Travel Archives | Zoe Weston

Van Life, Great American Road Trip & the Journey to the Eclipse Sightline

Zoe Weston — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 21:29:51 +0000

The Great American Road trip is a dream shared by many. I’ve done many over the years – California to Virginia, Colorado to California, Colorado to New York, Colorado to Iowa, all over New England, California to Vancouver, and other shorter excursions. Between 2016 – 2020, living in Colorado, my love and I practiced van life every chance we got. We hopped in Brown Sugar (Shug), his VW Westphalia on weekends, during summer break, spring break, winter break, any window we could find. As a couple we were made for the adventure of the open road. We built camp fires, skinny dipped in secluded lakes, took midnight walks under the stars, washed off in ice cold rivers, and my favorite activity – read each other to sleep. We explored every nook and cranny of the beautiful state of Colorado, then went further into Montana, Yellowstone to visit old faithful, and ventured to Moab in Utah. The most epic thing we did was take a special journey to the direct sightline for the full solar eclipse in August 2017. For us, the best choice was to head over to Wyoming. It was a couple days drive with several stops along the way. We were in what felt like the middle of nowhere. If you’ve every done roadtrips in the middle of America you know that you are often indeed in the “Middle of Nowhere”. You can look around for miles and see nothing but a vast natural landscape. It’s humbling, and frightening and awe inspiring. You quickly settle into your own thoughts, and must find comfort there. We navigated with a large 15×11’’ road atlas. Remember those, the kind with intricate details, backroads, and parks? Honestly, it served us much better than our phone aps. We penciled in the sightline latitude and drove to the closest place we could find that was campable. After driving around in the dark for about an hour and almost being attacked by a wild buffalo, we finally found a perfect “lakeside” refuge called Boysen reservoir. A secluded manmade lake surrounded by sand, trees and large boulders. It felt like a beach oasis. We pulled in and camped right next to the water. We spent the next few days swimming, meditating, walking around the reservoir, napping, reading, writing, cooking, and star gazing by the campfire. Our three days ended after we climbed a giant thirty foot boulder to witness the solar eclipse. As the moon fully covered the sun everything went dark, it was eerie and awesome, and I vowed at that moment to be at the next one wherever it was going to be. The giant clock in the sky ticked forward and the pilgrimage ended. We kissed on top of the boulder and agreed that the sacred moment had sealed our love. It was an epic moment.

Moab Utah

Moab, Utah

The post Van Life, Great American Road Trip & the Journey to the Eclipse Sightline appeared first on Zoe Weston.

Swimming with Dolphins, Big Island Hawaii

Zoe Weston — Sun, 27 Nov 2022 00:33:18 +0000

It had been 12 years since I was last on a bike. I remember falling off the bike – it was adjusted to a 6 foot 2 inch tall body. This five foot 3 inch tall body fell more than once, racked myself, bled and became bruised. I oppressed those memories now, buried them deep, put on my bikini and hopped onto the large 10 -speed, a bike I had borrowed from a friend I had just met 2 weeks ago. Never feeling so perfect or free, I coasted downhill for a magical mile along the oceanside on the Big Island of Hawaii. My destination, the famous nude black sand beach, where dolphins come in daily to rest and play. The moment I arrived I saw 100 fins in the bay. I forgot about the bike, took off my bikini top, put on my mask & snorkel, ran across the smoldering black sand and dove into the crystal clear liquid to join my aquatic friends. They were way out there. It felt like I had been swimming at least 30 minutes, and looking around I felt like I was in the middle of the ocean, alone, except for the school of fins calling me to them. I was almost there.

The ocean floor was getting further and further away. It must have been 300 feet below me, the water was so clear I could see every fish, coral and seaweed with clarity. I also saw a school of barracuda in the distance. No fear entered me. I’ll never forget how on this particular day, at this particular moment, I had NO fear, none, zero, zip, zilch, nada. Thinking back, it doesn’t even make sense. I just kept swimming, it was dolphins or bust at this point, I had come too far.

After a 45 minute swim I made it to them, hundreds swimming in formation, in a pattern, and then a few random dolphins – the watch dolphins, who were protecting the others as they slept. I had to swim fast to keep up with them, and then sometimes they would slow down or swim back towards me. They came close, again zero fear. The other thing I will never forget – while in their presence I went into a trance, a meditative state, and I lost my ability to think of anything – except one thought over and over again, which was “I love you, I love you so much, thank you for letting me be here with you.” When they were done checking me out, it was so incredibly obvious – they just swam away, period. There was no way I had any chance of following them.

