For so many years, I've been idly standing by while you make your choices. I know from the get-go that your choice will not last and I tell you as much and you seem receptive and then you still go ahead and make the same choice over and over again. You keep asking me why... Continue Reading →
Jess explores – Open Water Swimming – Part 2 (S2 E47)
I love the ocean and open water swimming is really something that will make you feel alive! So on today's episode I'll explore open water swimming - part 2 (or swimming in the ocean in the winter...). It's gotten cold, which means less people are less out and it gets darker much sooner, so there... Continue Reading →
Before you go.
People ask me what the hardest part about living apart from my partner is. It's difficult to explain and in many ways I think even more difficult to understand. But I'll try anyways. So, here are a few things that we've found help us when things are really getting tough. Decision. When A and I... Continue Reading →
Driftwood
Lately A and I have been playing a little game we like to call "remember when...?". It's our way of reminding each other of all the horrific, embarrassing, and love-filled memories we have made over the past decade. Versions of some of our memories I've retold on this blog, but to be honest, most of... Continue Reading →
On the shoulders of giants
A couple months ago I was invited to work on a research vessel as a marine mammal observer - which to simplify means that I'll be professionally whale watching (of course there is MUCH MORE to that than just gazing at beautiful marine mammals - I'll actually be making sure that they're not hurt in... Continue Reading →
This is it.
A and I moved to Norway almost eight years ago. I'd like to say that we both knew what we were getting into, but the reality is, we didn't have the slightest idea of what that actually meant. If I had to describe it, I'd say it's like the scene where Dr. Strange for the... Continue Reading →
Dance with me
In our everyday lives, there is not enough room for dancing. As a child you'll break into a dance any chance you get. Who needs to set one foot in front of the other, when you could just as easily twirl, skip, hop, side-step, and whatever else your preferred method of moving forward was when... Continue Reading →
My treasure box
This year has been one crazy roller coaster after enough. Self-inflicted I may add. I've decided to leave it all on the table this year and just put all my fears, all my comfort zones, everything cozy and easy aside and off I went fighting for every inch of a path non-existent. Well, almost anyway.... Continue Reading →
In the air tonight.
Yesterday morning, as I was balancing my laptop bag and backpack in one hand, my car keys, my jacket, and my travel mug in the other, for the first time ever I saw a shooting star. I have the habit of putting my travel mug on top of my car as I leave the house,... Continue Reading →
Crisis mode
My Ireland move is only a few short weeks away and I can honestly say, I have never felt so terrified and equally excited in my life. It's like sitting in a plane for hours and hours and shortly before you are set to arrive, you hit the worst turbulence and you drop a few... Continue Reading →
Emerald Isle
A bird may love a fish and honestly, it never really mattered where they lived, because when you love someone that's all that really matters...
Dream boat
I've always felt like life was living on a boat, always trying to get through the storms, slowly making it from island to island, sometimes you'll get seasick and sunburned but no matter where, you'll always have an amazing view. Little did I know that turning 30 would mean that that's exactly what I would... Continue Reading →
My Liferaft
The very first time I got an a zodiac I was sick to my stomach. In my defense, it was an extremely bumpy ride, I was getting sprayed with buckets full of water from all sides and angles and no matter where I was on the zodiac, I couldn't see squat because there were so... Continue Reading →
Trust.
