The World: 186 Days

Archive Page 2

North by Northwest

Published by whit June 15th, 2007 in Adventures, Family, Photography and U.S.A.. 0 Comments

Claire in Kitchen at Farm It’s interesting that after coming home and having so much access to computers and the internet we still seem to fall behind on the blog posts. And naturally the longer we wait to post the longer the post tends to be. So today I will just share all the things that we’ve done in the last few weeks, sparing you the details, and ask you to imagine the adventures that we’ve had. Feel free to use photos in the Photos section as guides.

We made it to Stone Lake Farm where Melinda, a former professor of mine lives, with her husband Francis. Every year they throw a big party where all of there friends come up and camp on their land for the weekend. How rad is that? Very rad. Highlights included: Goats, Septic tank digging, Camp Kitchen, The Octagon, Solar Baking - Pecan pie, Arts and Crafts, and Melinda’s Birthday - which had an amazing song to it, made up around the campfire.

After staying on the farm from Wednesday to Sunday, we headed over to Amy and Cooper’s house in Arcata. Unfortunately our camera was out of batteries for this visit, but we’ll be back up there when I make a documentary about Coopers Bio-Diesel Company - Footprint Recycling.

On our way to Portland, Claire and I were fortunate enough to take Highway 199 to Interstate 5 via a Redwood forest. The views are spectacular and the trees are monstrous. Again, no photos. Hannah and George

So we made it to Portland and the adventures here have just began. Including, but not limited to:

Swimming at Jamie’s house
BBQ at Hannah’s house
Dinner with George
Hanging out with Jamie

Our plan is to be here through Father’s Day and into the next week at which point we’ll head down to Eugene for an ultimate tournament. There, we will meet up with Cara who is going to travel with us up to Seattle. In Seattle we’ll meet up with EVERYONE. There are a ton of people to visit in Seattle so that part of the trip will be pretty amazing.

That’s what we’ve been up to. For detailed descriptions of any of these adventures, call or e-mail Claire or myself. Also, stay tuned for graduation videos and talk about an upcoming documentary of our trip that you may be able to own! How exciting!

Being Home, and Leaving Again

Published by claire June 1st, 2007 in Friends, Photography, U.S.A., Ultimate and Video. 0 Comments

Since he got reacquainted with his hard drive, Whit has been spending his days editing footage for the Paganello video. Five days of beach ultimate in Italy gives you a lot to work with, but of course, Whit has done a masterful job and will be submitting this video to the tournament’s film contest. Other than editing, this last week has been filled mainly by visiting friends. Over the weekend we got together with Yusi, Salsa, McT, Hayden, and Chuck for dinner at Park Chow in the Inner Sunset. We played with Yusi, Salsa, and McT at World’s back at the beginning of our trip. Hayden is from New Zealand, and hosted us at his place in Auckland for a couple weeks and we also played against him at Paganello. It was really fun to see all of them again, and it made us realize we’ve come full circle.

Earlier that same day, we planted a garden in Mike’s backyard in Oakland. The gardens in St. Croix amazed us so much that we were inspired to plant one wherever we were. In a few weeks we should have a good selection of lettuce, arugula, onions, and basil. There are already little sprouts coming up!

clairenaaron Over the weekend I also reconnected with a friend from my first year of college. My friend Aaron was visiting his brother Brad in the city, so we met up with them and wandered around Fisherman’s Wharf. Since the sun wasn’t out, it wasn’t too busy, but it’s still the most touristy place in San Francisco, so the crowds were inevitable. It was funny to walk around in the midst of foreigners, remembering that not too long ago we were like them. The highlights of our walk were seeing the sea lions at Pier 39 (they make me laugh), the treats at Kara’s Cupcakes, and driving Aaron and Brad down Lombard Street. We were also preyed upon by the “Bush Man.”

This weekend we’re playing at Cal States, an ultimate tournament in Santa Cruz. Early next week we’re heading north to Oregon and Washington until the Fourth of July. Before getting to Oregon and stay with my family in Portland, we’ll spend a few days with a former professor of Whit’s at her farm in Northern California. We’ll be posting along the way, so stay tuned for updates!

xoxo,

clairenwhit

Back in the Bay

Published by claire May 25th, 2007 in Family, Photography and U.S.A.. 3 Comments

grad Our last two nights in So-Cal were spent in Pasadena with Whit’s mom and partner. Whit and I both caught up with a couple of friends who live in the LA-area, and it was great to see some more familiar faces. On our last night we went to Old Pasadena and saw the French film Private Fears in Public Places and then went for dinner at a great Nepalese place. The next morning we packed up the Jetta and drove to San Francisco, which is one of the most boring drives imaginable. Fortunately, there was no traffic, so we made it in just under six hours. After a quick stop in Oakland - to pick up some different clothes (so much fun) - we picked up George (my dad) at the airport, who came into town for my sister Hilary’s graduation. All of us were pretty tired from travelling all day, so after dinner we didn’t last long. My mom and sister Hannah arrived later that night, and we all stayed at Hilary’s apartment in the Richmond.