And then I was truly alone, and the beach was very very far away. Fear kicked in. I swam as fast as I could, praising my college swim coach for teaching me proper swimming techniques, making it possible to haul ass back to shore. Back on land, filled with adrenaline, love, and black sand I knew I had just experienced one of the best moments of my life. I looked at my phone – 2 and a half hours had gone by. It was an epic moment.

The post Swimming with Dolphins, Big Island Hawaii appeared first on Zoe Weston.

Italian Therapy and a Star Wars Epic Moment

Zoe Weston — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 18:38:52 +0000

Did you know that the Italian language resonates the heart more than any other language? You can’t enter the country of Italy without being flooded with romanticism. It comes at you from every angle, inside and out, occupies every sense. It is a multi-media experience from beginning to end and you can feel your heart open to receive the fullness. I had the opportunity to visit Italy for the first time in 2002.

Every summer, my then husband and I had a ritual of visiting his family in Switzerland. That year we decided to take a little side trip South for a few days when we found out that one of our favorite movies – Star Wars Attack of the Clones had been filmed at a famous villa in Lago di Como. The historic villa was open to visitors and us two Star Wars nerds were ready for some fandom adventure.

We packed a small bag and jumped in the car to start our romantic pilgrimage to the Villa del Balbionello. We crossed the Swiss border into Italy without a hitch. The three and a half hour drive from Berne to the Lago di Como region is filled with a variety of language, architecture and vegetation. Lago di Como is what I call eye candy – a magical lakeside setting with a countryside vibe.

We explored several lakeside towns, practiced our Italian ordering gelato, vino, cappuccinos, Prosecco, pasta and pizza a bizzeffe. One of our best meals was the cheapest, and an accidental find, actually a miraculous find – the only restaurant open at 8pm on a Sunday. In Italy, many restaurants are closed or close early on Sundays. That long weekend we ate and drank every meal outside in an ancient courtyard. Is it me or does everything taste better alfresco?

Finally it was time to visit the epic Star Wars Villa – that’s what we were calling it between ourselves. The grounds were perfection – manicured gardens, majestic architecture and lakeside port of entry. I imagined what it must have been like to live in a such an exquisite place, which had started as a monastery in the 13th century. This historical site is famous for it’s intricate terrace design and this is where the famous love scene between Anakin and Padme (the parents of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa) took place. As my husband and I walked out to the famous “spot” where the scene took place, he indulged my fantasy grabbing me and kissing me where the famous lovers sealed their fate. I was giddy and filled with the magic that is Italy – it was an epic moment!

Italy is still one of the most visited countries in the world and remains a place of romance, artistic treasures and eternal wonder.

Padme & Anakin Moment Villa del Balbionello

Anakin & Padme – Star Wars: Attack of the Clones

Villa del Babionello, Lago di Como

The post Italian Therapy and a Star Wars Epic Moment appeared first on Zoe Weston.

A Bucket List Adventure: Peru – Machu Picchu, Shamans and More

Zoe Weston — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 21:23:39 +0000

I’ve always wanted to see the sacred sites of the world and the first one on my list was Machu Picchu. When I graduated college in 1998 I bought a ticket to Peru and booked a private tour with a shaman. His name was Inti, the name of the Incan Sun God. Inti took me and ten other people to many amazing places all over the country. It was a real planes, trains, automobiles, scooters, and boats experience. I had to poop in many open dug out holes in the ground during that trip, many areas of the country did not have modern plumbing at that time (probably still do not). As we traveled around the country we stayed in quaint lodges, cement hotels and tents, each a completely different vibe than the next. We flew over Nazca in a prop plane so flimsy I could tear it apart with my bare hands. This was the only way we could view the famous lines only visible from high above. We met a seventh generation Spanish noble who gave us a showing of his prized Ica stones, claiming these were mysterious prehistoric carvings found in a cave. It later came out that the stones were a hoax, but he had quite the story and fee to go with viewing his collection.