I am a planner. I have three calendars (two online, in case one fails to back-up) and a physical one, because there is a whale on it and I absolutely loved the design. I use them rigidly, they structure my day and I love spending time updating them (that being said, also a huge-time-waster...). That's... Continue Reading →
Flying kites
The older I get the more I realize that I did not have a normal childhood. I had a good one, but not a normal or rather average one. Obviously, I have not suffered because of it, I grew up just fine and had everything I needed and for that I am eternally grateful, but... Continue Reading →
The pebble in my shoe
We define ourselves not by the magnitude of the things we've done but by single handpicked moments. Moments that mean the world to us, like the first kiss, the first time driving car, the first time ditching a class... Or maybe the first day on a new job, the day you got your degree, or... Continue Reading →
Failure
I had a rough couple of days, not going to lie, I almost contemplated not leaving bed today, but I did it and yes, I deserve praise for that. Nothing particular happened in the last few days, you know, other than me coming so close and yet so far from what I wanted for so... Continue Reading →
Until death do us part…
When I was young, I always imagined to one day own a house sitting on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Listening to the waves every waking hour, opening the windows whenever I wanted to feel and smell the ocean breeze. I was ten when this idea first entered my mind and after nearly two decades,... Continue Reading →
2018
Two weeks in and I can honestly say that this year has been the best one yet (but with A by my side, every year gets better). We've traveled far and wide, literally and especially in these past four weeks. But it's time to return to Norway and pick up where we left of. Although... Continue Reading →
Vacation bubble
I cannot believe that a month has gone by so quickly! It feels like we just packed our things and started our world trip and now we're already returning back to Norway. What a trip it's been, a once in a lifetime experience (for now). Even though I could stay on the road for much... Continue Reading →
Where Gods are born
Yesterday was a crazy adventure! We had a late start and went to Chinatown for lunch at possibly Singapore's most famous hawker: Hawker Chan and it was truly mind blowing. The line seemed endless, although fast moving, but you need to come early, they tend to sell out and for good reason. Two people after... Continue Reading →
Street markets 101
Ever since Hong Kong I've been fascinated by street markets. The noise, the color, the smells, street markets are just something else. I'm not much of a haggler. I enjoy other people doing it but in general I'm either thinking I'm getting the best deal ever and the seller is super honest with me or... Continue Reading →
The Merliony Way
A and I have been enjoying Singapore as much as possible. Of course, like most travelers, we prefer sunshine over rain, but that's not holding us back (that's why they invented umbrellas and roofed areas). Yesterday we headed for the southern most point of continental Asia: Sentosa. Sentosa can only be described as an island... Continue Reading →
Where Avatar meets real life.
It's been raining so much in Singapore, A and I have been swimming from one place to another. But a little rain never hurt anyone, right? Especially in a place with as much greenery and diversity as Singapore. So, on one of our daily excursions we were ducking for cover at the gardens by the... Continue Reading →
Love at first flight!
A and I are enchanted by Singapore. A concrete jungle, mixed with Avatar-like concoctions, excitement pouring out of every fiber. You could call it love at first flight! From how easy it was to get through customs, literally took mere minutes and I got candy at the end, to how easy it was to get... Continue Reading →
Redemption!
Our time in Australia has sadly come to an end, but I couldn't leave without giving Sydney one last chance. When we arrived a couple weeks ago, we were greeted by cockroaches, heat and the oncoming of my sickness. Neither A nor I particularly enjoyed the 48 hours we had given ourselves, between coughing and... Continue Reading →
A close call.
It's official, I can sleep through an explosion and a car on blazing fire. This is not a euphemism for anything, this is what actually happened in a small town in the middle of Australia. Spoiler alert: no one got hurt and it wasn't our car. Honestly, I would have most likely slept through all... Continue Reading →
Homage to Steve
I am not a fan of traditional zoos, for obvious reasons but I couldn't travel to Australia and not pay homage to the man that made me fall in love with animals and who sparked a deep interest and care in me for all the beautiful creatures of this world. You know who I'm talking... Continue Reading →
We’re in the wild!!!
A and I have spent the majority of yesterday driving but not without two pitstops. We drove an hour to the beach to have one of the most amazing encounters ever: Throughout our time in Australia we noticed that people think of us as exotic, especially in places where they may not see a lot... Continue Reading →
Is the Great Barrier Reef as awesome as everyone says???
The short answer is yes. The long answer: OMG, I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW AWESOME THE GREAT BARRIER REEF IS AND EVERYONE, AT LEAST ONCE IN THEIR LIFETIME, SHOULD GO! Because I was sick, I was only able to organize one snorkeling trip and although that only gives you limited time to see anything, it at... Continue Reading →
Australia Update
As we have just reached the half-time into our world-trip, i.e. two weeks in into our four weeks around the world, I decided to give you a quick little update. We have seen and experienced more things than A and I can remember (thank you cameras for capturing everything we may have already forgotten), and... Continue Reading →
The morning person
I have absolutely no problem with getting up at 5 am every morning. I rather enjoy it, actually. The streets are quiet, (depending on where and when you are) the sun may start to come up and you can quietly start your working day, while everyone else is still asleep. My co-workers make fun of... Continue Reading →
Platypus River
Ever since we left the Grand Canyon a few days into our world-trip, A has been complaining about the countless, death-defying, but soul-scaring activities I've managed to organized. So, to cater to A's everyday needs, I listened to his expressed wish to see a real-life in the wild platypus (did you know that the plural... Continue Reading →
High above the Clouds
As you may have gathered by now, I am in charge for planning all kinds of activities for A and me during our world-trip while he is in charge of logistics, food and making sure that I stay grounded... Interestingly though, A agreed to all kinds of activities that I suggested, from going snorkeling with... Continue Reading →
Infringement notice
When it comes to reminders to taking driving breaks, reminding drivers of the importance of napping when tired and asking trivia questions to stay alert, Australia is top notch! Every few hundred meters you may find a reminder of what to do, when feeling exhausted and it's quite fun to spot the signs. Their most... Continue Reading →
Brisbane, I’d move in a heartbeat.
