Hi all ... Elissa here. And, as clichéd as it sounds, I'm having one of those "today is the first day of the rest of your life" sort of days.

You know, suddenly things feel all fresh and new ... and your cup of tea tastes crisper ... and the sun seems shinier ... and you look around at this glorious place called earth and you just want to EXPLORE.

You just want to bust out the door and explore and meet and greet and skip through the streets yelling to people you've never met, "Come out of your holes! We're alive! Let's have an adventure!"

And so you would ... You'd all come out and we'd meet in the street and we'd all go to the train station and choose a random destination by each asking a stranger where they're going, then all the destinations go in a hat and we'd draw one and -- BAM!  -- that's our destination. Then, we'd settle in our seats and drink champagne as we watch the world whiz by for three days and we'd share stories about our lives and loves and what we believe and what we're willing to unbelieve and then... we'd arrive. And we'd go straight to the best hotel and say: we need your entire top floor because we're on an adventure. And they'd say, "Well, absolutely." and they would give us their best rooms for free because suddenly we're like this flash mob art group that's traveling the world, being followed by all major networks and newsmagazines because we were living each day as if it really was the first day of the rest of our lives....

And then ... what happens next?

Hey all!

Reading You Shall Know Our Velocity! by Dave Eggers right now--after it sat on my nightstand for 3 years.  Of course, it invited me in at just the right time. 

Here's a passage with Hand, one of the main dudes, philosophizing that struck me on the bus this morning and I just had to share:

"I want others to go out in the world with an idea, with intentions and means, and come back with a story about how their actions affected the world and how they themselves were shaped by the results.  I have a belief that such endeavors can improve the world, however recklessly, especially when these people go forward and interact, give, solve, change the situations they encounter..."

Sounds like a kindred spirit. 

How are you going out into the world? On vacation--and today?

Hello All! 

Gretchen here, recently back from a jam-packed adventure-filled jaunt to British Columbia and northern Washington state. 



All over Vancouver and Vancouver Island are these signs: No Idling. It's just one of about a jillion green initiatives they've adopted (and just one of about a jillion reasons that BC stole my heart). And whether conscious or not, we followed the 'No Idling' directive on this trip.

Here's a partial list:
Moseyed up the Vancouver Island coast with a look-see here and a look-see there; sea kayaked with orcas out of the northern outpost of Telegraph Cove; played the bull kelp didgeridoo; chowed down on Nanaimo bars; hugged some very big trees; landed some mighty fine salmon; braved 15 foot swells in a little bitty fishing boat; fell in love with the goofy harbor seals; learned about queen bees and sipped yummy honey wine at a meadery; totem-hunted; beach-combed; poked around the This -n- That Store (which was indeed full of this and that); walked the Victoria waterfront; enjoyed a, well, healthy assortment of scotch varieties in a lovely pub in that same lovely city; chatted up the locals and other explorers at every stop; and ate and ate and ate and ate. And that was just on the Island.

Like many directives, this metaphorical 'No Idling' had its benefits and its drawbacks. Without qualification, I am so grateful to have explored so much of this previously unknown territory and happened upon so many lasting-impression acquaintances. And, there is something in the depth of a place or person that is sometimes tough to embrace when the encounter is so fleeting. Here and gone. There and gone.

So, what have I brought back from this journey? Presence--in two respects.

First, having a limited amount of time with a very full itinerary, I found that the most profound and interesting times existed when I was simply in the moment (like seeing that orca spy-hop and freakin' squealing with delight or having the most amazing breakfast conversation with a fellow traveler) and not thinking at all about the next thing on the itinerary.  How many times do I miss things every day when my mind's already on what's next?

Second, having the presence to stop and choose. At home, I have the gift of time. My stay in Minneapolis isn't limited 5 days, so I can stop and notice what I really do want to spend more time doing and who I want to be spending that time with.

So, as much as I am on board with BC's green initiative, I'm thinkin' that idling has its own distinct value as well.

What's up everyone!? Charlie here! We went to the Civil War! Granted it was 24 hours later than expected. But it actually happened, which is obviously the most important thing! Here's my installment 2 of the interns' trip to the Civil War.

Intern Tina here and sadly it is my last day of this beautiful internship! But the ends of things comes the beginnings of new adventures.

My next adventure is a study abroad in London! I have never been to Europe before. I’m very nervous and on top of that, I just found out that my internship placement is at a “high end fashion and events PR firm.” Now I’m scared! I don’t think I’m cut out for the fashion world. I'll definitely have to buy a new wardrobe to fit in. I know that many people would kill for an opportunity like this so I should be grateful. I am, but still nervous. I’m just nervous because I am afraid that I won’t fit in. How do I get over that? I am so glad that I have e>v, because before I would have hated myself for feeling this way, but now I accept it and even embrace it. Wish me luck everyone! Thanks for this great summer!

I love inside jokes. I know they can get annoying to people who are not “in” with the joke, but the jokes should still be appreciated. An inside joke is kind of like a secret language with a friend because nobody else understands it. Here is one of mine: kim cone. Do you think that’s funny? Most likely not. Do you have any inside jokes? Feel free to share them. It’s invigorating to have a “secret” that no one understands except your closest friends.

Not into inside jokes (which is completely understandable)? Here is something that I am convinced is a joke:

This is real. You can try it out yourself on Google Maps. A co-worker of mine was joking around and Google Mapped directions from Minnesota to Hawaii. Look at step 14. “Kayak across the Pacific Ocean” I can’t believe Google Maps suggested to kayak across the Pacific Ocean to get to Hawaii. That has to be a joke. It didn’t even suggest taking a boat, a canoe, or swim across the Pacific Ocean. A kayak. This has to be a joke.

Tina the Intern here and here is the second part of my Civil War Re-enactment blog!

