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Mahalo

Carla Joelle Brown

Nov 24, 2015
6 min

Mahalo

Photo credit: Thomas Huggins MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015 Today was the day. Today was my very last morning waking up in Maui. It was time to gather my thoughts and belongings. There were a few more attempts at hasty ideal packing and “dummy checks” and soon after we left. Our Airbnb host left very specific directions on what to do for check out and we followed them. I am almost certain that before we left, I gazed at Maalaea Bay longingly accompanied with a deep sigh. It was t

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No Coconut Left Unturned

Carla Joelle Brown

Nov 17, 2015
12 min

No Coconut Left Unturned

SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 2015 My eyes opened and I instinctively looked to my left towards Maalaea Bay and the ocean. I woke up with the heavy feeling that this is our last full day in Maui. The next day we would have to leave in the afternoon to begin our journey back home. It had been a long trip on the road and away from loved ones and the comfort of home, but I know I could have stayed longer, at least a few more days. As far as the filming was concerned, we went to all of the l

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Hale Who, Hale What?

Carla Joelle Brown

Nov 11, 2015
13 min

Hale Who, Hale What?

SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2015 Random Observation: I think as drivers, we have all had the experience of an animal, whether it’s 4 legged or 2, deciding to play chicken with you and your car in the street. Most times you feel pretty confident that they will submit to the car and refrain from getting too close to your tires. However, Thomas and I noticed that this one particular species of bird was repeatedly taking its sweet time crossing the street. We decided to call it a thug bird

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Pardon the Noise...

Carla Joelle Brown

Jun 26, 2015
1 min

Pardon the Noise...

I listen to NPR and This American Life way too much. I wanted to record the conversations on the streets to give voice to the words and pictures and people we met along the way. I have added audio to a few of the posts. Re-check out: Anchorage, Alaska: Anytown, America Loose Moose Hot Wheels LA to Lei Now back to your regularly scheduled program…. #LegII

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The Real Cats of Maui

Carla Joelle Brown

Jun 5, 2015
11 min

The Real Cats of Maui

FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2015 The time is slowly getting away from us and we have been on the road for 10 days and have hardly put a dent in Maui. It was Friday, and today’s scheduled itinerary included the infamous road to Hana and Wai'anapanapa State Park. For the record, I only refer to the road to Hana as “infamous” because of how it is presented in the tourism guides. In plain speak, it is said to be an impressive drive with a strict list of suggestions and warnings. In Hawaii to

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Mongoosian Standoff (Myna vs. Mongoose)

Carla Joelle Brown

Jun 4, 2015
13 min

Mongoosian Standoff (Myna vs. Mongoose)

I think I slept like a big fat log. I always set my alarm clock when I am away or with others because I like to sleep in and I don’t want to impede the progress of the day by waking up at noon. In my youth, I used to pride myself on how late I could sleep, but it rarely ever happens anymore. Nevertheless, I am still very aware that my early is not everyone else’s early. This different interpretation of the word “early” was something I discovered the hard way a few times with

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LA To Lei

Carla Joelle Brown

Jun 3, 2015
10 min

LA To Lei

Welcome to Hollywood baby (Randy Jackson, American Idol voice). My eyes opened and closed during the course of the overnight flight. The pilot’s voice fills the air as he announces that we are approaching our descent into Los Angeles. It is insanely early. I definitely slept, but I was nowhere close to fully functioning at 5:00 am. That doesn’t even happen at home. Everyone drags themselves off the plane the best they could. Our connecting gate was a ways away and somehow we

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Evacuation Seward

Carla Joelle Brown

Jun 2, 2015
12 min

Evacuation Seward

We wake to the cold and rain from the night before. It was Tuesday and that meant time to evacauate Seward and head back up to Anchorage (yes, they have had a tsunami). Our flight wasn’t until 11:50 pm but there was a still a lot to do. Seward really is not far from Anchorage if you don’t make a bunch of stops. The trip is technically only 2 ½ hours. On the way down, we managed to make it over 4 hours. With the long day ahead of us, we made sure to take advantage of our compl