Remember when I said, I was getting better? Well, that was before... It had gotten so bad, I coughed half the night and decided to spend the last day in Brisbane at the hotel. I also went to the doctor's to make sure that I was doing everything possible to get better soon. So, there... Continue Reading →
My spirit animal
First off, I'm feeling much - MUCH - better, but I'm still coughing especially when the air is too dry or the AC turned on too cold. But other than that, I'm (almost) good as new, that being said. I'm still taking it easy, especially because we got some crazy things planned in the next... Continue Reading →
Australian road trip
For the record, and anyone interested, I want you to know that road tripping in Australia was 100% A's doing. He had the idea, he planned the trip and he booked the car. I did not realize that I was about to get in a car for a total of 21 hour driving (supposedly) with... Continue Reading →
From bad to worse…
24 hours into Our Australia adventure and everything (mostly me) fell apart. On top of rearranging our next couple of weeks I fell severely ill. Not just a little cough, but coughing so hard that A literally just told me (rather angrily barked at me) that I should stop what I was doing (working, mostly...... Continue Reading →
All I want for Christmas…
We've only been in Australia for a few hours, so there is little I can tell about our fourth stop just yet, you know other than the Airbnb incident... Fear not though, we will be here for about two weeks, so there will be lots of stories to tell. But I want to tell you... Continue Reading →
Abandon Ship
I bet you, your Christmas was much better than ours. Guaranteed! Don't believe me? Let me enlighten you. We left Honolulu really early on Christmas Eve Day (December 24th or for where I am from: Christmas). Crammed into two seats with a stranger on the aisle seat we tried to get comfortable but I -... Continue Reading →
Skipping Christmas.
This year, A and I decided to skip Christmas altogether, sort of. Our world trip is of course the gift to each other and for ourselves but other than that, we decided to leave Christmas decorations, trees and anything else Christmasy behind. Because Christmas is more than a place decorated with loads of glitter, on... Continue Reading →
The three S of a great day.
Sweat. Sunburn. Sadness. That's all you need, right?! But there is so much more to it! When we got up yesterday morning we didn't know where the day would take us, so we hung out in our airbnb in the morning before A urged me to get into the car, so we could go see... Continue Reading →
Sail Hawaii
I am an ocean person. There I said it, not that it ever was a secret, but that's who I am, who I always will be... I love everything ocean infinitely more than I could ever love any other landscape. Now that that's out of the way, here's something else you should know: for everything... Continue Reading →
Hawaiian jetlag
I am thoroughly exhausted, from head to toe. Jetlag is no joke but if I could any place to cure the jetlag, Hawaii is the place to do it! This morning, A and I had an Açaí bowl while sitting with flip-flops and shorts outside a cute little cafe. It was the most amazing, most... Continue Reading →
Aloha!
We’ve made it to our third stop: Hawaii and we’re instantly greeted with hot air and humidity. Can it get any better than this? We arrived late at night, so we didn’t see much just yet but we have fun things planned for our short time here. Both A and I are incredibly excited, after the... Continue Reading →
Valley of Fire
On our last full day in and around Las Vegas we decided to drive to The Valley of Fire and be inspired. The Valley is about an hour long drive away from the Las Vegas strip and definitely a worth while stop that no one should miss. Especially if you like rocks, sand and a... Continue Reading →
Love kernels
Bear with me, all of this has a point: I absolutely love Rachel Bloom in the tv-show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. The character, Rebecca Bunch, played by Rachel Bloom, is a dillusional, hilariously funny protagonist with a flair for drama. If you haven’t already, you should definitely check it out. The coolest thing about this show are... Continue Reading →
Catching feels
Yesterday, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in Pasadena and made our way west wards. The Mojave desert is unlike anything I've ever seen. The landscape is so impressive, mountains and hills and vast sandy plains and cactuses, as far as the eye can see. And sun. Lots and lots of sun, something I've come to... Continue Reading →
24 hours in…
Oh wow. We're 24 hours into our world trip and man, I couldn't be happier. I was afraid we wouldn't make our LA flight but turns out, Norwegian Air thought of everything and we were through customs in less than 5 minutes. All flights to the US have amped up their security, so surprisingly A... Continue Reading →
A bird loves a fish 