We Heart Japan

Hi everyone! I am so excited, proud, and honored to present to you “Together for Japan: 日本と共に” Our first ever fundraiser to help with the re-building of Japan! The t-shirts are available online at TogetherForJapan.org and in all Jean Therapy stores located in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The shirts will also be available (ladies only) at Irie Boutique located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

You can view more pics at Together for Japan’s facebook page and we would LOVE it if people would post their own pics with their shirt on to the page!!

Ladies Tee White V-Neck

Men Tee Grey Crew Neck

The shirts can be shipped anywhere in the U.S.! Proceeds from the shirt will go towards a great local non-profit created by several Japanese groups in New Orleans called NOLA Japan Quake Fund. This NGO will gather the money collected (currently topping $63,000!) and donate it to local NGOs in Japan who have the most pressing need. The goal is to give to organizations in Japan directly that will help in the LONG term re-building of the affected areas in Japan (Long term meaning long after the News channels move on).

These shirts will make you happy! Well at least they should make you feel as good as you look!

Getting the screens ready

How It Began
A few posts ago we posted “Japan: Why The Sun Will Rise Again“. With a translation from an article my Japanese friend wrote about the amazing reactions and response by the people of Japan in the wake of the horrific earthquake and tsunami on March 11th. For that post I designed an image that resonated with what I was feeling towards my childhood home country. A Japan with the quake lines but surrounded by the rising sun turned heart- to symbolize my thoughts and prayers for those affected by the disaster.

After posting the article and design John mentioned that it would make a great t-shirt design and the idea of creating a t-shirt fund raiser was born. Within a few hours of posting the idea on facebook I received an overwhelming show of support and encouragement. Having never done anything like this I was worried about the logistics of it all. Where would I get the shirts, how would I screen print them, who and how should I donate to? That afternoon I met with Megan for ice cream and general brainstorming session and brought up the idea to her. She not only loved the idea but is one of those awesomely cool people that knows everyone in the city. She had me connected with Steven, who owns a local clothing store Jean Therapy, and after only one phone call the project officially began! After working with a great local printer the shirts are done and ready to be worn proudly by all who want to show their love and support for Japan and her people!

Ladies Tee: Burnt out white v-neck (super soft!)

Men’s Tee: Grey crew style (also super soft! in a manly way!)

Please help us spread the word about Together For Japan via word of mouth, twitter, facebook, courier pigeon or even a letter in a bottle! The damage to Japan was unthinkable, it will take time to re-build not only the houses and building but people’s lives. Help us keep Japan on people’s minds and in their hearts!

I think everyone knows that feeling. That feeling of “ahhhhhhh” that comes after returning home and dumping your bags at the front door. No matter how great the trip, or even how long, there is something so sublimely comforting to finally be “home.” Well after nearly two years of traveling and living on other people’s boats, houses, couches, hostel rooms, hotel beds we’ve finally decided to unpack our bags for a while. And since we didn’t have a home of our own waiting for us when we got back we had been lucky enough to stay with family. Though it was extremely comfortable, specially the home cooked meals, and we appreciate the hospitality to no end sooner or later you just need your own place. Now the tricky part when you have no place is that choosing your new home means endless options. I mean we had sold all most all of our material goods when we left for our jaunt and had come home with just a few bags.

We did keep a few important kitchen items…such as chopsticks from Japan and a martini shaker

Though we seriously considered moving overseas to establish a home base we decided that this time we will stay in the U.S. There were a few reasons. I’m sure most who read this blog are aware that since getting back this year we have been building our own design and marketing biz and we figured that since we are still so little getting set up in the States where we are both citizens would be easier. Now the location. We dived the country up into four parts. The West Coast, East Coast, South, and Middle Area.

Before we left for our trip we had been living in Nebraska, which sits square in the middle of Middle Area, for work.  Both of us, though growing up in different parts of the world are both “southerners,” which means we are allergic to the cold.  The first winter in Nebraska we were woefully unprepared.  Completely underestimated what COLD could be.  Not having lived much with snow we were also very naïve to that whole experience.  The first time it snowed we were both so excited, I dragged my co-workers outside during our lunch break and made them build snowmen with me.  We were in love with the idea of a “white Christmas” and even went to a tree farm and trudged through the snow to find our perfect tree.  We were giddy with “I saw this on a movie once” feeling when the tree farm guys offered us hot apple cider while they loaded our tree in our car. 