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Hot Wheels

Carla Joelle Brown

Jun 1, 2015
9 min

Hot Wheels

Today was our last ditch effort. It was time to bid an early adios to the RV. I decided to take a hot shower in the restroom. I marvel in its supreme cleanliness. Don’t laugh. A clean bathroom at an RV park or any public area goes a long way in my book. It can mean the difference of thanks but no thanks. I have been known to walk out of a bathroom because there was just no way I would use it. It was so clean; I even mentioned it to Matt during last night’s check-in. He told m

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Loose Moose

Carla Joelle Brown

May 31, 2015
8 min

Loose Moose

This morning was not an early rise. Going to bed after 3:00 a.m. does not inspire you to jump out of bed. It was now a reasonable time for registration office hours. By the time we rounded the side of the registration office to pay up, a young man who was in the middle of some serious looking construction with 2 other men greeted us. He asked if we were in the Cruise America rental as he walked us inside. Quietly sitting in the corner at a table was young black teenage boy w

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Tik-Tok

Carla Joelle Brown

May 30, 2015
6 min

Tik-Tok

The sun briefly set and quickly rose again. It started off as another work morning and we were in the trailer for a while before we checked out of the campground. Since it was close to lunchtime, we were on our food crawl for our one big meal of the day. We weren’t too far from the University Alaska Fairbanks, which meant that there were lots of food options nearby. We decided that we wanted pizza and found College Town Pizzeria on College Rd. It was fairly busy around town:

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[In the tune of Gilligan’s Island] A Six-Hour Tour… A Six-Hour Tour…

Carla Joelle Brown

May 30, 2015
9 min

[In the tune of Gilligan’s Island] A Six-Hour Tour… A Six-Hour Tour…

Today, I was going to be a baller. A shower taker caller. Denali RV Park and Motel has great-individual bathrooms. There may have been at least 10 or so. Instead of the dorm style bathrooms, each bathroom had a shower, sink and toilet. The shower required a $3.00 token for use. Each token earned you 5 minutes of hot shower. By this point of the trip, neither of us used the shower in the RV. If we needed to we could have, but why do that when you can have more space. The other

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Twice as Nice

Carla Joelle Brown

May 28, 2015
9 min

Twice as Nice

**Full disclosure: I am writing this during the layover in LA to Maui. Our flight out of Anchorage left at 11:50 pm last night. I may be delirious. All posts will be reviewed later for accuracy and nonsense and pics** In the a.m., I strolled over to the office to ask some questions about the park. At the desk was a lovely silver haired, retired couple. Their hometown is Knoxville, Tennessee and they had arrived in early May and will be there until September working. Another t

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Anchorage, Alaska: Anytown, America

Carla Joelle Brown

May 28, 2015
10 min

Anchorage, Alaska: Anytown, America

This morning we got up after a very cold night in the trailer. We reassessed our RV needs for a warmer night’s sleep. Another trip to Wal-Mart was going to be necessary to get more blankets, as well some household items we hadn’t considered (hand soap). As we drove to our second Wal-Mart within a 24-hour period, I began to notice a few things: 1.) Downtown Anchorage, or the outskirts anyways, could be Anytown, America, 2.) There were way more black people in Anchorage than I

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Weary Travelers

Carla Joelle Brown

May 26, 2015
4 min

Weary Travelers

First and foremost, we have arrived in Anchorage, Alaska and we have arrived in one piece. Second, I am going to do what I can to keep everyone posted when I can, but I will not be able to vouch for the clarity or consistency of any of this. I like to be up front about the situation. I am feeling a bit delirious and slightly out of sorts. Our flight left at 7:00 am, which required an airport arrival at 5:30 am. There was really no true sleep the few hours before I had to wak

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The North and South (Alaska & Hawaii)

Carla Joelle Brown

May 26, 2015
3 min

The North and South (Alaska & Hawaii)

Now that we know my entire project is all make believe, there was some purpose to this plan. Thomas and I are going to Alaska and Hawaii (tomorrow). We will stay approximately a week in each state. As the 2 states that the Grahams had not traveled, this is the piece de resistance. Having already spoken with the Grahams on several occasions about traveling to Alaska and Hawaii, I know that the Grahams (Benjamin) intended to drive the Alaska Highway. That decision was made

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