what happened while you were gone?

As Annie and I come to terms with being back in America, my good friend Ryan sent over a list of some of the things we missed while we were gone. I enjoyed it and thought I would pass it on. It's skewed toward Michigan, since that is where I am from and where Ryan currently lives. Ryan's wife's name is Lisa.

• Hurt Locker wins the Oscar, Sandra Bullock wins the Oscar and Razzie for best actress in same year.
• For some reason Betty White (the only living Golden Girl) is the new "it" girl.
• They're building a mosque next to Ground Zero which is causing a big stir.
• Obama's still trying to get the health care bill through (he's got a low approval rating, Palin in 2012? Let's hope not).
• Our house isn't worth what I paid for it :) No one's house is worth what they paid for it.

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coming to america

As Neil Diamond famously sang, "On the boats and on the planes (or trains). They're coming to America. Never looking back again. They're coming to America."

After nearly eight months and eleven countries, it's time to go home. We are up against the holidays and out of money and while both Annie and I have mixed feelings about returning, we have agreed on one thing. It will be really nice to see friends and family again. 

We currently have tickets on Malaysia Airlines to return on November 1st to LAX. While this date isn't set in stone, it is beginning to look more like a reality.

We have many things planned upcoming for the blog including finishing our Travel Tip Series as well as several video recaps. I am even considering making a movie from all the video footage I have shot during the trip. 

We are sad to see this journey coming to an end but looking forward to catching up with everyone.

new on you tube

Some people have informed us that they are unable to view our videos on Vimeo and so we decided to create a You Tube page to allow for a wider audience. I have uploaded the videos in HD and encourage you to select 720p option for the best viewing experience. I am hard at work on the Cambodia recap and will post it shortly. In the meantime, check out our newly created You Tube page here to see our past recap videos.

Let us know what you think and if you have a preference between You Tube or Vimeo.

new zealand unmapped

New Zealand Unmapped from Jon Carr on Vimeo.

It has been a long time coming. Annie and I spent five weeks exploring the north and south island of New Zealand and while it was one of our first stops, it still remains one of our favorites. In reality, this video is just a glimpse into our entire experience but I hope it provides some perspective of our adventures in this beautiful country. The video is one of the largest I have assembled in a long time and couldn't have been done without the encouragement of Annie, the help of Pai, and the hospitality of Pete and Danielle. Thank you.

I hope you enjoy and check back often because there are several more in the pipeline. Thanks for the patience and if you like it, please pass it along as we continue to build the base. I would encourage everyone to check out this video at Vimeo for a larger viewing experience.

kindness without boundaries

The Principles of Thai Cookery from Jon Carr on Vimeo.

Chef McDang and I first met at the California Culinary Academy (CCA) two years ago. The Royal Thai Consulate General in Los Angeles contacted CCA about an opportunity to have a Thai chef come for a week to conduct lectures and demos about Thai cookery. At the end of the week, the students participated in a competition cooking Pad Thai where the winners won a one-week all expenses paid culinary trip hosted by the Thai chef compliments of the Royal Thai Consulate General office. How can any school turn down that kind of an offer?!

I didn’t know what to expect of the Thai chef and just hoped he spoke English well enough for our students to understand him. He showed up promptly at 9am on the first day with his entourage of four sous chefs and said with a British-American twang something along the lines of, “show me my kitchen and I’ll take care of everything else.” From that moment I knew he was going to be a lot of fun.

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australia

Australia from Jon Carr on Vimeo.

Annie and I spent 5 weeks in Australia moving from New South Wales, to Victoria, and finishing in Queensland. I put together this time lapse video highlighting some of the things we saw on our travels. While in Queensland, we stayed with some friends of Annie's from her Japan days and I was introduced to some Australian musicians I hadn't heard of. One is of aboriginal descent and I thought the music went well with the imagery. The track is called Marrurrumbul by Gurrumul Yunupingu. Thanks for the suggestion, Kylie.

Australia was tough to leave and we made some wonderful new friends and incredible memories. Hopefully, this video gives you a flavor of our experience down under.

land of the big white cloud

Land of the Big White Cloud from Jon Carr on Vimeo.

I promised a New Zealand recap video and it is on the way. In the meantime, Land of the Big White Cloud is a taste of what is to come. I combined several of the time lapse videos from various locations on the North and South Island of New Zealand including Kaikoura, Queenstown, and Mt Ruapehu (aka Mount Doom for you LOTR fans). I hope you enjoy and keep an eye out for the recap that should be out shortly as well as some new photos from South Island. Thanks for all the comments and wonderful emails!

ten things we loved about new zealand

1. Hospitality and friendliness of the people – Pete and Danielle…need I see more than mention their names? The numerous people who helped us when our hippie got stuck on the side of the road
2. Small town lifestyle – you can tell the size of a town by the speed limit. 80km = not much there, 70km = maybe a petro shop, 60km = town is more than 5 blocks, 50km or less = likely a tourist attraction worth checking out. It’s hard to get lost.
3. Changing topography around every corner – one minute you’ll see a rainforest, and the next minute a sheep pasture. It’s crazy!
4. Amazing natural attractions and wildlife - Ninety-mile Beach, Cathedral Cove, glaciers, fiordlands, glowworm caves, dolphins, and fairy penguins. We could go on forever.
5. Beautiful scenery – if I had a dollar for every time we said, “wow…isn’t that beautiful?!” we could travel for another 6 months.
6. Tourist friendly country – the most helpful information centers who will book everything and anything, load you up on free maps and are really knowledgeable.
7. Camper life allowed us the freedom to explore – our hippie never failed us and offered us the essentials we needed – car and bed. When we got tired we could just pull over and nap in our bed.
8. Camper sites were very well equipped and maintained – we roll up to a site and there was always availability. All of them had kitchens and hot showers, which were cleaned everyday. Met some of our dearest friends there.
9. Saw more sheep and cows than people – we enjoy socializing with people but it’s also nice to get away from it all. The sheep and cows seem so peaceful. There would be days when we didn’t see a living soul except the manager of the camper site when we checked in. We loved it!
10. Felt at home – could this be our next home?! Stay tuned to find out!

fiji unmapped

Land of the Big White Cloud from Jon Carr on Vimeo.

I found a little extra time while touring New Zealand to pull together a highlight video from our trip to Fiji. I hope to create videos for all of our stops to share the experience with friends and family. 

If you like the video, please select the little heart icon in the upper left corner of the video and comments are always welcome. Thanks for watching.