That gets us to Friday, the day of Hilary’s graduation from the University of San Francisco. The ceremony is held at the St. Ignatius Cathedral on the school’s campus. The weather was gorgeous that day, and ceremony was nice and quick. After photos were taken we went back to the apartment for a yummy lunch made by Hannah. Hilary’s graduation was a pretty big milestone for the Fisher’s - for the last twelve years, one of the four children has been in college. Now, we’re all done!

On Saturday we all piled into the rental car and went to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The visiting exhibition “Picasso and American Art” was really amazing, as was the photography exhibit - Martin Munkacsi: Think While You Shoot! Unfortunately, it was really crowded, which caused all of us to be ready to leave before we really wanted to. So, we grabbed some food and had lunch in Alamo Square.

ggb The weather remained beautiful the following day, so we decided to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. When driving across, it’s hard to realize how long it really is. It took an hour and half to get across and back. Despite the distance, it’s a gorgeous walk. There were great views - San Francisco, Alcatraz, and the Marin Headlands. When we finished, the kids got dropped off at Hilary’s place and the parents headed to the airport.

The last few days we’ve been adjusting to being back in the Bay Area - staying with our friends Mike and Vi who we lived with right before leaving six months ago. It’s a great time of year to be back - everyone’s getting in summer-mode, and there’s alot going on in the city.

We’re baaaaaaa-ack

Published by claire May 15th, 2007 in Family, Food, Friends, Party and U.S.A.. 1 Comment

whitpaddys Well, sort of. After another horrendous travel experience (our flight from St. Croix was cancelled so we had to stay another night at the farm after six hours of pure airport torture), we are safe and sound in the good ol’ USA once again. We have been in the LA-area since Friday, visiting Whit’s family. All of the graduations for the Claremont Colleges (including Scripps, where I went to school) were also this weekend, so we hit those up to celebrate with some friends.

Backing up a bit - when we arrived on Friday we drove to Claremont to stay at Whit’s dad’s house. A BBQ had been pre-arranged with our graduating friends and their families. It was great to see everyone again, and a full-flight’s sleep prepared us to hang out and catch-up.

The next morning we went to Casa Jimenez for breakfast - a local phenomenon due to their $1.50 breakfast deal. That low, low price gets you a plate of rice, beans, and eggs (or pancakes), as well as tortillas - amazing! And delicious! A few hours later we ate more Mexican food at Paddy’s - Whit’s favorite. Lots of eating, definitely worth it.

The rest of the day we relaxed with Drew, who flew in from Seattle to see us arrive and enjoy the graduation festivities. In the afternoon we went to the park for a BBQ with graduates and families. It was a beautiful, warm evening, so it was slightly hard to leave and go to Pasadena for a pre-Mother’s Day dinner with Whit’s mom. After a pleasant evening there - and a nice brunch with Whit’s grandmother Joyce the next morning - we returned to Claremont to catch the commencement ceremonies. It’s been three years since I graduated, and although it’s weird that it’s been that long, it was fun to watch younger friends go through the same experience. And, the food was so good. What can I say? When you’re deprived of the things you love, you obsess over the moment you get to enjoy them again. With that said, last night’s dinner at Senor Baja’s (formerly known as El Taco Nazo) was simply divine. Never had a better fish taco in my life.

We just dropped Drew off at the airport, and most of our graduated friends have loaded their cars and said their goodbyes. We’ll be in the LA-area until Thursday, catching up with family and friends. So far, it’s been great to be back - we know where things are, how to get there, and have lots of old friends to accompany us. We’ve gotten the standard post-travel questions alot already (no, we don’t have a favorite place we went to - they were all amazing!).

Next weekend my sister graduates from college in San Francisco, so we’ll be doing more of the same, but Fisher-style. Our trip was incredible and it’s great to be home. But at the same time, it’s nuts to think that a week ago I was knee deep and sweating bullets while weeding the pineapple patch…

PS:: Thanks to Drew for capturing Whit’s enjoyment of the Paddy’s burrito.