2012...the end of the world as we know it?

Posted by julie on January 1, 2012 Random Ramblings
Jan 012012

Looking forward to more travel in 2012!

I ended 2011 celebrating with friends and my beloved (“husband” is just an inadequate word!), and began the new year with a 9:00am yoga class – perfect preparation for contemplating resolutions.

We’ve all heard the scary “end of the world” predictions for 12/12. I choose to interpret this as a positive thing.  If you believe, as Teilhard de Chardin, a French philosopher once said,  “we are not human beings seeking a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings immersed in a human experience”, then maybe the “end of the world” is a metaphor for mankind waking up to that “reality”?

I am looking at 2012 as a year of rebirth for myself, for our society, and for world leaders. A time to throw off the shackles of F.E.A.R. – (“false evidence appearing real”, thank Tony Robbins for that one), and embrace compassion instead as our driving force.

“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself” (F.D.R.),  and making fear-based decisions can easily become a habit. The media bombards us with messages designed to play on our fears – of losing, of missing out, of someone taking from us, of not having “enough”.  I’d like to suggest we all share one collective New Year’s resolution – to tune out all fear-based messages, whether they come from within or outside sources.

The sunrise of a new era!

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself, and that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of it’s dream”. Paulo Coelho, one of my favorite authors.

My dream is for a world that lives up to it’s full potential, and I don’t think we have even scratched the surface yet!

Live Small, travel BIG, give BIG, fear not, and never let anyone, or anything, take your JOY away, it is only yours to give!

Julie

 

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Beginnings of New Perspectives

Posted by Carlyn on December 25, 2011 Uncategorized
Dec 252011

Laughter in Baghal

On June 26, 2011 I began my journey to India. I departed Toronto with twenty-two strangers with the same mission to build a school and have an adventure of a lifetime. Once in India I had no communication with my friends or family back home, and I lived with contaminated water, unreliable electricity, and an assortment of repulsive bugs. These minor hardships I experienced for a short period of time will never equal those I witnessed every day. Everywhere I looked there was a child underfed and out of school. Stray flea infested dogs lay in the streets, and I saw endless amounts of trash. But these horrific images cemented in my memory motivated me to do something besides pitying the people in the community where I worked. Whether it was digging the foundation for the new school in Baghal, learning about alternative income projects in the village of Lai Gow, or visiting Mother Teresa’s orphanages in the overpopulated city of Udaipur, I spent every moment trying to make any kind of difference I could. I spoke in broken Hindi to the elders of the village and saw how eager the children were to attend school, which further strengthened my desire to help. Of course leaving the beloved family I had become a part of was the hardest moment of the trip, and upon return to my privileged life in Marin I missed my Indian family even more than I thought imaginable.

At this point I knew I had to share my experience with others and build global awareness. With that goal in ming I founded the Southern Marin Free the Children Club.

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"Sunshine always makes me high"...

Posted by julie on December 18, 2011 Random Ramblings
Dec 182011

When you live in a resort town, everything revolves around the weather. In December, much energy is devoted to rituals encouraging mother nature to provide snow in time for a white (and ‘green’!) Christmas . When she doesn’t respond to our snow dances, well, people get anxious, and cranky. But, what are you gonna do? The weather is still something we cannot control. (Or, wait… do we control anything??)

As I took my lunch break today, I flipped on PBS and they had one of those pledge specials airing, you know, the ones we all love to hate, and would be loathe to admit ever watching… old John Denver concert footage. As I listened to “Sunshine on my Shoulder”, I looked outside at a glorious sunny day, and knew I needed to get outside.

Soaked up some vitamin D here for awhile

Off I went for a little attitude-adjustment hike around the neighborhood. I walked down to the lake and strolled the beach, end to end, stopping to try out every inviting spot to perch myself and enjoy the warm sun.

Nice of them to leave this chair out for me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas from Lake Tahoe!

 

So, even though we have very little snow, and it doesn’t really feel like Christmas, I can’t complain. I have plenty to celebrate this holiday season.  And yes, John was a wise man, “sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy”!

The trampoline on a cat makes for a mighty relaxing perch!

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New episodes arrive on PBS in 2012!

Posted by julie on November 14, 2011 FAQ, Making Passport to Adventure TV
Nov 142011

I am not an “early adopter”, actually more of a luddite, truth be told, but I may have to break down (much to my husband’s delight) and get an HD tv to watch the new season of Passport to Adventure. Once again, our “weather angels” cooperated, and I think we have succeeded in capturing the essence of our new destinations, in all of their stunning glory!

Worth the wait, coming to PBS, and international markets, in 2012…

Wavy, mosaic pavement, left by the Portuguese

 

MACAU, sans casinos!

