coachjoelle.com

HOLA!!

As some of you may know we are a couple weeks into the Make Your Life program and part of my life-making mission is to develop more relationships here in Ohio and spend more time outside having adventures.

Well, as we were just barely out of the gates, my brave new life had already begun taking shape as we grabbed our new couple friends Deborah and Peter and headed out for a daytrip to Ohio Wine country! Yes you heard me correctly

It all started a month previous when I was precariously draped across the table of my favorite Applied Kinesiology chiropractor while she made wonderful popping sounds out of my back and neck, when somehow the topic turned to one of her favorite outings when company visits – a trip out to Ohio wine country.  Excuse me?  I thought. Ohio What?  Who Knew?!

So I called up our friends, did a little online research and even printed out a AAA trip tic detailing our entire tour.   I packed some snackage, the requisite apples, cheese and crackers and we headed out for Saturday adventure.

It was no more than an hour out of town that we began to see the telltale vines scattered across the countryside and next thing we knew we were sitting in a tasting room trying a batch of new vintages.

Now I must admit, with the 80’s band blaring in the courtyard, our first stop did feel a bit more like the beer gardens back at the King Miner festival in my hometown than the pristine, quiet wineries tucked into hillsides which I had become accustomed to in Napa.  And at the second place we visited, we all agreed that they had at least a couple varieties that seemed to have a slight aftertaste of motor oil (don’t ask me how I would know what that would taste like but that is what it reminded me of).  But all in all we did taste some lovely wines and we had a happy, outdoors, on-vacation kind of day and it was definitely something I would repeat.

My Friend Karen has shared with me the concept of the “hometown vacation principle”.  The idea is that if you approached your own city the way you approach the places you vacation to, you would be much more present to the beauty and adventure of the city in a way we tend to miss on our daily commute.  This was definitely one of those experiences, a “world away” vacation right in our own neighborhood.

This was just one tiny way to make my life, just one lovely day, but it is all those tiny moments that add up to make a rich and fulfilling life.

Hugs to you and wishing you hometown adventures!

Joelle

It was Two years ago that my husband Jeff took me on a sailing adventure on a tall ship (imagine pirates of the Caribbean and you can get a feel for our boat) and it was everything I could every want in a vacation.

Sailing on the open seas, close to nature, community, simplicity, visiting tiny out of the way bays and islands that sported nothing but a sand beach and a bar.  It was the perfect combination of fun and total relaxation, all with the most beautiful backdrop imaginable.

 Our perfect vacation found, we were all set to do another for our anniversary this year but we were dismayed to find that the owners were mismanaging their money and fighting between themselves and the company was suffering.  Instead of sending our money to head out on a ship this winter we found ourselves sending money to have abandoned crew members transported back to their home countries after the company had left the ships and their crews in foreign waters.

The community around this particular type of vacationing is almost cult like, full of die-hard fans of the tall ship experience.  They have shared news and stories and pictures of their sailing adventures, discussed the demise of the afore mentioned company and coordinated rescue efforts for the crew through an online forum, which my husband has been hooked on since he started doing the research for our first trip two years ago.

With the loss of our tall ship experience, there was suddenly a void for all of these people and as life goes, where there is a void, it started pulling us all in to fill it.

On the scene arrives Captain Neil, a brash and bawdy former tall-ship captain and his trusty assistant Liz (the amazing operating room nurse who coordinated the raising of tens of thousands of dollars to get the abandoned crew home to their families.) A core group rallying around the vision of future tall-ship adventures began a campaign to raise money to buy a ship, start a company and continue the tradition.   My husband has marched us into that core group and this weekend…. We went to meet our ship mates and look at a ship!

We met up with the other investors at the Barking Crab on Boston Harbor and finally put faces to names and icons (imagine our surprise when the infamous Liz looked nothing like the banana riding a llama that she uses as her onscreen icon.)

We came from all walks of life, a variety of ages, with little in common other than our love for the tall-ship experience, but that was all we needed.

 I think my husband put it perfectly when he wrote:

"this ship is sweet. Our short time on her filled me with the energy we want in a ship. During our sail I quickly lost track of time and my life. I was completely present in the moment, hanging out with my new best friends, without any awarenss that I had only met them an hour earlier. "

The ship … was beautiful. 

With wooden decks, simple rooms and ample sails I really could not have asked for anything more.  We helped the crew hoist the sails, as we had on our sailing vacations of the past.  To feel the mighty pull of the wind blowing us across the harbor is truly one of the most pure and beautiful experiences.  As I took it all in, I knew my dad was there.  The man who loved the sea, he was the first to expose me to such things as raw oysters and smoked salmon and windsurfing.  He actually built the sail boat that we sailed on at our cabin in Canada and I know he would have been so pleased that we were doing this and were he alive, he would have joined us on the adventure, I am sure of it.

The tour and sailing of the ship and our fellow tall-ship enthusiasts were major contributors to a weekend that, as a whole was on of my favorite experiences so far in 2008 by far.