It was a magical day! Hunting down the perfect tree in a snow covered field was a completely new experience for us

You see, our entire experience with snow had told us that this was a special occasion, that it won’t last long so better enjoy it.  Little did we suspect those first few weeks what people who live in the north knew all along…that it DOES last, it lasts an incredible amazingly loooong time!  After the snow didn’t go away for a month and the pretty white snow was by now grey sludge and driving to work was a death defining ordeal did it finally dawn on us that this was for real.  Winter does last longer than two months….

Walked out of the office to find my car…this is when I knew I was in deep trouble

So when we were looking at our map divided in four, the Middle Area was the first to be dropped from consideration. We’d love to visit, would love to learn how to ski, to dog sled, to throw snowballs all day again…but we had to be able to get out of it after a reasonable amount of time, and for us that meant winters shorter than half a year.

The West and East Coast were both alluring.  But after living in the country for six months we were really starting to look at cities as a change of pace and to help our little business grow.  Seattle and Portland in the West Coast held more intrest to us than California but having lived in Seattle for a year in my youth I recalled the seemingly endless gray days.  I know, there is a pattern emerging.  I’ve never been to LA but have flown in and out enough and seen enough bad TV to have a slightly bad taste in my mouth.  If you are from LA and would love to prove us wrong, let us know, we’d love to visit and see for ourselves!  San Francisco would have been on the list, but by then we had already shifted focus to the East Coast and the South.  We had really liked Charleston, but the areas we would have wanted to live in were a little posh. And the big cities of the East Coast, such as New York that we liked faced the same latitude problem.  Also New York is great, but man is it overpriced into absurdity.

The South was the last area we looked at.  We already knew the South so at first it didn’t hold the exotic newness we were craving.  Florida was off the list, just not our scene.  Atlanta was nicer than we had expected but not being close to the ocean always feels weird to me.  During this time we had been visiting New Orleans a lot for different reasons and our long lost desire to live there from our early days began to get re-kindled.  During our college days we had spent a fair amount of time in the city as it was only a few hours away from my campus.  We knew people in the city, we liked it’s chaotic nature and infectious character.  For us New Orleans is one of the few places left in the States that has not lost it’s original local character.  We had planned on moving there after graduation in another lifetime but like most people in the region, Hurricane Katrina forced our hands.  We were both living a few hours from the epicenter, the Mississippi coastline, here are just a few pics a few days after the storm wiped out the coast.

If you can imagine, this Casino was floating over half a mile down the road on water!!

This street used to be lined with houses, you can find everything they once owned in the treetops

And so we did

Five years later, in parts of New Orleans, you can still find the signs of the storm but the city is rebuilding back, hopefully even better.

While walking down the oak lined streets of  St. Charles one afternoon two months ago we decided to just do it.  We could over analyze our next destination to death, but heck, we liked it here and it fitted most our criteria: warm>cold weather, city life, culture.  So that weekend while were there for business on a whim we began house hunting.  After a near obsessive internet stalking of new listings, and a very clearly defined area of the city that we were willing to look at, we found our new home.

Finally “home” for a while

This week marks the end of our first month living in The Big Easy.  It’s been a whirlwind of a month, but we are finally settled.  I had prepared a video blog introducing our charming Garden District neighborhood to you but my poor computer has finally crashed and burned into oblivion, taking with it my files and video clips as a final parting gesture.  I will be getting a new one one day soon (listening Santa?? I’ve been good) and will be posting the video.  We also have been given permission to give away a few awesome prizes so stay tuned for that installment.

On a side note, we’d like to introduce a “new” member to the Hop & Jaunt crew! His name is Blue and he’s been with us since John & I first met.  Long story short Blue was my family puppy when I met John, six months later my family had to move to New Zealand and no one would take Blue.  It was very traumatic, specially for my Mom as she spent the most time with him, as everyone who had promised to take him began dropping out only 48hrs before boarding the plane.  On the last day with no other option my Mom and sister took Blue to the shelter, they stayed there a long time begging everyone who entered to adopt him.  He is one of the best dogs we’ve had, his personality more than making up for his rather awkward appearance. Never has a dog been more laid back either.  So that next day while a teary-eyed family loaded a plane, John went down to the shelter first thing in the morning and rescued Blue.  At John’s home in the country Blue has had some 60+ acres to roam freely in, a pond, and a home.  That was over eight years ago.  By a twist of fate John and I not only ended up in the same country again but only a few hours away a few years later, and as they say , the rest is history.  Blue has been on John’s family property since, as we were either in college or a thousand miles away working, or another thousand miles away traveling.  We’ve always talked about wanting to have him with us, specially as he’s getting older.  Now we’ve finally been able to make good for Blue.  His dreams came true, he’s allowed inside now, gets all the attention he cares for and is within reach at all times.  And in turn we’ve gained a loyal friend, who’s snores are a strangely relaxing backdrop while working.