We then headed towards Cusco to the famous Sacsayhuaman area. This is a true wonder and mystery of the world. I went into a deep state of connection, absorbed all I could, especially drawn to the sacred waters and wild alpacas. Over the next four days we would hike the Inca trail that takes you to Machu Picchu. Many times along the trail I was so far from the group I was completely alone in the majestic Andes for hours, just me, the mist and the wild horses grazing down in the valley. Once at Machu Picchu I meditated, remained silent for the entire experience, touched the Earth and simply connected with the energy there.

Cusco and the hot springs nearby (aguas calientes) were the highlight of the trip for me. An exquisitely designed city – sparkling clean with live music, cafe’s and artists celebrating life at an altitude of over 11k feet. The cusqueño/a were just as beautiful as the mix of colonial and Incan architecture.

Next stop was our three day Peruvian Amazon adventure, which ended with an ayahuasca ceremony guided by four shamans who cleansed our fasted bodies with tobacco smoke, chanting and drums. I didn’t have a full blown hallucination, but I did come out the other side fully cleansed and clear. I knew what I wanted ,who I wanted and what path my post collegiate life was going to take. I’m so grateful I was able to have that experience, I truly had many epic moments. Peru is a beautiful country I recommend.

The post A Bucket List Adventure: Peru – Machu Picchu, Shamans and More appeared first on Zoe Weston.

How Olivia Newton John Changed the Course of my Life

Zoe Weston — Sun, 16 Oct 2022 01:30:15 +0000

Who are your mentors? Stick with them, ignore the rest.

R.I.P. Olivia Newton John … you are the goat of something, I don’t know what, but you are… you popularized natural beauty and fitness – and gave the girl next door the courage to be a little naughty. One of your songs on the Physical album literally changed the course of my life … THE PROMISE – I listened to it over and over again, then I told my mom I wanted to become a marine biologist, and go to Australia to visit the wild dolphins that Olivia swam with. I didn’t become a marine biologist, but I did get all of my diving certifications, learned to sail and started a degree in underwater archaeology – which brought me to the warm waters of Hawaii. In Hawaii I got to swim with hundreds of wild dolphins on several occasions, and then in 2005 my then husband and I traveled the entire West coast of Australia – we went to Monkey Mia and I did indeed get to swim with the wild dolphins that Olivia introduced us to all those years ago. It was a bucket list item, a dream come true – the dolphins came close, one touched me several times -teasing me into dolphin love ecstasy. It was a perfect epic moment. Who has influenced your life – a family member, celebrity, teacher? If they are still around tell them. It will bring them so much joy.

I can’t listen to this song without tearing up. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEtwsTfBzLc

The post How Olivia Newton John Changed the Course of my Life appeared first on Zoe Weston.

An Epic Moment with Spencer Tunick – Big Island Hawaii

Zoe Weston — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 02:07:52 +0000

Rushing through breakfast that morning, time was of the essence. The famous photographer was going to be at the beach at 9am sharp, and I just had to be in this shoot. The beach was a mile away, I had no car, no bike, so it was going to be walk or hitch hike. Could I walk a mile in 10 minutes? I couldn’t risk it, I’ll hitch hike. I stood at the exit of the retreat center – stuck out my thumb and hoped for the best. The first car stopped. The driver asked where I was going and said they were headed to the same beach. I got lucky, I’m going to make it.

I started to make small talk with the couple who picked me up. “Are you guys going to the photo shoot at the beach too? There is going to be a famous photographer there to do a nude photo shoot. I forgot his name, but everyone was talking about it and said I should go.” The man driving turned back to look at me for a moment, “Hi my name is Spencer, I’m the photographer who is doing the shoot today.” “What? Are you serious? That is too funny! Yay, I guess I am not going to be late then, hahah.” We made more small talk, mostly me being slightly fascinated with him and his work, and feeling grateful that I get to be immortalized in one of his pieces.

The shoot was long and hot, and again I was fascinated and inspired at how he handled a hundred nude humans who came out that day to participate. Some of his photographs have thousands of nude people, thousands. Each one is so unique while simultaneously keeping the same message – bodies are just bodies, nudity isn’t shameful or weird or wrong, it’s just a freakin body, get over it.

A few months later, as promised Spencer Tunick sent me a copy of the photograph that became the “chosen one” of that shoot. It was beautiful and perfect in every way.

The post An Epic Moment with Spencer Tunick – Big Island Hawaii appeared first on Zoe Weston.