Travel Journal 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

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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

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