‘ol Blue

Today, we want to tell you about two really fantastic people who are currently sailing in the south Pacific. Otto and Lili are two very good friends Alyson and I made while traveling through the southern Caribbean. Unlike us, they have their own boat named Vagabond. Its a 46′ Dix sailboat that Otto built himself. They left from South Africa on Vagabond over 3 years ago and have been sailing their way around the world ever since.

Otto, Lili, and Alyson reveling during the Colombian Independence Day Festivals in Cartagena.

Alyson and I last saw Otto and Lili in Cartagena, Colombia where we all spent several weeks enjoying festivals, playing backgammon tournaments and exploring the city. Since then Vagabond has sailed through the San Blas Islands of Panama and on through the canal. Yesterday, we received an email with some fun and amazing photos of their current location, the Galapagos Islands. We thought you guys would enjoy these!

From Lili and Otto:

“Hola amigos & amigas

Yesterday we went on a tour of the island and the attached pictures tell a story. We are incredibly impressed how things are done here – very eco friendly and tastefully laid out. Everywhere you go, there are signs carved out of wood that are very informative and loads of benches to rest ones weary feet from all the walking in the heat. We absolutely love it here – the wildlife is amazing and we are having such fun swimming and frolicking with the sea lions, especially the pups, in the water.

Today and tomorrow we will spend refuelling with diesel and then we are going to go diving in a place that is notorious for its viewing of hammerhead sharks, the following day we will take a ferry to the next island over called Santa Cruz where we will visit the Charles Darwin Scientific Research Centre and then we will just hang around for a few more days to enjoy the wonderful snorkelling and other sites. It’s so nice being a tourist again.”

At the Volcano Crater with our guide Carlos.

Benches in the Park.

Galapagos Land Tortoise.

Galapagos Marine Iguana.

Lil in the Tortoise Sanctuary.

Looking down from the Volcano

Otto, the photographer.

Signs in the Sanctuary.

More Signs.

Sea Lions doing Yoga.

Maureen making friends.

Sea Lion Pup.

More Yoga.

Playtime.

The Scenery.

Crewing with Otto and Lili is a fellow travel blogger, Ursula at Abroad Aboard. Her stories of their trip from Panama to the Galapagos are fun, insightful and hilarious. Here is a short excerpt from her post about dealing with sea lions during their second day in the Galapagos.

“A HUGE male seal stank the whole stern up this morning, and THEN he shit…. the smell was intolerable. Otto fixed a rope, lightly tied, to dangle onto the seal, like a bad itch that won’t go away, and well, he left. Maybe it is that simple to get rid of them? They are ALL OVER the anchorage & the dock & jetty & jetty pathway…. Over coffee this morning, Otto & Lili tell me that they discovered seals snort, fart, cough, whistle, honk etc & smell bad through the night, they are nocturnal! “

To read more about their adventures check out Ursula’s blog at Abroad Aboard.

The past week has been a crazy busy one for us at Hop & Jaunt! After a fun filled Easter weekend where we got to hang out with family and friends the weeks started in full blast. Since starting our little design firm we’ve been lucky enough to get new clients and projects rolling in. One of our current projects was designing a new site for Nomadic Chick, a travel writer and overall cool chick. It was a fun project and she was brave enough to give a lot of creative freedom. So if you haven’t visited her site yet, now’s the time to do so!

Nomadic Chick

After staying up unitl 4 am. working on a project one night the next day we had to wake up at 5:45 am. as we had been invited on a road trip to the state capital! A week earlier we had met and lunched with a couple of very nice ladies representing the local chamber of commerce and they had invited us to ride along with local businesses as they traveled to the state capital to grill lunch for the state politicians. Never ones to pass up on a chance to visit new places, specially with free food, we hopped on board the bus and joined the group for “Convington County Day At The Capital.”

