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The past few issues of The Muse have been a bit heavy. For good reason: we live in troubling times. August I took almost completely off, because it was time. Time to replenish the spirit and the soul, and refill the wells of energy I'll need for the next few months of work. So even though we're now in September, I want to hold that replenishing energy of summer with me a little longer. And share it with you.
A dear friend of mine living in Spain was here in California with her family, so she and I took our kids down to Point Lobos, just south of Monterey. A place I've wanted to see since forever. What a gorgeous part of the coast! One of the highlights was seeing a line of sealions sunning themselves on the sand; the only one expending any energy at all was the baby (sound familiar?). They actually have their own beach at Pt. Lobos—yep, no humans allowed. Hurray for conservation!
Very fitting, too, that they happened to be sealions... we connect that dot in the Mini Muse segment below.
The weekend after that a client of mine had a company picnic at Great America. I'm not one for those death-defying rollercoasters (my personal belief is that they are torture devices). I was at once terrified and fascinated with what the most extreme rides do to the human body that I took a few videos. Primarily to remind myself never ever to entertain even half a thought of going on them. Instead, my daughter and I chose something called the Psycho Mouse... a watered-down version of the grown-up rollercoasters that still managed to make me hang on for dear life.
After that, mom came to visit. It was her birthday month and she was spoiled quite appropriately. We took a very special trip, the three generations of us, to Maui. We spent most of our time there either by the water, underwater, sailing, or getting tumbled by the waves. You get the picture... three generations of water babies.
Our first day snorkeling we were blessed with the presence of three Hawai'ian green sea turtles. From the boat we saw flying fish, for me a first. The locals affectionately call them ocean faeries—because they really look like faeries. And real live mermaids. No kidding. Imagine snorkeling off the coast and suddenly you come up against a human body that ends in a fish tail. Like most Hawai'ians, the mermaids were very friendly.
I'm still feeling Maui. Not thinking about it, feeling it. I can feel it in my body and my soul. The water, the marine life, the sun, the air, the sunsets, the people. If you have't taken a vacation in a while, please do. And no matter where you go, be sure to UNPLUG. Nothing can replace the feeling of being in a place you love and letting it infuse into your psyche. That's what true rejuvenation feels like.
~ Birgitte
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We have some wonderful news to share. Aria Luna has been selected as one of 30 artists to paint a six-foot-tall statue of a sealion for the 30th Anniversary of Sea Lions at the Aquarium of the Bay on Pier 39 in San Francisco. This is her first official commission, and it's so fitting in so many ways. It aligns with her love of the sea and of animals. It brings her together with 29 other creative souls, in a place she absolutely loves—the shore just north of San Francisco.
We'll share pictures and videos and lots more about the whole project in the coming months. The sealions are being painted right now up in Marin, and they look amazing. We cannot wait to throw the doors wide open!
In the meantime, here's a note from the (not so) little (anymore) artist about what she's done with her summer:
Hi it's Aria! In August I went to Maui and had SO MUCH FUN THERE! First I snorkeled at a beach called Maluaka and guess what? I saw two sea turtles! Fun fact: In Hawai'i turtles are called honu. It was the first sea turtle I saw in the wild, and the first time I snorkeled. I saw reefs and gorgeous fish too.
After that we took the Road to Hana. We stopped at Twin Falls and the Garden of Eden botanical garden, where we saw peacocks and plants like Heliconia and Hibiscus. Then we went to Hana Gold, a cacao plantation where they gave us a tour of their cacao trees, farm and store, and told us stories. They had this cacao fruit jelly that was like honey! I never knew about cacao jelly. The guide told us that the big companies like Hershey's throw away the cacao fruit jelly!! It's so delicious! So yeah that was the Road to Hana.
We also went on a sunset sail. There was a guy playing the ukulele and singing to us and the crew brought us food. Actually, we saw the sun set and the moon rise at the same time!
Last but not least, we went snorkeling in Molokini crater, and the water was sooo clear. We saw tons upon tons of fish and coral; we even saw a parrot fish and a moray eel! And turtles. :)
Note from mama about that cacao jelly: I thought I had seen it all, but no. Never once, in all of my time researching cacao for my book, attending chocolate festivals and talking to chocolate makers, did anyone ever mention you can make jelly from that first pass of fermented cacao fruit pulp. And it really is mana from heaven. Inexplicably, most chocolate companies just dump it. So if you're a chocolatemaker reading this, here's another product idea for you!
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