What happens next? We are not sure, offers, negotiation, raising money etc.  but one thing I know for sure, this crew will sail together again and if I have any say in the matter, it will be on our own ship as we create a special vacationing experience for those who are hungry for adventure and the simple beauty of a tall ship.

Coach Joelle

P.S.  A special thank you to my husband for creating this adventure.  My dad would be so happy to see I am with such an adventurer and lover of the sea.  Smooch!

Ok! Who knew Boston was such an amazing city?!

I had no clue and no idea what to expect.  But whatever I would have imagined would not have come close to what we found.

About two weeks ago, Jeff made the executive decision that we would be heading to Boston this weekend.  The why of our Boston trip will be shared in another post but I must pause and share my appreciation for this amazing city.

 We arrived early Friday evening, dropped off our bags at our downtown hotel and then decided to head out on a walk-about.

The moment we turned the corner we realized we were in an uncommon downtown.  Little parks everywhere populated by people just hanging out, connecting, having a coffee and enjoying a moment in this historic city.

You can almost feel the history inherent in its narrow streets, old churches and cobblestoned markets.

People are everywhere!

What? A downtown, on a weekend, full of people?! Will wonders never cease?!

I can tell this city has done something right because everyone, local and visitor, is sitting outside in bars, cafes and restaurants.  People are out, enjoying the weather and the scene.  Street performers are gathering crowds of eager onlookers just wanting to be a part of the magic act or to get a picture with the man who seems to create an entire band out of a bunch of plastic containers and a couple sticks.

With map in hand we easily follow the crowd down to the harbor, the pathway to which is unobstructed by any sort of significant traffic due to something they call the “big dig” where they put all the major freeways underground.   Whatever it cost, in my opinion, it was a great idea. 

The harbor is rockin’!  Outdoor bars right on the dock are crowded with young people.  Happy hours abound and Jeff and I reminisce, ah, this would have been one heck of a town to be in when we were 10 years younger and single!

Across the harbor we see the reason for the trip in the first place – a tall sailing ship that has roused a motley crew of sailors to come together from all over the country to see what she is made of (but I will save that story for another post).

After hours of walking, exploring and taking it all in, dinner is outside in the center of the action with home-made sangria, Jeff’s very first experience of slurping fresh raw oysters (YUM!) and of course, fresh lobster. 

In the morning, it was a quick walk to the aquarium for the Imax show, “Dolphins and Whales, Tribes of the Ocean”, showing these amazing creatures up close and larger than life on the IMAX screen.  Narrated by Daryl Hanna we not only get to feel the sometimes haunting, sometimes joyful essence of these huge mammals, but we also get to hear about how human activity, whaling, pollution and development is putting many of them on the verge of extinction.  As the music started I began tearing-up. At some point I was sobbing and at the end Jeff and I just sat there, red eyed, sad and a not just a little bit upset by the state of things (to hear about one of the fascinating examples of how money and progress seems to win out over everything else, check out this article to read about the fate of the last three hundred Right Whales (the movie points out they are called that because they are the “Right Whales” to hunt and it seems those characteristics that made them so right has been very wrong for their survival.))

After the show it was on to a day of dining and playing, sailing and community, Irish pubs and fresh seafood and hearing the wonder of how Boston seems to have lost their “R”s (ask a Bostonian to say “Heart” or “Bar” or “Starbucks” and you will see what I mean.)

After two days of perfect weather, we awoke Sunday morning to a rainy day, an easy trip to the airport and a perfect departure from a perfect trip.

There was so much left undone from our trip to Boston and it truly was the kind of place that you could go for no reason, knowing no one, and have a blast!

I see many impromptu weekends to Boston in our future just because.

What a city!

Coach Joelle

That’s right, around 1773 a group of American colonists protested against the British government by throwing a bunch of tea into the Boston harbor, which is said to have sparked the American Revolution and this weekend I got to participate in its re-enactment (A.K.A. the Boston Tea Party) aboard a tall sailing ship in Boston!

As it turns out our leader was a energized young woman in colonial wear, pretending to be Samuel Adams (as her male counter part was on his first day of the job.)

Shortly after we set sail the fun began as she walked us through the details leading up to the historic event (which is all very helpful since I will likely have to know all this stuff when I am eligible for my US citizenship sometime in 2010.)  Of course my husband Jeff and I were well versed in the evils of the East India Trading company (we watch Pirates of the Caribbean – we know all about it!) and as we went through the democratic process of proposing action and then voting with a “Hear Hear” for yes and an angry “FIE” for no, the clear choice was to throw the tea into the harbor (though I do think that my solution of brewing it and adding rum was quite innovative.)

Other than feeling the wind in the sails and enjoying the perfect day on the water, I think my favorite part of the event was watching our Sam Adams do her thing.  She reminded me a lot of myself back when I was growing up, singing and acting.  I loved her energy, her fearless capacity to be utterly silly, giving everything she had to her role and her duty of entertaining our motley crew.

The delights of Boston were far beyond anything I had imagined but the revolting part was a definite highlight!

Lovin’ Liberty!

Coach Joelle