Covington County Day’s Out

Unfortunately the weather was horrible, it not only rained the entire trip up to the capital but proceeded to pour down raining for the rest of the day! Luckily the tent was big enough to fit everyone and ,as it’s also election year, the politicians made an effort to come by and enjoy their locally made Snowden sausages. We helped up a little with the set up and as everyone was encourage to “meet & greet” we mingled with the crowd. While mingling we ran across Ms. Sue Bass Wilson, a Julia Tutwiler Impersonator who’s on a mission to save the Alabama state song. It turns out the Albama tourist board is thinking of changing the state song “Alabama” from state song to state anthem, using “Stars Fell On Alabama” as the official song instead. For Ms.  Wilson this was too much to bear and she donned the persona and clothes of Ms. Juilia Tutwiler, a poet and reformist from the late 19th century, who had penned the song. As Ms. Tutwiler, M. Wilson spoke to the state representatives urging them to respect her contributions and to preserve the song. Who would have known? She was kind enough to pose with me and was a very sweet lady, both as herself and as Ms. Tutwiler!

Alabama State Capital Building

We got these orange T’s to wear, I never lost sight of John that day…

Ms. Tutwiler

It was a great chance for us to meet people from the area, as we tend to get stuck behind on our computers during the day. We were able to talk to local business owners, government workers, and politicians. Most of the time everyone was so casual and friendly that you didn’t realize how important or not they were unless someone told you later. Which was great for me since I have zero ability to recognize people’s faces unless I’ve already met (at times more than once is needed). It was also nice to be recognized as business owners, a whole new sensation we’re still trying to adjust to! As the afternoon wore on, and there began to appear a dent in the massive pile of sausages and hotdogs, the sun finally began to come out. We managed to meet a wide ranging group of people, snuck off and took a bit of a tour around the capital, and also somehow managed to stuff ourselves with good food all in one day. Success!

The First White House of the Confederacy

The house was simple, yet elegant

We snuck off for a little bit and explored the area surrounding the capital building. We stopped in to tour the first White House of the Confederacy, where Jefferson Davis and his family lived during the first years of the civil war.

That weekend we drove up to Atlanta, a 4 hour trip, to attend our first “tweet-up!” Though sharing the road with spring breakers racing back to Michigan was a little hectic we made it to Atlanta early enough for a little stroll down town. I have only really been to the airport in Atlanta, and the truth is between jet-lag and the airport-yuck I didn’t have the best of impressions of Atlanta. I know, judging a city by it’s airport is not fair, but it happens! So now I must confess that I was very much impressed with how clean, vibrant, and friendly downtown Atlanta was!

After walking around a little we headed up north a bit and found the thai restaurant we were planning on meeting at. We arrived early and decided to walk around the neighborhood, as the entire area seemed so active and adorable. As we made our way around the block we heard a voice yell “Hey!!” we looked around a little confused and saw a blonde girl waving to us, so naturally we started waving back and yelled “Hey!!” back at her and her friends. She then yells out from her balcony “Would you guys like a beer?” Since my mother only advised against getting candy from strangers I yelled back “Sure!” and soon we were sitting on a small apartment porch with a group of friendly young people introducing ourselves. They were on a way to a concert, and we could only stay for one drink but it was a fun and random encounter!

Atlanta’s Friendly Ambassadors:From Left-> Jordan, Michelle, and Olivia!

Thanks for the beer girls!

We got to Surin of Thailand and met up with other traveling bloggers. There was Dwight, aka @insearchofsanuk, who is heading back to Thailand in a month to continue working on his non-profit group that helps teach English to the urban poor in Thailand. Check out his site to learn more about the amazing work he’s doing: In Search Of Sanuk. Dwight had just arrived from conference in town and had brought along Adam (@bruklin), a Brooklyn based theater man. He works for BAM, one of the oldest performing arts center in the U.S. He had also backpacked in different countries around the world and was a fun guy to chat with.

We also met up with Akila and Patrick (@theroadforks), from The Road Forks. They are from Auburn, Alabama and that makes them our closet travel blogging neighbors that we know of! They have a fun site where they talk about travel, food, and more food!!

The entire gang from the Q Family Adventures also showed up. We got to meet not only Amy (theqfamily), but her husband Ronald and their two adorable two kids! Amy writes about traveling with kids, from weekend road-trips and where to stay to planning on international travel with kids.

The Atlanta Tweet Up Group (That’s Akila and Patrick from The Road Forks up in the frame as they had to leave early!)

Thanks everyone for a great dinner. We had a blast! Now we’re looking forward to being in NY this June for the TBEX(travel blogger exchange) conference even more!!

The roof tops of Cartagena

So we’ve been living on the sea for the past eight months.  And life was good.  But once we arrived in Colombia, it was time to go ashore and try life on land for awhile.  Skipper Paul was kind enough to let us stay on his boat until the craziness of Festival Week subsided, but once the locals returned to work…so did we. 

