Road to Boulder

Here's a few photos from the trek out to Boulder.
(Mom, I will post pics of house and school next.)

Back on the Blog

Hey Y'all! If there are any of y'all still there....its been a while.

I am on here again so the peeps back home and new buddies in Florida can follow my new ADVENTURES in BOULDER! I am very excited to post some great photos of this beautiful state....blows my mind! But first a quick update that will blow yours!

During my time at sea or shall I say at port? Anyway, during my time away I began a long correspondence with Akshay. =) That must be followed by a smile, because well, I am in love with Akshay.

Mr. Akshay is a striking young gentleman from yoga class. To put it in my exact words he is the "hottie yoga-guy" that I have been gazing at across a sweaty yoga room for nearly three years. Yes, sometimes the one you have a crush on, has a crush on you, too. Usually nobody is brave enough to find out.

After being inspired by a stranger in class that complimented me on my yoga practice, I decided to start doing the same. Well, who do you think I chose first? You got it, hottie yoga-guy! After making the connection, I was unable to return to class, therefore never seeing where my brave attempts took me. Little did I know, he was waiting for my return with baited breath.

About 3 months later and the ocean between us we connected on line. Akshay doesn't like to mention how this happened, well because for some its embarrassing, but for me I feel indebted forever for this piece of technology. Yes, Facebook brought us together. But wait, its not no usual Facebook connection. You see, it was magic. I'd like to quote a line from The Alchemist now, "When you really want something, the whole universe conspires to help you..." In this case the Universe disguised itself as Facebook and proceded to suggest me as a friend. That's right my face popped up on his page one day and he was like "Hey that's the girl from yoga". Funnier thing is there were no mutual friends involved, so it was purely coincidence or shall we say the Higher Powers the be in action....hahaha.

Of course like a fairy tale we swiftly fell in love and well when you know, you know? (never understood this, until now!) Its been 6 months of AWESOMENESS and believe it or believe it, we are now ENGAGED! Crazy, went from sailboats and sabbaticals to marriage proposals....now you see why the HUGE update.

That being said...I got accepted to grad school and have just relocated to Boulder. Next post, what its like to be back in school!

For now, lots of love to all those I have left behind on my move to the mountains. I love and hold you in my heart...all of you, even if our moments together were short, your smile is engraved in my memory.

~Kristen

The unfinished "Thank You"

My intention was to do a continuation of the post "In Remembrance and Gratitude" the next day....but obviously that didn't happen and I would like to pick up where I left off now. I reflect daily on where my life has taken me and how the choices I have made, although seemingly insignificant has affected where I am on a large scale. It reminds me of a movie called "Sliding Doors" staring Gwyneth Paltrow. The movie shows how a person's life can be affected drastically by one small event. After a woman gets fired from work and takes the subway home early she returns to find her boyfriend either in the middle of having an affair or just after his mistress has left. It was a matter of her either making the subway before the doors shut or just missing it by literally a second. The entire movie shows the two paths she follows after that moment in time. As I reflect on my own life, I pause and think would this be happening if I hadn't done that? Or would I end up here eventually, just by a different road? People come into our lives to teach us something....some stay an eternity others just briefly...but they all effect us in some way. So, let this be another thank you to all of those that I have crossed paths with. Thank you for being you....





Charles is a beautiful photographer, who took the next four photos. I crashed at his place while in Ft. Lauderdale. I would say that Charles is one of the most special people I have met. He had an accident at age 15 that left in paralyzed, but did not take away his spirit. He has such vitality and deep wisdom and a love for life. His smile makes me smile.




This is Ben...a good natured and fun loving individual. He also happens to be pretty darn photogenic. He was in town visiting Charles from Canada.



I met Shannon on my "Birthday Mission". He is from Australia and has been travelling for the last year. At times I would say that Shannon is the life of the party...he is excellent at meeting new people and bringing a group of strangers together.

Julie-Anne is also a friend of the photographer. She was visiting from Canada and is had a little baby on the way!

Jason, also Canadian, lives and works with Charles. If Charles wasn't behind the camera, Jason was. Good, kind soul he is.

Okay, back to my photos. Jose and Bob invited me sailing on many occasions while I lived at the Bonita Bills Marina. They were excellent company and taught me a lot about sailing.

Pete and his wife Patricia(below) are Bonita Bill's locals, they helped us out a lot, made me laugh, and both are unique individuals.

Patricia is from Columbia and as smile and demeanor that brightens your day. She is never seen without her faithful companion, Linda.

I must not forget my first companions of the trip...the Pittsburgh boys. I had a lot of fun and many laughs with these fun and generous guys in Key West.

In Rememberance and Gratitude

I have been home now for a week now. Each day I have internalized more completely the experiences I have had over the last three months. As I have mentioned previously, the trip was nothing that I expected, but strangely everything that I needed for personal growth. I feel that each person, event, experience was like a puzzle piece into understanding life and myself more fully. I was challenged physically, mentally and emotionally on a daily basis and at times although I felt weak, it was in that space that I found such inner strength.

I feel so blessed to have spent the time I did with Cap't Roy and Yvonne and am grateful for all those that I crossed pathes with. Each person taught me something invaluable and I cherish our time together.

