We learned that the next morning, someone else hit a mountain lion on the same road, at the same time of day. Thankfully, the animal was not hurt.

Je ne sais pas où on était, peut-être sur la route vers le Parc National Grand Teton, ou quelque part sur la US-287 entre Yellowstone et le Parc National Glacier, mais on a commencé à se demander à voix haute… et si on pouvait faire ça plus longtemps? “Ça” étant un mélange entre voir défiler le paysage, voyager, être loin, avoir du temps et stimuler les sens avec des nouveaux environnements.

Ce n’était pas la première fois que nous avions parlé de la possibilité de voyager à plus long terme, mais c’etait le debut de queqlue chose de beaucoup plus sérieux. Après de nombreuses conversations (et des calculs sur un bout d’envelope), on a convenu qu’on se donnerait un an. Le temps d’économiser, le temps de planifier, et le temps de penser a tous les details.

Maintenant, on est ici. Un an plus tard. Et on est prêt.

Le (ou autour du) 7 Septembre, Justin et moi allons monter à bord d’un navire porte-conteneurs, le Cap Cleveland, à Philadelphie (Pennsylvanie) à destination de Auckland, Nouvelle-Zélande. On s’arrêtera aux ports de Savannah (Géorgie) et de Cartagena (Colombie), avant de traverser le canal de Panama.
En tout, nous serons sur le bateau pendant 28 jours — la plus longue période en mer étant de 18 jours entre le Panama et la Nouvelle-Zélande.

(Cap Cleveland photo © Knut Helge Schistad)

Le voyage est certes une aventure en soi, mais ce n’est que le début d’un plus grand voyage autour du monde. On n’a pas de plan après notre débarquement à Auckland, sinon d’explorer les deux iles et peut-être visiter certains fromagers. Après la Nouvelle-Zélande, il y a plusieurs autres pays qui piquent notre curiosité, dont l’Australie, le Cambodge, le Népal, le Kenya, et la Turquie, mais nous n’avons pas l’ombre d’un itinéraire. Juste un désir brulant de découvrir où la route du monde nous mènera.

Qui sait, on peut aller quelque part, tomber amoureux de l’endroit, et ne jamais partir. Ou bien on pourrait se lasser de la vie sur la route et rentrer aux États-Unis après deux mois. C’est ça le plus beau. On est complètement ouvert à toutes les possibilités. Et on est prêt.

I started with the Chacos ZX/2® in black thinking they are sturdy, waterproof and look fairly cute. Granted we (Justin got a similar pair) put them through a 7 mile flat hike the first day, the result wasn’t too positive. The toe loop wouldn’t stay loose, bits of gravel kept getting stuck and the shoe ribbing was sanding my precious little body carriers raw. Ouch. I did take advantage of REI’s awesome return policy.

At that point I had exhausted all of REI‘s sandal offerings as well as Sports Basement, who offered pretty much the same options. So, after the sports stores, what was next? DSW! They actually have a surprising number of “sports” and “comfortable” shoes. There again, I tried everything on. The only pair that had somewhat a potential were the Teva Tirra, which I had tried at REI already and didn’t quite win me over. The second try at DSW had more positive aspects, but I read that Tevas sometimes fall apart when they get wet, which makes me nervous… uh yeah, I think I want to go rafting again sometime! I left DSW empty “footed”… mwah-ha-ha.

Gosh, when DSW has nothing to offer where do you go? I went to Macy’s. I remembered they had brands that were targeted to hard core travelers, so I thought hard core traveler = comfort + style + function. They indeed had quite a bit of options. The pair that came really close to winning were the Privo® Seabreeze sandals. The only thing that kept me from buying them is the fact that they didn’t have brown (only crazy blue) and that they were super duper sporty looking. I thought, no problem, I’ll look them up online and order them or something. Couldn’t get myself to do it.

No sandals found yet. I think my intention was to go back to Macy’s on a weeknight when there would be less tourists and give it another round. Saturday morning we went to the Farmer’s Market at the Ferry Building to get a few fruits and veggies. On our way back, we walked a stretch of Market Street that we normally pass. At some point on Market between Pine and Bush, there was a little shoe repair shop with some shoes inside. The shoes looked exactly the type that would carry the sandals I’m looking for. After some browsing and getting advice from the shop owner (one of those guys who has been in the shoe repair business for a long time, carrying the pride of being a cobbler) I found this pair:

They are Clarks Unstructured sandals made out of waterproof leather and a breathable sole. Yep, my feet chose them almost immediately. They are comfortable, sturdy, ultra-light, pretty cute and colorful. Sold! I was super happy to finally find the pair of sandals I’ll probably hang onto for a while in a small local store who cared about what they sold. I mean, the guy sprayed an extra waterproofing layer for free just because I mentioned they may be used around water. Pretty sweet, don’t you think?

I wore them for the first time today to walk to work. I’ll be honest and say that I did feel a couple of tender spots after two miles, but nothing that can’t be overcome by wearing them a couple more times. I love them. I’ll stick with them.