An exciting fusion of Chinese and Portuguese cultures merges Buddhist temples with casinos, cod fish with coconut milk, old world architecture with tai chi in the park.  For more on Macau

 

 

Become one with the palms, ahhhhhh

 

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS!

With Mark at the helm, exploring the cays, bays and bars of the BVI, is sure to be an adventure! ;-)    For more on the BVI , and here.

 

 

 

Another adventure in Aysen!

AYSEN, PATAGONIA squared (2 episodes)

This is what I love to do most – discover up and coming destinations, and share them with y’all! If you love raw nature, biking, kayaking, rafting, hiking, fishing, and interesting, earthy folks, add Aysen to your list pronto!

More on Aysen.

 

 

 

Elizabeth in her element, Columbia Icefield

ALBERTA, Canada, x 2

I had never been to her iconic rocky mountain parks, which fully lived up to their reputation. We also ventured off the primary tourist path, and discovered aboriginal sites, a very cool dinosaur museum, and in addition to finding my sister of a different mother (another story), I have an unusual new bff named Tara. See more Alberta images on our FB page.

 

 

My new bff, Tara.

 

Oh, and who woulda thought…there is a thriving “farm to table” foodie culture in Alberta! (Tara is not on the menu, but her cousin may be)

I never thought I’d be adding a restaurant in Calgary to my all time favorites list!

 

Full synopsis of Season Four episodes.

 

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Time to head East?

Posted by julie on November 9, 2011 Random Ramblings
Nov 092011

Ah yes, it’s that time of year again – “the holidays”.  I know some, (most?) of you are probably getting excited for the season, and may call me a curmudgeon, but the whole thing makes me cringe and want to leave the country. Oh, I am not immune to warm, fuzzy feelings when I hear certain Christmas songs, and I love a good party as much as anyone, but…

First, there is the unfortunate confluence of holiday “sale” ads with the election season barrage (a great reason to watch nothing but PBS for the next two months!) I mean REALLY, can anyone explain to me what value campaign ads offer society? What do we “learn” about candidates from thirty nauseating seconds of mud slinging? In my humble opinion, our country would be much better off if campaigning via attack ads was not allowed. (I believe there are other countries where that is the case?)

Second, I’ve never been able to figure out how launching the entire country into a two-month-long shopping frenzy honors the birth of Christ, a man who preached compassion and caring for the poor. Wouldn’t it make more sense if the season was all about feeding the hungry? Helping at a local shelter? Or taking a trip to a third world country and volunteering in an orphanage? Just think what a great family bonding experience that would be!

Velvet dress made by mama, with Rex. Aren't knee socks back in style?

I’m not sure how I came to be so annoyed by all of this. My childhood memories are good – I was an only child, and any relatives were across the country or in Europe, but my tiny family of three celebrated Christmas with a meaningful combination of European and American traditions. Mama & I baked German cookies, Papa strung colored lights on the house, I collected toys & food for poor families, friends stopped by for music, a chat and cocktails – it was all very relaxed. When I was 19, my father died of a heart attack while skiing, and Christmas became painful. I moved to Tahoe, and was happy to work the holidays.

As I got older, and watched my friends stressing out over shopping lists, and later my husband running himself ragged in the malls on Christmas Eve, I started wondering what is the point of this craziness? I am still wondering.

So, each year, as the holiday season sets in, I have an overwhelming desire to get on a plane heading East, far east, as in Asia, where Christmas is a foreign affair.

Unfortunately, or fortunately I guess, both David and I are way too busy to escape this year, so I’ll be here, with my fingers in my ears, chanting “la, la, la, la, la, I can’t heeear you” to all of the commercial noise. (I may also be caught singing along to my favorite carol, Adeste Fideles)

What do you think, has the commercialism and frenzy gotten worse over the last 20 years, or am I just a Scrooge?

Bah humbug, next year, we are off to parts unknown! ;-)

Juls

 

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The Scoop...

Posted by julie on October 15, 2011 FAQ, Making Passport to Adventure TV
Oct 152011

I figured I may as well make this a blog post, and update everyone at once!

A lovely, bumpy road in Patagonia, Chile

So, here’s where things stand with Passport to Adventure…

The economic downturn caused us a few difficulties, but we are muddling through. Mark has retired, to sort out his own life challenges, and I have taken responsibility for fulfilling our obligations to clients and PBS viewers. Elizabeth and Aaron remain my dedicated crew. We have all made sacrifices to keep the “show on the road”, (bumpy road that it is!) but we are a passionate team determined to fulfill our mission – to inspire our fans to get out there and see the world – dirt roads and all!

