Fresh Water & Fireworks

For the Fourth of July weekend this year, I returned to the land of the greatest of lakes.  Although I've traveled to a lot of cool places, there really is not anything that can compare to a day on a clean, sandy Lake Michigan beach. Spending time on the water kayaking was relaxing as always.  The water was so still and clear that I was able to see the shattered wooden remnants of an old boat wreck several hundred yards off the shoreline (no pictures because I thought I might drop my phone in the water).  However, in Michigan there is always a catch - water that still and clear is usually c-o-l-d and the water temperature was about 52 degrees Fahrenheit (about 11 degrees Celsius).  I dove under anyway but popped...

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Posted in: " "Time Lapse," Photography,"Fourth of July,#puremichigan,Beach,English,Fireworks,J-Mad,Lake Michigan,Michigan,Post-Bar Life,Pure Michigan,Sparklers,United States

Inti Raymi 2015: The Andean Sun Comes to D.C.

While working in Ecuador, one of my most memorable trips with coworkers was to visit Cotacachi and Cuicocha, a couple hours north of Quito in the province of Ibarra.  The area is beautiful, and our trip was made especially memorable because we happened to arrive in the town during Inti Raymi - the Inca festival of the sun.   Lago Cuicocha, Ibarra, Ecuador, 2013 Inti Raymi is a celebration of the winter solstice throughout many Andean communities across Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador (remember, it's the Southern Hemisphere so their winter solstice is the northern's summer solstice).  Taking place on the shortest day of the year, the festival is a celebration of the sun, longer days, planting, and the harvest to follow....

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Posted in: English,Festival,Inti Raymi,J-Mad,National Museum of the American Indian,Photography,Post-Bar Life,Smithsonian,United States,Washington DC

A (Free) Ticket to Paradise at the Smithsonian's Hawaiian Festival

Last weekend, the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian brought a little piece of paradise to Washington, D.C., with the 2015 Hawaiian Cultural Festival.  The festival, lasting May 16 & 17, brought together artists of all sorts to share hula, chanting, storytelling, traditional and contemporary Hawaiian music, food, traditional artists to celebrate Pele and Hi'iaka with D.C. residents and visitors. Pele and Hi'iaka are Hawaiian deities that figure prominently in indigenous culture.  Pele is the goddess of fire, volcanoes, and maker of lands, and Hi'iaka is her brave and clever youngest sister.  Because Pele is the goddess of fire and volcanoes, she is honored by the color red.  Pele holds such...

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Posted in: dancing,English,Hawaii,Hawaiian Cultural Festival,Hi'iaka,History,hula,Inti Raymi,J-Mad,National Museum of the American Indian,Pele,Post-Bar Life,Smithsonian,storytelling,United States,Washington DC