Beachy Weekend

Photo via Happenstance

It's Friday afternoon and we're headed to the beach

for the first time this Summer!

Have a wonderful weekend, wherever you may be :)

XOXO,

Leigh

Splitscreen: A Love Story

This little film is catch-your-breath amazing. Made entirely on a Nokia mobile phone.

Via Vineet Kaur.

stuck in my head

These legs

This exhibit

This bike

This dress

This vacation

A Wayward Journey

Photo via Wayward Journey

The incredible family pictured above is two years into a journey that has taken them all the way from Alaska to South America -- on bikes!

Formerly just regular folks living the conventional American Dream, the Vogel family decided to leave their large house in the suburbs, their jobs, and their school, and set off on an amazing adventure: their quest is to cycle all the way from the Arctic Ocean to Tierra del Fuego. When they complete the trip, the Vogel brothers (who are thirteen now) will break the World Record and become the first children to cycle from Alaska to Argentina.

I am spellbound by the blog that documents the family's travels. I am so in awe of the strength, tenacity, courage and heart of these people! Here's an inspiring excerpt from Nancy Vogel, the mom:

"As I write this now from La Paz, Bolivia we are more than two years into our journey. We've cycled 21,000 kilometers through North, Central, and South America. Our boys are loving their journey and we see the joy in their eyes on a daily basis. They see beauty in their surroundings regardless of where they are - whether in the stark, barren desert of Peru with no trace of any living thing for miles on end or in the Amazon rain forest where the sheer abundance of trees makes getting off the road impossible. They love climbing off their bikes to explore unexpected Mayan ruins hidden off the side of the road or plunge into a waterfall-fed swimming pool. They delight in the magic in riding past bison, big horn sheep, caribou, iguanas, and vicuñas. Every day brings more unexpected surprises and we anxiously await what might be waiting for us around the next bend in the road."

I can't wait to start stoking my own wanderlust by following along online during the last leg of the journey. Inspiring. Way to live life to the fullest!

Happy New Year

From Miami Beach!

More Island Adventures

We stayed in the village of Dunewood, Fire Island, which is so tiny it doesn't have a single store! For provisions, we had to walk fifteen minutes to Fair Harbor, which has an old-fashioned supermarket with a general-store kind of vibe, a fire department, a restaurant, a liquor store, and a pizza shop. Since it was the off-season these establishments were closed more often than not, so when we did go shopping we really had to stock up. At the beginning of the week we bought a bunch of groceries at the Pioneer Market and then we did a lot of cooking at "home" in the house we had rented in Dunewood.

We spent tons of time just frolicking on the beach near our house, as well as wandering the inland paths of the island which were full of gorgeous flora and fauna and character-filled beach cabins with their requisite rusty bikes, wagons, and surfboards always nearby...

We are not typically big bike-riders. I grew up loving to ride, but ever since moving to NYC I have been intimidated by the idea of taking a spin on a bike through the chaotic streets here. I'm just not that brave! Well, it didn't even take us 24 hours of being in the idyllic, peaceful, car-free bicycle paradise that is Fire Island before we were itching to jump on some wheels. So we walked to the relatively large town of Ocean Beach and rented this getup:

Taro and I took turns carting the kiddos and riding the other solo bike we rented. We went as far as the terrain would allow and it was an absolute blast. We loved it so much that we are now inspired to rent bikes here on the Upper West Side to tool around in Central Park (perhaps even this weekend!?!)

The sky and the ocean on Fire Island were in a constantly-changing, incredibly beautiful and dramatic conversation with one another. I wish my photos could even begin to convey their magnificence and dynamism. It was really wonderful to experience this beautiful beach with so few other people around.

Towards the latter part of the week, we were joined by Riki, who of course jumped right into adventure-mode and did everything from beach babywearing to bike-riding, to ocean-dipping with us. It was so great to have her!

One of our favorite adventures was trekking to the remote Fire Island Lighthouse:

There was a lovely museum inside, and I was tickled to read the following caption on an exhibit of photos showing the families that had lived there as lighthouse keepers. Yay for lighthouse home birth!!!

All in all, it was a magical, memorable, completely fantastic week. We can't wait to return!

Island Baby/Toddlerwearing

With no cars on Fire Island to hop from place to place, we did a whole lot of walking. The first day we were there, we actually set out over the wood-plank-paved inland paths with our trusty Maclaren, only to run into patches of deep sand that made navigating with a stroller impossible. After that, we decided to adventure exclusively with the aid of our Mei Tai and woven wraps -- and we had so much fun while getting so much further! J got tons of exercise running along the beach for hours, but whenever he got tuckered out Taro or I would take turns wearing him. It was such a sweet treat and a blast from the past to wear our gangly three-year-old every day. W, of course, is still used to this mode of transportation ;)

Here are some of my favorite photos from our week of babywearing on the beach:

In these photos we are wearing our kids in a Babyhawk Mei Tai

and a Didymos woven wrap.

Magical Days: Our Fire Island Adventure

We decided to spend the last days of Summer exploring a place we'd never been before, Fire Island, New York. Fire Island is only a short commuter train and ferry ride away from the city but it might as well be another planet.

Since we arrived late on a chilly, overcast Sunday afternoon and after the busy vacation season, from the moment we stepped off the boat it was as though we were inhabiting our own private natural paradise. There are no cars on the island (with the exception of the occasional law enforcement or emergency response vehicle and a lone yellow school bus that makes its rounds picking up/dropping kids off via the beach every day!) and other pedestrians were scarce.

We were so excited when we arrived that we made the five-minute walk from the ferry dock on the bay side of the island, straight to the beach on the ocean side, suitcases and all. Here are some glimpses of that magical stroll:

More soon...