We have six, new, HD programs that will go on the air on PBS in early 2012 – Macau, British Virgin Islands, Chilean Patagonia (2) and Alberta, Canada (2).  I promise they are all spectacular!

Anchored off Anagada, BVI

We know our viewers and PBS stations are anxious to see new episodes from us, and we apologize for making you wait so long!  (Be sure to let your local PBS station know you are looking for Passport to Adventure in their schedule, your feedback is always helpful to keep us on their “radar”!)  The TV industry is really not glamorous, it is brutal, and the PBS funding model is not easy to navigate, that said, we feel very privileged to air on a great network, and to have such loyal fans, so hang in there, the new shows will be worth the wait!

Thanks to all of our fans and PBS programmers for your continued support!!

Julie

links: If you are interested in more on the trials and tribulations of producing Travel TV in a recession, click on “bumpy Road” above.

And, if you want to know more about how we fund Passport to Adventure, click here!

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Damn, no trust fund!

Posted by julie on October 14, 2011 FAQ, Making Passport to Adventure TV
Oct 142011

How much does PBS pay you for each episode? This question is always near the top of the FAQ list. People assume that if you have a show on PBS, they are paying you for it. Not exactly…

Here’s a crash course on how funding Passport to Adventure, on public television works.

I am an independent producer, meaning I raise the money and pull together the team to create the program. The bad news is raising money is TOUGH, the good news – I retain all control and rights to the program. (I also host, write, plan the shoots, oversee the editing, and handle all of the distribution and marketing of the series – good thing I love what I do!)

To cover costs and pay myself, I have to interest a few companies in underwriting the series on PBS. As an underwriter, companies get a “credit” at the beginning and end of each episode, in all airings on PBS. When it says, “this program is made possible by XYZ Company”, we mean it! Without these sponsors, programs like Passport to Adventure would not be on the air. The most difficult aspect of this funding model is, that it requires producers to compete in the advertising sales arena, with a huge handicap – FCC regulations severely limit what a credit spot can say on non-commercial TV. These restrictions, and the PBS independent station structure, make it challenging to convince a company to spend their dollars with us instead of on a commercial TV advertising package. One of our biggest selling points is that you, the PBS viewers, value a company’s support of quality, non-commercial TV programming, and therefore will buy their products!

So, the reality is, Passport to Adventure is truly a labor of love, an outpouring of passion for something we believe in. We all make a living, but we could make a lot more doing something else.

To make this endeavor financially viable, there are three avenues – get sponsors, creatively piece together small revenue sources – website/blog monetization, international sales, retail products, etc, OR,  have large trust fund. Unfortunately, there’s no trust fund in my past, or future, so I rely on creativity and perseverance!

julie

Live small, Travel BIG!

 

 

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Can't find us on your PBS channel? Thank AT&T...

Posted by julie on October 13, 2011 FAQ, Making Passport to Adventure TV
Oct 132011

The saga… why PBS viewers will not be able to travel with us for a few months…

Passport to Adventure was doing pretty well going into this recession. We had some operating capital from past work, some great shows in the can, and more in the queue. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me, my co-host, Mark, was digging himself into personal financial disaster, and had spent money that should have been earmarked for Passport to Adventure. Long story short, I assumed control, and responsibility for editing and distributing our new season of programs.

I love this illustration, spot on!

Probably the most infuriating element of the whole mess, was a simple cost-cutting measure that went very wrong. Mark had disconnected the Passport to Adventure toll free number, which seemed like no big deal, as most viewers contact us via email. Until I was notified that our distributor was going to pull the Passport series off the air, due to the non-working # shown in the credit role, unless I could get it reconnected.

I called AT&T and found that the # was still available, and proceeded to get it hooked back up. Easy, right? NOT! Nothing is easy with AT&T, by far the most incompetent company I have ever dealt with. (I guess they’ll never be a sponsor of Passport to Adventure, oh well) After two months, all I had to show for my hours spent, was a folder an inch thick documenting conversations with various departments at AT&T (all said no problem, they’d get it taken care of) and bills I paid for service I was not receiving. I finally had to give up. The whole ordeal was so incredibly frustrating, I was ready to kill someone (metaphorically speaking of course).  It’s absolutely amazing that AT&T stays in business. I have since switched all of my phone, internet and TV to Charter Cable, and so far, I am very happy with their service and price. Now I just have to pray that AT&T quits sending me bills for service they keep assuring me has been disconnected, and that AT&T doesn’t buy Charter!!!

The result of all of this is that Passport to Adventure will be not be airing for a few months, until we release our new programs, and re-feed the archived episodes with updated contact info. So don’t be alarmed when your local station tells you “the rights for Passport to Adventure have expired” and they are unable to air the program.