I packed two of them tight is a double zip-lock bag for both exposure to air and to prevent the smell to leak! Uh yes, it was smelly. I didn’t want any airport dogs detecting it and wanting to eat it, so I sealed it really well and put it in one of those thermal lunch bags. Turns out it came out pretty soft and stinky, but apparently, so my family says, pretty good!

I loved writing on that label, origin: USA, producer: Stephanie, and crossing out “purchased” for “made”. Ha! So funny… to me.

The first glimpse of the small wheel was promising.

A nice white and yellow, wrinkly crust, wrapped a soft body when pressed down gently.

Indeed pretty soft when the knife went through.

Ta-da! A really creamy, gooey thick edge with a slightly firmer center.

By now Justin was in another room pinching his nose. Just kidding, he had a piece. I think. Hmm I’ll have to ask him. Maybe he’s traumatized forever with my stinky, but – so my Mom, Dad, Sister, aunt and grand-ma say – accurate cheese.

I can’t believe it! I made Camembert! In my kitchen! In San Francisco! I put it on a plane for 14 hours and it made it onto plates in France! And people liked it! Or everyone was very polite with me. Hmm…

My sister, Aurelie, just turned 25 while we were there. She’s married and has an adorable two year old, Luna. Her life is full to the brim which makes talking window opportunities a little slim at times, especially with the time difference. I love her very much and wish I could chat with her like we used to when I still lived in France or would visit for a whole month.

But this visit, we managed to carve out some time to just the two of us…. at a spa. Yes, in a spa! How perfect. The spa day was a gift for our birthdays from Dad (our birthdays are not really close together, but who cares). So the next day I arrived, we headed to the Thalazur thalassotherapy center in Antibes (specializing in sea water treatments) for the day.

Check us out in our robes! That was pretty much the outfit for the following 6 hours. (Photo not so awesome, but the thrill and anticipation was there).

In the morning we had 4 treatment each, including a sea water massaging bath (awesome!), a marine mud wrap for joints (heck of hot, but completely erased all pain from my right knee), a sea water high pressure -super jet- shower (invigorating) and a massage (so relaxing).

Once we were pampered and loose, we had a wonderful lunch with a view from the mountains to the sea.

They served us a fresh fruit smoothie.

And a delicious 3 course meal.

As if this wasn’t enough bliss, we had access to their pools for the afternoon.

Sure enough a sweet nap took place on our lovely poolside spot.

When do we ever get to be pampered like this? It was such perfect time (right after the long, body-wrecking plane trip and before visiting people and eating like *French* pigs).

Thank you Dad for giving Aurelie and I the very rare opportunity to relax together and enjoy ourselves. This moment is very dear to me. I love you Lili! Big bisous :-)

One of the results… me hiking out of a cave. Arrrgghh.

More results of this fun trip here.

But think about it, when we, women, are out on a trail and we really have to go, we need to find at the very least a bush or hike out in uncertain terrain to find a hiding spot. Then we look all around, to make sure no one can see us. Then, we unzip and pull our pants down until our little booty is completely out in the open, then squat and pee. While we pee, we need to be careful where the wind comes from, not to accidentally “rain” on our shoes. Oh and what’s that tickling me on my right butt cheek? Could that be poison oak?

Anyways, you get the point. I’ve been in various situations where I so would have paid to just have a penis. Whether it’s in the snow, or in the Grand Canyon where there is no where to hide on these highly trafficked switchbacks, or in Point Reyes where everything green may be poison oak. You do NOT want to have poison oak there.

Finally the other day, during a random run at REI, I got the Freshette. I thought to myself, this could really come in handy in more situations than I think I can imagine. It is brilliant!

Naturally I got home and wanted to try it right away. Reading about other women who got it, most of them gave the gadget its first try in the shower. Actually that’s a good idea! But I went straight to the toilet. Lifted the seat, as one should do, and aimed. It took me probably a whole minute before my brain could accept the fact that it was okay to let go. Once I started, I could not stop laughing and saying “woa” and “oh” and “oh my god that’s awesome”. I shook the tube, rinsed the device and done I was.

I took it to Mount Diablo when we went camping and tried it in the pit toilet. Worked totally great. I’m planning on taking it every time we go outdoors… and perfect my art.

We spent two days on the lower Kern river, rafting its white waters. It was our first time going down a river on a raft, getting meals prepared for us on a camping trip and sleeping with no tent! I repeat… we slept with no tent! I had some pretty bad bug phobia at first, but really, I haven’t been crawled on at all… or that I know of.

Being on the river with our amazing guide, Abby, was such a peaceful yet definitely bumpy and splashy experience. We went through some class III and IVs. I have to say, I completely got hooked on the class IVs and was begging for more.

What I’ve learned about white water rafting is that when you get into situations like this…

… you get out of them stronger.

Thinking back to our adventure, aside from the dip in the hot springs, the best memory I have was to be in the sun and wear shorts (which is unusual for me), feeling the air caress my legs. It felt so good! I had to express it. Justin captured it.

Firefox users: if you want to make me stop walking, just press the ‘Esc’ key.