4. Time Machine

I am so glad we went on Sunday instead of Saturday. It was not raining and it was a lot less humid. And my friend with the broken camera was not as mad today. Morale was much higher than yesterday. The re-enactment was amazing! Here’s a glimpse of what we experienced.




Charlie's E>V card asked "What did you want to be when you grew up?" He wanted to be a baker and here is a baker from 1864.

Cow!


A young boy showing Charlie how to walk on stilts properly.
 

Charlie going through some evolution.

So the re-enactment was not a battle re-enactment, but more of a “day in the life” re-enactment. Setting up the fort like how it might be in 1864. Many of these re-enacters were volunteers. How cool is that? They are brave people to dress up in heavy clothing circa 1864 on the hottest, most humid summer day.

5. Things I learned

I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

I know that this was still nowhere near what it was like in 1864, but it was still fun to pretend and play. It’s nice to pretend and play once in a while. I used to do it every day as a kid and now I don’t remember the last time I pretended and played.

Now I have officially learned to not have any expectations when going on an adventure. I had this expectation that we would see tons of mantras all over the place and meet a ton of cool people. Well we didn’t see any cool mantras because Fort Snelling does not have any advertisements or print and we didn’t meet anyone because the volunteers kind of had to stay in character and everyone there were families who liked to stay to themselves. That’s not a bad thing at all, but it was disappointing at the time. I wonder if I didn’t have any expectations, would we have found a ton of mantras and met a bunch of people…? I’m kidding. But I did “fulfill” my wants from this trip: do something different, enjoy something I’m interested in, and enjoy the company of a friend.

AND Charlie had a great time! I was SO excited that he did. He might have had more fun than I did (is that possible?). I was still nervous about half way into the trip that he was bored and not having a good time. But half way into the trip I could tell that he was actually having a good time. Yay!

So it was not a battle re-enactment, so I cannot entirely cross “attend a civil war re-enactment” off my list. And that is fine with me because it is another excuse to go to another one!

Hey Everyone! Charlie the Intern here! Like Tina mentioned, wewere able to take an E>V road trip to the Civil War!! I really can’tdescribe how excited I am at the idea of road trips. There’s just somethingabout them that I love… but that’s for another post. Like Tina, I split up my posts to avoid writing a novel, so this is only part one!

When Tina told me about the Civil War re-enactment and asked ifI wanted to go with her I have to admit, I was skeptical, and yes, maybe even abit pessimistic about the idea.

I remember having gone to a few similar things when I was ingrade school, and I think that the overheated cramped bus rides, crowded exhibitareas, and boxed lunches left a sour taste in my mouth—particularly the boxedlunches. But I tentatively agreed. Why not, right? It would be a greatopportunity for me to explore more of Minnesota and do something that Iwouldn’t have normally done.

Mind you, I’m typically a planner. I like to know what I’mwalking into, what could happen, the nitty-gritty details before I jump intosomething. So after looking it up on the web I realized.

“Was this an actual re-enactment?Were we going to pick a side, get a fake musket, and yell “BANG BANG!” atsomeone before we ourselves were imaginarily shot and then forced to lie “dead”in some field for a few hours while the remainder of our battalion fought on?!”
 
I didn’t know. And I couldn’t find out.

This bothered me; this bothered me a lot. But Tina really wantedto go, and I thought that if nothing else it would be a great intern bondingexperience… Right?

The night before we were going to go, we went to a partytogether, and as Tina revealed in the post-prior disaster struck: An expensivecamera was broken, and a T.A.T.U. song went un-danced to. So we ended uppostponing the trip.

I was relieved.

Why though? It’s not like going was a huge commitment, it’s notlike I’m getting on a plane and going somewhere completely foreign. It’s a 30-minutedrive and I’ll be with a friend. As soon as we came to the decision to postpone,however, my entire body sighed relief. On my way home from Tina’s, I had afight--with myself--about whether or not to just call the whole thing off. Ilisted off all of the things that I didn’t want to do about it, which ended upall being things that I just didn’t know about it. And then realized that theentire situation was about me not being in control of my environment. And so Idecided to suck it up. I called Tina and it was decided. We were actually goingto go…

Tomorrow.

Tina the intern here and 2 weekends ago, Charlie and I were able to go on an E>V intern road trip! We went to a Civil War re-enactment and now I am transcribing my experience to you in a 5 chapter, 2 volumed series. Enjoy!

1. Tina checks something else off her list.

American history has always been an interest of mine. It seems like the Civil War happened thousands of years ago (to be dramatic). It is crazy to think that the Civil War only happened 145 years ago! If that doesn’t sound impressive, think about how the Civil War was only 55 years earlier than 1925. It blows my mind. Oh how America has changed in only 145 years. How can I experience life in the times of the Civil War? A Civil War re-enactment. What exactly do I want from this? To do something different, enjoy something I’m interested in, and enjoy the company of a friend (Charlie, the other e>v intern).

2. Do something you want to do. Do something you don’t want to do.

“So what exactly is happening at this Civil War re-enactment? It better not be one where we dress up and pick a side and battle and then lay down when we “die”….” says Charlie. Sad, because that’s exactly what I wanted. Now I’m nervous to go. I’m afraid he won’t have a good time. Great. Can anything good come from your travel partner not having a good time? I just hope that he has fun.

3. Everything happens for a reason

Postponed. So we didn’t go on Saturday as planned. It was raining and humid. And Charlie doesn’t like rain. My friend said that we should go because it would probably make the employees’ day since no one was probably going. I would have loved to do that. But we also broke my friend’s expensive camera the night before so we were kind of bummed out. Hopefully tomorrow. Rain or shine. At least I will. Maybe we avoided a miserable situation today. Maybe it will be even more miserable tomorrow.