Alyson and I took to the streets everyday in search of the perfect accomodations.  And while hostels are overly abundant and accomodating in Cartagena, we wanted something a little more unique.  Ideally we had in mind a nice little apartment overlooking some scenic downtown plaza.  Our friends say that “we have Champagne tastes on a beer budget”, but everyone has to have a dream.

Its really quite difficult arriving in a new place and trying to find a place to settle down.  Cartagena’s streets are a labyrinth of alleyways and narrow corridors, and the midday heat was exhausting.  Not to mention that we have no car and no phone.  Its not easy, but we were determined.

Looking for Apartments

We visited a few rentals.  Some were high end and some were more economical.  We ended up looking at a few high end apartments as the rent listed in the ads and the “actual” rent were off by a few zero’s behind the cost! But while we were there it was nice to imagine living in such a posh, clean, and cool place.  It turned out that our timing for renting long term could not have been worse. Cartagena is a touristic city and it’s seasons are high from November to January. In these few months most of the businesses make up to 80% of their yearly income! Especially for renters. We found that Cartagena offered almost every type and level of accomodations. In fact, during the high seasons most condos, apartments, houses, mansions, rooms, and any other type of living quarters are rented by the day. Thus if you were on a vacation there are endless alternatives to staying at the typical chain hotel ( though they have really nice ones as well).

Stopping in a diner to get out of the heat and have some lunch.

Looking for apartments is tiring.

We found that the prices varied extremely as well. A high end, furnished two bedroom apartment in the center of town will go between $1000-2000 a month. This was a bit too high for us, and wishing they would of said as much in the beggining of the 2 hour tour, we grit our teeth and headed back out into the heat.  

A modern flat in the historic old townNice Balcony View

 Over the next couple of days we managed to look at a few more places, and one of Alyson’s favorite was a studio flat overlooking the lush San Fernando Plaza. She negotiated the price down from $1500 to $750 a month. We both loved the view, but the building was basically gutted and for the price the quality was low. We were considerding biting the bullet and going for it when our luck changed dramatically for the better.

A small Studio Apartment

We Mostly Fell For The View

Our friends Giancarlo and Luisa met us at the marina that night to give us some encouraging news.  They had met an Italian boat owner who was looking for someone to boat sit for him while he flew back to Italy for two weeks.  Since he was leaving early the next morning we all rushed over to meet him.  The skipper, Edoardo, was very agreeable and soon we struck up a deal.  In exchange for a free place to live for two weeks, Alyson and I would take care of his boat and do some cleaning and small repairs.  So thanks to Giancarlo and Luisa we wound up living aboard the luxury charter yacht “Buon Vento”.

"Buon Vento" a 44' Lagoon Catamaran

Aboard "Buon Vento"

The Galley was huge. It was like living in a house.

A spacious salon.

We spent many afternoons reading and playing backgammon on the aft deck.

Our Cabin. Buon Vento has 4 cabins just like this. Each cabin has a private head and shower.

We spent the next few weeks living in style.  In the mornings we would do some chores.  Alyson cleaned the mildew which had formed on the  ceiling and walls.  John fixed some broken head pumps and serviced the winches.  Boat sitting is definitely a great way to live economically.  Especially, if the boat is in the marina which means unlimited water and electricity.  It was amazing.  We were taking three cold showers a day!  Such a change from one every couple of days.  Here are a few more shots from our caviar lifestyle:

Night View from the foredeck

Evening view from the Marina

Cooking a nice dinner of shrimp, cocktail sausages, fresh fruit, french bread, wine and chocolate. We adapted to this new lifestyle fast.

A nice luxury dinner for our new luxury lifestyle.

Cheers!

Our good friends come over for dinner: Alyson, Giancarlo, Otto, Lily, & Luisa

The girls.

The Guys

Eventually, two weeks came to an end.  Edoardo returned from Italy and it was time for us to move on again.  We will miss the caviar lifestyle now that we are back on our beer budget.  Although street vendor hotdogs are pretty good here.

Traveling light?

Its off to the streets again.

Currently we are staying in  hostel “Casa Valda” in the old city.  Normally the rent is 70,000 Pesos with airconditioning and a private bathroom.  We were able to negotiate the price down to 50,000 Pesos which is roughly $25 US dollars per night. 

Lobby

All decked out for Chirstmas

The Communal Kitchen

Oh and yes, every room gets a painting of a woman, we’ve seen others but ours is by far the most bouxum.

 Its quaint and nice, but if anyone knows of a boat that needs watching for a few weeks…please let us know.

Cheers!