Below are some of the beautiful people I have had the opportunity of getting to know:

Bob, Parish, Carveth, Yvonne, Kurt, Cap't Roy and Gene

Best Bartender in Ft. Myers Beach, Kerby

"Ready About?", "Ready", "Coming About"

Hold on tight Mike!

Something was funny.....

Cap't Crazy John volunteered for an "Ass Grab" photo, to my surprise he dropped his pants and revealed his brightly colored speedo.

Another sailboat Cap't and also a Green Beret(the hightest military honor)

There are many more people I would like to include here and will do so on the next post.

Lots of love,

Kristen

Back on Land

Arrived back in Key West today after a week at sea. We took a fews days heading down to the Dry Tortugas(a national park and island with Fort Jefferson on it) and then spent a few days exploring the area and doing some diving. It was a great adventure...with many exciting moments. Especially the night that the winds got so high that our anchor began to drag and we found oursleves nearly hitting another boat at around 2am....good experience "What to do when your anchor comes loose in the middle of the night and the winds are cranking and you don't have much control."

Other highlights where the Sooty Terns and Brown Noddies...these are the birds that are in the middle of mating season...wow that was a sight and a noise I must say. We were anchored right next to the island that thousands return to every year for a wild mating frenzy. They literally fly around day and night nonstop...very loud.

Went diving...that was great. Felt so good to be under the water again...ahhh I love the underwater realm...peaceful and mysterious place. Got my sea legs too...learned how to stand and walk to maintain balance. Its like you are surfing...keep your knees bent and move with the waves. No seasickness....yipee...just a little twinge in my tummy here and there. Spent a lot of time on the bow spirit(very front part sticking off the bow) taking in all the beauty and practicing my balance. Its my favorite spot...the rythmic motion of the boat on the waves and the sound of the water splashing against the hull soothes your soul and softens any thoughts running through your mind. Gazing out onto the vast ocean and sky that spreads out infront of you in all directions really has a way of putting things into perspective. Many dolphins came to visit us on our sails....many times I rode right above them on the bow spirit and drummed on the fiberglass to keep their couriosity...they are attracted to the rhythms.

Heading to Ft. Lauderdale for the last leg of my time here.....no Bahamas or the Caribe....they will have to wait until next time. Its all good...everything happens the way its supposed to and many times not the way you expected.

Lots of love to all and all and all.
Kristen

29th Birthday Mission:"Grab 29 Asses"

I just had my 29th Birthday on Monday here in Key West. Yvonne(crewmate) and I went out for a casual night on the town and started the night at Hogsbreath for live music and good food. Since our table faced the stage, we had view of everyone's backside and this turned into a conversation about different types "ass" and how the pants can either hide or accentuate a person's ass. We started thinking we should do reseach on the subjet and that turned into the idea that my birthday mission should be to grab 29 asses. I was a bit timid at first and didn't like the idea of grabbing without asking first and so I asked each person very kindly "Excuse me, would you mind if I grabbed your ass?" I could not believe how many men did not ask why or say no....they simply turned around and allowed me to take hold of one cheek and smile for the picture. I was astonished that they were not offended and only one person out of 29 said no....he was on duty "Key West Rescue Squad" and said there were too many people around according to him. But he did say that I could grab his ass later when he got off work. =) The best part of the whole experience was that not only was it fun for me and Yvonne, but it brought joy to everyone we encountered. They actually felt honored that we chose them for my mission. This silly little stunt, showed me how good it makes people feel to be noticed, even if its for something like this. I met more interesting, kind, and fun people in one night than I could imagine. Below are the photos...

First Ass of the night....Petty Cab Ass

Old Man Ass

BONUS: Listening to Ass

Taxi Cab 1 Ass..check out his expression

Taxi Cab 2 Ass(also known as Family Man Ass).We held up traffic for this shot

Random Guy Ass

Chick Ass...she saw me grab random guy and wanted her's grabbed, too

Security Ass

Cop Ass....heehee, he had no idea.

Musician Ass...he thought I was making a song request..."Can I grab you ass, please?"

Two in one Ass. Also BONUS:Hugging Ass

No see um Ass. He was sitting down when I made my selection

Bartender Ass

Sacrificial Ass. His wife volunteered him

Surprise bare ass! Didn't see that one coming.

Spring Break Guys Ass. Not enough hands, had to use a foot, too

Butt Crack Ass

Innocent Ass

Lonely Ass. I thought he was going to say No, but he was surprisingly cooperative

Football Player Ass

Staff Ass. Just kept on working like it was a normal occurance.

Reluctant Ass. He didn't see the humor in it, but didn't say No.

Bum Ass...he was especially delighted with my request.

Drummer Ass. He saw the bum ass grab and wanted his ass grabbed, too.

Spread-um Ass. He was at the crime scene as was willing to play the part.

Rescue Squad Ass. BONUS: "No you cannot grab my ass"

Pet and Grab Ass. This was my personal favorite

Pirate Ass...another favorite

Bearded Ass or Blurry Ass

Illegal Ass. Didn't ask permission for this grab.

BONUS: Triple Ass Grab

Inspirational Ass. Also a BONUS:Kiss Ass.

This was the ass that we saw at the begining of the night who started the whole conversation. I saw him 4 hours later and asked "Could I please kiss your ass, because it inspired my birthday mission and is the reason we have had such a fun night?" He was very pleased to know his ass could have had such an effect. =)