice Cream in Costa Rica

July 7, 2018 Leigh Leigh, Surfing, Travel

The following is part one of a recap of our trip to Costa Rica. Stay tuned for part two next week!

The hardest part of our adventures isn’t the planning of the trip, or finding a place we know we’ll love, it’s deciding where to go! There are so many places to see and experiences to enjoy, but since Edgar and I had both been to Costa Rica before we met, we decided to go back together, along with his daughters.

Since we were coming from different places, we all met in Dallas and left for CR from there. The flight left bright and early at 6am. We had a layover in Florida, and arrived in San Jose around noon. We grabbed our rental car and hit the road, planning to check out a waterfall or two, and then a volcano, before turning in for the night.

The roads were decent and we didn’t have too much trouble finding the first stop. It was actually a little chilly because we were up in the mountains, and we were glad to have packed an extra layer. We dumped our things at the hotel and went out to explore.

The weather was… moist. It wasn’t exactly raining, but it wasn’t dry either. There was a sort of mist that hung around the place, which made it seem a little mysterious. We took a little hike around before dinner.

We asked the manager about a nearby waterfall and discovered it wasn’t far at all. It is a little tough to see here because of the mist and the fact that the sun was going down. We stuck our feet in (cold!) and Edgar even drank a little of it, in case it was the fountain of youth. (I assured him that’s in Florida, and I had a couple gulps when I was a kid.)

For dinner, we stopped at a French restaurant we’d spotted on our drive through “town”. It was strange to sit and have a (delicious) French meal, prepared by an eccentric French chef, in the middle of nowhere, Costa Rica. As we finished our dessert, we were greeted by a little cat who pawed at my leg and then jumped right in my lap! Word of my feline generosity has clearly spread far and wide.

The next morning we spotted a cow hanging out by herself, and the girls wanted to go say hello. They pet the cow for a while and then Edgar walked over and gave her the head scratching of her life. I didn’t know cows liked that but this one was really leaning into it. You’re welcome, cow. There were some others on the other side of the fence – you can kinda seem them to the upper left of the photo – and they came to the fence and made some noise. I think they were trying to say they had itchy chins too.

After breakfast and the petting of the livestock, it was time to hit the road. We wanted to check out the Arenal volcano, since we’d seen some pictures online and it looked like a good place to explore. We were also told there was an ice cream shop along the way that was well-populated by iguanas. How could anyone pass that up? We consulted the map and off we went.

Road signs in CR can be few and far between, and our map was not great with the finer details of the small cities. We weren’t sure of one of our turns so we stopped to ask where the ice cream/iguanas were. The store clerk didn’t speak English, and our Spanish needs some work, so Edgar helpfully drew this on our map.

Suddenly she knew exactly what we were talking about! A few hand signals and “directo! directo!” instructions later, we were on the road again. The iguanas did not disappoint. We didn’t know whether the people at the shop fed them, or they were already there and the shop came along after… but there were definitely iguanas everywhere! Edgar asked the server if they were friendly, and he said, “Well, they have very sharp teeth, but they are nice.” Okay.

We were all feeling a little unsure about petting the nice animals with the razor-sharp teeth, but we were okay with tossing them some leftovers, and then as we saw more people touching them and walking away unscathed, we felt safe enough to pet them too.

No hands were damaged in the shooting of these pictures. That’s the remnants of a mango someone fed them.

With more of the wildlife fed and scratched, we headed off to La Fortuna and the volcano… and met a group of German bodybuilders I was certain was pulling our collective legs. That’s in part two, coming up next weekend!

The Beauty of You

July 4, 2018 Leigh Yoga

For July fourth, TSY recognizes that freedom comes in many forms, and one of them is movement.

Our friend Irene is sharing this flow, and one of her favorite quotes. For more videos showcasing Irene’s strength training and yoga tutorials, check her out on Instagram @Irene.Namuli.

“The beauty of you is not where you are perfect; it’s where you are fearless.”

-Cleo Wade

Rides Around: Stretch Wagon

July 2, 2018 Edgar Edgar, Surfing, Travel

We found another great ride for our Rides Around series! This is a custom bug on a South Texas beach.

Someone enjoyed bugs so much, they wanted more. Instead of getting a second one, they decided to add more to the one they had.

They cut the body and frame, added some body and frame and… voila! A little paint and some elongated linkages, and this thing was ready for the sand. The genius behind this knew the stock bug engine was a little light, so they went ahead and through a V8 in her. That should do it…