Stay tuned, we’ll be back soon, better than ever!

Julie

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9-11 epiphanies revisited...

Posted by julie on September 13, 2011 Making Passport to Adventure TV, Random Ramblings, Thoughts on Travel
Sep 132011

9-11 left me questioning my life. I looked at my beliefs about people, the way I spent my time, the things I really cared about, and wondered “am I really making a difference?”. I always thought I was, but now, in a flash everything I was doing seemed trivial, exhausting, meaningless.

Nature always gives clarity

Mainly, I looked at my career – work I had so much passion for suddenly felt small, silly, even arrogant. What right did I have to be on TV? Who was I to tell people they should travel more? Why should anyone care what I think? And why beat my head against the wall?  Ever since we started Passport to Adventure, TV industry execs and “ratings data” had been telling us the American TV audience isn’t interested in travel. And now, just as our small band of world-wanderers was beginning to prove the powers-that-be wrong, this happens. (The 1990′s saw increases in the number of Americans traveling to “adventurous”, previously feared, destinations – it was an encouraging trend for us)

In the weeks that followed, like the rest of the world, I tried to get my head around what it all meant. What was true? How do we move forward? What can I do to help? Producing Passport to Adventure no longer felt right. I even wondered if I should pull it off the air – was it offensive to promote travel when our country was suffering?

Then, one morning, I had an “ah ha moment”. I realized that what I did was now more important than ever. Someone had to combat the images and fears bombarding us. A terrible thing had been done, by terrible people, but from my travels I knew that the world is not full of these people.

Travel taught me that the people in every corner of the world are far more like us than not – they are primarily kind & generous, they welcome travelers, and they want to be able to provide for their family, just like us.

Is she really so different from you?

I began thinking… the only way to stop the madness is for the people of the world to know each other, to see other religions and cultures as made up of fellow human beings, not as “with us or against us”. Even for those that don’t travel themselves, maybe a program like Passport to Adventure can help people understand each other? I know, it’s a big task, for a little show, but if we can affect one person, isn’t that worth not giving up?

 

I remembered a package I had received a few years before from an elementary school teacher in Brooklyn, New York. They had shown our China program in the classroom, then had the students answer some essay questions. When asked what they had learned from the program, one student wrote:

“I learned that Chinese people are not mean”.

And there were other similar comments. It was fascinating to see how early xenophobia can take hold. (Our new slogan? “Passport to Adventure – prying open one mind at a time”)

Ten years later, the same conviction still drives me, as Passport struggles through this tough economy, the shake-up of the  TV industry, and I look for the way forward. Once again I find myself taking inventory of what I value, what is important in life, and where we go from here. One thing I know for sure – I will continue my quest to know the people of the world.

Live small, travel BIG!

Julie

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My summer "travel"...

Posted by julie on July 28, 2011 FOOD!, Random Ramblings
Jul 282011

As much as I enjoy writing, and sharing my oh-so-enlightening thoughts with all of you, I am a slacker blogger. (I feel much better getting that off my chest)  It is tough to find a better place to be in the summertime than Tahoe. After the “awesome” or “horrendous” (depends on your perspective) winter we had, I am really appreciating this “beach weather”. If Mother Nature cooperates, I can comfortably run around in my sarong and bathing suit for about 4 months, so I make the most of it – work, beach volleyball, outdoor concerts, the farmers market, and cooking keep me busy. I like to say “God didn’t make gorgeous sunny days for sitting at your desk, it is your DUTY to get out and enjoy the day, at least for  little while!”

YUM!

Because I cherish being home in Tahoe, my travel during the summer consists of COOKING! When I get antsy for far away places, I dig up ethnic recipes, hit the farmers market, and transport myself via taste and smell – Indian & Thai curries, steak with roasted potatoes and arugula, Brazilian cod stew with coconut milk, Salade Lyonnaise with a farm-fresh egg on top (my healthy version, with peppered turkey), quinoa & grilled veggie salad, Moroccan tagine, “Caprese” pannini, salsa fresca, guacamole, fresh lime margaritas … those are just a few of my favorite culinary get-aways.

I keep my cupboards well stocked with exotic spices and I buy lots of fresh herbs at the farmers market. I’d share my recipes, but I typically just google the ingredients I want to use, pick a couple of recipes that sound interesting, and then wing it. (I take what I like from 2 or 3 recipes, I never follow one completely) The more specific and bizarre the ingredients you google, the better the search results. So hit your local market, buy whatever looks good, google, and get creative!

Let me know how it goes!

Bon Appetite!

julie

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